Lilyʻs "Deliciously Donut" 8th Birthday Sleepover [w/ Corn, Edamame & Black Bean Salad]

In our family we donʻt have birthdays.  No, weʻre more birthday week kind of people.  In a family of six I really enjoy being able to focus on one person and remember why they in particular are so special to our family unit.  Last week our oldest child turned eight.  I still canʻt believe it, I feel like Iʻm still in a little bit of shock.  Like I gave birth 8 years ago and forget everything up until today and how do I already have an eight year old? Breathe.

For Lilyʻs birthday she really wanted to have a sleepover with her best girl friends.  They had a blast playing dress-up, shrieking and running in circles and watching movies into all hours of the night.  Literally, all hours, I got the last one to sleep around 2am.  Mom life is hardcore sometimes.

The theme for her sleepover was Deliciously Donut!

Cake by Mom!  I used this awesome Wilton cake pan that can do any number or letter.

Happy Birthday to Me shirt from Childrenʻs Place via Noni of course! 

Chocolate Milk and Sprinkles for breakfast, what else could a little girl ask for?

Lilyʻs birthday "cake"! 

Happy Birthday Lily Pax!  You are loved. 

Teaching Daddy how to make a bracelet, her new favorite hobby. 

Pre-sleepover spaghetti dinner with friends!  

In addition to her birthday sleepover we had; cupcakes at the beach with friends (twice!), went to see the new Planes: Fire & Rescue movie and went to the annual Midsummerʻs Night Gleam at Fosterʻs Botanical garden.  All in all a great week to celebrate a rad little girl.

On the night we saw Planes we had dinner at a friendʻs house in Waikiki and since I had a random bunch of corn I decided to make this salad.  Super light, fresh, and fast it was great on a hot day.  I took the pictures before I added the cilantro but I really like the flavor with it included. 

Corn, Black Bean and Edamame Salad

2 ears of corn, cooked, with kernels cut off

1 can of black beans, rinsed

1 jalapeño, diced 

1 cup shelled edamame, cooked

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

For the vinaigrette:

2 limes, zest & juice

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil

salt & pepper

• Combine corn, black beans, jalapeño and edamame in a large bowl.
• In a separate jar combine all ingredients for vinaigrette adding salt & pepper to taste,  mix dressing well and pour over salad ingredients. 
• Add fresh cilantro and toss to combine.
• Cover dish and refrigerate at least one hour.  

Whirlwind Woman [Happy Birthday Oreo Cake Batter Blondies!]

So, lately life has been a whirlwind.  I'm sure most people understand that.  Not enough time for anything, or just a little time for everything and nothing finished.  Kind of like how I clean the house, as I walk from room to room I stop and fold some laundry here, pick up some trash there, throw some toys in a bin over here.....the end result is nothing really being done.

But for now, I'm okay with that.  We recently decided as a family that I will be continuing my college education for oh, 6 more years or so.  The decision was daunting and it required a lot for me to realize that I will not, cannot be the Mom that does everything.  Taking a full college load, being a mother of 4 young children, working part-time in addition to being a wife, friend, and very sporadic blogger means I cannot do it all.  And on the worst days I can't do any of it.

I'm trying my best for now, to relax about it.  I have come to understand that my anxieties are not just my own but a burden on my family and also in direct relation to my trust in God.  If He has set me on this path I must trust that each day will take care of itself.  My laundry may never be completely done, my kid's might have unbrushed hair and unorganized rooms but ours hearts will be full.

So for now, while school takes priority over mopped floors and alphabetized blu-rays [yes, I do that.] I will do what I can.  And what I can do is make this awesome dessert in under 5 minutes.  Super easy. not healthy in the slightest, and my kid's loved them.  Hopefully when I've finished my Masters I'll look back at this time in our lives and be joyful about the things I let go.

Happy Birthday Oreo Cake Batter Blondies

• 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
• 15 Golden Happy Birthday Oreos, chopped. 
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sprinkles
• 1/3 cup milk 
• 1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 11x7 pan.
2. Combine cake mix, coconut oil, egg and sprinkles.
3. Slowly add milk and stir together, batter will be thick!  This is good. :)
4. Once combined fold in 3/4 of your chopped Oreos and 3/4 of your sprinkles.
5. Pour into the greased pan and sprinkle reserved Oreos and sprinkles on top.
6. Bake for 28 minutes until edges are slightly brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely so blondies can set.
8. Enjoy! 

The Incredible Lily Pax turns 6!

I can't believe our biggest "baby" is already 6 years old!  

It amazes me how much has happened in 6 years, that I've been able to watch this little person grow from just a heartbeat in my womb to a smart & sassy little girl with her two front teeth missing and an opinion on everything.  I am in awe, that we somehow managed to raise her to be such a loving, kind & thoughtful person.  I think the oldest kid always gets the brunt of the parental mistakes, responsibility and bossiness.  I'm the oldest child, I should know!

[Our baby girl when she turned 2 years old!  She has always had such a unique personality.]

Lily Pax was the child we prayed for.  After getting married in November 2004 we knew we wanted kids right away, not that we KNEW what we we're doing but that's besides the point!  

It took us longer than we had thought to get pregnant with her, which in reality was less than a year.  But at the time, and only 21 years old I thought having babies was just something that happened like magic, people had them on accident after all right?  I was a little bummed it wasn't happening on the timeline I expected so I prayed about it a lot, especially, for some reason to the Virgin Mary.

"I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him"

1 Samuel 1:27

So, we named Lily after The Virgin Mary.  The Virgin Mary is sometimes referenced to as the white Lily.  Pax, her middle name is Latin for peace.  She is the peacemaker of our family.  Whether trying to stop a fight between her brothers or getting upset if anyone is talking too loudly to one another she will definitely try to make everything better. <3

Lily was always my fast learned.  She crawled at 5 months and set the pace for which her brothers just can't quite keep up!  

And while she is quick when she wants to be I always remember as my 12 days late baby.  I went into the labor the night before I was supposed to be induced feeling huge & ready to meet my baby girl.  She was born July 21st, 2006 in Honolulu, Hawaii and has been our little island girl ever since.

[It amazes me how much Oliver looks like his big sister!  Sure the boys look alike but I swear Oliver is Lily with her hair cut off.]

10 Facts about Lily Pax!

1.  Her favorite subject is math.  Sometimes she'll make up her own math work sheets when she's in bed and then answer them all.

2.  She loves fruit.  Apples, watermelon, strawberries & grapes are her favorite.

3. She likes to make up her own songs & sings a lot of the stuff she says.

4. She can swim like a fish.

5. Her favorite things to do are go to the water park, mini golfing, library & Target.

6. The thing she misses most about California is her dog, Maeby. 

7. She will take an hour long bath if you let her.

8. She likes to watch cooking shows & the greatest tragedy in her life is that she isn't allowed to eat in her bed.

9. Sometimes she wakes up and changes Oliver's diaper & makes her bed before waking me up in the morning.

10.  She is growing up way too fast. 

For her 6th birthday party she wanted a Mermaid Party because she's currently addicted to an Australian TV series on Netflix called H20.  We had a great time with Mermaid cupcakes, slip & slides & Ocean punch only to get rained out.....in July.  In Waipahu. Hmph.  Luckily we have a bunch of laid back friends and family & we played in the rain & celebrated the life of my most favorite little girl.

[Lily wearing her mermaid tale made by Noni, with her best friend/Auntie Gloria!]

Lily's Mermaid Jell-O Cupcakes with Jell-O Frosting!

Cupcakes: 

1 box of White Cake Mix

1 3 oz. box of Jell-O [any flavor/color you want]

These were easy since I had a crazy busy week and just needed something fast & simple.  Plus Lily's favorite color is blue so I aim to please!

[1] Make cake according to box directions.  Divide batter in half.

[2] Mix Jell-O into half the batter.  I actually made 48 cupcakes so I used 2 boxes of cake mix and just dyed one box worth, either way will work.

[3] Alternating, drop spoonfuls of each color batter into cupcake liners.

[4] With a butter knife kind of swirl batters together to get them looking tie-dyed.

[5] Bake as directed!

Frosting:

1 3 oz. box of Jell-O [any flavor/color you want]

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 egg white

[1] Put all ingredients, except for water, into a metal or glass stand mixer.  You HAVE to use a stand mixer for this one otherwise it won't work!

[2] Turn mixer on high and pour in your boiling water.

[3] Beat on high for about 5 minutes until you have stiff peaks!

[4] I added more food coloring to mine because it didn't come out as blue as I wanted but basically whatever color/flavor you choose will be what your frosting tastes like!  It has almost a marshmallow consistency.  

Party Hardy!

We decorated her cupcakes with gummy Octopuses, plastic mermaids, beach umbrellas & sand!

P.S. If you want to make the sand just put Vanilla Wafers & Oreos in a food processor, more Vanilla Wafers than Oreos and just adjust to how dark you want your sand to be!