Turkey Leftovers

Some ideas for myself:
Turkey Pot Pie
Turkey Noodle Soup
Turkey Relleno
Turkey Stuffing Casserole
Turkey Enchiladas
Turkey Fajitas
Turkey Alfredo Pasta

I am planning to make 2 of Mom's Relleno's to freeze, and also a batch of enchiladas. Then I will freeze whatever is left into meal portioned baggies. Tonight we are having Fajitas. Yum.

Look at this, Mom

Big Mouth

All morning Sydney has been grossing me out by showing me all the amazing things a loose tooth can do, like swing all the way to the side, or turn almost all the way around, or bend back so you can see the roots. Blech. I do not like loose teeth. It was a relief when, at lunch, her tooth came out with a bite of her sandwich. Sydney is proud to be the owner of one big snaggle-tooth smile.


Sydney lost a tooth

Snow Flurry

First Snowball

We looked out the window before dinner and saw snow swirling around. Little compact squeaky flakes quickly covered the patio and piled up next to the sliding glass door. The kids made snowballs, tasted the snow, and tried to put it down each other's shirts. Sadly, the snow stopped. More snow tomorrow?


Yum!

Warning

We have company coming into town next week (yes? Laurie? still coming?) and I thought I should let them know what to expect. I think the last time they visited we just had 2 kids and we were in Florida. Double the kids. Double the fun!

Fun x 4

WARNING:
Emily and Sydney don't like to flush the toilet. I don't know why. (last night, though, Sydney told me that she flushed Hannah's toothbrush down the toilet- why?why? Hope the toilet is working when you come.)

John does not sleep through the night. He generally needs to rock at about 11pm and 5am, and sometimes even at 3am. His bedroom is just above Hannah's room (where you will be sleeping.) I don't generally let him cry, but chances are you will hear me walking around.

Sam the dog is a little calmer than the last time you saw him (at Mom and Dad's house) but he is bigger and has more hair. It is not shedding season, but he still loses lots of hair. I find it everywhere. yuck.

Our Dog Sam

Sam is good when just our family is home, but he gets really friendly when we have company. He also likes balls of yarn. We will let him play outside as much as possible, but be careful with your yarn.

Sam stinks.

John is amazing at finding Sams food and throwing it all around while snacking on it.

Yum!

Hannah will do her best to fill you in on all private, embarrassing stories about me. Don't believe her. It wasn't me.

My oven is a little crazy, so if the Turkey burns, it is not my fault.

This house can go from clean and organized to trash heap in about 2 minutes.

We have had lovely weather in the 60's this week, extended forcast says a chance of snow this weekend, then nice next week, temps in the 40's and 50's. Maybe snow later next week.

Hmm, have I forgotten anything? I hope the drive is nice. Can't wait to see you.


Progam Update
The program was very nice. My worries about the kids sitting near me were well founded, but I managed to talk (begged, pleaded, bribed) the teacher into sitting with her class. The little boy next to me kept getting his cowboy boot stuck in the fun chairs. His sister danced along with each song - spinning, twirling, falling down. The little boys in the very front were pretending they were bees, buzzing and stinging each other. Maybe Sunbeams should sit toward the back next year. I kept thinking I was losing control of my face - did I look a little stressed out? or calm and in control? haha! The kids did a great job. No one yelled into the microphone until after the closing prayer. Only two kids totally froze and wouldn't say anything. I am just relieved that it is over, for this year.

Primary Program Tomorrow - eeeeeek

I have been stress-free all week. After our practice on Sunday I felt great. Tonight, though, I am feeling a little wild-eyed. I know that all Primary Programs turn out just fine, and even though the kids don't know the songs that well, they will sing strong during the chorus. I am mainly nervous about the 6 Sunbeams who will be sitting directly in front of, and beside me.

During our Saturday practice the 3 little boys, who sit right behind the rail at the front of the stand, were constantly touching each other and standing dangerously on their chairs, and falling off their chairs, etc. The Tasmanian-devil twins, who will be sitting on the seats next to me, haven't actually been to any of the practices.

Their teacher told me that she wants to sit down on a pew, just in front of the boys to keep their attention, and for some crazy reason, I said okay. Now I think, maybe, definitely, it is not a very good idea.

My job tomorrow is to make sure all the kids make it to the microphone when it is their turn, that the microphone is the right height, that they say their little part, that they stand quietly while the rest of their class speaks, that they make it back to their seats without injury, and that the next speaker makes it up...and on and on. Throw in a few verses of I am a Child of God, and that's the Primary Program in a nutshell.

I don't think it will be possible to do that and also play referee. I am scared. I have tried to call Sister L. a few times this week, But no answer and no answering machine. yikes. help. I can move one of my counselors up to the front, but I would prefer the teacher because she knows these children, and they like her.

Time for Lamaze breathing. All is well, All is well. Notes on the actual program...tomorrow.

Veteran's Day 2004

Today is Veteran's Day . About six weeks to go until Nathan comes home. He is now a Veteran of a Foreign War. His deployment has made me really think about other wars and the other women who were left home to worry. I have been reading about WWII recently. According to this Statistical Summary of America's Major Wars an average of 6,639 American soldiers were killed in action each month during WWII. 6,639? Did this create a shortage of men for women to marry? An abundace of "old maids"? It doesn't seem like it as there was a baby boom after the war, even though over a million men were killed or wounded. When they came home did all the soldiers just automatically get married/make babies?

Here are my own (unscientific) observations of the women here: When the guys were getting ready to come home the last time, a large number of women were talking about hoping to get pregnant before the guys left again. There are a couple babies due in December, and some ladies talking, again, about babies. I don't know what the average birth rates are in America, but we seem to have a lot of little ones in our neighborhood. Maybe going off to war makes you decide to try now, not wait until some unspecified later time to have a baby. Also, the reunion can create little "accidents".(not me, not me) hmm, so maybe that's where to babyboom came from.

In other AirForce news, Chistmas is coming, now is the time to send for your Letters from the North Pole.

Meal Plan

Like I mentioned before I am not very interested in cooking lately. I am blaming this on Nathan being gone, but to be honest, I am not such a dedicated cook even when he is home. I like cooking, I just don't like to have to think of what to fix, particularly if it is already 5pm. So, I was thinking that if I have a detailed plan for the whole week, then I should be able to fix dinner with joy - without thinking. By the way, this plan will have to start on Tuesday, because tonight was piano/pizza night. Syndey earned a free pizza a week or so ago, and to stop the daily question of "when do I get my pizza" we went tonight. I will omit my detailed whining about eating out in public with 4 kids. Actually, 3 of the kids were great, but one 1 year old was not so fun.

On with the meal plan (Another note: we had roast on Sunday, so I will be using it up this week. I do not consider that leftovers.)

Tuesday:
Beef Stew, homemade rolls

Wednesday:
French Dip on homemade rolls, salad

Thursday:
Tacos

Friday:
Shell pasta with Alfredo sauce, salad, breadsticks

Saturday:
Leftovers, big salad, apple crisp

Sunday:
Breakfast for dinner


Hey, that was easy enough. Looks like a fine week of dinners, and some quick, warm lunches. Wish me luck.

Joke of the Day, by Sydney

Why is 6 afraid of 7?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
because 7 ate 9!!!

wacca wacca wacca

To Do...

yup, here's the list:
*=finished

Make "thank you" primary book
*Shop for Nursery Toys - very fun! Emily is playing with the big legos and picnic dishes until we take them to church later this week.
Arrange nursery leader meeting
Cover Hannah's cork-board
Say No
Plan something fun for long weekend
Finish up dresser
--Go to self-help for painting stuff - self-help is closed this week because of an exercise on base, and Veteran's Day. Bummer.
Paint bunkbeds
--Hang cheapo metal shelves - must wait until next week, when self-help store is open
(can I use your drill, Nathan?)
Keep the laundry going
Exercise daily (and I mean it)
Plan meals - follow plan!

That should do it.

By the way, tomorrow is library day, and after I grovel and shell out some cash for the destroyed cassette tape (thanks John), I really want to find a few books for me. Last week I checked out a couple of odd books, and I want something better this week. I am particularly interested in war books. Any recommendations?

*well, it is Wednesday, and I haven't done much on my list. Must get off the computer and get going.

Do you think Ramen Noodles counts as dinner?

Let's just face the facts: I have no motivation to make grownup food with Nathan gone. Sydney wanted to help fix dinner tonight - she decided on Ramen Noodles. Okay. Ramen meets my dinner requirements: quick, easy, no mess, 10 minutes or less, crowd pleaser. Everyone loved it, and we dressed it up a bit with a salad (from a bag) and sliced french bread, but it was still pretty sad. I think it may be time to make a weekly meal plan. So, what are your favorite quick meals? Please help inspire me.

Election Day

We are on the edges of our seats here watching the election results. I helped with Kids Voting at school today. It was great for the kids to have a chance to "vote" along with the adults - we had the Kids Voting booths set up in the same room as the official polling location. There were several adults who were interested in using the kids ballots, as they had pictures. I felt very well informed when I voted today, I think because of the discussions we have had with the kids in Hannah's class. South Dakota has only 3 electors, so we had very little campaining for President, but the ads for our Senate Race have been all over the place - I even had a message on my answering machine yesterday from Dr. James Dobson telling me to vote prolife, blah blah blah.

Here is a site with information and maps of the electoral collage votes in all the past Presidential Elections (all the way back to George Washington - hey by the way, there is a billboard on the way to Mt Rushmore that advertises a Presidential statue museum, its slogan is: From George W. to George W. - wonder what they would do if Kerry is elected.) (also, did you know that one elector from DC withheld her vote in the 2000 election? I didn't know they could do that.) It is interesting how in past races the winner is so clear.

I hope you had a great day and that you were able to vote. Back to the News...