The Veggie Adventure Begins!

Oh sure...they LOOK healthy enough, but after a winter of cereal, canned fruit and a few carrots, trust me they need a lot more veggies and it wouldn't hurt their mom & dad to eat a few more veggies either! So here's the big problem -- they are the world's pickiest eaters! Well, except for their Mom! At one point in their life, Jeremy wouldn't eat anything crunchy and Peter wouldn't eat anything squishy -- every day was a buffet at our house. So, this summer we prepaid for a weekly shipment of veggies from a farm for whatever was in season.

We picked up our first batch of veggies a week ago -- a HUGE amount of greens! It had my favorite butter lettuce, really mild spinach, leaf lettuce, red lettuce, cilantro & parsley. So, we had salad & sandwiches every day. The kids even had salads -- they will eat salad if it has shredded cheese on it. Tuesday I picked up our second batch of veggies and due to the amazing rains this year, even more spinach this week. Hmmmm, even I'm starting to get a little tired of the rabbit diet. So, I pulled out one of my favorite tricks, the Impossible Pie -- Bisquick. There are great recipes on their web-site, including a spinach pie. I modified the recipe to include some feta cheese, added garlic and some extra onions -- and fresh spinach, of course. Peter went for seconds and he is the one who doesn't eat squishy food and was looking for the meat before dinner! Jeremy -- well, he ate the Bisquick/cheese layer with only small amounts of spinach, but it wasn't a total loss for him.

Yesterday, I made a quiche using more spinach. Peter helped by stirring some bacon as it crisped up and then I tossed in some onions and minced garlic. Once the garlic and onions cooked down a little, then I tossed in my chopped fresh spinach to wilt a little and then removed it from the heat. In the meantime, I let the Jeremy mix up the eggs, milk and seasons for the quiche -- salt, pepper & fresh nutmeg. The bacon & spinach mixture went in the bottom of a cooked pie shell, the egg & milk mixture on top and then a healthy amount of shredded cheese on top of that. Again Peter had seconds, but even better Jeremy old ate his whole piece! I have to say, it was pretty tasty. The kids were quite pleased with themselves for helping to make it too! Cheese seems to be the trick in getting the kids to eat leafy greens. Well, cheese or bacon! If we keep this spinach thing up for much longer, it might make it into our regular rotation and we'll have to start buying it year round or gasp, start buying frozen spinach! I haven't even made a spinach dip yet! I'm saving that for either the weekend, or next week when we might get even more spinach yet again!

Kindergarten is hard!!!

Yup, that's right, my baby boy, my little petunia is in Kindergarten. (And that is why there are more doors up in my basement -- so Rob said when I talked to him on Wednesday -- yaaa!!!! -- and why the Venetian Plaster is all done -- Woohoo!!! insert happy basement dance here!!!)

Peter is adjust well to 4th Grade and his teacher, even though Dusty isn't in his class. He looks out for Jeremy at recess some times & checks out spider books from the library even though they didn't get any new ones, so he seen them all before. I like they are like old friends to him now.

I warned the principal that Jeremy was coming to Sagewood & that I was sure it wouldn't take her long to get to know him. She laughed. She's not laughing anymore!!! The first week, yes, the first week of school, something upset Jeremy while in class. He screamed a classic somewhat typical Jeremy scream. The principal left her office to find out who was dying! Of course, it was only Jeremy not getting his way.
Jeremy likes recess best, except he doesn't like the playground teacher because she enforces the playground rules. You know like the ones about not throwing rocks. We've already told him about the no snow balls rule. I'm sure he'll get in trouble for throwing snow balls anyway -- you wait, there will be a post about it in a few weeks.

Oh, and apparently there is a special teacher who gets the gets who are so distracting that the regular teacher can't teach their class because that kid is being so disruptive. We never knew such a person existed until Jeremy, but apparently so. Our goal is to get to the point that Jeremy no longer to see that teacher.......

A big part of the problem is that Jeremy already knows half the stuff he is supposed to learn in Kindergarten so I think he's a bit bored. And he just wants to do the fun stuff.

His teacher uses a color system -- green is good, yellow is not as good & red is bad -- you lose recess if you are red. Past red & you go to the other teacher. One day this week when Rob asked Jeremy what color he was, Jeremy said, "you know yellow is not so bad...."

We've got to work hard not to compare him to Peter, since Peter has only been non-green once, maybe twice. It's not that Peter doesn't have his struggles, it's that they are different.

Once Jeremy is reading I think school will be much more interesting for him. Then he'll be able to really imagine a million things. I think he'll love science fiction books. He likes PE class & music class and was excited to bring home his first library book. We've just got to get him over the hump here!

I got him a few little treats from Disneyland -- hopefully that will cheer him up. I was surprised at how hard it was to find little things for the boys. But 1) they have LOTS of Disney stuff and 2) I didn't want big or silly stuff.

I finally ended up w/ a sheriff badge and some Jack Skelington gloves & hat for Jeremy so he can add them to the costume box for variety and a Jack Skelington pencil/marker/pen kit for Peter that he can use at home for homework projects. Oh and I got them some chocolate Disney coins. Those are always good! I was going to get some suckers, but then I remembered that we still have about 20 at home!

OK -- well, it's almost time to board my plane, so that's it for the mostly neglected blog update. The good or bad news is that I've got another September trip, so there should be another blog update in September. However, I might post some more Princess photos......

Oh -- one more note, I dropped off Grandma at home this trip, so the upstairs guest suite is empty!

Call Rob if you need to make reservations! We are taking a couple of trips to S. Cal this winter, so let us know if you need a place to stay.

What time zone is it anyway???

We did indeed make it back from Florida & we've finally caught up on the sleep/jet-lag, etc. By the time school starts in 2 weeks, hopefully the kids will know what time zone they are in! I haven't downloaded the rest of the photos and videos, yet, but I did order the Photopass with all 200 photos from Disneyland & Disneyworld (so behind on the Scrapbooking now!!!) Now that we are all sleeping in the basement (except for Grandma who has her own suite upstairs), my craft/sewing room is shaping up in what used to be Peter & Jeremy's room upstairs. Rob hung my TV up on the wall. That means that I could put my printer/scanner on the craftsman tools chest which holds my wooden stamps (was on clearance in the scratch & dent section). So I scanned in the actual photographs we got at Disneyworld. The first one is from the Expedition Everest ride at Animal Kingdom. It's kind of like the Big Thunder Mountain ride on steriods w/ the Matterhorn monster thrown in for good measure. The couple in front is obviously freaked out. Rob is holding onto what he thinks is going to be his new backpacking hat (until I tell everyone he bought his "backpacking" hat at Disneyworld). Peter is still trying to convince himself that this ride really doesn't have a loop in it and yes, I am holding onto my tiara. Really, if you've spent $9.95 for a tiara, that is the only sensible thing to do.
The next photos are from lunch inside Cinderella's castle. You take photos with Cinderella before lunch & then some of the other princesses come & visit during lunch. Did I mention that Cinderella's castle is ginormous! This was really good food -- the food in Florida was really, really good. Le Chefs de France was fabulous. However, it was beaten by the Yak & Yeti restaurant in Animal Kingdom. Surprising. I would not have predicted that -- we almost didn't try the Yak & Yeti. Le Chefs de France was as great as we remembered, but Yak & Yeti was even better.
I've already looked on-line for the Mango Pie recipe and been unable to find it, so I'm going to have to start experimenting, because I'm not going back to Florida anytime soon and I'm going to need Mango Pie pretty quick. It was a creamy mango custard in graham cracker crust - very simple, but oooooh -- really, really good. It had just a hint of lime in it.......mmmm mango pie......the mango pie was better than the key lime pie and any of the chocolate desserts we had there, which were numerous!
The last photo is from the Space Center. We did this the last time with the four of us. We just had to drag Grandma into it. I think the photographer liked Grandma -- he "touched up" in quite a few places for her!

Anyway, the space center tour was a really good time. This time we went on the tour that took us up to the launching pads & the runway. We drove right up to the runway & and the runway is so long you literally can't see from one end to the other. We also got to get out at the Vehicle Assembly Building which we never got to do before. We didn't see many gators this trip -- it was too dang hot for them!

OK -- I'll see if I can get the video downloaded next time -- I think Rob has 3 hours of gorilla video. The one was ready to jump the moat & take him out!

Little Update

Yes, I know the title is lame. Hey -- it's like Conan says, the blog is free!! What did you expect?
You want quality, send in a check for $10, then you can complain about quality!

OK -- So it's not ALL about Princess Stephanie -- CLOSE!!!!

We had a good brief visit w/ Nate, Amy, Abby & Iris -- she's going to be trouble that little Iris!!! No fear!

So, I was 7 when Bev went to the Y. When that happened, the dinner yell went from "Boys & girls it's time for dinner!" to "Boys, it's time for dinner!!!" I distinctly remember that on a weird day when I was 13 and I got a perm that Dad noticed that I wasn't technically a "boy" and the dinner discussion was whether or not the dinner yell needed to be changed. The next the day I washed my hair and it fell out & I got a refund and a new perm which also fell out as well as the third perm -- yup that's 3 Saturdays down the drain -- thanks for stealing ALL the naturally curly hair genes Cliff, Paul, Willy and Nate!) The dinner yell stayed @ Boys only & I was quite OK with that. I still tried multiple other attempts at curling my hair over the years with limited success. My hair will curl, but only until it gets moist & then it's straight. Sigh! I'm not sharing this so that you'll feel sorry for me, it is what it is, but more so that you'll understand why I'm enjoying the Princess Stephanie aspect so much. Even though I am still well under 40 and I do mean, WELL UNDER, yes, WELL UNDER!!!! -- stop laughing!!! I do not think I'll have a daughter, so I'm enjoying this moment to enjoy my niece! Be warned The Disney photographer took several dozen photographs of the fairy god-mothers in training process, plus we visited Pixie Hollow and Tinkerbell got all confused because she thought Peter was Peter Pan. Jeremy had to set her straight. Princess Stephanie and I added frames to the digital photos yesterday while on the train up from San Diego. I expect that the CD will arrive sometime in early August, so they should show up on the blog in a later post -- just a little something to look forward to!!!!! I know you are excited!!!!!

We talked to Crush in the Animation building. He's the Daddy sea turtle from Finding Nemo -- he's got a special microphone & camera that let's him talk to families in Anaheim from the EAC. No, he's not on Twitter yet. Anyway, Jeremy was wearing his paper crown from eating lunch at Ariel's grotto. Crush asked to talk to him first, asked him his name & where he was from. Since he was wearing a crown, Crush pronounced him Prince Jeremy, King of Wyoming -- very funny! Then he wanted to talk to Jeremy's parental unit, so he got to talk to Rob, which was also hilarious as expected!

Princess Buttercup!!!! I mean Stephanie!

OK. OK. OK. I know the blog is neglected. WAY to much to explain. Will sum up. Have migraines, NOT ear infections. Different from TMJ migraines. Neurologist is working on them. NOT the end of the world yet. Basement is looking good. Has rained much. Kids are learning to swim. Rob went to Scout camp. Cat is still alive. Currently at D-Land w/ Steph on her 1st visit & decided she needed to go to the Bibbidty Bobbidy Bottique (why oh why does the blasted spell checker fail me when I need it most? curses!!!! It is a the scrourge of PCs everywhere!) So, here are more short videos of the make-over. A few notes -- the models in the hair style brochures looked to be 4 or 5 years old. The Skipper on the Jungle Cruise Boat called Steph "Sparkles" when she ducked because she thought the hippos were going to charge. A number of people flat out stared as she walked down the street because the glitter was somewhat blinding in the daylight. Even on the dark rides she sparkled AND she is intending to wear the sash and tiara tomorrow! Mentioned something about brothers and sisters not being here to bother her!





At first Jeremy didn't want anything to do with this crazy Princess store. But once he realized that he wasn't being attacked, he was OK to stay & watch.





These ladies were so fast with the hair. They were unbeleivable. And the hair that stood up straight. Wow. I got a great shot because that was the 2nd time. The first time it didn't quite meet the standards of the one fairy god mother in training so it got more goo!







Did I mention that I took like 500 hundred short little videos? I've found that it's easier on my ancient laptop.............I'm willing to burn a CD of the high quality videos for anyone who really wants one.




Oh --- and not only was I taking little mini videos, but Rob had our digital camera. AND Disney had photographers there. Since they didn't seem to be 100% booked and the 3 year old didn't seem to be real camera hogs, the one photographer seemed to dedicate herself to Steph, so there's quite a few photos on the Photopass!!!! I'm sure they'll make it onto Facebook sometime!!! OK -- gotta run -- we're trying to make to the park at o-dark hundred again! ack!!!!! Not bothering w/ spell check -- Humgub!!!

Aliens are always green Mommy

I was talking w/ Jeremy about what he's been learning in pre-school. They are in the Space section, so he told me which planets are gaseous, that Pluto has an erratic orbit, etc. I was pretty impressed with all the little bits of knowledge floating about his 5 year-old brain & decided to tease him a little. I asked if him there were aliens on the moon. He matter-of-factly said, "Yes, there are aliens on the moon just like all the planets." Naturally, I asked if they were the green or purple aliens. He replied that "real aliens are always green." What was I thinking?!?!?
Every now & then, I save extra special IM conversations that I have. This is one of my all-time favs, which seems to fit the topic:

Property Manager (you know who you are!!!): "so there was a sonic boom that we thought was an earthquake, something then immediately landed on the roof of identitycraft and made this huge hole. fire department is here to make sure it was not part of a spacecraft!!"

It was NOT aliens, but the firemen were reported to be unusually attractive!

Yes, I know the blog is neglected. April sucked. Too many blizzards, asthma attacks, ear infections, tonsillitis, tax returns & general mayhem!! May post photos & details later.....no promises though!

Spell checker update -- for once it highlighted 2 mis-spelled words! I still think it highlights random words just to make you second guess yourself!

That word you keep on-a using -- I do not think it means what you think it means!

Are we on blizzard # 5 or # 6 since the official start of spring? I can't remember!!! All I know is it feels wrong to be stocking up on eggs to color when I've still got to wade through drifts to brush the snow off my car! Ugh!! Oh, and just in case you were wondering, 5 year olds and 8 year olds are no help at all when it comes to dragging full shopping carts through the drifts in Sam's parking lot...grrr! My poor crocuses & tulips keep getting buried in snow. We'd worry about the apple tree in the front yard, except...wait we don't have an apple tree in the front yard anymore -- thanks to a dopey driver and a Dec blizzard. Humbug!