Today is a bright and sunny day. It is a little chilly, we have had a little cold snap, but it will do. I can't take dark and dank! I really believe that the weather affects the mood, no lie. I get weepy and sad when we have a few days of dreary weather. I feel immensly better when the sun is out. I am cranky in the heat, and quiet in the snow. I love the fall with its crisp days, the earthy smell from the fallen leaves.

I seriously don't know where this post is going, but I am trying to make something of it. I had a moment with my younger son, Daniel. We were riding along in the car and for some reason, I told him that I used to write poetry. He looked amazed, especially when I told him that I loved to write. He actually seemed interested when I told him that my favorite professor was a guy that took interest in my writing skills and abilities. The first person who believed that I had it in me, that I was actually a writer. It makes all of the difference in the world when someone recognizes the fact that you really are good at something you love to do. I didn't have that at home, so at that community college that I attended, I relished the fact that I could find a quiet place and write for 30 minutes, in between classes or before classs or even before work. I just needed that, and really never knew it. Heck, some of my best work was done sitting on a ledge outside of the Islip Arts Building, in sometimes unbearable weather. I was young, what the heck did I care? My son was amazed tha tI actually wrote a one act play, a short story and several pieces, all containing the same characters, at different points in their lives. He really couldn't believe that I, the hander of the rules, the teller of bedtimes, was a person who possessed real creativity.

I think that it is hard for kids to see their parents differently, and to see them as young people. It is hard to imagine that we went through the same types of things, only on differentr levels. It really takes a lot for them to wrap their heads around that type of thinking. I try to let my kids see that there are many layers of me to see, that there are many facets to me being where I am today. I hope that htey do, and that they don't just blow off what I try to tell them. I want them to know where and how I came to be. I don't want a mystery and to have them begging for answers as I get older.
I have an example of that is I bought two books for both of the grandmas to fill out. My mother, the purveyer of secrets, never filled it out. My mother in law, whom I adore, filled it out with joy and extra care. She included funny stories and pictures to fill out the book. It is a wonderful treasure that my children can have as a part of their family history. I just wanted my kids to know about their history, and my mother, couldn't do that for me. Now, it is too late, she is blind, and can't fill out the book. It was supposed to be done in the grandma's handwriting, to preserve that too. She just wants everything to be a big secret, I mean it really doesn't matter if the kids know where she met my father does it? Will it breach national security? That is how she treats her historical information, like we could all get arrested for knowing what her favorite color is. That is why I tell the kids stories about my past and my loves and my young dreams. I don't want them to feel left out and resent the fact that they don't know things about me. I want them to know all that they can, within reason. I mean, there are some private things that they don't need to know, but the really great stuff, I am very open about.
There, I can now step off of my soap box. Maybe it isn't a soap box, maybe it is just a sounding board, one that I can rant and rave to, without hollering at my mother for not letting us in.

I guess that is enough for now about that.

Easter went off without a hitch, cooking went easy, as I prepped everything ahead of oven and cooking time. I even baked a poppyseed cake, similar to the one that my mother used to make when I was a child, but cheated with the recipie. Daniel loved it, had three pieces. My mother raved over it. My mother in law brought chocolate filled creme puffs and a raisin spice cake to die for! We finished off the last of the creme puffs last night, and I am sad that there are no more!

A great cookbook that I strongly recommend, was a gift from my mother in law: The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn published by Workman publishing . That is where I got the recipie for the Poppy seed cake. Now that I have tried that one, there are a whole host of others that I am going to try.

Walking Down Memory Lane

Catherine, from All THings English,( see Catherine's Blog in daily reads) posted a beautiful tribute to her son on his birthday. Go check it out, I was crying like a big baby here this morning. It gave me an idea. I will post pictures of my children when they were little and now, so that you all can(YAWN, WAKE UP, I KNOW I AM BORING YOU TO DEATH) appreciate how much they have grown. Let's hope that blogger lets me do it!

The first photo is one that was taken on an Easter SUnday at my parent's house. Daniel was about two and Patrick was about 5. The second photo was taken about 3 years ago in Montauk. It was at Gossmann's Dock, a sort of small square with shops and a Large resturaunt, named Gossman's. The third is of Patrick, my 14 year old, with our first dog, Rascal, he looks to be about a year, maybe on the verge of 2. The next photo is Cassidy the day she came home from the hospital. My mom bought the "comming home" outfit and the hat was sooooo big. I thnk it might fit her now, at 5. Th last picture is of Daniel, he is sitting in a "snuggly" seat, on our deck at the house we lived in in Westhampton. He is aobut 7 or 8 months old, but it is one of my favorite shots of him, love the funny face! There are times that he still makes it at 11.

More Pictures: but of the Cake made for Patrick's Birthday

Ifigured that I should strike while the iron was hot! I wanted everyone to see the photos of the cake that I made for Patrick, a little more than a week ago. If you remember, I hadn't been baking for quite some time, due to lack of enthusiasm over my oven.I am now enjoying the fact that I can bake and that it is an enjoyable experience once again. When Patrick requested a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, I went a step further. He is a true chocolate addicted young man. He has loved chocolate since he was little. He absolutely enjoyed this cake. If you enlarge the top photo you can see that I decorated it in a special way for him, with lots and lots of kisses, just what he deserved! I got the idea when I was in the supermarket picking up candles and plates, yes we use paper when we have a cake. Sorry, the China is reserved for holidays! A milestone birthday would require the use of the fine china.

We have a tradition on our birthdays,(well, Scott's and the kids.) When you are old enough to make a rational decision about dinner, you can choose what you want to have to eat on your birthday. It can be something you really really want Mom to make or it can be take out of your choice, or we can go and eat it where you want it from. Most of the time the kids choose pizza or chinese take out. THis year, at 14, for the first time, Patrick chose: drum roll please: McDonald's! So off to the local McDonald's we went. Personally, I don't like the golden arches. I used to, when I was young and invincible, in fact I ate it every day, for lunch when I was a senior in high school. We had open campus for seniors, so we took off for Mickey D's. I just can't eat like that anymore. I love Wendy's it isn't as heavy on the belly, you can have a baked potato or a salad or both, and it just doesn't make me feel as if I am full of salt and gas. I digress...My son wanted to go there because he loved going when he was little, with my Dad. He gleefully told me that it would bring back good memories, so how could I deny that one???? We ate there, Cassidy got to play on the indoor play ground with Daniel, I forgot the camera, too bad we didn't get Patrick to go on the slide, but...he enjoyed the meal, his big mac and fries, and we loved that it pleased him so.

We came home, and I prepped the table and the cake and ice cream for serving, Scott and Patrick went to pick up my Mom, Scott's parents and his brother and sister in law arrived with her son, and we sang "happy Birthday." That was that. Patrick had a decent day all in all, and I am glad that I could share the pictures, finally!