BBA Challenge #13 - Focaccia

I find it totally hilarious that my friend Lisa (who blogs at Stop and Smell the Chocolates) guest posted for me one time this summer and what did she post about? Focaccia. A bread machine recipe, in fact. You should totally check it out. (And check out her blog while you’re at it.)

I really had high hopes for this focaccia recipe.

Wait. Let me start again.

This focaccia recipe is a good one. It’s relatively simple and it came with an herb oil recipe that knocked our socks off. In fact, I’ve posted my version here.

However, I did encounter problems. Well, not really problems and not necessarily with the bread itself, but challenges. With other things.

I topped a pizza sized portion with herb oil, sun-dried tomatoes and gorgonzola cheese. I don’t have a lot of photographic evidence, but let’s see if you can figure out the problem here

Before baking:



After baking:



So, yeah. My toppings didn’t go so well, huh?

Now I was able to remove them and the bread itself was wonderful. Mike liked it better even than the Ciabatta. It was fluffy and flavorful.

In the book, Mr. Reinhart tells us that portions of the dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. So, I decided that I would try freezing some and include my results on this post. (Which is part of why this post is so long in coming.)

My results were kind of weird actually.

Lacking specific instructions on what to do, I removed the dough from the freezer and let it mostly thaw in the refrigerator. I removed it from the fridge to let it continue thawing because I thought I would bake it that day. As it turned out, we went out for dinner so I put it back in the fridge.



I took it back out of the fridge the next day and followed the instructions from step 2 on page 166. This focaccia sat out waiting to proof from about 10:30 am until about 3:30 pm. It never proofed.



Can you see how this is not as puffy as the first batch above?

I don’t know if the in and out action with the fridge caused it to wig out and decide not to proof or what. So I finally went ahead and topped it with some Asiago cheese and Salami and baked it just to see what would happen.



The flavor was actually good and it wasn’t hard as a brick like you might think. But it was definitely denser than and not as fluffy as the first (un-frozen) batch.



I’ll bake the other two batches that I still have in my freezer at some point, but I much prefer the un-frozen version.

Overall Impressions:

I have some work to do to figure out how to top the focaccia in creative and interesting ways while dealing with the high baking temperature and not burning the toppings.

Will I make it again? Sure. I would definitely make this focaccia again. But I also might try Lisa’s bread machine recipe.

Banned in the PRC

As I told you last week, Mike went to China. He landed in Beijing and then travelled by train to Tianjin where he spent the majority of his week. He went back to Beijing early on Friday to try to do some sightseeing before coming home on Saturday only to find that pretty much the entire town was shut down for a parade rehearsal for the 60th anniversary celebration of China’s communist regime.

Mike mentioned a celebratory parade to me and I pictured flags and colors and dancing dragons and all manner of exciting things.

Do you want to know what a celebratory parade looks like in communist China?

Tanks.

Missiles.

Military.

At the point that he took these pictures, they were well into hour 3 of this parade. A parade that would have captured the heart of my 4 year old son… for a few minutes.

I read this evening while doing a little surfing that our own Empire State building in New York City is displaying red and yellow lights in honor of this 60th anniversary of communist rule in China. Like many Americans, this disturbs me.

Why would we want to celebrate a country’s government which stands for everything that we [at least should] stand against?

Tyranny.

Oppression.

Dehumanization.

I read an interesting article on the subject at Investors.com. It’s a really good read. Here’s the link.

"Honor China, Not Its Communism"

I find it interesting that when Mike and I talked on that Monday, he happened to mention that he tried to pull up my blog, this very blog that you are reading, but couldn’t. This little ol’ blog has been blocked by the People’s Republic of China.

Do you understand why?

Their government has filters on its internet service, much like what you would have on your home internet for your children's safety as they surf the internet researching a paper on the Greek goddess Athena. But instead of blocking pr0n, it is blocking sites like this one that talk a little too much about GOD, JESUS and the BIBLE. He could look at his political blogs and whatnot just fine. But not this little ol’ blog whose author loves to talk openly about her faith in Jesus Christ.

I’ve been banned in the PRC.

And I decided that, pretty much, I’m fine with that. It’s just interesting knowledge to have and not something I ever expected to know about my blog.

And never did I expect for us in the United States of America to so overtly celebrate a government that so ruthlessly stifles freedom of speech.

Shame on you, whomever you are, that made this decision for the Empire State building. Shame on you.

By the way, Mike and I have decided that the above title would be a great blog title. So, no stealing it, okay?

Fred's Texas Cafe - A WayMoreHomemade Review

I don’t watch a whole lot on Food Network these days, but I do have a few shows that I like to see every now and then. One of them is hosted by this guy with crazy hair and his sunglasses on backwards. The show is “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.”

Maybe its my upbringing as the daughter of a police officer and being exposed all my life to these types of places, but I have a real soft spot in my heart for the divey hole-in-the-wall looking restaurants that do great food. Not necessarily healthy, but great. And usually pretty cheap.

Which is why police officers love them.

But I digress.

I was watching the show the other day and noticed that they were at a place in Fort Worth called Fred’s Texas Café.

“Hmmm. I’ve never heard of it. We will have to check it out,” I thought to myself.

Well, on Saturday we got our chance. The kids were spending the night at Nanny’s house and we tried to take advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a walk in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. We then went for a Blizzard at the Dairy Queen down the street (since it is the closest one to our house – oh the HORROR). We then continued the calorie fest at Fred’s.




Fred’s is located near the cultural district of Fort Worth on Currie Street just south of West 7th, not far from the old Montgomery Ward building. This is an area of town that has been in the midst of some major revitalization over the last 4-5 years. I’m not sure how long Fred’s has been there, but they are perfectly positioned to really keep and gain a lot of business in the coming years.

We drove up and the street was lined with cars on both sides. That’s always a good sign.

A couple of things to note as you arrive. There are two dining areas. To dine at a table inside, you need to sign yourself in on the clipboard just inside the front door. If you would prefer to dine on the patio outside, just walk on through the gate and keep your eyes peeled for a spot. It’s every man for himself out there.



Seriously, we hear that folks are usually pretty friendly and will make room for you. However, we didn’t realize this until we had already been there for a while. We would have loved to have dined outside this beautiful fall evening. There was live music that was tolerable and a festive atmosphere. However, we got the chance at some seats at the bar as some people that Mike knew from his old job in Dallas were leaving, so we took them.

Our seats were at the end of the bar and we ended up being able to see straight into the kitchen. It was fascinating to watch these guys work. The action never stopped. They took out a ball of ground beef and hand shaped each and every burger fresh before putting it on the griddle. And the girls behind the bar made each margarita individually… no margarita machine in sight. Now, that the Way More Homemade way. And that’s the way we like it.



When you order you need to know a few things as well. Most of the menu is burgers and fries. However, they do have specials. I think they were listed on a chalk board, but just know that you can ask about them.

And specifically, you need to know that you can ask about the Rib-eye steak with chipotle butter. It is a 16 ounce steak served with fries and a salad. Mike and I ordered one and split it and it was more than enough for the two of us. We ordered it cooked medium and for my taste, it was over cooked and more like well done. However, it was still tender and the chipotle butter added a nice kick to it. For my man, it was perfect.

We also ordered our fries with cheese. They. Were. Yum.



One of their signature dishes is Quail and Eggs which they serve only for their Sunday brunch.

Many people who read this here blog have kids and may be asking, “Is it an okay place to take my kids?” I would say mostly yes. The only issue might be the wait. On the patio with its “seat yourself when you find a spot” policy, the wait time is really uncertain. If you go planning to sit on the patio with your kids, I’d say you might want to get there on the early side of the evening. If you want to sit inside, just know that the number of booths is really limited.

We got there in the 6:45 pm time range and finally ate at about 8:15 between waiting for a spot to sit, ordering, and waiting for our food. This is probably not the place for you if your children tend on the impatient side when it comes to eating at a certain time.

Overall we had an excellent experience, great service and my man can’t wait to go back and try a burger.

Have you been to Fred’s? What was your experience?

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for this "review" if that's what you want to call it. We paid for our dinner out of our own empty pockets.

Preschool Accomplishments/Firsts - Mama Braggin' Monday

I am a funny sort when it comes to kids.

I like kids in general. I have consistently worked in children’s ministry at church in some capacity my entire adult life. But I have not always liked every developmental stage. Even in my own kids.

Or maybe I should say, especially in my own kids.

During most of my adult years, I have worked with teens and pre-teens. I have taught them in children's choir. I have taught 6th grade Sunday School. I have been a sponsor for pre-teen camp numerous times. But in recent years, I have backed off of the teen and pre-teen ministry in favor of working with my own kids ages.

I did not become a baby person until I was done having them. I didn’t “get” them before I had kids and couldn’t enjoy them very much until I knew I wasn’t having any more.

Toddlers really aren’t my thing either. They are so incredibly high maintenance and a lot of work. Again, I think they are cute now, but in the midst of parenting one, it was hard for me to appreciate them.

The preschool stage is different, though. I’ve pretty much always been able to work with preschoolers and enjoy them. And with both my kids, it has been my favorite stage. 3 years old until about 5 years old.

I love this stage with my own kids partly because all the hard work of those early years begins to pay off. After what seems like two solid years of saying, “NO!” and not being able to take my eyes off of them for a single second, I begin to feel like I can breathe a little bit. There are no diapers to change. We can even eat chicken nuggets in the car if we must. That’s when I feel like I have “arrived.”

Another thing that I love is some of the accomplishments and developmental firsts that you see during this stage. Maybe it’s because they are tangible, I’m not sure. But regardless, seeing these things makes me smile.

Needless to say, at 4 years of age, my son is right in the midst of this stage. And he has begun to do some of those things that I just find so completely precious.

His first self portrait:



He drew this within the first week of school in Pre-K this year. I love the all head/no body/super long legs people drawings. I mentioned it to his teacher at parent night and she said that it was completely un-prompted by her, but that he and some of the boys at his table just spontaneously drew the pictures and cut them out. I immediately took it out of his folder, dated it, and pinned it up on the bulletin board.

Writing his name:



I noticed this two Sundays ago during worship service. It was the Sunday that Mike was out of town. During the sermon, I noticed that he had written it on the back of a picture that he had drawn in his Sunday School class. And then I looked down and it appeared that he had actually written his name on his paper during class as it was down in the bottom corner. I immediately took a picture of it and also showed it to Mike via Skype one night while he was gone.

My boy is growing up and I love it.

I plan to share more of his art work soon.

Because it always makes me smile.

Survivor: The Week Without Dad - Day 8

This is part 8 of a series of posts chronicling our week while my man and my kids' dad was out of the country for a week. See Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 , Day 6 and Day 7.

Day 8 – Saturday

Today I am just exhausted. It’s been a long week of little sleep.

I stayed up really late last night. I didn’t realize the affect that having another child in the house would have on me, but I was even more reluctant to go to sleep last night. And once I did go to sleep I think I just didn’t sleep heavily at all.

I remember my phone making a noise at one point. I looked at it this morning and it was a text from Mike at about 2:45 am saying that he was on the plane and that he should be departing on time.

I woke up really early, too, but I stayed in bed trying desperately to go back to sleep. And then came the knock on my door at 7 am.

All the kids were up and already dressed.

And my first thought… “Oh it’s going to be a long day. Where’s my coffee?”

I offered to either make pancakes or go to the donut shop.

I’ll give you one guess as to what they picked.

Yeah.

So we went and had breakfast and headed on to Nathan’s first soccer game.

He played goalie for the first part of the game. When he came off the field he said, “They shot the ball to me one time, but not two times,” with a bit of a sad face. So cute.




He played on the field, mostly just as a runner, the second half. At one point he ran off the field towards me and I said, “Son, you can’t just run off the field. Get back out there.” He looked at me with those big baby blues and said, “Mom, my legs are tiiired.”

So I gave the “cut-it” motion to the coach and they put someone else in. Nathan gladly took his spot on the bench. He was gassed.

By the way, I totally have to give credit to Mike's dad, "Grumps" as the kids call him, for the pictures above. Mike had my camera with him all week, so that left me with just my phone. Which was fine, but I wanted some good pictures of Nathan's first game.

Mike's mom, "Nanny" came up for the game as well. We went to lunch with her and then headed home for some much needed rest.

The three of us were excited to go to some friends’ house for a barbeque in the evening, but I still needed to make a dessert. I finally just asked the kids what they wanted and they requested brownies.

Great. I can make brownies in my sleep. Which is exactly what I wanted to do.

And I did.

I finally woke up at 5 pm and Nathan woke up shortly thereafter and we were able to get out of the house pretty quickly after that.

I heard from Mike that he was in Chicago while we were trying to get out of the house, so I called him back once we were in the car and on our way. I can't tell to the relief I had to have him back on the same continent as us. Something about those overseas flights just makes me nervous. Not when I do it, but when the one I love is out there in a little tube flying over the Arctic circle... it makes me nervous. But he was within a couple of hours of being home.

We had a wonderful time at our friends’ house. It was the perfect distraction that I needed to keep my mind preoccupied and not dwell on Mike's continued travel. We just hung out with them until about 9 pm when we started making our way back over to our neck of the woods to be ready to pick Mike up at 10:30 (our friends live about an hour away).

As it turns out, there was a hot air balloon festival today and they do fireworks at the end of it. So we stopped at the side of the road and enjoyed the fireworks from the car for several minutes and then continued on our way.

We went straight to the airport and found a parking space and went into the baggage claim area. Within a few minutes we saw a plan pull up at the gate right across the way and at the same time I got a text from Mike, “Just pulled up to gate B29.” I texted back, “Yeah, we see you.”

And within minutes, we actually did.

We did it. We survived.

And I didn’t even get voted off the island.

Survivor: The Week Without Dad - Day 7

Day 7 – Friday

The week is almost over and I am ready.

Sarah asked yesterday if one of her new friends from school could come over and spend the night tonight. Since this Saturday is likely the only Saturday she won’t have a soccer game for the next couple of months, I said sure. I called the girl’s mom and we worked it out.

Her friend, R, came over and we went to Nathan’s first soccer practice.

He did great.





He has a couple of friends from his old class at his daycare on his team.

I talked to Mike on the phone once or twice during soccer practice, but it was already Saturday morning his time and he would be leaving his hotel soon and would not have access to a computer again. I probably would not get to talk to or hear from him again until he was in Chicago on Saturday afternoon.

We got home and picnicked with some homemade pizza on the floor in the tv room and watched a Veggie Tales video that the kids picked out.

Everyone headed to bed at a pretty decent time.

Survivor: The Week Without Dad - Day 6

Day 6 – Thursday

I can tell the week is really starting to catch up with me. I hate going to bed at night without Mike here so I just stay up watching TV while lying in bed because I’m too tired to sit and concentrate on anything at the computer. Then, I have to wake up early to get it all done to get out the door in time for school.

I got up at 5 am as usual this morning but ended up back in bed to try to catch a few more winks. I was dragging pretty much and I goofed around just enough that Sarah was late to school. Not by more than just a minute or so, but I felt defeated none-the-less.

I was scheduled today to have lunch with Sarah’s class to give her teacher a break. You see, our school is mostly in portable buildings right now and the grammar school kids have no central cafeteria. They have lunch in their rooms, which means that their teachers stay and have lunch with them. So we, as parents, like to come and take over for a few minutes as much as we can to give our sweet teachers a break. The kids in Sarah’s class are all pretty much good kids, but the boys in this year’s class seem like they are likely a hand-full. Oh my! I need to go in with more of a game-face on next time.

Today was the kids’ last day in after school care for the week. That was a mile-stone for me. That let me know that the week is almost over.

Sarah was supposed to have her first soccer practice today. However, there was no soccer practice because, shocker, it rained… again. We just had a short meeting with her coaches and the team and got our jerseys. They are awful. Burnt Orange.

We know her coach from church and we know that they are Longhorn fans. So I gave him the look as he SWORE up and down that he did NOT request that color. The other coach, who is a good Ag, backed him up on it and assured me that the goalie jersey would be maroon. “And we all know,” he said, “that every kid wants to wear that goalie jersey.”

True enough.

We were even a little late to our soccer team meeting so that we could talk to Dad for just a few minutes on Skype. Since this wasn’t a real practice, I didn’t mind having her be a few minutes late so that she could talk to her Dad.

We got home and I had the kids out riding their bikes while I got dinner ready. I looked around the mess that was my kitchen, took a peek in the fridge and then went outside and loaded up the kids and went to Taco Casa.

Yeah. It was that kind of a night.

Once the kids were in bed, I was sitting here at my computer working and Mike tried to call. We spent a good 20-30 minutes trying to get video and audio all working correctly and I ended up having to completely re-boot my computer. But we finally did get it to work and we had the greatest talk.

As it turns out, it was Friday morning his time and they had already gone back into Beijing with hopes of doing some sight-seeing. However, with the coming of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the communist party there in the PRC (People’s Republic of China) everything was shut down for a parade rehearsal. The Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square and the whole surrounding area. Shut down.

Can you imagine being in Beijing for the first (and possibly only) time and just twiddling your thumbs in your hotel room because there’s nothing to do?

Well, it worked in my favor because I got to just sit and talk to my man without the kidlets muscling in on my time. We laughed and joked and talked about our weeks, politics, church stuff, kid stuff and nothing at all. It was like he was sitting right here with me.

I loved it.

And I feel like it is going to be just enough to get me through until Saturday.

Survivor: The Week Without Dad - Day 5

This is part 4 of a series of posts chronicling our week while my man and my kids' dad was out of the country last week. See Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 & Day 4.

Day 5 – Wednesday

As I’m sitting here writing, it is so quiet in the house and I realize how much I miss Mike. The kids are in bed and the only sounds are of crickets quietly chirping amidst the breeze that’s rustling the leaves on the trees outside, a snoring dachshund and the clicks of my keyboard as I gently tap out a record of today’s events. I glance over and my kitchen is an absolute mess because someone hasn’t been here to clean up after me. I look around and there is only one computer, the other laptop that is usually sitting here at the table is missing. I feel alone in spite of the sleeping children who are just yards away in their room tucked into bed.

BSF started today. I really felt like if there was a day that Satan was going to attack and make a bad morning for us that today would be the day. So from the time Mike left, I began asking friends to pray for us this morning. And you know what, we had our smoothest morning yet.

I was going to let Nathan sleep in a little, but I didn’t even have to go and drag him out of bed as I have the last two days for school. By 7:15 he was up and smiling his sweet smile. Then once we got to BSF, we walked up to his classroom and he just walked right in with no problem. I couldn’t have asked for a better morning with him.

I worked in the preschool area today, so we stayed after class for me to listen to lecture with our children’s leaders and Nathan had lunch with some new friends in the other room. The transition was smooth to the other room and everything just went great.

I called our auto insurance guy this morning and found out that we do have towing insurance. Mike worked it out with his dad and he took care of getting my car towed back here to the house. Knowing that I have a little boy who loves all things cars and trucks, I let Nathan stay up instead of taking a nap so that he could see the tow truck once it got to the house. It was likely the highlight of his week.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, but included a nap for Nathan after we picked Sarah up from school.

And all the mommies said…. AMEN!

We made sure and talked to Dad on Skype this evening because Sarah is supposed to have soccer tomorrow evening and Nathan has soccer on Friday evening. Of course all that is a little up in the air with all the rain we’ve had this week, but that’s the plan anyways.

And we all know how well my plans have gone this week.

Regardless, we’re not sure if we’ll really get to talk much for the rest of the week, so we needed to get that conversation in.

And hey, since it’s my day off from work, I actually cooked dinner. I made roast and experimented with some sweet potato fries. Roast was good. Sweet potato fries were so-so. Need to do some more experimenting. Maybe after Daddy’s home.

Survivor: The Week Without Dad - Day 4

This is part 4 of a series of posts chronicling our week while my man and my kids' dad was out of the country last week. See Day 1, Day 2 & Day 3.



Day 4 – Tuesday

Today has been tough. It is one of those “I feel completely overwhelmed by everything” sort of days.

It isn’t just one thing, it’s the whole combination of things.

I found out over the last couple of days about a fee here, and a request for money there, and they are all dollar amounts that seem completely unreasonable. I feel like we are being “nickel and dimed” to death and I hate that it is such a big deal. I hate that I have to be such a hawk about every cent that leaves this house. I hate it.

I also found out today about a school project that has been assigned to Sarah. Now, this one is not nearly on the scale of the project from last year, but it is due next week and I’m looking at the week and thinking, “When on earth am I going to have time to do this?” It’s not that I dislike projects per se, I’m just the kind of person that likes to know everything up front and I asked about projects at the very beginning of the school year and I felt like I was led to believe that there wouldn’t be one. I just want a syllabus. That’s all. I want to know what to expect. It’s hard and stressful for us as parents, at least for parents both working outside of the home, to schedule extra time to help with projects on short notice.

And did I mention that my car doesn’t work? It’s still sitting in the parking lot of my office.

I came home again today at lunch to get the BSF lesson that was dropped off for Mike last night so that I could scan it and email it to him. I drove up and was pushing my button for the garage opener. And pushed it again, and again, and again…. and then it dawned on me. Our power was out. Just what I needed.

Thankfully, by the time I had picked up both kids and got back home, the power was back on and we were able to continue with our day as planned and were able to talk to daddy on Skype in the evening.

I am so thankful for one couple of friends in particular today. I go to an aerobics/exercise class with my friend, Keal, on Tuesdays and Thursdays as I’m able. Tonight I was just planning on picking up some dinner for the kids and making them sit through it while I exercised. However, her sweet husband offered to take our kids along with theirs to McD’s for dinner while we exercised. It was the biggest blessing to have those 50 minutes with nobody needing anything from me.

Thank you, Mark. You have no idea how therapeutic that was for me.

We have our routines and disruptions in those routines are expected, but I can only handle so many disruptions at a time. For now, Mike being out of town is the only disruption I can handle well. The rest of these things that I’ve listed just added to my stress level today in ways that nearly made me crack. Normally I would be able to talk to Mike through all of this and maybe even come to some resolution on at least one thing. But with him not here, I feel like there are all these balls in the air with nowhere to go.

It's almost enough to make a girl lose. it.

But tomorrow is a new day, right? His mercies are new every morning. And tomorrow morning is Bible study.

Now that's something to look forward to.

Survivor: The Week Without Dad - Day 3

Day 3 – Monday

My day started at 4 am today. Yes, you read that right. 4 am.

Nathan was awoken by yet another rain storm moving through the area. He thought he had heard thunder, but I don’t recall hearing any. Nonetheless, there was that knock on my door at 4 am. I took him into our bathroom to go potty and he wanted to lay down with me on our bed. I allowed it for a few minutes, but quickly determined that I was not going to get back to sleep and would need to be up in a short while anyways. I didn’t want to wake him once I did get up, so I took him back to his bed and he went right back to sleep.

I, on the other hand, did not.

I finally went ahead and got up at 5 and started my routine. Sarah was up by 10 ‘till 7. But Nathan. Poor Nathan. He just couldn’t get going. “Mom, I just need more sleep,” he said at one point as I was putting his clothes on him finally at 7:20.

“I know, son. So do I.”

Okay, so I am just going to say, “Blah blah blah,” about the morning routine and suffice it to say, the kids got to school on time. Feeling a real sense of victory, I celebrated this fact by treating myself to a tall mocha and a blueberry muffin from Starbucks.

Oh Starbucks, I’ve missed you these last six months.

Since it was still, you guessed it, raining, I let the dogs stay inside when I left home this morning. I was leaving my office to go home to let the dogs out and you know what, it helps in the leaving of the office process when the car actually starts.

Mine, however, did not.

I got a ride home from my father in law to get Mike’s car so that I could have transportation to get the kids and get home later in the day. I find myself so thankful that I had left the dogs inside this morning when I was tempted to make them go out. Otherwise, I’d have had no reason to go out to my car or go home and wouldn’t have known that it wasn’t going to start until it was time to already be at the school to pick the kids up.

So I leave the office and start picking kids up from after-school care while it is still raining (this is 3 straight days of solid rain, which is unusual for us). I’ve picked up Nathan and we are getting out of the car to pick up Sarah and my phone rings. I could tell it was Mike so I answered and told him I’d talk to him later. And we picked up Sarah, we still needed to go to the grocery store to get everything to make my “not-so-way more homemade” creamy tortilla soup for dinner.

What was he thinking calling me between 5 & 6 pm on a Monday??? I work until 5 on Mondays and Thursday s and between 5 & 6 pm on those days, it’s a mad rush to get to each place to pick up the kids and get home at any kind of reasonable time.

What was he thinking? He wasn’t and after a couple of more times trying to call me, he admitted it once we actually got on Skype after we were home. It was Tuesday morning where he was and the thought of where we were in our day just didn’t occur to him.

But the kids and I got to talk to him via Skype/video phone and they really got a kick out of that.



Dinner and bedtime were pretty smooth. Another day down in the record books.