Soccer Season

Soccer season began last month for these boys. Ryan has played once before, when he was 5 yrs old, and Lucas has never played before. Both boys were really enthusiastic about playing this year. Jenna even asked to sign up for soccer, but we decided to delay her a year because I didn't want to make our schedule TOO crazy. I will probably laugh at this post in a few years when all 4 kids are in school and extracurriculars!

So how has soccer been going? Well, it has been mixed. On Saturday the boys both had games, but first we visited a local car show in Rocklin. Ryan proudly wore is jersey.....and Lucas did not. #foreshadowing

We saw the cool cars and had some fun.

This guy had a great game afterwards. He doesn't know anybody on his team, but he just goes out there and plays hard.

Ryan definitely covers a lot of ground out on the field. He is a really fast runner but is still working on being a bit more aggressive with the ball. He did score a goal at last week's game!

Lucas knows quite a few boys on his team, and is good friends with them. The first few practices went really well. He had a really strong kicking foot, and most importantly, he was having fun. But then he refused to go to his last couple practices before his first game. At his first game we got him out to the field, but he would not play. He then would not go to his 2nd game, and then this weekend after the car show I somehow convinced him to go to his 3rd game......but he wouldn't actually go out by the field. Instead he sat on the concrete path by the next game over with his head in his lap.

It's hard because on the one hand, he wanted to play soccer. And between the registration, money for uniforms, special socks, team banner and trophy, team snacks, etc.....it's quite a bit of money! I do not want to teach my kids that they can just quit when they don't feel like doing something. (And this is definitely not the first time Lucas has wanted to quit or not attend things) And I'm 99.9% sure Lucas would love soccer and have a ton of fun if he just got out there and played!

On the other hand, I would never want to force him to play a sport he doesn't want to play. And if something was making him nervous or self-conscious, I would want to talk to him and help him. But when Lucas doesn't want to do something, he shuts down. No eye contact, no communication. So at this point we are trying to encourage him without lots of pressure. I'm not sure if it's helping, but I'm hoping he will get back out on the field before the season is over.

Jenna Rides A Bike

I saw my friend post to Facebook about her 3.5 year old riding a bike today. So I decided it was time for Jenna to learn! She is 4.5, which I believe is actually younger than when her big brothers first rode without training wheels.

We all went out front to cheer her on.

She caught on so quickly! Jenna was very eager to learn, and the little noises she made were absolutely adorable. The whole time we were teaching her she was giggling and squeaking and squealing and just grinning ear to ear.

She fell off at one point and her knee was bleeding. But she immediately got back on and wanted to keep trying. That's my girl!

Once Jenna was riding around without any assistance, she told me to plan a party, so she could invite all her friends and tell them about her big accomplishment. "Or just take a video and send it to everyone you know Mommy!"

What's For Dinner 9/6-9/13

Another edition of What's For Dinner in the Nullmeyer house! My hope is that this will give you a little dinner inspiration for your own family. Because like it or not, they want to be fed every single night!

This right here sums up life in our house.

One quick note: Since reading Eat To Live and doing some research, I have been trying to eat a more plant-based diet. The problem is, Ryan and Lucas will NOT eat any vegetarian meals that are remotely healthy. They don't like any beans, nuts, eggs, lentils, tofu, vegetables, etc. So I was finding that whenever I cooked a vegetarian meal, they would just eat a bunch of carbs or skip dinner and then eat 5 bowls of cereal before bed. So I'm trying to find a happy balance between meat-based meals and lighter options. This week we ate a lot of meat. If you want to see some lighter meals, let me know and I can record what we eat next week to kind of get back on track.

Friday: Taco Black Bean Soup 

This was just a simple leftover dinner. I had made some black bean soup that contained ground pork, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and a variety of spices, So I finished it off with a little sour cream, and a quick corn quesadilla on the side. I also had some of this yummy guacamole from Trader Joe's that is made with Greek Yogurt.

Saturday: Chicken Cacciatore, Caesar Salad

I was so glad that I put chicken cacciatore in the crockpot Saturday morning. Both boys had soccer games, and then we went out and bought a refrigerator and then shopped at Costco. Coming home to dinner was perfect. In the crockpot I put chicken thighs, bell peppers, onions, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano....and maybe a few other ingredients. All I had to do was cook some pasta (Wacky Mac). On the side we had a bagged Caesar salad from Costco.

Sunday: Shrimpin' Dippin' Broth, Rice, Green Beans

Oooh this shrimp is so yummy. It's a copycat recipe I got many years ago of a dish they used to make at Bubba Gump's. The broth is made from butter, Worcestershire, Cajun seasoning, broth, and lemon juice. The shrimp cook up really quickly and I always serve them over rice with green beans on the side.

Monday: Pinto Beans, Cornbread, Salad

This was our 1 vegetarian meal of the week....except I may have cooked some ground beef for the kids. Oh my goodness, these beans were SO good. I got this recipe from a Mops Mom back in Newark probably 7 years ago and for some reason never made it. Until now. Adam and I couldn't stop raving about them, and Jenna ate 3 bowls of them! They are very simple but full of good flavor. Here is the basic recipe: To a crockpot add 1 pound dried pinto beans (no need to presoak), 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 TBSP salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 TBSP olive oil, 3 TBSP dried minced onion. Fill with water to within 2 inches of the top of the crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. I served the beans with cornbread (topped with honey and butter...the best way to eat cornbread in my opinion), and a big salad.

Tuesday: Kalua Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli/Cauliflower

Kalua pork is so simple but so delicious! It's just pork roast, Pink Sea Salt, and Liquid Smoke. It cooks in the crockpot all day, and in Jenna's opinion, makes the house smell like hot dogs. I made homemade mashed potatoes and steamed veggies with it.

Wednesday: Spaghetti Pie, Salad

This spaghetti pie was another really old Mops recipe. This one turned out OK, but wasn't our favorite. It was basically a layer of cooked whole wheat spaghetti on the bottom of the pie pan, mixed with 1 egg and some parmesan. The next layer was cottage cheese, and finally it was topped with a ground turkey/tomato sauce mixture. Heated through with some mozzarella on the top. Not bad, just not terrific. On the side I had another salad. (Can you tell we bought a giant tub of salad greens from Costco?)

Thursday: Cuban Sandwiches, Tater Tots, Watermelon

We had some leftover Kalua Pork, so I turned it in to Cuban Sandwiches! I had one once and loved it, so I attempted to recreate it. Mine wasn't authentic though, because we do not like ham. Instead, inside my roll I used havarti cheese, kalua pork, dijon mustard, red onions, and pickles. Something about the pickles made it taste like a tuna sandwich! Haha, not exactly what I was going for. I made tater tots for the kids (and stole a few), and cut up some watermelon. We are having a heat wave right now, so this dinner was perfect. Oh, and these are the best pickles ever. I'll never go back to jarred pickles.

Friday: Beef Stew, Biscuits, Strawberries and Whipped Cream

In retrospect, beef stew may not have been the ideal meal for a 95 degree day. But I was bringing dinner to a friend tonight, and wanted to make something easy to double in my crockpot. On the side I made homemade biscuits as well as strawberries and fresh whipped cream. We are enjoying this right now as we pick out a movie for family movie night!
What did you make for dinner recently?

A Day in Andrew's Life

Being 2 and a half is lots of fun!

This morning Mommy was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, so I decided to rub a ton of diaper cream in my hair. She tried washing it out with shampoo but it's still there. Hehe!

Today was our first morning back at MOPS, so I made sure to scream and cry when she dropped me off at my class. As soon as she was out of earshot, I stopped of course. I just wanted to make sure she would miss me.

Oh and while we were in the elevator at church I pushed the fire alarm button. That was a loud noise!

I have been eating lots of tiny oranges lately. Mommy says they will make me healthy, so she gave me a lot today at lunch. I didn't eat any of them.

I acted really sleepy until she tried to put me down for a nap.

I made sure to say a lot of adorable things so Mommy wouldn't be mad at me.

I played in the backyard and decorated the patio with lots and lots of bark from the planter boxes. Jenna ruined all the fun when she told on me.

I screamed for a granola bar so Mommy gave me one. Then I stuffed it under the couch to save for later.

My brothers and I helped Mommy get the playroom really clean. While she made dinner I pulled every toy out of the shelves. I hate a clean playroom!

I was a good boy and ate all of my dinner . I rubbed some mashed potatoes in my hair since it was already greasy from the diaper cream.

Mommy washed all the dinner dishes but forgot one cup on the counter. So I climbed up on a chair to help. I didn't know the spray nozzle would shoot lots of water across the kitchen. I'll have to remember that next time I'm bored!

I hear Mommy and Daddy say a really big word. I have no idea what it means. It sounds like "exhausted".

I took off my diaper for bath time and then hid while Mommy filled up the bath. She sounded upset when she couldn't find me right away. Hey, at least I didn't go peepee like last time.

What a fun day I had! Wonder what I should do tomorrow? Maybe I will unravel all the floss again. That sure made my big brothers laugh!

The Kids - 2 Things

Andrew John 2 yrs 6 mos

1. We affectionately call Andrew our "little disaster". He basically spends every day all day making little disasters. If he can spill it, he will. If it can be climbed, then he climbs it. If it can be taken apart and spread around the house, he's your guy. If I've done it or fixed it or cleaned it, he will promptly undo it. Never have we had such a messy busy toddler! Or maybe we have but just blocked it out of our memory?

2. Andrew is such a carnivore! He loves all forms of protein: meat, chicken fish, sausage, bacon, beans, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, nuts....but give him a homemade donut and he won't even glance at it. Trust me, I know from recent experience!

Jenna Mae 4 yrs 10 mos

 1. Jenna is my go-with-the-flow child. Now that the boys are back in school I find myself dragging her around more, to run errands, go to preschool, gymnastics, and everything in between. Each morning when she wakes up we talk about what we are doing that day, and she is almost always excited!

 2. Jenna's favorite form of playing is imaginary play with little people/dolls/figurines. She could spend hours making her little toys talk to each other in tiny high-pitched voices. It's the cutest!


Lucas Reid 7 yrs 3 mos

 1. Lucas responds really well to positive reinforcement and rewards. We have a star system in our house where the kids can earn stars for good behavior, staying in their beds at night, etc.....and then cash them in for things like frozen yogurt, video game time, or little trips to fun places. Lucas is borderline obsessed with his star count, and at any moment he can tell you how many stars he and his siblings have.

2. Lucas has the best laugh! It just developed during the summer, and it is quite the laugh. It is a deep belly laugh and it's loud! I love that he is so uninhibited and doesn't care who hears him....and everyone can definitely hear him!

Ryan James 9 yrs 4 mos

1. Ryan has started doing all his homework during the lunch hour at school. It's awesome because he comes home with no homework. It's not so awesome because he also comes home with his uneaten lunch. He is at school for 7 hours, so you can imagine what kind of mood he is in after school.

2. Ryan is finally starting to fix some of his own food. He will grate cheese on top of chips and microwave himself a plate of nachos. He will pour his own cereal and milk. He even asked me recently if he could make mac n cheese from a box, and all I had to do was turn on and off the gas stove.

Weekend Highlight Reel

We had a great 3-day weekend around here, and I managed to capture some highlights.

Friday afternoon birthday party at Lucas' new friend's house. Check out that backyard!

LOTS of fort building this weekend.

Eating our last homegrown cucumber of the season.

He pulled out a tooth!

Jenna's face when she saw the Halloween decorations at Home Depot!

A delicious dinner of tri-tip, baked potatoes, homemade biscuits and asparagus.

The boys at Bug-O-Rama in Sacramento.

Enough of a chill in the air to wear my new green pants for a few hours.

Coloring with my Lucas.

And baking with my Ryan.

Celebrating 3 cousins' birthdays at once.

Monday morning breakfast at Huckleberry's with Sean, Nicole, Ryan and Shayla.

I'm in the market for some new glasses so I snagged Emma's to try on.

Lots of swimming!

Playing sharks and minnows.

Chowing down on a hot dog while thinking about laser tag.

My beautiful Mom and Bella!

And Adam racing the boys down the street on his refurbished mini motorcycle. (He won)