Feeling better

Chase has recovered quite nicely from the strep, he's feeling well and back to normal. Cassie is still stuffed up, she's having a little trouble sleeping b/c of the congestion but all things considered, it's not too bad. Daddy did her bath all by himself tonight, it was practice for Sunday night when I'm in Fulton to help the sorority w/their elections. I thought it best for him to do it once by himself, but w/me available, in case he had any questions. And before you think, "Christi is such a control freak...." Keep in mind that b/c of her eczema, Cassie's bath is quite a to-do. She can only use a certain shampoo, certain soap, has to have a certain mixture of ointments post-bath (and has to be patted, not rubbed dry). As Jamie said, "It's not rocket science, but it's not your typical bath, either." He did fine, and I think Cassie really enjoyed splashing and soaking Daddy. While Jamie bathed the baby, Chase helped me vacuum. Hey, as Aunt Amy said tonight, "Those kids may look like Jamie on the outside, but on the inside, they are all Mommy." Chase likes to vacuum with me. So now the house is clean (YAY!) and I got to hang w/Chase while Jamie got to hang w/Cass. Since that's the opposite of how we usually tag team the kids, it was really nice.

Speaking of tag team--apparently in gym class today the teacher was playing "Whoomp There It Is" (Tag team back again....) while the kids hula hooped. While I don't have a problem with this (hey--I love me some 90s dance music), my son seems to think the lyrics are "Whoomp, bad ass!" Despite Jamie, Aunt Amy and me repeatedly assuring him that he is dead wrong (like the school would play a song for kindergarteners w/those lyrics), he's convinced we're naive. Yes, we're the naive ones. Nonetheless, the prospect of a mouthful of soap (if Aunt Judy is reading this, she's remembering the last time he got a mouthful of soap and laughing) has him singing the proper lyrics.

We're off to Cuba tomorrow for Thanksgiving w/the extended family. I did a bit of cooking today and will finish up tomorrow when we get to Grandpa Jim and Grandma Mary Ann's house. I'm particularly excited about my pumpkin gooey butter cake, I got quite a sweet tooth during my pg w/Chase and it got worse during Cassie's pg. Combining two of my favorite desserts (gooey butter cake and pumpkin pie) has me very excited. I'll share since I swiped the recipe from Paula Deen and http://www.foodnetwork.com/:

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Cake: 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix 1 egg 8 tablespoons butter, melted Filling: 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 8 tablespoons butter, melted 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.
Variations: For a Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.
For a Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.
For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

I'm so making the peanut butter version at some point. Yum-o! I'm still trying to find a recipe for gooey butter cookies, but honestly, it's probably best if I can't make those...