Berry Picking - Take 2

We made a last-minute decision to go berry picking this afternoon. This time it was for raspberries - my favorite. And this time I took backup - my mom. And invited friends - B with her boys M. and I.

Turns out Little Man, as well as M and I, like raspberries. Please take note of LM's clean white shirt, before.

Hey Mama, look what I found

Yum.
B. tried to keep the boys fed so they wouldn't steal from our baskets, but it was a losing battle.
Remember the clean white shirt?
Afterwards, we tried to take a picture of the three boys together. First, the little boys started crying when we tried to position them:
Then they stood still, but became very serious. They're the American Gothic toddlers.I'm outta here.

PS - Car for sale:
It's a wonderful, perfect car that has given us absolutely no problems, but Daddio wants a motorcycle.

Hot Hot Hot

Last night Little Man said his food was "hot" so he was blowing on it. Then he got interested in puckering his lips, and here's how he wound up. As usual, he was very pleased with himself.

Crazy Hair Day

This week at Little Man's school they're doing themes. One day was pajama day, one day was favorite sports team day, etc.

Yesterday was crazy hair day. Daddio was late for work because he was busy styling Little Man with "The Fin."Nice work, Daddio.

Hammer Time

Weekend

We kept ourselves busy this weekend. Unfortunately I don't have too much photographic evidence of it.

Daddio had a motorcycle riding class all weekend, so M. took on Little Man along with his two boys so that I could attend a stamping party hosted by his wife B. When we got back there was sunscreen and cupcake icing in his (LM's, not M's) hair, so I think they had a good time.

The whole gang except Daddio (7 adults and 3 little boys) went out for Mexican food, then most folks came back to our house to play some Wii and eat ice cream.

The soundtrack of our evening:

I wish we'd caught this on tape, but at one point I walked into the room and asked if any little boys wanted ice cream and all three of them emerged from LM's teepee!

After the boys went to bed, we put the 8th Phelps final race on. Aunt L, as a dedicated blog reader, yelled "The Eagle!" just in time. So it was plugged in in all its patriotic glory, and I think that really made the difference. This morning when Little Man got up and saw it, he said, "Quack quack quack."

Today after LM's nap and lunch we headed to the mall to get him a haircut. After he was coifed, I decided he'd been sitting long enough and let him hold my hand and walk to the food court for a Dairy Queen cone. He was VERY pleased with himself. He'd insisted earlier that I put on his favorite Sunday Shoes and he would walk on the carpet for a while, then on the tile, and somehow as soon as he saw the food court he said, "Crackoos!" which generally means "Food!"

When we got home he decided that his teepee was a good double as a private space for filling his diaper.That's all I've got for today, folks. Oh, and we were watching Sesame Street this evening and when they'd say "D" on the show Little Man would yell "D!" I know he was just mimicking but I continue to be impressed with Sesame Street. LM was very funny this weekend, but not necessarily in photographic ways.

Boy in Motion

Daddio was away tonight, so Little Man and I went out and checked out the garden and did some weeding. I foolishly let him see me throw a rotten tomato into the compost pile, which started him on a game of throwing all the tomatoes I'd picked into the pile. He also visited with the neighbor dog, said "hi" to everyone who drove by, and refused to ride his bike but instead pushed it around backwards.
By the time I got my camera I could tell that we were running out of happy time, so I opted to get a few pictures instead of one video. But I will take a video of him talking soon. He is picking up words at ludicrous speed (name that movie), and he now babbles as if he's speaking English, even though we have no idea what he's saying.

Plant a Little Watermelon on my Grave...

One summer I was a camp counselor, and the counselors were from all over the country. One guy was very southern, from South Carolina, and he sang that song. It's on the brink of my memory but I can't quite get the tune, although I've found several versions of the lyrics. I can't find an audio file of it, although I did find an audio file of another song about watermelons. I love how folk songs have different lyrics depending on who is singing.

Get to the point, I know. Little Man likes watermelon. Here he is playing peek-a-boo with the camera, which you'll see in later pictures left tomato sauce on his head. But you can see that he's been enjoying the watermelon.

Family Reunion

We had my annual family reunion at the beach this weekend. It was the best weather I ever remember having for the reunion, and Little Man stayed healthy and happy! As usual Abi took so many pictures that I didn't take as many, but I'll post some of hers when I get them.

Friday before the big party we stopped for a bite to eat. We did not know that Little Man knew to dip his fries in ketchup, but he reached right out for Pop's ketchup. Good thing we had the sense to take off his shirt:At the party:

There are 5 girl cousins who are all about 11-13 years old. They were very attentive to Little Man! Swinging with 2nd cousin:Relaxing with Daddio (isn't this a nice picture of Daddio?):
Trying to figure out where his (water) balloon disappeared to when he threw it:
My cousin and her niece, LM's 2nd cousin in her teeny bikini:He spent most of the day pulling a little wagon, or riding in a big red wagon. Every once in a while he'd stop to dance and enjoy the music:
Saturday we went to the beach. I didn't lift a finger as the cousins tended to Little Man's every need.
Saturday evening we had a shower for my cousin's fiancee
Cousin, cousin-in-law, and beautiful baby:The bride's "lingerie" as designed by her future mother-in-law, using one of her fiancee's tee-shirts. It's bedazzled! This family has a long strange tradition of gifts. More on that later.
I received a lovely regift, under the guise of a gift for Little Man from Aunt P. Of course it was really from Uncle J. It's a fiber-optic bald eagle. You can't tell from this photo, but it's wings flap slowly. So patriotic.I used it to enhance the Olympics.



It took us 12 hours to get home yesterday, because between where we were and where we wanted to be was this. Little Man was quite amazing, though. He entertained himself and the rest of us by chattering, repeating what we said to him, and generally being cheerful. He even had the good sense to wait to fill his diaper when we stopped for dinner. We were able to use Abi's laptop with a camera to talk to T.'s parents on Skype. After we hung up I thought to see if Little Man can say, "Mimi" and he can! Sorry, grandparents who picked difficult nicknames, your time will come eventually.

Life is Good

First, a lesson: When you have a toddler, look before you sit. Because you never know where your fruit potpourri might be.
Life is good: Eating a cookie, chillin' out, watching Jeopardy. Do not tell Daddio there was cookie-eating on the rug.If only this were in focus.

Shoes

One of Little Man's new words is "shoes." For a while he said it backwards as "Oosh" but he's getting the hang of it.

With his new word seems to have come a bit of a passion. He has outgrown the shoes I got him when he moved to the toddler room at daycare. He has a new pair of New Balance sneakers for school that I got used. But back before I knew that all kids' apparel should be obtained used, I bought him a pair of VERY cute, new shoes.

I've decided that these are not school shoes, but he wore them to church today.

When he woke up from his nap this afternoon he had me put them on him. Just now I tried to take them off so he won't wear them out, and he had me put them on him again.

The boy is a shoe horse.
On a shopping side-note, the wooden schoolbus he's playing with is new. B. and I left the boys with the daddies yesterday and went to our local street festival (and to see The Dark Knight! All by ourselves!). I got a schoolbus, a racecar, and a pickup truck for $1 each!

We also got tatoos. Which will last 7-10 days. This is my ankle. Now I know that ankles are unattractive when viewed close-up with a flash, but ever since I got my ankles back after Little Man was born, I'm convinced that my ankles are extremely attractive. It's all relative. I got this tree frog and B. got a dragon.

Everything Cookies

This isn't a recipe review blog but these are too good to keep to myself.
What's that? It looks like there's one missing?! I have no idea what you're talking about.

Our neighbor sent me this recipe. Making half a batch is plenty for most occasions, but in case you have an army of sweets-lovers, you can do the whole thing. The cookies in the photo have chocolate chips, raisins, and chopped Heath bars in them. I didn't have M&M's in the house, but that's a nice touch. This is a one-bowl recipe - no separating of wet and dry ingredients required.

Everything Cookies
yield: 48 very large cookies

6 eggs
2 C white sugar
2 C brown sugar
2 1/2 C chunky peanut butter (I used creamy 'cause that's what I had on hand)
1 C butter, softenend
2 tsp vanilla
9 C oats
2 C semisweet chocolate chips
4 tsp baking soda

You can add any other mix-ins you like: M&M's, raisins, coconut, nuts, Heath, etc.

In a very large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add sugars, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and baking soda; mix well. Stir in oats and any mix-ins you want. Drop dough from an ice cream scoop or 1/4 C meaure several inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly before moving from baking sheets; cool completely.

Time-Out

At his 15 month appointment Little Man's pediatrician said we could start using time-out for disciplining Little Man. She said it may take 10 or more times for him to "get it," but he'd learn eventually.

It's kind of hard to say if there's any learning going on.

We want him to say (or sign) "sorry" before he comes out of time-out. Sometimes he does this, and we immediately let him up and hug him and praise him. And sometimes he just stares us down. And has temper tantrums. Today at lunch he was in time-out for throwing food on the floor. At one point he stood up and came to me and I asked him if he was ready to tell me sorry. He sat back down in time-out.

He was in time-out for so long that this happened:
Now he's in bed, but eventually he'll wake up and we'll start all over again. Heaven help us.

Zucchini Recipes

My pleas for zucchini recipes have proven fruitful (did you know that zucchini, like tomatoes, are fruit?). I thought I'd share.

Italian Zucchini (Or, as I call it, Zucchini a la Noni):
4 C grated zucchini
diced garlic (I love garlic so I use a couple of cloves)
2 eggs (Noni recommended 1 egg, but I like 2)
1/4 C part-skim grated mozzarella (Noni recommended grated Romano, whatever you have will be delicious)
salt (I used garlic salt, because I love garlic)
pepper
olive oil

This is a slight variation to the recipe Noni gaved me based on personal preference and ingredients on hand. Grate the zucchini with the large holes on your cheese grater. Put a little bit of olive oil and garlic in the pan. Add zucchini. Cook until tender and most of the liquid has cooked off. Add lots of salt and pepper.Scramble egg(s). Mix in and stir until egg is cooked. Turn stove off and toss mozzarella on top.
Makes 4 servings.
I had my doubts when I first saw all that grated zucchini in the pan, but I LOVE this recipe. Tastes like garlicy scrambled eggs.

Ravioli with Roasted Zucchini (courtesy of Aunt L.)

4 small zucchini, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp dried red chili flakes (may want to start off using less and adding more later depending on how hot you like things)
2/3 cup fresh, finely grated Parmesan
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tbs. salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound cheese ravioli
3 tbs. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 400. Place sliced zucchini in a large baking dish in a single layer and drizzle with the oil, chili flakes, 3 tbs. of the Parmesan cheese, and then season with the pepper and ½ tsp of the salt. Add garlic and roast for 20-30 min, tossing halfway through, until tender & just golden brown.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the ravioli and the remaining salt. Return to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent the ravioli from sticking. Cook for 3 minutes after they begin to float. Drain, and place in large bowl.

Toss gently with the roasted zucchini, half the parsley, and half of the remaining Parmesan.
Serve immediately with the remaining parsley & Parmesan on top.

Other recipes I've tried:
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1809024
This is a huge hit in this house. I fattened it up by replacing half the applesauce with butter. You'll need to bake it for longer than the recipe says.

Zucchini Cakes
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/07/cooking-with-ryan-zucchini-cakes/
These were a huge failure. Brilliant idea, but poor execution. I will try them again, because we have no shortage of zucchini, but next time I will try even harder to squeeze all the liquid I can out of the zucchini.