I Am Not Martha Stewart

It seems like just about every week I have a major cooking disaster. It seems I needed more time with grandmothers and other folks who know what it means to "just add some till it looks about right." When I was adding water according to the recipe it looked about right but after the baking cycle ended we had travelled from "it looks about right" to "it looks like it came from Mars." However, I HAVE had some spectacular successes with the bread machine overall. After a failure of this magnitude I prefer to blame it on whatever contraptions were involved and move on to other contraptions for a while. Yesterday I took a huge gamble and switched from bread to pie (not a wise move in general for me because the score is Me: 0 Pie:132 to this point). But yesterday, God granted me victory!

In other fascinating food news today was our first pick up from Abundant Harvest! We opened the box and had a great homeschool time that started with the line "Kids these are called fresh vegetables. Repeat after me: FRESH VEGETABLES."

Libby heard the word "cauliflower" and decided that even if it doesn't look like a flower, it's name has flower in it and therefore it must be lovely. Erik took this picture and I think he's brushing up on his bridal photography...we could cut down the amount we are saving for her wedding if she stays enamoured with the cauliflower bouquet!

Here is Mr. Dan and the Leek of Power! The one curious component of the box this week was a large bunch of dill. Anyone know what to do with dill besides make pickles?

My New Year Starts in February

Right after Christmas people go crazy making rash promises to themselves that they fully intend to keep for three weeks. Out of laziness or some deep conviction (those are close) I'm making my rash promises now, after most of those guys have already given up.

Broad resolution #1: Eat better. Less processed food and more vegetables. In order to do this I signed us up for Abundant Harvest and Erik bought me a bread machine. Mmm...homemade bread, just sounds healthier right? Broad resolution #2: Erik surprised me with a family membership to the YMCA. He presented it with the opening statement: "Men are never supposed to give their wives gym memberships but..." So after I punched him in the face...not really, I'm thrilled, the kids are thrilled, my lonely forgotten, skinny jeans in the back of my closet are thrilled. Let us pray this resolution lasts longer than 3 weeks.

So if I put it on the internet maybe that will make me stick with it longer than 3 weeks right?

Erik's Diabolical Plan to Skip Our Anniversary

Our 9 year wedding anniversary was January 6th. This is one of the few pictures I could find that the professional photographer didn't take and thus wouldn't sue me if I posted it so sorry about the quality of my scanner. But weren't we cute and innocent then? Erik was so excited about the blessed day that on January 5th, 2010 he hopped on a plane, crossed the date line, and landed in Guam on January 7th. If that isn't a diabolical plan to get out of buying roses and dinner, I don't know what is!

He did take me to dinner both before and after his trip and let me pick my Valentine's present and have it early (you'll probably be hearing alot about that later.) Major brownie points and I love my dear!

A Christmas Story

I have a serious love/hate relationship with this movie and watching it is not part of my "holiday tradition." It embodies everything that is wrong with how Americans celebrate Christmas and I cringe every time one of the little kids swear but who doesn't want a BB gun for Christmas? And who doesn't remember having those internal monologues as a kid and thinking your logic was perfectly sound?

However, some person (who, out of the goodness and generosity of my heart shall remain nameless) watches this movie and accused Erik of reminding them of Scut Farkus. Scut Farkus?, you may say, Who is Skut Farkus?

He's the really mean bully that Ralphie eventually beats up. I had to watch the movie to find this out and this name caller is totally wrong. Erik looks nothing like Skut Farkus! But Jacob does...
Coon skin cap and all, well, no yellow eyes. And then as we watched the rage well up in Ralphie's eyes as his dreams of getting an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time are dashed along with receiving a C+ on his homework and the "P.S. You'll shoot your eye out" at the bottom, and the final blow of a snowball in the face from Farkus, we realized, we know that kid too!

We didn't have any glasses so we had to make some. They're pretty boss right? Merry Christmas!

Dye-lemma

That's how a Texan would pronounce it and that is what we have. The dye-lemma is thumbsucking and the widely known fact that it is next to impossible to break. There is a steady progression of desparation to prevent buck-toothness and thousands of dollars of potential college fund money diverted to an orthodontist.

Step 1 "Yukky stuff" (followed by even yukkier stuff, not shown)

Step 2 Athletic tape combined with bribery (I will give you candy if this tape

is still on when you get up from nap...) Step 3 Duct tape over the athletic tape combined with bribery

for when child refuses to leave tape onStep 4 Sew gloves onto pajamas and safety pin zipper up to prevent

child from removing pajamas without authorization

Step 5...give up. Currently we are on Step 4.

As many homeschooling families are probably doing right now, we are in a push to get somewhat close to halfway before Christmas. Today we are learning about money and thus I have created "MomMart" on the dining room table. MomMart carries a limited inventory but the prices are all under a dollar since the customers can't count past one hundred yet. All prices are set based on the product's relative value to a 5 year-old. For example, hand soap is of limited value to Jake and thus is priced at 7 cents.

On the other hand, popsicles are our big ticket item at an astounding 99 cents.

Happy December

Well the tree is up and Jake has already taken part int he ceremonial "run around with Christmas stockings on your feet" 5K. We're off to a good start!