'FRO ME TO YOU - I'M NOT A BAKER

Cakes is turning two this week. So, this past weekend, we had her birthday party. She was very specific about they type of cake that she wanted. Which was Dora the Explorer. I began researching the internet, searching for a good Dora the Explorer cake recipe that didn't look too difficult. Because I am not a baker. Not even slightly.

I finally ran across what appeared to be the perfect instructional for a Dora the Explorer cake on the Nick Jr. website. This was going to be the cake I baked for my little Cakes (photo courtesy of the http://www.nickjr.com/):



Unfortunately, this was the cake that I actually baked:



Yes, it was a little creepy. The eyes were a little buggy. The skin was a little ... um ... textured. The nose ... well, there's not a whole lot I can say about the nose. I didn't even bother putting the cowlick in her hair, because it was eerily similar in appearance to a piece of poo. Storebought cake next year? I think so! At least it wasn't as bad as this.

Happy birthday, Cakes!

For more fun memories, check out We Are THAT Family.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - HALLMARK KISSING BEARS' DRYER ADVENTURE

I know this is supposed to be Wordless, but I just need to give a little preface. Have you seen those Hallmark kissing bears? They have magnets in their noses that make them "kiss." The girls love playing with ours, and they were getting pretty gross, so I washed them. And put them in the dryer.

Go here for more Wordless Wednesday.

WHERE DO THEY COME UP WITH THIS STUFF?

Bean was drinking her juice in the car today as we drove home from the bank. She must have gotten some "down the wrong pipe," because she coughed and sputtered a little bit. I gave my usual response: "You choking a little bit, Bean?"

Bean replied, "I'll be okay, Steve."

"Who's Steve?" I queried.

"I called you Steve," Bean responded.

I chuckled a little bit and said, "I'm not Steve; I'm Mom."

Bean didn't miss a beat. She said, matter-of-factly, "Well, you look like Steve to me!"

CHERUBS SING POPULAR

I finally found the charger for my video camera. So, as promised, I dutifully set my girls in front of the camera to record them singing "Popular." It didn't come out quite as planned. There was nose picking throughout the recording. There were also many attempts on my part to convince a skeptical Bean that the camera was, in fact, recording her song. Finally, in exasperation, I turned the viewfinder so that the girls could see that I was telling the truth about the camera recording them. And, well, that was the end of the concert.

KID PICS - NOT SO CREATIVE

It's Kid Pics Carnival time! Go here to find out how to participate!

The whole point of the Kid Pics Carnival is to showcase the creativity of children when a camera is put into their hands. Kids, even toddlers like mine, are able to come up with some suprisingly well-framed and beautiful photos. Unfortunately, this week my kids were not feeling very creative. Behold ...


Hopefully, your kids were more creative this week.

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?

Bean has always been pretty independent and self-sufficient. She's great at amusing herself. But lately, Bean has been wandering the house, singing (to the tune of "Are You Sleeping"), "This is boring, this is boring ..."

My wonderful mother witnessed this, and appeared one day bearing The Toddler's Busy Book. It's fantastic! A lot of the ideas are so simple that I wonder why I didn't come up with them myself. One of them doesn't require any intervention from me and keeps the girls happy and busy for hours. I just fill up a tub with water and stick it on the deck with a bunch of Tupperware.

The first day that I tried this, the girls had a blast! That is, until one dumped water on another one's head and hysteria burst forth. But, I had a good hour and half before that happened.

It worked so well that I set up two tubs of water today so that they wouldn't argue over the water. When I went to check on them, they had both stripped down to their birthday suits and were sitting in the tubs. Why isn't bath time this easy?

Don't forget, tomorrow is the weekly Kid Pics Carnival! Give your kids a camera and watch the creative juices flow!

DRUMMER'S EYE VIEW

Big Daddy is a drummer (a wonderful combination of 18-inch biceps and ADHD). Before we became business owners, he had more time to devote to it. But, he still plays whenever he gets the chance. He recently played at a concert to benefit teenage mothers. He was able to snap some shots from behind his drum kit with his camera phone.

That lost shot is of the stage's soundboard.