Labor Day Weekend Shmabor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend always sneaks up on me. I am so tired of summer by now, that the thought of barbecuing or swimming or doing anything remotely Labor Day Weekend-ish sounds awful. Can't we just wear sweaters and open our windows and eat soup already? Sheesh.

Just because I have a bad attitude about it doesn't mean you have to. I hope you have something fun planned. I am teaching Relief Society on Sunday and scrubbing our house the rest of the days to get ready for house guests. So that should be fun?

Actually, I don't mind those things quite so much. And really, I'd do any amount of scrubbing if it meant that my sisters and parents were coming for a visit. And they are! Next week is going to be so great. We are counting down the hours til they get here.

Enjoy your weekend!

a birthday and a cake

Yesterday was my birthday. I almost didn't make myself a cake. I almost let myself be mopey. Sometimes birthdays make me grumpy. Instead, I bought myself some presents and made Mike take me out to lunch. (We had the most delicious tacos here.) While Elliot napped, I baked this cake. And yesterday ended up being pretty fantastic after all. A lot of that had to do with all of the sweet notes that were left on my instagram account. Man alive, thank you, friends! I had a permanent smile on my face all day long.

But yes, the cake. Bake one immediately, please. It is the pumpkin cake of your dreams. (I brought out my latent math skills and only made one squat little layer instead of three. One was just the right amount for our little family of 6. I didn't want to have to face any leftovers this morning, as I surely would have eaten them for breakfast and regretted it immediately.)

Cinnamon Roll Cake

This cake in no way replaces cinnamon rolls. But it comes awfully close. It is more like a coffee cake, and would be good to serve at a brunch or a baby shower. This weekend, I brought it to a funeral. That worked, too, I guess.

Cinnamon Roll Cake, from my friend, Brooke

for the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix everything together except for the butter. Then slowly stir the melted butter into the batter before pouring it all into a greased 9x13 pan.

for the topping:
1 cup softened butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Mix these ingredients together, then drop evenly over the top of the batter. Swirl into the cake batter with a knife. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes.

for the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
5 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix these together and drizzle over the warm cake. (I needed to add a little more milk to make mine the right consistency for drizzling, just fyi.)

Anything under 100 degrees will do.

Yesterday I was feeling out of sorts. But I had an Anthropologie coupon burning a hole in my pocket and a free morning, so Elliot and I headed there first thing to see about spending it. I tried on e v e r y t h i n g in the store. Nothing felt right. We went home empty handed. Blah.

I spent the afternoon cleaning out my closet. Because that's what I do when I feel out of sorts. Don't you? In the midst of the cleaning I realized something. It's not that I don't have things to wear. It's that it is too hot outside to wear any of them! Ah! I need a change of season and I need it bad.

It's the only kind of change that I can really get behind.

I'm hoping for cooler temperatures this weekend. How about you?

happy birthday, mom

About once a month, my mom sends Stella a letter, just because she knows how much Stella enjoys getting a letter in the mail. Whenever she comes across a little white pitcher, she picks it up for my collection. When she comes for a visit, she sits on the couch and reads to Elliot for as long as he wants her to. Mabel and Oliver know she loves them because she always tells them that she does. She shows her love for us in so many tangible ways.

I wish we were with her today to celebrate her birthday. We'll just have to give her extra hugs next time she comes to town.

Happy birthday, Mom!

on change

I have a hard time with change. Goodness, don't we all?

I remember when I was pregnant with Elliot, Mike changed all of the lightbulbs in our house to the energy efficient coil kind and I almost cried. The light was different and I couldn't come to terms with it.

Last week, we chopped down a tree in our front yard. 30 years of growth disappeared in less than 3 minutes at the hands of a rowdy chain saw. My grief completely caught me off guard. As soon as the tree was gone, I missed it and felt like we had made a huge mistake. Who cuts down a mature shade tree in the middle of summer in this blasted desert?! The worst part was that our pretty wisteria that thrived in the shade of that tree started to dwindle. I have pruned it and given it a few deep soaks, but I am left hoping for the best.

The thing is, our yard will be better off without that tree. Our house is so much brighter inside with it gone. Our basement bedrooms don't even feel like they are in the basement anymore! But those good things might mean the end of my beloved wisteria. And I have to be ok with that.

pinned, but the originating link is missing

That's the trick, right? Focusing our energy on building the new, instead of lamenting the old. I might need this pinned to my shirt for a bit. Or for the rest of my life. Is this something that ever becomes easy?


p.s. We kept our other humongous pecan tree, so we aren't totally nuts.

new school year, new motto

More than anything, I want my children to be kind. I want them to know that it's ok to be friendly with everyone, even when it's not easy and especially when it's not popular. I want them to be generous and helpful, no matter who is watching. For some, this comes easy. I've always admired my older sister, Leslie, for her ability to make friends. Stella is the same way. Once they meet someone new, they immediately consider them a friend. It is a good way to be.

And so, as Mabel gets ready for the move to Junior High next year (and the friend drama that comes with it), and as Oliver is surrounded by young second graders in his 2/3 combo, and as Stella starts Kindergarten, being a friend takes on greater importance. My hope this year is that they can "be a friend" to everyone.

Ginger Snaps

Apparently, I'm still on a quest for fall because I found myself baking ginger snaps yesterday afternoon. The air conditioning was blowing full blast. The sun was blazing outside. And I was surrounded by the scent of cinnamon and ginger and cloves. It was wonderful.

The original recipe calls for vegetable oil, but I just can't bring myself to use vegetable oil these days. So here is my adapted recipe, using butter instead:

Ginger Snaps

In a medium bowl, whisk 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together 3/4 cup softened butter, 1/4 cup molasses, and 1 cup packed brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg and mix well.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until just combined. Roll dough into 1 1/4 inch balls and then roll into a bowl of white sugar (about 1/3 cup's worth) to coat. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are set. Let them sit on the pan for a minute or two before you put them on a rack to cool. Once cool, store in an air-tight container.

These cookies spread out quite a bit, so don't crowd your pan. They end up being nice and chewy with a good little snap around the edges. And the best part: they taste just like fall.

dreaming of fall

It never fails. School starts and I get tricked into thinking it's fall. But it's so not fall. It's still blazing hot, and it will be until October. (I just want to wear jeans darn it!) But that didn't stop me and Elliot from blasting Simon & Garfunkel and making pumpkin cookies this morning.

Baby steps til October. . .

the bathrooms

As promised, some extremely poorly-lit bathroom photos for your perusal.

Now that all of the kids sleep downstairs, the old downstairs guest bathroom has become the kids' bathroom. So it needed something a little more durable than an 80 year old dresser turned sink. I like the one we chose from the Home Decorator's Collection via the Home Depot.

Moving on. . .

The upstairs hall bathroom has become the new guest bathroom, so we brought the old dresser upstairs. Hopefully this is the last time we have to replumb it, although if we ever move, it is coming with us. I love it so.

I'm afraid we ripped out everything that was practical in this bathroom (like the peeling, dingy lineoleum floor that somehow in its dinginess never showed a speck of dirt and the very water-proof faux-marble countertop). But it is so much prettier now!

All we need are some guests.

weekend report

In a stroke of brilliance, Mike hired a plumber this weekend to finish the bathrooms we've been working on. It turns out that plumbing is not our (my) forte. The plumber probably had a good laugh over the pipes I had rigged up. They were pretty ridiculous. I'm just glad the bathrooms are finished and finally leak free. I'm sure I'll share pictures soon because what are blogs for if not for sharing poorly-lit photos of diy renovations?

On Saturday morning Mike and I went running. We've been running together for more than a year now, and it is still the best thing ever. Lately we've been adding more miles to our runs and I think I might die. (It must be the marathon training looming in Mike's future that is spurring him on.) Anyway, running is hard work. But I think that's why I like it so much.

During Sacrament Meeting Sunday morning Mike sang a duet with our Bishop. Did you know that Mike was a singer? Well he is. And a very good one.

Add in dinner with some of our favorite friends Saturday night and a visit to the temple after our Saturday morning run and that makes for one fine weekend.

I hope yours was great, too!

National Book Lovers Day

National Book Lovers Day sounds like a made up holiday if I've ever heard one. But as a major book lover, I'll take it! In honor of the big day, my friend Kayla, a big-time blogger/babble writer, put together a slide show of favorite book character inspired outfits and she asked me to participate! I used Orleanna Price from one of my very favorite books, the Poisonwood Bible, as my inspiration. It was so fun. You can see the whole thing here.

Also, I couldn't let this special day pass without sharing some book reviews, could I?  Here are some books I've enjoyed lately:

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats - Julia is on a quest to find her missing father in Burma. What she finds instead is an unbelievable story about a father she realizes she hardly knew. I really liked this one. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Orchardist - I frequently find myself drawn to stories set in the early American west.  This one drew me in immediately. It follows a lonely and unassuming orchardist as he navigates love and loss and his relationship with the women who become his family. Heartbreaking and quiet, this novel was a winner. 5 out of 5 stars.

22 Britannia Road - Like stories from the wild west, I am equally drawn to books that take place during WWII. This powerful novel follows a husband and wife and the separate lives they led during the war, the choices they made to survive, and the difficult task of coming back together in peacetime. 4 out of 5 stars.

In Sunlight and in Shadow - I am a big fan of Mark Helprin, and I thought this book was wonderful. It was not a quick read, but there are passages that are stunning, especially the chapters that deal with WWII. His descriptions of New York City are beautiful. 4 out of 5 stars, with some mild language.

The Light Between Oceans - This book follows a stalwart lighthouse keeper and his young bride and the choices they make while living on their remote island off the coast of Australia after WWI. Oh, it is painful! But so beautiful, too. 5 out of 5 stars.

I'm in the middle of May the Road Rise Up to Meet You and I am loving it so far. What are you reading?

French Toast

Mabel doesn't have lunch until 12:45 this year. That is so late! I'm afraid that she's going to starve. She sometimes gets woozy when she hasn't eaten, so I have been stuffing her the best I can in the mornings with breakfast. Today we had one of my favorites - French Toast.

French Toast

1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
a pinch of salt
3 or so eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon white sugar

In a large bowl or dish, whisk the milk into the flour. Then whisk in the rest of the ingredients. Dip your bread slices into the mixture, soaking both sides. Then cook on a warm, buttered griddle until golden brown. Serve with a sprinkling of powdered sugar or fruit or peanut butter or syrup or all of the above.

The recipe claims to make 12 slices, but it only covers about 8 thick slices of our favorite bread.

And they're off!

It's awfully quiet around here all of a sudden. There were no tears this morning, just some big, slightly nervous smiles and Stella's excited, sparkly eyes. Elliot was happy to find himself as an only child, until he realized that Oliver wasn't here to play swords with him. So the "When is Aye-yo going to get home?" questions have already started. Oh boy.

This is what the last week of summer looks like.

There have been lots of dramatic sighs. Lots of collapsing on upholstered furniture. Lots of "I'm bored"s. I guess that means they're ready for school to start tomorrow? I sure am! Mike took the three big kids out the other day while Elliot was napping in the basement and for the first time all summer, I was "alone" in my house. Oh, it felt nice!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's not too early to be baking pumpkin treats, is it? I didn't think so, either.

Fluffy, cakey, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies will always be one of my favorite things to eat, even when it's technically still summer. I tried this recipe yesterday, and it was just what I was looking for. Soft, and spicy and so good. I could have eaten a dozen.

phone rules

I've been trying to be better about putting my phone away. Is this something you struggle with, too? The thing is, I don't want my kids to remember me with a phone forever in my hand. And I want them to have my full attention when they need it (which is almost always). It is such a silly addiction, that I am determined to quit it. I've blocked off hours of my days and all day Sunday when I won't have my phone with me. And it's supposed to stay in the kitchen at night, not on my bedside table. My phone is not the last thing I need to see before I go to bed. It feels good to put limits on it. I find that when I stick to my rules, life is quieter and my focus is so much stronger. I feel less frazzled, and I am more aware of the needs of my family. I love instagram and reading blogs, etc, but none of that should come before what is happening in my real life at that moment. Why is this is a lesson that I constantly need to relearn?

Anyway, Mike sent this video to me and I thought it was excellent. What do you think? Surely I'm not alone in this.