Tasty Tuesday: Turtle Cake

My kids have very refined palates. The other day we dined on sea serpent.

Today, it's turtle.

What, you've never tried turtle? You really should. It's delicious.

We're preparing to let Agent T, our foreign exchange student that has been studying with us the past 6 weeks, head back home to the river. The kids are devastated. I admit, I'm not overly pleased about it myself, and that surprises me. I am not an animal person, but I've greatly enjoyed our time with it. There are many reasons why we're letting it go that I'll explain at another time. Anyway, to lessen the blow of saying goodbye to their friend, I suggested a going-away party to see him off. And what better food to eat than turtle? No, not Agent T, of course, but turtle just the same. Not only is it tasty, it's quite simple to make, too. In fact, the kids prepared it completely by themselves. Well, the main dish anyway. I did help with the garnishes. 

I'll show you how to prepare the food - in just 12 easy steps.

1. Cut open bag.
2. Dump contents into a bowl.
3. Pour in water.
4. Pour in oil.
5. Crack eggs.
6. Dump eggs into bowl.
7. Mix well.
8. Place liners in muffin pan.
9. Fill liners with batter.
10. Pour remaining batter in greased round cake pan.
11. Lick spatula.
12. Stick head in bowl and lick all remaining batter.

Easy enough, right?

After the cake, ahem, turtle meat is cooked and cooled, prepare your garnish. Somehow I missed taking pictures of this step. Pretend that you see Alyssa and me adding butter, shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and heavy whipping cream to a bowl. Don't bother pretending to see the powder poof onto the counter though. That would just be silly - and messy - and we would never do that. *ahem* Assume that we divided the frosting special sauce into 2 bowls and added cocoa powder to one to make it brown and food coloring to the other to make it green. Presume that we garnished the turtle meat with the appropriate colored sauce and plated it along with various embellishments (mini chocolate chips and tootsie rolls for eyes, mouth, and tail.)

Whew, that was quite the workout for the imagination!

Here is the final product, plated and ready to be savored.

Doesn't that look appetizing???

The kids could hardly wait to dig in.

The verdict?

They loved it!!!

They gobbled it right up. (I told you they have refined palates!)

And despite what you've heard, it tasted nothing like chicken.

Farewell, Agent T. It's been nice getting to know you. If you're ever in the area, feel free to stop by.

It'll give us another reason to celebrate with turtle!

Tyler's Birth Story

I expected to be welcoming a new life into the world this week. Instead, we're celebrating with our one month old baby boy.

That Saturday morning, one month ago, was a special day. I woke to Alyssa climbing into bed with us.

Me: "Good morning, Sweetheart. Do you know what today is?"

Alyssa: "It's my party!"

She had turned 4 three days before, but we were celebrating with a party at my parents' house that evening.  The whole family was coming (minus one cousin away at college): grandparents, uncle & aunt, cousins. Even great-grandpa and grandma, who were coming home from Florida that afternoon would be there. Aunt Dawn was making a special princess castle cake and everyone was bringing exciting presents. All of this to celebrate 4 years with our little girl.

The boys made their way into our bed a few minutes later. We enjoyed each others company as we laughed and played on that lazy Saturday morning.  We eventually got up and headed to the kitchen. The kids played around us as Leighton cooked eggs and bacon while I made toast.

Tyler Joseph Leaf born at 4:12 pm

I was so thankful that Leighton and my mom convinced me to order pizza for the party. Usually, I make all the food for their parties, but they thought I deserved a break. I wasn't going to use being 8 months pregnant as as excuse, but for once it was nice to not have to spend the day in the kitchen. 

That afternoon, Zac and Alyssa lay down for a nap, Jake was playing with LEGOs, and Leighton was working on the boys' bunk beds. I headed to Michaels a little after 2:00 p.m. to take advantage of some deals. While at the store, I talked to some employees about a few upcoming workshops at the store, helped a lady choose silk flowers for her house, and chit-chatted with a friend's husband who was there doing some shopping as well.

Contraction.

I walked the aisles, looking for inspiration for craft projects for the kids. I spoke to an employee about one of the products.

Contraction.

I continued placing items in my cart - some predetermined, some by impulse. I walked through the entire store, taking advantage of being alone.

Contraction.

weight 5 lbs 10 oz

I made my way to the register and the way-too-long line.

Contraction.

I talked to the cashier and the lady behind me about my baby that would be born in four weeks, paid for my things and headed to the van. I checked over my receipt and realized that I bought the wrong thing. I considered going inside to exchange it, but didn't want to wait in that line again. I headed home instead at 3:00 p.m.

Contraction.

Leighton heard me arrive home and met me at the door.

Leighton, looking at my expression: "Are you ok?"

Me: "No."

Leighton: "Are you having contractions?"

Me: "Yes."

For someone who just talked to half the people at the store, I suddenly didn't have much to say. 

length 19 3/4 inches

I truly thought I was having Braxton Hicks. As long as I was not dilating, I was ok. I sent Leighton to research what could be done to stop the contractions as I headed to our room to lie down on my left side and drink some water.

Leighton: "All I can find is to lie down on your left side and drink some water. Watch a movie or take a nap . . . because there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Me: "What! Call Eileen (my midwife) to see what she says I can do. We have a party tonight!"

He called her and explained the situation. She immediately began to gather her things to come over. I reached for the phone as Leighton started setting up the birthing tub. 

Me: "I just want to know what I can do to make them stop."

Midwife: "There's nothing you can do. You know your history. (I had a 90-minute labor and a 46-minute labor; labor as in from my first contraction to baby's first breath.) I'm putting my things in the car right now."

Me: "But I just want it to stop. I'm not ready. I don't have any baby clothes washed. I don't have my towels together. I'm not ready."

Midwife: "The baby's ready though. You need to call your mom and tell her to come over. I'll be there in a few minutes."

my dad giving Tyler his first Chiropractic adjustment

At this point, I wanted to cry, not because of any pain - it still felt like false labor - but because I wasn't prepared. I like to have things in order. I like to be in control. I like to be ready. I was not.

When my midwife got there, she told Leighton to stop setting up the birthing tub and prepare to catch a baby.

Me: "We don't have time for the tub?"

Midwife: "I can check you. If you're dilated more than 5, we don't have time . . . well . . . you're an 8."

Me, crushed: "Can I at least get in the bathtub?" (I really didn't want another bathtub birth, but it was better than delivering in my non-prepared-bed.)

adoring siblings

The next 30 minutes were busy. My mom arrived and got the kids ready for my brother to pick up. Leighton took down the shower doors. I sent everyone around the house to gather the needed supplies. And somewhere during that time, I made my way to the bathtub. As I birthed our baby into the water, Leighton was able to catch him. It was a special moment. Tyler Joseph Leaf was born.

The next 3 hours were a whirlwind of activity: weighing and measuring the baby, washing a load of clothes, taking an herbal bath, sending Leighton to the store to get some things we didn't have, trying to care for this life that entered the world before his mommy was ready.

Alyssa's princess castle cake

The whole family arrived at 7:00 p.m. for a double celebration - for Alyssa's birthday party and for Tyler's birth day. Alyssa opened her presents, was amazed at her cake, and of course, ate pizza. It didn't matter to me that I birthed a baby less than 3 hours before; I wanted to make sure Alyssa still got her special day that she had been looking forward to for weeks. Her baby brother was not replacing it. Instead, he was her special gift.

Because Tyler was born 4 weeks early, there were some initial concerns. He did need a bit of oxygen after birth, and we practiced Kangaroo care a lot the first couple days. He's doing fantastic though! Last week he weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz. I'm pretty sure it's been the kisses that have ensured his health. After all, he gets at least a thousand of them a day! The other 3 kids absolutely adore him. They are constantly hugging and kissing on him, wanting to hold him, and checking on him while he's sleeping. They run to get me as soon as he makes a peep. Zac tells me every day, "He's so cute!" Jake is convinced that "He's the cutest baby in the world!" And Alyssa acts like she's his mother. Like I said, they absolutely adore him. Zac even gave him his first nickname, Ty Juice (instead of Joseph), and it's stuck with us all.

our family

Little Ty Juice, we love you so much and are glad that you couldn't wait to meet us! We're very grateful for these extra 4 weeks that we get to know you. We thank God for the blessing of you.

Zac's First Birthday Party!

Have you ever had one of those moments when reality hits you and your mental time frame catches up to real time in an instant? Well, maybe it only happens to us, but it happened this past week. Friday we had Zachary's first birthday party. We know, his birthday isn't for another week and a half but Erika's grandparents head to Florida for the winter soon and we wanted them to be able to be there. The reality catch up thing came as the party drew near. It's a milestone, our last "baby" is no longer going to be a baby. It hasn't happened yet, but it will very soon. You get used to having a baby around after almost five years of little cries, screams, and laughs.  It was one thing when Jake and Alyssa turned one, with each of them we knew we were planning to have another baby. This time this is it. Now we are down to a kindergartener, a preschooler, and a toddler. No baby. I'm sure there will be plenty more crying, screaming, and a ton of laughing; just not the little petite baby kind. There will be plenty more milestones leading to plenty more reality checks, but let's deal with them as they come. For now let's party!

What kid doesn't love a party, theirs or not? Jake asked when he got up Friday morning if it was time for the party. He was told it would start at dinner time. So, instead of asking if was time for the party constantly, he asked if it was time for dinner.

Again we turned to our sister-in-law for a birthday cake. She enjoys making them and does a really good job with different characters and themes. This time we only gave suggestions and left the final say to her. We got a fire breathing dragon complete with fruit roll-up wings. Pretty cool! Our little piggy ate the head and one of the legs, this was only after eating three bowls of spaghetti. I think we might have to start a stricter portion control.

We, of course, plugged in the chocolate fountain and did a lot of dipping, this was something that Jake looked forward to all week and just loved.

Opening presents has got to be the one moment in a birthday party that every child looks forward to the most, especially when you are going to be the one opening the gifts. And it was Jake and Alyssa that did the looking forward to and the opening of all the presents. I think Zac might have gotten a few tears in the paper but he didn't care, he just wanted to climb and beat on the boxes.

BounceU!

Wow! Time flies when you’re not paying attention. I started this post last Sunday and have failed to finish until today. So keep this little fact in mind as you read the opening time statement.

Jake took to it immediately.

Over the weekend we went to a birthday party for a friend of Jake's from church. It was not a basic at home with lots of balloons and streamers party. These parents went for greatness and I would say they did greatness. The party was at a place called BounceU. You know those big inflatable moonwalk and obstacle courses that you can rent for fairs and carnivals and stuff. This place has two rooms with three or four in each. Not only were there kids running all over the place, but there were just as many parents running around. I found it fun just to watch the fathers that were coming in and seeing the look in their eyes as they glassed over. It certainly seemed to me that the fathers were just as excited to play as their children were. This was definitely a blast. Of course Jake immediately took to it and began running around after slight hesitation. Alyssa on the other hand struggled a little bit more. She didn’t really know what to do. Her brother had done this before, she had not. It probably did not help that the first bounce we went into had to adults jumping around whipping a dodge ball back and forth. By the time she finally started to get into it the workers from BounceU made the call to “move on”.

Alyssa took a couple of minutes then loved it.

I think we were the only newbie family. As everyone is lining up at the doors we’re huddle in the corner with our three trying to get shoes back on everybody and gather all our stuff. When we finally “moved on” the doors opened to reveal the second room of blowups. We had to remove all shoes again and start over. I wondered why no one else was worried about getting shoes on. Of course we had to collect both of our runners to get their shoes before they started climbing again. This place was definitely fun for the whole family, and it is a great place for a birthday party. We were rather impressed with BounceU and what all they took care of. When you get there they collect all the presents and hold on to them till the party time. They had two staff members with the group the whole time. When you did go into the party room they dealt with all the cake and pop serving, mom and dad didn’t have to worry about any of it. They did all the present handling as well, reading the cards, keeping the birthday child moving from one gift to next, and they even did the gift list to make thank you’s easier. It all went rather smoothly and impressively. I would definitely recommend it to those who can afford it. I don’t know the price but I heard it is a little pricey yet worth every penny.