Search officially hit the three-pound mark today. Destroy is close behind at 2.9 pounds – he should catch up to his brother in the next day or so. And tomorrow the boys will be one month old. Already!
We’ve had a lot of help getting them here. The nurses at the NICU are amazing. Each day they let us know how our muppets are doing and provide the advice on how best to care for them. We’re learning their little quirks and developing personalities right alongside their nurses.
So to celebrate their one-month birthday, I made the NICU nurses cupcakes. Behold: my baking brilliance.
While I was mixing the bowl of soon-to-be Devil’s Food cupcakes, I remembered a tremendously chocolatey adventure from my childhood. I was in middle school. My brother, Paul, was just about to finish up elementary school. It was summer vacation and Mom was already back at work.
Paul and I decided the only thing missing from a perfect summer’s day was a chilled bowl of chocolate pudding. With the help of the JELL-O instant mix and the blender – this was an easily remedied situation. So we set to work.
What happened next is one of life’s timeless mysteries. My working hypothesis is that the cord of the mixer caught the bottom of the freshly mixed pudding bowl – sending it spinning through the air.
Suddenly I heard Paul yell, “Hit the deck!!!” as he flattened himself behind the island in the kitchen. When he stood back up, the kitchen was brown. Utterly covered in chocolate. He stared at me as I wiped a sightline out of pudding from my face. Pudding slowly dripped from the ceiling onto Paul’s head.
We stared at each other in shock a few moments longer, surveying the explosive damage. “We’re going to need to clean this up before Mom gets home,” Paul observed. I concurred.
Four very long hours later, we were still mopping up chocolate and emptying countless murkey buckets of water. Mom returned home. We heard the garage door open and, without even a hello, Mom shouted, “I smell chocolate.”
Busted.
Years later we were still finding bits of chocolate throughout the kitchen. Truly, it was an impressive spill. Gramma J is now redoing the kitchen. So just remember, when the contractor removes an old appliance and questions the odd pattern of dirt spatter – it’s probably the remnants of a summer’s afternoon experiment with chocolate pudding.
Search
Destroy
Yes, I still remember the “chocolate glaze” on the tile and ceiling. Using soap would have helped.
Jungle animals and vehicle cupcakes = yummy!
Shout out to the nurses!!
Cute cupcakes! Wherever did you get your baking skills??? Never heard that story about the pudding…ugh – please do NOT suggest to Mitch that he made pudding!
PS Give our heartfelt appreciation to those nurses!
You left out the part about the neighbor’s cat that used to come by quite often. That cat certainly assisted in the clean up process…at least someone got to enjoy our masterpiece.
Hahaha, I vividly remember the explosion…I am still amazed at the widespread chocolate distribution it made throughout the kitchen.
Cat? What cat? Hmm, the things you find out!
I never knew about the pudding either — nor the cat. In the pix, Search looks like he’s reaching for some chocolate – Destroy seems totally indifferent. But, aside from the flavor, the decorations are very clever – hope the nurses enjoyed them.G.G.
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