Twelve years ago I had a baby and that baby is now a tween.
Kaili, used to love milk, fruit, music and her mama….now she loves water, spicy chips, music and her mama! Some things never change.
She is in deep with BlackPink and a few other Kpop bands, so in true fashion she requested a BlackPink cake and Korean BBQ for her birthday dinner.
The cake was a red velvet and cream cheese frosting and a dark chocolate ganache drip on the top.
The whole family gathered at a popular Korean BBQ spot and it was a hot mess of a meal. Kaili has decided that she doesn’t need to go back and I am fully on board with that decision. Definitely don’t want to cook my own food with small utensils and noisy children, adding in that everyone wanted to eat something different was just chaos.
Even though it wasn’t a relaxing meal, it is always fun to have us all together. Lot’s of laughing and love!
Happy birthday my K bear, I can’t believe it’s been 12 years since we started this journey together. I love you!
The irony of my blogs name….Finding time to blog has become an art to say the least. It’s been 55 days since I last posted here, not that I’m counting. I will feel my guilt tug at me and consider sitting down to tell y’all about what we ate or how we are all getting older…. but then I start to feel more guilty and just don’t…I am sure there is a therapist reading this with BIG thoughts.
In reality, I am back in the classroom and just wrapped up DRDP (Desired Results Developmental Profile) to prepare for conferences.
And now that is done, and I am ready to catch you up. Even though it’s been some days since we last chatted, I do remember saying that I was going to make a few of Jet Tila’s recipes out of his cookbook….and I did.
Obviously it was delicious as we knew it would be.
Shawna turned the big 49 and we took ourselves to Vegas to celebrate. Casey and Aileen gifted us a stay at the Golden Nugget so that is just what we did. We LOVE Downtown Vegas. Sure the big hotels with the fancy shit and $25 buy-ins might look nice, but dammit it’s not worth it. (insert Ted Lasso’s voice) They are great for certain shows and concerts but I promise you, the fun and the food is just as good downtown. The end.
Fun story happened minutes after this picture was taken. We were sitting at a great table outside ready to watch a country (cover) band that we quite enjoy. A man approached our table and said “I’ll give you $300 for your table.” Shawna replied with a “fuck you.” I mean it’s Vegas you guys….Then he pulled out $300 and she said, “babe, grab your shit, we are moving!” And that is how I saw my first ever bubbly vending machine.
We took that money and ran….to a pool table and sipped some bubbly with someone who could have been Lil’ John, and didn’t do half bad on the Roulette table.
Oh, I almost forgot Dancing Chucky, you’re welcome.
We also saw the Padre’s play, they lost but the food and weather were winners.
The girls like to make TikTok videos…. but just for us (no they don’t have SM or post this shit..over my dead body.) Anyhow, they liked this one.
We spent Easter Sunday at SeaWorld, we have SoCal passes and can go back and back and back until Averi conquers a roller coaster, little scaredy cat…Definitely not my DNA.
The only plus is that she holds all our stuff while we ride the fun ones.
It’s a phase right?
I think that brings us up to April. I hope to see you guys sooner than 55 days…Cheers!
Last week I found myself at home instead of teaching a cooking class. That lead me to cook in my free time, obviously. Although I don’t have much photo proof to show you, I did indeed make some delicious food. Pavlovas with lemon curd, scallops with an herb chili oil, esquites (Mexican street corn salad) and crab cakes with a remoulade.
The crab cake recipe that I use (Andrew Zimmern) is the only one I need, ever. Super simple ingredients, not loaded with filler, it lets the crab shine. It’s delish!
Shawna and I hit the Del Mar races. I had some luck on my side… finally.
Winner!
It was a fun day. The weather perfect, the views even better.
Our weather has been a consistent 77-80 degrees with humidity. Leaving us craving water in all forms.
We went to Mission Bay and the Plunge at Mission beach and then back to the bay. Seeking refuge in bodies of water.
I think it’s almost time for an adult poolside day. One where I’m not lugging snacks, chairs, boogie boards, water bottles and everything else that comes along with children. More like a good book and an adult beverage!
One night we paired it with a chicken curry and another time with steak. Don’t walk by it the next time you’re at the market.
Now it’s time get back to finalizing a little jaunt that’s in our future. I can’t wait to share all of the sights, food, fun, food, wine and food with y’all.
We went through a handful of party themes for Kaili’s 11th party. First it was this, then it was that, and finally we landed on a Cheetah theme. Which was exciting for me because for some sick reason I like to attempt new things in the kitchen when the audience is bigger than the our household. I wanted to see if I could make a cake with the cheetah print inside, reach for the stars you guys. So that put me in crunch time to order a cake topper because even though I like to bite off more than I can chew, I don’t want like to choke; so creating cheetah prints on the frosting was out of my comfort zone. I ordered an edible topper and had it rushed delivery so I wouldn’t be panicking the day before the party. I got the UPS updates all day Wednesday telling me that it was out for delivery and would be here by 5:00, sweet. Well, 5:00 came and went and then I got a message saying that it was delivered to our front door, but it wasn’t, so then panicking ensued. I went to the neighbors like a crazy person and with no avail, decided to wait until morning. Maybe the good samaritan that had my kids birthday cake topper would drop it off. Meanwhile I racked my brain of a back up plan and the thought of having to roll out fondant to decorate the cake was too much for my mind to take. So after the kids were at school, I set out on foot to check everyones front porches for the white envelope I know so well from past birthdays. You guys, I found it, it was on our neighbors porch, hidden behind plants. But….I had already rung their doorbell and no one answered. On top of everything it was a camera doorbell and apparently I am a chicken shit, I went home empty handed. Shawna told me to man up, take the envelope and stop stressing. So I went back, grabbed the envelope and cowardly mouthed to the camera that it was mine and waved like an idiot and went home with my heart pounding like I just went through TSA with cocaine in my panties. I mean, I hadn’t even baked anything yet, sigh.
Kaili wanted her party at the Plunge in Mission Beach. The Plunge is a huge indoor pool with an inflatable obstacle course. We had never been before so it was a blind mission. I was able to order all of the food before hand, they were super easy to work with and would definitely do it again. We had a nice area by the pool that had a table, a couple of benches and loungers.
The girls went straight into the water and didn’t want to come out.
I took you through a vital piece of birthday cake background and you’re probably wondering what the hell? Let’s talk cake.
Super underwhelmed about said cake. I’m not sure I even like cake anymore.
The cake was crumbly and I don’t know why because I didn’t over-bake it.
The design sort of turned out, I was not thrilled with the outcome but my cream cheese frosting is always good period.
Three hours went by in a snap, and our time slot was up. We had to drag the kids out of the pool, they were having so much fun. Next time we will reserve for a longer period of time and maybe just Uber to and fro to avoid the parking fiasco. But, it was a good time and I’m sure we will be back, however Averi has already decided on Great Wolf Lodge for her birthday.
I don’t even have the girls today and that song has been stuck on repeat in my head all.damn.day. Have you seen Encanto yet? It’s cute, I enjoyed it and I enjoy it when it’s on. The girls like to watch all the You Tube families recreate that song, which I have to admit, always grabs my attention.
This one is my favorite.
But seriously, where do these people get the time to create these elaborate videos? I was asking Kaili, what do you think all of their neighbors think when they see them all singing and dancing in the middle of the street? Lol.
Sorry if you’re singing it all night.
How was everyone’s Valentines day?
We had a nice day. The girls made their class small valentine bags. Kaili gave them each a mini Kawaii Mochi squishy and candy. Averi gave them each a zipper fidget bracelet and candy.
I forced them to take kissy pictures.
I can NOT believe how big they are getting.
I will forever recreate these pictures, even if I have to fly across the world to surprise them in college just for a kissy face picture.
Babe got me some Adidas soccer slip on sandals, and lava filled dark chocolate Hershey Kisses that are so good. For dinner, we got fancy and ate King crab legs and mushroom risotto on a towel in front of the television while watching Big Brother and Love is Blind 2.
Guilty pleasures all around.
Let me know if you want this mushroom risotto recipe, I took the easy way out and baked it.
Did you remember…. the 1st night of December (insert Earth Wind and Fire tune) lucky for us, our elf did remember to pay us a visit. Santa sent his elf Cupcake Dustybum to ours on the first night of December. He left a wrapped present for the girls.
But first, they had to read the official North Pole letter that our elf brought.
In the letter, Cupcake pretty much threatened them to be good, or ELSE!
The present was the Elf on the Shelf book that Santa sends them each year. They each took a turn reading it.
Along with the book, Santa sent them each an animal ornament, so nice, that guy!
Then the girls ran all over the house looking for Cupcake, every noise, anything out of the ordinary, it HAD to be him. But alas, he didn’t show his face until the next morning.
He got himself all tangled up trying to write a joke.
What kind of pictures do elves take?
Give up?
Elf-ies. Haha ha ha ha
Speaking of pictures, I took one of him and this is what I got.
Spooky eh? I didn’t even show the girls, they would have been in distress.
Apparently there was a cold going around Averi’s classroom and I guess Cupcake must of caught it. We woke up the next morning to this….
I think we should take Cupcake to get his Covid vaccine, just to be safe. If this is who he is kicking it with at night, we can’t be too careful.
We went and picked up a tree while the girls were at school that day.
They were so excited to decorate.
They asked Alexa to play the Justin Bieber Christmas song, repeatedly.
Later that afternoon, we had a belated traditional Thanksgiving with Shawna’s mom. I had a game plan, the potatoes were prepped and ready to cook, stuffing was a no brainer, rolls just needed to be heated, but, there’s always a but, the turkey was still partially frozen, or so I thought. I over compensated for the cooking time and I’m pretty sure the (13 lb. ) turkey was done in an hour and a half. I had the oven safe digital thermometer inside of the bird while it cooked, and it read done hours before I was expecting, wtf? Anyhow, I second guessed myself and cooked it a tad longer, and we ended with dry turkey meat. The SOLE reason I’m not a fan on the traditional Thanksgiving menu is becuase there is nothing worse than, dry meat. (Get your head out of the gutter) Boring, not enough dark TURKEY meat, too much white meat AND it was over cooked. Ugh, it still makes me frustrated. Anyhow, I am going to try and make a cranberry pecan turkey salad with the leftovers, wish me luck.
The next morning we woke to this.
Where are his manners?
This morning he was hiding pretty well.
I needed a hint to find him.
So, that is how the first few days of December has gone over here. I can’t wait to see what else Cupcake has up his elf sleeve.
You guys, we have fifth graders…. 5th graders, that is absolute bullshit. I had lunch today with my uncle and he brought up a memory that I had completely forgotten about. In 2011 San Diego had an unprecedented and unplanned power outage. I vaguely remember trying to put a five month old
baby to bed, in the dark with no power. We live on sound machines, so I am not sure how I survived that, probably with wine.
Anyhow, now she is finishing her last year of elementary school and that makes me feel all sorts of ways.
To raise money for their fifth grade promotion, the girls volunteered at their school craft fair selling food. They loved it, they would have worked until sun down. Even Averi got in on the action, amazing, ask them to help around the house, and I am a mean mom, but at school, it’s a holiday.
They were able to raise over $1,000, so the hard work paid off. They were rewarded with free room and board.
That was the tail end of the busy week I was talking about. It was nice to see other parents that we’ve missed, we talked to the girls old, that doesn’t sound right….the teacher they had for Kindergarten? You know what I mean right? Well we chatted with her for probably an hour, and I was lucky enough to meet Averi’s teacher, in person, and see her classroom. Funny how we aren’t allowed on campus during the week but on Saturday…. Speaking of that, all the girls have gotten their first dose of the vaccine, they should be fully vaccinated by Christmas. Jesus is clapping, be like Jesus.
I celebrated getting through the week with this.
A Thai Tornado with Tiramisu foam from Ding Tea. I can’t begin to try and explain to you how GOOOOOOD this is, it’s just, so good! And rich, I put half of it in the fridge for the next morning and then when I was prepping dinner, it fell to the ground and SPLAT, I cried. So, we now have a date with Ding Tea on Friday.
In lieu of a party with friends Averi chose to go to Great Wolf Lodge for her birthday. The two older girls have gone before but Averi whom just recently learned to swim was finally brave enough and tall enough to join in on the fun.
But first…more cake and wishes.
The girls were so excited to pack for our getaway! They wanted to bring toys, stuffies, pillows and their own blankets. Basically everything in their room. And then we witnessed pigs flying when Averi asked to go to bed early so departure time would come sooner. Ah, we never grow out of that excitement do we?
Listen, we are not a fan of car rides. Three girls in the backseat for longer than a quick jaunt is torture for most anyone. Until we are ready to hunker down on a long drive or a flight, we will commit to a quick drive up Interstate 5. One hour in the car and we were there by noon. Luckily we were able to get into the water park long before our room was ready. Not being our first rodeo, we took in just what we needed (aka swimsuits, money and whatever the kids must have) and left the rest of our shit in the car.
Equipped with their Paw Passes and wolf ears, we dove in to what would be a great two days of fun!
Once we found a spot to call “home base”, we dropped our towels and shoes and went over the rules. Then the older girls went off and we took Averi on her first real waterslide.
Nope, not fun at all. SO FUN!
Canyon River Run was the one ride ALL five of us could go on together and we did, many times.
This was the first time in my life as a mom that I felt comfortable giving the girls their freedom without worrying every other second. They were so independent and it made it that much more fun.
We did it all and they didn’t complain and they didn’t tire.
The ten year olds even went on Wolf’s Tail, on their own. This ride is where the the bottom drops out from under you sending you straight down the slide.
Of course I had to follow them back up to record the bravery.
Enclosed in a capsule, then the countdown begins.. 3-2-1
We almost closed the park down and by 7:30 pm we had to tell the girls if they wanted to do anything else, we had to move on.
After a quick change up in the room, we went on a hunt for magic and pizza. While we waited for our food, the girls hopped around the hotel doing whatever magic game is so popular amongst the kids.
The magic quest wand even moved objects in the girl’s kid cabin.
Around 10:30, it was quiet and then I heard a small voice that said “I have a night light for you”. I thought to myself what? Who said that? And then Kaili came out and asked the same thing. F sakes. I climbed up and unplugged whatever I could see in the dark not to wake the others. It turned out that one of the wands must have summoned the critters of the lodge, sigh.
I prefer my rooms not to talk thank you. And I am pretty sure, nope I am positive that I would have NOT liked that as a child.
It was a late night but luckily they let us sleep until 7:00 in the morning (big deal you guys!). Then we were up and ready to go do it again.
{One tip I can give you; if you have a trip to GWL on your radar It’s this, bring food, there is a fridge in the room. And, pre-order on their app or walk out of the hotel and find something to your liking. Because the lines are ridiculous and it’s terribly overpriced.}
The next morning we were at the waterpark as it opened and we knocked out all of the best rides as many times as we could before the crowd grew bigger.
Hours and hours of rides and I was beat. Averi and I did one last ride together and the slide shot us down the chute backward, we flipped and that was about it for me.
Shawna and I went out into the sun for a bit and then before we knew it, lunch came and went.
The girls Paw Pass came with: a magic quest wand, a glitter tattoo, goggles, candy from the candy shop and a build a bear stuffy. So we had to get them out of the water if they wanted to claim the rest of their goodies. We did, they did.
Two hours later and full of candy, we headed home.
Nothing like the comedown from a high, am I right or am I right?
Ten years ago Kaili made me a mom and she did it in true Kaili fashion. Ten years later we are navigating through life, trying to tread the unpredictable waters that succumb her. She is strong, resilient, beautiful inside and out, empathetic but also anxious and worrisome. It’s almost like every fear that ran through me during the many months of bed rest were passed into her and still reside deep. Never a dull moment but all that I can wish for is that my baby is happy and healthy every day of her life!
Kaili loves music but she is a creature of habit. Fixates on one thing and that thing only until we can convince her to try something else (knowing that she will love it) until before you know it, that will be the her new favorite thing. It’s a repetitive cycle. She was a Teen Beach fan for a good handful of months and luckily that didn’t wear off before her party. I think she is already onto something else, phew.
We had a small gathering of family and a neighbor friend join us for her party. Mexican food, a Teen Beach cake and with ice cream. Followed by a scavenger hunt for her last gift. It was a success!
The cake had a lot of components that all came together well, if I don’t say so myself. Her reaction was priceless and it made my heart happy that I could give her what she wanted.
The Art of Thyming 