Archive for July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Make This: Kahlua Cake

I first wrote about this cake 4 years ago. I made it over the weekend and was reminded just how good it is and decided to revamp my original post.

Kahlua Cake

A cake that Sandra Lee could be proud of. 

*hiccup*
There's 4 parts to this cake.

1. Cake
Bake a chocolate cake. Any box mix will do. When it's cool poke holes with a fork or skewer all over it and pour Kahlua on top. 1/3 of a cup or whatever you feel necessary. Let it soak for an hour or even overnight. When ready to assemble the cake use a knife to cut the cake into 1 inch squares - or cubes.

2. Mousse
Make chocolate mousse. Any chocolate mousse will work. I've used a brand called Dream Whip, then added a box (4 serving size) of Jell-O instant pudding and pie filling to make the mousse before. The recipe is on the side of the Dream Whip box. There's a ton of different mousse products out there. Just choose one and go with it. 

3. Cool Whip
Pretty explanatory. Get a big container or two small ones. Either way you'll have some leftover - but you need more than one small one.

4. Candy Pieces
My favorite candy to use is Skor bars, but they're hard to find. Heath bars are an alternative. I've used the already crumbled ones that you'd find in the chocolate chip aisle but prefer to buy the candy bars and smash them myself with a meat pounder. I like the bigger chunks. You'll need around 5 or 6 bars. You can freeze any leftovers for cookies - or more cake later on.

Assemble
Any deep bowl is acceptable. Normally 2 layers are used, but doing just one layer and using a deep sided lasagna pan would work too. 

Work with what you've got.

Start with a layer of cake cubes. Then goes a layer of the chocolate mouse. Then a layer of Cool Whip. Then sprinkle candy pieces. Repeat ending with the Cool Whip and candy on top. 

Easy Peasy

This looks like it would be heavy and over the top. However, you'll be surprised just how light it is. The mousse and the Cool Whip are responsible for the lightness.

It's a crowd pleaser. Make it. You'll be glad you did.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Finally Friday

Did you know that you can play games while eating ice cream at Oberweis stores? 

Yup! And I'm happy to announce that Vaughn can now play Candy Land, so we'll be all set for the winter when we find ourselves there at least once a week. 

I cannot get this picture to center.
We finished the Game Night portion on our Summer to-do List.


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It's Finally Friday! 

My seester and her family are in town!

Plus, Justin has been out of town and he gets back tonight!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Something out of Nothing: Movie Night!

I make something out of nothing everyday.


That's my secret.

Life, right now, isn't the most exciting. 

It's my job as a magician Mom to make it appear as if it was.

(And, silly kids, they fall for it all the time.)

I made a "Movie Tonight" sign to start the hype then moved the kids craft table in front of the TV so we could enjoy dinner and a movie. The kids helped set the table and made it "fancy" which occupied them while I got dinner ready. When we were done eating, we paused the movie, cleared the table and moved it out of the way, then finished the movie snuggled together on the couch. Just a few tweaks made this ordinary movie night extraordinary.      

Have you pulled a bunny out of your hat and made something more than it was?

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And just for fun...
Let's talk about the dishwasher. 

I'm out of whack with my dishwashing schedule.

My preference is to unpack first thing in the morning and run it last thing at night.

Somehow I've gotten off schedule and my world has been turned upside down. 

(Not really, but just annoying to unpack during witching hours.)


What's your preference? When do you like to unpack?


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It's Wednesday and the kids and I will be busy solving the world's problems today...at the pool. 

It's too hot to do anything else. Anyone join me for a rain dance?



Monday, July 25, 2011

RIP Amy

If our time spent in Wisconsin had a soundtrack Amy Winehouse would be a big part of it.  


Valerie is one of my favorites. I cannot get the video to embed, but here's the link.

Was sad to hear the news of her death and especially since it seemed that she was just starting to turn things around.  

Friday, July 22, 2011

Fingerprints and Dots for Kids

I feel like we're on house arrest due to the heat. 

Here's two little things that have kept the kids occupied for at least 22 minutes of the very long days. 

I love Ed Emberley's drawing books because they're simple and silly. They're age appropriate for Vance but not-so-much for Vaughn. This was the first time we brought home the fingerprint book and both kids were able to have fun with it.  


Vaughn's:

Mine:

 Vance's:


Another book is Ten Black Dots. 



Vance turned his 10 black dots into Rapunzel's hair. 


Vaughn's dots started out as flowers but then turned into faces.


That's all I have for you today. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Backpack Boy


Many kids are dreading going back to school. 

Not Vance. He can't wait. 

Can't. Wait. 

Together we picked out a new backpack and lunch box and it was delivered a few days ago. To say he likes it doesn't do it justice. He won't take it off.  

If he's upright and not eating he's wearing it.

He loves all the pockets. The special hole that's for ear phones, even though he doesn't have an iPod. And can you believe it has a padded laptop compartment? I was floored with that feature. So now take a guess what he's wanting! Ha!

Next up is school supply shopping and I can't wait. New notebooks, pencils, folders, perfectly sharpened crayons, writing your name on everything - I love it!

Wait? I wonder where he gets it from???


It seems too early for thinking about school starting. Half of me is ready for school to start again the other half is still enjoying lazy summer days. Have to make the most of these last 2 weeks left! 

Have a great Thursday! 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Weekend Update: Late Edition

It's Wednesday and I'm just now talking about the weekend. As in last weekend. 

Let's play catch up, shall we?

We kicked things off with a trip to the zoo.

There's a baby elephant in the picture below, but looks just like another rock. 

(I normally don't take many animal pictures - I mean, what do you do with them? Vance was adamant that we take pictures, so I obliged.)


We petted sharks and sting ray's which was cool. Vaughn loved it, Vance was a little standoffish.

I think everyone's favorite were the penguins. 

Here's a giraffe. Doing giraffe things. Oooh, exciting.


Shortly after this Vaughn malfunctioned, ala Vicki the robot from Small Wonder. Remember that show? When someone turned Vicki off she powered down to this exact pose. I captured this phenomenon on camera last week at the Butterfly House. (See below.) 


This is what happens when Vaughn gets too hot. She shuts down and everything stops working. It's hard getting her to bounce back so it's best to just pack it up.

We quickly made our way to the exit and to the parking lot in which we asked ourselves, "Why do we NEVER go to the zoo in the fall when it's cooler outside?"

Next up, bowling!


Look at Vance's form. Impeccable! Justin beat me by one lousy point, so I'll have to step it up next time. 

By the way, this is the nicest non-boutique bowling alley I've ever been to. It's clean, non-smoking, has automatic bumpers that pop up for the kids then go back down for the adults, I could go on and on. You don't walk out smelling like a foot or that you've been deep fried and they serve draft beer on Sundays at 9:00 AM. I'm not much for drafties but to each is own. 

For those readers who didn't click away after the thrilling picture of the giraffe and his bum, it's Craft Time!

Look who's mixing up concrete in the kitchen! 


The kids had more fun making this stepping stone than I thought they would. At first I was planning on a design but figured it would be best to just let them do it randomly. They had a great time. 

Finished, now off to dry.


Those were the highlights, my friends. 

The only other notable event is the current deck situation. It's done, looks great, but due to the excessive heat isn't drying the way it should. It's still tacky therefore no furniture or no walking. 

You know what happens around here when we clear the furniture off the deck? Kamikaze birds fly directly into the windows. 

Seriously. We have bird smudges and feathers stuck to the windows. Guess we should hang something in the windows to deter them. 

Have a great Wednesday! 

Friday, July 15, 2011

Here Butterfly, Butterfly, Butterfly...

Vaughn has been trying all summer to get a butterfly to land on her finger. 

On Wednesday we made an impromptu trip to the Butterfly House to better her odds on catching one. 







She gave it her best, but nothing. 

She was getting upset and the heat was getting to her. 


The defeat was heart breaking.   


Not for Vance though. He plowed right on through.

We'll have to try again.

(Don't worry - We had ice cream soon after and that perked her right back up.)


Another event crossed off our To-Do list though!

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Hey, put your hands in the air because it's Deck Painting Day! 

Ready for it to be done and hoping the color that we chose is going to look okay. 

Have a great Friday! And a great weekend!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Teaser!


What's Vaughn (and her finger) doing?



I'll be back later to tell you!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Vaughn's Newest Trick

Vaughn can now get water from the fridge all by herself. 


Which means three things: 

One, the front of the freezer now has drip marks. 

Two, more frequent trips to the loo.

Three, if Vaughn is getting water then Vance all of the sudden NEEDS water.

They spent quite some time just like this yesterday, taking turns getting water.

Competition water-getting at it's finest. 

Vance did receive one penalty for pushing Vaughn's glass out of the way. Unnecessary roughness. 

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Bear with me. It was a slow day. It's too hot to do anything.

 We did make it to the library and the kids were able to check off the Summer Reading Program on the to-do list.

One more down, many to go.

Have a great Tuesday! 








Monday, July 11, 2011

Weekend Update!

This weekend was a blur! Here's some highlights.

 We spent a lot of time at the pool.


Vaughn found a turtle in our backyard. She named it Boots. 

 I was playing catch with Vance and heard a very frustrated Vaughnie call out, "I'm trying to get to this turtle!" She's scared of flies and gnats, but apparently has no issues with reptiles. Needless to say our game of catch was over and the kids spent the remainder of the night throwing salad at it.




We have a tomato growing. 

We didn't do a garden this year, but did plant one tomato plant a little late in the game. 



We made our own turtles.

 We used paper plates, markers, and construction paper.



Vance lost tooth number two.

He couldn't contain his excitement. This time around he let the Tooth Fairy take his tooth, which brings up the question of what exactly does the "Tooth Fairy" do with all the teeth? If putting it in a Tiffany bag and hiding it in her underwear drawer is the answer then I'm right on track. 



We made Oreo ice cream.


It's really good. 



Hope you all had a great weekend too!




Friday, July 08, 2011

Reinventing the Wheel: Sidewalk Chalk Edition

We're halfway through summer vacation.

At this point the kids have seen all my tricks and are not amused anymore.

This is where many lose the battle. Throw in the towel. Set a bowl of Goldfish out, turn the TV on, and leave the room.

Not me, of course. Them! 


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It's hard coming up with new things to do everyday to keep the kids entertained. 

The answer for me is finding ways to "reinvent the wheel".

Normal activities with a small twist so that the kids don't recognize their true identity at first. 

Sneaky! 

For example, sidewalk chalk. My kids are over it right now. I didn't want to get the sidewalk paint (which they find more exciting since we don't do it as often) out on this given day, so a new version was born. 

 We left out the paint and used paintbrushes on the chalk. 

Voila! A new twist to sidewalk chalk. 


First draw, then brush. It gives the chalk a more painted look.


This bought me about 14 more minutes to peruse the magazines that came in the mail.

Actually, I joined in the fun too. I don't know what compelled me to draw a mushroom. Random, I know.

But wait! I see a face in there. Do you see it?



This guy looks disgruntled. Good thing it rained the next day. 











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