Our Wegman's morning.

Years ago, we'd load up the car and go to Wegman's as a family.  A very crowded, popular grocery store on the weekend and us with 2 young kids.  Why we did this time and time again, I do not know.  But there we'd be yelling back and forth through the aisles, "When you are getting pasta, get pizza sauce!" Or, "Don't forget to grab the eggs near butter!", "Ian is coming to you!"  And, the ever popular, "I'm taking Sam to the bathroom!!"  We had our own inter-grocery story walkie-talkies...our mouths and bellowing voices. 

Over the years, our trips as a family of 4 got fewer and fewer.  The kid's activities increased and we'd have to divide and conquer.  For several years now, Jeff has for the most part done our grocery shopping solo.  I give him a list and he happily goes to Wegman's very early on a Saturday or Sunday morning and gets the job done.  He takes pride on how quickly he can sail through the store.  He knows where everything is, that is until they've done one of their infamous reorganizations. 

This past Saturday, we had a day with very little planned activities.  I thought out loud, wouldn't it be fun to go to Chesapeake Bagel for breakfast and then Wegman's for grocery shopping?    Jeff and I couldn't remember the last time we did either of these places as a family.  Jeff wasn't sure he wanted us to invade his routine and mess with the good thing he has going.  Ha!

Oh, how times have changed!  It's funny that in just 4 years we are getting nostalgic about what life was like back then.  With the kids older (now at the the ripe old age of 11 and 8), we've come far.   We divided the grocery list and had two shopping carts going.  I took Sam with me and Jeff had Ian.  We were the model of efficiency!  In and out of Wegmans in under 40 minutes.  It was pretty spectacular. 

I am not sure when this event will occur again or if ever.  But it was cool to see us in action.  As we were walking into the store, I had a vision pop in my head from the movie, "Armageddon".  When the crew (all misfits!) are suited up and getting ready to launch into space to do their mission.  It made me giggle. 

The babiest of baby steps

Now that the boys are the ripe old age of 11, they had asked for lots of freedom to be able to do things on their own, unsupervised by their parents -- go to the arcade, the beach, rent a surrey, etc.   Leslie and I, along with the dads, had discussed in advance (without their knowledge), what we'd be comfortable allowing them to do on their own. One thing we agreed to was going to Uncle Bill's for breakfast -- completely on their own!   This is HUGE!  First time going to a restaurant and being responsible for every aspect of the process; getting a table, ordering, paying the bill and leaving an appropriate tip.

Our house was as close to Uncle Bill's as you could get.  The boys were super excited about being able to get breakfast on their own.  We spoke with them the night before and quizzed them on how much tip they should leave based on different amounts the check could be.

When it was time for them to go, I stood out on our porch and watched the boys cross the street and walk into the restaurant.  I texted Leslie and wrote, "I have confirmation that the boys went into the restaurant."   One minute later Ian texted me with "Mom we made it."   Seriously, how adorable is that?

Here's the funniest part of the story...Leslie's parents had spent the night at her beach house and decided to go to Uncle Bill's for breakfast.  Meanwhile, my mom & Jim decided to go to Uncle Bill's too for breakfast.  Neither set of grandparents realizing the other set was going to be there.  Uncle Bill's is a pretty big restaurant and wouldn't you know, Both Mom/Jim and Uncle Bernard/Aunt Beth got seated not too far away from where Ian and Max were.   The boys were surrounded by their grandparents!

Uncle Bill's has ridiculously oversized portions.  One of the best things about this place is ordering breakfast on one day and having leftovers for the next 2 days.  Yum!  The boys decided to split an order of cinnamon roll pancakes. As reported by my Aunt who had a clear view, instead of putting the pancakes on two plates, they just ate from the same plate. This must've been adorable to see in action. 

I couldn't take it any longer and had to go in and shoot a picture of the two of them, without them seeing me.

These boys are just too cute!   This was the babiest of baby steps in terms of independence and getting some freedom.  I was able to watch them walk into the restaurant.  And, they were surrounded by not one, but two sets of grandparents!  hehehehee.

The boys were giddy with the how great it went and wanted to go on the boardwalk to get lunch.  Ha!  Not likely.  We said this was it for this week and we can discuss what you can do next summer in another year. 

Cooking 101

The first morning I asked Ian what he wanted for breakfast, he said "Bacon, eggs and a banana".  I told him to go ahead and get started. I'd be down in a minute to help him.  Once he fully realized he was going to have to make his own breakfast, with assistance from me, he was not a happy camper.  There was a lot of banging of pans (and eggs!) and stomping about the kitchen.  Ian's level of grumpiness hit the ceiling.  

At one point Ian said he lost his appetite and was no longer hungry.  After 5 minutes he returned to the kitchen and was a bit more open-minded on learning how to cook scrambled eggs and microwave bacon.  Ian, as cranky as ever, finished making his breakfast.  He said the eggs were overcooked.  The bacon tasted horrible.  And his banana broke in half trying to get the peel off. 

One of the first mornings learning to cook scrambled eggs.

The next morning I asked Ian what he wanted for breakfast.  He looked at me and asked if he was going to have to make it himself.  I said yes.  Within 1 minute Ian was upstairs in the kitchen and set to work.  He felt a bit overwhelmed trying to multitask microwaving the bacon and getting the eggs cooked, but he did it.  The first Saturday Jeff was home to witness this, he started taking pictures of him at the stove.  Ian is so focused and can't take his eyes off the pan for a second.  It is very cute.

We are now about 3 weeks past the first few days of Ian cooking his own breakfast.  He has mastered the art of how to get it done.  Within 5 minutes he has a fully cooked breakfast all done by him, from start to finish.  The other morning I wasn't even in the kitchen when he cooked his own breakfast.

The finished product!

This past Friday I asked him how he felt making his own eggs and bacon.  He said it felt pretty good. There is absolutely no attitude and he is taking pride in being able to do it.  I am so proud of him.  He wants to know now how to make other things.  We are going to tackle pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches, and quesadillas next. 

Give a man a fish, he eats for a day.  Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime. 

Breakfast

Within the past 3 to 6 months, Ian's taste in breakfast foods have gone through the roof!  There is nothing breakfast related he doesn't like to eat.  It's been fun watching him try new foods and then go on to devour them.  He has seriously become the Champion Breakfast Eater in the Toppall house. 

We stopped at a Denny's not too long ago and Ian had the Jr. Grand Slam, which was eggs, turkey bacon, hashbrowns and orange juice.  He asked for a side of fruit with this too.

At home he alternates between Banana Walnut Muffins, A Jimmy Dean Egg-Cheese-Sausage English Muffin Sandwich, or a bagel with lox.  Sometimes he'll ask me to make him an omelet, which I will happily do.

When he is with my mom, she always makes him a big bowl of slow-cooked oatmeal with blueberries.  No one makes oatmeal like Mom-mom.  I don't even bother to try.

Every now and then I'll make pancakes on the weekend and he'll go through a small tower of those. 

Ian's newest favorite breakfast item is bacon. My dad better get faster hands if he wants a piece when Ian is around.

I love seeing Ian enjoy eating breakfast so much.  It's a great way to start the day.