What About The Groom???

So, I am to be the Mother of The Groom in August.  The what?  Yeah, I know.  Nobody gives a flying leap about the Mother of The Groom.  We are the "shut up and wear beige" as my sister advised me.  As in blend in to the scenery.  Well, not this momma!  Thank God for my son and my daughter-in-law to be!!!  They have included me to the best of their ability, tradition has dealt the MOG a lousy hand, and have given me a green light on everything I have asked. 

Now, I want to make things special for my son.  But there again we find a dearth of things to purchase.  I am putting a basket together for the honeymoon suite.  I wanted flip flops for the bride and groom.  Bride, no problem.  Groom, not so much. 

What is an MOG to do???  Well, of course, get crafting!  I decided to make them look like a tuxedo.  So, I used bias tape for the shirt collars and hot glued them on.  Then I used black satin ribbon to create bow ties.  So, here they are!  He may hate them and never wear them, or they may be a kitschy thing he wears only on his honeymoon.  Either way, momma made him something that rate right up there with the bride! 

Fireworks Cupcakes

Fireworks Cupcakes

Here is my interpretation of "Fireworks Cupcakes".  They are Egg Free since my grandson is allergic to eggs, but that doesn't mean they aren't delicious!  This is a dense chocolate cake, it doesn't rise much because there aren't any eggs in it.  I haven't perfected a good substitution that lets the cake rise while still tasting good without eggs.  It has a fantastic butter cream icing on top.  and I snipped some Strawberry and Blueberry Twizzlers a bit to make them fringe out so that they look kind of like fireworks.  I was able to find blue cupcake papers with stars on them and they had flags on toothpicks in the same package.  These are from Dollar Tree.  

Here is the recipe:

Egg-free Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes
Allergy note: contains wheat and dairy ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups whole milk
1 cup butter, melted
4 tsp. honey
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F degrees. Line two muffin pans with baking cups. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, combine milk, butter, honey and vanilla extract. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the milk/butter mixture. Mix until combined.  Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Pour in the batter into the lined muffin pan to 2/3 full. Bake for 15 to 20 or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely before decorating.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
makes about 2 1/2 cups frosting
Allergy note: contains dairy ingredients

5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/3-1/2 cup heavy cream*
1 tsp. vanilla extract

 *start out with 1/3 cup of cream and add more cream to your desired consistency

In a large mixing bowl, sift powdered sugar.  Add the butter, cream and vanilla extract. Using an electric mixer, slowly mix together at a low speed. Once all the ingredients are combined, increase the speed and beat until fluffy.

Helping Little Hands

My grandson is 2 1/2 and getting the hang of potty training.  That includes hand washing skills.  Unfortunately, reaching the faucet can be problematic. 

I saw a few ideas on Pinterest as to how to extend the faucet using cut up lotion bottles and other items.  I saw one that used a scoop.  Then I remembered I had a small wood scoop from some bath salts.  Bingo!  That and a rubber band solved the problem. 

My grandson is so excited about this!!!