Last Swim of the Season

We decided to jump in the pool tonight, but oh my goodness, was it ever cold. We only lasted a couple of minutes before we all chickened out and headed for dry land. Just to keep Liam's "swimming" mojo going, I think we're start swim lessons during the winter at Emler. Tomorrow Liam and I head to Charleston, SC to visit my brother, Nathan and sister-in-law, Amanda. Pray for me as I travel by myself with Liam. It'll be a quick trip--we come back on Monday, but we're going to have a great time being with them and spending some time on the coast.

A Day in the Life

While Jon and I are hard at work, I often wonder what our little guy is up to at Ms. Brenda's. I know all the basics--he eats, naps, plays, etc, but here are some some pictures that Ms. Brenda took that give us more details.

Cupcakes are always a hit!

The gang


Liam mows the patio.

There's a Potty Goin' On Right Here

Okay, okay. So we're not even close to the potty training thing yet, but a Mama can dream, can't she? Liam's been pretty curious about the whole process lately, as I'm sure you can see by the pictures. In fact, one morning this week, he said, "Poo Poo," so I put him on the training seat ($3.99 @ IKEA, thank you very much), and guess what? That's right, his first diaper-free experience with big bathroom. Before baths, I usually put him on the potty just to start practicing. Like I said, Liam's not ready yet, but there is that glimmer of hope.

Back in the Saddle

We survived the first day back at school with kids. And it was a good day. Liam had a good day with Ms. Brenda, too. Apparently he likes to eat salmon patties and spinach for her. For us, mac n' cheese is the only sure thing. She only has five kids this year, and they're all around Liam's age, so they're all best buddies. It was actually easier taking him to daycare last year because he didn't cry, cling, and beg for Mommy or Daddy when we dropped him off. This year, though, he's really going through separation anxiety. It only lasts for a minute or two, but I feel absolutely horrible when I have to leave him like that. I know that it's a completely normal stage, and by next week he'll be running to get to the door to play with all his friends, so I just need to keep that in mind...and say lots of prayers. Here he is simulating his morning don't-leave-me reach, minus the tears.

When Life Throws You Peaches

Texas peaches are the best...especially Hill Country peaches. When I lived in Waco, an elderly gentleman drove his little, blue, beater truck into town from the Hill Country and sold peaches on the side of one of the main roads. Sometimes I would stop and buy a brown paper bag full of leaves-still-attached peaches that were so fresh, sweet, and juicy. They made every other peach from the produce department of any grocery store tasted like cardboard. Liam and I hit up the farmers market in hopes of some yummy peaches, but they weren't amazing, they were just okay. So I decided these were the perfect peaches to try out this recipe:

Peach Crisp
5 pounds peaches (about 12), each cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup almonds, roughly chopped

1. Heat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, toss the peaches, granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon of flour. Transfer to a shallow 3-quart baking dish.


2. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, and the remaining 3/4 cup of flour. Using your fingers, incorporate the butter until coarse crumbs form. Mix in oats and almonds.


3. Squeeze the topping into marble-sized clumps and sprinkle on the peaches. Bake until the top is golden and the fruit is tender, 45 to 55 minutes.
   

And, voila! Here it is...

I thought it was pretty yummy, especially served with vanilla ice cream. The only thing I would suggest is to really use a 3-quart baking dish. I didn't, and now my oven is a disaster.

Speaking of food, we had this for dinner the other night:

Does it look familiar? That's right...IKEA meatballs, cream gravy, and lingonberries. Yum, yum and easy, too. I think we'll be adding this to the dinner rotation. It's probably more suitable for January warm, comfort food, but it worked for late August, too.

This week the inevitable happened. Liam started back to daycare on Wednesday. Despite his refusal to nap today and less than stellar appetite, he's getting back into the swing of things. Here's his first day back to daycare picture:

Switchin' Teams

I'll pause for a moment of silence as I acknowledge that Monday is my last official day of the summer. Every year I say the same thing, "It's just been way too short." Jon and I have really enjoyed just being Daddy and Mama this summer instead of Mr. Bushwar and Mrs. Bushwar. With that being said, we are also so grateful that we have jobs that allow us summers off and decent hours and nice breaks during the school year. We are also blessed with peace-of-mind that Liam is in great hands with Ms. Brenda and all of his daycare pals while we are working.

Now, for some big news...that everyone seems to already know about. When all teachers head back to school for campus in services and training next week, Jon and I won't be riding in the same car. That's right, folks. Crockett Middle School will be one Bushwar short this year. This is actually the sad part of my story because I will miss working at the same school with Jon. We've had lunch together almost every day for the past six years. We met and became friends at Crockett. Then we started dating, fell in love, got engaged, got married, got pregnant, and had a baby while we were both teaching at Crockett...I mean, we weren't literally in the building for any of this milestones, but you know what I mean. Actually, I was in labor for seven hours at Crockett, so I guess that counts for something. Anyway, there's a big part of me that is so sad that I won't be able to pop around the corner and see him at any given time during the day, and I'm also going to miss a lot of my Crockett friends. The good news is that I'm really excited about my new job. I'm going to be an instructional coach for resource math in the district. My home campus is Houston Middle School, but I'll be traveling to different campuses in Irving. I've spent the past two days in training for this new position, and I think it's really going to be a great fit for me. I so thankful that God provided me with this new opportunity, and I'm excited to start this new school year at my new home campus, with my new sweatshirt.

Weather Report

This is what the weather looks like in Dallas this week...

Summer Day at the Arboretum

We had a play date with the Daultons at the Dallas Arboretum on Monday. By the way, every Saturday and Monday are dollar days at the arboretum through the end of August. Gee, I wonder why they run this deal in August in Texas? I, personally, think every day in July, August, and September should be dollar days. Or just free, period, on account of the health risks that garden seekers take when venturing out in the blazing Texas heat. Anyway, I digress. The boys weren't really feeling the power of the flowers like the mamas were, but they really liked running around the pioneer village area. At one point, the pair started down a hilly patch, not knowing that at 15 and 18 months old, it's hard to hit the breaks mid-slope. They both managed to stay vertical until the very end, and then they both wiped out as soon as they were off the hill. Pretty funny. In true little boy fashion, they seemed drawn to the areas that contained the most dirt, bugs, grit, and grime. Because it was at least 150 degrees in Dallas yesterday, we only stayed for a couple of hours. That was plenty of time to ensure instantaneous napping on the way home...for Liam, not me.

Rubbermaid Fun

As mentioned before, I wonder why we even buy toys for Liam? He has more fun playing with everyday, ordinary, around-the-house stuff. His favorites right now are the t.v. remote, wii control, and telephone, but on Sunday, a plastic storage container did the trick. The kid went nuts for Rubbermaid.

That is, until he managed to injure himself. I'm not even sure what happened, but the tears did flow from this little drama king.

Don't worry, though. Daddy kissed it and made all things well again.

Watch out, Liam. For Christmas this year, Santa might just bring you empty milk cartons, dvd cases, and a stocking full of plastic straws.

Sloppy Liams

We had sloppy joes for dinner tonight, and sometimes this is just easier:

But, I guess they're called sloppy for a reason. Liam was a mess!

By the way, here's Jon's new do. I never know what's going to happen when he sequesters himself in the bathroom for an hour and gives himself a haircut. I like it...it's kind of hard to see, but it looks like a subtle faux-hawk.