Mahalo.ne.Trash

I wanted to make a video of Owen saying "happy new year" before he went to bed tonight. The problem was that he had already started watching DDD. So I paused it and told him to say "happy new year" and then, for emphasis, jump off the couch. However, with Sesame Street paused in the background, Owen struggled to concentrate and drifted a bit off script. Anyway, you get the gist of it. Enjoy!

Owen's dining experience is centered around beverages, condiments and desert.

i have been running into these really long beans at the farmer's markets and even at safeway and finally decided to give them a try. the beans technically aren't a yard long, but they are way longer than any bean i'd ever met! i found a recipe in an old sf chronicle cookbook, "sichuan dry fried long beans" and and went for it. people, they were delicious. then again, quick fry anything and add ground pork and chilies and you're bound for glory. we had some spring rolls and brown rice on the side. here's the recipe & beans before/after: Sichuan Dry Fried Long Beans: 2 lbs. Chinese long beans 2 c. plus 2 T. peanut oil (or as needed) 1/2 lb. ground pork 2 T. chopped fresh hot red chiles, seeds and all 1 T. chopped fresh ginger 1 T. dark soy sauce 1 t. sugar 1 t. salt 1 t. dry sherry or Shaoxing wine Rinse and cut the long beans into 3" lengths; dry thoroughly. Heat 2 c. oil in a wok or heavy skillet to nearly smoking. While oil is heating, chop t...

Yesterday Erin posted about Owen's love of Cocko hoggogs. Today I'll just put together a quick list of what's up with Owen these days. This should be useful for family members planning to visit this holiday season. Because you gotta know the lingo around here. Owen doesn't play Daddy Run anymore. The new game is Daddy Run Really Fast. This involves me sprinting ahead of him through the house and hiding behind something like a couch. Owen then comes in a few seconds later and I jump out an scare him. Hilarity ensues. Good exercise for Daddy. What used to be "Cee-we-o Nweok" (Cereal and milk) has now matured into "Owen need Chex." He has now established brand loyalty and recognized the power of the word "need" as opposed to "want." Owen has needs. His needs are Chex-related. Owen also still needs DDD. "Owen, watch, DDD Ehmo?!" Some things never change. He is currently way into Elmo's Wild-Wild West. Even though Daddy...

this afternoon owen and i went to the busiest costco in the world. seriously, it's the busiest... but the lines are never longer than two people, because all the checkstands are open! our treat for surviving is to have what owen likes to call "cocko hoggog". $1.50 for a 1/4 lb kosher beef hot dog and a drink. we load it up with ketchup, mustard (AKA "yellow ketchup"), and relish ("green-one-kine"). as we were enjoying our hoggogs, i looked at owen and said, "did you know when daddy was little he used to eat a hot dog everyday?" to which he replied matter-of-factly, "yeah" if you're down with the cocko hoggog, lemme hear ya! (check out the survey on the right side)

part 2- the farewell: following tuesday'snap, the whole family joined owen in celebrating as he threw his baba in the rubbish (that's what we hawaiians call trash). we waved to it and owen said "bye-bye blue baba, yellow truck (ours are yellow) come take baba away now". we rushed inside and opened a big-boy toy and sang songs about the accomplishment. part 3- first bedtime without: owen was beside himself, so upset at the prospect of going to sleep without his longtime comfort. after 45 minutes of crying, i brought him to the rocker and rocked him to sleep just as i did when he was only a few days old. 3:30 am rolled around and a huge thunderstorm began. thunder, lightning, and crazy winds had us all awake for the next two hours. fortunately, once owen fell back asleep - he slept until nearly 9 am! part 4 - naptime, wednesday: after a fun-filled morning with friends, owen was truly tired but struggled again to settle in. after reading and attempting to get him to...

we're going for it. we started a 3-day countdown yesterday to prepare us all for a final farewell to the beloved baba (pacifier) that owen uses at bedtime. he seems to get the concept of counting down days, and so far says he's agreeable to bidding his pacifier adieu, but tomorrow will be the true test. cross your fingers that it goes smoothly!