Dekan's all finished

Dekan graduated preschool today, and it was so dang cute! I have had such a great time with this preschool, and Dekan has made some great friends. Miss Jeannette did a great job preparing them for graduation, and she even made Chandler a hat so he wouldn't feel left out; wasn't that sweet? We celebrated by going to Braums for ice cream. My little boy is going to Kindergarten next year!! AAHH!!

Another cooking assignment!

This time I had to pick (out of my cookbook) a grain recipe, Spanish Rice, a noodle recipe, Mexi Shells, a soup/chili recipe, White Chili, and a white sauce with a twist to go over veggies or pasta. So, that is what I did. Teri happened to be by about the same time, so you'll have to ask her how most of it turned out. The soup I shared with Becky, because she is CRAZY about soup. Overall, I would recommend any of them - all very tasty.

P.S. my husband LOVES this class.

Memorial Day

We had such a blast on Memorial Day - one of the funnest days we have ever had as a family (well, next to Sea World). We took the boys to play miniature golf, and they were hilarious! They had so much fun. Then, we went to GattiTown in Frisco to FINALLY celebrate Chandler's becoming a big boy and going potty on the toilet. This was where he wanted to go. They have a little train outside and they ride around on it - so fun! Then, we had a barbecue with the relations, and we got to swim in the evening until bed time. I tell ya', it was just a fun family day.

What to do, what to do?

Allright, I need some help! I have had it with the pickiness of my child! This morning he would not eat Cocoa Puffs, I mean c'mon, COCOA PUFFS!! Dekan refuses to even try new foods, Chandler, of course, will try anything and usually eat what is served, but he mimicks Dekan more and more every day. Dekan doesn't eat any fruits or vegetables AT ALL!! Sure, he used to eat applesauce, but has since declined to eat it every time I send it in his lunch. So, here is what we do, but it is NOT working, so I need help. What we do is we plan a menu every week, and he and Chandler get to pick out most things on the menu. But, more times than not, we sit down to eat, and even if it is something he has eaten before, he refuses to eat because it is not exactly what he wanted, or cut the way he wanted or whatever! So, if he doesn't eat what is on the menu, his option is to not eat, and I will tell you he has skipped MANY meals. The problem is that when he skips lunch and dinner, he wakes up early in the morning and throws up every 20 minutes for a few hours until we get something to settle his stomach. Now, on the days that he refuses his meals, he still does drink, but that's it. I am so worried about him, and I think it is just stubborness. If it were left up to me, I would make him sit at the table until he ate it or give him the same food every meal until he ate it, but Dave won't let me do this. I've made him sit at the table before and he ate it, but it was something we knew he liked anyway, and Dave wasn't home. Anyway, does ANYONE have ANY suggestions of what we could do. I feel like I've tried everything!

It's Steak Day!

Well, today is steak day. Three years ago today, my dad passed away - he was only 60 years old, and every year since, on May 17th, we go out and enjoy his favorite food - steak. This may seem a little strange, but it takes a day that would normally be very sad and depressing and helps us find a happy way to remember him, although I still can't think a lot about him without getting tears in my eyes. We do the same thing on the day Dave's dad died, but we have pizza.

This year we took Dekan and Chandler to Texas Roadhouse, and Dave and I had steak. This year we told the boys all about their grandpa. We told them his favorite hobbies (fishing, hunting, and golf). We told them about how he used to make breakfast some Saturday mornings (hashbrowns, bacon, eggs, sausage, etc.), and about how he gave Dave a hug when we were dating (something he very rarely did), and some other things we remembered about him. Dekan seemed to enjoy learning about his mom's dad, but Chandler didn't seem to grasp anything. The picture above is of my mom and dad at Dekan's baby blessing - she has since remarried. My mom wrote a poem about him on Mother's Day and sent it to us all. I wanted to include it, so here it is . . .

If I could pick a day

To remember Dad the most

I think it would be "Mothers Day"

He was the perfect "host."

He always got up early

My breakfast he would make

Sausage, eggs and hash browns

Juice and Krustee's pancakes.

I had to stay in bed

And into my room he came

A tray with all the food

His routine was the same.

Then home from church we'd come

My assignment was to rest

While Dad fixed Sunday dinner

His pot-roast was the best!

I was treated like a queen

For one whole day at least

I sure do miss his smile

When he watched me eat the feast!

I've gone completely domestic!

Well, it happened - I finally made my first homemade bread. This was of course for my class, because I don't know why I would wake up one morning and decide to try my hand at bread baking. It turned out very good. Dekan, who is mighty picky, even said that it tasted better than cinnamon cinabon bread - what a compliment!! But, he did say that he loved Heavenly Father more, and it wasn't even close. (He said this because the other day he told us that his video game was coming so very close to second for Heavenly Father - we had a little chat about that, so he made sure to point out that he understands where his priorities lie.) Anyway, maybe I'll become a bread maker one day, but for now, we'll just stick to these two loaves.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

Well, Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers out there. As for my children, they told their Dad what they like about me, and had him write it in a card, and gave it to me with breakfast in bed. They also told their Dad the two things they wanted to do for me on Mothers Day. Chandler wanted to jump on the trampoline with me, and Dekan wanted to have an ice cream cone with me. As you can see they both got their wish. Dave did a wonderful thing and took me to the new restaurant Brio in Allen. As some of you may know, you have to have reservations to that place unless you want to wait 90 minutes minimum for a table. I was so impressed that he actually had a reservation, and hired a babysitter all on his own. It was a surprise to me. I loved Mothers Day today. I hope all of you had wonderful Mothers Days!

Potty Training

Well, we decided that Chandler was ready to go on the potty like a big boy. This has been the greatest experience ever! No kidding! Dekan was so hard to potty train; we set the stakes high by offering him something everytime he went into the bathroom, because he screamed when we entered the room. Everytime Dekan had a success on the potty, he got a toy or a prize, and we spent quite a bit of money on Thomas trains.

Chandler, on the other hand, has cried with every accident, which has only been a handful of times while he understood what going on the potty really means. He's been in big boy underwear ever since we got home from church on Sunday, and today he's only had one accident. He doesn't tell me when he has to use the bathroom, all he says is, "I don't want my underwear anymore, mom." That means we need to go on the potty. He's been so great - I just don't believe it! Now, I did have a terrible time with the first, so I deserve a good potty-trainer this time. The worst part of parenting, I think so far, is almost over twice - WHOOHOO!! (knock on wood, right?)

A Child's Prayer

Chandler and Dekan say the cutest prayers. We've been trying to do some family home evenings about what to say in prayers because Dekan seems to be stumped lately. Chandler caught on very well, here's a few of his best:

1 - we're thankful for our food, and we're thankful for our menu, and we're thankful for our food on our menu

2 - please bless mom to be safe at home, please bless dekan to be safe at school, please bless dad to be safe at work, please bless chandler to be safe at home and please bless chandler to be safe at the gym (he says this at every prayer . . . very slowly)

3 - we're thankful for rocks

4 - we're thankful for the elephants and tigers

5 - bless me to go to Ben & Ella's

Anyone know of any other cute kid prayers?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEKAN!!!

Today is Dekan's 5th birthday!! Happy Birthday Buddy!! He had a great day, and got an 8ft. trampoline for our backyard! I think his favorite gift was that his dad took the day off to spend the day with him. He got to have his first friend birthday party, and was only allowed to invite 10 people, we feel bad that some didn't get to come, but it was either 10 or 30, so we went with 10 - couldn't even fathom 30! Anyway, we had a magician come and it was fantastic. Thank you to everyone who wished Dekan a Happy Birthday!

Cooking Class 2

For a snack I made hummus - which was disgusting! I've tried it as a sample at Costco before, and have liked it, so maybe this was a bad recipe. EEEWWW! For dinner I made chicken pot pie with broccoli surprise salad, and baked apples for dessert. So, how did I do?

Cooking Class

As many of you know I take classes at the Y through Independent Study. Currently, one of the classes I'm enrolled in is a cooking class (I've got to throw some fun ones in there every once in a while to ward off my boredom with Economics and History). Anyway, my assignment today was to make every meal from a recipe in my required reading materials (Betty Crocker Cookbook). The assignment was to make sure I got enough of "My Pyramid" nutrition and make sure each meal had enough variety in color, texture, and temperature. My first meal was triple berry crepes. My lunch was cuban black bean soup and mandarin crunchy chicken salad.