The Grey Area Mom

Recipe: Carrot Ginger Slaw

2013-11-24T14:12:00.000-08:00

Carrot Ginger Slaw - Thea Starr

This simple to make slaw makes you want to eat the entire batch.
Sweet tangy & simple. I'm making some for Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Things you'll need:

3 cups of thick shredded carrots (I wasn't counting how many carrots I used 6-7 maybe? It doesn't need to be exact.)
Handful of raisins (about 1/3 cup)
Handful of sweetened dried cranberries (about 1/3 cup)
3 tablespoons of matchstick cut ginger (fresh & finely cut) *You can also used grated ginger or even fine chopped pickled ginger (sushi ginger) but I'd avoid powdered ginger on this one.*
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar)
3 tablespoons of apple juice
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

The most work you'll need to do is the shredding of the carrots.
Once that is done, just toss the remainder of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Allow the slaw to "marinate" for a 15-20 minutes so the sweetness of the sweetened cranberries & raisins to come out. If you're impatient or have a sweet tooth you can add a few pinches of sugar.

Silly me, I put the slaw in a storage container before serving it but I didn't need to because there wasn't any leftovers.

Really super simple and a great way to finish off any extra carrots you might have.

Enjoy!!!

Posted 22nd November 2011 by Thea Starr

Recipe: Bruschetta

2013-11-24T14:09:00.000-08:00

Bruchetta is simply wonderful.
It can be a variety of things- tomatoes, peppers, beans, meats & cheeses.
This is just my simple and addictively delicious version. I can eat it all day long and still want more the next day.

Things you'll need:

fresh bread (like a baguette etc)

garlic 6-8 cloves

olive oil

ripe tomatoes cut into medium chunks

red, orange & yellow bell peppers cut into medium chunks

fresh basil

small onion

salt & pepper

balsamic vinegar

First you'll want to grill your bread. I actually just lightly oiled my bread tossed in some chopped garlic and fried my bread.

In the same pan add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and as much garlic as you can handle.
Add your onions, tomatoes & peppers.

Keep things on a medium heat. Your tomatoes and peppers will start to cook down and create a wonderful "sauce" naturally for you.

Add a sprinkle of salt & pepper.

(Fresh basil from my garden.)

Roughly cut your basil.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (or more if you like) to your mixture and work it in.

Once the vinegar is absorbed in you can plate it up.

But wait! There's more!!!

I know it looks delicious enough as it is, and you are more than welcome to stop here. But let me sway you this way:

Mmm hmm....

Uh huhhh...

Yummmmmmm!

I'll be making this for the 4th of July & the following week too for a family gathering its a perfect appetizer for a large bunch.

Enjoy!

xo-Thea

Posted 29th June 2010 by Thea Starr

Letting Go

2013-09-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are.
Tomorrow morning I am dropping Jina off at her dorm.

Much change has taken place in the past year of our lives.
The completion of Jina's childhood and her transition into "adulthood" has taken place.
We have been so busy making sure all the paperwork is in order, buying supplies for college and physically moving Jina to another city a couple hours away. It has been one huge blur and we've adapted to the change.

Jina & I in our hot pink hair phase 2005

Things have been going great with all the changes. I've only had one or two big cry sessions about Jina's departure. (One was with her baby brother). Yes, it was as sweet as it sounds, they really love each other and are very close.

Baby Brother and Big Sister - 2007

When I've been asked how I'm handling all of this - honestly, I'm doing well.
However, there has been one annoying thing, the "consoling" words of - "At least you have more kids...". Yes, I do but it doesn't replace the one I am letting go of. The house will not be as filled as it once was. Our family will not have the same dynamic anymore. A changing of the guard is taking place, a different child will now be the oldest in the house. Responsibility comes with that position and he has some learning to do. I've also had to cook less food, which is strange right now. As a mom you condition yourself to cook enough food a set number of people over the years.

I guess ultimately I feel mostly pride right now for what a great human being Jina has become. The waves of bittersweetness of letting go and seeing her off into the world is admittedly overwhelming at times though. She has been my sidekick my entire adult life and in many ways I have grown up with her in tow. After 18 years of seeing her daily it will change to once or twice a month if I am lucky. It's an adjustment. Good thing we have cell phones.

I feel like I am leveling up in the parenthood game. Then I send off another child and level up again in 2 years. It's really one big blur my friends. Those of you who are just starting your families keep that in mind. The teething babies and sleepless nights quickly turn into college bound young adults.

I'm looking forward to the drive to the university in the morning. We'll have one last meal together with our boyfriends like a scene from Gilmore Girls and head off in our own directions. Then new chapter begins.

Thea - Leveled Up

September 19, 2013

18

2013-05-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

A little late to arrive but practically perfect in every way.

She almost killed me, put me in the hospital for a couple months but came out screaming like a little fighter. Born on my grandmother's birthday and named after two of her grandmothers. Jina arrived to the world in the same hospital that I did. She was bright red from screaming and at 18 years old myself at the time I was a little freaked out. But when she opened her slate blue eyes (which are now brown) all was good.

18 years later to day all is still good.

Being a teenaged single mother the cards were certainly stacked against us at times. I did not always make the best choices in life. I often veered towards the hard road. Through many things that most will be lucky enough to never experience this girl is the rose that grew from concrete.
Not only a beauty, she is that closet smart girl that takes incredible joy from making mid terms "her bitch". She has worked hard with great care and personal pride in all of her academic work, violin lessons and ballet performances. She has been the best big sister, my little mini me and our family's Hero Of Time.

To know her is to love her.
Welcome to adulthood Baby Ji.

Senior Year - AP Courses and Tests

2013-04-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

AP - Advanced Placement is a program here in the United States offering college-level curriculum and examinations to high school students. There are currently 34 courses and exams offered.

An excerpt from a recent special insert in The Seattle Times - On Course Your Guide to College Planning 2013 noted that an "AP exam can earn credit or placement at college and universities. An AP Chemistry test score of 4 can equal Chemistry 142, for example."

AP tests are scored on a 1 to 5 scale as follows:

5 – Extremely well qualified
4 – Well qualified
3 – Qualified
2 – Possibly qualified
1 – No recommendation

AP classes are challenging but are great. I am not speaking from personal experience myself, but my daughter has definitely benefited from taking them. Sure there has been some complaints about the homework load some days (AP Government Politics - United States just sounds like a big homework -work load) but she has had a great time learning in these challenging classes. I often say to her the phrase "So. Much. Nerd." because she sends me midday up date texts that look like this:

What she kicked ass in was AP Government Politics Jeopardy.
In case you are wondering, I do wake up every morning truly thankful for how different my kids are from what I was when I was a teenager. My daughter already has a college credit for French from the University of Washington. For a fee of $89.00 for the AP exam she is walking away with college credit if her scores are high enough. It is budget friendly in comparison to what you'll have to pay for the equivalent credit in college. That $89.00 fee is per exam too. Be sure to add that to your upcoming costs list for your kid's high school years. There is financial assistance for the fee for those who qualify.

I wanted to put this information out there now because we're currently enrolling for classes for next year at the high school now. If your son or daughter can place in an AP course and can handle the extra work load I highly recommend you and your child consider it. It is a great way to save a little money on college fees and get a little bit ahead a little early. Also the challenge of the classes is the greatest benefit of all. (As you can tell from the screenshot above.)

Other programs to consider are the Running Start Program (Washington State) - is a program for high school juniors and seniors and allows students to enroll in college courses numbered 100 or above, tuition-free, while completing high school. I actually participated in this program in its early years and I benefited from it as I was not really high school material.
Also there is the IB - International Baccalaureate is a 4 year program offered at many high schools. The IB program isn't offered at my kid's high school but at another school within our district, so I don't have much knowledge about its courses and focus, but I have heard it is an in depth program. For more information check out www.ibo.org

xo-Thea

Senior Year - An Update

2013-03-27T08:29:00.003-07:00

Posts about our Senior Year Project have been sparse.
Mainly because so. much. stuff. has been going on.

Right before winter break one of Jina's teachers took a moment out of class and said; "When you return from break it will be the last semester of your high school career and it will fly by."

And it has. Its the last week of March. What the heck?

I know Rebekah & Madison have been in the same boat. Rebekah keeps and insane schedule visiting clients and caring for her younger daughters. Thanks to Facebook updates I saw that Madison was accepted to some amazing schools! I can't wait to see which one gets the honor of her presence.

As I've mentioned before Jina has already accepted enrollment to the university that was #1 on her list. We are in the process of accumulating scholarships and loans (more on that in an upcoming post). Also part of my game plan is to continuously play the lottery in hopes that I can just pay for all of my kids to go to college myself. I'll keep you all updated on that.

Speaking of small fortunes... Jina & I took a trip down to Oregon recently to visit Jenny. (Be jelly Jenny made these for us!) We also took advantage of Oregon's lack of sales tax and purchased all things for prom. I am allowed to share this blurry crappy picture of her dress:

Not the color or style we were originally were looking for, but you know how it goes. I'll share pictures from prom when it happens.

That basically catches up to date for now. :)

Thea

I love you on Tuesdays.

2013-03-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

My dad used to joke that he only loved me on Tuesdays. Silly old man stuff I guess or being the baby the family that was the only day not taken??? I think of this every Tuesday. I also make my kid their sandwiches for Tuesday. (Well this week I was a day early.) I know some of you supermoms out there wake up every morning and make sandwiches for your kids everyday. I have four big kids that are capable of making their own lunches. I don't have them do it out of my lack of being a morning person or out laziness but out of love.

My son's mega peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Love you say? Yes, think about how many people you know who do not know how to cook these days. How many opt for eating out everyday for lunch instead of bringing one? While being frugal is important to me, being healthy & capable are even more so. These are things I want to pass along to my kids. I feel like knowing how to pack your own lunch is a good basic daily task that teaches those things

Like any other mom I go to the store accumulate the food at the and bring it home. The kids know where its at (hopefully they helped put it away), know they can eat it and they can pack up their lunches with it. I don't think this would work to great with a groggy 5 year old. A groggy 15 year old knows that if he doesn't do it then he won't eat lunch or he'll have to spend his own money on crappy school food. (Note: a side effect of having your kids pack and bring their own lunches they become food snobs. My kids will bitch and moan about eating excessively greasy school pizza. On the other hand they believe sliced white bread is a treat.)

This topic might be stupid to blog about because its pretty easy to allow your kid to have the independence to make their own lunches, especially when you provide healthy food options at home and if they are over the age of 10. Honestly, I do have to admit every once in a while I'll find out that one of my older kids friends don't know how to cook or that they eat out at McDonald's weekly and that is shocking to me. A.) By the age of 13 I think you should be able to at least scramble eggs on your own and B.) People still eat at McDonald's?

Thea

Controlled Chaos

2013-01-22T10:39:00.001-08:00

I currently run three small businesses out of my home.
I have four children, three of them are teenagers with packed schedules.
I cook dinner every night. Not because I am a super serious health nut, but three of my kids and I are lactose intolerant, its just easier to cook and know what all goes into our dinner. We like to avoid upset stomachs at all costs.

So all of that takes some planning.
I know a lot of people rave about Google Calendar. You can access it from your smart phone or desktop. Its easy to update yada, yada, yada. I think that would be great for me if I only had to manage myself.
I'm a well known technology hater when it comes to organization.
Using an online calendar is like using a credit card over cash. You can easily add something to it but unless you're looking at your statement constantly you can forget about what you put on it. Sometimes its nice to know exactly what is in your "wallet".

I take a lot of crap for this, but I use a big desk calendar. The kind that you pick up at Staples for under $5.00. Its easy for me to glance at when I am on the phone and I need to schedule something.

But this year I've been a bit more busy with work and my kids so I needed to break it down even further.
I found these great weekly to do free printables from artsy-fartsy mama.

Weekly calendar pages from artsy-fartsy mama

The calendar pages are blank and begin on Mondays. They also have a "this week's menu" section and shopping list section. I like it. I didn't have to create it myself. I just printed off 52 of those suckers and stuck them into a half an inch binder. I also added a monthly calendar page too for each month. I really liked this one that is available from Infarrantly Creative.

The binder I picked up was $4.00 and has see through cover so you can add a custom touch to it. I decided to make mine it more "Thea".

Pardon my latin.

I just printed this onto a random piece of scrapbooking paper that I had. (I go for the hard core inspirational quotes.) The binder is really thin and it fits just fine into my bag - I carry a messenger bag.

For those that struggle with organization I highly recommend getting low tech. Sometimes mom hands are too busy to hold a phone or walk around with a laptop or tablet. There is something about actually writing down your to do's, having them open on your desk or kitchen counter to refer to.

Thea

14

2013-01-18T00:01:00.001-08:00

As mentioned earlier this week, it's birthday week at my house.
Today is my youngest son's 14th birthday.

My little miracle man - the toddler version.

Always super serious...(heh)


...and quite handsome too. I'm pretty sure he has groupies since kindergarten.


Scenes from my home December 2012 - Birthday boy on top of the island. I still don't know why this happened...

Like his handsome older brother girls have always "admired" him. Once in elementary school when I was an art docent for his class, a group of girls came up and asked me "What's he like at home? And what type of cereal does he eat?" I tried my hardest not to laugh, they were "fans" of my kid and wanted to know more about him. He may or may not have a fan page on Facebook...I'm not sure. :)

I'm pulling him out of school early today to go buy candy because we can and have festivities with the family later in the evening. It will be a good 14th birthday.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Senior Year - The Senior "Ad"

2013-01-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

Some genius through the annals of time created a money making scheme by charging parents a fee to put in a little sentiment in a dedicated section of the school's yearbook. The Senior Ad section.
As a parent it is an opportunity to show off one last cutie patootie baby/toddler picture of your now Senior child with the town you live in. That and to say something sweet & meaningful as you send them on their way.

I spent way too much time looking for the "perfect" picture. One that says "Hey this kid is something special" with a touch of humor because that's how we roll. Oddly, I was able to whip up the wording to go with the picture rather quickly once I decided upon a picture. Unfortunately, I won't share it now and save it for her to see when she opens her yearbook (although she is apart of the yearbook staff and has probably already read it). I'll have to follow up with you all on this again.
But this photo was a strong contender for the toddler picture to give you an idea:

2001 - The classic older sibling smack down. (My sons & my eldest daughter)

It really says it all here, Jina smiling while pinning down her brother while her youngest brother is crying from defeat. Yeah, that's my house although Jina is smaller than both of her brothers so the scales weigh in the favor them now.

Let's face it, Senior year is a year to put your child that you've invested so much time into, homework hours, dance classes, soccer games, violin lessons... on display or make them the center of attention before they take off. Applaud all of their achievements and cry like a hot mess while doing it. Even if its just emailing a paragraph and a poorly scanned photo. This shit can turn you into mush! I wouldn't say that I am a big emotional type gal. "Hard ass & tough girl" is normal but "pile of sappy mush" is quickly becoming the norm.

This year has really been flying by and there's only a few months left. It has been so surreal. I'm willing to bet that is the word (surreal) I'll over use here. Its the first thing I say when some one asks me how things are going and how I am handling things. I also have some parents asking me what they can do to help them prepare for Senior year. At this point I have to say just be ready to spend way more money than you thought imaginable on "stuff". School fees, diners, invitations, cap & gown, formal dresses for dances and a plethora of other things like a Senior ad. So save your pennies now and keep the tissue box close.

xo-Thea

11

2013-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Its birthday week in my house.
I happened to have two children in the same week but in different years.

Today my baby, my youngest, the one who has her mother's temperament, turns 11 today.

My daughters December 2012

She's still blonde and almost taller than me. Musically talented and one of the world's biggest mommy girls. Second only to the girl who is standing next to her in the picture above.

2008

11 years of uber smiles and cuddles with my baby-baby.

xo-Thea

Senior Year - And We're In

2013-01-15T23:36:00.001-08:00

One application.
One application fee.
One acceptance certificate.
One happy girl.
One very proud mom.

...entering Class of 2013

We found out right before Christmas that Jina was accepted to her college of choice.
All the build up and coaching of do's and don'ts for college applications we hit the goal in one big swoop.

She came running like a mad woman screaming all the way from the mailbox into the house screaming with joy. I was equally as happy and especially proud.
Now the real works begins - financial aid, loans, scholarships hopefully. I am now admitting that I am scared shitless. It doesn't really help that the kid has a count down to graduation and her expected move out date. Gah!

Thea

We've Been On Hiatus

2012-12-17T08:46:00.001-08:00

If you didn't notice. :)

As with life things can become very roller coaster like and it doesn't allow for much thought processing via the internet since often you find yourself in a knee jerk do it now mode.

Reconnecting with old friends, loosing a couple too, paying bills, daily grind stuff, extended family stuff...it all adds up sometimes. There's not much left for the frivolity of mind dumping on the computer.

Yet birthdays still happen:

My son's 16th birthday cake

Kids grow up and do amazing things:


My eldest daughter modeling on a local tv show.

Life keeps on keeping on. Since my own father passed away a little over 8 ago when I was still in my 20's I feel cheated. I know from talking with my other friends who also lost their parents at a young age, it's a common to feel cheated. You didn't get enough time, you didn't get to share big life experiences with them. It can make you long for their presence and do the "I wishes".
There's not much you can do when you are at a loss like that except fill your heart with good thoughts of them and go on. On the flip side, as a parent you can invest that quality time with your kids. Spend as much time as you can with them because life flies by and you don't want your kids to ever say "I wish you would've spent more time with me." They can get over not owning an Xbox because there will be another thing just like it down the road, but never will be more time to spend during their childhood.

I'm not the most successful gal in my business world. I could be more assertive with that if I wanted. I could be making more money and buying more cool stuff, but that takes away from my time with my kids. I'll be honest, this year its really setting in how fast the time flies by. I'm in the months count down mode to when my oldest will be packing up and moving out. That's it. That's all I get. Even if she has to come back home and live with me as many of us had to do, she'll be different.

Thoughts like that come up especially when you see horrible things in the news. It urges you to use your time wisely, you never know what will happen next.

Hug your kids and the ones you love more often.

xo-Thea

Look for upcoming posts on The Senior Year Project.

Potatoes & Berries

2012-07-24T11:41:00.004-07:00

Potato Fruits (True Potato Seed)

The past few weeks have been quite interesting in my garden.
First in the picture above you'll notice some fruit that look like cherry tomatoes, but really they are potato fruit/true potato seeds. In all my years of gardening this is the first time a potato plant has ever done this for me. I've long heard of this mythical fruit but never experienced it first hand.
Yes, you are hearing tones of giddiness over potato fruits.
Yeah- I probably need to get out more...

Potato Fruit of Yukon Gold Potatoes

I've picked a couple of the softer feeling ones and they are hanging out on the windowsill inside. I've heard various methods of extracting the seeds but I'm thinking about doing what I do to get my tomato seeds. Smash/wait/strain/dry/store. This is my first time planting Yukon Gold potatoes which are apparently known to frequently produce these fruits.

Onto the great berry research of 2012.
Can you tell the difference between a blackberry, tayberry, loganberry, olallieberry and a marionberry?
It can be quite confusing.
I have raspberries, blackberries and marionberries in my garden. (In my garden loosely applies to the blackberry because in my parts these fruit bearing vines are spawns of satan that invade everything! It's a weed!)

Marionberries

But after some discussion with a friend (while we picked blueberries on a local farm) she mentioned that she recently went tayberry picking. I mentioned that I preferred loganberries (duh, I'm from Whidbey Island) over tayberries. Her son then asked what those berries were and my friend responded "They're both a blackberry/raspberry cross."
Which they are and apparently they are not alone.

Berry Pedigrees (Graph credit to knewance.com)

Like children each hybrid takes one a trait from the parent. Loganberries tend to be more of a deep red like a raspberry but on the tart side like a blackberry. Tayberries are larger and a bit sweeter than the loganberries. Its a crazy matrix of qualities and characteristics. I spent a good hour or so just reading about them all. How their brambles & vines trail and grow. When they typically ripen in the year and of course their tastes. Personally I jam all of my berries so I guess I am mostly indifferent on preference. I'm definitely no berry connoisseur. How about you? Did you even realize there were so many choices here? It's kinda fascinating.

:) Thea

Senior Year - College Tours

2012-07-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

Last week I dropped off Jina at her first choice college.
Over the past year we've received a lot college informational mail, but we hadn't received anything from her first choice college. We were a little worried. Mainly because a lot of kids that would normally apply to the big university closest to where we live has cut their in state student acceptance to take in more out of state students (more money). Which pushes in state kids to other colleges in state. We worried for a second that Jina's first choice college was going to pass up promoting itself because their applicants have been upped since the big university has done what it has done.

Then it came.
A special invite for academically high achieving students - WWU Western Scholars Invitational

It's a program that hosts 175 students for a 3 day stay on campus at the student residences. The students got to experience the college, lectures, faculty and local tours. Even discussion on the application process for enrollment into the university which was probably the greatest benefit for the entire weekend if you ask me. If you ask Jina she'll tell you it was all the great people and great places in the university.

When I picked her up she already claimed to have her roommates picked out for dormitory living (that she met there), sworn off her car and stated she needs a bike instead and griped how she has to live through her senior year in high school. She wants to go to college now.

She clearly had a great time and great experience with this program. Other colleges must offer this sort of thing but I've only noticed invites for day tours of campuses. Which I do highly recommend, we've eliminated a couple colleges based on those. Although this particular tour was catered for "high cap" students there are tours for the regular student too. Keep your eyes peeled for any tour really.

So on the mom side of things, I got a taste of departure of my eldest baby. Which is odd to say as I have friends that just had a baby this weekend. I feel so ahead of time, but I started much earlier than most do these days and as we look ahead to a year full of adventures and accolades of high school's Senior Year I can already envision next year preparing her for real departure to college. It will be bittersweet for sure.

xo-Thea

"You're Not Special" Graduation Commencement Speech

2012-06-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

With lots graduations happening right now I think many caught wind of this great commencement speech.

Wellesley High English Teacher David McCullough advises high school graduates to earn their fulfilling lives. Video courtesy of Wellesley Media

This brought a smile to my face and I hope when my children reach this accolade their commencement speech will be equally as inspirational. What do you guys think?

-Thea

Recipe - Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancakes)

2012-06-08T09:13:00.001-07:00

Okonomiyaki - The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked". -Wikipedia translation.

It actually translates into hella yummy.

Its a great hearty snack that can include a variety of ingredients. I've made them with shrimp and kimchee before. But the recipe that I am sharing today is my favorite combination.

Things you'll need:

1/2 head of green cabbage finely shredded

3 green onions chopped

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of water

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of Furiake

4-6 pieces of bacon (cut into 2 inch pieces)

vegetable oil for pan

Toppings:

Kewpie mayonaise

Tonkatsu Sauce (I choose this over the okonomiyaki sauce -see why below)

Shred your cabbage.

Chop your green onions. I cut them "fancy style" on the diagonal.

Prep your batter base. Eggs, flour & water. - Mix them well.

Add about 1 tablespoon of Furiake. (I've included an Amazon link but if you are local or have access to an Asian grocer you can easily find this there. I purchased this atUwajimaya locally.)

Add the cabbage & onions to the batter. Coat your cabbage well.

Cut your bacon into 2 inch pieces.

Prep your pan (I used my trusty cast iron skillet that I love dearly) set onto medium-high heat add a splash of oil.

When the pan is hot scoop in a heaping spoonful of the mixture into the pan.

Place 2-3 pieces of bacon on top of your "heaps".

Flip them over when the batter starts to brown. It takes about 3 minutes or so to cook on each side - depending on your pan.

Set the cooked pancake on top of a few paper towels for a minute to soak up extra oils.

Serve warm.

Top with Tonkatsu Sauce or Okonomiyaki Sauce (the tonkatsu sauce is less expensive and not as sweet as the okonomiyaki sauce) & Kewpie Mayonaise.

Have fun making these & experimenting with things you can add.

Enjoy!

xo-Thea

Originally posted on August 24, 2010

Happy 17 Madison!

2012-06-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

May 30th 1995 – was the day my perspectives began to change. It was
a Tuesday –I wasn’t due until June 11th but I had been on bed rest for
months on end due to Toxemia (what is now called preeclampsia; ya, I
am so old that medical conditions have been re-named since I had
them).

My mom was still going through her radiation treatment and chemo
therapy for the first round of her fight with the cancer. I woke up
around 2 in the morning because my back was KILLING ME! I got in the
shower and hoped that the warm water would lessen the aches and pains.
I went back to bed and woke up again, this time around 4am. I
decided to take ANOTHER shower as the rest of the house remained pain
free and tucked in their beds snoozing away. At 7 am I woke up for a
3rd time, took yet ANOTHER shower, and this time I dried off and
crawled in to bed next to my mom. I was like a small child who was
too sick to go to school and seeking out comfort from their parent.
She awoke and I told her that my back was throbbing and I was in
sooooooooooo much pain and that I couldn’t stay asleep it was so
intense. My mom smiled and her face lit up like a Christmas tree and
said “She’s coming! You’re in labor!”
I looked at her in extreme disbelief. My mother, the woman who had
not only given birth 3 times on her own but she was also in her Jr.
year of her nursing degree at the University of Utah, and I was
resolute in the fact that she had NO IDEA what she was talking about.
I began to explain to this poor confused soul, who called herself my
mom, that I was in extreme pain in my back, not in my stomach. I had
gone to Lamaze classes, on her insistence in fact, and the videos, the
visual aids, and the examples all demonstrated exactly where labor
pains were felt and my back was never brought in to the conversation;
besides I still had almost 2 weeks left before my baby was due. What
on earth did SHE know anyway?. She insisted I eat breakfast but all I
wanted was some Tylenol, a nap, and some relief. May 28th, 1995, was
my last night of REAL sound sleep.
The hospital had a VHS player in the room and a selection of Disney
movies (hey, I gave birth in Utah, there wasn’t going to be anything
over a PG rating on that shelf). I watched the Lion King for the
millionth time as I waited to dilate more. My baby brother, who was
11 years old at the time, shoveled ice chips in my mouth and I thought
I might die of embarrassment because my then husband was too “bored’
to stay in the room as it (my laboring) was “taking too long”, I
remember thinking there was no way I could do it…no way I could handle
a moment more. My mom later told me she was kept waiting for me to
burst with expletives and rage but I was almost silent and it scared
her. She had never seen me react that way to anything, ever. I
didn’t yell at anyone, scream, or even complain….I was silent. I was
TERRIFIED. 18 hours of back labor, some added pitocin, and an
epidural that didn’t take later I found myself face to face with my
sweet baby Madison.

She was amazing, she IS amazing, and I wouldn’t
trade her for the world. I am still unsure as to how my grandmother,
my mother, my baby brother, and my ex-husband were all present as I
pushed. I remember refusing the mirror the nurses offered me and my
mom told them to bring it back so that I could watch….instead I then
spent the whole time pushing with my eyes closed shut. My mom cut the
umbilical cord and she cried as she held my daughter in her arms
before my baby made her way to me.
That night I stared at my baby girl sleeping pressed up against my
chest. My mom and the nurses urged me to set her down and to get some
sleep myself but I couldn’t stop looking at her. The only thing I was
prepared for when I arrived at the hospital was her name. I knew she
would be called Madison…not Maddie….Madison. What I didn’t know was
that I would be so in love with her the moment I heard her cry as she
vacated my body. She was beautiful. I wanted to give her the world,
the sun, the moon….whatever she desired.

My perspective on life changed that instant. My wants, desires, and my needs had all changed
for the better….I have her to thank for that. She changed my life
…she halted my crash course journey I was on…..and at 19 I brought
home the most amazing creature I had ever met. She has been my
sidekick longer than anyone else in my life.

She is my friend, my daughter, and my dearest most precious gift. Happy 17th birthday to
my wondrous “baby”girl. Madison, I love you and I can’t begin to thank you enough for the joy you have brought to me.

Mother Earth News Fair

2012-06-04T13:38:00.001-07:00

This is a cross post from my personal blog but it was so much fun I have to share it here too.

Rebekah's latest Senior Year Project post will be posted tomorrow. Poor thing has been without internet and sick for the past few days. That's cruel and unusual punishment from the universe!

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Apologies on the lack of crafty posts. I've been up to other things. Ya know, trying to keep my life interesting and enriched. :)

This past weekend I helped out my friend Jessi with her booth at the Mother Earth News Fair in Puyallup, Washington.

It was a totally different type of show of what I'm personally used to but it was a lot of fun.

I felt like I was totally exposed to my friend's "other life". You think you know someone well and then you witness them in "work mode" and its a whole new person. It was awesome!

Jessi drew a massive crowd for her "What the Cluck" talk. Times like this I go into my "older sister" pride mode for her. She had people who were shoulder to shoulder rolling with laughter while taking notes.

Her book sold out completely. (I've seen this happen at two different shows now!)

And she has really fun garden world friends. I'm totally comparing them to my extremely fun crafty friends. It would be one insanely fun party if those two worlds could collide. Apparently we're all drinkers.

Erica from NW Edible stopped by. Love, love, love her blog and highly recommend it to my local friends.

The super funny Lisa Taylor stopped by the booth before she it the stage. If you ever have the opportunity to listen to one of her talks, you must! She is hilarious.

Jessi's publishing company (Timberpress) reps were so fun! My eyes started leaking a couple times from laughing so hard.

And a special shout out to my new crush Ivette Soler. First she is absolutely beautiful, gorgeous porcelain skin. She is also wise and real - I totally got that from her just from a 20 minute conversation with her. I am totally buying her book The Edible Front Yard.

I could gush about the whole weekend but honestly I'm pooped. I didn't think I would be since I didn't have to do any real work so to speak. It's exhausting to have so much fun!

Here's a slideshow of the pictures I took in case you're interested.

Happy Monday!

-Thea

Happy 17 Jina!

2012-05-30T00:22:00.002-07:00

17 years ago I welcomed Jina into the world.

18 years old and a week before my high school graduation.
I had a really rough year and an even rougher pregnancy. I recall watching a lot of the OJ Simpson trial from a hospital bed.
I didn't take any birthing classes.
I didn't even have a significant other. I just went in and had a baby.
I had two friends in the delivery room with me taking a crash course class on how a baby was born.
It seemed like a sitcom episode at times.

Jina had a ton of brown/blonde hair and big doll eyes and had my heart ever since.

Her being changed my life for the better. Not in a whole parental legacy way either, let me remind you that I was a bit of a troublemaker. Having her gave me real responsibility. Truly having to care for someone else besides myself. I had to quit being a jerk and do something good pretty promptly.

Like any aspect of parenting it hasn't always been easy, but its always been "us".
She is an amazing person.
One of my favorite persons.

Happy Birthday Sunshine-

DIY Mint Extract

2012-05-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

DIY Mint Extract

Finally found a use for all my extra mint. DIY mint extract: Bunch of mint, smash it, add vodka, let it chill out for a month, strain, use. Awesome! I always have way more mint than I can use. Every year when the pineapples or mangos make an appearance in the stores I snatch them up and make my pineapple or mango salsa which has a lot of mint too.

I have a great picnic rice salad recipe to post. I've been a little swamped with work recently. Story of our lives right?

I hope this is inspires you to make your own mint extract for holiday cookies or grown up drinks.
Happy Weekend!

Thea

Family Pictures

2012-05-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Thea (center) with her kids including the fur baby

The picture above was taken on Mother's Day, this past Sunday for our international friends. If you look very closely you'll notice that this seemingly good family portrait has a classic family element in it.

In my time of being a mom I have never had a family picture that was 100%.
Someone is blinking, looking the wrong way, choking themselves...(I seriously have a picture of my son choking himself in a studio portrait.)
It makes for interesting conversation when I have guests over.

I think since we as a society have moved away from the studio portraits since we have such amazing capabilities with digital we are more relaxed & ourselves in photos. I remember in the 1980's posing awkwardly in knee high socks and ugly pink dresses hating being positioned for the "perfect" picture. It was horrible. But in contrast there is something special about professional family portraits. I have copies of some my family's from the late 1800's. They are pretty amazing.

My youngest daughter has her classroom picture today and I always feel I have to coach my kids into smiling naturally. Not super cheesy anime face smiling. As most visual people I really enjoy looking at pictures to associate a time and place about someone. My kids in particular, duh right? All though I wish I was better about remembering to print them more often. Are you guys good about that? Do you still take your kids to a studio to get family pictures? I wanna know if I am a slacker mom on this.

Momma's Boy & his Momma

And in case you didn't find the classic "element" in the picture above. Here's a bigger hint.

xo-Thea

What A Mom Really Wants For Mother's Day

2012-05-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hello internet friends! I chose not to do a big post about Mother's Day.
Some of us lost ours moms, some love our moms dearly, some can't stand being in the same room as our moms and some of us have Asian moms (like me).

But there comes a time in our lives as mothers where we get a selfish bone and say;
"Hey!!! I'm THE mom. - That's MY DAY!" and you just send your mom a card or think a good thought of your mom & call it good and allow your children to lavish you with love and affection above and beyond what they normally do.

I know I just created a little dream scenario for you there. Most of us will end up doing housework and making dinner like any other day.
The alternative is fires in the microwave and messes that you will have to clean up Monday after work.

But I know a lot of mamas and honestly you know what makes us happy, sleep.
Good old fashioned uninterrupted zzzz's.

Thea's not enough sleep pose. In the style of a Serendipity Book creature.

So for all of you teenagers/husbands/SOs/best friends of a mama the best thing you can give a mom is a couple extra hours of sleep.

Moms out there, can I get a "Hell Yeah!"

May your dishes be light, may your kids not fight and may Mother's Day do you right.
Have a lovely Mother's Day!

Thea

Everything is popping up!

2012-05-10T09:23:00.001-07:00

Broken pot but the flowers don't care.

Aside from having random sneezing sessions I really love spring. Varying shades of green reappear among our dark evergreens.

Lily of the valley flowers.

I actually love all the seasons, not that we actually get them all in the Pacific Northwest but I think I genuinely like them all. I am especially excited about spring this year because I installed a much larger gardening space in my backyard.

New garden bed - early spring 2012. View from the second floor.

I needed more room for bigger foods, like potatoes, corn and squashes.

Potatoes are coming!

This year with my teenagers seemingly eating up all my groceries as soon as I buy them, I decided to make an effort to grow as much food as my yard would allow. I've always grown the basics for salads including tomatoes but I wanted to take it up a notch.

Rhubarb

My kids do participate with gardening. They help me with weeding, removing rocks, watering & general maintenance. Even simple stuff helps and everyone likes to harvest what has grown. Especially fresh peas.... mmmmm!

Baby tomatoes

I know gardening has been really trendy the past few years among folks in my age group. I think its wonderful and a great sign that people really do care about what they eat and using your spaces to the maximum. Its really such a shame to have a huge lawn and not do anything with it. Right?

On a semi related the Northwest's favorite chicken lady is doing her East Coast leg of her book tour right now. If you happen to be in the Washington DC/Maryland area and are interested in learning to keep chickens be sure to make it out to see her talks.

And don't forget to grab her book too!

Enjoy your gardens!

Thea

Senior Year - Introduction Part Two

2012-05-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

As mentioned yesterday, my good friend Rebekah & I are doing a project called The Senior Year. Which will be a documentation of our birthday twin daughters Madison & Jina's "last year at home". It's totally for selfish coping reasons but we hope that it will encourage fellow moms who will also be experiencing this milestone to take it all in stride and squeeze every bit of bittersweetness out of it.
Being born 20 minutes later, hence the younger birthday twin this is the conclusion of the introduction - Jina.

--
The past few months Rebekah & I have been commiserating together over mail from colleges addressed to the girls. Somehow that mail initiated a wave of emotion. This is it. We're in the home stretch, the goal is in sight.

17 is the great in between. Last year it was the driver's license and car. Next year will be graduation & "adulthood".
Ironically Jina often tosses a mini dialogue from a Gilmore Girls episode out at me:

Rory: "There wasn't really a point you know because I get it, he is starting his first real job. I mean, he needs time to adjust and focus and learn the lay of the land. I mean its good that he's trying to be a grown-up. You know, so now I'm trying to be a grown-up. So why am I gonna get all pouty because I don't get to do it?"
Lorelai: "Hmm. Well, that sounds like a real grown-up talking."
Rory: "Thank you."
Lorelai: "You know the one thing that grown-ups don't call themselves?"
Rory: "What?"
Lorelai: "Grown-ups. They say, "adults," and they pronounce it "ah-dults."
Rory: "It stinks!"

She quotes it because I call myself a "grown up" but oddly enough that quote is relevant to this post.
I mean I get it, Jina is getting older. She needs to focus and learn the lay of the land.
It is supposed to be this way and I shouldn't get all pouty about it.

This is my mantra for this year.

I do consider myself lucky in the sense that she doesn't want to go to an out of state college. She loves the state she was born and raised in. She is hoping to attend a college I once roamed about 3 hours away from where we live now. There she will become the most attractive accountant that has ever existed.

Jina

I was bragging to a friend about how she wants to stay in state just last week as he was recommending a good car to get her to replace the aging one she has now. He recommended a car that I thought would be bad on gas mileage, when I replied with that and also suggesting that she'll come home to see me often he had the nerve to say, "She's not going to come down and see you every weekend."
I wanted to reach through the phone and punch him for saying such blasphemy!
What does he know?!?!
Instead I replied, "Yeah, you're right."

Any parent can imagine how crushing it is to know that their daily "reign" is drawing to a close. I will no longer be the daily authority, she will be her own self government. I know that she & I will forever be close but to remove her from my regular daily life will be very hard. I already cry thinking about emptiness that will come from her inevitable departure. I joke that her room will become my new office but I know in reality it will be sort of a shrine to her. It will be a museum of her old toys and clothes, scribbles on the wall, old school projects and other things that will illuminate the memory of the little girl that once lived in it. It will become just her room at her mom's house.

I've always known what the term empty nest means but I didn't realize that it would arrive so soon for me. I do have three other children but I am at the cusp of learning whether or not it will become easier with each child that leaves or will it get harder. I'm sensing that the latter is true. I know I sound a touch tragic but when she leaves it starts a snowball effect, my kids are only a couple years apart. I am bracing myself for one of life's roller-coaster rides.

Jina & Thea 2011

Being the oldest child she has had inherited privileges and responsibilities which have prepared her to stand alone on her own. Cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, I'm confident that she can handle all of that. She has even enough foresight to have already asked me to write down in a book a collection of recipes I make to take with her. TO TAKE WITH HER.......?

She talks so calmly about her goals and intentions as if she had this all planned out for a decade. Maybe she has. The only comment of concern I've heard from her is how one accumulates all the things needed for an apartment. Crock pot, couch, towels, etc. All valid concerns of course. But isn't she sad about the idea of not seeing me daily? Isn't she worried about how I feel, as selfish as that sounds?

I worry that I'm going to get a speeding ticket the first time she calls me and needs me there.

I worry about her being out late with friends and having to pass by unsavory people.

I worry that she's going to work too much to pay for school.

I worry because I'm her mother and I'll be worrying about her when I'm 87.

To answer my own question, no she isn't.
Its not that I'm not relevant enough or not close enough to her. Its just her eyes are fixed on the home stretch too. The goal is in sight and she's ready to receive her prize. (This is how my dad felt 19 years ago.)

2011 Jina texting backstage at a benefit fashion show.

She is just days away from her school's Step Up day. The junior class symbolically steps up to the senior class as the current senior class graduates and says good bye. Things are getting real.
I feel like the school year just began, where did the time go?

As they say in business "The only nonrenewable commodity- is time."
So true that is. I feel like the past 17 years has just flown by with my best friend and constant companion since I was 18. My very special gift that I have completely given my all to, who made my heart grow 3 sizes the day she was born, my Sweet Child O' Mine.

-Thea Starr