"My mommy is brown and my dad is white.

They mixed together and made my color."

Mama, Look At Me!

"Mama, did you see me?! I was in the deep end!"

Fair Food Has No Calories, Right?

"I don't just like chocolate covered bacon, I LOVE it!"
-Tyler, age 6

My first Deep Fried Snickers (heaven on a stick!)

Not pictured: hamburger, french fries, corn dogs, gelato, beef jerky, granola bars and chocolate chip cookies.

Wordless Wednesday: A New Take on Tetherball- BootyBall

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes for Mom, Mom Dot, What's That Smell

At Least He Was Honest

Phil: "Tyler, are you ready to go yet?"

Tyler: "No."

Phil: "We're waiting on you. Why aren't you ready"

Tyler: "Because I was messing around."

Well okay then.

Meet Me at the (San Diego) Zoo

This past Friday we were invited to the opening of the new Elephant Odyssey exhibit at the San Diego Zoo.

The exhibit is amazing and I can see why it took four years and $45 million dollars to create. I really liked the focus on conservation, recycling and saving the elephants.


The Odyssey spans 7.5 acres and I'm sure I walked all of them. Much thanks to my husband and Deb's husband, The Rock, for wrangling the children while we drank Pink Elephants socialized. The food was great, flowers beautiful, the costumes were superb, the elephant cakes (not made of, just shaped like) were amazing and the kids got to touch snakes, birds and alligators.


I can't remember where Jenn and Bridget were when we took this picture, but they were there too. It was nice to get together with the girls!

(left to right Sondra, Tonya, Sugar, Deb and Charity,)

Tyler and Toots (Deb's daughter, who has decided Tyler is her brother) got his and hers Grim Reaper tattoos. (sorry, Deb!)


Everyone got super cute bags to take home with one of the best pieces of swag ever: a picture frame made of real elephant poo!

(yes it's real poo, no it doesn't smell like poo and yes I'm enjoying typing the word poo)

Thanks so much to Drew and the zoo for the invitation!

A Lesson in Physics

Scene: The family is outside their home enjoying the late afternoon sun. Mother and father are seated in lawn chairs. Son has been riding his bike up and down the cul de sac, but stops to take a break.

Tyler: "I'm hot."

Phil: "I know something that will cool you off."

[Mother can tell by the tone in Father's voice that something bad is about to happen and thinks "this oughta be good."]

Tyler: What?

Phil: "Run down the street as fast as you can and the breeze will cool you off."

Tyler: [hands on hips] "That doesn't make sense."

Phil: "Sure it does, the faster you run, the cooler you'll get."

[Mother looks at son with pleading eyes and thinks, "c'mon kiddo, don't fall for it." Child shrugs shoulders and takes off running. Father laughs hysterically. Mother scowls at him.]

Phil: "What?" [still laughing]

Me: "That wasn't very nice."

Phil: "I was teaching him a lesson."

Me: "What? That his dad is jerk?"

Phil: "No, a lesson in physics."

Tyler: [yelling, voice fades as he gets farther down the street] "I can't feeel anyyythinggggg."

Father is still laughing hysterically at his own joke.

Phil: "My stomach hurts."

That Kind of Day

Yesterday was a perfect Southern California day. It was the kind of day to stay in bed past 9:00, have coffee on the patio and flip through the Sunday paper.

It was the kind of day to ignore emails and Facebook, Google readers and Twitter.

It was the kind of day for flip flops and tank tops, lawn chairs, a good book and kids playing in the yard.

It was the kind of day for taking new bikes out for ride, enjoying the breeze and faces turned up to the sun.


It was the kind of day to fire up the grill for burgers and corn on the cob. It was the kind of day that doesn't end when the sun goes down.

It was a meet-the-neighbors-at the-pool-after-dinner kind of day.

The best way to end a day like yesterday would be sipping an ice cold Mike's Hard Lemonade in the jacuzzi, watching the kids do Canonballs into the pool.

That's the kind of day yesterday was. It was the perfect day. It was my day. And it was just the kind of day I needed.

I'm Here, But I'm Not *Here* (picture it in italics)

Hello! You're still here? Awesome. Thanks for sticking around! This week has been Cuh-Razy! I am a perfect example of be careful what you wish for. I am in the weeds. I'm treading water and barely keeping my head above the surface, but it's been stimulating, exciting, challenging and fun. I hope it's a sign of good things to come. Bullet points of my week (sorry, I know that's so lazy):
*Met with an event planner I know from my book club. She actually asked for my advice on marketing, PR and social media (sucker!). We talked for several hours and I think I gave her a lot of ideas on things she can do going forward.

*Met with my friend's boss about her medical spa and also talked marketing etc. and created a flyer for them for a Spa Week they're having soon.

*Started on our homework from the financial advisor who's helping us for the magazine article. We each pulled our credit scores from one of the three agencies. Hello 880! Pam gave us a lot of good advice and we're hoping she's right about several things that can lower monthly payments and allow us to funnel money toward debt management and savings.

I am hoping to get back on track and resume regular blogging next week. I'm contemplating sneaking out of the house one day this weekend with Phil's* laptop and squirreling away somewhere with free WiFi so that I can get caught up on all the things I owe people.

What's been going on with you? Miss you guys! Have a great weekend. *Yep, that's his real name. He gave the OK. Photo from Google Images.

Why I Need to be Freed From Housecleaning, by Mel

A whole year of housecleaning would be great for my mental health and my marriage. I might even go so far as to say it would be life changing. For the past several days I’ve been cleaning and straightening, cleaning and straightening. And I’m over it.

Cleaning is a catch-22 for me because I’m anal and I LOVE a nice clean house, but I don’t like to clean. When the house is clean I can relax. Clutter makes me jittery, anxious and distracted. Even if I’m reading or watching TV, if the house isn’t clean I’m not completely relaxed because my sitting down is time I’m not spending cleaning. And then I feel guilty so I straighten. Then I get angry because cleaning is kind of a time waster.

When I think of all the hours I’ve spent scrubbing, dusting, wiping, sweeping and vacuuming I get sad for the time I’ve lost. Those are hours I’ll never get back and I could have enjoyed them so much more! I could have relaxed with my family. I could have read all the books in my ‘to be read’ pile (which, at last count, has ??? titles). I could have watched more academy award nominees. I could have started my scrapbook (well, maybe not that). Point being I’ve spent hours maybe even days or weeks! doing something that makes me feel anxious, jittery, distracted, guilty, sad and angry.

Tonight I asked my husband if he would make a video explaining why he thought I deserved to win a year of housekeeping services from BidMyCleaning.com. I thought it would be nice to turn the blog over to him for a change.

His response? “Sure, just tell me what to say.”

I tried again. “Just talk about what you think winning would mean to me.”

“My brain doesn’t work that way. I need a script. Have Drama Kid do it.”

Oh, hell, forget it. I’ll do it myself.

That anecdote perfectly sums up why I need this. Because it seems that most days, if something needs cleaning I do it myself. That’s not to say my two boys aren’t helpful. They are. But if someone were to ask all the members of my household “who here has ever scrubbed the toilets?” I feel confident I’d be the only one raising my hand. Cleaning just isn’t that important to them. But it is to me so I take on the bulk of it. And back comes the anger and sadness but this time there’s a little bitterness and bitchy mixed in.

So let’s recap: angry, sad, jittery, anxious, distracted, guilty, bitchy and bitter. That’s one hell of an emotional roller coaster. I love roller coasters but this one has me tired and I’m ready to get off. I’ll still clean because hi, nice to meet you, I’m anal. But knowing that once a month someone will be coming to help me would take such a weight off. I could legitimately relax. And a relaxed mommy is a happy mommy. A relaxed wife is more likely to put out (Shut up. You know it’s true).

I need this. My family needs this. Free me from housecleaning. Please.

You can enter too. Rules and info here. (photo from here)

Wordless Wednesday: A Drama Family Christmas

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes for Mom, Mom Dot, What's That Smell

Wordless Wednesday: He Was Brave, But Not THAT Brave

For more Wordless Wednesday visit What's That Smell, MomDot and 5 Minutes For Mom.

Easy Weekend Recipe #5: Lemon Chicken Spaghetti Toss

I found this one on one of my favorite food blogs, Dine and Dish. I add some broccoli to make it even more of a meal. Kristen posted her recipe on Recipe Zaar. If you'd like to try it print it out here.

Ingredients

5 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons olive oil orvegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
3 tablespoons lemon juice*
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon seasoning salt**
1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1 7 ounce package thin spaghetti
Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, saute onions& garlic in butter& oil until tender.

Stir in the chicken, lemon juice, parsley, seasoned salt& lemon-pepper.

Saute for 15-20 min or until chicken juices run clear.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.

Add to chicken mixture and toss.

*I like lemon. Actually I love lemon. The lemoney-er (more lemony?) the better. I usually have at least 5 TBS and add a little to the pasta water and a little more when adding the cooked spaghetti to the chicken mixture.

**I use garlic salt

(photo from Kristen's Flickr page)

Easy Weekend Recipe #4: Chicken and Rice Wraps

My grocery budget has taken a serious beating. We've been eating a lot of chicken lately and I found a really good chicken cookbook on the clearance rack to add a little variety to my usual go to's (I actually bought two, perhaps for a future giveaway?). I forgot to pictures, I'm sorry! But the recipe turned out really well and we I had leftovers for days.

Easy Chicken and Rice Wraps

1 box of Rice A Roni Spanish rice
2 Tbs butter
1 cup of your favorite salsa
12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1 cup black or kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn
2 cups water
8 6-inch flour tortillas*

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the rice mix with the butter until it is golden brown.

2. Slowly stir in the water, and seasoning packet. Add salsa and chicken. Bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender and chicken is no longer pink.

4. Stir in beans and corn. Let stand, covered for 5 minutes then serve in warmed tortillas with your favorite garnishes.

I bought a large package of boneless, skinless chicken tenders and used some for this recipe and froze the rest. *These are supposed to be wraps but I didn't think Drama Kid could eat them that way without half ending up on the floor so I made them into burritos instead and wished I had purchased burrito size tortillas rather than soft taco sized.

Say Hola! to My New Fave

Given a choice between a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream and mango sherbet, unless I'm PMS'ing I will almost always go for the sorbet. So when I won a sherbet party from Hola Fruta I was beside myself.

The day the boxes arrived I wanted to grab a spoon and hunker down on the couch but since the five cartons (uh huh, FIVE) were shipped on dry ice they had to temper (fancy word for thaw a little) in the freezer overnight.

I invited our neighbors over for the tasting using the mardi gras beads and invitations that came in the party kit but they weren't able to come for two whole days and I figured it would be tacky and rude to serve sherbet with giant scoops little divets missing so I waited. I hate waiting. And every time I opened the freezer there they were:


Hola Mango! Hola Peach! And Ole Margarita! And hi to the steaks. Wednesday took forever and day to come but finally I got to set out all the cartons and spoons, scoopers and bowls and we got our sherbet on!

Can I tell you how good this sherbet is? It's not icy or grainy but smooth like an ice cream. We let the kids taste as many flavors as they wanted. Drama Kid was in heaven because he rarely gets dessert at home let alone as many scoops as he wanted.

General consensus was the Mango rocks the house but they're all really good. I have a quart and half left and I'm so sad because I have yet to see Hola Fruta in my stores and the giant stack of coupons they gave me are going unused. Sigh.

What about you? Sherbet or ice cream? What's your flavor of choice?

*The Hola Fruta people didn't ask me to post about this.

Now That You Mention It...

Perhaps my son's interest in fire isn't so hard to explain after all. Here are some of my favorite parts of the Miramar Air Show (besides the Blue Angels).

First, the fireworks. These are better than 4th of July. This is only a little bit of the 10 minute show.



Next, Shock Wave. I love this truck! Jet engines, semi trucks and fire. I should move to Florida and start following Nascar. My video isn't that great since it's nighttime. There's better footage here.



And last, The Wall of Fire! Because it rained, there was a misfire. This video is of the "mini walls." I didn't get video of the big wall, but got a great still picture.

Easy Weekend Recipe #3- Crockpot Breakfast

Dr. Oz recommends starting the day with steel cut oatmeal. Being a devout Ozzian, I went right out to get some. The half hour cooking time was a total turnoff so I forgot about it until I saw it pre-cooked in the freezer section at Trader Joe's. I like the Trader Joe's version but at $1.99 for two servings it was too pricey for me to continue buying.

Dr. Oz brought it up again on another Oprah episode and someone in the audience mentioned they use the crockpot to make it. Hallelujah! I set out to find a recipe and the slow cooker gods were looking out for me because I found a great book on clearance and it had this recipe in it.

The first time I made it I forgot to take pictures which was actually a blessing because I got busy clearing my reader doing other things and left it plugged in two hours too long. Ahem.


"Wake up to Health" Cereal

2 cups chopped, peeled apples
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups uncooked steel cut oatmeal
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours.

I substituted one cup of the water with apple juice (steel cut oats are pretty bland) and this time I added a dash of brown sugar. The recipe makes a lot. I was getting kind of sick of oatmeal by the time it was gone! Enjoy. Have a good weekend!

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Easy Weekend Recipe #2 - Vegetarian

I sampled this at Trader Joe's and was surprised that I liked it. To me, it's not chili without meat. The recipe is so easy it's a good one for older kids to do by themselves.

Vegetarian Tamale Pie

2 cans Vegetarian chili (8 oz I think)
1/2 bag of frozen fire roasted corn
1 chub of polenta (found in the aisles not the dairy case)
Shredded Cheddar cheese

Mix the chili and corn in an 8 x 8 baking dish. Slice polenta and cover the chili. Top with the cheese. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese browns slightly.

I wasn't going to tell Drama Dad it was vegetarian until I'd served it, but I did anyway. He really liked the flavor though he's not a huge fan of polenta. He suggested crushing tortilla chips on top instead which I might try. I also won't slice the polenta but mash it to form more of a crust. The slices were a little thick. Let me know if you try it.


Have a great weekend!