Baking with Nana: Double Chocolate Pound Cake

Well, Nana came by yesterday to spend time with her favorite daughter-in-law (yes, that's me) and her favorite twin grand babies (Kensi and Camden). And while she was here, we decided to bake. We made a most delicious double chocolate pound cake. It is so rich and delicious and fills the whole house with the most wonderful smell of chocolate. Unfortunately for the hubby, this one wasn't for us. We made it as a gift and actually gave it away! It was a little easier for me to do, as I am watching the waistline right now. But the hubby gets all kinds of delicious delicacies in his home so he really can't say much over one cake, right? Well, you really can't, honey. Look, I'm sorry, okay? Let's get started on our pictorial tour of culinary artistry, shall we? (Complete recipe to follow below.)

The cast of characters: Devil's food cake mix, chocolate pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, semi-sweet chocolate chips, oil and water.

Add cake mix, pudding, oil, water, sour cream, beaten eggs, and mix it up.

As Nana demonstrates, beat the eggs before you add them to the bowl. Okay, so yeah. This cake starts with a cake mix. Big deal! It's stinkin delicious! You gotta problem with delicious?

Add semi-sweet chocolate chips, then mix it all up gently.
Put your grandson on the counter so that he can supervise.
This next step is crucial. Take the batter covered beaters and put them in your grand children's mouths. They will follow you around for hours afterwards.
Make sure you get some on your fingers for them to lick.
When their faces look like this, you have done it right.
Ah, perfection! You may now continue in making your cake.
Pour the batter into a greased pan and spread evenly.
Get your baby granddaughter handy so she can learn how to do it, too.
Spread it around in the pan nice and pretty, and pop it into the oven!
After the torture of smelling it bake for over an hour, you must leave it in the pan to cool for another hour and a half. You see, this is not just a post on baking, it is also a study, focused on an ancient method of teaching your body self-control through olfactorial stimulation.

Once your cake is done, turn it out on a plate and serve it to your family. This cake is guaranteed to get you a back rub and a week's worth of not having to do the dishes. Okay, we have two featured videos for this post as well. This first one is of the kids getting their faces covered in chocolate, and of course, LOVING IT!

Our next video is of Nana giving the kids some water to "cleanse their palate." They find this quite hilarious. I know what you are thinking. Why is she wearing all white to make a double chocolate pound cake? Because she didn't know we were making it until she got to my house, that's why. And I will have you know she came out of this whole adventure with minimal damage. Only one spot of chocolate and the Tide-to-go stick took care of it beautifully, thank you very much. Now watch this last video and come back and see us.

Double Chocolate Pound Cake:

1 devils food cake mix (I always use Pillsbury)

1 - 5.9 oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix

8 0z sour cream

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup warm water

1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except chocolate chips and mix well. Then add semi-sweet chocolate chips and stir gently. Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake for at least an hour. I usually cook for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. (Test with a knife or toothpick.) Let it cool in pan for at least an hour and a half; turn out on a plate and enjoy.

Happy Birthday Trent-o!

This weekend was our nephew, Trent's birthday. He is now a strapping young man at the ripe age of 12. But he is wise beyond his years. He is oh so frugal with his money; he watches the stock market (he bought Google at $100 you know); and he will only wear Nike shoes on his feet; But this young man is bounding with charisma and potential. He is one of those kids everyone likes and parents want their kids to be friends with. You know the whole, "why can't you be more like blank" statement? I've heard it said many a time with Trent's name in there. He is truly one of a kind and we love him so very much. I hope my son will be like him, too. Well, we celebrated the anniversary of Trent's birth on Sunday. We grilled out hamburgers, which the Hubby did a fabulous job of cooking, and then we had cake! The below videos and pictures are in no order and have no relevance. They probably don't make sense either, but they are what they are.

This first video is from this morning. The kids were playing on the sofa. Sometimes people just don't know when to quit; and here is a prime example. Now, keep in mind the kids do all their own stunt work. There are no stand in's or stunt doubles. Note: no children were harmed in the making of this video:

Here is a random picture I took last week of Camden sleeping. Yes, he is laying on his arm.

How can a little boy be so stinkin cute? Come on now! I didn't put this on him either; He just likes to wear hats like his Daddy. This was all Camden's idea. Side view. He wore this hat for a long time, actually.

We go through lots of diapers. A box this size lasts about, oh...a week and a half, maybe. So we have lots of extra boxes around. We've learned to use them for storage, for planters, for firewood; they actually have lots of uses. I also have some nice Huggies Cardboard art I'm selling on Ebay.

Here the little girl plays 'hide and seek.' She thinks if her head is hidden behind the blinds I can't see her. Ah, the brain of a one year old!

I found you sweet girl!
The kids watching Trent play Xbox.
Camden wants some more cake! Please??
After Trent's birthday cake, we all decide to go for a walk. From left to right: Haley, The Hubby, Jaymee, Laurie (The hubby's mom), and Trent. Strollers left to right: Kensi & Camden!
Today we visited Daddy at his office. Kensington HAD to have her purse.

And here is the sweet Camden in his new blue shirt. Doesn't it bring out his eyes?

This last little video I threw in here for no particular reason. It's just a simple video of the kids. Camden really likes his crackers!

Time off with the family

Well the hubby took off a couple days from work to spend some quality time with the fam. Time we much appreciate. We love it when he takes time off for no other reason than just to be at home with those who love him most. While he was home, we decided to let our children try to feed themselves during lunch. So, we gave them toddler spoons and green bean casserole and let them have at it. Of course, I got video footage of the whole thing. Surprisingly, we didn't end up with green beans on the ceiling or in our hair. They did pretty good with whole thing. Take a look:

Being that we live in Alabama, football is huge. Let me repeat myself: football is HUGE! Especially this year since we have this fabulous new coach that everyone loves named Nick Saban. I don't really know a whole lot about it, or him; but since I have a husband, brother, father, and a brother-in-law (who is a football coach himself) I must live with this phenomenon called: football season. And actually, my sister-in-law Jaymee is much more qualified to discuss this subject than me! The whole point of this before I started rambling is about Alabama football. Since the Tide had their first game on Saturday, the twins had to dress for the occasion. If you are an Auburn fan, I apologize. Pictures:

The Hubby with Kensi & Camden in their cute Alabama outfits. Back view.

Kensi & Camden again, in their cute outfits. Front view.

She has on her matching red sandals and her Cinderella purse.

But she must stop for one more picture...

And here Uncle David holds Camden in his lap

The kids spent the night with Grammy and Paw Paw so they decided to play dress-up. Camden wanted to be Superman and Kensi is always a princess. Grammy bought them cute little outfits to play in. Check out this round of shots! Now you must prepare yourself...

Da da da Daaaa!!! Ladies & Gentlemen: Princess Kensington!

Its a bird, its a plane...No! Its Super-Camden! Saving the day in style!

The princess is on her royal throne and will not allow the Super-hero to save her.

So, the Super-hero goes to test out his new shoes and see if anyone else needs rescuing.

On Monday, we went to a church-wide picnic at a friends house. We were not there very long as the kids had not had their nap. But, I did grab a few great pictures:

Here is Paw Paw with his perfect grand babies.

And Grammy cuddles with Kensington

The kids love to sit in Paw Paw's lap and try to drink his water.

Ah yes; This picture is here because he picked on me at the picnic. Take that Wendell!

And the boys. Uncle David left, the hubby right, and Camden stands in front. And that's Kensi with her new turquoise bow, too.

Before I close down my post for the day, there is one more thing I must discuss. To those of you out there who are married, this is for you. You know those silly things your spouse does just because they know they can get a rise out of you? Well, the hubby knows how I feel when he wears socks with his sandals. It is the biggest fashion faux-pas known to man besides leopard spandex pants, maybe. Just maybe. Well, the hubby does this when he goes to play golf. He says he can't wear his golf shoes on pavement because it will mess them up. So he wears his sandals over his socks, until he gets there. But it's just embarrassing to me! Did I ever tell you that in 1999 when I met the hubby, that on our first date he showed up wearing socks and Birkenstocks? Oh yes he did. Yes, he did. Well I caught him doing this again. But he wasn't going to play golf. He was taking out the trash. What if one of our neighbors saw this???

Well, now we have to move!!

More videos

Okay, so we have some cute videos that I feel I must post because they bring a smile to your face. Also, because my mother and mother-in-law demand more videos!! So here are some highlights. This first video is of Camden pushing Kensi on a little car. It's about 17 seconds. His laugh will make you melt:

Our next video is a favorite and very popular. This is Kensi's first taste of a lemon. Her faces are priceless! This video is just about 10 seconds:

Now this last video is my longest yet, and this post is it's premiere. This one was taped in a studio on some stairs. But I must warn you the studio is pretty messy. There are clothes and things all over the stairs, but we're at a studio, remember. There's no reason to think this is OUR house and OUR messy stairs; because it's not. I repeat, this is a studio; because our house is very clean. All the time. Especially our stairs. So clean you could sleep on them, or eat on them. Not that you would want too though, gross! Anyway, now that we have that straight, check out this new clip. It's about 1 minute long. Kensi has learned to count, sort of, and she is very happy:

I hope you have enjoyed this latest installment of videos! It is fun for us to get to share them with you!

Playdate at Chick-fil-A

Today the twins and I went to Chick-fil-A with our friends, Shannon and Kim and their kids to play and have lunch. We had so much fun, even though my kids just stood there the whole time watching the other kids play. Shannon's little boy Roman is the same age as the twins, but he was climbing all over the place and having a blast! He climbed all the way through the jungle gym and went down the slide several times. And here are my kids, just standing there watching. Kim's youngest little boy Tanner is one, and he was also playing and enjoying himself. The twins? Still standing there. Yes, it was a little embarrassing. But, after a while they started to venture out a little, which you will see in the video below. They are trying to climb up the slide backwards. I was just proud of them for trying!

Did you notice how Tanner had to move somewhere else to play because my kids wouldn't go anywhere? Yeah, sorry about that Tanner!

Well, here are some pictures from our fun play date!

Kensington & Roman looking up at the bigger kids.

Camden pretty much hung out here the whole time.

And Kensi pretty much did too.

Here they follow Roman, because he is cool!

Camden watches as Roman shows him how to really play. And see Kensi climbing over there? Well, that's as far as she went. Actually, she didn't even make it to the first step. Oh well.

This is Parker. It was his birthday and he had to show us his 'guns.' He told us that now that he is five, he is faster and stronger and bigger. And he is! Happy Birthday Parker!

Also, that is Shannon behind him. I have to give her some props here. She showed up for this playdate with three kids. Iris, who is not quite 3, Roman, a year and a half, and get this: a 3 week old!!! Hello somebody!! And her hair is fixed and she has on make-up! So can someone please remind me that I can never complain!? I mean, not that I do. Ever. Like ever. Really.

Independent Filmmaking

We have a new game we play with our kids. We ask them, "Where's your tummy? Where's your nose?" and so on. This little video clip is of just that. I am asking Kensi and then Camden where certain things are. Now, don't be upset at the rawness of this video footage. My lighting director was out today so we had to make do with just make-up and wardrobe. There are a few shadows in the video but I am doing the best I can with what I have to work with. If my actors could actually follow the script it would help matters immensely. (Plus, it didn't help that 'Key Grip' and 'Dolly Grip' were out on vacation.) So don't pull out your Valentino gown and Oscar De la Renta pumps in preparation of the Oscars. We've got a ways to go yet!

I hope you enjoyed the show. The actors are certainly pleased and seem to want to watch the videos of themselves all the time. *actors....*

Composition 101

Well, being that I was a music major in college, I have a few tidbits of wisdom to share with my little ones. A love and passion for music is supreme; this is something my father taught me and his mother before him. There are many kinds of music to be enjoyed, but for this post I am referring mainly to the classical genre. I grew up in a house where the sounds of Mozart and Chopin were played daily from our small little upright piano, which I now own. I have a small piece of family history right in my living room; I love that piano! Anyway, my father prefers the sounds of Bach, the "Father of Music" but I prefer the emotions only achieved from a piece by Beethoven. It is this love and appreciation of music that I wish to pass on to my young ones. I try to play the piano for them as much as I can. When I was pregnant I tried to play pretty regularly, that is, in between trips to the restroom to puke...but alas, that is for another post. The twins are now a year and a half old; and they love to play the piano. Below is a short video clip of one of their duets for piano with soprano solo. It is definitely for those with a taste for the "modern" classical movement. (Be sure to mute the music on the right side of the screen) Enjoy: