Zucchini Bread

My mom and dad brought us a giant zucchini a couple of weeks ago, and I knew I had to "hide" it in something to get the others to eat it, or else I would be eating A LOT of zucchini all by myself (seems I am the only one in this family who likes it). I found a recipe for chocolate zucchini bread that got rave reviews, and seemed easy to make, AND I had all the ingredients on hand. So I gave it a try, and everyone loved it. Brian hates zucchini, but he liked this bread. Grant opposes most vegetables these day, but he couldn't get enough of this bread. Justin has an aversion to bread of all kinds, but he loved the zucchini bread. Christian is ranked among the world's pickiest eaters, and he even enjoyed this bread and asked if we could make more when the first loaf was gone!
Here is the miraculous recipe that had everyone eating (and liking) zucchini:

Ingredients for One Loaf
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup grated zucchini
1/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Combine the eggs, butter, and extracts; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, raisins, and pecans. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan (8" x 4" x 2"). Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then remove from pan to wire rack.

You will not believe how moist this bread is! We are now hoping someone gives us more zucchini.
Enjoy!
~Andi

School Days

Grant has been in school almost a week now, and is really enjoying it. He is excited to go to school each day (hope that lasts until graduation), and he even likes riding the bus. It is a lot quieter around here without him - and easier in some ways. Grant has always demanded a lot of my attention, but with him at school I feel like I have more attention to give to all the other children. But even when I try to give Christian my attention, there are many times when he just wants to do his own thing. He does not like playing with his Mommy in the same way that Grant does. Justin, however, is more than happy to take up Christian's share of my attention as well. There are lots of times when he will go off and play by himself, but it isn't long before he is back at my side clinging to my leg and keeping me captive. He can walk now, but mostly he chooses not to. He is too smart and lazy. He knows that if he holds onto my leg long enough that I will have to pick him up in order to be able to move myself!

I had my first night of classes last night (and I already have homework). Everything went well. Actually I loved my "Law, Ethics, and Education" class. Our first assignment in class was to make a short presentation about why we were looking at going into Education. I was so inspired, and even volunteered to go first on my first night of class in front of an instructor who I didn't even know! Thoughts and words just came to me that I didn't even know were there, and I got goosebumps as I spoke - just as I often do as a result of spiritual feelings. All my previous doubts about pursuing my teaching certificate were wiped away, and I knew I was exactly where I am supposed to be. I was worried about how I could fit in my student teaching when the time comes, but now I feel relaxed about my decision, and I believe a way will be provided for me to accomplish this goal.
~Andi

Am I Crazy?

All the children are napping peacefully except for Grant and Christian who are currently absorbed in a "Diego" episode, leaving me free to blog for a few minutes (probably not enough time to catch up completely, but I will hit on the highlights of our summer thus far).

Justin's Birthday was celebrated with family on Memorial Day, the day before his actual birthday. We picnicked at Stephen's Lake Park and went and played in the fountains afterward. It was a beautiful and fun day. Justin didn't want anything to do with his birthday cake (cupcake)...but I was prepared for that rejection and made him a fruit salad which he inhaled plenty of instead. We are glad so many members of his extended family got to be there. Thank you for coming and for the gifts you gave Justin (and me, since it was sort of a late celebration of my birthday as well).



Justin's checkup showed us he is huge, 95th percentile for height and 60th percentile for weight. He got a bunch of shots and got sick with what turned out to be pink eye the next day. That is the second time I have taken him to the doctor for a well check and he ended up getting sick. So, a week or so later we were right back at the doctor's office, and Brian and I both ended up getting the infection. Fortunately only one other child got it, but that was Kelly, one of our daycare children, and her eyes looked worse than anyone's.
Christian and Kelly

Justin still is not walking on his own, but we know he can. He walks all over the place as long as he is holding onto something or someone. I really expected him to be walking before our trip to Tybee Island, but it probably worked out better that he wasn't. He is climbing all over everything. He can climb the stairs, climb up on the slide, and climb on chairs and the low table downstairs. He is scaring me with how fearless he is!

Speaking of Tybee Island, I'll jump to that next since I don't want to talk about the failure known as my yard sale. The only memory of that I need is that I resolved never to have another one in my life.
Our trip was fun and such a nice break from our day to day lives. It was also great to spend time with family, but I think we were all glad to be back home. When Christian walked into his room after getting home, he said "My bed! My own huge bed!"
We got to spend a night at the Chatanooga Choo Choo Hotel, and see the old train and a really neat aquarium in Chatanooga where we could pet sting rays and butterflies and see sharks, jellyfish, turtles, and lots of other aquatic creatures. It was beautiful, and we would like to go back there when we aren't so rushed trying to get on to our final destination - Tybee Island, Georgia.
Christian in Shark Cage

Once there, we got to stay in a really nice beach house with 3 floors, an elevator, and a backyard pool. We got to see some of Savannah, have lunch at Paula Dean's restaurant, spend some time at the beach, walk in the Atlantic Ocean, see some really big waves, take a trolley ride and have lunch at the Pirate's House (where real pirates used to eat), and visit Fort Pulaski. Our camera is old and holds very few pictures, so we took a lot more videos. My brother and sister-in-law set up a Shutterfly website where we could all share pictures of the trip though, and I think anyone can go look at the pictures by going to this web address: ourtybeeislandadventure.shutterfly.com (if you want to see some more of the fun we all had). The boys were really good on the trip and while we were there. Justin slept all night every night...apparently he sleeps better when he is cold! He was wary about getting back in the car while we were there, so to make things easier for everyone, we started home at bedtime so the boys could sleep while we drove. Brian and I took turns sleeping and driving, and we made it home without any trouble by early afternoon the next day.

Fort Pulaski

Our Fourth of July was completely uneventful this year since we had just returned from our trip the previous day and because the 4th fell on Sunday this year. We were kind of worn out, and nobody even stayed up to watch the fireworks. Grant and Christian can't wait until our next trip though. Christian always asks now, whenever we are going somewhere, if we are going to Tybee Island, Georgia. He always adds the "Georgia" when he talks about Tybee Island...but for us there will only ever be one Tybee Island.

The Saturday after returning from our trip, I got to go to St. Louis and see a musical called "Wicked" since Brenda had given me and Sarah tickets to it for our birthdays this year. It was lots of fun, too. The musical is about the Wicked Witch from "The Wizard of Oz", and how she came to be "wicked". It all ends up being just a big misunderstanding, really. It's pretty funny with all of it's one-liner references to "The Wizard of Oz". I will never be able to watch that movie in quite the same way, but that's okay because I was desperately afraid of the wicked witch when I was a child. That movie always gave me nightmares.

So the funnest part of our summer is over now, but Grant started his 3-week long summer preschool last week, and he is having lots of fun there, even if it is only 3 hours a day for 3 weeks. He gets along best when he is eased into changes and new experiences, so this is a good transition for him to kindergarten, which he will begin just 2 weeks after he finishes his summer school.
And Grant probably won't be the only one in our family going to school in August. Here comes the big news - the reason for the title of my post today - I am going back to school myself! I haven't been in college for 12 years, but now seems like as good a time as any to get back to it. Brian is finished with his undergraduate studies, and I have almost exactly 4 years more as a daycare provider before Justin will start kindergarten. In four years, I should be able to finish a Master's Degree, and then I can (ideally) walk right into employment at the same time all the boys are in school. I will have to go to school nights, and Columbia College is the best evening school around...so that's where I'm headed. Now I just need everyone to pray for me that I will know what direction to go in. What do I want to do with my life now that I am 36 years old and have 3 little boys? It's probably completely different than what I wanted to do when I first began college as an 18 year old or even what I wanted to do when I returned to college as a 22 year old after completing my mission. Am I crazy? I have never felt like the superwoman that I see in so many other women I know...but if I can pull this off - full-time student, full-time daycare provider, nursery leader, wife, and mother of 3 - I might just start to feel like superwoman!
~Andi

MY Time

You might think I'm just really lazy about blogging, but the truth is that it's on my "To Do" list all the time...I just can't get any time on the computer. Now that Grant and Christian don't take naps, I don't have that time anymore, and now that Brian is finished with school, he is home every night and uses the computer after the children go to bed. My only option, it seems, is to wake up extra early (as if I don't already get up early enough). Justin is still recovering from an illness and even though he is sleeping better than he was, he is still waking up at least once during the night. Prior to him getting sick, this would not have been a problem. He would just take his pacifier and go back to sleep. While he was sick, he started refusing his pacifier, and now I can't figure out anything to get him back to sleep. For the first time in his life, he is having to cry himself to sleep. Nothing stresses me out more than hearing one of my children crying. He woke up at 4:30 this morning, and I tried to be positive and think, "well, at least I can get on the computer now." However, it's very difficult to type with him crying in the background. My mind cannot focus on anything well enough to write about it now. I'll have to find another time to tell you all about my cute boys.
~Andi

Justin Then and Now

Justin Charles Moegling, first day home from the hospital, June 4, 2009

Justin Charles Moegling (aka "Silly Britches", "Little Britches", "Bustin'"), fresh from his bath, May 2010

It's been a fun year watching him grow. We're so glad you are in our family, Justin.

Birthday pictures forthcoming...
~Andi

Don't Believe Everything You Hear On PBS

Here's an excerpt from our lunch conversation today:

Me: "Justin, don't throw food on the floor."

Grant: "I saw a commercial on TV saying that you should let babies test their environment."

Me: "We have to teach Justin not to throw food on the floor."

Grant: "Well, maybe it will teach him not to throw it on the floor if you make him pick it up."

Me (thinking): Well, maybe it will teach you not to give parenting advice to your mother if I make you clean it up!

How Time Flies!

Here we are in May already! There's nothing like having a baby to make you realize just how fast time flies by. Justin will be a year old in less than a month now. Of course this realization is both exciting and heart wrenching at the same time. He is suddenly mobile: experimenting with crawling and pulling up onto his feet. It's a relief in many ways since I have been worried that there was something wrong with him because he wasn't crawling yet. He also got his two bottom front teeth in last Sunday, and he has gone back to being a good sleeper. (Although I'm not sure I should say that here since in my last blog I bragged about how Christian had been accident-free, and the day after that post he started having accidents again! Did I jinx myself or what?)

Speaking of sleepers: Grant and Christian are now non-nap-takers. They quit "cold turkey". This has been a trade off of sorts, but overall, I think it is working out well for everyone. The boys were always good nappers. They would sleep for two or three hours in the afternoon and still sleep all night. But lately, it was becoming increasingly difficult to get them asleep at nap times. And after they slept so much in the afternoon, it was difficult to get them to go to sleep at night. We would put them to bed at 9 o'clock, but they really weren't tired, and often didn't even fall asleep until 10 or 10:30. On days when they missed their naps, we would put them to bed early - at 7:30 or 8 o'clock, and they would fall asleep almost instantly. It was on those days that I realized how great it was to have the boys asleep for the night and not be completely wiped out myself. Since Grant's not going to be able to take a nap once he starts kindergarten in a few months anyway, I decided he might as well go ahead and get used to not having a nap everyday. And since Grant and Christian share a room, it was just logical to keep them on the same schedule.

The trade off is that I no longer get a break or any time to myself all day long...but I do get some special quiet time (and they know it has to be quiet for the daycare children and Justin to sleep) with just Grant and Christian each afternoon. Grant tends to dominate this time period with the things he wants to do. Christian is so much more independent, that I don't feel like he wants to "play" with his Mommy. But this situation has taken me from just being excited about Grant going to kindergarten for his sake, to now being excited about it for me and Christian. I can't yet imagine what Christian and I will do with this time each afternoon, but I am looking forward to finding out...and finding out so much more about Christian. Of course it would be presumptuous of me to think that I might completely figure him out. He is still, and always will be, Christian, our enigma.

~Andi