Sounds Familiar...

Rob here.
It's been a busy season, and I haven't devoted any time to writing blog posts lately. April, on the other hand, is trying to hijack this space and convert it into a full-fledged mommy blog. Don't get me wrong, she's got some great stuff here (as many thankful jiaozi eaters will attest). But I feel like I should at least put a few words in :)
Fortunately, I prepared a few lists back in December, planning to post one every few days. I got as far as one. Here's list number two. I give you:

Things I Say to My Kids that I Can Also Imagine God Saying to Me:
-When will you realize that when you don’t listen to me, you get hurt?
-I’ll be back very soon.
-You have no idea how much I love you.
-It's OK to cry, you don't even need a reason.
-I'm disciplining you because I want to help you become a much better person.
-Do you really think I don’t know what you’re doing?
-Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.
-I'm not going to stop you, but I know this is going to end poorly!
-I like it when you try to be just like me.
-This is one of those times you need to sit and listen to me.
-You have grown so much!
-My instructions were very clear, and I know you heard me. What happened?
-You can't do everything I can do, and that's OK.
-I know this hurts, but it’s going to make you feel better, I promise.
-Stop whining.
-Be nice to your brother (or sister).

Another recipe - Homemade Veggie & Beef Chili!

I'm not really into beef & beans chili, so (for many years) I thought I didn't like chili. After Rob & I got married, I knew I needed to find creative ways to incorporate vegetables into his diet. Chili seemed like a good option. I knew the veggies could cook down (as much as you want them to), they're covered with a flavorful sauce and it just seemed like a nice way to ease Rob into the vegetable food group. It's been great for the kids, as well. I usually mix their chili with rice.

Anyhow, I started out adding shredded carrots. They can cook down so much that you don't even know they're in the chili. I chop my carrots now, but that's just because I'm lazy and Rob's already hooked on the chili. Honestly, I'll add any veggie in the refrigerator to my chili, so it's a bit different every time.

In this picture, you can see that I've been boiling some chopped veggies (carrots, squash, celery, bell peppers, green beans, etc) in a small amount of water. I added one can of cannelini beans, some tomato paste, garlic, onions and some more water. I also precooked some ground beef and added that, but I forgot to take a picture...oops...

















In the meantime, I scrubbed the dirt off of my spinach leaves and chopped them up (so they wouldn't gag the kids). I also added some chili seasoning that was mailed to me by a friend - thank you thank you!!!

















This is what it looked like after it was done (pre-cheese and sour cream). Like I said, I don't mind the chunks of veggies (I actually like them), so I don't cook it a super long time.

















Just for fun - do you know how we make sour cream in Asia? We add vinegar (or lemon juice) to cream and let it sour.

Family Trip to McDonalds

McDonalds is Rob's 2nd favorite restaurant (right after Papa Johns). I like it, sometimes. Actually, I don't eat it much in the USA, but I like it overseas. It feels like home. I guess that means my home is greasy and full of fat.

We have to take a bus to get to McDonalds. Thankfully, this bus was not very crowded. Can you imagine getting a stroller onto a crowded bus? I can. It's not fun.
























But, McDonalds is worth any bus trip!

Cosi's favorite McD food = ketchup!
2nd favorite = ketchup vehicles, like french fries!
3rd favorite = milkshakes!
forced to eat = chicken nuggets! ("No, Cosi! You must eat 2 nuggets before you can have more ketchup!")
















Trey, however, loves chicken nuggets. He downed 8 nuggets (we de-bread them first) at this meal!!!!! I only bought him 5, so I sent Rob up to buy more. I guess his sodium intake for the day was through the roof....yikes...

Here he is, what a heart-breaker, always looking to hand feed the ladies! Keep your daughters at home :)

















Mmmm.... I could go for some chicken nuggets right now...

What should you do when you forget your sand toys?

Option A: The tired mother should chug her water bottle (which she needs to drink anyway). Then, she should demonstrate to her daughter how the empty bottle can be an awesome sand toy. See picture #2.

















Transcript of Demonstration:
"What? You want to scoop up sand? Go ahead - scoop scoop!"
"What - you like to pour out sand? Pour your heart out!!"


















Difficulties with Option A: Child is not stupid. Child sees other children playing with real sand toys. Child knows there is something better to be had in the sand box.

This leads to option B.

Option B: Make friends. Play with their awesome toys. Rely on your mother to remind you to share the other child's toys with him.

Out on Campus - Mommy & the Kids!

Mommy & the Kids - The Second in the Series!

I know I lied all those other times about doing a series, but this is really happening. Wow. You are witnessing sanctification, a life being changed and made better. The possibilities are endless. Here we go!

This is a college campus in our town. Daddy was off talking to some friends, so we walked around and met some friends of our own. This is about what we looked like - just add in a gorgeous, supermodel thin, photographer mother. Comments in background: "What?? That woman had a baby? No way! Look at those washboard abs!" (How did they see my abs? Um....I guess I was wearing a belly shirt....in the winter...) Anyhow, we digress...

















How did we start our campus trip? Well, even supermodels have to eat, so we bought oranges. Cosi picked them out!

















Then, she pushed her way to the front of the line and paid for them. It's one of the benefits of being small and cute.

















We took a little walk and we ended up...
















at the basketball court! Cosi sure does like to watch the gege's (older brothers). (side note: the weather was beautiful, so people were cleaning their blankets and hanging them outside)

















Ten minutes of Cosi hardcore flirting paid off. The gege was unable to avoid us. He even let her play with his basketball. Cosi thought it was a soccer ball and kicked it. Ooops. I guess that makes the parents look bad. (Mental note: Teach my daughter about sports other than soccer)

























Meanwhile, mommy had a stud of her own to look after. Eat your heart out ladies!

A day at the park with mommy!

I have recently begun doing adventures outside with both kids (while Rob is working). Yes, it took me a year to get to this point. (Remember, we don't have a car or car seats to strap children down) And, to be honest, I usually plan for the trips to end with the arrival of daddy (he can carry one of the kids back up the 4 flights of stairs to our apartment and watch the kids while I collapse on the couch).

Here is the first of several posts. (I already took the pictures - they'll make it up on the blog, I promise)

The weather is finally starting to get a little better here. After over a month (straight) with no sun and much rain, we are making our way to the park on a regular basis. Rob was out working, so the kids & I did this trip 'sans daddy.' Here's the sand pit at the park. It's actually for adults, but kids use it all the time. Cosi likes to play in the sand AND watch the men do stretches, hang from bars, etc.

I took five shots of this picture. This is the best of five. You would think a crazy, jumping mommy could get both kids to look at the camera at the same time, but you'd be wrong.

Cosi is a strong extrovert. One day (after being inside all day), Cosi cried and said, "Cosi see people. Cosi need people." She's not kidding. Preschool is going to be great for her. Here's Cosi with some new friends. Once again, this was the best of five pictures. Really.

A mother/daughter self-portrait at the park.

Trey was even able to get his afternoon nap in the park. Well done, baby. Well done.

Not pictured: Our joyful reunion with daddy, who had the honor of carrying this sleeping bundle of joy up four flights of stairs.

Trey at 11 months

How do you get an 11 month-old to hold still for a picture? No, really, how?

I failed, but there is something sweet about a little boy who keeps running toward his mother :)

One of the best things about having new kids join your family!

People make you meals. Thank you 'people' - thank you, thank you!!!

It's like having a personal chef, or so I imagine, because I've never had a personal chef. Actually, I'm going to UP that last statement and say it's BETTER than having a personal chef! Because, these kind people do all the work and buy all the ingredients for you. You aren't charged anything.

I remember one night, they mixed up the schedule and two people brought us meals. It was awesome.

Curiously enough, in the middle of the free food extravaganza, Rob lost 20 lbs. I still don't completely understand this. I guess whenever he finally had a chance to eat, he chose to sleep. Those were some hard days.

We had so much leftover food that we started freezing portions of it. I hate seeing food wasted, so I'd ask Rob to inventory our food supply. If anything was nearing the one week mark, we'd stick it in our itty-bitty freezer. I guess I should have also been directing Rob to put bites of that food into his mouth and chew.

Here are some of the food items that I remember:
-Chili with tortilla chips and cheese (IMPORTED chips and cheese - wow!)
-calzones (one of Rob's favorite meals, next to pizza)
-Stews (lots of veggies & good healthy stuff)
-cream cheese chicken with rice (anything cheesy is highly prized over here)
-Chinese food (homemade by sweet ayi's)
-curry with tofu (Rob & Cosi were so happy to get tofu, b/c I don't usually cook with it)
-ratatouille with crusty bread (how do you spell that?)
-homemade chicken soup (a BIG pot)
-stuffed bell peppers (not just the green ones, but red & yellow peppers too)
-money for us to order food (one of my favorites - I will always believe gift cards are the best gift)
-a pizza from a local restaurant (brought over by our friend!)

I'm getting hungry just typing all that stuff.

Okay, now it's somebody else's turn to have a baby. I'm ready to cook again :)

Using our Imaginations...

Can you tell what that lego creation is??

Of course it's = A lego car with our lego family! (mom, dad, cosi, trey, cat & dog) Except, we don't have a dog or a cat (Cosi really wants pets and she has even taken to calling her blanket 'puppy' and treating it as such) . I promise to buy my kids some lego people in the near future.

Kids' Chores- A Video

One thing you need to understand is that we never force our kids to do the things in this video. Especially for Cosi, doing housework is a kind of reward. "If you finish your dinner, you may help Mommy vacuum." "If you behave at church, you can wash dishes when we get home." She has pretty high inclusion needs and wants to do whatever she sees us doing. Apparently, we do a lot of housework. As for Trey, well, he wants to do whatever Cosi does.

A Short Video for Those Genuinely Interested in the Latest Things Our Kids Learn to Do

Trey started walking by himself a few weeks ago- right around when he turned 10 months old. We finally convinced him to do it on camera. When Trey first started walking, he was fearless. After more than a few falls, he developed some sense of caution. He typically would walk all over the house while keeping a hand on the wall, couch, or the nearest set of legs. He would venture a solo walk only in between door frames or to get to a couch. Now, he's a walking machine.

Cosi, for her part, is a little threatened by his sudden ability to reach toys that were hitherto only in her range. She made up for that by climbing up onto her wardrobe today and retrieving a collection of items we thought would be safely out of her reach for a few more years. Cosi also enjoys standing in front of us and making sure that Trey is walking to her, and not to whomever ends up standing behind her. She's pretty sure she's the one who taught Trey how to walk.