Do You Know What "Ersatz" Means?

D.P. begged me to make an "oldie but goodie" for dinner--Cheesy Meatballs.

Being as we have had spaghetti and meatballs twice already in the past five days, I really wasn't up to rolling another batch of balls. Instead, I mixed the yummy ingredients squished the meat into a 9x13 pan. Then I simply cut the meat block into 1" squares (Meat squares instead of meat balls.!) before baking in the oven.

Now for a side dish...oh! I've used all the spaghetti noodles but I have rotini. I'll change it up by adding only butter and parm.

D.P. sat down for dinner and stared at his plate. "Nice ersatz Italian dinner Mom." he says.

Where'd he find his vocabulary!

Curious George

D.A. loves to mix paint on Curious George's PBS for Kids web page.

http://pbskids.org/curiousgeorge/games/mix_and_paint/mix_and_paint.html

Yesterday, she painted all of the pictures while Dad and I met with a contractor about my ceiling. She was proud of her work but did not want to interupt the meeting so she simply shut the laptop to preserve her work until she could share.

Well...a lighting storm quickly approached in the meantime and D.P. responsibly unplugged all technology (including the laptop D.A. was working on).

In true D.A. style, she did not remember her art until this morning. She woke up only to discover the laptop was off and immediately broke down in tears. She revealed why she was crying so hard. I suggested starting over. Not acceptable. I suggested creating a new piece and printing in. Not acceptable.

Running out of ideas, I asked what she would suggest to which she quickly replied "Give me $10?".

&*%@!(

Now You Are Ready!?!

D.A. was born a thumb sucker. She never accepted the binky (pacifier). This fact is deep family lore because her brother LOVED LOVED LOVED the binky. He always had a binky in his mouth, one in each hand and one stashed away for emergencies. Until one day, I took it away and he simply gave it up. No tears, no arguments, no hassle. D.A., however, chose the thumb over the binky and it has been a struggle ever since.

D.A. still sucks her thumb to this day. Last summer was a huge milestone for her because she gave up her "One Bear" (blanket) and stopped sucking her thumb during the day. However, she still sucks her thumb at night when she sleeps. This is still very private for her. She is 8 and knows that she is too old.

Today, her brother had an appointment with the dentist. While sitting in the waiting room, D.A. ran into a friend (who also sucks her thumb). This friend went into great detail about the appliance she had to wear last year to help her stop sucking the thumb at night. $400 and 6 months later, she still sucks her thumb. Devan remembers her wearing the appliance. She had nothing to say in reply.

Well, tonight before she went to sleep, we were talking about the thumb. "I think I am ready to take the binky now" she tells me. WHAT?!?!?!?!

Did you say my son is a Fart Smeller...uh...I mean a Smart Feller?

I was impressed by his genius when he helped me figure out how to replace the bulbs on my rear brake lights. In the dark.

My jaw dropped when he figured out how to install internet access on the Wii/Television.

But then...my darling D.P. decided he would use the kitchen scissors to cut his lavish eyelashes. His excuse was that his lashes are too long for his swim goggles. (It's true, the lashes rub against the goggles). Ugh!

Happy Father's Day

To celebrate Father's Day, D.P. and D.A. decided they wanted to take their dad to see a movie. Dad invited me along. :-) Dad wanted to see "The A-Team" but because it is rated PG-13, he acquiesced to see "Toy Story 3" instead.

What an excellent movie with a tear-jerking scene toward the end. Andy, the main character throughout the series, is now grown up and moving away to college. His mom is so busy packing him up that it is not until his bedroom is empty that she stops and realizes that her son is moving away. :-( Although I sat contently watching, my son felt the need to hold my hand and tell me that "its okay". What compassion! I rarely cry during movies yet he anticipated that I might feel sad at a scene that he knew would be difficult if it were to occur in my own life. I pray he maintains this rare strength as he grows to be a strong father some day.

And speaking of fathers, I want to wish both of my dad's a very special day! I love you both!

Summer is slipping away...

Cover Charge for the Event of the Year

As I pick D.P. up from summer camp this afternoon, he meets me at the door with a huge smile and a fistful of cash. I look at him suspiciously and ask how he obtained so much money.

He replied that he is charging his friends admission to his birthday party at Planet Jump to help defray expenses on our end. (!)

Did I mention his birthday is 6 months away?

Yeah...he returned every last penny much to his dismay.