Tuesday 4: Operation Cake Bake

I am up to my elbows in cake ingredients. I've made 4 9-inch rounds, 5 batches of chocolate fondant, 2 batches of Oreo truffle filling, and I'm getting ready to cook the sugar for the Italian Meringue Butter Cream frosting. My husband thinks I'm insane and a few of my friends do too but I can't help it. My first baby turned 8 years old and he asked for a Beyblade cake. This Beyblade as a cake.

So I'm going to try and get as close as I can in cake to this. Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

Tuesday 3: One Down, Two To Go...

Happy 3rd Birthday, Grumpers!

January is THE month. Since the kids' birthdays are so close together -- Grumpers (13th), 4ft (20th), and Sassy (23rd) -- we got my family together for one big shindig to celebrate last Sunday. Since Grumpers doesn't eat anything, 4ft picked the menu and made sure we had something that each kid liked -- French fries for Grumpers, Mac n Cheese for Sassy, and BBQ ribs for 4ft. Not necessarily the healthiest lunch but it was sure delicious and the kids loved it and that's what's important.

I didn't make a cake because Grumpers doesn't really eat cake. He likes ice cream though so we all went to Baskin Robbins. They had Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. It was delicious. I'm super proud to say that while I wanted to go back for a second scoop. I didn't. I stuck with the one I got (but I really really wanted to go back for another one).

4ft's birthday is next Sunday. We'll probably take the boy child out for lunch but that's about it. He's having a ginormous extravagant (see expensive) birthday party on the 23rd and he opted for his actual day to be played down for the ginormous extravagant (see expensive) birthday party. For that party I will be making a cake. I will actually be making two cakes. Because we're having his ginormous extravagant (did I mention see expensive -- no I'm not bitter about the highway robbery birthday party places get away with) party on Sassy's birthday. And she needs a "I'm turning 1 so I can shove my face in the cake" cake.

I haven't finalized an idea for her cake yet. I'll probably do a "block" cake with her name spelled out on the sides because 4ft's cake is going to be a huge undertaking.

4ft wants a Beyblade cake. A Draco Beyblade to be exact, as of right now it's his favorite. I'm fully expecting to have a last minute change to the design but a kid only turns 8 once right? So it's going to be layers of chocolate cake, oreo truffle, and italian buttercream, covered in chocolate candy fondant and shaped like a Beyblade. I'm pretty excited to make it. I like playing in cake. It's fun.

It's really cold in my house. I think I'm going to go crank up the heater so I can then be complaining about how hot it is. See you next Tuesday.

Tuesday 2: Holiday Gluttony Be Gone

I always swear during the holidays I'm going to make healthier choices and avoid the chocolates and cookies and cakes and pies (oh my!) but I NEVER DO! And while I didn't get the weight gain I get some years -- I do believe those years coincide with being pregnant, just sayin' -- I still gained some and completely derailed the healthy choices train.

So instead of pancakes for breakfast, I've been having oatmeal. Okay, you got me, 4ft is back in school I don't have time to make a big pancake breakfast and get three kids ready to take one kid to school. But I could've had Fruit Loops and I didn't. Okay -- I don't like Fruit Loops. So really it was oatmeal or oatmeal but that was a conscious choice on my part to make sure I don't have any sugary "kid" cereals in my cupboard that I DO like. So see, go me! 

January is a lame month to do year resolutions. I get that it's the first month of the year but really, besides my birthday on the first -- which always derails the resolution train -- I have three more birthdays to get through and three more cakes to make and then try not to hork down my own body weight of them. I heart cake. It's like the perfect food. That and bacon. Is there any wonder why I'm always struggling with my weight? 

In other news: I found a great donut recipe. I love trying to make new things and I've never made doughnuts. And really, they're like cake, fried cake so kind of like bacon (yeah that's stretching it) so it's time to start practicing my watch word. MODERATION! *screams like Pee Wee Herman's Playhouse* Because I'm making homemade doughnuts this weekend. Probably on Sunday so what we don't eat for breakfast the husband can take to work Monday and I won't have to hear their siren's call drowning out the sensible song of oatmeal. 

Tuesday 1: Happy Birthday!

Today is my birthday. Happy Birthday to me *singing*

So far today I've:

got to sleep in til a whopping 6:30. But to be fair the husband and children would've let me sleep longer, I'm sure, but I was awake and couldn't go back to sleep. So why not get a dog pile of children on me when the husband noticed I was laying in bed awake.

had Happy Birthday sung to me on the phone by my mom and moaned at me by my dad. Apparently someone, not mentioning any names *cough*Dad*cough* hit the champagne a little harder than he should've last night. I was super sympathetic and told him, "When you play you have to pay." Aren't I an awesome daughter?

made breakfast for the family. 4ft wanted Cream of Wheat so I made it for us, poured a bowl of cereal for the husband and Grumpers, and cut up a banana for Sassypants. So easy breakfast -- yay -- and I didn't even have to clean the kitchen afterward -- even bigger YAY!

made the batter for my birthday cake. I'm doing a buttermilk vanilla layer cake with oreo truffle filling and Italian buttercream frosting. I may or may not pipe a design on it, depends on how frisky I'm feeling when I'm putting it together.

broke not one but TWO dishes. One I did one handed the other I looked at funny I guess because I didn't even touch that one. I broke one of my favorite Pyrex casserole dishes trying to get another bowl out of it with only one hand. I didn't feel like putting my book down. The other dish -- one of my chocolate warmer pots -- leaped from the dish drainer in a kamikaze dive that would've made any suicide bomber proud and snapped the handle clear off.

took a shower. (how's that for seriously news worthy?)

and am now writing this.

What else am I going to do today? I have no idea. But according to my husband since it's my day I have to be the one to decide what it's going to be. I hate decisions.