Life Lately

Life lately has been hectic... we've been traveling so much, and I am just flat out exhausted.

Some may consider this post a photo dump... but I'll add commentary as well so I can remember all these events. I sure hope life decides to calm down a bit before Baby Cookie arrives... I could use some quiet days.

I sure did miss these fur-babies while we were out of town! More on that out of town part in another post or two...

I love when I'm able to get them both in the same photo. 

Hospital stay #? Who knows anymore. I was admitted for pyelonephritis, which is a kidney infection. No good. They kept me overnight and pumped lots of fluids and antibiotics into me. 

While I was stuck in the hospital, it was National Hug Your Cat Day. I was super bummed, so I told Dan to hug the kitties for me when he got home. This is the photo I got... nice try, babe. It's the thought that counts, right? :)

One night, we went out for custard... and I thought, "let's bring Smudge along"... so glad we did because they had a dogwich on their menu! It was frozen custard between two dog biscuits. He loved it. 

We went to the Strawberry Festival in Troy, OH... but the best part was taking a photo with Babe Lincoln!

Stormy climbs Mt. Janelle every day. She loves her baby.

My handsome husband ran his first half marathon! And the lucky guy wasn't even sore afterward - he even mowed our yard that day!

These two... staring at an airplane. She's such a daddy's girl.

On the 4th of July, we made patriotic French toast. It was SO delicious. 

And then we spent the rest of the holiday weekend sanding and painting furniture for Baby Cookie's room.

I wore my respirator (Walter White style, yo) because of my asthma... and so Baby Cookie didn't have to get all the fumes either.

No caption needed. :)

We celebrated Tyler's second birthday with him, and we had so much fun! He is such a little character, and we love seeing him so often. 

After flying, I was super sick... again. I had an ear and sinus infection, so I loaded up on juice since I can't take many meds right now. 

Dan and I have started (and almost finished now) a six week Lamaze class through our Air Force Base hospital... it's 2.5 hours each Wednesday night, but we're learning a lot. This is after the first class when we deserved 1/2 price shakes for having to watch a live birth on TV without any warning.

The MLB All Star Game was in Cincinnati this year, which happens to be only an hour away from us! Groupon was so nice and offered a big discount for the Fan Fest... so we went! It was a lot of fun, and we got to pose with the world's biggest baseball.

And I got to hold one of Cal Ripken Jr.'s old bats, which was pretty sweet.

Gilligan likes exactly TWO human foods: ice cream and peaches. When I had peach ice cream, the guy went nuts. I can't blame him, though. 

Stormy is always laying on her baby. She's going to be so confused when Baby Cookie doesn't have whiskers or a tail...

Smudge is the goofiest dog in the world. This is his "I'm so happy after a walk" face. 

Due to my sinus infection, I was actually admitted during a routine appointment with the pulmonologist. I was wheezing too much for their liking, so they hooked me up to an IV with some meds to open up my lungs. It worked, but I had a slight allergic reaction, so what should have taken 30 minutes actually ended up taking 2.5 hours because they had to dilute the medicine with saline and drip it super slowly into me. I'm all better now, though!

We keep catching Stormy sleeping on the changing pad. In her defense, it does look like a cat bed... and here's a tiny sneak peek at Baby Cookie's room! 

I made these cherry lemonade cupcakes for our Ohio baby shower that a couple good friends threw for us... more on that later!

Has your life been crazy lately too?

Have you done anything fun?

    

Corona & Blue Moon Beer Cupcakes

Last week, my handsome fiancé turned 25. I decided several months ago that I wanted to throw him a surprise party since we have no idea how long we will have been somewhere when his birthday falls (thanks, Air Force) or how many people we will know there.

Many of you already know this, but Dan loves beer. I mean LOVES it. He even brews his own... so I decided to have a beer themed party for him, complete with several different beers, beer cheese dip, hot pretzels with cheese sauce and spicy mustard, cooked sausages, and BEER CUPCAKES.

Yep, I found an incredible recipe from keyingredient.com and KNEW I had to try them. The recipe is for Corona OR Blue Moon, but since the cupcakes were for Dan's birthday, I made both flavors... and they were a huge hit!

You can find the recipe below these pictures!

The table when Dan arrived for his surprise 25th birthday party! 

BEER CUPCAKES RECIPE (Choose Corona or Blue Moon... or make them both!)

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup butter (at room temperature)

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs (at room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp orange or lime zest (orange for Blue Moon / lime for Corona)

1 cup Blue Moon or Corona beer (plus a little more for the top)

1/4 cup milk

orange or lime slices for garnish (orange for Blue Moon / lime for Corona)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Line cupcake tins with liners (if you're making both flavors, I highly recommend using coordinating colors so you know which is which before you frost them). 

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

5. Add eggs, beating after each addition.

6. Add vanilla and zest.

7. Combine milk and beer.

8. Alternately add the beer mixture and the flour mixture to the sugar/butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Mix on low while adding.

9. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full.

10. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

11. When cupcakes are done, use a toothpick to poke several holes on the top of each one.

12. Brush beer (Blue Moon or Corona) over the tops of the cupcakes while they are still warm. 

FROSTING RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

12 oz cream cheese (cold)

6 tbsp butter (at room temperature)

1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange or lime juice (orange for Blue Moon / lime for Corona)

1 tsp orange or lime zest (orange for Blue Moon / lime for Corona)

4 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream together cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until creamy (about 2-3 minutes).

2. Add the citrus juice and zest.

3. Add the powdered sugar until well combined.

4. Beat until smooth (about 2 minutes).

5. Load frosting into piping bag (or a large Ziploc bag).

6. Squeeze onto (cooled) cupcakes. 

*Recipe SHOULD yield 24 cupcakes. I always make 20 instead and fill the liners more so the cupcakes are bigger. Quality over quantity and all that... 

• Have you ever made beer cupcakes?
• What is your favorite cupcake flavor?
• Have you ever thrown a surprise party?