Pancakes

You probably didn't know this, but I'm famous in my house for my delicious pancakes.

I'm like a pancake Master Chef.

Here's how I do it:

I mix all the dry ingredients together.

And then I add the wet ingredients to the dry.

*Gasp*

Just mix it until it's all incorporated.

None of that mix the dry and wet separately, then add them together nonsense.

I cook them in a non-stick skillet, dry.

And here's an important detail: use med-low heat.

If anything, it's better that the skillet be too cool than too hot.

Black pancakes on the outside with gooey insides= n'est pas bien.

Wait until bubbles appear and flip!

The second side cooks for significantly less time than the first.

Et voila!

Delicious pancakes!

My girls eat these dry, no butter or syrup.

This will last us three days, if I'm lucky.

Pancakes

2 cups flour

1/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup oil or melted butter

2 cups milk

1-2 teaspoons vanilla

*I almost always use oil. I can't be bothered with melting butter and the resulting greasy dish.

*I use whatever milk I have on hand. Now that Ruby is almost 2, we just have non-fat, but my favorite is to use 1 cup of non fat and 1 cup of whole milk. I've made it with soy milk (terrible) and almond milk (better), but the mixture of the non-fat and whole just seems to be the best.

*If I have vanilla in the house I'll use it, but they're still pretty good without it.

*After I make a batch, I let them cool, then pile them into a ziplock bag and stick them in the freezer. When the girls want some, I microwave them for about 30 sec. per pancake.

Preschool!

Today Maia went to her first day of preschool!

We started off the day with pancakes for Maia

  and applesauce for Ruby.

After a stop at the potty and a tooth brushing, it was time for a goodbye hug.

Backpack on.

"Tada!"

Off they went.

Ruby wasn't sure about the whole thing.

And as the car drove off, Ruby started calling "Maia!"

It took several minutes of whimpers and asking for Maia until Ruby realized that her sister being gone could be fun.

She got to sit in Maia's chair for 2nd breakfast!

Ruby and I had a fabulous morning.

For one thing, it was so quiet.

And I heard Ruby count to 14.

She did skip 7, but I had no idea she could even do that!

Maia can be so demanding that Ruby often gets overlooked.

I know now that there is quite a bit going on in that little curly head.

My one on one time with Ruby is going to be so wonderful.

We went to the library and did a few errands.

Boy, one kid is exponentially easier than 2!

Today I had my first taste of what having school age kids is like.

Wow, just those 3 hours with only 1 kid is so nice.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a totally heartless mother.

We did miss Maia this morning.

But come on, we've been hit pretty hard with the baby stick in the past 3 years.

I was so glad that Aleks took Maia to school this morning.

I just know I would have been a mess dropping her off.

In fact, when I went to pick her up and saw this sign, I could feel the tears start to fill my eyes.

Maia was so happy to see me, even though she had a fantastic time.

Her teacher Mrs. Patrick is fabulous and Maia already adores her.

This little girl gave Maia a hug when we left.

Mrs. Patrick said "Already making friends!"

Maia told me she was a little nervous when Daddy dropped her off, but that she wasn't nervous anymore.

And Maia had been very worried about the boys.

But, it turns out that the boys were all very nice!

If the rest of the year is like our first day, I'm going to give preschool two thumbs up!

New Piano

We arrived back in Kansas from our 3 week vacation on a Saturday.

The next morning, my late grandmother's piano was delivered to our house.

The movers had picked up the piano while we were in CA.

When the kids and I went to visit a few days later, it was surprising to me how little of an emotional reaction I had.

Aunt Annie says I have no soul.

Understandably, my mom and her siblings had quite an emotional reaction to the piano being gone.

Grandma's piano had been in the same spot in their house my entire life.

I remember countless "recitals" for my aunts and uncles and cousins on that piano.

When I lived there my freshman year of college, I certainly did not take full advantage of my priveleged accommodations.

And I had, and still have mixed emotions about accepting such a gift.

My Grandfather is in the process of reducing his estate as he is making plans to move in the next year or so.

It was hard for me to "take" the piano while he is still in his house.

To me, the piano = Grandma.

Even though Grandpa so graciously gave it to us, and assured me that he's happy the piano has a home, it feels a little like we're taking one more piece of grandma away.

While the empty spot in Grandpa's house was a surprising non-event for me, it's a different story with Grandma's piano in our house.

I finally feel like we have a home.

When Maia first sat on that black bench with the lid raised, I suddenly understood the possibilities for my girls' musical educations.

I realized how my mom and her mom must have felt listening to me play "Black Bears 123" as a five year old.

And while I've always felt connected to my musical heritage, I now have a physical reminder in my house.

There is a lot of history in this piano.

So many happy, fearful, joyous, hilarious, frustrating, and creative memories were created on that bench.

I wish this picture had audio capabilities.

Not only were they "tickling the ivories", but also singing at the top of their lungs.

A happy cacophony.

I hope this west coast piano will be content in our midwest home.

Thank you Grandpa for this gift, not just of the piano, but of the musical heritage you've passed down.

I know Grandma would love hearing her great granddaughters play on her piano.

Pullman Visit

Ok, I'm mustering up the energy to share our last few days of vacation.

Since the girls were adjusted to the west coast time zone, we wanted to take advantage and stop by Pullman to visit our friends, whom we miss dearly.

We left the beautiful Bay Area

and arrived at the rolling hills of the Palouse.

We were all exhausted by this point, so I want to say thank you to all those we saw who tolerated our glazed-over eyes and less than stellar wit.

I got to see a former voice student of mine, who placed as second runner up that week in Washington's Distinguished Young Women's competition.

Go Lindsay!

We spent as much time as we could with Owen, Maia's best friend (oh and Sage and Chelsea as well.)

We ate pancakes

and went on some walks.

These two.

 

3 years ago.

The girls had a lot of fun in Owen and Sage's backyard.

Playing in the house,

filling up the pool,

 digging in the sand,

and learning how to touch pets without getting hysterical.

Owen.

I mean, come on.

How cute is this kid?!

 And we spent some time inside too.

Coloring on the chalkboard,

and painting nails!!!!

Seriously, Chelsea has like the best house ever.

And I always feel awkward taking pictures of our grown up friends.

Do I ask if it's ok to take their picture and put it on the blog?

Do I need to bring waiver forms?

It's just too awkward for me.

Which is why there aren't any pictures of all the other people we got to see.

And it's a shame, because they are some good looking people!

But the ducks don't care if they're on a blog or not.

All 50 of them!

Or dogs.

Proof that Maia actually pet a dog!

We saw so many dear friends.

And didn't get nearly enough time with all of them.

Our hearts were so full when we left.

Here we are, a year after our move to Kansas. And Aleks and I both agree that Kansas is so much better for us in the long term.

But man oh man, how we miss the friendships we formed during our time in Pullman.

For all the people we got to visit during our trips to CA and WA, there were just as many that we didn't get to see.

I'm grateful that our lives are enriched with so many good people.

And for those of you we missed this time, get ready, you're on our list for the next one!

Beach Life

Now that we're finally home and things are settling down, I've had a chance to look through our vacation pictures!

Our CA trip ended with a stay at a beach house in Watsonville with Aleks' mom, sister, and our two nieces.

On the way there, we stopped to see my good friend Christy and her husband Zach.

Aren't they cute?!

Actually, this is the original picture; Ruby wouldn't let Christy put her down.

This long weekend was definitely a high point for me.

I loved showing my girls the ocean for the first time, staying at an adorable beach house with my family, and absorbing as much of the sand and water as I could.

This is one of Maia and Ruby's cousins, Emma. She's 4 1/2.

And here's another cousin, Lizzie, who is 12.

She was the flower girl in our wedding. Gah, I'm getting old!

I love an overcast beach day more than I love a sunny beach day.

Ruby seeing the beach for the first time.

"Oooo, ocean!"

And Maia, "Can we go home now?"

But there was lots of digging in the sand with cousin Lizzie to take her mind off of the loud waves.

And Ruby was fascinated by the sand.

At one point she was on her stomach, nose almost touching the sand, diligantly poking at sand clumps to break them up.

It lasted for a good 10 minutes.

As soon as we got back to the house, Maia took off her pants and underwear.

???

And there was lots of girly cousin things going on.

Painting nails.

Dressing up.

We also got to visit the Monterey Bay aquarium.

Here Aleks and Maia were watching a show about sea life (?). Not a bad way to put your BA in music to use.

Touching a starfish.

Aleks is almost as tall as a baby whale!

And there was lots more digging and sand castle making.

So beautiful.

What am I doing in Wichita?! This is where I need to be!

Oh yeah, I can actually afford a house in Kansas...

And on our drive back to NoCal we introduced the girls to In-n-Out.

And their first milkshakes.

Ruby loved it, but Maia was not impressed.