I was up pretty late last night thinking about writing this post. My mind was running a million miles a second, and I debated even writing this. I decided to just do it--this blog is about me and my life raising two kids--all while trying to stay fit and healthy, but still find a nice middle ground with baking desserts. If I'm not open about everything on here, then whats the point? So I decided to share some stories from my childhood--growing up with one hand. This is going to be a fun one, so sit back and enjoy!
Lets go back to elementary school. I'll never forget when my parents bought me this specific arm that was operated by this massive battery that was ridiculously heavy. I always hated that arm--and I felt bad because it cost a small fortune ($25k!). They bought it for me because it looked like a real hand, and it was functional in the sense that it opened and closed and I could pick stuff up with it. It also looked 'prettier' when I was up on stage performing in dance recitals. Well, this arm proved to be a hassle a lot of the time. When I was in school, I'll never forget loving swinging on the swings--until my arm battery died and left me stranded on the swings until my mom could get to the school to switch out the battery. I know it sounds sad and depressing, but I never looked at it that way. Hey, I got an extended recess, and they always let me pick a friend to sit there and swing with me until my mom got there. Pretty awesome, right? That stupid arm would die and get stuck on everything--I'd be holding my backpack and the battery would die and I'd end up just dragging the backpack around for a while. Thinking back, that must have looked HILARIOUS.. I cant even imagine.
I remember a time when my mom took us and a bunch of our friends to the beach. We were digging in the sand looking for sand crabs, and a little girl decided to come dig with us. I don't know how long we were digging for, but all I remember is standing up, this little girl taking one look at my arm and running off SCREAMING--she thought that sand crabs bit my arm off. Its so funny how when you have one arm, you don't need to make up interesting stories about "what happened" --everyone does it for you. A few years ago, before I had kids and I was still working, someone overheard me talking about a car accident I had been in, and they instantly assumed that's what happened to my arm--so that's what everyone thought happened: a car accident. In reality, was just born missing part of it. No hereditary thing--just a random thing that I was born with. I remember as a kid thinking that it would have been funny if my little sister had been born with 3 arms--but that didn't happen :).
It seems a lot of funny stuff happened when I was elementary school age, because here's another one I remember. I was out in my backyard playing with my friends and I somehow scratched my cornea and had to go to urgent care. The nurse was checking us in and taking my vitals--trying to get my pulse from my fake hand (the hand looked pretty real, so I'll give him that). After trying for several minutes, he finally looked at me with a blank, surprised face and exclaimed "you don't have a pulse." ...my mom and I started laughing and told him that he was trying to get a pulse out of a fake hand.. I don't think he thought it was that funny. Lol. Several minutes later, the doctor came in and started to examine my eye. He told me that he was going to put some sort of cream over my eye--and he wanted me to feel the stuff beforehand so I wouldn't freak out: he rubbed some on my fake hand and said "see, its no big deal." ...we then had to tell him too that it wasn't a real hand. His face turned BRIGHT red and I think he was pretty embarrassed. Poor guy.
I remember growing up wishing that my parents would go easy on me; they would punish me for anything, and I'd think "man, why cant they go easy on me cause I only have one hand?!" Well, thank god they didn't--because I would have grown up feeling entitled and sorry for myself. Once I got older, I realized that its kind of a cool thing--I can sometimes get out of stuff (not in the way you're thinking). I surfed and played Varsity tennis throughout high school, but when it came to getting pulled over by a cop and getting a ticket, I wasn't having it. Still to this day, I cant believe I did this--but it worked. Lets do a little back story.
I got my first job when I was 16, and sometimes I'd have to stay late at night. I drove an '87 Pontiac Thunderbird (I LOVED that car) and would often get compliments on it (even though the color of the car was super ugly). One night, after getting off work late, I was followed home by a man. I realized that I was being followed, so I called my mom and asked her what to do. My older sister took over, tailed the guy through our neighborhood, forced him to pull over, then screamed at him for being an idiot. He told her that he was just gonna see if my car was for sale, but she told him "you don't follow at 16-year-old girl home at 11:30 at night to see if her car is for sale." It was scary, yet hilarious. Okay, now fast forward. A few months went by, I had a different car now, and after getting off work late at night, I realized that I was being followed home again. I freaked out and tried to speed to get away from them. They wouldn't let up! I sped through my neighborhood and rolled through two stop signs trying to get away from this guy. Nothing was working--until he flipped his lights on and pulled me over. SHOOT. How did I not realize this was a cop?! This guy literally walked up to my window dumbfounded as to how I would speed so much and roll through stop signs with him behind me. This was gonna be a BIG ticket. I was currently sick at the time--so my voice was already shot--and I could turn tears on in an instant, so I figured here goes nothin. He came back up to my window to give me my license and registration back, and I instantly started "crying." Here's what took place: "I'm so sorry officer! I recently lost my arm, and I just got fitted for this fake hand. Here--you can touch it if you want. (officer looks terrified) ...I must have somehow hit the cruise control on the steering wheel and not noticed it--I'm so sorry!" ...the officer stood there for a minute with a 'deer caught in the headlights' look on his face, said "um.. just be careful" and walked away. It worked. Are you kidding me--it worked?! I mean, how would you write a ticket to a poor little 16-year-old who "recently lost her arm and was adjusting to her new life?" ...I know, its bad. But it got me out of that ticket. I haven't been pulled over since, and I know that I wouldn't do that again. I felt a little bit bad, but was more surprised that I worked.
So lets fast forward to a few weeks ago when Joe and I went to an indoor trampoline park with some friends. Let me just start with--if you've never been to an indoor trampoline park, you NEED to go. They are SO much fun, and they are crazy good workouts. Okay, back to the story. So we were all messin' around on the trampolines having a great time, and I somehow ate it hard. My arm ended up popping off, but staying in my jacket--and bent up toward my shoulder as if I completely blew my elbow out. I laid there laughing hysterically, and a few of the "referees" (teenage employees of the trampoline place) FREAKED out and yelled "oh my GOD, are you okay?!" ...if this had been a real arm, it would have been one of those gruesome scenes they show on sports center. These guys literally thought I was severely injured. Everyone in the group was saying how it would have been great if I had played it off like I actually was, but instead I just gave a 'thumbs up' and yelled "yep, fake hand" and left it at that.
A lot of you may think that growing up with one arm sucked, and I can honestly say that it didn't. I wont say that "everything is harder to do" --cause I honestly don't think it is. I HATE it when I do something normal and someone pops in a "wow--good for her." No thanks, none of that. You wouldn't say that to someone with two hands, so don't say it to me. I've been asked before, with modern technology, if in 10 years they were doing arm transplants, would I get one? I honestly don't think I would. I wouldn't know what to do with another hand! Haha, I type crazy fast with one hand--I would probably type SO slow trying to figure everything out with two! Not to mention everything else that I do on a day-by-day basis--I would feel like a toddler re-learning the world. I think I'm great the way I am--everything I've been through throughout my life has made me into the person I am today--and I think I'm pretty great ;)
...as I said at the beginning of this post, I debated even posting this. A lot of you know about my arm, some of you didn't, but most of you have never heard stories about it. Even though my heart is starting to race at the thought of clicking 'publish' in a second, I'm posting this to let you know that I'm okay. <3
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Our first family vacation
Last August, Joe and I took the kids on their first family vacation--and what a vacation it was! We flew across the country and went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a week. I can honestly say that that was one of the best vacations I've ever been on! Of course there were a few "speed bumps" along the way (what vacation ever goes smoothly with two small kids?!), but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle.
We went to Myrtle Beach for a big family reunion; Joe was born there and has tons of family that lives there--so of course it was a blast. His family owns an engraving business called Coastal Engravers and it was their 50th anniversary so they decided to throw a huge family reunion to celebrate. We flew into Raleigh/Durham on August 7th, and I honestly was not prepared for the humidity that smacked me in the face the second we walked out of the airport--I'm used to my California weather! We got our rental car and started our hours-long drive into Myrtle Beach. I think by the time we actually got to our hotel it was 11:30 at night. About 10 minutes before we reached our hotel, Madison got carsick and threw up everywhere--it was AWFUL. We didn't think it was car sickness--we just chalked it up to the fact that we had eaten crap all day being in airports and on the road and her stomach just couldn't handle it--but that wasn't the case. Regardless of what was going on, I was just happy to be there. I had never been to the east coast--I was blown away by all of the gorgeous trees that are EVERYWHERE, I loved driving by all of the beach stores that line the streets (and you'd better believe I tried to stop at each one and buy the cheesy touristy stuff), and I couldn't help but laugh a little at just how many miniature golf courses there were (mini golf there is no joke: their courses are crazy detailed and look so cool--and they're on every single street corner).
The next day we drove about 30 minutes away from our hotel to go see Joe's cousins who were all staying in a rented beach house (we should have stayed somewhere closer to them; we didn't know). Their beach house was so cool.. it had its own dock to the lake and the view was just gorgeous. I was already friends with a lot of his family on Facebook but I finally got to meet them and I instantly loved them. After spending a few hours there, we headed over to his aunt and uncle's house and had dinner with a lot of the family.. We had so much fun! After spending the day there, we headed back to our hotel and called it a night. The next day was a big day: my 24th birthday!
I was woken up the next morning by Joe and the kids singing happy birthday to me, giving me cards, and Joe surprising me with a ton of touristy Myrtle Beach stuff that I just loved. He cooked me breakfast (we got a hotel room that had a kitchen in it so we could at least try to cook some meals), then we got started on our day (that very quickly went downhill). The kids, Joe and I walked out of our hotel room and hopped into the elevator next to our room. The hallways in this hotel were outside (so lots of humidity), and the elevators we not air conditioned. We, along with 2 other groups, crammed into the elevator and tried to go down. The elevator started--then stopped, and didn't start again. We were stuck. I tried to stay calm so that the kids wouldn't freak out, but I almost instantly started having a panic attack. I cant breathe in hot cars, I cant go in saunas or steam rooms--something in my throat just closes up and I cant breathe. This elevator was like being in a hot car-sauna-steam room all in one: it was awful. I couldn't breathe. I tried to keep my cool since everyone else seemed to be fine--but I didn't know how long we would be stuck in there. I felt like such an idiot when another woman caught me crying; she instantly started fanning me with her big hat. We ended up being stuck in the elevator for about 20 minutes, and once we got out my panic attack stopped and I instantly had an anxiety attack. It was awful--I was shaking, couldn't stop crying, and was just plain freaked out. Joe felt terrible--he wanted to make my birthday perfect, and then this happened (not like he had any control over it). He went to the office and demanded our money back--we were absolutely going to switch hotels. The hotel was horrible about this whole ordeal and they refused to help us out; the best they could give us was moving us to a room on the 2nd floor instead of the 15th. Sure, we'll take it. Whatever. So we packed up all of our stuff and moved rooms. NOW it was time to get the day started.
We went to a bowling alley and met all of the family there; the second we walked in they all started singing happy birthday to me--it was so sweet! We had a blast bowling; Maverick bowled for the first time and he loved it--he had so much fun! I, surprisingly, bowled my best game ever--a 182! It was such a great time with the family. Afterwards, we went back to his aunt and uncle's house again for dinner. I loved their house--its gorgeous. Their backyard is this huge, gorgeous lake--I wish I could have a house like theirs!
The next day, Friday, was a very relaxed day. We went to his cousin's rented beach house and just hung out by the beach all day. We barbecued and had an abundance of food--then played Mexican Train Dominoes (or something like that--so much fun) all night. The next day was the big family reunion--and I was so excited. I got to meet so much family--and they were all so sweet. They had bought this gorgeous cake for me to celebrate my birthday--it has to be one of the cutest cakes I've ever seen (I even teared up when they presented it to me because it was just such a nice gesture!). We watched picture slideshows of all of them growing up, flipped through these amazing family tree books that Joe's aunt had made, and took professional pictures of everyone together. It was an amazing day--I couldn't believe how fast this vacation was flying by; we would be going home soon and I just wasn't ready for that.
The next day we, of course, went back to Joe's cousin's beach house and spent the day there. This day was particularly fun to me--I got to experience my first east coast summer storm. I couldn't believe how hot it was outside, yet it was pouring rain. You definitely don't get that in Southern California! I think we all know my drill back at home--if its raining out, Christmas movies are playing, candles are burning, and sweatpants are on. I don't think that would so much work on the East Coast--it was just too humid and hot! We ordered around 15 pizzas to be delivered, crammed into the beach house, and played games all evening. I would say it was the perfect day.
The next day Joe, the kids and I hung out at our hotel for a little bit; we walked down to the beach (Madison HATED the sand and made us all miserable--so we weren't there very long), then we took Maverick miniature golfing for the first time (our hotel had a mini golf course and Maverick loved it). It was so cute watching Maverick try to golf.. he wasn't the best at it, but he still had a blast. After that we headed over to our hotel's water park--it was amazing. The whole thing was 1' deep, so it was perfect for the kids to play in (we hit up this water park a few times throughout the week, I just don't specifically remember when). We then headed over to his aunt and uncle's house (from his mom's side of the family) so that we could spend some time with them. His cousins and their wives joined us and his aunt made some hush puppies and a big shrimp boil. I had never had any of this, and I must've eaten my weight in those hush puppies--those things are amazing!! His aunt and uncles house (on his mom's side) was also amazing; their backyard was totally like Dawson's Creek--no joke. It was gorgeous!
After we did all that, we drove down to his cousin's beach house and started saying our goodbyes. Were all going home the next morning, and it was so sad having to say goodbye. Usually at the end of a vacation, especially a week-long one, I'm dying to get home and sleep in my own bed. Of course I was excited to be home, but I really didn't want to say goodbye to everyone. I wanted to stash them all in my luggage and take them home with me! I had grown so close with all of them over the course of this week and I wasn't ready to say goodbye. After a few hugs and tears, we headed back to our hotel. The next day was going to be a day filled with lots of driving and flying.
We woke up the next morning and got on the road pretty early; its a long drive from Myrtle Beach to the Raleigh/Durham airport. Within 10 minutes of us leaving our hotel, Madison got carsick again and threw up everywhere. Great way to start a long drive, huh? I was so stressed out; we had about a 3-hour drive and I wasn't sure if she was going to do this the whole time. Luckily she fell asleep and it wasn't an issue again. The rest of the trek home went smoothly; we got to the airport, flew to Vegas for a quick layover (we stayed on the plane), then landed in San Diego. Ah, home.
I'll never forget this vacation. It was the best vacation of my life. We made so many amazing memories and I'm dying to go back. I think we should make this family reunion an every-other-year type of thing--just so we have an excuse to go back ;).
Joe's house he grew up in as a kid
All of the family at the reunion
All of the kids
Joe's aunt and uncle's "Dawson's Creek" backyard
Our little family!
All of the cousins
At that amazing 1' water park in our hotel
Maverick bowling for the first time!
My amazing birthday cake--cutest cake ever
Joe and his cousin Lori
Gettin weird on the plane!
Maverick and Madison playing at the beach
Joe's cousin Lori and I
The next day we drove about 30 minutes away from our hotel to go see Joe's cousins who were all staying in a rented beach house (we should have stayed somewhere closer to them; we didn't know). Their beach house was so cool.. it had its own dock to the lake and the view was just gorgeous. I was already friends with a lot of his family on Facebook but I finally got to meet them and I instantly loved them. After spending a few hours there, we headed over to his aunt and uncle's house and had dinner with a lot of the family.. We had so much fun! After spending the day there, we headed back to our hotel and called it a night. The next day was a big day: my 24th birthday!
I was woken up the next morning by Joe and the kids singing happy birthday to me, giving me cards, and Joe surprising me with a ton of touristy Myrtle Beach stuff that I just loved. He cooked me breakfast (we got a hotel room that had a kitchen in it so we could at least try to cook some meals), then we got started on our day (that very quickly went downhill). The kids, Joe and I walked out of our hotel room and hopped into the elevator next to our room. The hallways in this hotel were outside (so lots of humidity), and the elevators we not air conditioned. We, along with 2 other groups, crammed into the elevator and tried to go down. The elevator started--then stopped, and didn't start again. We were stuck. I tried to stay calm so that the kids wouldn't freak out, but I almost instantly started having a panic attack. I cant breathe in hot cars, I cant go in saunas or steam rooms--something in my throat just closes up and I cant breathe. This elevator was like being in a hot car-sauna-steam room all in one: it was awful. I couldn't breathe. I tried to keep my cool since everyone else seemed to be fine--but I didn't know how long we would be stuck in there. I felt like such an idiot when another woman caught me crying; she instantly started fanning me with her big hat. We ended up being stuck in the elevator for about 20 minutes, and once we got out my panic attack stopped and I instantly had an anxiety attack. It was awful--I was shaking, couldn't stop crying, and was just plain freaked out. Joe felt terrible--he wanted to make my birthday perfect, and then this happened (not like he had any control over it). He went to the office and demanded our money back--we were absolutely going to switch hotels. The hotel was horrible about this whole ordeal and they refused to help us out; the best they could give us was moving us to a room on the 2nd floor instead of the 15th. Sure, we'll take it. Whatever. So we packed up all of our stuff and moved rooms. NOW it was time to get the day started.
We went to a bowling alley and met all of the family there; the second we walked in they all started singing happy birthday to me--it was so sweet! We had a blast bowling; Maverick bowled for the first time and he loved it--he had so much fun! I, surprisingly, bowled my best game ever--a 182! It was such a great time with the family. Afterwards, we went back to his aunt and uncle's house again for dinner. I loved their house--its gorgeous. Their backyard is this huge, gorgeous lake--I wish I could have a house like theirs!
The next day, Friday, was a very relaxed day. We went to his cousin's rented beach house and just hung out by the beach all day. We barbecued and had an abundance of food--then played Mexican Train Dominoes (or something like that--so much fun) all night. The next day was the big family reunion--and I was so excited. I got to meet so much family--and they were all so sweet. They had bought this gorgeous cake for me to celebrate my birthday--it has to be one of the cutest cakes I've ever seen (I even teared up when they presented it to me because it was just such a nice gesture!). We watched picture slideshows of all of them growing up, flipped through these amazing family tree books that Joe's aunt had made, and took professional pictures of everyone together. It was an amazing day--I couldn't believe how fast this vacation was flying by; we would be going home soon and I just wasn't ready for that.
The next day we, of course, went back to Joe's cousin's beach house and spent the day there. This day was particularly fun to me--I got to experience my first east coast summer storm. I couldn't believe how hot it was outside, yet it was pouring rain. You definitely don't get that in Southern California! I think we all know my drill back at home--if its raining out, Christmas movies are playing, candles are burning, and sweatpants are on. I don't think that would so much work on the East Coast--it was just too humid and hot! We ordered around 15 pizzas to be delivered, crammed into the beach house, and played games all evening. I would say it was the perfect day.
The next day Joe, the kids and I hung out at our hotel for a little bit; we walked down to the beach (Madison HATED the sand and made us all miserable--so we weren't there very long), then we took Maverick miniature golfing for the first time (our hotel had a mini golf course and Maverick loved it). It was so cute watching Maverick try to golf.. he wasn't the best at it, but he still had a blast. After that we headed over to our hotel's water park--it was amazing. The whole thing was 1' deep, so it was perfect for the kids to play in (we hit up this water park a few times throughout the week, I just don't specifically remember when). We then headed over to his aunt and uncle's house (from his mom's side of the family) so that we could spend some time with them. His cousins and their wives joined us and his aunt made some hush puppies and a big shrimp boil. I had never had any of this, and I must've eaten my weight in those hush puppies--those things are amazing!! His aunt and uncles house (on his mom's side) was also amazing; their backyard was totally like Dawson's Creek--no joke. It was gorgeous!
We woke up the next morning and got on the road pretty early; its a long drive from Myrtle Beach to the Raleigh/Durham airport. Within 10 minutes of us leaving our hotel, Madison got carsick again and threw up everywhere. Great way to start a long drive, huh? I was so stressed out; we had about a 3-hour drive and I wasn't sure if she was going to do this the whole time. Luckily she fell asleep and it wasn't an issue again. The rest of the trek home went smoothly; we got to the airport, flew to Vegas for a quick layover (we stayed on the plane), then landed in San Diego. Ah, home.
I'll never forget this vacation. It was the best vacation of my life. We made so many amazing memories and I'm dying to go back. I think we should make this family reunion an every-other-year type of thing--just so we have an excuse to go back ;).
Joe and Maverick at the beach
Joe's house he grew up in as a kid
All of the family at the reunion
All of the kids
Joe's aunt and uncle's "Dawson's Creek" backyard
Our little family!
All of the cousins
At that amazing 1' water park in our hotel
Maverick bowling for the first time!
My amazing birthday cake--cutest cake ever
Joe and his cousin Lori
Gettin weird on the plane!
Maverick and Madison playing at the beach
Joe's cousin Lori and I
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
The beard cake
I've recently started loving baking cakes. I used to think I was a cupcake person, but the more cakes I bake and decorate, the more I love them. A month or two ago I got my first "order." My friend texted me and asked if I would want to make a cake for her husband's birthday. Of course I said yes and I was so excited. She sent me a few pictures of the cake style she was thinking of--she was going to throw him a "beard party" and wanted a cake to fit the theme. I couldn't wait.
4 oz (half of 8 oz package) of cream cheese softened
She wanted a red velvet cake made with cream cheese frosting, and she wanted it decorated with a beard silhouette and "Happy Beard-Day" written on it. I was totally nervous, but excited for the challenge. This was the first time I had made a cake for someone else, and I definitely didn't want to screw it up. I immediately started researching what kind of piping tip I would need (well, more so just asking my sister-in-law if she had any idea what tip to use). She sent me a link to the tip I would need--Wilton Tip #233. As the days were leading up to making this cake, I was feeling a little anxious about how it would turn out. It could have gone one of two ways: either it would turn out totally awesome, or a complete disaster. (Keep in mind--whenever I make a cake, whether its this beard cake or a cake for my kids' birthday parties--I always get some sort of anxiety about how it'll turn out: I'm a perfectionist).
The day finally came and I was so excited! I baked all 4 layers of the red velvet cake first thing in the morning so that I'd be sure to have enough time to let them cool completely (I've made that mistake before--NEVER frost a cake if its even the slightest bit warm: it WILL melt the frosting and cause the layers to crumble to pieces). Once the layers were cooled, it was time to frost the cake. I made homemade cream cheese frosting (I'll post the recipe at the end of the blog), stacked the layers, then put my crumb coat on (I didn't have a blog when I made this, so unfortunately I don't have any step-by-step pictures for this cake. I'll be sure to do that in the future). Once the crumb coat was on, I gave the entire cake a nice, thick layer of frosting. I love lots of frosting on cakes; I'd much rather scrape some off while eating it rather than wishing there was more. Once I was done frosting it it was finally time to decorate it.
I needed to dye the remainder of the frosting a deep reddish-brown color to match the color of my friend's husband's beard--and let me tell you, that took a TON of food coloring. I used a little bit of orange, a LOT of red, and a little bit of green to deepen the color so that it wasn't such a ginger red.. you know what I mean? I sent lots of picture texts to my friend until she 'okayed' the color. Once that was made, it was time to design the beard. I didn't want to just start piping the frosting on and hope for the best, so I grabbed a toothpick and drew out the silhouette of the beard. Doing this made it so easy to change anything I didn't like; I'd just smooth out the frosting and re-trace it (which I did a few times). Once I was happy with the sketch, I started piping the frosting on. It actually went a lot smoother than I thought it would; I think I had built the whole thing up in my head and made it out to be harder than it actually was. When it was all said and done with, I was SO proud of this cake. This was definitely the manliest cake I had ever made ;). I dyed some frosting a deep green, put a "grass" trim around the base of the cake, then piped on "Happy Beard-Day Tim" and it was finished. It turned out amazing! I loved this cake. I thought it was such a fun concept and I was so happy that I could do it justice.
So if you're throwing an event and need a cake, shoot me a message--I'm sure we can figure something out ;)
The day finally came and I was so excited! I baked all 4 layers of the red velvet cake first thing in the morning so that I'd be sure to have enough time to let them cool completely (I've made that mistake before--NEVER frost a cake if its even the slightest bit warm: it WILL melt the frosting and cause the layers to crumble to pieces). Once the layers were cooled, it was time to frost the cake. I made homemade cream cheese frosting (I'll post the recipe at the end of the blog), stacked the layers, then put my crumb coat on (I didn't have a blog when I made this, so unfortunately I don't have any step-by-step pictures for this cake. I'll be sure to do that in the future). Once the crumb coat was on, I gave the entire cake a nice, thick layer of frosting. I love lots of frosting on cakes; I'd much rather scrape some off while eating it rather than wishing there was more. Once I was done frosting it it was finally time to decorate it.
I needed to dye the remainder of the frosting a deep reddish-brown color to match the color of my friend's husband's beard--and let me tell you, that took a TON of food coloring. I used a little bit of orange, a LOT of red, and a little bit of green to deepen the color so that it wasn't such a ginger red.. you know what I mean? I sent lots of picture texts to my friend until she 'okayed' the color. Once that was made, it was time to design the beard. I didn't want to just start piping the frosting on and hope for the best, so I grabbed a toothpick and drew out the silhouette of the beard. Doing this made it so easy to change anything I didn't like; I'd just smooth out the frosting and re-trace it (which I did a few times). Once I was happy with the sketch, I started piping the frosting on. It actually went a lot smoother than I thought it would; I think I had built the whole thing up in my head and made it out to be harder than it actually was. When it was all said and done with, I was SO proud of this cake. This was definitely the manliest cake I had ever made ;). I dyed some frosting a deep green, put a "grass" trim around the base of the cake, then piped on "Happy Beard-Day Tim" and it was finished. It turned out amazing! I loved this cake. I thought it was such a fun concept and I was so happy that I could do it justice.
So if you're throwing an event and need a cake, shoot me a message--I'm sure we can figure something out ;)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz (half of 8 oz package) of cream cheese softened
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 3 teaspoons milk
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and milk with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk (a few drops at a time). Spread over cake and enjoy!*
*This makes a small amount. I quadrupled this recipe in order to frost in between 4 layers and frost the entire outside of the cake
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and milk with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk (a few drops at a time). Spread over cake and enjoy!*
*This makes a small amount. I quadrupled this recipe in order to frost in between 4 layers and frost the entire outside of the cake
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
The kid that took forever to eat..
I think we all, in one way or another, have a strong-willed child. I don't think I've ever met a parent of a toddler who hasn't told me how hard-headed or stubborn their child is. I'm no exception to that. I, too, have two very stubborn kids. If I pull my camera out and tell Madison to smile, she instantly hangs her head down low and gives me a death glare. We now know that if we want to get a cute picture of her, its most likely going to have to be candid. Maverick, on the other hand, will stand still and give you the biggest smile he possibly can--but when it comes to eating: he's awful.
I don't remember when this started--because as a baby he used to be the best eater in the world. Anything you gave him would be eaten within minutes. But somewhere in the mix he became a toddler and decided that he didn't want to eat. Its not that he was now a picky eater--he would still eat whatever you gave him--it would just take him two hours to do so. This proved to be insanely frustrating whether we were at a restaurant or at home.
Weeks and months of this had gone by and I was at my wits end. I called my mom in tears and told her that I couldn't take it anymore. And then--as if she were some sort of God-send, she told me what her and my dad used to do when my sisters and I took forever to eat. I don't know how I didn't remember this--in my mind I totally remember sitting at the dinner table for hours and my mom getting so frustrated--but somehow I forgot this trick that they used to use on us. I'm going to throw you a bone and share this secret with you ;) ...here goes:
Once your child's plate is placed in front of him/her, the timer gets set for 30 minutes. You tell them that the timer is on--and you leave it at that. No nagging them to eat, no stressing about it. Once that timer is up they can get down and play, but whatever food is left on their plate gets eaten at the next meal. Sounds simple, right? It is. It took Maverick one time having to eat his leftover dinner for breakfast, and from then on he finishes his meals within 15 minutes. He HATED having to eat his dinner for breakfast.. breakfast around here is usually pretty fun, and having to eat dinner for breakfast is just a big bummer--and he realized that.
This trick not only helped with him eating slow, but it also helped (and continues to help) him to not be a picky eater. If there's one thing I cant stand--its a picky eater. If you're an adult and you're a picky eater--then that's your parent's fault. I'm not going to be that parent. If you don't like what I made for dinner--too bad: its what's for dinner. I'm not going to make you something else; I'm not a short-order cook. You'd better just hurry and eat it before the timer runs out, or else it'll be breakfast as well.
This has 100% worked. I am so grateful that my mom told me that they used to do this, because as I said, I had completely forgotten.
I think nowadays most parents would rather be their kid's friend than be their parent--and that's not okay. Of course you want to have a close relationship with them--but they need a parent. People may say that I'm a bad mom because I'm so strict with my kids--but I'd rather be strict with them now than deal with the consequences later. My son is going to be a terrific husband and father when he is older--and I know its because of the values I'm implementing him with now. He already holds doors open for Madison and I whenever we walk into a place. People are constantly staring at us because its just the cutest thing in the world seeing a 4-year-old boy holding doors open for his mom and sister. That's the kind of kids we need to raise--kids with manners. Everyone complains that chivalry is dead. Well, lets bring it back. You may not have a husband that holds doors open for you or gives you his coat when you're cold--but that doesn't mean you cant teach your son to do those things for his future wife. I've yet to receive the Greatest Mom in the World award, and I don't think it'll ever come--but I think I'm doing a pretty damn good job so far. I have amazing kids, and I can't wait to see what the become when they grow up.
I don't remember when this started--because as a baby he used to be the best eater in the world. Anything you gave him would be eaten within minutes. But somewhere in the mix he became a toddler and decided that he didn't want to eat. Its not that he was now a picky eater--he would still eat whatever you gave him--it would just take him two hours to do so. This proved to be insanely frustrating whether we were at a restaurant or at home.
Weeks and months of this had gone by and I was at my wits end. I called my mom in tears and told her that I couldn't take it anymore. And then--as if she were some sort of God-send, she told me what her and my dad used to do when my sisters and I took forever to eat. I don't know how I didn't remember this--in my mind I totally remember sitting at the dinner table for hours and my mom getting so frustrated--but somehow I forgot this trick that they used to use on us. I'm going to throw you a bone and share this secret with you ;) ...here goes:
Once your child's plate is placed in front of him/her, the timer gets set for 30 minutes. You tell them that the timer is on--and you leave it at that. No nagging them to eat, no stressing about it. Once that timer is up they can get down and play, but whatever food is left on their plate gets eaten at the next meal. Sounds simple, right? It is. It took Maverick one time having to eat his leftover dinner for breakfast, and from then on he finishes his meals within 15 minutes. He HATED having to eat his dinner for breakfast.. breakfast around here is usually pretty fun, and having to eat dinner for breakfast is just a big bummer--and he realized that.
This trick not only helped with him eating slow, but it also helped (and continues to help) him to not be a picky eater. If there's one thing I cant stand--its a picky eater. If you're an adult and you're a picky eater--then that's your parent's fault. I'm not going to be that parent. If you don't like what I made for dinner--too bad: its what's for dinner. I'm not going to make you something else; I'm not a short-order cook. You'd better just hurry and eat it before the timer runs out, or else it'll be breakfast as well.
This has 100% worked. I am so grateful that my mom told me that they used to do this, because as I said, I had completely forgotten.
I think nowadays most parents would rather be their kid's friend than be their parent--and that's not okay. Of course you want to have a close relationship with them--but they need a parent. People may say that I'm a bad mom because I'm so strict with my kids--but I'd rather be strict with them now than deal with the consequences later. My son is going to be a terrific husband and father when he is older--and I know its because of the values I'm implementing him with now. He already holds doors open for Madison and I whenever we walk into a place. People are constantly staring at us because its just the cutest thing in the world seeing a 4-year-old boy holding doors open for his mom and sister. That's the kind of kids we need to raise--kids with manners. Everyone complains that chivalry is dead. Well, lets bring it back. You may not have a husband that holds doors open for you or gives you his coat when you're cold--but that doesn't mean you cant teach your son to do those things for his future wife. I've yet to receive the Greatest Mom in the World award, and I don't think it'll ever come--but I think I'm doing a pretty damn good job so far. I have amazing kids, and I can't wait to see what the become when they grow up.
Monday, May 27, 2013
That one time we had a pirate party..
This past March we celebrated Maverick's 4th birthday. For the past two years, he had wanted a Disney Cars birthday party--until this year. This year we finally got to change it up.. he told us that he wanted a Jake and the Neverland Pirate birthday party. I was thrilled. There is SO much you can do with a pirate themed birthday party! I had never gone all out on any of the kids' parties before, so this would be the first time I would be scouring Pinterest looking for ideas.
Once it was all said and done with, it was more of just a pirate themed party, rather than a Jake and the Neverland Pirate themed party. I dont think he even noticed. He had so much fun--this was the first year that we were able to have his birthday party--or anyone's birthday party--in our backyard (the past two years it had not just rained, but down poured. Having a birthday in March proves to be sketchy weather-wise). I ordered a TON of decorations through orientaltrading.com ...if you have kids and have never heard of this website, you need to go check it out right now (everything is SO cheap!). I bought pirate banners, a treasure chest pinata, plates, napkins, and TONS of toys for the kids to take home. That included swords with eye patches, pirate bandannas, pirate masks, and temporary tattoos. I always love going to kids parties where they have tons of stuff for my kids to take home.. I think its a nice touch. I filled the treasure chest pinata with gold coins, Hershey's Treasures chocolates, miniature telescopes, more tattoos, and assorted candy. The kids loved it.
We set up the yard before the party. We put up our bounce house (we bought one from bouncehousesnow.com --having two kids and rentals being $90/day, I figured we'd be paying $180 a year for both of the kids' parties--and thats for only two days use! I figured my money would be better spent with buying one that we could use every day). We hung the pirate banner around the back wall of the backyard and around the patio cover, hung the pirate cling decorations on the walls and fence, and hung the pinata from our nectarine tree. I set up the food table and the "treat table" (the table that had all of the fun stuff for the kids) under the patio cover, and that left us with tons of room around the yard to enjoy the party.
For the party favors (as if all of the toys we bought for the kids weren't enough!), I made miniature pirate treasure chests for the kids. I found little wooden boxes at Hobby Lobby and decorated them with a pirate ship flag on top.. then filled each one with lots of gold coins, treasure chest candy, temporary tattoos, play doh, and bubbles. They turned out SO cute.
Lets get to the food. I had SO much fun doing the food for this party. I grabbed my trifle bowl and filled it with goldfish crackers, I made grape skewers using little pirate sword cocktail toothpicks, and I made pre-made s'mores (take two-quarters of a graham cracker, sandwich marshmallow fluff between them, then dip 3/4 of it in melted chocolate and set on parchment paper.) Those s'mores were amazing--and they were a huge hit. I also made a 5-layer dip--not because it went with the theme at all, but because I love eating them and they're only made for parties, so I figured I could get away with it. We barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers because we were just so glad to actually get to grill for a party! Then, lastly, I made little jello pirate ships--and they turned out adorable. I bought clear cups, made blue jello, and filled each cup about 3/4 full. I then cut orange slices, stuck pirate flag toothpicks (bought at Party City) in them, then placed them on top of the jello. The presentation of these were great--I loved how they turned out (and who doesn't like eating jello?!)
...and then there was the cake. We all know that I love baking things and decorating cakes--but I seem to stress out EVERY TIME--wondering if it'll turn out how I'm picturing it in my head. It always does, but I don't think that stress will ever go away. I'm still technically a beginner, but I'm having so much fun learning :). I had thought about Maverick's pirate cake SO much in the weeks leading up to his party. It would be the focal point of the party and it just had to be perfect. I went back and fourth with ideas of how I would decorate it--until I was in Target one day looking at the Jake and the Neverland Pirate toys. I found this pirate ship toy that was perfectly sized to sit right on top of the cake--I knew what I was going to do. The day before the party I baked all four layers of his chocolate cake and started assembling it. It was chocolate cake layered with cream cheese topping, frosted with vanilla (because cream cheese frosting doesn't hold up too well if it isn't refrigerated). Once the layers were stacked and I had my crumb coat on, I gave the perimeter of the cake a nice thick coating, then surrounded it with king-sized Kit Kat bars. It was already starting to look great. I then dyed the remainder of the frosting blue and frosted the top of the cake to make the "water." I frosted it and made waves with it, then placed the pirate ship I had bought from Target on top. It looked adorable. I'm not so great with writing on cakes, so I didn't want to screw it up with a "Happy Birthday Maverick" --he knew the cake was for him. I took a step back and thought that something was missing--sand. I quickly mixed some brown sugar and white sugar together, piped a small circle around the base of the Kit Kats, then spooned the "sugar sand" on around the base of the cake. It looked perfect. I was SO proud of this cake--this was by far the cutest cake I had made, to date. It was a HIT--everyone complimented me on how cute it was and even on how great it tasted (not to toot my own horn, but toot toot!!).
I was so proud of this party, and I think everyone that came had a great time. I decided that I'm going to start planning Madison's party in October so that I have adequate time to make her party equally as cute (her birthday is January 26th--so with all of the Christmas rush, her birthday creeps up pretty fast and I find myself quickly throwing a party together).
Side note--growing up, once my sisters and I got older, my parents started an "every-other-year" rule: one year we'd get a birthday party, the next year we'd get $50 cash (presents were always included regardless of what year it was). I get it now. Throwing parties is EXPENSIVE! What ever happened to having some cake and ice cream and calling it a day? Now its keeping up with the Joneses ;). Shortly after my parents started implementing this rule, we just chose the $50 instead of parties every year (cause $50 to a kid that doesn't have a job is a TON of money!). But I get it now--maybe once Maverick and Madison are a lot older I'll give them this option.. but until then, I'm going to enjoy the excited looks on their faces when they come downstairs and see the entire house decorated for their party, enjoy the joy on their faces as they play with all of their friends here to celebrate their birthday, and cherish these moments for I know that they won't last forever.
Once it was all said and done with, it was more of just a pirate themed party, rather than a Jake and the Neverland Pirate themed party. I dont think he even noticed. He had so much fun--this was the first year that we were able to have his birthday party--or anyone's birthday party--in our backyard (the past two years it had not just rained, but down poured. Having a birthday in March proves to be sketchy weather-wise). I ordered a TON of decorations through orientaltrading.com ...if you have kids and have never heard of this website, you need to go check it out right now (everything is SO cheap!). I bought pirate banners, a treasure chest pinata, plates, napkins, and TONS of toys for the kids to take home. That included swords with eye patches, pirate bandannas, pirate masks, and temporary tattoos. I always love going to kids parties where they have tons of stuff for my kids to take home.. I think its a nice touch. I filled the treasure chest pinata with gold coins, Hershey's Treasures chocolates, miniature telescopes, more tattoos, and assorted candy. The kids loved it.
We set up the yard before the party. We put up our bounce house (we bought one from bouncehousesnow.com --having two kids and rentals being $90/day, I figured we'd be paying $180 a year for both of the kids' parties--and thats for only two days use! I figured my money would be better spent with buying one that we could use every day). We hung the pirate banner around the back wall of the backyard and around the patio cover, hung the pirate cling decorations on the walls and fence, and hung the pinata from our nectarine tree. I set up the food table and the "treat table" (the table that had all of the fun stuff for the kids) under the patio cover, and that left us with tons of room around the yard to enjoy the party.
For the party favors (as if all of the toys we bought for the kids weren't enough!), I made miniature pirate treasure chests for the kids. I found little wooden boxes at Hobby Lobby and decorated them with a pirate ship flag on top.. then filled each one with lots of gold coins, treasure chest candy, temporary tattoos, play doh, and bubbles. They turned out SO cute.
Lets get to the food. I had SO much fun doing the food for this party. I grabbed my trifle bowl and filled it with goldfish crackers, I made grape skewers using little pirate sword cocktail toothpicks, and I made pre-made s'mores (take two-quarters of a graham cracker, sandwich marshmallow fluff between them, then dip 3/4 of it in melted chocolate and set on parchment paper.) Those s'mores were amazing--and they were a huge hit. I also made a 5-layer dip--not because it went with the theme at all, but because I love eating them and they're only made for parties, so I figured I could get away with it. We barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers because we were just so glad to actually get to grill for a party! Then, lastly, I made little jello pirate ships--and they turned out adorable. I bought clear cups, made blue jello, and filled each cup about 3/4 full. I then cut orange slices, stuck pirate flag toothpicks (bought at Party City) in them, then placed them on top of the jello. The presentation of these were great--I loved how they turned out (and who doesn't like eating jello?!)
...and then there was the cake. We all know that I love baking things and decorating cakes--but I seem to stress out EVERY TIME--wondering if it'll turn out how I'm picturing it in my head. It always does, but I don't think that stress will ever go away. I'm still technically a beginner, but I'm having so much fun learning :). I had thought about Maverick's pirate cake SO much in the weeks leading up to his party. It would be the focal point of the party and it just had to be perfect. I went back and fourth with ideas of how I would decorate it--until I was in Target one day looking at the Jake and the Neverland Pirate toys. I found this pirate ship toy that was perfectly sized to sit right on top of the cake--I knew what I was going to do. The day before the party I baked all four layers of his chocolate cake and started assembling it. It was chocolate cake layered with cream cheese topping, frosted with vanilla (because cream cheese frosting doesn't hold up too well if it isn't refrigerated). Once the layers were stacked and I had my crumb coat on, I gave the perimeter of the cake a nice thick coating, then surrounded it with king-sized Kit Kat bars. It was already starting to look great. I then dyed the remainder of the frosting blue and frosted the top of the cake to make the "water." I frosted it and made waves with it, then placed the pirate ship I had bought from Target on top. It looked adorable. I'm not so great with writing on cakes, so I didn't want to screw it up with a "Happy Birthday Maverick" --he knew the cake was for him. I took a step back and thought that something was missing--sand. I quickly mixed some brown sugar and white sugar together, piped a small circle around the base of the Kit Kats, then spooned the "sugar sand" on around the base of the cake. It looked perfect. I was SO proud of this cake--this was by far the cutest cake I had made, to date. It was a HIT--everyone complimented me on how cute it was and even on how great it tasted (not to toot my own horn, but toot toot!!).
I was so proud of this party, and I think everyone that came had a great time. I decided that I'm going to start planning Madison's party in October so that I have adequate time to make her party equally as cute (her birthday is January 26th--so with all of the Christmas rush, her birthday creeps up pretty fast and I find myself quickly throwing a party together).
Side note--growing up, once my sisters and I got older, my parents started an "every-other-year" rule: one year we'd get a birthday party, the next year we'd get $50 cash (presents were always included regardless of what year it was). I get it now. Throwing parties is EXPENSIVE! What ever happened to having some cake and ice cream and calling it a day? Now its keeping up with the Joneses ;). Shortly after my parents started implementing this rule, we just chose the $50 instead of parties every year (cause $50 to a kid that doesn't have a job is a TON of money!). But I get it now--maybe once Maverick and Madison are a lot older I'll give them this option.. but until then, I'm going to enjoy the excited looks on their faces when they come downstairs and see the entire house decorated for their party, enjoy the joy on their faces as they play with all of their friends here to celebrate their birthday, and cherish these moments for I know that they won't last forever.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Home buying 101
I'm not a real estate agent, and I have no professional experience in realty--however, I do have experience with buying and selling. Both are so stressful, but doing them at the same time is one of the most stressful things in the world.
In January 2010, Joe and I bought our first condo--it was a short sale that we were in a bidding war with multiple families over.. It was a fully refurbished condo-conversion, complete with brand new carpet, granite and cherry wood cabinets in both the kitchen and bathroom, stainless steel appliances, crown molding, and fresh paint. Oh yeah--and one of the biggest backyards in the complex. It was amazing--such a beautiful condo--but such a pain in the butt to get. Short sales are anything but short--they take FOREVER to get processed. From us putting in the offer and it getting accepted, it took about 9 months for escrow to close. Those 9 months were a roller coaster of emotions--"the HOA dues are past due so we have to wait for the current owner to bring it to current.." "it might be going to foreclosure, and then we'll have to start all over.." ...it was awful. One day we would be thinking that we'd be homeowners, and the next we would be worried that we wouldn't even get the place. We weren't in any rush to buy, so waiting 9 months to close escrow wasn't an issue. We never got a concrete closing date, so we were living out of boxes for about a month--which meant that I couldn't decorate for the holidays (huge deal for me). We finally closed escrow on January 6, 2010--and we were elated. I was so excited to move into our tiny two bedroom, one bathroom, 900-square foot condo. It was the perfect size for our family.. until I got pregnant with Madison.
We had debated moving to a bigger place, moving out of state, or even moving across the country, but nothing ever came of that--until one day when a real estate agent knocked on my door and told me that he had a client interested in buying my condo and asked if I had thought about selling it. I told him that Joe and I had been debating it but were waiting for some kind of sign.. well, if this wasn't a sign--then I don't know what is! He told me that his client was on her way over and asked if I cared if she took a look around--and since we all know my house is always immaculate, I told him that would be fine. She looked around but decided that she like how the backyard slightly sloped, so she passed. Joe and I decided that we would list our condo and just see what happened. If we got an interested buyer--great, but if not, we wouldn't stress about it. We listed our condo, then left for a Vegas vacation. We got a call from our agent that a man wanted to come and look at our place, and we were so excited. Over the course of our vacation, that man visited our condo twice, and by the time we came home he had put an offer on the table. We negotiated the price and finally opened escrow--we were SO excited.. until 3 weeks in and he pulled his offer off the table: apparently he didn't think the condo would be big enough to fit all of his furniture--him, as a single man, where a family of four had been living--wouldn't have been able to fit. Hmm.. ooookay? I was extremely disappointed -we had grown out of this condo; we desperately needed a bigger house. A week after he pulled his offer off of the table, he put it back on. We were getting all of the paperwork ready to open escrow (again), and he decided that he wanted to take his offer back off of the table. Are you kidding me?! What a joke. I was livid. It was such a roller coaster--we decided that if this guy wanted to "put his offer back up" again, we would decline it. We didn't need this stress--we had a 2 year old and an 8-month-old--and this guy was just ridiculous. A few weeks after all of this took place, a single mom came through our condo and fell in love: she had a 2-year-old son, and our kid's room had a Finding Nemo mural painted throughout it (my mother-in-law is an amazing artist and did such a beautiful job on the mural). This woman said that she loved the condo and her son fell in love with "his bedroom." We ended up opening escrow with her and finding ourselves in a rush to find a house.
I'll never forget the Sunday we went out with our real estate agent and looked at THIRTEEN different houses. THIRTEEN. (Our agent was such a trooper!) ...It was such an exhausting day--and I was so stressed out. I told her that we HAD to find a house that day--that we wouldn't be going out and looking at more houses. That was such an interesting adventure. I brought my camera along and took pictures of literally EVERYTHING because I knew that I wouldn't be able to remember anything from any of the houses after looking at so many. We were able to weed out some houses pretty quickly--whether it was from driving around the neighborhood and deciding we didn't like it, or from taking one step in the house, taking one look around and then walking right back out--we ended up with our top three houses. The first one, my favorite, was a company-owned house (a company bought it and flipped it), and because of that, they had some weird requirements for buying it that we didn't want to comply with--so that one was out. Then it was between our current house and another house (it was labeled as a 'townhouse' but was completely by itself--no shared walls). The "townhouse" also had weird requirements for buying it (just our luck), so our last chance was with this house. This house was Joe's favorite--from the minute he saw the listing he loved it--but I needed to be sold on it. The entire house is tile--downstairs, the stairs, upstairs hallway--and the only rooms that have carpet are the two kids rooms. We ended up in a bidding war with another family over it, and we didn't think we had a chance of getting it--until they accepted our offer! We were SO excited--we would be going from a 2-bedroom, 900 square foot condo to a 4-bedroom, 2200 square foot house. We would actually have room to LIVE! The owners were both an airplane pilot and a flight attendant, so they needed an extra week after closing escrow to move--just to make sure they were in town to actually move. That posed a problem: it left us with a 3-week gap between closing escrow on our condo and having to move out and closing escrow on our house and getting to move in. Thankfully I have amazing parents who have a huge house and let us move in with them for those three weeks so that we wouldn't have to live out of a hotel.
Packing up your house is stressful, but packing up your house and trying to figure out that stuff that you'll need to keep out to use for the next 3 weeks is even more stressful--but I did it. My brother-in-law got us a great deal on a Pack Rat moving/storage bin, and on the closing date of of condo, one of those huge storage boxes got delivered right outside my front door. Out of all the stress we had been through throughout this entire process, the actual act of moving was not one of them. It was the easiest move we had ever had. We literally packed up that storage box, locked it up, and the Pack Rat company came and took it away. They stored it at their warehouse for us for those three weeks, and on the day we closed escrow on our house, it was there sitting on my driveway waiting for us to unpack it. It was amazing. We finally had our house and could plant our roots. Our kids would have a huge backyard to run around in, and we had a house big enough for us to grow up into.
I love this house. I never want to move ever again--mainly because the stress of having to sell this place and buy a new one would be the death of me--but this is our home now.
Moral of the story: If you aren't in any rush at all to buy a place, look for short sales. You can get AMAZING deals on them (the short sale condo that we bought originally sold for $350,000--we bought it for $150,000). They take forever, but if you have the time--go for it. If you are on a time crunch, like when we sold the condo, then only look for regular sale or foreclosed homes (apparently foreclosed homes sell just like a regular sale?).
TIP: When looking through houses, try as hard as you can to pay attention to the TINY details. Those are always the ones to come back any bite you in the butt. When we moved into our house, we realized that not a single door in the house had a doorstop--which meant that we had to go out and buy them and put them in. Those don't cost much, but it was still more money out of our pocket. Take a camera with you and take pictures of everything--cause once you're in escrow, you're gonna want to look at those pictures over and over and over--deciding where you'll put this and where you'll put that. Its much easier to do if you have a visual right in front of you ;).
We had debated moving to a bigger place, moving out of state, or even moving across the country, but nothing ever came of that--until one day when a real estate agent knocked on my door and told me that he had a client interested in buying my condo and asked if I had thought about selling it. I told him that Joe and I had been debating it but were waiting for some kind of sign.. well, if this wasn't a sign--then I don't know what is! He told me that his client was on her way over and asked if I cared if she took a look around--and since we all know my house is always immaculate, I told him that would be fine. She looked around but decided that she like how the backyard slightly sloped, so she passed. Joe and I decided that we would list our condo and just see what happened. If we got an interested buyer--great, but if not, we wouldn't stress about it. We listed our condo, then left for a Vegas vacation. We got a call from our agent that a man wanted to come and look at our place, and we were so excited. Over the course of our vacation, that man visited our condo twice, and by the time we came home he had put an offer on the table. We negotiated the price and finally opened escrow--we were SO excited.. until 3 weeks in and he pulled his offer off the table: apparently he didn't think the condo would be big enough to fit all of his furniture--him, as a single man, where a family of four had been living--wouldn't have been able to fit. Hmm.. ooookay? I was extremely disappointed -we had grown out of this condo; we desperately needed a bigger house. A week after he pulled his offer off of the table, he put it back on. We were getting all of the paperwork ready to open escrow (again), and he decided that he wanted to take his offer back off of the table. Are you kidding me?! What a joke. I was livid. It was such a roller coaster--we decided that if this guy wanted to "put his offer back up" again, we would decline it. We didn't need this stress--we had a 2 year old and an 8-month-old--and this guy was just ridiculous. A few weeks after all of this took place, a single mom came through our condo and fell in love: she had a 2-year-old son, and our kid's room had a Finding Nemo mural painted throughout it (my mother-in-law is an amazing artist and did such a beautiful job on the mural). This woman said that she loved the condo and her son fell in love with "his bedroom." We ended up opening escrow with her and finding ourselves in a rush to find a house.
I'll never forget the Sunday we went out with our real estate agent and looked at THIRTEEN different houses. THIRTEEN. (Our agent was such a trooper!) ...It was such an exhausting day--and I was so stressed out. I told her that we HAD to find a house that day--that we wouldn't be going out and looking at more houses. That was such an interesting adventure. I brought my camera along and took pictures of literally EVERYTHING because I knew that I wouldn't be able to remember anything from any of the houses after looking at so many. We were able to weed out some houses pretty quickly--whether it was from driving around the neighborhood and deciding we didn't like it, or from taking one step in the house, taking one look around and then walking right back out--we ended up with our top three houses. The first one, my favorite, was a company-owned house (a company bought it and flipped it), and because of that, they had some weird requirements for buying it that we didn't want to comply with--so that one was out. Then it was between our current house and another house (it was labeled as a 'townhouse' but was completely by itself--no shared walls). The "townhouse" also had weird requirements for buying it (just our luck), so our last chance was with this house. This house was Joe's favorite--from the minute he saw the listing he loved it--but I needed to be sold on it. The entire house is tile--downstairs, the stairs, upstairs hallway--and the only rooms that have carpet are the two kids rooms. We ended up in a bidding war with another family over it, and we didn't think we had a chance of getting it--until they accepted our offer! We were SO excited--we would be going from a 2-bedroom, 900 square foot condo to a 4-bedroom, 2200 square foot house. We would actually have room to LIVE! The owners were both an airplane pilot and a flight attendant, so they needed an extra week after closing escrow to move--just to make sure they were in town to actually move. That posed a problem: it left us with a 3-week gap between closing escrow on our condo and having to move out and closing escrow on our house and getting to move in. Thankfully I have amazing parents who have a huge house and let us move in with them for those three weeks so that we wouldn't have to live out of a hotel.
Packing up your house is stressful, but packing up your house and trying to figure out that stuff that you'll need to keep out to use for the next 3 weeks is even more stressful--but I did it. My brother-in-law got us a great deal on a Pack Rat moving/storage bin, and on the closing date of of condo, one of those huge storage boxes got delivered right outside my front door. Out of all the stress we had been through throughout this entire process, the actual act of moving was not one of them. It was the easiest move we had ever had. We literally packed up that storage box, locked it up, and the Pack Rat company came and took it away. They stored it at their warehouse for us for those three weeks, and on the day we closed escrow on our house, it was there sitting on my driveway waiting for us to unpack it. It was amazing. We finally had our house and could plant our roots. Our kids would have a huge backyard to run around in, and we had a house big enough for us to grow up into.
I love this house. I never want to move ever again--mainly because the stress of having to sell this place and buy a new one would be the death of me--but this is our home now.
Moral of the story: If you aren't in any rush at all to buy a place, look for short sales. You can get AMAZING deals on them (the short sale condo that we bought originally sold for $350,000--we bought it for $150,000). They take forever, but if you have the time--go for it. If you are on a time crunch, like when we sold the condo, then only look for regular sale or foreclosed homes (apparently foreclosed homes sell just like a regular sale?).
TIP: When looking through houses, try as hard as you can to pay attention to the TINY details. Those are always the ones to come back any bite you in the butt. When we moved into our house, we realized that not a single door in the house had a doorstop--which meant that we had to go out and buy them and put them in. Those don't cost much, but it was still more money out of our pocket. Take a camera with you and take pictures of everything--cause once you're in escrow, you're gonna want to look at those pictures over and over and over--deciding where you'll put this and where you'll put that. Its much easier to do if you have a visual right in front of you ;).
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Healthy Triple Chocolate Muffins
Are you ever just in the mood to eat muffins? I feel like I always am--especially around the holidays. I found this recipe for healthy chocolate chip muffins on Pinterest and have been obsessed with it ever since. I LOVE eating muffins--I'll eat any kind.. but when you're watching your calories and what you eat, muffins aren't the greatest--until now. These muffins are amazing--they're so good that you'll *think* they're bad for you, but they aren't! Let's get started:
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup oats
3 egg whites
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low-fat yogurt)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 2 tsp. vinegar--what I used)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup baking stevia (OR 1 cup sweetener of choice that measures like sugar)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a blender (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth. (I used my Magic Bullet for this. I blended just the oats alone until they were a flour-like texture, then I added the rest of the ingredients).
Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.
Place muffin tins in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but dont turn the oven off!), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on each of the muffins. **
Place the muffins back in the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
**Note: you could skip this step by adding all of the chips in the batter and baking the muffins for 12-15 minutes straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional "VitaTop Muffin" look with the chocolate chips on top!
Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!
Nutrition Breakdown:
12 Servings (bigger muffins)
95 calories per serving
3 g Fat
23 g Carbohydrate
4 g Fiber
4 g Sugar
5 g Protein
3 WWP+*
*Weight Watchers Points per serving
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup oats
3 egg whites
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low-fat yogurt)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 2 tsp. vinegar--what I used)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup baking stevia (OR 1 cup sweetener of choice that measures like sugar)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a blender (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth. (I used my Magic Bullet for this. I blended just the oats alone until they were a flour-like texture, then I added the rest of the ingredients).
Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.
Place muffin tins in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but dont turn the oven off!), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on each of the muffins. **
Place the muffins back in the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
**Note: you could skip this step by adding all of the chips in the batter and baking the muffins for 12-15 minutes straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional "VitaTop Muffin" look with the chocolate chips on top!
Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!
Nutrition Breakdown:
12 Servings (bigger muffins)
95 calories per serving
3 g Fat
23 g Carbohydrate
4 g Fiber
4 g Sugar
5 g Protein
3 WWP+*
*Weight Watchers Points per serving
Friday, May 24, 2013
Workout Misconceptions
I started working out and eating healthy on January 2nd of this year. I had had 2 kids and not worked out a single day since having them. I'm one of the lucky ones that got skinny again right after having babies--but that luck wore out. I started the year off weighing 140.5 pounds--the highest my weight had ever been. It wasn't any sort of "new years resolution" --I had reached my breaking point because I hated how my body looked. Something switched in my brain and I was ready to do whatever it would take to get that weight off. January 2nd was my first day of working with a personal trainer and I was SO nervous. Would I throw up or pass out? Luckily, I didn't do either.
Working out with a trainer, I realized that everything I *thought* I knew about losing weight was wrong. Here's a little insight for you:
Lesson #1: EAT!! Let me start this off with: I NEVER starved myself. I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app onto my phone and started tracking everything I was eating. It set me up with a 1200-calorie-a-day allowance, and soon I was checking the calorie count of everything before I ate it. It sort of became an obsession. I *thought* that if I was under my calorie goal I'd lose weight. Sounds simple, right? Not so. I found myself eating around 900 calories a day (which is hardly anything!) and thinking I'd have huge weight losses, then weighing myself and seeing that I had gained. I was furious!! I had a long talk with my trainer, and she lectured me on how I needed to eat more--around the 1500/1600 calorie range. That just sounded crazy to me. How would eating more make me lose weight?! Apparently my body was going into starvation mode. You have to eat AT LEAST a minimum of 1200 calories a day or else your body thinks that you are starving and it holds onto anything you eat. I listened to my trainer and started eating around 1500 calories a day making healthy choices: lots of protein and vegetables (having a high calorie allowance does NOT mean you can just eat whatever you want!) and I found that I was finally starting to lose weight. Pretty soon I found myself working out more so that I could eat more--I'm ALWAYS eating! You don't have to starve yourself to lose weight--it won't work.
Lesson #1: EAT!! Let me start this off with: I NEVER starved myself. I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app onto my phone and started tracking everything I was eating. It set me up with a 1200-calorie-a-day allowance, and soon I was checking the calorie count of everything before I ate it. It sort of became an obsession. I *thought* that if I was under my calorie goal I'd lose weight. Sounds simple, right? Not so. I found myself eating around 900 calories a day (which is hardly anything!) and thinking I'd have huge weight losses, then weighing myself and seeing that I had gained. I was furious!! I had a long talk with my trainer, and she lectured me on how I needed to eat more--around the 1500/1600 calorie range. That just sounded crazy to me. How would eating more make me lose weight?! Apparently my body was going into starvation mode. You have to eat AT LEAST a minimum of 1200 calories a day or else your body thinks that you are starving and it holds onto anything you eat. I listened to my trainer and started eating around 1500 calories a day making healthy choices: lots of protein and vegetables (having a high calorie allowance does NOT mean you can just eat whatever you want!) and I found that I was finally starting to lose weight. Pretty soon I found myself working out more so that I could eat more--I'm ALWAYS eating! You don't have to starve yourself to lose weight--it won't work.
Lesson #2: DRINK LOTS OF WATER. When I started working out, I honestly don't think I was drinking any water at all if I wasn't working out. That's not good!! I remember at one point I was on a week-long plateau and was starting to get really frustrated. My husband told me to drink an entire gallon of water that day to flush out my body and I'd see results. Drinking an entire gallon of water sounded SO overwhelming to me--I thought there was no way I could do it. Joe grabbed 4 of those BIG Dasani water bottles and asked me if I could drink all 4 of those in a day. I said "yeah, easy." Well, 4 of those water bottles equal a gallon of water. I set time limits--I had to have water bottle #1 finished by 10:00, water bottle #2 finished by 2:00, water bottle #3 finished by 6:00, and water bottle #4 finished by the time I went to bed at 10:00. Easy. The morning after I did this, I had lost over a pound and was finally off of my plateau. Trust me--you will not gain weight from drinking water! (side note: you will pee ALL DAY LONG. It gets annoying, but its worth it)
Lesson #3: LIFT WEIGHTS! The trainer I was working out with was crazy into lifting weights. At first I was nervous and scared--I didn't want to get bulky like those figure competitors. That wont happen at all--they are on crazy hardcore diets and it takes a LONG time to get to that level. Once I started lifting weights, I realized that I loved doing it and felt like my workouts were pointless if I didn't do it. Designate different days for different muscle groups: have a leg day, a biceps/triceps day, a back day, etc. (I personally LOVE leg day!). Finish up your workouts with some abs (unless your abs are sore--then give them a day or two off until they aren't hurting anymore).
If you follow all of these steps, I'm sure it'll kick start your weight loss. I'm obviously not a personal trainer, and I'm sure that there's a ton more you can do to lose weight, but these are some of the things I've learned over the past few months. I weighed in this morning at 125.9 pounds--14.6 pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of the year. I've already surpassed my goal weight and I'm feeling great. I was never on a "diet" ...it was more of a complete lifestyle change. You don't have to cut out the foods you love; you just have to love them in moderation. I still eat In-N-Out burger--I just get my burgers protein style now with no buns ;).
Lesson #3: LIFT WEIGHTS! The trainer I was working out with was crazy into lifting weights. At first I was nervous and scared--I didn't want to get bulky like those figure competitors. That wont happen at all--they are on crazy hardcore diets and it takes a LONG time to get to that level. Once I started lifting weights, I realized that I loved doing it and felt like my workouts were pointless if I didn't do it. Designate different days for different muscle groups: have a leg day, a biceps/triceps day, a back day, etc. (I personally LOVE leg day!). Finish up your workouts with some abs (unless your abs are sore--then give them a day or two off until they aren't hurting anymore).
If you follow all of these steps, I'm sure it'll kick start your weight loss. I'm obviously not a personal trainer, and I'm sure that there's a ton more you can do to lose weight, but these are some of the things I've learned over the past few months. I weighed in this morning at 125.9 pounds--14.6 pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of the year. I've already surpassed my goal weight and I'm feeling great. I was never on a "diet" ...it was more of a complete lifestyle change. You don't have to cut out the foods you love; you just have to love them in moderation. I still eat In-N-Out burger--I just get my burgers protein style now with no buns ;).
Good luck with your weight loss--now get out there and exercise!!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Parenting: Not as easy as it may seem...
I have to get this off of my chest: I am in LOVE with the age Madison is right now. I get why they call it the "terrible twos," but I also see her personality coming out--and she is constantly making me laugh. She will make eye contact with me, then out of the blue just make the funniest face she possibly can. Its hilarious--you'll have to trust me on this one.
...but I feel guilty. Probably at least once a day I feel so guilty for loving the age she is. Why, you ask? Because she is a little bit older than the age Maverick was when she was born, and that was a ROUGH transition. I don't think anyone really knows how hard of a transition it was for me.. I was in denial and downplayed everything as if things were going great. That's what I do--put on a happy face and pretend that everything is okay. In reality, I got the baby blues pretty bad after having Madison. I was having constant panic attacks--I'd wake up in the middle of the night in a full-blown anxiety attack and not know how to make it go away. I was constantly crying for no reason. We would have friends over and I'd be sitting in the corner silently crying hysterically because it felt like my life was out of control. Madison was a very high-needs baby.. if she was awake, she was screaming. I'm not saying that to be dramatic. If you spent any time with my family during those first few months of Madison's life, you knew that as soon as you walked in the door you were going to have a baby handed to you because I needed a break. The baby blues started almost right after I had her while I was still in the hospital.. I remember paging the nurse in a panic because I was convinced I couldn't breathe. The nurse came in, checked my lungs, and told me I was fine. In my mind, I wasn't--and that put me in a panic. The only way I got sleep that night was from Joe telling me to close my eyes and he would stay awake and watch me sleep to make sure I was still breathing. That put my mind at ease enough to fall asleep, thank God.
While going through all of this, I feel like I was constantly irritated or upset with Maverick for one thing or another--I put a lot more responsibility on him as a two-year-old than I should have, and I feel guilty. I didn't enjoy this age when he was in it, and I feel like I missed out on so much. I know that there is no point on feeling guilty and dwelling on the past, but I cant seem to move past it.
It took about a month for the baby blues to go away--just in time for Maverick to be put in the hospital for 3 days (you can read about that on 'My Story' through my website). I think that was the wake up call I needed to stop taking everything for granted. We didn't know what was wrong with him, and for all we knew he could have had cancer or was dying (thank you LORD for it not being that). I promised myself that I would stop being so petty and getting mad at everything.
What I'm getting to is that no one is perfect. We, as parents, are CONSTANTLY second guessing ourselves. I need to learn how to move past my guilt. What matters is that my kids are healthy, happy, and know that they are loved--and they DO know that. I may not be the world's greatest mom, but I'm trying my best.
...but I feel guilty. Probably at least once a day I feel so guilty for loving the age she is. Why, you ask? Because she is a little bit older than the age Maverick was when she was born, and that was a ROUGH transition. I don't think anyone really knows how hard of a transition it was for me.. I was in denial and downplayed everything as if things were going great. That's what I do--put on a happy face and pretend that everything is okay. In reality, I got the baby blues pretty bad after having Madison. I was having constant panic attacks--I'd wake up in the middle of the night in a full-blown anxiety attack and not know how to make it go away. I was constantly crying for no reason. We would have friends over and I'd be sitting in the corner silently crying hysterically because it felt like my life was out of control. Madison was a very high-needs baby.. if she was awake, she was screaming. I'm not saying that to be dramatic. If you spent any time with my family during those first few months of Madison's life, you knew that as soon as you walked in the door you were going to have a baby handed to you because I needed a break. The baby blues started almost right after I had her while I was still in the hospital.. I remember paging the nurse in a panic because I was convinced I couldn't breathe. The nurse came in, checked my lungs, and told me I was fine. In my mind, I wasn't--and that put me in a panic. The only way I got sleep that night was from Joe telling me to close my eyes and he would stay awake and watch me sleep to make sure I was still breathing. That put my mind at ease enough to fall asleep, thank God.
While going through all of this, I feel like I was constantly irritated or upset with Maverick for one thing or another--I put a lot more responsibility on him as a two-year-old than I should have, and I feel guilty. I didn't enjoy this age when he was in it, and I feel like I missed out on so much. I know that there is no point on feeling guilty and dwelling on the past, but I cant seem to move past it.
It took about a month for the baby blues to go away--just in time for Maverick to be put in the hospital for 3 days (you can read about that on 'My Story' through my website). I think that was the wake up call I needed to stop taking everything for granted. We didn't know what was wrong with him, and for all we knew he could have had cancer or was dying (thank you LORD for it not being that). I promised myself that I would stop being so petty and getting mad at everything.
What I'm getting to is that no one is perfect. We, as parents, are CONSTANTLY second guessing ourselves. I need to learn how to move past my guilt. What matters is that my kids are healthy, happy, and know that they are loved--and they DO know that. I may not be the world's greatest mom, but I'm trying my best.
Chocolate Treasure Cookies
I got this recipe from Joe's aunt Karen, and I can honestly say that these are the most amazing chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten. Everyone always says that you aren't supposed to eat the raw cookie dough, but half the time I can't help myself because its so good. By the end of the holiday season, I have usually made these cookies over half a dozen times--its amazing. Lets get started!
Ingredients:
3 cups of flour
Ingredients:
3 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups of butter, softened
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups of Ghirardelli chocolate chips
1 cup of chopped walnuts, optional (I've made this recipe both with and without the walnuts; its amazing regardless of what you choose)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar and beat until creamy--about 5 minutes on medium speed. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well mixed.
In another bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and on slow speed, mix just until blended. Mix in chocolate chips and walnuts just until blended.
Use a Tablespoon scoop and drop on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges start turning golden brown.
Yields 5 dozen cookies (perfect to hand out for a school party or the holidays!). You can freeze these in gallon freezer bags for up to 3 months.
Enjoy!