WHOOPIE!!

Through the holiday season I was frantically searching for one of my favorite recipes. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. Apparently it fell from the sky and landed on my desk this morning. It made me say "Whoopie" and I knew I better preserve it digitally.

The Whoopie pie maybe found across the nation now (I hear it is the new cupcake) but when I moved to Maine over 6 years ago I had never heard of it. Here in Maine, Whoopie pies can be found at almost every convenience store, pizzeria, bakery and grocery store. Often located right by the cash register.

My "Cooking the Maine Way" source tells me that Whoopie pies originated in the lunch boxes of industrial era mill workers. Whoopie pies were made from leftover breakfast cakes and a filling of lard and sugar. When a worker found one in his lunch box he would shout "Whoopie."

The recipes have really evolved since then. And this is my absolute favorite.

Pumpkin cookies (A friend of mine gave me this recipe. I omit the chocolate chips for Whoopie use.)
1 small can of pumpkin
2 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups of sugar
4 tsp baking powder
4 cups of flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 pkg. chocolate chips (omit if making whoopies)

Blend the pumpkin, eggs and oil. Add the sugar and mix until smooth. Add all other ingredients and mix.
Bake at 375 F. I have made larger cookies and smaller cookies and adjusted the time accordingly. Start checking at 8 mins. Cookies should turn golden and puffy. Eat one, it should be soft and cakey.

The filling- Cream cheese-
here is my favorite cheat.
1 can of prepared cream cheese frosting
1 pkg of cream cheese
Whip them together until light and airy
Sandwich two cookies together. Experiment with your favorite amount of filling.

Yum yum!!

10 random bits about the kiddies

1. When Benny sees Sage after her school day, he greets her with a quick, "woof woof."

2. Sage enjoys pbs animations of in the inner workings of human bodies. She pretends she can see inside her own body sometimes. And sometimes (without giving you TMI) medicine will give certain internal organs high-fives and grilled cheese sandwiches high-five the bad guys in her tummy.

3. Benny is obsessed with snowboarding. I have used this to my advantage in every way feasible. A shirt that he doesn't want to put on is quickly called a "snowboarder shirt." Soup is food for snowboarders, etc. It works like a charm.

4. Benny refuses to be put in his bed. No matter how tired he is, he must climb (and sort of drop himself) into his own crib.

5. Sage has learned to do laundry and give herself a shower. I love it. I am sometimes surprised that she has showered. She has also become independent about helping herself to mascara, which, I do not love. Occasionally she has done a good enough job that I don't notice for half the day.

6. Sage dresses in a princess gown (for a whole day) almost every weekend.

7. Breakfast is the only meal that I can count on Benny eating.

8. Sage is a rule follower to the extent that I had to make a rule called "Just have fun" so she wouldn't get stressed when friends are over. Benny, on the other hand, gives a mischievous smile and breaks the rule immediately.

9. Sage falls asleep to the same 5 audio recordings of The Magic Treehouse series for the past three years. They never seem to get old.

10. When Benny asks for "Jack and Annie" (the Magic treehouse characters) during nap-time, he wants me to put on the audiobook and leave so he can climb out of his crib, grab the iPod, and use it to play games like "Snowboarding".

And what is Benny "on" about

1. Fight any form of restraint. Seat belts, diaper changes, clothing.

2. Be as "outside" as possible. Being on the deck is okay, the lawn is better, being in the trees is even better. If there is a fence or gate being outside that is the best. It gets a little confusing at the track, there are many layers of gates, so just keep going in and out of them till you feel very free.

3. Say as many cute phrases as possible, "Oh man!" and "Hey you guys!" make most family members laugh.

Sage was "on" today

Sage totally kills me. She is funny, smart and a total character. All day she has been spouting off lines that deserve to be saved for her prosperity and your enjoyment.

"Mom, is today a track practice? Oh good, I know just what I want to wear." (practice was freezing! I had to lie and say the coach told me she had to wear the sweatsuit I brought her.)

At track practice and at the starting line for the 100- "Now remember everyone, this is not a race." The coach almost died!

And an epic story about Martin L. King. I wish I had recorded it, but I am sure I will have another chance. She has been asking me to tell it at least weekly since January.

Here is my synopsis of her version.
"MLK lived after fairy tales and fairy tales happened after the dinosaurs. He also lived far away from Maine cause there are not enough black people in Maine for this story.

There was a lot of slaver that was happening so long. MLK liked going to school but he wanted to go with his friend who was white but he couldn't. Then he remembered he was an adult so he didn't go to school, but did have to go to the grocery store and everyone has to go there sometime. But slaver kept happening longer and longer and that made MLK very sad.

So he taught everyone about their skin and how there are different colors. And then a bad guy shot him but the best part of the story is that his wish came true. Slaver got shorter and shorter until it ended and there was no more slaver."

I know much of this story is flawed but she also explained to me today how blood takes food down to your toes before the bad stuff goes out your booty.

I am usually just impressed that she is so determined to verbalize all of these difficult concepts.

Photos of the week

Who wouldn't be this happy about a lollipop?
I love all the little flowers that pop up in the yard. It makes the first round of mowing bitter sweet.
Sage loves to bring me a bouquet of meadow flowers and Ben is always surprised to see them. He says, "Whoa! Flouwees!"
Benny loves to wear shiny shoes like Sage. Here he is very frustated that it is so hard to walk in heels. Ben also will bring me detangling spray and a hair brush. He says "Ow! Owwee!" as I brush since that is what Sage says.
Sage has been bouncing around with glee over track. They run the kids hard but there is enough time to socialize with teammates so Sage loves it.

Big Fat Teeth and other news.

Yay! Benny has 7 enormous teeth. My crystal ball shows braces in Benny's future. I am not sure how any more teeth will fit into his little mouth. But we are all ga-ga over his toothy grin.

Sage is still tons of fun. Usually giggley and joking around. We recently saw Suessical put on by our local Art Center. She loved it and wants to do a play there this summer. Maybe acting but when she makes a play with the Barbies the character she plays the most is the "Stage Manager". It is a very fitting job for her.

Preschool is going well. Sage's teachers really appreciate her candid comments and caring demeanor. Benny and I spent most of a morning in the classroom this week. Sage told everyone at breakfast that Benny was coming as a special visitor. Sage loved showing him off. He had a huge flock of kids playing with him. The kids were getting ansty waiting for recess so the teacher asked them to sing to Benny. Every kid hopped to it. Benny was a little surprised to have such a large group singing at him and edging in closer. Lots of fun and LOTS of little kids.

Benny's Teeth

At 16 months the boy has 4 teeth. That and 4-7 right below the surface... actually a thick swollen surface over top of the protruding teeth. I joked about getting out an Exacto knife this morning. Scott was appalled. I guess it was not that funny.

Meanwhile... B cries and hits and kicks and BITES. He also sleeps and cuddles. I guess you never know what you will get.... hopefully teeth... hopefully they are pushing through right now, as he sleeps.

Kiddie Updates

Benny my boy!

I am so happy that I have a little baby boy. He is a lot of fun. He is really looking to Scott for guidance these days. He picked up Scott's occasional "um.." He uses it when he is trying to think of the right word. In the middle of the night last night Ben saw a plate of cookies on the counter. He eagerly reached for them and said, "Ummmm, ummm, hab cookie?" This may be his longest string of words yet :)


Sage is just awesome fun. Funny, creative, helpful girl. She is either making a huge messy project or declaring a chore day or cracking jokes. Anything she is doing you can also be sure she is talking. When we ask for more quiet she is quick to smile and say, "Oops. Yeah I am a talker." It is charming.

A new cooking show ala Sage

Another Sage Production

We are on Winter Vacation this week. The first day off Sage brought me a piece of paper and pen and told me to list everything we would do during the week. I listed 10 activities. That very day she pushed us through 6 of the activities. Making a movie was the last thing on the list so I am ready for school to start again. Sage is a very busy girl.

Benny has been equally busy. He often wanders around the house finding electronics to stick in the dog water dish or things he can climb and attempt to jump off of. He pretends to know his letters. He points to them and says, "A-O-O," and then smiles proudly.

They are both such awesome kids. I am a very lucky momma.