An-ti-ci-pation

I've been on pins and needles most of today anxiously awaiting the arrival of the FedEx truck. Lil Bro gave into my not-so-subtle hints to use his camera felt sorry for my pitiful blog photos and offered to loan me his old Nikon D70. It's arriving from Dallas today. Yee-haw!

I'm optimistic that LittleStarky will soon be a lot prettier. I have a lot of learning to do before they look like Jake's, but he's a professional and I'm not. Anyway, all this waiting for the FedEx truck has been quite the distraction. I've literally jumped out of my desk chair every time I hear a loud truck coming down the street. Thus far, I've been faked out by a school bus, a loud construction van and a garbage truck.

In other news, the girls and I had a fun weekend together while Matt was away at a golf outing. We did lots of "fall" things, which, some have told me is jumping the gun a bit, especially considering it's 80 degrees today. But, I say, when the calendar turns to September 1, it's time for pumpkins! Speaking of which, CeCe found a biggie on Friday. This little beauty weighed 396 pounds.

Stop the presses!!!

I kid you not, look what just pulled up in front of the house (don't mind the grass. I won't let Matt use fertilizer or pesticide.):

In the process of ripping through the box using my car keys, I set off the car alarm. Oops.

Best yet, at the bottom of the box were paintings from our little Grey! They're going straight to the fridge.

Okay, back to the update.

The pumpkin farm was in Williams Bay, near Lake Geneva (which is beautiful, by the way). The farm even had a hay castle. (My mom went with us. She was afraid to let go of CeCe out of fear the bigger kids would push her off.)

On Saturday, we went to Lucy Coleman's third birthday party. What a great party! Her mom, Sara, did everything in an ice cream theme (Lucy's request). Adorable.

Don't you agree that I need a better camera? I've relied on my iphone as my exclusive photo source for far too long!

On Sunday, we went to the mall, Maggiano's and Betty Brinn with Dawn and Anna Kuhnz while the husbands were still golfing. Dawn and I are convinced that every store should have a tv for kids.

Maggiano's wasn't awesome, though. Trying to hold a baby and control a wild nearly-three-year-old is nearly impossible. Funny, they look so good in this photo.

At Betty Brinn, even Mali found something to do!

 

Meanwhile, CeCe decided to walk into people's shots in the tv studio.

 

And finally, while my mom was here she decorated the front of our house. She whipped up that wreath and the Indian corn swags like nobody's business! Doesn't it put you in the mood for fall? Thanks mom!!

Off to check out the camera!

Keeping Up is Hard to Do

Wow. Three months since the last post. This, after declaring that I was restarting the blog out of fairness to Mali. I feel badly, but life has been CRAZY these past few months. Things are finally starting to slow down now, as fall begins.

A quick recap of the past three months:

• Matt and several of his colleagues planned a series of events/rallies to generate awareness of the teacher layoffs that happened in MPS in June. For a few weeks, CeCe could be found nearly regularly on the news. She was such an active participant in the events that, for days, she would walk around the house chanting, "MPS teachers - care about the kids!" Here's a shot from the Journal Sentinel (the one that wrongly listed Matt as a laid-off district mentor):
• We spent the summer doing fun things like:

Attending concerts in the our neighborhood park (above) and Alterra for Musica del Lago (below, CeCe with her good friend Declan - isn't he cute?)


Going to Brewers games:

Painting in the backyard:

Going to the pool:


Swinging on the girls' playset:


Taking short road trips, including a jaunt "Up North:"

(This is how CeCe entertains us from the back seat)


(Posing with bears made by my dad. Aren't they cool? Check out Sawyer Stump.)

Seeing CeCe's FAVORITE movie by the river (it was a mommy/daughter date and oh-so-fun):

We even held our first annual Firefly Party ("Night of Light") at which more than 20 kids and plenty of fireflies came out to play in our backyard:

And, of course, there was all the usual summer festivities, like Fourth of July fireworks and parades:

(Above, at the Tosa parade and below, waiting for the Lakefront fireworks to begin.)

• As usual, CeCe has done plenty to keep life interesting (and us laughing). Here she is after painting a picture for Kari, our friend and her old daycare provider:

She's also developed an obsession with shoes:

• Meanwhile, I've become friends with my sewing machine and have learned that I LOVE making clothes for the girls. Here's my first project - a skirt for CeCe, which she was all too happy to model. This is her go-to face, lately, if there's a camera around:

• She also learned to use chopsticks, courtesy of a visit to PF Chang's. All that work for one measly noodle . . .
  

• As for Ms. Mali, she's as sweet as ever. She still hasn't slept through the night (well, there was that one time but it turned out to be a fluke); instead choosing to wake every three hours to eat. Can you tell? She's the size of an eight months old. (She's currently almost five months old.)
  

She's the happiest and sweetest little girl. Simply smile at her and she pays you back with the biggest grin. Here's one of her first smiles. We've eaten up each one up since.


She was baptized in July on the heels of the entire family coming down with the flu. It was a beautiful ceremony presided over by my cousin, Fr. Erich Weiss. CeCe's godparents are my cousin Nick Weiss and his wife, Laura.


Don't you want to eat her? I love that baby!


CeCe got a poofy flower headband, too:


By the way - Mali's baptism cake was out of this world delicious, not to mention beautiful. (Few people got to eat it since the post-baptism party was canceled, thanks to our family being on the mend.) If you're ever looking for a baker, I suggest you call Sweetness by Alice.

• Finally, we got some happy news at the dermatologist last week. It looks as though Mali's hemangiomas on her toe are fading pretty quickly, while the one on her forehead is showing the early signs of involution (the process of going away). Yay! We've become so used to them that we hardly notice their presence anymore. In fact, I've become fond of her unique "mark." However, Matt and I agreed that we want to intervene if they haven't gone away by the time she goes to school. Our amazing dermatologist, Dr. Drolet, has assured us that there's a lot we can do to fast-track involution closer to that time, if necessary.

So, that's the past few months in a nutshell. Until next time, I thought I'd share the recipe that has become a favorite in the Stark household within the past few weeks. Yes, these did indeed turn CeCe into a monster. One who repeatedly asks, "can I have another cookie, mom?," "MOM! Can I have another cookie?!?"

Paula Deen's Monster Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins, optional
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.