Meet Mortimer

Sorry for the blurry picture, but this is was our new pet, Mortimer the Mantis.

The critters came out late this summer, but in full force, and for some reason we always seem to catch the ones that have a pre-existing condition. We caught a fabulous caterpillar one day, and the next morning when I went outside to take its picture it had already made itself a little cocoon.

A few days later Jason caught the kids a praying mantis. The closer I looked at it I realized it very much resembled the pregnant mantis we had last year that ended up laying eggs in the bug catcher. So when we went out to the bus stop the next morning and found Mortimer, we were able to convince Xander to let the female one go for the sake of the babies.

Mortimer was probably the biggest praying mantis I've ever seen. It made me think of the Orkin commercials where the giant pests come and greet the homeowners.
He was feisty, too. Not content with his sticks, grass or water that we provided, he would actually knock on the door. A day or so later we came outside and got excited because we found another mantis above the front door. Then we realized Mortimer was gone. He somehow got the door open, escaped, and got the door closed again. He was perched right there above the front door as if to taunt us. He would even look at us if we called his name.

Another caterpillar has since come along and he, too, has made a cocoon in our bug catcher. So we have two bug catchers side by side on the front porch that Jordis checks on every day. We did a little unit on caterpillars one day while Xander was at school and this was her craft.

She was pretty proud.

First Grade

Xander just completed his first full week of first grade. He started last Wednesday and I'm glad they ease into with just a few days because he was worn out.

A few days before school starts they have an open house where you can drop off your supplies, meet your teacher, check out your classroom and go to the cafeteria to have a treat and mingle with other people.

I loved Xander's teacher from the moment I walked into the room. She was welcoming, friendly and had a very clean and organized learning environment. She already had nametags on the kids' desks and mailboxes, her books were organized into categories, and she had fun lamps, rugs and pillows in the reading center. It looked like a fun place to come to every day and, compared to last year's teacher, I was very impressed. On top of that, he gets two teachers. The intervention teacher is also in his room most of the day as well, so I'm hoping that will be very helpful for him.

On the big day, Xander was super excited! He was up and dressed earlier than he's been in months. I bought the kids a special treat of chocolate donuts to celebrate and Xander ate his on the plate he made at the paint-your-own-pottery store.

We made chocolate chip cookies for his teachers.

He got to use his Transformers lunch box and fun food containers inside.

And best of all, we finally let him wear his new light-up Skechers. These aren't just any light-up shoes. You could wake the dead with these things. I could see him coming up the stairs from my bedroom with the door barely cracked open. God bless a good sale and Jason's mom's store discount, or this kid would not be wearing shoes that cost more than his parents' shoes.

Jason took Xander to buy his annual first-day-of-school outfit and he had to have a Toy Story t-shirt. He also picked out some new jeans.

We awaited the bus with great anticipation. I love that the bus stop is at the end of my driveway. I hope it continues to stay there as long as we live here.

Xander had no trouble getting on the bus this year, and I had no trouble saying goodbye.

(And in case you were wondering, I made sure he didn't get on the bus with a firearm.)

What time is it?

That's right, it's time for FOOTBALL!

Go Bucks!.....and Saints and Bengals and Cowboys.

(and I guess LSU for Jason)

A night at the fair

The Ohio State Fair is every summer and Jason and I used to go annually....until we had kids. Our whole purpose for going was mostly to eat junk food, so once the kids came along and it would have involved a stroller, diapers, etc. we decided it wasn't worth the hassle. Now, my mom and step-dad take the kids every year so we still don't go. But this year, my mom invited me to go one evening after she got off of work. Aside from the fact that my mom is fun to hang out with, we also have very similar tastes in food (minus my disdain for olives and stinky cheese and her texture issues with fruit). That being said, I had someone to share fair food with, which equaled ability to try more things.

Our first stop was sweet potato fries. Then we walked around to look at the chintzy memorabilia stuff people try to sell and spent a good deal of time looking at the contest submissions in the art building. We worked up an appetite after that so decided to try some deep fried bacon and cheddar mashed potatoes with ranch dressing. My mom didn't care for them too much, but I liked them. Next we went to see the butter cow and then a horse competition. Not sure how the judging took place where the horses were concerned, but the horses we liked didn't win, so we moved on.

The day they brought the kids to the fair the afternoon was cut short due to rain, so my mom had some extra ride tickets and suggested we put them to use. We then became the oldest people in line for the roller coaster. I'm typically okay with roller coasters, however; this roller coaster literally folded up into a truck like a Transformer so I was a little concerned about its safety. But we survived and went next to the ferris wheel. It was much better and we had a great view of downtown Columbus.

After the rides we went to the LaSalle building to look at our favorite exhibits: decorated Christmas trees and baked goods. We thought these were two of the best cakes this year. I'm always amazed by what can be made with fondant.

On the way out we passed some cute baby animals and then got our last snack....hot mini donuts covered in cinnamon-sugar. It was a fun and yummy night!

93!

On August 1st my step-grandma, Alberta, turned 93. You'd never know by looking at her that she was so many years young....no hearing aid, no cane, no walker, living independently. She has outlived two husbands and her only child. And she still talks a blue streak. My aunt and uncle had her come stay with them for a week and we all got together at their house to celebrate the occasion with a cookout. When we got there my aunt brought out three pillowcase dresses she had made for the little girls. Jordis loves hers!

We all brought food for dinner, so I decided to make the cake. I went to my neighbor Lisa's house for some special lessons on bakery-style buttercream. It was a long process to make and apply, but I was happy with the end result. It was an almond sour cream cake with almond buttercream and fondant accents.

Alberta loved the cake and we had a fun visit.

Tooth Two

Xander has had a bottom tooth loose for so long that the adult tooth was growing in behind it. The day before camp started I tried to convince him to let us pull it so it didn't fall out at camp and get lost, but he refused. Can you guess what happened on the FIRST day of camp? Yep, he lost it. Literally.

He was devastated that he wouldn't receive anything from the tooth fairy since he didn't have amy physical evidence to leave her, so we suggested that he leave her a note to explain the situation. He's not one to do any more handwriting than necessary, so he got right to the point.

Luckily, our tooth fairy is a sucker for cute little kids and misspelled souvenirs and Xander was pleased with the dollar bill that was left for him.

Weekend in Michigan

A few weeks ago we took a 4-day weekend to go see our friends in Michigan. Last July when we went to visit we stayed at Joe and Jen's house, but they just had their first baby and we brought the kids, so this time we spent three nights in a king room at a brand new Hampton. There was a golf center a few blocks from our hotel so one day we took the kids to play their first game of mini-golf. Jordis got a hole-in-one on the second hole. It was really hot and humid that day, but we had a fun time.

We also did a lot of eating. Joe and Jen have some friends who own a little cafe, and we had a great lunch there. I had a turkey sandwich that was made on cranberry bread with a homemade cranberry orange mayonnaise. It came with some wonderful homemade coleslaw. I went in there not very hungry and ended up eating my whole sandwich, coleslaw, Jason's coleslaw and a dill pickle or two. They also make homemade desserts and sent the kids home with some brownies. We also ate at Strawberry Fields which is a place Joe and Jen took us to for breakfast last year. I had some really good hasbrowns with bacon, peppers, onions and cheese, along with some strawberry soup. Great combination, huh?

One day, Joe took Jason and Xander out in their boat on Lake St. Clair, while Jen and I took Jordis shopping for a little girl time. She was so excited to sit next to the baby in the car. She gave him his pacifier if it fell out of his mouth, and she entertained him with his toys. We went to an outdoor mall and I bought Jordis an ice cream cone at the Nestle store.

I also let her pick out a special treat from the gourmet dog bakery to bring back home for Bubba. She thought he'd like a s'more.

Back at Joe and Jen's house the rest of us became chopped liver as Jordis spent the evening tending to the baby. She was all up in his business at diaper change, helped give him a bath, held him, fed him, and gave him a thumbs up when he seemed happy in his swing. She thought we should bring home one of these baby things for our house, until I told her the play room would turn into the office if that happened. She wasn't so sure after that.

On our last day we went swimming in the amazing heated hotel pool and then took the kids back to the outdoor mall for dinner at Max & Erma's. It was the nicest Max & Erma's we've ever been to, which is surprising since their corporate offices are here in Columbus. The kids were excited about their take-home cups and I gave them some coins for the fountain. It was a nice end to a great weekend.