So what did I win? Other than bragging rights, I got a fabulous certificate declaring my awesomeness and a check for $250! Nice! Maybe I'll have to enter more contests.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Love That Bug
On our drive back from camping a week ago I got a call from a lady that works for Simplicity and she told me that I had won second prize in the Baby category for Ian's stinkbug Halloween costume! I was super excited to find out I had been one of the top 5, but I was beside myself thrilled to learn I had actually placed! I really didn't think that I even had a chance knowing I was going up against so much talent out there. While there was virtually no creativity in the sewing of the pants and jacket, I figure it must have come down to subject matter. Stinkbugs aren't a common Halloween costume choice. That and Ian is downright adorable as a stinkbug. How could you not love this:
So what did I win? Other than bragging rights, I got a fabulous certificate declaring my awesomeness and a check for $250! Nice! Maybe I'll have to enter more contests.
So what did I win? Other than bragging rights, I got a fabulous certificate declaring my awesomeness and a check for $250! Nice! Maybe I'll have to enter more contests.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Eggstravaganza
So we finally decided it was worth the effort to bring the kids to one of the community events. Brandon always complains the events are a waste of our HOA fees. They're gonna keep doing it so we might as well take advantage of it. I really liked it, I thought it was fun and the kids definitely enjoyed it. Ian consumed every piece of candy he could get his hands on. Sorry for the crappy following photography, I didn't realize until the end my iso was set at 800 on a super bright day. Shooting with sunglasses on doesn't help the situation either, ha!
We decided to walk because parking would be almost as far away.
Ian loves the Easter Bunny, even though Zoey was the one that asked to see him, she refused to go near him.
Waiting for the egg hunt to begin. She's really anxious.
Ian is downright impossible to contain. Every time we tell him its not time to start yet, he throws his basket and lays on the ground. He's a master at the silent tantrum.
Finally he can begin, he filled his basket pretty quick.
Zoey is so excited, she wants to show off every egg but we tell her to go go go and keep finding eggs for her basket.
After the egg hunt Zoey sits down to make a craft while Ian devours all the candy that was found, which really wasn't that much, most of the eggs had little toy trinkets in them.
She's very proud of her bunny hat.
Waited forever for the trackless train. Can you feel Brandon's enthusiasm? He was pretty grumpy about being there in the first place.
Got a balloon flower and a sword, which Ian popped about 30 seconds after I took this picture.
The walk home was pretty brutal in the burning sun. Good times. I think we'll go to more community events. They do a pretty good job putting it all together. There were lots of other games and things to do that we didn't. The petting zoo was crazy crowded, but the kids did enjoy seeing the animals.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Camping in the Desert
Typically when I think of camping I have fond memories of when I was a kid camping in the forest, hiking nature trails, boating or fishing on a lake, and finding endless number of creatures and insects. This year was the first of our probably annual camping trips where we meet up with our friends who abandoned us for Tuscon. When looking for a midway point between Houston and Tuscon, there really aren't many options. It was a little late when we tried booking a campsite at Big Bend National park, which we've heard all glowing reviews about. Apparently, you have to book like 7-8 months in advance if you want a reservation there, especially during Spring Break. Some frantic searching around and we found one site left at Balmorhea State Park. From the website it was hard to really get an idea of what the campgrounds looked like and there didn't seem to be much to do other than its shining attraction, a natural spring pool that stays 72-75 degrees year round. We just planned on doing a lot of swimming.
Usually I'm super good at being prepared and well packed for trips but it seemed like I was still recovering from our Mardi Gras trip and I had trouble pulling everything back together. It was pretty overwhelming packing for a camping trip 9 hours away and with two small kids. We wound up staying up til about midnight the night before we left getting the last few things in order, including installing a new stereo/dvd system for the van, one that was more flexible for playing videos. That proved to be a good idea, we avoided many meltdowns with a strategically played movie or show.
So bright and early Saturday morning we roll out of our comfy home and make the 9 hour trip to Balmorhea. Overall the trip went pretty well, the kids basically refused to nap in the car until the last hour. I knew they wouldn't, mine must be the only children that absolutely fight sleeping in the car. We drove through every level of rain possible, so it was pretty slow going. I was hoping we would get to the campsite by 3:30 at the latest so I would have enough time to start dinner and have it ready by 5. We were making good time until we decided to stop at Dairy Queen in Junction, which we learned was the black hole of Texas. There was absolutely no cell service, I couldn't send or receive any texts. It took 35 minutes to get our food. It was so miserable. I was absolutely getting sick just sitting there watching the estimated arrival time on the gps get later and later and not being able to communicate with anyone. Once we finally got out of there we learned that DQ screwed up our order on 3 accounts. By that point we just wanted to get the heck out there, and we did. We've sworn off Junction.
Shortly after that stop the rain quit and Brandon put the pedal to the metal. We learned the rattle point of the van is 110 mph. I tried to just keep him at 100, but when the speed limit is 80 mph, it seems like how fast you go doesn't really matter anyway. The closer we got to our destination the fewer and fewer trees and shrubs we saw. By the time we rolled into camp at 3:30 (miraculously), I kinda felt an "oh crap" moment that even though there is a spring here...there are no trees, this is the desert and as desert as it gets. Never been camping in the desert...and certainly not with young children, this will be interesting for sure.
Setting up camp went pretty well and dinner was cooking away right on time by the time all our friends arrived and we got our tents up. Tangent: how many people does it take to set up a tent? Answer: 2 men, or one Melanie. Amusingly the Marquardson and McKinney tents were identical in structure. While Brandon and Marshall debated how to put one tent together I had the other staked down, poles in and ready to be raised in less than half the time it took them to figure out one tent. I still don't get why there was so much conversation on where the door was and where it was supposed to be. Maybe I missed some crucial conversation point while I was tending to dinner. It started to get pretty chilly by the time we went to bed. I knew it was supposed to get near freezing that first night and we brought TONS of blankets, but I don't think we were perfectly prepared for the 25 degrees it actually got...or that's what it was when we woke up in the morning and piled the kids into the van to defrost and eat breakfast. My toes have never gotten so close to feeling completely dead. They were numb and stinging for hours. Of course I hardly slept because I was so worried about my kids being cold, but they actually slept pretty great. I piled all the blankets on them and covered their heads to make a cocoon of warmth. The things a mother does to ensure the safety and comfort of her children.
As if the night wasn't uncomfortable enough I think it was about 9 am when things seemed to start getting pretty windy. After the tents had been laying flat from the sheer force of the winds for a while, we looked up the weather and found that the winds would be sustained at 20-30 MPH until late that evening. The McKinneys decided to take off to Walmart (45 minutes away) to get some tarps. It was all a little more bearable once the guys rigged the tarps around our covered pavilion to block the wind and sun from the side. By the end of the day we had 2 snapped tent poles, one torn rain fly, one broken stake ring, and a whole lot of everything covered with a layer of dust. Fabulous. To prevent any more damage to two of the tents, they were moved behind the tarp barrier. Of course, after that was done, the wind calmed down immensely.
By this point, many people would have decided to turn around and go home, nope, not us. Not even when we figured out those warning signs posted on the bathroom doors about Swimmers Itch was due to a Golden Algae growing in the spring that would make you itch like crazy and was worse in the shallow water. There goes our one thing to do in this wasteland.
Thankfully, the weather got pretty pleasant after that. Cold in the morning but nice and sunny during the day and cool in the evening. No more freezing, and no more crazy wind. With a few internet enabled phones we found a couple things to do, like visiting a Rock Shop and watching some Geodes being cut open. Going on a nature walk at a botanical garden. Visiting a podunk thrift store where Brandon bought a Roomba for $15. Playing on the "playground" at the park, watching the fish in the spring, taking walks around the campsite. Ian got pretty used to that, we affectionately called it "walking the Ian." Sometimes little boys just need to be walked....like dogs. Zoey got the pleasure of peeing behind a big rock on our way home from the Nature Center she announced she had to go pee right now. Luckily it was at the point in the trip where there were a few picnic spots. After she pees she's like "Why am I peeing on those rocks?" It was pretty funny her puzzlement yet acceptance that the rocks needed to be peed on.
Usually I'm super good at being prepared and well packed for trips but it seemed like I was still recovering from our Mardi Gras trip and I had trouble pulling everything back together. It was pretty overwhelming packing for a camping trip 9 hours away and with two small kids. We wound up staying up til about midnight the night before we left getting the last few things in order, including installing a new stereo/dvd system for the van, one that was more flexible for playing videos. That proved to be a good idea, we avoided many meltdowns with a strategically played movie or show.
So bright and early Saturday morning we roll out of our comfy home and make the 9 hour trip to Balmorhea. Overall the trip went pretty well, the kids basically refused to nap in the car until the last hour. I knew they wouldn't, mine must be the only children that absolutely fight sleeping in the car. We drove through every level of rain possible, so it was pretty slow going. I was hoping we would get to the campsite by 3:30 at the latest so I would have enough time to start dinner and have it ready by 5. We were making good time until we decided to stop at Dairy Queen in Junction, which we learned was the black hole of Texas. There was absolutely no cell service, I couldn't send or receive any texts. It took 35 minutes to get our food. It was so miserable. I was absolutely getting sick just sitting there watching the estimated arrival time on the gps get later and later and not being able to communicate with anyone. Once we finally got out of there we learned that DQ screwed up our order on 3 accounts. By that point we just wanted to get the heck out there, and we did. We've sworn off Junction.
Shortly after that stop the rain quit and Brandon put the pedal to the metal. We learned the rattle point of the van is 110 mph. I tried to just keep him at 100, but when the speed limit is 80 mph, it seems like how fast you go doesn't really matter anyway. The closer we got to our destination the fewer and fewer trees and shrubs we saw. By the time we rolled into camp at 3:30 (miraculously), I kinda felt an "oh crap" moment that even though there is a spring here...there are no trees, this is the desert and as desert as it gets. Never been camping in the desert...and certainly not with young children, this will be interesting for sure.
Setting up camp went pretty well and dinner was cooking away right on time by the time all our friends arrived and we got our tents up. Tangent: how many people does it take to set up a tent? Answer: 2 men, or one Melanie. Amusingly the Marquardson and McKinney tents were identical in structure. While Brandon and Marshall debated how to put one tent together I had the other staked down, poles in and ready to be raised in less than half the time it took them to figure out one tent. I still don't get why there was so much conversation on where the door was and where it was supposed to be. Maybe I missed some crucial conversation point while I was tending to dinner. It started to get pretty chilly by the time we went to bed. I knew it was supposed to get near freezing that first night and we brought TONS of blankets, but I don't think we were perfectly prepared for the 25 degrees it actually got...or that's what it was when we woke up in the morning and piled the kids into the van to defrost and eat breakfast. My toes have never gotten so close to feeling completely dead. They were numb and stinging for hours. Of course I hardly slept because I was so worried about my kids being cold, but they actually slept pretty great. I piled all the blankets on them and covered their heads to make a cocoon of warmth. The things a mother does to ensure the safety and comfort of her children.
As if the night wasn't uncomfortable enough I think it was about 9 am when things seemed to start getting pretty windy. After the tents had been laying flat from the sheer force of the winds for a while, we looked up the weather and found that the winds would be sustained at 20-30 MPH until late that evening. The McKinneys decided to take off to Walmart (45 minutes away) to get some tarps. It was all a little more bearable once the guys rigged the tarps around our covered pavilion to block the wind and sun from the side. By the end of the day we had 2 snapped tent poles, one torn rain fly, one broken stake ring, and a whole lot of everything covered with a layer of dust. Fabulous. To prevent any more damage to two of the tents, they were moved behind the tarp barrier. Of course, after that was done, the wind calmed down immensely.
By this point, many people would have decided to turn around and go home, nope, not us. Not even when we figured out those warning signs posted on the bathroom doors about Swimmers Itch was due to a Golden Algae growing in the spring that would make you itch like crazy and was worse in the shallow water. There goes our one thing to do in this wasteland.
Thankfully, the weather got pretty pleasant after that. Cold in the morning but nice and sunny during the day and cool in the evening. No more freezing, and no more crazy wind. With a few internet enabled phones we found a couple things to do, like visiting a Rock Shop and watching some Geodes being cut open. Going on a nature walk at a botanical garden. Visiting a podunk thrift store where Brandon bought a Roomba for $15. Playing on the "playground" at the park, watching the fish in the spring, taking walks around the campsite. Ian got pretty used to that, we affectionately called it "walking the Ian." Sometimes little boys just need to be walked....like dogs. Zoey got the pleasure of peeing behind a big rock on our way home from the Nature Center she announced she had to go pee right now. Luckily it was at the point in the trip where there were a few picnic spots. After she pees she's like "Why am I peeing on those rocks?" It was pretty funny her puzzlement yet acceptance that the rocks needed to be peed on.
Playing at the playground, which consisted of a couple swings and a metal slide.
Despite Zoey's expression, she really did have fun playing with her friends.
Wish I had stopped to actually read the sign on this plant, it's pretty cool lookin' We did buy a few cacti from the plant sale that the Nature Center was having. I still haven't figured out the best place to put them yet so they're living on the counter for now.
A few family snapshots at the end of our nature walk.
S'mores an obligatory treat for camping. Taste just as great in the desert as they do in the forest. The area was still under burn ban though so we barely had enough flame going to roast them.
The whole crew. We survived!
The girls, 'cause we're BFFs.
The guys, because they're married to BFFs they pretend to love each other just as much. I feel the love.
Wednesday morning we packed up camp pretty quick and headed back to semi civilization in Fort Stockton where we took some much desired showers and a long dip in their pool and hot tub. We spent a fun evening at Walmart playing with the toys and stuff and said our goodbyes to the Marquardsons until probably next year.
Headed out Thursday morning about 9 am and made it home without too much fuss, Ian was more grumpy on the way home than he was the way there. We all survived and all in all, I'd do it again. I still love camping. With all that dirt and dust, there was quite a mountain of laundry to do when we got back. Took me two and a half days to get it all done.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Surprisingly Not Awful
4 o'clock rolls around every day and I think, crap, what do I make for dinner? Well I opened the fridge and found a lot of stuff nearing the end of its age including some carrots and cabbage from the garden. I was pretty determined this year to actually use my cabbage. So a little hocus pocus later, out came dinner. I was really worried it was going to be horrendous because I was literally just throwing ingredients and seasonings in the pot hoping it would turn into something edible. When I finally sat down and took the first bite I exclaimed "Wow! That's surprisingly not awful. It's actually pretty good." Since I originally planned to make sweet and sour pork, this is really similar. We ate it on rice.
Pork With Vegetables
Ingredients:
1 lb pork cut in cubes
1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
handful of carrots chopped
2 small heads of cabbage cut in thin strips
salt and pepper to taste
dash red pepper
good sprinkle garlic powder
2 fair splashes of apple cider vinegar
2 big plops of brown sugar
4 sage leaves cut in thin strips
2 large pinches of dried thyme
1 can chicken broth
2 Tbsp corn starch
Directions:
Brown pork in a little oil. Add vegetables and cook 10 minutes. Add half the broth and remaining ingredients except corn starch. Cook until cabbage is tender, about 25 minutes. Mix corn starch with remaining broth and add to pot, cook just until thickened. Add water as necessary. Serve on hot rice.
Pork With Vegetables
Ingredients:
1 lb pork cut in cubes
1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
handful of carrots chopped
2 small heads of cabbage cut in thin strips
salt and pepper to taste
dash red pepper
good sprinkle garlic powder
2 fair splashes of apple cider vinegar
2 big plops of brown sugar
4 sage leaves cut in thin strips
2 large pinches of dried thyme
1 can chicken broth
2 Tbsp corn starch
Directions:
Brown pork in a little oil. Add vegetables and cook 10 minutes. Add half the broth and remaining ingredients except corn starch. Cook until cabbage is tender, about 25 minutes. Mix corn starch with remaining broth and add to pot, cook just until thickened. Add water as necessary. Serve on hot rice.
Monday, March 19, 2012
The Garden Season 4.0
Since last year we moved the fence up, we gained a lot of new garden space. So this year we've added two new beds mostly dedicated to fruit production, something we haven't gotten much out of the garden in the past. Most of the plants are pretty small or barely emerging at this point, but I'm always excited to show off what I'll be growing each year.
Strawberries, peppers and marigolds. A couple open spots here.
Watermelons just starting to emerge, also cantaloupe and sunflowers in this bed.
Corn, as always. It's taken 4 years to figure out how to keep the squirrels out. If all goes well, I should produce ~70 ears of corn.
Green beans, lima beans, and marigolds, two of which have already been decapitated by Ian.
Eggplant, lots of basil, some dill, sage, tarragon, and zucchini.
Tomatoes and cucumbers. Jetsetters are doing well, still have my new variety Rutgers growing inside, probably another week before they're ready for transplant.
The fig tree is finally starting to see some height. Plenty of little figgies starting to appear.
This bed was extended this year and I've added some asparagus (that weedy stick on the left) but we can't harvest from it until next year, they have to establish the first year.
Blackberries had a rough time last year, so we'll see how they bounce back this year.
Rosemary, Stevia, yellow onions and marigolds. This bed was also extended this year.
Orange tree is finally well established. it had lots of blooms about a week ago. I can't tell if any have set yet, I'm hoping this is the first year for at least one orange!
A view of the whole garden. The kids were helping me transplant a bell pepper plant from the Aerogarden.
So there's a few spots left in the garden, but those will be filled once I go to the Mercer Arboretum plant sale this Friday! I'm going to pick up some thyme, cilantro, parsley, and some other vegetable to put on the other side of the peppers, not sure what I want yet, I'll know it when I see it.
I don't usually put in marigolds but one of Zoey's favorite Max and Ruby episodes is when Ruby plants some Marigolds in her dolly's garden so I figured they'd be good for attracting bees and Zoey would enjoy planting them. She really did. Ian has also enjoyed decapitating them, which severely upsets Zoey. Can't win 'em all! I'm really hoping the sunflowers (Kong Hybrids) do much better than last year being in 100% full sun, in the center of a regular water and feed schedule, and started from seed. I just worry they might cast too much shade on the corn. We'll see. I love trying new stuff!
More pictures in a couple weeks when everything is really growing!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Spelling it Out
Sometime there are things you want to reference and talk about to your spouse without the little ears in the room knowing what it is. In our case, it usually involves sweet foods. Since Zoey doesn't even know all her letters yet, we spell a lot of things so she doesn't butt into the conversation.
Brandon: I think it's time for some I-C-E C-R-E-A-M
Me: You want to go wake up your son before you do that?
Brandon: No.
Zoey: I want some ice cream!
Me and Bran stare at each other shocked
Brandon: You want ice cream?
Zoey: Yes, I want an ice cream cone with a little ice cream on top.
Brandon: Was someone talking about ice cream?
Zoey: Yes.
Brandon: Who?
Zoey: You were. I want an ice cream cone with a little ice cream on top.
Brandon: Go wake up your brother gently and then you can have some ice cream.
I guess at some point they figure it out, spell it enough times and you might as well be saying the word. We'll just have to use random descriptions of the word we want to use from now on. Kind of like playing taboo.
Can I have some sweetened frozen dairy product in a crunchy hand held shell?
Brandon: I think it's time for some I-C-E C-R-E-A-M
Me: You want to go wake up your son before you do that?
Brandon: No.
Zoey: I want some ice cream!
Me and Bran stare at each other shocked
Brandon: You want ice cream?
Zoey: Yes, I want an ice cream cone with a little ice cream on top.
Brandon: Was someone talking about ice cream?
Zoey: Yes.
Brandon: Who?
Zoey: You were. I want an ice cream cone with a little ice cream on top.
Brandon: Go wake up your brother gently and then you can have some ice cream.
I guess at some point they figure it out, spell it enough times and you might as well be saying the word. We'll just have to use random descriptions of the word we want to use from now on. Kind of like playing taboo.
Can I have some sweetened frozen dairy product in a crunchy hand held shell?
Friday, March 2, 2012
A Rabbit's Feast
I'm finally getting around to preparing for planting my spring garden. Even though it's barely the beginning of March, since the winter was so mild, planting sooner is probably better. We might have another really hot dry summer like last year, it was really hard on the plants. I typically just let the carrots that I plant stay in the ground until I'm ready to use them. The Danvers that I plant don't seem to get too woody as they get bigger and the flavor is always so sweet and delicious. But in order to plant corn, I had to take them up and I had so many more carrots than I expected.
These completely filled my deep kitchen sink. These things have got to be the most labor intensive vegetable to store long term that I've grown so far:
1. Pull out of the ground
2. Tear off the tops
3. Wash
4. Wash again
5. Wash another time
6. Trim the ends
7. Peel...soooo time consuming!
8. Wash again
9. Cut into circles, sticks, or cubes
10. Blanch
11. Cool
12. Pack
13. Freeze
If I had the energy I might have frozen them individually on sheets and then packed for easier usage, but my feet were killing me by the time I got to the blanching. I kept some unprocessed past peeling and washing so I could make carrot cake today, and it is delicious! If you have any favorite carrot recipes, I'd love to know I've got 8 quart bags packed with carrots in my freezer!
These completely filled my deep kitchen sink. These things have got to be the most labor intensive vegetable to store long term that I've grown so far:
1. Pull out of the ground
2. Tear off the tops
3. Wash
4. Wash again
5. Wash another time
6. Trim the ends
7. Peel...soooo time consuming!
8. Wash again
9. Cut into circles, sticks, or cubes
10. Blanch
11. Cool
12. Pack
13. Freeze
If I had the energy I might have frozen them individually on sheets and then packed for easier usage, but my feet were killing me by the time I got to the blanching. I kept some unprocessed past peeling and washing so I could make carrot cake today, and it is delicious! If you have any favorite carrot recipes, I'd love to know I've got 8 quart bags packed with carrots in my freezer!
Happy Birthday Ian!
Two years have passed since Ian was born into this world and the world hasn't been the same since! We decided to keep things low key this year since we have been pretty busy as a family. We just went to Mardi Gras and we're going camping in a week. Spur of the moment we decided to have a little family party to celebrate Ian's birthday on Feb 29th, which would technically be 365 days since his last birthday. I picked up an ice cream cake and we had some gifts and a lot of spending time together.
I just love this little guy, he's so energetic, sweet, inquisitive, adventurous, imaginative and just plain adorable. Our family wouldn't be the same without him. Even though his will is strong and his tantrums stronger, those cuddles at the end of the day just make up for all his mischief.
Birthday Boy enjoys an apple for dinner chillaxing on Lowla's house.
The Baskin Robbins ice cream cake I so conveniently mushed while getting in the car. doh!
He's pretty excited about the candles.
After Zoey blew them out once, Ian got his turn and was a professional!
Mmmm cookies.
The moment he realizes the gift from Grandma is Chuggington.
No other gifts exist after Chuggington.
I just love this little guy, he's so energetic, sweet, inquisitive, adventurous, imaginative and just plain adorable. Our family wouldn't be the same without him. Even though his will is strong and his tantrums stronger, those cuddles at the end of the day just make up for all his mischief.
HAPPY TWO YEARS IAN
and many more!
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