Piano Competition

Bekah participated in a piano competition last week. She did really well! She scored a 1! She really worked hard practicing for this and I am proud of her. She had to have her piece memorized, play for a judge, and take a theory test. The judge has the music and writes down comments (mostly positive and encouraging ways to improve). She didn't even seem nervous!

Indulgent

I hardly ever do something for myself that I would call indulgent. BUT today I did. I saw a commercial that Jerry Seinfeld is coming to town and I said I AM GOING! He was in Lincoln and I wanted to go so bad, I didn't buy tickets because we were poor students. I regretted it and made a promise to myself that next time I would go. I am so excited! I barely got tickets, they were almost sold out, But I DID get some. Can't wait!!

Yummier Than Squid Food

Tonight for supper I made a Sandwich with pizza dough. You just put the meat and cheese in and fold it over and bake it. Tonight I put Turkey meat with pepperoni and chipotle cheddar cheese. I was a little iffy on the cheese not knowing if it would pass the "Jonah" test. He is so picky, he won't eat "mixed up" foods like casseroles or soups and refuses any chips with "grass" on them. He studied it for a while. Then he asked me;

"Mom, what do Squids eat?"

"Ahhhh-Fish?"

"This kind of sandwich is yummier than squid food!!!"

I'm taking it as a compliment.

Guess Who's Six?

Can't believe it, Happy Birthday Jonah! He's a really great kid and a joy to have around. He keeps us laughing everyday.

Day at the Park

Fun twirly thing. This was a real crowd pleaser, there were always tons of kids on this!

Sam on the rock wall.

Jonah and the whale. You may have noticed the reimergence of the Nemo hat. Jonah LOVES his Nemo hat. It is getting a little bit small, don't know what we will do when he outgrows it.

Bekah and the Gorilla. This park is near the zoo so there is a definite animal theme.

Jonah on the rock wall. They really had fun on this.

Goodbye Green, Hello Red!

Well, it's over. The green van finally died. It has served us well and built up our faith. It went out in a blaze of white smoke on my way home one day two weeks ago. I thought it was on fire and was kind of scared. Sam and I got out fast and ran into the house. It wasn't on fire, but there were serious issues. Here's a few things that are wrong with this car:

• Broken driver's sideview mirror.
• Rearview mirror that has been glued back in place more times than I can count.
• Tape player working only when it wants to.
• No heat for about a year and a half. (The kids and I have good memories of driving to piano lessons in NE piling on blankets and wearing long johns with the promise of hot cocoa when we got home. It was SOOO COLD. We really didn't go out if we didn't have to!)
• No defrost.
• Having to lock side door by hand.
• Back door being locked shut for about 3 weeks.
• Always having to charge the battery.
• cigarette charger not working for plugging in the all important DVD player.
• The fun and excitement of not knowing if the car will start.
• Not to mention the head gasket that finally did it in.

Enter the red van! What do I like about this car? EVERYTHING WORKS!!!

Sopa de Arroz

I've been into cooking lately and trying new things. I get a lot of recipes from the kids cookbooks at the Library. Since I'm in the kids section all the time they are handy. They have a lot of international cookbooks so it's fun to learn about other cultures as well as get the recipes. The recipes are usually really easy since the cookbooks are geared towards kids. We have tried Thai and Mexican and I want to try some Japanese next. This recipe is one of my favorites. It's easy and the ingredients are cheap.

Sopa de Arroz

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup cooked rice
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green chile (use two if you like it spicy)
2-3 tomatoes
4 cups beef or chicken stock
1 cup chopped chicken. cooked(opt.)
salt to taste

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add rice, garlic, onion, and chili pepper. Fry until brown, stirring often. Add tomatoes, chicken, stock, and salt. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add;

Tortilla chips
Cheese
Sour cream