John's birthday baseball game

 So it was off to the Dodgers vs. Nationals baseball game for John's 3rd birthday family celebration.  Luke and John are Dodger fans, Leah has diplomatically decided to root for the Nats while in DC and the Dodgers while in LA, I couldn't care less, and Noelle has no idea what's going on.  

We did our usual, frugal move of showing up early for the $5 tickets and bringing our own food with us - complete with the afore-blogged homemade cracker jacks.

Mmmm... hotdogs!  (How did mustard get on his forearm?) 

One of the highlights of the night was Luke spending an inordinate amount of time running around the stadium trying to find a way to get a ball for John.  Waiting to catch a homerun during the Dodgers batting practice didn't work, so a security guard told us to wait by the dugout.  Luke carried John down hoping that the "cute kid" factor would work.  But apparently the players are conditioned to ignoring anyone who yells their way, so it didn't.  As I'm watching all this from up in the stands and praying (isn't this totally the type of thing that a mother prays for?), I saw a player talking to another cute, Dodger-bedecked youngster and his parent so I motioned for Luke to head over in that direction.  Right before the player went into the tunnel, Luke got his attention, mentioned John's birthday, displayed said child, and the guy ran into the tunnel and came out tossing up a Dodger practice ball!  John was thrilled and I almost teared up.  Thank you, Lord!  And Luke!

After all the attention on John, Leah tearfully said that she felt like everybody loved him and nobody loved her.  (First born's difficulty sharing the spotlight + mother's "drama gene" = bad combo.)  So, in His grace, God literally had someone hand John another ball whom we didn't really see.  We just turned around and John was holding a ball with a stupefied look on his face and we heard a guy's voice shout from the crowd, "Hey, your son got a ball!"  (Insert "Angels in the Outfield" reference here.)  So John said right away, "Look, Leah!  A ball for you!"  And he gave it to her while patting her on the back.  SO SWEET.  

John not only loves to play sports and watch sports, but he likes to TALK sports.  Take note, ESPN.  He is a budding sportscaster.  

"Dat was a BIG hit!"

"And it went up in da air..."

"...wike a pop fwy..."

"...and he was WUNNING weally fast to catch it!"  

BTW, these are all typical day-in-the-life facial expressions for John.  He is very expressive about pretty much everything he says.  It's very entertaining.  

Of course, we had to get some ice cream in one of those baseball hat cups.  Whoever invented that $8 marketing tool is a rich genius.  

And we ended the evening with a (scary) picture with President Jefferson of HILARIOUS bobblehead President race fame.  What a way to honor the men who founded this great country.  

Noelle was so thrilled about the game that she fell asleep holding her foot.  

(Don't try this at home.)  

But she woke up just in time to show some baseball fan frenzy.  

Some of you know that I am not a huge baseball fan (games are too long and too many, all the spitting, scratching, and drug drama, can guys with beer bellies really be considered athletes?, etc.), but I actually had a really fun time.  It was such a great outing for our family and a really fun way to celebrate John.  Happy (almost) birthday, Dude!  We love you.  

Homemade Cracker Jacks

As many of you know, John is a gargantuan baseball fan.  So with the obvious baseball-themed 3rd birthday celebration upcoming, cracker jacks were requested.  And with the obvious health-nut mom mentality, I made them myself.  No I did not substitute anything with apple sauce - thank you very much.  But I did stick it to the high-fructose-corn-syrup-and-hydrogenated-oil mafia by using maple syrup and coconut oil.  I win!  

They passed the "Luke's Taste Buds" Test with flying colors, so I figured I'd pass on the recipe.  Promise me you will sing, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at some point during the cooking process and that you will personally brush your children's teeth promptly after eating them.  Yellow Stove says hi.  

Mel's Slightly More Nourishing Cracker Jacks

Tweaked from this cooks.com recipe.

1 cup heirloom popcorn seeds (should be about 6 cups of popped corn)
2 cups Sucanat (Stannie says to never use as much sugar as the recipe calls for so I used 1.5 cups)

1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
2 sticks butter or 1 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups peanuts

Pop corn in 1/2 cup coconut oil/butter on the stove top.  (If you thought popcorn only came out of a microwave, make your grandma proud and learn how to do it this way.  You'll be shocked at how simple it is.  And you will also experience the added benefit of not having to worry about popcorn lung.)  In a heavy saucepan, boil the Sucanat, maple syrup, molasses and butter/coconut oil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. Pour this syrup over the popped corn. Stir gently while adding the peanuts. Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring (and tasting) every 15 minutes.  Enjoy!

So there you have it.  The kids LOVED it and John's baseball birthday blog post is coming soon!

September in Connecticut

Last weekend, the Sunukjian ladies rode the train... 

to New Haven, Connecticut to see the Wyrtzens!

Leah and her buddies, Leila and Nora, had the time of their life.  

There was wagon riding,  

pajama wearing,

backyard playing,

movie watching,

clam eating,

church going,

life pondering,

and a little bit of sleeping.

Leslie and I also had a wonderful time catching up and encouraging each other in our new life seasons.  We explored the Yale campus a bit, traded recipe ideas and book recommendations, and walked all over their new neighborhood.  

But mostly we ate, 'cause that's what we do.  We had Leslie's amazing meals, authentic Syrian falafel, Claire's Lithuanian coffee cake, and the best croissant of my life from a little bakery near their house.  

The following are pictures taken by each of the girls of us eating delicious lobster rolls.  

We were so glad to finally visit and experience their new home.  It was a beautiful place and we continue to pray that they would build sweet friendships.  Much love to the Wyrtzens!

Tales from the City #3

This is the view from our backyard.  Jealous?

So this is what happens when yards of wire from every house within a block radius are precariously strung up over the course of a few decades by multiple utility company workers who hate their jobs.  

Suburbanites have tidy little boxes hiding neatly organized, fully-functioning wires and I have my very own urban Maypole.  

New Jersey Triathlon

So we headed off to the beach for our annual triathlon trip, although this time we ended up in Ocean City, New Jersey.  No one warned us that the tolls on the infamous NJ turnpike are a literal example of highway robbery.  And the boardwalk was the perfect study in noise pollution and hardened arteries.  But other than that, we loved it.  

Seriously, though, the weather was great and Luke finished in 1 hour and 15 minutes - 10 minutes under his goal!  

And we all tasted a "banana whip" which is an ice cream textured dessert made by sending frozen, ripe bananas through a juicer.  It was crazy how the texture changed.  Right before our eyes.  I can't believe I'm still writing about this....  

So I got two or three really bad pictures of Luke all blurry or far away and then the batteries ran out.  And then the girl next to us had some extra batteries, so I took these pictures.  

This is Emily who completed her first sprint triathlon!  She's already talking about strategies for the next one.  Good job, Em!

The kids were a great cheering section for Luke and made the triathlon even more fun for him.  He says it made him want to go EVEN FASTER.

Layo and Emily joined us for the weekend and we all had a great time.  Next year is my turn, so start praying for me now!  

Where's Noelle?

This is what the kids did with Noelle when I was in the kitchen.

She's such a trooper.  They're constantly trying to pick her up or lay on top of her or roll her over.  So far we've had no major injuries, but I definitely have to keep my eye on them.  I never knew love could be so aggressive.