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!

I felt the urge to document this

Usually by about this time, I'm complaining about the weather. June is hell on earth here- high temps, 4 long months of heat ahead and nothing 'fun' in the forecast, like a monsoon (next month). But for the last few days, there's actually been a slight chill in the air in the evenings and in the mornings. We're taking advantage of it while we can!

Saturday night, Ryan had his baseball team party. They started off with a regular practice then had a" team-building exercise." The coach had them pair up and tie their shoes together. They did a three-legged race first. Ryan was partnered with the other Ryan on the team who is a lot bigger than our Ryan. On their way back in the race, they both decided that it would be easier for big Ryan to pick up little Ryan. Classic! The second exercise was to have the partnered boys do a crawling race together. They were all lined up on their hands and knees with their butts facing us. Without them seeing us, they started the race and we started pelting them with water balloons. It was great! We almost felt sorry for them in their soaking wet clothes and cleats. Almost.

I should also take this time to mention they had a father/kid whiffle ball scrimmage as well. The dads still rule cause they shut out the kids (and did it without getting hurt- bonus!)...

This morning, Erin and I are waiting for the boy to get his lazy rear out of bed. He needs new shoes before he goes on his east coast trip with Sean, and I was hoping to catch a movie with them while we're out. Short of actually waking him up, we're trying to make as much natural noise as possible. Erin's been in and out of her room, running upstairs- nothing. I made a smoothie with lots of ice- nothing. I got chilly drinking the smoothie, so we came outside to warm up. I'm on my phone right now posting this. Awesome! Erin followed me and is now jumping, diving, kicking and squealing in the pool. (It was quite convenient since she slept in her bathing suit...) Still nothing from the boy. I guess I might actually have to brave 'the mood' and wake him. *eta- he was awake when we came inside and I sat down to add the photos to this post (can't do that from my phone).

So the point of this rambling post? There's no need to feel sorry for us and our weather. Yet. :)

I have a middle schooler!

How can that be?! ;)

Today was the last day of school, and Ryan is moving onto junior high. He had his promotion ceremony last night, which coincided with warm-ups for his baseball game. He was late for warm-ups, but still had plenty of prep time before the big game (playoffs). We didn't stick around at school to talk or take pictures, and he ended up changing at the ballpark. I insisted he pose for a couple photos so I could capture something from the day, so he agreed just to shut me up. ;) His coach happened to see him, and we heard him call out to the team to "Look at Ryan and see how pretty he looks!" Hehe. Ryan took it like a champ and didn't even glare at me for 'making him get caught'- the one thing he didn't want.

So they won the game, giving them almost a week to rest up for the division Championship. Woohoo! Ryan had a beautiful double and beat out the play for an infield single. The kid is fast!


After receiving his certificate from his teacher (on the right), Ryan shook the principal's hand:


At the ballpark before his quick change:

Today was a fun day. During the school-wide assembly this afternoon, along with a slide show celebrating the year, the whole school sings the school spirit song to the outgoing 6th graders for the last time. After that, they all line up outside their classrooms and form a tunnel for the 6th graders to walk thru, ushering them out of the school and wishing them well. It's really a neat tradition. They start with the fifth grade and end with the kindergartners and finally the administration and 6th grade teachers. Sean and I were there at the end to see Ryan hug his former kindie teacher. I pretty much lost the battle with tears right there to see that. All three kids had her and she's wonderful! OK- tearing up again just thinking about it. Ugh. Good thing Sean isn't home right now to laugh at me!

So they finished the tunnel, then he ended up taking the bus home (for the last time), and we drove the girls home. Poor Erin was bawling at that point too, cause she's going to "miss having Ryan at her school and she's really going to miss her teacher." Coincidentally, Meghan did the same thing after first grade. She had the same teacher and we all love her, so we all ended up crying knowing we were no longer going to have Mrs. M. Good lord- is this going to happen every year for me? Erin is most likely going to have the same 2nd grade teacher Ryan and Meghan both had, so I'm going to go through the whole thing again next year. Gah!

The tunnel:

Getting a big hug from Mrs. J:


OK- I managed to get this out with only a couple tears. But they're happy tears. :)

It's that time of year!

Recital time! We've been pretty non-stop the last couple weeks, but I thought I should get these photos up while I'm sitting here in a rare downtime. Between dance classes, baseball games, school projects (lots!), teacher retirement parties, and 6th grade promotion planning, it's been a whirlwind around here. So enjoy some photos I took yesterday in-between costume changes for their photos. For some reason, I have no friend shots with Meghan, and no individual shots of Erin. I guess that goes with their personalities. ;)









That's just a few of the 14 costume changes we have (some in the same outfits, but different times of the program). The Recital is June 13th, so it's coming fast! :)