Birthday Love

I feel so loved this week. Monday was my birthday and along with many many FB birthday wishes and wonderful presents, Daddy J took me to Tahoe for the weekend (will blog about that later). We are also meeting up with some friends this weekend to celebrate in the city.

Here is a picture of one of my wonderful presents. It looks so yummy, I can hardly get myself to eat it!...but you know I did! =)

Moneymaker

So this is what happens when I leave Daddy J on duty while I go take a quick shower...!

We were in Tahoe over the weekend for my birthday (will blog about that soon) and this was in the hotel room. How could you be mad at a face like that?...BUT! I was mad at Daddy J for allowing her to play the money...who knows where it's been?!  EW.

P.S. We don't normally carry that much cash, we just charged a pricey dinner @ Friday Station cuz we didn't have enough cash...and now we do! =)

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Rainy Days

It's been storming the past couple of days. We've been trying to stay home, but school and activities call and we have to go out in the rain.  Dragging kids around in the rain is definitely no fun, but we manage to survive. Here are some tips off the top of my head.

First tip, forget the umbrella.  It's useless, your hands are full enough with kids and gear.  

Second tip, get decent kiddie rain gear...waterproof jacket and boots.  Nothing worst than a wet and whiney kid.  

Third tip, get some good rain gear for yourself too, especially when you will be standing outside the car being pounded by the rain while you rip off kiddie rain coats and buckle squirmy kids into their carseats. I often forget myself, but soaked and whiney mommy no good either.  

Fourth tip, forget the stroller, just grab your kids and gear and run! LOL

Stay dry everyone!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

My New Klean Kanteen

I have a large one I keep @ my bedside, but I needed a smaller one  (18 oz) for on the go.  I decided to try out their new "wide mouth" line...wider is better right? Hah.

I like the feel of the Klean Kanteens but I do not like the condensation. I need to search for a sleeve for it (I have one for my larger one)...but then it might not fit into my cupholder...sigh.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

So Happy Together

We went to the Ice Creamery for dinner yesterday for dinner after karate. I had a gift card to use up plus a coupon for a sundae.

The food is nothing to write home about but the ice cream is yummy, generous and oh so bad for you!

We ordered two scoops, one dark chocolate peppermint and one peppermint..both seasonal flavors.  After the burgers we had we honestly could not even finish the ice cream...how tragic.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Cooking Chinese - Ghetto Style

Last night I wanted to make some chow mein, but I could not find my bottle of soy sauce.  Weird cuz I don't remember using it up...? Must be those crazy kids HA!

So, I had to dig in my drawers and luckily I found a couple of soy packets...along with lots of other questionable sauce packets. (I really need to clean out my kitchen drawers!)

Chow mein saved - crisis averted.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Baby B Feeding Baby A?

Ok, before the rumor mills start...no, I do not have news to share!  LOL

Baby B was holding a doll baby bottle, so I dug out the matching doll, and voila! Cuteness captured!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Blueberry Ale

Look @ me! I am out without the kids!...unfortunately, also without Daddy J.  After I put Baby B down for the night, I joined a birthday get-together for my friend BH @ Buffalo Bills. I got there just in time to enjoy a blueberry ale.  We were sitting outside with some awesome heat lamps, but that meant I had to drink faster because it was warming my beer up! Perfect excuse, right?

I had a good time chatting and laughing with old and new friends since I don't get out much without the kids.  So refreshing to have "adult" conversations. =)

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

I Heart Candy Buffets!

@Emma's 1st birthday party...I think my bag was larger than Baby C's...is that wrong?! LOL

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

My Date with Dee

Back to my SoCal Trip...sorry this is all out of order. Blogging about this trip is a bit time consuming, and you know...life happens!

The girls and I met up with my good friend DC and her daughter KL. I love it that she is also a foodie and of course brought us to good eats. Life is so hectic that we seriously have not sat down for a meal since Baby C was born!...actually even before that since they moved down to SoCal several years ago. Anyhoo, it was great catching up...as much as we could chat dining with 3 kiddies. =)

We met up in Irvine and hit 3 places in 3 hours...cuz dats how we roll!

We started at a ramen place called Ajisen. They had a cute little ramen girl in the front.

I ordered the "premium pork" ramen which had thin slices of pork. I dunno why they call it premium, but it was delicious! We also had some potato croquettes and gyoza as appetizers, although they came after our ramen arrived.

If Daddy J were with me, he would have ordered this. I actually found an Ajisen place in Fremont, so hopefully we'll get there soon to partake!

After we had ramen, we walked over to this place called B.B.Q. that serves yummy fried chicken. B.B.Q. actually stands for Best of the Best Quality, or something like that. It's Korean run and they fry their chicken and batter in olive oil. It was quite delish and had a unique flavor.

We then drove to Yogurtland at the Spectrum. My poor sister is so deprived of yummy yogurt because the only yogurt place they have in Anchorage is TCBY...and it's in the airport! ...so you need a boarding pass to partake! LOL!

We chowed down! (as you can see) They were having a promo with Tokidoki cups and spoons. Super cute stuff!...and yummy yogurt of course!

And to top the evening off, the girls played "Ring Around the Rosie" outside Yogurtland. So cute!

Girls Goofing Off

It was a crisp winter day today and we spent some time playing out in the driveway.  Here are some pictures of the girls goofing off.  I can't wait until Baby B is a bit more stable and I won't have to worry (as much) about her biting it on the asphalt...

Lemon Bars

My friend SW posted a picture of some lemon bars she made the other day on FB.  They looked so yummy thta I had to ask for the recipe.  I am not much of a baker, but they turned out pretty good.  Here is the recipe in case ya'll wanna try it out!

Lemon Bars
Makes 36

Ingredients:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
Topping
4 large eggs
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
½ cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup whipping cream
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 13- x 9- inch baking pan.
Sift the sugar, flour, and salt into a bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the topping, whisk the eggs and sugar together until blended. Add the lemon rind and juice and mix well.
Lightly whip the cream and fold into the egg mixture. Pour over the still warm crust, return to the oven, and bake until set, about 40 minutes.
Cool completely before cutting into bars. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

I cut the recipe in half and used an 8x8 pan. Turned out good, but I would make a full batch next time (cuz they are yummy) and perhaps use a bit more lemon rind/juice to make it more tart (cuz I like it like that).

SoCal Eats!

What's a vacation without indulgent food? ...plus it just wouldn't be my blog without some food porn, right?

Even though it was hectic traveling with 2 kids, we still managed to grab some good eats here and there. Here is a sample of good eats we encountered during our SoCal week...at least the ones I remembered to take pics of. =)

Yes...I heart food... Enjoy!

Started off @ Guppy @ Hacienda Heights.  My sis ordered some sort of spicy soup noodle dish.  I forget because dinner was a bit hectic with Baby B on the move. As you can see she is holding her iphone...a device, I discovered through the week, that is permanently attached to her hand!  LOL!

This was my meal, a dumpling noodle soup...note to self: hot soup not great with restless kids..dangerous, and I can't eat it fast!

I ordered Pineapple Fried Rice for the girls...obviously way too big, and they ate like 3 kernels of rice each.  We took it back to the hotel and munched on it all week, so it all worked out.

Here is what Guppy is known for...Shaved Ice!  We order the "to-go" size of their red bean variety, which feeds like 3-4 people (we did not finish it).  It was the smallest size they had. The regular size feeds like 6-8 and basically fills up the whole bowl!

A SoCal original - Sprinkles Cupcakes - Coconut, Red Velvet, and Chocolate.  Perfect bedtime snack...cuz dats how we roll!

My Sis with a San Francisco classic - Sourdough bowl with clam chowder from the "wharf" @ California Adventures. (cheesey I know)

Some yummy treats from California Adventures.  I could not bear paying $9 for an apple, so I just took a picture. =)  Cute as heck tho.

At my sister's request...we had to stop at See's because apparently there are no more See's in Anchorage! =O

This is not from SoCal, but my friend DC bought some for me on her recent trip to Hawaii.  They were delish and she is the bestest!

I wish I captured more food on film, but most of the time, it was too hectic with the littles, and/or the food was just very basic, so not "food porn" worthy. LOL!

Whirlwind SoCal Trip

A few months ago, we booked a week at Marriott's Newport Coast Villas the week before Christmas.  We thought it would be a perfect time to visit Disneyland during their holiday set,  not too crowded, not too hot. Unfortunately, Daddy J's work schedule changed and could not go on the trip.  We were ready to eat the cost because we were not having any luck renting the unit out.

The week before the trip, I had this "brilliant" idea that I would just go with the girls alone and arranged to meet my sister, KL there for some extra hands...plus hang out with her since we never get to hang (she lives in a different state).  She was flying into Vegas the same day with my mom to help get their new "winter home" settled in...it was "perfect" timing.  KL took a Chinesey "gambling" bus from Vegas to Hacienda Heights and I drove 45 min from Newport to pick her up.

I was super nervous about the drive down...it was 400+ miles (see above GPS pic) - the longest I've ever driven, plus I was gonna be alone with a 1 and 3 year old!  Everyone I talked to (including the girls' pediatrician) suggested that I leave in the wee hours so that the kids get at least a couple hours of sleep, and that's what I did (about 4am)..and overall, it worked out great!  It's not for the faint of heart, and I would not recommend driving alone with 2 kids, but I survived with my sanity (somewhat) intact to tell you this tale!

Here is one of my "stay awake driving aids":

I actually bought a "Rockstar" shot thingy too, but the warning labels just freaked me out too much (it had twice the caffeine as the the Red Bull shot).  In addition to the Red Bull, I also brought along a variety of candies and "quiet" food I could munch on to stay awake for the long @ss drive.  No coffee for me, I did not want to stop unless I HAD to for the kids.


I actually made it past the grapevine on one tank of gas (yah Buick!).  By the time I got off the grapevine, it was about 8am and the kids were waking and I was also out of gas, so a perfect time to stop for a potty break, stretch and snack.  We ended up at a gas station that had a small Starbucks plus drive thru.  It was perfect.


After juggling the 2 kids at the gas station, we hit the road again (not without some Baby B screaming and Baby C drama) and made it to Newport Beach at about 10am.

We made it!  Here is a picture of Baby C after we checked in...still in her PJ's by the koi pond at the hotel.

I'll blog about my trip in several posts...stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010 everyone!  Another year zips by...

We spent this New Years Eve at Super Franks....our third home.  They had a fab family event that did an east coast countdown at 9pm.  We were afraid it would be super crazy, but it was really fun and well organized.  We will definitely be back next year.  They had food, fun, crafts, a princess parade, a dance contest for the older kids, and a lot of balloons and confetti at the countdown...as you can see in the picture above (my fav picture BTW).

I must admit, I felt a little defeated that THIS is what its come down to...partying on NYE at a kiddie play place...but honestly, it was really fun.  We hung out with other friends with kids and spent a great evening together.  Then we got the kids in bed by about 10:30pm and enjoyed the real countdown together in bed with champagne.  Not to shabby for parents of 2 littles with no babysitter!

Here are a few more pictures from our NYE par-tay-ing:

Ya gotta love being able to purchase beers at the same counter where we could buy milk and juice boxes!  MY kinda place!  Here is Daddy J proudly posing with his beer.

Oh wait, I can't be left out!  Here is me, Mom of the Year with my beer and Super Franks sign in the background!  Perhaps this can be their new ad campaign? NOT!  LOLOL!

Here are the girls at the craft table.  They "made" some NYE party hats.  They ripped them off in miliseconds after we snapped the photo.

Picture of all the balloons for balloon drop at midnight (east coast time).

Family party picture.

Baby B was a bit startled by all the noise from the countdown, balloons popping and confetti storm, but she held her own!  I would not recommend kids under one to be in the thick of the crowd due to noise, etc, but Baby B did just fine!

Daddy J the party animal!

Should have drank my sparkling apple cider BEFORE the countdown.  There was A LOT of confetti!

Another One Bites The Dust!

Another boo boo for Baby B.  This one happened on our driveway...you just don't realize how many slopes, dips, cracks and bumps you have on your driveway until you have a wobbly toddler trying to conquer it.

Daddy J says he does not remember Baby C having so many accidents, but I think I just had more attention to devote to her since she was the only child then...?

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

NKOTB @ Rite Aid?

During an ice cream run @ Rite Aid, they were playing NKOTB's "Didn't I Blow Your Mind?". It brought back so many memories of high school!  I wasn't a mega fan, but I did enjoy their music. I posted this thought on FB, calling it "ol skool", and my friend Mary (who is older) commented that it did not qualify as "ol skool" because it was not old enough.  I guess she's right, but high school seems so long ago!  With another birthday approaching..maybe I am feeling extra old?!  LOL

-- Sent from my Palm Pre