A Long Weekend

My friend, Molly, planted a seed in my brain.  A big ugly eye-sore of a seed.  She got a trampoline for her kids. 

Fast forward to Rich and I realizing that our old, second-hand playset out back (whose slide broke twice last year, whose awnings were torn, and whose boards were leaning and bowing) needed to be taken down as not to permanently maim the children. 

Couple that with the fact that we're trying to lay low, save some money, and not go on a big beach vacation this year, and that little seed Molly planted started to grow...

"What if, instead of spending the money we saved for a little weekend trip somewhere (which we were planning in lieu of our big beach trip), we spend that time and money on making our backyard into a summertime funzone for the kids?", I asked Rich one night. 

He liked the idea of giving them a whole summer of fun and good memories instead of a single cool weekend somewhere, and also thought it best to put off the tetanus and broken arms that would surely result from another summer on that ragged old playset.  So, after talking it over with the kids, we declared it the summer of the Cole family stay-cation. 

Rich found a really great deal on a big monstrosity of a trampoline, and I found the absolute most awesome and cutest sandbox/beach area to put beside it. 

Rich had been working all week on the playset demo, so that part was done.  So Friday evening we went shopping.

And Saturday we built. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I LOVE that sandbox.  We used this blog as inspiration and a loose guide, and we all adore how it turned out.  It's sweetness offsets the giant ugliness of the trampoline...at least I hope it does. 

 

We also switched things up on the porch, put our bistro set under the tree by the sandbox, brought the kids' play kitchen up from the basement and put it under the pergola, put our sunbrella over the pond and one of our lounge chairs...it's a backyard bonanza of fun (and shaded supervisory areas) up in here. :)

 

For Memorial Day we headed to Newcomerstown for a family BBQ.  I didn't get any photos at Mom and Dad's, but some of us took a little trip to see the local bald eagles.  So cool.  We didn't get a glimpse of the parents, but the babies were in the huge nest waiting for lunch.  My camera's zoom sucks, but the nest is in the middle of the pictures below. 

 

 

Such a great holiday weekend. Hope you all had great ones too!

Hey There, Big Preschool Grad

Sam graduated from preschool yesterday!!

 

Good lord, where has the time gone?  Kindergarten in a few months?  The big school?  It's certainly not time for that yet...right?  Right??  

 

He's learned and matured so much this year in Miss Kim and Miss Susan's class.  They gave him the structure and challenge he needed.  We're so proud of him. 

 

I know he's ready for the big school...I'm just not sure I am.  

 

 

 

 

 My big boy...sniff sniff.

 

Our Life Lately

We've been busy little bees around the Cole house and, thanks to my trusty iPhone (that my office got for me, that I never have farther than two inches away from my person and, thusly, have developed a bit of a relationship with), I've captured so many of those moments. 

Sometimes I think technology is ruining our society.  Between it providing immediate gratification and all access to absolutely anything (from uplifting good to seriously crazy bad) and it fostering anti-social behavior...well, people can very easily be left alone with their computers, with no real human contact and no boundaries on what their eyes see and ears hear.

"Oh be careful little eyes what you see...oh be careful little ears what you hear..."  That song has a lot of validity in today's world.  For kids and adults.

But often I thank God for the tiny HD camera/video camera/phone/tv/computer that fits in my pocket and allows me to document my kids' childhoods so easily.  That's a special gift.  I guess, as in all things, technology just needs balance and limits.

Anywho, after a Facebook scolding by my dad about not having blogged for awhile, I thought I'd better get on it. :)  Here's a recap of the past several weeks.

My little bumble bee princess.

Rich making chicken walnut pesto ravioli from scratch with the kids.

 

 

 

Mother's Day dinner at our favorite Japanese steakhouse. 

 

 

The kids' sweetest tiny Mother's Day cards for me.  Not much is better than handprint crafts.  

 

Lena's new swimsuit, which she picked out herself...too cute. 

 

Making snickerdoodles with my girl. Mom and Dad found that cute apron for her.  She never wants to take it off.  And she can roll snickerdoodle dough in cinnamon sugar like nobody's business!

 

Story cubes.  I had to video them making up their funny stories one night.  Feel free to breeze past the videos - Sam's secret agent story is especially long and Lena's is pretty sporadic, but I had to post them for grandparents' enjoyment.   

 

 

Miles snoozing a Sunday afternoon away. 

Jackie Boy's 10th birthday party...a surprise birthday party! It was such a great afternoon.

 

 

Complete with new friends...

And two gerbils (Jack's big present from Lori and Matt) running around in balls.  Here's Lily and Thumper having a stare-down. 

 

Race for the Cure!  Such a special thing to do with two such important women in my life.  Here's Mom signing the survivor wall.

Three ladies ready for the 5K crawl.

 

Thunder Tunnel - motorcycles line both sides of the street with their engines roaring, high-fiving everyone, showing support and joining the fight.  Always a really touching part of the race for us.

 

 

 

Mom finishing the race in the special survivor lane!  So proud of her! 

Later that same day...Sam's very first t-ball game.  There he is, little number 1, with his shirt hanging down to his knees and his hat pushing his ears down.

 

Rich, the assistant coach.

Mom and Lena, cheering on the boys.

 

He hit it every time. Yea Sammy!  He had to hold up the helmet to run the bases, though. Hahaha...he's so stinking little.   

Rich and Sam in the outfield.

 

Sam and I had a Mommy-Son day after church last week.  He's been begging to go to a cemetery near church, so that morning we finally went.  He was fascinated.  I know that may seem weird to some, but I think it's cool that he's interested in those things.  I guess because I always was too.  He asked lots of questions and was very respectful, even helped me dust off dried grass and pull weeds from some of the stones.

 

Then we headed out to lunch in Westerville. 

 

When we drive to the sitters, we pass an antique store with some old toys in the window.  Sam's been asking for months to go there and, after, across the street to get ice cream.  I wasn't sure if we'd be in the store very long, but my boy surprised me again, asking all sorts of questions and finding all kinds of treasures.  He must have an old soul...

 

Ice cream at Graeter's.  Then we headed to Half Price Books and found two of the coolest kids books and a gerbil book for the Wingers. 

 

 

It was a full, fun, beautiful, much too rare day alone with my boy. 

Why Some Animals Eat Their Young...

My kids have been nutso lately. 

Seriously.  Crazy. 

I'm concerned about damage to the inner workings of their ears due to a) their inability to hear us when we tell them to do something, and b) our subsequent hollering demands at considerably increased decibels so they will hear us. 

I mean the listening...what's up with that? If only they would listen, everyone's lives would be so much better. 

Blarg.

They have had a few redeeming moments in the past few weeks.  Some sweet moments in the morning when they tell me about their dreams the night before.  Precious cuddles and song singing at bedtime. I also recorded them doing story cubes a week or so ago...their stories are just so funny. 

We recently started sharing one good thing and one bad thing about our days (thanks for the idea, Molly Benadum).  It's a nice way to teach the kids balance, how to reflect on what happens during a day and how the decisions they make impact themselves and others. And it's a nice way to stay connected as a family, especially on days I work and am away from them all day.

I like those moments.  They seem to like them, too.

Their humor has been on overdrive lately, too.  Like when Sam said "Whoa there, tiger" to Lena when she was doing a crazy dance in his face.  Ha!

Or when Lena crawled in bed with me and said, "Can I talk to you for a minute?".

It's funny to see how they mimic the things we do and say.  The good and, unfortunately, the bad.  They both will gently touch my face when we talk or rub my arm or stroke my hair, just like I do.  And they also sigh a lot and roll their eyes when told to do something they don't want to do, just like I do.

Lol.   

This life is crazy, isn't it?  These kids push me to the edge of sanity and, in the very next moment, melt my heart. 

Like last night when Lena was hysterical at bedtime.  Inconsolable.  For no identifiable reason other than exhaustion from no nap.  I thought my head would explode with frustration.  Then as I gave her her 78th goodnight kiss, she takes my face in her hands and says, "Sorry for my crying, Mommy" and kisses my cheek. 

Melt...frustration gone.  Instantly. 

God must given us all the capability of childhood heart-melting moments so our parents wouldn't eat us.  Good thinking, God!

:)

Meatloaf Cupcakes...What?

I'm not a meatloaf lover.  I've probably only made it a few times in my life.  But I saw these little meatloaf cupcakes on a blog called "Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy" and was compelled to make them.  They're just too darn cute.  Plus I had all of the ingredients on hand (except chili sauce, which I picked up at the store), so there was no excuse.

 

 

The kids loved them and actually ate mashed potatoes for the first time since they were babies.  Score!  And honestly, Rich and I really liked them too.  Very tasty and adorable. Double score! 

 

I've had a couple requests for the recipe and, since I tweaked Susan's recipe a little, I thought I would just post what I did here.

Meatloaf Cupcakes

For the meatloaf:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground turkey breakfast sausage
1 small onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup panko bread crumbs
3 splashes Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs

For the sauce:

1/2 cup chili sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard

For the mashed potatoes:

3 cups potatoes, chopped into chunks
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp butter
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix all ingredients for meatloaf in a large bowl.  Don't over mix.  Chill while preparing sauce.

Make sauce by whisking all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

To assemble cupcakes, lightly spray muffin tin with Pam. Fill each muffin cup with a small handful of meat mixture, gently pressing down until it's completely filled and flat.

Spread a tsp of the sauce onto each cupcake and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. (Some of the grease from the meat spilled out a little while bakeing, I put some foil underneath.)

While the cupcakes are baking, boil potatoes and mash with all ingredients for the mashed potatoes listed above.  (I ended up using a bit more milk and sour cream, but it's just to your liking.  Just don't make them too runny or they won't stand up on the cupcakes.)

Put mashed potatoes into a piping bag.

When the meat is done, pipe the mashed potatoes on the top so it looks like a cupcake.  Put them under the broiler for about 2 minutes to slightly brown up the tops.

I took mine out of the pan and put them onto a paper towel to absorb some grease from the meat. Then sprinkle some minced chives on top for the "sprinkles". And voila! Meatloaf cupcakes. 

Makes 12 cupcakes