Month: October 2011

Good moods and sleep

So something has apparently clicked and Ajax is back to being a very happy nino.  He’s now eating very well and sleeping through the night again.   It’s amazing how much happier we all are when we sleep, lol.

Tonight for dinner Ajax ate tandoori chicken and saffron rice and apple sauce.  Between bites he said, “when I was a baby…”  I said, “yes, when you were a baby?”  He said, “yea, when I was a baby I played with toys.”  I said, “yes, you did play with toys.  Do you know what your favorite toy was?”  He said, “no.  What was it?”  Dave and I then explained how his favorite toy was his train.  We explained how it would run in circles and then we even sang the little song that it played.  Yes, that’s how much he loved that toy.  Ajax seemed genuinely interested in us telling him about the train and when he was a baby.  It was pretty funny.  Right now his favorite toys are his trucks, mostly centering on his John Deeres.  My aunt Terri just gave Ajax several more trucks for his collection and he is now in seventh heaven (thank you aunt Terri!).   Now, Ajax also says that he’s “working” and not “playing.”  He’s a big boy now.

There are currently two babies at the babysitter’s house and Ajax just loves them.  He’s very interested in other babies, but not so much if I’m holding one. lol.

Zombie Walk Detroit_ 2011

Today was our fourth trip to Zombie Walk Detroit!

Our plan got a bit side tracked as my sister and her friend came in from Brooklyn to go with us, however, the walk was rescheduled to a later time and they weren’t able to stay for the event.  Because they were in town though we made the most of our time and went to my grandpa Nader’s house for lunch.  Dave stayed home to get some work done.   Ajax did very well and had a lot of fun playing with his aunt Emily.   After my grandpa’s house, Emily and her friend headed home and I took Ajax home to nap.

My cousin, DJ, came over to our house and went to the walk with us.   This year it was in Royal Oak, not as cool as Detroit.  The starting place was a park so Ajax was pretty much set.  I watched him as he played and Dave ran around taking pictures and mingling with the undead.  There was a good turn out this year.  I was wondering how Ajax would handle the makeup and characters this year, but he didn’t care in the least.  This really is a very good family event and there were a ton of kids for him to play with.  The goal of the walk isn’t to scare anyone, though the zombies did attack a Channel Seven news van. lol.

Dave took a lot more pictures that I’ll share later.

Ajax swinging watching the large crowd gathering.
Good times.
Running wild.

Meijer Shopping Trip

Today I went grocery shopping and did so well I just thought I’d share!  I honestly haven’t done a real shopping trip in a month, we were running mighty low on many things.

My total before coupons was $96.60.  After coupons/savings I paid $54.52!

ta da
playing under the table.
Adventure nino.

Fire Departments and Chili

Today didn’t really turn out like Dave or I expected.  Ajax woke up at exactly 6 am and so we began our day.   Dave woke up with a terrible headache, which over the course of our running around started turning into a migraine.   After hitting up two stores I took Dave home to lay down.

As I wanted to give Dave as much quiet time as possible I noticed that Garden City was having a little fair.  Specifically, the fire department was having a open house along with a chili cook off.  Bingo!   Ajax and I drove the one mile to the fire dept. to explore.   There was a lot going on and Ajax was a bit overwhelmed.  He also wanted to see everything at once and I had a hard time keeping him next to me.  I can’t really blame him, I mean firemen, water hoses, and fire engines – that’s just too much for one little nino.   Ajax got to sit on a fire truck, which he thought was pretty cool, and he also got to “man” a fire hose.  This took him a very long time to work up the courage to stand next to the fireman to do it.  He watched several kids do it and then attempted to walk up to do it himself, but it took him three tries before he finally succeeded.  He was so shy.  He wouldn’t even let me do it with him.  He decided it was either going to be him doing it all or nothing.  I didn’t force him and we just stood there watching other kids for quite some time.

There was also a tractor ride that took us down a few blocks to the chili cook off.   The event actually had a lot going on.  There was food, live music, a petting zoo, horse rides, and an antique  car/motorcycle show.   Again, Ajax was besides himself.   He greeted all the animals, though he kept trying to get into the cage with the bunnies, lol, and he went for a horse ride.  At first when I put him in the saddle, I stood there and asked if he wanted me to walk next to him.  He immediately shrugged my hand off and said, no momma.

We ate hot dogs and listened to a band.  Ajax loved the live music, though I couldn’t really hear what he was saying during the set, as the music was too loud (that didn’t stop him from talking and talking).   Overall, it was a great time.  When we got home Ajax went down for a nap and Dave was actually feeling much better.  I’m glad the quiet did him some good, but we definitely missed him during our outing.

Sitting on the fire engine
He was so proud of himself once he finally did it
Sayin' hi
Thinking how he can get into the bunny cage
Riding the horse
Like a pro

Bit of acting out

Every now and then Ajax’s little boy characteristics really show through.  I’m not quite sure what’s gotten into him lately, but he’s really been a pistol.   He has an opinion about everything and lets you know it, at quite high volumes, he’s being a bit of a bossy pants, and has slipped back into hitting when he wants something.  Last night he also forgot how to sleep through the night; I got up with him at 2 am and Dave got up with him at 3.  Combine that with both Dave and I trading turns working late and we’ve got one tired household.

Our home is also under minor construction as we finish installing the door to our room.   My parents have offered to take Ajax when the door is complete so that Dave and I can go through the house in one sweep doing touch-up painting.   We’re totally on track to locate a realtor and get our house up for sale in January or February!

I don’t think that Ajax likes having the house torn up.   But he has been a wonderful helper cleaning up.  He’s a swiffer pro.

Wild Thing

As I know I’ve mentioned part of our nighttime routine involves story time.   Depending on how late it is Dave and/or I usually read Ajax one to three books.   Lately Ajax has been all about “Where the Wild Things Are.”  I think I’ve read it to him a handful of times now.  For the past few nights during dinner Ajax will abruptly stop eating and glare (yes glare) at Dave and I.  He’ll then pull his elbow into his chest and point at each of us, squinting, saying, You better eat up your food!  Now!   He’ll then glare at us some more and then bellow, Or I’m gonna eat you up!  Pointing at me he’ll say, I’m gonna eat you up momma!  Pointing at Dave he’ll say, I’m gonna eat you up daddy!  At this point, like any good parent, I try to scold him not to use such harsh language or point/yell at us during dinner, etc.    It really is so hard not to laugh and on more than one occasion I’ve had to stare up at the ceiling and let Dave handle the serious stuff.  But honestly, those lines are right out of his book and he knows it!

Waffles

My aunt Lynda asked me to share my waffle recipe, now that I’ve had time to try it out a bit I’m ready to share!  This recipe is from Money Saving Mom and I like it quite well.  It’s a whole wheat recipe and I recommend using a whole white wheat with it.  I buy the King Arthur brand and find it to be a high quality wheat with a good taste.  I like this flour because it still has the nutritional content of the darker whole wheat, but it’s lighter and has a finer consistency.  I like this site talking about the difference between the dark whole wheat and the lighter version.  Until recently I didn’t know the difference – Heavenly Homemakers.

Whole Wheat Waffles

  • 1 3/4 C whole wheat (I double this recipe and use primarily whole wheat, but I do use some refined white flout as well)
  • 2 Tbl sugar
  • 1 Tbl baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 3/4 C milk (use 1/2 water and 1/2 milk)
  • 1/2 C oil or melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • A little cinnamon
  • Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl, and the wet ingredients another.  Mix the two together, stirring well.
  • Add mixture to your waffle maker according to the directions.  Mine takes about a 1/2 C per waffle and I cook it on high for about 10 minutes (or until the thing stops steaming).
  • These freeze great, that’s why I make a double batch.  I let them cool and then just put them into ziplock bags.  In the morning I just pop them into the toaster, so good!

Doors and Apples

Today the work continued at our house.  Ajax spent a good part of his day at Ikea with Grandma Dara, while Dave and his dad worked on putting up the dry wall and mudding.  I painted the door casing and stained our 6 panel pine door.

I never realized how nice it would be to have a door to our bedroom, but I think I love it.  It’s funny how you live in a house for years, but never finish it until you’re ready to move, lol.

I’m a little concerned how Ajax will do when we do eventually move.  I know that kids are resilient; however, he is a child that needs his routine.  It takes him quite a while when something in our routine changes and I’m hoping the transition will be as smooth as possible for him.

I also was able to put up 11 quarts of apple sauce from our apple picking adventure.  I used almost the entire bushel, but set some aside for eating and I also want to make a few pies.  I didn’t really get how many apples a bushel was and after spending a very long time peeling the apples Dave collected me and took me to buy a grinder attachment for my mixer.  We also tried to find the veg/fruit strainer attachment and went to 4 different stores, but none had it.  I’ll have to order it online.

 

Construction project cont.

What a hectic week.   Seems I’ve had to work late more often than not lately as we recently lost our secretary.  It’s been rough and the guys have eaten lots of eggs for dinner.   Today Dave’s parents came down and my dad came in so that we could install a door at the bottom or our stairs so that we can list our house as a two bedroom.   It’s been a busy day.

Ajax also finally discovered that nothing horrible/terrible would happen to him if got out of bed at night without mom or dad present.  It was about 5 am when Dave and I heard a loud thump.  I flipped out of bed and ran down the stairs to find my little man standing in the kitchen.  As soon as he saw me he said, I’m all done sleeping now mom.  He then ran into the living room and climbed onto the couch, I’m all done!  I said, oh no you’re not!  I then picked him up and put him back into bed.  He actually didn’t fuss too much over this and did in fact go back to sleep.  He’s only done it once, but I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Dave got a new chair and Ajax was very excited over the box.

I found this great deal on diapers while at Kroger.  I was so excited that I was almost giddy.  I kept trying to tell other patrons about the deal… but maybe they didn’t have kids because they didn’t seem to interested.

Pampers diapers (128 ct) – regularly $25.49, on clearance for $12.79.  Then I also had a $1.50 coupon, making them $11.29!  So of course I bought two, yea.