** sent to me by my very cool SIL.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Go Yucaipa!
The boys with their NO. 1 Fan!
Getting ready - this isn't Jared, can you believe it? They grow so fast,..
Jared giving the opposition a big bear hug.
Jared running.
Zach looking mighty tough.
I'm embarrassed to say these are all from their scrimmages. I'll get photos today of them in their official uniforms, complete with gold disco pants!
Today we are 'away.' Thankfully they are breaking us in slowly and 'away' means 15 minutes away. For the all day football marathon (Zach plays at 8am and Jared at 12pm) we will be on the field from 7 until 2:30 (I'll try and get their by 8 with the rest of the brood), but here is what we have to bring: EZ Up (which, mark my words people, really isn't easy; especially when your engineering husbans buys the steel framed one, for 'durability.' I'm sorry, I didn't know he was afraid the Cal. sun would like, melt a less masculine structure; or he's afraid of falling asteroids or something, while we are watching our children play various and sundry sports.) Anyway, the EZ Up, a cooler, a bag o' food, diaper bag, stroller, car seat, armload of toys, three big water jugs, four chairs, two blankets and oh yeah, the kids, to get our efforts' worth WE MIGHT AS WELL LIVE AT THE FIELD FOR A WEEK.
Anyway, GO YUCAIPA!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Friday Ramblings
First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMAW! (And I don't mean Jason's Grandmother!) My mother has a birthday today. Last year we were onsite to hang all sorts of party decorations and make a yummy, if not too attractive, carrot cake (that's my specialty you know.)
And a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to GRANDPA R! He had a Bday last week. Hear he hasn't gotten the cards I forced the kids to make before school. We'll make new ones. I won't try and remember your address from (sleep deprived) memory. I wonder if I mailed the Blockbuster movie to you we can't find? Great,...
Kid musings -
Jared has been sleeping in late, which gives me the opportunity to throw the 2 year old in his room and close the door in order to wake him up. (MUCH more annoying than splashing cold water on some one who's asleep, I can assure you of that). He asked me the other day why he has been sleeping in late. Then his eyes got wide in realization and he groaned: "Oh noooo! I'm becoming a teen ager!" He is almost 12. The boys treat teendom as if its some sort of real life invasion of the body snatchers. Ha.
Packing lunch is making me tear my hair out already because no one wants to eat anything, and I'm sorry if Johnny's mommy brings him Weinershnitzel every day for lunch. I guess I just don't love you as much as that. So sorry. Jared was making cheese and crackers, but then told me he didn't like it anymore because the crackers 'do the worm' by lunch time. I guess packing cheese and then the crackers seperately is just too much effort.
The boys saw a Yo Gabba Gabba show with Tony Hawk on it, so now they are in that uncomfortable place of wondering if Yo Gabba Gabba can really be that cool,.. so now do they have to stop making fun of it???
Sophie has popped another tooth so she's awful again at night. She is now nine months old and thinks she's just too dang old for baby food. So pedestrian to have your food strained, you know.
I'm sure I was going to write something else, but I hear the feral child upstairs and must run. Happy Friday!
And a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to GRANDPA R! He had a Bday last week. Hear he hasn't gotten the cards I forced the kids to make before school. We'll make new ones. I won't try and remember your address from (sleep deprived) memory. I wonder if I mailed the Blockbuster movie to you we can't find? Great,...
Kid musings -
Jared has been sleeping in late, which gives me the opportunity to throw the 2 year old in his room and close the door in order to wake him up. (MUCH more annoying than splashing cold water on some one who's asleep, I can assure you of that). He asked me the other day why he has been sleeping in late. Then his eyes got wide in realization and he groaned: "Oh noooo! I'm becoming a teen ager!" He is almost 12. The boys treat teendom as if its some sort of real life invasion of the body snatchers. Ha.
Packing lunch is making me tear my hair out already because no one wants to eat anything, and I'm sorry if Johnny's mommy brings him Weinershnitzel every day for lunch. I guess I just don't love you as much as that. So sorry. Jared was making cheese and crackers, but then told me he didn't like it anymore because the crackers 'do the worm' by lunch time. I guess packing cheese and then the crackers seperately is just too much effort.
The boys saw a Yo Gabba Gabba show with Tony Hawk on it, so now they are in that uncomfortable place of wondering if Yo Gabba Gabba can really be that cool,.. so now do they have to stop making fun of it???
Sophie has popped another tooth so she's awful again at night. She is now nine months old and thinks she's just too dang old for baby food. So pedestrian to have your food strained, you know.
I'm sure I was going to write something else, but I hear the feral child upstairs and must run. Happy Friday!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
In Memory of 9/11
Today is a day of reflection for me and the events that happened seven years ago in NYC and Wash. DC. The bombing of the World Trade Center and those lost as a result of that will always be in my heart.
It is so vivid to me, because Kyle, my middle child, had been born barely a month before. I was in Washington state with three little kids, packing up for the trekk back to Egypt, where we where living at the time. We were moving from the metropolis of Cairo to Luxor, where hubby was heading up a sewage and water treatment project in the city. Basically, giving people who had no toilets, a toilet. I was flying my parents over in a thinly veiled 'thanks for letting me shack up with you for a few months while I gave birth to my kid' which as really a 'I really need some helping hands to get me from Olympia, Wash. to Luxor, Egypt with three boys aged 4, almost 2 and two months old.' (yes, I look back at some of my decisions and think WHAAAA????)
Needless to say, I'll never forget my father running into the room I was using and telling me about the bombing. He had been on his way to a meeting, had turned around and came directly home. I had said good bye to my husband around August 18th, so ready to see him again in two weeks, and now, wouldn't see him again until Halloween. At the time, I had no idea when I'd see him again, or which continent.
That event changed the course of our lives, we had to move from Luxor, where we would have been the only American, okay, caucasion, family in the 'city.' We didn't know until November where we would be living, and that turned out to be the Philippines.
The project hubby was working on, a large earth fill dam to generate power, had lost those who were working on certain design aspects; the company had been located on one of the floors of the WTC.
And very importantly, Kyle's Godfather lost his brother, who was a police officer in NYC while he was attempting to assist those in the tower to escape.
For these reasons, and the fact that for all the travels I do, I always love to come home because it feels safe and 9/11 took some of that from me, I will never forget this day. May we never forget that day and how lucky we are to live in a country where we are free. May no one ever take that from us.
It is so vivid to me, because Kyle, my middle child, had been born barely a month before. I was in Washington state with three little kids, packing up for the trekk back to Egypt, where we where living at the time. We were moving from the metropolis of Cairo to Luxor, where hubby was heading up a sewage and water treatment project in the city. Basically, giving people who had no toilets, a toilet. I was flying my parents over in a thinly veiled 'thanks for letting me shack up with you for a few months while I gave birth to my kid' which as really a 'I really need some helping hands to get me from Olympia, Wash. to Luxor, Egypt with three boys aged 4, almost 2 and two months old.' (yes, I look back at some of my decisions and think WHAAAA????)
Needless to say, I'll never forget my father running into the room I was using and telling me about the bombing. He had been on his way to a meeting, had turned around and came directly home. I had said good bye to my husband around August 18th, so ready to see him again in two weeks, and now, wouldn't see him again until Halloween. At the time, I had no idea when I'd see him again, or which continent.
That event changed the course of our lives, we had to move from Luxor, where we would have been the only American, okay, caucasion, family in the 'city.' We didn't know until November where we would be living, and that turned out to be the Philippines.
The project hubby was working on, a large earth fill dam to generate power, had lost those who were working on certain design aspects; the company had been located on one of the floors of the WTC.
And very importantly, Kyle's Godfather lost his brother, who was a police officer in NYC while he was attempting to assist those in the tower to escape.
For these reasons, and the fact that for all the travels I do, I always love to come home because it feels safe and 9/11 took some of that from me, I will never forget this day. May we never forget that day and how lucky we are to live in a country where we are free. May no one ever take that from us.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
How to Serve Kid
Sunday we had a good friend over for dinner. Of course, with the luck we seem to be having (car dying, gas heater dying, fridge dying,... yada yada) the air conditioner died. Which reminded us of our wonderful trip to Indonesia and how sweltering it was when the power would go off. Good thing our friend is a yoga expert and lives in the desert, I think he was pretty comfortable.
Whenever we have someone over for dinner we break out the hurkin' Silver Spoon cookbook. You know, the one comprehensive Italian cooking tome that someone took 100 years to painstakingly put all the recipes anyone's Italian grandmother ever made and stick it in one place. It wasn't until a few years ago this wealth of culinary knowledge was available translated in English.
Hubby got it for me as a 'just because' present. Instead of flowers I got a 40 pound cook book. "Just because' he's crazy for Italian food. "Just whip it out and make something once and a while," he instructed.
Which is a fine idea, except that being the mother of five, with a job and a busy schedule shuttling the next generation's Olympic athletes around, my cooking has devolved to only include things that are made with hamburger, a crockpot, cream of something soup, or a bag of greens that can be dumped on a plate and dressing added. Voila, dinner.
We decided against slaving over a hot stove since the internal temperature of the house was about 200 degrees and instead we grilled.
Now, we know we have a true friend when they keep coming back to the house to be fed by us, Laurel and Hardy of the cooking set. After four hours of grilling ribs on the barbie at low heat, hubby catches an unwarranted amount of smoke escaping from the covered grill out of the corner of his eye. Ribs? Burnt to a crisp. Thankfully we had some chickin in the fridge. And this is after I poured Champagne on the poor man's leg. The last time he came over, I'm afraid I pelted him with carrots I was mixing into the mashed potatoes (Sienfeld's wife has nothing on me - deceptively delicious? As if the concept of mixing nutrient rich foods into kid friendly ones had never crossed another mother's mind.) using my stand mixer that was set to the highest setting when I plugged it in. Carrots went a flyin'.
Always the good sport, our friend attacked the cripsy ribs and the two of us decided the bottom rack wasn't too bad. Anything to help out a hubby with a bruised ego. I commented, "This is how I remember ribs. My dad made them this way all the time." To which he replied, "Your dad is dead. And he died at an early age." Touche.
Anyway, the ribs were yummy. I don't like fat. I'll cut a one inch border around steak fat which leaves hubby tearing out his hair at all the wasted meat. And I tell ya, nothing cooks down the fat on some beef ribs like catching them on fire. Excellent.
So, I put the Silver Spoon cookbook away. But not after thinking of all the other great uses for this incredible encyclopedia of all things deemed edible in the great country of Italy:
* No need for a medicine ball when I'm doing my ab work, the Silver Spoon works great.
* Doorjam
* Great for lifting your spirits when you need something hilarious to think about. For example, the recipe for frog soup - main ingredient? 24 frogs.
*Wonderful for that last resort to get kids to do their chores. I just open it to the 'KID' section and leave it laying around. Braised leg of KID, Rack of KID,... they'd better shape up or it's Hansel and Gretel time at the Richardson household.
P.S. Aircon is fixed! And unlike every other appliance in this house, it was only a little, easy, relatively non-expensive thing that needed to be fixed. After whining to the 90 year old woman who answered the phone at the air repair shop yesterday morning ("We called two places yesterday and no one called back! I have five kids and one of them is an infant! AAAGH!") The repair man was out not between 9 and 12, but at 8:30. Since no kids had gone to school, I had not had time to make myself presentable to the non-Richardson world. Between my crazed hair and mascara under my eyes, I think I looked appropriately melted.
Hmmm,.. what'll go out next? The oven? That's okay,.. .I've got a grill!
Whenever we have someone over for dinner we break out the hurkin' Silver Spoon cookbook. You know, the one comprehensive Italian cooking tome that someone took 100 years to painstakingly put all the recipes anyone's Italian grandmother ever made and stick it in one place. It wasn't until a few years ago this wealth of culinary knowledge was available translated in English.
Hubby got it for me as a 'just because' present. Instead of flowers I got a 40 pound cook book. "Just because' he's crazy for Italian food. "Just whip it out and make something once and a while," he instructed.
Which is a fine idea, except that being the mother of five, with a job and a busy schedule shuttling the next generation's Olympic athletes around, my cooking has devolved to only include things that are made with hamburger, a crockpot, cream of something soup, or a bag of greens that can be dumped on a plate and dressing added. Voila, dinner.
We decided against slaving over a hot stove since the internal temperature of the house was about 200 degrees and instead we grilled.
Now, we know we have a true friend when they keep coming back to the house to be fed by us, Laurel and Hardy of the cooking set. After four hours of grilling ribs on the barbie at low heat, hubby catches an unwarranted amount of smoke escaping from the covered grill out of the corner of his eye. Ribs? Burnt to a crisp. Thankfully we had some chickin in the fridge. And this is after I poured Champagne on the poor man's leg. The last time he came over, I'm afraid I pelted him with carrots I was mixing into the mashed potatoes (Sienfeld's wife has nothing on me - deceptively delicious? As if the concept of mixing nutrient rich foods into kid friendly ones had never crossed another mother's mind.) using my stand mixer that was set to the highest setting when I plugged it in. Carrots went a flyin'.
Always the good sport, our friend attacked the cripsy ribs and the two of us decided the bottom rack wasn't too bad. Anything to help out a hubby with a bruised ego. I commented, "This is how I remember ribs. My dad made them this way all the time." To which he replied, "Your dad is dead. And he died at an early age." Touche.
Anyway, the ribs were yummy. I don't like fat. I'll cut a one inch border around steak fat which leaves hubby tearing out his hair at all the wasted meat. And I tell ya, nothing cooks down the fat on some beef ribs like catching them on fire. Excellent.
So, I put the Silver Spoon cookbook away. But not after thinking of all the other great uses for this incredible encyclopedia of all things deemed edible in the great country of Italy:
* No need for a medicine ball when I'm doing my ab work, the Silver Spoon works great.
* Doorjam
* Great for lifting your spirits when you need something hilarious to think about. For example, the recipe for frog soup - main ingredient? 24 frogs.
*Wonderful for that last resort to get kids to do their chores. I just open it to the 'KID' section and leave it laying around. Braised leg of KID, Rack of KID,... they'd better shape up or it's Hansel and Gretel time at the Richardson household.
P.S. Aircon is fixed! And unlike every other appliance in this house, it was only a little, easy, relatively non-expensive thing that needed to be fixed. After whining to the 90 year old woman who answered the phone at the air repair shop yesterday morning ("We called two places yesterday and no one called back! I have five kids and one of them is an infant! AAAGH!") The repair man was out not between 9 and 12, but at 8:30. Since no kids had gone to school, I had not had time to make myself presentable to the non-Richardson world. Between my crazed hair and mascara under my eyes, I think I looked appropriately melted.
Hmmm,.. what'll go out next? The oven? That's okay,.. .I've got a grill!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Max We'll Miss You
Sorry I haven't posted lately, been a little sad around here. We had to put our beloved pup down on Saturday. He'd been fighting something no vet between here and Washington could figure out. He'd had blood tests, been on many pills and special foods. He wasn't eating, then he would eat, then wouldn't eat, then lately I don't think he could eat. The vets all think maybe it was an auto immune deficiency because he was the runt of the litter. Being a rescue dog, we don't know anytihng of his history so it's all just a big guess.
As if that wasn't bad enough, in June he woke up with a limp and even after many x-rays showing nothing broken and a cast for two months, he still limps. No life for a dog who loved to run, mess around and follow his people everywhere they went.
It's so hard to loose a pet. The boys are recovering, but I think it'll be a while before they don't hurt.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Happy Anniversary!
Today is hubby and my anniversary. 15 years of wedded bliss. Yay for us. How sad is it I don't have any pictures of us?
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