Daddy Time

I don't think I give him enough credit, but Wes truly is one heck of a dad, husband, confidant, friend, and so much more.  He gives unselfishly of his time and energy.  Whenever I can't take the pressure or my patience is faltering he's right there to meet my cry for help.  He supports me when I feel like I'm not such a great mom and gives me the encouragement to believe in myself again.  He listens to me whine and takes orders well!

He is the fun dad.  The one who rough houses with the kids like dads are supposed to do.  He's the one who initiates sports-related play so that I can stay inside and bake or cook.  He insists on giving me "me" time just when I need it most.  I'm a really lucky gal!  I love you, babe.  

Oh, and he's head of the Grammar Police, so he's taught me a thing or 2 over the years (I had a lot to learn!).  I thought of that because I would not have put that comma in between you and babe in the last sentence, but now I know better :)

These pictures are from 2 months ago, even though Colin is sporting some Christmas pajamas!  They were hand-me-downs from his cousin, so anything new must be worn immediately.  Incidentally, Sawyer's pj's didn't even come with matching pants, but they were also from his cousin, so who cares if they match!

My little Charlie Brown

Sometimes it's hard to get either of my children to pose for pictures.  Oh, who am I kidding?  It's always hard to get them to pose.  One morning I wanted to get some pictures of Sawyer in his Charlie Brown t-shirt and I devised a brilliant spur-of-the-moment plan.  He was carrying around a tiny magic capsule sponge that he was very smitten with for some reason.  Who needs a reason when you're 2 1/2?  So I told him we'd go outside so I could take a picture of his magic capsule train.  It worked!  Sometimes my ridiculous ideas do pay off.  I need to trust my gut more and just try some of the crazy thoughts that go through my head!

This is the magic train.  So tiny, yet so precious.

Here's the train posing for a picture on the step.  See it beside the pillar?

Sawyer proudly sitting next to his train.

Tucking it away for good measure.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake and Happy Birthday, Wes!

As I mentioned in my FYI Friday post, last Monday was Wes' birthday.  He's now not only older than me (well he always is) but now he's closer to 40 than he is 30.  That one hurts.  Not as much as I bet the big 4-0 will though!

I have a coworker who's birthday falls 2 days before his and I almost always bake her cake as well.  Year after year, Wes says he doesn't want me to make him a cake because I had to make hers, blah, blah, blah.  But who can have a birthday without cake?  That's sacrilegious!  So I donned my Betty Crocker apron and whipped up 2 cakes in 1 day.  That's how the big dogs do it.  I guess I'm officially a big dog.

   

I went with the old standby, one of our family favorites, a Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake.  I've made this about a half dozen times and each time it tastes slightly different than the last.  The key is all in the caramel.  You have to let it cook until you think it's reached the point of no return.  If you think it's burning, that's ok.  You're probably just reaching the finish line.  I've made it in the past when I didn't cook the caramel long enough and the icing lacked flavor.  Just seconds before the burning point, when it's deep golden brown, that's where it's at.

A terribly fuzzy picture of the birthday boy, but who could write a birthday post without so much as a blurry shot of the birthday boy himself?! 

Without further ado, the cake of all cakes, the lick-the-plate-clean-if-you're-a-2-or-5-year old, the cake that will add 5 pounds to your waistline and you won't care, the...

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

{Print recipe}

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
For the caramel:
4 tablespoons water
1 cup sugar1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, kosher or sea
For the salted caramel icing:
1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
8 ounces or 1 package of reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2-3  cups powdered sugar
1 cup salted caramel

Directions:
For the cake:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer two minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.
For the caramel:

1. Combine the water and sugar in a deep saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir together with a wooden spoon until the sugar is incorporated. Cover the saucepan and let it cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.

2. After 3 minutes, remove the lid, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Do not stir from this point on, but it is important to carefully shake the pan so that one area of the caramel doesn’t burn. Continue to cook until the caramel turns an even amber color then remove from the heat and let stand for about 30 seconds.

3. Carefully and slowly pour the heavy cream into the mixture. The mixture will bubble up significantly. Stir the mixture and add the butter, lemon juice, and salt. Stir until combined.

4. Measure 1 cup into a Pyrex measuring cup. Stirring occasionally, allow to cool until thick like molasses and warm to the touch, about 20 minutes. This recipes makes slightly more than 1 cup of caramel. You can reserve the rest for drizzling, like I did if you wish, or just eat it with a spatula!

For the caramel icing:

1. Bring butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.

2. Sift 1-2 cups of powdered sugar into the butter/cream cheese mixture and beat to combine. Add 1 cup of the salted caramel and beat to combine. Sift remaining powder sugar, in 1/2 cup increments and beating between each, until you arrive at the thickness and sweetness you desire. I used somewhere between 2-3 cups. 

3.  Frost in between the layers and all over the top and sides.

Store at room temperature for optimal freshness.  When you store cakes in the refrigerator, they dry out.  This cake will still taste delicious, the cake part just won't be as moist.

And for a little extra birthday bonus, some good old rough-housing with 2 of his favorite monsters!

**Linking up to What's Cookin Wednesday.

Happy Easter (recap)

I feel like it's been much longer than a week and a half since Easter!  I think it's because last week was Spring Break and that threw us off our routine (that I love so much) and it just makes it seem like a long time ago.  Nonetheless, I wanted to share some pictures of my handsome men in their church attire.

The serious side.

The silly side.

The happy family - quite possibly one of the only decent family pics we have had lately!  We can thank Wes' iphone and Facebook loving sister for her mad camera skills :)

Wes and I - another rare shot that actually is decent!

Wes' family, his brother's son, and us.

All the kiddos.

And this shot cracked me up too much to not include.  I actually had to crop out Sawyer because he was on the move and was a blur.  This is what I was left with.  Doesn't it look like a Glamour Shot (or an Olan Mills picture for those of you from around here)?!

Warming Up

I don't know about you, but I, for one, am ready for Spring!  I've had enough of the cold, dry, hand-cracking weather and I'm ready for sunshine, warm rains, flowers in bloom, and green grass.  
Last weekend it was maybe 50 degrees, but that didn't stop these 2 little guys from breaking out the new gear.  Come on t-ball, we're ready for you!  Just look at that determination and concentration.

What a stance.

Base hit!

Anything big brother has, little one has to have a piece of the action too.  Nothing is too big, too fast, or too scary for this one.

Come on Spring!

Stuttering John

No, I'm not referring to the Howard Stern Show personality.  Today I'm here to talk about stuttering in young children.  It's a very common occurrence in kids between the ages of 2 and 5.  However, when it happens to your own child, or someone close to you, you start to get concerned.
A couple weeks before Christmas, seemingly out of the blue, Sawyer started stumbling over words that began with the "wh" sound.  It started with with just the beginning of sentences and by the end of the weekend, it had progressed into not only the "wh" sound, but also nearly every word that started his sentences.  
At first I was annoyed.  I thought he was playing a joke and I wasn't going to tolerate it.  Then I began trying to help him find the words.  I'm sure there periods where I'd ignore him, but for the most part, I tried to be attentive to what I knew must be extremely frustrating for him.
Fast forward to the next week at his play school.  Lucky for us, he goes to a speech and hearing center, not because he has issues with either, but because it's a great school with a great location for us.  I mentioned the stuttering to his teacher and she reassured me this was common.  She also advised me as their speech therapists had advised her.  Her advice was basically to let it go.  Don't try to finish his sentences or speak for him.  Fail.  Don't punish him or even acknowledge it.  Fail.  Make eye contact and just be patient with him as he searches for the words.  At least I didn't totally fail here.  She basically told me it was a phase and many children outgrow it within a few months.  
As I began reading up on the issue, I found similar advice.  Basically their little minds are being flooded with new thoughts, words, and phrases and it's just taking them a while to process it all.  Makes perfect sense but part of me wondered why it him?  Colin didn't have any issues but then I realized I was comparing my children and I know they are definitely NOT the same!
I'm happy to report that just about 6 weeks later, he's almost completely kicked the habit.  He still pauses to find the words sometimes, but don't we all?  It would be nice if we could install that feature on grown-ups, right?!  I'm sure it will present itself again from time to time but I'm so thankful to have the guidance from his school as to how to handle it.  Hopefully by addressing (or not addressing) it early, we were able to nip it in the bud.  
There were a couple of times when he would get frustrated.  One time he was in the car with Wes and he was stuttering all over himself.  He finally paused and said, "Ah, never mind."  Poor little guy!  
I wanted to bring this to your attention should one of your loved ones, or a friend's loved ones experience a similar situation.  Here are a few resources if you're interested in reading more.
Kids Health
Stuttering Help
National Stuttering Association

Let it Snow!

Could this be our only snow of Winter 2013?  I would not be sad if that was true.  I don't mind it if I'm inside and have nothing to do but watch it pile up on each branch of the trees, but if I have to go to work, I watch nervously as it begins to cover the road.  I only have one speed, fast.  So that's not exactly conducive to slick roads.  

Nonetheless, my kids love the snow.  Their internal thermometers must temporarily stop working because they could easily spend an entire afternoon in sub-zero weather and not be the least bit phased.  I guess I'm just a sissy.  

So when we finally got our first snow, the boys were itching to go outside.  Not before we stopped by Target and just had to have some new snow boots!  Sawyer may or may not have been wearing them ever sense.  The kid loves him some 'piderman!

Colin is so astute.  He sees a camera and immediately grabs his brother for a photo op.  One never knows how long said photo op will last, so one must strike while the iron is hot.

Today proved to be a good day and Colin was all about modeling.  Even Sawyer joined in the fun.

Showing his older brother dominance and quite possibly squeezing a tad too hard (thus the biting of the tongue).

I think we have an oral fixation with the tongue...and the thumb.

Sawyer wasn't quite sure what to do with the snow.  So he stood there and watched his brother run wild.

This snow business is hard work.  I'm just going to stand here and look at bubby's footprints.  

Christmas, Part 2

Our Christmas in pictures.

Terrible picture of me but I wanted to remember that I was actually there too!

Wiped out after a full day.