Izzy Laughing

This is what I walked into last night right before bed time. Eva was jumping on the couch (which is usually a no-no, but this time it was excusable) and for some reason, it had Izzy SO tickled!

This is one of my favorite things about having two. Eva really does get a kick out of putting a smile on Izzy's face, and Izzy really does love watching Eva do just about anything. They already love one another in their own special way!

Oh Christmas Tree...

Here it is folks. After weeks of trying to convince my traditional husband to put the tree up early this year, he won and finally let me put it up the day after Thanksgiving. It was worth the wait.

I LOVE our Christmas tree. It's the perfect mix of style and sentiment. Our first Christmas together, we didn't have much in the way of ornaments, so we went to K-mart and purchased the Martha Stewart Christmas collection and had a very stylized tree that year. But as we've added to our brood and made new friends, we've also added more personalized ornaments making our tree something that I adore gazing at in the evenings. It's beautiful with it's mixture of orange, green and gold balls with my favorite Hallmark Keepsake and Willow Tree ornaments. Oh, and there is the token Redskins ornament for Paul and a Little Einstein's ornament that Eva added this year.

And I know many of you might think it strange that we have a Cardinal on top of our tree rather than the traditional angel or star, but Cardinals have been something near and dear to the Cortez family heart since long before I came into the picture. My mother in law sees Cardinals as a blessing and a sign of comfort for reasons that I'll tell you one day when I have her permission, so the cardinal on our tree is a way for us to honor her and her love of cardinals.

Oh and yes, those are wrapped presents under the tree. I'm tellin' you guys, once I put my mind to something I don't stop till I have it. The tree just wasn't complete to me without presents underneath, so after putting up and trimming the tree all morning, I wrapped every gift and put them underneath while the girls were napping. Paul thinks I'm anal retentive but I prefer organized and thorough...I'll let you be the judge.

The Atonement Child

Man oh man. If you haven't read this book...read it.

I won't get on my soap box on abortion, but I will say this; if you're not sure how you feel about the abortion issue, this is the book to read. Francine Rivers does an excellent job of putting even the most hopeless of situations into perspective.

Truly amazing.

Patience? What's that?

...I ask myself as I beg Paul to pull out the Christmas decorations from the storage room off the back porch. I know we JUST put away the last clean dish from Thanksgiving dinner, but pretty please...just a few decorations before tomorrow?!?

Happy Thanksgiving

Today started early. I woke up around 6:30 to prepare my 13 lb turkey with a butter/herb massage, courtesy of Paula Dean. Sounds simple, right? It should have been. When I was finally able to release the bird from it's packaging, I then had the un-nerving task of removing the neck and giblets. I know that this is most likely NOT a big deal for many, but it happens to make me want to vomit. So, there I am, bed head, morning breath, pj pants and elbow deep in my turkey. I pulled out the neck with ease and then went hunting around for the "goody bag." I couldn't find it. A plethora of concerns coursed through my amateur mind. Did this turkey just not have giblets? Did they forget to give me giblets? Was this a special turkey where the processor de-giblets the turkey for you? What if I roast it and the giblets are still hiding in there. Will I inadvertently cause my beloved family to come down with some foreign strain of salmonella or something? There was only one thing to do...call Mommy.

Only Mommy was in the shower preparing to go to CRACKER BARREL for Thanksgiving. Just as I was about to take my chances and ask my Dad what he knew about turkey giblets, out they fell. Right into the bottom of my sink. A deep sigh of relief followed soon thereafter and I told my dad all was fine. He gave me a semi-sarcastic "okay" and we hung up the phone.

Oh and that was just the beginning my friends. I soon realized that I not only had very limited time to cook all that needed to be cooked, but I also had very limited space in my oven. I had done some prep work the night before, but not enough (note to self for next year). The turkey was roasting away, but I still had two desserts to bake, a green bean casserole and sweet a potato casserole that all required the oven. So, by this time, it's almost 8 and I decide to call my friend Kasey. She'll know what to do...she knows everything.

She generously offered her oven and I decided that the Pumpkin Cheesecake was the most delicate of all the dishes and probably needed it's own, ample oven space. Off I went with the girls in their carseats and my un-baked cheesecake sloshing unpredictably in the passenger side floor board of my Escape. Kasey lives a mere 3 minutes away but I drove so slow and took every turn with such care that it took me almost 15 minutes to get there. When I finally arrived on her street, there was NO parking so I had to park half way on her drive way with the back half of my small SUV hanging out onto the street (as if they didn't have problems enough with their neighbors and the parking situation). I unloaded the girls and the cheesecake and made my way into the house where Kasey was sweeping her kitchen floor with big plans to mop it after.

**Side note: We're potty training Eva. It's going well, day 3 and about 5 accidents total so far.
**Double side note: Kasey lives in a brand new house on base and if anything is damaged or ruined in there, it comes out of her pocket.

I handed Izzy off to Ben, slid the cheesecake in the oven and went to sit in the living room. Eva immediately threw a random tantrum (still have NO clue what it was all about) and got very clingy very fast. It was only when Isabelle offered her a banana that Eva finally calmed down and off the two went into the freshly swept kitchen. Well, after the banana, they decided they wanted rolls. Crumbly, Hawaiian, sweet rolls. I gave Kasey the "sorry I'm such a total inconvenience" look and she assured me it was fine as she handed the girls each a roll. Meanwhile, she stayed camped out by the kiddie table, sweeping the crumbs as they fell.

Once the girls were satisfied, they scurried back into the living room and I stood in the kitchen to talk with Kasey as my cheesecake baked slowly in her oven. And then, I heard the plea for help. "Momma, big girl potty! Big girl potty!" Only, it was too late for the big girl potty as Eva had pee streaming down her leg and right onto Kasey's off white carpet. I scooped her up, willing the stream of urine to stop (only it didn't) and rushed her in to the kitchen sink. But by that point, not only was their a puddle in the carpet, but a whole trail of pee all the way through the passway from living room to kitchen. Again, I gave Kasey the "I know I'm a horrible Mother and friend for bringing her here without a pull-up, please forgive me" look and she politely replied with a "it's fine, really."

Poor Ben pulled out their steam cleaner and started spot cleaning while Kasey disinfected the kitchen floor and I cleaned Eva up in their sink. At this point, I'm feeling like a total inconvenience and I'm just praying that my dumb cheesecake will hurry up and bake so I can get me and my crazy kids out of their hair.

Well, the cheesecake was only supposed to take 35 minutes to bake. And maybe it's because I live in the middle of the ocean or something weird like that, but an hour later, the middle of the cake had finally set and I was able to pull it out and be on my way.

So, when I got home, I proceeded to finish the turkey, bake the apple pie, whip up the potatoes and fluff the stuffing all before my dear friend Patrice showed up to help me finish up the rest. She contributed a yummy green bean casserole and a scrumptious sweet potato casserole as well as some super enjoyable company for the day!




It was so nice to spend some time with her. We met for the first time 5 years ago in Basic Training for the Air Force. We graduated on the same day from different flights and went to both Texas and California together. We didn't hit it off immediately, but we realize now it was because our personalities are not too different from one another. It's so neat to look back at where we were when we first met. Fresh and naive, full of anticipation of what the future would hold for us, being so sure that our lives would go in separate directions, to now. We're both wives and mothers (Patrice is 5 months along with baby #2), we've been through some similar trials and experienced some of the same joys and we're able to look at our friendship with new eyes. And I love what I see in her!



Anyway, it may have been a hectic start, but all in all, a very happy Thanksgiving Day. I was surrounded by people I love and admire and am extremely thankful for. I hope you can all say the same for yourselves. Happy Thanksgiving.

P.S. Kasey, again I'm SO sorry about the accident on your carpet. You know I love you...right?!?

Soupe de Courge à la Vanille

Okay guys, Thanksgiving is only 2 days away! And I don't know about you, but I'm super excited to host it this year. I have a friend in town that roomed with me and was also in my class at DLI back in 2003/04 and she's coming over to help me cook. We've had our menu planned for over a week, all of our shopping is done and I've been staring at the myriad of ingredients in my cabinets for days.

Finally today, the anticipation got the best of me (I know, big surprise) and I made one of the appetizers that I've been dying to try...Butternut Squash and Vanilla soup. I figured this was one item I could make 2 days early and it would still be yummy and fresh on Thursday.

Well, it turned out GREAT! It was so good in fact, that I had to have a bowl for dinner tonight. This is now officially permanently on my yearly Thanksgiving menu. I encourage you all to try it this year...it's really good.

Soupe de Courge à la Vanille

- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
- 2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeds scooped out and cut in chunks
- Salt, freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract/paste (preferably natural), or one pod dry vanilla, split open
-1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

Serves 6.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add in the shallots and cook over medium-high heat for five minutes or until softened, stirring regularly. Add in the squash, season with salt and pepper, and cook for ten minutes, stirring from time to time. Pour in hot stock to cover the vegetables and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add in the cinnamon and vanilla extract, or scrape in the seeds from the vanilla pod and add in the pod itself as well. Cook for ten more minutes, or until the squash is tender. Fish out the vanilla pod if that's what you used (otherwise don't), and purée the soup in a food processor or blender, or use an immersion blender. Once puréed to a smooth consistency, pour soup back in pot and stir in heavy cream. Serve hot and enjoy!

On a Day Like This

This morning, Paul and I woke up to a rainy, breezy, calm, beautiful day. I love mornings like this one. They're somewhat rare on the island, but a day like this brings relief from the routine heat and humidity and gives you the small sense of the Winter season. We won't have snow, or temperatures in the 20's, but at least we'll have a few days like this.

I'm normally not able to sleep in past 7 or so, but on a day like this one, the sound of steady rain on my rooftop keeps me dreaming just a bit longer. When I awoke around 8, I was in the bed alone. Paul had let me take the extra hour for myself and I'm so grateful he did. As I rolled over on my back, I turned my head toward my open window and took a deep breath. Oh, I love that smell. Fresh rain. It's like a cleansing. Washing away all the drama and frustration from the day before and starting new and clean.

And call me Eeyore, but I adore a dreary day. The sky is a misty gray and even the green on the trees seems a bit more subdued. Only the sound of the rain on the trees and pavement, and a few brave birds chirping across the yard as the rest of them have hunkered down in their nests to wait it out. Just like I like to do on a day like this. Open all the windows, bury myself under a thick blanket, turn on a classic like Pride and Prejudice or Meet Me in St Louis, turn down all the lights and just nest. Perfect.

And one thing we can rest assured on out here on Oahu; after a rain like this rain, there is sure to be a beautiful rainbow not far behind.