An Evening with Friends

Our newlywed (!) friends John and Maura were in town this weekend, so we spent the evening with them and our other friends, (little) Josh & Elizabeth and Graham & Ashley. It was fun to catch up, eat yummy food, and play games. Spencer and (big) Josh provided also provided some of the entertainment. (Which is why we couldn't stay as long as we would have liked. Oh well - such is life with small children!)

The whole gang poses for a self-timed picture.

Where's your leg lift, Elizabeth?

We helped celebrate John's birthday a little early. Happy birthday, John!

John and (little) Josh. (Spencer informed us that our Josh was 'big' Josh, not the other way around!)

Spencer got his wish to stay up way, way past his bedtime!

Maura, Elizabeth, and Spencer give the evening a thumbs up. Doesn't it look like Spencer has a huge right hand?

Homegrown Tomatoes

As you can see, we're having a bumper tomato crop this summer. There's nothing better than homegrown tomatoes in the summer, right? I love them with fresh mozzarella and a little salt and pepper - mmmm, heaven! This picture reminded me of one of my favorite John Denver songs. We used to sing this all the time in college with a guy nicknamed Jaque - yeah, we were cool like that!

Homegrown Tomatoes
There ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon n lettuce n homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin', out in the garden
Get you a ripe one, don't pick a hard 'un
Plant 'em in the spring, eat em in the summer
All winter without em is a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' and the diggin'
Every time I go out and pick me a big un

Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money cant buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes

You can go out to eat an thats for sure
But theres nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put em in a salad, put em in a stew
You can make your own tomato juice
You can eat em with eggs, eat em with gravy
You can eat em with beans, pinto or navy
Put 'em on the side, put em in the middle
Home grown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle

Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money cant buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes

If Is to change this life I lead
You could call me Johnny Tomato Seed
Cause I know what this country needs
Home grown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cold dark cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
Cause I could be pushin' up a home grown tomato

Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money cant buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes

8% Satisfaction

The Dis-Comfort Inn saga continues. I received this in the mail today:

I am really quite impressed with their nerve. Okay, they did apologize and said that the would address my complaints. (Yeah, right. I'd bet my first-born child that the piece of petrified candy I found on our bathroom floor is still there. And that bet has nothing to do with the horrendous tantrum he had at playgroup yesterday that subsequently led to our leaving even though we had only been there 20 minutes. Any takers...?) But I can't believe they sent me $40 vouchers for a future visit. $40. That's barely 8% of how much our rooms cost for the two nights we were there. That's how bad they felt about my complaint letter - 8%. That's how much my comfort and business meant to them - 8%. To that I stick my tongue out at them and say "Thhhbbbbbpppptttt!"

The vouchers are actually good for several different hotels in Sandusky. Dad - you have first dibs since you paid for the rooms. Would you like the vouchers? If he doesn't want them, anyone else want the vouchers? I for one am going to use one of the Cedar Point packages next time we go. (I can't believe I didn't see these before - they can actually be a good deal, especially if you stay at the Lighthouse Point cabins.)

Okay, my internet connection is acting like dial-up tonight, so I'm outee.

Oh yeah, the current song in my head is: Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson

The Birds and the Bees

Me: Spencer, do you know where babies come from?

Spencer: Yes.

Me: Where do babies come from?

Spencer: I don't know......... They don't come from the store.

Me: Can't argue with that logic.

Sometimes three year olds can be really funny - and smart!

Current song in my head: For Good from Wicked

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Yep, that's right - preschool started today! HOORAY and HALLELUJAH!

Here are a few pics of the big boy getting ready this morning.

We were all excited and very ready for Spencer to start preschool. He goes to Federated Preschool in West Lafayette. It's a 20 minute drive, but I felt really strongly that that's where he should go. And frankly, everything is about 20 minutes from where we live, so no biggie.

The preschool experience didn't start with the best first impression. We went to an open house on Thursday. Spencer loved playing and being there so much that he threw a terrific tantrum when it was time to go. As I dragged him out with arm (I was holding Josh), one of his teachers tried to make me feel better by saying "Well, at least we know he likes it here!" I was appalled and the appropriate threats were made most of the drive home.

But today I think Spencer showed his good (normal) side. When I dropped him off he was one of only two kids that didn't cry or fuss when I left. In fact, I could barely get him to say good-bye to me; when he finally did acknowledge my leaving it was more of a "Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the ride - now get outta here so I can play!" I actually expected this type of response. I have a feeling I will never have to really worry about Spencer out on his own when he is older - he is a very independent soul! (Wonder where he gets that from...)

Josh and I had a great time grocery shopping and playing at the park. It's so much easier with just one child! However, I expect most preschool days will be spent at home. I'll be able to get lots done with Spencer gone and Josh down for his morning nap. Oh the things I'll be able to do with one less child and a little extra time!

On a completely different note...

Here are the highlights of my Labor Day:

Aren't they cute?!?! I just love them! I saw them at Kohls and they said "Maren! Love us! We love you and want to come home with you! Buy us!", and since I was brought up to always obey what cute shoes tell me to do (especially when they are on sale) and I had a bit of extra money from my book editing gig, I quickly tried them on, fell in love, and bought them.

Now, I'm not one to just go out and buy shoes. I am in no way a shoe hound and have a very reasonable number of pairs in my closet. (Although Lance might disagree with this. However, this is a man who owns three maybe four pairs of shoes, two at my insistence, so take his opinion with that in mind!) If I need a pair of shoes I'll go out and buy them; I don't think I have ever bought shoes just because I liked them. But, dangerously enough, I really liked it. This could be the beginning of a very fun (read: expensive) habit! (Sorry, Lance!)

Multo bene!

When I planted six tomato plants in the spring I promised Lance that I would make him some homemade marinara sauce once we had enough tomatoes. After eating sliced tomatoes every lunch for quite a while, putting them in almost all of our dinners, and making some excellent fire roasted salsa, we had enough tomatoes for the marinara. :) I took my recipe from my Joy of Cooking cookbook.

I had enough tomatoes that I made a double batch so that I could use some today and freeze the rest for the cold days of winter that are coming.

First, I chopped two carrots, two sticks of celery (including leaves), two onions, and two bell peppers (from my garden, too!). I sauteed this in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for around ten minutes.

Then I added 4 minced cloves of garlic, a 1/2 cup of chopped basil leaves, and a sprig of rosemary. I sauteed again for another couple of minutes.

While the veggies sauteed I seeded and chopped 5 1/2 pounds of fresh tomatoes. Yum!

I added the tomatoes, 2 tbls tomato paste, a few tsps of kosher salt, and about 10 grates of freshly ground pepper.

Then I simmered all of this for around 20 minutes. During this time I cleaned up a bit around the kitchen and had to dodge an apron-eating baby on the floor. (Probably the most difficult part of this recipe - he moves a lot and is easy to trip over!)

When it was done, it looked something like this:

Although it tasted really good, it looked kinda funky. (Who wants to eat veggies that have had most of the color sauteed out of them?) So I decided to puree it with my handy-dandy hand blender. (One of the best Mother's Day gifts I ever got!) The finished product was pretty smooth, but still very homemade-looking and tasting! (Side note: I forgot one one important ingredient - fresh lemon juice & lemon zest. Lemon makes an tomato dish taste more 'tomatoey'. I often add some to canned sauce to help it taste more 'fresh'.)

I served it with spaghetti and meatballs. (I didn't make the meatballs - this time.)
I think everyone enjoyed dinner! Multo bene!

Besides learning how to make homemade marinara today, I also learned how to make animated GIFs. (Yeah, about 8 years behind the curve, but still a fun thing to know!)

Current song in my head: If You Chance to Meet a Frown (Primary Song)

Customer Service Form Letter

I didn't think I would have anything to blog about today - until I got the mail. This is what I found:

(This is in response to the letter I sent to the Dis-Comfort Inn a few weeks ago.)

I'm not quite sure what to say about it, other than... LAME! Talk about using a lot of words to say nothing. I can sum up what they said in just a few sentences:

"Thanks for the letter. We didn't read it very well because we sent a copy to the hotel even though you told us that's what you had already done. (I told them this in the email in which I sent the letter.) We won't be following up on any of your complaints because we're passing the buck to the actual hotel. They'll be sending you a lame letter, too, in seven to ten business days. Even though you totally said we had lost your business, we're hoping you don't learn from your mistakes and stay with us again. We hope you enjoyed this form letter!"

I can't wait to see what the hotel sends me!

Current song in my head: I Want You to Want Me by Cheap Trick