Well, this weekend, I made 2 different cakes. For Saturday, I made a cake for my friend’s son. He carries around a little Lego figure and she wanted to surprise him with that character on his birthday cake. I had made a cake with Lego figures on it before for my son, so I told her it wouldn’t be a problem. As moms, we don’t know too much about Lego Star Wars. We’ve seen the old movies, but Lego men don’t really look that much like the characters from the movie. So, as we were talking about it, we called him Anakin. Come to find out (from our boys, of course) it was really Obi Wan.

This is the cake I made for the birthday party on Saturday.

I usually decorate cakes when it’s someone’s birthday or a special occasion, so I never want to experiment and try new things then because I don’t want to mess something up and have to start over (with a deadline). After the birthday party on Saturday, I was in a decorating mood and came home and made a “sampler” cake. I used all different decorating tips in order to make many flowers. It was nice to be able to practice and not worry what it looked like! I also don’t do flowers very often with 2 boys and a man in the house. I don’t make birthday cakes for myself, so most of the cakes I decorate are “manly” or “childish.”

Here is a picture of my crazy sampler “just-for-fun” cake.

I have been sewing some house dresses for a friend’s mom. There were seven total that I made in all different fabrics. She picked out the fabric and brought it to me so all I had to do was sew them. I enjoy sewing because when I am done, I can look at what I’ve made and see that I’ve accomplished something. In this case it makes me feel really good because I’ve helped someone have clothes to wear that she really appreciates because it is hard for her to find clothes at a store that she likes and that fit her properly. It is a little more nerve-wracking to sew for someone else because I worry about every little detail (and I’m such a perfectionist anyway). So, here are the finished dresses from 2 different patterns. There’s one smock (since there wasn’t enough of that fabric for a dress)…

Yesterday my daddy had an appointment with his doctor because he had abnormal results from a routine blood test. As he was telling me the doctor thought it was “nothing to worry about,” I saw this beautiful spicebush swallowtail butterfly (Papilio troilus) on my lantana. Such a peaceful picture to go along with wonderful news.

This butterfly is said to mimic the foul tasting pipevine swallowtail to ward off predators. It also looks similar to the black swallowtail and red spotted purple. The reason it is called a spicebush butterfly is because spicebush and sassafras are its host plants where it lays its eggs. It is a swallowtail because of the spoon-like appendage on the bottom of its wings. This one is supposedly a female because the male’s coloration is more green instead of blue.

Getting a good picture proved difficult because it kept moving its wings trying to dry or warm them and didn’t sit still to drink the nectar. Eventually it found a sunny place to sit and relax with its wings opened.

Today was a great day, especially after we were all so sick with a cold/sinus infection last week. I got caught up with some chores and sewing and the boys played well together all day. We have a McDonalds playset (boys’ version of a kitchen) they were playing with. They took turns being the employee and customer. Then, Colin (9-years-old) decided that he wanted to be at a sit-down restaurant instead of McDonald’s. Eamon (4-years-old) was still standing in the “kitchen.” Colin told him he had to go take his order like at Pizza Hut. So, Eamon went to take his order at the kitchen table. He said, “Hello, Sir, May I take your order?” Colin said, “Could I have a menu, please?” Eamon said he didn’t have a menu, but there was one on the cash register (at McDonald’s), so he went and got it. Colin told him what he wanted and Eamon apparently didn’t know what he meant and said Colin would have to draw a picture of what he wanted so he could go back to McDonald’s and make it. Then, Eamon rang up what Colin had ordered and it was about 46 million dollars. Colin said, “This is not worth it and the food’s not that good anyway.”

Later, after dinner, Eamon helped me make cookies. We had the butter, egg, and brown sugar in the mixing bowl and he said, “Mommy, this just looks like brown sugar slime to me.”

This is them eating the “brown sugar slime.” Thank goodness it turned out to be great cookies!

One time during the day, Colin was in the bathroom and Eamon was waiting for him outside the door with a light saber. Colin told him he wasn’t coming out until Eamon counted to 10. Eamon counted and Colin still didn’t come out, so Eamon went in. Colin was hiding in the linen closet. Eamon found him (he knew he was in there somewhere). When they related the story to me, Eamon said, “Mommy, it was a wonderful surprise finding Colin in the closet!”

You just never know what those little guys will say. I have told Colin that God gave us Eamon to keep us entertained and laughing. He is great at it, too!

My husband and I love Chinese food and finally found a cookbook we like so we can make it at home. Many Chinese cookbooks aren’t anything like what you find in American Chinese restaurants, so we were glad to find this one. It is called Potsticker Chronicles by Stuart Chang Berman. It is very helpful because there is a list of the exact ingredients you need and a detailed explanation of the techniques required in order to get the recipe just right.

Over the past several months, we have made many of the recipes in the book and like almost all of them. There were weeks when we would cook 2-3 recipes from the book. It’s just that great! Another thing I like about having Chinese food is that my husband and I cook together. We have a great time and we’re like a “well-oiled machine” as the saying goes. We each have our own jobs to do and everything turns out perfectly. We also enjoy going to the Asian Market as a family to gather our supplies. The produce and seafood sections are absolutely amazing and the boys get a glimpse into another culture!

Tonight we had General Tso’s Chicken and the kids even loved it. We didn’t put as much chili paste as the recipe called for so it wasn’t too hot for them. We told them it was similar to Sesame Chicken (which they love) so there was no problem getting them to taste it. Colin (9) is a little picky, but Eamon (4) will try anything and eats almost everything (especially if it’s over rice)!