New Hobby in the Making?

Thanks to Pinterest, I have a new obsession...ok really I have a million new obsessions, things I want to try, learn to do, make....I could go on and on.  I have pinned tons of things on this site, but I have only actually done a few of them.  1) The homemade laundry soap; 2) Cinnamon sticky roll things; and...ummmm...that was it.  Until today!  I have decided I want to learn how to decorate cupcakes.  I love them!  They are yummy and I love watching all of the cupcake and cake baking shows on TV.  But since I'm trying to eat healthy I knew having those things in my house would just be setting myself up for failure.  But then...I remembered that Caiden has a pack meeting tomorrow night, which means he has to take snacks.  PERFECT!  So I looked up the buttercream recipe on Pinterest, got out my mixer and got to work.

For this last minute project, I decided to use a cake mix for the cupcakes to save on time and money since I don't have all of the needed ingredients on hand.  Looks pretty yummy if I do say so myself =)

Then I got out the decorating kit my lovely hubby picked up for me while he was out shopping...read the instructions, picked out the tip I wanted to try out, and loaded the bag.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the mess I made by the time I was done!  I'm such a messy baker anyway...this was worse than most days! If I decide to do this on a more regular basis, I'm gonna need a better mixer!

I didn't do anything too fancy, but it still took some practice to get some decent looking ones.  I figured the boys in scouts won't really care what they look like, as long as they taste good (and they do...I always have to taste things before I serve them to others!! 

I think they turned out ok.  Not bad for a first time!  Had lots of frosting left over, so after consulting google, I put it in the freezer.  We'll see if it really tastes as good after being frozen.

First Birthday

My baby Bennett turned one year old last week! Apparently someone sent him a message on all things about turning one because within the last two weeks, he has gotten his first four teeth, ditched the bottle and started to stand and walk a few steps.  I can't believe how fast this last year has gone!

We had a great birthday party for him last Sunday with lots of family, food and fun, although Bennett was a little shy around so many people for a while.

Our theme for the party was monkeys. I'm decorating his room in a monkey theme, so we carried that theme over to the invites and the cake.  I decided to be a little different and have cupcakes for everyone instead of just regular cake.  A bonus to this decision that I didn't think about....don't have to worry about who is going to cut the cake!  

I've had Cakes by Lori make my boys' birthday cakes since Caiden's first birthday, but I have to say, she really out did herself this year.  She made little monkey faces and bananas out of fondant for each cupcake. She also make a big cupcake cake and a little 1st birthday cake all for Bennett so he could dig in!  If you live in the Cedar Rapids area and would like to check her out, you can go here...although the site is still a work in progress.

Bennett also got his first haircut last Sunday.  He was in dire need, but we were holding out so his Aunt Jenn could do it because, she did Caiden's first haircut too.  It was a little bit of a challenge because Bennett likes to watch everything and study it, so he was always moving his head to watch.  But she did a great job, and now he doesn't have hair tickling his eyes!