Back in Savannah

We had a marvelous stay in Savannah again this past Spring. This trip, we met some old friends who now live in Virginia - they drove 9 hours to meet up with us and we stayed together for about a week. Our clans got along swimmingly. Here's a preview of what we did.

Happy Hour at the condo

Climbed the Lighthouse tower

Played in the water

Picked up slimy creatures

Got our nails done

Crabbed and frolicked

Dined on 5-courses chez Olivier

Found religion

Made new friends

Said goodbye, family style

Sunshine and Sunflower Seeds

Seems I'm always in baking mode when the weather cools down. Sadly I didn't take a photo of the apple pie we made, but it was pretty good. However, it didn't trump the homemade ice cream Paul whipped up (with a machine). That's always the best.

I took a class on making gelato a while back and we now use the recipe over and over when the sun starts to peek around a cloud or two. You know, Seattle summers.

Sadly I've misplaced that damn recipe hand out, but I promise to share a few when I find it!

Meanwhile, during clean up time, our monkey decided to spread out a bowl of her very own sunshine - can you see the sunflower seeds on every step?

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

St. Valentines Day is a day of giving. Or so I'm reminded every time I enter a retailer. I succumb to marketing like the next yummie mummie (my new brand), so I have been making goodies for the gals to bring to school.

Today I'll be dropping off some Whole Wheat Banana Muffins (altered recipe from Cooks Illustrated).


1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt (I omit)
6 large very ripe bananas (about 2¼ pounds), peeled (I only had 3)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) light brown sugar (I did half white and have brown sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 and fill mini muffin tins with cupcake holders. I use an icecream scoop to fill the mini muffins.

First mix wet ingredients and then add dry.

Mix just until blended. I also completely omitted the part where you cook the bananas (stew them for more flavor). See recipe above if you want to try it out!

And Voila - I decorated with Chocolate Chips. This is for a class of 1-2 year olds so I omitted nuts.

It's 2013

It's 2013 and I'm still thinking about sending out Christmas cards. Maybe if I start now, I'll get them done by next December!

This was a low-key holiday for us. Family was scattered, with at least four who were sick with a flu of sorts. I still got the decorations out and filled the house with Christmas, took my eldest to the Nutcracker and baked up a storm with both kids.

Here's the year summed up with three of my favorite things.

1. Baking (or receiving baked bread).
2. Family chaos.
3. Travel (especially where there's sunshine).

I hope you had a fantastic end to 2012 and an even better start to the new year!

Lee's Fruit Bread, (figs, dates and nuts) wrapped in cheese cloth and soaked in rum before fermenting for 2 weeks at room temp.

E on a boat in Chelan

Me and the Goof Goof

L in her new hat

Peanut butter balls. Yes!

Band-aid nosed L with daddy

More baking!

Dining Chez Olivier (the premier)

French is a funny language. I, of course, think all things French are fanciful, flavorful, flamboyant and filled with fervor. Some friends, who don't understand a lick of francais, accuse the French of swallowing entire syllables when they speak.

We dined at the First or "premier" Olivier - as in, dad-in-law, and man was it like being on a cooking show. He is so charming, you feel like you are speaking to a French brand.

Then there is his stylized food. He puts it together with such ease, you'd think the cameras were hidden behind the paintings of Van Gogh and Macke on his walls.

Oh, and did I mention the decor? I felt like I was still in Paris, with the whole clan, speaking Freeench. Weee weee. We enjoyed a "light" meal of Lamb, Scalloped potatoes and bell pepper salad. It was spectacular. (The wine was fabulous, too. I forgot to take a picture...but, I think it had "Olivier" in the name!)

The Olde Pink House

When you have daughters, pink is like an explosion all over your house. It's in your hair, on your arms, in your clothes, on the bottom of your feet. It's in the form of hair clips, play-doh, stickers, accessories, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.
And, if that wasn't enough, it's also the one and only restaurant we ate at for dinner in Georgia whilst on vacation. There are two reasons. One, dad-in-law cooks so well, there is never a need to eat out because the dining experience would pale in comparison. Two, with children, why put yourself through misery. Oh, and the unmentioned third reason? That was one of the only "kid friendly" restaurants listed on Yelp.

All in all, good experience. House was built in 1771, (for more info., click here), located in the heart of Savannah near a beautiful park, and the staff were sooooo gracious. We really enjoyed it. I'm reminded by my spouse reading over my shoulder as I type (ahem) that the Declaration of Independence was first read aloud from these steps, when it belonged to someone named Habersham. It was also a bank, at one point.

Savannah beckons historians, or shallow tourists like me. After dinner we strolled along the old town district. Why does everyone here have a ghost story? They even have a "ghost" tour bus. Charming and warm enough for the beach (even in March), if you haven't been to Savannah, it's worth the trip! Whether you want to get in touch with your intellectual side, or shallow side!

Bury Your Head, or Put a Pail On?

We had a fabulous time on the east coast for some warmer than usual weather for this time of year. Translation: Sunshine on the beach!

Sometimes we are reminded of the simple things in life when we are with family, away from home and work, and capable of focusing on every waking minute in a semi-calm state (as calm as it can get with two children). It's fabulous.

And sometimes, we see life and all its wisdom in one photo. For our 1-year old, she chooses to put a pail on. For me, if it were as easy, I think I would bury my head in the sand and run away from rainy weather (or perhaps financial woes and change and fear of failure and...)
Still, it's adorable. So much so, I forget all these other things, anyway!

Pancakes, Part 2

As a follow up to my entry about pancakes, I wanted to share just how yummy they were.
In this picture, Drew is holding up his plate of blueberry pancakes in syrup. Here are the girls after pancakes - happy little clams.

We had a great impromptu dinner. I think Janet is right - we'll have more of the same again, soon!

Italy or Bust

This year, we've been considering how to make a trip to Tuscany fit within our budget and schedule. Although I've been talking about it now for over 6 months, I'm only now just beginning to "concretize" our plans. We want to plan something for Fall. Here's what I've figured out so far:

• Dates are filling fast in September. 
• Villa rentals are spacious - found one that fits up to 12 AND for a 1 week commitment, it amounts to $3,000.
• One villa I'm angling for has a swimming pool!
• Airbnb or VRBO might have other good options.
• Other venues in Italy or otherwise?
• Weather in Fall? Need to dig in to see if it's nice. Otherwise I'll base a final decision on SUNSHINE.

Here's a link. What say you?
http://www.rentvillas.com/PropertyAvailability.aspx?Catalog=13067

Blue Steel or Magnum?

Parenting has it's joys AND challenges. Especially when you have dark circles under your eyes from sleepless nights due to nights of gas or night mares or... who knows why they won't go to sleep.

But here's the beauty of 4. One book on childhood development says that my child is so happy to communicate at this age, that she will be testing all of the boundaries and will become extremely difficult. Great. The book further explains that I'm supposed to embrace it, not fight it, in order to make MY life easier. Yeah, right. I get the pouty look, fainting princess frown and scrunched face when Ms. obstinant is working me over. And my least favorite is when she mirrors what I say and scolds ME with a consequence in response to my warning.

The baby can't express herself so we have another host of issues (mostly in the form of emotional bursts when things don't go her way). Her latest expression reminds me of Ben Stiller in Zoolander - but I can't recall if it's Blue Steel or Magnum. Anyone?

Sometimes BEFORE she does something questionable, she looks at me and frowns, expecting me to say no or grab her before she puts herself in danger.
The looks are priceless and, although it's a daily double on attitude, boy are these two monkeys (well, one monkey and one lady-bug, I'm told) adorable.

Just one more book, pleasssse?

Don't you dare take my toothbrush.

Blue Steel Expression (Zoolander)

French or Chinese?

My daughter is learning French at the very young age of 4 and she now believes she can speak other languages including German, Spanish, "Jewish" and Chinese fluently. Why? Just because she's 4 and, at that age, they still believe they are the best at everything. Although, not everyone out-grows this philosophy.

Tonight she asked me if we could play restaurant. So I said yes and she took my food order. To be funny, I ordered "poop cookies" (which are the animal cookies from Safeway and were incentives for her to go #2 in the potty). These are now their branded name in our household. My "fluent in Chinese" waitress told me that poop cookie in Chinese is Clish. She left and went to her kitchen, then came back to give me pretend "clish".

Next on the menu? Poop-things (Another incentive, tic tacs, which she pronounces poop-sings).

Storytime

This evening I was reading a story to my darlings as they were perched on my lap. The eldest was trying to get comfortable on one leg, complaining that it was too soft, while the baby, on my other leg, was pushing the open book with her feet and covering the words as I was trying to read them. Then the other one grabbed the baby's legs, and was moving around again trying to get comfortable on mama's 'soft and squishy' leg. I can't imagine life any other way - squishy mama bathing them, reading to them and putting them to bed (with skinny dad).
How frazzled I feel. I'm a frumpy Grump and tired. And soft in the middle. But I enjoy every tired moment reading to my two peanuts. Mom-hood is such a wonderful thing.

Hey Hey, We're the Monkeys!

Silhouette Art

Silhouette art is such a creative and delicate form of art, and it harkens to my childhood. In fact, I wonder where the framed silhouettes of my siblings are that used to be on a wall at my parents.

Karl Johnson is a 3rd generation silhouette artist. I was watching him cutting with his entire arm (and shoulders) a silhouette of my child faster than I could cut out a basic paper heart (not kidding). http://www.mygreenlake.com/2011/11/silhouette-artist-karl-johnson/

 The results are stunning... Can you tell these are my children?

Monkey Business

Monkey 2

I had an absolutely hilarious moment I thought I'd write about. Although one part of it is sort of embarrassing, it's pretty funny.

Here goes the TMI: My morning ritual begins with Monkey 1 pattering into our room between 6 and 7, and either Paul or I getting Monkey 2 in her room. Meanwhile, I get followed into the bathroom by one dog and two kids. Our sliding door is always open and I can watch Lily when she's stumbling along. Usually I play peek a boo and she comes toward me with a big smile. This time I was taking a little longer and kept peeking around the doorway, but I realized she wasn't right outside. She was at my night table but now walking, no running toward me with my large full glass of water in her little pudgy hand. Her little fingers barely held on to the rim and she was so proud of herself as she was trying to run, teetering and smiling at me. I was up and off the toilet so fast, racing toward her in what felt like slow motion, and just barely got to the glass before it spilled all over the floor. She just smiled somemore and was off looking to grab the next thing.

THAT CHILD IS A MONKEY.

A Little Bit of Sunshine

This weekend was all about reconnecting with a very dear friend. We go way back to the days when we were carefree and even reckless in Munich (although, really, not very) over 20 years ago. Could it be that long? We both are still young, of course!  Torsten came from Munich and stopped in Vancouver, B.C. for two days of shopping before arriving in Seattle. First stop: U-Village for some more shopping (and it poured rain the entire time - where was that little bit of sunshine for our guest).
Later that evening, dinner was take-out Indian food (after debating between Mexican, Thai and Indian).  We had Lamb Vindaloo, Butter chicken, rice, naan and vegetarian samosas.  I tried giving the baby some of the samosa but her bottom lip suddenly puffed out and curled down after we all realized it was too spicy!  (Warning: even "mild" was a little bit spicy for both girls, but mainly for the baby). 

Eggs Benedict, lecker!

This morning, Paul poached eggs the old-fashioned way and whipped up a hollandaise in order to make Torsten's favorite (which he cannot get in Germany) - Eggs Benedict. I have to admit, it was "lecker" as they say in Deutschland, but it's a bit too rich for me. So I had to stick to one and give the other one to Paul who obliged without hesitation.

We then headed off to Golden Gardens and spent time enjoying the fresh chilled air.  It is definitely Fall here!

Beim Spielplatz

And then it was time to say goodbye. The visit was too short. Komm' doch mal mit Peter das nächste Mal!  Wir vermissen Dich schon...

Torsten mit der RIESEN Gepäck!

This evening, Paul needed to head off to work while I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner. It wasn't too hard when I realized we had left-overs from our lovely dinner last night with Torsten.  Linguine with olive oil and Parmesan and a chanterelles, cream and bacon sauce. Sadly, I did the thing that probably kills all nutrients. I threw both plates in the microwave on 30 and Elle and I ate brussel sprouts and asparagus with our noodle dish. Lovely. Lily was already full from the fruit, avocado and noodles I put in front of her.

The girls had an eventful weekend - preparing for trick-or-treating on a Saturday afternoon (Paul took the girls while Torsten and I shopped).

Ich bin einer Marienkäfer!

Le coccinelle

Aren't we the cutest.

Friends dressed and ready to go!