Craft time

In the past, I've been accused of being a bit like Martha Stewart. I guess I can see that, but I don't take it as an insult at all. I like to play with the kids and that often includes working on projects. Sometimes we cook together, sometimes we paint or make an art project- I like to do those sorts of things with the kids. I have really fond memories of making things with my mom, and I hope one day the kids have their own great memories about our crafty times together.

Our most recent project was a rainbow cake:

Doesn't it look yummy?

Little Miss Caitlyn had so much fun helping to mix the colors, and naturally, she ate quite a bit of the batter in the process. Her only disappointment came from the fact that I did not get out the electric mixer. Her Grammie let her start helping in the kitchen when she was right around a year old, and I was informed that Grammie ALWAYS lets her use the mixer. It makes me really nervous, so I just skip it when Caitlyn is helping, and we mix by hand, much to her dismay.

Lorelei also had a lot of fun, even if all she got to do was watch Caitlyn and I make the cake. I put some puffs on her tray, and she was perfectly content to sit, eat, and watch. Catilyn made sure to tell Lorelei repeatedly that she is just too little to cook.

Want to know a little secret about the cake? It is a Weight Watchers cake. I don't use weight watchers, but I was intrigued when I saw the recipe on a website. All you do for the cake is mix a 12 ounce diet soda with a boxed cake mix and bake as directed. For the frosting, you mix a small box of instant sugar free pudding with a tub of light cool whip. To make it a rainbow cake, we just divided the batter, added gel food coloring, and layered the different colors.  I was really surprised when the cake actually tasted pretty good. Maybe being so colorful makes it taste better?

Oh, and one more little secret about the cake . . . you will poop lots of colors after eating it. Trust me. Caitlyn studied and pointed out each one in the potty, which means you could also use this cake as a potty training incentive and a lesson on colors. Now THAT is multitasking!