Peach pancakes

I had to make these twice just to be sure but they are indeed the best pancakes I have ever had. Yes, not just made but had. I think about them far too often then I should and therefore have decided that they will be the first recipe posted on my blog.

Peach Pancakes (makes about 10) (If you double it, keep the 1 egg and make it 3 T butter)

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup flour

1 T sugar

1 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/4 - 1/2 t freshly ground nutmeg

1 egg

2 T unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled

1 large ripe (but cutable) peach

Whisk dry ingredients

Whisk egg & butter into buttermilk

Make a well in dry ingredients

Pour in milk mixture & whisk gently ( leave a few lumps)

Cook in a skillet or griddle (I didn't even use butter)

Pour about 1/4 cup batter & sprinkle cutup peaches all over

cook about 1-3 minutes until large bubbles appear, flip & then cook until golden

Cover with butter and real maple syrup

They'll keep for a little while on a cooling rack in a 250 oven

My assistant cutting up the peach & looking fabulous in pink underwear and gold heels

Ian helped by not screaming and attempting to eat puffs

They smell so good!

Sorry there are no pictures of the finished product as they were eaten within 5 minutes of us sitting down to breakfast.

celebrity look alikes

Maybe it's just me but sometimes I am amazed at how many celebrities Ava looks like. Sometimes she'll look at me and instantly someone famous comes to mind. Here are a few examples.

My lovely daughter

Tim Burton?

Helena Bonham Carter?

Al Sharpton?

Troll Doll?

Actually people tell me that she looks like Shirley Temple but I'm leaning towards Al Sharpton and the troll doll's love child.

Christmas Lists

I'm taking a brief hiatus from my five day bed rest due to the worst case of food poisoning ever to post a cute exchange with Ava.

Me: "What are you doing honey?"

Ava: "I'm dust paying with my seeping beauty doll"

Long Pause

Ava: "Mommy?"

Me: "Yes honey?"

Ava: "Can you get me Santa's phone number?"

Me: "Uhhh. Why?"

Ava: "I want to make sure he knows that I want little mermaids costume for Christmas."

Me: "Sorry sweetie but I don't think Santa has a telephone. You'll just have to write him a letter."

That's my girl. She knows how to go straight to the source.

lalalalalalalala...Ava's world

6am (Ava speaking in hushed tones so as not to anger the pre-7am dragon mommy monster) "Mommy the camera's broken."

Me (trying to process 1.)why anyone is speaking to me before 7am 2.) why Ava is playing with the camera 3.)why is it broken) "what?"

Ava: "I'm trying to take pictures of Stormy (the cat) eating his breakfast and the camera won't work"

I cannot confirm or deny that this story ended with me yelling "what are you even doing in here?! Get out of my room!" But thankfully the camera was not broken. She had simply filled up the memory card with a series of 5 second videos of herself. I could not bring myself to delete them because they made me laugh and almost made up for the fact that she woke me up at 6am. Almost.

CFBA

I'm think I'm going to have to start attending Compulsive Fruit Buyer Anonymous classes soon. I have not included pics of the 4 pounds of peaches, 4 pounds of nectaries, 2 pints of blackberries, 2 pints of fall raspberries, and 10 pluots (my new favorite fruit) that I also purchased this week. I will however include a picture of the blueberry pie I made. Oh it was good...

Free kids meals!

Kids eat free all month at Ikea! Now that's a better deal than Costco, especially when everyone in the family orders a kids meal. :)

Gymnastics Camp!

The week before we left for California I had promised Ava that I would put her in some kind of organized activity. I know a lot of people over-book their preschoolers and frankly I don't know how they do it. It's exhausting. First you have to make all kinds of phone calls and then make sure they have all their stuff and drive them to and from every day, not to mention how expensive it is. But I managed to get it all together and put her in a gymnastics camp. I'm not sure where she gets it from but she's pretty coordinated and she's always loved to do "tricks." Mostly this means she can jump on one foot while winking and clapping but I figured it could translate to gymnastics pretty easily. Of course she absolutely loved it. I walked her in, gave her a kiss and she said, "Bye Mommy, I'm going to go make up some friends." Before I had time to put her shoes and backpack away she was on the trampoline introducing herself to a little girl named Natalie. I was a little nervous as I've never really left her anywhere besides church and my parents house but she did great. I decided the first day that I would only leave her for 2 hours to see if she liked it. When I came to pick her up she was hysterical because she was the only person leaving, so I promised her she could stay the full time the rest of the week. Now I must say I quickly realized why parents go through all the hassle of putting their kids in organized activities. I was able to get the house cleaned and go grocery shopping without having to navigate the giant sports car shopping cart. I got to shave my legs and wash my hair on the same day and I never had to feel guilty about Ava watching too much TV. Ian and I had some wonderful alone time and I even read a book. Ava made friends and although I'm not really sure what she did for 5 hours a day other than "eat popcorn and drink green juice," she loved it. Even on the last day when I came to pick her up and her clothes were covered in blood from falling on her nose while trying to do a flip off the trampoline. She was just happy that they consoled her with an icy pop. All in all I would say that camp was a success and I'm sure in another 6 months I will have the energy to do it again.

Natalie and a bloody Ava

Sad that we have to go home

This is her new pose, it cracks me up

When Daddy golfs...

We hit the pool!

Maiden Voyage

On our way home we spent the weekend with our fabulous friends Amy & Garett. We took their new boat out on Saturday and had a blast. The weather was perfect and we found this little cove to swim in. The kids did great and it took every effort to keep them awake on the way home so we could all enjoy some precious nap time. Our visit was perfect, from amazing massages to delicious fruit ice and all the conversation, laughter, and rest in between. As always it was way too short.

by the numbers

7 adults

5 kids

3 strollers

6 trips to Disneyland

12 rides on the tram

20 hours waiting in line

10 meltdowns

15 off-key renditions of Tale As Old as Time

100 miles walked in 80 degree heat with 1 million people all going in the same direction

Putting on your Belle gown at 8 pm to head over to the happiest place on earth to eat funnel cake, watch fireworks, ride roller coasters, and meet princesses, all with your favorite people in the whole world....priceless.