My Cupcake Obsession and My Top Picks.

I have a little (BIG) obsession with finding the best cupcakes around, and I have been keeping an eye out for not only the tastiest cupcake but the most beautiful one as well because let's face it presentation means a lot. So I have come up with my top three and where you can buy them. I just have to make one disclosure I am not a big fan ofchocolate so you are not going to find it on my list. Even though I should say Dipidee has a very good chocolate Nutella cupcake ,if you like that sort of thing, anyway here are my picks:

3. My third favorite is from the Sweet Tooth Fairy and the cupcake I like the most there is the Caramel apple although they have a great selection of yummy ones this one was my favorite.

2. Dipidee, I love this place. Mmmmmmmm the raspberry lemonade Cupcake is so rich and yummy. It's huge too so you can have half today and half tomorrow, but who are we kidding if you are like me you will have half for lunch and half for dinner.



1. The very tastiest and prettiest one is, drum roll please, THE POOLSIDE MARGARITA CUPCAKE!! Oh so Yummy It is only seasonal so I cant wait till summer to get another one. Very tasty.


Do you have a favorite? I am curious to know what some of your favorites are.

Sweet and Sour

I cant tell if these two children are very best friends or arch enemies. They fight hard and play hard. We took these pictures last night at Wheeler farm and they fought right up till the shot was snapped and then immediately following the shot. Then in the car on the way home Chloe entertained us with a song she has been practicing and when it was finished we all clapped for her but she folded her arms and pouted because she did not think Joey clapped enough. Sometimes they bicker like an old married couple, but when Joey is afraid of the dark Chloe will talk him through it with her arm around his shoulder and when Chloe gets hurt outside Joey is the first to rush to her aid and get her help. They are oh so sweet and a little bit sour all at the same time.

The Big Epiphany

Today on the way to pick my kids up from school I had an epiphany. I, Like many of you I am sure, have most of my Epiphany's in the car when it is finally quiet. But today I was actually listening to the song 'Pennies from Heaven' by Rosemary Clooney. I was thinking about how life can be such a fickle friend wonderful one day and bitterly difficult the next. Then the song Pennies From Heaven came on. I have heard that song a million times before but this time the words seemed to be speaking right to me like a good friend with some much needed advice.

Don't you know each Cloud contains pennies from heaven
If you want the things you love you must have showers.
So every time you hear it thunder don't run under a tree
there will be pennies from heaven for you and me.

And as the song was playing I drove past an older woman standing on her front porch in her night dress her hair a mess.She looked so frail, maybe recovering from an illness, with her mail in one hand her newspaper under her other arm her eyes closed, her face turned up to the sun letting the warmth soak her skin. She took a deep breath, and then she smiled and in that moment it hit me. She had to be more than twice my age and in her time on this earth so far she surely had faced many losses, sorrows and heartbreaks as well as many joys, memories and blessings. Many more than I have had. And yet there she stood smiling, basking in the last of the summer sun before the season changes and grows colder. I felt the feeling wash over me just as the sun washed over her that this is it, the warmth of the sun, the happy sounds of children laughing, finding a post card in the mail, the smell of fresh cut grass, a good book. those are the life preservers sent down from our Father in Heaven, it is the simple things that prick your heart with joy that keep us from drowning with sorrow. Every storm and every trial, bring us to a point that growth is possible and growth brings joy. and joy stays with you forever. Storms are inevitable in this life but we need to turn our faces to the sun and allow that to buoy us.

Every time it rains it rains pennies from heaven.

Happy birthday to Caleb

Oh I remember this day fourteen years ago well. The day my first child was born. I remember the feelings of anticipation, fear, excitement and change. And then after a full day of labor we met our baby boy Caleb. He almost never cried, he was an angel baby. He was 6lbs. 14oz. and had a glow of red hair. That day truely did change our lives forever for the better. Caleb has been my best friend, motivation,example, and son. Caleb is an amazing boy, our family has moved a few times over the last fourteen years and I will run into people from previous wards who remember me not as Steffanie but as Calebs mom, and then they have some wonderful story to tell about Caleb. Caleb is a mothers dream come true and I am so proud of him.
Happy Birthday Caleb We love you!!!

And your name sir?

So the Puppy has a name. We finally, after much drama, have decided to call the puppy Scully. I know Scully on the Xfiles was a girl but it was her last name so her father was also a Scully. So thats the name,the closest runner up was Slinky from toy story because he is part dachshund, but we did go with Scully.

The Unnamed

I want to start this post off by letting you all know that I know a dog is a dog and a human is a human and I know the value of life does indeed differ. However finding myself with inconsolable children who each night set each other off in a domino effect of crying because their beloved dog has died, I find myself saying that families are eternal, even family pets will be reunited with us in heaven and of course my train of thought then leads me in horror to wonder what sort of hellish home in heaven am I setting myself up to have, because we have lost countless fish, two rabbits, a cat, a blue bird named Oswald and now a dog. I am heading to a zoo. Anyway, knowing this I felt like after having lost our sweet Dobby we need to jump back on the wagon because if we don't we will grow used to being one of those people who's first thought in the morning is "Hmmmm, what should I have for breakfast?" instead of being one of those people who's first thought is "Oh my gosh I need to let the dog out or he will pee all over the floor." Or one of those people who when they go out of town just have to remember to adjust the a/c and pack the car. Not one of those people who think to adjust the a/c, pack the car, make arrangements for a neighbor kid to feed and walk the dog, and then spend the first part of the trip explaining to the children why the dog can't come with us. Yep, I think the best thing to do is to not get used to the easy dogless lifestyle but rather admit we are dog people and get one quick before we remember how easy it is to not have a dog. So adding to the Unwin zoo we are collecting for the afterlife I would now like to introduce you all to our new dog. He remains unnamed as we are in a deadlock of wills. We have had innumerable storm offs and mental breakdowns from various children in the naming process and now he is just 'the new dog' and still has no name.

Dobby

Our family pet died last night. We loved Dobby like a part of the family. Although we only had him for such a short time, he made a big impression on our family and he will be missed. The kids are having a hard time dealing with his death on top of having lost an uncle just a few months ago. Death has become something we have had to face head on this summer. My kids have been little troopers and I am so proud of them.

How are you doing?

We have all started off one conversation or another in this way. How are you doing? I am at a loss as what to say when someone askes me how I am doing lately. It is a simple and pretty standard question, one that is asked SO often. I am not quite sure the asker of the question truely cares about how I am doing, really. Just a question to get out of the way. When I am asked this standard conversation starter I say fine, great, doing good, but in my head I am saying Bad, horrible, I have been crying myself to sleep almost every night, not good and not really moving on. But of course you just cannot say that. You are more than welcome to feel that but you can't say that. When I am asked how are you doing I know logically that it is not asked as a malicious and cruel question designed to rip open a very tender wound, it may even be asked out of politeness or even habit, but lately when I am asked this I want to lash out and say just leave me alone. I know it sounds silly what this simple and mindless question is doing to me. I guess this is just another part of greiving.

Preston Paul Henderson

This blog post is one I have been dreading. That being said I do feel compelled to write something about the single most life changing event I have ever had and yes, I do mean that. I have had a sort of road map life, getting married was always in the plan, having children was always in the plan, but I took an unexpected turn on the life plan when I lost my little brother last week because that was never in the plan.

Preston, my little brother, passed away June 12th.Through this tragedy I learned some unexpected things some have been good and some have been unbelievably painful. The first thing I learned was the heart feels actual pain when it is truly broken. I had always thought that the word pain when used in conjunction with grief was a metephor. It is not. I felt as if something was literally piercing my heart.

The next thing I learned is that you can always cry more. Every time I told Matt I thought my tears had run out and I couldn’t cry anymore I broke down again and couldn’t even finish the sentence. Tears are infinite.

The friends who come over and just let you cry on them are the best.

The human psyche is extraordinary. When you are asked to give your favorite memory of your brother just days after finding out he has died for his funeral, your heart can shut out the memories that were too precious to think of you can just go blank because you would just come apart with sorrow if you thought of them just then.



I learned that the in the temple the veil can be very thin between this life and the next.

I learned that the lord is full of tender mercies, and it is easier to see them when you are humbled to the very core with despair.

A simple lesson I learned was of the immense value of a simple kind word given by a complete stranger who has no idea what your situation is.

I learned when someone you know loses a loved one don't give them their space, which has always been my theory, I was surprised at how comforting it was to have friends and loved ones stop by and give hugs, memories and a good cry. I dont mean invade their privacy, but a quick visit is very comforting.

the most important lesson I learned was how much Preston loves his children, and how he will not let the chains of death break that relationship. He has been with them from the day he left this earth and he will be their special gaurdian angel till they reunite in the next life.

One very practical thing that I learned was, that people give money at funerals. I had no idea about that. My parents had an unexpected funeral to pay for just weeks before retirement. Some very kind friends, family, co-workers, and ward members well just so many people gave money to my parents to help with the cost and it was a tremendous relief to them in their time of mourning. I had never even thought of that, so now I know.

I learned that when you lose a little brother the one who you prayed for when you found out your mom was having a baby and you wanted a brother so bad, the one who you always felt responsible for and loved with every bit of your heart, the one you walked to the bus stop from the time he was in kindergarten, the one who you rode bikes to school with, the one who you had spirited water fights with, that little brother who just refused to stop teasing you about the hot dog surprise you tried to make for dinner once but it didn’t work out the way you planned, the little brother who asked you to help make him cool in middle school and so you took him to the mall and chose out all of his school clothes, the one who called you when he moved out of state and hit hard times and just needed to talk so you ordered him a pizza over the phone from Utah to be delivered to him in Montana because you just knew he needed it, the little brother who wanted to go for a ride and get your opinion on a girlfriend or the brother who every time I moved came to help and stayed until the very last box was moved in, the brother who slipped your son a hundred dollars for your family vacation even though he was struggling to start a new business and had very little money at the time, the brother who taught your 10 year old son to drive behind your back in the empty church parking lot, the brother who was always protecting you from bullies and even as adults was willing to fight your battles for you, the brother who you knew so well that you could read his mind just by seeing his face, that brother, I learned that when he passes to the next life before you, your faith is truely put to the test. Having faith of eternal families is cake when you have your parents and siblings and husband and children on this earth with you but when someone you lived everyday with, grew up with and loved so much crosses over to the next life then comes the test.

Preston is in the arms of his Father in Heaven and I will have a empty spot in my heart that will only be filled when our family is reunited. Families are eternal and death is just the next step in our eternal progression. I know that, and it makes our sorrow lift a little. But for now I will miss his hugs, his smiles, his phone calls and his great stories for the rest of my life.

Moms birthday a little late

Three weeks ago we had a birthday party for my Mom. My sister in law Michelle made this fantastic cake for her. I was so impressed by the skill it took for her to make not only a delicious cake but her artistic talent was just as impressive. I just had to put it on my blog, she is amazing.

One Smart Kid

I snapped a few pictures of Joey doing his homework last night because it just made me smile to myself, just watching him while he worked and talked out the problems to himself, spun around, fliped over, bent his knees, layed down, sat up, it was so cute. So I pretended to be reviewing some pictures on the camera but really I snapped some quick shots of him. This collage of poses was less than five minutes of homework time.



When Joey was in second grade his teacher told me something at SEP that struck me as funny. she said something that has changed the way we do things with Joey forever, she said that during lessons Joey is allowed to stand instead of sit and he sometimes skips around a little bit, and he sometimes just hops on one foot just in general he fidgets, but she had found that if she allowed him to fidget and move around he retained more of the information then when he was forced to sit. She said she thought it might be because it took all of his attention to try to sit still like the other children and he couldn't listen to the information being given.

I am dislexic and I made it through the entire school system without one person questioning why I failed time and time again I thought It was because I was just stupid. So needless to say I am so very grateful for the fact that one wonderful teacher let my little Joey break out of the mold and do things his way. He has done well ever sense that SEP because I have passed on this tip to his other teachers. Joey is a brilliant kid, he does very well in school. That is not something that seems to be logical according to the information I have been given on children like Joey who have been diagnosed with ADD. I attribute it to the fact that he has had teachers who are fantastic, not just good but truely fantastic. I love our school we have amazing teachers,and I love all teachers who break out of the mold, who are more interested in giving each child an education then just getting them to hold still and be quiet until the school day is at an end.

What's for Dinner?

This looks so good I am going to give it a try on Monday so I'll let you all know if it works out for us. Eggplant parmesan is one of my favorites when we eat out so I hope it turns out as well as it looks.

Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Ingredients
2 lbs (about 2 large) eggplants
Kosher salt
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 lbs of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 cup grated high quality Parmesan cheese
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves

Method
1 Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this step is to have the eggplant release some of its moisture before cooking.

2 While the eggplant is draining, prepare tomato sauce. Combine tomatoes, garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to tasted and set aside.

3 When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture. In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Pour beaten eggs into another wide shallow bowl. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and pour in a a half inch of olive oil. When oil is shimmering, dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

4 Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a 10x15 inch glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves.

5 Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil. Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.

6 Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8.

spring tree

This tree blooms for just a couple of weeks in the late spring. It is so spectacular when it does. It is so beautiful, I have to admit that it gives me just a little bit of anxiety to know that in a couple of weeks all of this beauty will just be gone and it will be a regular tree. It helps our family to remember all of the great and small blessings we are given. This tree is just another way we are reminded of our fathers love for us, and the beautiful earth we live in. I just thought I would share this beautiful spring tree with you.