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Lion Cupcakes and Birthday Food

Posted on August 15, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Sunday morning, I left to go to Nana and Papa’s house before the boys to get some things done for NHL’s family party. I stopped at the grocery store to get some produce, drinks, and dip. After this, I went to their house to start the Asian Salad.

Then, it was time to get the line ready for the lion cupcake construction. This time I had everything set and was ready to go. The only real complication here was space to put the completed lions on. After two were made, I noticed that the fresh frosting was making the Wilton black sparkle gel run a bit. Thanks to this, I put all of the lions together minus their noses and smiles. While I worked on that, my mother helped me to get the cucumbers ready to put with the rest of the veggies and some Dill Dip.

Just before lunch was served, I drew on the rest of the lion faces. A special thanks to Christina and Tom for cheering me on while I worked on all 21 lions and a chocolate chip one just for the number candle. Toward the end, the smell of the sugary frosting was getting to me.

We had tilapia, Phineas and Ferb macaroni and cheese, pizza, Asian Salad, and the fresh veggies. Lots of food for everyone to enjoy.

Once the kids finished eating, they played for a while. They were getting a bit rowdy, so I pulled out my bag of tricks. The teacher in me had a bunch of different arts and crafts to do with the kids. More on this coming soon. While they were crafting with me, everyone else was switching over the lunch food to prepare for cupcakes and fruit. When the crafts were done, I set up the cupcakes.

I do believe that the birthday boy enjoyed his lions.

More to come on the birthday fun as we celebrate NHL’s actual special day later this week. A huge thank you to all of our family that came to make the day even better.

Categories:
baking birthday family food glorious food friends fun nhl photos weekend yummy

The Yankees Stink Shirt

Posted on August 13, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

Yesterday morning, I had to bribe you a little bit. It was Papa’s birthday and I wanted you to try to make him smile. As you know, he’s not really into the smiling thing. Case in point:

Anyway, there is a shirt that Uncle I bought NHL when he was little. The shirt is not exactly loved by Daddy. He does allow one of you to wear it on special occasions for Papa. This morning, I pulled it out, but you were not really into wearing it. So I bribed you. Lucky for me, you asked for some lemonade with breakfast. DONE! Here you are wearing the shirt at Hoffman’s.

I think the problem with wearing this shirt is that you get a lot of attention. Seeing that we live in NY, a Yankees Stink shirt either gets a lot of glares, or laughter from Red Sox fans in the area. Of course, this didn’t phase you too much. You liked people looking, smiling, and giving you attention. Plus, you were busy being a big helper on the rides with cousin BA.

Then, you were thrilled to go again, leading the way with BA in the back driving solo.

Of course, during this time NHL was on the roller coaster with Uncle I. You did not quite get what a big deal it was that they were in the front row.

What impressed me even more was you also went on a ride you were not too sure about. Rides up high seem to get you scared. Cousin SG wanted to go on one with you. After chatting a bit, you agreed to try it. You can tell you were not thrilled here.

Then, while you were whirling around above, I heard giggles. Yes, you were laughing and smiling while flying with cousin SG for your last ride of the day.

Of course, you probably thought the ice cream that came right after this – rainbow sprinkles and all was another part of the bribe.

Thank you for being such a big boy. You helped Papa smile and you made me so very proud by being such a big helper.

Love,

Mommy

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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.

Categories:
birthday cousins Dear Kid Saturday family food glorious food fun jsl nhl photos summer yummy

Birthday Cupcakes

Posted on August 12, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It’s true. Several years ago, I decided to start making cakes for the boys instead of buying expensive ones from a bakery. Some of this decision was to make matters easier, at least I try to tell myself that. Another factor was the need for an egg free cake since my niece is severely allergic to eggs. The egg free requirement has pushed me to making cupcakes since cakes with the “fake eggs” are too moist and fall apart. Check out what happened to NHL’s special lemon cake that he wanted last August (oy):

Thanks to the cake failing miserably at the last minute, an emergency run to the store was needed. The funny thing was that people devoured the cake mess. So I am now insisting on cupcakes that stay put in their paper boundaries until we can use real eggs. Truth be told, cupcakes are fun to make. Of course, after decorating 10 – it gets a bit tedious when you have other items to prepare for a party. The last request in May was from JSL. He wanted a Jake and the Neverland Pirates Party. The cupcakes that resulted were here:

I have learned that I LOVE my Wilton icing decorator. With one little step, my cupcakes get a boost and look more professional. When we asked NHL what theme he wanted for his birthday this year, I was a bit anxious. Would we be able to find items and how would I be able to carry it into the cupcakes.

I lucked out big time. NHL wanted something with animals, specifically lions. Thanks to his love for the safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – the idea was born. Earlier this week we had all of our supplies and decided to do a test batch of the lion cupcakes that I wanted to make for this weekend.

More to come about the lion cupcakes soon. I took a bunch of photos during the experiment and more will be coming after the weekend with the new tools I bought to make it even better. A big thank you to Amanda from The Cupcake Blog for having her amazing resource guide for all things cupcakes. Love the inspiration that keeps the fun going. Oh and my little lion up there, it was featured the other day since I shared it with Amanda on Twitter.

One more thing before I get to the Aloha Friday question:

Happy Birthday Dad!!!!!

So, my question to you this week:

If you could design a dream cupcake, what flavors would you incorporate and what would you decorate it with?

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #164

Categories:
Aloha Friday animals baking birthday family food glorious food fun photos yummy

CowParade Las Vegas – 2002

Posted on August 10, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Quick note about this week’s Wordless Wednesday. Photos were taken in Las Vegas throughout the city during the 2002 CowParade exhibit. We had countless other photos on TechyDad’s digital camera. Unfortunately, that camera was stolen on our way home in the airport (right off my back). These were pictures that I took and scanned with my now dated film camera. Wandering and seeing all of the CowParade pieces was amazing in itself.

Categories:
cousins family fun interesting jl looking back photos TechyDad vacation

Time for Couples is Important Too

Posted on August 8, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Ever have one of those days where you wonder how you got to where you are? It seems to be hitting hard here over the last few months. Drama on many levels have left TechyDad and I quite stressed this year. When we celebrated our 10th anniversary with massive plumbing troubles and moving into my parent’s house for several days, it was a sign. Then, thanks to a little push from Amy (aka Resourceful Mommy), we decided to do it. Yes, we booked a kids free getaway. We tossed our senses away and decided that WE needed this. WE, as in the couple, were in great need of time to ourselves without worrying about the kids, stressing over the house, and bickering about this, that, and the other thing.

Since NHL was born, almost eight years ago, we had only gone away without the boys once. That was last summer to NYC for BlogHer. Although it was a wonderful trip, it was not exactly the romantic destination. There were many times that we were on opposite sides of the city at different events.

Could we really afford this trip? Probably not, but WE the couple could not afford to let this opportunity go. What I have learned over the last year is that you can not wish, hope, and wait for things to get better. You must be proactive and stand up for what you need and want. TechyDad and I need to be selfish for us. The kids will be fine with family, they will get to know their Bubbe and Grandpa a lot more, and we will get to be a couple again.

The last real hurrah for us was when we went to Las Vegas in December 2002. We had celebrated out 1st anniversary in June by going to Boston. Then, when some health concerns in the following months left us deciding to start our family, we booked a getaway. Thankfully, we learned from our honeymoon and took more photos of the two of us together. Check out how young and carefree we were:

Our time in Vegas was amazing and we saw so many beautiful items (more posts on that another day). Here are a few photos scanned for now:

When we arrived home, we found out that we were indeed expecting our first little Ewok. NHL was born the following summer and changed our lives. While NHL and JSL are two of the most amazing parts of lives, we, like so many other couples, have hardly had time to be ourselves – husband and wife. Our roles of B and J have morphed into Mom and Dad and rarely seem allow us to get off and remind ourselves of who we used to be.

So, have you ever been just a little selfish in the name of your marriage? Please share tips, thoughts, or anything else in the comments below.