i'm baaaaa-aaaaack!

even though i thought about using the computers at the resort during the kids' naps a couple times, i decided that i didn't really feel like walking to the rec center just for that.....so today is my first day back in 'the real world' - catching up on emails & such

we had an AMAZING time! gorgeous weather (it stormed one night after we were inside having dinner & the other side of the resort had to evacuate cause their alarms were set off - but we just watched from our balcony ~lol~)! well-behaved kids! we came in below our allotted beach budget (even after spending $200 just for gas!)! the resort gave us a condo with a view of the beach this time! just a perfect, unbelievable time!

we're the type of people that go to the beach, to enjoy the beach! we're not there to do the touristy thing.....we spend time exploring the island & the neighboring islands, but the reason we really like this spot is because of the casualness of it - no amusements parks, only 1 or 2 of those touristy putt-putt courses nearby (we did try one this year & had fun), no strip of shops that draw the kids in, wanting to spend money.....we like low-key

our 8 hour drive down went smoother than the trip home (of course - always does when u have the destination to look forward to), but the kids did so well in the car both ways! and i didn't have to drive once! curtis is soooo good to me! ;0)

we figured out our daily routine by day 2 & it went sort of like this.....we'd wake up between 8 & 9am and have breakfast (usually something yummy made by daddy).....then we'd hit one of the 3 pools at the resort (& maybe play on the playgrounds) all morning.....then we'd come in & have lunch, then nap time......since daddy gets super hot out in the sun (you know, dark colors attract heat ~lol~) & since the waves were the highest in the morning, we saved beach time for after nap......we'd spend hours out on the beach, playing in the waves, making sand creations, catching crabs & fish, etc.....then we'd come in and clean up, have a big snack fest, and head out for some island exploring time - either on the sound side, or checking out other islands.....like i said, we did putt-putt one night which had a little train that you ride around the course to get to the first hole (and cost $9/person!), took a trip out on the pier (which TERRIFIED jaden), checked out the boardwalk, & would sometimes get ice cream (once at a drive-in that the kids thought was super cool)......then we'd head back in for a late, late dinner & then down time.....we allowed the kids to keep their tv's on until they passed out in their beds (the girls shared the 2nd bedroom & jaden rode the sofa bed) - they totally thought they were getting away with murder! ~lol~ the funny thing was, it would only be like an hour later that i'd go in and turn off the tv, cause they were already passed out asleep! ~lol~ but having cable tv & central AC all week, made us feel like we were living in luxury! ;0)

it was neat seeing the kids play this year - they're all getting so brave & independent.....and it was really cool discovering what their fav things were to do this time around.....jaden is definitely the swimmer! he'd stay in the waves the whole time - either laying in the sand & letting them completely crash into his body, or holding dad's hand to go out deeper to jump the big ones & try out his new boogie board.....gabby was usually either digging a huge hole, or creating something out of sand & collecting seashells with mama......and corinn was the fisherman - we got nets last year to catch ghost crabs & little fish, & she became the master at it this year! every trip to the beach, she'd fill up a sand pail with water (and a little sand at the bottom for the ghost crabs too) and she'd catch anywhere from 10 - 20 minnows each day!

we were told toooooo many times how beautiful & well-behaved our children are! of course, it's always wonderful to hear that - but i wonder, especially with the girls - if this will give them a big head one day.....i can't count how many times people, first, asked us if they were twins (even tho, they didn't dress alike once the whole week), then, would compliment us on how gorgeous they are and how much they love their hair, etc., etc......gabby has asked me many times why people think she & corinn are twins - cause as the oldest (and tallest), this offends her - she wants people to recognize her as her own person (go girl!) - the BIG sister......but she understands the confusion & she hears me let everyone know that she is in fact 15 months the elder, so i think she's ok with it in the end :0)

i think jaden was in sensory overload a lot of the time.....it was difficult for him to listen & follow 2 or 3 step directions, or to remember from one moment to the next, what he was doing.....and talking - WOW! he ran his mouth ALL week! constantly telling his stories to us & strangers - wanting them to know all about him & his dragon "friends"......we were having to talk to him a LOT about strangers again this week - something i thought he was starting to understand at home.....it's sooooo hard getting him to comprehend that he can't just go up and talk to anyone & everyone......he did us proud though - he definitely played the big brother role well & was very protective of his little sisters.....and he made some friends at the pool - he would look forward to seeing them every day when we'd go back

all in all - curtis and i had so much fun enjoying our time together & with the kids.....it felt unbelievably good to reconnect & have this time with my family!

i took a total of 492 pictures that i'm still sorting through! ~lmao~ sooooo, here's a few to tide you over.....i'll be creating a slide show & will post that tomorrow :0)

having lunch on our balcony - u can see the resort's private boardwalk & the beach in the background

on the dunes by the boardwalk - just before sunset

jaden, totally in his element

me & my love ♥

painting turtle banks at the resort's activity center

at radio island - by the yacht club (sound side)

putt-putt

Gone BEACHIN'

i'll be laying on the beach catching some rays, or playing in the surf with my kids....

June 21st - June 29th, 2008


if i have some down time (rain, kids' naps, etc.), i may be checking in on my blogger friends.....but hopefully, i'll b MIA until 6/30! :0) don't worry - i'm sure i'll take somewhere around 3,000 pics! ;0)

last year...

weekend cakes (early)...

we head out bright & early in the morning for our beach vacay.....here's the 2 cakes i had to decorate this week before our trip.....the funny thing is, they're both still at my house - the birthday girls haven't even seen them yet! :0) so, u get a sneak peak....both are 100% edible, decorated in my homemade butter cream & fondant

Retro - 60's cake for 10 year old Autumn

Shrek cake for 2 year old Maggie

profiled in Rocktown Weekly

i sort of hinted at this yesterday - i wanted to wait until it came out & i could make sure that it didn't totally embarrass me before i announced it to the world.....it's not even that big of a deal, really - but there's this weekly paper that Harrisonburg puts out called Rocktown Weekly - The Flip Side of Harrisonburg.....they profile a local person every week & chose me for this week's article!

this was on the cover

the journalist emailed me a couple of weeks ago - apparently, her boyfriend had found my site & sent her my way.....we met & she interviewed me for about an hour, she called one of "the cake sisters" (my BEST customer!) to get some feedback from her, and then sent a photographer down to get some pics of me "at work".....the online article doesn't include the pics, but they put my penguin cake in the hard copy


and the photographer took this ever so flattering pic of me decorating my cheeseburger cupcakes


i think it came across pretty well.....the only thing she got wrong was my high school - not sure where she got that from? jennifer & i did cheer together, but at Broadway, not Spotswood??? and she's embarrassing me with that whole "valley ace of cakes" thing ~blushing~

here's the text from the online article....since next week it will no longer be on their site


The Valley’s ‘Ace of Cakes’
By Brooke Bates bbates@dnronline.com

It started with a picture of a fish cake in Nick Jr. magazine almost five years ago.

Now Sharon Skates can’t get the cake smell out of her house.

Though not trained and, technically, not employed in the cake decorating business, her hobby is enough for friends to dub her the Valley version of Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes.”

Constructing a cake
Skates, 28, remembers her mother making creative birthday cakes when she was little, like bunnies with bow ties.

So when her own son, Jaden, was turning 3, Skates saw a fish cake in a Nick Jr. Magazine and decided to try it.

Her first attempt impressed family members so much they started asking for custom cakes for other parties. She started baking for friends, friends of friends and coworkers of those friends.

“Everybody has been through word-of-mouth,” she says. “My ‘customers’ have made it bigger than I thought [it could be].” Booked several months in advance, she usually makes two or three cakes a week, plus the occasional five- to seven-cake weekends.

Most are 3-D birthday cakes, which can take 10 hours each. The process usually spans two nights.

The first is for baking and stirring up icing and fondant — “edible Play-doh” made from marshmallows and sugar that can be sculpted into the chickens or cherries that adorn her cakes.

Day two is when Skates can “bring out my artistic self,” she says. First, she ices the cake with buttercream frosting. Sometimes, smaller cakes take shape as toppers.

She crafts even smaller parts, like a penguin’s head, from Rice Krispie squares and finishes with fondant and icing details.

After investing that much time in a cake, she’s sad to see it go. “I’d rather hand it off and not know what happens,” she says, preferring pre-party delivery to witnessing the slicing of her artwork. “Those kids have no mercy. They dig right in.”

Even adults like Jennifer Dellinger can’t wait to cut into Skates’ masterpieces. The women cheered together at Spotswood High School about 10 years ago, and reunited when Skates made a cake for a woman who worked with Dellinger’s sister two years ago.

“They taste as good as they look,” Dellinger says. “Everything is so detailed; you could just stand and look. But it always gets eaten. … She needs to quit her [day] job.”

That’ll be a while. Skates works at the support desk of a software company in Harrisonburg. Eventually, she wants to move into a shop and make cakes her business.

She has her foot in the door already, selling her cake truffles and cupcakes through The Sweet Escape in Broadway.

“I’m sure I could fill her books up,” Dellinger says. “Everybody wants a Sharon cake!”

Late night baking
Before her brother got married in 2004, Skates’ soon-to-be sister-in-law asked her to expand her birthday cake hobby and make the cake for their big day.

“I was terrified!” Skates says. “I didn’t think I could get it together.”

Instead of paying for the cake itself, Skates’ sister-in-law bought all the necessary supplies, like pans and frosting bags. Having never taken a cake-decorating class, Skates checked out cakecentral.com for some tips and let her artistry guide the rest, covering the cake with royal icing flowers made from beaten egg whites and powdered sugar.

The florist entered the kitchen and said, “Wow, those look like real flowers!” Skates remembers. That’s when she knew she could do it, she says, now wearing a pink-trimmed T-shirt that reads, “Got cake? ’Cause I can hook you up!”

She does most of her work while her kids are in bed, using the late night “me-time” to pray, watch TV or listen to books on tape while she decorates.

“The kids are desensitized,” she says of the constant presence of freshly baked cakes in her kitchen. “They’re so used to it.” Her kids — Jaden, 7, Gabrielle, 5, and Corinn, 4 — want to peek in the box the next morning and see what mommy stayed up making, but the cakes aren’t at risk of being taste-tested.

Her husband has “never been a big cake fan” either, and Skates has made so many that she’s not tempted to dig in mid-decorating.

She’s also used to people asking if her house smells good all the time. “That’s the permanent smell of my house,” she says. “I’m so used to it.”

But her “customers” can’t get enough. Dellinger gets at least 10 cakes from her each year, scheduling a year in advance. Sometimes, she says, she wonders if guests come just to see the cake.

“It’s my special gift,” says Skates, who provides cake at parties “instead of bringing a birthday present. Yeah, it’s gone by the end of the party, but it’s a memorable gift. People still talk about it months later.”

Her kids spend the year between birthdays planning, as well. Jaden, who was recently diagnosed with Aspergers, designs his own birthday cakes, Skates says.

One year he envisioned a dragon-shaped cake breathing a stream of orange icing onto a round cake. Next month, when he turns 8, he’ll blow the candles out on a spaceship with fondant aliens.

The kids put their artistry to work for mommy’s birthday, too. Skates bakes the cake and prepares the decorations, then her husband ices while the kids make fondant figures — anything goes, from snakes to chickens.

Aside from “the best birthday cake ever,” as she calls it, the most rewarding part of her hobby — which she calls both therapy and a creative outlet — is probably best illustrated with a picture on her Web site, www.sharoncakes.com. In the photo, Amelia, the 3-year-old daughter of a client, clasps her small hands over an excited smile, her eyes fixated on a mermaid cake outside of the picture frame. The gleeful look on her face says more than a thank you ever could.

“It’s all what the kid thinks,” Skates says. “When the kid loves it, then I get the [same] reaction out of the parents.”

the GOOD

this blog post is in response to a challenge posted on a blog that i read daily - Little Bit Funky (thx BC - i found this blog when u posted about her once).....the challenge is to post about the GOOD in your life.....i'm abundantly blessed & have sooooo much to be thankful for - so, consider me up for the challenge!

the GOOD in my life...

God is GOOD - and without Him, none of this other stuff would be that GOOD at all

these 3 rugrats - sooooo GOOD, in sooooo many ways!

these 2 handsome boys - truly GOOD-hearted souls......who i may not see very often any more, & who i actually haven't even spoken to in quite some time.....i pray that they're well & that God puts it on their heart to want to be in our lives again - very, very soon!

my amazing husband - i thank God for putting you in my life! i adore u and feel so loved by u each & every day! it's so special to me that we can do just about anything together & have a great time at it....i enjoy ur company more & more every day, and i can't wait to see what the rest of our lives have in store for us! our love is VERY GOOD!

my booming cake gig - feels so GOOD to have ur work be appreciated! *more on this tomorrow ;0)

my friends & family - without the support of my family & my friends (especially my BFF, Misty), i don't know where i'd be.....it's GOOD to have special people in ur life

our vacay that is approaching fast! only 3 more days until we leave for Atlantic Beach, NC.....and that's VERY GOOD indeed!

Cobbler recipe

as promised, here's the recipe that i used for our cobbler....u can use any kind of fresh fruit u'd like....we used cherries & blackberries since that's what we had growing in our yard.....my mom uses this recipe & makes THE BEST peach cobbler ever....even tho i followed the same recipe, her's just turns out better! it's hard to get that perfect amount of fruit in there.....not too much & not too little....i guess it just depends on how fruity u like ur cobbler too ;0)

cut up approximately 2 cups of fresh fruit
& stir in 1 cup of sugar
these are quart bags - we had a LOT of cherries (u can tell the difference in the 2 trees)....it took FOREVER pitting all of them! i tripled the recipe & made 3 cobblers....one for home, one for work & one for our downstairs neighbor - who shares the trees with us

in a deep baking/casserole dish, mix together:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 tsp. salt

wisk in:
2/3 cup milk

then melt 1 stick of butter and pour over top of the batter (yes, i said 1 whole stick! ~lol~)

then, drop in the fruit.....again, go as generous or skimpy as u'd like.....the fruit will fall to the bottom of the batter, so u just have to judge the best u can

then bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour


it's done when it looks like this.....the batter will rise to the top of the pan/dish, get golden brown, and the fruit goodness will start bubbling through....check the 'cake' part with a fork to make sure that it's done all the way through to the fruit bottom


while it's still warm from the oven, plate a generous portion (come on, go for it!) & top with vanilla ice cream.......mmmmm, good!

weekend recap...

this was the last weekend before our beach vacay.....we leave on Saturday & are sooooo psyched! of course, i've got a million things to do before then (including decorate 2 cakes), but i'm so ready to get there & have NOTHING to do! ;0)

Saturday was the Brady reunion (my mom's fam)......we always get together at Lost River State Park in West Virginia.....it's a beautiful park & we got a shelter this time because storms were on their way......the shelter had a fireplace inside & it was nice to sit around the fire & catch up......in my opinion, better than if had been really hot & we would have taken the kids to the park pool, etc.....the kids still got to have water play, just in the rain! ;0) before the storms came, we got in a traditional family walk through the park & the kids caught crayfish & salamanders in the river.....it was a great time!

most of the fam - some couldn't make it & some had left (and curtis & some other hubbies were taking the pics)
catching stuff in the river

jaden was in LOVE with my aunt Sherry's Smart Car....he had her give him like 3 rides in it
on our walk - my brother Joe & Corinn
jaden eating a cheeseburger cupcake that my aunt Cindy insisted i make & bring again this year ;0)
making s'mores by the campfire
here comes the rain - corinn & jaden are shooting water guns into the rain - this was right before the kids all stripped down to their bathing suits and went out to play
corinn & i by the fire (see my crazy cousin ricky in the back? haha)

then daddy's day....i thank God for my wonderful husband! he is the absolute best father & we try to show him that all year long....but it's nice to have a day where daddy gets to pick what we do, what we eat (would you believe he ended up insisting on cooking dinner anyway?! he wanted ribs for dinner & well, he's under the impression that he's the best rib cooker there is! ~lol~ thing is, i think he's right!).....curtis was super happy with his gifts! especially the mp3 player - it's a sports one that straps to your arm & is splash resistant.....so now he not only has his own mp3 player (since we share our ipod and sometimes fight over who's turn it is ~lol~), but he can use it to work out with too!

high five for the mp3 player - look at those crazy-haired girls (just out of bed & anxious to give daddy his gifts)

we went to the playground & played games with daddy.....EVERYONE took a nap that afternoon (which was super nice!), then we headed over to grandpa's to give him his gifts

and to get in some play time with grandpa too

ok, how cute is this?!
curtis is always intrigued by country life....he's from DC & had never even seen a pig in real life until moving down here.....another thing that still amazes him, are stars.....in the city, you can't really see the stars for all the light (& smog)
here he is admiring my parent's garden & having me help him identify the different things growing
can you blame him? look at how pretty!
and of course our little rabbit couldn't leave without sampling the broccoli & asparagus that was ready to be picked

yesterday, i was off work & at home with the girls.....their daycare provider was sick.....in case u're wondering, jaden still went to his daycare.....he's very big into routine & knows his days of the week.....so when it's monday, he knows he's supposed to go to school.....or since it's summer, daycare.....and if he doesn't, it really throws his day off cause he'll continually ask why he's not at daycare....and sometimes even get upset about it.....he also genuinely enjoys the activities & playtime there.....he likes seeing his friends & really loves the summer program because they make a trip to the local pool twice a week.....on days like yesterday though, i'll send him & then pick him up early.....that way, he still gets in the time there, but he also gets to enjoy the extra time at home with ma ;0)

the girls & i spent as much time as we could outside, before the rain came

once inside, we tried our hand at making a cobbler with our cherries & blackberries.....this was my first try at cobbler & i think it came out pretty good! we picked as many of the cherries as we could.....the one tree in the very back is pretty bare.....we've picked the bottom clean & the birds have taken care of the top......but the one tree on the side of our house must have been missed by the birds.....we've gotten all that we can reach, but the top is still so heavy with more! i so need a ladder!

look who was chilling in our cherry tree

here's how it turned out - yum!
i'll post a blog tomorrow with the recipe for those that are interested