Happy Birthday, Kayla! and Happy Halloween!

Kayla turned 25 October 09. The kids were so excited to give her her present...a new iPod Touch!
Jonathan was enjoying wearing his Bob the Builder costume...He likes to dress up for the morning, then is good about changing for school.

Halloween party at Jonathan's school
Here's the pumpkin cake I made. I'll put the recipe at the bottom of the post...

The kids had a costume parade. Sorry for the weird facial blurring of Jonathan's school mate. She's too adorable in her peacock costume, isn't she?! But I don't have her parent's permission to post pics of her, so you can't know who she is...

Then they had their program, during which Jonathan stood and watched the rest of the kids sing along with their teacher, deigning only to participate in the one song he had a semi-solo. So funny! This was the first program he has been in as he didn't attend pre-school. So, here he comes home from school singing these cute songs, finger plays and other motions and all; has them completely memorized. Then on the day of the program...nothing, nada, nichts...
It was still cute. What a funny kiddo!

Then they pinned the nose on the pumpkin, squirted out the candle in the pumpkin's mouth, and fished for bats. What a fun party!

Giant Jack-O’-Lantern Cake

4 cups all purpose flour (try ½ whole wheat flour)

1-cup sugar (try ½ cup honey)

4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 3 tsp ground cinnamon,

¾ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cloves, and

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

3 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp baking powder

6 large eggs

1 1/3 cup salad oil (I substitute applesauce in equal amounts)

4 tsp vanilla extract

1 30-oz can pumpkin pie mix (not solid pack pumpkin)

2 cups chopped walnuts, opt.

2 16 oz containers cream cheese frosting

green, yellow and red food colorings

1/3 unpeeled banana

1 cherry fruit roll

EARLY IN DAY, OR DAY AHEAD:

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt pan.

In large bowl, stir 2 cups flour

½ cup sugar,(or ¼ cup honey, ¼ cup sugar)

2 tsp spice (2 ¼ tsp if self-made mix)

1 ½ tsp baking soda, and

¾ tsp baking powder.

In small bowl, mix 3 eggs,

2/3 cup oil (or applesauce), and

2 tsp vanilla.

Stir egg mixture, 1 ½ cups pumpkin pie mix, and 1-cup walnuts (opt.) into flour mixture. Spread batter in pan.

Bake cake 50 min. Cool in pan 10 min; remove from pan; cool completely. Repeat for second cake.

Spoon 1/3 cup frosting into cup; tint green for stem. In bowl, tint remaining frosting orange for pumpkin.

Cut ½ inch thick slice across bottom (not fluted side) of each cake to make it flat. Use cut-off cake another day.

Place 1 cake, fluted-side down, on plate; spread cut side with ¾ cup orange frosting. Top with second cake fluted-side up. Fill in hole with foil covered cardboard round as base for stem. Frost cakes with remaining orange frosting.

Place banana on cake for stem; frost with green frosting.

From fruit roll, cut out jack-o’-lantern’s eyes, nose, and mouth; attach.

Makes 30 servings. Each serving: About 365 calories, 19g fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 210 mg sodium (if made with oil and sugar)