My Birthday Cake Portfolio

I like making birthday cakes for my kids. I have never been accused of being a perfectionist which makes for some interesting cakes, but it also makes making "interesting" cakes no big deal and a lot of fun. Below find all the cakes I have made so far. Looking forward to making as many more as I can! (More on our precious birthday girl tomorrow on her real birthday....FYI three years ago at exactly this time I had been in labor for 18 hours with just 11 more to go.)

(Afton turning 1)

(Afton turning 2)

(Ponder turning 1)

(Afton turning 3)

Spice Is my Favorite.

I mentioned earlier I wanted to to do a lot of baking this holiday season. I did as much as I possibly could but I didn't really do much in the end. Still it was lots of fun and very yummy. I think I want to make it a tradition every year. Much more convenient when I am pregnant and all those extra calories don't matter as much, but hey, that is what my new treadmill is for, right? Anyway I didn't fall in love with any new recipes during my experience, but I re fell in love with one that I learned last fall. I love it for two reasons -- because it is ridiculously easy and amazingly delicious. Easiness is a feature I appreciate in my extra curricular activities at this time in my life. So here is my go to pumpkin muffin recipe (if you are indiginified by the use of box mixes read no further) :

Take any box cake or muffin mix (I have used yellow, chocolate, and spice. Spice is my favorite.) Follow the directions on the box replacing the oil with a can of pumpkin. How easy is that. And it is SO yummy and SO moist. Love it. Also good with chocolate chips! Yum!

I Probably Won't Bake Something New Everyday

1. I don't have time to have a fancy blog with long double proof read posts, but I do miss having a way to remember my thoughts as my days pass me by, open my life to my friends and acquaintances, and leave a record for my children of their infancy and childhood, so I am back, but keeping it simple.

2. I have decided to bake my brains out this holiday season and I can't wait! I have always loved the idea of holiday goodies everywhere all season long. That was how it was at my Nana's house growing up. There was never a day without a pie or some candies or special bread or something yummy! It made everything so special. I have been wanting to make the holiday season a celebration everyday all season long and I can't really think of an easier or better way to celebrate than with food. My only drawback has been all those calories. How could I make festive goodies everyday and not end up as fat as a Christmas goose myself. This unanswered question has been what has kept me from ever embarking on my holiday baking mission. But I got thinking....what with me pregnant and all and not really supposed to be worried about calories and not really supposed to be too worried about my weight this will be the perfect season to try my experiment.  So here we go!  Well, beginning November 1st (Ron's birthday and my official start of holiday season) pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pie will start things off and will give way to Christmas candies, cookies, and ciders as our thoughts turn from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  It is going to be yummy around here!  I probably won't bake something new everyday, but when the last treat runs out I will know it is time to start something up!  I think it is gonna be a fun way to keep all that we have to celebrate in the forefront of our minds.  If it turns out awesome I will keep doing it in years when I am not pregnant.  Fattening up for winter is good right? Plus I will never be wanting for a New Year's Resolution!

3.  Afton and Ponder went to Chuck E. Cheese's for the first time in her life yesterday.  That place is so fun!  I had forgotten.  We were on a fifteen hour ride home from Florida and we wanted pizza for lunch.  The only pizza place at our exit was Chuck E. Cheese, not really the kind of place you want to stop on a fifteen hour trip.  We really wanted pizza though and I told Ron the kids don't even know what it is so they won't ask to play unless we bring it up.  We could just eat there like it was a regular pizza place and they would be none the wiser.  Good enough plan, but once we got inside the fun took over.  It started with me!  As soon as I saw the skeet ball machines I told Afton me'n Daddy were about to get nasty on some skeet ball.  She had know idea what that even was.    Then there were the tradional singing animals, (Afton adored them of course.) , the blue screen kids could dance in front of and then be put up on huge TV screens so everybody in the restaurant could see them, the five free tokens that came with our food that we just has to use!  We were sunk.  Fun was going to be had.  The trip would have wait.  Our pizza was disgusting, but we left thinking there was no where better we could have stopped!  After a couple of rides on cars and horses and merry go rounds Afton was a new kid, totally renewed for the trip.   Just getting to see the singing animals and watch her sister dancing on a big TV screen was enough to lift Ponder's spirits.  Ron and I did try our hand at the skeet ball.  Let's just say together we didn't make enough tickets to buy even the cheapest toy.  There is always next time though, and there certainly will be a next time!

My Apple Pie Baking Playlist

When I baked my first apple pie last week my husband said, "That's not usually your style to bake a pie from scratch in the middle of the afternoon. Mmm. But maybe it should be." I wouldn't mind afternoon pie baking to become "my style" and so with the baking of my second ever apple pie a few days later I created this play list. Anything I am going to do repeatedly has to have its own playlist, right? For me it created the perfect apple pie baking atmosphere.

Another Day In Paradise ~ Phil Collins
Just Like A Woman ~ Bob Dylan
Born Country ~ Alabama
Coal Miner's Daughter ~ Loretta Lynn
Kiss An Angel Good Morning ~ Charley Pride
Elevator Love Letter ~ Stars
Once You've Loved Somebody ~ Dixie Chicks
Today My World Slipped Away ~ George Strait
Let's Embrace ~ Joseph Arthur
Mountain Music ~ Alabama
New Soul ~ Yael Naim
If You Ask Me To ~ Celine Dion
Forever Young ~ Rod Stewart
That's The Way Love Goes ~ Merle Haggard
The Good Stuff ~ Kenny Chesney
Time After Time ~ Cyndi Lauper
Too Busy Being In Love ~ Doug Stone
Tubthumping ~ Chumbawamba
Something Happened On The Way To Heave ~ Phil Collins

Happy Fall!