And Then There's Today...

I have nothing worth sharing about my boys today, aside from them driving me up the wall. It's best I just talk about me, so that I don't say anything more unpleasant about them.

Let's start with my circuit training workout at the gym. One hour long, and I thought I was going to die. I'm not sure that anything actually hurt that much, since I couldn't keep up enough to really get the full effect. I just felt completely exhausted. I'm going to be in pain tomorrow. It's good, though. I think I needed to change things up a bit.

After a hard work out like that, it's best I treat myself to a delicious meal of BLT+A and fries. But, I had water.

I also wanted to share what we had for dinner tonight. Take a look.

I cook a flat iron steak once a week. I order it from amazonfresh.com, it's an easy cut of meat to cook, it's big enough for the whole family with leftovers, it's pretty lean, and everyone likes it. But, it wasn't the inspiration for tonight's meal. That little cup of beans with kale was what started me thinking about everything else you see on this plate.

The soup: Apple and Bean Soup from Lidia Bastianich.

 http://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/242

I bought David her book as a Christmas gift; not so much the book, but the meals I would be making us from this book. This was our first recipe to try out, and it was a success. I modified it ever so slightly by adding tiny torn up pieces of kale to it. And, I misread the recipe and put 1.5 tsp instead of .5 tsp of cinnamon in. Luckily, I just scoop everything out, dumped the liquid and added more. It may have taken some of the buttery goodness out, but it's finished with more butter, so no biggie.

We could've had just had the soup for dinner, or Lidia suggests it as a side as well. I had the steak, so I cooked it. And, I had one roma tomato left in-house, so I sliced that up. Ooh, and in the freezer, a par-baked loaf of rosemary bread from Essential Bakery. Super.

Lastly, that little white dollop on top of the steak is herbed goat cheese. I used plain Laura Chenel's chabis along with fresh chopped chives, thyme, basil, rosemary, and shallots, juice of half a lemon, about a 1/4 cup of cream, and salt to taste. Mix, mix, mix. Back in the fridge to set up. A hot spoon to scoop it is what makes that fun little football shape.

David said, "I love my Christmas present!"

One More Thing!

David got 5 stars for the first time on Kinect Dance Central tonight for dancing to Lady GaGa's Pokerface! Woohoo!

Snow Delay

Both boys' classes were pushed back this morning due to last night's snow. Although it's a little bit of an inconvenience, I'm thankful for two things: 1) classes weren't cancelled all together, and 2) friends.

I guess if classes were totally cancelled, we would've found something entirely different to do. BUT, if they had to cancel classes, it would've meant that the roads weren't safe to drive on, which would mean that we wouldn't be able to find something else to do. I guess I could've bundled them up and played outside in the snow, but that probably wouldn't have taken up the whole morning.

Lucky for me, I had my friend, Brianna. She texted messaged early on, informing me of the delay, and inviting us to have coffee and bagels at Panera Bread. Since our kids were going to the same places this morning, she and I met at Panera, then split up with each other's kids. She took her daughter and Tyler to class, while I drove her son and Vincent to preschool. Then, I went back to finish up class with Tyler.

After Tyler's class, another friend, Monica, suggested we get Mexican food at Rancho Bravo. Great! While there, Tyler had to poop. He was desparate. I took him into their restroom, took one look and walked out. It wasn't dirty, but it looked like it had been hosed down with water. I just didn't have it in me to wipe it all down, while trying to keep Tyler from rolling around on the wet floor. But, my dear Monica, bless her, had me watch the kiddos and she went in and wiped the seat down for me. So simple, yet so helful. And, Tyler was very thankful. And, after all that, she cut up strawberries for us to share!

Vincent stayed at school for lunch today. Otherwise, I would've had to pick him up within an hour of dropping him off. Of course, when we got home, I saw that he had barely eaten any of the snack-sized lunch I packed him. So, he got to have a second lunch to finish it up. At least he ate it all.

So, I guess I'm thankful for a third thing today: 3) another day that didn't end up in a flop. Amen.

For dinner tonight, I attempted to make chicken tikka masala from a spice blend I picked up at the store last week. It called for yogurt, which we didn't have. The boys and I walked to the nearby market (not supermarket) a couple blocks away. (Have I told you I love our new neighborhood?) While there, I let them each pick out an ice cream from the case. They've never done that before, um, maybe Vincent has. Anyway, it was a lot of fun for them, and they showed great will power to wait until after dinner to eat it.

I think it was worth the wait.

As for dinner, it was sooooo spicy! Basically, I used about 1/4 of the amount of spice it called for, and then I had to fish all the stuff out of the sauce, and transfer it into some plain chicken stock, and it still made me sweat and have a runny nose when eating it. I gave the boys plain chicken simmered in chicken stock. But, the basmati rice was super good. I mixed the boys' rice with some roasted acorn squash, which they enjoyed. Gotta get those veggies in somehow, right?

Actually, since Vincent has turned 4 yrs old, we made a deal with him that he doesn't have to eat salad, but if it's served for a meal, he needs to have at least one leaf of lettuce. Surprisingly, he has eaten, enjoyed, and tonight, asked for more. Maybe by the time Tyler turns 4, he'll just follow Vincent's lead...or better yet, before that! We'll see.

Not So Fun At Miller Today

Tuesdays are when we typically go to Miller Community Center for indoor playtime. That's just what we did this morning. But, it wasn't so fun for the boys today. It was a bit crowded, but they've been there when it's been this busy. Vincent even found a friend, one who doesn't typically go there. I don't know what it was. Tyler cried about a baby girl hanging on the car he was riding, Vincent got pushed, then he fell and bonked his head, which made him cry. We only lasted about 45 minutes. They both seemed to say they wanted to go home. It wasn't too early, but I had planned to stay out with them just a bit longer. 

So, we picked up dry cleaning, then headed to Madison Park playground. Though it was cold, it was dry, and the boys were happy to run outside. We haven't been to a playground in a while, especially this one. And, lucky for me, there are family friendly restaurants right there, which would save me from the whole "what are we going to have for lunch" dilemma at home.

Vincent invited Tyler up to slide with him, and waited patiently until he got there. Tyler ended up sliding down first, but it was so cute to see them up there together.

Vincent invited Tyler to slide with him, and waited patiently for Ty to get up there. They didn't end up going down at the same time, but it was cute to see them sitting at the top together. 

Ty's still a bit too small for this thing.

 

Vincent's gotten to be such a good climber.

As we were leaving the playground, I noticed Vincent's hair. It is so long now! 

I quickly changed our plans of getting lunch to stopping in at the children's shop to see if they had an opening for him to get a haircut. Lucky us, the gal was just about to walk out the door, but happily turned back and cut his hair!

Before

After

Nice and clean. She had his hair parted to one side in the front, which looked a little dorky. I had to quickly mess it up as soon as we walked out the door.

During Vincent's haircutting, Tyler played with this babydoll and stroller.

Then, we headed for lunch.

Vincent colored happily. I have been waiting for this day since my first pregnancy. Probably even before that. He traced the picture along the edges, then colored it in (um, sort of).

Ty flirted with me while waiting for our food.

Yeah, I took this picture myself. Came out alright!

Finally, look at the size of this KID'S cheeseburger!

Well, our morning wasn't an entire flop after all.  Whew!

Singing

My kids amaze me all the time. Lately, it's their singing. We listen to a lot of music, of all kinds. Much of it is kids' stuff, but Vincent's become more and more interested in our music (Thank GAWD!!).

Tyler doesn't have much of an opinion. Every so often he'll belt out something, like "Ponyo!," so I'll put that on for him. He is singing more and more each day. I'm amazed at what comes out of his mouth. Today, while sitting on the toilet, he did one of his little requesting for something gestures. It goes something like this: he touches me face, pulls me close, says whatever jibberish he's trying to tell me in a serious way, smiles and nods. He'll keep repeating this until I've figured out what he's trying to tell me. Gosh, I wish I can remember the song he was trying to sing. I think I finally figured it out because he was in tune. What was it? It was something pretty random that I didn't even think he was paying attention to. Ahhh, what was it?

Vincent really likes Arcade Fire's new album, Suburbs. It's in our car's CD changer right now; has been for months. He hums along to most of the songs, and even has favorites & ones he doesn't like as much.

*9:45pm - I remembered the song Tyler was trying to sing to me. It's a song about having "peace like a river in my soul..." So sweet.

One other thing I wanted to make sure I don't forget, we believe that last night/this morning Vincent slept a straight 12 hours for the first time in his 4 years of life. There was once (maybe twice) when he almost slept that long, but missed 12 hours by like 10 minutes. This morning, he went PAST 12 hours! Woohoo!

Ice Skating

Just before the new year, we took the boys to Seattle Center's Winterfest ice rink. Even though we got there at opening, it was pretty chaotic. All the walkers were taken, and those who didn't have one, but needed one, were crazy-eyed waiting for one to become available to snatch up quickly. We decided to just go for it, and get both boys on the ice holding our hands. We took turns with each boy, since it's a little easier (though not by much) to go around with Vincent than with Tyler.

We lasted about 45 minutes, but all-in-all, it was a successful outing, and only cost us $16.

Fast forward to about a week later (that's today)...David took Vincent to the real ice rink. In David's words, "He is getting more confidence." Check it out, all by himself!

Back In Session

We went back to our regular schedule of classes this week. Vincent went to preschool Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and today he went to Chinese school. Tyler's back at Seattle Central, with me on Wednesdays and David on Saturdays. It's nice to have had the break, but I'm happy to be back to a routine.

I normally don't go into Vincent's Saturday classroom, but I was supposed to be one of the room parents. Although the teacher said she didn't need us, the other room parent and I went in towards the end of class to sit in on the lesson, and just in case she needed us. Turns out, we were helpful! I love watching him learn. He was only sort of participating, but he wasn't causing disruption, so that's a relief. Here he is during circle time, listening attentively to a story (he loves stories).

This morning, Vincent also received a belated birthday gift from his friend, Sabriya, whom we gave a ride to Chinese school. She gave him a Legos set; his first real one. You know, the little pieces, not the big Duplo kind. He was so excited. As I prepared our lunch, he started working on them. Legos have come a long way since my days of playing with them.

While the kids napped this afternoon, David went to the alehouse and watched the SEAHAWKS KICK THE SAINTS ASSES! He came home and got us, and returned to the alehouse for dinner with Seth and his kids. When Seth got there, David held Alexis for him while he got situated with their stuff. I was amazed at how much fun those two were having together. David kept putting his hat on her head, and she giggled and giggled. They were so sweet.

After the alehouse, I took Vincent next door to have dessert. We sat next to the kitchen, where we were able to watch the pizza guy cooking. Vincent watched him tossing the dough and said, "When he tosses the dough in the air, the dough says, 'Weeeee!'"