Giant Pumpkin Head Cake

Last weekend, we had occasion to bake a Giant Pumpkin Head Cake. If you love cake, I'd recommend this one. It serves more people than there are who actually want some. What you do is make 2 dense pumpkin bundt cakes, stick them together, and slather the whole thing with the brightest orange frosting you can make...then add a face. Oh, and don't forget the stem...an ice cream cone slathered with more green frosting! It weighs about 200lbs and really sticks to the ribs! Great way to fill up hungry little bellies for days and maybe even weeks. I'm definitely keeping this one in my recipe box.

Meet 'Midnight'

When I was little I always wanted a rabbit. More than anything. My parents knew this would be a terrible pet for us and never gave in. I'm sure they also took into consideration the fact that I was DEATHLY afraid of our cat to the point that I would not walk past the cat. If the cat was waiting in front of the door when I got home from school, I would call my mom from the porch so she could shoo him away so I could walk past. Oh, and this happened pretty much every day. Unfortunately, I was also terrifed of every other cat...and this lasted my whole life until now.

Our 9yo, H, has been wanting a guinea pig. I was actually considering this, knowing they don't bite or scratch like cats, but RH wasn't thrilled with housing a rodent. Plus, the ones at the pet store sort of gave me the willies. The pet store girl didn't really help, either. She said guinea pigs didn't smell at all, but she then qualified that statement by adding that she, herself, LIKED the 'barnyard' smell. So that was sort of a red flag.

But I wanted a pet for the kids...we both grew up with pets (ok, none of those pets ever really worked out-but at least our parents tried!). Plus, I love my house-full of kids....but our mini van is feeling really crowded as it is so I don't see us adopting those twins I always wanted.

All of the sudden, my neighbor K tells me she has this wonderful stray cat hanging at her house and she really wants it but her husband says no and the pound will have to kill it. We go see him and he's The Best Cat! He does not bite, scratch, chase, meow, attack shoe laces, and he's beautiful! And I am a self-proclaimed Cat Hater! Yes, the thought has occurred to me that he is terminally ill or extremely old..but he looks neither. I would name him Mellow Yellow but he's black so the kids named him 'Midnight' (RH wanted Jet...but he'd be more like Barge).

We brought him home the very next day and last night he was purring away with 4 kids doting on him constantly. Little B says, "Mom, I like buying cats!" Then A tells a story of her friend who has a dog who "Just laid 2 puppies!"