Halloween Party

Yesterday the kids had a great time at a Halloween party with some friends. They got to draw and finger paint ghosts, scare off ghouls with bubbles, make scary masks, go in a spooky mini-maze, scoop up maggots (rice), eat some devilishly good treats, and draw shaving-cream goblins. They both had a wonderful time!

Woooo Hooooo

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got tickets for Christmas for $700! That's $500 cheaper than I could find previously. Okay, so we have to fly out of Orange County and into Seattle, but I'll take what I can get. We'll add a rental car and STILL save $300 in travel costs and get our own car to drive for the vacation. YES YES YES...it's lookin' like it's gunna be a good day...

What a wonderful world

There's not much in the world that can compare with a beautiful day with my three favorite people. We had a frost delay so we started on hole #13 on the back side, but Sunday was just such a day. I have to say, through all 15 holes the kids were great.

What's for Dinner?

We particularly like to eat fish, although we only eat it once a week or so. Last night though, I couldn't find a recipe for Dorado in any of my books that appealed to both of us, so I looked online. That's where I found a "Sweet & Tangy Tilapia" recipe.

Okay, so Dorado is a far cry from Tilapia, but the ingredients looked tasty to both of us and it took a mere 20 minutes start to finish for the meal so here's what I did:

In a measuring cup, I mixed lemon juice, butter, dijon mustard, strawberry preserves, vinegar, honey, and tarragon. I greased a cookie sheet and laid the fish on it under a broiler for 3 minutes. Then I turned the fish over and drizzled the mixture on top. I waited another 3 minutes and flipped the fish again, and drizzled again. After a final 3 minutes (9 total now for anyone counting), the fish was done and I served it with rice & vegis. A very healthy meal in no time flat, which is right up my alley.

The original recipe called for raspberry vinegar instead of the preserves & vinegar but I make due with what's in my pantry and we ate it all and I added it to my homemade cookbook to make again later.

Little stinker

My little stinker one-year-old is a budding mechanical engineer... or demolition expert. He wanted to hold my phone (which I tend to let him do since he's USUALLY harmless) so I let him. I looked down from my computer screen less than a minute later and he had dismantled the phone into the following configuration:
Now I ask you, would YOU have been able to do that with such speed? I would like to add my kudos to Nokia at this point for their phenomenal durability. This phone has been thrown down stairs, stood on, driven over with a golf cart, dismantled, and had peanut butter smeared into it's inner workings (all of which were thanks to my sweet babies) and keeps on tickin'. Amazing. I think I need a new phone now though since this one's kinda beat up but what could possibly stand up to the torture that they put this one through?

Our little princess

Our 2-year-old is becoming quite the feminine little girl. She loves her dresses and baby dolls and anything that has to do with nurturing/loving on animals or toys. So you can imagine how excited she was to visit with a friend this week and discover the friend had Disney princess dresses! The two of them were so cute twirling around with arms outstretched to the music together. There were even sparkling princess shoes and tiaras to match the dress. What a couple of cuties!

Holiday thinking

Well, all this shopping for tickets north has got me thinking about what the kids will want for Christmas. Invariably we are asked for the annual Christmas List and I usually panic at the last minute and can't think of anything. It always seems to sneak up on me even though I've got the countdown going all year long (scroll to the very bottom of my blog page). So I decided that I'll just keep a running list in the left-hand sidebar of this blog as the year goes on and that way I won't be caught with no ideas. As things come to me I'll try to remember to add them in.

Travel Woes

We're trying to get our tickets to fly north for the holidays and the cheapest I can find tickets for all three of us (baby flies free) is $1200! I've been looking all day for some kinds of deal or special or ANYTHING - to no avail. I've tried flying with layovers, at inconvenient times, etc, and the most I can save is $100, which still makes it $1100 to fly. So here I am, putting it out to the universe for assistance, that I need some way to get tickets... If any of you know a big wig who is in charge of marketing for an airline, whisper in their ear that this would be a fantastic time for them to put tickets on sale for us....

Normal price $200 a piece (manageable)
Current cheap price $360 a piece (laughably high)
Current normal price $400 a piece (just plain ridiculous)

Trick-or-treat Practice

Nana and grandpa are going to be gone on vacation over Halloween and were going to miss seeing the kids in their costumes. So to give them a chance to see the outfits (albeit not entirely decked out) and to give the kids some exposure to trick-or-treating before randomly telling them to take candy from strangers, we went over last night and did some "practice" trick-or-treating. The kids walked from door to door throughout the house while someone waited behind the door and answered when they heard a knock. At first, neither kid wanted to knock and forget about asking them to say "Trick or treat". By the 10th door though (there were 10 total), both kids were willing caught on and wanted to knock and even the 1 year old would yell "Teeeet" (okay, close enough, extra points for being adorable and keeping your hat on sweety). We all had pizza after which they both dined on their new treats. Daddy's and my costumes weren't all the way done yet, but we got in the spirit too by donning what we DID have completed. Now I have 2 weeks to hold the little kiddos at bay before unleashing them on the public.

The great pumpkin contest

At homecoming last weekend they were handing out pumpkins to all of the alumni so we brought a couple home with us, one big and one small. Knowing it is only 2 weeks until Halloween, I convinced Daddy to help us carve pumpkins last night. Being the total Type A personality that he is, he suggested that we make it into a little competition to draw prospective faces for the big Jack-o-lantern. We all sat down to the kitchen table, and with the pumpkin in the center for inspiration, drafted what we thought might be the winning face. Everyone knows that 2-year-olds are of prime age for Jack-o-lantern judging so our little sweetheart got the honors. I believe that the contest may have been somehow staged or the judge was paid off in skittles because remarkably one of Daddy's faces won. So they set to work cleaning out the goopy-goo inside and our little mister was in charge of separating the seeds. It wasn't long before Daddy was able to begin the face but when he sat back to admire his work he couldn't figure out what was missing....luckily our smarty little girl is very perceptive and giggled "Daddy...he needs a NOSE!" and pointed out where it should go.The end result was six big smiles; both lit up Jack-o-lanterns, Mommy and Daddy's faces, and both kiddos happy faces.

Oktoberfest

This weekend Daddy was hunting for phantom chucker (they didn't see a single one), so we needed something to keep us busy. We decided it would be fun to go to Oktoberfest. Some other moms & kids met us there for lunch. Not knowing what to expect, we arrived with empty tummies. Let me say they did not disappoint. Not only was the sausage very good (the kids LOVED it), but the music was fun and very entertaining. From there we went to the playground so I could be assured both kids were sufficiently exhausted. You know the afternoon event was a smash hit when both kids sleep for 3 hours afterward!

What's For Dinner?

This week, since we were all feeling a bit under the weather, what better to make for dinner but homemade chicken soup. I made it for dinner on Monday and by Tuesday's lunch it was all gone. If you have a crock pot there is nothing and I mean NOTHING easier to make. Plus it's so so so good for you (about 150-200 calories a bowl depending on what you add).

Here's all you have to do: Get some frozen or refrigerated raw chicken. Cut it into cubes and put it in the crock pot (that was the hard part). Empty a can each of carrots, potatoes, peas, corn, and beans into the crock pot. Add more if you want more, go crazy. If you don't have those vegis use other ones, it really doesn't matter. If you only have fresh or frozen vegis use those too, or a mix of all of them, it's all the same really. Add enough liquid (either broth or bullion dissolved in water) to cover the vegis & meat plus another inch or so. I add a few bay leafs to my soup and some italian seasoning sometimes or red pepper flakes but none of them are really necessary. Turn the crock pot on either high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours depending on how much shopping you plan on doing :) Then come home to a house that smells awesome and eat the best yummy soup ever feeling good about finding a way for your kids to eat their vegis.

There's really no way to mess this up. You can't overcook the soup really, at least I never have and trust me, if you could - I would have. If you're a neurotic freak and have to have noodles in your soup, add them in the last 1/2 hour of cooking or cook them separate and add at the end when serving. Trust me on this one, you don't want to crock pot cook those noodles the whole time, you'll get an icky thick goopy mess when the noodles dissolve in the broth. Don't ask me how I know.

How long does it take to make a dress?

It seems like an easy question, right? I mean, I buy only the "simple" patterns and use regular fabrics like cotton so maybe it should take a day, maybe two or three if I'm cramming it in between other activities. This apparently is NOT the case for my otherwise wonderful, loving, marvelous mother. Leaving jobs partially finished seems to have be somewhat of a trademark for her to which I have, in this case, stepped in to assist.

Here's the scene: I am staying for a week at my parents' house. My mother and sister are gone for the day to school (both being superstars and going for their degrees). I am at the house alone for the day with my kids. By some freak twist of fate or dousing of good fortune upon me, both of my kids have decided to nap simultaneously. So what's a girl to do? Watch one of the 1000s of movies in their library? Bake chocolate chip cookies? Ah, you are one step ahead of me...of COURSE I went through my mothers' sewing room. The place is a treasure trove of interesting tid bits of crafts and projects either never begun or never finished. Because, of course, had they been finished they would no longer be in the room, right?

I had previously (and by this I mean last Christmas)eyed a dress in the closet that looked a little big for my size 24 month baby girl (I'm guessing the dress was size 3-4) and passed over it at the time. This time, however, I knew she might fit into it, or at least might by the next time we came up, so I went looking for it. I believe the artifact was initially created with the intention of one of my nieces wearing it. They are now, however, ages 12, 11 and almost 8, so they would be better suited to use it for doll clothes by this time. I found the article of clothing in the exact same place it was last Christmas, hanging in the closet. Upon further inspection, the dress was not only mostly complete, it only required the addition of three buttons! Imagine, all the hard work and planning to get this adorable dress made only to never be worn because nobody put on the buttons. It's a shame really.

So what's a mom to do? Of COURSE I did. My daughter fits in it perfectly and we have added it to her collection. She has a new fascination with watching long skirts twirl while you dance in them so this dress is not only the the perfect size for her, but the long skirt makes it perfect timing as well.

As a side note, on the way out of the sewing room I also found a bag that contained a finished bodice, hemmed skirt and some other fabric remnants all decorated with candy canes, also approximately a size 4 that I snagged and finished as well. Once I finished making it today I asked my daughter to try it on and despite the obvious holiday insinuations on the dress, she insisted on wearing it for the remainder of the day. Her first request was that I turn on some music for her. In fact, she loved it so much that I even made her a matching purse from the remnants.

So the answer is simple, how long does it take to make a dress? About 5 minutes of button sewing for one and about an hour of sewing for the other... Start to finish, altogether, about 6-10 years.

That time of year

It's that time of year again. Both kids and I have a case of the sniffles. We all sound like veteran smokers and have ichy eyes, runny noses, sore throats and congestion. So we've been spending all week at home, which isn't such a bad thing. Hope you all are avoiding this ickiness.

Homecoming

We spent all day Saturday (and by that I mean the 23 hours after 8 hours of driving and 3 hours of recovery) in Thousand Oaks for the Cal Lutheran University football game and homecoming activities. It was nice to be back from Oregon and soaking in some sunshine. My precious 2-year-old loved the bounce house for alumni & family after the game and my 1-year-old was enamored by the bunnies, pigs, goats, and ducks in the petting zoo area. Of course, my hunny didn't mind the free beer and buffet either.
We had a great time visiting with our "old" friends (you know who you are) and catching up on all of our classmates' news for the last 10 years (has it really been that long?). To cap off the night, my sister and I went with hubby and some friends to the local cowboy bar for some line dancing and a little 2-step action. After getting back at 2 am and then getting up and driving to the airport at 6 am though, I am relieved to be home and trying to recover from the last few days' lack of sleep.

What's for Dinner?

Okay, so we're not really making this one tonight. We made it last Monday. But it is so yummy I had to tell you about it. It's Alfredo pizza and it's SO easy.

Take a 12" Boboli breadshell (I use the whole wheat ones) and brush it with olive oil. Then add enough sun dried tomato alfredo sauce to cover the top. On top of that sprinkle some chopped green onion, shredded chicken and crushed red chilis. Top it all with some Jack cheese and bake it until the cheese melts. It's so good that my hubby thought it was made with Que Bueno cheese! There's only 353 calories in a third of the pizza so it's practically guilt free to boot.

This Park is for the Birds

Yesterday we spent the morning feeding the ducks at a local park. Both kids were excited to see a group of our friends who met us there. Unfortunately these particular ducks are on the snobby side and have never wanted to eat any of the times we've been there. I think they're overfed because it's the only lake with ducks for many miles. Luckily for the kids, there's a big playground at the park too so even though it got rather hot toward the end and we couldn't get the ducks to eat (not for lack of trying), we all still had a nice time in the sun.

Our day at the Zoo

Yesterday we got up early and drove down to San Diego to visit the zoo. Since it was such a good deal, we upgraded our tickets to a membership so if any of you want to go this year, we'd love to join you if we're around. We were there for four hours and saw many animals but there's still lots we have left to go back and do and see.

Mobility

Both kids are becoming more mobile. I am keeping slim just trying to catch up!

Miss Cleo

Ever seen those advertisements where some lady claims to know the future and tells you to call this 1-900 number and find out your fortune? Her name, if I recall correctly, was Miss Cleo. Well, my hubby must have made that call because if you refer back to a post (less than a week ago) called "threes" you'll see he forecast the downfall of WAMU. I tell you what, the guy's a keeper.