It was time once again for Phil’s annual conference where he gets to go sit in lectures all day while the kids and I lounge around and do our thing at the hotel.  Somehow I think me and the kids get the better end of this deal, but who am I to say?  😉 So two weeks ago, I packed us all up and we headed out for our yearly weekend at Disneyland.  Woo! This year they put us up in the recently expanded Disneyland Hotel. We all particularly enjoyed this headboard/nightlight/lullaby thingy. The next morning, Phil headed off to his lectures while the kids and I lounged around watching…

Sometime back in September or October, Lauren’s teacher noticed that she has a summer birthday and so asked me if I’d like to bring in treats on an alternate day during the school year.  She suggested doing perhaps a half-birthday celebration.  I readily agreed since that would put it in mid-January, well before birthday season kicks me into high gear in the spring.  I figured that the window after Christmas and before our rapid-fire birthdays would give me enough time and sanity to pull something special together for Lauren. And it was all good in the hood. So good in fact, that I completely forgot ALL about it.  So her…

The day started off with a special valentine treat from daddy for each of the kids. And I love that he’s the kind of dad who knows it’s Ariel for this one. And Rapunzel for this one.  (And also that the boy’s good with anything boy-related). He had a little something for me, too. He also planned a special lunch for just us two. I love our little people, but man, do I love when it’s a table for two. Especially when it involves this cheese fondue.  With chorizo. Followed by this chop chop salad.  So. Good.  Except we were getting full already. But there was more!  A good ol’…

Being sick has taken me completely out of commission the last couple weeks.  Anytime I wasn’t needed to make food, assist someone with something, drive someone somewhere, or help someone learn something, I could be found curled up on any nearby flat surface passed out cold.  It was neither fun nor pretty.  And I took a few family members down with me. The stomach bug last month and now this hacking cough cold has made for a rougher winter for us than any in recent memory. Either that or the fact that we have six people in the house with whom to share all these lovely bugs so each illness…

Because Mikey really, really wanted to actually catch a fish… Daddy found a trout farm where the odds of actually catching a fish were in our favor.  That is, if you rent one of their fishing poles and buy their cheese bait (we found this out later).  The bamboo poles and corn bait you get for free (with a paid admission and parking fee) weren’t getting us too far. So Daddy caved and rented a pole and bought the cheese bait.  And whaddaya know? For this smile?  Money well spent, I’d say. They threw in the pink fishing pole for free and Lauren was quietly holding it during all the…