5 Year Interviews. Take 2

5 Years ago, while living in Philadelphia, PA I interviewed my children about their lives.
Today I did the same thing.
And I'll do it again in 5 years!

5 Years ago: Lila



5 Years ago: Bunny



Today: Lila



Today: Bunny

A Little Mold On A Sunny Day (Day 4)

Shouldn't more be happening?  The only thing in here that isn't organic is the bread (white bread- hot dog bun).

A Little Mold on a Sunny Day (Day 2)

A Little Mold on a Sunny Day (day 1)

Today we attended the Young Author's Book Faire, where Lila Holler received a first place award for the book of poetry that she submitted to the contest.  At the Faire they had a Scholastic Book sale.  Bunny, in true form, bought a booked called Gross Science by Paul Beck.

This book is full of creepy, crawly, stomach turning experiments like creating a bacteria farm, balloons of stink, garbage smoothies, fake snot,  maggot roundups, slimy putty and a worm ranch!

It's pretty nasty.

We've only been home for a few minutes and Bunny is already pleading to make some stinky stuff.  Some things require a trip to the grocery store, but fortunately we have many of the ingredients that it takes to create several of the projects in our kitchen.  And oddly, I have never thought of them as projects, so much as things to avoid because they could likely poison us all.

But, that's just me...

Today, much to the delight of my 9 year old daughter, we grow mold!

Bunny filled a mason jar with strawberries, cheese, bread and lettuce.  Now we will take picture of it each day for two weeks, or until the whole entire thing is full of green and blue fuzz!

And lucky you, I'll be taking a picture every day so that you can see our progress!  :)

You're welcome.

Boston Cream Cupcakes

I used this guy's recipe for these amazing little cupcakes and am super excited about the way that they turned out.  There's no doughnut better than a boston cream donut (okay, okay, a jelly donut might be a little bitter better than a boston cream donut).  Anyway, donuts are not in my present or future, and neither are cupcakes (sadly) but a girl can still get crazy in the kitchen, even if she is on a diet.

With my guidance, Lila did most of the leg work on these cupcakes (Bunny is at a friend's house).

Start with a basic vanilla cupcake.  Use whatever is comfortable for you, whether that be an old, familiar recipe or even a box mix.

Use a knife to cut out the middle of the cupcake

Fill with pudding mixture.

 We use a cake decorating bag to do this, but you could technically use a zip lock baggie that you cut the corner off.  Truthfully, you could also just use a spoon.

 No need to save the leftover pudding mixture.  Feel free to squeeze the rest right into your mouth.

 Quick tip:  When using a decorating bag for anything, NEVER EVER put the frosting or filling directly into the bag. What a mess!!!!!  ALWAYS use a large piece of plastic wrap. Scoop large spoonfulls of frosting or filling in the center of the plastic wrap and roll it up (twisting the ends well.)  The end of the plastic wrap that will be at the top of the bag should be knotted and the other end will slide easily through the decorating end and can be cut with scissors and the tip can be reattached.  This picture is what the plastic looks like after I remove it from the bag, when it has been emptied out.

 When all is said and done, your bag will look like this, instead of like a complete gooey mess with filling oozing out of the top and onto your hand.  Gross!

Yes, that IS Groovy-James trying to lick the pudding off of the tip of my decorating bag while I take a picture.

 Take your ganache and spoon it onto the top of the cupcakes.

It can be a little bit messy!  Best not to use too much.  The leftovers will be great over a bowl of ice-cream and topped with a few salted peanuts the next day!

Sprinkle on a bit of powdered sugar.

ENJOY!

A Peace Offering

The nasty orange squirrels who live in our trees basically chuck full oranges at my children and pets.  I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes.  As it turns out, squirrels are quite smart and very mean as well.  This morning, Lila was strolling her baby carriage along our walkway and when she got under the tree, BAM, down came a nice, ripe orange followed by the sound of maniacal laughter and scampering feet.

This afternoon I found this by the tree.

In case you can't read her writing, this says "To my squirrel friend.  Thank you for the orange."  And then it says, "For you" with an arrow pointing to another orange and she also offers a cherry.

Leave it to Lila.  She can put a positive spin on just about anything.

Naples

For the record, I tried to post this blog update on the ipad and failed miserably.  First, I was unable to add the picture and then I couldn't find spell check, but the final straw was when I wasn't able to separate my thoughts with spaces.  So, in conclusion, the ipad is great for many things, blogger is not one of them.

The girls and I flew out of San Francisco on the red eye to Naples last Wednesday night and got here early on Thursday morning.  Abandoning all reason, care for beauty, aging and health, I continue to be a sun-worshipper.  There is just something about the sunshine that is like medicine for me.  Laying waterside, pool or ocean, with a book and a cool drink makes me feel incredibly joyful.  I love watching the girls playing without anywhere to go or anything that has to get done.  I love California, but since moving there our lives have been incredibly hectic.  Between the accelerated demands of private school education, all of the girls' extracurricular activities and their social lives, Jay and I have had very little time for ourselves or each other.  My days have been pretty saturated with the stuff of new surroundings.  Not only settling in, but errands, cleaning, caring for Sidney Holler's failing health and trying to help Groovy James assimilate into his new family.  On top of that, I have my crafts, which I've been trying to make a little time for each day while the girls are at school.  There's a project waiting for me at home, on hold, that I can't wait to return to.

Jay is sitting this vacation out.  His new job is simply too new for him to leave for a week, which I completely understand.  He's begun taking on some real responsibility there and is coming home feeling happy, satisfied and fulfilled by his job with Twitter.  I'm crazily proud of and excited for him.  He's definitely found his place in the world and the culture there suits him.  He's going to be working 12 hour days and will have every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off, plus he'll have every other Saturday off.  We are really looking forward to this.  Honestly, Jay has worked a lot of 12 hour days in his career, but done it 6 or 7 days a week, instead of 3 or 4.  I have a feeling that every week will feel like a vacation.  I am really looking forward to the summer, when we can take advantage of our days together.  We can choose to be lazy and enjoy our new backyard, or to adventure together as a family.  Speaking of family adventures, on the tail of one huge move there is already talk of another.  It looks as though we may have the opportunity to move internationally with the girls in 2013.  This, of course, is a tough call that I think we should revisit at the end of 2012.  At the moment, I'm exhausted by what feels like constant relocation.  I want my girls to feel normal and for things to be quiet for awhile.  Also, what about our pets?  I do not think that Sidney could survive a flight in cargo, so she'd need to be re-homed. In and of itself, that feels like an impossible obstacle to overcome.  On the other hand, we have always said that if offered the opportunity to live internationally with our children, we'd take it.  My time abroad was certainly more an education than college and I do wish the same for my children.  So, I am going to focus now on making our home in California, keep an open mind and just wait and see what happens next year.

So often, when I'm busy I fall into some unhealthy ruts.  For instance, I drink too much wine and not enough water.   I don't get enough exercise.  I eat the leftover toast off of my children's plates.  These small things really add up and work against me.  I have done a little soul searched over the last few days and have decided to make some changes when I go home.  Truthfully, I feel pretty terrible when I act in unhealthy ways, and when I fall into these types of bad habits things like my weight feel out of my control.  So, I am ready to take control.  

But for now, I'm going to go and slip into my swimsuit and head over to the resort pool (pictured above) with my mom and the girls.  The kids are working out with my mom's trainer today and I'm going to lounge in the sun with a book and let my skin soak in the vitamin d.

Fun With Egg Cartons

I wasn't feeling so well yesterday, so we spent the whole morning, afternoon and evening at home! We baked cupcakes and found a fun crafting idea!

I've been saving our egg cartons for awhile. I cut them apart and then the girls painted them.

Next we covered a wire hanger with yellow yarn and strung the painted egg cups upside down like flowers.

Lila loves the way this craft livens up her white bedroom wall! Spring is a'comin!

The Babysitter

Our babysitter was busy last night so she referred us to a friend of hers. Her friend was nice and pleasant. More importantly the girls seemed to like her. They even drew a few pictures of her.

Lila's is normal enough:

But should I be disturbed that this is Bunny's interpretation of our babysitter?

New Jammies

I'm usually not too big a fan of Carter's, but my mom picked these adorable pj's up for the girls! I love them. She sent a bunch of them. They're all incredibly warm and soft, bright and fun!

The pj's in this picture are on sale from $32 down to $16. They are well worth the $16... especially if you have more than one child. I'm impressed with how well they wash and how nicely made they are.

I might buy all of my kiddie jammies from Carters now!

Circle of Hope church

Bunny's recent woes (which are pretty much wee's now), have brought it to my attention that she has some real self-esteem issues. She's expressed to me that she's shy because she believes that if she tells people about the things that she likes that they'll ultimately reject her. She also feels less valuable than other people. For a child who lives in a loving house and has always been cared for, nurtured and supported... I just don't understand.

I'm doing a couple of things. I am first, taking her to a holistic doctor to speak about pediatric depression. I emphasize the holistic part because there's no chance in Hell it's unlikely that I'd medicate Bunny.

One thing that Bunny has always wanted to do but that we've never honored is to attend a church regularly. She prays every day and speaks about God as a believer... which is sort of amazing considering that her father is an Atheist and her mother is a Me. She even feels sorry for us and lectures us about God. When she broke her arm the hospital paperwork-people asked if we have a preferred religion that we'd like for them to document in her file. When I said that we don't practice a religion Bunny corrected me and told him that she "believes in God."

Even though I don't know where I stand and Jay thinks that it's all a pack of lies and that we're teaching our child something false... I've decided to take Bunny to church. I think that she deserves something that is hers. She should be able to follow an interest that she has... even if it is different than what Jay and I believe. Further, there's nothing bad that can come out of going to church. I love communities and I received a recommendation about a church in Philadelphia that is warm, safe and seems good for people like me (read: people who aren't necessarily Christian but who aren't really anything else either... but for whatever reason need a church to go to).

The church is called Circle of Hope. I was speaking with one of the mom's at ICS about it. She said that several children at the school attend school there and recommended that we go to the 5 o'clock meeting on Sunday. There's a lot that happens for children at that meeting and she thought it would be a good way to get a feel for if this is a good fit for us.

I am so scared.

The Nest Has Been Evacuated

Eventually we will have moved and will be unpacked and I'll need to figure out what I'm doing with my life. I'm only an hour into this "two-kids-in-school" thing and I'm already feelings like I've forgotten something. It's only 10 am. What am I going to do until 3? Luckily I have packing to do and birthday party invitations to decorate. I just told Jay that I'm going to stop sending him with lunches. Instead, I'll just make full meals and then bring them to him and eat with him at work... every day. (not really.)

Maybe I should start watching SOAP OPERAS! Do they exist anymore?

So, Lila insisted on giving her teacher flowers for the first day. It was such a sweet gesture that I had to forgive the kiss-buttedness of it and let her do it.

Lila went to the school with no reservations or anxiety, which was refreshing because Bunny is having SO MUCH anxiety about her school year.