The Case of the Invisible Remote Control - This Week in Alamosa

Casey and I decided we needed a break from the valley and we headed out to Colorado Springs to Santa's Workshop. It's a great kid friendly place with kiddy rides, candy and shopping. We loaded up the suburban with all the kids, Casey, Josh (who we were taking back to the airport in Colorado Springs), Andrea (who we were dropping at the mall to hang with friends) and me. Eight people and it wasn't bad. I loved that car until... dun dun dun... we got off the ramp in Pueblo and the car stalled out at the stop sign. We were trying to get it started up again and cars were piling up beind us. I was freaking out but more than that, Casey, who was driving was about to have a heart attack. I got out intending to help Josh push the car off to the side until we found out what was wrong when we heard, "Yall wanna push?" from the heavens. Jesus is from Texas?! Well, almost. It was a boy scout troup that was caravaning to a campout and the voice was coming from a loud speaker hooked up to the top of a red minivan. Me and ONE OTHER GUY pushed the car off to the side so everyone could get by and then the boyscouts towed us to the gas station where we discovered that our gas gage was broken and we were just out. We filled up and were on our way.

After dropping off Josh and Andrea, we got lost and rerouted several times but finally made it to Santa's Village with the kids.They had a blast.

On the way back, they were playing in the back seat and I hear Abby yelling, "Have the buttons! HAVE THE BUTTONS!" Translation, "Here's the remote control. Change the channel." Now we are in a 92 suburban that has no back seat TVs and no reason to have a remote control. I look back and realize that they are playing with an imaginary device. Sebbie calls out that he has changed the channel and it's CLIFFORD! Yay, Clifford! Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder and Sebbie is exclaiming, "Look what Abby doing! Look what Abby doing! She take the buttons." It's imaginary... what is a mother to do? So I reach my hand back and demand the remote control. It is handed over by a dejected Abby. I feign breaking the remote into two peices and hand one to each kid. They are extatic. Problem solved. Thank you, Solomon.

Buscuit Emergency

Abby looked up at me last night and said, "Make monkey bread, Mommy?" I wanted to but it was bedtime so we got ready for bed. I put her down and she wanted her blanket which I had left over at my sister's house. I jumped in the car leaving Cate (who we have discovered SCREAMS at the top of her lungs for any sitter) with my mom. I was in a hurry but after picking up the blanket, I thought, "I need those premade buscuits for that monkey bread." I stopped at Safeway and realizing that my mom was probably unsuccessfully walking a screaming Cate, I RAN from my car toward the doors of the grocery store. There were two people standing there that informed me that it was to late to get through those doors and to use the other ones. They had concerned looks on their faces and I knew they thought I was going in for something really important. I ran through the aisles looking for the buscuits, ran to the checkout, danced until he rang me up and I paid and then, I ran back toward my car passing the same people again. They looked confused as I only had buscuits in my hands. Then they saw my plates and you know they were thinking, "Ahhh... she's from the South..."

This Week in Alamosa

The car got fixed and is being driven. Insurance paid %100. AMAZING! God is so good. On the not so good side, Dad got sick on Thursday and that was it. He has been in the hospital since and has had one surgery and possibly will have more. I will not describe his problems on the blog or facebook just because I'm not as cool as google but the technical term for his condition is diverticulitis. I'm sitting with him now in the hospital. He is on pain meds. Really heavy ones the make him love everyone. Amazing that I kinda feel like this is a break from my kids. It is about 1 in the morning so I'm not getting sleep but a break from the kids... sure.

I can't believe the drama here in Alamosa. We are still on the verge of canceling our trip to California for my cousins wedding but if Dad comes home soon, it's best to get the kids out of the way so he can rest up.

Savory Egg Roll-ups

You will need:
1 sheet Puff Pastry
4 oz. cream cheese
6 eggs
3 tbsp milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, basil or spinach (depending on you taste)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Wisk milk, eggs, salt and pepper together.

Scramble eggs until they are soft but not dry. (You are going to be baking them in the oven so they need to still be a little runny)

Roll out pastry on lightly floured counter top. It needs to be very cold but not frozen. Spread the cream cheese on the pastry.

Spread cilantro, basil or spinach on top of that. Then put your runny eggs on top of that and smooth it all out evenly.

Loosely roll into a log and cut into 6 pieces.

Put them in jumbo cupcake pan cups (these are about 3 1/2 inches in diameter). Make sure you REALLY spray it good with Pam or something. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min.

Put fresh Parmesan cheese on top of each roll-up and bake until the cheese is melted and browning just a bit.

Serve warm.

Train Spotting

As I have mentioned, my nephew is in love with trains. He is totally OBSESSED with trains. He can watch crossing gates for hours. I know he will have a career in the railroad industry if it's still around when he's old enough.

He has a huge Thomas the Train Engine train set with tracks and engines and cars and all the fun stuff you can imagine. He sets it up and plays for hours but it's hard with Abby and Davy there to wreck it all. He's gets mad, crosses his arms and comes into the kitchen. "Auntie Callie, Abby just crash and bump and it went smash like that." Very expressive. Arms waving. Very upset. I go out and tell Abby to stop stepping on the tracks and move Davy out of the way and try and set him up with his own stuff to play with. It's hard for them because Sebbie's stuff is WAY cooler than anything else in the house. So cool that Andy sat down the other day and put together a huge circle of track with fun twists and turns. When the kids got up from naps and started to play with him, he was trying to supervise and hold it together but they kept stepping on the track and holding the trains and suddenly I hear him say, "Sebbie, Abby, you are messing everything up!" He walks out grumbling something about "Why do I even bother...?" It was hilarious. He's a great playmate but Andy's an organized player and these guys are just not ready for that. I really just want to wait until they are in bed and Andy and I make our own track and play trains. Really... It is just way to cool.

But... I want too.

Yesterday the whole family went to the pool. The prices were outrageous, the food was crazy expensive and there were things floating in the water. The kids had a blast. Actually, so did we. I just took a really good shower after that. On the way home, Sebbie and Abby sat next to each other in the car. Casey and I usually are smarter than this. A two year old and a three year old, next to each other in the back seat and kinda tired from playing like fiends all day: what does that spell? T-R-O-U-B-L-E! So I hear the sounds of spitting from the back and I yell over my shoulder, "HEY!" You know, that's the warning shot into the air. These kids are way to young and dumb to really get the warning shot. Sebbie is a little smarter, older, and you would hope... wiser. Not so after a long day of play and a bratty cousin next to him. She is spitting and spitting and the mommy's are to engrossed in conversation to turn around and figure out who is doing the spitting and who needs to be yelled at and a possibly put in time out. (How the heck are you supposed to do time out when they are strapped into a car seat?!)

Seb finally turns to what he sees as his best option: He tattles. "He's spitting at me, Auntie Callie." (Seb calls everyone "he." There is no gender distinction quite yet... that to be dealt with later.) I turn and look at my daughter with fire in my eyes.

"Quit."

That's one. I turn back around and resume mommy talk.

*sploit*

"HEY! CUT IT OUT!"

That's two. I slowly turn back to the front, making it clear that I WILL TURN AROUND AGAIN!

I have to get them this time, I turn just in time to see Seb spit at Abby.

"SEBBIE!" He jumps a mile high. He knows he's been caught because his little tongue is still hanging out. "If you don't want her to spit at you, don't spit at her." (Hoping he gets that "her" is referring to Abby.)

Without me even turning back around, Abby spits at Seb. He gives me that mouth open see-what-she's-doing? look.

"Abby! Are you out your mind?" Yes, I actually said this to my two year old who ACTUALLY shook her head no like No, Mommy. My mind is totally in place.

"Abby, if you don't want him to spit at you, don't spit at him."

I kid you not, she actually says, "But I wan spit a Sebbie..." in a whinny voice like, You have just ruined our fun!

"You may NOT spit at Sebbie."

"Spit a chee-air?"

"No, don't spit at anything!"

"Spit a Abby?"

How do you explain the word "anything" or "nothing" to a two year old?

From here until we reached home there was a string of questions about what she could and could not spit at with her naming a random noun and Mommy getting more and more frustrated as Auntie Casey giggled about the fact that she had already been through this a year ago and now someone else was suffering.

"Abby, stop spitting!"

"But... I wan too..." I have ruined her world.

Sunshine Festival

We went to the Sunshine Festival on Sunday. The San Luis Valley puts on a little carnival and we took Abby. She wanted to ride the ponies until she was on one. These are a few realistic pics of her NOT wanting to be on the pony.

Then she got to ride the train with Daddy.

While they rode the train, Cate and I tried on hats.

This one was kind of a snore...

But this one was a winner. We bought it.

And of course we had to have some carnival food. It's my only chance to be a pirate so I get a Turkey Leg whenever I go to the carnival.

Abby bathed herself in ketchup and cheese with some chips.

And of course we had to get the traditional funnel cake on the way out. At least Daddy did... Mommy was DONE after the turkey leg. But Abby can eat and eat and eat. She's like a fish. You put it in front of her and she'll eat herself sick.

This Week in Alamosa...

I thought I would post a ton of pictures to tell you all that its not as bad as all that. I know I have been griping and moaning on the blog recently but I'm very happy to be here with my parents through this difficult transition and I'm really happy to have other family around, namely my sister, her kids, my aunt and uncle and the awesome friends I have down here.

When we got here, Andy and my dad were still on the road. We played with Grammy, Auntie Casey and her kids Davey and Sebbie. So here we are making Dani lion chains in the front yard.

Mom and Dad have a huge deck and yard so the kids have their own table to eat at. Easier clean up that way.

I put up this picture not only to show who my mom is and how awesomely adorable my Cate bug is, but also to point out the mirror in the background. Mom is sitting at the kitchen counter and there is a HUGE mirror hung right so that as you get something out of the fridge and turn to stuff your face, you get this side view of yourself. Not ideal when you are making doughnuts by the dozen, brownies by the 2 dozen and snaking on cheese anytime you can get it.

Here's a better shot of the mirror. Yeah, I know. I should be losing weight by now. Amazing how you learn to tune certain things out of your line of sight.

Took the kids on a train ride. There is a small train (just on passenger car this time and we were the only ones on it!) that goes from one small town to another in the valley. We took a ride because my nephew is obsessed with the railroad. He was in his glory. Look how loaded down my sister and I are. Two diapered kids, two potty training kids and grandma to busy taking pictures to help. All these bags are just NUTS. I felt like I was moving again. Oh, yeah. That's my sister, Casey.

Abby's like, "Didn't we just do this? But on an airplane? Are you insane to bring me on here?!" Fortunately, this train goes REALLY slow. There are no seat belts and we had the car all to ourselves so they could scream, run and make a general nuisance of themselves without annoying anyone but MOMMY!

There are also no screens on the open windows so your kid could fall out at anytime. We spent a significant amount of time keeping them IN the train.

They did have fun!

Here's the train.

Here's Sebbie hanging out of the window again. He just loves this stuff.

Abby... not so much.

Here is the conductor who came to hang out with us out of sheer boredom. He was way nice to the kids. Gave them all a Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head as this is the San Luis Valley Potato Express. Abby warmed right up to him.

The next day, Daddy was home and everyone was happy. Abby was very tired when he walked in the door. She just about didn't make it.

And here is my mom in her glory with all the grandkids. You try taking a picture of 4 kids under the age of 4 and have everyone looking at the camera! LOL!

And here's Cate just because she's so dang CUTE!

Abby decided she wanted to help Grandpa garden.

Yes, she is in her underwear.

And now she's in the flower box in her underwear...

...and having an absolute blast. Such serious work this is.

That same day she made up her own sport: gol-tenni-ball.

I put up pics of Cate just smiling and looking cute because that's all she does besides eat (and you are not getting pictures of that), puke (still don't want to post pics of that), and poop (NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT!) So here she is doing what we DO want to see, smiling!

Here we are in Sabbath School. Mommy did not attend church this week as she is sick as a dog.

Cate: I'm falling back! I'M FALLING BACK!

Abby: Will you stop touching me!? You are NOT falling...

Cate is getting the hang of sitting in her own chair at SS.

Not super in focus but way cute. Abby knows how to pray in SS.

 Auntie Casey usually teaches SS but she is out of town this weekend so Grammy filled in and Abby got to be her helper. That's my Aunt Denice in the background playing the piano.

Cate even got to hold something in SS. She doesn't know how she is holding it. She doesn't know how it is in front of her but she's fascinated by the pretty colors.

Then we both got to be flowers.

Ewwww... PUKE!!!

When we got home from church, Abby got into her underwear again and got in the pool because it was HOT here today.

But Mommy insisted she wear a bathing suit because company was coming.

Well, that's the news from Alamosa - where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average.