Family Dayz

Hubs is one lucky man. See the view from the front door of his office building? Every morning he gets to hear, see, and smell God's creation. For Cinco de Mayo we were invited to a family event on his front lawn. Our family was joined by Hubby's mom and grandma.
Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken for Mexican Independence Day. Wrong! It is not even a national holiday in Mexico. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the underdog Mexican Army at the battle of Puebla when they defeated the French Army that had not been defeated in 50 years. In the United States we adopt this holiday across cultures like Oktoberfest, Chinese New Year, and St. Patrick's Day. Since San Diego borders Mexico, Cinco de Mayo celebrations are all over town. Hubby's workplace went all out with some seriously delicious and catered carne asada and pollo asado. I am so sorry, no food pictures, due to my inhaling way too much meat, beans, and rice. Carne asada is a northern Mexican food. Mexican food is just as different from North to South as food in this country. Oh, and there was a mariachi band that I didn't photograph. They played while my hands were clutching some crazy good Mexican food. I was deprived of good Mexican food on the East Coast and in Hawaii. I am really sorry I have no mariachi pictures, because mariachi bands only occasionally include harps, and Son1 LOVED this mariachi harpist. Mexican food to the tune of Cielito Lindo at the beach?!? Can you see why I did not pick up my camera?A few days later we celebrated Hubby's birthday. He was out the door at 630am that Saturday, preparing for the ongoing construction work at our house. But before he left, he requested a crab omelet. Way to spring something new on me, completely off my radar, only for him to tell me later that...well you are just going to have to wait to hear that part. I already had in my head raspberry white chocolate muffins, amongst other things. Now these muffins are to die for, and Hubby's absolute favorite muffins ever. Our sweet friend, Rachel, made them we lived in Virginia for Hubs. So, get it, I never needed to attempt them because we had Rachel. SO.... amongst the distraction of instantaneously finding the most fabulous crab omelet recipe to go with the fabulous muffins, and creating them at the same time....I realized that with 15 minutes left in the oven, I accidentally forgot the baking powder in the muffins. Do you know what that meant?!? They had a minimal chance of turning out.

SO.

I threw open the oven door, figuring I could sprinkle them individually, and mix the BP in each muffin. Too late! The muffins already had set up. So I poked a ton of holes in them, and decided to will those little white speckles into those muffins by dragging a pastry brush back and forth over the muffin tops. I tried my best, and shoved them back in the oven. MEANWHILE...when I flipped my omelets a little too feverishly, the egg part went flying and crusting over the stove and counters. By then the muffin timer was screaming at me. Aye yay yay. I grabbed that pastry brush and dusted that stubborn baking powder from the tops of the muffins. And I never cleaned the stove or counter tops because the phone rang. It was my sister, from 2500 miles away...the one whose new job is making it impossible to reach her, so I had to talk to her a little bit. Besides, she was calling for her favorite BIL's birthday. Anyway....about this time Hubs walks in and asks if I am ready for Legoland, and if the kids are ready. He looks at a disheveled me, and tells me he was just kidding about the crab omelet, but I am not laughing. He asks me what happened to the stove and somehow I was at a loss for words. We sat down for breakfast, and he tells me how wonderful the muffins tasted. OF COURSE they did, because they require a butter and sugar topping, which miraculously covered my BP mistake. Then he slowly and cautiously asked me how in the world Rachel used to get hers so big and fluffy. I promised him an explanation later because I still had no words for him. My body was still in a bit of kitchen shock. But the omelets?!?? They turned out deliciously! We quickly opened gifts, and grabbed the kids and the gear for a day at Legoland.

I loved my husband to pieces before we ever had children. We were married for six years, and together for a total of eight years before our babies ever came along. But now? Partnering in parenting with him makes my heart skip a beat. I asked him how he wanted to celebrate his birthday, and he said he wanted to spend the day at Legoland as his birthday present to the kids. Oh...and he wanted me to dress them alike. Is that not precious of him?
Legoland California is located at the northern most end of the county of San Diego, in Carlsbad. It is the ONLY Legoland in North America, and it is geared to children ages two to twelve. There is a ton of stuff for kids to do if they are over 34 inches. And since Son1 is over 42 inches there is even MORE for him. Another reason I particularly love Legoland is that pregnant mothers can ride many rides, too. I passed on the airplanes this time. They made me really sick my first trimester. Hubs rode with the two boys, but Son2 is hidden deep in that seat next to his daddy.Son1 and Hubs rode the roller coasters and this big shot thing. Hubs had lots of fun screaming like the panicked folks strapped near him. But he wasn't panicked!Hubs and I most enjoyed chasing our two year old around The Hideaways. We had never seen him scamper so quickly or laugh so maniacally! The giant multi tiered wooden play structure with rope climbs, catwalks, and slides is a little boy's dream. The slide at the highest point of the structure is the best way for big people to get down without getting stuck in the ropes. The twenty foot drop is ridiculously steep. Well, Son2 climbed his way to the top of the structure twice. Hubs and I each had the opportunity to follow him through the slide tube. Can you see the look in my eyes of recovery?
The evening ended with delicious In N Out. Birthday or not, Hubs and I passed on shakes, even though the kids indulged. At 680 calories those ice cream shakes are too rich for our blood!

The next morning was Mother's Day! Hubs not only cleaned my mess from the day before, but he also whipped up my favorite, strawberry stuffed french toast, a cheese omelet, and a silver can. Yes, I realize I am pregnant thankyouverymuch! And like a true princess, I had seconds and never felt a bit of guilt! There is nothing like eating while pregnant! Do you love how he notched out a heart on my french toast?
We hurried off to church, but we skipped the airbrushed Mother's Day tattoos in the courtyard. Note to my friends that live anywhere but Cali: This is your opportunity to skip your "left coast" and "land of fruits and nuts" jokes. I have no idea what you are talking about.

ANYWAY.

We headed over to a family gathering later in the afternoon. May 10 is always Mexican Mother's Day. My mom's family generally celebrates two Mother's Days, but this year American and Mexican Mother's Day fell on the same date. Now Hubs and I kind of "go together," if you know what I mean. We are both brown looking. We did pass for a "local family" in Hawaii. In some ways, our personalities are becoming more similar. But moving back to California for the first time in nine years points to the obvious need for Hubs to acculturate to my Mexican family. Since everyone has started families of their own, or moved, my mom and her sisters continue to say we are a "small family" now. Uh hem. We had 25 people at this shin dig. But we are just a "small family." You know what we had for our lunch? Carne asada!!! Now, it is not just the name of a Mexican food, as much as it is synonymous with a "social barbecue." But I don't really have a literal translation for it. I guess the closest would be the same thing as a Hawaiian luau at someone's house. Sooo my aunt made some homemade guacamole, grilled corn, carne asada, beans, homemade salsa, and her Knock You Flat On Your Face-To Die For strawberry cake. Now this cake is up there with Rachel's muffins for Hubs. So when the family realized the day before had been Hubby's birthday, they dug out some candles, that spelled Happy Birthday. My aunt covered the words on the cake with a paper towel, so we could sing to Hubs. You can see he was thrilled with the attention from my "small family."
Next we took a picture of the mothers that were present. From L-R, that's me, my mom, and my grandmother, cousins, and two of my mother's sisters. So you see, even in a Mexican family there is diversity in the way we look.

Well we plumb stuffed ourselves with the cake, all of us. You can see my children were far more interested in the cake than in the camera.
So far May had been filled with a bit of family time for the Farmers. How about you?