Just today

I will start with a recipe that Taite already asked me to give him when he is an adult. He loves it so much he said "it's worth liking spinach for". I have to tell Taite when he has to stop eating this because I'm afraid he'll get a stomach ache!

I've made this a couple times in the last two weeks. The sugar doesn't dissolve very well, so I'm thinking that next time I will heat the oil (way before I am going to serve it) and then add the sugar so it will dissolve. I tried this time adding the sugar to the strawberries to make juice, but I, personally, like the strawberries firmer. I just have to remember to heat the oil in time to be able to cool it so I can add the other dressing ingredients!

Strawberry Spinach Salad I (from allrecipes.com)

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion (I use many more because we like red onions)
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Other suggestions on allrecipes said to use cubed chicken with this salad or instead of strawberries, try mandarin oranges or kiwi with the strawberries.

Last night when I was up at 2 getting medication so I could sleep, I checked my computer to see what was up with the big storm we were supposed to get and I found a follow-up email from another mom whose son is in Brayton's class. She was wondering if we got the first invite for Aric's birthday party which was today at 2! I was kind of panicked because this was very last minute and then I remembered we had a Super Soaker from last year for a party that Taite was going to attend and then we were gone, so he didn't attend and we still had the gift ~ so all was well. After Brayton got over his crabbiness this morning. . .

Chris told the boys that we needed to clean the house this morning and then he got on Skype and talked while the boys and I were cleaning. That was okay because as long as I have someone helping me, I'm happy. PLUS Taite decided to earn $3 for his chores (for last week) so he would complete what I asked of him and then ask what he could do next. Brayton spent most of the time playing and doing his own thing, which I was okay with because every time I said something to him he was whining and I did not feel like dealing with that! I asked Taite if he was up for a project ~ cleaning the floor in the kitchen/entry way. He said he was, so I was ecstatic! I don't clean the floor as often as I should because I don't like doing it and it never stays clean for long enough! First, he shook the rugs out, then he Swiffered the floor. I showed him how to keep the dust in front of the mop the whole time and then he cleaned his "pile of dust" up with the Kone and I was impressed with his work. I stressed how important it was to go around under the edges of the cabinets, which I didn't expect him to get it perfect the first time, but he came close. I really thought the spraying on of the cleaner and wiping up would need a few touch ups, but I was thoroughly impressed with his work on the floor! It was almost perfect! I told him a couple times what a good job he did and then he asked me "Why do you keep telling me I did a good job on the floor?" Well ~ duh! :~) I told him he was hired forever to clean the floor!!

Chris and I attempted something that we haven't tried for many, many years! Now, this is a family-friendly blog ~ nothing dirty! I cut his hair! I've tried this before and usually he doesn't like it and I get frustrated and it never ends well! Today we were successful! That's good because we have gone to the same stylist for almost 6 years and she's moving to a new salon in May and is raising her prices.

Here is the 'before' picture (Chris said it's been about 4 months since he's had his last haircut! ~ I had to take this because he had major bed head!!)

Here is his 'after' picture ~ still just as good looking, I think :~)

After we dropped Brayton off at the birthday party, we went into Rochester to run some errands. We went to Sam's Club and Chris and Taite were in heaven because there were about 20 samples to try. :~) I kept shopping and tried to keep track of them as they nibbled. One of the samples was the Member's Mark chicken brats ~ MAN were they good!!! Then Chris pointed out that they only have 110 calories per brat!!! With only 40 of those calories from fat, which made them taste even better! (Johnsonville brats are 270 calories with 200 from fat!) And these had such good flavor ~ the ones from Sam's Club ~ we decided to try both flavors (the sample was only of Roasted Garlic and Mozzarella cheese and they also have Spinach and Asiago cheese). We tried the spinach ones for supper and they were just as good and flavorful as the garlic ones. They do have a little spice, but I'm pretty sure the boys had enough ketchup on theirs that they didn't notice ~ LOL!

After Sam's we went to Staples (Chris has something to get) and Taite and I went to Target. When the boys have birthday parties with their friends, their brother is always invited and I make sure they have a gift to give when they "attend" that party, so the other friends don't think anything of the "brother" being at the party. Taite wanted to get Brayton a couple of small Star Wars figurines, but I thought it would be a better idea to get him some Star Wars Legos (they have been so into Star Wars lately and Legos are always good!). While he was shopping, Taite's mood changed so when I asked him what was the matter, I really wished I hadn't!! He said that I didn't make Brayton come to town to pick out Taite's birthday present and Brayton didn't get Taite anything that he really wanted. . . How are we raising such a spoiled kid??? I pointed out that when Taite got a new bike just because he had grown that Brayton didn't say "what about me?" and when Taite got a loft bed Brayton wasn't jealous, he was just happy for his brother. How do we reverse these feelings in Taite? It's such a challenge when our first reaction is to get frustrated and have to resist the urge to shake him!!!

Today is finishing up to be an okay day, especially since the house looks great (well, at least better than it did earlier today) :-) And in the end, I guess we'll keep the boys ~ hehe!!