28 Days of Nor Cal Adventures: Week 2

Ha ha ha!  I can't believe I thought I could keep up so much activity through the first week of school.  Wow!

Well, AJ started School (and I'll post those pictures later) and he loves it.  He had a great first day, a rocky 2nd day (luckily I was asked to stay and help out that day, cause he fell apart pretty fast), a fantastic 3rd day, and a not so great (but still okay) 4th day.  Over all, I think his first week of school was a success.

We started our packing process this week.  I am in the process of packing up our entire bedroom.  Not easy as it is the messiest in the house, so it was the obvious first choice.  Office is next.

Gordy is reeling from all of the changes and is emoting in some very extreme ways.  Tantrums are nothing compared to the acting out that this kid has been doing.  All our warfare is more like it.  His good days are the days we watch Little Miss.  At least on these days he has a playmate.

This weekend has started out rough with AJ catching his first cold of the season.  Luckily I was expecting it, so I am totally prepared.  With luck we will still have fun this weekend and he will be recovered for school on Tuesday.

Well, gotta go pack some more!

28 Days of Nor Cal Adventures: Day 5

DAY 5 (August 24th): Highland Park

This is the park from my childhood.  My grandmother lived near this neighborhood, so more often than not we found ourselves playing at this park as little kids.  The wooden structure in the above picture was brand new two decades ago and used to be the high light of the park.  Unfortunately, nostalgia is about all that recommends this park...for parents at least.

I find one thing very humorous, though.  Kids and parents have a whole different rating system for parks.  Kids are happy with any park that has slides, swings, or climbing sets.  It does not matter how clean or new they are.  This park had all of these things and was definitely NOT clean or new.  The boys had a blast.

The boys are getting a lot better at crossing the monkey bars.  Pretty soon they won't need Daddy's help.

The climbing spiral is always a favorite spot for the boys, no matter what park we go to.  If the park has a spiral the boys will spend at least five minutes climbing up and down it.

Gordy went down the Fireman's Pole for the first time all by himself.  I missed the first one because it happened so unexpectedly, but he was more than happy to do it many more times for the camera.

AJ had lots of fun.  Playing tag and hanging off of equipment that was finally tall enough for him to do so.

These three toys are actually about as old as, if not older than, I am.  I have seen pictures of myself playing on these exact toys when I was about Gordy's age.

28 Days of Nor Cal Adventures: Day 4

DAY 4 (August 23rd):  Babysitting Cousin & Garage Sale!

Well, I'm pretty sure Thursday was destined to be a not so adventurous day.  First of all, my niece came over to spend the day with us today.  We love our Little Miss, so it's not like it was a chore, but jealousy usually runs rampant on those days so I was expecting Gordy's attitude to be less than ideal.  And, of course, he did not disappoint.

My usual course of action is to get them outside, or if the weather is not great have them re-organize the toy drawers (a.k.a. taking everything out, mixing them up and then watch Mommy/Auntie put it all away). Well, the weather was okay, so after breakfast we headed outside.  We played on the swings, climbed on the playset and played with the balls.  While the kids we playing hide and seek I managed to get a swing to myself.  I was pumping away, and before I knew it I was swinging REALLY high!  Once the boys noticed they wanted me to push them really high.  No sooner had I sent AJ to fence top level than I felt my shoulder pop.  NOT COOL!  I managed to satisfy Gordy's swinging demand and them we all ambled back into the house.

Thank GOD Todd got home early!  He was able to do the heavy lifting and watch the kids while I managed to sort the rest of the baby clothes for the next adventure of the day: THE GARAGE SALE!

(BTW:  Little Miss will probably never allow Uncle Todd to "cuddle" with her again.  She learned "cuddle" is code word for nap.  Kudos to Uncle Todd for that success, though.)

The garage sale was more successful than we expected.  Seeing as it was Thursday, we didn't expect much, but we figured "Why not?".  We managed to sell a few items, so that was cool.  The boys entertained themselves by playing tag with Daddy, or showing browsers how the Total Gym Worked.

We are continuing the garage sale Friday and Saturday, so hopefully more stuff will be unloaded on these days.  Definitely going to at least a park during these days.

28 Days of Nor Cal Adventures: Day 3

DAY 3 (August 22nd)- Ross Park (M & 11th Streets)

On the suggestion of a friend, for Day 3 we went to Ross Park.  I learned later that my mother had babysat in this area as a teen and had taken her charges to Ross Park regularly, so this added a bit of nostalgia to our trip.  Of course there is little else that is nostalgic about Ross Park now.  Nearly everything at the park is new and improved!

Our first stop was the Monkey Bars.  AJ started it off, but got gun shy, so Gordy pushed his way to the front and barreled right on through with Daddy's help.  After that AJ was willing to make one more attempt, this time with Daddy helping a little bit (or giving him a wedgie!).

This was seriously the tallest slide I have seen in a while.  The day ended when Gordy fell over backwards from the bottom trying to get off.

Rock climbing!  This was a cool feature.

This is a balance board.  The key is to try to balance with no hands.  AJ attempted it, but decided he preferred the stability of using his hands.

I have said in the past that Gordy has a very odd "fear factor".  He is afraid of monsters, ghosts, spiders, bugs, carousels and loud noises.  Yet he has no problem climbing tall structures and hanging precariously by his hands until he can drop safely.  My odd little Dare Devil.

This is one of the only features in the park that is not new.  It is an old spring centered teeter totter.  It would be pretty difficult to launch anyone from this considering Todd needed to help the boys just to get it to go up and down.

Bottom line, we had a great time at this little park!

28 Days of Nor Cal Adventures: Day 2

DAY 2: Freshwater Park (August 21st)

This being a pretty busy week, I decided that the best options for getting us out of the house this week would be to simply go to a different park every day.  I really wanted to go to as many parks that we hadn't been to as possible.  I recalled a friend of mine mentioning going to Freshwater Park last week, so I picked this park for our first stop.

Gordy, of course, went right for the playset and slide.  This kid would live in a tree house with slides and swings if that were an option.  He had blast running around a new playset.

Next, both of the boys ran for the sandbox.  I don't think either of them had ever seen an actual sandbox before, so this was a WAY new experience for them.  AJ immediately wanted to make a sand castle, so that was pretty much it for him, until we went for the water.

We all noticed that one of the swings had been broken from the top.  Instead of a typical reaction of a "normal person" (which would be something like "ah, that sucks"), Todd thought "Hey, I can climb up there and fix that".  Well, it didn't work.  But his ability to shimmy up the pole inspired him to start doing pull-ups.

Gordy wanted to do pull-up too!

Finally we made it to the water.  The last time I had been to Freshwater Park was 8 years ago, and the swimming hole had still been under construction.  Never had I imagined that the swimming hole would be this nice.  It was awesome.  I felt bad for not bringing the boys' swim trunks (for like 30 seconds, until I remembered it was cold and over cast).  They still had fun and we did let them wade in the water for a little bit.  I promised them that the first Sunny day next week I will bring them back for a swim.

28 Days of Nor Cal Adventures: Day 1

Yesterday my oldest son finally asked me the question that I will probably get asked a million more times (but this was the first time).  "Mommy, how many days until we move?"

The answer both shocked and inspired me.  I counted it out and told him that we had about 30 days left in Eureka.  Of course he had to ask how many 30 days was, and I tried to explain it by showing him on the calendar.  In doing this I started to think that it would be cool to create a calendar to count down the days until we leave, except that might simply depress me, or worse, freak me out.  Instead another idea popped into my head.

I have been researching things to do with kids in Salem for over a month now, in an effort to build up excitement for the move.  Well, yesterday it finally occurred to me that there are actually a lot of things to do in Nor Cal that the boys have never, or rarely, done.  Why not do some of these things in the month leading up to our move.  My mom even gave me the idea for a scrap book just a few days ago.  So here we go with Day 1.

DAY 1 (August 5th) - Mad River Hatchery

I know, I know...I cheated.  But I hurt my neck on Sunday and didn't really want to leave the house yesterday, so I figured since we had already gone to the hatchery two weeks ago I had one "freebie".

After church on August 5th, my parents, my sister and her family, and our family all piled in our cars and drove to Blue Lake for a picnic at the Mad River Hatchery.  I hadn't been to the hatchery since I was in 3rd grade and no one else in our group had ever been until this year (my sister had taken her family for the first time the week before).  We have a family friend who works there, so the idea had crossed my mind to take the boys, but I just kept putting it off.  Then my sister went and I realized how much the boys would really love seeing all of those fish and getting to feed them.  So that was it.  No more putting it off.  We were going to do it.

It was a beautiful day for a picnic.  Sunny, light breeze, hot but not sweltering.  We were in heaven, until...  We got to the hatchery and the first thing I notice is the missing diaper bag.  I had run out the door after my youngest and had forgotten to go back in the house for the diaper bag after putting him in the van.  Silly Mommy!  Lucky for me my sister was willing to share my niece's diapers.  (Poor G!)

After lunch the real fun started!  We got to check out the fish (and the resident cat).  The baby fish were too little to feed, but they were still pretty active and interesting to watch.

                                  

The big fish were where it was at though.  There was a food dispenser that cost a quarter to feed the fish.  Not sure exactly what the money goes toward (probably keeping the facility open to the public).  Either way it is a worthy cause in my opinion.  And we definitely did our part to contribute.  I'm pretty sure we nearly drained that food dispenser.  Everyone, even the adults, was getting a kick out of watching the fish get excited over the food.  At one point the fish got so excited they actually broke a dividing board in the tank.  Todd fished it out so the maintenance guy could see it on his rounds.  I think everyone had a wonderful and memorable day.

On To the Next Adventure!

I am writing this post as I sit among boxes, piled clothes, and utter chaos.  There can only be one explanation for my house being in this condition...we are moving!  In five weeks we will be pulling out of Eureka and will no longer call this picturesque city home.

I have lived in Eureka nearly my entire life.  I actually counted the exact number of months I haven't lived in Eureka the other day and discovered that it was only 18 months.  That means in nearly 32 years of life, only 1 1/2 of those years were spent away from the city I thought I would always call home.  Of course, God had a different plan for my life.  So in 5 weeks, with the help of our families, my husband, sons and I will make the 7-hour trek to Salem, OR, where Todd will begin his job as a Carrier for the United States Postal Service after patiently waiting 5 years as a Clerk in Arcata for the same opportunity to open up here.  It never did, so here we are.

My feelings about this move are definitely bittersweet.  I have a full list of Pros and Cons, so I decided to share them here.

CONS

• I have never in my life went longer than 6 weeks without seeing my mother.  I have also never lived longer than 6 hours away from her.  I am going to miss her like crazy.
• I have never missed Christmas with my family, but due to the nature of Todd's chosen career (which is the same as my father's), we will not likely ever be able to spend Christmas Day with my family again.
• I will miss my Daddy, too.
• My sister and I, while always close, have gotten even closer in the last two years since her pregnancy and the birth of my niece.
• I was looking forward to my sons and niece growing up as close cousins.  My boys adore my niece and she loves them.  It will be hard to give up that dream.
• No more sleep overs at Grandma and Grandpa's.  This is one of the boys' favorite things in the whole world.  Mommy's and Daddy's too.
• No more "free" baby sitting.  I always knew that if I had an appointment or needed to get something done, all I had to do was ask my parents, sister, or grandmother to watch the boys.  If they could not do it, I had some lovely friends to back me up.
• Our church family and friends have been super supportive to us over the last 8 years.  We will miss them dearly.
• I will miss living so near to my grandmother.
• We have our oldest son enrolled at NCLA here.  At the observation appointment the class and teacher seemed perfect for him.  I hope his new school will fit him just as well.
• I will miss the ocean.

PROS

• Cheaper housing - by A LOT!
• Ag country means lots of fresh fruits and veggie varieties!
• Ag country also means USDA Housing Loans.
• More variety of stores, which means lower prices.
• Oregon = NO SALES TAX
• Four seasons!!!!
• There is a YMCA is Salem, so we WILL be signing the boys up for swimming!  It also has free childcare and Kids Club, so I can take my youngest with my while my oldest is in school and not have to worry about who is going to watch him while I work out.
• The Discovery Village at Riverfront Park looks really cool, and a family membership there will also get us free admission to Seattle Science Center, which Todd has fond memories of from his childhood.
• Instead of driving 1-2 hours to find the best camping/swimming holes, we only have to travel 15 minutes.
• We will be only 3-4 hours from Todd's family instead of 10-12 hours, which means a lot more visiting.
• My best friend (whom I have missed terribly these past 6 years) will now only be less than 90 minutes from me!
• New Community = New Opportunities
• The Willamette Valley Chapter of Romance Writers of America is based in Salem.
• The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants!
• Cheaper gas prices (Thank you I-5)!
• We do have some friends already living in Salem.
• Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Chang's Mongolian Grill, and Red Robin.  I think that is self explanatory.
• If it isn't found in Salem, Portland is only a 45 minute drive away.   

I'm sure there are a lot of other reasons I am sad/excited about this move, but regardless of them the bottom line is that this move is an adventure for our family.  I hope to blog a lot more as I start a new outlook on life of treating everyday like an adventure.

I won't just be blogging about recipes, but about places, activities, and personal musings.

Here we go!!!

Simple Granola

Here is a dilemma that I never thought about... store bought granola has way too many ingredients.  I found a recipe for granola bars that I wanted to try out, but all of the granola I found had tons of stuff in it that I didn't want in my granola bars (like raisins, almonds, seeds, etc.).  So I did the one thing any self-respecting cook would do.  I looked up a recipe I could modify.

Here is ANOTHER dilemma... granola recipes have even more ingredients.  I wanted one that I could make with ingredients that I had on hand.  It was a tough battle, Google almost beat me, but I conquered the challenge and found a site that had a granola base recipe!  I figured I could handle seven ingredients, and low and behold I actually had all of them.  Even better yet, many of the ingredients are exchangeable based on preference.

I'll post my granola bars soon!  In the mean time, here is my success to share with all:

Simple Granola Base
(adapted from Espresso and Cream)

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (I use Siagon Cinnamon)
1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup honey (I also like using agave, when available)
1/3 cup light cooking oil (vegetable or canola)
1 tsp coconut extract (vanilla or almond)

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together honey, oil, and extract.  Pour over dry ingredients and mix well, using your hands if needed.
4. Spread mixture in a thin even layer in a baking dish.  Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once or twice.
5. Remove from oven and cool, stirring occasionally.  When cool, store in an air tight container or Zip-Loc Bag.

Homemade Oatmeal...oh yeah!

I should mention right off the bat...I am the oddity in my family.  My family loves coffee and/or tea...I don't.  My (very Irish) family loves corned beef and cabbage...I don't (at least I have my sister on my side about this one).  My family LOVES hot cereal...I DON'T!  I have never been able to choke down oatmeal, porridge or Cream of Wheat.  To me, the slimy consistency rendered it inedible.

Well, when my oldest son was very little my parents would watch him at least twice a week while my husband and I volunteered at our Church.  It was inevitable, seeing as food options for a one year old are still pretty limited, that they would feed him oatmeal.  And, of course, he loved it.  Two and a half years later, his brother followed suit.  The oatmeal bug was running rampant in my house, and I was powerless to stop it!

I quickly learned to be okay at least making oatmeal for my family, if not eating it myself.  It was pretty easy with all of the instant oatmeal options they have at the stores.  My boys particularly love the Dino Egg Oatmeal that Quaker has out.  But those instant oatmeal packs can be expensive.  I needed to come up with a way to feed the boys oatmeal without breaking the bank (or my gag reflex).

After some searching, I found a recipe that looked promising (and I had all of the ingredients on hand) so I adapted it for taste and made it for the boys.  It turned out super pretty if I do say so myself.

Nutty Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal

(adapted from Summer Tomato)

1 cup Water

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup raisins (I used Sun Maid)

1/4 cup pecans, crumbeld

1 tsp cinnamon (I prefer Saigon Cinnamon)

1 Tbsp brown sugar
Splash of Milk (soy or almond, too!)

1. Add water and raisins to a small pot.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes, until raisins are nice and plump.
2. Stir in oatmeal.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the oatmeal is your desired tenderness and consistency.  You can add water a tablespoon at a time to achieve this, as well.
3. Spoon the oatmeal into a cereal bowl.  Add a splash of milk.  Top with pecans, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  Stir together.  Add more milk to reach your desired consistency.  Enjoy!

Pre-Summer Good Weather Fun!

It has been unusually warm in our little corner of the world, so we have been trying to coax the boys to spend as much time outside as possible.  Of course, when water guns are involved, I didn't need to twist any arms.  Actually, it was my arm that needed to be twisted.  Being the perennial worrier that I am, I was concerned that being wet outside could only be bad for AJ's asthma and Gordy's recovery from his cough.  Yeah... I know... you can all roll your eyes now.  My husband trumped me.  He DID roll his eyes and told me that as hot as it was getting, the boys would dry between refills on their guns (he was right), so I dutifully pulled out the guns and filled them up.

Of course, this reminded me of the Super Soaker wars that my brother, sister and I used to have in our back yard in the Summers we were growing up.  Does anyone remember the Super Soaker 5000?  It was the MUST HAVE water gun for us.  When we got it it was like being handed the Holy Grail.  We treated it reverently...for like 2 minutes, then we fought over it for the next 2 months.

This also made me nostalgic for other water toys from my childhood.  Wading pools, garden sprinklers, the Skip-It like water bomb that would randomly explode after so many skips, and, of course, the Slip N Slide!  When and if we do move and buy a house, I can foresee a definite return of nostalgic water toys that first summer!