Those are the sanitary napkin samples sent to me in the mail stuck to the bottom of Phebe's feet. . I bet the manufacturer would be pleased to know that they are rated highly by the resident 4 year old. They are very effective at slipping on hard surfaces and inducing giggles.
Phebe: Is water always clear mom?
Me: As long as nothing is in the water, yes. It isn't as clear if there there is dirt or some kinds of bacteria-
P: or an octopus.
M: Well yes, it is hard to see through an octopus,
P: I don't want to met an octopus.
M: Why?
P: It would eat me.It has a big sharp beak.
M: I think you might be a bit big for it to eat. It eats smaller things like crabs.
P:Yea, crabs are so annoying. Maybe it eats giant lobsters.
M: Yea, but I don't think there are many lobsters your size.
P: I have 4 shirts on.
I finally took the time to cook some quinoa. I kept hearing about it and I finally cooked some I had picked up a while ago.I am impressed. It was pretty good. I had plenty of left overs though. So I searched around for another recipe to use it in. Eventually I just made something up. When everyone eats it, even with pre-dinner comments like "ugh, That stuff again?" you know it was pretty good. Even Phebe who has an aversion to anything that isn't a liquid, fruit or junk food said "This is fantastic! Can I have more?" I was floored. Here is the basic recipe- Funeral potatoes-
INGREDIENTS
6 c. diced potatoes
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 c. milk
1 c. sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
2 c. grated cheddar cheese, or use a mix of cheddar and gruyere
1/4 c. grated onion (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 c. crushed cornflakes or panko bread crumbs (optional for crumb topping)
Additional 2 T. butter (optional for crumb topping)
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Advance prep: bake/thaw potatoes: 60 minutes
Total Time: 120 minutes
Yield: About 8 cups
PREPARATION
Prepare the potatoes: Scrub 6-8 medium russet potatoes and wrap in foil. Bake the potatoes in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they are easily pierced with a fork but not too tender. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and dice them. If you want, you can substitute plain frozen diced (not shredded) potatoes. Let the potatoes thaw before using them in the recipe.
Combine soup, butter, sour cream or yogurt, milk, cheese, onion, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Add the diced potatoes and stir gently until combined.
Place potato mixture in a 2-3 quart casserole dish or 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
Optional: Mix 2 T melted butter with crushed corn flakes or panko bread crumbs. If using panko, season with a little salt and pepper. Sprinkle crumb mixture over potato mixture.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
I used cream of mushroom soup instead of chicken, skipped the topping and I just dumped a bunch of extra quinoa in there. Ta da! Add some extra protein and a fun texture and everyone was happy. I was seriously surprised by how well received it was. There you go, a yummy dinner suggestion. I mean, even Phebe and Victor liked it at the same time!
Yesterday Caleb and Phebe worked really hard as a team. They dug rocks out of the drive way. Then they presented them to me informing me that these were going to be the Christmas presents for myself and their dad. Oh, I am sure he will be thrilled, I thought.
So all on their own they dug out wrapping paper and wrapped up strawberry containers full of driveway stones and presented them to us. Christmas was much too far away. I am now the proud owner of a carton of rocks.
Along those same lines-
( I can't get enough of Caleb and Phebe actively playing together.)
This morning Phebe wondered into the house through the front door, " because Caleb wouldn't let me in the back door". She just made me smile.
She had allowed me to elaborately braid her hair. So of course that was staring to fall out. She had a striped shirt on inside out. She was wearing her sister's much too large pajama pants. She and Caleb had drawn all overs pool noodles and then covered them with stickers. (Those are very important weapons when fighting the demon lords in the backyard. ) She had her pool noodle of destruction stuffed down the back of her shirt.
In an effort to put important things first and to teach my kids good habits, for the last month we have been having personal scripture study time for each kid after family prayer.
The problem with this particular scenario is that only two of the five are independant readers. So that means Caleb and Phebe need someone to read with them. Right now we have been reading from some illustrated scripture reader books.
Phebe likes the New Testament. She looks through each night to find the portion she wants to read. Each night she chooses the crucifixtion. After a few days of only this choice I started to add the portion of Christ's ressurection in to remind here the story doesn't end at his death.
I began to feel a bit concerned about her seemingly morbid consistent selection.
One night as we sat down to read I finally asked her why she liked reading about when Jesus died. "Because it is important. He died so I can live with Heavenly Father again."
So tonight and tomorrow and most likely each night in my foreseeable future I know what we will read. And I will no longer be concerned, only touched.
Me: Phebe, you look really cute in that outfit. I like your new jeans a lot.
Phebe: Yea, now I need a guitar.
Me: When you wear jeans you need a guitar?
Phebe: Yea, guitars go with jeans.
Few hours later I found her dragging the guitar out of the closet. They match OK?
We had this great conversation while at the Dr's office.
Nurse: Wow! Now you are a big sister. Do you help with the baby? Take care of her? Do you feed your sister?
Phebe, looking at her like she is crazy: No, I don't feed her.
Nurse: Why don't you help feed the baby?
Phebe, absolutely incredulous : My nipples are too small!
I finally stepped in and informed the nurse I was breastfeeding. The look on her face was pretty priceless.
Here is a post from me. It is about the random happenings around here. I know you are dying to hear about them.
Ethan and I have started our Ballroom dance lessons. Tonight will make night 3 of the Fox Trot. The dance itself is OK. Most of the music that goes with it is not my favorite genre. We practiced last night. We did find one particular artist we can fox trot to. Her name is Nora Jones. This is one of our favorites.
After we come home from dance lessons, we read scriptures as a family and the kids go to bed. Ethan and I then play fruit ninja or something and then he goes to his hockey game. Unlike me, he is actually good enough to play on a team. Good enough to get stuck on defense.
Ethan's boss hired me to help with the grand opening of a second location of the business.Neither Ethan or his boss actually like to be in the spotlight. They were both dragged into the ribbon cutting ceremony anyway. I ran the grill and served hot dogs. Note worthy happenings of the day include:
My husband being asked if I was his daughter.
Ethan being sent on a limo run. ( Still not sure why you would pick the manager of a location to leave during the grand opening....)
Listening to old men talk about how this business was going to revitalise the whole area.
I watched the skill of free loaders in action. No shame I tell you.
Won a basket from the auction. A 9 year old girl gave me the tickets. With our powers combined we were unstoppable.
Was asked which company I worked for. The man was flabbergasted when I said I was a stay at home mom. It was funny.
Made some money.
Learned there really is no convenient way to get from here to that location. It was ridiculous.
I am glad I was given the opportunity to help out. Man, I am glad I do not have to work everyday. It would be awful.
I went to Zumba with a friend at the YMCA. When I went to retrieve my children from the child care area the woman in charge made a comment that should have surprised me. It didn't though. "Phebe climbed on everything. EVERYTHING." Um... sorry. She does that. A lot. I am working on curbing that. Her comment was "I only meant I have sympathy for you at home. I am sure she does it there too." Oh, how right that woman is.
We went to my children's school open house. We learned Victor can read really well and I need to work harder with Naomi. Did anyone else ever have a problem with working hard with the oldest and slacking off with other children? I am going to work harder on fixing that. Naomi also learns differently so I need to change up my tactics.
Today I went through old letters and pictures. I threw away a bunch of old letters and pictures. I held on to prom pictures and special memories. But much of my premarried life is in the trash. I can't help but think " I barely cared about this person when I knew them. My kids certainly aren't going to care about them."And then the picture goes into the garbage. It was fun and occasionally sad to reread some of the things. I wonder if I was kind enough. I wonder if I said the right thing. If I was a good friend. If I was sincere. Do I really deserve all the wonderful letters I have gotten?
I still have a pile that I need to go through. I also have other piles all over the room thanks to my daughter who was "helping". Gonna go get dinner started and those helper piles cleaned up.
