Baking Frenzy

Those who know me know that I am not a baker. Baking kind of terrifies me, to be perfectly honest. All those "secrets"--room temperature eggs, perfectly softened butter, precisely-measured flour, parchment paper, etc.--to making just the right cake or cookie add way too much pressure to something I don't do very well. Cooking dinner is more my style because even if you have to substitute ingredients here and there or if you mess up the sauce, somehow it still seems to turn out and taste good.

Another reason I don't bake very often is because I have zero self-control when it comes to home-baked treats, especially if I'm the one who baked them. It's as if all that work gives me license to eat as many pieces of cake as I want. Even after I've eaten so many that I feel ill, the memory of that first yummy bite returns to me the next day, after the sick feeling is forgotten, when the boys are napping and I need an afternoon pick-me-up. This is starting to sound like the confession of a drug addict or something, but you get the idea. No restraint around baked treats in my own house.

Now we come to the point of all this rambling. Last week was ugly. I baked chocolate chip cookies, an apple pie, and sugar cookies within the span of about four days. At first I was happy and proud of myself for actually baking, but then came all that consumption (the boys helped a little, as did Stephen until he happened to get his cholesterol results back and swore off all treats), however, and then the ugly, ugly guilt. The sugar cookies were for YW New Beginnings, but since I only had to bring a few dozen, that meant there was plenty of indulging along the way. The cookies and pie had no such noble purpose, other than my own craving and indulgence.

So for those concerned friends who say I don't "look pregnant yet" or "pregnant enough for 22 weeks," rest assured, the baking frenzy has brought the belly out from hiding. All thanks to Eli's Sesame Street storybook where Cookie Monster has to wait ten minutes while his cookies bake (reading it with him sent me baking immediately after) and stupid National Pie Day that sucked me in with all those internet advertisements and articles I kept bumping into last week about Obama loving apple pie.

What to do on a rainy day

Goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Stephen had Monday off, so we decided to head up to the San Francisco Zoo for the day. We haven't gone much, or possibly even at all, since Eli was born and since our Happy Hollow membership of '07, so I shouldn't be surprised that I'd forgotten just how great a zoo it is. We loved it so much, in fact, that we bought an annual membership (of which Monday's visit was half the price anyway) for me plus one adult guest and as many kids under 18 as we want. So, if you're interested in a free trip to the zoo, let me know and we'll go!

Here were some of our favorites:



Eli was immediately taken with the giraffes eating leaves from the tree branches.








Bennett was eager to see the Madagascar Lemur Forest with all the different lemurs.







Stephen picked the Walkabout as our lunching spot, so that we could watch the mama kangaroo hop around with her little joey in her pouch (the rest of them chose to nap in the sun).






We all loved watching the polar bear's feet kick up out of the water like a little kid doing an underwater handstand as she dove and swam around.




Both boys loved riding the Little Puffer with their daddy, especially our train-enamored Eli.














Here's the shot they took of the boys as we entered, which we were too cheap to buy, of course. We did snag a rather blurry proof from their website, however, and you just gotta love those cheesy smiles!

Making Molly Ringwald Proud

Stephen couldn't join me today at the ultrasound, so I decided to surprise him with the results by showing up at his office with the boys dressed like this:

 

 

Don't tell Molly--this is the first time they've ever worn this color, (Thanks, Laura, for letting me borrow the t-shirts, although sadly, I couldn't quite convince Bennett to wear the pink, jeweled, princess pants) but they might as well get warmed up to it now because they'll be seeing a lot more of it come June 4th! We have officially broken the Jory chain of male grandsons: we've had six boys in a row with Justin's two, our two, and Jenae's soon-to-be two. Needless to say there are some very excited grandparents and aunts and cousins out there.

After our little Pretty in Pink surprise we headed over to The Counter in Palo Alto for some gourmet burgers and yummy shakes--in the spirit of pink I ordered strawberry--to celebrate the big news.

p.s. Just found this article and had to chuckle at this rapper being forced to wear pink!

DMX Adopts Pink Prison Wardrobe
Looks like Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio has come up with the cure for DMX's addiction to jail. The hip-hop star and repeat offender, like all of Arpaio's other inmates in the Maricopa county jail, must wear pink t-shirts, underwear and socks.

The girlie wardrobe colors caught DMX by surprise. "This is ridiculous, this is disrespectful," DMX said with a sarcastic laugh during an interview with My Fox Phoenix. "Why the pink?"

Arpaio told Fox & Friends he has had the pink policy in place for 10 years with success. He said the inmates were stealing the white underwear so he dyed them pink.

According to Arpaio, DMX is serving time for charges of animal cruelty, drugs and fraud. Arpaio did not express any sympathy for the hardcore rapper, adding, that jail was not supposed to be fun.

DMX misses the good ole days. "This is not where I want to be man," DMX said. "It used to be, I'll go there, I'll be the life of the party, and ... it's nothing."

Requiring male prisoners to wear pink undergarments is emasculating, but listening to DMX talk about going to jail as if it is a hangout spot is not fine either.

Maybe Cam'ron can give X a pep talk. Cam'ron and other Harlem MCs have always been fine with the springtime pastel color.

Home for Christmas

 

As fun as it is to travel for the holidays, the cozy comfort of being in your own house is pretty darn great too. I mean, how can you beat staying in your pajamas literally ALL day? Stephen's parents and sisters were willing to come hang at our place this year for Christmas Eve and Christmas day (one sister even stayed the night to Bennett's happy delight!), and we had fun planning the holiday menu.

Christmas Eve Dinner: Tamales, Spinach Salad with Grapefruit & Avacado, Beans and Rice, Grapes (a la Guatemalan Christmas Eve tradition), Fresh Sugar Cookies

Christmas Breakfast: Breakfast Casserole, Roasted Potatoes, Orange Pull-aparts, Pink Lassies

Quick Christmas Lunch/Dinner: Left-over Pesto Minestrone Soup & Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Grilled Cheese and Salad

After the boys completely overstimulated themselves with all their new toys, we threw them in their beds for naps and played games all afternoon with Mom, Dad & Kymber. We laughed and ate and forgot all about Christmas love and charity as we showed no mercy for one another with the new board games. I love how Stephen's family is just as competitive as mine. You play to win.

Digital camera clutter

This is a lot of photos, I know, but I'm trying to start the new year with a clean memory card, which means I need to get all these forgotten fall pix onto the computer. These are three occasions I definitely should have blogged about. But of course didn't.

1) Bennett's Pump it Up Party -- We joined forces with three of his friends (and parents) turning four this fall to rent out Pump it Up, a popular play place where you can slide and jump and be thrown around on inflatable stuff to your heart's content. Great time. Best kid party we've ever thrown. Oh wait, we didn't throw it. The Pump it Up workers did, no wonder I loved it!

2) Young Women's Thanksgiving Dinner -- Once again, I hosted all the young women and leaders in early November for our annual All Girls' Turkey Dinner, where the girls help cook traditional Thanksgiving dishes. Everything was delish, the girls showed their holiday manners by wrestling on the living room floor and texting under the table, and we leaders stuffed ourselves to the point of pain.

3) Eli's Birthday -- We had a small celebration at "Anpa"'s house (Grandpa and Grandma Geddes) for the boy turning two. Aunt Kymber made cupcakes, Aunt Kristi put up a sign, and the grandparents + Kymber provided some exciting gifts for our little budding construction worker, including a tool box and lots of new books about all the building machines Eli so dearly loves. Can you tell that Stephen and I were feeling a little low-key and lazy about the b-day festivities this year? Poor kid. Two years old and already getting the shaft... We did get him a tool belt and hard hat set, but that was about it. He's lucky we live so close to family, that's for sure.

Joey & Jordan on Christmas Eve

Yes, this is what we are listening to right now. The boys are dancing around the living room while Stephen and I crack up at the music and lyrics. I won this little tape cassette gem at Laura's fabulous white elephant party the other night, and I must say I was pretty excited to get it. I mean, how often do you get a vintage New Kids tape that takes you right back to 1989? So far, "Funky, Funky Xmas" and "This One's for the Children" take the lead as the corniest and therefore our top picks from this album.