At week's end

Random posts are good, I've decided. I like reading 'em, and I like writing 'em. So, from the week...

-I realized I never blogged my Mother's Day. It was great. Because Brian and I share the same birthday, we have started to put a lot of emphasis on Mother's Day/Father's Day, as it's really the only day we get to ourselves, celebratory-wise. Brian made some delectable culinary creations for me, including a fantastic stuffed omelet with fresh berries for breakfast, and spicy shrimp for dinner (fiery hot, and delicious!):
And for dessert he baked a pan of my mom's famous from-scratch mint brownies. It's a layer of super dense brownie, covered in a layer of mint creme, drizzle in melted chocolate and butter. Brian colored the mint creme layer purple for mother's day; they looked fine in person, better than in the picture. These are one of my all-time favorite desserts:
The kids were so sweet to me, too. Connor told me he was going to be nice to me ALL DAY since it was Mother's Day. Isabel said she, too, would be "nice to me for Mudder's Day, without any fuss and without any fight." Seriously. And it almost happened, too.

I also got a little gift from each of my family members. Connor insisted on a candle for me (surprise surprise, Mr. Candle Boy). Lovely new scent, White Citrus:
Isabel wanted to get me some "pink flowers mixed with red roses" and this was accomplished:
I got a great family crafts book from Lucas, and a new atlas from Brian. Seriously, I am a geography nerd. I read maps and atlases for fun frequently, so this was a very thoughtful gift.

- Is there anything cuter than a little boy in overalls? I think not. Especially this little boy.
They hold up even when they're hard at play-

- I am rather pleased with the lineup for the American Idol final. It's been a good season, methinks. However, and I know I am going to sound really old here, but what is up with acts like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry? I simply don't get it. You?

- New York and Company has some mighty pretty baubles right now in lovely colors - and I am a color girl. Here's a sampling:
I'm not generally a pin girl, but this could persuade me-- I have been listening to my Fleetwood Mac 25 Years The Chain box set all week. LOVE Stevie Nicks and the Mac. Love. Really, I love most 70s-ish singer/songwriters: Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Bob Seger, Bob Dylan, John Denver, CSN, and so on. But Stevie and the Mac have always ranked very highly with me. Brian and I saw Stevie solo in concert right before we got married, and then went to a Fleetwood Mac concert shortly after Connor was born. But, oh, to have seen them in their heydey.
- Isabel is gearing up for her dance recital on Saturday. Today, they had a dress rehearsal performance for some senior citizens. This is their "It's a Small World" number, wearing some sort of heritage costume (Isabel is Irish)-
And a sneak peak of her costume for "On the Good Ship Lollipop" (her favorite):
Seriously, the girl loves an audience. She is a performer at heart. She is all smiles during her recitals, can't stop talking about how much she loves that big stage. Today she told me that she would love someday to get some "big huge pom poms and dance on a stage for everyone." Truly, I don't even think I've told her that I used to do that! We must share the same performance soul.

- Field trip fiasco: Connor had his final kindergarten field trip today, to the zoo (I couldn't chaperon this one). Shortly before they were to leave, I got a call from the school nurse. She starts off saying Connor is fine - always love that introduction - but his teacher (Mrs. P we'll call her) was showing the parent who would be responsible for Connor's group, how to use the EPI Pen in case of emergency. Well, Mrs. P thought she had a training EPI Pen instead of the real thing, and inadvertenly injected herself with it! Mrs. P, who was on only her 2nd day back after maternity leave, had to go to the doctor to get checked out, and the school had to send an attendance clerk on the field trip in her place, which delayed the start of the trip a bit. And I had to rush our EPI Pen from home to school to get it to them before they left. And now I have to drive Connor to and from school for the rest of the year (to be fair, we have one week left of school) so I can sign our EPI pen in and out each day and share it with the school. Mrs. P seems fine. I do hope that lovely quarter-size blood stain on the thigh of her pants comes clean.

Race update

In case you need to be brought up to speed, Brian and I are doing Savannah's Race on June 13, an Amazing-Race-type road rally where we perform challenging tasks around the Denver area, and raise funds for Down syndrome patients and families. We are racing in honor of Porter Easton, our friends Jeannie and Evan's son who was born this spring with Down syndrome.

We've raised nearly $500 thus far, 1/4 of our $2,000 goal! A HUGE thanks to those of you who have already contributed (personalized thank yous will be coming after the race). We so appreciate your support!

A couple more race updates:

- It is important to note that 100% of funds raised by Savannah's Race go to the MHDSA, which has been awarded the “Best In America” Seal of Approval as one of the top charities in the country, and one that meets the high standards of Independent Charities of American (ICA) and Local Independent Charities of America (LICA). The Independent Charities Seal of Excellence is awarded to the members of Independent Charities of America and Local Independent Charities of America, and have, upon rigorous independent review, been able to certify, document, and demonstrate on an annual basis that they meet the highest standards of public accountability, program effectiveness, and cost effectiveness. These standards are those required by the U.S. Government for inclusion in the Combined Federal Campaign. Of the 1,000,000 charities operating in the United States today, it is estimated that fewer than 50,000 (or 5 percent) meet or exceed these standards; and, of those, fewer than 2,000 are awarded this Seal.

You can still mail us a check made payable to Savannah's Race. OR you can make a donation via PayPal at the Savannah's Race website:
http://www.savannahsrace.org/donate.html.
If you choose to donate here, please note that your donation is for "Team Howell."

You can also find our picture at the Savannah's Race website, under "2009 teams."

We are grateful to any support you can provide in helping us reach this goal! GO TEAM HOWELL!

Blessed

To be a mother to three terrific kids.

And to have a mother and mother-in-law whom I love and have sacrificed so much for us.

Hope you have had a wonderful mother's day!

From the week

A few things we've been up to this past week.

I totally want my kids to be book-lovers; I was happy to have stumbled upon a group pajama book party one morning this week:

We met Brian at a park near his office one evening he was working, and had a lovely picnic and park outing. Don't you just love spring evenings?

The kids spent part of a day at Nanna and Grandpa's house (aka Brian's parents) while he and I went to the temple and to lunch. On the drive there, I taped Lucas doing his "hand dance." For some time, he's been bobbing his head to the music on the radio. Recently, though, he has expanded his moves. He'll now move his foot and say, "mama, toe dance!" or wave his hands, "mama, hand dance!" I had to prompt it a bit b/c of the camera, but here's his head-bobbing hand dance. There is music playing on the radio, I promise:


We had Brian's mom snap a picture of us, as we needed one for the Savannah's Race website. Cute, no? ;)

When we picked up the kids from Nanna and Grandpa's house, Lucas looked like this:
His eye was totally swollen shut. And his face was red and itchy. Darn allergies. To what? The dogs? Something outside? We are, sadly, a real allergy family. Seems we're always putting together pieces of an allergy puzzle. Could be much worse, though, I realize. Some Benadryl and a nap cured most, and by the next morning the swelling was totally gone.

The baby chicks hatched in Connor's kindergarten class! Oh, the excitment. Prompting this project:

I spent my final morning volunteering in Connor's kindergarten class; only 2 weeks left of school (denial). His sub's final day happened to be the same day. Oh, how we love Mrs. Wingfield! Sad to say goodbye, but we got 2 more weeks out of her than originally planned.
Connor reporting on his writing project:
And holding a baby chick:

Have a terrific Mother's Day weekend!

This and that

Projects: I finally got my 3 apothecary jars and grew wheat grass in one of them. I love the look, but it grows fast! I am snipping it every day. Brian for some reason finds this incredibly amusing. I love the result of the tall jar and the grass jar, but I'm still deciding on shorty.
And I made my cherry blossom branches that my sister and I started on our trip. They are not photographing well (could very well be the photographer) and are much cuter in person. They make me feel springy and happy:
Movies: We've had 5 straight weekends of cool and rainy weather, so Brian and I have been watching lots of movies. I finally saw two books-to-movies that were out in the fall, which for some reason I never saw until now: The Secret Life of Bees (OK, not as good as the book, but entertaining enough; GREAT cast) and Twilight (about what I expected, I don't love the books, didn't love the movie, but glad I watched it. I think Robert Pattinson was fairly effective, but Kristen Stewart? Come on, what were they thinking? She didn't work for me. Then again, I hated Bella Swan). But hello, have you seen the boys playing the wolf pack in New Moon???

We did watch two very interesting and thought-provoking movies. Brian and I have had some involved discussions on these. Have you seen them? If so, I have a question about each:
Doubt. AMAZING cast performances. But do you think he did it? I don't.

And Seven Pounds. Strange movie. Do you think the reason he dedicated himself to changing others' lives for the better - and the eventual disturbingly sad outcome - was a legitimate one? Was he really doing it for others, or ultimately for himself? Anyone?
Eye Candy: I opened my May issue of Parenting magazine recently to find a 31-day giveaway. The 31 giveaways throughout the month are super fun just to look at. Who doesn't love some eye candy? I'd take this:
Or these:
And I don't know how this smells, but I love the bottle:
But what really called to me were these:
But not at $80. And then I found them on Amazon for $23! And they are on their way to my happy feet.

We had a Cinco de Mayo feast for dinner tonight, as Brian won't be home for dinner on Tuesday. Black bean and cheese quesadillas with homemade guacamole and steamed corn on the side, followed by homemade cinnamon tortillas crisps with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Connor pronounced it the best dessert ever.

Quick getaway: A gift certificate has made its way to us via some friends, and later this month Brian and I are off for a quick weekend getaway HERE. Am counting the days.

Kid quotables:
While watching American Idol last week, I asked the kids at the close of the show whom we should vote for. Isabel said, "Anoop! Is he back yet?" And I reminded her again that Anoop will not in fact be back. Then Connor said, "Let's vote for John McCain!" I said, "Silly Connor, John McCain isn't on American Idol." Connor said, "Oh yeah, that's right, he's on the news!"

While driving with the kids recently, the CCR song "Who'll Stop the Rain" came on the radio. Isabel asked what the name of the song was, and I told them. Then Connor said, "Well, who will stop the rain?" "Good question," I said. "What do you think?" Connor said, "God will stop it."

While hugging Isabel last night at bedtime, I told her she was my favorite girl ever. She replied by telling me that I'm her favorite girl ever. Then she looked at me and said, "Isn't it amazing what we just said to each other?"

For my own recollection, I needed to include my first Lucas quotable. He was holding a paper chicken and making it dance. He was so proud, he looked at me and said, "Mama! Bok bok dance!"

And my cup runneth over.

Artificial sugar high

It's really fun to play Candyland with Isabel. Let me show you why:


Have you ever seen someone have a sugar high from talking about candy???

In other Isabel news:
- She is getting ready for her upcoming dance recital, which is in mid-May. The ballet number is "It's a Small World." The tap number is "On the Good Ship Lollipop." The costumes for this are divine, and oh my, the song is all about candy! The perfect combination in Isabel's universe.

- Her favorite animals to date are deer and buffalo. She also loves dinosaurs. The other day as she was getting dressed she told me she "wants to wear something new and interesting that my baby brontosauruses will like."

- Every now and then, out of the blue, she'll say to one of us, "do I look like an idiot to you?" I am then tempted to answer truthfully.

- She also loves the saying, "you wanna piece of me?" except when she says it, it's like this: "you wanna piece of meat?"

- Isabel is 3 1/2. Her birthday is October 11. The kindergarten cut-off is Oct. 1. Which means she misses the cutoff by a whopping 10 days. And therefore has 2 full school years before she starts kindergarten. Painful, I tell ya. We are currently working out preschool options.

- She is a fun American Idol-watching partner with me. Earlier in the season someone sang, "This Love" by Maroon 5. She was furious, and said, "hey, that girl is singing MY song!" She is sad Anoop is gone.

- She is seriously a most creative child. Her mind is quite a place. She uses words like darling, gorgeous, beautiful and amazing with wild abandon. I love her dearly.
And thanks to my sister for pointing out that the video upload button next to the photo upload buttons in Blogger works just great!

HELP!, and YUM

So when did Google stop providing a video upload option? That is how I've always put video on my blog, and now it's gone. Can anyone suggest a good, easy alternative for putting videos on my blog??? Pretty please???

Also, I've been meaning to share one of my favorite new dinner recipes. It's Baked Ziti, from FoodNetwork.com. I love the flavor in this, great flavor but not too overpowering. It's easy, and makes a ton. You must try it. It's divine.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried ziti pasta (penne works too)
  
• Kosher salt
• 3 1/2 cups Quick Tomato Sauce, recipe follows
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, half cut into 1/2-inch cubes and half thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch red pepper flakes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and boil the pasta until al dente, tender but still slightly firm. Drain.

Toss the cooked pasta with the marinara sauce, cubed mozzarella, half the Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Transfer the pasta to an oiled 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Cover the top of the pasta with the sliced mozzarella, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Quick Tomato Sauce:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound sweet and or spicy Italian sausages, casing removed and crumbled

1/4 medium onion, diced (about 3 tablespoons)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 1/2 cups whole, peeled, canned tomatoes in puree, (one 28-ounce can), roughly chopped

Sprig fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

Sprig fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in the salt and season with pepper, to taste. Use now or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Copyright 2004 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

Yield: about 5 cups

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes