she's a natural!

My mom sent the kids some 'training chopsticks' in Mae's birthday package. I've never really encouraged Mae to use them before, so I was astonished at how GOOD at them she is! The boys were poking at their Cherrios, while she carefully picked each one up 'the real way!' WTG, Mae!

Orange Belt

Ted received his Orange Belt today. All ranks of Tiny Tigers were there to advance and it was really sweet. Ted also got his ATA patch (American TaeKwonDo Association). He was very proud, and I think Sam was equally proud of him! Both boys have Ninja Night this Saturday night, and Ted is insisting that he be allowed to wear his belt to it. So cute. We are so proud of you, Ted!! More pics on moeltini.

long long long walk

This morning our long walk/hike was up Green Mountain, off of Flagstaff. It was long, but not too hard. I ate way too much bagel sandwich and felt a little woozy. I also have 2 monster bites on my legs that are killing me.

score!

We got the class lists and Ted will be in Jaron & Seth Berman's class! We are so excited. Holli's boys have always been really nice to Ted, and Ted is particularly enamored of Jaron, in the pic. The first day of school will be a much less stressful one with these two boys in the classroom!

School Supplies

Remember the excitement of Back-to-school? I used to pack and re-pack my bookbag ZILLIONS of times those last few weeks of summer. I loved the smell of new pink erasers, crisp new notebooks, picture-perfect crayons and assignment notebooks. Ted has had his sweet little 'toddler backpack' since Caterpillars, but a 'real' folder won't fit in it, so we need to upgrade to a real backpack for Kindergarten. Since I am both frugal and eco-conscious, I want this backpack to last a long time. His lunchbox/bag from laptoplunches.com has lasted 2 full school years. He'll be taking that to Kindergarten too. I ordered him this backpack from L.L.Bean. It's very similar to his toddler backpack which he has never complained about. If he wants Star Wars or Bionicles or whatever, Wendy told me that her friend Crissy's son personalizes his backpacks with 'tags' that are themed, so that sound fun to me! She also said there is some kind of Lego keychain thing, so I'll have to investigate that too.

We'll go school supply shopping sometime soon. K/1 has quite a long list. Nothing seems to be very individual, so I think K/1 share everything. He'll have to wait a few years for a 'pencil box.' And an assignment notebook.

2007-08 School Year
K/1 Supply List

2 box tissues
2 boxes markers, 1 wide point, 1 fine point
2 containers of white glue
2 boxes colored pencils, pre-sharpened so we may use right away!
6 gluesticks
1 pair scissors
1 box crayons, 16 box
4 rolls paper towels
Post-It notepad(s)
Set of watercolors
1 box of #2 pencils, with erasers
Optional: 1 or more items from the Wish List

Families with last names A- K
Sponges
Pad of watercolor paper (size 8x10 1/2” or larger)
Quart size ziplock bags

Families with last names L-Z
1 container of NON-antibiotic hand soap
Bag of pillow stuffing
Gallon size ziplock bags

*Note: Kindergarten Families and First Graders new to Horizons
need to provide the following:
➢ Mini DV tape for digital video camera (SP 60 minutes)
➢ 3” white 3 ring binder notebook, featuring clear pockets on cover and spine for sliding in art and name label

Tapas

Rain was looming tonight, so I sacrificed our Wahoo's plan in favor of Tapas and an alone walk after the kiddos were in bed. I was looking forward to roasting the garlic and trying out fried green tomatoes. I also had a frozen tube of Tuno that I was curious about, so I tried out this recipe. The result was a fun and delicious meal, with mojitos to boot. I am feeling decadent, so I may whip up some famous WW brownies tonight to top off the night. TGIF!

Talking to the boys

Sometimes, just when I think the boys are really getting good at conversation, we have one of these. When Paul read me the email he wrote to his sister, I just couldn't stop laughing, so I asked Paul if I could post it. Try reading it out loud for full effect. (P=Paul, T=Ted, S=Sam)

I tried a little bit to tell Ted and Sam about it in
the car, but the conversation went a little like this:

P: "I played softball in the park with Nancy and even
hit the ball a few times"

T: "Did you score a goal?"

P: "No, softball is like baseball, you hit the ball
and run around the bases"

T: "What?"

T: "Did your team win?"

P: "Yes, my team won, 7 to 5"

S: "Did your team win, Daddy?"

P: "Yes, my team won, 7 to 5"

S: "What?"

T: "Did you score a goal?"

P: "In softball you run around the bases, and if you
get to the home plate, you score a run. I didn't score
a run though"

T: "What did the bad guys say?"

S: "Did you score a goal, Daddy?"

T: "Did your team win?"

P: "Yes, my team won, 7 to 5"

S: "7 to 5?"

P: "Yes"

T: "What did the bad guys say?"

P: "Um, they said wahhh."

T: "How many goals did the bad guys get?"

P: "They scored 5 runs"

T: "What?"

P: "5 runs - they ran around the bases 5 times"

T: "What?"

T: "Then what did the bad guys say?"

S: "Did you score a goal, Daddy?"

...

So I think I'll try talking about Soccer with them
instead.

moving on...

Wow, I received a lot of sympathetic responses to yesterday's post...thanks, everyone! Today we only had swimming on our agenda, and I STILL managed to forget something...my suit in this case! Luckily Judy had a spare and I did class with Mae. Mae had a great class today-hardly any crying and very good swim-float-swimming. Hooray! Sam was a nut, as usual, and Ted's class was tough today! Most of their laps were the long way so he was REALLY tired at the end.

I took Ted with me to pick up our CSA share and we were there over an hour, while Ted played with the farmers' boys in the fields. He was very excited to see the corn and zucchini. The recipe below is AWESOME. Even Mae enjoyed the beets and greens. I love garlic, so I was pretty excited to squoosh an entire head of it into the skillet! This is my new favorite way to prepare beets...Mmmm! This week's produce includes kale, more beets, garlic, green onions, zucchini, potatoes and basil. We also had green tomatoes in our Fruit Box this week...purposely green, so they are ready to eat. I'm planning to try Fried Green Tomatoes as well as our favorite sauteed tomatoes and basil over pasta. I hope to roast some garlic to spread on bread too...Mmm. I'm really excited about our produce at this point in the year. June was HARD..too much lettuce and too many potatoes!...but I am LOVING summer!

Sauteed Beet Tops Recipe #65936
The first ones of summer, patiently waited for, these are soooo delicious!!!
2 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb baby beets with tops, attached
1 medium walla walla onion, rough chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons oyster sauce (I used Soy Sauce)
2-3 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar

1. Wash beet tops well and shake excess water off.
2. Cut the baby beets off the stems and slice the bigger ones in half.
3. Cut the stems off the leaves and discard.
4. In a large non stick frypan, over high heat, add the olive oil, onions and baby beet pieces.
5. Saute til onions are just beginning to soften.
6. Add the beet leaves, whole.
7. Reduce heat to medium and add the smashed garlic, salt and pepper.
8. Turn everything over several times to mix well, while cooking 2 to 3 minutes.
9. Add oyster sauce and balsamic vinegar, turn over several times, cover and cook another 5 minutes.
10. Drain slightly/loosely, do not press, serve hot, immediately.

© 2007 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com

hmm

Mae had a hard day today. Truth be told, she's had a few hard weeks now. She is very bossy and demanding with me, which usually lands her in time out or just in a fit on the floor. I timed her on Monday and she tantrumed for 45 minutes before falling asleep. She gets soaked with sweat during these fits. The one nice thing is that, when she is getting toward the end, she'll ask to "snuggle peeze, Mama" which is really good for her. She gets mad when I don't cater to her, basically. So, in an effort to not create a completely spoiled brat, I have to almost induce these fits myself. For example, this morning she dropped her fork. "Get it, Mama!" she commanded. "You can get it, Mae-Mae," I said cheerfully. "NO! MAMA GET IT!" she screamed, and it began. I am just so TIRED of this attitude. It would be so simple to just GET THE EFFING FORK! But, I have the whole "must raise a respectful child" thing going on. Now, Ted and Sam weren't this demanding and are STILL often rude beyond belief, so maybe I should just give up?!
Maybe this is the part of the Terrible Two's that will eventually pass.

a FUN summer day

What a blast. We went to the pool this morning with Wendy and her gang, then I took the nappers home to sleep. After nap we all headed to Lakeside's KiddieLand (the ghetto version of Six Flags, at a beautiful cost of $6 per kid, for unlimited rides, ALL of which they could do.)
Sam talked about the motorcycle ride all day yesterday and when he finally went on that ride he just beamed. His favorite ended up being the roller coaster. I think he and the operator had a true friendship built up by the end...he just kept going on over and over. Mae screamed 95% of the time...it was just too noisy for her I think. Wendy somehow convinced her to ride a tame little horsey ride with Sam, which she actually liked, and rode again by herself later. Ted went on everything and genuinely liked it all. This place is perfect for little ones. I'm so glad to know about it. I think it will be on our summer schedule every year.

Eggel!

This pic is a week or so old, but I am so excited to see it! A while ago, Wendy gave Sam an egg and cheese bagel. He used to eat those when he was a toddler, but has rejected them for a few years now. He ate it up! And asked me to 'peeze make me anneggel, mama." Woo hoo! Getting the boys to eat eggs is close to impossible, so this is great. Mae will eat eggs in any form, eggel or no, but this is huge for Sam. Now, if Ted would just quit being Mr. Vegan, I could stop loading up on hummus and almond butter! It's almost laughable the amount of sandwiches he eats. Anyway, hooray for eggels!
And both Paul and Wendy think I should tell the sad tale of Mae's comment to Sam a few mornings ago. She's been sleeping in underwear for about 2 weeks now without any accidents; Sam still needs a Pull-Up (believe me, we've tried without and it's just useless...he is a DEEP sleeper.) So, Mae looked down at her underwear, pointed at Sam's Pull-Up, and said "Baby!" Sam burst into tears. Ted began trying to reason with him, saying that he can't help what he does when he's asleep and not to worry, etc. etc. Mae, loving the reaction, chortled with glee. Oy. Poor sweet Sammy.

Holy mountains, batman

Yesterday Wendy took us on a hike. We climbed South Boulder Mountain and then across the ridge to Bear Peak. Oy. Read all about it here.
After a quick nap and shower, we headed out to Boulder Running Company to find some REAL Crocs for Sam. Found some black ones; I couldn't believe he didn't want the red and black pirate ones. Then we took Ted to Ninja Night, where they let Sam stay too! They said he did great and he's been showing me his power punches and front kicks all morning. Mae and I went to Pearl Street for sushi/noodles and some playtime on the rocks. We also went to Outdoor Divas for another pair of shoes for me, so I can rotate between the two pair. Did you know it takes 48 hours for shoes to 'spring back up' to the way they should be? Me neither.
It was a LATE night last night and this morning all 3 are having various meltdowns over silly things. This morning around 2am the smoke alarms went off. I'm not sure what that was about but after about 2 minutes they all went silent. Everyone slept through it, so that was nice! Paul comes home tonight! Hooray!

Iowa pics

Thanks to Uncle Mark for more pics of the boys' Iowa trip. Click HERE.

best $15 I ever spent

Today it was in the upper 90's. Again. So after naps and a short visit with Kathye (hooray!) we went to the store to look for an electric air pump. Success. Less than an hour later, my 3 kids plus our neighbors', Oliver & Elise, were living it up, sliding down the slide into our little pool. Too fun. I got some video but can't upload it til Paul comes home with my computer. He arrived safely at Nancy's in NY, so he can relax and have some fun now! He'll be home Sunday night. Tomorrow morning my sitter is coming at 5:40am, so I can be at Wendy's by 6 for our *gulp* 18 mile walk. This is our longest one yet and I think she's going to want to hike. Oy. I am not a hiker, but I am game for anything. I really enjoy our long walks, both for the company and the time away from my demanding little monsters! Send us happy feet vibes, please!
Oh, and if you'd like to sponsor me, you can find a link HERE. Thank you in advance, and know you can count on me to sponsor you in return!

Dedication

I dedicate this post to the creator of Power Rangers. Ted has always loved Power Rangers. It was even his theme at his 4th Bday party. Tonight we had a playgroup for the familes of Kindergarten kiddos at the Chautauqua park. About 15 families came and about 6 of them were boys. These boys (and their little brothers) took off into 'the woods' brandishing sticks and played happily for 2 hours, til the wind really picked up and we all left. (The girls didn't really hang much...more proof that boys are simpler beings than girls...just find one thing in common and they're happy to play!) All of us parents confessed to being really nervous for our kids, and none of us could believe how easily the boys shifted from total strangers to buddies. "When's our next Kindergarten party?" Ted asked eagerly. Ted's new friends are Kai (who we knew from Gymboree at age 3-7 months), Tanish (from Kindermusik at age 2.5), Max (from SoccerTots) and Aiden. Boulder is a small, small world. At next month's playgroup we'll know who's in who's class-how exciting!

Shhhh...she's playing alone!

The boys are at Farm Camp and Mae is PLAYING BY HERSELF in ANOTHER ROOM. I know; I can't believe it either. I bought her a small Polly Pocket set for the airplane trip to Chicago. She loved it so much and played with it so happily that I got her another one for the trip home. I was trying to load the dishwasher, fold laundry, etc. etc. and she was freaking out. So I brought the basket of Polly stuff downstairs and she started playing quietly. It's been about an HOUR. Wow.

Orange Belt!

Today was another busy day for Ted! After dropping Paul off at the airport bus (he's off to NY for a week for work), we went to the pool. I took Sam, Mae & Ariel home to nap at 1ish, while Wendy kept Ted, Alex & Adam til about 2:15 when they closed the pool due to lightening. After a quick play at home, we were off to TESTING at TaeKwonDo. Ted had managed to burn the bottoms of his feet on the hot cement at the pool and insisted on wearing a fabric-covered ice pack as a slipper. He was milking it, for sure, but he still made it through the testing. Belts won't be handed out til next Thursday but at the end, his rank shouted "I'm an orange belt!" so there was no question there! He was beaming with pride. As a treat, we all walked/biked to Wahoo's for dinner and then to Sonic for ice cream. It got very VERY windy, and the ride home is uphill. They did it though, and we finally got home at 9pm. Geesh! As Wendy said, as the boys pedaled bravely into the headwind, "Happy orange belt, Ted!" Luckily, he was simply tired and happy. Wendy let me use her nice camera to take pics, which while a nice gesture, has sadly proved to me that even a nice camera can't do much without a real photographer behind the lens. Oh well!

Bye to our friends

Last night was sad. We said goodbye to Ted's friend Luke, big brother Jake, and baby brother Will. Luke and Ted are the same age and Jacob C. is a year older. Those three have banded together as the Aster Court gang for a year now. It has been wonderful to hear Luke's little knock at the door almost every morning this summer at 8:30, asking if Ted can play. They include Sam too, which makes me very happy. When Ted and Luke crashed into each other on Father's Day, Ted's mouth and Luke's fractured arm were the talk of the neighborhood. We will miss them so much. They are a really sweet, nice family. We wish them all the best in St. Louis! (left to right: Luke, Ted & Jacob)

Ted's First Bike Race

What a fun milestone this was! Wendy and I did our 12-mile walk this morning and then hurried to Longmont with the boys for their first bike race. Alex's dad was in the race and found out about the (free!) kids race (8 and under). The boys looked a little nervous while listening to the announcer explain the wave start and the course, but once underway they both looked great! It was only a .7 loop and I think 2 laps of it might have been a bit more fun, but this left them with a very good taste in their mouths for racing in general. "Is this about winning?" Ted asked me. I told him no and he seemed relieved. SO CUTE. Wendy took some great pics, so check moeltini for more.

Swapping kiddos

Today Paul took Ted to the Museum for a special daddy day. Wendy took Sam and her boys to a make up swimming class while I took Ariel and Mae to PALs. This worked out well for everyone and all the kids had a blast, except for Adam, who is under the weather. Wendy took some great pics of Sam swimming! More pics on moeltini.

First pedicure

Thursdays are busy...

Today was another marathon day for Ted. Sam was up at 5:15 and when Paul put him back in his room, he screamed the house down, which woke up Ted. *sigh* We went to Jack's pool to swim at 10:30, then on to swim lessons from 12:30-2. Paul swam with Mae (good Hokey-Pokey-ing, Paul!) and then took Mae and Sam home to nap. Ted and I went to Alex's to hang out til TaeKwonDo. They spent the class preparing for testing, which is a week from today. Ted got a little report that said PERMISSION TO TEST on it and the "Approved" box checked (there was also a "Recommended" box...I guess if the teacher isn't sure the student is ready, he can still test and the judges decide.) The judges are 2 instructors from this school and one from somewhere else official, so I think this is how the ranks stay the same throughout the country. Ted's psyched. He was well behaved today (I think out of exhaustion). We had a quiet evening and an early bedtime, after finishing up another Magic Treehouse Book. Here are pics of Ted with Alex on the left and Jack on the right, and Mae looking like a rock star in her shades. It was chilly today but all the kids swam. Crazy kids.

My 3 boys are home!

I'll update moeltini soon with lots of pics Paul and Rod took, but here are some cute ones til then. I missed them so much-it is great to have them home! (NOISY though!!)

Mae's Summer Vacation Video

Mae had a blast! Enjoy!

Home safe!!!

Mae and I arrived home around noonish today. More details tomorrow, but I've spent a long time on a movie and now YouTube is doing 'scheduled maintenance' and can't upload. Grrr. I've put some pictures up on my (new!) Flickr account, til Paul gets home and I can access moeltini. Mom, let me know if you can grab from Flickr-that might be a great solution! In the meantime, here are a few pics from our wonderful week in Chicago. Look for a movie in the next few days. Off to bed!!

Divide and Conquer

This year Paul and I are taking the 'divide and conquer' approach to summer vacation. Paul left with the boys Saturday for Dubuque, and Mae & I leave Monday for Chicago. We are flying (about 12 hours, or 1 full day, of driving less!) and I am stocked with coloring books, stickers and treats. A year ago...how much she has changed. She had only been home from China about 6 weeks when we packed her up and took her to the fabulously fun but crazy Moeller reunion followed by a visit with my parents and friends. Poor kid. This year will be much more mellow and only one week long. Then she can have another week when we get home to adjust!
So, I am not bringing the computer on this trip, so I'll post again next Monday night when we return. Paul took the camera so I should be able to have pics from Iowa and video from Illinios. Stay tuned! And stay cool!