Day off = hiding from husband on computer...

Anyhoooo...so what? So my sister posts blogs for me. You want updates, you have to be happy wit what you get...I am neither fancy nor creative like my sister, Hannah, or my other sister, KC. You get pictures...that's about it. Let's see...I did promise recipes. KC, I swear, this sounds gross but it is SOOOOO good...making it tonight, in fact (shhh...it's Weight Watcher friendly...).

BBQ Bacon Meatloaf

serves 10
oven: 375 F

2# ground turkey
12 slices turkey bacon, uncooked, diced
1 c. quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1/2 c. bbq sauce
2 lg. egg whites
1 T. worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together. Press into ungreased loaf pan (9x5).

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes (I am finding that this is too long...check after 45 min. and go from there).

Let stand 10 min. before serving.

Jeter here is mighty cool...too cool for t-ball, in fact...



Graduating from kindergarten...yeah, yeah...5 months ago...whatevs.

Walking with Dinosaurs...Ben said, "Mom, they pooped on stage!!!"



Oh, dear. His happiness cannot be good for ANY of us...




Ben's birthday cake made by Hil with a wee bit of help from Hannah...a lot of help from Hannah. I'm a failure, okay? Hope you're all happy...




Mommy's angels...p.s. you never think a two-year-old is accurate until you get a ball going 30 mph thrown at your head...

Labor Day at 319

Oh its so hard to have been abandoned by my siblings. One moved to Germany, and the other...the other? All the way TO TONAWANDA. I'm all alone here and have not enough means to travel to those who have left. I feel like I am on survivor, but I have been voted indefinitely on the island while the others have run off to the mainland. But one magical day, a mysterious and powerful tornado scooped me and the boys up and took us to Aunt Hannah's. It was the first time I've seen her new home. It was nice. She's only lived there 3 years. And I had all summer off. And she's so poor she has to ride her bike to my house. It takes her 4 days. And she came to my house 60x this summer. But I finally made it out, the day before school started.

Anyways, our visit provided many anecdotal stories and chapters. Like the one where Evan sat in the living room peeling the sticker backings off Aunt Hannah's mosaic Pier 1 coasters. Or the time one of the boys smeared ketchup on Aunt Hannah's celery green suede coach. Or the time the boys enjoyed the crummiest cookies on earth all over Aunt Hannah's OCD clean floors. Oh the times.

Obviously not suited for those under 4 feet, her home provided inadequate entertainment. Punching Pandora and blasting her in the face with a water pistol is fun for only so long, you know. But alas, my young serpent, I mean, baby, always lets his vivid creativity pave the way for excessive fun. And this is what he found (and YES, the stone children in the fountain ARE facing backwards, because Aunt Hannah finds them creepy and doesn't like to look at their revolting faces):

He was soon joined by his older and more refined other half, gentleman Ben.

But somebody always has to take it to the next level...we call him Uncle Buck now.

"Lord please....are they gone yet??"

Dinner in the Pen

"OOOooooooohh! Dinner time! Delightful!! I LOVE the mess hall!"

But you can't beat any geek off the street, gotta be handy with the steel if you know what I mean, earn your keep. Regulatooooooors!

Mount up!

And anyone who gives any lip gets HIT. Word up

**Note from Evan: I was only one then. Give me a break. This is so old hat. I was young, I made mistakes...but I've learned from them, I've moved on, I've grown. I really wish you people would stop judging me on who I used to be...

Just Don't Feed Him After Midnight...

After a long day of running summer school programs, a weary mother returns home to prepare the family supper and complete all chores needed to make the next day run smoothly. As she works on these tasks, her youngest takes on a project of his own, complete destruction of all domicile common areas. 

After clawing desperately to her last remaining shreds of sanity, a young frazzled mother turns to an unlikely ally: a tranquilizer dart gun that her sister had lent her early in the week. Her husband objects to her ideas, but upon threats of inviting her sister over for dinner he reluctantly rolls over on his resistance under one circumstance; the offense must not take place until he has left the vicinity of the scene in order to protect his ethical responsibilities to the community. With the baby's father safely in the garage, baby momma unloads a small yet high powered dart into her baby's bum.

With the young beast sleeping peacefully, the family goes about its normal routine, undisturbed. They enjoy a quiet dinner and all chip in to clean the earlier fall out. Weary from a long day, the family drags to bed, forgetting the resting monger in the middle of the living room. But alas, the baby wakes. Confused and hungry, he moves to the kitchen, spinning the lazy susan to the first available jar of fluffernutter and inhaling the heavenly white goo ravenously. Suddenly, the baby's tummy begins to rumble. He crawls to the oven and glances at his face in the glass. He notices a stark white streak of hair running down the center of his head. Frightened, he whirls around and looks at his fluff covered hands only to see green claws and scaly skin....the baby realizes what he has done....he glances at the clock and reads the time...12:05 am....he looks one more time to the oven glass and sees the dastardly results of his late night feeding...

The baby considers his first instinctive emotional response: fear; but then, reconsiders. He now embodies many of the powers necessary to propel his raging destruction! Imagine the fear in the hearts of brother, mother and father!! Who could possibly tell him what to do NOW?! The baby jumps up with glee. He begins to charge towards the family sleeping area when he trips and finds himself rolling across the kitchen upon his beloved jar of fluff. The baby struggles to maintain his footing but is unaccustomed to these new claw ridden feet. He loses his balance and falls to the floor, bumping his head and crinkling his large ear. 

As the baby lies on the floor trying to assess the damage incurred in the fall, he smells something delicious...mother's cooking!! The feels a familiar happy warmth on his head...blankey? He feels the cool reminder of a juice demanded earlier in the evening resting between his arms....is it possible that the baby dreamed this whole event? The tranq dart? The fluff? The transformation?? Or did mommy utilize her one remaining dose of anti gremlin serum just in time to save the earth from gremmy take over???? I guess we'll never know...

She stilllll hates feet! :)

aaaaah....there's nothing like family.

Play Ball!

Aaaah these Kunkels are multi-talented. We think he likes soccer better, (evidence: at one practice Ben shirked his baller responsibilities and couldn't wait to get to the adjacent playground, smugly reporting to Craig, "I tricked you. I just wanted to come here to use the playground.") but he sure does make a cute ball player!

"Robert's" Red Satin Pillow Gallery

The Boy Wonder

Ben is one of the smartest, funniest, eloquent, and sweetest children of our times. He reads, he writes, and he colors inside the lines. He even smells people before the walk in the room. He's come a long way from "These cookies are disgusting! Don't ever give me one of these again!" (flings cookie to floor) He uses words like "nemesis" and ensures that you pronounce "rooT beer" ("NOT 'Root' beer"). He sings Kanye and does all kinds of crazy dances. He morphes into a pterodactyl at church and attacks passerbys. When his mother tells him she'll be downstairs in 2 seconds to pour him some pop he descends down the stairs and stops 1/4 of the way to announce "By the way - I believe it's been more than 2 seconds now"...And he loves to get ready for bed because he can gaze lovingly at himself in the mirror as he makes faces that ironically remind me of favorite scenes from "Calvin and Hobbes".

So it is no surprise that we are celebrating his graduation from Kindergarten and his first of many successful school years (Grades were summa cum laude - no big deal.)

Raptor Eyes (Are Watching You)

...and you keep still, because you think maybe his visual acuity's based on movement, like a T-Rex, and he'll lose you if you don't move. But no. Not VELOCIRAPTOR. You stare at him, and he just stares back. That's when the attack comes...not from the front - - no, from the side, from the other two raptors you didn't even know were there.

Back In the Saddle Again

Hello friends. Since Ms. Kunkel is otherwise engaged watching Star Trek re-runs with one Benjamin Kunkel, I, Agent Loeffert, have taken control of her webpage. I have also taken to teaching Evan the bellowing chorus of Star Trek, and it's pretty funny to hear. oooooo woooooo..... Here are some pictures from today...

He's got good taste in shoes....

Food time = fun time

I wish I would become...comfortably numb...

We spent a quiet Memorial weekend touring Prague, Paris...with a quick stop in Brussels for some lace. You know, I was just pretending to be the Loefferts, but I have really always wanted to visit Brussels...ever since reading the Nancy Drew mystery The Secret in the Old Lace...where she went to Brussels! No lie! Okay...the Nancy Drew part IS true, but I did not remember the title of the book. I had to look that one up.

We really spent Memorial weekend here in the very cosmopolitan burg "Cambria." My five-year-old informed me that, on Memorial Day, we had to have a picnic where there were statues...statues of people who helped our country. We had a picnic and held up a picture of Uncle Ethan who has the personality of a statue, so it's all good.

The boys (Craig included) are currently in a tie as to which can drive Mommy craziest in a 24-hour span of time. I may not survive until Evan grows up and is off to college...

But! That is no reason why you cannot enjoy this little delicacy from the Kraft kitchens (KC - Ben will not touch this one with a 10 foot pole as it has vegetables in it...Tank/Chaos/Evan ate all veggies and picked out chicken and noodles...he's a weirdo):

Creamy Chicken, Vegetables, and Noodles
6 servings

2 c. egg noodles, uncooked
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" chunks
1/4 c. Kraft light Zesty Italian dressing
3 1/2 c. broccoli florets (I used frozen and microwave for 1/2 of the cook time)
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow squash, sliced
6 oz. 2% Velveeta, cut up
1 Tbs. 1% milk

1) Cook pasta as directed on package
2) Meanwhile, cook chicken in dressing in skillet on med-high heat 5 to 7 min. or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add veggies; stir. Reduce heat to medium; cover. Simmer 5 min. or until veggies are crisp-tender.
3) Place Velveeta in small microwaveable bowl. Add milk. Micro. on HIGH 2-3 min. or until cheese is melted and mixture is well-blended, stirring after 1 1/2 minutes. Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Serve over pasta.

Mental Health

Well, the past week has been a blur of activity. I had very good intentions of blogging at least once a week, but that has gone to the wayside as school has resumed! We are all doing well...the boys are in high gear concerning the mental health of their mother. They are trying their best, in true brother tag-team fashion, to drive me nuts!!! What one doesn't excel in being naughty in, the other is sure to...my only consolation is that I live to be old enough to witness my future grandchildren doing the same things to my sons!! Hahahaha (evil cackling) in advance!

(These were very good...Han was a witness. Just MAKE SURE you use flour tortillas...using corn was a wee bit of a problem...)

Baked Chimichangas
8 ounces ground 90% lean turkey or beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup chunky salsa
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1/4 cup no-fat sour cream

Preheat oven to 475° F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive oil-flavored cooking spray.

In a large skillet sprayed with olive oil-flavored cooking spray, brown meat and onion. Stir in garlic, 1/2 cup salsa, and taco seasoning. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spoon 1/4 cup meat mixture into center of each tortilla. Lightly spray tops with butter-flavored cooking spray.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

For each serving, place a chimichanga on a serving plate, spoon 2 tablespoons salsa and 1 tablespoon sour cream over top.

Serves 4 (2 each)

Yum-O

maybe if I eat her, she'll be quiet...

Well...here goes number two. I am looking forward to a joy-filled week and one day spent alone with my children. I have called work to see if they need me to come in and sweep or pick lint out of the heating ducts, but they won't return my calls??!! We are missing our Loeffert contingent as we have had some "egg-celent" times in the past at Easter! I have decided to clean my walls...it can be ignored no longer, although I have valiantly done so for close to a year now! Go, Hil! Leaving you with a picture...and my favorite recipe this week! I have decided to try and add some of my favorites...maybe you'll get a chance to try them!

Taco Squares
1 (8oz.) can reduced fat crescent rolls
8 oz. lean ground beef or turkey
3/4 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 3/4 c. canned tomato sauce
6 oz. red kidney beans, drained & slightly mashed
1 T. taco seasoning
3/4 c. shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

1) Preheat oven to 375 F.
2) Spray skillet with PAM, saute beef, green pepper, & onion until meat browned and veggies soft (@10 min.). Add tomato sauce, beans, & taco seasoning. Lower heat and simmer until heated through.
3) Pat rolls onto 9"x13" cookie sheet sprayed with PAM. Seal perforations. Bake 6 min. or until lightly browned. Spread meat mixture over crescent rolls. Bake additional 10 min. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake about 3 min. more or until cheese melts. Let sit 2-3 min. before serving.

6 servings

The First...

This is really inspired by KC...I will, in no way, be held accountable for a blog that is inferior to hers! She is an awesome blogger and I felt that I had to become better at it too...yet another way to stay connected to our German and U.S. families. I will, hopefully, be able to keep you updated on the destruction that results when Chaos (Captain Chaos, our fond moniker for Evan) and Dynamite (Ben) collide!!

This pic was taken on this past Thursday...first day of spring that the boys have been out on the swing set!! Ben wanted me to push him the WHOLE time and Evan did not want to get out...