birthday
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Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
Today’s My Day
Friday, December 9th, 2011I sit here typing this out just hours before my birthday. When you read this, I will officially be another year older. In recent years, I have grown to just hope for a quiet day where we do not have a blizzard or need to head to the emergency room. Yes, as a December birthday girl stuck in snow country, both of these events have happened and I can blame Mother Nature for both.
So what are my plans for today? I have none! When everyone has asked me what I want to do on my birthday, the reality is that it will not happen.
Yes, I would love to plan our canceled trip and walk down Main Street USA for my birthday, but it is not going to happen right now. Instead, last night I was able to see my smiles on the boys faces as they were surprised with a trip to see Disney on Ice. Here’s a view of the finale of the show that we saw:
It may not have been Walt Disney World, but it was a magical time. Thanks to our video camera, I will be able to share more over time.
So my question to you this week:
If money and other factors were not an issue, where would you love to spend your birthday?
BTW – Don’t forget to enter my Mama Doni Band giveaway for a copy of Chanukah Fever.
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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #181
Bounce House Birthday Fun
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
Birthday Cake Making Dreams
Monday, September 19th, 2011This weekend, we went to visit my brother and his family. My niece, SG, turned four on Saturday, so it was time for a birthday celebration. When we arrived, her cake was sitting on the dining room table. Check this out and guess the theme:
This gorgeous cake was made by a co-worker of my sister-in-law. Here is her business card in case you happen to live out in western NY.
Not only are Molly’s Cakes delicious, her work is gorgeous. She also worked around a slight complication for my niece. SG is highly allergic to eggs. As you can probably guess, this can make baked goods complicated. We make cupcakes with no-egg substitute in them for birthdays to allow her to enjoy what everyone else is eating. Molly made SG’s top layer of the cake with no egg. It was a pumpkin cake. The bottom two layers had chocolate and vanilla with egg. Oh and the fondant was a new kind that she was testing. While I did not try any, others raved about it.
Did you guess the theme of the party? Here’s a little more decorations to help you out:
Here is a photo of the cake with the cute little toppers added right before everyone enjoyed the cake:
The birthday girl seemed very happy with her layer. Check her out with her cloud cake layer.
Of course, seeing SG’s cake made me realize how much I would still love to take a Wilton Cake Decorating class. They are given at several of the local craft stores. One of these days, I may. I think I am ready to explore with fondant, but then again – I really love my piping fun with cupcakes.
Birthday at Buca di Beppo
Saturday, August 27th, 2011Dear NHL,
Your birthday was a few weeks ago. One of our traditions for birthday celebrations is to head out to dinner where you like on your special day. Daddy and I were pretty sure we knew where you would pick, but you do have a few places that you really seem to like. Sure enough when it came time to go, you wanted dinner at Buca di Beppo.
When we arrived Buca’s you immediately announced to the people that it was your birthday. Then without skipping a beat, you asked if we could sit in the kitchen for our meal. That is when I recalled that I had not called the restaurant to reserve the special table. I told them not to worry because I had messed up. The man and woman told us to wait a minute. They looked and there were no reservations, so the table was ours!
Although we have eaten at Buca di Beppo many times, we had never eaten in the kitchen before. You were SO excited to see the chefs and other members of the Buca staff making the meals before your eyes. It is a really big and busy kitchen.
While you looked at everything around you, JSL colored/played with Wikki Stix, and of course Daddy sent out a picture to Twitter and his blog.
There were a lot of cool items to look at on the walls around us. Daddy thought it was funny to see Gene Simmons, Sylvester Stalone, Carrot Top, Danny DeVito, and Charlie Sheen eating together with other celebrities.
When our food arrived it was fantastic as usual. JSL had Macaroni and Cheese, you had Linguini Alfredo, and Daddy and I shared Eggplant Parm.
Our server asked if we would be having a dessert to celebrate. We told him that we were heading to Nana and Papa’s to see them and have the cheesecake that you had requested. Even without the dessert a bunch of the staff came to sing to you and there was a fun surprise with candles too!
It was a fun meal out with good food and a new experience sitting in the kitchen. I hope you have many memories of this day for years to come.
Love,
Mommy
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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.
Sweet Temptations Surprise
Saturday, August 20th, 2011Dear NHL and JSL,
Sometimes surprises are the best thing. Wednesday, we went and picked up Daddy for lunch to celebrate NHL’s birthday together. After lunch, we were going to go shopping for a few things, but then I had an idea. I thought we would head over to one of your favorite ice cream spots. Both of you love Scoops because they have amazing ice cream and you can watch the cows while you eat. When we pulled up, they were closed. I guess I did not realize that they are not open during the day mid-week.
Not to worry. I quickly recalled that a cake shop was right down the road. We had seen their truck over the weekend at a Farmers Market. We did not buy anything from their colorful truck because cousin SG would not be able to eat anything. Your disappointment over the ice cream quickly went away when we pulled up to Sweet Temptations and went inside.
Since it was a special occasion, I told the two of you to pick whatever you wanted from the case. Dangerous thing to do, but I had an idea what you may select. Here is a look at the items that we brought home.
NHL, you immediately homed in on a dragon creation. It was two chocolate chip cookies combined with a large amount of icing inside it’s mouth and on top. When I picked it up out of the box, I was floored with how heavy it was. There was no doubt that you loved it since you kept “mmmmmm-ing” as you ate it.
JSL, you had one item in mind. You wanted something chocolate. It was the chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing, of course. One minute I saw the cupcake in your hands, the next it vanished. Since you were the only one that tried it, you must have really liked it since I have never seen you gobble up a cupcake like that.
Since Daddy was not with us, I did not have any idea what kind of cupcake to get him. After making cupcakes all weekend, I was in the mood to try something different. I opted to get the cookie sandwich to share with him. YUM! The chocolate chip cookies were gooey, fresh, and amazing. The frosting inside was the perfect amount and not too sweet. Half was the perfect amount for me to splurge on.
Little surprises like this during the summer have been so much fun. I hope that we get back to Sweet Temptations again soon to show Daddy all of the fancy cupcake creations that they have.
Love,
Mommy
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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.
Games for the Entire Family
Friday, August 19th, 2011We have collected many board games over the years. Even before we had kids, TechyDad and I had several that we bought for game nights and/or when we had company over. Back in the day, Scattergories, Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, and Upwords were favorites.
As a child, I remember playing board games with friends all the time. Titles that come to mind include:
- The Game of Life
- Allowance
- Uno
- Monopoly
- Trivial Pursuit
- Boggle
The list could go on and on. Games were huge on cold winter nights, or to pull out during summer days after we ran and played.
Now that we have kids, our most used games are things like Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Memory, Rush Hour Jr, Uno, and others for 10 and under.
While NHL would prefer his Nintendo DS and Wii games, we all need to unplug. Board games are the perfect time to do this and allow us to have special time together where we can work on many skills. For NHL’s birthday, he received a new game and it has been used a LOT lately. Here it is:
What I love about this game is it takes something familiar with the kids (Disney) and puts a fun spin on it. The kids know the Pictureka game show, so they were excited to have a version for our house. Yes, it says ages 6+, but let me tell you my 4 year old was keeping up with us. The only item JSL needed assistance with was reading the cards. If people told him he was looking for “items with a tail,” he was good to go. Yes, I knew this would be a popular game in our house. Locating games that are appropriate for 4 and 8 year olds can be very tricky, or impossible at times.
So my question to you this week:
What are some of your favorite board games to play with your family and why?
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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #165
Lion Cupcake Construction
Thursday, August 18th, 2011When NHL asked me to make his birthday party an animal, specifically lion, theme I did not cringe – well not right away. First, we went to the craft store, party supply place, and I went to Google to see what was out there. Thanks to a quick search on YouTube, I found a fun video and was all ready.
Let me take you on an adventure as I got ready for my practice run of the lion cupcakes. First, I had some of my items set to start. No comments about mixing Pillsbury and Betty Crocker items please.
- Cake mix – Or, if you want, use a from scratch recipe
- Frosting – I had two cans so I could have plenty of the two colors I needed to make
- Black icing – Note: This did not work well. Thanks to this, I bought Wilton black sparkle
- Food coloring – To make 2 shades of orange for the lion face
- Popcorn – We now wonder if popcorn from our Whirly Pop with some salt may have been better to add a salty/sweet contrast
Not seen in the photo:
- Pretzel sticks – lion whiskers
- Mini chocolate chips – lion eyes
- Cheerios – lion ears
- Eggs – We did not use eggs because my niece is very allergic to them. I used the item below.
When making the practice batch of cupcakes, JSL wanted to help me out. He had a lot of fun making the “eggs” and mixing everything else together.
Then, the cupcakes were ready to head into the oven.
Thanks to the egg replacer, they bake faster and are still a bit “squishy” when they come out of the oven. While I was waiting for the cupcakes to cool, I set up an assembly line of sorts. For some reason, I took the photo before the cheerios were here. Then, my hands were full of icing and I never went back. You get the idea.
First, you use the darker orange to cover the entire cupcake and then put a smaller light orange circle within that.
Then, JSL helped me to put the popcorn mane around the entire cupcake.
Up next were the Cheerio ears and pretzel whiskers.
Then, we gently placed the mini-chips for the eyes and drew on the nose and smile.
Here are my practice lions. You can see the blobs that happened with the original black icing that I bought.
The boys were not upset with the blob faces on the lions. They thought they were quite fun and delicious.
When I made them on Sunday, I tried a few different things to make them a little easier. Although I liked the ease of the Wilton gel, it was runny and the faces did not stay the way I made them. Perhaps if there was room in the refrigerator that would have helped. Still, they came out cute. Here’s a view from the party:
If you are curious about the video I used, or the other animals here it is. The Howdini video: Jungle Animal Cupcakes: Monkey, Lion, Tiger, and Zebra Cupcakes.
So there you have it. Have you ever made cupcakes that were a little different? I would love to hear about it since I am on a cupcake kick!
Happy 8th Birthday NHL
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011Dear NHL,
I can not believe that you are already eight years old. It seems like yesterday that Daddy and I were in the store picking out your crib. Then, we brought you home and suddenly you grew up before our eyes.
So much has happened in the last year. Some were amazing, while others ones I wish we could have shielded you from. No matter what, you will learn and grow and have survived these bumps in the road of life.
Now let’s take a walk down memory lane at the last year – NHL at 7.
After your last birthday, you really started to enjoy using the Nintendo Wii, and, with time, the DS. Daddy and I allowed you to try your new games and often your little brother watched on in amazement. Of course, now he’s starting to get some of the Wii games thanks to you helping him. (August 2010)
Second grade, well it proved to be a challenging year. Academically, there was no issues for you. Sad to say, it will probably be the year we hope to forget. Rather than dwell on the drama that included switching schools, let’s recall the happy times. Just after the year started, we went up to the lake for a big extended family weekend. You were so thrilled to drive the boat with Uncle M. (September 2010)
Much of October was filled with preparing for Halloween. You were thrilled to be Luigi again since your love of all things Super Mario was really getting started. (October 2010)
Thanksgiving this year was even more special thanks to Uncle I, Aunt M, and cousins SG and BA coming. This meant celebrating Chanukah a little earlier. I think your favorite part was often reading to the little kids. I loved one of your gifts – your new Thing 1 shirt. You may not remember this, but when JSL was born Daddy and I used to call both of you by those names. (November 2010)
December found us keeping busy with Chanukah, snow, and a fun outing. We all went to see Toy Story 3 on Ice. You loved the entire show and could not wait to see Lotso. It was a magical family outing that we all needed with special time together. (December 2010)
Snow, snow, and more snow greeted us in January. There were several days that school was canceled. This was also the time that I gave you my old laptop to use. You adored playing math games and more on it. I think your favorite snow day was the one where we never got our of our pajamas and stayed warm playing games. (January 2011)
February brought us even more snow and a lot of ice. At a certain point, even you were getting sick of it. Of course, since you were 7, you liked to play outside, build, and try to keep warm. By the end of the month, we were all dreaming of our upcoming trip to Florida. (February 2011)
The magical month of March arrived just in time for a much needed escape from life here in NY. We were lucky enough to be able to go to the second Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. You certainly showed that you are a NDK (Neurotic Disney Kid) and enjoyed every minute wanting to know when we could go back again. Seeing the joy in your face and the stress melt away was beyond magical. I think the highlight for you was meeting Beast since you had been begging for that moment for months. (March 2011)
The snow finally melted away and some warmer weather came to stay. You adored the times when we could head to the park and run around without a worry in the world. Of course, it also allowed you time to be silly in front of the camera. (April 2011)
Much of May was spent getting used to new things. A new school, your little brother turning four, and heading to the circus. You were fascinated with the circus clowns, animals, and acts in general. May was definitely a month where we turned things around and started to see the light at the end of the second grade tunnel. (May 2011)
Lots of things were going on in June. The end of the month officially made you a third grader. Much to our surprise, you were so sad to see things end at your new school. It made my heart so happy that you liked the new place where you learned so much in a short time. We also found a new favorite ice cream location. Yes, we met Nana and Papa there for lunch a few times and we were ok with that. (June 2011)
This summer, we have kept busy going to crafting events. You really do enjoy trying new crafts, as well as learning new things at the library’s passport program. Different countries, lizards, t-shirt making, and more thanks to our travels. Of course, the summer would not be complete without time under the water at the fun new park we found.
Suddenly, it is August again and the end of being a seven year old. You now love chapter books, are into Harry Potter (with a crush on Hermione), and are determined to finish and win DS games. You are a big helper, especially when it comes to your littlest cousin. You loved spending your birthday party weekend helping him around the park and other locations. (August 2011)
With tears in my eyes, I honestly find it hard to believe that you are already eight. You start third grade in a few short weeks. Getting to really watch you and spend time being creative with you this summer has taught me so much. I look forward to watching you grow, learn even more, and become the person you want to be. With some help, I hope that Daddy and I can make it more stress free and fun this year. I truly hope that your dreams and wishes come true and you have an amazing year – you deserve it!
Love,
Mommy
Lion Cupcakes and Birthday Food
Monday, August 15th, 2011Sunday morning, I left to go to Nana and Papa’s house before the boys to get some things done for NHL’s family party. I stopped at the grocery store to get some produce, drinks, and dip. After this, I went to their house to start the Asian Salad.
Then, it was time to get the line ready for the lion cupcake construction. This time I had everything set and was ready to go. The only real complication here was space to put the completed lions on. After two were made, I noticed that the fresh frosting was making the Wilton black sparkle gel run a bit. Thanks to this, I put all of the lions together minus their noses and smiles. While I worked on that, my mother helped me to get the cucumbers ready to put with the rest of the veggies and some Dill Dip.
Just before lunch was served, I drew on the rest of the lion faces. A special thanks to Christina and Tom for cheering me on while I worked on all 21 lions and a chocolate chip one just for the number candle. Toward the end, the smell of the sugary frosting was getting to me.
We had tilapia, Phineas and Ferb macaroni and cheese, pizza, Asian Salad, and the fresh veggies. Lots of food for everyone to enjoy.
Once the kids finished eating, they played for a while. They were getting a bit rowdy, so I pulled out my bag of tricks. The teacher in me had a bunch of different arts and crafts to do with the kids. More on this coming soon. While they were crafting with me, everyone else was switching over the lunch food to prepare for cupcakes and fruit. When the crafts were done, I set up the cupcakes.
I do believe that the birthday boy enjoyed his lions.
More to come on the birthday fun as we celebrate NHL’s actual special day later this week. A huge thank you to all of our family that came to make the day even better.
