Paige's Quote of the Day

Paige is deep into playing dress up...shoes, dress even a little play make-up. Jimmy comes running down the hall and says, "Paige, there is a monster in our room! Come see!"

Paige says very calmly, "OK Jimmy. But I am not scared because I am a princess."

Top Two Things to Blow $100+ On

In the midst of some deep thought today...here are my two favorite things to blow $100 or more on:

• A very nice dinner (at a restaurant)
• A massage

Enough said.

Adventures in Cake Decorating

Being such a creative person, I never know what area of creativity I want to tap into next. When it comes to the kids birthdays, it has been cake decorating. Doing a cake in the character(s) of their choice. I started when Jimmy turned 1 and Paige turned 2 and I have never taken any kind of class. How hard can it be really?

Well, it is not easy. Most of my knowledge I have gained from the internet. Watching videos on YouTube and reading articles. Each birthday, I experiment. I should say, Doug's birthday cake is always the experimental cake, since his birthday is 2 weeks earlier than the kids. I always loved the idea of doing a special cake for them, but really don't want to pay the money to have a fancy decorated cake that looks really good, but in my opinion, doesn't always taste good. I spent 6 years in the wedding industry. I know about beautiful cakes that taste like crap.

So my journey began. I wanted to do a Dora & Diego cake for Paige & Jimmy when she turned 2 and he turned 1. I went on Google images and found one that I wanted to use. Printed it out and was stumped over how to transfer this image onto the cake. I wasn't about to freehand it. While I would probably do ok, it wasn't the look I wanted to achieve. So back to Google I went. "How to transfer image onto cake?" Somehow, I came up with an article that said to trace the image onto a piece of parchment, lay the parchment over the iced caked and then pin prick the image into the frosting. Then I could use those lines as a guide to fill in the image with all my colors. Ugh. What a time consuming process. It worked, but I don't think it turned out as well as it should have.

While everyone in my house marveled at my cake, I kept thinking, there has to be a better way to do this. Regardless, the most important thing is that the kids loved it and were able to recognize the images.

Now onto the next year. Paige is turning 3 and Jimmy is turning 2. Again, I Google, "how to transfer image onto cake." Something better pops up. A frozen buttercream image transfer. Intrigued, I read on. The article has step by step instructions with photos and even has the recipe for the buttercream icing. Sweet!

This process requires you to make the buttercream icing, which is really good, by the way. You cannot use any store bought stuff, because the ratio of shortening to butter is crucial. Print your image out in reverse. Tape the image down on a cutting board. Then tape a piece of parchment paper over your image. You then pipe your icing right onto the parchment paper, tracing over your image. Stick it in the freezer for at least one hour. In the meantime, frost your cake.

When you are ready to transfer the image, you take the piece of parchment with your image off the cutting board and flip it down onto your iced cake. Peel back the parchment and presto! Now, I found you need to work quickly in transferring the image because the icing defrosts really fast.

This year, Paige turned 4 and Jimmy turned 3. It was time to step up my game for their big birthday party in January. I have since experimented with piping stars and flowers. It is a nice technique. I did Doug's Wolverine cake (which I didn't get a good picture of) in this manner, as well as the cupcakes for Paige's birthday celebration at school.

  

Paige is all about Princesses this year and Jimmy wanted Lightning McQueen on his cake. I went back to the frozen buttercream transfer for Lightning McQueen. Only this time I re-read the article and realized I forgot to press the image down a bit to make it smooth last time. So before you put it in the freezer, lay another piece of parchment over the image and gently push it down to smooth the lines left by your piping bag.

For Paige's Princess cake, I copped out a little bit. I took the printed Princess images and glued them to a piece of cardboard and cut them out. I stuck those on the cake and piped stars around them. I used a tooth pick to kind of stencil in the curly lines as a guide to pipe over. Both cakes came out pretty well. Much better than the previous years.

I did learn something new this year though. As I was frosting Paige's cake (it is chocolate), I was getting very frustrated because the frosting wasn't sticking to the cake and all of these chocolate cake crumbs were getting mixed in. It was making for a very ugly cake. I was literally in tears over it. I stopped and went to the computer. Google = "why does my frosting pull the cake apart?" Google returned a very nice video series that I watched. "How to crumb your cake." OK, I have never heard this term before. Apparently I am not the only one this happens to. You have to apply a thin coat of icing and let all the crumbs come up into the frosting. I put my ugly frosted cakes into the fridge to set the icing. When set and the icing is still hard, you can then frost a nice clean, smooth coat over the ugly one. Fabulous!

Next item to experiment with...fondant!

Vegas Baby???

A few weeks ago, Doug told me he has to go on a business trip to Las Vegas in January or February. I was a little jealous that he was getting to go away for a few days and he was going to Vegas. We have never been to Vegas together. We talked about how cool it would be if I could join him, even if it was just for a night or two.

Well Doug comes home from work last night and presents me with an opportunity to join him on his business trip to Vegas. His sister is willing to watch all 3 kids overnight. So I could fly out mid-morning and return back the next day sometime. Enough time for us to do some sightseeing, have a nice dinner and see a show. I quickly became very excited! Oooohh!! VEGAS BABY!!

But within a few minutes another feeling took over...minor anxiety, tight stomach, nervous, all with a hint of panic. I can't be away from my kids that long! I had to take a moment to ponder what I was feeling. Seriously?

Yes, I am a master of complaint. Whining about how I never get any time to myself since I became a stay at home mom. I have no friends to hang out with regularly. I can't do things that I want to do, like surf or snowboard or even just go shopping. I never get any decent amount of sleep. Some days, I am begging for 15 minutes of peace where someone does not need to be fed, someone is not fighting or I am not dealing with poop. Fifteen minutes of quiet. I am with these three little beings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sometimes it is enough to drive me insane.

Yet, at the same time, I am with these three little beings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I love them more than heaven and earth combined. I feel like I can't breathe when I am away from them for any length of time. I don't want to say that I am one of those moms who has lost herself in her children, but I sort of am. Really, how can you not be, when all of your days encompass caring for them.

After the kids went to bed last night, we sat on the couch and talked for a while. Talked about work, our days, family, etc. We came back around to the Vegas subject and I admitted that I was unsure if I really could leave them. Doug questioned me as to why. Was I nervous to leave them with his sister? No. I know they will be loved and well taken care of with her. Was it my fear of flying? A little, but no. Doug and I would be on separate flights, surely one of us will survive. It boils down to the fact of being physically being apart from them for more than 24 hours.

So, will I go? I really don't know. I keep telling myself it will be easier to be away when they are older. Doug says it will get easier the more times I do it. I might agree with that statement. We laugh, and he says he's thankful he has a penis. But when I look at him and tell him I am really not sure if I can do it, he says it's ok.

December Birthday Extravaganza

December is our month for birthdays! Doug is 12/11, Paige is 12/27 and Jimmy is 12/28. I am not too far behind on 1/25 and Alyssa gets to fly solo on 3/25. Not to mention we have Christmas in there, our neighborhood holiday party, new year's. December is a busy busy busy month for us.

Jimmy's due date was January 16th. Yet he decided to arrive 3-1/2 weeks early and narrowly missed sharing his sister's 12/27 birthday by 2 hours and 18 minutes. So that means 2 birthdays back to back (right after Christmas!) For the last 3 years, I have been pondering how to make each birthday child feel special on their day.

Well, Doug came up with a fabulous idea! On their birthday day, they get to pick a special activity to do for the day. Within reason, of course. Obviously we can't fly to Disneyland for the day or go to the water slides in December. I added the special birthday dinner too. I will make them whatever they want.

Paige's Birthday - 12/27
For her birthday she decided she would like to go to In & Out Burger for lunch and then have a pony ride. After Alyssa's morning nap we headed to In & Out for an early lunch. After lunch we drove down to Half Moon Bay to Friendly Acres Ranch. It was a bit cold outside, but fortunately the sun was out and there was no rain in the forecast for this day. We walked up and a very nice cowboy helped us out. The pony rides last about 20-30 minutes and he was nice enough to have us only pay for one child and they could share the time. He found that at this age, the kids sometimes get bored or scared. Doug lifted her up and she was a little hesitant at first, but then loved it! Jimmy wasn't scared at all and was anxious to jump right on.

We returned from Half Moon Bay and Doug took the kids down to the school to ride their bikes and scooter. I stayed back so Alyssa could nap and I could get ready for dinner and finish frosting Paige's cake. Paige's dinner request was lemon chicken and pasta. However, the most important request was that she wanted to eat the cake first! Excellent!

Paige & Shayla sneaking a peek at the cake!

Happy Birthday to my big girl!

At the last minute our friends across the street joined us for Paige's birthday dinner celebration. She was so excited to have her best friend Shayla over for dinner and cake. After dinner she opened her presents. It was a great day and she enjoyed every minute of it. She fell right to sleep that night...the sign of a good day.

Jimmy's Birthday - 12/28
For his birthday, Jimmy decided he wanted to go to the fish tanks (a.k.a. The Aquarium). This day it was raining, so it was perfect he wanted an indoor activity. We packed up around 11am and headed down to Pier 39 for lunch and a visit to the Aquarium of the Bay. We went to Bubba Gump's for lunch...it was the most child friendly restaurant on the pier. We had a really nice lunch and the staff sang Happy Birthday over his chocolate sundae.

We walked back down the pier to the Aquarium. The kids were so excited. It was actually pretty cool. There was a lot of neat things to see, especially the moving floor that led you through the tunnel where all the fish, rays and sharks were swimming all around you. Jimmy & Paige loved that part!! When we emerged from the tunnel, there were touch pools where you could feel a star fish, shark and a ray. Doug touched everything and the kids just watched. Neither wanted to touch anything but the water. Jimmy had such a great time. I loved seeing such a big smile on his face, bursting with excitement as he ran from tank to tank!

He was a little reluctant to take this picture.

Jimmy pointing at a shark that just passed him a the glass.

A cool shot I got of the jellyfish.

We returned home and moved into gear to make Jimmy's dinner request of Shrimp & Egg Flower Soup and spaghetti. He decided to have his cake after dinner. The Whitley's joined us again for cake and present opening after dinner. It was another great day and judging by his smile all day, I think we were successful in making it special for him.

Happy Birthday to my big boy!

Now the only thing left is the birthday party we have for them in January with all their friends. The "kid" birthday party is what I call it. Due to the holidays, I always postpone this party until January for better attendance.

Paige's Quote of the Day

The kids are dancing around the living room listening to music. I am sitting on the couch with Alyssa, playing DJ. Paige is wearing her fairy princess dress and all the jewelry from her new jewelry box. She stops dancing and runs over to Alyssa's play phone. She is talking to someone on it and stops to say, "mom, can you turn the music down, I am on the phone." "Oh, sure, no problem honey."

By the time the music is turned down, she tells me, "oh I am off the phone now."

I reply, "oh, ok. Who were you talking to?

Paige says, "It was Santa. I don't know why he keeps calling. I keep telling him Christmas is over!"

Miller Holiday Recap

Another Christmas has come and gone. I still can't get over how fast the years pass now. Regardless, this Christmas was great. The addition of children to our family make the holidays even more magical and a little more chaotic too! Quickly, traditions are being set, in hopes of making wonderful memories for my kids in the future.

Christmas Eve is always a favorite. We gather at my mom's house with my brother and his wife. The dining room table is decked out with the necessary tools for our meal...a crab feed!! YUMMY!! In the afternoon, my parents head out to the asian market for fresh live crabs. My dad cleans them all (alive!) and they end up in the biggest pot you can imagine. I seriously think it takes at least a half an hour for that pot to come to a full boil. I make twice baked potatoes and my mom also provides some salad and dessert. We dig into to our delectable meal and savor every last bite. Needless to say there are not much leftovers.

Tom & I getting ready to enjoy our crab.

Yummy!

After dinner we dive into present opening. Of course this year, Jimmy and Paige could barely contain themselves throughout dinner..."is it time to open presents yet??!!" Way back when I was a kid, my parents, brother and I began opening our presents together on Christmas Eve. We enjoyed an intimate setting where we could really enjoy giving and receiving our gifts to each other, without all the extra people and noise around. I am happy to be continuing this tradition and hopefully passing it on.

Paige could barely contain her excitement to open presents!

This was Alyssa's first Christmas and present opening experience.

Jimmy's favorite present of the evening. The jacket lights up!

With a van load (no joke) of gifts, we headed home from my mom's. All 3 kids were in pajamas already, so being that it was almost 10pm, we got our plate of cookies ready for Santa. Paige insisted that Santa wanted chocolate milk this year, so that is what he got.

With everything in place, including the carrots and celery for the reindeer, the kids headed off to bed. They were asleep in 5 minutes. We stayed up until 11:30 getting ready for the next morning...cleaning up the kitchen, putting away dishes, etc. Fortunately Santa put all his toys together the night before, so he was ready to go. He arrived just before we tucked ourselves in!

Because everyone went to bed so late on Christmas Eve, no one woke up until 7am. YEAH!! Little Jimmy Bug came walking down the hall and climbed into bed with us. Alyssa started chattering shortly after. We were able to contain Jimmy to our room for about 20 minutes, then we had to go wake up Paige, because Jimmy wanted breakfast. Poor girl, she was so tired and waking her up proved to be a bad idea later in the day. What a basket case! Ugh. Anyway, the mention of Santa and she sleepily rose from her bed.

Just to see the looks on their faces when they enter the living room. It is like magic! Paige was delighted to see her Princess bike and Jimmy got his Lightning McQueen scooter. Buzz Lightyear and Jessie were surprise gifts from Santa and quickly became the favorites. Alyssa had no clue what was going on, but relished in the excitement...as well as all the wrapping paper.

As the dust settled from the excitement of Santa, we took a break to have a little breakfast. Afterward, we dove into the presents that we all bought each other. Then around 11am, Doug's sister and her family came over for brunch. Again, this is another tradition that is quickly becoming set. We have crab quiche, broccoli & cheese quiche, cinnamon rolls, bacon, sausage crepes and some fruit. Easy to prepare, casual and relaxing. We continue on to open more gifts...

After brunch, Susan and her family head down to Atherton to a Christmas dinner with some of Jonathan's family. We headed across the street to enjoy some Christmas cheer with our good friends and neighbors. Afterward, we came home and got dressed to go back over to Grandma's for Christmas dinner. This time Tom and Melissa were missing as they went up to Carson City to spend Christmas Day with Melissa's family.

It was a great Christmas and we enjoyed every moment of it. As the years seem to pass more quickly and the kids grow up, I truly believe in taking the time to savor every moment. The only thing missing this year were Doug's parents. They have become part of our Christmas traditions for the past 3 years, but this year they could not make it.

I will look forward to next year's holiday season in hopes it will be just as magical and full of joy as it was this year!

Now, on to two birthday's and New Year's...