Today Jody took the four oldest kids ice skating and left me with Brett, who doesn't want to learn to ice skate.  The house was so quiet!  Brett and I switched the laundry and then I made a red velvet cake for the first time.  It is so yummy!!!  Here's the recipe:

Red Velvet Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

2 tablespoon cocoa

small bottle of red food coloring

2 1/2 cups flour (I sifted it first)

~Cream oil, sugar and eggs.

In a seperate bowl make a paste of the cocoa powder and food coloring; add to creamed mixture and blend in.

Add buttermilk, then salt, then flour to mixture. Add vanilla, baking soda and vinegar, blend all together.

Put batter in 2 - 9" cake pans that have been greased and floured.

Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Frosting:

1 box confectioners sugar

  1 8 oz. box of cream cheese

  1 stick of butter (softened)

  1 cup chopped walnuts

  Cream together and beat until fluffy

Frost bottom layer and add top layer and frost.  Enjoy!  This makes a wonderful cake to give as a gift!

We also made peanut butter cookies with kisses on top, called peanut butter sombreros.  Did I spell that right?  Anyway, those came out wonderful too and we gave some to our neighbors across the street.  Brett was a huge helper liking the beaters and bowls for me all afternoon!

The kids came hom and had had a wonderful time skating, they were cold and hungry and since I had the kitchen in such a state, we ordered a pizza for them.  We're all in the living room now watching Arthur's Christmas. 

We've still been doing school work but today the older two didn't get much done and the little ones didn't do any.  I think this will be it until after Christmas.