Easter Week

We had a fun and exciting Easter weekend.  Easter week, actually.  It started the weekend before with a hunt at our friends' house.  Thank you to Jennifer, Luke, Andrew, and Grant Basey for hosting us.  As always, your home is lovely and we had a fabulous time. 

The boys had so much fun with their ginormous Easter baskets.  Yes, they're huge (purchased at PBkids online for a steal and a bit of a pain in the neck ***Remember, Barrett? :)***), but they had a blast dragging them around and hunting for eggs.  Zach's at that cute age where he would pick up an egg, open it, determine whether the contents were good enough to eat, and then eat it (or not) before moving on to the next.  Makes for a long session of hunting, but quite a few cute pics...

Then Luke had his school party and hunt on Wednesday.  I offered to bring the dessert since I felt the need to fulfill my bunny cake obligation.  Huh, what, you ask?  You see, the Easter after Luke was born I bought a bunny mold pan from Williams-Sonoma and decided it would be a fun tradition to make it every year.  I had already decided that I definitely didn't want to spoil my kids, but still wanted to provide that whimsy and magic that is so important in childhood.  This seemed to fit the bill.  However, I have a love/hate relationship with Williams-Sonoma:  I love their stuff (really, if I could I would scoop up every cake pan, off set spatula, and candle they own), but I hate that I then feel compelled to stay up late making the silly cakes.  Actually, if you know me well enough, you know I sort of geek out and enjoy this sort of thing. :)  I really wanted to do something different and cover the cake with chocolate ganache to replicate a traditional hollow chocolate bunny, but Luke insisted on the iced version.  This was definitely one of those pick your battle moments, so the bunny was iced.  Not with the delicious and oh-so-time-consuming-made-from-scratch butter cream icing that was supposed to be made, but rather the boring old store bought variety.  I do have my limits.  Mr. Sonoma would be so disappointed, I'm sure.  I actually struggled a bit with getting my tips to create the perfect bunny fur tufts, and I have to admit that bunny heard more curse words by 1am than any innocent bunny should have to hear, but I think it turned out just fine...

Yes, I'm a dork and had to take him outside to be photographed. :)

Two things occurred that made it all worth my time and effort:  The entire morning before the party as I was making the final touches, Zach kept pointing to the cake and practically screeching with delight, "Bunny rabbit, bunny rabbit!" and "See, see!" (which means pick me up and get me closer so I can see it, Mom!). Then after trying to explain to him that it was also a cake (what was I thinking?), it was, "Bunny rabbit!  Cake!  Bunny rabbit!  Cake!".  The second was at school when the kids asked where the bunny cake came from and Luke replied proudly, "We brought it!". 

Magic and whimsy.

There's just something a little disturbing about this one.  No?

Zach with Luke's teacher, Ms. Kendall.  We like her a lot.

                                           ^^^ Luke with his big ol' basket.  I think he could fit in it. 

By the way, notice that ALL of Luke's classmates are boys.  Don't you feel a little sorry for Ms. Kendall?  I'm not sure how she does it.

After the party, we headed out to the playground for an egg hunt.  The eggs were filled with little trinkets and not candy or snacks which kind of messed up Zach's game plan of stopping after each found egg to eat...

But he quickly got over it...

The future's so bright...

...you gotta wear shades...upside down.

The Friday before Easter we packed up the Sequoia and headed to Bardwell to visit Steve's mom, sister, brother, brother-in-law, and nephews.  This trip was long overdue and the boys were very excited about the prospect of another egg hunt, fishing, and the pool table at Aunt Sandra's house.  The visit did not disappoint.  As always we ate tons of great food, laughed a lot, and enjoyed the company.  And as always my camera spent too much time packed away in its case and not enough time snapping photos.  Though I did manage to take a few...

A budding musician, perhaps?

I'm not sure why,but I love this one.  Like he's walking down a country road by himself...

The boys loved Uncle David's cows...

While Zach napped (poor little guy missed out on the BIG fun), David took Luke on a tractor ride to his pond which was well stocked with catfish, blue-gilled something or others, and bass maybe?  Can you tell I'm not really up on my fish?  Anyway, I missed it while at home with Zach, but Luke caught a fish!  Well, I'm sure Luke stood their while Uncle David cast the line and pulled it back in, but whatever.  The boy was proud. 

Here's a picture taken from David's camera phone since the family photographer (me) was busy...

The bluebonnets didn't have a good year here due to all the rain, but we did manage to find a small patch...

Let's just say overexcited boy with no nap + mom asking for bluebonnet pictures = boy making nasty pig face.

We then headed over to Aunt Sandra's for an egg hunt.  Yes, this would be Egg Hunt #3 and it wasn't even the day of Easter yet!  And we had even missed our playgroup's and city of Georgetown's this year!  Geesh!  Lucky kids.

It was a fun trip and sad to leave, but we still had to get home to prepare for our own Easter.  We arrived home late and while I played Easter Bunny, Steve went to HEB to stock up since they were to be closed the next day.  I don't know why, but it always freaks me out when I hear they're going to be closed.  Like, how will I manage if I decide we need to make guacamole?  Or, what on earth will I do if I find we're running low on olive oil?  Anyway, I sent him with a very specific list as he's not really familiar with grocery shopping these days.  Two of the items were ONE DOZEN HEB CAGE-FREE EGGS (the ones I buy every week and he sees them in the fridge every day) and ONE DOZEN REGULAR EGGS (to dye with the boys in the morning).  What did he come home with?  ONE DOZEN FANCY SCHMANCY CENTRAL MARKET ORGANIC EGGS!  Yeah, the ones that cost twice as much as the ones I usually buy and four times as much as the regular ones...and they're brown (less than ideal for dying)!  I buy a lot of organics, but not eggs.  He also brought home a bunch of other "extras" like canned biscuits, a packet of gravy mix, and frozen pies.  Seriously, I love that man more than words can describe, but Steve, if you're reading this, you are banned from HEB until further notice. 

Can you say, "Off subject!"?  Back to Easter...

The Easter Bunny had already shopped at the dollar store and stocked their basket full of junky well-made items including sidewalk chalk, pinwheels, buckets, shovels, bubbles, and the like.  Anyone else sick of these overgrown rabbits, fairies, and old big-bellied men in red suits getting the credit for all of hard work? What a crock.  We placed their baskets on the front porch (I wasn't sure how to handle the inevitable How did the bunny get in our house? questions), and the boys were ecstatic to find their goodies the next day...

After their nap, Grandpa Tom came over for Hunt #4.  I think even they boys were looking a little hunted out at this point. 

Okay, not quite. 

Zach was happy to resume his open one, eat its contents routine.

Their eggs were filled with pretzels, goldfish crackers, and trinkets.  That's right, we had another no-candy Easter and not one complaint.  I am completely aware that there will come a time when this will no longer work, but until then, why not?  It makes me smile.

How's the parenting class going?  And the book?  And the first week's assignment?  The assignment that warned would be harder than it sounded, but which I quickly p'shawed thinking I could handle it with no problems?  That one?  Drats!  Those PhD authors were right.  I hate that.  Let's just say I tend to my children regularly, one could say all. the. time., but attending was harder than it sounded.  More on that later.  But in all honesty it is going very well.  I'm feeling better already.  And just in case I seemed overly dramatic in my last post, I should clarify that I know kids go through phases of misbehaving and lying, but believe me when I say that phase needed to be nipped.  As in nipped in the bud.  Steve and I have been using "nipped" a lot.  It's a great term when parenting the boys.  "That needs to be nipped."... "Steve, please go nip that."...  "Nip it!". 

Okay, I think it's time to nip this post.

xo,

Jess

PS-  I just reread my last post for the first time and have decided two things:  One, I should not post recipes on this blog.  What a snooze fest!  I mean really, who do I think I am?  Ina? No.  Giada?  Certainly not, though Steve probably wishes.  Rachel?  I hope not. :)  And two, my camera is FANTASTIC, but my photography skills are lacking.  Big time.  Maybe it's time to take a class.  Or maybe I should start by reading my manual?

Pizza Night and Taking Charge

Earlier this week I was commiserating with a fellow friend and mother of two about how difficult it is to prepare, serve, and actually get our kids to eat healthy food.  We were swapping ideas, and when I told her of our Pizza Night, she asked me for the recipe.  I started telling her the ingredients and directions, but she quickly stopped me and said, "You have got to write this down.  There's no way I'll remember it all."  She suggested I put it on my blog, sort of like how Darby does.  So here it goes, Kim:

I should start by saying I realize I'm not the first to make pizza for my family, but I think we often categorize pizza as a junk food rather than the healthy (or at least healthier) food that it can be, so I've made a few alterations to "health" it up a bit.

First, I buy the Mama Mary's 100% Whole Wheat Mary's Pizza Crusts (found at HEB and Wal-Mart).  They sell them in a two-pack of large ones or a three-pack of minis.  The minis come with a sauce packet -- BONUS!!!  We prepare the minis since they're sized perfect for little kids and individual tastes.  If we lived near a Trader Joe's, I might even buy their fresh whole wheat dough and roll it out myself.  And if I was really good (and had a gazillion extra hours on hand) I might even make it from scratch...

...or maybe not. :) 

I preheat the oven according to the directions.

I decided to take pictures after I had slashed open the package.  Whoops!

Before assembling the pizzas, I thaw out a few of these under running water...

These babies are so versatile in so many dishes.  Usually I buy the fully peeled and deveined ones, but these were on a mega sale.

Then I start cooking up some of this...

Notice the ingredients...

Pork and spices. 

Sure there's quite a bit of sodium, but I think even Oprah and Dr. Oz would approve.

While the sausage crumbles drain, I saute the shrimp in a little white wine, garlic, salt, and pepper...

These guys only take a minute or so per side.

Shortcut:  swap butter or cooking spray for the wine, and McCormick's Montreal Spice (or any other season salt) for the garlic, salt, and pepper. 

Then it's just assembling them, which can be done with or without the children's help, depending upon your patience level at the time of assembly. :)  Note:  Kids are more likely to eat food that they helped prepare.

I drizzle a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the crusts...

Or pour a lot and then spread.

Basil Pesto for the shrimp pizza...

Some day I'll grow basil plants so big and beautiful that I'll make my own, but until then I buy this at Sam's and use it for tons of recipes.  I realize it's not quite a vegetable, but I figure getting my kids to eat anything green is one step closer to discovering a love for veggies. 

The sausage pizza gets a red sauce, either your own or the one that comes with the crusts.  After the sauce is a good time to sneak in some diced green bell pepper (for the pesto pizza) or diced fresh tomatoes (on the sausage one).  Next up is the shrimp (I cut mine up first) and sausage.  Then the cheese (whatever you have around - mine is a cheddar and jack mix) and McCormick's Garlic Pepper Blend (per my grandmother).  I swear McCormick's isn't paying me...

Notice Steve gets a half and half, cooked to order after the kids are in bed.  Awwww!

Where is mine, you ask?  I don't really do pizza. *GASP*  I know, I'm a big disappointment to my Italian family.

Pop 'em in the oven for seven minutes, slice 'em up, and BAM! (as Emeril would say) you have dinner in less than 30 minutes!  Think of the variations: pineapple and pepperoni, chicken with alfredo sauce, artichoke hearts and mushrooms (okay, probably not that one for the kids).  The leftovers are great for school lunches, too! 

One of the best parts is it's super affordable, about $6 for the three mini pizzas, including the toppings.  Sometimes I cook up a few extra shrimp and throw them on a salad for myself or keep them for quesadillas the next night. And if you cook up a little extra sausage, save it for breakfast the next morning.  Or better yet, freeze the shrimp and sausage so the next time you make pizza, they're already made. 

I'll stop now; you get the point.

Here are my happy pizza-eaters...

In other news...

If you've spent any amount of time with our family recently, you know that we've been struggling a bit with some of Luke's behavior.  At first it was just a little "potty talk" here and a little talking back there, but it seemed to be escalating.  I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say that absolutely no punishment has been working and he's been flat out lying and defying us on just about every little itty bitty teensy weensy thing imaginable.  We've always described him as independent, slightly stubborn, and fairly demanding (among other things...see my last post for his nicer qualities). Even some of his best traits can quickly turn into his biggest opportunities, and lately we've been getting concerned.  Me in particular, as I seem to have the most trouble with him.  I've found myself questioning every parental move I make:  Am I too hard on him?  Am I too easy on him?  What am I doing wrong?  Why is this so difficult?  When and how will things get better?  I even felt completely defeated and at one point and decided this was just how our relationship would be.  It was terribly sad. 

We've also been worried how this would affect Zach, being that Luke is one of his biggest influences.  I'd already been feeling guilty for not giving Zach a lot of one-on-one time, something that I realize just comes along with being the second child, but still, I knew I could do better.  And realizing that he was about to enter the "Terrible Two's" in which I would have potentially two out of control kids, I decided to take charge.  There had to be something I could do to make our family life better.  There had to be an answer.  Surely I am not the crappiest mom out there or the first to feel like all control has been lost.  I was going to quit sitting around feeling sorry for myself, be the adult, and make things happen.  One of the first goals was for me to take Zach to the monthly Toddler Time at our local community resource center.  We went on Wednesday and had a blast!  We're so often doing things geared towards Luke's age, that I forgot how much fun it is to do "toddler" things.  Instead of trying to keep a watchful eye over both boys, I could sit and focus on Zach and the way he interacted with kids his own age.  I met a woman who's six-year-old has been diagnosed with autism and her two-year-old is being seen for delayed speech.  This most certainly helped put things into perspective for me, but I think we also might have made new friends.  After the class, I went to their library in search of Parenting the Strong-Willed Child, a book that had long ago been recommended to me both by a close friend and our pediatrician.  I actually had checked it out from the library twice, both times returning it before ever getting a chance to read it.  Bad Mom!  I borrowed it again with the promise to myself to actually read it this time.  I picked Luke up from school, put the boys down for a nap, left the house a mess, and starting reading the book.  It was incredible!  Within the first few pages I received the diagnosis:  Luke is a strong-willed child!  For sure!  He fit almost every description of the term.  The thing about a strong-willed child is that they're not necessarily bad, in fact many of the behaviors are quite positive: they tend to be independent, determined, social, confident.  They just need to be handled a little differently.  The book is set up as a five-week program.  Again, I won't bore you with the details, but I'm not supposed to even read about the next step until we can accomplish week one's goal.  That works for me! :) 

I've also started attending the Love and Logic parenting classes which have gained popularity lately.  It's early in the course still, but it seems like the goal is to teach parents to guide their children to make good choices by allowing them to learn from their mistakes.  The classes are taught by a Parenting Specialist and are provided by the group, STARRY, which I've found out is a (mostly) state funded organization which "provides services that protect, educate, and promote strong families".  Yet another resource I may look to in the future.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not counting on the book and classes to solve our issues overnight (or even in five weeks), but I do think just being able to recognize the problem and work towards a goal or goals will be extremely helpful.  No longer will I allow myself to feel helpless and defeated; I will take charge and make a change.  And perhaps I will use this blog to recap my weeks and track our progress.  Not because I think you all are interested, but because I have found that writing things down (or typing) is incredibly therapeutic, and if nothing else may help to hold me accountable.  Oh yeah, and that ultimate goal of showing our kids we're trying our best.

And I may not be growing my own big and beautiful basil plants or organic tomatoes, but look at these beauties popping up in our planters...

Spring has SPrUnG!!!!  Thanks for the bulbs, Julie and Gary.  We're loving them!

The BIG 0-4 and other ramblings...

Dear Luke,
        I love you with every smidgen of my being.  You have taught me an aspect of life that until your birth I had only read about in books and heard through my mother's words.  Because of you I view the world differently.  My actions are more important, my carbon footprint is more important, the decisions I make on a daily basis seem more important.  Being your mom has made me want to become a better person and has taught me to love in a way that I could have never imagined before you were born.  You test me and you try my patience, but you wouldn't be you if you didn't.  Thank you for being you, for allowing me to be your mom, for loving me unconditionally, and for going through this crazy ride of life right by my side.  I love you more than you'll ever know.

xo,
Mom

Cookies we made for Luke's school party.

A close-up of the cookie Luke claimed as his own.

Eating said cookie.

That's a happy face, right?

Luke turns four tomorrow* and like most moms probably do, I've been spending the week looking back on the last few years.  From the positive pregnancy test after the year and a half of "unexplained infertility", to bringing home the quiet little bundle who didn't stay quiet for very long, to the now strong-minded and independent four going on fourteen-year-old who has taken over our world.  It's all gone by so fast, but at the same time it feels like it's been a lifetime.  Ha!  I guess it has been a lifetime...Luke's lifetime.  Forgive me, I'm tired.  Luke is both sassy and sweet, rowdy and gentle, goofy and serious.  He is a wonderful big brother, always looking out for Zach (and only occasionally beating him up) :).  He asks a billion questions each day (I've counted), which I absolutely love (on most days) as I know he is soaking up the world.  I swear sometimes I can see the wheels processing it all.  He loves to floss his teeth and thanks me every night for the dinner I served.  He's into recycling and understands that people have less then us and therefore asks for change when we come across Salvation Army cans and random donation jars.  He can change out the roll of toilet paper and when asked who Daddy's boss is, he answers with complete seriousness, "Mommy!".  Goodness, that makes me giggle.  He is a sweet and thoughtful boy, we're just fine-tuning the rest. :)  For instance, he is in the "Potty Talk" stage.  You know, the one where everything has to involve poop, boogers, and butts?  The other day we're driving down the road practicing our address and phone number (he knows both, but I find we have to keep up with it or he forgets).  He tells me our address, "529 River Down... BUTT!"  What a stinker!  Sometimes you can't help but just laugh.

Here are some pictures from his big day.  Luke decided he really didn't want a big party and instead chose to have a fun day with Kayla.  We started at Frank's Hot Dogs (a swanky hot dog joint in downtown Austin), then a visit to the Austin Children's Museum, and ice cream at the park afterward...

And at the end of the day, Luke received his present from us...

A new bike with pedals and without training wheels. 

Go Luke, go!

(Notice Mabel giving a lick off to the side.)

And where was Zach, you ask?  Spending the day with Grandpa Tom, of course.  Thanks, Dad! 

Zach is continuing to change every day.  He's getting chattier and chattier, able to string words together to form partial sentences, which if nothing else has allowed him to tattle on Luke.  Example: "Uke push" or "Uke it ed" (Luke hit head).  He's also in that stage of attaching possession to everything, as in Daddy's shoes or Mommy's tools.  He is definitely becoming more boy and less baby, but he is still a love bug.  He is constantly asking for hugs and kisses and is quick to give them out too.  "Akiss, akiss.  Beeg ugg, beeg ugg."

A few days ago* I came across the blog of a family who's two-year-old was dying of cancer.  I cried while reading their posts, sobbed uncontrollably actually.  I noticed they used Twitter to update family and friends, so I kept checking in.  The little girl died yesterday.  It made me realize how very lucky we are for the things we take for granted, like our health.  Yes, we all know this, but it's just so darn hard to stop and appreciate it as often as we should.  It made me think back to my quest for an answer on how Steve and I will handle religion with our children.  I immediately go to the thought of, If there were a God, how could he do this?  To which I know most Christians answer something to the effect of, God works in mysterious ways and for a greater good. Or something like that.  There was one common thread that ran through the family's posts:  Without God they could not have gotten through it.  And I get that.  How could you go through something as horrible as the loss of a child and not believe that it was all for something, that she'd be going to a better place?  I don't go to church and I don't pray.  I've tried both but always feel guilty because it seems dishonest since I'm not quite sure of my beliefs.  But like anything else, I want to give my kids all of the information and allow them to make educated and well-thought out decisions for themselves.  I know most of you out there have it all figured out for yourselves, but I don't yet, so please don't judge.  However, if you have any thoughts on the matter that may help, I'm listening.  Typically I feel that religion is best kept as a private matter, so why do I choose to blog about it?  This blog above all else is a way to chronicle our lives for the boys to look back on someday.  I want them to know our thoughts and feelings; that we tried like the dickens not to screw them up.  Or to at least keep the screwing up to a minimum. :)  

If you're interested in reading about the Marsh family and the graceful way in which they approached their child's terminal illness, visit laylagrace.org.  I will never forget this little girl and her family.  They will forever be a reminder for me to appreciate every day that I have with my boys, to find the good even when they're being "bad", and to not get wrapped up in the little nuisances of life. 


*I wrote this over the course of several days, so the dates might not match up.

And as if I haven't already put you to sleep with my ramblings, this one is for you, Joni:

How do you like that eye candy, Ms. Webb?!  Ha ha!!!

xo,

Jess