Why You Should Let Kids In The Kitchen

Time after time,

I've blogged about the messes my kids made in the kitchen.

I've had  burned steaks and

a melted cutting board.

My burner covers have been charcoaled beyond salvation.

I've had spilled spices and

broken eggs.

But, there's

always,

always,

always,

  payback

after all the cleanup.

Homemade Krispy Kreme Donuts?

MMM GOOD!

Strawberry Shortcake?

DELICIOUS!

The best pay-off comes at Thanksgiving.

I haven't cooked in years.

In fact,

I don't remember the last time I cooked the entire meal.

In fact,

I don't know if I even have ever cooked the entire meal.

The kids are in the kitchen as soon as those

little hands can grasp the mixer.

Just because a little hair was also wrapped around the mixer,

I didn't banish them from the kitchen.

No sirreee, not me.

This year our 15 year old son, Jon, took charge

of the entire Thanksgiving meal.

Well, let's clarify. 

He didn't want to get up early enough to put the turkey in,

so Dad started that for him.

But, the menu and the shopping were up to him,

with a help from the people with wheels and a debit card.

He chose very traditional Thanksgiving foods.

The day before he made

a double-batch of white dinner rolls.

Since we usually eat wheat bread,

he loved having an excuse to use white flour,

'cuz he was in charge, ya' know.

The rolls were amazing.

 

Jon was great about CAYG,

Clean As You Go.

By the time dinner was served,

the kitchen was clean,

with a little help from big sister.

Since we eat our meal at 2pm,

he even planned and prepared snacks for the evening,

including this delicious salmon dip.

We make our guests help in the kitchen.

Friend Josiah had to ladle the gravy and walk it to the table.

He also helped with the dishes.

Hubby also made the gravy.

Like previous years, I just had to set the table.

Since I'm still recovering from my Thanksgiving last year,

I went very simple.

Thanksgiving Dinner:

Herb Encrusted Turkey

Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Olives and Pickles

White Dinner Rolls

Spaghetti Squash

Homemade Stuffing

Evening Snacks:

Stuffed Mushrooms

Deviled Eggs

Salmon Dip

Cheese and Crackers

I hope you're a wee bit jealous about my

amazing, handsome, 15 year old chef.

Maybe jealous enough to buy a fire estinguisher

and let your kids in the kitchen,

to spill, drop, break and burn.

There's payback,

I promise.

Someday,

you could be writing about your

amazing, talented kids.

WHY DO WE BUY TOYS?!?!

Hubby and I have asked ourselves this many times over the years.

You buy an awesome Christmas present,

the kid plays with the box.

You order an awesome birthday present,

the kid plays with the bubble wrap.

You splurge on cool outside toys,

they play with
Sticks and Rocks and Mud.
When they get tired of sticks and rocks and mud,
they entertain themselves.

However, if we wrapped up
Sticks and Rocks and Mud

in rolls of bubble wrap and

taped it up in a big box

to give a kid for  Christmas or a birthday,

they wouldn't be happy.

They would want a cool toy.

Still, for two and a half decades of parenting,

hubby and I have asked ourselves,

"WHY DO WE BUY THE KIDS TOYS?"

Case in point.

We go to a cool beach on the Puget Sound for a family picnic.

I pack a large basket full of very exciting outdoor toys for the big kids.

They get ignored.

Instead, the kids creatively make up their own fun.

Bethany spearheads the "Balancing Act" game.

In case you didn't know, a log is an overgrown stick.

Grace attempts balancing on an extra long log.

Is it cheating if you use a stick to balance on a log?

Hey, Moms, notice they don't outgrow the

"Adopt A Stick" game?

Beka takes on the challenge.

Jon joined the game, but spent most of his time

leaping instead of balancing.

Grace changes the game to

"See Who Can Find the Best Marshmallow Roasting Stick."

Can't  ya' hear her triumphant cry,

"I Win, Oh, Yea!"

to the tune of

"Squid Launcher, Oh Yea!"

Jon participated in a boy's favorite pastime,

"Throwing Rocks."

Beka played,

"Let's See how Long I can Walk in 58degree Water."

Not very long.

She loved digging her toes in the mud along the edges.

See what I mean?
Sticks and Rocks and Mud

keep them happy.

While they waded, balanced and threw,

Daddy rested.

After roasting dinner, they tired of
Sticks and Rocks and Mud

so they invented a new game.

"Leap Over Your Sister In a Single Bound."

Little Sister joined the game,

but didn't quite master the leap OVER part.

Big Sister added a new dimension to the game.

It became

 "Leap Over Your Sister In a Single Bound While Catching the Aerobie."

Yea, they finally touched a toy.

Then they started playing with the picnic tables.

"Let's See If We Can Jump From Table to Table

Without Touching the Ground."

Made it!

Can't you just hear them double-dog daring each other?

While they jumped over, around, into,  and on top of things,
Daddy rested.

So back to that original question,

WHY DO WE BUY THEM TOYS?

Because I, that's me, wave to the shadow,

like buying them toys.

I like to give my children good things.

As we begin the annual countdown to Christmas,

yea, don't panic, but it's three months away,

I plan on buying toys.

I will wrap them with bubble wrap and place them in boxes.

The kids will play with the bubble wrap and boxes,

but I will be happy I bought them toys.

Because I like toys.

I like giving good things.

Even if they don't like a present I pick out,

I keep buying them presents.

Even if they don't use a present I pick out,

I keep buying them presents.

Even if they don't keep a present I pick out,

I keep buying them presents.

You're like that, too?

Do ya' know who we take after?

Our Father.

Matthew 7:11

If you then, being evil,

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father who is in heaven

 give good things to those who ask Him!

Yea, that's where I get my example.

We may be like Him in the desire to give good things,

but our jesting desire to wrap up

Sticks and Rocks and Mud

doesn't come from Him.

The verse just prior tells us

 Matthew 7:9

Or what man is there among you who,

if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

Even if we're content to play with life's

Sticks and Rocks and Mud,

He's still determined to give us good things.

Isn't He an amazing Heavenly Father?

Is Your Life a Barrel O' Fun?

How much fun are you having in life?

A barrel of fun?

Barrel O' Fun used to be a local business.

I say used to, because I used to live in Minnesota.

We even toured the factory in Perham, MN for a homeschool field trip.

Of course, that was before digital photography.

I have no pics to boast about watching the conveyor belt

dump mountains of chips into open bags.

By the way, the same chips go into about ten different bags.

I saw first hand that generic doesn't always mean an inferior product.

Contrary to urban legend, they don't save all the broken,

discolored chips for the generic bags.

Same chips, different packages.

Anyhoo....

I forgot how much I missed their products until I read Linda's

blog about the Old Dutch Caramel Corn

she made for her adorable vintage Graduation party.

After Linda's blog started my salivary glands craving caramel corn,

I bought  four bags of puffed corn in North Dakota.

It was SO hot, I thought the bags would explode in the car.

They were more bloated than a pregnant woman's

ankles in August.

I arrived home with only three.

 

OOPS!

Snacking helps you stay awake when you have to drive

1380.20 miles...

in the heat....

with no other driver...

and you haven't had much sleep for weeks...

 

The back of the bag has the perfect recipe to make this...

...turn into this.

Sweet, delicious, melt-in-your mouth,

you've-never-had-caramel-corn-this-good-before

deliciousness.

After mixing all the ingredients,

Jon stirred the gooey stuff every 15 minutes.

 I'm not a bad photographer,

he didn't want his picture on my blog.

I promised him I wouldn't show his face,

so I purposely cut off his head.

Yea, I'm a good mom,

I am.

We carefully put 1 cup in each bag,

because we knew that the first one to the tub of caramel corn

would be tempted to eat it all.

Especially if that first person was me.

The fairness dividing routine wasn't enacted just for the kids.

Wouldn't this treat be sweet in these little boxes?

Remember that insane work I put into Graduation?

Whoever named their company

had great insight into the psychology of snacking-happiness.

Eating this stuff, especially carameled, is a

Barrel O'Fun!

**********

Recipe:

Caramel Coating (mix in 2 quart sauce pan)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 cup brown sugar

Stir and cook for two minutes or until bubbly around the edges, remove from heat. 

 

Add one tsp. baking soda to cause foaming, this will allow for proper coating of pops.

Pour caramel stuff over corn pops and stir until coated.

Place in 250degree oven for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and pour onto waxed paper.

Spread apart before it cools so will cool separately.

(Linda's recipe above is for the microwave.)



BRRRaseBRRall S-S-S-Season

Baseball season has officially started. 

We sat through our first game on Thursday night,

and barely escaped hypothermia.

Sitting on cold metal bleachers from 8 -10pm

proves some serious dedication from parents.

We could see our breath.

I haven't seen my breath more than a few times since we

moved from the North Dakota/Minnesota border.

I don't miss seeing my breath.

I miss seeing my shadow, but not my breath.

As you can tell from my title, our teeth were chattering.

Last year we had a very, very cold season. It rained a lot.

The year before we had a cold, cold season.  It rained a lot.

Come to think of it, every season has been cold and it has rained a lot.

We learned they don't cancel games because of rain.

They only cancel  if the field gets puddles.

It can drizzle for hours and hours before there is

enough accumulated water to cancel a game.

We learned umbrellas, blankets and handwarmers aren't enough.

A propane heater is on our shopping list for this season.

 

We've leaned baseball season is more than just

freezing while you watch your kid.

It's watching your kid get beaned by a baseball,

sometimes more than once in a game.

We've learned that baseball is sitting in the stands with your family,

(click on link to watch a video of my adorable granddaughter cheering)

eating some healthy and not-so-healthy snacks,

and trying to cheer respectfully, even when you don't like a call.

I've learned important life lessons while watching the umpire.

Last year, Rebekah joined softball. 

I can't believe I didn't blog about it. 

She plays first base and catcher, just like I did as a girl.

I am thrilled my kids chose to play my favorite sport.

It makes it a lot easier to sit on those cold, hard, metal bleachers

because baseball season is really, really cold, and it rains a lot.

One Big Happy Family

My guest blogger today is Rebekah Joy,

who previously blogged about being

The Baby of the Family.

Today she provided the illustration and the commentary

on the rest of the family.

I didn't edit, it's too precious the way it is.

She has years ahead to study grammar,syntax, and spelling,

 but for now, she writes straight from the heart,

and a lot faster than I do.

******

I drew this picture for one of my subjects in school.

 Because our family loves each other,

and I was thinking about that,

I had everybody holding hands.

My Dad is really good at fixing broken things.

He prays with me at night and he takes me on dates,

like change the oil and stuff like that, but it's fun.

My Mom helps me with school and plays games with me.

And she'll take my school pictures,

because I can't take the picture while I'm posing.

Dan moved away and lives in Fargo.

When he lived at home, me and him would go for Slurpees.

My sister, Grace, is really funny sometimes,

but when I cannot bug my Mom when she's busy, I'll ask Grace.

My sister, Beth, works at a nice salon.  She fixes my hair really pretty.

And, she has a really nice dollhouse.

My sister, Jana, has two kids already and #3 is coming and it is a girl.

Aaron is the husband of Jana and he is a good husband.

He cooks when Jana is busy.

My brother, Jon, is a really fun playmate with me.

He'll help me do my school work, too, and

 he'll play catch with me in the front yard.

I really like to dress-up, play baby dolls and house.

I like to put sponge curlers in my hair so the next morning I have curly hair.

When I grow up I want to be a nurse so I can help people have a baby

and give shots.

I really like my family because they do stuff for me and they love me.

We're one big happy family.

Not'cher MinnesOtan Fud

When we moved from the upper midwest to the PNW seven years ago,

I thought I had moved to another country. 

The people were different, the accents were different,

the traffic was different, the clothing was different.

The food was different - really, really different.

At times the differences were so overwhelming, it would drive me to tears. 

I kept telling myself that if the early pioneer women could make it,

I could make it.

The first time we had a team from work over, we'd lived here only a year. 

We still cooked MinnesOtan. 

I prepared the best I knew,

Velveeta Cheese chili dip, barbecued Little Smokies and spicy meatballs.

I also had a veggie and fruit tray, rolled-out sugar cookies,

fudge and a few other favorites. 

I was pretty proud of myself, until I noticed the guests hardly ate anything.

Recently, we had my husband's new team over to kick off the new year.  

My amazing kids helped me update our company menu

to see if people would actually eat our food.   

Grace, my neat freak, helped with cleaning. 

Bethany did the cooking and Jon did the dishes.  

Beka traipsed around helping everyone with her cheerful attitude.

We didn't burn anything.

We didn't break anything.

We didn't drop anything.

We didn't melt anything.

We didn't get our hair caught in anything.

We had a wonderful day working together.

Stuffed mini Portabella mushrooms

Sockeye Salmon Dip, Kalamata olives, Manzanilla olives

Dill Havarti, Brie, Gouda, Smoked Gouda and French Abbaye Cheeses

It looked amazing with the fresh, lush clusters of grapes, 

but I forgot to take a picture.

We served the tradtional fruit and vegetable trays.

We didn't buy the standard Wheat Thins and Triscuits,we bought those fancy crackers.

 I know, right? 

Compared to the generic crackers I bought in early marriage,

 Wheat Thins and Triscuits are upscale.

(Wanna' know a secret?

We still buy them when we don't have company.)

For desert we had chocolate truffles, dark chocolate covered acai berries,

and Grace's white-chocolate dipped strawberries.

The best part of the evening?

The guests ate the food.

We enjoyed animated conversation and people would often pop up

to refill their plates.

I suddenly realized why my Gramma loved to see people eat -

there's such a satisfying feeling of knowing company is enjoying your food.

Or, in my case, my daughter's food.

The food  we served was definitely

not'cher Minnesotan fud.

*****

What's your favorite food items to serve guests?

Have you had any failures like mine?

I'd love to hear your stories.

Shades of Friendship and Family

“There is a road from the eye to heart

that does not go through the intellect.”

G. K. Chesterton

(My daughter, Grace, and friends in friend Melissa's face.)

A true friend can see the part 

inside of you others can't.

The best part of that internal vision?

They appreciate the intimate glimpse into your heart,

and will cherish and cultivate the treasures

and bind and heal the brokenness.

(My husband mirrored in my eyes.)

The longer you are married,

the more you are the mirrored reflection of the other person.

Your hearts, minds and souls combine in a beautiful unity

of companionship, purpose and love.

Make sure you marry someone

you want to end up

looking like,

talking like,

acting like,

and thinking like.

(Beka, the baby of the family, loves her Mommy and Daddy.)

Right now Beka is convinced she will live with us forever.

Being our daughter is the most important role

in her life right now.

She can't imagine being anything else.

She doesn't understand yet,

that we'll always be her parents,

even though other significant relationships will enter her heart.

We'll just move into her peripheral vision.

(Son, Jon, keeping his eyes on sisters and parents.)

I know he will grow up, go to college, get a job,

maybe have his own family,

even though he swears he will NEVER marry.

But, as he ventures out in the

ocean of uncertaintly and adventure,

we'll always be on the shore,

a small, bright beacon of light,

beckoning slowly and steadily,

in case he needs a course correction.

No matter where they go,

what they do,

or who they are with,

I will always have my eye on them....

reflected through through the lens of my camera.





(reprinted from 3-2010)

Anything You Say and Do...

This is a reprint, slightly edited, from the very first blog I posted.

**********

I have another new form of punishment and torture for my children – the Internet. Now that I blog, they are under constant scrutiny to provide the next fodder for my cyber-soliloquy. I even carry a small notebook in my purse, and doodle random actions and exclamations, and keep a running OneNote document on each child.


For years I have attempted to journal the comical things they say and do on my daily calendar, or in small notebooks for each child. But, who can keep two decades of calendars? The notebooks were read and re-read so many times the pages fell out. So, now I have the means of chronicling their lives and not only broadcasting it to a much wider audience, I can have it preserved forever

*as long as my hard-drive doesn’t crash (again)
*as long as I remember to backup my computer
*as long as someone doesn’t spill milk on my computer (again)
*as long as I remember yet another password

Now, when I hear bickering, I pull out my notebook, not always so discretely, and begin writing. If I don’t have a notebook, I grab a napkin or a scrap piece of paper. When they notice the writing, they sometimes begin to elevate their diction to a level of acceptability.

Sometimes, I may just casually ask, “What did you just say? I’m not sure I got that right?” with hands posed industriously with pen or keyboard, and they give me THE LOOK.

We all know THE LOOK. All kids use THE LOOK on their parents. It is when their eyebrows and lips morph into the expression that quietly shouts both “What are you thinking?” and “Are you really my parent?”

Then I give them the PARENT LOOK back.

We all know the PARENT LOOK. All children have seen the PARENT LOOK after they have dared question the superior wisdom and authority of their parental unit. It is the look when the eyebrows raise and the lips barely smirk, and we are quietly and victoriously shouting back,

“Yes, I AM thinking” and
“Yes, I AM your parent” but it adds,

“And if you don’t behave better, I am going to wear leopard stretch pants or a sweater with beads, mirrors and sequins sewed all over it the next time I take you out in public…and THEN I am going to blog you. Because, remember,

Anything you say and do, can be blogged against you.

 You were warned, Grace Face.

 So were you, Rebekah.

Bethany should be leading by example.

Even our Fearless Father learned to mind his P's and Q's.

(What are P's and Q's, anyway?)

Jon learned that present and past actions are up for scrutiny.

The grandkids were warned, too.

Well, I guess they will be when they are old enough to understand.

Just reminding anyone in my world,
for the 499th time,

Anything you say and do,

can be blogged against you.