Painting pumpkins.

Our good friend Mary gave Mateo some pumpkins to paint. (Thank you, Mary!!) I let him use some paint markers. As you can see, most of the marker ended up on him. As you can also see, he mainly chose very light colors for his pumpkin, resulting in a very minimalist design.
My pumpkin sports a mustache.
He cooked the pumpkin afterward and told me to eat it. I politely declined.

Bad hair day.

I titled this post "Bad hair day," but in truth, Mateo's hair looks like this most mornings when he wakes up. You see, he inherited my hair, the poor child. And sadly no amount of combing - with or without water - tames our morning hair. At least I can use hair clips.

I admit to loving his wavy locks, though. No one else has them like he does!

Imagination Movers.

School photos.

So Mateo was supposed to take his school photos today. Alas, he wouldn't cooperate, so we won't be getting any of those this semester. Instead I decided to take a few shots after he got home. Why does he pose for me and not for others?

I finally caught him doing something we think is hilarious. Any time he says "speshul tweeeeet," his little hand goes up to his mouth, he points at you while waggling his finger, and he makes this face. Now where does he get that from? Couldn't be me! Oh wait, I guess it is me.

Seven years...

Today it's been officially seven years since we married... tied the knot... got hitched... took the plunge. To celebrate we went out for dinner (sushi), and due to my poorly timed headache, hung out at a coffee shop to discuss Halloween plans. (We're huge Halloween people.) We were supposed to go salsa dancing, but alas, that will wait for another time.

Three exciting things happened that night.

• First, I discovered a sushi roll that I love. It's an asparagus roll with tempura asparagus and masago aioli wrapped in edamame paper. Divine. Probably because there's something fried in there.
  
• Second, Rafi surprised me with an iPhone! As most of you know, cell phones age in dog years, so mine was approximately 49 years old. I used to have to actually call the movie theater to find out the start time as opposed to what all the smart phones can do. Needless to say, I'm very excited about it.
• And third, I surprised Rafi with an XBox 360 Elite. And to think that he thought I had forgotten... tsk, tsk. :-)

So in summary, thank you, Rafi, for seven great years. Here's to 70 more.

New list archives!

I've been asked before if there was an archive of my Lists of 5 or my 3 Favorite Things, to which I answered, "no." Now why I didn't think of adding that before, I have no idea, but that's how life goes I guess.

So I now introduce to you ..... archives!! Notice that there is a link for each below the lists you see on the right, though I'll also post them below for your convenience.

3 Favorite Things
List of 5

I'll continue to add previous items on my list as I remember them. Seriously... why did I take so long to think of doing this?

Pocket FAIL.

This morning I saw an older man in Costco today. His cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his sock. He was wearing cargo pants.

Dine Without Whine.

Everyone can relate to staring blankly into your fridge wondering what in the heck to eat. And if your family is relying on you for their meals, you quickly realize that cereal can't be the answer every night as it once was. (I do, however, admit to still doing that if Rafi's out of town.)

Anyhow, this website has really been a help to me. It's called Dine Without Whine. They offer a weekly menu plan that kids and husbands (and picky people like me) will actually eat. Don't get me wrong, I do like my subscriptions to a few cooking magazines. But despite trying it many times, I'm just not a goat cheese person. Neither is my husband.

Dine Without Whine has been providing me with some new recipes to try that use familiar ingredients, take little time to prepare, and thus far have proven tasty - with the exception of chicken chop suey, though I think it was my stir-fry sauce that was so rank. Man, was it ever rank.

The Easy Beef Stroganoff recipe was quite a hit. In fact I think I'll share it now. It was that good. We didn't even miss the breading on the meat.

Easy Beef Stroganoff - Makes 4 servings

1 pound beef sirloin or beef round steaks
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2/3 cup water
1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 package (2-ounce size) onion soup mix (1 envelope)
1 cup sour cream
4 cups hot cooked rice or noodles
Chopped fresh parsley, if desired

1. Remove fat from beef. Cut beef across grain into about 1 1/2 x 1/2-inch strips. (Beef is easier to cut if partially frozen, 30 to 60 minutes.)
2. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in butter about 10 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until brown. Stir in water, mushrooms and soup mix. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until beef is tender.
3. Stir in sour cream; heat until hot. Serve over rice or noodles. Sprinkle with parsley.


Anyway, just thought I'd spread the info.
http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/

First doughnuts.

Mateo had his first trip to the doughnut shop this morning. First he drank his own milk. Then he drank Daddy's orange juice.

Yummm!!!

Some people (who shall remain nameless) can get a little testy when the the camera is turned on them. First they try to ignore it.

Then they get annoyed and give you the stink-eye.

And then they hide.

Girls who bowl.

This month our Girls' Night took us (Tina, J, M, and myself) to the bowling alley. What fun!

It had been more than a few years for most of us, so it was nice to see the facility was updated and smoke-free. The shoes are still the same though. Except for Tina - she has her own. She also has her own ball. We were scared.

Can you believe that my friend J ate ALL this food? I kid, I kid. Though she is eating for two you know. ;-)

So posh...

I was taking some self-portraits while expirementing with my camera's ISO settings and made an amazing discovery. I kinda-sorta-if-you-squint-real-hard-and-fully-desaturate-the-photo look like Victoria Beckham (that's Posh Spice for us non-Brits). Only I don't think she gets monstrous unicorn pimples like I do. Just ignore that part. Plus I probably weigh 75 pounds more.

And when did my nose become so bulbous?

Where's my goober?

After looking for Mateo's "goober" (and wondering what in the heck that was), we figured out it was a wooden crane from his train set - "grúa" in Spanish. :)

YESSSSS!!

Waking up this morning and having to get fully dressed (oh, the horror!) wasn't what the boy had in mind. Still Mateo ate his breakfast and slowly made his way to the car.

The drop-off started out well. We put up his lunch box and water bottle, then went to the chapel for their mini-service they do on Tuesdays. (His preschool is in an episcopal church, but the service this month is about kindness.) He looked a bit whimpery (is that a word?) when I left, but all was well.

As I meandered through the hallway with a friend of mine whose kids also attend there, we begin to hear this loud crying in stereo coming from down the hallway. When we turned to look, there they were - both of our kids' classes. Every kid was a sobbing mess. My friend hid me in the corner so Mateo wouldn't see me, but alas, her little one saw her slip out the door and cried with his little face and hands pressed against the glass. Heart wrenching for sure!! Apparently the two youngest classes didn't do so well in chapel, so they took them back to the classroom.

Here's a photo of Mateo with his two friends P and M during drop-off.

Fast forward a few hours, and there they were playing on the playground. Mateo was mega happy when I picked him up. I asked if he had a fun time, and he replied loudly "YESSSS!!!!" So that made me happy. Upon leaving we stopped by his classroom where he wanted to show me the books. I asked if he was ready to go home, and he told me, "Nope. Bye, Mama," and waved.

At least he had a good time! Hope Thursday goes just as well for him.

Neat-o lunch cube.

So tonight as I was packing Mateo's lunch for his first day of school tomorrow (I'll post more on that tomorrow, I'm sure), I got to thinking about all the really neat products they make these days. As I've written before, I'm always looking for ways to eliminate waste in this house. Plastic freezer and sandwich bags are the one habit I seem to have a hard time kicking; however, I won't have to worry about that with Mateo's lunch!

Check out this neat lunch box, the Colorful Klip-It Lunch Cube. It's easy to unlatch - even for a two year old. It keeps things separate and folds into a compact cube. Mateo picked out the green one. As shown in the photos, inside I easily packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (that's supposed to be a dinosaur, by the way), some almonds, a cheese stick, napkin, and a spoon. (The spoon is for a can of fruit that is in his insulated lunch carrier.) Wheee!! I just love little folding boxes!

I can't wait to see how my little man's first day at his new school goes!

Oh, and if you're wondering, we purchased it at The Container Store (my Garden of Eden).

Brenda's Best Banana Pudding.

First, open the cream cheese. Yes, I said cream cheese.

Next, talk about the "rocket ship." And then get freaked out when the rocket ship is turned on. In the meantime, beat the cream cheese until fluffy.

Open a can of sweetened condensed milk.

Arrange can with rest of ingredients (milk, vanilla pudding mix, and vanilla extract) for a photo op. If you're wondering why we're making banana pudding with vanilla pudding mix and not banana it's because we want a true banana flavor. As it "cures" in the fridge, the bananas will lend their flavor to the entire bowl. Now dump it all in the bowl and beat until smooth and "thickish." By this time your child likely has lost interest and went off to play... but not before stealing a couple cookies.

Gently fold half of a carton of whipped topping into the mixture. You want there to be some swirls of white in there. Then in your serving bowl make a layer of cookie wafers topped with some slices of banana. (On a side note, I recommend eating only the broken cookies. It's common knowledge that their calories don't count.) Pour half the pudding mixture on top, and then lightly shimmy the bowl around to even.

After making another layer of cookies and bananas, pour in the remaining pudding and shimmy to even. The shimmying is very important. You might want to have music on for that part. I was listening to The Clash, but you may choose what you like. Spread the rest of the whipped topping on the top. Refrigerate. You're almost done!

Lastly, use your non-photo finger to clean up the rest of the whipped topping container. Delish!

** What a bummer! I forgot to change the white balance setting on my camera, so sorry for all the yellow photos.

Brenda's Best Banana Pudding
8oz. cream cheese
140z sweetened condensed milk
3 cups cold milk
1 tsp. vanilla
5 oz. vanilla instant pudding mix
8oz. whipped topping
2-3 bananas
vanilla cookie wafers

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in sweetened condense milk, cold milk, pudding mix, and vanilla until smooth and thickish. Fold in half the whipped topping. Line serving bowl with cookies and sliced bananas. Pour in half of pudding. Add another layer of cookies and banana. Add rest of pudding. Top with rest of whipped topping.

Thanks, Brenda, for the great recipe!

Sprouts!

#161. That's what number I was as I was standing in line for the grand opening of a new grocery store at 6:45 in the morning. Wow, my life is cra-zay!

Sprouts Farmers Market specializes in local and organic products and produce, and two new ones opened up near me - one in south Austin and one in Round Rock (just north of Austin). I attended the one in Round Rock.

Funny thing about wielding a camera - everyone assumes you're supposed to be there! Front row to take photos of the ribbon cutting ceremony? Sure! Extra free shopping bag? Don't mind if I do! Though I did tell my cashier that I write a blog (more on that in a second), no one ever questioned my authority to just take photos willy-nilly. It's not like I did anything WRONG per se, but I admit to feeling a teensy amount of guilt for not setting the record straight that my blog is a personal one.

Anyhow, back to the show. So yes, the line was long. Most were there for the free breakfast buffet (of which I did not partake). There were also free shopping bags, a huge pecan pie, 99 cent seedless watermelons, and a pretty decent bluegrass band. The people were wriggly and restless with excitement! I think they must live as exciting lives as mine. Especially the elderly Korean(?) lady that proceeded to count all the customers so she'd know where she was in line in order to get the free bag. (That's how I know I was #161.) I quite enjoyed the pristine shopping environment inside the store - sparkling floors, fully stocked shelves, finger-print free glass freezer doors, etc.

So back to my adorable cashier, Zach. He told me I was his first customer. I asked to take his photo for the blog I write. Grinning, he said sure and joked about it feeling awkward. I assured him I was quite fine and didn't feel awkward at all, hehe. I think he must've been a bit nervous because he IDed me on some diet root beer. He was really cute as he bashfully realized his mistake and admitted they had been doing lots of training on just that situation. Meanwhile I was stroking my ego for FINALLY being carded. It hasn't happened in a long time. Sniff, sniff...

So anyway, guess that's it. And in case you're wondering, I bought diet root beer, spicy sweet potato fries, and one of those 99 cent watermelons. The watermelon is pictured in the photo with Zach. I bet that watermelon never thought it'd be famous!

New school orientation.

Today Mateo had orientation for his new school. They rolled out the red carpet for their little stars! It was really cute.

Mateo had a grand time playing with modeling clay, puzzles, and books. He seemed to make himself at home very quickly. He's in the Starfish class.

I barely caught Mat's "winky face." He's been making this face for a few months now. It's very funny in person.

The room itself is very tiny, but I figure it must feel more comfortable that way for tiny bodies.

He was very happy with the cookie they gave him. His teacher's name is "Ms. Mamie." I think he'll like her a lot.