— 1 —
I wanted to take something to daycare on Wednesday for Emma’s birthday to have at snack time with her friends, so I decided to try these Elmo cookies.
This was my first time working with this kind of icing — it’s made with Wilton brand “color flow” powder, which consists mainly of dried egg whites, so I think in the end this is basically the same as royal icing? Anyway. I had trouble getting the consistency truly flowy, but with the help of a toothpick and my finger, I was able to get a smooth coating. I drew the eyes and mouths on with an edible marker.
I was happy with how they turned out, and I’m told the kids loved them!
— 2 —
On Tuesday evening when I was drawing the eyes and mouths, I gave Emma the red marker and let her go to town on an extra cookie. Elmo’s eyes ended up looking a little bloodshot (ha!) but she had fun.
— 3 —
On another related note, I called HEB yesterday to order an Elmo cake for Emma’s party tomorrow, because making cookies was plenty for me and outsourcing the cake seemed like a great idea. We had stopped by the bakery counter last weekend during our normal shopping and saw the decoration…but apparently they are now out of it. And so was the other HEB close to us. And so was the closest Kroger.
I was starting to resign myself to making a cake tonight, but thankfully I found success at my 3rd HEB, the smaller one that I used to shop at when I lived in my old apartment. Whew! Who knew Elmo was such a hot commodity?
— 4 —
In the “other fun things” department, I decided to play along in the #spoonchallenge, a month of daily drawing prompts. Despite my affinity for graphic design, I’m not actually very good at drawing. A doodle each day seems like something I can handle, and it will be fun to practice a new skill.
Day 1 (cactus) and Day 2 (mountain)
The challenge is being hosted by Spoonflower, a super cool design-your-own fabric (and wallpaper, and decals, and wrapping paper) business that I’ve been following for a while. One of these days I will take a stab at making a fabric design, but for now, doodling is good.!
— 5 —
I really liked Jen’s post earlier this week about “just wait” advice, and recognizing that it’s ok for you to think something is hard even if someone else doesn’t, and vice versa.
Here’s what I wish we all could keep in mind. Just because you achieved something successfully – such as raising little kids – and have moved on to a new life challenge, doesn’t mean that people who are currently raising little kids have it easy. It doesn’t even mean that you had it easy at the time – you simply don’t remember how hard it was because you can only focus on the present…
So, to everyone who is pregnant, raising little kids, or studying for the LSAT – it is hard. I hope no one gives you any “just wait” advice that belittles your feelings. Instead I hope they say “I’m so sorry – it sucks” and offer you a cupcake. Because, really, baked goods are infinitely better than any advice.
— 6 —
“How to Dad” is a Cheerios commercial, yes. But it’s also just really awesome and you should watch it. One of the best things about having a kid is getting to watch Jose be a dad, and know that he is a really good one. Emma’s a lucky girl.
— 7 —
For those who care, I’m now 1 week out from my gum surgery and I’m feeling very relieved that all is well. Both areas (the lower teeth and the roof of my mouth) feel better every day and while there’s still a significant amount of healing to be done, I can tell they’re on their way. Hurrah!
(Linking up: 7 Quick Takes, hosted by Conversion Diary)
Mom says
Glad you found the cake — saves lots of time. Now you can relax tonight!!