Category: Photos
Bouncy Birthday Fun
Over the weekend, we went to see Uncle I, Aunt M, and Cousins S & B for Cousin S’s third birthday party. The boys were surprised to find out that a bounce house was going to be part of the party fun.
At 9am, the bounce house arrived and was set up while the kids played on the swings/slide play area that I & M bought since the last time we were there.
Swinging festivities were cut short, though, as the kids became fascinated by the ever-growing bounce house.
Shoes were kicked off and the bouncing began. JSL was a little hesitant at first, but he soon figured out how much fun a bounce house could be!
There were also games of hug-and-fall.
After the party ended, and the kids had left, B, JSL, Cousin S, NHL and I had some special bounce-time where I tried to get shots of everyone in mid-air.
The photo of me is blurry, but it was tough shooting conditions. (Darker inside than outside, fast moving subject *AND* shooter moving as well.)
B kept teasing me by doing grand flops…. when I wasn’t ready to take a photo of her. This led to many a blurred photo of an airborne angel but I did manage to snag a few good ones.
JSL and NHL were sad to see the bounce house go. I see a visit to a local bounce house play area in our future! Thanks, Uncle I and Aunt M for such a fun time and happy birthday Cousin S!
Big Time Big Wheeler
All summer, JSL, envious of his brother’s “big kid” bike, has wanted to ride his tricycle. Unfortunately, he couldn’t figure out the pedals and would wind up insisting that I push him. Of course, he being so low to the ground and me being so high up meant that I needed to bend down and put pressure on my back. A few minutes of pushing later and he was squealing for more oblivious to my growing back pain.
Recently, we tried pushing a big wheel bike we had for him instead of the tricycle. My theory was that this bike would give him better leverage and he would learn to pedal it better. Sure enough, after a bit of practice, he was pedaling like a champ.
In fact, he was pedaling too fast! Most of my photos of him from the front are blurry. I would run in front of him to give my camera some “focus time” but he would be moving too quickly.
Still, he was having a blast. And he didn’t just pedal up and down our block. He wanted to go for a ride *around* our block. We set off, leaving NHL and B behind, with me on foot and JSL on bike. As we walked/rode, we stopped for red lights. Not because we had to, mind you. We weren’t crossing any roads. No, we stopped because JSL insisted that we need to stop at red lights. He’s already following the rules of the road.
Around we went, all 1,800 feet or so. (Yes, I Google Map’d it.) Then, he insisted on going around a second time. He would have likely gone around a third time, had I let him. However, while we stayed on our street from here on out, he kept pedaling up and down the block. He easily biked a mile by the time he was done.
At the end of his bike adventure, and after NHL had done some biking of his own, I let JSL try out NHL’s bike.
He can’t quite reach the pedals when they go down, but he might be able to use NHL’s “big kid” bike next year. NHL was worried about this prospect as his bike was our birthday present to him last year. We assured him that, when he eventually grows out of his current bike and gives it to JSL, he would get to pick out a bigger bike to ride himself. Perhaps B and I will also get bikes and we can go on family biking trips around the neighborhood!
Wordless Wednesday: Sick JSL
Cooking With TechyDad: Slowcooker Greek Chicken
One can be forgiven for thinking that we are vegetarian. The fact of the matter is that we usually do eat vegetarian. This isn’t because of some moral stance on not eating animals (though I respect those with that moral stance). Instead, it is because we keep Kosher in the house and the price of Kosher meat is exorbitant. So instead of paying an arm and a leg (and trotting out the meat pots, meat dishes and meat silverware), we buy soy products instead.
Just before Rosh Hashana, however, I got the call to pick up a package from B’s grandmother. She had a big bag with challah, gefilte fish, grape juice and other items. On the bottom was a package of quartered chicken. Normally, I’d toss this into the freezer to deal with at a later time, but it was already thawing. So I put it in the fridge, consulted the sacred tomes (aka my recipe books), and came up with a plan.
First, I gathered the ingredients.
For those of you who don’t want to click to enlarge the image, that’s olive oil, pepper, 2 onions, minced garlic, salt, the aforementioned chicken, oregano and potatoes.
Next, I quartered 6 small spuds and placed them in my slowcooker.
Then, being in a cutting mood, I quartered the onions and saved them for later.
Next, I skinned the chicken and put it in the slow cooker over the potatoes. This took awhile and reminded me why I love working with cutlets that have already been de-skinned and de-boned.
Remember those onions? (If not, get your memory checked.) Well, I tossed them in on top of the chicken.
Then came the equivalent of 1 clove of minced garlic into the slowcooker. (Equivalent because I was using pre-minced garlic. Less mess and doesn’t spoil as quickly.)
Now, I mixed a half cup of water with 3 teaspoons of oregano, 1 teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. Into the slowcooker it went.
Finally, a tablespoon of olive oil was drizzled on top of it all.
I placed the cover on, set the slowcooker to high and let it cook for about five and a half hours.
The best part? No need for side dishes. It forms a whole meal all by itself!
YUM!