Pure of Heart

A few years ago I was informed by a SIL that I was talking about 1 particular child too much.
(Can you talk about your kids too much?)
So I don't talk to her anymore.
A. It was incredibly hurtful and
2. I wasn't even talking about Rubi.

Isn't this the best picture ever?

It shows all the ornery.

It shows all the innocence.

It shows the extreme lengths she went to on Graduation to have just 1 more grape soda.

This one is incredibly silly.

She's also incredibly kind.

This one has no one to compete with.

She gets all the attention all the time.

This one just loves.

She has no prejudice.

She doesn't care who you are

or where you're from.

She's excited about everything.

She doesn't care if your clothes are up to date.

She doesn't care if your hair is combed.

She doesn't care who your parents are or where you live.

She just likes you.

She's hurt when she detects that people don't like her.

You tend to get all of her when you meet her.

She's not shy and she doesn't hold back.

At what age do kids lose that?

When do they discover brands and labels?

When do they figure out that the parents are the kid?

I hope this one stays this way.

She's unconditional.

I love that about her.

Inspiration

HA!
Believe it or not
I heard from the Rachael Ray Show!
I kid you NOT!

Whether I was captivating enough
to warrant a visit to the show
remains to be seen.
However,

It did jump start me to
experiment a tiny bit.
I made more cupcakes.
They didn't go quite as I planned.

I started here.
Chocolate and peanut butter.
I started with a recipe off of 52cupcakes.
I used the Reese's hearts at the bottom of the liners.

I think they were a bit too small.

I would use mini cupcakes next time or

WHOLE regular peanut butter cups.

This is what I ended up with.

I ordered a bag of BABY peanut butter cups 

from Country Kitchen Sweet Art.

I also did a peanut butter buttercream.

The cake was awesome.

The hearts were too small and thus overdone.

The frosting was to die for!

Probably my most inventive to date.
And my least successful...

Yep those are Froot Loops you see in that batter!

My kids said, "WHY would you put Loops in a cupcake?"

I said, "Why not? The box was sitting there."

I started with this:

Now before you get your dander up.
I have MANY recipes that are not mix based.
However, when I see interesting flavors I buy them.
Mixes are good for gooey butter cakes and some cookies.

I doctored things up a bit,
Threw in 2 handfuls of Froot Loops,
Used orange juice...

I added orange buttercream.

I added crushed Froot Loops.

The cake was one of the best I've had.

The Froot Loops shrunk up and became tough and gummy.

I would NOT add Froot Loops to the batter again.

I think I can figure out how to make it work though.

The frosting was orange too.

Orange buttercream is dreamy.

I WILL make this again just the same way!

So Rachael whether you call me back or not

I'm gonna keep on experimenting.

There is so many interesting things you can throw

in a cake.

Thanks for thinking of me Rachael and pushing me

to keep baking. (Even though you're not a baker.)

Rubi has told everyone she's going to the Rachael Ray Show.

I love that girl...

And Rachael if you are listening...

I would LOVE to have a bright yellow KitchenAid Stand mixer...