Sunday Friends

Say hello to two of my favorite Sunday friends:

Both (as evidenced by the baked on splatters) are well used appliances at my house. I bought the delay timer rice cooker when I was working full time. You can set it up to 12 hours before a meal, so it was perfect for setting up in the morning before work and then coming home to cooked rice, all ready to eat.

Today we’re having Hawaiian Chicken and Brown Rice, with a Spinach Salad and fresh fruit for dinner. All of that is easy and absolutely perfect for a relaxed Sunday. I had all the food prepped and in the cookers before naptime, so this afternoon I didn’t have to worry about waking up in time to fix dinner. Perfect!

Chef Ernie

Ernie cooked dinner tonight and it was delicious! I don’t want to embarrass him, but I think it’s been years since Ernie cooked dinner and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him plan the way that he did today.

• He started by discussing menu options with me this morning that I might like (which felt very luxurious to me- multiple delicious choices!)
• He decided on Gaeng Dang Curry- my very favorite Thai dish.
• Then Ernie got online and found the perfect recipe and made a list.
• He went to the Asian Market (with 3 kids in tow, even) and bought all kinds of delicious ingredients like fish sauce and red curry paste.
• When it came time to cook, he propped the laptop on the counter and then followed the recipe!
• The kids were impressed and I was in heaven. It was literally just the same as the dish at our favorite Thai restaurant.

Maybe baking cupcakes last week has triggered something in Ernie. I don’t know. I am absolutely impressed that he followed a recipe- it can be intimidating if you aren’t comfortable with cooking. It was delicious, I felt spoiled, and I loved the example that it set for the kids (especially the boys). I can’t wait to see what Ernie decides to cook next. Here’s to hoping that he cooks again soon!

Weekend Plans

I had such grand plans for this weekend. I was going to head to the gym tomorrow to make up the day that I missed when Little Ernie was throwing up. I was going to put meals in the freezer. (People interested in this can go here.) Ernie’s only working for a few hours tomorrow, so I was excited to spend a relaxed Saturday all together as a family.

I should have suspected that something wasn’t right when Max wanted to lay next to me while I read a book this afternoon and then he stayed for an hour. He seemed okay at first. We catalogued all his scabs and pretend hurts and I kissed his feet again- because that’s where the “ladybugs” (fire ants) bit him. Then I noticed that his head seemed a little warm. Ah, yes. He has a temperature of 101 degrees.

About 30 minutes later Emmaline came up to me and told me that she was “so cold”. Our house is currently 78 degrees. So I felt her forehead, and yes indeedy, she has a fever of 102.

I don’t know if we’re going to have any vomiting tonight, but I’m pretty sure that my weekend plans have just been turned upside down.

Day is Done.

I walked in the door tonight with 4 kids at 8:47pm (Ernie is working late), looked at the messy kitchen, saw the backpacks and school stuff strewn across the living room, stepped over the pile of dress shirts to take to the drycleaners, and put the kids in bed. Then I put myself in bed, where I am now comfortably blogging.

Some days there are just more important things to do than clean the house. Things like grocery shopping, exercising, laughing with an awesome husband, snuggling toddlers, listening to kindergarteners, and prepping large amounts of food for Relief Society in the evening.

The Relief Society activity was a success. Who doesn’t like to learn about freezer meals, I ask you? Everyone does, of course. So, the ladies in the Oak Grove Ward had a great time.

Today, for the first time in over a week, the fridge is full of edible food and the kids are excited to be taking lunch tomorrow. Max got lots of my attention today and the older kids came home happy from school.

Maybe the house looks like a tornado hit in the living room (and the kitchen). Maybe. But today I had other things to do.

My Day

My day looked like this today:

Fever all day, with nausea and vomiting.

Hopefully he’ll feel better tomorrow.

Dear teenager, spit out your gum.

Tonight Ernie and I sat through a painfully long awards ceremony for the 2010 Graduating Class of Sumrall High School in Sumrall, Mississippi. Ernie was there to present the daughter of one of his employees with a well deserved and hard earned college scholarship. Congratulations to Whitney and her family! But for the rest of the time, we sat through a lot of other students being recognized by other companies, organizations, and colleges. As they walked across the stage one by one, I really did start to think that it was never going to end. Like an actual high school graduation when you are just dying for the kids with last names starting with “W” to start getting recognized. Since we were in the front row, I had a lot of time to ponder the students that were walking across the stage. I wanted to give those kids some words of advice, but since I can’t tell them. I’ll tell you instead.

1. STAND UP STRAIGHT. Slouching doesn’t do you any favors. Good posture is indicative of self-confidence and it just plain looks nice.
2. Don’t chew gum. It’s unattractive and nobody wants to see you chomping like a horse. Even more importantly, it detracts from the really great reason that you’re being honored up on stage.
   
3. Don’t walk across the stage with a can of dip in your back pocket and a wad in your mouth. You may be 18, but chewing tobacco is a nasty habit and has no place in a graduation celebration.
   
4. Guys: Tuck in your shirts. It’s not that hard and it looks so much nicer. Also, wear a belt. And khakis or dress pants. Jeans are always to casual for this sort of thing.
   
5. Girls: Dresses that come to the middle of your thigh will come dangerously close to giving people a peek at your underwear when you are elevated above the front few rows as you walk across the stage. Also, showing cleavage is tacky and in an ill-fitting dress it just plain looks bad. If you’re debating between classy and sexy- always go for classy.
   
6. Everyone appreciates a good firm handshake.
   
7. Please appreciatively clap for every student whose name is called, not just the popular kids.
   

I can promise you this. When my kids are old enough to participate in events like tonight, they will absolutely be dressed appropriately, with good posture, and a firm handshake. (No dipping and no gum chewing are a given.)

Fishing Hole

For Family Home Evening tonight all the Cub Scout families met at the Trussel’s property to fish. Tonight was classic Mississippi: fishing poles, puppies, and a giant dirt pile.

Emmaline caught her first fish right away. Ernie practiced perseverance and wouldn’t give up until he finally caught a fish! Nigel and Max fell in love with the giant dirt pile and never really left it the entire night.

Ernie hooked himself in a somewhat precarious spot…

But we resolved that and by the end of the night he had this:

Emmaline showed up, threw that line into the water and made herself proud!

And then she showed off her “permanent tattoos”… she’s pretty proud of these:

Nigel made himself king of the hill… admired some good fishing… and looked super handsome in the clothes he picked out for school today:

And Max had a blast. I saw him fall and literally eat dirt when he was running down the hill. He got up and spit the dirt out (not a single tear or even a whimper) and then just kept on running. The only time he cried was when I put him in his car seat because it was time to go home.