Apple Muffins and Cloth Diapered Nights

Finally being a little productive after another round of colds.  It is so hard being sick with sick babies.  They ended up sleeping with me part of two nights which always translates into a grumpy momma to go along with two fussy kids.  But now we are better except for a little coughing and a runny nose here and there.

I managed between our CA trip and sickness to run out of disposable diapers (technically I did have one left but since that doesn't work for two babies, I just left it in the diaper bag).  Then I completely forgot to buy some when I went shopping two days ago with the main objective to buy diapers.  I didn't bother to put it on the list since it was something I wasn't going to forget, right?  Out of necessity the girls slept in cloth diapers, which I had always avoided because I did not want to deal with leaks.  But the two nights we did it were fine. No leaks, no rashes, no end of the world.  It gives me new confidence to at least partially expand into nighttime cloth diapering.  It does of course take extra inserts, so I will have to get up to my sewing machine at some point to make some more micro fiber inserts.  But in the future the girls will be sleeping in cloth a few nights a week.

Today we baked muffins.  This time I actually described everything I was doing to the girls, along with the usual letting them mix the ingredients with the whisk.  D stood by me the whole time watching and listening to what I was saying.  T was playing nearby, seemingly not paying attention, but I have learned from experience that she is still a little sponge even when she is off on her own.  I can't wait until they are a bit older and taller and can stand at the counter with stools to actually bake and cook with me. 

They both like the muffins, which have apple and raisins in them.  Miss T thought it was tons of fun to try and grab a muffin off the plate while mom was taking pictures of them.  Naughty girl. 

I am lining up play dates for the girls now that we are better.  We've been trapped at home for too long.  It will be good for the girls to get out and socialize (and probably pick up their next cold).   

California is Sunny and Warm

The flights weren't too bad.  On the way there, Miss D skipped her nap unfortunately which made the three hour flight from Houston to Orange County unpleasant.  At least there was an empty seat so we were able to sit all together in one row.  The way back went much better with the two 2 hour flights and a lengthy lay over in Denver where the girls could eat and get some exercise.  Both girls napped a little under an hour on the first flight and we also were able to sit together in a row of three seats on the second flight.  This summer will be interesting with me flying alone with the girls. 

We had a wonderful time staying in Yorba Linda with Kevin's parents. Leila and Pho Pho were so happy to see the girls and play with them. On the day after we arrived Oma, my sis and the girls' cousin H visited for a little while which was really nice for them.

On Wednesday we went to the Buddhist temple and the girls were blessed by a senior monk.  It is the first time they really got to learn anything about their religion.  I think one of their favorite parts about it were the two little dogs and a sweet cat that lived at the monastery.  Understandable for one and a half year olds.

 

The girls got to wear the cutest little outfits for a family photo.  They looked just adorable!

 





We spent a lot of time out doors in the warm sunshine.  The first two days were a little cool but after that it was such nice weather there.  We walked with the girls, went to the park, played in the back yard and on the swings.  The girls are now demanding to go outside here in the cold which isn't always feasible. 

 

On Sunday was my sister's baby shower.  So the girls, Leila and I headed down to Temecula and had a really nice time.  The girls missed their nap but stayed in pretty good moods throughout the day.  They got to play with H and a few other kids that came around their age.  The party was really nice and I am so glad my sister's friend offered to organize it this time.  She did a great job and I didn't have to stress. 

 

Girls got to dress up in a cute little outfits from their Leila and got a few pictures playing with a Burmese tea set.

 

 

Tying Up Loose Ends Before CA

These are some last projects I've been hoping to get done before we travel to California tomorrow.  All four of us are going this time; Kevin's first visit in 2 1/2 years.  The girls are excited to see their Oma, Leila and Pho Pho even though they really don't understand what is going to happen.  I've been reading a book to them about a family that takes a trip on an airplane.  Maybe some of it will seem familiar tomorrow.

 

I made ornaments of the girls' hand prints out of salt dough for their grandparents for Christmas and I finally got around to making some for me in the past couple days.  I tried out a cornstarch dough for my ornaments but they all cracked, so I will stick with salt dough I used with the first ornaments.  And since I only needed enough for two ornaments for myself, I used the extra dough for an Anna paw print ornament.

 

I knitted a neat looking lattice design headband for my sister-in-law.  I love the design.  It is one I will probably incorporate into other projects like hats in the future.  I am also almost finished with the gloves I have been working on for my father-in-law.  Three fingers left to do!

Bows! Bows! Bows!  Three to be exact.  I finally put some of those bow tutorials I pinned on Pinterest to good use and made the girls some bows to go with an outfit their Leila got them.  I made the third to give to my sister at her shower so that my future niece will get to match her cousins.  They all look pretty nice but I can still tell the difference between the first one I made and the last one.  It did not take long to get the hang of maneuvering the ribbon and glue gun though. 

 

Last on the list of things that need to be done or at least in a state where I can complete them once I get to California is a Hot Wheels travel bag for my nephew Holden.  I saw a great tutorial on Pinterest for it.  Unfortunately, I don't get a lot of chances to access the sewing machine with my rugrats under foot so I opted for the quicker approach of felt and a glue gun.  It doesn't look as nice but it will do the job.  It has slots for 4 cars and they are numbered so he can practice counting.  All that is left to do is the buttons.

 

Well we are mostly packed, the boarding passes are printing and here is hoping for a good trip!

What a week!

What a week!  On Christmas Day we had a horrible storm that knock out power to thousands of people in our area for days.  Ours was out for 49 hours and man did it get cold in here.  It also dumped quiet a few inches of snow on us.

We were lucky that none of our trees fell over or large branches broke.  At a house up the street from us, one of their large oaks fell over and hit the roof.  Luckily for them, another tree next to it bore most of the weight so it did not go crashing through.  But it still caused damage to their roof. 

Our back fence looks a little bent from our neighbors large bushes.  But we are hoping that with the ice and snow melted, the bushes will recover and lift up off the fence.  Hopefully we won't have to repair anything. 

Kevin spent three hours shoveling snow off of our driveway.  He could not make it into work because the entrance to the cul de sac is too steep to get out of with all the snow.  Instead he spent his day doing what he could for us to survive without power for awhile and helping neighbors to clear the street so we could drive out.  He is a great husband.

The girls got their first chance to play in the snow, although I didn't really let them play because they had no boots and no mittens.  I had to tie plastic bags around their shoes so they could walk around in it for a couple minutes.  The snow was up to their knees and they did not really know what to make of it.  If we had heat inside, I would have brought a bowl of it into the kitchen for them to play with but we were freezing as it was.

 

 

Before the power outage, we had a good Christmas morning.  We helped the girls open a few presents from relatives.  Miss T was such a doll and smiled at the camera when I asked her to.

 

Both girls loved the sweet smelling puppy dogs their aunt got them.  Here is D hugging the one I have named Vanna.  For some reason I feel uncomfortable naming all their animals and dolls (we still refer to both of their dolls as 'doll'), but I thought I'd try it out this time.  I chose the very imaginative names of Vanna (for the vanilla colored one) and Chocco (for the chocolate colored one). 

We had a very nice, warm Christmas morning as a family.  I love getting pictures with my girls and am so thankful they are my babies. 

Christmas Eve

In our family, Christmas Eve was always the main event. Christmas Day we would spend at another relative’s or have everyone over at my parents’ house. Christmas Eve was always more of a select group.   My siblings and I, my parents and my grandparents were often the only people there.  Occasionally other close friends, relatives, or random people that needed a place for the holidays came as well. Uncle Henry was a permanent fixture on Christmas Eve until he passed when I was ten.  Occasionally one of our uncles and a cousin would spend it with us as well if they were visiting my Grandparents.  And I even remember a Christmas Eve where two climbers my brother had met up at the Monument (i.e. Joshua Tree National Park) came.  Generally though, Christmas Eve was just for us. 

Christmas Eve was also when we opened all the presents from everyone which of course influenced my preference for Christmas Eve as a child.  We would get a present from Santa, a plate of cookies and a full stocking the next morning which was great too.  Christmas Eve always had a ritual about it because it was the same every year.  Christmas Day changed depending on who we had it with.  During the day on the 24^th, my sister or I would bake Christmas cookies.  Our dinner that night was always fish (a tradition from my father’s family) and usually salt potatoes, peas and we could never forget the rolls (Grandpa had to have his rolls).  After dessert and topping off the wine or eggnog and brandy (of course we kids only had that when we were older), we would move into the living room where our Christmas tree stood looking beautiful.  When everyone was settled down into the couches or chairs one of us kids (always me once my siblings got older and didn’t want to anymore) would pass out presents.  After opening them and thanking the givers, we would explore our new treasures while spending time with each other.  I have so much nostalgia for those Christmas Eves. 

Everyone is back home in California.  My oldest brother flew out from Japan with his girlfriend, my other brother is there, and my sister drove up with her family.  It makes me sad that we are so far away.  The Christmas focus has moved onto the next generation. Holden, his future sister and the girls will be getting all presents to open.  We are having a quiet Christmas Eve here in Little Rock with nothing much planned. We will wait until Christmas morning to open the presents because the girls are not so tired then (and me too).  I do have dough prepped to bake today so we’ll have Christmas cookies like always.  Hopefully in two years, my family and I will get to be back at the home I was raised in for Christmas and celebrate in the traditions that have made such a lasting impression on me. 

Christmas Preparation

I checked the weather forecast for this morning and we may actually get some snow on Christmas Day.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  Gotta love a white Christmas. 

The girls both have colds but so far it is only runny noses and a slight cough and hopefully they don't get worse.  Anna also seems to be sick, at least her eyes are runny (not unusual with her allergies) and her nose is dry and hot.  I hope every one is feeling better for Christmas and for Oma's visit right after Christmas. 

In the meantime, I am trying to find time to bake cookies.  I made some Lebkuchen earlier in the month which turned out disappointing.  Today I am making Rugelach, which I think is a recipe I got from Ina Garten.  I've made it before and it was yummy so hopefully I don't mess it up this time like I did the Lebkuchen. 

I am also working on some last minute knitting projects that will hopefully be done on time.  By on time I mean either when my mother flys back to California on New Year's Day or when we fly out in mid-January.  I also have a little felt project to make for my nephew that should be done in the next week.

I knitted a ruffle scarf because it looked interesting and possibly like fun to knit although it wasn't really.  It was quick and easy though so no complaints. 

One present I have been working on for a long time is a pair of Iphone compatible gloves.  It is my first time knitting gloves and they are not as difficult as I thought they would be.  Even knitting the conductive thread into the tip of the index finger and thumb is not as difficult as I had feared.  And best of all, it actually works.  I can use an Iphone without taking off the gloves!

Yesterday turned out to be a relatively warm and sunny day for December, so we headed over to Two Rivers Bridge Park for a walk.  The girls got to walk around the picnic area and see the Arkansas River.  Miss D wanted to join in a game of soccer that another family was playing.  Anna, as always, enjoyed getting out for some exercise and a chance to meet other dogs and people willing to pet her. 

 

We even let the girls loose while we were walking the trails.  To the amusement of everyone passing by us, they spent most of the time helping me push their stroller along. Our double jogging stroller has a bar right above the basket underneath the seats that is the perfect height for the girls to grab and push.  The only problem of the day was we lost one of their hats, which I'm really bummed about.  And I have no idea how it happened unless someone else picked it up in the couple minutes it took me to realize one was missing and took it home with them.  

Christmas Decorations

I love strawberries.  My grandfather grew them for years when I was young.  There is nothing like a fresh picked strawberry.  That said, if you get lucky, some store-bought strawberries can be pretty good.  These were pretty good ones.

I brought them to our knitting holiday party.  Saw the idea on Pinterest and they are perfect.  Festive, healthy, easy and delicious.  I used vanilla wafers as the base and piped cool whip onto it.  Then trimmed the hull off the strawberry so they would stand flat upside.  I sliced the tip off to add the cool whip pom pom.  This is an idea I will keep using every year.

I finished getting the rest of our decorations up.  Last year I bought garlands at Michael's after Christmas when they were 70-80% off.  So we are a bit more festive this year than last. I hung the girls' stockings  up and they are waiting to be filled by Santa.  And this year I actually put pictures into their stocking holders instead of having them blank like last year.  Very proud of that fact!

 

I hung one garland across the doorway in the girls' playroom.  It was conveniently the perfect length.  I thought of stringing out Christmas lights around our front door so the neighborhood could see it but thought it was better to put them up in the playroom so the girls can see them.  The girls like it when I turn them on in the evenings.

Our tree is one of those small rosemary trees I got at Home Depot.  I've been good so far about keeping it on a sun lit window sill for a few hours each day and not watering it too much.  Hopefully I can keep it up and keep it alive.