Well, Harry, it's been a great ride.

Endings are sad, aren't they?

Tomorrow we head to the theater to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. This is big. HUGE. Exciting. And sad. While I can't wait to see such a fantastic part of the book brought to life on screen, I can't help feeling- this is it. It's over. There will be no more movies, no more books...no more Hogwarts.

See? There I go, getting all emotional. Skyler is emotional in a different way: Skyler is bouncing off the walls with excitement. By tomorrow noon, I'll probably need to repair some holes in the ceiling. My little wizard can't wait!

In an effort to make this even more special for Skyler (and to indulge my geeky side while blaming it on my child), I decided to make more cake pops. Cake pops are like a bad boyfriend. They make you angry, cause weight gain and emotional outbursts and generally drive you insane. But at the end of the day, you just can't help giving them another try because maybe THIS TIME will be easier. And if it really goes how you want it to, all the hassle will be worth it...

So here there are, folks. My Mad Eye Moody Cake Pops:



Goodbye, Harry. I'll miss you. Hello, sugar high. You're a poor replacement, but I suppose you'll do!

No person should eat that much in a week. Let alone 2 days.

Well, HELLO 29!



This weekend, I celebrated the start of my last year as a 20-something by stuffing my face. And complaining about the resulting stomach ache. Then repeating the process. I would be terrified to calculate Weight Watcher points, and probably I should just skip sleeping tonight and spend 8 hours running as if a T-Rex were chasing me. But, dang, it was a great weekend.

I had crab ravioli. In cream sauce. With wine. And more chocolates than I care to admit.

Next up came eggs benedict florentine with a mimosa.

In the interest of not exploding, I skipped a meal after the eggs.

The skipping meals thing didn't last long. For dinner, Mom took me to get more pasta- three cheese tortellini with asparagus and chicken. Since at this point I was seriously thinking I needed to attend a WW meeting STAT, I did what any logical person would do. I followed the pasta with cheesecake and wine.

Today, I vowed to get back on the bandwagon. Until Ashley, Alex and I walked in to a restaurant which offered panko coated fish and chips. Really, now- not getting those would have been a tragedy, right? How could I have passed them up? I couldn't have. It just wouldn't have been right.

After an amazing lunch of deep fried goodness, we worked up an appetite by strolling the streets of Hood River. Turns out there was a kiteboarding competition in Hood River today. Since we didn't have a timeline and didn't think we'd get kicked out, the three of us headed to the waterfront to have a look. Because at this point I was feeling very much like a stuffed goose, I think that I may have been trying to guilt myself into not eating more. Which is why I had a beer by the water before stopping for ice cream in Cascade Locks, of course. (Since any sane person MUST get ice cream in Cascade Locks, I just can't count those calories. Those cones aren't fat- they are an Oregon tradition.)

Ash and I had a great laugh today when Alex tried to assert his authority while using a Port A Potty. I kept the door open just a little, and wouldn't let the little dude lock it. I realize that he is 5 and he has (mostly) figured out the basics of taking a pee at this point. However, here is a little known Brianna fact: I have completely unfounded, strange and illogical fears about my children falling in to portable toilets. I know you think I am crazy for this. Chances are, you're right. The beauty of being a parent is that I am allowed to be a bit crazy regarding highly improbable events (and the need to avoid said events).

Anyhow, since Alex is "a big boy" now, he decided to take a stand for his privacy. When I wouldn't let him lock the door from the inside, he marched right out to move me and see if there was a way to lock the door from the outside. Alex was GOING to find a way to keep his toosh behind a closed door. There was, unfortunately for Alex, one small problem with this: LittleHam forgot to pull his pants up before storming the parking lot. Bad news is, Alex didn't ever figure out a way to rid the Port A Potty door of Mommy's control. Good news is that Ashley and I had a fantastic laugh.

When I came home after dinner at my Mom's (where, again, I overate), the house smelled like the beautiful roses Dusty got me for my birthday. The clams he got on the coast this weekend are taunting me. They want to be made into chowder, or just steamed and eaten right away. But I will not give in. Instead, I will be hiding from the clams. I will also hide from the roses, because they are sitting right over a box of chocolates. I feel lucky, loved, and ready to make this a great year. And I have a massive tummy ache.

Tomorrow, I get back on plan. I only hope that my motivation will make the same choice.

The party is over! And apparently a giant tornado of toy packaging went through...

I apologize in advance for any misspellings, gramatical errors or sentences that just don't make sense. I am currently typing this while listening to Kidz Bop 19, a remote control car and Hot Wheels. Guess nobody ever said that having children was a quiet affair, right?

Today we descended upon the local park with a folding table, many chairs (two of which broke when guests tried to sit down...Oops!), bikes, scooters, balls (both cake and rubber), food and lots of children. We were celebrating Alex's 5th birthday and Shad's 6th birthday. It was super fun and completely exhausting.

Thanks to 19 kids, 46 cake pops and who knows how many battery-required toys strewn all over my house, I am just too pooped to write much. So please, just enjoy a few pictures:

This is how Alex prefers to ride his bike (Yes, really):



We put ice cream in these little heart shaped chocolate cups that Tricia found at New Seasons. She went searching after I attempted to make chocolate cups at home. (Note: if you attempt this, make sure the melted chocolate has cooled down. A LOT. Trust me.) Honestly, the ones she found were way cuter than I could have made, so perhaps it all worked out.*

*Grandma Marcia, who cleaned the chocolate off the walls, may disagree.




This pinata turned out to be styled after a tank. The good news is that every party-goer got to whack at it. The bad news is that it took Dusty beating it to actually get the thing open.




And finally, here is little Alex trying SO hard to break open the candy box that he came VERY close to falling over backwards...many times!



I really appreciate everyone who came out today. My little babies are growing up, and growing up well. It means so much to me to see how many people love and support them!

Food, Party, Food & a FIVE year old! Oh- and food!

Probably if I spend too much time awake without purpose tonight, I'll cry. Why will I cry? Because Alex will wake up tomorrow a 5 year old. FIVE?!?! What? I am not ready. I am not ready for Alex to be a Kindergartener. I am not ready for training wheel free bikes or "r" sounds that sound like "r". (I AM ready for accident free nights, but that is a whole other post...) And yet, here we are- 5 years old. Alex has gone from this:



To this:



This transformation has me thinking all kinds of sappy things- including, but not limited to, Trace Atkin's "You're Gonna Miss This" and the words of a poem on the wall in my Mom's kitchen (Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'till tomorrow, for babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep, I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.). In short, I'm an emotional wreck. I'm happy that Alex has made it here, and I'm excited for all the new and exciting things to come in his world. But I'm not quite ready to start viewing him as anything but the Barney obsessed toddler in my memory.

Speaking of all this emotional overload, let's talk food. That IS how it works, right? Emotions=food? If you disagree, you've probably never needed to attend a Weight Watchers meeting. Which, by the way, I should probably attend next week- thanks to the food I'm going to blog about.

First up: Cake Pops!!!
I know everyone in the world (mine, at least) is sick of hearing about cake pops. I fully accept it- I get obsessed. I have been thinking about cake pops to the point of insanity for two weeks now. And it paid off:



I may never have the nerve to even LOOK at a cake pop EVER again- but there they are. Al B.'s beloved, requested cake pops with sprinkles. Party ready. A few things, for those of you crazy enough to consider making these little headaches-on-sticks:

-When dipping cake pops into chocolate, use a small crock pot. Someone told me this might work better, and I swear I owe that woman a lifetime's supply of cake pops (alas, I'm swearing them off, so that isn't possible).

-Use melting chocolate. Even if it is a pain in the butt to find some that fits your needs (in my case, gluten and peanut free)- find it. It is SOOOO much better than chocolate chips with oil.

-Pony up and buy a stryofoam block. There is really no way around this. The End.

Ok. That is the end of the cake pops. I think. For now.


Now I move on to tonight's dinner:



(Gluten free) Penne with Smoked Salmon Vodka Sauce

If you like low fat meals, you should stop here. This is NOT Weight Watchers friendly. And yet, it is SOOOOO good!

1 small white onion, sliced
1/2 lb. smoked salmon (I made my own, but Trader Joe's sells it too!)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
zest from 1 lemon
1 tsp. dried basil (but fresh would taste better probably!)
1 1/2 shots citrus vodka (I used Smirnoff Citrus Twist)

1 package penne noodles- cook as directed

Sautee the onion in a small amount of olive oil on medium high heat. When onions are transparent, add lemon zest, salmon, cream and basil. Stir constantly and keep at medium high heat until sauce begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium/medium low, add vodka, and simmer (stirring frequently) for 5-10 minutes. Add to pasta, and toss in some steamed veggies if desired.

This was one of those I-know-this-will-increase-my-waistline-but-I-don't-care-it-tastes-so-good type dishes. I got the original recipe from a class at Hipcooks (which you really should try, by the way!). The hipcooks recipe was an amazing blend of fresh herbs, hand made pasta and incredible enthusiasm. When I made this dish, I was tired from my battle with cake pops, had no fresh herbs but an abundance of smoked salmon and abslutely zero enthusiasm for making my own pasta. So I made do. Either way was great, though I'll give it to Hipcooks- mine was yummy. Theirs was to die for.

And since I'm all about food tonight, I have to show off a meal that Dusty and I really made together. But his part was better.



Broiled Rockfish and Moroccan Lentils with grilled sweet peppers and asparagus.

If you haven't had a chance to check out Crockpot 365 , you need to. Besides just being a genius with the crock pot- which is a great thing to be, since life gets so busy- the author of this blog is also a gluten free cook. To me, this combination is perfect.

When Dusty called me at work and offered to make dinner if only I'd give him a hint on where to begin, I sent him a link to Crockpot 365's Moroccan Lentils. As it turned out, we only had about half the requested ingredients. We DID have fresh basil and sweet peppers, though, and those went in the pot. So technically, we don't know what the original recipe tastes like. We DO know that what Dusty did was pure lentil genius.

On top of the lentils came rock fish, which was supposed to have been baked in white wine with garlic and peppers. Since I didn't have the patience to wait for baked fish, it quickly became broiled rock fish. This was my fist time cooking such a fish and I was impressed! It will now be added to my list of things to make.

The peppers and asparagus were cooked together at high heat with a very small amount of olive oil. Why were they cooked together? Because I was lazy and didn't want to dirty another pan. There really is no better reason. Whatever the reason, though- it was great. Dusty says it was the best aspargaus he's ever had. To be fair, Dusty could have been saying that because he wanted to make me feel better. In this meal, Dusty was the star. Those lentils were awesome. And the leftovers made a fabulous bean dip for chips, which means one less thing for me to make tomorrow for Alex's 5th birthday party.

Goodnight, world. Goodnight, 4. Five...I'll see you tomorrow.

I see your true colors shining through...

And there you have it, folks. Alex is a Kindergartener! Where has the time gone?

Last night was Alex's graduation ceremony/Mommy's cryfest. It was pretty much the cutest thing ever. The kids sang and danced and posed for pictures, before a slideshow was put on to make all of us overly-emotional moms (well- myself, at least) cry like babies.

I will miss Gymstars. It is such a true blessing when a person/school/organization can inspire confindence in parents that their child will be well loved and cared for while in the care of others. Gymstars has been that for us for two years, and now we are on the next big exciting phase with Alex. Thank you so much, Teacher Janelle, Correnna, and everyone else who has loved and cared for our Al B. during his preschool years!

I don't know if I'm ready for Alex to be a Kindergartener- but I assume that after a summer of the kids being home all day, I'll get there.

Sky's first ever golf tournament!

Ok, first lets get two things out of the way right off the bat:

-These cake pops are good. Like, really good. Like, Ashley-you-better-get-them-quick-'cause-they-may-just-disappear good. This has renewed my determination. I WILL make Alex perfect birthday cake pops. Alex will be thrilled. The scale at Weight Watchers will not.

-I saw a peacock tonight up the road from my house. A peacock. Uh...I don't even have anything to add to this. Who the heck sees a peacock in their neighbor's driveway (in Oregon)?

And now, the moment you all have been waiting for. Or, the one I'VE been waiting for at least. Skyler's first golf tournament. EVER!




I need to fess up to something: this made me a big old mess. From the moment I woke up this morning until the moment Sky stepped up to the first tee, I was unreasonably emotional. Twenty minutes before the start of the tournament, Skyler was on the putting green in his zone. I was pacing back and fourth, fighting the urge to puke, burst into tears, or do the hysterical laugh I do when I'm nervous that makes people think I'm crazy. I was also sucking down Diet Coke to calm my nerves like I was a chain smoker and the soda was a Marlboro. Did I mention that Sky was calm, cool and collected?

Skyler's tournament was at Kah-Nee-Ta resort near Warm Springs, Oregon. Thanks to Grandma Val for loaning us her wheels, Skyler, Alex, Dusty, Tyson (Sky's dad), Pappi (my dad) and I were able to make the trek over the mountain in one vehicle. It was awesome that Skyler had so many people there for his big day!

He was great. He was really, really great. His score was that of an 8 year old who plays golf in his first tournament- not as low as the older kids he was paired with, but good enough that he obviously knows what he's doing. But his attitude, his etiquette and a shot out of the bunker made my heart pump up with Mommy pride. I don't often see Sky play golf- it is definately his special thing with his dad. But all day, I was amazed at what my little boy can do.

Actually, I was amazed by what ALL those kids could do. Since we were in the Pee-Wee division, the kids were 8-11 years old. Sky was the youngest in his group, and one of (if not the) youngest I saw at the tournament- but all the Pee-Wee division kids were just, well, kids. At one point while walking up to the putting green, the three boys had to be reminded that they can talk about Pokemon later. And yet, from a distance, they just looked like short golfers. It was amazing. These kids really know how to play, behave, interact on the course...I come away from today a much bigger fan of golf and a huge believer that children are incredible.



Skyler came away from today exhausted, excited for his next tournament, and happy. Oh- and starving. Can't blame him- he'd just walked nine holes with a golf bag on his back, while making all club choices and other game-related decisions alone (parents and spectators were not allowed to give advice, and caddys were prohibited). He was probably also exhausted from the Benedryl I'd had to give him, but that's just life for an allergy kid who loves outdoor sports.

We celebrated his accomplishments with a good lunch and then swimming. By this point we were so tired that I think 5 of us would have been happy to go home. I'd been using the "but we'll go swimming later" carrot with Alex all day. Alex walked (and was carried a little) the nine holes. He watched his brother. He was quiet. Way quieter than I'd expected a kid his age to be. Alex was patient. Alex wore a "golf shirt" and understood when we told him that he couldn't use the putting green just now. And Alex, never one to turn down a good-behavior carrot, was NOT getting back on the road without swimming.

The pool was fun! It was strange to be in a warm pool. I kept thinking "EEEWWW! A pee spot!" and moving away, only to remember that the whole pool was warm. I know it is the result of warm springs. I'm still not positive that the pool was pee-free. Thank God for chlorine. We only stayed an hour to swim (much to Alex's dismay), because this IS Sunday night, the kids DO have school tomorrow, Tyson, Dusty and I DO have to work tomorrow...and because we were all exhausted. Even Alex, who saw his exhaustion as even more reason to stay, and began to turn into the scary monster that I (thankfully) don't often see as he was unfairly ripped from the pool. For a good 15 minutes, I'd reclaimed my "meanest Mom ever" status. After that, he fell asleep. Since he pretty much slept until we were home and he knew there were cake pops waiting for him, everything turned out just fine.

Here are some pictures from our awesome day. Enjoy!

Sky and Tyson, on the way to the first tee.



And, he's off!


Pappi, Alex and Dusty:


I believe this was on the 4th hole- that's a long way for little legs!


And, here come the crazy emotions again. *sniffle* I am so proud of him!


And, it's over. Do the kids' scores match the parents'?


Uh, why didn't WE bring clubs again?


Dad, will you teach me how to drive this?


No, Sky, we can't golf again. Now smile for the camera:


Pappi and the boys. Dusty, Tyson and I are way less cool when Pappi is in town.


I know there is a story to this, but I was too tired to really catch it:


Alex may be mad about leaving, but he'll always smile for a picture.


I think this was about 30 seconds before Sky fell asleep and I entered a zombie like state.

Today was a day of "Well, now I know".

Today, I tried something new. Lots of new somethings, actually. I gave in to Alex's pleading and tried my hand at cake pops. I borrowed my mother in law's smoker and smoked the salmon my Dad bought me. I made a pot roast. I woke up at 6am. On a Saturday.

Most people would think this is too much "new" in one day. Most people, however, are more or less sane. I don't think I've ever made that claim.

We were up early because Dusty had to get to his test- which he passed with flying colors by the way! (I knew he would- my dream said so.) This left Alex and I in a strange state of mind. By 7:30am, we felt like we should do something. But it was too early to play outside and, frankly, too early to do much of anything. So I cleaned the fish tank while Alex yelled at the Wii about how "UNFAAAAIIIIIRRRRR" that last play was. At this point, the fish was the only member of our household grateful for the early rising.

Finally we got dressed and headed for the farmer's market and the library. We decided to do the library first, because Alex said so. You should have seen the look on Alex's face and mine when we realized that the library wasn't open yet. WE made it to the library BEFORE it opened? On a SATURDAY? Clearly, the stars were not aligned.

To kill some time- because Alex was determined to go to the library before the market, even though the market was in full swing just 1/2 block away- we went in search of cake pop sticks. We went to the fabric store and the craft store. If you've ever been in one of these stores, you probably know the general attitude that seems to be required of craft store employees: screw you. At least in my experience, "Hi! Can I help you?" is out of the question. Probably eye contact is as well. And if you have the nerve to walk up to an employee and politely inquire about the location of whatever you're looking for, you will likely get a look that says "If you have to ask, clearly you aren't crafty enough to know", accompanied by a finger pointing vaguely at the other end of the store. Needless to say, we didn't find the Wilton brand paper pop sticks that I wanted. I settled for some wooden dowels, assumed Dusty would cut them, and hoped for the best.

After a morning that passed by v e r y s l o w l y, we were back at home and ready to tackle projects. Isn't "projects" just the general term for "stuff that will make you wonder what you're thinking"? Here are some very important things I learned today:

-Too much frosting when making cake balls is bad. It makes them mushy. If they are mushy, they don't hold up on the stick, which means they will become "cake balls speared with a wooden dowel". Not cute "cake pops".

-For smoking salmon, you need a meat thermometer. I won't mention why I don't own a functioning meat thermometer anymore. *cough* (Dusty) *cough*

-Wood chips only last for about an hour. I learned this approximately 3 hours into the smoking process.

-Those cute, perfectly rounded cake pops on Bakerella's blog? Yeah...they aren't easy. I started out intending to make cute globe-shaped cakes on paper sticks. What did I end up with? Haystack shaped lumps on wooden dowels. That could sink to the bottom of the dowel at any moment, just to keep you on your toes.

-I also learned that the above lesson bugs the crap out of me, to the point where I may need to reevaluate my life's priorities. Somehow it seems that over the course of one day, "Perfect Cake Pops" has become Priority #1. I understand this isn't logical. I'm working on it.

-Pot roast needs way more spices than I put in it. And even then, it'll probably never taste as good as my Mom's. Probably I should shelf that dish and invite myself over to dinner at her place more often. (For the record, she'll tell you I'm a better cook than she is. She lies.)

-My Dad is way too nice to just come out and say "Your pot roast sucks, Brianna".

-Alex is way too nice to say "the cake pops aren't working, Mommy." He waited all day (because they were so screwed up that they took about 9 HOURS!) with an optimism that could literally insipre a nation to end hunger.

-When it comes down to optimism vs. exhaustion, sometimes you fall asleep. See pictures for proof.

So, the good news is I learned a lot today. I may have made haystack shaped, falling down and generally not Birthday Party Quality cake pops- but I think I know how to fix them next time. And I made a crappy pot roast, but...well, forget that one. I wasn't kidding about just going to Mom's next time. And the salmon may have taken hours and left me only *mostly* sure that it's edible, but now I know to buy a meat thermometer and change the wood chips.

After all, knowing is half the battle.