The Saturday 7
1. Justin decided this week that we're going to start enforcing "You eat what I make" for dinner. It's not going well. On Monday, I made chili. Lena took a few bites. Lucy took none and went hungry the rest of the night. On Tuesday, we had pork and fresh-from-the-trees stovetop applesauce. Lena ate one bite of pork and licked the applesauce. Lucy didn't take a single bite and went hungry the rest of the night. On Wednesday, I made oven baked homemade mac n' cheese with ham. Lucy watched me put a whole pound of cheese in the sauce, but when it was done she took one bite then went hungry the rest of the night. (Lena actually had two helpings!) Thursday, I made chicken nachos. All I put on them was seasoned chicken, black beans and cheese. Lena licked it and declared she didn't like it. Lucy refused to even try . . . and went hungry the rest of the night. On Friday, I rewarded myself for cooking all week and we got Subway. I got the girls a foot long (btw - what happened to $5 foot longs??). They each gobbled down their 6 inches and did not go hungry for the first time all week. Grrr.
2. Speaking of dinner, I saw a pin for "The Easiest Mac N' Cheese Ever" this week. I'm always looking for easy, so I checked it out. People. That is not easy. If it takes more than 5 ingredients it's too much work. So here is my easiest mac n' cheese recipe ever:
Boil a box of elbow macaroni. (Preferably the noodles themselves. Not the actual box.) Drain.
Chop a pound of sharp cheddar cheese into cubes.
Pour a can of evaporated milk into a saucepan.
Add one heaping tablespoon of flour and stir for a while over medium heat.
Stir in the cheese cubes by handfuls, letting them melt.
Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni, put it in a 9 by 13 pan and bake for 45 minutes @350*.
I usually add diced ham.
3. In case you're not on facebook (ahem, Kelly), I have to share the school picture debacle here as well. Lucy loooves her hair down and flowy, so I decided to let her wear it that way for pictures. It's very "her." I brushed it nicely, put a headband in just so, and double checked it before I left her at school. They had pictures first thing in the morning. (I dropped her off at 8. When I got back at 9 to help in the classroom, they'd already done the pictures.) Lucy is very photogenic, has a very natural smile, and loves being in front of the camera, so I was excited when she brought her prints home. But this is what they looked like:
Lol. What on earth?! Needless to say, we will be doing retakes. And the good news is, retakes are on a Tuesday (when Lucy doesn't usually go to school), so I will bring her in and be present while they take the pic. So I can make sure her hair doesn't look ridiculous and she gives a genuine smile.
4. I read a really dumb book this week: The Chef's Mail Order Bride. It was one of the free Kindle specials through Amazon, got good reviews, and sounded interesting. Plus the main character's name was Sadie, so I couldn't pass that up. But it was so pointless. There was almost no plot, zero tension, and totally predictable. I can't believe it got such good reviews. Fail.
5. I've also been chugging along through the Give Them Grace book. I'm about half-way through, so I have high hopes that I'll finish before my birthday (two weeks from today, in case you were wondering). But it's very difficult. The writing isn't hard to understand, but the subject matter is. I still can't quite figure it out. I came to the conclusion this week after reading a few more chapters, that I'm just a Pharisee. And I've been one for so long that I can't figure out how to stop. Still hoping for clarity as I continue the book.
6. Lena came down with a cold this week. It's pretty mild. She doesn't have a fever, and she's acting the same as always. She's just snotty and has a cough. I've been doing remarkably well with not catching the girls' illnesses over the past year, but I'm afraid my luck has run out. I noticed last night that my throat is starting to hurt, I have a pounding sinus headache, and my ears are all plugged and weird feeling. Lovely.
7. The girls have suddenly become obsessed with playing outside together. For 90% of the summer, they refused to go outside without me, but randomly in the past week or two, they've gotten over their fear. As long as they have each other, they're golden. They have spent hours out there this week. One of their favorite activities is filling the baby pool with ice cold hose water, getting their swimsuits on, and playing in it for hours. Part of me feels a tiny bit guilty, like I should be out there playing with them - or at least supervising them - but a much larger part of me is singing the Hallelujah chorus that they're entertaining themselves for once in their lives!! And I don't really worry about them because they have each other. They know to stay in the backyard and will tattle on each other if one of them is being naughty. I suppose they could both fall into a hole or something, but I check on them enough that I'd notice if they were both gone. Haha. I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts, because winter is coming and soon we'll all be cooped up in the house again!
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2. Speaking of dinner, I saw a pin for "The Easiest Mac N' Cheese Ever" this week. I'm always looking for easy, so I checked it out. People. That is not easy. If it takes more than 5 ingredients it's too much work. So here is my easiest mac n' cheese recipe ever:
Boil a box of elbow macaroni. (Preferably the noodles themselves. Not the actual box.) Drain.
Chop a pound of sharp cheddar cheese into cubes.
Pour a can of evaporated milk into a saucepan.
Add one heaping tablespoon of flour and stir for a while over medium heat.
Stir in the cheese cubes by handfuls, letting them melt.
Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni, put it in a 9 by 13 pan and bake for 45 minutes @350*.
I usually add diced ham.
3. In case you're not on facebook (ahem, Kelly), I have to share the school picture debacle here as well. Lucy loooves her hair down and flowy, so I decided to let her wear it that way for pictures. It's very "her." I brushed it nicely, put a headband in just so, and double checked it before I left her at school. They had pictures first thing in the morning. (I dropped her off at 8. When I got back at 9 to help in the classroom, they'd already done the pictures.) Lucy is very photogenic, has a very natural smile, and loves being in front of the camera, so I was excited when she brought her prints home. But this is what they looked like:
4. I read a really dumb book this week: The Chef's Mail Order Bride. It was one of the free Kindle specials through Amazon, got good reviews, and sounded interesting. Plus the main character's name was Sadie, so I couldn't pass that up. But it was so pointless. There was almost no plot, zero tension, and totally predictable. I can't believe it got such good reviews. Fail.
5. I've also been chugging along through the Give Them Grace book. I'm about half-way through, so I have high hopes that I'll finish before my birthday (two weeks from today, in case you were wondering). But it's very difficult. The writing isn't hard to understand, but the subject matter is. I still can't quite figure it out. I came to the conclusion this week after reading a few more chapters, that I'm just a Pharisee. And I've been one for so long that I can't figure out how to stop. Still hoping for clarity as I continue the book.
6. Lena came down with a cold this week. It's pretty mild. She doesn't have a fever, and she's acting the same as always. She's just snotty and has a cough. I've been doing remarkably well with not catching the girls' illnesses over the past year, but I'm afraid my luck has run out. I noticed last night that my throat is starting to hurt, I have a pounding sinus headache, and my ears are all plugged and weird feeling. Lovely.
7. The girls have suddenly become obsessed with playing outside together. For 90% of the summer, they refused to go outside without me, but randomly in the past week or two, they've gotten over their fear. As long as they have each other, they're golden. They have spent hours out there this week. One of their favorite activities is filling the baby pool with ice cold hose water, getting their swimsuits on, and playing in it for hours. Part of me feels a tiny bit guilty, like I should be out there playing with them - or at least supervising them - but a much larger part of me is singing the Hallelujah chorus that they're entertaining themselves for once in their lives!! And I don't really worry about them because they have each other. They know to stay in the backyard and will tattle on each other if one of them is being naughty. I suppose they could both fall into a hole or something, but I check on them enough that I'd notice if they were both gone. Haha. I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts, because winter is coming and soon we'll all be cooped up in the house again!
*This post contains affiliate links.*
Orion is the same way if we try to make him eat what I cook for dinner. He just won't eat. Every night. Soooo frustrating.
ReplyDeleteLucy's pictures crack me up!! I definitely have some doozies from when I was a kid ;)
I get sick every time anyone else in the house does. I'm over it.
It's so awesome when the kids just play outside all day!!! Ya know, except when they eat poisonous berries. I'm not looking forward to a long winter...