remembering venice

I never could have imagined a place like this.  

It is amazing.  The whole city, right there on the water.  An amazing city.  

 When my sister-in-law worked at this museum, I just never could have imagined such a beautiful building.  

  I tried to enjoy the place for its beauty but when I thought too much I got freaked out by all the water and the garbage and got a little claustrophobic.  

The main plaza was flooded when we got there.  It was quite the scene to see the dueling orchestras at all the surrounding restaurants and the waiters finding dry spots to stand while waiting for diners.

 This guy and this purse.  Something I will never forget even if I don't blog about it.  A lady dropped a purse that she had just bought.  A couple of gondoliers tried to get it for her.  One succeeded but when he threw it up onto the bridge, it just hit the side of the bridge and fell right back into the water.  The lady tried to reach for it and the guy she was with pretended to push her in.  He ended up reaching for the purse, grabbed onto the pole to stop himself from falling in, then ended up accidentally sliding down the pole and barely landing on the dock.  By the time he got the purse he had a huge audience.

 Five hours of driving each way.  And this is the (blurry picture of the) car that we made the trip in.  A Smart Car on the Autostrada.  

 We made it back to Florence at 5 a.m.  I actually got some sleep in the car.  But Karl?  Play now, sleep later, I guess. After all that driving, he had the energy to take these photos of Florence.  

 The food:

That licorice treat.  I still think about it (surprise surprise).  It wasn't my first time having such a treat but it was my first time having it housemade.  Cooked fish is one of my aversions this pregnancy so I couldn't enjoy the local fare to its fullest.  But we did sample some.  

Next stop:  Cinque Terre

remembering bologna

Once upon a time I used to blog with my computer about things besides lunch.

  

I have this mental reward system that I get to blog when I finish my to-do list.  Well, uh, the way I am feeling right now, I won't be blogging for about 2 years.  

So, bag my system, ignore the giant boxes waiting to be unpacked, it is time to get some stuff recorded before they slip my mind completely. 

We got a little restless in Florence after 3 days (us?  restless?).  So we decided to go to Venice.  Since most people plan ahead when they do stuff like that, all the train tickets were sold.  And it was pouring rain.  Pressing on with our impulse, we decided to rent another car. After a few different car rental companies we finally found a car.  A smart car.  As in, a tiny car without shocks or a reclining seat for the passenger for morons that don't plan ahead.  It was hilarious.  And bumpy and loud.  

 We stopped in Bologna on the way.  

I was excited to have some authentic Bolognese sauce.

 But we pulled up not knowing where to go for some great sauce.  We just found a cafe and hoped for the best.  This lady and I kind of raced for this table.  I totally got there first.  But she didn't care.  She just sat down with me.  And then lit up.  I pointed to my pregnant belly and she graciously did about a quarter turn and continued puffing away.  At MY table.  Karl came out, thought it was funny and snapped a picture.  Then we went and found a seat inside.  

Bologna was not a food success for me.  The lasagna bolognese came from a big pan in the deli case.  They scooped it up and warmed it in the microwave and brought it to us.  It was kind of cold and kind of a lot disappointing.  

We finished and moved on.  On the way out we stopped at another little cafe.  Karl ordered another lasagna bolognese.  This time to go.  He came out chuckling.  It was a frozen lasagna!  So much for our quest for lovely bolognese.  I got a few looks while ate my freezer meal (in Italy!) standing there Karl grabbed another gelato.  Crema de Grom makes everything better.

Next stop:  Venice.

lunch: chicken teriyaki

Living with my parents is like kins of like having two little Japanese elves
that quietly help out. It's awesome. I feel bad that we have filled their house to the brim full of our junk/ prized possessions but they are good sports about it.

Karl texted me: Your mom is a good cook.
And then he must have been worried i would think that meant as opposed to me because it was quickly followed by: So are you. But you are busy.

I thought it was funny.

The menu:
Chicken teriyaki and rice
Apples and grapes
Nori (Eva requested it. Samuel's teacher was sitting by him at lunch and she helped him explain to the other kids what it was)
Banana bread for Eva
Snap pea crisps for Samuel

Nothing came home uneaten. You just never know what will go over. Sometimes I throw it in while wondering if they will eat it or not.

lunch: living with my mom= great food

Growing up, I wouldn't have thought of taking a lunch beyond a sandwich (probably with Buddig beef), a baggie of chips, carrot sticks (before mini carrots came out) or apple slices (I remember being thrilled when my mom would cut them into bunnies), fruit snacks (those didn't come out until I was in fifth grade!) and a Hi-C or Minute Maid juice box.

Yes, I have a great memory when it comes to food.

But mostly I had hot lunch. My mom worked full time.

Things sure have changed. And food wise, my kids are not embarrassed at all to take something beyond a sandwich. I love.

Today's Menu:
Koroke (Japanese croquettes)
Sliced cabbage
Sauce for the koroke and cabbage
Two onigiri (rice balls) piggy shaped
Cucumbers and peaches
Banana bread

My mom made the koroke the night before for dinner. My sister made the banana bread.

One kid left the peaches. One kid left cucumbers.

***lot's of people have asked about my containers. Lately, I have been using this one the most. Might have to do with the fact that the others are packed. These are called Laptop Lunch Bento Box. I got mine on Kidsteals.com but if you google it they will come up on sights like Amazon.com. To me, they seem pretty pricey but I justify it by considering that school lunch costs $2 (I bet this lunch cost less than a dollar) or that I'm reusing this over and over it doesn't seem so bad. And the fact that my kids health and my peace of mind are super high on my priority list, the splurge is totally worth it. ***

eva: miss manners

Eva has been learning about manners at school. One of her assignments was to set the table for dinner. She went above and beyond on this assignment.  She fanned our napkins in our cups, wrote a little message for each of us, rolled it up and stuck it in a ring and had them waiting on our plates when we sat down.

samuel: self portrait?

I was walking down the hall of the kids school and a particular piece of artwork caught my eye. I was just about to say, "Karl, look at this one" when I noticed whose it was.

the electricians

Over the years we have had many people come work on our house. Today, the electricians came to fill the requests of the people buying our house.
The kids were fascinated. Some guys seem to handle Samuel's company, constant questions and comments better than others.
Today, they heard:
-"Why do you talk like a cowboy?"
-"Where is Horsey?" The guys name is Horst.
-"That is so cool! That is so freakin' cool!" over and over as one guy was cutting the wall.
-"My boobie has electricity. Why does my boobie have electricity?" as he rubbed the electrician's voltage finding tool across his chest.
The bishop's wife kindly came and helped me pack today. She said the boys do all these crazy things when they are young and then they grow up to be normal adults. And then you forget all the stuff they did when they were young until THEY start having kids and THEIR kids start doing the same crazy things. Suddenly I am excited to be a grandma. And maybe this blog won't be available when Samuel is trig to find a wife...

lunch: fried rice

This is a morning I must have felt ambitious. I actually cooked something. The bonus was that I made enough for dinner.
-fried brown rice (with bacon, chicken, eggs, carrots, red peppers, fresh corn, and zucchini- if I chop it up small, I can put almost anything in there)
-edamame
-watermelon, strawberries, and blueberries
-a fruit roll up (the box says it is 99% fruit or something like that. They are a lot stickier than the sugar kind)
-juice

Samuel ate it all. Eva wouldn't eat the strawberries. She thought they were too sour.

Yesterday Samuel told me his teacher said he could have hot lunch AND cold lunch. The kid wants two lunches and is trying to trick me. He said he is so hungry. That kid eats more than a lot of adults I know. I also know that he is eating other kids' food. Then I have Eva who says I pack her too much. Still figuring out the best way to feed these kids...

lunch: competing with hot lunch

After the first day of school, Samuel asked if he could have hot lunch. We checked out the menu: a BBQ pork sandwich (on white bread of course), a bag of chips, and half a nectarine. A sandwich with questionable nutrition left the only guarantee for nutrition in that half a nectarine, which they may or may not eat. So I suggested that they have it on Wednesday, salad buffet day. Even though I live in a state where salad can contain things like jello, cool whip, cookies, etc, I figured it was the best pick of the week. They were okay with that.
The menu:
-turkey rolls (this time with cucumber and lettuce. Eva requested the cucumber)
-tortilla chips (I am okay with chips that are made of just corn, oil, and salt) and hummus
-strawberries and cantaloupe for Eva (not a cherry fan) and cherries (not a cantaloupe fan) for Samuel
-zucchini bread (my friend was over for dinner the night before and brought it for dessert)

I got to eat lunch with them. It was fun to see how they interact with the other kids and how they eat their lunch. Samuel did not get up once during his meal. I don't know if it is the bench, the other kids, or what, but he sat until he was done. Amazing. Along with his own lunch he had some goldfish crackers, chili cheese fritos, and even offered Eva a rice krispie treat that the kid next to him brought. Apparently this is all with permission from these boys. But I also know that Samuel doesn't take no for an answer.
I noticed a couple of kids with those small cans of soda. Seems to me that kindergarten is kind of early to start the soda habit.