Recipe - Pumpkin Chock-o-Chip Muffins

Pumpkin Chock-o-Chip Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

- 3 cups flour

- 1 cup sugar

- 2 teaspoons baking soda

- 2 teaspoons cinnamon

- 1 teaspoon nutmeg

- 1/2 teaspoon allspice

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 2 cups pumpkin puree

- 2 eggs

- 2/3 cup oil

- 1/3 cup water

- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and prepare 24 muffin cups (with oil spray or paper muffin liners).

2.  In a large bowl, stir together first seven ingredients.

3.  In a separate bowl, beat together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil and water.

4.  Stir pumpkin mixture into dry mixture until smooth.

5.  Stir in chocolate chips, then scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.

6.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

7.  If no liners were used, let muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

NOTES:

This makes 2 dozen big muffins, or 4 dozen mini muffins.  

This photo is what the recipe calls for...you can see why I call them Chock-O-Chips!  You can add between one cup (for someone with a normal tolerance) to two cups (I would have to say Choco-Obsessed!) of chips depending on your chocolate preference.

Reflections on Bloom

This past weekend, I attended the Bloom Women’s Retreat where the mother of a dear friend of mine was speaking.  I know their family’s story, but to be able to hear it from a different perspective (and see the video that made tears flow from depths of my soul) was very special to say the least.  In heaven we are going to experience fellowship with God and others at an incomparable level, and part of that will be hearing their story (and hopefully watching the 3D version of it too, hehe)  It was amazing to get a little piece of that here on Earth...to see His work in people’s lives, how they have overcome and conquered even through pain and hardship, and to get to know my sisters in a deeper way.

I didn’t know what to expect, but came with expectancy in my heart.  It has been a stressful couple of weeks (the immigration saga, Luigi’s trip out of the country after the sudden death of his uncle, a battle of sickness with our children, and considering adoption...just to name a few things).  I was needing some answers from the Lord, and a refreshing for my weary soul.  Thank you Lord that your timing is perfect!  

I am still processing many things, but wanted to write down a few notes/quotes that really spoke to my heart last weekend.  

In His presence, there is fullness of joy.

Shattered dreams are never random, they’re a piece of a larger puzzle.

Nights of crying your eyes out lead to days of laughter...it is a GIFT to receive.

God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Write His mercies in water, trials in granite.

The opposite of play is depression (not work).

Questions to reflect on:

Am I “tuned in” to what has eternal significance?

How can I be more fun?

How can I laugh more with my children?

What needs to change in my life?

What do I want to be known for?

Gentiles, Jedis, and Bad Women

We were watching a webstreaming of the Feast of Tabernacles gathering in Jerusalem.  Angus Buchan, from the movie “Faith Like Potatoes” was preaching in his strong accent but the children didn’t seemed to be phased until...he said “to the gentiles.”

Aryelle perked up and said, “Mamita, did he just say Jedis?  Is Jesus going to make us Jedis?”

Ha!  Well, not exactly...

Then about an hour later, Levi said, “Mamita, that man’s wife is very bad.”

I looked at him with a confused look as I heard Angus speaking very highly of his wife, how she is a woman of prayer and watches over their household and all the orphans they have adopted.  

Then Levi said in a very concerned voice, “but he said she’s the mala of the family!”  I had to laugh because mala does mean bad or evil in Spanish.  However, Angus' actual words were “She’s the mada (imagine mother with a very strong accent...hehe) of my family!

Earlier that afternoon, the children and I had a big discussion about how we don’t assume everything on movies is acceptable to say (after playfully calling Papito an idiot... big oops!  Still trying to figure out where that one came from.)  Anyway, glad they really took that discussion to heart.  hehe

Make it Yourself - Lego Table

It has been almost two years since our family entered into “the Lego phase.”  When Levi opened up that very first box, I knew...someday, we will have a Lego table!  Now if it were possible to ship things from amazon.com to Panama, I would’ve been tempted to do so a whole lot sooner.  However, since the move, our little table that used to get lots of action in our kitchen, now sits rather lonely in the corner.  That’s when the lightbulb went on...we could add a top and make our own Lego Table!!

Here’s what I did:

- Recycled a top from an outside table

(basically a square of pressed wood that measured 2 x 2)

and asked the hubby to spray paint it black for obvious reasons

(like covering the water damage and crayon decor that is now WAY out of style)

-Hot glued 4 large lego squares to make land and water

-Waited for the troops to return...

-Surprised the happy boy!!

Taaadaaa!  I was very happy with how the finished project turned out

(and the fact that it cost $24 to make!)

Nerves or Nachos?

Let me just warn you up front.  We’re all about keeping it real around here.  This is not our Falsebook Facebook page, it is life...the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Last night, it was definitely ugly!

I fell asleep putting Sissy to sleep, and awoke a couple of hours later to multiple toilet flushes.  After spending the day watching my man tirelessly pursue our immigration situation, I chuckled to myself about how he is even persistent with the flushing!  Rolled over and went to sleep until...Boom!  It hit me.  First the awful gurgling noise you could hear from across the room.  Then the cold sweat and goosebumps (or chicken skin in Spanish), followed by the uncontrollable lip curl as you grab your stomach in pain.  Your brain registers the emergency situation just in time for you to jump up and make a mad dash for the white throne.  Whew!

All right, now the joke was on me.  We both slowly and gingerly walked backed to the bed and tried to come up with a reason for the suffering (as if that would somehow make it all better.)  Was it NERVES from stressing about this immigration situation and wondering if it will ever be resolved?  Highly probable, but wouldn’t account for the precise timing...within minutes.  Was it the four dollars-fourth of a cup serving of  NACHOS I ordered at the stadium?  Nope, because Luigi only had one bite...hardly enough to trigger his “buzzard” stomach that can handle anything.  

Finally, at around 0230 we realized that if we sat straight up in bed and didn’t move a muscle...life would be okay.  Every ten minutes or so one of us would be brave and inch down a little, until it felt like the little bubble moving too far inside a level.  At this point it was flat out comical, although I’m not sure if I laughed or cried myself to sleep.

I was reminded of a Dean's Memo that was read over the loudspeaker of our ship on Semester at Sea (when 800 of 1000 passengers were sick after a certain port), "You will not die from diarrhea…you will just feel like you're going to die."

After some discussion, we think we figured it out...let’s just say if something says “Refrigerate after opening.” that most likely means before carrying it around in your diaper bag all day.  Lesson learned the hard way.

Created from a rib(bon)

I am LOVING our new bible curriculum! (You can read more about it here).  We start our day drawing stick figures of the bible story, then collect our illustrations in a binder.  We were flipping through previous lessons, and I was asking the children some review questions.  

I asked Aryelle “How did God make Adam?”

She quickly replied “He pulled a ribbon out of him!”

(add photo)

“and that was the lion that was allergic to Adam.”

Earth Cake - Happy Birthday World!

We celebrated Feast of Trumpets this week, and according to Jewish tradition this is also the World’s birthday...so we made a birthday cake for the world!  This was a complete throw-together, and all about the process for sure!

I used my Wilton sports ball cake pan, mostly because I can’t find many excuses to use it (although you could bake it any any two glass or ceramic bowls of the same size.)  I used my Wacky Cake recipe because it needs a firm texture to be able to stand by itself.  If you use a very light and fluffy cake, you will have a visual lesson on plate tectonics colliding...or a big mess!

So here it goes:

After it is cooled completely, frost the top of one cake, flip the second and plop it on top.  (Note to self, do NOT set it on the stand “sharp side up” to take the photo...oops! ) 

Next, cover it all with a layer of chocolate frosting, and stick it in the fridge while you wait for the baby to take a nap.  Hmm, why could that be?  (Levi took this picture, and insisted on me including it.  hehe)

Tell the children not to play “spoon blast off” over the cake while you’re getting the other ingredients ready.

Let them drizzle the (vanilla tinted) green and blue frosting on to look like water and land, while trying to make the control freak in you relax and let them create.  hehe

Laugh as your children try to frantically lick every drop off of the spoon and bowl before you get back to the table to collect them!

Happy Birthday Earth!

Monthly Memories - September 2011

Click here to view these pictures larger

Scavenger Hunt

We had a big treat this past weekend!  Some friends of ours that live in my hometown were coming down to visit in Panama, and they offered to bring an entire suitcase for us!!  I was so excited the night it arrived, that I stayed up until 2 a.m. going through all the treasures (and sorting/stashing away surprises for later ;-)  What was I excited about?  70% Chocolate, spirulina, and essential oils to name a few things, but that's not what put these squeals and smiles on my children's faces.  hehe

We thought it would be fun to do a little scavenger hunt for the children to find their treasures.  So I wrote out the clues, and wrapped everything ahead of time.  Then I asked Papito to call the children into his office and distract them for a few minutes while I ran to hide stuff in the designated location.  

I ran into the office and told them we just got a letter from Aunt Jamie, Uncle Eric, Mary and DJ.  The letter explained that the clues were written on pink and blue paper, and they had to work together and take turns finding them.  The letter ended with the first clue:

Look for the clues to make this hunt super fun.

Make us a smoothie to find your first one.

(They call the blue baby toy in the kitchen their “Vita-mix” 

so they knew right where to go to make a smoothie.  hehe)

We’ll start this hunt with treasure for two,

now look in the freezer to find your next clue.

They thought finding a cold present in an ice cream container

in the freezer was the craziest thing ever!

Sissy was so enthralled watching Levi, she didn't realize there was another one for her. 

Back again to find Aryelle's...

"My Dora shooooooes!"

Is that a happy face or what?

Mary and D.J. send a big hug to you,

to find out what’s next go and put on some shoes.

Here they found stickers and autographed pictures of both of their cousins.

It’s not a school day, but look in job number 8...

go find your next clue not a minute too late!

 A new Zoobook for each child, so fun!

You can look near and you can look far,

but your next clue is on your seat in the car!

Look at those curls fly!

Papito was hiding across the street with the remote to unlock the doors.  hehe

Now Levi, don’t worry your dear little head,

your last gift will be in a big box that’s red!

Sissy, you are such an orderly one,

Go look in your closet to find your last bit o’ fun!!

Levi couldn't stand the suspense and had to get it down for her.

Since dress-up play and coloring are our current favorite pastimes, they each got a costume and new coloring book.  Here are Queen Esther and Captain Rex at their finest.

Thank you Aunt Jamie, Uncle Eric, Mary and DJ!!

We love you!!!

A Real Mommy

Pouring the milk has been something Sissy has been working on for awhile.  Understandable, considering the gallon weighs half as much as she does!  hehe  She loves it when the jug is almost empty because she can lift it herself.  Today with her little biceps shaking, she insisted on trying to pour it all by herself.  

She said, “Mamita, you say ‘when’ cuz I can’t see!”  

I stood there and tried to make my “when” sound as calm as possible while watching the white ocean slosh back and forth.

After she finished, she set the milk down on the counter with wide sparkling eyes and enthusiasm only a Sissy could show, then said, “Did I just be like a REAL mommy?

I guess when you are a chocololo (chocolate milk)-worshiping-four-year-old the “real” mommy honor of pouring milk is highly prestigious!

Judah's Tricks

We finally got all three of Judah’s new tricks on video.

1. The Sniff
2. The Growl  (using his whole body)
3. Big Hugs  (grabs you and says “Aaawwww!!”)

Tooth #5

At lunch I was feeding Judah, and he loves to make these crazy faces lately because we all laugh hysterically.  At one point, he had his lower jaw sticking out with a crazy face and I noticed a little white tooth sticking out on the bottom left.  No wonder he has been a piranha lately.  I have 5 bruises on my thighs from where he’s attacked, and at least now I know why.  hehe

All the above photos were just a sampling of what I took in order to capture...

this glimpse of pearly white #5.

Pinterest

Okay, so I’ve really been trying to streamline my online time and stand tough against things that aimlessly suck away those precious minutes.  Meaning, I have basically been running away from any type of social media, etc. stuff.  So, when my friend Jamie told me about her new Pinterest obsession...I wasn’t interested.  However, a little more nudging and research I decided to sign up, and I am LOVING it.  

It is basically an online bulletin board...a visual way to organize online ideas.  I am just getting started and post in spurts, but click here to check out my Pinterest Pinboards.

When Life Gives You Lemons

It has been a rough few weeks, and I was very excited when Aryelle chose ice cream sundaes for her birthday dessert (especially as I haven’t even unpacked my cake pans yet...they’re in the scary messy closet.)  However, a few days went by after her birthday and she was very concerned that we didn’t bake a cake.  I had even planned ahead, expecting our moving/unpacking craziness, and brought a set of pink princess cupcake holders from California complete with crowns on top!  Nope...wasn’t gonna cut it.  So, we made the Pink Princess “Meowmie” Cake of her dreams.  

This decorated version was after one and a half failed attempts.  

I could bake this cake in my sleep...however, after the usual 25 minutes it was liquid.  Hhhhmmm.  Called the hubby.

“Is there some trick I need to know about the oven?”

“Did you turn on the gas?”

“Oops, didn’t know I had to.”  (That’s how much I’ve cooked since returning home.)

So, I put it in the toaster oven for another 25, and the edges were cooked, but inside was still liquid.  I put it on for another 15, but ran in to rescue it when I smelled the burn.

I was about to explode by this point, and froze as I heard little Sissy footsteps running in to see her beautiful cake.  She looked up with her grimaced brow and I said, “Oh, don't worry!  This is just a practice one!”  You can see why...

You know what followed, “Can we eat it Mamita?”

My mind was saying, ‘Are you serious?  Then you expect to have more sugar when you eat the real one tonight?’  

Then I took a breath and looked at the nasty pan.  It did look rather warm and gooey.  I could use a little chocolate fix, and I would hate for this entire thing to go to waste...

Before I knew it the words just slipped out...“Sure!"

Of course the teacher in me couldn't let the teachable moment slip by.  So, as we gathered around the table I announced that today they were learning a very important lesson...

When life gives you lemons...make lemonade!! 

(I think we need to add a little whipped cream to this lemonade though, hehe.)