Tasty Tuesday: Rainbow Cupcakes

Have you noticed the lack of posts the past two weeks?

No, we didn't go on an exotic vacation.

Nope, we weren't abducted by aliens.

The school year is officially over! I know it's cliche, but I can't believe how fast it flew by. Our first year homeschooling has truly been a blessing. The kids have learned a lot. So have I. We've worked out some kinks, rearranged our schedule, and have totally embraced the homeschooling lifestyle. Now that it's summer, things will be a little different. While we're not taking a break from learning, we will be slowing down a bit. Our schedule will consist of more free-play and outdoor learning and less "text book" learning. All that to say, the posts will be a little sparse this summer. I plan soak up the sun with my babies . . . while pulling weeds, pushing swings, watering gardens, building sand castles, and washing sandy kids.

So, not only do we officially have a first grader, we have a half-er too. If you remember the post from last year, you'll know the importance of that extra six months. Jake now wears that honored badge of a half-er. No more plain ol' 5 years old. He is officially 5-and-a-half.

I had someone ask me on Facebook, "Why celebrate a half-birthday?" My answer, "Why not!" Do you really need a reason to make your child feel extra special? Or to eat cake??

We started our day with pancakes covered in powdered sugar, whipped cream, and mini M&Ms. And more powdered sugar. And whipped cream. And more powdered sugar. Not sure what was nutritional about their breakfast, but they sure did enjoy it! And that's really what matters, right? Right???

To keep up with the theme of not letting anything remotely nutritional touch our lips on his half-birthday day, we made cupcakes.

This is what can happen when you let the children do ALL the work. Sometimes they do great. Sometimes they spill the cake mix on the floor.

Yea! Everything in the bowl! (Just ignore the cake mix spilled on the table.)

Not trusting the kids to spoon the batter . . .  evenly into bowls . . .  without spilling it all over the table . . . or into their mouths, I divided the batter into 6 bowls.

Here are the colors and amounts of food coloring starting at the back left: Purple - 9 red drops and 6 blue drops; Red - 18 drops; Blue - 12 drops; Orange - 12 yellow drops and 4 red drops; Yellow - 12 drops; Green - 12 drops. 

This was by far the best part of the entire activity. (Well, maybe second to spilling half the cake mix.)

They loved mixing the batter and watching the colors swirl and blend to make a new colors. This was perfect for Alyssa who is learning how to make secondary colors.

We poured our new bright, pretty batter into plastic bags to make it easier for the kids to layers the colors in the cupcake liners.

What was that I said about easier? Yeah, not so much. As soon as I snipped the corner off the red bag . . . sploosh! It started pouring all over the table. (Uh, I just didn't want my kids to feel bad about making the mess on the floor. Yeah, that's it.) They didn't seem to mind the red cake batter trail from the table to the cupcake tin. They both instantly started using their hands to scoop it into their mouths. 

You can see some that didn't quite make it into Jake's mouth. 

You can also see his little smirk because of it.

The batter was incredibly runny. You think it's because we lost so much mix on the floor??? Nah! 

These were perhaps the messiest cupcakes we've ever made. And definitely the most colorful.

Our rainbow cupcakes! Aren't they pretty?? 

Tasty too!

Not all the colors were visible in all the cupcakes. I guess that's what happens when you have a 3 year old, a 5-and-a-half year old, and a mom trying to pour water-like batter into little liners. 

Next time, we plan to try one big cake.

Zachy loved the "cake-cake" too. Although, what doesn't this kid love??? 

It is our tradition to give the half-birthday-er one single gift. Jake was ecstatic to receive Legos Mega Blocks. Trust me, they are not interchangeable. Leighton tried to tell me. He attempted to convince me. But did I listen? Nooooo. I assumed all interlocking blocks were relatively the same. I came to this conclusion though:

Mega Blocks were produced by Lego as a marketing scheme:
1. Buy the cheaper brand.
2. Attempt to assemble the set.
3. Get frustrated because the pieces refuse to snap together.
4. Get the pieces to go together finally, only to have the entire set crumble in your hands.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 at least 7 times.
6. Vow to never buy Mega Blocks again.
7. Go to the store and buy a Lego set.

And it worked! Never again will I waste my money on Mega Blocks. Some lessons are hard to learn.

There you are again, Lovely Little Cake-Cake. You make me happy.

Go make a batch of colorful cupcakes and make someone else happy. Or yourself. Or another half-er. Just make some cupcakes.  (But don't spill the mix on the floor!)