Belated/Early Birthday Party

Well, we missed throwing my aunt Theresa a big party on her 50th last year.  A few days before her 51st, we threw her a little "belated" party.  My aunt Tina got the ball rolling, sent out the invites and asked everyone to do a "This is Your Life" theme.  This party happened to take place the Sunday afternoon after I wrapped up my girls weekend.  Brandi, Jenna and Ajay picked me up from the B&B and we headed back to my parents farm.  It was great to "reunite" with the boys - turns out Alex was not happy spending the night without either of his parents.  Nana and Papa had their work cut out for them keeping the little guy from throwing a bunch of fits.  Ajay had lots of fun - he went to a hog-roast w/ my older brother and his family.  I don't think he got to bed until midnight Saturday night!  Sometime over the weekend Ajay smeared poke berry juice on the side of the van (which I'd left w/ the family while I was away).  Luckily, the poke berry juice didn't stain the van's paint job.  Aunt Brandi got out her enviro cloth and a bucket of water and put the rascal to work cleaning up his graffiti.

Cousin Jenna acted as foreman to make sure the job got done properly.

Alex took a nap but I ended up waking him a bit early.  We had a schedule to stick to, after all.  As it was we were still about an hour late for Aunt Theresa's party.  She was pretty excited that so many people from her life were there to celebrate with her and remind her of days gone by.  For those who couldn't be there in person, they mailed cards - and she had a lot of cards!!  She is a well-loved woman with a very kind heart.  Slow to anger, too - wish I had more of her qualities!

The party was held at an old pharmacy, I do believe.  The treats were laid out on the bar - lots of goodies made by my mom and Aunt Tina.  Aunt Tina was nice enough to send home a little goody tray.  Yum!!  The boys love her cinnamon bread (as do Biju and I)!  

The boys enjoying their snack (they both insisted on posing this way - putting food into their mouths), then the Birthday Girl with me and the boys (you can see some of the old pharmacy items in the display shelves in the background of the pics): 

Ajay picked up on a theme - Aunt Theresa loves horses - so he grabbed a pen and paper and drew her a picture... of horses. 

Here are the four siblings.  Youngest to oldest, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Theresa, Aunt Tina, Cindy (Mom):

And here is a picture of a picture - Grandma and Grandpa holding Aunt Theresa at her baptism.  See that baptism gown?  That's the same gown I was baptized in and so were Ajay and Alex (among other members of our family).

After the party the boys helped a little with the clean-up.  Here, Alex is helping to wind up the red ribbon.  We couldn't leave until he had finished that ribbon!  We hope you enjoyed your party, Aunt Theresa, it was great getting to visit with you on such a special day.  We wish you many more fabulous birthdays!

A little girl-time

(I almost had this posted two days ago but I lost over half the post, somehow.  I was very disheartened.  But here it is in all it's glory.  Enjoy!) 

In a previous post I mentioned that on a Saturday morning I gave my boys some luvins, hit the road and didn't see them again until late Sunday morning.  The following is an account of what took place during those 24+ hours:

Brandi and Jenna dropped me off at a good drop-off place and friends Janel, Natalie and Erin picked me up.  We headed into KC to meet up with Lisa and do a little shopping and eating at The Legends.  I grabbed myself a Mounds (coconut and dark chocolate flavored) decaf coffee from Scooters Coffeehouse.  The drink didn't last me long as it was sooo incredibly tasty and I slurped it down in no-time-flat!  As I slurped we headed into a shoe store.  Typically, I'm not a shoe kind of gal but I was actually on the hunt for a good pair of brown casual shoes.  I'm not a good shopper.  I doubt too much and always worry I'm not getting a good enough deal.  Luckily I had my girls with me and Lisa convinced me (and the other girls confirmed) that my shoe choice was indeed the right shoe and for that brand, the price was very right.  I have to admit that I've worn these shoes almost everyday for the last two weeks so I'm very glad I forked over the dough.  The other ladies made some good shoe buys, as well.

Nat and Lisa were looking for new purses which reminded me I needed a new purse as well.  We meandered into some shop where we found some cute hats.   We did a little trying-on-of-hats and did a lot of giggling.  We also thought "we can make these!" so no one actually bought the hats, especially the crocheted and knitted kind!

Here is Erin in a couple of hats.

And Lisa all smiles with her stylin' headgear.

We decided I needed to buy this color and texture of yarn and make a hat very similar! (It would go quite well with my brown winter jacket and the scarf I've already made up to wear with it.) 

We walked in and out of a few more shops (searching for purses) and looked high and low for a good place for a restroom.  Ya know, for a huge, glorified strip mall, The Legends really needs to work on its public restroom issue!!

We finally decided it was time to stop for lunch.  While I was lingering in one shop, the girls went over some of our options (and there were plenty!).  When I came back out to join them they said "you're the pregnant one, you get to decide.  Do you want Asian or Mexican?"  I hemmed and hawed a bit and finally decided on Mexican, so we dined at Los Cabos.  They served us the usual chips and salsa and Natalie ordered an appetizer of fried avocado.  OhMyGoodness.  Who woulda thunk they would taste so good?  (Obviously someone did, since someone created the recipe.)  A few of the gals toyed with the idea of getting a margarita but I don't believe anyone actually did.  We stuck with water and soda pop.  I had my first Dr. Pepper since finding out I was pregnant and ohh man was it good!  My lunch was all sorts of yummy and I was pleasantly pleased as the afternoon went on, that my "morning" sickness did not rear its ugly head.  I was feeling so fine, in fact, that Janel and I sneaked over to Cold Stone Creamery where I got a refreshing lemon sorbet (with gummy bears)!   Natalie, Lisa and I were all able to find our purses and so ended a fine morning/afternoon of shopping! 

We left KC and arrived at our next destination for the day, Holy Field Winery.

Being almost 8 weeks along I wasn't able to partake of the wine tasting.  (Do you know the last time we girls went to a winery was when I was 6 weeks pregnant with Alex??)  The ladies tasted a few wines, made their comments on what was their favorites and what was not making the cut...

...purchased a couple of bottles, then we headed towards The Barn Bed & Breakfast. 

 We got checked in and headed up the steep spiral stairs to the 3rd floor where our room was - and where Tonya was waiting for us!!  There were two king beds and two twin beds so we were able to sleep all 6 of us in one room (which really saved on our cost).   After getting caught up with Tonya and telling her about our day....

...and switching purses over (I do believe Lisa had everything but the kitchen sink!)...

...we headed out to the grounds to check out our surroundings.  Very peaceful and quiet.  And there was a pretty little lady helping us to enjoy our stay.

We found some lovely places to kick our feet up.

Once we felt refreshed we headed inside for dinner.  There was a group of German teachers celebrating some 25th anniversary.  We weren't sure if they were teachers who taught German, or teachers from Germany.  Either way, we couldn't understand what they were saying!  They were seated in the main dining area so we enjoyed our meal in a little nook.  Very quaint.  Dinner was tasty - some funnily named chicken dish, asparagus, a baked potato and a roll.  The ladies helped themselves to a glass of wine with their meal. 

Once dinner had ended we wound our way back upstairs to change into our swimming suits, then unwound our way back downstairs and headed to the pool.  (These pics were taken earlier in the afternoon while we were looking around the place.)

The pool looked very inviting.  However, it was not a heated pool!!  It took some of us quite awhile to ease our way into the deep end.  BRR!  Then we headed over to the hot tub.  Hot-tubbin' is not something one should do while pregnant (something scientific about not letting your body temp get to 102+ for an extended period of time, as it halts cell production... or something like that), so I just sat on the edge and put my legs in (up to my knees).  For the life of all of us we could not get that tub to get into bubble mode.  Turns out the system was locked up.  We enjoyed ourselves anyway and once we were done, we spent the rest of the night playing cards. 

Breakfast was served bright and early at 7:30am - early for us "old timers" who didn't get to bed until close to 1am!  But the smell of bacon is enough to get just about anyone moving!  (Except vegetarians, I guess!)  We had our breakfast in the nook, again, then said good-bye to Lisa as she hit the road back to her mom's place.  The rest of us hung out chit-chatting and working on some crafts.  I crocheted a bit and Natalie, with the help of Erin, worked on a little sewing project. 

We really had quite a time.  The only sad part was that we were missing Elissa and Morgan.  Hopefully we can organize something like this again and we'll have all 8 of us!!  If you'd like to read Erin's take on the weekend and see her pics, click on over to our craft blog, How Crafty Are We, and look under "Girls Weekend."

Recipe Wednesday - Samosa Puffs

These are quite like the Indian appetizer "Samosa" but instead of wrapping them in dough and shaping them into a triangle, I did a little something different.  I was looking for something Samosa-like last week when it was my turn to host Bunco.  I made up Spinach Dahl, Biju made up Chicken Curry, I baked these Samosa Puffs and then we did up some Gulab Jamuns.  I couldn't have done the Gulab Jamuns without the help of Manjula - her video was a tremendous help!!  For those who don't know what a Gulab Jamun is, it's basically a fried donut hole soaked in a sugar-syrup - Indian style.  Yum. Yum.  (More on hosting Bunco in an upcoming post!)

On to the Samosa Puffs:

Ingredients:
2-3 Puff Pastry Sheets (depending on the size of muffin tins you use and how many puffs you'd like to make)
3-4 potatoes (I used Idaho, I think)
1Tbs oil
1/2 Tbs mustard seed
1/2 -1 onion, chopped
1/4-1/2 c. Peas (thawed, if using the frozen kind)
1-2 tsp. cumin powder
1-2 tsp. corriander powder
1/2 - 1 tsp. garam masala
Salt
Whatever other spices you care to chuck in!

I tried making these at first in a mini muffin tin, but the puff pastry didn't cook completely, so I ended up going with the full sized muffin tin, and they came out nicely.  My mini muffin "tin" is really silicone and I  baked them on a cookie sheet, so that might've had something to do with it - perhaps I should've baked them longer?  Anyhoo... the process:

Follow the instructions on thawing your puff pastry.  (I found the puff pastry in the frozen section of the store.  It wasn't next to the frozen dinner rolls, as I expected, but was near the frozen Whipped Cream.  Go figure.) 
Boil your potatoes - you can either peel, chop and boil, or do like I did, boil whole, in skin, then peel the skin off afterwards (when you're able to touch them).  Fork mash the potatoes. 
In a skillet, heat the oil.  Once hot, add the mustard seeds.  After the seeds pop, add in the onion and cook until tender.  Add in your spices and cook about a minute.  Add in the peas and let them heat up.  Add in your potatoes and mix well.  Taste.  If you like it, fine, if you need to add a little something, go for it.  This is really an "up to your taste buds" recipe.  (There are more authentic recipes out there on the web if you like.)
Cut your puff pastry into circles (I used a cup, but a round cookie cutter would be great if you have one).  Measure one circle to be sure you have the right size for your muffin tin. 

Spray the muffin tin with a little oil spray and lay the puff circles inside.  Fill the circles w/ potato mixture.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or so.  (Check your puff pastry box, it may indicate a different heat setting.)  Just be sure to check on them while they bake - look for the edges of the puff to get golden brown.  If you find you've got leftover filling, grab some naan, bread, tortilla, or even just a fork and dig in! 

I wish I had a picture to share with you.  Silly me, I got a pic of the gulab jamuns frying, but I forgot to get a shot of the yummy Samosa Puffs.  (Okay, you twisted my arm...here's the pic of the jamuns.)


Please do try these Samosa Puffs - they're delish!!  And if you have the chance, try the gulab jamuns - they're really easy and are soooo tastey! 

Road Trip

A couple of Fridays ago (Oct. 15th) after lunch I loaded up the boys and we hit the road.  We had checked out a couple of DVDs from the library so I put in the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving video for them to watch.  I thought Alex would fall asleep while watching it but he didn't.  After it was over I told the boys it was time to look out the window for awhile and admire the scenery.  (Insert impromptu vocab lesson.)  This did the trick...for Ajay.  He was out within a few minutes.  For Alex, it took a bit longer.  I turned on some nice classical music to listen to.  That finally worked.  The unfortunate part was that it was working for me, too!  I had to call Lisa at work so she could help keep me awake.   Once Ajay woke, I gave him the camera to take a few photos.  He got a pic of me driving, one of his snoozing brother, and a few action shots. Here is one:

We drove on through without any stops and arrived at Jeff and Jaime's place a little after 4pm.  We finally got to meet Tessa!!

The boys really enjoyed playing with their cousins and I got to have a nice visit with my little brother and his wife.   

It was a beautiful afternoon, so the kids spent most of their time outside playing frisbee. 

We couldn't leave without letting Ajay hold his newest cousin.  The boys love babies! 

After dinner with the family we loaded up and headed to my parents, about 25-30 minutes away.  My niece, Jenna, had gotten a cast earlier that day so the boys got to sign it.  Ajay signed his name, Alex sorta drew a long line :) 

The boys got to spend a lot of time on the farm with the family that weekend.  Saturday morning, I gave them hugs, hit the road and didn't see them again until late Sunday morning.  But of course, that story is for another post!!

So much to say

I've gotten a little behind in my blogging but I've got quite a bit to say.  Last week was a busy (and fun) week.  I got one post started and even uploaded some pics, I just haven't gotten it finished.  I just know you're all on the edges of your seats waiting to hear from us!!  So please bear with me - I haven't forgotten about you all. 

A rare experience

A few weeks back Alex and I made our usual trek to the bus stop to pick Ajay up.  Alex asked if he could take Brother's binoculars and I told him he could.  He enjoyed looking through both ends, making everything on our street look either larger or smaller. 
After collecting Ajay from the bus we made our way back home.  As we were walking I spotted something brightly colored in a tree. 

Can you see what that is?  It is a macaw, hanging upside down in a tree just two houses down from our house!  The boys were not the only ones excited about this. 

Turns out the owner of the bird was over mowing his brothers yard (lucky guy!).  This bright red fellow is 25 years old.  Amazing.  He kept screeching and Alex kept asking "Why is he saying 'AAAAHHHHH'?" (I'm sure you can imagine what that sounded like coming from a 2.5 year old!  Even a couple of days later, Alex was saying "Mom!  The bird said AAAAHHHH!") 

The owner got the bird from the tree and told the boys they could "shake hands" with him.  They both declined, but I gladly accepted.  When I reached forward he leaned his BEAK forward!  The owner pulled him back and politely told him no.  We tried again and this time he extended his claw (talon?).  Ajay thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use those binoculars Alex had so thoughtfully brought along!

 

When we left the guy put the bird up on the porch so he could finish mowing.  As we were walking away we heard a few more loud screeches.  It was a pretty neat experience - for all three of us!  And you can bet the boys were very eager to get home and tell Daddy all about it! 

This 'n That

I haven't done much in the way of posting pics of the boys.  I thought I should get you all caught up on what went on around here during the last month or more.  These may be in random order, so bear with me.

Norwex came out with some new products.  I ordered all of the new items and was super excited when I received the package.  As it turns out, most of the products were geared towards kids, so Alex was able to carry the box (which included a kids mop!)

 

 

The boys were taking a bath and making faces.  Ajay thought Alex needed a lesson in making funny faces, so he pulled on Alex's ears and instructed him to blow out his cheeks.

 

We had our annual hail storm.  Some parts of town got hit pretty badly.  We really lucked out.  We did have a touch of hail damage on the van and a light on the back of our house got broken, but all in all, we made out okay. 

Alex really enjoys his playgroup meetings.  He loves to see "Miss Dinah" (not her real name) and play with all of the toys and other kids.  There are usually crafts available to work on.  This day we made a bird house.  When we got home Alex had the idea to fill it with grasses and leaves.  We then slid it into a bush so the birds could get into it and make it their home. 

No need to panic.  This isn't some deformed rodent.  It is actually a sweet potato from my parents garden.  I just had to take a photo :) 

Alex getting his bedtime story read to him by Aunt Brandi, with cousin Brandon listening in. 

While Alex was listening to his book, Ajay was working on his back-bend. 

You know how it goes when you try to get two small people to look at the camera at the same time and smile!!

Shhh.... don't tell Ajay, but Alex and I met Aunt Shelly and her crew at the zoo one day.  Paige was at school, too, so I guess shhh, don't tell Paige!  We stopped for a little snack and this peacock came up to see what he could get from us.   You can see that Alex wasn't into sharing his food with the bird! 

Alex being cheesy on the Komodo dragon statue.

Alex playing in the backyard.  It was a chilly day and he wanted to wear this baby hat.

The boys were enthralled by Daddy filling up the gas tank.  Go figure.

Here you can see our firefighter and batman taking a break from their hero work to draw with side-walk chalk.

On a visit to the park, the boys discovered this praying mantis.  It was cool to watch, but I was afraid they were going to give it a heart attack!

I wish I had been able to get a better shot - it was really a beautiful creature!

There ya go.  That's all the photo candy you get today.  Don't worry, I've got more coming soon. 

Recipe Wednesday - Banana Smoothie

Ya know, I coulda sworn I had already posted this somewhere, but my sister was asking about it the other day and told me she couldn't find it on here.  I used the search tool (did you all know there's a search tool specifically for my blog on here?) and I wasn't able to find it either.   I was quite surprised!

We love this smoothie.  Thursdays are banana days at a lot of stores, so we always stock up on bananas for a low price.  (Check at your store - even if there isn't an advertised sale, ask a teller and they might give you a discount.)    Our favorite way to use them is like this: 

1/2 c. plain, low-fat yogurt

1/2 T. PB

1/2 c. milk 

1 med. banana, broken into 1-2in. pieces

dash cinnamon

dash vanilla extract.  

Put all into Magic Bullet or blender, blend, enjoy! (Serves one.  If counting points, this is 5pts. and is pretty filling/satisfying.) 

Note - I found this recipe years ago, I think through the Discovery Channel's weight loss challenge.  I first started using vanilla yogurt - that's a great substitute for the plain yogurt, if you're interested.  Also, the original recipe called for frozen bananas, if you'd like to go that route.  

Recipe Wednesday - Popsicles

It may be cooling off a bit but that doesn't matter much to my boys when it comes to popsicles!  I made this up a few weeks back and Ajay has been asking for it again.  I think I'll have to make some up this morning so he can have one as an after school snack this afternoon.   (I made up a batch this morning and drank it all for my breakfast instead of freezing it.  SOO delish!)

1 part yogurt (your choice)
1 part fruit juice (your choice)
1 part fresh and/or frozen fruit (your choice)

As you can see, this is a very strict recipe!  (wink wink)

Chuck it all into a blender of some sort, blend it, pour it into a mold of some sort, put in some (clean) craft sticks.  Freeze.

This mornings smoothie was/today's popsicles will be:
4 fresh strawberries
About 3 big spoonfuls of Strawberry Yogurt
Maybe 3/4-1cup Orange Juice.

Gender Prediction: Test 1

I thought it would be fun to do some gender prediction tests, test out some old wives tales, that sort of thing.  There are quite a few ways of trying to determine the gender of a child.  Some cost money - I won't be using those methods.  Others just require clicking on a link, looking in a mirror or using some items around the house.

The first method I'm going to share with you all is the Chinese Gender Calendar.  You figure up the mother's age at the time of conception, match that up with the month of conception, and this will tell you if you're having a boy or a girl. 

According to this method, we are supposed to have a girl.

And in case any of you were wondering, I went ahead and put in the info for both Alex and Ajay.  According to this method, they were both supposed to be girls.

So there ya go.  One gender prediction test down, many more to go!

Have you ever used the Chinese Gender Calendar on your children?  Was it accurate or way off base?  I'd love to know - please leave a comment in the Thoughts Expressed section.  (ByTheWay - you don't have to be the birth mother to check this info out - all you need to know is the mother's age and the month of conception, which is generally easy enough to figure out.  Click on the above link and try it on any kid you know!)

**Click HERE to find out what baby's gender is**