Tinkerbell Cake

Here is Kyrie's birthday cake, and I am very excited with how well it turned out. We decided to have a Tinkerbell party about a year ago and at one point I found this set of fairy figurines. From there, I began to plan for this cake. I knew that I wanted to make a fairy house, and as with most of my cakes the plan started with the actual cake. I have a giant cupcake pan and figured that would be the best thing to use for the actual house. I used 2 cake mixes to make both the cupcake and the base (and had enough to make one more 9 inch round). Aside from the structure, I had no real idea of what I was going to do with the frosting/decorating part of the cake. I did a search for images on-line and looked at Pinterest for ideas. I also took a peek at the fairy house in the Tinkerbell movie for inspiration. There were two options as far as style: whimsical or "realistic" (well, as realistic as fairy house lore may be). Kyrie drew up her own idea from the movie, and I decided that I would go with realistic.

I made 2 batches of buttercream icing and divided it into 3 colors: green (1/2), brown (5/8) and purple (3/8). The yellow & black I had on-hand from my last cake. I put the cake together with a cool-whip & lemon pudding filling (per Kyrie's request). I turned the base of the 'cupcake' upside-down and placed the top on, well, on top. I secured the house structure to the base with a trimmed chopstick (because I am all sorts of professional- ha!). It probably would have been better for me to place the house not quite as far back on the base as it seemed a bit like it might fall off, though that did not happen.

After the cake was set, I started with the frosting. I used the "grass" tip on the base (and, boy, did it give my grip a workout). I also used the grass-tip on the bottom and used a drop-flower tip and purple icing to complete the base (with a few yellow icing dots). I wanted the house to appear like it was made from a tree, so I used a flat tip to create something that looked like bark. I flipped the flat tip over to use the ridged-tip for the door and window frames. Black icing completed those details. At first, I was just going to use a leaf tip to make leaves all over from the roof, but then decided that I would add branch details first and then make the leaves over the top. The roof is probably my favorite part of the cake. I added a few purple & yellow flowers to the roof for some color and then placed the figurines (with the kids' help) on the cake. A bit of "fairy dust" (ie. edible glitter) finished the cake.

I LOVE this cake! I truly think that it is one of my best. As always it was a challenge and took a lot of time (I baked the cakes the day before and spent about 2 hours decorating), but the hard work makes it all the sweeter in the end. Well, what really makes it sweet is that Kyrie loved the cake! Making these birthday cakes is my special gift just to my kiddos! 

Troop #2578 at Build-A-Bear

Our little Daisy troop had a great first year of cookie sales! To celebrate their effort & achievement, the troop went to Build-A-Bear workshop to make the Girl Scout 100th Anniversary bear. This was a surprise for the girls, and when they heard the news (right in front of the store) they squealed with delight!

This was right when the girls found out why we were at the mall. I LOVE Kyrie's & Isabelle's reaction!

Inside the store, the Build-A-Bear instructor took over and lead the troop through each step to make their own bears. I had Degen with me, and he made his own bunny rabbit with the girls. There was lots of fun to be had, and the girls did a great job listening, taking turns and following directions (many of which were silly). They even made a special bear just for one of the girls who could not be there. They were model Daisies!

Each girl made a bear and got a special 100th Anniversary patch. They also got a t-shirt with a Daisy petal decal, a miniature Daisy vest for their bears (each made by our leader's mother) and Build-A-Bear patches for their vests & their bears'. The girls absolutely loved everything! I let Degen pick out an outfit for his bunny (a firefighter outfit) and picked up a pair of glasses and a few extra pieces for Kyrie's bear. After all our bear-building fun, the whole troop headed to a nearby restaraunt for ice cream sundaes! This was a wonderful wrap-up to our first cookie sale with much fun had by all! Thank you to our wonderful leaders and cookie mom for all their effort & support!



The girls preparing to sew up their bears.

Degen combing his bunny in the air-bath.

Hockey Night

Darren emailed me late one afternoon to tell me that someone at work had given him 4 great tickets for that evening's Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game. A night out like this would have cost us over $400, so we were very excited for this rare family night out!

This was the kids' first hockey game, and I had not been to a game since Kyrie was just a baby. The kids were excited by the energy in the Arena, especially Degen. Darren got us settled in and then got dinner for us as the game started. Degen loved the music and the lights! He watched the players on the ice intently while Darren & I tried to explain the game to Kyrie.

Unfortunately, the Blue Jackets are not having a very good year, and the Blackhawks dominated. Thankfully, the Jackets were able to score one goal before the game ended. Even without a win, we had a fantastic time!

Kitchen Remodel Go

We were making plans last year to remodel our kitchen, but decided to shelve the project or just got distracted by the myriad of other tasks that we wanted/needed to complete around the house. However, we picked our plans back up these past few months and are preparing to actually get the work done in April. It is my hope that we can get the bulk of the work completed before the heat of the summer sets in. Many of you who know me that I am not a huge fan of change, but it is something that I have really been working on for several years. I am very excited for our new kitchen, but at the same time not very excited for the mess and hassle of having to pack up and dismantle the current set-up. Our tentative plan is to set up a mini-kitchen in the basement with the crock-pots, toaster oven and microwave. I pride myself on being adaptable and ready for a challenge (at least in the kitchen), so I think that I should be able to maintain a decent amount of mealtime normalcy with this set-up. I am sure that I will be pulling my hair out around week 4! Anyway... the kitchen remodel is a big job that I am sure will become more of a blog topic in the next few weeks. I am posting a photo of our cabinet choice. 

First Campfire 2012

We enjoyed some beautiful (and unseasonably warm) weather last week, as did many places. Darren took the opportunity to finish putting together our raised beds for the garden and got the swing set ready for the kids among some other outdoor chores. Though we had a few showers, we decided to enjoy an evening around the campfire.

We grilled chicken sausages and I put together "banana boats" filled with chocolate chips & marshmallows and wrapped in foil for dessert. Unfortunately, the wood was just a little too damp and we ended up with a whole lot of smoke and not a whole lot of fire. The kids did not seem to mind as they tend to like their food warm, and Darren still managed to eat 3 sausages, though not without some good-natured complaining about the cooking conditions. The best part was just being able to sit down at the end of the day with the family surrounded by the signs of an early spring!



Girl Scout Cookie Taste-Off

When Kyrie was selling Girl Scout cookies, she was frequently asked what her favorite kind of cookie was and since she had never had a GS cookie, she could not give an answer. I thought that it would be nice for her to be able to try all the flavors of cookies so that next year, she would be able to answer that question. And thus began my plans for the "Coble Family Girl Scout Cookie Taste-Off." It would be a fun activity for our family and a nice way to kind of celebrate the end of our GS cookie sales for this year! (Thanks to all our family, friends & neighbors who bought cookies to support Kyrie & her troop!)

Kyrie had been waiting for the cookie taste-off from the moment we brought home our boxes of cookies. Of course, we made the kids wait a few weeks and then until after dinner and after I had cleaned the entire kitchen. I prepared a plate of cookies for everyone, one of each flavor that they got along with a 'ballot' and a sheet of stickers to award as they saw fit to each cookie.

We all dug right into our cookie plates, each with a different methodology to the tasting. Degen picked the cookie he thought looked best and ate it all up. After that he tried a few bites of the others and left a few untouched. Kyrie gobbled her first cookie right up, but then started to take small bites of the rest. Darren & I chose a more traditional single bite of each approach.

Kyrie liked the Thin Mints the best, but also scored Savannah Smiles, Tagalongs & Do-Si-Dos quite high. She was not a fan of Thank U Berry Much or Trefoils.

Degen just had fun putting stickers all over his chart! The only cookie he ate all of was the Tagalong, though he did try several bites of Thin Mints, a little Samoa and gave the Savannah Smiles a single lick.

This is my dear husband being a dork! In the end he chose the Thin Mint as his favorite, and it really does have a great mint flavor. It was close though, he was highly impressed with the quality of the Do-Si-Do and its peanut buttery flavor!

My favorite was the Samoa. That chocolate, caramel & toasted coconut flavor combination is just too good to deny! YUM! Do-Si-Dos, Thin Mints and Tagalongs all earned runner-up positions for me. As did the newcomer: Dulce de Leche. I was pleasantly surprised by the cinnamon & caramel flavor of this little cookie. It wasn't my favorite at first bite, but the more I tasted the more I appreciated its flavor.

Overall, the big winners of the night were: Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos, Tagalongs & Samoas! And, of course, our taste buds & tummies which walked away full of sweet, cookie goodness!



Degen at Age Three

 This has been a BIG year for Degen! At age 2, he was still so much a baby, but he has really grown up a lot in this past year. Degen was just getting his words a year ago, but now he is a talker. Trust me when I tell you that this boy will tell you exactly what he wants when he wants it and loud enough for everybody to hear. In the past year, he started gymnastics and dance class. He is also taking his first art class, is joining in on homeschool lessons and regularly attends Sunday school. He had his first broken bone (arm) this summer and was Christened in October. We got rid of the high chair and put the crib/toddler bed in storage. He is weaned, sleeping through the night and hooray-hooray: potty trained himself this winter! These are all things that make for one happy momma!

At age 2, Degen was still pretty easy-going, but as we got closer & closer to age 3 he got a lot more and more...how do I put it...opinionated. We have entered the land of fits and tantrums. One minute he wants love & attention and the next minute he is angrily shouting, "Stop talkin' a-me." He refuses to hold my hand when I want him to, but begs & cries to be carried when my arms are full. He is not always the best listener and we are working on sharing with our friends. Sigh... Degen loves the color red. His favorite foods are hot dogs and cottage cheese. He is crazy for technology, especially the iPad. He can count and is learning his colors and shapes. He likes to play with his cars and his trains. He loves his sister! Degen does not always make being a parent easy, but he does make it worth it: every smile, mischievous grin, hug, laugh and 'I love you' makes it worth it! We love you, Degen Richard Aurelius!

Degen at Age Three

Height: 3 ft. (25%-ile)
Weight: 28 lbs (10%-ile)