Prep work, Pirate cupcakes, and Jack's 3rd birthday party

So when I deceded to do a pirate theme for Jack's party, I was contemplating what to put on the cupcakes. I saw a picture of the pirate faces on the internet and thought, I could probably do that. It entailed making fondant which I have had NO experience in. I've heard of it before from people talking about it and seeing an occasional Ace of Cakes. I had never made it nor worked with it in ANY form. I did a little research online about HOW to make it and it's actually simple. You take marshmallows and sprinkle a little bit of water on them (1-2 tsp), then heat them in the microwave until they start to expand. Take them out and with a WELL GREASED spoon, stir in a lot of powdered sugar. Once the batter starts to become like dough, (keeping you hands well greased) you start kneeding the dough, adding powdered sugar until it's not sticky any more. Viola'!! It's that simple. The dough is better if you use it the next day or later. It stays fres for a very long time in the fridge and it even can sit out for a few days before the consistancy changes at all. That's a great feature for busy moms. I made the faces several days prior and kept them in the fridge for assembly on the day of his party. Score!



It's amazing to believe that the picture above turns into the picture below. (with a little added coloring)

















Unfortunately since I took this weekend off, I did have to work on my munchkin's actual birthday. I worked Thursday night into Friday morning. After I worked a 12 hour shift, I had to run to the store for a few last minute items. Once I picked them up, I headed home to make the cupcakes. I was a little worried that they would get stale if I made them ahead of time, but I don't think I had any other choice at this point. The flavors I made were chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and Creamsicle cupcakes. I took chocolate cupcakes and filled/frosted them with a homemade peanut butter frosting recipe I also found on the internet. For the Creamsicle cupckaes, when I was blending the french vanilla batter, I added some orange extract to it. After the cupcake were all baked, I finished up a few last minute items in prep for the party. By the time I was cleaning up my mess after it was all done, it was like 4pm. Ouch! That's a 24+ day for me. I was feeling ok, but I know the pain that comes with staying up that many hours. I ran to pick-up Jack and Jeffie, then this Momma went to bed. Even though I was so very tired by that point, my mind was still racing about all the things that I needed to remember to bring. I slept a few hour but then woke up thinking that I needed to make the frosting. I was planning on making the frosting in hte morning just before using it but I'm glad that I didn't. I don't think that I would have had time. So at midnight, I started making the frosting. I made the peanut butter one first. It went really smoothly but the flavoring and consistancy was off. I winged it a little and when the frosting was fluffier and lighter in taste, I set it aside. For the Creamsicle frosting, I did use store bought frosting as a base but didn't like the texture of it either. I added a few things like orange extract, butter, and cream to make it smoother and lighter in flavor. Then I added a bit of color to both batches and was finished. The frostings got wrapped and put into the fridge overnight. I then headed back to bed to try to get a liitle more sleep. That IS what I got, a LITTLE more sleep. I slept from about 1am until 5am when I woke up with my mind racing, again. After resting in bed for a little bit longer, I got up and started filling and frosting the cupcakes. Jack woke up early and came out to help me. He did a few but when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to do it ALL BY HIMSELF, he lost most interest. When I finished up with the frosting, I pulled out the pirates, placed them on the cupcakes, and was finished. YEAH!! I love Jack and wouldn't have changed anything about today, but it was a huge relief to have the cupcakes finsihed. We loaded up the car and headed to Roundtable. A quick set up of decorations and the party was in full swing.



I think Jack had a good time. He got to play with friends that we haven't seen in awhile d/t illnesses, ect. He got lots of cool gifts AND he finally got to eat one of the cupcakes that he had been asking about for days.



Happy Birthday, Jack!! Some pictures of the birthday fun....
















Once the hustle and bustle was over, we headed home. I had no idea how truly tired I was. I ended up falling asleep in the chair, then going to bed early. I guess that wasn't the smartest idea because it's 2am and I'm now awake, but what are ya goin' to do? It gives me quiet time to blog, right?

Here's to Jack's birthday. May there be many more to come, and may Momma keep coming up with cool ideas for them.... ;)