Secret Garden Birthday Cake
I wasn’t able to talk the birthday girl into an “Easter” theme with perhaps another “Lamb Cake.” Actually I probably could have, but I knew how much she had been enjoying her copy of The Secret Garden ever since she received it Christmas morning so I thought I would try my best to pull off an Easter-ish Secret Garden theme for her this year. (Note: This post includes affiliate links.)
I went to the craft store on the morning of Holy Saturday to try and find a few decorations, and by evening I still didn’t have a plan for the cake. I looked through my stash of decorating supplies and decided to see what I could come up with using Green, Lavender, Dark Cocoa, and Peanut Butter Candy Melts. I had an idea of how I might be able to possibly make a green candy vine to wrap around the garden/cake, but wasn’t sure if I’d be able to pull it off or not. My oldest son, who was my helper (I needed an extra set of hands), wasn’t sure either and we were both so excited that it actually worked and the small “Secret Garden” cake turned out darling!
Supplies:
2 – 6″ Round Cakes
Light Green Frosting (we used Pillsbury’s Key Lime)
Dark Cocoa Candy Melts
Peanut Butter Candy Melts
Green Candy Melts
Lavender Candy Melts
Disposable Decorating Bags (I used a baggie with one corner trimmed off)
Mini Roses Chocolate Mold
Green Decorators Icing
Parchment Paper
Large Coffee Can or Other Cylinder (it needs to be slightly larger than the cakes in circumference)
Directions:
To make the garden door I sketched a door, with a key hole, and placed it under parchment paper. I then used some Dark Cocoa Candy Melts for the keyhole and wood grain. Then I outlined the edges of the door and filled the center in completely with the Peanut Butter Candy Melts.
For the green vine to wrap around the garden, I sketched a design and taped it to the outside of a large Costco sized can of Folgers Coffee to use as a guide and then covered it with parchment paper.
Railroad Park
Our official school year has been coming to an end with all sorts of fun: daily swimming lessons for two weeks, Young Hunters Day, and even a trip to the Railroad Park. Today the kids had their last lessons with the tutor and as a little reward for doing so great on all their testing this year she took them all (including Rose) out for pizza! Since the two year old had fallen asleep I ended up staying home and I’m not sure who is enjoying this special treat more, me or the kids! 😉
Anyways, of all the things I could be doing with this rare quiet time, blogging was the first on my list! I am working on the list of books that are in our June Book Basket, but in the meantime here are some pictures from our trip to the Railroad Park on Memorial Day weekend.
The park is only open to the pubic two Sundays a month from April-October and admission is free. My sister JoAnn and brother David were both home from college for the weekend so they met us there, along with my Mom, brother Brian and his family, and Aunt Bridget. It was packed and hot, but had fun before leaving to pick up Chipotle for lunch and spend the afternoon swimming at Brian’s house.
At the Railroad Park you can ride miniature trains pulled by various “Built to Scale” live steam and “diesel” locomotives over nearly a mile of track. Our group of 16 all piled on the train. You can see my mom waving towards the back! 🙂
We got to see a working exhibit of Morse telegraphy: the way railroads communicated a hundred years ago.
The park has a Willamette Geared Steam Locomotive that has been undergoing extensive rebuilding…
… as well as numerous pieces of full sized railroad equipment, restored or being restored. Three cars are open to the public.
There is a permanent G scale garden railway…
… and the park wouldn’t be complete without Thomas the Tank. Bud was in heaven!
Young Hunters Day 2014
For years we have been taking the children on a “Field Trip” to the Young Hunters Day, an annual event which includes lots of fun activities, lunch, and even a raffle. It is sponsored by our local Hunters Association and is always completely free to attend. In 2008 my husband took just our oldest two boys, in 2009 and 2010 we all went, I stayed home with the babies in 2011 and 2013, and I took all the kids myself back in 2012 while my husband had to work. Sean was able to work overtime this past weekend so I took the kids once again.
At the end of the day there is a raffle. Each child receives a ticket and when their name gets called they get to go into the building to choose their prize. (No parents allowed!) I always love seeing what each child chooses on their own. This year Captain picked out an Emergency Blanket and Camping Cutlery, Rascal picked a set of Flashlights, Twinkle Toes picked a new sleeping bag, Chiquita picked a pack of Paper targets (to go with the grand prize air shot riffle she won last year. . . much to the amazement of her older brothers. Twinkle Toes also won a grand prize back in 2009 and came so close this year with her name called 4th after the three grand prize winners!), Snuggles picked out his very own canteen, and (our Play Dough deprived) Rose was incredibly excited about her Dough Go Round and has been asking to open it every day since. . .
My Daybook :: May 31, 2014
We have had contractors working outside again this week. Our garage is on hold while we work on getting permits, but we have made progress on the patio outside of the dining room addition! We have been putting this project off for the past 3-4 years and it’s so nice to finally have it started. Part of this project includes building a permanent shed and enclosing our water pumps, pressure tank, etc, to hopefully help prevent them from freezing again this next winter.
that we were able to overcome the “Concrete Emergency” that happened sometime between 12-1pm on Friday… It was “Pour Day” and the contractors had arrived at 6am to prepare for the concrete arriving at 7am. Everything was going beautifully until the concrete started to dry. It was time to start hosing off the top to finish the “Exposed Aggregate” patio. The contractor turned on the hose and nothing came out. I found the key to the lid on the holding tank and sure enough it was empty. I had no water in the house and the deep well wasn’t pumping any water into the holding tank. The contractor yelled “I need THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF WATER. NOW!”
I pretty much had a panic attack right then and there, and I am still trying to recover from the stress! It never occurred to us that he was going to need so much water and that we were going to have a problem. He knew we had a holding tank. Anyways, I ran back behind the house and flipped the breaker to the well which got the well pumping again, then I tricked the restricter float into thinking the tank had more water left than it did so the hoses would work again, but that only lasted 5 minutes, at best. I got on the phone with our the pump guys to try and figure out why the deep well wasn’t producing water (they headed out immediately), called every water delivery service in the area (not one could bring us emergency water), and ultimately was able to contact my neighbors for permission to run hoses from their well! (We live on a few acres, but were able to make it work with five long hoses. Thank you Don & Bev!) Catastrophe avoided. Barely.
I am thinking…
If yesterday was any indication, we are really going to need to work on conserving water this summer. Our well is a low producing well, which is why we have a holding tank, but the reason the water kept stopping was that it wasn’t producing enough for even a steady stream to flow into the holding tank. We usually have problems with running out of water towards the end of summer, but never in May. Everything is so dry already this year.
Learning all the time…
In addition to learning all about concrete this week, the children all started swimming lessons on Tuesday! All seven are taking classes and we’ve been at the pool from 3-7pm each day. This is actually the first year that I have not had to get in the pool with the little ones for the “Mom & Baby” classes! Ranger has been learning how to teach Bud to swim, and Twinkle Toes has been working with Rose.
Celebrating the liturgical year…
This week we celebrated Ascension Thursday (which has been transferred to Sunday/tomorrow in our diocese), the feast of St. Joan of Arc, and the traditional feast of the Queenship of Mary. I had big plans, but ended up having to keep our celebrations extra simple this year. We decided to save our Ascension Picnic for Sunday so that Sean would be able to join us. He has been working long days and lots of extra hours due to an upcoming deadline he has at work.
From the kitchen…
The big boys took over the kitchen recently while working on an optional Chemistry experiment from the lesson about “Mixtures” — Baking a Chocolate Cake! I’m still avoiding all dairy so I didn’t get to taste it, but they got an A+ for cleaning the kitchen and washing all the dishes.
I am working on…
finding ways to control the nauseousness. I’ve been so sick! I keep reminding myself that this is a good sign, and trying my best to offer it up.
I am creating…
a Chemistry Study Folder with Snuggles as we review all of the lessons we’ve completed so far this year in Focus on Elementary Chemistry. He has really been enjoying this unit study and it’s the first thing he wants to work on when he wakes up in the morning!
I am going…
to sleep so early each night… I can’t seem to stay awake much past 9pm, which is crazy! I’m falling behind on all the things I usually get done late at night, after the children are asleep, like blogging and answering emails. I know I need the extra sleep. Snuggles keeps reminding me that I’m “Growing a Baby!”
I am hoping…
to have a chance to post Chiquita’s birthday pictures. She keeps asking when they will be on the blog. Soon!
I am praying…
that baby is healthy and growing, and that all will look good at my ultrasound next Friday.
I am reading…
The time at the pool has finally given me a chance to start reading some of the books that have been piling up on my nightstand beginning with Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler! Next up is The Little Oratory and Teaching From a State of Rest (or Kindle version here).
I’ve also been reading Hittite Warrior aloud after lunch while the children work on various projects.
Pondering these words…
from today’s Quiet Moment in Catholic Digest:
I am listening…
to the Andy Griffith Show. The children are watching an episode with their Dad.
Around the house…
I keep finding little Bible Story illustrations that Chiquita has been creating inspired by her Great Adventure Kids Bible Story Coloring Book. We will have to add these to her timeline.
One of my favorite things…
watching Rose with her big brothers. She sure has them wrapped around that little finger of hers.
This week’s plans…
- Sunday: Mass for the Feast of Ascension
- Monday-Thursday: Swimming Lessons
- Tuesday: Final Lessons with Tutor before Summer Break
- Friday: Dating Ultrasound!
A little peek at my day…
My husband had to work again today so I took the children to the annual Young Hunters Day. They had a blast shooting arrows, throwing tomahawks, and so much more!
On Easter Morning {Our 2014 Easter Baskets!}
I have already shared Pictures from Easter Sunday and Our Annual Easter Sunday Egg Hunt. Before I move on to the pictures from the Chiquita’s birthday I have Easter Baskets to share, following morning Mass on Easter Sunday. You can find my past post where I listed the various books and gifts I purchased for this Easter here, but I will include the links in this post as well. (Note: As you already know, all Amazon links are affiliate links.)
It is always so much fun to watch the littlest ones with their baskets! The first thing Bud pulled out of his basket was the Hollow Chocolate Egg with a White Chocolate Chick inside from See’s. He immediately unwrapped his candy and took a bite. We all watched and waited to see him discover the chick inside. So cute! We saved his chocolate cross and lamb for later.
After he finished his egg he sat back down to see what else there was to discover inside that basket of his. Bud read through (at least once) each and every new book he found in his Easter basket.
Bud’s books included: Saints for Boys: A First Book for Little Catholic Boys, Mini Masters Boxed Set, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Camping Primer, So Many Bunnies Board Book: A Bedtime ABC and Counting Book. My First Pictures of Easter, and God Bless Our Easter.
In addition to a pink chocolate Hello Kitty bunny, Hollow Egg, and Chocolate Lamb, Rose received the following books in her basket: Saints for Girls: A First Book for Little Catholic Girls, All Creatures Great and Small, Quiet Time With Cassatt, Sharing with Renoir and Painting with Picaso, Sense and Sensibility: A BabyLit Opposites Primer, My First Pictures of Mary, and Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day.
Snuggles reactions to all his books were so cute. I just love how excited he was to discover books about St. George, St. Michael, Blessed Miguel Pro, and the Holy Father! His older brothers couldn’t wait to get their hands on his new illustrated version of The Hobbit too and plan to start reading it to him soon. His books included: Heroes of God: Saints for Boys, Jorge from Argentina, The Hobbit: Illustrated Edition, Saint George and the Dragon , Saint for Boys: Sticker Book, A Little Book About Confession for Children. I also included The Saint who Fought the Dragon: The Story of St. George.
Yes, Mom is sneaky like that! I took all the legos out of the boxes and used them as filler for the bottom of the boy’s baskets this year. As soon as Snuggles discovered his the big boys checked the bottom of their baskets and sure enough they found lego sets too! 😉
Chiquita received the following books in her Easter Basket: Book of Saints for Catholic Children: 96 Illustrated Stories, Heroines of God: Saints for Girls, A Story of St. Clare, The Queen and the Cross: The Story of Saint Helen, Saints for Girls: Sticker Book and Saint Bernadette: The Miracle of Lourdes.
I usually fill a “Family Easter Basket” with gifts representing the various Easter Symbols. This year the basket was filled with extra gifts for the Birthday Girl:
- Cross – Chocolate Hershey’s Cross
- Lamb – Lindt Lamb Chocolates and Lego Friends New Born Lamb
- Bread of Life – Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories
- Lily – Craft My Flower Press
- Egg – See’s Egg Filled with Candy and Flowers and Birds Wooden Easter Eggs
- Butterfly – American Girl Sew and Shares Butterflies
- Peacock – Paint by Number Peacock
- Bells – Chocolate Bells
Twinkle Toes’ Easter Basket was filled with Saints & Heroes, Saint Joan of Arc: Quest for Peace, Sisters of the Last Straw, Stout Hearts & Whizzing Biscuits: A Patria Story (Volume 1) and (Volume 2), and The Story of Saint John Paul II, A Boy Who Became Pope.
Ranger loved the personalized St. Joseph Prayer Pillowcase he found in his Easter Basket, along with his Twix Egg, Chocolate Hollow Chick Egg, and Chocolate Lamb. He has also already built the Metal Earth Parthenon. His new craft supplies (to go along with our upcoming Meet the Masters lessons) included Lyra Aquacolor Crayons, Paper Chalk, 24 Soft Pastels and Oil Pastels from Pentel. He also loved the lego set he found buried in the bottom of his basket.
Captain also recieved a personalized Prayer Pillowcase, with St. Patrick pictured. He also has a love of Peeps (which I just do not understand) and was thrilled to discover a Hollow Milk Chocolate Egg with a PEEP inside. His basket also included the See’s Chocolate Egg, Chocolate Lamb, Art Supplies (Lyra Aquacolor Crayons, Paper Chalk, 24 Soft Pastels, and Oil Pastels from Pentel), the Metal Earth Brandenburg Gate, and a lego set (my boys have been enjoying the Great Vehicles legos lately, ever since our trip to the hospital).
The books in Captain’s Easter Basket included: The Soldier of Christ: Talks Before Confirmation, Backyard Ballistics, Saint Ignatius of Loyola: Leading the Way, John Paul II: The Journey of a Saint, Tolkien: A Dictionary, and The Hunters: Brotherband Cronicles, Book 3.
Pictures from Easter Sunday
After Mass on Easter Sunday my parents and a few of my siblings (Kevin, David, Brian and his family) joined us for Easter Dinner, our annual Egg Hunt, and Chiquita’s 9th Birthday! It was such a beautiful day.
An overflowing jar of Jelly Beans (replacing the Lenten Sacrifice Beans) for all the sacrifices and acts of kindness made during Lent…A little reminder that God always gives us abundant graces and blessings – much more than we deserve!
Rose was so excited and couldn’t wait to taste a few handfuls Jelly Beans.
Twinkle Toes was so happy to see that they were all naturally colored with fruit and vegetable sources and she could have some of them this year – she is allergic to some food colorings.
Rose discovered the darling pink headband (from Sew Sweet by Shannon) in her Easter Basket.
Decorating our Easter Egg cakes with some of the Jelly Beans. My mom also made a cross shaped cake, but I skipped the lamb cake this year and made a Secret Garden birthday cake instead.
We decorated eggs, but it doesn’t look like I ever got a picture of them all completed. . .
Sorting and Trading Candy after the Easter Egg Hunt
This years menu included Ham, Sweet Rolls, Potato Salad, Fruit Salad, Glazed Carrots, Roasted Asparagus, Appetizers and Desserts. It was simple but delicious.
I’ll be back with some pictures of the children’s Easter Baskets and Chiquita’s birthday!
Our Annual Easter Sunday Egg Hunt
 |
| That silver egg hiding behind Uncle Kevin’s tire rim was nearly impossible for the kids to find even with hints! |
 |
| Secret Garden Inspired hiding spot by Uncle Brian |
 |
| How many men does it take to hide a Golden Egg? |
 |
| Too obvious. A couple colored eggs ended up there instead of the golden egg… |
 |
| The Golden Egg was ultimately hidden/buried at the bottom of a bucket of leaves, and placed under the statue of Mary. They put additional eggs on the top along with a shovel. |
 |
| “Where are the eggs? I don’t see them!” |
 |
| “I’m pretty sure the big kids already found all the eggs that were up there with Mary…” All but one! |
 |
| And the birthday girl found the Golden Egg! |
Catholic Child {Sponsored Giveaway}
Catholic Child has always been one of my favorite places to find beautiful treasures for our family. I still remember poring over their catalogs when our oldest was a baby. One of the very first things I purchased was our Advent Calendar which is still a family favorite. Our Baby Jesus was also purchased from Catholic Child and has been a beautiful addition to our Advent and Christmas celebrations. Other favorites (which are still currently available) include the pewter crib medals, sculpted Baptismal Candles, games and craft kits, and puzzles. Catholic Child is a great place to find gifts for all occasions!
Here is the description from Catholic Child:
Our PAL (Pillowcase And Literature) Sets double the faith and learning fun! We started with a fascinating historical novel on the life of Joan of Arc, and then added our Joan of Arc Prayer Pillowcase to set your youngster up for a cozy, inspiring read.
You can purchase these items separately, but you save $4 when you buy our PAL Set.
The Pillowcase: Imagine an unschooled, teenaged girl standing victorious amongst seasoned warriors on the battlefield. Incredible. But, through the hand of God, true! Our compelling portrait of Joan of Arc, the “Maid,” captures the essence of that miracle. Her strong spirit and enduring faith radiate from this vibrant composition, and are reiterated through the companion prayer, which reminds us to put our complete trust and faith in God. Our one-of-a-kind inspirational pillowcase is designed and printed in the USA, is always soft to the touch, and is ready to endure repeated washings. The poly/cotton pillowcase measures 20″ x 31″ and fits both standard and queen sized pillows.
And
The Literature: Momentous and miraculous recorded events of young Joan’s calling are brought to life, comic book style, in this masterfully illustrated novel, Joan of Arc, Quest for Peace. There’s nothing comic about what she endured for her Faith, however, and Joan’s life story is one to inspire and encourage today’s youth, particularly our daughters. The appealingly timeless comic book style narrative shares all in a reverent way: good and evil, conspiracy and intrigue, mystery and miracle, and best of all, sound theology throughout! Includes a Glossary and a special “What happened to Them?” section for readers eager to learn more. Paperback, 54 pages, 8″ x 10″. Ages 8-12.
Prayers for a Friend
Lena from JOYfilled Family, an online friend and past contributor at Catholic Cuisine, is currently in need of prayers. Her family has found themselves in a very difficult situation.
The Best Mother’s Day Gift Ever . . .
After an extra long cycle and a couple weeks of negative tests (starting with the day we spent driving to the DMV) I had quite the surprise on the morning of May 11th, which happened to be Mother’s Day this year!
I had really started to think that our last baby was going to be our last. My paternal grandmother delivered her last biological child in her early 30’s, before adopting a few more children, and I started thinking perhaps it would be the same for me.
A couple months ago, following some more blood tests, and discovering that my Vitamin D levels were extremely low, my doctor put me on a weekly mega dose (50,000 iu) of Vitamin D for 8 weeks. I just took the final dose last week. Did you know that Vitamin D may dramatically improve fertility? I didn’t!
I think my husband was a little suspicious when I arrived home on May 10th with ten large chocolate bars. #happymothersdaytome 😉 I had been craving chocolate like crazy and stopped at the store on a mission to find some dairy-free chocolate.
Coconut Cream Filled Dark Chocolate. Almond Butter Creme Filled Dark Chocolate. Dark Chocolate with Espresso Beans. Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & Almonds. Dark Chocolate with Cranberries & Almonds. They were all Buy-1-Get-1-Free and I stocked up!
Of course Chocolate (and Coffee) are now making me extra nauseous, so all but two of those chocolate bars are still sitting right here next to the computer… We stopped at the store this morning to pick up some more eggs, meat, lettuce and avocados. Now all I want to eat is protein and veggies!
There is some confusion on the baby’s due date. According to the first day of my cycle, I should be due on January 5th, which would put baby at around 7 1/2 weeks. (My first tear-filled reaction to that date was “Are you kidding?! I average 10 days early! I could actually deliver on Christmas this time… THREE Christmas time babies in a row?! I should have never joked about having a baby every Christmas!”) I know God always sends us the graces we need, but I have still been feeling overwhelmed.
This morning, before my ultrasound, I thought I would come home and share a picture of our newest little family member. Afterwards I was torn since it is still so very early, but I have such a hard time keeping this type of news secret and I’d really appreciate any prayers you can spare for the health of our tiny little baby. Having miscarried in the past I’ve been nervous lately, not to mention sick and oh SO tired! Will you please keep me and baby in your prayers?
0 Comments