Staying up Late, a Bounce House, and a Sheet Cake

"That summer they started having picnics.  At first the picnics were not real picnics; not the kind you take out in a basket.  Betsy's father, serving the plates at the head of the table, would fill Betsy's plate with scrambled eggs and bread and butter and strawberries, or whatever they had for supper.  Tacy's father would do the same.  Holding the plate in one hand and a glass of milk in the other, each little girl would walk carefully out of her house and down the porch steps and out to the middle of the road.  Then they would walk up the hill to that bench where Tacy had stood the first night she came.  And there they would eat supper together.

Betsy always liked what she saw on Tacy's plate.  In particular she liked the fresh unfrosted cake which Tacy's mother often stirred up for supper for her big family.  Tacy knew that Betsy liked that cake, and she always divided her piece.  And if baked beans or corn bread or something that Tacy liked lay on Betsy's plate, Betsy divided that too."

-from Betsy Tacy, by Maud Hart Lovelace

Hugo has been staying up in the evenings.  For years he's been eagerly awaiting the day that he gets to go to bed with the big kids, and the other week we realized that he was ready (meaning, he was staying up an hour past his bedtime anyway, so why not make it official).  After the twins and Hugo are in bed has been our read aloud time with the older girls, so the fact that he is staying up with us means that our literature has to be adjusted to be interesting and understandable to an 8 year old, a 7 year old, and an (almost) 5 year old.  I've been looking through and some old favorites and realizing that I really miss the books, the characters, the stories.

Have you read The Betsy Tacy Treasury?  It's a heartwarming story of the friendship between three girls over the course of their childhoods, and it's very charming and sweet.  I love the storyline of Tacy's family, partly because they are a big, rambunctious, joyful family, and I hope that our children will remember their own childhoods in much the same way.  Whenever dinner at Tacy's house is mentioned, they talk about these sheet cakes that her mom is aways making to feed all of those hungry mouths, and somewhere over the many years we've been reading these books, Ben has started suggesting that maybe it would be a good idea to make some sheetcakes around here?  I mean, it's the practical thing to do, right?  Sheetcakes are humble-- they are generally served straight from the pan, no flipping and elaborate decorating, no extra cupcake wrappers.  Just a plain desert, and if you're feeling fancy you can always put a simple frosting on top, but it's not even necessary.  And if your family is anything like my family, even a simple cake, when made at home, is devoured with relish.

I found a recipe called "Texas Sheet Cake" and have modified it over the past months to the point that it is a foolproof go-to for our family.  Whenever I make it, I feel just like Tacy's mom.  I originally tried this recipe from a magazine, and still pull out that torn and stained magazine each time I make the cake, so I figured it was time to immortalize it here on the blog for easy future reference.  I always seem to have the ingredients on hand, and whenever there is a special occasion, the kids beg for me to make it.  I hope you enjoy it, too!

Texas Sheet Cake

Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup regular milk with a splash of vinegar)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Icing

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar

Cake:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly butter a 9 by 13 inch pan (line with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang if you have parchment paper on hand).

2.  Whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in large bowl.

3.  Melt butter in a saucepan over medium low.  Whisk in cocoa, then 1 cup water.  Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally.  Pour over flour mixture and stir to combine.  Stir in eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.

4.  Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a spatula.  Bake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes.

5.  Transfer cake in pan to a wire rack; let cool 15 minutes.

Icing:

1.  In a small saucepan, bring butter, cocoa, and cream to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat; whisk in vanilla and confectioners' sugar.  Let stand until warm before using.

2.  Pour glaze over warm cake, and allow to cool before serving.

(And our darling Lily turned 7 last week, complete with our first ever birthday party featuring a bounce house, or moon bounce as we call them back East, which was a huge, exciting, energy-expending hit.  All of these years of early childhood are so magical, I just love each one of them, and Lily holds such a special place in all of our hearts.  Looking back on pictures of when she was born makes me so happy and thankful!)

Books, Summer Food, Fireflies, and Remembering Things

::Summer reading is in full swing, and it seems like a lot of our books are ones we've already read!  I'm reading The End of the Affair, which I last read what feels a lifetime ago, when I was pregnant with Zosia.  It's beautiful, well written, and insightful, and luckily my memory is so bad that I feel as though I were reading it for the first time!  Ben is reading The Hobbit, which seems perfectly fitting given that we're about to embark upon our own adventure (and for the record, Ben remembers books perfectly, but will often choose to reread a book simply because he knows he likes it).  We're reading The Penderwicks at Point Mouette with the girls, which really, truly is the *perfect* book for summer (although if you're new to this series, start at the beginning!).  And the babies love anything with animals: I Am A bunny is a favorite along with Oh What a Busy Day!  I seriously could read these really good children's books again every single day and never grow tired of them.

 ::No clue where Clara found these, but she insists upon wearing them often.  Given the fact that she is usually our style maven, I am going to have to find her something a little more chic, or she will never forgive me!

::There is something about losing someone close to you which forces you to re-examine a lot of things about your life.  Am I doing things right?  Are there things I would look back upon my life and regret?  Am I spending my time and energy on the things that matter the most in life?  Ben and I have had so many wonderful, fruitful, and soul searching conversations over the past few weeks, which I will always hold in a special place in my heart.  One random thing that we both agreed upon is that we would like to be more intentional about remembering special days (birthdays, anniversaries) of loved ones.  Truth be told, we are usually so scatter brained, we're lucky to remember our own childrens' birthdays!  A few days after we had the conversation, a birthday calendar arrived in the mail, which Ben has hung up in our kitchen.  I am feeling so good about this resolution, and am hoping we will do a better job of remembering and celebrating the people we love most!

::One thing I love about living in a place which such distinct seasons is that I notice that the way we eat shifts so drastically from season to season.  We're definitely not strict "seasonal eaters" "local eaters" "organic eaters" or anything else that fancy (whew, looking at our run of the mill grocery bill, I'm having a hard time imagining how people swing that sort of thing!), but we do buy food that is ripe and cheap, and as close to whole as possible. We also avoid using the oven on hot days (or use it extra on cold days!) which means that desserts in particular are either chilled or unbaked in the summer.  This morning I threw together some chilled granola bars loosely based on this recipe (reeaaaally loosely, but they turned out fine!), and they were a big hit with the kids.  And don't worry, I made sure to even out that half of a granola bar up there-- that's what moms are for, right? (Oh, and Clara prefers to feed herself these days.  I think you'll agree she seems pretty capable!).

::When Ben and I were newly married, we started gathering up National Geographic field guides.  If we saw one in a thrift store, we would buy it.  We would buy one for one another for Christmas.  By the time the kids came around, we had a bona fide collection, and it's one of the best purchases we've ever made.  I love that as our kids become interested in nature, they have easy access to beautiful pictures and facts to help their exploration.  One Father's Day or birthday or something I bought Ben a bird feeder, and I would say that is one of my other best long term purchases.  He's actually really diligent about keeping it filled, and we are graced with the loveliest variety of birds, and the kids really enjoy trying to identify each one!  

:: The season of fireflies is upon us!  I have distinct childhood memories of catching fireflies in the summer, and love watching my own little ones participating in the seasonal ritual.

I still can't quite believe in only two weeks we'll be on another coast entirely.  Are there fireflies in California?  I sure hope so.  I imagine we'll be discovering a new set of wonders out there, but in the meantime, I am savoring every last moment right where we are.

Lily's Six

Our darling Lillian turned 6 yesterday.  As many of you know, she is an aspiring chef, and takes every possible opportunity to get to work in the kitchen.  When she asked for a cooking themed birthday, we knew it was the perfect thing!  She invited the girls from her class over to decorate pizzas and cupcakes.  As with all good gatherings of six year old girls, it devolved into playing dressup and running around outside.  It was just the perfect day, and right before we tucked her into bed, we took turns telling her things that make her special. She is brave.  She is generous.  She is thankful.  She is really fun to be around.  Having her in our family feels like the biggest gift, and I will forever remain grateful for that beautiful spring day that she joined our family.

Happy Birthday, darling!  We just adore you.

Parenting Books, Pretzels, and Dreaming of Spring

Happy Valentine's Day!  Oh wait, that was totally last week, then there was Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday yesterday.  Whew, I'm just getting caught up around here!  Well, I just don't think any of those things would count without a picture of the garland on the door, some tasty short ribs for Fat Tuesday, and our traditional pretzels for Ash Wednesday.  So there you have it.

The other day I started getting emails in the afternoon that various books had been purchased onto Ben's kindle.  I was scrolling through the titles and couldn't, for the life of me, remember buying a single one of them.  There was: 

"What Your Explosive Child Is Trying to Tell You: Discovering the Pathway from Symptoms to Solutions" 

"The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children"

"The Defiant Child: A Parent's Guide to Oppositional Defiant Disorder"

The list went on.  In total, over one hundred dollars of these parenting books had been ordered.  Curious more than anything, I gave Ben a call at work and asked if he had been doing some thinking about parenting, perhaps?  Was one of the children feeling particularly challenging?  No and no, and he hadn't been purchasing books.  "You should ask the kids about it," was his advice, and before I even uttered a single word, his suggestion triggered the memory: Hugo, out of the corner of my eye, darting to his room with something tucked under his arm.  I had thought it was a toy or book, but suddenly I knew.

So, quite ironically, it turns out that our three year old son stole our kindle and inadvertently purchased hundreds of dollars of parenting books about naughty children.  It's almost enough to make me a believer in karma.  Luckily, you can return kindle purchases for seven days.  Phew!

But before I discount the value of parenting books, can I tell you about one that I've been reading and absolutely love?  It's this book, entitled Parenting With Grace, and was recommended as a great book about Catholic parenting.  And can I tell you that these authors somehow manage to put into words exactly what I've thought and felt and tried to live out in my own home with utmost eloquence?  Their words and ideas are inspiring and manage to beautifully link good, attachment based parenting with Catholic theology, and I just love it.  And come to think of it, my recent purchase of this book onto Ben's kindle quite likely led to the chain of events (kindle recommending other parenting books, Hugo accidentally clicking on them as he explored the kindle) I have just described.  Parenting in the age of technology.  Sheesh!

And with that I'm off to get under many blankets and read something, preferably not a parenting book.  School has already been cancelled tomorrow because it is just too cold.  I know, I know, we Virginians are softies.  All it takes is for the thermometer to drop below zero for us to hide away in our warm homes and dream of spring, which is exactly what I will be doing tomorrow.

February Gratitudes

It has been one of those days that leaves me feeling grateful.  For a thick blanket of snow, a morning spent at the sledding hill up the street, and a big lunch of pancakes, bacon, and blueberry syrup when we got home.  For health (after a week of sickness), medicine, a friend visiting who is like family (framily?), and real honest to goodness family around us who we can drop in on like it's no big deal.  For a night playing telephone pictionary, drinking mulled wine, and watching my new favorite cooking inspiration (I am obsessed!).  For a boy who lives in his imagination, a girl who carves out her pockets of quiet in a bustling household, another girl who finds joy in every little thing, and those two little babies who like to talk to me in sign language about nursing while they are nursing and also sometimes bite each other (I'm looking at you, Dorothy).  For a partner who is best friend and confidante.  All of these things almost make me forget it is cold and is about to get even colder.  Yikes, February, you are sort of brutal, but I guess I like you anyway.