Here's a couple of funny things we overheard today
The two three-year-olds are arguing because they'd seen a toy commercial and both of them wanted it...
Kid1: Dad, Karson wants the same thing that I want!
Me: It's OK if you both want the same thing.
K1: No! I don't want him to want it!
Me: What if we bought two of them?
K1: There is no two.
Me: Well, what if I bought seven of them?
K1: There is no seven. Sorry!
And at dinner time...
5-year-old: I don't want no mashed potatoes.
Mikesha: I don't want any mashed potatoes.
5yo: Me neither!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Kalebisms
My six-year-old, Kaleb, came up to me and said, “I need you to save up $1000 for my band.”
I replied, “I think you need to save $1000 yourself.”
Kaleb came back with, “Well, can you at least help me save $1000 with your money? I need a sound system for my band.”
A little later, Kaleb said to Kyle (my 17-year-old), “Kyle, we should save our money to buy my guitar.”
Kyle said, “Kaleb, why am I saving my money?”
Kaleb said, “Ok... I guess you can use my amp.” (He doesn't have an amp, but I wonder if he's thinking about that sound system.)
The other day, Kyle said something about needing a personal trainer to help him get in shape. Kaleb said, “OK, fine, I'll do it.”
Kaleb climbed up on a box and said, “We're going to start with some push-ups — get down and give me 20.”
Kyle did a couple but then said he was done. Kaleb said, “Good, ‘cause I'm done too.”
I replied, “I think you need to save $1000 yourself.”
Kaleb came back with, “Well, can you at least help me save $1000 with your money? I need a sound system for my band.”
A little later, Kaleb said to Kyle (my 17-year-old), “Kyle, we should save our money to buy my guitar.”
Kyle said, “Kaleb, why am I saving my money?”
Kaleb said, “Ok... I guess you can use my amp.” (He doesn't have an amp, but I wonder if he's thinking about that sound system.)
The other day, Kyle said something about needing a personal trainer to help him get in shape. Kaleb said, “OK, fine, I'll do it.”
Kaleb climbed up on a box and said, “We're going to start with some push-ups — get down and give me 20.”
Kyle did a couple but then said he was done. Kaleb said, “Good, ‘cause I'm done too.”
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Row Recipes: Chocolate Cobbler
Chocolate Cobbler,
originally uploaded by
ginnerobot.
a.k.a. Chocolate Pudding Cake
a.k.a. Devil's Float
I first heard about Chocolate Cobbler this past Wednesday on the Pioneer Woman's site.
All the ingredients were things we keep on hand; so I made a mental note to try it sometime.
Thursday, my Comcast internet connection wasn't very comcastic, and I found myself with extra time on my hands -- enough time to try out the recipe.
Mikesha said it was "ridiculous" -- meaning ridiculously tasty.
The dessert was so good that we decided we should make a larger version on Friday for our family night. And so we did.
And then tonight, after we spent most of the day painting our family room, we decided we needed a little something to reward ourselves for our hard work, and so we made another one.
One dessert, made three days in a row. Ridiculous!
By the way, we made the regular 8x8 version the first time. That's much too small when you have 10 people in the house.
The following is our 9x13 version:
Chocolate Cobbler
Ingredients
2 cups self-rising flour (or 2 cups all-purpose flour + 4 tsp baking powder + ½ tsp salt)
7/8 cup coca powder, divided (into 6 Tbsp and ½ cup)
2½ cup sugar, divided (into 1½ cup and 1 cup).
1 cup milk
2/3 cup melted butter
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 cups hot tap water
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°
Stir together the flour, 6 Tbsp cocoa, and 1½ cup sugar.
Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
Spread the batter into a 9x13 baking dish.
In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, 1 cup light brown sugar, and ½ cup cocoa.
Sprinkle the sugar and cocoa mixture evenly over the batter.
Pour the hot tap water over everything. DO NOT STIR! (Yes, this looks weird; weird enough to call in the kids and show them just how weird it looks and say, “Can you believe this is going to turn into something good?”)
Bake for 40 minutes or until the center is set. (This took 40 minutes Friday, but 45 minutes Saturday -- maybe the weather was different?)
Don't bother trying to stick in a knife to see if it comes out clean -- it won't -- there's way too much gooey goodness inside. Just look (or even prod with a finger) to see if the top of the cobbler in the center is firm. You should notice that some chunks of cobbler will be a little higher than the surroundings. These will be little ‘islands’, similar to cake-like brownies, which should spring back when prodded.
You won't know this yet, but those ‘islands’ are floating on a sea of chocolate sauce that somehow formed all over the bottom of the pan. This is magical stuff!
To serve, allow to cool a little (or not -- it's that good!), then plate up a good-sized spoonful (or two) of cobbler, ladle the chocolate sauce from the pan bottom over the cobbler, and add a scoop (or two) of vanilla ice-cream on the side.
Be careful! It's addicting!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
What?
Kaleb was reviewing his list of "sight words" -- words that don't necessarily conform to phonic rules and, so, have to be learned through memorization.
He asked, "What does 'h-e-r-e' spell?" I replied, "here."
He asked, "What does 'w-h-a-t' spell?" I replied, "What?"
He asked again, "What does 'w-h-a-t' spell?" I replied, "What?"
He asked a third time...
I could have kept it going a lot longer, but Keaton spoiled my fun. "Kaleb, w-h-a-t spells what!"
He asked, "What does 'h-e-r-e' spell?" I replied, "here."
He asked, "What does 'w-h-a-t' spell?" I replied, "What?"
He asked again, "What does 'w-h-a-t' spell?" I replied, "What?"
He asked a third time...
I could have kept it going a lot longer, but Keaton spoiled my fun. "Kaleb, w-h-a-t spells what!"
Lion's Choice
Whenever we travel (even if it's to Indianapolis), we rarely eat at a Wendy's or Burger King or any other restaurant that we have in our home town.In Indianapolis or Kokomo, we'll often drive through Rally's, as Lafayette, for who-knows-what-reason, does not have one.
In St. Louis, our fast-food stop of choice is Lion's Choice.
We first met Lion's Choice when we broke for lunch during the 2008 Teen Talent Expo in St Louis, and we fell in love with it for three reasons:
- The roast beef - still served a little red, like most Prime Rib is served.
- The horseradish sauce - with plenty of punch to it -- not at all like the watered-down, made-for-the-masses horsey sauce found at another roast beef chain.
- The 15¢ ice cream cones - or 25¢ for a chocolate-dipped cone.
This past Sunday, I (KC) had to go to Joplin for some business. Guess where I stopped for lunch... the Lion's Choice in Eureka.
Shortly after I ate, I got a call from my Father-in-law, who was driving to Branson. He said he had just finished lunch in Sullivan, MO... at a Lion's Choice.
Yesterday, I walked in the family room carrying my Lion's Choice soft-drink cup that I hadn't thrown away yet. Keaton saw it and exclaimed, "You ate at Lion's Choice? No fair! You always eat at the good places!"
I then showed Keaton my Jack-in-the-box cup, but that's another story.
Keaton did ask, however, if we might be able to go to Missouri for lunch!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Visiting with Grandma Row
Grandma asked me, "What happened to your hair?" Used to be that Grandma talked about how thick my hair was. Times are changing!
Later, I met Grandma's dining buddies Ruth, Pearl and Virginia.
Ruth is Grandma's roommate. Grandma said the staff put them together because they thought they'd known each other before, but Grandma told me she'd never met the lady.
Ruth didn't talk much, but Pearl... she's quite the talker.
At one point, Kaleb, my youngest, was standing near Pearl and she cried out, "Oh my God! You're just a doll!"
Pearl kept trying to get Kaleb to talk, but Kaleb's a little shy at times. Pearl would ask, "Can you say 'hi'? Can you say, 'I love you'?", but she'd get nothing out of Kaleb. After a little bit of this, Kaleb finally responded, and Virginia piped up, "Why he can talk!"
Grandma introduced all of us, and she did so as only a Grandma could:
Grandma went on to say that I worked for Crane, and Pearl looked right at me and said, "It's nice to meet you, Russell."
Grandma tried to explain that my name was Ken, at which point Pearl looked directly at my son Kyle and said, "And it's nice to meet you, Ken."
Grandma just shook her head and gave up trying straighten Pearl out.
Here's a rarity... a picture of Grandma! I managed to snap this using Hannah's phone. If I'd walked in with a camera, Grandma would've fussed, but she didn't pay attention at all to the phone.
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Grandma and Kaleb
Later, I met Grandma's dining buddies Ruth, Pearl and Virginia.
Ruth is Grandma's roommate. Grandma said the staff put them together because they thought they'd known each other before, but Grandma told me she'd never met the lady.
Ruth didn't talk much, but Pearl... she's quite the talker.
At one point, Kaleb, my youngest, was standing near Pearl and she cried out, "Oh my God! You're just a doll!"
Pearl kept trying to get Kaleb to talk, but Kaleb's a little shy at times. Pearl would ask, "Can you say 'hi'? Can you say, 'I love you'?", but she'd get nothing out of Kaleb. After a little bit of this, Kaleb finally responded, and Virginia piped up, "Why he can talk!"
Grandma introduced all of us, and she did so as only a Grandma could:
"This tall one's Kyle; he's the singer. This next one's Hannah; she's the photographer. Then here's Korben; he's the reader. This one's Keaton; he's the musician. And this little one's Kaleb, and we don't know what he's going to be yet."All through the introductions, Pearl listened, nodded and commented. Grandma then mentioned that we lived in Lafayette. "I've got friends in Lafayette!," said Pearl.
Grandma went on to say that I worked for Crane, and Pearl looked right at me and said, "It's nice to meet you, Russell."
Grandma tried to explain that my name was Ken, at which point Pearl looked directly at my son Kyle and said, "And it's nice to meet you, Ken."
Grandma just shook her head and gave up trying straighten Pearl out.
Here's a rarity... a picture of Grandma! I managed to snap this using Hannah's phone. If I'd walked in with a camera, Grandma would've fussed, but she didn't pay attention at all to the phone.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Grandpa's Cold Coffee
[Note: The family and I drove to Bedford today to see my Grandpa Row who is currently in Dunn's ICU due to possible mini-strokes]
When I arrived, Grandpa was nearing the end of his dessert. He'd wanted Neopolitan ice cream, but they only had orange sherbet, so Grandpa settled for that. Slowly and carefully, he finished off the last of it, then asked for some coffee.
My sister Kelly said he had coffee on his tray, but she thought it might be cold.
"Well, coffee's coffee," grandpa replied.
Kelly offered him the straw. He sipped and then grumbled, "The least they could have done was warm it up!"
That sounds like the Grandpa I remember!
I'm hopeful that Grandpa's on the mend. My cousin Beth reported that he'd asked her to bring him back a Twinkie. He's also sleeping peacefully, which is significant because he fights sleep if he thinks he's ill -- He doesn't want to die in his sleep.
When I arrived, Grandpa was nearing the end of his dessert. He'd wanted Neopolitan ice cream, but they only had orange sherbet, so Grandpa settled for that. Slowly and carefully, he finished off the last of it, then asked for some coffee.
My sister Kelly said he had coffee on his tray, but she thought it might be cold.
"Well, coffee's coffee," grandpa replied.
Kelly offered him the straw. He sipped and then grumbled, "The least they could have done was warm it up!"
That sounds like the Grandpa I remember!
I'm hopeful that Grandpa's on the mend. My cousin Beth reported that he'd asked her to bring him back a Twinkie. He's also sleeping peacefully, which is significant because he fights sleep if he thinks he's ill -- He doesn't want to die in his sleep.
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