Amusement

Before we attempt Disneyland with our almost 2-year-old we decided to test-drive the whole amusement park thing on a small scale at Gilroy Gardens. Lily and her cousin Sienna drove mini-cars, floated on giant ducks and rode on an artichoke (it was Gilroy after all).Little miss daredevil was in heaven dashing from ride to ride and ingesting mini corn-dogs (don't judge me for feeding my kid corndogs these things spontaneously happen at amusement parks). I just want to know how the heck I grew up in the Bay Area and never even heard of Gilroy Gardens. This place rocks for small children! There is even a modest roller-coaster for the thrill-seeker parents tagging along.

I have to admit that I am tempted to make a quick trip down to Disneyland now... maybe more for me than for Lil.

Plague

The title of my post effectively explains what we have been up to for the last week. Not a whole heck of a lot, unless you count coughing, gargling salt water and laying around the house as exciting activities.

Apparently living with a toddler is like cohabitating with a germ sponge. The little sponge sops up every virus, bacteria and any other nasty thing you can think of by playing with other little germ sponges. Then you go home and give your own personal little germ sponge a good squeeze and without fail two days later you will be paying your dues to the kleenex company. They say it is a good idea to 'socialize' your kid and make sure that they hang out with other children- but let's be realistic here, at this age we are mostly building up their immune system while they minimally develop their social skills.

As a first-time parent I can say that being stuck at home with a sick child is pretty much on par with standing in line, having a bikini wax or doing taxes. All neccesary, but not super fun.

Here's to healthy times in your own house!

Easter

Broken so that we can be Whole.

In a nutshell this is what Good Friday and the victory of Easter  mean to me. I am celebrating the fact that I do not have to measure up to unachievable standards, feel the need to judge where others are at, or fear anything. My entire nature and destiny was transformed because of Jesus' death for me (and everyone else) 2000 years ago. So simple. So profound. So freeing. Let's celebrate!

Sweet Goodness

Since I am hosting Easter festivities this weekend, I am going to get all Martha Stewart-like in the kitchen over the next couple days. This is what I am planning to attempt tomorrow:

 Does not look like much in this picture but Norwegian Nottekake (Nut Cake) is pretty much the most delectable dessert I have ever had the privilege of tasting. The trick is trying to translate the recipe from Norwegian and convert everything from deciliters to cups. Being an ignorant American (and having a mathematical handicap) I had never even heard of a deciliter before meeting my foreign husband.
I will try to post some pics of my creations as the weekend progresses....