MIA

It's been a while since we have posted... for the usual reasons - juggling all of ours and the kiddies' schedules and priorities of things that need to be done. Also, my New Years resolution this year is to reduce the amount of time I spend on the computer at home, which means no more blogging after the kids go to bed, and means more sleep for me and a less cranky mama... sort of. Downside though, as you can tell, is less updates.

So updates...

We missed doing parties for the kiddies' actual birthdays, Liam's at the end of last year and Emilia's this year. Mama didn't get around to planning their birthdays in time, so we finally put together a belated, joint Liam and Emilia's Un-Birthday party with a few neighborhood families and friends this past weekend. The theme was a "Cooking Party" where the kiddies would create their own personal dish, a casserole of various healthy assortments of food. While the food was cooking in the oven, the kiddies had the option of decorating their own apron or a placemat.

The kiddies each had their own mini loaf pan where they would choose the ingredients they want and scoop them into the pan. Layers of different veggies, meat, pasta, sauces, cheese,etc.. and viola! Everyone had their unique dish prepared. All the pans went into the oven at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes.

While their food was baking, the kiddies went in to creative action with decorating foam "placemats" with LOTS of stickers and markers. Ryan was great with preparing for this party! I was in charge of planning the food and details of the party, Ryan was in charge of the setup. He found a place to rent kiddie size tables and chairs.

They each had their own cakes. Emilia had requested for a purple cake, and I just so happen to know of a Filipino bakery that makes a bright, purple yam cake! And Liam, had a TLC cake made by Mary Poppins (nanny) with wholesome ingredients, egg-free, nut-free chocolate cake.

A kid-interactive party was a success! Thanks to the help of friends (Carey with setup and cleanup!) and Mary Poppins (best chocolate cake!). The kids had fun and I think the kid-party was quite tolerable for the adults too. =P Not pictured here, but I did cook up food for the adults too. It is my new go-to recipe for the masses, a VERY EASY and delicious 20-hour slow cooker Kalua Pig. I followed the recipe and bought the recommended Hawaiian Red Lava Sea Salt, but modified to slow-cook for 16-hours + 4 hours on warm, and added all-natural, concentrated liquid smoke.

If we get around to doing AvocadoFest this year, Kalua Pig is definitely on the menu. =)