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today!
We had our family birthday celebration over lunch today and we'll celebrate with some friends in several weeks. Grandma and Grandpa H. were able to join us for the fun, which is so special. McCance is all about his grandparents--whichever set is able to come at the time is best to him, which is perfect. The birthday boy is finally napping, but not without his pink cowboy boots still on his feet. (Thanks, Leslie, for finding them!) Enough chatter. Here are the pictures.
He requested a chocolate cake with a pink heart on it.
He devoured it, but it must've really been rich, because he did not ask for more!
Unheard of.
(I did give him most of my frosting, though, so no one has to worry that he's ill.)
Finger-licking good.
Clean again!
The theme seemed to be "pink."
A new airplane for the Plan City collection.
Adorned in the birthday boots, ready to find a Tonka dump truck to match Bradford's.
A bit fuzzy because he was jumping, this picture radiates McCance energy and joie de vivre.
As you can see Scott had several assistants, as he put the newly painted sliding doors back in above the cabinets. Although it made the already challenging job a bit more so, it also made a wonderful picture.
Just a few years old
Getting older, but happy chewing
My very first dog, Jake, Jr., is now seizure-free, not afraid of thunder, and living the ideal dog life in dog heaven. It was a difficult decision, but we knew (and were reassured by many reliable sources) it was what needed to be done so there were no regrets down the road. We will keep our memories of him with us always. I don't have the energy to look up all the film pics of him and scan them, but my favorite is one of Jake wearing his dog pack at the top of a mountain we hiked up in North Carolina. He was just a puppy and we didn't have the boys. It was a sweet adventure with a great dog and a beautiful day to remember always.
With his boys McCance took it the hardest, but has dealt very well with something that is so difficult for a three-year old(--and a 37 year-old.) The boys helped Scott dig a hole in the yard where he loved to run and chase balls (on a long lead, of course). I think that physical work was therapeutic to each of them.
We have adjusted pretty easily to being a one dog family even though sweet Jakey is missed here. Adelaide goes on a walk with the boys and I each weekday morning and stays inside with us to do what she lives for--guarding her family. (A true shepherd's heart.) She's become calmer and seems to take her job even more seriously. We no longer have a gated kitchen or have to take care to clean every crumb off of the counter or make sure all food items are out of Jake's reach (meaning atop the refrigerator!). He was not a low maintenance dog by any means, but that didn't change our love for him.
I could not refrain from sharing this gorgeous tomato-basil-mozzarella salad from last week. Ms. Moore, who works with Scott, gave him some of her tomato overflow. I combined it with some of our lovely basil, a little mozzarella, and vinaigrette and got this beautiful and tasty salad.
It also made a tasty pizza topping covered with a bit of parmesan.
No. This won't become a cooking blog. But I have been exploring several cooking blogs recently and I've finally taken time to go through a pile of Rachael Ray magazines from my mother-in-law and choose the recipes that we would like to try and use. This one came from one of her magazines, but I adapted it quite a bit, as it was originally for chicken. You know how the Chik-Fil-A cows carry a sign that says, "Eat more Chik'n" ? Well, if our kitchen had a motto, it might be a picture of a chicken carrying a sign that said, "Eat more Tofu!" So, here's the recipe for Chipotle Tofu. Adjust the spiciness to your taste. Scott thought this was a bit on the hot side. For me it was perfect. (I like things pretty spicy.)
2 t. sesame seeds
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 # firm tofu, drained and pressed and cubed
1 T oil
soy sauce
3/4 c. onion coarsely chopped
3/4-1 t. ground chipotle pepper (McCormick sells this in the spice section)
1/2 t. cumin
2/3 c. veggie or bean broth
2 t. cocoa
1 c. Ro-Tel tomatoes
Fry drained, pressed, and cubed tofu in 2 t. oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet. Stir occasionally to brown on all sides. When it is mostly brown sprinkle in a bit of soy sauce and let brown a few more minutes. (The soy sauce gives a little saltiness and helps with browning.) Toss with sesame seeds, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Saute onion in 1 t. oil until softened. Stir in ground chipotle and cumin. Saute about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, cocoa, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and simmer until thickened. Mix in tofu cubes. Serve over quinoa. (Rice could be substituted, but I *love* quinoa with this. The texture is perfect.)
No picture. And I just finished the last deja-vu portion for my morning snack!
Bradford never ceases to amaze me when it comes to the creations, especially vehicles, that he forms with Legos. We only have one little Lego set that is sold to be built into something very specific (the aforementioned train). The rest of our Legos are from our younger days or from some thrift store finds. So he has no directions, and many of the pieces are difficult to figure out as to how they can be utilized, but these things don't stop Bradford. The other day he made a grand excavator, but it got destroyed before it's photographic debut. Here is a hook and ladder fire truck he built a few days ago.
No. We're not planning for a baby girl right now. We're planning for McCance's 3rd birthday! Pink is his favorite color, as I believe I've mentioned before. He asked for a chocolate heart cake with pink frosting, pink flip flops, pink cowboy boots, a pink computer, a pink skirt, and other things--mostly pink. I think he'll have to do without on the computer and the skirt. We're working on the pink cowboy boots. And I didn't wait to give him pink flip flops--which he also requested to have pink flowers. I found pink flip-flops for 50 cents at Target and some silk flowers at Michael's for $1.59. So for $2.09 he has his dream shoes.
Bradford had a really small tinge of flip-flop jealousy, so my inventive Bradford fixed that by creating his own pair of temporary, yet clever, paper flip-flops. Once they were worn out (a matter of about 5 minutes, if that long) he was over it. [Later he and Scott realized he was ready for the next size in tennis shoes, so they pulled them out (we bought several sizes at a consignment sale) and have some dandy green laces from The Shoelace Factory in The City Museum of St. Louis.
I believe most who read this know that Jake and Ady are our canines. Jake is 9 years old and really becoming an "old man" so-to-speak. He's had epilepsy since he was a year old. One medication he took for it for many years caused him to have some severe liver disease about 9 months ago. Thankfully it was something that could be reversed, so there was improvement in his health. But he lost sight, balance, some sense of smell, and perhaps a little hearing as a result. These seem to have grown worse with time. As a result he has begun nipping, not in an aggressive sort of way, but more as a way to compensate for the lack of senses. This troubles us greatly even more so since the nipping apparently turned into something more one day when he and Ady were alone in their dog run.
As I began to brush Ady one afternoon, I found a huge gouge on her neck. She had not been anywhere alone where this could've happened but with Jake. I had always suspected that she, being the alpha dog, would be the one who would go after Jake. Scott and I were able to do a little first aid and the gouge has healed well in a week (but left some thick scar tissue). Meanwhile, Jake has to be highly supervised with the boys and he remains gated in the kitchen (as he did previously due to chewing issues) or in the dog run for a little fresh air. We still walk them together at least once a day, but it makes me sad that he has to be so separated from us.
Do you know how you go to check someone's blog and they haven't posted anything in a few days, then in a week, then in several weeks? I call that "dead air in blogging." I don't know how many people really check our blog on a regular basis, but I tend to have a good bit of dead air, so to speak. I have a very good excuse though. I get so caught up in my real life with my family, having fun, learning (and the stuff that's not as fun) that I forget to write about it and share with others. So now it's out. Now you'll know we've just been doing lots of activities when you see me not post for days, then weeks. Hopefully it won't be months though.
Scott thoughtfully suggested McCance be in on this too, since the carseat was his first also. (Bradford got to move to a new one when McCance was born.)
Much to our dismay (our being all four of us) Scott started school last Thursday. This week was his first full week back. We missed him terribly. The boys wanted to show their love to him and how much they missed him. Here are a few shots of the "Welcome back, Daddy Party."
We've recently started school for the year, but we're going to have Fun Fridays, meaning no seatwork. So math was also science and home ec. We made banana bread. Both boys asked to help. It is nearly gone. McCance is eating his last slice for breakfast as I type. So I guess one might say school was a success yesterday.
And notice Lamb-y Pie strapped on McCance's back with the playsilk (in the first pic). He said that she was their baby and wanted a stroller in which to push her. Since all we have is a huge jogging stroller, I convinced him to carry Lamb-y Pie on his back just like when he is carried on our backs in the Ergo. So in true attachment parenting style, McCance mixed banana bread with a babe on his back.
As the boys and I left for our walk this morning, we noticed that a deer sampled our most lovely and largest tomato just as it had become tinged pink. Once we returned I picked the remainder of it off of the vine. Since it was a good-sized one there was still plenty of the tomato left, so I decided to make fried green tomatoes. But plain ones wouldn't do because the fried green tomato sandwich at Last Resort is my favorite. So I went to work re-creating a new version. The results were so tasty that I had to make one for Scott when he came home--so he'd believe how wonderful it was.
And the recipe for anyone interested.
First, the fried green tomatoes.
1/4 c. soy milk cornmeal
1/2 t. lemon juice flour
1 large green tomato, sliced oil (low smoking point)
Combine milk and lemon juice and let set a few minutes. Combine equal parts cornmeal and flour (2-3 T each should do for 1 large tomato.) Heat some oil in an iron skillet between medium and medium-high. Dip green tomato slices into milk mixture, then dredge in the cornmeal mixture. Add to hot skillet and fry until browned on each side. Add more oil as needed. Drain on paper towels.
Next, fry several slices of Vidalia onions in Earth Balance (or butter) until they have softened and begin to brown. Set aside.
Then the Sweet Vidalia "Bacony" Dressing.
1-2 T Vidalia onion, minced 2 t. apple cider vinegar
1 c. Vegenaise (or other mayo) few teaspoons Silk
1t. brown sugar 4 drops liquid smoke
Combine all ingredients and stir well.
Spread the dressing on two slices of bread. Layer one slice with the fried green tomatoes, then the Vidalia onions. Cover with the second slice. And voila!
It's not his birthday, but Bradford's first car seat has expired. Unknown to many, car seats usually expire after 6 years. (He is 5, but it was the previous year's model.) Although this convertible seat, might look only gently used, it is likely that the plastic has become brittle, straps might wear and might not keep a babe very safe. And it is never okay to compromise safety when you know ways to stay safe, especially where small children are concerned.
Right after his first ride home in the seat
Last Saturday
Now we must decide how to dispose of the seat. Although most seats are recyclable, only Colorado and Oregon have car seat recycling programs currently. Unless we put energy into starting a similar program here, I will cut the straps and save the cloth cover and Scott will take a saw to the plastic seat to ensure that someone else won't attempt to use it for their babe.
Last Friday was our first big grocery shopping/errand trip of the new school year--otherwise known as Without Scott. After the bank and Daily Groceries, which is our little co-op store full of bulk bins that are oh, so attractive to my kids, we stopped to check out what was "in stock" at our neighborhood thrift store (as a kind of reward for using great store manners thus far). Of course, the toy section was where we spent our time. This place often has good clothing finds, but the toys usually lack in quality (broken & missing pieces, mixed up, unorganized, etc.). But this day was different. B and I found an almost complete Playmobil set of a hospital room! He loves to set it up for imaginary play. All for less than $2.
Blogs That Make Me Hungry
He requested a chocolate cake with a pink heart on it.
He devoured it, but it must've really been rich, because he did not ask for more!
Finger-licking good.
Clean again!
The theme seemed to be "pink."
A new airplane for the Plan City collection.
Adorned in the birthday boots, ready to find a Tonka dump truck to match Bradford's.
A bit fuzzy because he was jumping, this picture radiates McCance energy and joie de vivre.
