About Me

Carmel-Banana French Toast

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:14:48 -0700

If you’ve never seen “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” you should watch it sometime. It’s on the Food Network and the whole show is this guy (Guy Fieri) who goes all over the country, visiting little places with amazing food. Little, non-chain places. They have some great looking stuff on there and from time to time we’ll watch an episode over and over to try to figure out how we can recreate some of the dishes (they don’t give exact recipes). One such recipe was this French Toast. It is served in a place in Arizona called Over Easy. Becky, Melissa, maybe you’re heard of it? They add pecans at the restaurant, but as I am a non-pecan fan, we left them out.
It has taken some experimenting, but this stuff is 100% delicious. If you are so-inclined some Saturday morning, give it a whirl.

Carmel-Banana French Toast

Note: this is going to be pretty scattershot, as I had to just figure it out on the fly

Brioche or some other egg-y bread or even sourdough
eggs
milk or cream
vanilla
sugar
cream
salt
bananas

1. Combine the eggs (3) with milk or cream (about 1/2-3/4 c.) and vanilla (about 1 tsp. or more). Dip the bread in the egg mixture and cook in a skillet with a little oil (or butter if you’re just throwing caution to the wind). Set aside. Slice up some bananas.
2. In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt some sugar (maybe 1/3 c.) over med-low heat, shaking every once in a while, until it is melted and golden brown. Add some cream (maybe 1 cup), whisking like crazy to incorporate, adding a little bit at a time and stirring after each addition. (This is a very tenuous step. If you add it to quickly, the sugar may harden up and then you’ll have little bit of hardened toffee-sugar in your carmel sauce. Just work on it until you get it right.) Add a pinch of kosher salt and stir in. Add the sliced bananas to the sauce.
3. Serve the carmel sauce over the French Toast and try not to die of happiness, unless of course you are my kids in which case, you’ll have no trouble staying alive and complaining that the carmel sauce is not maple syrup. Silly, silly kids.

I don’t know how to say this...

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:12:25 -0700

...and this is going to be terribly annoying...but Levi is the cutest baby ever. :)
Right, everyone’s own baby is the cutest baby ever and that’s the way it should be. We are programmed as parents to think these thoughts. But really, Levi is pretty stinking cute.
Of his most endearing traits, the first would be his smile. While he can, at times, tend toward the more serious, I have never felt deprived of smiles and he can hold one--along with a stare--for longer than anyone I know. Our neighbors little girl has been taught that you shouldn’t look away from a baby who is looking at you. One time Levi caught her in a smile-stare (a “smare”) and she said, “Why won’t he look away?! He just keeps looking!” He has enchanted more people with that smile than I can count. And the eye brow-lift. He’ll look at you and smile and raise his eyebrows very quickly, just charming the pants off of us. Oh! He’s just so cute!
Another darling little thing is his voice. Most of the time he has that little baby noise that he pops out at appropriate intervals, but in the last couple of months, he has also developed the Gozer Growl, that sounds just like Gozer the Destructor on “Ghostbusters”, as I have previously mentioned. It kind of freaks people out. The other day I took him to a meeting that was very quiet and calm and he started to growl and everyone was a little shocked to hear such a noise. Hee hee. What are you going to do?
Cheeks. Sometimes when I look at him from the side, I can only see only cheek.
The last thing I will mention are his wrists. Whenever he gets excited, he twists his wrists like he’s revving a motorcycle or something. He does this and just stares right at you with very wide eyes and slightly puckered lips. Alright, just while I’m on the subject of staring, lots of times when he’s in the exersaucer and I’m doing something in the kitchen, I can feel him looking at me. As soon as I turn to look at him, he smares really big so I won’t look away. He knows I can’t resist it. Smart, this one.
Of course, we have to admit some non-ideal points. It is true that he burbles a lot and also drools quite a bit. And while my clothing and his are not thrilled with this, we are pleased to report that these episodes are beginning to minimize and he may, one day, be able to hold down liquids all together. In addition, he has decided to wake up most mornings at 5:30 am, which also may appear to be undesirable. However, since I recently re-decided I needed to get up early and exercise, we decided that he is just being very helpful to my fitness cause.
One quick story: Sometimes Levi makes this funny smile that is less like a smile and more like he’s trying to “move something along.” Ahem. For Saturday Movie Night, we were watching “Monsters Vs. Aliens” and I was holding Levi. In that movie there is that little, blue blobbish guy that I believe is named B.O.B, but Bruce calls him Flubber. Anyway, Bruce came over to say hi to Levi and Levi smiled at him in the funny way and Bruce said, “Hey, Levi kind of looks like Flubber.” It was funny because it was true.
**I would just like to clarify that this post of Levi’s cuteness should in no way diminish the cuteness of both Bruce and Annabel, both of whom occupied this position when they were babies. But now, as they are currently the cutest 5 and 3 year olds, respectively, the title is available for Levi to inhabit. We’re just sharing the love.**

Disneyland 2009!

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:06:18 -0700

What would a year be without a trip to Disneyland? We would have no idea. We took our annual pilgrimage in early December this year, curious to see what Disneyland is all about during the holidays. Turns out it is a lot of fun and a lot of people like to experience it :) All in all, it was very, very fun and we all had a great time. Like we could have done anything else.

So the flight. We took a noon-er flight and all the kids and I were on the same row, Levi on my lap. There was some kind of delay, so we sat on the plane for a good hour before we left which resulted in me using up all my good trip surprises before we even took off. By golly. But, bless those kids, they did great and we had no meltdowns. Plus, Dad was quick and in the the last 1/2 hour before we landed and things were looking iffy, he popped out his phone and let them watch part of “Up.” Together. On the tiny phone screen. It was so cute.

I was just about ready to do a play-by-play, but realized I wouldn’t do that. I will instead sum up and add some thoughts.
1. For the crowd sizes, we didn’t really wait in any super long lines. I have a handy app and my husband to thank for that. Ernie is very scientific about Disneyland and it pays off. For one early morning, we were literally the only people on Main Street. Mickey Mouse was just standing there, twiddling his thumbs, waiting for someone to have their picture taken with him. It was 7:45 a.m.
2. Levi is extremely mellow and laid back, but given enough stimulus (ie. noise) and lack of sleep, he, too, can display limits. What a baby though. He was a total champ for the whole trip. He was eating on the fly, napping in his stroller, dragged through crazy rides that he just didn’t understand and waited an awful lot. We do love the Levi.
3. People wear crazy clothes. Even in chilly weather, people wear some nutty things. One fellow was in iridescent leggings and a ribbed tank top. And his friend was in a very similar outfit. Oh and high tops and mohawks or something. Wow. My advice to you, if you’re a guy, is to steer clear of this look. I also realized I am turning into my mom and almost uttered, “Kids these days...” Ouch.
4. I love big ornaments and more specifically big ornaments on garlands. We went to the after- Christmas sales to buy cheap ornaments to create just such a thing for next year.
5. Everyone feels good at Disneyland. You just feel helpful and form a camaraderie with people and start talking to folks like you’ve known them for more than just the length of time you’ve been waiting in line together. It’s so fun.
6. Annabel loves characters, but not the real ones. She was all about Pluto and that bear from Brother Bear and Mickey and whomever else, but was very leery of Jasmine and Santa. Go figure. Also, her favorite rides were Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, though she did love Peter Pan and Dumbo. She was also very pleased that the castle was painted pink. She is a mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a vest. And a very cute one at that.
7. Bruce is a singer. All the way through “It’s a Small World” (which does a medley with its original song and Jingle Bells for the holidays) he was singing out loud as he looked around. He is just one of those kids that makes everything seem magical and thrilling. He looks at everything with such awe and amazement. Man, I love that. He also loves maps and Autopia.
8. Attending musicals and plays could be in our future. We saw “Aladdin” in California Adventure and the kids all loved it! Even now, they quote lines from it and talk about the special effects.
9. Getting a single stroller is trouble when you have two possible riders. We brought Levi’s stroller and rented a single one. Unfortunately, there was some squabbling over who was going to ride in it and when and for how long. We tried out some creative solutions, but in the end just turned in the thing and everyone walked. Problem solved. Annabel was a especial trooper. She walked all over and offered nary a word of complaint.
10. When you state at the beginning of the trip that no goodies are going to be purchased, there is surprisingly little resistance. At the end of the last day, Ernie treated the kids to a whirly sucker and a lollipop and they were completely satisfied. He even asked them as they were walking back if they wanted to stop for ice cream. “No Dad. You already bought us suckers. That’s enough.” Honestly. Is that awesome?
11. Bubbles are always fun. You can’t go wrong with bubbles.
12. There are some awesome places to eat at Disney if you know where to look. Very tasty and visually amazing.
13. Annabel can scream really loud.
14. And so can Bruce.
15. Levi can growl like Gozer on “Ghostbusters.”

The men with the plan.
Laying out the days agenda...

Please note how
many people are
NOT there!

Annabel, after walking all night.
She was asleep before her head
hit the pillow.

Merry Christmas 2009

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:25:12 -0700

Holy Cannoli, I have been the WORST blogger know to man lately. Here we are, well into the new year and this will be our Christmas entry. Enjoy the look into our past.

Christmas was much simpler this year than last. We hung around, we lessened the presents, we did fun stuff. It was still busy, even with all the simplification, but it was filled with good things and will hopefully provide lovely memories for years to come.

Generally Christmas Eve is spent with my family, having a dinner and doing whatever. This year we had decided on an Ugly Sweater contest, karaoke and a White Elephant exchange. Those who dove into the sweater contest did great--some real winners--but I think this tradition is going to have to pick up some steam over the next couple of year. And we ran out of time for karaoke (we had a great karaoke night this summer at our family reunion in Bear Lake and I was so excited for another night of glory. The kids and Ernie and I spent lots of time practicing our choices in the car from here to there, but alas, we’ll have to save them for next year), but the White Elephant was great. We were very excited about our contributions: The Christmas Eve special (a Monster drink, a package of Donettes and a chocolate pudding pie), a can of marinated grubs (from the Oriental market), Bible trivia and game cards, Oragami paper and a Lifesaver book. We ended up taking home a pair of shark slippers that play the Jaws theme, a Hello Kitty pencil case (from our Japanese exchange student that lived with our family when I was in...1st grade?), a can of Consort hairspray for Ernie, a Worst Case Scenario parenting book and...I can’t remember. Dang. Chyrl also gave some Cruise packets to the kids, to get them pumped up for the vacation! Another highlight of the evening was being able to see some of Jane and Jeff’s Africa pictures. It was a great night.
When we got home (at almost 10:00!), we opened up our annual Christmas Eve jammies, put out a plate of cookies, read some Christmas books and headed to bed. The kids--who stayed awake during the whole ride home--were asleep before their heads hit the pillows.
The next morning, Ernie was up bright and early to go pick up his dad (something like 6:00). They of course woke up the kids, who had yet to emerge by 7:00. We all headed down and the Santa gifts were unveiled: a racetrack, Legos for Bruce and My Little Ponies galore for Annabel (does anyone out thee have a daughter who is into Ponies? What is up with the names? Sweetie Bell, Cheerilee, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Star Song. Each of those names has been dipped in sugar and rolled in candy kisses.) They both got toothpaste and toothbrushes, bubble bath, chocolate oranges, a few model animals, a card game and Pez dispensers. Levi got a ring stacker, a little airplane and a wooden orb-ish toy. Of course, as the Kims are prone to doing, we did not rest long. On to the tree gifts!
Bruce got a Leapster and some books from Harlabaji (and we had almost officially lost hope of ever conversing with him again), some Star Wars-shaped matchbox cars from us (like cars that are in the shape of C-3PO, Darth Maul, a Jawa, a Sand Person, etc. Super cool!). Also some other books--mainly of he Lego and/or Easy-Reader theme--a Beatles shirt, an Iron Man sweatshirt and various other things. Annabel got a realistic-looking sushi set and some books from Harlabaji and a Sally doll from us (she was just mooning of it at Disneyland and I must say it just slightly creepy. It’s the eyes.). She also got some pink shirts, some books and other various items. Levi got an old-fashioned Fisher-Price Chatty Telephone, a Mickey Mouse t-shirt, some books and some other various items. He was mostly happy with the paper. Harlabaji got some framed pictures of the kids, the Consort from the Christmas Eve party :) and various other items that are way too funny to mention. Ernie got the new Lance Armstrong book and the kids made him some paper plate bicycle wheels. I got a hat, scarf and gloves from the kids, and lots of lotions and some gift cards from Ernie (we always agree to not buy for each other, but we do, but he always ends up buying more than I do and then I feel bad I didn’t buy more. We’re so complicated :) ). Everyone was very pleased with their things we spent the morning going through them and seeing what was what.
I would like to say we had a nice breakfast, but we didn’t even eat anything. I went to work making Korean Bi Bim Bop--rice with various vegetables and meat on top, mixed with a chili paste--before I had to feed Levi. At that time, Ernie took over and then I set the table. So in lieu of breakfast, we ate a hearty lunch, which was a nice substitute...for the adults anyway. The kids were a little less taken by it, but ate it just the same.
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing games, reading books, brushing Pony hair, racing cars (Bruce’s race track is pretty cool. It’s just one long flexible piece that you can set up any way you want. It was very exciting!) and trying to take naps. We had leftover Korean food for dinner and none of us changed out of our pajamas. It was a great day.
Favorite comment: right after opening presents, kids both said, “When is Easter coming?!” Huh?

Bruce, very excited about the shark
slippers.

Jane and Ernie, eagerly awaiting their turn.

Dad and Chyrl, enjoying the merriment in
their festive clothing.

Jeff and Spence, working the camera.

Rob and Jessie plotting the steal of the shark
slippers.

Most of the crowd, including Bryn
who is texting on the couch. Merry
Christmas to whomever
is on the other end of that phone! :)

Alan, Clark and Erin. Erin always looks
cute, Christmas sweater and all!

Robbie trying his darndest to weedle the
shark slippers from Bruce, but not
being able to, as Spencer put it, “Break
that cute little boy’s heart.” hee hee.

Annabel, very excited she was able to trade the
guitar DVD she opened up for this Hello Kitty
pencil case.

Spencer, thrilled to pieces with his
CTR bubble rings.

Dad really excited to have gotten the
Fitness DVD with questionably posed
and clad fitness models on the front.
No heads, only abs and buns.

Levi in heaven with his bag full of
wrapping paper.

Ernie wondering if this is the same type
of Sham-Wow that we got him for
Father’s Day. The answer is no. This
is Wow! Chamois. Totally different.

A cute little baby Levi.

Andi and Tony, really jonesing for the
Chrimstas Eve Special that Taylor
opened.

Here I am, Ma. Under the Christmas
wrappin’.

I think Sharon won the contest. Take a
look at this sweet shirt. There is no topping
this one.

Uncle Jeff and Annabel taking a peek
at the Cruise packages. Spencer
taking a peek at their peeking.

Bruce and the shark slippers.

Levi opening his Christmas jammies.
You can see all the help he gets.

Annabel was very pleased with her jolly
red one-peicers.

Bruce tearing into his jammies. What
can it be?! Ernie also anxious.

Annabel and Mom, very pleased with
these new Christmas jammies.

A picture by Santa’s cookies. The looks
on Bruce’s and Annabel’s faces
indicate how many cookies they had
been eating all season long :)

Good morning!

Harlabaji joining in the morning
festivities.

Harlabaji and Levi staying out of the
kid-tornado.

Bruce, very pleased with his new
toothbrush and paste.

Bruce, equally as pleased with the
race track.

Annabel showing off her new Pony,
Star Song. Later on, she will favor us
with a star song.

Levi and Harlabaji enjoying a good
book.

Harlabaji can actually use the Consort.

Annabel got the Cloudy with a Chance
of Meatballs saga.

Annabel holding Sally stiffly by the
larynx at arms length.

Levi and his stacking ring toy.
A good choice.

Bruce engulfed in the possibilities
of Legos.

Ernie, siting back, enjoying the day
like a celebrity.

Our December and Merry Christmas!

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:01:43 -0700

I have not posted for a woefully long time! December around these here parts have been down right crazy. And I’m talking crazy with a capital K. But, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I think we’re ready to relax. There is always 2010.
Here is what I’m going to do: I will post a few teaser pictures of our adventures and this weekend I will do some more elaborate entries on a few of our grander moments. Until then, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, stay safe and have fun!

Tried to get a good Christmas
card picture...

Painted a nativity for my
sister-in-law...

Visited Santa Claus with varying
degrees of success...

Went...guess where!....

Made candy houses at school...

Ate the candy off the candy trees
when we got home....

Levi had his first bubble bath....

Re-did the master bathroom...

Had the Christmas Friends
Festivus...

Tried to peek into Christmas gifts...
(just today. I only wrapped stuff
last night :) )

Made exciting holiday baked
goods...

Made more candy houses at home...

Levi decided tummy time is not so bad...
(+ he rolled over today!)

Current Obsession

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:29:39 -0700

Bruce is currently keen on many things: Legos, Sweet Caroline, reading, biking, Mario Kart, teasing Annabel, loving Levi., etc.. But he is actually obsessed with drawing and writing. A large majority of the doors in our house have quick little sketches taped on them. Anything from Halloween scenes to Astro Boy characters (Zog, Trash Can the dog and Astro Boy himself are particularly well-represented), it matters not; it’s up there for all to enjoy. Most of these little gems are very quickly produced. Maybe he’s in a hurry or maybe his aim is high output, I’m not sure. But if his goal is numbers-driven, he is batting a thousand. He also likes to use Sharpies. This gives me a heart attack on many levels, not the least of which is having pictures of Zog and Astro Boy and Halloween all over the house forever. Sometimes during his free-play at school, he’ll draw pictures for us and put captions on them: “For Mom Love Bruce” ,“I Love You Dad From Bruce.” It’s like getting little love letters. He loves writing his name on everything (even our dirty car) as well as the names of his brother and sister. I must say, this is a fun stage. I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. :)

We had our first parent-teacher conference with Bruce’s teachers this week and it was great. I love this kind of thing; sitting down on the tiny chairs, seeing Bruce’s improvements so far, chatting with the teachers about shoes.... All the teachers had glowing reports of good behavior, enthusiasm, listening in class, enthusiasm, expressive facial features, enthusiasm and hard work to tell. And also enthusiasm. His reading/writing teacher said his reading has really taken off lately and he is improving everyday. His art teacher said he is beginning to take more care with his art, coloring in the lines and just generally slowing down and enjoying the journey, so to speak. His math teacher said he is doing well, remembers a lot and also that he likes to be first--I have NO idea where this trait originated. None, at all-- so that sometimes he makes a few mistakes in order to be the first one done. And that’s true. He does like to be at the head of the line. We’re trying to help him understand the concept of being right rather than being first. That’s a biggie. But overall, he’s a great little student and enjoying every second of life.

Random story of Bruce: last week Bruce was having an off morning. He was uncharacteristically weepy, so I should have known he didn’t feel good, but we decided to take him to school anyway. Just as soon as he walked in the door, his teacher reported, he threw up right on the floor. She called me on my cell, which I had left on the kitchen counter, so when I got home and heard the beeping of the answering machine, I knew exactly who it was. I turned back around to go pick up Bruce and there he was, sitting calmly on the chair in the front office/sitting area. He had thrown up once more, but was very collected. On the way home he said he felt like he needed to throw up again, so I pulled over and helped him lean over the concrete barrier. After the deed, he just put his little elbow up on the barrier and tucked his hand under his chin and, with a quizzical look on his face said, “Are we almost home?” That’s it. So calm. The only thing that upset him that day was the fact that he couldn’t touch Levi. I told him he had to keep a little distance so he didn’t pass a some illness to Levi and he was beside himself with grief, reaching out toward him and crying his eyes out. Oh, it was so cute. And also a little frustrating because he kept trying to sneak in a snuggle. :) Good news: Levi didn’t get sick, but he does still spit up a lot.

These are Disney paint chip samples that
ERnie got from Home Depot before
Halloween. The idea was for the kids to
make Mickey Jack-o-lanterns. Isn’t that cute?
The frowny one is sad because he has chicken pox.

Bruce used a diaper box and a humidifier
box to make alien space craft. You can
see to the right that he named one  “H1N1” which I thought was awesome.

The insides and outsides were filled
with alien beings, one of whom
was Annabel, as you can read,
above right.

Here is a rendering of the craft.

Here is Bruce flying a helicopter,
apparently in hot pursuit of the
UFO’s.

I’m not sure. Let’s ask.

I’m thinking the main, evil alien
king. He has those evil teeth.

Bruce’s jack-o-lantern he painted
at school. His art teacher said it
was the other kids’ favorite, but
they wanted to know why Bruce
got to make two pumpkins.
I guess it just grew that way.

Annabel’s Life in Narrative

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 20:33:55 -0700

We all know Annabel tends towards the dramatic. This is no news. But lately she has taken it one step further: she now narrates her actions and thoughts in the third person. Example: the other day Bruce, Levi and I were in Bruce and Annabel’s room, organizing drawers or whatever and Annabel came rushing in and said, “‘Mom! Mom! I can’t find my (let’s say...bunny)!’...said Annabel as she rushed into the bedroom.” She said it like she was reading this scenario out of a book. It is so funny. She started just doing it when she was pretending with her dolls or animals or something. I would sit and listen to her come up with these crazy plot lines for them, involving all sorts of adventure and intrigue. Perhaps she thought they were having all the fun and wanted to include herself in the game. I’m not sure, but it goes on and off, comes in and out. It’s not like she does it all day, just at random moments. I’m pretty sure, however, that Ernie’s purchase of the Snow White “gown” has ramped up the frequency.
Her vocabulary is pretty funny too. “‘Blah, blah, blah,’ she said with a grimace.” or “‘But Mom!’ said Annabel, very disappointed.” or “‘But Mom! But Mom! But MOOOOM!!!’ said Annabel, starting to argue with her mother.” (This arguing routine is very common, unfortunately. But maybe arguing in narrative isn’t as bad.) Other words and phrases she likes to use: glorious, wonderful, just darling, fantastic, flablious (fabulous), delightful, magnificent, not even ever, happy chappy (to describe Levi’s mood), slightly, actually, lovely, ever so...the list goes on.
I would say just as often, she involves Bruce in her play, making up things for him to say so things will flow the way she would like. Example: “Brother, I am not feeling very well. Now you (Bruce) say, ‘Why aren’t you feeling well, Sister.’” “Why aren’t you feeling well, Sister?” “Well, you see, I was walking along in the woods and a wolf approached me .....” He is such a good sport to go along with her shenanigans.
One story I must add that is slightly unrelated: Both kids had Howdy Day (like Western/Cowboy Day) at their respective schools on the same day. On the drive to school, I was teaching them to say “Howdy pahtner!’ with a nice twang. I told them this is what all cowfolk say. Annabel was very into this idea. Bruce was very opposed to it. Bruce gets dropped off first. The second his teacher opened the car door to let him out, Annabel said in her loudest twang (which is loud), “Howdy Paht--nah!!!!!” Bruce’s teacher was totally caught off guard and it really tickled her funny bone. We laughed about that for the rest of the day...and the rest of our lives.

We don’t know what the future may bring for Annabel, but we hope it’s well-scripted, otherwise she might have a few changes to make.

A Helpful Squatter

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 15:28:34 -0700

Yesterday we picked up the lawn mower from the shop after getting it’s winterizing treatment. Ernie took it to the shed to put ‘er to sleep for the season when he noticed something strange: a big pile of pine cones...in the shed. That’s not generally where we put them. Upon further investigation, he found many, many, MANY more pine cones piled here and there around the shed. I mean, piles and piles on the upper shelf, neatly lined all along the rafters, hidden in nooks and crannies. He called me out to see what he had found and we decided that we had a squatter. (It was either that or some strange paranormal thing; like the spontaneous book-stacking on “Ghostbusters.” “No HUMAN would stack books this way.” :) )
For several weeks, the kids and I have been spotting a particular squirrel busying itself in the backyard. He (I presume) goes back and forth between our yard and those of our neighbors, carrying things hither and thither. We never really thought too much of our little friend, other than “isn’t he so cute!” and “I wonder where he lives?”. The squirrel is/was living in our shed! And apparently making all sorts of preparations for a cozy winter home, what with all the pine cones and a little bed in an old blanket.
After we saw all of this, it dawned on us that we hadn’t seen many pine cones around lately. We usually pay the kids a penny a pine cone to pick them up off the grass. So far this fall, they have each made 4 cents. That squirrel, on the other hand, has made at least a couple of bucks.
After we had completely dismantled his hard labored-for quarters, we felt kind of bad. Not bad enough to let him stay there, but bad enough to leave his pile of cones out for him and bad enough to hatch a plan for his new bed. Today the kids and I got out a spare wooden crate and scraps of fleece and made him a new bed. We cut the scraps into strips and all other shapes and tucked them into the crate, along with 3 pine cones (one for breakfast, lunch and dinner), some leaves and pine boughs that came off in the wind last night. We placed this luxurious little item underneath the shed, hoping the squirrel would return and at least have a place to stay the winter.
I am pleased to report, that we had a squirrel-sighting this afternoon and we think he is going to forgive us for ruining his apartment, much to our pleasure and relief. It’s just like a Tasha Tudor story isn’t it? :)

Cute Pictures.

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:28:12 -0600

Here are some cute pictures.

These two faces, represent the expressions that these boys wear very often.

When we first started Levi on solids, he often looked like it was his lot in life to eat rice cereal.

Annabel is continually asking for Levi to watch Baby Einsteins. I finally relented and she was glad.

To give Levi a bit of a buffer from Annabel’s instruction, we put him in a padded laundry basket.

It has been noted that Levi is quite serious. This is true. He is also a jim dandy and quite a giggler, especially when Bruce is involved. But he does lean toward the serious side. Maybe thoughtful is a good word to describe him. Or contemplative. Or just serious.

13 Days of Halloween 2009

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:51:39 -0600

Oh dear. Here it is. Halloween night and I haven’t written about our 13 days of Halloween this year! (Or anything else for that matter. Booooo!) But I will now recap our fun festivities for the month.
Day One: We colored Halloween stickers and made Nutter Butter Ghost Cookies. Yum! I had no idea the stickers would be such a hit. Annabel carried hers around like a baby doll for days and Bruce wanted to color them so precisely. Fun.
Day Two: We made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are delicious and so very easy. One spice cake mix, one small can pumpkin (or about 2 c.) and some chocolate chips. Mix and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Voila.
Day Three: We colored Halloween pictures and cut out scary Disney villain masks. Bruce also made a very elaborate “machine” out of spare Halloween coloring pages, card stock and glue stick. It does a little of everything and has an ON and OFF switch. Sweet.
Day Four: We had our annual Halloween Play Date with our friends from our old ward. All of us had our boys together and we/they have remained good friends, though all of us now live in different areas. The kids had a pizza lunch, decorated cookies, watched a scary show and jumped on the trampoline. It was great fun! Thanks to Kirstin for hosting us! Later that night we also went downtown to CPK for dinner and a little browsing.
Day Five: I can’ remember. I know we raked leaves and wiped Annabel out. And we also got dinner from somewhere. Where? Where? I don’t know. But Annabel wore her Halloween clothes. Hold on. I remember. After raking, Ernie took Bruce to see “Astro Boy”, so Annabel and I drove around looking at Halloween displays and then watched “The Great Pumpkin.” We actually had a really fun time.
Day Six: I have no idea. I know we had a dry roast for dinner, then Ernie took the kids on a ride wherein they fell asleep. Then we went on a walk wherein we ran into our neighbors and I asked if she had a good roast recipe. Halloween may not have been covered that day, other than a token story.
Day Seven: We made Mod Podge pumpkins. It was actually super fun. We got those unfinished pumpkin forms from the craft store, the kids tore/cut up some crepe paper and away we went with the foam brushes and Mod Podge. Annabel just couldn’t get enough of the Mod Podge. Everytime I turned around she was globbing on more and more. I had to kind of reign things in a little so the pumpkin form didn’t collapse on itself. We had a great time...but now that I think of it, the house smelled like glue product for the rest of the night. Still...
Day Eight: Annabel had her Halloween party at school and I got to help. I was in charge of the craft which was Applejack Necklaces (because they are green and orange). The kids loved to make them, but once I told one boy that if he had a broken one he could eat it, all of the sudden everyone started having broken ones :) It also snowed like crazy, so we played in the snow. That wasn’t so much Halloween-y, but fun.
Day Nine: Our ward had a little Halloween play group. It was small, but lots of fun. We read Halloween stories, did some relays with stuffed pumpkins, did more Applejack Necklaces (I had some leftover from the day before! Yes!) and just let the kids run around. Good times.
Day Ten: Annabel had her Halloween Program. She dressed up as a ghost and sang all sorts of scary songs. Once she got there and realized that 75% of the girls were dressed as princesses, she wasn’t super enchanted with her own costume, but she did get to add the “ghost breath” to the witches brew (essentially the dry ice to the rootbeer), so that was a redeeming feature. We also had Dad and Chyrl over for dinner. They brought delicious soup and we made grilled cheese. The kids were highly “energetic”, but did manage to squeak out a few Halloween and Primary songs. It was a very nice evening.
Day Eleven: It was Bruce’s program and party day at his school that I also got to help with. The program was really cute. At one point, several of the kids got to stand up, don witch’s hats and wield a tambourine. Bruce was wearing his tactical helmet, so he had a tough time getting the witch’s hat on, which was funny. At they end they did a little parade, dancing around the room to the Monster Mash. Super cute. I was in charge of their snack, so I did blue and sweet/spicy corn tortilla chips (Bat Wings and Pumpkin Chips), cheese slabs and apple or tangerine juice boxes. At least one part of the snack was enthusiastically received by each child. The other moms did a cute craft, game and story. It was a really fun time. Props to Ernie for watching the Annabel and Levi for me! We also carved pumpkins
Day Twelve: Hold on. That’s today. We missed a day somewhere in there. On that missing day, we made Halloween lanterns. They had some really cute kits at Michael’s and the kids had a great time making/hanging them.
Day Thirteen: There, that’s better. Today we had pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, Ernie cleaned the cars for like 6 hours (they look awesome!), while the kids and I mopped the floor, tidied up, built with blocks and carved more pumpkins. They also got to play at our neighbors house which is always a treat. We had a late lunch/early dinner and then headed out with our friends to trick-or-treat. Bruce was in the jogging group and Annabel and I brought up the tail. We had a lot of fun, the weather held up, the kids got loads of goodies and we got to visit lots of our friends. And we even got to watch part of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” at 9:00 PM!! What a nice mom. :)
I hope everyone had a great holiday season! Happy Halloween everyone!