Rainy Day Weekend

This winter just keeps going and going, eh? I know it's technically not spring until the end of March but my goodness it's been cold and rainy these past few months. I swear even fall was hardly here before winter swept in. And this storm has been kinda nuts - snow on the Orange County hills? Wild.

Rainy days are some of the worst when you have toddlers, but we managed to scrape through this past weekend with the help of Kiwi, Kathleen and a fun board game café that we found in Anaheim.

On Saturday, I did my morning ballet class, which quite frankly kicked my ass. I hadn't gone to any dance in a few weeks due to Auntie Kit Kat came over and played with us, and we all took a trip to PetSmart to look at the animals, buy some kitty toys, and get Kiwi signed up for shots and neutering (sorry bro!). We also wandered around that plaza and got taro smoothies and visited Claire's, which is sooooo expensive I can't even, but Sophie had fun taking pictures in some of the headbands.

That night we made our own pho and watched SNL which was perfect for a rainy day.

On Sunday we spent enough time at home that I was going nuts, so we decided to try out this board game café that I heard about before. It could use a little bit more of a vibe, but they have thousands of board games and you get to rent a little tent/cabana for your party. And their snacks and drinks? Top notch! Pocky and Lychee Sailor Moon soda aw yeah!

It wasn't totally toddler friendly, but it had ton of games even for Sophie, and we had a lot of fun finding new ones (Penguin Pile-Up!) and revisiting some of our old favorites (Operation! Kerplunk! Hungry Hungry Hippos!) but what was the most disappointing was how we let Sophie pick out the first game and she chose something called Bed Bugs, and she loved it so much, she kept wanting to go back to that game. It was actually fun, but it was grossing me out!

The bed shakes and the tiny silicone bed bugs vibrate and shake everywhere and you're trying to pull all the bugs of your color off... but all the vibrating bed bugs were just aaaaaah! But it was funny how much Sophie loved it.

Back to a rainy week today.

Welcoming A New Family Member...!

Sophie is a big sister! On February 13, AJ and I picked up a sweet little 9-week-old orange tabby boy and brought him home to join our family. Say hello to Kiwi Del Taco, born December 12, 2022!

We always knew that we were going to need another cat in our family, because Sophie is obsessed with kitties, and our only cat, Khaleesi, wants nothing to do with her and it's actually quite sad at times. I thought it would take time for the kitten to warm up to Sophie and be a playmate for her, partly because it was a little bebe and Sophie was a rambunctious toddler, but also because I think I forgot what it was like to have a cat that didn't bolt away from you when you came within a 5 foot radius.

Surprisingly, with a lot of initial oversight for Sophie to be gentle and quiet, these two actually took to each other right away, and Sophie is in heaven.

She talks about Kiwi all the time, goes to look for him as soon as she wakes up, likes to give him hugs and kisses and say night night to him, and loves to play with him by rolling crinkly balls and waving the feather wand around. Unfortunately she still doesn't quite understand sharp kitten claws, but she seems to be learning.

 

Kiwi has done a great job fitting in. He's been brave and fun and so insanely cuddly. As a matter of fact, on his first night here, we put the open cat carrier in the guest bathroom where he could have calm and quiet, complete with a blanket we got from his original owners that had the scent of his mother and siblings on it, and yet he spent the first night sleeping under my chin on our bed. He loves people and he loves to be near us (such a change from Khaleesi) and even though Khaleesi hasn't quite accepted him yet, she hasn't totally rejected him, and her hissing and running away just somehow encourages him to chase after her LOL!

 

He sure is a kitten though. His claws are pinprick sharp, and he's zooming around the house most of the time, will climb up our chairs, our legs, scale mine and AJ's tufted headboard, climb up window curtains, displace plants and has even attacked and chewed on Sophie's pacifiers (which she finds hilarious). 

 

It's partly annoying, but I know this stage doesn't last long, and his antics also bring Sophie so much joy, so well worth the investment!

Big Bear Weekend

Well for President's Weekend we got round two at the amazing cabin that our friends own and invited us all up to. And this time, since it's February, Sophie got to see the snow for the first time!

We carpooled up there with Uncle Chris and Bryce, which had Sophie in the third row and facing backwards... so you know how this ends up. She puked all over. We pulled over to change her and clean up the carseat, and give the kids a short break, which was great since we were up the mountain high enough that it was refreshingly cold and there was snow for them to play in. 

I was not told this photo was happening

Bryce instructing Sophie to collect
sticks for their "campfire"

We moved Sophie up a row and I valiantly went in the back row, since I would rather throw up than see her suffer, and as we were 2 minutes from the house (even in the neighborhood!) she threw up again. So that was nice. It was good to get to the cabin.

The weekend was fun! Lots of sledding time in the snow (Sophie would only use the purple one) and and some crazy chaotic dinners, with a little downtime (harder for those of us with toddlers) and some time in the village as well.

 

 

Sophie didn't want to spend toooo much time in the snow, so it was the perfect amount for us, being too old and tired to keep hiking the hills with Sophie in tow to sled down, but she also was entertained working on building a snowman with Bryce and Lily at some point.

Look at these crazy professional shuffleboard skills!

The good news was that our time down the hill went much better, and Sophie didn't puke at all but took a nap instead. We got back a little after noon I think, which was great since we got to unpack and start laundry and relax for the rest of the day. This is supposed to be an annual tradition, so here's hoping!

Lessons in Baking: Turkish Yogurt Cake

I don't know where I come up with these inklings for what I try, but I saw a recipe for a Turkish yogurt cake and decided to try it over the weekend. I think I was intrigued to work on a cake that wasn't flour based.

I noticed too late that I didn't have whole milk Greek yogurt and only non-fat but at that point, whatever.

It came out fully rounded but sunk to
a bit of a bevel shape after a few minutes
but from the recipe photo, I guess that's
sorta how it's supposed to finish

It was really interesting to see the texture and how it came together, especially with the bubbly egg whites.

In the end I'm not sure if I didn't let it cook enough, because I think it was supposed to be browned on the entire top surface and when we finally cut into it, it was harder to cut cleanly the lighter it was.

In the end though, it was really good! It actually had a texture like cheesecake and it's been a nice, light snack, and a great way to use up a lot of Greek yogurt if it's going to go bad soon. This also had lemon zest which gave it a great citrus flavor, but I would love to try with some other flavors next time (vanilla? almond? raspberry?) I'll keep you posted!

The Great Crêpe Disaster of 2023

For Christmas I got a crêpe maker set that included the portable griddle cooker, crêpe spinner and beveled beechwood spatula. I decided the inaugural test would be yesterday, February 2, which is La Chandeleur in France, an annual holiday in which you just make and eat a ton of crêpes. I asked Sophie's French teacher if you would say "Joyeux Chandeleur!" as a joke, but as a true française, she didn't get it, and instead explained to me that it's something of a holiday to welcome in the springtime, and it was a way to use up all your stored flour and kitchen supplies from the winter.

For some reason I thought it would be better to invest in the imported crêpe mix from France rather than risk a messed up homemade batter for the first time, but that was pretty dumb cause I sure wasted a lot of it (and it wasn't cheap!) in order to practice my crêpe spinning skills.

So it was a bit of a mess (and I think I threw away the first four or five...) but I DID feel vindicated in the end after I did some research...

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE FAIL!

The spinner that came in the kit is a horrible fail! It is beveled like a rake and all it does is spread the batter to the ends (as you can probably see). When I did more research, actual crêpe spinners are cylinder dowels, like a chopstick, so it does spread it around, but doesn't empty it from the middle (if that makes sense). So I've already invested in one of those and crêpe making is now on hold until that comes in.

I actually was able to finagle a few decent crêpes, even though I didn't take pictures of those ones, but the good news is that they still tasted delicious, and Nutella can cover a multitude of cooking sins!