Knee Deep Blog

Floods and High Water Kids Jeans: When are they too short?

Eli is one of those tall and thin kids which means he often wears flood aka high water jeans. It's not because we don't care rather he doesn't like when the waist band of the pants is higher which is what happens when they are kids slims with the additional elastic pull tab.

Routinely my eyes are rolling to the top of my head when I try my best to get him to wear pants that fits and he refuses, throws a fit, grabs his favorites which he says are extra comfy.  Unfortunately they are also 2 to 3 inches above the ground and known and floods and high waters. Trust me I'm always secretly giving away clothes - and kids continue to grow so it's always an issue.

About a month ago he asked me what it means when someone says you have "floods" - at seven this isn't in your vocabulary.  I explained the concept of high water pants and floods.  He nodded, to indicate he understood and it was the end of the story.  He didn't ask if he wore floods or even notice that he was wearing them at the time.

Learning to Cook - Eli's Kid Friendly Sushi Dinner

Learning to cook could really be learning to cut - Eli's Kid Friendly Sushi Dinner.  Last week was the very first dinner that Eli has come up with the idea, prepped and gloated over.  It cracks me up that for him sushi has nothing to do with raw fish, but I took care of that for the adults.

Eli and Olivia are still on their learning to cook energy which I rather enjoy.  The night before the dinner we talked about what we would have, made a shopping list, and brought Curran (age 5) to help Eli (age 7) shop.  I "simply" monitored the list and all that entered the cart.

Curran was clear he wanted tapioca for dessert, but I couldn't find it so strawberry mochi balls and lime popsicals did the trick.

Our Kid Friendly Sushi Dinner Menu Included

  Salmon (baked for the kids)

Yellow fin tuna (sashimi for the adults)

Unagi (cooked eel with sauce it is in the bottom left of the picture)

sushi rice (with mirin, rice vinegar and a bit of sugar)

cucumbers

avocado

roe (the bright orange in the center of the picture)

Miso soup (with seaweed, green onions, and tofu or smashed brains according to curran and Eli)

lots of seaweed (both large sheets to be rolled and small 2 X 2 inch which I made "sushi taco rolls" and expertly popped into my mouth.

wasabi and soy

  The best part of this is prep was really simply - Eli did most of the chopping and put the ingredients in small bowls - so all was perfect.  I have to admit that at times Eli's knife weilding ways scared me so I opted for a less sharp knife and delighted that each piece of cucumber had it's own shape and size.

The toughest part for Eli is that Curran who is usually a master of the kitchen only wanted to play with legos - so Eli spent 20 minutes of prepping coming up with ways to entice him into the kitchen.  He finally did it when he said that we had "brains to smash" and Curran came running in.

When Curran entered the kitchen to "smash the brains" (aka cut the tofu into a million little pieces) they used butter knives as two small boys "smashing" with knives was way too much for my comfort level.  So they got to have fun and I got to drink more wine before adding the tofu to the miso soup.

When it comes to creating the actual pieces of sushi and rolls that were consumed - all was perfect.  Nothing was premade - rather all ingredients were put on the table as pictured above.  In our house any way it's rolled or looks is perfect - as long as it's consumed.  As you can see from Eli's "sushi" it's really a big piece of cooked salmon, avocado, rice, and a little roe wrapped in a big piece of seaweed. 

Hope this gives you some ideas for your own kids "cooked" meals.

 

When I Was Little Things Were Different: Reflections at 7

In the car yesterday I had to conceal my knowing smile as Eli at 7 started in, "Mom, things have changed a lot since I was little."  I mean to me he's still little, but to himself he's seen a lot in his life and already finds what he sees as big differences.

Really Eli, what has changed?

Well, first of all when I was little they didn't have Mighty Beanz or Silly Bandz and look how big they are now.  I mean everyone knows what they are and has them at school.  I can't think about not having them.

What else has changed since you were little? I asked

Well they didn't have (Nintendo) DS or Gameboys.

They did have Gameboys when you were little but you are right they didn't have DS.

Yeah, that's right it's changed a lot mom.  And they probably didn't have TV when you were little.

Well Eli, I'm not THAT old, but when Grandma Pat was little they didn't have TV and when they finally created it it was only in black and white.

That's weird, replied Eli.

But when I was little we only had 3 stations and we could only watch cartoons on Saturday morning, I stated.

Why didn't you just rent a video or turn on your Roku? Eli asked.

You know Eli, they didn't have those - someone invented them.  I just realized there was one more thing that they didn't have when you were "little" they didn't have Roku or Netflix.  Those are new.

That's really weird, replied Eli.  Why didn't they just make them?

For the same reason they didn't just make Mighty Beanz someone didn't have the idea yet.  Yhat's how things are invented.   Someone wishes they could have something and comes up with an idea.  For example they could only watch cartoons on Saturday morning and some Mom or Dad wished they could have their kids watch cartoons on a different day.  So they dreamed up an idea and then it got invented.

This is my version of 101 innovation and Eli was very happy with it.

We continued the conversation about inventing and how things keep changing.  It was really fun.  By the time I got home I realized I could take back my knowing smile that I had in the beginning of the conversation because things really have changed from when he can remember until now at 7.5 years of age.

Interestingly I called my mom and told her about the conversation which created another conversation as she reflected back on her 77 years. 

Ideas and innovation are amazing - and I thought to myself - it would be fun to have this conversation with Eli in a few more years.

 

 

School Class Pictures - Primping at 7 Years Old

Eli's been really excited for his school class pictures and has been primping.  He picked out the background color - green earlier this week. Last night I asked what he wanted to wear - mostly out of not wanting to have a morning battle cause the item(s) were dirty - although that hasn't stopped him from wearing them for his picture.

Thankfully all were clean:

• White t-shirt with psychedelic tiger print in lime, hot pink and black - check. 
• The Shawn White plaid long sleeve shirt shirt from target in black, gray with green and blue lines - check. 
• No hair cut even though he really wants one because he wants his bangs to do the triangle thing and swoosh for his pictures - check.

This morning all went smoothly.  I smiled when he wanted to button his shirt up perfectly so that there was a "triangle" near the top that showed just the "right" amount of the tiger.  The only mom push back was please wear your dark jeans (cause I'm thinking of the class picture) and not your shiny black and silver sports shorts which are also a favorite.

The hair time is what cracked me up.  Momma can you help me with my hair, it's not doing that thing.  Huh, what?

You know the swoosh.

Oh let me help I replied.

Eli has a small colic which creates a small "triangle" part in the front - so I make it more prominent. 

No mom, the swoosh, you know the curl above my eyes.  He then tries to "fix" his bangs but is getting frustrated.

How about some gel?

No, then I have to wash my hair.

Ok.

That's when I took an extra breath, smiled to myself and got it - oh yea Eli, the swoosh.  Move over there and shake your head like this.  I demonstrate and he follows.

Bingo, perfect part and perfect swoosh.

Before your picture don't try to fix it with your hands, just shake your head and it will be perfect.

I look forward to seeing the finished product.

 

Teach a Child to Cook and You Open A Whole New World

As part of a neighbor's 8 year old birthday gift I was asked to teach her how to make my famous (at least in her mind) enchiladas.  Yesterday we met up to begin our cooking adventure and I'm still smiling.

Olivia is a daughter I don't have so I love when the opportunity arrives to give some loving girl style - often for me it is through food.  I really, and I mean really enjoy cooking - the only time I don't is when I feel like I HAVE to do it versus I'm choosing to do it.

Anyway back to teaching kids to cook.  We arranged a meet up time to review the recipe, make our list of ingredients and head off to the store.  She knew she wanted to learn how to make enchiladas but filling them with things she loves. The yummy enchilada recipe is at the bottom of the post.

The Tooth Fairy Shows Up After Two Missed Attempts

The tooth fairy was no were to be seen the past couple nights and created quite a ruckus at our home.

The first night I simply forgot, after all it had been 24 days since the darn snaggle tooth came out.  It's been sitting in a bowl in the dining room waiting for Eli to decide to put it under the pillow.  He said he wanted to look at it some more, but then took no action and we all forgot about it.

When he told me he was putting in his tooth pillow I thought I hope I have cash and promptly between reading a late night magazine with a glass of wine it slipped out of my mind.  In the morning Eli was quite upset that the tooth fairy didn't come.

Boxer or Briefs?

I never thought it would be my just turned seven year old's actions that would have me pondering that question of boxers or briefs, how do boys and men decide?

For the past couple weeks we've been having underwear and sock emergencies in the morning because there is not enough that fit or can be found aka they are still in the laundry.  Apparently his sock and underwear are suddenly too small, stretched, worn out or in the case of socks don't match anything.  It basically seems to happen overnight.  One day you're good and the next week you're not.

I am perfectly ok with Eli wearing a blue and gray sock.  I mean if he doesn't mind, either do I.  But, when it comes to underwear that's another story because it slows us down when he puts on and takes them off two to four times because they aren't "comfy" are too "tight" or "are giving me a wed-gee MOM" which all means he can't and won't get dressed.

My Child is A Cucumber Eating Fiend

Eli is a cucumber eating fiend.  In fact it is one of his top three choices when it comes to veggies or should I say eating things that are green: cucumbers, broccoli, avocado (I know that's not really a veggie, but it's green and healthy).

Although I never searched (hard for anyone that knows me) to see if there were any health benefits.  I figured at least a cucumber has water, maybe a little fiber and wasn't a grain.

My girlfriend sent me this article.  I haven't' checked to see if it's fact or fiction and it reminds me of other articles on the benefits / uses of things like vinegar, baking soda, etc, but it does give me hope that possibly Eli's mighty cucumber eating ability may be good for him as well.

The Amazing Cucumber
This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of
their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful
ways to solve common problems.
    Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one
cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5,Vitamin
B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus,Potassium
and Zinc.
    Feeling tired in the afternoon? Put down the caffeinated soda and pick up
a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates
that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
    Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging upafter a shower? Try rubbing a
cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a
soothing, spa-like fragrance.
    Are grubs and slugs ruining your plantingbeds? Place a few slices in a
small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The
chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent
undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the
area.
    Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or
to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem
area for a few minutes, the phyto chemicals in the cucumber cause the
collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing
the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
    Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices
before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers
contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential
nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoidingboth a
hangover and headache!!
    Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers
have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers,traders
and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
    Have an important meeting or job interviewand you realize that you don't
have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber overthe
shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only
looks great but also repels water.
    Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and
rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
    Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the
spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water,the
chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water
and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has
been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during
final exams.
    Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints?
Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your
tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phyto chemicials will kill
the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
    Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless
steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to
clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back thes hine,
but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while
you clean.
    Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and
slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and
markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

TMI But I Have To Share - Dog Butts

Ok, Tim is always saying TMI (too much information) close the sharing window, butt, I mean but I just can't help myself.

My girlfriend told me a story about a conversation she had with Eli and Carly's butt hole and I was going to leave it alone, until I found Eli with a mirror in the bathroom and I could hardly keep a straight face.

Story 1. Lori's Butt Adventure with Eli

It Finally Happened - The Snaggle Tooth is Out

Yahoo, it finally happened, Eli's coveted snaggle tooth came out this morning when he bit into a gummy vitamin.

In case you don't know what a snaggle tooth is, it's when your child's front tooth should have fallen out long ago, but is hanging on at a bizarre angle and has moved either to the right or left of where it should have been.  Eli's was in the middle of his mouth at a 35 degree angle leaning into the other new front tooth that was just coming through.  Some how one side had the root exposed but the side tucked into the new tooth was firmly planted.