Rotting Beached Seal

So in efforts to try out a few vegan recipes with cancer fighting kung-fu, I explored sea vegetables.  Went to the health food store and everything.  I thought I'd cook up the lentils of this one recipe so I could finish the rest later around dinner.  You know, get a head start.  What happened was disaster!  I put a 1 inch piece of this kombu (dried seaweed) in with the simmering lentils and the house started to smell bad.  Really bad.

We usually gather in the kitchen for family prayer before going our separate ways but we were all complaining and gagging so we left to pray in the master bedroom.  After Neal and Sophie left, I kept trying to think "walk on the beach" but my gag reflex was screaming "rotting beached seal!" I finally fished out the floppy kelp strip and tossed it in the trash, took the trash to the curb and finished the recipe as directed. 

After taking Rhys to school, I was suppose to volunteer at the school district office by stuffing goody bags for an upcoming fundraiser 5K.  I couldn't stop smelling the fishy smell.  I drove home, opened windows despite the temperatures being in the 30s, showered and put on fresh clothes before heading out to the district office.

When I told my sister about this, she reminded me that I had a phobia of kelp (floating in water, not washed up on the beach) so why would I deliberately do this to myself.  Also, she reminded me of the dead whale (piece?) that got washed up on Morro Bay's shores when we were there on a family trip as kids.  It reeked.  I told her this was pretty much like that.

The irony is that I am exploring these recipes to give us more healthy, yet vegan options. (We are flexitarians, not even full blown vegetarians.) And what do I do?! After picking Rhys up from school, I return to the district office to give them 40 minutes more of my time. I sit Rhys down at a table and put a donut in front of him to keep him entertained.  Then while I am busy at my task, I give someone permission to make him a little plate of fast food lunch that they have supplied for the volunteers.  Several fried chicken nuggets, a giant cookie later, I look up and ask them what he is drinking. "Tea."  They gave my Mormon, 4-year-old boy, iced tea.  I love the South.  So after switching it out for a water, I grabbed a giant chocolate chunk cookie on the way out the door and we return to our lightly ocean scented home so I could meet Neal there for lunch and tell him how I fed our son and myself garbage.

I'm hoping that it will all even out and we will have ended up living on a "neutral" diet.  I don't feel like a failure-- just a rough morning and a good reason to laugh at myself.

How to Make Money with No Effort

At age 6, Sophie has lost her first tooth.  The dentist told us about a month ago that this day would soon be upon us and she was right.  It watch Sophie wiggle that thing around was enough to make her parents queasy.

Thought she might have lost it on Sunday but it hung in there, quite literally, until Monday.  This was wonderful because, if your kid goes to the school nurse, she gently removes the tooth and here's the exciting part...she puts it in a tiny little treasure chest the size of a nickel, for the kid to take home.  Another perk to losing it at school is that there are so many more people to share your good news with!

The tooth fairy exchanged 2 of those gold dollar coins for that first tooth. Congratulations, sweetie!  Once all your adult teeth are in, you'll have to work for that money.

All You Need Is Love

The Beatles lied when they wrote that song because Valentine's is so much more fun with mindless, frivolous distractions! Before our Valentine's week even started our family had planned to spread some love.  The PTA was selling candy grams to be delivered to kids in class on Valentine's day.  We gathered our loose change into a pile and made special arrangements with Sophie's classroom teacher and the school counselor to anonymously have candy grams given to several kids that were least likely to get one but need that love the most.

As Valentine week got started we were getting our Valentine goodies ready for the big day. " I have to write my name how many times?!"  "But I don't like her. I don't want to give her a Valentine."  Isn't it great how this commercial holiday gives us opportunities to practice basic academic and social skills!  Some good discussion was had, like, "Yeah, she is a real jerk! But if you want to get lots and lots of valentines then you have to give everyone a valentine. Let's not forget the point of the holiday is to get lots of candy and goodies, okay?!"  Okay, maybe not exactly like that.

They were very pleased with the outcome of their extra cool Valentines and mommy was happy that we didn't add to the sugar craze by handing out more candy. Not that we didn't have our own plans for sugar.

Above: lip whistle. Below: capsules that enlarge into wild animal shaped sponges.

Early in the week we also attended a Valentine's Tea at our local public library (love them!). Rhys did not want to get in a dress shirt even but Sophie got all dressed up for the occasion.  Mommy even let her wear rouge and light lipstick.  With tiara in place (no joke) we were on our way.

They did a great job and had plenty of crafts to create Valentine cards and goodies. They offered pink lemonade and a pink or red swirled cookie to enjoy while sitting on the designated sparkly carpet.  We also got to shoot photos expressing our love!  These were taken with Daddy in mind.

The day before Valentines Day was Rhys' preschool day so he got to exchange goodies and show everyone.  I have to say that valentines are not what they used to be back when I was a kid--they are so much more!  Candy and goodies!  We got a piece of paper with a nice sentiment on it. Our family also readied the house with décor, baked and decorated heart shaped cookies, and read Valentine's Day theme books.  I adore the Dollar Tree! For four bucks our dining room looked like a million! And going back to the cookie decorating, I would like to note that "sprinkles" implies sprinkling. Our kids were certainly caught up in the creation process and went straight for dumping. 

On Valentine morning, we gave gifts this time.  Rhys has been wanting a CTR ring which stands for Choose the Right so he got that.  Sophie has been in princess mode and wanting a special Valentine's Day dress, which I had already purchased for $7 at a consignment shop, before she even mentioned it.  Yes, her mom is that awesome (regardless of what she realizes).  So she got that. With help form daddy (who bought me flowers a week earlier because he knows I would fuss about paying Valentine Day prices), the kids got me a adorable Willow Tree figure which I collect sparingly.  Neal got a pair of blue level cufflinks because he fixes things from light switches to bruised egos.

Sophie was feeling particularly princess-like in her "Valentine dress" and with a lot of patience, on both our parts, we even did her hair in hearts!

Valentine's day was even more awesome for Sophie and Neal as this was the day he chose to volunteer as the school's Watch Dog. These fathers and father figures are the "heroes of the hallways" at our elementary school.  Last time he had the tedious task of removing staples form the hall bulletin boards for a good part of his day.  With the parties today, he will be able to witness the unadulterated sugar rush of elementary kids for the last half.

Our family tradition is to have a fancy dinner on this holiday.  This means we break out the candlesticks.  We were going to have a heart healthy meal but frozen kale and spinach stuffed ravioli with red sauce and buttery garlic bread seemed so much less trouble, we went with it!

Hope you had fun getting sucked into Valentine's Day.  We love you family and friends! Thanks for those who sent Valentine wishes!

Butterflies and Blackbirds

So for a few months now, my kids, led by Rhys, have been playing this game while their parents  chauffeur them around.

White vehicles are butterflies.
Black vehicles are birds, blackbirds to be specific.
Red vehicles are strawberries.
Blue vehicles are monsters.

Butterflies eat strawberries and avoid birds and monsters.
Birds eat strawberries and butterflies, avoiding monsters.
Strawberries simply get eaten.
Monsters eat birds and butterflies, with strawberries having not been mentioned.
(UPDATE 2/13/14: Strawberries are fair game.)

If we are moving the game is in session.  If we come to a stop, the game is on pause, like we can't see each other, so we are "safe."

Occasionally I change lanes to avoid birds and monsters.  I love hearing the biting and chewing and "nom, nom, nom" noises coming from the backseat.  So cute.

Recently with our accident, though, we have changed from a butterfly to a rented bird and I must say, I like our chances much better.  There has been a whole lot more chomping and lip smacking coming from the back of the car.

Making an Impact!

You know that new minivan we haven't had even a year yet? Yep. That's what happens to it when you are sliding on ice into an intersection with flowing cross traffic.  I trying all I can do to stop, thinking I've got my son in the back, and just waiting for the impact of the moving cross traffic.  Scary! We spun around and up on the side walk, nearly up on the flower bed of our local animal shelter.  The car that mercifully hit my nose, rather than T-boning us was occupied by a mother and her daughter, probably age 10.  No one hurt, just sore.  All their airbags went off, not one of mine.

After I got my bearings I got out and opened the sliding door to check my son who was asking me what happened.  He only started to cry when he found out we were not making it to our destination, his preschool, which needless to say, he adores.  Witnesses stopped and checked on us and the occupants of the other car that had stopped a ways off.  Then sirens and lights and questions and phone calls and paperwork and darn it was cold out, with a wind chill of 4 degrees.

Neal came and took over phone calls and got me home and then with his dad, went to go get my rental car.  Get this! Rudy, Neal's dad, in the rental car, rear ended Neal on the way back to our house!  Just a scratch that can be detailed out. Ice is crazy, people!

Although I am mourning the loss of my minivan's nose and know it will take a good long while to fix, I feel very blessed! I'm thankful for my Heavenly Father for protecting us and the others during the crash and making sure we had help. I'm thankful for people who care enough to stop, for emergency personnel that checked on us and moved things forward while keeping everyone calm. I'm thankful for family and friends that helped me out during a stressful time.  And I am thankful for being able to afford insurance.

Horsing Around

Our ancestry is seriously disappointing when it comes to the Chinese.  We cling to the one illegitimate daughter that was born to a housekeeper a couple generations back when Neal's paternal side was in the Dutch Indonesian colonies.  Thanks to her, we celebrated the year of the horse!

Opa helped the kids decorate the house in red and gold streamers while mom and dad went out to mingle with other Community Emergency Response Team members. Sophie even drew pictures of a horse and dragons.  I don't know what Rhys drew.  It was very abstract.  But we displayed it all the same.

When they got home we continued reading books highlighting the holiday as we had for a few days prior.  One told the story of the Chinese zodiac and was well liked by the kids. It was pretty cool and written with good humor.

I also used this holiday as an excuse to use child labor.  The kids swept out the old.  Housecleaning is a great way to prepare for the new year but I only swept because, well, laziness.

Then we were off to the Chinese restaurant, because it was a good excuse to eat at Zen Chow again.  So yummy!  We were sure to give tangerines (or you could do oranges) to some friends and the restaurant personnel to wish them luck for the new year.

The kids had to order something different than sesame chicken to celebrate this time.  We also splurged on steamed dumplings as they represent wealth and prosperity. We learned through our reading that the Chinese typically do not have drinks at a meal but a soup.  (Later in the week we made a Chinese sweet corn and crab meat soup. It was blah. As an anomaly, Rhys loved it.)

Upon arriving home we got our tambourines and made a ruckus in the front yard, shouting "Happy Chinese New Year!" and then we threw "pops" or "snaps" on the ground for our fireworks before the kids went off to bed.  Did you know the first fireworks were bamboo and they would explode when put in a fire?  Fireworks are to scare off evil spirits but I think living righteously would probably have the same effect.  Anyway, enjoy the new lunar new year.