Ainsley's 10th Birthday: Icecream Sundae Bar tips

I think Ainsley had a fun birthday weekend. We had a wonderful dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and the girls loved their Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Cheesecake for dessert. The waiters sang to Ainsley, and this was a new experience for her. They also wrote her name in chocolate around the rim of her plate.

Audrey decided yesterday that she was Ainsley's "best sister" and that Ainsley was her "sweetest sister." When we went shopping for Ainsley's bday present at the American Girl Store, Audrey was very good at keeping the secret from Ainsley. She was so excited about buying Ainsley gifts and told me that she wanted to buy Ainsley a "stuffie." What she really meant was that she wanted to build a Build-a-Bear and give it to Ainsley. We compromised, and Audrey got to pick out a mini-BaB Lamb instead. It was the cheapest stuffed animal I have ever bought, in terms of quality, but Audrey was so happy to give it a "bath" and brush it for Ainsley and then to watch her open it.

It was also nice to watch Audrey and Ainsley strolling around holding hands all evening. Audrey picked out her outfit for Ainsley's birthday dinner, and Ainsley has been planning her outfit for weeks.

The kids and Neil spent this morning cleaning the house for Ainsley's party tonight. Ainsley invited a few friends from church and school over for dinner, a movie, and ice cream sundaes. The girls had a fun time with their friends. Neil and I were thankful for a finished basement with a door on it.

This is why we created "Cuzcotopia." That is the name we have given our finished basement/media room. If you have seen Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove", then you will recognize the reference. We've got the Kinect down there, a 50" flat screen, a 3-ft circumference Fuf beanbag, two ottomans, two gamer chairs that you are like rocking chairs that sit on the floor and balance, and a mini-fridge. We miss Deb's playroom from our house in Fayetteville, but this is still pretty fun. We are trying to find either a Foosball table or an air hockey table on Craigslist to put in the back of the room, too. You'd be surprised how many there are on Craigslist, but they sell pretty fast.

My cooking tip for today is for an ice cream sundae bar. I scooped the ice cream in advance, when it was softened from the car ride home, so that it would be faster when it was time to serve it at the party. I tried two different methods.
1) Place wax paper on a cookie sheet. Scoop the ice cream in rows on the cookie sheet. You have to move fast so it does not melt all over the cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet flat in the freezer until it is time to eat it, a few hours at least.
2) Place the scoops in the individual muffin spots in a muffin tin. Place the muffin tin flat in the freezer.

When it was time to serve it, I took both pans out of the freezer at the same time. When the ice cream was still hard, it was easier to use a spatula to pry the ice cream off the cookie sheet. When I finished that tray, I moved on to the muffin tin. The ice cream was softer, but not softened. It was easy to spoon the scoop out of the muffin tin in one piece. When it was hard, the ice cream in the muffin tins was difficult to scoop out-it was just like trying to scoop ice cream. Have I mentioned that one of my biggest pet peeves in life is scooping ice cream. That is why I tried this trick.

For the toppings, I used cupcake liners and filled them half way with either Plain M&Ms, gummy bears, or gummy worms. I filled it full of Oreos that I had placed in a ziplock and crushed with the end of my rolling pin. I didn't want crumbs, but really chunky pieces of Oreo. Everyone could pick Oreos or M&Ms and gummy bears or worms. Not one of every thing. Ainsley poured the Magic Shell.

For the movie, I took party hats from the store, inverted them in Easter baskets on the kitchen table, and filled them with Trader Joe's White Cheese popcorn. Smartfood Popcorn would work, too. Martha Stewart always suggests making these cute paper cones for holding party treats, but who has time for that? Party hats work just as well. If you are germaphobic, you could put a bright napkin inside and then put the popcorn inside that. For the movie candy, we bought 9 oz clear plastic cups and allowed them to choose some candy.

We spread the food out over the course of the evening, and offered lots of cold water to dilute all of that sugar and salt. I tried to control the portions of the food so that they really were not eating much at one time. For example, I gave everyone one piece of pizza cut in half lengthwise so that it looked like they were having two pieces. Only a few people wanted more, and they only ate another half a slice. I was not being stingy-I had four large pizzas-but I knew how many treats they would be eating later. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, only two girls took me up on the baby carrots that I offered.

My kids are very excited because we have two pizzas left over, a lot of candy and Sprite, plus the cheesecake and leftovers from Friday night. We are going to have to lock the kitchen down so that they don't spoil their dinner tomorrow night. After two days off, and Neil grilling steaks again tomorrow night, I will be ready to cook again Monday night. (And go to the gym twice to make up for all this food and no gym time this weekend.) I was pleasantly surprised when Neil asked me to make those baby new potatoes again for dinner tomorrow night.