Hello Kitty Pinata

My preschooler came home with a family assignment to make a pinata. Thats a huge task for such a small child. Bianca just adores Hello Kitty at this time in her life, so a Hello Kitty pinata is what I set out to create. I have never made a pinata before. The closest I have ever come was making a paper mache giraffe for my mom when I was in 2nd grade. Thats been well over 15 years ago. As I researched the plan in my head all I could think was it had to be perfect. My original plan was to create a full body Hello Kitty but as the due date drew nearer and Thanksgiving dinner was being hosted at our home, I realized that time was running out . . . just her head would do.
I started with and enormous balloon and put layers upon layers of newspaper with a mixture of water and flour. It was very time consuming due to the chill of the temperature. It didnt allow for quick drying time. I was thankful for a few days with warmth from the sun. I think I put on about 8 layers to make it nice a sturdy and durable for a travel to school and eventually back home again. Decorating it was even more fun, but also very time consuming. I would have loved to have spent more time with the girls, but their time with us is shared with their father. Though they were able to help with the final touches that made the friendly little cat come to life. I am very pleased to with our pinata, and to see the look on my babies face when she turned it in at school was enough to make my heart melt. She was a proud pinata bearer.
I am not sure of the exact dimensions, but as you can see the pinata is enormous compared to my 5 year old.

Size: about 21" w x 15" h

Date Completed: Dec. 6th, 2009

Haunted Mansion Cake

"Meems can you make something for us to take to school for Halloween?" Viri asked. "I will try my hardest." said Meems. My girlfriend, 3 step-daughters and I just moved into my grandmothers house the last week of October. The house was filled with boxes and the kitchen wasnt even put together yet. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but to turn down a child is so hard. I was determine to light up her face by helping her make the coolest cake that was going to school the next day.

I tore through the boxes and tried to find baking pans. We needed a cake for the oldest, cupcakes for the middle, and cookies for the youngest. We stirred and colored and baked and cut what seemed like for 10 hours. I sent the girls off to bed since it was already 11 pm and my girlfriend and I worked away to tackle our mission. After she had frosted the last candy corn cupcake, she said she couldnt stay up any longer. So there I was in the kitchen left to bake 2 1/2 dozen cookies (plus pipe pumpkins on top) and decorate our amazing Halloween treat. At about 2 am I was finally finished and could go to sleep rest assured that the 3 most important girls in my life would be overjoyed by the yummies they would present to their class the next morning.