HOT MESS & CUPCAKES..

Some people do it.. some people don't. It makes me feel dirty & unsanitary.. It makes J feel ultra "squeaky" clean. Whatever your preference, bathing/showering & brushing your teeth at the same time is a personal, ADULT decision.. Not something done by a 15 month old child..

I bathe Cash every night. That's my thing. I know I should probably let J have some time with him after I'm with Cash 24/7 while he's at work, but I'm VERY particular with his nightly schedule, so I'd rather do it on my own while he sits and plays with Cash during the process. This night was different.. I "allowed" J to take all responsibility for bath time while I did some tidying up around the house. Leave it up to him to find the "quick" approach to things.. He allowed Cash to bathe/brush his teeth at the same time. WHAT THE HECK?!?! Was my baby scarred for life? Would he, from here on out, be a Shower Tooth Brusher?!?! Let's hope not.. I'd. DIE. (Please pardon the fact that this is the most dramatic factor in my life at the moment.) I just don't want my toothbrush anywhere near where I bathe.. Just the thought makes me cringe. Cash, however, seems very pleased with the idea. As soon as J hollered "Get the camera", and I walked in to this madness, Cash gave me a little wave like "Hi Mama! This is fun.." I'll have to explain to him how "icky" it is later, although I have no known sanitary facts to back up my argument. If you're wondering what it is Cash is always chillin' in while bathing, it's a suction seat that was passed down by one of my cousins. It really is the GREATEST thing I've ever come across! It stays down flawlessly, and he can sit in the water on his own without me worrying about him falling back. He's beginning to grow out of it (booooo!) but I'm DEFINITELY keeping it for the next kid/kid(s) because it's truly been a blessing! Cash's face lights up when he sees me pull it out for bath time. I have no clue where she got this one, but I found a similar one here:

http://www.shop.com/Aquababy+Bath+Ring+Baby+Seat+For+Bathtub+White+Blue+-232532744-o+.xhtml

If you're an expecting mama, or one who's baby is slowly growing out of his/her infant tub, I would totally recommend purchasing one of these. Two thumbs up!

 

I decided to include a new segment in my blog.. It's name.. *drumroll please*

HOT MESS OF THE WEEK!!!

I can't go on living life without addressing some of the madness that I witness every week. Let me assure you, this week's candidates deserve their spots as the first line up of the "Hot Mess of the Week" Segment.

The winner is:

JANELLE from Teen Mom 2

This little pint-sized hot mess & a 1/2 is one of the most ridiculous excuses of a mother that I've ever laid eyes on. It's one thing to become a mother at 16; things happen. Plenty of people do it, and with a little "grandparental" guidance the kids turn out perfectly fine. However, BEATING ON YOUR MOM and CUSSING HER OUT IN FRONT OF YOUR CHILD is never acceptable. Ever. Ever. I still, to this day, s-p-e-l-l curse words out in front of MY mom! In this week's episode, she gave up temporary rights to her child because she felt like the responsibility was becoming, and I quote, "too much of a burden." I believe some people were born to be mothers, (I can honestly say that I think that was my reason for being put on this earth!) but THIS disaster-in-the-making doesn't even deserve to be a dog owner, much less a mother to such a sweet baby. Shame! YOU are the hot mess of the week! Pow!

 

..and landing in at a close second..

MICHELLE from the Bachelor:

I'll save good ol' Brad for another week.. I don't know what shocks me more.. The fact that these girls are so desperate for stardom, or the fact that they are using their desperation in the quest for this bigheaded jerk. It pains me to watch this show half of the time, but like a car accident, it's not always easy to look away. Case in point: Michelle. Why are all the crazy ones on this show named Michelle? I used to love that name.. I had an African American Cabbage Patch doll that I named "Nichelle" when I was five. Close enough.. I can't lie & say that she's not the sole reason that I've tuned in to the show past the first episode. She's one of the prettiest "contestants" on the show, but a complete WACK JOB. I look away for fifteen minutes of the show, and when I turn back.. the chick has a black eye!!! Anyone with a brain would not take this show seriously.. Period.

 

I had to show you all this because I immediately fell love when I read this article. A longtime friend of the family and Newly Recruited Nail Reference Associate for my blog, (she doesn't know this yet, but it's in the works) Brittany sent me this link and I nearly passed out! Let me start by saying that I'm not a big nail polish collector (I almost NEVER do my nails myself. I've got a severe case of left handitis, and painting with my right hand would be IMPOSSIBLE.) However, I don't know how any Texas girl could pass this line up.. You guessed correctly. O-P-I has created a TEXAS LINE of nail polish..I'm in heaven!

Some of the shades in this Spring/Summer 2011 are as follows:

San Tan-tonio:

A “honey” of a ten-gallon tan!

It's Totally Fort Worth It:

A shimmery lavender grey that’s so worthy of you.

Austin-tatious Turquoise:

Cowgirls love this bodacious blue-green.

Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?:

This Texas tangerine will be waitin’ for ya!

Houston We Have a Purple:

A galactic red-violet that’s ready to “rocket roll!"

Guy Meets Gal-veston:

An “engaging” coastal coral.

...and my favorite because I think it totally represents me..

Big Hair...Big Nails:

A rosy pageant peach.

I can't wait to snag this ENTIRE line! Thanks Britt!

 

Since Valentine's day is approaching, I feel that it's only right to start posting some LOVEY things on my blog! I made 24 cupcakes today for my sister's birthday tomorrow (I'm getting better & better each batch!) and decided that I'm going to bake some "Valentine" cupcakes as soon as February rolls around.. This is one of the cuuutest & most creative cupcakes I've ever come across, stashed away in one of my old magazines. Let me warn you, the original recipe uses a Vanilla bean cupcake batter with Strawberry Laffy Taffy buttercream icing. Sorry to those of you who found that last sentence to be completely delectible, because that recipe will NOT be featured here. I made my OWN version with store-bought yellow cake batter, and vanilla icing in the can. SUE ME!

HEART INSIDE A CUPCAKE

 

CUPCAKES NEED:

- 1 box Yellow Cake mix

- 3 eggs

- 1 stick butter

- Red food coloring

- Small heart shaped cookie cutter

ICING NEED:

- Can of vanilla icing

- Red food coloring

* Still hate me for making this recipe, easy? Good..didn't think so. Proceed..

CUPCAKE STEPS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

2. Prepare cake batter as directed on box.

3. Pour a little more than 1/3 of the batter (about a cup and a half) into a smaller bowl. Add red food coloring until you get your desired pink or red color. Pour the pink batter into a non-stick (or lightly greased) 8x8 baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes until the edges of the cake start to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely.

4. Once the sheet cake is cool, loosen the edges away from the pan with a knife and then invert the pan onto a cutting board. Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a dozen cake hearts that are small enough to fit into an average-sized cupcake pan.

5. Spoon two heaping tablespoons of the remaining batter into paper-lined cupcake tins, so they’re about half-full. Put one heart into each tin and press it point down into the batter. Keep all the hearts facing forward in the pan. Cover with another teaspoon of batter and bake for 24 minutes.

6. Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting! I mixed a little food coloring into the icing so that it turned out pink instead of white!

* HERE'S THE CATCH WITH THIS RECIPE: READ CLOSELY! You’ll have to keep the cupcakes facing forward so you get the right cross-section of the heart when you cut or bite into the cupcake (to get the full heart effect). So keep all the cupcakes facing forward as you move them from the cupcake tin to a cookie sheet for cooling/frosting. After frosting, put heart candy on them, or any other decoration that can also face forward so you know which way to cut the cupcake in order to see the heart shape inside (if you cut the heart in the wrong direction you just get a rectangle shape..RECTANGLE? So romantic!) Hope you can get them to work!