Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween


So we went to down town SC for Halloween. I never go down town cuz it is too much of a freak show, but on halloween everyone goes...luckily more kids then freaks till dark. We went early.


Both boys enjoyed it and what is not to like... lots to look at and candy. Great combo.







One of the funnier moments was when a lady was admiring Luke in the stroller. She was saying how cute he was and he just let out a lukey scream...and it scared the s#*t out of her. She jumped a foot at such a loud voice out of such a small boy.



Luckily, it did not rain until later that night.








Can you guess what L was?

A black eyed pea.
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

apple and sausage pie

I am realizing that I am a terrible food photographer. This was a pretty yummy recipe that seemed very Fall like. Unfortunately, I made it on the day that L had the stomach flu, but even in that state he said it was good. More brunchy then dinner, but good none the less. Jack even ate a little. So I think I will keep the recipe...maybe a pix of the actual slice of pie would have looked better....I will work on it! I found the recipe on simple recipes. She has great recipes and is good with the photos as well.
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007167apple_and_sausage_pie.php
The only changes I made were to use low fat ricotta cheese and low fat shredded cheese. Next time I would use bigger apples or add one more in.
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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Vote

L and I voted this weekend. Absentee ballets are really awesome. I am going to be busy from 8am to 9pm on Tuesday, Nov 4, so doing it early is the best thing. I want to encourage everyone to vote no matter who you are voting for cuz it is our American right. No bitching about the country if you don't vote. It is not just the president (go Obama!), but many important propositions as well.

On another note, I think this is going to be a wet and cold winter...based on the amount of "activity" in the attic. The squirrels are storing nuts and saving up for a long winter. We really need the rain.

Monday, October 27, 2008

finger paint


I found the idea of finger painting with pudding on the internet. It is a great idea for an activity that both boys can do together. Most things the boys do have Jack saying "no baby lukey" and pushing is involved. Many things Jack cant do because Luke wants to do them too and he is too small. Really limits Jacks playdoh, crayon and bean bulldozing time.

However, the idea backfired. All they would do was eat pudding. Onced Jack found the spoon it was all over. I did more "fingerpainting" then they did. It was pretty yummy tho.
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Saturday, October 25, 2008

halloween practice

Last night we made the rookie mistake of telling Jack that we were going to have Halloween tomorrow after nap... He was up at 545am saying "Halloween, Halloween, Halloween". He would not go back to sleep. Least we know know not to tell him exactly when Santa is coming or he'll be up at 4am.

We went to my mom's for a saratoga halloween celebration...at 3pm. It was a long day. Actually is was really great that L and I got to go to dim sum for lunch and my mom watched the boys.

Jack is very excited about the candy, and not so thrilled that we confiscated it. We let him have one of his choice after dinner and he went for the tootsie pop. He loves lolly pops and calls them popsicles. I think he ate it in 3 bites.
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Friday, October 24, 2008

All sick

Well, we seem to be finally getting over it. What ever it is. I had the stomach flu on monday and have been feeling generally yucky ever since. Luke has been lethargic with diahrea and extra needy (if that is possible) since tuesday. L has been feeling generally yucky since monday... Jack, the kid in preschool, is just fine. He had the hurt ear on saturday, but it only lasted 2 hours. Everyone had said that we will all get sick cuz of Jack in school, but he is the healthy one!

I have started giving my presentations for work....I HATE it and get all stressed out. They are going just great so far. I really am lucky that I get to visit such nice schools. Stevenson school is amazingly beautiful on 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach. Carmel HS is a mess of construction, but it is so nice to sit at the beach inbetween school visits. The weather has been in the 80's and not a cloud in the sky. I wish I had remembered my camera!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Pumpkin Time


This is the third time I have tried to write this post and it keeps getting lost...

We went to my Dad's this weekend. I had hoped to go to a pumpkin patch and find the perfect pumpkin, go thru a corn maze and drink cider. Jack had other plans as he woke up on saturday with an ear infection. It was his first ear infection in almost 3 years which I think is pretty good. Anyway, we went to the grocery store for a pumpkin and Jack was very excited...until I cut it open. He would not stick his hand in the pumpkin to pull out the guts for anything. He looked disgused that all of those seeds and strings came out of such a great pumpkin.

I ended up carving the pumpkin which I havent done in years.

Jack really like the candle in the pumpkin, but still says that they are yucky.
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My drive home from work

I
I really think that I work in the most beautiful place in the world!

It doesn't pay all that well, but it has amazing views.

I took these out my car window and really they do not
do the view justice. It is much more beautiful in person, especially the ocean.

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I want to live in this neighborhood


This is the neighborhood that I drive home in.

Beautiful houses with a beautiful view.

I like to think that there is too much traffic and too much fog.
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Friday, October 17, 2008

Messy

Dinner at our house is a very messy and loud production. Luke thinks that he know how to feed himself with a fork and spoon and will not let anyone "help" him anymore. He is able to get a few pieces of food on to the spoon, but he seem to think that it is best to put it in his mouth upside down so that most of the food ends up on his lap.

As he gets tired of eating, his idea of fun is to throw the food around the room...not just drop it (tho he does like to drop it) but fling it. Jack has learned that if he pats his head that Luke will do it too. Lots and lots of food in the hair.
I dont even want to start on the boys screaming, each trying to be louder then the other...




Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Yum-o Pizza

This is a standard dinner at our house. We have this at least every 4-6 weeks. I love it because all 4 of us will eat it. I prep the bacon and veges while the boys nap and it is so easy to put it all together right before dinner.

It is a Rachael Ray recipe. I love Rachael...okay she is a bit annoying
but I love her recipes and her magazine.
Here is the recipe:
Roasted Veggie Pizza
From Every Day with Rachael Ray
November 2007
SIX SERVINGS Prep Time: 20 min Cook Time: 15 min

4 slices thick-cut bacon
One 16-ounce package refrigerated pizza dough
6 ounces fontina cheese, grated (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise
3/4 head cauliflower, broken into small florets (about 3 cups)
1/3 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
1. Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 500°. In a skillet, cook the bacon until nearly crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Reserve the bacon fat.
2. Grease a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon bacon fat, place the pizza dough on top and press and stretch the dough as close to the pan edges as possible. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the dough; bake for 5 minutes.
3. In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the brussels sprouts and cauliflower for 1 minute. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl and add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and plenty of pepper; toss well. Spoon the veggie mixture evenly over the dough, halve the bacon crosswise and scatter on top; sprinkle the pizza with the remaining cheese.
4. Bake the pizza until the crust is golden-brown and the cheese is bubbly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Monday, October 13, 2008

backwards posting

This is the end of our walk. 2 posts down is the first post.

Can you find the deer or Daddy deer (so jack says)?













leaves changing








The mighty San Lorenzo river.
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Terrible pix of us, but here we are...


part of the path

trying to be artsy


One the way home
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Fall walk


Jack and I headed out this morning for a Fall walk.
It was a very brisk 45-50 degrees and Jack spent the whole
walk with his hands stuffed in his pockets










heading out to the park...













the meadow













Big tree number 7.

Apparently you can only have 4 pix per blog entry...more to come.
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Toonces new toy


I brought home a balloon for the boys yesterday and
this is what I found the cat doing later in the day.
Toonces loves him some string!
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Sunday, October 12, 2008

Wow, things have been very busy around here. Work is really getting in the way of blogging. We are really busy in the office and it is time to go out and do presentations....my very least favorite thing in the world. Yesterday was UCSC preview day so I was smiling and making small talk from 8 till 6. Totally exhausting.

We are still decided in if we are crazy enough to take Jack and Luke by plane to Spokane for xmas. On South West airlines if you do not get an A boarding pass, then you have to board after the A group...Im sure Jack will just love to fly 3 rows down from me and L. And the airlines strongly recommend putting your kid in a car seat for the flight... can you image me and L carrying Jack, Luke, a car seat and various carry on bags thru the terminals to make a connecting flight. We have decided against the car seat.

And, my mammogram need "further evaluation". It says it most likely isnt bad or anything, but still a little nerve racking. Anyway, I am hoping to get some cute pix of the boys soon.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

boob check

As this is Breast Cancer awareness month, I got my first mammogram. It didnt even hurt and only took 20 minutes. The blood draw that I did after it was much more tramatic.

Recently, at work we lost a wonderful 41 year old woman to breast cancer and on the day of her funeral another coworker was diagnosed with cancer. Two of my other co workers are breast cancer survivors. It is just crazy!

If you are female and over 40, get your annual mammogram!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

almost walking


And we have take off...
Luke has been attempting to walk lately. Here he is pulling himself up and taking a few wobbly steps. We used to clap when he would stand up and now he expects
us to do it everytime he stands...which is often. Jack loves to clap and egg him on.
Jack anounces loudly "baby Lukey walking, no mommy, no daddy"


Notice how wet that shirt is...Luke has had a lingering cold
and is possibly teething, tho I dont know how he could fit any
more teeth in his mouth. Anyway, he drools non-stop.
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Monday, October 6, 2008

no nap

An hour into nap time, I went in to take a pix of Jack sleeping. To my amazement he was up peering out his bedroom window. He tried to lay down and play asleep when I opened to door wider. No nap Jack is not a fun Jack so I am hoping he does go to sleep.

This weekend dog sit was successful, but a bit tiring and no internet. For some reason the phone and dsl would go out for no reason. We spent a lot of time trying to keep Luke from breaking things and trying not to electrocute himself. The boy loves sockets, plugs and chewing on cords. Poor Penny dog had a rough time bumping in to the boys and their toys, but she seemed happy we were there. The house is nice and big for the boys to run around in and Sunday it was nice enough to go outside and play in the big yard.

Friday, October 3, 2008



We are off to dog sit for the weekend at the beautiful location where we got married. Penny is a very sweet, blind and deaf dog so we do not expect much trouble from her. She loves the boys too.
Notice in the picture that Jack is coming in the doggy door... Luke, too, has discovered this door. They both think of it as a hysterical way to escape the house. We are in for an action packed where is Jack/Luke weekend! Luckily the yard is fenced so no one can get very far.

This is Jack in one of the beautiful gardens that surround the house.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Captain Underwear


Every boy does it...puts the undies on the head and thinks that it is hysterical.
Jack is no different. This lovely pair of Thomas the Train undies has spent
more time on his head then on his bottom.
Potty training is not going well.

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