Alex was so excited for his first sleepover. He had his backpack ready for Abram’s almost from the minute he woke up this morning.
Although Teague wasn’t happy about being left behind, Daddy had him laughing by the time I got home from taking Alex to his sleepover.
Alex has had a resumed interest in drawing recently. I must admit I hadn’t really been paying too much attention to what he was drawing until he handed me this drawing. This is the first time his faces have had bodies – and even fingers and toes if you look closely!
Wade finally decided to toss my old laptop. He salvaged the RAM and hard drive and was getting ready to throw the rest in the trash. I knew of a much better use for it. Alex loved his new laptop and played on it all day.
Just an afternoon tromp through the dog park – thankfully Wade reminded us all to wear boots for the mud!
Alex had a double birthday this morning for Abby and Lily (and Teague was invited too). He knew there were going to be animals and he couldn’t wait to get there. We arrived only to learn that the animal trailer had gotten a flat tire on the interstate. Thankfully they arrived before the party was over and everyone still got to pet the animals and ride the pony. (The last pictures is Alex with a turkey. He sat and petted the turkey for over 20 minutes – the only child to pet it. That’s my strange child.)
Our neighbor gave us an assortment of greens from his garden and Alex ate them in a sitting (with no dressing or toppings).
Teague learned to blow bubbles at the pool today!
I was determined to use up the last of my bubble bath, but I was at that odd place where there was too little for another bath and too much for this bath. Wade found my situation quite hilarious.
Fun with friends in the sand!
(Alex, Riley, Glenna, and Teague)
Breakfast – 7:22 am (Chocolate Chip Muffins)
Morning Nap – 8:47 am (Alex lovingly donated the pillow)
Morning Activity – 10:17 am (Alex is attempting to pick Teague up)
Afternoon Activity – 4:43 pm (They both requested red)
After dinner entertainment.
I didn’t follow the traditional guidelines about potty training with either of my children. They recommend looking for certain indicators that they are ready. One of them being dry diapers at nap. Neither of my boys had dry diapers at nap times before potty training, but almost immediately after starting to potty training they no longer needed a diaper at nap time. Crazy. Today we finally had enough sun that I could sun-dry the cloth diapers before packing them up. We are done with them. Teague has been amazing and done even better with potty training than Alex – who I thought did really well. He does still wear a disposable diaper at night, but he’s had quite a few dry diapers (and my guess is if I went in when I first heard him – instead of letting him entertain himself until 7 – then they’d all be dry).
A stormy, rainy day seemed perfect for staying in pajamas and playing play dough.
A stormy, rainy day seemed perfect for staying in pajamas and playing play dough.
I am seeing a definite trend (see 2008 and 2011). I was downstairs reading on the couch last night and Wade had gone to bed early. I heard a rustling noise in the dining room. I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough a bat was flying around. I hid under my blanket until it settled down. I grabbed the cat and dog and went upstairs to bed – for once shutting the door to our room (with the animals inside).
Thankfully today was one morning Wade had to get up early. As soon as his alarm went off I told him there was a bat downstairs. I mentioned it again after he had showered. At this point he asked me if I was hinting that he needed to take care of it. I said there was no hinting. About this time Alex’s clock turned green and he showed up and wanted to be involved too. I convinced him to stay upstairs until the bat was caught. Then Wade called him down to see it. Evidently this one was a baby.
Then Wade let him go outside and hopefully there will be no more bats in the house!
Best buddies.
What else are big brothers for but to convince you to put a plastic bubble on your nose?
We went to the library this morning and the boys got to pick out some new books. I can say without a doubt that Alex would have happily stayed home to read rather than go to his friends’ house to play in the sprinkler. Mean Mom that I am I made him go and we played for a while before coming home to read.
We bought this pool at the end of last year and Alex has been asking to blow it up ever since (including the dead of winter). Finally today we tried out the lion pool. I didn’t realize it was going to be smaller than our old giraffe pool (or maybe it’s just that Alex is bigger?).
We moved the pool party to the backyard!
Teamwork.
Alex has had “flying the helicopter” on his list for weeks. The weather has not been cooperating. Finally today the weather was nice (and the battery was charged) so we headed for an open grassy area. Teague was quite fascinated and loved “teamwork” for putting the helicopter back on the landing pad. This was also the first time Alex got to fly the helicopter by himself and he was so proud!
This scenario started with Alex playing cars. When I walked by later there were suddenly two chairs and two little boys. I’m pretty sure Alex had to have helped Teague move a chair over – what a great big brother!
Teague and his first love.
My friend Nicki organized a group of us to run tonight in the, “Glow In The Night” run. What fun! They throw glow-in-the-dark dust on us and have black lights spaced around the course. Then of course after the race we went out for Mexican! Here we are before looking all nice and normal:
Bo and I ran together and ran the 3.1 miles in a little over 24 minutes (defintely a fastest for me!). Nicki and Fran weren’t too far behind us. Amber was kind enough to hold our stuff and take pictures of all the craziness.
The big question for weeks has been whether Alex will be assigned morning or afternoon kindergarten. We were hoping for morning (and had put in a request for such) because he is still napping. I have heard all kinds of rumors regarding assignments – everyone wants mornings; napping isn’t an acceptable reason for getting mornings, etc. Today’s mail had the long awaited for letter. Alex got the morning kindergarten! Yay! I was especially thankful after all the Moms I talked to who had gone so far as to register their children at alternative preschools as a backup. (I had thought of pulling Alex from the public school and paying for school next year, but didn’t actually look into this.)
Someone had a little fun with the shaving cream.
It looks like a sweet hug, right? They were actually running around trying to pick each other up.
He looks so much older than 4 in this picture (at least to me)!
Alex couldn’t wait for this morning to get here. Mr. Jeff (from church) was taking him fishing. He had a life jacket. He had a borrowed child’s fishing pole (Spiderman). He had a backpack full of snacks. He had sunglasses and a hat (Daddy’s sized to fit). He even put on sunscreen without a grimace (this is HUGE). He and Wade set off and I got one picture throughout the morning.
Boys, their trucks, and sand = happiness.
Alex had his first swimming lesson today. He did pretty well, but didn’t earn a star (not actually due to the swimming class but because of issues leaving the gym). He only came over to me twice – once to give me a kiss (sweet, right?) and once because they were playing a new game he didn’t understand and was therefore scared of. Thankfully he has a girl teacher (which makes all the difference to him) and he couldn’t wait to show off his current “swimming” skills. My guess is next week he will be a pro. The teacher really worked with them on their stroke and kicks. I’m curious to see if Alex tries this out next time we are at the pool and he wants to “move in the water”.
King of the playground.
A morning treat with friends!
Today was a busy day! We started it at the pool.
Puddle jumper.
Puddle jumper.
Happy Father’s Day!
Alex managed to go almost three weeks without telling Wade what he was getting for a gift today. We had been walking through Old Navy when he saw a Superman shirt and asked if he could buy it for Dad. I said sure and asked if he wanted to give it to him that day or save it. Surprising he wanted to save it for Father’s Day.
Today we got up and the boys helped me make Wade’s requested breakfast of waffles with strawberries. After church the boys all put on their superhero shirts and “tried” to pose for a picture.
Souvenir from a “Day Out With Thomas.”
Souvenir from a “Day Out With Thomas.”
Today was a big outing for the boys. We headed to Green Bay for “A Day Out With Thomas.” We left Milwaukee with rainy skies and cool temperatures. Alex spent the entire drive telling us everything he remembered from last year’s visit (which was much more than we remembered). He couldn’t wait to show Teague. Teague grasped that we were going to see a “choo choo”. Other than the day warming up more than we anticipated, we had a great time. The boys loved the activities and wore themselves out!
Bedtime books.
Bedtime books.
I can’t think of the last time I tried a new recipe, but tonight I did and we have a winner! The Panko-Crusted Chicken with Roasted Corn Hash and Buttermilk Dressing by Cooking Light was loved by the entire family. I knew the chicken would be a hit – my entire family loves chicken and we use panko in a lot of our meals. I was a little hesitant on the roasted corn hash, but even my corn-hater (that’s Alex in case you didn’t know) liked it – probably due to the bacon! (And now that I reread the recipe I think I actually doubled the bacon.)
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk, divided
1/2 teaspoon paprika, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper, divided
2 (8-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves,
4 ears yellow corn with husks
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup panko
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
3 center-cut bacon slices, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 thinly sliced green onions
2 bottled roasted red bell peppers, chopped
1 tablespoon bottled roasted red bell pepper liquid
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine 1 cup buttermilk, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken; seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning bag occasionally.
3. Place corn directly on oven rack. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Cool slightly; remove husks and silks. Cut kernels from ears of corn, and place in a large bowl; discard corn cobs.
4. Combine remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk, parsley, and lemon juice in a bowl.
5. Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon paprika, remaining 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper, and panko in a shallow dish. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Dredge chicken in panko mixture.
6. Place bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook 8 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon; set aside. Add oil to drippings in pan. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and done.
7. Combine remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, corn, bacon, green onions, roasted red peppers, and red pepper liquid in a large bowl. Divide corn mixture evenly among 4 plates; top each with 1 chicken cutlet. Drizzle with buttermilk dressing.
Alex learned how to do a cannon ball!
Pool time!
I don’t think we have yet to make a trip to the pool that we haven’t seen an unexpected friend. Today Alex ran into a friend from school – Danny!
