July 2008, first day of nursery school
July 2011, last day of nursery school
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
My, how they grow!
My baby is off to kindergarten this week, and I'm feeling a little bit nostalgic. Her last day of nursery school was in July. Here are 2 pictures of the same entrance, same kid, 3 years apart (It looks like a bad paint job covering up some tagging but that's just because I did some down & dirty 30-second photoshopping to take the school sign out!)
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Almond Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe: A Lauren & William Creation
Lauren and I were making Spinach Souffle, so I had the almond meal out, and decided it might be good in the chocolate chip cookies we were going to make next. William, in his cabinet perusal, kept waving the almond extract. So we experimented and came up with these yummy, crispy cookies!
Lauren & William's Dark Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies:
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Dark Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
optional: 1 cup chopped almonds (we did not try this but we might next time!)
Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, almond meal, and baking soda in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and almond extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in dark chocolate chips (and nuts if using). Chill dough for 10 minutes in the fridge. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets
BAKE for 9 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Please leave a comment if you make these, especially if you make any tweaks that make it even yummier!
Lauren & William's Dark Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies:
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Dark Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
optional: 1 cup chopped almonds (we did not try this but we might next time!)
Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, almond meal, and baking soda in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and almond extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in dark chocolate chips (and nuts if using). Chill dough for 10 minutes in the fridge. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets
BAKE for 9 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Please leave a comment if you make these, especially if you make any tweaks that make it even yummier!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Take 10 Seconds and Do this One Important Thing
Hopefully you will never need the #, but take 10 seconds, anyway, grab your cell phone and program in this contact: 1-800-222-1222 for POISON CONTROL.
Yes, my baby swallowed nail polish remover today. He's fine, but I had to call 411 and get transferred to poison control because I could not think of the # and couldn't remember where near the phone I had put it.
Here's what happened: The kids and I are home sick today with head colds, so I was feeling feverish, lethargic and out-of-it anyway. I was on the floor in Lauren's room reading her a book, William was playing with Duplos at our feet. I got to a long page, looked up and noticed he wasn't there anymore. In that minute, he had crawled over to the bathroom. I share a bathroom with Lauren, connected to her room, so I have all of my makeup, etc. under the sink. He'd never had access to explore it before since I don't usually keep the door open so it hadn't been on my radar yet for baby-proofing. I also hadn't thought about the beauty supplies as poisonous the way I do, say the Clorox or aspirins.
Anyway, he was on the ground, the bottle was in his mouth, he was smiling, his breath smelled like (to my stuffed-up nose) nail polish remover. There was about an ounce of it left in the bottom of the 6 ounce bottle. There was a tiny bit of it on the floor. The top was closed but he must have opened it at some point to spill the little bit on the floor. I could not remember how full the bottle had been before, other than, I'm sure at least half empty. I hadn't used it to take nail polish off in months!
I called 411 to get transferred to Poison Control and they told me that he probably hadn't swallowed very much of it because he's so young, it would be hard to get that coordination, he wouldn't be very thirsty, and it wouldn't taste good. But I was supposed to watch him anyway, not let him lie down for the next hour, in case he vomited. I also should give him water or milk. If he seemed lethargic, I would have to bring him in to the ER.
Ryan walked in the door right as I was finishing up the call. We then spent the next hour taking turns holding William upright and intently checking to see if he seemed sleepy. Well, today he only napped for 20 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the afternoon, and it was approaching bedtime, so of course he was a little sleepy! But then he spilled water on himself, was very alert (and cold!) so we were reassured. Fingers crossed, so far he seems fine.
Please do learn from my mistakes. Take a few seconds, stop your blog browsing, and actually do this simple act of putting the Poison Control phone # in your cell phone. I've also taped it to the back of my house phone. Better safe than sorry!
Yes, my baby swallowed nail polish remover today. He's fine, but I had to call 411 and get transferred to poison control because I could not think of the # and couldn't remember where near the phone I had put it.
Here's what happened: The kids and I are home sick today with head colds, so I was feeling feverish, lethargic and out-of-it anyway. I was on the floor in Lauren's room reading her a book, William was playing with Duplos at our feet. I got to a long page, looked up and noticed he wasn't there anymore. In that minute, he had crawled over to the bathroom. I share a bathroom with Lauren, connected to her room, so I have all of my makeup, etc. under the sink. He'd never had access to explore it before since I don't usually keep the door open so it hadn't been on my radar yet for baby-proofing. I also hadn't thought about the beauty supplies as poisonous the way I do, say the Clorox or aspirins.
Anyway, he was on the ground, the bottle was in his mouth, he was smiling, his breath smelled like (to my stuffed-up nose) nail polish remover. There was about an ounce of it left in the bottom of the 6 ounce bottle. There was a tiny bit of it on the floor. The top was closed but he must have opened it at some point to spill the little bit on the floor. I could not remember how full the bottle had been before, other than, I'm sure at least half empty. I hadn't used it to take nail polish off in months!
I called 411 to get transferred to Poison Control and they told me that he probably hadn't swallowed very much of it because he's so young, it would be hard to get that coordination, he wouldn't be very thirsty, and it wouldn't taste good. But I was supposed to watch him anyway, not let him lie down for the next hour, in case he vomited. I also should give him water or milk. If he seemed lethargic, I would have to bring him in to the ER.
Ryan walked in the door right as I was finishing up the call. We then spent the next hour taking turns holding William upright and intently checking to see if he seemed sleepy. Well, today he only napped for 20 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the afternoon, and it was approaching bedtime, so of course he was a little sleepy! But then he spilled water on himself, was very alert (and cold!) so we were reassured. Fingers crossed, so far he seems fine.
Please do learn from my mistakes. Take a few seconds, stop your blog browsing, and actually do this simple act of putting the Poison Control phone # in your cell phone. I've also taped it to the back of my house phone. Better safe than sorry!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Shopping Bargains: Flap Happy Outlet Store
At a friend's suggestion, I'm finally posting about one of Lauren's favorite stores. The Flap Happy Outlet has moved to Culver City. It's an actual outlet with the factory in the back. It's a great place to find deals on their cute boys' & girls' clothes. (I have gotten hats for $6, T-shirts for $3, etc.) You may know them for their flap hats but they also have bathing suits, T-shirts & cotton pants, dresses, and headbands. Lots of cotton clothes with bright colors, very much Lauren's style!
Location:
5830 W Jefferson Blvd, Ste 200. Los Angeles, CA
Outlet Store Hours: Tuesday - Friday 12 noon - 4 pm
Here is Lauren in her 4th of July dress & matching hat from Flap Happy
Location:
5830 W Jefferson Blvd, Ste 200. Los Angeles, CA
Outlet Store Hours: Tuesday - Friday 12 noon - 4 pm
Here is Lauren in her 4th of July dress & matching hat from Flap Happy
If you are not local, you can often find their line on Zulily.
Disclosure: if you click on the Zulily link and join, I get $15 credit there
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
We Interrupt This Day to Bring You--A Car Accident!
Last Wednesday was already shaping up to be a busy one. I had to get to the doctor's by nine in the morning (routine checkup), then over to Ryan's office to drop off the kids, then back to my office for a meeting with my boss and my boss's new boss, followed by a few hours of writing bio pages and editing photos. Oh and I needed to pack up the family and leave for a trip to San Diego. Phew!
As if that was not busy enough, at quarter to 9, I was sailing along when BOOM! Out of nowhere, I got hit from behind. By a teenager in a Jeep! So the funny thing was, you would think I would be grouchy and irritated that this happened.
The opposite! The first emotion I had was gratitude. Grateful we were all okay, glad the guy pulled over and did the honorable thing, admitted responsibility and apologized. Grateful he had good insurance and that this would all be taken care of.
Second emotion was empathy for the other driver. He was a teenager going through his first car accident, an unavoidable rite of passage here in LALALand. He was worried about the effect that the accident would have on his insurance rates and more importantly on his dad. I agreed to wait a day to report it so he could have time to break the news to his dad himself without it being via a phone call from the insurance adjuster.
I called the doctor's office and rescheduled for an hour later, then relaxed somewhat. It was like someone had given me permission to derail the overscheduled morning so I could take a deep breath and focus. Instead of leaving in the afternoon, I put off travelling to San Diego until the next day. I can't open the bashed-in back door of the car to get out William's stroller, but we have another stroller in the garage, so no big deal. Insurance has been notified. The proper people will do their job and things will be settled, and for some odd reason, I'm at peace with it.
Well, I won't say I was completely at peace. When I got to the doctor's office, I had high blood pressure...120 over some alarming number.
Oh and P.S. I woke up the next morning feeling fine, no whiplash or anything to report!
As if that was not busy enough, at quarter to 9, I was sailing along when BOOM! Out of nowhere, I got hit from behind. By a teenager in a Jeep! So the funny thing was, you would think I would be grouchy and irritated that this happened.
The opposite! The first emotion I had was gratitude. Grateful we were all okay, glad the guy pulled over and did the honorable thing, admitted responsibility and apologized. Grateful he had good insurance and that this would all be taken care of.
Second emotion was empathy for the other driver. He was a teenager going through his first car accident, an unavoidable rite of passage here in LALALand. He was worried about the effect that the accident would have on his insurance rates and more importantly on his dad. I agreed to wait a day to report it so he could have time to break the news to his dad himself without it being via a phone call from the insurance adjuster.
I called the doctor's office and rescheduled for an hour later, then relaxed somewhat. It was like someone had given me permission to derail the overscheduled morning so I could take a deep breath and focus. Instead of leaving in the afternoon, I put off travelling to San Diego until the next day. I can't open the bashed-in back door of the car to get out William's stroller, but we have another stroller in the garage, so no big deal. Insurance has been notified. The proper people will do their job and things will be settled, and for some odd reason, I'm at peace with it.
Well, I won't say I was completely at peace. When I got to the doctor's office, I had high blood pressure...120 over some alarming number.
Oh and P.S. I woke up the next morning feeling fine, no whiplash or anything to report!
Saturday, August 06, 2011
The Elephant on the Playground: Movie Star Parents
As I previously mentioned, Lauren will be attending a great public school in September. We've already had the orientation and the parents seem very involved and the kids seem like ones she'll become friends with. It's not terribly far away, so no long commute for us. Not as close as our neighborhood school, but manageable. We met some of the other incoming families at an open house they held.
Here's the thing, though. One dad in particular really stood out because he's an actor. Not just any actor, one of the stars of one of my favorite shows. Any scene this guy is in, you would watch him carefully. The plot would be furthered by even a subtle raise of his eyebrow. So...even if he is just standing around on the school yard scratching his nose, it seems interesting. I have to make myself *not* look at him because if X [his character's name] was on a school playground, stuff would HAPPEN. Things would be about to blow up or get veeeery weird. Waaay more fascinating than the president of the booster club or the principal giving their spiels.
But back in reality, he's just another parent like the rest of us nodding his head, looking concerned and figuring out the ropes for his son. And I'm thinking of how many people are in "the industry" and would love to chat with the guy just to get some kind of connection. And I don't need that connection and I don't want to be that kind of person. But I am a friendly person. So in trying to NOT look at him, to give him his privacy, I'm then snubbing the guy.
Here's the thing, though. One dad in particular really stood out because he's an actor. Not just any actor, one of the stars of one of my favorite shows. Any scene this guy is in, you would watch him carefully. The plot would be furthered by even a subtle raise of his eyebrow. So...even if he is just standing around on the school yard scratching his nose, it seems interesting. I have to make myself *not* look at him because if X [his character's name] was on a school playground, stuff would HAPPEN. Things would be about to blow up or get veeeery weird. Waaay more fascinating than the president of the booster club or the principal giving their spiels.
But back in reality, he's just another parent like the rest of us nodding his head, looking concerned and figuring out the ropes for his son. And I'm thinking of how many people are in "the industry" and would love to chat with the guy just to get some kind of connection. And I don't need that connection and I don't want to be that kind of person. But I am a friendly person. So in trying to NOT look at him, to give him his privacy, I'm then snubbing the guy.
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