The Story of the German Chocolate Cake

Alternately entitled:  Why I don't make my cakes from scratch!

About 10 years ago (which makes for a good start to a story, and at the same time makes me feel incredibly old) it was my husband's birthday.  We lived in south-central Texas, just outside of a sweet town with our two sweet kids.  He was, and still is, a musician, and a teacher.  A music teacher.  I've learned that means that while school is in session there is simply no "down time" to be had and we rarely get to see the guy.

Where was I?  Oh, yes.  His birthday.  That particular year was a very busy one.  For some reason "we" decided we weren't going to really do much for his birthday.  Then, on his way out the door to work he says:

Him: Are we going to have a cake or anything?

Me:  Ummmmm.....sure.  What kind of cake do you want?

Him:  My grandma always made me a German chocolate cake.

That was all I needed to know.  There *would* be a German Chocolate Cake on the table when that man walked in from work that night.  Enter Betty Crocker.

I quickly jotted down the list of the essentials that I didn't already have, loaded up my sweet children, and off to the store we went.

When we returned I fed the kids a snack and I got to work.  Now, keep in mind that I was still growing into my role as domestic genius (hmmm...actually it appears that I still am) so Betty Crocker and I were a little bit at odds.

Mix this and this.  Set aside.  Blend this.  Boil this.  Let sit.  Sift, flour, etc....

About an hour into the process my cherubs were not longer playing nicely and I was nowhere near finished with my masterpiece.  What's a mom to do?  Well, I'll tell you what I did!

I dumped about 6 cups of flour on the table, got out the hot wheels, and told the kids to go to town.  They contently played "cars" in the flour for the rest of the cake-baking-episode.

Finally!  The cake is done, the frosting is done, the kids are bathed, the kitchen cleaned.  The man arrives home.

The cake is not beautiful, but I present it to him with a smile.  Not saying a word about the fact that the stinkin' thing literally took me all...day....long.

Finally it comes up, and I tell him a little bit about the process, apologize for it's appearance, but am hopeful that it will taste like he remembers it.

Me:  Well, I just wanted to make it special for you, since your grandma used to make your cake.

Him:  Yeah, that's sweet.  My grandma just made it from a box.  She never made anything from scratch!

*************

Thus concludes my tale of why I will never again make a cake from scratch!

February Check-In

Ah, February.  Typically known as "burnout month" for homeschoolers, and I'm guessing for teachers across the board (or maybe students...or maybe both).  Is it the lack of sunshine, the cold, the brown (or white), the mundane?

In years past I've tried to stave off the February blues by looking ahead to the following school year and look at books and curriculum.  It would truly rejuvenate my spirit and get me excited about homeschooling again.  This year I'm living in the present.  I'm trying to be intentional about how I spend my days, how I approach this awesome task of homeschooling and child-rearing.  (Hint: "Teaching from Rest: A Homeschoolers Guide to Unshakable Peace" by Sarah Mackenzie has been instrumental in the way I see myself in this role as a homeschooling mom of many)

That doesn't mean our life is calm and quiet and blissful.  There are 8 people living under one roof and we've been blasted with some really cold temps which means no outside time for a handful of days. And there are 8 people living under one roof, and it's been cold....oh, did I say that already.  :)

*****

Just this afternoon in fact, the "sweetest toddler in the world" was the "most adorable ever" playing with play dough at the table like such a big kid.  I ran to the back of the house to grab my camera.  As soon as I had the camera in my hand, "Boom! SCREAM!!!!" Adorable, sweet toddler took a nose-dive off the chair, landed flat on her face, and now has a beautiful, fat, bloodied lip to prove it.

She feels insulted when we make her sit in her booster chair.

Moments later she was standing on the keys of the piano trying to grab a book off the top of the piano.  A book that was, no doubt, placed on the top of the piano for the precise reason of being "out of reach" to her sweet, adorable little hands.  In the words of Charlie Brown, "Good grief!" 

*****

So, what was I saying?  Ah, yes.  February.  Up here this "dry spot" of the year creeeeeeeps into much of March as well.  

3 things that I'm doing to make this February the greatest yet!

1. I'm making time for reading.  I love reading blogs and I love reading "homeschooling" books and "mothering" books, but I'm talking about some serious, just-because-I-want-a-good-story reading.  I just finished "Pilgrim's Inn" by Elizabeth Goudge.  I have "Scent of Water" waiting on my night stand taunting me. The excuse "I don't have time" just never sits quite right with me.  We're all given the same amount of time just with different things that fill that time.  What we choose to do with the time is what can make all the difference.  

2. Getting outside.  Okay, so for full disclosure I do have to say that this afternoon I sent all children outside so I could sit in peace and write.  And, we've had some nasty-cold weather lately.  But...even on those cloudy, not-quite-warm-enough-but-not-dangerously-cold days I've been making a point to get outside.  Soul food!

3.  Limiting social media.  There ya have it.  I've said it before, I'll say it again...I get sucked in.  I really do.  It's in my nature to wonder and fret and to be curious about how every one I've ever known is doing.  Guess what?  It eats away at me little by little until I notice that I'm snapping at my kids and using too much brain power trying to analyze what's going on in the lives of those I don't know all that well.  There is so much good on the internet these days, but if all that good is taking me away from the "best and single most important" then it's not all that good.

Look who decided to hang out on a tree by our house.

He warned me that he didn't like his picture being taken, and then took off.  

How's your February?  Anything helping to keep the "blah" away?