It's all relative...

On Saturday we made our way into the city (San Francisco) for our family day. The original plan had been to go to the opening day of the Academy of Sciences. It looks amazing and was free for opening day, but after talking to a friend who had also tried to go and realizing that everybody and their pet pig had the same idea and the wait was over three hours, we reverted to plan b.

Plan b was to visit the Exploratorium, which has loads of hands-on displays for the kids and was a big hit.

Arran loves going into the city...not only do we get to go through a tunnel, but also over a bridge, and not just any bridge mind you, Golden Gate bridge or as he calls it, the Orange bridge (which if you've never seen it, it is a rusty orange colour and not a golden yellow as you might imagine).

Anyway, Arran is at a stage of life where he is full of questions, about everything, all the time. He is always wanting to know how things are made, or what things can do, or how big they are! Now he has a very interesting way of gauging size and here is a very typical example. As we were driving in towards the city, he suddenly got very excited about going over the bridge.

"Are we going over the orange bridge?"

"Yes"

"That bridge is SO big"

"It is, isn't it?"

"Yeah!... Is it as big as a giant?"

"It's probably a bit bigger than a giant"

"Is it bigger than a house?"

"Yes, I think it is"

"Is it bigger than GOD?!"

"No! Nothing is bigger than God, it's just hard to measure because we can't see God"

"Yes, but God is everywhere, even though we can't see him, right?"

I love it. I love the way he sees the world around him. The way he gets so excited about everything, about learning new things, about understanding and seeing and doing. He just never ceases to amaze me. We were looking at a short video from his second birthday party the other day and we just marvelled at how much he has changed. There is NO hint of baby left about him, as there still was then - he is fully a little boy and getting bigger all the time. He is such a blessing to us. He is an affectionate, cuddly little boy who loves to tell us that he loves us, and loves his friends and that everyone is in fact his friend, so he loves everyone!

I love our family days together.

Shopping with kids...

I find it very stressful to go shopping with three kids and for the most part avoid it at all costs! My husband seems to think that I overreact and that the kids are just being kids, but I don't think he has ever been shopping on his own with all three, he's only had all three, when I've been with him too, for back-up or moral support, chasing or whatever else was needed.

The usual scenario goes something like this...as we enter the store I clearly explain my expectations and requirements, that the children stay close to the cart at all times, with no running or shouting. Of course my two year old within moments has usually spied something she would like a closer look at, or has just got bored or antsy and before I know it has taken off, squealing in delight. I try to say as loudly as possible, without shouting "Bryttain, come back here please" and normally have to repeat it a number of times, with little to no success, before Arran decides to help by running after her to tell her to come back, which she takes as him initiating a game of chase! Whatever was on my list to shop for has long since vanished from my mind as I, in increasing frustration join the game of chase.

Sometimes there will be one of the larger carts available, that hold more than one child, but the problem with these is that they are 30ft long (I only exaggerate slightly) and manoeuvring them requires a whole new class of driving license and skill. Once said children have decided to vacate the cart things become worse as the weighting is thrown off-kilter and somehow things spiral further downwards.

Anyway, yesterday we actually did pretty well, probably because the two older children had the added incentive of being purchased a magnifying glass each (so beautifully modelled in the photo above). Although we did have the significant added problem that the baby seat did not have a strap(!) which meant that I was constantly having to place baby back on her bottom. Fortunately it was not a long shopping list, which also proved to be most helpful.

On our way home Arran told me he "couldn't wait to get home to see the potty", when I inquired as to why? He told me that he would be able "to see the germs" (which I've drummed into them reside on toilets and in bathrooms) with his magnifying glass. I had to explain that his x2 magnifying glass wouldn't show them as they're too small. They still had a lot of fun looking at everything else in sight through them...such simple pleasures!

Little Peanut

Today I had the chance to take some photos of a good friend's baby. It was fun, and I can certainly use the practice.

She's such a cute little peanut and I even got to hold her (for maybe a minute) as I didn't have my own baby with me...what a concept.

I really need to be taking more photos, of not just MY kids :)

Ultimate Brownies!!

I think I may finally have it! I love desserts and I love to bake. I have to admit that when I moved to the U.S. I viewed with such contempt all those people who used box mixes for baking. I really believe that it's just not the same, and almost eleven years later, I still hold to that. However, I have been known to make the occasional boxed brownie in an emergency, but they really have to be covered in vanilla ice cream to make them worthwhile.

I've tried many brownie recipes in my quest to find, in my opinion, the best one, and been rather disappointed. Almost all the ones I tried were too cakey for my liking, I prefer the fudgy ones, and they have eluded me...until now!

We were going to a potluck this past weekend and I had signed up to take a dessert. I decided to make brownies and take whipped cream and raspberries to go with them. I know it can be a little risky to try a new recipe when you're cooking for others but in this case I am so glad I did. I found the recipe on this blog right here and the writer had a number of helpful pointers and precise instructions. I didn't quite cook them long enough on Saturday (the writer made hers in a larger pan to make them thinner), so made them again today with a couple of my own tweaks (I added cocoa to make them a little richer and more chocolatey, as well as substituting brown sugar for half of the sugar in her recipe).

The kids love to 'help' with all things baking; the pouring of the ingredients, the raising and lowering of the mixing bowl, turning the mixer on and off...and of course the clean-up is what they enjoy the most.

Unfortunately they're not very helpful yet with the real cleaning up!

Anyway, here is the recipe:

1 cup butter (two sticks)
4 oz chocolate
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa

Bring the eggs to room temperature.

Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler, then set aside to cool to room temperature.

Prepare the pan.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat eggs and sugar together.

Add vanilla.Add chocolate mixture.

Fold in flour and cocoa, mixing only until blended.

Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake on the middle shelf of the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.

Cool brownies in pan for 30 minutes. (Set your timer—this step needs to be precise.)

Cut brownies into bars with a plastic knife and transfer to cooling rack.

These are amazing; dense and fudgy, with the absolute thinnest 'crust'. They really are to die for and I will no longer be looking for that perfect recipe. I HAVE IT!!!

Try them, and leave me a comment to let me know how right I am :)

Pretty Toes

Last night James took Arran to Awanas for the first time (although it turned out to be just the sign-up night) while I stayed home with my girls.
Bryttain had desperately wanted to go with them, so instead, once Asia was in bed, I made her some hot chocolate and offered to give her 'pretty toes'. She loves to get her toes painted, and it doesn't happen too often, after all, she is only two and a half, so she was very excited. We normally stick to muted pinks, but as a special treat we went with red last night, as she specifically requested it.

I'm so proud of Arran, he already had his first bible verse memorized by today. He'll have a new one each week as his 'homework' from Awanas. James read it to him a couple of times last night and I read it to him today (assuming that he'd need reminding), but he quickly corrected me and proudly reeled it off, reference and all. He never ceases to amaze me.

Me and my kiddos...

I feel like it's been a rough few days. I was in a weird mood yesterday, I felt down and irritated and frustrated by pretty much everything my kids did, or didn't do all day. Last night with Asia was horrendous, she decided that she didn't want to sleep from before 2am to sometime after 4am, so she stood up in her crib and cried and cried and whined, whilst we desperately tried to ignore her. This wasn't easy though, as her crib is in our room at the end of our bed, and she happens to be rather loud. So today I decided that in spite of my tiredness I needed to have some fun with my kids AND take some photos to boot. It was either that or get sent to the insane asylum :)

I have a friend, who is a brilliant photographer (Amy at http://amyschuff.blogspot.com/), who decided a couple of months back to make sure she took at least one photo a week with her and her kids. So often I have complained that I'm never in the photo, because I'm always the one behind the camera and I thought this was a great idea. To just get out the tripod and remote and get on and do it! So, although I haven't been doing it every week, it has spurred me on to do it every now and again...so my kids can look back at photos and see that I was actually a part of their lives.

Birthdays

Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 35 (gasp!). Somewhere along the way, I'm not sure where or when, I lost my excitement about birthdays. It's not about getting older, because although I am getting older, I don't feel older. I think it's more about the fact that there's not the excitement or anticipation that one has as a child.

At the end of the day, it's just another day.

There really aren't any surprises to be had. I love surprise, I love the thought that goes into them, and the planning...and my family, immediate and extended just aren't that way. I have to want something and I have to tell them, very clearly, either that or it's forgotten about altogether.

Whining over!

I have so much to be grateful for. I have a wonderful husband, who I love with all my heart, and the most amazing children. I have a wonderful group of friends and we live in a nice house and I get to be with my children every day. I am so rich in so many ways.

The time we have is precious and I don't want to waste it. We don't know how much longer we, or any of our loved ones have on this earth. I am so happy for the gift of love. I well up with emotion when my children tell me they love me, and I will never stop telling them I love them. That is one of the greatest gifts my husband has given me, the ability to speak the words

"I love you!"

9 months old

As of today, our baby has been with us for nine months. The time has flown by and the changes in her are incredible.

She is such a little character. She is really into laughing right now. At times it's hard to know if she's really truly laughing herself, or imitating us laughing, but either way, it's ridiculously cute.
We've been doing some of the basic sign language with her for the last couple of months, mainly 'more', 'all done', and 'please'. They're mostly used around food and she still gets a little confused at times. She does love her food and when she's all done, she naturally expects more...so it's a work in progress.

These are some of the words that she already has under her belt.
Dada - Daddy, of course (said with great relish and zeal)
Mama - Yup, that's me. She normally only says Mama either in the middle of the night or when for some reason she's very upset
Baba - Booby, we're still breastfeeding and this is normally when she's crying for me at 5am!
Baa baa - Bye bye, as she waves
All da - All done. This however does not necessarily mean 'my food is all done' more like 'my food is all gone...I NEED MORE!!!!

She has been doing so well with her eating, although she definitely has a bit of a sweet tooth. Foods we've introduced so far are:

Rice cereal, banana, avocado (which she seemed to have a reaction to, so we're avoiding for a while), sweet potato, carrots, yoghurt, yellow squash, broccoli (which she does NOT like), peas, apple sauce, mango, pears, courgette/zucchini, as well as a variety of baby teething biscuits/cookies/toasts/crackers.

I swear that if we let her, she would eat all day...so of course we don't.

She is such a little treasure and we all adore her and can't wait to see more of her personality unfold.