HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOMS OUT THERE!

So I have time to blog this morning because I am waiting for my pancake breakfast to be cooked. The girls are taking over the kitchen (scary!) and are making breakfast. That's the great thing about having older kids, they are now able to take care of themselves and even take care of dear ol' mom sometimes.

When they were younger and less able to do for themselves, my husband and I did everything. It's nice to see them slowly learn to be more independent. We their parents can't take all the credit though. You know that saying "It takes a village to raise a child"? It is true in our case and with all parents. The bigger your community, your support network, the easier it is to parent you children and parent them well.

With the internet, this community of support just got wider. Websites such as Parents Connect allows parents to draw strength and advice from each other. Whether you're worried about your child eating their vegetables or having their homework done or whether they are balancing their social life and school like or not, there are always parents who can answer your questions online. It's like having the whole village at your fingertips, literally.

Sure, you can always find some expert opinion or other online but I use sources such as Parents Connect more often than not because you can connect with other parents who are going through or have gone through the same things. You can ask your question, express your worries and you get an answer with advice or comfort almost immediately. It's like having your best friend right next door and available all the time.

Yesterday, we had an accumulation of snow, about three inches deep, and we got a snow day! Snow day meant we, the kids and I, got to stay home from work and school. Another day tacked on to the weekend!

OK, so we didn't get a whole lot done. We just stayed home and vegged. Yep, just laid around all day. We didn't even do any cooking. But we needed it. We were all feeling crappy, in varying stages of the flu. Some of us were recovering, some just starting and one in the throes of it. So yeah, it was not as fun as we would have liked, but it was nice having the extra day. Today, we had a two hour delay for school and work because of threat of black ice during the early morning hours. So we slept in a couple of hours extra, but we finally got out of the house. It's sunny and bright today, but cold. It's not going to get any higher than in the mid 30's from what I hear.



Visit our other blogs:
Amoores.com
Cooked from the Heart - our new food blog
Our New Backyard - garden & photo blog
Found Not Lost - about all the things we 'find' worth talking about

The Clone celebrated her birthday a couple of weeks ago and I made her the Filbert Gateau cake since they weren't home when I first made it. This girl also loves chocolate, so I thought this would be perfect for her. I was right. She loved her cake!

Although, she felt a need to redecorate...

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Visit our new blogs:
Amoores.com
Cooked from the Heart - our new food blog
Our New Backyard - garden & photo blog
Found Not Lost - about all the things we 'find' worth talking about

The holidays are coming up again and some of us are probably going to be traveling. Unfortunately, we can't always take some of our family members on vacation with us. I'm talking about our pets. One solution is to take them to Grandmas or Aunt Katie's but if you don't have friends or relatives willing to pet sit for you, a dog boarding facility may be a good option for you. Dog Boarding facilities provide care for your pets while you're away and some of them even provide mini vacations for them. Find a dog boarding facility near you by visiting the dogboarding.com database.

It's just around the corner, and before you know it, it's time to dress up them ghouls and feed on their souls. HALLOWEEN is just around the corner!

October is my youngest daughter's month. My delivery due date with her was October 31st but she came a week early so her birthday is on the 24th and she's taken Halloween as her holiday. She's already planning on her costume and what treats we're going to make on her birthday. This weekend she wants to go shop around for something to wear; although I don't know why we even bother because for the last five years she's been a witch. We spend hours going to various Halloween Costume Stores only to come home with a black dress and a witches hat. Well, except for this time when she was a geisha:

This year, I am really not up to mall hopping so I'm thinking we'll just shop online. The link above for the Halloween Adventure, for instance, offers a huge selection and variety of costumes and if you order early (before October 10, 2008), you can get free shipping on orders over $60. If you're not satisfied, they have a firm policy for quick and easy returns. I for one have been a little slow getting on the online shopping wagon, but the few times that I've done it so far, I have been very happy with the convenience it afforded me and the quality of the products I received. This just may be the start of a habit! Hey, that just gave me an idea....
habit, get it? I think I just figured out what my costume is going to be. How about you?

Here is another easy treat to bake that can make you seem like a pro baker, Cherry Dump Cake. Every time I say the name, I can't help but cringe just a little. I just have a very negative connotation with the word 'dump' that my daughters kindly reminded me of. OK, enough of that.

This Cherry Crisp, as I've chosen to call it, is very easy to make, a perfect cooking-with-children recipe. A toddler can probably do this whole dish with just a little help from mom.

Click on the link to see the recipe and step-by-step instructions on how to make Cherry Crisp.


Visit our new blogs:
Amoores.com
Cooked from the Heart - our new food blog
Our New Backyard - garden & photo blog
Found Not Lost - about all the things we 'find' worth talking about

I have heard of moms who keep their children out of their kitchen. They have reputations of being great cooks and think that having too many cooks, their children included, in the kitchen will ruin the soup. What a shame. They are missing out on the best and memorable experiences of childhood and motherhood.

Well, my children are all over OUR kitchen. My youngest daughter says we should name it the 'KIDCHEN'. When they have friends over, the first thing they want to do cook something so we all end up in the kitchen.

If you're unsure about what to do to entertain kids in the kitchen or out of it, a good resource is RD.com - Parenting, the online version of the iconic magazine, Reader's Digest. This was my mom's magazine of choice when we were growing up; now I know why and it is now mine too. There is so much information packed in such a little tome, it is a treasure!

The articles on food and nutrition always catch my attention of course, and I have put to practice a number of tips from the magazine. The RD.com - Family Life section has so many helpful information, tips and ideas that it keeps our activities as a family fresh and focused. I know some people think that being a parent should come naturally, that things 'just happen'. Well, they don't; and it helps to have something like Reader's Digest to spark some ideas and ask some questions we would probably won't even think of. I love it!

Happy New Year!!

First off, I'd like to apologize to anyone who tried to leave comments while we were away (I hope there were a few :-)). I had switched to the new blogger in December and realized too late that the commenting system somehow got messed up and were not accepting or saving any comments. My super talented template designer, Chas, has fixed the problem, however, and now we are back in business. Thanks, Chas!

We are back from vacation, and are now sorting through over a thousand photos. Here's a few of the meals offered to us from the numerous homes of friends and relatives who graciously received us in their homes and presented us with the best meals that we didn't even have time to try out any restaurants.

A couple of days after our arrival, our first destination is Baguio City. This lunch, at Aunt Connie and Aunt Liza's house was waiting for us. After doing a whirlwind tour of the city for the girls' benefit, we were treated to merienda's, dinners, and breakfast at different homes because everyone wanted us to come by and visit even if just for a few minutes. I wish we could have had more than a couple of days to spend in Baguio but we had a full itinerary for the two and a half weeks that we were there.

We also visited our relatives in Agoo and Aringay, La Union, and another feast was presented to us along with lots of stories and reminiscing. The girls also enjoyed their swim in Auntie Josie's pool. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to picnic by the beach as we had done numerous times as kids.
I had been dreaming of this for a long time. Thanks to my La Union relatives, my craving has been sated...for a while.

From Agoo

Our gracious host in Santa Ana, Auntie Chita, made sure we were well fed with every meal. In the photo among many are Monamon Kilawin and Squid salad with ink. Yumm!

Here's one more table, from Auntie Febe's House in Cainta.

So with all these meals, and this is just a sampling of them, is it any wonder that I came back home with tight fitting clothes? :-D I'm not complaining, mind you. I enjoyed every calorie ingested.

Thanks to all our hosts!

Oh, and you'd think our eating days were over when we left the Philippines? Not so! Sister O and Sister S treated us to another sumptuous meal in Los Angeles' Chinatown too!


BURP!