Fun on the Farm

We had a really nice holiday weekend, capped by today's visit to Ed's aunt and uncle's "farm." It's actually a gorgeous 30-acre estate with a horse barn that's nicer than our house. Other than horses, dogs, and a couple of barn cats (one that just had kittens yesterday!), there aren't any other farm animals. But there is a tractor and an ATV and they have a really nice pool. Seth and I spent most of our time in the pool while William sat on the tractor and the ATV. Then Ed's uncle took William out on the tractor, and then Ed took the ATV for a spin, and then gave William a ride on the ATV. (I'm not sure who had more fun--Ed or William.)

Although the tractor was William's favorite activity, he did enjoy the pool and he ventured into the deep end with me several times. Seth loved the shallow part of the pool, and he even went all the way under the water several times by accident and didn't freak out about it. But he would freak if I tried to take him into the deeper water. Go figure. Luckily, the weather was gorgeous and hot--perfect pool weather. And if the boys don't sleep well tonight, then nothin's gonna make them sleep well.

Aside from today's visit to the farm, we spent yesterday at Ed's other aunt's house (lots of family time this weekend!), and on Saturday, Ed took William to see Shrek 3. I haven't taken William to see a movie in the movie theater yet, so I told him I would take him to see Toy Story 3 when it comes out. But he informed me that he doesn't really like Toy Story, so I guess I'll have to come up with something else.

Now I'm off to figure out our menu this week and try to fold laundry. What I really want to do is go to sleep, so which activity do you think will win? I bet I'll be folding laundry tomorrow night!

So Proud

When William had his 4-year-old well visit at the doctor's office a week ago, he wasn't well enough to get his immunizations. So we made a follow-up appointment for today. If he checked out, he could get his shots. A small part of me was hoping he would not quite be well enough for his shots. I was dreading the screaming, kicking, and emotional trauma that I was sure would happen based on the last three times he got shots.

I picked the boys up from school at 3:30. William asked if he would have to get shots. I told him the truth--if the doctor said he was better and healthy enough, he would get two shots. He was quiet for a minute, and then he said he didn't think he was feeling better. I asked him if he was going to freak out if he had to get shots. He said no, that he would be brave. I didn't think I should hold my breath for that one.

We got to the doctor's office and the doctor examined William. He checked out great. William asked the doctor if he was going to get shots. The doctor told him yes, that he would get two shots. Then we had to wait a few minutes for the nurse. I asked William if he was scared or nervous. He said no, and again said that he would be brave. When the nurse finally came in (after William asked over and over, "When's she going to get here?"), she asked William if he wanted one shot in each arm, or wanted both shots in one arm. He said he wanted both shots in one arm. Then she asked him which arm and he pointed to his left arm. Then he sat in my lap and pulled up his sleeve. He watched the nurse give him his first shot and he didn't flinch. He winced a little for a second, and then she gave him his second shot. Again, he didn't flinch.

Are you freakin' kidding me? I couldn't believe it. I could not believe that this was the same child who freaked beyond belief when he had his flu shot in October. I was so incredibly proud of him. He was grinning ear to ear when it was over. He got three stickers, two hot tamales (his new favorite candy), I let him watch a video when we got home, we played the Cat in the Hat game, and I read him two extra books. Wow--if this is what being 4 means, bring it on! It's like they begin maturing before your eyes.

Of course, ever since he turned 4, he has become quite the smart aleck. For the last three days, he has been sassing his teachers a little, testing the limits, and trying to be the class clown. I'll take the bad with the good though. If I didn't really see if before, this has without a doubt made it quite clear that my little boy is growing up.

Menu Plan Monday -- May 24

I'm a little late with Menu Plan Monday (seeing as how it's Tuesday), but I'm trying to get all caught up since being away over the weekend. And of course, Sunday night was the LOST finale, so that set me back a bit, too. I thought about posting my thoughts on LOST, but suffice it to say I was disappointed. Not completely--I'm not bitter or anything--but I was hoping for a bit more. Anyway, now that it's over, it's back to the grind, I guess. I've figured out a menu for the week, I finished the thank you notes from William's birthday party (William signed all of them tonight before he went to bed), I uploaded the pictures from his party onto Shutterfly to share with the other parents, and I even unpacked both my suitcase, and the kids' from their weekend at their grandparents. (They did fine without me, btw. They never even asked to talk to me!) Aside from the awesome time I had with my girlfriends, I read The Hunger Games and LOVED it. I can't wait to read the next one.

So, without further ado, this week's dinner. The best part about this menu is that I put it together using what we already have on hand, so I won't need to make a trip to the grocery store. I usually shop once a week, but since I was away over the weekend, I didn't get to shop. I did have to stop at the store on the way home yesterday for milk and OJ, but not having to do a big shop during the week is a huge relief.

Monday: Sirloin steak, broccoli, dinner rolls

Tuesday: Spaghetti, garlic bread

Wednesday: Chicken nuggets (homemade, from the freezer), green beans, Stove Top

Thursday: Quesadillas (with cheese and black beans and maybe leftover steak) and fruit

Friday: Homemade pizza (using this dough recipe)

Saturday: Pork tenderloin (from the freezer, already in marinade), asparagus, dinner rolls

Sunday: Fish or seafood

As for last week's menu, the boys didn't eat much of the chicken piccata; they didn't eat the fish tacos, either; and Seth liked the sloppy joes but William didn't. I ended up having to throw out the fruity black bean salsa that was leftover from the fish tacos. But Ed and I both thought they were good. This week's menu should be okay. William ate his pasta plain, and will probably have a plain tortilla and string cheese instead of quesadillas on Thursday. But overall, not too bad!

Girls' Weekend 2010

We had an awesome girls' weekend and it flew by way too quickly. We spent time on the beach, time eating out, time on the balcony drinking and snacking, time watching movies, and time reconnecting. We laughed until my stomach hurt, we shared stories about our kids, we swapped advice and assvice, we shopped and ran errands--all the things that come so naturally to all of us when we're together. Our friendships are so deep and solid and enriching, and even though we got to spend just that short amount of time together, it made me feel so thankful and so lucky to have these wonderful women in my life. This was our ninth Girls' Weekend, and it thrills me to know that we are in the early stages of our time together. When all is said and done and we look back, we'll be remembering this time as "those first few years that we got together." I look forward to continuing my journey with them, to see where we'll go and where we'll all end up. Hopefully it will be on a beach, with drinks in our hands, hats on our heads, talking about books and politics and sex and our kids and our husbands and food and life. Pretty much like when we started. It's definitely something to look forward to!

My Bags are Packed, I'm Ready to Go

This morning I'm dropping the boys off at school and then heading to the airport for Girls' Weekend '10. This will be our 9th annual weekend together, though we've all been friends for more than 26 years. We've had some awesome times together since we started doing this, and boy, have our lives changed. When we started, I wasn't married and just one of us had kids. Now there are 7 kids between us, plus two step kids. Each year, someone has either been pregnant or nursing, but not this year! I'm sure we'll live it up. (Probably end up in bed by 9:30 both nights! LOL)

Anyway, William is better--no more wheezing and no more fever. The boys had their "well" visits yesterday and then I took them to school. Seth was not at all thrilled to be there and was pretty uncooperative with the nurse. She wasn't able to get his height, but he weighs 23 lbs (10th percentile). He was pretty good with the doctor, but pretty upset with the two shots he got. William was great for the nurse and the doctor. He had his vision and hearing test. His vision test was inconclusive, but he had just been tested at school last week and passed the school test with no problems, so I think he just wasn't sure what the pictures were on the chart. He could have done the letter chart, but the first letter was a K and he called it an X. It did look a lot like an X, but anyway, no big deal. After all of that, he was examined by the doctor. She heard a slight bit of fluid in one of his lungs, so based on that and the fever he had on Wednesday, she decided to hold off on the shots for him. We'll go back next week and if all is well, he'll get his shots then. I'm not looking forward to it because I know he'll freak. But we'll get through it. Anyway, William weighed 32.4 lbs and was 39 inches tall. What can I say--we grow 'em small here.

Hopefully I'll be back on Monday refreshed and relaxed. And hopefully, the boys will be good for Ed. He's taking them to his parents' house for the weekend, so at least he'll have help. Of course I'm really looking forward to my weekend, but I always get the same feeling the night before a trip--a little bit of guilt, a little bit of sadness, a little bit of being homesick before I've even left. I guess that's what having kids is all about--life gets very complicated!

Too Good to Last

We are home today. William started wheezing yesterday and was running a slight fever overnight. We have his well visit tomorrow anyway, so I'm just nebulzing him every four hours and we'll see what the doctor says tomorrow. Seth has a goopy nose, but that seems to be the worst of his symptoms. He is in rare form today, living up to the reputation of 2 year olds. William, meanwhile, has been sitting on the couch since 6:30 a.m., watching TV. This should be an interesting day.

I'm bummed that William is wheezing again, and I'm hoping that he won't have to go back on Pulmicort. He's had a pretty good winter and spring, considering. I'll just have to hope for the best and expect the worst.

I'll leave you with this video of Seth. It has taken me almost two hours to write this little post, thanks to all of his interruptions. As we speak, he's intent on destroying the CD and DVD players on my PC. Actually, I think he already has destroyed them

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

In Anticipation

On Sunday night, our digital converter box stopped working. For those who don't know, a digital converter box is how those of us who don't have cable (those VERY few of us) and who have very old televisions watch TV. Ed and I decided long ago that we would not have cable, and while there are many times I wish we did, for the most part, it has been fine. I hardly ever watch network TV, and I'm kind of glad to not have more shows to get addicted to. William and Seth don't watch much TV, either. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, we let them watch whatever they want--usually Caillou or Mighty Machines or other videos we get through Netflix on our ROKU. We rarely turn on the TV on weekday mornings, and every once in a while, I'll let William watch TV when we get home from work.

That said, we both love LOST, which we watch live. There is one episode left (Tuesday night), and then the season finale is Sunday. So that is why Ed found himself in Best Buy after work last night. Initially, he thought he would just buy a new converter box. But they only sold the same brand that we already had--the one that stopped working. So instead, Ed stepped into the 21st century and bought an LCD HDTV. It's only a 32" (pretty small by most peoples' standards) but we're pretty excited about watching LOST tonight and then the season finale on Sunday. If it wasn't for LOST, we might have done without network TV altogether.

Even with our new TV, we still don't get pick up several channels, including CBS and PBS. I can live without CBS, and if we fiddle with the antenna, we can pick it up. But not having PBS SUCKS! We really don't want to bother with a roof antenna, so for now, we're living without it. Maybe when we buy a house, I can talk Ed into getting cable. But with LOST gone, he may want to get rid of the TV altogether. (Sigh)

Speaking of LOST, I'm pretty bitter about the way they're wrapping up the show. But anything with such high expectations is bound to disappoint. Maybe I'll post my thoughts on Monday. In the meantime, don't bother me tonight. Or Sunday night. :-)

Menu Plan Monday -- May 17

Last week's menu didn't go completely as planned, but it all worked out just fine. On Tuesday, I hadn't prepped the chicken for the piccata, so we had a free-for-all instead. William wanted a waffle and Seth wanted pizza. I made pizza for Seth using a Grands biscuit, but then I forgot to use up the rest of the biscuits the following night so I wasted the rest of the can. On Wednesday night, we got home late (thanks to traffic) so I ended up making Annie's macaroni and cheese. And on Thursday (William's birthday), I ended up making homemade chicken nuggets for dinner. (I made enough for dinner, and then later, I breaded the rest of them and flash froze them. I also pounded out the remaining chicken breasts for the piccata, which we'll have this week.) Friday night, we went out to eat (pizza), and Saturday night, we ate at Ed's parents'. Seth ate a hot dog and William ate a hot dog bun. 

So, that brings us to this week. I have no idea if the boys will eat the fish tacos. And William said he likes sloppy joes (and he eats them at school), but who knows if he'll eat them at home. So it might not be a super-successful meal week. But we'll see. Ed is on his own for Friday and Saturday night, since I'll be in Florida for Girls' Weekend!

Sunday: Broiled trout, corn on the cob, dinner rolls

Monday: Chicken piccata, broccoli/salad, roasted potatoes

Tuesday: Fish tacos with fruity black bean salsa (using up leftover trout from Sunday night)

Wednesday:  Sloppy joes, french fries

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday and Saturday: Girls' Weekend--Woo-hoo! Ed's on his own.

William's Birthday Party--Picture Overload

William, Seth, and ten 4 year olds partied it up on Saturday at the fire station. They got a tour of the station, and then got to go in the "equipment bay" and climb all over the fire engines. Next they got an equipment demonstration by firefighter Will. After that, the kids sang Happy Birthday to William, ate cake and ice cream, and spent a few minutes playing with all of the toy fire trucks that the organizers put out for the kids. Before we knew it, it was time to go home.

From a parent's perspective, the party was awesome. I hardly had to do anything! We brought the cake, the decorations, snacks, and party favors. The auxiliary ladies did the rest. I think the parents enjoyed the tour and demonstration as much as the kids did. And since I didn't have to do anything during the party, I was free to take pictures.

First, the cake:

Then the birthday boy, who got to wear a fireman jacket upon arrival:

Of course, little brother had to try it on, too (notice the haircut, finally):

Ed and William in the Canteen Truck:

Say cheese!

Watching the demonstration:

Firefighter Will

William wearing the helmet:

Blowing out the candle:

Playing with the firetrucks:

When I asked William after the party what his favorite part was, he said playing with the firetrucks. Great! The one thing we could have done at home. LOL.

Birthday Follow-Up

William had an awesome birthday. He loved the National Aquarium (in Baltimore), especially the octopus. He enjoyed the jellyfishes, the dolphin shows, watching the diver feed the rays and fish, and seeing a street performer outside after they left. He did not enjoy the sharks quite as much. But basically, he and his dad had a great day. In the morning, we let him open a small gift--a Star Wars t-shirt and R2-D2 action figure. When he and Ed got home, he got to open the rest of his gifts. We ended up getting him a stomp rocket, Seth gave him a hot wheels track set (loop-de-loop), and my mom got him a scooter. He loved the stomp rocket and hot wheels set. He really didn't care about the scooter. But luckily, Seth loved the scooter and started riding it around the kitchen and alcove right away. When Ed took William outside to play with the stomp rocket, Seth insisted on taking the scooter, and he rode it up and down the sidewalk. I was a little impressed with Seth's coordination, considering the scooter's handlebars are almost over his head.

At any rate, I made homemade chicken nuggets for dinner, with broccoli, and after much coercing, William ate one nugget and all of his broccoli. (Seth, meanwhile, scarfed down 5 chicken nuggets, all of his broccoli, an ice cream sundae, and then even more broccoli.) Then he had an ice cream sundae for dessert. in which we stuck a candle so we could sing Happy Birthday. After bath and books, William fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, with his arms wrapped around his stomp rocket. All in all, I think he had a very happy birthday. I took a few pictures, which I'll try to upload tonight. The big party with his friends is tomorrow, though, and I have a fire truck cake to decorate tonight, so pictures might have to wait. The party will be at a fire station, where the kids will take a tour, sit in a fire truck, and get a safety/equipment demo by the firefighters. Should be fun!

Happy 4th Birthday William

Dear William,

Happy happy birthday! It blows my mind that you are 4 years old, starting your journey into your 5th year of life. It's hard to express in words how proud Daddy and I are of the little boy you have become. You fill up our lives with laughter, silliness, questions, wonder, and sweetness. Watching you grow and learn over the past four years has been the most amazing gift, and we feel so lucky that you are our son.

What a year you've had! You learned how to use the potty, and how to write your name and lots of other letters. We took a train to New York City to visit friends. Then we spent a long weekend at the beach. You loved both trips, and ask often about doing them again. We took a long car trip to North Carolina to visit Baba and Uncle Chris and Aunt Barbara and Uncle John and your cousins Zack, Jacob, and baby Tyler. You went to the dentist twice and you were awesome for both visits. You went to a Nationals baseball game and took a paddle boat ride in the Tidal Basin. You experienced your first blizzard, helped shovel out the cars and the sidewalk, and went sledding. You participated in your first school performance and you went camping for the first time. Your 4th year of life was definitely full of adventures.

Your 4th year of life was also marked by a growing interest in space. You love learning about the planets, the stars, the sun, asteroids and meteors, and the moon. You also love Star Wars, although you like to fast-forward through much of the movie because there are a lot of scary parts. You still love trucks, however, and still spend much of your time playing with your construction vehicles and blocks, building things, knocking things down, and just using your vivid imagination. Anything you touch becomes a toy, and I love how creative you are when you play. I also love how independent you've become. You clean up after yourself (most of the time). You can pour your own drinks and get dressed and undressed by yourself. You can put on your own socks and shoes (although you still like to let Mommy and Daddy do it most of the time), and you've even spent time playing with the big kids in the neighborhood all by yourself.

I'm so proud of you for so many reasons, but I'm especially proud of the way you've embraced your role as big brother to Seth. You are protective of him and truly enjoy playing with him. You both have very different interests, but wow--you guys can make each other laugh like no other. You are so good about sharing things with him and taking turns, even when it's really really hard. I have loved watching your friendship grow, and hope that the bonds between you will never be broken.

I also hope that you will never stop asking questions. And boy--do you ask a lot of questions! I love it that when I don't have an answer, you have a theory ready to offer. You are always thinking, always wondering, and I want you never to lose that curiosity and that desire to learn new things.

Daddy and I wish so many things for you in the upcoming year: new adventures, warm friendships, lots of learning, happy days and restful nights, confidence, security, and love. We look forward to all the time we will spend together, reading, playing, watching, walking, riding, learning, sometimes fighting, but mostly, loving. Thank you for being the delightful, loving, and thoughtful son that you are. We will do our best to encourage you, comfort you, guide you, and support you as make your way through your 5th year of life. Happy Happy Birthday! We couldn't possibly love you more if  we tried!

Two weeks:

4 months

8 months

14 months

2 Years

2 years, 3 months

2 years, 6 months

3 years

3 years, 6 months

Almost 4

The Day Before the Big Day

Tomorrow is William's 4th birthday. And the silly goose doesn't even care. We keep asking him, "Do you know what Thursday is?" He doesn't have a clue. And when we tell him, "It's your birthday!" he just shrugs, like, "Whatever." He is excited, however, that Ed is taking the day off and the two of them are going to the Baltimore Aquarium for the day. And he is excited about his birthday party at the fire station on Saturday. But the act of turning 4? No big deal.

Meanwhile, I am so busted. I haven't even gotten him a birthday present yet. I haven't gotten party favors (or even decided on what the party favors will be!), or done any shopping for the party. All I really need for the party is the cake, ice cream, and a few snacks to nibble on. But still, I'm woefully unprepared. But fortunately, my mom will be here and will likely save the day, running all my errands for me on Friday. I'll go to Toys R Us tonight, and maybe the party store if there's time. Clearly, I'm not stressing about it. (I guess it helps knowing my mom is coming, so thank God for moms!) But I do feel a little bit guilty for not giving the whole thing a little bit more effort. On the other hand, procrastinating is my forte, and everything has a way of working out, so why stress. The most important thing is to make the day as awesome as possible for William. He will spend the day with his dad, get macaroni and cheese for dinner and ice cream for dessert, I'll read him as many books as he wants before bed, and he'll probably even get to stay up a little late. As for gifts, my mom got him a scooter, so I'm sure he'll love that. And he's so easy to please, I'm sure I'll have no problem finding him a little something that he'll love. Maybe a stomp rocket, or a Star Wars toy, or even some new construction vehicles.

Maybe I haven't been on top of the planning because I'm in denial--denial that my baby could possibly be growing up so fast. Mom 101 wrote a very touching post yesterday on the eve of her daughter's 3rd birthday. She asked, "How has it only been 1,096 days? I'm sure you've been in my heart forever." For me, William has been in my life for 1,461 days. But he has definitely been in my heart forever. Truer words were never spoken.

Weekend Report and Menu Plan Monday -- May 10

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all of you fellow moms! I hope you all had as wonderful of a day as I did. This was the first year that I actually got to relax on Mother's Day. We went to Ed's parents' house and hung out all day. Ed smoked two chickens in his smoker, and the rest of the family came over later for dinner. The boys played outside and played inside, and generally kept themselves busy. They required very little attention and supervision from me, and what supervision they needed, they mostly got from Ed. So like I said, I actually got to relax a bit. (Which was good, because I'm afraid I've caught the boys' cold.)

It was also nice to have a relaxing Sunday because Saturday was super busy. We got up in the morning and headed out to the Truck Touch. The boys got to sit in a skid steer loader, a recycling truck, an ambulance, a front-end loader, a police car, a camper, a motorcycle, a fire truck, and a mail truck. I forgot my good camera, but I had my iPhone.

Obviously, the boys had a blast. They had such a good time that they fell asleep on the way home. And when we got home, they both went back to sleep. We had to wake William up to go to our next event--a mini-reunion with a bunch of my high school friends. I went to high school in Florida, and it turns out that a lot of alumni live in this area. So we all met up at a park on Capitol Hill. There were a lot of kids, and several who were William's age. The kids played on the playground and I started catching up with friends. William decided it was way more fun to play in the dirt surrounding the playground, and so did several other kids. It was pretty windy out, and between the wind blowing the kicked-up dirt around, and the kids building "volcanoes" in the dirt, William was absolutely filthy by the time we headed home. Filthy, but very happy. After the picnic, we headed over to Ed's parents' to spend the night. Seth went to sleep right away, but William still had a lot of energy. Ed and I went out for a late dinner date, but at 10:15, when we got back, William was still awake, lying in his grandparents' bed, happy as a clam, and chattering away to his  grandmother as his grandfather lay sleeping. Too funny.

Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures at the reunion picnic, or many pictures on Mother's Day. I did get a picture of Ed with his smoker.

And I got a picture of Seth playing his favorite game. It's called, "I be wight back." He stands at the door and very earnestly says, "I be wight back." And then goes inside and shuts the door. Then he comes back out in two seconds and starts it all over again. It's quite fun. You should try it.

The weekend was so nice that it completely wore me out. I started getting a sore throat yesterday and felt achy off and on. This morning my throat still felt sore, and I was still feeling achy. So I took the boys to school and came back home. I felt better after loading up on Advil, though, so I ended up getting a lot done. I cleaned bathrooms, did laundry, vacuumed, dusted, sorted and organized toys, and did some meal prep. Like a dummy, however, I did not rest. So by the time I went to pick the boys up from school, I was feeling crappy again. Such is the life of a mom!

Speaking of meal prep, here is this week's menu:

Monday: Pork tenderloin (with this dry rub recipe), corn on the cob, green beans/salad

Tuesday: Chicken piccata, broccoli, dinner rolls

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner (waffles, omelets, or french toast with fruit)

Thursday: Macaroni and cheese with broccoli (special-request birthday dinner)

Friday: Homemade pizza

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday: Either ribs or fish

Hopefully, it will be a good week. Thursday is William's 4th birthday (ack!) and his party is on Saturday. My mom is coming into town to help celebrate, so we're looking forward to her visit. And I almost forgot--Ed and the boys gave me a gift certificate to a spa for a manicure, pedicure, and hour-long massage. I can hardly wait! What a perfect Mother's Day gift.

Food Waste Friday

My pictures from Food Waste Friday will have to wait. But I can talk about my progress and post the pictures later.

Basically, I made great strides in the last week and a half in reducing our food waste. Just being conscious of food waste--thinking ahead of how/when to use things up--has really made a difference. And my refrigerator has so much more room! My produce drawer isn't filled with really old or rotting produce. And I can actually  see what's in there. That doesn't mean I didn't waste anything, though.

I threw out a handful of cut-up strawberries, and about a cup of potato salad that we never managed to finish from Seth's birthday party. I also threw out a sleeve of stale crackers,an onion that had gone bad, and a bunch of cilantro. (I hate having to buy a huge bunch of cilantro when I only need 1/4 cup. And I've tried growing my own without success. Maybe I should try growing it again.) I tried to salvage about a cup's worth of green grapes by freezing them, but when I tasted them, they weren't very good. So I tossed them. I also threw out the salsa that I had made last week (trying to use up cilantro and an avocado) that we never managed to finish, and the ham from several weeks ago that I was trying to use up that I stuck in the meat drawer and forgot about. I threw out half of a chicken tender from dinner last week. I also threw away three cupcakes from Seth's birthday that we never finished. But I really didn't mind throwing those out. I'm always a little bit impressed with myself when I can let desserts go bad. (Boy, after all of that, it doesn't really sound like it was a good week! This is embarrassing.)

I did not waste the mac-n-cheese from Seth's party, though. I took it to lunch last week and finished it up. I also managed to not waste 2 chicken tenders (even if I did throw out the last one)--I ate them for dinner one night. I made spaghetti to go with the leftover spaghetti sauce from last week, and I've been eating that for lunch this week. I also froze strawberries and blueberries to use in smoothies. And I made sure that Ed finished an older block of blue cheese before opening a new one.

One result of trying not to waste food is that my freezer has suddenly gotten a lot fuller. I guess it doesn't really count as "not wasted" if I just transfer something to the freezer, only to see it never get used from there, either. So I'm working on that, too. When I went to the grocery store last week, I had purchases a loaf of bread, not realizing that I already had a whole loaf of bread in the pantry. So I froze one, and this week, I'll take it out of the freezer instead of buying a new loaf. I think I'm going to take half the loaf and make some french toast that I can freeze. A neighbor had given us some friendship bread the weekend of Seth's party that I figured we wouldn't finish, so I just threw it in the freezer. I took it out last night and I brought it to work today for everyone to enjoy. So, like I said, I'm making progress.

Since I'm not doing my daily dinner blog anymore, I thought I'd add some thoughts on my weekly meal plan in my Food Waste Friday wrap-up. The menu plan went pretty well this week. The barbecue was awesome, but William didn't like it. He ate deli ham and string cheese instead (along with his corn on the cob). I ended up making the calzones last night and the chicken is in the crock pot today. William didn't want the calzones last night, so he just ate a few pieces of apple. (He had eaten his morning snack--grapes and a cereal bar--on the way home, so I figured he wouldn't be hungry.) We'll see if William eats tonight's dinner.

So there you have it, food waste and meal planning in more detail than you ever thought you wanted.

My More-than-Part-Time Job for which I Don't Get Paid

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned on my blog that I'm currently serving on our daycare center's board of directors. I was elected in November '09, and my 2-year term started in January. It's a lot of work. A LOT of work. I serve as the scholarship chair, so I'm in charge of doling out tuition assistance to those in need. Except our center hasn't had any applications for tuition assistance since 2006. So instead, I'm in charge of organizing the spring Teacher Appreciation Week (which has been going on this week), and the annual summer picnic, and the annual holiday party. I also get tapped for various other duties, such as coming up with a records retention policy for the center, and taking minutes in the absence of the secretary (who is currently on maternity leave).

Our board has had a very busy spring, and we're currently in the throes of deciding whether or not to renew our director's contract. It's a very, very tough decision, and we have been meeting with each other, with different groups of faculty, and with parents, trying to determine the best course for the center. To say that this job has been all-consuming would be an understatement. I have always been very involved in what's going on at the center. Our center is very much like a school, and parents are required to give 3 volunteer hours of service per month to the school. There are lots of get-togethers for parents, lots of opportunities to meet and interact. It helps that most of the parents work only a block from the school, and it definitely fosters a sense of community among the parents.

But wow. Sometimes, it overwhelms me. Mostly though, it's a good thing. Even a great thing. I know every single one of the teachers in the school and have a good relationship with each of them. There are 55 families with kids in the school, and I probably know at least 40 of them. I have met some really awesome people and have developed some really strong friendships. I am learning so much about management, conflict resolution, and budget processes. It has been a great experience so far, even though it gets contentious and uncomfortable and, well, overwhelming. So 4 months down, 20 months to go. I hope when all is said and done, I can point to positive changes that I helped to enact while I was here. Time will tell!

Good Question

On the way to work this morning, William asked, "Mommy, what makes the Earth spin around?"

I stuttered, "Hm. Well, uh, that's a good question William. I don't know what makes the Earth spin."

Then he offered his own answer: "Maybe it's gears."

Brilliant, huh?

Menu Plan Monday -- May 3

I'm a little late on the menu-planning this week, and I haven't even done the grocery shopping, so this menu is subject to change. But here's what I have:

Monday: Breakfast for dinner--waffles, french toast, eggs, fruit

Tuesday: Parmesan chicken nuggets (from the freezer), broccoli, dinner rolls

Wednesday: BBQ pork in the crock pot on rolls with corn on the cob (Not sure how this will go over with William, so I have leftover mac-n-cheese just in case)--I have a recipe for this, but can't find it on-line, so I'll post the recipe later this week.

Thursday: Slow cooker 40 cloves of garlic chicken, green beans, Stove Top stuffing

Friday: Homemade calzones (from the freezer)

Saturday: Picnic dinner (sandwiches, fruit, chips)

Sunday: Ed is smoking something in the smoker at his parents' house for Mother's Day--maybe a turkey breast.

I think I've finally decided to merge my two blogs, or maybe do away with the other blog altogether. I'm not sure that I need to keep posting my daily dinner adventures since I have mostly accomplished what I hoped to do (Get into a dinner groove, so to speak). If I miss it, I can always bring it back! I still want to work on photography, but no amount of blogging is going to give me more time (or money!) to work on that. So I will keep it as a goal, but give up on the effort for a daily photo. I think I'll retroactively post on Friday night's dinner, to close out the month of April, and then post my four month's worth of daily dinners, for posterity's sake, as my last post.

In the meantime, I plan on continuing with Menu Plan Monday and Food Waste Friday. And I'll always be looking for ways to improve my efforts to feed my family. So you definitely haven't heard the last of my on-going dinner dilemmas!

Our Camping Adventure

Camping was awesome. And it totally sucked. The awesome parts first.

We decided to head out for the campground around 2 p.m. on Saturday, after Seth woke up from his nap. Luckily, Seth was tired and went to sleep early, so he got a full nap in. Ed and I had already decided that since we had no idea how it would go, we would just pack easy food, and Ed could go pick something up for dinner. (The campsite was 5 minutes from tons of restaurants and fast-food joints.) We would still eat at the campsite, but we wouldn't try to cook anything other than smores.

Once we got there, Ed pitched the tent while the boys played and explored a bit. We set up the camp chairs and started gathering sticks. The boys were pretty excited, but William was getting impatient to go ride the train.

The campground is part of a huge local park on a lake. It's about 15 minutes from our house, and it has a mini-train that follows a track for a mile or two. There's also a carousel, a playground, an ice cream parlor, mini-golf, and trails around the lake. There are boat rentals and lots of places to fish, too. Plenty of activities to choose from!

After we had set up camp and had snacks, we headed for the train. We rode the train, played on the playground, rode the carousel, had ice cream, and then headed back to camp.

At the camp, we played on the playground near the campsite and then played in a big open field. William learned duck-duck-goose at school so we had fun calling each other goose and chasing each other all around. Meanwhile, Ed went out to get dinner--Wendy's. Definitely not authentic camping fare, but easier and much less hassle in the long run.

The boys and I got back to the campsite before Ed and started gathering more sticks. I got the fire going just as Ed came back with dinner. I forgot to say that the weather was hot and humid--not exactly awesome camping weather. But the mosquitoes weren't out yet, so we were glad for that. And since it was hot, the boys weren't too interested in getting all that close to the fire, so score again! After we ate, William and Seth started throwing rocks and acorns into the fire pit. This kept them entertained for a long time. Once it got dark, we broke out the marshmallows and toasting forks and I made smores for the boys. They were a huge flop. The boys did not like the sticky marshmallows one bit. They did, however, like roasting the marshmallows, so we let them roast as many as they wanted. They stuck them in the flames and over the coals until they burst into flames, and then watched them burn until they turned to ash. Good times!

So up until that point, the "camping had been a lot of fun. Seth loved the kid-sized camp chair we brought. He kept moving it all around and setting it up in different spots. William was having a great time, too, but kept asking when we were going camping, which to him meant getting in the tent. The tent is when things started to turn.

Around 9:00 or 9:30, I took the boys to the bathroom to start getting ready for bed. We washed faces and hands and arms and necks and brushed teeth. We changed into pajamas and then got in the tent. At first they were excited. They had fun with their flashlights, they chased each other around in circles, they giggled and laughed. I got them settled down and read books to them. I got them some chocolate milk (just like our routine at home), and then said it was time to sleep.

Now, just for good measure, I did not expect them to close their eyes and go to sleep right away. I knew there would be lots of back and forth and some trouble falling asleep. While I stayed in the tent with the boys, Ed sat by the fire and enjoyed his few moments of peace. After about 45 minutes, with sleep nowhere in sight, I got out the iPhone and let them watch Backyardigans. Ed came to check on us, but by then, Seth realized that he was actually expected to lie down and sleep in the tent, and he was not having it. He stood at the door to the tent and said, "Done. Done." Ed took him out to sit by the fire, and I hoped that William would fall asleep. After a little while, William was still not asleep and Ed brought Seth back. Seth was still having none of it. It was 10:30 by then, and I don't remember why, but Seth started crying. I took him outside and walked around and then settled into a chair by the dying fire, hoping he'd fall asleep. He did, we went back to the tent, and I managed to lay him down without waking him up. William had fallen asleep too, so both Ed and I breathed a big sigh of relief and tried to drift off to sleep ourselves.

I don't think either one of us slept a wink. Every time one of the boys sighed or moved, I instinctively looked up to check on them. We were both super uncomfortable, I was short a pillow, I was hot, then I got cold. It was not fun. Then around 3:00 a.m., Seth woke up and wanted chocolate milk. I had brought a sippy cup of apple juice in the tent in case one of the boys woke up thirsty, but Seth wanted chocolate milk and started crying when I offered the apple juice. Crying REALLY LOUD. All I could do was say "Shhhhhhhhh." He finally calmed down and drank the juice, but then William had woken up and was coughing a bit. He drank some juice, too, but then he wanted to lie on top of me. Then Seth wanted to lie on top of me and cried that William was lying on me. We just could not get the boys settled down. At 3:30, I got up and went outside and made chocolate milk for the boys. That didn't help. William probably would have gone back to sleep at this point, but Seth was not having any of it.

Ed and I discussed our options. One, pack up and go home. Two, I could take Seth home and come back to get Ed and William in the morning. Three, I could try going outside the tent again to see if I could Seth to fall back asleep. William nixed option two. He didn't want either one of us to leave without him. Option three was not appealing because it meant that Ed and I would not get a bit of sleep for the rest of the night. So option one was our best bet. I took both boys and strapped them in their car seats. Then we started operation break down at 3:40 in the morning. Seriously peoples. We packed up and went home. We just threw everything into the back of the van and headed out. We got home around 4:15, and both boys fell asleep on the way home. We carried them up to their rooms and put them in bed, and then fell into our bed. It seems crazy, but I'm soooo glad we bailed.

William woke up at 7:30 a.m., so I got about 3 hours of sleep. That's 3 more than I would have gotten had we stayed. And we had the whole day to put everything away and relax and take naps. I was disappointed that we didn't get to walk around the lake--we had planned to do that in the morning before we left--but I don't regret the adventure at all. We'll wait another 2 years or so before we try it again. I think William would have done really well, but Seth and tent sleeping was not a good mix. So we're all a little tired, but none the worse for wear. Except Seth now has the beginnings of a cold. And William has been coughing, but that's been going on since late last week. (We're thinking it might be allergies, but no wheezing yet, so that's good.) So, mostly none the worse for wear. And now we have a fun family adventure to talk about.