Oh how I wish I had more TIME!!!

But don't we all? This new school adventure is really hard to get used to. I'm enjoying it all so far but the balancing act is a little difficult and I've found that I have to forfeit many of the fun, dorky hobbies I used to occupy my time with. Maybe taking a month break after work and before school wasn't the best idea. I got spoiled with all the free time!!!

It's something to get used to but I'm sure things will fall into place. I picked up a part time job to help "lighten the load" at home. Most especially because the holidays are coming up and we all know how crazy that can be. But I'll also just come right out and admit that I couldn't be more excited about working at Torrid. I'm a shopping JUNKY as it is so having a discount at one of my fave stores is icing on the cake. :-)

I'm just getting into the swing of things but for most hours during the week, my view looks a lot like this. ;-)

A sweet throwback...

Uh huh...we all know it when we see it. I'm sure we're all familiar with the bite and blow combination that comes with trying to eat them too soon after they've been taken out of the pot. No matter how old I get, eating keke isite always brings back fond childhood memories. My aunty Tala made the BEST. I'm sure we all feel that way about the "baker aunty" in our families. I'd like to continue those cultural traditions and the warm fuzzy feelings associated with them while raising my children as well. For that reason, jam pies for breakfast on the first day back after a break from school is a staple at home. Every once in a while, I'll replace brownies or cookies with keke isite or topai as a sweet treat. Yup, I'm steppin' up my Tongan cooking game and it's been a fun trial and error ride thus far. Gotta LOVE the joys of being raised Tongan. Even if I am mixed with a little somethin' extra, fai fai lelei na'a laka ange a'e kau palangi 'I he haka keke. LOL

Breakfast for dinner!

If your family is anything like mine, you don't get to have a good "full" breakfast spread too often. Mornings are just too busy and when you do have the time to make a nice morning meal, you'd rather just use it to catch up on sleep instead.

Because of the lack of good yummy breakfasts, I thought it would be a fun idea to have breakfast for dinner every once in a while. It's a HIT! It might not be the best idea to get the kids fully loaded on syrup before bed time, but every once in a while doesn't hurt too bad.

Tonight was a breakfast for dinner night and I promised my boys that if they went to bed early enough, I'd make sure they could have dinner leftovers for breakfast before school. Needless to say, they're snoozing away dreaming of sweet syrup and fluffy scrambled eggs. LOL Oh how I love my food critic chubsters.

One of the ultimate faves in our house are chocolate chip pancakes. That probably doesn't come as a surprise since our house is known for being full of chocolate lovers. I thought I'd share that recipe here. Again, not the healthiest but all is well with a little moderation. ;-) Enjoy because we sure do!

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (you can just use more milk if you don't have buttermilk)
2 eggs
6 tablespoons oil
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix all of your "dry" ingredients before incorporating the "wet" with a wisk. Beat until combined then add chocolate chips. I usually cook them on the griddle using medium heat for a couple minutes on each side and then you're done!
My boys diggin' in. PJ's and Pancakes...that's the life!
Gotta complete the sweet with a little meat. ;-)
Our breakfast spread. French toast, Chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy.

Oh how lucky am I?!?!

I turned 29 this year. YES my very last year in my twenties. I'll admit it, I'm an old soul and I spent my birthday with my gma and Aunty Tala running little errands that they wanted. I actually enjoyed it. I also got to hang out with Nola, Ginger, Laura and Kris while doing some crazy girl things. LOL I had a blast.

I didn't get home until super late and felt really bad because I hadn't seen all of my siblings, hubby or kids all day. I had fun, but my birthday didn't feel complete without celebrating with everyone.

I felt even worse when I walked in to this.


My sweet sisters tried to wait for me to get home and surprise me but I got back so late that they just placed it on me bed. I can't imagine life without with big old loving family! I can't say how greatful I am for them because there aren't words to express that. Birthday 2011 was amazing and I can't wait to spend many more with those who I love dearly.

Mommy Tough Times

I just had one of the moments I dread. We've all heard the expression "spare the rod, spoil the child". But I like to make sure it's the absolute last resort and that we talk more than "bark". I'm not the disciplinarian with our kids. Well, not with the boys anyway. I'm forced to be hard on Luvie because she has her dad wrapped around her finger. But my boys are MY boys and their dad is usually the one who keeps them in line. Unfortunately for us all, they are starting to catch wind of the fact that when daddy is gone they get away with more. So I have to force myself to be harder on them just to keep them in line. That's especially hard because of Siua's graveyard shift.

Tonight was a tough night. It's the third day of school and my boys haven't really caught on to the whole "bed time" thing. It's after midnight and they're still up. Not just up but WIDE awake and playing. After several attempts at trying to get them to bed and major talking back I had to lay it down on them the hard way. I remember getting hard core discipline. My dad DID NOT play. But why am I so sad now? :-(