Veggie Recipe Review

Bekah "enjoying" peaches (or was it sweet potatoes?) when she was about 6 months.

I wanted to thank everyone for your tips on eating more veggies and, from much earlier, navigating Disneyland.
I thought I'd review for you the recipes we tried last week...and then I'll share with you a typical dinner routine at my house, just in case you wonder why I have a hard time with my kids and um...food in general.

First: Green Bean and Grilled Onion Salad with Feta from the Biggest Loser
This was a very flavorful dish. The shallots with the onion and garlic really defined the flavor. You're supposed to cook the red onions a little, but the shallots and garlic are just mixed in later. I think I'd saute those too, next time. I actually forgot about the feta when we had this for dinner and then remembered it the next day when I had leftovers, and I have to say the feta really makes a difference - it mellows the flavors of the onions and makes it so much better. I would make this again. Kid Factor: Zero interest. I set plain green beans aside and they liked those, but the onions and garlic were too intimidating for my kids. (Because they don't actually like flavor.) They all liked the green beans, which ups their veggie count from broccoli to broccoli and green beans! Hooray!

Next: Roasted Vegetable Medley from Allrecipes
This was SO good. I really, really enjoyed it. All of the veggies got cooked really well (very soft), and I loved the addition of the roasted red bell peppers at the end along with the basil and garlic. I couldn't stop sneaking bites before dinner...mmm. I didn't find parsnips, so they were omitted, but I just added more carrots. I halved the recipe because I knew my kids wouldn't eat any of it. It was just right for Rus and I with no leftovers. Kid Factor: They did eat the carrots but complained because they had black on them from roasting. Any normal, adventurous kid with better parents than me and Rus would probably have no problem getting their kids to eat this. It was delicious.

Fried Tomato, Onion, and Mushroom Ragout
This was disappointing. I think my tomatoes didn't have the best flavor, and there weren't really any added seasonings, so the flavor was pretty acidic and tart. I added minced garlic and a little sugar, but still...I won't make this again.

Grilled Portabello Mushroom Sandwiches
These were pretty good. I forgot to buy Kaiser rolls so we just used bread, and I also didn't do the roasted garlic mayonnaise or tomatoes (because I used them all up on the previous recipe.) It was basically a mushroom "burger" with grilled onions, roasted red bell peppers, and basil and mayonnaise. I used jarred roasted bells to save time. I liked the flavor, found it filling, but didn't really experience a wow factor. I'd make it again, though just for a change of pace. Kid Factor: They had turkey burgers and pineapple tidbits. They were happy with their meal, so I consider the night a success.

Since you're probably noticing a trend with my kids, I'd just like to take a minute and invite you to a "virtual" dinner with my family. Here it goes. Pretend we're having chicken (breaded, oven baked), steamed broccoli, and rolls.
Jacob: What are we having for dinner?
Bekah: Is it spaghetti?! (By which she means noodles with cheese - no sauce).
Mom: Chicken, broccoli, rolls.
Jacob: I LOVE rolls!
Bekah: Groan...
Dad: BEKAH! Tell your mother sorry. We don't complain about dinner.
Bekah: Sorry. (Said with another groan.)
Then mom starts dishing out the goods to each plate.
Jacob (pointing to his chicken): Have I had this before?
Mom: (thinking to myself, yes, you're five and you've never had chicken before.) Yes Jacob, you've had this before. It's just plain chicken with nothing on it, I promise.
Bekah: I don't want a roll. (She says this while sectioning off her food to separate sides of the plate so they can't touch, and then picking up her broccoli with her fingers. Six years old and she still doesn't understand forks.)
Beau: Doesn't talk because his mouth is full of broccoli. He's favorite right now. He hums while he chews.
Jacob: Can I have another roll?
Mom: No, you have to eat everything on your plate first. (Which includes three pieces of chicken and the same amount of broccoli.)
Jacob: *&*&^&#!!!Whine. All of it?!
Mom: Yes! All of it.
Jacob: More whining.
Dad: Jacob, do you want to go to your room?
Jacob: NO!!
Dad: Force feeds Jacob a bite of chicken. Jacob keeps this in his cheek for the next 4.2 minutes, silently crying while the insides of his mouth apparently are blistering from the toxic meat. He mumbles that he wants to spit it out. We tell him no. Somehow he manages to swallow and then needs a gallon of water to wash it down. This is just one bite of chicken. He moves on to the broccoli, without any complaints at all, but his eyes are still watering.
Beau is now putting chicken in his water and then taking it out and then feeding Colonel a piece and then making a broccoli tree dance on his plate before hitting Rus in the arm and yelling "MORE!" pointing to the rolls. Rus gives him some of his and Beau throws it. A piece of broccoli gets chomped and another chicken is drowned in the water, hid under the plate, or launched at Bekah.
Jacob has finished all of his broccoli. He asks for a roll. We comply.
Bekah has now cleared her plate. The breading from the chicken has been completely stripped off and left in a mound on the side of her plate. Of course she did this with her fingers. "Mom, can we have spaghetti tomorrow?"
Rus leaves the table to do something important, I mediate the rest of dinner and then do the dishes, mentally tallying up my time in the kitchen from start to finish and determining to never eat again.
And this was just plain chicken, plain broccoli, and rolls. One day my kids will like food. And flavor. And they will cook for me. And I might, just might be the bigger person and not mention any of these wonderful memories.
Maybe.

Foot Age and Veggies

Jacob: "Mom, I just left a message for Cutesy."
Me: "Oh really? How did you do that?"
Jacob pointed to the "2" button on the cell phone - the speed dial for my mom. "I pushed that."
"Oh, and you left her a message?"
"Yep."
"What did you say?"
"I told her to bring me a new bakugan next time she comes."
"Yeah, and what are you going to give her?"
"Um, I'll buy her some shoes...Um, Mom, what age are her feet?"

Oh how I love my Jacob...My favorite thing to do is look at his dark brown eyes and the freckles on his nose and kiss his soft cheeks. One day he'll be big and tough (he told me so), and I won't be able to do that anymore. I love that I am his favorite person right now (unless I'm not and Rus is), and I love how he tells me that all the time. He just learned our home phone number and has had a lot of fun using my cell phone to call me...from the next room. Today he was cleaning his room and gave me progress reports via phone call every five minutes. I'm sure that Gail, the piano tuner who was here, was shaking her head at "children these days," and the gadgets they are accustomed to. Gail was here to tune my very out of tune piano because Bekah just started piano lessons and I thought that the keys should make the sounds they are supposed to. I've been trying to talk Bekah into piano lessons for months and finally just set it up and dropped her off. She had a great time and has spent the last week playing the same song on the piano, over and over. I love it. Really.
On another note...I spent at least an hour last night looking for recipes that are veggie-heavy. I have been shifting to more veggies steadily the last several months and I've just needed more recipes that have them. I was stunned by a quote that said, basically, if Americans were to eat the five vegetables a day that we are supposed to, there would not be enough vegetables for every one because our country does not grow enough. Our country is heavy on meat, not vegetables. I like meat, believe me...but I understand how unhealthy it can be when fruits and vegetables are neglected or ignored completely. So I'm trying to incorporate them more so that the meat is the "side" and the vegetables are main and delicious. I am trying this, this, and this recipe this week and we'll see how it goes. And if I kill Rus or not...he's a reluctant sidekick who I'm sure will enjoy plenty a hamburger or steak on his lunch hour. Do any of you have favorite-must-have recipes that showcase vegetables? I'd love it if you shared!

Sister to the Rescue!

This past weekend I was really planning on driving to Flagstaff to visit Amy and her kids - it had been a long time coming and it was my turn to make the drive...But when Friday morning came around I was sick and felt incapable of making the drive or surviving the weekend there if any of the kids didn't sleep (like Beau is prone to do when we travel). So I called Amy in tears and she said, "It's okay, I'll come! I'll leave in one hour."
How amazing is that? It really took her five more hours to leave, but still...I'd consider that "the drop of a hat," wouldn't you? It worked out great because her husband Mike was taking the two older boys camping for the weekend, so she just brought the two youngest, Sarah and Mikey.
She came, we hung out, played games (including Scrabble for breakfast - because that's when you know you're on vacation), went garage sailing, and even filled her tiny wish of having something really big to hang on her wall. We made something like this: I made these two years ago, they hang behind my bed, but we made her's three panels instead of two so it could go behind her couch. It is four feet tall and eight feet wide, a terrific use of $26 and a big wall. It turned out really beautiful and I can't wait to hear what color she has painted it.
One of the nights I utilized my face-painting set again and the kids requested to be cheetahs and a lion. After getting painted they spent the next thirty minutes roaring at everyone. It was really fun.Jacob's was my favorite, I think...just ferocious...and clean cut...Sarah looks like a super-tough cheetah here.Bekah didn't sit still long enough for me to get a shot of her.
That same night Amy cleaned out my pantry and my over-filled corner wall cabinet. They are so refreshingly organized now, I can't help but think of her every time I reach for bread or my paper towels. Somehow I came from a really clean-conscious family without being a clean-freak myself, and sometimes that backfires, but this time it worked out well for me. :)
Thank you Amy for being so terrific!

Disneyland Tips, Please

My entire family plans to venture to the Magic Kingdom (Disneyland, not Florida), in a couple months...and I will be the first to admit we are all novices. None of us has ever taken any of our kids...most of my siblings only have gone when they were younger - in high school or college.
So I need your helpful tips, all you brave and adventurous and devoted Mickey Mouse fans!
Mainly, where is the best place to stay? I've always heard it's best to stay in the park...If everyone comes there will be fourteen children, ages 2 1/2 to fourteen, and twelve adults. Do you know of any places with good group packages?
Other than that info, I'd be happy with all of your other little tips and tricks that have helped you have the best Disney experience possible...so lay them on me, PLEASE!
Thank you!

Big Belly

Beau has an incredible belly. Seriously. Check this thing out:He's super proud of it, obviously.It's good luck if you rub it. Or kiss it. Or give it a Zerber. (Raspberry).He also has great taste in shoes...and does not settle for just one type at a time.Crazy fun kid!

Gun Cleaning

Rus had to clean his guns yesterday. Jacob and Beau were naturally attracted to the sound of metal manliness and had to watch Rus's every move. After about the second gun being cleaned Rus thought to have Jacob go get his new Nerf gun that he got from Uncle Jacob for his birthday. Rus put some water in a cup and handed it to Jacob as his "cleaning fluid," and then let him use some of his other cleaning tools while instructing him on what areas of the gun needed to be cleaned. Also as a dutiful father he reiterated key points of gun safety and when it's okay to touch dad's gun or dad's bullets. It was pretty much the cutest father-son bonding thing I've ever seen - akin to a mother and daughter making a cake or painting their toes together...but cuter.
And now to update you on my other hoodlums...
Bekah has been sort of difficult lately. I was really grateful that Rus was home the week after Christmas because he 1.)got to see/hear first hand the incredibly dramatic fits Bekah can pull off and 2.)got to work with Bekah, have lots of "Dad Talks," and joined me when I could do nothing but shake my head in unbelief at her excessive antics. Think: full out tears and wailing/screaming if she bumps her head on the railing of the stairs, or if Beau pushes her, or if Colonel sniffs Frenchie (her stuffed dog), or if Jacob says something that she interprets as insulting, or if I'm not making spaghetti for dinner, or if I don't let her eat an apple ten minutes before dinner, or if I WANT TO BRUSH OR FIX HER HAIR (a truly awful form of torture), or other equally heinous crimes.

Actually the Tuesday after Christmas she threw a fit about her hair and Rus handed me fifteen dollars and his keys. I took her straight to Great Clips and had them chop at least four inches off. She cried on the way there but was fine during and afterward. She looks super cute with it short; I especially like it when it's curled (she doesn't).
Her hair before: (Christmas morning with the coveted orange)Her hair after:(Bekah and Frenchie)

Rus and Bekah actually made a list (that Bekah signed) stating that Bekah is allowed to cry one time a week. One freebie a week, because even moms do that. After that, the first time she cries each day she has to go to her room for five minutes and then do something nice for someone else. The next time she cries that day she has to go to bed and (this was Rus's idea and I'm sure he'll be at work if ever it needs implementing), wear a diaper, because that's what babies do.
And now Beau:
This crazy kid has been keeping Rus and I up at night for the past three nights (at least). I know now (after a trip to the Dr.), that it's because he has an infection in each ear. He's been sleeping on our floor in our bedroom because that way when he wakes up every hour Rus just has to say, "Lay down Beau, go to sleep," and he's good for another 45 minutes. I don't know how Rus has been faring at work with his lack of sleep, but I'm feeling pretty foggy headed and s.l.ow.. Hopefully tonight - because of drugs glorious drugs - will be better.
He is a deceptively cute and fun monster, despite it all...As for Rus and I...the bathroom is slowly coming along and Rus's dad is now serenading us with songs of how he'll be the first to use our shower. (I'm thinking the shower heads might go missing as we wrap this one up...j/k)
I've made my list of goals/big changes for this year and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be a little battle worn by this time next year...if I make it. This will be a Big Year. It will go something like this:
Make the yearbook for the school (we're starting simple here...)
Help Emilee disguise the cultural hall as a Reception Hall for her wedding reception in March. (Difficult, you know...)
Go to Disneyland. (Hey if it's not on the list it won't happen.)
Put our house up for sale. Again.
Keep our house clean.
Sell our house.
Pack.
Move.
Remodel the kitchen in Abq. Repaint the bedrooms and install new carpet. Tear out all the flooring in the house. Hopefully tear down some walls.
Leave my old ward and wonderful friends.
Adjust to a new ward and find/bribe new friends.
Have Bekah start a new school.
Have Jacob start school. Kindergarten!

Seriously, I'm feeling some growing pains just thinking about it all. Maybe the secret is not to think about it too much... :)

Jacob Turns Five