Hop on Pop

Our Princess was too excited that she could read almost an entire book by herself! Shoot, I'm just as excited as she is! We found a copy of Hop on Pop at the thrift store and I got it since I noticed it had lots of short vowel sounds. Its the one Dr. Seuss book we didn't own (didn't rank up there with Green Eggs and Ham, although now it may). Our Princess has been reading it to me all week and learning new words to boot! I'm looking into getting a reading curriculum to do at home in the afternoons, because school really does go slow with teaching to read. I read somewhere that children are ready to read long before they are ready to write...that kind of makes sense. I can't wait to discover some more with her!

Pumpkin-Chocolate Bread

I love the internet sometimes! I was sitting staring at a can of pumpkin and thought, What am I going to do with pumpkin? So I went online and at Meals.com I found a recipe that looks yummy...so I am going to try it and see if it is as yummy as it looks!

Here it is:

Makes 2 loaves...



nonstick cooking spray

1 cup (6oz) semi-sweet morsels

3 cups AP flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 cup gran. sugar

1 can (15oz) 100% pure pumpkin

1/2 cup canola oil

4 large egg whites



preheat 350; coat 8 x 5 inch loaf pans with spray

Melt morsels in medium, micro-safe bowl on High for 1 min.; STIR...morsels may not be melted all the way, if necessary melt in 10-15 sec. intervals until completely melted. (this is what the recipe says, but I did this step after the flour one...)

Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder in large bowl; stir well

Whisk together sugar, pumpkin, oil, and egg whites in a large bowl. Gradually stir in flour mix. Add 1 1/2 cups pumpkin mix to melted chocolate, stir to combine. Spoon half of pumpkin mix into bottom of each prepared pan. Spoon pumpkin chocolate mix between the pans and top with remaining pumpkin mix. Smooth down top

Bake 1 hour or until toothepick comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 min. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

You don't have to use the chocolate for this recipe (though who wouldn't??). You can leave it out and just bake for 55 min.

Well, it is really good, although a nice ganache drizzled on the top would not be remiss...and it looks just like the picture online!

**Also, I've recently (Christmas 2011) discovered it's really good with just chips throughout instead of melting them with the mix...
*** and I've also started making it with Cream Cheese filling... Oh My...

Success!!!

Our Oso is 3 months old exactly today and last night he slept from 9pm to 7am this morning... We've never had that. The girls went from 11 to 7 at 11 and 10 weeks respectively, but with the girls, we held onto that 11ish feeding until they were probably 5 months old for fear that they would wake up at 2 am. Last night we were a little off routine and he ate later than normal. I meant to feed him again before going to bed, because I was planning another up 'til midnight extravaganza, but I fell asleep. Then I woke up about 6:30 am (late) and realized he was still sleeping...YAY!! He didn't wake up until Our Fairy went into his room looking for her cowboy boots. That's my boy!!!

And he is always so HAPPY when he wakes up! That has got to be my favorite part! There is nothing better than walking into the room and hearing him cooing to himself and the HUGE smile when he finally sees me!

Super-Busy Weekend!

We had a super-busy weekend and I had to go back to work today for a break! Our Princess had a game Saturday, which they won AND she scored a goal. Then we went to CSU's homecoming "parade" and lunch to hang out with some friends from school who were in town. Then we went home and I got a call about the Disney Train downtown. It was a publicity train for the new A Christmas Carol movie. It was cool, but too difficult to do with two little girls and a baby. It was also very windy, which was good, because then it wasn't so hot! Afterward we went to work, came home and crashed.

Sunday morning we played hookie from church and went to my parent's church's Fall Festival. The girls loved it and we would have stayed there all afternoon, but we had to go to a birthday. Then we came home, moved furniture around, the girls crashed and I did laundry for the week until about midnight...

Oliver leaves for Nicaragua Sunday for a week. Its the first time we've been away from each other that long in our almost 8 years of marraige. I think the longest we've been apart has been 48 hours? I'm going to miss him a lot and I know the kids will too. He works every evening this week, so we won't get to see him that much before he goes. Hopefully the time will fly by and he'll be home safe and sound and swine flu-free before we know it.

Banana Bread

Our Fairy has been doing a unit on Curious George these last three weeks...we brought Curious George and his Adventure bag home for a couple of days and inside was the book, and scrapbook of her class's "adventures"--bike day, museum, library, "camping" as well as Curious George's adventures with each of the children in their home or wherever they happen to be during those few days they have him. Our family's big adventure was to go the the big kid playground (reserved for 1-5th graders) while Our Princess was at soccer practice. It was a cute idea.

Also inside the book was a recipe for Curious George banana bread...so far it smells great, hopefully it tastes great as well...I love banana bread warm with butter...mmmmm....

Anyways, here is the recipe!

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 3/4 cup of AP flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp cinnamon (optional--I did one with and one without...we'll see which is better!)

Set oven to 350.

Mix all the ingredients well, so there are no lumps.

Put in greased loaf pan.

Bake for one hour, or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. I'd let it sit for a bit and cool off so that it holds together when you cut it. You can always nuke it to make it warm later.

Now, the one on the left was the better of the two...it has the cinnamon in it...we really couldn't tast the difference...it was cooked in the more narrow ( narrower?) clear loaf pan while the one on the right was cooked in a wider dark glass loaf pan. Oliver said the texture on the left was better.

Marco Polo

I felt like a good mami this week. Our Princess and I were reading a book about space and she was asking me about the sun. I'm not sure how it came about, but we ended up in the bathroom with a candle and an apple, which I had drawn a not-to-bad rendition of the globe on, on a shish kabob skewer. I explained how the earth revolved around the sun and rotated. I explained to her that while the sun was shining on South Carolina, it was night time in China. I thought it was interesting and she had fun turning it around the "sun" but figured that was all she would remember.
Tuesday morning, on the way to school, we were going down Ladson road and looking at the beautiful sky as the sun came up.
Our Princess says "I guess its nighttime in China now."
I think I like this!

Self-image

I am so ANGRY and FRUSTRATED that my beautiful little girl is starting to feel that she is not beautiful. She told me today that she didn't want to wear the dress she wore today because her tummy is big. That breaks my heart and I don't know how to manage that kind of situation. She is such a beautiful girl! We don't ever say diet, we eat foods because they are good for us, not because they make us skinny. We want to be healthy, not skinny. I don't complain about my figure in front of her (I rarely complain about my figure at all, what's the point?) I'm careful about wording things around my girls and don't criticize physical attributes of anyone. I want them to grow up with a great self-esteem and to love who God made them to be. I tell her that she is "fearfully and wonderfully made" and we tell her all the time that she is beautiful. I HATE those Nutrisystem commercials and change the channel every time they come on, even if she's not in the room. I do everything I can to make sure she knows that she is a beautiful girl inside and out. I hope she's not getting this from her friends at school or church. It is very common in the hispanic culture to give nicknames based on physical attributes that we as americans would probably find offensive. My father-in-law calls my husband el negrito because he is the darkest skinned of all his children. I get called la chele (white girl), my bro.-in-law el chino because his eyes are a little slanted. Its not meant to be mean, just stating the obvious. Yet if you've ever watched the spanish-language channels, they have more infomercials for weight-loss than I have ever seen and a couple of the moms at church are pushy on their pudgy daughters. My heart aches for them. I was a teenager who constantly heard that I was too big and when I think of how small I was then, I could scream. I don't want that for my little girl. I want her to know that she is beautiful and doesn't need to change anything. My heart just hurts at the thought that Our Princess is unhappy. I hope it was just a innocent observation and I am blowing this out of proportion, but what if it's not? A five-year-old shouldn't have to worry about her size. Sometimes I really hate this society that we live in...

Isn't she the most beautiful little girl in the world?

What a Beautiful Day

It's been raining all day. Not a summer storm kind of rain, but a steady, cold, wet drizzle. I love this kind of weather, especially if there is nowhere important for me to be. I opened all the windows and let the cool wet air refreshen the whole house. And I baked. I made a Pastel Tres Leches for Oliver and our friend Hector's birthday. Mostly it was for Hector, as I decorated it with the Honduran flag(they just qualified for the World Cup; first time in 27-odd years). I understand truly why they cost so much in the bakery(although I will say that the ones I have seen have been decorated horribly...that's why I've tried my hand at it, I can't do worse than that!) It took over an hour just to get the batter ready to put in the oven and the entire time it is cooking you are doing the next steps, so there is no reprieve! The cake itself was really good...the frosting had something wrong...I haven't yet figured it out. It tasted a little too powdered sugary, I guess. It was my first time decorating the cake and it didn't look too bad. Normally I just dip the strawberries in cream and put them all over the top, but this time I got creative and got out Maga's piping kit and made a flag. I really enjoy creating something that doesn't hang around to haunt me. Art work I always have to look at and critique, the cake I enjoyed making and decided that next time it would be better, but really can't compare it because it is no longer there to compare; so, even if it wasn't, I can pretend that the next one IS better!

Count my blessings...

Ok, so I've had the worst three days I can think of and if I dwell on how terrible they have been, I know I will easily fall into hysterics and we really cannot afford that right now...so instead, I will count my blessings...

My children and husband are healthy and happy
My husband is the hardest working man I know and I have know doubt he would do anything for his family
My parents are super supportive and take great care of Our Oso during the day when I work
I get along great with my sisters and brother
Tía lives with us and is a great help
I have a car that is running
Oliver has a truck that is running
I had the help of three wonderful mechanics when I had a flat yesterday and didn't have to change the tire all by myself
I had some great quiet time yesterday as I waited 3 hours for Sam's to change my tire
I have great students who really seem to love my class which makes it worthwhile to get up at 5am three days a week
The police officer only gave me a warning this afternoon, even though I had no license on me, I could only find last year's insurance and registration, and I was doing 9 miles over the limit.
I had no accident while my insurance was lapsed for the last 6 days
I have great friends whom I could call at a minute's notice and they would help out
God is in control

So, I know I am blessed and even though this has been a rough three days, God will provide and even if He only provides His peace, it will be enough!

Should have stayed home...

I've never had problems with my children in public(Not huge ones anyways). I've heard horror stories from moms who refuse to go out with more than one child. I've never understood that. I don't have behavior issues with the girls. They don't touch what they shouldn't (for the most part) and the wouldn't dream of falling out on the floor because I told them they couldn't have something. I didn't realize its not a behavior issue, its logistics. I mean what do you do with the baby when the middle child has to go to the bathroom? Or your purse? Last night was a prime example of bad planning...
We went by Lowe's after work to see Daddy before bedtime. As we left, Our Fairy was crawling into the van and pulled her dress down, breaking a strap. That should have been the clue to go home and go to walmart's after Oliver got off work. However, I didn't listen. When we got to Walmart I started filling the cart with things we needed and she says "I have to go to the bathroom." So we head over to the bathroom at layaway and I stand at the door with the cart and Our Oso while the girls go into the bathroom. A couple seconds later, I hear crying. I call for Our Princess to come hold the door open so I could see Our Oso and go in to see what's wrong with Our Fairy. She didn't make it to the stall. She had peed all over the floor and in the process of stopping it, had grabbed the hem of her dress and made sure it was nice and wet as well. Now, she has never been one to have accidents. I think this would be the 2nd since she started potty training over a year ago. She's had bed issues since her tonsilectomy, but never out in public. So I've got a cart full of groceries, a baby who is hungry and starting to wake up, a little girl who is upset because this never happens to her, and all I can think is "I should have gone straight home."
So I throw out the panties...towel dry the dress, wrap her in Our Oso's blanket and put her in the cart. I grab two more things we desperately needed and got out of there asap.
Then we got home. By this time Our Oso is screaming for dinner, the girls are filthy from the playground(not to mention they haven't eaten) and I have to go to the bathroom. So I quickly glance in the oven to see if it's empty, put it on for pizza, run and turn on the tub so the girls can bathe, use the bathroom real quick and grab the baby and start to nurse him. Then I smell it...like burnt smores. I put the baby down and ran to the kitchen. Tía had made a cake and put it in the oven. There was a plastic handled knife in the pan with it. The cake was black and the knife was goo. I turned off the oven and took out the cake. Wonderful.
Anyways, when I put the pizza in the oven I forgot that I had turned it off, so the pizza took much longer to cook than normal. After that, I fed them and put them to bed and all was calm in my world. What a rush!

Cake Mix Cookies

Ok, we used to make these cookies in college for Reading Nights before exams. They are super simple and really good!

Preheat oven 350

I box of cake mix (your choice)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil

Mix it all together. Please note: if you are using a hand mixer, this could take out your motor. The dough gets pretty thick. I use a countertop mixer and it works really well. Otherwise, I would use a wooden spoon or (like we did in college) use your hands!.

Spoon it out to desired size. They don't grow out like some cookies do, the actually tend to grow UP. Put in the oven for about 7 min. or until cooked (you don't want them cooked too dark)
I sprinkle mine with powdered sugar. Tonight I made Devil's chocolate, Lemon, and Carrot Cake for church tomorrow morning. YUM!

GOOOOOLLLLL!!!!!

Our Princess scored her first goal in soccer today and, of course, I didn't have the camera ready! She won't claim it as hers, though. She says that she and another girl worked together and they both kicked it in. But she is pleased with herself and I am happy she is enjoying soccer this season. I think not having her two best friends on her team this season is actually helping her. She seems more focused and willing to make a great effort. Last year, it seemed like every time one had to go to the bathroom, another had to go; when one was tired, so were the others...She ran her heart out today and I hope that this is a sport she continues for years to come. Its good for her and I do worry about her having my genes and having difficulty staying in shape. I want her to find something that she loves to do and keeps her active!

More Blessings

Oliver started a new job in the evenings at Lowe's. He's been working hard to help us make ends meet and I have never been more proud of him. I'm trying to hold up my end of our life and boy is it hard! I've spent all day (since we got home from school) getting rid of old junk and kid's toys and just paper pile-up that I've ignored for the past few months. Yay fun...
Our Princess had a field trip to the America LaFranc Fire Museum today and Our Princess had a field trip to the Children's Museum Downtown...I couldn't go on both, but since Aunt Laura was driving the bus to the Children's Museum trip and would therefore be there with Our Fairy, I chose to go to the Fire Museum. Oh, but it was so hard watching my little Little Fairy go off on the big yellow bus! She was waving wildly and only too excited about getting to ride the bus! The museum was just icing on the cake.
I had Our Princess and her cousin in my group at the museum. It was really neat, but I didn't get to read everything...unfortunately the fire truck similator and the playground in the middle of the museum were more to The girls' liking. They loved all the different trucks, too. So I really only got to see that which was within view of the play area.
And Our Oso! Oh wow, he was a smiling baby today! Just as happy as could be to watch the flashing lights and hear the kids screaming and laughing...I think I got more pictures of him smiling today than ever!
Now I'm home, the girls are napping, Our Oso is fighting through his floor time and the cleaning is slowly (but surely) getting done. What a blessed day!

Karen's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these for the Feria de Países because I wanted something All-American...but not apple pie...what's more american than good old chocolate chip cookies!!! I got the recipe from a friend, Karen, and they are wonderful! Especially right out of the oven...they cry for milk! You see them here next to Aunt Laura's Baked Macaroni and Cheese (another All-American favorite)

1 1/3 cup Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 package(11.5 oz) chocolate chips( or chunks)

Heat oven to 375
Mix Crisco, Sugars, eggs, and vanilla
Mix in dry ingredients
Drop rounded tsp. dough (or big spoonful depending on your taste) about 2" apart on baking sheet (ok, personal favorite here...I tried regular baking sheets and the airflow ones, with my Pampered Chef Rectangular stoneware 'cause I had a LOT to make and by far the PC made the best cookies...they didn't over or under cook...they were perfect!)
Cookies will be soft, but you want them light brown...about 8-10 min.
Leave them to sit on the pan for about 10 min. before removing to a cooling rack(which for some reason mine disappeared; grew legs and walked I guess...but the metal rack in the microwave does about the same job.)
The key is not to overbake the cookies!
Should make about four dozen...or three or four huge ones ;o)

What a Blessed Weekend!

Our Princess had her first soccer game of the season yesterday and she did wonderful! Last year she whined about being too tired to run and being hot and sweaty...This year she ran her heart out and almost made a goal! Hopefully this attitude will continue through the season. Our Fairy had to join in and wore her sister's uniform from last year. She is already dribbling like a pro and can't wait to play next fall! They are truly a blessing and I love nothing more than watching them enjoy themselves!

We had our Feria de Países last night and it was a blast! The girls dressed in the outfits we bought last December in El Salvador. Our Fairy called it her El Salvador Princess dress. The girls got one pair of shoes back, as its been two weeks since they were confiscated. Our Princess has done exceptional taking care of hers...Our Fairy we're still working on! I braided their hair and they really were so beautiful. The food was wonderful and we had people from many countries represented: USA and El Salvador(of course), Méjico, Bolivia, Panamá, Puerto Rico, Honduras. There were almost 100 people there, which, for our church, is a lot! We're hoping next year to have an even bigger event!

I was exhausted this morning. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be nice to take a break on Sunday mornings. Not from God, but from the responsibilities that being a leader in a small church brings. Our Pastor is an Army Reservist, and we are grateful for his service. He has been to Afghanistan for almost 1 year (he returned last fall) and will more than likely leave again in January for Iraq. We pray for his safety. Our church did wonderful while he was away last time: everyone pulled together and we got it all done, we kept up every ministry and had new baptisms and members.  Lots of prayers needed!!