Who's up for a big funny lie?

I haven't posted for a very long time. I feel a tiny bit sheepish about it but I have to tell you why. We have had the MOST wonderful summer and who can blog when there's fun to be had? Not me. Last Tuesday, the day before school started, my kids and I laid on my bed and drew up a list of all of the fun things we did this summer. It filled a piece of lined paper and continued onto the back. Wanna read it? I know you're saying "YES!" right now. I'll spare you. BUT, if you want to see some great summer pictures of my family and read a very funny but completely untrue story to go along with them, then you should visit my husbands blog. One of the reasons we don't blog together is because I'm too pragmatic. I really love his blogging antics even if they're not exactly factual, and you might too, so go here: empirestategreenway.blogspot.com . Except the link isn't working for me, so either tell me how to fix it, or just type it in.

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I love Eliza in the picture above. She's the one that looks like she's crying. That's actually her REALLY happy smile. She's so funny. I love our nieces and nephews!

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So, sorry I was gone. Here are few shots of my beauties to whet your appetite and leave you saying "MORE! I WANT MORE GREENWAY IN MY LIFE!"

Aren't they so cute?

I could eat 'em.

Worth blogging about? Oh, I think so.

Have you ever loved a grocery store? Me either, until now. What's to love, right? They're miserable, cold places that suck the money right out of your pocket without leaving any satisfaction in your heart.

That's precisely how I felt until I fell under the Wegmans spell. When I go shopping I think "hmmm, I can either battle the hoards, never find what I want, deal with my crazy shopping cart barnacles and THEN have the money sucked out of my pocket, OR I can go to Wegmans. The difference? Everything.

First of all, I get to drop my 3-8 year olds off at the Wegman's play place with the nicest ladies that remember my kids names (couldn't be because I take them everyday, right?) and shop for an hour with just one small barnacle. I forgot to get a picture of it, but it's clean, fun and wonderful. Then there's the store...let's let the the pictures do the talking, shall we?

Feast your eyes on that happy little shopper. Why so happy? Free cookie, for sure. But often they have free samples of freshly squeezed tangerine or blood orange juice too. SO good.


Then there is the store itself. Look over Cecily's left shoulder. See the pretty floor? Cool lights from overhead cast pretty leaf images on the floor. I don't know why, but I love it.

Then, there's this guy:

who teaches me (and other passers-by) how to make wonderful food like Milanese Shrimp. And because of him I know the finer points on how to use stuff like pan searing flour. He's the one who showed me how to make the yummiest butternut squash/spinach/dried cranberry/candied pecans dish the world has ever known. Okay, maybe the only one but I could seriously lick the pan...mmmmm.

Let's keep moving.

Last New Year's eve I knew exactly where to go for celebration food. Wegmans! We had crab cakes and stuffed mushrooms ala Wegmans in 10 minutes.

But they also have great prices on the the everyday stuff. Milk there was $1.69 this week! Why fight it? But Cecily appreciates the milk section even more than I do and this is why:

See the train hovering over the groceries? That's a working electric train over the dairy section that entertains young and old alike! I'll admit it, I stop and watch it for a minute even when I run to the store alone. It's just so cute.

So back in my Kentucky days I had no problem with Walmart. I actually kinda enjoyed it, but it was almost my only shopping option. I can hardly stand it now. All because of Wegmans. Freakish that I would feel that way about a grocery store? Maybe, but I'm not alone. No, no. Conversations including tender feelings toward Wegmans are common here in upstate NY, better known as "Wegmans country."

like mother, like daughter

I think every parent has traits, beliefs, traditions and habits that they hope to pass on to their children. I certainly do. There are times that I do things and hope that my children learn from example and follow in the footsteps of their mother. Not very often, but sometimes. This isn't necessarily one of those things.

I walked in the kitchen a while back and this was the scene before me. I knew exactly what she was doing and why she was doing it.

Look closely at the thing in her ear. It's an orange wire connector that has been in the kitchen for a while. I'll bet there isn't an ENT in the country who recommends sticking one in your ear, but I know why it's there. Have you ever had sensory overload when 3 kids are swarming around you telling you everything that comes to mind and asking you the same questions over and over? Me too! This occurs most often between 4:00 and 5:30 when I'm trying to make dinner and Adam isn't home yet. I think most mom's feel that this is the hardest time of day. It's probably why "they" created happy hour, but since I don't imbibe, I find other relaxation techniques. To ease the insanity I sometimes wear orange earplugs during the nerve grating time of day. I can hear everything, it just takes it down a notch.

*

More often than not I have a dish rag or a cooking utensil in my hand and hopefully a fairly pleasant look on my face, just like Cecily. So I'm sure when she dragged her chair over to the sink and saw the orange connector, she knew just what to do. Stick it in her ear.

*

Maybe tomorrow she'll do a few loads of laundry and drive Eli to school.

*Forgive the asteriks, it won't let me create paragraphs in the second half of the post. Dumb computers.

Gonna keep 'em swinging baby, he's a real wild child

I feel confident that if I asked Eli what he loved to do most in life being on his bike would be at least part of his answer. He LOVES his bike. There are mornings when he wakes up and before going to the bathroom, changing his clothes or eating breakfast he puts on his helmet. The first word he ever read was "bell" because that's what it says on the front of his helmet.


We knew last year when he learned how to ride on two wheels without any instruction or help that he would be a good rider. Duh. So, he was nothing short of giddy when he found out they would be having a "trikeathon" at his school. We talked about it everyday. He wanted to take his bike 2 weeks in advance until he realized that if he did he wouldn't be able to ride it until then. Finally the big day arrived and he was thrilled. Here is a typical picture of the scene on that day. Lots of tricycles and bright and shiny new two wheelers with training wheels. The kids were all so cute and cautious. Then there was Eli. Dirt all over his bike from many puddles, bent and rusty handlebars, and zero tread on his back wheel from skidding out. It is his most beloved item.

Keeping Eli contained is a trick and not one I find much value in unless we're at a church meeting or attempting to refuel him (both difficult but important tasks). He spends lots of time riding up and down the sidewalk and he's pretty good at staying where he's supposed to be and checking in often. Last weekend Eli was out for a ride as usual and he ran inside and said "I have some tricks to show you but Mom and Dad both have to come out." I rounded up Adam and out we went. I thought he might show us that he could ride with no feet, or stop really fast but I certainly wasn't prepared for this. I mean, he's just 4.

Trick #1 - Feet through the handlebars. I really fought back the urge to freak out. Can you imagine what would happen if he fell over? I've learned with Eli that warning him or forbidding him from doing something is usually just a challenge for him so unless he's in spiritual or SERIOUS physical danger it's better to just let him go for it. I remember when he was trying to jump down the stairs from the landing to the basement and he was barely 3. I thought about it for the split second I had and said "Jump REALLY hard Eli or you'll go "splat"." I knew he would jump anyway so I might as well offer advice. I probably wouldn't feel this way if he didn't always pull off all of his physical feats of daring with out as much as a scrape. Anyway...

Trick #2 -Knees on the seat!

Trick #3 - feet on the seat!?! Even Nate, who is usually with him, doesn't know how he learned these tricks. I think he just tries whatever he thinks of and has the confidence to think he can pull it off. He went on to show us how he can stop his bike by putting his feet on either side of the front wheel and a few others that I can't remember and didn't take pictures of.

So after the show, we wandered in saving our lectures for another time. I've only known one kid just like Eli and last I knew he was being filmed in Nepal kayaking down some of the most treacherous waters in the world. Good thing Eli only wants to be a fire fighter.

This one's for you Tiff!

Lame picture eh? Sorry, I tried.

Here is my recipe. It has a few added details that I hope make it easier to understand, but might just make it more confusing. Hope not.

Taiwanese Dumplings

1 head Chinese cabbage (nappa)
1 bunch green onions
2+ inch piece of fresh ginger grated with small grater
1 tsp. sesame oil
1-1 ½ lb. unseasoned ground pork
2-3 pkg. wonton wraps
½ c. soy sauce
½ c. seasoned rice vinegar
Several drops of sesame oil

Clean and trim then finely chop the Chinese cabbage and green onions (if you use a food processor be careful not to puree by emptying frequently). Amy note: we usually wrap the green onions in the cabbage then process. It gives the green onions the stability they need for the food processor. Place the cabbage/onion mixture in a sieve (amy note: or the middle of a large dish towel) and squeeze most of the liquid out in the sink, you won’t need it later. You now have a dry pulpy mixture. In a large bowl add the ginger, sesame oil and pork. Mix with your hands, using your fingers like a rake.

Bring a Large pot of water to boil. If you have a pot with a pasta insert (I don’t know what they’re called) they are very handy. If not, you’ll just have to fish your dumplings out with a sieve or slotted spoon.

Lay out 20(ish) wonton wraps on a clean, dry surface. Work somewhat quickly since the wraps will dry out. Place a small spoonful of the meat mixture in the center of each wrap. Using your finger, wet the edges of the wrap with water (about a finger-width wide) and fold in half, creating a triangle. Press edges firmly to seal. Amy note: I usually fold my wraps a little fancier, but a triangle will do just fine. Continue until full batch is sealed. Place batch into the boiling water, one or two at a time. When all of the dumplings are in slowly stir a few times to make sure that none of the dumplings are stuck to each other or to the bottom of the pot. If they are stuck to the bottom, gently nudge them off with your spoon. Bring water back to a boil. Boil dumplings for 3 minutes. Remove from boiling water with a slotted spoon or sieve and spread them out on a cookie sheet so none of the dumplings are stuck together. Once they cool, they can be piled on one another, but if you pile them initially, you’ll have a mess. Continue until all of the meat mixture is gone. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar and a few drops of sesame oil. Stir. Pour in individual bowls or ramekins for each person to dip dumplings in.

Having someone to help you is great! That way you can be continually folding and boiling.
Leftovers can be pan fried (be warned, they’ll stick to your pan like crazy!), added to broth soup for wonton soup or just re-warmed by microwaving or quickly re-boiling.


ENJOY!!! I hope you love them as much as my family does! Questions???

Tradition!!!

Much, much later I'm finally getting to our fun General Conference weekend. SO fun! Remember my major award? The cookbook that I got for entering a recipe? The one I submitted my families chinese dumpling recipe to? Well, in case you don't, we always have these yummy dumplings on General Conference weekend so I thought I should document it. Here some of them are before they were boiled. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. Strange, since I know in their uncooked state they would be completely disgusting and possibly dangerous. Anyone up for a mouthful of raw pork? Mmmmm, delish.

I really should make these every day of the week. I cannot think of another food that my whole family will eat happily and willingly. We always have at least one whiner in the bunch. Not so during this meal. They love it. Who knew that pork, ginger, and nappa cabbage could produce such happy little eaters? They clearly take after the Cantwell side of the family. I made them for the Greenway's once and they were not fans. Oh well, more for me.

So check out the kiddos. Proof that this is one meal I don't have to force feed to my children.

Nate - stuffing his face

Eli - Passionate as usual, what a nut.

Cecily - post meal, minus what she's saving on her cheeks for later.

Then, as tradition in our home dictates, I made cinnamon rolls when the kids went to bed and Adam was at Priesthood session. We eat them in Palmyra outside the sacred grove on Sunday morning. They weren't my favorite this year. Too rich for me. I hold all cinnamon rolls to a very high standard. My friend Kathleen served us cinnamon rolls many years ago and nothing I have ever produced has satisfied me since. I just keep trying.


Sometimes my kids worry me. We have done the same thing every General Conference weekend since we moved here and my kids are clueless every time. We bundle them up, put the cinnamon rolls and milk in the back of the car, and get on the thruway. We almost never go on the thruway unless we're going to Palmyra. We get the same questions every time. "Where are we going?" "Are we going to church?" (even though you can't even get to church that way AND we're wearing jeans and tennis shoes.) Poor things. Think they'll ever catch on? Me either.

So here we are in Palmyra. The first time we did this I almost lost my testimony, but not quite. You know how all the first vision pictures have tons of leaves in them? Well unless spring was in July, there warnt no leaves. Nevertheless, we had a lovely time as usual but didn't eat the cinnamon rolls there this time. We usually wander, eat, go home, watch conference. This time Eli had to go numero dos after the wander part. There were no open bathrooms, so our trip was shortened a tad. Oh well, no biggie. The sacred grove is really one of my favorite places to be no matter the time of year.

Here we are:


Doesn't Cecily look thrilled to pieces? She really did have fun. Promise. I bet she just feels it in her bones that she's not getting a cinnamon roll 'til we get home. I feel your pain, Cecily. Or, maybe she's just trying to be cool. I can't tell.

So, while these were not the most important parts of the weekend, they were fun and I'm glad we have these traditions. They give our kids something to look forward to...other than the eight hours of being reminded to be quiet. Baby steps to reverence.

You mean like "soon"? Or "a time-out"?

Eli's pre-k (he insists that I not call it pre-school) has been doing all kinds of activities that are Easter related. I'm glad they are because I have done NOTHING. I kind of do overkill on celebrating General Conference weekend (which I NEED to post some pics from...later) so Easter gets a back seat. Poor Easter. We've also been spoiled in years past because we've been in PA and my MIL makes everything she touches fun and special so I can be completely lazy and bask in the fun.

Anyway, Eli keeps telling everyone "Easter's this week! It's in the corner." It took me a couple of times to realize that what he meant was "it's AROUND the corner" but once I figured it out there was no way I was going to correct him. I'll just continue getting a laugh out of it and keep letting people think Eli's crazy for putting Easter in time out.

So, have a happy Easter...since it's in the corner.

Entertainment? We'll see.

Nate and I had an outting today to start considering rectifying the "master bedroom" situation today. It's in quotes because frankly, no master would ever live in what looks more like a yard sale than a bedroom...a subject for another time. But anyway, he was my buddy for the afternoon which sometimes includes choosing the Friday night entertainment.

You'll never guess what he chose. Yup, Space Chimps. He read the blog and he's figured out how funny we think the whole scenario was. So there we were considering several other kids movies that no one has ever heard of, and he said "Let's see if it's as funny as I said it was."

Adam's reffing tonight, so it's me, the kids, and the chimps...wish me luck. He'll probably be looking like this:

I probably won't.

Life at our place

Typical Saturday morning; Adam get's the paper and sits down for some fake-o-snake-o, no name lucky charms. But his ice cold milk seems to be a little too ice cold.

He processes.

And comments to wife "hey the milks frozen again."

Wife replies "Yea, and the ice cream is soupy." Husband ponders reply and does what needs to be done...

He eats breakfast.

I don't think we'll ever be accused of rushing out and replacing something that's not absolutely vital. Good thing we hate warm milk and love soft ice cream, eh?

Where there's smoke, there's fire

Happened upon this the other day:

And I know that wherever I find blankie, I'll find:

She loves her little home among the pots and pans. Sometimes she sits in there and knocks lightly on the cupboard door and I hear muffled little girl voice saying "hello?" but when I go to "answer the door" she says "nooooo." How am I to know that "hello?" means "leave me alone, I'm in my happy place?" Silly kid.

What do you recommend?

Nate is 8. As the oldest, he feels so big and responsible and usually is. We try to give him opportunities to "flex his big kid muscles" when we can and he loves it. One of his little man skills is returning Redbox DVDs. In case you're not familiar with Redbox, its a DVD rental vending machine in the entry of grocery stores. Returning a DVD consists of pressing the gigantic "Return a movie" (er sumthin') button on the screen and placing the DVD in the slot the correct way. It takes less than 15 seconds. I think it's a pretty good independent activity for the little man since I can see him the whole time and if I had to go beat off and pepper spray someone, I could. I've also given him instructions many times that if he needs me he should scream as loud as possible and I will rescue him. So far, no pepper spray, no screaming.

A while ago I sent Nate in to Wegmans (best grocer ever, ever, EVER, but I'll post on that another time) to return a DVD. I could see a some people congregated around the Redbox so I knew he might have to wait for a few people ahead of him. Every 30 seconds he would give me some kind of enthusiastic and original hand signal to indicate that he was fine. He finally made his way to the front of the line, completed his task and bounded back to the car. When he got in this was our conversation (pretty much):

Nate: Sorry it took so long, Mom. But I was just fine. There were just a lot of people in front of me but I didn't want you to be worried. The lady in front of me took a really long time because she wanted to get two or three movies but she didn't know what to get. I told her that I recommended Space Chimps because it's really good.

Me (chuckling): Oh really, Space Chimps huh?

Nate: Yeah.

Me: So what did she decide on?

Nate: She got Space Chimps.

Me (trying to be nonchalant): Really? You recommended Space Chimps and she got it?

Nate (satisfied with self and life in general): Yeah, I think she'll like it.

Me (inwardly sarcastic, outwardly sincere): Good. I hope she really enjoys that.

At this point I'm seriously trying not to laugh because he seems like he's feeling pretty great about the big favor he just did for this lady.

We got home and I just kept laughing to myself, which is never as much fun as laughing with someone else, so I called Adam and told him the story. As I was talking to him I kept wondering when Nate had ever seen Space Chimps so I asked Adam if he had seen it with him at some point, but he hadn't. So I yelled to Nate and asked him when he saw the movie and he responded "I've never seen it, I just wanted the lady to get a movie so I could return mine and you wouldn't worry." I could hold it in no longer. I burst out laughing!

So if you are at Redbox and you see this boy:

Even if he seems like the sweetest boy ever (and he is), like this:

But especially if he's dressed in sheep's clothing with one ear sticking up like this:

Don't ask for advice, directions or recommendations or you too might end up with this:

And you'll probably regret it, unless you're the kind of person who has great faith in the unjustified opinions of cute little, random 8 year old boys.

Where did my baby go?

With a few words in her vocabulary, Cecily has taken a few steps out of her "I'm shy and cute" comfort zone. Suddenly she's become more of a "I'm kinda shy and very cute but I'll tell you "nooo" even if I feel like saying "yes" and if I want to do something, don't try to stop me but if you do try I'll throw a fit and then probably attempt shmoozing my way out of your punitive measures (time out)." I've been able to capture a bit of this lately, since I have a functioning camera.

Yesterday we were playing outside, since it was above freezing. When we play outside, Nate grabs his scooter, Eli grabs his bike...and I chase after him with one of the many helmets, and Cecily gets out all of the other helmets (and tries them on one by one), the old big wheel, her new big wheel, every ball we own, the lacrosse sticks (I swear we have 47), the play lawn mower, the tonka truck, the single stroller, the double stroller, golf clubs and whatever else she can find. She's so quiet while she does it that I don't even realize that she's creating a garage sale on my driveway until it's all out. I know, I know, get with it mom! We're always scrambling 2 minutes before Adam gets home to get everything off of the drive so that he won't run over it all.

Like most girls, Cecily is obsessed with clothing and accessories. While we were outside she silently went in and out of the front door grabbing different boots and shoes to bring out and try on. Then she went on to the helmets. Her hair is in cornrows right now and they all come to a bun thingy on top of her head. So she was trying to buckle up the helmets herself and they weren't fitting like they usually do but she was determined. I tried to help and got the "noooooo" so I went and got the camera instead. I missed the buckling part which was funny because she was cross-eyed, but this came next...

Pride

DismayWhat the crap do I do now?

And here is this mornings scene:

I see her, but she only has eyes for the peanut butter. Oblivious to the Mama.

Caught!

Hurry and shove the last bite in before she gets to you!

What do I do?!? SCHMOOZE! Throw on that funny face and schmooze like you've never schmoozed before!

Are you sirius?

I have never been one of those people who was cutting edge with the latest piece of technology at my fingertips the minute it hit the market...or the decade, for that matter. I don't, and have never, had a cell phone. I know, insane right? I'm not against them. My husband has one and has had one since we got married nearly 10 years ago. It's always made sense for us to have one, but not two, in my mind. It's a good thing I didn't get one all those years ago because I would never have seen the need to upgrade and this would be me:

...except that I'm not a black man. But we all know that I have an affinity for rubber bands.

My husband has encouraged me to get one (cell phone, not a rubber band), and even admitted that he was just going to go get one for me without asking and I have always said that I'm glad he didn't because it would have been a want, not a need.

I opted for a traditional camera over a digital one many years ago when there was no question that digital wasn't going anywhere. Since then we have acquired 2 digital cameras but they were both free and as you might assume (and you'd be right) they were pieces of crap. Just in the last month, we actually purchased a digital camera. Nothing spesh, but it does take more than seven not-too-crappy pictures without having to change the batteries! Sadly, this is an improvement over the last and I am glad to have it as an improvement in my lowish tech world.

Recently with the addition of the new van came an unexpected perk. Apparently the people who owned the van before us had satellite radio (sirius). WHO NEEDS SATELLITE RADIO? Radio is something that you get for free (other than NPR, which I think everyone should contribute to so I can keep enjoying it :) ). I am ashamed to say that it took me about 3 minutes of enjoying satellite radio to feel that once the person who must still be paying for my radio finally realizes it and cancels it, I will feel lost and alone and angry at every advertisement I have to listen to! Better to have listened and lost than never to have listened at all? I don't know. I just never imagined that I would love it this much. I was a satisfied listener before. I bet the people who went from having 2 television stations to a mind blowing 13 felt the same way.

I love the kids station. The songs are fun but I wish I could adequately describe the comedy that goes on between songs. It's comedic genius! Seriously funny...or should I say Siriusly funny? NO, I should not. Sorry about that.

There is one last reason that the people who are currently paying for our radio should not stop (since I'll never pay for it). This year my fine sister-in-law had a competition on her blog. The title of her posts were lines from broadway songs. Points went to those who's comments included the title, musical, character or any other info from the play. I came in a shameful 7th place. Just imagine the damage I could do next year if I had the broadway station playing everyday. All I know is that there is a certain Melissa Corry (this year's winner) who is shaking in her boots...as long as our van's last owner never checks their credit card bill.

Why didn't I just break a mirror and call it good?

I was reminded this week that I've been cursed. 22 years ago at the tender, STU-PID age of 12 I made a decision that may have followed me until this very week. You may not have been an idiot when you were twelve, but I was. If there was one thing that I was sure of at that age, it was that I was cool. Very cool. And just like a prideful Nephite, I've been given ample opportunity since then to realize the folly of my narcissistic opinion of myself back in '87...'88 and maybe a touch in '89.

I called my mom this week to tell her that we finally bought a minivan. She, along with everyone else that heard this news was SO excited for us. You may wonder why someone would be thrilled about a minivan? Isn't this the car that everyone dreads? I mean, minivans aren't that cool, right? That may be true when you go from driving this:

To driving this:

But when your fine luxury transportation device looks like this:

then that minivan feels like upward mobility for sure. It's actually been a good car. And while innocent by standers can hear the car coming WELL before they see it, and AFTER they see it they feel like they've been insulted in some way, it's done it's job and we are very grateful it stuck it out. Actually, those who have besmirched the car should see what it would look like if I hadn't been spray painting portions of it over the years. An activity that would have positively mortified me in middle school when not only would I not go into the D.I. (thrift store, for those of you who might feel out of the loop), but I laid on the floor of the car so that if any of my friends would happen to drive by they wouldn't know I was there. What a FREAK!

So this week, my mom joked that I may finally have lived my pride of past years down. Whew!

BUT my uncoolness doesn't end there! Nay, my well of dorkiness is deep. I've needed new glasses for years now but I was in denial/stingy so I dealt with cheapy reading glasses instead. But cheap reading glasses weren't even cheap enough for me, so I bought the cheapest and probably the ugliest reading glasses out there. But at $7.84 for THREE pair, who could say "no?" NOT ME! One by one my reading glasses broke. Can you believe it?! Shoddy workmanship.

I finally gave in and got the real deal. And wouldn't you know that they came in the same day that we got the van? So here are my before and after shots taken with the help of my kids. While the rubber band earpieces may not have been original to the glasses, they did their job after the first ones broke off.

So perhaps now the curse is lifted and I no longer have to hang my head in embarrassment when I pull up to the NICEST thrift store in town.