Avengers Cake

A friend of mine asked me to make her son an Avengers cake for his birthday.  Cake making is something that I like to dabble and tinker with so I jumped at the chance.

I purchased fondant at my local wally-world and the Wilton gel colors.  I researched and researched and then researched a little more on pinterest and other sites for ideas and this is what I came up with.

I purposefully left the blue fondant uncut with rounded edges because I thought it looked like a cape.  I choose several different emblems and colored fondant.  In case you can't tell (from top left):  Hulk, Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, and then Thor.

I found the Avengers emblem online and enlarged it on a word document.  Once copied/printed, I put it on top of the fondant and using a knife, poked holes through the design onto the fondant.  Then I simply connected the dots and cut out the image.

The "Zap" was created by rolling and cutting yellow fondant into the desired Super Hero sound shape.  Then I rolled out black fondant and put the yellow shape on top of it.  I simply cut the black slightly larger.

I made up my own Hulk emblem because I simply didn't like the ones I found online.

-An interesting side note- Superman and Batman are NOT part of the Avengers.  They are Justice League.  Just a little public service announcement because you wouldn't want to put the wrong emblem on the wrong cake.

Here are a couple closeups of the cake

And here is the cake with the birthday boy's name added.

Salem Fair - free ride passes for your kids!

If your kids are like my kids, they have been looking forward to the Salem fair since it ended last year.  I wanted to share with you a way for your kids to get a FREE wristband to be able to ride all the rides.

The fair does what it calls "Blue Ribbon Exhibits".  These exhibits are located inside the Salem Civic Center and are judged by category (listed here, starting on page 9) which include but are not limited to:
Photography
Pencil drawings
Baked goods
LEGO
Paintings
Woodworking
Preschool Art
Handicrafts
Creative Craft or toy: toothpicks, rolled paper, popsicle sticks
Modeling Clay
Loom Bracelets
and many more....

To receive a free ride pass (valid either July 8th or 9th ONLY) your child(ren) must enter at least one item into at least three DIFFERENT CLASSES which are divided by age group.  That's it.  And, to make it even easier, the items entered simply must have been created between now and last July.  Think of school crafts, Sunday school items, Mommy day gifts....

Every item entered is judged by two separate committees.  Every child entry receives at least a  participation ribbon.  Blue ribbons and red ribbons are also awarded and for ribbons other than white, your child will win a small token cash award.  Last year our children each received about $4 in prizes.

Now, don't be overwhelmed.  Our children's entries are very simple.  A pencil drawing that only a Mommy could love, a photograph of a vacation, a stick of LEGOs that was a rocket ship, finger paintings and each child made a type of dessert.

Several years ago, Manny entered a boxed brownie mix with marshmallows and chocolate chunks added.  They were so gooey sweet that even he wouldn't eat them...and he has a huge sweet tooth.  He won best in show for his age group and division!

 

There are rules and guidelines that must be followed so be sure to go the website and look through the information given.  All entries into the Blue Ribbon Exhibits must be received at the Salem Civic Center on Monday June 29th, 2015, inside the Salem Civic center.

Social Cues

Loss of Identity

Well, we are now into our full second week of school.  Little Cheese and Manny LOVE it!  And I am so thankful.  It wasn't such a hard to choice to decide to send our children to public school after homeschooling Little Cheese for the last four years.   As the time grew near to actually drop them off at the school building though, I must say that the nervousness grew.

Now, just my littlest ones are home with me everyday.  And the time flies!  Flies!  I don't even realize where it goes but suddenly naptime is a priority and I need to get as much done before I leave to pick up my older two because my husband walks in the door almost as soon as we get home.

But, I wanted to share something interesting with you.  The thing that I am finding I miss the most is something I didn't think about at all.  I have lost my identity.  I am no longer seen as a Mommy of four children by strangers but a Mommy to two.  I no longer have all of my children with me at Dr's appointments or other errands.  People always speak to Goosie, who is now three, and she tells them about her baby brother.  But I always find myself wanting to let the stranger know that I do have two more children.  I am the proud Mommy of four.

Isn't that interesting?

Killing them with manners....

Well...today I had another joyful experience at Wally World.  Love the place really.  (crickets chirping).  I have taught my children to always get out of the way of any other adult on the aisle.  I have taught them to say "...I'm sorry, Ma'am or Sir, am I in your way?" and then move out of the way.  Kindness.  Respect.  Manners.

This afternoon we taking up the entire back to school aisle.  We were having issues picking out the one subject notebooks.  Should we get kittens and Captain America or Hello Kitty and Spiderman.  A lady walked onto the same aisle and I tried to move our buggy out of the way.  "I'm sorry, am I in your way?" is all I said.  Polite, customary, manners.  Then came the same responses from Manny and Little Cheese.   She snarled and the air around us because crackly tense.  In a low sing-songy voice she said, "I haven't spoken to anyone, I am just trying to look."

Well, the heat rose in my face.  All sense of calmness and the urge to keep my mouth shut left.  LEFT!  So, I replied in the same sing-songy voice, "I'm sorry, we were just trying to be polite".  She abruptly  turned and left the aisle.

I read a blog post one time and I wish I could find a link to it about how wonderful it would be if everyone could wear a sign around their neck.  "Leave me alone...I've had a bad day" or other examples that I remember from that post were "I'm suffering, I'm lonely, I'm overwhelmed, my husband just left, my daughter has cancer, I just lost my job,  I (fill in the blank)..."

My instant thought was to think that she was just a horrible grouchy person.  But in reality, my thoughtfully taught manners and response to her might have just been enough to push her over her limits.  I wish I could have seen her sign.  I wish I hadn't held our "manners" in such a high idol regard!

What's for dinner? Chicken!

Chicken, chicken, chicken....I love chicken!
I tend to buy the chicken breasts on the bone because I tend to believe that you get more bang for your cluck...I mean buck.  It is inevitable, however,  that all of the chicken cannot be cut off of the bone.
So, I cook the bones.  Sometimes I boil them.  Sometimes I bake them.  A little pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and season salt.
Once the bones are cooked, you get these lovely little chucks of chicken.  These are perfect for all kinds of recipes.    They are great for chicken noodle soup, Quesadillas, chicken pot pies, chicken casseroles....  Just put the little chunks into a ziploc bag and freeze them until needed.
Yummy!

Cleaner sooner than later....

I did it.  I heard the mantra even as I did it.  I invited a new friend and her sweet children over today for a playdate.  I found myself frantically cleaning my house for their arrival.  Not that I was expecting perfection but I wanted to at least be able to see the dining room table.

What was it that I heard in my head, my mantra?  Don't do for others what you won't do for your spouse.  Our house had needed a good ol' fashion cleaning for a week.  The dining room doubles as my sewing room and I had my lovely supplies spread all over.  We were eating on the kitchen island so there wasn't a real need to rush and clean off the table.  Until we had guests that is.

Oh how often I let the house settle into a "tidy disarray" when it is just us at home.   A couple things here or there that I don't put away.  Papers that need to be sorted.  The random toy...that multiplies.  Baby stuff on tables.  Not filth just disarray.

However, if I would just take the moments that I have and straighten the disarray would disappear.  My sweet husband loves a tidy home.  He has learned to live in my untidiness and for that I am greatful.  But I realized today how much more I should be willing to tidy the house for my husband than I am for a friend.

Oh my.