More lovin' from my oven.

I've been experimenting with some of my recipes this weekend, trying to perfect a few of the projects I plan to teach at my I HEART SUGAR class in two weeks. (BTW, the class is full. Yippee!) Can't wait to share some sweet secrets with my 12 fellow bakers. Ladies... start your ovens.

I'll post all eight projects after the class is over, so stay tuned. There are some really fun Valentine treat ideas that you will love.

I want this.

My husband thinks I'm crazy. I've been obsessing over this trash can for two years. It's the Wesco Spaceboy. (Currently only available in the UK.) And yes, it's $250. But I don't care. I must have it. Some day.

If he can have three iPhones in four years, I surely deserve one cool trash can. Valentine's Day is just around the corner.... Hint. Hint.

Bea's Hive

With a name like Bea, it would be very tempting to go bumblebee crazy in her bedroom. But I try to restrain myself and save those ideas for her birthday parties. Instead, our daughter's room is an eclectic mix of fun, funky & functional. The paper-quilted wall is a crazy kaleidoscope of color. Her platform bed incorporates quirky, modern safety rails as well as valuable storage (for a bazillion stuffed animals & blankets.) A simple, tree-shaped shelf holds 100's of books within arm's reach. And her curvy dresser is like something out of Alice in Wonderland. Bea's room is probably one of my most favorite spaces in our house - the smallest, but the most fun too.

Happy National Pie Day!

Like I need a holiday for an excuse to eat pie.....

I got these swell new mini alphabet fondant cutters and just had to test them out.

What's in a name?

When our son was born (almost 10 weeks early!) Eric and I had barely started discussing baby names. But we quickly settled for the first name we could both agree on: "Gus." It was short, normal-but-not-too-normal, and we didn't know anyone else named Gus. Nine years later, I can honestly say we picked the perfect name for him. (Probably a good thing we didn't have more time to over-think it.)

With the help of eBay, I've been able to collect a lot of fun "Gus" items that we use to decorate his room - movie posters, toys, soda bottles, restaurant menus, advertisements and a ton of books. My hope was that all this Gus stuff could be used for decorating, no matter if he's 2 years old or 82 years old. (But my guess is that at about age 15, he's going to want me to pack it all up in a box and hide it. Until then I'm going to keep collecting.)

Oh! We're on ohdeedoh!

Recognize these PLAY toy cabinets? One of my favorite blogs, ohdeedoh, posted a story and photos of Eric's extra-handy, mad-dad skills on their website this week. (Insert 15 minutes of fame here!)  It was fun to read all the comments from people. Apparently I'm "lucky" to have a woodworker husband. (Believe me, I know!) And Eric should "start a business" making alphabet letter cabinets. (Highly doubtful since I had to beg him for months to get these built.) But it's fun to think about. You never know....

Add snow. Repeat.

We kept ourselves busy during the first official Snow Day of 2011. Gus got this Wham-o Fort Maker for Christmas, so fort-make we did! 

And we made snow angels. And had snow ball fights. And played on the rocketship. (Who knew it would be just as much fun in winter as it is in summer?)

I loved having the excuse to stay home and play with my kids today.

WhoopBee Pies.

 

We're celebrating Barbara's ("B's") birthday at work, so I baked up something from my new Whoopie Pie cookbook - Lemon Whoopies with Lemon-malted Buttercream Filling. Beelicious.

He shoots. He scores. He shivers.

Gus got a new basketball goal for Christmas and we finally got it assembled and in the ground yesterday. Just in time for the first snow storm of the season, of course. (Might have to postpone our inaugural round of HORSE until the temps get above freezing at least.)

Chest bump!

Smallest adjustable height still a little too high for Bea.

 

 

High-five from our future Shocker basketball girl.

Diggin' the post hole. Many hands make light work.(Not so much.)

Gus and his buddy, Jay, put their hand prints in the cement.

Bea leaves her mark the world too.

A shower for Baby Schroeder

Gus' 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Schroeder, is due to have a baby boy any day now. To celebrate, I asked her if it would be OK to have a little "Baby Shower" party for her and the class on Friday. Those kids were so excited. I don't know what's more exhausting, a brand new baby or 25 hyper nine-year-olds. I'm surprised we didn't send her into labor.

To start things off, we played a game of Pin-the-Pacifier-on-Baby-Schroeder. The winner got a giant baby bottle full of candy.

 

Then the kids wrote down suggestions for what Mrs. Schroeder should name her baby boy. The winning name pulled out of the basket was "Mason." Other funny suggestions were: Amad, JoJo and Scooter.

One lucky volunteer got to feed Mrs. Schroeder three jars of baby food and she had to guess the flavors (I was nice and only gave her applesauce, pears & carrots to taste.)

And for her gifts, Mrs. Schroeder opened a Snoopy Doghouse box full of "Schroeder" themed items - red, blue and green striped clothes, a Schroeder snow globe that plays music, and a Schroeder piano board book. (Isn't that Snoopy Doghouse gift box awesome? I found it at Hallmark. Love it.)

I think the kids got the biggest kick out of the treats I made: dirty diaper cookies. Sugar cookies with a chocolate candy bar melted inside, iced with a chocolate diaper pin on top. Nothing's funnier to a group of 3rd graders than eating a dirty diaper. Ewwwwww! Hilarious.
(Here's a few photos to show how I made them. You know, for the next time you need to bring dirty diaper treats to a party.)