Heaven on a Cake Stand

Im not even exaggerating when I say this cake is by far the best chocolate cake I have had in my life!!!  It is so easy to make that I think everyone needs to try it! It has coffee in the recipe which at first I was turned off by.  I love me some coffee with lots of cream and sugar but I usually don't like coffee flavored desserts well, if you didn't know it was there you would never know there was coffee in this cake!


Cake Ingredients:

1 3/4 c	all purpose flour
2 c	sugar
3/4 c	cocoa powder
2 tsp	baking soda
1 tsp	baking powder
1 tsp	salt
2	eggs
1 c	strong black coffee, cooled
1 c	buttermilk
1/2 c	vegetable oil
1 tsp	real vanilla extract
CHocolate Frosting:
1/2 c	margarine, softened
2 oz	melted unsweetened chocolate, cooled
3 c	powdered sugar
3 Tbsp	milk
2 tsp	real vanilla extract

Ingredients:

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.

Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.

Beat at medium speed for two minutes. Batter will be thin.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan or two 9 inch cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes for a 9x13, or 30-35 minutes for layer pans.

Combine frosting ingredients and mix with a hand or stand mixer. Spread frosting on cooled cakes.

I found the recipe HERE from Pinterest

I insist you must try it!

This and That

- I have so many random thoughts lately, on top of my random thoughts I feel like life in general is just CRAZY.  I started a new job which I am really loving so far and L has decided naps are for the birds and with the holidays I just feel like my life is so crazy and unorganized theses days!

- I have finally found a church I LOVE, they have a great nursery that loves on L and he is always so happy when he is there and the worship and message always leave me feeling lifted up and recharged, Also they are opening a campus right in my neighborhood, Im pretty excited, I am not sure if I will switch from the main campus but on days we are running late it will be nice and maybe even a good way to fellowship and build friendships with others in our neighborhood!

- As mentioned above I started a new job at a different hospital.  I left for many reasons but I am no longer in the NICU which is sad but I am trying something new and so far I am loving it and am so excited about the future and the opportunities that await me!! Plus a few of my old coworkers just started in the same unit so I am not completely new and alone, makes adjusting to a new job a lot easier.

- L is no longer napping, every now and again like today I can get him to lay down for about 20-30 minutes but I need him to really start napping!! I don't want to resort to the whole cry it out thing but so far no one who is opposed to CIO can tell me their successful methods so I may just have to buckle down and do it.

I just LOVE this sweet smile!!:

- honestly about 90% of the time he is this happy, I love it!!!

- We started out good with solid food but lately he really doesn't want much to do with it, I am not going to push him I assume one day he will be more interested.

- I finally finished christmas shopping today..Hallelujah!!

And I think I am done rambling...Thank you :)

Wreath love

I love pinterest and have seen so many awesome wreaths I wanted to make one for my door.  I actually made 2, one for the door and one for above the mantle.

This is the first, I have seen this mesh all over the place and couldn't wait to try it myself.  It is actually super easy to use and if you google mesh wreath there are tons of youtube videos!

This is the second and really my true love!

It was so easy but uses a ton of bulbs.  I will be buying a bunch after christmas to make some for others next christmas.

 All I did was get a foam wreath form, wrap it in satin ribbon and then starting with larger balls just start hot gluing them! I probably used about 100 balls ranging from regular size to mini but if I could do it again I would have used more larger balls and less mini balls, I think it would have taken less time.  none the less, I LOVE how it turned out!

Baby Food Made by Momma

SO while I was pregnant and actually probably before I was pregnant I had decided I wanted to make my own baby food.  I have seen and smelled jarred food and was honestly completely disgusted by it.

I came across this blog Styleberry Blog and besides the fact that she is awesome she had a really awesome post about making her baby food.  I am very much a visual person and she has this video that shows step by step her process.  After watching that and reading her food post I was completely sold 100%!

I have only done sweet potatoes and pumpkin so far as that's all we have tried, I plan to do a big shopping trip soon to stockpile my freezer with different foods for him for when we get to them.

The sweet potatoes were beyond easy, All I did was wash them, poke holes in them and wrap them in foil then bake on 400 for 30-45 minutes...be sure to watch them so they don't overcook.  Once they are done just scoop the meat out of the skin and put into the blender (I used the magic bullet) with some water and puree adding more water depending on the thinness you want. I then put it into ice cube trays and into the freezer.

Shawna of Styleberry blog recommends these ice cube trays, and so do I.  Each cube is an ounce so its good to keep track of how much baby eats and also it makes storage so much more space efficient since the cubes line up perfectly in a gallon size freezer ziploc.

I was initially very intimidated by the pumpkin but I thought the health benefits for L outweighed the scaredness of me haha.  In reality it wasn't hard at all.  To start, I cut the pumpkin in half then scooped out the innards

Then put them open side down in a baking dish with about 1-2 inches of water and bake on 400 for an hour.  The skin will pull away from the meat and this is what mine looked like I obviously had already scooped out the one half.  It was so easy since it was basically already separated.

Then you do the same thing as with the sweet potatoes just puree and put into the ice cube trays which look like this

I really followed the process from the blog I linked to above, I also used the website Wholesome Baby which is a fantastic resource.

Once again, the process was so easy and I actually tasted both things which they were both tasty, I honestly would not really expect my child to eat something that is foul tasting, I honestly taste everything I give him!

6 months

My sweet boy turned 6 months on Thanksgiving...It was such a fun day, we had family over and he got to eat solid food for the first time too!!

At his 6 months apt all was well, still staying right along the 75%ile at 19lbs and 27inches my big boy obviously never misses a meal!

He has started to sit on his own very well he can lean foreword and sit back up, move his arms and grab for toys without falling over, he doesn't move though I suppose he is content where we put him and knows if he squawks well pick him up but Im fine with that he can stay put as long as he likes Im not ready for a mobile baby yet!

As previously mentioned we started solids when he turned 6 months we started with sweet potatoes...he loves them next we tried pumpkin which he loves even more.  I have been making his food and I love it its so easy and I feel like he is getting the best start to his eating habits.

first taste...not so sure

ok mom, your just not going fast enough

We still are breastfeeding and that has been going pretty well also, he is finally going 3-4 hours between meals during the day...sometimes less but for the majority of the time its about 3 hours.

Sleep was going ok and then we went to San Antonio two weekends in a row and all went downhill after that.  So... starting yesterday I went against all I have believed up to now and did cry it out...I watched the Moms on Call 3-12months seminar and also consulted with my pediatrician and this is just what it has come to.  It was to the point that he would fall asleep in our arms and as SOON as we put him down he would scream and throw a fit.  He would then wake up 30 minutes to an hour after he went down go through the drama again and proceed to wake every 3-4 hours all night.  That just doesn't work for us so this is the last resort.  The moms on call thing claims it takes 3 days so well see.  The hardest part is when he wakes up in the middle of the night to just let him cry, it breaks my heart but the man has got to get some rest as do the rest of us! I will keep ya posted on how this goes down in the end...and after that we work on nap time.  

He loves to be outside if it was up to him he would be outside 24/7, he loveshis squishy football and anything that lights up.  He rolled from his back to tummy once at night when he was throwing a fit but never on any other occasion.

oh and  HE HAS 2 TEETH! They are the cutest little things ever!! However they are crazy sharp and the child has GOT to learn not bite or his breastfeeding days will be over!

he is such a joy, mr personality...He has a serious case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and always wants to be the center of attention.  He is always smiling sometimes he starts laughing even when he is crying.  When we got his 6 month shots he cried not until she put in the third one and then as soon as i picked him up he started smiling again.  I just love him so much and can not believe that he has been with us six months and that in less than six months we will be celebrating his 1st birthday!!! I better get to planning!