A History of Cake

Today I will be discussing the history of cake. Sort of. I will be sharing pictures of the cakes I have made over the last 6 years. 

The first awesome cake I made was a frog. I threw a 6 month birthday party for Johnny. It was an amazing first shaped cake. Regrettably, I cannot find any pictures. I'm sure they are around, I have just misplaced the disk.

The second cake was for Johnny's first birthday. It was a Noah's Ark. I am also missing pictures of this cake, but that's alright. I had the cake all made, complete with a bowl of blue jello under the cake stand, when it started to fall apart. It was a 3D cake and I did not glue the layers together well en

In January of 2009, Larch turned 30. I cranked out these two awesome cakes:

Two thousand nine was the year I discovered Bunco and so threw myself a Bunco Birthday Party. We ate ice cream cake for months. But, if Johnny every wants a Transformers birthday party, I can always make an Allspark cake.

After the Noah's Ark catastrophe, I was a little wary on Johnny's second birthday. I was just not up to creating a cake that looked like Elmo. So, I put Sesame Street cut outs on a sheet cake.

In 2010, for Johnny's 3rd birthday I had my confidence back, and created a 3D racecar.

January 2011 I got to create my first girl cake. I constructed an amazing pink and purple castle. Unfortunatly, I am unable to locate any digital pictures of this cake.

Johnny decided his fourth birthday would be a dinosaur party and that he wanted a cake from the store. His loss.

Last year, for Lily's 2nd birthday I formed this adorable monkey.

Johnny's 5th birthday was all about camo, he got cupcakes with little green army men on top.

This year, after only 24 days, I have built my two best looking cakes yet. For all thier simplicity, you can tell my skill is increasing.

Lily requested a Frosty the Snowman party. With Christmas decor on clearance, this party was really inexpensive to put together. And the cake looked amazing, if I do say so myself.

Here's my January run down: My nephew Emmett was born Jan 8, Lily is the 16th, Larch, my mom, and my dad celebrate their birth on the 18th, my Nana was born on the 19th, and Joe was born on the 22nd. AND Casey Joe joined us this year at 1:22pm on 1/22. Yep, Joe got a baby for his birthday and I now have 8 birthdays to celebrate in two week time span.

With Larch and Joe's birthday's being so close together, and not as big a deal as the kids, we generally throw one event for the two of them. This year we went bowling followed by tacos and cake at my house. Since Larch and Joe are both into military aircraft, I spent three hours planning, cutting, and frosting this masterpiece:

I can't wait to hear what Johnny plans for his 6th Birthday. I am up for almost any challenge he can throw at me.

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What I Learned About Being a Stay at Home Mom from Pintrest.

So, I'm kind of in a Pintrest addiction phase right now. Mostly, I like looking at really cool stuff and really funny stuff. And geeky stuff. But, being a mom and a homemakers, I learn lots of cool useful stuff. I am now going to pass some of that on to you.

1. Roll for bites.  Johnny is always saying "I'm done" after only two bites of dinner. Naturally I reply "Eat your dinner." This is followed by him asking how many more bites. I used to just say 2 or 5 or however old he was. This morning I stumbles on this idea. Keep dice at the table and have your child roll. The number rolled is the number of bites they need to eat before they are excused. Genius!

2. How to close snacks and stuff with the top of a 20oz drink bottle. http://pinterest.com/pin/172825704421656300/ 

3. How to simplify Christmas Gifts for your kids. I know we always say "we are only going to get the kids X number of presents." Never happens. This year, we are getting them 4 each from mom and dad. Something they WANT, something they NEED, something they can WEAR, and something they can READ.

source

4. How to make Candy Corn of the Cob with candy corn cookie dough http://www.instructables.com/id/Candy-Corn-on-the-COB/ .

5. How to make your own to-go cup out of a mason jar. I haven't tried this yet, but my mom did. http://www.fineandfeathered.com/blog/2012/08/diy-mason-jar-to-go-cup.html Punch a hole in the lid, add a washer to protect the straw. To-go cup!

6. How to recondition cast iron pans. This is a life saver for me after camping season, http://www.ibelieveicanfry.com/2010/12/reconditioning-re-seasoning-cast-iron.html

7. Two words: CAMO CUPCAKES. For the men and boys in my life. http://debbiesweets.blogspot.com/2012/01/camouflage-cupcake-sandwiches.html This is actually for Woopie Pies, but I think you could use a cupcake tine instead of a whoopie pie pan and get the same kind of result.

8.How to fix frizzed Barbie or  My Little Pony Hair. A small spray bottle with 2 TBSP of fabric softener, the rest water = "Doll Hairspray." Easy method for smoothing and renewing any doll's hair. 

I also learned:

9. I am a geek and the things I think are funny, my husband doesn't even get.

and

10. Pintrest is a great time wasting tool.

You can find all the stuff I think is cool by following me on Pintrest: http://pintrest.com/realhwnidaho

I LOVE Fall

Now that we have attended the county fair to watch a demolition derby, and spent the following weekend praying Larch shoots an elk, I have time to blog again. That's just one perk of cooler weather. In honor of the first day off Autumn (it's on Saturday), here are my ten favorite things about Fall. (In no particular order)

1.) It's cooler out, but it's not cold yet. I love summer, but after a month or so of so-hot-that-I-can't-breathe weather, it's nice to need long-sleeves in the morning.

2.) With colder weather comes the ability to turn on my oven. Not that I couldn't turn it on in the summer, it was just so darn hot. So far, I've made 2 batches of pumpkin cookies. Up next : pumpkin bread and apple cinnamon bread.

3.) The many colored leaves of autumn are so beautiful. And when they fall on the ground they're super fun to play in.

4.) HALLOWEEN. I'll be honest, I like candy. But I LOVE dressing up. This year, I am thinking of making my own Red Riding Hood costume. Wish me luck.

5.) Pumpkin spiced lattes!

6.) All my favorite shows come back to television. I watched the season premier of Bones on FOX last night, and next week Castle returns to ABC.

7.) My favorite kind of apples, honeycrisps, will be affordable again.

8.) Sweaters and jeans help hide the extra pounds way better than swimsuits and shorts.

9.) Hunting season begins. Okay, I don't really enjoy being a hunting widow, but it will (hopefully) put meat in the freezer. Also, it makes Larch Happy and a happy man means a happy wife ;)

10.) It is actually dark outside when I put my kids to bed! No more, "I can't sleep, it's still sunshiney."