Baking my way through the trials and triumphs of life!

The boy helped all of us get through the aftermath of 9-11. When we arrived in DC. the Pentagon had gold plaques of those who had been killed. The boy looked right at my Uncle Karl's plaque (see the middle picture, top row). This is one of my favorite pictures we've ever taken (and yes that is me holding the boy with hair way too dark ten years ago.)

 I couldn’t let today end without posting, but in all honesty, I couldn’t wait for today to be over.  Many of you know that my Uncle Karl was killed in the Pentagon on 9-11. He was my dad’s older brother, and only sibling. It’s hard to believe it was ten years ago today that life changed so drastically for so many families. I try not to watch t.v. at all on 9-11. It’s kind of the same reason I won’t watch the video of giving birth to my son. Matt could never understand that. I lived those events. I remember all of it intensely. Life changing events are better as memories (if that makes any sense).

Blake was just over four months old on 9-11. I had been up all night with the boy who never had time to sleep. Sleeping would mean missing out on life, so I learned early on, this child would sleep as little as possible, so not to miss out on any of the fun (still holds true today). It took my sleep-deprived brain awhile to even comprehend what Matt was telling me… a plane had hit the Twin Towers. By the time I was actually up and functioning, we got word of the plane crashing into the Pentagon. My mom and my sister came and camped out at my house. My dad continued to work… to stop working would mean to think of the possibility of losing his brother. It was a few days before we found out that Uncle Karl had been killed. We held out hope until we knew. My parents flew out as soon as they could and spent a lot of time being briefed on what was known. When they arrived home, a package was on their doorstep… from my Uncle Karl. The morning of 9-11, before heading into the Pentagon, he sent a package to my dad. Strangely enough, the package included a CD that had funeral marches on it. My dad also received a book with a note in it from his brother. What an AWESOME gift to come home to. Hours before my uncle lost his life, he was thinking of his brother. It’s one of those things that is much more than a coincidence.

A few weeks later, services were arranged and we all flew out to DC. Blake was now five months, and I was absolutely terrified to put him on the plane. Back up a little while… when I found out I was pregnant, I was pretty shocked. The boy wasn’t planned per say. I had just been named Orange County Teacher of the Year, and my focus was entirely on my career. He was a great surprise, but I didn’t know how wonderful of a surprise until after 9-11. I’m not sure how we could have gotten through it without him. It’s hard to be anything but joyful when you have a happy baby smiling back at you. He was an incredible blessing, and since birth has absolutely adored his grandparents.

So tonight, I’m thinking of Uncle Karl, thinking of the loss my dad has had to cope with, and thinking of all of the other families who have been effected by 9-11. Nothing is ever certain. I feel so blessed to be a daughter to two amazing parents, a sister to one I have always looked up to, and a mom to a boy I love more than anything in this world!

We have an exciting weekend ahead. I was invited to attend a special media screening of Cars 2. The occasion calls for cookies, don’t you think? The screening is going to take place at a brand new UltraLuxe theatre at Anaheim GardenWalk, near Disneyland. Now this isn’t your ordinary movie theater. It is the only theater in Orange County that has D-Box motion seats. The seats are programmed to move in sync with the action in the movie you’re watching. How cool is that? The movie theater, of course, has the state of the art movie screens, but you probably expected that. Here’s what you might not expect… paninis, salads, quesadillas, desserts, and fancy coffees. All of these gourmet options can be found in the theater’s café. This is going to be a movie experience like no other!

I set out to make Cars cookies for the event and was so relieved to discover William’s Sonoma’s Cars 2 cookie cutter set. The cookies have impressions to make decorating much easier. The key word being “easier”. These were not easy at all. I was making them dreading, I mean wondering how many cookie requests for Cars themed birthdays I’m going to get. There is a lot of detail involved, which is why I only made Lightning McQueen and Mater,(just two of the four cookie cutters in the set. I wrapped up a red tin filled with cookies for the event organizer, a yummy, little thank you for the opportunity.

 The left-over cookies are for friends. Almost every child so far has picked a Lightning McQueen cookie. Poor little Maters… he’s just not as cool, I guess.  

Have a great weekend everyone!