Drama, drama, drama

Our agent called an hour and a half ago saying we were officially closed on the new house and told us where the keys are. Now I just got off the phone with him and he was letting me know that he did a walk-through of the house and discovered that the sellers failed to do the most important project from our inspection response: remove the asbestos in the basement. (Ok, we can not officially say it is asbestos since it had not gone through expensive testing but our agent and the inspector both told Matt, off the record, that it is asbestos.)

This is after the drama of yesterday were there was 3 minutes left before the end of day to wire funds and  they missed their deadline.

This was after the drama of the day before when Matt and I signed paperwork in the morning but discovered that they failed to include a $1000 credit to us. And told us it might be 48 hours before we closed. Then needed a more recent copy of some paperwork from us.

Only todays incident is actually the fault of the seller. The rest is the lender, and I muttered some unkind words under my breath every time Matt told me about more of their redundant paperwork requests and questions and delays.

The seller is in the basement of the new house right now dealing with the asbestos. Hopefully I can go to the house at 3pm today and find our new home in decent condition and ready for us!!

Words that break a mother's heart

This morning Addie said "Mommy, why is Etta pretty and I am not?"

Gasp!

People tell Etta all the time how cute or pretty she is. She is cute. Addie was cute at that age too. I think it is a cute age for almost all kids. Plus I can dress her cute because she cares less about choosing her own clothes. Plus she has a sweet smile.

When people say how cute Etta is I often just smile and say thanks (then roll my eyes because I hear that so often). But maybe I should be more proactive to point out how great Addie is as a big sister or something. Not that I want compliments to only be on physical appearance or positive actions (versus a loving, kind heart). And not that I want a subconscious "she is the pretty sister, I am the smart one" or something to start.

For sure I need to be very careful that I call them things like "pretty girl" equally. And also I need to be sure to reinforce to Addie all the wonderful things about how God made her, including her good looks. I would kill to be tall & skinny like she is, but telling her that is not going to reinforce positive body image.

I truly can't believe that a comment like that came so early and I shudder to think that I played any part in it.

Not yet in the new house

We were supposed to sign earlier this week and get keys to the new house on Thursday. Neither Matt or I were surprised when that did not happen because the lender has really frustrating us: asking redundant questions, doing their calculations wrong, etc. We were hopeful we would get the keys by Friday, but that did not happen because the documents were not into Escrow in time. Friday afternoon we were told it was a possibility that if Escrow got our docs. soon they could do a "courtesy" signing at our house over the weekend. They have not contacted us and we are not holding our breaths. So I guess now we are hoping that they will call us bright & early Monday & want us to come in right away to sign. Then we could possibly get the keys before end of day Monday. That may be the hope, but I am not holding my breath. We had plans for my parents to be up this weekend and to be helping us with painting & projects at the new house. So obviously we are really frustrated with the lender. We are doing fix-it projects here at the house that we were originally going to wait to do until after we were in the new house (it is always easier to paint when there is no furniture & no people playing & smelling the fumes all day).  No matter what, we need to do our big furniture move the weekend of the 24th, because we have a signed lease with renters that starts Oct 1 for our current house.

Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.

I was emptying the dishwasher and hearing a faint fairly rhythmic pounding. They are doing construction on a house behind us so I stuck my head out the door to get a better listen. Nope, it was definitely not from the neighbors house. It was directly above my head on our roof. I had no fears as to a stranger walking or pounding on our roof. I knew what it was and just waited a few minutes until I heard a "thunk"! Then I stepped outside again and found the evidence: a stale, rock-hard piece of baguette. I looked up at the roof and yelled "No wonder you could not get any bites of it you stupid bird!" and I took it inside to throw in the compost. The crows in Seattle are persistent and bold, and I grudgingly admit that they are fairly clever. But that does not make me like or admire them. The only good thing about them is Etta likes seeing them out the window and pointing at them and counting them (well, she can count to two but is inconsistent with three and four). I think I would prefer pigeons, possibly even seagulls. But crows are the neighborhood nemesis. A few years back we had a whole gang of them and the ring-leader was one big bully of a bird that we could always tell apart because he had one tail feather that was white. He has gone away but I think his descendants are plaguing us.

Zucchini Car Racing

Addie was very excited that this week was the zucchini car races at the farmers market. She had been asking about it for a few weeks because she remembered having fun with it last year.

Etta joined in the fun as well.

 (bending down & smiling at the girls is Eva, 

a mom from co-op who was sons the same age in classes with my girls)

 (the boy in the red shirt that Addie is looking at is Rhys, Eva's older son/Addie's co-op classmate)

Also this week: we got to babysit Coen. Addie loved trying to help feed him :)

packing and sneezing

Most Saturday morning Matt takes the girls on an outing (zoo, bus, park, aquarium). 

During this time I eat bonbons, get pedicures and take naps.

Usually, actually, I clean the house. 

It is really nice to clean without kids under foot.

Sometimes I will bake.

Lately I have been packing.

My productivity was down significantly over the weekend due to a common, obnoxious cold.

I had been enjoying a long stretch of health so this seemed particularly cruel timing:

during some of the nicest warm weather we ever get and when I should be packing like a mad woman.

But in another way it was nice to be sick over the sunny 3-day weekend

 because Matt spent a lot of time out of the house with the girls and

 I was able to rest a fair bit a midst the packing.

My brain has also been on school lately.

Co-op starts with the girls next week 

("this summer has gone by so fast!" we all say)

Since I have both girls in classes it is a little more to be on top of.

Plus I am the class chair for Etta's class which means additional meetings and emails

 and being the point-person and reaching out to the new people, etc

I am not trying to complain, it is just a busy time of year.

It is going to be mid-October and I am going to be in Vegas

for my sister's wedding before I know it!

(oops, still have not booked the hotel or flight for that... 

and have not done any shopping or thinking about what to wear)

 On a fresher note, we got the first red tomatoes in our yard. 

They are not beefsteak but most are bigger than romas. 

Our orange cherry tomatoes are delicious and ripening at a rapid pace,

but there is just something about the first red one that you can sink your teeth into!

Etta agreed. She wanted more but I made her share it with me. 

That first tomato never made it inside the house.

Peanut Butter Pie Cravings Fulfilled (times 2)

I went back to Wild Mountain Cafe about a month ago and had the p.b. pie again. Still scrumptious but somehow not as amazing as the first time.

I also made my own at home a couple weeks ago. I signed myself up to bring meals to two families with new babies on the same day. So that seemed a perfect opportunity to try out a p.b. pie recipe my friend passed to me (see below) after I blogged about it. It was scrumptious! But, like all p.b. chocolate pies, was very rich. Only make this if you are having friends over to share it with or have a large family. Even true die-hard chocolate peanut butter fans like Matt would need to limit themselves on this.

Now making your own graham cracker or cookie crust is very simple and does have a more distinct cookie taste, but don't feel bad about buying a store-bought graham crust and going from there. There are some pies, like fruit pies, that always taste better with homemade crust. Never use a pillsbury roll-out refrigerated crust on a fruit pie. But that kind of crust is acceptable for a quiche or savory pie in my opinion. If you really have bad luck with pie crusts or are in a hurry, buy Marie Callendars or similar crust from the freezer section - it is already in a pie pan and is much more buttery & richer. Anyways, crumb crusts are great homemade but I do not have as strong as opinions against store-bought.

This recipe is the same chocolate crust and whipped peanut butter as the Wild Mountain Cafe one. Where they differ is the chocolate top: this recipe has more a ganache, the cafe's was more whipped.

Below that recipe I will also include the faster, simpler recipe that I grew up loving - no chocolate topping but you can always squeeze some Hersheys on! There are tons of variations on this, some using honey. I have tried a couple different ones but some are too heavy - I like it fluffy & whipped.

The recipe is from the Colophon Cafe (in Bellingham) cookbook:

(This recipe makes TWO pies!)

 

 

Mix together in a large bowl and set aside:

18 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

 

Whip 2 cups heavy whipping cream on low speed for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and whip on high speed until peaks form - careful not to overwhip into butter.

Fold the whipped cream mixture into the pb mixture. Spoon mixture into two 8 inch Chocolate Cookie Crusts (recipe below). Spread evenly and freeze pies for 3 hours.

 

Melt 2 cups melting chocolate (or semi-sweet choc chips) with 1/2 cup half and half in the micro for 30-45 seconds. Stir until smooth. Carefully spoon half the chocolate ganache on the top of each frozen pie. Spread evenly and garnish with 1 Tbsp chopped peanuts before the chocolate sets. Chill for 1 hour before cutting. Use a knife dipped in hot water for cutting.

 

Chocolate Cookie Crust:

Combine 4 1/2 cups finely ground chocolate cookie crumbs and 1/2 cup melted butter in a food processor. Divide in half and press into 2 pie tins. Bake 7-10 minutes at 350.

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Basic Peanut Butter Pie - makes 1 pie

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

8oz cool whip (yup! that brings back memories of my childhood!)

3 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

baked pie shell, cooled (we did not always do a graham shell, sometimes we did a traditional pie crust)

Soften cream cheese with beater and mix in peanut butter, cool whip, and sugar. spoon into crust and chill.