Last week I asked Mr. N what he wanted for this year’s birthday meal. He thought for a while and wasn’t really coming up with anything. Then he said, “I’d like pie.”

Great! What about for dinner? “Pie.”

Then he laughed and said, “Pie for dessert and I guess something that goes with that Brazilian cheese bread from the blog.” Okay. Easy enough. I can handle pie. In fact I love making pies. As for dinner, I needed to work around the Pao de Queijo (which incidentally was the recipe where we first came upon our good friend Sally for which we have been grateful ever since). That’s when we came upon Eva’s recipe for Barbeque Sauce and the plan all came together.

But you remember that old saying…best laid plans. It was one of those weeks. It started last Friday. The kids wrapped up school for the summer. What’s normally a happy celebration for Mr. N and Miss A, was a touch more bittersweet this year. Mr. N wrapped up elementary school, saying goodbye to his familiar classrooms, friends, teachers, hallways and bus friends. He’s now off to Middle School, which also means he and Miss A’s years of schooling together are finished. While the end of each school year is always a mix of happiness and a pinch of sadness for Mike and I, the kids felt it this year too.

Then we entered the last weekend of Mr. N’s show. Each show of the weekend was sold out. Friends and family, old and new came to cheer him on. But all good things come to an end and so too did his second big show. It’s always hard to say goodbye to people you work closely with (particularly in acting where you really get to know people on an emotional level), but even more so when you’re only 10-going-on-11 and aren’t used to these types of goodbyes. Fortunately we still had the birthday to look forward to and it was only a few days away.

A few long days away. Mr. N ended his Monday evening on a high. He was congratulated by someone from a local news station who told him, “You can really act. I mean really act. It was amazing.” So, you can imagine his absolute elation. Someone from tv!!! Mike and I too were on a bit of a high – proud of our baby boy, wound up from closing night and also a tad bit relieved that our trice weekly trips into the city were over for just a bit. It was a late night. Mike and I couldn’t sleep, so stayed up far too late watching tv. We finally turned in only to be woken two hours later by the doorbell.

Now this in and of itself was slightly alarming. Who rings a doorbell at 2:30 in the morning? We both creeped down the stairs and saw people shining flashlights in our door and window. We turned on the lights, hoping that would send them running. No such luck. I now understand the saying, your heart is pounding out of your chest. I thought it was about to bust its way right out of my chest. We heard whispering, and then the door knob jiggling. I ran for the phone, called 911 and breathlessly explained the situation. The calm operator took my name and information. She said to give her a second and to stay on the line. When she came back, she said, “Those are my officers at your door. Your alarm sounded.” What? No it didn’t. We hadn’t even set our alarm that night. How on earth could it have gone off? Besides we would have heard it. So after a few minutes of assuring the 911 operator that we were unarmed, we were told to open our own door. Everything was quickly sorted. Mike headed back to bed and was snoring within minutes. I, on the other hand, was full of adrenaline and not able to sleep a wink. So after 20 minutes on the phone with the alarm company, I headed to bed. I was asleep for maybe another 20 minutes when the alarm went off again. This time audibly. Fortunately (or disturbingly) the kids slept through it. Mike made sure the house was safe and returned to sleep. How does he do that?! I spent the next 45 minutes sorting things out with the alarm company on the phone. Not happy. No sleep for me.

Then I went to work. It was one of those non-stop days. We’re short-staffed and I’m feeling the pinch. Not to mention there were some unnecessary political issues. Just what I needed on no sleep. I finally made it home. Late. Upset. I fired off an email and wound down slightly watching Miss A’s hoola hoop show. She does not like when I’m stressed or upset and always puts on some kind of show to cheer me up. It worked. So we went in the house and began to wind down for the evening. That’s when I noticed Hobbs didn’t come to greet me at the door. Both cats always greet me. Odd. So we started looking. And looking. And looking some more. At this point the kids are panicking. Mr. N is near screaming, Miss A is crying, and I was about to lose it. Mike got the kids outside to look, so I could concentrate inside and listen. Really listen. I thought I had heard him a few times.

Now, you might imagine the thoughts running through my head. Especially so soon after we lost our little Charlie last year. What now?! Not on Mr. N’s birthday week! Then he appeared in Miss A’s doorway. I ran to pick him up and instantly knew something was wrong. He was wet. He was breathing with a rasp and his eyes were not right. More than that, he clung to me. Something was wrong, but what?! I grabbed a blanket and my keys, stopped to show Mike and the kids I found him, and I was off to the vet ER.

After several hours at the vet ER, it was determined he’d need to stay overnight in the oxygen bed. They didn’t know what was wrong, but something had happened and he was in severe respiratory distress. He either choked on something, nearly suffocated in something or ate something he wasn’t supposed to. This made total sense. This cat eats everything. Truly. I’ve found him in the bag of spinach trying to sneak away with a leaf. He’s eaten through bags of lentils, powdered sugar and rice when the pantry has been left open. He even makes off with Mr. N’s LEGOs on a regular basis. Not surprising at all, but scary nevertheless. Remember this pic? He’s one that will keep us on our toes.

Fortunately, after two nights at the hospital and sleepless nights for me, he returned home. It was great to have him home, but that too presented problems. He wouldn’t eat. He needed rest and our other kitty, Chipper, was not so happy with Hobbs getting so much attention. So it turned into two more nights of sleeplessness as we had Hobbs shuttered in our room so we could keep a close eye. He spent much of the night kissing my face or nibbling at my hands to be cuddled, all the while Chipper was head butting our door to try and get himself in the room (we had to keep him out so we could tell if Hobbs was eating or not). Seriously? They look so innocent don’t they?!

Well, it was finally Mr. N’s birthday. Hobbs was home and eating again. All was right with the world, which is when I of course woke up sick. It’s no wonder. It was bound to happen. You can only be pulled so far in so many different directions. Probably a sign that I should slow down. But I powered on. We got through Mr. N’s laser tag extravaganza with his friends and were finally ready for the birthday meal. I wasn’t going to let this special dinner go by the wayside. He needed this. That pie was still on his mind. No wonder – a week of goodbyes, I’d need pie too.

We stopped at the farmer’s market in the morning and Mr. N decided on a peach, rhubarb and blueberry pie. Done. Mr. N and Miss A spent the day playing while Mike and I organized the house. If you can imagine how cluttered a house can get after weeks of not really being home and everything coming home from school…it’s not pretty. So first floor accomplished. Then we started dinner. The kids husked the corn to go with the slow cooker pulled pork that I knew would pair well with the Pao de Queijo.

We served our slow cooker pulled pork with a sauce, inspired by Eva, next to the Pao de Queijo, adapted from Sally, corn on the cob and our balsamic fingerlings. We ate our BBQ dinner on China, because, well, why not! It was a celebration after all and after the week we all had, we were ready to celebrate. The kids even busted out their Goose Watch Grape Juice, while Mike and I enjoyed a Lamoreaux Landing Estate Red (a perfect match with the BBQ).

The true highlight of the meal though – what we all had been waiting for – was dessert. Our pie. While Mr. N may have needed a little pie, it turns out it was just what I needed too. You may remember, I (rather oddly) find therapy in making pie crust. Today’s pie crust was no exception. It was probably the equivalent of a few spa treatments or hours with a psychologist and at least three yoga classes. Whew! Do I feel better!

We tossed together the peaches (peels on), rhubarb and blueberries and soaked them in sugar, flour and Verjooz.

We poured them over the first layer of our pie crust. We opted for the 9-inch by 13-inch pan and made this more like Grandma’s Blackberry Cobbler than a traditional pie. Incidentally, this was the first year, in many years, Mr. N didn’t request the blackberry cobbler for his birthday. I guess he was feeling a little more adventurous this year! Perhaps it’s the 11-year old in him now!

The top layer of crust was laid over the fruit and the cobbler (or pie) was baked in the oven for 60 minutes at 375F.

The pie came out of the oven bubbly and golden brown. We could all barely wait to dig in. We again broke out the good dishes and settled in for some serious dessert time. The kids chose to have their cobbler with milk (same way they eat Grandma’s). Mike and I chose without.

Cream or ice cream is probably more common to serve over cobbler and pie, but in my family it’s been tradition to serve it with milk. Everyone eats it with milk. Admittedly I’ve never eaten it that way and never will. I prefer mine straight-up so the sweet and sour can shine. The kids, however, have taken a page from a long line of milk and cobbler eaters. They never eat it plain.

One thing we did all agree on – this was a four spoon dessert. All. Around. Four. Spoons. Maybe it’s the sour bite of the rhubarb and Verjooz or the sweet bite of the peaches and blueberries. Then again, maybe it’s just that this is just what the doctor ordered for us all. Whatever the case, this is a bright, happy and filling summer cobbler. Fresh fruit macerated in sugar, served warm with a crispy, shortening crust – delicious!

And tonight we’ll all tuck in with full bellies. Summer is here with lots of fun in store. Hobbs is rapidly improving, although, still trying to eat everything in sight. Apparently he learned nothing from this ordeal…

Our little boy is happy, healthy and now 11 years old. Speaking of health, this cold appears to be the 24-hour variety and I’m on the mend. And barring all emergency room visits and silent alarms, I think I’ll make a point to take this week a little easier. And if things don’t go according to plan, at least I have this left over pie to shovel in my face, I mean eat gingerly and ladylike.

Print this recipe: Summer Cobbler

Truthfully though, tonight we’re sitting around happy and full. While it was a trying week, we’re all here together. Healthy(er) and ready for a fun summer. I think we’re all even ready for the next adventures that are fast approaching. I believe I mentioned a while back that we’d be sharing some news shortly. Well, we’re just about ready now. Stay tuned…Until then, this Summer Cobbler is waiting to be made. Even if you’re not in need of a little therapy-by-food, it’s just darn delicious.