Disney Delayed

OK, so this posting is, like, four months late, but there's no way I am going to let the kids' first Disney trip slide without documenting it for posterity. After all, if we are going to spend all that money traveling to the Happiest Place on Earth (TM), we need to be able to brag write about it.

Let me preface this posting by stating that having kids who are five years apart has both distinct advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, we have quite easily adjusted to a life with two kids since EB was already somewhat self-sufficient by the time B came along. On the down side, it's nearly impossible to find activities that are compatible for both. That's why when EB expressed an interest in going to the Disney World early last year, my first thought was: Hell, no. I imagined having to simultaneously deal with EB's whining AND B's multiple meltdowns/diaper explosions. And what's worse, we would be surrounded by a sea of whining, germ-y kids with their cranky parents who had financially overextended themselves by wanting to make their precious ones' dream come true. But you can only hold out for so long, so when my parents offered to meet us in Orlando so that they could watch B while we took EB to Disney, we knew that it was finally time for EB and Mickey to meet.

We rented a condo near the theme park and for three days, B got exclusive rights to grandpa/grandma doting sessions while the rest of us--K, EB, me and my brother (he decided to tag along at the last minute)--zipped around the theme parks. We were determined to get most out of our Disney investment, so our moves were plotted with military precision: "OK-- I'm going to run ahead after this log flume ride and get the Fast Pass tickets for Magic Mountain. You guys go to Hall of Presidents to see the talking wax figures and I will meet you back there. If the show starts before I get back, text me and I'll go to the nearest gift shop to wait until the show is over. Now let's fan out--GO, GO, GO!!"

A bit stressful some would say, but I say, given the cost of the tickets, a queuing strategery was a requirement. Yes, we were that family at the park, and we had a blast, so there. We were able to get on most of the rides with very little waiting, which is important because on an 85+ degrees day, waiting and happiness very much have an inverse relationship .

Smile! You're at the Happiest Place on Earth (TM)!

"Hi. I'm five years old."

Ten-hut!

EB had an absolute blast, and managed to keep her whining down to a minimum. The only times that she got grumpy was when a Disney staff called her a "princess," as in:   
   "Well, hi there, Princess!"
   "Is this your first trip to Disney, Princess?"
   "See you later, Princess!"

In fact, every time a Disney staff used the dreaded "P" word on my little tomboy, she would go all teenage on me and give me this sullen, indignant look:

Don't call her a "Princess." Ever.

On day four, B got a chance to join us at the MGM Studio (read: grandparents had to fly down to Miami to catch their cruise). It was definitely more challenging to tote around a one-year old, but by then we had had worked most of the Type-A Disney impulses out of our systems. Meaning, we were pretty exhausted, so we were relatively content just strolling around the park at a leisurely pace.

Look Mom, I'm at Disney World!

Hands on experience at "Honey I Shrunk the Kids"

The little dude had no idea what was going on.

Having a blast on "A Toy Story" ride

Overall, it was a great trip: quality time with family, lots of sun and a zip-a-dee-doo-dah of a good time at Disney World. Who could ask for anything more?

A Way With Words Year 3 + Season Premiere

This is my third annual installment of capturing funny little EB-isms. She's growing up so fast, I'm hoping that I have another few years before these funny little EB-isms become full-on bratty, ungrateful EB-isms (did I tell you that I'm a bit fearful of the tween/teenage years?)

While I'm at it, I thought I'd start throwing in some B-Boy-isms for a good measure.

The Latest EB-isms

"Jesus of God"
EB is in awe of the mightiness of God and the all-loving figure, Jesus. So much so that she goes around calling Jesus: "Jesus of God." Technically speaking, his name is Jesus. And he is the son of God. So by deductive reasoning, it probably is not inaccurate to refer to him as "Jesus of God."

"Georgia Washington"
If EB were a historian, we would all think that one of our Founding Fathers was actually a Founding Mother.


"I will wear it when we go to church"
Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It's been...uh, never since I've had my last confession. And it's been over a year since I last went to church. My little tomboy knows this all too well, so whenever I try to buy her a twirly, girly skirt, she looks up at me, smiles and says: "Looks great, Mom! I'll wear it when we go to church." Translation: at the rate we are going, it'll be another year or so.

"Cheese grill sandwich"
Like the French, EB sometimes puts her adjectives behind the described noun. For example, instead of saying: "blue sky," the French refers to it as "le ciel bleu" (direct translation: sky blue). So instead of "grilled cheese sandwich," the girl is going all Francophone on me by calling it "cheese grill sandwich."




Season Premier of B-Boy-isms

"Go!" (pronounced "Gah!")
He likes to repeat this over and over as he climbs up our stairs, as if he were a Little Engine that could.

"Uh-oh!"
Uttered when he purposely throws his sippy cup, bottle and food onto the floor.

"Na-na" (banana)
Self-explanatory

"Geh?"
When uttered while pointing to grapes, it means: can I have some grapes? Otherwise I will scream my head off. When uttered while pointing to my iPhone, it means: can I hold it? Otherwise I will scream my head off. And when you give it to me, I will test gravity and drop it on the floor.

"Ma-ma!"
Uttered when he is in a cuddly mood. This one always melts my heart:

Six-Years Old!

My baby girl turns six today. Six! At six years old, am I still allowed to call her my baby??

Happy birthday to a little girl...

...Whose imagination and ingenuity always brings a smile to my face. Here is her solution to battling the wind on a particularly blustery day: a mask fashioned out of an old colander and a pair of work goggles. A bit Friday the 13th-ish, but my little Jason is adorable all the same.
 

  
...Who has a strong (read: stubborn) sense of style. Did you notice that in the above two photos she is wearing the same sort of outfit? I assure you that we buy her plenty of clothes, most of which she will have none of. Here's a rundown of her daily "uniform":

• T-shirt. It's always a t-shirt. If it's cold, she will wear a long sleeve shirt with a t-shirt on top. If she wants to shake things up a bit, she will wear a zip up fleece over her t-shirt. But, it's always a t-shirt.
• Jeans. This girl is forever in blue jeans. ("Because they look cool")
• No buttons, ever. Unless it's on a pair of jeans. She has a serious fear of buttons. Kinda odd.

   ....Who is turning out to be quite the little artist.

  

...Who doesn't quite get the art of a good punchline yet.

Her most recent joke went something like this:
 EB: "What did the cat say to the mouse?"
 Me: "Not sure. What?"
 EB: "I'm going to chase you!  And then, the mouse says, 'No, please don't chase me!' And he runs away from him, across the street!" Uproarious laughter ensues.


 Happy Birthday, EB! I love you!

Beans, beans, the magical fruit...

...the more you eat, the more you toot. Tooting aside, they say black beans provide a wealth of health benefits, including cancer prevention and cardiovascular health. So you'll be happy to know that now, you can enjoy them not only in savory dishes, but in your cake, too! Say what? Yes, you heard me right. And not just in any old cake, but chocolate cake.

I got this black bean chocolate cake recipe from a book club acquaintance. Those of you who know me well can attest to the fact that I'm not much of a cake fan, but the idea of chocolate cake made out of black beans was so intriguing that I just had to give this recipe a whirl. That's what happens when you grow up in an Asian family--your taste buds are conditioned to accept red bean cake and sesame paste as delectable treats. Picture me as a five year old, running around and beaming that I get to have a red bean pastry for dessert. So, given a choice between chocolate cake and red bean cake, for me the red bean cake wins hands down. But with this recipe, I don't need to choose; I get two yummy flavors into one. And, did I mention that this is far healthier than the flour version?

I was a bit nervous about how it would taste. But after just one bite, I knew that this one was a winner. It was moist, slightly sweet, and most of all, I did not have to feel guilty about eating it, because beans are good for you, y'all! This picture doesn't do the recipe much justice since the beautiful sprinkling of confectioner's sugar kind of melted away, but it was especially good with a dollop of home-made whipped cream. Even K, who is more of a traditionalist when it comes to desserts, asked for seconds and thirds. EB gobbled it up as well.

Here is the recipe, in case you are interested. For all of you calorie counters, I also put together nutritional content as well.

I will most likely try a version sweetened with stevia or Splenda. Let me know if you end up trying the recipe, and how you like it!

*****
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
5 large eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbs butter
3/4 cup demerera sugar
6 tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbs water

Preheat the oven to 350º and grease a 9″ cake pan.
Mix together the cocoa, baking powder and baking soda in a small bowl.
In a larger bowl, beat the butter until it’s soft and fluffy. Add 2 of the eggs and beat well after each one. Put the beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, sugar and salt into a blender or food processor and blend/process until the mixture is smooth. Add this mixture to the butter/egg mixture, further mix to combine. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients and the water and beat on high for 1 minute until smooth. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30-35 mins. The top of the cake should be rounded and firm to the touch, and the cake should be pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Total number of calories per serving (assuming you feed 8 people): 232 calories

Foot Fetish

Warning: this posting may be a bit TMI about my feet. Feel free to read or not read. But if you do, be prepared. Nighmares may ensue.

..................

I have decided to train for the Little Rock half-marathon. But before I subject my feet to another round of pavement-pounding punishment, I decided to go see a podiatrist to help mitigate my foot problems. And a whole lot of problems there are--my feet are flat as pancakes and wide as a Winnebago. Worst of all, I've got bunions so large that K is convinced that they've got heartbeats of their own.

So, there I was at the podiatrist's office, sitting with my shoes and socks off when the doctor walked in. After he shook my hand and introduced himself, he looked over my feet and promptly exclaimed, "WOW! Look at these bunions! Goodness, they're huge! Do they hurt?"

Me: "Umm...not really."
Doc: "Well those are really something else. They look like they should hurt."

Jeeze, thanks, Doc. Without bunions, you wouldn't be in business, buddy.

As the doctor started pulling my feet this way and that,  I noticed that he was not wearing any gloves. How gross. I can't imagine having to touch other people's sweaty, stinky feet all day long. And that's when I remembered that I had just shaken his hand, which meant that unless he had washed his hands before seeing me, I probably now had a half-a-dozen sets of foot funk doing the happy dance on my right palm.

And then the good doctor does something unimaginable. He gets an itch, and the fingers that had moments before kneaded my feet started inching towards his left eye.

Holy crap. Don't do it, man.

Yet his hand continued to move up, until it reached under his glasses and there he was, scratching and rubbing his foot-funked fingers across his eyelids.

Sweet Baby Jesus. I am simultaneously fascinated and skeeved out.

The rest of the visit was uneventful. After I was measured for my orthotics, I went off on my merry little way to the nearby bathroom, where I fervently scrubbed the funk off of my hands.

Happy Birthday to My Little Man!

My little guy celebrated his one year birthday yesterday. Since we are still up to our elbows with moving boxes, we kept it very low key--a couple of hats, balloons, and a nice ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery (P.S. -- no hat in this picture, because as it turns out, he hates hats).

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

We've learned so much about you since when you came out kicking and screaming a year ago.

Like how you absolutely adore and idolize you sister, even when she is tormenting you or when she does the silliest things...

...or how you will put just about anything and everything in your mouth...

...or what a happy little guy you would become and how much you love to giggle and laugh!

We love you, B! We are so very grateful that you came into our lives a year ago, and look forward to watching your personality develop!

Desperately seeking normal

I traveled back to Little Rock this week to transition my old job to the new guy that they just hired to replace me. Despite the fact that I have not been in the Little Rock office for almost three months, I slipped right back into the environment, joking around with my old colleagues and clients. I walked to the same old bathroom that I had been walking to for years, got my lunch at the same old cafeteria. It was as if I had never left. The only difference, though, is that instead of driving back to Maumelle at the end of the day, I kept going north towards Bentonville back to my new "home." I put this in quotes because this is a place where everything still feels utterly unfamiliar, where we are living in a temporary apartment, literally out of our suitcases and paper boxes.

In the past few months, I've felt like I've been straddling a familiar world and an unfamiliar world. Like, despite the fact that I'm still with my company and understand how to navigate it (familiar world), I'm serving a new client and still trying to understand their MO (unfamiliar world). Or, when I met up with a bunch of girlfriends that I knew from Little Rock (the familiar world), for a girl's weekend in California (the unfamiliar world).

Plus, I've been traveling a lot these past few months, for both work and personal reasons. There have been times, while in midst of my morning grog, I've wondered where the heck I was--is this Atlanta? Michigan? Am I back in Little Rock or Bentonville? It has been very disorienting. There has been no pattern, no routine, no predictability in my life. I've felt off. Like when, in a dream, you find yourself in a big fancy ball and you are wearing nothing but a pair of old underwear. You feel out of sorts and out of place, but  for some reason, no one notices it. You feel off, yet everything is normal.

Which is why I am looking so forward to closing on our home tomorrow, for the movers to come on Friday, and for us to finally move out of our ghetto temporary apartment and settle down. I used to believe that I would have no problem living out of apartments and hotels, but now I'm desperately seeking a bit of normalcy in my life.