the holey grill - J loses his first tooth!

To my [somewhat] surprise, I was greeted by a gap toothed Jayden after school today.  Yes, he has lost his first baby tooth!  I was just grateful that J.J. had his whole grill for his birthday pictures.

The tooth had been wiggly for a while now.  I decided to sew him a tooth pillow.  I showed him cute pictures of stuffed teeth and tooth fairies, Jay choose an "ugly doll" design.  So be it.

Jay made the ultimate sacrifice and decided to donate his first tooth to us as a keepsake vs. giving it to the tooth fairy for money.

Here he is placing his tooth in his stuffed "tooth-bat fairy":

First Lost Tooth Facts (as answered by Mr.J):

Date: Monday, May 10th
Time: Around lunchtime
What were you doing at that time? Eating a cucumber and cheese sandwich
Describe the event:  I bit a cucumber so hard that my tooth fell out and I chewed it.  I thought it was a stale crumb of bread.
What do you think the tooth fairy does with all those teeth?  Maybe turn our tooth into money or trade it for money.  Maybe she puts it into a machine that grinds up all the teeth and makes real money out of it.



Still works...

Still adorable...

J.J.'s "anti-birthday" birthday

Every year for Jayden's birthday we have vowed to take a family trip in lieu of throwing a big birthday bash.  This year we finally made good on that promise to ourselves.  To our delight, Jay choose a So-Cal, Legoland/Beach birthday : )  5 days filled with Legos, sun, and sand - what's not to love?

But before we go, a little class party for the birthday boy (OK, I caved a little, think of it as a compromise):

And yes, that is a pastel Lego Cake (I did not want to use too much food coloring...)

Here's a few highlights from Legoland (camera ran out of juice half way through the day):

Beach:

Stayed at a little boutique hotel right on the beach in Carlsbad, CA.

 Sun, surf, and monster sized sand-castles = = smiles all around : )

Standard Birthday Feast (don't worry, the beer was ours, Mr. Jay had milk): 

"curry"-ous cuisine

I have been craving Indian curry lately so I thought I'd indulge my appetite.  I decided to make a coconut chicken curry (with tomatoes, chickpeas, potatoes, and spinach) and some Indian coconut rice (with raisins, cashews, and turmeric).  Jay kept asking, "what is that smell?"  I explained to him that it was the smell of deliciousness.

So I know that as adults we "eat with our eyes", so I assume that children are no different.  I took my time with plating the dishes, all under the "curry"-ous and watchful eye of Mr.J:

Do I spy a chili pepper?

Here's the before plate shot:  (notice Jay is still smiling and in good spirits...)

So, here's the after plate shot: 

It looks like he liked about 75% of his meal.  Jay  really enjoyed the Indian rice and his naan bread but we will need to work on his curry palate.  Not exactly the clean plate club, but for his first time trying Indian food, not too shabby.  Jay has earned his honorary Indian name: son-Jay.

Bi-folkals

My sister-in-law and her husband were here visiting for the weekend.  Here we are at Yuki Sushi with family and friends, enjoying Chris's latest find from Value Village - pair of 70's bifocal glasses - SCORE!  I still don't understand how Chris got away without even one picture in his red Ron Burgandy blazer, big Sapphire pendant, and bifocal beer goggles but here is the rest of us, the Bi-folkal Yokels:

domesticated diva

Trying to get back to simpler days...where it took hours to make bread...but boy, are they ever delicious.  I feel a sense of primal accomplishment - I have provided for my family!

Easter Bread: Challah

the dolphin

Jay is progressing his amphibious ability.  Something about the "dolphin" stroke that always has me giggling.  This move takes alot of coordination (I've tried a dry land version....I felt pretty silly and looked even sillier), I think it progresses to the "butterfly" stroke.  For this only being Jay's 3rd attempt, I'd say he's rockin' it (click the picture link below to see for yourself!

Marriott garden version 2.0

Gonna turn that brown thumb green!
We were busy this weekend, or I should say Chris my handyman was busy this weekend, building my raised garden bed (an upgrade from my puny garden from last year).