Happy Easter!

 

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Goofing off on National Goof Off Day? I think not. On March 22, Jet decided to be a big helper and helped me make dinner.

I was making Green Goddess Pitas from "A Season of Family Meal Plans" volume 1. He saw me putting together the cabbage filling, saw the spinach that I was going to use for the dressing, and decided to help by putting bits of spinach in with the cabbage. So we had whole pieces of spinach in with it. That's fine.

Since we did need the spinach in the dressing, I gave Jet a measuring cup and he filled it with spinach himself to put in the blender. He started to do more in the measuring cup so we had a bit more than just the cup of spinach it called for which is fine.

I love that he chooses to help in the kitchen. You know he's my baking buddy. He's also my cooking buddy. He likes when I hand him the measuring spoons and cups to dump ingredients into something. He wanted to help cut onions with a plastic knife but we put a stop to that once he started rubbing his eyes. Poor kid. I did give him pieces of cucumber which he was able to cut with a plastic knife.

Sometimes he really is a big helper. And sometimes... I mean he did help clean the wall the day before... after he took a pencil and ran it back and forth along the wall multiple times.

This is why I refuse to read my children the book, "Harold and the Purple Crayon", which is one I read in my childhood. It's a fun book but I don't want to give them ideas (especially Jet).

The pitas turned out well. It was my turn to make hummus to go with it and we had some left over for Chip and Dip Day on March 23. I also made tzatziki with sour cream (so good) for Chip and Dip Day. I used the recipe from the beginning of the year when we made pitas before. Some people had salsa with their chips.

Earlier that day, Jeremy, Nichole, Lucky, and I went on a Utah County Birders field trip. Unfortunately it was getting ready to storm so there wasn't a lot to see in the way of birds but it was still nice to be around my birding peeps (see what I did there, birding peeps? 'Cause small sandpipers are called peeps? Tee Hee).

We got a thunderstorm and hail later that day and the next day we got snow.

Ah, Spring.

The next day after that, March 25, was International Waffle Day. Jet decided to be my helper in the kitchen again and helped stir the waffle mix before I put it in the waffle iron. Then he was happy to help eat the waffles. Tee Hee.

What? What?

 

photo taken by Nichole

World Puppetry Day 2024

World Puppetry Day was on March 21. Jet likes puppets. We had puppets around and he even took one while we were picking kids up.

At the end of the day, Jet and I were watching 9 Years to Neptune, a show with puppets on BYU-TV. I kept telling Jr. Jr. to go to bed. This was his response. "It's not me watching the show. It's the dinosaur puppet." Heh Heh Heh.

That same day, Jeremy, Nichole, Lucky, and I went to a UCB Meeting at the Bean Museum. Club members were presenting about different shorebirds. Jeremy and I were asked to present on Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs. Jeremy put the presentation together and I presented it.

Because the meeting was about shorebirds, and little sandpipers are known as "peeps," the club officer in charge of meetings brought marshmallow Peeps for refreshments afterward. Tee Hee. She had fruit punch flavored. We'd never had that kind before. It was fun. I liked the flavor.

First Day of Spring

March 19 was the Vernal Equinox, Poultry Day, Chocolate Caramel Day, and Let's Laugh Day. I laughed because for the Equinox we made Fablehaven food from the Fablehaven Cookbook. It's tradition on the equinoxes and solstices. We had Ogre Stew (with chicken/poultry in it), Muriel's Pretzel Knots, and Olloch the Glutton's Caramel Biscuit Bars (which have chocolate and caramel in them).

Jet helped set the table. He's a good helper.

The weather was so warm that day, I didn't bother taking my jacket to pick up one of the kids from the bus. I just headed out to the van... while still wearing my apron. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

It was also so nice that after dinner, I went out for a drive. So beautiful.

Ah, Spring. Then a few days later we got snow and hail and it's been off and on like that for a while.

Food Nanny Dinner

March 18 was National Sloppy Joe Day. That meant it was time for The Food Nanny's dinner. Sloppy Joes and Rice Pilaf both from "The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner."

My baking buddy helped me make the hamburger buns (rolls). 

It was also Forgive Mom and Dad Day. I texted my Mom and Dad to say wonderful things about them and as an afterthought, I told them I forgave them. Tee Hee. I also told my kids to forgive me for things I did.

What Jr. Missed

Jr. was so busy with the play, but a couple days after it closed, he went on tour to California with the orchestras from his and that other high school.

I made sure to get a picture before he left and one after he got back. I missed the going picture when Nichole went two years ago.

We had a few celebrations while Jr. was gone. March 14 (3/14) was Pi Day. It was also National Potato Chip Day. We had chicken enchiladas and verde rice with potato chips and apple pie (made in our pi plate) for dessert. I used some substitutions in the dinner.

 

March 15 was the Ides of March. Beware the Ides of March. Beware too many dishes. I had planned on making certain food for dinner that day but was overwhelmed with dishes so... I washed dishes but still managed to make Caesar Salad and Orange Juliuses for dinner. (Julius... Caesar...). So better than I thought at the beginning of the day but not what I was originally planning. Oh well.

March 15 was also Everything You Think is Wrong Day. I had kids trying to convince me to let them do things by pointing out what I thought was wrong when I said No.

March 16 we went to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. 

That evening we had corn dog muffins for National Corn Dog Day.

 

March 17 was St. Patrick's Day, of course. Earlier in the week, Lucky, Jet, and I watched a concert at the Orem Library.

"A Season of Family Meal Plans" has suggestions for meals for certain major holidays. Fits me, doesn't it? You know I like to celebrate with food.

According to their St. Patrick's Day suggestions, I made Irish Stew, Irish Soda Bread, and Lucky Buddies.

After dinner, I went to a Relief Society Devotional and Testimony Meeting with a group of women from my ward. We kept adding sisters from our ward to the pew we were sitting in. We filled it up. Afterward there were green donuts for refreshments.

Jeremy texted me that evening. "March 17th is not only St. Patrick's Day. It is also the feast day of St. Gertrude of Nevelles. She is the patron saint of cats and those who love them. I love my KAT!" Tee Hee.

So that's what Jr. missed. I picked him up late that night and made him go to school the next morning. I'm that mom.

Hummus

Lucky wanted to have some crackers but I told him he should have something with them. There was not enough time to make cheeseball but I told him we could try to make hummus. I'd never made it before. It just so happened there was a recipe for hummus to go along with an upcoming dinner.

So Lucky opened "A Season of Family Meal Plans" volume 1 and made hummus himself. Way to go, Lucky. When we ran out of crackers (because I couldn't stop eating it, too), we moved on to dipping carrots in the hummus.

Later I used the same book to make dinner of ground beef stroganoff and lemon parmesan asparagus.

We added some bread from leftover Italian bread bowls we made for our Creamy Italian Soup before and had a nice meal.

Youngest Child

I just thought I'd put my tennis shoes on. Sigh.

I'm a Klutz

Usually I can blame the youngest.

This time I can only blame myself.

Sigh.

At least the table was clean and most of it did get on the table. Only a little bit got on the floor. It was still very usable (the stuff from the table, not the floor).

More Excuses for Video Games

I played Mario Kart for World Plumbing Day on Monday, March 11. The boys rationalized playing Minecraft because Lucky planted a tree underground for Johnny Appleseed Day. 

 

That day was also Oatmeal Nut Waffle Day.

I didn't have a recipe for oatmeal nut waffles so we had oatmeal, nuts, and waffles. Baked oatmeal, almonds in salad, and waffles.

 

March 12 was Plant a Flower Day but I don't remember if the boys got away with video games or not.

Speaking of video games, Jr. Jr. got clever. Sometimes we will put on music from The Legend of Zelda as relaxing background music. Jr. will sometimes put on sound effects videos for atmosphere/ambience, too. This is something Jr. Jr. came up with. "10 hours of video game ambience. Pressing keys and mouse clicking." He's a hoot.

Rambling Before the Brambling

Jeremy invited us to get up early on Saturday, March 9, to go see a once in a lifetime bird. Brambling. A bird you are likely to find in Europe and Asia but not in the Continental United States (they can be seen on the Aleutian Islands of Alaska).

Because I am a morning person, I talked a lot on the 1 1/2 hour drive there. Jeremy said I was rambling before the brambling.

The brambling was in someone's backyard and they gave permission for people to come see the bird. So when we got there, there were quite a few other birders who came soon after us and around the same time. It was awesome. It was cold but it was awesome. And so worth it. All of us who went (besides Jet, who would chase all the birds away if we let him out of the van so we took turns in the van with him) got to see it and Nichole got a couple good pictures. Our camera was dying and our new camera didn't come the day before like it was supposed to. Sigh.

I took my turn in the van with Jet first. I looked at juncos in the nearby bushes while the others were getting glimpses of the brambling. I was just sitting there looking out the windshield when all of a sudden a bird with a black head landed in the tree right in front of me. It had some coloring to it and I made the comment, "That's not a junco." I used my binoculars to see that it was indeed a brambling. I used my phone and got a really bad picture but I saw it. 

I did get a chance to get out of the van for a better look with binoculars later. So cool. It kind of looks like a spotted towhee but it isn't one.

Here's one of Nichole's pictures.

 

Well, that was a big deal birding trip. It was like when we went to see the Great Gray Owl in 2017. It was great.

Jet insisted he and Nichole wear the earphones but they weren't connected to anything.

 

That wasn't the end of our day, however. Oh no, it wasn't. Jr. was in the pit orchestra for "Beauty and the Beast" again this year, just at his own high school instead of another high school in town.

Jeremy took Lucky to the matinee that afternoon and I took Nichole to the evening performance. We had friends sit by us and other friends we got to chat with during intermission and after the play.

I'm proud of how hard Jr. worked again and I was happy to support him and other people in the cast (one of the dancers in the play is a neighbor).

Since March 9 was National Meatball Day and Get Over It Day, I was heard to say, "Get over it, you meatball," that day (it's tradition).

I made Mexican Meatballs from "A Season of Family Meal Plans" volume 1 along with Creamy Potato Soup (from the same book). Jet helped me make Italian Bread Bowls (not from that book but from Mel's Kitchen Cafe). Some of the bread bowls were more rounded and some were a little flatter (thanks, Jet). That's what you get from my baking buddy, though. He did help clean up the table and do dishes afterward, though.

He was such a big helper, he helped himself to one of the "big rolls" when they were done. I'd say he earned it.

March 9 was also Popcorn Lover's Day but we didn't have popcorn until the next day while we were celebrating Mario Day (MAR10) by playing Mario video games.

Before video games, we went to support my niece who just got home from her mission and gave a talk in her ward. Then we spent time at my sister's house with family. You know I love family.