Birthday

Today is Leaf's 3rd birthday.  We've come a long way.

For Mother's Day, her early intervention specialist helped her make the card above, with the poem about how we may be tired of cleaning up handprints, but someday we'll look back and realize how small they were.

I always have mixed feelings about that poem - they have no idea how small her handprints were 3 years ago. Her whole hand was the size of a quarter - now, finger to wrist, her hand is the size of my palm, which is not small at all. Her arms and legs were about the size of 2 of her fingers now put together. Her whole body would have fit in her bike helmet, and her shoes now are longer than her torso was then.

We are cleared for an attempt at decannulation at some point this summer, depending on schedules. She's getting an adaptive tricycle in a few weeks courtesy of her therapists and the hospital. She's signing and babbling and getting a communication device.

And she's clearly 3. The attitude shows.

So, Happy Birthday, Leaf - you're bigger than you were, but you've got a long way to go before you're grown up. I suspect it's going to go by faster than any of us expect. :)

Birthday Cake

Repost #3

Interesting fact: neither of my kids has ever actually eaten birthday cake, though they've tasted it.

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This weekend was my birthday, and I like red velvet cake. 

But I'm also terribly picky about cakes and frostings, so I'm making my own cake, using a fairly old recipe that my grandmother gave me. This is the kind of thing that bugs my in-laws, because you're not supposed to cook for yourself, but I find I'm more satisfied if I do, so it's just better this way.

Besides....I mean, really, what kind of cake has vinegar in it? But this is tasty.

This is, however, the kind of recipe that makes me wish I'd taken an apron when I moved out of my parents' house. Or that I'd gotten around to buying myself one in the 18 years since I left...

I assume she got this recipe from somewhere, but the card in her recipe box yielded no clues.

Red Velvet Cake
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 oz red food coloring
2 tsp cocoa powder (not hot chocolate powder)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cup flour

Heat oven to 350. Traditionally, this is made as a layer cake, so grease and flour 2 round cake pans, or one 9x13 pan.

Mix vinegar and baking soda in a small cup and set aside.

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs.

Make a paste of cocoa and 1 oz of food coloring (this is a really messy step; I never do it). Add to creamed mixture. Add remaining food coloring to mixture and mix.

Add vanilla and salt.

Add buttermilk and flour a little at a time, alternating. Mix well.

Pour into pan(s) and bake 30 minutes.  Be really watchful - this dries out quickly if you over bake.


The traditional frosting for this cake is listed below - usually, you split each of those round cakes into 2 layers, so you get 4 layers. The frosting recipe is designed for that number of layers, so I'm including alternate measurements to make a smaller amount more appropriate for 2 layers if you're so inclined.

For what it's worth, I'm not a fan of this and usually use decorator icing or a can of plain vanilla frosting.

1 1/2 cup milk (1 cup)
1/2 cup flour (1/3 cup)
1 1/2 cup sugar (1 cup)
1 1/2 cup margarine (or shortening or butter) (1 cup)
1 tablespoon vanilla (1 1/2 teaspoons)

Mix milk and flour in saucepan. cook and stir over medium heat until thick. Cool completely (this is important).

Cream sugar, margarine, and vanilla. When fluffy add room temperature cooked milk mix slowly, beating as you go. Beat until fully incorporated and fluffy.

And there you have it. Bright red, not too sweet, and just the right texture.

Your MoonDay School Adventure Giveaway

I'm giving away a 6 month membership to http://www.moondayschool.com - a $30 value!

Your MoonDay School Adventure is my newest project - a place to gather Pagan parenting resources, and in particular, a place to offer parents pre-planned lessons for workshops at festivals, for teaching their own kids, or for creating a Moon School to teach a group of kids about Pagan beliefs and practices.

Paid members have access to download all lesson plans, and have access to discussion forums for each lesson, along with access to all the free resources on the site.

This contest runs from 12:01 am June 8 until 12:01 am June 15. Winner will be notified by email later that day, and will have 4 days to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen.

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Riverstone Runes Giveaway

Riverstone Runes Giveaway

One set of hand-painted Elder Futhark runes, painted with my special heat-set paint on tumbled river stones. Comes in a cloth pouch with instruction sheet.

Runes made from other stones can be found at Kadiera's Cauldron

Contest ends at 12:01 am Friday June 8. Winner will be notified by email later that day. Failure to claim prize in 4 days will result in a new winner being drawn.


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Ankh Giveaway

Giving away:  Baby's First Ankh

This is from my Baby's First Collection on janetcallahan.com - a tiny 10 mm ankh, on a ribbon of pink, blue, lavender, or yellow, mounted on a presentation card.

The quote on the presentation card is from Peter Pan:

When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy.

Recommended as a Wiccaning gift or baby shower gift; use common sense when letting infants and smaller children wear jewelry, as this ankh is a choking hazard. May be strung on a necklace when the child is older.

Funny, I realized I have no ankh photos, only pentacles, but here's the pentacle version of this item:

There are several opportunities to get extra entries for this contest, so use the Rafflecopter app below to enter. Contest ends at 12:01 am on Friday June 1. Winner will be notified that day by email, and must respond within 4 days or I will choose another winner.

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Note: This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability.