.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Lilypie Kids birthday Ticker
Monday, September 29, 2008
What is Wrong with People? -UPDATED
I don't care what your political or religious affiliations are, this is just wrong on so many levels. The room that was gassed housed the babies and small children of the women who were praying.

ETA:

Why hasn't this made national news? If this had happened in a Judeo-Christian place of worship or a school, the news would be all over it. Is it because it happened in a mosque? It happened in OHIO. Why aren't we hearing more about this?

Labels:



Ack!
Want to know how to feel old?

Open an email and read an invitation to your 30th high school reunion.

How is that possible?

Labels:



Friday, September 26, 2008
Oh My Goodness!

One of the cutest expressions Sera makes is when she says oh my goodness. She nails the tone. It's hysterical.

Last night, I was in her room reading to her before bed. Most of the time she'll sit on my lap in the rocker, but sometimes she plays while I'm reading. Last night she'd asked her daddy to bring her all her babies. He brought up her play pack 'n' play with Nana, MeiMei, Sophie, and little baby. Poor little baby doesn't have a real name. She was tucking them in and shushing me if I got too loud reading Little Bear. She reminded me that the babies were sleeping.

Suddenly she exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!" and held her hand out to me. Her thumb and forefinger were pinched, and the rest of her fingers were held delicately away from the imaginary item. She looked at me, shook her head and told me that Nana's diaper was poopy. I can't say if I ever reacted to her dirty diapers with that much drama, but we're raising one little drama queen here. It's so hard to keep a straight face sometimes.

She's not just a drama queen either. She's a social butterfly, too.

I'm sure all of the families who travelled with us in China would be shocked to see Sera now. During our first week together, Sera would be happy and giggling in our hotel room. Every single time we left, she became crying, clingy baby. I know this was natural. She was going through a whole lot of changes.

But you should see her now. Everyone, and I mean everyone, at Sera's school knows her by name. She even has a best friend, Lola. It's so funny when she says Lola's name because she clicks her tongue with each L. This is the only time she clicks with her Ls, but it's cute.

Jim usually takes her inside in the morning. He was telling me the other day that they have to stop at every classroom door so Sera can say hi. She'll stop and show off whatever she's wearing to staff. Then she walks into her room to cries of Sera's here! When we pick her up in the afternoons, it's the reverse. She hugs her teacher, waves good bye, and starts her procession out of the building. She stops at the next room to hug that teacher bye, waves to the other rooms, and then stops at the baby room to peek in the windows and wave. She then turns to me, puts her finger to her mouth and shsses us. "Babies sleeping" is what she tells us. Every staff member who passes us knows her by name. This center has children from 6 weeks to 12 (with before/after school care for the older ones), but everyone knows Sera.

Who knew she'd be such a dramatic butterfly?

I am woefully negligent. This week Tammie gave me this lovely award.


Which reminded me that when we were on vacation, Kiy gave me this lovely award, and I never posted about it.

Thank you, ladies! I read both of your blogs everytime you post something new. I love watching your beautiful daughters grow.

I'm supposed to choose five blogs for each award. Yikes! There are so many I enjoy reading. Watch this space for the update when I add them. I've got to go and get all the links and stuff, but I wanted to get this post up right away.

Labels:



Sunday, September 21, 2008
Monday, Monday
Another quiet weekend at home. At least no one was sick and we weren't in the middle of a monsoon this time.

We did go out to dinner on Friday and picked up a few things at Old Navy. I realized that Sera hadn't worn socks in months and none of hers fit anymore. Looking at the weather forecast, I'd say we have one more week of summer weather before fall really kicks in. Our temps are supposed to be in the high 70s/low 80s all week. The weekend brings some rain and the temps for the following week drop to the high 60s/low 70s. It will be time to put away the summer sandals and retire the purple Crocs.


Jim put Sera's Learning Tower together this weekend, and it was a huge hit. She calls it her house, and played in it all afternoon on Saturday. On Sunday, she and daddy broke it in by taking it to the kitchen where they made Sera's lunch. She's had a thing lately where she takes his sandwich away anytime he makes one and starts to eat it. On Sunday, she did the same, so he took her to the kitchen to make her own. Now Jim likes to make Dagwood-style sandwiches, so it shouldn't be a surprise to hear what Sera chose for her own. Her sandwich had one slice of ham, one slice of buffalo chicken, one slice of provolone cheese, tomato, red onion, and bread & butter pickle with mayonaise. She choose every item, and she ate it. At Friday's dinner, we split 1 1/2 lbs of snow crab claws for dinner between the three of us. I think she ate the most. We were both cracking them open and feeding her as fast as we could as she shouted more more. She has a very sophisticated palate for a 2 year old.

The picture was taken weeks ago, but I recently found it on my camera. We were shopping at Target when she spotted the kitchen. They had accessories hanging next to it. She grabbed a kitchen towel and started playing. I had to literally pull her away when it was time to go. We don't have room in our living room for a kitchen, but she's adapted. We had pushed our round coffee table into a corner to open up the middle for her to play. It is now her stove. The cabinet underneath the TV, which used to store old VHS tapes we never watched, is now her oven. She came up with this all on her own, but it works. We had planned to redo an upstairs room to be a combination family room/office for me/playroom, but we can't right now. That room belongs to Shadow now and will for the foreseeable future.



Labels:



Friday, September 19, 2008
Favorite Ingredients Friday!

About a week and a half ago, I was given a ziploc bag with some mushy beige stuff and a slice of banana bread. It was wonderful! My co-worker had passed on some Amish Friendship Bread starter. I took care of it daily, and by Wednesday, I was all set to bake. I fed my starter, divided it into four batches, gathered all my ingredients, mixed in the eggs, and realized I was out of vegetable oil. Argh!!! To make matters worse, I had nothing I could substitute, and it was after 8 pm. Oh well, I'll try again in eight more days.

Even though my first attempt didn't quite work out, I'm still excited about having this starter. I went online and found tons of recipes for it. Most are sweet breads, but I found some savory as well. I also found a recipe to begin your own starter.

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 cups white sugar, divided 3 cups milk

Day 1 - In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a one-gallon ziploc bag, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly.

Day 2 - Smoosh the bag.

Day 3 - Smoosh the bag.

Day 4 - Smoosh the bag.

Day 5 - Smoosh the bag.

Day 6 - Add one cup flour, one cup sugar, and one cup milk. Smoosh the bag.

Day 7 - Smoosh the bag.

Day 8 - Smoosh the bag.

Day 9 - Smoosh the bag.

Day 10 - Add one cup flour, one cup sugar, and one cup milk. Smoosh the bag. Now put one cup in a bowl and one cup each into three one-gallon ziploc bags. Give two to friends. Keep one and consider this day one.

In your bowl of starter, add
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl, combine
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nuts, optional

Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour into two greased loaf pans (or 1 13x9 pan or 1 bundt pan), and bake at 325 for one hour.

There are many variations with different pudding flavors. Some leave it out entirely. Just Google Amish Friendship bread and you'll find dozens.

Note: The instructions say to use a wooden spoon and no metal. I was actually using my rubber spoonula. You can do a good job mixing the ingredients just by smooshing the bag. I can't imagine that a few minutes with a whisk or mixer would hurt it though. The starter can be frozen if you don't give it all away. I've also seen some recipes for reducing the amount, so you only end up with enough to bake and keep.

Be sure to visit the Favorite Ingredients Friday home to find more great recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Ice Cream in a Bag
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Chocolate Pudding Fudge Cake
Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
Basic Beef Starter, Plus
Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits
Tomato Chicken
Greatest Hits: Enchiladas de Pollo and Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Almost Cabbage Rolls
Guacamole
German Chocolate Pie
Carne Asada & Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole
Dorito Salad
Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
Apple Cake
Mocha
Vegetable Beef Soup
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Raspberry Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

Labels: ,



Monday, September 15, 2008
Question
I've been so bad about posting that there may not be many of you left, but if you're out there and a BTDT parent, I have a question.

Sera loves, loves, loves to dance and bounce and hop and be flipped upside down. I'm looking into getting her in a class because I think she would love it.

My experience with any type of class like this is nil. I was enrolled in one for a short time when I was five. My mother tells me the instructor asked her not to bring me back because my joints cracked so much that they found it disconcerting. She also said that I was not flexible nor limber. She was right in her assessment, but wrong to kick out a child who was not a discipline issue. I loved class and being kicked out was very traumatic for me.

But I digress, this is about Sera. The companies I found around here who offer classes seem pretty hard core. The gymnastics place is the real deal where they train for competitions, and the dance studio is just as serious. I don't want her in training. I want her to have fun and learn to love one of these activities, but which? Gymnastics or dance?

Labels:



Sunday, September 14, 2008
Princess Power
We've needed rain all summer long. We got it! It rained continuously from Friday morning to this morning. The rain has ended, and we should be sunny the rest of the week.

Sera and I stayed home on Friday. On Thursday evening, I had parent conferences at school. When I came home, I ran upstairs to see her and say good night. I was greeted with her usual greeting, "mommy's home!", but this time I also got something new. "I missed you, mommy." It was the first time she's ever said that sentence. We all three snuggled for about 15 minutes before I went back downstairs to let daddy finish their bedtime routine. She went to bed as happily as usual, but she didn't go to sleep. When we went to bed, she joined us. She tried to sleep, but just couldn't. She finally told me that she had an owie and pointed to her ear. I touched her lobe and asked if it hurt there. She said no. I touched the top of her ear. No. I placed my finger over the ear canal. Yes.

Since she went to sleep so late and because I feared a possible ear infection, we stayed home. We couldn't get in to the doctor's office until 1:40. Since that was in the middle of nap time, I made sure we went out to lunch. I was afraid that if we stayed home, she'd fall asleep. Sera takes long naps, but if she falls asleep for even five minutes and then has to get up, she will not nap again. I wanted to wait until we were home from the doctor for her to nap. I, on the other hand, would have loved a nap. I was up until 1 am with her and then had to get up at 5:15 am to call for a sub, write up my plans and email them in. By the time I had done all that, I was awake. Just as I was feeling like I could climb back into bed and sleep, Sera woke up for the day.

She did not have an ear infection. She had congested sinuses and some two-year molar action. We've had several false alarms with the molars, but this time we have doctor confirmation. The doctor said that between the two, she probably was experiencing some ear pain, but it wasn't an infection. She was also extremely impressed to see that Sera was completely potty trained and could dress herself. The doctor saw this because as soon as we entered the exam room, Sera stripped. When I told her she didn't have to take all her clothes off, she looked at me like I was crazy, rubbed her belly, and said, "doctor, belly." I guess she told me. She kept opening her mouth and saying ah as well. I told her the doctor would look in her mouth, but she was going to look in her ears, too. Sera then pointed to the instrument on the counter and said ears. She's one smart cookie!

It was a good thing we went out to lunch as we didn't leave the house again until this morning. With all of us still in recovery from this awful cold, local flooding, and roads being washed away, it just seemed silly to venture out. We hunkered down and watched movies all weekend.

Last week, we attended a princess birthday party for one of the girls in Sera's China adoption playgroup. It was wonderful to see so many princesses. Most were Disney princesses, but Sera was a snow queen.

peek-a-boo

Don't I look mahvelous? These are my favorite red sequin shoes.

At the party

This is one cool basement!

Sera absolutely loves the Fancy Nancy books, but, for some reason, she calls her Ticky Ticky. When Sera saw herself in this outfit, her eyes got big and she said ticky ticky. This weekend, I put this and a purple fairy costume with wings and a wand in a tote for her to play dress up. She saw the purple costume with it's tutu and immediately wanted to wear it. She calls it her baahrina dess. Jim brought her a pink bear wearing a purple leotard and tutu. We call her ballerina bear. Now they can dress alike.

Labels:



Friday, September 12, 2008
Favorite Ingredients Friday!
It's kid-friendly week. My first thought was this should be easy. I am feeding a 2-year-old after all, but then I realized that we're just starting having her "help" make things and that she pretty much eats what we eat. She and daddy did make some instant pudding last week, but I think you can handle that one without a recipe from me.

I did find this recipe over the summer that I saved for us to make when she's a little older. I could see this being so much fun for a group of kids while camping.

Ice Cream in a Bag

1 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups coarsely crushed ice cubes
3/4 cup salt

In a small resealable plastic bag, combine the cream, sugar and vanilla. Press out air and seal. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the ice and salt; add the sealed small bag. Seal the large bag; place in another large resealable plastic bag and seal. Shake and knead for 5-7 minutes or until cream mixture is thickened. Serve immediately or freeze.

Be sure to visit the Favorite Ingredients Friday home to find more great recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Chocolate Pudding Fudge Cake
Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
Basic Beef Starter, Plus
Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits
Tomato Chicken
Greatest Hits: Enchiladas de Pollo and Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Almost Cabbage Rolls
Guacamole
German Chocolate Pie
Carne Asada & Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole
Dorito Salad
Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
Apple Cake
Mocha
Vegetable Beef Soup
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Raspberry Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

Labels: ,



Thursday, September 11, 2008
Seven Years

She was an obedient Midwestern girl. Life couldn’t have been easy for her and her family as a child. Home was Depression-era Chicago to Dorothy deAraujo and her loving parents. Her father made his living selling clothes wringers while her mother spent her days working in the department store. They wanted more for their child. Though Dorothy spent her evenings taking classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, her parents could not see a future for her in art. Dorothy put aside her dream.

Nothing could be found to tell the story of her falling in love, marrying, and having a child, yet she did so. As an adult, Dorothy headed west where she went to work for California State University’s Long Beach campus. She worked there for 20 years, until her retirement. That was when Dorothy started to live her dream.

After retiring, Dorothy was allowed to take free classes. She took advantage of this opportunity to finally earn her coveted degree in Fine Arts, at the age of 69, to the delight of her son, Tim deAraujo, Jr. Soon she had become a full-fledged professional artist with a thriving new business.

Dorothy made her home in the Naples community of Long Beach, CA. There she became known as “our artist” because of her ability to capture the colorful community filled with canals, boats, shops, and homes. Dorothy was an intrepid traveler. She loved to visit other countries to expand her vision and explore their museums. She counted France, Australia, Brazil, Italy, and Hawaii among the lands she explored.

She may have been 82 years old, but she wasn’t slowing down yet. She kept painting supplies at her son’s home in Massachusetts in case the muse hit. It was at the end of one of her visits there that she boarded Flight 175. Dorothy deAraujo was a remarkable woman. She was an artist – a wife – a mother – a grandmother, and Dorothy was on her way home.


To learn more about Dorothy Alma deAraujo and other victims of September 11, 2001, please visit the 2996 Tribute or here.

Labels:



Sunday, September 07, 2008
3 Word Sunday

I miss 3 Word Sunday. My friend who started this has taken a bit of a sabbatical. It's perfectly understandable. She has a lot on her plate, but I missed her 3 Word Sunday. Then the lightbulb went off. Just because no one else is doing it, doesn't mean I can't.

So, I'm reviving 3 Word Sunday. Feel free to join me. Leave a note in comments, if you do, so I can go see yours!



Thursday, September 04, 2008
She Did It, She Did It, She Really Really Did It!
On Tuesday, Sera went to pre-school in panties for the first time. She came home in pull-ups with two bags of wet clothes.

On Wednesday, she came home with one bag of wet clothes, but wearing panties.

On Thursday(today), she came home in the same clothes she left wearing. She went all day long, at home and at school, accident free. At school, they give stickers for going potty. Today Sera got the big blue ribbon sticker. She was so proud she came running into the living room to show me her sticker. She was so proud of herself as were her daddy and I.

You might have noticed that I said she came to me in the living room. That is because I've been home sick for the last two days. I'm going in tomorrow just because it's easier than coming up with another day's sub plans, not because I'm better. I have the worst summer cold. It's included fevers, severe coughing spells, and sinuses so clogged up I can't breathe. Toss in the occasional splitting headache and you have my last week. This is the only excuse I have for not posting in a week. What little energy I've had has been directed towards Sera.

Labels:



Blog contents copyright © 2010 Kaffee Klatsch Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape
footer2.JPG