Cake Controversy - Part 3

When we last left our caped-cake crusader and his very stubborn mother-in-law, the gauntlet of cake challenge had been thrown down in the middle of my kitchen. Date of the challenge - Wednesday night., one night before Hailey's birthday on Thursday. Wednesday during the day, Grandma baked four cakes. She had great success baking the cakes, but she did "cheat" by using boxed mixes. Four cakes there were...now if only we had a design by which to decorate them. Oh wait, our caped-cake crusader to the rescue, if he ever got out of work. It was 8pm before Luke got home and began, yes began, looking for the design for the cake. One hour and 50 Google searches later, he had selected a total of 25 "possible" cake options, from designs that looked like an iPhone to ones that were full scale castles. Ok, seriously? It was now 9pm, and we still had 4 naked cakes. Finally, we all agreed to scale the cake back a bit, going with a simple square cake design with a carved 3 on the top.

Luke immediately set out to carve the 3, but wait!!!! We have no cake carving knife...what kind of a house do we live in with no cake carving knife???? How can he go on? Well, perhaps a regular knife could cut it just this one time. While the 3 was being carved, my mother and I began making icing options. Oh so many icing options. First, we made cream cheese icing for the red velvet cake, but of course the cream cheese frosting couldn't adhere the fondant. Why not, you ask? I have no Earthly idea. So, on to the buttercream frosting. Wait, this recipe calls for boiling milk. If you boil milk, doesn't it scald and taste like crap? Ok, new recipe please. Uh oh, we don't have a cake frosting utensil. Ugh...this house is so not supplied for cake decorating. Perhaps we'll have to just go with a spatula or a butter knife. Can we wrestle one of those up? Yes, chef! (Probably a mistake to watch Hells Kitchen during this process)

After the cakes were stacked, carved, and frosted, it was time for the most exciting part....rolling the fondant. Luke set about coloring the fondant pink, but only after complaining that we didn't have the proper gloves to protect his delicate fingers from the food coloring. Oh, and also, I didn't buy enough fondant. Although I'll remind you that I wasn't supposed to buy any fondant at all because the Ace of Cakes was going to make his from scratch. I only really bought it on a whim as a back up. So, really I bought too much fondant if you ask me, but I digress. Back to the fondant rolling. Well, the fondant rolling was a bit anticlimactic. It just rolled out like sticky cookie dough. Unfortunately, the first time he rolled it, it was the wrong shape for the cakes - round, not square. So, back to the rolling pin he went (oh, I forgot to mention that it was a metal rolling pin and not the long wooden ones like they have on tv. I think that's item number 65 to add to our list of things we need to buy if we ever bake another cake. Sorry Hailey, there goes your college fund). Right, back to the fondant. Rolling it a second time, which was of course my fault for not buying enough, caused the fondant to crack a bit in the corners. Luckily, the expert cake-crusader gently molded the fondant back together. Well, tried to anyway. The corners were, let's just say, a bit rough. However, by midnight we had a cake that I think we were all proud of...how it tasted, well that was to be determined Thursday and will be told in the final episode of the cake controversy.

Happy Birthday, Hailey!!!

Sorry to disappoint those of you who are anxiously awaiting installment three of the cake controversy. I promise to make the cake reveal soon. However, today it's important that we take time to celebrate Hailey's birthday. I can't believe that our little munchkin is 3! There's so much that I want to say, but honestly, I was up until midnight last night helping with (and documenting) the cake creation so I am exhausted. All I can do tonight is to say that I love my Hailey so very very much. I'm so proud of her and the little girl she's becoming, and I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Cake Controversy - Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1 of the Cake Controversy, you have to read that first or this won't make any sense...

Let me begin episode 2 by saying that I love my husband very much, and he is honestly one of the most artistically talented people I have ever met, but baking and decorating cakes are skills that have to be honed over the course of more than a week. Thus, I continued to resist his grand scheme to bake and decorate Hailey's birthday cake from scratch. Plus, as this plan was taking shape in his brain, I was watching my $40 cake savings turn into a $200-$250 deficit by the time you add up the new equipment we'll need, the multiple batches of cake supplies he'll burn through, etc.

My protests aside, Luke went to Kroger Saturday night and spent his $20 budget on supplies for a pound cake (you need dense cake like pound cake to withhold the weight of fondant). Sunday morning he starts the bake-a-thon. A few hours later my mother and I came home to what appear to be two beautiful cakes baking in the oven. I prepared to eat my words, but wait. When we removed the cakes from the oven, we found that what was a beautiful golden brown exterior was really just about a quarter of an inch of the dough which had hardened to a peanut brittle consistency about two inches above the subterranean level of half-caramelized cake batter that resembled molten lava. Immediately, I picked up the phone to call my savior - Publix. Now, why I didn’t take pictures of these botched cakes is beyond me. Probably because I was too busy looking up the number for Publix and praying I was not to late to order the cake that I had picked out in the beginning.

However, our caped, cake crusader is not finished yet. More cakes must be attempted, fondant must be rolled, decorations must be made!!!! How does the story end? I'm not quite sure. The cake for Saturday has been ordered from Publix. However, there is a battle of cakes brewing between my mother who stubbornly insists on making, carving, and frosting her own princess castle cake and my husband who wants to make a red velvet cake covered in fondant. A trip to Kroger Monday night resulted in us purchasing no less than 4 boxes of cake mix, 2 cans of frosting, 2 bags of confectionery sugar, and an oven thermometer (so that the oven can not be blamed for any resulting losses of future cakes). In a subsequent trip to Michaels, we came home with white fondant, glycerin to make our own fondant, and food coloring. I’m probably in this thing for about $100 at this point, not counting the actual cake from Publix.

Other than preparing to eat a lot of delicious cake in the future, I'm staying out of the Food Network Challenge that has broken out in my kitchen (3’ cake limit not applying). However, if this keeps up, I'm banning all cake related Food Network shows, donating all cake related ingredients to the homeless shelter, and permanently unplugging my oven. Let's hope it doesn't come to that!!!

In Episode 3, I will take pictures of the resulting cakes…whatever shape they take.

Cake Controversy

I am about to tell a story that has kept us in absolute hysterics for the better part of a week now. I hope that I can accurately capture the true absurdity of the entire situation from all angles. Names will not be changed to protect the guilty. So, just sit right back and you'll read a tale...a tale of a fateful cake.

Let me start by saying that this is the ridiculous cake that I decided to get from Publix for Hailey's birthday. I know it plays into her princess-obsession which I loathe, but can you imagine the look of sheer joy that will come across her face when she sees it? That look alone was worth the $60 for the cake (what was I just saying about our princess being spoiled?). It was supposed to be a 3-minute call...a 3-minute call!!!!

Now the insanity and the subsequent controversy surrounding the cake began on Saturday (one week from Hailey's party which is 8/1) when my mother (who is in town now) decided that we could save money if she made the cake instead of buying it from Publix. Her plan was simply to bake, frost, and lightly decorate the square cakes that make up the bulk of it and then purchase the turrets and princess dolls for $15 on Ebay. Not a bad idea considering that she is fairly crafty and has a history of baking all of my cakes when I was little. I tell her that if she can pull of such a feat, I will put the cost difference in Hailey's college savings account (hey - every little bit counts, man!).

All we have to do is get Luke to buy in to this plan...here's where it gets a bit complicated. Luke decides that he wants to make the cake himself. As my mother and I begin to resist this plan, his scheme grows ever more complex, like an elaborate spider's web that pulls you in deeper the more you resist. Suddenly, he not only has to bake the cakes himself, but they must be from scratch - no cake mixes. Also, he has to roll his own fondant (that smooth type of frosting that is used on wedding cakes) - not the fondant you can buy at Michaels but the kind he's going to make himself, from scratch! Oh, and no buying the turrets, those have to be constructed from cake formed onto wooden dowels. Princesses, of course, will be sculpted and painted by hand from fondant. Before our very eyes, the husband that I know and love transformed into Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes himself. I mean, if these people who have gone to engineering and/or pastry chef school, have been making cakes for years, and have professional equipment can build 3' cakes from scratch on Food Network, then of course Luke can do it right in our very own kitchen.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Cake Controversy tomorrow...

Party Pooper

What’s that saying, “spare the rod, spoil the child”? Well, I’m not going to start beating Hailey with a rod, but our children are spoiled (ok, my children are spoiled). Hailey’s birthday hasn’t even arrived yet, and I am already struck by the kindness and generosity of our family and friends. Of course, with that kindness and generosity comes a big helping of toys and other princess-related stuff. She will love it all. She will play with it all. But really, the kid is getting everything that she asked for for her birthday and everything that she didn’t ask for but we know that she’ll love. That’s a lot of stuff. Did I get everything that I asked for for my birthday? Surely not!!!

Matching

Sometimes matching means putting together an outfit with colors that coordinate. Other times matching means wearing a top and socks that both have Mermaids on them, regardless of color.

Post Post Partum

While I was searching Craigs List for Sophia’s cribs, I encountered several women who had held on to their cribs for years after their children were no longer using them. With some degree of self righteousness, I laughed at these women. What were they thinking storing that junk in their garages and attics for years? Unfortunately, now I understand. See, I’ve been a bit emotional lately about all things baby. Sophia is four months old now, and she's growing up too fast. I just can't imagine that this might be the last time that I have a baby in my life. I may never be pregnant again, never experience the thrill and exhilaration of birth again, never nurse another child, and never again wake up every morning to that wonderful baby smell. I love being a Mom. I love every part of the journey (except the whining).

Why am I worrying about this right now? I have no earthly idea. There's no reason that I couldn't get pregnant again, except for the frightening prospect of having 3 teenage girls in a few years. Well, actually there's a lot of reasons - way more than my logical brain can ponder at this moment. Why am I such a big emotional mess??? Can you get post partum after 4 months?

Funny Girl

Grandpa taught Hailey a joke...

Hailey: Knock, knock
Mommy: Who's there?
Hailey: Amos
Mommy: Amos who?
Correct answer: A mosquito bit me
Hailey's answer: A butterfly bite me.



File under "what?!?!?!":

Mommy: Guess what? Your friend Kellen is coming home from his Mimi and Papas tomorrow.
Hailey: And then he's going to marry me?

The Best Sunday

Here's Hailey reading to Sophia...




Here's what happens when the reading turns into "singing"...

In the Nick of Time

I took Hailey to the doctor on Thursday. Although the doctor is still quite certain that any serious illness would have materialized by now, she wanted me to take Hailey to get some lab tests done to make sure. She felt like the labs would probably come out normal, but it has been a year and 5 fevers since we did them before. I planned to take her to get the labs done on Friday and even drove all the way to the Children's Hospital, but the fever had broken by then. I couldn't justify putting her through the trauma of getting stuck with needles if there would always be a doubt in my mind whether the normal results were simply a result of the fact that the fever had passed. What this means is that the next time we encounter the fever of unknown origins, we'll have to take her for the lab tests right away. I can only hope that this is the last time.

A Matter of Time

Hailey loves to dot her sentences with statements about time. "Yesterday I ate yogurt for breakfast." "Tomorrow we're going to the pool." "Today I'm going to have my birthday party." The only problem is that she had yogurt today, she went to the pool yesterday, and her birthday party is in a few weeks. It gets a bit confusing.

One day I thought that I would straighten the whole thing out with a little explanation of time. A few sentences in to my brilliant solilique I realized that time is really hard to explain. Today is today, tomorrow is tomorrow, yesterday was yesterday...what???? I made several attempts; Luke made an attempt that sounded just like mine but he claimed was better. Guess what? Yesterday we'll try again, and today maybe she'll get it, but tomorrow she didn't understand.

The Fever Is Back

I'm really writing this more as a record keeping action. I've documented just about every fever she's had since the beginning, and I'm trying to see if there's a pattern over time.

Gross, Gross, Gross

There's nothing a Mommy likes better than to be pooped on and puked on in the same day. That was my special treat today. It started at a colleague's going away party with all of the people from my office. I had Sophia with me, sitting on my lap. I didn't hear anything to tip me off, but all of a sudden my belly got very very warm. I looked down and sure enough, the little one pooped out the back of her diaper, through her onsie and onto my shirt. Check please!!!! Of course, being the seasoned Mommy that I am, there was no panic and no running out the door. Nope, a quick trip to the bathroom to clean her up. Then some improvised cleaning of my shirt, followed by tucking the shirt in to hide the stain, and we're back in business. What!!?!?!? Sit around with poop on my shirt...yeah, I've experienced worse (like catching puke in my hands and holding it for multiple L.A. blocks, but that's a story for another day).

Speaking of puke, after I left the party (covered in poop), we headed to the airport to pick up Grandpa. Within a few minutes, Hailey was puking all over herself in the backseat - car sick, and no, I was not driving like a maniac. I calmly pull over the car, which now contains my poopy shirted self, my pukey shirted daughter, and my totally oblivious baby. No need to panic. A quick wipe of the car seat, a stripped down toddler, removal of some chunks under my fingernails, and we're back on the road. Ah, what a day! If only Sophia could have pulled out a peeing when her diaper was off episode, I would have hit the trifecta. As my friend Meggan says, I earned my Mommy card today. Thanks, girls!

To My Sophia...

16 weeks already!! Where has the time gone, little one? I can't believe that you are getting so big so quickly. In just the past few weeks, you've started acting less like an infant and more like a curious, active little girl. You've started reaching for objects, and of course, trying to shove them in your mouth. Everyone swears that you must be teething already, which is a distinct possibility that your Mommy is not willing to come to terms with yet. I'll believe it when I see that first little bit of white poking through, until then I'll ignore the possibility that you could even be old enough for such silliness.

You've also really started to embrace bath and swim time. Kicking and splashing in the water are two of your favorite passtimes, along with exploring all the toys in your playmat. You also enjoy sitting up in the Bumbo, going for rides in the Bjorn, and blowing spit bubbles until you are soaking wet. Your sister gets a big kick out of watching you and tucking you in (wherever you happen to be). You think she's just hysterical sometimes, other times not so much. I'd like to say that you're sleeping through the night, but that's more than Mommy can ask of you at this point. You're just such a hungry little munchkin, but don't worry, Mommy isn't going to cut you off just yet.

I know that I haven't dedicated quite as much time to you on the blog as I have to all of your sister's many escapades, but that will change. The two of you will keep all of us mighty busy over the next 18 years, and there'll be lots to write about.

Birthday Party Blues

We are giving Hailey her first ever kids birthday party this year. It’s not that she’s been totally deprived in the past, it’s just that we’ve always either traveled for her birthday or done family parties or both. However, now she wants to have a birthday party with her friends. Yeah, I don’t really know how to do birthday party. Unfortunately for everyone (most especially my husband), this is one of those situations where my inner Bree VanDeKamp seizes control of my usual rational self. I’m already in a panic. Do I invite all the kids from school or just the kids I like? Do I provide goodie bags? Do I say no gifts so we don’t have a million little toys I don’t want? What do I feed all of these rug rats? Where do I have said party? Oh my. So many questions and not much time to plan. Pressure, pressure, pressure!!!!

Hailey Swims, Sophia Jumps

Hailey swam by herself (well, with the use of a life vest) for the first time this weekend. She is taking swim classes twice a week, but was still very hesitant to swim without the use of a parent or other flotation devise. Even with the life vest on, she wouldn't let go. Well, this weekend, she finally took the plunge, and I've never seen her so proud of herself. Here's a little clip.

Sophia is having her own little breakthroughs. She's all about the laughing, jumping and grabbing. Of course, she's also really into sticking everything in her mouth. She's getting to be such a big girl (and I don't mean just girth). She's so fun to interact with now.

More pictures and videos available on Flickr.

Don't Stifle My Creativity, Mommy

I was just having an interesting conversation with a friend of mine about Reggio versus Montessori versus Standard curriculums for toddlers and preschoolers. Before I had Hailey, I was always a big proponent of Montessori, which gives kids the opportunity to direct their learning in a more unstructured way than the standard "we have story from 10-10:30 then art from 10:30-11:00, etc" type of curriculum. I'm not as familiar with Reggio, but she tells me that it's even less structured than Montessori. Now, as I said, I was a big proponent of Montessori before I had kids, but when I went to look at a Montessori school again a few months ago, I was shocked by how turned off I was by the sheer chaos of it all. I truly feel that at her age, Hailey needs structure. She needs someone to help direct her to activities and encourage her learning around a few key areas. Of course, I want her to develop critical thinking skills, but I don't think that being in a more structured preschool is going to translate into her NOT asking me how Santa can fly around to everyone's house in one 12 hour period (more on the Santa debate at a later date). Now, on the weekends, she often has unstructured time, and she is certainly capable of playing by herself. However, after a certain amount of time, she's bored and wants some direction. It makes for a much easier day for all of us if I can say, we are going to do 2 activities today and whatever happens in between is free time. Luckily, she's at the age where I can say...do you want to play games or do you want to color? (more on game playing later too) All of that is to say that I'm still happy with Hailey's preschool. She seems to be really learning her letters and, more importantly, the sounds that the letters make. Luke swears that she'll be reading by the fall. I'm not so sure about that, but she's a smart cookie so I won't bet against her.

First Dentist Visit

Hailey had her first dentist appointment yesterday. We took her to a special pediatric dentist who was recommended by multiple Mommies, and let me tell you that pediatric dentists are totally different than regular dentists. Everything was kid friendly, and there was singing. Singing I tell you!!! Hailey was an angel through most of it until the dentist whipped out that pointy sharp metal thing (you know what I'm talking about). There's just no way to make that sharp metal thing look friendly. At that point, all cooperation came to a screeching halt, and there was actual screeching to be heard throughout the building. Luckily, the whole ordeal of the sharp metal pointy thing was mitigated by a princess sticker and a new beaded bracelet. Ah to be a child again and have all your problems so easily solved. The next time you're in for that root canal, maybe you could take solace in the thought that there might be a princess sticker waiting for you on the other side. Well, that and some good drugs!