Elba, My family is vegetarian and I make this appetizer for kids (lot of our friends are vegetarian also). I like it as it is a good protein option. You can also make ahead and warm up in oven before serving. Serve as is or with mini toothpicks. Can also use kabab sticks (like a satay). I usually also add some cherry tomatoes and bell peppers to make it look nice and get some veggies in. Also works well for mini wraps with lavash or tortillas. Size up as you wish. Glazed Tofu/ paneer Ingredients: 2 cups cubed paneer (indian grilling cheese)or super firm tofu. Rinsed and patted dry. Cubed into 1 inch cubes.. You can also make them longer (about 3 inch long by 1 inch thick) if you are planning to serve it like a satay on a kabab stick. 1 bell pepper (cut into large chunks like for a kabab) 1 large onion (large chunks like for a kabab). Red onions or shallots work well here. a cup of cherry tomatoes (optional to make it look pretty) 1 tsp ginger garlic paste (use freshly ground paste if possible) 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp ketchup 3 tbsp oil 1/2 tsp sugar 1 tbsp cornstarch + 3tbsp water (make a smooth paste) Salt to taste scallions (1 bunch) For the Marinade: 5tbsp corn starch 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp freshly ground pepper 1 tsp minced garlic a pinch of cayenne or paprika for a bit of bite (optional). You can experiment with other flavorings here as well. A pinch of salt Water Make a thick-ish paste with the ingredients for marinade. Add water after soy sauce to make sure the marinade is not too thin. Dunk the paneer/ tofu pieces in and let them soak in the marinade. It will be instant love, I promise. I let it marinate for about and hour with occasional gentle mixing to get the tofu or paneer to be evenly coated. In a wide pan/ griddle,heat the oil and shallow fry the paneer/ tofu pieces turning them over to evenly brown all sides. Remove to a plate with some paper towels to soak up any excess oil. In the same pan on high heat, stir fry the bell peppers and then the onion (separately) till tender crisp. They should not get limp. Season with a pich of salt. Some charring on corners due to high heat is a good thing. Remove to a plate. In the same pan on high heat, add the soy sauce, ginger garlic paste, sugar and tomato paste. If you choose, you can add other seaStir-fry on high for about 30 seconds until well blended and turn the flame to low. Now add paneer/ tofu cubes and give it a good toss. Add the corn flour paste to make a smooth glaze.. stir as you add this to prevent lumping. Cook 3-4 mins to thicken the glaze. Add the bell peppers and onions and give it all a good toss. Turn off heat. Sprinkle scallions slices for garnish. You can either serve it on a plate or use tooth picks or kabab sticks to make individual finger food. Also works as a stuffing in mini pitas or rolled in a lavash or even as a lettuce wrap. Whole cherry tomatoes (do not cook) can be added here to give a visual punch and a fresh taste. This dish is very flexible.. Just the marinated and pan fried tofu/ paneer is yummy as a hors d'ouevre. I always save some for DD and some of the younger kids. You can actually stop right there. The glaze is gorgeous to look at. Feel free to dress up the marinade or the glaze with other spices (cayenne, minced chilli, hot sauce, any jerk seasoning you mightg have etc.) You can also sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top if you want an added crunch. If you find any fresh small red radishes, they really dress up the dish (either finely mince and sprinkle on top or slice and add it to your kabab arrangement). Other veggie appetizer options I make are cilantro lime hummus with pita triangles, tortilla chips, or toasted bread. Warm garbanzo, channa dal or edamame salad is wonderful as well. Mini veggie sushi, ravioli on toothpicks, mini quesedillas. I will check back to see if you need any more recipes. Now I have to look into this whole bunco party thing.. It sounds like fun.. I like the 3-4 tables thing.

My husband has divided the developmental stages into useful names: floppy stage (baby can't sit up on their own), potted plant stage (can sit up in a Bumbo and eventual high chair. Throwing and spilling to be expected), the start of the long baby suicide watch stage (starts with crawling/scooting and progresses to cruising and then walking), tantrum stage, and then pee/poop on floors/wall stage (potty training). We have two boys ages 7 and 11. When your kids are young you want them within eye and ear shot. When they're a baby that means they may room in with you for awhile until they move to the nursery, Room for a bassinet next to the bed and dimmable lights are useful along with a place to put a changing pad and diapers in your bedroom and a comfortable chair for nursing/bottles/rocking. A lot of people want the nursery next door but baby monitors exist for a reason. If the room is next door then both parents are woken up during night time feedings instead of one sleeping and one tending to the baby. Eventually you'll also want to have marital relations again and that will be awkward if there's just a wall separating you and your child. I recommend at least a hallway separation. In our current home the master bedroom is at the bottom of the stairs and the bedroom we used as a nursery was at the top of the stairs. It worked perfectly. Eventually your child will move into baby suicide watch stage. Baby proofing an entire house is a major pain in the butt. For that reason I recommend choosing a baby proofing zone that can be closed off using baby gates and/or doors that's within eye and ear shot of the kitchen and a bathroom. Basically you're creating one large play pen Make sure doorways are built for the easy installation of gates (wide ones are harder to gate) and that doorknobs, cabinets doors, etc are chosen that are easy to baby proof. Design a fireplace surround that's easy to baby proof. We ended have to put a big, ugly cage around our's because our kid kept trying to crawl into our's to eat the rocks and impale himself on the grate. Carpet is good for babies but if you prefer hard surfaces try to choose flooring that isn't very slippery. You may not have to baby proof everything (we didn't have to install toilet locks for example) but this is how you can make your life easier. Make sure there's also space for toy storage that's easy for a young child to use so he or she can help clean up. It doesn't have to be permanent. In the kitchen designate a drawer for eventual use by the child so he or she can safely get his or her own dishes. Choose a potty training bathroom close to the kitchen and living room and make sure it's easy to clean and has room for a step stool in front of the sink and toilet. Choose a scrubbable wall covering so you can easily clean off pee, poop and/or toothpaste. Eventually the kids won't be on baby suicide watch stage and will move to toys that hurt bare feet stage such as Barbie high heels or Legos. Once they move to that stage you want a room that's away from you that has a door you can close to contain that mess. At that point toys aren't allowed in the family/living room anymore. Don't bother to fit it out with built-ins, etc until you're actually using that room. Even then, keep the room as flexible as possible.

If you already have St Augustine, it could be a matter of care. You should be watering deeply and infrequently. Deeply means 1 inch all at once every time you water. In your area the frequency would be on the order of once every 2-3 weeks. The morning fog really prolongs the moisture deep in the ground. Allowing the soil to dry out at the surface helps keep the dogs from tearing it up (so quickly). Mulch mow at the mower's highest setting. There is never any reason to mow lower than the highest setting. Fertilize 3x per year (Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving). I use only organic fertilizer, specifically alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow, not horse cubes) or corn meal. Call the feed stores near you to check availability and price. I am surprised there is only one feed store in San Pedro, because they allow horses in Rolling Hills - or at least they used to. That would be the most likely place to have the various chow type feeds. The organics should help with the pee issues. Also spray the yard with molasses (3 ounces (minimum) per 1,000 square feet) to help keep the microbes stimulated and reproducing.

We don't have either kids or grandkids but do have/had experience with several different breeds of dogs (either our own dogs or dogs we dog-sit for friends and family). It looks like your kids are beyond/almost beyond the need for play structures so you can focus on the needs of the dogs. What we learned about dogs and creating a garden space that meets their needs include: - dogs like/need to patrol their territory boundaries - so put paths along the fence/property lines or the dogs will put them there themselves! We have found that dogs generally 'follow the path of least resistance' so don't usually invade garden spaces - but if they do, you likely need to make a path through the bed because it is in the way of their desired travel route! - dogs like to survey their territory from an elevated position - so make sure they have one! A deck or porch works fine; if there isn't one, a large/high flat rock would work as a substitute. - dog pee can cause fertilizer burns in the grass because the pee is effectively high-nitrogen fertilizer. To minimize damage, promptly 'flood' the spot with water to dilute the nitrogen to a beneficial level rather than one that causes burns. Also, if the dogs eat dry kibble, add water to it to ensure the dog is getting a good supply of water so the urine is dilute, not concentrated - but then make sure the dog gets to go outdoors regularly to ensure no accidents in the house! The paths we made are just bare soil (which is heavy clay here) with a topping of shredded bark mulch. In areas with drainage needs there is crushed gravel under the mulch. The paths are only 30-36" wide, which is functional for both the dogs and the people. Some pictures from various years/times of year of the backyard garden - and dogs - here: The overall plan (the red Xs are where trees were removed) The same sort of view with a light dusting of snow highlighting the paths: collie racing :-) High 'ground' that provides a survey point of view: The overall space in summer: