Quinta dos Açores and another trip to the dentist

Today we had a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) field trip to Quinta dos Açores, which is a local beef/dairy producer here on the island. The company was started by a family that is very passionate about producing high quality, hormone/chemical free, organic, and environmentally friendly beef and dairy products. They are great at what they do! Their beef and ice cream is delicious! At the factory you can watch through glass windows the workers preparing and cutting the beef and making the yogurt and ice cream too. You can shop for products made in their factory as well as other products produced locally and only in the Azores. They have a restaurant where you can eat their yummy stuff as well.

On the way to the factory we were passing lots of cows and I asked Colin what cows give us. He said "milk." So then I asked what we can make with milk, to which he replied "chocolate milk!" I told him yes, we can make chocolate milk, and yogurt and ice cream and cheese. He cut me off right there and told me "No Mommy, cheese comes from the mice!" LOL I had to set him straight on that little fact without laughing too hard.

On the tour of the factory the lady was telling the kids about the cow statue in the lobby when Colin raised his hand and ever so politely said "'scuse me, when are you gonna be done talking?" At least he asked nicely right? LOL Oh man.

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Yesterday Colin was helping Shelby put some new fish and shrimp into the fish tank and Colin kept climbing up on the shelf where the tank is. Shelby kept telling him to get down and sit still, but we all know how well Colin listens. Sure enough Colin didn't listen. And he eventually fell. Face first of course. And knocked his front tooth loose, AGAIN. I swear this boy! The teeth had just firmed back up from when he ran into Lily at preschool in Germany and knocked them loose! I heard the smack on the tile from the kitchen and raced to the living room, hurdling couches, just in time to see him come up bloody and crying. Sure enough tooth is bleeding and a little wiggly, but it doesn't appear to be as bad as the first time he knocked them loose, and that time they didn't do anything when we took him to the ER, so we just gave him a popsicle and let him calm down. He seemed fine.

So today at lunch we check his took again and it looks a little bit lower than his other front tooth and seems more wiggly than earlier. So we called the dentist, who fit us in to check it out. He thinks it will be ok. He did an x-ray and it didn't show a fracture or a crack up under the gum, so hopefully it isn't broken. He does want to see him back in a month to follow up. This boy is just determined to knock out his teeth!

Yoga

We can add that to the (long) list of things I've tried, hated and will never do again! I work out 5-7 days a week and I am desperate to break up my routine with something fun and different. First I tried Zumba, which I had done once years ago and sworn it off back then. I gave it another try but failed miserably. I have no rhythm and I am uncoordinated as hell. It just didn't work out.

So they just started up a yoga class here as they finally got a certified instructor on the island. This requires no rhythm and no memorizing dance steps, I should be able to do this, right? I gave myself far too much credit! First of all there is just way too much breathing and sitting going on. I am not a relaxed kind of person, it is physically impossible for me to just sit, idle, ever. So sitting cross legged with my hands on my knees taking deep breaths was torture right out the gate. Then it got worse. I am limber and flexible and I can stretch, but I have ZERO balance. Like none! I was falling all over the place, it was comical. At one point as we went into tree poses the instructor brought over a chair for the big preggo girl to use to catch herself if she lost her balance. It took all my willpower not to jump up and down shouting "where's my chair?!" Seriously, this chick has a bowling ball in her belly and hadn't lost her balance once the entire class, and I've been flat on my ass at least twice so far and SHE gets the chair?!?!

I did like the stretching part, I can do that. But anything requiring balance or grace is out of the question. It's really a miracle I can walk upright on my own two feet and I don't even do that well! The worst part was the end of class where we had to lay on our backs on the mat for five minutes relaxing in silence and deep breathing. FIVE MINUTES? Is she CRAZY? Seriously I can't sit still for five seconds! I laid there staring at the ceiling trying to clear my mind and relax my body and it wasn't going to happen. After about 60 seconds I was twitching and shaking my leg because all the stillness was making me crazy. I glanced around and all the other girls looked so peaceful, relaxed and into it. Nope, not this girl! So I reached for my phone and started checking my email and playing Words while I waited for the five minutes of torture to end. I probably broke some cardinal rule of yoga, my chi is going to be all jacked up, karma is out to get me now and my universe is going to be off axis as punishment. I couldn't help it, I can't just LAY there and do nothing! I guess I'll just have to stick to running. Group exercise just isn't my thing apparently.

Wordless Wednesday

Colin Funny

Colin brings me Shelby's deodorant and the conversation goes like this: Colin: "Mom I need some of my Dad's...(not knowing what to call it) this because my elbows are stinky." Me: "You need deodorant?" Colin: "Yea I need odor-ant so my elbows don't get stinky." (While attempting to shove the deodorant under his shirt to his armpits) Me: "You mean you need deodorant on your armpits so you don't smell?" Colin: "Yes, because Daddy and Colin are boys and boys smell so they need put odor-ant on their elbows."

So there you have it boys, wear your deodorant (on your elbows) so you aren't stinky!

What I want to be...

The theme at Awana tonight was "What I want to be..." As in, when you grow up. I asked Colin and he told me a knight. I said "A knight?" I suggested other things like a fighter pilot, a controller like Daddy, a fireman, etc... Nope. Colin is going to be a knight and rescue princesses, so he says. So I gave up trying to change his mind and went to the Google to figure out how I was going to make him a knight for Awana in under two hours. Colin helped me look at stuff on the internet and we took an old pillow case and some duct tape to make his suit. That worked well but then he insisted he had to have a helmet. Back to Google we go and he was so excited and kept picking out helmets that had full face masks on them. I finally convinced him that a full face covering helmet was just not going to work out for Awana. He settled for a regular head covering helmet, but he did demand feathers (or fedders as he says) on it, like he had seen in one of the pictures. I was good with that. Here he is all knighted up and ready to go!

I was pleased to see a few princesses when we arrived at the church that night too, my kid isn't the only one with a wild imagination, yay! When he got inside he was given his Awana Cubbies vest, which he has been waiting for, and at that moment being a knight didn't matter at all anymore. He shoved his shield at me, stripped off his knight clothing and proudly put on his vest. I tried to explain to him that he could wear his vest OVER his knight clothing, and pointed out a few kids wearing their vests over their costumes, but no...the vest was all that mattered. Fickle young minds! LOL

Bowling Fun

Soccer Practice

Finally, after waiting what felt like forever after signing him up, Colin was able to start soccer. They only offer very few select sports for kids under 5 and when they do it is more of a skill building thing than an actual team. It's kind of strange to me, but I get the methodology behind it. I think Colin was a little disappointed when he arrived and had to play inside the gym, not on a soccer field, and there wasn't an actual game. Instead they handed out worksheets to parents with the skills on them and the kids rotated between stations practicing the various skills with their parents. I'm trying to be a good sport about it, I really am, but the whole thing kind of annoys me. First of all I do not want to play soccer with my kid at practice. That is what I am paying you to do. If I wanted to teach my own child how to play soccer I would do that at home, for free, at a much more convenient time than the one you chose. Second they actually asked for volunteers for a team mom. Now what exactly is a team mom going to do? There is no team! They don't play real games, and all the moms are busy teaching their kids how to play soccer. The other thing that bugged me was snacks. They want parents to sign up to bring snacks so that each week of the schedule is covered. Snacks?! The practice is one night a week from 6-7 PM. Seriously, most kids have just eaten dinner right before coming to practice and it's only an hour long. No child will starve to death without a snack in an hour. Do we really need to be bringing snacks for everyone? Can't we just play soccer instead? OK I'm done. I will shut up now. Colin enjoys it, and that is all that matters. He's having fun and I will teach him how to play soccer right in the middle of Monday night dinner time, even though I payed good money for him to learn from the youth center, and I'll also make the cutest damn Pinterest snack I can find. Because he loves soccer and he thinks it's fantastic. So anyway, here are some pictures of Colin enjoying his first night of soccer practice.

Camp Out

Shelby has been busting to sleep in the tent with Colin one night and they finally got around to it. Colin literally could not contain his excitement. As soon as Shelby told him about going camping Colin started asking a million questions. He was repeating questions and talking just to hear himself talk, so when he asked another ridiculous question Shelby answered with him "cheese and sprinkles." That didn't do a bit of good, then Colin was so excited about cheese and sprinkles he asked a million more questions about that. Shelby finally gave up and started hauling the tent and camp stuff to the back yard and Colin went out with him. I honestly thought Shelby might throw Colin into the ocean before that tent was actually set up. Between Colin trying to "help", him being so excited he wasn't listening to a thing, and then asking another question before he could even finish the one he was just asking.... poor Shel! LOL

They finally did get the tent set up though. Then the neighbor girls came out to see what was going on. Their dad was probably cursing us for putting ideas in the girls' heads. Colin played with his friends for a while and every so often he would come in and ask about the cheese and sprinkles. Finally it was time to send the girls back home and while Colin was getting ready to camp I made a special plate for him...

He was so excited. Shel and Colin headed off to the tent and I snapped a quick picture of them inside.

I headed upstairs to my nice, warm, indoor bed. It was maybe two hours later or so I woke up and heard pouring rain and crazy wind (it's always crazy windy here though) and wondered if they were even sleeping out there. I thought for sure they'd be heading inside any minute so I drifted back off to sleep. Believe it or not Colin slept like a rock through the entire thing and Shelby said he slept pretty good too. The tent didn't leak a bit and the rain didn't bother them. However they did wake up wet, courtesy of Colin who peed the bed. Whoops! Murphy's Law I tell you. Last time the kid peed the bed was when I had packed up every spare sheet in the house preparing for our move to the island. Months go by with no bed wetting incidents and the first time he shares a bed outside with Daddy he pees. Ha! They survived the camping adventure and Colin thought it was the coolest thing ever. He was seriously disappointed when Shelby hauled the tent to the garage to let it dry out and pack it away, he thought they would be sleeping in it again the next night.

Wordless Wednesday

Italian Chicken & Vegetable Soup

I bumped into my next door neighbor this morning as I was loading up Colin for preschool. She was heading off to work and telling me how both she and her husband have some terrible flu and feel like death but are going to work anyway. About 11 Shelby called me from work saying he had a terrible headache and was feeling awful and wanted me to bring him his glasses. All this sickness made me think of one thing, SOUP! I love soup but Shelby is not a huge fan, so any excuse I can find to get away with making soup for dinner I take it and run. Surely he can't complain if I was making him a nice comfort food like soup since he was feeling a little under the weather. And how could he possibly be annoyed with my thoughtfulness to take dinner next door to the sickies who I'm sure do not want to cook for their family? Yep, sounds like two great excuses for soup!

I knew I wanted an Italian-ish chicken soup with pasta and tomatoes. Pinterest let me down and so did all my usual recipe sites. I finally consulted Google and still could't find just what I was looking for. Apparently I am all on my own here, doesn't anyone else ever crave a chicken noodle soup with an Italian kick and tomatoes? OK fine, plan B...create my own recipe. It's the perfect time, I have guinea pigs neighbors who can sample and tell me what they think. If it turns out horrible and they tell me so I will insist it was delicious, that my family loved it, and their sickness must be playing games with their taste buds! I can use the same trickery with Shelby too, I can't lose!

It actually did turn out amazing. It was just what I was craving and healthy too. So here is my recipe for my very own Italian Chicken & Vegetable Soup:
4 Tbs olive oil, divided
2 C cooked chicken breast, diced or shredded
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
12 oz small pasta (I used farfalle)
1 can green beans, undrained
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes
3 cans chicken broth
2 Tbs parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbs Italian seasoning mix
1/2 C fresh basil leaves, chopped

I got a late start so I cooked my chicken on the stove top. I did this by heating 2 Tbs olive oil in a pan and then adding the diced chicken. I sprinkled a touch of garlic salt and some Nature's Seasoning on it, the covered and let it cook.

In large stockpot, saute garlic in 2 Tbs olive oil for 1 minute over medium heat. Add in carrots, onions, and celery and saute 5 minutes more. Add chicken broth, green beans, parsley, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to pot. Hand squeeze and break up tomatoes with fingers, and add remaining juice in can to the pot. Stir together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 10-12 minutes. Add pasta to the pot and continue simmering 6-10 minutes, until pasta is aldente. Stir in basil and let soup stand 5 minutes.

I served it with provolone grilled cheese and both the boys were happy and stuffed. I have a few bowls of leftovers for the weekend too, score! I learned that making soup is messy (or maybe it's just me that's messy) and I should save soup experimentation for Wednesdays, because on Thursdays the cleaning lady comes. Aside from having to clean the kitchen the soup was a home run.

Cleaning lady

Family Pictures

Family Pics Aug 2012

We were long overdue for family pictures but I was holding out to take them on the beach. So fun! I'm so pleased with what we got, you can hardly tell what a difficult child Colin was being!

DO YOU WANT COPIES? Look through the album and let me know what number photos you would like the files for. I will then email you those files. Don't try to download them from here or Facebook, the quality will not be as good. I paid a lot of money for the digital copies and rights to all the photos, so I can email you the file and you can print it where ever you like to get prints made and use as you wish. Just let me know what numbers and then wait patiently. :)

Germany, I've missed you!

Last Wednesday we flew back to Germany for a week long mini vacation crammed in between a couple doctor appointments for Shelby’s back. I was very excited to be getting a little break from the island and the opportunity to catch up with old friends and shop. I’m sure I have not mentioned at all, ever, how terrible the shopping on the island is, but in case I have not, I’ll remind you again…it stinks! Colin was very excited to take another trip on the airplane, I was less excited when I remembered what it is like being trapped at 30,000 feet with a human chatterbox that has no mute or off button. First we flew from our island, Terciera, to Lisbon, Portugal which takes about 2.5 hours. Then we had to fly from Lisbon to Frankfurt, which is another 2.5 hours. Then we had to trek through the airport, collect our bags, clear customs, go get the rental car and finally drive an hour and fifteen minutes to the hotel in Ramstein. We were all wiped out when we got there and Shel and I should have been awarded some kind of medal for listening to Colin talk nonstop for the entire 9-10 hour trip. Sadly it was dark by the time we landed in Germany and got the rental car to drive to Ramstein, so I didn’t get to enjoy the scenery on the way there.

First thing we did when we landed on the mainland was hit McDonald’s in the airport of Lisbon. You might be thinking seriously, of all the places to run to you ran to McD’s?! Let me remind you I have not had a McD’s French fry and coke since I left the mainland two months ago. I haven’t had any other fast food chain’s fries or cokes either, there isn’t any on the island. So yes, we were excited for McDonald’s, hush!

During our stay we did a lot of visiting old friends and catching up with people. I went by the school and of course everyone had to do a double take wondering why in the world I was there. I had to explain that the minute we were moved to the island was pretty much the same time the doctors realized we never should have been medically cleared to move and by that time it was too late. So, we just get to visit often while Shelby gets his treatments. We did a lot of eating, all my hard work in the last two months at the gym went right out the window, but it was worth it. We visited the Gartenschau in Kaiserslautern to catch the very start of their annual pumpkin festival. We have seen this every year since we moved to Germany and I was thrilled we were there to see it again this year.

Gartenschau Kurbisfest 2012

We did a lot of shopping. We have a running “Ramstein” list now that we know Shelby makes regular trips back every six weeks. It mostly consists of German wine, and my Clinique make up that I cannot buy on the island. We hit the movies a few times to see some of the movies that have come out since we left but have not yet made it to the island. It usually takes three to four months after a movie is released in the theaters before it makes it to our island movie theater. It wasn’t the most exciting trip in terms of blog writing material, but we had a great time and were very glad to see and do the things we were able cram in. Shelby gets to go back again the end of Oct/first part of November but it will only be for one appointment, so it’s a quick turn and burn, not worth the obscene amount of money it takes to fly Colin and I off the island to accompany him. We are hoping to go along with him on his January trip since he will have at least three doctor appointments on that trip and will have to spend more than a night or two there.

After a long day of travel all we wanted to do was get back home and relax. We knew something was up when we hit the roundabout right outside the airport and there were cars parked all over the side of the road. That usually means one thing around here....bullfight. Our car ride home was slightly lengthened waiting for the intermission between bulls when they reopen the roads for cars to pass through while they are getting the next bull ready for release into the street. Thankfully we hit it just right and didn't have to wait too long for the road to open so we could pass through and get home. Only in the Azores!

In other news my first graduate class is over and done with. One down, eight more to go! I had a 98.77 average in that course, so hopefully all the classes are that easy for me and I can do just as well in the rest of them.