When Snow Storms Come…

Children go out to play

Or bundle up and stay

Angels decorate the yard

 

and building snowmen isn’t too hard

Trees bear heavy

And when children shake trunks, branches shed snow

and sprinkle down on the ones below

  Through the woods we’re off to tread

To find a hill where we can sled

But when the power goes out, only he sticks around

The rest of us pack up and head into town.

Granny and Gramps house filled to the brim, and a belated birthday cake that should be a sin.

HA!  Every time I get poetic, I think I sound so cheesy… but really, unless I am talking to my husband, I feel like I communicate like Mother Goose to the rest of our family- so it should be comfortable!

What a weekend.  Without a doubt, the demise of Al Gore hit our neck of the woods as well, and with it came fun and chaos all at once.

We woke to a beautiful 6 inches of heavy, wet snow and the kids were so excited.  My mother-in-law and I sipped our coffee, in wonder of the snow and the fact that we didn’t lose power.  And within 20 minutes the power went out.

We fired up the gas fireplace and bundled the kids up for some serious outdoor fun, certain that the power would come back on within a couple hours.

When we came in, we fed the kids and put them down for a nap.  Caleb and his dad went into town for a meeting and called us a couple hours later (after the kids woke up- mind you) to tell us that the utility company said that it could be days before electricity was restored.  Mona and I packed up the house and the family and cared for 4 kids, three dogs, nine puppies and a cat with NO electricity and NO cartoons to keep kids entertained while we emptied the refrigerator and searched for toothbrushes and clothes in the dark.

Then Mona went out to start my van to warm it up, and it wouldn’t start!  Being the totally awesome woman that she is, she utilized jumper cables and jumped the van (that has all the car seats) with her car, and we loaded up and headed into town to Granny and Gramps house.

Granny and Gramps were glad to see us (they always are) and we packed that house to the brim!

On Saturday night, they had a belated birthday party for me.  Mona loves to make cakes for people on their birthday, and so she was set on making me a cake, even though baking in someone else’s kitchen is a HUGE challenge.  She went back to her house to get the ingredients for my all time favorite- Coca-Cola Cake.

While she baked, in an unfamiliar kitchen, the guys watched the Aggies beat-up on Tech, I took a well-overdue shower and four little children bustled under her feet.  Which I am sure would be distracting for even Betty Crocker, and could lead to baking said cake without BAKING SODA!

After she banged her head on the wall, she snuck to the store and bought all the ingredients to remake my cake.  UGGGHHHHH!  What a labor of love!  It is the moistest, richest, most fantastic cake.  And it will even cause a non-cake fan (like uncle Jon and myself) to dish up a big slice!

After the celebration, we stuck the kids in the shower and got them ready for bed.  Caleb’s dad headed to the house to check on everything and called with the wonderful news that the power was back on and the house was warm.  So we packed up and loaded them into the car to return to our own beds and cribs!

Now that you have endured this LOOOOOONG post, go make this cake!

The dainty ballerina candle holders are grannies from years and years ago…

Coca-Cola Cake
From-Traditions: A Bounty of Our Texas Best
1 cup Coca-Cola (but keep the rest of the can for frosting recipe)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1  3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1  1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
Coca-Cola frosting (recipe follows)
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 13x9-inch cake pan.
Combine Coca-Cola and buttermilk; set aside.  Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter at low speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually add sugar; beat until well blended.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat at a low speed until blended.
Add cocoa-flour mixture alternately with cola mixture; begin and end with dry ingredients.  Beat at low speed just until blended.  Stir in marshmallows.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Pour Coca-Cola frosting over warm cake; top off with toasted pecans. Makes 20 servings.
Coca-Cola frosting: In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring 1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup Coca-Cola and 3 tablespoons cocoa to a boil, stirring until butter melts.  Remove from heat; whisk in 1 (16 –ounce) package confectioners sugar and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.