The First Dip

We went swimming at Gramma's house today! Zack has been asking all winter about swimming, and he finally got his wish. Daddy worked hard to clean all the debris out, including 5 frogs (4 of them dead), a mole, and several bees. I was thinking that Xander would love the water. When he first got in, he whimpered just a little, then laughed. He loved splashing in the water, when Daddy threw him up in the air, and jumping in the water holding my hands. Zack was trying out holding his breath to put his face in the water and floating on his back and his front. (I don't have any pictures because my camera was in my purse in the family, and by the time I remembered it, I had already dived (dove?) in the water. Next time, hopefully!)

Ribs for Dinner

I can't seem to make a multi-dish meal without having something go wrong! This time I even made a list on the refrigerator of when I was supposed to be doing what with which food item. I actually had exact times (like I was supposed to cut the ribs at 5:00)!

I started out making some mozzarella sticks (I'll put up the recipes at the end). They cooked just fine, but by the end, the olive oil in the pan was smoking..a lot. So I decided to cool it down. The second I reached for the faucet knob to cool down the bubbling hot oil, I thought to myself that I shouldn't do it. A second after I turned on the water, I had hot oil burns on my arm and I jumped across the kitchen. (Something Wrong #1)

When Mark got home, I had the ribs on the stove, completely covered with water, like they were supposed to be. I covered the pot and walked away to watch Mark playing Mario Kart (yes, we're kind of hooked). I checked on it a couple times to see if it was boiling (of course, I know, a watched pot never boils, but maybe a checked-upon one does faster), and it was just starting to bubble a little. While I meant to go back and check on it again in a minute, Mark's race was really exciting. I didn't make it back to the kitchen until I heard the water boiling out through the steam vent thing on the top of the pot and ALL OVER MY STOVE!!! The only consolation I had was that it's a flat top, so NONE of that water went underneath the drip pans. I did manage to turn down the burner, and it subsided pretty quickly. (Something Wrong #2)

Here's the finished ribs--YUM!!

(Very easy recipe from Kraft Food and Family Mag.--Cut ribs into two rib sections. Put in big pot and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer fro 20 minutes. Drain. Grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning and brushing with BBQ sauce.)

I got Zack to help shuck the corn (before he went out with Tim). That's one of my many memories from our many trips to Erie--shucking corn on the cob on the back steps of Aunt Mary's house for HUGE family dinners. I put the corn on the cob in cold water (like I was supposed to), but when it went on the grill, neither Mark nor I knew how to make the grill medium heat. So the corn stayed on the grill for 15 minutes, and barely cooked at all. Oh well, $1.50 wasted. (Something Wrong #3)

Mark and I make a good dinner team!!

Oh, and I forgot to put the rolls in the oven at all! (Something Wrong #4)

Despite all of my best efforts to ruin our dinner, it really did turn out pretty good, especially the potatoes (which I didn't mess up at all).

Here's the potatoes--very yummy!!(Cube 2lbs. of red potatoes. Mix together 1/2 cup ranch dressing, 1/2 shredded cheese (I used cheddar, the recipe said Italian blend), and 1/4 cup bacon pieces. Toss the potatoes in the dressing mixture until coated. Put in lightly greased baking dish and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.)

Xander just played with chalk and bugs!

The Amazing SuperZack

Last summer, I started Zack off reading some high frequency words (again, the teacher in me) like the, a, my is, I. When I realized he was having a hard time blending words (putting /k/ /a/ /t/ together to make cat), I checked out the BOB books from the library. He caught on to that pretty quickly, so we got some of the easy readers, with short, repetitive sentences. Before we knew it, he was reading like crazy! My sister even commented that I shouldn't push him because, well, what are the teachers going to do with him, but I haven't pushed him at all. He just picks up books and starts reading. My other sister asked if he had just memorized one book, because he was reading the word imagine correctly. So I wrote it on a piece of paper and asked him what it said...and he knew it!! Now, he's reading just about anything he can get his hands on. While Xander was at his storytime...or playing with the toys and puzzles...in the library, Zack picked out a book that said Level 3 Grades 2-4. Grades 2-4!!!! And he was reading it!! I am just so amazed at how quickly and easily reading has come to him!

Mark is, too, but he read or heard something about working on writing as well. So last night, while he was getting Xander ready for bed, he asked Zack to sit down and write about what he did yesterday. Here's what he got: i WIETTOFOODLiYNANDTRgET (I went to Food Lion and Target) and (yes, there's more!) i PLAYDMARiOKARtAND igOT SSRIPSATTiYk1DO (I played Mario Kart and I got stripes at Tae Kwon Do). He even used the box from the Mario Kart game to spell that and looked in a book to find out how to spell the word and! These are skills I taught my first graders...and he's not even in kindergarten!!!

I really hope I don't sound like I'm bragging here. I'm just a proud and amazed parent!

Mark used my camera without permission!! But I can forgive him since he got this cute shot. Note the white block in mid-air!

*Wild* Time at the Zoo (Part 3)

Okay, so the part 2 wasn't really about the zoo, oh well. I did finally figure out that I had to add the pictures one at a time, then the last batch worked with four pictures. I don't know exactly what was going on. Okay, on to the zoo...

We decided one day last week to visit either the zoo or the beach on Memorial Day. Well, the ocean temperature was less than 75, so our decision was made for us. Knowing that Zack has no sense of time, we didn't tell him until we got in the car and picked up Gramma where we were going. He was pretty excited, and we talked it up and made predictions (that's the teacher in me) in the car on the way there.

When we got to the zoo, we road a bus (which Xander kept calling a train, since the tram left as we were walking up) to the Africa side. We started with the aviary, where we saw some really cool frogs (yellow and black striped ones called bumblebee poison frogs and pretty blue ones too). Xander was pretty excited to see them, and they were really active! We saw several birds once we were inside the aviary, including three or four bright red ibis up in a tree and this peacock that was walking around on the path. Mark's favorite part was when they walked up on a zoo staff member who was feeding the birds. He was throwing the food into the air and the birds were swooping down to catch it.

I wasn't sure at first how to take pictures, because I knew that a bunch of pictures of animals would be pretty boring. Here's a picture of Xander looking at the flamingos on the way out of the aviary. I finally decided that I could take pictures of the boys looking or posing in front of the animals, so you will see lots of those.

Zack with the gorilla, and, for those who know the inside joke (ahem, Susan), it was not of the round-faced variety :)

No, the frog's not real, but Xander was enthralled anyway. I practically had to drag him away.

Hanging out in a giant ostrich egg...they had several statues and places like this where the kids could climb and play a little. It also made for some good pictures.

Riding a rhino...and look, even Daddy is having fun!

"El-bant!?" That's what we heard lots of times before we got to the elephants. We had to keep telling him we were going to see the elephants, but he had to wait. He finally got his wish!

And here's my kid chasing an ant on the ground

Awww! Hug the elephant!

Zack wanted pictures on all of the statues and such that they had.

See those two little (big) brown humps in the water above Zack's head? Those are the Mama and Baby Elephant cooling off in the water. They were splashing and diving and rubbing on the rocks. Xander went back to Gramma and told her about it: "El-bant, spash, wawer, bath!"

Taking a break before lunch, and Xander wanted to hold Daddy and Gramma's hands.

There were at least four giraffes, and the dark one (just to the right of Xander's head) was right there, eating breakfast (or having a snack). "Girash!"

The lioness

Xander looking at the lions (or playing with his face). You can see two lionesses and the lion in the background.

WOW!! That's something big off my list of to-do's! Hope you enjoyed hearing about our trip!

*Wild* Time at the Zoo (Part 2)

Maybe not...I can't seem to get any more pictures to upload! It seems to be working, but then, once the green progress bar at the bottom of the picture upload window gets full, it sits for several minutes. Then the window says the webpage is not available (or something like that). Is anybody else having problems uploading pictures? Does anybody know what I can do? I haven't exceeded my limit (it says 9% is used). I'm just so frustrated right now!!! Help!!!

*Wild* Time at the Zoo (Part 1)

I'm going to put this up in two posts, because when I tried to upload pictures earlier today, the third batch didn't work. I know I'm going to put up way too many pictures, but it's so hard to narrow them down. The next post will have pictures from earlier in the day and more description about our zoo trip. Enjoy looking!! (and come back soon...)

Gramma was getting tired, so Daddy took her and Xander ahead while Zack and I looked at the chimps. He wanted to pose with every stature (about 6) of chimps they had. I liked this one the best. The chimps themselves were just kind of sitting there, looking bored. There was one that was inside kind of a cave, and he actually got up and moved and turned his back to the windows.

This is Zack with an ocelot (Xander was sleeping at the time). She was beautiful!! She also walks with a limp because of a healed injury in her front paw. You can kind of see how she's holding it up.

Xander was really excited about seeing some animals. Here he's waving goodbye to the owl.

These geese walked right across the path in front of us, so I just had to take a pic. Xander wanted to chase after them!

Xander on the playground--a chance to get out and move around and be free!!

That's a sea lion on the rock above Zack's head. While we were standing there, another sea lion, a much bigger one came out from an underwater cave (that possibly went to the underwater viewing area) and jumped out of the water and perched himself next to this one. They both sat there, almost posing for the cameras. I heard someone say "They know what brings the money in!"

We think the cougar was hungry, because he kept walking back and forth in front of the window and going to the gate and just staring. He did let us get good pictures, though. As we were leaving, he stood right in front of a man with a camera, just long enough for him to snap the picture, then kept walking.

Another animal that Xander was pretty excited about seeing was the alligator. You can kind of see one of them on the ground just to the left of the tree. Unfortunately, they weren't moving or anything, since it was late in the day. Xander wanted to see anyway!

On our way home with zoo treasures...Since Xander's favorite was the elephant, Gramma bought him a stuffed one. We discovered when we put Xander to bed that night that the eyes glow. He's also holding one of Zack's cars.

Zack with his zoo car carrier.

Comments...

Please write comments on my posts, just to let me know you are reading them and if I'm boring people like crazy or putting up too many pictures. I don't know, I guess I just like to know what people think!! Thanks!

Another Picnic

After Daddy did his swimming at Pullen Aquatic Center, he met us for lunch at the park. He was able to stay with us for a the carousel and the train, then he had to go back to work. We had fund with him while it lasted, and after he left, the boys road the kiddie boats and played for a little bit.

Stopping for a photo op...


Getting ready to ride the train...Xander's been on it before, but this was the first time he's really been aware of what it is. It probably would have been more exciting if he wasn't so tired. He kind of zoned out and sucked his finger the whole time.

When I was younger, I used to come to Pullen Park all the time, mostly with my friend Annie. I remember a picture of me on the carousel and Annie's little sister Janie hugging this exact same dolphin. I hope they don't get rid of it when they remodel the park after this year.

The Heidi Tree

This is weird. I know you're going to see my pictures, but right now, typing this, all I see is html! Very confusing to post captions to pictures that you can't see.

Anyway, Heidi came over for a little visit on Tuesday. We enjoyed hanging out while the boys were sleeping (or having quiet time). Zack got upset with us because he wanted so badly to read to Heidi, but we just kept talking. We didn't ignore him on purpose, we just got caught up in conversation. After he read her the book, he decided that she was like a tree, which is somewhat true -- Heidi is over 6 feet tall. So Zack was the monkey and Heidi was the tree. Xander, I think, was a little scared of her (it takes him longer to warm up to people). I was also playing around with the color accent on my camera, but I couldn't figure out how to get a clear picture using that setting -- they all came out blurry -- but I put them up anyway.





Thanks, Heidi, for letting my kid climb on you!!

Not Me Monday

Let's give this a try again...

I did not enjoy an afternoon of playing with puzzles with my sweet little Xander. He put one after another together, but not with any help from Mommy! I was not amazed at how well he was playing that day, taking out ducks, dinosaurs, puzzles, and putting them all back when he was done. Nope, not me!

I did not attempt to satisfy my sweet tooth/munching habit by making a yummy trail mix of M&Ms, peanut butter M&Ms, raisins, cashews, sunflower seeds and peanuts. And I did not almost finish the entire container of trail mix in about a week. I did not go overboard with it, and I didn't allow my healthy snack to backfire! Nope, not me!

I was not jumping up and down clapping when I found out that Kris Allen made it into the finals of American Idol. He's such a cutie-patootie, and man, can he sing. I also did not jump on the chance when a coworker wanted to switch shifts with me, making it so I could be at home on Wednesday for the finale. Unfortunately, he can't work in jewelry, which is where I'm scheduled. Bummer, let's hope the VCR (and Mo's VCR and Mom's DVR work that night). Nope, not me!

I did not return from a walk with the neighbor, take a shower and sit on the porch in my jammies talking to our senior-in-high-school neighbor and doing cross-stitch while Mark spread turf builder, weeded the gardens and trimmed many bushes around the yard. Nope, not me!

And finally, when I had to take my car in for service and an oil change, I did not call my wonderful sister and beg (practically) her to come to stay with the boys so I could have an hour or so of peace and quiet. (And I wasn't excited to come back home to see them after said hour of piece and quiet) Nope, not me!

Appauling Selfishness

If you have known me for any length of time, you know that I am the youngest of 10 children in my family. My mother had me when she was 48. Now I, at the age of 30, have two small children and am living my life without my mother. I have sometimes been resentful of this, and yes, I know that sounds awful! But with parents being that age, I've always felt like I didn't get the same energy and involvement from them that others my age, and even my older brothers and sisters did. Maybe i'm wrong, but that's how I've felt....The reason I'm writing this is because I heard on GMA this morning about a woman who became a "fertility tourist" and travelled out of her country to have IVF...at the ripe old age of 66!! That's how old my parents were when I was graduating high school, and to put it in an even better perspective, that mother will be 85 when her child starts college! 85!! That mother (and many other mothers that have had children too old, including Joan Lunden) are just plaing selfish! They are not thinking of what their children will go through as they get older! Can you imagine having to take care of an elderly parent? What about taking care of an elderly parent while still in high school?? I'm just appauled, once again! (**Sorry if I offend anyone, but this is just something that I've lived through, and I feel very strongly about it.**)

Expectations

Have you ever taken time to watch other parents when they have their children out in public? I had the chance to do that tonight, since jewelry was pretty slow. There were some parents who, at 9:30 or so at night, had their kids in the store. (Before I continue, I have to say that I'm guilty of this, too, and I don't want to criticize anyone, just maybe try to give a different perspective.) There were a couple of little boys with one family, probably about the same age as Zack and Xander, and another family had a boy, with his arm in a sling, who was maybe 8 or so. The two little boys, at first, were walking along with their dad, and the little one was being careful to step in every square on the floor. A few minutes later, they were chasing each other in and around the clothes fixtures. The mother of the 8-year-old, as they were walking by my department, said, "Stop or I will whoop you, right here in the store." To a boy with his arm in a sling (that shouldn't really make a difference, though, just interesting). I guess it just got me thinking about how we expect children to act when we take them somewhere. Are we asking too much? Are we keeping their growing little minds engaged enough while we're out with them? Are we scolding them just for acting their age? Was that 8 y.o. acting up because he was tired, or because he really wanted to get on his parents' nerves?

I know we have to have limits and rules for our children, but we have to give them strategies as well. I am by no means calling myself mother of the year or anything, because I sometimes wonder what other people think of me when I have the boys out. (Zack is a very active, social child!) But here are some things that work for me sometimes...With Xander especially, singing songs works really well. He has come to know Little Bunny Foo-Foo, the Itsy-Bitsy Spider and A Sailor Went to Sea-Sea-Sea, among a few others. We're also trying to teach him the alphabet. Toys or books don't really work for him because he just throws them out multiple times, but he's at the age where singing and just talking with him makes a difference because he needs to learn communication. Zack loves word games, rhyming games, counting games. I tried this in the grocery store one time--I gave him the job of finding all the things that started with the letter C and he had to write them down. Finding the things wasn't so hard, but writing them down was. But he loves to list words that rhyme, and driving in the car, we look for all the things that start with a certain letter. And he loves to count the yellow cars EVERYTIME we go somewhere. He's also learning a few number facts, so we practice those, too.

My hope is that you will keep these things in mind when you are out with your kids, and see if you are asking too much of them. I also hope that I didn't sound like a know-it-all or parenting expert, because I need to stop and think as well.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. (And I got it from Kate!)

So let's start with Mother's Day...I did not tell everyone at work that I didn't think Mark had done anything for me. He told me Saturday that he hadn't had time to do anything, but I had worked four nights last week, so I didn't think that was a good excuse. I also did not wake up sad and unappreciated on Sunday morning, dragging myself out of bed to fix Xander breakfast, when lots of other mothers (that I certainly wasn't jealous of) got breakfast brought to them in bed. And there is no possible way that I was kicking myself for being so selfish and crying at the same time when I came home to find my wonderful husband had cleaned (and even mopped) the kitchen and had beautiful tulips waiting for me on the kitchen counter. Nope, not me!

Mother's Day dinner was at Lone Star with Mark's mom. After a very good meal of ribs and mashed potatoes, I did not indulge in the free dessert of cheesecake, drizzled with strawberries. This cheesecake was like a tower of delectable goodness, begging me to dig in. Of course, I didn't share little bites with Xander, either. Nope, not me!

It wasn't me that forgot to put Mark's slimfast shakes in the refrigerator after I had the last one for breakfast on Sunday. And I didn't panic when I realized it this morning and make him breakfast...bacon, egg and cheese bagel. I didn't make one for myself either. After dinner, I didn't use the strawberries to make strawberry milkshakes for myself and Zack. I had to save the strawberries from going bad, right? At Tae Kwon Do, I did not beam with pride as Zack got a second stripe on his yellow belt. And, despite my new walking buddy being sick in bed all day, I did not strap the kids in the stroller and take off. Nope, not me!

PS--This Not Me Monday thing was a little harder than I thought it would me, but fun, too. I guess I just have to keep it in mind during the week.

Kohl's Kids Day

The bubbles were very popular with both boys.

Zack sitting in the fire truck (he's been in one before, but I've never had my camera).

Mark was helping Xander make bubbles my twirling him around.

He wanted so badly to try the hule hoop, but the thing was soooo heavy. We think it had water or something in it. Daddy was helping by getting it started.