I was hesitant to do anything with our frozen gals, for the longest time. I finally threw one in the crockpot. I slow cooked it for atleast 8 hours. Then next day I made tacos with some of the meat, and spanish rice with some of the chicken stock, for the kids.
Since I still had chicken and stock, I made chicken tortilla soup. It was really good!
I relish the times that I get to spend in Mrs. Hoffman's classroom. I love watching the 7 and 8-year olds buzz around the classroom at their own pace and get their "Daily 5's" done. Mrs. Hoffman really stresses personal accountability for her students. She never nags, begs, or threatens. She seems to use a bit of the Love and Logic method. They know what work they are responsible for, and it is up to them to get it done in their own time. And trust me, they get it done. One does not want to disappoint Mrs. Hoffman. I enjoyed watching Kaia spend some time with Mrs. Hoffman, discussing their current reading selection. Mrs. Hoffman is so great a getting the kids to discuss their comprehension of the books. Kaia is a bit of a speed reader, so it takes some effort on Mrs. Hoffman's part to get Kaia to think about what she read and what it meant. Some kids worked on their worksheets, while some did partner reading, while others spent time with the teacher. It is such a remarkable group of well behaved and bright children. I am constantly taking notes on Mrs. Hoffman's methods.
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These are some of Kaia's favorite classmates; Sam, Liam, and Julia.
On my birthday Eve, Gabby and Sandy treated me to some decorated homemade fudge, set in a heartshaped tin. I rose on Friday morning, to find Gabby in an unimaginably cheerful mood! It was WEIRD. I received a surprise box of gourmet cupcakes from Uncle T, at my doorstep! The box contained 4 Red Velvets, 4 Fudge Chocolates, and 4 Andes Mints. They were unbelievable. Then I welcomed Melissa and her littles in, bearing a Chai Tea Latte for me!! We visited for a short while. I spent most of the day responding to facebook birthday wishes!
We went out to dinner at Akebono. It was so delicious and relaxing. We got a great big table and didn't have to wait at all. I forgot to mention that Kaleb insisted on dressing like "Daddy", and wore his dress shoes, dress shirt, tie and vest. He was happy until he spilled half a bowl of miso soup in his lap and cried about wet pants pretty much the entire dinner. He was tired and his tooth hurt from "biting Gampy" earlier in the week. Gabby gave everyone complementary back scratches. Penny insisted we say grace and finish with a firm "AMEN". I had the Pepperfin, the Lemon Drop, and the Lemon Blossom Roll. It was completely divine. The family was a bit relieved that I didn't have any announcements, being that we were at a sushi restaurant with an eighteen month old by side...That usually only means one thing!
I came home to find Gene home from his first official week in Bakersfield. He had in hand, a batch of fresh flowers and two paper bags from the Nugget, for breakfast. I had a cupcake. The following morning, Gene and Penny made me breakfast in bed. The menu read; raspberry-lemonade mimosa, Tuscan Scramble, and a sugared citrus salad with grapefruits and tangelos. Lovely Lovely.
I'm always experimenting with new methods of making the dreaded blue box of chemicals and additives a bit more nutritious. This new recipe was pretty well accepted.
-add 1 cup sweet potato/butternut squash puree
-add 1/2 cup chedder cheese
-use HALFof the butter (1 TBSP)
-use HALF of the cheese powder packet
We spent the chilly days after Christmas messing up the house with our new stuff, then cleaning it all up, again and again. We played outside as Kaleb practiced on his new Mcqueen bike, which he did so well! On Tuesday, we went out to Islands and then to watch the new movie, Tangled in the theater, with Gammy.
We had Courtney and Michael over again for spring rolls and spirits. Gene and Michael did some melodic jamming on the guitars. Kaia made Courtney her BFF, and then told me it was none of my business. Penny laid all over Michael like she had known him for years. It was the best. I adore them.
The kids played a couple times with the Smith children that live down the street. Penny got to play at their house for an hour, and help "Mommy Heather" wake up, change, and give a bottle to "Baby Sydney". She was on cloud NINE! She kept telling me "be gentle mommy", "It's baby Sydney mommy!", while petting her obsessively.
I had the opportunity to share the news of Gene's new promotion and our upcoming relocation with Gammy, Gampy and Uncle T. The kids ended up spending the night.
Annie and Gina arrived at 10 am on New Years eve. First off, gifts were exchanged; Annie and Gina were given their picture ornaments from the kids, then the kids opened their stuff. They opened umbrellas, slippers, jammies, clothes, rainboots, snap secrets, password journals, pillow pets, scarves, board books, tea sets,a play purse, legos, razors, pogo sticks, trucks, robes, Toy Story 3, and MORE!! "Cranon, Nani, Abuelita, and Grandpa Glenn were very generous!! Gene got work clothes and a Toms gift certificate(from Nani), I got a Flip camera (so thoughtful and useful), great books, see's gift card, and a Toms gift card as well.
We enjoyed Menudo (some of us) and Posole Soup, in addition to the wonderful tamales that annie steamed once they got here. Gabby loved the red ones. Kaleb and Penny loved red and green! If Penny spotted someone with a paper plate, she was on them in a second! We did a lot of relaxing. The Speers came over and ate soup and tamales, and we watched movies together. Kaleb was up really late. I kept putting him to sleep, and then he would emerge, drunk with sleepiness, on his new razor!! It was quite a sight to see him whizzing around the house, as delirious as ever! The next day, we went to see the movie, Gulliver's Travels. Kaleb slept on Nani, Nani and I ate way too much stale nachos, Gabby ate Dibbs, some weirdo sassed Annie in the bathroom about her Grandchildren not "listening very well" (not a good idea), and Penny cried out, "PRESS PLAY MOMMY" every time the green preview screen came up. Good times! Afterwards, we went to "Dad'satthedeli" to meet up with Gene. We ate more unneccessary food and beer, and I felt the pangs of regret once again!.
