Oh for the love of sleep.

It appears that my little monster is teething again. Runny nose, drool bucket, cranky, and the best part.... NO SLEEP. Nothing better then waking up every 2 hours for the last 4 nights. You tend to take for granted what an amazing sleeper your little one is until there is no sleep at all!

So I remain in the ultimate zombie mode. ludicrous amounts of coffee, dozing off standing up, and the best part...straight up groggy goofy delirium! Oh boy oh boy I hope he pops out 4 teeth all at once! That would be awesome, out and done with.

Speaking of zombies I'm going off topic here, WALKING DEAD. The one show that Matt and I love and watch every week together. This season is starting off pretty good too! There is a ton of new characters which means...more gruesome zombie attacks and flesh eating goodness! Muahahaha!

While the pirate actually took a decent nap the other day i decided to A. take a small cat nap too. and B. Bake a cake of sugary gooey diliciousness! That's right people I finally got to make my layered caramel apple cake. And you can take my word for it, it was pretty ding dang delicious.

Now I normally would make my cake from scratch but knowing Noah has been such a needy disaster I bought a spiced cake mix to cut down on time. Don't judge me.

Cake!
-Box of spiced cake mix - follow prep instructions
-Bake half the batter in a round pan- let cool on cooling rack
-Bake other half and let cool
-Cut each cake in half with serrated knife
-Prepare caramel
-Spread a thin layer of caramel on each cake (while its more liquid vs hardened helps to moisten cake making it 12 times more delicious)
-Then apply frosting of choice... I have a secret cinnamon frosting recipe but any butter cream or cream cheese frosting will do
-Layer sliced apple pieces evenly over each cake
-Drizzle cooled and hardened caramel to your liking over the apple layer
-Stack cakes and frost the sides
-Drizzle caramel over the top of the cake
-Enjoy and beware of sugar overload

Homemade caramel
-1/2 cup half and half
-1 cup packed brown sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-4 tablespoons butter
-pinch of salt

-Mix the half and half, brown sugar, butter and salt in a sauce pan on medium to low heat.
-Cook for 5 minutes gently whisking until sugar desolves and mixture thickens slighlty
-Add vanilla and let cool

If you like apples, and caramel, and sugar, this is a win win situation for you. Make it. Devour it. And feel no remorse :)

Also...... Noah got dedicated last week in church!!!!! Something we have wanted to do for a long time but every Sunday they were doing them we were either out of town or busy. I was really sad because I wanted my parents to be there but this was the soonest we could commit to. I know they were there in spirit! And I had my aunt and uncle come in place so it all worked out and Noah was very loved, by family and friends who came!

We promise to do our best to teach him what it means to be a christian. Whatever he chooses in his life is his own choice but we vow to teach him of God's glory and goodness and we as parents submit him to the Lord, his will and his way.

1 Samuel 1:27-28
"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given to the Lord."

Matthew 19:14
"Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these"

Amen! Goodbye people and I hope to get some sleep. PLEASE DEAR GOD GIVE ME SOME SOLID SLEEP.

-Over and out

Apples!!!!

Hello my name is Erin, and I have a problem. It's been 14 hours since my last apple and I'm quickly going into apple withdrawal shock syndrome. Lack of apple disorder?Apple-less depression? Apple obsessive compulsive disorder! Boom! Winner.

Any who I love apples. I love to eat them, bake them and pick them. And if Noah really is my son then I'm pretty sure he loves his orchard visits and homemade applesauce too. If he isn't mine do i get a refund? Like if there were some sort of hospital mix up? Can I go back in and pick a new one? Naaah, hes just too damn adorable he has got to be mine ;)

We have been to all the major orchards in the area and usually Matt and I frequent apple jacks in Delano. But we found a new favorite called fall harvest. We have been a few times before and love it! The apple picking was great. But they have so much more there! Tons of animals to feed and pet, pumpkins, corn pit, wagon rides. And usually less crowded then apple jacks or Minnetonka apple orchard.

 http://www.fallharvestorchard.com/

Conner family fall fun day whoop whoop

Animal lover!!! So many fun farm animals to look at!

The pumpkin with his pumpkin 

Umm excuse me dad.... Why did you bury me in corn? I'm scared..... Right before he started crying ha ha.

Yay apples! I can't wait to bake an apple crisp soon. Or maybe apple cookies. Or possibly a caramel apple cake. Too many options I can't decide. Boo I don't want to go to work and it's rainy too... Perfect snuggle weather with my two favorite gentlemen! 

Lame, maybe if I drink enough coffee I'll be too jazzed up to care! Goodbye cozy Saturday morning household.... Momma's gotta go bring home some bacon! (Not literally because bacon is disgusting.... Said the worlds only bacon hater)

-Over and out

No one said it would be easy.....

Well, as they say... what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Shit happens. You live and you learn. It can't always be sunshine and roses. So on and so forth. Ya da ya da ya da.

I suppose this is all true, although a bit tough to swallow at times. Here again we find ourselves in a sticky situation. For the second time in a matter of months my husband gets laid off. (shady company in which i have not a single decent thing to mutter about). 

Oh yay just what I needed! Another trying time filled with financial struggles, stress, anxiousness and all that goes with it! - insert sarcastic voice and big hand gestures.

I'm pretty sure the only good thing to come out of 2013 is my wonderful beautiful son. Because we are seriously being tested this year. Good thing my faith in God and positive thinking out weighs all the awfulness and garbage life can throw our way!  Well....struggles 0 Conner family 2. So suck it world, bring it on because we've got this. My God is good and I can't be shaken.

Being a new mom on its own is a whole new mind blowing concept to tackle. Lets toss in working and being away from your baby 12 hours at a time, 2 lay offs, medical bills unpaid, my parents moving out of state, the IRS saying we owe from 2011 taxes ( incorrect we have the info to prove them wrong), and the fact I don't get medical benefits through my job. Struggling. I admit this last lay off put me in a major funk.  For a good few days i gave into it but I'm over it now. I'm done and moving on.

 I look at the big picture and see that I am so incredibly lucky. Through this time, my love for my husband and family never changes. We are 100% in this together, fighting, crying, praying together. Holding on to the hope of our future and knowing that this time we struggle with is so small and insignificant compared to the rest of our lives. Its a bump in the road. A story we will tell our kids of how hard it was in the beginning. And I know, in my heart that I wont be tested any more than what i can possibly handle.

Romans 8:24-25

"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

Our break is coming, no matter what it looks like, I know it's out there. Might be completely different than we expected but that's the way life goes. And we will welcome the change!

What better way to forget the heavy then baby arts and crafts!!! With the weather being so rainy and nasty last week the pirate and I decided to do some early Halloween crafts. ( More like I decided and the pirate was forced against his will to go along with it :) 

Tadaaaa! pumpkin butt step one: dip baby butt in orange paint. Step two: sit baby butt on paper. Step three: quickly move to bathtime before he pees on you and everything else in site. 

Ghost/candy corn foot print: Paint foot. Step foot on paper. Bam. Its the little things in life that make me smile....can't tell I used to teach preschool at all can you?

I would have posted my gluten free pumpkin cookies i attempted to make but they SUCKED. Baking fail for sure, which i hardly ever fail when it comes to baking so my self esteem is a tad deflated. But I will perfect the recipe like a boss and post an epic baking win soon. I promise.

All in all...life is a challenge, a puzzle, a struggle. But how entirely boring would it be without a little bump now and then? 

-Goodnight! - E