We have a new child in the house!!

And the child's name varies, but mostly goes by "Nobody" or "Not Me"! This child moved in about a week ago, and really causes a lot of mischief - always knocking things over, losing toys, making messes, even getting in fights. But the good news - this child doesn't eat anything and doesn't need to go to the potty 14 times in an hour!

I'm sure this child has many siblings, all with similar names, living in houses all around us. Do you live with a Nobody? Although frustrating at times, it is quite funny too! Yesterday, apparently, this child filled one of our window wells with all the toys they could find! But the kids were really good, and helped Nobody clean out the window well, although it took a little convincing. Oh, I'm sure we'll have some fun days with Nobody - but I'm on to their antics, so I'm prepared!!

Potty Training Boot Camp?????

OK - I'm fed up, frustrated, at my wit's end! Oh, how I really, really dislike potty training! If there was a weekend camp to send children to - with or without the parents - to do the potty training - I would SO be on the top of the list to sign up! Uffdah!

Austin is now 3-1/2, and supposed to be starting preschool next month. HOWEVER, preschool requires children to be potty trained. We have been working on it, and we've been somewhat successful at it some days. But it's SO HARD! I know, I know - I'm whining. But seriously - how do you get through to them? We talk about it, he is ok with wearing pull-ups or underwear, and for the most part tells me when he needs to pee. Or, his newest trick, he tells me he needs to pee every 5 minutes, and then does nothing. And Daniel, bless his heart, at 2-1/2 is doing better at it than Austin. But there is just something in Austin that has not clicked yet. He seems to want to potty train, and talks about it often, but the follow-through has me baffled. If anyone has words of advice, I'm all ears. Do I let him go in to the bathroom every 5 minutes, or do I wait and make him go in every half hour? Do I let him run around naked, or is a pull-up the best, or underwear? Or do I just hide in the closet until he's 5 and hope he figures it out on his own?? The closet and chocolate - that sounds like a deal for me right now!

So, it looks like preschool will have to wait, and a wig is on order for Mom after all the hair she has pulled out.

Nope, no pictures to post for this one. Oh, I do have some, very funny ones, but I don't think my children would appreciate those kind of photos showing up online!!

PS - we do use a reward system for going potty - one M&M for potty, one penny for poo. Sometimes I think they just go in to piddle a bit to get the candy!

My rock stars!

This morning, the kids decided to rock out and be rock stars with their guitars - so fun to watch! I'm sure when they are teenagers it won't be as cute anymore, as we're yelling at them to turn it down! But for now, I get a big kick out of watching them dance and sing and play.

Little Picasso's at Work

I finally got brave enough to let the boys paint. I know, I know - it took me a while! The certainly had fun with the paints! Our MOMS Club is having an art contest for a cookbook we are putting together, so I got out the paints and paper and let the boys create their works of art to submit for the contest. Now, of course, they will want to paint every day! Maybe that's how we'll do our Christmas cards this year - paintings by the boys. We'll see.

Nut Factory

Our MOMS Club had a tour of our local Nut Factory today. We arrived about two minutes late, and I kid you not, the tour was already done! I guess they just took everyone by a couple of windows and said, these are the kitchens where we make candy, etc., and that was the end of it. Oh well! We got free goodie bags for each of the kids, and of course, the suckers were a huge hit! I also found some great nuts and candies to buy, and collected all sorts of school supplies from the moms for our drive. So it was still a successful event!

The Ice Cream Truck!

Gretchen went to bed early tonight - I think she is teething again. She was very fussy, a little warm, and extremely tired. So off to bed she went at a little after 6 pm. I decided to keep the boys up longer tonight. They have been waking up between 5:30 and 6 lately, and I'm thinking their 7 pm bedtime might be a little too early. So we stayed up until 8 pm, playing outside. While we were outside, the boys heard the ice cream truck hit the neighborhood. I decided to treat them to an ice cream bar, and boy, they loved that! Of course, I couldn't get Daniel to take off his fireman coat, so he just dripped his ice cream on it. It was a good night!

Tomatoes at Great Gramma's

I had to drop the kids off at Great Gramma's early today - around 7:30 - so I could go to an 8:00 Relay for Life meeting with our staff partner. I didn't worry about feeding the kids breakfast at our house, I just gathered all their things together, dressed them, and packed them in the car. Gram said she would feed them breakfast, and that saved us a ton of time at home. When I picked them up at 9:30, the sun was finally out and warm enough to take pictures of the tomato plants that Gram has growing. The plants started out as little seeds planted by the kids back in the cold part of the spring. We all know how much Gram loves growing tomatoes, so we started two trays of Balcony Hybrid tomatoes in March. She planted 7 of the plants at her house. I thought that the were supposed to be a type of cherry tomato, but they are much bigger than that. And most of the plants are produced quite a good crop.

Why? Why? Why, Mommy? Why?

It has finally started - the never-ending Why? Why? Why? questions from Austin. I knew it was just a matter of time. He is almost 3-1/2, and he's been asking all sorts of other questions for months. Especially - what's that, Mommy? But today, on the way home from church, it started. This should be a fun ride! Wait until Daniel figures out to ask this question - then I'll have two little birds saying the same thing! If you see bald patches on my head, you'll now know why!

Company Picnic

James' company hosted a family picnic today at one of the local parks. Great event - it started at 10:30 and went until 2 pm. Lots of great food - fruit and veggie and chip tray when we first got there, catered bbq lunch at noon, and free hard ice cream cones before we left. They had a jumping castle/slide for the kids, a dunk tank to raise money for the food bank, and lots of school-age kids games. They also had door prizes - 4 given out every half hour - but we didn't win any of those. They also had tables of fun activities set up for the kids - press on tatoos, crafts, and a fishing game for prizes. We really had a good time, and it certainly wore out the kids!

Park Play Day

We were supposed to go to the park today to play in the splash pad, but the weather was pretty cold. I had dressed the kids for water play before we left home, then hit a few yard sales on the way there. But by the time we arrived, the weather still hadn't warmed up, so I quickly changed them in the parking lot and put on their long pants and sweaters. We still had a good time playing in the park with all of our friends! It was a really good turn-out. I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here are a couple. I missed getting a picture of the boys on their new tricycle - I found it a garage sale for $3 - quite the bargain!

New Toys

We got some new-to-us toys today from one of my friends at church. The boys love their new toys, and it won't be long before Gretchen claims them as hers!

Menu Plan Monday

It has been a crazy week, what with my hubby gone. You can imagine that meals have not been very creative. I usually get the kids something to eat, sit with them while they eat (or attempt to, as toddlers do), and then find some leftovers in the fridge for myself after they go to bed. But I thought I should at least try to plan a menu for this week! So here goes.....

Monday - Chicken Nuggets with French Fries and Peas for kids, Thai Chicken & Rice for Mommy!

Tuesday - Pork Chops with Au Gratin Potatoes and Broccoli

Wednesday - BBQ Steak with Pasta Dish & Pea/Carrot Mix

Thursday - Pork Roast with Mashed Potatoes & Applesauce

Friday - Spaghetti & Meatballs using Gram's homemade canned spaghetti sauce, & garlic bread

Saturday - Pizza Night!

Sunday - Home Bible Fellowship - dinner potluck

Check out Organizing Junkie for her Menu Plan, and links to lots of other Menu Plans!

Roasted Chicken

How many ways can you use a roasted chicken? That is my question of the day! I bought a rotisserie roasted chicken at Costco this week - the flavor of their chicken is awesome! But with our family of two adults who eat normal portions and three children that eat like birds, we sometimes run out of ideas of how to eat up the chicken in a week before it goes bad. So, I would love to hear your ideas. Tell me some great recipes or ideas on different ways I can use this chicken. Post a comment, and I will randomly select a winner from all the posted comments/ideas by midnight PST Wednesday and send you a great prize.

Thanks for your help!

Daddy on the Airplane

I was up at 4 am this morning to make it down to Dutch Brothers Coffee by 5 to kick off a promotion for our American Cancer Society "Relay for Life". I haven't been up and out of the house that early in a long time!! But I was home by 6:30, just in time for the kids to start waking up. Luckily, James was home in the morning, so I didn't have to find a sitter for that early!

Later, James flew out of Spokane to NY for his 20-year high school reunion. It's the first time he's been gone for more than a night or two - he'll be gone for almost a week. We all drove out to the airport together so the kids could see him off and watch the planes fly. Unfortunately, as soon as we watched a plane take off and say good-bye to Daddy, Daniel lost it. He cried all the way home from the airport, wanting Daddy. Poor little guy - he really is a Daddy's boy. We came home, ate lunch and took naps, and then got ready to go swimming with some friends from MOMS Club at the Dart-Lo Pool. Unfortunately, when we got there, the toddler pool was closed due to chlorine issues, and the big pool didn't allow floatie toys for the little ones to be in. So we had to leave, which made Daniel break down again. And then we got home, and I couldn't make the air compressor work to blow up the kids' pool. So after dinner, we went to church, and the kids played in the nursery/preschool while I got to take my much-needed class, and then home to bed at around 9:30. And now, it's time for me to crash. Hopefully the kids will sleep through the night and sleep in. One can alway hope!

Great Prize to Win!

Head on over to Along for the Ride for your chance to win great Baby Wearing Stash! Great items to help carry your little ones along with you, close to you!

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Planting Flowers

The kids and I spent some time this afternoon planting some flower gifts. We had been given a gift certificate to NW Seed & Pet at our Adoption Shower, so I decided to buy mostly perennials so that we could have them for a long while. I bought them last Thursday, and finally got them in the ground today! The kids had a really good time, and we played for about an hour outside. It was certainly hot, but we had the water on to keep us cool. I also bought a few petunias to plant around the pretty sunflower plant that my MOMS Club members got for me. Hopefully they will perk up and get bigger soon!

Water Park Play Date

We went up to a fun water park today to play with one of the kids friends and his mom, who is also a good friend of mine! We had so much fun, and I was really surprised at how well Gretchen did. She was out in the water up to her shoulders, and jumping off the side and dunking in - she loved it. The boys did too! I lathered them all up with sunscreen a couple of different times, so they were well protected. But dummy me, I didn't have my friend do my back, and now it is bright red like a lobster. And it hurts - ohmygoodness it hurts! This will teach me a lesson for sure!

Another meeting with our Adoption Caseworker

Well, we are getting closer and closer! Our adoption caseworker, Amy, came to our house on Tuesday to drop off 6 volumes (each 2" thick) of Austin's case file for our review. These are records we can either keep or destroy once we've read through them. I think we will keep everything under heavy lock and key until we have decided whether or not to permanently keep them. And then we might rent a safe deposit box. Definitely not papers that everyone should read - some very intense information.

It looks like we will be getting assigned an August court date to finalize adoptions. I'm so excited to be this close to officially calling them "my children"! Even their birth certificates will be new, declaring that we are there parents! It's amazing!

A couple of favorite recipes

I was reading a post on My Wooden Spoon and Lori was sharing a recipe she likes for peppers. She asked what our favorite recipes are that include peppers, so I thought I'd post two that I really enjoy. And the great thing is they are both very easy!

Sweet-and-Sour Popcorn Chicken
(from Sept/Oct '06 Simple & Delicious)
1 medium green pepper, cut into 1" pieces
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 T vegetable oil
1 can (20 oz) unsweetened pineapple chunks
3 T white vinegar
2 T soy sauce
1/3 c packed brown sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 pkg (12 oz) frozen popcorn chicken
In a large skillet or wok, stir fry green pepper and onion in oil for 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain pineapple, reserving the juice in a 2-cup measuring cup; set pineapple aside. Add enough water to the juice to measure 1-1/3 cups; stir in the vinegar, soy sauce and ketchup.
In a bowl, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in pineapple juice mixture until smooth. Gradually add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 mintues or until thickened. Add pineapple. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes or until heated through.
Meanwhile, microwave or bake chicken according to package directions Stir into pineapple mixture. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
My note - I serve this with either white sticky rice or egg noodles. Yummy!

Best Peanut Sauce
1/2 c crunchy peanut butter
2 T soy sauce
1 t white sugar
2 drops hot pepper sauce, or 1-2 t pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c water
In a small pan, stir together peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, pepper sauce or flakes & garlic until well mixed. Gradually stir in water until texture is smooth and creamy. Cook over medium heat until slightly bubbly.
My note - after I cook the sauce, I like to add 1 or 2 cups of cooked shredded chicken (depending on how saucy I want it). Then I spread the peanut chicken sauce onto a prepared pizza crust (Boboli is good) and then add my other toppings - shredded carrots, minced bell peppers, diced red onions, chopped broccoli - whatever your faves are. I top the whole thing with some mozzarella cheese, and bake in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes. Very yummy, and depending on the amount of pepper sauce or flakes, it can have quite the kick! This is very similar to the Thai Chicken Pizza served at The Onion restaurant.

Hope you can try them out and enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

We spent the 4th out at the lake, enjoying some fun time in the water and lots of great food and fireworks. Here are some pictures that show a bit of what we did on the 4th!