Cupcakes Revisited

You might recall that we served up some delicious cupcakes for dessert to commemorate my (already very sweet) boys big two-and-a-half year milestone/half-birthday. Those cupcakes truly were yummy (as evidenced here and most especially here) but at $3.25 a pop they weren't exactly budget-friendly.

It wasn't too long after the fact though that Gamma Rita discovered a half package of cake mix in my cupboard and decided we needed (NEEDED!) to make a more budget-friendly version of our own. We went with chocolate on chocolate, and added a mini-oreo cookie for effect.

Which begs the obvious question of course – how DID they stack up compared to store-bought? 

To which I say, the results speak for themselves. 

– You catch me at awkward time everyone...

– ... but I has to admit, these is superior cupcakes.

– I also big fan despite lack of mess on face. Unlike Seth, I make sure frosting
(mostly) end up in mouth. New cupcakes was big hit.
In fact, we is still talking 'bout them. A lot.

- L.

PS. Gamma Rita is a fountain of knowledge on yummy frosting techniques as it turns out. These were made using a packet of Dream Whip (follow package directions) and a square of semi-sweet Baker's chocolate (melt, cool and add to mixture). Makes more than enough to frost a dozen cupcakes. Refrigerate and serve for an especially nice treat on a hot summer day.

PPS. Seth's pics are more or less what I envisioned for their first birthday cake experience and we didn't fare much better the second time around. It's been a long time coming to get to this point in time so you'll have to forgive me if I especially enjoy posting pics of all those messy faces. On the other hand it's about time, wouldn't you say?

Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere!

This was the summer my boys not only developed a fine appreciation for the bubbles blown by others but finally took the leap and decided to try blowing a few of their own. I eventually went and got the camera after it looked like things were about to get serious.

There was much interest in the bubble blowing endeavor after all: 

And by all appearances it looked like we were well on our way to some serious bubble blowing: 

Except... I should probably take this time to mention that there are two schools of thought on bubble blowing for the first time. One comes with instruction and a willing student and the other is more of the old-school DIY variety. 

The end results of both look a little something like this:

– YAY! Bubbles!

– I also has bubbles, but they is on nose for some reason.

Nate could not be swayed on his DIY approach at the time and consequently ended up with a lot of bubbles on his nose that day, but has since gone on to also become a fine blower of bubbles in our backyard (while still occasionally employing the "bubbles on the nose" approach).

PS. This post pre-dates the one with the bubble mower, but just barely. It is the reason we decided to get the bubble mower though. Bubbles of any kind and shouts of "I steal them!" while racing around to catch them have been a big part of our summertime fun at the OP.

Utensils Are So Overrated!

I last wrote about my boys and the proper use of forks and spoons at mealtime here. Despite a few bumpy patches along the way, we've settled in nicely to using both forks and spoons for at least the last month and are even reasonably civilized with them for the most part.

At least until this morning over breakfast when Seth discovered a new ready-made "utensil" readily at his disposal. Toes apparently make a great serving device for blueberries! 

Kind of like a fork, but with an extra "tine" so to speak: 

After the fact I realized that I didn't get any shots of the blueberries on the toes before they were consumed, so I'll leave you with this: 

– Toes is the way to goes, everyone!

Personally, I think the blueberry slobber speaks for itself.

- L.

PS. Remember when blueberries were possibly the most reviled food of all time? The OP would like to take a moment to formally retract our position on blueberries. Apparently they are awesome now!

2 And A Half Men (Part II)

We kicked the post-breakfast festivities off yesterday afternoon with some fun in the backyard. I decided to liven things up in the pool area with some toy fishing rods and "fish" to catch since my boys aren't big on the pool (and by "not big on" I mean they pretty much hate it). I had hopes that my plan would ultimately coax them in there somehow, but it turned out they were able to fish just fine without setting foot in the pool at all.

The fishing gear at least was a pretty big hit:

... and for those who are familiar with the reference my boys were quick to say (with great delight):

"I's the b'y that builds the boat

And I's the b'y that sails her 

I's the b'y that catches the fish

And brings them home to Liza."

Followed by much giggling of course.

Nate thought the reel was the best part (we all kind of had a sneaking suspicion about that being the case though):

– Handle that turn and make noise? Now we're talkin'!

Seth on the other hand got busy catching fish in the pool:

– I do it for that Liza. She sound like a cutie.

At least when he wasn't busy giving M. a lesson on the finer points of fishing that is:

At some point, Nate moved on to the pylons, which both of my boys have an overly healthy obsession with whenever we see them on the street or in a book. We decided it might be fun for them to have a set of their own and it turns out we were right. Stacking them, lining them up, wearing them as "AAATS!" etc. A good time was had by all over the pylons:

And lastly, the Fisher Price Bubble Mower. We only bought one and let the boys know straight up that it was a sharing toy. Overall, they did pretty good with sharing but I think that had a lot to do with their distinctly varied interests over said toy.

Turns out Seth was pretty much a natural at mowing the grass... 

... to the extent that I'm halfway considering hiring him out next summer:

– I work on secondary skill set everyone,
in case original business venture not work out.

Nate on the other hand clearly mistook it for a riding mower and kept asking for someone to "push Nate now!":

– I think I complain about 'dis design flaw directly to manufacturer
as soon as I figures out how to do that.
'Dis toy should definitely ship with a "push the Nate" option.

He eventually made his peace with it not being a riding toy and instead got busy with his (other) Touching Finger* and launched a full scale investigation regarding as many of the working parts as he could reach:

– Where I stick fingers next? So many choices!

The "gas cap" was also of great interest:

– Also 'dis look like good place to stick finger!
*touch* *touch* *touch*

The afternoon's festivities were followed by dinner outside which was then followed by a very special dessert courtesy of Gamma Rita. These aren't home-made by the way, but they were very delicious! 

I think the boys enjoyed them a little too:

– What you mean I has something on face? 'Dis just what I saving for later.

– Cupcakes. Are. AWESOME!!!

- L. 

*The days of the original Touching Finger are long gone, but Nate still loves to get his fingers into pretty much everything. Push-buttons of any kind are always a hit, but there's nothing like the potential for a pinched finger to really get him going. I swear if this child makes it to adulthood with all of his digits intact it will be nothing short of a miracle.

• • • • • • •

PS. When the boys were winding down for bed my mom (AKA Gamma Rita) went over all the new fun things we did yesterday – everything from the new toys, the adventure walk we went on, the special dinner, etc. She left no stone unturned so to speak, and then she paused and asked her grandsons what their favorite part of the day was.

Without a second thought Nate declared it to be "the frosting!" and Seth followed up with "the cupcakes!" – which are more or less the same thing since it was really about the dessert. 

• • • • • • •

Note to self (and everyone else who attended): next time let's all save money on extra toys and just get cupcakes. Or maybe just a bucket of frosting and two spoons. Deal?

2 And A Half Men (Part I)

Today my boys turned two and a half. I don't know where all the time has gone, but I knew I couldn't let this particular half-birthday slip by without at least a little fanfare. 

Turning two and a half is a fairly momentous occasion after all. At two and a half you know a lot more than you did at two, but still have a long way to go before mastering all the things you'll know at three. Six months is a lot of learning time at this age, but this post isn't really about that.

This post (and the one to follow) are just about celebrating today and wishing my boys a happy half-birthday.

For example, I couldn't let today go by without keeping true to our time-of-birth pics (here, here, here and here). At the time, I was momentarily a little dismayed with the results – at least until I realized they're not only true to form but pretty funny to boot.

For reasons unknown, Nate decided to resurrect "Scrunchy-face" at precisely 8:53 AM to commemorate the big event:

– Scrunchy-face!

Truth be told, scrunchy-face hasn't been seen around these parts in quite a long time, so you can't fault me for being caught off guard at least a little. That said, my guys do like to keep me on my toes and guessing all at the same time so the resurgence of scrunchy-face is par for the course in that sense.

"Itchy nose" on the other hand is still in full force – as evidenced by Seth in the throes of a very itchy nose at 8:54 AM:

– Itchy nose! Mommy fix it!

I had to put the camera down to lend a hand, but once the nose "itch" had been squared away I snuck in a few more pics.

Ah, much better! This is more like what I was expecting over breakfast this morning...

... wild bed-head and all:

– Mommy call 'dis my "Einstein" look.

And even this part didn't surprise me since we've really been into making shapes with our hands of late:

– I is making square everyone, but at least it with hands 'dis time and not with mouth.

– I is making triangle, but it turn into diamond then morph into square-ish shape somehow.
Or maybe is oval?
Being in state of perpetual motion make these things hard to call sometimes.

- L.

I Steal Them: The "Mommy's Boots" Edition

This is what you get when you have two boys sick with a summer cold who are in the throes of potty-learning*, a play kitchen moved to a more convenient location (read: not in the living room where there is furniture I don't want pees and poops on) and some ill-gotten "Mommy's boots".

Pardon the blur in most of the shots – they were moving rather fast for a couple of sickies and/or I may need to adjust my camera settings (if I ever figure out how to do that). 

- L. 

*3 weeks in and we're on day 2 of completely dry underwear all day. No one is willing to make a poop in the potty yet, but I think we've got the pee-pee part pretty much nailed. 

• • • • • • •

PS. I love how Seth managed to look like he has a bit of a tummy while his ribs are on full display and by all appearances he could shank you with one of his shoulder blades. He was also sporting an outie today which sometimes happens when he has a full tummy – otherwise it's mostly an innie. And when it's perfectly level (as is sometimes the case) it looks like a happy face for some reason. I didn't know belly buttons could be interchangeable like that until I met Seth.

Either way, you should probably still send sandwiches since that pretense-at-a-tummy fakery still results in plenty of real-life situations that look an awful lot like this.

I Planted A Tree

My Gram was a pensioner when she died and gave most of what she had while she was still alive so it came as a complete surprise to me to receive $200 a month later. I knew right away I wanted to do something more with it than simply put it in my bank account.

At the time, the state of our backyard was dismal to say the least and something I really wanted to do in general (create some green space on our deck for the boys) was something we couldn't practically afford. More than that though, I wanted to use that money to make something meaningful for Gram.

And so I planted a tree. I took a long time choosing it too, but when I finally found it I knew it was just right:

Also planted: more than enough herbs, flowers* and plants to make our deck a fine green space this summer even if the landlord hadn't surprised us all two weeks later by finally making good on his promise for last summer (sort of) by at least putting down some grass in the backyard.

The balance came to $168.00 which left just enough for this: 

3 months today and I still can't believe she's not here.

 L.

*Nate and Seth have surprisingly left the tomato plants alone in favor of terrorizing the flowers I planted which is a sort-of victory I guess. Also my Gram? She would have loved every minute of the hijinks that have unfolded in our backyard this summer. I hope wherever she is, she's got a front row seat to it all. Those boys of mine would have made her laugh like nothing else.