Poop Cake II

so, luke got up this morning and wanted to make another "poop cake", which coincided nicely with the fact that charlie had pooped last night and earned herself a little party as well as a princess (which we've started calling the poop princesses). but because it was morning, i couldn't crank out anything but a coffee cake. this is my take on a coffee cake recipe i found online - which was okay, but not perfect.

this is perfect:

cake

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled butter
1 egg
3/4 cup milk + whatever it takes to combine dry and wet

okay, cut butter into flour, sugar, bp and salt with a pastry cutter or knife and fork until butter is in pea size pieces or smaller (i'd go smaller). make a well (for the non-biscuit makers - this is making a "bowl" in your dry ingredients) and pour in milk, egg and vanilla. mix to combine - which means DON'T overmix this. you want it to be wet and a little lumpy. spread in small pan (or big pan if you don't like thick cakes).

topping

1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chilled butter

cut the butter into the flour until butter is pea sized or smaller (i start this and let the kids finish it). add sugars and cinnamon and mix well. with your fingers sprinkled evenly on top of cake batter. kids like doing this part as well.

well, there it is. the perfect coffee cake. which means there's a little bit of sweet (but not too much) in the batter and a perfectly sweet top that crisps up nicely. if the kidlets weren't in tow on this one, i would have added crushed pecans to the sugar topping. and if you like a little more sweet stuff then me - double topping and swirl half of it into batter before covering top. and if your kids want to get involved - just turn the topping over to them. they can't ruin that easily and what kid doesn't like eating pea sized sugar coated balls of butter?! okay, have a good day. bb

oh, and to top it all off.



black toenail polish.

which is all the rage right now.
oh, and for all the moms of little girls out there
i was trying out maybelline's 50 second dry time express finish nail polish.
it rocked.
charlie's getting a fashionable coat of charcoal cheer later this afternoon.

mi esposo, mi amor...

i've grown too accustomed to the smell of his farts.
to farts in general.
to boys.
no one tells you this before you get married.
they tell you all sorts of crud like -
"don't go to bed angry" and "always kiss like you kissed when you were dating",
and of course there's my personal fave -
"marriage is a marathon, not a sprint."
well, in all of that, no one told me that my spouse would expel noxious gas -
gas so strong it splits my ends and curls my toes and makes me gag a little.
a lot.
smells so strong that i once took off my wedding ring and handed it to him as i said,
"here. take it. it's just not worth it."
and i meant it at the time.
the twenty year old version of me is horrified that i am even writing about this.
while the thirty one year old version of me -
well, she doesn't care.
she thinks farts are funny - from a distance - but funny none-the-less.
she's even started to tee-hee-hee like her mother-in-law any time someone says the word "ball".
boys, they rub off on you.
i wonder what we're rubbing off onto them.

i feel deep and reflective this morning.

probably because i don't feel very well.
probably because it's cold outside.
probably because i have hot chocolate in a mug warming my hands.
probably because i am filled with a strong sense of peace.
probably because i am tired.
probably because there are little ones underfoot who make me feel like the world is a whole new place to explore.
probably because there's so much left to do.
probably because there's so little time.
probably because the sun rises so slowly and fades so quickly.
probably because life is changing again.
probably because i'm coming to life again.

probably.

i really, really, really have to work today...

so i cleaned my office until one in the morning -
tried to organize some of the clutter better -
make prettier stacks of crap and whatnot.
this is as good as it gets until after christmas.
in my dream world -
i'd have a writing room, a scrapbook/sewing room, a room for FMG and a separate space for household biz.
i obviously don't live in my dream world.
obviously.

what i like to do in my spare time...

kill brain cells.



seriously, huffers dream about stumbling upon patios like mine -
wide, spacious and littered with 40 cans of spray paint
and a soft place to fall.
nirvana.

ewwww...

so, after so many servings of turkey, all the fixings and five hour energy drinks...
nick was a gastrointestinal mess on the drive home.
so every five minutes or so he'd let a silent but deadly rip
and then kick back and see if any of us noticed before he went to the effort of cracking the window.
(between you and me and hopefully nick's guilt ridden subconscious -
WE ALWAYS NOTICE - CRACK THE DANG WINDOW!)
okay, i feel better now.
well, anyhoo, every time he does this the kids start waving their hands in front of their noses and going,

"EWWWWW. It's a moo-cow. EWWWWW!!!!".

awesome.

molliday...

call me. i can't seem to get you on the phone. i thought connecticut was supposed to be all posh and upscale...what's with the appalachian quality cell service? oh, and say hi to hannah and let me know what you guys want for christmas. i can always send out last years christmas gift - tee-hee. okay, signing off - kids to put to bed.

ps: have we heard anything from yale yet? ants in my pants waiting to hear...

getting back to normal...

we're only eighty percent unpacked...
but glad to be home.
now i have to convince nick to get the tree down tonight.
last year i was feeling too sick to tackle it until later in the month...
but this year - i want it up as long as is possible.
weeks and weeks of christmas are needed to heal my wounded christmas spirit after the last two years.
and maybe a gingerbread house and pinwheel cookies.
that's it -
a bedecked house, a gingerbread mid century modern, pinwheel cookies and a pumpkin cheesecake -
all of those things and i'll feel just about back to normal
oh, all of those things and ibarra.
mmmmm...
ibarra.

okay-
happy decorating to all and to all a lot of patience if you have toddlers underfoot.

i know, i know...i'm not in the picture...

there is a picture of me with my hubby and kids.
but it exceeded my 2+ chin limit. once we go there i'm no longer up for public display.
but to make everyone feel better...
here's me macking on my mountain man way up on the mountain...

and to be fair and balanced -
aunt jj going in for the kill...



please don't kill me, aunt jj.
if it makes you feel better -
you have a striking tongue...

ps: do you like how uncle cody is obliviously trimming his nails while his wife's tongue is inches from his face?!
what kind of self-respectin' newlywed is he?!

ps2: what kind of sicko trims his nails in the snow in public?!

hee-hee-hee-hee...

sundance, the happiest place on earth...

i try not to judge...

we're finally home from utah

we sat in the car for 16 hours yesterday
apparently there's a lot of sad saps that spend thanksgiving gambling their paychecks away in vegas

the word "dillweed" was used a lot by my darling dearest who did 14 of the 16 hours of driving
apparently "dillweed" is a swearword in boy world
it's right up there with "douchebag"
which is a major head scratcher to me, considering ninety percent of boy world can't say "tampon" or "sanitary napkin"

but at least we got to see uncle cody ("toady" if you're charlie) and aunt jj
and we played in the snow at sundance
and ate indian food one night
and turkey dinner the other two nights
and we've officially obtained a raincheck for the best korean food in provo
and to top it all off, i finally figured out eyeliner thanks to jj
(though it must be noted that one of the side effects of well applied eye liner
is an overly amorous husband for the next 24 hours...word to the wise)

okay, i'm off to tackle the mountain of clothes/food/debris that i emptied out of the car earlier
call 911 if i don't post in the next few days
and tell the operator i'm buried somewhere under the snowpants and baggies of crushed goldfish,
which happen to be under a weeks worth of soiled underpants and the kid's sleeping bags.