Chocolate Mug Cake

Something cool to try. . .
My mom saw this recipe on a friend's website. She sent it to me because (1) I like new recipes (2) the kids and I love to bake (3) she was curious, and (4) CHOCOLATE.

I am sharing it with you because (1) we had fun making it (2) you may like to try new recipes (3) it is a pretty cool idea, and (4) CHOCOLATE!

I pre-measured all the ingredients for each of us to mix up and put in the mug. (This makes me more able to enjoy our baking together.)

All the ingredients ready to go

It was so easy, and there are only a few ingredients. I am so glad we tried it!!

Mixing is serious work

If you are going to make cake, you have to crack a few eggs.

Spencer likes what he sees.

TA-DA!!!!!!!!

And here we are about to taste it:

David is never up for dessert, so it was just the 3 of us. It tasted pretty good, considering it was such a quick and easy recipe. Oh, and our microwave was higher than 1,000 watts, so I had to adjust the time.

Here’s the recipe:

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional but we saw it as mandatory)

a small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

We also sprinkled some powdered sugar on the top, too.

Happy baking!

Socks: not just for feet anymore

My ever so resourceful son has found many uses for his socks throughout his short life. When he was smaller and we were in the car a while, I would look back at him to find him playing with his socks. His MO was to struggle to get his shoes off, and then he'd wiggle his socks off. They would then be carefully placed onto his hands. They could be puppets, he could try to pick things up with his sock hands, and he loved the sound of clapping his sock covered hands together. I searched for a picture to post, but I was heartbroken when I could not find one. Could it be I did not capture this precious Spencer stage?? I must believe there is a picture somewhere.

He has recently started using his socks for small bags. He takes them off and puts cars or trains or money or any small thing he can fit into his little socks. He carries them around with him all over the place. I love to find them later and peek in to see what treasures he has hidden inside.

One afternoon last week, he found yet another new use. I must say I would never have thought of this. And it is somewhat, well, gross. Apparently, you can put your animal crackers inside of your previously worn socks. Why don't more people do this? I mean, it is more Eco friendly, right?

God Bless Spencer! Such a precious little booger! And Max spent HOURS licking and chewing on the sock left behind trying to get to the cookies. He never did. . . Spencer is pretty smart, huh? His sock kept his snack safe from Mr. Max!

And a quick update: I saw the little boy in the tractor shirt!!! This morning when Spencer and I were dropping Jessa off, she motioned for me to get down to her level. She whispered and sort of gestured to let me know which little boy it was. I am so relieved to have this mystery solved.

AND I am kicking myself for not being attentive enough. There was a permission slip (or so I thought) taped to the sign-in clip board this morning. They were watching a movie about St. Patrick's Day and wanted parents to sign. I quickly signed it (Spencer was already starting to get upset about his impending drop-off and was on my foot latched onto my leg at the time) because I did not want her to miss anything fun, right? Well, this afternoon, she told me that her class got to watch a movie, but she had to leave! I wanted to cry for her. What an idiot I am! The list was for parents who did not want their kids to watch. Not only do I hate that she missed something fun, but I also hate that the other kids probably thought she was weird. I will definitely read more carefully next time. Poor Jessa!

The boy in the tractor shirt

Tales from preschool. . .

I am somewhat of a fanatic about my children (have you noticed that yet??). I am not saying never, of course, but as of right now I am unwilling to carpool to school. I am not saying that I will not drive other people's kids to and from school, but I cannot let go of the "drop off" and "pick up" with my children. I still want to be the last person they see when I drop them off and be able to kiss them (as long as they will let me) and tell them to have a good day. And I am so excited to be there to pick them up each day. I love the way their faces light up (especially Spencer's) as their eyes meet mine after a day apart. I am cheesy, I know! In fact the few times that David is able to go with them on his own, it is hard for me to even let him have the honored position of "drop off" person or "pick up" person. I do, though. He is their father, after all. I guess it is not unheard of for me to let him do something, Lord knows he wants to help! But suffice it to say, most days they are at school, I drop them off and pick them up.

The drop off is still pretty sad for Spencer - he is still suffering from a brief (like 10 seconds) burst of unhappiness when I leave him. But the picking up is the BEST! When Spencer and I approach Jessa, he hollers, "Jessa, we are here!" And I love to hear them excitedly telling me about their days. And there is not another time that they will even discuss their days. You have to get them right then, or forget it! At supper each night, I ask them to tell David some of the stories they told me, and I can rarely get either one of them to tell him, much less elaborate. They say, "You tell him."

Their most excited days are days they saw each other. This is the coolest thing ever. They both tell me from their own perspective what it was like to see the other one in their class. Jessa told me once that after seeing Spencer she almost cried after he was gone because it made her miss him so much. So sweet. . .

They dressed themselves - and we were at the mall. Luckily, we did not see anyone we knew!

The other day, Jessa was so excited to tell me about a boy problem she was having. (it is scary because she is 5, and David does not want to even think of her having a "boy problem." Apparently, there is a boy in her class that has decided he likes her. So he has taken to following her around. This frustrates her so much!

All the way home (and even after) she was recounting all the times he frustrated her. I have a feeling it was not as big of a deal as my drama queen was making it. He followed her to centers, he always stood behind her in line, he chased her on the playground. So I asked her who it was. She said, "you know, mom, the boy in the tractor shirt." I did not laugh, but I wanted to. I asked her what was his name. She did not know and again told me he was the one in the tractor shirt.

Once we were home, she brought it up again. This time, I was armed with her class snack calendar. So I went down the list looking for boy sounding names (although these days, it is hard to tell!). Jessa said no to each and every name. And she was starting to get frustrated with me, "I told you, he was wearing a shirt with a tractor today." I only saw a couple kids in the morning and a couple in the afternoon, so I never noticed what any of them were wearing! She even described it to me in more detail: "He was wearing pants. He had on a shirt. It was red and there was this tractor on it. Remember?" No, I did not. Poor Jessa, her mother is just so dumb!

When she told David at supper, he got the same answer. So we have no idea who this kid was. And he apparently got over her quickly because she has not complained much anymore.

But just in case, let me go on record: you, in the tractor shirt, leave Jessa alone!

Things I wonder. . .

If you are reading this and you do not have a preschooler, much of this may not make sense. I apologize if I confuse anyone, but there are some things that I really wonder after watching some TV with my babies. I know that I should not let these things get to me, but I cannot help wondering. . .

Do Max and Ruby have parents? We never see a mom or dad. There is a grandmother, but she does not live with them. What's up with that? And I do not think that Ruby is a responsible care giver to Max. Jessa and I think that she is not very patient with him most of the time. OR she leaves him unattended long enough to get into trouble. . . My friend Tara can attest to the frustration over Ruby leaving him alone to get dirty again and again. This is made more frustrating by the fact that her Ben wants to watch it over and over!!

Max and Ruby - on Nickelodeon

That being said I do love Rosemary Wells, the creator of Max and Ruby. She wrote one of my favorite books growing up was Timothy Goes to School. She is also the author of another series of books, my all-time favorite books since they are about a Westie named McDuff. . .

Gotta love that Wesite face

They are illustrated by Susan Jeffers, and she captures the Westie personality and expressions perfectly! Both Wells and Jeffers actually own Westies, which makes me love them more.

(nothing that I wonder about - just a quick plug, we LOVE these books)

On Little Bear, how come they always call the animals "cat" or "skunk" or "duck." In the forest where Little Bear lives is there only one cat or skunk? Wouldn't this system of names be confusing if there were 2 ducks? What would you call the other Duck? Duck 2?

Little Bear on Noggin

Along the same lines, in Franklin, he is the only one that has a name other than the type of animal he is. Why is he so special? And his parents are Mr. Turtle and Mrs. Turtle. Are all turtles in their forest named that? If so, I'd hate to be the mail-animal in their neighborhood!

Franklin on Noggin
How does Hello Kitty eat? Jessa asked me when she was like 3, "Mommy, where is Hello Kitty's mouth?" And I noticed that she did not have one! I played with Hello Kitty when I was little, yet I never noticed that. I guess I am not very observant.

Look Ma, No mouth!

When Max and Emmy go to dragon land, where do their mom and dad think they are? On that same note, when Boo is with Sully and Mike, do her folks not notice she is gone? Is there a search party? Police called?

Dragon Tales on PBS Kids Sprout

Disney's Monsters Inc.

Who is the bread winner in Calliou's family? I am all for stay-at-home dads or dual career families, but both of his parents are always around. Daddy (or mommy) never have to miss any fun trips to the museum or the park. What's up with that? Are they rich? Did they win the lottery? Is that how things are in Canada? David may want us to move if this is the case!

Caillou's Family Portrait - with both parents always there

Watching children's television makes me wonder many things. . . David laughs at me because he wonders who is watching these shows - them or me? Like when he sees me sitting on the floor putting together a puzzle alone. He always asks, who did you buy that for you or the children??

Spencer's Bionic Ears

When Spencer was born, they did all the usual newborn tests. To be honest, it is all a blur with the preeclamsia and being on magnesium and his coming early and David being still in Iraq, you know the story. . . The point is that my perfect precious baby failed his newborn hearing test TWICE! When it was almost time to discharge us, they repeated the test one more time. IF he did not pass in both ears, we were going to be sent home with a referral to a specialist. The nurses told me that it must have just been fluid in his ears because he passed the last one with flying colors.

Once he could ask questions, his favorite one was "what's that noise?" He asked it constantly. An airplane, a car, a coke fizzing, a doorbell, a dog, you name it! Many times they were noises that I did not even notice. So the standing joke is, "And this is the kid who failed his newborn hearing test!" He still notices so many things he hears that others do not. He can hear the coffee brewing from the back of the house or a train whistle miles away.



So one morning last week, May's alarm clock went off. At first, I did not even hear it. He smiled at me and said, "What's that noise?" I said, "May's alarm." Well, he grinned even bigger, jumped up, and screamed, "FIRE!" and took off running all over the house. He cracks me up.



And forget trying to say something about him in a hushed tone if he is anywhere around. He can always hear you and says, "Stop talkin' bout me!"

I was sitting on the front porch the other day, and my Spence was in my lap. He had just woken up from a nap and was laying still on my chest. A small breeze blew, and it shifted some leaves around. His head popped up and he said, "what's that noise?" I had not even thought about the wind blowing or what it sounded like. Spencer is so good for me because he helps me stop and smell the roses or in this case, hear the wind (OK, I know that you cannot actually hear wind). He is always listening. . .

I guess it is good his hearing is so good, lately he has been complaining of not being able to see. He even squints and feels around until he can find his glasses. He wears them out to eat, grocery shopping, in the car, and anywhere he might need to see well. We have gotten some stares, but mostly smiles. I guess I am just relieved that he does have his hearing,
oh, and some glasses that can help him see better:

Monster Trucks

When I was a little girl, the Monster Trucks came to the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. And Daddy would take Lucas and me. We would sometimes go with other Dads and other kids. I guess it was OK. I do not think this is a particularly girly thing to go to, but I went. Daddy would have never taken Lucas somewhere and not me. And one time, the last time I went, I actually lay my head down in Daddy's lap and fell asleep. He found this incident much more amusing than my sitting with my back to his precious Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. David did not believe me when I told him that I took a nap during a loud monster truck event. We even called Daddy to confirm, which he did.

Our friends from NGC, Skip and Jo Ann just moved to Ft. Stewart. Skip called David to see if our family wanted to join his family for a Monster Truck show just outside Savannah. We said, Sure! I will openly admit to being a bit apprehensive about it. Loud, dirty trucks did not sound like a good way to spend a Saturday night, but I thought I would give it a try.

At first the kids were reluctant to go as well. The first concern was the name. I was asked more than once, "Will monsters be there?" and "Are they scary?" I finally got through to them that it was just a name. The next fear was from Spencer who did not want to ride in a big truck. Jessa then echoed this concern. I told them we were merely watching. Then Jessa did not understand why we were going just to watch. So then I told her it was like a race, and we were going to cheer for a winner. This last explanation did the trick! So we were all set to go to the monster truck races.

We stopped for supper on the way, and I must tell you they were so precious. David kept laughing and asking who the children at our table were! In the car on the way, they were ready to fight because his foot touched her seat, and then she touched him, etc. We walked in the door, and they instantly loved each other. They shared crayons, they shared their drinks, and they chatted like best friends! They played "I Spy" nicely and quietly. They scooted their booster seats closer together. They hugged. They giggled. They even fed each other! It was such a joy!! The two of them have NO idea how happy it makes me and David to see them treat each other so nicely and to be so loving with each other. What a bright spot!!

Our sweet dinner companions
We got to the Oglethorpe Speedway about an hour before it was supposed to start. We met up with our friends and their little boy. It was his first Monster Truck Event as well. Jessa and Spence immediately spotted expensive souvenirs that they wanted, so we were off to a good start.

Spencer's favorite part of any event: the cotton candy.

Once we found our seats, we started waiting. That was our main complaint all night - a lot of waiting. They had this clown dude who was supposed to be passing the time, but he was only mildly amusing. And most of his jokes were over the heads of our children (thankfully!!!).

Checking it all out and waiting. Jessa did not want me to take a picture of her earplugs.
BUT the kids were checking out the trucks and picking their favorites. Jessa decided she liked Hot Tamale because his red truck looked like bubble gum.

This is Hot Tamale - a picture I found on their website since ours did not turn out so well!

Spencer decided he like the Undertaker because his car had "teef" painted on it where a mouth would go.

Spencer's favor tie Undertaker - also not my picture.

I found it on http://spotted.savannahnow.com/.

After some more waiting, Jessa turned her back to the track and folded her arms and declared, "I am not watching this anymore." Well, I guess she comes by that honestly, right?

I guess she is my daughter. . .

I thought it was all pretty amazing and scary. Jessa got into it immediately after it started. She would jump up and cheer at the right moment! She even started pointing and screaming at the cars. I have no idea where she got this from, but she started screaming, "Yeah! Go!! Own it! Own it!" It made sense for her to scream that, I guess, but I have no clue where she learned it. If that were not funny enough, Spencer in an attempt to emulate his sister began screaming what he thought she was screaming. So my sweet boy started screaming, "Ornament! Ornament!" I thought I would cry I was laughing so hard!

One of the times she jumped up to cheer!

Jessa was fascinated and really excited.

Spencer was serious and 'solemn as a judge.'
Jessa ended up liking the Ghost Ryder and the Equalizer better than the Hot Tamale. She liked their tricks best. I guess she learned not to judge a monster truck by its cover!

Not my pictures - The Equalizer from the Monster Truck Nationals Website

and the Ghost Ryder from http://spotted.savannahnow.com/

Spencer stuck with the Undertaker even though he did not do as well.

It was a different way to spend an evening. It was loud and dirty, but it was fun to watch the kids checking out something new. Overall, Jessa and Spencer liked it more than our friend's little boy. His favorite part was the water truck that sprayed down the dirt during intermission and the dirt moving equipment that shaped the dirt ramps. Toward the end, Jessa was tired and even cried big tears when Hot Tamale's car broke apart (which David found out later he does all the time - it is his thing). Spencer was worried about the wrecked cars that they were running over. I got tons of questions: "What happened to them? How did they wreck? Was anyone hurt? Where did they wreck? Why did they wreck?"

Jessa smiling with earplugs and

hardheaded Spencer, who refused to wear earplugs and just covered his ears all night!

So despite my initial apprehension, I am glad that I went! It was something to do that turned out to be pretty fun!

Fruit, missing skewers, wet shoes, and no coke

First, so sorry I have been MIA. My Momma was here for a whole week for a visit, so I was occupied. We all enjoyed her visit so much. The kids were happy to have another lap, another hand to hold, and someone to run to when Mommy was "mean."

Walking with their May on one of the many fun trips out to eat that May financed during her visit!

What a crazy couple of days we have had! I do not know when I have looked so forward to a Friday. So. . . our new school has a snack schedule. This is the first place we have been that has this. I was actually kind of excited to be able to do something cool for my babies' classes. And Jessa's first turn was on Thursday. BUT I am not content to just do the same thing as everyone else. I wanted to do something fun and cool. Momma said, "be careful, you are setting the standards high! What will you do next time?" David said, "The other moms will hate you." I decided that even if they were right, I still wanted to do something cool regardless of the consequences.

I talked it over with Jessa and (of course) googled it. We came up with colors of the rainbow fruit. And it was so much fun! First, Jess, Spence, and I went to the commissary after school Wednesday. We checked out the fruit section to find the right colors. We decided on strawberries, watermelon, oranges, cantaloupe, pineapple, bananas, kiwi, honeydew, blueberries, and purple grapes. We had trouble finding blueberries, but the nice produce lady went to the back and produced the last 3 packages they had!! Yay! When we were searching for something green, Spencer got all excited when he saw some really under ripe, green bananas. But then Jessa said, "No, Spencer, those just need some more time. Just be patient and then BLAMMO, they'll be bananas!"

I also wanted to do some fruit dip. We could not find any. So I found a recipe and made some delicious dip after we got home with the fruit. Then I thought, "oh, no, what to put it in." I wanted something that was disposable, neat, and small for each child. You know, something like the little cups you get nacho cheese in at Taco Bell or icing at Cinnabon? So I headed to Cinnabon, and $1.09 later, I had 11 cups with tops for individual dips for each of Jessa's classmates. I was so proud and excited!!

Aren't I clever? Individual homemade fruit dip for 11!

The kids were so happy to help me get the fruit ready to go. Jessa was calling me "boss" and David "dishwasher" (can you guess what he was doing?). She had on her apron and was serious about her jobs. She and Spencer were both balling fruit like champs! Jessa actually sliced an orange with a butter knife (since she is not allowed to use anything sharper). OK, maybe hacked up would be a more appropriate description of what she did to the poor orange.

The chefs trying to slice oranges. . .
Even David enjoyed our fruit-filled kitchen!

The dishwasher was on a fruity break. . .
After we got all the fruit ready and the dip divided into the individual cups, I wanted to at least get the skewers ready to do Thursday morning. We decided to wait because we did not want to cut the bananas too early. I know we have tons of those bamboo skewers for grilling, but I could not find them. Darn movers! I remember what Rubbermaid container they were in pre-move, but last night we searched everywhere and never found them. After more than an hour of wasting time and emptying out closets and containers, I went to Wal-Mart at 10 PM to get more! The darn things only cost 97 cents for 200!! Thank goodness for Super Wal-Mart!

Thursday morning, I assembled the rainbow fruit kabobs using the precious and hard to find skewers, and David even trimmed off the sharp tips for safety. I think they turned out well:

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple - in fruit form!

Don't they look delicious??
When I went to pick them up that day, I went to Spencer's class first. He was in different pants - never a good sign when you pick up your preschooler in different clothes from when you dropped them off. Bless his independent heart! He needed to potty and went to the bathroom- without telling anyone. The light was not on, and he still did not call for help. Poor baby finally asked for help after he had gone potty all over his clothes, shoes and the bathroom since he could not see what he was doing!! And he was most sad about his boo-boo. He was so pitiful, hanging his head and mumbling to tell me about it. His teacher and I just reassured him that no one was upset with him. BUT his shoes were wet, so he was hanging out in his sock feet. I decided to just let him go in sock feet. So I am trying to carry him, both back packs, both coats, and a laundry basket full of the snack remnants. Not easy considering there are doors to open, etc. But he was being such a trooper, and he was in a good mood. He could not wait to go find Jessa - he really misses her at school.

My sweet baby's sock feet and his shoes drying in the sun when we got home.
We were headed to get Miss Jessa from the playground, which is where we pick her up most days. We got almost there, and she headed toward us. The first question she asked me was "Did you bring me a Bay's coke?" (code for diet coke with Lime, my Daddy's favorite kind, so also Jessa's) OK, I did tell her this morning that I would, but it slipped my mind. David was home for lunch when I was leaving and his car was blocking me, so I was running late. I started explain this to her when she LOST it!

"I am hot and miserable and sweating and hungry and I want my Bay's coke!"

The object of her desire. . .
I was instantly angry with her display! I had to put Spencer down (in the dirty, rocky parking lot in his sock feet) and talk hard to her to get her to settle down. She wasted a good several minutes standing in the hot parking lot pitching her fit. I told her in a not-so-nice tone, "You are standing here getting hotter when you could be in the car WITH air conditioning on your way to the ice cold coke at home!" After a small scene and my blood pressure rising, I got her into the car, and we were finally on the way home. And I did not even get to talk to her about the snack, darn it. I was too frustrated to ask her, which was OK because she was too infuriated with me to answer.

After all the fruit shopping, chopping, and balling, after the skewer searching and buying, after the sock footed trip to the parking lot, and after a forgotten coke, I am still not sure if anyone even ate the snack, much less liked it. What a mess!! Oh well! I tried. . .