skills honed in a pandemic

Not that there was any doubt, but Mo can officially do better hair than me.

power bar = juice

Mo comes into the room with the iPad.

"Mama can you plug this in?  It only has nine juices left, and it's red."

the baby goes to real school now

She's a Kindergartener.

My baby is a Kindergartener, how did that happen?

While it's only for a couple of hours, I miss her in the mornings.  She's my 'lil sidekick.

sigh.

there's no business like it

Mo had her first tap show last month.  

And, she loved it.

Yes, the costumes were to the nines.

Yes, there were two full dress rehearsals.

Yes, it was an almost three-hour show.

But, man were they cute.  

mo rides

We've been trying to convince Mo to take off her training wheels for awhile now.  Her balance on the razor scooter has been good for some time, so we thought she could do it.

Last week she did it!

Love the outfit she pulled together for the momentous occasion.

Oh, the days of this.

And, a little video from the second day when she really got the hang of it.

boogie on down

KT has been the reigning boogie boarding queen in our house for some time now.  But, looks like she might have some real competition soon for that title.

cure for the weekday blues

If you've experienced half of the whining and crying I have this week, you may be in need of some chocolate therapy.

Enter the Cornflake-Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow cookie.

They are chewy, chocolatey, have a bit of crunch from the cornflakes -- and, they are huge.

Win. win. win. And, win.

Cornflake-Chocolate Chip- Marshmallow Cookies
from Christina Tosi's "Momofuku Milk Bar" Cookbook

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups of Cornflakes
• 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows

1. Cream together butter and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and add egg and vanilla; beat for 7 to 8 minutes.
2. Reduce speed to low and add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix just until dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula.
3. With the mixer on low, add cornflake crunch and chocolate chips; mix until just combined, 30 to 45 seconds. Add mini marshmallows and mix until just incorporated.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2 3/4-ounce ice-cream scoop or 1/3-cup measuring cup, portion dough out onto prepared baking sheet. Pat tops of cookie domes flat. Wrap baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 week. Do not bake cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line additional baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
6. Arrange chilled dough at least 4 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Transfer to oven and bake until puffed, cracked, spread, and browned on the edges, about 18 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets.

My apologies to the man

who pulled into the parking space after me at school today.

He probably stepped in a puddle of puke. 

It was like any other morning.  I pull into the school parking lot.  I open the door to let Mo out. 

“My stomach doesn’t feel good.” 

Then, she does that telltale cough/burp sound.

I pull her out of the car and she pukes.  And, pukes.  It would be the one day that she had a big breakfast. 

I grab the phone and call Miyo.  She’s pulling into the parking lot.  I ask her if she can walk KT into school since Mo is now naked after having pulled her pukey dress off her.  She says yes. 

I start working to bag up Mo’s pukey dress and the wet wipes I used to clean up her hands and face.  KT starts yelling from in the car “I have to go to the bathroom.” 

Of course you do. 

A happier Mo.

this girl

is now four.

She asked for a "rainbow party and to play Polly Pockets."  Check and check.

mo and her fighter

I was quite the tomboy growing up, always playing with my brother's G.I. Joes, watching Transformers, constructing spears out of bamboo in the backyard.

I've been realizing lately that we have a very girly house.

We recently received purple swords at a friend Jake's ninja party and these are recent tidbits of conversation from Mo.

"Mama, you hold onto this part, and boom with the other purple part."

"Where is my fighter!?" (referring to the sword)

"Mama! (crying) Sissy says this isn't a gun!!!" (waving the sword around for me to see)

lemony dreams

When I found this dress for Mo last year, I totally had a vision of her wearing it in the orchards behind our house.

We've had some truly fabulous weather this week (sans winds too) so armed with some mini M&Ms (bribe) I drug a white chair and a stool out to the fields.

A truck drove by in the fields when we were out there -- stopped -- and backed up to see what we were doing. Guessing he doesn't see 3-yr-olds sitting on white chairs all that often out in the fields.

He was super nice and actually apologized for interrupting us, as if we weren't trespassing on the the land he has a job on!

We ended up being out there at noon -- I had wanted to do it in the morning -- so the sun was right on top of us, but I like the sun-filled pictures.

Oh, and I still love my 50mm lens.

mo the minnow

Mo is starting to swim like a big girl!

I hope your weekend goes swimmingly!

angry bird

angry Mo

mo and george

Mo this morning telling me about George...

"I love my Georgie the best. I want him to stay forever and ever and ever."

seriously?

Something like childbirth, I had forgotten how painstakingly time consuming potty training was.

Here is a guide to my potty training day in a nutshell:

Green = underwear changes

Blue = failed potty attempts

Red = successful potty visits

Note 1: All potty attempts were prompted by Mo, not me.

Note 2: I've added uber cute pictures of the girl to keep a smile on my face.

9:30 a.m. Convince Mo to put 1st pair of underwear on; sits on home toilet to no avail

9:45 a.m. Mo sits on home toilet to no avail

10:00 a.m. Leave house

10:07 a.m. Enter Big 5

10:09 a.m. Mo sits on Big 5 toilet to no avail

10:15 a.m. Arrive in Target parking lot

10:17 a.m. Mo sits on car toilet in Target parking lot to no avail

10:20 a.m. Enter Target

10:25 a.m. Mo sits on Target toilet to no avail

10:40 a.m. Arrive at Japanese market

10:45 a.m. Mo sits on Japanese market toilet and pees!

11:05 a.m. Arrive at school to drop Katie off; Mo sits on car toilet in school parking lot to no avail.

11:10 a.m. Mo sits on school toilet to no avail.

11:25 a.m. Arrive at home, Mo sits on home toilet and pees!

12:30 p.m. Mo wakes from short nap during my run, sits on home toilet and pees!

1:00 p.m. Mo sits on home toilet to no avail.

1:15 p.m. I get out of shower, ask Mo if she needs to go, she says "no" I walk out of the room, she screams, "I'm peeing!!!" First accident of the day.

1:20 p.m. Put 2nd pair of underwear on Mo.

1:45 p.m. Mo sits on home toilet to no avail.

2:00 p.m. Mo sits on home toilet to no avail.

2:15 p.m. Mo sits on car toilet in school parking lot to no avail.

2:35 p.m. Arrive at home, Mo has small accident in underwear, sits on toilet and finishes peeing.

2:40 p.m. Put on 3rd pair of underwear.

3:10 p.m. Mo sits on home toilet to no avail.

3:25 p.m. Arrive at gymnastics; walk 3 feet into the door and Mo pees in the hallway.

3:30 p.m. Put on 4th pair of underwear.

3:35 p.m. Mo sits on gymnastics toilet to no avail.

3:40 p.m. Mo sits on gymnastics toilet to no avail.

3:50 p.m. Mo sits on gymnastics toilet to no avail.

4:00 p.m. Mo sits on gymnastics toilet to no avail.

4:15 p.m. Mo sits on gymnastics toilet and pees!

4:30 p.m. Mo sits on gymnastics toilet to no avail; leave gymnastics

4:45 p.m. Arrive at home; Mo sits on home toilet to no avail.

5:15 p.m. Mo sits on home toilet to no avail.

5:30 p.m. Mo sits on home toilet to no avail.

5:45 p.m. Mo sits on home toilet to no avail.

5:50 p.m. Papa arrives at home -- I immediately transfer potty training duties to him and stop keeping track of details. I believe he has two more successful pees in between a number of tries.

Note 3: I'm going to go ahead and categorize this post under "achievements."

the name game

Me: What's your name?

Mo: Maddie!

Me: What's your long name?

Mo: Moooooooooooooooooo

mini banana nut muffins

Two reasons to make them mini.

1) They only take 13 minutes to bake so you can whip them up quickly for breakfast or a snack.

2) They are perfect for mini hands.

Banana Nut Bread

my adaptation of James Beard's recipe

1-1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. whole wheat flour

1 C. mashed very ripe banana

1/3 C. milk

1 tsp. lemon juice (or vinegar)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 C. softened unsalted butter

1 C. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 C. walnuts

1/2 C. mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease pan(s). Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl cream butter. Add sugar and mix thoroughly. Add eggs & banana. Combine milk and lemon juice in a small bowl. Slowly alternate mixing in flour mixture and milk mixture. Mix until completely incorporated. Add nuts and chocolate chips last. Sprinkle a little sugar on the top before they go in the oven for a sweet extra crunch on top.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean.

Loaf pan ~60 min.

Muffins ~20 min.

Mini muffins ~13 min.

the baby is officially

The only two requests Mo had were:

"Me want jump rope party," and "Me want pink and yewow party."

And, so it was.

The week before the party, the girls and I painted a bunch of frames pink and yellow which we hung from the tree in the front.

There was pink and yellow play-doh (easy recipe here).

There were bubbles and a pull-string pinata which rained candy down on the kids.

Mo was beat at the end of day. She straight passed out watching her show before bed.

Happy Birthday Mo!

getting patriotic - redux

what big sis learns, mo knows too.

give me some mo

So loving this little girl these days (I know, I've officially jinxed it now by typing that sentence).

I love how when she jumps around she either says, "hopscotch, hopscotch" or "salta!"

I love how she only calls Katie "sis," and never refers to her or calls her by her name.

I call her my little anime girl -- big 'ol round eyes on a little tiny face.

I love how all "L's" are pronounced as "W's." She calls her little friend Logan "woggie."

I need to take more video of her talking these days, because she's a crack up, and I know in a blink that little voice will be gone.

My brother has proclaimed she sounds like an elf.

Chapstick that has been "Maddie-ized"

Part elf, part robot, often sentences will start and end with the word "Mom," except it sounds like "Mam."

"Mam, you got big knife, Mam," she will say flatly as I'm cutting up her strawberries in the morning.

No, she's not practicing to be an Asian tourist

-- she's letting me know that's she's in fact, 2 years old.

Okay, enough gushing. I'll be sure to look back at this post another day when the girl is a teenager and driving me crazy.