Years in the Making ...

I'm so excited this weekend I had the chance to meet one of my favorite bloggy friends Stacy from Stacy Uncorked.  I have been following along with her life and kids for years.  She cracks me up and makes me smile everyday.  She even makes her own wine and sells it, yup a girl after my own heart.  Then when I found out she was nerdy girl like me loving books and SciFi I knew we would be friends for life.

She currently has moved back to the area, which is the best part since she moved right by my parents! I just know that we will be great friends.  We took the kids to a bounce up place in the mall.  2 hours for $6 a piece, they bounce and we could chat.  It was so nice to have a girlfriend to talk to and none of those awkward long pause's where you are thinking to yourself when is this going to end and when will I be able to go home.  We had a GREAT time and I can't wait to meet up again!

Group Photo!

Ok don't mind my hair it was raining bad here!

She even brought me wine :)

 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

As I've mentioned in the past I work from home.  I've been extremely blessed to do so, I'm able to work for a company in MA while I live in WA.  The 3 hour time difference makes my world work amazing to keep my life with the kids and doing all the other things that I throw into my world ... lol.

This will be the first time I get to meet my bosses and my co-workers.  I've been blessed working for them for around 6 or so years now.   With kids and life it is not easy to just pick up and go visit so it is such a blessing with Rick's sch, friends and my parents that the kids are going to be taken care of.  I leave next Tuesday and will fly back Saturday night.

Usually my daily clothing is yoga pants, so this means I need new clothing!  My old dress clothes when I worked outside of the home I have donated since I have lost 100+ lbs since then.  I have been on the hunt for the perfect outfits.  Fingers crossed I think I found what I needed.  Maybe I can get a few pics of me in the outfits to see what you all think!  Fingers crossed I don't forget anything or loose my mind in the process!

Wish me Luck I'm not the best flyer!

But hey at least this time I will fit in the seat belt!

Touch Down!!! Football Cupcakes (Almond Footballs)

For Cole's 3rd Flag Football game I decided cupcakes would be fun to do.  WELL fun was what I thought and felt when I made the cupcakes.  THE overcast day turned into an 80 degree day leaving my cupcakes looking like pools of blue frosting.  GRRRR ... Well at least they were cute when we first got there, and a few of the kids even said thank you.  One of the mom's even came over "To SEE what Super Mom made".  Have you ever had a person say something about you and you could just feel the sarcasm?  YUP that comment and little smile was so touching ... NOT.

Now onto the cupcakes!  I wanted to do something new with a cupcake!  His team is the NY Giants (yes no clue we live in Washington but hey go with it).  The colors are blue and red.  So I made cupcakes in a red cupcake liner and then I made a pop of color with blue frosting!

I used my favorite white cake mix for the cupcakes and my sturdy buttercream frosting.  Click the names for the recipes.  I've posted the recipes so many times for the sake of my regular readers I've stopped posted the same recipes over and over again :).

I took wilton blue icing color to tint the frosting to the right color.  I pipped it on and then went on to making the little footballs to top the cupcakes.  

Football Toppers

What you need:

Chocolate Covered Almonds

White Decorating Icing

Take a chocolate covered almond using your white decorating icing make a line across the long way then add 3 lines across that line to resemble laces on a football.  I started with a fun sparkle Wilton decorating icing but it wouldn't set up and started to run.  I switched to the normal Wilton White Icing that was sturdy and stayed put.

After all the cupcakes were frosted and the almonds were decorated and added to the top of the cupcakes I did my normal trick and put them in a clear cup, added a clear bag and tied it with a red ribbon to stay with the color theme.  Mind you I buy all this at the Dollar Tree.  10 plastic cups $1 (used 2 1/2 packages), 25 plastic bags $1 and roll of ribbon $1.

Another simple one to make!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Touch Down!!!! Whoopie Pie Football Cookies

For Cole's second game I wanted to do another fun football themed cookie.  I found this really cool idea for Whoopie Pie Football Cookies on Alice in the Kitchen.  The cookies came out super cute, the marshmallow fluff inside I must say wasn't my favorite it was too gooey.  I know it's technically correct but I like when I have used buttercream frosting.  Patty at Broken Teepee gave me the suggestion of a 7 minute frosting, which I will try next time.

So they weren't gorgeous but they still looked yummy and the kids loved them!

I started with a Whoopie Pie Recipe found on Epicurious. 

For cakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg

For filling

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Make cakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Make filling:
Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assemble pies:
Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

Once I made the whoopie pie dough I took my football cookie cutter and traced it onto wax paper and the pipped the dough into the football shape (yes it looks a little like dog doo, but I promise not at all like it ... hehe). 

The cookies came together a little gooey but super yummy I was told!  I will work on perfecting these but I must say I think pretty darn cute if I must say so myself!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Touch Down!!! Bring on the Football Cookies (Funny Faces)

Cole has started flag football and for his games we didn't have a real plan for treats, so of course I decide I would just take that over and do that!  I wanted my treats not to be something boring I wanted something fun!!!  I went to Pinterest and did some searching!  I found a cute picture (of course not linked to anything) of Football cookies made with funny faces.  I started with a ginger cookie for my footballs and went to town decorating.  They turned out GREAT I must say my favorite one in this theme so far!

For the ginger cookies I used a recipe found on food.com.  This was an easy recipe and I happened to have a football cookie cutter that I used when I rolled the dough out.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.  In a large bowl (KitchenAid's great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.  Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.  Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.

Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.  Preheat oven to 375°.  Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.  Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.  Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick.  Use additional flour to avoid sticking. Cut out cookies with football cutter. Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.  Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies).  Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.

After the cookies cooled I went to town decorating.  I made a few different faces.  The boys loved it.

What you need:

White Gel (I recommend Wilton)

Black Gel (I recommend Wilton)

Wilton Candy Eyes

Baked cookies

Bottom shows a few different faces.

I found a football dish at the Dollar Tree Store

These were pretty darn simple the hardest part was making the dough a cutting out the cookies.  WELL of course also not eating them all, this is my favorite type of cookie.

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Do the Puyallup .. Well I can say we did it and I'm DONE!!

We try to do the Puyallup Fair (The Washington State Fair) every year.  We did it this year, last night.  My idea was to go in and get out!  I'm not a BIG fan of crowd's.  Let's just say it wasn't a go in and out kind of day ... lol.  Of course we had to do it during the week and only last night worked (poor Rick has been working 2 jobs most days and Thursday was the day of ONLY one job).  But of course I started Caden in Soccer classes at the Y so we had to do that first then we came home tried to wake Rick up (did I mention he's been working 2 jobs everyday for about 2 wks).  Then we hit fair traffic!  7pm we get to the fair, thank GOD Rick's cousin's gave the boys a bday gift of a day at the fair we all got in FREE, 7 Rides and $7 in fair food!  PLUS since Rick has been working security at fair for the concerts he had a FREE parking pass.  Oh yes we got out of there for under $10, usually it is a $200+ event!

I took Caden and Rick took Cole so sorry mostly pics of just Caden.  I was able to get a low carb dinner even at the fair! God love these people.  WE did rides, saw the animals and then went home.  

Poser time!

Food!!

Rides!!

Animals

YES that last pic is a Camel!!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I'm going to be super busy I am going on a trip in 2 WEEKS!

More to come on that!!!

New Adventure in Water Aerobics ...

In my quest to see if I can get past my plateau on the scale I have tried different diets and now different types of exercise!  Now that Ricks is a full time employee at the hospital we have Insurance!! Whoo hoo!!! With insurance comes a discount at exercise clubs, including the YMCA!  I was so excited I signed us and the boys up.  Even with the discount it still is a good chunk of change a month so I'm going to take advantage of all the classes that are free (which really isn't free just part of your membership but it makes me feel better to say free). 

So I signed the boys up for swim lessons, Caden for Soccer and me into a few classes.  I've taken the Ab class and also the water aerobics.  Let's just say it makes you work out like no tomorrow!  Of course you have the group that has been doing it forever and gives you the nasty looks for entering their class, the ones that talk and laugh the whole class and then the one nice person that took pity and helped me.

Let's just say it took a lot of courage for me to put a suit on and while doing the exercise all the loose skin from loosing the weight was moving in all different directions!  But it was a crazy hard work out and I can't wait to go back!

Now for a swimsuit funny!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Girls Just Want to have FUN ... Youth & Tween Girl Birthday Gift

As most of you have figured out by now I'm a HUGE fan of giving a gift in a basket.  One of my besties daughters were having a birthday party together (she does this every year).  I must say I have been known to give them a combined gift.  I just couldn't do that this time since they are getting older.  So I thought why not cool gift's in a basket.

For the Tween Gift I found some of what I thought to be the best and favorite things.

What you need:
DVD - I picked up Tooth Fairy
Candy Bars / Candy
Lip Gloss
Glow Sticks
Stickers
Pedicure Set
Hair Bands
Gum
(other ideas, Teen Mag, Make up)
Basket
Wood Letters
Wood Character (something they like)

I put a little tissue paper in the basket and then filled it with all the fun items.  She is really into Soccer so I found a soccer ball at Micheal;s and letters to spell her name.  I used my favorite item the Glue Gun and hot glued it all on!  It was a simple but super fun gift!!

For the Youth Gift I wanted to switch it up a little so her basket had a few different items

What you Need:
Bubbles
Glow Sticks
Movie (Open Season)
Candy
Chap stick
Stickers
Nail polish
Hair bands
Baton
Basket
Wood Letters
Wood Flower (or what they like)

I put a little tissue paper in the basket and then filled it with all the fun items.  Caden found a pretty flower he wanted to use for her  at Micheal's and letters to spell her name.  I used my favorite item the Glue Gun and hot glued it all on!  It was a simple but super fun gift!!

This was another simple one but a huge hit!  Hope you all have a great day and give this a try!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Girls Just Want to have FUN ... Zebra & Leopard Cake (Cake Border Decorations)

Yesterday post showed you how to make the inside of the cake be Zebra and Leopard print.   Now to show how I decorated the outside of the cake.  This is the second time I've made a cake this big, first time all by myself.  It was a very heavy cake and the fondant work needed a little work.  But I must say I was pretty darn happy with how it turned out and the girl's sister that I made the cake wants me to make her 13th birthday cake.  That to me is the biggest compliment I could EVER get!

What you Need:

4 Cakes - Cooled (I did one zebra, one leopard and 2 pain white)

Fondant - Used my Rolled Buttercream Fondant

Safari Leopard Print Edible Cake Border Decoration (on Amazon)

Safari Zebra Print Edible Cake Border Decoration (on Amazon)

Cake Board - Found a pink Leopard one (Michael's)

Wilton Cake Separator (Michael's)

Sturdy Buttercream Frosting (to dirty ice & filling)

Easy Mousse Cake Filling 

Easy Mousse Cake Filling (found on food.com)

Ingredients

• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) boxes instant pudding mix, any flavor

Directions

1. In a chilled metal bowl, beat whipping cream on medium-high speed until it begins to thicken.
2. Gradually add in the instant pudding mix and continue to beat, just until thick.
3. If you'd like to add fruit filling, fold it into the cream after it's thickened.

I made a ring around the top of the cake and put the filling in the middle and topped with a second cake.  I put mine back in the fridge to make sure everything was firm before I started with the fondant.

Next was to put the fondant on and then add the Borders.  I put the mousse in between to cakes, then took a little of the frosting to dirty ice the cake so the fondant will stick.  I did one cake then went to adding the cake border.  I must say this was the easiest part.  A little water and it sticks right on.  NOW they said it would fit a 10" cake, BUT I did have gaps so I suggest making a 8" cake instead.  I used a Wilton cake separator between the cakes since it was a heavy cake.  I say these borders are really easy to use just use the 8" cake and maybe less filling ... lol mine were a little on the full side.

Edible Prints:

1. Make sure your hands are clean and dry before handling the image. You will need to have a plain frosted cake.WHITE butter-cream FROSTING is best but any type of frosting will work, even frozen ice cream cakes! Your frosting should be fresh. If your frosting becomes dry, spray a fine mist of water over the cake (NOT the image) before applying the print. If your product is moist, DO NOT add any extra moisture. Using too much water may cause colors to run and melt your image. It can take quite a few hours for the image to blend in properly. 

2. Edible Prints cannot be moved once applied. Plan where you will place the image, then apply the image face up onto your product. To remove the Edible Print, hold the opposite edges and pull the backing page across the sharp edge of a table. Never pull on the image itself, it can tear. Lay the Edible Print on top of the cake from the middle first and gently lay it out to the ends of the image. If the image bubbles after application, GENTLY TAP (do not rub) the image. After Application add a border or edge decoration of your choice to finish. You can also add words by hand on top of the image. Avoid extensive exposure to ultraviolet lighting. As with any food coloring, the image may fade over time.

 3. If the Edible Prints seem stubborn about releasing, do not try to peel the icing sheet away as this will cause tearing. Place the Edible Prints flat in the freezer for 10 - 15 seconds (NOT LONGER). You should have no problem peeling the backing off. You should remove the image from the backing immediately after taking it out from the freezer. 

 4. Edible Prints should be stored in the packaging it is shipped in a cool, dry location out of direct lighting. DO NOT store in the refrigerator or freezer. 

5. Be careful not to let water drip on to the Edible Prints as it can melt and ruin your print. 

6. If your cake is frozen when you apply the frosting sheet, allow it to thaw slowly in the refrigerator. You’ll also want to avoid storing the finished cake in an airtight cake dome at room temperature. An airtight cake dome can act like a greenhouse.

I'm so excited how the cake came out and can't wait to do more!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Girls Just Want to have FUN ... Zebra & Leopard Print Cake (On the Inside)

One of my friends hired me to make a cake for her daughter's 13th birthday party.  You know I love love to make themed items, so when I found out she wanted a Zebra and Leopard print cake.  I found some cool Safari Leopard Print Edible Cake Border Decoration and Safari Zebra Print Edible Cake Border Decoration on Amazon.  Which I knew would be cool but I of course wanted to do something more then just on the outside.  On to the Google Search I went and found a cool idea on how to make a Zebra Cake and a Leopard Cake!

I started with the Zebra Cake (which is my FAVORITE), I found this idea on My Cake School.  NOW you can buy a Duff Cake Mix for this, but you know me I rather make my own.  I started with my moist white cake mix, making 2 batches. One batch I left white the other I died black using Wilton Icing Color.

Zebra Cake

What you Need:

Vanilla Cake mix (or homemade White Cake Mix)

Chocolate Cake Mix (or white dyed black)

Black Wilton Icing (if you want to do black)

Start by dropping 1/4 cup of white batter in the middle of a 8" or 10" cake pan.  It will spread a little. Then measure out a 1/4 cup of chocolate batter and pour it in the center of your vanilla batter. Repeat this process, continuing with 1/4 cup scoops of alternating flavors, each flavor of batter dropped into the center of the previous circle of batter. The batter is thin enough that it does not take long at all for the batter to spread out a little bit.  Continue the process until your pans are approx 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

I found using this cake mix was the best it was a bit thicker then using a box mix (which I tried and was just too liquid for me).

Next on my list was to make a Leopard cake, I found a great idea on Artese Cakes how to do Leopard cupcakes and used that for a cake.

Leopard Cake

What you Need:

White Cake Mix

Orange Wilton Icing

Black Wilton Icing

Make 3 different colors of cake batter, I used a white cake mix and dyed 2 parts orange and black.  I put the two colors in 2 different piping bags and left the white in a bowl.  On the bottom of the empty cake pan, draw spots.  I made circles with orange and then black on top to resemble spots.  Carefully top the spots with white cake mix.  I did this 3 times until the cake pan was 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  It wasn't as cute as I thought but still I thought it was pretty darn cool!

Let the cakes cool and then you can make your cake, I stacked two cakes with a mouse filling then rolled out fondant and added the strips I bought.  Come back tomorrow for the reveal of the cake.

Here are the two cakes done and ready to be frosted and do the fondant work!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Mom to Be Kit Featured on Weekend Wonders #56

I'm so excited my Mom to Be Kit was featured on Weekend Wonders #56.  I am even more excited because this was a project I made myself and didn't just see and copy.  This one gives me a even bigger smile!

Thank you so much for stopping by and saying hi!

Featured on Crafty Thursday Obsessions

I'm so excited that my Back to School - Apple Sugar Cookies was featured on Crafty Thursday Obsessions #30!   I was so excited on how they turned out and I'm THRILLED that I'm being featured!  I made those 215 cookies for all the kids at the Boys and Girls Club to get ready for the school year.  To see their faces light up with a special treat was a blessing to me.  Then the sugar on top is other's like them too!  I'm so blessed!!  Thank you so much for liking my cookies, which I could take full credit but as my friend said we all see stuff on pinterest doesn't mean we all do it like you crazy lady ... LOL.  I'll be that crazy lady anytime if brings a smile to someone.

Have a GREAT day!!!
Thank you again you really made my week!

Hit of Lunchroom ... Star Power Lunch

Last on our lunch feature this week is the easiest of all, using all my star cookie cutters.  Thank God for holding my guns and saving that box with 101 cookie cutters!  SEE Rick I told you I'd use it, hehe it may have only taken 4 years give or take another 2 years!

What you Need:

Bread

Meat

Cheese

Mayonnaise and/or Mustard

Melon

Star Shaped Cracker

Star Cookie Cutters

Easy Lunch Boxes (cheap on Amazon)

Cut your bed with the star cookie cutter, add cheese and meat.  You can take a star cookie cutter to the cheese if you would like.  Take a small cookie cutter to the melon.  I found these star shaped crackers at Safeway and put them in a silicone cupcake holder.  Put it all into a Easy Lunch Box and tada done!

Have fun with this I sure am!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Hit of the Lunchroom ... Train, Plane & Auto Lunch

Next on our lunch box theme is Train, Plane and Auto!  I bought a second egg mold in the shape of a car.  I thought what would be more fun then doing a Plane, Train and Auto theme!!  This was an easy one to put together and I think it turned out pretty darn cute!!

What you need:

Bread

Meat

Cheese

Mayonnaise & Mustard

Fruit (made like train tracks)

Cereal rounds (like wheels)

Hard Boil Egg

Egg Mold (Shaped like a car)

Train & Plane Cookie Cutter (Or a big truck like I did)

Cut Bread with Cookie cuter, fill with meat, cheese and condiments.  I had some cinnamon roll cereal on hand that looked like wheels!  I cut some melon into square's like train tracks. I hard boiled an egg while it was still hot (watch your fingers I did burn mine a little bit).  Once it peeled you put it in the egg mold.  When it was closed, I put it into the fridge for a few hours.  Once it was cooled it is was very easy to pop out and put into my lunch box carrier.  I also took a piece of cheese and took a plane cookie cutter to finish this fun theme!

How to use an Egg Mold:

How to make the lunch:

Have fun with this I sure am!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Hit of the Lunchroom ... Under the Sea Lunch Box

This year we have started public school and I knew there would be the option of hot lunches but having two kids and paying $2 a day per kid I knew would get spendy.  So I knew I had to make the lunches I make the boys look interesting and fun so they wouldn't be too disappointed when I said NO you will not be eating a hot lunch everyday at school.  Yes mom broke down and they are allowed a hot lunch from the lunch lady every Friday.  BUT the other days will be me making their lunches.

Thank God for Pinterest and all of the great ideas!  I saw a picture for a submarine sandwich, just a picture so sorry if someone came up with this idea and I'm not giving them credit.

I made 2 versions of this Under the Sea / Fish Lunch Box

What you Need:

Hot Dog Bun

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Lunch Meat

Cheese

Any Veggies if you want

Straw

Scissors

Fixings:

Gold Fish

Star Crackers (Safeway Brand)

Hard Boiled Egg

Fish Egg Mold (bought on ebay)

Cheese

Fruit

For the sub sandwich you take a hot dog bun add meat cheese and any veggies if you want.  I put mayonnaise and mustard on the bun.  I took a straw took a measurement to see how long it should be and cut it off and added it into the front of the sandwich to look like a sub.  I added gold fish and star crackers.  I also used a cheese slice to cut a fish shape with a cookie cutter.  I found these really cool egg molds on Ebay that you hardboil an egg peel while hot (watch your fingers) and put right into the mold and close and then put in your fridge.  One I put in some cut up melon and the other I put some carrots.  I put the crackers in silicone cupcake molds.  I used Easy Lunch Boxes, I did a review a while back but just picked up another 3 off Amazon.

Fish Egg Mold (Bought on Ebay)

The coolest item and so EASY

BOTH boys love the hard boil Eggs in their lunches!

How to Make the Sub Sandwich:

Put it all together!

Have fun with this I sure am!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.