Maui or Oakland. Which would you choose?

Thank you Aloha Airlines... we arrived at OAK at 8:30 this morning, two hours in advance of the scheduled departure for our non-stop flight to Maui. As we've got Davey, we wanted to get there early and ensure getting a bulkhead seat. I mean -- on a a 5-1/2 hour flight, where do you change diapers, exactly? I figured if we have bulkhead seating, we'll have extra floor space for the purpose.

Anyway, they check us in but there aren't two bulkhead seats together. So we settle for a window and middle seat in row 5. So at least we're closer to the exit when we arrive at our destination. Only then are we told that the flight is delayed. Indefinitely. Uhm. Okayyy. So we wander around the airport for the two hours prior to the scheduled departure. 7 minutes after the flight was supposed to leave, they announce that all ticketed passengers for the flight should go back to the ticketing counter (back out through security). I stay in the gate area with Davey while Mark RUNS to the ticketing counter to find out what's what. They say that there are still mechanical problems and to go back to the gate in two hours. Meanwhile, they give out $10 vouchers per passenger, which can be used at any of the vendors in the terminal. We never ended up using them... anyway, two and a half hours later, they announce that the flight has been canceled. All passengers should go to baggage claim area 1 and get their bags and then go to the ticketing desk. I take Davey and go to the baggage claim to grab our bags while Mark runs to the ticketing counter, to get as close to the front of the line as possible. He was 15 people back or so.

Anyway: There were no more flights to Maui from the Bay Area today. The very best possible to get there today would have been to get to LAX and then Delta had a flight from there. Aloha wasn't encouraging that, as there wasn't a good way to get to LAX from OAK -- they said the only way was to take Southwest, which will not check the baggage through. So if we took them, we'd have to pick up our luggage at baggage claim at LAX and then go check in with Delta and go through security again, etc. IF we could make it. They suggested that we take a Hawaiian Airlines flight out of SFO tomorrow, which has a stop-over in Honolulu. We didn't like that option because, "What about our car which is already parked in pre-paid long-term parking here, in Oakland? And when we return from Hawaii, we'll be returning to OAK... so really what should we do for ground transportation?"

Hmmm.... said the agent. "How about a flight out of Sacramento? We have two non-stop flights to Maui from Sacramento in the morning." We said that sounded interesting, but again, our car's already in long-term parking in Oakland and how are we expected to get to Sacramento? Okay, they put us up at the Oakland Airport Hilton. Tomorrow, at 7am, a shuttle will take us to the Sacramento Airport, where we'll board our flight to Maui. We extended my trip (as well as Davey's) by a day, to make up for the lost day. Mark will still fly away from Hawaii on Friday, as planned, but instead will be flying direct to Orange County instead of to OAK, as he was going to fly down there on Saturday morning anyway, for a big car show.

So here we sit, in lovely Oakland... vacation spot of the stars.

A Memorial Day Ice Cream Social

Strawberry frozen yogurt atop a meringue, topped with chocolate sauce
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Okay, so it was billed as a barbecue, and we did, indeed, have great barbecue food. But honestly, this was simply a way for me to get away with making several recipes from The Perfect Scoop.

So yes, we had barbecued pork loin, beef tri-tip and prawns, green salad, two kinds of potato salad, couscous salad, incredible flatbreads and cheeses from Josh and Carol (aka Rustic Bakery), watermelon and some delicious chocolate and toffee dessert made by Amy Schuster. But then we had the ice cream and accoutrements:

First, the containers:
Meringue shells, profiteroles or store-bought sugar cones (or simply a bowl if that's what you wanted).
The the toppers:
Caramel sauce (made deliciously, from memory, by Polly)
Lean, orange scented chocolate sauce (not so lean, really)
Sour cherries in syrup
And last, but not least in any way:
Caramelized pear ice cream
Fresh mint with cocoa nibs
Orange popsicle ice cream
Orange popsicles (same as above, but in popsicle form)
Strawberry frozen yogurt

While everything was really tasty, the orange popsicles were a bit too grown up for most of the kids (on account of the orange zest, I suspect), and everyone seemed to like all the rest of the ice creams. My favorite was probably the caramelized pear. However, Dad and Steve Schuster were over the moon about the strawberry frozen yogurt.

It was hard to choose.

And there are so many more recipes I want to make from that book...

Turn on the growth spurt!

Playing in the sink on a hot day - 228 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Actually, we haven't weighed or measured him lately. What I mean is: In the past week, he's really lept ahead with some developmental milestones. First, he is now easily and frequently sitting up on his own. He's got a strong core now and isn't afraid to use it! And, secondly, he's getting this crawling stuff down. Every day he's gotten a little better, and a little better still. But today -- wow. He showed his Grandma Julia just how much he wanted to gum on her reading glasses. Then, once we got home and I was near my camera, he showed me just how badly he wanted to play with my (empty) Crystal Geyser water bottle:

Fun with Daddy

The Perfect Scoop?

Yum, yum, yum... My favorite food blogger, David Lebovitz, has a new cookbook and I got it last week. Last night I churned up a batch of Toasted Almond and Candied Sour Cherry ice cream. What else can I say but, "Holy yum, yum, yum!" The Perfect Scoop, a must for anyone that likes to make (and eat) ice cream.

Oh my god, he crawled

Good morning! 32 weeks old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Wow wow wow! I left Davey in the living room for 30 seconds and came back to find him much farther away than where I'd left him. Hmm, I thought.

An hour later, I swear to god he figured it out. He pushed himself forward with both his feet and then pulled himself further with his arms. Dad and Linda were here and saw it... he's figuring it out. Go Davey, go!!

What else has been going on?

The continued effort to get Davey to eat. He's simply not in to solids. Every day I'm trying at least once, sometimes twice, to get him to eat apple sauce, pureed pears, peas, prunes, sweet potatoes, carrots, cereals... SOMETHING. Sometimes he'll humor me, like this evening, and eat a fair amount of pears. But, for the most part, he's just not in to it. Sigh. What he DOES always want is water from my glass or bottle. He'll grab them with both hands and hold on with all his might, trying to get the contents in to his mouth. So today I started giving him a little bit of watered down cranberry juice and then a little watered down apple juice. Dr. Lee said no water, that whatever goes in him should have calories. So... here, let's try out apple juice when he wants to drink.

That sweet little boy... sigh.

Which character are you?

Sadly, I am...



Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

KFOG Kaboom!

P1100521
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Our buddy, Ken Krall, had the most excellent idea of getting on the Blue & Gold Ferry for last night's KFOG Kaboom! fireworks show. Great idea, Ken! Ken, Nancy, Polly, Prescott, Rozzie and I boarded B&G's #4 ferry boat around 7:45pm and we floated around the San Francisco Bay, just South of the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge until the fireworks started at 9:10pm. Sure, it was cold, but all that was forgotten once the show started. Spectacular!

Munching on his first cracker

Munching on his first cracker - 215 days old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Mmm, yummy. He enjoyed that cracker. And now that I've taken a children and infant CPR class, I feel more prepared for David eating solids.

Happy 7 months old, Davey!

I'm in the sand! 7 months old
Originally uploaded by jessicafm.

What better way to recognize 7 months on the planet but by going to the beach for the first time? It was a gorgeous day today, with temperatures rising to around 80 or so at the coast. Polly and I were able to head to the beach around 3 this afternoon, taking the kids along. I had Davey while Polly had Prescott, Roslyn and Rozzie's two friends, Sonia and Ali. It was just the right temperature for an hour at the beach. The older kids frolicked in the surf and jumped off sand dunes while Davey gazed at his first beach and ocean, got his feet and fingers in the sand, felt wet sand and, with anger/surprise/dismay, felt the Pacific Ocean on his feet. Okay, perhaps the water is just a bit too cold here, eh? The next time he feels the Pacific Ocean on his body, it'll be a bit warmer, off the shore of Maui at the end of the month.

Happy 7 months, Davey!

Fun at the playground

Happy Birthday Mason Grey Schuster!

And thank you very much for inviting us to your rad birthday party!

Eating, why is it such a chore?

Our sweet boy -- finding something, aside from breast-milk, that he likes to eat is a real test! So far we've tried rice cereal, multi-grain cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, peas, bananas, plums and carrots. In the past MONTH.

He at a little bit of bananas a couple nights ago, so I started off last night's dinner with bananas. He, however, wanted nothing to do with it. He immediately clamped his lips shut and turned away. So I opened up a jar of carrots to see what he'd think of that. At first it seemed like he was okay with it.

Then, after a couple smmmmallll bites he decided, suddenly, that he didn't like carrots.

And then he wasn't sure. sigh Regardless, he ate maybe 1/4 of the jar of carrots for dinner last night.

Then I let him gum on a baby carrot for a while this afternoon, which he seemed to like. So this evening I had carrots and bananas at the ready (open from last night). We started with the carrots and he liked them. He actually finished the jar! And, as if that wasn't enough, he ate about 1/3 the container of bananas. Yes, little boy! And then washed all that down with some breast milk before sitting down to the table with Dad,Linda, Gregg and I while we grown-ups ate a delicious dinner of pasta that Dad had cooked.

Yay Davey -- I'm so proud of you!