Rockin' Rocket Favors

I saw these treat cups in Family Fun magazine and knew I had to make them for my son's birthday party.



They were super easy to make and lots of fun. My daughters helped me make them and fill them. I changed ours slightly to say "Hope you had a Blast!!"

Fun, easy, super cute. I love Family Fun magazine ... sigh.

Materials:
Template (There is a template on their website - see side bar on left)
Card stock
Tape
Paper cup
Glue stick
Stickers
Small toys or treats

Instructions:
For each one, trace the shapes from our free template onto card stock, then cut them out.
Fold back the long, straight edge of each fin and tape the fins to a 9-ounce, plain paper cup as shown. Form the circular top into a cone by overlapping its straight edges, then secure it with tape.
Use a glue stick to attach the message label, and embellish the cup with star stickers.
Form a hinge to open and close the rocket by attaching a strip of tape between the cup and the inside of the cone.
Fill the rocket with small toys or treats.

Buttercream Frosting

One thing I enjoy doing is making birthday cakes for my kids. I'd enjoy it more if I was able to do it alone in peace and quiet but that doesn't stop me. 

I am by no means a professional but I like to try to get creative with their cakes if I can. 

Benton's cake last weekend was a turtle cake. I frosted 2 9x13 stacked layers. Then I made a turtle from some cake I baked in a glass bowl. I cut out the head, legs, and tail from an extra cake I had baked with the leftover batter from the bowl cake. I frosted all of the pieces and stuck them into the "shell" with toothpicks. Then I used spray food coloring to make the turtle green.

I love the spray food coloring that they make now. First, it is fun and fun is good. Second, I think it's just easier and less messy than trying to dye the frosting. Try it, you may love it. :)

(*Sorry for the lack of pictures. I just wasn't able to get my act together in time to add them.) 

I've done panda cakes, an Icee cake, a Percy (Thomas train) cake, a Barbie cake, a Bob and Larry cake. I've made more cakes than I can name (or remember) over the last 10 years. 

Some have turned out better than others. Some ended up lying down instead of standing upright (dowels are very important). In the end, it's been an adventure. I've had fun, the kids always think they look awesome (I love a child's naïveté), and another birthday is celebrated. 

However, it really doesn't matter what the cake looks like as long as it tastes good, right?

Well, have I got a recipe for you today! This frosting is awesome! My mom has been frosting her cakes with it for years! It's good on cutout cookie, too. Lisa, Stephanie, and, of course, Kelly can attest to how yummy this buttercream frosting tastes. Once you try it, no canned frosting will ever do. 

*Warning: This not a healthy-tasty recipe. I have no idea how many points plus it is. I'm scared to calculate it. 

Buttercream Frosting

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup shortening
1/4 tsp vanilla

Cream together. 

Add 3 cups powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until fully incorporated. 

Add 1 1/2 Tbl 2% or whole milk. Beat together slowly. Scrape sides and beat for 5 min or more. This is what makes it very fluffy. 

Depending on your cake size, you may have to double or triple the recipe.

Frost your cake and enjoy! Yum!

**Just a little side note, I made the actual cake this weekend the healthy-tasty way with applesauce and egg whites. No one noticed a thing. I received many compliments on how good the cake was, though.    

Pinaqua

On Saturday, I threw my youngest son his 2 year old family birthday party. It was at my parents house and was supposed to be a wet and wild (swimming) party. Needless to say, it was wet and it was wild but not exactly what I was thinking.
 
It rained and was a cooler day so there wasn't much swimming (although a few brave souls did go in).
 
Anyway, I had also wanted to do a fun thing I saw in Family Fun magazine called a Pinaqua but decided against it when I had seen the weather forecast for Saturday. Instead of having a traditional candy filled, cavity inducing pinata, the pinaqua is filled with water and delivers a cool, wet treat when burst.  Perfect for a hot, August day (or so I thought).  This looks like such a cute and fun idea. I'll have to try it another time. 


Here are the instructions in case you want to try it, too.
 
What You Need:
Medium-sized trash bag (we used a clear, 10-gallon bag)
Water
Rope
Tree limb
Bandanna or scarf
Broom

Instructions:
Using your backyard hose, fill a medium-sized plastic trash bag with one to two gallons of water. Knot the top of the bag.

Tie one end of the rope tightly beneath the knot. Toss the free end of the rope over a tree branch (a parent's job) and either tie it securely or have the adult stand by to raise and lower the piñaqua.

 To play, each child takes a turn getting blindfolded, getting spun around three times, and then taking three whacks at the piñaqua with the broom. The winner is the one who manages to break the bag and unleash the tidal wave.

Excitement

Today is my birthday (yay) ... and I'm excited!! Birthdays are exciting in themselves but I'm really excited about what I'm getting for my birthday. I bet you want to know what it is, right? It's going to be great. It's going to be memorable. It's going to be from my kids. Huh? Yeah, it's not a new iPad or expensive jewelry or _______ (fill in the blank). It's going to be the first time I receive my Mom Book!


What's a Mom Book you ask? Well, a couple of weeks ago I was looking through a Real Simple magazine and came across an article about a woman who started a tradition with her kids called a Mom Book. Every year on her birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas, any special occasion, her kids each fill out a page (or two or three) in a bound 8 1/2 x 11" book of blank paper. They write poems, draw pictures, write letters and they always sign and date their page. This idea just filled my heart with happiness. The author said her kids have never given her a card because this was their card to her. I love that! I would much rather receive some handmade love from my kids at ANY age.

So, being that my birthday was coming up, I ran to my neighborhood Wal-mart to find my Mom Book. I eventually settled on an artist sketch diary because it was filled with beautiful, sturdy, white blank pages.

I explained our new tradition to the kids and they were excited. They immediately confiscated it from me and I haven't seen it since. But TODAY is the day! I'm very excited to see what they have done. This is going to be such a precious book of memories that I will treasure always.

What traditions do you have or are going to start with your kiddos?