No TV: one week PLUS

And I caps the "plus," because I'm trying to stretch this as long as I possibly can (which will probably be tomorrow).

So the kiddos have been without tvs or movies since last Wednesday, and it has been SO nice. They are still crazy and semi-whiny, but the quiet, the playing outside, the playing with each other has been a nice change from the , "I WANT THAT!" when commercials come on, pillows being tossed off the couch and the screaming over who sat on whose bean bag that normally linger in the air in the afternoon slump.

I knew as this Wednesday approached, I needed to put on my game face to keep them from gluing their sweet faces to the screen. Yesterday was cake because we were so busy, there was no time for tv, so today? I decided we'd make cake!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! To celebrate we made Taste the Rainbow cupcakes. And a process that normally would take 20 minutes, tops, I managed to stretch into the entire afternoon!

Step one:
Poor cake mix into a bowl.

Step two:
Have kid 1 begin to pour a can of Sprite into the bowl (seriously! No eggs, no oil!) and have kid 2 scream, "Hey! No fair!" Sit Kid 2 on the counter and allow him to pour the second half while he attempts to let his new "pet" chicken help. Fish Chicky Chick Chick out of the batter bowl before he hits and stir cake mix and sprite until smooth.

Step Three:
Divide the batter into 6 separate bowls.

Notice for us, that's 4 salad bowls and 2 of our graduated mixing bowls. Thank you, Crate and Barrel, for discontinuing our everyday pattern right after we got married. Although we originally received/purchased 8 place settings, we're down to 5 bowls. Call ahead if you're coming to dinner and would like a salad. First come, first served!

Also, please note the original directions say to divide EVENLY. I did not do that. That will come back to haunt us in the next step.

Use food coloring to tint the batter 6 different colors. Let the kids count the drops (slowly) and take turns stirring.

Step 4:
Layer the cupcakes.

First, you have to put the liners in the pan. And to do that you have to find your pan. I had a six-cupper in the pantry, but where oh where was my big one?? Checked the kitchen. Nothing. Out in the garage? Wine glasses from Prague and plastic platters from Strip's second birthday, but no cupcake pans. Attic? A giant tub of clothes I SHOULD have sold last week in the consignment sale and an even bigger tub of hangers for said clothes, but still nothing for cupcakes. Thank goodness the things you need are always in the last place you look. The laundry room.

Herd kids and dog back inside and move their scooters out of the way so you don't back over them.

Starting with purple, layer each liner with all 6 colors. Unless of course, you've failed to divide the batter evenly. Then just fill them in the best you can. And notice how those bottom three are a wee bit fuller? That's not going to be good.



Step 5:

CLEAN UP!

Let the kids lick the bowls they made. Then let them argue over what colors they made. Then let them argue because, "Hey, I made the blue and I already licked that bowl!" "Yeah? Well there's still some left, and I'm going to eat it!"

Tell the kids to put the bowls in the sink. Then take that back because we're already down to 5 bowls, we can't afford to loose too many more.





Step 5a
Thank goodness you made him take off the new green polo and also pat yourself on the back for opting to buy the triple jug of bleach from Costco.








Step 6

Bake!

Even though you only use the dry cake mix and a can of sprite, you still cook it just like it says on the box. Here's Nugget checking in on the progress.

Oooooh Mommy! Dey look Booootiful!







Step 7
Remove from oven and let cool.

Remember how the bottom ones were a little fuller? Pretty easy to spot now, huh? Oops!

Let them cool completely. I managed to do this by throwing the last ingredients into the pot of jambalaya and then tossing the kids in the car for a quick trip to the grocery store.

We were out of milk. And Chardonnay.




Step 8

Serve dinner. Even if Jambalaya isn't their favorite, the fun, festive shamrock bowls I snagged on clearance at Target this morning will be a hit.

And green milk! How fun is that?! Green plastic forks leftover from Strip's last birthday, too! Yay!








And in case you're wondering, green milk spills and splatters just as
well as regular milk.

I swear, I'm just going to start offing my kids all-purpose cleaner with their meals. That way when it hits the table or tile, at least they are helping with clean up.

After everyone's made a happy plate, it's time for the cupcakes!





















Pick the one you want and peel off the wrapper to reveal the rainbow! Top with a cloud (icing) and eat. Our clouds had sprinkles stirred into them because everything is better with sprinkles.

Yum!

Sweet, rich and delicious!

And after the kids are tucked away in bed and are snoring...

Add a few drops of blue food coloring to a glass of white wine, and...

Leprechaun vino!

And we managed to make it another day without TV!

Tomorrow, we're making play dough.