Mighty strong pets

One of G's favorite books is Doggies by Sandra Boynton. But the irony is that she "doesn't like ruffies." She also doesn't like cats. So one day after reading the book I said "Gwyn, you don't like dogs or cats, what kind of pets do you like?"
"umm, I like..."
"you like fish, right?"
at this point she starts counting her fingers
"I like fish, I like Caleb, umm.."
Now I'm thinking, let's get back to animals. "You like bunnies."
"I like bunnies. I like fish, and Caleb, and bunnies, and Gio."

Now Miriam just came to me after opening the cedar chest and finding all the things I stash in there.
One of which is Jesse's eagle scout pin. The case had been squished so she brought it to me.
"What is it mom? Can you open it? You have to use your might and strength!"

Could someone tell me the primary song she learned that phrase from. I almost peed my pants laughing.

What to pack?

First, I wish I had this suitcase to take with me to Japan.


Then I'd fill it with...
taco seasoning
baking powder and baking soda
muffin tins
my silicone spatulas (red for savory and blue for sweet)
my shoe collection
yeast
ranch dressing packets
bread pans
hair product
fingernail polish
my new earrings



what would you bring on a year trip abroad

Molten Chocolate Cake

Another recipe from Amy P. I got from her on my 1st visit to NY right before M turned 2.

1 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
8 oz semi sweet chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
vanilla ice cream


1. butter and flour 2 baby loaf pans or muffin tins.
2. whisk sugar and cornstarch in bowl to combine.
3. melt chocolate and butter over low heat
4. add sugar. whisk until smooth. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. whisk in yolks 1 at a time. Divide batter. bake 350 until centers slightly crack. 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm w/ ice cream.

Ok, so I made this and didn't have ice cream, but who cares. It was so yummy, so decadent. I like that I usually have these ingredients on hand. What a great dessert for a last minute get together or to complement a fancy meal(rich, yet easy). I'd like to make it in mini muffin tins next time.

Winter's Bone

I just finished Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell. There's a good review of it here. The story swirls through the Ozarks in winter. Woodrell is a fantastic, lyrical writer. It's not for the faint of heart; downright scary at times. Perhaps most frightening is the possibility that this life really does exist.

More Jesse

I love this picture of Jesse. He's cleaning his dad's grave while the kids run around and we visit. We had to talk Jesse out of completely relandscaping and just picking out the dead ferns. Maybe this summer we'll re-lay Mike's rocks, one for each year.

Jesse Rocks

Here's to my J who:
Washes 99% of the dishes in the house,
puts the kids down every night,
fixes the car even though he doesn't drive it that much,
doesn't complain too much about my serious housekeeping disability,
works hard enough to keep us clothed and fed, but not so hard that we never see him,
sold two of his surfboards and a lot of his books,
apologized sincerely for not helping out today,
watches The Office with me,
lets me clip his toenails,
didn't complain too much about the bad picture of him on my blog
lets me cuddle with him,
thinks I'm a good mom,
watches the kids every morning while I exercise,
does his best to make me happy.

Dem Bones

Look what my big brother Pete made! I'm not sure where he got the bones, but he carved them and I'm impressed. These are his first carvings. What a cool dude.

It's Potty Time!!

Oh yeah. Guess who's mostly potty trained after less than a week. Did you say "Gwyneth?" You're right and we are thrilled. I bought her some panties, she found them, put them on and she's been diaper-less ever since. This is her potty, but not her, but the model is about as chunky as G. At first I thought this potty was nasty as it has no lid and is all one piece, but that's the beauty of it. It's all one piece, easy to clean, no crevices for urine to hide in. I just rinse it out in the tub, and use a disinfecting wipe when she poos. It's light weight and portable, and do you really want a multi functioning potty?

It's Electric

One more reason to love the Newport Beach Public Library. They have the Best of the Electric Company, to rent for 7 days and renewed up to two more times. I love our library.

And I love that Miriam loves the Electric Company. She grooves with the music and the costumes are awesome. Morgan Freeman has quite a voice. And maybe, just maybe, the company will help Miriam learn how to read!!!

100 things

Here are 100 things about me.

1. I like having my toenails painted.
2. I hate having my fingernails painted
3. I'm on a diet.
4. I'm making a concerted effort to look nice (this is recent).
5. I love making food for people
6. I'm a good baker and a decent cook
7. I don't like cleaning.
8. I must have a clean bathroom and if we weren't moving in a 2 months, I'd re-caulk the bathtub.
9. I don't put away my clothes at night.
10. My favorite cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch. When I buy it, I hide it so my kids won't see it. I usually buy another sugar cereal to keep them out of mine.
11. I like exercising.
12. I'm afraid I'm going to get pregnant now that we're moving to Japan.
13. I've been trying for a year to get pregnant.
14. I look forward to getting rid of all our stuff on this move.
15. My husband is my best friend, but his best friend is his twin brother.
16. During my first pregnancy, I hated my husband's twin brother (totally hormones, not his fault at all).
17. I looked forward to District and Zone meetings on my mission because I had never had to live with girls before and found them overwhelming.
18. I drop the f*bomb at least once a month.
19. I almost always remember names and faces, for which I often feel the need to apologize since it sometimes makes people feel bad since they haven't a clue who I am.
20. I'm afraid of heights.
21. I jumped off Laie point into the ocean (about 25 feet) to impress Jesse the first time I met him.
22. I stop functioning when I'm reading, much to my husband's chagrin.
23. I have a green thumb.
24. I took piano lessons for 12 years and play quite proficiently, but have no instrument.
25. I only tried out for sports when they didn't cut people from the team.
26. I am allergic to cats and dogs. Animals love me.
27. I believe in attachment parenting and wish people wouldn't keep their babies in carseats during church.
28. I think my mom gets on my nerves because I resent that I'm so much like her.
29. I really like eating meat.
30. I rarely play with my children.
31. I get migraines.
32. I've never smoked, drunk alcohol, taken drugs or tp'd a house.
33. I love cherimoyas (sp?). I ate them in Taiwan.
34. I like that my ethnicity is so mysterious. People always assume I'm what they are.
35. I'm glad we got season passes to Disneyland.
36. I like to buy expensive presents for my husband.
37. I wish he would buy me more jewelry.
38. I'm mildly allergic to walnuts.
39. I've had both my children on their due date.
40. I used to think I wanted 5 or 6 kids, but now I'm happy with two and hope we get at least one more.
41. I thought I'd be a better mother than I am.
42. I've started to look at architecture magazines and interior design magazines.
43. I want to be a marriage and family therapist when I grow up. I think I'd like to work with pregnant girls thinking of putting their babies up for adoption.
44. I hate having plans changed at the last minute.
45. I wish my grandmother had taught me how to quilt.
46. I always wanted to be "discovered". As what, I'm not sure.
47. I write lists
48. I often feel very unintellectual in an intellectual community
49. My car is a 95 ford escort with a mashed up back and side, animal crackered interior, but no history of major maintenance.
50. I like bright spring colors.
51. I usually wear neutral colors or pink.
52. I like yoga
53. I'm flexible because I have short legs.
54. I love Dr. Pepper and ginger snaps together. It was my study snack.
55. We used to dance to the Jackson 5 when we were studying and falling asleep.
56. My hair is starting to gray a little more and I'm considering coloring it.
57. I am very frugal.
58. I want to buy a house within 5 years of graduating.
59. I siphon money into my individual IRA every month.
60. I test well.
61. I've subscribed to the New Yorker for 12 years, minus the time on my mission, and first went to New York 3 years ago.
62. Before I had kids, I used to go bra-less a lot.
63. I let my daughters play with Barbies
64. I also let them use my tupperware to make snail homes.
65. I used cloth diapers for awhile, until I got pinworms from my daughter.
66. I remember having pinworms all the time as a child.
67. I hate the smell of freshly cut grass.
68. I despise rodents.
69. Rich people make me nervous.
70. I'd like to go on vacation without my kids.
71. I like giving birth. I feel incredibly powerful during those last few hours.
72. My mother taught me to think for myself and not blindly follow my leaders.
73. I wish I were more entrepreneurial.
74. I don't believe in the modern version of scrapbooking.
75. I'm proud of my friend who is on a consumer fast this year.
76. I walk for an hour 5x a week.
77. I've been buying more locally grown produce and love watching my kids munch on unpeeled carrots with the green tops still on.
78. I love the Newport Beach Public Library.
79. I love where I live. I have the biggest backyard in Orange County. My husband calls it Sesame Street since the kids are black, hispanic, Pacific islander, Romanian, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Caucasian.
80. I let my kids watch way too many dvds.
81. I hate living in Asia because I'm way bigger than most asian women, and dress kind of shabbily (in comparison).
82. I've had my email address for 9 years, but would like to move to gmail, but can't be bothered.
83. I love getting penis enlargement spams. No fail, they brighten my day.
84. I love my mac mini.
85. I have a disgustingly high tolerance to filth and clutter.
86. I don't wear mascara because my eyelashes go straight out and hit my glasses if I wear it.
87. I would marry again if my husband died.
88. My family is most important to me.
89. I fight mean.
90. I did most of the yard work growing up, even though I have 3 brothers.
91. I would like to take an adult ballet or modern dance class.
92. Sometimes I forget that I'm not as skinny as I used to be and try to slide between people or through tight spaces. I have gotten stuck before.
93. I have a lot of really cool friends.
94. I don't use my ipod as much as I thought I would.
95. I don't always like going to church, but I dislike missing it even more.
96. I wish we went out to eat more.
97. I'm shy.
98. I love to sleep.
99. I'm a morning person.
100. I love Trader Joe's.

Bekah's Delectable Cookies

This is my favorite recipe and if you have a better one, please tell. Not to be a complete snob, I just haven't tasted better.

1 cup unsalted butter (please, if you really want to bake, you must use unsalted)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar

Cream well. And I mean well. I use my kitchenaid. If you must beat it by hand, leave the butter out for 15 minutes. Please don't nuke it!

Add:
1 tsp vanilla (the real stuff, por favor)
2 eggs (one at a time, at room temperature is ideal. You can warm them up quicker by cracking them open into a bowl first.)

In a separate bowl whisk together:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet, making sure to incorporate well, but not overmixing.

Add:
2 1/2 cups quick oats (or 2 1/2 cups rolled oats that have been put through the blender)
Mix well.
Add:
1 1/2 cups roasted pecans
1 to 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
2 cups of chocolate chips (I like a mixture of white, milk, and semi-sweet)

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven on a silicon lined baking sheet for 10-14 minutes (depending on size of cookies)
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen medium large size cookies.
If I'm feeling mean, I just put raisins in the recipe and use 1/3 cup less of each sugar

This recipe is a twist on the urban legend Mrs. Field's cookie recipe (I paid $100 dollars for it, so I'm sharing it with everyone legend).