The All-Green St. Patrick’s Day Meal

For the first 32 years of my life, I teased my mom about the St. Patrick’s Day meal that she presented to us every year. I know some families do corned beef and cabbage for their traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal. Being of Polish descent, corned beef and cabbage was not exactly unusual enough for the day. No, my mom did the all-green meal. And when I say “all green,” it was truly all green. It was always hilarious to me how much time she spent rounding up so many green things. (And what she couldn’t FIND green, she MADE green!)

What happened at that 32-year mark of my life? Why did I no longer tease my mother? I became a mother. I now completely understand the amusement of going up and down every aisle in the grocery store finding green items for the St. Patrick’s Day meal. I understand the entertainment of presenting my child with a plate of green food (on green plates on a green tablecloth with a green shamrock centerpiece and green shamrock napkins). I also understand that when my child says, “You have GOT to be kidding me,” what he really means is, “That’s so cool that you took the time to put this hilarious meal together. You must really love me.” To be perfectly honest, that’s what I really meant when I teased my mom, too.

Farmington Bay

Wednesday I took my cub scouts (and Ryan – not yet an official cub scout) to Farmington Bay. The last time our family was there (for Bald Eagle Day), we drove around on snow-packed roads. Wednesday was a beautiful Spring day. The snow had melted and the weather was warm.

We started with a presentation by the wildlife conservation officer, then spent some time viewing birds through binoculars and scopes from the viewing deck. We again had the opportunity to drive around the bay to view all of the birds closer to the water. We saw about a dozen different types of birds, and the boys loved it.

I took a bunch of pictures, but these are my two favorites.

A Typical Conversation with My Child

Ryan and I read from three books together every night, one of them being whichever Magic Tree House book we’re on. We are now up to #18 – “Buffalo Before Breakfast.” Here was some of tonight’s conversation after we read:

“Mom, what’s buckskin? Oh, wait! Isn’t that what Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett wore? Like animal skin?”

“Yes.”

“Mom, who’s on the ten dollar bill?”

“Alexander Hamilton.”

“Was he the prophet when Davy Crockett was alive?”

“You mean the president of the United States?”

“Oh, yea, the president, not the prophet. No, wait, that wasn’t Alexander Hamilton, that was Andrew Jackson. Which dollar bill is he on?”

“The twenty.”

“Oh, yea, the twenty. I know what I can do instead of Mississippi now. Banana!”

“You mean when you count?”

“Yea!”

My family was laughing at Ryan and me the other day. We were having a similarly patterned conversation, and no one had any idea what Ryan was talking about, yet I understood him perfectly. They thought it was pretty funny that I needed to be Ryan’s interpreter. We decided that it’s kind of like when babies are learning to talk. Their own mothers understand them perfectly, but to others (even other mothers), it’s all jibberish.

Another One!

Sydni sent me this “tagging” questionnaire today. I actually really love these, I just always feel guilty passing them on. So, here’s the deal…I’ll post my answers, but won’t “tag” anyone specific. If you read this & want to play along, just post your answers on your own blog, and let us know in the comments of mine. Then we can all go and read them. How’s that?

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning?
The middle of the night - couldn't sleep
2. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Does IMAX 3-D count? Those were my last three.
4. What is your favorite TV show?
CSI Las Vegas
5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
Pumpkin seed/flaxseed granola with fresh blueberries and soy milk. Mmmmm!
6. What is your middle name?
Kaye
7. What food do you dislike?
Gritty seafood (I know, now you all dislike it.)
8. Your favorite CD at moment?
Tabernacle Choir – Then Sings My Soul
9. What kind of car do you drive?
Honda Pilot
10. Favorite sandwich?
Turkey avocado
11. What characteristic do you despise?
Deceit
12. Favorite item of clothing?
Suede skirt
13. If you could go anywhere in the world, on vacation, where would you go?
Paris
14. Favorite brand of clothing?
Coldwater Creek
15. Where would you retire to?
Kauai, Hawaii
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
Last year – went to General Conference on my 40th birthday.
17. Favorite sport to watch?
Football
18. Furthest place you are sending this?
Maryland, Florida, Hawaii
19. When is your birthday?
October 7
20. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Night
21. What is your shoe size?
7 1/2
22. Pets?
None
23. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
Nope
24. What did you want to be when you were little?
A mom and a teacher. (Isn’t it great how that worked out?)
25. How are you today?
Tired
26. What is your favorite candy?
Anything chocolate
27. What is your favorite flower?
Daffodils and daisies
28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
April 23 – leave for Hawaii
29. What is your full name?
Melanie Kaye Inman Olson
30. What are you listening to right now?
Birds outside :)
31. What was the last thing you ate?
Grilled chicken salad
32. Do you wish on stars?
No
33. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Forest Green
34. How is the weather right now?
Springy
35. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
One of my students
36. Favorite soft drink?
Don’t drink soft drinks
37. Favorite restaurant?
ThaiFoon or Rino’s
38. Hair color?
Reddish brown
39. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Any doll with her own wardrobe
40. Summer or winter?
Summer
41. Hugs or Kisses?
Both!
42. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate
43. Coffee or Tea?
Neither
44. The last time you cried?
Today
45. What is under your bed?
My violin
46. What did you do last night?
Family Home Evening, homework, talked on the phone
47. What are you afraid of?
Anything happening to Ryan
48. Salty or Sweet?
It depends on what & when
49. How many keys on your keyring?
5
50. How many years at your current job?
3 1/2
51. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday
52. How many towns have you lived in?
8
53. Do you make friends easily?
Yes
54. Fondest memories?
Childhood family vacations, Ryan’s birth, recent family vacations (especially Italy and Hawaii)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I am so lucky to have such an awesome dad! Being that I’m his only daughter, we have always had a very special relationship. He has always provided me with the guidance, direction, support, encouragement, and love that I have needed. Especially the past six years, I have relied on his wisdom, his insights, his blessings, and his unconditional love. I don’t know how I would have made it through the past few years without him. I am so proud to be his daughter.

Here are the highlights of the day:

As most of you know, Ryan has a talent for pulling his loose teeth on special days or in cool places. Last year he pulled a tooth on my dad's birthday. Well, this afternoon we went to Deseret Book to grab a couple of books for my dad. As we were walking in, Ryan said, “Mom, did you know that I have another loose tooth?” He went to look at some of the kids’ books while I got the books for my dad. A few minutes later, Ryan came up to me holding his tooth in his hand, with this big grin on his face. He immediately called Papa to tell him that he not only pulled ANOTHER tooth on ANOTHER birthday, but that he pulled it in Deseret Book. What a crack up!

Our family celebrated Papa’s 67th birthday at Ruth’s Chris Steak House for dinner. None of us had ever been there before. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. Normally, steak is not at the top of my favorite foods list, but this was good stuff. If that’s how steak was every time, I’d definitely eat it more often. I, of course, had the “surf and turf.” I got my steak “Louie” style with crab, asparagus, and béarnaise sauce, with shrimp on the side. Mmmmmm!!! It’s always fun to be together as a family and to catch up with everything that is going on with everybody.

I hope you had a great day, Dad! I love you!

…And My Little Naturalist

So, approximately 12 hours after I wrote the previous post about Ryan’s rough-and-tumble ways, he did the cutest thing that I have to share.

This morning, he was ready to go before I was. He was anxious to get outside, so I told him to go ahead and go outside and wait for me, that I would just be another minute. He went outside, leaving the door open. As I was putting on my shoes and coat, I could hear him having a little conversation with a chickadee. Ryan knows several bird calls, and “talks” with the quail and chickadees in our yard quite frequently. So, this morning, he would whistle to the chickadee, and the chickadee would answer. It was so cute that I just stood by the door where he couldn’t see me and listened for a while.

As I walked out the door, he said (to the chickadee), “I’d love to stay and talk longer, but I have to go to school.” He has made a new friend. :)

My All-Boy Boy and His Chipped Tooth

From the time Ryan was just a baby, he has been SUCH a boy! He was drawn to any ball, truck, car, tool, or thing that made noise from the time he was tiny. He has also always been very physical, athletic, and competitive. When we made our first trip to the emergency room at about 15 months of age for a gash in the forehead (yes, Melissa, we’ve also done the Harry Potter scars), I had the feeling that was just the beginning of my trips to the emergency room with him. Luckily, we’ve done pretty well so far.

Ryan loves to wrestle with anyone who is willing. No, let me rephrase that…with anyone who will allow it. Most of us aren’t exactly willing. (Although Marc and Ryan have played “Smash the Baby” – their version of steamroller – since Ryan was about 2, and Marc seems to enjoy it as much as Ryan.) Ryan’s latest show of love for me is a new addition to his bedtime routine. After we say his prayers, while I’m still kneeling, he says, “Mom, be strong!” Then he gets a running start, hits me full-on, and tries to knock me over. I’m not kidding. I’ve been going to the gym pretty regularly for quite a while now, so I can usually stay up. Unfortunately, this only encourages him to try another run at it. This fun little activity is then repeated until I finally fall over in agony. This has been going on for about a month now. Don’t ask me why I didn’t stop it the first time. I guess it didn’t occur to me that it would become part of our nightly routine!

So…in P.E. at school, Ryan’s class was playing a team relay game with bowling pins. Again, let me mention how competitive Ryan is. Apparently he was the last person on his team to go through the relay. He ended up winning the game for his team. Several of his friends then dog-piled him in celebration. In all of the celebratory roughhousing, one of his front teeth got chipped. He didn’t notice until later, when the sharp edge gouged his tongue. It’s a good thing our bishop is our dentist! It looks like we'll be making a visit soon.