Life, As We Know It!: January 2010

Saturday, January 30, 2010

January in the Tropics

Our neighbors across the street have a banana tree, but it seems they don't like bananas! This is the second bunch of green bananas they have sent home with the kids... I see a LOT of banana bread in our near future :)

Here's Noah feeding fish with our "hairy baby", Nibbles. Nibbles loves to bark at the fish while we are feeding them- it's one of her favorite activities!

Gabe and Annalee were brave enough to go swimming this week! The pool is too cold for me, but they don't seem to mind much...

I have been amazed at the number of butterflies this time of year! The empty lots near our house are full of wild flowers, and the butterflies swarm you as you walk through them.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A Teeny Tropical Snake!

Gabe was digging in our flower bed today and found something which looked like a black earthworm. I did some research, and it is actually a Brahminy Blind Snake! They only grow to be 2.5"-6.5" long and eat ant and termite eggs and larvae. We are lucky to have them in our garden, since we have LOTS of fire ants here!

Here's my fearless (and dirty) Gabe, holding the Brahminy Blind Snake...

Check out this site:
Brahminy Blind Snake

Monday, January 18, 2010

Shell Hunting

We found out that the two empty lots at the end of our street are full of half-buried, whole shells. The shells must have been brought in with the fill dirt they used to make our little penninsula.

This spot is beautiful, and you can smell the ocean if the breeze is right-we are just a short boat ride from the gulf.

Here's Elena with two of the larger shells we have found.

Annalee found this piece of coral half-buried in the empty lot. We cleaned and whitened it with bleach water.

Friday, January 8, 2010

New Camera Pictures

Andy gave me a new camera for Christmas, so I thought I'd try it out! It is a beautiful day today- the first day since we got back from Louisiana that has been in the 60's. We decided to start school after lunch, so the kids and I spent the glorious morning outside :)

I am still trying to figure out all the settings on my camera, and I'm still not sure (even after reading the manual) if it has a video setting... hmmmm...

I can't wait to try out the close-up setting, come spring when all the flowers are blooming!

Noah actually posed for me :)

Elena playing with the T-ball set...

My two "little ones" goofing off :)

Anecdotes

Gabe (8) has a favorite bedtime prayer. It goes like this: "Dear God, thank you for everything, expecially the stuff I mentioned. Amen"
I'm a goof when it comes to music. So, last week when I heard the intro to a Bon Jovi song, I started lip-syncing and dancing in front of the kids. Gabe (7), just stared at me until I finished. "Mom, " he said, "that wasn't very lady-like."
I was reading a book to the kids the other day, and the word "phenomena" came up. All the kids started cracking up, so I paused my reading until they settled down. After they ended their cackling, I asked them what was so funny... "It sounds like that muppets song, mom," said Noah. "You know, manamana do do do do do... manamana!" So now, when Noah wants a laugh, he says "phenomena!" and all the other kids sing the song :)
I was sitting on the couch with my feet tucked under me, reading a book. Gabe (5) came up to me and started feeling the caluses on my heels. "Wow, mommy!" he said in awe. "Your feet are invincible!"
The other day in the car, Gabe (5) yelled up to me, "Mom! Noah just hit me in the Elvis!" I told Noah to behave and tried not to laugh. Later on in the week, I heard Andy (my hubby) talking to Gabe in the other room, "Don't play like that, Gabe. You're going to hurt your Elvis!" ... I guess it's a guy thing...?
Gabe(5) is constantly either singing or humming different tunes. The other day, I noticed he was singing the classic Hall and Oats song, Man Eater. Yes, he knows a lot of 80's tunes... Anyway, when he came to the chorus, I heard him belt out, "Oooh, here she comes. She an Ant Eater!"
I heard Annalee (7) and Gabe (5) chatting in the back seat of the truck. "It's 'winter', Gabe," Annalee was telling him. "NO, it's 'window'!" Gabe persisted. I thought I'd let them settle it themselves and went back to driving. A few minutes later, Gabe started singing, "Walking in a 'window' wonderland..."
We were passing a Shriners' Temple,and Elena (9) said jokingly, "Hey, they have a statue of Frankenstein!" (It was a Shriner, wearing a fez). Gabe (5) looked at her very seriously and answered, "NO, it's just some guy with a bucket on his head!"
Gabe (5) was talking about having a wedding with his sister, Annalee (7). I told him, "You can't marry your sister! Anyway, you guys are just kids..." He looked at me very seriously. "Then, how did mamaw marry papaw??" "What do you mean, Gabe?" I asked him, confused. "Well, papaw's just a big kid!"
We have a family account on the Disney game Toontown. Each one of us gets to make a toon and name it. Noah (10) has yet to get his name approved, as he keeps choosing names that don't exactly fit the Toontown standards. Some of his choices have been: Flatulance, Morning Breath, and Hot Butta. His toon will probably never have a proper name!
I heard a commotion in the girls room just before bedtime, so I went to investigate. Annalee was hiding under her sheets, so I asked Elena, "What did she do?" Elena (9) looked disgusted and said, "She hocked a loogy on my bed!"
Today, a sweet moment went a little sour... I found a plastic container in the kitchen, and on it was written: "Me & Annalee- best sisters forever! " I told Elena (9) I thought that was very sweet of her. Picking it up, I noticed it rattled and asked her, "What do you keep in your special container?" She answered, "Oh, just some trash I found on the floor of my room."
We got a bunch of beenie babies from our neighbors a couple weeks ago. They were cleaning out their attic, and found a box of them for us to have. Gabe(5) adopted an anteater beenie and named it "Urinal".
We were on our way to do some shopping the other day, and Gabe(5) spoke up, "Hey Mommy!" I looked at him in the rear-view mirror, expecting him to ask for something at the grocery store. He smiled one of his sly little smiles, "My imaginary friend has rabies!"
The kids have taken to the VW-punch game (as seen on TV). I had to explain to them that the original game was just for "punch buggies" or "slug bugs" and not for ALL VW's. Anyway, they kept the old game alive and started punching for VW bugs- that is, until someone puched too hard! Since then, we made up a new game called "HUG bug". The kids yell "hug bug" and hug each other instead of punching... a much more kid-friendly game :)
Elena (8) was in the pool after a cold front had come through (it was in the high 70s). She was trying to convince me to get in, too. "It's not so bad, mom," she said, "the water is like warm ice!"
I heard Gabe (4) saying something about picking more "muffins" for Elena. I was confused because we don't have any muffins in the house. So, I asked him, "What kind of muffins are you trying to find?" "You know," he replied, "those big red flowers with all the pollen." I understood him and explained, "Those flowers are called hybiscus, not muffins, Gabe." "Ooooh," he said, "then I have to pick more "biscuits" for Elena!"
We went to downtown Cape Coral to watch the fireworks on July 4th... I watched Gabe(4) as he looked up to the sky in awe. After a few minutes of gawking, he came over to me and whispered in my ear, "Mommy, is God making those??"
We were going to Walmart, and I noticed a truck in the middle of the road, its driver was behind it scooping up something into a bag. As we got closer, I noticed that he had spilled some nails in the road and he was picking them up. "Oh, he just spilled his nails!" I said, half to myself. A few minutes later, Gabe (4) spoke up, "Mommy, which did he spill?" "Which what?", I asked. He replied very thoughtfully, "Which nails, his finger nails or his toe nails?"
We were watching TV, and a hair-growth commercial came on. Noah (9) says, "I'd like to put that all over my body. That way, I'd be a sasquatch."
Elena (8) told me when she grows up, she wants to start a "super restaurant" in an old gas station. She said, "It will have quesadillas, hot dogs, hamburgers...", all of her favorite foods. Noah (9) added, "Yeah, and we'll call it "Gassy's" and the special will be "Who-Cut-the-Cheese Pizza"!"
I asked Annlee (5) why her shoes were outside and muddy. She said, "Gabe FORCED me to go near the mud." "He FORCED you?" I asked. She smiled slyly, "Well, he double dog dared me to"
Annalee (5) asked Gabe (3), "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" He responded, "Ummm... David Hasselhoff?"

Favorite Family Recipes

Indiana Strombolis

I have been trying to master this recipe for years! After many (many) failed attempts to copy the work of Pizza King, I have finally made a batch that comes ever-so-close. This recipe will make two large Indiana strombolis.

5- Hot Italian sausages (Schnuck's are great!)
1 small onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic
4oz tomato paste
about 12 oz pasta sauce (I used Muir Glen organic)
1 t garlic powder
2 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper to taste
1 stick butter
thinly-sliced provalone or mozzarella cheese
pepperoncini
French bread x 2

Remove sausage from casing and fry them until cooked. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft.

Add tomato paste, then add pasta sauce until meat is coated but not swimming. Add Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepper. Let mixture simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.

Cut French bread lenghtwise down the middle. Melt butter (add garlic powder, if desired) and brush both open sides of bread liberally. Broil bread until toasted.

Add meat topping to one side of bread, then top meat with cheese. Place cheese side of bread back under broiler until cheese is bubbly.

Place other side of bread on top of cheese side and brush liberally with butter. Put back under broiler for 1-2 minutes.

Cut French bread into portions an serve warm. YUM.

Top with pepperoncini if you like them hot!

Whipped Raw Dairy Potatoes

5 medium, organic potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/3 c raw cream
1/4 c raw butter
~1 c raw milk
salt and pepper to taste

Cover potatoes with filtered water in large saucepan.

Bring to boil, then lower heat and let simmer uncovered.

Cook until soft- test with fork.

Drain off water, then (in same pan) add all raw dairy.

Whip with hand mixer until lumps are gone and potatoes are fluffy. Add more milk if necessary.

Season with salt and pepper.

We ate these yummy 'taters tonight with a chuck roast and plenty of gravy. Mmmmmmm!

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