Translation Please: Christmas Edition

I started to write this post a few weeks ago. I need to post it before Christmas is too far gone.

I have done a post like this in the past. I write the words the kids say and I write what they mean to say.

These are things L has been saying.

Seen-ta=Santa (He's also referred to Santa as a monster a few times)

Toe-man=Snowman

Big Lights up top= Outdoor Christmas lights on houses

Crinch= The Grinch

Gin house=Gingerbread House

Miss Muss Twee=Christmas Tree

Mewwy Miss Muss= Merry Christmas

Cho-Locket= Chocolate (So cute!!)

Other not so Holiday oriented words are:

Soomie=Smoothie

Dwaw/Draw=Straw

Blu Shot=Flu Shot

Big Guy Fall Down= L's name for the show American Funniest Videos

Montajm= Any quesses?? Monster Jam!

Big Tato= Uncle T's new nickname

Moy=More

Floy=Floor

Neena=Banana

On a different note ..The boys' favorite Christmas songs this year were Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and the classic, timeless "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas."Yep, that's my boys! Their other favs are still "Dem Bones" and "Monster Mash" from Halloween... I have a feeling we'll still be singing those two songs come Valentine's Day. The boys not only sing these songs, but N can also whistle and "power hum" them. D recently coined N's loud, forceful humming as power humming and I think he is spot on with the name!

The boys' favorite movies this season were the Grinch and Polar Express. (L has his own cute way of saying Polar Express). The Grinch was also a favorite book selection this month. For quite some time our favorite nightly bedtime show has been Berenstain Bears (or Bear Bears as L calls it).

First Girlfriend

N informed us that he "got" his first girlfriend today! This is such big news! He said he told her that "he liked her, then almost loved her and now he loves her." And why you ask? Because she ate paper at school. When asked how long this relationship will last he said, "It was just for today, Mom." Her name? Olivia... I have met Miss Olivia and let me tell you, she's got some spunk. The pink stripe of dye in her hair was the first clue into her character. :) I will keep tabs on this one and I will keep you posted. ;)

High Tech Santa?

N got in the car today after school and said, "Mom, we need to Skype Santa. I forgot to tell him I want the Polar Express train for Christmas!!!"

Between you & me...I think Santa already knows. ;)

Bloopers

Do you ever have a day (or a week) where you just feel like you're picking up after all the bloopers that happen to you? Here are are most recent bloopers.

The other day L was taking a bath in the kids' bathtub. I handed him a couple of toys from out of the cabinet in their bathroom. He played with it for a couple mintues then said, "yucky water, mommy." I walked in to see the yucky water thinking I'd find brown "flaoties" in the water. I didn't. I found strings of mold that had shot out of the bath toy....I looked at the toy and could see through it . There was a ball of mold inside!!! Yuuuuck! I immediatley threw nearly all our bath tub toys away. I took L to the other shower upstairs, rinsed him off, then washed the "infected" bath tub. Then I threw away the towels I used to clean the tub.

The next day L was vaccuuming the kitchen with the stick vacc while I was on the phone with the pediatrician. Harmless, right? The conversation with the ped's office took a while. I stood in the laundry room with the door shut so I could have a quality conversation with the nurse. I felt like I knew what L was up to when I was in there because he must have checked on my every five minutes and said, "you okay, Mommy?" When I got off the phone, I left the laundry room and found L sitting on the ground with the vacc turned upside down while still turned out...I walked over to him to prevent him from putting his fingers in the running vacc. L tipped it in an attempt to turn it back over and the vaccuum "puked" all its contents all over the place. Fortunately nothing got in anyone's eyes!

My car was in the shop for two days....One day longer than originally anticipated. I was fortunate enough to get a rental from the dealership free of charge. When they called to tell me my car was done, I was super excited. It was right before nap time, but I thought if I got to the dealership quickly and returned home I could get L down for a nap in time. As we walked out the door I realized L had a stinky diap. Of course! So, I ran in, changed him real quick, scooped up the diap and nearly slipped when I attempted to cross the living room floor. I looked down and you'll never guess what I slipped on!! Yep, all the "contents" of the diap had fallen to the floor and L and I both stepped in it. Ickkkk!! I cleaned it up the best I could, but couldn't quite get everything out of the carpet, so I had to call "Carpet Kevin" (as the boys call him) for his professional help....And he knows just exactly where we live 'cause he was here a mere two weeks ago to clean said carpet...Luckily Carpet Kevin has a good sense of humor...and a strong stomach.

Did I mention our garage door is on the fritz? Ya, it will go up, but it won't go down. Makes leaving the house that much more challenging.

I was going to call our painter to paint up a few of our ding-ed up walls, but I'm almost afraid of what bloopers could come our way if I invite paint and ladders into our house...Might have to rethink this one. :)

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving 2011 was different than years' past. Our usual routine is to eat breakfast at home, get dressed and head to our hometown to hang out at D's parents'. We eat lunch there, then head to my parents' for the afternoon and nighttime meal. Then we return to our house to get a good night's rest in our beds...This year was different. L woke up with a yucky ear and some side effects from his meds, so we decided he needed to stay away from the family. D and I both wanted to be with our families, so, after a lot of consideration we decided to keep L home the whole day. N was coming down with a cough, but wasn't too sick yet, so we'd have to see how he did Thanksgiving morning and we'd decide if he'd return home in the afternoon or visit my parents in the evening.

I stayed home with L all morning and most of the afternoon. We ran out in our jammies to find the Thanksgiving Day paper with all the Black Friday ads. My plan was to swing through the newspaper stand. I planned to park next to the newstand, pull a paper out of the bin while L waited in the car. However, when I pulled up to McD's there was no bin. I drove around to two other places and there were no news stands to be found. I drove to our little local grocery store and they were open. I could see their newspaper stand through the window. Should we really go into the store in our jammies to get a paper?? Yes. We did it. We picked up a couple other things while we were there and noticed other people entering the store in their jammies and sweats to get their paper.

When we got home we watched the Macy's Day parade while I ran on the treadmill. It was strange to exercise on a holiday, but it ended up feeling really good in the end. L loved watching the parade. In fact, I recorded it on the DVR and we've watched it several times since it aired. Thanksgiving morning went really fast. Before we knew it, it was time to eat and nap. I was really excited to pour over the Black Friday ads while L napped. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed playing with him that morning, but soaking up the ads in a quiet home was kinda nice!

D returned home that afternoon. N stayed at D's folks' for some quiet time while he waited for me to pick him up when I got into town. I drove to our hometown, picked N up and we headed to my parents' for Thanksgiving. N and I really enjoyed seeing my sister and her boys, my parents and my Aunt. We had a nice relaxing time and got to visit with everyone. The meal was terrific! N was a super good boy, especially considering the long day he had! We got home pretty late (late for us anyway), but went to bed grateful for the day we had.

Breakfast picnic

This week (Nov 21st-25th) started out a little different than other weeks. Both boys woke up coughing Monday morning. L's cough was lingering from the past six weeks. Ugh! (It's mostly gone now and it's Wednesday night). N's cough was new on Monday. One thing I always do when the boys wake up coughing in the morning is to get them some humidity to try to loosen things up in their chests. As I lay in bed listening to them cough (one on the monitor and the other across the hall), I decided to try to start the week off as fun as we could given the circumstances. So, I hurried up and collected some breakfast for the boys and I. I grabbed a pop up picnic tray, some drinks, a big beach towel and our nebulizer (we've gotten our money's worth outta that puppy!!). I headed to the master bath and set up a picnic. I set up breakfast, cranked up the nebulizer and started the shower. By the time I got the boys into the bathroom it was nice and steamy. So, we had a nice little picnic to start off our week. While it wasn't exactly breakfast in bed, it was fun. The kids thought it was kinda cute, even though they complained that one wanted toast instead of a cereal bar and the other didn't like the way his yogurt tube was cut....Ugh.

Tuesday N had his Thanksgiving feast at school. He was excited to wear a Pilgrim hat. He said some kids wore pilgrim hats and some wore Native American (although I think he called them Indians) in and effort to reinact the first Thanksgiving dinner. So cute! His school does a lot of really fun, inexpensive, educational things. N really enjoys all that fun stuff. Last week they celebrated the 60th day of school. Every time they hit a day that ends in a zero, "Zero the Hero" or his buddy "Side kick" visit the classroom. This week Sidekick brought donuts to school. So fun!

The kids got out of school early on Tuesday and got the whole day today (Wednesday) off in honor of Thanksgiving. I lined up a babysitter to come for the afternoon on Tuesday. She got N off the bus while I was gone. She's so terrific! I got a good start on my Christmas shopping while she was here. It feels good to have a good chunk of my to-do's done.

As I mentioned above, N had today (Wednesday) off. I really wanted to do something fun with the boys, but with their coughs I decided it wasn't a good idea. So we stayed home, exercised and played. We made a really fun tent, streamers and wall art included. We played the Wii, made things out of Legos and Bristol blocks and actually got to play outside for a bit. Late in the morning L started acting super clingly to me. I was kind of annoyed by it, but I did my best to be patient with him and I'm glad I did as his ear is acting up again. Ugh!!!! I gave him some meds for it and put him down for a nap. He slept for 45 minutes and woke up screaming. His ear ruptured again. Ick!! Called the pediatrician. They had one cancellation this afternoon, so they were able to get us in, thank goodness! The doctor gave us more meds (two antibiotic shots, poor L!!). I'm not sure what Thanksgiving holds for us. We'll see how the boys do tonight and tomorrow. Whatever happens, we'll do our best to celebrate the holiday as best we can.

Scotch-a-roos: The Sequel

I did it! I made a successful batch of Scotch-a-roos! Ya-hoo! The girls in my mom's group will be proud! I've made this recipe several times and have failed (as noted in this post) miserably every time. But this time I finally got it right. What did I do differently? I took the Karo syrup and sugar mixture off the stove long before I thought I should. I took it off as soon as I saw the first little bubble pop up to the surface. And that was the trick! Ya! I love these gooey, chewy yummy little boogers. Mmmm, yum. Now that I've figured out how to make the bars, I'll have to figure out how to spell Scotch-a-roos (as I have seen it spelled many, many different ways). Maybe I'll just call them scotchies. Here is the recipe. I used the recipes from these two websites to make these bars.

1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo syrup

1 1/2 C Peanut Butter
5 1/2 C GF Rice Chex
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips

Warm sugar and Karo syrup in pot on stove until just barely bubbling. Once it comes to a bubble, remove from heat. Add in 1 1/2 cups peanut butter. Then add 5 1/2 cups GF Rice Chex. Stir together and pour into cake pan. Spread out into the pan. Melt butterscotch chips and chocolate chips together in a pot. Pour over the cereal mixture. I would cut these while they're still a little bit warm. Let set before serving.

A few notes:

I measured out 5 1/2 cups of Chex cereal in it's original unchopped size. Then I used my handy mix and chopper (Pampered chef tool) tool to smash the Chex cereal down to a smaller pieces before mixing it with the sugar/Karo/peanut butter mixture. This made for a nice consistency.

I use Hershey's Butterscotch chips as they are gluten friendly. Nestle uses barley to color their butterscotch chips, so they are not gluten friendly. I hear Kroger brand butterscotch chips are gluten friendly as well, but I have not tried them myself.

I used Nestle's chocolate chips.

An 8x8 pan makes pretty thick bars. You might have to double the batch to make a decent sized bar in a 9x13 pan as I think this recipe might be too thin if you try to stretch across a 9x13 pan. I could be wrong though. Maybe I'll have to make these again and find out. ;)

Side note: Here is an interesting article I came across in Sports Illustrated regarding gluten. This is the part that is really fascinating to me....."the digestive juices in your stomach are so corrosive to meat protein that if you dipped your finger in them, it would be down to the bone in 30 seconds—but the same juices can't polish off the gluten in a single crouton. Some parts of gluten have the digestibility of a rock...."

Confetti

L is talking sooooo much! He speaks pretty well, but is kind of difficult to understand if you haven't been around him a lot. He are some examples.

He says most (but not all) of his "r's" like "w's."

Snowman sounds more like toe-man

He says "Oopies" instead of "Oopsies."

He calls Capir Sun Waters "rinks"

He has learned that if he reallllly wants something he might just get it if he says "Pleeeeeease, Mommy" in his sweetest voice. This doesn't always work, but it's always worth a try.

I am doing my best to teach L animals, but he insists that any animal about the size of a dog is a dog, any animal the size of a cow is a cow and all birds are geese (even if there's only one of them which would be a goose). Cows say moo, dogs saw arf (or awf) and everything else says oink.

If L wants me to play with him he will ask me nicely to play with him. If I stop playing with him before he's ready, he will find me, take my hand and walk me to the place he wants me to be. He will say, "Sit, Mommy," and he will show me what we are playing.

The other day I got N a bowl of cereal for breakfast. He ate a couple of bites before he jumped up, ran to the garbage can and spit it out. I turned and looked at him to see what he was doing and (with a look of disgust on his face) he said, "That tastes like boogers!" I just cracked up laughing! (Maybe you had to be there for that one to be funny, but I remember it very well. Makes me laugh thinking about it.)

N had a very quick growth spurt! I bought him several pairs of pants at the beginning of the school year that were a bit on the long side for him at the time. Several of them are now approaching the high water look, so I had to go out and buy him a new batch of pants.

L has been sick on and off with a cold, cough, bronchitis and ear infection for the last five weeks. Ick! (As I mentioned in my last post). The antibiotic and oral steroid the doctor gave him both tasted awful, so he spit them out. I tried to camouflage both of them in yogurt, pudding and chocolate syrup (not all at once, ha!). He didn't notice the difference for the first couple of bites, but once he did notice the difference, he'd refuse to eat the rest. If I tried to give it to him alone, he'd spit it all out. So, after a few days of the meds I was concerned he wasn't getting the appropriate amount to get him past this sickness. Well, my concerns were made clear when I noticed his right ear had ruptured and was draining. I called the doc, they got us in and gave us new meds. These meds taste better, but have other side effects. We can deal with the side effect, though 'cause L doesn't mind the taste of these meds and has taken every dose so far (knock on wood). I knew at some point I would come down with this virus and I felt it coming on a few days ago. I've done my best to take vitamin C, drink fluids and get rest and that has really helped. I also made a yummy veggie soup that I've been eating every day. I am already feeling better, so I think I might whip this virus before it whips me! I really look forward to getting this all behind us before the holidays. And I really look forward to getting back to the gym!!! I've been working out at home, but that's just not the same as going to the gym. Although...When L does finally get better, I may not want to take him to the gym 'cause I think that's where he picked up this bug...Oh well. We can't live in a bubble forever.

We are getting all of our floors (except the wood floors) professionally cleaned and the tile sealed tomorrow. I can't wait! I feel like such as adult saying that, but I think it may help us get some germs and dust out of the house.

Halloween

We had to miss several Halloween (H-ween) activities this year because L has had a cough on and off for the last four weeks. Just when I think he's over it, it resurfaces again. Therefore we skipped H-ween at the zoo, the Farm Park and at N's school. I figured the cool, damp air wouldn't work in his favor. We still had a good H-ween though.

We trick or treated at that the high school. D was out of town for work that night. I got a sitter for L while N, Grammy and I went to that. Remember me saying that L is super afraid of H-ween stuff? Well, he is, but he's even more afraid of the dark. The majority of the trick or treating at the High School is in the dark. L would not have enjoyed that, so he stayed home and played with Miss N. They had fun.

We went to the annual H-ween party my Mom's group hosts at a church. Everyone brought food to share, the kids wore their costumes, played games and trunk or treated. It was such a great event!! My Ghostbuster (N) and Slimer (L) sure had a great time and got lots of comments on their costume choices. :)

N had an outdoor parade and (indoor) party at school on H-ween day. Parents are invited to watch it the parade. N participated in it, but L and I skipped it because of L's cough. The kids wore their costumes to school, did the parade and visited a nearby nursing home to greet the residents. They returned to school and had their H-ween party in their classroom at some point during the day.

On H-ween night our neighbors invited us over to eat hot dogs before trick or treating. They are still fairly new to the neighborhood, so it was nice to eat with them and get to know them some more. Almost everyone in the cul-de-sac happened to leave their homes to trick or treat at the same time, so we all walked together. It was so fun! We packed our wagons and strollers with extra coats and blankets in preparation for the drop in temperature once the sun went down. I'm so glad we did 'cause we needed the extra layers. Fortunately we didn't have any rain and it wasn't nearly as cold as last year, but we were still glad to have our coats. We walked on the street near us that makes a big square shaped loop. Many of the homes on that street have a tradition of sitting outside in lawn chairs around their fire pits while they hand out candy. It makes for a fun, friendly holiday. We collected some mad candy loot! The kids were super excited, but remembered that the Candy Fairy would come to take most of the candy (with red dye) and leave a toy in exchange.

The Candy Fairy kept her promise and made a trip to our house. She left behind some candy and took the rest. She gave each boy their own Tervis cup (love!) and mini Pillow Pet. On her way out of town the Candy Fairy dropped the candy off at the nursing home where she hears the residents are always asking for goodies. So, it's a win win for everyone. The Candy Fairy left a bonus gift for Mommy and Daddy this year. She gave us the game Banana-grams. I'm can't wait to play it this winter on our Pioneer Days...more on that later.

The day after Halloween I went to a store (can't remember where I was) and the first thing I noticed when I stepped in the door was the Christmas music!! Aaaa!!! We haven't eaten the H-ween candy yet and they're already forcing Christmas on us!

Apple Sauce

Last year I made applesauce with the boys as our fall apple recipe. It went well, so we repeated it this year...and honestly...let's be real..Baking is a lot of work. I don't recall ever baking a pie from scratch. I don't recall baking a pie using a pre-made pie shell either. The thought of spending so much time baking one thing boggles my mind. There are those who decide that if they're going to spend the time (and make the mess) to make one pie, they might as well double or triple the recipe to make several pies. Very Logical. I commend them and some day that may be me..after the kids are in college, right? Or at least when they're both potty trained and can turn the TV on themselves.

It is for all of these reasons that I decided to make applesauce...'cause it would be easier and quicker and less mess...Cha! Right. It was a total mess. I had tons of dishes to clean up afterwards and it took considerably longer than I thought it would...However...I really enjoyed it. I planned ahead and started the project as soon as D and L left the house.I knew when they returned it might be L's nap time, so I knew N and I had a good chance of having a size-able amount of time alone to be in the kitchen. I choose to bake/cook with one boy at a time 'cause I learned that hard way that "too many cooks in the kitchen will definitely spoil the broth."

I think my boys enjoy making applesauce because of the apple peeler corer slicer tool we use. While N had a difficult time saying the name of said contraption, he did a great job of assembling and using it. We got into a great rhythm of peeling and cutting all the apples. N's attention span is much longer than it was last year, so he prepped all 15 apples! Good job, Buddy! (There are several ways you can tell a child it maturing. I find one of the best ways is to cook with him/her. It is incredible to see how they improve at following directions, waiting their turn, etc if you cook with them over a few months or year's time). Once we got into a rhythm and the peeling became automatic, we had some great conversation. N learned a lot about apples at school, so he enlightened me with his breadth of apple knowledge as we worked. (So cute!) He decided he was going to save a handful of the seeds to plant in our back yard to create an orchard for our family. We decided with our crop of apples from our apple orchard we would make (que Bubba Gump) apple butter, apple pie, applesauce, apple muffins and apple stew..No just kidding. No apple stew...although I'm sure someone somewhere has made it. I've had strawberry soup and liked it. So, apple soup might be a good one to try.

Below is the recipe (I got from a friend). I used Gala apples. It turned out tasting really good, especially when it was still warm after being in the crock pot. D said it tastes like apple pie (minus that pesky homemade crust, of course). This year (and last year) I told myself I would double or even triple the batch to make the most of a big mess....Didn't happen. We'll see how next year goes. ;)

Crock Pot Applesauce

8 to 10 large apples (or 15 small), peeled & cut into chunks

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker; gently stir. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until apples are tender. After letting the apples cool for a bit, I put them through the food processor in batches. Yield ~ 5 cups

Lunch Date

L and I ran some errands this morning. We are both fighting off a cold/sinus infection, so we decided to skip the gym today. L was a super good shopper, so we drove through Wendy's for lunch. (Thank you Wendy's for your gluten friendly chili and baked potatoes!!) We parked at the mall and watched the demolition of a multi story brick building that once housed several businesses and a bank. L loved the front row seat. There were two excavators, two dump truck semis, a big crane and a skid steer loader to watch. L kept saying, "Back ho working! Back ho working!!" There was another car parked near us watching the "show." After a while I decided we could have a better view if we moved to a different parking lot, so we drove across the street and watched from there. L was sad to leave, but I figured thirty minutes of watching machines was enough for me....and we were creeping up on nap time, so we needed to go. L must have been forcing himself to stay awake to watch the demolition, 'cause as soon as the machines were out of site he fell asleep. There's something so sweet about looking through the rear view mirror at your sleeping child. I was glad I had thought ahead and removed his shoes and jacket before we headed home. That way I could just pull him out of the car without waking him. I love carrying the boys inside after they've dozed off in the car. It's about the only time they are moving slow enough for Mommy to get any snuggles from them. I almost always stop at the full length mirror in our room to hold them and to see how big they are. When the boys were babies, I'd hold them and the were tiny, so their feet would dangle at my stomach. They grow and their feet eventually reach my waist. Now L's feet are somewhere between my waist and knees right now. They grow to fast! I carried him to his room and snuggled him for a couple more minutes before laying him down. I savor these moments 'cause I know all too well that they grow up and head off to Kindergarten before you know it!!

Pumpkin Butter, Cauliflower

As I mentioned in a previous post, we went to a local pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago. I picked up some pumpkin butter and I love it!! I have found that toasted GF bread smeared with pumpkin butter and drizzled with melted almond butter (or peanut butter) tastes realllly good!

Another recipe I tried recently turned out to be good. I think D liked it too 'cause he went back for seconds the nights we ate it. The recipe is below. It is called "Mac N Cheese" by the person who originally posted it. However, I would call it Cauliflower Au Gratin as mine did not resemble mac n cheese at all. The next recipe I'd like to try involves stuffed squash.. This may be going out too far on a limb for D, but I'd like to try it anyway. I'll make sure to have some cooked peas available for another option the night I make it. Ha!

Cauliflower Au Gratin

1 head Cauliflower, cut into small pieces (or 10oz frozen)

3 TBSP Butter
1 cup Yogurt Cream (I used sour cream)
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups Cheddar Cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a casserole dish.

Steam cauliflower for a few minutes, just until barely tender. Drain well and pour into the casserole dish.

In a saucepan melt butter. Add yogurt and heat through. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until blended. Add cheddar and seasonings. Stir until melted and blended. Pour over cauliflower and bake about 15 minutes until bubbly and slightly browned.

Recipe also found at link below:

http://mrsedsresearchandrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/10/mac-and-cheese-scd.html

Buddies

L has two very favorite Buddies. Aunt J (that's tricky since two of his Aunts begin with J) gave both of them to L. The Bear was originally named Harry because he was purchased at Harrod's in London (that might give away which Aunt J I am speaking of). However, L woke up one morning and declared a name change. He said Harry's name would be Ben from that point on. Aunt J brought L the most adorable bunny from her favorite store in The Netherlands (Okay, now we know who Aunt J is). Bunny didn't have a name, but at the time L was calling bunnies "hop hops," so the name Hop Hop stuck. These two fav stuffed animals have nicknames. Ben has also been known to go by "Benny" or "Bear." And Hop Hop often goes by Bunny. I tend to lump the two of them together and call them Ben and Bunny. At any rate. Ben and Bunny are like an extension of our family. At least in L's eyes they are. L carries them around with him everywhere he goes inside the house. Often times I find L "feeding" his buddies. I've seen him telling them stories, ask them if they like the TV he's watching and he has given them rides in laundry baskets. Ben and Bunny have learned a few dance moves from the boys and I. And they always go to the doctor's office with us when shots will be given. They go on any and all road trips that are over thirty minutes long and L sleeps with them every night. L cries when it's time to "give them baths" (in the washing machine) 'cause he doesn't want to let go of them for the time it takes them to get washed and dried...But when they come out of the dryer gleaming white and toasty warm, L gets the biggest smile on his face and reaches for them to give them hugs... My favorite thing is to listen to L tell Ben and Bunny about his day before falling asleep at nap and bed time.

L giving Ben a drink of water and feeding Bunny some crackers.

Skinned Knee

L got his first skinned knee the other night. He also bumped his head and has a bruise there, but this is not the first time he's bumped his noggin. He was soo upset about his skinned knee. He did a pretty good number on it. He kept asking me to wash it, as if washing it would remove it from his leg. I put ointment and ice on it. He still cried. I put on his favorite TV show. He still cried. I got Ben and Bunny. He still cried. I held him...tried a bandage. Nope. Didn't work. He didn't want to sit, but he didn't want to stand 'cause, "hurts me Mommy," he said many times. Sitting with his knees bent at a ninety degree angle neither pulled nor pushed the skin, so that was the most comfortable way for him to sit. I had a lightbulb moment and decided that sitting in the stroller would be the best thing for him. So we went for a walk. His mind was preoccupied by our search for pumpkins, "ghostbusters" (ghosts) and all things Halloween. He held tight to Ben and Bunny for comfort. It was a good thirty minutes before he remembered he had an ouchy. Then his tears resurfaced. L has a pretty high tolerance for pain, but a low tolerance for things being out of place. I think his knee hurt, but I think he was more annoyed that the scrape was not supposed to be on his skin. He slept all night (thank you, L!!) for the second night in a row, woke up and is feeling better.

Columbus Day

N had Friday off, as I mentioned in a previous post. He also has Columbus Day off. We've had a lot of fun over the course of this four day weekend. Today (Columbus Day) I was going to feed everyone and load 'em up and go to the gym before running some errands, but I decided we all needed a slower day. I miss the leisurely pace of summer. So, we ate, watched a video about Columbus Day on Youtube and played a bit before heading out. Grammy is coming over this afternoon and we are going to paint little pumpkins. We will try making Gluten Free pumpkin bars if time allows. We went to the store to purchase the ingredients and supplies for our afternoon activities. After getting the groceries put away and playing outside for a bit, we headed to the Halloween Store to get N's ghostbuster costume. He saw the costume in a magazine and immediately said that's what he wants to be for Halloween. He has stayed with that idea for more than two weeks, so I figure he will still want to dress up as a ghostbuster by the time trick or treating rolls around. The only place I've seen the costume was at the Halloween store. Remember how I said L is terrified of the Halloween aisle at the store?? I debated taking him with us to the H-ween store, but decided N needed to try on the costume to be sure it fits. Returns are not allowed at the H-ween store, so we needed to be sure it fit before buying it. I took both L and N to the H-ween store...and L did really well. We stayed away from the super creepy area and he did just fine. N did well too. He was really good about trying on the costume, but did not want to take it off. So, he left the store wearing it. We met Daddy for lunch at N's favorite sub sandwich store and N proudly wore his new costume. In fact, he's had it on for about two hours now... Hopefully he will be careful and it will last long enough to be worn for trick or treating and a few parties we plan to go to.

Cook Out

The boys ended up sleeping outside in the tent all night! L and I slept inside. He's been waking up every night at either midnight or 2am, but he still wakes up for the day between 5:30 and 6:00. He did it again last night like clock work.We gotta break these habits!!

This morning I went to my favorite class at the gym again. Have you tried Sh'bam? It's sooo fun! I came home and painted a second coat on the dining room wainscotting. This evening D and another neighborhood Daddy hosted a cul-de-sac cook out at one of the empty lots. Everyone pitched in and brought hot dogs, sides and dessert. We took our fire pit so everyone could cook the dogs and marshmallows. The kids had fun playing on the neighbor's basket ball hoop that was lowered down to their height. L tried to catch crickets and grasshoppers. M, the neighbor boy, youngest of three was so cute. He was a little scavenger. All night he was stealing Doritos off of everyone's plates. He'd take one from you, eat it and give you the biggest, cutest smile. The kids did a good job of staying away from the fire, but also did a good job of carefully cooking their hot dogs and marshmallows. The party ended early due to the kids' early bed times. But that's fine 'cause that gives D and I time to relax and watch our favorite shows that we have DVR-ed. Here's to relaxin.

Have a good weekend!

Camping

When we moved into this house, D started a tradition of setting up a tent for N to "camp in.' Which, back then, meant N would play in the tent during the day and he'd sleep in his own bed at night. For some reason, D started this tradition in June and for the past couple of years has continued to do it in June. However, this year June didn't work out. I can't remember why it didn't work out. The sweltering heat may have been the main reason. Anyway. Tonight is our first time to camp in October and I think this is our new time of year to do it. The sun goes down much earlier, so the boys can play in the tent when it's dark, the mosquitos are gone (thank you to the frost we had the other day), and it's much cooler outside! This year is the first year N is attempting to sleep outside. Although he's soooo excited about it, I don't know that he will ever nod off.

We started the evening off by setting the tent up on the back deck. Both boys helped. The boys ran laps around it and ran in and out of it for starters. Then they moved onto the garage where Daddy had some "new" (new to us) Power Wheels for the boys to help him clean and put back together. Once that was done, it was time for L to go to bed (no camping for him due to his age, his cough and ear infection). Once I got him to bed I joined Daddy and N on the deck. Daddy got bag chairs out for everyone. We ate puppy chow while we looked at the stars. We turned off all the lights in house so the stars would be easier to see. Daddy taught N what the big dipper is. N said it also looks like an arrow and drew it for us. Then N taught us the "Star light, star bright" poem so we could all wish on a star. We didn't see any shooting stars, but we did see what we decided were planets.

N decided it was time for us all to retire to the tent, but it was not time to sleep. It was time to make shadow puppets. I came inside to find a few shadow puppets online and we tried them. After laying on the hard deck floor D and I decided it was worth it to get the air mattress out, so he did that while N and I stayed in the tent. N and I agreed it would be cool if we had bunk beds in the tent. N would sleep on the top bunk. Before N settled down and, dare I say, started to fall asleep, he made three rules for the tent (warning, boy humor). I'm pretty sure all three rules were broken. :)

#1 No tickling in the tent

#2 No tooting in the tent

#3 No sleeping in the tent

Confetti

Below are some thoughts I've had and things that have happened lately. They are pretty random. I'll let them "fall" and land where they will in the post. They may even be a little colorful...Kinda like Confetti.

Tonight L was in the boys' bathroom. He asked me for some "poap" (soap). I gladly squirted some in his hands (and accidentally left the bottle within reach), then left the room. I thought he was going to wash his hands with it, but he had other ideas. I returned to the bathroom a few minutes later and L proudly said, "Mommy help. Wash, wash." He had spread the soap all over bathroom counter and was preparing to dump a full cup of water on the counter to wash it away. What can I say, he had good intentions.

On Friday morning N said with a big sigh, "Oh, man I'm glad it's Friday." When I asked him why he said, "'Cause it's our last day of walking in gym. We've been walking in gym every day and walking is sooo boring!"

L is terr-i-fied of the Halloween aisle at the store, any store. He doesn't like the Halloween aisle at Wal Mart, Menards or Hobby Lobby. When we get within eye sight of anything remotely related to Halloween L clings to me and says, "Too skeewy, Mommy. Too skeewy!" In fact, one day he woke up from his nap because he had a bad dream. He had seen the Halloween aisle (from a distance) at Hobby Lobby earlier that day. He woke up crying and saying, "Punkin too skeewy."

L is consistently waking up at 5:40 in the morning. Need I say more??

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy Birthday, L!! He's my guy, who, after nine weeks of bedrest, was born on 9.29.09 at 9:11pm. The doctors and nurses tried to get me to wait a little while longer so he'd be born at 9:29pm, but he was ready to come out! The days following L's birth were some of the most blissful days of my life and I will always cherish them. I was able to have L in my hospital room whenever I wanted, we could hold him and feed him from the minute he was born. It was the most wonderful experience and we were able to appreciate that after what we went through when N was born. Having a healthy baby meant the world to us, still does! I can't believe two years have already gone by.

L is attending a little preschool program at a church nearby. He only goes one day a week, but that's just right for him for now. He loves it! He took treats (chocolate pebble krispy treats) to school to celebrate. The teachers sang Happy Bday to him and gave him a cardboard/paper hat to wear all day. All that celebrating at school wore the little guy out, so he fell asleep in the car 3/4 of the way home. He took a great nap, the sun came out, Brother got home, so we headed outside to play with the neighbors.

Tonight we kept the celebration low key since we'd already had his family party last weekend. I made brownies (no cake mix on hand, oops!) for us to eat. I put two candles in the brownies, lit them and we sang Happy Bday to L. He blew out the candles and immediately said, "Again." So we sang to him and he blew out the candles again. We repeated that four or five times before we told him we had to stop.

After playing for a while, it was time to get ready for bed. N read the entire "Birthday Monsters" book written by Susan Boynton to L before bed. And he only needed help with a few of the bigger words. He was even able to sound out the hyphenated words by himself! So proud!

Happy Birthday, Big Guy! Mommy, Daddy and N love you to pieces.

"Lasagna"

I had a brain storm a few weeks ago. It was brought on by a recipe I saw in Rachel Ray's magazine for Mexican flavored lasagna. She used corn tortillas in the Mexican lasagna instead of lasagna noodles. I made a simplified version of her recipe and it was good. I then wondered if I could make Italian flavored lasagna using rice paper for spring rolls in place of lasagna noodles. I tried it tonight and it was delicious. Here's what I did. (I did not soak or rinse the rice noodles as the package calls for.)

1 tube Italian flavored ground turkey meat

1 Jar Bertolli Tomato & Basil Spaghetti sauce

Rice paper for Spring Rolls

Small curd cottage cheese

Shredded mozerella cheese

I browned the ground turkey in the skillet and drained the fat off of it. (I actually made this the day before so all I had to do for dinner tonight was assemble everything.) Grease 8x8 pan. Spread some of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the 8x8. Place one Rice sheet of rice paper on top of sauce. Spread spaghetti sauce on top of rice paper, then top with ground turkey, cottage cheese, mozerella. Repeat as thick as you want your lasagna to be. End with spaghetti sauce and mozerella on top of rice paper. Bake at 350 covered with foil for 30 minutes, remove foil, bake 10-15 more minutes or until cheese is browned. Eat. Yum!!

This recipe didn't stay together in layers like your "norma"l lasagna would, but it still tasted great. L even ate it. N tried it, but didn't like it, but he's a super picky eater!

Translation Please

L's vocabulary has exploded in the last few weeks. It might be a coincidence or it might be a direct result of N being at school and L having more chances to talk. ;) Some of his words are very clear, but quite a few of them require some translation from Mommy and Daddy. Here are examples.

Gook=book

Fide=slide

Fuffin=Muffin

Busssssss= Bus. For some reason he's always drug out the "s" at the end.

Doh=Window.Usually said when asking me to roll his car window down.

Bar bar = Granola bar

Bocci Cuck=Garbage Truck

Rink=Drink, specifically a Capri Sun Water

Mama=Mama has always meant a sippy cup his soy milk in it

Ba ba=bottle (He only gets these before bed, but begs for one every morning)

Bump cuck=Dump truck

Aa-ho= Back ho, excavator, any tractor really

Ee-peem=airplane

Ta-tter = tractor

Boon said while signing for more=more

More=Now he says more!

poon=spoon

pack pack=back pack

Fuffin=Muffin

La la=Banana

Datty=Most of the time he says Daddy, but sometimes he says Datty to be silly

Knee=knee and foot

Hop hop=bunny

Ben=is the name of his beloved bear that my twin sister got him. His original name was Harry 'cause my sis got him at Harrod's in London. However, one morning, L woke up and declared a name change and we've refered to the bear as Ben or Benny ever since.

And the cutest thing he says right now is Chocolate milk. It sounds more like "pocket book." It took me a long time to translate this one, but we're clear on it now! Oh and he also says Chocolate chips. It sound more like "pocket peeps."

Mommy's Pit Crew

I have made many attempts to ask the boys (Daddy and the boys) for help with chores around the house. I want to teach the kids how to take care of the house and of their belongings and I want the help so I have time to do other things. One routine we recently started has been working. Yay! Every night after supper "Mommy's Pit Crew" takes action. We all take our own plates to the kitchen sink, the boys move the dining chairs into the living room and N squirts the kitchen table with cleaner. N was a little over zealous with the cleaner at first, so we now tell him that six squirts of cleaner (Clorox Anywhere) is enough to cover the whole table. The boys each get a paper towel and run around the table race track style until the table is wiped off. They then race to the garbage can to throw their paper towels away. The boys take turns with the "stick vacuum" and the broom sweeping the floor. Once the kitchen chairs are back under the table the job is done. I put dinner away and fill the dishwasher while they run around. I appreciate their hard work!!

New Fav: Cream of Rice

In my attempt to eat gluten free (or with minimal gluten), I have been forced to try new foods that I probably would not have otherwise even considered. Yellow squash, zucchini and fresh mushrooms are now a staple in our house. Rice can be found in my pantry at any given moment. Believed it or not, before going on a GF diet, we rarely ate rice! I'm actually intrigued with rice. I would like to experiment with different types to make breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert recipes (rice pudding). Speaking of rice...I recently discovered something that I am now in love with. You've heard of Cream of Wheat, right? Well, Cream of Wheat is obviously no longer on my grocery list due to the gluten in wheat. However, there is such thing as Cream of Rice and it is yummy and versatile. I've discovered that a warm bowl of cream of rice flavored with brown sugar, raisins, a pinch of salt and a smidge of butter is soooo good. Oh, and a splash of vanilla flavored Silk makes this a tiny bit sweeter and creamier. Mmmm....Sometime soon I'd like to make a savory version of cream of rice using breakfast sausage or diced ham, scrambled eggs and a little shredded cheese. I guess cream of rice is somewhat like grits in that you can make it sweet or savory. Thinking of grits makes me think of polenta. I want to try to perfect making mush (polenta) the way Grandpa H liked it. He liked his sliced, pan fried and drizzled with maple syrup. It's interesting how certain foods make you think of certain people.. Grandpa also liked butterscotch pie. When I was a kid there was a lady in my hometown named Lola who made and sold her fabulous homemade pies. Every year for Grandpa's Birthday Mom would phone Lola and ask her to make a butterscotch pie. I didn't care for the butterscotch pie as a kid, but I'd try it again to see if my taste buds have changed. :) I think Mom also made polenta for Grandpa's Birthday. Did we eat polenta and butterscotch pie in the same meal? Sounds weird doesn't it. I'll have to ask Mom about that.

Friday Funnies: Flashback

These are really old Friday Funnies below. I found them in a post I created that I hadn't published for some reason.

Yesterday as the boys and I were leaving Qdoba a man offered to hold the door open for us. He was a Caucasian man in his late 50's dressed really nicely in a suit. As he held the door open, N stopped in his tracks and made a funny face at the man. I motioned him along and said thanks to the man. When we got outside my son said, "Mom! That was President Obama!"

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The other day N was picking grass, rocks and leaves off the bushes to make something. I asked him what he was making and he said, "Chinapple Soup." When I asked him what was in Chinapple soup he said, "Apples, a little vanilla, some flour and chinese food all mixed together."

I was exercising at home the other day. N was in the basement with me. I was doing push ups in front of him. He was watching very closely and after a while said, "Mom, you're awesome!"

N sees the commercial on TV for Lumineers on the channel he watches. The other day he told me he needs lumineers 'cause he hides his smile. (This is what they say in the commercial).

We watched the movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Later in the day N and I were pretending that food was falling from the sky. I said I was catching meatballs and he said he was catching Laughing Cow Cheese. He took a pretend bite and laughed. He said the laughing cow cheese made him laugh!

While playing Legos N said, "Agggh! I'm so thrustrated!!! I can't get this to stay together!"

One more step

Today N took one more step towards being all grown up. (Sniffle, sniffle from Mommy). I have been parking my car and walking him into the school every morning. Your other choice is to drive in the drop off line and let your child out at the front door of the school. The child has to get their seat belt off, get their backpack on, open and close the car door and walk into the building by themselves. The doors of the school are a bit heavy, so the child has to be able to open the door (or wait for an older kid to open it for them). N's been wanting to do this, but I have not been allowing him to do it because he's my "dee-dawdler." He moves at his own sweet little slow pace and I didn't want to hold up the drop off line because of it. This morning he asked yet another time if he could walk in by himself. I talked to him about it, told him all the steps to getting out of the car and asked him if he could do them and he said yes. I told him we could try it today. I also told him I wouldn't be able to hug him before he got out of the car. He immediately gave me a big, long hug, jumped in the car and said, "I'll miss ya Mom." He was determined to do it. So, I let him do it. He did a great job. Before he got out of the car he asked me to roll down his window so he could yell Goodbye to L. I did and they exchanged their farewells. N said, "See you when I get off the bus." Then he walked into the building... I must admit...Part of the reason I didn't want him to walk into the building alone is 'cause I like to walk him in and I like to see him get to the gym for my own peace of mind. I guess I just need to let him grow up a little bit more and be a little more independent when he's ready to take those steps. As long as they're baby steps I guess I'm okay with it. :)

Welcome Home, Honey!

Two posts two days in a row? I know, I'm surprised too. So, if you didn't see Friday's post, check it out after you read this one. :)

D went on a work trip this week. He doesn't travel much, but, when he does, he tries to be gone the fewest nights possible (Is that too many commas in one sentence? Apparently I need to revisit high school grammar.). This time around he planned it so that he'd fly home on a Thursday evening, but he wouldn't be home until midnight or later. Fortunately his flight went faster than he thought and he arrived at the airport early. He texted me when he landed at the airport and told me he was on his way home....problem is, for whatever reason, his phone did not deliver the text message (or I didn't recieve the message) for nearly an hour after he sent it. The drive from the airport he landed at is about an hour from our house. So, he landed at 9:45 pm and sent me the text. I recieved the text at 10:45 thinking he wouldn't be home until 11:45. I got the text just a few minutes before he got home, but I wasn't expecting him for another hour. I had gone upstairs to get ready for bed when I heard "someone" rustling around in the kitchen! I thought someone was robbing our house! I was shaking like a leaf I was so scare, so I called 911! No joke! I called 911, I gave them our address, told them someone was in my house and I was ready to gather up the boys and, I don't know, hide in a closet or something until the police arrived. At the same time that I was on the phone with the police, I called D. I don't know why I thought I was going to call two people at once and I don't know what I thought D was going to do, but I called him. And it's a good thing I did because when I called him, I heard his phone ring downstairs! I hung up and called him again and put together that the "robber" in our house was not a robber and was, in fact, my husband! (I was calling D's cell phone while still on the land line with 911) He started walking up the stairs to ask me why I was calling him and I quickly told the dispatcher I was so, so sorry that my husband got home early from a business trip. I told her the person in my house was not a robber and we did not need the police. She asked me if I was sure it was my hubby and when I said yes she and I both let out a big sigh of relief! Phew!! How's that for a welcome home?!

Friday Funnies

A couple weeks ago the boys and I were stopping by McDonald's for lunch. On the way there N and I were talking about what we were going to order. When I asked him if he wanted white pop (Sprite), water or milk he said....."Actually, Mom. I'll have a beer." I laughed for a couple minutes, then I did the adult thing and said, "N you can't drink beer until you're a Daddy...."

We have a tradition of eating McDonald's for breakfast on Saturday mornings. Every single time we get McD's for breakfast we ask N what he wants and he always says a Happy Meal (HM). Then we have a conversation about how McD's does not make HM until lunch time. N came up with a solution for that. He said, "Mom. I want to tell you something. You should go to McD's at night and buy a Happy Meal. Then you should warm it up in the morning so I can eat it for breakfast. Then I would have a Happy Meal for breakfast!" I do appreciate his problem solving skills. :)

Something has happened to the Leapstar my sister so graciously handed down to us. I bet this Leapstar is a 11 or 12 years old as it was given to my nephew when he was old enough to play it. N and L have enjoyed playing with it. However, it is now on the fritz. N and I tried yet another time to put new batteries in it to see if that would revive it. What N doesn't understand, or won't accept is that the machine could possibly have just burnt out. After changing the batteries I left the Leapstar and our little mini screw driver on the kitchen table to research online for possible ways to fix it. In the five minutes it took me to do so, N had started to disassemble it. I turned around and he had half the screws out of it! I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I want to see it's blood vessels so I can figure out what's wrong with it. (And without skipping a beat continued with) Can I have another screw driver?"

N is getting the swing of eating lunch at school.The school serves a variety of food options and does a pretty good job of including fruits and veggies with each meal. My son, however, is a picker eater. I have looked at the lunch menu with his choosy tendencies in mind. I see several things he would like, but there are very few days that he would like the entire meal....or even enough of a meal to fill his belly. I sat down with him and looked over the menu for September to see if he wants to try anything. We found five days of the month that have a meal (or most of a meal) that he wants to try. N told me, "They have teeter tots at school, Mom. I want to try those teeter tots...Oh and the cheeseburger looks good." Low and behold "teeter tots" and cheeseburgers are served in the same meal this month! Yay! We have ourselves a winner! It's a good thing I enjoy making his lunch 'cause we'll be doing that most days. :)

First Lesson in Diversity

N sits at a table with three other children at school. One is a boy and the other two are girls. Both girls have foreign accents. One is from Germany (I think) and the other is from India. N has found a fond interest in the way the little girl from India talks. Apparently he's been listening very closely to her all week because he has been speaking with a very thick Indian accent all weekend. We talked to him about it and he's not making fun of her. He's simply interested in her and thinks it's quite intriguing that she can use the same words he's using but she sounds so different when she talks.

Have a good weekend.

Kindergarten Day 2

This morning when I took N to school I was prepared to drive through the drop off line and let him out of the car to walk into the school alone. I thought that was the only option we had, so I coached him through it. As we approached the school I could see how quickly the kids jump out of their cars and I knew N wouldn't move that fast! When we got closer to the drop off point N said, "Mom. That looks like a looong walk! I think I'll do that when I'm six years old, but not today!" I saw other parents walking their Kindergartners into the school, so I did the same and N was really happy with that. He pushed L in the stroller as we dodged traffic. L and I stayed with N until we got into the building and up to a teacher who was directing the kids. I stood in the lobby until I could see that N made it to the Kindergarten line then I left. Good job, Buddy! Today N is really looking forward to eating lunch at school for the first time. The kids only get thirty minutes to unpack their lunch, get out their drink, eat and pack everything back up. So it's a pretty quick meal time. I said a little prayer during his lunch time that N would choose to eat instead of being "Mr Social." We'll see. I think they eat a snack in the afternoon, so if he didn't eat his lunch, he'll at least get a snack before heading home.

One thing I will add about drop off and pick up...Road rage. I've heard many a story about the Road Ragers (RR) who bob and weave through the traffic at drop off and pick up time. I met my first RR head on today! I was driving away from the school and she was creating her own lane in between to the two lanes of traffic to bulldoze her way through the traffic. She headed straight for me!! I had nowhere to go. I thought we were going to have a head on collision, but somehow we didn't. For a moment I thought I was driving the wrong direction, but I wasn't. I looked ahead and saw others driving the same what I was, so I think I did the right thing. She gave me a dirty look and blazed her enormous red SUV through the lines of cars....Maybe the police officer sitting at the front of the school saw her...

First Day

N's first day went really well. He and L are both early risers, so being awake in time for the morning school routine is no problem for us. In fact, we had some extra time to use, so N got to play on the computer before eating breakfast. N wanted little frozen sausage biscuits and strawberries for breakfast. (L and N call strawberries "straw-babies." L recently shortened that down to babies. So, to L we had "Babies and Biscuits" for breakfast) N was awake before Daddy left for work, so they got to chat and get pictures together before Daddy headed out. After getting dressed and ready to go, we headed outside to take pictures. The neighbor boy and his mom and siblings were out waiting for the bus. We talked to them for a bit. Both boys were really excited about their first day of school. They talked about their new backpacks. L picked up on that conversation and insisted on wearing N's "pack pack" for a minute. When I put it on him he realized it was too big and heavy for him so he took it off. I don't know how people get their kids to stand still and take a nice picture on days like these. You always see the first day of school pictures with the child standing nicely and making a sweet easy smile. Not my kid! He's a goof ball when it comes to posed pictures. I ended up setting my camera to "Sports" mode so it would snap ten quick pictures when I hold the button down. I'm glad I did because that allowed me to capture some good moments. Today (and today only) the parents were allowed to take the students into the school to escort them to the gym to wait for the class to be dismissed to their class rooms. I'm glad they allowed that today because that gym was full of kids! It was quite overwhelming at first, but once we found the Kindergarten line we felt better. The principal at our school is VERY involved in the daily activities. She directs traffic during drop off and pick up rain, snow or shine. She then hustles into the gym to get the students to their classrooms. She's involved at lunch time, etc, etc. During the morning gym routine she uses a clapping technique to get the kids' attention. She claps and the kids clap back. The kids caught right on and followed instructions immediately. (I wonder if clapping will work at home. Ha!) The principal allowed the parent to click a few pictures, then away the kids went. I happened to be standing close to the door the kids were exiting, so I reached out my hand and gave N a high five and a "all right" as he left the gym. That made N (well, both of us) feel good. I did see lots of moms crying. I chose not to look too closely at them 'cause I knew I could potentially start to cry and not stop for a while! Ha. That's how I am, though. I don't just shed a handful of tears, then move on. I cry for a good while. Then I get the classic puffy face, runny nose and headache that follow. So, I did my crying last night (as I said in my last post) and held strong this morning. L and I sat in the car for a few minutes after leaving the school and watched the school buses outside the school because he loves buses. Then we headed off to meet some friends at the park to eat muffins and commiserate over our kids going off to school. It was quite therapeutic. And L discovered that he loves "Fuffins" (muffins). A storm rolled in to town, so we headed home. L napped, I exercised and before we knew it, N was heading home on the bus! He said he had a good day. As the afternoon unfolded he remembered things that happened this morning and told me about them. Today was a short day, so the kids did not eat lunch at school. Tomorrow is a longer day and they'll eat lunch at school for the first time. We've got his Planet Box full of goodies. He's excited.

Kindergarten Prep

Today is the day before N starts Kindergarten. I decided to keep his last day before school starts low key. We've done a ton of funs things in the last few weeks to squeeze out every last minute of summer, so a low key day was great! (I'll blog more about our fun activities in a few days...I'll have more time to do that when N goes to school! Ha!). So here are a few things we've done in the last few weeks to prepare and what we're doing today.

I decided to "invest in" a really nice "Planet Box" lunch box that will hopefully last several years. N helped me pick it out and he really loves it. I highly, highly recommend it. N has asked to eat every meal out of it since we got it in the mail. I'm glad he did because we've had fun making various meals (even breakfast) in it and he's had time to "practice" using his Planet Box.....or "Space Box" or "Army mess kit" and my friends and family have called it. Call it what you will, it's one handy little thing!

It's interesting how Kindergarten has changed since I went..One thing I don't recall doing is labeling everything. We might have labeled our shoes and our backpacks, but I don't remember labeling every marker, colored pencil, glue, etc. A friend recommended some vinyl labels that are supposed to withstand everything (including the dishwasher) so I bought some. N helped me label all of his supplies. He did a great job with it and now he's familiar with what items are his.

Little Brother has to get in on everything, right?! So he tested out N's backpack (or pack pack as L calls it). He approved. He approved that it's too big for him, so N can take it to school.

N leading L to the park. So cute of the two of them to hold hands!!

Playing on top of the spiral slide

Hide and Seek

N leading L to the swings

We had gorgeous weather this morning, so I scrapped my plans of working out at the gym and decided to take the boys for one last bike ride. Taking the boys for long bike rides and then to the park has been one of my most favorite things to do this summer. I put N in the rickshaw basket, L in the baby seat and away we went. I road for about 35 minutes and the deal is, if they're good, we stop at a park. They were good, so we stopped at N's park of choice. He chose the playground at his school. We've played there several times the last few weeks. I like the idea that he's getting acclimated with the playground. The three of us have come up with a few games N can ask his friends to play on the playground. One of them is hide and seek (L's playing hide and seek in the picture above). The three of us enjoyed going down the big spiral slide numerous times. We tested out all the swings and the boys took turns holding my hands and balancing on the edging that surrounds the playground. After eating a short snack, we headed home, ate lunch (N's in his planet box of course!) and L went down for a nap. I told N I'd play whatever he wanted with him while L napped. He immediately chose Bingo. N and I have played many a game of Bingo this summer during nap time. Somewhere along the way he instituted the policy that if he wins Bingo he gets a piece of candy...so, I went with it. One piece can't hurt, right? Most of the time I have Bingo two or three times over before he does, but I don't say so. I let the game keep going until he wins. That way he practices number recognition, he wins, and he gets a piece of candy! Someday I'll tell him this little secret. We played One, Two, Three Stomp after that. Then N and I stretched out on the couch and took a little nap together. I needed it because the boys were up six times in the night last night!! Eek! now I'm letting him watch a little "television" (as N is currently calling it). Tonight is N's "Meet the Teacher" night and supply drop off. We're looking forward to that. Then tomorrow is the big day! His first day of Kindergarten!!!

Update...

We met N's teacher, Miss G, and saw the classroom tonight. D was very patient and let us stay for about a half hour to let N get familiar with the classroom, bathrooms, lunch room, his locker and and the gym. We couldn't find the library, so we decided he can discover that with his teacher, Miss G. The only concern we have is that the teacher has trains in her room...N is soooo particular about trains that he tends to be possessive of them and doesn't share them very well. Sooo, we'll see how that goes. D and I both had conversations with him about the fact that he needs to share the trains and if he doesn't get a chance to play trains at school he can always play them at home.

I must admit. I got a little sappy about N going to school this evening. I was giving him a bath and I had the thought that it seems like yesterday that I was giving him a bath in his little baby bath seat. And, bam, now he's five and off to school! I told myself not to get too sentimental about it 'cause I didn't want to cry in front of him. I didn't want to give him any indication that Mommy is sad about school. I don't want him to be sad about school! So I held it together. He asked me to read him one book before bed, so I did. Then he asked me to read it to him again....so I did. Then he asked me to sing him a song...So I did. I asked him what song and he request Sunshine..Ugh! I knew the tears would come..and they did. I just told him Mommy's crying 'cause I'm so proud of him and I can't believe he's growing up so fast. He was okay with it.

Hopefully I'm not a hot, crying mess tomorrow. :)

Scotcheroo Trail Mix

I have several friends who make the most wonderful, delicious chocolaty peanut butter-y bars called Scotcheroos. I have attempted to make these bars a handful of times and, for whatever reason, mine always turn out hard as rocks. I tried making them again last week and failed miserably. So, I have come up with an alternative I'm calling Scotcheroo Trail Mix. It's really simple, there' no real science behind it. You can mix in whatever quantity of each item you'd like until you find just the right combo of sweet and salty that suits you.

Honey Nut, Rice or Corn Chex Cereal

Chocolate chips

Butterscotch chips

Mixed Nuts

Pour into a bag and enjoy. I'm sure there's a sauce you could find to pour over it and bake, but I haven't figure that part out yet. I like the above the way it is because it's an easy "throw together" afternoon snack. Pair it with some ice tea and your good!

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

I found a recipe in a magazine that looked good. It was breadcrumbs toasted with garlic and other seasoning served over noodles. Now that I'm trying to stay away from gluten, I decided to use the breadcrumb (with gluten free bread) part of the recipe stuffed inside of portabella mushrooms. Here is what I made. It was good. D even ate it and went back for seconds!

1 cup (2 slices) gluten free breadcrumbs

1 TBSP finely chopped garlic or garlic in the tube

2 TBSP parsley

2 TBSP Parmesan cheese

1 TBSP butter

Salt and Pepper

1 cup ground breakfast turkey sausage (browned)

3 Portabello mushroom tops

Shredded Cheese

I chopped the breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, butter and Parmesan cheese in my mini food processor. I cleaned up the portabello mushrooms a bit and filled them with the breadcrumb mixture. I topped it with a little shredded cheese (or sprinkle cheese as N calls it). Then I baked them for 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

The only thing I would change about the recipe is the cheese I used because my shredded cheese wasn't a great melting cheese.

Happy Birthday, Big Guy!!

Happy Birthday to my Big Guy, N!!! I cannot believe you are already five years old. Mommy is proud of all the growth you've done this year. I look forward to celebrating your Birthday at Monkey Joe's with your friends!! We celebrated with family last weekend and had so much fun. Thanks to everyone who attended.

Happy Birthday, Buddy.

VBS & Spiked Hair

N is attending Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church this week and he's having a blast! This morning he asked me to spike his hair "so my teacher will like it." He's in need of a haircut! Fortunately the good thing about being in desparate need of a hair cut means we were able to make one heck of a mohawk-ish spike. We even used gel! (Or Jelly as he calls it).We loaded up in the car to head to VBS. L did his new usual thing of pointing to his car window and said "Peeeese." This is his way of asking me to please roll down his window. It was a gorgeous morning, so I rolled down all the windows in the car. The second we got up a little bit of speed and the wind blew through the car, I hear,"Mom!!! Roll up the windows!! You're messing up my hair!!"

4th July and Dining Room

This year the 4th fell on Monday. D is fortunate enough to get the 4th off from work. He decided that because he already got Monday off, he'd take the rest of the week off. It is about this time each year that he realizes we are already half way through the year and he still has a big stash of vacation days to use or lose, so he usually uses some of them and we spend the week doing things around the house.

This year we decided that it was time to paint the dining room and cover up the ink drawing N did on one of the walls a long time ago when he sitting in there for a time out. In addition to painting the walls, we decided to hang wainscoting. I started painting after church on Sunday at 10 am and finished at 10 that night. I took breaks to eat lunch, play with L while D and N were gone for a bit and we had a pizza picnic in the garage for supper. Other than that, I painted all day Sunday.

We honestly cannot remember what we did Monday morning. Ha! I think we went shopping for supplies for the project that morning, then D worked on the project for the rest of the day. We took a break from the project late Monday afternoon and evening to celebrate the 4th with D's parents. We had big plans of going to a nearby city to partake in their festivities (unlimited jumping on blow up bouncy houses), but that didn't work out due to L's nap time. Instead, the boys played at home in the awesome new "kiddie car wash" Daddy built. They had a total blast! We ate supper, played with D's parents (snap caps) then they headed home. We played with our neighbors, the M's for a while before heading inside. We had plans of taking the boys to fireworks that night, but N wasn't behaving well, so we stayed home. We were all totally bummed that we had to stay home do to his poor behavior, but it ended up working out okay. The boys fell right to sleep at bed time, so D and I sat out in our driveway on our wicker couch and watched several fireworks displays from our front yard. The coolest thing we saw were lanterns that someone was setting off. If you've seen the move Tangled you'll know what I mean. The lanterns we saw were similar to the lanterns in the movie. They were really far away from us, but, from what we could tell, they were red, rectangular lanterns that had a small candle or tea light in each lantern that lit it for a while. The lantern would float slowly up into the air for a while, then the candle blew out. We saw a lot of neat fireworks that night, but the lanterns were by far the coolest!

N woke up on Tuesday morning and said he'd be a good boy that day so we could see the fireworks that night. Fortunately D taped the Macy's firework show and that filled N's desire to see fireworks. I took the boys to the gym and the library Tuesday morning so D could work on the wainscoting. We came home, ate lunch and put L down for a nap. Then I realized I forgot our library bag of library books at the library. Oops! So while L napped, N and I returned to the library while D worked on the dining room. We played there for quite a while before heading home. That afternoon we played in the kiddie car wash sprinkler again and our neighbors came over and joined us....while D worked on the dining room. Ha! Poor guy! I had no idea I was signing him up for such a big project on his week off. (Sorry, honey!)

This morning we went to D's brother's house to say goodbye to them before they move out of town. We got to visit with them for a little bit, but we knew they were busy directing the movers, so we didn't stay too long. After that, we ran some errands to pick up some tractor related supplies, then went back to the hardware store for more wainscoting supplies. We came home, ate lunch, put L down for a nap then D went back to work on the dining room! Fortunately our neighbor invited N over to play trains at her house with her son, so I was able to get him out of the house and out of D's way while L napped. After playing in the basement for a while and vaccuuming, I realized we needed to get the boys out of the house (and out of the dining room) for a while, so we headed to the gym to let Daddy finish up a few trim pieces. As of right now, the only thing we have left to do is hang the top strips of trim pieces and paint. Then we'll be done with that and I can start looking for curtains and dining room furniture. I think it'd be fun to find a table and chair set at the second hand store and paint them fun colors, but we'll see.

Friday Funnies

N's Birthday is coming up in the near future. He has been talking about what he wants on his Birthday list for months. We have a list typed up and he's hand written a few. He is currently on a train kick. Let me restate that. We eat, sleep and breathe trains! So, needless to say, trains are on his Birthday list. Tonight he was listing off a few more trains that he wants and he said he wanted those on his Christmas List and I said, "Don't you mean you want that on your Birthday List?" And he said, "No, those trains are on my Christmas list because they cost more money and Santa has more dollars, so I'll ask him for those trains."

The boys and I discovered that sledding in the summer is much more fun than sledding in the winter. No snowsuits, no frigid cold, no problem!! I pulled the two of them down the hills in our yard for a long time the other morning and we had a blast!! I bet we could do this on a hot summer day and add water into the equation somehow and have even more fun. I'll take pix next time.

I took both boys to the public outdoor pool today and we had a blast! I was super nervous to take two boys to the pool 'cause neither of them are great swimmers. I thought it would be an anxiety-filled experience for me, but it wasn't. I put them both in life jackets and they did really well. I'm so happy that our pool added toddler swimming hours in the morning. Those hours work great for our daily routine. The boys did so well and behaved so well I think we might just make a return visit before the summer is over. :) I told N if he reads thirty more books we can arrange a "Mommy and Me" or "Daddy and Me" pool date with him while L naps and the other parent stays home. And on that special date N could go down the blue slide in the big kid pool. He was pleased with that idea... Did I ever tell you N can raise one eye brow? Ya, he can raise one eye brow up and down multiple times in a row. He often does this when a good idea has been passed him. The special pool date idea was a single eye brow raiser.

I hope you're having a good summer. It's going fast! I can't believe the 4th of July is almost here. It's time to get our little summer wish list out, see what fun things we have written down and get them on the calendar before summer breezes past us.