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Last night was the first Gourmet Club dinner of the new “season” – 2008/09!!  I’m excited to be doing it again with Donna.  It’s just such a treat – the food, the atmosphere, the conversation.  I really enjoy it.  Last night’s dinner was hosted by Christi and Phoebe with a theme of “Blue Ribbon County Fair”.  It was probably the most casual theme that has been attempted, but the food was fabulous. 

Here’s the menu:

The tablescape:

The hostesses:

The guests (hats and bandanas were given upon welcome):

The food:

And my personal favorite…the funnel cake with dipping sauces (chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce and whipped cream):

And they sent us home with homemade caramel apples:

Fun, fun – thanks ladies!  Donna and I are up next in October!

It takes a village of products to combat the allergy attacks that have occured in our home this week.  Derek and Samuel are symptom free, but me and Caleb and Jacob are suffering.  Jacob's on Nasonex, but has a barking dog cough (thus the cough drops).  Caleb is congested and has daily headaches.  I take an Allegra every night and then usually add a generic Claritin in the morning. I'm supposed to use Veramist, but hate nasal sprays.  Instead I do the neti pot, or my personal favorite, the Sinus Rinse with saline solution in distilled water.  It's a sinus irrigation system.  It's not fun, but it's not painful either.  And you can totally tell a difference…for a few hours at least.  The weather has been BEAUTIFUL, but it brought with it something in the air that is disturbing our good health!

Several weeks ago I mentioned to the boys that they needed to be grateful for their food because there are children in Africa who don't have any (how many times have you used the same sincere tactic?).  It sparked a myriad of questions that ignited tonight over dinner.  I was bombarded:

Mom, why do children in Africa only eat mush?

Why don't they have fruits and vegetables?

I want to take them some good food.

Can I give them some of my money in savings?

What are their houses made of?

Are they made of sticks?  or wood?

Are there places in Africa that aren't poor?

Why aren't their parents making more money so they can eat better?

Why don't they just move?

What kind of shoes do they have?

Can I buy them some shoes to send to them?

Are there places in Africa that look like America?

Are there rich places in Africa?

Why don't they just eat animals…there are tons of animals in Africa?

What do they sleep on?

And then when they had exhausted this subject…I heard,

Did you know that one billion people live in Iceland?

And that's just one dinner conversation!

That's what they yell every week at Caleb's taekwondo class.  I finally broke down, after years of the kids begging me to take a martial art.  With classes twice a week, it always seemed like a daunting commitment.  But it felt right to let Caleb try it this year.  And I am SO glad we did.  He loves it!  His confidence is soaring.  His teacher, Ms Vasquez, is wonderful.  She and her husband and son own this top-notch academy, and I am so pleased.  It seems be a great balance of fun and discipline.  Plus, it's only 5 minutes from the house.  Caleb is not very competitive, so he got lost in the team sports.  So far, this seems to be a perfect fit for him.  And he's pretty cute in that uniform!

Don’t let that adorable face fool you.  He’s T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  I think I’ve had one of the hardest days ever with sweet Samuel.  Derek and I use this expression often – “he’s on FIRE!”  And I’m exhausted.  Obviously “no, no Samuel” will just NOT do.  I’m going to have to start time-outs I’m afraid. 

Here’s the first problem – the kitchen stool.  It’s his new best friend.  It takes him where he wants to go.  It allows him to reach new heights!  It helps him explore new opportunites!!  Nothing on the kitchen counters is safe…the pantry door HAS to stay closed, or it’s all over…my computer mouse and printer are toast, and forget about having a clean bathroom.

 

Second Problem – his pitching arm.  The kid can throw – far.  He throws food from his highchair.  He throws things from the second floor landing down to the first floor – including pool balls.  He throws things from his car seat to me in the driver’s seat.  He throws cups.  He throws shoes.  He throws things out of the bath – I was soaked by the time I scooped him out and called it “gave over” at tonight’s bathing game. 

Third Problem – he’s LOUD.  And he can’t communicate.  So he screams.  And screams.  And screams.  Sometimes it’s because he thinks it’s funny.  Sometimes it’s because he’s frustrated.  And sometimes it’s because he’s downright mad and can’t tell us any other way.  We spent several hours in the car this afternoon running the big boys to and from, and he screamed the entire time.  I had to leave taekwondo because he was screaming.  Ear-piercing, head-spinning, migraine-inducing screams.

It will help when he can talk.  I patiently, but anxiously, await that day.
I adore him.  But today was rough.  Tomorrow will be better, I’m sure.
Thank goodness for smiles like this that make it all better…

 
(taken at taekwondo before the screaming)

We had a special treat today for our church service.  We attended a special Stake Conference (congregations from The Colony and Frisco – almost 2000 people were there).  The reason for the gathering was a visit from a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Russell M. Nelson.  This is a rare treat and blessing for us.  There are 15 men in our church called as apostles, prophets, seers and revelators…and three of them were visiting the Dallas area this weekend, one of whom was with us.  It was great to see him in person and to have him in our midst.  The kids were disappointed to not actually meet him in person, but seeing him and hearing his counsel was enough.  He specifically talked about how and what we teach our children.  I love these men – they are men of great wisdom and understanding.  They are men of God.

(file photo from lds.org)

Ever since the MS 150 back in May, Jacob has had his heart set on riding with Derek.  He watches Derek go out most Saturday morning and ride for several hours. 

Jacob's sole mission in life is to be "just like Dad".  He tells it to me often.  He wants to be like Derek in every way possible (with only one exception – a different career – he doesn't think what Derek does is "fun" enough). 

Jacob is not signed up for any sports this year because we decided to let him give biking a try.  He wants to train for next year's MS 150.  He wants to ride with Derek and be "big". 

So we got him a road bike.  And we surprised him with it on Saturday.  His birthday is next week and Derek and he are going to ride in their first bike ride together next weekend (Cotton Patch Classic in Greenville, TX).

The premise of the surprise was that they were going to go for a ride together after Derek got home from his regular ride.  As they started down the driveway, Derek commented to Jacob (looking at his beat-up mountain bike) "buddy, this just won't do…hold on for just a minute".  And then he brought out the red racing bike.  And the pictures tell the story…he was beyond thrilled!  He's been in the garage a million times this weekend just to admire it.

BEFORE

 

   

AFTER

  He got a red jersey too!

   

 

Sidenote: Jacob saw our friend, Angie Dyer (whose husband rides with Derek), this morning at church and without saying even hello exclaimed, "I joined the bike team!".  I thought that was so cute – he's so excited to be "one of the guys".

We were glued to the tv this weekend as Hurricane Ike made landfall in Galveston and did damage in Houston.  We have several family members in Houston and are praying that they and their homes are safe and sound.

It was forecasted to hit us as a tropical storm with lots of wind and storms, but all we got was some rain…nothing major.  We had a date night planned with a sitter, but we cancelled in preparation for something that never really came.  But it was nice to "hang out" and relax all day.  Caleb had an especially great time because his friend Noah was spending the weekend with us while his parents were in NYC.  And his friend Matthew came over for the afternoon while his mom worked at a gymnastics meet.  These boys played and played and played.  And although Hurricane Ike didn't do much outside, I'm pretty sure it made landfall upstairs at my house! :)  I've got some cleaning to do – but it was worth it watching these three have such a blast together.

They got all of the Halloween costumes out…

 

One day last week Jacob came running in excitedly telling us he had taught himself how to do a back flip.  And sure enough…he was right.  He’s been doing front flips for awhile, but those are different since you can see your target landing.  Derek got these great pictures of Jacob’s newfound skill.

 

Just so you know, I haven't forgotten that I have two other children…even though you rarely see them on the blog these days. :)  I just never have time to get the camera out when they get home!

I laughed this morning when Samuel started digging thru my make-up drawer and pretending to "do his face".  The funny thing was that he somehow knew (from watching me every morning) where everything went.

Putting on blush.

 

Curling his eyelashes (Derek calls this my torture device).

 

Putting some eyeshadow on.

   

Oh – but don't forget the hair!

A little powder.

 

And maybe a little lipstick.

 

Now you know why my make-up drawer is such a mess! 🙂