Pie Stuffed Cake

The cherpumple, a cherry, pumpkin, and apple pie made in a layer cake, inspired me to stuff pies in cakes. I love cakes and I love pies, so it's a win-win. However, three layers was too much for our family, so we planned on making one layer. Our plans changed when the first try wasn't the homerun I expected, but the second try was out of the park.

I don't have time to be baking pies and cakes all day, so we used pre made pies and box cakes. So when the children were all asleep I baked a pumpkin and pecan pie. Cherry and apple pies are okay, but they don't hold a candle to pecan or pumpkin. The pies were ready for stuffing when they were cooled.

The boys and I made the chocolate box cake. After mixing it all together I poured some of the batter into the bottom of a spring pan. Use just enough to cover the bottom. Then I flipped the pumpkin pie out of it's tin and placed it on top of the cake batter. I used the rest of the cake batter to fill in around and on top of the pie. I baked it for 45 minutes at 350, which was the mistake. In the chaos, I took it out of the oven without really inspecting it, let it cool, and took it out of the spring pan. As I was taking it out of the spring pan I noticed it wasn't completely baked on the bottom. So I flopped the entire concoction onto on baking sheet and put it back in the oven. I baked it for an eternity, which made the outsides hard. We added frosting to combat the drier cake parts. Frosting makes everything better.

We tried again using a vanilla cake mix and the pecan pie. Pecan pie is my favorite, so I was pretty careful not to ruin it. We did the same process, but we cooked it at 350 for 90 minutes. The top was golden brown. Homerun! Now do we put frosting on it or add whipped cream on the plate?

The boys had a hard time waiting for the cakes to be done. My 3-year old took a bite out of the cake on the counter. He did it so fast, no one could stop him. In his defense, he had been waiting for 2 days to try some cake pie. It was on the edge of the counter which he is at eye level with. My 4-year old didn't want to eat the brown stuff inside of the cake. I guess he doesn't like pumpkin and chocolate mix.

Dessert just got serious.

 

 

 

 

Big Brothers

Many of my experiments and activities are for my sons, who are 3 and 4. However, my 9-month old daughter, Rosina, is always there to oversee these activities. In 9 short months I have come to realize and depend on the attitude my sons have towards my daughter. It's a dynamic relationship the three of them have.

1. She's the ticket to more positive attention. They can show other people how they can hold her, feed her, and even pick her up. Now if they would hurry up and learn to change her diaper.

2. She's the scapegoat. "Who dumped out all the blocks?" All fingers point to the baby, who just smiles.

3. Everyone is a comedian. "Please stop saying poop and potty." But I can't even keep a straight face when the baby laughs when they say it, which makes the boys laugh even harder.

4. What's going to work, teamwork. "How did Rosina get out of her crib?!" The boys were so proud, they showed me. My 3-year old gets in the crib and hands the baby to my 4-year old outside the crib. I was speechless.

5. They will not be outdone. They will take turns giving hugs and kisses until the cows come home because someone started the kissing and hugging.

I thought at first that the boys would be indifferent to the baby, but I can see that they interact and rely on each other. If the baby wants something she just squawks, and the boys give her what she wants to make her stop. The boys in tern feel so proud that they can take care of another human being. The terrific trifecta.

Egg in a Bottle

Getting an egg to fit into a bottle has always been one of my favorite experiments. I always thought it was impossible, which made it all the more amazing when it actually happened.

This experiment is pretty easy to do with household supplies. You will need the following: a peeled hard boiled egg, a wide mouth glass bottle (Starbucks Cappuccino bottle), matches, paper, and vegetable oil. I didn't use the vegetable oil, but it might help.

I put the egg on top of the glass bottle, narrow end down in the bottle. I showed the boys that the egg doesn't fit in the bottle. Then I lit a match, and started a piece of rolled paper on fire. I put it in the bottle and put the egg back in place. The bottle filled with smoke, and the egg slowly inched its way in the bottle.

Our egg was very slow to descend into the bottle for a couple of reasons: the inside of the bottle was still wet from rinsing it, the egg didn't create a tight seal on the bottle, and no vegetable oil was used. The vegetable oil is used to line the inside mouth of the bottle to make is slick for the egg.

We corrected this during the experiment. I added more paper on fire to offset the water in the bottle, and I put my finger over the leaky seal.

The experiment was still a success. The boys thought it was so cool, and the explanation was still there. The fire eats up all the oxygen in the bottle, and the unbalance of air pressure between the inside of the bottle and the outside pushes the egg in the bottle. I explained this to the boys, and my 3-year old said we should go outside where there is more air. He said that would make the egg go in the bottle faster. I was impressed with his logic. So we sat on the deck and watched the egg go into the bottle.

Make it Special

My 4-year old son likes to ask me to make things special. At first I started telling him that if I did it everyday then it wouldn't be special anymore.  Then I realized it's pretty easy to make things special for a 4-year old, so why can't things be special everyday?
If I ever tell my son that I don't know how to make it special, he tells me to think about it. So I have put some thought into making things special, and here is what I have found.

Breakfast: I usually hide a treat in their cereal like raisins, bananas, or a couple M&Ms. We buy plain Cheerios, so they get excited when I let them put honey on them. Sometimes I put food coloring in the cereal milk. Once in awhile I'll put cinnamon on their toast.

Lunch: I make a smiley face out of fruits and veggies on their plate; however, I've been told that's not special. I think they say that to try to get out of eating those veggies. I usually just light a couple of candles and put them on the table. If it's really special the boys shut off all the lights.

Dinner: I know when they ask me to make meals special they are really asking for treats, sugar, or desserts, so instead I make something else special. We've all used wine glasses with food coloring water for our special dinner. I've tried family style serving, which we usually don't do. This is special because they can scoop their own food.

When they asked me to make the day special I thought it would be a lot harder, but really you just have to show them things they haven't seen or done before. For example, my boys had never played musical chairs. The first time we played telephone (the whispering in each other's ears game) they were so excited. Blowing up a couple balloons is the easy way to make any day special. Going to the grocery store is special because I bribe them with treats for being good.

Getting something in the mail that isn't a bill, political propaganda, or advertisements is cause for a celebration. So when my mother-in-law wanted to mail the boys t-shirts even though we were at her house I said I would sneak them into the mailbox. This gave me the great idea to put some of their old toys in envelopes and put them in the mailbox. That's what I call a trick and a treat.

Today was made special by Travis Perich and family, an online friend of my husbands. They have been emailing and such for years. They met through a vintage car forum and stay connected through Text and Instagram. See Travis's blog here: http://perichbrothers.blogspot.com/2016/09/40-gets-stick.html  Travis mentions a part my husband made and sent to him to install on his 1940 Ford.

A box was sitting on our doorstep, and it was sent through the actual mail. The boys and I opened it to find it filled with cars, trucks, trailers, a bus, and a fire truck. They are the awesome ones with the metal bodies. If you are ranking toy cars, these would be the cream of the crop.

Unfortunately, I have never met Travis or his family that live in San Diego. My husband was able to meet him on our trip to LA last year. They spent a day working on cars while I went to the zoo with a friend of mine. I'm grateful that social media has connected us. Well, social media and cars.

Thanks Perich family. Come to Iowa in January for a visit.

Back to Work

I'm a substitute teacher today. This week I have been a substitute teacher three times, and I have found that it's odd what I've missed. The quiet of an empty classroom, the pencil and paper smell, or the crowded hallways makes me a little nostalgic.

I was very nervous about coming back to teaching, even substitute teaching. I have worked out the kinks and I've survived with these tips:

1. Be creative with childcare. My children are being watched by my mother-in-law right now. My mom and husband are on stand by for filling in as nanny.

2. Be appropriate. I checked my poopy potty talk at the door, and I'm sans stretchy pants. Showering and mascara were even appropriate.

3. Keep the crazy in check. I know I'm at my best in the morning, so I try to capitalize on that. In the afternoon, I boost my sluggish mood with chocolate, or I call to check in with the kids.

4. Practice the routine. I started setting my alarm for 6am instead of being startled awake by my son jumping on our bed.  The boys can dress themselves in the clothes that were picked out the night before while the baby is still sleeping. We eat breakfast together when everyone is ready. We are a well oiled machine.

5. It's all about food. I stocked up on healthy toddler snacks so the Grandmas aren't tempted to give the boys cookies, donuts, or fast food. I also made some casseroles for the freezer to make suppers easy.

I feel very lucky to have a good balance of family and work life. It's still heavily weighted towards family, but that's the way I like it. I hope it always stays that way.

Fire Proof Balloon

Sitting on balloons is a favorite pastime at our house. The bouncy balloon chair makes my sons giggle, but it's short lived when it pops. The popping elicits even more giggles because that is the surprise. When balloons popping was mixed with fire, I knew we had to try it.

I asked my sons what would happen if I held a balloon over a candle. My 4-year old said that it would make a hole. So I lit a candle and held a balloon over it. A couple of seconds later and it popped. I took another balloon and added water to, then blew it up. I asked again, what will happen? They said the balloon would pop, and the water would put out the candle. So I held it over the candle, but it never popped. My sons were so amazed that they had to try it, but it didn't pop. My husband eventually took the balloon and held it over the flame where there was no water, which caused a small leak. The anticipated big water fall pop didn't happen.

I explained that the water takes the heat away from the balloon, so it doesn't pop. I also explained the safety of matches, candles, and fire. It's okay to take risks in science using proper PPE (personal protective equipment). They need toddler safety glasses.

I did this with high school students over a gas stove. The water balloon didn't pop right away, but with too much heat it will.

Humpty Dumpty

It turns out we could put Humpty Dumpty back together again. We used a bandaid.

In honor of my nephew's birthday, we made cascarones, which are hollowed out chicken eggs filled with confetti used in the Mexican culture to bring good luck. They are also used in the Japanese culture, but they are filled with coins.

I poked a hole in the bottom of 12 eggs using a chop stick. Some people recommend making a pin hole in the other end and blowing out the insides. I wasn't thrilled about putting my mouth on an egg, which gives new meaning to suck an egg. I used the chop stick to scramble the egg enough so it slid out of the chop stick hole. I didn't want to waste the eggs, so I put them through a sifter to catch the egg shells. We made yummy scrambled eggs.

After the eggs were washed and dried, it was time to decorate and fill. We cut paper for confetti, and cut the sticks off of Dum Dum suckers. We carefully put a sucker in each of the eggs surrounded by the confetti, which eliminated any rattling. To seal up the hole we glued tissue paper to the bottoms.

The fun part was making the faces on the eggs. Graham was a little too heavy handed and broke a couple, but nothing that wasn't fixed with a bandaid.

The boys didn't participate in the throwing and smashing of them because they were sent to my nephew for his birthday. I was a little relieved they didn't because it could be confusing about which egg is okay to smash and which isn't. The Mexican tradition is to smash them over someone's head for good luck. Right now I have all the luck I can handle.