Dinner and Eggs

Last Saturday morning, like pretty much every Saturday since having kids, I was feeling a little stressed. Alice, ever in tune to my mood and blessedly eager to make me happier, asked if there was something she could do to help. I was in the thick of sweeping and mopping the house floors. I jokingly remarked, "You could plan the menu and make dinner every night next week."

"Okay!"

"What?!"

"Okay! I'll plan the menu and cook dinner every night next week."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Ohhhhhhh-kaaaaay."

I wondered if her enthusiasm would wane once she sat down and started looking at recipes. Nope. I wondered if she'd hand it over when she had to convert those recipes into a shopping list. Nuh-uh. I was pretty sure she'd need all kinds of help in the kitchen every night preparing each meal. No. Or constant reminders that she'd have to start cooking now if she wanted to eat at dinnertime. Nope. She was an organized, confident, recipe-following, dinner-making machine! She probably did 90% of the dinner prep work this week with me acting only as her sous-chef now and then. She did an amazing job! This girlie just blows me away.

Here was her menu:

Chicken Alfredo

Mac and Cheese

Loaded Potatoes

Cheesy Noodles

Beef and Broccoli

Leftovers

Parmesan Chicken

You can tell she's a girl who likes cheese, cheesy sauces, pasta, and chicken. Everything was made from scratch and all of these recipes were new to us. If she decides to do this again, I'll work with her a little on expanding her flavor repertoire, but that is honestly the only thing I would change. Robert wasn't too happy with all the sauce. He gave her first-hand experience with eaters whose preferences only make room for PLAIN noodles, PLAIN chicken, and PLAIN vegetables. He survived, she started developing a tougher skin, I got a bit of a break, and the younger boys were exposed to a couple things I wouldn't normally make (I'm lactose intolerant).

In other cooking news, I want to record here how impressed I am with James' go-to-it personality. When he gets an idea in his mind about what he wants to do or make, he's awfully resourceful in getting it done. And he's pretty courageous (can work through his fears). Or is it fearless (fear? what's that?)? Alice and Robert are years older than James, but he is much bolder around heat and sharp objects than they are. Yesterday, bored with the typical lunch options, he asked if he could have scrambled eggs. I told him I didn't want to make them. He said he would! There were no clean eggs, so he washed some. The best pan was dirty, so he just used the next best one. Alice was nearby giving tips as he cracked eggs into a bowl, added salt, and whisked them with a fork. He asked me for some advice on cooking temperature and how much butter to add to the pan, then he calmly did the rest without fear, without complaint, with complete confidence and his quiet, can-do attitude. What a kid! That boy cooked his own scrambled eggs from start to finish! He said they were delicious, though he would have liked more "crispies". Ha!

In the above photo, the guys are chillin' in the bed of a rented pickup truck before we use it to haul brush to the Landscape Recycling Center and bring back a couple loads of mulch. I wish I had more pictures of Alice *sigh* but she shies away from lenses these days.

Mulberry Hill

The kids and I went for a little bike ride this week to Mulberry Hill. We live in a very, very, very flat place so it's exciting to climb a hill now and then. Even if it's man made.

The kids ran up and rolled down the hill several times. When Matthew meets a hill, he finds it hilarious to pretend he's "falling" down the side and losing control. Alice always rescues him. Robert and James prefer to steamroll down the side as far as they can go. When that gets old, they ask me to film them running and tripping so we can send it to America's Funniest Home Videos. I remember having those aspirations, too, as a kid.

At the top, they soon noticed a fantastic echo effect. I took a video of their shouting :) and you can cleary hear the echo. I love how Robert mouths "hello" with the echo. I asked him about it later and he had no idea he was doing that:

Exercise in a Mask

I went to the gym today. It was only my second time since its re-opening last week. And it's SUCH a different experience from going to the gym pre-Covid 19. First off, all classes are held outside. They're limited to 9 participants and 1 teacher, with reservations being made online 72 hours in advance. All people must keep at least 6 feet apart and wear masks at all times. Before you're even allowed to get out of your car, the teacher asks you if you are currently experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19. Once you're out of the car, you have to use sanitizing wipes on all of the equipment set out for you (it's already been sanitized by the cleaning staff between each class). Then, and only then, will the class begin. When class is over, you sanitize all your equipment again, right before the cleaning staff get to it.

Seriously, my gym has a lower risk of infection than the grocery store.

I've enjoyed getting back into class. I haven't enjoyed exercising in a cloth mask.

I love the accountability that comes from making an appointment 72-hours in advance. I really wish they had fountains for refilling water bottles and bathrooms open to the public. Without those, my body can only go through one class. It's a bit of a drive (and a hassle) for only one 40-minute workout, but I'll do it again next week. I just don't make physical activity a priority otherwise.

Nail Polish and Treasure Hunting

Matthew and James have finally aged out of bathing together. Well, they didn't "age out" so much as "fought constantly and ended every bath experience in screaming tears". James is old enough and large enough to shower on his own, so we just decided he was ready. At first, Matthew sobbed and sobbed at the idea of bathing on his own, but he forgot that an adult would be in the room with him the whole time...and that he would have full access to the toys and such without interruption from James. He's come to looooooooove his "solitary" bath time. James, however, resists showering/bathing on his own. I haven't been especially picky about what counts as a shower for him. If he gets wet all over and washes his hair, it's a win.

Anyway, I was a little bored during Matthew's bath this week, and ended up reorganizing the bathroom closet. And because my kids tend to follow me wherever I go and whatever I do, Alice and James were having a good time looking through the stuff I was pulling out. We rediscovered a few bottles of nail polish! Alice got excited. Matthew got excited. James got excited. Alice painted all of their fingernails. The boys were THRILLED. Matthew was especially surprised as he gazed at his baby blue fingertips, "My hands look so much older! And taller. Don't they look older?! Mom, look at my hands! They look like a big kid's hands!" He admired them all the way through PJ's, tooth brushing, scriptures, family prayer, and bedtime stories. Then, in a second, he started to panic, "How do I SLEEP like this?!" I tried to talk him through it, telling him he could treat them like regular fingernails. He couldn't comprehend it! He kept his hands out in front of him, fingers spread wide, paralyzed in fear that he'd never be able to sleep. Luckily, I had some acetone wipes in the bathroom. He felt a lot better once the nail polish was off, thanking me with great relief that I had had those wipes on-hand.

James decided on Saturday morning that he would put together a treasure hunt for us, complete with *actual* prizes. This was BEFORE his chores were finished, of course, but I made it clear that we would be happy to hunt once everyone's chores were done. He worked diligently and quietly at his desk for about an hour. Making clues. But once the clues were finished, he hopped to it on his chores. I haven't seen him work that efficiently on chores in a long, long, long time. His hunt was a great success! And he instantly wanted to put on another. As he ran back to his room to get working on it, Matthew called to him, "Wememboh to make the clues pitchers 'cuz I can't weeeeeeed!"

The second hunt was a lot of fun, too. Weeding not we-kwi-uhd.

That inspired Robert to make a hunt for everyone, too. And we begged Bobby to choose/create a city-wide family treasure hunt for Monday Night Fun the next day. He was happy to oblige. When the kids take turns choosing Monday Night Fun activities, the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly cut down their options. They usually end up choosing a "Studio C" or "America's Funniest Home Videos" session. It's funny, and fun, but just more screen time. I was grateful for good weather and Bobby's good sense of humor to take on this challenge.

Garden in June

Here's a snapshot of my new garden near the first of June:

There's always something fun to do there: weeding, mulching, harvesting herbs, transplanting, irrigation, monitoring growth, checking for pests, trellising, sifting rocks out of the soil. With all this time at home, I've come to understand better what "puttering" in the garden really feels like. There's always some little chore or task to be done, not urgently, but it makes me happy to have done it.

The boys have enjoyed the drier weather quite a bit. The aisles between my garden beds make excellent roadways for racing games and chasing bad guys and impromptu dust cloud competitions. I kid you not: Matthew and James sat on the ground facing a pile of dirt that Robert had created, waiting for him to run at them and kick the dirt into their faces. I can't make this stuff up. He did it. Then they traded places and did it all over again.

James can't wait to harvest his carrots and sell them. He created a new garden bed today where our stick pile used to be and seeded it with lettuce. He hopes to sell the lettuce, too. James has dreams, man. Driving home from picking up our farm share this afternoon, he was sitting in the back next to Matthew. We drove past an old gas station that's been out of business for a few years. James says, "Maybe when I sell my carrots and lettuce I'll get lots of money. Maybe when I grow up more I'll have enough to buy that old gas station. Matthew! Wouldn't it be cool if I bought that gas station and turned it into a pizza place?! We could do it TOGETHER and call it "J and M's Pizza". Isn't that awesome?!"

Matthew: Yeah! That's perfect! And if people needed gas, too, they could get--"

James: (decisively) No. It's only pizza. But after we're done working, we can bring home pizza for free!! Do you want to do that? Do you want to sell pizza together?

Matthew: Yeah! Wow! That's so exciting! I just can't wait! *takes in a breath* (a little cautiously) but a pizza guy isn't what I'm going to be. I'm going to be an astronaut.

James: (slower) Oh yeah. Hmmm.