It's Wedding Season! Part 1

I love weddings. June seems to be wedding month in my family - one of my younger sisters and her husband celebrated their 1st anniversary on June 12, my husband and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on June 22, and my parents celebrated their 33rd on June 24! Whoa - lots of love to celebrate . . . not to mention Father's Day, which I missed posting on because I was busy-busy baking for a wedding (more on that in a later post)!

First, a note on Father's Day. I am really blessed - I have a great dad. I think I probably take him for granted sometimes. I guess it's easy to do because I know he'll always be a strong support in everything I go through in life. He's proven it time and time again, and it's something I am so thankful for. I definitely get my love of reading from him, and my taste in books. Also, my sarcasm . . . and possibly my lack of patience, haha. It's a great feeling to know I can always call with any problem, and that I'll get honest advice and helpful advice.

Let's not forget about the father of my own boys! I have the world's greatest husband. Dusty is such a wonderful dad. He loves our boys so much and is so attentive to them. I rarely have to ask him to help out with them - he just does it . . . and he enjoys every minute (well, for the most part - there's the occasional tantrum from Asher that's not very fun, and the nights when Aiden refuses to sleep for more than an hour at a time). But, if I do ask for help with something, he never complains. He loves playing with them, and he loves cuddling them - he's the perfect mix. Asher, Aiden, and I are so very blessed to have him.

Personally, I'm thankful that there's a day honoring dads everywhere. I know it's something I should do every day, but it's nice to have a reminder so I really take the time to thank them for everything they do that I often don't remember to say on a day-to-day basis.

Ok, back to weddings.

Last summer I made my first-ever wedding cake for my sister's wedding - LOTS of pressure! Not from her, just from myself. A wedding cake? That's a big deal - everyone looks at it, take pictures of it, watches the bride and groom cut it, etc; I was honored that she and her husband trusted me to do it. I wasn't worried about taste, but I was worried about appearance because decorating isn't my strong point. I'm more of a "Who cares what it looks like as long as it tastes good" kind of girl. Needless to say, that approach doesn't work with a wedding cake. BUT, I think it was a success. They were happy with it, and that's what mattered most to me.

Looks like they're enjoying it, right?

For the cake, I used this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, courtesy of foodnetwork.com.

White Cake

1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix (recommended: Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)

1 1/3 cups water

3 large eggs whites

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons almond extract

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, water, egg whites, melted butter, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a large bowl for 2 minutes, or until the batter is well blended. Pour batter evenly in greased and floured 8 inch cake pans. Bake the cakes until they are very pale golden on top, about 24 minutes. Cool cakes in the pans for ten minutes, then cool completely on a cooling rack. You can find the original recipe here, which with the raspberry cream is deeeeelicious.

**Side note - this obviously isn't a "from scratch" cake, but the added ingredients give it great flavor, it holds up very nicely when decorating, and is super moist.

Buttercream Frosting

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

1/2 c. vegetable shortening

4 c. powdered sugar

1 T. vanilla extract (if you really want frosting to be as white as possible, use clear vanilla)

1/4 tsp. butter flavoring



 1-2 T milk or cream

Beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Slowly add in powdered sugar and flavorings and beat for 1-2 minutes on medium speed. Add the milk, and beat on medium/high speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. At this point, you can determine whether you want a thinner or thicker consistency and add more milk or powdered sugar to achieve what you'd like.

Assembling the Cake
Place one cake layer on plate or serving dish.
Spread with 1/4 c. of seedless raspberry jam, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge.
Mix 1/3 c. of toasted, slivered almonds with approximately 1/2 c. of frosting, and spread over jam layer.
Place top layer of cake on the frosting.
Frost and decorate as desired.

Parenting Is One Crazy Rollercoaster

Well, it's been a little longer than usual between posts. We've had quite an emotional ride the past couple of weeks. Sad news for little Aiden, but complete excitement and enjoyment with how the boys have started to interact with each other. We'll start with sad. 



Happy-go-lucky!



Aiden went in for his 4-month appointment and our doctor told us we'd have to take him to an opthalmologist to look at his eyes. He tends to just focus with one eye at a time, and we were told that often they'll put a contact in one eye to help correct it. Putting contacts in our baby's eyes?!?! Sounded crazy to me. I can put them in my own, but a baby? We didn't even understand how that could work. Dusty's usually more of the worrier with these things, so he was absolutely dreading the appointment with the opthalmologist, but I wasn't too concerned because I assumed it would be an easy fix . . . not so much. After the doctor held a few lenses in front of Aiden's eyes, dilated them, and looked more closely at them, he said Aiden has congenital exotropia. Basically, one eye strays outward. The solution? EYE SURGERY. Since that thought never crossed either of our minds, I was surprised at how well Dusty and I kept it together while the doctor was explaining it to us (although I was tearing up big time . . . I almost lost it). We were told that nothing else can fix it and it would be detrimental to his eyesight to leave it as is. We go to the University of Iowa on June 16 to have him looked over and will get the surgery scheduled that day. Since we found out, we've had a lot of support from friends and family, and also a lot of encouragement from people who have had the surgery or know someone who has. It was rough at first because every time I looked at him he would be his smiley self, and it would break my heart thinking of what he has to go through. It's definitely one of those times when I wish I could go through it for him. But, we're staying positive knowing that it's not an uncommon surgery, and we thank God that it's nothing worse. I remind myself every day that there are a lot of parents out there who have seen their children go through much worse and my heart goes out to them. On to HAPPY!

Asher mimics so much of what Dusty and I do, and one thing he has picked up on is how we talk to Aiden. He'll run up to him and tickle him on his tummy and Aiden laughs! It's the cutest thing. I was hoping to post a video, but Asher refuses to perform when he knows he's on camera. :) Aiden just stares at Asher and takes everything in, and Asher makes sure he includes Aiden in almost everything he does. If he's dancing to music, he'll say, "Mama Dada Mama Dada" until he gets our attention and we start dancing with him; then he runs up to Aiden and says "Aiden Aiden" and grabs his hand and swings it so he's dancing, too! When we just had one child it was great, but there is nothing I love more than watching Asher and Aiden interact as brothers. It really doesn't compare to anything else I've experienced as a parent and I am so excited to see how this bond grows and changes (I think I've said that before).



I love how Asher's trying to hold Aiden's hand in this one







Why I Love Fantasy

Well, I claim to be a readoholic, so I thought it was time I post something about literature. I LOVE THE FANTASY GENRE - I always have. When I was growing up, I was (and still am) in love with The Chronicles of Narnia, The Chronicles of Prydain, and I think I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was in middle school. Remember Disney's Beauty and the Beast? At the beginning Belle talks about her favorite book and how it has, "far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!" Well, I focused on to that part of the movie and literally went to a book store with my mom to see if they had any books containing those things. As a youngster, I loved how easy it was to become attached to the characters, and that's kind of how I measure how much I like a series now that I'm older. For example, the Harry Potter series is one of my favorites - so much so that I wrote my Master's thesis on it. Every time I read the series, I almost feel depressed at the end because I miss the characters and wish I could keep reading about them. My dad is the one who introduced me to fantasy and I think I must get my love of reading and my taste in literature from him. Thanks, Dad!

My love of fantasy is something I've never been ashamed of. You know in high school when you're insecure about pretty much everything? (Well, I was at least.) I never cared if people thought I was a nerd for what I chose to read. And I read a lot. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of favorite books that aren't fantasy (Pride and Prejudice, The Kite Runner, and The Notebook, to name a few). But, honestly, fantasy is usually my go-to genre because it makes me feel good when I read it. I admit I read for pleasure and rarely for knowledge, but that doesn't mean I don't learn something every time I pick up a book. I just see it as an added bonus! To me, fantasy provides something that no other genre can - not just an escape, but a connection to characters who live in totally different worlds, but still experience similar trials and circumstances.

Currently, I'm reading A Storm of Swords from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. It's excellent. It was crazy because I had been intending to read the series for a while, and right after I finished the first book, I found out that HBO was turning it into a TV series! I think they've done a great job with it so far. I can't wait to see how the rest of the season goes. Anyway, this series is definitely R-rated. Don't let your kiddos read it until you think they're ready for very graphic, adult content. I was excited to see that Martin finished the last book of the series and it comes out in July! Yay.

I Think "Terrible Twos" Should Be Considered False Advertising

Ok - when did my little sweetheart of a little boy turn into Mr. Attitude? Asher, almost 21 months, has really started testing the waters over the past couple months. If I tell him "no" he screams at me. If Dusty tells him "no" he screams at me . . . somehow that doesn't seem quite fair. Little stinker - I guess Mom has to be the bad guy even though Dad is just as much the disciplinarian. I'm really thankful that the disciplinarian role is pretty equal so Asher doesn't expect one of us to always give in. We'll leave that to the Grandmas and Grandpas - I don't think they mind. :) We've started putting Asher in timeout for 1 minute when he does things like screaming at us or hitting. He was on a hitting spree for a while there, but that seems to have calmed down for now. The screeching, on the other hand, is totally naughty . . . and unfortunately, funny. I think that's one of the hardest things of parenting a toddler - the things Asher does that are clearly naughty often tend to be the funniest because he's totally trying to assert himself. We mistakenly thought this phase wouldn't kick in until closer to his 2-year birthday; feels like we got the short end of the stick with that, but it seems as though it isn't all that uncommon for the "terrible twos" to hit early.

So far, this is definitely the hardest phase of parenting because we're stll trying to figure out how to stop Asher's bad behaviors. (I'm sure that doesn't ever end.) Also, Dusty and I have to make sure we're on the same page as far as how we react to his naughtiness. BUT, this is definitely the most fun we've had, too, because he picks up on things SO quickly and you never know what he will say or do next. For example, when we were taking Asher to get his haircut a couple weeks ago, Dusty sneezed and all of a sudden we heard "bless you" from the back seat. So precious. I also love that he calls the playground "wheeeee" because he loves the slide and that's what he says when he goes down it; and when we lay him in bed at night he whispers "night-night" and "love you" to us; and he'll bring a puzzle over and sit in our laps and put it together over and over again waiting and watching to see how proud of him we are. He's still my little sweetie-pie . . . with a "wheeee" bit of an edge. :)

PB Cream Cheese Brownies . . . Finally

So, I apologize for taking SOOO long to get this recipe posted. I actually made the brownies a while ago, but haven't had much of a chance to post the recipe yet. I'm sure you've all been waiting on pins and needles just dying to know . . . ;) Anyway, the brownies turned out really well - very tasty and moist. As far as my own preference goes, though, I think I prefer brownies with peanut butter frosting instead. However, this was a really nice change of pace.

Sidenote: the peanut butter/cream cheese filling makes a lot - I like a pretty even balance of chocolate and peanut butter, but if you prefer less, I think it would work beautifully to double the brownie portion and put it in a 10x15 pan instead of 9x13.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Brownies
For the brownie batter, I used Nigella Lawson's "Everyday Brownie" recipe that I found on foodnetwork.com - you can find the recipe here. Feel free to use your favorite brownie recipe, or a box mix. I love Nigella's recipe because I always have the ingredients on hand, and they're really yummy.

*Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x13 pan. Prepare favorite brownie batter and pour into greased pan.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Filling
1 8 oz. pkg. softened cream cheese
3/4 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs

Beat cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth and creamy. Beat in sugar and eggs. Pour filling in 3 even lines lengthwise down the brownie batter in the pan. Use a knife to gently swirl the batter and filling widthwise so there's peanut butter and brownie in each bite. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes. Eat up!

Mom's Words of Wisdom

Before Dusty and I got married, I remember talking to my mom at one point about married life and other various things. One thing I remember her saying is "Don't expect anything and you'll never be disappointed." Now, you might be thinking that's a really negative way to look at things. BUT, don't think that. That's not how she meant it, and that's not how I took it. What she meant was that instead of focusing on how things didn't go the way you thought they would, just don't have any expectations to begin with of how you think things should be. Sometimes, that's hard for me to remember - I still find myself expecting a weekend to go a certain way, or a holiday, or even just chores around the house. But, when I remember those words it really helps me put things in perspective - I'm really blessed to have a husband who's attentive to me, a wonderful father, and always willing to help around the house. It's the times that I forget those words of my mom's that I start to feel a teeny bit (sometimes more) sorry for myself. I think it's great advice not just in marriage, but in all aspects of life.

Anyway, I thought others might benefit from those sage words from my mom. Becoming a mom myself really put things in perspective as to how great of a job she (and my dad, of course) did with me and my 5 siblings. I don't think there has been a day since I became a mom when I didn't feel inadequate at some point during the day; some days are definitely worse than others . . . that's usually when I call my mom and she reassures me in the way that only a mom can. It amazes me that she was able to do it with 6 kids and stilll be sane. :) I'm beyond grateful to have such a wonderful mom who works hard each and every day and strives to set a good, Christian example for her kids. Thanks, Mom!

Stuffed Crust = Stuffed Us

Saturdays have always been pizza day for my husband (Dusty) and I, and we've continued that tradition with Asher (20 months) now, too - I really look forward to it throughout the week . . . it's just fun to have something like that that we all enjoy as a family, even if it is just pizza (I'm sure once Aiden can eat food he'll enjoy it, too). Usually we order in from somewhere, but occasionally I'll make homemade pizza - yummy. I love homemade pizza crust, and the recipe I used this time is super convenient because you can mix the dry yeast in with the dry ingredients - no need to let it sit in water until it dissolves. I got the recipe from "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook" which I got as a Christmas gift from my parents. It's a wonderful cookbook - definitely check it out. It's full of great tips and yummy recipes.

Also, I wanted to try to do stuffed crust this time - we love it from Pizza Hut so I figured why not give it a try? Turned out delicious! I just bought Sargento Mozzarella/Provolone cheese sticks and wrapped the outer crust around them. I also used the rest of the dough (about 1/3) to make cheese sticks - Dusty LOVES them . . . I think they're just okay. We figured the true test with the pizza would be whether or not Asher liked it because pizza is definitely his favorite food; he always says, "Pizza, mmmm, yum yum." :) He's so cute - you can see in the picture below that he's trying to give a "thumbs up" as he takes a bite. Apparently he liked it because he stuffed so much in his mouth that he gagged, but refused to let me take any out! Anyway - hope you get a chance to try the recipe sometime!

Pizza Dough

4 1/4 c. bread flour (I used AP flour because that's all I had on hand)

1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp.) instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbls. olive oil

1 1/2 c. warm water

Mix 4 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt in bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. With mixer running, pour in the oil, then the water, and mix until it comes together. Switch to the dough hook attachment, and knead dough until smooth and elastic, appr. 5 minutes (or knead by hand for 10 minutes). Add in the remaining 1/4 c. of flour if necessary. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, appr. 1-1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Divide dough into desired portions depending on how many/how large of pizzas you want. Start from the center and press dough with fingertips from the center out to the edge. Then stretch dough to desired size. Transfer to pan, and top with desired sauce and toppings. Bake 13 minutes. (Next time I'd like to try to make my own sauce - supposedly it's pretty easy)

Cheese Sticks (in case you're interested)

Brush pizza dough with 1 Tbls. melted butter and a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese to taste. Sprinkle liberally with shredded monterey jack cheese and bake at 375 F for about 8 minutes. Enjoy!

Coming soon . . . the Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Brownies I promised you!