Birthdays, deaf dog, exchange students
Elf turned EIGHT yesterday. We had her party on Sunday and went out shopping first thing in the morning for stuff. We could not find a piñata at first, and mtgat and husband were lovely enough to retrieve one on their way. The critter was filled, everyone got in a good whack, and it was BEN who beheaded it with a huge, hard hit. I've got to say that the kids' skill with hitting things with sticks has been entirely based on the birthday piñatas!
Elf wanted a cake that was half yellow, half chocolate, iced with whipped cream, and garnished with strawberries. We baked the cake together, let it cool, and then I used the spray-can whipped cream that Elf insisted she wanted because it was "better than what you make, mommy." So while mtgat sliced strawberries, I stacked the cake and iced it with whipped cream from the can.
Did you know that RediWhip doesn't stay whipped for but about a minute? I do now. The cake was GORGEOUS and fluffy...for about one minute until all four parts started to slide apart like catastrophic tectonic plate movement. abrazak37 RAPIDLY cleared the freezer so we could put it in to help the whipped cream set, but it only liquified more quickly. I gave up, poured the cream into a container, and we put whipped cream directly on the slices of cake the kids got and everyone was happy.
As an aside, if you haven't seen it, you really must go see Anderson Cooper trying to figure out RediWhip. I'd never heard of the man but, seriously, he could not figure out the spray-whipped cream, and it is the funniest thing ever and only 3 minutes.
Before anyone got here, there was MUCH cleaning and while things are far from perfect, the front room meets my standards for "clean," as does the kitchen...and it is Tuesday and that has REMAINED the case! The kids' room is a mess...but I don't CARE as the two places that matter the most are gorgeous. The bathroom is clean too! It's nice to have THREE GOOD ROOMS, and I've told my family I expect it to stay this way and am pestering them to keep it like this.
July 4th was MUCH nicer this year with the Much Deafer Dog who could not hear most of the explosions that usually send him into psychotic panic.
We will nto be getting the Chinese student who plays violin, as she learned when she went home for the summer that she is allergic to cats and that was what was causing the skin problems she was having. We looked at another couple of profiles, and, pending confirmation of her visa, may have a different Chinese girl who will be here for the full school year instead of just a semester. As a bonus, the lady who finds host families has an Aspie daughter who is mildly hearing impaired and who has taught herself sign and so the lady and I have bonded and I've shared Keith Wann and Big Bang Theory and...parent networking FTW.
Elf wanted a cake that was half yellow, half chocolate, iced with whipped cream, and garnished with strawberries. We baked the cake together, let it cool, and then I used the spray-can whipped cream that Elf insisted she wanted because it was "better than what you make, mommy." So while mtgat sliced strawberries, I stacked the cake and iced it with whipped cream from the can.
Did you know that RediWhip doesn't stay whipped for but about a minute? I do now. The cake was GORGEOUS and fluffy...for about one minute until all four parts started to slide apart like catastrophic tectonic plate movement. abrazak37 RAPIDLY cleared the freezer so we could put it in to help the whipped cream set, but it only liquified more quickly. I gave up, poured the cream into a container, and we put whipped cream directly on the slices of cake the kids got and everyone was happy.
As an aside, if you haven't seen it, you really must go see Anderson Cooper trying to figure out RediWhip. I'd never heard of the man but, seriously, he could not figure out the spray-whipped cream, and it is the funniest thing ever and only 3 minutes.
Before anyone got here, there was MUCH cleaning and while things are far from perfect, the front room meets my standards for "clean," as does the kitchen...and it is Tuesday and that has REMAINED the case! The kids' room is a mess...but I don't CARE as the two places that matter the most are gorgeous. The bathroom is clean too! It's nice to have THREE GOOD ROOMS, and I've told my family I expect it to stay this way and am pestering them to keep it like this.
July 4th was MUCH nicer this year with the Much Deafer Dog who could not hear most of the explosions that usually send him into psychotic panic.
We will nto be getting the Chinese student who plays violin, as she learned when she went home for the summer that she is allergic to cats and that was what was causing the skin problems she was having. We looked at another couple of profiles, and, pending confirmation of her visa, may have a different Chinese girl who will be here for the full school year instead of just a semester. As a bonus, the lady who finds host families has an Aspie daughter who is mildly hearing impaired and who has taught herself sign and so the lady and I have bonded and I've shared Keith Wann and Big Bang Theory and...parent networking FTW.