Quality Cake Decorating

I've learned a few things in my time practicing my cake decorating skills. Here are my tips:

• Icing type and consistency matters. You can't use a recipe the consistency of glaze, it just won't work. The first cake I made for Brian ws a total disaster because I was hoping to find a new icing recipe we would love. It turned out to be a better glaze than a decorator icing and in the end I decorated the cake with a spoon. I scooped up a spoonful of "icing" and drizzled it into the approximate shape of a sailboat because I couldn't make anything more complicated. Also, that yummy cream cheese icing isn't the best for decorating either. Stick with the buttercream icing in the books.
• When making icing that needs to be colored, use the gel colors. If you use food coloring it is like adding water to the frosting and it gets really runny when you want a deep or vibrant color and add lots of food coloring. That is what happened with my very first cake, Elmo for Ben's 2nd birthday. I had to add so much red to make the frosting actually red instead of pink that it was a runny mess by the time I finished coloring it.
• Fill in the holes. Most of my cakes are made characters. I use a star tip to fill the colored sections to create the characters. When I am slow and meticulous, filling in all the white space between stars it looks great. In the sections where my hand is getting tired or my patience is growing thin I start to rush and then there are white spots of base frosting showing beneath. It really doesn make a big difference in the end presentation. I should always work slowly.
• Along that same vein, always enough time to do it right. If I'm rushed and don't have enough time to do the cake right, I won't be happy with it. I'll skimp on the time I need to color the icing just the right shade and may run out of a color because I didn't mix enough, then matching it is a joke, etc.
• When doing features that need to be distinguished from each other but are in the same color (say a characters face and neck), put a black icing line on the base frosting (forming a chin), then fill with stars tightly around the line. It will leave a gently line marking the feature but won't be so bold as to be overpowering.
• Buy the right tools. I seriously believe that the reason more people don't decorate cakes is that they don't want to do all the frosting color changes in the icing bags. So for less that $20 you can get minimally equipped to decorate cakes. Invest the money. Buy a bunch of star tips, couplers and plastic frosting bags. I now make my icing without milk, just water, then it can keep on the shelf for a long time. I mix a color, fill a bag and use it. Then I keep a large tupperware of all the frosting colors I have already made. Next time I need red, it's ready to go. Saves me a zillion hours or mixing and lots of dish washing! There, cake decoration just got really easy.
• Finally, if you make the cake ahead of time and freeze it, make sure you thaw the cake before you serve it. For Maddie's first birthday I made a cute duck cake ahead of time and had it in the freezer. Brian's parents were visiting and it was bedtime before I remembered the cake. I grabbed it out of the freezer and we tried to let her destroy the cake as most 1 year olds get the priviledge of doing. It was frozen solid. She basically got to scrap the top layer of frosting off but was unable to penetrate the icy layers of yummy cake. Oops. Oh well, it does make for a good story, just not a good video.

My cake decorating schedule:

1. Day 1 - bake cake, level, frost middle if two layer cake, put in freezer because you're too lazy to finish the base frosting layer or because you ran out of time to do it
2. Day 2 - (not necessarily the next day, just day 2 of working on the cake since I usually take a week to do a cake) frost the base layer of the cake, try to make it really smooth and pretty then throw back in the freezer because you ran out of time again
3. Day 3 - (again, just the third day of working) take the cake out of freezer the day before you need it completed, let cake thaw, moisture will collect on top of cake because of the humidity so let it evaporate away or it will look wet and shiny
4. Day 4 - (day the cake is needed, best to start with just enough time to complete the project under ideal circumstances, so that when something goes wrong, as it always does, you are rushed and crazy trying to finish it just in time), google the image you want to put on the cake, size image to fit cake, print two copies of the picture, cut the outline of the image as well as any main components of the picture, lay paper on cake and trace shape and main features with toothpick, add any other detail with toothpick tracing, color icing, fill bags with colored icing, fill each section with the star tip and proper color, take pictures, cut into pieces, add a side of ice cream and ENJOY!!

Christmas Lights

We put out Christmas lights in the front yard today because I didn't have anything better to do with my time today, you know like clean the house, scrub the toilets one last time, wash the baby swing, clean out the fridge so my poor mom knows what is safe to eat and what might kill her, etc. Ben was pretty excited and insistent we get the lights out. Such pure and happy anticipation I couldn't put him off anymore. He's been so patient with me as I've been tired lately and I know he misses the me I used to be that spent time with him while Maddie napped. I really did enjoy working with him. He is simply a delightful soul, especially when he's giddy excited about something. He focuses and follows directions as closely as possible for a four year old. I sure love my sweet Benjamin. Our electrical plug outside is broken though, so we couldn't actually turn them on. Do not dismay though, Brian is "working" from home this morning so he may take a minute to check the switches before he "goes to work." That will ease Ben's worries. Not to worry about the inside lights though. Brian has them on remote. They come on every morning at 6am. It is sure cheery to come down the stairs to a lovely tree all bright and pretty. With Brian, everything has always been on remote. It was baffling the first few months of our marriage. Hummm....everyone reading my blog at their boring jobs would enjoy reading a post about our first year of marriage. Maybe I'll do that in a week or two. It was entertaining to say the least. Anyway, Ben also asked me to write on the calendar, "Christmas Day - Make a Snowman" to which I had to break the news. We might not have snow. That comment was met with a look of complete confusion. "But if we don't have snow, how will we have Christmas? Santa can't come in his sleigh either." I explained how Santa always made it to Houston and they don't ever get snow (except the ONE year we went to Utah for Christmas, then they had a one in one hundred years snow and I missed it, but that's another story all together).

When Will It Be Real?

Two days ago I was sitting on the couch watching the kids play and chatting with them as their imaginations roamed. I glanced at the Christmas tree and mantel with stockings hung with care. I thought to myself, "Oops, we hung too many stockings." I was about to go take one down when I realized I was wrong. Five is the right number of stockings for this Christmas. Baby boy will most certainly need a stocking this year for Santa to fill with wonderful treasures. It made me laugh inside to realize how surreal it all feels to me. I did begin to consider the magical sacred moments that I will share with Brian on Friday afternoon. I'm sure when we get to hold our new little angel we will begin to wrap our minds around the gift about to be given to us. I love those first quiet hours of special time after I first get to be with my new baby and my sweetheart alone in another magical world. Everything else just melts away in my mind. Welcome baby. We can't wait to meet you.

No Congestion PLEASE

We are just under the 48 hour mark to baby birth #3. I have a request that may seem rather silly to most people though. Ben and I both have runny noses today. In two days the doctor will open my abdomen and damage muscles you don't ever really appreciate. I have learned from experience that post surgery, it is extremely painful to laugh, cough, sneeze and blow my nose. I'm praying that this doesn't turn into anything major for me. If it does, it will add a degree of misery I wasn't expecting to my recovery. Keep your fingers crossed and a prayer in your heart for me.

Super Glue

A few weeks ago, a little friend curiously wanted to play with Maddie's piggy bank. It's ceramic. Bummer. It broke into a few pieces and sat on our kitchen counter for a few weeks waiting for me to pick up super glue at the store. I even looked a few times and couldn't locate it in my rush to do the shopping. Finally I found it and today decided to glue the poor pink pig together. All I could think about 10 seconds after I started working was "How stupid can I be?" I put glue all around the edges and placed the largest piece. Then moving on to the next piece, realized instantly it should have been placed first. I couldn't get it in place with the edges. Knowing super glue dries quickly I jammed my finger in the hole in a vain attempt to remove the large piece before it was stuck forever. My finger was instantly bonded to the inside of the little pink pig. It took me about 10 minutes to pry it out. I felt about as dumb as a rock and it really, really hurt. I lost a bit of skin and damaged my pride in a considerable way. I knew if I called Brian he would remember what the remedy was for my predicament, but had a pig glued to one hand and the other hand had the little piece stuck to it. I couldn't really dial his number on the phone. I thought, "I can google it and get the answer!"...but how do I type? I checked the clock, at least an hour before Brian got home. So, I pulled...and twisted...and rested...and pulled...and winced. Finally, victory. Note to self - super glue is dangerous. It bonds skin instantly (even if it takes 30 minutes to work on ceramic). Brian wants me to buy them plastic piggy banks. Good idea.

Piggy, Piggy

I'm not quite sure what type of people I spent Thanksgiving with this year. Seriously, I'm reading everyone else's blogs saying they stuffed their faces until they couldn't eat another bite, then they had dessert anyway. Normal. I know I'm super, mega pregnant and delivering in a few days, but it was Thanksgiving, people!! Why was I the ONLY person in the entire house that had seconds? I guess I'm just the pig in the group. That was a pretty fantastic dinner. How could I possibly let it all go to leftovers? It's never as good when we rewarm stuff in a microwave. We spent the day with the Hyatt family and their cousins Monica and Drew from Centreville, VA. Monica is nigh unto a gourmet chef. I just sat back at the bar and watched her work. She owns all the fancy kitchen gadgets that we all want to have but when we buy them would never actually use but once a year. She took care of the turkey cooking. Did you know after the turkey cooks, it is supposed to "rest" before you carve it? I had no idea. She actually seasoned the bird, not just unwrapped the plastic and threw it in the oven like I may have possibly done in the past. She made gravy that was fantastic with those fancy drain off the fat type measuring things and it was so much better. Maybe that is one gadget I'll find worth buying now. After dinner the guys went out in the yard and cut down a super huge tree. It was somewhere near three stories high, certainly taller than the house. It was in such terrible shape that as each branch crashed to the concrete and lawn below, it looked like someone had thrown an icicle rather than a tree branch. They shattered into a million pieces. What an exciting mess. When the tree was down and everyone was safe we had pie, relaxed and then headed home. It was a pleasant day.

Hershey Chocolate Factory

On the afternoon of Black Friday we departed in the early afternoon for Hershey, Pennsylvania. The drive was uneventful and the kids both slept after a bit of movie watching in the back seat of the car. We checked into our hotel and had to make an important decision. Was this trip about (1) us, (2) the kids, or (3) both. We decided that the evening was all about us and that Saturday was for the kids. That decision being made, I distracted Ben, making him look out the side window of the car opposite the McDonalds as we searched for a good dinner restaurant. It took a little bit of driving and circling back to find the Texas Roadhouse we were looking for. We passed the same McDonalds three times. Luckily the McDonalds was across the street from Lowes, which we call "the Blue Home Depot" and he loves shopping there. Brian and I had a fantastic dinner and the kids loved throwing peanut shells on the ground. Maddie ate and ate and ate the peanuts. Then we discovered she wasn't talking anymore, just a mumble. Finally about 15 mintues later, she emptied her entire mouthful onto a plate. Peanut mush mountain. She wanted a drink of water. Then it was back to "eating" more peanuts. Lucky for us, the bread arrived. For a bit of after dinner entertainment, we drove to Hershey's Sweet Lights Display. It was a drive through display of millions of Christmas lights. It was about an hour of fun, slow driving. The kids LOVED it. Ben was old enough to start recognizing some nursery rhymes and other classic stories. Their favorite part was the fact that we let them out of their carseats and rolled down the windows. They loved the freedom to wander the car as we wound through the lights at a superfast two miles an hour. Bedtime proved interesting. We had two full beds in our hotel room. We're not so sure they were actually full sized beds though. Looked more like twin and a half. We opted to sleep one adult with one kid for comfort reasons. Then again, who are we to plan that stuff? The kids had other ideas and we played musical beds all night long. First both kids on one bed and we were together. Then Maddie had to sleep with Mom, so Dad moved with Ben. Then Maddie had to sleep with Dad, so I was alone, Brian with both kids. Maddie moves to the floor and falls asleep. Ben eventually decided the floor looked like more fun too, but he would only sleep in the exact spot Maddie was in. Finally, he settled in another floor spot. Everyone fell alseep. Through the night, Maddie screamed several times, woke and climbed in and out of bed with Dad several times. Brian had piled pillows up on the potential landing zone in case Maddie fell...and she did. He calmed her down and got her to just stay down. Eventually the sun rose and we all got up. Breakfast was a hit. Ben is a huge fan of buffet style eating. Ben kicked off his Chocolate day in style. He had a chocolate muffin and hot chocolate to drink. Heaven for a four year old. Maddie ate all the sausage Brian dished up everytime he refilled his plate for himself. After we finished our buffet feast we checked out and headed to the Hershey Chocolate Factory. First thing we did was watch a 3-D movie with "special effects" where they do bubbles in the air, wind, smells and rain from the ceiling. Maddie thought the rain was so funny. She'd wipe it off her arms with a smile, "It rained on me again, Mommy!" The last time it "rained" she wiped me all dry too. Ben didn't appreciate it quite as much. He liked the 3-D dancing candy part but did not like getting wet or the 3-D spider. Everyone was a fan of the free treats at the end of the show though. Unfortunately for Ben, it was sour candy so he was disappointed. Then it was off tohe the fake factory tour. Turns out you can't actually tour the Hershey Factory anymore. They have constructed an amusement park style indoor ride. You board a car and are driven through the process of chocolate and candy making. Lots of music and lights and moving pretend machinery, oh yeah, and singing cows. The kids loved the ride and we got a yummy chocolate treat at the end. Next it was off to the trolley tour. This I would skip next time. It was overpriced and really, they just drove you around the town to see what you can see on your own. We did get a visit from Santa at least. He boarded the trolley for a quick ride and gave the kids an ornament and the parents a kazoo. When we got back we did the factory experience where the kids packaged Hershey Kisses and got factory worker hats. Then we rode the factory tour ride again before we did a bit of shopping and headed out the door for lunch. Then we headed home. The kids napped the first part of the drive but woke up too soon. We had about an hour before we got home. Maddie wiggled and whined and said over and over "I want to get OUT!" Poor kids. They survived. They were so happy to be released from the prision called their carseats. Brian had them playing and giggling like wildmen in the house. It was fun to hear such beautiful pure laughter in our home. Ben loved the trip and wants to go back when the amusement park when it's open in the summer.