Let the Fun Begin!

We're excited about our spring break and trip south, with one exception. If only we could leave Isaac with the rest of our checked luggage, and retrieve him when we land in Mobile, things would be close to perfect. That part of the trip I'm dreading. At least this time I'll be sitting next to Scott.

On my last trip south, flying solo with Isaac, I had the good fortune of being stuck next to a woman who, upon seeing us making our way toward her, starts moaning loudly, for everyone in earshot to hear - and on our small plane, that meant everyone, including the pilot, "Oh no. I'm recovering from knee surgery. He doesn't kick, does he?''

Of course, I graciously offered to trade seats with someone, anyone, because (a) He is an active toddler, and (b) He loves a challenge.
Of course he's gonna kick now, Knee Surgery Lady. You've drawn a line in the sand.

The rest of the passengers were suddenly very interested in the patterns on the seat material and we didn't have any takers. It could have been Isaac, with his eyes flashing red and horns sticking out of his head. Or it could have been Knee Surgery Lady. But, either way, everyone else was content to stay put, thank you very much, and leave us to spar it out in the back row. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we were in the very last row. Which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. While my hearing hasn't reached full capacity yet, the jet engines did manage to drown out some of Isaac's wailing.

The two of them went back and forth, me caught in the middle, until Isaac shook his bottle and sprayed milk all over her good leg. After that, she managed to turn towards the aisle with her back to us. Reveling in his victory, Isaac then went to sleep.

This time, it's a happy trip, though. And I'm looking forward to family, friends, and the beach. As soon as we take-off, we're gonna be peeling out of our coats and jackets and donning our sunshades. And if I can convince Scott to let loose and sport a fauxhawk like Sanjaya, I promise to share pictures with you when we get back!

A Lot of Baggage

I spent most of the day yesterday packing for our trip to Alabama. Considering the trip will include lots of play time in the country and then a trip to the beach, I was feeling pretty good when I was finally able to fit all of the kids' stuff into one large suitcase. That good feeling didn't last long. Scott comes home and says, "That's good. That leaves an overnight bag for you and another for me and we're set." Whoa. Back up mister. We're spending 9 days away from home. I couldn't fit my shoes in an overnight bag. "Oh, no", I say. "Oh, yes", he says. "One large bag, two carry-ons, Isaac's carseat, Isaac and his stroller, Dylan, Katherine and their backpacks. That's our limit. We can't take anything else. We've got to make it from the car to check in. We can't handle any more."

"Why can't you just pull up to the curb and let one of those men help us?"

To this, I just get the look. Oh, that's right. Scott doesn't do airport assistance. That's one of those taboo guy things. Something akin to stopping and asking for directions when you're hopelessly lost.

So, that's that. I'll spend today taking everything back out of that large suitcase and repacking again. On the next trip, I think I'll send a crate ahead of us.

Moving Forward

We spent our first official spring weekend doing some spring cleaning of the plant beds around the house. And mother nature actually cooperated, with temp's going up into the 50's. Even with the warmer weather, we would still unearth ice and snow along with the rest of the debris. But, with blistered and frostbitten fingers, it was still satisfying. There are patches of ice and snow in some of the shady areas around the yard, but there are also signs of spring popping up.

Even our fish have reappeared from the thick layer of ice that has covered them for the past few months. It's hard to believe that they were alive under there, and the girls were so excited to see their orange shapes begin to appear! I was still skeptical until those orange shapes actually started moving, but even the little baby fish survived.

Realistically, we probably have more cold days ahead of us, but I think it's safe to say that the bulk of our winter weather is behind us. And not a moment too soon. With our head count the same as when we started, I guess you can say, All's well that ends well!

Are you looking at me?

We never know what wild creature we're going to see when we look out our windows. We've already seen groundhogs, rabbits, black squirrels and deer. And just yesterday morning, Dylan called us to the kitchen window to watch a fox that was running around out back.

I took these pictures in November of Isaac watching a buck that was in our backyard. They crack me up because I can just hear Scott doing one of his goofy David Attenborough impressions! (David Attenborough is that British naturalist known for his documentaries that always show him miraculously close to some wild creature, describing the situation in exaggerated hushed tones. For some reason, Scott has always found this to be really funny.)

ALPHAPAZZAZ

Katherine's first grade concert Alphapazzaz was held this morning. It was really cute!

Spring?

After so many bitterly cold days, we finally had one warm one. On Wednesday, we enjoyed temperatures in the 70s. Yea!!! But that turned out to be a big teaser. Just 2 days later, schools were closed due to a winter storm that brought us several inches of sleet and snow. Instead of learning reading, writing and arithmetic, the girls spent their day watching the FedEx truck that slid off the icy road in front of our house being hauled away.

These pictures, taken on Saturday, show how packed the snow was because of the sleet. Katherine was able to ride on it with her big wheel. And the snowball that Dylan fashioned from this hard stuff almost took my head off. I'm in desperate need for spring to finally get here!

Magically Delicious

Have you ever written an email, pressed send, and immediately regretted it? When Katherine's teacher sent out a request for someone to bake Irish Soda Bread for their St. Patrick's Day celebration at school, I replied that I would be happy to contribute if he really needed me (meaning, don't call on me). I immediately had second thoughts 'cause I don't know nuthin 'bout baking no Soda Bread! So I held my breath and waited...but the luck of the Irish wasn't with me.

After searching the internet, I found a recipe that was supposed to be authentic, and sounded easy enough to try. So, I tested it today, and it actually came out really good! It has a really rustic and homemade look, and the taste is different, but good. I'm going to bake it again on St. Patrick's Day with a big pot of Irish Stew. It's so easy, I'm including the recipe in case you want to try it for yourself. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can!

Irish Soda Bread

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups raisins, optional but traditionally included
  
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
  
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch round cast iron skillet or a 9 inch round baking or cake pan (one with high sides).
2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins and caraway seeds. In a small bowl, blend eggs, buttermilk and sour cream. Stir the liquid mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. You're supposed to knead the dough about 10 to 12 strokes, but the dough was too sticky, so I just put in in the pan and patted it down with floured hands. Using a floured knife or scissors, cut a 4x3/4 inch deep slit in the top of the bread. (This was also hard to do with the sticky dough, but I did the best I could.)
3. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 45-50 minutes. Brush the top of the warm bread with butter. Let cool and turn bread onto a wire rack. Enjoy!
   

Lazy Days

Katherine, Sara and Max all visited their doctors yesterday. Katherine has a virus -nothing too serious. She's enjoying being lazy and catching up on her shows. She should return to school tomorrow.

Speaking of lazy, it seems that Max has gained 3.3 lbs since his last weigh-in. About 30% of his body weight. The vet pretty much summed it up with one question, "Max doesn't move around much, does he?" Only to get to his food bowl.

Idol Chatter

It was wrong on so many levels that Sundance was voted off of Idol and Sanjaya remains. First and foremost, it was a singing contest. Sundance could sing, and Sanjaya could hula. My second argument, and I think we should all rally together and protest on this one, is that Sanjaya should have performed on Wednesday night and had no business being in the same competition with Sundance in the first place. And, if there was any fairness in the world, Sanjaya and Antonella should have been voted off together. They were, without doubt, the two most beautiful, but most untalented participants.

The others were no big surprise. I predicted Derek would go, and although I thought Haley would go before Sabrina, I knew Sabrina was in trouble. I'm thinking that Simon's mean remarks got Haley some sympathy votes because she wasn't an unlikable girl, just not very memorable.

About Katherine

Katherine is loving life! She attends a great school, loves her teacher, and has a very active social life with lots of fun friends.

photo 1 - leaving for school on pajama day

photo 2 - Valentine's Day party at school

Who Am I, Anyway?

I received in the mail yesterday a copy of my first grade transcripts. That's right - first grade. I haven't thought about Mrs. Best in a long time, but thanks to my quest to get a New Jersey driver's license, memories of Mrs. Best and her beehive hairdo are fresh on my mind once again. (Okay, maybe not fresh, but I do remember her name and her hair.)

I'll take partial blame for this. For whatever reasons, I never had the name on my social security card changed when I got married. This hasn't been an issue up until now, though, because I have a U.S. passport with my married name.

Flash back a few months ago. After a grueling 3 hour wait, Isaac in to tow, I was told that I couldn't get a NJ driver's license because the name on my social security card didn't match my other documents (passport, marriage & birth certificates and more). This after sitting for hours next to a clearly unstable man who talked out of his head, rocked back and forth, and muttered, "I'm doing fine. I'm being very patient. How am I doing? I'm doing good..." the whole time. You probably think I'm exaggerating, and considering the fact that I'll be sharing the roads with this nut, I wish I was. But I'm not. So, while I get rejected, he gets his license to drive off over the cuckoo's nest.

I won't bore you with the details of my experiences with the social security administration, (2 more trips and 2 more rejections), but I am now armed with my first grade transcripts. Who can stop me now? And all this in an effort to curb identity theft. Sheesh! It would be easier for me to steal my own identity. You know, on second thought...

SCOTT'S BIG DAY!

It all makes perfect sense to me now. After years of poking fun at those unfortunate souls around him who, in the natural scheme of things, were showing a little wear and tear from their accumulating number of years on this earth, Scott decided to run. He just couldn't face the inevitable. A big MILESTONE birthday! But now it's here. And he thought he could hide. But you know the old saying, "You can run, but you can't hide." It's true. It all started early this morning, with a well chosen card by his mom that blares firetruck sirens when you open it - you know to put out the fire from the candles. Isaac has opened it about every 12 seconds, and Scott has been rethinking his decision to work from home today. In addition to that, he's had other humorous emails, cards, and phone calls. So, his plan to flee didn't work. And now he has to live with the consequences. We'll have his traditional steak dinner like always. Only, it's supposed to be in the 20's tonight at grilling time. That's okay, though. The icicles will blend nicely with all that gray hair!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SCOTT!

OUR WEEK IN REVIEW

Our week in review:

Dylan got her hair cut. I hated to see her pretty locks gone, but it looks really cute!

Scott flew to California on Sunday, worked there on Monday, and was back here on Tuesday morning. He lost a night a sleep somewhere in there. He says going to Europe is easier.

The girls didn't get a full snow day on Monday, but school started 1 1/2 hours late, so they weren't completely disappointed.

Katherine has her first spelling list and will now have weekly spelling tests!

Isaac has climbed on the coffee table 9 times, the breakfast table 16 times, and the dining room table twice. He also drags chairs around to climb on side tables and other furniture, but I lost count at about 93. The girls never did this. Must be a boy thing.

Dylan got her eyes checked and is excited that she's getting reading glasses.

Katherine had a field trip to see a Junie B Jones play and loved it.

Isaac had to get another flu shot and some vaccinations. He was a trooper.

Of course, a large portion of our week revolved around American Idol. We were hoping that Antonella and Sanjaya would get the ax, but we'll have to endure them for another week. The ones we like our still around. I guess Blake is our overall favorite. He's fun to watch, and Dylan especially likes him. That Doolittle lady has a great voice, but there's something kind of odd about her. We also like Lakisha, Sundance, and Chris Sligh. (Well, the girls can't stand Chris' hair, so he's lost their vote.) Still, no one seems to thrill us like Taylor. Maybe he'll make a guest appearance some time.