"Granny Sarah"

Here she is..., our apple doll, "Granny Sarah"! Isn't she LOVELY!!! I just adore her! To me she looks like she just returned from a vacation in Miami maybe! She is sporting her golden tan and her flashy handbag! Sarah absolutely LOVED this little family project! But..., come to think of it... I think her Daddy may have LOVED it even more! He really got into making this a GLAM GRANDMA! He is most proud of her cool hair-do! Don't you just LOVE her? Would you have ever guessed her head is an apple?

Her nose did get a bit crisp. And, we have her sitting on her stool which is a spool of thread. It was the best thing we could think of at the time for her to sit on. She may need a bigger spool.

Below I will post some more pictures! We had such a fun night getting "Granny Sarah" (you know) just so! :)

And, finally, I must share this adorable little cake with you that my WONDERFUL husband stayed up until after 11pm helping me make tonight! Isn't that amazing? We really had such a fun time in the kitchen laughing and learning how to make a Merry-Go-Round/Carousel Cake together.

So..., ok... I know we're not professional cake makers, but we were pretty proud of our little creation here! I found this recipe in a cookbook my in-laws gave me for Christmas back in 2002. I thought it was too cute and coaxed Mike into helping me. Tomorrow morning is my monthly M.O.P.S. (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting and this year we have a theme called "Adventures in Mothering"- a Carnival/Adventure Land theme. So, I thought this cake would be a cute addition to our brunch tomorrow. Some of our topics covered over the different months include; "Riding the Chairlift"- Observing the well-being of our families, "Tilt-a-Whirl" - Tips for the Holiday, "Mrs. Mother of Preschool 2009 - Beauty Begins Within, "Carnival Circus" - Handling the chaos in your life, "Letterland" - Fostering Literacy in Your Children, and "Packing Your Picnic Basket" - Grocery Shopping, Cooking, Summertime Activities, Vacationing. So, as you can see we cover many of our "mothering adventures" as mothers. I have thoroughly enjoyed my M.O.P.S. group and encourage you if you are a mother or a preschooler to check out the meetings in your area! I look forward to our meeting every month! Here is the website if you are interested in learning more about M.O.P.S.

Here is the recipe for the Carousel Cake in case you would like to make one. I think this would make an adorable Birthday Cake for a little one!

Merry-Go-Round/Carousel Cake

1 package (6-serving size) JELL-O Instant Pudding and Pie Filling, Vanilla Flavor

1 package (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup Semi-Sweet Real Chocolate Chips, melted

2/3 cup cold milk

Sprinkles (optional)

Paper Carousel roof

3 plastic straws

6 animal crackers

RESERVE 1/2 cup pudding mix. Combine cake mix, remaining pudding mix, eggs, water and oil in large bowl. Beat at low speed of electric mixer just to moisten, scraping sides of bowl often. Beat at medium speed 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 of the batter into greased and floured 10-inch fluted tube pan. Mix chocolate into remaining batter. Spoon over batter in pan; cut through with spatula in zigzag pattern to marbleize. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; finish cooling on rack.

BEAT reserved pudding mix and milk in small bowl until smooth. Spoon over top of cake to glaze. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired.

CUT 10 to 12 - inch circle from colored paper; scallop edges, if desired. Cut straws in half; arrange on cake with animal crackers. Top with roof. Makes 12 servings

Blessings,

Until next time...