Diaper Cake

I made another cake recently LOL! It's a diaper cake. Simple. Cute. Expensive but very useful. So only make one of these for someone you really like. They are cute with just the diapers with a cute ribbon around them, but you can decorate them all you want. Some people put thermometers, baby spoons, clippers, you know all the little essentials, but you can also do washcloths (they look like candles!), socks, and toys. Whatever you want. Many times these little items can be found at the Dollar Stores. When you decide to do these you can start keeping an eye out for good baby deals and just have them on hand. I prefer the medium sized diapers because baby will be in them the longest, and they are going to need newborn ones right away, so they can keep the cake longer if it's size 3. You can do two tiers or three, I liked three, but I still considered four as I still had diapers. It's gonna be an impressive centerpiece to any baby shower. I would say if you are throwing the shower it's nice because then you don't need another centerpiece.

I have to say I would have liked to have cuter ribbon to go around the outside, but I couldn't find any to save my skin that day (I thought it would be easy!) so this one doesn't look as cute as it would with a wide bright ribbon.

OK detailed instructions follow:
First, Get all the diapers (I got a box from Sams with 4 packs in it and had quite a few left) and a really long bit of ribbon like a huge 100 ft roll of Christmas curling ribbon or whatever.
Second, look really inept with diapers all over the table and internet directions clutched in your hand with confused look. Husband comes over and figures out that:
1. Roll one diaper very tightly. Take the curling ribbon and make a slip knot and lasso the diaper around the middle and tighten up.
2. Wrap second diaper around the first, pulling it tight with the ribbon. Before the end of the diaper occurs, slip another diaper underneath. Keep it all tight with the ribbon. YOu will continue layering like this all the way to the end. When you are done with the whole layer, go around the whole thing a few times and tie it off where the ribbon came out of the last layer. Make sure it's tight.
3. Repeat with the top layer only this time you'll start with lassoing a bottle, or wrap a diaper around a bottle and lasso it. If you want a bottle sticking out the top that is.
4. When you are done with your layers, wrap them around over the curling ribbon with bright ribbon and tie in a cute bow.
5. Put your entire creation on a cardboard circle if you have one or be really careful transporting it. If desired, put baby items all around, stuffing in the diapers. Optional wooden Valentine sticker hearts, flowers, animals or trucks if the mom has a theme that matches. You can see from this one that the oragel, while useful, isn't cute, so keep that in mind when you are collecting cute little baby things.

You are so privileged! I searched the internet and most people want to sell these so they won't give directions. Other directions were really complicated and no more successful than this. Mine was so tight I carried it without a bottom and had no problems, but honestly you need two people to do it well, one to hold the center and the ribbon and one to feed diapers one at a time. I couldn't have gotten it that tight by myself. Let me know if you have questions!

THE CAKE!

Ok the Cake was a HUGE HUMONGOUS hit! I made one and the kids ate it... all. So I made another one for dinner, we were having company. Gone. Made one the next day. That is 3 cakes in 2 days. Maybe it was the shape, it was a bundt, and I usually do rectangles. I rarely ever frost. Don't need the calories and no nutritional value. So I shook a tiny bit of powdered sugar on this baby and it was very popular. The first one had black beans, which went perfect in the chocolate cake, and the second and third had red beans. I recommend the black, and make sure there are chocolate bits or chips in the cake if you are serious about avoiding detection. I didn't even tell my husband. It's just best to get them eating them. They don't have to know that what they don't know will probably make them more healthy!! Hee hee hee!

PS My cake was not as purple as the one below. It was brown like a chocolate cake should be. If the cake had been that purple they would definately been suspicious!

Strengthening Communication

SO you blog, you have friends you chat with online, you probably have a Yahoo group or two (or 8 or 9) that you follow. Here are some things you have probably noticed with online friends:
1. They can't spell.
2. Some are more technically proficient than you... and where did they get those smileys?
3. You really don't know them.

Unless you are a very good communicator, your message is often misread by others. It's hard to be clear and convey messages that, in person, would be very simple. We speak in person and we pick up each other's body language, stress on which word, etc. It makes a huge difference in print.

Sometimes when I am writing to encourage someone it comes off wrong... once I wrote to cheer someone who was down, and they had gotten over it by the time they got my message, and they were, like, What? I'm fine? Why do you always think I am down? I 'm not like that all the time! Sheesh, I didn't even get points for trying.
So I tried rereading my posts out loud, but since I know what I mean it didn't help my clarification much. And humor! It is easy to make people laugh in person, but in print they don't always get it. When you do a play on words they just think you misspelled. Frustrating. I also tend to be a great wide reciever... "GO LONG!!"
SO I am sticking to form on that one... but I think I am learning that my best communicating is in public. I am going to put together a powerpoint presentation soon and I am really looking forward to it. Usually when I speak in public I offend one person who just isn't going to get it no matter what, but I also get a lot of cudos, so I am HOPING that is a sign. (One time I did a presentation on Strengthening Communication and my big visual was of a hand-drawn cartoon of a bodybuilder --- strength, bodybuilder...get it?--- anyway I offended someone who was disconcerted by his lack of a shirt and his little Speedo. How many bodybuilders do you know that show off their muscles by wearing a suit? Other than Arnold Shwartzenegger--It was a DRAWING people.... ok so besides her lots of people liked my pic. I am NOT Posting one here because I don't want any feedback on the bodybuilder!)

So let me give you a few tips from my Strengthening Communication class:
1. Just do it. Call or write. If you write, you can do it any time and not be worried you're catching them at a bad time or that as soon as you're on the phone some household disaster will occur. Email if that's an option. Send a personalized note.
2. Send something extra. I like to include a little poem or something, like, when I wrote thank you notes to thank people for coming to an event recently, I included this one:
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Marcel Proust.
3. Even in email, include a salutation and a closing like a real letter. If you were making a phone call you'd say, Hello!, Right? A short, terse email is very frosty without any Hello! of any kind. And a closing is a great time to tell you they are important to you and that you care about them.
4. Make a printout of your Christmas list and choose someone to write to every week or month. It's even easier if you print it out on the labels already so all you have to do is stick it on the envelope. Then they're off the list and you won't write to them twice (unless you want to or they write back!)
5. Make short phone calls and people are more likely to call you. There are people I don't call because I know it will take way too long to get extricated or because I know we both like to talk too much! There is a lady at church who calls me and always keeps it under 2 minutes. She gets a funny story from me and gets off. Though she is mentally challenged, I don't mind 2 minutes. Now if she kept me for an hour I'd seriously think about Caller ID.
6. When communicating with family members it's great to have stories to tell them. Write down some things that happened this week, good or bad, and you won't be having long mental blocks when they call or you are writing. My husband calls and just wants to know what I had for breakfast. He's so sweet! He just feels he's missing out. So I always try to have a story for him. For my grandma I save all the paintings and drawings in a manilla envelope and when it's full I send it along with cards made just for her.

Let me end by telling you my story today.
My husband has a very unusual work schedule. I gotta preface with that.
I tucked the girls in last night and one was blocking my view of the room, rather obviously.
"What's going on? Ok, now I HAVE to come in and see what you're hiding."
It turns out she was hiding her sister, who was in bed crying.
"Sweetie, why are you crying?"
I finally got the answer after going between them for a while...
"She said that if I miss the bus and I'm late to school you could go to jail!"
Well, technically this is true. Our state has started new truancy laws. This poor child has missed less than a half hour total of school due to late check ins because the bus either did not pass or passed early and we waited, not knowing. If the bus shows up at noon and picks them up (after they've been waiting since 7am) and brings them to school it's excused, but if I bring her 5 minutes late, I am raising a truant child and flying in the face of all convention and rule about school attendance. It's insane, but it's the new law. I think it's nuts. But I try to comply and get her there on time. Sometimes I am one minute late and have to sign her in. Anyway, she misses one more minute and I have a hearing. Cool, huh!
This is where dad's work schedule comes in. There are a few days a month that he's not there to back me up. So I really need my bedbug to get out of bed on time.
So I said, very cheerfully, "Well, she's right, so I guess you'll just have to get up early every morning!"
She dried her tears and agreed she'd make a greater effort in the mornings to keep Mom from the slammer.
I appreciate that. And she got up and dressed in record time this morning!

Anyway, it's those little moments people want to hear about. The things they would be part of if they were there.
So go write to someone, already!

OK it's been a LONG time since I got to this blog. Sorry. I have been working on food storage questions. There have been lots of people asking about it and I have been getting my information together. I think what gets me the most excited about this is that the economy being in the dumps has made people realize they need to get thinking more intelligently about storing and using food, and money. Second most exciting thing is that I realized the expiration dates on this stuff is sooner than I thought: One of those "Objects in mirror closer than they appear" moments. We've been thinking about getting more food storage but I want to do this intelligently. I want to buy beans, but then we have to EAT them! So instead of buying 200 cans of beans I bought some at the store. I bought some sneaky stuff too. Red Beans and Rice is pretty simple to figure out... but no dice. I even got white beans and rice mix thinking they'd never see those beans in there. I even added hamburger. Nope. I can't even get them to eat the garbanzo beans in the salad. Is there hope for us? I just found out about a recipe for chocolate cake with beans in it. I think it just might work....You puree beans and add cup for cup instead of the oil in any recipe. Nice huh! I'll let you know!

(Had to take the puzzle down)
Sudoku supplied by Strictly Sudoku.

Actually, the best site of all is Krazydad.com  or google Krazydad Sudoku.  He posts 8 sudoku you can print and a page of hints and a page of solutions. AWESOME! Any range from easy to hard.

Check it out! You can go there too. I am really enjoying these in the paper every day.

All I needed to know...

All I needed to know about life, I learned from Santa
>
> Encourage people to believe in you.
>
> Always remember who's naughty and who's nice.
>
> Don't pout.
>
> It's as much fun to give as it is to receive.
>
> Some days it's ok to feel a little chubby.
>
> Make your presents known.
>
> Always ask for a little bit more than what you really want.
>
> Bright red can make anyone look good.
>
> Wear a wide belt and no one will notice how
> many pounds you've gained.
>
> If you only show up once a year, everyone
> will think you're very important.
>
> Whenever you're at a loss for words, say:
> "HO, HO, HO!"
>
>
>

Ok here is some shallow "get to know you" thing you can copy and internet to your friends. It's great to get to know people... but not sure what all you learn from this about what kind of person you are.... You tell me!!

A--Attached or Single: Very attached. Like glue. Like that silicone shoe goo. Like when a guy flirts with me I sneer.

B--Best friend: Greg. He is a total pain but really, still.... Good friends, now, I know the best people in the world and it would be tough to list them all!

C--Cake or Pie: Sue's Apple Pie or my chocolate cake with chocolate chips no frosting. On needy days, Dump Cake.

D--Day of Choice: Any day I get to sleep in. I usually have to wait for school vacation for that. If I had to pick a day of the week it would be Saturday.

E--Essential Item(s): A good computer, high-speed internet access, and a printer all working together in beautiful, high-tech harmony. I totally stole this from Whitni, but I really really understand this!! If I had to pick one single thing it would be a nice warm blankie. I also have trouble functioning without a working camera.

F--Favorite Color: Hot pink. I was told you should get a couch your favorite color and accessorize to match the rest of the house. Interior Decorators are insane.

G--Greatest Accomplishment: Keeping a sense of humor

H--Hometown: Seattle will always be home for me in the way that it's where I tell people I am from and that I love flying into Seatac and seeing the Space Needle. But Olympia really, every time I am home I drive past our old house there and look at where my school used to be. It's still a school and I recognize the trees, my old friends, but the building is so new and modern it makes me a little sad... And my babysitter's house that I loved, I keep wanting a set of plans to it.

I--Indulgences: Logic problems and sudoku and watching movies in bed with the kids. Goofing off on my blogs. Sushi. Swiss chocolate.

J--January or July: JULY is so my favorite month. I never need a sweater. My feet are warm on the driveway at 3am. It's my birthday!

K--Kids: Four unique and wonderful spirits. I love to photograph them!

L--Life is incomplete without: family

M--Marriage Date: January 8

N--Number of Siblings: half sister, half brother

O--Oranges or Apples: Oranges off my trees in Louisiana, Apples in Washington

P--Phobias or fears: crowded areas bother me somehow. Being without books.

Q--Quotes: Any movie I have ever seen is fertile ground for quotes at the right moment. Expecially: I don't know anyone who deserves to be fed to a hungry plant! (Said sarcastically after meeting up with a prime specimen!)

R--Reason to Smile: Money in the checkbook; helping out friends

S--Season: Summer, and here in LA I get 9 months of it. We are having fall right now. (Dec 24)

T--Tag 5 Friends: Whitni, Sue, Sasha, Keli, Rachel....

U--Unknown fact about me: I tell everything to anyone... what?

V--Very favorite store: My friend wrote Albertsons and if my checkbook has any say, that's how it would vote too.... Ive been collecting free plates there and having fun filling my new pantry. And it's useful.

W--Worst habit: Incurable laziness

X--X-ray or Ultra Sound: Ultrasound but whatever does the most good. No boob squishing. I really love MRIs. You can't do laundry in there, just lie still and think Disney songs to the pulsing noise.... I asked for another session :)

Y--Your favorite food: I love all food. It would be a lot easier to say I don't care for anchovies or pate.

Z--Zodiac: Leo. And for the Chinese calendar I'm a rabbit. I like rabit, with a nice sauce picante!

So many things not on the list!! Wishing you a happy time thinking about yourself and doing some self evaluations and getting ready for those New Year's Resolutions!!