A Little Fruity Daydreaming.

   I want a pie cherry tree.  I have an apple tree I can't identify, and the apples never seem to ripen.  I have a grafted multi-sweet cherry tree.  It produces, and has since the first year, but it's only a few years old and doesn't make any kind of big batch yet.  But I can buy sweet cherries anywhere.  It's the sour pie cherries I can't easily find.  But even on this fairly large (for a neighborhood) plot of land we own, there isn't room to plant anymore fruit trees.  See, not only do I live on a hill, most of it is full of alder trees and blackberries.  Clearing that out is potentially a very dangerous, and very difficult task.
   As long as I can remember, I've wanted my own personal mini-orchard.  Growing up in California, there were several orchards of various types.  I remember both nuts and fruits... apricots and walnuts being the most prominent in my memory.  I even remember an almond tree at the apartments we lived at when I was really little.
   When we moved to Washington, I remember our first house having it's own selection of tasty goods.  Behind the house was a handful of plum trees back by the blackberry patch.  I've never been a big plum fan, so mostly what I remember was the smell of the rotting fruit as it dropped to the ground.  But, off to the side of the large yard was an apple tree I remember very little of aside from climbing it, and my personal favorite, a cherry tree.  Not just any cherry tree, but a pie cherry tree.  Beautiful, bright, shiny, tart pie cherries.  That tree was absolutely loaded in them!  For me, even with such a very small knowledge of what the heck was growing in the yard, and what it took to take care of it all, these trees were heaven in a small chunk of suburbia.
   Now I own a home, and I have two fruit trees that don't have use as of yet.  (At least the cherry tree has promise.)  I am hugely overrun with blackberries, and while that is unpleasant, at least it's useful.  Somewhere buried under the blackberries is some thimbleberries and raspberries.  Or at least I've found the thimble berries and I'm told by my husband that raspberries are under there somewhere.  But none are trees, and none make up for an actual pie cherry tree.
   So I shall continue to dream.  I don't really want an all out orchard, but the cherries would be nice.  Both pie and sweet.  And an apple tree or two that produce edible apples.  A couple plums (since the rest of the family enjoys them).  God I'd love some peaches, but I don't think they'd grow here.  Pears.  Oooh!  Apricot.  I'm told those might grow here.  But seriously, I'd be perfectly happy with just the pie cherries and an actual edible apple.

Ramblings Of My Day

   Today has been one of those days I’d like to remember.  Today was hectic, but it was all about enjoying the kids while I can.  They are only young once. 

   It still breaks my heart to see how big my eldest has grown.  Each milestone puts me in tears.  On the other hand, I’m so proud of the brilliant, big hearted guy he is, and what he’ll do with all that is wonderful about him as he grows.  He’s actually the hardest one for me to watch grow up at the moment.  He’s my buddy.  My partner in crime.  My miracle baby.  I used to say it was him and me against the world.  Don’t get me wrong, I love both of my twinnies just as much.  I guess it’s one of those things you have to be a parent to understand, but you can adore all of your kids equally, and still there are points for each kid that you celebrate, and dread, completely differently than the others.  He’s my first born.  I’m in no hurry for any of them to grow up, but I think because it was just him for the first five years, and as soon as there were more, it kind of feels like he’s left me in the dust.  He keeps hitting milestones and I keep missing the growth in between, because I’m so busy… being Mom.

   

   AAAANNNNYYYYYHOW.  Along with this great kid of mine, is his tremendous heart.  He loves his family.  He loves his Momma.  He’s 10 and still not embarrassed to hold my hand and kiss me goodbye in front of his friends. When he’s tired he’ll still snuggle up, and it doesn’t matter who’s around.  He even requests morning and evening snuggles at home.  One of these advantages… he LOVES for me to come along at his school things.  I’m not a great “in class” mom, but I do well chaperoning field trips.  Too much chaos in one room is sensory overload, and then I get grumpy even though I don’t mean to.  But out and about I get to really enjoy the time. 

   

   I love watching him interact with other kids, and how his classmates treat him.  I even picked on him a little once on a return trip from one tour, some teasing that he didn’t even think twice about, and his friends still all flocked to his defense.  I was so proud of him, and of his friends.  He’s so fortunate to be surrounded by such great kids. 

   Today was one of those field trip days.  We visited a local park that is historical to a local native tribe.  The tribe put together a fascinating educational program.  Not the stuff you see in the old western movies and PBS, but sharing of the legends of that particular piece of land, the stories of their own upbringing and elders, and amazing uses of the native plant life.  There were the tidal pools and the beach, the cedars and the stinging nettles.  There was storytelling, drums and singing.  And I got to share it all with my eldest, by his request even.  After lunch, he was tired from all the excitement and a bunch of running around with the other kids, and walked over to where I sat on the grass, and laid his head on my lap and just rambled on about whatever his thoughts were at that moment.  I’m SO in love with this kid!

   

   He even chose to sit next to me on a mostly empty school bus, instead of by his friends, on the way back! 

   Okay, but it’s not just about him.  I got home, and for once I didn’t have everywhere else in the world to be.  No Cub Scouts, no baseball, no meetings, no.... for the first time in months, I took the night off.  I watched my daughter chase the neighborhood boys, with a streak of dirt from her eye to her hairline at her temple, and another smudge on her chin.  She had picked her own outfit… a long sleeve green and white top with denim short overalls and her hot pink trimmed black sneakers.  I watched as she set up her Barbie “tent” down on the street, with her lawn chair inside, and her hula hoop on top for whatever reason.  When it got in the way of the boys, I watched my eldest and the eldest of the other brothers from across the street shove her things aside, and I watched the youngest of those brothers, who’s usually the one to do the shoving, defend her to the other boys and re-set up her things.  Tonight, after I tucked in the boys, I walked into her room and found her drowning in blankets, sweating oceans, with her face buried between her pillow and her Hello Kitty.  (She calls Hello Kitty her “sister”.  Everywhere she goes, she sees Hello Kitty, and she’s excited to see “my sister!”.)  She’s wearing her pink Hello Kitty PJ’s and for once, not snoring.  Give her a minute and not only will the snores start, but the grinding of the teeth will too.  I’m SO in love with this kid!

   The Littlest Prince came in to my room tonight.  I thought I had settled in for the night.  I’d read them books and kissed them good night, and Daddy had tucked them in.  But he wanted Mommy to tuck him in.  I got grumpy and told him I might go tuck him in, if he’d just let me finish the show I was watching.  He came back three more times before I got snippy and yelled that if he didn’t cut it out, I wouldn’t go see him at all.  He left, somehow still smiling.  I think he knows by now that he can trust I will go give him a kiss good night, even when I’m grumpy, if he asks.  One day I’ll switch it up on him and just not go in.  Naaaaah.  Nope, it’s a reminder to me that I only get one chance to be a Mom to the little him.  One day he’ll be big, and all the tucking in will be over. 

   I thought it would be just the standard routine; walk in, give him a kiss, listen to a “why did the chicken cross the road” joke, kiss him again, and walk back out.  Nope.  He was eagerly waiting for me in the dark.  I came in, and he told me to wait a minute.  He threw off his blanket, shuffled around, and turned on his reading light.  Then he proceeded to start to lay down on the “sweet  spot” where he’d be sleeping for the night, and handed his Tigger blanket to me.  “Here” he instructed.  I went to tuck it under his chin when he sat back up and grabbed the blanket back.  Apparently I had it all wrong and it needed to be in another direction.  After he righted my wrong, he let me try again.  He instructed me to tuck it all around him… so there he was, a blue and orange blanketed little dude burrito.  Then he told me it’s finally okay to turn off the light.  My kid just gave me a lesson in how to “properly” tuck him in.  I’m SO in love with this kid!

   At some point, it’s going to catch up.  The twins will start not wanting to be tucked in.  Their field trips will go by.  Their firsts will start to slow down.  When that starts, each milestone will be that much more bittersweet again, much like my eldest.  Right now most things are still, “I’ll get to do this again” with them.  But soon I’ll be back at “this is the last time I’ll get to do this”.  It’s really only a matter of time.  I’m so thankful that I am able to have days like today, where things slow down for a minute and I can see what’s right in front of me, growing up way too fast.

I've Been Inspired...

   I'm working very hard to landscape a large portion of our front yard/driveway.  It's a huge amount of space and will take a lot of work.  I really only want to do a section at a time.  In the meantime, I don't really want to leave a lot of bare spots while I work.

   A few weeks ago, I came across the idea of a sunflower house.  I've seen bean shelters and such, but something as simple and pretty as a group of sunflowers... that's got my name written all over it.  The kids are 10, 5, and of course, 5.  Sounds like as good a time as any do work such a project.

   Unfortunately, the weather has been less than cooperative.  I never used to be, but lately I'm a total weather wimp.  Don't know where I got it from, but if it's gray, inside I will stay.  So this means I've had a couple weeks to expand on this idea.  Pinterest is such an awesome/evil thing.  And what's great is, no matter how many great ideas I've had, I have still only found one thing I might have to purchase.  The rest is all using supplies I already have, or have available to me.  Oh, and almost all of it can be built by the kids themselves!

   My latest idea is for an outdoor summer game room.  It would start with the planting of the sunflower seeds... and I have a huge variety.  I would dig the trench, but the kids would sow the seeds and cover them up.

   The next step, as our flowers start their stretch for the sun, would be to make games to play.  Pinterest to the rescue again.  My folks cut down two huge trees in their back yard.  Hubby has been chipping away at the heap of log rounds to make firewood.  I would have to go and look at the remaining rounds, but if I can find one of an appropriate size, I can plop it inside the "house".  (I would likely want to treat it first, to prevent damage/bugs/fungus.)  But the kids can take it from there.  We have rocks, lots of beautiful rocks for painting, all over the place.  Painted rocks might just make for excellent game pieces.  And that log?  I'm thinking a game board burned or painted on it.  Either a simple tic-tac-toe, or a chess/checkers board.  Voila!  Outdoor game for an outdoor game room!

  Not only can the kids help me build it, they can sit in the shade and picnic, play quite games, and enjoy a safe spot to play as I do other yard work.  The Eldest loves his quite time reading books, and this might be a spot for him to enjoy for that purpose as well.  I'm kinda excited to see how it turns out.  Well, you know, assuming I can get a break in the gray, soggy weather.

I Finally Made An Awesome Cake!!!

My twins turned five yesterday.  WOW how time really does fly.  I don't think you really grasp that concept until you're watching your kids grow and it seems to be far too fast.  But, growing is what they do best.

I love watching the differences between the two.  My Littlest Prince woke up ready to party.  All he wanted to know was where the party, cake, and ice cream would be.  The Princess, on the other hand, woke up FURIOUS that she'd not become a full grown adult overnight.  She ran right into my bedroom to see her expected overnight transformation in the full size mirror, and was greatly disappointed to say the least.  She got over it.  ;-)

Usually every year I bake all three kids a cake from scratch.  (If we do a celebration outside the house, however, I go with a second cake.  A trusty and dependable store bought.  Mostly because my cake skills are 50/50.)  But I have always wanted to bake cakes from scratch for birthdays, if I ever had kids, and so I do.  This year, the twins wanted strawberry and pineapple in their cake.  I found a great strawberry cake recipe (not using boxed mix) a few years back when the Eldest had requested one, and it turns out excellent every time.  With a little searching, I found a second recipe that included pineapple and orange, but used a box mix.  So, with a little tweaking here and there, I combined both recipes to make this amazing, tropical, strawberry-pineapple loaded, moist and delicious cake.  Here is the recipe as I had used it.

Strawberry-Pineapple Cake

2 cups white sugar

1 3oz package strawberry flavored Jell-O

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs at room temp.

2 ¾ cups cake flour, sifted

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ cup whole milk at room temp.

½ cup strawberry puree from frozen, unsweetened strawberries

1 8oz can crushed pineapple with juice

2 tsp (or so) fresh orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.  (Or whatever pan you’re using.)

In your mixer, cream butter,  sugar, and dry Jell-O mix together until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is well mixed in before adding the next. 

In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda.  Add flour mix a little at a time, alternating with milk.  Add in the strawberry puree and pineapple.  Pour evenly into cake pans. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool cake in pans on wire rack at least 10 minutes before removing cake to cool on rack completely.  Do be careful, this cake is soft and breaks easily. 

I fully admit I have not done well making my own frosting, so I used store bought.  I used lemon frosting for the center, between layers, and white frosting for the entire outside.  Pat some sweetened, flaked coconut on the outside to complete that tropical theme.  :-D   That being said, this recipe as written is super sweet, so it's really perfect on it's own, without the frosting.

On the other hand, if you are going to frost it, it really is super sweet.  I would seriously recommend reducing that sugar considerably.  Either way, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  

Oh Hey! There's A Blog Here!

Yesterday I had a thought.  That thought led to more thoughts.  Those thoughts led to an entire inner dialogue.  That inner dialogue made me think of my blog.  Thinking of my blog made me realize I've totally abandoned the poor thing.

I look back at published posts and see all kinds of goodies.  Most frustrating, I see posts that were meant to be followed up with further posts to complete the stories I was trying to tell.  Apparently follow through isn't my strong suit.

SO, I can't promise anything, but I will say I'm hoping to try this again.  I love writing.  I love telling my stories and sharing my thoughts.  I just don't love sitting still long enough to do both.