PB&Js

Quite possibly one of the best things ever invented...ever. Thick whole grain bread, the aroma of roasted peanuts, and some fine preserves. The holy trinity of culinary genius. Perfect with a tall glass of milk; for any meal of the day. And don't even come in here with your sissy creamy peanut butter...true gastronomic pleasure isn't for the weak.

Sadly, Irene just doesn't get it. It's the whole foreigner thing.

Working from home affords me some benefits. In the afternoon when I take a quick break for lunch and lay out my preparations, I can often feel the glare piercing my skull. She argues that there's perfectly good leftovers from a meal she slaved over the night before sitting right there in the fridge. As if one would only choose to eat a PB&J when there was literally nothing left to eat. I honestly love my wife's cooking, but like a true crack junky...sometimes I just gotta get a hit.

Thankfully I've been able to affect the next generation. Kohl and Nana love it when they catch me sneaking my fix. Sometimes it'll turn into a true PB&J binge that can last an hour. It's amazing what their little bellies can put away, the guilty pleasure of it all adding to the excitement. Nana likes hers cut in triangles so she can eat it from the middle out to the edges. This always leaves behind the tell tale sign of good eats. I think this particular occasion Irene had gone early to help Kohl's class with a holiday art project. The true breakfast of champions.


Belly full-a- jelly. ;)

Arianna conquers the bike!!!

There are few things that make a Papa more proud than letting go of the back of that bicycle seat and watching your pride an joy pedal away under her own power. I'll let you in on a little tip at the end, but I knew today was the day for Nana. Beautiful Sunday afternoon in the cul-de-sac, first signs of Spring (AZ time) already coming out. We hadn't really practiced that much, just watching her scoot about though I knew she'd been ready for awhile. It just took one push and she was off. One of those difficult moments as a parent where you celebrate the accomplishment but lament that your little girl is growing up. Thankfully she still needs me; I ran to keep up and saved the day from a major spill. She can't work the break and ends up in a wobbly power skid. Thanks for the helmet Tia Mehrsa!



TIP: Ditch the training wheels.

When we moved to AZ we gained a German neighbor and an insight to how they do things across the pond. They have bikes specifically made to teach a child to ride on 2 wheels. It's basically the same thing as a normal bike, maybe stretched out a bit for stability, but the secret is that it's missing the guts. No crank, cog, pedals, chain, etc. They just ride it Flinstone style and work on the most important thing....balance. Have them pick their feet up and coast around as much as possible. When you see that they spend most of their time feet up...then move them to a normal pedal bike and off they go. Worked 2 for 2 for us. Now if you don't happen to have a German neighbor, just pull the pedals off of a US bike and you get the same effect. I used the above "Darbie Bike" with Nana and the results were the same. Never even used the training wheels. Good luck.

Tomato sauce?

No, I don't intend to make my blog a cooking site, but to all my ladies that love cooking...or simply love good food...you have got to try this sauce. I am not a tomato sauce fan or a Lagasse fan, but this sauce was yummy and so simple. I used hot house tomatoes, my friend used roma tomatoes and they both yield a delicious sauce.

Try it and you won't be disappointed!


Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce:

3 pounds Romanita tomatoes, cored*

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

12 cloves garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large, 14-inch, oven proof frying pan, combine all the ingredients. Stir to blend then transfer to the oven and cook until the tomatoes begin to caramelize, about 30 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and stir well. Return to the oven and continue to cook until further caramelized and much of the liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from the oven, cool slightly, and transfer to a blender, in batches if necessary, and process sauce until coarsely pureed. If the sauce seems too thick, thin with a bit of water or chicken broth. Use immediately or cool completely and refrigerate for up to 4 days in a non-reactive, airtight container.

The sauce is great on pasta as well as pizza and even makes a great dipping sauce for hors d'oeuvres. If you prefer a less rustic sauce, puree completely as described above and strain.

Yield: about 4 cups sauce

* If Romanita tomatoes are unavailable, use a combination of Roma and grape tomatoes to approximate the sweetness of Romanitas, or use another type of sweet tomato, such as Amorosa.

That's not trash!!

So Spencer and I are aware of a little problem our children have. A problem that I take full responsibility for and need serious help mending...any ideas are welcome! In the past I would always warn (not threaten!) that if things didn't get picked up they would end up in the trash. Makes sense right...if you don't care for something enough to put it where it belongs then it must be junk to you and worthy of the trash can...(this rule only applies to the kids things of course!)

Anyhow, so Kohl was traumatized by it and so was Nana and now they hold on to every little single gadget like it is their only possession on this earth.

So the other night we are in the middle of a lesson and they are cutting out pictures of Jesus and God and we are just enjoying out time together when Spencer decides to clean up some of the clippings to make the activity go a little easier when all of a sudden we hear "THAT'S NOT TRASH! JESUS' EYES ARE IN THERE"

We didn't know what sister was talking about, and after much digging we realized that she had indeed cut the top half of Jesus' head off. We all had a good laugh!

Teaching again!

It is my drug. I love teaching and I miss it when I am not doing it. So this time I am teaching Spanish. 6 kids between the ages of 2 and 3 and also 6 kids between the ages of 6 and 7. Arianna can't get enough of the "Hola Hola" song and Kohl only rolls his eyes when he hears it. My kids are loving it as much as my students. It is such an experience to see and feel the enthusiasm of a child that is loving learning. I want to hug them and kiss them and tell them all how proud I am. It has been two weeks and I feel so rejuvenated already...and a bit stressed too:-)

I am not about to say anything negative...

Not even when I am trying to write a post and sister has taken a break to pat my belly and remind me just how much damage a beautiful third pregnancy can do to an already not-so-perfect body. Now I know what you Oprah followers are thinking....Irene your body has been so good to you...I know that, but it is just wrong when in the middle of shaping a yummy loaf of spelt bread dough I am reminded of my core. Yuck!! The spelt bread was delicious though.

My 2 cents...

So Spencer wasn't at all happy to find out about the funeral. I thought he would laugh, but as he put it, "Irene, you are only funny about every 6 months." It is hard to get a good laugh out of that man and the blog did the total opposite. In any case, who would have thought that it would get him to post??? Victory!

We had great year I have to say. My long desired kitchen remodel came as a present from Santa and I can't be happier with it. So friends and family come and visit for some serious cooking. I got a lot of goodies from my friend Chuck (WS:-) from a Kitchen Aid to a food processor and little things in between. Thanks Spencer for putting up with all the orange and being such a good sport at the mall...husband of the year award goes to...drum roll please.

This year our Christmas tree was decorated with small picture frames and I had the kids draw pictures and write things in them. Kohl was very festive as usual drawing small trees and pictures of the family. Nana scribbled big circles and called them "big messy eggs." Brother was not one bit amused. But I love this new tradition. We will save the pictures with the tree till we replace them this year. It will help me keep a collage of their art work as it matures every year and also a reminder of what they were like each Christmas.

Here is a bit of what they said:

Your favorite food:
N: banana/oranges/pineapples
K: mashed potatoes (he forgot french fries)

fave toy:
N: My little pony
K: Transformers

fave friends:
N: All the Rachels (cousin, my (irene) friend Rachel, and Kohl's teacher...Nana is crazy)
K: Nolan and the cousins

Color
N: pink and purple
K: Red

Favorite thing to do
N: Help mama (right...)
K:

Favorite place to go
N: Restaurants
K: Cousin's house

Favorite place we visited:
N: "Dreams come True" in Disney world
K: Utah

"Christmas is over!"

Quite the touching moment this evening. As we were getting the kids ready for bed, Irene mention we'd be taking the Christmas decorations down soon. Kohl was immediately overcome with emotions and wept. You could tell that in his tender heart, he had really felt the joy of the Christmas season. The fun times spent together with family and friends, trips to the snow, the giving and receiving of gifts, the excitement in the air. For weeks now, after putting them down for bed, Irene and I would be downstairs and hear Kohl singing Christmas Carols to himself as he lay in bed.

Who wouldn't want that to end? Does it really have to?

Don't be surprised if you find the stockings still hung on Valentine's Day with cards stuffed to the brim. ;)

Playin Catch-up...2 months in fast forward. ;)

Halloween....AZ Style! SOOO nice not to have to bundle the kids up for Trick or Treating. ;) Had a great time with the neighbors and the kids are still digging into their evenings haul.

Shaved Joaquin's head...kind of a tradition you might say. Just like to get rid of all the baby hair and let it grow in full. But with the new trim, his nick name (mi chino) really fits.


Snapped this pic while eating pancakes outside one morning...will she EVER stop getting more beautiful?


Family came in for Thanksgiving and we all celebrated the warm weather.

Knocked a couple teeth out

And ate some good food

Caught a German Christmas celebration in downtown Mesa. Nana did care much for Sankt Nikolaus, but took quite a liking to the bronze girl.



Kohl goes riding just about every day. This is at the park one day where he likes to race down a grassy hill.


Kohl's FIRST trophy. He carried this around as much as possible for about 2 weeks. Even took it to dinner with us one night to show the waitress. ;) He's pretty proud.


The BFF Trio dropped in to see us one day...it was great to see them and their growing kids.




Picked up a fantastic lens the other day...REALLY does well in low light, but I'm still self teaching thru the quirks.



Out with the family for the annual Christmas boat parade at Tempe Town Lakes.



What did I tell ya? Gorgeous! That's her "Post-PB&J" smile. Who wouldn't smile that big after Papa made them such a hearty well rounded breakfast? ;)


Christmas in UT with Irene's family.

Love Q's little smile in this pic.



Gigi with most of the grand kids....Donni (above) crashed just before the photo op.








There you have it...the past 2 months in FF. Hope you enjoyed it and will keep checking back for more updates. We promise to be better. ;)

Headline News: Mesa Mother of Three Offs Family Blogg; Husband Apparently Clueless.

Well, at least she didn't off me first! I guess the constant prodding and nagging wasn't exactly the motivator it was intended to be ;) Guess I'll help out a bit; see the Catch-Up post.

Took the kids (minus the blogg hacker ;) ) to the snow on New Years Day with our good friends Dave and Dara and their kids. Had a great time and the kids really got that snow bug out. Nice to know you could head back down the hill and an hour later your back in your flip flops and shorts. ;)

Here's some pics.


King of the Hill...ready for his next ride.


Best Friends Arianna and Ashlyn playing the in the snow tunnels.


Best Buds Kohl and Tyler going tandem on a fun ride.




Great day of Ridin'!!!