July 2010 – Page 2 – Our Family Adventure

Kensington

Today it was either an art fair in Plymouth or the petting farm at Kensington Park. Although I was all for the art fair (I haven’t been to one all summer!), I figured Ajax and Dave wouldn’t enjoy it that much so we headed to the park. We got there well before noon so it wasn’t too hot or crowded, which was nice. Ajax loves animals and had a great time. He saw piglets, lambs and ducks, and petted goats and sheep. While he was petting one goat, the goat’s ear twitched to shoo a fly away, well this action scared Ajax and he screamed, pulled his hand back and leapt back from the fence. It was pretty funny, you’d think the goat nipped at him or something.

Throughout the farm we kept pointing at the animals and then making their appropriate noise. Here was the running commentary throughout- oh Ajax looks a piggy, what does a piggy say- oink oink!! so on and so forth. Luckily every other person at the farm had a small nino too so the commentary was being repeated all over the farm. Ajax said goat a few times and sheep, but mostly kept referring to the animals as dogs.

After exploring the farm we found a shady spot by the lake and had the picnic lunch we’d brought. Ajax ate some fruit, but wasn’t too interested in eating the sandwich I’d made him but he had tons of fun throwing potato chips off the blanket. Oh well.

Brooklyn

Today I was off work again (I was actually only in the office one day this week, lol) so Ajax and I headed out to my parent’s house in Brooklyn. My mother-in-law, Dara, and her sister-in-law, Monie, and daughter, Emily, were at my parent’s house too, as Emily loves horses. I also had a cousin in from Colorado and he was out with his three kids as well. It was a full house.

Basically we spent the entire day down at the barn – playing with horses and buckets of water; chasing cats and petting dogs. I didn’t even bother trying to get Ajax down for a nap because he was so wound up. We had a great day and were home by 4:30, just in time to meet the husband.

I didn’t get many pictures as I ran up to the house and then left my camera up there, but here’s what I got- my dad and Ajax cutting the grass. Ajax loves to ride on things and we had a hard time getting him off the tractor.

Cookie Monster

Dave turned around for two seconds and Ajax found the cookies (Annie’s graham crackers) in the bottom cabinet. For some reason he’s never really played with them so I had forgotten I’d put them there. Dave said he ate two and then turned the box upside down and stomped on the rest. Of course Dave had time to take a picture after laughing, but not fast enough to save the cookies from little man’s feet.

Heat wave

Michigan is officially under a heat wave advisory. At 7 am the weather channel was reporting record highs- I believe it was in the 80s.

I had today off and was therefore able to take Ajax to his baby class in Allen Park. Ajax was great and I was so happy to take him. He played well and was content the entire time. The class was composed of all boys (all about Ajax’s age) and of course there were a few pushing matches, but nothing serious. After class we went to my grandpa Nader’s house with my aunt Terri for lunch. After lunch we stopped by a small fruit market, where I purchased my first mango, and then headed home for nap time.

We tried to play a little outside after Ajax got up from his afternoon nap, but we only lasted a total of 30 minutes. It was just too hot to be outside. As I’ve commented numerous times- what odd weather.

DSCN2902 — This is Ajax last fourth of july! Look how small he was.

Anytime Calzone Dough

My sister-in-law, Theresa, asked for the calzone recipe, so here it is! I originally got the dough recipe from Better Homes and Gardens and have been using it since August 2005- still a winner!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon dry active yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups warm water

5 cups flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon salt

Here’s what ya do:

In a large bowl combine the yeast and sugar. Pour warm water over all. Let stand 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon stir in 2 cups flour, olive oil, and salt (you could also add basil or oregano). Stir in as much flour as you can. Kneed in remaining flour. Dough should be moderately stiff; 6-8 minutes.

Shape dough into a ball; place in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise four 40 minutes or until about double in size. Punch down dough. Turn out onto a floured surface. Divide into 10 equal portions; let rest. Roll dough into 7 in round portions.

To use right away- fill the dough with whatever you want. I usually do pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and ham. But you can add whatever you want. Fold over and pinch the edges together. Brush edges and calzone with a beaten egg. Then cook for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees (or till done).

Eat right away or freeze for the future!

Sprinklers and watermelon

Today it’s supposed to be another scorcher. Channel Two said 105 with the heat index. I weeded the garden this morning around 10 am, but it was still ridiculously hot. We have tons of tomatoes and beans coming in, and the zucchini, cucumbers, and squash are starting to grow. How exciting.

To help Ajax beat the heat we pulled out the sprinkler. He was pretty hesitant at first and basically it was Dave and I both holding him running through it, but then he worked up a bit more courage and walked through it on his own and then thought it was fun to grab the sprinkler head and push it back and forth.

After the sprinkler fun Ajax relaxed with Dave and I and ate watermelon. What a perfect summer day.

DSCN6063 — Safe distance, checking things out.

DSCN6070 — He didn't want to let go of my hand. It was cute.

DSCN6052 — I haven't run through a sprinkler in years and I must admit it was pretty fun.

DSCN6086 — Serious student of water sprinklers.

DSCN6089 — Does anything scream more than cold watermelon?

DSCN6092 — Ajax loves this little chair which we put up next to the patio set with us.

Home Turf – Fourth of July

There is just something about stepping off a plane and blasting into your home terminal. It’s a sense of calm and confidence, and the feeling that you are not the tourist/visitor/businessman from out of town. I don’t travel often by any stretch of the imagination, but I have accumulated a modest amount of miles. This is how I felt when I walked off the plane into Metro- home.

Yesterday I returned from a four day trip to Washington D.C., where I attended the annual immigration attorney conference (a must as far as continuing education goes). I was in class most of the time and that left almost zero free time to see some of the sights, which was a shame as we were near Mt. Vernon and I’ve never been. Oh well, the discussion regarding advance issues in citizenship will help me far more in the long run than seeing the home of George Washington… right?

While I was gone Dara was kind of enough to come down and babysit Ajax (thank you!). Word on the street is that the pair had a great time and even ventured an excursion to Ikea. While I was gone Ajax seems to have changed immensely. He has three new teeth and his hair is longer (Dave is urging for a hair cut). Ajax has also fixed “bye bye” onto almost everything. For example – bye bye mama, bye bye dada. He also now says – bye bye squirrel, bye bye kitty, and bye bye diaper (he will then take his stinky diaper and throw it away). How crazy is that?

We attended a Fourth of July BBQ yesterday and today we’re relaxing. It’s 100 degrees outside with the heat index and I’m exhausted. There are things going on around town, but I’m just happy being home with my guys. Our only plans include a watermelon and steaks on the grill.