Best friends

Not one day goes by when Izzy isn't driving me spare asking, "I want to see Thomas". Most of the time is whining, sometimes it is crying, uncontrollable crying. Like the crying of a love sick teenager, pining for the love of her life, who hasn't called or seen for a week.

Thomas is the boy next door, hmmmm, yes, the boy next door. Apparently he's the same, and gets out of bed in the morning wanting to see Izzy. Who knows how long this will go on for?

What I do realise is by the time they get to highschool, primary school even, the relationship may have changed. Different groups and friends. They will be going to the same kindy, but different primary schools. Thomas the catholic school and Izzy the state school. Will highschool have them not talking to each other as they pass with their respective friends. I hope not, probable though.

It's just cute watching their relationship at the moment. Watching them walk hand in hand down the driveway. I wonder what age he will no longer be prepared to risk girl germs and not want to hold her hand. Will she be dissappointed or will she be just as dubious of boy germs. 

I would have to say that at the moment he would have to be her best friend. Although she may have other ideas, every kid she knows, at some time or rather, is her 'best friend' right now. Even the ones she doesn't know, like the random little girl behind us in the checkout today, Izzy declared "She's my best friend". I didn't know her from a bar of soap, neither did Izzy. 

I'm glad she has friends, and we have neighbours with kids of the same round about age. I'm glad we get out and about to different things were we interact with other kids. Both the girls love going to the library for Rhyme Time every week, kindergym and playgroup, and then there is the mothers group get togethers.

I didn't do the mothers group thing years ago with Jake, I'm not even sure there was such a thing back then. If there was I wish I had of been involved, I always wonder if that would have helped him come out of his shell, but with aspergers sometimes their shell is their favourite most comfortable place. Who knows, it doesn't help to dwell on the what ifs.....



Julias Rose

Wordless Wednesday 

Butterfly and Peppa Pig Cakes

I've made this cake for both my girls, for their first birthdays. It is really simple, starting with a round cake, making four cuts, slapping on some icing and a few well placed lollies, and done! It gives the illusion that you've just slaved away for hours creating a masterpiece, when really, its the proverbial 'cake walk'. I used my chocolate cake  recipe, omitting the cocoa, adding 5 Tblsps of passionfruit pulp and adding an extra half a cup of flour.

 



Summers cake 2012

I used mini marshmallows on both cakes to outline the wings and a musk stick for the body. When I made the cake for Izzys first I used smarties, Summers was much plainer and smaller, as I concentrated my efforts this year on the peppa pig cake.

Izzys 1st birthday cake, 2010. I used the same candle for Summers this year.

The girls had a joint birthday party this year, being Summers 1st and Izzys 3rd. I made a peppa pig cake for Izzy, which I concentrated my efforts on, it was freaking me out just thinking about it, but it all came together in the end. I used this template for the head and fashioned my own template for the dress.  

Izzys 3rd birthday cake 2012

I made a slab cake using the buttercake recipe and cut the head, ears and dress from the one slab. I cut a few extra ears, just in case! My one hot tip is to have a mug of boiling water to dip the icing knife into, it makes spreading the icing much easier and smoother. Have a tea towel or towelling paper handy to wipe the water off in between. I also had a picture of Peppa on the lap top next to me to use as a reference.

I had a glut of whipped cream, Mum dropped off about 5 litres of the stuff left over from the show kitchen. I used this with enough icing sugar to make it thick and used pillar box red food colouring to make the pink, and red of the dress. The eyes and shoes were done with a tube of black writing icing.

The bases I used were glass chopping boards covered in foil. They make awesome cake boards. 

Buttercake

250g butter, softened

2 teaspoon vanilla 

1 1/2 cup caster sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cups self-raising flour, sifted

1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

3/4 cup milk

 Beat butter, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Add flour and milk alternately, Stir to combine.

Pour mix into a greased and lined slab tin, mine was about 25 x 32 cm.

Bake at 180°C/160°C fan-forced for 35 - 40 minutes

Princesse de Monaco

Seems only fitting that I feature this rose today being the birth date of Grace Kelly, the Princess of Monaco. She was an american actress born in 1929, best known for the three Alfred Hitchcock movies she starred in, Dial 'M' for Murder, To Catch a Thief and Rear Window. She shared billing with actors such as Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.  Grace left acting behind, when in 1956, she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Three children followed, Caroline, Albert and Stephanie.

She died in 1982 as a result of a car accident. This is the rose named after her.