Equal isn't Fair

Oldest is a great kid. He is sweet, quirky and passionate. What he isn't is outgoing or confident.

As a result, he doesn't have a large group of friends. Tallest, by contrast, is one of those people who is very secure in his own skin. T is exuberant, cheerful, and the type of kid who both adults and other kids are drawn to.

Anyway, this is a long way of saying that T has a pretty active social life and O spends a lot of time at home.

Thursday was the last day of exams for our high schoolers. Mr. Fl and I wanted to take everyone out to dinner to celebrate. Well, guess who wanted to come? No one. Tallest and Coolest exchanged looks/eye rolls when presented with the plan. Smartest doesn't count, he will go anywhere that has A1 Steak Sauce.

This dinner was important. Mr. Fl wanted us to be together as a family , to hang together, break bread, all that good, gooey stuff. Predictably, our sons want to be somewhere else. When that happens Mr. Fl and I try to put family first, we tell the boys that although their friends are important now, it is your family that will endure. We make sure that they know that going to someone's house to 'hang out' will never trump spending time together as a family.

So, when Oldest came to me and asked to opt out of the family dinner in favor of some semi-congealed plan to 'maybe' meet friends at 'some' girls house 'later on', do you think I let him go?

You bet I did.

A Spoonful of Sugar

We interrupt this post to exclaim over a sweet treat my neighbor just brought me! She is just back from (New) Jersey and deposited at my door a delectable that can only be procured from the Garden State.....double crumb coffee cake!
A little piece of heaven.
I have tried to replicate this cake a couple of times, using Midwestern ingredients-- with varying results.
Ina's Coffeecake is great, but more of a stand alone than a substitution. Moist, rich, flavorful, but without the crumb topping that is the hallmark of the Jersey treat. At Smitten Kitchen, Deb has this alternative, but I am just not down with the rhubarb, or any other fruit messing up my double crumb fantasy. Next, Chris Kimball has recently thrown his hat in the ring with Cook's Illustrated's New York-Style Crumb Cake. I have to admit, the word style makes me nervous! (No link, sorry, but in true Vermont style, Chris is a little stingy with his recipes and makes you sign up for a 14 day 'free membership' on the website. Look around, you can find it pretty easily on line.). I haven't tried this one yet, but it is on the list. Meanwhile, I will be enjoying this coffee cake with a little Bon Jovi in the background!

Mmmm...

I need to start writing here because my life is flying by! I was never the girl who wrote in her diary as a preteen or journal-ed along with Oprah in the 80's. But I find as I am getting older that my memory that I once prided myself on, that was so sharp, so accurate , is now duller and not as impressive. So here I am, 'cuz my life is great and I want to remember every bit of it!

The Age of Not Believing

Smartest is my youngest.  He is awesome.  This summer he went to camp with his older brother, Coolest, and his cousin.  I missed them both, they add a lot of fun to our house.  All four of my boys are infamous for writing very short letters.  Mr. FL and I wait for the mail to hear how our little angels are doing, what activities have captured their imaginations, their hopes, their dreams.  And this is what we get: 

A Spoonful of Sugar

We interrupt this post to exclaim over a sweet treat my neighbor just brought me! She is just back from (New) Jersey and deposited at my door a delectable that can only be procured from the Garden State.....double crumb coffee cake!
A little piece of heaven.
I have tried to replicate this cake a couple of times, using Midwestern ingredients-- with varying results.
Ina's Coffeecake is great, but more of a stand alone than a substitution. Moist, rich, flavorful, but without the crumb topping that is the hallmark of the Jersey treat. At Smitten Kitchen, Deb has this alternative, but I am just not down with the rhubarb, or any other fruit messing up my double crumb fantasy. Next, Chris Kimball has recently thrown his hat in the ring with Cook's Illustrated's New York-Style Crumb Cake.  I have to admit, the word style makes me nervous!  (No link, sorry, but in true Vermont style, Chris is a little stingy with his recipes and makes you sign up for a 14 day 'free membership' on the website. Look around, you can find it pretty easily on line.). I haven't tried this one yet, but it is on the list.  Meanwhile, I will be enjoying this coffee cake with a little Bon Jovi in the background!