Thanks for indulging my bloggy break. Starting with my birthday and on through Christmas break, I enjoyed some major analog time. It's so good for the soul (and the family!)
I thought I'd fill you in with some seasonal snapshots of life around here lately.
For the hungry folks at the Rugged Mountain Man's work, the girls and I put together this tray. I feel it is representative of all the things I ate way too much of this last month. But, it was oh so very tasty! Some of my favorite traditional foods scream "Christmas!" to me. The girlies seem to be right on board with that too, as they had all sorts of special requests for just about every day of December. And, seafood is a tradition for New Year's Eve and we were all surprised to see Blossom4 enjoying clams, which I wouldn't generally consider "beginner seafood." I guess we start 'em young. Now we just gotta get 'em on board with the sauerkraut tradition for New Year's Day. It took me a while, but I actually get hungry for it now... as long as there's enough mashed potatoes to go with it.
This Chai Tea Latte was a part of a very wonderful birthday, furnished by a friend. Blossom4 learned that birthdays are different when you're an adult. At the end of the day, she said, "But Mama, you oneee got fwee pwesents!" I actually received more than that, but considering she was thinking of birthdays in terms of a large 3 year old type of celebration, I understood her confusion and sympathy. However, my feelings were anything but feeling sorry for myself. Friends and family are something I value highly and my day was overflowing with both.
There was this scrumptious dessert from and with my sister, hearing from family and friends all day via phone and email, planned and surprise visits with friends and family and a fun evening with my husband, at which I consumed more short rib nachos than any woman politely should. I'm glad the Rugged Mountain Man doesn't expect my appetite to be polite.
Lest you think that all of the holiday season is chocolate cakes and lattes, the below snapshot says it all. Yes, there is chaos. It's funny though. This is what Blossom3's desk looks like and school wasn't even in session. It's comical to me that their desks are their home bases, where all sorts of projects are in the works, treasures are deposited and creativity happens. We did a lot of "tidying" over the last few weeks and if I've learned anything, it's that, as a family of six, things can get really messy, really fast... BUT... with four minions on hand, we can also clean up the messes fast.
Then, mama can look in a room and enjoy the morning sunshine over some homey Christmas decorations. Those little nuances make me smile.
There was a whole lot of cooking in the last few weeks... I think someone saw a shapshot of the girls in the kitchen and was like, "Now what are they making?" Sometimes that's what I feel like.
"Another mess in the kitchen..."
"Now this task will take me twice as long..."
BUT, the more they're working alongside me, the less bickering there is. They need to work with me, so they can "catch" things from me. It's more of the good ole "WITH" principle that I love.
In this case, Blossom3 got a Disney Princess cookbook for Christmas and the Littles were trying their hands at Abu's Monkey Bread, which eventually gained rave reviews from all the Blossoms.
Blossom4 took care of putting Baby Jesus in the manger for us. Her antics over the last few weeks have been cracking us up. Yes, she gets into stuff, but she usually has an intelligent reason for doing so, if that's any consolation.
Some Christmas break and micro farm humor:
Over the dinner table, the Rugged Mountain Man and I were discussing the purchase of a pig. The Blossoms immediately broke out in cheers, which abruptly came to an end, when we explained that we meant buying a pig, already butchered and not a live pig.
Also, for a fun evening with family, we decided to try a budget version of chicken wings, crisping chicken legs in the oven and serving them with our favorite wing sauces, an idea I snagged from a friend. As I unpacked the drumsticks from the store, Blossom4 asked, "What did Daddy do? What did he butcher?" I had to explain that we'd bought them from the store!
And this photo sums up our first day back in the school routine.
Actually, although this really happened on the first day of school (she's doing a headstand on the window sill, on purpose and Rory sees nothing unusual about the situation), the first day back at it was very good. Except for finding one of the Blossoms chilling on her bedroom floor, playing Legos when she was supposed to be getting dressed, mostly we stepped back into the routine fairly well.
Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas break.
Many blessings!
