Baby's First Valentines Day

Unfortunately Annamaria is sick. It started off with a cough on Friday. We assumed she just caught the wheezy cough from Harrison since he's been sick the past week. But her's has progressed to a gunky nose too. And she sounds so congested, that it just worried me. We've been putting her to sleep in the car seat again so she can breathe. So after my lunch delivery, I took her to see the doctor on call. He said she needed a little help. He prescribed antibiotics and a light steroid to keep her lungs under control. Something to watch, since I have asthma I'm paranoid my kids will have it too. I did buy her a little outfit for Valentine's Day, but she's sleeping now so I'll have to get a picture later. I did get to find out what she's weighing in at these days. 14 pounds 3 ounces. That's fully clothed. Unbeliveable. She's nine months old and barely 14 pounds. She's a tiny. The doctor called her petite.

Because I'm A Dumb Ass

I was making Oatmeal cookies this morning for my lunch client today, and I mixed the dough and thought to myself that it seemed kind of sticky. But I haven't made these cookies in a bit, so I thought I just forgot their consistency. So I let the dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes like the recipe says, then scoop the dough out onto my baking sheets and pop them in the oven. As I turn around I see a bowl of flour, all measured and waiting, sitting on the counter top that was suposed to be added to the dough. No wonder the dough was sticky. So I quickly open the oven, snatch my baking trays back out of the oven, and grab the little balls of stickiness and toss them back into the mixing bowl. Add the flour and mix. I was then able to resume my baking routine. What a dumb ass!

The other night, I was just lying my head on my pillow to go to sleep, and suddenly it hits me and I sit bolt upright in bed. I forgot all about my cake decorating class, scheduled for January 8th. Completely forgot. And what really bites my heiny, was that I had to reschedule this class twice! The first time was because I was having a baby. The second time was because we decided to go to Montana at the last minute for the 4th of July. And this class is always full. Hence my having to wait until January to get into the class again. And I really need some help in the cake decorating arena. That's $59 tossed down the toilet. What a dumb ass!

Sometimes I really wonder how I function at all.

Superbowl Sunday

O-kay, so this is not my typical Superbowl Sunday experience. I have been known to take advantage of low attendance at Disneyland during the Superbowl. Or even a chance to go to Old Town for margaritas and rolled tacos with minimal crowds. And if anyone asks me if I know the latest score, my reply is usually that I don't even know who's playing. Suffice it to say, I usually don't watch sports. Not football, not baseball, not basketball. And in general, I get very bugged by people who's lives revolve around the different sport seasons. Or let "their" team losing a game ruin their day. It is just a game afterall. There are much more important things in life. I did go through a Nascar phase about ten years ago, but really, that was just a good excuse to sit around, drink beer and wait for a car crash to happen. And I've been to a few Ice Hockey games back in my late teens. But that was back when I lived in the DC area and got to go see the Capitals play. But other than that, I really don't go in for sports. Unless you can count figure skating or gymnastics when the olympics are going on. But for some reason this year is different. I've been looking forward to it. Once I decided last week to actually sit down and watch it, I've had a strange sense of anticipation. We came home from Mass this morning, and I made a pot of chili, a big bowl of homemade salsa, guacamole and onion dip. I've got a fresh bag of tortilla chips, kettle cooked jalapeno chips, and a bag of Ruffles potato chips. I think I'm all set. The thing is is that I know the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing, because our friend from Pennslyvania is all excited that "his" team made it to the Superbowl. But I don't know who the other team is. Which makes me question my anticipation for this year's game. Is it all about the game itself, or is it all about food?

Happy 9 Months Old Annamaria!

I cannot believe my little pooge of a girl is already nine months old. She doesn't yet say "ma", or "da", but she does say "ba ba ba". She doesn't wave good-bye or blow kisses, which she's suposedly suposed to be doing by now. She still doesn't crawl with her tummy off the ground, unless she makes it into the kitchen, then tries to get her tummy off the cold stone floor. She is still toothless too. So was Sophia until she year one year. Annamaria sits up if you place her that way, and will stay for a bit, until she looses her balance then tumbles over. But she can pull herself up to a kind of hunched standing position. I know each child is different and shouldn't be compared, but I think Sophia pretty much followed the timelines given in the baby development guides, and Harrison crawled and walked and grew teeth like a champ. He was a bit slow to talk, and we're still working on potty training though. Annamaria is still pretty little, it's been a while since her last check-up, but I'd guess she's not over 14 pounds. Maybe 15. She eats like she knows what she's doing, and I've never seen her turn down anything that's been offered. I'm wondering if she'll just catch up some day, and before I know it will be doing it all. Funny, you'd think by the third child I'd have this all figured out by now.

A Milestone Missed

Today Annamaria pushed herself into a standing position using her bouncy seat and I was unable to capture any photographic evidence of this amazing feat. "Why?", you may ask. Because for some strange reason our digital camera is not cooperating. Upon closer inspection Vince found that the memory disk had been scratched and is pretty much useless now. It kind of looks like maybe, oh I don't know, maybe Harrison put it in his mouth and scratched it with one of his canine teeth. How he came to finding it, pulling it out of the camera or the computer adaptor and sticking it in his mouth, then putting it back, I'll never know. Maybe he's getting a bad rap and he's completely innocent, but that really would fit in with his behavior these past couple days. He's been in trouble for one thing or another for what seems like forever, and it's really trying my patience. I'm hoping it's only a phase. I thought he pulled off the "terrible two's" with uncommon style, but it looks like the "terrible three's" will be something to remember.

Taking Care of Business

My husband is being very responsible right now, and is meeting with a Life Insurance guy from the Knights of Columbus. One of the reasons he joined the Knights was because they have unsurpased life insurance. So after four years of being a Knight, he's taking the plunge and buying into it. Home owner's insurance is required by our mortgage company, and car insurance is required by law, but it's hard to voluntarily pay for something that you don't get anything physical for. And that hopefully you won't see the benefits of for a very long time. But I guess that's part of growing up and becoming an adult.

Our kitchen is coming along nicely. We had granite countertops put in last week. Santa Cecilia is the name of the granite we chose. Funny, Cecilia is one of the names I was considering for Annamaria. Before she was Annamaria that is. So my upper cabinets are done. My lower drawers are in, just need to be faced. And I have about four more lower cabinets that need to be put in. Vince is constantly working, but I don't see much progress, until "boom", he comes in with everything finished and just puts it all in. I have to keep that in mind when I start getting impatient. Now we need a drywall guy to finish off the walls in the kitchen. And the paneling and ugly, ugly paneled ceiling in the den needs to be covered over and finished off too. I keep trying to think of things I can do around the house to help out, but I'm very limited it what I can do on my own. I need to touch up the paint in Sophia's room. I never finished off around the ceiling real neatly. We were going to put up crown moulding in there, then changed our minds. And Harrison tore down part of the wall paper border when he was still in the nursery, so that needs to be repaired too. Our "To Do" list seems insurmountable. Do you ever get your house to where you consider it "done"?

Check These Out

Cool videos.

Oh my gosh. I haven't laughed this hard in I don't know how long. My sides hurt.
Check out this video

And this one isn't funny, but it's pretty cool

I promise a more personal post soon.

I Used to Scuba, But Now I Scooba

UPS finally delivered my robotic floor cleaner last night. It was Christmas all over again. I was so excited. So after charging its battery overnight, it is now ready for use. So cute, like a big, blue hockey puck. I immediately became attached to it. As I blog away, my kitchen floor is being swept, scrubbed, and dried. It is a thing of beauty.

Unfortunately Harrison was so mezmerized by it, that he failed to tell us he needed to use the potty, and pooped in his pull-up. If there was only some automated robotic thingy like the Roomba or Scooba that changed diapers. The Pooba. Now that would be worth having.

2006 So Far

I still need to get a 2006 calendar. I keep finding myself looking up, trying to figure out what the date is, then realize I'm looking at December 2005. Pretty fustrating. So from what I can figure today is January 9th. Where has the time gone?

Let's see . . . we followed our little New Year's Eve celebration tradition again this year. I made way too much food, enough for about 10 people. Of course it was just me and Vince and the kids, but I can never help myself. Since we had Sophia, we've just stayed home, and I've made Asian food galore. This year I made beef satays with mango dipping sauce, vietnamese spring rolls with a garlic/lime dipping sauce, fresh spring rolls with a spicy peanut dipping sauce, pork & peanut wontons served with a sweet chili dipping sauce. Then I bought sushi and some potstickers to round out the meal. I must have been recovering from Vegas still because I only drank caffeine-free Coke all night. Woo hoo, you go girl!

I had a week and a half off from catering. A very nice break. Started cooking again on January 3rd. Ended up with four jobs last week, and I have three jobs this week. Nothing like starting out with a bang. And I must really be getting good at this catering thing, because I had dinner for 30 last Saturday, and I didn't start prepping until after noon that day. Then once I got started, I was done by 2:30 pm, and didn't have to be at the job site until 5pm. Plus I had the kids all by myself too. That's my kind of gig. They should all go so smoothly.

Since Vince's Christmas break, someone must have lit a fire under his ass, because he's really making progress on the kitchen. I have cabinet doors on all my upper cabinets, and drawers on my lower cabinets. We may even be picking out counter tops soon. I'm very excited, you just don't know what it's been like living with a construction zone kitchen for as long as I have. Especially with as much cooking as I do.

Now look at my girl go. She's not "properly" crawling yet, her tummy doesn't leave the ground, but boy does she get around. I can leave her in the den, and moments later she's joining me in the kitchen. Scoot, scoot, scoot. Now she's getting under the coffee table. Of course she usually lands on her face while getting "down", but she doesn't seem to mind. She's dealing with a gunky nose lately. Has been since New Year's. Now I have a gunky nose too. Poor baby has been sleeping in her car seat, in her crib for about a week now, just to keep her upright so she's able to breathe and sleep through the night.

January 6th was my Grandma's 83rd birthday. Happy Birthday Granny M. Vince stayed home with the kids, so I could go out with my Mom and Grandma to celebrate. We headed up to Valley View casino for a little gambling fun, but most of all for their buffet. It really is good, rivals any Vegas buffet for the price in my foodie opinion. Now those of you who have a 2006 calendar can see that the 6th falls on a Friday. Therefore, the casino was mobbed. We ended up turning around and going somewhere else. It was a bit dissapointing, but we'll be back. During the week I'm sure.

I need to get going, I have lunch for twenty tomorrow, and some laundry to get to. But first a picture of Harrison modeling his new Spiderman PJ's. And for some reason he loves his swimming goggles, wears them all the time. I think he's just a weird kid. Enjoy.

The Gifts Just Keep On Giving

My Christmas gift from my mom was a trip to Vegas. Vince stayed home with the kids, and my mom took me away for a couple of nights of rest and relaxation. Now the last time I was in Vegas I was pregnant with Annamaria, so my goal was to drink in abundance and do a little gambling. My goal was achieved. We arrived in Vegas Wednesday afternoon, and started with a light sushi lunch. Did a little gambling, then went to the oyster bar for dinner. Did a little more gambling, had ice cream sundaes for dessert. Then did a little more gambling. Once I thought I lost enough money, I headed up to the room. Did a little reading, then went to sleep. The next morning we got to sleep in. Hit the buffet for breakfast, then did a little more gambling. Now you may be thinking I have a gambling problem at this point, but really I didn't loose more than $60. Which is still more than I wanted to loose. Actually I wanted to win, but I never do. We had appointments at the spa at noon, so we headed to the spa and relaxed in the jacuzzi for a bit. Then headed to our massage appointments. Eighty minutes of muscle relaxing heaven. Thank you mom! After the spa my mom took me shopping, and we spent way too long in the Chico's store. As a belated birthday gift, she bought me a couple outfits. So that evening I got to wear one of my new outfits to Gallagher's in the New York New York to dinner. We dined on prime meat to our heart's content, and ate the best onion rings ever, while drinking Ketel One martinis. It's been a while for me, they were going down pretty easily. After our dinner we headed to The Big Apple Bar, and watched a great band until almost two in the morning, and sipped apple martinis. We "shared" about seven of them. Like I said, my goal was to drink in abundance, and I met my goal. The next morning we were both feeling a little green around the gills, so we just packed up, decided to skip breakfast, and head home. The problem was neither of us could remember where the car was parked. So after rolling our suitcases around one parking lot, and then another, we finally came across the car. All in all, it was a great escape. After getting over feeling guilty for leaving my husband home with three small children, I truly enjoyed myself. Looking forward to the next time.

A Very Merry Christmas

We changed our schedule a bit this Christmas. We planned on attending the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve, but the kids were in such a hyperactive state, Vince and I decided to skip it and attend Mass on Christmas morning instead. Something I've never done. Christmas morning was always about gifts and food. But Christmas falling on a Sunday this year, it only seemed to make sense to go Christmas morning. Besides, the Vigil Masses are packed, and there is no nursery, so the kids (meaning Harrison), would be impossible to control during the entire service. So Sunday morning we got the kids up, dressing in their Christmas finest and went to mass. And I must say, it was very pleasant. It wasn't crowded at all, and it was just he right way to start the special day. We got home, had a quick breakfast of lox and bagels (yummy!), changed back into our pajamas, and resumed with our Christmas festivities. Our tree was loaded with gifts. Really, it was quite disgusting. There are actually more presents behind the tree that you can't see in this photo.

Sophia wanted to just rip through the gifts, we had to slow her down. Harrison would play a bit with whatever he opened, then move on. I remember when Sophia used to be like that. Annamaria slept through most of the activity, woke up to eat and scooch around, open gift with some help, then went back to sleep.

Later in the day, my mom and grandma came over. Then later my great uncle Joe and his friend Ruth joined us. My big suprise for my grandma and uncle Joe was Torrone. I can proudly say I made it myself. And it only took two batches to get it right. Now for those of you who don't know what Torrone is, think Italian divinity. It is a honey nougat with almonds and pistachios. And my uncle Joe said it tasted just like he remembered from way back when. I could have popped. Really, what do you get people who have everything? And if they don't they have more money than God to buy it for themselves? The older I get, the more people I have in my life that fit into this category.

I made an herb-roasted prime rib, parisian potatoes and baby asparagus for dinner. My mom prepared sfinga ( I know I'm not spelling that right) for dessert. Again, think Italian beignets. Harrison couldn't get enough.

I think Sophia's favorite gift was a Leapster L-Max, which Harrison would like to have too. Here is a picture of Sophia playing with her Leapster while Harrison watches. Funny how they're either getting along famously, or at each other's throats. Actually it's not really funny, it's more annoying than anything.

I was very spoiled this year. Among other things I got a new Cuisinart Food Processor. Now, I already have one, my mom bought it for me over 15 years ago. But just a little bit ago I broke part of the lid. I've been using it anyway, I just thought I'd get a replacement lid, but Vince bought me a new large capacity one. It's a thing of beauty. And major suprise was a Scooba. What's a Scooba you say? That's what I said anyway. O-kay, you know the Roomba? The little robotic floor vaccuum? I either wanted one of those or a Dyson, but in his research, Vince came across the Scooba. It's made my the same people who make the Roomba, but it is a hard floor cleaner. And I HATE cleaning the kitchen and wood floors, so this seemed more "gift like" to him, and I have to agree. The only bummer is that it's not here yet. It's being shipped by the producers. But in it's place I got a little Chinese take-out with a fortune cookie in it, and the fortune said, "A cleaner floor is the path to a clearer mind. Stop mopping. Scooba is coming." What the heck? He had to explain, but once he did, wow! How clever. But it doesn't stop there. A couple years ago, when asked what I wanted for Christmas I replied diamond earrings. So on Christmas morning, I open a jewelry box and find a diamond cross. It was beautiful, but not what I asked for. Now being the brat that I am, and not being one who likes suprises, I looked at my expectant husband and said, "but I wanted earrings". Now the good news is that he's still married to me. He was so proud of himself, he picked it out himself, and it really is the most beautiful cross I've ever seen, but it wasn't what I was expecting, and I popped his bubble. The bad news is that he told me he'd never buy me another piece of jewelry again. I think I deserved that. So last year, I received another jewelry box, but upon opening it, I found it to be empty. After thinking he was just cruel, Vince then told me that we would go down to our jewelers and I could pick out a pair of earrings myself. Well, that never happened. So this year I wasn't expecting anything jewelry related. Really, after the way I behaved about the cross, that I now wear all the time, I couldn't blame him. So I was very suprised to receive a jewelry box, and in them were a pair of diamond earrings. Just as colorless and perfect as could be. Did I mention that I'm spoiled?

Hope everyone out there had a wonderful Christmas too.

Happy Birthday Sophie-Wophie-Poo-Poo-Girl!

Today my first born turned 7 years old. Where did the time go? Unfortunately I had to cater lunch today, so I don't think she had the dream day she was hoping for. We did make it to the park for a little bit, and the Grandmas came over for dinner and cake. Sophia wanted a dolphin cake with blue frosting. I bombed the cake by trying a new recipe. Followed the recipe to a tee, Sophia even assisted. It was the dryest, hardest and toughest cake I've ever made. Sophia didn't care. She was more interested in the gummy dolphins I used to decorate her cake. O-kay, so they're really gummy sharks, but I didn't know where to get gummy dolphins. And being 7 years old, Sophia has adequate imagination to pass the sharks off as dolphins. All I can say is, thank God my cake decorating class is less than a month away. From the look of things, I really can use it.

In my defense, I let Sophia pick the decorative frosting from the tube to write with, and she insisted on the kind that is impossible to write with. It may not be too pretty, but everything else is from scratch. Except of course for the gummy sharks.

So to celebrate her birthday properly, I'm taking her to Disneyland tomorrow. Just the two of us. A grand Girls Day Out. Shhhhh, don't tell her, it's a suprise.

The Case of the Missing Advent Calendar Chocolates

In celebration of the season, both Sophia and Harrison were bought Advent calendars to count down the days until Christmas. They even got to pick which design they wanted. Sophia picked out a snowman motif, while Harrison chose the Santa at the Christmas Tree design. Each and everyday, they both get to open the one door on their calendar that corresponds to whatever day it is, and get a surprise by what shape the chocolate is, then they get to enjoy the treat. Yesterday, I walked into the den to find Harrison sitting on the floor with Sophia's Advent calendar. At first glance, the calendar was fine, just on the floor. Upon closer inspection, I found that the doors had been opened and the chocolates removed. The doors were then pushed back closed. "What did you do?", I asked. "Did you eat your sister's chocolates. Did you open all the doors on her calendar?". "No", he replied. "Then where are the chocolates?", I asked. He replied by pointing to his stomach. Apparently the chocolates mysteriously vanished from Sophia's calendar, and reappeared in Harrison's stomach. Spooky.

How Did This Happen Again?

Here is what my week looks like . . .

• Monday - Catering
• Tuesday - Catering
• Wednesday - Bible Study
• Thursday - Catering
• Friday - Catering
• Saturday - Catering

I swear, I don't know how this happened. The only thing I can think is that when a client would ask if I was free on a certain day, I would look at the specific day they were asking about, and not look at the rest of the week. Therefore I never got a clear view of the big picture, the grand scheme of things, the whole enchilada. And no, no one ordered enchiladas. Although I still don't know what I'm making for Thursday's lunch order, so you never know.

Holiday Eating Tips

My friend e-mailed this to me last year, and being the foodie that I am, I thought it was brilliant. Enjoy.

Christmas Eating Tips

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have the nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have the two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread the tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

The Toothless Wonder

The toothfairy strikes again! I forgot this picture was in my camera in all my catering drama. Sophia lost another tooth last week. That makes six total, four currently missing. One of Sophia's classmate's mom gave me the phone number for the Toothfairy, so for all you out there with toothless kids, here it is . . . 619/275-7195.

So it occured to me that if she gets sassy and needs a little discipline, a great punishment would be corn on the cob for dinner. I'm so mean.

Seems Like It's Been A While

It seems like a while since I've posted, but only a few days have passed. What does that mean? My days are so busy, my life is just flying by? I hope not.

This week has been pretty good. O-kay, it's only Wednesday, but it seems like the end of the week to me. Maybe it's because tomorrow is my last catering job for the week, so technically today is Thursday for me. Or maybe my sense of time has just completely flown out the window. I took it pretty easy on Monday, didn't start shopping for Tuesday's lunch job until about 1:30. That gave me most of the day to catch up on paper work and such. Catered lunch for 15 on Tuesday. Today I had a luncheon for 19 at a client's home. She is the nicest woman, volunteers with the Assistance League and has this end-of-the-year luncheon for her trainees every year. So this is the second year I've catered this lunch for her. It's not "drop-off" catering though. I have to get all dressed up in my black and white catering attire and be presentable, while serving these well-to-do ladies who volunteer their time for the less fortunate. How good of them. Her driveway was loaded with Mercedes and Lexus'. And her home was designed and built and Frank Lloyed Wright's son. It's not at all pretentious though, but it is fabulous. I love her kitchen! I wish my cell phone was a camera phone, because I could shoot some photos of that place let me tell ya.

I just dribbled egg nog spiked with bourbon into my key board. Oops. The fact that I waited until a quarter to 5:00pm to make myself this sticky concoction says something. Because it was sounding good to me at about 9am. Yes, that is saying something, and I'm afraid it's not good.

I have to go prepare dinner and start prepping for tomorrow's lunch. But it's all downhill from here. Happy hump day!

More Catering Complaints

O-kay, so my last minute headcount of 60 got bumped up even more last minute to 80 the morning before the event. I get a phone call the morning before at 8am with the news. I was so bent. The organizer of the Christmas Social was asking me, "What should I do, what should I do? Should I go to Costco and get some trays to fill in?" And I kept thinking, "Great, so people think I can't handle a party of 80 and have to be supplemented by Costco." I don't think so. So I told her I would make it "happen". Don't worry about it, there will be enough food for everyone. So she told me, "Oh, you're my hero, and of course we'll pay you for the extra people." Darn right you will! I'll be billing for 80 people, don't think otherwise. So after 36 hours of hell, I can now confidently announce that the party was a success. And there was plenty of food. So much food in fact that we're going to my mom's house tonight, she's invited my grandma and a friend of ours over, and we'll be eating the spoils of war (that's what I call catering left overs), and drinking apple martini's. Both Sour Apple martinis and Golden Delicious Apple martinis. Take your pick. And the good news is I cleared just under $1,000. Food costs = $225, my time and aggravation = priceless.

Picasso He Ain't

After getting today's lunch for 15 in the oven this morning, I walk into the den to find this . . .

I guess since he couldn't find any paper, so he decided to use his face.

The Reluctant Caterer

So I was planning on catering this Christmas Social thing this friday for the women's group at our church. The problem was that they wanted all this food, but barely had any budget to speak of. And while I'm all for helping, I think I should at least make a little money for my troubles. Then, their ticket sales weren't going too well. Horribly I was told. "How horribly?", I had to ask. Five. "You've only sold five tickets?" Yes, five. "Wow, so did you set a minimum amount that if you don't reach, you'll just cancel the event?" Oh, never thought of that. The centerpieces are all ready done, what would I do with them if we cancelled? Unbelievable. And this was just before Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving ticket sales were up to 30, but still, when past year's ticket sales were between 80 and 120, 30 is very dissapointing. So in my mind the whole was going to be cancelled, and I was actually relieved. This was as of yesterday around 1pm. Then a mass e-mailing went out telling people they needed to buy their tickets now. Later that day I get a call that ticket sales are now just over 50, and the party is still on. Oh, o-kay. The menu got shaved down to keep their costs down, and I was told to plan for 60 just in case. Then I was asked if she could call me Thursday with the final numbers. Thursday? You mean the day before the event? No, I'm sorry. I have lunch for 15 on Thursday, the social Friday night, then a dinner on Saturday. And since I typically require five business days notice on final head count, I didn't even feel bad saying no. So last night and today has consisted of planning, shopping, and prepping. And of course there is still more to do. Haven't even started on lunch for tomorrow. Speaking of, I'd better stop procrastinating, and hit one more store before I have to go pick up Sophia from school. I really wish the whole thing had just gotten cancelled.

Photographic Success!

Yesterday morning I got Sophia to school, then headed off to Kiddie Kandids just as planned. I was even first in line for photographs. I was feeling so smug when I saw two other moms line up behind me to get their names down for pictures. Harrison was pretty good. I did have to bribe him with gum, but hey, whatever works. Annamaria was less accomodating, but she's just a baby. And she still has a stuffy nose, so really I don't blame her.

So here are pictures of my gorgeous children. O-kay, so Sophia has a scratch on her chin and when she's older we'll definetly be waxing those eye brows, and Annamaria's ears stick out a bit, but I think they're gorgeous just the same.

Now you'll just have to wait for the group shot in your Christmas cards. And yes Jessica, I'll even send one to Okinawa if I get a mailing address from you.

An Uneventful Thanksgiving

We've had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving, but it really didn't feel like "Thanksgiving". Dinner was at my grandma's, as usual. And my mom and grandma took care of everything. I asked if there was anything I could make/bring, and was told "no". Dinner wasn't until 5pm, but we were told to come early to visit. So I planned on arriving around 3pm. I figured that gave us a couple hours to visit and play with the kids, and have a couple drinks. A holiday must. But it was such a lazy day, and I didn't have anything to do. I fell asleep, and no one (meaning Vince) woke me up until 3pm. So by the time I got my lazy butt dressed and presentable, got the kids ready and out the door, we didn't make it to Grandma's until 4:30! I felt so bad. It just seemed like another trip to grandma's for any old dinner. Except for all the food. But come to think of it, my grandma pretty much cooks that way whenever she has people over for dinner anyway. That must be who I get it from. Dinner was yummy, though I managed to skip dessert. Pumpkin and pecan pie are not my favorites, so no hardship there. We wanted to get the kids to bed not too late, so we left by 7:30pm. It just doesn't feel like a holiday to me unless the whole day is spent with family. It was a nice three hours though. I was so groggy from my nap that my "drink" consisted of a Coke. I felt a little caffeine was necessary.

Bright and early the next morning I got the kids dressed in their outfits we bought them for Christmas to go get their pictures taken. Now being the time of year it is, I planned on getting to the store when it opened. I was very excited about this because for some reason it never occured to me to do this until I had three kids. So Annamaria has a little red dress with black ribbon. Sophia has a matching skirt and black sweater, and Harrison has black trousers and a red button down shirt. They look so cute I can barely stand it. They could almost be a music group from the seventies, their outfits are the same but different. So we get the kids loaded into the car. Now up to this point, this is all a repeat of Wednesday, but we only made it as far as the driveway on Wednesday because Harrison broke the car door getting into the minivan. Now when I say "broke", I mean he stuck his finger in the door where it latches and pushed the lever down. For some reason it jammed and the door wouldn't close because it just kept hitting the latch and the door would re-open. And since I couldn't very well drive down 78 with the minivan door open, I had to call it quits, get everyone back in the house, back into regular clothes and give up my idea of the perfect holiday picture. I was so mad I could barely stand it. Vince came home early and fixed the door, but by the time I was ready to give it all another shot, I called the store and the wait was 2 1/2 hours. And no, they don't take reservations over the phone, you have to sign up in person. Well, I didn't want the kids running around in their Christmas clothes for 2 1/2 hours, they wouldn't be wearable by Christmas if they did. So everything got postposed until Friday. We get to Kiddie Kandids before the doors are even unlocked, and we're still the third in line for photos. So after a 45 minute wait, it's finally our turn. Now I don't expect great smiles from Annamaria being only six months old, but Sophia and Harrison have been through the photographer routine before. I'm telling you, getting a half-way decent photo of the three of them was stress inducing. I was breaking out in a sweat. But we got one where both Sophia and Harrison look good, and Annamaria doesn't look too bad, so I was satisfied. Next we got a killer picture of just Sophia, and that took about 30 seconds. Next was Harrison. Well, forget about it. He was done. Not even a bribe with candy was going to get that boy to cooperate. So we thought we'd skip him for the time being, and go for a photo of the baby. Forget about that too. It was so past her nap time, she wasn't going to smile even for mommy. So we thought we'd take a break, let the next people go, and get worked back in. After waiting for another 45 minutes to get worked back in, and the kids getting crabbier and crabbier, I just decided I'd bring just Harrison and Annamaria back Monday morning after taking Sophia to school. I'm telling you, I'm not looking forward to Monday morning.

So after our photo drama, Vince decided I needed a break and thought he'd take me to the movies to see the new Harry Potter movie. My mom and grandma left for Vegas that morning, so we tried our regular baby sitter. She was celebrating her birthday, so we tried our friend's daughter, Kristin, who just started baby sitting. She's only in the sixth grade, but she's really good with the kids. We weren't sure if we should just bring Annamaria along with us, but she said she could handle all three, so we left her our cell number and jetted out the door. Now the movie was great. I'd like to see it again actually, can't wait for it to come out on DVD. It's been so long since I read the book, I actually forgot some of the story line and ended up being suprised by parts of the movie. Can't wait for the next one, I think I'm a Harry Potter junkie. When we pulled back into the driveway, we noticed a familiar car parked in front of our house, and we walked in the front door to find the baby sitter's dad sitting with Annamaria in the glider. Poor Kristin. Annamaria decided to give her a hard time, and she ended up calling her parents for help. Annamaria is just starting to go through that separation phase and I think she just wanted her mommy and daddy. We paid her well though, so hopefully that helped make up for any trauma our children inflicted on her.

So here is a picture of Annamaria looking just as innocent as can be. Can you believe this sweet child can push a babysitter to her end?

And The Mother of the Year Award Goes To . . .

Well, basically anyone but me.

There seems to be a right of passage for the Booth children of this household. And I'm sorry to report that it's not a pleasant one. And I'm even more sorry to report that last Sunday Annamaria experienced this right of passage. What is it you may ask, that all my children must endure? Besides an inept mother that is. Rolling off the bed. Yes, just before leaving for Mass last Sunday, Annamaria rolled off our bed. I was in the bathroom getting ready to leave, I heard a whack, then a thump, then the crying followed. I dashed in the room to find Little Baby Big Head on the floor. She was o-kay, just really upset, understandably. She isn't crawling yet, though she does get around by rolling, but she was smack in the middle of our bed and up against the headboard, so I'm still not sure how she managed it. I remember the first time Sophia rolled off our bed. Yes, the first time. She was only two weeks old. But she didn't land on the floor, she landed in an upper drawer. We have a captain's bed with two rows of drawers on either side. Not to say a drawer was any less pleasant to fall in. Of course the second time she rolled off our bed she landed on the floor. Then there was the time she flipped off her changing table. Anyone out there calling Child Protective Services yet? At least our bedroom floors are carpeted. And when Harrison rolled off our bed I was lying right there beside him. Even tried to grab him, but he was too fast. So after three children and multiple incidents, you'd think I'd learn.

And now she has a cold. Poor baby, stuffy nose and slight fever. She's become a mouth breather, so sleeping through the night has taken a hiatus. Hopefully full nights of sleep will resume shortly. For Vince that is, I've been sleeping through most of all the mid-night fussiness. She's still happy though, we're still getting lots of smiles. And while baking foccacia yesterday I discovered she likes to chew on rosemary stems. Don't worry, I watched her closely. There was no choking, only smiles.

Birthday Update

Harrison's 3rd birthday celebration was a success. We gave him a train set, Granny M gave him a Spiderman watch, and Grandma DeeDee came through with a hot red motorcycle tricycle. A whole lotta fun! As you can see our kitchen is still under contruction.

Poor Sophia could barely contain herself. All she wanted to do was get down on the floor and play with Harrison and his trains, but we were trying to let him have a little time to himself. Next month is her turn though, so her time is coming.

Dinner was yummy, and as usual I ate way too much. I think we all did. We started off with Crab Imperial and fresh baked ciabatta. We had a romaine salad with hearts of palm and homemade blue cheese dressing. Then we had pasta with clam sauce. Harrison loves pasta, and ate very well. By the time is was cake time I was so full I could barely stand it. I must say I was dissapointed in the cake though. It looked alright, but something was off. The recipe came from my Cook's Illustrated Baking Illustrated book, so I'm really suprised that it dissapointed. Their recipes are usually so good. Maybe it was something I did wrong, but I can't think what. But it couldn't have been too bad because Grandma DeeDee had two pieces, something she never does.


And in all the birthday excitment I forgot to mention that Annamaria had her six month check-up on Thursday. The stats are in. Little baby big head weighs in at 11 lb., 12 oz. Her length is 24", and I didn't get her head circumference. I've been a little concerned about her being so tiny, so this morning I looked up Sophia's stats when she was Annamaria's age, and she was even smaller! I really have a hard time believing that, but there it was. I guess I can stop worrying now.

Happy Birthday "Onny the Boy"!

Why "Onny the Boy"? Because if you ask Harrison what his name is, that's his reply. "Onny the Boy". The letter "S" has yet to make it into his speech process. So "Sonny", his nickname which is better than Harry, becomes "Onny". And he insists that he's a "boy". Not my love, not my Boo, but a boy. Glad he's got that figured out.

So today I am the mother of a seven year old, a three year old, and a six month old. Harrison turns three today. Happy birthday Boo! And while not much is going on here, I hope he has a very happy birthday. Sophia is at school, Annamaria is taking a nap, and the birthday boy is watching Little Einsteins and playing JayJay the Jet Plane on the other computer. His cake is cooling and awaiting frosting. He has requested a Spider Man Cake, so I'm going to have to get creative with the decorations. I'm feeling very unprepared, not quite sure how I'm going to pull this off, I'm not very artistic. This may require a trip to Toys R Us for some Spiderman figures I can just stick on the top of his cake. And no, I don't consider that a cop out. I baked from scratch this morning a three layer Devil's Food cake, and will be making a homemade coconut buttercream to frost it with. And besides, if I stick a couple action figures on the top, that just gives him the bonus of new toys when we're done with them.



Grandma Dee Dee and Granny M are coming over for dinner to celebrate his turning three. So it will be a small gathering of just family, but I did promise I'd take him to the park today, so I'm sure he'll have fun.

I'm a Survivor

Yes, I did survive my hectic week. Thank you for asking. And all went very well. The only mishap occured toward the end of my last job. For some reason I thought I had extra brownies. Now considering that I had baked a batch of pumpkin shortbread, a batch of turtle bars, a batch of mini pecan pies, a batch of key lime tartlets, a batch of lemon bars, and three batches of cheesecake-brownies, one would think that maybe, just maybe there would be extra for the cook to nibble on. Or so I thought. So I took a bite of brownie and then offered Vince a bite to get his opinion. And while the taste of chocolate was still lingering in my mouth, I started adding up my total count of desserts. It was then I realized I had made a terrible mistake. There were no extra brownies. I had just shorted myself one brownie to complete my order. Suddenly it didn't taste so good anymore. And there it sat, a piece of brownie with two bites taken out of it. And no way to make it whole again. Now I know one brownie doesn't sound like a big deal, but this was a drop off order for the client to serve the next day, so I wasn't bringing separated trays. I was wrapping everything tight and as solid as I could so nothing would dry out. So she received two solid squares of 16 pieces of brownies, and one square minus one piece of what should have been 16 pieces. It was so obvious. I had to confess, and I was so embarrassed. Luckily she laughed about it. Whew! Out of the hundred and something pieces of dessert I brought her, she didn't think anyone would miss one piece. I'm glad she was so understanding. I really felt stupid. And I was going to bake another whole batch just to get one more brownie, but I was out of eggs. I went through at least five dozen eggs in the past four days, and I wasn't about to go out and buy more just to replace one brownie. Lesson learned. Always do the math before you nibble.

Sunday we had our Small Church group meeting at our house. It was our turn in the rotation, so just when I thought I was going to be done, I found myself making dinner for eight adults and nine kids. And get the house cleaned up enough for company. Luckily Vince helped out in that department. I just got a new cookbook so I tried out a new recipe on them. Country Captain Chicken. Strange name for a chicken curry dish. But it was really good, so good I made it for 20 people for my lunch job today. But back to Small Church, I was going to make them dessert too, but I forgot I was out of eggs, and didn't buy more while at the store. And once again, I wasn't going to run out to buy more. It can wait. They went without, and no one complained. I'd dare them to anyway.

So this week just two catering jobs, each for 20. And considering one is already done, I'm feeling pretty good. Oh, did I mention I got sick last week too? Severe body aches for a couple days. I didn't know I was coming down with something. I really was starting to think there was something medically wrong with me. Like bone cancer or something. Then Friday I was up with a sore throat and tonsils so big they were about to meet in the middle of my throat. After delivering dinner on Friday I came home and crashed on the couch with a fever. Luckily the fever only lasted the one night, the sore throat hung around till yesterday. But I'm feeling much better now. I think it was the stress that ran me down. So tomorrow just bible study in the morning, then prepping for Thursday's lunch. And I must be going through baking withdrawls because I think I'll make some scones to bring along with me tomorrow morning.

So it occured to me that maybe it would be nice to get some pictures of the kids posted. Enough crabbing about my life. So here's Annamaria from Halloween. She finally woke up after all the festivities ended and her siblings were fast asleep. Here she is in her chicken outfit, complete with webbed feet.

When It Rains, It Pours

I have five catering jobs this week. Five! And while I'm working through it all pretty well considering, last week just thinking about it all was really stressing me out.

Monday was a day of shopping. Three stores, and Sophia got out of school at 12:30 pm for parent-teacher conferences. I actually managed to get dinner on the table too. Would have been nice if Harrison woke up from his nap, and Vince got home from work in time to eat with me and Sophia. Oh well.

Tuesday, today, was drop-off lunch for 15. And I'd say it went pretty well, except I left my two "to go" orders on the counter, and didn't realize it until I was at the job site. Well, at least I had something to offer Sophia for lunch that she got excited about. And again, Sophia got out of school at 12:30 pm. Damn those parent-teacher conferences.

Wednesday will be another day of shopping and prepping. After my Wednesday morning bible study ends. And for the last time, Sophia gets out of school at 12:30 pm. But I have to be back at St. Mary's for my parent-teacher conference by 5:30. Another full day.

Thursday is drop-off lunch for 20, and on-site dinner for 11. The lunch is no problem. As long as I don't forget anything again. The dinner I have to be at the clients home around 6pm with everything prepped for their four-course dinner. Once there I have to finish cooking, plate, serve then clean-up. Hope it's not too late of an evening. And the client wants the first course served in the living room. Pan seared scallops with beurre blanc. While it doesn't require a knife to eat, a fork is a definite must. I just don't see it as "sitting on the couch while eating" kind of food. But hey, I'm just the hired help.

Friday is drop-off dinner. But there is no school at all that day, being Veteran's Day. So not only will I have Harrison and Annamaria, but Sophia and my friend's kids, Kristen and Joseph. My friend is back in Pennsylvania for two weeks, helping take care of her mother who just had cancer surgery. So to help her out I agreed to let her kids hang out at my house for the day since they didn't have to go to school. No big deal, but then things got kind of tricky when she asked if I could help her kids make a birthday cake for their dad that day too since his birthday is Saturday. Of course, but then I remembered I had dinner to prepare and drop-off too. I didn't have the heart to tell her or her kids no about the cake. I'm sure we'll get it all done.

Saturday I have drop-off desserts for 50 people. So I'm looking at about 200 pieces of various cookies, bars, and tartlets. Looks like I know what I'll be doing all day Saturday.

So needless to say, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Guess I'd better get off my butt and start working on my scheduling for the next couple of days. And I just noticed it's gotten rather dark outside, and it's just past 3pm. Looks like rain.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way Home From Mass The Other Day

I went to mass all by myself last Monday night. Being All Saint's Day, a Holy day of obligation, Vince attended mass with Sophia at her school that morning. So as I'm leaving the pew, an older man we know calls me over. He is standing next to a woman, probably in her forties, and he is very excited to introduce us. She looked a little embarrassed, but I greeting her with a smile on my face and shook her hand, did the whole "nice to meet you" thing. Turns out she is his daughter, visiting from out of town. He wanted us to meet because, as he informs me, "When I die I want you to cater my funeral". O-kay. I'm actually flattered by this strange opportunity. So he goes on, "She's only here for a few days and she's going to have to arrange it all, so I wanted to be sure you two met, so that when I go, she'll know who to contact". So I ask him if he's planning on passing away in the next few days. She says with a smile on her face that he just wants to be sure he's got everything planned out. Then he asks me with a sense of urgency, "You don't have a business card on you do you?". No. "Then how will she know how to get in touch with you?" I appologize for not thinking to bring any business cards to mass with me, but assure him that all she needs to do when the time comes is contact the church office. They have my contact information and have me listed as a caterer on their reference sheet. He seemed relieved by this, and both his daughter and I found the whole thing rather amusing. It's interesting what issues become important as we age. Funny old man.

All Souls Day

Today is All Souls Day, the day when the Church commemorates and prays for the holy souls in Purgatory undergoing purification of their sins before entering heaven. And while there are many prayers specifically for All Souls Day, I especially like the prayer of St. Gertrude the Great Though not actually an All Souls Day prayer, I think it's appropriate for the day. The Lord told St. Gertrude that a recitation of this prayer in a heartfelt manner will release 1,000 souls from Purgatory every time it is said. Pretty powerful! This prayer can be said daily, it needn't be kept for special occasions. Something nice to do for our dearly departed.

The Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great

Eternal Father, I offer you the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son Jesus, in union with all the Masses being said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Amen.

Happy Halloween

Not too much to post, mainly photos.

We made a trip to the pumpkin patch on Saturday, also known as Bates Nut Farm. Or Nates Butt Farm, as we like to call it. Harrison had such a good time crawling all over the pumpkins he couldn't pick one. So after much patience, we finally got out of there with three regular size pumpkins, two baby pumpkins (one which I carved for Annamaria), and two jack-be-little pumpkins. When we got home, Vince and the kids made a scarecrow. Our house was looking very festive.

So yesterday my mom had her almost annual pumpkin carving party. It was a lot of fun, as usual. I made a broccoli salad my mom titled "Moldy Monkey Brain Salad". Sounds appetizing, doesn't it? And deviled egg eyeballs. I also made a "Ghost Graveyard" for dessert.

Today I volunteered to help out with Sophia's 1st grade Halloween party. I took the "decorating sugar cookie" job. So when we got home from the carving party last night, I made a couple dozen sugar cookies. This morning I got the frosting made, then spent an hour at Sophia's school, helping 19 1st graders paint their cookies with frosting. I painted a couple myself, just for the fun of it. I'm proud to say, mine looked the best. I should hope so, they're only 1st graders afterall.
Tonight Vince took the kids out trick-or-treating, while I prepped for tomorrows lunch job. Vince had a good time dressing up as Indiana Jones. Sophia was Pocahontas, and Harrison was Buzz Lightyear. I'm telling you, that little boy has been buzzing around the house yelling, "To infinity and beyond", for the past few weeks. Annamaria slept through it all. She is dressed up as a chicken though. I'll try to get a picture when she wakes up.

Some Much Anticipated Down Time

Life has been a whirlwind lately. How did my life come to this? I'm not complaining, just wondering. Not even a moment to blog lately.

My dinner for 200 last Saturday was knocked down to 120, then back up to 130. But that was just fine, 130 is do-able. And it was, dinner went just fine. Better than fine actually, I got a round of whooping applause towards the end of the evening. Actually I was quite embarrased, but pleased. They actually seemed suprised by how good it was. Maybe I should be insulted? I worked my ass off all day. Starting at 7:30 a.m. Baking fresh rolls. White rolls with poppy seeds, whole wheat bran rolls, and onion cheddar rolls. I carefully planned out my schedule Thursday night, and was anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes behind the entire day on Saturday. Which really isn't bad, but it stressed me out just the same. The rolls took longer to prepare than I had scheduled, but I still ended up getting to the function site on time. Of course with the help of my wonderful husband. He really came through. Shaping 12 dozen rolls takes quite the toll on the upper arms. He plowed through them like a breeze. I guess those daily pull-ups do come in handy. So the pork was roasted, and the scalloped potatoes were baked, the green beans were sauteed. Salad dressing was made, walnuts for the salad were candied, and the creme brulees were waiting to be "bruleed" from the day before. Everything was ready to be finished at the site. Just a note, 140 (always have extra) creme brulees don't take 30 minutes to torch. More like 60 minutes. I had to pass the torch, literally, to Karen, my friend/assistant because my elbow was cramping. My only complaint could be from the little old lady who wandered into the kitchen in the midst of it all, asking me how I prepared the roast. I was quite complemented, until she then proceeded to tell me how she prepares pork roast. And she not only told me, but then went on, and on, and on about it. "Gee, that's great, uh huh, melts in your mouth, great. Yea, I've got to get back to plating 130 dinners, if you don't mind. It's not like I'm busy or anything, but I've just finished plating 130 salads, and am now in the middle of 130 dinners, and it's just me and one assistant, so if you wouldn't mind. Don't mean to be rude or anything." Of course I would have loved to say, "Get the hell out of my kitchen!", but I'd never do that. What is wrong with people anyway? Don't mind all the chaos going on around you, maybe now is not the time to be swapping recipes. Geez.

So Sunday was some much needed recouperation time. After Mass and serving donuts, I don't think I left the couch much that day. Monday I got to shop and prepare for lunch for 20 on Tuesday. I also baked two batches of mini pecan tarts and chocolate chip banana bread for St. Mary's PTG meeting that night. At Sophia's school we have PTG meetings, not PTA meetings. PTG stands for Parents-Teachers-God. I guess it's a Catholic school thing. Anyway, Tuesday was Cobb Salad for 20. Cobb Salad, fresh baked whole wheat bran rolls (hey, I was on a roll - no pun intended), and mini pecan tarts for dessert. On Wednesday our church hosted the San Diego Deanery meeting, which I think was for about 130 people. Now I was asked to cater this back when I was still pregnant with Annamaria, but I thankfully declined. So my friend Sue got roped into co-chairing it, she asked if I would bake some scones for the continental breakfast. So Tuesday night I got to bake 5 dozen candied ginger scones. All that baking and none for me. Unfair. Wednesday was back to shopping/prepping for Thursdays lunch for 20. Thursdays lunch was Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Carrots & Peas. Friday (today)found me preparing Chicken Enchiladas, Salsa Fresca, Salsa Verde, Spanish Rice, Avocado Ranch Salad Dressing, and Snickerdoodles. Not for us, to be delivered. On a Friday. At 3:00 p.m. Thankfully traffic wasn't too horrible. Only took 45 minutes to get back home. Actually, I'm happy to do it. So I'm off to finish preparing my dinner. Roasted acorn squash risotto with pan seared scallops. Are you hungry yet?

O-kay, did I ramble enough? Ugh, I just had to get all that off my chest. Thanks for listening. Who needs a therapist when you can blog?

Halloween Costumes

O-kay, I know I already sent these to most of my friends, but just in case I missed someone.
I submit these for your viewing enjoyment, courtesy of my mom . . .

Geeze, none of my kids looked this happy during the birthing process

I find his crotch to be the most disturbing part of this costume. Is it just me?

Retired Hooter Girls. So there is justice in this world. I just need to wait 30 or so years to see it

Arkansas, where the men are men, and the sheep are scared. Sorry Vince.

Just in case you were wondering whatever happened to Wonder Woman

I really don't know what to say about this costume, other than it's just wrong.

All By Myself

Well not really. Annamaria is off taking a nap, and Harrison is here to pester me, but Pat, my father-in-law, went back home today. So back to our normal routine. Dropped off Sophia at school with the little ones in tow. Then to church for bible study. I mentioned to someone that Pat left this morning, and they commented that I looked relieved. I don't know where they got that, we're all very sad he went back home. I know the kids will miss him, and I will too. He was a very easy guest to have around. And it was very nice being able to leave Harrison and even Sophia with him when I needed to run a quick errand. I hope it's not another four years before he decides to come see us again.



So my dinner for 200 this Saturday night got bumped down to 120. Am I upset? Heck no! Relieved is more like it. 120 I can do. 120 is easy. I just kept remembering last year, when the headcount was 205. I kept telling myself, "never again, never again". "150 is my cap, what was I thinking?" And Vince was in total agreement. Then this comes along and because it's being thrown by an organization Vince is an officer in, I get roped into another dinner for 200. And not buffet this time, but seated. I just kept stressing over how much bread I was going to have to bake. 300 rolls seemed overwhelming. That's 25 dozen. Good grief! But fifteen dozen? No problem. Just need to decide if I can bake them fresh that day, or will I need to make them the day before. I need to get my scheduling finished.

On that note, I'd better get my butt in gear. I still have lunch for 20 tomorrow I need to get going.

In Memory of Ron Seibert

A friend of ours passed away this Wednesday. His name was Ron, he was sixty-seven years old, though it never occurred to me he was over fifty. His death was very unexpected, he was playing racquetball and collapsed. The paramedics were never able to revive him.

You knew when Ron was in the room. Loud and opinionated, not afraid to tell you how he really felt. But a heart of gold. He was a teaser too. He loved to get Sophia going. And the kids really enjoyed him. He was fun.

Ron is survived by his wife, Olga (who understandably is devastated), a daughter and a son from his first marriage, and four grandchildren. Ron's love for his children and grandchildren was so apparent when he spoke about them. He also made the trip to visit from California to Oregon whenever he could manage. He is also survived by his mother. I can't imagine outliving any of my children. They are all in our prayers.

My greatest memory of Ron is from an evening at my mom's house when we were all over for dinner. I was trying to convince someone to eat their cabbage, telling them it was good for their colon. "Yea", says Ron, "but it's a bitch to get up there".

He will be missed.

Photo Update

I had been meaning to update the blog with some photos since I haven't posted any in a while. The problem was that I hadn't been able to locate the camera for a few days and it was loaded with all the new pictures that weren't downloaded yet. And after losing my car and then my mail, I was quite embarrassed to admit that I had lost my camera too. Luckily my husband came to the rescue and found the camera, so last night I finally downloaded the pics.

Here is the Little Baby Big Head. Just hanging out with mommy. And even though she's the smallest of the bunch, she's the best eater. Both Sophia and Harrison would make the biggest mess when I started spoon feeding them, but not this little bug. She swallows right down, with minimal mess. Currently her favorites are mashed bananas with rice cereal and apple juice. Last night she tried zucchini and crook neck squash sauteed with garlic and olive oil, mashed of course, with success. I'm very impressed.

Sophia's school had their annual Fall Fiesta last weekend. Her class is studying the South Pacific, so their class sang BaliHai to open the festival. Here is our little hula girl.

I have a dinner for 200 coming up in two weeks, and I think the stress of it is already starting to seep in. Last night I dreamt that it was 4:30 pm on the day of the dinner, and I just then got around to shopping for the event. No shopping lists or preparation of any kind. And I was handling it quite well. Pork roast - check, green beans - check, scalloped potatoes - check. Creme brulee for 200 - did I ever decide what kind to make? No. Rolls for 200 - did I ever start on the bread? No. Needless to say, I don't think dinner was made on time. Much to my relief I finally woke around the time my dream self realized there was no way on God's great earth that I would be able to pull it off, and there would be 200 very angry people at me. So this morning I'm pulling my stuff together, finalized the details of the menu, and getting my lists started. Why, oh why, did I agree to this?

Dude, Where's My Mail?

It's not my incoming mail that's missing. It's my outgoing mail. This morning as I was leaving to take Sophia to school, I put an envelope in our mail box for our mail carrier to pick up. See how I used the term "mail carrier", and not "mail man"? I'm so politically correct. Anyway, in the envelope was a check to pay for an order I made through e-bay. Normally I would pay by PayPal, but for some reason unknown to me, this particular vendor does not accept PayPal. Irritating to say the least. Anyway, while backing out of our driveway to deliver lunch later in the morning, I notice our mailbox door is open, the flag is still up, but the mailbox is empty. Someone stole my mail. And no, I didn't just park it somewhere else this time, it was actually gone. So I called the bank to stop payment on the check and explained that it was stolen out of my mailbox. At the end of our conversation I was read some legal mumbo jumbo, do I understand the terms?, blah, blah, blah. Part of the mumbo jumbo was that I agreed to pay the stop payment fee. Of course I wasn't told what the fee was, I had to ask. So basically I had to pay $18 to stop payment on a $24.32 check. Need I say more?

Dude, Where's My Car?

Don't you hate it when this happens? After running several errands today, I come out of store number three and head to where I parked my car. As I'm approaching said location I realize my car isn't there. I look around as my stomach knots up and the first thought that comes flooding into my head is, "someone's stolen my car!". Of course living so close to the border, it really wouldn't be that improbable that someone had indeed stolen my mom-mobile-of-a-mini-van. And it wouldn't be the first time I've been a victim of car theft since living in sunny San Diego. So as I'm standing frozen in the parking lot with my cart full of stuff, my baby in her car seat propped in the front of the cart, and my stomach in knots, I look around one last time and there I spot it. My car. Not parked where I thought it was, but parked two aisles over, farther back, and facing a different direction than I had remembered. Yea, the place I thought it was parked was where it was parked at the last place I stopped, store number two. My brain was remembering store number two's parking place, not store number three's. I'd completely lost track of where I was. I hate it when that happens.

Little Baby Big Head

Annamaria had her much delayed 4 month check-up yesterday, and the stats are in. Her weight was 11 lbs. - 10th percentile, her length was 22 inches - 5th percentile, and her head circumference was 16 inches - 50th percentile. Yes, she's a Little Baby Big Head. But so was Sophia, so hopefully Annamaria will even out too. She also got three immunization shots, poor baby. I think it didn't make her feel too well, because she actually slept through the night last night. And today she had two bouts of projectile spit-up and felt unusually warm all day. Once again, poor baby. Of course the temperature here was reported to reach 99 degrees today, so that might have played a part in her warmness. The doctor has o-kayed starting her on solids now, so we've started her on mashed banana, and she loves it. Which makes me happy because she won't take a bottle, so leaving her for any length of time is tricky. But maybe she'll take a banana to carry her over. Which means a little freedom for mommy. Yea.

I really hope things settle down here soon, I don't think I can keep up this pace for too much longer. First Pat arrives, then the baptism, catered lunch on Tuesday for 20, then went out for a delayed birthday dinner with some family last night, 1st grade bake sale today (4 batches of brownies and 4 dozen cinnamon rolls), catered lunch tomorrow for 20 then going out for our Anniversary dinner, school lets out early on Friday but we have to get Sophia back to her class by 4:45 pm to start off their Fiesta fundraiser weekend. Her class is representing the South Pacific and I still have to hem her lava lava. I'm whooped. I'm going to go lie on the couch while I wait for my second load of laundry to finish drying. Then I get to dry my third load. The fun just keeps on coming.

I'd post a photo but I haven't downloaded any from the camera yet. I'll get to that someday.

Whew!

Finally some time to relax. The much awaited visit from my father-in-law was delayed a day, courtesty of Hurricane Rita. After a three hour drive to the airport, Pat ended up having to stay in Arkansas another night due to some major airline screw-ups. Way too much detail to post here. Lets just say we're glad he's finally here. And the kids are crazy about him. Our newest little addition was finally baptized this morning. And as usual, Father Jim completely mutilated her name. Repeatedly. That's o-kay though, it's kind of like his calling card. Call the kid everything but their actual name. Other than that, he really does a lovely job. Once I get some photos, I'll post them. So in preparation for the brunch following the main event this morning, last night I gathered up my remaining strength and baked blueberry scones, candied ginger scones, banana chocolate-chip muffins, and gingerbread muffins with a lemon glaze. Put together a fruit platter with a nice yogurt lime sauce to go with and my mom handled the rest. Nice time, a little too much mimosa for me. Need to go zone out for a while and recoop my strength for tomorrow.

Rolling Along

Annamaria is now rolling from her back to her tummy. A major milestone. But she doesn't really like being on her tummy, so once she rolls over, she shortly starts fussing about being there. She can roll over from her front to back, and has done so on numerous occasions, but she seems to have forgotten that.

Tomorrow my father-in-law, Pat, is arriving for a long overdue visit. We haven't seen him since our wedding, four years ago. He hasn't even met Harrison yet. That just blows me away. He was just planning to stay a couple weeks, but Vince wants him to stay at least a month, so we sent him a one-way ticket so we can work out his return at a later date. So I've been trying to get his room ready, so he has a nice comfortable place to stay. The problem is is that our extra room has been filled with Vince's tools, old office stuff, old college notes, etc., etc. So between the junk and the dust the room needs a major overhaul. Besides the face that when we moved into this house almost seven years ago, Vince ripped out the old disgusting carpet and we never got around to putting in new flooring in that room. So the last of the crap was removed just this morning. I wiped down the walls and got the room painted. I'm still waiting for Vince to come through with some sort of flooring. But it's almost 9:30 p.m., and he's still at work, so I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow. At least I got the room painted. Now we just need a floor, the bed, bedding, drapery, and some of your general bedroom comforts and we'll be all set. And I have until about 5pm tomorrow to get this all done. Oh, and finish cleaning the rest of the house in the process. Nothing like procrastination.

So while I whittle away the last hours of my countdown, I'm enjoying the season premiers of Joey and CSI. So I'm logging off to give my full attention to the new season of my shows.

And here's a picture of the kids, just for good measure. This is the classic Harrison face picture. Tells loads about him.

The Bug and a Birthday

It looks like we're sharing a bug around this house. It started with Harrison and a runny nose. Then is was Annamaria, and a stuffy nose. Now it's me with huge tonsils, a sore throat and a general feeling of yucky. Despite that I still have lunch for twenty tomorrow. And a PTG meeting tonight. PTG is the catholic school version of the PTA. Each year, as part of our obligation to the school, we have to earn 60 service points. So in an effort to acquire some service points I volunteered to bring snack for tonights meeting. Two batches of blondies, and mini chocolate ganache cupcakes. I really would just like to go back to bed.

There have been some grumblings of lack of photos. I'd tried to upload photos on my last post, but something wouldn't cooperate. I'll try again.



And a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my MOM. I can't believe my mom is 58 years old. She probably wouldn't appreciate me posting her age for all to see, but she doesn't seem any where near 58 years old, so take it as a complement. I'm such a horrible daughter I've done absolutely nothing for her birthday. And she's tough to buy for. So I'll have to rack my brain on how to make it up to her. She really is the best mom.

T.G.I.F.

Winding Down

I am very much looking forward to the winding down of my week. Nothing too hectic was scheduled, but I'm very much looking forward to the weekend break. Vince has ended up working late the past couple nights, so I ended up with the kids all day, and then had to get them fed and put to bed by myself. Vince usually puts the kids to bed when he's home, and I very much appreciate it. By the end of the day, I'm done. So when he's not here I feel like a single parent. And I've very glad I'm not a single parent. Aside from the financial obligations, I just don't see how they do it. So I'm sipping a Bloody Mary while awaiting my husband's return from work. It's 6:30 p.m., bedtime is at 8:00 p.m., I'm sure he'll be home in time tonight.


The Long Awaited Baptism

To the relief of my cousin Toni I'm sure, Annamaria's baptism is just one week away. Poor baby is over four months old, and has yet to be baptised. And I know Toni has been praying for her little soul. But Father Jim was on vacation the entire month of August, and we couldn't work out a feasible date with the godparents before he left. So September 25th it is. And I really think it has worked out for the best because my Father-In-Law, Pat, is coming out from Arkansas on the 23rd. See, if we had had her baptism at a reasonable date, her only grandpa would have missed it. Not that he's Catholic, but it means a lot to us anyway. And this baptism has added to my stress level. I could not find suitable invitations anywhere. It was very fustrating. All I could find was one Christening invitation. Now I'm not sure what the difference is between a baptism and a christening, but we call it a baptism and that's what I wanted on the invitation. Damn it! I ended up calling my friend Sue, who makes hand made cards and is very creative, to see if she knew of any store that might have something suitable. She had me come over and ended up designing a card herself. It's so pretty it could be a wedding invitation. So I was on my way to completion, but the invitations are square 6.5 x 6.5 and weigh less than an ounce, so I had to go to the post office today and pay special postage to get them mailed. Whatever, at least they've been mailed and I can check them off my list.


Hungry Little Piggies

I also had lunch for twenty on Tuesday and Thursday this week. On Tuesday I made chicken parmesan with a simple tomato sauce with garlic and basil, penne, and a romaine salad. Chicken parm is time consuming because each chicken breast has to be pounded, egg washed, breaded and then fried individually. So on Thursday I thought I'd take it easy on myself and make chili. Well I made the chili on Wednesday night so things would go smoothly Thursday morning. Thursday morning I was just planning to make corn bread muffins using Marie Calendar's mix, only to find I had no where near enough. So I had to find a recipe that called for ingredients I already had on hand. Done. Whipped up about two and a half dozen muffins, threw my salad together, reheated the chili and all was good. When I checked back to see how lunch went I was told everyone really liked it. I asked how many were sold, and I was told "ten". TEN!? I made enough chili for twenty people! I was told not to worry about it, their bowls are big, and people were going back for thirds. So do I make them more next time, or just not worry about it?


Another Trip to the Doctor's

So yesterday, while I was finishing up addressing the invitations to Annamaria's baptism, the phone rang. It was Sophia's school informing me that she was in an accident and her nose was bleeding, and I needed to come get her and probably get her to a doctor. So before I gather up the sleeping baby, and get Harrison to turn off Rolie Polie Olie, I call the doctor's office just to see if I could get her in to be seen. Dr. T was booked, but got her in with the doctor on-call. I get to the school, enter the office, and there is poor Sophia with tissue paper stuffed up her nose. She was playing frisbee, trying to catch the flying frisbee, not looking where she was going when she ran into another kid. I asked her if the other kid was o-kay, and she didn't even know who she ran into. She said all she saw was a white shirt and then everything went black and the next thing she knew she was knocked back on her butt. That doesn't really narrow it down since the school uniform code only allows for white or navy blue shirts. So she seemed o-kay, and in pretty good spirits considering, but I thought the one time I didn't take her to the doctor would be the time I should have, and since she had an appointment waiting anyway we headed off to Encinitas. Turned out she's fine. She later had a headache, I gave her some motrin. And very unusually the traffic wasn't terrible. Escondido to Encinitas and back can be quite grueling. God must have decided I'd had enough.

The Big Bake Sale

Sophia's 1st grade class is hosting the St. Mary's bake sale this month, on the 28th. Last year for her kindergarten class I made two dozen cinnamon rolls and two dozen cupcakes. The cinnamon rolls sold out by 9:30 a.m. So our class mom asked if I'd be willing to make more this year. Sure, I said, I was planning on making four dozen this year and just skip the cupcakes. Then she asked if I would be willing to take special orders and sell them by the dozen or half-dozen. O-kaaaaaaayyyyyy, sure. So the plan now is to make four dozen for the actual bake sale on the 28th, to be sold individually, at which time they'll have order sheets for those who want to order a half-dozen to be delivered the following week. What have I gotten myself into?

Enjoy your weekend!

Or, Maybe I'm A Gryffindor?

You belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart."

O-kay, you know how sometimes when taking a multiple choice test, you've eliminated the answers you know are not right, and have narrowed it down to two possible choices? So if I go with my other possible answers, apparently I could also be a Gryffindor. Kind of like when Harry Potter was put into the Gryffindor house, but the sorting hat thought he'd be great in the Slytherin house too. I feel a little better now.

I'm A Hufflepuff

"You belong in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid to toil."

I'm actually a little dissapointed. I'm mean, who wouldn't want to be in Harry Potter's house? But Hufflepuff's are good guys too, they just seem a little wimpy to me. You can go to sorting-hat.com to see in which house you belong.

The Passing of the Torch

Tonight the 2005-2006 board for The Women of St. Timothy's is being installed. That means I get to hand off my oversized green file folder box to the new treasurer . . . and wish her well. I've held this position for the past two years, and I'm not sorry to see it go. I was actually asked if I would be interested in being President for the next two years. Are these people crazy? Especially with the addition of a third child, my plate is full. I do intend to help out where I can, but it will be so nice to not be actually responsible for anything anymore. Especially since the board ends up doing all the work of the entire organization, mostly anyway. And that really sucks, since five people pull the weight for over eighty. We jokingly called us "The Five Women of St. Timothy's". It will be interesting to see how this new group of women do, especially since they're all pretty much new to the organization and have no idea what they've gotten themselves into. We did manage to raise over $11,000 for St. Clare's Home this year, and over $10,000 for our other project last year. Let's see if they can keep up. It will be entertaining at the least.

So the baby is fussing, and I've got to go get ready to go. My checkbook is updated, and my spreadsheet for the year is complete. There will be a great feeling of relief when this is all over I'm sure.

I'm Still Full

Yesterday I had a very nice birthday. My day started out like any other day, catering, running errands, picking up Sophia from school. But my dear husband arrived home early from work, and sent me off for a birthday massage before taking me out for dinner. The massage was great, just what I needed. Seriously, I think I could have a massage every day. If I was rich, I would. Anyway, when I got home, my mom was already at our house. She watched the kids for us. And Sunday she gave me the newest Best of Gourmet book, new recipes to drool over. Thank you mom. We got in the car and headed down town. Vince surprised me with dinner at Bertrand's at Mr. A's. Best view in town. And the food isn't too shabby either. We arrived early and sat at the bar while I enjoyed at Ketel One Martini. I haven't had a good martini since giving birth. Since getting pregnant actually. It was so good I ordered a second with dinner. Soft shell crab with sweet corn risotto to start. Vince had seared rare ahi. Both very good. I need to get adventurous and give soft shell crab a try in my own kitchen. Vince had bouillabaisse for dinner. Also very yummy. While looking over the menu he was going to have the veal, because it was served with a morel cream sauce. Then he saw the veal with served with sweetbreads too, and backed out. My husband is very skittish about eating organs. Muscles are fine, but no organs for him. I thought he was being ridiculous, they are a delicacy afterall. So I ordered the veal. Now, I usually don't eat veal, just on principle. Yes, as a small child I was raised on veal cutlets by my grandma, but that was before I knew how veal was procured. And while I do love it, I just can't bring myself to enjoy it. But I decided to stop being such a puss and go for the gold. And it was very good. The veal, the sweetbreads, the morel cream sauce. Actually, I think the morel cream sauce was the best part. Oh, the sauce and the truffeled spatzle. Can't forgot the truffeled spatzle. It was all so good I was too full for dessert. Of course the fact that it looked like I actually licked my plate- not a morsel was left, added to my fullness I'm sure. And even though it was my birthday, I passed on dessert. But they brought out a plate with "Happy Birthday" written in chocolate on it, and piled with little miniature cookies and desserts. A chocolate cup filled with cream and a blackberry, and mini peanut butter mousse tart, a couple mini snickerdoodles, and macaroon, and a almond something or another. And the best . . . a divinity type thingy filled with hazelnuts and flavored of honey. Very yummy. And even though I was very full, I managed to try each kind. Pig that I am. So yesterday was a very happy birthday. And Saturday I'm being sent to the day spa for a few hours. The gifts just keep on giving.

The Dark Side of Thirty

I am quickly sliding down that slippery slope towards forty. Today I am 36 years old. Thirty-four didn't bother me, and I pretty much managed to ignore 35, but 36 is sinking in. And other things about me are sinking too, I think gravity is catching up. If I could only loose some of the baby weight, perhaps I wouldn't feel so old. But I'm feeling old and pudged. And I don't usually enjoy exercising, but back to the YMCA I must go. I put myself back on Weight Watchers last week in an attempt to remedy this pudgy situation, and even though I get 10 extra points a day for breast feeding, I still feel hungry and deprived. It's not fair to not be able to eat what ever I want. Especially when one enjoys food as much as I do. And it's not like I'm a junk food junky. Sure, I enjoy the occasional deep fried snack, but not even on a daily basis. Or weekly basis for that matter. I'm sure it's all about portion control. I've always been able to pack it away. And my thighs are my storage units. But tonight my dear husband is taking me somewhere for dinner, and the size of my thighs will not deter my enjoyment tonight.

So lunch for twenty is nearly complete. Off to deliver lunch. Stop by the church to finish up some old treasurer duties before handing off the check book next week to the new treasurer. One stop at the grocery store for Thursdays lunch, and back home to await my much anticipated birthday dinner. And according to Dora the Explorer this morning, it was Boots special day today too. He got to wear a banana crown, ride a fire truck and a roller coaster. I think my birthday will be low key by comparison. But good for Boots, that monkey knows how to party.

Spammed . . . AGAIN!

This just proves my theory that the world is full of idiots. Under my last post, titled "Spammed!", I received a comment. Yes, another spam comment. Ironic? This time for a work at home site. "If I shared all my secrets with you, you wouldn't buy my book." Please, these are just as bad as diet pill sites. Unethical peoples way of getting money from the guilible. So now, in order to leave a comment for me, you have to do a word verification. Apparently these spam comments are sent out automatically by a computer, and the verification should help stop that. Sorry for the inconvenience to my friends who actually have something to say.

Spammed!

I feel so violated. After my last post, I received an anonymous comment, and basically it was a link to a weight loss sight. I started my blog as a way to communicate with my friends who I hardly ever get to see or speak to. And comments from people I don't know, but have something legitimate to say are welcome too. But to spam me to sell your weight loss drugs? Come on, how sleazy. So I've gone from "feeling blue", to "seeing red"! Ugh, the world is filled with idiots!

Feeling Blue

Today I was driving down 15 S. to deliver lunch, while listening to NPR. For the past couple of days they've been talking about the destruction hurricane Katrina has left behind, and I haven't really been paying attention. I don't watch the news on purpose, too depressing. But yesterday I was looking at some photos of the hurricane aftermath online and today listening to NPR and it just hit me. It's all just really sad. All those people stuck in the area in New Orleans. No electricity, overflowing toilets, no running water (other than the toilets), and hot humid conditions. And I think the part that really struck it home for me was this reporter talking about a women she saw there cradling her two week old baby. Now I know they're the survivors, and I should be happy for them. Afterall, think of all those who didn't survive, but the image of this woman holding her newborn in her arms, displaced and scared just really upsets me. They also had a man call in who said he and his wife were discussing it, and they have room in their home for four more people, and would be willing to bring some of these people into their home until they could get back on their feet. And he said he was sure there are other people out there willing to house people, and was there any organization out there who could help him. All the radio host could tell him was to contact his local Red Cross Organization. That just seemed so lame to me. Here we have people willing to help, but unable to get the word out. Is it the bureaucracy? It angered me. Also, I love New Orleans. Yes it's seedy and dirty, but the architecture of the French Quarter buildings are fabulous. Or, they used to be anyway. I've had some of my best meals in the French Quarter, and anyone who knows me well knows that's a major decision on whether I like someplace or not. And the history of it. That city has survived more than this. Wars, yellow fever, etc. I wonder how long it will take to recover. I also have fond memories of Biloxi. I spent a few days sunning on the gulf one summer. I remember visiting Andrew Jackson's home. Seeing all the old artifacts and reading about the history of the home. Beachfront in the South. How the house was layed out so every room could get a coastal breeze. I wonder how that historic location fared. Not since 9/11 have I felt this way. Possibly the fact that my baby is on day two of running a fever has added to my sadness. She's not extra crabby or anything. She's just sleeping a little more than usual, and I have to keep Tylenol in her to keep her fever down. If it doesn't break by tomorrow I'm taking her in to see the doctor. Oh, and on Tuesday I'll be turning 36. That can't be helping my attitude any either.