You ever have those weeks that you are just "on it"? I mean great weeks, where you are rocking the mom thing, kick ass and taking names at work, home life is running smoothly...and the weather is beautiful to boot?
I'm having one of those weeks. And it's really nice. It could be a combination of the fact that spring finally feels like it's arrived and my new thyroid meds are kicking in, but my Mad Mom Skills have to play a part, right?
This week, I managed to plan real dinners almost every day so far (Dan has been able to help cook, so that helps), the laundry got washed, dried and folded! Lovebug and I managed to take a walk or get out in the sun for at least a little bit each day, my fiscal year goals are all met for the year at work with two months to spare, I managed to get a gift basket put together for Dan's boss (they welcomed a new little man last weekend), and I also got super cute snacks made for Teacher Appreciation day at Lovebug's daycare...and it's only Wednesday!
The only thing I'm slacking on is sleep.
Which is the constant struggle, isn't it? Is there someone out there who's figured out how to get all of the great stuff in to a day/week without sacrificing something? If so, they deserve a Nobel Prize.
Here's a few pictures and the recipe for the cake and icing, inspired from these sites:
SavorySweetLife.com www.TwoBusyBlondes.com
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| The goods! I used two boxes of white cake mix and prepared as directed. |
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| I think I could have left a couple of these colors out and achieved the same effect. |
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| I should have added more batter, if I'd had any left. |
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| Don't forget water in the bottom of the cake pans! |
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| Life is better with buttercream and frosting! |
Rainbow Cake
White cake mix and ingredients as indicated on box
Wiltons food coloring paste (the kind for icing- check Michaels with a 40% coupon!)
Prep batter: I used two boxes of cake and made 13 jars, but they were pretty small cakes. I recommend more batter to fill the jars higher- fill the jar about half way with raw batter.
Add colors: Separate batter evenly into small bowls. I eyeballed colors using the food coloring paste- remember, a little goes a LONG way with this stuff. Start with a drop and go from there.
If you want to make lots of these cakes, skip the separate bowls and add the food coloring straight to the batter. You can minimize the number of colors you use, also.
Fill jars: I mixed the colors in bowls and then transferred them to ziplock bags to squirt into each jar. In hindsight, I would skip one of these steps, because the baking soda in the cake mix looses it's effectiveness after all the mixing and transferring. I think using the bowls and then a funnel and spoon to fill each jar would be best.
Bake: Clean off the dribbles from the sides of the jars or they will get brown and mess with the whole look :) And then place jars in 9X13 cake pans with some water at the bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, and then test them.
Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks of butter (unsalted)
3 Cups of sifted powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 Tbsp milk
dash of table salt
Sift powdered sugar in to separate bowl
Butter should be slightly soft, the consistency of ice cream. Place in mixer and turn on Medium speed. Turn off mixer when butter is creamy
Add sugar, turn mixer on Lowest speed until sugar is blended with butter (so it doesn't blow everywhere), and then turn up mixer to Medium and blend until all sugar is incorporated into butter.
Add milk, salt and vanilla and finish combining on Medium.
Taste your frosting! Is too stiff? Add another tablespoon of milk. Too wet, add a bit more powdered sugar.
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