More than a year later....I'm still in love

Every once in a while I need to remind myself of the x billion projects I've started and never finished...not quite. It's not that I'm negligent, I just have so much going on in my life, and so many things that I'm crazy about that I cannot devote myself to one thing within a reasonable amount of time. Is that so wrong? But I'm happy right?

So every time I'm reminded of this blog, I go back and read my accounts of my precious onigiri, S, like drops of pearl in the ocean. I've forgotten how much S has grown and I can't believe it has been over a year since I last posted in this blog. Actually, a lot of things has happened during the past year. I studied my ass off for the MCAT, applied to medical school, organized 2 fundraisers, went on a Catholic camping excursion, and traversed 3 different countries (abroad) for a mission trip. Oh and I got into medical school, 4 of them! I must say 2012 was a pretty productive year for me. I still haven't decided which school to attend yet since I'm still waiting for campus assignment for one and another one is way too good to pass up yet (ugg....hard decisions!). I am so glad that I finally get a breather for once. I'm definitely going to make the most out of the time I have left before I start school. And that means, going on a real vacation, trying to complete all the craft projects that I wanted to do, and of course, spending a ridiculous amount of quality time with S.

S is such an amazing child now. And I really mean it. She has transformed into such a darling little girl. Despite her occasional bitch fits and the morning drudgery of getting her ready for school, she is so helpful, so obedient, caring, and dependable. This morning, Daddy and S forgot her bookbag at home, so Daddy decided to entrust S with bringing her bookbag to school from now on. S just turned 5 recently. We made it a big deal in the house.

"Dear S, you are 5 now. You are going to have more responsibilities. Like remembering to do your own homework."

Except, we don't really have to remind her. S loves to read. It doesn't matter how late it is, she still makes us read to her before nightime.

"Mrs. K said you have to read to me every night Mommy!"

We also told S she should try to wean herself from nighttime diapers now that she's older. On some nights, she insists on not wearing diapers and promises to go to the bathroom or hold her pee in when she needs to go. Despite all of our efforts, she still gets accidents and then she goes back to the diapers. I know it's bad that she still pees in her bed, but I don't want to shame her into getting better. It is her age-appropriate obstacle and I want her to be able to overcome it with her own willpower, which she has tons of.

Speaking of willpower, S has shown a lot of interest in writing/reading lately. For the past nights, she has been sitting quietly on her futon (yes we got her to sleep on her own bed! woohoo!) and writing in her "journal" while listening to our eclectic collection of music. With our internet out of service and Saya fallen fast asleep, H and I spent some time going through her journal (with her permission of course). Ah, the experience was priceless. Saya has several sketches of humans and animals with various (and pretty successful) attempts at spelling out words. On one page, she has a framed sketch of a dolphin on a see with the sun shining in the sky and the letters "DLFIN" written across the top of the page. On another page, she spells out HPY BRTAY. On several pages, she writes our full names....mispelling it at times. H mentioned that S has asked him for my "second" name.

"What? You mean, Mommy's last name?" ,H replied to S.

"yea, that one" ,Said S. Then she proceeds to spell out my name on her own.

*sigh* S just makes my heart melt. She has inspired me on so many levels. S has gotten me into a baking frenzy lately. It started December 2011, when she stumbled upon several cake pop tutorials while browsing Youtube (who'd knew a 3 year old could be so proficient?). She nagged me for months...."Mommy, can you please make cake pops?" I was busy studying for the MCAT, but immediately went out and bought the supplies the day after I took the exam. That weekend, with the help of my friend, I made cake pops with S. I think she must have gotten her tenacity from me because like me, she REFUSED to eat while she coated her cake pops with candy melt and decorated them with sprinkles and other toppings. That day, I discovered that S and I could bond through baking.

I had baked before, with horrible success. I tried to make a german chocolate cake from store mix and store frosting. I didn't know that you were supposed to level a cake by cutting out the domed top, so my german chocolate cake was a big disaster. It drooped everywhere. It was so overly sweet and just all around dry. From that day on I vowed that I would never go into baking again. But I bought a bunch of cake mixes for S's cake pops. As the saying goes, one thing led to another. One day, I decided to use up all the cake mixes and store frosting that I had. I made cupcakes for a party. It was so EASY and Saya loves to help. Her favorite part is cracking the eggs and mixing the batter. The cupcakes was a huge hit, even though I thought it was still too sweet. That same day, my friend had enlisted me to help him bake a cake for his girlfriend (since most bakeries were closed that Christmas weekend). With little experience and minimal tools, our team improvised. The birthday girl was very happy with her cake. Everyone raved about how moist the cake was. I told one of my girlfriend about my previous baking fiasco. "You should give it a shot, V. I think you're going to do amazing things."

Well, I have definitely been taking her advice and since then, I've experimented with all sorts of baking techniques. Meringues, chocolate mousses, chocolate ganache, different frosting, cream cheese frosting, and so much more to be discovered.  I never realized that my baking was more well received than my cooking was. Now I know the true meaning of the "icing on the cake!" Because of S, I have found a new love. It has been a crazy ride. I hope that she will continue to inspire me throughout the rest of my life......

Eh, so much for that off-tangent topic.