I re-learned a valuable lesson this week: make a list, and check it twice.

We have been attending story hour in Farmington on Wednesday mornings. The other moms are beyond friendly, and Swee really seems to like the boys and girls that attend. She participates in the activities and songs, which she never did in Baltimore, so it’s totally worth the 25 minute drive into town. I decided to combine our errands into one trip, so after leaving the library, we had a snack and drove over to get our oil changed. From there, we hit the grocery store for the requested purple sprinkles and Swee’s chosen birthday dinner of mac and cheese and strawberries. We snagged the cart shaped like a car, they were in fabulous spirits, and I basically felt like Supermom.

I finally made it to the kitchen around 9pm to get started on her cake: chocolate with purple frosting and purple sprinkles. This birthday, I had a plan to make it all from scratch (minus the sprinkles). The oven was preheated and supplies were everywhere when I realized I didn’t have enough sugar. Figuring I’d just hit the country store for it in the morning, I creamed the butter for the icing only to find that I was also almost out of powdered sugar. Seriously. So back to Farmington I went, at 9pm. As silly as it sounds, this was my first trip out alone after dark, and I was a little nervous, but it was fine and the icing got made. The cake had to wait til morning.

I used an old family favorite for the cake. My mom has been making Wacky Cake since we were little. It’s a dense, moist cake that I truly prefer without icing. It has no eggs or dairy, which makes it a good choice for some who suffer from food allergies, and I’m sure it could be adapted for gluten-free flour. Now, this is *not* clean eating, but it is a fabulous treat. I made traditional buttercream icing, and tinted it to “Concord Grape” according to this chart.

Overall, I think Swee had a really nice day. She was over the moon when she opened her new Tinkerbell fishing rod and pink tackle box. She and J actually just left in the truck for their first fishing day, rod tossed over her shoulder like a pro. I told him I felt like I should have downloaded the Trace Adkins song for the occasion. This mama teared up a little, seeing them off.

Wacky Cake

3 C flour

2 C sugar

1/2 C cocoa

1 t salt

2 t baking soda

1 T vanilla extract

2/3 C vegetable oil

2 C water

Mix all ingredients together in an ungreased 9×13″ pan. The mixture will be thin, so don’t over-beat (I prefer to use a bowl and then transfer the mixture). Bake at 350* for 35-40 minutes.