Happy Twelfth Birthday, Lars-of-Ours!

It's Lars's Birthday Today!

So, this is what TWELVE looks like!  Our birthday prince has spent his special day in front of the television, watching back-to-back Star Wars movies while simultaneously playing the new Nintendo DS games that he received for Christmas yesterday.  Grammy and Grampa joined us for a birthday dinner (the birthday boy specified that he wanted "pizza from Lorenzos with only cheese on it, AND those breadsticks and fried mozzarella sticks with the sauce to dip them in"). 

Oh Yes, I CAN fit 12 Candles on a Cupcake!

We had cupcakes from SAS with little LEGO brick candies stuck in the frosting, and I crammed twelve candles into Lars's cupcake (despite the disapproval of the other, more sensible adults in the family).  Then Lars opened birthday presents from his relatives.

Of course, when your birthday is the day after Christmas, you have to delay your birthday party with friends in order to minimize scheduling conflicts, so we'll be doing some kind of crazy sleepover party mid-January for Lars and his peeps.

Happy Twelfth Birthday, Lars-of-Ours!

Meet Mr. Froggy-Bunny! Fusible Web T-Shirt Applique

Nope -- this shabby bunny isn't the Velveteen Rabbit, although he has definitely been loved enough to become "real" via Nursery Magic.  This is Mr. Funny Bunny, who came to us from the Build-A-Bear Workshop many years ago courtesy of Auntie Jani.  I remember the first night Anders slept alone in his Big Boy Bed, and I did this deep James Earl Jones impersonation voice, speaking for the bunny (can you picture this?) and said "I'm Mr. Funny Bunny.  I shall protect you in the Big Boy Bed.  I eat monsters like crackers!"  That was the beginning of Mr. Funny Bunny, and Anders has snuggled up with him at bed time every night since.

Mr. Funny Bunny is beginning to show his age, and I decided to spruce him up a bit as a surprise for Anders' birthday. 

Plain White Bear T-Shirt, $5 from Build-A-Bear Workshop

I bought a plain white T-shirt for the bunny from the Build-A-Bear Workshop store for $5.  I know; I could have made him a shirt from scratch, but: 1. I didn't have a pattern.  2. I didn't have any scraps of the right kind of fabric.  3. I haven't made a T-shirt in a long time and I'd have to hunt down some directions.  4. I didn't feel like it.  5. I ran out of time. 

I actually wasted at least an hour hunting down commercially digitized frog embroidery designs on the Internet, as my initial idea was to machine embroider a red-eyed tree frog on the shirt.  I was on my way to get my credit card from my wallet so I could purchase and download a $12 embroidery design when I was struck by common sense like a bolt of lightning.  Seriously?  A $12 design to go on a $5 shirt for a stuffed animal?  I also harbored nagging doubts in the back of my mind about how a densely-stitched embroidery design would behave on the flimsy knit shirt fabric, and I didn't have any scrap fabric to practice on.  Would it pucker and pull the shirt fabric?  Or would the design stitch out beautifully, but end up so stiff, bulky, and scratchy from thread and stabilizers that my son wouldn't want it on his bear at bed time? 

Then I had a fusible web applique epiphany, and remembered that I had scraps of leftover quilting cotton with frog prints from Anders' Froggy Quilt of Many Colors.  Perfecto!

Leftover Fabric from the Anders' Froggy Quilt

I cut a square of Pellon Wonder Under fusible web and fused it to the wrong side of the frog fabric, per manufacturer instructions.  It helped that, with this particular fabric, the print was very visible from the wrong side so it was easy to place the fusible web exactly where I wanted it.

Fusing Wonder Under to the reverse side of the applique fabric

Then I carefully cut out the frog, leaving rounded edges so there would be as little scratchiness as possible.  I peeled off the paper backing, positioned my froggy on the tiny shirt, and then fused the applique in place with my iron and a weird padded tailor's board contraption that finally came in handy after 10+ years gathering dust in my sewing room.  It was probably on some list of "Tools for Beginning Sewers" back when I got my first sewing machine.  This is the first time I've used it for anything, but really, it would be handy for pressing the boys little shirts and pants, too. 

Now that the applique was fused into place, I just used a narrow zigzag stitch and 60 weight black cotton embroidery thread along the outer edge to secure it permanently so the edges don't start to curl up when it goes through the wash.  Raising my sewing machine up out of the cabinet so I could use the free arm was a huge help, because I was determined not to have to open up the side seams. 

Using the Free Arm to Secure the Applique Edges with a Fine Zigzag Stitch

By the way, in the photo above I'm using Applique Foot #23, which is supposed to be ideal for what I was doing.  However, this presser foot sits entirely behind the needle, with no toes in front, and I experienced a lot of flagging (fabric coming up along with the needle after every stitch).  In retrospect, this could have been caused by the Microtex sharp needle I was using, and I might have had better results with a ballpoint, jersey, or even a Universal needle since the T-shirt was, after all, a knit.  I didn't think of that in the thick of things, though, so instead I switched to Open Embroidery Foot #20.  I still had plenty of visibility with this foot to place the zigzag stitches precisely where I wanted them, and the toes at the front of the foot kept the T-shirt fabric from popping up every time the needle came up through the fabric. 

Open Embroidery Foot #20: Plenty of Visibility for Applique, Better Fabric Support than Foot #23

One of my favorite things about this little project is how low-tech it was.  You don't need a fancy computerized machine for this one -- just a regular household iron and a sewing machine with a zigzag stitch.  If you didn't have a sewing machine at all, you could sew the edges of the applique down by hand and it would come out just as nicely.  You could use this method to decorate a onesie for a baby, or plain T-shirts for older children.  Quilting cottons like the frog fabric I used are relatively inexpensive and come in SO many colors and prints, including all of your children's favorite characters, and if you don't have a quilt shop nearby you can shop online at sites like eQuilter. 

One caveat: Because this frog fabric was leftover from a quilting project, I knew that I had already prewashed the fabric and checked to make sure the dye would not run.  If you're going to applique a dark fabric onto a light colored shirt, prewash both of them separately before you begin and make sure you rinse out any loose dyes before proceeding. 

Easy as pie!  It sure is nice to squeeze in a "quickie" project in the midst of an 11+ month quilting project. 

Happy 9th Birthday, Anders!

August 13, 2003: Welcome to the World, Anders!



11 Months Old; July, 2004

September 2003

1st Birthday Cake, August 13, 2004

2nd Birthday, August 13, 2005: All About Firetrucks and Ambulances

3rd Birthday, 2006: Favorite Froggy Shirt and Frog Temporary Tattoo

4th Birthday, August 13, 2007

5th Birthday with Cousins Alex & Timmy, August 2008

At the School Playground, Just After his 6th Birthday, August 2009

Ready for Golf at Kiawah, SC, just after his 7th Birthday, August 2010

At his 8th Birthday Laser Tag Party, August 2011



In Florida a few weeks ago, end of July 2012, almost a 9-year-old

Happy 9th Birthday, Anders!  We love you!



Happy Birthday to Me

Okay, so I had a birthday.  This is what my cake could have looked like, but my husband sensibly opted for a single candle in a cupcake instead.  No need for a blazing birthday inferno.  I had a nice day at home with my family, eating lobsters and playing Uno.

You probably noticed I changed my blog template back.  Whatever.  I learned a lot about HTML code that I never wanted to know, but I've finally put things back to normal.  Duplicate blog posts, weird slide shows, and funny locked ad widgets or gadgets or whatever they were have been banished after several frustrating hours of searching through help guides and FAQs.  All in all, it was a colossal waste of time.

Today's the last day of the Memorial Day weekend, but we don't have anything special planned.  I've been avoiding things like laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning the bathrooms, and it's starting to catch up with me.  If I don't buy food today, I'll be packing Uncle Buck-style lunches this week:

School Lunch from the 1989 film, Uncle Buck

A can of sardines, a mayonnaise jar full of milk, a banana that is clearly past its prime, raw bacon, and who knows what that slimey green thing is in the Ziplock bag?  Don't judge me -- even if I sent good food in their lunch boxes, my kids wouldn't eat it anyway.  Sometimes, if Anders brings his food home instead of throwing it away, I can get away with sending the same sandwich to school three or four days in a row.  There's not much you can do when the kid won't eat any sandwich other than peanut butter and marmalade, and he goes to a completely nut-free school.

I hope you're all enjoying your Memorial Day weekend and getting everything ready for the coming week.

We Survived Lars's Sleepover Party!

Anders, Peter, Lars and Drew Feasting on Gluten-Free Cupcakes

Lars's birthday is always a drawn-out affair.  His actual birthday is the day after Christmas, which is never a good day to throw a party, so I always aim for the first weekend after school resumes to ensure a good turnout.  Lars opted for a sleepover party this year, which was a first for us.  So we had a total of six little boys "sleeping" (hah!) at my house last night for Lars's 11th birthday party.  Lars invited three of his classmates, and Anders invited one of his best buddies as well.  Other parents had braced me with battle stories of sleepover parties gone by, but all things considered, I think our night went pretty well.

Sam, Anurag and Anders

Wonder Woman favors for 5th grade boys?  I don't think so...

Yesterday morning when I said I had to go to the party store to take care of goody bags, Bernie surprised me by announcing that he had already taken care of that.  Umm, Love -- you do know those are Wonder Woman treat boxes, don't you?  Bernie said, "What?  No they aren't!  Those are just stars!"  I pointed out the Wonder Woman crown and he was all, "They won't even notice."  Hmmm...  I decided to invoke my Queen of the Universe Veto Powers on this one.   I got Pokémon balloons and party favors instead, and added glow sticks and rock star temporary tattoos along with the leftover Halloween candy that went into each box.

Mom to the Rescue!

Someday, my son owes me a huge thank you for this, don't you think?  If we're ever in a life-or-death situation where Lars can only save one parent, I'm totally going to bring up the Wonder Woman party favors.  ;-)

The boys played a lot of Playstation and Nintendo DS games, stopping only for pizza and cupcakes.  On the advice of moms who'd been in the sleepover trenches before me, I confiscated electronic devices at 11 PM and enforced a lights-out policy at midnight.  I had the four fifth grade boys sleeping downstairs in the living room, away from the toys in Lars's bedroom, and away from the two third graders, who slept in Anders' bedroom. 

"The Tell-Tale Heart," illustration by Harry Clarke

I offered to read a bedtime story to the 5th grade boys and was delighted when they took me up on it.  I read them The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, the one where the narrator is recounting how he killed an old man, dismembered him, and concealed the body under the floor boards of his room just because he didn't like the way his eyeball looked.  It turned out to be a good pick -- none of the boys had heard or read the story before, it was suitably scary in the semi-darkness, and a couple of their vocabulary words from school were in the story.  I told them they would definitely run into that story in school again someday, and they'll think, "Hey, that's the one Lars's mom read to us!"

At about 12:30 I told them they could continue whispering as long as I couldn't hear them from upstairs, and when the boisterous boy energy still had not subsided by one o'clock in the morning, I called downstairs, "Boys, you need to start discussing which one of you should be the first to leave."  I was thinking they could vote on which child got relocated to another room like on the Survivor television series, but I think they misunderstood and thought I was threatening to actually send someone HOME because they quieted down immediately and I didn't hear another peep for the rest of the night.  Bernie heard something around 2:30 in the morning, though, and when he snuck downstairs he caught Lars with my iPhone, entertaining his friends with YouTube videos.  I was not pleased about this, and I'll be changing my iPhone password today.

This morning we had pancakes, waffles, and scones, and even coaxed a few parents inside to sit down and have coffee with us when they came to collect their children, which was nice.  It's a good group of boys, and we enjoyed getting to know them all a little better.

Now that Lars's birthday is behind me, the holiday season finally feels over.  I usually like to leave my Christmas decorations up until Epiphany, but since we decorated a week early this year I'm tired of looking at Christmas trees already.  The rest of this weekend will be spent undecorating the house, doing laundry, and cleaning up the clutter that accumulated over the holidays and getting reorganized and back to normal.  But first, I need a NAP!

Happy 11th Birthday, Lars-of-Ours!

Lars-of-Ours, Lord of the Legos, Birthday #11

'Twas the night after Christmas 2000, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring because we were at the hospital -- impatiently awaiting Lars's Grand Entrance to the World!  Happy Birthday, Lars!  Lars is spending his 11th birthday putting together the Lego sets he got for Christmas.  He'll open birthday gifts later this afternoon, when Grammy and Grampa come over.  The birthday boy has requested pizza for dinner, and I haven't even thought about the cake yet (not feeling enthusiastic about baking one, either, after last year's fiasco with Lars's birthday cake!).  I may resort to cupcakes to play it safe...

Lars at 9 months old

How time flies!  It doesn't seem like all that long ago that Lars was content to bounce up and down in this doorway contraption, sucking on a frozen baby washcloth. 

Lars's First Birthday Party, 2001

Here he is at his first birthday in 2001, eating a chocolate peppermint cake that I made (successfully, this time!) from a Bon Appetit recipe.  He has since decided that he does not like chocolate, but he wasn't such a fussy eater back when he was small, bald, and pudgy. 

Happy Birthday, Little One Lars!  We love you!

Happy Half-Baked Birthday, Lars-of-Ours!

Lars, Anders, & Yet Another Transformer

There he is, my 10-year-old son.  Lars celebrated his birthday at home with family on December 26th.  The laser tag party with friends from school won't be until next week.

The gift unwrapping went without a hitch.  Lars received a couple of duplicate toys, and surprised us all by generously offering them to Anders instead of exchanging them for other toys for himself.  This was also the first birthday in our household that the non-celebrant boy didn't have to be physically restrained in "Grampa Jail" to prevent him from "helping" his brother unwrap gifts.  Ah, they grow up so fast!

For his birthday cake, Lars requested that I just "surprise" him.  I know he's not a chocolate fan, so after pouring through Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible I opted for the Cordon Rose Banana Cake with a Lemon Buttercream Mousseline frosting.  Sounds delicious, doesn't it?  I've made this cake several times before, both times frosting it with a chocolate ganache frosting, and it was heavenly on previous occasions.  I always get nervous about making frosting from scratch, but even when it doesn't look pretty it still tastes a whole lot better than the stuff I can buy in a can at the grocery store.

I did happen to read a variation for this recipe on Rose Levy Beranbaum's baking blog that suggested reducing the butter in the original recipe by two tablespoons and adding two tablespoons of canola or safflower oil, and I tried that this time.  Also, whereas in the past I've used King Arthur Flour's Queen Guinevere Cake Flour for cakes, this time Bernie went to the Earth Foods organic grocery and came home with King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour Blend instead.  It wasn't self-rising cake flour or anything goofy like that, and the package didn't suggest any recipe modifications.  What else?  Now that I'm thinking about it four days later, I don't remember actually adding the sour cream with the other ingredients, but I was sick and drugged up on Alka Seltzer cold tablets at the time, so who knows?  I used my Magi-Cake Strips as Beranbaum recommends, just as I always do, and I started checking for doneness after the minimum baking time.  I think I baked the cake for about 32 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake came out clean and when I touched the center of the cake, it seemed to "spring back." 

Lars's Birthday Cake, Fresh From the Oven

Doesn't that look delicious?  I set the cake on the wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before I loosened the sides with a thin spatula and then inverted the cake onto the cake plate to cool completely before frosting.

I was a nervous wreck about the frosting.  I lowered the thermostat in the house and opened the back door so my kitchen would cool down, since the recipe warns that too-warm butter will result in frosting that "breaks down irreparably."  I nervously worried about how to tell whether the egg whites were at the soft peak or stiff peak stage, and although I followed the directions as best as I could, I ended up with a frosting that was grainy and goopy looking.  Only when I added gobs and gobs of lemon curd did the frosting thicken up to the point that I could put it on the cake.  I glopped it on, sprinkled some chopped macadamia nuts across the top, added candles, and told myself it was okay if the cake was ugly because it was going to taste fantastic!  Ah, the power of positive thinking!

Lars Wishing With Ugly Cake

...But positive thinking has its limits.  My cake was all RAW BATTER inside!  It was ruinous, revolting, and almost completely inedible (to adults, anyway; the kids ate some of it).

Eew!

Bless his heart, Lars told me it was okay because he doesn't like cake anyway, he just likes the frosting.  Still, it was pretty disappointing to have spent half the day working on the cake and end up with a gross, goopy mess.  Don't you just love how my buttercream frosting looks like small curd cottage cheese?

I think I'll order a bakery cake for his party next week!

UPDATE JAN. 4, 2010: I just read a FABULOUS buttercream frosting tutorial on Baking Banter, the King Arthur Flour blog.  There are wonderful photos showing every step along the way (so THAT'S what the soft boil syrup stage was supposed to look like!) as well as tips and trips to "fix" buttercream frosting disasters in case things go awry.  I'm bookmarking this for the next time I get up the courage to tackle a cake baked from scratch!