The Martins At Mezzo's

We hadn't seen Charlie's dad in ages so when a dinner opportunity came our way, we jumped at it, kids-and-all! Thinking it would be nice to eat outside (and it was!), I suggested Mezzo's in Gahanna. (Which just so happens to be one of my new favorites--we've gone several times now. Yum.)

It's difficult eating out with Creux right now because he can't sit still for any duration of time, despite our pulling out our best tricks and yummiest foods. (We don't DARE go out without gobs of healthy, easy-to-eat snacks. I don't even run out to the mailbox without making sure I have an apple handy for him. The boy loves his 'nacks.) I was able to visit with Jon and Cookie for a bit but then I let my antsy monster run loose around Creekside which turned out to be an anxiety-provoking experience. I thought I'd let the others have a shot at civilized dining for a bit but WOW, did I ever take one for the team there!!

Water, water everywhere...and a fast-running, wall-scaling, wee water-lovin' man hell-bent on having some of that beloved "wa-wa" for his own...oh, it was not a good thing, no, it wasn't. He'd zip off and I'd scoot/chase behind him, in my chic wedgey sandals and short shorts, calling him rather quietly at first and then absolutely screaming his name as I careened down ramps in an attempt to prevent him from plunging head-first into the coin pond. I'd catch him briefly, he'd wrestle from my grip, spaghetti-noodling the whole way, while I teetered on my sandals and tried not to show an entire courtyard precisely why Mommies Don't Wear Short Shorts. (Note to self: some articles of clothing, no matter how cute they are or how excited you are about wearing them should not, under any circumstances, be worn in the presence of ankle-biters. Especially when they are abnormally quick-footed ankle-biters who just so happen to be stronger than you.)

As soon as I could get him back under my wing and was sure he wasn't going to go postal on me, I convinced him to come back to the restaurant with me. (Okay, fine. I bribed him with the promise of a big-ass piece of chocolate cake. Be ye not judgemental, especially if you are not done child-bearing because karma bites back and sometimes it bites HARD. (As evidenced by my birthing Rhyse, FOLLOWED by Creux. I apparently did more than my damn fair share of judging back when I was a perfect mother, raising a perfect child.))

Anyway, we had fun. I think they had fun. Surely we have reminded them of all the joys and pleasures of dining with small children and surely, they have spent the remainder of the evening thanking God that those days are waaaaay over :)

It was great to see you, Jon and Cookie!

Marathon Day Ahead

I don't know how I'm going to get through tomorrow. I've over-scheduled in the worst way. Rhyse and Greer both have camps from 9-12 in completely different parts of town and though I'm carpooling, I still can't make it all work.
Ironically, we'd laid very low this summer and I went really light in terms of commitments, per the requests of my children. And here it is that we get slammed, like, almost-can't-do-it slammed, in the same stinkin' week.

Rhyse is participating, with a slew of friends, in Juli Hess's art camp out in New Albany. Greer is preparing to mingle with royalty here in Westerville at a three-hour long Disney Princess Camp. (That is, if she'll allow us to leave her there. I'm sending Charlie for drop-off because I think that'll be an easier separation. "For who?" he asked, forseeing his day of work shot while he gets roped into little girl tea parties. "You?" Har har. Nope, for her. She no like leavin' Mama. So, perhaps it will be an easy week after all if she decides she doesn't want to go :))

There's going to be a car-pool pile-up tomorrow with me at the wheel. I'm picking up kids and pizzas, dropping those off and picking up yet more kids, heading off to a pool party/piano lesson/lunch date at Jenny's and then...oh wow. And then things really get crazy.

My little girl is turning FOUR tomorrow so we've also got cupcakes to decorate, presents to give, kids to bathe and dress, dinner reservations to keep. ("Where do you want to go for your birthday?" we asked her. "We can go anywhere you want...or we can stay home and make your favorite dinner." Her reply, "I wanna go to the Japanese House." And so, we go.)

It's going to be a Very. Long. Day.

But it will be filled with friends and family and fun so I'm laying out my running shoes (well, I would...if I had them. I don't do athletic wear :)) and gearing up for a magnificent afternoon and evening!

Now, if only I could figure out how to GET where I need to GO, I'd be all set!

(Jenny and Shelly--I will see you tomorrow. I may be late and I may be crazed but damn it, I will be there!!)

And here she is...always fabulous and almost four...

Boys Night Out

We took the boys out for a special "No Littles Allowed" event on Thursday night where we zipped down to Chillicothe for a performance of "Tecumseh!"

It was a wonderful night and we had a lovely time with them. We headed out for dinner first and sat and talked and plotted and planned. (We like to get their input on family events and future travel destinations so that was kind of our focus. Chas has a big, big birthday coming up this winter and I'm already poking around for somewhere special!) We once again relished the opportunity to give our Olders our undivided attention and we were rewarded ten-fold with their charming wits and giggly ways.

It really hits home for me on these dates how precious the time is with them--I don't notice "in the moment" of regular life and dinner hours how they often are over-looked because they're quiet and are not running off willy-nilly, helter-skelter :) But there's a fair amount of truth there. It's hard to focus on their sweet stories or to sit and muse with them in general when we're still managing Toddler Dinner Antics.

Loved the time alone with my boys.

As for the show, it was outstanding! Amazing! Authentic and entertaining! It started off with a bang (literally) and kept the boys interested for the over two hour long program. Though there were slow parts (during talk of war preparations--I could literally feel Rhyse starting to unravel beside me while the old white men blathered on and on...) they were more than made up for by way intense battle scenes (cannons firing, horses neighing, guns shooting, ear-drums bursting--both of the boys and myself sat cowering in our seats with ears covered, YIKES!!).

The boys agreed that it was a terrific date night and Rhyse asked, as we emptied out of the amphitheater, "Can we come back?" so I'd say that it was worth the time, the money, and the one-hour long drive!

What a fun, fun, fun family night!

Up next for these two is something super fantasticly special and I'll just say this for now: Southwest has confirmed FOUR seats for our family on an airplane for late next month. We're going on an adventure--with just the boys! Yippee!!

The Girl Knows Her Stuff

At this morning's breakfast table, Charlie and I were having a friendly dispute about the day's chore list. He thought he'd be a cheeky smarty-pants and have Greer intervene on his behalf. I don't think it quite worked the way he intended :)

Charlie to Greer: "Who's the boss?"

"Mommy."

"Mommy? MOMMY? I'M the boss."

Trying a different angle, he proceeds with:

"Who's nicer?"

"Mommy."

"Who's funnier?"

"Mommy."

"Who's prettier?"

Pause.

"Me."

Prelude To A Birthday

If you're thinking that Greer is nearly BURIED by the massive, pink and purple and blue papered, over-sized gift bag sitting beside her then you would be right! We thought maybe our dear sweet Emily had Greer's birthday confused with a small family's Christmas but nope! Turns out, she just loves to spoil her baby cousin rotten.

And spoil she did! Not only is Emily an outstanding babysitter but the girl knows how to get her shop on! Presents for Greer just kepting coming out of the bag...there was seemingly no end!

Judging from the smiles slathered all over Greer's darling face, it's easy to see that buying out the Ariel section in the Disney store was the right move on Em's behalf:) From a little cup to a set of dishes, from sunglasses to flip-flops, a wash-cloth, and a towel, from an art set to princess figurines ORGANIC POPCORN...Emily definitely knows the way to Greer's heart and she kicked off what I think will be a terrific birthday celebration for our "almost" four-year-old! (Monday is the Big Day!)

Em--
Thank you so very much for all the thoughtful gifts you gave--I know you put some effort into buying things that wouldn't seem so "useless" around the house. It meant a lot to Greer for sure, but meant a lot to me as well. You managed to please her to the absolute ends of the earth and back...and I love having some new dishes and super cute pool accessories for her!! Those are such great gifts!! Greer just loves all of her new stuff and she can't wait for you to come back and play tomorrow (and you know she's not the only one! ;))

Thanks for always being there for our family, Em!! We love you!!

Burgerlicious!?!

A recipe on MY blog? What's this world coming to??? :)

Well, this isn't my recipe. It's one that I found in Health magazine and ear-marked for Chef Daddy to reconstruct here in our home kitchen.

Let me just preface this post by saying that I am not a burger fan. Anything ground to hell and mashed into a nasty-looking patty is just not going to get me all excited.

Oh, but my family loves burgers. And since we stopped eating beef a few years back, Charlie and Chas have both yearned for some sort of meat patty. We've tried turkey burgers in the past...but probably because I'm not a huge fan, they just don't normally make an appearance on the weekly menu around these parts. To their dismay.

When I came across the photo of this, it actually looked kind of good and what's not to absolutely love about a "Hawaiian" vibe going on in the marinade? I figured my clan would be thrilled with a turkey burger night and so long as we had yummy side dishes, I knew I'd be good to go! I can eat my weight in broccoli and salad so I knew that tonight, even if I didn't like the burger, I'd be just fine hanging out with my veggies :)

But you know what? This burger was delicious! And gone in an instant! I don't know how many we started with but all of my hungry boys, big and small, got right into burger mood and happily ate away. I had one and, while I'm not suddenly a reformed burger-lover, I enjoyed every nibble that I took!

I thought I'd share the link to the recipe in case someone else out there is tired (or grossed out) by beef patties and wants to try something different!

***We used the (clean) remains of the Kitchen Catastrophe bbq sauce for our version and Charlie said that you could omit the papaya if you wanted since it's only 3 tablespoons worth. (And our papaya was $6--might not be worth the cost if your family doesn't eat the fruit itself. We would've but it was accidentally forgotten in the fridge :)) We also omitted the breadcrumbs.

Rockin' The Pool, Evening Cool

I bought a family membership last month to our suburb's public pool and, though my boys have gone extensively already, I HAVEN'T!!

We've been traveling so much and with last week's cold snap, there just hasn't been too much of an opportunity for us to go.

Ah, but the sun-shiny sun-shine drew me out today.

I sent my boys along around 2:00--we live right down the road from the pool so they are able to ride their bikes there which is fantastic! Chas is in charge :) and calls me every rest period with updates on how they're managing so we're in hourly contact. They meet up with friends there and swim, swim, swim while Creux takes his much needed multi-hour, mid-day nap.

See, I can't miss that nap time. I refuse, unless it is REALLY important. During the summer, I have this luxury and use it with reckless abandon. When we're in the school year, I'm a slave to the Olders busy schedules and I don't have the flexibility of just staying in every afternoon. I'd like to. And I'm trying to schedule better. But a lot of times, Creux's just got to hang in there until I can get us home.

Truth be told, there's a few other reasons that I don't take my Littles out during the early-to-mid afternoon hours. While the boys are fine in the throngs of kids who crowd the pools during the day, I really try to avoid busy watering holes when I'm by myself with the Littles. With two small non-swimmers and so many distractions around...I get frazzled. And it's just dangerous. Even with swim vests on, when they go in different directions it's very difficult to keep track of them in the midst of all the other children playing and splashing in the water, not to mention the interruptions of my older boys, wanting this or needing that, taking my focus off of the small ones while they're in the water. So I really try to limit the amount of time that I spend in those situations. It just makes me nervous!

The other reason is that I don't like taking my babies out during those hot, hot, super-sunny hours between 11 and 3. I can't always prevent it but try to as much as possible, even when we're on a beachy vacation. Though they wear as much bathing-suit coverage as possible and though I know they're wearing "safe" sunscreens, it's still not great to have them baking like wee little clams at a seaside clam-bake :)

But, if I take the Littles up to the pool at 5:30, like I did today...I keep my precious nap schedule AND I eliminate all other hazards. The pools are uncrowded then (so nice!!) and I use our sunscreen sparingly--meaning only if the sun is still beating down on them.

It's safer, it's cooler, and it's funner at 5:00! (I know that's not really a proper word but it flowed, didn't it? :))

We had a lovely evening all together. Charlie joined us there after he was finished with work for the day and though we only stayed about an hour or so, that was all that was needed. My boys happily swam together in the big pool, and my Littles bounced about splishing and splashing in the zero depth (to 16 inches) baby area.

I've vowed to get them up there as much as possible in the next few weeks. Summer's about grabbing fun where you can and this is a wonderful, wonderful grab-spot!





























P.S...Laura, do you recognize that Ariel swimsuit?? :) It was Megan's that you generously passed down to me once upon a time. It's Greer's favorite.

Magna-Tiles

I get really, really excited when I come across creative "toys" that I think most, if not all, of my kids will enjoy manipulating and these magna-tiles are a great example of that!

When school is officially in session, I don't always have them all sitting down working at the same time. Actually, I much prefer splitting them up because I feel like we can move at a faster pace, they learn the information better, and I enjoy the one-on-one time I'm able to devote to each child. That one-on-one time is what really pulled me to my homeschooling adventure in the first place so I hate squandering it!

But we have strict rules about what the ones who aren't schooling are and aren't able to do during their "free time". Using the tv isn't an option; they must choose a learning activity or an art craft or can use the time as a recess period. I encourage my kids to play outside even while school's IN session. Yep, they're home to learn but they're also not in school and I don't treat them as if they are. Playing is learning, I whole-heartedly believe so...we play smartly. Or we burn off energy (which is just as smart in some cases ;)).

When I spied these magna-tiles on Amazon, I thought they'd be perfect for Rhyse to build some awesome 3-D creations with...but upon reading the outstanding reviews, I realized that it would be something that the rest of the kids would likely enjoy as well! Meaning, I could round them up at the table and they could all sit and build quietly, passing pieces with a "please" and "thank you" and complimenting each other's brillant arcitectual skills.

Okay, that's a bit much but you get the idea: lots of tiles, free range to create and build and learn.

What's not perfect about that?

***These are colored yet translucent magnet tiles that seemingly snap right into place (and are magnetized on all sides so that can be flipped any which way). There are multiple sets to choose from: 32, 48, or 100 piece options, ranging in price from about $47-$120.

Mondays

The boys began taking piano lessons a few weeks back and we're very lucky with our lesson arrangement because 1) we have the best, kindest teacher on the planet that all my kids are familiar with through co-op (they adore Miss Cathy!) and 2) it's at Jenny's house!

The way it works is that we mamas all meet at Jenny's and while the kids play outside, either on bikes, rip-stiks, or scooters OR in the pool, we somehow manage to single out a child at a time to send down to the basement for their piano session.

Jenny has the perfect set-up for these group lessons and is so very generous about letting us all bring our big broods over for a few hours while this all goes down (rather smoothly, I might add). I usually bring half a fridge's worth of food over and we do lunch shift there, too. And best of all, the Littles have plenty of friends to play with and I get to sneak in a visit with Jenny, too.

Mondays are fast becoming our favorite weekday :)


Rhyse leading his little bro to the fun shack (aka "the play set")



Tire swing! Wheeee!




















This is the best swing EVER.




















Rhyse was very excited to show me what he'd learned so far.



See? Very excited.



Semi-nakey boys, William and Creux. Not 20 seconds after we set foot inside Jenny's, they were outside playing in William's water table. Both were soaked. Hurrah for summer!



I mentioned to Jenny Creux's love for strollers and she brought out William's favorite pram. Which Creux immediatel stole. (Sorry, William! We're still working on the whole sharing concept and should have that down by 2018.)



"What in the hell is THIS thing? I don't want no baby!!!"




















Such manly boys, aren't they? (There's nothing wrong with a man (or mini-man) who's firmly in touch with his sensitive, stroller-pushing side ;))



She was more than happy to babysit the child Creux flung from the stroller. I think perhaps we'll wait just a bit for a sibling for our Boy-Wonder ;)




Creux sees any body of water as an opportunity to quench his thirst. It makes me NUTS, especially when it's his bath water and I see him dunking his heiney in and then two seconds later he's sipping out of a dumpy cup. BLECK!!! (And the more I react to it, the more he drinks while giving me the ornery eye/smile combo. If I snatch the cup, well then he just puts his face in and drinks straight from the tub itself. The point of this story is that while it's disgusting, he seems to be surviving :) So happy I pay for all that organic food while my baby drinks butt-infused water!)



The Bigger Boys, ready to jump in and get their swim on!



I thought, for about five heart-sopping minutes, that I could get away with just letting Creux play in the water with Rhyse. He's got his swim vest on and I figured he'd be able to just float around the shallow end while I sit right there and watch, un-wettedly. Oh boy was that a bad, bad idea! Creux, while not afraid of the water, just doesn't have the whole "center of gravity" thing down yet and would roll to the side and attempt to drown himself while I screeched from pool-side. In the end, I changed into my suit, got wet...and had a ball! Sometimes it's nice to be forced to do things (like swimming) when I really don't want to because if my Littles weren't around, I wouldn't get in at all and I'd miss out on some fantastic fun. But once I was in, I had a wonderful time with them both and was really happy that I'd kind of "had to" get in.

Here's Rhyse, standing in for Mommy pre-epiphany :), letting Creux jump in to him.





This pack of pre-teens is much harder to catch and convince a smile out of (and it wasn't without moans and groans, anyway) but I'm so happy I captured this one of them! These are Cathy's three girls, Jenny's Adrienne, and of course, my darling Chas. Sweet kids, each one!



Thanks again for everything, Jenny! We appreciate your generosity! (And it doesn't hurt that you have a super fantastic pool to play in!!) :)

Hickory Dickory Dock

I found some gems last night at the library and this happens to be one of them!

This version of Hickory Dickory Dock by Keith Baker is so playful and adorable; I was smitten from the first page on and Greer giggled her way through the whole book! It starts out the normal way (with the mouse running up the clock) but then expands through an entire 12 hour period with 12 different silly animals doing 12 different silly things. (My favorite: "Hickory Dickory Dock, a snake slithered 'round the clock. The clock struck three...he took the key! Hickory Dickory Dock.)

I read this to Greer but Creux would love it too due to the catchy rhyme and colorful pages. But for Greer, I also used the clock to help with number recognition (and the hour word is highlighted on each page). When I would get to the number the clock struck, I'd pause and point to the numeral and she'd chime in sing-song style.

Oh, we had fun with this book! Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Kitchen Catastrophe

When we decided to barbecue on the 4th of July, Charlie spent a good hour chopping and dicing and boiling all the ingredients he needed for his homemade barbecue sauce. (Which is much better than anything store-bought so we all appreciate the effort that goes into this yummerific concoction.)

The chef's final step, after simmering it all together, is to pour the contents into the blender and whizz away for a super smooth, chunk-free sauce.

Only this time, things didn't quite go as planned :)



It was so bad (notice the OPEN cupboard covered in drip crap!) and so HOT (he was silent for the first few stunning seconds--it was that HOT!) that all that was left of my Charlie were these two saucy shoes, standing alone in the middle of the kitchen. The rest of him evaporated into BBQ Hell.



Truly, the rest of him yowled and cursed and tore off to the bedroom for a new sauce-free set of clothes. Me, I stood in the corner, making my tidy little trifle, muttering "That SUCKS!" over and over again, secretly thrilled that it wasn't MY horrid mess to clean up. Though I did mandate a "Take those pants off NOW!" order because I knew I'd be on Stain Patrol and I wasn't going down without a fight. Or at least a decent head start :)

Interestingly, there was a BRAND-NEW BLENDER sitting on his desk, fifteen feet away. We knew our blender was on its very last blend and had just purchased a replacement the day before.

So why didn't he use it?

He didn't want the "maiden voyage" to be "sloppy" barbecue sauce. He wanted to keep his blender sparkly clean for awhile.

Oh, the irony :)

What Are The Boys Drinking?

Did you think we'd lost our minds and handed out Corona's? :) I realized a bit late that I didn't even mention the yummy Izze drinks that we picked up for the kids for our 4th of July party!

Drinks. Sigh. Our kids drink water. And lots of it. Occasionally, they have juice (mostly on days that we pack lunches--just something a little special) and rarely they have something like Sprite. I've learned though that when we host parties, the kids and their friends would like to be offered something other than water. Or so I've been told.

And mine, knowing that for special occasions I will allow a two liter of something carbonated and sugary in my house, immediately start begging for a fix once they catch wind of a celebration.

But I think I've finally found a way around them...

















Izze drinks come in these cool grown-up bottles which seemed to make the boys feel like royalty when swigging out of them. They've never had bottles before! (Remember when we were little (really little) there were always those curvy Coke bottles?)

We found Izze at Whole Foods but I think they're in most grocery stores. And these are now our official Party Drinks! These are all-natural juices (70% fruit juice, 30% sparkling water) that are caffeine-free with no refined sugars or artificial ingredients. And they're fizzy! The kids just love the fizzy part :)

They were an absolute hit with my boys (Greer wasn't a fan) who are looking for something a bit more sophisticated than a Juicy Juice box. And they make Mama happy because they're not greedily eroding wee tummy linings :)

They're just over a buck a bottle and are offered in many different flavors like pomegranate, peach, and blueberry to name a few. (The peach won rave reviews over here!)

These are definitely still a treat, not something we'll stock for daily intake, but you can expect to see those chic bottles on my table for many family parties to come.
(And don't they look tantalizing in a bucket? I had to slap hands away!)

The 4th In Photos

A "Trifle" Delicious!

I wanted to make something festive and special for tonight's dinner and I found the perfect dessert in a summer berry trifle. Plus, I didn't have to spend the whole afternoon baking away, I just made some pudding and cut some berries.

As always, I had a very helpful helper in the kitchen! Greer washed all of the fruit we used (organic strawberries, raspberries and blueberries) and helped me layer and layer all the ingredients. But mostly, she licked the whipping cream whisk :) I made whipped cream BY HAND (stupid girl) and once I spread it over the top of our trifle, I gave it to her for a few tasty tastes. Twenty minutes later, I nearly had to pry it from her sweet sticky fingers!

There are many variations of these berry trifles but I used this one. I liked that it used pudding instead of cream cheese and it seemed a few steps simpler than the others I checked out. I also substituted angel food cake (from Whole Foods even!) instead of pound cake or ladyfingers and it was the perfect choice! (Somehow, we almost ate the ENTIRE bowlful! And that was a HUGE bowl!!)

Copy Cat

Creux liked Rhyse's red mohawk so much...




















That he tried to re-create the design.
On himself.
By himself.




















And I love him still.

Mr. Hollywood Says...

HAPPY 4th, FRIENDS & FAMILY!!

Boom, Boom, POW!

We've forever participated in Red, White, and Boom. When Chas was little, we'd park and walk around down in the madness. When Rhyse came along, we found a parking lot to sit in and we'd tailgate for hours. These days though, we're faster and smarter.

At 9:00pm, we load them all up in the car and by 9:45 we're usually settled somewhere off the road, far back from the action but close enough for the fireworks.

It's perfect for us: no muss, no fuss, no crowds, and NO COMPLAINING KIDS :)

We barely have enough time to hoist them up on top of the roof of the car before the fireworks start. We keep a movie running inside the car for the Littles whose attention spans easily drifts from the prettiness in the sky to how the door lock functions. (Yikes to that!)

When it's over, we zip right back up on the freeway and we're home.
(No traffic, either. We're good.)

This is the perfect arrangement for our young but biggish family who can't be caught up in the crazy-fun downtown chaos and it takes the pressure off of trying to squeeze in another round of fireworks tonight. We've seen the best so...we're off the hook! :)

We're spending the day in, at home. We've planned a party for ourselves.
Can you imagine? A party just for the fun of it!
We spent all day yesterday finding the things we'd need. A menu has been planned, a trifle has been shopped for (pray for me), and the back deck is being spruced.

We're all looking forward to a nice, relaxing, private backyard soiree.

So before I somehow assemble this trifle (really, it's no-cook so it should be a no-brainer, right?), I thought I'd post our Boom, Boom, POW! super-fun photos.

Happy 4th, everyone!