Blog of Muffy

Mission: Mission

2012-01-29T08:08:00.001-08:00

Friday Bun’s class had a field trip to Mission San Juan Bautista, and Cole and I went along to stalk the field trip. The whole time we were getting ready, Cole was pretty confused because to him, “mission” is a verb. So, finally, I said our mission was to go to the mission and we had our very own Laurel and Hardy routine going for a while.

It was a perfect January day and the combination of distance and size of the mission made our adventure very doable. Plus, no loud bus ride!

We might just have to go back there some other time because the kids didn’t have as much time to explore as they’d have liked, and there are some cute places to eat in town to make a day of it. Maybe after a viewing of The Birds, just to make it fun.

For the record, these were the only notable birds we saw there, though. :)

{this moment}

2012-01-28T12:16:00.001-08:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

Simple Pleasures

2012-01-23T13:45:00.001-08:00

Occasional treats = good.

{this moment}

2012-01-20T09:24:00.001-08:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

The Best of It

2012-01-16T09:19:00.001-08:00

We blew it this weekend, in a way. Saturday was the best day to go to the beach, but we made the mistake of thinking it’d be the same beautiful weather Sunday as it was Saturday… then Sunday’s forecast was not worth the bother. However, we did have a good day of it, nevertheless.

We took the kids on a hike. Sure, it was just the easiest to reach trailhead a 5 minute drive away, and we probably only hiked 2 miles. But, we did it, and some days that’s enough to declare victory.

We have not had much rain yet this winter, but it looks like that be changing soon. (Fingers crossed.)

There’s a playground right at the base of these trailheads, which makes it a great ‘carrot’ for the kids to do the hike and not complain too much, so they got to play some before the weather got too cold and windy… then we headed home to the hot tub for a couple of hours of soaking up ‘til dusk and a little beyond. All in all, not such a bad Sunday.

Look Who’s 4!

2012-01-11T10:37:00.001-08:00

Cole’s been excited and impatient about waiting for his birthday ever since Big Brother celebrated his birthday 2 and a half months ago… and it finally came a couple of days ago. In our house, it’s the end cap to the holiday season—one more reason to celebrate.

Though it was the day before his real birthday, our family celebrated Sunday, because… well, life is busy and we’d rather be a day off and all together to enjoy it. (Plus, then he gets consolation lunch of his choice.)

I was surprised by his choice of cake. Until very recently, Cole was not a big fan of chocolate. I mean, yes, he liked it fine, but usually he’d go for other flavors first. However, he asked for chocolate-chocolate. (I kind of suspect his brother, the world’s biggest chocolate fanatic had to have been persuading him, but whatever!)

Chocolate-chocolate… with extra white chocolate chips inside, for good measure. Cole was so cute in the days before, asking to “gently hold” the candles and admire the special “4”. Really, many times a day for 3 days he would carry that candle around with a grin on his face.

The birthday kid gets to choose dinner on their big day, and Cole chose to eat out. This was awesome for Mama, too, really, since I only had to get a cake made and clean up dessert plates – way to go, Cole! :)

Cole ate about half his piece, then declared it was present time. He had just gotten a lot of practice 2 weeks prior, so he tore into those bad boys! He loved all his presents.

The next day was his real birthday, so he was allowed to choose lunch wherever he wanted. Cole said, “Pizza Place!”

I also ended up taking a pirate with me nearly everywhere that day, bringing smiles to onlookers. He is my dress-up kid.

Then yesterday it was his birthday again, at preschool! Leave it to Cole to get a 3-day celebration.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy.

{this moment}

2012-01-06T08:33:00.001-08:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

Remember the McResolution?

2012-01-01T11:09:00.001-08:00

A year ago I had a mini resolution to find or figure out a suitable homemade—and healthier—recipe for McNuggets. Did you know there are about 40 ingredients in those suckers?

Anyway, a couple of months ago I finally hit upon a recipe that works really well. The key, I think, is that you grind chicken with some seasonings, then portion it into little chicken meatballs that you flatten after lightly breading them.

They were delicious, and contained 7 ingredients the way I made them (no parsley flakes)! The one comment from my taste testers was they are not as juicy as McD’s*. A batch makes about 3 dozen nuggets, which were gobbled up, but they can be slightly undercooked and frozen/reheated in the oven if you’re planning ahead. Freeze ‘em on a baking sheet in a single layer, then you can move them to a more space efficient bag or container, like how you’d freeze a bounty of fresh berries for later.

I tried one batch with a tempura-style batter instead of the breading to try to make them more exactly like McNuggets, but wouldn’t you know it, Carter preferred the other way! :) Everyone else, including a visiting playmate thought they were great with the tempura coating. However, it was messier for me, and the oil I was frying them in seemed to get funky by the end of the batch, so I will stick with the light breading from now on.

So there you go. Homemade McNuggets without the eyebrow-raising dubiousness. Happy New Year!

*I solved the juiciness issue by adding one teaspoon canola oil to the meat mixture when grinding.

{this moment}

2011-12-30T16:39:00.001-08:00

Upon arriving home early today, Bunny told him, “Cool! RipStik!” So, he did.
(just had to add in a few words…)

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

Technophile

2011-12-29T13:24:00.001-08:00

Cole is starting to looove gadgets. Basically, if it’s battery powered and makes noises, he loves it. If it takes photos, he loves it more. In the past week, he’s sneaked off a few times with my camera, (and my phone, ugh. that’s been found, but it’s not so much in the functional category right now. might be time to bite the bullet and go smartphone)

But anyway, the photos. I love ‘em. Kids have a knack for taking photos that 1) are totally weird but awesome and 2) make you realize you really need to clean behind the sofa.

Cole photo dump:

{this moment}

2011-12-16T09:04:00.001-08:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

My Big, Fat, Flocked Christmas Tree

2011-12-12T10:52:00.001-08:00

We couldn’t resist.

Season Kick-Off

2011-12-10T07:55:00.001-08:00

I guess the official beginning of “The Holiday Season” is about whenever people start cleaning up after Thanksgiving dinner, but to me it’s a parade that makes it seem truly “the season.”

For the 3rd year Bunny participated with her GS Troop in the Children’s Holiday Parade. For the 3rd year, the boys, Paul, and I parked ourselves near the end of the route, near the library, which has a grassy area where the kids can run a bit (they’re so not ready to sit in chairs for hours, thanks), and enjoyed it all pass us by.

Our usual spot just so happens to be by this low-end car dealership, so Paul always takes the boys to ogle the cars a bit.

I wanted to scoop up this curmudgeon and run without looking back.

But I was good, and watched and clapped and waved.

I wanted to scoop up these curmudgeons and run without looking back.

This car is an annual favorite. The key on the back turns as the car drives.

It’s wonderful to see people whose jobs are so inherently stressful getting to enjoy a parade. There were so many fire trucks!

This little elf, and his similarly cool companions were awesome. I want a remote controlled chair, dude. :)

Then… there are these guys. The Italian Gardeners Association Cucuzza Squash Drill Team. These nuts are truly out of this world. They wear old plain pants either hiked up to their armpits or nestled under their bellies, undershirts, and carry squash they call Sicilian Snakes while yelling, “Ay-oh!” Pure awesomeness. They even have a queen waving her gigantic squash like a scepter.

It was NOT warm enough to be dressed like this. :)

Carter said he wants a car like this when he grows up.

Then he saw—and smelled—THIS and said, no, this is the car he wants when he grows up. :)

And this, of course, was the whole reason we were there. Bun’s troop passed in a blink, and I was off chasing them to the ‘drop off point’ down the block at the high school.

Their theme this year was “Snow Day” and they all wore tunics they made themselves of various ‘winter animals.’ Bunny was a polar bear. :)

Didn’t you know polar bears love to ride the scooter? Little known fact, there.

Until next year… Happy Parade!

Simple Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T10:07:00.001-08:00

This year we had a simple Thanksgiving meal with only our little nuclear family, and it was so nice. I’d call it quiet, but my kids are far from quiet, and there might have been a moment, when the bubbly juice ran dry, that Carter stood in his chair and yelled, “Nooooooo!” to us all laughing at our silly middle boy. A roaring fire was built in the fireplace. We took turns tallying our blessings, sent the kids a’packing away from the table when they became too rowdy, and lingered over our wine before dessert followed by some time in the spa for Paul and the kids while I popped dishes into the washer and decided everything else was just fine waiting for its own ‘platters & bowls’ load the next morning then went outside to hang out with my soggy family. We laughed again at the steam billowing off Cole’s body as he climbed in and out, in and out, in and out of the hot tub, then went inside to get jammieifed and watch Elf for the thousandth time in less than 2 wks.

Simple Thanksgiving Menu
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Ham (remember, we really dislike turkey!)
Homemade Bread
Corn
Macaroni and Cheese
Asparagus with Hollandaise
Fauxtatoes
Sour Cream Apple Pie a la Mode with Whipped Cream

Bubbly Cider
Pinot Grigio
Milk

We got a big honkin’ ham, and have already enjoyed the morning-after leftovers of toasty bread with jam, ham & eggs, and maybe a touch of hollandaise, too and have plans for tomato-okra-ham stew in a couple of days followed by red lentil & ham soup in a couple of weeks with the portion I froze last night.

I hope everyone enjoyed their special meal as much as we did and is excited about the upcoming holiday season that we’re now truly beginning. I have a bunch of ideas for what we can do to make it memorable and am dorkily excited about the new Lego advent calendar that we get to start playing with in only 6 days!

Ugh, now to pay the piper and do those last few dishes, I s’pose. They didn’t do themselves last night, dangit.

{this moment}

2011-11-25T06:37:00.001-08:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

{this moment}

2011-11-18T09:41:00.001-08:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

MILEstone

2011-11-16T15:29:00.001-08:00

Look who earned his 25 mile charm at Running Club today!

Peeking in on Preschool

2011-11-15T20:24:00.001-08:00

{this moment}

2011-11-11T16:30:00.001-08:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

Party On

2011-11-09T09:26:00.001-08:00

Carter’s SIXTH birthday fell on a Sunday this year, and, since it’s the last time for years he’ll have the chance to have a party on his birthday, we went ahead and had the Sunday party. I spent the afternoon before hunting and gathering all the supplies and said I’d like to go to bed that day with the living room ready for the party so the next morning would be easy. Ha. I like to say things like that just to make myself laugh, because there is something in my genetics that prevents me from being really ready for anything more than at the last moment.

Soooo, the morning of the party, there I was, baking the cake, which I meant to do that morning because one of the best things about homemade cake is that it’s fresh. Thankfully, at 8:30—2 hours before I expected it—the bouncy house guy came to drop off the jumper. Instantly the kids had something to do other than ask me how long until the party or ask to eat candy from, the pinata. Yay!

Carter wanted his theme for his birthday to be… birthday. I floated Angry Birds or Star Wars (I really wanted to make an Angry Birds cake!), but nope, birthday. :)

Ready or not in the morning, by midday we were all in party mode, and ready to go. For small kids’ parties, I think 2 hours is PLENTY of time to have them running amok, so the party pretty much consisted of playing all over the place—bouncing a lot, but also making trains in the boys’ room, taking out whatever toys they wanted, and eating pizza and cake, then whacking a pinata.

Build up their appetites.

Fill ‘em with cheese and sugar.

Let ‘em whack things. Give ‘em more sugar to take home, plus some items Carter decided his friends all truly needed, like whoopie cushions and glow sticks.

Then send ‘em packing. That’s how I roll. I’m sure the sugar rush and whoopie cushions were endless fun for both guests and parents all. day. long. :)

I also think there is some kid circle of hell that involves being forced to pretend to care one iota about the gift opening part of a birthday—for anyone that is not the birthday kid, that is. I mean, really, how awful is that? Even at Bun’s parties we’ve thus far put off opening anything until after the party. Then the child is not forced to tear through the presents at some crazy speed, barely able to register what they received, much less play with it for a moment before they must open the next one. So, we do it at a slower pace. Carter opened a couple of presents right after the majority of the guests left, and played with them for most of the afternoon.

For months he’d been aching for the Shark Ship (if you have kids who watch TV beyond the no-commercial channels, you have seen this advertised heavily in the preholiday push). He was so happy to take her for a spin… and let that shark munch away on all the ‘guys’ in the boat, which is also pretty cool, since it can be made into more than 2 dozen different configurations. He pretty much opened this, and the Squid Sub, and that was all he wanted to play with all afternoon. In the hot tub, of course.

These poor sailors pretty much exist to be eaten, extracted from the shark’s belly, and then eaten again. It’s a rough life, being on the seas.

Fact: sound effects are KEY.

I hope Carter remembers his 6th birthday as a special, fun day. No party can come close to bringing anyone the joy having him in our family has brought to us, of course. ♥

{this moment}

2011-11-04T10:33:00.001-07:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

::a frightful lot of snippets::

2011-11-02T10:54:00.001-07:00

~so many little bits and pieces I’ll never get to if I try to make coherent, individual posts,
so here is is, stream of consciousness… buckle up, it may be bumpy!~

Cole’s preschool class had a little Halloween Parade last Thursday. They all were adorable in their costumes, especially since no one had any idea what to do. 3-4 year olds are stinkin’ cute.

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Bunny was named Peacebuilder for her class in October. The theme this first month of the program was ‘helpfulness’ and Bunny certainly does love to help people, and was happy when her name was called, though someone pointed out I was in the back of the room, which did tip her off just a little, haha.

Cole had a great time clapping for everyone. Seriously, if there was an “enthusiastic applauder” award, he’d have won, hands down.

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We fit in one final trip to the ‘bouncy house pumpkin patch’ nearby. It was jam-packed with kids from our neighborhood, and we were there until well after dark.

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Every Tuesday Carter is dismissed from school about 40 minutes before Cole’s preschool day ends. So, we have “Mama-Carter Time,” at the park.

Usually he chooses “Turtle Park,” which has a lot of climbing walls. He’s been practicing on the walls a good half hour a week, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but, dang, he’s becoming kind of a monkey.

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Another new routine we’re in is a weekly playdate with the rest of the kids who have A.M. Kindergarten. Since they’re out midday, there are still hours to play before time to pick up Bunny, and a couple days a week Carter really likes to simply be home, eat lunch, and play with his toys, but we also picnic at school and go to Running Club twice a week, and to the park playdate once weekly. Both the boys love the extra playtime with other kids.

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Happy Wednesday!

“In School” Birthday Celebration

2011-10-31T14:10:00.001-07:00

(I have precisely 13 minutes until I need to start loading the younger two into boosters to get to Bun’s Halloween Parade… Make it work!)

Friday was Carter’s Big Day to celebrate his birthday in class. He wanted cupcakes and since I knew I was making a chocoholic’s delight cake for his real birthday, I made some simple yellow cake with white frosting and cocoa pearls.

I am a mom, therefore I own one of those stacking cupcake carriers. I might need a second soon, because class sizes are over 30 for the bigger grades and Bun’s class was 23 kids last year, but 33 kids this year.

All the kids circled around Carter, who really was the center of attention for a good 15 minutes of class time. That’s a big deal for our very-middle child, who sometimes feels pushed out of the spotlight.

The kids all danced around him, 6 of them acting as his candles and the rest being the cake itself. They also took turns telling him their special birthday wish for him, and many added in, “I love you,” as part of the wish. Sooooo sweet. Finally, each child in his class drew him a picture which was bound up in “Carter’s Birthday Book,” for him to take home. I love those pictures so much and hope Carter enjoys it in years to come, looking back at how one classmate wished to give him a baby bird, and another said he’d give him flying saucers—with green aliens inside!

Cole was allowed to sit with the big kids and even go out to eat the treat. Lookit him.. he’s so big he looks like he fits in. :)

It was a lot of fun watching Carter enjoy his ‘time to shine’. :)

(P.S. I didn’t manage to post even this in my 13 minutes. We had a great time at the afternoon Halloween Parade and are back for a whole half hour before afternoon dismissal.)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

This year my crew is a vampire, cave girl, and Clone Trooper.

It was a super busy day. Carter got to wear his costume to school the entire day, but Bunny had to bring hers to change into for the parade. AM Kinder kids parade in the morning by themselves, but the rest of the school marches in the afternoon, so most of the school day was spent going to and from school, and hanging out there. Also, I goofed in buying something for the Kinder Hween party and needed to go to the store right after drop off, then return asap to make sure no one was disappointed by not being able to do their mummy project.

When Cole and I arrived with that last box of gross Fruit By the Foot, the school was in the midst of a fire drill. I almost had a heart attack, thinking I had misunderstood the time for the morning parade. Oh well, the kids were awfully cute lined up in their costumes, so I grabbed my camera while I waited to be able to go into the classroom.

As you can see, Carter was very cooperative and didn’t mind me taking photos at all. :)

Less than 2 hours later, with Cole in his costume, too, naturally, we were back to really watch the parade.

The teachers and staff always dress according to an overall theme, with each grade’s team dressing alike. This year was sea life, or something like that, and the Kinder staff were… come on you can guess this… jellyfish! (I thought Ms. Petersen, Carter’s teacher pictured above, might have been a very casually dressed Katy Perry before I saw the full costume.)

There was really only a very short while after the parade until dismissal, so most of the parade goers enjoyed spying on our little hobgoblins finishing their daily work.

Carter was dressed in Star Wars even under his costume, thanks to an AWESOME birthday present from his buddies Desmond and Anika. I’m not sure who loves his shirt me, him or me.

We went home, gobbled down a quick lunch, and returned for Act II, the “big parade.” Carter, my monkey boy, spent the entire time up high, searching for his sister and any other ‘big kids’ he knows.

Bunny and I had a great time making her costume this year. Finding costumes for girls over the age of 6, but under the age of 20 can be really challenging. What is with the sexy girl costumes? Who designs these, and more importantly, who approves the designs?? Anyway, I am thankful for Family Fun and their online instructions for mere mortals who are not expert seamstresses.

After another round of “let’s go home for a few minutes—please keep you shoes ON—then we need to go back to school” for the final dismissal, we were home for the long afternoon before trick or treating.

Bring on the pumpkins!

Bunny and Carter cleaned out and carved their pumpkins all by themselves, with me only cutting the lid. They did a great job, and there was only one little nicked thumb to show for it.

Bunny carved the first and second pumpkin, from left to right. The next one is the one Cole and I made together, him helping to empty is and instructing me to make a happy guy.

I think Carter’s deserves its own photo, because he really put a lot of work into it—and some blood, too!

Finally it was dark, Paul was home, and the kids tore through the neighborhood begging for treats. Hope your Halloween was fun, too!

6 Years Ago

2011-10-30T07:02:00.001-07:00

Close Up Sleeping, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

We welcomed our wonderful little Carter into our hearts. We love you so much, and hope you have a fantastic day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARTER!