Today... Last year!

February 5, 2009

We are now a year wiser... um, no longer putting the markers in our mouths -- but it's all over our hands and clothes!

(I had to pick up Morgan from school early yesterday -- she had a fever of 102!  So, today, we are just hanging out and she is doing a lot of sleeping!)

Cajun Meatloaf anyone?

I discovered a new blog to follow and I am loving her recipes!  Tonight, we had cajun meatloaf ( we had her chicken parmigiana recipe a few days before):

Here are the ingredients (and a bag of trash on the side -- whoops!  had to put the veggie parts somewhere!)

the smell was yummy!

while that was cooking -- we worked on the ground pork and ground turkey

my sous chefs:

add breadcrumb to the veggies:

add beated eggs to meat mixture:

mix, pour into pans (she molded onto a sheet), add topping (honey and ketchups) and in they go!  (I'll spare you the details of my hands getting pretty dirty and messy!)  The right one is for Jim and Clare (Jim is having shoulder surgery Friday morning.  The other one is our dinner tonight)

We had this with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.  My only comment --I think it had too much salt.  I will go easy on that ingredient next time!

Learning new skills!

Becky has mentioned this place to me MANY times but we never had the opportunity to go with her.  We finally went with Danielle, Brianna, and Lily, along with Braden and Lori a few weeks ago.  So, it was a  no brainer when we thought it would rain this week and we wanted to get together.

We headed over to Silver Creek Sportsplex!  For $5 a child (2 and over) they can jump themselves silly (for 2 hours).  However, the bonus of going during the weekday when everyone else is in school -- we were not limited to 2 hours!  The children jumped, climbed, slid, until they collapsed and begged to go home.  Fours hours later.... we headed home!

This is what Ethan learned to do today:
So - this is the bottom -- see how high that is back there?

Off he goes!

Remember, I am not helping him...

Almost there!

Here he is at the top!  Yahoo!!!!!  No images of him going down since he wanted me to slide down with him too!

Phew!  I was exhausted after a few climbs  -- he was ready to keep on going!  Here's what Matthew did:

Okay, not sure if you can tell how high that slide is... but it is REALLY high and REALLY slippery when going down!  Oh my gosh, the climb up was a chore!  But I had to do it a few times because he insisted we do a few family ones -- Ethan, who was terrified at first now loves it and will go n his own as long as I watch him from the top.  Which means, I have to climb up there too!  (you all know me and heights.. not a lover of that!)

Now, the proud pose:

He was SWEATING by the time he finally stopped doing this!  Is it a great place to work out, let me tell you!  I probably should  look into a membership -- hee hee.. could lose a few pounds while they have fun!

Tree Grafting 101

Matthew and Jim spent the afternoon in the backyard... Often they weed, rake, prune...  but today, this is what Matthew learned:

He learned the basics of grafting a tree:
1) figure out where you need to cut:

2) cut:

3) split the main branch a bit to fit the new branches that will be grafted (ensure there are at least 5 new buds), insert into the splits of the main branch:

4)  now for Matthew's favorite part -- "add the gunk!"  This material (forgot the name, will get back to you on that) is to ensure the branches heal properly:

5) close up of the "gunk" (Matthew's favorite word):

6) then tape it up to give it more support:

A pile of boxes?

I think NOT!
Look what we came up with!

Let the battle begin!  (No, the shields are not complete -- they were too excited to decorate anymore! Work still in progress...)
(This.. after reading about Odysseus and his travels!!)

Sweet Dreams...

Each night before going to bed I read to the children -- sometimes short books, but more often than not -- they choose a LONG book or we read a chapter book - a few chapters a night, that is.  Right now, we are reading James and the Giant Peach.  After I finish reading, Vince comes in to tuck them all in with me.  When he leaves, he turns off the light.  That is when we all say, "sweet dreams, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."
When Matthew was about 2 1/2 he added, "dream about everything good."  So ever since, we've added, "dream about everything that's good!"  (Because I have to make it as grammatically correct as possible since we say it every night!  I am still a bit annoyed that people use the apostrophe mark incorrectly!  But that can be another post.)  Lastly, I take turns saying goodnight to each of them before I "pretend" to sleep so they can fall asleep and I can leave the room!  Unfortunately, if I am having a rough day... this is when I fall asleep, wake up at midnight, shower, and then run to my own bed for a few more hours of sleep!

So, to our long days I am so happy when the lights are turned off and we say our special saying.  Every now and then we take turns saying what we hope to dream about... those can never be revealed as they are sometimes wishes (and they won't come true if I reveal them to the world!).

Alas, I can go to sleep knowing that they will be dreaming wonderful dreams... and hopefully they will dream them in their own bed!  Fingers crossed and double crossed... if not, at least I will have a few hours of deep sleep before one of them interrupts.  Who will be first tonight?!