What's in your tummy?

During dinner today Maria was ferociously gulping her milk down, in between swallows she managed to say that she was going to make her cauliflower float.

This kid is going to be a lawyer

We have been buying the 6 pack "Yo Baby!" yogurts for a long time. Joshua quickly developed a preference for the blueberry flavor, but it is paired with the apple cinnamon which has always been the last to be eaten in our house. In fact, sometimes it can be a real chore to get the kids to eat the apple flavor.

Today while the kids were devouring the blueberry yogurts Anna held an apple yogurt in her hand and reasoned with the kids: "if nobody eats the apple yogurts I am going to have to stop buying the blueberry."

Joshua quickly looked up and with an air of confidence that he had found the solution said, "Ok Mom, you eat the apple."

(needless to say we looked at eachother and could not hold in our laughter)

What was God thinking?

This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I had no idea these creaturs existed, and I have a tough time understanding how this breed of goats ever survived.


For more videos see this google search.

If you think this is funny please comment with your reaction.

Driving along in my automobile...

I would not appreciate it much if foreigners were driving around my city bumping into my car. Yes, it appears that our military has a hummer-driving policy designed to keep our troops from being "sitting ducks." They accomplish this by never stopping, and that involves them bumping into cars and driving like complete idiots. I am not posting this to say I am "for" or "against" the war, but this video caught my attention and I wanted others to see it too.

(watch out for the foul american language in the very last seconds of this clip)

According to rocketboom, the hummers our troops are driving do not provide adequate protection from ambush like other upgraded hummers. This weakness has caused hundreds of US deaths since the start of the war. The response: a driving policy that would make any body's blood boil.

Confidence

This weekend we were at our relatives house following a wedding. Maria was jumping between a big footrest and a couch. The distanc was not too great, but after a few close calls I told her she was making me nervous. She looked at me with great compassion and said, "its ok, you can go in the kitchen while I jump."

Winter Camping

The kids called me at work yesterday and asked if they could go camping in a tent then the snow stopped. I was so excited at the prospect of setting up a tent and braving the cold, that I set up the tent as soon as I got home. It was so much fun we slept in it all night. We had lots of warm blankets and we snuggled up close, because it was a bit chilly during the night.
We did sleep in the tent last night, and we did turn the heat down, but we set the tent up in the living room...but for the sake of journalism we thought more people would read a sensational story.

Math

Last night before bed Joshua's mind was full of math, he was counting the number of segments, or bars, that made up each number of our digital clock. "Eight has the most", he said.
So we started quizzing him on it: "How many bars does nine have?"
"Six" he corretly responed.
After that we asked him addition and subtraction questions, we used m&m's a our medium of exchange and after a few minutes it got pretty silly.
We started out with "Mom has 2 m&m's and you give her 3 how many would she have?" But then he kept adding them one by one, "if I gave you one more you'de have 6, and if I gave you one more you'de have 7..."
When he got to around 20 I tried to change things up and asked, "What if you asked foe them back Josh?" Without missing a beat he answered, "She would give them to me."
That non-math response was so unexpected it made us laugh. But Josh continued giving mom m&m's and adding up the total until he reached 30, then he stopped and said, ok the rest are for me."

Jelly Fish

Joshua's favorite creature is the jellyfish. He loves to learn about them on the national geographic website or from books we get him at the library. He has the most incredible imagination and will come up with detailed stories about "swimming with Iukandji jellyfish," or getting "stung by the Portuguese Man-of-War."

I came up with a craft idea and made some jellyfish with Joshua out of egg cartons and pipe cleaners. After we were finished I was looking for a pen to draw a face. I began walking away from Joshua when he spotted a pen near him and quickly blurted out, "there's a pen over here honey!" Kids are like sponges and they soak up everything we say...it's a good thing we don't have the bad habit of swearing.

Maria is 28

During dinner today I made a homemade blue frozen Margarita. The kids were totally engrossed in it and wanted desperately for a taste. Both Maria and Josh asked, "please can I have some dad."
I responded appropriately, "you can have some when you're 21."
Maria, not really realizing what than meant, but wanting a drink all the same, replied, "I'm 28."

Tractor-tipping with Lightning and Mater

Joshua really likes the Pixar movie "Cars", and so do Anna and I. Joshua loves to reenact some of his favorite parts including the tractor-tipping scene where Lighting McQueen and Mater have a romp in the cow field. The first video is the actual scene, the second is Joshua's version. I posted this at the request of my sister Charlotte, enjoy!





for another version of Joshua's acting, click here.

Fun with the little kids

Anna took Joshua grocery shopping and I got to watch the two little ones, Sam and Maria. Boy did we have fun. First we made a fort with a fleece blanket and two chairs. After going in and out a few times Maria's hair was full of static electricity causing her hair to stand up and making her look freakishly cute.

Next, because they are always trying to use me as their personal jungle gym, I thought of a new way for them to have fun...a cross between gymnastis and a monkey bar. I did this with them at least a hundred times, until my arms practically fell off.

Saved by Amy

The big car was barreling around the bend on Ann Arbor road and did a 360 degree spin right where we would have been. We would have been in a horrible accident with this car if it weren't for Amy Redente.

Just 20 minutes earlier Amy Redente invited Anna to join them at the Ice Sculpture show near our home. We couldn't go because Maria was still recovering from her operation. But on the way home as we approched the Ann Arbor Road / Ann Arbor Trail fork in the road Anna asked me to veer off our normal path home so we could pass by the Ice Sculptures. After a small protest, I went left.

The timeing was amazing...5 seconds later a big Lincoln Towncar came speeding around the curve where we would have been, his tires hit some snow on the shoulder, he tried to pull himself out too quickly, and he did a complete 360 spin in the EXACT SPOT where we would have been passing by him. He then slammed into the gaurd rail with the side of the car.

Even though we were in a safe spot, it all seemed to happen in slow motion, I pointed and told Anna, "that guy is going to crash." We slowed down and watched as it al happened.

Thanks to Amy for your generos friendship in telling us about the ice show, and thanks to God for keeping our family safe!

(the guy in the accident was apparently more embarrased than injured because he drove away without even checking the damage on the side of his car).

Much Better

Maria had a great night sleep with no snoring and no periods of apnea. Praise God. She woke up this morning happy, hungry and smiling. She is now sitting at the table and coloring in the book Grandma Bolster gave her.

Almost Pathetic

Maria has a really good attitude, she is trying hard to communicate with us even though her throat is so sore.

I haven't seen her smile since the operation has been over. And everytime she coughs she cries the most pathetic little weak cry.


She is so cute just wanting to cuddle anybody who will hold her. In fact the nurse told us that when she first woke up from the general anesthesia she cried but when the nurse picked her up she just snuggled up to her and stopped crying--lots of other kids hit and kick.

Thanks for all the prayers: we are so happy that she did well enough to come home without having to spend a night in the hospital.

Maria's surgery a success

Maria is back home with us already after her surgery. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed early this morning, and after only a couples hours in recovery the doctors said she was fine to come home. She was a real trooper, no fear or fighting going into the operation. She was very amiable with the doctors and nurses. We had a great doctor who was a very good listener and very gentle with her.

She is going to be pretty sore for a week or so, so please pray for her recovery. The result of this operation will most likey be a sounder night sleep and no more trouble breathing.

Our New Niece--Gianna Cathrine Brown

My sister Cindy just gave birth to her third child (and first girl), Gianna Catherine on Wednesday afternoon. What an exciting time. She is a major cutie and looks a lot like Cindy, especially when you compare her to old baby pictures.

One interesting thing about Gianna is that she has the exact measurements as her brother Dominic—37 lbs and 39 inches…oh wait….I’ve just been told that that’s Dominc’s current size, but Gianna actually shared his birth weight sizes: 8lbs 1 oz., 21 inches long and a 13 inch brain holder. (as a guy it’s hard to remember all this minute measurements, it’s easier to keep track of tons and miles).
Congratulations to Cindy, Ben, Dominic and Damian on the new addition to the family.


Big Brothers Dominic and Damian Brown with their new baby sister.

Dinner and a Movie

While at the local fruit and vegatable market I saw some curly kale (also called Savoy Cabbage) that reminded me of one of our favorite movies called: In America. One of the meals the Irish family in this movie had was called Colcannon which as we understand it is an Irish dish made from potatos and curly kale popular among the immigrants in the 1800's.

We found this recipe online and wanted to share it with you. It was pretty tasty and very simple. Oh, and don't forget it watch the movie after dinner (but fast foward the scene after the FE-FI-FO-FUM game).

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4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces1

(1 1/2-lb.) cabbage, thinly sliced1

1/4 C. water

1 C. milk

1 bunch green onions, chopped

3/4 C. unsalted butter, at room temperature

chopped fresh chives or green onion

salt and pepper, to taste

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pot and mash coarsely. Set aside.

Combine cabbage and water in large, heavy skillet. Boil until almost all liquid evaporates, tossing cabbage frequently, about 15 minutes. Mix cabbage into mashed potatoes.

Combine milk, green onions and 1/2 cup butter in heavy, medium-size saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring to melt butter. Pour over potato mixture and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mound mashed potatoes in bowl. Make a well in center. Place remaining 1/4 cup butter in well. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Cheap Gas

When I first started driving 10 years ago the price of gas always started with a "1" (except one glorious season when prices dipped to the 75cent range.


After a summer of $3/gallon gas I never thought I would see that welcome number "one" in the front again, but there it was this morning, standing straight and tall. It was like a friendly beacon inviting me to come, drink, and be glad.

Birthday Boys

Kids are easy to please; they don't have any great expectations. They are still learning so much that even the tradition of a birthday party the 4th time around is still somewhat new. Joshua and Dominic were so excited about the school bus cake.

After cake and ice cream Ben and I did a puppet show for all the kids. All five of them were mezmorized...just sitting in their seats with wide eyes absorbing everyting. We told them stories we made up on the fly about turtles, and snakes, and lighting bugs, and wild things.

The funnest part for me was when the adults were out of creativity the kids got up and tried to imitate us. They actually did a pretty good job remembering the themes and even some of the big words we had used. Dominic told the story of the Maurice Sendak's "Wild Things" which was new to him and he even remembered the "wild rumpus" and the "private boat". Maria played with the clever mommy turtle who switched her eggs with golf balls to trick the hungry snake. Kids are so fun to watch.

Joshua and Dominics 4th Birthday Cake

Anna has been making the neatest cakes for the kids brithday's from the beginning. Butterfly's firetrucks, ladybugs & inchworms to name just a few.

Well this year Dominic asked for a School Bus, so this is what we came up with. I hope they like it.

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Related Links:

Fish Cakes

Firetruck Cake