Grandparent's Day

Ian is doing better today. By the time I came home this afternoon, he looked remarkably better. So, we decided Ian and I would tag along for the planned afternoon activity...

Grandparent's Day
Today was Grandparent's Day at Taylor's school. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to have Grandmother join us for this occasion. There was a presentation downstairs, and then we went up to the classrooms for some more fun. In Taylor's classroom, they showed us how they play a math game, and also how they play another game called silent ball. It was a blast to see the class as a whole interacting on a level they are accustomed to on a daily basis.
(Right- Ian, trying to give Taylor a smooch!)


Afterwards, it was the end of the day and we decided to head over to the Humane Society to see if Rusty or the Doxie were still there. We were not able to find either one of them, but we did find this great looking cat! We also ran into some of Taylor's friends from school there, too. Our last stop of the day brought us to the Java Train. Between Taylor's Izzy's ice cream and Ian's cookie, there was enough sugar to operate on for the rest of the evening!

Ian's cold & chicken marsala recipe

Ian resting on the couch
Ian was up a lot last night, and that usually means he is coming down with something. Panod and I took turns with him last night (thank goodness Tay isn’t a light sleeper), and when Ian got up this morning it was quite clear that he had a full-blown cold – fever and all. Again. Ian and I just stayed home today and worked on keeping him comfortable, which meant that we missed his last Sporties for Shorties class today. He got a long bath before lunch, and that seemed to help. Poor Taylor came home this afternoon and she had so many fun ideas & places she wanted to go, but with Ian sick we really just needed to stay home today.

I was able to get the van semi clean this afternoon. Taylor did a great job helping to watch Ian in the house, while I vacuumed out the van with the wet vac….. and then the radio died in the van. And so did the lights. And so did the battery. Guess it was a good thing we had planned on staying home this afternoon! Panod was nice enough to get it running for me later on tonight so that I could run some errands after the kids were in bed. There isn’t anything wrong with the van, and the battery is only about two years old. I probably just had too many accessories on for too long without having the engine running.

We gave Ian some medicine tonight, so he (thus, we) should have a better night. Let’s hope our health and the weather improve for this weekend!

Tonight’s dinner was Chicken Marsala:

1 lb. Chicken Breasts – cut up
16 oz Chive Cream Cheese
2 Cans Cream of Mushroom
2 Pkg. Dry Good Seasons Italian Dressing
Rice or Egg Noodles
1 Cup Dry White Wine (you can be generous)

Mix together in crock pot on low all day, or, if cooking less than 8 hours, cook on high for 1 hour and low the rest of the time. Serve over rice or ribbon noodles. Open a salad in a bag to serve on the side, and dinner’s done! Makes 6-8 servings

Puppies & Doxies

Taylor’s Girls Only class was cancelled tonight because her teacher wasn’t able to be there, so we didn’t get to have the fashion show. But, we are on for next week – this just gives us one more week to come up with a cute outfit and the right nail color. It also turned out to be a good thing that we didn’t go, because we never would have met our new friend today…

Rusty
After work, preschool, and picking up Taylor at her school, we headed over to the library this afternoon to fetch a few things that had we had been waiting for & had recently come in. I picked up my Hoot book, and Taylor got her third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Horse and His Boy (ISBN: 0064409406) by C.S. Lewis. Ian got a few Thomas movies and we headed back home to dig in. As we got close to home, I noticed a dog running on the other side of the parkway. This is not an unusual sight; we’ve seen dogs out running in the parkway thousands of times with their owners. This one caught my eye because there was no owner to be found. He was a beautiful rusty color, medium sized and he even looked both ways before he crossed the street! I stopped the van and watched for a few minutes to make sure there was nobody chasing after this beautiful dog. Finally, I came to the conclusion that this needed to be investigated further. I pointed the dog out to Taylor and Ian and explained that I was going to pull up and see if he was a nice dog or not. As the van got closer to him, I slowed down and called to him out of the window – sure enough, he came running with his tail high and wagging. Then he proceeded to sit next to the van and waited to hear what he was supposed to do next. Now, by the time he got close enough for me to get a good look at him, I realized that it was only on the very top most part of him that you could see his beautiful rusty colored fur – the rest of him was caked in mud, and his hair was very long. My van will never forgive me for what I did next. I told the kids that the dog was lost, and that we needed to take him to the Humane Society so that his family could find him. I opened up the trunk and he hopped right in (he was clearly a pro at this.) I sincerely thought that he would never make it over the back seat, but he did – in about .02 seconds. There was mud everywhere – the ceiling, the seats, the windows and the kids! Then he laid down and made a bed on Taylor’s winter coat that had been put in the back seat a few minutes before all of this had started. The kids were horrified and yelling, the dog was panting, and I was driving as quickly as I could to get us there! Thank goodness it’s just down the street! We got to the Humane Society, and he ran inside the building like a good dog should. The kids took a little time to recover and regroup while I filled out paper work. He was such a good dog – he just sat and looked out the window – he almost seemed to be looking for his master. Then the time came to say good-bye. The people at the Humane Society promised us they would find him a good home if his owner didn’t come to claim him in five days. Then the vet also pointed out that poor Rusty had probably been on the run for some time, given the state of his matted and muddy fur. We patted him on the few clean spots he had left, and we turned to go. Taylor cried and Ian got sad too, but we knew that it was the right thing to do.

After we left ol’ Rusty in his new temporary home, we headed over to the other building where the animals that are waiting to be adopted are. I figured that this could only brighten our mood. We saw puppies, and loud, barking grown dogs. We also saw bunnies, birds, and mice. Then we came to the kitty area – I could not believe how those kitties lifted the kids’ spirits. One cage after another, they were just so darn cute! And then it happened – we saw…….. A DOXIE! No way! She was the tiniest, cutest thing! Just about the same age as Toby. Spotted to the hills and she had amazing blue eyes. We fell in love for the second time today! I was almost relieved to find the ‘Adoption Pending’ sticker on her cage, otherwise I don’t know how we could have left without her.

So, that’s our story today. Sorry I didn’t get any pictures. Maybe the next time something like this happens, I’ll remember to whip out the camera at some point. I think that the best part of this whole thing is that with all of Rusty’s muddy, long, matted hair – I never really could tell for sure if he really was a he! And in honor of the animals that touched our lives today, I’m going to post some pictures from the Humane Society for Companion Animals. Click here for a list of all of their adoptable pets.

Books & Homework

Taylor and I both finished our books. I read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (ISBN: 0679781587) and she read The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis (ISBN: 0064471101.) We both enjoyed them very much and would highly recommend them both. Taylor said that she wants to start on the third book in the Narnia series ASAP! And I cannot wait to see the movie Memoirs of a Geisha now - it just came out on dvd & I've got a hold placed on it at the library. As for right now, Taylor is into a book called Flush by Carl Hiaasen (ISBN: 0375821821.) I read that one before Memoirs of a Geisha, and it was a pretty good little page-turner. There were so many tween moments in the book; it only felt right for her to give it a try. She seems to be enjoying it for now, and I'll be interested to hear her take on it. I should be starting Hoot, also by Carl Hiaasen (ISBN: 0375829164) by this weekend. Phew!

Taylor did well in OT today. And then tonight, while she was doing her homework, Ian and Panod did some of Ian's homework! Isn't that great? Tay worked on positive and negative numbers for math, and Ian worked on writing in a straight line. He was so proud to have homework! I would have taken a picture of Taylor doing her math, but she looked at me like I was crazy when I turned to aim the camera at her. :)

A short post with flower pics

Ian made it through school today without any incidents with Raleigh. Today was his first day back after his little altercation last week. Panod and I did not get a chance to talk for very long with the teachers, but they did say that Ian had a good day and that he was his usual easy-going self today.

Taylor's day went well, too. She brought home some ceramic pieces she had worked on in school last week, and she is so proud of them! We also received her order forms for the annual spring plant sale. If anyone should be in need of flowers, feel free to contact Taylor or myself.

Other than that, I took some pictures of our flowers we received from Panod yesterday...

A picture from one of Tay's beautiful flowers


One of the 12 roses I received from Panod for our Anniversary yesterday

Happy Anniversary

While we may not be heading off to someplace warm and sunny for our Anniversary, we were able to get out of town for a day and have a blast.....

Our day started off with Panod bringing in some flowers for BOTH Taylor and I this morning! Awwww! I got some beautiful Roses and Taylor got a significant bouquet of Tiger Lilies and Carnations. I will have to get some pictures of them tomorrow to post here. How sweet is he??

Taylor in the antique shop,holding a weiner
dog thing that we thought could be a planter
Then, it was off to Stillwater for the afternoon. All four of us went and we really did have a good time. The antique shop we always go to when we are there has always proven to be tricky with strollers and toddlers in tow. But this year seemed to be a turning point - the kids really enjoyed it- thus, so did we! There was some minor corralling that had to done with Ian (mostly by Panod), but nothing was broken when we left, and we managed to see a great deal of the expansive shop. After the antique shop, we hopped across the street in order to get a peek at the Minnesota Zephyr. Ian is such a huge train fan, and he was just a little ball of joy as he ran over to touch the train. At one point he told us, "This is the most perfect train, ever!" Once we realized what time it was and that most of the stores were going to be closing soon, we headed over for our final stop - the toy store. Anyone who has been to Stillwater with their children knows all about the toy store there. This store always has things that you just cannot find at your local supercenter. The amazing doll collection alone could take hours to look through! The time went by so quickly and before we knew it, we had to head back to St. Paul for some dinner.
Panod and the kids in front of the
Minnesota Zephyr

Panod and I had decided to eat at one of our new favorites tonight and see how the kids liked it - The Cleveland Wok, but it was closed when we got there. I had read on citysearch.com that the hours on Sunday were from 4pm-9:30pm on Sundays. Guess they were wrong. *Ahem* So we headed on over to another favorite, Panda Garden Buffet. (Yes, we really wanted some Chinese buffet this evening.) Panda proved to be very good, and the kids ate more that I thought possible - I'd say we got our money's worth!

What a day! We didn't even get home until it was almost the kids' bed time tonight. Of all of the things we could have done today, I think that celebrating our Anniversary this way was a great way of reminding us of why we decided to do all of this in the first place. We would also like to thank those of you who sent your well wishes today. (((((((Hugs)))))))

New England Pot Roast

Ian, Toby & Taylor goofing around in the playrom this afternoon, after our walk




I think that as far as weekends go, this one could never come to an end and I would be fine with it. The kids have been in such high spirits lately, and today was just another easy-going day. I got to go running kidless this morning & that was just what I needed. Then Ian and I made lunch, while Taylor finished up her chores with some guidance from Panod. There were movies watched, groceries delivered, and dinner was put into the crock pot - I'll put the recipe for tonight's pot roast at the end of the post. Later on this afternoon we all took a walk; even Toby got to come! We hit the playground, and we went and looked at the ice cream over at Nelson's Cheese Factory (their breakfast burritos are the things that dreams and big butts are made out of!) before heading back home again. We also bumped into one of our neighbors before heading inside. I wish I could have gotten a picture of their little guy - talk about Gerber Baby! :)

Toby with Taylor's new scarf

New England Pot Roast
3 to 3 ½ lb. Beef Boneless Chuck Roast
1 Tbl. Veg. Oil
8 Small Potatoes, cut in half
3 Cups Baby-Cut Carrots
1 Large Onion, Coarsely Chopped (1 cup)
1 Jar (5 oz.) Prepared Horseradish
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. onion salt
½ tsp. Pepper
1 ½ Cup Water

Trim excess fat from beef. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in oil about 10 min., turning occasionally, until brown on all sides. Place potatoes, carrots and onions in 4-6 qt. slow cooker. Sprinkle onion salt on top of veggies. Place beef on veg. Mix horseradish, salt and pepper; spread evenly over beef. Pour water over beef and vegetables. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until beef and veg. Are tender. I usually make gravy with the juices by browning some flour and butter in a 12-in skillet and pouring the sauce in. Stir constantly on med-low heat until it is thick and bubbly. Salt, pepper and add sugar to taste.

The Eagle's Nest & Dr. Who

Taylor did not have any school today and I didn't have to work, so it was the three of us today. I was going to start-in on the hallway paint job I have yet to start, but decided to procrastinate just one more day in order to make sure that we made the most of our day off. I really wanted to go running this morning, so I pushed Ian in the Burley and Taylor rode her bike. 40 degrees still feels warm, but I am starting to need a good 60 degree day soon. Poor Taylor had to ride her bike with her gloves on! We did nearly a mile and a half, and we even got to see an ambulance pass right in front of us. And there are clear signs of Spring everywhere - a lot of trees have got buds on them, and there are Canadian Geese over by Como Lake now.

It took me a while to come up with something fun to do that wasn't too expensive, but finally after lunch I got it - we hit The Eagle's Nest over in New Brighton. Talk about your indoor playgrounds! This place is massive! The place is so big that if you have more than one child, it can really be hard to keep track of them. This was probably our 8th or9th time going, and I've learned a lesson - either I can spend the entire time trying to keep track of them, or I can take off my shoes, tie my hair back, and join them! So after I got a few pictures, that is what we spent the afternoon doing - running around the playground together. I think that the best part about that place is that the adults are free - I feel like I'm cheating!

After The Eagle's Nest, we had some more errands to do and some salmon to grill out for dinner. With Dr. Who being on again tonight, there was a strict timeline to adhere to. Seriously!

Are you the tooth fairy?

Ian and I got so much done today! We finally got Taylor's birthday party booked at the Raptor Center. She is so excited - she told me that having her party there is, "sweet!" hehe There is a limit on the number of children that can come (Kanerpants doesn't count), but there is no limit to the number of adults - despite what the web site says.

We also are about done figuring out what to register the kids for this summer. They both are already registered for outdoor swim lessons. And if things go right, we should also have Ian in t-ball for a good part of the summer, and Taylor in track & field. These two are going to spend so much time outdoors this summer! "Sweet!"

Ian had his Sporties for Shorties class today, and it went very well. He is still having a hard time following all of the rules, but for the most part he does very well. In this picture he is hitting the baseball, and running the bases. The kid doesn't really miss the ball, so I think he's going to do well in t-ball this summer.

The big news of the day was that Taylor lost a tooth! She has been working on it constantly for the past week & I think she finally had enough of it today and just pulled it out. This was the first tooth she has lost where Ian really took interest in the entire process. He was so shocked with seeing the tooth in her hand after it came out, and the blood on the tissue that he had to call Panod and tell him what had just happened! Taylor then proceeded to ask me if I was really the tooth fairy. *sigh* The real question is (since I did not directly answer her question) do I still give her the dollar? ;)

Pictures Finally!

Thank you, Blogger! Sheesh! It may have taken me a good half-hour to get the pictures up tonight, but I'm not going to complain. They're up!

<--Ian's artwork from school today- before the "tussle"

The Tussle
This afternoon, I got to Ian's school to pick him up and he was sitting down, finishing up his chocolate pudding with his teacher, Kari. The other children had just left for the afternoon, and Kari went into another room while I got Ian ready to go. Ian really wanted to finish his pudding and he clearly had something on his mind. He told me to sit down, so I did. He got very excited, and angry and explained that Raleigh (another little boy in the class) had punched him in the nose and pushed him down today! He was clearly mad, and before I could say, "Really?", he went on to explain that it hurt when Raleigh punched him in the nose, so he got up and pushed Raleigh down! By this time, Kari had come back into the room and kind of chuckled. She explained to me that she had not witnessed the "little altercation", but that it had all been explained to the other boy's mother by one of the teachers that had witnessed it. I was shocked! Ian's first fight!? I still wasn't very clear on what had happened and Kari had to run to another class before I could ask her any more questions, so I asked Ian...
"Ian, why was Raleigh so mad? Why did he punch you in the nose?"
Ian replied, "He was eating bad snow, and I told him not to eat bad snow!"
Me, "O.K." (Still confused)
Ian, "And I hit him!"
"You what!? You hit Raleigh? In the nose?!"
Ian went on to explain that Raleigh had started it, and that Raleigh was the one who got a time out because of what happened- not Ian. It is still not all clear to me, but I got the feeling that Ian was very proud of standing up for himself. When I called Panod and explained that Ian had been in his first "tussle" today, he asked if Ian was upset that he had gotten caught pushing the other boy. I said, "No, I think he's just mad that he didn't hit him more!" Needless to say, we sat down and had a chat with Ian tonight about going and finding the teacher when something like that happens - and NOT HITTING, even if someone hits him first! His favorite thing to say now is, "Raleigh is crazy!" He's been saying that since I picked him up this afternoon.

After picking up Ian, he and I ran a few errands, and then we went to pick up Taylor. We all decided, after getting home and having a snack, that it was too nice to stay inside - so we hit the playground! It really is amazing how warm 40 degrees can feel! I actually saw people (with cold legs) in shorts today!

Taylor had her Girls Only class tonight, and they had a blast! They are getting ready to put on a fashion show next week, so they practiced doing their hair tonight. Taylor looked amazing, and she knew it, too! lol Her teacher is so amazing with these girls. Ian and I will see her tomorrow for his Sporties for Shorties class.




I took this picture of the sun going down next to the capital tonight while Taylor was in class. It is kind of dark, but still kind of pretty...

Finally a quiet day

Ian and I had a quiet morning today. He was in a seriously snuggly mood, so we became couch potatoes and read a ton of books. He is so curious and interested in reading; I really think he may be reading as soon as this summer! Frog & Toad here we come!

This evening was filled with OT, dinner, and baths. Taylor is working with more fractions, along with some basic English Language concepts.

On the way home from OT this afternoon, the kids and I saw a Bald Eagle flying right above us! It was so low to the ground that we could see the white head and tail - we could even see his eyes! I believe that it was Ian's first sighting.

I am still unable to post any pictures today. There are work arounds that I don't have the patience for right now. I am seriously considering moving this blog over to Typepad.....

Our books are in

It was a regular Monday today. The kids had school, the adults had work, and afterwards there was OT to contend with. Taylor did well in school and OT today. She seems to have acquired a love for frisbee throwing at school- we have enjoyed listening to her stories about recess and throwing the frisbee with her teacher, and the other students. Her little face is already starting to get a little tan & her summertime freckles are starting show!

Ian made a kite in school today and I'll have to take a picture of it after they take it down from the wall in which it is currently being displayed. He is very proud, and he is pretty sure that although it is made of construction paper, that it will fly very high in the sky!

We were able to stop by the library yesterday afternoon and pick up some books, and a movie that we had placed a hold on. My Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden had arrived, as had Taylor's Prince of Caspian by C.S. Lewis. We had been looking forward to the arrival of these two books for about a week now. We both have been able to get several chapters deep into our books and we couldn't be happier with our choices. I just hope that we have some left to read during spring break! The movie we got yesterday was Time Bandits by Terry Gilliam (one of my favorite childhood movies.) Nobody except for me had seen it all the way through, and we all really enjoyed watching that last evening.

We don't have any pictures today -blogger seems to be having problems again.... sorry! We'll have to be sure to grab a few goodies tomorrow.

2006 Minneapolis Auto Show

Ford Reflex (Concept)

While Panod and I had pondered the thought of going to the Auto Show kidless this year, we ended up being happy to have the kids tag along to this annual event. It was the first time we've ever gotten to go without a stroller, and it made a world of difference. We were free to roam from show floor to show floor, and even take the occasional *gasp* escalator when it was required of us, without having to search out the nearest overcrowded elevator. The kids jumped from one back seat to the next with a fearsome velocity - I honestly think that they must have gotten into and out of close to 70% of the cars on the main floor! And Panod and I were able to really get our hands on a few cars we had been wanting to see. Here's a rundown of our top picks:

Panod:
Mazda 3
Volvo S40
Subaru Impreza

Lori:
Volvo XC90
Volvo XC70 Cross Country
Volvo V50
Volvo S40
Subaru Outback Impreza
Subaru Forester
Mazda RX-8

Taylor & Ian:
Hummer - all of them!

Here is a link to some pictures of the above listed vehicles. (Note: you will be asked to sign in and/or create an account)

Tubing & Pad Thai Recipe

As expected, we spent the afternoon out tubing down some insanely big hills today. The snow was ideal for fast sliding and making jumps. Taylor was the only one who dared to try hitting one of the jumps out of the four of us, but she never managed to hit it. We all made trains going down the hills & nobody wiped out to the point of tears - I think that qualifies it as a successful sliding adventure.

Tonight I made the grown-ups Pad Thai, and the kids got to have grilled cheese & tomato soup. I think that Panod and I agree that tonight’s concoction scored well, so I'll go ahead and share it at the bottom of the post.

We have to share one more picture from today - I put some of the kids’ music on the iPod the other day & Ian got a hold of it tonight. We had it playing some of his Thomas the Tank Engine music and he loved it! He didn't take it off for the rest of the evening! He's dancing around with it in this picture. lol




Mock Duck Pad Thai
3/4 lb. dried rice noodles, 1/8" wide
Bowl of warm water
2 10oz. cans of mock duck, drained
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
4 slivered green onions
1/2 cup fish sauce
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 tsp. paprika
1/2 Tbl. fresh squeezed lime juice
2 Tbl. ground roast chili
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs - stirred
3/4 lb. beans sprouts
1/2 cup ground roasted peanuts - finely chopped
Lime wedges

Soak noodles for 30 minutes. Mix fish sauce, sugar, white vinegar, paprika, lime juice & ground roast chili together to make sauce. Set aside. Drain noodles. Pour oil into pan and heat on medium high. Pour eggs in and let set until almost cooked through. Add garlic, mock duck and sauce mixture & get to a rolling boil. Add noodles. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Fold in the bean sprouts. You know it is done when most of the sauce is gone. Garnish with green onions, peanuts and lime wedges. Makes 6-8 servings

Dr. Who?

Last night, Taylor sent out an email (with some help from Panod) to several of us, reminding us of the important significance that today holds for all who may or may not know about Dr. Who making its grand entrance onto American television tonight. Taylor was not able to check her email to see who replied to her since last night (because there was too much snow to play in before the show came on – see pics below), but she will read and reply to them accordingly tomorrow. We thought that the show was a blast, to say the least! Our neighbors even came over and joined in on the madness for awhile. We hope that those of you who were able to watch the show enjoyed it!

Taylor throwing a snowball

Earlier today, Ian had gotten outside with Panod & I was able to get some pictures of the two of them. And then, Ian and Taylor went back outside before dinner tonight. They are trying to squeeze as much time in with the newly fallen snow as they can, because it will not last long with our warm March days. Tomorrow we will likely go tubing!

More Snow and Taylor's Conferences

It snowed. Again. Only 7 inches this time. I had to snow blow a path this morning so that Toby could find a place to go potty. lol Ian and I did not make it to his class this afternoon – we were still trying to find the driveway. But, Taylor made it to school this morning, and then we all made it to her conferences tonight. Things sound like they are going pretty well for her in class right now. She drew the cover of this folder that contained a bunch of her work from class. WOW! We were impressed!

I never found enough time today to start wiping down the walls and prepping for the impending paint job in the hallway, but maybe I’ll be able to find the time this weekend. And we tried a new recipe for stuffed green peppers in the crock pot tonight that turned out pretty well. I’m going try adding a few things, but you can find the one we used tonight here.

Toby, Ian & Taylor - wrestling around tonight before bed

Where did Spring go?

Ian had a good day at pre-school today. They went outside, had a snack, did some art, and one of the children had a birthday today! The birthday child brought red bags for each student in the class, and they were filled with goodies! It doesn’t get much better than that when you’re four!

Taylor did very well with her times tables today, but her team ended up losing the match. She perked right up when she remembered that there will be football math pretty soon, and her team will have a whole new chance at winning again. She also had her Girls Only class tonight over at Dayton’s Bluff. They made bracelets and talked about the fashion show they are going to put on for us next week! I can’t wait to see that! While Taylor was at her class tonight, Ian and I went down the bluff to the St. Paul Airport. We saw some tiny jets take-off and land, and there was a great looking helicopter that we watched take-off, too.

It is snowing like mad right now and there is talk about closing schools again tomorrow. I think that everyone is a little on edge – this storm isn’t supposed to be as bad as the last one on Monday. I am, however, a little skeptical on Ian and I making to his Sporties For Shorites class tomorrow afternoon. We’ll have to see…

Toby Tuesday

Toby! Helping to get
Taylor to bed.
There wasn't much going on today, so we thought we would put some pictures up of Toby tonight. (Taylor helped.)

Ian and I hung out this morning, while I figured out what colors to paint the hallway upstairs. Being colorblind means that this will likely only turn out to be a bad, bad thing. But, it has been six years since we moved-in, fully expecting to paint the color-needy hallway. Yea - it's time. I found that the Behr web site has a fantastic tool that helps you pick out colors and put them on example walls, on the web. That was exactly what I needed, and I found the colors I'm going to go with. Since it's a dark, small hallway I went with a light lavender (Wing Flutter) for the wall color and a light grey (Soft Breeze) for the trim and door color. I also had to use a program called WhatColor in order to figure out that the color "Wing Flutter" is actually lavender, but it all worked out very well. I'm so excited; I might just get up the courage to start wiping down the walls with TSP on Thursday!

This afternoon Ian and I hung out at Super Target. Ian got his free cookie and we were set! We cruised the clearance isles, but didn't see anything that caught our attention today. OT was next on our agenda, and Ian fell asleep in the warm van. He slept the entire rest of the afternoon while we ran around. He's finally getting over his cold, but he still has his sleepy days.

Taylor said she had good day! She told me that there were only 15 kids in class yesterday, and that they got to watch Finding Nemo. Tonight we worked on math homework and her 12 times tables - she has a math competition tomorrow in her class and she wanted to make sure she was ready. I think she should do well.

I also wanted to post the fact that it looks like we are supposed to get another 6+ inches of snow starting tomorrow night! May I just note here that we haven't had this much snow all winter! Poor Toby is having a hard time with all of this snow. If it gets more than four inches deep, he can't touch the ground without sticking his little nose straight up in the air while struggling to reach the ground! At least it's March, and the snow won't stick around for more than a week. :)

I found a fun site today that is kind of fun to look at - 360 Degree Panoramas. This one is of the State Fair, but check out some of the other ones, too. Enjoy!

Snow Day!

Unbelievable! We measured a foot of snow in our yard this afternoon! And the drifts got to nearly twice that! When my alarm went off at 6am this morning, I immediately rolled over to look out the window to see if it had actually snowed last night. The thing was, I couldn't see out - it looked like there was snow covering the window. Then I got up to look out and realized that the window was not covered by snow, it was snowing so hard that you couldn't see past the end of our roof! It really was something we have not seen here in quite some time - there was even thunder snow! Many metro area schools closed - Minneapolis was 2 hours delayed, Roseville closed and MnDOT was advising no travel, so we made the decision to keep the kids home, even though St. Paul did not cancel classes. Just a few minutes after we made that decision, I was told that CVA was closed. And when Panod decided to stay home, that made it official....SNOW DAY!! The kids were thrilled! The snow didn't really start to end until after lunch, so we had to wait until then to go out. It ended up taking us several hours to clear the driveway while the kids made forts and threw snowballs at each other. After we came inside, Taylor declared snow days as, "The best kind of days, ever!" Here's a link to some pictures I took of our snow day.

Mai Village: A Review

Today has really been fun. We took this morning kind of slowly and we were able to get some chores done. I hate doing them, but it always feels great when they're done. Then Panod made the kids some lunch, while he and I discussed going to a Vietnamese restaurant for the two of us. With the kids already full from their lunch, we went ahead and decided it would be fun to go, and the kids could order a dessert. We went to Mai Village (great article about it here), and we picked it for several reasons:

1. We (the kids and I) had not been there before.
2. The place is supposed to be decorated to the hills.
3. There's a bridge that goes over a pond with fish in it, and the pond has a working waterfall! What kid wouldn't love that?
4. The food is supposed to be good.
5. With it being a Sunday afternoon, it probably wouldn't be too crowded.
6. Feed the blog! Feed the blog!

Wow! Mai Village did not fail to impress! They spared no expense when it came to decorating. The kids really did enjoy the waterfall and the fish pond - letting them wander over and watch the fish made waiting for the food seem like half the time. And the food!

Here's a rundown on what we ordered and how it was (with the menu numbers):

#2 Egg Rolls - Excellent! The sauce was just what I had in mind and the order came with two egg rolls and two bowls of sauce to dip them in. (I'm a sauce queen. I can face my faults.)

#7 Spring Roll - Panod really enjoyed these. The order came with an amazing peanut-based sauce and again, it came with two spring rolls and two bowls of the dipping sauce.

#63 Hot & Spicy Chicken - This was Panod's order and it was impressive. The order was enough to feed at least two people! Served over rice, it was spicy, saucy and full of flavor. Truly, we could have done with just this one, wonderful dish.

#76 Curry Mock Duck - But no! I needed to try the Curry Mock Duck! Good-ness! It was amazing and once again, it could have fed at least two people. This too was a spicy dish, but not quite as spicy as the chicken. It was full of mock duck, mushrooms & onions, and the flavor from the sauce was right on.

We ordered a dessert called a Berry Blossom for the kids, and had them split it. It was yogurt with fresh berries on top & it too was something that I will likely be craving in the not-too-distant future.

The bill was something slightly more painful than we had anticipated, so maybe next time we'll split an appetizer & main dish. But we will definitely be going back.

Mai Village
394 University Ave. W
St. Paul, MN 55103
651.290.2585
Great food & service; kid friendly - highly recommended


The other news of the day is our current weather. They say we may get upwards of 9+ inches by tomorrow afternoon! That would make this our biggest snow maker of the season. I'll be sure to post some pictures of the snow tomorrow! Click here for the latest from NOAA's site.

Our Saturday started off kind of slowly. Panod had to work a little today, so the kids and I headed over to Choo Choo Bob's after lunch. Taylor had never been there, and since Ian talks about it so often, she really wanted to see it. (Did I mention that they know Ian on a first-name basis? lol) We had a blast there for about an hour, and then we headed over to Tea Source where Panod met us & we hung out for a little while. I LOVED the tea I ordered - it was a green tea with toasted brown rice - yum! Our last stop of the day took us to the Library, where we grabbed a few things, put some books on hold and played with some toys for a while. I just finished the book Flush, by Carl Hiaasen, (a kid's book, but it still held my interest) and am in need of another page-turner, so I put Memoirs of a Geisha on hold. I've been told that I should read the book before I see the movie, and that the book reads quickly. And Taylor put a C.S. Lewis book on hold which is the prequel to The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, called The Magician's Nephew. We are both looking forward to hearing those are in soon.

I tried a new recipe tonight for fried cabbage & I'll post a link here. It turned out pretty well, but I'd like to play around with it a little before I call it a true success. Please let me know if someone out there changes it up a bit and likes it, or if you have a good fried cabbage recipe you'd be willing to share.

Hope your Saturday was fruitful & fun.

A Taste of Spring

It hit 56 degrees here today! We even had time to get out and enjoy it. Panod had the kids this morning and when I got home this afternoon, they were all out playing basketball and riding bikes in the driveway - without their coats on! It was beautiful! The kids and I took Toby and ran to the playground to play, and Panod was off to work. While talking with Taylor on the way to the playground, it seemed that she had made up her mind to buy some new rollers (shoes with wheels that pop out) with some of her Christmas money. So we quickly planned out a strategy on how to find the best ones we could for $20, and after we got back from the playground we were off to find her rollers. It turned out that we found exactly what we were looking for at our first stop - Sports Authority! We were all thrilled! I'll have to try and grab a picture of her using them this weekend.

Our last stop of the day was over at Creative Kid Stuff on Grand Ave. There were so many people out walking! I could have had us wondering aimlessly up and down Grand Ave. just window shopping for the rest of the afternoon since the weather was so nice, but I stayed on task. We were looking for something called a "squishy." Don't ask. It must be popular because they were sold out today & we were told to try again early next week. I did end up getting these really neat chalk holders for the chalk that the kids use to draw with on the driveway, so not all was lost. After we got back home, we spent the rest of the afternoon outside tracing one another with the chalk as Taylor rolled up and down the driveway with her new rollers. These are the days we dream about in the middle of January!

A Love for Jack Johnson & Sporties for Shorties

Earlier last month we had the pleasure of seeing the movie Curious George with Grandmother. The movie itself was touching and done very true to the innocence in the books, and we enjoyed it immensely. The thing that really caught my attention about the movie the most though, was the soundtrack. Today, with some help from someone I (((love))), we got it! I was already a fan of Jack Johnson, so it wasn't a hard sell by any means. The innocence, curiosity & life lessons from the movie were carried over so well into the music - and the main character doesn't even talk! This is truly one of the better movie soundtracks for the kids that I've had the pleasure of owning. I would highly recommend both the movie and the soundtrack for anyone with young kids.

Taylor seemed to have a good day today. It may just be because there is no school tomorrow & she gets to sleep-in. They've been working on fractions, decimals and percents for the past few weeks in class & she has really had to work at it. Poor Panod has really been the one to work with her on most of it, though. The good news is that she really seems to be doing well with it - better than I remember doing when I was her age, anyway.

Ian had Sporties for Shorties this afternoon & we had a blast! The teacher was gone today and we were allowed to have open gym. We took out all of the balls, bikes, hoops and bats & let the kids go at it for an hour. Ian and I also worked on hitting a baseball and then running the bases; not chasing after the ball after you hit it, and holding onto it. :)

The weather today was splendid and the kids and I had a chance to squeeze in a walk to the playground before dinner- even Toby got to come!

I've been looking around at other Blogs and have come across several that post recipes, so I might do the same every now and again. Tonight I'll do the chicken recipe that we had this evening: (Sorry mom - I had to share)









1 lb. Boneless skinless chicken breast - cut up
1/2 tsp. Chicken Bullion
4-5 Slices Lorraine Swiss Cheese
½ Cup Milk
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
3/4 Cup Melted Butter
3 Cups Pepperidge Farm Dressing Mix w/Herb Seasoning -
(In a bag – not cubes)

Place cup-up chicken breast into a greased pyrex pan (11X7). Sprinkle chicken bullion over the chicken. Put slices of Swiss cheese on top of chicken so that it is all covered. Mix ½ cup milk with 1 can cream of chicken soup. Pour over chicken and cheese. Mix melted butter and dressing, and then pour over the chicken. Cover with foil and bake at 325 for 35 min. Remove foil and bake an additional 35 min.

Serve with cranberry sauce & a green.

Disney on Ice

We had so much fun! It took a little bit more work to get there than we had planned on, but we had fun all the same. I'll put a few pictures on the blog, and the rest will be here.

Since we went with a group, we were told to arrive at the rec. center around 6pm to get on the bus. When we got there at 5:50pm, the bus had just left! Crushed, but not yet defeated, we waited while a phone call was placed to ask what we should do. We were told that the bus had two more rec. centers to stop at before making the long haul to Minneapolis and that it would wait for us at the last one, so we rushed straight there. When we got there, the bus was waiting & so were the impatient people on it. I still don't think those people knew how thankful we were that they had waited those extra couple of minutes! Can you imagine? Once we were finally on our way, we realized that this was Ian's first time on a school bus. He was so cute when we got to the Target Center and got off of the bus, he turned around and just stared at it for a couple of seconds.

I think that the best part of the whole evening was the fact that they handed out toy wristbands that lit up when you pressed a button, to every child on their way in. Taylor & Ian really enjoyed those! They also had to use the wristbands towards the end of the show to help the Incredibles defeat the bad guy. The entire place lit up with flashing red dots from the thousands of blinking wristbands & then the bad guy was gone!

Overall, I would say that the show really held the kid's attention. They followed the story line, which took place at Disneyland, and Taylor even remembered some of the rides that the Incredibles went on from her trip to Disneyworld in '01! What a memory that kid has!

Ian told us tonight, as we were tucking the kids into bed, that he wanted to get on the bus again tomorrow. lol

Recycling clothes and other fun things

Ian and I spent the morning going through closets and dressers to purge the old summer clothing in order to make room for the inevitable incoming new summer clothing. There were _five_ bags we squeezed into the back of the van and hauled off to Goodwill, and there was one large basket we brought to Once Upon a Child where you can bring in and exchange kid stuff. We exchanged the clothes in the basket for credit and spent that credit on new clothes. It worked out very well & we got nearly everything the kids will need for the summer! Ian spent the entire time looking at the books, movies, and toys, while I got all of their summer clothes. Bless the day I can clothes shop for *both* of them and not have to contend with the meltdowns or the occasional broken expensive item that makes you wonder why a store would put it so low to the ground that a toddler can reach it, anyway. Not that that particular thing has ever happened to us at say.... Dayton's before. Ahem

Ian still has his cold, but he was clearly feeling much better today. I think he's on the tail end of it now, but he does seem to be losing his voice. lol Try telling a four-year-old not to talk!

We wrapped up the day by picking up Taylor and heading over for Occupational Therapy. We also had to go to Super Target, and I snapped this picture of the kids coming out. It was pouring rain and the look on their faces says it all - Ian wanted to play in it and Taylor wanted to go back inside.

We are all pretty excited about Disney on Ice tomorrow!

Disney on Ice, here we come

The tickets came through! We are going to see Disney on Ice: The Incredibles this Wednesday! I don't know who is more excited - me or the kids. :)

Today was a typical Monday. Ian and Taylor had school today & then Taylor had Occupational Therapy after school. Ian slept most of the time in the van while we were driving around. He's clearly coming down with a cold and was having a grumpy afternoon. We also had to swing by the library to grab some CD's that were on hold & Dayton's Bluff to drop off a check for the transportation to the Disney on Ice show (only $5 each).

After we got home and started our pizzas, I snapped this picture of Toby. He hasn't been blogged about yet and he definitely deserves it. In this picture, he is in his all-time favorite spot - in front of the space heater. And yes, that is the "Doxie look of disgust" he's giving me.

Later on this evening, Taylor built this cool looking thing from their Magnetix set that Great Grandmother got them. Ian "helped" too, but he wasn't in the mood to have his picture taken. Poor little guy! I hope he's feeling better tomorrow.