The kids were with friends today, so Phillip and I had a most wonderful day together! We relaxed in the morning and then went to The Western Store to buy a cowboy shirt for Phoebe for Christmas. Then we headed to some barbecue! There's an older man who barbecues on the side of the road (well, it's an empty parking lot near a gas station) only on Saturdays. I've seen him there every time I head home after Walmart shopping; but I'm too in a hurry to stop and see what's up. So we ordered up a chicken dinner to share. He gave us half a chicken! With some coleslaw and baked beans. There was no place to sit, so we ate off the back of the car while Harrison sat in his stroller and watched. We really needed a truck with a tailgate to sit on. But as my dear husband reminded me: we've got a fourth kid instead!
Then some friends from church who are wanting to have some "baby experience" (they've been married a year with no children yet), took Harrison for two hours while we went hiking! Hiking! This was Phillip's idea and I loved it. There's a 6 mile trail just down the road from our house. We hiked about 2 miles then drove around with Doritos and Mountain Dew until our two hours were up. Harrison was wonderful for the couple ~ though they were a little upset that he mostly slept. :-) They also offered us some freshly baked quiche, which I accepted. Delicious!
Then home for a little while. Cheap Tony's pizza for supper, coffee shop, then home again just in time to welcome the kids in the door and get them to bed.
I loved the day with my husband! We're very blessed indeed.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Jambalaya
My first try at a favorite Cajun dish: jambalaya! Mrs. Faye shared the recipe (via my Mom); I had to call her afterward to get some things straight. But it still tasted good and familiar and I can't wait to try it again!
Carmelize some sugar in some oil (I used butter, which was one of my problems).
Brown the boneless pork ribs (I cut off the fat, another problem). Add some water and cook it down to tenderize the pork. Brown it some more.
Add the sausage and cook a little more. Then add garlic and onion and saute. Add the salt and black and red pepper now? I can't remember what Mrs. Faye said. I didn't add ~ totally forgot till the end! And I didn't add enough, it was a little bland.
Add the water (3 cups of water for 2 cups of rice). Bring to a boil, then add the rice. Lower the temperature to medium and cook about 20 minutes. Cover, lower the temp some more and cook till rice is tender. Stir several times so rice doesn't stick to the bottom.
Even with all the mistakes, I still enjoyed it! I think I'll have some more of it for supper. Another favorite I recently discovered at Walmart: boudin'! It was not as good as some I've had, but it wasn't horrible either. I'll get it again when I'm homesick for Cajun cooking.
Carmelize some sugar in some oil (I used butter, which was one of my problems).
Brown the boneless pork ribs (I cut off the fat, another problem). Add some water and cook it down to tenderize the pork. Brown it some more.
Add the sausage and cook a little more. Then add garlic and onion and saute. Add the salt and black and red pepper now? I can't remember what Mrs. Faye said. I didn't add ~ totally forgot till the end! And I didn't add enough, it was a little bland.
Add the water (3 cups of water for 2 cups of rice). Bring to a boil, then add the rice. Lower the temperature to medium and cook about 20 minutes. Cover, lower the temp some more and cook till rice is tender. Stir several times so rice doesn't stick to the bottom.
Even with all the mistakes, I still enjoyed it! I think I'll have some more of it for supper. Another favorite I recently discovered at Walmart: boudin'! It was not as good as some I've had, but it wasn't horrible either. I'll get it again when I'm homesick for Cajun cooking.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
In Whom There is No Guile
I love the honesty and innocence of children. From the middle two recently:
We were teasing Jonathan about who he was going to marry one day. We named several girls, saying, "Why don't you marry them? They're a good friend." He came back with, "I don't even know what they'll look like when they grow up!" We did not teach him that.
Phoebe seems the most oblivious concerning appropriate boundaries in speaking. At a restaurant she loudly proclaimed how fat a guy was. We all quickly told her, "That's not nice, you can't say things like that about people, they wouldn't like it, they would find it mean, etc." She continues, "Well, can I say, 'You ate a lot of food.'?" "No, that's not appropriate either." Later Jonathan mentioned about a new party seated close to us: "That's a lot of people!". Phoebe immediately started in, "You can't say that, Jon! That's mean! You can't say that about people!" Okay, so she just doesn't get it. Soon after I hear from her, "Those people are old!"
She's technically not wrong about her observations.
We were teasing Jonathan about who he was going to marry one day. We named several girls, saying, "Why don't you marry them? They're a good friend." He came back with, "I don't even know what they'll look like when they grow up!" We did not teach him that.
Phoebe seems the most oblivious concerning appropriate boundaries in speaking. At a restaurant she loudly proclaimed how fat a guy was. We all quickly told her, "That's not nice, you can't say things like that about people, they wouldn't like it, they would find it mean, etc." She continues, "Well, can I say, 'You ate a lot of food.'?" "No, that's not appropriate either." Later Jonathan mentioned about a new party seated close to us: "That's a lot of people!". Phoebe immediately started in, "You can't say that, Jon! That's mean! You can't say that about people!" Okay, so she just doesn't get it. Soon after I hear from her, "Those people are old!"
She's technically not wrong about her observations.
"Spring"
Elizabeth practiced cake decorating for Handicraft. She had written a poem for Copywork a month ago, and decided to put the first line of her poem on her cake. We had a lot of trouble getting the frosting right, so it was hard for her to make the flowers. But she had several weeks of practice. She baked this cake, tinted the frosting, frosted and decorated it, and served it to the family. I am glad this handicraft is finished! We'll do some more practice in another year or so when she's older. Her poem and cake follow:
"Spring"
I walk in the grass
soft and green.
I walk in the sun
a sunbeam.
Flowers bloom
left and right.
If I didn't know better
I'd think I was right:
Spring was here.
by elizabeth gore
"Spring"
I walk in the grass
soft and green.
I walk in the sun
a sunbeam.
Flowers bloom
left and right.
If I didn't know better
I'd think I was right:
Spring was here.
by elizabeth gore
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Oh, the disgustingness of this much candy!
This time of year brings a ton of sweet gooey sugary candy into our home. So what we do with it is this: The kids get one week with their candy. They can sort through it, trade it, give it away (they usually give Dad chocolate and Mom sour candy), etc. This year they also put a gallon-size bag into the cabinet of select candies they want for their gingerbread houses they are sure to make for Christmas. We've been letting them have two pieces a day: one after lunch and one later in the day. After a week, we put all candy together into a big bowl. Dad and I can eat what we want then and they can keep choosing one or two pieces a day for a treat. We also throw about a handful of candy away a day. That way it eventually goes away. Until next year. When it invades again.....
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
South Carolina
We had a nice little weekend away visiting some friends who recently moved to South Carolina. They have a beautiful new home, the weather was just nippy enough to feel like fall, and we all (including the kids) had a great time together.
The kids dressed up to go to a Zoo Trick-or-Treat Thingy. We had two cowboys (well, one of those was a "cowboy girl" as Phoebe puts it), a beautiful Indian princess, a beautiful Snow princess, and some kind of Jedi Venom Spiderman.
The kids also went to a Children's Museum the next day. These are the only non-blurry pictures I got. They spent a good 2 1/2 hours there with no complaining, and we didn't even make it to all the displays! They got along so well; makes parents happy.
The kids dressed up to go to a Zoo Trick-or-Treat Thingy. We had two cowboys (well, one of those was a "cowboy girl" as Phoebe puts it), a beautiful Indian princess, a beautiful Snow princess, and some kind of Jedi Venom Spiderman.
The kids also went to a Children's Museum the next day. These are the only non-blurry pictures I got. They spent a good 2 1/2 hours there with no complaining, and we didn't even make it to all the displays! They got along so well; makes parents happy.
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