February

February is birthday time for me.  Doug took me to dinner and dessert at Perry's on Fremont.  Then we got to walk around a little without the kids.  We celebrated with everyone on Valentine's day.  It has become tradition that I make my own birthday cake.  (I know a lot of you may think that is silly--it really boils down to me being a dessert snob.)  Here is the best chocolate cake you will ever eat.  Recipe to follow.

The picture is blurry, but we found the girls sleeping and holding hands.  So cute to signify the love in our house this month.

I made pink heart shaped pancakes one night for dinner when Doug was working late.  The kids loved them.  Although, they don't stay pink when cooked.  They turn golden brown and yummy.  Next time I will make raspberry syrup or something instead.

Chocolate-Strawberry Celebration Cake:

1 pkg chocolate cake mix

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup oil

4 oz semi sweet chocolate, melted

Combine ingredients; bean on low for 30 seconds. 

Beat on medium 2 minutes.  Bake 350 for 28-32 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:

2 cups butter, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup milk

Beat 1st 3 ingredients until blended; add milk and beat until smooth.  Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake.

Ganache and garnishes:

1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled

4 oz. semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Arrange strawberries on top of cake.  Place chocolate in small bowl.  Heat cream just to boil; pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth.  Drizzle over top of cake, allowing ganache to drape down the sides.  I also piped out some decorative designs with melted chocolate and let them set up.  I stuck them all around the cake.  This wasn't as much work as it looks like.  SOOO WORTH IT!

What I've been up to lately?

1.  Getting Bigger!

This is me and my sister in law, Kelly, who is having her baby next week-LUCKY!

2. Nesting

Here are the girls helping me with my last big project before baby--Painting my bedroom.

Other projects I have been working on:  painting and redecorating my bathroom,  organizing practically every drawer and closet in the house to make room for more STUFF, finishing my gigantic pile of mending and hemming.

3.  Having Fun

We took the kids to a winterhawks hockey game. They loved riding the max train into downtown watching all the action on the ice.  It was mascot night, so there were about twenty mascots from the NW walking all around the Rose Garden.  They played a game of hockey during half-time and that was also fun for the kids to see.

4.  Relaxing

This was taken on our weekend trip to Cannon Beach to celebrate New Year's.  The weather was not great, but the company was awesome and we had a really relaxing time with the Hills before getting into the swing of tax season.  Thanks Callie and Brandon for a fabulous weekend!