Balls and Brownies

Suzy Homemaker

I've been quite the busy bee lately - especially in the kitchen. Between the baking, the jam making and the cake decorating, Chris thinks I've turned into an 80 year old woman! But his stomach is not complaining as he's enjoyed the fruits of my labor. Literally, the fruits.

First it was strawberry season and the kids and I picked more than 30 pounds of berries this year! I jammed my little heart out. Strawberry jam doesn't last long in this house.

Then it was time to decorate a cake for my sitter's son, Camden. He graduated high school and I made the cake as a gift. (the school colors are purple and white) I also made 75 cupcakes - a mix of chocolate and white. He's such a good kid and was so incredibly grateful.

Next up - zuchinni bread. Chris could go through a bread a day if I made it that often. The kids love it too so this year I decided it was time to grow my own zuchinni. And to my surprise - those suckers are coming in fast! Two tiny little plants have turned into this!

And this week black raspberrries are in and so - time for more jam. Black raspberry is the fave of both Chris and Mason. Good thing - they're expensive! I paid $5.60 a pint at the local farm. About 25 years ago, my friend Kim and I used to pick tons of them behind her house - for free!  Note to self: plant a black raspberry bush.

So, Suzy Homemaker has been keeping herself busy. Next up - the treats and cake for Emma's third birthday party.

Enough Already

Okay, the little joke is over. It's time for the Daniels gang to move back to Ohio. They've been in Wisconsin for three years now, but yet, every time they come back to visit it's like they never left. That is God's way of telling them to move home!

Lisa and the kids stayed with us for a few days this week (Will had to work) and we had a really nice time. Emma just adores her buddy Liam and with Brandon here - I barely saw Mason. Lisa and I even got to escape for awhile - even if it was to Walmart and Starbucks ;)

The kids swam, painted, made cookies, made their own pizzas (something I'd recommend everyone to do with their kids), played outside and watched movies.

We also made our traditional s'mores but this time there was trouble getting the fire started. Chris threw gasoline on it and we were convinced the whole neighborhood would blow. Nothing happened. Then our neighbor Jay broke out the Pam cooking spray? No luck there. It finally took Jay dousing it in Tiki fuel to get the thing going. After all that it turned out to be the perfect night.

* I've created a photo album on the right if you're interested. It's called 'Daniels Visit Summer 2008.' 

The Joke's on Him

Emma came out of the kitchen the other night with this sign attached to her back. Mason was not far behind - laughing hysterically. We were laughing too ... at his spelling!!

Twinkle and Abdul

So Chris and I took the kids to Home Depot last night. We were hot, tired and running low on patience when we tried to find one specific item - stripping for around the bathroom sink.

The chick in plumbing directed us to a wall of duct tape. Uh, no thanks. She suggested we try over by kitchen sinks. No luck again. Another fine associate directed us to the customer service desk.

When I got up there the gal was talking about getting her nails done. I hated to interrupt. Surprisingly she was no help. And her partner just gave me a blank stare. The humor here - and I did find the humor - their names. Hers was Twinkle and his was Abdul. Twinkle and Abdul!! Is it no wonder they couldn't help us? We finally found the stripping ... on our own.

Mini Beach Vacation

For the first time in 12 years we didn't make it to our beach for vacation. Mason's baseball, Emma's dance class, ridiculous gas prices, Lisa's coming to visit - they were all factors in our decision not to go.  We still wanted to get away for a few days, so we opted to go north and check out the Put-in-Bay area this week. And we're so glad we did.

We hit Gem Beach off of Catawba Island (thanks for the tip Heather) as soon as we got there. The kids absolutely loved it because the water was shallow so they could go out really far. They kept calling it the ocean and we let them believe it was. Mason found a hermit crab. Emma kept calling it a kermit crab. He was also attacked by allergy (algae).

Instead of staying in a hotel we camped. Yep - old school camping. In a tent. My friend Gomez was kind enough to get a tent for us and it worked out really well. Chris and I assembled it all by ourselves! How about that?

I don't consider myself the outdoorsy type but I'm not the girl that needs a five-star hotel either. So camping was kind of cool. Mason has been begging us to do it for years, so we thought this was the perfect opportunity.

Overall, a nice little trip. The kids could still enjoy the water, I could still relax on a beach and Chris got to have a few beers by a campfire. And best of all - it was only two hours in the car instead of ten!

* I snapped a lot of cute pictures so if you're interested, they're in a photo album on the right called 'Camping 2008.'

It's Not Apple

but Emma sure likes unique names for her dolls.

That's Clyer on the left and Loufina on the right. Clyer is the more reserved of the two. Loufina on the other hand - she has been a strong presence in this house for awhile now. One day I walked in to Emma's room and Loufina was on the floor. I asked her why she tossed Loufina out of the crib. "She was being bad. I am not happy with her," Emma said. They've since reconciled.

Thank You SO Much

Just want to say a big thank you to all the family and friends who either donated or stopped by Mason's lemonade stand on Saturday. Thanks to your generosity, he made $266.16 for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

We will be delivering the money tomorrow and they've also arranged for him to have a tour. The woman said for every $1.00 they are able to provide a family with $8.00 in groceries. That means his hard work will provide more than $2,000 in groceries to Central Ohio families!

* This was all a part of a national campaign called Crayola's Pink Lemonade Brigade. One thousand kids from around the country participated Saturday - each decorating their lemonade stand in the theme of their charity. *

Special Sunday

Today is a special day for my family - my parents in particular. Not only are they celebrating 40 years of marriage but today my dad takes over as full-time pastor at the church. Most of you know that he had been filling in and delivering sermons on occasion. Well ...  Rev. Bill decided to step down for health reasons and the church decided dad should take over. He truly feels that he's been called to do this and we support his decision. We know he'll do a WONDERFUL job and make his Heavenly Father proud. 

Good Luck, dad. And Happy Anniversary to the greatest couple I know.

         (on their wedding day)                    (on our wedding day)         

 

Pop Tarts + Our Bed = Mess

So I went to bed last night, rolled over and felt something sticky on my hand. I could see from the night light it was sort of pink. Then I saw a glob on my pillow. I asked Chris to turn on the big light and we discovered they were bits from a Pop Tart!

That little pistol Emma had climbed into our bed earlier and ate a stinkin' Pop Tart. I don't know how much she really ate since most of it ended up on our sheets, but we still laughed. I just love these little "discoveries" around our house (sarcasm).

Biggest Fan

I took this picture with my cell phone at tonight's game - and I just adore it. Emma is Mason's number one fan. She has only missed one of his games this season and that's because she was staying with mamaw and papaw. She tries to hop on the bench to sit by him whenever she can. And she's always a good sport at his football games too. I can't wait until the roles are reversed soon and Mason is sitting at her dance recitals :)

P.S. Mason had a double and two singles tonight and made two outs. That kid is quite the little ball player and, just like Emma, we couldn't be more proud.

Funny Fathers

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. I feel so blessed that two of the best around are in my life. Last year I went on and on about AWESOME they are. Nice .. but boring. This year I thought I would point out a few things about them that make me laugh.

Chris:

the Hawaiian shirt that he wore for Emma's luau party last year (and hasn't worn since!)

his dancing

his hysertical laughter at movies

"presenting Brad!"

how excited he gets when he knows that I am making zucchini bread

watching him put up the tree every year

the way he makes his kids laugh

his dumb mistakes that we laugh about all the time: using a shovel on my car to remove the snow and ice, shoveling the back porch, shattering the windshield on my car with wood for the swingset, hacking his leg with the weedeater, his attempt at the chocolate fountain

 

Dad:

his analogies

when he laughs so hard no noise is coming out

the way he answers the phone

the day he got stuck on the waterslide

his infamous thumbs up at our wedding reception (Chris' favorite picture from that day)

when he can't find his glasses

"bite me"

being a good sport and putting on that Elmo costume not once, but TWICE for his grandkids

the way he sounds when mom makes him call and leave songs on the answering machine

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

 

Us at 34

So rare that just Chris and I take a picture together. As most couples in our phase of life, the pictures now are mostly of the kids or us with the kids. We took this picture the other day and I absolutely love it. Not because we look our best or anything, but because it shows us.. now. Close up. You see our lines, our new wrinkles. You see life on our faces.

(2008)

We have plenty of pictures from 15 years ago when we first met. And we've changed a lot since then - but not just physically. Sure I would love to be that thin again, and I'm sure Chris would like to be that muscular, but I like the people we've become so much more. I really would choose wisdom over beauty any day. I never thought I would say that.

(1994)

I plan to take a close-up picture of us like this every year from now on. I want to see us grow old together. And when we're 64 I bet we'll think 34 looked pretty darn good.

First Movie

In the parking lot before the show:

Emma went to her first movie in a theater over the weekend. We took her to see "Kung Fu Panda" because it was something Mason wanted to watch too. She was really excited and overall did pretty well - although she really didn't understand the whole whispering thing. She told the entire theater "I like noodles" when she saw the panda eating them onscreen. And after the movie was over both kids tried out their kung fu moves at Pizza Hut. A fun night.

I'm pretty sure my first movie was "Bambi" and I remember we saw it at the drive-in. Chris can't remember his. Mason's first trip to the theater was for "Finding Nemo." Anyone else remember their first flick? Dad, was yours a silent film by chance?

Guess who ELSE is 62?

Moving On

He's going from this:

 

to this:

 

(taken on the last day of school ... while he chomped on a Tootsie Roll ;)

They Rubbed What?!

So I went to see "Sex and the City" this weekend with my girls *Gwen and *Peaches (*Dandy, you were DEFINITELY missed) and we arrived to the theater 45 minutes early. That's right - 45 minutes. We wanted primo seats and we got 'em. That left plenty of time to b.s.

While we're sitting there, somehow a massage conversation started. *Peaches says very casually that when she has massages they rub her bum. Huh? She claims they massage her actual butt cheeks. I'm alarmed. Then *Gwen backs up her story and says they've done that to her too. In a state of disbelief I ask for a visual demo with my fists acting as the butt cheeks.

Now ..  I've had a lot of massages and at no time has anyone ever rubbed my rear. I would freak out! Am I the crazy one? Or are *Peaches and *Gwen JUST going to pervy massage therapists?

On another note, the movie was everything I hoped for and more. Awesome, awesome.

And our dinner here was delish. *Peaches had the best Pomegranate Cosmo and I had a Love Martini. *Gwen (who is preggo) had a virgin Pina Colada but I've promised her a Cosmo after baby arrives.

* Due to the sensitive nature of the butt massage topic, names were changed to protect their true identities :)

Can't Forget

the funny things our kids have said this week. I told my friend Heather this morning that the whole reason I blog is to document this time in their lives. Much better than a baby book. Anyway, here are a few of the things that have made me laugh...

Conversation with Mason

Me: "Mason, don't eat that. It's junk."

Mason: "No it's not. It's 100% calcium. It says it right here."

Me: "No, it says 100 calories."

Emma when I picked her up at Dana's house

Emma: "Look mommy. I'm wearing SCUMscreen (sunscreen)!"

Mason after school one day

Just minutes after he got off the bus a neighbor girl knocked on the door. Mason answered it, talked for a minute and then came inside. He was grinning ear-to-ear.

Me: "Mason, is that your girlfriend?"

Mason: "NO!"

Me: "Good. Because you're too young for a girlfriend."

Mason: "No I'm not mom. That's what you do in second grade."

* Note to this story: He will not be entering second grade next year due to a concerned mother who refuses to let him grow up too fast :)

The Graduate

Cake class is officially over! Last night was our 'final.' It was some crazy basket weave cake that we added our flowers to. We had to make A LOT of those damn flowers.

The cake was supposed to be white with pastel flowers, but as most of you know, I'm not really a pastel kind of gal. So I chose chocolate icing and bright flowers. It turned out okay but my buttercream was a little runny because I made it too thin. So... I had to make big weaves.

I definitely got an A+ from Chris and the kids. They loved it!

Overall, this class was a good time.  I learned a lot and will definitely be making my own cakes from now on. I won't miss the prep work but I will miss the time with my girls. I'd say we came a long way from that first class. Jane wants to keep going and maybe even open a business. Awesome, right? For now I just want to sit back, relax and enjoy a piece of cake!

Player of the Game

WARNING: PROUD MOM IS ABOUT TO DO SOME SERIOUS BRAGGING.

There are a lot of reasons to be proud of our Mason: he loves God, he's kind, he's considerate, he's smart, he's funny. His talent on the athletic field is just one more reason.

I haven't talked about baseball much this year because there have been six rain-outs! But now we're up and running. Mason is playing for the Reds and Chris is actually the coach (long story - but I bullied him into it because they needed someone). There are two parent coaches who help him and my brother Scott is lending an assist too.

Anyway, Mason had a great game today. He had two doubles, a single and on defense he played catcher, shortstop and even caught a pop-up for an out (that NEVER happens in this league). The coaches decided he was player of the game. They actually decided it two games ago but Chris refused to give it to him that early because he didn't want to show favoritism.

We were so proud of his efforts today. And what made it even better is that a dad who has a kid on the team said Mason is a natural. That dad knows what he's talking about - he played for the Yankees and the Red Sox back in the 90's. It was so cool to hear him say that about our son.

While the stats are good, we're most impressed with the effort Mason shows at every practice, every game and even in the backyard. He's all heart. We couldn't be more proud.

* There is a photo album on the right called 'Mason Baseball 2008' if you're interested.

What a Girl Wants

Apparently our lady likes a man in uniform.

Emma has been carrying around one of Mason's old Army guys for awhile now. Today she took the relationship a step further. "I want to take him to bed," she said. Yikes. Sort of forward, don't ya think?  He's spending the night with her and then we'll see how it goes. 

For the record, I once fell for a man in uniform too - a Capital University football uniform :)

Day at the Circus

Today was Emma's first trip to the circus EVER. Mason has been several times, but for Emma, this day was special.

Granted, she has the attention span of a gnat, but I think she had a pretty good time. She especially liked the horses and elephants. And she was so tickled to meet a clown. I loved watching her face. She couldn't get enough of him!

Mason says his favorite part was the trapeze artists but I honestly don't think he remembers much about the show. He was fading in and out the entire time. Poor kid. He had spent the night at his friend Chase's house and was completely wiped out.

The highlight for me was a discussion I had with someone at concessions:

Me: "How much for the cotton candy?"

Concessions lady: "$12."

Me: "Are you joking? $12?"

Concessions lady: "but it comes with a free hat."

Now that is comedy. A 'free' paper hat. I passed on that sweet deal but did get the kids some popcorn for a mere $7 a box.

* I know the bottom picture is out of focus, but Chris absolutely loved it. I love it because I didn't have to ask them to do that :)

I'm Having an Affair

I feel so dirty even talking about it. But it's definitely LOVE.

Some of you might remember my anti-Starbucks rant of '07. Well ever since then, I've been living with a secret. I'm a regular customer. And by regular.. I mean daily visitor. My drink of choice: Venti Black Iced Tea with two Sweet 'n Lows. Its like liquid crack for me. Can't. Get. Enough.

We go there so much that when Emma sees a Starbucks sign (she's spotted them from I-70) she says, "black iced tea mommy, black iced tea." How tragic.

So there it is. The truth is out. I don't hate Starbucks - I love it.  Hypocrite? Maybe. But happy? Definitely.

Sorry Mom

This time last year I wrote a post about how awesome the mothers and grandmothers in my life are and how much they've influenced me. This year I want to share one of our family's best Mother's Day stories.

My brother Scott and I were quite young (maybe 11 and 7?) when my dad took us shopping for a Mother's Day gift. We each picked out something we thought my mom would like. We were so proud of our choices and my dad didn't say a word. He paid for our gifts and when we got home he apparently told my mother to brace herself for what was coming.

Scott got her a KitKat and I got her a box of douche!

A KitKat and some douche! Can you imagine?

I guess Scott chose his gift because he knew mom liked chocolate and one of her favorites back then was KitKat. I chose the douche because the box was pretty and I thought it was like perfume.

I don't remember her exact response, but I'm sure she made us feel like those were the best gifts in the world.

I can appreciate this story much more now that I have children of my own. Every gift is so special, especially when you realize how much thought they put into it.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the other wonderful moms in my life.

P.S. This year Scott and I went with flowers.

Oh Yeah .. It's My Birthday!

 

A Good One

Chris sent this story to me this morning and I just had to share.   

Times are tight and when a father saw that his 3-year-old daughter had wasted a whole roll of expensive gold wrapping paper he became very upset and sent her to her room. 

The next day he found a  wrapped box at the foot of his bed and it was wrapped in that same gold wrapping paper which was addressed to daddy.  As you can imagine the father was a little embarrassed for getting angry at his little girl, but when he opened the box he again got upset because the box was empty.  He called in the little girl and began to yell - telling her that you don't waste things and when you give a present to  someone there should be something in there. 

With tears in her eyes she told her dad that there was something in the box.  She said that she had filled it full of kisses and anytime he wanted a kiss he could reach in and get one.  The father immediately dropped to his knees and asked his daughter to forgive him.  The father kept that box.

Why I'm a Hillbilly

Let me paint a picture for you of myself on the way home tonight:

- Sunglasses on the top of my head. Clearly, the sun went down hours ago.

- Wearing yoga pants that are a little short on length. I'm ready for the flood.

- Eating Chick-fil-A in the car and savoring every moment like it was the best meal ever created.

- Slugging a fountain pop.

- Listening to my 'Learn to Speak Italian' CD's as I drive. This apparently is my attempt at classing things up a bit.

Dream Day

There are some days I know Mason will remember the rest of his life. Today was one of them.

Every fall when he chooses a number for his football jersey, he picks #27. If you live in Ohio you probably know who wore that number. For those of you who don't live here - it was Eddie George, a star running back for the Ohio State Buckeyes and a former Heisman trophy winner. 

Thanks to my WONDERFUL friends Angela and Gomez, I knew Eddie was coming by the station today to promote his Kids Fitness Challenge. The only catch? He was going to be there at 6 a.m. Ugh. 6 a.m. on a Saturday.  But I set the alarm and off we went.

Mason was SO excited when he saw him for the first time. He seriously lit up like a Christmas tree! I did the introductions and Mason was a little shy at first. Eddie was so gracious and said, 'you're up awfully early man.' I told him it was just to see him and he seemed touched.

He signed Mason's ball, took a picture and even gave him a few handoffs in the newsroom.  Eddie was very cool (and not to mention - super cute even at 6 a.m;) and will never know what his kindness meant to this 7-year-old boy.

Ruby and Friends

There are a few new additions to the Sawyer kitchen and I'm so excited that I just have to tell you about them.

First up is Miss Ruby. She's my new KitchenAid mixer. I love her. So much so that I gave her a name. I've had my eye on her for a LONG time but could never bite the bullet and pay for her. Chris finally did it for my birthday. She's already been used to make zuchinni bread, icing for cake class and cookies. Ah, Ruby. We're going to have a great friendship.

Next up is our new toaster. Its a Hello Kitty toaster that makes real Hello Kitty toast! Love it. I was just going to get it for Emma as something fun, but when our old one crapped out I decided to keep Hello Kitty as our primary toaster. Sort of whimsical I guess and so far Mason hasn't complained :)

And finally, my new knives. These were a birthday gift from my mom and dad.

Our old knives were shot - we got them as a wedding present nearly 12 years ago but never really maintained them too well. The new knives are so fantastic. I can cut anything! Everyday feels like I'm in a Ginsu commercial.

A lot of people make fun of me for being so practical, but as you can see, these kind of gifts make me really happy. Last year I got a vacuum for my birthday and you would have thought I won the lottery! And one year Aysu got me a skillet and new bed sheets for Christmas. Oh, I was on cloud nine. Such a nerd, right? 

A Yuck Sandwich

For years my dad has put meat gravy on his pies. I've always thought that was as gross as you could get when it comes to food. But then my friend Gomez did something even worse.

She went out and got us McDonald's breakfast (delish) and came back to the station with a sausage and egg sandwich for herself.

Then I watched in horror as she topped it with mustard - and grape jelly! The mixture turned into a thick, brown sauce. Oh my. It was more than I could take! 

Gomez swears it was good, but on this one, I'll just have to take her word for it. And I'll give her credit - she took all my sandwich teasing in stride.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Move Over Cher

Our Emma has more wardrobe changes in one day than I do in a week! First there is the outfit for Miss Dana's, then there is the afternoon clothing change, then there's usually a swimsuit or something else on by mid-evening, princess clothes after dinner and then pajamas at night. And that's a slow day. 

So to document this phase in her life (and I HOPE its only a phase) I followed her through a Sunday afternoon with the camera. Here's what we came up with:

 

Look #1: Pajamas - not so bad until you notice her camo shoes.

Look #2: She put on everything she could find for our morning walk.

Look #3: She loves this dress and wore it to the store. Again, the silver shoes make an appearance.

Look #4: You should always dress like Santa when you sidewalk chalk.

Look #5: This was going out to dinner. Pretty outfit. Grumpy face.