You know you're a parent when...

You don't honk or yell when you get cut off by another driver so badly, that you have to slam on your brakes. Why? Because you don't dare wake the newly sleeping child in the backseat.

Talk about feeling conflicted.

Yellow cupcakes with raspberry buttercream and cream cheese icing

I made cupcakes for my daughter's first birthday. It was important to me for her first bite of dessert to be not only homemade, but from scratch. I used Martha Stewart's, "Yellow Butter Cupcakes" recipe with a modification. I couldn't find cake flour so I used all all-purpose flour. The cupcakes, while being very good, weren't what I had in mind. They were somewhat dense and didn't resemble yellow cake. They were closer to white cake. Oh and I should have trusted my intuition when I read in her recipe to fill muffin cups. I know better then to go over 2/3 full...I ended up with less then 36 but that's okay.

I made two icings for these cupcakes and the combination of the two was DIVINE. First I made a raspberry buttercream and a basic cream cheese icing. The cupcakes were a hit and I had lots of fun decorating them. I did have to refrigerate them both to harden slightly before piping them. It was a little warm in the kitchen. I also had quite a bit of the raspberry buttercream leftover. After taking "frosting shots", I ended up throwing out about 1.5 cups. This cupcake was devoured by the birthday girl. Well worth the effort :)

Photo of the Day - Grandpa

From our first trip to see the Bulls play this weekend. What a great place for kids!

Parenthood

Things I never would have guessed but have discovered in my first 5 months of being a new mom:

1. That I'd walk in to work at least 1 day a week with puke on me.
2. That I'd have to plan an extra 30 minute buffer into anything (in case of blow-out, etc.) to be on time.
3. That date night would consist of take-out on the couch.
4. That I can do almost anything with 1 hand!
5. That I would narrate virtually everything I do as I do it, for my child.
6. That dinner would be eaten between 8-9 pm.
7. That I could change a diaper probably blindfolded.
8. That I wouldn't even mind changing diapers.
9. That I'd wash my hands so much that I have alligator skin.
10. That I can function on 3-4 hours of sleep, for weeks on end (though I really prefer not to).
11. That I'd fully comprehend how much love the human heart is capable of.