There was an article in the paper over the weekend about getting kids interested in gardening. Now, that's not actually a problem here. Alex LOVES to help me plant and water things. Ben loves to dump all of the dirt out of the pots and then poor water all over everything, so I guess he loves it too. (I'll also add that the little stinker has figured out how to turn on the spigot outside, oops!!) Anyway, the article was about planting things that would go on a pizza. It went into pretty thorough detail about even laying the garden out in the shape of a pizza with each vegetable, herb, etc. in it's own slice. The slices would be separated by a rock border or something. I thought it sounded like a fine idea. So, we did our own version of a pizza garden this weekend. Instead of a designated "pizza" shaped plot dug into the ground I opted to plant my pizza makings in pots. So, we've got tomatoes, bell peppers (purple), oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil, and rosemary all happily growing. We fought a fantastic nursery and the plants are just thriving. If I can figure out how to grow those tomatoes out here we'll be in good shape. (Tomato growing in TX is somewhat of an art, I have failed miserably at it in the past...) Anyway, Alex is very excited about the pizza garden and no doubt we will have fun watching it grow.
The pizza garden is actually a good start for my herbs. Not sure if I related my herb growing experience this year or not. I decided I would grow them in pots and start them from seed. I got all the stuff together, planted the seeds, watered properly and NOT ONE SINGLE SEED from 12 DIFFERENT kinds of herbs sprouted. How ridiculous is that?? Anyway, now I have six established plants, and they are doing beautifully. (In addition to the ones I listed already I also have some mint). Now I know where to go to get the rest of the herbs if I want.
All of our gardens are actually doing quite well this year, must be just the right conditions. Let's hope for a bit more rain so they keep looking good!
Oh, and one last gardening note, our edible gardening this year also includes corn, the one peach currently left on the tree, lemons, and, if they grow carrots, raspberries, and blueberries. I'm not holding my breath that the last 3 will actually produce fruit, but the plants at least look good at the moment.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
What, it's been a month already??!!
Hmmmm, still waiting on pictures of the bunkbeds are ya? Well, guess you'll just have to wait a little bit longer, because I still haven't taken any.
You would think that the extreme length of time between posts would indicate that we've actually been traveling the world or on some other great adventure. Nope, I'm just a great procrastinator and really, I swear I thought that I had updated this thing just a week or so ago.
So, in a nutshell, the last month? Well, it's been warm enough to swim so we filled the wading pool in the backyard and have been hitting it hard fairly often. The boys were so excited the first couple of times to go play in the water that they couldn't even be bothered with swimsuites. Yeah, they were skinny dippin'. Really, the only reason the bathing suits ever made it on was because there tender little heinies were getting stuck on the slide.
We've been having our share of around town playdate/adventures. Nothing too exciting or out of the ordinary.
Mother's Day was really nice. Mike and Alex got doughnuts for breakfast, we went to the park and rode the train, had lunch, napped, fixed dinner and even though it's been awhile, I think that we made it through the day with very minimal fussing from either of the munchkins.
This past weekend was a nice little 3 day holiday for Mike (weekends aren't much different than weekdays for me). We had friends over Sat. night and stayed up late playing games. The kids did good. Ben lasted until about 8:30 or so and then I had to put him to bed. Alex stayed up until 11. Now the only reason that is noteworthy is because he was up at 6 that morning and didn't nap at all during the day. Oddly though, he managed to stay in a good mood all day long. And no, he is not giving up his naps, that was just a fluke. I work very hard to wear them both out in the morning so that they take a nice long after-lunch nap. Anyway, Sunday we headed down to Camp Mabry to check out the Armed Forces Museum. We figured the tanks and planes would be a big hit. They were. We stayed around for a 1944 reenactment but got rained out. After lunch/naps we headed back downtown to the children's museum for a bit - they are free from 4 - 5 on Sundays. I wish I could say that Monday was also a fun/good day. No, Alex decided to drag out his alter ego of "I'm a major grump" and was an absolute nightmare all day long. Bedtime just couldn't come soon enough. Oh well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad.
As for me, well I seem to always find my way into about a million different projects at one time. So, I'm trying to keep on top of it all, and instead I'm procrastinating madly and reading books and playing games and doing anything but the stuff I should be doing.
That probably explains why it is 3 AM and I am updating a blog instead of sleeping :-)
You would think that the extreme length of time between posts would indicate that we've actually been traveling the world or on some other great adventure. Nope, I'm just a great procrastinator and really, I swear I thought that I had updated this thing just a week or so ago.
So, in a nutshell, the last month? Well, it's been warm enough to swim so we filled the wading pool in the backyard and have been hitting it hard fairly often. The boys were so excited the first couple of times to go play in the water that they couldn't even be bothered with swimsuites. Yeah, they were skinny dippin'. Really, the only reason the bathing suits ever made it on was because there tender little heinies were getting stuck on the slide.
We've been having our share of around town playdate/adventures. Nothing too exciting or out of the ordinary.
Mother's Day was really nice. Mike and Alex got doughnuts for breakfast, we went to the park and rode the train, had lunch, napped, fixed dinner and even though it's been awhile, I think that we made it through the day with very minimal fussing from either of the munchkins.
This past weekend was a nice little 3 day holiday for Mike (weekends aren't much different than weekdays for me). We had friends over Sat. night and stayed up late playing games. The kids did good. Ben lasted until about 8:30 or so and then I had to put him to bed. Alex stayed up until 11. Now the only reason that is noteworthy is because he was up at 6 that morning and didn't nap at all during the day. Oddly though, he managed to stay in a good mood all day long. And no, he is not giving up his naps, that was just a fluke. I work very hard to wear them both out in the morning so that they take a nice long after-lunch nap. Anyway, Sunday we headed down to Camp Mabry to check out the Armed Forces Museum. We figured the tanks and planes would be a big hit. They were. We stayed around for a 1944 reenactment but got rained out. After lunch/naps we headed back downtown to the children's museum for a bit - they are free from 4 - 5 on Sundays. I wish I could say that Monday was also a fun/good day. No, Alex decided to drag out his alter ego of "I'm a major grump" and was an absolute nightmare all day long. Bedtime just couldn't come soon enough. Oh well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad.
As for me, well I seem to always find my way into about a million different projects at one time. So, I'm trying to keep on top of it all, and instead I'm procrastinating madly and reading books and playing games and doing anything but the stuff I should be doing.
That probably explains why it is 3 AM and I am updating a blog instead of sleeping :-)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Texas Open Bonspiel - April 17-19, 2009
My big weekend away - first time ever away from either of the boys for more than 3 or 4 hours.
The weather was crummy, I saw the same nasty thunderstorm 3 times on Friday and it just kept getting worse each time I came across it.
Our first game was Friday night and it was the first time any of us had played in about a month. The game ended in a tie so the skips from each team had to throw a single rock. The rock closest to the button (center of the scoring zone) won. We lost that game by about 6 inches (maybe a foot). It's a loss we could really feel good about though, as the team that beat us ended up playing for the bonspiel championship on Sunday. They ended up losing on the last rock. Anyway, this was our only loss of the weekend. The one benefit to this particular loss was that it meant we didn't have to be back out on the ice until late Saturday afternoon. It just so happens that we were right by NASA and the Johnson Space Center. One of my teammates and I spent the day touring the space center. We got to see the original Saturn V rocket, the real astronaut training facility, and the world's largest collection of moon rocks (which actually was VERY cool). It was fantastic, and Alex and Ben (Mike too) would have just loved it. We will be going back! We left the space center around 2 to get some food and get ready for our afternoon game. The weather, which had been drizzly and gray all day, took a sudden turn for the worse. Right around the time I was leaving the hotel to get some food, the tremendous downpour started. During my 15 minute meal, the deluge continued and the roads started to flood. I had to go back to the hotel to change because I was soaking wet and couldn't play in my dripping clothes (I probably would have stuck to the ice!!) As soon as I set out for the ice rink I realized that I might not make it in time. The ice rink was about 3 miles from the hotel, about a five minute drive. I had about an hour and a half before my game. Somehow or other I made it about 20 minutes before we were supposed to start playing. If I hadn't had the big truck I would not have made it to the rink. I have never seen flooding like that, it was insane. Cars were stranded left and right and I had no business being out in all that crap.
Long story even longer, I made it, we wond our game by forfeit because our opponents were all flooded out. So, my teammate took me onto the ice and gave me some great pointers. After a bit of practice we decided to get off the ice and try for the hotel. That was not to be. The roads were even worse, and the rain wasn't going to let up for several more hours. I was about the last person that actually made it to the rink for a number of hours. To make things even worse, the other games had to be stopped midway through. The compressor working the dehumidifier on the ice rink stopped working and water started pooling on the ice. After an hour or so, they got the compressor working, and they then had to do a bunch of work to get the ice back into a playable condition. They restarted all the games that were stopped earlier. We still won as our opponents still couldn't get to the rink. About 8 or so, the water finally started to recede so I finally left the rink. I stopped at a bookstore and crashed for the rest of the evening. My roommate got back about 1:30 in the morning, there were still some games going on. The weather totally messed up the whole schedule.
So, Sunday we had our first game at 7 am. In my opinion that is way too early to be up on a Sunday, even worse when we were expected to function. Our game started off well enough, we were up 5 points about midway through. Our opponents came back though and then were ahead by 2 going into the final end. We actually scored 5 points in the last end to win the game. That win put us in the "B" event final. (There is an A event, B event, and C event - the A winner is the tournament winner - B winner is technically 3rd place I think).
So, just before the last game, everyone that is playing in the final lines up on the ice. We all walked down to the opposite end together while bagpipes are being played (yep real bag pipes). Then the skips of each team take a shot of scotch and the games begin. Our last game started off not so great. We were down by 3 points after 3 ends. We slowly came back and going into the last end we were up by 2. They would have needed 3 points to win, but they didn't get them!
We played some incredibly challenging and fun games and we are already planning on doing it again next year. And yes, the winners got prizes. There were all sorts of prizes, everything from prints to brooms, to silly little cow statues. By the time our team got called to the table to collect our prizes, about half the stuff was gone. I got really lucky and there was a pair of curling gloves (and a hat and a bottle of champagne) that I REALLY wanted, so I was happy.
Of course there is always so much more to tell, but this has gotten really long as is!
Tune in tomorrow for tales of the bunk beds!
The weather was crummy, I saw the same nasty thunderstorm 3 times on Friday and it just kept getting worse each time I came across it.
Our first game was Friday night and it was the first time any of us had played in about a month. The game ended in a tie so the skips from each team had to throw a single rock. The rock closest to the button (center of the scoring zone) won. We lost that game by about 6 inches (maybe a foot). It's a loss we could really feel good about though, as the team that beat us ended up playing for the bonspiel championship on Sunday. They ended up losing on the last rock. Anyway, this was our only loss of the weekend. The one benefit to this particular loss was that it meant we didn't have to be back out on the ice until late Saturday afternoon. It just so happens that we were right by NASA and the Johnson Space Center. One of my teammates and I spent the day touring the space center. We got to see the original Saturn V rocket, the real astronaut training facility, and the world's largest collection of moon rocks (which actually was VERY cool). It was fantastic, and Alex and Ben (Mike too) would have just loved it. We will be going back! We left the space center around 2 to get some food and get ready for our afternoon game. The weather, which had been drizzly and gray all day, took a sudden turn for the worse. Right around the time I was leaving the hotel to get some food, the tremendous downpour started. During my 15 minute meal, the deluge continued and the roads started to flood. I had to go back to the hotel to change because I was soaking wet and couldn't play in my dripping clothes (I probably would have stuck to the ice!!) As soon as I set out for the ice rink I realized that I might not make it in time. The ice rink was about 3 miles from the hotel, about a five minute drive. I had about an hour and a half before my game. Somehow or other I made it about 20 minutes before we were supposed to start playing. If I hadn't had the big truck I would not have made it to the rink. I have never seen flooding like that, it was insane. Cars were stranded left and right and I had no business being out in all that crap.
Long story even longer, I made it, we wond our game by forfeit because our opponents were all flooded out. So, my teammate took me onto the ice and gave me some great pointers. After a bit of practice we decided to get off the ice and try for the hotel. That was not to be. The roads were even worse, and the rain wasn't going to let up for several more hours. I was about the last person that actually made it to the rink for a number of hours. To make things even worse, the other games had to be stopped midway through. The compressor working the dehumidifier on the ice rink stopped working and water started pooling on the ice. After an hour or so, they got the compressor working, and they then had to do a bunch of work to get the ice back into a playable condition. They restarted all the games that were stopped earlier. We still won as our opponents still couldn't get to the rink. About 8 or so, the water finally started to recede so I finally left the rink. I stopped at a bookstore and crashed for the rest of the evening. My roommate got back about 1:30 in the morning, there were still some games going on. The weather totally messed up the whole schedule.
So, Sunday we had our first game at 7 am. In my opinion that is way too early to be up on a Sunday, even worse when we were expected to function. Our game started off well enough, we were up 5 points about midway through. Our opponents came back though and then were ahead by 2 going into the final end. We actually scored 5 points in the last end to win the game. That win put us in the "B" event final. (There is an A event, B event, and C event - the A winner is the tournament winner - B winner is technically 3rd place I think).
So, just before the last game, everyone that is playing in the final lines up on the ice. We all walked down to the opposite end together while bagpipes are being played (yep real bag pipes). Then the skips of each team take a shot of scotch and the games begin. Our last game started off not so great. We were down by 3 points after 3 ends. We slowly came back and going into the last end we were up by 2. They would have needed 3 points to win, but they didn't get them!
We played some incredibly challenging and fun games and we are already planning on doing it again next year. And yes, the winners got prizes. There were all sorts of prizes, everything from prints to brooms, to silly little cow statues. By the time our team got called to the table to collect our prizes, about half the stuff was gone. I got really lucky and there was a pair of curling gloves (and a hat and a bottle of champagne) that I REALLY wanted, so I was happy.
Of course there is always so much more to tell, but this has gotten really long as is!
Tune in tomorrow for tales of the bunk beds!
Easter
Although it was only a couple of weeks ago, Easter seems as if it happened in another lifetime.
As with all holidays lately, it seems that we started celebrating weeks in advance. Between the 3 different mom's groups and private parties we were invited to, we must have done at least 4 or 5 egg hunts this year. The upshot of it all is that we could reuse all those plastic eggs! The boys had a blast and loved all of the eggs.
At home we hunted eggs with Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Michael. Oddly, this is how we ended the day instead of starting it. Doesn't matter, it was fun. The boys had so much fun with all of their easter baskets and buckets and presents from everyone. I swear it rivaled Christmas this year!
I dyed some easter eggs and Alex died a couple too. I wanted to try "natural" egg dyes. What I learned was it takes LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of whatever you are going to color your egg with to actually color an egg. I tried red onion skins and instead of a nice red color, I got a very brown egg! I also dumped a bunch of food coloring in some water when I was cooking eggs and got a really nice pretty pale green egg. Again, it takes a lot of food coloring for a little bit of color. Alex did the Snyder family tradition of q-tips and food coloring for his eggs. Anyway, it was fun. Here is a picture after one of our many egg hunts.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Separate posts coming soon...
Look for more on these exciting topics in posts to come:
Easter - lots of fun, eggs, and play
Bunk Beds - yep, 2 levels of trouble now!
Texas Open Bonspiel - horrendous weather complete with flooding, a trip to the Johnson Space Center, and oh yeah, "B" event winners! A truly unforgettable and fabulously fun weekend!
Oh yeah, and after 3 weeks we still don't have our car back. The latest is supposedly this Friday, and the damage was more extensive than they originally thought - about another $1000 actually, out of the insurance company's pocket, not ours!
Easter - lots of fun, eggs, and play
Bunk Beds - yep, 2 levels of trouble now!
Texas Open Bonspiel - horrendous weather complete with flooding, a trip to the Johnson Space Center, and oh yeah, "B" event winners! A truly unforgettable and fabulously fun weekend!
Oh yeah, and after 3 weeks we still don't have our car back. The latest is supposedly this Friday, and the damage was more extensive than they originally thought - about another $1000 actually, out of the insurance company's pocket, not ours!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Chicken Soup
I made a lovely pot of chicken soup for dinner. Alex gulped it down. Ben didn't want anything to do with it. Yet, he would eat the tofu & chicken pad thai from yesterday. Go figure.
And the list goes on...
The insurance adjustor made it out today to view the hail damage to our roof. Since we are making a claim for the roof we figured we might as well add the canopy that got shredded and the roof to the shed to the claim as well. As the adjustor was walking around she noted that the front door was all dented, a couple of window screens are damaged and the cover to the a.c. compressor is all banged up. About the only thing that didn't get added on is a new paint job on the house. It's too bad about that, because the house REALLY needs to be painted and gee, wouldn't it have been nice to have gotten that in with the rest of all this stuff.
Otherwise, this was the first weekend in a very long time that we had absolutely no plans, not even Sunday morning curling. We had a list of things to take care of, managed to get those all done on by lunchtime Saturday and had the rest of the weekend to sit and do as we pleased.
Ben did his first finger painting this weekend and he had a blast. He also managed to get paint ALL over his face, good thing the stuff is non-toxic!
We're getting ready for the Easter Bunny this weekend. I've got to get myself in gear and make some eggs for the boys. I'll start on that tonight.
We had one easter egg hunt last week and we have 2 more (maybe 3) scheduled for this week and that doesn't even include Easter. If last year was any indicator we will spend all day Sunday looking for eggs, hiding them, finding them, hiding them again, finding them again, and so on. I might even try my hand at some natural egg dyes this year. I'll let you know how that turns out.
Well, it sounds as if Alex has just awoken from his nap so it's time to go.
Otherwise, this was the first weekend in a very long time that we had absolutely no plans, not even Sunday morning curling. We had a list of things to take care of, managed to get those all done on by lunchtime Saturday and had the rest of the weekend to sit and do as we pleased.
Ben did his first finger painting this weekend and he had a blast. He also managed to get paint ALL over his face, good thing the stuff is non-toxic!
We're getting ready for the Easter Bunny this weekend. I've got to get myself in gear and make some eggs for the boys. I'll start on that tonight.
We had one easter egg hunt last week and we have 2 more (maybe 3) scheduled for this week and that doesn't even include Easter. If last year was any indicator we will spend all day Sunday looking for eggs, hiding them, finding them, hiding them again, finding them again, and so on. I might even try my hand at some natural egg dyes this year. I'll let you know how that turns out.
Well, it sounds as if Alex has just awoken from his nap so it's time to go.
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