The Challenge

A few days ago, Ella and I needed to get out for a while. It was a snowy afternoon, so we decided to go to Barnes & Noble to look at books. The girl was in heaven! We read book after book and played with countless toys. As always, Miss Social also wanted to chat with the older kids hanging out in the area. Ella does a lot of chatting now and clearly expects that we understand every word. Her expression and intonation are excellent! (Another public speaker, perhaps?)


Ella was in love with the Backyardigan stuffed characters. She won't stand to watch anything else. I've tried Clifford and other PBS shows, but she has her favorite! I'm okay with that.

It was not an easy task to leave the store when it was time for dinner. One, she was hungry. Two, there were so many more books to read. And three, she wasn't finished socializing with the big kids. No worries, Miss Ella, we'll visit again very soon. After all, our indoor hangout choices are somewhat numbered during long Duluth winters.

On to the challenge, as mentioned in the title of this post. I am currently sitting on a stool in the middle of the kitchen. I'm completely surrounded by bowls and spoons, mixers and measuring cups. The challenge? I've volunteered to make 17 dozen fancy cupcakes for a women's event this Saturday at our church. I'm also making the same number of cookies. I'm beyond excited to do this. Just ask Pete. It's going well so far! More than half the cupcakes are baked and I've got a good start on the cookies. Tomorrow afternoon I'll lug everything to the church kitchen to do the actual decorating of the wee cakes. I'll post pics after Saturday. Onward!