Monday, April 27, 2009
Our ladybugs
We bought a bag of ladybugs Wednesday of last week because we have a few azalea bushes just covered in aphids and white flies. Brandon could not believe you could buy ladybugs. He was so excited he insisted on holding the bag during the ride home. We released them that same night, and they were doing a great job of cleaning the bushes. That is until a bird came and picked them off one by one. I didn't think that small bird could make such a big dent in their numbers, because later than evening I could only find about 5. We bought some more to try our luck just one more time. This time Dylan held the bag during the ride home. We released them last night. They are still sticking around, but some have very different reasons than others. We have placed our bugs into two different categories:
Worker bugs
(click to enlarge)
The Reproducers
I'm having to keep Owen from swatting at the bushes with his toys. He's fascinated by their movement and just hits the bushes to see what would happen. This morning he saw Brandon picking up the bugs, so of course he had to do that too...only problem is he didn't know how. So I find Owen pinching and squishing the bugs in a effort to pick them up and put them on his arm. It was quite a challenge to put the bugs on him, because once they were on, he still wanted to pick them up. We eventually had to come inside for a break from the bugs. When we came back out, Owen was much more relaxed about the bugs. Thank goodness!
The ladybug that lived...
Friday, April 24, 2009
Want to know where not to eat?
It seems we have just been having horrible luck with dining out lately...
Tonight Russ wanted a Shrimp Louie salad from Sellands. (I got him hooked on them while I was pregnant with Owen.) I thought it was a bit ironic that I'd just had a conversation with someone regarding how Sellands is a complete rip off, and now my husband wanted to eat there. He's actually been complaining about the portions getting smaller for some time now, but keeps going back only to get pissed off again. Tonight was the straw that broke the camel's back. I looked at their online menu to see if they still served their turkey w/ brie sandwich. After seeing how much it was, I chose to go with a salad too. I noticed that they no longer listed a large and small size for the Shrimp Louis, so I called to see if we could still order a large. I was told that I could. I also ordered a different large salad for myself. Well, Russ brings the salads home, takes them out of the bag and was disgusted with what he saw. They threw a whole heart of romaine in a box, dumped a small scoop of dressing on it, sprinkled about 8 shrimp and a couple of chopped tomatoes. It was so small and sparse that he promptly returned it. When he asked for his money back, they couldn't figure out how much to give him back. Technically they sold him a small salad for the price of a large. Instead of refunding his money like he asked, they offered to make the salad a large one. That is when Russ told them that he'd been eating there for years and it seems like the portions just keep getting smaller and smaller yet the prices remain the same. He told them he was done with Sellands, and that he didn't plan on ever coming back. That is when he asked for his money back again. They promptly returned his money and tried to give him some free desserts, but he was so irritated and done with the place, he refused and left. Personally, the only reason I've gone is for the turkey sandwich, and I regret it every time. The sandwich is almost $9 and it is good but it is so small it never fills me up. Some of the staff are so rude that I can't believe I just paid to be treated like that. It only took tonight to tell me that I was done with the place as well. Some of our friends have been complaining about Sellands for months now with the same issues. I think Sellands needs to wake up and realize some of their losses financially aren't from the economy but are from fed up customers like ourselves.
On a better note I just had lunch from Cafe Bernardo yesterday. The food is just as good, if not better...Not that this a fair comparison since Sellands is more like a deli and Bernardo is a full service restaurant. Then again, price-wise it's more than fair. Who pays for deli food when you can be served at a restaurant? Bernardo's portions are so much larger, actually bordering on too much, and so very tasty. My mouth waters just thinking about my lunch. If given the choice what would you choose?
Tonight Russ wanted a Shrimp Louie salad from Sellands. (I got him hooked on them while I was pregnant with Owen.) I thought it was a bit ironic that I'd just had a conversation with someone regarding how Sellands is a complete rip off, and now my husband wanted to eat there. He's actually been complaining about the portions getting smaller for some time now, but keeps going back only to get pissed off again. Tonight was the straw that broke the camel's back. I looked at their online menu to see if they still served their turkey w/ brie sandwich. After seeing how much it was, I chose to go with a salad too. I noticed that they no longer listed a large and small size for the Shrimp Louis, so I called to see if we could still order a large. I was told that I could. I also ordered a different large salad for myself. Well, Russ brings the salads home, takes them out of the bag and was disgusted with what he saw. They threw a whole heart of romaine in a box, dumped a small scoop of dressing on it, sprinkled about 8 shrimp and a couple of chopped tomatoes. It was so small and sparse that he promptly returned it. When he asked for his money back, they couldn't figure out how much to give him back. Technically they sold him a small salad for the price of a large. Instead of refunding his money like he asked, they offered to make the salad a large one. That is when Russ told them that he'd been eating there for years and it seems like the portions just keep getting smaller and smaller yet the prices remain the same. He told them he was done with Sellands, and that he didn't plan on ever coming back. That is when he asked for his money back again. They promptly returned his money and tried to give him some free desserts, but he was so irritated and done with the place, he refused and left. Personally, the only reason I've gone is for the turkey sandwich, and I regret it every time. The sandwich is almost $9 and it is good but it is so small it never fills me up. Some of the staff are so rude that I can't believe I just paid to be treated like that. It only took tonight to tell me that I was done with the place as well. Some of our friends have been complaining about Sellands for months now with the same issues. I think Sellands needs to wake up and realize some of their losses financially aren't from the economy but are from fed up customers like ourselves.
On a better note I just had lunch from Cafe Bernardo yesterday. The food is just as good, if not better...Not that this a fair comparison since Sellands is more like a deli and Bernardo is a full service restaurant. Then again, price-wise it's more than fair. Who pays for deli food when you can be served at a restaurant? Bernardo's portions are so much larger, actually bordering on too much, and so very tasty. My mouth waters just thinking about my lunch. If given the choice what would you choose?
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Easter
During breakfast this morning Russ was hiding the eggs we colored last night at his mom's house. They weren't out in the grass that long. Apparently they were out there long enough, because some of the eggs were covered in tiny slugs by the time they were found. How disgusting is that??? Despite the ickiness, the boys had a great time looking for eggs in the backyard.
Around 10:30 we went to my mom's house for brunch. There was soooo much food! We ate and ate and ate. Mostly because it took Russ and my brother forever to hide the 100+ eggs for the kids. I'm sure my mom will be finding a few random eggs throughout the year. It took the kids a good 15 minutes to find all the eggs. My brother even hid a special egg. Whoever found it won a chocolate rabbit. Hadija was the clever girl who saw it in the big walnut tree. It was pretty cute. Owen left his basket far behind and was carrying all the eggs he found in his arms. It was pretty hilarious. He was doing his best to keep up with his brothers and cousin. Dylan's basket was overflowing with eggs. He literally could not fit one more egg into his basket. Brandon was having a field day. He was the biggest and fastest, but since there were sooo many eggs it didn't matter.
I think Easter has got to be my favorite holiday. Christmas is great, but it comes with so much stress and too many expectations. Easter is just a wonderful spring day spent with family. My Aunt Norma was here this year. So instead of succumbing to the nap I so badly wanted, I sat with my mom and aunts and Russ's mom at the kitchen table, nibbling on food and chatting. The opportunity to do such a thing is so rare, I couldn't let it pass by.
It was an exhausting weekend, but so worth the exhaustion!
Around 10:30 we went to my mom's house for brunch. There was soooo much food! We ate and ate and ate. Mostly because it took Russ and my brother forever to hide the 100+ eggs for the kids. I'm sure my mom will be finding a few random eggs throughout the year. It took the kids a good 15 minutes to find all the eggs. My brother even hid a special egg. Whoever found it won a chocolate rabbit. Hadija was the clever girl who saw it in the big walnut tree. It was pretty cute. Owen left his basket far behind and was carrying all the eggs he found in his arms. It was pretty hilarious. He was doing his best to keep up with his brothers and cousin. Dylan's basket was overflowing with eggs. He literally could not fit one more egg into his basket. Brandon was having a field day. He was the biggest and fastest, but since there were sooo many eggs it didn't matter.
I think Easter has got to be my favorite holiday. Christmas is great, but it comes with so much stress and too many expectations. Easter is just a wonderful spring day spent with family. My Aunt Norma was here this year. So instead of succumbing to the nap I so badly wanted, I sat with my mom and aunts and Russ's mom at the kitchen table, nibbling on food and chatting. The opportunity to do such a thing is so rare, I couldn't let it pass by.
It was an exhausting weekend, but so worth the exhaustion!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Deet's opinion of the Easter Bunny
We went to a friend's annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. Chris creates the perfect day for kids: bounce houses, pony rides, paddle boat, as well as plenty to eat and drink. He even has ducks, geese, huge coy, his own pony and a couple of dogs. The boys had a great time before the egg hunt even began. The Easter Bunny made an appearance right before the egg hunt. Brandon tried to talk to him, but there were far too many kids. He managed to get a lollipop...Owen even got in there for a moment, but I had to grab the lollipop for him. (All the kids and the crazy tall rabbit were a bit much for him.) Russ took D to see the Easter Bunny to get some candy. When he was done eating his candy, he asked for more. Russ told him they would have to go back to the Easter Bunny for more. That is when D told Russ, "That's not the Easter Bunny, Daddy. That's the Easter Man. He's wearing shoes." Bunnies obviously don't wear shoes, right?
Friday, April 3, 2009
Owen's favorite vegetable
Daddy's grilled asparagus, hands down. He eats them like candy. In fact he likes them so much, that he can't chew fast enough and ends up spitting out half chewed pieces just so he can grab more. (click on the photo to get a better view)
Owen counts
Dylan and Owen were sitting in the dining room/playroom sharing a bowl of pretzels. It was so sweet they way they were just sitting on the floor with the bowl between them. They were snacking and chatting. Then I hear Owen counting and he's not stopping. I'm trying to be sly peaking around the corner, and D sees me. That's when Owen stopped at 7. I couldn't believe he got that high. I expected him to stop at 3. Goes to show you I have no clue the amount of knowledge stored in that little brain of his.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)