Newest Addition

Just had to share our newest addition.  Born 6/20/12 at 6:31pm.  Our tiniest yet at 6 lbs 9 oz although a "long" 20 inches.  She's a joy and Big Sister and Big Brother have been wonderful as well.

Look who's 3!

My Little Man turned 3 this past month.  We had a very simple "lellow" birthday party at the park (yellow is his favorite color).  He and I made box mix cupcakes, used store bought frosting and sprinkled them with yellow sugar.  Yellow flags topped each cupcake (made from toothpicks and yellow card stock). What can I say, with this big belly I'm carrying around, we needed to keep things easy.   The highlight was a mass of yellow balloons.  The lowlight was when half of the mass floated away as soon as we arrived at the park.  He had a great time with his friends, loved being the center of attention (not his usual personality) and Mama was happy to see that he loved his crown.  I was also able to make a nice reverse applique shirt while also covering a stain in his favorite yellow shirt.

Maybe yellow is his favorite because it's the color of construction vehicles?  He definitely loves digging in the sand.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Maternity Sewing

Finally posting a few photos of maternity clothes!  I made and altered several skirts early in my pregnancy, but forgot how much a big belly really pushes things down in front, so most have already been put aside.  I do think I'll be able to wear them post-baby, though, because they were all made with knit waistbands and I didn't cut them low enough in front to be truly maternity.

Here is one skirt that still works.  I had the striped knit for ages and didn't know what to do with it, until I saw a girl in a parking lot wearing a diagonally striped skirt.  Hurray for random inspiration!  I must say I'm very proud of how the stripes match perfectly.

The top I based on a tank I already own, but made the bottom longer.  I left the hem raw because post-baby I plan to even it out and think it will make a great, loose top for hiding post-baby belly.  I'd like to make another one of these shirts someday, but I'll make the straps a bit longer so they don't bunch up.

 (nearing my 30th week of pregnancy in this photo)

Four weeks left to go and my belly is much bigger!

Burlap Wreath

Our house is kind of like a fishbowl--you can see straight in.  Our across-the-street neighbor is so blatant about it that she'll come over and say "I saw you had the TV on" or call and ask "what are you cooking?".

Take a look at the glass door and three windows in front:

They look right into our dining room, living room, and all the way through to the back deck.  We have a landscaper strategically planting some trees, but in the meantime, I decided a wreath was in order.

I made this by tying strips of burlap to a wire frame.  Time consuming and a bit messy as the burlap frays, but very inexpensive.  My mom reminded me of how we used to tie baggies to a wire hangar to make something similar (Google it!  People are still doing it!).  Now that the 80s are long gone, I think I'll stick with the burlap.

Mint Oreo Cupcakes

We just celebrated a FIFTH birthday in our house!  I can't believe our baby girl is 5 already.  We had her party at the dojo where she takes karate, and there is a lot to be said for a party in which all Mommy needs to do is show up with the guest of honor and a batch of cupcakes.  This was their first time having a birthday party there, and the dojo owners did such a great job.  They played lots of fun games and learned some basic martial arts skills.  It was really great to see their daughter demonstrate her award-winning kata to a very impressionable group of 4-5 year old girls.  See, girlies, it's "cool" to be pretty AND strong--princesses aren't the best thing going :)

This photo is not from the party, but shows C "sparring" with a classmate.  The objective is to catch your opponents flag, while protecting your own.  A sneaky way to teach agility that the kids LOVE.

And now I finally explain the title of my post, these yummy Mint Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes.  C looooves mint and chocolate together, and I needed to find a way to make a "fun" cupcakes.  Here is the recipe:

Mint Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

(makes 30 cupcakes)

Make a boxed mix of chocolate cake (I used Devils Food cake).  Add 1-2 teaspoons mint to the batter.

Place one mint oreo in bottom of each cupcake liner.  Pour batter over oreos, filling 2/3 full.  Bake as directed on box.

Frosting:

¾ cup butter or margarine, softened

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

2-3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

3 drops green food coloring (I also added 1 drop blue). 

Combine until smooth, adding small amounts of water if necessary.

Frost cooled cupcakes and top with a mini oreo if desired.

This recipe was adapted from this Mint Chocolate Cake recipe, a favorite in our house that I’ve also made as a layer cake with mint frosting in the middle.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mint-chocolate-cake/detail.aspx

Cloud Dough

We recently made cloud dough after reading the post at Tinker Lab.  This is so easy and kids love it!  We had a 3rd grader, two pre-kindergarten students and a two-year old digging in, collaborating, and absorbed in play for over 20 minutes.  My kids and I have played with it often, and keep it stored in the garage so we can play outside and worry even less about clean up, but this stuff really is a nice sensory product.

 (This photo was taken on a different day, while the little man was busy digging in the dirt.)

I just googled cloud dough and found this blog with some variations.  I have a giant bag of flour from Costco and I bought some cheap baby oil (rather than using my more expensive olive oil supply) so this is a very inexpensive project.  I think we'll try the lower flour:oil ratio just to see what we get and of course my kids will LOVE adding glitter.  And of course we have lots of shells around, I'm not sure why I didn't think of using those before.  The silicone baking cups have been a big hit, too.

(Random photo of S waving good-bye to Daddy.)

I haven't done much sewing lately, except to alter some old clothes to fit my expanding baby belly.  Perhaps I'll take some photos eventually...

Pirate Looks at 40

Mother, mother ocean, I've heard your call

Wanted to sail upon your waters 

Since I was three feet tall...

(Jimmy Buffett)

My dear hubby turns 40 today!  He's been planning a "Pirate Looks at 40" trip a la Jimmy Buffett for a few years, and is now on his way to a much deserved boys-only Key West vacation.  He's worked so hard ever since I've known him, never had a serious break from all of his training, going straight from fellowship to working hard for our family.  To celebrate, the kids and I made a pirate cake.  Hopefully he'll get a real live boat in the near future--he deserves it!