Unicorns are FOUR-real: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

Thatbaby has been very into unicorns this past year.  I'm not sure where it came from, other than the fact that unicorns are everywhere.  Including some of his favorite television programs like Peg and Corn, or Go Away Unicorn.  In any event, it's been unicorns, unicorns, everywhere unicorns around this house.  He even asked for a unicorn donut for his birthday breakfast.

So it should come as no surprise that he really wanted a unicorn birthday party.  And we aim to please round these parts.  It doesn't help that unicorns are everywhere right now, making this one of the easiest parties to plan.  Much easier than "Dinosaur Ice Cream" at least.

He knew for sure he wanted a unicorn bounce house at his party.  So unicorn bounce house it was.

Thatboy and I also stumbled across this Giant Unicorn sprinkler which we thought would be hours of fun for our kids all summer and set it up in the backyard - asking our guests to bring bathing suits.

They did.  It was really hot that day, so it was nice for the kids to have a break from that hot house that was the jumper and cool down a bit.  

Goodie bag treats were also really easy thanks to unicorns everywhere.

Each kid got a stuffed unicorn, a unicorn bath bomb, unicorn putty, unicorn stickers, unicorn fruit snacks, unicorn erasers, and a unicorn rubber ducky.

Unicorn decorations were everywhere, so it was easy to grab table coverings and centerpiece decorations.  I even found a balloon arch that matched the colors on the invitation, which became the colors of the party.  Thatboy and I are getting to be pros at blowing up balloons to create balloon arches!  They're my new favorite way to bring some fun into a party.  And the kids love tear them apart at the end.

I even picked up some bright pink unicorn planters on clearance and painted them to match the party colors, placing them on the table with skittles and lollipops.

The unicorn dessert table was Thatbaby's pick - watermelon, unicorn popcorn, unicorn rice krispie treats, even unicorn poptarts.  There was also unicorn ice cream which we kept inside until it was time to serve it.

Unicorn horns were made with pretzel sticks, wrapped in caramel, then dipped in melted chocolate.

I made little unicorn marshmallow pops which the kids thought were awesome.  Because who doesn't love marshmallows?

And I had unicorn macarons made by Candy's Sweet Treats.  These were not only beautiful, but absolutely delicious.

The kids weren't in love with unicorn kisses flavored water I purchased, choosing the "green fruit punch" requested by Thatbaby.  The grownups however?  They loved them.

The piece de resistance however were the unicorn cupcakes, a special request by Thatbaby.  He wanted unicorn cupcakes instead of a unicorn cake, and when I showed him pictures of cupcakes with colorful frosting swirls he told me he wanted chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.  So these weren't the most colorful part of our party, but they may have been the most delicious.  Chocolate and gold look so festive together anyway.  I whipped out my Dorie Greenspan "Baking from My Home to Yours" book and found the perfect recipe.  Chocolate chocolate cupcakes.  

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes (By Dorie Greenspan)

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick+ 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

5 oz bittersweet chocolate, divided

1 Tbsp confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.  Melt 2 oz of the bitter sweet chocolate and let cool.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Beat 1 stick of butter in an electric mixer at medium speed until soft and creamy.
4. Add sugar and beat for 2 minutes.
5. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute.
6. Add the egg yolk and beat for 1 minute.
7. Beat in the vanilla.
8. Reduce the mixer to low speed and add half of the dry ingredients. mixing only until they disappear.
9. Add the buttermilk and mix until incorporated.
10. Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients.
11. Stir in the melted chocolate with a rubber spatula and divide batter among the cupcake liners.  Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a spaghetti noodle inserted into the center comes out clean.
12. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing them to cool completely.
13. Once the cupcakes are cool, melt the remaining bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler.  Transfer the top of the double boiler to a counter and let the melted chocolate stand for 5 minutes.
14. Whisk in the confectioners sugar.
15. Whisk in the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter.  Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the ganache and give a little twirl as you lift out.  Let the glaze set.

One on One: Boysenberry Milkshake

I have a special trip planned for Thatkid and myself coming up next month.  It involves an airplane ride across the country, a hotel stay, and doing a bunch of fun things he really is looking forward to.  And I felt a little bad about it.  I'm overly sensitive to sibling dynamics, and while there are a ton of benefits to being an older child, they shouldn't get all the fun.

So I planned a special weekend for Thatbaby and I too. It didn't include an airplane ride across the country, because I'm not crazy, but t did involve a very special hotel stay and a bunch of fun things.  We did a little drive to Knotts Berry Farm!

We left pretty early in the morning and managed to miss all the traffic, so I was surprised when we checked in that our room was ready.  I finished up at the front desk, while Thatbaby impatiently whined and pulled, begging me to finish up because right across the lobby, someone was waiting to say hello.

He was SO excited to see Snoopy.  Which was a big part of this trip.  In fact, I booked us the super special Camp Snoopy room!

It came with that stuffed Snoopy, which of course HAD to go to the park with us.  They were inseparable.

We walked over to Knotts Berry Farm and made a beeline to Camp Snoopy - the children's area of the park. A familiar friend greeted us.  And despite having seen him only moments before, he had to go say hi again.

And then it was time for the rides!  The great thing about Camp Snoopy is that all the rides are really geared for the smaller audience who usually gets overlooked.  Nothing was too scary for Thatbaby.

And he adorably buckled in Snoopy beside him on all the rides.

We stopped for a little lunch, where he convinced me he needed a giant cup of strawberries.  And over the course of the day he ate all but two of them!

After lunch we had time for a few more rides.  Including a horse drawn buggy and a train ride around the park.

They did a mock hold-up of the train, which Thatbaby did NOT appreciate.

Because Knotts Scary Farm had begun, I ushered him out of there a little early, so we didn't run into anything scary on our way out.  And I ushered him right over to Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner restaurant.

The little guy was pretty happy with his jello appetizer, biscuits and jelly.

Although as he licked all the butter and jelly off his biscuit then asked for more butter, I had my own little appetizer.

It was a busy night, and dinner took hours.  We were both pretty tired from our long day - especially since Thatbaby didn't get his typical afternoon nap.  We headed back to the hotel and I ran him a nice, warm, bubble bath.   He had interrupted my nice, warm, bubble bath a couple weeks back and expressed interest in the face mask I was wearing at the time, so I picked up a hydrating jelly mask for him.  He was so happy about it.

After bath I whipped out some new Snoopy pajamas for him, which was greeted with equal enthusiasm.  And then we curled up on the bed together and watched a little television while waiting for a special friend to drop in.

Having Snoopy tuck him in was an awe-inspiring moment for him.  He made me show him the video a couple more times before tucking in to bed.  

The next morning, we hit up the hotel pool.  They have their own little splash pad which made this trip over the top for Thatkid.

After the pool we got cleaned up and headed to meet up with a friend before going home.  It was a pretty epic weekend.  And Thatbaby had a wonderful time.  His one request for the weekend was that he wanted a milkshake - because Thatkid had preemptively bragged about the one he was getting on his trip.  And so I found one for Thatbaby.

Knotts Berry Farm is known for their boysenberries.  In the late 1920s, Walter Knott, who was a berry expert, was the first to commercially cultivate the berry.  He began selling them from his farm stand, which eventually grew into Knott's Berry Farm.    His wife, Mrs. Knotts, began making preserves out of the berries, which made Knott's famous.  

Now boysenberries are all over Knott's Berry Farm.  The barbecue sauce is made with boysenberries. The salad dressing is made with boysenberries. The churros are stuffed with boysenberry syrup.  That beer I was drinking?  Boysenberry beer.   So naturally, Thatbaby found himself with a boysenberry milkshake.

And the great thing about Knott's Berry Farm, is that you can take some of that boysenberry home with you.  Which I did.  In syrup form so I could make milkshakes for the rest of the family!

Boysenberry Milkshake

1/4 cup boysenberry syrup

1 cup vanilla ice cream, softened

2 Tbsp whole milk

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender. 
2. Pour into a glass and serve!

Mommy Mondays: Hey There, Hi There, Ho There, It's a Mickey Mouse Party!

The kids birthday parties are always my favorite thing to put together.  Which is why it's odd I haven't written about Thatbaby's second birthday party.

Confession - I thought I did.  Then I realized I hadn't.  June, man.  I told you it was busy.

So rewind 1 month.  Exactly.

Or a little farther back.  Back when we went to Disneyland in January and Thatbaby developed an obsession with Mickey Mouse.  So much so that he dragged a giant stuffed Mickey around the house everywhere he went.  So it made perfect sense to throw a Mickey themed birthday party.

We combined Thatbaby's love of Mickey with his love of something else - waffles.  We decided to capitalize on that and have a breakfast party, so we could serve his favorite food.

The main idea was a waffle bar.  With waffles on sticks to make them easier to eat, and dip.  Along with berries, bananas, chocolate chips, and two kinds of syrup.  And breakfast meats.  Because everyone loves bacon.

I mentioned dipping the waffles, because on the other side of the table I featured something that was too cute not to include in a Mickey Mouse birthday party.  A fondue fountain!  Between you and I, I felt this might be a little much, but with a "NO GET IT!" from both Thatboy and L&O it became a very popular addition to our table.  And along with the waffles, there was plenty of fruit to dip in it.

And of course there was cake.  I used a lot of Thatbaby's stuffed Mickeys to decorate.  This is the one that started it all.

And this little guy guarded the drinks.  Mickey Mouse apple juice and waters.

I made a separate table featuring Thatbaby's yearly sign with his favorites and how much he's grown.  Just for reference, the kid was 2.5 inches taller and almost 5 lbs heavier than his older brother at this age.

Each guest went home with their very own Mickey Mouse and bubbles.

And there were Mickey party hats for all.

Thatbaby was in his element entertaining his friends and family.

And he loved having his very own bouncy house.  In fact, he now builds bouncy houses out of legos.  And pretends beds and moms are bouncy houses by jumping on them.

He even got to hang out in his room with his besties and check out the scene.  Like any good host.  If they're a Gatsby.

At his first birthday, Thatbaby couldn't be bothered with cake.  This year, he was ready for it.  He loved the singing, blew out the candle, and happily sat and ate.  Tell me again why we don't do the cake smash at the second birthday instead of the first?

It wasn't my most elaborate party, but it was fun for me to watch him enjoy himself so much.  To be around his friends and have all his favorite things in one place.

So until next time, See Ya Real Soon!