Tuesday, September 30, 2008

by air or by road

We are going to visit my in laws up in Spokane for Christmas.

We have know that we were going to do this since at least July. But we are so up in the air about how we are going to get there we haven made solid plans yet. Loren really wants to drive as he HATES to fly. Seriously hates it so much that when he went to Europe after college graduation he didnt use his return flight. He work on boats to get back to the USA.

Anyway, the idea of a minimum of 18 hours in a car with a 1 and 2.5 year old in the winter to get to Spokane sounds ludicrous, but that is what we are thinking. Flying doesnt seem like much fun either with our two boys. Luke is the loudest child I have ever know and Jack cant sit still for 10 minutes. Still 8 hours of travel time on a plane vs at least 2 days in the car does seem like the lesser of two evils...

What would you do? Luckily, we will have a great time in Spokane and I am really looking forward to seeing it and meeting more of L's relatives as I have never been there before.

Sunday, September 28, 2008



I asked Jack to smile and this is what I got...













Here is Jack in his new rubber ducky helmet.
One of L parents (he is a teacher) gave him this helmet and bike seat for Jack. He loves to go ride with Daddy in the park and he loves his helmet. (don't mind the mess of a house!)

Luke and the yam

I really wish I knew how to post more then
one pix in a blog post. I wanted 2 shots of Luke
and the yam.
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An early Thanksgiving

Luke has decided that it is time to embrace Fall.
He came out of the kitchen with his newest toy...a yam.
Apparently, he loves it it cooked and raw. Or maybe it is
a sweet potato. What is the difference between a yam and a sweet
potato? We like to make baked fries with this yam/sweet pot, if we can
pry it from Luke's hands.

He is looking forward to Thanksgiving yams at Grandma's this year!
Yummy!
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Thursday, September 25, 2008

On our own

L is gone for a few days on a "business trip". Camping for 3 days with 60 3rd graders and probably 30 parents is his business... doesnt that sound like a good time. Im very lucky that he only goes on 2 of these "trips" a year. Some moms have husbands gone all the time and some are in the service...my hat is really off to all off them. I suppose you get used to it, but it is hard to get both boys fed, walked (we walk around the block after dinner every night), to bed, up again and dressed for the next day and out the door by 7am. Jack woke up early asking for daddy, but seemed pretty happy that he did not have to go to school. Tomorrow may be a different situation cuz it is a school day. Im hoping to go visit L tomorrow with Luke after I drop Jack off at school...or we may go take a nap...

I sure appreciate everything L does! Especially that he makes my coffee in the morning for me, and he doesnt even drink coffee!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008


I have been trying new recipes that I can blog about, but all I keep coming up with are yucky recipes.
This Pork and Slaw Barbecue Rolls crockpot recipe - is terrible. I dont know what I did wrong, but it was really dry and tasteless. I found it on the web with many good reviews, but we all hated it. Well ,Tooces the cat like it, but it is not a keeper recipe. I added the Sweet Baby Rays bbq sauce and that was the best part - can't go wrong with Rays.

Pork and Slaw Barbecue Rolls Tue 29 Jan 2008 12:01 pm
Pork and Slaw Barbecue Rolls 1 4- to 5- pound pork shoulder roast or pork shoulder blade Boston roast (Boston butt) 3/4 cup cider vinegar 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 16 kaiser rolls, split and toasted Coleslaw 1. Place meat in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. In a small bowl combine vinegar, brown sugar, salt, red pepper, and black pepper. Pour over meat. 2. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours. 3. Transfer meat to a cutting board; reserve cooking juices. When cool enough to handle, cut meat off bones and coarsely chop. In a medium bowl combine meat and as much of the juices as desired to moisten. Arrange meat on roll bottoms. Add roll tops. Serve with coleslaw. Makes 16 servings.

Any ideas for good bbq pork recipes?
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Sunday, September 21, 2008

Jack had decided that winter is here and he must wear thermal pjs, fuzzy slippers and his fancy jester hat. Bring on the snow.
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Never ever leave mommy's arms...much better view from up here!
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Lukes favorite place to be...on my hip.
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Thursday, September 18, 2008

pick me up

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Lukes fave position


Here he is in his favorite position. At my knees, screaming and crying
for me to pick him up. Have I told you how loud Luke's voice is...
If I am in the house and not holding him, he has a serious problem with that.
How dare I not want to snuggle with him...
Eat, we dont need to eat, just carry him from room to room and NEVER put him down.
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Dinner


Look what Jack ate!
Well, not the whole thing, but he is a seriously picky eater and he ate two helpings.
He would not touch the mashed cauliflower and potatoes, but I was impressed.
Here is the recipe.

Zucchini Quiche

INGREDIENTS
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 pound zucchini, thinly sliced (I grated the zucchini)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash pepper
Paprika
DIRECTIONS
Prick bottom of pastry with a fork. Bake at 425 degrees F for 7 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F.

In a small skillet, saute zucchini in butter until tender; drain. Place half the zucchini in the crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, cream, eggs, salt, oregano, basil, garlic powder and pepper. Pour into crust. Arrange remaining zucchini slices over top. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Tuesday, September 16, 2008


And Luke also likes to explore the cupboards by climbing in...
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Sorry Jack

This is what Luke does when Jack is at preschool. Plays with his toys.
Here he is on Jack's coveted bus...It is his first maiden voyage.
While he did not fall off, he did get stuck at the walls a lot. Our place is not that big for bus riding when you don't know how to turn or go backwards.
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Monday, September 15, 2008

Your castle awaits


Do you remember little people?
We have a friend who's parents saved all of his little people toys. He must have been a very popular kid cuz he seems to have all of the them and they are way cool. His parents recently cleaned out their attic (no grandkids) and decided to pass them on to new kids and we are the happy recipient of a few of them. They are way old school and remind me of my childhood friends (I never had any). Jack loves them. The castle has a dungeon, horses, a dragon and trap door. Notice the king is napping on the bed. Anyway, thanks to Richie's parents for spreading the toy love!
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Saturday, September 13, 2008

Thank you


Today I got to go to the Farmers Market by myself.
It was great to peruse the fruits and vegetables with out have to hear Jack demand strawberries the whole time and I didnt have to worry that the stroller was going to roll down the hill while I was buying peaches. In order for me to go, I had to agree to bring back a treat for everyone. When I got home, Jack demanded his treat. I gave him his beloved strawberries and half a cookie. As he bit into the crazy yummy cookie he gave me his first unsolicited "thank you". I was so pleased, and, man, those cookies are awesome and as you can see almost all gone.
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Friday, September 12, 2008

Woo hoo, my first comment...thanks, Mom!

Jack did better today at his drop off at school. While he made it VERY clear that he did not want to go with an constant monologue of "no go school", "mommy no work" and "go home", he did not cry when I left him. L told him that he would take him for a race car cart ride at Safeway after school and he really liked that idea. Who invented those giant carts that all kids MUST use or have a melt down? It works as we end up buying something we don't really need. But pushing the giant carts is crazy... Ive nearly taken a few people and end caps out with the thing as it is impossible to maneuver

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Still employed


I like this pix of us...not too many of the whole family.
Just want to update that I finally met with my 2 bosses to let them know that I was going to be resigning as I can not go back to work full time in January and I dont want to be leading them on about it...they dont want me to leave and support me with the 60% time thru Dec. So I will be staying till then less that seems impossible.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

luke's 1 year stats

Luke had is 1 yr dr apt with Dr S. He did great! Poor guy had 2 shots and a finger prick blood draw that took for ever... He was quite the trooper and hardly cried at all. Charmed all the other blood takers so that I doubt anyone was getting seen in the waiting room. And the waiting room line was 20 minutes. Luke is in the 50th percentile for height and 25th for weight. At 21 pounds I find him quite heavy and with his giant cheeks everyone thinks he is huge. Happily, he has 2 words (ut oh and bye-bye) so hopefully no language delays for him.

Im struggling with the should I work, should I be a stay at home mom dilemma...