Friday, December 25, 2009
Rock you like a hurricane
Thomas discovered that he could play Rock Band which my cousins got for Christmas. I don't know if I should have been happy or disturbed when he beat my father's score. In Dad's defense he was playing the guitar while Thomas was on the drums and it did happen to be a song where the red and yellow colors were dominant and those are the ones that he likes to beat, but still.
Two chickens and one honorary chicken
My mother has three chickens in her backyard. The dog, who is now 13, has always suffered from a bit of an identity crisis. When he was young he thought he was a cat as we had a cat. With the cat having been gone for years now he is now convinced he is a chicken. In the morning you will see three chickens and a dog eating raw rice and chicken scratch out on the porch.
Dog pajamas
Jelly Beans
So my parents love to go up to Shaver Lake in their motor home. (Or as Thomas likes to call it the "mo home") At their campground they have bear themed everything. There are wooden bears that are cut into just about everything. With that in mind, what did I think that my father needed for Christmas?
A bear themed Jelly Bean dispenser! How does it work you ask. Well you push on the head and out come Jelly Beans that are stored inside. It also answers the question that has always been posed. What do bears do in the woods? My sister thought it was great. She'll be getting one next year.
A bear themed Jelly Bean dispenser! How does it work you ask. Well you push on the head and out come Jelly Beans that are stored inside. It also answers the question that has always been posed. What do bears do in the woods? My sister thought it was great. She'll be getting one next year.
Fun with aprons
Do you think Jenny was surprised?
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Thomas take pictures
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Commitment is . . .
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Thomas's World
Why does Dada work? "Dada go work. Buy more O's." (Yep, gotta earn that buck ninety-nine.)
Why is he wrapping his play colander in a beach towel? "Thomas make col-der feel better."
What are you making in the play kitchen? "Thomas cook pasta. Thomas make milk." He also talks about making juice, popcorn, chicken, & cupcakes. Oh, and tea. Lots of tea. With milk.
"I luv you, Mama." "I love you, too, Thomas." "I luv you, one, Mama."
"One, two, free, five, nine, ten, eleven. ELEVEN!!!"
"Here you go, Thomas." "Fank you, welcome."
"No ride Mama's car! Ride Dada's BW (BMW) car! PCW car." (Kid's got taste.)
"R, S, T, W, car, Y" (more BMW's)
Playing with Ruthann: "Peep-by-you, Roo-fan!"
When he's feeling lazy and wants carried: "Thomas no want walk on floor!"
"Mama, music a bit loud."
Why is he wrapping his play colander in a beach towel? "Thomas make col-der feel better."
What are you making in the play kitchen? "Thomas cook pasta. Thomas make milk." He also talks about making juice, popcorn, chicken, & cupcakes. Oh, and tea. Lots of tea. With milk.
"I luv you, Mama." "I love you, too, Thomas." "I luv you, one, Mama."
"One, two, free, five, nine, ten, eleven. ELEVEN!!!"
"Here you go, Thomas." "Fank you, welcome."
"No ride Mama's car! Ride Dada's BW (BMW) car! PCW car." (Kid's got taste.)
"R, S, T, W, car, Y" (more BMW's)
Playing with Ruthann: "Peep-by-you, Roo-fan!"
When he's feeling lazy and wants carried: "Thomas no want walk on floor!"
"Mama, music a bit loud."
Pudding
I love warm pudding. It just tastes like comfort. It's also fast and easy and you don't need to keep a dorky box of mix around. Here's my recipe that I just made up.
Fast Chocolate Pudding (with a minimum of dirty dishes)
Equipment: Small pot, whisk, 1/4 c measure
1. Whisk together 1/2 c sugar (i.e. 2 of your 1/4 cups), 1/4 c cornstarch, 1/4 c cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in the small pot. Make sure to break up all the lumps in the cocoa.
2. Stir in 2 c milk (I just use the 1/4 c measure and count to 8) and a splash of vanilla. Whisk well to dissolve the cornstarch. You'll be left with a foam of cocoa powder floating on the top.
3. Turn the heat on to high or medium-high and whisk constantly. Don't let gunk accumulate in the corners of the pot. The cocoa powder will dissolve when the milk gets warm. When it comes to a boil, the cornstarch will activate and it will get very thick very fast. Turn off the heat.
4. Gently whisk in another cup of milk to cool the pudding to the proper warm temp for eating. If you like it chilled, pour it into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Keep the wrap touching the surface of the pudding to avoid forming a skin. Stash in fridge until cool. But really, it's better warm.
I was in the mood for Mexican chocolate, so I added a teaspoon and a half of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne to step 1.
Other ideas: add in some chopped chocolate after step 3 for added decadence. Replace some of the milk with cold coffee for a mocha flavor. Leave out the cocoa for a vanilla pudding. Warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and black pepper are all possibilities. Vanilla + nutmeg = eggnog flavor. Replace some of the milk with fruit juice (may want to reduce the sugar). Chocolate orange maybe? Imagination is so tasty! Just don't add lemon or lime juice or the milk will curdle (not good eats).
And now my bowl is empty. It's time for a refill. I'm going to warm it up on the stove a bit first. Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!
Fast Chocolate Pudding (with a minimum of dirty dishes)
Equipment: Small pot, whisk, 1/4 c measure
1. Whisk together 1/2 c sugar (i.e. 2 of your 1/4 cups), 1/4 c cornstarch, 1/4 c cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in the small pot. Make sure to break up all the lumps in the cocoa.
2. Stir in 2 c milk (I just use the 1/4 c measure and count to 8) and a splash of vanilla. Whisk well to dissolve the cornstarch. You'll be left with a foam of cocoa powder floating on the top.
3. Turn the heat on to high or medium-high and whisk constantly. Don't let gunk accumulate in the corners of the pot. The cocoa powder will dissolve when the milk gets warm. When it comes to a boil, the cornstarch will activate and it will get very thick very fast. Turn off the heat.
4. Gently whisk in another cup of milk to cool the pudding to the proper warm temp for eating. If you like it chilled, pour it into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Keep the wrap touching the surface of the pudding to avoid forming a skin. Stash in fridge until cool. But really, it's better warm.
I was in the mood for Mexican chocolate, so I added a teaspoon and a half of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne to step 1.
Other ideas: add in some chopped chocolate after step 3 for added decadence. Replace some of the milk with cold coffee for a mocha flavor. Leave out the cocoa for a vanilla pudding. Warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and black pepper are all possibilities. Vanilla + nutmeg = eggnog flavor. Replace some of the milk with fruit juice (may want to reduce the sugar). Chocolate orange maybe? Imagination is so tasty! Just don't add lemon or lime juice or the milk will curdle (not good eats).
And now my bowl is empty. It's time for a refill. I'm going to warm it up on the stove a bit first. Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Still here, still alive, not smoked out yet.
Life in Southern California has definite seasons, there's the dream perfect season (Spring), followed by heat (Summer), followed by fire (Fall), and then mudslides (Winter). Right now we're apparently in the early part of fire season. Last year was really bad with the highlights being ash raining on the sidewalks and evacuation of the school. This year we're on the other side of the hills. The particulates all are on the other side, but this is the view behind our apartment. No, those are not clouds, it's smoke.
Great idea?
One of the advantages of coaching is that you have access to a large amount of stuff that people think is pretty cool, but that few people have lying around. As a result I decided that I would try to see what would be the reaction if I walked in the house wearing a football helmet. I placed in on my head and Thomas just stared at me for about five seconds and the a soft voice filled with awe, "Thomas want!" These pictures are the result.
Of course if it's good enough for Thomas.
It's good enough for Ruthann as well.
Of course if it's good enough for Thomas.
It's good enough for Ruthann as well.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Ruthann's Baptism
We realized that Ruthann had been baptized a year ago on the 20th. It's also her great-grandfather's birthday. We thought that this meant that we needed a party. What does any party need? Pulled pork, coleslaw, and ice cream sandwiches! This is how Ruthann eats an ice cream sandwich. Let me also say that I can think on no other meal that she has ever eaten where there we no crumbs left over at the end.
Where's Thomas's ice cream sandwich you may ask. Thomas thought that the best part of ice cream sandwiches was that if you hold it in your hand it will melt, onto the carpet. If we broke off a piece of it and put it in his mouth he screamed. This resulted in his ice cream sandwich being taken away if he wasn't going to eat it. Who ate it then? Ruthann did. It was a double dose of joy.
Where's Thomas's ice cream sandwich you may ask. Thomas thought that the best part of ice cream sandwiches was that if you hold it in your hand it will melt, onto the carpet. If we broke off a piece of it and put it in his mouth he screamed. This resulted in his ice cream sandwich being taken away if he wasn't going to eat it. Who ate it then? Ruthann did. It was a double dose of joy.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Take Pictures Thomas Bear
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Ruthann is Hiding
So out of the kindness and generosity of my dear, lovable wife's heart we've upgraded cameras to a DSLR and even got image software. Expect more high quality pictures in this space more often and e-mail me or Jenny if you want a higher quality file so that you can make a print at Costco or somewhere else. I shrink the images way down for posting on the blog.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Lahar
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
First Cow's Milk
Ruthann's First Birthday
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Two Months Post-Surgery
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