tooth

*This morning Chris took the kids to breakfast and Winco.

Their first stop at Panera also included the loss of Kendall's first of her two front teeth. She has been very excited about this.

Winco has you bag your own groceries. The kids always like to help.

*I am addicted to this FB page. Sometimes I go on Chris' FB and I stumbled across a post linking to this page. It is so fun to watch all the short, quick, cooking videos!

*Both kids are LOVING watching old episodes of Saved by The Bell. I have never heard Cameron laugh out loud so much at a TV show. :)

*Cameron: "Mom, what would happen if the world was upside down?"
Me: "Well, part of the earth kind of is upside down all the time if you think about it."
Cameron: "No, but what if right now it really was upside down?"
Me: (sigh) "Umm...you know buddy, I just don't know."

Sometimes...well, a lot, I just don't have the answers to Cameron's random questions. :)

snickerdoodle

*I've started a little ritual before I had to Bible Study on Wednesday mornings. After dropping the kids off, I head to a coffee shop where I read and treat myself to a latte. I LOVE this time. It seriously is a highlight of my week. Right now I'm reading Gone with the Wind. I like the fictional storyline, but I love reading about life during the Civil War. I have not seen the movie in over 20 years, so I'm excited to watch it again having read the book. That won't be for a while because it is loooooong!!

p.s. Next week I'll make Starbucks my coffee shop. A friend recently told me about their Toasted Graham Latte and it sounds yummy!

*Today I only watched 20 minutes of Parenthood...but I cried three times. 

*My Costco stash of Skinny Cow ran out so I had to buy some at Stater's. I like to try new flavors and I LOVE the Snickerdoodle!!

*I texted Chris this week with my confession...I cheated.

*Kendall found a fascinating book at the library today entitled, Secrets of Disneyland. An interesting excerpt:

"When Disneyland was being built, Walt Disney had an apartment created for his family.  It was built over the fire station on Main Street. When Disney was there, he would leave a light burning in the window. Since his death, the light as been left on in his memory."

softball

My go-to dessert for most occasions has always been Gooey Bars. They are fast, easy, and freeze great. Lately, however, I've been making a new recipe that I really like. I love pie crust, but have never liked pies. This recipe has the pie crust flavor mixed with rich chocolate. Yummy.

Chocolate Crumb Bars

Yesterday I baked a batch for our dessert picnic with my parents. We started out with a late lunch at Angus McCurdy's and then finished with dessert out on the grassy area. Here is Kendall entertaining us all with a story. :)

Before our time with my parents, Chris and Kendall had their first softball lesson in the backyard. She and Chris are very excited. :)

cardboard meatloaf

*Over the years, I've become much less skeptical regarding alternative/natural treatments for things. I'm not convinced about ALL natural remedies (I can't quite jump on the essential oils bandwagon), however I'm reading more and more about probiotics and liking what I read. Kendall has taken them for a while for her poop issues. Chris just started as I've read a lot about the benefits for several things he deals with (poor sleep being one).

*I caved and took a high school sub job on Monday. I didn't get any jobs last week and didn't want that trend to continue. It was only a half day and luckily it went quite smoothly.

*I want to mention these Homemade Strawberry Nutri Grain Bars one more time. If you make a double batch and freeze them, they really are worth the effort. The kids LOVE them. I individually wrap and freeze each one, then just toss them in their lunch boxes in the morning.

*I wanted another TV show to watch as I'm a bit burned out on Gilmore Girls for now. I tried Madame Secretary and am liking it. There are certain actresses I really like and I'm finding Tea Leoni to be one of them. 

*Last night I served meatloaf (Chris would want me to clarify that it was actually turkey meatloaf). I looked over and could tell Chris did NOT like it, but wasn't mentioning anything for the kids' sake. I took a bite and promptly announced that it tasted like cardboard. Everyone was relieved not to have to eat it. The kids enjoyed a double portion of cornbread and some cereal later. :)

*I have learned many things from Chris over the years. For instance, I have stopped buying Kleenex in the square boxes. Whenever you reach for one, the whole box comes with it. Rectangular boxes are the way to go. 

kid-swap

On Saturday I took Kendall to a birthday party while Chris and Cameron went on their own outing. They first got lunch and had a Cam favorite, hamburgers.

Afterward they headed to Barnes and Noble for some reading.

They next went to Toys "R" Us. Cameron was very excited to spend a giftcard he had received for his birthday. He chose more Pokemon. It's a little sad for me that the Lego phase seems to be coming to an end. I simply cannot understand nor get into Pokemon. :(

Today after church my parents took us to lunch. Afterward we swapped kids and I took Cameron home to watch our last Harry Potter movie.

I know I've said this several times, but this has been such a great series for us. At the end of the movie, I found myself fighting back tears, only to look over and see Cameron crying (so I went ahead too). :)

Chris took Kendall to get a few things for softball. She is excited and determined to play this winter and Chris is also looking forward to it. Their goal is to practice this fall since it's been a few years since she last played.

magnesium

*My new favorite snack is a pretzel/peanut combo. I must have one of each in every bite. :)

*I've still been doing well in the "no soda" department. I've indulged when we have been out to a restaurant (which is in accordance with our "rules"), but I have yet to have any at home. It's been harder lately than it was at first. On the one hand, it's great that it has made me drink more water. But on the other hand, it's been a bummer because water is NOT what I want all the time. I want sweet. I want fizzy. I want soda. :(

*Yes, I like the hot weather, but Cameron and I are anxious for it at least to cool down enough to get back into our desert hikes.

*My parents (and probably most in their generation)  can remember exactly where they were when they heard JFK was killed. I think my generation will have the same experience when we recall 9/11. For me, I had gone on a trip to Europe with a college friend and we were actually in Paris at the time. I specifically remember our tiny hotel room and watching CNN on TV as the events unfolded. We really had no concept of the magnitude of it all until we came home. We knew it was a terrible event, but we were so far removed from it all that it didn't fully sink in until we were back on U.S. soil.

*We have started Kendall on liquid magnesium in an effort to help her constipation. It isn't the most pleasant tasting so we have come up with a routine. She guzzles it, diluted in juice, and then gets one Whopper upon finishing. :)

*Costco trip on the agenda today before I pick up the kids:

-Trash bags
-Toilet Paper
-Paper Towels
-Feta Cheese
-Greek Yogurt-Kirkland now has their own brand that is very good
-Frozen Veggies
-Eggs- we used to buy 5 dozen at a time...no more with the way prices skyrocketed :(
-Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges- coupon!
-Skippy Crunchy Peanut Butter
-Sunflower Seed Butter
-Dry Roasted Peanuts
-Bananas

labor day

This past weekend we headed up north to celebrate Cameron's birthday with Chris' parents. This has a become a tradition for both Cameron and Kendall's birthdays.

Before we headed out, we stopped at the hospital to visit my dad, who had undergone a minor surgery. This was the kids' first visit to a hospital and they enjoyed seeing their Papa. :)

Now to some highlights of the weekend.

John's Incredible Pizza: This was Cameron's birthday celebration request.

Bike rides: Cameron loved riding around the country roads and finding abandoned houses and farms. He then came back and drew a map of our ride. :)

Hallmark movies: I got in three movies this weekend (Chris' mom always records them for me knowing how much I like them)!

Pedicure for me!

Playtime outside.

Swimming: This was one of my Hallmark movie times as Debbie and I stayed back while Chris and his dad took the kids swimming. :)

Good food: We ate great the entire weekend, but I have to mention my favorite. It was an incredibly rich chocolate cake. We decided it shouldn't really be called a cake because it was super dense (she also added more chocolate chips, which is never a bad thing). Definitely a 10 in my book!

The World's Best Chocolate Oatmeal Cake

Thank you, Debbie and Wayne, for a GREAT Labor Day weekend!

cotton candy grapes

*I LOVE when I see Christmas decorations at Costco because that means it's fall and the Holiday season is beginning!

*Last Saturday we took a trip to the desert, which we haven't done in a while. We weren't exactly escaping the heat, but more heading straight into it. I guess we really do love the desert. :)

As usual, Kendall talked the ENTIRE trip there. This time she was reading old kindergarten spelling papers she found in her room.

New water bottles for the kids were on the list. 

After Costco was the mall. They love to "play" Chess. :)

*When Cameron and I watched Harry Potter on Saturday morning, Chris took Kendall to breakfast. Her comment about a McGriddle: "This is the yummiest thing in the whole world!!"

*Today I saw Cotton Candy grapes at the store. I remember tasting them a long time ago and being shocked that they actually tasted like Cotton Candy. For some reason they gross me out (a phrase Chris thinks I use far too often). The kids, on the other hand, were quite intrigued when I told them about the grapes and want to give them a shot. :)