In my reading of Bringing Up Boys, I read that boys will bring their own unique spin to things that their big sisters may also enjoy. For example: Brooklyn loves her dollhouse. She invents scenarios and drama and moves the people around to different rooms and talks for them....August loves to play with her, too. But for different reasons. He tends to just eat things - which could also just be that he's teething. But I was amused tonite to notice him repeatedly taking a wooden cabinet and doing two things with it (other than chewing on it): 1) he kept opening and closing the doors and 2) lifting it up into the air and dropping it.

I think it's the boy in him that is fascinated with the opening and closing of the doors because I've never seen Brooklyn do that. And I KNOW it's the boy in him that loves the sound of the toy crashing to the floor. Totally boy.

What you can't hear is the hideous sound of this chair being scraped back and forth across my tile floor. It gave August GREAT joy. Until the inevitable moment when he pulled just a little too hard and the whole chair came crashing down on him, spilling the basket of Easter eggs stationed on top of the chair. After a few mandatory wails, he realized he was fine and began pursuing all the rolling eggs with great enthusiasm. I love that they find their own entertainment!

Just as Brooklyn has done, August finds my yoga poses too intriguing to resist interfering. If I am holding a pose, it must be so that he can crawl under, over, through or on top! And I can never resist kissing his sweet face when he pulls up on me or plops down on my stomach. Kyle and I figure it's an extra challenge giving us fitness bonus points.

I have this cookbook, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, by Nigella Lawson. It is chock-a-bock full of delicious recipes, many of which I have held off making with the thought that I would save it for a special occasion. But the problem is that most special occasions involve my family. And experimenting with my family (outside the four of us living in this house) is rarely a good idea. Too many opinionated people with non-experimental pallets. As much as I love them, I don't want to waste the ingredients! So, as I was flipping through the pages, inspired by my friend Anne's recent raspberry layer cake, I paused on the page with Butterscotch Layer Cake. I can't tell you how many times I've almost made it.

So, with no reason, no occasion, just because I could, I made the Butterscotch Layer Cake. Every piece of it from scratch - including cake, caramel, icing, etc. I will tell you that I learned a very valuable lesson during the caramel-making process. Be patient, but when it starts to turn the slightest bit tan, pay close attention. Don't go off to work on something else or you will have blackened goo to soak out of your pan. I know from experience. I tossed that batch and went again with much greater results the second time.

Lots of Nigella's cakes call for self-rising cake flour which is something apparently sold in abundance in England, but not to be found over here. You can buy self-rising flour and you can buy cake flour, but not self-rising cake flour. I have found other frustrated bakers online who've overcome this problem by making cake flour self-rising through the addition of salt and baking soda in a certain proportion to the flour. It seems to work. I have yet to forego cake flour and just try self-rising flour, but I might next time as an experiment.

So, aside from that slight deviation, I followed her instructions exactly and was quite pleased with the results! I did end up making this right before Kyle left which meant it was up to me to eat it. Not a good plan. I ended up wrapping it up and taking it to Sarah's house so they could help me finish it off.

At his 9 month check up today, August weighed 23 pounds, 10 ounces and was 30 inches long. That means he's planing out on weight! He only gained 10 ounces since our last visit but a whole inch! AND, we're actually ON the growth chart this time: 90th percentile!

When I was working full time and having to eat lunch on the run, my favorite place to do that was Boulevard Bread Company. Which sounds much more limited than it actually is. Not only do they make the best artisan bread I've ever had, but they serve the most fabulous sandwiches (I would do time to eat one of their turkey sandwiches), soups, cookies, etc. And their staff is of the variety that's sort of eclectic...you get the feeling that everyone who works there is an interesting person. One might argue that EVERY person is interesting, and that may be, but not every person LOOKS interesting. I used to be on a first name basis with all the employees there, but not any more. Although there are still some of the same people...I've just been away too long! Now that I'm no longer a DINK (double income, no kids), well, it's not affordable to "lunch" there as I used to. I'm now a SITK (single income, two kids) or OIGF (one income, growing family), so a Boulevard lunch is an incredible treat.

I was thinking to myself as I stood in line waiting for my order to be prepared, just how much I loved the store. It's not a large store. In fact, it's usually best if you order and take the food with you. But it's a store that makes you want to be a gourmet cook. The walls are lined with shelves which contain every imaginable exotic ingredient of which you've ever heard. Boxes upon boxes of fancy sea salts...dried, organic pasta in every shape and size...olives, pine nuts, chocolates, cocoas, coffee beans, a counter displaying oodles of cheeses...pastries...homemade cakes...organic butter...organic fruits and vegetables... It is my happy place. I am ALWAYS happy when I'm there.

If I could, I would hide away in the bathroom until after closing and sneak out into the silence and take my time perusing the shelves. I long to explore every obscure item, pick up and examine the different cheeses and meats, attempt to construct one of their turkey sandwiches, just poke around to my heart's content. Will this ever happen? Not likely. But it's one of my odd fantasies. As a "foodie", something about that store whispers to me that I, too, can be a master chef...I, too, can whip out a seven course meal fit for a king...it makes me aspire to culinary greatness while at the same time fulfilling my craving for seriously good, quality, eco-conscious food. Oh yeah, makes me happy just thinking about it.

Today, I came home with what is definitely a splurge purchase. An 8 grain, heart healthy bread that costs way more than I would normally pay for bread. BUT, it's a special occasion. Tonight I'm making the Spanglish sandwich and it requires GOOD bread. It may not look fancy, but it's dense, packed with flavor and grains and the perfect compliment to mayo, lettuce, tomato, bacon and a fried egg to ooze out over...Even Kyle concurs. Happy place.