Happy Easter!

The last box of Easter treats has been delivered. Ufa! From this moment forward, the only bunny I want to see is Mr. Easter B himself. And Georgia and I are tracking him down. We are about to board the plane for a journey to Grandpa's house....more than 24 hours with Georgia on my lap. Another Ufa. I hear there is an Easter Basket awaiting our arrival and an Egg Hunt, too.

Stay tuned...although blogging may be sporadic.

A Happy, Lovely Easter to all! xo

Yo Yo Yo...

Mathias is turning three today. And he loves Yo Gabba Gabba! Hope he likes my interpretation of this colorful crew.

Happy Birthday Mathias!

Multiplicity...

Green Eggs and Ham was the first book I learned to read (at a very young age, according to my proud parents). But I wonder: was I really reading or just repeating memorized text? My mom must have turned the pages of that Dr. Seuss classic 50 times a day. More. More. More...I'd say.

My weekend was a series of mais, mais, and mais--Green Eggs and Ham (Do you think we steer our child's interests?), costume changes, and counter-tops spilling over with sweets for delivery.

And since I'm too tired for text.
And rather lazy for prose.
I'll leave you with words from someone who knows.

(Quotes from Dr. Seuss)

1. "When he worked, he really worked but when he played, he really PLAYED."
2. "Do you know where I found him? Do you know where he was? He was eating a cake in the tub. Yes, he was!"
3. "A person's a person, no matter how small."
4. "Look at me! Look at me now! It is fun to have fun. But you have to know how!"
5. "You'll miss the best of things if you keep your eyes shut."
6. "I do not like them Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham."

More. More. More.

Happy Monday. xo

For G and Me

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Ladies (two Aries) of the house birthday wish list:

Me - Typewriter (I'd love a dusty pink or pale aqua one.) I promise to mail letters.
Georgia - Record Player - Music appreciation continues. Old School 101. Let's Polka?

Hello, my name is...

Today I baked for Rafael. And as I cut out the letters I explained to Georgia that Rafael's Mommy had chosen this name for the baby in her belly, just as her Daddy and I had chosen her name while we awaited her arrival. (And listened to Georgia on my Mind over and over.)

Then we worked on names and the alphabet. Daddy's name is Felipe. And Mommy's name is Tammy. Naturally, my daughter called me Tammy the rest of the day. And the more I told her, "I'm Mommy," the more she squealed....

Taaaammmmeeeeee! Welcome Rafael. Are you going to try and call your Mommy by her first name, too?

Paddycake

Since I am not very good at keeping secrets about projects.

Coming soon: Mini wooden cakes and cookies for play
Sweets are in production--sugar free and Georgia tested. (Great tool for learning the birthday song in English and Portuguese.)

I did miss the frosting on the tip of her nose, though.

Is it too much?

If Georgia were SJP's daughter and our life was an HBO program, I am certain that she would have this many hair barrettes. But since we are not a famous family (and no child should have so many accessories), our little hair clip collection will be sold at the ever so charming Balanganda.

Available mid April.

Jewelry is art

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It has been a while since I have posted anything fashion.

But I want these items.

Light

Tragic news this weekend had us longing for a magic wand to revert time and spread happiness--like glitter in the wind. We would all believe again like children. And we'd laugh more often throughout the day. The hands on our clocks circled in slow motion, giving us time to think and relish...a sad heart is an open heart. We cherished:

A bright sliver of a moon in a still blue sky
The pucker of our daughter's little mouth savoring a lemon sorbet
A red balloon that floated away
The morning light warming the pillow where your husband's head once lay
Polka dot shoes that all of a sudden fit

There were many more moments...

In loving memory of a childhood friend.

Muitas Felicidades!

Happy Birthday Alice! Some hearts, cookies, and a princess just for you. (Hope you don't mind that I send a little treat for your little brother, Joao.)

And Joy...amiga! One is never too old for Hello Kitty, My Melody, and fluffy cupcakes. I'm sure you'll end up sharing most of the sweets with your little ones. Who will have the most frosting on the tip of their nose?

Hopefully everyone.... Parabéns! Beijinhos!

Special thank you to Adriana!

Guppy

Georgia started swimming classes today. I had to sit behind a window and watch her accuse me with puppy dog eyes of simply plopping her in the water with complete strangers. Because that is exactly what I did. I saw her little pout forming the words "Mommy" with my heart in my hands. I didn't want to be one of those (overbearing) mothers. Thankfully the second round of tears the instructors beckoned me out of my viewing cage. (Was it because I was misty-eyed, too?)

So I sat at the edge of the pool and watched my little guppy try to doggy paddle. She learned lots of songs about fishies and, seemingly, hated every minute of it.

After the third round of tears, she was excused from the pool. And I took my sopping little bundle into the locker room. As soon as I took off her maillot she screamed, "BACK POOL MOMMY NOW!"

I think next week will be better. I might take my bathing suit--just in case.

Sugar-free for a Sweet Grandpa

Today is Vovô Plinio's Birthday!

In honor of the day: a new recipe. My father-in-law is on a sugar restricted diet. After every family meal, he looks at the sweets and asks: "Are any diet?" And my mother-in-law usually offers him sugar free jello or some fruit. Boring. I feel his frustration.

And since I have a 5 kilo sugar container in my house, my sweets usually don't fall under the diet category. Until now.

Grandpa Plinio, would you like some Pecan, Carob Cookie Drops? They taste like the most sophisticated gourmet chocolate chip cookies and they are sugar-free. Georgia liked them so much that instead of making a birthday card for Vovô, she wanted to draw on the box of cookies itself. I think it is because she could "steal" another cookie or two.

Enjoy! Feliz Aniversário Vovô! Saúde e Felicidade!

Moo, Oink, Baa...

Arlene is especially thoughtful. She loves to give great gifts, taking into consideration the recipient. She doesn't whip out her check book to cross the "get present" task off her to do list.

And that is why I baked a farm today--for Arlene's friend who is turning 50 and is fanatic about Farmville. Of course Arlene gets credit for the idea. She imagined her friend might like to snack while playing her favorite game. Thoughtful. Again.

Cookie Jars and Contradiction

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Did I mention need?

Choice

Felipe was in Miami last weekend--a rather quick trip but he did have a few hours to shop. And when he asked me what I needed, I thought of all the great deals in the USA. And I thought of all the clothes and accessories. But need?

So with this video in mind, I came up with a short list. It isn't glamourous. In fact, it's rather boring.

1. Kitchen scale

2. Candy thermometer

3. Ziploc bags (I'm not kidding.)

4. Cotton T-shirts (soft and big please)

5. Red Converse Hi-tops for Georgia

6. Dr. Seuss books (G)

And that really was it.

This One's for the Ladies

Felipe traveled this weekend. So it was just us girls at home (Bogart, the fat cat, is a boy but he only sleeps--so it doesn't count.) Twas a weekend of female bravery, bonding, and just one episode of "damsel in distress." Here is what happened in our girlie-fest:

1. On Female Bravery I - Georgia got bit by a mosquito in her eye. My girl looked like she lost the WWF championship in a right-hook-knock-out....no mercy. I suppose that is why all weekend shots focus on the back of her pretty head and precious fingers and toes. It was heartbreaking to look at her this way--especially through the lens of my camera.
On Female Bravery II - We had a girl's bike-riding outing in the park. Georgia's comrade Sophie could barely reach the pedals of the rent-a-bike, yet managed to pedal uphill faster than her older sister. Granted my friend Lina (with a bellyache) managed to do a lot of pushing. Who needs a gym membership when you have active kids?

2. On bonding - Georgia slept on Daddy's side of the bed the majority of the weekend--keeping his spot warm and snoring almost as adeptly. And we didn't even use a night light.
On bonding II -- G and I--24/7--like glue...need I say more? Just check out our new tea set (it's porcelain!).

3. On Damsels in Distress - A tempestuous storm left us without electricity and stranded from 9 am until 9 pm yesterday. I wish I would have listened to my husband when he warned me to make sure both keys (recently made) worked in the locks. After sweating up 8 flights of stairs with a 12.5 kilo napping child (gym membership), I discovered the key didn't turn. And, without electricity, the front door (reachable by elevator only) was off limits. So we spent the day roaming the neighborhood (parks, restaurants, parks, restaurants repeat) badly in need of a shower and cranky (just me). Finally at night, the neighbor let us cut through their apartment to ours. But how do you explain in a blackout that it isn't Happy Birthday time. "Georgia, stop blowing out the candles!"

Luckily the electricity came back while we slept. And even better Felipe arrived while we were finally taking a shower (albeit cold) this morning. Alas our little family is complete. Almost--Bogart lost a portion of the hair on his tail when it swung through the candle last night.

Best of all, Georgia's eye is so much better!

Pile up or line up...

A while back I posted about my ceramicist sister-in-law creating a cup for my cupcake. I couldn't decide whether to nestle the cake inside or perch it on top.

And then she delivered me this little box to do as I please. So I filled it with love. And here I sit--instead of at my building's annual condo meeting--contemplating a stack of hearts.

More interesting than listening to disgruntled neighbors, don't you think?

M-I-N-N-I-E

My grandparents used to live in Florida. Every year my parents would pack my brother and I in their van (This was the 70's.) and we would leave the Snow Belt, heading south and stripping our layers as the asphalt grew hotter. It was a long trip and we seldom stopped. My parents were young and broke so hotels (and plane tickets) were out of the question. I'm sure it wasn't easy for them. And since this was pre-seatbelt/carseat times, we bounced around in the back like popcorn in a scorching pan with an ill-fitting lid, bickering with each other and trying to get the semi-trucks that passed to beep their horns. Naturally, every 45 seconds we'd whine "are we there yet?" The carrot dangled in front of our little eager selves was pretty mind-blowing: Grandparents and Disney--a kiddie jackpot.

So when Arlene asked me to do anything Disney for a client who was taking her daughter to The Magic Kingdom, I could only think of Minnie. She was my favorite. The one I most wanted to see at the entrance to the park. The only souvenir I wanted was a Minnie head with a zipper in back to insert and store my pajamas. Of course my grandparents made sure it was mine. And although there are few childhood memories that are really crisp in my mind, I distinctly remember spending the majority of the car ride back North with Minnie in front of my face. I was her. I had the helium high pitched voice. My parents weren't allowed to call me Tammy. And I refused to eat at the rest stop. I only took her away from my chubby cheeks when I was able to stuff my PJ's in and put her at the head of my bed. Minnie was in my home.

And I became Tammy, once again.