So lately my addiction has been getting out of hand. And like most additions, it seems harmless to me but my husband is quick to tell that it is destroying our marriage. So maybe it’s not all that drastic, I’m just addicted to Little House on the Prairie. Jake says he can’t handle another episode. I think he got burned out from the Little House marathon I did early in the month when I found Season 3 at the library. We watched all 19 episodes in two weeks! He may be burned out, but now I have Little House fever. But since he has banned the videos from our house I’ve taken to reading the series.
The books are easy reads, enjoyable and interesting as Laura Ingalls Wilder describes her life on the prairie during the post civil war years. As I was reading book 6, The Long Winter, our electricity goes out. Now, I ‘m reading about twisting hay to burn to keep them warm since they are out of coal and wood. I’m reading of blizzard after blizzard that keeps the trains away for months. There are descriptions of the process of grinding wheat into flour using a coffee mill to make bread since the stores are out of flour. They ration themselves to one loaf a day for a family of six until spring when the trains can arrive with supplies. As I’m reading about these hardships I say, “how long as the power been out?” because my eyes were hurting from reading by candle light and my nose was beginning to get cold. “A half hour”, Jake says. He then adds, “You would never make it as Laura Ingalls.” So, he is probably right. I am glad that my fascination with her life is not a reality for myself, but that doesn’t mean that I can read about her (or watch, don’t tell Jake!).
The Long Winter
Heavy Metal
Jonah decided randomly one day this week that we were going to drum. Not just him, but the two of us. He would take a turn and then he would hand me the sticks for "mommy's turn." I would sing a song that he knew and do my best to stay on beat with some light taps on the big plastic drum. I couldn't get to "E" in the Alphabet Song or "How I wonder what you are" in "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" when he would say "no Mommy, like this" and he would take the drum sticks away and bang loud and fast. That didn't surprise me but the fact that every song became a screaming Heavy Metal song did. Now, I'm not very cultured when it comes to current Heavy Metal Bands or past ones at that, but I think that I can fairly say he looks just like a drummer in training. He must listen to those bands with Jake or maybe its just his almost 3 year old nature (that would be my guess) because he doesn't listen to music that gives mommy a headache when he is with me (when he starts singing like Jennifer Knapp and Chirs Tomlin, we'll know who he's been in the car with) (listening to the radio not to ME singing, that would be a bad thing for him to immitate!).
Black Lagoon Soup
Although I'm a great meal planner when it comes to dinner time, I'm not so good when it comes to lunch. Jake is often sent to work with leftovers and Jonah and I eat whatever we can find- PB & J's, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, eggs and toast...usually simple. As I was driving home one day this week around lunch time I was unable to think of anything simple I had on hand that sounded good to both Jonah and I. Then I remember the leftover rice in the fridge and the homemade chicken stock in the freezer. Chicken and rice soup in no time I thought. Unfortunatly the rice was MIA (in Jake's lunchbox) but I was determined to have soup anyway. It just took a little longer than planned and Jonah was very cranky by the time it was on the table. Because we had recently made green eggs and ham, which he thought was the coolest thing, we decided to color our soup with food coloring. I thought green or pink soup would be nice but we(he) tried ALL of the colors. Now, our soup didn't look too good (to me), but it was the best thrown together recipe I think I've ever made! Recipe follows so give it a try!
Black Lagoon Soup
feeds one hundry mommy and one cranky toddler
1 cup homemade chicken stock or canned broth
1 chicken boullion (or 2 if your toddler wants to put one in too)
1 carrot chopped into small pieces
1 celery stalk chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
3 red or golden potatoes peeled and chopped into small pieces
Boil all of above ingredients until veggies are soft. Then add:
several drops (just one or two won't do) of every color of food coloring. Add an ice cube and crackers if desired.
Say Cheese
After a grocery shopping trip this week Jonah was standing on his stool at the counter "playing with those cans (is what he told me has he climbed up." As I put the rest of the groceries away I noticed that he was stacking, unstacking and rearraging the cans. He would say "Soup, here; bean, there." Then he said, "CHEESE!". He was arranging them for a family photo and taking their picture!