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Saturday, May 29, 2010

Chocolate is Yummy. Mummy is Mean.

Yum.  
Hey, What was that?
This is de-lish...
This is the bomb.com
Hey, I want that back!
My Mummy is MEAN!
I don't want clean hands...
I want more Hershey's Chocolate.

gifts today:
sweet baby smiles (345)
sweet baby chuckles (346)
sweet baby cries for Hersheys - they are sad and funny all at the same time (347)
chipmunk cheeks - my kiddo knows how to save food for winter (348)

Pillowcase Dresses for Africa!

In all my spare time (just typing those words make me chuckle), I enjoy reading other blogs.  I enjoy reading about crazy happenings in other families and also enjoy reading what other people are learning.  I enjoy seeing what God is doing in their families.  To see how He is moving, how He is stirring others hearts.
The other day, I ran across a post about a project that really tugged at my heart.  The project is to create pillowcase dresses for little girls in Africa.  
Kristen at We are THAT family, wrote a beautiful post about her new DIFO (Do It For Others) project to help Little Dresses in Africa, a non-profit organization that sends pillowcase dresses to girls in Central Africa. Becuase AIDS is such a pandemic in Africa, many of these young girls end up raising their younger siblings.  
Just raising my little one can be trying some days, I can't imagine what it must be like to be a young girl and to be solely responsible for the feeding and care of those younger than me.  Little Dresses in Africa works to minister to these girls, providing dresses for them to wear, planting seeds in their heart about Jesus and about how beautiful and worthy they are in His eyes.
What a special thing for us to be able to help with - to help a little girl feel worthy, to feel pretty, to feel loved, to know that she is enough.  Isn't that what we all are striving to feel?  To feel that we are simply enough?
For me, helping others has always made me feel happy.  As a little girl, I always loved to make "gifts" for my friends.  I loved to see the twinkle in their eyes, when I gave them something that I had spent time making, just for them.  What an exciting idea to be able to bring that same twinkle to a little girl who is halfway across the world!
Kristen posted that her goal was to get 100 dresses made by the end of July.  She has people donating supplies and people donating time to sew.  I had a hard time finishing her post because all I wanted to do was say "yes!  I want to help!"  Finally, after stepping away from the computer for a while, I was able to return to her post, finish reading it and then send her an e-mail.
I wanted to join in on her project.  I asked and she resounded with "Yes, yes, yes!!"  I want to create my own blog goal.  To help 50 more little girls get pretty new dresses!  This would bring her total to 150 dresses!  WOW! 
So, that is what we are going to do.  We are going to make 50 pillowcase dresses.  By the end of July.
How is this going to happen, seeing as how I have a husband, little one who just turned one and work full-time outside the home, traveling across the country?  
Well, I'm not quite sure....
But, I do know that God has placed this on my heart and it is what I want to try and do.  And, I know that He can work miracles.
As a family, we are not in the position to adopt at this moment, but we can help lots of kiddos in other ways - I'll start by helping them get cute little dresses!  Seriously, is there something more fun for a little girl than new clothes?  
All that to say, WE NEED YOUR HELP!
June 1-30 Pillow Case / Materials Drive
Items you can send for the project:
  • New or Gently used Pillowcases - we need 50 +
  • Double Bias tape
  • 1/2 inch elastic
  • thread
  • air-tight vacuum space bags
  • money to help with shipping.  We will be dividing the supplies and shipping to seamstresses.  (The seamstresses will also receive a postage-paid envelope to send the completed dresses to the organization)
If you would like to send pilllowcases or supplies, help sew some of these dresses, or if you want to complete your own pillow case dress(es), please e-mail me and I will get in touch with you!  Here is the pattern that Little Dresses for Africa recommends.  If you want to make your own dresses, don't feel that you have to use the pattern listed.  Feel free to create/design them in your own unique way and we will send them off to Africa as well!
Here we go!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sisters are cool

Last weekend, I was in Virginia for work.  My sister is currently at Ft Lee in Virginia.  This is a very good combination.
On Saturday, she drove up to the DC area to meet me when I got off from work.
It pretty much rocked.
What was so much fun is that it was just like normal.
We went to the mall.  We got pretzels and a coke to share. We walked around and complained to each other about how malls are too busy.  We commented about how we couldn't stay in certain stores because the population of half the world was shopping inside.  We spent too much time at H&M and after sending each other photo messages of outfits, finally ended up buying a few things.
She got her brows done and I stood around and took pictures of the ordeal.
We took pictures on our cellphones because we didn't have our cameras with us.
Then, we got semi-lost while trying to find a japanese restaurant.  We finally found it and ordered too much food. But, it was yummy and we had food to go.  (This food came in handy the next morning)
At 10pm, we were both tired.  So, we decided to drive into the city and see the Washington Memorial.  We drove around, crossed the wrong bridge, talked about all of the "other" crazy drivers and finally found a parking spot.  We walked to the Washington memorial, back through the Vietnam memorial, over to the Lincoln memorial (it is quite huge), all while wondering if the people walking behind us were going to attack us.  We both decided that we seriously have overly vivid imaginations and that we should probably just stop watching crime dramas in general.
The next morning we slept in, I gave her a facial, we ate our leftovers and got a late checkout.  She took me to Target and then to the airport.
It was such fun to simply hang with her like we used to do.  I miss those days.  But, I'm thankful for this weekend.  It was fun and I can't wait to do it again.


Getting to see my sis (338)
Being able to live in a country where I am free to worship as I please, thanks to some huge sacrifices by others (339)
The way the moonlight reflects off of water and looks so peaceful (340)
Raindrops on my face while walking around (341)
Pickled ginger - its just so yummy (342)
The way my little one stands up in the middle of the room and laughs for no reason at all (343)
My little one and his love of green beans (344)

Sunday, May 23, 2010

my parents rock

So, here I am - 35,000 feet above the ground, surfing blogs.  Technology (for the most part) rocks.

I hopped over to my sisters blog and was really happy to see what she posted on my parents anniversary.  I haven't even given them their gift, since I have been traveling.  But, they currently have the little one, so seriously, could there be a better gift?  

Anyway - I wanted to share my favorite part of her post: 

"Thank you for struggling. Thank you for showing us that marriage is not effortless or without drama. I used to think that if couples didn't disagree, that meant they loved each other more...now I know it just means they were on their second marriage or living a lie. Thank you for teaching us to be creative, loving, patient and devoted. Thank you for setting an example. "

Wow. I couldn't have said it better myself.  And, she pretty much hit it on the head about a few other things, but you have to click right here to read that funny part for yourself!  

Friday, May 21, 2010

Genius!

Whoever thought up the idea of placing mini-hotel rooms inside the crazy, busy Atlanta Airport is a genius.  An absolute genius!
Last night, regardless of my efforts, I missed my flight to DC. Thankfully, there was another flight that they could get me on later that same night. So, there I was, with 2 1/2 hours to spend at the Atlanta airport. Definitely not on my fun list for the evening.
Airports are like little cities. They provide most of what a person would need for the few hours that they are present. I write most, because there I was, a nursing mum (sans baby) in desperate need of a place to pump.
Now, if I was at the OKC airport, this would not be a problem. They are prepared for a time such as this. They have a room, equipped with a drape and comfy chair, which are both perfectly placed next to an electrical outlet. To a nursing mum, this situation is as beautiful as a work of art!
Does the Atlanta airport have a similar situation? Yea, not so much.
They have plenty of outlets, but they are out in the open and that is just not a good combination for anyone's sanity.
So, I walk around, wondering what I can do to keep my mind off the fact that I really needed to have pumped about 30 minutes ago. As I'm walking around, I read the following sign:
I wonder to myself if I understood that name correctly.
Could there really be a suite that you could rent for a few mintues, located inside the terminal at the airport? I turn around and walk past it again. It looks like a minature hotel hallway. There are 3 employees at the desk, all sharply dressed, who are as kind and polite as possible.
I walk up to the counter and ask the cost. I'm not even sure why I asked, becuase before she could answer, my mind had already decided that I would soon be pumping in peace! She replied and as she was speaking, I say "ok, I will stay for an hour."
I figured that an hour was long enough. It would give me enough time to pump and really, I figured that I would go crazy in a small room for much longer than an hour. She just smiled and told me that if I changed my mind, and decided to stay longer, they could add the time later.
As I signed the charge slip, another sharply dressed employee calmly said "let me show you to your suite."
When she opend the door, I quickly realized that this was better that I had imagined. It was dim and cool. Quiet and serene. It had a place to lay down. It was spacious for a little place. Very cool, modern furniture. I quickly think to myself "Yea, I might need more than an hour..."
She showed me how to use the internet, TV and their "3 hour nap in 26 minutes" program.
I had no idea that there would be a huge HD flat screen TV, great earphones, free internet access, a pillow, comfy blanket and LOTS of outlets.  I was pleasantly surprised.
When I got to the airport and realized that I wasn't going to get on my original flight, I prayed for peace.  I didn't want to stress.  I remember praying for me to be cool with whatever happened.  The Minute Suites were an answer to prayer that I never expected.  My Heavenly Father is very cool like that!

Needless to say, I stayed longer.  1 hr, 45 minutes to be exact.  Enough time to pump, watch a full episode of NCIS, participate in their "3hr nap in 26 minute" program and get caught up on Twitter.  It was the best time that I have ever had at the Atlanta airport!

Today, I am thankful for:

  • Sunny weather while walking to work (329)
  • A sushi restaurant that delivers during lunch hours (330)
  • A sweet picture of baby Charlotte and her Mum, I'm so happy that both are healthy, happy and beautiful! (331)
  • My asthma inhaler - it makes eating peanuts doable. I know, the fact that I need an inhaler to eat peanuts should probably be my sign that I just shouldn't eat peanuts, but I'll tackle that another day. (332)
  • A hidden retreat in a crazy airport - with a comfy couch and pillow to rest my tired body.  (333)
  • USA Network - I just love that they play NCIS so often.  My little one and I bonded over NCIS while we were on bedrest (before he was born), so being able to watch it while I'm away, makes me feel at home, if only for a minute. (334)
  • My sister.  She has my little one this week and she loves him unbelieveably.  I know he is happy when he is with her and her precious girlies. (335)
  • Blue jean diapers - Haven't seen them yet, but my sister says that they are pretty funny.  And, I believe her.  She has some waiting for me when I get home. (336)
  • Clothes for the little one - on sale!  I found the cutest outfit for him to wear to my sister's wedding.  (337)

Now, I just need to keep working out so that I will fit into my blue dress at the wedding.  Then, we will be on the path to some great family pictures!  

Wahoo!

Monday, May 17, 2010

the cousins, part 1

Currently, the little one has 5 cousins.  4 on my side and 1 on his pops side.  The little one loves his cousins - even though he doesn't get to see them all of the time.  He also has 3 other "cousins", who we love just the same!

We are so blessed to have so many family members.  Brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, cousins - friends.

As the eldest of 9, I grew up knowing that family is life.  Many of my friends couldn't wait to get out of the house, to go do "something", to be away from their family.  Although, I loved being out of the house, I always had others with me.  My siblings provided me guaranteed friends.  Friends that I could laugh with, fight with, play with - love.

When I went away to college, my siblings went with me.  Homeschooling has its advantages.  I could take a brother or sister (or 2-3) and keep them with me for a week of so.  We would go to class together, the park together, eat together, enjoy life together.  Now as they are all growing up, it is harder.  Everyone is moving to their own life.  Their lives are calling them to different parts of the world, but thankfully we live in an age that allows us to stay connected - even when across the globe.

My husband is still getting used to this "closeness" that large families provide.  At times, I think he believes that we have all fallen off our rockers, but thankfully, he loves us - crazy and all.

My prayer is that as my little one grows up, that he will experience this same closeness that only a family can bring.  Hopefully he will have more siblings, maybe from other parts of the world - to laugh with, play with, fight with and love.

J and G's (my bother & his wife)  kiddos:

and then, just for fun, 
pictures of the little one.

just in case you forgot how cute he is...




blessings from this weekend:
homeopathic teething tablets - we lovingly refer to them as "baby crack"  (318)
the hugs and cuddles that come along with the pain of teething  (319)
grins with only lower teeth - this won't be around for much longer (320)
tire warranties at Discount Tire - without them, we might not be able to drive. (321)
skype - without it I would go through sister withdrawl (322)
sun shining through dark, grey clouds (323)
naps in the middle of the day (324)
beautiful colors in the produce department at Whole Foods (325)
crawling (326)
baby kisses (327)
baby laughs (328)


holy experience

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Patience

I've discovered recently, that contrary to my belief, I do not have a lot of patience.  

I desperately need to find some before I fall off my rocker.

As a 16 year old, I fervently prayed for patience.  
That sentence needs to come with the following disclaimer: *Do NOT try this at home*

Have you ever heard the saying "Be careful what you ask for" - yeah, whoever said that wasn't kidding.

Anyway, enough of my sulking.  But, seriously, I need to learn some patience.

I need to learn to be patient when people ask me a lot of questions.  I need to learn that maybe they just want to get to know me better.  Or, maybe they don't have anything to say, so they tend to ask questions.  Or, maybe all they know how to do is ask questions.  
No matter what, I need to learn to be patient with them and to answer their questions with a smile.  And, I should try to not be a smart-alek with my answers.  But, that can come later.  


baby. steps. 

I also need to learn that there is a time for everything.  I grew up with Ecclesiastes 3 being read on a daily basis.  You'd think I already had this one down pat.  Yeah, not so much.
I tend to try and make everything happen - to cram 15,465,568,987 things into one simple 24 hour day.  
Why I do this, I will never know.  
I don't want to become a different person, I just want to learn to trust in God for everything.  I'm great at trusting Him with big things like death, marriage, kids, jobs, etc.  I'm not as good with trusting Him with my daily schedule.  I need to learn to trust that He wants me to have a great life, to do fun things, to be happy.  But, His method of me getting there might be different than the method that I have in my head.  I need to learn to be patient and to wait on His method.  It is the right method, so it is worth waiting for...

So, tonight I am going to start.  

I am going to try and answer asked questions in a calm and happy tone.  I will accept that some people want to ask a kazillion questions, and that it is not because they want to control and know every little thing I do, but because they care about me and just want to talk.  I am going to try and learn to use small talk more often.  This is not going to be easy, but I pray that it will benefit me in the long run.

I am going to stop trying to make everything fit into my schedule.  I will accept that I am out of town during MckMama's photoshoot in the big D and I will not stress that it would be my only chance to meet her in person or have her take photos of my little one. 


We shall see how this goes...

Friday, May 14, 2010

tonight -

the little one and I had a blast!  He and I are going to have such fun this weekend.  We are going to play, sleep, cook and shop.  We are also going to Aunt Jin's shower tomorrow - she is getting married in less than a month!

It is so hard to be away from him so often.  Tonight, when we were playing, I was noticing that his size and build have changed.  He's lost that "baby" look and is turning into a little kid.  I've spent my entire life talking about how "I am not a baby person" - but tonight, as I'm watching him zoom all over - there is a part of me that is missing the baby little one.

I think I missed the baby little one the most, when I watched him open a bathroom cabinet and try to empty it of its contents.  Grandma's house needs to be child proofed - like yesterday.

I baked him some sweet potatoes and squash tonight, he is such a fan of vegetables!  I also bought him a beet, but I haven't the slightest idea how to cook it.  I guess I will try and figure it out tomorrow...

Sunday, May 9, 2010

be happy with what you have

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am, and always have been a fan of my highlighted, long hair.  My mom tells stories about how I would always color my hair bright yellow in any drawing.  I remember her brushing my hair and telling me that it looked like spun gold.  As I grew older, I found ways to help keep its pretty blond color.  Sun and chlorine were my friends.  In college, I became friends with highlights and continued those for many years.

Fast forward to last November.  My family was having a family picture.  By family, I mean everyone.  2 parents, 9 kids, 2 spouses, 1 almost spouse, 5 grandkids.  No dogs.  Family was coming to H-town from as far as Abilene. This picture was to by my parents Christmas present.  It was quite the craziness just getting it organized. 

I was in need of highlights for the picture, but wasn't financially able to go earlier in the week to where I normally went for highlights.  So, 4 hours before the picture I got highlights.

The highlights went awry.  Everything was highlighted beautifully except for this fabulous spot in the front that was bleached bronze.  Yea, this was about 4 hours before the picture.  My hair was quite frizzy, but everyone was there, so off to the picture place we went.  It's amazing what a little bit of airbrushing can do.  I was the bleach blonde in the family picture of a bunch of brown headed people.  

Well, I didn't want to keep the hair with this crazy blonde spot because the next day was my son's dedication at church.  Real life can't be airbrushed, so it needed to be fixed.  At 10pm on a Sat night.  So, we decided to dye it a deep mahogany brown.  (insert chuckle here)

The deep mahogany brown on blonde hair turned into magenta-y orange.  Nice.  Magenta-y orange hair for my son's dedication.  Daily it changed colors.  It was a stark contrast to my florescent-y, white skin. yikes!  Oh, the fun.

We waited about 2 weeks and decided to try again and get it dark mahogany brown.  It was a very reddish brown, but it was finally brown nonetheless.

The past few months, I have spent quite a bit of time trying to get used to my red/brown hair.  In April, I decided that I needed to be blonde again.  I saved my money and made an appointment.  When I arrived at the salon, I was informed that since there was so much red in it, it would be very difficult to go back to my previous color.  WHAT?!  

It never crossed my mind that it would be hard or nearly impossible to go back blonde.  The girls there were very nice, telling me how my current hair color "looks so natural"or "with your skin tone, you can pull off red very easily."  I took a deep breath and had them color my hair a rich medium brown.  

But alas, I still missed my blonde hair.  Until last night.

Last night, after working a long day in New Orleans and flying back to Dallas, I decided to stop and get some sushi for dinner.  While waiting for my to-go order, I was on the phone with my husband.  I was sitting in the chair, up against the wall.  After about 10 minutes, I started smelling an awful smell.  I thought maybe something was burning in the kitchen.  3-4 minutes go by and the stench is getting worse.  I think to myself, "it smells like sulfur"  then I think "OH NO, hair is made of keratin and keratin when burning smells like sulfur."  

Yep, you are right folks, there I was, sitting in the sushi restaurant, with my HEAD ON FIRE!   I calmly stood up and started pressing my head to stop the fire.  I told my husband "hold on, my head is on fire" - he laughed and said ok.  I then tried to discreetly sweep off all of the ashes that were all over my outfit and then brush my hair with my hands.  As I am doing this, I notice huge 8-10 inch chunks of hair falling on the floor.  I couldn't do anything but laugh.  Praise the Lord that I was the only patron in the restaurant.  The owners were in the back cooking my meal, so they didn't notice my laughing hysterics.

When the sushi chef looked up, I must have had a funny look on my face, because he loudly asks "you ok? You ok?  I calmly responded, with a smile, "oh yea, no worries, my hair was just on fire.  It's ok now."  
Seriously, I worry about myself sometimes.  No worries, It's ok now?  My head was on fire!  I had soot all over me!  But, in true southern girl fashion, I didn't want them to worry about me or feel bad.   So, I just sat there, laughing to myself and rubbing my head, while they finished preparing my food.  They brought me my food and I headed home.  By the time I got home, I was fairly confident that I did not have a complete bald spot, just a head of sulfur smelling, really thin hair and a burned scalp.  I washed my hair, put ice on my scalp, ate my sushi and went to sleep.

I wish I was making this stuff up.  I couldn't even write about it last night because I was laughing too hard.  

Today, I went and got a haircut.  Now, I have layers.  I'm no longer wishing for my blonde hair.  I'd be super happy with the thick brown hair that I had yesterday morning.  Oh well.  
I am grateful for what I have.  
I am grateful for long, thin brown hair. (314)
I am grateful that I do not have a huge bald spot on my head. (315)
I am grateful that I was in the restaurant alone - this wouldn't have been pretty if there were other people around. (316)
I am grateful that I do not use a lot of products in my hair, because if I did, there is a very good chance that I would have been bald tonight. (317)

And, I am praying that the burn on my scalp heals nicely and that hair continues to grow from that spot.  But, if it does not, I will be thankful for ponytails.

Friday, May 7, 2010

A Mum's Manifesto

Today, I read a post that I hope I will never forget.  On a daily basis, I love to grab morsels of knowledge from Ann Voskamp's blog - A Holy Experience.  But, today was one of those days when her post left my mind speechless. 
When I get home, I want to frame and hang this Manifesto so that I can read it everyday. I'm hoping to print and frame it for my sisters as well - just waiting on a little "ok" from Ann.
I love all 10 points, but the one that has really stayed in my mind today is "Today, my priorities will be all Things Unseen"

Oh, how I pray that I am able to live out this manifesto.  Hop over to her blog and check it out!  While you are there - hit subscribe.  You won't regret it!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

allergies, please go away

I would really appreciate it if my allergies would go far, far away. 

I thought that if I went far, far away maybe my allergies wouldn't follow.  I was wrong.  Tonight, I'm sitting in my hotel room trying to leave my eyes alone.  For me, allergies make my skin, nose, face, and eyes itch.  I can deal with everything but the eyes.  Oh, the eyes...

This is not anything new for me.  I've always had these allergies.  As a child, I was once escorted out of school and my mom had to come pick me up becuase they were positive that I had pink eye.  Nope, just allergies.  I normally wait until they are too much to handle and then I am of to the doctor for steroid shots.

What makes this time so different is that my little one is still nursing.  Steroid shots and nursing is not a good combination.  So, no shots for this mum.  Oy vey!

I've received some great suggestions and am currently trying all of them.  I've also resorted to drinking grape synergy - it seems to have helped with allergies in the past.  It took me a while to acquire the taste, but I'll learn to like anything that makes me feel, breathe and see better. If only they made a Dr. Pepper flavored version! 

Oh well.  I will keep trying new things and will stay away from the shots.  If breastfeeding will help my little one not have asthma and allergies like me, then I'll do whatever it takes to keep it up!

thankful for today...and tomorrow

I've been slacking on the listing of my daily blessings.  Sometimes, I get so caught up in the day to day, that I forget to take a moment to breathe and to see what God is doing for me at that moment.  I'm a work in progress.  I will continue to be a work in progress.  Working to become more like Him.

For tonight, I will  be thankful, despite my semi-grumpy attitude.  I'm having an awful allergy week, the next week of work is going to be stressful and I miss my little one.  He's at the ranch with my parents as I am traveling for work this week.

I am SO thankful for:

  • an amazing family who treats my little one as their own. (blessing 301)
  • My 2 youngest siblings are going to be rockin' parents.  They are some amazing kiddos!  I am so thankful for their great attitude and love that they show daily to my little one. (blessing 302)
  • lungs that work.  Nothing like a night like tonight to remind me how thankful I am to be able to breathe easily most of the time.  (blessing 303)
  • inhalers that work when lungs don't.  Whoever created this medicine should have won 2 Nobel prizes.  Ever see the asthma advertisement with the fish out of water?  Yea, I feel like that guy right now. (blessing 304)
  • my fingers and hands.  Right now, they hurt like crazy, but instead of being mad, I will continue to be thankful for them.  They provide for my family - putting food on the table and helpiung to get the bills paid off.  I am going to go to an accupuncturist, but until then and after, l will be thankful that I even have hands. (blessing 305)
  • for any moment that I get to spend with my little one. (blessing 306)
  • for my eyes.  As swollen and puffy as they are, I am able to use them to see most of the time.  I am thankful for my sight, even when it is a little blurred from my allergies. (blessing 307)
  • for the bright colors that show up with spring.  If I'm going to be miserable, what better to have than beautiful scenery to look at while I'm sneezing. (blessing 308)
  • for funny stories from my sister.  Tonight, she asked her 7 year old to bathe the dog.  The 7 year old happily obeyed and off she went to the backyard.  About 30 minutes later, she came back in the house, completely covered in mud.  My sister asked her what on earth happened...her reply?  "Mom, don't worry - the dog is clean."  Oh my, I love that little girl! (blessing 309)
  • brownies.  Nothing makes allergies temporarily go away better than a nice, chewy brownie.  (blessing 310)
  • youversion.com  I LOVE being able to read my Bible and bookmark it on my computer, and then pull it up on my phone later in the day.  Technology rocks! (blessing 311) 
  • whole food - so excited that they are starting to show up everywhere.  They make eating while out of town much easier.  If only all of them would carry different types of quinoa in the ready-made section.  The whole foods in White Plains, NY spoiled me... (blessing 312)
I'm off to bed.  Up in about 5 hours to pack and then off to New Orleans.  Praying for a good, quick event the next few days...


PS.  I'm also REALLY thankful for my comfy bed!  :)  (blessing 313)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Bright Colors for a Birthday Boy

Well, I did it.

I made the cake - The famous Rainbow Cake. 
I did it over a span of 2 weekends.  It was hard work. But, it was fun.

We started by baking the cakes on one weekend and then placing them in the freezer. 
Then, the weekend of his party, we took them out of the freezer and created the masterpiece. 
The leaning tower of cake masterpeice, that is.
I realized, once I started frosting it, that I should have sliced the cakes in half.  But, I didn't, so it was a very tall cake. 

Oh well.

Once I had it completely frosted, I realized that I was going to have to travel with this cake all the way into town. 
On a Sunday. 
Which meant driving all the way to Dad's church and then into the 'ville. 
About a 1.5 hour car ride in total. 
Keep in mind, this cake was ridiculously tall and held together with cream cheese frosting.  Butter, sugar, vanilla and then more butter do not make for a very solid "glue"
In fact, those ingredients, together with bumpy, dirt roads did not sound like a winning combination for getting the cake to the 'ville in one piece.. 
But, I pressed on, prayed ALOT and by God's grace, we made it into town in one piece.

After everyone arrived, we introduced the little one to his BIG birthday cake.  He was slightly amazed.  I'm thinking that his slight amazement was at the sparkler shooting off little pieces of fire, but oh well, at least he was amazed. 

*Side Note: On his actual birthday, we had a small get together at the lake.  We had cupcakes in honor of the little one.  He was less than amused.  He didn't seem to like the bright green frosting or the cake.  I'm thinking it is becuase they were store bought and the icing tasted like plastic.

This would not be a problem with his current birthday cake.  It consisted of lots of real butter, sugar, cream cheese and vanilla.  A winning combination, if I say so myself.  Anyway, I digress.

When we cut his rainbow cake, he loved all of the bright colors.
 
Then, I gave him a small bite. 

It was instantaneous.  This was his new BFF.

His eyes tell the story better than any words I could type. 
He found a new love and her name was Cream Cheese Frosting.

I'm so happy that he enjoyed his crazy cake made by his crazy mum.

Now, back to uncolored, organic foods for the little one. 
I'm hoping that he doesn't miss Cream Cheese Frosting...

Do you  think that this is a great cake idea?  You should hop over and see all of the other yummy, fun recipes that Amanda has on her site - I Am Baker.
Beware of checking out her site before grocery shopping, it might cause you to purchase much more than normal from the baking aisle.

But, as I know from experience.  The extra purchases are worth it.  :)

Saturday, May 1, 2010

And I'm off...

to make a cake...


for this crazy, little kat.


Notice the car key.  They turn one and start driving.  

Kids these days...