Middle Name Meme

In honor of Beck's birthday, I will finally do the meme she tagged me with. With which she tagged me.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged, you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

My middle name is Jane. (Sarah Jane! Bet you never heard that name before.) I am the seventh-generation Jane on my mom's side of the family. Katherine is the eighth.

J - Just. Just went to Katherine's Kindergarten orientation yesterday. On Wednesday, I met with the nurse, the school secretary, and K's teacher to discuss her allergy and the importance of all of the medications being in the classroom. I am working on a longer post about this, but overall, everything went well.

A- Anxious. I am still anxious about her being at school, though. There are just so many variables and accidents that could happen. It is difficult to have faith that everything will be fine.

N- Nose. Eli keeps beeping my nose, complete with sound effects. "Bweep!"

E- Eating. I am eating my breakfast off of Katherine's new tea set, in the company of K and her Felicity doll. Very dainty. Now K. is playing her new Nintendo DS game. She is a woman of many interests.

So, let's see, for J-A-N-E I will tag Janelle, Alisa, A Garden of Nna Moy, and He Can't Eat That. (Cut me some slack, I didn't have enough blogs beginning with the right letters.)

Happy Sixth Birthday

How is it that you are six?

What a perfect birthday. Your first school bus ride, a tour of your new school, and meeting your teachers and classmates. Then, dinner with your family and your grandparents: your favorite pizza (bacon, no cheese) and Daddy's pineapple upside-down cake, followed by water "tea" in your new tea set.

Happy Birthday, Baby.

Low-Cost, Dairy-Free Star Wars Birthday Party

Invitations: Printed on our computer using a picture of R2-D2.

Menu:
Chicken Light Sabers (Schwan's chicken fries)
Carrot Light Sabers (baby carrots)
Strawberry Grenades (hulled strawberries)
Pretzel Light Sabers (pretzel rods)
Popsicle Light Sabers (freezer pops)
Yoda Cake (Daddy found the cake decoration on Ebay. Mama baked the cake.)

Beverages:
Ice Water, and some Horrible Blue Drink from W@lMart that the birthday girl tried at preschool (in April!) and decided she wanted for her birthday. She remembered, too.

Activities:
Star Wars coloring pages
Playing outside
Pin the staff on Yoda--The staffs were cut out of a paper grocery bag. The kids were blindfolded and stuck the staffs on with Scotch tape.

Treat Bags:
Lunch bags decorated with Star Wars clip art, containing
88-cent light-up swords from W@lMart
Luke and Leia paper dolls
Glow in the dark bracelets


May the Force be with you.

My Worst Nightmare

48,000 pounds of cream spill from truck on I-80


"Workers hurried to clean up 48,000 pounds of cream Wednesday after a truck carrying the liquid tipped on its side on Interstate 80 in Shenango Township. The cream, which isn’t hazardous to humans, can cut off oxygen to fish if not properly cleaned up from a stream, the Department of Environmental Protection said."
Jason Kapusta/The Sharon Herald

(Isn't hazardous to humans? I beg to differ.)


"A stream of milk flows from the accident scene at mile marker 5 on Interstate 80."
Jason Kapusta/The Sharon Herald

Wish We Were There

Ginger Peach Muffins

"What I am is a person with a love of peaches, a fear of botulism, and a chest freezer in my garage." --Catherine Newman

Ginger Peach Muffins

3 cups flour (white, wheat, or a blend)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
3 cups peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line 24 muffin cups.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the oil, eggs, and sugar. Stir the oil mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in the peaches and ginger. Spoon into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pans for a few minutes before placing them on wire racks to cool completely. Makes 24 muffins.

Ashland, NH Area Travel Guide

Planning a trip to New Hampshire? Here are a few places we like to visit.

My mom grew up spending her summers on Lake Winnipesaukee, between Center Harbor and Meredith. When my sister and I were growing up, we always spent our vacation at the family "camp" on the lake. Sadly, the camp had to be sold about ten years ago. But, my aunt now has a great house on Little Squam Lake, so we are able to bring the kids to the same area where we spent our summers.

Squam Bridge in Ashland, NH
Little Squam Lake is also known as Golden Pond because it's where On Golden Pond was filmed.

Ashland is a great town with a very active Historical Society. We were able to attend their annual lobster dinner fundraiser. They were kind enough to have hot dogs and hamburgers available for children and/or those who can't eat shellfish.

I would also like to give a special mention to the Village Pizza & Grill in Ashland. We went there for lunch one day, and the service was amazingly helpful and friendly. Katherine and Eli split a cheese-free bacon pizza and an order of pasta with sauce. All the staff was very careful and understanding, and there was no cross-contamination of ingredients. Plus, the food was excellent. Katherine ate four pieces of pizza, a personal record.

Just a few miles down the road is the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, NH.
We had never been there before, and it is amazing. They have all kinds of native NH animals that have been injured and are living in natural habitats while they recover. The black bears, bald eagles, and bobcats were our favorites.

The Old Country Store
The Old Country Store in Moultonborough, NH, has always been the rainy-day place to take the kids. Penny candy! Weird old machinery in the museum! More candy! While the price has risen to two cents per piece of candy, it's still fun, and there are plenty of dairy-free candies available to choose from.

Weirs Beach
Usually we spend one evening at Weirs Beach playing games at the arcades on the boardwalk. Our favorites are Whack-a-Mole, Skeeball, and the ancient Dodge City Shooting Gallery. We also stopped at the Hart's Slush stand for some dairy-free frozen goodness.

Rein's Deli
Another family tradition is to stop at Rein's Deli (Warning: the site plays music) in Vernon, CT, on the drives to and from NH. They, too, are excellent about dairy-free orders. Katherine likes their turkey breast on a plain bagel with a side of plain Cape Cod potato chips. I just wish I could get her to try their fantastic dill pickles!

We had a wonderful time. It's a great place to vacation!

Emily and Jarred...

... are married! The wedding is over (as are the two family reunions, the three bridal showers, and the endless visits from out-of-town relatives, etc.), and we survived. A big thank you to Dotty the seamstress who let out the seams in the baby-belly area so effortlessly.

Now, the Hatfields are going on vacation in New Hampshire. I can't wait to sit on the beach by the lake and do NOTHING.

I've missed all of you, and I look forward to catching up when I return. Have a great week!