Mele Kalikimaka

*pronounced meh-leh kah-lee-kee-mah-kah

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day


Mia had a school play the other day that was hilarious. It had nothing to do with Hawaii, but it turns out that Mia doesn't own any red or green shirts as were required for the play. She had to wear this little giddie up that happened to belong to her long ago as a dress (a really long time ago). The play was all about how Santa was "So sad, and here's the reason why. . .Christmas lost its I". In the end, a diligent exclamation point agreed to step into the I place by standing on its head. The microphones weren't really helping which made it all the more fun. Mia was an excellent choir member.

The Magic of Christmas

Christmas music was playing, cool step ladders were offered, and all we could keep them interested in was a little bit a tree trimming. One of the these years, I am sure I won't end up as the only tree trimmer. Irregardless, it is the most wonderful time of the year.

Just the Two of Us

Fernando really wanted to take advantage of the free babysitting by people we trust while we were in Utah. He had been asking me for weeks to help brainstorm some overnight adventures with just the two of us. This is a personal obstacle for my life right now. I really feel like my decision to become a parent means that my bulk time should be spent on being with those kids I brought into the world. I don't mind a few hours here and there to regroup, but the whole overnight thing was just a bit more difficult for me to handle. (IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: my feelings on overnight couple excursions is limited to me alone. I think that other people who choose to do such things for overnight and even longer is wonderful.)

With prodding from my brother, and Fernando's refusal to go without me, I agreed to a Park City snowboarding adventure. We found a decent hotel in Park City for only $68 a night and got killer discounts from my brother and sister-in-law for board rentals and the lift tickets. In the end, against my reservations we hit the slopes for some serious carving fun.



We made it down four runs before calling it quits. Fernando took a nasty spill his first run that made the rest of the runs quite painful. I some how manage to get my groove on only to take some pretty gnarly spills myself. Still, I hope someday we'll go back during ski season and this time we'll bring the kids.

Tis the Season

After getting back from a fun but exhausting trip in Utah for Thanksgiving, I confess I feel overwhelmed at blogging about all the fun that we had. It would help if I took more of my own personal pictures. Thank heavens that other people were on top of that but now I have to figure out how to retrieve those from everyone.

My dad did just send me an email with this picture attached:


This was from a Santa 5K run that we participated in the night after Thanksgiving. The idea was hilarious since you had to wear Santa suits to even run in the race. Too bad they were made out of felt which was a lifesaver in regard to insulation (who knew) on that frigidly cold night, but were lousy for staying together especially in the crotch area.
The kids made one lap with only a few sorrowful melt downs and bathroom stops. I ran the next lap with Fernando and almost passed out. Fernando and my mom were the only ones who made the full 5K! View Photos from Provo Santa Run

Bread Bowls

Here is the secret recipe:

I use a bread recipe and make it into round balls. Cook them and scoop out the insides. I am sure you all have a better homemade bread recipe than I have so don't be too concerned about the specifics of that. "If you want really crusty bread, great for dipping in olive oil or marinara sauce, (or making bread bowls) place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. The steam will keep a skin from forming too fast, giving the bread more time to rise. It will also make the crust crisper." So says Cook Like Your Grandmother website.

Enjoy!

Another Random Halloween Moment

The school day closest to a given holiday gets a special lunch visit. I brought the beloved soup in her carefully kept bowl. But the best part was the caramel apple. Besides the huge apple that made it seem even more amazing, there was caramel with white chocolate and cinnamon and sugar. It got a lot of comments as you could imagine. I mean anything homemade next to junkie school lunch is going to look rockin'.

Carving Pumpkins!

Although San Antonio's weather makes one feel more like putting on a swimsuit than wearing a cardigan on a fall afternoon in October, I still had a huge desire to make soup. Trying to be creative and festive, I made pumpkin shaped bread bowls (if you use your imagination it could totally look like pumpkins) and potato soup (recipe below)

It's always nice to hear and see approval for the food I prepare, but the kids were so funny about their adoration of this soup. Tiago wanted to eat it so badly, that his mouth kept getting burned.



Mia kept talking about the soup bowl phenomenon and ate so carefully so as to preserve her pumpkin for more soup to come.



Talia, on the other hand, thought that spoons just got in the way of goodness and attacked dinner as follows:


Running the risk of moldy pumpkins on Halloween, we waited until Thursday night to carve our pumpkins. Mia had written a book all about how to carve a cute pumpkin. She also was in the know about the innards of the pumpkin and warned her siblings appropriately.




It has been nice approaching Halloween in a more favorable light.

Potato Corn Chowder

1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-2 carrots peeled and chopped
1-2 celery sticks chopped
1 cup water
1 medium potato, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 pkg McCormick Original Country Gravy Mix
2 cups milk
1 cup whole kernel corn

In a large saucepan, melt the butter with onion, carrots, and celery and cook 2 minutes. Add water and potato cubes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Mix gravy and milk. Add gravy mixture with the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sometimes, I have added dill to add an extra flavor to the mix.