Category: time with friends

Baby blessing, beans and bruschetta

The only time in my life I’ve ever been good at fasting was on my mission. That was kind of the Golden Era of fasting in my life, and ever since then I have really struggled. Usually, I break down a couple hours before dinner because all I can think of is food. Last month I didn’t even make it past breakfast! At least today I made it until after my post-church nap, but then I started thinking about food and couldn’t stop. The theme at church seemed to be “God loves us no matter what. Even if we literally can not get out of bed, God loves us as much as if we were the most active, productive people in the world. His love is unchanging.” As I forked into my spaghetti, I was comforted by that message. Next month I will try again.

The pace of the day picked up after that, when I attempted to make a big batch of soup from dried black beans. Here’s something I am ashamed about: I have only tried cooking with dried beans (lentils don’t count) twice in my life, and both times were a huge flop! Until now, I have opted for the cans. But they are so darn expensive, so last night I tried again to soak a bunch of black beans to cook today. I soaked them overnight, cooked them for hours, and reread Mark Bittman’s little homily on the ease and economy of dried beans to bolster my courage. However, even after all of that, my beans still weren’t as creamy as the canned kind. Does anyone know if they need to soak for two days? Cook for six hours? What am I doing wrong?

After I turned my fibrous, less-than-creamy beans into soup, we rushed out the door to drop the kids off at Tom and Suzanne’s so we could attend a baby blessing. Our friends, Aria and Clay Rockwood, had a home blessing tonight. It was exactly the same as a blessing in church, only a lot more fun and with food. They had the best bruschetta I have ever eaten in my life, and Abe and I embarrassed ourselves by going back for…fifths. Aria’s going to send me the recipe for her spread (which involves feta, cream cheese, butter and lemon). Have you ever seen the scene in Julie and Julia where Julie and her husband are eating bruschetta for dinner? I LOVE that scene, and tonight, I lived it out in person. What a dream!

Then we hung out at Tom and Suzanne’s until the girls were so tired that we took them home and put them straight to bed, sans baths.

Here are today’s pictures (also, I figured out yesterday’s pictures, so I amended yesterday’s post, too):

As I was cleaning the kitchen tonight, I saw this duck on the floor and felt overwhelmed with gratitude that I am a mother of small children. Some day they won't leave sweet evidences of innocent play all over the house, and that will be sad.
As I was cleaning the kitchen tonight, I saw this duck on the floor and felt overwhelmed with gratitude that I am a mother of small children. Some day they won’t leave sweet evidences of innocent play all over the house, and that will be sad.
Lydia wailed when we removed her from the side of her grandpa. She thoroughly enjoyed her evening with Tom and Suzanne.
Lydia wailed when we removed her from the side of her grandpa. She thoroughly enjoyed her evening with Tom and Suzanne.
Lydia was born into a family the loves technology.
Lydia was born into a family the loves technology.

 

Mary and Suzanne had fun, too.
Mary and Suzanne had fun, too.

Ice skating at the Gallivan

The only exciting thing I have to report on today is that we went ice skating. Misty, Rich, their kids and some more of their family came too, so it felt like a party. Both Lydia and Mary loooooved ice skating, although Mary got the hang of it a lot quicker. (And by “got the hang of it,” I really mean: She moved her feet like she was skating while Abe and I did the real work of holding her upright as we circled on the ice.) Before we went, Lydia kept telling me that Sophia would hold her hand and teach her how to skate because Sophia was a big girl and knew how to do that already. Maybe she got that idea because the little girl we watched on Youtube yesterday was blonde. At any rate, Abe and I practically threw out our backs helping Lydia skate–she loved the experience, but she was timid and limp the whole time (translation: dead weight).

Abe took pictures on his phone, but the files won’t transfer to the blog. Bummer, since nothing of note happened for the rest of the day. But not a serious bummer, since despite my 270 minutes of exercise this week, I look, um, not skinny in all of the pictures.

Oh! And I memorized my scherzo today. That was happy. All I have left is my Brahms, and my little competition line-up will be 100% memorized.

And now Abe is playing computer games with his brother because his brother is about to leave town, so I’m on my own tonight. Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law, I have Netflix to keep me company. Good night!

This is the day after. We fixed the picture problem, so here are the pictures from ice skating:

ice sakting

lily and lydia ice skating groupgallivan

EventFUL

Abe and I didn’t roll out of bed intending to take the day by storm. We had two things on our agenda: The Jewish Community Center (to sign Lydia up for preschool) and the Library (to pay down our fines).

But the day had us in its sights. From morning until evening, it was packed with events, planned and unplanned, delightful and…well, less than delightful.

First off, we fell in love with the JCC again. Thank goodness we have been saving up for it, because with Abe’s new, slimmer salary, we would not be able to pull off tuition otherwise. As it is, I have to figure out how to feed a family of four three meals a day (plus snacks!) on less than a quarter of my former budget. I figure it comes out to about $1.75 a meal–for ALL of us. I’ll post any ingenious, creative meal solutions, but since I am currently stumped, we’ve started eating Ramen. Thank goodness Mary seems to be a huge fan! As long as we don’t all die of sodium and MSG in the next few months, Ramen it will have to be. But, as Abe pointed out, at least Lydia’s education will be stellar, and that trumps fancy (fresh?) food…we think.

And as long as we’re on the topic of budgeting, today we spent two hours at the library reading to our children–and paid down $24.00 in fines! (I had $31.00 in fines to begin with.)  By the time we were done, Abe was glassy-eyed and unresponsive, Mary was sleepy, and Lydia declared herself “fursty (thirsty), hungwee (hungry) and sweepy (sleepy)–every of them!” I felt a little guilty (not to mention dehydrated) for putting us all through that, but there was a smidgen of triumph in there as well. I mean, it’s a brand new year, and my fines are almost entirely paid off!

Then we came home and got everyone fed and rested, right before I got a call from a dear old friend letting me know she and her mother were in town and could drop by. It was an opportunity too good to pass up, so I raced downstairs and took down ALL of the Christmas decorations and vacuumed like crazy before she arrived. Abe had a nightmare during his nap which woke him up, so he came down and helped. By the time my friend and her mom arrived, the house was completely, 100% Christmas-decoration-free.

My friend, Carolina, was my first friend when I transitioned away from my Presbyterian upbringing and started attending the Mormon church at the age of 13. It was a huge cultural shock, and all of the kids at my new church had known each other since infancy. I had been quite solidly integrated into my old church, and entering a new, foreign environment was scary–especially since I was so shy I couldn’t even bring myself to talk to anyone for the first year. Carolina, though, was a familiar face, since her mom and my mom had let us play together a couple times throughout my childhood. She was so kind to me, and she was the only person at church I felt comfortable being around for a loooong time. It was a deep joy to see her and her lovely mom today, and I loved meeting her little daughter, Leah. Carolina now lives in Utah, so I hope to see more of her now that we’ve reconnected.

After our impromptu reunion with Carolina and Derly, Abe and I went through our regular dinner-bath-bedtime-piano practice routine. After I finished practicing (I memorized the Bach today!!), I went upstairs to check on the girls, who had been giggling and squealing ever since we put them to bed. Shortly before I checked on them, their laughs had turned to sobs. I grabbed my camera before entering, since I hadn’t taken a single photo of the day, and since I expected only to find two tired out little girls. When I entered the room, I immediately took the following picture. It wasn’t until after I’d taken the picture that I realized what had happened…

Lydia had poured baby powder all over herself and Mary, and she'd smeared diaper rash cream into her hair and Mary's. Mary was pretty upset.
Lydia had poured baby powder all over herself and Mary, and she’d smeared diaper rash cream into her hair and Mary’s. Mary was pretty upset.

I immediately picked up Mary and took her to the bathroom to bathe her again, and when Abe came up, he took a close-up of Lydia before bringing her to the bathroom, too.

Lydia was hysterical for the next hour. Scrubbing diaper rash cream out of hair is crazy difficult, and both girls were exhausted and very, very sad by the time they were a little cleaner.
Lydia was hysterical for the next hour. Scrubbing diaper rash cream out of hair is crazy difficult, and both girls were exhausted and very, very sad by the time we finished.

Poor little things. Despite the fact that we heartlessly photographed their pain, we actually felt really bad for them. At the same time, we feel happy because after the cleaning ordeal, we are sure Lydia will never do this again.

I am going to go read my first book of the new year now. Maybe I’ll finally be able to finish one!

day after the day after

I started off the day trying to make zimsterne for my grandma, since my mom flies back tomorrow. They were the biggest flop! I wanted to cry by the time we were done; the kitchen was a wreck and my cookies were an ugly, sticky mess. First world problem, I know...but I still felt legitimately frustrated. Lydia felt fine about it all, though. Obviously.
Before I brushed my teeth or showered or ate breakfast I tried to make zimsterne for my grandma, since my mom flies back tomorrow. They were the biggest flop! I wanted to cry by the time we were done; the kitchen was a wreck and my cookies were an ugly, sticky mess. First world problem, I know…but I still felt legitimately frustrated.

I spent the rest of the morning and most of the day organizing. That felt great.

Abe did Insanity again with the girls:

IMG_6098 IMG_6102

After cleaning, I jumped right into cooking for our dinner party with two of our friends, Jon and Shirley. Abe is marrying them this May, and so they wanted to talk about what goes into all of that. Balu came too, and so the occasion felt festive (made even more so by the fact that 10 minutes before everyone arrived, both girls changed out of their pj’s…)

I tried the squash rings again, and it worked! I just needed smaller squashes. These are golden acorn.
I tried the squash rings again, and it worked! I just needed smaller squashes. These are golden acorn.
I had extra cheese and extra time, so why not make a souffle?
I had extra cheese and extra time, so why not make a souffle?

The most exciting news of the day just might be that our new microwave is up and working. I had no idea what a difference that would make; Abe and I agreed that the strata I made for Christmas actually tasted better microwaved than it did when we ate it the first time. Thanks, Clark and Swathi! You’ve changed our lives!

 

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas! Technically, it’s already Christmas. All I can say is, at least Abe and I are not in the throes of assembling Lydia’s kitchen–which is what we were doing last Christmas until 3am. He’s still downstairs wrapping the last present and tidying up, and I am typing as fast as I can so we can go to bed. Tomorrow I have to get up at 6 am to start the orange rolls.

Today has been loooong. It started with scriptures and Bikram yoga–a delightful combination, made better by Anique’s company at yoga. Then we both did some last minute grocery shopping, after which Abe and I went to Barnes and Noble to do our Christmas shopping. Before today, we had not even started to think about the process. The busy mall comforted us and helped us feel better about the fact that we are not the only procrastinators of the season.

Then I came home and played some piano, after which we headed over to the Miner’s for their Christmas Eve celebration. They do readings, songs and a talent show of sorts, so that was fun. I always miss the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston on Christmas Eve, because the pageant there never failed to bring home the story of Christ’s birth for me. But since there’s no similar event here, it is really nice to celebrate with Suzanne’s family. Plus they have a great cookie buffet at the end.

After that, we put out cookies and a letter for Santa, and we told the girls to listen for the reindeer as they fell asleep. Abe shook some bells outside their door and said, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” We could hear Lydia inside telling Mary to be good and that Santa was here to bring her cat back.

Then I made stratas for our brunch tomorrow, and Abe wrapped all of the presents. We still have to order some gifts online, and then we’ll be done and ready for bed!

Here are today’s pictures:

The girls started the day in bed with Nana reading books.
The girls started the day in bed with Nana reading books.
Lydia sometimes cries so much she gets a nosebleed. Or she picks her nose to the point where she gets a nosebleed. I think the latter happened here.
Lydia sometimes cries so much she gets a nosebleed. Or she picks her nose to the point where she gets a nosebleed. I think the latter happened here.
Leaving cookies for Santa.
Leaving cookies for Santa.
Writing a note to Santa.
Writing a note to Santa.
The note Lydia helped dictate to Abe.
The note Lydia helped dictate to Abe.
See that blue bag? I didn't see it until this evening, but Abe brought it up from where he's been storing it, and it turns out that Clark and Swathi sent us a microwave for Christmas! Those two. They are the sweetest siblings ever. But Abe has been eyeing the bag the microwave came in, and he used it as "Santa's sack." Also, note Lydia's cat peeking out of her stocking. We are so excited for her to reunite with him!
See that blue bag? I didn’t see it until this evening, but Abe brought it up from where he’s been storing it, and it turns out that Clark and Swathi sent us a microwave for Christmas! Those two. They are the sweetest siblings ever. But Abe has been eyeing the bag the microwave came in, and he used it as “Santa’s sack.” Also, note Lydia’s cat peeking out of her stocking. We are so excited for her to reunite with him!

the best Christmas cookies and neighbor love

Watching the Tchaikovsky piano concerto no. 1 this morning on Youtube was so thrilling that I accidentally gave myself shin splints running to the music. But tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so lying around nursing sore legs was not an option. Instead, Lydia and I turned out several batches of Christmas cookies before we packaged them up and delivered them to our awesome neighbors.

I had never made zimsterne before, but they are my new favorite Christmas cookie.

Cinnamon stars. Oh my gosh, I can not believe I had never tried making these before. The cookie is a nut meringue with a meringue icing baked on. I could live on these, I think.
Zimsterne (cinnamon stars). Oh my gosh, I can not believe I had never tried making these before. The cookie is a nut meringue with a meringue icing baked on. I could live on these, I think.
They are perfect for making with kids. Every step is kid friendly, and Lydia was so proud of herself.
They are perfect for making with kids. Every step is kid friendly, and Lydia was so proud of herself.
After I took this photo, I taught her how to spread the icing all over the cookie.
After I took this photo, I taught her how to spread the icing all over the cookie.
This is out of order. Between the meringue-making and the cookie icing, Lydia pooped in her pants for the first time ever since we took away her diapers. She made it to the potty for most of it, but I wonder if the meringue set her off....
This is out of order. Between the meringue-making and the cookie icing, Lydia pooped in her pants for the first time ever since we took away her diapers. She made it to the potty for most of it, but I wonder if the meringue set her off….
I forgot to post this picture a couple days ago. I am so proud of this hair...even though it all fell out within a matter of hours. I need to find kid-sized bobby pins!
I forgot to post this picture a couple days ago. I am so proud of this hair…even though it all fell out within a matter of hours. I need to find kid-sized bobby pins!

Anyway, my favorite part of today was dropping off gifts to our neighbors. It felt like Halloween again; we got short visits in with so many wonderful people, and I just love my neighbors! For some crazy reason, we decided to drive the gifts around and our car got stuck in a snowbank across the street from our house. I felt SO dumb, but luckily, the three boys who live across the street pushed the car out. The whole incident made me feel even more grateful for good neighbors who have compassion and help their apparently idiotic neighbors across the street.

Abe worked late tonight, so this day that started at 6:45am did not slow down until 9pm when I finally got the girls in bed. After that, I lay in bed watching Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Olga Kern, and Yuji Wang (respectively) play the Rachmaninoff 3rd piano concerto. At that point, Abe kicked me out of bed so he could go to bed and I could blog.

Ah, sleep.

The Simmons and a prayer

We got to church over an hour late today…oops! Guess we stayed up too late last night.

During Sacrament meeting, Mary lay on the floor and cuddled Chester, a service dog. (His owner is our friend and gave us explicit, unsolicited permission.) Lydia, who is scared of dogs, interrupted the whole meeting by crying in a loud, terrified voice," Daddy!! Get May-wee! Chester is going to eat her!!"
During Sacrament meeting, Mary lay on the floor and cuddled Chester, a service dog. (His owner is our friend and gave us explicit, unsolicited permission.) Lydia, who is scared of dogs, interrupted the whole meeting by crying in a loud, terrified voice,” Daddy!! Get May-wee! Chester is going to eat her!!”

In other news, we caught up on sleep all afternoon, and then I cooked for the rest of the day. We had Balu, Fallon, Morgan, Audrey and Eli over for dinner. I made stuffed pumpkins again ($1 pumpkins at Sprouts right now!) and followed through with the actual kale-garlic mashed potatoes recipe that I didn’t quite finish last week. Last night I dried out spelt bread for the pumpkins. I think this time was the best go of the pumpkins yet; the quality of the bread makes SUCH a difference! In my ideal world, the next time I’d try this would be with brioche or challah…but let’s be serious. That type of bread wouldn’t last long enough to go stale in my house, so spelt might be as good as it gets.

Audrey and Lydia and Mary spent the evening running around the house playing with each other. It was so cute to see how Audrey and Lydia included Mary in their play and even became distressed when Mary would wander back to the grown-ups. Meanwhile, the grown-ups were going ga-ga over 23 pound, one-year old Eli (his 3 year old sister, Audrey, weighs a mere three pounds more than he). He kept flashing the table these adorable, mile-wide grins that melted us right down through the floor.

Balu was a great sport and endured another dinner conversation about parenting, Provo and potty-training, and he remained jovial through it all. We love him.

At bedtime, Lydia said the most beautiful prayer of her life. I have Balu, my mom, and Abe to corroborate what I’m recording, and I hope if I get any of it wrong or leave out parts, they’ll help me amend this post later. We did not help Lydia at all–this is just what was in her heart tonight.

“Fank-you (“thank-you”) that Balu and Nana could come over. Fank-you that Daddy could get a new job. Fank-you that May-wee and me can get a good sweep (sleep). Fank-you for Marian (Anderson, the African American opera singer from the 30’s). Fank-you for my new books. Fank-you that we can sleep in late. Fank-you for all of my bwessings (blessings). In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”

I’m sure I’m leaving parts out because it was quite a long prayer, but that’s what I remember. At the end we were all so grateful for our sweet, grateful little girl.

Here are today’s pictures:

IMG_5906

After Mary's nap, we neglected to go to her right away. We then found Lydia by Mary's Pack 'n Play saying, "Ma-wee, are you awake sweet baby? Do you want to get out of your cwib?" It was very touching.
After Mary’s nap, we neglected to go to her right away. We then found Lydia by Mary’s Pack ‘n Play saying, “May-wee, are you awake sweet baby? Do you want to get out of your cwib?” It was very touching.

Dinner with Jessica

Lydia had two nightmares last night, so her 7am request for tape (to fix one of the books she accidentally broke in her sleep) came a little early today. I felt like such a zombie this morning, and that feeling gave me a lot more compassion for my excessively low productivity/activity level this past three years. If I felt that sleep deprived (and let’s be honest, having a newborn and/or pregnancy is light years away from a mere two-nightmare night), then I should be celebrating the fact that I even managed to function at all.  Piano practice and cooking school would not even be remote possibilities under that level of fatigue.

During Mary’s nap, I made a beeline for bed. After that, I felt much better. So much better that I took the kids to the grocery store and the library. Then I cooked for the rest of the day because my responsible friend from cooking school, Jessica, came over for dinner.

She is a passionate foodie, so I wanted to try something I hadn’t done before. After scrolling through food blogs, I settled upon this post. Don’t those squash rings look dear? Well, let me tell you: They’re insanely, ridiculously complicated, especially if you, like me, have no knife skills to speak of. I practically lost my hand trying to cut those stupid squash rings, and finally, after hacking an entire acorn squash to bits and getting one ONE measly little ring out of it, I said to heck with it. Stuffed squash for dinner it was.

I should have glazed the squash with butter and maple syrup, but I was so demoralized by my cutting fiasco that I neglected the rest of the instructions.
Looks dry, doesn’t it? I should have glazed the squash with butter and maple syrup, but I was so demoralized by my cutting fiasco that I neglected to follow the rest of the directions.

By the time I took this picture, I had put the rest of the food (whipped sweet potatoes and roasted broccoli) away. Dessert was still on the table though.

Chocolate amaretto cake. Basically, you grind up amaretto cookies, zest some orange, melt some chocolate, add eggs and sugar, bake and voila! For the real recipe, click here.
Chocolate amaretto cake. Basically, you grind up amaretto cookies, zest some orange, melt some chocolate, add eggs and sugar, bake and voila! For the real recipe, click here. I can actually really vouch for this one–I’ve done it many times, and it’s pretty foolproof.

We so enjoyed our time with Jessica. We learned a lot about the military (she spent ten years in it, and even was in the head trauma unit in both Iraq and Afghanistan), and I had my heartstrings pulled by her personal stories. What a wonderful person.

In kid-related news, Mary has now learned to climb the stove. I kid you not. Tomorrow I will try to rearrange the kitchen, but in the meantime I have random pieces of furniture strewn everywhere from my various attempts to block her progress.

This is where she perched while I cooked. She'd alternate between eating her amaretto cookie and standing up to see if she could reach anything interesting on the counter.
This is where she perched while I cooked. She’d alternate between eating her amaretto cookie and standing up to see if she could reach anything interesting on the counter.

Almost. Done.

Tomorrow I turn in my last final. I just submitted my second final project (due yesterday) online. At class tonight I submitted the project I did yesterday night. I am tired. And so, without further ado, here are today’s pictures:

We had a play date and dinner, with our friend, Jill, and her four kids.
We had a play date and dinner, with our lovely friend, Jill, and her four sweet kids. Her husband is deployed right now, and I have no idea how she does it. But she is amazing, and she does it.
I came upstairs to discover Lydia trying to convince Megan, Lillian, and Nolan to watch her go potty. Maybe we have praised her too much; she now thinks that going to the potty is akin to a performing art--something everyone would enjoy seeing!
I came upstairs to discover Lydia trying to convince Megan, Lillian, and Nolan to watch her go potty. Maybe we have praised her too much; she now thinks that going to the potty is akin to a performing art–something everyone would enjoy seeing.

Abe’s new job!!!

Abe officially accepted a new job with Qualtrics today!! He is elated, and after putting in his two weeks notice with his current job, he feels over-the-moon with joy. It’s been a long road, but the end is finally in sight. Yay, Abe!!! I am so happy for him. He has worked so hard for so long, and he finally gets to join a healthy, happy company. Woo-hoo!!

We won’t be moving right away, but since the commute is about an hour (Qualtrics is based out of Provo), we will be moving to Provo at some point in time.

I am really excited to be close to BYU, because after cooking school I would LOVE to get a masters degree in religion. How convenient will it be to live right next to BYU? So convenient! Plus it’s one of three google fiber cities in the U.S., and the mountains are right there.

The downside: Provo is even more homogeneous than Salt Lake, if that’s possible. Scaaarrry. Also, I will miss Misty.

She came over for a play date today, and the girls baked cookies together.

Lydia said, "Sophia, sweet-hawt, come here!" and then, when Sophia was rolling out the cookie dough: "Sophia, honey, there's dough sticking to the rowing pin. Wet me hewp you." (Lydia loves Sophia.)
Lydia said, “Sophia, sweet-hawt, come here!” and then, when Sophia was rolling out the cookie dough: “Sophia, honey, there’s dough sticking to the rowing pin. Wet me hewp you.” (Lydia loves Sophia, and she also can’t pronounce “L” yet.)
Sophia loved patting the dough into a ball.
Sophia loved patting the dough into a ball.
Here they are playing chase around the house.
Here they are playing chase around the house.
...And I'm in love with Mary's chubby little legs.
…And I’m in love with Mary’s chubby little legs.
Mary lives--and I don't think I'm exaggerating--on clementines. One rolled under the butcher block, and she was determined to get it back.
Mary lives–and I don’t think I’m exaggerating–on clementines. One rolled under the butcher block, and she was determined to get it back.

Today was a great day. To make it even better, I was STARVING during the girls’ naps because when it’s snowy outside, the last thing I ever want to do is go grocery shopping. Anique called me out of the blue and dropped off some delicious baked beans and butternut squash soup. It was so sweet! I couldn’t even believe it. Not only did Abe get a new job and I get to spend the morning with Misty, but when hunger hit, food and a friend showed up at my door. Lucky me!

Also, my revised blog post is now up at Mormon Momma. The last paragraph at the end is the result of my sleepless, guilt-ridden nights after writing the original article.