The One Where I Actually Cook

Yesterday was a fairly typical Sunday afternoon. It was cooler and drizzly, so no chance of going to the pool.

Instead, Eliza Grace played Wii 's Littlest Pet Shop so long that I had to pry the controller from her hands and warn her that if she did not stop her eyes would fall out.

"Ok, ok...and I know my eyes will not really fall out... right?"

Will was sent to the "no-no" couch at least twice, once for hitting Scott with a plastic baseball bat - not a good behavior day for Will.

This is Will writhing in pitiful angst during his torturous time on the couch....

...and then he realized I had my camera.

As for me, well I decided to try a Bread Pudding recipe billed as THE recipe for people who don't really like bread pudding. I was a little skeptical at first as I read through the instructions....until I came upon the Whiskey Cream Sauce that is supposed to be spooned on top.

Ok, seriously, I think I would eat just about anything with the following ingredients warmed and spooned
on to of it:

So I got to mixing, cut up my sour dough bread and poured the milk, egg, butter, sugar and (real Haitian) vanilla mixture all over it.

Here's a close up....already looks good and it is not even cooked it yet!

55 minutes later it was toasty brown and bubbly!

The verdict? Eliza Grace summed it up best when she said, "I like the flavor but I don't like the texture." I agree.

The pudding-er (made-up word, I know) parts under the crusty top had an oatmeal-ish texture and I really do not like oatmeal. And neither do my children. As infants they barely tolerated rice cereal and they both absolutely refused to eat oatmeal of any kind. I totally understand!

However, the crustier parts were really good, because, well, they were drenched in warm Whiskey Cream sauce, duh!

Now Scott and I are plotting what to pour the sauce on next...I say vanilla ice cream!

Eliza Grace...whatcha doin'?

Eliza Grace...Eliza Grace....ELIZA GRACE!!

What?!

Whatcha doin?

Playing my Leapster

Can I play?

No!

Can I watch?

Yes...now please be quiet.

(Sigh)

(Sigh)

I'm bored

Well just sit there and suck your thumb

(Sigh)

Ok

More Classics from the Scoob

Eliza Grace pleaded with me to record her singing her "newest" favorite song.

She had been sneezing all day (have no clue why) so her eyes and nose were sort of swollen but she managed to belt it out.

You may want to turn your volume DOWN, as she gets a wee bit loud on the second line :)

Maybe We Could Sell It?

Eliza Grace and I LOVE tomato sandwiches. But, as you may already know, tomatoes at the grocery store are really expensive....especially if you want the big, deep red, vine-riped kind.

So, after seeing the commercials for weeks, and listening to Eliza Grace pine away for tomato sandwiches, Scott went out and bought the "as seen on TV" hanging vegetable planter.

We bought a small tomato plant, Scott planted it and then hung it up.

And we waited. And we watered. And we waited.

And, low and behold...a bud!

Just one.

Every morning and every evening the kids rushed to see the progress of our one single tomato. From tiny yellow flower to green little ball then orange then red.

The whole point was to grow our own Big Boy tomatoes, thereby saving all kinds of money at the grocery store. Well, I don't think that's gonna happen.

Hanging Vegetable planter = $9.00

Already sprouted small tomato plant = $3.00

One single small tomato = Not so priceless.

$12.00 + the miracle grow we threw in there for one, single, less-than-a-half-a-pound tomato. I could have

bought about 4 pounds of tomatoes at the store for the same money.

I mentioned the above in front of Eliza Grace, and, always thinking, she said, "maybe we could sell it?"

No way! We will pick that tomato, slice it carefully, gently sprinkle it with kosher salt...and have enough for

each of us to have one whole bite.

**Addendum to the post above - We picked the tomato,

sliced it in quarters and each had one small bite. It was delicious!**

To Prove My Earlier Point...

...Eliza Grace knew darn well I was filming her.

Which is why, despite forgetting the words a bit,
she managed to finish strong for her audience!

Will sings....

...the Scooby Doo theme song.

Unlike his sister, if he had had any idea I was taping him, he would have stopped immediately.

Just goes to show you, the classics never die!

Moments in Time

The portraits we had done in May are in!

Our family.

Our little man.

Both our munchkins.

Yes, I took pictures of pictures. They look even better in real life :)

Barracudas + Sharpies

In the suburban Cary/Apex area of North Carolina, there lives a beast that arrives each summer: the neighborhood swim team!

As members of the Brookstone Barracudas, we are deeply entrenched in this summer activity. Let me take you through typical Tuesday evening activities in ridiculous pictorial detail!

First, stake out your spot on the pool deck with your respective age group (these scenes compliments of the 7 & 8 year old girls)

Next, pull out all the games and activity books you hauled along that will be completely ignored as soon as the girls start playing hand games (Miss Mary Mac-Mac-Mac, all dressed in black-black-black....), giggling and generally acting their age.

Then, allow an adult, whom you barely know, draw on your child with a permanent marker.

Try to ignore it when one of the girls takes the marker and starts writing things like "Eat My Bubbles" and "Barracuda Bite!" all over your child.

Next, and this is extremely crucial, quickly get in line at the concession stand before all of the ring pops, pizza slices and snow cones are gone and all you are left with is Laffy Taffy - ick!

Although Will is just a spectator, you can see he has fully embraced this part of the process!

As has his sister...

Wait, what are we doing here again? Oh, that's right, it is a swim meet. So, after warm ups, pizza, snow cones, and a fairly significant quantity of sugar, these kids are ready to hit the water. First, ala Michael Phelps, you have to get your arms loosened up.

Make sure your goggles are on nice and tight - you don't want the Phelps goggle malfunction!

Then.....a moment of deep concentration. Can you see it on her face? That's it! She has it! The eye of the tiger...grrrrr! Well, either that or she is patiently waiting to be told to step up. But I am going with the tiger thing.

Event: Backstroke.
"Swimmers, take the water"

"On Your Mark"

"HOOONK"

And she's off!

Typical post-event conversation:

"Mommy, how did I do?"

"You weren't last!!"

"Yea! I wasn't last!!"

Ah, how we Hughes reach for the stars!

Then, sometime between 9 and 10 pm, we take our little tigers home, where they pass out on their beds from sheer exhaustion and the down side of the sugar high.

"Mommy, now can I have some Sour Patch straws?"

Of course, you know...we love all of it!

1st day of 2nd grade!

Gee whiz - didn't I just post pictures of Eliza Grace on the first day of FIRST GRADE??

Well, here we are again...the start of another year round school year. The four week break was nice but now we are back at it and counting down the next nine weeks until we track out again and head to Kiawah!

Here is my lovely little lady in her new dress from Lands End. I love their clothes, especially when they are 50% off with free shipping!

Fabulous 4th

We celebrated Independence Day with the Dusek clan with hours by the pool, yummy food and fireworks.

Will was really in the spirit!

The Four Musketeers: Jacob(7), Eliza Grace(7), Isaac(4), Will(3)

His Father's son...in 2 very distinct ways

Despite the fact that he pretty much looks exactly like
his father, below is evidence that solidifies beyond a shadow of a doubt that Will is most definitely Scott's son.

#1. A love of Rush ( in this case, the band...not the talk show host). Will is working toward his Geddy Lee status (yes, I know Geddy mostly plays the Bass but this is close enough).

#2. They dance alike:

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Will crossed a big hurdle this week! He took the plunge and now he can swim under water like a big kid.

We are so proud of him and he is very proud of himself. See for yourself!

PS- I LOVE that you can hear Eliza Grace in the
background cheering her brother on!

After the Hop

Here are a few pics of Eliza Grace before, during and after her recital.

Waiting to begin the "Kiss the Girl" production number.

Oh, my, those beautiful blue eyes!

After nearly 3 hours of recital performances, Scott, Grandmommy & I were all ready to go home. Eliza Grace, however, was still revved up and apparently channeling her inner "Karate Kid," a movie I know she has never even seen!

Let's Go To The Hop!

Well, another year of tap dancing has come to a close. As usual, around March, Eliza Grace (and I!) became fairly tired of the weekly classes and she was fine not doing dance next year. We had pretty much decided that she would do a year-round swim/stroke school on a weekly basis instead.

But oh, the lure of those dang costumes! Once she tried on her costume, the visions of being on the stage, under the lights, with a full house applauding her - well, she was a goner. I am currently looking up the schedule for next year's classes.

Her tap class this year only had six girls so they had a lot more one on one attention than they normally would. Good thing for Eliza Grace :)

Their routine was adorable. The show theme was the Little Mermaid. They were "frogs" and did their dance to the song "Let's Go To The Hop."

Below are two little video snippets. The whole thing would take way too long to upload so I broke it out into my two most favorite parts. I wish I had been dead center of the stage because her finishing pose and smile is just so incredibly adorable!!

In case you cannot tell, Eliza Grace is the second from the left. I recorded this during the dress rehearsal because video recordings are "strictly forbidden" during the live performance (which means you are forced to purchase the DVD they record for a mere $40 a pop!)

So here she is, my little frog, tapping her way to the hop!

Family of Wolves...

I forgot to post these pics from our trip to the Great Wolf Lodge three weeks ago. Those giant wolf statues were just begging to be climbed. 

The Daniel Family (plus somehow my kiddos wiggled their way into their family photo)

Us (duh!)

Will, pretending to be a wolf pup

Eliza Grace, apparently not concerned about being eaten.

Nana and my puddin's

Real Men....

Scene:
Hughes kitchen, dinner time. Will, squealing with delight, scrambles into his chair.

I had to stop him after 2 and a half slices because
I was a little nervous about potential gastric issues.
Last time we had quiche I did not monitor his intake,
and there was some serious gaseous backlash!

Spidey saves the day...well at least he tries!

Let's face it, Eliza Grace is a performer. Lately she is into creating "shows" that I am both required to attend and record.

There are costumes involved. There are rehearsals.
She is serious about her craft.

Themes often revolve around her many stuffed  animals.

Will is typically cast in a supporting role. But, alas, he does not take direction well. Did I mention that Eliza Grace is the writer and director, too? A triple threat!

Neighborhood friends sometimes guest star. One time the entire thing was done as an opera. That one was a wee bit painful.

Lately she is branching out into serious drama. We have villians, victims and heros.

In the video below, Will actually has the staring role.
You will note that he plays the lead with understated
grace and raw emotion.

I have included the dialogue below because I did not
want you to miss a word!

[Scene: Spider Man running around in circles - literally - to help damsel in distress (and lets just skip the fact that she is apparently tied to a bed post, with a jump rope and a silk scarf - okthanksbyebyenow) ]

Damsel in distress: Help! Help! Help! Help!

(Spider Man checks the rope and the damsel)

Damsel in distress: Are you actually Spider Man?

Spider Man: Yeah

Damsel in distress: Great. Can you help me? The Joker accidentally got me instead of Batman because it was Halloween and I dressed up as Batman. (ok, so apparently this chick knows more than one super hero).

Spider Man: (trying hard to untie the rope) Grrr-ugh! Hey, maybe I can do it with my hand! (Spider Man takes off his gloves)

Damsel in distress: Great

Spider Man: Now my hand is not disappeared any more (Sidebar: Will thought his hands had disappeared when he put on the gloves)

Damsel in distress: (said at the same time as the dialogue above) Now will you untie it already?

Spider Man: It's hard to do this.

[End Scene]

Yes, that's right, Will, it is hard being a super hero.
But you can be mine any day!b

The Lodge

Last week, while Nana (Scott's mom) was in town for a visit, we headed up to Williamsburg, VA to catch up with Scott's sister and family who were in the area on vacation.

Of course we spent a couple of days at the Great Wolf Lodge and had a blast.

And now for the pile of videos!

Heading down to the water park:

Will climbing up the cargo net to access a water slide:

Will coming down all by himself:

Eliza Grace solo on the yellow Alberta Falls slide:

Eliza Grace & cousin Eric coming down Alberta Falls:

And this is how Will chills out (yes, one of his nicknames is "tag lova"):

Ok, I have tortured you enough with video
for one post.

But coming soon...Spider Man saves Eliza Grace...

Flippin' Out

So my company just bought another company...
for like the 110th time.

But this time I personally benefit! And so I immediately ordered my Hot Pink Flip video camera (with my 30% quarterly discount!)

I am sure you all are thrilled to know that I will be uploading all kinds of video on my blog going forward because the Flip just makes it so darn easy!

Eliza Grace decided she should be in my first video post - a shocking surprise, I know :)

Expect many more videos to come. I might even start video blogging.
vblogging?
vlogging?
Whatever...you get the point!

Now really...

...is she not just the cutest thing you have ever seen??

Eliza Grace Hughes, May 2009, age 7 (and a half...almost!)