A fun day at the zoo

My favorite pictures of my girls always include at least one shot of their backs. I love seeing them interested in something and seeing it through their eyes. Of course, they have beautiful faces, but there is something about seeing what they see that is so compelling. Today was a great day...woke up this morning and outta nowhere I asked Eric if he thought it'd be too hot to take the girls to the zoo. It'd been a while since we'd been there even though we have zoo memberships. We both decided that if we did it early enough in the morning it would probably be ok. It has been really hot so going to the zoo is not the first thing that comes to mind when you're looking for ideas on how to entertain your kids. With that said, we came down this morning, had breakfast really quick and by 9 AM we were out the door and on our way to see the animals. The girls were both SOO EXCITED. I love seeing their faces light up when they are happy. We started by going over to see the giraffes and then we went and saw the cheetas, rhinos, lion, the baboons...and ended the trip at the splash pad to cool off. Maile was absolutely excited about the splash pad at first...then as soon as she felt the cold water she started crying and decided she was now ready to go home. A few minutes later after I'd gotten her in the stroller ( this was after I had changed both girls into their bathing suits) she asks: "Mommy, can I go play in the water now??"...I could not believe it. 5 minutes later they were both giggling and having the time of their lifes.

On our way out both girls asked if they could go on the carousel. Again Maile says..."Mommy, I think I wanna ride the giraffe."...so on we went and got on the giraffe.. 2 seconds later she goes..."Mommy, I am scared I don't think I wanna ride anymore". So I took her over and we both sat on the bench while her younger sister is bravely awaiting for the ride to start. Audrey decided she wanted to ride the dolphin. Another few seconds later, after the ride had started, Maile looks at me and she goes. : "Mommy, I LOVEEE the ride. I am having soo much fun. This is a special day!!"... I couldn't believe it. I mean here I am totally excited that she is having a good time but boy...talk about indecisions...is this what I have to look forward to when she's a teenager??

Mommy-daughter fun time

Two days ago while Maile was in preschool I decided to take Audrey with me for a little mommy daughter time together and what could be more fun than going shopping together?? I had heard that Macy's was having their end of the summer sale and I decided to go check it out...and boy did I score. I ended up buying this super cute dress for only $27 dollars on sale from $134 and I got 2 pair of shoes also on sale( originally $70 - I got them for $17).

Not too long ago I used to hate shopping...now I LOVE it...I especially love bargain shopping...not so much the "Good Will" type of bargains ( although I don't doubt that you could find some cute things every now and then) but just department store type bargains...grocery type bargains...that kinda thing. Actually when it comes to grocery bargains I like to think I've become quite a pro at it thanks to Coupon Sense.

Anyway, I LOVED shopping with Audrey the other day and trying on things and watching Audrey take off her shoes and try on everything mommy was trying on. It was so much fun and she loves shoes anyway...loves shoes probably even more than mommy does. I can't say enough about how much I absolutely love this stage that both the girls are in where you can really carry on a conversation with them and have so much fun. I love this princess stage and watching them dress up and pretend....the girls love that soo much they are becoming quite good at picking things up in the store and saying..."look mommy...cute?? buy it??" Oh boy...I think we are in trouble...hehe...

A few years ago if you'd ask me what my idea of an everyday shoe was I would've said..."Oh, anything that has at least a 3-4" type heel would be a great everyday shoe"....something along these lines..

Now...I couldn't be further from that. I am not sure if it's the mommy in me that is always looking to stay comfortable above all...but I think even before I became a mom ( right after arriving in the States) I started going quite the opposite direction. So needless to say when I saw these 2 pair of shoes yesterday I was thrilled.
I was so thrilled as a matter of fact that I decided to take both girls yesterday after their usual Friday morning swim class ...for a little more shopping?? This time I went for double the fun. Maile and Audrey both had a blast "dressing up" with mommy in the dressing room at Macy's and singing..." I am a princess...I am a princess" ( to which this lady in the next dressing room replies: "Hey, I should know that song")...STINKING ADORABLE!! Oh how I love my little girls. I think they're always going to be my little girls even when they're 30 - 40 years old and beyond that....and perhaps they won't "like" that so much when they're teenagers but they will surely understand when they have their own children...ohh but not so soon...daddy says they won't get married till they're 40 anyway hahaha...good luck with that Dad!!

We ended the evening with a relaxed, delicious dinner at our dear friends, The Clouds. These guys have been our friends for almost 7 years now but sometimes it feels like we've known them forever. They are not only our friends but also God-parents to our girls and what an incredible family they are. Tiffany is an AMAZING woman...so gorgeous inside and out and I have so much respect for her. She is one of the best moms I know and I can only hope to be 1/2 the woman she is....Their children, Aliyah, Jeshua and Emma are extraordinary kids...certainly the type of kids that any parent would be soo proud of.

We are so lucky to know them all as they have made us feel like part of their family again and again and again....and for that we'll always be grateful.

Top 10 Reasons I LOVE my husband

1. He is an incredibly supportive husband. There is no one I would rather go through life with. He is encouraging, fun to be around and he always lets me take my time with things I am not 100% comfortable doing. ( like getting my drivers license) Hehe...it only took me 3 years??

2. He's funny..he doesn't think he is but no one else, ever in my life has made me laugh as much and as often as Eric. It's probably one of the top things I treasure about him.

3. He still sends me flowers ( for no apparent reason) even after almost 7 years of marriage.

4.He works his bum off to provide for us. He never even flinched when my maternity leave was up and I told him I could not go back to work full time. As a matter of fact he was the one who encouraged me most to stay home.

5. The minute he gets home, he immediately starts playing with the girls or takes them outside giving me some much needed peace while I finish up dinner.

6. He cleans up my kitchen mess almost every night and he never complains.

7.His girls turn him into mush and that is the SEXIEST thing.

8. He is a great father. Maile and Audrey utterly adore him and he adores them. He is interested in everything they do. He thinks they are beautiful and smart and makes sure to tell them that every day.

9. He tells me he loves me every single day.

10.He is incredibly smart and creative and I love growing old with him.

Way to go girls!!

Maile and Audrey are learning how to swim...and I am soo proud to finally see them become comfortable in the water!! Of course, I still freak out when I see them go underwater for 8 seconds ( mostly Audrey will do that). She has come such a long way from being completely terrified of the water to going behind her instructor's back and jumping in the water just to show mommy that she can do it.

We have been going to swim classes once a week since May now and they have both made such progress. I will never forget the first 3 sessions where they both screamed the whole entire 30 minutes of the class just feeding off of each other...oh what a nightmare. I never thought we'd leave that stage behind and here we are just a few months later and both of the girls are able to float on their backs ( Maile has an easier way to just let herself relax and float) but Audrey is certainly trying her hardest and she is much less fearless than Maile. We almost think that she might outdo her sister soon.

Today was so special because for the first time in months I saw Maile swim almost 3/4 length of the pool. I was soo incredibly proud and was cheering on both of them the whole time. Their instructor does a great job cheering on them while still pushing them to achieve more and more every day.

Oh...the "little" things in life that make you ohh soo happy. I wish I had taken a video of them swimming today...perhaps tomorrow....

Dessert you say??

Oh yeah and not just any dessert. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't have much of a sweet tooth...perhaps because desserts in Europe are about half as sweet as the ones here in the States....but this one just falls into a totally different category. I could have the worst day ever and a bite of this just puts me into the happiest of moods...hehe

Ok, so it's certainly not one of my creations but it is a signature dessert of Roy Yamaguchi, founder of Roy's - a hawaiian fusion chain of restaurants that can be found all over the United States... an absolute favorite resturant of Eric and mine for sure.

Roy's is all about food - unique, beautiful to gaze upon, pleasing textures, and bold flavors - with a taste that is as good as it looks. And his Hot Chocolate Souffle is absolutely EXQUISITE and here is the recipe for it.

Ingredients:

8 oz good quality Semi Sweet Chocolate

12 TBS Unsalted Butter

3TBS Cornstarch

4 whole eggs plus 4 yolks

Directions:

In a mixing bowl combine sugar and cornstarch. Have eggs and yolks mixed together in a separate bowl. In a saucepan melt butter and add chocolate. Stir constantly until chocolate is melted and very smooth, simmering at the edges. Add the chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined then add eggs and continue to mix until mixture is very smooth to the touch and sugar is dissolved. Pour into a container and refrigerate over night.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray metal rings with pan release, line each with a strip of parchment paper and then spray again. Place each ring on a parchment lined baking sheet. Fill the rings 2/3 full with the souffle base. Bake for 25-30 min. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and while holding each mold with tongs, slide a metal spatula under each souffle and transfer to desired plate. Gently lift off the mold and remove the parchment paper. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately with icecream.

Enjoy!

It's official..Maile is 3 yrs old

We ended up having her birthday party on the 30th of August despite the fact that she was born on the 31st. Her actual birthday fell on a Monday and with everybody working that day it just wouldn't have worked.

I've known we were gonna do a princess party for Maile for at least a few months now ever since she started really getting into the whole disney princess thing. Actually the whole thing started for her when she watched "Sleeping Beauty" for the first time. She was absolutely mesmerized and from then on...we knew we were "in trouble". She must've watched this movie at least a hundred times since then and she is able to reproduce almost every scene in the movie. Her favorite however is when Aurora pricks her finger and she falls asleep. It's adorable watching her try to find any old thing around the house that she can "prick" her finger on and fall asleep while waiting for her prince ( usually daddy but sometimes Audrey or me) to kiss her on the cheek and wake her up. Oh and I should mention this whole routine usually happens upstairs so that she can complete the last scene in the movie where "Sleeping Beauty" ( her) and her prince ( daddy) come down the stairs holding hands and finish with a beautiful dance.

I won't even go into explaining how Cinderella ended up in her mind as being "Sleeping Beauty" while the actual "Sleeping Beauty" is just simply Aurora....perhaps because this one princess has so many names throughout the movie...from Aurora to Rose to "Sleeping Beauty" to the final scene where the fairy God-mothers change her dress color from pink to blue and back and forth.

Well, somehow we hardly ever try to correct her on the actual name of whatever princess she might be pointing to and we even let her go with the same thing during our recent trip to Disneyland where she actually got to meet Ariel, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Bottom line is...I've known what the theme for Maile's 3yr party was gonna be and no matter what you call it she had a blast.

I ended up renting a Disney Princesses Castle Bouncer complete with misters on the inside so that it would help with this horrible heat in AZ while the kids were in there bouncing and playing.

Daddy did an awesome job decorating the house with all sorts of princess related decorations that Maile absolutely loved.

Ever since I joined the MOMS Club in Gilbert more than a year ago we have been blessed with a bunch of really incredible friends. I love the fact that these kids spend so much time together getting to know each other, some of them she even goes to preschool with. That makes for some great friendships and really great parties.

All in all I think we had about 35-40 people in our house that day. For the food I decided to go with something simple and ordered petite sandwiches from Sprouts. I then made a chinese salad to go with that and I also had a fresh fruit platter.

For the cake I decided to go with this princess castle cake since I am not much of a baker myself...it's not really the baking part that intimidates me it's more the actual decorating. Well...Maile loved it and the great thing about that is she still plays with the little figurines that came with it...and she has enough that she can share with her sister too.

Oh, and Maile had her first little updo on this day as well. I had asked my neighbour friend who does my hair if she could help me make her look a bit more special and she was more than happy to do that. I was really nervous because Maile's not always thrilled at the idea of even blow drying her hair so to think about using a hot iron...I thought for sure she wasn't gonna let me do it but to my suprise she sat down and as her curls got prettier and prettier you could see her face light up while she was still playing with her Leapster princess game.

We always seem to take so many pictures especially on their birthdays and here are some of my favorites.

Thank you to everybody who made it to our party and helped us make Maile's day that much more special. Thank you for all the awesome presents that she got. She will be playing with those for quite a while...