How to Make Fondue

with lots of cheese of course

Good Cooking

A few years ago, Santa gave Brian a Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Grilling. This has pretty much been our cooking bible for some time. We've had maybe one or two recipes that we thought, as Ben would say "yucky". So I recently came across a Better Homes and Gardens Kid Favorites Made Healthy and thought it was worth a try. Here was the first one we tried. It was darn good and the leftovers were too.

Sloppy Salsa Joe's
1 lb ground beef (we used ground chicken for ours)
1/2 c chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 c zucchini
1 c yellow squash
1 cup sliced mushroom
1 pepper (we used yellow)
1 16 oz jar salsa
1 t dried basil
1/2 t dried parsley
1/2 t dried crushed rosemary
6 to 8 buns

1. In a large skillet cook ground beef, onion, & garlic over med-high heat until meat is brown. Drain off fat. (Not necessary if you use chicken.) Stir in zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and pepper. Cook, covered over low heat for 5-7 minutes or until veggies are tender.

2. Stir in salsa, basil, parsley, & rosemary. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered, about 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Serve on toasted rolls.

Go Nate!

Speaking of Hockey…

Brian has been playing on three hockey teams now. (I think he is also trying to regain his pre-children figure.) Anyway he took a stick to the mouth last night and here's what happened. Now when I say he took a stick to the mouth, it's not in a rough and tumble hockey-check kind of way; instead, one his teammates who isn't a very good player fell and his stick went flying in the air and landed in Brian's mouth. Ultimately, he broke two of his bottom teeth. So because Brian was between dentists right now, he had to call his friend's dentist. (The man is on his third dentist since we moved here.) He had his first appointment this morning and they did a root canal and put on a temporary cap. He will have to go back for two more appointments before it's finally fixed. I'm pretty sure he spent the entire time at the bar last night practicing a smile that doesn't show any bottom teeth, since of course we have family photos in two weeks.

Neil's Decorated Room

Here's Neil's room with the new paint job and his new decor. We also have some hats to put up, but we still haven't found the right hooks for that project. I think if you double click on the photo you can see Neil's name better. The letters are mounted hockey pucks. Now were just hoping he continues to like hockey.

Fall Festival

Today Ben's school had their fall festival. Neil and I were able to attend. Neil was pretty excited about going to Ben's school, but he was very disappointed that it was not on Ben's bus. At school we got to watch a magician preform; paint with corn cobs, apples, and paint daubers; as well as make and eat trail mix. I think all of the Rodens agreed that the trail mix was the best part of the day. Neil managed to watch more of the magic show than Ben, but was bothered that the magician didn't share any of his toys with him despite standing with his arms out saying 'please' for most of the performance.

I Believe I Can Fly…

But I can't.

Sunday morning we went to the nature preserve near us so I could run and the boys could walk and explore. After my run, Ben and I decided to have a race. While Ben and I were up ahead, Neil decided to test his flying ability. He was sitting in the front seat of the stroller and just jumped off. So, he landed face first onto the pavement. He has a goose egg on his forehead and we think his nose might be broken (not sure it, didn't bleed much). Two lessons were learned today: Neil now knows he can't fly; and Brian now knows to always strap the boys in the stroller's front seat.

More presents

Today after MOPS we were surprised with a package for Neil from Aunt Donna & Uncle Dan. The boys had great fun playing hockey with their new net. Luckily assembly was a breeze, cause assembly is not mamas department. Of course they prefer the cool Blackhawk's sticks that were included instead of the plain ones.










This sticker is all I need to ship him off right?

Neil's 2nd Birthday

For Neil's birthday he got to open presents before dinner. It's always good to have something new to amuse the boys before dinnertime, not that they eat dinner, but they act like they're hungry. I hoping Neil gets the hang of present opening by Christmas, otherwise Ben is going to be very busy. And yes, that is pink polka dot paper you see in the picture, other presents featured baby shower and craft shipping paper. Why I have two boys and not little boy wrapping paper is somewhat of a mystery to me every birthday.

Neil was blessed with two contributions to his college fund. (Busia refers to this as his 'running away money'. I like to think of it as my ticket to freedom.) He also received a gator golf game, cool cars book, green antique car, sponge bob car, and a race car ramp. Ben thought all of the gifts were good.

After dinner we had train birthday cake. Our gift to Neil was letting him have some cake, even though he didn't finish his dinner. Ben did finish his dinner so he got two pieces. Busia and Papa called the help us sing Happy Birthday and Sto Lat.

Neil got two birthday cards this year. We had a good laugh cause they happened to be the same elephant card.