I HEART Chocolate Cake

Especially when it's this easy! A friend e-mailed this to me and I tried it the other day and it worked! I find that the addition of the chocolate chips really makes it yummy. I would like to expound on what the e-mail says: It's good because we are 5 minutes away from chocolate cake and bad because we are 5 minutes away from chocolate cake.

Here is the recipe:

5 Minute Microwave Chocolate Cake

4 T flour

4 T sugar

2 T cocoa

1 egg

3 T milk

3 T oil

3 T chocolate chips

small splash of vanilla

Microwave safe coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well

Add egg and mix thoroughly

Add milk and oil and mix well

Add chocolate chips, if using, and vanilla and mix again

Microwave for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (my microwave is 1100 watts and it was fine)

Cake will rise up over top of mug. Don't be alarmed, it won't spill over.

Remove from microwave and let cool a moment.

Tip out onto plate and EAT!

It's rich and enough for 2. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or whatever you like.

Happy Easter

We had a nice Easter at home this year. Our friends Angela and Amy, James and Alex were nice enough to join us for dinner and fun. The Easter Bunny did visit Emerson and she got an awesome basket filled with all the bunnies she loves as well as lots of bubbles and bubble accessories. While not filled with candy, her basket did contain some sweet little egg and chick cookies that Emerson can enjoy later.


Emerson with Daddy. Is this the face of a girl who was at the doctors office a few hours before?

Emerson's Easter dress from the "Parker Collection". She looked so sweet in it.

The weather was so nice this Easter that we spent some time outside. We had an Easter egg hunt and played soccer, Foosball style.

Of course, when in San Antonio, do as the San Antonians do and that means CASCARONES!!! Emerson was more interested in getting to what is inside than cracking them. Alex had a great time with them and had knew exactly what to do with a cascarone. The next pic is kinda blurry and small (not sure why), but shows Alex at his cascarone best.


It was a great Easter! We are thankful that we could share it with our friends!

Sick and Better

Emerson wasn't feeling so hot this past weekend. She slept alot and was running a low grade fever. We had plans to go to the duck park and feed the ducks with some friends, but Emerson was sleeping and we didn't want to wake her to go out. By Sunday, her fever was higher and she was pretty miserable, so we took her to the Pedi MedClinic down the street. She does have an infectious process and was started on antibiotics. Only in America can you be seen by a doctor for a $25 co-pay and get an antibiotic prescription filled for $5 in under 3 hours on Easter Sunday. We are thankful that these medical professionals have sacrificed their family time to be available for our family.

Feeling much better now, even good enough to go for a ride :)

Dooce!

One of my treats for my birthday week (yes, I said week) was to go to Austin and see Dooce at BookPeople. Dooce is actually Heather Armstrong, who authors a blog called Dooce that I just love. She is the mother of all bloggers and has managed to make her website pay the bills. Her topics are wide and varied, and I almost always finding myself agreeing with her point of view. She has recently written a book about her experiences with pregnancy, new parenthood and PPD, all of which I have also had recent experiences. Angela came with me and bought me the book, which Heather was nice enough to sign. As expected, Heather was funny and warm and was a great sport with all the book signings, considering she's 7 months pregnant with her second child. After the reading and signing, Angela and I toured around the mother of all Whole Foods and had an awesome dinner from the sandwich counter. I could seriously live in this Whole Foods. There is no reason to leave, it has absolutely everything in it. I would just need a cot somewhere to catch a few winks....I may just do that for my next birthday week :)

Really????

Funny, I don't feel a day over 39 :)

Movin' on up!

Emerson is growing and it's a good thing. At her 2 year appointment, Emerson was so short, she wasn't even on the chart. Not necessarily a bad thing, as Emerson has always followed her own curve. But in her efforts to be thorough, Emerson's wonderful pediatrician Dr. T. wants us to bring Emerson in for height and weight checks every 3 months until her 3 year appointment. We went a few weeks ago and Emerson is back on the chart in the 5-10th percentile! We were so excited. It's hard to gauge growth when you see someone everyday, but we were thinking she was getting taller and it was nice to have our thoughts validated. Also in Emerson news, she has all her teeth. In retrospect, teething wasn't really a problem for her...not as bad as I'd thought it would be anyway. She loves to brush her teeth with her Dora toothbrush, which should make some of our dentist friends happy.