Help Help Help

Nap time, Asher style.






















Asher is playful and joyful and an absolutely delightful son.




Oh Asher. Little man refused to take a nap the other day so we had an afternoon together, which always involves hugs, laughter, and a WHOLE lot of mega cutes. I tried to coax him into a nap but he found my eye mask and suddenly he was most entertained but really, he was the entertainment. I had so much fun watching him and photographing him and reveling in his enthusiastic discovery.

Earlier that day I took Asher and Soren to Target for a baby date (popcorn yo!) and as we were leaving I put Soren in the car first since he was sitting in the basket and Asher was strapped in the front of the cart. While putting Soren in the car Asher panicked when he saw a car coming-he must have thought the car would HIT him so he shouted seriously, "Help, help, help! Car coming!" I stifled my laughter and quickly turned to him to assure him he was okay. It was really quite tender and endearing.

We got a LOT of snow today. Not the epic snow of last month but it was a goodly amount! We took the boys on a late evening walk and as we were headed home Asher started to cry desperately because his hands were cold. I was sorry for his cold little hands but my heart really wavered when he pleaded, "Please, please, please! It is cold outside! Go inside!" Oh, little man. Within minutes of getting inside he thawed and his cheer returned.

Oh the echoes of our children's voices. "Help, help, help! Please, please, please!"

I love you Asher man!

Two Cutes

While making a crustless quiche for dinner I handed out pieces of cheese to The Deuce. Soren lifted his piece of cheese into the air and exclaimed, "It is a rocket ship flying to the moon!" Since when were two year olds so clever with their cheese? I was impressed.

Later at bathtime I noticed a scratch on Soren's hand. I asked what happened and he said, "A shark bit me!"

Two-year-olds are awesome. I recommend them.

Talking Stain: I Love this Commercial

This makes me laugh SO hard. I love a stain that yells!

La La Lemon Curd

I love lemon curd and with the availability of Meyer lemons at Costco I have been wanting to make my own. I looked around on the web and found a few recipes that seemed highly recommended but the thought of having to strain out scrambled egg bits and zest sounded unsavory to me. Well, I found a recipe that claimed the key to perfect lemon curd was to mix all of the ingredients together before cooking them. I tried their method and must report that the lemon curd was beautiful and silky and void of any unwanted cooked egg bits.

I will be making a lemon trifle this weekend with my freshly made lemon curd...can't wait! In the meantime, I love to mingle lemon curd with greek yogurt and blueberries.

Here's the recipe:

Lemon Curd

3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 min. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil.

Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

I'm Not Ready For Those Words

I love primroses!


It happened. Soren asked to go to work with me this morning. When I told him that I wished he could go but he had to stay at home with Asher, his beautiful blue eyes flooded with tears.

Dagger to my heart.

Soren then said, "Mommy not go! Mommy stay!"

Heart torn out.

I knew that the day would come when my children would not just cry when I walked out the door but that they would plead, sincerely, for me to stay. It seemed so much easier when they just cried, as horrible as that sounds, but when they ask me to stay, I am ill with agony.

Perhaps I project too much, but I worry that Soren is traumatized by my daily departure. He seems to panic anytime he senses that I am leaving and he doesn't like it when I put my coat on and when I do come home, he tugs at my coat to help me remove it so that my staying seems permanent. I am sorry that a little guy has to worry so much about the coming and going of his mother. Perhaps I put too much weight on the role I play in his life but I take that role seriously and I want him to feel comfort and security in his life, not daily experiences of fright when his mom leaves.

Watching one's loved one suffer is terrible and being the source of that suffering is overwhelmingly difficult. My Soren. I aim to always give him happy reunions at the end of the day. Coming home to him and Asher is pure BLISS. The smiles on their faces when they see me and the bounce in their step as they run to me have introduced me to a new emotion--one that bears no name but is a pleasurable mingling of relief, joy, and love, love, love.

Heart restored.

Family Tree

I gave my parents a family tree for Christmas, something I had been wanting to give them for years. I found the designer on Etsy and I highly recommend her shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/erinjaneshop

Erin incorporated the color and names within a day and less than 48 hours later the print was in the mail. Erin was wonderful to work with. I had the print sent to my sister's house so she could frame it and wrap it for Christmas. I was on the phone when my sister opened the print and she discovered that Erin had included TWO prints, one for me! I was stunned! Not only was her customer service amazing but she was generous too.

I hung my copy alongside photos of my grandparents. I like it.

Baby Daddy(s)

The baby ice-cream cone.


Yum! According to two-year-olds, babies must be fed ice-cream.


Soren holds the ice-cream while Asher feeds the baby babe.


Soren takes his turn feeding the baby.


Cranking up the cleverness, Soren uses the crane as a perfectly sized bottle for the baby babe.


Asher happily observes.

Asher and Soren are tender hearted little guys and really good with 'babies.' The other day Asher put a ball on top of a cup and called it 'ice cream!' Then he decided that his baby needed some ice-cream and suddenly both Asher and Soren were engaged in the baby feeding business. Watching them so carefully feed their baby and burp him and change his diaper is really endearing. I like it when they nurture and show a parental kind of tenderness towards each other and their toys.

This morning at breakfast they were both playing with small teddy bears that used to be on a pac'n'play mobile. Using torn pieces of napkin they gave their 'babies' taggies and blankets. They also wiped their noses, changed their diapers, and took their temperatures. Asher also helped his baby say a prayer and they were both so cute with their baby babes!

Jamie and I regularly shake our heads in amazement at the delightfulness of our two year olds. We plead with them, "Please don't grow up!" It's selfish and even bizarre how much we revel in the moment and don't want anything to change...but they are SO cute. It's in the little things they say, the words spoken in passing, that add up to such huge characters of charm and joy. Hearing Asher say, "Excuse me," as he passes or Soren casually counting to ten or identifying colors perfectly is astonishing.

Tonight Asher stepped into Jamie's shoes and announced, "I'm going to work!" and he headed for the door. Soren quickly followed and also put on Jamie's shoes and said, "I'm going to work!" Just when we didn't think they could possibly be any cuter they both said, "Love you, miss you" and gave us big kisses as they again headed for the door. I wanted to weep at the sweetness of it but also because of the heart ache--I wish saying 'goodbye' to us EACH day wasn't such a huge part of their lives. I wish that they weren't so familiar with the phrase, "Mommy all gone working." I also wish I looked as cute as them when I left for work each morning.

Feeling the Fever Pull

Hurt by the heat.


Trying to keep Soren hydrated.

Soren's temperature has been locked into the triple digits since Wednesday night, when the two of us wrestled all night with his fever. His skin felt like it would burst into flames at any moment. He couldn't sleep and any time I closed my eyes he panicked and cried, "No sleeping mommy!"

For three days my frolicking little man has suddenly become quiet and lethargic and most secure when curled in my lap with his arms tucked between his stomach and mine. I love how tightly he folds into my body when he is sick and has lost all interest in physical pursuits. I ache, however, to see his energy so dramatically altered by a fever. I hate fevers--they are frightening and powerful. I took him to the doctor on Friday and learned that his ears and lungs are fine so it's a viral fever that has to burn out on its own. Evil virus.

Throughout the past several days glimpses of Soren's former self would surface--he'd run on his tiptoes or he'd tease me into chasing him around the kitchen table or he would busy himself at the train table. Mostly though, he wanted to be held.

Hold him I have and those have been some very tender, sweet moments. His hot forehead burning into my neck reminded me how awesome and sometimes scary it is to have children and watch them grow. Before going to bed tonight Soren wanted to demonstrate how fast he could run by racing from my bedroom into the nursery--he did this about five times. I think he's on the mend, for reals. Hallelujah!

NEWS FLASH!!!

Soren knows his COLORS!!!

Celebrating the Man

Happy birthday Jamie! Remember the first time we spent your birthday together? My mom made you that amazing layer cake and I bought you a blue v-neck sweater--that was NINE years ago, before we were even betrothed. Our lives are so different and yet the attraction that caused our celebration nearly a decade ago is still very active and it thrives and it grows.

January 21st is a sacred day for me. I am eternally grateful for your birth and your life and your existence. You are a wonderful husband--you compliment me every day and tell me I am a good mom and you are generous with your affections.

You make me swoon when you say things like, "If I could freeze Asher and Soren as they are now, I would because they are so cute." Or when you answer the question, "Can we can handle three kids?" with this, "We could totally handle SEVEN kids."

Because you traveled and worked so much last year, having you home EACH evening and ALL night makes for a very splendid life. I love it so much when you are home. Thank you for making Asher and Soren the core of your evening by energetically engaging in dinner, play, bathing, books, singing, prayer, and wishing good nights.

Asher and Soren. Thank YOU so much for them. I live for them and you.

Happy birthday my hubs!

Working on our Winks

Asher was loving my lemon poppy seed muffins!


Soren's big smile.


It starts with both eyes closed.


Then he works the mouth.


There's the wink!

Asher and Soren learned about winks from the "Gingerbread Baby" book and they will usually perform their version of the wink when I ask. It's a pretty tough skill to develop but Soren just about OWNS the wink.

I love how Asher and Soren are both holding toys. Soren with his helicopter and Asher with his plastic roof--not sure where that came from or where it goes but it was apparently a hot item.

Tonight Asher and Soren asked me to draw 'daddy big' so I did, complete with a beard. Then I drew daddy holding hands with Asher and Soren and they requested that they too have beards. They were pretty excited when I added beards to their stick faces. Then Soren pointed out that Asher was falling because I did not do a very good job lining up Asher's little stick figure with daddy's big stick figure. Oh man, that made me laugh. Astute cutes!

Broken Things

Asher and Soren still have a passion for ‘broken’ things. My mom bought them an art easel from Ikea for Christmas. I spend most of my time taking requests for chalk drawings of broken cribs, taggies, stars, candles, and funniest of all: fireplaces. What the? When I have been asked to draw bigger broken things, like fireplaces, I have employed a wrecking ball to do the damage. Now they insist that a wrecking ball, attached to a crane, of course, break everything. What is even more peculiar (read: hilarious) is that they ask that the wrecking ball be cat shaped. Not just any cat but a happy cat. So, at our house, a happy cat shaped wrecking ball is busy destroying cribs, stars, taggies, and fireplaces. Further, Asher and Soren like to shake things up with big and small versions of everything: big broken fireplace, small broken fireplace, big broken taggie, small broken taggie. It's fun.


What do your kids ask you to draw?

Jamie's Birthday Week

Downtown DC.




Segs in the city!


Chinatown--it's pretty pathetic in DC.



To kick start the celebration of Jamie's birthday we had a lengthy date in the city, the primary purpose to eat at TWO Chinese restaurants. Jamie LOVES Chinese food and I love it too, when I am IN CHINA. I could eat Chinese food every day if I could get HERE the same tasting noodles, beans, cabbage, and bread that we did daily in Jingshan. Until then, I usually only eat Chinese food during Jamie's birthday week. We had noodles and dumplings for breakfast and later Jamie had veggie General Tso's for lunch. In between meals at Chinese restaurants we saw Crazy Heart and it was a wonderful.

Birthday weeks are fun but it's such a bummer that we have to work on our birthdays! Thank goodness Jamie's birthday week is always associated with a federal holiday--so it's like he gets the day off for his birthday. I like that for him.

Here's a little somethin somethin from the movie:

Winter at the Jefferson

Holy Handsome!






Jang's first trip to the monuments!




Looking good at the Jefferson.




Graham cracker fest!



We took Jang to the mall on one of the warmer days this past weekend. There were few people on the mall and the Jefferson monument, one of our absolute faves, was practically empty--a rarity. I love the creamy marble and the massive scale of Jefferson's monument. Plus, he was given a great view of the tidal basin and those soon to be blooming cherry blossoms.

When Jang stood next to Lincoln at his memorial, she told Jamie that it was amazing to be there! I feel that way every time I go to the mall--what an extraordinary capital!

Industrious Boys

Soren was pretty, pretty excited to both wear his new boots AND shovel.


I have a little boy! Whoa!


He loves to be active and to be outside.


So cute!


Asher was content to just stand in the same spot--no need to shovel.


My little boys. Sigh.

Jang and I took Asher and Soren on a walk and that little adventure could not have been a more perfect display of the differences between Asher and Soren. As soon as I opened the door to leave Soren flew out and bounded down the steps. He took off on his tip toes and hopped or skipped for most of the walk. He paused only to stop by the side of the pond where we tapped sticks on the entirely frozen water.

Asher, on the other hand, ambled at a leisurely pace and never sped up. He took lots of breaks and towards the end of our walk he came to a complete stop. He refused to take another step, which caused Soren to ask, "What's wrong Asher?" I carried him home.

Both boys are industrious--Asher with his drawing and schemes and cuteness. Soren with his constant hopping and train engineering and cuteness.

Lately Asher and Soren have both been industrious in their vomiting. Soren threw up thrice a few nights ago and Asher yacked twice today. Jamie may be next in this industry. He says he is cold, unable to get warm and is openly wishing to vomit in hopes he feels better. Awesome.