Volcano cake

Over a month before her birthday, Madeleine told me she wanted a chocolate cate with chocolate buttercreme frosting to eat on her big day. Then the volcano fascination began shortly thereafter and I decided to try and combine the two interests. Here's what resulted.

This is a 3 cake mix creation: two layers of red velvet and one of chocolate. I cooked them all in the angel food cake pan (the red velvet together...almost overflowed the pan) and the chocolate by itself. Trimmed to look more like a volcano with the crumbs scattered at the bottom, I covered it in almost 8 cups of buttercreme frosting (Wilton recipe online) and added red and orange suger sprinkles along with dinosaurs for decoration. I placed a small cup inside the cake to hold dry ice. I was taking the cake to M's preschool for snack and wanted to add some special effects. After adding dry ice and pouring colored and thinned marshmellow fluff on top of it, I poured some boiling water in the cup to make the dry ice "smoke" and the fluff bubbled and overflowed down the sides. (Video to follow later) The kids ooohhed and aaaahhhed much to my delight. Did I mention that I made this cake the night after I had my wisdom teeth pulled? Gotta admit, I felt a bit like supermom :)

Kids

There are days when I can't quite get enough of these two.

Mads had a great birthday (thanks for asking!) and I'll be posting pics of it soon as soon as I can steal some from my dad. (Hey Papa, can you please hurry and post them to Picasa? People wanna see some birthday fun! Thanks :)

Loaded

My dad took this picture of Justin and me right after I got home from having my wisdom teeth out last Thursday. Flattering, right? It may just grace the front of this year's Christmas card (as if I actually send out Christmas cards...)

Healing

Quick update...
Justin's surgery on Tuesday was very successful. The surgeon found more damage to the labrum than the MRI had shown and was impressed that Justin had lasted this long with such a weak shoulder. He sewed up the 3 spots that were torn and then found another tear in his bicep muscle and repaired that as well. The block they had given him wore off this afternoon and he's been in a lot more pain but we're managing it the best we can with ice and medication. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers during this!
My parents made it to town this evening. The kids showed off their silliness and have already made plans for what they're going to do with Papa and Mimi tomorrow. Which is good because my mom will be taking me to the oral surgeon tomorrow morning to have my wisdom teeth pulled. The sooner I get it over the happier I'll be (I've never even had an IV before...not too thrilled about any type of surgery for myself). My parents will have their hands full tomorrow handling all 4 of us but hopefully I'll be ready to swing into action on Friday when I'm supposed to bring a smoking volcano birthday cake to school for Mads' birthday. We'll see how that goes...I'll post pictures (fingers crossed).

Turning a corner

Winter has finally loosened it's grip on Missoula. We've had seasonal temps in the 40s and spring-like sunshine for at least a few hours every day over the past two weeks. Parker's playgroup played outside for the first time this week since last October. The boys ran around aimlessly, simply excited to be free. Last Sunday, while Justin was at an all-weekend training, the kids and I explored the snow covered back yard in snow boots and sweatshirts. Our cul-de-sac is ready for tricycles and scooters instead of sleds. Hope is in the air.

March is our month to transition from winter to spring. We're maximising the not-quite-warm-enough weather to get some necessary medical stuff done. Justin will have shoulder surgery next Tuesday and I get my wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday. My parents arrive on Wednesday and will be our support staff during the week. We'll celebrate Madeleine's birthday on Friday at preschool with a volcano cake (her latest fascination). I had hoped to have a friend/family party for her on Saturday but logic has won me over and I've decided to postpone it until the next weekend when we can have a joint Madeleine/Justin party (he's turning 30 on the 29th of March). Before we know it April will be here, Justin's arm will be out of a sling, and we'll have a 4-year old ruling the roost! Bring it on sun...we're ready!

The List

Last weekend I asked Madeleine what she wanted for her birthday (less than a month away!) and here's what she said, in order.

1. purple fan
2. purple heater
3. purple rocketship jammies
4. birthday card
5. blanket: green with brown polka dots
6. a Santa Claus movie
7. toy dog that makes sounds
8. purple mack truck
9. brown dress
10. a Santa Claus book
11. green towel
12. long-sleeve shirt, yellow with white sparkles
13. purple pony stuffed animal
14. shark towel

All of this was new to me. What's up with all the purple and polka dots?!? I know she's obsessed with Santa because she was old enough at Christmas to comprehend how cool Santa is. I'm hoping she'll be satisfied with the carousel t-shirt and Emily train (from Thomas the Train). She has also asked for "chocolate cake with chocolate buttercreme icing" using those exact words. I can definitely do that. What a funny kid!

The sound of silence

I covet silence. More often than not it's loud around here but on the rare day both kids will nap and I will have the house to myself. Today I'm enjoying a cup of sweet dreams tea with honey to soothe my sore throat while looking up dress tutorials for Madeleine. I've started one dress that I hope to finish tonight. Lately she's been obsessed with layering a summery dress over her long-sleeve shirts and jeans so I thought it'd be nice to give her a few more options. Her favorite dresses have polka dots but I'm low on dot cloth so flowers will have to suffice until I make it to JoAnn Fabrics.

Like my cup? Picked it up at Goodwill the other day. It is a nice reminder of the summer weather that seems so far away on a snowy day like today.

I'm looking forward to having some other photos to share by the end of the weekend. Mads has been at a creative standstill so I'm hoping to spark some new ideas by giving her the camera to document what does (or doesn't) happen around here. We'll try to make the best of the last 3-day weekend before the long stretch until Memorial Day. Justin will probably have a couple days off between now and then since he needs shoulder surgery. He has a torn something-or-other that can't heal with just physical therapy so we're trying to schedule things to make sure he will be healed in time for hunting season. It's unfortunate that he won't be able to complete any triathlons this summer but in the long run it will be good to get this procedure done so he can compete in the future.

My silent afternoon is fading away so I'm off to drink one last hot cup of tea before chaos ensues.