Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother’s Day!!!*

I wrote this intro before our computer died and I couldn’t hack into her blogger account. Let’s pretend it’s on her blog, because it will be soon : )

This is going to be a unique post.  It is not written by Gidget, but by Kyle unbeknownst to her at this very point in time that I am posting it. It is an ode to her amazing mothering-ness.  I thought it fitting to post it here, since this is a record of experiences from her point of view, I want to show how they may be affecting the ones she loves so fully on this special day. Although all of it cannot be truly captured by the low-tech blog media or my lack of expressive talent, I will try because she is truly an inspiration and most importantly the love of my life.

Mother’s Day is not contained within the limits of your own Mom, Grandma, Step-Mom, or whoever, but extends to the Moms, (sisters, aunts, motherships, baby-mamas, etc…)  you see around you, and of course - more seriously; to women in general, because we can admire and praise the inherent qualities of nurture, love, and beauty that they have whatever their official Mom-status may be. 

In light of all of this, I hope that people everywhere (especially us manly men) use our actions and words to show our gratitude, appreciation, and love for the wonderful women in our lives. And do so consistently too!  To go a step further I wanted to take some liberties and provide some words for those individuals, or at least one individual that I know, who have or will have this respect and love I speak of, but can’t currently express it. 

In other words let’s suspend some disbelief and say that this is a post:

To: Mom

From: Max

 

                Dear Mama,

I first off want to thank you for carrying me in your belly for almost 10 months.  That was legit!  Oh, and thanks for eating well too, cause I loved me those nutrients.  But the thanks you deserve begins well before that even, I need to thank you for doing a few things before I was even a complete thought.  Those have played a huge role in making you the best mom ever too.

 

Thank you for learning, seeking out good things, and listening to your conscience.  Thank you for all of the good, better, and best choices you made over the years to be an amazing person and someone I could look up to as an example of knowledge, love, and spirituality.

 

Thank you actually liking this guy…

…and for loving and marrying him too.  Turns out he’s pretty alright.

 

Thanks for being a beautiful bride in white.

Now my opinion is extra biased on the next subject, but I think it is awesome that you chose to pray, listen heavenward, and really consider starting a family even at a young age. That takes faith and courage these days! 

Thank you for graduating from UW with honors, thoughtfully considering, and then un-pursuing a sure spot in a Master’s degree program, all to have me instead. I feel worth it every day by the way you live true to that choice, and by the way that you love me unreservedly.

Next I should thank you for welcoming me into the world perfectly.  I feel nothing short of the best gift you ever got.

 

Thank you for leading the way. 

 

You show me the magic and fun in everyday life!

And you have great hair!

 

 

 

Just look at you…

 

Need I say more?

You make me feel like this every day:

 

you teach me all kinds of things all of the time. 

How to be gentle and to love

 

You teach me about the world and the many new and exciting things around me.

 

You go into uncomfortable places and circumstances to expand my mind.

you protect me like a mama bear too.

Thank you for all of those.

Thank you for showing me ice-cream too.  That’s definitely at the top of the list of favorites! 

Thanks for going above and beyond too.  What do I mean by that?  Well, you will go the extra mile to make a day exciting for me, and for others too!  You organize events, spend time setting up play-dates, music-groups, story-times, and whatever else you name it.  You let me explore and enjoy many things.

That was way fun. Thanks for letting me be messy.

Thanks for cleaning me up too.  Over and over again. 

Even if I do this.

Thanks for putting up with me when it’s hard to.

Thank you for letting me crash in the most comfortable and secure arms in the world.

You even sit out of fun things for you to comfort me. Don’t think I didn’t notice that the broom-ball game of the century was on the line, but you sat out for most of it to keep me warm and happy… and then body-checked some fools!

 

 

 

It doesn’t go unnoticed.  It doesn’t go unfelt.  I love you.

 

Thanks for also letting me push sometimes.  I don't know why, but it's way fun.  Especially if it's really inconvenient for you : )

 

 

 

 

You make me feel big and independent. But like your little boy at the same time.

 

 

Thanks for making me toast, showing me how to do new things, and always lifting me to see so much.

Oh, and to top it off… you do it all pregnant too!

Wow…

Thanks for bringing me a baby brother or sister soon too.  Maybe on my birthday?

Thanks for playing games with me!

Well, I can’t say it all, but just know, especially on Mother’s Day, that I love you more than anything.  Know that every little thing you do, though not completely noticed by society, or by acquaintances, friends, or even by family like me sometimes… You make the REAL difference in the world. My world. And in turn many other little worlds by proximity to your gentle power.  It may be hard, frequently without visible reward, and straight up exhausting…

 

 

But I hope you know it’s worth it all. You are simply the best.

Thank you.

I love you,

Max

 

And I will second everything he said as if I said it myself : )

I love you Gina.

Happy Mother’s Day!*

 

* = !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

French-pan-toast-waffle cakes: the birth of genius

How to make them!

 Before I describe how to change your life forever I think that it is both necessary and curiously enlightening to understand how such genius could come to be.  Like many great ideas, this one came from a common everyday scenario.  Similar to being in the shower, or sleeping under an apple tree, I was simply conversing with good friends.  Not that talking to my friends is like being naked in warm water or being whacked on the head with fruit, but... well, let's just move on shall we?

There were three of us at the time, and we ran into a BIG disagreement on the best of breakfast foods. 

We had begun talking about food because we were first talking about internet sites that enslave the minds of well-intentioned people looking for good ideas... or in other words, how the women in our lives spend a lot of time looking at pinterest, which as we all know is just a way to stare at cupcakes and painted nails for days on end only to raise their glazed eyes back into reality for a moment to glance at the loving man in the room and wonder why he can't be as romantic as this "pinned" sunset, which is naturally leading to a blog where other perfetly dressed women manage to write about a new vacation they took every 14 minutes. And on that vacation they ate cupcakes and got their nails done.

Now don't get me wrong about any of this.  I don't want to hurt feelings, speak in generalities, or lead you to assume thought patterns that don't refelct the true views of the writer or his friends.  I hope that it is obvious to those who might otherwise decide to take offense at certain things that I write, that there is an element of exaggeration, or the playing-up scenarios for fun.  It's all for a laugh or to make a funny point.  The old “using humor as a rubber sword” thing; you get to make a point without drawing blood.  So yes, to speak to this issue at hand, it would be evenhanded of me in representing my friends and I, and relating to the readership with which we will have this digital connection, to state that... well... Our disagreement on breakfast food wasn’t as BIG as it might have seemed from a previous sentence.  We were definitley all in agreement about the superiority of bacon as the all-time best breakfast food, or meat to consume before noon, or afternoon, or possibly ever! 

But, our true disparity arose as Joe (name changed from Brad to protect anonymity) mentioned that pancakes were his favorite (also).  Well, Brad (name changed from Joe to protect the innocent and confuse you and me as to which person I am really referring to, which really lets me take some liberties in retelling real events about real people, which if they do resemble other real persons living or dead, this is purely coincidental) confessed his great love for French Toast.  I decided to disagree also, since everyone was doing it, and it was mostly true anyway, that I thoroughly enjoy a well-made waffle with my breakfast.  Those little squares just harbor all the sweet goodness you pour into them! 

Now this is an aside, (because I have been on topic so far) but breakfast food really is an anomaly.  We have very specific ideas about what should be consumed in the morning time.  If you eat spaghetti, that’s kind of weird.  It’s also not acceptable to eat pie or cake before the PM apparently.  But, if you listen to the wise words of Jim Gaffigan, you realize that we just lie to ourselves about this, because though you "can’t eat cake for breakfast", somehow a pan-cooked cake with syrup poured all over it makes the morning-time cut.  When in Rome I guess.

Anyways, as our conversation deepened, we decided to join our ideas and imagine something that could make everyone happy.  A French-pan-toast-waffle-cake.  In fact, it could be so compelling an idea as to rip through the pinterest world and snap many a person from their daze and into action… the action of making this wonderful new food. 

Well, that dream became a reality… at least the whole actually making them thing.  My wife was thrilled by the genius idea and couldn’t wait to start.  Ok, so really she gave me a funny look, smiled, nodded, and agreed to help out of pure love…  And probably a healthy fear of what I might do to the kitchen left to my own devices. 

Anyways, I have now here  step by step instructions complete with pictures, like a real-life food blog!  Except I don’t have measurements and stuff because that’s boring. 

You begin with only the finest of pancake ingredients.

Oh, and if you've had Krusteaz toaster waffles, then you know what they taste like.

Definitely go with a prime version of milk produced by the mammary gland of a cow.

This may be your most important instrument... Does your waffle maker have all kinds of unidentified substances stuck to the back of it that have combined over the many years and in no way could ever be cleaned off?  ...Mine doesn't but I've heard of that.

Now for step #1!

Butter your skillet

mix your pancake mix with water and a fork

Here's an action shot of the optimal consistency you are shooting for.  I call it awkward-lumpy.

Next!  #2 or 3 depending on how you count:

Start to make your french toast batter!  using one egg...

or two!  Here's my lovely lady and her eggs.

she will proceed to add secret ingredients like milk, cinamon, and nutmeg.

Timeout for a picture of our cooking feet!

coincidence that those nails are done?

Now we cook the pancake.  Wear an apron for best form.

Like a real cooking show this mix made itself while I was looking at the camera



pour another.

wait for it...

still there.

perfect golden brownness!

my excitement is uncontainable.  As you see I ripped my apron off real quick, but don't worry, I had time to turn my shirt inside out to protect the good side.

The moment of truth (step #7?)

put hot pancake in egg stuff!

Be careful that pancake is hot!

turn it over

and over

and over

Put it in the waffle iron!!!

she reminded me we have to close the dang thing.

no comment.

Then you wait until your waffle iron either talks to you, beeps, has a light come on, or in our case, clicks in a weird rhythm that probably means something in Swahili.

pull it out!

[serving suggestion]

I think those are basil leaves cause I couldn't find a nice garnish.

I would recommend not using the freezer-burned versions of what is pictured here.

But...   Pancake, french toast, and waffle all in one!!!  Amazing!

As you see this next section will try to reach out to "alternative" eaters.  This is a mini pancake for low-carb diets

mmmm... organic syrup stuff from an exotic plant in a desert far away.  Totally local and green though.

Wholesome grains/oats!

I guess you could sprinkle these over your delectible creation for a goat-like eating experience some people think is better for them...

 or at least makes them better than other people...

Just kidding!  (refer to disclaimer on views expressed, offending people, and the FBI warning on not using permission on stuff)

Does your butter dish always end up looking like this? 

Well, my friends, however you eat them, they are really really good.  I think the fine photography and descriptions here are enough to convince you, but in case they aren't yet,

TRY THEM THEY ARE SO GOOD!