Family Home Evening

Four posts without any pictures? On my blog? How can this have happened? I hope you're proud of me, Lisa, for being so wordsy, but sheesh! It's gonna kill me. So here's a picture for y'all.
This is last Monday when we built Marshmallow towers for Family Home Evening. Yes, I am trying to cheat in the picture, making my tower taller than Jef's, even though mine wouldn't actually stand up at all. (You try playing against a Geometry teacher. Sheesh!)

Speaking of Family Home Evening, here's a funny story from last night. Jennie really really really wanted to play Button Button, Who's Got the Button? But we decided to play Telephone instead. I thought she was being unusually easy to get along with when she reluctantly agreed to play with us, and sat down in the middle of our "telephone line."
But the funny thing about this game was that no matter who started the "message," and no matter what the message started out as, it always came out the same on the other side.
"I want to play Button-Button."

Recipe for Kendra

Kendra is stuck in dinner rut. I know how she feels. How many nights in a row can you fix spaghetti, really? So she is begging all her blogging friends to post dinner recipes so she can widen her horizons. I have to admit I wouldn't mind at all if all my blogging friends did the same. So I will lead by example. Here's a fabulous (and not too complicated) dinner we all enjoy.

Black Bean and Chicken Enchiladas

1 cup cooked and cubed or shredded chicken (I usually add more to make it go farther.)
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp cumin
2 (15oz.) cans Black Beans
1 cup Sour Cream
1 (20 oz.) can Enchilada Sauce
8 Tortillas
1 cup grated Cheese

Combine chicken, seasonings, and beans.
Add sour cream and set aside.
On each tortilla spread:
1 Tbs. Enchilada Sauce
1/2 cup chicken & bean mixture
1 Tbs. Cheese
Roll and place in casserole dish
When all tortillas are filled, top with remaining enchilada sauce, cover, and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese and put back in the oven until the cheese melts.
Serve with sour cream, green onions, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce... Whatever you want.

I did use these exact amounts the first time I made this, but have been "faking it" ever since. And I made up that whole 350 for 35 minutes thing. Just cook it 'til it's hot all the way through.
I admit I was a little nervous about trying black beans for the first time, but they are way yummy.
Enjoy!

So Close

I was thinking today about a story Malcolm Black told me while we were at his house.
His grandfather went to the Olympics as a boxer and tied for third place. Nowadays they give both the third place people a bronze medal. But back then they flipped a coin.
His grandfather lost the coin toss. ( I hate it when that happens.)
So he went home, gave up boxing, and became a doctor. He helped tons of people and everyone loved him.

Now doesn't that remind you of a movie? I've been trying for two months to think why that story sounded familiar, and I finally figured it out. (I know. I'm a little slow. I'm not even going to tell you where the missing house turned up.)

So did you think of the same movie I did? Come on, Jamie, I know you know this one.

Overheard at My House Today

Robyn: (While reading a letter from the school inviting her to join an accelerated math program.)

WHAT?!?!!

I'm excelling???

Weird.

---

Jef: On your mark!
Get set!
GO!!!!

Emily: (clueless) What?

So Many Choices

A few months ago the beaters on my mixer died, and I've been mixing everything by hand ever since.
This morning my blender died while making smoothies.
So I am quickly returning to a more old-fashioned style of cooking.
Those of you who think that's a good thing probably don't have six children.
So I've been daydreaming today, and I was wondering if any of you could help add some accuracy to my daydreams.
Any thoughts on Bosch vs. Kitchen Aid?
Both are horrendously expensive (That's before you buy any attachments.)
My mom always used a Bosch, and it's lasted for as long as I can remember. But the Kitchen Aid does come in a larger variety of colors, and it might be fun to choose between Pistachio or Bayleaf. But if it did a good job, I guess I could live with Green Apple.
I've heard they'll do everything in the kitchen and you won't ever need another machine. So if I could replace the microwave, the stove, and the fridge with this one handy little Green Apple machine, then that would be great.
But what I really need is a machine that will scrub the kitchen floor and do laundry. I would even be willing to settle for Majestic Yellow if I could have that!
So while I'm busy dreaming in technicolor, could you give me your advice?
Buff Bosch or Trendy Kitchen Aid?

Hard Workin' Woman

I thought I'd explain what I've been up to lately, since it obviously hasn't been blogging. This last summer it took until June to get our garden planted, so I decided this year to start in November.
We tilled in lots of leaves, some fertilizer, and some sulfur, and then made it all into raised beds and planted Winter Rye.
Funny how that all fits into one simple sentence, but actually represents hours and hours of work. In the Spring we'll turn the Rye over a couple of weeks before planting, and it will supposedly help our heavy clay soil to lighten up a little.
I also had Jef build me a compost bin, and I filled one side of it. I fit five big bags of leaves, a big pile of lawn clippings, and two rows of cornstalks (along with a whole bunch of dirt), into about a square yard of space. I don't know how that's possible, I just know that it was a whole lot of work. And I got a nice blister to prove it. :)

Sleeping Accessories

I was reading everyone else's blogs, and thinking how I really should post something on mine. So I went in and took a picture of Jennie sleeping. Tonight she is sleeping with seven books and six stuffed animals. I didn't tell her that one of the baby dolls and the small care bear are missing. They would usually be there, too, making it a total of eight friends in Jennie's bed.
Makes me claustrophobic just looking at her, but she gets very upset if anything is missing. I sometimes go in an remove things after she's asleep, but more than once she's woken up in the night crying, and I have to get up and go find the missing item in the dark. Better to just take a deep breath and leave them there.

Wow

The other day I had the brilliant idea that we should all go outside and do some yard work. I could work on dismantling the garden, and the kids could rake leaves. Well, it was actually going quite well until a whole ton of butterflies showed up. And then, even though I kept working on the garden, the kids were definitely done raking leaves. They ran to get my camera, and spent the next hour taking way too many pictures of our visitors. (Where do they get that from, anyway?) Although there were a whole lot of blurry pictures, there were actually a few that turned out amazingly well. The first picture was taken by Ben, and the second by Robyn. Handily enough, Reflections entries are due this week. The theme is Wow, and coincidentally, that's exactly what I said when I saw these pictures. Wow.

Just Put it on Your Head

Lydia's high chair sits a little back from the table, and she often gets forgotten as we all talk and eat. But she has discovered a way to become the focus at every meal. All she has to do is take whatever it is she's eating and stick it on her head. Works every time.
Sure, I'm always telling everyone to "Stop encouraging her and eat your dinner," but it doesn't really work. You try telling a four year old to ignore the laughing baby with spaghetti on her head. Good luck.

Officially Official

Well, I've been anxiously awaiting the day when I could post that
Jennie is potty-trained!
Hooray!
She hasn't had an accident in three days, so I think it's officially official now. Of course, at this point, it's questionable whether my life is any easier or not. Changing her diaper three or four times a day was much less time consuming than running to the potty with her twenty times a day. Which makes me contemplate one of life's inconvenient truths:
That sometimes, in order to move forward,
you must first take a step backward.
Sounds like a fortune cookie.
But it's still true, and I have to keep reminding myself that we're moving toward independence, here, and that's a good thing. So...
Hooray for Jennie!

Halloween

On October 31st, I became the proud mother of a ninja, a gypsy, a pumpkin, a witch, Superman, and a princess. It was quite a day. And, of course, with the transformation of my children came an absurd amount of candy. I had a few pieces yesterday afternoon and was sick the rest of the day, so I don't know how my children can stomach the amazing amounts of sugar they've ingested in the last two days. I finally got tired of it, and the candy pails have now disappeared. (Much to Jef's consternation who just now couldn't find any candy to snitch.)

Happy Day

Today is of historical significance for two reasons.

The first is that on this day one year ago...
I started my blog!
Yes, your favorite blog ever began on November 1, 2007 with this memorable post.
Between that day and this, I have posted 145 times, with the record month definitely being this last one. Thanks for taking a moment to reminisce with me. :)

The second reason is that on this day 29 years ago...
My sister Lisa was born!
I can't remember a world without siblings, but it must have been a cold and lonely one. Thanks, Lisa, for coming and giving me someone to play with, fight with, share with, and love. You've done a great job. Happy Birthday!