Stickbug

Mommy and Parker found a stickbug



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Picasso's Couch

Jared and I were shocked last night (after Parker was already asleep in bed) to discover that Parker had scribbled all over our couch with a ball point pen! Apparently this happened while I was in the kitchen making dinner. We pulled the pillows and backrest cushions off the couch to discover drawings on both arms of the couch and all along the back. It was truly shocking--while I know that this is something really typical for kids to do, Parker has never done anything like this before, and I kind of thought he was beyond this stage now at 3 1/2. He also usually seems like a fairly smart and reasonable kid, so I was surprised that he would do something so obviously wrong. But, as Jared said, this is just the beginning of us asking our kid, "WHAT were you thinking?!" and "You know better than to do that!" I'm sure we'll be saying those things to him for many more years to come...


In the meantime, we're working on trying to wash the pen off the couch...not much luck so far. 

Surf Fish

I woke a little early this morning, grabbed my gear and set off to Cassidy Beach. Used two sand crabs, caught one fish.


barred surf perch
Then came home to make pancakes.

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Parker's Pizza Pie

Parker is always super excited to make his own pizza, and he always wants to make a face on his! Here you can see the cherry tomato eyeballs, red onion eyebrows, pine nut freckles, and chicken chunk smile. :)

28 Weeks

So, I reached 28 weeks on Friday...I feel like my belly is already HUGE, but once I saw this picture of myself, I realized that I'm not THAT big, and I'm still going to get WAY bigger! Oof. Twelve more (or so) weeks to go!

Just another day in Crazy Town.

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Parker went through a "dress-up guy" phase this afternoon, when he got really excited about dressing up in some sort of weird costume and then wanted to wear it everywhere. He ended up wanting to be a "robot monster," and (for today at least), he is thinking he would like to expand on this concept for his Halloween costume this year. Here is a little video clip of Parker walking into Lowe's with us this afternoon to do a little shopping...he was kind of over wearing his "mask" after only a few minutes, though...I didn't want to stifle his sense of creativity or fun, so I just went with it!

Batiquitos Lagoon

Do we have the most charming, photogenic son in the world, or what?

A Day at the Beach

Chocolate Ganache Tartlets with Macaroon Crust

I've been on a serious cooking/baking kick lately...today's experiment was these Chocolate Ganache Tartlets in a Macaroon Crust. We are sampling the results as I type this, and I must say that they came out pretty dang yummy! I was afraid that the chocolate might be overwhelming...but my fears were unfounded. These photos show the tartlets as they were cooling; I put them in the fridge to really set the chocolate. I think they would be good with some chopped nuts on top or some really good raspberries...


Here is the recipe, from Real Simple November 2004:


Macaroon crusts:


2 2/3 cups sweetened coconut
2 egg whites


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the coconut with the egg whites and pulse until well ground. Lightly coat four 4-inch tart pans [NOTE: I used 2 1/2-inch tartlet tins, I wanted these to be more like individual cookie servings...and I thought all that chocolate in a 4-inch tart would just be too much to handle!] with cooking spray. Press the coconut into the tart pans using a firm hand, working it over the bottom and up the sides. Bake until the coconut turns golden around the edges and is set in the center, 15 to 20 minutes [NOTE: when using the 2 1/2-inch tins, I baked them for 11 minutes]. Remove from oven and invert the tins immediately on a rack.


Chocolate Ganache Tartlets:


16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces [NOTE: I used only about 6 ounces, which was plenty for my smaller tartlets. This made 16 2 1/2-inch tartlets.]
1 cup heavy whipping cream [NOTE: I used 1/2 cup.]
1 teaspoon light corn syrup [NOTE: I used 1/2 teaspoon.]
Prepared macaroon crusts


Place the chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until just under a boil. Pour over the chocolate and let stand about 5 minutes. Whisk to combine. Stir in the corn syrup. Spoon the chocolate into the Macaroon Crusts. Let cool about 1 hour (the chocolate will set as it cools). Serve chilled or at room temperature.


Easy and so good! Stay tuned for the next culinary experiment on my list...yet another chocolaty dessert!

Extreme Fishing

We spent last Sunday out on the fishing boat in San Diego Harbor with the other Prindle Family--Nate, Lisa, and Alex. We had a great time tooling around Shelter Island and grabbed some pizza and other yummy food from Pizza Nova to eat on the boat. Jared was so happy to actually catch (a rather nice) spotted bass on Parker's tiny little pole! And Alex, who is getting interested in fishing, caught his first fish (also a spotted bass)! Parker made sure to weasel his way into the photo with the guys and the fish.

Our Growing Family, Our New Blog

After spending the last two years updating a blog devoted solely to our amazingly spectacular son, Parker, we decided that we'd better start compiling a new blog that gives our next son a little face-time of his own, too. So, we've moved on from Parker's always entertaining blog (www.parkerowen.blogspot.com) to this new, more all-inclusive Prindle Family blog; I guess we'll all try to get in a little face-time here now. But, we'll begin with Baby Boy #2's Internet debut: here are two of his ultrasound photos, taken June 23rd (at 20 weeks), the day that we discovered that we're expecting a second boy! I like to think that it looks like he's waving in the first picture, and in another one (not posted), he looks suspiciously like he was trying to suck his thumb in the womb...like big brother, like little brother.


P.S. Baby Boy #2 is due on or around November 12, 2010!