Let Them Eat Cake

Marie Antoinette

What Do You Think of Your Face, Asher?

"Awesome.  Frickin'.  Ninja."

Zombie-Ninja

Presenting Her Majesty...

 Queen Lucy the Valiant of Narnia 

Flashback Friday

...because people often ask why my children have blond hair.

Heart on a Slide

Nate labeled the specimen slides for Jensie's microscope.  Science just got a little sweeter.

"J Bird"

Saxon Math Manipulative Kit.  We love homeschool.

Forgot to Mention

When a friend discovered my blog and said she planned to cruise the archives, I, wondering what she'd find, decided to "cruise" them as well.  The words I've written are sad, hopeful, true, and...not the whole story.

To keep things "real" I let you know when I'm lonely, exhausted, angry, or broke.  I forget to tell you when I'm not.  Mostly because when I'm not, I'm eating up life in big gulps and swallows.  That kind of consumption doesn't allow much time for anything but itty-bitty Frankie laughter, peanut butter spoonfuls, goodnight kisses, and this guy I know named Nate.  Certainly not blogs.

But just because I don't say it enough doesn't mean it isn't so.  I love my life.  I am happy.  I've never ever had the bad days out number the best days.  I like to think I make it that way--I choose it into being.

When things are good, they're oh so good.  I remember what matters--people, not things. And when it comes to people, I've got me the créme de la créme.

Cutie Sisters

Borscht

Asher:  What's for dinner?

Me: Borscht.

Asher: (shoulders slumping) Ok, but can you leave out the beets?

Nope, and neither should you! 

Ashley's Famous Russian Borscht

with a few Southern tweaks

Helpful tips

Wear an apron! Beets bleed.
Dill and sour cream are must have garnishments to this soup. When venturing to the green grocer to buy ingredients for this beauty of a soup go straight to the herbs and see if they have fresh dill. If they don't, don't bother making it. Trust me.

Ingredients
Beets. 3 medium sized bulbs (about the size of your fist). Look for beats that appear moist and bleed slightly when you scrape the skin. Cut off the tail, cut off the top, peel and grate.
Carrots. 2-3, peeled and grated
Yellow onion. 1 whole finely diced.
Russet Potato. 1-2, peeled and grated
Kohlrabi.  3-4, peeled and grated
Turnips. 3-4 small turnips, peeled and grated.  Ashley will probably die when she sees this, but if you're a part of a CSA here in Columbus, you've got a bunch of root veggies you don't know what to do with, and guess what?  It tastes great in this soup!
Bay leaves.  2
Thyme.
Parsley.
Sea Salt.

Directions

In a large well oiled skillet (I use either olive oil, butter or coconut oil) saute onion until translucent and soft. Add shredded beets and carrots. Salt and pepper generously and saute on medium high heat for 10-15 minutes, or until colors bleed and vegetables become tender. Keep warm.

In a large stock pot combine 2 quarts water with 3-4 T white wine vinegar, a healthy dash of thyme, parsley (fresh or dried), and bay leaves. Salt generously.  Bring to boil.  Once sauteed vegetables are tender, add shredded potato and kohlrabi to boiling water. Once water returns to a full rolling boil add sauteed vegetables and watch the water turn red. Boil until potatoes are tender. Serve hot with a dollop of cold sour cream, a sprinkling of fresh chopped dill and marble rye bread. Just before devouring encourage your family or guests to gently stir sour cream into the soup and voila! red becomes fuchsia!

World's Best Surprise

This picture is pretty much identical to the one a couple of posts down, but I love it too much not to post it as well.  I was so happy in that moment--and I think it shows.  And Nate!  Good golly he's gorgeous.

The last time he came home we had a friend keep the kids overnight so we could have some "alone time" if you know what I mean.  (You do know what I mean).  

This time around, the kids were so excited about how and when we'd welcome him home that we let them call all the shots.  From the outfits we wore to his welcome home posters, the kids planned every last detail.  Jensie insisted that the day and time of his arrival would be a surprise.  We role played many scenarios and I was well versed in how I ought to respond to every situation.  Example:

Me: What if Daddy's plane comes in at dinner time?

Jensie: Tell us we're going to a special dinner at a restaurant.

Me: Ok, but what if Daddy's plane gets here in the middle of the night?

Jensie: You just need to tell us that you have a doctor's appointment and you couldn't get a babysitter.

Me: A doctor's appointment in the middle of the night?

Jensie: Yeah, how would we know?

(Good point)

Me: Ok, but now that we've talked about it, if I wake you up in the middle of the night and say I have to go to the doctor, won't you know we're really going to get Daddy?

Jensie:  No, I don't think about stuff like that in the middle of the night!

(Okay!)

In the end I told them there was a special one-day-only sale on Halloween candy at the Commissary (Ft. Benning's grocery store) that we couldn't miss.  The prospect of early Halloween candy far outweighed any suspicion that might have been aroused by an unexpected drive toward an Army airport.  Their little minds heard CANDY and that was diversion enough.

Grabbing the posters and our mini-ACUs on our way out the door would have been a dead giveaway, so we'd stashed our gear in the trunk of the car weeks before Nate's expected arrival date. On the way to "the store" the kids began to grow skeptical of our route, but when questioned about whether or not we were driving in the right direction, I was able to keep a straight face long enough insist that it was one way to get there.  

We arrived just in time to watch a large plane (not Nate's but I thought it was) land and I said "Hey look, a plane.  Whose plane do you think that is?"  A look of complete surprise followed by a slow smile crossed Jensie's face as she dared to hope "Daddy's?"  

Yep!

The kids hurriedly changed out of their jams into their Army uniforms in the parking lot, grabbed their neon signs, and we dashed inside just in time for this 

 

and this

Surprise...success!

Shiny and New

Everyone likes to hear stories or stare at pictures of themselves.  Jensie is no exception.  Each time she writes something or draws a new picture she demands that I put it on the blog.  Today I told her "Put it on your own dang blog!" (but in a nice way).  That's right, as of about 9 hours ago,

Jensie has a blog.  

It's adorable and entirely her own.  I have a feeling you'll be hearing a lot more of her "annoying little brother" too.

It'll probably go private at the end of the week, so let us know now if you'd like to be invited to be a regular viewer.  You can leave a comment here or on her site (Go on, make her day!).

I may or may not be ready to resume my own bloggin' by then.

Gem

1,000 Words

Super Stacked Pixie

the sure-fire antidote to every self-inflicted fem mullet.

Sweet and Sour Sneak Peak

I keep wanting to call it a re-do, but it's definitely more of an un-do.  No more polka dots.  No more perfection.  I've got about a million projects to finish up, but this is what we've got so far-

before

after

PS.  Thanks for the planets Gramma Bonnie.  They are the coolest!