Well, at least the house didn't burn down

Yesterday while I was getting dressed, I got a whiff of an odd smell. It smelled like a hot glue gun, or melting plastic on the dishwasher element. But neither was the case, and I sort of forgot about it because I couldn't think of what it could be. A while later, I smelled it again, and happened to walk into Madelyn's room. I found this:

(crepe paper Madelyn had on her ceiling)...

...crumpled up and shoved into her reading light, which was turned on and scorching. Her whole room reeked and it took several hours of airing out to get back to normal.

LUKE!!!!

I put him in front of the evidence. He knew he was in trouble.

 

 But....not overly concerned.

That boy. 

About 10 minutes later, 

 "Watch me as I kick all my blocks under the entertainment center!"

  

 Then,

 

 Time to go mess up Madelyn's room/take a poop in my diaper because I refuse to use the potty anymore!

 

Time to knock down some more blocks!

 Time to break some crayons! (I've had that box since I was a little kid and have treasured it all these years--now Madelyn uses it--we were not amused.)

Then I caught him poking his finger into my camera lens...while it was closed (he was forcing the little covers open).

AND

 This morning I discovered that yes, he has broken my brand new humidifier I got for Christmas. I know he was messing with it the other day and now it doesn't produce any vapor.

This is all in the course of 24 hours, people.

You know, in addition to the smaller scale messes and tantrums, and book chewing.

SIGH. 

Here's some more of what Luke's been up to lately:

 Hiding under my bed

Destroying a brand new package of Post-It notes

"Reading"

Wanting to go outside to play in the snow at 8:00 pm and 0° F.

Stealing my camera and taking 26 self-portraits underneath the quilt on his bed

Dude..

I mean, yeah, he's adorable

 The other day, I opened the window in my bedroom a crack to air it out and he came over, took a big whiff of air and said, "Ahhhh! Smells so sweet!"

If you pick him up, especially by the waist, he'll flap his hands and kick his legs and say, "I'm fwying!!" [flying]

He gives lots of kisses and would sit on my lap all day if I let him. He's very smart and curious.

When he hasn't seen me for a few minutes, he'll yell, "Mama! Where are you??" and I'll say, "I'm right here in the bedroom" and he'll walk in and say, "Oh yes...."

It's so cute.

 He loves playing with Madelyn and they (mostly) get along.

 

He wants to be a rock star.

He loves Doctor Who.

Clearly, this kid is going places.

 

 He tried on some of Mark's clothes, and it makes me sad to think that he'll be that big someday.

He routinely asks to eat vegetables like celery, lettuce, broccoli and carrots (!).

But he also loves Pringles, popcorn, pizza, and "chwocowate".

 

He is my protector from imaginary zombies.

One morning, he pulled me into his bedroom, saying, "Zombies coming!!", shut the door and showed me that he had all his squirt guns ready to go to fight them off.

That probably has to do with the fact that he likes to "help" daddy play video games.

So even though he dumps his toys out several times a day, wipes his dirty hands and mouth on the carpet, resists getting changed or dressed, screams when you use the microwave without him and wears me into the ground every day, I guess I'll keep him. ♥

GLORIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE + bonus recipe!

 You might recall this cake that I made on Christmas Eve.

 

My sister-in-law Sheila made it for Thanksyodermas, and I begged her for the recipe. Turns out it was in our family cookbook, but I had always passed it by because it looked too involved.

 But then she told me that you didn't have to make the cake from scratch as in the original recipe--she just used a chocolate cake mix. So all you had to do was make the frosting and glaze. I could do that!

A repeating comment I kept hearing from my family was, "I don't normally like chocolate upon chocolate, but THIS! Wow."

This is the type of cake that, if you were dying tomorrow, you'd make for your last meal. Because you would no longer care about the calories. And because you would die happy, ensconced in chocolate.

This is the cake mix I used. It's new from Duncan Hines (my favorite brand) and it not only has chocolate chunks in it--it has a fudge pouch!! :D.... I also used Ghirardelli cocoa and baking bars, because you want high quality chocolate for this. 

Okay, on with the recipe.

 Triple Chocolate Cake

Sheila Brown

1 pkg Duncan Hines Decadent Triple Chocolate cake mix

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted

2 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

4-5 Tbsp. milk

Chocolate Glaze

3 squares (3 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, chopped

5 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces

1 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla

4-5 Tbsp. hot water

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Bake in two 8-inch cake pans that are greased and floured or sprayed with Baker's Joy. Let cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate frosting: In large bowl, combine softened butter and salt. Beat with mixer until well blended. Gradually add about half of powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk (reserve remainder). Beat until fluffy. Beat in cocoa. Add remaining sugar and enough milk to make a good spreading consistency, then add vanilla. Increase speed to high; beat until fluffy and well blended. Spread frosting in between the two cake layers, then frost the rest of the cake. Chill frosted cake, uncovered, at least 30 minutes before applying the glaze.

Glaze: In microwave safe bowl, combine chopped chocolate, butter and salt. Microwave for 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Add powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp. hot water (reserve remainder); whisk well to combine. Gradually add enough of the remaining hot water to achieve a thick glaze consistency. Whisk in vanilla. Let stand at room temp. for 10-15 minutes, whisking occasionally, to cool and thicken slightly. Slowly pour glaze onto top center of chilled cake. If possible, chill once more and let set.

...

If I can make this frosting on a super hectic Christmas Eve morning and assemble/frost the cake just minutes before it was to be eaten, then surely you can pull this off. And the best part??

There was extra glaze!

I had the rest of it in my fridge for a couple of weeks when I finally remembered it and decided to make a milkshake with it.

 I just heated up the glaze (I had around 1/2 cup) and added it to a few scoops of vanilla ice cream, poured in a splash of milk, and blended.

 I was nice and decided to share some with my children. It was rich and creamy and almost as glorious as the cake.

The verdict?

 Madelyn: "Mom, this is the best thing I've ever eaten in my whole life."

Oh yum. I wish I had another excuse to make this right now.

Yummy party food

I thought I'd give a rundown of the food we ate at Madelyn's baptism party, because it was all really good.

Item #1:

 Follow these directions carefully: Go to your local Jimmy John's sandwich shop (or even better, order online like I did) and order a party platter of their ham and cheese sandwiches, aka the "Pepe". Go pick them up, or hey, they deliver. Hand over a large sum of money. Consume.

Item #2:

 

Send a willing volunteer to Costco to pick up a container of their Jalapeno Artichoke Dip. Or if you're feeling adventurous, this lady has figured out the recipe!

Item #4:

Serve with Private Selection Sea Salt Pita Chips (which are sold at Smith's and are responsible for a few extra pounds on my hips), and also get some of their Sea Salt & Black Pepper chips and regular wavy chips because they are yummo.

Chips and sandwiches. Can't go wrong.

Items # 5, 6 and 7

That fluffy looking pink pie is a Marie Callender's Peppermint Pie, which my mom brought and is found in the freezer section of the grocery store. Then we also have...

Brownie Bites! These are my new favorite because they only take half as long as baking a regular pan of brownies. And plus they all have that lovely crusty, chewy outside that I love.

All you need is a brownie mix (I always use Ghirardelli), which you prepare according to package directions. Then, instead of spreading it into a baking pan, you put 1 tablespoon into each spot (there are 24) in a mini muffin tin. You need to use an enormous amount of cooking spray or Baker's Joy in the muffin tin in order for the brownie bites to come out after baking. Trust me on that. Bake at 325° (or whatever the box says) for 20 minutes and let cool. Use a spoon to pop the brownie bites out of the pan.

I actually do have a recipe for this:

When I was making Madelyn's birthday cupcakes, I noticed a picture for this Almond Pound Cake on the box of cake mix and thought it was worth a try. 

It was SO. GOOD.

*Note: Since I don't have a Bundt pan ("It's a bundt." "Bohnnnt??" "Bunnndtt." "What's a bohnnt? Oh, it's a caaake!" Name that movie.) I tried it with two round cake pans and added those directions into the recipe. I also made up the glaze and didn't measure, so you might need more or less sugar when making it. I spread a layer of glaze in between the two cakes. And I toasted the almonds because they always taste better when you do.

Almond Pound Cake

Duncan Hines

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix

1 (3.4 oz) pkg vanilla instant pudding

4 large eggs

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 Tblsp. almond extract

3/4 cup sliced, toasted almonds

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup water, more if needed

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour (or spray with Baker's Joy) a 10-inch Bundt pan, or two 8-inch round cake pans.

Lightly toast almonds in dry skillet on medium heat until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil and almond extract in large bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in almonds, reserving a few for the top of the cake. Pour into pan(s).

Bake at 350° F for 40 to 45 minutes if using a Bundt pan or 35 minutes if using round pans. Insert a toothpick near center to test for doneness. Cool in pan for 25 minutes. Invert onto cooling rack. Cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar, or whisk together powdered sugar and water to make a glaze and pour on top. Sprinkle with remaining almonds.

Lastly, Item #8:

 

 Creamy Fruit Salad

Melissa Yoder

1 banana, cut into chunks

1 cup strawberries, sliced into quarters

8 oz. can pineapple tidbits or chunks, drained

1/2 cup red grapes, halved

6 oz. container black cherry Greek yogurt

2 cups lite Cool Whip

Prep fruit and combine in medium bowl. In a separate bowl, stir yogurt to mix (if it has fruit on the bottom) and gently fold the Cool Whip into it. Carefully stir into the fruit and serve.

I've made this fruit salad four times in the past month and just love it. The Greek yogurt/Cool Whip combo makes sort of a mousse and I have to stop myself from just eating it by itself. You can obviously change the quantities and types of fruit till you have exactly what you like.  The mousse can also be served on the side as a dip if you're doing a fruit platter.

 Check out two more posts of my party food (from two years ago) here and here. :D