Hiatus

It should come as no surprise that I've let this blog fall by the wayside, as of late.  I could blame it on our busy schedule with working, playing, schooling, exercising, cooking, cleaning, playing.  And that's just what I'll do.

Life has been steadily chugging along.  Annie turned 3 in January.

I joined Troy in the 30's this February.

We began (and I totally take more credit than I should for this) raising bees this spring.  This is Troy's new hobby and it's been a great learning experience for the rest of us as well.

Isaac turned 5 this May.  He will be starting kindergarten at the end of this month.  He is super stoked and asks everyday if it's time for school.

Orry turned 7 this June...  Man.  I can't believe that my life journey has included at least one kid for 7 years now.  He will be going to the second grade and I assume that he's excited to go, but he hasn't verbally expressed it yet.

We finished the school year with a good report card.  Our summer began with some trips to Louisiana and ended with a "Mega Trip" (as Troy would call it) across the country.  The summer isn't over quite yet.  There are still a couple of weeks until we start back up again.

We've had pretty good success with our backyard garden this year.  We've had a few cucumbers, lots of greens, too many tomatoes, and are still waiting on our carrots and beets.  I do believe the bees (and Troy) deserve the credit here.

We've enjoyed watching skunks and cattle birds in the early morning hours.

Summer 2013

Our memberships to the Houston Zoo and HMNS are still going strong.  The park nearby has also become a place that we frequent, often in the evenings when it's a tiny bit cooler.

I hope to keep this blog more up to date in the days, weeks, months to come.  It will be easier at first since there is much to tell about our "Mega Trip".  Hopefully our life will be bursting with excitement that I just can't contain and this will be a good outlet for that.  Until then, I hope you all have had an awesome summer!

Back in Session

*Allow me to start out by saying that this blog has been written for some weeks now.  I am just now getting around to putting pictures with it.  I am too lazy to try and rewrite it, so I will post it as is.  Pretend as though we are living in the moment.*

School's been going strong for a week now.  And there's not too much that I can say about it.  Strange, huh?

Since Troy is one of the assistant principals at the school, he has been taking care of all the "details".  He met the teacher, he has seen the students, he took care of the paper work.  I just pack the lunches and wash the uniforms.  But I shouldn't sell myself too short.  I do make sure the homework is done.  All one page of homework that he brings home daily...

But he's having a good time.  When asked what his favorite part of the day is, he happily replies, "Recess!".   Duh.  And there are cute girls, but we'll have to see what their conduct is like.

I asked him to be honest and tell me who was a better teacher, Mommy or Ms. Serath.  Ms. Serath won, but I'm not surprised.

At the end of the first week there was a picnic at the school.  It was a gathering with the intention of having parents meet parents and parents meet teachers and students meet parents, teachers, and other students.  I will add in here that I was impressed with what I saw.  There is a diverse mix of students and lots of parental involvement.  Also, since the school is K-9 there are children of all ages (up to about 15) there.  It was really heartwarming to see the older kids including the younger kids and watching out for them.  An older boy attempted to teach Orry how to properly throw a basketball.  Poor child, has his mom's sense of coordination.

*Now I'll update you with more recent tidbits.*

Orry tested out of the first grade, but we have decided to keep him in his class.  Instead of moving him up a grade, we will opt to do GT and harder assignments from his teacher.

This past week was a short one since school was out on Friday due to staff development.  We decided to make a day of it and head over to the zoo and take a ride on the train around Hermann Park.

All in all he is growing up to be a fine young boy.  Eager to help out and aware that he doesn't know everything.  He's imaginative and well behaved (when not around his mother).  He's considerate of others and willing to share.  He also eats like a horse!  

Here's to a great year of first grade, Orry!  Go get 'em!

Bon Appétit!

For weeks I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and finally, we have arrived.  We are officially enjoying our Thanksgiving vacation!

Last week the boys both enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at their schools.  Isaac's class had a very age appropriate feast with turkey cubes and pumpkin cupcakes.  He had a great time and brought home a feathered headband and three sweet corn sprouts that he planted at the beginning of the month.  Orry's school invited all the parents and siblings to join the students for a Thanksgiving feast provided by the cafeteria.   I wasn't too thrilled about taking the two little ones to a crowded cafeteria to eat cafeteria food, but it meant a lot to Orry that we go, so we signed up for 3 meals.

We ended up not making it to Orry's lunch.  Isaac's doctors appointment ran long and we ended up stuck in traffic due to an accident.  We did get to see Orry finishing his lunch and decided to take him home early so that we could start enjoying our vacation that much sooner.

Our baked stuffed pumpkin!

This week we are going to travel to Louisiana.  We will dine on a wonderful Thanksgiving feast cooked by my wonderful mother.  And so we have come to the topic of this blog.  Holiday foods.  Yummm...I'm salivating already.

Now, I've never cooked a Thanksgiving dinner.  So I won't be giving you any pointers on getting that done.  But I will give you a few ideas of things you can make that sure bring about that holiday feast feeling.  These are things that we've made over the past couple of weeks.  Things to bring about that holiday cheer.  The aromas that fill the air.  The familiar tastes that come once a year.  Let's get to it already.  I'm drooling.

Mulled Cider

You will need:

• 1 gallon of apple cider (filtered or unfiltered)
• 1 Tbsp of honey
• 4 Tbsp of mulling spices (Best bargain is to find this in the bulk spices, if you can.)
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• cheese cloth and string (for the mulling spices)

After you tie the mulling spices in a square of cheese cloth (or use a tea ball), add everything to a large pot and boil for 20 minutes.  If you would rather do it in a crock pot you will need to make sure you use filtered apple cider and cook it on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  

Either way, it's delicious when consumed warm on a cold evening!

Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

Here's the recipe that I sort of followed.  I did take some good ideas from the recipe.  They are 1) that you should bake it at 350 for 2 hours, 2) that the pumpkin should be filled to the top (don't leave any room), and 3) that the amount of liquid you use should make the mixture look moist, but not like it's swimming.  That being said, here's what I put in mine:

• 1 lb bulk pork sausage, cooked
• 3 cups rice, cooked
• dried currants
• 2 diced apples
• cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, oregano, salt, pepper
• 2 cups Italian cheese blend
• spinach and arugula
• enough milk to make it look moist
• note: I used a medium sized pumpkin.

The basic idea is this.  Cut the top of the pumpkin off and clean it out really well.  Generously salt and pepper the inside flesh, all around.  Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet or in a large enough casserole dish (parchment should be used to prevent sticking).  In a large bowl, mix all your stuffing ingredients together.  Stuff that sucker.  Put the lid on and bake for 2 hours.  If at the end of two hours you notice that it looks a little too liquidy, take off the top and let it bake for another 20 minutes to bake off that excess moisture.  When you serve it, be sure to get some of that delicious pumpkin flesh in with the stuffing. 

What a treat!  Just make sure you invite guests over if you are making a medium to large pumpkin because this can sure make a lot!

Peppermint Ice Cream

*This recipe is for a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.  I'm sorry if you don't have one and still want to make this ice cream.  I can't help you.  I can however say that I've loved every minute of having my ice cream maker and consider it to be one of the best investments I've ever made.  And by investment, I mean that we spent 15 dollars on a used one that we found on craigslist.  Cha-ching!

You will need:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
• 1 scant cup of crushed peppermint candies

In a medium bowl, whisk the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the cream and extract.  If you would like, you can add a few drops of green food coloring to make it look minty or a few drops of red to make it look pepperminty.  Get your machine together, turn it on, and pour it in.  After 20 minutes, add in the candies.  Let it all swirl around for another 5 minutes.  At this point you could eat it, but it would be like eating really soft serve.  We put ours into a container (32 oz yogurt container holds almost all of it) and freeze it for 2 hours.  That way it scoops nicer.  

Ours lasted almost 24 hours.  I'm sure we could have disappeared it faster than that if we tried.  

I certainly hope that you all have a great Thankgiving.  Break out the sweat pants and feast away!  And if you have time between bites, tell me all about some good holiday recipes that your family is trying this year!

Star of the Week

Orry Becker: Star of the Week

Canoeing with Dad

Woot, woot!!  That's my boy!

Now, I know I'm making it seem like he's won some award.  And while I believe that he is capable of winning all the awards in the entire universe, that is not the case (this time).

Orry's kindergarten class has been picking a student every week to be Star of the Week.  The child that is chosen must bring a collage to school that describes who they are.  During class time, said child will be able to talk about things on their collage so that their peers may get to know them a little better.  Other perks that come with being Star of the Week, being the "line leader" for the whole week and having your favorite book read during class time.

This week it is Orry's turn to be the star.  How was he chosen?  Turns out that last week was Bethany's turn to be the star.  At the end of that week she had to pick someone to go next.  She chose Orry because they are friends and because girls have to pick boys (and visa versa).   So here is the collage that we worked on this weekend:

We couldn't fit all the things that he likes on this half-sized poster board.  We couldn't even fit half of the things that he likes.  But we managed to squeeze in some of the really important things.

So here's to you, my little star!  I hope your classmates get a glimpse at what a wonderful boy you are!  

A Labor of Love

I hope you all thanked your mothers today for laboring on your behalf.  Your lives would be considerably less exciting if they hadn't done that...

Seriously.

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend.  We had a delightful time this weekend despite it having flown by so fast.  I guess that's what happens when you are really busy having fun.

Saturday we spent the morning at the beach.  It was a really windy day thanks to T.S. Lee.  The waves were pretty rough and sand was blown all over, but we still managed to build a small sandcastle and do other fun beachy things...

Another masterpiece

On Sunday we went to church.  After church we had a shopping errand to run and as we drove to the store we passed the dollar theater.  We saw that Kung Fu Panda 2 was playing and we made plans to go back in a couple of hours and watch it.  We have never taken our kids to the movies.  So this was really testing the waters.  I'm glad I had Troy with me.  He sure came in handy, putting Annie to sleep while the boys and I wiggled all around the row of seats, laughing at that fat panda.  Later that day we played outside since the weather has gotten down below the 100's recently.  

Oh, the joy of bubbles

And what did we do with our Labor Day?  We spent the morning at the zoo!  Again, since the weather was so "cool" we hit the road early to avoid the inevitable crowds and spent the morning watching elephants getting a bath and bats getting some brunch.  We went home for lunch and to get ready for our busy week coming up.  

Tomorrow, Isaac will start going to pre-preschool.  I'll have to pack his lunch and a few sets of clean clothes to change into.  He will also start following a routine.  This means a scheduled "rest" time and that means that he needed a nap mat.  So I made him one.

So I guess you can say that I labored on Labor Day.  But it was a small labor of love.  I'm sending my baby boy out into the world (kind of) and he needs something to remember me by.  Hopefully he'll look at the nap mat and remember me saying that the dots are "dinosaur green".  And if he doesn't remember me then, maybe he'll think of me when he eats his snacks and his lunch.  And if not then, then maybe when he puts on that dry pair of underwear and pants that I so lovingly packed him...

Like I said earlier, I hope you all thanked your mothers today...

"Stick"ing to the Schedule

Today concluded the second week of the newest chapter in our lives.  The "having a child who attends school" chapter.  It's crazy how you turn the page and enter the new chapter and there is no going back.  Our lives are so different now than they were just 2 short weeks ago.  The kids and I have gotten into a morning rhythm.  It very loosely involves all of us being awake by 6am, eating breakfast, getting dressed, and watching Martha Speaks on PBS.  I am reminded of the morning ritual I was accustom to growing up and I'm so glad that Barney isn't on so early in the morning...

This week we picked up some extracurricular activities to add to our schedule (as if it wasn't hectic enough).  The kids are starting to participate in the children's choir at church while the grown-ups are taking part in a self discovery class.  Also this week was Isaac's orientation/meet the teacher at his new preschool.  We are pretty excited to have him in such a great school.  I'm not so excited about how much extra work it will put on me, but I will rise to the challenge.  Hopefully.

I'm glad that we are on the topics of schedules and rhythms.  It's a nice segue for what I'm really excited to blog about.  And that is our after-school snack routine.

A couple of weeks ago, in a state of missing Orry, I decided that I would make him a special snack for when he got home from his first day of school.  I made some soft pretzels and he loved them.  I think he really liked being thought of while he was away and coming home to something special.  So I continued on, making muffins and ice cream until we finally arrived at Friday.  On that day I didn't make anything.  I figured that it would be fine just eating all the usual snacks like apple slices with chocolate peanut butter or cheese crackers.  Oh, was I wrong.  Orry was pretty bummed about not having anything special and didn't want to eat the ordinary snacks.  My, how easily they get spoiled.

So this week I made a "new" snack everyday.  We certainly had the repeats, like the pretzels, but we tried some new snacks too.  And here is what I learned.  If you put food on a stick, kids will eat it up!  Do you want your kids to eat more fresh fruit?  Just give them a sharp stick (adult supervision is required (no, really)) and let them stick whatever fruits they like on there.  And I found a great recipe for making "cake pops".  Cake on a stick.  It was awesome.
I've got other things planned like homemade granola bars on a stick and cinnamon rolls on a stick.  But I'm really liking the challenge of coming up with new snack ideas and I really like eating the snacks as well...  And pretty soon I'll have two kids to welcome home with special snacks.

I'm sure I'll find the natural rhythm of my hectic day-to-day schedule.  And if I run into a rough patch, I know where there are plenty of sharp sticks to help me get through it!

My World is Changing

My world is changing.

My sweet 5 year old, whom I have nurtured at home since birth, is leaving me to go to school.  I'll be putting him on a bus and sending him off to learn.  Today I realized that I will have no contact with him for the whole 8 hours that he is gone.  I guess, in this case, that no news is good news, but no news sure does make a mother lonely.

My world is changing.

Gone are the days of sleeping in.  7:30am will seem like a luxury when I have to start getting out of bed at 5:45am.  But breakfast has to be made.  Children need to be dressed.  Lunches need to be packed.  Buses need to be caught.

My world is changing.

Late nights of staying up until midnight or later will be a thing of the past.  No more late night movies or sewing parties.  Bedtime will come so quickly and I will happily succumb to the fatigue that will inevitably come over me.

My world is changing.

But I knew this day would come.  Some days I wished that it would hurry up already and get here.  Others days I relaxed and enjoyed the seemingly endless amount of time I had to spend with him.  We've been prepping him for this day for years now.  Teaching how to read and write.  Teaching him how to treat others with kindness.  Helping him to remember his manners and to share with others.

My world is changing, but change is good.