Pumpkin fest

Remember these mysterious plants I found erroneously growing in my garden?

Well, mystery solved! They were little jack-o-lantern plants!

Halloween success!

I built this bed. On rock and roll

As Eliza approached her 3rd birthday she started getting serious about growing up. She started saying new words, she started potty training and she rejected her crib, insisting that she would sleep in Anna's bed. Thankfully Anna agreed and ended up sleeping on the floor for a week while I set about to build her this bed that I had been promising all summer.

My favorite part is this platform which somehow came out level despite my never checking it.

The girls LOVE their new beds.

We want to the zoo again!

I like the zoo, I do. So on Saturday when we had all our chores done, we went up to see the animals. Here are the pictures.

Halloween Candy House 2013

Here is our Halloween candy house for 2013! It was a pretty great success. I do need to make gluier icing because the roof kept slipping but now we know.

Back and side (bat and spider web)

Front and side (ghost and spooky face windows)

The girls are getting to be pros at this, already excited for our Christmas candy house!

Recipes That Don't Work: How To Subtly Ruin Your Childs Birthday Cake

Tuesday was Eliza's 3rd birthday! Yay! She is growing up very fast, I can't even keep track of all the new words she uses anymore and she insisted on no longer sleeping in a crib. So lots of changes around here.

For her birthday cake (or "ta-da yum") she wanted yellow. I didn't have a yellow cake mix, only chocolate, so she agreed that yellow frosting would be fine. Here is the recipe for subtly ruining your daughters birthday cake.

1. Prepare cake mix as directed

2. As cake cools prepare the frosting as follows: take a can of white frosting and add a yellow packet of Kool-Aid. Notice I said yellow packet, not yellow Kool-Aid. 

3. When that packet comes out pink, quizzically check the packet again and read the actual flavor: Strawberry Lemonade.

4. Panic in your head, when a three year old wants a certain color, that is usually a non-negotiable situation.

5. Open a second Yellow Kool-Aid packet, this time checking beforehand that it is actually plain lemonade. Add this too your frosting as well, mix well.

6. At this point the color is pink and nothing can be done. Since the 3 year old is doing the mixing and actually does not seem bothered, just don't bring it up.

7. Taste the frosting. If the double lemonade flavor makes your mouth pucker and your eyes water just a bit, you have succeeded. Spread it on the cake. The chocolate cake.

Congratulations! You have subtly ruined your child's birthday cake!

(I know some of you might think this sounds good, but remember to this 3 year old, it is not)