Check me out!

I have mentioned before that I have been experimenting in the kitchen with different dinner ideas. I find a recipe online somewhere and try it out. I am not too bad. I try to stay away from recipes with too many ingredients because if I can't find it in the store or if Matt doesn't know what it is, that's a bad sign.
I found this cake online a while back and thought that I would give it a try. I figured it couldn't be that hard. I wanted to make Diana's 5th birthday cake instead of buying it at the store. Matt, and several people at work, just raised their eyebrows and expressed some concern. I had never played with fondant before and didn't find anyone at work that could give me any advice. I found some hints on the Wilton website that got my confidence going a little and when I made a trip to the cake-baking store to get my supplies last weekend with my sister, well, I was ready to go. It really wasn't as hard as it looks. The biggest obstacle to overcome was patience which I have a ton of in the kitchen. It's the only thing I have going for me. I follow recipes by the book and work slowly. That's what I did on this cake. It took forever. I baked the cakes Saturday night, left them out to cool and worked on the cake for 3 1/2 hours on Sunday morning.

Voila...The finished creation.



I learned a lot so that when I prepare the actual cake for Diana's birthday next month, I don't think it will take me that long and I think I will have the kinks worked out.
I brought the cake to work and everyone loved it - even though it was lookin' real ghetto because it was drying out.

(Praise and congratulations are always welcome!)

Is it Girl Scout time?

I took Diana to an introductory Girl Scout meeting last night. Turns out, it was more of a "How to become a troop leader" meeting that involved the girls doing a craft. I am a busy woman. Between being a working mother of two, being heavily involved in Matt's basketball team and helping keep an orderly house and spending time with my family, I don't have a spare minute to run a Girl Scout troop. Don't get me wrong...I would LOVE to. I think Girl Scout leaders are great role models for young girls and come up with great activities, field trips and crafts for the troops to do. I plan on being as active as possible without having to go through hours of training and certification that's required of a troop leader.
I wasn't the only one in that boat last night. There was another mom who works and goes to school and wants to be involved, but not as a leader. There were two stay at home moms, one who was gung-ho about being the leader and the other who wanted to be a co-leader. The Girl Scout organizers were pumped - a troop was formed!
Here's the thing.
This troop is in Vacaville. Matt and I work in Fairfield - about 25 minutes away. We aren't totally sure where Diana is going to be going to kindergarten in the fall - Vacaville or Fairfield. We started the process of an interdistrict transfer but who knows what the status of that is at this point.
These troop leaders think the most convenient time to have their troop meetings is after school. Uh, sorry. Not for me. I should've chimed in, but I didn't. There is a HUGE, massive waiting list in Vacaville for Girl Scouts. Who knows if that's the same situation in Fairfield. Too many girls, not enough moms wanting to be leaders. So sad.
I feel like I need to make it work for Diana in this troop - whether it's getting off work early and getting Diana to this meeting a couple times a month or getting the grandparents or the aunt involved. Girl Scouts is crucial...to me, almost as crucial as college. Is that crazy? Am I talkin' crazy talk? I don't want her to be on a waiting list when I have the chance to get in a troop now.
These are the tough decisions and the sacrifices we make as mommas. Bust your butt, bring your kid all over the county to do what they want to do. Diana had a lot of fun last night singing the girl scout song, dancing around, doing the craft. She even got her first badge, which she proudly showed off to Matt when she got home.
I would love to be involved with Girl Scouts with her. I guess my decision is made.

Our second family

I didn't take pictures because that would have been super nerdy, but Matt was honored, along with several of his peers, at Solano today for being at the school for 10 years.
I can't believe it's been 10 years already. I still remember when he got to Solano and I met him on campus to interview to be his assistant coach. It seems like that was yesterday. Having attended and played basketball at Solano, the place was always a huge part of my life. When I returned as an assistant coach and then as a coach's wife, everyone there became our second family. There were a ton of Solano people at our wedding.
Solano is a great place to be. The diversity in the student body and the outstanding faculty and staff is unmatched.
It's not easy for a lot of people in the California community college system to say they are happy with their community college right now. Budget cuts have put a major scare into not only the athletic departments but the academics at colleges too. Matt has seen that first hand. We know though that things can only get better and that it's important to stick by family in rough times. That's why we are still here. That's why a lot of Solano people are still here.
We turn to them for support and advice. We attend birthday parties and community functions together. We go to one another's games and wish the best for each other.
Matt has known a lot of people who have left Solano for bigger and better things and they have all advised him to never leave Solano. Though they are happy where they are now and have made great life and career moves, they know that there is no better place and there are no better people than what is at Solano.
I am a very lucky person that my husband is happy in his career here and that it also happens to be in the same city where I was raised and where my family still lives.
Go Falcons!

All about Amy

Matt and I felt really bad on Tuesday night when the entire family came over to celebrate Gramma V's birthday and I put Amy down to play so I could eat. I sat her down in the living room on her behind and she sat up and played.
"Amy! When did you start sitting up?" Au Bob asked.
Oh, oops, I thought. "Did I not mention that she was sitting up?" I said.
The family didn't even hear me, they were so excited about Amy's new trick.

Yes, Amy is sitting up. News flash! Stop the presses!

In the last couple weeks, she has been sitting up really well and also goes from tummy time to sitting up and from sitting up to tummy time. She's also got a little Army crawl going on. She's all over the place. It's so fun. I know that this might not be a huge step for most nine month olds, but since Amy was a preemie, I am fascinated by everything she does. She's getting so big and doing such great things. She's also sleeping on her tummy at night (no more swaddling) which means that Mommy and Daddy are sleeping better and are finally getting to talk to one another at night uninterrupted.

These are all tricks that I am super excited to talk to her physical therapist about in another week and a half.

Amy also sprouted a tooth and the second one is on its way. It's funny to see her with teeth. I am going to have to change car seats in my car for her soon because the Peg Perego that I have is way too narrow. I am going to have to bust out that big ole car seat for the back of the car....you know, the one that I can't remove when I have to run into the grocery store real quick? Sucks, but it's all good.

I love a growing baby!

Loop the Lagoon

It's been two years since I ran the Loop the Lagoon 5K with my sister. I was pregnant last year and not really in the mood to run 3.1 miles so I opted out. Even though I was not in the greatest of shape this year, it's a great fundraiser, the weather was beautiful and it's a great excuse to get out of the house first thing in the morning and get some exercise.
I signed us up a while back and got Diana into the kids 1/2 mile run as well. Being competitive people, of course Matt and I were talking about which one of us would beat the other. Of course, I am in better shape than he is right now, but thanks to course mis-management, he ended up finishing ahead of me. I did, however, run farther than him, if it's any consolation.
I must send a huge shout out to my dad and Rosemarie for keeping Diana and Amy occupied while Matt and I ran. Amy slept the whole time and Diana was more than happy to hang out and take part in the festivites around the race.
When it was finally time for her to run, she did great! I was so proud of her, she ran the whole way (at a great pace, according to Daddy) and had a big smile on her face the whole time. I have said it before and I will say it again, she is a natural runner and loves it. I gotta get this girl into track.