This & That

Winding Down

The school year, that is.  Two out of my three kidlets are finished and the last will be done tomorrow.  That means I can look forward to a fun filled summer that is already way over-scheduled with things that are happy, but will keep us busy.  I always have a real split personality when it comes to summer.  I see-saw back and forth on how I feel about experiencing it....like I have a choice about that.
Hate the hot weather....love the more relaxed pace....hate the bickering that comes with having my kids in the same room....love seeing family I don't get to see otherwise.....you get the idea. 
So yesterday, I attended my DD's 6th grade graduation.  Frankly, I don't see the point.  This is something new that my elementary school just instituted in the past couple of years. In all honesty, finishing 6th grade isn't a big deal IMHO and it's just another "thing" I have to fit into a busy time of year.  But being the dutiful mom, I did attend and got the obligatory bad  "walking across the stage" photos taken from a great distance, because I wasn't willing to stake out my seat 2 hours ahead of time.....really.
Warning...modesty rant coming up....
I'm also amazed at what some mothers consider appropriate for their daughters to wear.  Keeping in mind that this is sixth grade, somehow I'm thinking that 3 1/2" hooker pumps and a strapless dress are pushing the limits a tad. OK, so I'm totally aware that I'm on the WAY other end of the continuum, but c'mon.  This is 6th grade, for crying out loud.  And these are the same people that will jump on their soapbox and whine about the objectification of women.  Heellllllooooooo........
Done now....
Happy Graduation anyway, Sweetie!
Supposed to be in the mid-80's today.  That's pushing my "too hot for me" buttons.

Post High School and Sugared Asaparagus

So my treasured DS#4 is through with high school classes. Graduation is this Friday.  He doesn't start his summer job until next Monday, so he's enjoying the high life sleeping in and working on the list of chores I put out for him.   He is fortunately  fairly self-motivated and for the most part gets things accomplished  in a timely manner.
For Amy H., here is the recipe for Sugared Asparagus.  When I was a kid, I didn't eat a great variety of veggies...probably corn, peas and carrots.  I have a sister who still only eats those veggies.  But as I got older and went to college, cooked with roommates, my horizons got expanded and my mind was opened to the wonderful world of vegetables.  I've tried to instill this in my kids a little sooner.  There are still veggies that certain kidlets are picky about, but we're trying.  I love asparagus and will eat it just about any way I can get it, but the kiddos will only eat it this way.  So I'm leaving you with my no-fail asparagus recipe and a photo of a couple of our horses that cracked me up.  One of them is sticking his tongue out at me.
Sugared Asparagus
Serves 4-6
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 pounds fresh asparagus, cut into 2" pieces
1 cup chicken broth
In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat butter and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved.  Add asparagus and saute for 2 minutes.  Stir in chicken broth, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until asparagus is crisp-tender.  Remove asparagus to a serving dish and keep warm.  Cook sauce, uncovered, until reduced by half.  Pour over asparagus and serve immediately.

Requiem for Marley

To quote the first line of Charles Dickens Christmas Carol......"Marley was dead: to begin with.  There was no doubt whatever about that."
One of the quail wasn't a survivor.  DD is very upset that Marley was found dead in the box this morning.   So we are down to 11.  Sad as it is, it's teaching a life lesson, I think.  Sad things happen even when you try to avoid them.   To top it off,  she has to get her braces adjusted today, so she will be sore for the next few days.  She was insistent on picking the dinner menu of soft foods....Fettuccine Alfredo, Sugared Asparagus and green salad.
Memorial Day was good for us.  We got the rest of the garden in, grilled dinner and made some deadly homemade chocolate ice cream.  If you're into that sort of thing, here's the recipe from the Grilling Special Issue from Better Homes and Gardens:

Chocolate Ice Cream
Makes about 2 quarts
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 cups whipping cream
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Combine sugar, flour and salt in a medium saucepan, stir in milk and eggs.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture just boils.  Reduce heat; cook and stir 1 minute more.  Remove from heat and strain.
Whisk in unsweetened chocolate until mixture is well-combined.  Whisk in whipping cream and vanilla.  Transfer custard mixture to a large bowl.  Cover surface of mixture with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate 8-24 hours, until completely chilled.
Freeze mixture in a 4-5 quart ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's directions. 

Gardening and the "Q" Experiment

Every year around this time we put in a fairly large garden. It's part of the summer family dynamic.  We enjoy the fresh vegetables and also usually end up doing a fair amount of canning in the late summer/early fall....that whole provident living thing that's a part of the LDS lifestyle.
Yesterday was the designated day.  DH wasn't allowed to go play anywhere, so we were up and out early.  DH and DD went to the farm supply store looking for plant starts and seeds.  Yes, they came home with the required garden supplies, but in addition, DD came walking into the house with a cardboard box that was.....peeping.
Inside, were 12 tiny baby quail.  Now, to give you an idea of their size, picture a cotton ball with a little round head and that's pretty much it.  They are adorable, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what DH was thinking....other than DD thought they were adorable and suitable for bringing home.   DH says he thought we could get them raised  to the feather stage in the next few weeks (right now they are just down-covered), then we could set them free under out lilac bushes and feed them there and they would be so cute running around the yard.  He actually used the word "cute".  Uh-huh. Now here he is thinking that these very cute quail are going to live in peaceful coexistence with the cat that already this spring has brought me a mouse, a snake and a bird, recently deceased at her hand, and laid them on the doormat as an offering to the All-Things-Friskies-Scratch-My Ears Goddess.  That would be me.  I'm taking Quail Survivor bets and even given that none of them will be voted off the island, I'm not sure any of them can survive the cat when they get turned loose.  DD has them all named already.  See that big fat one standing on top of the others?  That's Elvis.  The rest of the names range from PeeWee to Wasabi, to Kiwi, Little Bo Peep and Cocoa Puff, to Cash Back (she let me name one and that's what I'm thinking we ought to get for those birds.) So pick your quail, folks, and we'll see who the toughest bird on Quail Survivor! 

The Curse of the Internal Alarm Clock

My DH requires more sleep than I do.  It's just a fact of life.  When we were first married, I was working graveyard shifts as an RN while I finished my bachelor's degree in Nursing .  I breast-fed six kids.  You can bet DH wasn't awake at 2 in the morning for that.  (In all fairness, he was in extended schooling for the first 4, so I can't beat him up too badly about it.)  So when someone needs to wait up for kidlets to meet curfew, it's usually me and last night was no exception.  And my wonderfully dependable DS#4 came right in at midnight just like he was supposed to.  Trouble is, I'm cursed with an internal alarm clock.  For so many years I can't count them all, I've been up sometime right around 6 in the morning to get various bodies out the door.  And even when I don't set an alarm on the weekends, the internal alarm goes off  sometime between 6 and 6:30, and won't be ignored.  So I'm dragging this morning on my 6 hours of sleep, while my DH is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with his 9.  Don't tell me to take a nap.  The other part of the curse is that if I nap during the day, I can't go to sleep that night.  Weird, I know.  Maybe DS will stay home tonight.

Photos, the End of School and Scrapping

A hodgepodge of thoughts this morning....
First off, I am really not taking enough photos.  And I really don't know why. It just hasn't occurred to me....since Mother's Day.  I'm starting to feel like I'm running out of pictures to scrap (which totally isn't true).  I guess I'm feeling like I don't have quite the selection to choose from lately.  I need to find the time to do better.
The end of the school year is creeping closer.  Does anyone else have mixed feelings about this?  I love the slower pace and the less rigorous schedule and having the kids around more to "help" with things.  At the same time, the atmosphere tends to look a lot like this with the boys really working for DD's squeal and that totally drives me nuts.  With DS #3 coming home from Ukraine in 2 1/2 weeks (but I'm not excited or anything), I'll have 4 kids in residence.  That hasn't happened for 2 years.  I think it will be an interesting adjustment for DS#4, who's been top dog for those two years.
As far as scrapping goes, I'm feeling behind.  I'm not sure why, but I do.  I have my in-laws 50th anniversary scrapbook to put together before June 15th, and I don't have my July SA kits done yet.  I think that, coupled with DS #3 coming home and DS#4 graduating from high school is helping boost the anxiety.  Hoping to get on the assignments soon.

The Echo Chamber

HELLO.....Hello.....hello......
ANYBODY OUT THERE.....Out There......out there.......
Man, it's quiet these days.

The Bangs

OK, so I know I'm old, but can someone who's more "hip" than I am please explain the whole bangs thing to me? DD always gets a nice trim around this time of the year...gets her hair cut up around her shoulders.  So this time she decides she wants some layers.  I can handle that. So I'm emotionally attached to her hair....I can really handle some stretching and growing and messing with it. But then she says she wants some long bangs.  OOOOOOOOOOOOOK.  So now I have the shorter hair...it's cute, I can handle it.  The layers......they're more work, but I can still handle it.   But I also have these bangs that spend most of their time in the middle of her face.  Explain it to me, please!  The purpose?  The allure? 

Catching Up

There are wonderful things about having family here and then there's the clean up at the end.  We sent DS#1 & DIL off to Seattle on Saturday to start their next stage of grad school.  DS#2 and DIL headed back to Utah to finish up those last few classes before they graduate and move to Ohio later this summer to start their grad schooling.  Loved having them here.  DD got a good fix of sister time which she always looks forward to and loves.  It usually includes a trip to Old Navy with birthday gift cards in hand to spend with someone who's not "old."  I've been telling her for months that she needed to get a yellow shirt, that she'd look awesome in a yellow shirt, but she wouldn't believe me until one of her sisters-in-law made the recommendation.  I guess I'm either truly old or am the mother of a pre-adolescent daughter.
This time of year also brings those end of the year events like choir concerts and piano recitals and the play days at school.  It makes me think that maybe the more relaxed pace of summer wouldn't be so bad....and then I have a weekend with DS#5 and DD picking at each other.  Everything is a double-edged sword, I guess.  Anyway, I'm cleaning up after the weekend and hoping to get a little scrap time later on.  And hey, the season finale of "24" is on tonight!  :)

Grandbaby Update

DS#1 and DIL are here for the week....I think I've mentioned that. Anyway, I got a few photos on Mother's Day....that's the good thing about Mother's Day.  Even your grown-up boys who don't like to pose feel a little obligated to cooperate.  Here are my kidlets, and you can see that baby is growing like a weed.  DIL's due date has been moved back a bit to Aug. 3, but she has 7 older sisters who have all gone at least a week over, so I'm thinking we won't see that baby until the 10th or later.  Poor DIL thinks she already looks like a bus.  Didn't have the heart to tell her it's going to get MUCH worse.