Happy New Year!

We survived the apocalypse, we hope you did too. I haven't been doing much the last couple of weeks. We had Christmas Eve at my parents house, and celebrated Christmas morning at our house. Growing up, we always opened presents on Xmas Eve. Santa would come at some random point in the days before Xmas, and sneak the presents under the tree. Now that I have kids, I want to do it right. I always pictured my kids running into the living room and tearing into the presents under the tree. They had so much fun on Christmas morning. They ran into the living room, just like I had imagined, and my son (3) says "where is santa?" Then they ripped into their presents and played until noon, when we went to my moms for Christmas Lunch. It was a great day, surrounded by family, stuffed with food.
Oh... We took the kids to the "Holiday Train" this year. It is a train that goes through Canada, and certain parts of the U.S. We are lucky enough to live in a town where this train stops. Everyone lines up along the railroad crossing arms and the train, decked front to back with lights, stops. Santa gets out and hands train whistles to the kids. A train car opens up and a band plays all sorts of Christmas music, and they give a check to the Mayor. It is a lot of fun, and puts everyone in the Xmas spirit. Unfortunately this year it was 5 degrees F outside, so we only stayed for a couple of songs before our feet were frozen. The kids loved it and cried when we had to go.
I hope you all have had a GREAT 2012 and are looking forward to my posts in 2013 :)
As always, thanks for reading!!! Happy New Year ALL!!!!!

Figuring out how to make my son more independent

My son is now 3 years old, and he is quite the character. We have been trying to potty training since he turned 2, but he gets his stubbornness from me. For the last month or so, the only accidents he has is when he is sleeping, or when he needs to poop. He will not poop in his potty. Usually in the mornings he has already pooped before he starts making enough noise to the house up. Ive caught him before actually pooping and put him on the toilet, and he won't go. He will cry and whine, until he has to start getting ready for daycare. I bribe, I cheer, I read, sing songs, beg and plead, but he will not do it. Then he goes to daycare and I remind him to poop on "Kathys potty". He holds it all day, until he can come home, and poop in his pull up. Peeing isn't a problem, although sometimes he gets too busy playing and ends up forgetting. When he does go to the potty, he always asks for help to take off his pants and pullu up and to help him get on the potty. I know he does these things on his own at daycare, but not at home. I also know he can put his shoes on and off on his own, but when he is around me, he wants me to do it. I try to tell him to do it, but he has a fit and as were running out of time to get somewhere, I just end up doing it. I miss the fact that he isn't a baby, and I want him to know that he can come to me for anything, but when he won't do the things that I know he can do, it is very frustrating. I have put him in just underwear, and he doesn't care. He poops in them. For right now I am just taking it a day at a time, and trying not to lose my sanity.

Happy Holidays everyone! I love this time of year. Its the time for soups and snowmen, presents and pies... My family and a few friends are doing a cookie exchange. I made Dark Chocolate Cashew Brittle cookies. First off I had to make cashew brittle. I have never made any type of brittle before so I followed trusty Betty Crocker and made her recipe. The first batch burnt, so I had to make it again. It turned out buttery and yummy.. Here is the brittle before being added to the cookies, and after. Everyone gets a plate of 6 cookies and a bonus of cashew brittle for them to snack on.

Please excuse the blurry picture, it is from my phone. The cookies are chewy and chocolatey and delicious. If you want the recipe, let me know...

Charlie Brown Birthday Party

My Niece Isabel turned 1 on the 3rd and my Nephew Easton turned 1 on the 7th. If you are doing the math, they were born 4 days apart. That was a crazy week at the hospital. Isabel had a minnie mouse themed party and her daddy made her smash cake. Smash cakes are my favorite to make. It gives me the opportunity to be silly and creative in a smaller size. Easton had a Charlie Brown themed party (he looks like Charlie Brown), and my sister let me make his smash cake. Here it is...

My sister and I also made him cupcakes. My sister baked them, and I helped to decorate. Here they are...

I bought the figurines from Ebay. Made a boxed (gasp) cake mix. Stacked 2 round cakes and cut them into the house shape. Covered in canned (double gasp) icing.
Hey, no judging. We were out until 10:30pm, the night before the party, cheering on my brothers basketball team. I was up until 2am making and fretting over this cake, even though I cheated on it. My nephew loved it, as you can see...

French Toast Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream and CANDIED BACON!!!

Ive gone vegetarian before, for months on end, and the thing that always brings me back to meat is bacon. Darn you, you delicious slice of pork heaven! I took my daughter to the local cookie shop here and they had these cupcakes. It was a french toast cupcake with maple icing and candied bacon on top. I about fell out of my chair when I tried it! My first thought was that they were going to be gross, but believe me when I say that this is as close to heaven as you will get here on earth. I haven't had tried to re-create them until tonight. I WON!!!

These mini bites of heaven are like an orgasm in your mouth.
First thing you need to do is to candy the bacon. It sounds difficult but it is super easy. Don't Panic.
Things you will need:
Bacon (duh) I don't use the maple bacon, but its up to you
brown sugar
cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350
place your uncooked bacon strips on the cookie sheet. Be sure it isn't touching.
Spoon some brown sugar on top of each slice and spread it thin with the back of a spoon.
Put your bacon in the oven for 10-12 minutes
take it out and flip each slice. Again make sure its not touching
put it back in for another 10-12 minutes. WATCH IT CLOSE OR IT WILL BURN!!!
take it out of the oven and move to a cooling rack with paper towels underneath. As it cools it will harden enough for you to cut it into pieces with a knife.

For the cupcakes
What you will need:
2 C flour
1Tbsp baking powder
1tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/3C applesauce
1 1/3C white sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
2/3C milk

Preheat oven to 350. line your mini cupcake pan with cute little cupcake wrappers. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl beat applesauce, sugar, and vanilla until well mixed. Add eggs one at a time, beating for at least 1 minute after each egg. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for around 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center, comes out clean.

Icing
What you will need:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1/4 tsp salt
4-6 tsp maple syrup
1Tbsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Beat the butter until is is mixed. Add vanilla and salt, mix lightly. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and mix on low until it is incorporated and mixed well. If you put your mixer on high, the powdered sugar will fly everywhere! Not like I experienced this first hand or anything.... After it is mixed well, add your syrup and let the mixer go on high until it is nice and fluffy. If your mixture is too thin, add more powdered sugar, a little at a time, until it is thick enough to hold its shape.

Now for the fun part. Ice your cupcakes, I like doing it with a piping bag. Top with the crumbled candy bacon. Enjoy.

Here I am, sitting on the couch with my husband, reminiscing about how naive we were as new parents. I remember when my son was born, I made my husband write down every diaper change, the color of the poo, the amount, texture, and whether there was pee or not. I also made him write down how much he ate and how often. How crazy is that?!? I remember thinking that breastfeeding would be easy. It wasn't. My son was a tongue sucker in the womb. He was used to having his tongue on the roof of his mouth, so breastfeeding was impossible with him. He wouldn't latch on. I sat in the hospital room, crying and feeling like the worlds worst mom because women all over the world just do it, and it seems so easy and natural. Oh how wrong I was. I failed and now I understand that as a mom, you have many failures, many trials and errors, many mistakes but also many celebrations, laughs, and some cringe worthy moments. Its a ride, and you just have to hold on, and enjoy every second of it, or try to. You have to let go of some things, and embrace others.

The dreaded cold has hit our house again. A few weeks ago my son and I were sick with this dumb cold, now my husband and our daughter are going through it. It just doesn't seem to go away. When I start feeling better and think that it's finally leaving, BAM, it comes back. I am still coughing up junk.

Update on my last post...
I contacted Safety 1st about the crappy locks that I bought and they are now requesting the receipts, which I don't have. So I guess we will see what they are going to do.

My nephews first birthday is coming up and I am making his smash cake. He is having a Peanuts themed birthday party and his little smash cake is going to be Snoopys dog house with Snoopy and Woodstock sitting on top. I will post pictures when it is made.

I went to the cardiologist today and had an ultrasound of my heart done, and now I have to wear a Holter Monitor for a month. Hopefully they can find out why I have been having these heart palpitations for 2 years now. I hope its nothing bad. Fingers crossed. Sorry this is short, but I don't have much time tonight. I am exhausted.

Hurricane kids....

My kids are now 2 and 3 and are both big handfuls. When they aren't trying to kill each other, they are working together to destroy something. Currently they are sharing a rooml This summer we will either be adding onto our house or trying to get a bigger one, I can't wait and neither can they. I've had to flip their doorknob around so that I can lock it from the outside. This might sound barbaric, but I can't tell you how many times I have woken up at 3am and found them sitting IN the toilet water, or painting the walls with applesauce. I assure you that my kids aren't abused or punished in barbaric ways. I recently bought them a new long dresser, 3 drawers up each side. They kept climbing on top and jumping off of it, like mini Evil Knievels. No matter how many times they were scolded, they kept doing it. One day during "naptime", my daughter had pulled out the drawers and climbed them, the dresser tipped forward and fell on her. Luckily there was a ride on train in the way and it stopped the dresser before the whole weight of it crushed her. The dresser is now in the closet with "childproof locks" on them. What a joke these things are. Here is what they look like in and out of the package

They are pretty hard to unlock with one hand, and my kids can't figure out how to unlatch them. However the sticky tabs aren't sticky enough and with a quick pull of the drawer, they pop off. What a waste of $30 ( I needed 6 of them). I don't see these leaving any glue on your cabinets since they don't stick well in the first place. I am on the search for better locks, while trying to avoid drilling into the dresser. My kids used to love putting eachother in the dryer, until I purchased these godsends....

These are awesome. They stick to your washer and dryer and the glue actually sticks! Don't get your finger between the lock and the door of your appliance though. I speak from experience on that one. Yowch!!
My son figured out how to unlock his door from the inside and they were up at the crack of dawn this morning. They went into the kitchen, drew on the walls and floor with purple marker, fed the dog an entire pack of hotdogs, helped themselves to applesauce, and spilled pumpkin seeds everywhere. Their room was a complete disaster. Their drawers were open and the contents were emptied all over their room. I am bagging up all of their toys and they can earn them back. Im a mean mommy.

Catch up with me crazy

So... if you are reading this, thank you. The last time we had a chat, it was March 2012, I had just gotten married, and was in full newlywed bliss. We went to Maui later that month and spent a week in paradise. It was surreal and I didn't want to leave, but I definitely recommend it.Our first day in Maui and we rented some snorkel equipment, and after some trial and error, we got in the ocean and ended up swimming along side a sea turtle. If you ever get that opportunity, jump at it. I am not rich, in fact I hadn't even seen the ocean until our honeymoon. I am a small town girl and never thought I would ever be able to take a trip like that. I love my husband!
I threw my sister a baby shower. She was having a little boy and the theme of his room is owls, so I made these cake pops.

They were chocolate cake, with chocolate icing and dipped in chocolate. Perfect for a pregnant woman, right?

 Then my son turned 3, and keeping with tradition, I made his cake. He had a dinosaur themed party and here is his cake. The Logansaurus Rex

This kid goes insane for anything dinosaur or super hero related. He loved it and everyone had a blast. The head and tail of this dinosaur are made of rice crispies, the hands and feet are straight fondant and the body is the cake. It was a challenge to get the fondant to work with me, without tearing.
A month later was my daughters 2nd birthday and here is a picture of her birthday cupcakes.

I had to make her cupcake tower because I couldnt find one for mini cupcakes. :-(
Since my daughters birthday, I havn't done much baking, even though I want to. At this moment I am sick with a horrendous cold and sinus infection.
Thank you for reading and I will post again soon.

As promised, here is the picture of the Snickers Bars. Its been quite a while since I last posted and that is because we have been really busy. My parents who lost their home in the Minot ND flood of 2011, are no longer homeless. They get to move into their brand new home in a couple of weeks. We all went out and watched as they moved the house from the semi trailer, onto its new foundation. I got married last week! We are still going to Hawaii this summer to renew our vows and have our honeymoon. I am so excited that I dont want to think about it because I could squeal with excitement for days on end. I also had 3 root canals at once. Surprisingly not as painful as I expected! My little logan started daycare. its a few days a week for a few hours so that I can get all of my running done with only 1 ankle biter.

Oh yeah... the picture...

So there they are. They look so simple, but they are SO delicious. It looks like alot, but dont get overwhelmed. They are WELL worth any time put into them.

makes one 9×13 pan

bottom chocolate layer
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
Thoroughly grease you baking pan. Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into the baking dish and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.

nougat layer
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, roughly chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved and bring to a boil. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in fluff, peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts, then pour over bottom chocolate layer. Let cool completely.

caramel layer
1 14-ounce bag of caramels
1/4 cup whipping cream
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Let melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth – this took about 10 minutes for me. Pour over nougat layer and let cool completely.

Top chocolate layer
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour over caramel and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.
Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving, then cut as desired. These can stay at room temperature, but they do get gooey. I like them refrigerated best!

Note: for best results, buy one of the half-sheet aluminum cake pans at the grocery store. That way, you can pop the entire square out and cut from there! I did not put pieces of peanuts in mine because I used chunky peanut butter, but I wish I would have used peanuts as well.
Happy Eating

Bad dental news today

5 years ago I had the worst experience of my life with a dentist. Today I sucked it up and went to a new dentist. He was super nice, and after about 20 minutes I was completely relaxed around him. Bad news... I need 5 root canals, 2 of which were done 5 years ago but need to be redone, a filling, and 2 build ups. I am not a happy camper. This dental work will be costing my fiancee over $14,000.00. Since I am a stay at home mom, I dont bring in any money (how awesome would that be?). We have money in savings, but that is for moving next summer. We were depending on tax returns to be able to go to hawaii and get married this summer. Tax return came back great and Hawaii was in sight. We are basically forced to get married in the courthouse asap, so I can have his insurance to get my dental work done cheaper. If we did that, we could still get married in Hawaii this summer. Fingers crossed that this all works out. Looks like moving will be put off even further. :(


On a side note. My 2.5 year old is now in a big boy bed. He is doing ok, not great. But I expected that. Thats all for tonight. Gotta get to bed

Thanks for reading!

Ladies and Gents (most likely ladies, but if there are gents... WELCOME!) I just got back from the movie theater. We watched Chronicle and it was really good.
I made my cinnamon toast crunch cupcakes today and OH-MY-GOODNESS-GRACIOUS!!! They are AMAZING. I definately suggest that you try them.The cake is melt-in-your-mouth good, and the icing is indescribable. To best sum up the delicousness I would tell you that I would lick this icing off of an old boot. Its sweet, creamy, and I "snuck" way too much of it out of the mixing bowl. Here is the recipe:


Cinnamon Cake

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

¾ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup sour cream

Vanilla Cake Mix (not white cake mix)

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon 

 

Cinnamom Toast Crunch Buttercream

 

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder

(Crush the cereal in a bag and then sift out 2/3 cup)

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pan with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla.

3. Mix in sour cream.

4. Add cake mix and cinnamon and mix until smooth.

5. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

6. Buttercream: Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Adjust the consistency using milk if it is too thick.

7. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with cinnamon sugar and a Cinnamon Toast Crunch square. (optional)

 

 Enjoy, and thanks for reading!

So... This is my first Blog here and I guess I will just tell you what to expect. I am a stay at home mother of 2. A 2.5 year old boy and a 1 year old girl. I do have a soon to be- stepdaughter (5) who visits every once in a while. I am a self proclaimed hobby whore. I cant get enough. It all started with making jewelry, now I am into baking cupcakes, desserts, cake pops, cakes, chocolates, bon bons, cookies, and crocheting. I really want to build a ship in a bottle, but hey that's on my bucket list along with swimming with sharks, riding a bull, wrestling an alligator and sky diving. I'm sure it will happen one day but for now lets just talk about what I do on a weekly basis, or whenever I feel like it, because lets face it, nobody is going to read this anyways. I am not saying that my life is so interesting that you would need to read my blog (if that were the case i would just get a twitter account), all I am saying is that I like to do new things, this is new. My life can be full of twists and turns, but there's always a laugh or two. So come along for the ride with me. Expect recipes too. I told you, im full of surprises! What? I didn't tell you that? Well I am now.... IM FULL OF SURPRISES!

Oh I guess I should tell you about my adventures.... last week I made homemade snickers bars and they were incredible. My next blog will include the recipe and maybe a picture if you are good. You may be asking "why not just post it now?"... I will tell you why. My recipe is in the kitchen and I am in the living room, its 10:30 at night and I am too lazy to get up and get it right now.

This week I will be making Cinnamon Crunch cupcakes with a cinnamon toast crunch cream cheese frosting. Sound good? Stay tuned for the recipe. Ha Ha. See you all, next post. Thanks for reading,

Amber