Let it Snow!!

Now I know for some of you, this is no big deal, but we rarely get snow around here. If you watched Monday Night Football tonight, (Hawks won, woohoo!), you saw what is was like here. You might have thought it was Green Bay, but alas, no, it was our fair city of Seattle. It is now 11:20pm and traffic is still jammed. What a mess. All the freeways are ice rinks. Abandoned cars everywhere as people give up and walk to motels. I am SO glad the hubby works 4 miles from home. It still took him almost an hour to get home! Did I mention the hight was 37? That's cold for us!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

There is nothing sweeter than watching your baby learn to walk! Joel started taking steps on his own about 2 weeks ago. Yesterday and today he is getting bolder, taking 6-7 steps at a time. I just LOVE watching those first wobbly steps!

Happy 14 month birthday!

Yummy, Easy, Chocolate Cake from scratch

*** I almost forgot, make sure you combine the dry ingredients before you add the vinegar. The reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda is what causes it to rise. If the baking soda and vinegar touch before baking it won't rise!! I've done this before!

Here is a recipe for a chocolate cake that is super duper easy and you probably have everything in your pantry to make it with. It has no eggs and no milk, so its good for allergies. I think the origins of this recipe date back to WWI and II when they had rations on things like eggs and milk. It is very moist and tasty! It is not very "fluffy", but more dense. But for me and chocolate, that is not a bad thing!!

Wacky Chocolate Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour (or rice flour if you are avoiding gluten)
1 cup sugar
1/2 t salt
3 T unsweetened cocoa powder ( or more!)
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla extract
1 T vinegar
5 T oil
1 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients into mixing bowl. **very important! Add vanilla, vinegar, oil and water. Blend well; pour into ungreased 9 inch square pan. (or round pan) Bake for 25-30 min. When cool, frost or sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

I frequently double the recipe to make 1 large sheet cake (13x9) or two round cakes.

Source: The Food Allergy News Cookbook and my Mother-in- Law =)

What is wrong with this picture?

Did you figure out what is missing from the ingredients list??

Here's a hint: Micah can eat this MILK chocolate frosting!

Halloween (at last!)

Finally have downloaded my pictures! We went to Microsoft for their annual trick-or-treating (aka showing off your kids all dressed up) Then we came home and trick or treated around the neighborhood. Joel didn't go...he's not walking...he can't eat candy... and it was very cold that night! We had a cold snap that week. The funniest story: When we came home from Microsoft, the doorbell rang and we explained to Micah that it was trick or treaters. So he opened the door and the kids dutifully said "trick-or-treat" while holding open their bags. Micah said "Oh, thank you, " and proceeded to take candy out of their bag! What do you think, Reader's Digest worthy?


Joel was a puppy dog. More like a stuffed animal puppy. He was might cute!

This is what made the costume super cute---crawling around in it! Yup, he's still not walking (at 14 months). See the blurryness? That's because he is so darn fast at crawling!! Who would want to walk if you can crawl much much faster?
The Friday before Halloween we had a party with play group, complete with apple dunking. Micah really got into it!

Public Service Announcement

Update:
I was able to get 10 boxes for free! They were $1 a box and if you bought 10, the manufacturer gives you $10 off automatically: no coupon required! Unfortunately I can't use them, (Micah's allergy) but hey, they were free! I'm sure the food bank will appreciate it.

Okay, I'm embarrassed at the lack of posts.

I want to post picts from Halloween, but my computer is sooo slow downloading picts that I haven't done it yet. Maybe tomorrow.

On to the PSA:

Run, don't walk to Safeway/Vons on Wednesday. Buy 10 Betty Crocker Supreme Moist Cake mixes. They will pay you to take them. Go here to see it. The prices vary... one friend paid $.30 for 10 mixes, one GOT paid $.60 to take them. Mail them to Tweedygirl, because she likes boxed cake mixes and she cannot get them. With the money you save on the cost of the mixes you can spend it on postage.

That is all. Back to the regularly scheduled blogging.