Halloween Pics...A Little Late!

The kids really enjoyed Halloween. Elizabeth is really into all the Disney princess characters and the most recent one was Snow White. So guess what she wanted to be...Snow White. Josh was a little more difficult. I know if he could, he would probably want to be Dora, but I nixed that and decided to dress him up as the tin man. They both looked adorable!

It's All Sunshine and Ranibows Over Here

This week I've been busy doing a cake for a 1st Birthday...Happy Birthday Avery! I had such a blast making this cake. Like every other cake I do, I learned a lot from this one. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.


Of course...this cake had a secret. A little surprise for everyone!


I love how the colors turned out. Usually, most of the issues are with red. No matter how much you put in, it will turn out a dark pink, but not here. I was actually able to get it to a bright red. Yay! For the other tier and the smash cake I also did something a bit different and decided to swirl the colors. It turned out awesome too!


During this whole process, Elizabeth REALLY wanted to help. So I decided to let her ice some of the left overs of the various cakes I baked. She really liked it. I might have a future ace of cakes!


This is her first masterpiece!

Elizabeth's World

I figured since I'm on a role with posting, I should catch you up on what's going on in Elizabeth's world these days. She just completed the summer session of Soccer Tots. She really had a ball (pun intended)!



Other activities she enjoys are swimming, playing dress-up, hide and seek, taking pictures, baking cakes with mommy, and coloring. It's really not that hard to keep her entertained which is nice. She does have her tantrums which are usually caused by the littlest things. I remember her screaming for over an hour in her room because she didn't get a sticker from the greeter at Walmart. Sigh. However, when she is happy, she's really fun to be around. I always get a kick out of her laughing. She snorts!!! It's the cutest thing ever.

Elizabeth is at that stage where she is afraid of the dark. Lately she won't go in a room unless the light is on because there are "scary monsters" in there. I'm not sure where she got that from. Her favorite foods are eggs, cheese (Yuck!), and of course hot dogs. She does eat other things, but those are the top three she'll ask for first. Her growth has started to slow down. She's in a wide range of sizes depending on the clothing but the smallest is 4/5T. All in all, she's doing well. She's my little firecracker!

What you get for $20

Today was a very special day in the couponing world. The Krogers in our area decided to double coupons up to a $1 for one day only. I was all over it. Unfortunately, all the other couponers in the area were too! Haha! I went there at opening (6 a.m.) and you would have thought it was in the middle of the day. People were everywhere! I even ran into a few people I know. I don't blame them. There were some really good deals. I was a little disappointed because a lot of the freebies were already gone, but I got a few. Hopefully, there's still a little bit more around later today when I don't have to bring the kids. Here's what I got for a little over $20.

Sunflower Wedding Cake

It's DONE!!! I'm so glad it is over. Everything went very well for the most part. However, like every first, there are some lessons learned. First, make sure icing is stiffer so it doesn't slowly move down the cake. This was worse than I expected since it was very humid which happens to make icing softer. Second, stacking is not as easy as it looks. This was the hardest part and having softer than expected icing complicated it even more. There were moments where I seriously thought that we were going to lose a tier, but thankfully we didn't. It really was close though. I'm definitely going to need to practice that some more. Sigh...I hope she likes it. The groom's cake was very easy. It really didn't take long at all. So, without further ado, her is my first wedding cake.

Wedding Cake Preview

The past couple of days I've been caking. I'm doing a wedding and groom's cake for a co-worker who is getting married today. She wanted a very simple cake. I haven't stacked the cakes yet (that will be done at the wedding) but I thought I would share some pics. This is the base of 3 tiers. It's a white almond sour cream cake with lemon whipped buttercream filling and covered in vanilla buttercream. It is decorated in a swiss dot pattern and will have fresh flowers cascading down the cake.

If You Need a Good Laugh...

I frequent a lot of blogs consisting of friends, cake decorators, photography, etc. I love them all but one just makes me burst out laughing every time. You all should check it out if you are in need of a good laugh or cheering up.

Here you go!

www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com

The Makings of a Father's Day Cake

I saw a cake that I fell in love with on www.mycakedelights.com and decided to try it out for a Father's Day cake for Randy. It turned out very well and tastes good too!


Man...these beauties look GOOD!



Of course chocolate makes everything better!



Mmmmmm....Cake



Happy Father's Day!

Success!

It looks like my strategy is working. Elizabeth is finally going to sleep without Randy or I in the room. Depending on the night she may play a little bit in her room, but she doesn't come out of her room once we tuck her in. I enjoy bedtime now.

Bedtime Wars

When it comes to bedtime, Randy and I have been blessed with children that sleep through the night. With Josh, we can give him a bottle and lay him down and he'll go to sleep on his own (Hooray!). Don't ask me how we got it that way, but for some reason it just worked out. Elizabeth is a different story. She has to have Mommy or Daddy lay down with her until she falls asleep. Some nights it doesn't take up much time and other times it takes forever with a lot of frustration. Well, this last weekend I got fed up. So, this week I have dedicated to getting Elizabeth to go to sleep by herself. I'm two days into the process. Here's what I'm doing.

I've established the following routine for Elizabeth before she goes to bed
- Get ready for bed
- Brush teeth and go to the bathroom
- Read two books
- Tuck in bed

Night 1

I was prepared for a LOT of crying and tantrums but for some reason it really wasn't as bad as I thought. After I tucked her in bed and walked out of the room, she got right out of bed and came out. (I expected this) I would then proceed to pick her up and put her right back in bed. I did this for a LONG time. After about 40 minutes of doing this, she started to cry. I stayed calm and kept it up. Finally after about 1 hour 15 min, she fell asleep!

Night 2

This time she decided to start of with crying. It didn't work. She came out of her room twice, but I didn't need to put her back. All I had to say was "go back to bed" and she would do it. (HOORAAY!!!) It took her 20 min to get to sleep.

So tonight will be night 3. I'm hoping that by now she realizes that there is no point in fighting the battles. Mommy is going to win!

My Little G.I. Jane

A couple of days ago, Elizabeth decided that she needed a new hair style and proceeded to take the scissors and chop her hair off on one side. Well, Randy tried to salvage what she had done but in the end it was a lost cause. So...we shaved it. Here's our little G.I. Jane.



Now I really can't tell who is who in my family.

Monkey Cake

Here's a picture of the latest cake I made. I enjoyed making this cake especially the monkeys. They were fun to experiment with. I admit it was a little stressful because everything that could possible go wrong, did, but it all worked out and I learned a lot.

No Monkey Business Going on Over Here!

Oh Danielle!!!!!! Here's a sneak peak just for you!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

My big girl is 3!!!! She's all about being a Princess. We had a princess themed Birthday party for her this past weekend. She had a great time and it gave me the chance to expand on my cake decorating skills. Let me know what you think.



More pics to come!

Happy Birthday Josh

I know this is a little late. Things have been a little crazy which I'll explain later. I can't believe it's been a year already. Where did the time go?!?!? A minute ago he was a little baby and now he's a chick magnet. Happy Birthday my little man!

Birth: 8 lbs 14 oz; 21.5"



1 Year: 19 lbs 8 oz; 31"
(Yeah...he's on the light side but he's taking after his daddy)

France (Cont.)

La Tour Eiffel

This is a massive structure. If you're not afraid of heights like I am, I've heard the view from the top platform is awesome. Just make sure it is not on a windy day. The structure has a tendency to sway a bit. I went up to the first platform which still had some pretty views.






The Louvre

Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to tour the Louvre. It takes a good day at least. However, we still were able to walk around outside.




For my next European trip post, I'll be taking a brake from France and tell you about the place I enjoyed the most...Prague.

Big Steps for My Babies

In one week, Josh went from formula to milk, Elizabeth was potty trained, and I broke BOTH of them from the pacifier! Mommy and Daddy are happy.

France

First Stop - Paris (City of Crazies)

I have to admit, I had a picture in my head of what Paris would be like. When I think of Paris I think art, fashion, romance. However, my first day there I was quickly brought back to reality with political demonstrations, riot police, graffiti, and traffic (A LOT of traffic). I've never seen so much chaos in my life.



This was NOT in rush hour! If you ever go, DON'T DRIVE.

Our first stop in Paris was Notre Dame Cathedral. It's one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. It's is beautiful! The craftsmanship that went into every inch of this cathedral is amazing.








After Notre Dame, we decide to just start walking and see where it would take us. It wasn't too bad. I just wish it wasn't as cold.






In my next post, I'll continue with The Louvre and La Tour Eiffel.