A Birthday Party

My middle BIL's girlfriend had her birthday yesterday so we celebrated with a party today at my MIL's house. A few days go DH calls me from work. He and his brothers had cooked up the idea to have a surprise party for their mother (whose birthday is on Tuesday) at the same time as middle BIL's girlfriend. So, I was asked to make the cake.

Now, if you read my post about my youngest's birthday party, you remember that my MIL showed me how to make icing roses. So, I told DH that I would like to try and make her cake a little more than a 9x13 still in the pan with icing slathered on. He was game so I went to the store.

Wilton makes these $12 starter kits with several tips/bags/mini colors/couplings and instructions (I suggest YouTube or Wilton website videos!), so I picked up one. I figured I could at least try. If I was completely inept then I could always call my mom to rescue me. I grew up watching mom decorate the most fantastic cakes (we never had plain, boring cakes until we became teens and were too complicated and moody...lol). So, I figured I had a head start.

So, here we go.This is two 9 inch rounds stacked. I used two boxed chocolate cake mixes and two tubs of chocolate icing. I filled the pans over the halfway mark to let them mound up. When they cooled I cut off the top keeping in line with the top of the pans to create a flat surface.

And here it is. It is far from perfect but God gave me the patience to keep trying. The best part? My MIL loved it!

I am glad I took pictures before we left the house to head over to MIL's because in the midst of DH fixing vegetable beef stew in the dutch ovens outside, the MIL's oil carafe that sat on the back of the stove fell over on the cake and flattened two of the roses! Lol! I had not put it back far enough when I returned it to the kitchen. Hahaha! I had a great time creating this and thank God for the talented women in my life that have taken the time to teach me their craft.

Cooking, Camping, and a Birthday

The cooking and camping go hand-in-hand. My Dh and I are going to be camping next summer with our boys (the two oldest when they can join us...). So, DH bought me a 10-inch, 6qt, tri-leg dutch oven. I am determined to know how to cook WITHOUT a camp stove. The way I look at it, as long as I can start a fire and I have my dutch oven (and food) I can feed my family. I don't have to waste money on the camp stove every time we pack up for the weekend. It will be for emergencies. So, we started. And nothing has burned! Yay, me!

To further our camping experience, it is always nice to have a tent. DH and I have been pricing them for almost 6 months now. WOW! They can sure be expensive. We have finally settled on one we really like but it will cost a tidy bit and we have too many things to take care of right now to justify that purchase. It will wait. Enter - my family!

I had been up to my grandparents' home for something and ended up talking with Grandpap about our hopes for camping next summer. He offered his old tent that has been in storage for going on 20 years. Hey, it was more than DH and I had at the time, so I was more than happy to tell DH about it. A few days later my uncle called me to offer his and Aunt Martha's tent, too! Again, it had been in storage for many years.

Well, Saturday we packed up the boys and headed to my grandparents' house to see what we were dealing with as both my grandpap and my aunt/uncle said they weren't sure the condition of the tents but we were welcome to them. OMGosh!!!! They were awesome! Aunt/Uncle's tent is so cool! It is a small 3-4 man tent with a screen house attached and a canvas roof. Fabulous condition! Aunt even pulled the original instructions from the pole box! Hahah! In this family that is amazing! Pap's tent is fully canvas and the condition, well, have a look!

Today was Mr. Pirate's eighth birthday. We had his party over at my MIL's. It was small, as my older brother and his family didn't make it and my DH's brothers didn't make it (although one of DH's brother did drop off his oldest daughter). That's okay, though. We had a great time. MIL showed me how to make icing roses (yay!) and then we played outside with Mr. Pirate's new football. I even managed to figure out how to spiral a football (it's taken over 20 years, my brothers should be thrilled!). All in all, it was a wonderful day!

Taking pictures again...

Calendula (calendula arvensis - field marigold) and Baby's Breath (gypsophila elegans). I am trying to learn the latin names for the plants and flowers in my daily life, so work with me. The Calendula is unedited except for my watermark. The Baby's Breath is unedited except for cropping and my watermark.

These are growing in my MIL's backyard. We were there Saturday for my BIL's birthday party and I was bored, so I took pictures. Since I don't drink alcohol and don't smoke cigarettes (Myself and my two youngest sons are allergic to cigarette smoke and prolonged exposure will trigger our migraines), I couldn't sit on the back porch and relax. Something I really wanted to do on my 11th Wedding Anniversary. Taking pictures kept me from mouthing off at my BIL/SIL about their treatment of my MIL. Sometimes I really hate my Etiquette Button. It kicks on at the most inopportune times. *sigh* Yes, Grandma M., I played nice.

Anyway, I am going to put these two photos in the Fair Photography Contest this year. I think. Still not sure. All I DO know is that I have to get Little Pirate to take some pictures. Since he has discovered this extreme fascination with rocks (he's found some real nice ones, too!) maybe him taking some macro shots of them could be an idea. Of course, it will be done on a tripod so that my camera lens doesn't somehow end up in the middle of a rock pile! Lol!

Quick update

Mom's home. My brother and his oldest son spent the night at my house. My two youngest sons had a blast with their cousin! It only took them 1 hour beyond bedtime and about a dozen reminders to go to sleep for them to quit whispering. A new record for my kids during sleepovers, actually! When my older brother's two boys spent the night it was closer to 3 hours and me feeling like a broken record. Of course, the road trip had my nephew tired to begin with.

I am still sick. Dana, I am sorry if I gave it to your husband and son! Really! We had a great visit despite my less than stellar health.

Mom gave me beautiful hair sticks from an artisan that my SIL found near their home. Even though I can't quite get the hang of ONLY using hair sticks, I can still use them as decoration after I anchor my hair with a band. My SIL made me a beautiful necklace and bracelet set! I will take pictures and show you later. I plan on wearing them with a black dress for my 18 y/o's high school graduation (Yes! Thank you, God, for the miracle of him fixing his flubs in time!). She (SIL) also made a great birthday card! I will take a picture of that, too. The great thing about Dana is just getting a card from her is more "gift" than anything! Her work is fabulous and amazing! Her oldest son is talented in that area, too, so I can't wait to see what he comes up with as he gets older and more confident.

So, it's late. As stated earlier, I am still sick. I am going to drag this tired, sore, stiff body to bed. A return post could take a few days...I hate being sick...

So, yesterday...

...was obviously my birthday. It also reminded me that I have posted about my birthday every year since I started this blog. This will be the third year.

Just like the last few years, this is a progressive birthday. I had all these great plans on having dinner AND dessert ON my birthday. Nope. Didn't happen. Why? For the first time I can ever remember, I have a summer cold. It started yesterday afternoon just before the kids got home from school. Joy. So, my DH took pity on me and sprung for takeout even though he was perfectly willing to cook dinner for me like he had planned. It was just too hot and I was just too cranky to put up with the oven being on.

Today, I am still sick but moving better (it's amazing what a few doses of medicine can do for a person!). My mom called this morning and told me she is coming home today and will be back around dinner time. My brother (yes, the one with the broken knee and bionic parts) is bringing her home and my nephew gets to tag along! Yay! Well, those two are camping out at my house tonight (yeah, not even worried about the clean laundry that still needs folded or the boys' room that still needs to be finished...that's what being sick does to me).

I have, however, made my dessert for my birthday. When DH and I were on our mini-vacation he took me to Applebee's and I loved it. I was so stuffed that I couldn't even eat dessert! And what a dessert I found! So, I decided to make my own version for my birthday. And here it is:

I don't know what Applebee's calls it but this is my Strawberry Chocolate Mousse. Underneath the mousse is a layer of crumbled Oreo-type cookies. This is such a simple dessert! Start to finish (if you don't wait to plate it until later) would be about 30 minutes.

Ingredients are simple:

• Dreamwhip packets - I used two packets
  
• Instant Chocolate Pudding - 2 4-oz. packages
• Oreo-type cookies - I will leave the number of packages up to you! Lol!
• Milk
• Vanilla Extract
  

Just follow the instructions for Mousse on the back of the Dreamwhip Box (double the recipe if you want a lot...that's what I did). I crushed the cookies in a gallon-size storage bag - and freaked my boys out at the same time! The ramekins actually belong to my 18 y/o from when he made Creme Brulee a few weeks ago. I put about a serving spoon of cookie crumbs in the bottom. Two serving spoons of mousse on top of that and then a fanned strawberry on top of the whole thing. Assembly took about 5 minutes for 5 ramekins. I have enough to do about 5 or 6 more.

I may not get overly excited about my birthday, like I use to do, but I certainly enjoy experimenting with desserts..

Well, DH is almost done with the steaks and the redskinned parsley potatoes are about ready to come out of the over (geez, it's hot in this house!!!), so that's it. Give the dessert a try! You'll love it!

Happy Birthday!!!

When my grandmother was very young her mother had a little boy who was born with Cerebral Palsy. The doctors were very honest with Great-Grandma and told her that he wasn't strong enough to live very long, probably not more than three years. Tomorrow he turns 76. Yeah, they kind of got that wrong.

Anyway, we had a small party for him at the Care Center he is living in. This morning I called my mom bright and early (she wished I hadn't...really, it was VERY bright and early!) and suggested a blanket for him since he gets chilled easily. She and Grandma loved the idea, so here it is. He is a life-long fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers which made the choice of design very easy. This blanket is only little over 1 yard (that's all the black they had) and with me rushing through it, I made it in just under 4 hours. He loved it! Grandma, Pap, and Mom were thrilled with the results and I had so much fun making it.

Do you see that little girl? That gorgeous little baby? She is cute, isn't she? She is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. Only, she's not so little anymore...today, she is 12.

Twelve years ago my older brother's wife blessed our family with an angel. Today, she loves to play soccer, is a dedicated Girl Scout, and can sew better her Aunt Jenny! (although, that is not too hard for anyone to sew better than me...)

Her younger brothers both celebrated birthdays earlier this month but, boys being boys, they tend to run from me when I have my camera so I don't have any decent shots of them...YET! I will get you....one day....hahaha! They both love soccer, too. Both are also dedicated Scouts. I am so proud of them.

Progressive Birthday

I celebrated my birthday over several days this year. I didn't really have a party, I just cooked and had some really great food! Not to mention, grocery shopping two days in a row! So anyway, I wanted to show you what I had. For my birthday dinner my husband and I fixed Tuscan Stuffed Chicken Breast with Prosciutto & Mozzarella Cheese with Baby Greens Salad and Mixed Veggies. You are only getting a picture of the Chicken because he took my camera from me! Something was said about the food getting cold...oh, well!

I was amazed that the 8-year-old loved it! Even more surprising? My youngest son, who is super-picky about his food, cleaned his plate! He even thought about asking for seconds. Thought about it, but didn't! The teenagers, on the other hand, were less than pleased. They ate it anyway. They are good young men. Now, that ends day one! Oh, I know! Dessert happens on day two!

This is my Grandma's Broccoli-Ham Casserole. My husband loves this. My mom gave this recipe to me and my two brothers years ago for our families. Actually, she gave the recipe to me and their wife/girlfriend. Just clarifying. The guys would have lost the recipe in a week. We all use it. It is really good! I have to double the recipe. I even got to use my birthday present from my husband! My brand new 3-Quart enameled cast iron braiser. It was empty when dinner was done. Usually happens that way with a family of six.

I managed to get to at least one dessert on day 2! My SIL, Dana, posted her Dessert Nachos when she returned home after visiting us in WV. I decided to try them.

Not as elaborate as Dana's but she has been doing this longer! It only took me two half-sheet pans, 1/2 a hissy-fit for burning myself, and 1 phone call to Upstate NY to get the nachos done. Not all the fruit I used is in the picture. I had strawberries, bananas, pineapple, peaches, mango, and grapes. I wanted kiwi but they were like little cement balls! But the caramel drizzle made up for it. The vanilla ice cream made the kids happy, too! Dana, I think I love this!!! Thank you!

And tonight, day 3, I shall eat my birthday cake! I got to blow out the candles on my birthday, by decree of my husband (how cute!). He didn't have time to bake me a cake, so he bought me this beautiful little Red Velvet cake with cream cheese icing. At it's heart, it is a chocolate cake. They just dyed it red!

Okay, officially my longest blog. I think I am done now.