Monthly Archives: August 2008

Aug 22

Nature Walks

We are going on a Nature Walk

When the weather is just right, I take the boys for a Nature Walk. It is a little walk around town, and Thade carries along a tote to pick up cool nature finds. I’ve found that a drink carrier from Sonic is the perfect size for all of his treasures, and it holds up to all of the rocks that Thade picks up too.

We stop to count the birds on a roof top, and Thade is thrilled when he finds a feather.

On this nature walk we were looking for leaves and feathers. I was planning on pressing leaves for a leaf book, and I think Thade found plenty.

The nature walk is a great way to get the kids out to enjoy some fresh air. It is also a great opportunity for Thade to learn his way around town. He is starting to recognize street signs, and he is getting pretty good at directions.

I can’t wait for all of the leaves to start changing so we can enjoy Fall Nature Walks too.

Aug 21

Yahoo for Backpacks!

Thade has his first backpack! All week he has been practicing zipping and unzipping the backpack, and putting it on and running around the house. We’ll soon start packing his first backpack with all of his school items, as school is just 13 days away.

How I adore backpacks. I  had my very favorite backpack in High School, and I took it everywhere. It was a simple solid color, that I found at Office Max, and I decorated it with my favorite patches and pins. My backpack was obsessively organized, half for schoolwork, and half filled with my gear for shows. I even carried my beloved backpack to my second job. I was commuting twice daily, so I needed work items and after work items, and my backpack followed along.  I haven’t seen my backpack since our second move, so I have no idea where it is today, but seeing Thade’s first backpack brings back happy memories of mine.

What about you, did you have a favorite backpack when you were in school?

Aug 20

New Recipes with Nico: Crab Rangoon

I have been wanting to add Crab Rangoon to our dinner menu for quite awhile. I searched and searched for an easy recipe to try and I found a great one for Crab Rangoon that I modified just a bit.

Gather all of your ingredients, and get ready to go. First I drained the crab meat and picked through it to check for any missed shells.

Don’t forget to drain the juice into a bowl for your kitchen helper kitty, he’ll appreciate it…

I combined the Softened Cream Cheese,a few healthy dashes of Garlic Salt, and Crab Meat together. I set up an assembly line to start folding the Crab Rangoon.

Here comes the fun part… Fill the Wanton wrappers with a tiny bit of filling, about a teaspoon. Brush the edges with egg, and fold over, try to get all of the air out as you fold. I’ve kept mine in a Gladware container, with waxed paper between the layers. Let the Crab Rangoon chill in the fridge before they are ready to be fried.


Once your oil is nice and warm its time to fry the Crab Rangoon in small batches. Make sure and turn them over once or twice so they fry to a nice golden brown. Have plenty of paper towels ready to drain the Crab Rangoon on.

I served the Crab Rangoon with Chicken Chow Mien and Coconut-Orange Candies, time to see if the guys like the meal…

This was one delicious dish, and the recipe made so many Crab Rangoon. Everyone really enjoyed this tasty side, and I’ve had a few requests to make the Crab Rangoon again. Beware though, they are so tasty you might not be able to stop yourself at just 2 or 3 Crab Rangoon.

If you give the recipe a try, let me know how it turned out.

Aug 19

Show and Tell

At Preschool sign-up  Thade’s teacher told us all about the daily activities at School. One that we can get started on now is Show and Tell. They will have Show and Tell everyday at school. They can bring small items such as leaves, pictures, or an interesting insect (in a bag of course). I thought we had better find a place to store all of his new show and tell finds.

I found a Gladware container that no longer had a lid, and I labeled it in bright colors for Thade. Thade has been busy filling the container with Rocks, Marbles, and Bark from our neighborhood walks. Our Show and Tell Box is staying in the kitchen at the moment, so Dylan can’t get into the treasures.

I hope that we can check out a few of the local sites before school and pick up little souvenirs for Thade to take along.  We also need to make one more trip to the Bird Display at the park, and look for feathers. I’m sure that Thade will find many cool show and tell finds before school starts.

Aug 18

Early Bird vs. Night Owl

Hi, my name’s Nico and I have a problem… I can’t seem to wake up early. Try as I might, I am struggling to switch my internal clock over to “morning person”, and away from “night owl”. Any tips and pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thade has Preschool coming up soon, and it is first thing in the morning. I really need to get my act together and have both boys up, dressed, breakfast, and ready to go, oh yeah and me ready too. I just can’t seem to get up and going though.  I’m a night owl by design, and this early bird notion is giving me trouble.

This morning I overslept big time, and I’ve been playing catch up ever since. Maybe its just Monday, even so I’ve got to get up and get going earlier.