Busy Week

This has been an incredibly stressful week.  On Wednesday I flew down to Los Angeles for my quarterly California Apprenticeship Council meeting.  Knowing I was going to be away for three days, I spent the first part of my week frantically getting ready to be gone for the last part of the week.  I am totally swamped at work right now, and three days away from my day job is killing me.  My poor family has had to deal with this stress ball of a wife/mom.

Once I was on the plane, I was able to sit back and relax a little, when it dawned on me:

1.  Friday was our one year anniversary on Feingold.  Wow - I can't believe it's been a year.  I still feel like a newbie, still researching foods that may or may not cause trouble in our house.  And I can't believe how far Ben has progressed in a year.  It really, truly, amazes me to think about what he has accomplished since we started the program.

2.  On Monday, Ben earned his FOURTH Super Star Student Award.  Darrin bought him a new toy, but I realized that we didn't do a whole lot of pomp and circumstance like we had for the first three.  OH MY - WE ARE BECOMING USED TO GOOD BEHAVIOR!!!!  Ben achieving Super Star Student was this crazy anomaly to me the first time it happened - even the second.  But the fourth? I didn't even think to take a picture.  (These pictures are from the first two times.)

 


Tonight Ben had his class play and open house at school.  I missed it because I'm out of town.  I know it was just a silly 10 minute play, but I feel hollow for not being there.  No matter how busy I am, I do my best to make every event.  This one snuck up on me.  I am very grateful to my husband, my mom and my sister and brother for being there for Ben tonight.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve the apprenticeship community, but I will be really happy when that big blue and orange bird takes me home to my family tomorrow afternoon.

A Missing Tooth

Ben's top front tooth has been loose for weeks, and for weeks we've been trying to get him to pull it out.  On Easter Sunday, while enjoying an all-natural egg-shaped lollipop, his tooth came out.  On its own.

That's how loose it was.  It didn't even bleed.  

Now the tooth next to it, which was also loose, is sort of hanging sideways with nothing there to keep it in place anymore.  I'm sure it will also be out within a week.  Strangely, there's something cute about a first grader when they are missing their top front teeth.

Best Buddies

I'm sure most siblings fight when they spend too much time together, but over spring break our kids got along really well.   Aside from an occasional spat, they had so much fun together - on the beach, riding bikes and scooters, playing in our barn, sleeping in the same room, running through the sprinklers.  Many times over break Darrin and I would stop what we were doing to listen to the sound of their laughter.  I'm not sure there's much more to life than that.  

I'm A Lucky Girl

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my husband?  Oh, that's right - I did here.  Not only is he incredibly handsome, but you should see how amazing our yard looks after all his hard work this weekend.  He mowed the lawns and the fields, trimmed the trees that line our driveway, tended to our garden, used the weed-eater all over the property, and then helped me in the kitchen to prep for our meal.  I could not survive without this man, nor would I want to.  I thank God every day for sending Darrin my way. 

Easter Sunday

What a great day.  Our kids slept until 8am, then ran into our room so excited about their treats from the Easter Bunny.  Somehow, the Easter Bunny knew where to buy approved candy for the kids, and boy were they happy about it!  I got my basket stuffing ability from my mom, the ultimate gift pro.  Doing these baskets is one of my favorite parts of this holiday. 

Lia has been dying to wear her Easter dress since we had our shopping trip a week or two ago.  So by 9am she was ready to get dressed.  I have to admit, she did look lovely.  Here she is with our Easter miracle, Tuna Kitty.

By 1pm our guests started arriving.  This year we hosted only my family, but I cooked for about twice that many people.  We missed my brother, Leo, who was under the weather, but we enjoyed the company of my mom, my Dad and Care, and my sister Carla. 

My Dad and Care took the kids on a drive to try and find the Easter Bunny.  Wouldn't you know it, while they were gone the Bunny came by the house and hid all the Easter eggs in the front yard!  The kids found them all, including four plastic eggs stuffed with approved gummy candy.  Ben held on to the candy like he was afraid to lose it.  Man he loves his gummies. 

 
























Dinner turned out awesome (if I do say so myself)!  Glazed ham with apples and pears, sweet potatoes with homemade marshmallow topping, green beans with bacon, ambrosia fruit salad, homemade rolls.  Once dinner was over we realized that I had completely forgotten to serve the baked beans I had been preparing from scratch for over 24 hours.  Oh well, I know what we're having for dinner tomorrow! 

For dessert - Lemon Cheese Pie, and more chocolate covered macaroons.  I'm telling you, those macaroons are amazing.  Guests left, dishes done, kids to bed.  I'm exhausted. 

Hosting for holidays is definitely work, but for some reason I love it.  I love having my family gathered close, I love trying to top myself each time perfecting the holiday meal, I love to hear everyone say how stuffed they are because the food was so good.  Easter is a special holiday, all about the sacrifice God made for us and the celebration of Jesus's life.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to be with the people I love most in the world. 

A Day Of Prep

The Kimbles are hosting Easter Dinner tomorrow, so today was my day for preparation.  Of course, you can't face a day of cooking without first eating a good breakfast, so per the kids' request, Darrin made Easter Bunny pancakes. 

Then, Ben made his own list of the things he needed to tackle today:

On my list:  Make 2 Lemon Cheese Pies, make homemade corn syrup substitute (for ham and marshmallows), make marshmallows, make macaroons, do laundry, change sheets.  Get haircut.  Here is Lia with me during my haircut:

So, this could possibly be the best thing I've ever baked:  chocolate dipped macaroons.  Yum!

But here is a recipe I wanted to share:  Lemon Cheese Pie.  This recipe was given to me by my mother in law, and our family loves it.  Do not be tempted to use a store bought graham cracker crust with artificial ingredients - a homemade crust is super easy!  The recipe below is for one pie, but I doubled it today so I could make two pies at once.

Lemon Cheese Pie

Graham Cracker Crust:

1-1/2 cups crushed graham crackers (about 12 crackers, I used a food processor to finely crush, but you could do it by hand)
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

In a small bowl (or electric mixer bowl) mix the ingredients well.  Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie plate.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes before filling, or bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack before filling.  (I just put mine in the refrigerator while I made the filling and topping.)

Lemon Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients well and pour into prepared crust.

Lemon Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
2-1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 egg yolk
1 tblspn butter

Mix sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan.  Add other ingredients except butter and cook on medium heat until thickened (about 5 minutes).  Add the butter, remove from heat.  Pour over top of Lemon Filling. 

Refrigerate the pie for two hours until set. 

This recipe is sure to be a crowd pleaser, and it's so light and refreshing - just the right amount of lemon. 

Now, I'm off to make the dough for tomorrow's rolls, and something tells me the Easter Bunny is due to arrive soon to fill the Easter baskets for the kids.  So glad I had a full day to prepare, tomorrow will be just a little less work.

Eight Lives Down, One To Go

We found Tuna Kitty today.  Now that she's home I can tell the complete story of her adventure.

We adopted Tuna Kitty and her brother, Gary, from a cat rescue.  They told us that the kittens had been thrown out of a vehicle on the freeway and a friend of the rescue saved them.  I figured then that out of their nine lives, our cats had already used up at least two. 

Then about a month ago, Tuna went missing in the night.  No matter how we called to her she did not come in.  Then around two in the morning, she was at the back door.  We never found out what happened to her that night, but she had a limp, a swollen face and a really bad attitude for several days.  So goes another life - down to six.

Last Sunday we packed up our things to leave for our family trip to Monterey.  We locked up the house, gave our animals a kiss and wished them luck (my brother Leo was house sitting again) and drove away in our motorhome.  One bumpy dirt road, three stop signs and five miles later, we merged on to Highway 99 at Dillard Road.  The car behind us swerved, catching Darrin's attention, and I heard Darrin yell, "Oh no, I think it's Tuna!" as he saw our kitty through his rearview mirror, spiraling out of control behind us, six or seven feet in the air.  Darrin pulled over as fast as he could, some two hundred yards from where it happened, and ran over to the area.  He searched and searched but could not find the kitty.  We drove the motorhome back around and he and I both searched the shoulder to no avail.  We were looking for our dead cat, because Darrin was certain that no cat could have survived falling off the motorhome, being hit by the car behind us, and falling seven feet down to the ground. 

The shoulder at Dillard and Highway 99 is very big, and has very dense weedy brush covering a ditchline.  On the other side of the ditch is a barbed wire fence, and on the other side of the fence is a huge open field, covered in six foot tall weedy shrubbery.  Darrin and I paced back and forth through the weeds for what seemed like forever, calling our kitty but knowing we wouldn't find her in good condition.  Meanwhile, we didn't want our kids to know that their kitten was now roadkill, so we tried to keep them from understanding what was going on.  Finally we decided there was nothing we could do, Tuna was a goner, and we got back into the motorhome (me trying to hide my sobs from the kids) and headed to Monterey. 

We had a fun trip, but Darrin and I were tormented all week long about our poor lost Tuna Kitty.  The what-if's set in and we began to talk whenever the kids weren't around to hear us:

What if she wasn't dead but only hurt?

What if she was okay and now she's lost in the field?

What if she starts trying to find her way home? 

What are we going to tell the kids?

We decided we were going to tell the kids that Tuna had been missing since we left, so they didn't blame Uncle Leo for losing her.  But then, the morning we were packing up to leave Monterey, Lia says out of nowhere, "Mommy, I just saw Tuna!"  My heart skipped a beat (thinking:  is it possible she could have gotten back on the motorhome and hidden for the past four days?!?).  I told her, "Lia, it's probably just a cat that looks like Tuna, but let's check it out".  Of course, we didn't find the kitty, but now Darrin and I had to come up with a different explanation so the kids didn't think that stray really WAS Tuna, and want us to travel back to Monterey to find her. 

So about an hour from home, we finally told the kids that Tuna had been at home with Uncle Leo, but hadn't come in the night before.  They seemed worried, but okay, and we talked about looking for her when we got home.  When Darrin pulled the motorhome off Highway 99 at Dillard, we made another attempt to look for her.  We searched the shoulder again, calling her name, but found nothing.  No body, no kitty.  We told the kids we were looking for Darrin's lost baseball glove that we thought had fallen off the motorhome. 

Then last night, at 10pm, Darrin went out to try again, hoping that she wouldn't be scared at night and would come to him if he called her.  Meanwhile, back at home, Ben was very upset that Tuna was missing.  "Mommy, I thought she would be home before night and I didn't even get to say goodbye."  As I wrote my blog about our missing kitty, Darrin came home empty handed and I knew, we weren't going to see Tuna again.  As I fell asleep I actually prayed that God would help us find our kitty so our kids didn't have to be disappointed in losing yet another pet. 

This morning I got up early to make an 8am conference call at work.  Leaving the house at 7am I decided to give it one last try.  I drove to the on-ramp at Dillard and 99 and called her name.  Nothing.  Then I drove a little further to the spot we lost her and called her name: TUNA!  MEOW.

What?!?  Was that a meow I heard?  I called her again:  TUNA!  Meow!  It was definitely a meow.  I started trampling down the weeds, headed in the direction of her little kitty voice.  TUNA!  Meow!  All of a sudden I saw the top of her tail over the weeds, headed in my direction.  That little kitty ran right up to me and snuggled into my chest when I picked her up.  I could not believe that she had survived five nights in the wild without us.  The whole ride home she meowed and snuggled into my neck.  I explained to her that after the motorhome ride, falling off, getting hit by a car, falling to the ground, and surviving in the wild, she had pretty much used up another five lives, and we had better be pretty cautious with the one that remained.  Five miles, three stop signs and one bumpy dirt road later, I brought our Tuna Kitty home. 

Even after all this time, the kids only know that Tuna wandered off and that I found her this morning "on the road".  They have no idea the ride that Tuna took, the trouble she went through, the torment that Darrin and I experienced all week, or even our sheer joy at finding Tuna.  Someday we will tell them this story, probably around the same time they find out how our old dog, Joe, really died. 

Missing Kitty

One of our cats, Tuna Kitty, has gone missing.  To my Wilton friends:  Please keep your eyes open for a gray tabby cat who answers to the name of "Tuna" and might be hanging around Dillard Road somewhere between my house and Highway 99.  She has stumpy legs and a kitten face and weighs about five pounds.  And we miss her. 

I always knew I needed to watch this one.  She has gone head first into danger more than once.  Her curiousity has been the stronger calling than caution since we've had her. This time she may have gone too far.  I'm pissed at Incredible Journey for giving me hope that a lost animal will find their way home.  But here I am, typing a plea for everyone to watch for her and hoping with all my might that she will find her way back to us. 

Ghiradelli Chocolate And Quiet Time

Dinner went swimmingly tonight!  We went to Trattoria Paradisio on Cannery Row.  For the kids I ordered the homemade cheese ravioli with olive oil and parmesan instead of the marinara sauce.  I also ordered shrimp grilled with olive oil, salt and pepper for them on the side.  The restaurant made their own bread as well, and if it is rustic French or Italian bread it is typically safe for us.  Homemade bread is usually free of preservatives, and the rustic type is free of pan spray since it's allowed to cook free form.  So the kids were able to eat the bread tonight too.

Dinner was so nice and calm.  I have to remind myself sometimes how it used to be before our diet changes.  We used to think it was normal to have to keep our kids occupied every minute, stop them from banging their silverware, quiet them from being too loud or screaming - yeah, we were THOSE people.  The people you wondered why they would EVER take their kids to a restaurant.  I'd bring bags full of things to do:  coloring books, games, books to read, toys. 

Tonight the kids drew pictures on the paper tablecloth and wrote notes.  Here is Ben's:

Here is Lia's (can't seem to get it turned right side up):

After dinner we treated the kids to a Monterey Bay stuffed animal (read:  overpriced souvenir) and a trip to Ghiradelli Chocolate.  You may not know this, but Ghiradelli offers chocolates with no artificial colors or flavors.  The Milk Chocolate is one of those, as well as a few of their other varieties.  (Note:  not all their chocolates are free of artificials or preservatives, so buyer beware!)  We had hoped the kids could eat Ghiradelli ice cream, and the store was more than happy to show me the ingredients list.  The list boasted "All Natural Flavors" but right there at the bottom was Yellow #5 and other artificial colors.  Why in the world would you need yellow artificial color in vanilla ice cream?  Crazy!  So we let the kids pick a few of the natural chocolate candies.  Ben was in heaven.  But wouldn't you know it, my lima-bean-eating daughter didn't like chocolate. 

We know that chocolate, even when all natural, can be a trigger for emotional and irrational behavior for Ben if he has it too many days in a row.  But we've never let him have a bunch in one sitting before.  So we have been waiting all night for the reaction to take place.  Right now, the kids are laying in their beds watching a movie, and all is quiet.  Maybe we've figured out a chocolate binge in one sitting is just fine!

Not Such A Great Beach Day

All week the weather report has shown rain, and all week we've had gorgeous weather here in Monterey and Santa Cruz.  So today we decided to hit the beach, and what happens?  It rains.  Lovely.  But we had packed our lunch and we were determined to have a picnic on the beach.  Brrrr!  Once it started really coming down, we packed it up and headed back to our motorhome and made popcorn. 

 

 

One good thing:  we made a new friend today.  This squirrel was rabid, or had figured out that people offer the best snacks on the beach - because he came way too close to us! 

We were going to have dinner in the motorhome tonight, but since we've been stuck in here all afternoon we are headed out to eat.  I did a Goggle search for "Green Restaurants in Monterey" - not so much because I care what type of packaging they use, but typically if a restaurant is "green", it also has organic food and more all natural selections.  I feel like I'm pressing my luck eating out two nights in a row, but we'll see what happens! 

On The Boardwalk

Today's adventure was the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, only a 40 minute drive from our spot in Monterey.  Oh boy were we excited.  Darrin and I couldn't remember being there since we were little kids, and there was so much new to us since then.  The kids are old enough now to ride most rides, but unfortunately the Giant Dipper was still off limits for both Ben and Lia.  Other than two other rides that required riders to be over 52", Ben was able to ride everything.  Lia was under 48" and had to sit out on some of them.  Shame, really, because that girl is our daredevil. 

Ben is totally game to ride anything once . .  except the log ride.  There were some crazy rides he loved, and others that he hated.  No rhyme or reason to them.  Lia, well she loved all the crazy spinning, roller coaster, thrill rides.  But she HATED the haunted house rides. 

We had brought our lunch but didn't think to store it in a locker rather than the trunk of our rental car, so we had lunch in the parking lot instead of the beach.  It was hard to ignore the funnel cakes, corn dogs, kettle corn, snow cones, ice cream and other tasty treats along the boardwalk, but we figured we saved money and calories by sticking with our all-natural, homemade lunch.  And it tasted good, too!

We stayed at the boardwalk until the rides closed at 6:15pm, and then hit the beach for a while.  But then it got really cold outside and we called it a day.  Had the rides been open longer, I think the kids would have wanted to stay forever - regardless of the cold sinking in.

Tonight we decided to try and eat dinner at a restaurant.  I used Yelp and tried to find something local that boasted all natural, locally grown organic ingredients.  We found a pizza place, locally owned, that had such advertising and a four star rating.  Unfortunately, the kid behind the counter wasn't very helpful in determining which ingredients were actually natural.  I'm sure he was more than a little irritated at all the questions I asked, and we almost gave up with his unhelpful answers of "I don't know".  But luckily one of the other employees overheard and started helping us out.  In the end, we ordered the kids a (hopefully) all natural pizza, which they completely devoured, and a not all natural salami, pepperoni, mushroom, black olive and jalapeno pizza for us.  We like to do spicy so the kids aren't tempted to eat our pizza with it's crappy (but delicious) lunch meat. 

I'm probably jinxing myself, but Ben seemed reaction free from dinner - so our chosen ingredients on his pizza must have been okay.  I told myself long ago to not be embarrassed or feel uncomfortable asking questions about our food at a restaurant.  If Ben's issue was a life threatening allergy, I would have no problem asking questions, nor would they be casual about responding.  So that is how I approach our issues as well.  We don't eat out often, but we are starting to figure out what works, what is safe, and what should be avoided.  It's all a process and it does get easier every time. 

Dennis The Menace Met His Match

If you have small kids and visit Monterey, I highly recommend the Dennis the Menace Park.  I've never seen such an awesome playground-park.  The kids had a blast.  Since we had just spent four hours going through exhibits at the aquarium, they needed to run off some energy, and this was the perfect place. 

First stop, a train engine donated in 1956.  We had to tell Ben more than a few times that he couldn't hang off the top. 





























We only saw the sign after our kids (and about 30 others) were all over this train.  I guess it's just there for CYA for the park after 50 kids broke limbs by falling off the train.







They loved the slides - probably the best sampling of slides ever.  Lia must have slid down the green and red slides about thirty times.

This park also had swings, tunnels, a rock wall, a hedge maze, plenty of things to climb and even sand.  I wouldn't be surprised if the kids asked us to go back tomorrow.