Candy Corn Cupcakes

So on Saturday I decided to make cupcakes for the kids for Halloween. I loved the cake idea from Angela's blog but thought cupcakes would be easier. I followed this recipe for the batter:

1 white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
yellow and orange food coloring gel (I found mine at Wal-Mart)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients and blend for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and mix on high for 2 minutes. Divide your batter in half and color. Below are the pictures of the colors.

Next use a cookie scoop to evenly fill each liner with batter--yellow on bottom. orange on top.

Here they are after baking for about 22 minutes.

Finally you can add your frosting. Store bought would be fine, but here is a really yummy recipe:

5 Tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup sugar

Begin by whisking together your flour and milk in a saucepan and heating it until it thickens up--then put it in the fridge to cool it down. Once it is cool, add your vanilla. While it is cooling, cream together your butter and sugar until all the sugar is incorporate--no grainy texture:-) When the flour mix is cool, pour it into the butter/sugar mix and beat on medium high for 7-8 minutes--yes, minutes. That is why this works great with a kitchen aid mixer. I used the wire attachment and just left it alone. When it was done, the frosting was phenomenal--very light and not too sweet but it stacked up high on the cupcakes.

A few orange sprinkles and you are done! I think I am going to make some for Christmas that are red and green:-) The kids loved them and the taste was very good--Shon even ate one and he doesn't like sweets.

Perception

Isn't it amazing how one little piece of news can change your perceptions. I have had a long week--Shon was home sick all week and the 4 kids were basically mine to deal with (he doesn't do sickness well:-) I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and was short with the kids, wondering when I was going to finally have a break and some time to myself (short of locking myself in the bathroom, which doesn't work because they still come in/knock on the door). Then on Saturday I found out one of my best friends from middle school on has a 4 year old little boy who was diagnosed with leukemia on Friday. Today they are in St. Jude's in Memphis waiting for chemotherapy to start, central lines to be put in, and bone marrow to be tested to find out what kind of fight they are up against. It really put my petty complaints into perspective. So what if my house isn't cleaned up and my kids still step over their toys rather than pick them up and take them upstairs? They are all healthy and happy for the most part--and I need to remember to be more thankful. Same goes for my husband--yes he tends to be more crabby and helpless when sick, but he is a wonderful provider and helper when he feels well and I should try to have more sympathy when he is ill:-)

I pray that I will remember to let the little things go, as the time the kids are little is so fleeting. I pray I will try to laugh more and make things fun instead of always telling them something they need to be doing to clean up or help out with their younger sibling, etc. I want them to look back on their childhood and remember it fondly. I also pray that my friend Mandi's little boy Eli will be miraculously healed of his cancer and this will be just a bump in the road of his very long life. More later....

10-10-10 Happy 2 months Will!

I thought for your 2 month I would leave you with a video of Will and Jake:-) You are getting so big! You have your 2 month check up on Wednesday, so I will have all of your stats then. You are sleeping about 5-6 hours at a time at night, which averages to me waking about once, usually. However, at times it will take you about an hour to an hour and 1/2 to get back to sleep, so I 'm still not doing great with sleep:-) The kids are all still taken with you--they love to hold you and get upset when they miss a day. You have moved from newborn to 0-3 month clothing. You are exclusively breast fed--which is another reason mommy is more tired:-) You have started to lose your hair in the back, and you are definitely more alert. You love your new swing daddy bought you--it is called a Mamma Roo (I'll put a picture on here). You are also enjoying your baby gym, although you have only been using it this past week. You are smiling and generally happy unless you are hungry, and then you make your presence known quite loudly. You have been to church a few times but had to leave the service both times:-) We all love you and can't believe you are already 2 months old!