Cake Lover

Yes, I love cakes! (Making them that is.)


I was recently asked to be a guest speaker at the SCY (Summit County Youth) program for elementary school students. Each week there was someone different talking about some of their talents and things they enjoy doing, the series ends with a talent show. There was a videographer, an artist, a baker (me!), and a seamstress.

I got to share with the kids a little about how I got started baking, what I enjoy about it, the tools I use, some of the cakes I have made, etc. Just in case you might be interested in knowing a little about what I shared, here is a little bit...

~My mom is my inspiration. I always had the best birthday cakes growing up. They tasted great but they looked awesome. As I got older she showed me how to decorate and in the months before I got married I decided to take a cake decorating class to relieve some stress. I found I really liked it. I enjoy making something that looks good and tastes good too. It is fun for me to find new ideas and try to recreate them and then watch as people get to enjoy what I have created.

The kids ooooohed and aaaaahed over the slide show of some of my favorite cakes. They also had some great questions and as I said before it was fun for me to share something that I am so passionate about.

Funny Face Cupcakes

I wanted to have the kids make something that was fun and would allow them to be creative. I baked the cupcakes ahead of time and had different items for the kids to use to make funnyfaces. I encouraged them to think about different ways they could use the items to make different eyes, noses, mouths, ears, hair, using the following:

Froot Loops, Chocolate chips, marshmallows, pretzels, jelly beans, licorice, etc.

They did great and everyone seemed to have a good time!

Introducing...

...My New Nephew, EVAN!


So cute. Due on March 17th he arrived March 26th! Kudos to his mom, my beautiful sister in law who looks so great after delivering this 9 lb., 8 oz. cutie little nephew of mine.

We can't wait to meet him and are so excited for their whole family.

Happy Gotcha Day!

Meeting Hannah on 3.27.10

(First picture of us with our daughter)

We celebrated Hannah's Gotcha Day Yesterday, March 27th! This marks one year since we physically held her, met her, and fell even more in love with our little princess.

03.27.11

Mark and I decided that in addition to her birthday this is a day we want to celebrate with her every year. Hannah is such a special blessing to our family and we never want her to doubt how much we love and care about her. We decided that on her Gotcha Day we will celebrate with a special breakfast each year. This year it fell on Sunday which is always a challenging day to get out the door and get to church. We decided to focus on breakfast and get to church when we could make it, so we were a little late but had a fun time at the local Donut Shop.

After Dinner we let the kids have a special treat, some Mickey Mouse marshmallow pops they got from their GiGi and Grandpa. We had been saving them for a special occasion. They devoured them. Jack bit off Mickey's face and then asked us where Mickey went ("Mickey go?"). Hannah liked hers just as much as was proven by the sticky mess she was. It was worth it.

LOVE YOU, Hannah!

Their Love is Real

These two goofballs have started fighting more, but their love is real. Today, I happened to have the camera handy to capture a few of their sweet moments.

"Let me blind you during our hug."

Ah, the open mouth cheek kiss.


"I really love you too Jack."

Grocery Store

Today we went to the grocery store because I needed just a few things. Hannah laughed and enjoyed the ride while Jack pushed her wildly all over the store. The best was when I stopped to put grapes in the cart, turned around and they were 10 feet away attracting quite the crowd. Here we are cruising down the chips aisle, it's a short video because wild man needed my help steering.
Gotta love em!

Recent Reads

Two books that I have read recently and would recommend, both very different from one another.

The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven

A true story about a courageous little boy who was in a car accident with his Dad. He survives the accident and comes out of a coma almost 2 months after. The book is a compilation of his Dad's perspective of this time, friends and relatives, and the young man who was in the accident. I can't describe it really other than to say I am so glad it was recommended to me - I really enjoyed it!

Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

One of my favorite Bloggers and fellow Oklahoman, Ree Drummond produced yet another great book, the first being her cookbook. She recounts her own love story with the infamous Marlboro Man. Love her writing and the humorous way she invites readers to a "behind the scenes" look at her life.

I'm Being Mommied

"Mommy?" "Mommy?" "Mommy?"

I must hear this about a thousand times a day. Maybe not a thousand but certainly more times than I can count. It started off with just Jack who wanted to know where I was if I was out of his line of sight. I would jokingly respond "yes dear" to his "Mommy?" Now he sometimes just answers for me by saying "Mommy? Yes dear."

Hannah has caught on to this game and now I hear MOMMY coming from the mouths of both of my precious babes non-stop. Most of the time it is when I am in the kitchen or the bathroom, somewhere where they can't see me. But sometimes they just want my attention and desire a response.

While I am being "mommied," for the 342nd time of the day I sometimes find my frustration growing but I mostly am pleased that they care about me and want to know where I am.

Spring Teaser

We had a nice warm morning one day this weekend and so we took full advantage of the warmer temperatures. The kids helped dad shovel snow off the sidewalk, Jack and Hannah took turns in the swing, we played on the porch, and Jack had some time in the sand box that Mark somehow managed to dig out. I took the kids on a walk in the morning and then in the afternoon as it was starting to cool off all of us went for a walk together (kids in the stroller).

The warmer weather was nice, we didn't even wear jackets in the morning. I will be excited for it to return. After our nice day it snowed 5 inches at night - yuck! I am over the snow!

A baby shower

This weekend I was honored to co-host a shower with a dear friend for another dear friend who is expecting a baby girl in May! My co-host Tanya is so fun, we are so much alike we even bought the same gift for our friend Jen. Tanya also has a beautiful home and has been blessed with some kind of Martha Stewart decorating gift - it was like a magical little pink tea party when I walked into our home.

I am so excited for my friend Jen...I know she will be a great mother and am so excited to meet her. At 32 weeks she is glowing and looking cuter than ever. It was so fun to gather together, eat some good food, and celebrate her new little one. AND so fun to see all the cute little baby girl things.

Me, Jen, and Tanya

Farewell

Last night Mark and I finished Season 8 of "24." We didn't watch it last year on television and were waiting until it was released on NetFlix. It recently was released. We watched all 24 episodes in just a little under two weeks - would have gone faster but my man does have to fit in school work too. I am sad to say that we will not be spending more time with Jack Bauer. This has been one of my favorite shows and I will miss the drama and suspense that our beloved Jack brought to our evening television watching. So Long Jack!

My Hero

I have had this problem in the mornings for awhile now with my little man. He doesn't want me to change his diaper when he wakes up. Therefore, he doesn't want to get out of bed. I hear things like "no," "stay here," "bye-bye, mommy." The kid has been adamant about this. My first approach was to offer him the choice to get out of bed and let me change his diaper or stay in bed. One morning he was up there for 40 minutes. I ran up and down stairs to keep checking on him, meanwhile Hannah found my prego stash of cocoa puffs - smelled like chocolate all morning. Next, my husband suggested that I give him the choice to get out on his own or for me to take him out. This at least gets him out since they are both options I want, but then when I would go to change his diaper he would kick and fight me. AT this point a time-out isn't an option because it prolongs the already LONG process we are going through.

My mom has been listening to me complain about this for some quite time. She had a brilliant suggestion. I am now giving Jack a little bag of cheerios and raisins and he happily complies and lays right down for me to change his diaper. I had tried offering him toys or things to hold before and had even tried singing him songs. My thought is that little man wakes up hungry and grumpy and that this is helping him to be occupied and more happy. We were also running into some tantrums on the way downstairs and refusal to eat...again, I think he was hungry.

This all brings me to the point of my blog post. Moms are the BEST! My mom's job continues just in a different way as I am now an adult and raising children of my own. She listens, encourages, comforts, and guides me. I am so thankful for her! Love you Mom!