Cake 3.0

And the other cake for my dads 50th birthday part and my pictures along the way! My dad loves the Denver Broncos so what better way to celebrate his birthday with an over the hill Bronco cake.  Complete with a blue and orange layered cake inside.

Covered in green Marshmallow Fondant!

Putting the logo on, cut out of Sugar Sheets. I will try out of fondant next time. I just didn't have the time to make 3 more batches of fondant this time.

 Adding the finishing touches.

 And the blue and orange cake underneath the fondant.  I was excited that both cakes not only looked great but tasted amazing too.  What a relief.  Maybe one day I will make a business out of this for myself.

Cakes 2.0

After making my first 3 cakes and realizing how much time they took with a small child I had some down time between making cakes.  They are hard since every cake is different and every cake is a learning experience.  They are also beyond terrifying to make, they take some good time, and people only order cakes for special occasions and I'm terrified they wont taste amazing!  I taste them when they come out of the oven, but who knows the cake may dry out in the freezer, or fridge, or between decorating processes.  And the only way to learn is to experiment. So far so good, and keeping my fingers crossed they stay that way.  Anyways I decided after nearly a year and a half of no baking, no decorating, no nothing, that I would try again.  My dads 50th was fast approaching and my step mom presented the offer to me to make the cakes for his surprise birthday party.  I was extremely hesitant, because not only had it been forever but this was a special occasion that I would be present for.  The cake could look amazing, but taste awful... or maybe it would taste great but the design wouldn't be what I had hoped for.  Anyways here are the pictures of my process to cake number one...

Cakes

When I was pregnant with my first my mother in law bought me some cake decorating stuff to keep my mind busy.  From that moment on I was hooked.  I started baking first from a box and then moving onto recipes from scratch.  I found that I might have found my niche.  I had tried every craft possible, just to find that I wanted to be "crafty" but that hardly ever ended in a beautiful product.  However baking worked for me, and decorating turned into a real piece of artwork.  My favorite cupcake was  chocolate cupcake with a Hershey's kiss sitting inside.  They were amazing.  Once I had my feet under me I learned about fondant, but everything I read said the taste wasn't great.  However in my search I found something called Marshmallow Fondant!!  This was a life saver, not only did it taste great but it was super easy to make!  I started simple with a cake for Joshua's first birthday!

It turned out as well as I could have expected for my first real cake!  My next project was a wedding cake... a huge undertaking considering this was my first cake.

This was the second cake I did a wedding cake that I was TOTALLY proud of!  It even tasted pretty good!

And my third cake was a cake for a friend.  Each covered in marshmallow fondant, and each was a learning experience.

My Boys

Enough about project and onto life!  My mom has the next few weeks off and wanted to spend some alone time with each of the boys, so she took Joshua on Monday afternoon until late Wednesday (today).  Her blissful one on one time with my beautiful boy has been miserable.  On the way to her house on Monday he threw up, but she still wanted to keep him because she wanted the time with him (and it was good to try to separate the boys while he is sick).  Tuesday he did just fine, that was the calm before the storm.  My poor little boy woke up throwing up and hasn't been able to keep anything down today.  I want nothing more than to cuddle him and bring him home!!!  But I know that he is getting one on one attention with my mom and she is taking good care of him.  I'm hoping he will be over it by the time he comes home tomorrow morning, so that Elijah doesn't end up with it. 

As of this last weekend I had decided that Wednesday would be my last day of pumping and Elijah would then be 100% on formula.  I have weaned off pumping because last time it didn't work so well going cold turkey.  I have cut down to one pump session a day, first thing in the morning, and still produce 7-10oz.  Now that Joshua is sick I think it is in the best interest of Elijah that I keep pumping to try to get him the best antibodies possible.  I am so thankful that when I was pregnant with Joshua we bought a high quality electric pump by Medela.  It has been worth every penny and so much more, and I'm ecstatic it still works after being used for almost 18 months!  Every day I struggle with the battle to quit pumping, I made it a solid 7 months giving him just breastmilk and the last month in a half with 1/3 breastmilk and 2/3 formula.  Breastmilk is surely the best for him and it isn't hurting me to do one session a day, but I'm really really over pumping.  I'm tired of feeling like a cow attached to a pump 1-5 times a day.  However paying for formula when I am fully capable of being his milk source seems ridiculous.  Can't decide how to do the whole flu shot thing either, if I continued pumping and increased my supply again I could get the flu shot and he will get it through my milk, sparing him another shot!  Or I could just give him the shot on his own, after all he is 8 months and should do just fine with it.  Seems like there are a million reasons to keep pumping, and only my sanity begging to me stop.

My boys are amazing and I don't know what I would do without them.  Joshua is in the "terrible 2's" but honestly I am loving this stage.  He learns things so quickly and loves every minute of it.  And Elijah, well he is moving fast, crawling, babbling, and standing on EVERYTHING!!  Both boys are happy and bring so much light to everyday that I can't imagine a better place to be than home with them everyday!  Looking forward to Joshua coming home tomorrow, maybe my little tornado will cuddle since he isn't feeling so good. 

Laundry with Oxyclean

After making a double batch of the laundry soap made from this recipe with:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 bar Fels Naptha
1/2 cup Oxyclean
 I found all ingredients at Walmart



I was a bit discouraged.  The smell of the bar laundry soap made me nauseous because it was so over powering.  I used my food processor, but should have stuck to grating the bars by hand.  The food processor I had grated the bar much faster than I could have but the pieces were much bigger.  Even after sending it through with the blade I ended up with a bunch of small chunks.  We just have to shake the jar really well before using it so the different weights of the layers aren't separated.  Its probably a good idea to shake it before every use anyways.  Back to what I was saying, the smell of this detergent is ridiculously potent, especially after making the Dove first.  HOWEVER I absolutely love this detergent!!! It cleans well, and smell good once it is out of the dryer.  I also found the nifty shot glass in the kitchen aisle that measures out 1 to 2 tablespoons, awesome find since each load needs 2 tablespoons. I'm beyond excited that this DIY laundry detergent actually worked out!  The detergent containing Oxyclean is more expensive, but still comes out to $.08 per load vs $.20 cents per load of Gain.  Excited to save money wherever we can. 

I'm loving that these DIY products are making me feel accomplished and worthwhile.  It feels like I have a project... though now its over so I guess it is time to find my next project.  Maybe hiring a full staff, to cook, clean, and cater to our every need (ha ha ha it was a nice thought).  Now back to reality, maybe sewing, or painting, or working on more stuff for the quiet room. 

Phase 2

So I finally got around to making the second laundry detergent and it is quite different from the first.  The Dove is very pleasant and almost has a dull smell to it, now the second with the Fels Naptha and Oxyclean is very harsh to the nose!  We haven't tried the second out the in the washer but I think it is going to have more of an outcome smell wise that your typical detergent has, instead of neutral like the Dove.  We will be keeping both in containers with lids to keep the smells contained.  I remember being pregnant and wanting to stick my head in a box of gain because I was literally craving the smell of Gain.  My dear husband didn't think this was such a great idea. 
Anyways phase 2 was to also make other cleaners at home to help cut out some of the harshness of household cleaners.  I found a bunch of cleaners through a pin I found on Pinterest.  The oh so addictive Pinterest!!!  Here is where I was inspired to try a few.  I only made a few but I have to admit this project totally brought me back to the 3rd grade and my magical potions.  I reused baby food jars to hold the cleaners I made, I didn't want to make a huge batch and then hate them.  Also wanted to start this while I still had cleaners I trusted so that if my homemade ones didn't work I could still get the job done.  I did an all purpose cleaner, tile and tub cleaner, grout cleaner, scouring powder, glass cleaner, and mildew remover.  This should get me a pretty good start on cleaning. Plus I did a few jars of just Baking Soda for cleaning anything from the stove top to the bath tub.  Again THIS wonderful page was not only easy to navigate but has ways to make green cleaners for the bathroom, kitchen, floors, couch, grout, etc.  

I labeled each lid with what was inside and the outside of the jars with how to make it and how to use it, that way I didn't have to get online every time I wanted to clean.  Now the hard part, getting off the computer during nap time to actually go clean.  They were a fun project but now cleaning just seems overrated and the laziness is beginning to set in.  The ingredients were simple I ended up using Borax, Baking Soda, White Vinegar, Kosher Salt, and a vegetable oil-based liquid soap.  Next on the list of things to do, find a cleaning wipes recipe to resemble that of a Chlorox Wipe.  And to reorganize the laundry room so I can keep all the household cleaners and anything that isn't kid friendly in there.  

Budget Trimming

As a stay at home mom it is important for me to save money whenever and wherever I can.  We have a spreadsheet laid out with every cost and which paycheck will pay what.  Quite possibly a bit anal but it is a great system to keep up in check.  The newest way I have found to save money will be to make our own laundry detergent (assuming we like it), and change out all the harsh cleaners for homemade less abrasive ones.  My 2 year old is getting awfully smart and I feel it is only a matter of time before he can open all the child proof cabinet locks, and having poison control on speed dial doesn't sound like my idea of a good time. Now I made one batch of laundry detergent already and found the initial recipe here.  Though after more research (and personal preference) decided I wanted to do a powder instead with this recipe (they are exactly the same aside from the pot and water, which gave me more confidence to try it) consisting of:





1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 bar of grated Dove soap (I used Dove because I love this soap)





Each load takes 1-2 tablespoons depending on how dirty the load is.  And with a house full of boys my assumption is that I will always use 2 tablespoons.  Of course after making a double batch of the detergent found that Dove probably wasn't the best soap because of the oils it has in it.  Some say it worked well with no issues and others have said the oils can cause stains, so now I'm worried. While it works very well it is a bit of a change, I'm used to the fresh smell of laundry running and all the suds to show it cleaning.  This homemade detergent is concentrated so there are few suds and the clothes come out of the washer smelling almost neutral.  As long as the clothes are clean the amount of bubbles and lack of smell shouldn't matter.  I know that this detergent works because it took out one of those lovely breastfeed yellow pooped all over my clothes stains.  However I want to try one that potentially has a bit more kick to it.  I am going to try yet another recipe and see which I like better, I found the recipe I like here consisting of:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 bar Fels Naptha Soap (found in the laundry aisle)
1/2 cup of Oxyclean

Each load will need 2 tablespoons of detergent.  I will be making this recipe as soon as I can find a way to get off the couch and go to the store.  Both recipes will be much more cost effective than you everyday store bought varieties (I could do the math but honestly don't remember the cost of each).  Though we will still use our handy dandy trusted Gain when it comes to washing my husbands work clothes, as they are too expensive to experiment with!  These detergents are super easy to make, you simply get a bowl, grate the bar of soap, or put it through the food processor add the Borax, Washing Soda, and Oxyclean if you choose, stir together thoroughly and your done.  Next mission is to find all the household cleaners I like and try them out, but this feels a bit overwhelming at the moment.

Just wanted to add I found all of the ingredients needed for the detergent at Walmart!