William's Report Card

William,

Today you received your first kindergarten report card. You did a great job! We're so proud of you!!!

Today is also your 6 1/2 birthday. You are so excited to be half-way to 7.

Love You,

Mom

Lentil Chili

Ingredients

8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 teaspoons salt-free chili powder
1 (16-ounce) package brown lentils (about 2 1/4 cups lentils)
2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Method

Bring 3/4 cup broth to a simmer in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook about 8 minutes or until onion is translucent and pepper is tender. Stir in chili powder and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add lentils, tomatoes and remaining 7 1/4 cups broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes or until lentils are almost tender. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Nutrition

Per serving : 120 calories (5 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 21g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 6g protein

Serves 8

So ....What's Happening At the Stage House?

I went in for surgery for on November 30th, got sick from the anesthesia and pain meds. While in the hospital, the staff lost 2 bags of my personal belongings, delivered me to the wrong room and gave me meds that I declined. Perhaps I need to lower my standards when it comes to acceptable medical care.

Claudia developed a double dose of pink eye, and fever and a stomach bug causing her to empty the contents of her stomach in our bathtub... at least it wasn't the carpet.

I caught Claudia's bug, while still recovering from surgery. It's not fun to throw-up when stitches are involved.

I woke up on a Tuesday morning and couldn't get out of bed. I managed to injure my back (again) while sleeping.... amazing. I made an appointment with my doctor for the following day, but the pain was so intense that I had Brian take me to the ER where I stood (it hurt to sit or lie down) for 4 hours. They offered me pain meds which I declined, sent me home and told me to ice my back. My back still hurts to the point that I can not dress the lower half of my body without assistance.

Our 7 year old high efficiency furnace broke. Called the furnace man to fix it, but he couldn't because he didn't have the part in stock. The fix-it man told us that if we had purchased a mid-range furnace, he would have had the part in stock. Gosh, what were we thinking when we purchased the more expensive furnace (insert sarcasm)? That was on a Thursday evening. The part would not be available until Monday afternoon because it was being delivered from Glendale Heights in Illinois. We would have driven to IL, but a rather large snow storm blanketed Porter County and the roads were not impassible. The storm also delayed the Lenox truck which showed up on Tuesday afternoon.

During the furnace ordeal, we packed up the kids and shipped them out to Mimi and Papa's so they would not freeze. Brian and I would have joined the kids but we had the 2 dogs and cat at home... Mimi and Papa have 2 large greyhounds. Four dogs and one cat are not a good mix. Brian and I roughed it at home with a handful of space heaters until the frigid cold and snow storm hit. Then we packed up the pups and headed east to Crown Point where we stayed at for 2 nights.

While we were at Mimi's house William came down with the stomach bug. Poor guy. He had it worse than the rest of us. I gave him a glass of water which he quickly tossed back up stating "That just came back up like a fire hose". Luckily, the bug only lasted a day.

Tonight we are going to Grandma's to decorate for Christmas. Tomorrow the kids are going to Mimi ad Papa's to bake cookies and spend the night which provides me with the only opportunity I will have to shop, organize and wrap.

Since this has been such a chaotic month, I decided to splurge and buy myself a Christmas gift. I usually don't use retail therapy as a cure-all, but this time I found it to be completely necessary.... and it got Brian off the hook when it comes to shopping for me.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

This year we stayed home for Thanksgiving. Our original plan was to go to Grandma's house for the day, but Grandma got sick. Brian and I thought it was great to hang out in our jammies until noon and not have to rush to be anywhere, but the kids, especially William, thought otherwise... "This is the worst Thanksgiving ever." I heard repeatedly. William was upset that he was not at Grandma's playing with his favorite boy cousins.

We did get together later with Grandma and the Benton's for a Polish Thanksgiving. We met at a Polish restaurant in Lynwood where Aunt G. was greeted by a glass of water down her back... the waitress had butter fingers and colorful language. Despite the wet beginning, we enjoyed all the delicious foods, especially the sauerkraut and pierogies (which I ate my weight in...YUM).

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry on Saturday... where we met our Novak cousins and Aunt M. We had lots of fun. I really enjoyed the Muppet's exhibit. There's nothing quite like Kermit the Frog! The kids went home with Aunt M. and spent the night at her house.

On Sunday, we met the Novak's and Mimi and Papa for pizza at San Fratello's. We celebrated Brian's 41st birthday and made our way back home.... exhausted from the busy weekend!

Halloween 2010

Claudia's preschool program

Claudia singing in her program

Apple donuts at County Line Orchard...YUM!

Costume change... trick-or-treating downtown

Neighborhood trick-or-treating

Kids with Grandma

Claudia the witch

Sorting our candy

William the Ninja

Sunflower at County Line Orchard

Happy 11th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Brian

Our 11anniversary was all about shopping and eating. We dropped the kids off at Mimi and Papa's house and headed to Schaumburg for the day. Since I am writing this 2 months after our anniversary, I don't remember the exact details but I think it was like this.... lunch at Yu's, shopping at Nordstrom Rack, a trip to Woodfield Mall to hit up the Aveda store, dinner at Brandt's (home of the world's 2nd best cheeseburger. The first place ribbon goes to Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan.) and a trip to Eurofresh for produce and rye bread that I can't find in Indiana. It was a fun day!

Brian's poem

Happy Birthday Claudia!

Happy 5th Birthday Claudia!

We love you!

Mommy, Daddy and William

So.... Miss Claudia,

According to you, you celebrated 4 birthdays this year.

Your first birthday celebration was with your extended family.... grandparents, cousins and your favorite neighbors. The theme this year was "Tinkerbell"... until a few days before your party. Then you changed it to "Barbie". Lucky for you I did not purchase any of the party items or you might have been stuck with "Tinkerbell". We had your party on Labor Day which up being a beautiful day to celebrate.

Your second birthday celebration was on the actual day of your birthday. We went to lunch with Grandma and then later in the day Mimi and Papa came over for dinner. Instead of a cake, you asked for a pumpkin pie which you really enjoyed.

Your third birthday was at school with your classmates. You chose to bring in doughnut holes. Your teachers made you a crown, lit a huge candle and your classmates sang "Happy Birthday" to you.

And, finally, your last birthday was your friend birthday party (a first for you). You had your party at Jump Zone in Crown Point. A lot of your friends were there, including all "your girls". Everybody enjoyed jumping in the giant jumpies, eating pizza, cake and ice cream. You enjoyed opening up you gifts... lots of Barbies!

I almost forgot! You had a fifth birthday!! We went to Indianapolis for the weekend. We stayed downtown and met our Greensburg freinds at the Children's Museum. You and your friends had a great time playing together. I think your favorite exhibit was the "Barbie" one... dressing up, taking photos, walking down the catwalk, listeniong to the Mommies reminise about their old Barbies. Even the boys had a great time!

You really enjoyed all of your birthdays and are already making plans for next year!!!

I'd post pictures, but the camera died the day of your party :(

School and Teeth

Hi William,

You started kindergarten last Wednesday.

You love going to the big school, especially having recess and playing with Thomas. Your teacher's name is Miss S. and there are a whopping 28 kids in your class (crazy!). So far you have been to gym class.... you came home and proudly demonstrated how to do sit ups and push ups, music class... "the teacher is even funnier than you, Mom", art where you made a colorful folder for your art work (a rocket ship, 2 planets and 1 moon) and library where you checked out a dinosaur book. Next week you are going on a field trip to the apple orchard.

Last night the Tooth Fairy came AGAIN! You had another loose tooth which was really "bugging" you. You asked Dad to pull it out but he refused (he's a wienie) and then you asked me. I hesitated because loose teeth really freak me out, but I tried anyway. I grabbed a few napkins, gripped the tooth and gave a tug. The tooth fought back and wouldn't come out so I asked you if it hurt and you said "no" so I gave the tooth another tug and it came out. You were so excited... another trip from the Tooth Fairy meant more money. I think you should leave the Fairy a note requesting $$$ for your wonderful Mom.

That's all for now. Pictures to follow.

William's Tooth

William,

Today you lost your first tooth. Well, actually, you didn't lose it. You pulled it out all by yourself.

It all started with one loose tooth on the middle bottom which quickly turned into two loose teeth, The second loose tooth became much "wigglier" than the first. It was really "bugging" you. You had me wiggle both teeth several times this morning. I told you that I have had a lot of experience with loose teeth (my own and those teeth of my students) and that I really thought your teeth were not ready to come out yet.

I went back to reading the newspaper... which was what I was doing when you asked me to wiggle your teeth. With in a few seconds you slapped a tooth on the newspaper as yelled, "My tooth came out!!!". Sure enough, there on the newspaper was a little bitty baby tooth staring at me. You ,too, were staring at me like "Haaa. I told you it was going to come out."

I started to cry and hug and kiss you because I was so excited for you and because I couldn't believe it actually came out. Then I realized you were bleeding a lot and grabbed some napkins. The bleeding stopped after a few minutes and we called Dad who answered the phone (that NEVER happens).

So, tonight the Tooth Fairy is going to make a visit to the house and hopefully bring you a large amount of cash.

Way to go William!!! Congratulations

William,

Last night before bedtime, you pulled out an oldie, Go Dog Go, plopped on your bed and waited for Dad or me to read it to you.

Instead, I suggested that you read it to us.

Guess what you did? You read the book.... every word! Yup, the WHOLE book!

Way to go William. We're so proud and excited for you.

Love,

Mom