I Am So Proud

David is now regularly riding a bike to work! It takes him about twenty-five minutes each way, and eliminates his need for a noontime workout.

Thanks to all of you who helped out with the bike-purchasing decision; we bought a hybrid at Dick's two weeks ago. It's HUGE! Sometimes I don't realize how tall my husband is until we get him things that actually fit him.

Oh, and he's already figured out that we're saving about $2.00 a day in gasoline.

Kitchen Day: a How-to

This is a half-serious, half-in-jest instruction set on how to have a successful kitchen day with young children.

If I've reached a point where the cooking/baking chores are starting to back up, I will declare a "kitchen day" for all of us. This time around, I knew I wanted to make peach freezer jam (they're in season now), carrot bread (we had a lot to use up!), and -- since something about 90 degree temps makes me crave cold chocolate cake with a glass of cold milk -- chocolate cake with raspberry filling and chocolate ganache.

It's best to prep a bit the night before. In my case, I set out different stations, each with bowls for that recipe, with measuring cups and spoons that might be needed. I also got out shelf-stable ingredients and put them in their proper location, and put butter out to soften. I printed out each recipe and taped them to the cabinet door nearest the work station.

Then I spent a little time thinking through in what order we would be performing certain tasks.
You don't want to need the oven all at one time for three different things that cook at different temps. I do like to keep things moving in and out of the oven, so I can save some energy and avoid preheating more than once.

So...then your cooking day starts. First, empty your dishwasher if you can, and start with a sinkful of soapy, hot water:


Start with an empty trashcan within easy reach. If you don't already have them on, wear some shoes, because you'll be doing a lot of walking.

Involve the kids in any step that you can for prep, because once the stove gets in the picture, it's much harder to involve them. Our jobs on this day included:

Cameron rinsing berries

Cameron running the food processor, of which he is mildly afraid (I would fall into the "throw the child in the pool so they learn to swim" school here)

Cameron straining the raspberry filling

Andrew running the mixer, taking turns with Jonathan dumping things in
(I measure, they dump)

Ben peeling carrots
Andrew cutting off the ends of the carrots (with a steak knife, small enough for him to handle properly)
All boys taking turns washing dishes, which is made very easy by the sink of hot soapy water
Mixing, mixing, mixing...everybody loves this step

Here are some of our finished products:

the raspberry filling (great job, Cam!)

the chocolate ganache

finished carrot bread

This may seem troublesome to some...it definitely makes a bigger mess than me cooking by myself. Just to be real, here's what my kitchen floor looked like after we were done:

But consider the alternative: I cook alone, the boys are left alone, and we forfeit time together. They miss out on a chance to develop fine motor skills, math skills, and a sense of how things in the kitchen work. They make a mess in the other room, leaving more work for me after I'm exhausted from working in the kitchen alone.

Besides, tackling a hard recipe like Double Chocolate Layer Cake helps them appreciate beauty in food:

And aesthetics are important.

Right?

There's no Such Thing as Free Lemonade

Tuesday evening, Cameron became suddenly determined to set up a lemonade stand he's been plotting. He thought it would be best to not have a set price for the lemonade, but instead to allow people to pay what they thought they could afford. Here's the catch: his sign said "FREE."


(and in very small letters, "Drinqks for Any cinde of coin." ["Drinks for any kind of coin."])


Please note the Sears Catalog pose that Ben has struck. Doesn't it make the lemonade look yummy?

Their total earnings were somewhere between two and three dollars, which they took to VBS this week for the missionary offering.

And Mom and Dad were the only ones who accused Cameron of false advertising!

Overheard

Scene: Jonathan comes in from playing outside, crying. He has scraped his knee. Mom takes him to the bathroom to clean and bandage him.

Mommy: I have spider-man band-aids and plain ones. Which one do you want?
Jonathan: The plain one.

Mommy opens plain band-aid in front of Jonathan.

Jonathan: Where is the plane? I can't see it.


Scene: Driving home from somewhere. Kids are thirsty.

Cameron: Mom, I am starving!
Mom: Oh, you're hungry?
Cameron: No...what's that word for really thirsty?
Mom: You're parched?
Cameron: Yeah...I am PARCHED!
Andrew: Me too! I am starched!

Crib bumper, check

This was a lot more complicated than the duvet cover, obviously. There were a lot of little steps: sewing the cording, making all the little ties, and then putting it all together. And in the end, it's very adorable but just a tad too small. But frankly I've spent so much time with it already that I'm not going to fix it. I had planned to make a small throw pillow anyway, and now I know exactly where that pillow will go...in the gap left in the corner by the amateurish bumper.

Zoo!

Last Friday David took the day off and we went to the zoo in Asheboro. This destination has been on our "to-visit" list since we moved here three and a half years ago! The Santa Barbara zoo was a favorite of ours in California, so I was experiencing much guilt for not making it to Asheboro before now.

We started off the day with breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then headed out. The weather was really nice for non-pregnant people: low- to mid-eighties and not very humid.



Here are pictures of some of what we saw:

Elephants were first on my list

Meerkats

Sleepy Polar Bear

Harbor Seals and Sea Lions

Zebras and Ostriches

Giraffes

Daddy and the boys
(they were not part of an exhibit)

It was, as everyone says, a lot of walking. The animals are in very large enclosures, so it makes for a long walk. But the paths are shady and we made good use of the free shuttles the zoo offers.

This was a great use of our membership to the Western North Carolina Nature Center...we got in for free!

Fathers' Day at the Biltmore Estate

On Sunday we (my parents and us) made the drive out to Asheville to spend Father's day at the Biltmore estate. The Deerpark Restaurant had a wonderful brunch buffet with all sorts of "man food." I was a little embarrassed the second time I filled my plate, since I looked down and the only thing that was not a piece of meat was a piece of Bananas Foster french toast.

Well, the baby needs protein, don't you know? And my first plateful consisted of salad.

Before we left, my dad and David opened their gifts.

One of Dad's gifts was Tony Dungy's biography, which I haven't read but I have heard good things.




David received two selections: Manhunt, which I keep reading raves about; and Triumph, which was recommended by C.J. Mahaney. History plus sports is usually a winning combination with my husband. We're also considering a bicycle purchase as part of his father's day gift.

After we ate lunch at the Biltmore, we split up. Mom and Dad went to tour the house, and we headed over to the horse barn, where they have room for kids to play. Just as we arrived, a butter-churning demo was starting, so the boys took turns cranking the handle.






There were also games to play. I sat in a rocking chair in the shade and took pictures.

(no, he isn't sunburned; his face gets really red when he's hot)

These are not my children. They were cute little girls who had found the dress-up trunk.

Then, after picking up Pop and Gramma, we watched a sheep get sheared down at the farmyard.

And we took turns brushing a goat.

We finished the day off with some ice cream.

All in all, a great day!

No More Cowbell

I had a dream last night that Christopher Walken died and that I memorialized him by posting this on my blog:

Psst...

If you need a new swimsuit, this morning's Thursday Morning markdown at L.L. Bean is a selection of four women's suits. Nothing over $17.00.

Garden Update

This morning we pulled out all these beauties...

I was quite excited because I've never before had the patience to leave them in the ground long enough.


Tonight, some of them looked like this. I left the outer skins on because we used no fertilizer or pesticides in our garden, and I think the unpeeled look gives them a certain rustic "je ne sais quoi," which is French for "carrots with lines on the outside."

We'll have them glazed for dinner.

Because All Those Numbers Mean Something...

I've finally given in and admitted that my camera's "auto" setting is only good outside in full daylight. And even then, it's only good some of the time. So I've determined to use the camera to its full potential and actually learn how to use it...we did spend some money on it, after all....

Here are some attempts at getting better. Ha HA. I have a long way to go.

See anyone hiding here?

Bearded Irises in my front yard.

"Please give me a haircut"

Catching the rain


Waiting out the rain

Stop playing with the camera, I'm getting sick

Now for goodness' sake, go look at some of my talented friends' photographs to clear your head. Try to forget you ever saw the ones above.

Jason Kovacs
Melanie Moss
Cheston Hervey

Speed Street 08

A few weeks back we went to Speed Street in downtown Charlotte. The day started off very rainy, which was good and bad. Good because it kept the crowds away. Bad because...well, it was rainy.

See? Rainy. Kyle Busch's car, which we love because it has candy on it.

This was in the Home Depot Tent. It was very orange in there.

Love AP's face here. Free Matchbox cars.

The free ponchos did not fit Jonathan, so we improvised, much to his joy.

There are so many reasons to laugh at this photo, I'm not sure where to begin.

And then the sun came out. So did the crowds, so we went home.