Fun times in Pre K

Hey there!  I figured I'd stop by to share a few things going on in our neck of the woods.  Nothin too exciting, but I couldn't ask for any better.  School has officially begun and the girls are having so much fun!  They even got to pick out their first day outfit. 

 There's Cass with her little pose.  They both are hams. :)  I love that if you look real close they are holding hands... <3  They melt my heart with how much they love each other! They both love their new teachers as well, which is a great thing.  There's nothing worse than having a teacher you don't get a long with.  This is their third and last year at this school.  Next year they'll be in Kindergarten.  I cannot believe it!! We are stuck between to amazing schools right now, so we shall see which one wins out in the end!

We took the girls bowling for their first time!! I wasn't too sure how that would work since the bowling balls are still pretty heavy for them to lift, but they had a blast! We went to an amazing bowling alley that is huge, has an arcade, a bar, a cafe, and a couch in each lane for people to relax between sets!  Each lane has its own attendant to bring you food/whatever you could want!  Loved it there.  I haven't bowled in years, I was a bit rusty but in the end had tons of fun and even got a strike or two.  Cassie even got a strike!!

I don't know what it is about your parents room, but I know I always LOVED sleeping in their bed!  Well the girls are no different.  Every night, the question popped up, "PLEASE can we sleep in the big bed with you guys!"  Which always ended up with me on the very tip of the bed, the girls sprawled out, and the hubbs curled up on the floor with a pillow (what a good sport, these girls REALLY REALLY have him wrapped around their fingers).  At least 2+ times a week this was happening!  We finally found a way to stop this... get em a bed they are absolutely mad about!! 

They were so excited to get their new bed, that when it arrived they were all over the poor guys making sure they were putting it together the correct way.  When it was done (which was only about 2pm) the girls were already for bed!! They didn't get out of it the rest of the weekend.  It has been so nice havin the "big bed" all to ourselves again.  Oh the things we do for our kiddos :)

Being the open minded/crazy/artistic mommy I am, I allowed the girls to get a few highlights to start off the new school year.  Thank God I'm a hairstylist, these girls LOVE getting their hair done, they'd cost a fortune in a salon!  Cassie is obsessed with short hair and would have it in a pixie cut if I let her, Scarlly on the other hand will not let me trim more than half an inch, she wants super long hair.  Scar just got a few little blonde highlights in her bangs, so natural, you really couldn't tell unless you looked for em.  Cassie chose a vampire red highlight.  I think it looks super cute, and while we do get some condescending looks when we go out, I really don't care.  First off its my kiddo, second, it's her hair, third the color falls out after a few weeks, what's the big deal?!  As long as she loves it, that's all that matters!  I think it even gave her MORE confidence than she already had... Oh dear... ;)

 That pretty much gets us all caught up for now!  Thanks for stopping by to read my little blog, hope you all are well! Hopefully I'll be on here a little sooner next time!

Until than!!

Xoxo The Stanescu Family oxoX

Summer tiiiiime...and the livin's easy :)

Phew!  This summer is flying by!  I cannot believe that school starts in two weeks.  The girls are super excited this year because they both will have new teachers, and new classmates.  They were the youngest kiddos in the class so while the rest of the class is going to Kindergarten, they have one more year of Pre-K.  They miss the kindergarten age cut off by 3 weeks...  I let them choose their own backpacks this year, Cassie picked a Justin Beiber backpack and Scarlett picked Disney Princess.

Sheesh, speaking of flying by, my babes will be 5 soon... 5!?  They are growing so fast.. And way too smart for their own good :) 



So far its been a relatively quiet summer.  Lots of stayin out of the heat and swimming.  Thank God we have a pool this year! We also had family come hang out for a few weeks!  The girls had so much fun playing with Uncle Adrian.

Adrian came out from Tennessee and was probably glad to get home, the girls ran him ragged.  The night before he left I made a Texas Sheet Cake and he has now requested one for his birthday... However, according to FedEx it would cost about $130 to send one, can you believe that? So I figured I'd put my recipe on here and someone there could make it for him. :)


Ash's Famous Texas Sheet Cake ;)


What you'll need:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
frosting (recipe provided below) 

❦ Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your pan ahead of time, I always forgot and end up  pouring it in if I don't do it at this time, lol (there's a lot going on you might forget ;) ) I use a 13X9 pan but you can do a bit bigger, or I've done cupcakes before and those were a hit as well!! 
❦ Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside. 
❦ In a saucepan, melt butter and add cocoa powder, and one cup of water.  Bring to a boil STIRRING CONSTANTLY... Once at a boil, add to dry mix and mix with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. (I like to go between 2-3 to get more air into the batter)  Add buttermilk, and mix.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Be sure to add the buttermilk and mix first or else the eggs will scramble because of the hot mixture that was added. The buttermilk brings the temp down a bit :).  Batter will be pretty thin.  Pour into the pan you've already greased!! (aren't you happy you greased it ahead of time....yeah I know... great idea ;)  ) 
❦ Bake for about 25 minutes, depending on your oven, and which way you decided to make the cake.  For cupcakes obviously it won't take as long. I always stick a butter knife in the middle and when it comes out clean, you're good as gold! The last ten minutes, start making the frosting.  When your cake is done, pour the frosting over your cake and ENJOY! Seriously, there are few desserts that beat a Texas Sheet Cake... unless you dislike chocolate... Which in that case.... I have no words. ;) 


Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting
❦ In a medium saucepan mix 1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons) melt it a bit, and add 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of buttermilk.  Bring to a boil.. stirring constantly! Once bubbling, remove from heat and add 2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until smooth and velvety. (mmm I'm drooling already)  I like to add chopped pecans to the icing and than pour on top of the cake.  I also stab a few holes in the cake for the icing to slowly seep inside of the cake.  Those options are purely up to you, although, they make it so much better ;) 


Hope you guys like it!! If you do make it, let me know how it turns out!! <3