Five things....ummmmmm...ummmmm

Charley is an expert at drawing out his bedtime goodnight with Ed and I. After reading and chatting for a bit he always ends with "I have three things to tell Mama or daddy (whoever is NOT in the room). " He then proceeds to go UMMM...ummmm...until both Ed and I are feeling like fire will shoot out of our ears or our heads will explode. We don't rush bedtime but my goodness...listening to him come up with things...wasting time with ummmmm...kills us. Tonight Ed came down and said, "Charley only had 5 things to tell you tonight." So I can only imagine the ummmms that Ed was tortured with.

Here are his five things...

1. He can't wait for Grandma to get here. (they are coming this weekend)
2. Can't wait for ooey gooey Camp.
3. Maybe we could go to McColl Pond Park tomorrow.
4. Maybe we could get a babysitter and go to a movie with him.
5. Maybe we could do something as a family like go to Chucky Cheese or to a restaurant like the Crab (probably Red Lobster).

Oh, my son Charley.
You are one of a kind.
Your days are blessed with fun!
Sleep tight my son.

Tomorrow IS Ooey Gooey Camp....so he will get one thing on his list checked off.
Whew!

Sushi Night!

I love when I can put a genuine, excited, deep down smile on Ed's face. And one of the things that puts a smile on his face is sushi making with my brother. My brother and his girlfriend Liz joined us last night for a little sushi making and some canasta....and of course some Cootie and block building with the boys. Charley met his first "snake reading" goal and chose as his reward to stay up an extra 15 minutes. So he stayed up to witness the sushi making extravaganza. We had red snapper, salmon, tuna, and opah. Charley didn't try any though. It was a yummy night! Making your own sushi is much cheaper than going out for sushi - something that I know Ed would like to do more often (eat sushi that is). Thanks for a fun night Uncle Greg and Liz. We know you are both going off to have exciting adventures in Flint, MI and Africa but know that you are always welcome at our house...just bring a little tuna and some sushi rice!

On a side note! I haven't eaten out for two weeks (this includes two weekends)! Think of how much money we are saving. I will go out on Thursday for our Mom's Club anniversary dinner. But so far no fast food, no take out, no pizza night, and no big dinners out with the family. Good for us in so many ways...healthier and wealthier.

He plays...

Where's Henry? Oh! There he is. He found the shopping cart full of toy food and kitchen stuff. Wheeled it over to this little nook in the house and set up his kitchen. He sat here and busily cooked for 20 minutes without disturbance. Ed and I couldn't believe it! He was PLAYING!

Plenty Of Pesto!

For the last couple of years I have committed to making a large batch of pesto to freeze in serving size portions in our freezer in August. I use a recipe from my friend's mom Marty. Yesterday we went to the farmer's market and bought four big bunches of basil for $4.00.

Step 1.

Pinch the leaves off so there isn't stem and wash in cold water.


Step 2.

Dry leaves with salad spinner (ours doesn't work well) so I pat dry with a towel. Then let them lay on a towel until completely dry. If you aren't using them right away you can gently fold them in the paper towel and place in fridge...but best to just make it right away.



Step 3.

Use the recipe and add the other ingredients. Use a food processor to produce the wonderful pasta topper. Usually I freeze in ice cube trays and then pop them out and put in Ziploc bags ready for anytime we are in the mood. However, the boys LOVE pesto on their pasta so this year we are freezing them in larger portioned containers.

Henry is almost 20 months and Charley is 4 1/2

Henry is almost 20 months and his vocabulary is starting to emerge. He chit chats for much of our walk (we have gone a couple times this week - just him and I). He repeats what Charley says or anyone else that is excitedly saying something. He can now say...well these just come to mind.

mama
turtle
puder - computer
waer - water
wet
meball - meatball
Go!
poop
ball
ruck - truck
car
book
mo - more
cheese
chers - cheers
fish

Now Charley will be five Oct. 25...and as I mentioned earlier today he is taking off with his reading. Very exciting. Not too into practicing his bike riding skills but he will sit with me for an hour making words, reading books, doing activity books, etc. So I will go with it and pray that he forever loves learning!

My boys amaze me everyday and I am thankful that they are healthy and happy and mine. Their excitement can get a little overwhelming...Ed and I had to glance at each other, with raised eyebrows, on our way home from the grocery store this evening. Charley was repeatedly singing the word Zipper at the top of his lungs and Henry was shouting and trying to repeat him. Ed and I had both come out of a daze and had no idea what the zipper thing was all about but they were both happy and giggling. If only they could have toned down the volume.

They make us smile - most of the time :)

Night night!

My boy can read!

Charley has shown a huge interest in reading. I dug out my beginning beginning reader books and away he goes. Yesterday we made a snake and he gets to keep track of how many books he reads. Today he and I decorated a pail to store all the books that he can read. It is his I can read bucket.

Liquid Gold...

In an effort to try and cut down on our grocery bill we are going to hit Costco today. It will be my first time. I am determined to buy what we need and not what looks like great deals (like huge containers of cheese puff balls). Ed and I are determined to budget life and one of the areas that we can control is our grocery bill. So today we will go to see what we can buy in bulk so that we aren't buying it every week. So this morning I cleaned out our freezer to make room...one thing for sure. We will not be buying chicken breasts...I have so many chicken breasts in our freezer it is almost exciting to think of how many recipes I could have made these last couple weeks without buying chicken breasts.



Those of you who know what this is....you know how sickening this is for me to come across and toss...whether it is the emotional tie or the value and hard work that it takes to produce and extract. Take a moment to pause as this is tossed into the garbage. Those of you in this stage of pumping....use it! Don't waste it! Insist on a girls night out, go to a movie all alone, or go sit in your car and read your book! Anything! It is really hard to throw this away - avoid my experience.

*On a side note...Charley has taken to sleeping in his underwear and a t-shirt and then wants to run around like that during our morning play. Not sure I am loving this stage. Yes, it is only a stage and I will nip this one in the butt...literally! Very soon! I just can't stand looking at R2D2 or Batman smiling at me on his behind.

playing around with the camera...

Pay attention so you don't miss the moments

I was talking with a friend recently and she was saying how they had been at the zoo all morning and it had gone perfect. They weren't rushed, they were able to leave without a tantrum, baby didn't have a blowout, nursing was needed when there was a bench in the shade...everything fell into place. She appreciated the outing and respected it! I totally understood. There are times when you step back during parenting and think - wow, I can't believe this is going so well. Or after the fact: wow- I can't believe that went that way.

Today was one of those days. We had the playdate at the sprinkler park and instead of plunking our crap by the park side we plunked by the sprinklers. I got Henry going with the sprinklers...and since we have been there often lately this is what I saw...



Yes folk! I got to sit on the towel with my friend Meg and talk about life while Charley was off running crazy and free. And my little man Henry! He actually ran up to me, told me "one more" and then took off to....




run through the sprinklers and then he came running right back to me to tell me one more time! I did take a moment and think to myself...this is an amazing moment. I respected the moment. I savored it. I am guessing on Monday when we hit the park again with other friends it will not go like this. But hey, I got it once and this I will take it.



Pay attention friends! Your children grace you with these moments periodically. Where everything from the wind, the temperature, a place to sit, the fellow children at play, and the company you are keeping are - perfect! You deserve these moments. I got this today. I wish you all many of them.

A moment...

Upon entering our library...Charley usually takes off quickly for the computers. This time Henry WALKED into the library instead of riding in the stroller. He hit the buttons that opened the doors for mama who used the stroller to lug our massive backpack of books. And then he too took off for the 'puder.' I don't know if this is a good thing or not but he did use the word 'puder'. A number of times at the library that day. Yes, don't worry he also says 'book.'