Countdown

Overruled on the party cake... strawberry shortcake it is. Birthday girl's choice. She even got me to give in and buy her some Barbie dolls! I am a frugal shopper however, so it wasn't ALL bad.

Labor (of Love) Day

Have I said how much I love being a mommy? 3 girls from 17 to 1.5 with another baby on the way.

One of the best parts, I've found, is making a totally cool day out of a birthday. Even if the most work is spent on the cake, it's the look on their face when they see it.

Recipe$

With food & grocery prices going up, it's always a challenge to find new & interesting dishes. Especially when playing with chicken! Still like the rosemary, garlic, balsamic combo. Goya's stuff is tasty, esp the mojo marinade. Always have the old one-pot fallback arroz con pollo. Even the baby loves that one!

Kid's Birthday Plans

Last year for the 5th it was the rootbeer float cake with straws & streamers, orange dreamsicle star cupcakes & burgers & dogs. Summertime theme for the last summer bash. This year for the 6th ... handmade choc mint ice cream cake? Baby chiffon cupcakes? Topsy-turvy fondant celebration? With my new stand mixer , it should be a whirl compared to last year!

Bun in the ...

I'm on a recipe hunt for doughnuts. I tried one recently but it was a sticky gooey mess. That old Mother Goose rhyme about Hot Cross Buns keeps flitting across my head. Maybe I'm just in the mood for risen bread. I am determined for try some handmade doughnuts... is this my latest pregnancy craving for baby #4? Still part of my famous sweet tooth so I won't count it out.

Roadtrip

We've traversed this beautiful country 3 times. CA to PA, then PA to CA, then CA to PA again. Twice just the two of us, once with our then-preschooler and dad. We may be headed for another one - with the whole family. Either a family of 5 or 6 depending on when word comes down the pipe. Love that drive. Love every mile of nothing and everything in between our 2 endless oceans. You grow a little on the road. It's a beautiful thing, following the lines in the highway, truckstop jerky, road food, motels, and the sights and scenery you normally only see in magazines or TV shows.

Summer Camp

When I was a kid, YMCA summer camp was a week-long adventure with a bus full of strangers up into the mountains. Unrestrained horses, kumbaya, cabins, campfires, fishing, the milky way. And my counselor gave me a bible as a parting gift. Today's summer camp at the Y is strictly day camp, with crafts, swimming, playtime, TV time, cookouts & pizza and a field trip each week to one amusement camp or another. I hope she has as fond/amusing memories of her summer camps as I still do of mine.

Dreamland

Our local library had a used book sale. Rows of books in every genre, something for everyone from the baby to the 1st grader to the teen to me and hubby. I've never walked out of there without buying, oh, at least 10 more books I don't have time to read. This time they caught me off guard: as many books you can fit into a plastic grocery bag for $3.00. Why did I not know this when I walked in, before the baby woke up? Before I meandered aimlessly just admiring the endless varied bindings? Perhaps it's better. I'm so compulsive when it comes to books. It might be the smell of the paper, the compulsion to open them and see the hint of a world to fall into inside, maybe it's just seeing them on my shelves and knowing I can never truly be bored.

Prayers

I've been spreading the word & requesting prayers for my friend's baby Gianna. She's 5 months old, born with Down's syndrome, and now dealing with heart/lung complications. Can it be any scarier for a parent? She's just beautiful and brings their whole family so much happiness. I pray they have many more gifts of days together.

August 8, 2008: I regret to say that Gianna has passed and is resting in the arms of her grandfathers in heaven, basking without pain or fear in the Light of the Lord.