leave it to the professionals

armed w/Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough and a simple royal icing recipe, i thought i would bake some xmas cookies with the girls, in hopes they'll have some memories of baking w/mom, if once a year. i'm not a baker and have even made a hobby of sampling all the bakeries in town

(if you have a favorite let me know).

i rolled and the girls helped pat and shape/cut their dough. eric even did a couple of free-hand animals and tigger. i can see why moms get into this.

here they are out fm the oven. and folks that's why i leave it to the professionals. even decorated, they still looked like blobs, but with color.

they were actually quite yummy-- chewy with crispy edges and not too sweet or buttery. go premade dough. the girls enjoying the final product (vienna likes to eat her cookie face on).

xmas photo shoot '08

we take professional pics once a year at xmas time. really, the only professional pics not counting the girls' school pics.

love love the magic of christmas, but i always feel extra stuffed fm all the turkey gobbling---not optimal for picture taking. the girls did great, we were able to get tons of shots lasting over 1 1/2 hr--- maybe we should call the child modeling agency hahhaha. our photographer friend comes to us, which makes it awhole lotta easier.

here's this year's photo shoot, the best of the crop shots. can you tell i love props (and outfits).

What I'm Thankful For

dressed to go to the Vu family thanksgiving dinner. 3 lollipops, 3 takes and way too many 'say cheese' and still only a half smile from Vienna. Crazy, big grins fm Laurel, candy bribes always works with her.

i've been under the weather recently, and havent posted weekly as I usually do, so the next entry should be a doozy with all their toddler updates.

hope you have just as much to be thankful for as i do. happy thanksgiving!

Presenting the tortoise and the hare

Happy Halloween!

The day started with a h-ween parade at the girls' school. they made their very own bunny costumes, from the pink ears to the bobby tails. there were also bats and pumpkins. it was loud and fun (except for when laurel sees momma, she gets super clingy---i should have gone in costume incognito!). but that's ok, momma loves h-ween and the kids were so darn cute.

Then the tortoise and hare raced off to gramma Vu's house for our very first treats.

Then we headed out EARLY to Fair Oaks church's trunk or treat with gramma D---we learned our lesson last year. After a 15 wait to get in, and 15min of treating, we had two full pumpkins--- who needs blocks and blocks of sidewalks with a parking lot full of candy! Leaving us plenty of time for rides, a haunted house, car show and some eats. We didnt stay for the fireworks, but it was already a full night.

We also ran into my gf, monique & her family. her hubs was showing his company's car, the scion speedster.

Here's a video of our chock-full-of- fun treats day:

School Events

field trip to the pumpkin patch. the yellow bandannas were to keep track of all the HMCDS kids. and our group was one of the smallest by far. there were bus loads of kids-- like a convention for little people. the girls rode on their first bus. momma realizes buses are prob the safest mode of transport, but the 5pt harness on the bus still helped.

HMCDS nature event with crafts, a trek to the creek to scoop tadpoles, sagvenger hunt and bonfire. we didnt stay late enough to make smores or camp out. the girls did wolf down some roasted hotdogs by the communal fire-- do they always eat like this at school lunches? is it just momma they wont eat for?!

the great depression

is what eric is calling it. suzy orman (per the oprah show) advises at least 8 months of savings, cause that's how long it might take to find another job. the financial powers are forecasting it will take 10yrs for the economy to turn around(!!!)

it's not sexy, but frugality is in.

i listened to a segment on NPR that other day, they interviewed ppl in their 80s who lived thru the 30s depression. they remember how the 20s was an era of parties and excess before the stock market crashed. to them it feels like the same bad cycle. today we've become a throw-away society, always wanting new, bigger and designer-- regardless if we can afford!

what's wrong with an older but functionality deck, or EUC (excellent used condition in ebay lingo) kids clothing and toys; or original but presentable wood floods. yup, that's our house and that's what the kids get. and the peace of mind we get, by not being in the hole.

we do splurge on family trips, parties, extracurricular activities/classes for the girls,,, cause life is about experiences, not things.

but my dear hubs wants to tighten the money belt even further. DIY haircut:



savings $12/mo. the word jagged comes to mind (-:
(the gunk on their chest is vicks vapor rub, since preschool = cesspool of germs)

his next target, netflix. savings $200/yr. thanks goodness, tivo is paid for!

Greetings fm Florida!

we had a GREAT time, highly recommend tampa for younger kids, who aren't ready for disney yet. with busch gardens africa, lawry's interactive zoo, florida aquarium and the hotel pool -- we never made it to the beach! some of the top highlights: riding a camel, feeding a giraffe and have its purple tongue lick your hand and seeing a real-life hippo!

going off season is a huge plus (we are an anti-crowds family). absolutely no lines, it felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. the girls loved the dinosaur carousel, and they were able to ride it over and over again w/out getting off.

we end up not needing to rent a car. next to the hotel, there were restaurants and a cvs w/in walking distance-- for the girls' pedisure run. the shuttle fm best western to busch gardens ran only twice daily. which was fine, since right after lunch, the girls would nap in their (inclined) stroller for about an hour (a full stomach combined with the riding motion= dreamland), then we were off again. who would have thought we could spend 14hrs at busch gardens africa. we only had to cab a ride to the zoo; and the aquarium was on the way to the airport.

after this trip, we cant wait until the girls turn 5--- so we can experience the wonder of disney and all its parks. eric has a co-worker who goes every year, he got hooked as a child-- now i think i know why-- afterall, it is 'the happiest place on earth'. Happy Anniversary baby!