One Chick Leaves the Nest

We have arrived safely back home after our trip to Eau Claire. The drive was great. The weather perfect. And the move smooth. Actually we arrived a bit early and had to kill some time by eating lunch at Jimmy Johns.

We then followed the big "Dorm Move In--Right at Next Signal" flashing signs and took our place in line with several other cars packed to the gills with pillows and microwaves.

Here is the line of cars behind us at move in


How ya doin' Roz?

We had a lot less stuff than some of the cars we passed. Some cars pulled full trailers! After finding a parking space, which was surprisingly easy, we took up one small load by ourselves. Roz's roommate and family were in the room so we all introduced ourselves. Actually, Roz ran into her roommate in the hall before we even got to her room and they recognized each other from their pictures on Facebook.

Then it was back down to the car to get the remaining stuff. Helped by a couple "Hall Raisers" we were done in no time. Hall Raisers are UWEC students that assist those moving in with the help of big rolling bins. Roz was unpacked and settled in a matter of minutes. Roz stuffed clothes in drawers and I made the bed. By the time Jerry had moved the car to a more permanent spot we were pretty much done.

The camera couldn't even focus the move in went so fast!


Just about settled in!

Roz's bed (with dressers, TV, microwave underneath)

Roz's desk

Roz's closet

The view from Roz's window...for now anyway
... soon enough the green will change to oranges and reds

We were going to head to the bookstore to pick up Roz's books, but Roz got a text from a friend that the bookstore was closed just before we headed down the dreaded "hill". So we made a quick pass through the parents tent and cafeteria to check it out. With all our move in business finished it was then time to say good bye. We didn't want to linger so we gave Roz a couple tearful hugs (I tried not to cry, but it didn't work) and slowly walked away leaving our baby to fend for herself on the big UWEC campus.

We spent the next couple hours driving around town trying to find some small UWEC shirts for the boys. First stop was the Shopko right across the street from the school. I've never seen a busier Shopko in my life! I was shocked. Didn't these people plan ahead? I couldn't believe they would just go pay whatever price for a futon or plastic bins on move-in day. I hope Shopko jacked up their prices! No shirts were to be had. On to Kmart. Same story...no shirts but plenty busy. When we finally found Wal-mart we could hardly get into the parking lot! And again had no luck finding shirts. The mall across the street had a Scheels Sports store and on a whim we went in there and ended up finding several shirts (on clearance!) in the sizes we needed.

Then it was off to the hotel to check in and research our dinner options. We really wanted to try something local. On a whim we Googled "Supper Clubs" and ended up at a great place just outside of town in the middle of nowhere. The food was great and the bill was low! The "supper club" is a dying breed that needs to be saved. First, they brought out a veggie tray and a basket of cheese and crackers. Then instead of the usual bread or rolls they brought us popovers. Followed by a choice of soup or salad. (We chose the soup: Beef Tomato Dumpling.) When we thought we were full it was then time for our delicious New York Strip Steak and Broiled Shrimp. Our bill including several beverages was $34.

After getting back to the hotel, we spent some time in the pool and hot tub chatting with another family who just dropped off a daughter. We actually went to bed pretty early and despite the big chance to sleep in woke up at 7:30 anyway. We had our "complimentary" continental breakfast and headed home where I'm sure it will take a few days or weeks to really feel the reality that Roz won't being walking in the door anytime soon.

Special thanks to Grandma Linda for spending the night and keeping an eye on the troops here at home. I am organizing a fun little "mail blitz" for Roz's first few weeks at school. I want to make her mailbox the busiest one in her dorm! If you are interested in joining the fun let me know...I'll forward you the "schedule" and her address.

Legal Adult

Here are some overdue photos of Roz on her 18th birthday!

I'm pretty sure having an adult child makes you officially old. So as of last Wednesday, Jerry and I are officially old!

Roz requested my famous Buster Bar Dessert for her "cake". Although, I left off the peanuts this year for J.D.'s sake. Roz went out to dinner with a few friends and then they all came back for cake. The cake was a big hit with her friends. In fact, one of her friends showed up two more times in the days following her birthday requesting a leftover piece!

Tomorrow is the BIG day....move in day at the dorm. We leave bright and early. Prayers for all concerned are greatly appreciated!

Come On Tomatoes

The garden has been giving us plenty green foods...
...jalapeños, green beans, broccoli, kohlrabi, and cucumbers. We have lots of tomatoes but they are all still green too. I need some red veggies!

I keep sticking cucumber in everything and I still have a ton. Everyone keeps asking me: "Is there cucumber in this?". Seriously, we're going to have to start giving them away. Last week I made Cucumber Tuna Boats and they were very good. The actual tuna salad part was delicious and best of all it used several cucumbers! Unfortunately, the type of cucumber we planted isn't really good for making pickles. But I might just give it a try anyway.

With our abundance of jalapeños I made easy jalapeño "poppers". They were delicious! I sliced and froze several batches for future batches of salsa. I also made one jar of pickled jalapeños (with carrots and onions). I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out so I decided to just toss them in the fridge instead of actually canning them. Jerry said they were really good so next year I'll have to make several batches and actually process them. I'm sure my dad would appreciate a jar! Just call me Peter Piper!

Morning Converstion

This morning Wesley crawled into bed with me for a few minutes. After the usual "good morning" the conversation went something like this:

W: I heard some geese fly over.
Me: Yep, it's pretty chilly out. They probably think it's fall already.
W: How long does it take the geese to fly south?
Me: Hmmm. I'm not sure. We can look it up in a book or on the internet.
W: I say internet. It's faster.
Me: You know when I was little I had to look stuff up in books. I didn't have the internet.
W: You didn't?
Me: We didn't have a microwave for a long time either.
W: HOW DID YOU COOK?!?!
Me: On the stove and in the oven.
W: What else didn't you have?
Me: CD's...we listened to the radio. Well, we had a few records. Do you know what a record is?
W: Yes, did Abby listen to records with you?
Me: Sure. We didn't have DVDs or video tapes...we just had to watch whatever was on TV at that time. If we wanted to see a movie you HAD to go to the theater.
W: What was on PBS Kids?
Me: Just Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers.
W: That's it?!
Me: Pretty much.
W: I don't like Mr. Rogers.
Me: You would have if that's all there was to watch. His show is better than the news, isn't it?
W: I think I just wouldn't have watched TV then.

Nothing like starting your day feeling old! It's true, we were one of the last people in America to get a microwave. And we didn't get a VCR until...I don't know when. I'll mention this little story because Jerry loves it so much: I do remember we actually rented a VCR along with the movie a few times. My dad once rented us Porky's along with the VCR thinking it was a kids movie. I wish I could recall what my mom said to my dad when that movie started! I never did see more than the first few minutes... which was plenty for a young, impressionable mind. Poor VCR... new and exciting to obsolete in just a few decades!

We didn't get a computer until I was a senior in high school. Prior to that it was a good old typewriter for me. I can't remember when we first connected to the internet, but I'm sure it was later than the average citizen. I could live without the internet at this point but I sure wouldn't want to! I'd rather live without the microwave or TV or phone than the internet.

Computers aside, even now we are behind the times since we aren't cell phone users. We have one but it's for emergencies only. Pay by the minute (and through the nose). Jerry did have a pager once though in the early 90's! He was so cool! But now he doesn't even know our cell phone number. Just last night he had to look the number up on a scrap of paper in his wallet. I'm no better. I can't remember the number either. And neither of us could send a text message to save our lives! What will Wesley tell his kids!?!?

Promotion

After Roz's success as a big banana, Piggly Wiggly promoted her! A local radio station called and invited the Piggly Wiggly characters to come be a part of a charity kickball tournament. Roz was promoted all the way up to a protein! Here she is running the bases as the Klement's Hot Dog!

Run, Roz, Run!

Roz said it was harder to be the hot dog because the costume is so top heavy. If you look carefully you will see the "window" to look out is just below the mouth. She really had to hold on to her head as she ran. While at the game she had her picture taken with several people... mostly drunk guys who were a bit too excited to see a large hot dog and, unfortunately, no one as exciting as Nick Barnett.

Jerry's Garden Shots

Jerry took these pictures to share on Facebook, but you know my new policy...they need to be shared here as well so they are better preserved. :) Seriously though, I thought these were some really great photos of the garden. Jerry did a good job working up close and getting individual veggie shots.

As the garden produces and finishes certain items it is starting to look empty in spots. Right now it doesn't make for very pretty shots as a whole, but individually is another story.

Cabbage

Green Beans

Onions

Kohlrabi---a new favorite

Tomatoes--huge plants but no fruit yet!

Cucumbers

Cucumber vine climbing over the garden wall
I'm so glad we planted them there...
they have plenty of room to spread

Celery

Jalapenos

Slip n' Slide Summer Edition

Slip n' Slide Winter Edition was back in January in case you missed it. Truthfully I'm not sure which one is more fun.

Jerry took these pictures of the boys playing on the Slip n' Slide last week. They were not taken today. Today the boys wore coats while playing in the backyard. That's Wisconsin weather for you!

Enjoy these shots because the slide has sprung a leak and unless we can patch it these could very well be the last shots taken of the good ol' backyard hot weather standby.

Wesley knows how to do it:
Eli's turn. I think he was actually trying to walk down the "slide" here and slipped. The twins don't weigh enough to make it all the way down the "slide" to the splash down area.
Despite his face I think Justus really was having fun!

Happy New (School) Year!

School can officially start for us now! All the books I ordered arrived today. Exciting!!

Wesley will be in second grade this year. Eli and Justus are officially in kindergarten! Don't worry, Hayden and J.D. won't be left out. We enjoy learning a "letter of the week" together plus they sit with us when they can and learn plenty.

We use mostly the The Well-Trained Mind. So if you are curious about our "system" I highly recommend you check out TWTM from your library. It's an excellent book. Broken down by subject here is what we will be using:

• Math--Saxon 2
• Language/Grammar--First Language Lessons
• Reading--various books related to the history/science we are studying
  
• History--Story of the World Volume 2: along with the activity book
• Spelling-- Spelling Workout B (and later C) and SpellingCity.com
  
• Science--various books like the Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space (and Our World)
  
• Writing: Zaner-Bloser Cursive

In addition to the more academic subjects we are also going to do a year long character study. We'll focus on one Christian character trait and corresponding Bible verse each week. For music we learn one hymn a month plus learn about composers/classical music by using a great site (& podcasts) called Classics for Kids. We also have P.E. with our local homeschool group.

If you are interested in seeing our whole year planned out click here. To see what our daily schedule looks like click here. Disclaimer: This schedule is just the ideal we are aiming for. Will we follow it to the minute every day? NO! But it is nice to have something to work toward. If you are interested in learning more about scheduling I highly recommend the Maxwell's Managers of Their Homes (and Managers of Their Chores. I'll save the explanation of our chore system for another post.)

We won't actually be starting until the 1st of September. Even though we can start whenever we want we usually end up starting when the public schools here start (which is almost always after Labor Day). Since Labor Day is late this year school is going to start before Labor Day. We won't be starting the last day of August because Jerry and I be driving home from Eau Claire after dropping Roz off and we'll need some time to party cry into our pillows.

Here's to a great year of learning for everyone!!

Botanical Gardens

I wasn't going to post these pictures because Jerry posted some of them on his Facebook page. And then I remembered not everyone has a FB account (or doesn't check it regularly). I further convinced myself I must post things here even if I (or Jerry) put them on Facebook because if it isn't posted here it won't be included in my next book. And if it's not in the book then it's like it never happened at all! So from here on out if you see our pictures in two places consider yourself lucky... it's better than not seeing them at all!

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A couple weeks ago we took the boys to the Botanical Garden. The Green Bay Botanical Garden (aka "The Zoo for Plants") is free on Wednesdays. Jerry heard from a friend at work that it wouldn't bore the children to death (like I thought it would) so we thought we'd give it a try. It can't hurt if the cost is free! Despite the fact it was a free Wednesday we pretty much had the place to ourselves. There were a few people here and there but we tried to avoid them so we didn't ruin their peace and quiet. Heaven knows there is no peace and quiet when we're around!

We pretty much zoomed past the flowers in search of the kids play area. The boys enjoyed watering with little watering cans, digging for fossils, and going down the big slide. Their favorite part though was the maze you had to go through to get to the slide. They really enjoyed that!

J.D. was mad he couldn't get out of the stroller and go into the maze, but I didn't want to lose him! He was so pitiful I finally let Wesley lead him through once so he could go down the slide.
Curious Hayden had to see if Mr. McGregor was home. He wasn't. We didn't see Peter Rabbit hopping around either.

The boys didn't really appreciate the beautifully kept gardens. But I did make them stop once in awhile for a photo opportunity. There were plenty to be had!



One quick game of Ring-Around-The-Fountain and it was time to head home!

Oh Nuts!

Remember back in January when I took J.D. for his 18 month well check? The doctor and I spent a good portion of the visit discussing the fact he may possibly have a peanut allergy. Well, I decided that I was just going to have them do the blood test at his 2 year well visit. And so we did.

His well check was last Friday. He was such a good boy when they drew his blood. He didn't even cry. He just laid there and looked a bit confused about what was going on. The nurse said she'd never had a toddler EVER lay so still during a blood draw. And this was no quick stick. She missed the vein and had to root around a bit till she found his little vein.

I hadn't heard anything about the results so I decided to give them a call this morning. The nurse called back and told me he "didn't test negative". How's that for cryptic?! He tested at "low" levels for the (peanut) allergen specific IgE. His level was .56 and to be completely negative it would have had to been .35 or lower. That's better than having a "moderate" or "severe" level but also means he won't be having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich anytime soon.

I kind of wish we had tested in January. Then we could compare the results and see if the levels were improving or staying level. He did accidentally eat peanut products a couple of times and had no reaction at all. He may be one of the fortunate kids who "outgrow" this intolerance/allergy.

The doctor said to just keep up what we are currently doing, which is avoid giving him peanut products. We don't have to remove all peanut products from the house. However, a "low" blood test doesn't mean that the reaction would be mild, he could still have a "severe" reaction so we do have an Epi pen just in case.

Nuts! Literally.

Gourmet Pizza

When we moved here I was surprised at the options you have if you want a pizza. There are the usual Pizza Hut and Dominoes and countless local pizza places (everyone has a favorite). Stores sell frozen pizza by the truckload. Whole grocery store aisles are full of the frozen disks. A lot of people have counter top pizza ovens. Apparently, the people of Wisconsin love pizza.

We are no exception. Our favorite place (Gallagher's--for you locals) is a bit pricey so we only get it on special occasions. We also like Papa Murphy's (take and bake). The boys don't mind frozen pizza but I hate it so once or twice a month I make pizza here at home for dinner. A while back I tried making deep dish Pizza Hut style and it turned out great.

Last night I made one of Roz and Jerry's favorites: BBQ Chicken Pizza. I'm not crazy about it so I thought I'd try and recreate one of my favorites... Papa Murphy's Gourmet Chicken Garlic pizza. I looked for a copycat recipe online but didn't have much luck so I just came up with this:
As soon as I had it all together I knew it would be good... it looked just like it came from Papa's! And it was delicious!

Here are the recipes if you want to give either one a try:

Crust
2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups flour
1 T. yeast
1/4 t. salt
1 cup warm water
2 T. oil

Mix half flour, yeast, salt. Add water and oil. Mix well. Let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in as much remaining flour as you can. Turn out on floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Divide in half. This recipe makes two crusts. Roll out to fit pizza pan. If you want regular pizza top it right away and bake. If you want a thicker crust let it rise a bit before topping. If you want thinner and crispier crust, immediately bake crust only at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. Then top and bake again.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
1 pre-baked crust (see above or store bought)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Mix chicken and BBQ sauce. Spread over crust. Top with cheese.
Bake at 400 for 8 -12 minutes. Makes 8 slices.
(above photo of BBQ pizza is NOT from last night)

Gourmet Chicken Garlic Pizza
1 pre-baked crust (see above)
1 cup cooked chicken, diced
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
3-4 green onions, sliced
2 T. parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/3 cup garlic caesar dressing

Spread dressing on crust. Top with chicken, tomatoes, and onions.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese over pizza first,
followed by mozzarella. Bake at 400 for 8-12 minutes.
(Could use ranch or alfredo sauce instead of caesar dressing.)

Making the Cut

I have been considering a haircut for a couple months now. The only thing holding me back was Jerry. He really likes my hair long. I thought I would just get a few inches cut off and keep it long enough for him but a bit shorter for me. A compromise.

Then a few weeks ago on a whim I thought I'd just check out the guidelines for donating to Locks of Love. I was surprised to find out it was "only" ten inches. I figured if I was going to cut off six anyway why not just make it ten and donate. It just seemed it would be a waste to throw it away because of a few inches. If I donated it would be a bit shorter than I wanted, but it will grow back. My hair definitely grows fast (and thick)!

So I started to prepare Jerry. Getting him used to the idea slowly. He wasn't too excited about it but he agreed it'd be a waste to miss the cut by a few inches and have the hair end up in the trash. I had one thing going for me... it's kind of hard to be mad at your wife for wanting to donate her hair!

So I decided to just do it! Here are a couple before shots:


And here is after:


The guy that cut my hair was shocked at how thick it was! He didn't think his shears were going to make it through that thick ponytail! Then he was equally shocked at how much I hair I still had left after he cut off the ten inches. I didn't want any more than that cut off so he just evened up the ends for me and off I went. I told the hairdresser I'd start over and be back in a couple years. :)

It seems shocking to me when I reach back. And when I put it in a ponytail now it barely holds! But it's really not that radical, I have had my hair this length several times before. I'll just have to remember to use less shampoo and conditioner in the shower!

I'm going to mail the ponytail in myself and I'm curious to know how much the package will weigh! I guess that's one way to lose a pound!

How the Garden Grows: Early August

The garden is starting to really produce now! We have harvested all the radishes. The red did okay but the white were really fibrous and some of them bolted before they even made a good size radish.
Not sure what went wrong there. The lettuce is done too. We had to give a bunch away because it was ready all at once and was way more than we could eat. Next year we'll have to stagger the planting a bit to avoid that.

The peas are just about done now too. I don't remember what type of pea we got. I thought we got the kind that you could steam and eat in the pod. But we didn't. That didn't work. So I've been taking the peas out of the pod and cooking them. They are delicious, but a lot of work.
The banana peppers were the first ready of all our pepper plants. They are quite spicy. Too bad the tomatoes are still green or I could be making salsa. I'll freeze the early peppers and save them for later. Looks like the jalapenos will be ready with the tomatoes so that will work out perfect. The onions are doing great too. I have just been leaving them in the ground and grabbing them out when ever I need them.

We had coleslaw this past weekend with one of head of fresh cabbage. I am going to try another recipe tonight with another head. We also ate one of our kohlrabi plants. We need to plant more of those next year. They are so good! Three plants definitely wasn't enough.

The green beans are getting there. But we haven't harvested any yet. The broccoli finally has florets on it. The plant is HUGE and the florets small and they took forever to pop through. The cucumbers are looking good too. I planted them from seed and they seemed slow to grow at first. They are really going to town now though. We should have lots of cucumbers. I'm glad I planted them on the edge of the garden where they can grow over the wall and not take over.

I'm pretty pleased with our progress so far. If nothing else we are learning plenty so next years garden will be even better!

August Menu

Hey! Did you notice I didn't post a menu for July? Maybe you didn't notice, but I sure did! We wandered aimlessly through July with several "...it's almost 5 o'clock...what should we have for dinner" nights that we hate so much.

Enough of that! We're back on track! Sticking to the straight and narrow! Time to shape up! What? Oh yeah, the menu! Here it is:

(Click to enlarge)

JD's Birthday

Here are a few photos from JD's little birthday celebration. We took him to Burger King for dinner. He had a great time. He was a bit sad to find out you couldn't take your food into the play area. He got over it though and just kept running back to the table to get a sip of milk or a fry...then he'd run off again.

When we got home we had a little video chat with the AZ Showns and we all sang "Happy Birthday". I don't think JD really appreciated being sung to, he looked a bit unsure...
...perhaps it was our singing. We almost have enough kids to be the Von Trapp family but unfortunately we don't have the vocal talent. However, we've been practicing so he knew just what to do when it came time to blow out the candle!
He was pretty proud of himself!He also really enjoyed the cake!Then we moved to the living room to open a few gifts. JD was pretty excited to see what the packages held.


Once you open a present that you really like you have a problem...it's hard to open presents with only one hand. JD wouldn't set his new puppy down!

What do you think these guys are looking at??
Why it's Daddy demonstrating how JD's new book works! Everyone say "Hi Daddy"!