So-niele

That was my breakfast this morning. Egg in a basket, or as my ma calls it Popeye. It’s just a piece of bread with a puka, (hole) in it and the egg cooked in that puka. And on the side is the bread made from the puka. Sure it’s easy peasy but Ma didn’t make it for me all the time. Only on Sundays! Ma didn’t have all the time in the world during the week, she was a working mama Monday thru Friday. My dad did the dinner cooking as he had the graveyard shift, so my dad was the one home with me afterschool. Saturdays were spent cleaning the house and then off to the grocery store to replenish the reefer and cabinets.

So when Sunday rolled around she would sometimes indulge me and make me a Popeye !!! And as I’ve said, sure it’s an easy peasy recipe, one that I’ve even found in The Joy of Cooking, but she only made it on occasion. Which made it rather spayshal (special) to me!!! And I do the same for my kids! I don’t cook it up all the time, I’m trying to make it a special thing for them too. And when I do make it… you better believe their plates are licked clean. heh.

I made this one just for myself tho. *shh Don’t tell the kids. J is off to school and N spent the night t my mom’s. M is here but she don’t know any better. But I swear she was eyeing my food as I tried to feed her her fruit and oatmeal mush, that she refused to eat. She never liked to eat the oatmeal/ rice cereal but I have to force her to eat the stuff b/c she’s borderline anemic, so her ped encouraged me to just keep trudging on and feeding it to her. She also said to try the drops and she won’t even take those. So whatever I can do to help her.

I’m tired, seems I’m always tired as of late. I blame the baby b/c despite having a full tummy, taking consistent naps, sleeping at the right time… she still wakes and OFTEN through the night as well as having her internal clock wake anywhere between 630 and 7AM. UGH. I’m not even going to ask what’s wrong with her not sleeping through the night yet. Her siblings didn’t do it, so why should she, right? It would be a nice thing, but I’ve accepted it!

Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was a good one. Being with the ones that matter the most and most importantly Mama wasn’t all the way across the ocean. Tummies were satisfied. Food was good! Now to figure out what to make for Christmas . I made piggies in blankies, lumpia, and pumpkin cheesecake. More than likely I will make lumpia and piggies again, but will do something different for dessert.

As in past years I braved the crowds with Mama Toots and did midnight madness. This year I didn’t. I just couldn’t fathom bringing the baby out at that hour of the night. I can’t leave her with anyone, especially not at night b/c I am her human pacifier, lest I be gone, sure as hell no one will sleep. Instead I woke at 530 and got ready and headed to Tarjey. Picked up a bunch of good loot for gifts and then headed back home to pick up lilman. For some reason the lilmiss had already been awake and was aware that I was heading out, she wanted to come too. Funny thing is she thought it was still night, b/c it was dark. And of course, had to bring baby along. They did very well. Then it was off to my mom’s to p/up mom and SIL. We headed down the peninsula and they went to town at both Old Navy and Guess. Crowds surprisingly weren’t bad at all the whole day. Thank goodness.

26 more days til Christmas!

For the life of me, I can’t remember where I put the Sleeping Beauty DVD!?!? Bought it at Target last month and I have not seen it since. OY!

I need to go through the girls’ clothes and put some away and give back or donate the smalleys from babyM. Been stocking up on some stuffs for her b/c there was a gap in the 6-18 handmedowns. And for some reason I need to go thru some things b/c onesies seem to be lacking. Where the hell did they go? Lilmiss was wearing stuff from when lilman was a baby, so where did those go?

Today I finally got J an appt for his flu shot. Thankfully it went fast. When we arrived at the office it was packed. Not a seat in the house. As soon as a seat opened up they called him in and I also made an appt for babyM’s 2nd dose for next month. Then we were off to the lab to get her blood drawn. OY! I can’t believe she even put a tourniquet on her. She’s so itty bitty. I had to hold her and she didn’t like that one bit. She let out a teensy cry from the poke and was more irritated that she couldn’t move.

Thanksgiving is next week. Weeee!!! I’m so excited. I’m appetizers and half of desserts. I’ve gotta roll lumpia next week and I need to think of another appetizer I forgot about the pigs in blankets those always go well at family gatherings. My mom ordered kutsinta and maja blanca and I’m making a pumpkin praline cheesecake. Mom’s is making the turkeys, yes 2 and the mashed ‘taters. My sister has side items. I’m wondering if anyone else is coming to Thanksgiving?

I want to watch Twilight, of course! But I think I’ll have to wait til AFTER the holiday weekend. So I can watch it in the middle of the day when all the screaming FANatic tweens are in school. I had to go back thru my archives to see when I read the stinkin thing. Over a year ago. And to think I was encouraging my niece to read it back then, did she heed my calls? Of course not, and guess who’s reading all 4 of my books now? HA! I told my sister she should read them now. She’s gonna try. Or so she says.

The soccer one that is. They didn’t lose. But they didn’t win either. We thought for sure we were going to be walking out of there with our heads down low. But they scored, and so did the other team. And although they’ve tied before, somehow walking out of there with a goal is somehow better. They were all so happy, as well they should be.

We made a trip to the pumpkin patch for the baby’s 1st pumpkin patch visit. She was in snooze land when we arrived and I was very hesitant to wake her, but she was all smiles . Yay! I think I got some good pictures in. And funny babyM was the most cooperative of the bunch, even compared to the Daddy. Ha!

We were s’posed to be in many places today and made it to the select few that we did.

Oh yeah, think we might be on the hunt for a new school… AGAIN! Oy! This is annoying. Lately we’ve been missing out on some vital info from the school. Stuff that’s s’posed to be in the twice a month envelope that gets sent home, only it hasn’t been in OURS. And more than a month ago, I sent in a sheet of paper indicating that we’d be donating some food for the International Dinner. S gets to the school to drop off the goods and they’ve only got us down for 1 donation. The one that gets LESS points. WTF???? And then she nearly refused to accept the other one, and only gave us HALF the points. Biiiiiiiiiitch! He forced it on her! Bullshit! The damn school is so damned cliquish it’s annoying. J is doing absolutely fine, excelling even and I hate to pull him out when he’s made some good friends, again, but sometimes it’s better for our own sanity. It’s strange to me that tuition is so varying around the city. Oy! Decisions, Decisions!

I missed bakesale Wednesday this week. I was busy Tuesday. But why oh why have I been itching for a cupcake? Not that we have leftovers or extras from the ones that go to school. So today, I made that itch scratchable . I baked up a box of Golden Vanilla. Yeah, yeah hate me and *tsk* me all you want. I use box cake. Plain and simple! I changed it up a bit from using a recipe in this book. A simple substitution of 1 cup of buttermilk for the water and an extra egg. Can I just say, that this cupcake is moist! Yum ! Of course I had to have a sample. After dinner I’m going to pipe some vanilla pudding in the middle and frost with lemon frosting. Lol. That’s was lilman’s choice. I was going to do buttercream but he said lemon. I would have preferred lemon puddin in the middle but couldnt find any. Pffft!

[edit] And here they are in all their glory! So pretty. I only sampled a cuppie straight out the oven. No filling. No frosting. It was delish. Lilman had a full on cuppie and wanted another. But he’d just about eat anything with frosting on it .

Tonight I tried the 10 minute stroganoff recipe and it was a hit with the 2 big kids. Next time though I think I’ll omit the ground beef and just go full on mushrooms! Oh yeah and also add another can of cream of mushroom soup! .

I also had my first go around with making homemade baby food for babyM. My mom bought me this book from Ross today for a whopping $7. When she first came out with the book I was skeptical b/c she claimed to be the originator of mixing veggies in kids’ food. NOT! Some of the recipes seem rather fake too (as if her kids would eat stuff like that), but it gave me some ideas for the kids. The kids eat veggies more or less but sometimes it gets challenging.

I knew how to make the baby food but after reading the book it inspired me even more. I couldn’t very well feed her what the other kids were eating and I had some things in the kitchen. So I busted out my bamboo steamer and steamed her 5 baby carrots, a small sweet potato, and one of my mom’s homegrown apples. It said to puree in a food processor, and we have one but it’s a frickin pain to clean that thing just for that small amount. I just smushed with a fork and portioned out about 2 teaspoons for her to try tonight. I put the rest in the freezer. Well she inhaled that stuff like a champ and may as well have licked the bowl b/c she was looking for lots more!

I can’t wait to try spinach and butternut squash!!!

Okay this is kind of a funny post.

We have befriended the neighbors on the right of the house. I’m talking we have parties we invite them. They have parties they invite us. The kids get along, etc. We have extra things to share, we share. And we are reciprocated. It’s one family extended. The grandparents, their 5 children, their children’s spouses/ bfs gfs/, and the grandchildren. At any time there could be up to 15 people there, me thinks. Give or take.

Yesterday the kids were playing out in the yard. My kids were told specifically to stay outside with them! Somehow my kids and 4 of their kids ended up IN our house. OY! No one came looking for them. No one was yelling out the window b/c we can literally hear them next door. As I am typing I can hear them watching tv. Anywho they were here. Eating. Playing. Being all rowdy. I don’t remember how we got them out. But they left.

Today lilmiss heard them playing and to tire her out she was told to stay out there with them. But she’s not allowed to go on her own, her brother has to go to. He was reluctant to go but ended up going. He gets along with the oldest girl. She’s a bit of a tom boy. So, he was told that they were NOT allowed to come over to play. And the stinkin kid repeated it to them. How embarrassing! They were playing and we hear the door open. Hello. It’s not one of our kids. But the neighbor boy. He comes in with his slippahs on too!!! *shakes head* So he comes over to see what we’re going in the family room and goes looking for N’s scooter. My mom says to take it outside with him, mind you N was told she could only play with the scooter IN the house. My mom just didn’t want him inside. He leaves. He comes back and asks for a snack. I grab 5 and send him on his way. N comes back with another one of the kids and says she wants her backpack. They’re going to play school. Fine. She packs up her things and they’re on their way. Lil boy returns for the 3rd time. And then leaves. N comes back with friend to go potty. Then J comes back with 2 more of the friends while my mom is eating at the table. OY! J grabs a water stands around my mom, who is eating and they leave.

5:30PM rolls around and the kids are told to come in, it’s time for dinner. And we send the other kids on their way. J doesn’t want to eat b/c he’s got a headache but N gets her grind on. 6:30PM rolls around and it’s time for J to eat. There’s a faint knocking on the door and it’s the boy… again. He asks my mom if we have food and so she makes a plate for him. Oh man! No one is looking for him. Nothing. He’s 3. He’s here for a good half hour before we hear them calling for him. Oldest cousin comes inside the house and is just kinda standing around. She leaves. Boy still stays. By this time I’m cracking the hell up. He leaves, he only ate half of what was given to him. He came back… again around 8PM. He wanted to come in and watch tv, but my mom sent him home.

WTF??? A little too comfortable don’t ya think? I was telling my mom we need to lock the doors when our kids go out so the neighbor kids just don’t walk in. Shooots, what if I had been feeding babyM???

Funny how I had a “craving” of sorts for White Choco Chip and MacNut Cookies all b/c of that teaser I had from Subway. And so I was on a mission to make my own. My mom brought back HELLA macnuts from the Big Island. And of the baking variety too. Woot! B/c them suckahs is expensive. I just needed to buy butter and white choco chips! And then while out with my brother and his gf today they bought some at Mrs. Field’s! I told him I was going to make some and he said he wanted them right then and there. LoL. The recipe I used yielded like 6 dozen, and they’re NOT nibblers either. I’ll definitely be sharing these.

White Chocolate Chip MacNut Cookies

1 cup butter softened, 2 sticks
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 cups chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars til fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Beat well. Blend in flour and baking soda. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes! Remove immediately and put on wire rack for slightly crispy slighty chewy cookies.

Nomnomnom.

With the kitchen. Yeah, when Mama was here Mommy didn’t do much in the way of cooking. I occasionally helped her and baked things in her kitchen, but that’s about it. I was good about getting take out too .

BabyM doesn’t allow much in the way of using both my arms though. She does nap when I put her down, but they’re more cat naps instead of allowing me to cook elaborate meals. LMAO j/k! I made pasta this past week and it lasted quite awhile! I like meals like that. We also had sandwiches and we were invited to a friend’s house for loco moco. This week I’ve got a roasted chicken planned with rice. Meatloaf. And our own loco moco. Oh and I’m sure if those don’t make it the whole week, then probably breakfast for dinner. Shoot I’ve also gotta go through the freezer and cook up some of the stuff in there before we leave. I think we’ve got some pork in there somewhere. I’ve gotta get Mama Toots crock pot pork chop recipe.

I do want to get some ice cream too as we’re running low. Need to stop talking about food… it’s making me hungry and it’s nearly sleepy time.

…. my brain. Or at least the thoughts that are currently inundating them at the moment.

Mother’s Day was low key. Saturday we went to dinner with my fams @ Broadway Prime. It’s become an annual tradition. But this year the prime rib wasn’t as “melt in my mouth fantastic” as it has been in years past, my plate wouldn’t have told you otherwise though, b/c I was grinding on that like it was nobody’s business! No point in wasting the food . Then we went back to my mom’s to have dessert and exchange gifts. Mmm cheesecake! Costco’s cheesecake certainly does not disappoint. I especially like the nonthick crust. Nomnomnom .

Sunday the baby reminded me that I was a mother and that I would have to wake up with her at 6AM. *rolls eyes* In my feeble attempts at putting her back to sleep: sticking the boob in her mouth, patting her, rocking her, pretending I was asleep… she decided otherwise. She was all giggles and smiles. So as not to disturb anyone else, I brought her to the living room and played with her and we both fell back to sleep. Only to be awoken by the lilmiss looking for us. Tried to crawl back in bed but that didn’t happen. As again baby was awake and bright eyed and bushy tailed. Oh well.

Opened up my card from the BM and kids and just milled around the house. Read the paper and then we all got ready and headed out to visit BM’s grandma. Hung out there for a bit and then sent the BM to pick up lunch from Ono and headed over to my mom’s. She wasn’t even home and being as hungry as I was, the lilmiss and I started in on the grindz. She came home and we chit chatted a bit. Then somehow I ended up in her living room taking a nap with the baby. And somehow my mom managed one too.

A low key Mother’s Day surrounded by the ones that mean the most to me, that’s all that really matters in the end anyhow right? Oh yeah and good food too .

In other news, the keiki are getting baptized this weekend. Yes. All 3. I still need to order the cake. The Toots Fam is helping me with favors. And I still need to finalize/remind the reception site. It’s going to be a small affair despite all 3 kids being baptized at once. Which is better for me anyhow b/c I didn’t want to have to deal with all the planning and stressing.

Mom is leaving next week , she’s headed back to Oahu on Tuesday. What am I going to do without her? Who’s going to feed us? No seriously! I haven’t really cooked since she’s been back and I’m not even really sure if the baby will allow it. And then there’s the whole thing about us heading out to the islands for the summer. The plans are to leave a few days after Father’s Day and return sometime before my birthday. That’s a nice big chunk of time at our second home, but tickets have yet to be purchased. Waiting on the BM’s tax return for that. And we’re wondering where it might be?!?! Tickets are frickin expensive too. AUWE!

Oh well I’ve emptied my brain for the night. Time to go to sleep.

Easter’s festivities were plentiful, which is always a nice thing. From the Easter egg hunt last week, photos with the Easter Bunny on Saturday, and happenings with family…. it’s no wonder I was tired this morning and slept in . Thankfully the wee one was cooperating. The middle one, not so much . She’s not pleasant when she wakes up cranky. Ewww.

Today I’ve tidied up a bit. Started a load of laundry to soak, dishes, and what not. We’re having kitchen sink fried rice again tonight, I haven’t made that in a bit. Here’s hoping the wee one allows for some hands free time in order to feed everyone else. We’ve got to make a stop at the library to return the borrowed books and pick up some new reads for J. I haven’t read much in a minute.

Dumping photos from the weeks happenings and catching up on my online photo albums. 3 down, 3 more to go. Sheesh.

Thankfully the lilmiss has been cooperating. Normally she would go back to my mom’s tonight, but I think I might just keep her with us. Let’s just hope she’s nice at karate. The last time she went she got me all sweaty and stuff and her panties were all in a bunch. Sheesh.

Why am I not sleeping? My eyes are telling me I’m tired. But I’m not asleep. The girls are on either side of me ASLEEP. Sometimes when I realize I should be asleep already I figure I’ll just wait for the baby to wake and then go to sleep. Lame. I shouldn’t do that. I don’t even know how many times I wake in the night to feed either .

I wake fairly early most days too, averaging about 5 hours of sleep total. No naps for me. Not good. But I feel fine. Feeling fine and being fine are different though huh?

Anyhow today we swung by karate for a free picture with the Easter bunny. Sheesh mall bunnies are so stinkin expensive it’s ridiculous. I was hoping the baby could get a photo of her own, but it was madness at the school and there was a 1 photo per family b/c of the craziness, so it was all 3 monsters. The bunny there looked way better at karate and less ragged too. Heh. I was hiding babyM in the blanket and when I placed her on the bunny there were lots of Oohs and Aaahs. Heh. Probably b/c she’s still so small. She slept the whole time, of course. And surprisingly lilmiss was in top cheese form. heh. Last year she was sooooooo afraid.

After that we went to a birthday party in the city, at a CLUB! Was feeling kinda skeptical. But lilmiss had good fun and there were things for the lilman to do there too. BM even had fun, I thinks. He danced with the lilmiss while I hid the baby in her sling. Lilmiss even passed up lunch, who passes up lumpia? Heh?! To do what? Get her groove on. Crack. me. up. Oh yeah and I saw my childhood crush at the party. BM and MM of course had to tease me about it. All in good fun!

Tomorrow we go to my mom’s for fam bam lunch. I just need to get my things together for the deviled eggs as everything else has been cooked and prepped. Go me.

Have a blessed and wonderful Easter!!!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! Yeah we represent b/c the keiki are part Irish. For as long a I can remember, my parents have been big on the whole corned beef and cabbage dish. And no I’m not talking about the stuff that comes out of the can! Although I’d much prefer the latter. I’ve never been big on the stuff and it cracks me up that the BM, who is actually Irish, doesn’t even eat the stuff, not even his grandparents. My parents always cook the stuff this time of year.

Having a bit of a late start this morning. I’ve gotta put gas in the car, *shakes head* It’s ridiculous how much we have to pay for gas! We pay the MOST than anywhere in the country apparently. Not fair! Considering we’ve got a refinery just on the other side the Bay! Then I was going to check out the new $1 store up the street. BabyM is napping and lilmiss is watching Ni Hao Kai lan.

Been watching a bit of movies as of late too. Finally got a chance to watch 27 Dresses and absolutely loved it. And then last night the lilmiss and I watched Enchanted, but I didn’t love it as much. It seemed promising and the lilmiss was totally into it at first but then we got bored towards the middle and then it picked up at the end. Next up on the movie list is No Reservations.

This week we’ve got an Easter get together on Wednesday, hopefully the weather cooperates. Then my mom is off to Arizona at the latter end of the week for a funeral. And then on Saturday we’ve got the Easter thing at karate and a bday party to attend. Then Sunday we’ve got the fam bam thing at my mom’s. So far I’m making bibingka malagkit and premade lumpia to fry over at mama’s. And then I’m debating between cupcakes and mini cheesecakes. Or maybe deviled eggs? I’m soooooo not big on coloring eggs and then eating them later… I’m big on stuffing the plastic eggs with chocolate goodness .

Okay I’ve got a few things to do before the baby wakes, b/c I hear some stirring… Happy Monday everyone!

So I got an email from AZN about a new K drama that’s starting tonight. I’m kinda excited! I’m still watching another one on DVD. And the BM is downloading me some others. I’m still waiting to hear on my “hook up” too. . There hasn’t been much to watch on regular tv as of late anyhow. The only shows that I’ve really been watching are LOST, of course , and Jon and Kate plus 8.

We have to leave soon to pick up the lilman and I just put babyM to sleep. Sheesh. Lilmiss has been good for me today *knocks on wood*. And I also managed to make the meat sauce for pasta for dinner tonight! I had to squeeze in breakfast and lunch together too. I even managed to take a shower. I was worried that lilmiss would bother her sister. BabyM was sleeping in the swing and N always manages to either stop the swing from swinging or touching her too much. I took an extra few minutes in the shower and as soon as I turned off the water I could hear babyM’s wails. Man I felt guilty.

ARGH!!! POS!!! N was watching On Demand and her show finished so I decided to check the guide for Azn to see when the show would actually be on, thinking maybe 7:30PM tonight! ARGH! No such luck! It’s on right now!!! 1:30PM-2PM. Frick frack!!!

Are the planets in alignment? Did a cow jump over the moon? Are pigs flying? Someone explain to me how N managed to take a nap today. No really. It happened and albeit it short, it happened!!! On her own accord. Sure we had errands to run and we were in the car, but I’ve been complaining for awhile that somehow she decided naps weren’t for her. I was ready to start a new sleep regimen for her, anticipating lots of crying and screaming on her end… I still might b/c the things that will be occuring round these parts soon, will rock her world, and well I’ll be needing some peace and quiet myself .

In other news there has been quite a bit of Oatmeal consumption as of late. On my end. I’ve been having “problems” and I’ve had to remedy this somehow. I’m getting the hang of it. I forgot I actually like the stuff with a lil brown sugar. YUM! I can’t do that microwave or instant stuff though. ICK. On the stovetop it goes and I stand and stir. It really sticks to the innards huh?

There will be no homecooking tonight. There’s a bit of leftovers in the fridge as well as some frozen stuffs I can feed the kids.

The sun is shining once again. YAY! But it’s still freezing as ever.

The sun is shining!!! The sky is clear, but it’s way too cold to venture to the park, heh, so we’ll stay home until it’s time to pick up J from school. We’re hanging out with Mama Toots and the keiki tonight, so other than that… we’ll be relaxing at home for the time being.

It’s lunch time and the tummy is telling me so but I think we’ll just eat some sammies and apple slices.

I finished Lovers in Paris and as much as I loved it… I HATED the ending. UGH! What a disappointment. They ended it STOOOOOOPID! The last 20 minutes of the Final Episode, I was like WTF? How irritating! That’s the only thing I didn’t like, was those last 20 minutes!

N is currently watching her dose of Yo Gabba Gabba. It’s a strange show. She hasn’t been watching long, but I will have to say that it does get her up and dancing A LOT! She’ll randomly get up and start dancing and say “I like to dance!” Just like in the show. There’s some random stars on it too, like Elijah Wood is on right now… and there’s random pop-ins from good old rap stars.

Okaaaaaaay hungry now… I’ve prolonged making lunch too long. Have a wonderful weekend.

Oh man!!! So everything is nearly done and it’s coming up on 4PM.

I am so excited b/c the mungo thinger looked like it was going to be a failure. I’ve never personally worked with mungo beans and I think my pork was a bit on the bigger side. Once I threw it altogether, I was afraid to do a taste test… but low and behold, it tastes DEE-LI-SHUZ!!!! It’s sitting right now and when it’s time for dinner I’ll turn up on the heat again and throw in the spinach. I’m so excited. And I ended up making some bibingkang malakit too, I just needed it to bake up a bit and then put on the yummy sticky icky topping.

So who wants to come over for dinner?

The consumption of rice in these parts has been more than usual. When my mom is “home” there is always rice and shoot by the way I’ve been cooking or eating rice you would think she was here. She’s not…. not yet anyhow. Yeah you better believe I’m counting down .

I got my nap in yesterday… by accident . But I so totally needed it. I can’t do it today though b/c I’ve gotta wake early tomorrow to bring J to school and head to my appt. So I’ve gotta keep myself busy from the time we pick up J from school until we head to karate.

Last night’s dinner was… just alright by my standards. The pork should have been more flavorful, I don’t know what went wrong. But the kids gobbled up 2 bowls full each (of course appropriately sized bowls for their sizes.) So guess what? They get to eat the leftovers for dinner. Heh… They won’t like what I’m attempting to cook for myself anyhow, certainly not J that’s for sure, pork and mungo beans. My mom makes it killer, like broke da ‘mout, and although I’m not good at the ethnic recipes… I’m going to give it a try. Can’t be too hard right? I just need to run to the store and get some garlic and chicken broth. Already soaking my mungo beans and the pork has already been cut up. I’m also gonna throw in some spinach that I still have. Sometimes my mom throws in shrimp or even coconut milk, but I won’t bother with that just yet. I’ve been wanting to make some bibingkang malakit but again, who else is going to eat it. Pfft… so much for that.

Okay time to finish up the lunch dishes, head out to the Asian market, and then get J.

WOo hoo the sun is shining today

And this is not the time for the heater to be acting wonky either. It kicks in only when the thermostat is set btwn 75 and 80. Yeah, like WHAT? And sometimes it doesn’t even kick in.

In other news, I am due for a serious nap right now. Been sleeping late due to being hooked on K dramas, and being woken earlier than should be b/c of the lilmiss.

Tonight’s dinner? Crock Pot pork chops, rice, and asparagus. My own Crock Pot throw in. I turned it on 1.5 hours ago, a little late by my usual standards, but it’s set on high for 4 hours, so dinner should be ready by 6ish?! Let’s hope so b/c it’s hula tonight. I threw in some chops that I bought at Lucky’s for 98cents a pound. Threw in some pinapple mango soy based teriyaki something or other that I had, a half can of Sprite, sprinklings of garlic salt, and half a chopped onion. It certainly smells good and I’m already hungry. That’s my fault for not eating much at lunch time. But maybe if I sneak in that nap, by the time the chops are ready, my tummy should be really ready.

Pouring. Down. Rain. Nonstop. There’s winds too but thankfully none to blow out any power lines, @ least not yet anyhow. *crossing anything and everything to ensure that power stays put*

The keiki are currently enjoying The Game Plan which means there’s no fighting and peace and quiet.

Dinner is marinating in the fridge, mochiko chicken . And I’ve just gotta whip up some rice and chop up some tomatoes and we should be good to go.

Lilman did indeed win and has to be at the city wide Science Fair tomorrow morning to present his project.

Happy Friday everyone!

All is quiet for now. The keiki are at the dining room table busy with crayons and paper and getting along… for now. So I’m giving myself some i-net time and FRIENDs.

Dinner has been eaten (SPAM, rice and eggs ), dishes are washed, J’s lunch has been made, the heater is going b/c it’s frickin cold, and just waiting on some Ugly Betty and off to bed we go.

I’m unsure, as lilman wasn’t really paying attention, but I think his Science Project went to the city wide competition. Hot damn! And a woohoo! His topic, “What type of water do plants grow best in? Tap? Bottled? Or Ocean?” A bunch of kids were walking around afterschool with their project boards but J said he couldn’t bring his home, b/c he won for the 3rd grade but doesn’t know much else about it. Typical!

We’ve got birthday parties this weekend and I’ve still got gifts to purchase for them. The rain is supposed to continue through til next week and lots more with the chilliness.

I think I went and left my pa-china in the parking lot of Costco today. Lifting too much weight when I’m not supposed to *spanks own hand*.

J’s science project is done. As far as we’ve been told, the Science Fair is on Thursday but I don’t know if there is going to be an assembly or anything like that. He was a special chosen candidate by his teacher. Not everyone had to do it, I thik 3 out of 20 in his class. It’s nothing to him though b/c he’s been doing his “own” Science project since 1st grade. This was an easy one!

My lil Canon point and shoot has an auwe too . The left top corner of the screen is cracked. It’s still very usable but still! That’s my just in case camera and my little avi camera too. So after seeing that I got all worried about my little “big gun”. It’s safe and sound. After all these years though in the same camera case in the bottom of my purse it never experienced any harm!!! Maybe it was feeling neglected? Heh?

So although J has a day off from school today, he’s still got karate tonight. Gonna finish off the leftovers from yesterday and maybe whip up some mini blueberry cheesecakes!

Watching the season premiere of One Tree Hill… and unfortunately I have to leave to p/up the boy from hula. Seems pretty good so far even and I’ll be missing a good chunk. I’m wondering if there will be a replay sometime soon. And ooh ooh ooh I am so excited for Gossip Girl tomorrow! Looks like a good one.

As an aside… the chicken enchiladas had a little snafu… I used the picante (read HOT) enchilada sauce instead of the mild. And normally it’s not that hot but in this case it was. J had to drink 2 glasses of milk with his meal. Lilmiss had cereal for dinner with a side of blueberries.

So the winds and rains are back again. Oh boy *rolls eyes* Yesterday was clear skies. I think the sun might have even made a small appearance. I don’t remember anymore. But today we’re really back into full swing. Lilman has karate and hula again. Joy! Normally I wouldn’t mind so much but with the rains and such and the parking and the driving. BLAH!

I did manage to go out with the lilmiss today too. There was a break in the rain so we made our way to pick up some french fries and a Target run. I needed some foil, garbage bags, and shampoo…. but of course came out with some other stuff . Geez. Found a tiara to replace the one I broke for the lil miss in the $1 section. YAY! And I also picked her up another wand. I also found her a cute dress, a denim skirt, and a white sweater… all in the clearance section. I think I paid $10 for all 3 items. Then what’s a trip to Target without checking out the snacks. Lol. I needed to replenish the extra stuff that I put in J’s lunchbox… so I got some Goldfish and granola bars. And for me some Mint Milanos . I also picked up a value pack on the Cinnamon Toast Crunch b/c cereal is running low.

Chicken enchiladas tonight. Should be good. Need to eat and leave soon… I think I’m in a better mood today than yesterday!

J is back to school today and I am not at all thrilled about that. We are currently arguing over homework *pulling hair out*. He frustrates me to no end. *bangs head on table* It’s as if he doesn’t pay attention in class or something. And then it’s a yelling crying match.

As an aside… I need to decide what’s for dinner. Chicken enchiladas? Or macaroni and cheese? We They had homemade tacos yesterday and there’s plenty of leftover chicken in salsa roja and I don’t want it to go to waste, so I was thinking chickie enchiladas. Lilman isn’t too thrilled about it but I didn’t have tacos and I could go for some of that. He said dinners/ flavors have been repetitive lately. Oh well too bad for him, is he the one cooking? No I didn’t think so.

Not feeling so well today. I knew it when I woke up this morning. Not so much sickness, just not feeling up to it and I wish I could have just pulled the covers over my head and shut the rest of the world away. You would think the weather could help in that department, considering the sun is shining, albeit it’s cold, but still!

B/c I am soooooo set! Today Err yesterday, Sunday, I finally met up with the girls from high school and we had our gift exchange/ holiday get together. It was Southern Style fixins for eats and damn everything was deeee-li-shuz! Pulled pork sammiches, cole slaw, hodge podge soup, green beans with bacon and onions, candied yams, and for dessert although not Southern… but very yummy, some chocolate mousse thinger and rice krispy treats. As always lots of talking, lots of eating, lots of catching up, and lots of giggling.

My gift was a big hit with my giftee. I don’t like to sway from the wishlist… yes we put them out there b/c after knowing each other this long, it just makes life easier and more pleasant for everyone. I thought I had failed miserably though b/c she asked for a BLACK down vest. I spied one in Sear’s BEFORE Christmas and snagged it. I don’t like to mess around when I see something at a grrrrrrrreat price , even though we didn’t meet til well after the Christmas hoopla. As I was wrapping it the other night and in the light of my own home, it wasn’t black. AWwwww shit! And then I go to check the tag and it says Sierra Brown. Damn me! Anyhow K-lady opened her box of goodness and the color was a bit hit…. with her and everyone else for that matter. So much so that 2 of the others had to try it on. She wore it the remainder of the night. YAY ME! The other part of her gift was a gc for Bare Escentuals, another off her wishlist.

Not to say that I didn’t like my gift. B/c I love it! My gifter didn’t stray either and I got a bonus in mine . She threw in a Timbuk2 wallet that I don’t need. But I got my Pyrex glass measuring cups as well as my stainless steel measuring cups and measuring spoons and these really cute bonus spoons that measure: smidgens, pinches, and 2 others that are slipping my mind. So yeah I’m set with my sets. With all the baking and cooking that I do, you would think I would have already had that kinda stuff. Well I didn’t, I had plastic crap, and they were just that. Crap. And let’s not even get into the fact that I can’t even tell you where the measuring spoons are, b/c I don’t know. They disappeared somewhere, sometime ago so I’ve been kinda eyeballing when it came to teaspoon and tablespoon measurements

Thanks to the BM for giving me some time away from the keiki. A whole 5 hours without them. YAY! Although the ladies were looking for them, I decided to go this get together alone and it was a nice time away. Of course the lilmiss was more than happy when I walked in the door showering me with hugs and kisses. It’s nice to be missed too .

As the meteorologist predicted, rain and lots of it. Got a little wet from it too, had some errands to run, but they all ended up being wastes of time. UGH. And as much as I love the rain, it’s not helping my mood as of late. I’m feeling emotional and hormonal and just all around ICK!

Lilman is supposed to return to karate today but b/c of the weather I’m thinking I’ll save myself some sanity and not drive out there, we’re just not going to go at all. I hate doing that, but it’s better for me in the long run.

Dinner is already nearly done. Heh! We didn’t really eat much of a lunch so I was thinking, late lunch early dinner. I use a recipe similar to this one all the time. This time I threw in some freshly squeezed orange juice along with the lemon juice. I also don’t bother with the oregano. But other than that, it’s the same. Serving it with rice and mixed veggies, as usual.

All I really want to do is crawl under a blanket though. And yeah I’m on the computer earlier than usual, sue me! The kids have been watching Disney Channel, which doesn’t leave me much else. I’m really not feeling the book for the book club as of late, maybe I just need to get further into it? Eh, so yeah signing off now.

So I’m doing well with some of those resolutions I put upon myself and some not so well.

1.stop yelling @ my kids I think I’ve been doing pretty good. Albeit I need the cooperation of the kids, and that’s no easy feat b/c #1 is an instigator and #2 is a whiner/ crybaby. But seriously I think I’ve been doing alright with that one. I don’t feel my blood boiling as much. It just boils for other reasons, that I won’t bother to get into.

2. stop yelling see #1

3. cook more home cooked mealsHa! That’s a joke as for dinner yesterday we had pizza to enjoy with the sad , very sad, football game yesterday. And today although we didn’t eat dinner out, I also didn’t put any big efforts into cooking something wholesome for the kids. They had grilled ham and cheese sammiches with apple slices. I, on the otherhand, had a bowl of cottage cheese with peach slices and a handful of blueberries. Then topped it off with a TJ’s oatmeal raisin cookie. I need some oatmeal in my life . I’ve been trying to get a bowl of wholesome oatmeal in the morning, but it just hasn’t been happening.

4. eat out less Yeah another HA! BM brought home Wendy’s for lunch yesterday, and as I mentioned we had pizza last night. And although I hadn’t planned on eating BK, we were at my aunt’s house and my uncle picked it up for everyone. I guess they weren’t planning for lunch and the other option had been pizza but her grandkids are not fans. Good for us, being that we had pizza the night before.

5. use the computer less I’ve actually been very good about that one too! Yay me! I’ve decided to try and not get on the laptop until the lilmiss is asleep. Achieved 2 nights in a row. I will twitter from my phone though but not much.

6. spend more time with J I’m trying, but I need to work on that better. It’s just difficult b/c N doesn’t nap and she gets very jealous.

7. take more photos w/ my camera HA! There’s still photos sitting in the camera from the 30th and 31st and no attempts to get them out. And I just haven’t been feeling it.

8. de clutter Yeah haven’t gotten there yet.

9. stop swearing I’m not sure, I haven’t been consciously watching/ listening to myself. Working on #1/ #2 certainly aids in this one though.

10. start walking to pick up J from school in April Can’t work on that one until April

11. spend less/ save more Haven’t really been spending as I’ve been utilizing gift cards. Cheating, yeah! But it hasn’t been frivolous cash spending.

12. take my vitamins So far so good

13. read more Not yet, will as soon as I hit publish and close the laptop.

14. more QT time w just S Hasn’t been possible b/c he’s been having to run to work for meetings and such, and we don’t really have anyone to watch the kids.

15. clean the house I’m trying, but I also need the help of the other home inhabitants.

So on Day 2, not doing too bad. At least I don’t think so .

In other news… I’m honored , I was nominated to be part of the Yelp Elite ‘08. I’ve always wanted to be part of the Elite but never bothered to submit why I should be on it. I don’t think I ever would have… instead today when I opened my email there it was ! Which only means I want to Yelp! more, but that would require me to be out and about more. Heh. So yeah. I’m a dork , I thought you knew!

I’m all out of sorts today b/c I didn’t get much sleep last night, had to wake early this morning, and now the BM is home. It’s more that he’s home that’s throwing me off b/c normally on weeknights he’s at work at this time, and most especially on Fridays we don’t see him til the next morning.

Yeah I don’t know what happened to me, but I had a helluva time falling alseep last night, I think it was 3:30AM and by the time I was all into my sleep, my sister called from LA for my wake up call @ 7:30AM. I took my time getting up though and by the time I was all ready to go she called me from SFO. I picked up my good old box of Aloha from Mama !!! The majority of the contents were Christmas ornaments, , and of course the keiki made out like bandits. BM and lilman got UH Warrior gear to sport for the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday. Heh. Colt Brennan is such a cutie!

Then by the time I emptied the contents of the box and put them away, it was time to go to the movies. As planned for a few weeks now, we met up with lilman’s friend and his family to catch the matinee showing of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Very cute movie! Lilmiss was good for the first 30 minutes of the movie and then she got restless. Thankfully the movie was only 1.5 hours long. I’ll have to admit I did snooze out a little bit, not b/c the movie was boring or anything but b/c of lack of sleep.

Originally we were going to join them for lunch, but bailed out and ended up heading to Costco. Got hot dogs, a rotisserie chicken, and stocked up on some chicken for the freezer. I’ve been having an itch to make some fried chicken wings *slurp*. On the way home, stopped at dim sum, b/c we missed out the other day. Heh. And finally made it home. Filled our bellies and sooner than I know it, I’m on the couch… snoozing away. I wake up to find BM home and the keiki watching a DVD.

Lots of things to do this weekend too. Gotta meet up with my sister to pick out tiles and bathroom things for the revamped bathroom that is occurring @ our parents’ house and then Sunday is Blue Christmas with friends down the peninsula. I still haven’t figured out what to bring for that either. Normally I would pick a dessert but it seems that’s what everyone else has signed up for, and how NOT fun would that be?

Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight, despite taking a nap again today b/c it’s an early morning again tomorrow. Hope you have a lovely weekend!

msdina - a gallon of friendliness - a pound of charm - a pound of fun Boil together and serve.

‘What is your personality recipe?’ at QuizGalaxy.com