Family – Page 8 – CatChick6 Creations

Can you make Jewish apple cake out of three apples….

So, I’m going to my dad’s for dinner…he loves Jewish Apple Cake. We have a family recipe for it…but I don’t have it…I did have it, but I have lost it. This is one of those times when I would call my mom and have her give it to me over the phone. But I can’t do that any longer and if I called my dad and asked him he wouldn’t even know where the recipe book was. Which also makes me think that I need to get my mom’s recipe book. Shouldn’t the daughter inherit the recipe book???? I think so. The recipe uses a tube pan instead of a bundt pan….I don’t have one of those….may have to get my mom’s! Somehow I don’t think my dad will ever use it!

Anyway, I was therefore forced to go on the internet and look up a recipe. The problem is I only have 3 apples and River is napping…so it will be a Jewish Apple cake with 3 apples…we’ll see how it turns out……

I have also discovered that the recipe calls for 1/4 of a cup of orange juice..I don’t have any..so I am substituting milk. Should be interesting.

The recipe is below (I only baked it for one hour):

Mom’s (okay….not my mom’s) Apple Cake

6 apples, Mom uses McIntosh apples
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.

This recipe was borrowed from smitten kitchen.

Here are my photos. I’ll tell you on Monday has it tasted! I had to take a photo BEFORE I took it out of the bundt pan, because I always mess that part up!

Cat Shoes…..

Those are my cat shoes on the right. I love them. I used to wear them all the time…I don’t so much anymore. When Tuesday was little, all she would wear was dresses..dresses..dresses..dresses….she just couldn’t get enough of them. I desperately wanted her to have a pair of cat shoes. I looked everywhere for a pair for her, but I never found them. Until the other day…in the store..there they were…and I had to get them! Except now she isn’t a little girl anymore..and she refuses to wear dresses…..and she likes them..but she says she will never wear them in public. I told her that one night we are going out somewhere special and we are both wearing our cat shoes!

Growing and looking back…

I finally managed to rearrange the art room and drag the easel up from downstairs. I have been meaning to do it for a long time now. River has decided she loves to paint. Every time she wanted to paint, it would turn into quite a mess….so the easel was the solution, but it is so big, I was afraid it would take up too much space. But with some creative furniture moving….and grunting and groaning from the stairs..I was able to set it up. She immediately loved it and set to work on a “masterpiece!” After painting for a half hour and asking me every three seconds, if I loved it, and telling me how much fun she was having…she promptly finished and said, “Mommy, I never want to use this easel again! I want to use my desk again!” And proceeded to yell and scream when I told her she had to use the easel to paint from now on! Well, you just can’t win…..

While she was painting, I couldn’t help notice how familiar this “picture” looked…..I had to dig up some old photos from about 8 years ago…I should have put her in the same smock…..

River in 2009

Tuesday in 2001

Ooopss…

My goal was to write a post every week day during October…I already failed..Friday I didn’t have time! Well, instead of beating myself up for it..I will just move on..with a new post for the new week. This weekend felt like one of those weekends where you actually get so much done! Not only did I accomplish productive things, but we had lots of fun. We got out all our Halloween decorations and decorated the house and put away all the mess. We went to Six Flags…a first for me in about 25 years! River had a fun time. We had my niece and her boyfriend over for dinner which was a lot of fun. And we relaxed! I got some painting time in! I am determined to finish this mural by Christmas!

Coincidences…..

One of my favorite blogs to read is Rosie .com, which is Rosie O’Donnell’s blog. The other day she wrote about her mother’s death and how her strongest memory is her mother’s bathrobe that she wore. It touched me because my mother recently passed away. The day after reading her blog, I was going through a tin of buttons that had been my mothers. My daughter loves to glue and she wanted to glue buttons. So, I was going through the buttons and there, among all the other nondescript buttons, was my mother’s old bathrobe button! I couldn’t believe it..what memories it brought back! Maybe if I hadn’t just read Rosie’s blog entry….maybe that button wouldn’t have hit me like it did…but I think not….that button is unique and I hadn’t seen it in a very long time! It was from a bathrobe my mother had when I was a child…goldish in color..but with bright, big diamond looking buttons. As a child, I loved that bathrobe and I loved those buttons!

What’s Hot..What’s Not…part two…

Okay….here we go again….(once again…I borrowed this idea from Loobylu )

what’s hot……

*rock creatures…..my children love creating them..they gather rocks from the yard, wash them and then paint or marker them…then the hot glue comes out and I get to put them together! This can end up being an all day project!

*felt board people…..I love taking my daughter’s favorite story book characters and making them into felt board people. She will spend hours playing with them all and re enacting the stories. Now my elevent year old daughter has gotten into the act and is creating some characters for her! Her latest story is Cinderella.

*apples…we always have to have a huge selection of apples. Just something about this time of year makes it perfect for biting into a crunchy apple….perfection!

*everything Halloween! We just started getting out the Halloween decorations…but they just can’t get enough….

*books…as always books books books and more books….my children never stop reading books and these are some of their current reads.

*painting…everyone always loves to paint..but right now it is all my 2 1/2 year old wants to do…….

What’s Not…..

*dying plants…I inherited this plant when my mother died..it is a rabbit foot fern…this plant was her father’s plant..my grandfather! I was warned not to kill the thing..and of course…I already am! help! I am not a plant person…..

*leaves…don’t get me wrong..I love Fall and I love leaves…but they always end up all over the house!

*my middle school daughter’s mess….my daughter has always been messy..but now that she is in middle school..the mess is getting worse…..

Chew and Swallow…chew and swallow….

Okay..today is one of those days. Not that I’m complaining…I am grateful to have this day. I am just trying to breath and get through it. As my daughter says, “chew and swallow…chew and swallow..” It has become my mantra lately.

River has not been feeling well. Today the &*$#* seems to have hit the fan. She is grumpy about everything. It doesn’t matter if it is changing her diaper, getting her lunch or taking her to the library…it is all about the grump. I am trying to just remember to chew and swallow.

I finally got her down for a nap and I thought I would check on my bank account. My bank has been having some online problems…..well…they have gotten worse. Someone has decided to use my account for their purposes. So, instead of getting a lot done around here…I got to talk to the bank for an hour or so. Now I have to go to the bank and continue to get it straightened out….oh the joy..chew and swallow..chew and swallow..

I did manage to get a little bit of sewing done….a new design that I am working on. I am trying to get some Winter themes worked into my woolies and this one is adorable!

Chew and swallow…chew and swallow….

What’s hot and what’s not…..

Okay….I got inspired by one of my favorite blogs…..

http://loobylu.com/

She challenged anyone to do a what’s hot and what’s not list of their own…so here goes:

What’s Hot!!

1. Books. Books are always hot. My children wouldn’t know what to do with themselves without a book, and I’m not exaggerating. They take them everywhere..to school, in the car, to grandparents..everywhere!

2. Anything Harry Potter. My kids still love Harry Potter…he is hot right now because of Universal Studios opening up the new theme park in Florida! Guess where they want to go next Spring???

3. River. My daughter River is so popular with Tuesday and Quinn. They fight over who gets to play with her! No, really they do!

4. Hershey’s Especially dark chocolate cake recipe. It is currently my favorite and my daughter’s favorite dessert!

5. Cleaning and changing around bedrooms! It’s what we are doing around here.. in with the new…out with the old…..

What’s Not!!

1. Homework. It’s that time of year and my kids don’t like it..but hey who does or ever did????

2. Edamame. I love the stuff..but my kids don’t….but I’ll keep trying…

3. End of swimming. My kids love to go swimming and now the swim club is closed….so sad…

4. Early bedtimes. They are still on summer mode and want to stay up as late as they like…but that is no more since the beginning of school!

5. Getting up early. My daughter is in middle school now, so that means everybody getting up at 6:30….It is just easier if everyone gets up at the same time! (I’m the most unhappy about it!)

Differences…

It is amazing how children in the same family can be so different. These photos tell it all. The first photo is my daughter’s art desk and the second photo is my son’s art desk. Now, I have to be truthful and say that my daughter is in the middle of a school project right now…but it doesn’t matter..she is always in the middle of something and her desk always looks like this! I swear I didn’t touch anything on either desk….this is just the way they were left!

Back to School……

Well…it is that time of year…as everyone is saying….everyone is going back to school…at least in my little world. Tuesday and Quinn are back into the swing of things. My little one isn’t sure what to make of things. She is confused that they aren’t home during the day and she is really confused that they are going to TWO different schools! Now we just need to start potty training!