Wordless Wednesday

I Know What I'm Getting for Mother's Day

     My husband and I met when I was fourteen so I have had many years of gift giving. My love language is gifts; so his glorious gift-giving choices helped real me into marrying him. Flash forward 15 years later and some of that magical power has waned. He not only has to be concerned with himself and his "girl" now he has to support our family and our household. That is a huge gift on its own!
     With our current focus on meeting each other's love language needs (this is based on a book called "The Five Love Languages"- my husband's language is words); I have been proactive in helping my mate by emailing him links of gift suggestions for Mother's Day with prices and locations.
     One recent wish list item was a pair of Sunglass Hut Ray Ban Aviators-classic and much needed. I also picked out a purse and two rings from the Coach Store. I only expect one thing from this wish list fyi. Coach is having a pre-sale where preferred customers get 25% off and can buy before the general public, so I let Patrick know about this opportunity.
     Yesterday I got a call from Coach because my husband was trying to buy the Ray Bans from Coach and my personal shopper was confused. I just had to laugh! By choosing a selection of potential items and forwarding them to Patrick  I figured at least I could be surprised as to what he ended up choosing.
      I decide to spare him the anxiety of "getting it right" and just be explicit. So this is what I asked for....

     This little sweetheart is a Newfoundland puppy-my dream dog. I have had my heart set on one for years now. I will tell you more about why I LOVE this breed in another post. My request was a deposit for this love muffin to hold my spot for an upcoming litter (I'll explain why I am going this route as well). Can't wait to get my arms around this beauty!

     What are you hoping for or giving for Mother's Day???

Wordless Wednesday

Mommy on a Mission

   We are privileged to be minutes away from gorgeous beaches. Actually, our favorite beach was voted safest in the world! In lovely weather we go there often. Once we get our "camp" set up and my children are occupied with play; I alert my husband of my plans and sneak out on my covert mission. If you asked a friend or family member what dessert do they associate me with- it would be hands down- a cupcake. There is a reason why my blog is called Piece-of-Cake Parent! I consider myself a Cupcake Connoisseur. If I see a shop, I must stop!

     I love strolling down the beach's Main Street toward my cupcakery. You know, the sun shining, the ocean air smell, I just feel like a woman with not a care in the world for 30 min. When I arrived at my usual stop, they were out of what I had a penchant for! Boo! I decided to drop in on another bakery nearby and see what their offerings were. I found a comparable cupcake and was ready to pay when I saw "THEM". These adorable sugar cookies that had cartoons printed on them. I got Tia "The Lorax" one with the adorable orange face and I had to get the last"Angry Bird" cookie for my 4 year-old angry bird for little man.

      I made my way back to shore and surprised my kidlets with my finds. They were in awe! All was perfection until my son's cookie took a dive in to the sand! My "helpful" husband doused it with water to clean it off. The cries grew! This time I took my little guy back with me so his tear/sand stained face would convince the bakers to replace it. They did of course and he ended up with a Spider Man one instead. Smiling to myself I embraced the moment and held my little guy and watched as he quietly enjoyed his much-desired replacement .

      Going forward I will keep my covert missions secret. But honestly I can't resist the urge to say "close your eyes and open your hands" when I know they are gonna just "eat it up"!

   

Lavender Blue, Yummy Yummy...



     Before I got married ten years ago; it was established that I would not be cooking. I was really bad at it and Patrick wasn't. Simple. When Tia was 18 months we got cable T.V. and I fell in love with the Food Network. Particularly, Everyday Italian with my culinary inspiration-Giada De Laurentiis (prounounced "Joda"). I would put Tia down for a nap, grab some lunch and go on a food vacation.

      I have always been a creative type who likes to experiment. Supplied with knowledge of food science, I was motivated to test the waters in my kitchen. At first samplers reluctantly tried my food, then suprisingly enjoyed it. I fell in love with food and all the possibilities. Food reminds me of books. With a finite number of ingredients (letters) you can create art. That ignites me!

   I usually love most movies that incorporate food, ie. Spanglish and It's Complicated. In the latter,  Meryl Streep's character is a cafe owner/chef who makes Lavender and Honey Gelato. I wanted some pronto! I looked and looked- some contenders; but no winners. Lavender can impart an herbaceous quality that can be off-putting. I found a solution!

     Instead of mixing in lavender to the creation, I scented it; creating the essence without that funny throat taste. First, I scooped about a cup of vanilla ice cream into a glass container. Next, I put about four drops of lavender oil into a tiny medicine cup and placed it right in the scooped vanilla. Lastly, I placed in the freezer for 24 hrs. The result is perfumed ice cream, mmmmmm! I didn't drizzle any honey on top because my ice cream is already nicely sweetened; but if I used say a less sweetened yogurt base I would. Lavender is still an acquired taste, you may love it like I do, or hate it like my husband did. Try it with other essences, if you prefer, ie. ginger or peppermint. It is a subtle way to add flavor!

  Have you ever "created" a recipe you LOVE?!



E.J. the Philosopher

Mr. EJ asked me yesterday as we were getting out the car ...

"Is God big?"

    "Yes, not 'big' like huge, he is a normal size; but he is 'big', like powerful".

"Mommy, does God have a remote control to change the weather?"
    
   "No, honey."

"Well, how does he change it?"

   "He just says it and it changes."

"He just says it!?"

  "Yes"
(Very confused look on his face)

Later at dinner he asked Patrick if God has a Wii controller to change the weather... "um no".

It Finally Happened!

  
      One day in the beginning of the school year last fall I was less than two minutes late picking up Tia from school. You should have seen the look on her face! I felt so bad. Her brother held me up at home; so since then I leave my home extra early so I am never late. In addition, she gets out of school an hour early on Tuesdays. Remarkably, I have never forgotten to get her. Until yesterday!
See what happened was.....:) Well we have had two weeks off recently and before that she was in an art class that kept her in school until regular time on Tuesdays, therefore I was out of the habit of getting her early on this day.
     I got a call from her friend's mom letting me know she was standing next to Tia.  I was mortified and rushed over. I hoped this would never happen. Thank God we have such great families at her school! Later, I debriefed Supermom and she told me Tia said, "My mom is never late"! (So Tia was genuinely worried) The good thing is when I was ironically two minutes late getting her today she didn't even care! Neurosis cured. Check.
     Here comes the cherry on top... Today I forgot to bring her snack and lunch! So I decided to spring her from school and take her out to grab a snack (that's the pix above). She was so curious what we were celebrating:). I just told her the truth. The sooner she knows I am (sometimes, not really, sorta, I don't really wanna fully say it) like my mother the better!