M is for Mommy

Blake had a reading class assignment to write about a Presidential Pet. Here's what he wrote: One day The First Cave Girl was making beef stew when President Caveman came in and said, “We need to go to the Oga Booga Congress meeting.” So they went.  When they got back the First Cave Girl gasped! ”Oh my! A baby Triceratops is eating my beef stew!” And President Caveman said, “Let’s keep him” So they named him Beefy. One day Beefy and President Caveman were hunting a Brontosaurus. President Caveman was about to spear it when Beefy fell asleep from sitting in the same position so long . His snoring was so loud that the Brontosaurus ran away. Meanwhile, the First Cave Girl was fixing a huge pot of beef stew. President Caveman and Beefy were running after the Brontosaurus when Beefy bit the Brontosaurus’s tail. However the Brontosaurus flung Beefy off and he flew into the air and landed in the beef stew! "Wow," Beefy thought as he licked off his face, "saved by my f...

I have so enjoyed being back in my kitchen after a year stateside. It’s not that my kitchen is that great, it’s just that it has all MY stuff for all MY recipes. Every tool I need is right there, and very little more. One of the things I really enjoy is making muffins. I have the perfect muffin pan, the muffin whisk, the perfect cooling rack….you get the idea. We just HAD to celebrate our first week of homeschooling, so I baked these muffins. Then we HAD to celebrate Brazilian Father’s Day (last Sunday), so I baked them again. This morning, we just HAD to have them again (second breakfast, between first breakfast and elevensies, you know). My mother-in-law gave me the cookbook House Specials: Baked Goods and Sweet Treats by Nancy Coale Zippe a few years ago and I just love it. Not only is it Delawarean, but it has tons of great recipes for bakers…. Plus, this recipe is from California, so you gotta love it! This recipe originated at the Rancho San Gregorio in California. It's a...

Once upon a time I had a life (outside of cooking, cleaning, kids activities, and facebook). I worked for our local Christian radio station . I had several areas of responsibility, but mostly I organized their community events. One year, my boss wanted us to have an outdoor concert of local talent. Sort of a Battle of the Bands, without the Battle part. Anyway, we solicited tapes from the community and I screened them to see who could play and sent out letters to the folks I selected. What I didn't know was that my boss had envisioned, like, 4 bands, and I (not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings) accepted 24 acts. So, we had to lay out some ground rules--the first of which was NO SOUNDCHECKS. None! Whatsoever! NO EXCEPTIONS! I've never seen so much angst from so many people--angst is something you see alot when you deal with divas. Experienced in diva-dealing, we stood firm. Most of them eventually got over it and performed well. "George" did not. He broke ...

Being a missionary is really sort of a heartbreak assignment. When you’re on the field you miss your loved ones at home, when you’re at home you miss folks from the field, there is always change, transition, goodbyes…. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the first time I realized this, long before I realized I would be a missionary. My husband came home from class in seminary one day with the campus newsletter in hand. “I’ve found our calling!” he said. A church of 35 people in Hawaii wanted an intern for one year. We called them and four weeks later, we were on a plane. When we arrived, we were greeted by church members, who presented us with leis and chattered excitedly using many strange words that we didn’t understand--Likelike, Kamehameha, Liliuokalani (I later found out these were street names). Something inside me said, “You will never be as happy again as you were a few minutes ago. While you are here, you will miss home. You will fall in love with these people and when you go home...

I'll be taking time out tonight from a course I'm taking, offered last weekend in Phoenix and downloaded via internet, to watch Jeff at the South America Summit, also in Phoenix, also via internet. Afterwards, they should be archiving the video here . Jeff begins speaking around minute 41. What I want to know is, "Whassup with Phoenix?" Go figure.

I struggled for weeks to settle into a good housekeeping schedule. Finally, here it is: Monday - Wash sheets and towels, bathrooms (easy way to start the week) Tuesday - Floors Wednesday - Grocery (sale day at our supermarket) Thursday - Dust Friday - Kitchen (since I'm in there all afternoon for pizza/movie night preparations) Saturday - Iron (not that I've actually done this yet)