Are you as surprised as I was?  Coffman baby #6 is growing in a safe place.  We should get to hold him or her sometime towards the end of April.  My family responded as, “It’s about time.”  My husband’s mother said, “Oh, my word.”  Which was pretty much what I said.  The chidlren are sooo excited and are being as helpful as children can be and sometimes a little more.

So, forgive me for not posting quite as often or as interesting as I once did.  I’m hoping that will change now that the frist trimester is behind me and I’m on to sunnier days.  So you will understand now why my recent photos might have included paper plates and why I’m searching for easier ways to do what I used to do the hard way :).   More freezer meals and make-your-own mixes for me.  And as I share what works maybe that will bless you too.

While I’m looking forward and dreaming about a future birthday, we’ve been busy celebrating some birthdays of loved ones near.

We tried to burn the house down Sunday to wish my mom a happy 64th, and she surprised us by still being able to blow out all her candles with one breath.  Her cake was from a Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate mix, made with applesauce and egg whites instead of oil and whole eggs.  Then we filled the center with marshmallow cream and frosted it with Dark Chocolate frosting from Aldi.  The marshmallow cream slid right off the cake and I had to use a LOT of toothpicks to hold everything together.  But the taste was worth it.  Tomorrow I’ll show you what we did with the leftovers :).

Brandon turned 3 today.  (Yes, I realize there are 5 candles on the cake–oops!  We fixed it as we were lighting them.)   His cake had an oreo crust and was filled with strawberry, rocky road, and mint chip ice cream with oreos and peeps in the filling.  The frosting was cool whip and topped with spree.  A small slice was plenty, but VERY yummy.

Today is the day we babysit my cousins, so we made it a casual party with balloons and homemade pizza.  What a blast and not near as stressful as a party with invitations and expectations :). 

We have 2 more birthdays to go and I’m dreaming of new varieties of ice cream cake to make :).  That would be a welcome new tradition at our house.

P.S.  Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for the free Grocery Shrink ebook and Slow cooker recipe book set.  Click here and read to the end to learn how to enter.

There are 4 birthdays in my family over the next 2 weeks.  I’m swamped and I normally bake special cakes for each occasion.  It feels so overwhelming this year that I decided to try something new–ice cream cake!  I searched the web and found this video.  It’s long–something to watch and enjoy like you would a Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray episode.  The cook is adorable and I love her stories.  I’ll admit I even sniffled back a tear a couple of times, but when you watch it you’ll wonder why in the world…? I’ll tell you why on Tuesday, the day little Brandon turns 3 :).

Because of how difficult it was to post a comment, I’ve extended the giveaway through October 18th, Monday evening at 10:00 PM central time.  And we’ve made commenting easier.  So keep your comments coming!

I’m so excited to tell you about our new sponsor! 

Miloud Home Accents features gorgeous items for your home in every budget category.  They make their best deals the most visible on the site so you can make the most of your home decor budget.  To top that off they are offering Grocery Shrink readers an extra 10% off any order! 

To Get 10% off your Miloud Home Order Use The Coupon Code “Shrink”.

I love supporting a business like Miloud Home Accents.  They are family owned and operated and have 6 children, 3 girls and 3 boys, that they support through this business.  I tip my hat to anyone who has 6 children and can manage a business on top of that! 

Here’s what I love about Miloud Home Accents:

1.  Their merchandise is top quality and on trend.

2.  Their prices are lower than average because they carefully control behind the scene costs.

3.  They applaud and actively live a frugal lifestyle and have learned how to do it without sacrificing atmosphere.

Take a look and leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.  On October 15th I’ll do a drawing  from the comments to give away a FREE Grocery Shrink Ebook Set for you or a friend.