Mom's Pinteresting Cakes

I went to pick Oliver up at school a week and a half ago, and his teacher (Miss Amanda) told me she pinned his lunch on Pinterest. 

THIS is my sign that I've made it as a mother: 

(Note, I don't follow her on Pinterest, so this is the photo I took, not her pin).

Green day at school for St. Patrick's Day!
(bottom, counter clockwise: grapes, apple, applesauce, pickle, peas, buttered bagel (food coloring), key lime pie yogurt and Naked green juice). 

So, what this made me think of (plus comments from two friends who attended Oliver's birthday parties this year and last) was that my mother's cakes NEED to be all over Pinterest. Because they're SO amazing. She's made a wedding cakes, countless birthday cakes for us kids, but the last two she's made are absolutely out of this world.  

This year, Oliver's theme was "things that move." Found a great set of plates/cups/napkins on party pail (here!) to use, and my mom totally ran with it. Here are a few pictures of the party: O trying to blow out the candles, the tables, followed by the stellar cake. 

2013 - Oliver turns TWO!
(Marzipan figures, the 'rocks' are candy, all on homemade ice cream cake!)

Last year, for Oliver's first birthday, we had a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme. Found TONS of great supplies online (Eric Carle Museum!) and made the cards for each food while I had nothing better to do. (I went back to work a week later.) We had all the foods mentioned in the book - perhaps the most coordinated birthday theme ever. (Not taking credit one bit). 

2012 - Oliver turns ONE!
(All of the food pieces were hand painted!!!!)

AMAZING.  Please repin!!!!!!

BOB is clean!

(...and I'm back! ...at least for now!)

Today I tackled something I've been meaning to do for a while now. Clean our stroller. It's been through a lot over the last two years and has never really had a thorough cleaning. Sure, the occasional Clorox wipe or even a brushing with some hydrogen peroxide. But, BOB needs more than that.

I have LOVED my BOB (thanks, Mom!) since Oliver was born two years ago, and have used it pretty much every day - sometimes even 2x a day. Which means it's taken quite a great deal of abuse. ABUSE.  We've been caught in multiple rainstorms (two of which were torrential downpours in London last summer) without the handy clear rain cover, and goodness knows the snacks and drinks that have been ::ahem:: 'accidentally' dropped or spilled.  I have a reeeeeally bad habit of leaving our BOB out under the canopy of our garage and not actually putting it away after we walk the dog.  I did put it away during the hurricane in October! (Can't say the same for every time it snowed....oops.) What this means is that there's a little bit of mildew/mold on certain areas. (Other things I'd rather not know what they are!) I figured it was about time to step up and clean the sucker. 

Last night (while watching The Voice for the first time, ever. Love Shakira!) I was procrastinating from doing school work. I have until Monday, right? Grrr.... Anyway, I was playing around on Google and Pinterest (Shock) and stumbled upon these two gems. 

Discovery #1 - Stroller Spa.  (Visit website) Makes me wish we lived in the city. Or Jersey City. Or anywhere I could pay someone to clean my stroller. Alas, not an option.

Discovery #2 - Stylelushblog. (Visit original blog entry) Read through this similar post, took some notes, and hopped into CVS after my morning at the gym. (Oliver is at daycare for a few hours each day this week. Sanity.) I picked up a package of OxiClean, two more stain sticks (we can ALWAYS use more with a 2 year old boy), and two different brushes. 

And here it went...

My 'helper' checking out the tools.

Some OxiClean in warm water amidst my 'canvas'. 

Close up of the 'area of focus'. Corners. Mesh pockets. Buckles. 

The 'underbelly' was nasty. I mean, how often do you look underneath your stroller?
(Most of the time when I fold it up, I'm throwing it into the trunk and rushing!)

Just some of the dirty water. (What didn't run into the drain!)

Position #1 (of 5) drying on a somewhat sunny day!

Overall, I think it's drastically improved from its previous condition. (Which was embarrassing). I would like to touch up the back/sides, as there's still a tiny bit of residue there. The Oxiclean powder (in warm water) seemed to work better than the stain stick, mainly because it didn't make TOO many bubbles. Just enough to get out the dirt, craisins, dried milk, goldfish crumbs, mildew, sand, salt and apple juice crust. The absolute key was the hard bristle brush. The BOB material is really durable and can take a fair amount of abuse (obviously), and the brush really dug into the corners. 

If your BOB looks like ours did before (or anywhere close to it!), grab a hard brush, some OxiClean, and go get it done! Off to register for some spring/summer races now that BOB is ready :)