Jared's Pokemon Dive Ball Cake

Jared's birthday is Friday, but one of his friends is only around on Weds, so we decided to celebrate early with a Pokemon Battle Party. This is really Jared's first official party, though it was not pitched as a birthday party at all. Some of his friends brought gifts, but most did not. In our head, the party would consist of a tournament style event. Eight boys were invited and everyone drew a card. Matching cards were meant to battle each other. Unfortunately half the group had no idea how to battle and a good hour or so was spent teaching them so only a couple of boys managed to do more than one battle. As a party favor, everyone received a Pokemon card from a booster pack. At the end we went swimming for about a half hour. I hope everyone had fun.

Like Aaron, Jared chose a Pokemon themed cake. He chose a Pokemon Dive Ball, making it another year of a water theme. I decided a poke cake would be a fun way to prepare it because I could use blue jello and have a water effect all the way through. So although he didn't have the jello pool like in year's past, he did have jello in the cake. I debated a white cake or a lemon cake and ended up with a blend. I added lemon juice to the cake batter and frosting but it really wasn't flavored much. I used the Jolly Rancher Blue Raspberry jello, strawberry cream cheese frosting to layer and stack the cakes, and a cream cheese/whipped topping lemon frosting dyed blue for the design. I think it turned out pretty well.

Jared wanted characters on top and I had originally planned on creating some water characters for it, but it was delusions of grandeur. I ended up making the cake within hours before the party which is a bad thing for a poke cake. It is best to let it soak overnight. I ended up putting it in the freezer to chill and most of the boys didn't eat their slice. Oh well. But I digress.... While I worked on the cake, Jared and Aaron made Pokemon characters from marshmallows: Cleffa, Igglybuff, and Execute. There were just enough that I could put them around the cake.

Recipes Used:

Nathan's Lemon Cake base (subbed whole milk w/ vinegar and 4 TB lemon juice. I dyed 1/4 c sugar blue thinking I'd use it as sprinkles on the top of the cake, but added it to the batter instead. The cake turned a greenish hue as it mixed with the yellow butter, but it looked fine once it was done and the blue jello was absorbed. I also only had one egg, so two of them were THRIVE eggs. Instead of water I added lemon juice.)

Raspberry poke cake (referenced for making and adding the jello)

Lemon Poke Cake (Recipe is basically the same as Nathan's cake but uses sour cream instead of buttermilk. She adds sweetened condensed milk instead of jello. I based my frosting off her cream cheese frosting and the traditional cool whip frosting for poke cakes.)

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (Used the leftover frosting from Aaron's cake to layer and dirty frost Jared's cake)

My frosting:

8 oz tub of cool whip
8 oz softened cream cheese
powdered sugar to consistency (at least one cup)
about 1 tsp lemon extract (I didn't measure, just poured)

We want cake! Give me some chocolate cake!

Aaron's birthday was on Wednesday. This was no ordinary one though, this was his 8th birthday! He had the privilege of being baptized that day as well, due to the timing of the move and grandparents being in town still. It was a great experience. Matthew gave a combined talk on baptism and the Holy Ghost. He asked Aaron questions throughout, as he answered each of them with assurity. Afterwards, Sharon said she was very impressed by him because she would have had to whisper the answers to Eliza.

After the baptism everyone came to the apartment and Matthew cooked hamburgers. Only the Blacks and the family attended, but we were prepared for as many as fifty people. We have a lot of hamburgers left :p Mike and Tran left as we pulled out the cake because Gen was getting fussy tired. Aaron chose a Pokemon theme this year, so I made a Master Ball. Simple enough - round cake with purple and white frosting. Unfortunately I ended up having to make his cake twice because my flour tasted too metallic from the #10 can. But it was so much better the second time. I added chocolate chips to the batter and tried the trick of coating them in flour so they don't sink. It worked, but since I forgot to put them in the batter until they were already in the pan, they just sat on top and didn't melt into the cake. I ended up getting the chips off the bottom cake so it would be flat enough to stack. Oops. I left them on the second cake and used it for the top layer. It worked.

I also decided to make the strawberry cream cheese frosting from scratch. I made a strawberry reduction and went the extra mile to sieve the seeds out so Mom could eat it. It was very time consuming but Aaron was happy to do that for me. I'd wanted to make the cream cheese frosting as well but bought one just in case which is good because I used it.

Overall I think it turned out well. It wasn't pretty or very creative, but all the stress and effort are worth it when I hear the words, "I love it!"

For future reference, these are the recipes I used:

The Best Chocolate Cake is a great reference for the 'why' of each ingredient
Chocolate Cake (ended up adding three eggs instead of 2 plus 1 yolk)
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (I used probably two cups of strawberries, half frozen and half fresh. I still have a lot of the reduction left and have used it to flavor yogurt and other things.)

The strawberry cream cheese frosting was still kind of runny after using the sugar amount listed, so I added another cup or so. It hardened up well in the fridge though. Had I realized the implications of that, I would have added more to the middle layer but it was still ok. We ended up with three flavors. Purple was vanilla, white was cream cheese, and pink was strawberry cream cheese.

Firsts

Peter's birthday was last week. I made carrot cake and banana cupcakes, both with cream cheese frosting. He prefers the banana ones and wasn't sure what to think of the frosting. Mom sent a present we picked up on Thursday. He LOVES it.

He took his first steps on Sunday or Monday night before his birthday in Aaron's room. He was trying to get to the tote to reach for Aaron's triathlon chip. He took two steps in a row. He's done that twice but is still content to get on the floor and crawl.

Peter is an amazing mimic. I've gotten him to say "cock-a-doodle-doo", "cow", "cat" (and actually he said that on his own when he saw Ginger at the Black 's on Thursday), "mama, "dad", and a few other sounds. Sometimes it seems like he is saying Aaron and Jared. He also has a version of "uh-oh". He's been fascinated with the air vents lately and dropping things in them. With the exception of one, thankfully they've been closed so the object isn't actually going down the vent. The other day he was dropping something into the kitchen vent. He turned to me and started going "uh uh". I fished it out for him and a game ensued. He immediately dropped it back in. I didn't get it for him this time. He did the whole "uh uh" again and when I wouldn't get it for him he tried to lift the vent himself. Smartee pants. He is also signing "water" and "more". It isn't precise, but it works.

We also had our first experience with pink eye last week. I think we are done with it, but I am still nervous.

Peter has been experiencing some extreme separation anxiety. We've been doing swim lessons and one of the concepts we've been working on is for him to sit and wait for me. I don't know if there's a connection, but he's started being content on the bed if he wakes up and I'm in the shower. The first time it happened I was really surprised. He'd been crying/screaming, but I talked to him through the closed door and pretty soon he was quiet. When I finally came out, he was laying down facing the door waiting patiently. It was like something had clicked for him and with few exceptions we've not had issues when I'm in the bathroom or after. It's been nice. Around the house is a different story. He is getting picky about going to anyone but me. Although one night he did ask for Jared, which made Jared feel really good. But even Matthew is having issues with him. If I'm holding Peter, he won't even look at Matthew. It's going to be interesting as we get closer to the move and Mom and Dad are around and babysitting.

It's been an interesting first year. It's been quite the adjustment having a little one around again. I feel my age, but I'm grateful he's in our lives and feel life is richer because of it.

Musings

I have not exercised since my CardioX stint. I think my emotional well-being is tied in to that as well because it hasn't been as good as it had the week before when I was being active. The good news is that the Lettuce Eat Cake contest is being resurrected starting Monday. Maybe that will help with the motivation, though I know the heart of it is that I need exercise buddies. I need someone to exercise with and be accountable to. Someone within my ward boundaries. I need friends in my ward. I feel cut off from everyone, but I recognize that it is only in my head. I just need to do my part to reach out to them. In my analyzing of my NJ experience, I was reminded that I went through this there as well in the beginning. Reaching out to people made a huge difference. At least in NJ there was an email sent out every week so there was at least some way to communicate with everyone. Here there is nothing - no facebook friends, no email list. I have debated sending out a mass email suggesting a walking group but have wondered at the appropriateness of it.

And then of course I wonder if it is worth the effort when I don't know how much longer we will be here. Our lease ends Oct 30 and Matthew's orders end Sept 30th. He failed the PT test due to shin splints so he is flagged and the intended 90 day orders can no longer be given to him until he passes a mid-Oct PT test. He's been going to physical therapy and getting help, but the timing is so tricky. We got a notice from the apartment complex about our lease ending and needing notice by the end of September our intent to renew or by the 1st if we are not. The month to month option is a $300 increase in our rent, though either way our rent will be increasing by $100 if we renew with a 9 - 12 month lease. Since Matthew is flagged, they are going to put him on AT orders for the month of October and then if he passes his PT test they'll give him the 90 day orders which brings us through January. And then what? That's only 4 months - no lease option there. Do we go ahead and sign another 6 month lease (which cost they did not enumerate in the letter)? I feel at such a loss. It finally occurred to me today that the answer I seek would come through prayer.  I am ashamed to admit that it took this long to realize that :/

In other thoughts, Peter is 2 calendar months old today. I am enjoying getting to know him. I can tell when he is excited not by his smiles b/c they are still kind of rare, but by the way he grunts and fidgets. One of his favorite things to do is practice standing. He will grip our thumbs and we can say "stand up" or "sit down" or "sit up" and he will tense his muscles and pull himself into whatever position. He prefers to be in an upright position and will often try to sit up when I lay him down on his back propped up. Today he was especially intent on practicing standing. I loved watching the determination on his face as he not only stood up, but then would pick up a foot and place it back down. It was taking a lot of effort and he got upset that his body tired so easily. I just kissed him and told them I knew his body couldn't do everything his spirit could do, but it would get there. His determination and perseverance is inspiring. As I think about all the strengthening his muscles have to do to get from one stage to the next (rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, pulling up, and finally walking) and the time it takes to get there, reminds me that obtaining my own goals takes time (and determination) as well.

Sometimes I have a hard time believing he is still so young because he's gotten so chunky and his spirit is so robust. I am thankful he is part of our family.

"I want to be a missionary!!"

I want to write this down so I don't forget it.

Aaron is assigned a talk in Primary this Sunday on the topic: I will serve God with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. We've been having an ongoing discussion when we sit at the table about the topic. We've broken down what each of those words mean and today I asked Aaron if he could think of someone from the scriptures who served God with all their heart, might, mind, and strength. He immediately thought of Ammon protecting King Lamoni's sheep.

I traced the story back to the very beginning and had the boys recall exactly who Ammon was: the son of King Mosiah (which means he was a prince) and we meet him along with his brothers and friend Alma, the prophet's son, as they go around trying to destroy the Church. One day an angel comes to them and asks why they are trying to destroy God's church. The experience is life changing for them. In an effort to truly repent, they go about trying to repair the damage they made in their rebellion. They even go so far as to want to be missionaries to their enemies, the Lamanites. King Mosiah offers each one of his sons the opportunity to be the next king, but each turns him down choosing instead to bring people to Christ.

Think of this, they chose serving God over being a ruler. This decision effected their ENTIRE society and even their world. Following King Mosiah's reign, their government body changed into more of a republic like ours. They established the election of a chief judge to rule but also another panel of judges to offer a checks and balances. In addition, because of their work among the Lamanites, many people (including some of the Lamanites' own leadership) turned to the Lord and these new Saints played a really important part in later history.

So the sons of Mosiah and Alma go to the Lamanites to serve a mission. Ammon happens to land up in King Lamoni's land. King Lamoni asks him what he is doing there and why. Ammon responds that he wants to live there, possibly for the rest of his life. The king likes this answer and even offers one of his daughters for a wife. I wondered if there was something about Ammon to indicate he was a prince for the king to offer one of his daughters, a princess, to be his wife. Ammon declines and says, nope. I want to serve you.

One of his first assignments is to help water the king's flocks. (And this is the part that is Aaron's favorite story of all time). While there at the waters, another group of Lamanite robbers scatter the flocks. Ammon's fellow servants are beside themselves because historically, King Lamoni kills the servants who let the flocks get scattered. The robbers know this and do it for sport. Ammon recognizes this as an opportunity to show the Lord's power. He takes command of the situation and tells the other servants to gather the flocks back up and encircle them so that they don't scatter. (Incidentally I saw this in action on a farm with sheep. As long as people were spread around the sheep with arms out wide encircling them, they felt enclosed and did not bolt. Once they saw on opening they would make a break for it). When the robbers try to scatter the flocks again, Ammon defends them with his sling and sword. He chops the arms off of those who seek to kill him and finally when they realize they could not overpower him, they run away. Pretty dramatic experience I think. The servants thought so too and when their flocks were watered, they gathered the arms to take back to the king as proof of the story. Ammon just humbly goes on to his next assignment. I drove home the point that Ammon was so obedient that he did not forget or get distracted or do whatever he wanted to do before moving on to his next task.

After the servants present the king with all the arms, Lamoni wonders where Ammon is now. They tell him that he is preparing his chariots like he was told. King Lamoni is so impressed with Ammon's faithfulness and obedience that he calls Ammon to him and wants to know exactly who he is and what power he has because he seems like a god. Ammon tells him he is only a man, but then teaches who God is as well as the plan of salvation. King Lamoni believes him. Further experiences with Ammon then allow King Lamoni's father to hear the gospel and accept it. Between Ammon, his brothers, and Alma, a large group of Lamanites eventually become converted and become a great source of strength to the Nephites.

So to recap, how did Ammon serve God with all his heart, might, mind, and strength? He chose to serve as a missionary instead of a ruler and as a result of his obedience and service, protected people, brought them to Christ and changed their society. At this point, Aaron got really excited and started shouting, "I want to be a missionary!! I want to be a missionary!!" ahh, music to my ears

To read the story directly, here is a link to the chapters in Mosiah and Alma: Mosiah 27, 28, 29, Alma 17-27

I love summer. I love this time with my children. Once school starts it is all hussle and bussle of homework. Summer gives us a chance to actually be together and utelize that time for teaching opportunities. I hope Aaron remembers that feeling of excitement and desire to be an influence for good. I hope Jared caught a feeling of vision from this conversation as well.

Quick Weekend Update

It's 5 am and I've been fighting sleep for the last hour. Part of me wants to sleep and the other part is raring to go. The logical side of me wants to go back to sleep so I can make it through the day. The active part of me is itching for some excitement and personal time. I could spend this time reading my scriptures and/or another book, sewing, cleaning, running on the treadmill....oh the possibilities!! I finally opted to start with updating and see where it takes us.

I am glad I decided to do Core Synergistics on Sat. I actually followed through and in the process, something clicked inside me. I feel committed at this point. I have a plan and will stick with it. This morning I even thought about doing the next disc despite my plan to wait til my off days. So how did it go, you wonder? Well, it was hard. I was sweating before the warm up was even over. I made the mistake of eating an apple before starting and ended up feeling really nauseous by the end. Core involved a lot of varieties of pushups which meant that I only did a handful or a lot of modified ones after watching them bust out 10. I have a long way to go before I can keep up, but everyone has to start somewhere. I am surprised that I am not more sore in my abs but this is also good b/c I did not stop at the morning workout. Later in the afternoon we went on a neighborhood bike ride and then followed that up with a trip to the pool. My legs and arms are still recovering.

I am so proud of my boys! At the beginning of the summer Jared was a wobbly unsure bike rider and now he's riding circles around us and trying to jump over curbs. Aaron is gaining confidence fast. Thursday we tried to go down the street on a ride and it took him 15 minutes to decide to go down the 'hill'. It scared him. He finally opted to walk the bike down til the street leveled out and then start. He was slow at first and then as he got comfortable, he picked up more and more speed. We went down around the culdesac and back up to our street. When he reached the top he let out a yell: That was so awesome!! Let's do it again!!  I promised him we'd go the next day. And we did. We followed the same path (again he walked his bike down the hill, but there wasn't a 15 minute hesitation to begin) and then decided to go over to the next street which also has an incline to go down, but he just kept going. Granted, it isn't as steep an incline but he was offering whoops of joy as he felt the wind in his hair. One of the culdesac's sidewalks end at a driveway so Aaron had to muster his courage to go down the 'hill'. He took it slow, but he didn't brake all the way down as he's inclined to do. YAY! He made it down and kept on going. At this point driveways aren't a big deal at all, though he still has yet to conquer the hill.

I decided that bike riding is a great family bonding experience, so I told Aaron that I think it would be ok if we went on a bike ride on Sunday. Oh the excitement!! It seemed like an easy enough thing when I said it, but when yesterday came around and I was so sore, I wasn't sure I could do it. I really just wanted to lay down and get a massage! But I made a promise so I had to follow through. It was worth it. So worth it. I was right about it being an appropriate Sunday activity as a family bonding experience. There is a business with a large parking lot across from our neighborhood that we went to after riding through our neighborhood a bit. We had races, chases, and free play. We let Aaron have a parking space start before Jared and I took off in the races. Oh my goodness!! Aaron was so fast! Jared and I had to work really hard to win. We really ought to have let him win, but I have never been good at that :/ I will have to remember to do so next time.

There is a drive around the building that I'd been curious to explore but never wanted to by myself because I knew if I went, the boys would follow and I just wasn't willing to cross that bridge. But yesterday Jared brought up that he wondered where it went. We decided to explore it together. Aaron was pretty winded at that point and thus playing in the dirt. We cajoled him into going with us. He made it halfway across the parking lot before he admitted his legs were really tired. I gave him a drink of water and off he went!! The drive opens into the employee parking lot and oh man what a difference in care!! Potholes, cracks in the pavement, curbs....a great place for Jared and his burgeoning daredevil side. Not so great for Aaron and his training wheels. We discovered the pavement went even farther though - to the loading docks behind the building. It was the oddest thing. It got cold. There was like a line we crossed as we approached the back of the building. At this point the sun was starting to set, so maybe that had something to do with it, but it was kind of eerie. And with that, we decided it was time to go home. Jared told me he made a goal to ride his bike every day. I affirmed that I hoped we could keep it up after school starts, but in the meantime, I think we can do that :)

When I offered to go to the parking lot, I did it with reservations. The last time we'd gone, Mom was here and I was ready for a break before the boys were. I wasn't sure that I'd enjoy riding my bike in circles until the boys tired out. But it turned out ok. In fact, it was more than ok. We had fun the whole time, and even more amazing, I did not feel my soreness one bit. So there's a couple of lessons in there, but the one I want to hold on to at the moment is that just because I am sore does not mean I am limited. I say this in anticipation of my run today. My legs are sore and I wonder how they will be effected by all this cross training. I am hoping that I have more endurance and strength. Aaron has gotten so confident in his riding that I think we will be a good match as I run. Jared will still be riding circles around us, but Aaron won't be so far behind that it is a hindrance. And as I mentioned in the beginning, my body feels itching to be on the move. It really is like something's been awakened in my body.

At the end of the day Saturday, I felt so grateful to be here in NJ because I can be outside and be active without worrying about heat exhaustion. I don't ever remember feeling so happy to be active - especially outside activity kind of active. I know I have enjoyed bike riding very much as a youth, but that is about the scope of it. I have lots of memories of going outside to start a game with one of my brothers and quitting to go inside before he was ready. I just did not have the attention span to stay outside for long. At the moment, I feel like I could actually keep up with my kids. I look forward to becoming more and more fit. Of course, the downside of NJ is that winter is coming. But I hope that I can find other ways to enjoy the outdoors and not stop being active.

One more brag on my boys. They started off not being very confident in the water. Jared was more confident than Aaron, but still a pretty weak swimmer.  He worked this summer on being able to go from one side of the pool to the other without stopping and standing up in the process. He can do that now :) Aaron has relied on his floaties big time, though he was getting more and more confident at the same time. Well, the floaties finaly broke and all he had to rely on were pool noodles. He can get around in the water pretty well with the floaties or noodles, but he won't put his face in the water. Something clicked in him on Saturday and he decided to try real swimming. Face in the water swimming. Ta da!! Swimming with confidence! I want to go swimming every day this week to keep up this momentum and see how far he can get before the pool closes for the season on Labor Day (next Monday). He pretty much doggie paddles, so he needs some tweaking but being willing to put his face in the water and sink without panicking is a HUGE step forward.

I would say that this has been a summer of growth for all of us.