Life is Uncertain

Three cheers for regaining Internet access!!

We have been in our new house a grand total of two weeks and it is wonderful! I will work on getting pictures up once we get everything settled and decorated.

Since we are near family and in our own space again, I decided that a small shindig for my sister's birthday was necessary. Being the colorful personality that she is, I realized that the only fitting cake would be a six layer rainbow cake with funfetti sprinkles. After a few anxious days looking for my cake pans, which were eventually discovered in the office, I settled in to create the cake. Knowing that one can always rely on Pinterest for the answer, I hopped online in search of a recipe that would guide me to success.

DENIED.

Pinterest had failed me and my feeble mind could barely comprehend the enormity of the disaster. While there were plenty of cake photos and vague references to making a rainbow cake, there was not a suitable recipe to be found. I was on my own, forging into unfamiliar territory despite the fact that I hadn't baked a cake in at least three years. I decided the cake itself was complicated enough to warrant leaving the heavy lifting to a professional - 

Betty Crocker has so much more experience than I do.

Without further ado:

A Rainbow Cake in 20 Easy Steps

1) Gather your armies. And handsies.

2) Retrieve funfetti frosting that your husband has absconded with.

3) Consult six-layer cake recipe found on Pinterest that calls for extra cake mixes and FIVE TUBS of frosting.

4) Disregard recipe and decide to wing it, Martha Stewart style.

5) Weigh your mixing bowl empty.

6) Prepare cake mix according to directions. 

(Or from scratch if you're cool like that.)

7) Weigh bowl with batter and divide accordingly into six smaller bowls.

8) Begin mixing food dye for a rainbow effect, consulting color wheel as needed.

9) Become alarmed by pasty results and reconsider Martha Stewart abilities. 

Cue sweaty palms as you realize that you don't have a back up plan.

10) Add more dye.

11) A lot more dye.

12) Breathe first sigh of relief that your colored cake batter appears to be suitably rainbow-esque.

13) Pour the three easiest colors (green, blue, and yellow) in pans for baking.

14) Place in oven and begin to pray.

15) Breathe second sigh of relief that your tiny cake layers cooked properly.

16) Become distracted by cute baby.

17) Bake remaining layers and allow to cool completely.

18) Assemble layers Roy G. Biv style.

19) Crumb coat and place in refrigerator for one hour.

20) Frost, sprinkle with funfetti, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

And that's it! I think the cake turned out fairly well overall, but I'm especially pleased with the vibrancy of the colors. I only used one cake mix, which made for extremely thin layers but a very manageable height, and two tubs of frosting. As for the coloring, purple was definitely the most challenging with red coming in as a close second. It ends up that purple needs more red than blue dye, and the key to a deep red lies in adding just a pinch of unsweetened cocoa powder. 

Jr is working on his hand coordination,
thus the intense concentration as he tries to knock over Gigi's soda.

"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."

Ernestine Ulmer

Slow and (Somewhat?) Steady

It seems there may be a light at the end of the tunnel - but not the kind that you walk towards, thank goodness. Jr continues to thrive, but is definitely throwing a fair share of curveballs to deal with. I suppose it's par for the course on a first baby. Currently I have moved to once weekly appointments at the hospital with any extra appointments being just normal check-ups, so it looks like we may be heading back towards ordinary life. And normalcy means more than just that - construction on our house is supposed to be complete in two weeks, so we will be settled again soon!! It's really neat to finally see all of my our finish choices coming together, and so far everything is looking as cohesive as I anticipated.

Fell asleep mid-party...

Obsession of the Week: Ease into 5K

With a couple exceptions, I received the all-clear to start working out again. Since I like structured work outs and haven't gone for a run in let's say, oh, about nine months... I decided to start with a 5k app by the name of Ease into 5K, which appears to be a revamped version of C25K.

So far, I love it. It's much more enjoyable than most of the apps that I have used in the past. The interface is very straightforward, the voice instructions (when to run, when to walk, current pace, etc) are clear and concise. The journal feature covers everything that I normally like to log about my runs and the best part is that my iTunes playlists will run while I use the app. All in all, it's been a fantastic little app to help me start getting back into the swing of things. Barring any additional setbacks, I should be back to 5K form by October!

"Sickness comes on horseback but departs on foot."

Dutch Proverb

The Things No One Tells You...

Fair warning: This post does reference the logistics of feeding a newborn.

Jr and I have been working towards becoming a self-sufficient team, which isn't as easy as I expected since we're dealing with a c-section recovery, "Bob" the ever-present and highly annoying wound vac pump, persistently high pain levels, and medications galore to be balanced and administered. Little by little we are making progress, except for those nights where the stars align against us.

Having always been an easily disoriented person during nighttime wakings, it's been a bit of a challenge to handle the "usual" nursing/pumping stints throughout the night in addition to the various (and rather confusing) medication doses. 

Feeling particularly ambitious during a 3am pump, I decided to quietly go it alone and let the rest of the crew catch up on some much needed sleep. Having successfully gathered my supplies, I was sitting in semidarkness listening to the soft whoosh of the machine and feeling rather proud of my accomplishment when I slowly became aware of a distinct sensation  - the horrifying feeling of something crawling on my arm. I carefully turned to look, praying that it was just my own hair brushing my arm, and saw the unmistakable shape of a creepy crawly making it's way up to my jugular shoulder. Mustering what calm I could, I issued a few shrieking whispers in a desperate attempt to raise Chris without waking Jr. Quickly realizing that I was on my own, I abandoned any pretense of restraint and began flailing wildly with utter disregard for the 20 minutes worth of work that was now baptizing the general vicinity.

In the end, my jugular remained intact, the spider got away, most of the baby libations were saved, and Chris and Jr remained in dreamland blissfully unaware of the maelstrom while I dragged my befuddled and milk-stained self back into bed. Somehow all of my research and baby books failed to prepare me for this type of scenario...

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one."
Leo J. Burke