Baby boy birthday dinner

A very windy Monday in Denver. This is definitely a stay at home day.

Thought I'd start the week with a round up of baby boy's birthday celebration. 

We had a very relaxed and low key family dinner that included grandma and grandpa Schamel, uncle Andrew and our friend Alyssa. It was a solid night of fun. I had prepared a full chicken, pasta, squash and a salad. Even though I had planned to bake a cake, I instead bought an ice cream cake because baby boy loves ice cream and my time management was a little shaky. We were still exhausted from the mini holiday trip and thought to not even do a gathering. But I'm glad everyone was able to come and celebrate this wonderful little guy.

Some pictures from the happy night:

Yummy pancake recipe

Happy Friday!

A high school teacher of mine used to say those two words all the time at our Friday assemblies.

Do American schools have assemblies? When the whole school gathers together once a week for...I don't know really, I guess it was an update meeting on the school happenings, with some motivational words from the principal and sometimes a guest would come in and speak to us. I remember one time we had the cold water swimmer Lewis Pugh (at first I butchered the spelling of his name but thank goodness there's Google). He's a former Camp's Bay High student and he came home to blow some energy and inspiration into our little minds. I took his words to heart and began following through in writing goals and working hard to achieve them. He spoke about long term and short term goals and showed us how to utilise great planning skills in the process of achieving our heart's desire. His words made a huge impact to my television career and now I use them to cultivate new talents. Thanks Lewis Pugh!

Baby boy is napping and in 30mins I'll be babysitting a new friend of his so I want to take the next few minutes to relax and do nothing. Today is mostly about doing nothing since yesterday I was up early to make pancakes for dear husband. Then I decide to spring clean the pantry closet. This escalated to spring cleaning the whole kitchen. And yes, dear baby boy was right there helping his mommy. We later made dinner together, salmon with a spinach and bean salad. It's another hit of a recipe from Racheal Ray. She's by far my number one go to for dishes that are husband and baby friendly. Well, now back to the pancakes. Husband used to love the packaged version but since we've moved to homemade things he now prefers the fresh yummy pancakes. My favourite recipe takes forever but it's delicious. It includes a proper arm workout when beating the egg whites. Never in my life did I think that a beaten egg white could really become white and firm. I mean I used to see it on cooking shows but it looked like a gimmick or something only chefs could achieve. But it works! Of course you already knew that. Now I suppose we're all clear on how far removed I used to be from anything kitchen related. It was only once the pancakes were done that I realised that we had no syrup. And so we (that's me trying to be inclusive) made our own pancake syrup. It is only once you taste the good stuff that your eyes become magnified and you realise the nonsense manufacturer's are selling customers. Give this recipe a try and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Homemade Pancakes 

(8 servings)   

• 2 large eggs - separated
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 cup milk (plus some for consistency)
• 1 and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Beat the egg whites until stiff - set aside. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and salt until well combined. Add baking powder, beat until just mixed. Add flour, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat until smooth (try not to over-mix).

Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Let batter sit for 15 to 30 minutes prior to cooking.

In a large frying pan or griddle over medium heat, melt 2 teaspoons butter.

Dollop batter in 1/4 cup to 1/3 portions per pancake. Once the tops are covered with bubbles and the edges appear dry, flip the pancakes and cook the other sides to golden brown. Add additional butter to pan for each batch of pancakes.

Serve hot with your favourite topping.

Recipe credit goes to www.mrbreakfast.com

So delicious. Then just look up an easy syrup recipe that involves sugar, water and honey.

Try this out. You'll be so glad you did.

Side note:

Be extra careful when making syrup. I by mistake dropped a pancake in the steaming hot pan of syrup and darn near gave dear husband a third degree burn. Consider yourself warned.

Dinner time

Is anybody else as exhausted as I am? And it's only Thursday, ooh boy.

But wait. there's good news: Friday is only a few hours away!

Last night I had the sister missionaries over for dinner. Since we were away often during the last few weeks we hadn't had a chance to get to know the new missionaries. I really enjoy having them over. I became quite attached to two sisters that have since been transferred. They were awesome! We laughed, chatted about books, traveling, food and other such fun stuff. They were in our ward for so long that they knew their way around our apartment. The best part about feeding missionaries is that they make good guinea pigs. Let me explain. In our little household I feed two individuals who are thankful that I cook but they're not very experimental. Baby boy and husband's food choices are limited to pasta, rice and potatoes, not forgetting the bread. That is all they want to eat. While on the other hand I'm a cook in training (by choice) so I enjoy experimenting with different flavors and techniques. Often I hit a miss but sometimes it's pure magic. Even during the magical food moments it's hard to impress the guys in this home. And that is where the sister missionaries come in. So far they've been honest and have therefore helped me rework some dishes. Since I only have them over twice a month I need more experimental taste buds...

Let me know if you'd like to come over for dinner. And since changing to clean living, most of the ingredients will be homemade. Alright, I'm excited to hear from...anybody. 

Well now I'm hungry.

A note from a day later:

I thought long and hard about our home food situation and after watching Gordon Ramsay's Best Restaurants I realized that I will only feel successful as a cook once my family enjoys my food. So until then I will continue to work hard and create experimental dishes that they'll enjoy. That is all. Yes, my mind is all about food. 

California trip: mommy and baby adventures

Should I feel guilty that I missed writing about baby boy's 2nd birthday? Oh well. For the sake of recording such important life milestones, let's have a quick catch up.

About two weeks before the young man's birthday his dad and I decided that it would be a good idea to take him on a trip. Unfortunately husband was stuck with work and school so that meant me and the little man were off on a mommy and baby adventure. I new first off that we had to fly because he's obsessed with aeroplanes. I also wanted to take him to Disneyland to meet Mickey. Thankfully it all came together nicely and off we went on a 7day trip to California.

Throughout the week before I had been psyching him up by randomly breaking out into a "guess what, guess what!?". He would then stare at me expectantly aaand BAMMM came our "we're going to California" sing-song-dance. So as you can imagine, the little man was beside himself with excitement as the day finally came for us to leave. My friend Brandy dropped us off at the airport. She has two girls and on our way there baby boy learnt to say "I need space". This is a phrase he often used whenever we spent way too much time together waiting for a flight or when he was stuck on my lap for the long flights. Once we got to the airport he proved himself to be a big boy by helping with bags. The only time I nearly lost my cool was when he ducked and weaved his through a long line only to gun his way right passed security. Luckily they were kind enough to allow me to run after the busy guy. The trip had in total 3 flights which baby boy enjoyed thoroughly. I brought on board a book titled Things That Go (one of his favourites) and inside is a page on aeroplanes which he had me read over and over again. He also made sure to remind me that he was sitting in the aeroplane, often pointing to the picture so that I could see exactly where he was sitting. Thankfully there was no horrific potty incidents to report. I was on my toes worried as one time on a flight from Johannesburg to South Africa baby boy dropped a bomb of a poop that had me sweating with fear. All I wanted to do was to get to a sink, scrub him up and throw away the dirty clothes. What a disturbing memory...ayy motherhood. Luckily my mom was there and she was able to walk me through the ordeal. Back to the grown baby, no accidents just a lot of laughs. He made me crack up the whole way. His excitement was evident to all around and provided good in flight entertainment. Even though he did struggle for the last 45mins of the flight, I really can't complain as he handled the small space as best he could, with sweet voiced reminders of "I need the space mommy".

Auntie Leslie and three of her young boys picked us up from the airport. Last time they saw baby boy he was only 5 months old. But as it often goes with family, time away doesn't water the blood ties. Baby boy loves his auntie. He absolutely adores his cousins! They really became his best friends. He grew up very quickly to catch up with the big boys. Learning to ride a scooter and attempting the bicycle, he played all day, laughed oh so hard, ran real fast and ate a whole lot of Mexican food. Auntie Leslie then spoiled him rotten with a birthday trip to Disneyland. She also baked him a strawberry cake and we had ourselves a good time. The cherry on top was being able to see good friends too. We spent a day with my dear Ronda, once mentioned here. Baby boy also got to see his first friend Nate and we spent time with cherished friends, Stevie (Nate's mom) and Tiffani G, who were some of the first people to lay eyes on baby boy on that beautiful Wednesday morning of the 17th of October 2012.

We were lucky enough to also visited our old ward (Prado View). Oh how I love the people in that ward! They just couldn't believe how much baby boy had grown.

The following day we left for San Francisco to visit an old school friend who had a brand new baby boy. By brand new I mean 5 months old which feels pretty new when you've got a toddler. Her boy is beautiful and we adore him. Kelly and I had planned all these activities over the phone but we both decided to enjoy our time together by chatting about school days, motherhood and eating lots of South African food. Her mother is a gem, she had come to visit for the baby's birth and brought with her awesome things such as chutney, custard and Rooibos. Stuff I used to take for granted back home now I go around Colorado hunting down every piece of South African food I can find. Baby boy was happy with the change in pace as he had found new friends named Baby and Max (who happen to be cats). He spent his moments cuddling and playing with them and returning to me to let me know of his great love for the kitties. We did eventually force ourselves to step outside of the house and take baby boy to an awesome arena with a glow in the dark bouncing castle. And although he was cautious at first, because baby boy approaches life with thought and caution, he started jumping and didn't looked back. And so, we joined him.

That sums up baby boy's awesome 2nd birthday trip. Wait, I nearly forgot to mention the meeting with Mickey Mouse. It was a quick one but well worth the wait. Mickey is a serious celebrity in Disneyland and one has to wait in a long queue in order to meet the mouse in his own house. Oh boy, I really do not possess the writing talent required for the reader to fully comprehend the joy my baby experienced as he laid his eyes on Mickey. It was pure magic. Oh what the heck, let me give it a shot: his eyes beamed, a smile exploded across his face, for a moment he became paralyzed with excitement, then he started speaking really fast and stumbling over his words, he approached Mickey. Then he realized that Mickey wasn't participating in the conversation. A look of confusion lined his brows. He hesitated as we asked him to stand next to Mickey. The silent Mickey knelt down opening his arms to baby boy. Baby boy approached with caution and with a tender touch of heart he cupped Mickey's nose. The picture was taken and then we were hurried out as the next Mickey fan entered the room. And there the moment with Mickey Mouse ends.

On the journey home baby boy behaved as a seasoned little traveler. He was confident and comfortable, he seemed grown and happy to be heading home. He fell asleep while we were chatting about the cheese tasting at LAX, good food we had eaten and how much we miss his daddy.

And there dear husband was, waiting with a warm hug of home. Once we got in the car, baby boy opened his eyes for the first time to say "I love you daddy". This act of pure love darn near cracked my heart with peace.

The first act of the birthday celebrations is complete. More to come.

A very, very busy little guy

Baby boy is mommy's little champ. 

Over the passed few weeks the young growing man has stepped up his game. 3wks prior to the 2yrs birthday he began helping with preparing dinner. This is a pleasant change as normally I'd occupy him with a cartoon instead. I do prefer the new development as we now chat and enjoy our food making process. It's also quite refreshing to not have him hang by my legs saying "hungry mommy". Instead he announces with gusto that he's going to "help mommy". Then he runs off to his room to fetch his chair which he uses as a step stool. I then insist on him washing his hands and the fun (read as mess) begins.

He especially loves baking. And I'm learning to relax and not have a mini freak out whenever he eats our (usually scarce) baking ingredients. So far he has eaten butter while letting me know that it's "yummy mommy". Then he goes for the flour and of course he always eats up the bananas when making banana bread. And the grand finale, indulging in the batter. I know people eat batter. I am not one of those people. But he is a Schamel so this is in his nature. Aside from eating the batter, baby boy takes life one step further by giving himself a pretty decent facial. If it's just flour he'll simply pat himself on the cheeks. And I just shake my head and try to look at the beauty in our chaos.

I think for Christmas we should make buy him an apron and a chef's hat. 

Today we made banana muffins, ummmmm. We often bake before his nap, so that everything is done and ready for dear old me to relax with some rooiboss and a freshly baked goodie.

And he helps with the cleaning up, which means the cleaning takes me double the normal time.

A very, very busy little guy.

Family portraits

We spent the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Schamel's where uncle Andrew has been putting the finishing touches to our pics below. He also found some pictures from last March last year when baby boy was only 5 months old. I'm sooo excited to finally have these:)

Times are changing

You know you've been MIA when you can't even remember the name of your own blog.

A friend once mentioned that I like to escape into a self imposed social exile. And he was right. I do enjoy reclusive life periods. One sometimes needs to get away and spend time pondering on purpose and other such important things.

Oh and by the way the blog url/name or whatever techno folks call it, well, it changed. I felt like this space needed more privacy without having to create restrictions that block everybody out. Since I had posted links on twitter and Facebook, an unnecessary amount of people had access here. Then it hit me! I don't work on television anymore. I have no desire to EVER work under such bright lights again. So therefore why expose my life to an audience I no longer get paid to entertain. It must also be said that social media can be quite addictive with it's lure of perfectly photo-shopped lives. Hours, yes hours, can go by while browsing and thinking that you need to have a life like so and so. Blogs can also be deceiving as often people think that the pretty pictures in these spaces define our lives. Not so. This is just a fraction of our moments on this mortal journey - life happens once I log off.

Social media can be create in you a false sense of the modern day "keeping up with the Jones's". Now it's not all negative, the plus is being able to maintain relationships with friends and family from around the world. Like everything in life, Internet communication should be handled with moderation. Too much of anything is no good, with the exception of the gospel of Jesus Christ. BOOM! What a wonderful thought huh. That's why I write, to help myself make sense of it all. It being life. And I love that it always leads back to Christ.

Back to the world wide wed, I'm still on Facebook and traded in an entertainment fan page, maxed out fb pages and about 50 thousand followers on all these sites for a private family Facebook with only a few folks we connect with. Folks we actually know. And so as a part of this self imposed social exile, those reading this are people who have randomly stumbled upon us or those dear friends, family and well wishers who add nothing but value into our lives.

We love you.