Gramma and Papa to the rescue: Dec 3, 4, & 5, 2009

Amber had oral surgery to remove all four wisdom teeth on Thursday morning, Dec 3rd. DeeDee picked Isaac and Abigail up around 9:30 or so that morning and brought them to our house so we could watch them until Saturday afternoon. We had a wonderful, but very tiring - for us, three days and two nights. We really enjoy the grandkids, but occasionally they can be a handful when both want to be the center of attention, only want a toy to play with after the other picks it up, not wanting to watch the same video or program on the Sprout channel on the TV (we solved that with 3 TV's in the house), etc. Both are potty trained, so no diapers - what a blessing. For some reason Abigail didn't nap long or at all, and the lack of naps was pretty obvious by late afternoon and early evening. The weather was not wet outside, sort of strange for Oregon, but it was sooooo cold (low to mid 20's over night and not above 33 in the daytime), that playing outdoors was not really an option until Saturday afternoon. But, all in all, the four of us got along very well, as usual, and no one got hurt, well almost, Isaac did get a small cut on a toe. Abigail has decided she likes ketchup and will put it on anything, as well as eating it right off the plate a spoonful at a time. I think we have Hanna to thank for putting that into Abigail's thought process.

Thursday afternoon, Isaac and I went to a local Christmas Tree farm owned by a member of our church and we got our Christmas Tree. We put the tree up but did not decorate it. DeeDee had purchased a John Deere Tractor decoration for Isaac and an Elmo decoration for Abigail. We did put them on the tree. Isaac discovered the Elmo decoration had a battery and investigation revealed it played Elmo singing "Jingle Bells". The kids had fun dancing to Elmo singing. The next day, Abigail found what she thought was a metal box of crayons in my Den. I too thought they were crayons, but when I opened the tin for her, we discovered it was full of a monster long strand of red, white, and green beads for the Christmas Tree. We were not going to use them on the tree, but before I could put them away, Abigail took them and decided they would make a great necklace - so she had fun wearing a necklace that looked like 30 strands around her neck. Isaac turned the Living Room into a railroad yard with his wooden train set he brought from home and some of my old Lionel track and two freight cars.

On Saturday when Isaac and I finally got a chance to go outside, we (well me at his direction - and boy can he GIVE DIRECTIONS -- Amber, where did he get that from?) drew the ISK & 3S (Isaac Samuel Korenthal & Southeast Sturgeon Street) Railroad Company in chalk on the street. The trains were very busy carrying passengers and freight on the rail lines.

Thanksgiving dinner - Thursday, Nov 26, 2009

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Amber's house again this year. Amber, Chris, Isaac, and Abigail hosted the Morses (Gramma and Papa); the Springers from Hood River (Christina, Steven, Alora, and Elijah); and the Fuhs from next door (Randy, Sarah and Summer). This year, for the first time, Amber and Chris used Emeril's recipe for turkey - first brining the turkey before roasting it in the oven - it was so moist and very delicious. Along with the turkey we also had dressing, mashed potato, cranberry, and string beans. For dessert there were apple and pumpkin pie, a cake, and a special cake Christina made for Isaac due to his allergy to all things dairy. Before dinner we snacked on sushi, chips, salsa, cheese, oranges, artichoke dip, and veggies with Ranch dressing. The boys all enjoyed watching football while the kids and moms did kid and mommy things in the other room and upstairs. After dinner, a couple of Wii bowling and golf games were attempted by Chris, Steve, and Randy. We all had a lot to be thankful for this last year and enjoyed celebrating giving thanks in each other's company. Abigail loves to jump from the ottoman to the couch in the living room and spent a lot of time after dinner showing Gramma how well she can jump.

Making Sushi for Thankgiving, Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009

Amber asked DeeDee to make sushi as a snack for our Thanksgiving day and meal at Amber's House. Wednesday evening DeeDee cooked the rice and got out all the things to go in the sushi: pickled cucumber, daikon radish, avocado, pickled veggies (cucumber, white cucumber, egg plant, and bamboo shoots), spinach, kale, and crab meat. Then she started the process of placing the rice on a sheet of seaweed and adding what ingredients were to go in that particular set of sushi. After making all the rolls, she cut each roll into individual pieces of sushi. I tried to add the photos to the blog in sequence to show the sushi making process , but I can't figure out how to do that, so hopefully at least you can get an idea of the process DeeDee used, even if the photos are a little out of order.

An unscheduled overnighter, Thursday, November 19, 2009

It started with just an offer to watch the grand kids from lunch time to early evening so Chris could go with Amber to a Dr's appointment and then they could have a "day-date" for the rest of the day, and it turned into an over-nighter at Gramma and Papa's for the grand kids and an overnight-date-night for Amber and Chris.... Lunch went well, as both kids love to eat. The afternoon saw a nap for Abigail, lots of play time, videos from the library, and dinner - again they both ate a lot. Then after dinner, some coloring by Abigail and water painting by Isaac, followed by baths. Then after getting into jammies, both were hungry AGAIN at 7:30 PM, so more noodles were consumed-- both kids seem to be on growth spurts. Our empty nest was turned into a two-story play house. WE LOVE IT!!!! The parents claim they will be here at 8 AM to pick up the kids - yeah, heard that one before.

Important Warning

I received this information and photo from my friend Deb Manahan in Valencia, CA. It is imperative that you keep all alcoholic beverages away from your pumpkins, or you might find something similar to this waiting for you.

Elijah Springer's 2nd Birthday - Saturday, October 24, 2009

On Saturday, Oct 24th, we met Amber, Isaac, and Abigail; the Springers (Steven, Christina, Alora and Elijah); and other friends of Amber and Christina (Sean and Breanna O'Connell and their daughter Saffron) at Lake View Farm in North Plains, OR, near Hillsboro, to help Elijah celebrate his 2nd birthday. Before the O'Connell's arrived, Isaac, Abigail, Alora, Elijah, Steven, DeeDee and I got our faces painted with a spider, a flower, a heart, a cat, or a ghost, while Amber and Christina were pooh-butts and didn't participate. We rode the paddle boat out to the pumpkin patch and rode the train back to the main farm area. Abigail also rode on the caterpillar-train ride, all by herself (she is in the 4th car, wearing red). The weather was BEAUTIFUL, cool but sunny, with only a very small breeze and absolutely no rain. After enjoying the farm for a couple of hours, we all went to Amber's house in Hillsboro for lunch, cupcakes (one with two candles for Elijah) and presents for Elijah to open. We all had a great time, with the five kids all playing well together, the adults getting along together, and also with me being able to take a short nap on the couch while everyone around me watched a "Bob the Builder" DVD. I didn't think I was really asleep, just dozing, but DeeDee said I was asleep and Steven said he also got pictures of me "napping", so I guess I really was asleep.