Cookie Check-In

I baked and baked yesterday, and got about half way through my baking list. Both of the boys were happy with their Rice Krispies Treats Spoons, and the other tasty treats too. Today I’ll be baking the rest of the cookies, and spending the day in the kitchen.

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Summer Sleep-In

I’ve been working extra on getting both of my boy’s on the same nighttime schedule. Dinner by 6:00 p.m., heading upstairs at 7:00 p.m. for baths, and everybody off to bed at 8:30 p.m. I use the extra time in the evenings to water the garden, clean up the kitchen, and occasionally sew. I usually clock out by 11:00 p.m.

The routine seems to be working well, but there is just one little problem. Most days they are up before 7:00 a.m., today they were both up before 6:45 a.m. It is now 8:45 a.m. and Dylan is already whining for a nap. Thade gave up naps when Dylan arrived, so he is pretty grumpy by dinner time. I’m hoping it is just a phase, but I had better start getting up earlier just in case.

Do you have any suggestions to help these early risers sleep in just a little bit?

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Take Along Treats

Yesterday we were invited to a friend’s house for dinner. I asked if I could bring a dessert, and she said sure. I had a few new recipes that I wanted to try out. I’m trying to phase cake mixes and pre-made icing out of my pantry. I want to learn how to make both of these items from scratch.

I picked out a recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes and Vanilla Frosting to bring for dessert. I got out the stand mixer and attempted the frosting first.

This frosting was so fun to make. I softened the butter just a bit, and I let the frosting whip for a good 15-20 minutes. The result was a beautiful, light, fluffy frosting, that even Thade approved of! It was a little more expensive than the pre-made, but well worth it.

Feeling pretty good about the frosting, I was moving on to the cupcakes. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about tackling the batter. I’ve always used a cake mix, but I had everything in my pantry to make them from scratch. I did have a back-up recipe planned, just in cast the cupcakes failed miserably.

I did alter the recipe just a bit… I omitted the 2 extra (whole) eggs, and added in extra vanilla. The cupcakes were so soft and whoa baby they were tasty. They were sweet even without the frosting. Cake mixes might just make an exit from the pantry as long as I can find a tasty recipe for Chocolate Cake and Yellow cake too…

I let the cupcakes cool, and while Dylan was taking a nap, I thought it would be fun for Thade and I to Frost the cupcakes together. I also thought it would be cool to dye the icing a few pastel colors. Thade picked Green, Blue, Pink, and Purple.

I had envisioned a plan of Thade helping out with Frosting the cupcakes, but once he realized that he could sample one of the cupcakes, he grabbed his cupcake, and left Mommy to decorate. He did sit still long enough to finish off the Frosting in the bowl.

I decorated the cupcakes with sprinkles… Who could resist a cupcake with sprinkles? My favorite was the pink frosted cupcake with chocolate sprinkles.

I took two plates of cupcakes to my friend’s house, and we were all treated to four delicious homemade pizzas for dinner, too tasty! My friend makes a super tasty veggie pizza that was topped with fresh basil from her organic garden, super yum. The kiddos tore into the cupcakes after dinner, and the from scratch recipe was a success! I’ll be baking these again, and working on a tasty chocolate frosting too.

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