errands – Page 6 – Darais Days

Saturday in June, and thank-you, Grandma!

Pretty much a typical Saturday here. I went to cooking school in the morning and made up one of the classes I missed. I’m failing my Latin class because I’ve missed so many classes, so I think after today at least I will pass.

Then Abe and I recovered from the week while both girls took marathon naps. When everyone woke up, we headed to the pool.

After we came home, we ate dinner and then I did some errands while Abe put the girls to bed. I think we’re going to try to watch The Book Thief right now, so I’ll post the only two pictures we took today. Mom, remember how Lydia has always hated the sun in her eyes? I think one of her first sentences involved communicating to us that the sun was in her eyes while we were all on a walk on 12th avenue together. Anyway, she is very attached to her sunglasses because they solve this problem for her. This is before and after our swim:

Oh, and I forgot to mention to Grandma how the girls love their pillows and blankets she made for them. Lydia loves her pillow and blankets so much that she won’t even allow us to put any other blanket or comforter on her bed. She has also dismissed her former pillow. Mary loves her blanket and pillow just as much. She moves around in her sleep, but she always seems to bring her pillow with her–her head is usually on it when she wakes up. They also play with the pillows and blankets during the day. Usually the pillows and blankets make it all around the house before ending up back upstairs on their beds. Thank-you, Grandma, for those gifts! They are very loved–just like you!!

Tofu nuggets and more Saturday adventures

Today I dragged myself to cooking school, only to discover I was the only one there (at first). That meant I got to choose what I wanted to do, so I opted to make tofu nuggets. I love the kind that Trader Joe’s makes, but I’ve always assumed they were so synthetically crafted that they’d be impossible to reproduce. After today, I’m encouraged! My nuggets weren’t at all what you get at Trader Joe’s, but I think if I add some things (quinoa flakes? different kind of miso? Extra firm tofu?) they might taste a bit closer.

Here are mine:

When I got home, the girls ran to meet me. It was so sweet! I just loved coming home to these people/this picture.

I think I startled them by whipping out my ready camera. Next time I think I'll just run to them and give them hugs instead. — I think I startled them by whipping out my ready camera. Next time I think I’ll just run to them and give them hugs instead.

Eating the garbanzo beans I brought home from school.

Again, Mary ran to me to give me a hug, and I pulled out the camera on the poor thing. I need to stop doing that, but she's just so cute! — Again, Mary ran to me to give me a hug, and I pulled out the camera on the poor thing. I need to stop doing that, but she’s just so cute!

We had an Amazon Local deal to The Blue Nile, and Ethiopian restaurant. Since we were out and about, we ate there for dinner. — We had an Amazon Local deal to The Blue Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant. Since we were out and about, we ate there for dinner.

Mary was so hungry she started eating the menu.

Beets are a Darais family favorite. We had to order the kids extra. (Good thing they happened to be wearing pink!)

We are going through a Christian rock phase. Abe came home a couple months ago and wanted me to listen to "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus. I pulled up the YouTube video and was so appalled that we let that kind of garbage into our house that Abe swore off pop music completely. In its wake, he has listened to nothing but Christian rock. It has been the greatest thing ever for all of us! I feel the same kind of evangelical enthusiasm I felt when I was a teenager--a kind of high on God that is, at times, hard to recapture. — We are going through a Christian rock phase. Abe came home a couple months ago and wanted me to listen to “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus. I pulled up the YouTube video and was so appalled that we let that kind of garbage into our house (we have young girls in our home!!!) that Abe swore off pop music completely. In its wake, he has listened to nothing but Christian rock. It has been the greatest thing ever for all of us! I feel the same kind of evangelical enthusiasm I felt when I was a teenager–a kind of high on God that is, at times, hard to recapture.

Also, a HUGE shout-out to Abe for organizing the whole house today, top to bottom. We’ve been team-tagging this project ever since we got back from our trip, but yesterday and today I’ve been out of commission. Abe did an amazing job organizing everything, and the house looks absolutely incredible. Thanks, Honey! You are the bestest best best!!

Cupcake competition, etc.

I am so exhausted I can barely function, but guess what? I won second place at the cupcake competition this morning! Since we had to use garlic, I made a garlic/chocolate gingerbread cupcake with cream cheese frosting and a garlic/ginger/walnut brittle on top. In my humble opinion, the cupcake turned out delicious! Actually, everyone did a great job. The winner had been practicing her cupcake for over a month, so I think she deserved to win (although I secretly liked mine better). Here are everyone’s cupcakes:

Mine! I used this recipe. I added blanched, minced garlic and ginger to the cupcake. I can’t find the link I used for the brittle, but basically I found a garlic brittle recipe and added some ginger (both powdered and fresh, blanched and minced).

This is a chocolate garlic cupcake with hibiscus icing and an inside surprise of figs soaked in a port wine reduction.

cornmeal cupcakes with saffron icing and avocado garnish.

an ancho chile chocolate cupcake next to the winner, a basil cupcake soaked in a garlic simple syrup topped with blackberry icing, white chocolate and garlic brittle.

One of the cupcakes wasn't pictured, but it was a garlic chocolate mousse cupcake with a garlicky ganache. It was really garlicky, but very good! — One of the cupcakes wasn’t pictured, but it was a garlic chocolate mousse cupcake with a garlicky ganache. It was really garlicky, but very good!

Abe and the girls showed up at the end, but they didn’t let them in the kitchen. I gave them cupcakes to go outside and eat:

I won a James Beard Award winning cookbook on bread baking (can’t remember the title) and a bunch of things that I actually already own. But it was still so fun!

Here are the other activities of the day:

6 am Bikram Yoga; getting my mom’s car serviced/washed; errands at Target, the gas station, sprouts and Smith’s Garden Center; FHE; planting tomatoes as a family (almost all of the plants I planted earlier died from frost and, um, because I forgot to water them); cooking dinner; eating outside; cleaning the kitchen; bathing the girls; paying bills; tidying various parts of the house.

Here are the accompanying pictures:

Abe took a break from paying bills and played with Lydia. It was one of the happiest parts of his day.

Planting tomatoes. Lydia went really nuts with the hose and basically gave the entire exterior of our house a big shower.

Abe and I have been trying to watch a movie for months. We are both so tired–but we’re determined to finally watch one. I think we might to either Saving Mr. Banks or Lincoln. (Whichever’s shorter??)

A bike ride

We did take pictures today, but the camera card was accidentally in the computer. Oops! Better tomorrow.

This morning we had a play date with Jen, Natlalie, Laddie and Spencer. The best part was after we all went to institute, and Lydia and Natalie had so much fun running around the church. They were so cute! I wish I’d had my camera on me, but seeing that the card wasn’t in the camera anyway, it wouldn’t have done much good.

After we all ate and napped, Abe came home and we went on a bike ride up the canyon. It was a gorgeous evening and the recent rain has turned everything green. Everything smelled and looked so fresh. It was a wonderful end to the day. Too bad my Fitbit can’t tell when I bike! Next time I’m going to stick it in my sock and see if it can tell I’m moving.

We made pizza when we came home, Abe bathed the girls, I did homework, and now we’re all ready for bed. Abe has had so little sleep because of his long commute. I feel sorry for him. Right now he’s dying of tiredness, so I better stop blogging so we can turn out the light and he can go to sleep.

Sleep and steps on Saturday

Abe and I both slept in while Lydia watched the iPad this morning. By the time we got moving and fed the girls breakfast, it was almost 10am. But boy, did we get moving! I put my Fitbit on at 10am, and in the ensuing two hours got in 10,000 steps. We walked by Anique’s house and visited with Andrew and Fleur, and while we were visiting, our neighbor Ruth Ann joined us. She joined us on our walk up the canyon, and we got to know her story a bit more.

She is a remarkable woman. After starting a business with President Henry B. Eyring, she moved on to become one of the very first female managers AT&T ever hired, and the only one of the first female hires to last more than two months. She worked with them for 26 years, moving all around the country in a variety of roles until she took early retirement. After taking early retirement, she worked for the Church in its Philanthropy department. Recently she served a PR mission in Hong Kong and is about to embark on another mission in September.

I loved chatting with her so much that I kept talking and walking long after I realized I had a female emergency and needed to go back home. Finally, I admitted I had a problem, and Abe, the girls and I turned back and ran home. It was a great morning, aside from that. We look forward to walking more with Ruth Ann in the future.

After that, we ate lunch and took a two-hour nap.

Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew) I made in class. We ate the leftovers today for lunch. This is my new favorite dish.

When we finally got going again after that, we fed the girls and went to the library. At the library we ran into our friends Fallon, Audrey, and Eli. I got distracted talking to Fallon long after Abe had to take Mary back to the car (she was pulling all the books off the shelves). I felt bad for taking so long, but Abe used that time to work on the lesson he’s teaching tomorrow, and just as I reached the car, who should appear but Ed and Isabella (Abe’s uncle and cousin).

Lydia loooooooves Isabella, and they played together a bit.

Then we went on our errands: approximately one million grocery stores and Barnes & Noble. By the time we finished at Smith’s, Lydia was fast asleep in the car.

But the good news is, tomorrow is Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day to the best mother and grandmother I know! Mom and Grandma, I couldn’t imagine better mothers and better examples than both of you. You are my heroes. I love you!!

A play date, great book, boring paper, and a birthday party

This morning I watched Sophia and Max because Misty had a doctor’s appointment. Her kids are so easy that I could have done homework or practiced while they played (well, Max was actually napping), but Lydia and Sophia were beyond adorable playing together. I couldn’t leave! They were saying things such as: “It’s your turn, Sophia!” “Thanks, Lydia. Okay, Lydia, it’s your turn now!” “Thanks, Sophia!” “Sophia, do you want to play Minnie Mouse with me?” “Yes!” [Insert sweet, polite, kind play here.] “Okay, Sophia, do you want to sit next to me?” “Yes! Thanks!”

This is what I had kids for. I was so delighted by how sweet and polite these adorable children were, and I was so happy to hear them play so beautifully that I just couldn’t tear myself away. By the time Misty came back, I was over the moon in love with all of our children.

Then I fed the girls, practiced for an hour while Lydia and Mary played, and put Mary down for her four hour nap. Lydia had quiet time that whole time, so I lay in bed reading Crossing to Safety. In fact, I could have written this blog a whole lot earlier and gotten to bed on time if it weren’t for the fact that those characters are so dear to me that I talked Abe’s ear off about the book for about an hour after the girls went down for bed. I still have a lump in my throat–as I type, hours after finishing the book. I have never read a book where I loved the characters so deeply. Also, I am sad the library is closed. I want to go check out everything Wallace Stegner has ever written and read it all right now. I’m so sad my book is done! I just want more time with the characters, but since it’s done, the next best thing I can do is read all the rest of his works.

After finishing my book, I skipped class so I could get a paper written before we go to California. I still have more homework to do tomorrow, but at least this paper is out of the way. It was on the history of Garde Manger, and even though I finished writing the paper, I still am not sure if the term Garde Manger refers to the actual Garde Manger chef or the craft of Garde Manger. I kind of side-stepped that in my paper…

Abe took the girls to his cousin’s birthday party down the street while I did homework. Lydia LOVES her cousin, Isabella, and when she got home, she said, “Mama, I want a play date with Isabella right now because I loooooooooove her so much!!” You can see she likes her from the pictures.

Abe's cousin, Alexander, turned 17. — Abe’s cousin, Alexander, turned 17. Also, it took a while to cut that cake. Abe said that Lydia waited patiently and then said very quietly, “Can I have a really big piece, please?” Everyone laughed.

Mary found Isabella's stuffed animal and held it close all evening. — Mary found Isabella’s stuffed animal and held it close all evening.

Lydia and Abe's little cousin, Isabella. — Lydia and Abe’s little cousin, Isabella. They played outside and Isabella picked flowers for Lydia. Lydia could not get enough play time with her favorite cousin!

looooong day

Long day! I got up at 5:15 to get to yoga, and then after yoga I started to drive to school for my competition team meet when I realized that there was no way I could get everything done today if I went to the meeting. So I turned around and headed home.

We ended up shopping for wedding clothes (Jon and Shirley are getting married next week!) and getting ready for the trip. Then we went to Ikea for dinner, and afterward drove to Provo to meet up with our friends Ben, Candace, Cadence–and their new twins, Aria and Bentley. Aria and Bentley were unbelievably adorable. Equally unbelievable was that we didn’t get pictures of them. Oh well. I accidentally overfed Bentley because I was so absorbed in my conversation with Candace, and the poor thing couldn’t take all the milk I was drowning him in. It ended up on my arm, so at least I have a souvenir.

We met up at Chuckee Cheese’s, a place none of us have visited for over twenty years. It was a lot smaller than we remembered! But the kids loved it, and it was a lot easier to talk and visit with all of that entertainment for the kids. The visit seemed short, but before we realized it, two hours had flown by. We reluctantly said goodbye, and then headed for home.

Except. Except Abe has been raving about the massage chairs at Qualtrics, and he really wanted me to try them. We were only five minutes away, so we headed over to try the chairs. When we got there, the chairs were taken! The whole building was empty, but there were two employees there getting massages in the chairs. Abe was bummed, but he was determined not to make the trip in vain. Since his card wouldn’t give him access to the third floor (where there are more massage chairs), he tried to circumvent the system by taking the elevator. No such luck. Instead, we spent ten minutes stuck in the elevator fearing we would never get out. Finally, we figured out we could exit into the garage, which opened back up onto the street. Phew! After that close call, we headed straight for home.

Now I will post the very poor pictures we took of 1) the girls at Kid to Kid, 2) Dinner at Ikea and 3) the girls at Chuckee Cheese.

They were playing Frozen at Ikea. Eventually, we had to go feed Lydia because she was too caught up in the movie to eat.

Short

It’s past midnight, so this will be short.

We had a great morning planting new plants in our garden, and halfway through Sophia, Max and Misty showed up for a play date. We finished planting together and then I talked Misty’s ear off about homeschooling. I love talking to Misty.

Afterward, I practiced a lot of piano while the girls played. During Mary’s nap, I lay on my bed and read and Lydia came in to lie down next to me and color. I love that girl.

Then I had the WORST night of cooking school ever. I came home so discouraged. I am the slowest, most mistake-prone person in my class, and even the chef, who is the nicest, most patient chef in the school, started getting upset with me by the end of class. I just made so many mistakes on my dish! I spent an hour telling Abe how far behind everyone else I am, and now it’s so late that I don’t have much time to blog. Sorry, Mom and Grandma! I also neglected to take pictures today. I WILL do better tomorrow.

Easter Eve

Today was packed, and Abe and I have yet to make Easter baskets and hide eggs, so quickly:

I got up at 5:30am to make it to yoga this morning. By the time I got home, Abe was in an apron making pancakes for all of us. Well, actually, Lydia made them:

Then she had an accident, which meant she had to take a shower, which meant that I got to do her hair while it was wet, which meant I got to practice my ladder braid!

I also did Mary’s hair for the first time. She didn’t like it.

Then I did a couple hours of homework while Abe played legos and other games with the girls. We fed them lunch, put Mary down for a nap, and then I practiced the piano for a couple hours. It felt positively luxurious to play whatever the heck I wanted to play. But it was a gorgeous day, and Abe and Lydia were outside enjoying the day and helping Ron and Shirl, so I finally quit and joined them outside. I found Abe reading his scriptures in the sunshine while Lydia drew chalk pictures next to him. No camera nearby, but it was cute.

Then we packed up the girls for the library, groceries, and the park:

By the time we got home, it was almost dark, so we hurried to plant our new tomato plants and then scurried inside to get dinner ready. Abe and I taught the girls an FHE lesson on Christ’s death and resurrection, and Lydia grilled us with questions all throughout dinner. She was very concerned about the nails-in-hands-and-feet part, which made me wonder if I should have diluted the story more.

At any rate, the girls didn’t get to bed until almost two hours past their bedtime tonight. We are going to have a tough time being on time for church tomorrow…

Good people

Abe is already in bed, so this will be quick.

The most notable things about today were 1) Ina came over and watched the girls so I could do whatever I wanted for three hours. Ina is a saint. She is a woman in our ward who loves my children, and she’s been telling me for years she will babysit for free. I never want to impose, but I have been rather desperate to get to the temple, so finally I asked for her help. When she got here, I realized I’d misplaced my recommend, so I went swimming and grocery shopping instead. Ina is such a huge blessing. Abe and I have been fretting about getting to the temple more, and she was so genuine in her offer to watch the girls whenever we want that I think we will avail ourselves of her sweet help in the future. I am so touched by how much she loves my children, and I am impressed by her giving heart. I could tell she honestly just enjoyed serving, and I hope to be more like her when I grow up!

2) We had dinner with Jill, Ty, their four kids, Katie, Pat, and their three kids. Jill texted me this morning about getting together, but I have school on the other free night she suggested, so we just did it tonight. It was so fun. We forgot to take pictures, but when Abe went upstairs to gather the children, I asked him to take a quick picture first.

Also, I watched a Youtube video and decided to try a new hairstyle on Lydia:

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