Sorry, no horse poop

So, I have to admit, I am a little disappointed in the amount (or lack thereof) of pictures of us at the campsite. But here's a few:

We roasted chocolate marshmallows on our first night. It's a tradition in our family to let our kids build the fire for marshmallows. Crazy, right? But it keeps them busy while we sneak extra marshmallows and chocolate before they get to it.

Who's great idea was it to get the little boxes of cereal that you can eat out of? Those things are a pain in the butt to open. I swear, the cereal used to be in a wax paper bag, not plastic. Let me tell you, it wasn't a pretty sight. I was trying to cut through cardboard and plastic with a measley plastic knife. It was a good thing there were kids involved, or else I would have scrapped the cereal and gone to find a McDonald's. The smile on Mimi's face while she ate her cereal was worth the frustration.

Saturday brought lots of fun at the beach. We didn't see any horses on our way in, but we saw lots of poop! I didn't take any pictures of that, don't worry!







So, this is the crab that Trystan caught. I was sitting all by myself doing crossword puzzles (what a geek), when I noticed my family huddled together excitedly. So, I did what any mother would do, I grabbed my camera and went to check it out. This was what I found. The funny thing about this picture, is that when I first started taking pictures, Trystan was holding the crab in his very sandy hands, and it was hard to tell what you were supposed to be looking at. So, I told him to wash his hands off. While he was doing that, the crab escaped and it kept pinching him every time he tried to pick it up again. I will re-create it for you: run run run grab OUCH! drop run run grab OUCH! drop run run run run jump lunge grab OUCH! drop. You get the picture. It was so funny!


Since this was the last thing we saw on our way out of the park, I thought I'd save it for last. Isn't it beautiful? These horses really are the 'mane' attraction. (sorry, I couldn't resist)

and this is supposed to be fun?

We are going camping this weekend. We planned on already being there, but circumstances being what they are, we are still packing. (well, at least Mel is)

Why is this so stressful? Why do our kids behave in ways that make us want to lock them all in a closet and go camping without them? Why do we not feel like spending the time and money to drive three hours to the campsite and set up tents and 'spend quality family time' together? It seems like everytime we do what is supposed to be fun things with our kids, they start fighting, doing bad things, and we end up getting stressed out and not wanting to do the fun thing in the first place. What's wrong?

We are still going to Asateague Island this weekend. We are going to take great pictures of our kids playing on the beach. We are going to experience nature. We are going to see wild horses poop on the beach. And we are going to have FUN doing it. Do I sound convinced?

If you give a kid a camera...

She'll want to take pictures. So, she'll take lots of miscellaneous pictures of blurry, too close things.

Then, you'll ask her to go outside to take pictures of nature so she won't take any more pictures of your shoes because you keep stepping on her.

So, she'll go outside and take pictures, but since she's outside, she'll decide that she doesn't want to wear her shoes anymore, so she'll take them off and photograph them.

Then she'll get thirsty. So, she'll ask for a drink. But not before she takes a picture of the water bottle she wants you to fill.

While she patiently waits for you to bring it back to her.

You fed them WHAT?!?!?!

That's what Mel is going to say when he asks what the kids ate for dinner tonight. Yeah, he usually doesn't have much to say about what I feed the kids. He knows that I generally feed them a well-balanced diet. Except for tonight. What did they get for dinner, you ask?

Fish sticks and kettle corn. Oh, and ketchup, lots of ketchup.

Monday Night dinner, yummm!

I know I've been in a cooking rut when my kids (Patricia) implore me to be creative again. So, I decided to suck it up and just do it. So, today I decided would be the day for my creative juices to flow. I promise, these are the only juices that got into the food. For dinner today, we had chicken and rice with an Indian/Middle Eastern flair. Want a recipe?

disclaimer: I didn't know that I was going to post this recipe, so I don't have any exact measurements. You all know my number. Call me if you have any questions.

• chicken tenderloins, defrosted
• curry powder
• garam masala
• garlic powder or 1 clove fresh garlic, pressed
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• honey

1. Put chicken in plastic bag
2. Add about 1 tsp of the curry powder, garam masala, and garlic powder. Salt and pepper according to your tastes. Add some olive oil and about 2 tbs honey.
3. Close bag and mix everything together. You should add enough olive oil to help everything mix together. If you don't have enough, your dry spices won't evenly distribute.
4. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better.
5. Grill on high heat for about 5 minutes on each side. Pay close attention to the chicken. In order for the honey to really work its magic, you have to let it get really hot and caramelize on the chicken. However, no one likes dry chicken no matter how tasty it is. That's why you have to pay close attention to it. When it gets to the point that you think to yourself, "I should leave it on for one or two more minutes," that's when you take it off the fire. It's ready then. It's fork-tender and juicy. I know how it feels when it gets to this point. It's kinda hard to explain, but I'll show you the next time you're grilling (if you're close).

The rice? Saffron infused basmati rice with peas. Vivian and I loved it, Mimi not so much, Patricia wasn't crazy about it, Trystan still hasn't come inside to try it, and Mel's out of town. I'll get his verdict tomorrow. Live close and need saffron? I have a ton someone gave me and I'll never use all of it. Come get some and make my recipe soon.

Just woofin' around

playing fetch

guess what she's doing now

AND NOW THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...

I must admit, I have eaten more than one. Can you blame me? I mean, look at them. Oh, congratulations Harmony. Too bad for you that you don't get one.

Oh! The smell

Well, I am halfway there.

At first sniff, my house smells really good. But after you've been in it for a while, the smell is nauseating. I have already eaten one in honor of one of you blog friends. And while it did taste super yummy, I won't be eating more. There's still time to guess Ft. Meaders!!

Three more days to go

I have not even started on my adventure of 180 somethings. I have gotten a few guesses. I won't tell you if they are right, wrong, or even close. Just keep guessing. I am feeling generous, so there may be more than one winner.

Maybe you will get one on Saturday even if you guess wrong.

What? Did you say clue?

You want me to make 180 WHAT?!?

Guess? Can you guess?

If you guess right, I'll give you one on Friday if live close to Ft. Meade (10 minutes). If you aren't close, sorry. I'll eat one in your name.

It's a clue, a clue!!

Am I the Only One?

Am I the only one who gets annoyed (maybe this is too strong) because my friends aren't updating their blogs when mine is two weeks old? Then I think to myself that maybe you all are annoyed with me. Are you annoyed? Do I even care? I mean, I guess I do since I am writing this. So, here you go. A dumb blog post about not posting. Yes. I am a hypocrite.