The GREAT American Buffet!

Not to be confused with the GREAT Frederick Fair. This is a restaurant by my parents. When Kaelyn was growing up and we lived at home or near my parents, we would go to this restaurant after church on Sundays. They have a buffet. There's eggs, bacon, potatoes, omelets, biscuits, cornbeef hash (Kaelyn's favorite), and a bunch of other things. They even have the ice cream maker going for breakfast (Kaelyn's other favorite part). When we were at my parents the time before last, we went there for breakfast, and Kaelyn had a fabulous day. Literally, she LOVES this place.

When we were there this past weekend, my dad suggested that we go there for lunch on Sunday, since we were both going to our own churches. We had never been there for lunch and didn't know what to expect. We got there at about 1150a. They still had breakfast out, but trays of stuff were empty. They were slowly replacing these trays with the lunch buffet. Every time I went to get something, they had something new, so I would load up with that and head back to the table. When I got there, someone else was coming back with something I had missed that was just put out...something I wanted. It was crazy and I could've been rolled out of that place by the time we were done.

The kids had an even better time. Kevin? Not so much I don't think. Marley is the worst eater in the world. She throws her food. She chews it up and spits it out. It's awful. Kevin was on Marley duty more than I was that day. He's not very good at it either because he doesn't believe that kids should play with their food...at all...ever. He doesn't care if it's a tactile thing, a learning thing. Kids should be born knowing how to operate utensils as far as he's concerned.

On the other hand, I think this is the way to feed kids...lots of choices. I normally do this for lunch, serve them a bunch of stuff. Then they're not tied down to the same food combination. I hate that myself. The same taste over and over again.

We all had ice cream at the end. Kaelyn took Rory and Logan to get their ice cream and came back with cones. Cones are normally not allowed stated by the rule in the parenting handbook titled "Denied By Sibling Presence." This rule states that kid/s are denied what they want because the other kid/s present are not allowed to have said item and therefore parental control of tantrums will ensue. And who wants that? Unfortunately my kids aren't old enough to read this handbook. So, they are left to not getting whatever they want at the time because I would rather engage in battle with them than Marley. My name is Nora Bucy, and I am scared of my two-year-old.

I went and got ice cream in a bowl and stuck a cone on top. It worked! She just kept dipping her cone in the ice cream bowl and then eating it. She didn't know it was supposed to be any other way. It was the perfect end to a purging (I mean perfect) day. :)



I think this is what they mean by "food coma."

The GREAT Frederick Fair!

Is really not so GREAT. It's expensive. It should be called "The EXPENSIVE Frederick Fair!" Maybe it's just because we have littles that can't withstand long times at certain events. Anyway, we stayed for an hour and a half at most. The money was gone in an hour, and we walked around to look at the animals. I don't think our kids were too excited with the animals because we took care of a lot of animals this summer and have "been there and done that." There are still good pictures to account for, so here we go.

At least we were together! The icing on the cake was going to Roy Rogers across the street for lunch. The kids are convinced it's "Rory Rogers."

Change In Plans

I'm not going to do a regular post tonight. I'll have one tomorrow, but really folks, I'm barely coming up for air lately. On top of the preschool class at co-op Mondays and Wednesdays, I am now teaching my church co-op preschoolers starting this Friday for 6 weeks. It would be great to just take a regular lesson plan from one and use it for the other, but I already signed up for a theme for the Friday co-op of Food, Fit, and Fun! So I have to teach about that. On top of all that, I have two doc appts on Friday. It's just that crazy guys. Forgive me...I know not what I do.

Eeeeeevvvvvooooooolllll!!!!

Since we've been talking about what Marley's learning to say, here's something else. We were talking about something. I don't remember. I said the word "evil" and then drew it out like the bad guy on Phineas and Ferb..."eeeevvvviiiillllll." Marley repeated it. We got it on tape because my family is turning into bloggers and cares about our audience.

What Marley Does For Fun

just in case you were wondering...



Gotta go now. Kevin is playing Halo while talking on the mic to his brother at his house. Marley's probably not going to get any sleep, and it's upsetting me. I'm heading upstairs. Later!

I know...I know...

I said I wasn't going to blog on Tuesdays, and I'm not. I think I have time to post pics that didn't make it to a post though, so that's what I'm going to do. Here are some good pics.

In case you're wondering where Rory is in all this...check this out. Remember when I said that we had a video of her shaking her bottom for ice skating? Here ya go!



One more thing, the above picture of Kevin and the kids was taken the day after his surgery. I just thought I'd mention that.

Kaelyn Bakes A Cake

My mom came up last Friday to help while Kevin was healing from his surgery. When my mom went to the store, Kaelyn asked her for some icing having found a cake mix in the cupboard. There was no occasion, but Kaelyn let on that sometimes she just likes to make different things...cakes...desserts...to play. So she played.


Here's what she ended up with.

It was good. Grandma had some say in what she should decorate for the cake, and grandma's favorite thing is butterflies. We ended up bring the cake down to Nana and Papa's and everyone had a piece for no reason whatsoever. It was fun!

***DISCRETION ADVISED***

Please be advised that this post is rated R for language.

Marley is an up and coming two-year-old talker. She is just learning the shapes and tones involved in forming a word. The latest word she is interested in saying is rock; however, it doesn't sound like rock. If you have small children, please be advised to turn your volume down for the following video.



Please make a note that Marley's daddy made this video. He is a firm believer in freedom of speech for his kids. It reminds me of that quote from Voltaire, "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." What a good daddy!

Doppelgangers

So I found this picture in my baby book after my eldest sister mentioned that Marley looks exactly like I did at her age. Below is a picture of me on the right, and here is Marley on the left. Pay no attention to my sister, who is trying to look like an angel.











Next...after talking to Kevin's, cousin's wife (got that?) she mentioned that Rory is a spitting image of her mother-in-law/Kevin's, father's sister. (got that?) My cousin-in-law found a picture of her mother-in-law when she was little, and by golly, the eyes and the forehead are spot on. We thought Rory's eyes were from Kevin, but this puts that myth to shame. Check this out!












Lastly...my sister and her eldest son. There's more...like Kevin and Logan are spot on with each other when Logan was a baby, but I didn't get that pic. Anyway, I will be the first to say that I don't see that much of a resemblance between my sister and her eldest son. Then I found this picture of her as a little girl, and if you take the pigtails off, it's Dale! OK, I know it's a bit of a stretch because I don't have the exact picture in mind to put on the blog, but I've seen that same expression on that boy's face that my sister is doing in the picture below. By the way, look at me. Aren't I so cute?

Pool

Way back when, my parents got a pool table. It takes up the whole back room that is decked out with black floors, black furniture including a bar (drinking one that is), and a bunch of odds and ends. (think "bachelor pad") The pool table has hardly ever been used. Maybe once or twice that I remember, but that's about it. Apparently my parents have been putting it to good use playing a couple games a week. When we went there for Labor Day weekend, my mom mentioned that maybe we would be interested in playing a game or two when the littles were asleep.

We started off with my mom and me playing. My parents play 9 ball, but I play 8 ball. Nine ball is when 9 balls are on the table and you shoot them in order. Eight ball is when all the balls are on the table, someone is solids, someone is stripes, and the 8 ball is the last to go in. Fulling assuming that my mom had played this way, we played 8 ball. We were going along and Kevin came out to watch. I was ahead by pure luck. My mom took a shot and got the 8 ball in. She looked at us all excited that she got a ball in and Kevin and I were wearing matching, shocked looks. It was pretty funny.

Kevin and I played next. For all of you that know Kevin, I don't have to tell you how that game went. I had to hear about how his shot was set up mathematically and so on and so forth. The end.

Kevin and Kaelyn played next. By this time I guess our laughing was enough to entice even a teenager. I disappeared at this point...probably eating something. :) I do know from certain bits of game time that Kaelyn was not a match for Kevin.

Kaelyn and my mom were up next. I think they had a good time. All either of them wanted was to get a ball in the pocket. It didn't matter what number, color or stripe it was. If they got it in, they celebrated. It was funny.


It was a pretty special time for everyone involved. Thanks for a great time!

By the way...Happy Birthday to my friend, Beckie. I hope it's a great one!

Sorry to Say

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you I will not be blogging on Tuesday nights anymore. It's only Tuesdays. I simply can't get it done with going to the gym and trying to get ready for co-op the next day. I will see you tomorrow night. Take care!

Reston Zoo

Way back when...a long time ago...Labor Day weekend...we went to my parents. It was nice staying there for the weekend because we got fed without having to cook, the kids had new toys to play with, and did I mention getting fed? My mom made us choi-pao which is my favorite Filipino dish. When we got there on Saturday, we were looking to get the kids out and about since it was such a nice day.(sunny and 70's) I remembered my sister telling me about Reston Zoo. It was a bit pricey, but my mom funded the expedition. We got admission tickets, a bucket of feed, and a baby lamb bottle.

This was the scene for feeding animals. This huge...barn...filled with animals.


I'm not sure what this thing is doing or how it got there.
Marley did NOT like feeding the animals.

This was the scene on our way back through. Where did the other one go and how did it get down?



Kaelyn thought this would be a good picture.

Rory was fascinated with these piglets.
Sorry, Nana.

We saw these guys on the wagon ride. They came right up to the thing. It was crazy.


People of the world, if I ever ask you to take my family's picture, can you PLEASE do a closer up than this? It drives me crazy!

Anyway, it was a great time! I would have never thought.