baking for friends

I only really started baking because we got a posh looking oven and I thought I ought to do some so I could justify our purchase. I now really, really, really love it and can hardly remember what it was like to think "why would you make it when you can buy it and not have to measure out and wash up?" - although I still do totally resent washing up in all its forms.

Since then, a few people have been kind and said they really like my stuff and I've been allowed to feed hundreds with my cookies and cakes which is really very exciting. I find baking pretty relaxing and satisfying until I'm baking for others. It's fine to be baking a few cookies for school or a couple of dozen muffins for home group or women's bible study but it seems that if it's for an occasion I get a sense of pressure and worry and things go wrong! I still love it though!

Take this weekend for instance. I had been asked to do some stuff for a friend of a friend's baby shower. So I made some cookies, made some blueberry muffins with cream cheese frosting and got down to making some cakepops.

I'd been asked to do blue because this foaf is having a boy. ('Foaf' - Did I just make that up - I kind of love it.) So I made some nice blue ones and took some pictures while I melted more blue chocolate.

Idiot. I burned the chocolate of course!

So I got some more into the microwave and it turned in to a weird chocolate clump that was totally irretrievable.

So on to the back up plan. With confidence I melted white chocolate, smiling as I remembered the cake decorating shop assistant's words as I bought the food colouring powder, "that's what we use, if you just use a little bit it makes a baby blue and then you can just add more to make the colour deeper". So I added a little bit, thinking that although it wouldn't be perfect the next set of pops would look relatively similar to the ones I'd just done. The chocolate turned swamp green. In fact the only way to stop the greenness was to add more colouring. The chocolate turned murky grey. No one wants murky grey at a baby shower tea party, it just doesn't quite create the right joyful ambience. So I added more and more and more until my chocolate was a grainy looking navy blue.

Really, that's all a mother to be wants isn't it? Navy blue cake. Why did I listen to that girl? She had also just told me she had NO formal cake decorating training. She may actually not have worked there.

As I took pictures, one after another was dark and blurry. It was as though the camera was saying, "surely you don't want pictures of those? I'll focus in on the sink unit instead."

In the end when they were all wrapped up they looked pretty sweet and maybe even quite elegant but I've still not heard what the baby showerers thought of them. Perhaps they're all sick from food colouring overdoses.

I'm still not sure about edible glitter. It looks very nice but apparently is just non-toxic rather than really being a food item - which means it's not actually digested, which means that...

Hmmm, I don't think I can type what I'm thinking. Instead I will confess that yes that is a Countdown boardgame in the background of the picture.

mikey's moves

Here's a video of Mikey dancing in the car. He's got moves that boy.

three quid, man!

Oh gosh. This is one of the many reasons I love Leyland. Every now and then you come across a real treat at the charity shop. These were in the window of our local Help the Aged. Honestly, could you have resisted them?

My favourite is this green stuff. It's just great isn't it?

Look at the milk jug. Oh my!

I also like this very much, but am still trying to decide whether to give it to my favourite local florist, Jo. She is gathering teacups to put candles in and sell at the shop. What would you do?

This lipstick (plus possibly a bit of biscuit?) mark made me laugh and puke a bit. Then made me wonder about the previous owner. Did they die? Would they be sad if they knew someone had donated their lipstickmarked cup and hadn't really washed the remains of the tea out either? It was probably just someone like me who isn't a very thorough washuper and couldn't be bothered cos they knew they were going to give it to the charity shop tomorrow. You (I) can think about these things too much can't you (I)?

Happily Dave likes it all too and because it all totalled £3 there is no spending induced guilt - just pure charity shopping buzz!

Are you kidding me?

We have been asked to send two passport sized photos of Mikey to the council for a disabled parking badge. Here are my attempts so far...

rubberchops:

Elvis sneer:
and I've got lots of variations on this theme:

Hmmm. He's gorgeous though isn't he?!

Baby's got sauce

Name the artist!*

Yesterday we briefly popped by to see friends at a 40th birthday party in Knutsford. We're realising more and more that social events and our children don't mix that well! Anyway, we ended up needing to get some tea for the boys while we were out so nipped in to a Mcdonalds. I took some pictures of Dan while Mikey was transfixed watching the drive-thru cars. At the moment Dan just wants to do what he sees you do.

So, because Daddy was dipping chips in sauce, Dan had to as well.

He had some curry sauce and then just the thought of the barbeque made him go all tizzy.

Then he fancied trying some Sprite.

Yep. We're cruel parents.

And this is what he thought of Dave by the end of it.

I took this picture because I am constantly amazed by Mikey's easy, pure joy. He caught a glimpse of me in the wing mirror and beamed, giggled and squealed with delight! They don't make life easier, but they make it a lot more fun.

*Baby's got Sauce? G. Love & special sauce - of course! Download it asap.

Mikey & Dan

I really enjoy how these boys entertain each other. Dan's doing a dance for Mikey - I can't get enough of Mikey's face, I love that you can tell how funny he thinks Dan is even though you can hardly see his face!

Something new

I'm tentatively sharing this with you! It's a definite work in progress and will keep on evolving. Play on the Word is basically a play resource for Christian parents of pre-schoolers. My plan is to offer fun play ideas that help us chat naturally to our kids about Jesus. Eventually there will be lots of downloadable resources with loads of ideas, but for now I'm just blogging about what I'm doing day to day.

If you like the header it's all down to the brilliant Jon Bradley.

I'm excited about the possibilities with this, we'll see how it goes!!!