Hotroot Soup (Audrey in the Kitchen)

 

Audrey made dinner for us all last night. She received The Redwall Cookbook for her birthday, and 'Hotroot Soup' was the first thing that caught her attention. She wanted to make it a few days ago, but we didn't have everything that was needed... then an opportunity arose and she declined, and finally all the stars aligned and she voluntarily came to the kitchen at dinner time tonight and dove right in.

She did everything herself except cut the onions, and I have to say, it turned out pretty good!

It turned out like a take on potato soup, except a little spicy... and with shrimp. Little Brother wasn't a big fan, but he ate it anyway without complaining, and then we all had a cake ball and watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. 

This Mama would love for this to become a regular thing... I hope she finds some more inspiration and finds herself in the kitchen again soon!

Swing

 

Sometimes the best birthday gifts are the ones that aren't just for the birthday girl. We are all loving this swing, and the laughs and time outside that it's been bringing!

Weekending

 

May we all wake up to the weekend with the anticipation of a tweenager with her own coffee setup, and may we also all have the patience needed to tackle all the weekend things (like what's needed with said non-morning person tweenager and Mama is trying to make coffee at the same time).

Happy weekending!

Celebrate

 

Another coronavirus-era birthday, another challenge to rise above the feeling of restriction and deprivation and embrace the challenge to make the day feel special. Audrey Grace, my smart, strong, puzzle-solving leader-in-training had another "Yes Day" to mark her 12th trip around the sun, and we decided that making her hunt for her presents might spice things up to juuuuuuuuust right. So this "scroll" was tucked into her Birthday Bag along with a guinea pig shirt and notebook and a few of her favorite sweets. The afternoon of her day, our "pod" friends came over, and she was presented with the first of her five challenges, which sent them running straight out into the driveway... 

...and then on to her second clue...

...and her third... 

...and her fourth... 

...and finally, the last one... 

...which they didn't even have to finish solving, because their smart little friend figured it right out and solved the last puzzle with minutes of daylight to spare.

Afterwards, we had fondue and a 12-layer chocolate cake (that fell over the night before and was rebuilt with no one the wiser!), and all in all the report is that it was a very satisfying day.

I hope she remembers it fondly, it was a lot of work! But to be honest, I might have had as much fun setting everything up as she did puzzling it all out.

Happy birthday to my girl, you are so loved.

Happy Birthday Little A

 

My Squishy is 12 today. This will be the last kid birthday year without a teenager in the house. I'm so proud of this girl... such a smart, sensitive, thoughtful hardworking girl. I love her so.

Today, for her big number twelve, we can't have a party like in years past due to this whole COVID-19 thing, so we'll have another Yes Day. On the agenda: doughnuts, sushi, fondue, and some surprises later in the day. 

Happy Birthday, Audrey Grace!

Take a walk down memory lane: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

This Moment - Checkers

 

Outside, topping off the pond and pulling weeds to relax at the end of a long day in front of a screen, look up, see Bubba coming around the corner of the house with the checkers board and a hopeful smile on his face... drop everything, play checkers outside on the picnic table.

Almost get beaten.

Almost.

The MW Band

 

We had a long-anticipated concert this weekend, and let me tell you, I am so proud of these guys. The MW Band has been working together for months on these songs- both together and with their own respective music teachers- and I think their debut went really well. (I am a huge fan of the drummer, full disclosure.) 

They did Make You Mine, Mr. Blue Skies, Fly Me to the Moon, Blackbird, and Radioactive, and everyone had a turn introducing the songs and singing. And then we ate tacos and out-of-this-world salsas and flan and had watermelon jalapeno margaritas, and I'm going to be honest- I'm pretty sure everyone went home thinking about a Next Time.

Even Henry.