Smile And Wave

Life Lately

Learning

-How to push pause on the workload and just be with my kids

-How to jump back in to the workload even when I'd rather just play all afternoon

-How to rest (this will be a life long challenge, I think)

  

Getting Better

-At remembering to take pictures of all three kids together

-At making french bread

-At working a baseball hat on non-shower days 

 

Celebrating

-My first and second weaving workshop of the year coming up soon (yay!)

-Brett finishing his first year of grad school

-Surviving Brett's first year of grad school

-A trip to Disney World that's RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER (Thanks, Grandparents!)

 

Needing

-To text my friends and tell them I miss them

-To find myself some cute walking around all day shoes for vacation

-White walls in my house. Just kidding, I have no room to complain. But if someone wanted to paint my walls warm white, I'm just saying I wouldn't be mad.

 

Has summer started for you yet? My kids are enjoying the freedom and so far I am, too!!!

-Rachel 

Mother's Day Cake the Easy Way with Cold Stone Creamery

This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own. Because ICE CREAM CAKE!

The kids and I got to spend the weekend at my parents' house in Oklahoma City last weekend and played with some baby ducks my mom incubated in her 3rd grade classroom. It was so nice to take a little road trip and let everyone get spoiled by my parents and grandparents. We played catch until dark in the backyard while keeping an ear out for tornado sirens, held those fuzzy little baby ducks while they slept, ate lots of mom's cookies, and had ice cream three days in a row! You get to do that when you're on a road trip! 

There's always ice cream in the freezer at our family get togethers because it's always a reason to celebrate when we're able to spend time in the same place. I'm also pretty sure ice cream has been a part of all the family get togethers since before I was born! One of my first ice cream memories with my family is pouring salt over the ice in our ice cream maker and having such a hard time understanding how that salt and ice worked. I also remember thinking it took FOREVER for that ice cream to get hard enough to enjoy but it was always, always my favorite treat. My mom made the best banana ice cream with chocolate as a close second. 

This year we won't be in the same place to celebrate Mother's Day together but I made sure not to leave the ice cream fun out of our own Mother's Day celebration. I partnered with Cold Stone Creamery to try their Strawberry Splendor cake that's being offered for Mother's Day and have an easy way to make a store bought cake a little more personal.

First I wanted to share why I'm all about a store bought cake for this particular holiday! I make cakes for every birthday, special holiday, and sometimes just because I really want some cake. While they usually turn out tasting lovely, it's always more of a mess to clean up when I'm done. I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't have to do dishes on Mother's Day so a store bought cake, especially an ice cream cake, is my answer to a successful Mother's Day celebration. 

One way to make a store bought cake feel a little more personal is to add your own beautiful floral topping. I bought two bouquets of carnations at the grocery store, cut off the stems, and arranged them on top of my cake so there was just about 1" left of space along the perimeter. Then I added a few smaller floral cuts near the base and suddenly it looks like I spent all day working on this number. Except my homemade cakes are always lopsided!

The best part is carnations freeze well so you can add your decoration and then keep it in the freezer until you're ready to enjoy it with your family or your mama. Or maybe you can send them out on an errand and enjoy a second or third piece of that strawberry glazed ice cream. I won't tell. 

If you're able to celebrate with your mom this Mother's Day, savor that! And maybe show her how special she is by treating her to a Cold Stone Creamery Strawberry Splendor cake for Mother’s Day because ice cream cake is just a little extra special, too. Add her favorite flowers on top and you're golden!

I'm sharing a chance to win a $50 gift card to Cold Stone Creamery later today on my Instagram account @smileandwave so stay tuned! 

-Rachel

Note: This post was created in partnership with Cold Stone Creamery. I was paid a sponsor fee for my work but all thoughts, opinions, and anecdotes are my own. I'm always thankful to get to work with sponsors that our family already enjoy when we're in need of a specific product!