I Scream

Erik has discovered the other men in my life (besides Mr. Clean): Ben and Jerry. Brian bought a couple miniature containers of ice cream the other night, and I thought they were so cute -- until I realized how many calories there were in approximately four bites of ice cream (240-something). Yikes! Usually I don't care, but lately I have been worried about getting trapped in the bathtub with Gracie kitty, so I am backing off the frozen treats a smidge. Brian said that he and Erik would eat them for me. Here's an S.A.T. flashback for you: Ice cream is to Erik like catnip is to Gracie. The boy simply went HAWG WILD. He always spits out the first bite, not expecting it to be so cold, and he then begins jumping up and down in a gameshow contestant-like frenzy, grunting and yelling, "MMMMMMMM!" It's like he just discovered the wheel or something (which, by the way, I think somebody with Williams syndrome did). I took this photo, but it doesn't begin to describe how hilarious it was. I'm not sure if any other WS moms out there have kids that grunt and wheeze like Erik does. I am told that it is because his connective tissue is loose in his chest. It is another way for me to tell if he is concentrating, bored, tired, or, in this case, excited. His lungs have checked out just fine, and I would sorely miss those manly little noises if he didn't make them. They make me smile and tell me volumes about what he is feeling. Plus, it freaks people out, and that is worth quite a lot in my book.

We are headed to the park tomorrow morning for a picnic with three of my other girlfriends (Kathy, Lisa, and Shaena) and their kids (Dominick, Owen, and Samantha). Erik and I will check out the pool while we are at the park. They have redone it with slides and other watery accoutrements. I am a little worried about Erik's eczema and the chlorine, but I'm willing to give it a try eventually. I have a cake baking in the oven for our picnic right now. Thank goodness for air conditioning. I started putting applesauce in everything now that Erik eats a lot of it and we have Costco-sized jugs of it lying about. I modified this recipe with applesauce so it isn't so artery clogging, and it is actually better than before.

(Special note to Dawnita: Please tell me that have apples in Idaho. If not, I will post a new potato recipe. Ha! Love you!)

Nancy's Apple-Walnut Cake

2 cups sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp each baking soda, cinnamon, and salt
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups chopped apples (I peel mine, but they're good either way)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Grease (but don't flour) a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan.

Mix sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl until blended. Stir in applesauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla, then apples and nuts.

Bake 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack before inverting on rack to cool completely. Good served with sweetened whipped cream.