Reindeer Cupcakes

I was supposed to take cupcakes to preschool for Emerson's Christmas pageant on December 16, but we got a small ice storm the night before and school was called off that day.  So, since I had all the stuff to make the cupcakes, I decided to make them for Emerson's daycare class the next week, especially since they weren't having a party.  The report from Emerson is that everyone LOVED the cupcakes and thought they were "So CUTE!!".  I'm not really sure if I've ever met a preschooler that doesn't like a cupcake, but I'll trust Emerson when she says the were a big hit.  They were also a huge hit with Mommy, because they were extremely easy to make!!

This is the picture I found when I Googled "reindeer cupcakes"....

thus, my inspiration!!!

Yes, I used store bought cupcakes...that's what makes 'em so easy!!

Ice the cupcakes adding slightly more to one side to create the reindeer's nose.

Add a red M&M for the nose.  

(I recently found that Michael's carries a selection of M&M's near the baking aisle in an assortment of colors. That way all you have to do is buy a bag of the color you need, less eating of unnecessary M&M's and no waste of unwanted colors in a regular bag!!)

For the eyes, add white chocolate chips (placed upside down) and two small drops of black icing gel.

For the ears, I used pretzels. I put a small amount of icing on the bottom of the pretzel and then stuck it into the cupcake.  

Voila!! Reindeer Cupcakes!!!  

A Bowl of Cereal

It's hard to believe, but Emerson has never had a bowl of cereal.  NEVER!  Sure, she's had cereal when she was a baby and it was watered down with milk, and she's had dry cereal for snacks and sometimes for breakfast.  But an actual bowl of cereal, with a spoon and milk had never been attempted in our house.  I think it probably has something to do with the mess I assumed would be left for me to clean up afterwards.  I've seen those pictures of kids with cereal in their hair, on the floor, even with the milk spilled everywhere.  Yeah, I am pretty sure that is the sole reason my child has never had a bowl of cereal.  But this morning when I asked Emerson what she would like for breakfast, and she replied, "Cereal!", I retorted, "With a spoon and milk?"  She looked confused and then said, "Yes!!"  Maybe it was the extra hour we have to kill on preschool mornings that gave me the wild hair I got, or maybe it was because I thought three was the magical age that she could now "handle her cereal", but I gave in (it was my suggestion after all) and gave Emerson her VERY.FIRST.BOWL.OF.CEREAL. She loved it!!  She thought it was so cool that the milk was on the cereal.  And much to my chagrin, there was hardly a mess to clean up.  So, score one for cereal as a new addition to our breakfast repertoire, especially on preschool mornings!!  Emerson, I am sorry I have deprived you of this for so long!

Decluttering The Devers - April 2010

April was a VERY busy month in the Dever household.  VERY BUSY!!!  I think we actually spent more time cluttering up our house, rather than decluttering it.  So, due to our schedules and time, I picked a pretty simple and easy decluttering project for this month.  And, as you can tell by my late night post on the last day of the month, I waited to the very last minute to work on this project. 

See this shelf, these are my recipe books and above that is my recipe PILE!!  Yes, I said it, my Pile O' Recipes.  You know, all the recipes you pull out of Southern Living, get from a friend, print off the internet, jot down at a party...yes, all of those are in that pile.  The funny thing is, those are usually my "go to" recipes; the ones I use more often than the recipes in the books below. 

The Pile O' Recipes out of its hole and ready to be sorted. 

I sorted all the recipes into categories.  The categories I chose to use for my recipe binder were: Appetizers, Bread, Side Dishes, Dips/Marinades, Soup/Salad, Pasta, Chicken, Beef, Main Dishes, Breakfasts, Desserts, and Beverages. 

I used the recipe binder printables from Prudent Baby for my spine label and front cover.  Then for the dividers, I used regular Big Tab dividers.  If I can find cool dividers like Prudent Baby used, then I will replace the Big Tabs, but they'll have to work for now.  Prudent Baby's post for a recipe binder was super helpful and her printables are great...you can find those here and here.

THAT'S IT...short, sweet, simple, and to the point.  I can't wait to keep adding recipes to my new binder and hopefully, start a second one if this one gets too full!!  Now, if I can just find time to start cooking some of those recipes!!!