Bridal Shower

The girls and I attended a bridal shower last weekend in Norfolk. We got to see a lot of people we haven't seen in quite awhile which was quite nice. The girls had a lovely time running around with third cousins. I'm pretty sure the bride didn't even get to open any of her own presents; all the little girls were opening them for her.

Soren thought there were diamonds wrapped in just about every box. I don't know what kind of bridal shower she's expecting, but I think she may be disappointed when her time comes.

Here are a few photos from our luncheon:

Soren's Game

While I was baking the muffins mentioned in the previous post, Soren hung out in the kitchen and played, well, I'm not sure what. She said she was a teacher but all those little papers were "money and debit cards." She cut up all the homework she worked on earlier in the day. Yes, I know those are dangerous grown-up scissors. I promise She still has all her fingers. Whatever she was playing, it kept her well occupied while I baked.

Corn Muffins

I love cookbooks. I own a few, and I love to check them out from the library. My newest book is America's Hometown Recipe Book. It caught my eye because I always see recipes as a part of our culture and history, and what could be better than a cookbook with a collection of recipes from churches, fairs, and bake sales?



Side note: I love the butter crock (pictured in the background) we bought in Princeton, NJ. It keeps the butter soft and spreadable. And it totally matches my kitchen decor. Holla!

I had a go at Blackberry Corn Muffins. I love, love, love using cornmeal in desserts, so I was chomping at the bit to make these. Here are the ingredients:

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. cornmeal (I used yellow)
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 containers (6oz each) fat free yogurt
2 Tbl. unsalted butter, melted
1 c. fresh or frozen blackberries

As you can see from the ingredients list, these are actually pretty healthy as far as muffins go. When I prepared my batch, I ran into a few problems.

Problem #1: I didn't exactly have the yogurt called for in the recipe, so I used one carton of Greek yogurt with blueberries and some plain vanilla. I used the Greek yogurt cup to measure out 6oz. of the vanilla yogurt.



Problem #2: I had no frozen blackberries, so I used strawberries. Next time I'll either stick with blackberries or bluebaerries (which I had but didn't know I had because they were buried in the freezer).

They make a really pretty batter, though.



And when they were done baking, Evelyn came into the kitchen and said, "MMMMMMM, those muffins are so pretty!"



Disregard those mini donuts in the background. Pretend you never saw them.

I ate some muffins; they made a great accompaniment to my morning yogurt. I also froze the extras, but I haven't tried them yet to see how they held up. I'll take some out of the freezer right now.

Abundant Tomatoes

Despite the fact that our garden was attacked by grasshoppers and beaten half to death in not one but two really bad storms, we are seeing a pretty steady harvest of tomatoes. This year we grew two heirloom varieties (brandywine black and pineapple) and one hybrid (sausage - it's basically a funny-shaped Roma). As such, I have been peeling and freezing lots of tomatoes.

Evelyn has become quite the little tomato peeler and squisher.




So far I've made BLTs, salsa, and pasta sauce. I've got my on a yummy bruschetta recipe, but I'm not sure I'll be able to convince the natives of its deliciousness. Maybe I'll just have to eat the whole batch myself.

Snow Globe Display

I decided that my snow globe collection needed a better home, and when I decide something it usually happens. What can I say? I'm a woman of few needs, but when I do need something I need it NOW.

The collection's previous home was way up on top of the kitchen cabinets, and all they did up there was collect dust and grease. No one could really admire them, especially not a shortie like me. As such, I took the Target gift card so generously bestowed upon me by my brother in law and sister in law (for watching their son for a week) and purchased some cool red shelving units. Now my snow globes and my Grandma's coffee cups have a nice, stylish, easily admired home above the desk in the kitchen.

It's Fixed, Charlie Brown

Years and years ago Colby got me a cute Charlie Brown snow globe. I have a little collection of snow globes, but I forgot to pick up a New Jersey globe while we were there. (Hint, hint, Sassafras Mama. I'll pay you back if you send one!)

Anyway, my Charlie Brown snow globe has been moved many, many times. I'm pretty sure it's made every single move with us from our very first apartment until now. Needless to say, it's taken some abuse. The Charlie Brown on the top broke off and had been broken off since at least St. Joseph. Today I fixed it with a little Liquid Nails.

Welcome back, Charlie Brown.

First Day of School 2011

Oh my goodness, I am the parent of an 8th grader. Yep, it's true. My little tiny 7lb. 9 oz. baby is now 152 lbs. He has hair in all sorts of crazy places. His voice is deeper. His appetite is bigger. Good lord, when did this all happen?



Brody is in 3rd grade now. He's growing so fast, and so is his hair. I know what you're thinking: get that kid a haircut. He thinks he's Sampson or something; if we cut his hair he might lose all of his power. I dunno. I finally convinced him to let me trim his bangs, but the rest of the 'fro remained. No kidding, he gets a haircut maybe twice a year.



Eveyln is in 1st grade and has the same teacher Brody had for 1st grade. She wanted me to take about fifty photos of her in various poses. Imagine that: she's bossy. I have no idea where she gets it.





Brody refused to stand by Evelyn for a photo, so this was as close as I could get:



They headed to the swing set for a little before school exercise.


I don't know what they're taking about, but I imagine it goes like this:

Brody: Shut up, Evie.
Evie: You're a poopyhead, Brody. I'm not playing with you anymore.

Soren spent the morning on her floor bed made in the living room. She spent all of Monday puking, and she was still pretty tired by Tuesday morning.



We carried her puke bucket with us on the ride to school, and I didn't get to walk the kids up to the front door because of Soren's illness. It made me kind of sad, but all was well. Here's to a great 2011-2012 school year!

Hiking at Pioneers Park

Lincoln is a great community filled with so many great things for families to do together. While many of those things are costly, Pioneers Park is something to be enjoyed for free. There is a playground, lakes filled with geese and ducks and turtles, and lots of trails along which to hike. The kids love to run around, and there are plenty of sticks out of which to make swords, canes, and magic wands.

I mistakenly thought that Colby wanted to take a photo with Brody at the park's pillars. Instead, he ended up pantsing the poor kid. No matter the trauma it might cause, I have to post the photo. It's just too funny not to.



Soren brought her camera, although I'm pretty sure she was too busy talking to take any photos. Colby always says that between her mouth and Brody's mouth we have to wear hip waders because the shit gets so deep.



As usual, Evelyn brought her model poses along to the park.



The boys had so much fun just playing with sticks. Who even needs toys? Dade had one of his trusty pocket knives along to carve off the ends or cut weeds or whatever.



After a little bit of hiking, the kids started to complain that they were so thirsty and tired and hungry. By a little bit I mean an hour. They couldn't go one hour without needing a freaking snack. As such, we packed up and headed to the little ice cream store nearby. Yum yum.

Zoo Trip (Again)

We went back to the Children's Zoo, this time with Dade along. We didn't ride the train, but we did stop to eat lunch at the (overpriced) Safari Cafe. Fried food fun was had by all.

Soren had to have her zoo map handy at all times, of course. That girl and her maps...



Since Dade was along, I took a few group photos of the kids:




They all really love the butterfly pavilion, although Soren still won't hold the butterflies.




It was our final zoo trip as a group before school starts, although I'm sure Soren and I will be making a few more zoo trips before it closes in October. The Children's Zoo is one of our favorite things to do in Lincoln, and thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the membership. It's a Christmas gift that gives back all summer.

Sushi During the Storm

The kids were gone again this weekend which allowed us the opportunity to again venture over to Omaha with Colby's work friends. Here's a look at our day without the kids:

Wake up 8 am.
Eat a BLT for breakfast.
Get to Seven Seas Tattoo at noon to begin work on Colby's new octopus tattoo.
3:30 pm: leave tattoo shop and head home to change and clean up.
Friends arrive at 4:30 pm to drive us to supper.
6 pm: Arrive at Upstream Brewery for drinks
7 pm: Arrive at Baby Blue and drink jasmine tea. I'm not making the same mistake that I made the last time we all went out. Nope. No vodka drinks, wine, and sake for this girl.
7:30 pm: Colby eats his first piece of raw fish sushi and likes it. We all had spectacular food. The storm arrives. We are too busy chowing down and talking to much notice the storm.
Around 9:00 pm we left Baby Blue and saw this:



It wasn't raining anymore, but the lightning was amazing and the clouds were spectacular. Colby and I stopped outside the restaurant for a quick kissy photo:



10:00 pm: Arrive at a friend's house in Lincoln and receive a call from our neighbors: Mo has escaped the yard (probably because of the fierce storm). They would love to put her in the house, but since the power is out in the neighborhood they can't get the garage door open. We decide that they should put her in the kennel, where we found her when we got home.

We arrived home around midnight to no electricity. It came back on shortly after we brought the dog and cat inside, thank goodness. The garden was pretty trashed from the storm, but we are lucky that we were spared a lot of the damage that other neighborhoods suffered. We saw lots of large tree branches and entire chunks of trees down all over town.

1 am: go to bed.

We're pretty boring folks, even when the kids aren't here to keep us in line. Although, I will say that I'm very impressed with Colby for trying sushi. He's even been eating tomatoes. Dare I say my years of making him try new things is finally paying off?

Another Chuck E. Cheese Adventure

Our semi annual trip to Chuck E Cheese occurred today. This time it wasn't for Soren's birthday; it was for Soren's bestie and his sister.

Taver and Lilac turned 5, and fun was had by all at the Chuck. It was smoking hot outside, so I was thankful at least for the air conditioning. I was less than thankful for the noise and the smell but wouldn't expect any less from Chuck.

Dade loved playing the games, of course, and Brody loved "shooting" with his friends.







Soren rode this horse about a hundred times, and she was happy to get tickets.





Evelyn had a great time helping the birthday girl open her presents and running around with the other kids.





Here's Soren with her bestie. Yep, it's not an illusion. He's a year older and a foot shorter. She's a beast.



I think one trip to the Chuck a year is sufficient. Let's hope Soren picks somewhere else to have her birthday party.

It's BLT Time

The tomatoes have started to ripen with great haste despite the onslaught of grasshoppers. Seriously, people. The grasshoppers have taken over despite our attempts to curb them. The heirloom tomatoes appear to be defenseless against the little critters, so next year we will attack the bugs with even more moxy than we did this year.

I won't let the grasshoppers stop me from making all the BLT sandwiches I want. Thank god my husband has constant access to bacon.

Filling Up the Lunch Bags

School is just around the corner. New shoes, underpants, and socks have been purchased. Lincoln Public Schools provide all the necessary school supplies, so that's nice. I bought new book bags last year when they were on clearance. We'll buy new jeans later on toward Autumn as to not have a repeat of last year when Dade grew out of all his jeans before he even wore them.

So, what's left? Planning to fill those lunch boxes.

Any parent knows that kids eat, and they eat a lot. Keeping bellies filled with food that is both tasty and of reasonable nutritional value can be difficult. No Lunchables. No Cheetos. No Pop Tarts. What's a mom left with? That's a good question.

The kids' lunch bags are usually filled with a rotation of sandwiches, homemade granola bars, fruit, veggies, and a few acceptable store bought goodies (baked chips, sweet potato chips, granola bars, fruit snacks). Brody usually eats the school's hot lunch, believe it or not, and finds few complaints with it. Dade would eat school lunch every day, but he spends $6 a day eating brownies and Gatorade and Cheetos from the ala carte menu. Not happening, dude.

In an effort to make lunch a little more interesting, I'm trying out a few new lunch bag friendly recipes. Today's effort is bacon and cheddar corn muffins. Dade said he would take them in his lunch. Evelyn ate two, but I'm not sure where she fit it all in. Soren and Brody didn't like them. Next time I'll use a better quality can of creamed corn, and I may consider adding more bacon (I only added 6 slices to the batter, and it make 18 muffins). They had a bit of bitterness that I think came from the off-brand corn, so I might add just a little more sugar. We all like sweet cornbread anyway.

I also made hummus today, and I know that's something Dade will take in his lunch. Problem is, when I send him an ice pack to keep stuff cool he loses it. Damn ADHD has cost me about $15 in ice packs (and about $15 in new lunch bags). There must be a deep pit somewhere with 4 or 5 lunch bags and ice packs belonging to my family because said family member has no other explanation as to the location of said bags. They are not, apparently, in the lost and found box at school which means they are casualties of an adolescent boy. Sigh.

If I can find something that 50% of the starving natives will eat, I'd call that a success.

Now, it's 3pm, and I have yet to take a shower. Off I go.