F-Bombs

D'Oh!

Ryan and Erin and I were talking, and Ryan out of the blue mentioned that he hears the F-word at school a lot. Erin was shocked and couldn't believe it. So here's the conversation that followed:

Erin: "At school? You hear the F-word at school?!"
Ryan: "Erin. It's Jr. High- you hear lots of stuff in Jr. High."
Erin: "Geez- I only hear it when Mom whispers it. And it's always in the car."
Ryan: (hysterical laughter) "You're busted, Mom."

Note to self- turn radio up in the car to mask my potty mouth...

Welcome to Soccer Season!

So today was opening day for soccer. Funny thing is, I have no players this year, but I do have one tough referee!

Ryan took the referee certification course (18 hours) a few weeks ago and is now an official referee. He got assigned to three games today and had a blast! He was a sideline ref for two Girls' U11 teams (coincidentally, one of them was Meghan's former team, so he knew a bunch of the players), and a Girls' U12 team (he also knew a couple players on this team, haha).

During the first game, there was a dad on the sidelines getting frustrated with the center referee (the head guy) not making calls. Ryan has grown up with soccer and witnessed many pita parents, so it didn't faze him in the least. Some younger referees get intimidated, but Ryan just let it roll off his back. The guy (wearing a Notre Dame shirt) eventually yelled over to Ryan: "Hey- tell your ref to stop making stupid calls!" Ryan just looked at him, gave an acknowledging head nod, then turned to walk away. He then turned back around and said to the Notre Dame dad, "oh, by the way- go Big Blue." (Big Blue is the University of Michigan and they played each other in football today...)

The dad then says to Ryan, "Now I really have to kick your ass." I'm pretty sure he was kidding, but Ryan's not so sure. And while it was inappropriate for the dad to talk that way to a 12 year old referee, I thought the whole thing was hysterical when Ryan told me the story. I can totally picture the encounter and it's so typical of Ryan, I can't help but laugh. We did have a talk about future interactions with the parents, though...

Oh, and Michigan upset Notre Dame 38-34. Ryan was thrilled. ;)

Well, that was fast!

A fast summer break, that is. The kids started school yesterday- 7th, 5th and 2nd grades. Ryan is off to Jr. High, and the girls are back to the usual- literally, since they have the same teachers we've had in the past. Meghan has Ryan's former 5th grade teacher, and Erin has the 2nd grade teacher both Ryan and Meghan had. I love it when that happens! They know us and we know them, so it makes for an easy transition.

Ryan is thrilled with his teachers. So thrilled, his worst part of the day was "getting on the bus to come home." Fabulous! Meghan is happy with her teacher and classmates and also had a great day. Erin however, thinks she isn't cut out to being a 2nd grader. Her response to my question of how her day went: "How many days till summer vacation?" Yikes. Her problem? "Mom. I really don't think I'm going to be able to unpack my backpack and be ready as fast as the teacher wants. This is going to be hard!" I tried not to smile, but the seriousness on her face was priceless. I reassured her that it probably took longer than necessary because of all the school supplies she had to unpack and that seemed to pacify her. It should be interesting to hear her next complaint. The kid is always full of surprises!

Wait- there's what in it?

Ryan is a major pita when it comes to food. Anyone who knows him already knows this, so if you don't, just take my word for it. If you look up picky in the dictionary, "Ryan" is the first definition. His middle name is "suspicious" in that he doesn't trust us when it comes to new foods. "What's in it?" is a common question, and if there's the slightest hesitation in our answer, he'll immediately say no thanks and go make his own food. We've gotten used to it, and his pediatrician seems to be ok with it, so we don't make an issue. Eventually, he'll either learn to eat new things on his own, or his wife can deal with it. Muahahaha!

Last week, Meghan and I decided to make cookies. I wanted to use up some butterscotch chips that had been sitting in the cabinet for a few months, so we made Oatmeal Scotchies. We figured we'd be the only ones to eat them, but were pleasantly surprised when both Sean and Ryan gobbled them. Ryan obviously didn't hear the name of the cookie, or he never would have eaten them knowing there was oatmeal in it. When we told him, he took it in stride and said, "Huh. They were good. Even knowing what's it them, I'd eat them again." Cool.

So last night, Meghan and I wanted to make cookies again. I had some old bananas I wanted to use up, so I found a recipe for Oatmeal Banana Cookies. Again, assuming that Meg and I would be the only ones eating them, we doctored the recipe a bit to suit our tastes. We added extra cinnamon, switched the white sugar to brown (I was out of white), added chocolate chips and even threw in some ground flax seed. We made no secret of the ingredients, and made them in front of everyone. Once they were out of the oven, Ryan promptly had 2 1/2 of them. We were shocked. Still are, actually. He must have been clueless, cause he didn't believe us when we told him there was banana in them. He even broke one open to look for evidence, and was still doubtful. I laughed and told him he could sneak these whenever he wants. And they totally smelled like banana, so I'm not sure why he was surprised...

Here's the recipe, if anyone wants it (from Allrecipes.com):

Oatmeal Banana Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 cup shortening

1 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 cup mashed bananas 1 3/4 cups quick cooking oats 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.	Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
3.	Cream together the shortening and sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, banana, oatmeal and nuts. Mix well.
4.	Add dry ingredients, mix well and drop by the teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet.
5.	Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until edges turn lightly brown. Cool on wire rack. Store in a closed container.

And here's what I changed:

Altered Oatmeal Banana Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup mashed bananas (I used two lg bananas) 1 3/4 cups quick cooking oats 1/4 cup ground flax seed 1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2.	Wisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
3.	Cream together the butter and sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, banana, vanilla, oatmeal and flax. Mix well.
4.	Add dry ingredients, and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and drop by the teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet.
5.	Bake at 375 degrees F for 13 minutes or until edges turn lightly brown. Cool on wire rack. Store in a closed container.

They have the consistency of a muffin top, so don't expect your typical cookie. Enjoy!
I think I might try these again and next time add macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips...

Thanks for the idea, Guy!

Anyone ever watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri on the Food Network? We happened to catch it this week and one of the 'dives' featured was a breakfast place here in Phoenix. It caught our interest, so Sean and I headed out there this morning. I was a little worried that we might have to wait a while, but we walked right in- whew! We talked to the waitress a bit and she said it's been crazy-busy since they were featured. We laughed and said that's what brought us there. The couple next to us also saw the show and came out of curiosity. At one point, we saw Dan Majerle (sports bar owner, former Phoenix Sun) finish his meal and leave. Oh- we're trendy!

And if you're wondering, yes- the building is a former Taco Bell. They converted it and added an enclosed patio. We sat outside, despite the warmth (not too bad) and humidity (yikes) to enjoy the rain passing through. Fun!

Baseball season has come and gone. Ryan played his last season with Little League. He had a great time, and the team did well. Chandler was split into two divisions two years ago because we'd become so big and competitive. After they won their second state championship, then their second regional championship the same year, Little League made the change. So all this to say that our League is composed of- the North and the South. Ryan was in the North Division, and their team won the North Championship! It was such an exciting game. I think the parents were frazzled by the time it was over!


The next night, Sean and Ryan were back east for Sean's cousin's wedding, so they missed the North/South Championship game, but the girls and I went to support them anyway. I think everyone had spent their energy the night before, because none of us were really 'into it.' They lost, but seemed fine with it since the bigger rivalry was within our own division. Ryan claims they lost because he wasn't there to help. Typical. ;)

So now the regular season is over and All-Stars has begun. Ryan knows a lot of kids on the two older teams (the Major's and 11's), so we've gone to a few games to go support them. Once the sun goes down, it's not so bad- really. ;)

Dance Recital Photos

OK- Picture heavy. These are all scans, so the quality isn't the best, but you get the general idea. I let the girls choose one costume each to take an individual photo, plus a sister shot in their team costumes, then got group shots of everything else.

Here's the sister shot:

Meghan's individual from her hip hop dance (she's already re-worn all pieces of the costume- love that!):
Erin's ballet individual (love this costume!):

Team dance- they performed to a compilation of dance songs, including Lady Gaga's, "Just Dance" seriously edited for appropriateness ;) :

Erin's tap number (we hated the headbands):

Erin's tumbling:

Men in Black (our favorite dance EVER!):

Meghan's group shot of hip hop:

Erin's ballet group shot:

Meghan's tumbling (wish we could have had a re-usable costume like Erin's tumbling...):

We're missing a couple shots cause I got tired of scanning; sorry! But you saw the costumes in a post below. The Recital went really well. Between the rehearsal and the actual Recital(s), we had two 10 hour days. Meghan was in 7 numbers and Erin in 9. Between the two of them, the costume changes were insane (but manageable). The girls were so good- I couldn't have asked for better behavior! They were troopers and never complained! This year, I got a backstage pass, so I was able to watch sidestage. It was so much easier than running back and forth to a seat in the auditorium. Being there actually came in handy at one point. Just before Erin's hip hop group was to go on, one of the girl's sunglasses broke. I've been in charge of these glasses all year, so Mr. Ricky ran over to me and asked if I had a spare pair. I did, but the were in the dressing room. Too late! But at the last second, I grabbed my pair I always have on my head and threw them at him. Ha! It was hysterical. Poor Lauren- she was really concentrated on not dropping them, so her head barely moved at some points, but she kept those suckers on the whole time!

Erin had dance camp the following week which included evaluations for placement on next year's (er, month's) teams. She made the Competition A team and the hip hop B team. She's thrilled! Meghan is taking the year off from team to focus on school activities (there are a ton to choose from in 5th grade), and will take a couple classes instead. I'll do a baseball post next!