How "Eat This Not That" changed our lives

A new series: How (fill-in the blank) changed our lives. Aren't you excited?!?! Some bloggers have passion lists, I have life change lists. Thrill a minute.

This morning as the Today Show ran a story about something relevant to a blog post I was thinking about, I was struck by the fact that so many of my blog posts either coincide or are "inspired" by what I see on the morning news (Really people it is a stretch. Let's agree to something closer to "Morning Fluff") shows. This post is no different.

Over the summer I was watching the Today Show or Regis and Kelly or The View (whatever) and they were featuring "Eat This, Not That" Summer Style. I was immediately hooked. The concept started with Men's Health Editor-in-Chief David Zinczenko and Men's Health food and nutrition editor Matt Goulding. Men's Health....Who knew? I thought it was all protein shakes and push-ups. Anyway, they wrote the books as a sort of expose and public information resource. There is also this "Diet" concept that I am going to completely ignore.

The main book features an analysis of chain-restaurant menus with recommendations of what to eat and what not to eat. I don't know what else the book features because I don't own it. I do however frequent the website that features a lot of information including nutritional breakdowns for select items and usually at least three Eat This and three Not That items. This is the first reason I like Eat This, Not That, I can get most of what I need to know off the website.

The second reason this changed my life is that it really does change the way I eat at restaurants. At McDonalds you are better off ordering a Quarter Pounder without cheese than the Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich. A Chipotle Chicken Burrito has over 1,000 calories! The list goes on and on. Sometimes I will sit and read some of the more surprising comparisons to Kevin (our entertainment for the evening).

If you eat fast food you have to read this book and/or visit the website. If you eat at sit-down chains you are now morally obligated to read the book. These restaurants (that I don't visit because I have a 18-month old) have horrible nutritional offerings. Some of it is worse (yes worse) than McDonalds! Calories for the whole day in one sitting!

Since I have to be on the road so much I sometimes don't have a choice but to eat fast food. I like to think of my day trips as an excuse to eat fast food. Eat This, Not That has completely changed the way I eat out. I love the tray of In-N-Out fries but do I really want to eat 400 calories in fries? No, but I'll eat a couple and toss the rest. Or I can just order the fries and a light lemonade. An informed choice can still be a crazy choice. As long as I'm enjoying it, who can argue?

Sometimes UPs out number the DOWNs

That is from "Not in Nottingham". We are kicking it Robin Hood style.

So Keith seems to have a formula. For every shot of naughty action, he has an adorable chaser. He is the perfect blend of bad boy and sweet baby. UH-OH is one of the most important words in his world.

How about this? He dumped Mr. Bubbles on the floor in the bathroom and then made sure that all of the closet doors were closed.

Or this? He made himself cough so hard he threw up in bed. When I took him out of bed, telling him we had to change the sheets he went directly to the sheet drawer in his room to pull out a new sheet.

Or how about this one. First he breaks a jar of pickles all over the kitchen floor and then he wears Patrick's underwear as a hat!

He keeps us laughing and groaning all at the same time.

Halloween Projects... 4-year old Style

If you haven't read my post about Blog Stalking/Imitating please do and this will make a lot more sense. Last Halloween I never got around to even buying pumpkins, let alone carving them. This year the Halloween enthusiasm is punctuated by several simple crafts that have Patrick really excited.

I have fully realized my decorating style. I start basic and build the idea gradually. All of these are projects that started small last year and we added to the idea. I don't have pictures of this stuff from last year (remember I didn't even buy pumpkins). Just know that this is an improvement and I think we will do even more next year!








Now for the new projects. The black pumpkins are pure imitation (I would have never thought of that). Everyone has their own idea about what more to do with the black pumpkins, we'll have to wait until next year.





The pumpkin votives were a little too messy for Patrick. But we had fun while he tolerated the Mod Podge on his hands.




I know everyone has one of these with flowers but my fake pumpkins sat useless until Patrick came along with his Martha Stewart ideas. I wasn't sure what tool we would use, he produced a dry wall cutting thing from his dad's toolbox without hesitation.

The Dorks and the Popular Girls

This blogging thing has become a surprisingly integral part of my life. I enjoy writing about our life but I also love all of the blogs I stalk on a regular basis. There are the Mommy Blogs (stories, rants and laughs about raising kids), Fashion Blogs (pictures of the latest handbags), Foodie Blogs (recipes and beautiful pictures of food), TV Blogs (running commentary on tv shows) and Decorating Blogs (beautiful homes with decorating tips).

The part of all of this that I find most fascinating is the peer culture that develops within these blogging communities. It is quite a bit like high school. Most of the bloggers stick to their own and you can see the influence they have on one another. I would call it peer pressure but I think it is actually peer influence. We gravitate to those that are like us or are the way we want to be.

Here is why I know that blogging has changed my perspective in so many ways. I discovered this blog Thrifty Chick several weeks ago. My sister also checked it out and we simultaneously committed to the same window covering project (this isn't unheard of, my sister and I tend to do a lot of things simultaneously). Here is where the dorkiness comes in. Somehow, Thrifty Chick found my sister's blog and actually commented on one of her posts. My sister immediately texted me. I immediately went to read the comment and texted back "Wow! Why do I feel like you just met a celebrity and not some mom with a blog? And why am I jealous."

I haven't jumped into the blogging social scene, I'm still lurking. I feel like the kid at school who watches the popular kids and imitates them. I suddenly want to paint everything black! I want to take my kids outside to explore the Fall colors (except it is still 88 degrees here and most of the trees are still green). I want to live life.

This type of imitation isn't the crazy pegged pants, high bangs imitation. This is the good for your soul imitation that challenges you to be a better human, wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend.

Since starting my own blog and reading a lot of Mommy Blogs I have slowed it down a lot. I know that I still work way too much and I forget to take time for myself but my baby steps have made a HUGE difference in my overall disposition. I will never have the kind of time required to take the blogging world by storm (or bake bread everyday), but I will keep blogging as long as it makes my husband laugh out loud.

And I am going to decorate my laundry room.... (Even the dorks need to have inside jokes)

It's TIMEOUT so shout it out!

Keith (God bless him) has been racking up the timeouts. He hasn't been subject to the timeout for very long. We started using the timeouts about 3 weeks ago and it works surprisingly well.

Today we were going a little bit stir crazy. Neither one of the boys felt all that great and they seemed to be out of step with each other. This morning Patrick was doing everything he could to get Keith to play with him in the "fork" (aka fort) but Keith wasn't cooperating. This afternoon Keith wanted Patrick's attention and Patrick was too busy watching Planet Earth. So Keith (powered by short man's complex) whacked Patrick on the head. Usually he follows his whacks with a cuddle and a pet. I was sick of this game and sent him to timeout.

As Patrick describes him, "he's a caution." He also calls him sweetie and cutie pie. All of these descriptions are accurate.

We're all so proud

Keith thinks he can talk. He carries on detailed conversations with complete strangers. He describes the sky, the pumpkins, his clothes, animals, everything around him. And he always uses the most colorful words and gestures. The only problem is most people have no idea what he is saying.

We usually know what he is saying. If he wants something he knows how to get his point across (Silky, Cookie, Water, MAMA, all the important demands of an 18 month old). Because his interests are limited it is usually pretty easy to figure out what he is saying.

Last week he discovered the art of enunciation. And alas he can say several words quite clearly. Especially the word we have all been waiting for: MINE

He's lucky he is so cute.

I would describe it as a hunger strike

I am back from Chicago in one piece. It was a great conference, my presentation went really well. I even went to two museums while I was there. And I did some excellent window shopping on Michigan Avenue.

The conference planners booked me a flight in and out on US Airways. I was on a really early flight so I could attend a dinner when I got there on Wednesday night. Anticipating at least an hour layover in Phoenix I didn't eat anything before I got on the first flight. I was shocked when the lady on the drop down screen joyfully presented the US Airways advantage.... Welcome to US Airways, where you pay for absolutely everything. We offer a wide array of Coke products at a 1000% mark-up. Adult beverages for $7. Plain old water $2 please. Correct change is appreciated, cash only!

Right then and there I decided that I was not willing to pay for anything on that airplane or the next three planes I was going to be on over the next two days. Here's the catch (and proof of my stubborn nature) we were delayed leaving Fresno which meant my Phoenix hour was shrunk down to a quick business call, a check-in with Kevin and the boys and boarding the next plane. The piece of the equation that is missing? Food! I continued to refuse food and drink throughout the long flight to Chicago. I don't even know what was in the $5 snack box, but I don't care.

Upon arriving in Chicago 2:00 pm Central, I sought out the Starbucks like some kind of bloodhound. A venti coffee with cream and a muffin. Crazy caffeine love. And it wasn't even Friday!

Dear Mr. Airline Executive,
This is seriously starting to get out of hand. The generous folks at GCYF paid almost $600 to fly me from Fresno to Chicago. You can't throw in a bottle of water with that flight?
I am a bit concerned. I fear that you are going to continue canceling flights out of Fresno and start selling seats for "Lap Adults". I fear that I am going to return from a trip telling my friends to make sure they bring quarters for the airplane bathroom. I fear that you are going to weigh me and charge me $50 for every 100 lbs. I fear that you are going to charge me for a seatbelt. I fear that at some point you are going to take all of the seats out of the planes and we are going to huddle on the floors clutching our luggage in our laps.

I fly quite a bit (yeah, you should see my carbon footprint, kind of embarrasing) and you all talk about this choice that we have when we fly. Here is my choice, I choose not to get ripped off! That is my choice but it doesn't seem to be an option, no matter what travel website I visit.

You might remember me from my last communication in May. I am the woman who was screaming about great companies and bankruptcy and asking for her airline bailout money back. Not my proudest moment but come on folks, what part of this am I missing?

Oh and another thing? Your crappy old planes do nothing to inspire confidence. If I had a quarter for every time I heard the words Electrical Malfunction I could afford to buy two Budweisers on your silly plane.

Sincerely,
The Hungry Girl in 4C

You know you are the mother of boys if.....

Your four-year old refuses to distinguish between pink and purple.... AKA Girl Colors!

A Sophisticated Palate (TM Kaidie)

This was the first time Keith got to "help" in the kitchen. He started eating the white onion I was using for the sauce. Then Patrick came in and started taking bites from the raw onion too.




Keith then proceeded to eat the sauce by the spoonful.



Here they are eating hummus and chips except they both decided to just eat the hummus right out of the bowl.


My sister and I recently had the following text conversation about my nephew Jack:
L: He doesn't eat pizza sauce?
R: What!?!?! Did he say that?
L: Yes, he specifically said he wanted an olive pizza with cheese, no sauce.
R: You didn't actually order it for him did you?
L: Well, yes.
R: I don't know how I got such a picky eater.

Then we had this phone conversation:
R: I made muffins because I thought Patrick and Abby would eat them but Patrick said that he does NOT eat muffins.
L: What!?!? So what did he eat? Bacon?
R: Yes, and dry cereal. Don't be surprised when your son comes home with weird eating habits.
Sure enough Patrick had dry Cheerios on Monday morning.

Jack is picky but so is Patrick. Actually Jack is consistently selective, Patrick is fickle. But, as the title would suggest the child has quite the sophisticated palate. First, the things he won't eat:
1) Cheese
2) Sandwiches (except PB&J, no crust)

It kind of narrows down the options when you can't put cheese on anything!

But check out this weird stuff that he will beg for:

1. Brussel sprouts
2. Sushi (not California Rolls, the real stuff)
3. Onions (Raw but he has a special fondness for carmelized onions)
4. Expensive cuts of beef
5. Hummus (by the spoonful)
6. Anything that you call "PIG"
7. Brie (I know I said he won't eat cheese. He would never eat American cheese or cheese mixed in with something else. Give him the expensive stuff and he is all over it)
8. Any fish or seafood (he especially loves salmon, shrimp and lobster)
9. Balsamic vinegar
   
10. Anything that costs more than $10 per ounce

As I said, he is fickle. I spent $3.50 on yummy brussel sprouts one day, the next time I buy them he won't touch it. It is all about the eating mood he is in on any given day. I would rather know what I am going to get than have him spit out Filet Mignon one night and eat my whole steak the next. Our general strategy when he rejects something is to bring out the dip (ranch, ketchup, balsamic vinegar).

Over the last month I have noticed that Keith will also venture into new crazy foods (as evidenced by the raw onions above), if the mood is right. The good thing about Keith is (unlike his brother) the child will eat processed cheese!

I look forward to traveling with my boys (more, without the diapers) and exploring new foods. Because a vacation is only as good as the food that you eat. We live to eat around here people!

I made bread....so what?

I'll tell you "so what".... IT WAS (deleted euphemism for a four letter word) GOOD!!!


Despite what I said previously about the news, I was reading Rough and Tumble this morning and I came across this article. I'll describe it for those of you practicing my news briefing style. It has nothing to do with baking bread but the mother in the story is described as, "a stay-at home mom who makes most of the family meals and bakes her own bread."

Seriously, what is going on with all of this bread-making craziness! And even more seriously, it ain't that hard. I know I made a big deal out of it but bread is what 5 ingredients? Patrick could have done it without me.

We used a Martha Stewart recipe (of course) for Honey Whole Wheat Bread, it was nutritious and delicious. And check it out... We HEART Butter! We had a little lesson about yeast and everything.

Oh, and the $400 loaf of bread was actually a $414.97. Just the King Arthur bread flour was $5.99 plus whole wheat flour, plus wheat germ. Obviously we didn't use all of it and I am sure we will make bread again.

I still don't know why society is pressuring me to make bread. But what I did realize is this weekend bread making was an indicator of my need to nest before I go out of town. I am looking forward to the experience in Chicago this week but I really want to stay home and make these awesome Halloween votives. Oh well, such is life.

Kiss Your Mama With That Mouth?

aka alright already Bad Mommy, check your language at the door.... I am almost too embarrassed to post this one.

The other day in the middle of dinner I asked Patrick to do something and he looked me dead in the eye and said, "Whatever." The "whatever" was accompanied with the perfect half-eye roll, you know the move, the eyes go up and to the right, not a full eye roll, just enough to spark rage in both of his parents. He was immediately sent to timeout, tears, apologies, promises of harsher punishment. While he was on timeout we looked at each other and said, "where did that come from?!?!" I'm still not sure but I did tell my sister that I blamed her when she shot me a whatever the other day.

Now I suspect that I have only myself to blame, natch. Tonight we got home and I realized I forgot Keith's milk. Patrick heard me and joined in with, "dang it, dang it, dang it!" I can't remember what I said about the milk before Patrick started in with the dang it's but by the fifth dang it I was thinking "mouths of babes." He came inside still dang it-ing and told me "Mom, I say dang it, you say shoot. Shoot, dang it, shoot, dang it." I told him that neither word was okay and we should both stop saying those words. He said okay and went on with his life.

Swearing is swearing even with all the effort to use euphemisms. I guess it would have been a bit jarring to hear the actual swear words coming out of Patrick's mouth. But either way, shame on me. There is nothing worse than hearing your (bad) words come out of your kid's mouth!

One toddler, lots of trouble

Keith managed to find the banned ottoman. He had fun carrying it around, grunting of course.

You are surely looking at these pictures thinking two things:
1) Why in the world doesn't this child ever wear a complete outfit?
2) Oh! The baby's face! What happened!

First, my clothing-challenged second born son. He always asks to take his shirt off after dinner. And his pants are usually discarded shortly after. I don't know why. Tonight it was chilly so I forced him to put this sweatshirt (Jack hand-me-down) on, much to his protest.

Second, my poor baby's face! A face plant, the first of many I am sure. He fell face first out of the wagon on Wednesday. It seemed more like a little scrape on Wednesday. When he woke up on Thursday it looked like a road rash. It is a bit startling to see in person. From a distance it looks like a bloody nose. His forehead is not as bad, clearly his nose was sacrificed for his head.

He was an only child tonight because Patrick was staying the night with the Kuhtzes. Because of our schedule configuration I don't get to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Keith. We skipped movie-night (he never even asked about it...ha) and had a long bath and snuggle time with his favorite show, The Office (he thinks Michael is hilarious). Other than that, he was interested in playing with my hair, catching my hand and leading me through the house, and being his normal Keith-self. What can I say, I love this kid.

Happiness Is.....

FALL!

It is finally here. It blew in on Thursday with a Winnie the Pooh style blustery gust. The best things about Fall in the Callahan House....

Blankets: The boys' favorite blanket is my favorite blanket. I call it the "napping blanket" because everyone takes excellent naps under this blanket. My grandma makes a hand-tied quilt for her grandkids when they graduate from high school. My blanket is a particularly special blanket. First, my grandma made it for me while she and my grandpa were visiting. Second, my grandpa and dad tied the quilt in my mom's family room. Even my rarely impressed teenage self was smart enough to take mind-photograph of two of the most important men in my life making me a blanket. My grandpa passed away right before I left for my second year of college so the quilt has extra special meaning.
Grandma had the foresight to make the blanket big so it is perfect for napping (I thought it deserved another mention), forts, floor beds, playing hot lava, endless endless games and enjoyment. And of course this blanket plays a prominent role in the "sick bed couch" that is Patrick's number one comfort when he is sick.

Boots: Fall means colder weather, colder weather means pants, and pants mean boots are allowable footwear! Patrick has three pairs: cowboy, rain and fake uggs. Right now the fake uggs are the boots of choice. The only disappointment (for Patrick) is Keith's fake uggs aren't the same color as Patrick's. Keith will hopefully be able to fit into Patrick's old cowboy boots, then each boy will have three pairs. By the way, why is it that girls have all of the cute clothes. I had to buy the boys boots in the girls section the same weekend I went to Old Navy to find the smallest possible section for baby and toddler boys with the same longsleeve polos and vests they have featured for the last four years!

Hoodies: Fortunately for me, Patrick's wardrobe is predominately comprised of Cousin Jack's hand-me-downs. It is great, the boys love a lot of the same things (Cars, Buzz Lightyear) and have some matching clothes (so Keith and Patrick have matching clothes since they are the same age difference as Patrick and Jack...does that make sense?). The only problem is Jack lacks the peculiar obsession with hoods that Patrick has boasted for a year now. I am guessing that the hoodie in this pic will be a prime wardrobe item this season as most of the hand-me-down sweatshirts don't have hoods. Patrick will have to make do with the six or seven hats Jack handed down!

Baking: There is something about summer that makes me want to grill everything. I hate to turn on the oven and I have no desire to take the time to sift dry ingredients. Generally speaking the KitchenAid stays in the cupboard until October or November. Tonight I baked banana bread. It didn't take long, it smells fabulous and it makes the insane wind outside seem appropriate.


I have been rather irritated by this huge push to bake bread (have you noticed?). I have seen at least four different segments on various talk shows about baking bread. The premise is: the economy is horrible, save money, bake your own bread! Here is what is annoying to me, a loaf of bread costs me $2.50. The fresh baked stuff is $1.99 ($3.99 if you want kalamata olives). Bread is not that expensive. In my mind, my time is worth at least $100 per hour (a volunteer's rate is about $18 per hour) and I know that it will take me at least four hours to make bread and clean up the mess. Meaning my loaf of bread is worth $400 (or $72) and it won't keep and Patrick will likely refuse to eat a sandwich on it.
On the other hand, I haven't made bread in a long-time because baking bread is a luxury for me (it usually takes a lot of time and butter). Eating my own fresh baked bread is even more of a luxury. So instead of thinking about saving money, I should be thinking about enjoying the luxuries of life. Sometime soon we'll bake bread, just for the sake of baking bread and eating it warm with lots of butter and homemade jam. Priceless...

Soup: I made the first pot of soup last night. I had some stuffed pasta, a cup of spinach leaves, some frozen vegetables, and a dream.... Soup is easy and comforting. Plus it combines our whole dinner (plus yummy bread of course) protein, veggies and all into one pot and one bowl. Easy clean-up and more time to cuddle under the napping blanket.

Thanks for coming to the party Fall. We hope you brought your fake uggs to go stomping around the house with us!

Pink of Perfection

Those of you who watched Hayley Mills in "Summer Magic" will recall the wonderful spontaneous duet the brother and sister sing about their snotty cousin.... Pink of Perfection. The cousin of course is not so perfect and has more issues than the New York Times. Here are the top ten reasons I know I am not the Pink of Perfection either.

1) I lose everything
It is a running joke among my staff. I was bragging about finally finding my work keys (MIA for a week and a half), the retort was: did you find all of the other things you lost? The jump drive, the blueteeth (the nice man at Verizon finally sold me the biggest bluetooth made so I can't lose a fourth bluetooth), the spare battery, the paycheck, the invoices....

2) I procrastinate
As I am writing this blog I am supposed to be writing a speech for the conference I am speaking at next week.

3) I have a blog series entitled "Bad Mommy" with several posts backed up (see #2)
Enough said.

4) I break things and drop things a lot...I'm clumsy
I had to get a helmet for my Blackberry it has been dropped so many times. Mind you this is my second Pearl, the first one was put out of its misery several months ago. The same nice man who sold me the gigantic bluetooth also sold me the Blackberry helmet. God bless him.

Two weeks ago Kevin cleaned out and rearranged the pantry, 34 minutes later I somehow managed to break a bottle of Bloody Mary Mix (that I insisted he save, see #6) all over the pantry. Who does that?

5) I bribe my children
Keith hasn't quite caught on to the process yet but Patrick is well-versed in the art of the Mommy Bribe. It was how I got him to cooperate for the haircut (reward: Happy Meal) and pet/touch the lamb (reward: cinnamon roll and playing).

6) I spend a lot of money on ridiculous things
And I take a lot of joy from it. I am an avid consumer and my life is complicated by too much stuff. I counted 14 boxes of Christmas decorations in our storage unit.... I am sure it is hereditary because I know my mother and sister have just as much Christmas stuff, probably more.

7) I have been compared to both Murphy Brown and Miranda Priestly
Murphy Brown for her penchant for cycling through assistants. Miranda Priestly for her inability to remember people's names and needing staff close by to prompt with names at functions. I think both characterizations are exaggerations....

8) I have been known to do to things out of spite
Last year when the networks (NBC I'm looking at you) were preaching about going green (in the middle of my primetime tv viewing! see #9), I found it so annoying I started my very own mini silent revolt against any efforts to save the Earth. It is resoundingly annoying that Network executives preach at me and my beloved Expedition when they fly empty jets across the country to pick-up sandwiches. Dang, now I am going to have to blog on going green....
9) I like to watch really bad tv
I don't drink (much), I don't smoke, tv is my drug of choice. If the CW wasn't free, I would pay a premium to watch the horrible acting and obvious storylines. The words "all-new reality series" is music to my ears.

10) I have a President Bush style attitude toward the news
He walks into the Oval Office in the morning, Bush said, and asks Card: "what's in the newspapers worth worrying about? I glance at the headlines just to kind of (get) a flavor of what's moving," Bush said. "I rarely read the stories," he said. Instead, the president continued, he gets "briefed by people who have probably read the news themselves."
I do read select articles on my daily scan of Rough & Tumble, other than that someone usually tells me the details beyond the pretty obvious headlines.

There you have it... my imperfection in black and white. The sad thing is I could have gone on with a list of 20.

Happiness Is.....

A warm cinnamon roll at the BIG BIG BIG Fresno Fair. Technically the cinnamon rolls were hot, we had to wait and got two right out of the oven. Patrick and Kevin shared a frosted cinnamon roll, Keith and I had plain (just to simplify things, what with the messy toddler I was partnered with). I had a bellyache after that experience, otherwise I would have continued to eat my way through the fair.

On a non-food note:
Usually when we have a family outing or event we ask Patrick to tell us about his favorite part of the day/event. A friend of Kevin's has a daughter in FFA. She was nice enough to bring her lamb out for the boys to pet. It wasn't Patrick's idea so he wasn't having any part of touching a lamb, namely because it is "dirty." After 25 minutes of cajoling, he finally quickly touched the lamb (after I had promised he could play). Anyway, he totally hated it and was asking to leave that poor lamb behind the whole time.

What was Patrick's favorite part of the day? "The sheep!"

Into each life a little rain must fall

Longfellow, right? Ours wasn't a dreary day. Patrick and Keith have been waiting for a reason to wear their rain boots for weeks. Patrick has been praying for rain. There wasn't enough rain to create any significant puddles, but Patrick found a small one at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Happy 28th Birthday Uncle Ben!

Patrick once told me that, "Uncles are for fun only, not for telling me what to do." It was Uncle Ben's night and it was fun. Especially for Patrick.
Grilled pizza, Catch Phrase, cake and homemade pistachio ice cream, wrestling, College Football, and a phone call from 1984.... gonna need that cape back.

I love EVERYTHING about karate

KICKS!

Abby, Patrick, Ian and Chase... All listening to Sensei Adam

At first we thought soccer sounded like a good idea, then we remembered our boys (Patrick, Chase and Ian that is). The non-joiner, has to be my own idea, I won't do anything that you are paying for especially the things that cost $300 Boys. Our alternative idea for the boys was karate. I was nervous, we tried karate last year and I feared a repeat performance. Last year, Patrick sat there with the jaded mask of a preschooler, going through the motions but remaining aloof.

I am not sure what exactly made the difference but as either Kristina or Sugar said: night and day. Patrick loved it! They all loved it. And they were all really well-behaved (for preschoolers). Of course I am sure that having a class of four kids he knows really well went a long way to ease Patrick's nerves. Abby is in the class with the boys too. Today the boys each got a gi (uniform) so look forward to more pictures next week. I will come prepared with my zoom lens for more close up pics. Until then....