Ahoy Mateys!

It's wonderful to note that everything I need to know about making a birthday cake is on the web! And it isn't just any birthday cake at that. It is a pirateship-looking cake for my Captain P who is turning four on the 21st of February.

Thanks to google search, I found a simple and highly rated chocolate cake recipe as well as one for choco frosting.

It was one thing to make it and to make it look fun and interesting. It's another thing to wrap it up and transport it. Visions of my college friends who took up engineering came to mind while I was wrapping up the cake. They would have measured every angle and side and produced a well-proportioned and stable packaging for this. In my own layman's way, I got a used file folder, wax paper, a stapler and tape and voila! I managed to package the Pirateship cake and bring it to Captain P's Precoce all in one piece. Whew!

Ok, so it looks more like a barge or something than a ship but it won Captain P's approval and the favor of his classmates and teachers. :)

Not bad for a first (well, ok second cake because I did a dry-run two weeks ago... hehehe). Thanks to the expensive cost and lack of sweetness and options for children's birthday cakes here in Luxembourg, a corporate lady turned homemaker like me is finding joy in making sweet fun treats for my boys.

Thanks to the links below, I am slowly redeeming my reputation as a bad-floppy baker. Hahaha!!!

One bowl chocolate cake recipe
Rich Chocolate frosting
Piping bag instructions
Nutella Frosting
Pirateship Cake Design Samples

Polo says: I can be your friend

Polo's grandma and his godmother in the Philippines gave him DVDs of Veggie Tales, a cartoon series featuring vegetables as the main characters in stories that highlight good morals through song and dance. One of the stories was about making friends and it ended with a song saying, "I can be your friend... tralalalala..."

When the song ended, he quickly ran to his brother and sang the song to him.

Awww... what a wonderful way to learn about be-friending one's sibling.

Veggie Tales DVDs and those who gave them to Polo are now #4 in my Thank you list! Through them, my son Polo learns morals that are better caught than taught.

How about you? Are there DVDs or TV Shows for children that are as effectively helpful?

Thank You Item# 3: My Storchenwiege Baby Wrap

Waiting for my ride at the bus stop with two-month old Baby N in the wrap

I purchased My Storchenwiege Leo red sling a week before Baby N was born. I bought it because I planned on breastfeeding and knew that I had to do it hands-free while doing other household chores. (This is one thing that living in Europe entails -- household chores hands-on + taking care of baby hands-on with no family or yaya* around to help out with the daily grind.)

I also saw it as something necessary so I can breastfeed discreetly in public.

I chose this brand because of the following reasons:
*Reviews said that the material is sturdy.
*It can be washed in the machine and placed in the dryer and still retain its form
*It doesn't snag easily unlike the stretchy materials f other baby wraps and slings
*It is made in a country beside Luxembourg (meaning cheaper shipping costs)
*The website had an english translation and the email correspondeces were also in english
*It came with a Hoppediz user guide that had complete step-by-step instructions on how to make the different ties (the user guide still intimidated me but an instructional video I found online helped break the ice).

There are many ways to tie it in order to carry a baby in different positions. I've only tried two so far: the kangaroo carry and the cradle carry. Between the two, I prefer the kangaroo carry.

My Storchenwiege baby wrap is one of my stay-at-home-mommy-in-europe essentials. It helps me keep Baby N sleeping soundly for an average of 2 hours, no matter where I go -- be it on the bus, going to the supermarket, picking up my son P from school, and even when going down to do the laundry or while working in the kitchen. Hmmm... I wonder if I can use it while playing Wii... Hahaha!

*yaya - is a stay-at-home household helper in the Philippines who helps take care of a baby