To Each His Own

These may look like normal, run-of-the-mill chocolate crinkle cookies, but don't be fooled...

...They're VEGAN!!!

Yes, they're vegan. And they're friggin' delicious!!! 

As an avid baker, I have always felt that certain ingredients are just not negotiable -- specifically, butter and eggs. If a recipe calls for 'butter', please don't substitute hydrogenated vegetable shortening -- it's not the same thing. And if a recipe calls for 'eggs', please don't try to convince me that using applesauce or something called 'egg substitute' is just as good -- I won't believe you. I will admit that there are times when using shortening and/or applesauce in a baking recipe makes sense, but I don't generally approve of these ingredients' use solely as non-animal substitutions. But hey, that's just me.

Honest, I have nothing against vegetarians/vegans. I've been friends with several vegetarians/vegans in my life. It's not necessarily what defines them; it's just a choice they made. In fact, I currently live right smack-dab between two very nice military families that just so happen to be of the vegan persuasion. That's right -- my little family is the medium-rare hunk of animal flesh sandwiched between two "granola" buns! I sometimes wonder if our frequent Weber-grilling ever grosses them out......but I never lose sleep over it. What can I say? I love meat! So I guess we'll just agree to disagree and go on being friendly neighbors.

Anyway, back to the cookies...

The website that I got them from calls them "Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles". I don't know if there's anything snickerdoodle-y about them, except that they're rolled in cinnamon-sugar before they're baked, but whatever. And as far as I'm concerned, the fact that they're vegan is just a coincidence. First and foremost, they are really, really yummy! There are no strange vegetarian ingredient substitutions (except for the non-dairy milk, but that's not so bad really -- I used coconut milk, by the way), so I didn't mind testing out the recipe. And once they're baked and cooled, and you feel the tingly spice of cayenne on the back of your tongue, you really don't care what they're called or how animal-friendly they are. Like I said, they're delicious! 

So go, try them, be "vegan" for a change. And after you get done baking and eating these cookies, go outside and grill a big, huge steak. :)

"BEEF -- it's what's for dinner"

Something to Blog About

I recently reminded Jason that this is a blog about The Coles -- that means all of us, not just me and Everett. Sure, every once in a while, I include a random Jason-themed anecdote. But for the most part, my stories are about my experiences and from my perspective. And so I encouraged Jason to post something. And his reply: "I guess first I have to have something to blog about."

For those of you that don't know, this is Jason:

He's tall, he's blond, and he's kinda pasty-white. He was raised by "Yankee" parents (sorry Gary and Sandy, but just because you lived in Florida and Texas doesn't mean you're really Southern). He loves old country, classic rock, and 80s music. His standard casual wear involves worn-in jeans and a pair of Redwing boots. And every workday, Jason goes to school.........to speak Korean.

Can you imagine?! Whitey McWhiterson standing around (well, really, sitting in a classroom) all day conversing with little Asian ladies (his instructors, actually) in KOREAN...! If that's not fodder for blog entertainment, then I don't know what is.

I mean, surely something even remotely amusing must happen during the course of his daily life. And I just want him to have an outlet. So, Jason......ready, set, blog!

"What is that......that ping?"

(It's a quote from an old show called Northern Exposure -- from the "Spring Break" episode. It's a little out-of-context here, but it's the most appropriate quote I can come up with for this post.)


I don't know why, but for some reason, that's the quote that goes through my head at 4:00 every afternoon. Which is precisely the time that my phone alarm is going off.

The alarm note: "Birth Control Pill".

That's right, I'm back on it. It's been almost a year since the last time I had to worry about getting pregnant...because I was already pregnant. And don't think it hasn't crossed my mind that it could happen again at any minute. (Well, not really. These things don't just spontaneously materialize. But you know what I mean.) I, myself, am the product of an "uh oh, I didn't think you could get pregnant this soon after having a baby" pregnancy, so I know it happens. I am definitely taking all precautions.

Honestly though, if it wasn't for that little alarm dinging every afternoon, these stupid little pills definitely would not be effective. I sometimes have trouble remembering what I ate for breakfast. How can I possibly be expected to remember something like popping my "no thank you, I have my hands pretty full right now, so I would really appreciate NOT getting pregnant anytime soon" pill?! Thankfully, modern technology being what it is, I don't have to remember.

I just have to remember to be near my cell phone.

The Sounds of Silence

Except for the occasional fuss or gurgle from Everett, my house is quiet. This is a point worth noting, because it's the first time my house has been quiet in five days.

Last Thursday, my older sister, her husband, and their three children boarded a plane in Houston and headed West. After a delayed flight, an absolutely ridiculous rental-car debacle, and a quick stop at In & Out Burger, they made the two-and-a-half-hour drive from SFO to our house in Seaside. It was kind of late (okay, it was 9:15pm, but that's "late" by our standards these days) when they got here, but there was no shortage of ants in their pants or volume in their voices -- the kids, that is. You would have thought my sister fed them straight sugar for dinner! They were pretty rowdy. I guess it is kind of "cruel and unusual punishment" to put a five- and three-year-old on a plane for four hours, and then in a car for almost another three hours and expect them to be calm, quiet, and angelic the whole time. Fortunately, after a quick tour of the house and a hyper attempt at entertaining Everett, the kids realized just how tired they really were. Once sleeping arrangements were worked out, it was bedtime for all of us.


One of my favorite parts about their visit is that we got to eat bacon for breakfast every morning! I know that probably sounds silly. Jason and I try to limit our bacon intake, as we are both currently on a weight-loss mission, and we can usually do a pretty good job of convincing ourselves that oatmeal or scrambled egg whites are way more sensible than good ol' pork fat. But when you ask Matthew and Emma what they want for breakfast and their response is "eggs...and BACON...!" then that's what we get to have for breakfast. :)

My most favorite part about them coming to visit (or me going to Texas to visit them) is just getting to be "Auntie Stephie". I've loved being an aunt since the second Matthew was born, and now I'm an aunt three times over! Just recently, with the addition of Everett to our family, my older sister finally became an aunt for the first time. I can only imagine she would love to have all the one-on-one auntie-time with Everett that I had with Matthew when he was brand new. But because of our military lifestyle, we've learned to just enjoy the time we have with each other whenever we can manage it. Fortunately, these kids seem pretty forgiving when we go months between visits.

Not only do I get to be "auntie", but I also get to be "sister".... Amanda and I may not have always been close (well, we'll always be close in age at only 9.5 months apart, but our physical and emotional closeness has varied quite a bit over the years!), but the older we get, we seem to truly value our relationship as sisters. Especially now that we're both mothers, we have an even closer bond than before. It was nice to just spend time chatting and hanging out, babies bouncing in our laps. :)

So, I ask you, how do you entertain a five-year-old, a three-year-old, a six-month-old, and a three-and-a-half-month-old? Well, the babies are pretty easy to deal with -- just make sure they're fed and their diapers get changed, and they're pretty content. The other two are a whole different story! And even though I have a baby, my house is far from "well-equipped" when it comes to keeping the other kids entertained. Thankfully, we live in a community with a lot of playgrounds! And thankfully, I happen to live next door to a family with a four-year-old who is very generous with sharing her toys!

In addition to several trips to the park/playground, we spent one of their days here out-and-about in Monterey. We started our morning at First Awakenings for breakfast -- can you say "gigantic 'Banana-germ' pancake"...?!!! Then we headed to the Monterey Aquarium. I'm all for visiting the touristy hot-spots, but in the future I might rethink making this stop on a Saturday -- it was PACKED! There were hoards of running, shrieking children everywhere! Again, taking care of Everett and Hannah was pretty easy, but trying to keep track of and corral Matthew and Emma was quite an undertaking. After leaving the aquarium, despite the chilly, gray, hazy weather, we walked for a while along Cannery Row, making sure to stop at The Little Hat Shop before heading home. Dinner that night was sushi. (Oh, how I love sushi!!!) We deviated from our "norm" and went to Oh Sushi! instead of Crystalfish. The change of menu was kind of nice. And we all ordered sushi with reckless abandon. I'm sure the sushi chefs and other customers thought our indulgence was obscene...but I don't care. It was......awesome. :)

Unfortunately, the weather was never really great the whole time they were visiting. Still, like I said, we spent a fair amount of time outside. Sometimes, when it comes to kids expending their energy, you just have to suck it up, put on warm clothes, and get outdoors. Yesterday, their last day here, we went to Dennis the Menace Playground in Monterey. That park is pretty huge, and the "star attraction" is an old, giant Southern Pacific steam engine that the kids can climb and play on. Jeff did his best tag-teaming with Matthew and Emma while Amanda and I strolled the babies around the sidewalk. We weren't really there quite long enough to wear them out completely, but an hour-and-a-half was as long as I could stand to have Everett out in the gloomy weather. We came home, cleaned up the kids, turned on a movie to kill a little time, and then headed out to Lopez for Mexican food -- YUM!!! (A side note about Lopez: if you're set on ordering dessert, and you have fewer than eight people, only order ONE sopapilla! They're ginormous. And very delicioso.)

This morning was a little chaotic. Because of a noontime flight out of SFO, Jeff had to estimate between 2.5 and 3 hours for the drive through morning traffic to get there, which meant an 8:00/8:30 departure from our house. Jason got an early start on cooking the bacon (I'm telling you -- EVERY morning!), and I kept Everett calm and occupied so as not to wake the kiddos too soon. Once everyone was up, it was Amanda's job to get the kids dressed, and it was Jeff's job to get the suitcases ready to go. I packed a few snacks for Matthew and Emma, and Jason put together breakfast tacos that could be easily eaten in the car on the way to the airport. We took a few last-minute photos (there's just never enough time and never enough pictures...), gave each other hugs and kisses, and made promises of future visits. And just as suddenly as the noise and activity descended on this house five days ago...*snap*...it was gone, just like that.

I waved good-bye from my front porch as their rented minivan pulled away. I could instantly feel a hollow vacancy. It's strange -- as crazy as things seem with the kids bouncing off the walls, I sure do miss them when they're gone. I miss Amanda (and Jeff) and our sister-time. I miss watching Hannah grow. I miss getting to see all the new things Matthew and Emma are learning every day. I miss them getting to be a part of my and Jason's and Everett's lives. *sigh*

But y'know what...?

I kinda don't mind the peace and quiet. ;)

"Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal..."

I've heard people say that if women could actually remember vividly the pain of childbirth, they'd never have more than one baby; that somehow forgetting the trauma is "an evolutionary development" that ensures the fate of the human race. Similarly, baby laughter must be a gift from God that voids the countless hours of crying endured by mommies and daddies everywhere.

Everett laughed out loud today.....and guaranteed the perpetuation of our species. :)

For weeks now, he's been on the brink. It's almost like he smiles so big that if noise was to come out of his body, it would certainly be laughter. But no; just smiles. And then all of a sudden, after one of his feedings this afternoon, I tickled his ribs, and out it came! I thought I might be imagining things, so I called Jason over. Again I tickled, and again he giggled. And even a third time! Then Jason went to grab the video camera...

...and nothing. *sigh*

Oh well. This kid has been exhibiting "Michigan J. Frog behavior" since before birth.

*Ribbit......Ribbit.*