For my best sister.

Happy Birthday Emily!
I can't believe it's been 15 years already since I finally had a sister. I am so thankful that you're here and that I'm not alone among all the boys. You have matured into a beautiful, sensitive, and thoughtful woman.
I'm glad for your sense of humor, your personal style, your modesty, and your faith. I know you will do great things.

This weekend we celebrated 15 years of YOU, and I got to make dinner and cupcakes.

Listening to the giggling of 5 teenage girls made me smile and brought me back to my high school years. I'm so glad you are close with your classmates, and I hope you can all grow together in faith and in strong, encouraging friendship.

Emily, you are so loved, and I hope that this year is filled with amazing blessing.

Love you.
~A

Three Years Ago...

...I met this little man, and he changed my life forever.

...I watched the sun rise on life as a mama.

...I was blessed beyond my wildest dreams.

And all because of my little monkey.

Happy 3rd Birthday little man!

I love you to the moon and back.

~Mama

Cake-Worthy Events in March

Oops! I'm quite a few days late posting this month's special events. I missed Dr. Seuss's birthday, and I was really looking forward to reading silly books, or making a funky cake like these ones found at Cake Wrecks:

What a great twin birthday cake!

This theme would be great for a baby shower, or for a new graduate (high school or college)

Amazing!

The painted details on this are so great!

My favourite book by Dr. Seuss is "Yertle the Turtle". What's your favourite?

I'm still hoping to make a Dr. Seuss-inspired birthday cake (maybe like "Oh the Places You'll Go") for my friend's son who is having his first birthday party next weekend! She's got a camera, so whatever I end up doing, I'll post some pictures of the results!

March is:

-Music in our Schools Month

-Craft Month

-Frozen Food Month

-Noodle Month

-Nutrition Month

-Peanut Month

-Women's History Month

-Poetry Month

-Youth Art Month

-American Red Cross Month

-Social Workers Month

-1st Week: Newspapers in Our School Week

-2nd Week: Crochet Week, Bubble Week

1. Pig Day, Peanut Butter Lovers Day, Share a Smile Day

2. Dr. Seuss's Birthday, Old Stuff Day

3. National Anthem Day, I want you to be happy Day, If Pets Had Thumbs, Peach Blossom Day

4. Employee Appreciation Day, Poundcake Day, Hug a GI Day

5. Multiple Personality Day

6. Dentists Day, Frozen Food Day, Oreos for sale (1912)

7. Crown Roast of Pork Day

8. Be Nasty Day, Working Womens Day, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)

9. No Smoking Day, Panic Day, Ash Wednesday, Barbie's Birthday

10. Middle Name Pride Day

11. Worship of Tools Day

12. Girl Scouts Day, Plant a Flower Day

13. Ear Muff Day, Jewel Day, Good Samaritan Day

14. Learn about Butterflies Day, Potato Chip Day, pi Day!! (3.14!!), Einstein's Birthday

15. Everything You Think is Wrong Day, Incredible Kid Day, Dumbstruck Day

16. Everything You Do is Right Day, Freedom of Information Day

17. Submarine Day, St. Patricks Day

18. Goddess of Fertility Day, Supreme Sacrifice Day, Sparky the Firedog Day, First Walk in Space (1965), Johnny Appleseed Day

19. Quilting Day, Poultry Day, Purim

20. Earth Day, Extraterrestrial Abductions Day, Proposal Day, Big Bird's Birthday, First Day of Spring

21. Fragrance Day, Teen-agers Day, Single Parents Day

22. Goof Off Day, Sing-Out Day

23. Chip and Dip Day, Near Miss Day, Toast Day

24. Chocolate Covered Raisin Day, Houdini's Birthday

25. Pecan Day, Waffle Day

26. Make Up Your Own Holiday Day

27. "Joe" Day

28. Something on a Stick Day

29. Mom and Pop Business Owners Day, Smoke and Mirrors Day

30. Doctor's Day, I am in Control Day, Take a Walk in the Park Day

31. Bunsen Burner Day, Clam on the Half Shell Day

Find the lists of these days here and here.

Cake Worth Events: February

It's the second month of 2011, and I haven't even taken pictures of the cakes I've done so far in my Cake-Worthy Events Challenge (see January's post here)

Some of my favourite events this month include Laura Ingalls Wilder's Birthday (7th), Get a Different Name Day (13th), and Public Sleeping Day (28th) although I'm not sure how to turn the last 2 into cakes...

I might go with Embroidery Month and try to make a cool cake like this one...

look at the detail of the brushed embroidery on this one...

We all need some cheering up this month. Some depressing days are Disaster Day, Toothache Day, and Singles Awareness Day (which is the day after Valentines Day) so I'm planning on making some cheerful cookies to hopefully make this month more sunny. (hopefully I'll have a working camera to prove that I actually DO bake...)

February Events:

(also found here)

-American Heart Month

-Black History Month

-Childrens' Dental Health Month

-International Friendship Month

-Cherry Month

-Embroidery Month

-Grapefruit Month

-Canned Food Month

-Bird Feeding Month

-Responsible Pet Owners Month

-3rd Week: International Flirting Week

1. RCMP started in 1922

2. Bottle Cap patented, Groundhog Day

3. Elmo's Birthday, The Day the Music Died (1959), Chinese New Year

4. Rosa Park's Birthday, Charles Lindbergh's Birthday, Thank a Mailman Day

5. World Nutella Day, Monarch Butterfly Day, Disaster Day, National Weatherperson's Day

6. Babe Ruth's Birthday, Monopoly goes on sale (1935), Superbowl XLIV

7. Laura Ingalls Wilder's Birthday, Wave all your fingers at your neighbour day, Charles Dickens Birthday

8. Boy Scouts Day

9. Hershey's Chocolate founded (1894), Toothache Day

10. Umbrella Day

11. Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day, Inventor's Day, White T-shirt Day

13. Get a Different Name Day

14. Ferris Wheel Day, Organ Donor Day, Valentines Day, Clean Out Your Computer Day

15. Canadian Flag Day, Gumdrop Day, Singles Awareness Day

16. Do a Grouch a Favor Day

17. Random Acts of Kindness Day

18. Battery Day

19. Chocolate Mint Day

20. Hoodie-Hoo Day (shout it to make way for spring), Cherry Pie Day

21. Family Day, Love Your Pet Day

22. Be Humble Day, World Thinking Day

23. Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day

24. Tortilla Chip Day

26. Strauss' Birthday, Pistachio Day, Tell a Fairy Tale Day

27. No-Brainer Day, Polar Bear Day

28. Public Sleeping Day, Tooth Fairy Day (or August 22)

29. Leap Day (Not happening this year)

Happy February All!!

~A

Photo credit here and here.

Cake-Worthy Events: January

Okay, so one of the goals I've set for myself this year is to make at least one major themed cake each month, and in my search for inspiration for January's cake, I googled "special events in January"...

I found some pretty fun things, so I'm going to write a master list each month to choose events from.

January:

National Month of:

-Braille Literacy

-Bath Safety

-Hot Tea

-Blood Donors

-Hobbies

-Soup

-Staying Healthy

-Thank You

-Oatmeal

1. New Years Day

3. Fruitcake Toss Day, JRR Tolkien's Birthday

4. Trivia Day

6. Bean Day, Cuddle Up Day, Sherlock Holmes' Birthday

8. Bubble Bath Day

9. Apricot Day, Static Electricity Day

11. Step in a Puddle and Splash a Friend Day

13. Make Your Dreams Come True Day, Skeptics Day, Rubber Duck's Birthday

14. Dress Up Your Pet Day

15. Hat Day

16. Nothing Day

17. Ditch New Years Resolution Day

18. Thesaurus Day, Winnie the Pooh Day (A.A. Milne's Birthday)

19. Popcorn Day

20. Penguin Awareness Day, Cheese Day

21. Hugging Day, Squirrel Appreciation Day, Hat Day

23. Handwriting Day, Measure Your Feet Day

24. Beer Can Appreciation Day, Compliment Day

25. Opposite Day

26. Spouse's Day

27. Chocolate Cake Day, Punch the Clock Day

28. Fun at Work Day, Kazoo Day, Ernie's Birthday

29. Puzzle Day, Cornchip Day

30. Inane Answering Message Day

31. Backwards Day, Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

UPDATE: The event I chose was "Thank You" Month... I made cupcakes for C's last day at his old daycare. No pictures (sorry) they were Cherry Chip cupcakes with homemade buttercream icing and fondant flowers.

C was so excited about them...the morning I made them, I had to clean up a mess, and when I got back to the kitchen, he had eaten the flowers from 3 cupcakes, so I had to remake them. When the cupcakes were pulled out for snack time, C kept saying "Mommy do! Mommy do!" because he knew I made the cupcakes special for him.

I also made a cake for my sister's birthday, highlighting her spectacular volleyball skills. It wasn't the prettiest (and there were a few little finger marks from where C snuck icing...) but it was yummy. Chocolate cake with chocolate and white buttercream, flames on it, and the words "You're On Fire!" because of how well she did in her volleyball tournament.

Those were my January cakes! Next up: February!!

~A