Wednesday, February 25, 2009

What day is today again?

With a look of utter seriousness on his face, Luke asks his sister, "Why would people want to wear trash on their heads today?"

For once I decided to keep quiet. I glanced in the rearview mirror at Emma. She turned to Luke and said in her best imitation of my voice, "WHUUUUT?"

I giggled and kept listening. "You know, what Mommy told us about this morning," Luke began, "what people did at some churches today. They put trash on their heads."

Emma rolled her eyes and sighed as only a big sister can at a little brother as she said, "Luuuuuuu-uuuuuuuke! Mommy said it was 'ASH WEDNESDAY, not TRASH WEDNESDAY!"

I almost had to pull off the road.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Age is just a number, right? Right??? Geez.

My dear, sweet 8-year-old daughter put me firmly in my place today.

She said, "Mommy, you will be 33 this year on your birthday, right?"
I said, "I already am 33. I will be 34 in August."
"Oh," she says. "So, it was 20 years ago that you were 13."
(For some reason this has never occurred to me. If you know me, you know I am not about the numbers. I am a WORD girl.)
I replied in all seriousness, "Well, some days I feel like I'm still 13."

She laughs. An evil, snarky, mocking kind of laugh.

(Note to self: She doesn't get to date until she's 30.)

Then she adds, "So, you are like a million times my age."

(Note to self: Clearly she's not getting this multiplication thing. Get out flash cards after dinner.)



Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

My new favorite President


Setting: Kitchen table
Characters: Me, Luke, and Emma
This afternoon's dialogue:

Luke: "That's Abraham Lincoln."
Me: (Stifling a laugh) "I see that. I like his beard."
Emma: (noticing a stern look from me at the last second) "What did you...ohhhh. That's nice."
Me: (Smiling thankfully at Emma) "I like the colors."
Luke: "And can you believe that I was the only one who gave him eyes!?! Everybody else must have forgotten."

At least he got a good grade on it. He sees the world so uniquely!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Yea for President's Day!

The kids are home from school today for the President's Day "holiday." ("Mommy, do we get presents for it?") Luke had to write his Daddy, who was not off from work today, an e-mail:

"Hi Daddy!

This is Luke. I have a wiggly tooth. It is my 4th bottom teeth on the front. You are the best Daddy in the world. Mommy wiggled my tooth, too. I got up at 8:04, but didn't get Mommy up until 9:15 because I was wiggling my tooth a lot. I am going to play Cincinnati Bearcats vs. West Virginia Mountaineers today on the Wii. I am going to beat them big-time. I am going to do the quarter for 10 minutes long.

I am going to eat oatmeal for breakfast because it is soft. No corn on the cob for me!

Infinity hugs times infinity kisses!
I love you infinity times infinity!
That's all I wanted to say 'cause it's a lot of stuff.

Love,
Luke"

Yea for wiggly teeth and sleeping late!

On an unrelated note, I lost a follower today. He never commented, never said a word. He just silently appeared from India (!) one day and just slipped away, almost unnoticed, during the night last evening. Farewell, guy I never knew...

Sidenote: Just had to RUN to the breakfast nook after hearing a very loud crash, followed by .57 of a second of silence, followed by the requisite scream. Luke had fallen out of his chair, while eating the last 2 spoons of aforementioned oatmeal. He bruised his EARLOBE (Who knew that an earlobe could bruise?!) on the floor. He cried, while I held a bag of frozen cauliflower on his ear, until Emma came downstairs. He couldn't wait to show her the wiggly tooth.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Coolest Valentine my son got!

We were very unoriginal and uncreative with our Valentines. We bought ones with Bible verses that had a place to insert Sweetarts and we gave out Jolly Rancher suckers. Luke came home with this cool Ipod Valentine that totally put ours to shame!

How cute is this? Front:

Back:

All it is is one of those boxes of Conversation Hearts (gag), a printed song list, a printed ipod dial, and some glued on twine/Hershey Kiss earphones. I love it! Luke received it from a little girl that he calls his "Secret Girlfriend." I asked him why he calls her that and he said it's because she doesn't know she's his girlfriend yet.

Well, there you go.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Friday the 13th Foodfest!

Two nights ago, I made some seriously yummy chicken and grilled broccoli, thanks to my friend Sandi at the Whistlestop Cafe. (Check out her blog for that and some other awesome recipes!) The chicken recipe called for 10 cloves of garlic. Luke was fascinated by the smell if made. Jason remarked that it reminded him of a dish we'd had at the Stinking Rose restaurant in San Francisco last fall. Every dish there contained garlic!








It was great food, but by the end of the night, or maybe closer to 3:00 a.m., the smell in the hotel room from both of us breathing was unreal. (Yes, we'd showered and brushed our teeth, but the garlic odor was oozing from our pores, I'm pretty sure.) And we didn't even order the garlic ice cream!


Hmmm...I digress... After Jason made the remark about the Stinking Rose, Luke, the little wisecracker that he is, says--in total seriousness--"Mommy, I think I know why they call it the Stinking Rose." I asked why and he replied, "Because somebody took their shoes off and their feet were [whispered] STINKY!"

He slays me with stuff like that on a daily basis. We call them "Lukeisms."

Yesterday was Jason's 37th birthday, so I decided to do up a big meal for him. I grilled HUGE steaks, baked MASSIVE potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and made a salad. Luke was determined to bake a cake (!) for his Daddy's birthday, so he, Emma, and I took to the kitchen and created this chocolate cake:

(Emma was being especially goofy in this picture.
We used Paula Deen's birthday cake recipe in Luke's
Paula Deen kids' cookbook. It was great!)






I also made a raspberry souffle. It was the first time I've ever tried making a souffle. I had the kids tip-toeing and whispering for fear it would fall. I made the souffle not because we are souffle people--we AREN'T--but because it was much lower in fat, calories, carbs, etc. I forgot to take a picture of it before we ate it, but it looked a lot like this:It was delicious! Here's the recipe:

Raspberry Souffle
Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup(s) seedless raspberry spreadable fruit, (no-sugar-added jam)
  • 1 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
  • 4 large (1/2 cup) egg whites
  • 1/2 teaspoon(s) cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoon(s) sugar

Directions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, with wire whisk, beat raspberry fruit spread with lemon juice; set aside.
  • 2. In small bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until whites begin to mound. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add sugar, beating until sugar dissolves and whites stand in stiff peaks when beaters are lifted.
  • 3. With rubber spatula, fold one-third of whites into raspberry mixture until well-blended, then fold in remaining whites. Spoon mixture into 1 1/2-quart soufflĂ© dish; gently spread evenly.
  • 4. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until soufflĂ© is puffed and lightly browned. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information

(per serving)

Calories75
Total Fat--
Saturated Fat--
Cholesterol--
Sodium35mg
Total Carbohydrate16g
Dietary Fiber1g
Sugars--
Protein3g

Have a great weekend! Let me know if you decide to try the recipe. I'd love to know what you think!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Mail Call

"Hey, Mommy, I need some paper..."

You've got mail, Mommy, Daddy, and Emma...not necessarily in that order.

Oh, it's from Luke!

This is Luke's version of infinity. He read this card to us, including all the zeroes, which sometimes became "zerios."

He is so stinking adorable.

"I spell-ded Valin tins all by myself."

I love that kid.

I also love the husband, who turns 37 today. Happy Birthday, Jason!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Wordless Wednesday