Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream cheese Frosting

I will get around to posting about life in our family of FIVE soon, but for now, here is a Pinterest recipe I tried out and modified just a bit.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream cheese Frosting!

Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (ground)
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 large eggs

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
12 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 8oz package cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mixing the cupcakes is easy, put your wets in a mixer and mix 'em up.  Then sift your dry stuff together.  Then slowly stir the dry stuff in until well incorporated.  Bake in cupcake cups at 350º for 15 minutes.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese first!  Then add the sugar before the wets.  Uh-mazing!!!

Use the extra frosting to eat by the spoonful or spread on graham crackers.  In secret of course.  Because you don't want to have to share your frosting with anyone!

...32...

More nights than not, this boy wanders into our bed in the middle of the night.

So I wake up like this.

I'm so blessed, not only because of this cute boy, but my nose swells up when I'm pregnant.

 And I guess since he's hijacking our bed, he feels the responsibility to make it.

 Drake had a primary teacher in our old ward who made the kids these "Drake was here" heart bean bags, so they could give service and leave it behind.

It's the cutest thing ever.

I love it!

I had a birthday.

I don't have any pictures of it, but my friends took me out a couple of days later and spoiled me with a new Coach purse.

Can you believe that!?

 So I'm 32, which I didn't feel like that was old, until I thanked my mom for birthing me 32 years ago.  That just sounds crazy.

At least I'm a nice round number, that is divisible by 4.  For some reason, I love numbers divisible by four.  It just makes me feel good.

While I'm "studying for the bar", I figure I might as well have some bread rising.

I think I've got my white bread down!

So yummy!  My house smells so good right now!

 This whole bar thing is a joke.

How am I supposed to study when I'm home with kids out on summer break?  I feel like I study 12 hours a day, but get done what I would be able to do in 4 hours if I were at the library.  :(

And finally, I'm 28 weeks!

That's officially 3rd trimester.

there's a baby in there!
I still can't believe it.

*baby's the size of a large eggplant (2.25 pounds)

*if I have to wear clothes, they better be stretchy

*the baby is very active, and the kids LOVE to feel the baby move

*I finally bought the first item of baby clothes, that only leaves everything else to acquire!

*I've gained 20 pounds so far...

My reduced sugar/salt diet started out well, but after a couple of birthdays with excuses to eat cake and ice cream for weeks, I'm off the wagon.  I need to get my act back together!

And now, back to studying!

mom, can I have a shaver?

Want to see one of the cutest selfies ever?

Behold-

 Gwen and Austin.  hashtagnofilter

I have put a serious limit on the kids screen time this summer.  No TV/games until chores are done, and the kids have read for at least 20 minutes.  Often this doesn't happen until 4:00 pm if it happens at all!  Sometimes I think it's harder on me than on them.  Like when I'm studying and the kids are driving me crazy and I want to say "just go watch a movie!" but then I remember they can't.  :p

For Drake the hardest part is that I have a lock on my phone, so he can't just pick it up and play Bad Piggies whenever he wants.  But he has learned that if my phone is locked all he can do is make an emergency call, OR go to camera and take pictures!  Seriously?  Doesn't that seem funny that a locked phone will take pictures?  I mean I get the convenience thing, but what about the privacy thing?  Anyway, I plugged my phone in tonight and discovered HUNDREDS of pictures like these:

 Including some not so flattering pictures of me buried in my books and computer with headphones on, tuning the world out.  But you can thank me for sparing you those pictures. 

Did I mention previously that the bar is ruining my summer?

Well it is.

Study all day everyday, and I'm still behind.

Perhaps because I still have to make time for this cuteness.

 This boy is so rad.

And Gwen and I also have been on a baking kick.

I don't know how many loaves of bread I've baked already this summer, I want to find the perfect recipe, so I'm slowly perfecting wheat bread, but also am figuring out the right combos for white, oatmeal, and potato breads too. Gluten-free we are not!

 And I told you last time how Gwen was making tons of cookies, well she's whipped out her first cake ever too.  All by herself!  My little Gwenny Crocker.

In other news:

25 weeks, and the baby is the size of rutabaga.  Yep, a rutabaga.  

Should I be concerned that the garbage bags are in the same spot they've been for months, and the other night Ryan didn't know where that was??

Maybe I should be concerned about the fact that Gwen asked me today for a shaver so she can shave the hair on her legs?!!?!?  Holy smokes, I'm not ready for this.