Distance Makes a Mess

Today started with Henry running out the door for school and promptly falling in a mud puddle.  He got mud everywhere: his face, freshly laundered coat, brand new pants, shoes, even on his underwear-- don't ask me how.  The rest of the day kind of went downhill from there.

After I dropped the kids off at school, I treated myself to a Diet Coke of obese size because it was half-off hour at Sonic and because the twins needed a pick-me-up.  Came home to clean up my house and get ready for some company.  Mid-dusting, I knocked the Diet Coke off my desk all over my computer chair and carpet.

Anyway....
Lucy was looking forward to after school because I promised we'd make her Valentines.  I had seen some beautiful sugar cookies on Pinterest and thought they would be darling to hand out to her classmates.  Lucy loves to give homemade gifts and had been talking about the cookies for days.  (Henry is giving store bought Ninjago Valentines with suckers, just so you don't get the wrong idea about me.)  I made the cookies.  Cleaned up the dishes.  Had a contraction or two.  Made cupcakes, because I said I'd bring them to the class party.  Cleaned up the dishes.  Had another contraction.  Then, made royal icing, following a recipe I got from a blog I follow called Sweet Sugarbelle, who's cookies are amazing and because she makes so many, must be a piece of cake!  Right??

This is what we were going for:

source

Beautiful, huh?

This is what we got:

My Wilton red food coloring did not turn the icing red, as anticipated, but a weird orange-ish-pink. The icing turned out super thick and dried too fast to get the "swirl" through it, so Lucy just piped "dots" on top, which she said looked like piles of poop.  As she was piping her piles, the top of the icing bag opened and she ended up squeezing most of it on her shirt.  By the time we finished, there was icing everywhere.  There were globs on the counter, cupboards, and floor, which I found because I stepped in them.  When I tucked the kids in to bed tonight, I noticed dried pink frosting on their bedroom door.

 I thought royal icing was suppose to dry hard and shiny, but our royal icing did neither.  I don't think they are going to hold up well tomorrow.  And I really don't see myself making royal icing again.

The day ended appropriately with a spilled cup of milk and a bowl of dumped Cheezits.

Happy Valentine's, everyone!

Preschool Party Time

Some moms from my church and I do a little preschool co-op.  Each week, we rotate homes, hosting this sweet set of toddlers for a little learning and lots of play.  This last week was my turn and we had a Halloween party.  There was more treat eating and crafting fun than you could stand in a morning!

We made some marshmallow ghosts:

Turned rocks into jack-o-lanterns:

Decorate pumpkin shaped cookies (and ate them, of course!):

There were candy corns to count and Halloween stories to read.  At the end, everyone got to take one of these yummy, spooky, guys home:

Gingerbread Skeleton Men

Gingerbread Cookies:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter (at room temp.)

1 egg (beaten)

Cream butter and brown sugar together until fluffy.  Add egg and molasses.  Beat well.  Gradually add the dry ingredients until dough is thoroughly combined and comes together in a ball.  Divide the dough in half.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for several hours or over night.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Using a floured rolling pin, roll out one ball of dough at a time on a lightly floured surface to 1/4" thick.  Cut out gingerbread men shapes with a cookie cutter.  Place them on a lightly greased baking sheet, spaced 1" apart.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Rest for 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack.  Once cookies are cooled, decorate with Royal Icing.

Royal Icing:

1 large egg white

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat egg white and lemon juice until well combined.  Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until smooth and combined.  Use a piping bag or pour into a ziplock baggy.  Seal baggy and cut a very small hole in one corner.  Pipe bones onto cookie.   *Tip* Use Royal Icing immediately because it hardens quickly.  Let Royal Icing set for an hour before storing.  Enjoy!