How Did We Get Here?

That’s right, we had ice cream for supper.

Today Parker reached a major milestone.  We took the kids swimming and just as we were finishing up, Parker said, “Hey, wanna see me glide?”  Ya OK.  He never takes his feet off the bottom of the pool.  All of a sudden, he’s swimming.  We stood there in disbelief.

Years of ear infections developed a fear of water in Parker.  He used to scream and scream over having a bath so we switched to showers by age three.   5 summers ago we offered him a quarter to go into the water up to his belly button.  It worked.  Then we moved on to swimming lessons.  It was slow going and we realized that we’d get more progress with more practice as opposed to actual lessons.   Parker needs time and space to process and figure things out and you can’t push him..

We have access to a free pool but during the school year it’s hard to fit swimming in.  We told the kids we would try to go twice a week during the summer since they weren’t signed up for any evening activitites.  Apparently, the frequent swims are producing results.

And that is why we had Blizzards for supper.  A celebration of a wonderful milestone.

I’m back on the Meal Plan Wagon now that I have ground beef in the house again.   Every Wednesday it’s on sale at On The Vine for $1.99/lb.  I just never seem to be able to get there.  I stocked up last week and cooked and froze enough for 13 meals.  that is if, dh keeps his paws off of it.

 I also have a new to me deep freeze.  Woohoo.    Our deep freeze always seems full so there’s no room for freezer meals or baking.  Mil was getting rid of her deep freeze and I was more than happy to take it.  I cleaned it and plugged it in last night.    I’m planning on using one for meats and meals and the other for baking and frozen fruits, jam…

Need help with meal planning?  You can check out my google calendar  http://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=mc&gsessionid=J9J4lOkmRXb8dMubKyBEcQ  Click on a meal and the recipe should be there.  Although if you need a recipe for tacos or chili, you need more help than I can give.  I also came across this blog if you need more ideas.   http://orgjunkie.com/

Today we’re having crockpot ribs.  MMMMMM  can you smell them?

We had a great meal with just our family this year.  It was much more relaxed with no company coming.  I had intended to turn the oven on before we left for church, the turkey was ready and just needed to be turned on.  Oops.  As we got there I realized I hadn’t turned the oven on.  Left Jeff and the kids for Sunday School and booted ‘er back across the city.  Good thing, I also forgot to turn the crockpot to low.  We would have had cold turkey and crispy dressing.

I had to take some pictures.  Lydia was so funny.  Oh, I “wub” ‘weet potatoes, I “wub” mashed potatoes, I “wub” corn, I “wub” butter.  In the past we haven’t been able to keep cranberry sauce on the table as she would eat the entire bowl.  This time she wasn’t so keen on it.  Speaking of cranberry sauce, I’ve never had to make it as my mother always gives me a jar for Thanksgiving/Christmas.  I never knew how easy it was.  Was she trying to pull one over on me?  It’s 1 bag of cranberries, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water.  Boil til the berries pop.  If you want to get fancy, use orange juice instead of water.  Who knew it was so easy. 

I found a great squash casserole.  I don’t eat the stuff but Jeff loves it and his sister grew them this year.   http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/baked-squash-casserole-111387.aspx

I think I’ll start assigning dishes to the kids to help with.  Hannah can do the cranberries, Lydia  tears the bread for the stuffing- she did yesterday.  Parker can help peel potatoes.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The cake was a big hit.