Life of Larisa or LOL

And this is what happens when you can't drink caffeine or alcohol during pregnancy...dessert overload...at least these guys are in mini form. Thank you Starbucks! Peanut butter cupcake, lemon bar, some sort of caramel nut yummy bar. Next week, maybe I'll post my other mini weakness...the cake pops. They might be the new cupcake.

I have been feeling nervous about baby boy number two. For one, I only had girl names on my list. For two, it's another boy! Who knew that seeing Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, would help me feel better about being surrounded by stinky boys? I loved this movie. I must be meant to have boys...because the boys in this movie are crazy...and I loved them. Last year, we saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid and I was hooked on this cute book series turned cute movie series. The second movie did not disappoint. I found myself imagining my two boys running wild, throwing unauthorized parties, going on late night adventures with one another, and bonding over how idiotic mom and dad are (uh, me and Isom). I was amused. Gabe loved it as much as I did, so I know I have some great brotherly fun to look forward to with him and baby boy Majors 2. However, we will not be naming him Rodrick.

This movie was my tide me over til Breaking Dawn comes out movie. Just as Water For Elephants will be as well. Catherine Hardwicke, the same director from Twilight, took on this old children's classic. I loved her cinematic vision of it. The story, the characters, the scenes...all beautifully executed. It is definitely another movie geared toward the teen crowd, but even as an "advanced aged" mom and mom to be, I still found enjoyment in the story of Little Red Riding Hood...with a twist. The more I see the young Amanda Seyfried, the more I enjoy her and the roles she chooses. There's not much I can tell you about the plot of this movie...I'm really hoping you have all heard of Red Riding Hood and therefore know about the little girl, her grandmother, and the Big Bad Wolf. This movie has all three of these elements and more...so indulge in a little adult version of a favorite childhood story.

...other than the great discount on clothes and getting out of the house, is the people you meet. My co-workers are pretty great, but my customers are too...and I think that's rare. Over the weekend I met two cute little girls from the North Shore. They were on a shopping mission. They were patient while each of the other shopped, found clothes, and tried them on. They gave opinions to their mom while she did the same. They had smiles on their faces even though they had been in the store for over three hours. About halfway through they no longer had snacks to help keep them occupied. I stepped in with some printer paper from the back office, and a few colored pencils and highlighters (it's all we had). The girls were ecstatic. Something other than Old Navy clothes to entertain them for the rest of their shopping excursion. And when it was all said and done, the girls emerged from their fitting room with the above beautiful drawing (I think it's supposed to be me) as

Is that a big baby boy or what? I'm only a little over four months! Yesterday, Isom and I went to Kaiser Hospital for the big ultrasound. I was excited for Isom. He didn't get to experience the fun of seeing your kid on a computer screen last time. The appointment started off rocky since what I was told and what they had in their records did not match...we waited for 45 minutes while it got sorted out. In the meantime, we saw some very interesting unsavory characters in the waiting area. All sorts have babies I guess. After getting squeezed in, we were able to confirm that Peanut has all ten fingers and all ten toes, two big feet, two hands, two arms, two legs...and a little boy part confirming that I will now be completely outnumbered and surrounded by smelly, testosterone filled boys for the next 18 years. Although it would have been nice to see what a little girl would be like, we are very happy with the news from yesterday, after all, I'm lazy...now I don't

I do have an Irish ancestor (ask Tutu). So, Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day. To honor the occasion, I made cupcakes...aren't the Irish known for this? The chocolate cupcakes were flour less (not by my choice, but according to the recipe), so they turned out more like brownies. For the frosting, I decided to add green marshmallows to the vanilla frosting I had dyed green...and ta da, Lucky Charm cupcakes (like the cereal). Next year, Pot of Gold Cupcakes.

I was never the type of person that would have all the ingredients to a recipe on hand. If I was interested in making something, a trip to the store was always necessary. Not today! Before heading off to our "gold" party (sell old gold jewelry and make some cash), I decided to bake a treat to bring to the party. After looking over the carrot and nut cupcake recipe, I determined that I actually had everything I would need. It has been awhile since I have whipped up both frosting and cupcakes from scratch from my pink 500 Cupcakes recipe book. I was excited to get started. It all came back to me...like riding a bike...and the finished product was a moist, delicious, and relatively healthy treat for us moms and kids to share. And I even have some left over cream cheese frosting...what can I spread that on?!

...and moms need to bring tissue with them when they go to see this movie. It's bad enough when my own kid yells mean things at me, but to see it on the big screen (cartoon or not) is extra sad. And in typical Disney fashion, there is a dying/dead mom to one of the characters in the film...enough with that already. Bambi, Fox and the Hound, Finding Nemo, The Little Mermaid...and then there's all the other ones where the dad or both parents die. Disneyland may be the "happiest place on earth" but their movies are NOT. I think the creators think there can't be a happy ending without some death in the beginning. It's too bad but maybe I should be thankful that it is opening up the door to discussing death with my seven year old...come to think of it...no! I fell asleep for about fifteen or twenty minutes in this movie, but Gabe claims to have loved every minute of it...except for when he escaped to the bathroom. I guess I'm just old fashioned in the sense

Give and Get is Here! : "Enjoy 30% off from March 17-20 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy plus we'll make a 5% donation to a non-profit."

...in part with a gourmet treat from Taco Bell. Yes, they now serve shrimp. For fast food, I'd say that's gourmet. Thursday nights are for T.V. watching. There's The Office, 30Rock, Grey's Anatomy, The REAL Housewives...I love Thursdays. Last night I was all set to get rooted into my favorite spot on the couch. Remote poised, I took my last sip of water for awhile (hate to interrupt the viewing with too many runs to the bathroom), and decided that 30Rock would be the first item on the DVR list to go through...what's this? Not Alec Baldwin. Not Tina Fey. Keahi Tucker and Stephanie Lum?! Huh? In my confusion, I thought there was a special "Hawaii" version of 30Rock with the two co-anchors. No such luck. An 8.9 earthquake had hit Japan (now upgraded to 9.1...holy guacamole...rather, holy sushi!). Quicker on interpreting this information than I was with why Alec and Tina were not on 30Rock, I immediately realized the ramifications for Hawaii---Tsun

Much like the Never Say Never movie title, I'm thinking this is a good motto for life. Yesterday was sort of a rough day, and this was prior to the Japan earthquake and tsunami warning for Hawaii. I decided to go with movie therapy instead of cupcake or retail therapy to help turn my day around. I definitely chose the right movie. It was upbeat, comical (with Adam Sandler how can you go wrong in that department?), and had the perfect romantic happy ending that I wanted to see yesterday. Another favorite, Jen Aniston, co-starred with the funny man, and several cameo appearances perked up the already happy go lucky movie. The plot is predictable, but fresh jokes and the scenery of Maui for over half of the movie, you forget that you are watching just another formula love story. Just Go With It is a good girls night out or evening at home (when it's out on DVD) with your favorite cuddle bunny---either way, hopefully you will enjoy the movie and...just go with it.

These were the most tedious, exhausting, irritating cupcakes EVER to make (although it could be due to a severe lack of sleep thanks to tsunami sirens every hour for four hours last night)...and after all that, I feel like they didn't even turn out as cute as other easier projects. Nonetheless, they are done, and ready for my co-workers to enjoy at our breakfast potluck tomorrow. That's right, popcorn cupcakes for breakfast. I was going to bake some delicious blueberry muffins or something of the sort, but after spending what felt like days in the kitchen today, I'm baked out. These will just have to do. I am happy about marrying two loves in one however, cupcakes and movies...what says movies more than popcorn?!

I'm not rolling my eyes, although maybe I should be. Can't anyone see what they are taking a picture of? Wasn't it obvious that my eyes were closing and doing something weird? Most people that receive a visit from Flat Stanley immediately drive to the nearest historical site or place that makes their city famous...in our case, that'd be the gorgeous beach. Not us. Not me. I slid Flat Stanley into my purse and carried him off to work with me. And then started my process of making Flat Stanley...FAT Stanley. After picking Gabe up from school we headed to the closest shave ice location and loaded up on sugary syrupy ice! Gabe was excited to share root beer (clearly the flavor of the islands) with Flat Stanley. I was excited to bake with Flat Stanley. He's already becoming part of the family...Gabe really may cry when it comes time to ship him (Flat Stanley, not Gabe that is) back to North Carolina. He's the best Lego play mate, he doesn't make a peep

He's been a tourist, a pirate, a gangster, a mad hatter, Gilbert Grape, a spy, a drug addict, and now...a lizard. He is a Jack, well, Johnny, of all trades. I usually go to his movies to bask in the loveliness that is Johnny Depp, but this time I had to make due with his quirky character development in voice form...no splendid dark hair and eyes this go around. This movie will go over the heads of most kids. They'll like the town of "Dirt" and the lizard, cat, frog, and chickens that make up the towns folk, but will they catch on to the clever jokes, Clint Eastwood likeness, or the quick Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas snipit? Hopefully not. The theater was packed, as I suspect it was one of the few places in our area not affected by the dual whammy of bad weather/electric workers strike power outage. Gabe lucked out and saw a friend from school, so he was excited to sit next to someone his own age (he's ready to ditch us old folks). At almost two hours, I w

My pregnancy induced exhaustion has not subsided, but the queasiness has, so I'm happy to say that I have baked twice this week. Not back up to the old record of five days of baking, but...baby steps. These guys are vanilla cupcakes (they were supposed to be poppy seed...but I'm easing back into things). For the bagel, mini donuts covered with poppy seeds. For the lox, flattened, scored orange Starburst. For the capers or green onions (you decide), cut green jelly beans. For the cream cheese, vanilla frosting. Voila, bagel on a cupcake. Of course right? A few more steps than the corn on the cob project from earlier this week, but well worth it in results. Finally, a cupcake I don't want to eat...I just wanna stare at it.

Since I have been craving corn (Weird huh? What does that mean?), I thought these cupcakes, from the Hello Cupcake book I just obtained, were the perfect kick off to what is hopefully me back in the kitchen on my days off. It has been about three months since any real baking has taken place. The fun was not just in the decorating, but in the hunting and gathering of the oddball ingredients. Cupcakes are already whimsical, but this was double whimsical. I'd like to take a class on turning all foods (not just cupcakes) into something unexpected...make a sandwich that looks like pizza...steak that looks like a milkshake...something wacky. You may remember the "Turkey" cupcakes Lehua and I made for Thanksgiving...same book. Same wacky whimsy. As long as I can acquire the necessary ingredients, I think I have found a solution to the cupcake baking rut I was in...now here's an idea for a different kind of bakeshop...Whimsy Cakes! Perfect for that party when you mus