Christmas mayhem

So, it's coming down to the wire and I feel relatively prepared.  All the presents that need to be have been wrapped and placed under the tree, where they are currently being excessively manhandled by the boys.  Each one has pulled out every present with his name on it and given it a good shake to try to determine the contents (and some of those guesses have been pretty darned close, I tell you). 

I do feel somewhat like a slacker though, because--other than a Moms Club Christmas party--we haven't really done much of anything to celebrate the season since school let out.  No family crafts, no parade visits, no "Elf on the Shelf" mayhem to report.  We don't have an Elf.  Mainly because I find them a little creepy looking.  But, a lot of my friends have them and they apparently get into all kinds of mischief.  I figure I already have enough mischief-makers in my house, thank you very much--we don't need no stinkin' elf for that.  But, the boys seem to be getting into the true spirit of Christmas all by themselves.  The Informer and the Destructor are currently gathering random things from around the house, packing them into cardboard boxes and "delivering" them to me,  The Destructor even pretended to ring the doorbell and then told me (in a somewhat surly voice), "Here's your package, lady."  Gotta love it.  This went on for about an hour, until The Informer informed me that because it was 2 days before Christmas, they weren't going to be delivering any more.  Then they ran off to happily play a game of "Zombies Attack".  And where, you may ask, was the PMM (Perpetual Motion Machine) during all this?  Surprisingly enough, he was cuddled on the couch under a blanket watching Curious George  (He's a little under the weather today--bronchitis/sinus infection).  I suppose for the moment we ought to call him the Semi-Perpetual Motion Machine.

So, today, I feel like we should do something to facilitate the making of family memories.  We are going to make cookies.  Should be fun.  I'll let you know later.

Adventures in cooking

So, I made a VAT of chili this past Wednesday because it was cold and rainy and basically my brain always screams "CHILI" at me when the weather outside is frightful.  Don't expect pictures or anything because I can't find the camera and I'm too lazy and sick right now to go and look for it.  I do apologize for that.  But trust me, the chili looks and tastes delicious.   And I made baked potatoes in the crock pot to go with it, because I like my chili-topped baked taters, yes I do.  Making baked potatoes in the crock pot is so insanely simple, I can't believe I haven't done it before now.   It's a technique I first learned here .  Try it--it really is stupid simple (and if you know me, you know that any method of preparing food that can be called "stupid simple" is my holy grail).  The only drawback is this: if you like the skin on your baked potatoes crispy, you won't like this method.  We enjoyed them though. 

Anyway, I froze about half the chili I made to have for dinner on some other night when the weather is lousy (or any night when I'm feeling lousy and don't want to cook).  I saved the other half in the fridge for Gary and I to eat for lunch.  Which, gentle reader, is exactly what I am doing right now, even as I type--enjoying some chili.  The only issue I have with this delicious lunch is the fact that I only put one. lousy. can. of kidney beans in it (I'm not a big bean fan, however I believe that they MUST go in chili--but only in small amounts), and it seems like every other bite all I get is a bean.  Do kidney beans multiply in chili?  Is it like their breeding medium or something?  Hmmmm......

As for tonight's dinner, while Jack was at preschool I cooked an entire one lb bag of rice and put it in the refrigerator for the fried rice I'm making tonight.  I make a mean fried rice, folks.  Just ask Gary.  To go with the rice, we will also have Asian Sesame Chicken and perhaps some fried won tons, if I'm feeling up to it.  This sinus infection has really jacked me up.  Maybe we'll just have sandwiches instead...

And....another domino falls....

Well, the plague I mentioned earlier has now spread.  I am hacking like an 80 year old chain-smoker and it looks like a round of antibiotics are in my future.  I somehow manage to get sick with lightning speed.  It's like one day, I'm fine.  The next day, I'm on life-support in an oxygen tent in the ICU.  I'm exaggerating, but it truly does feel that way sometimes. 

You know what though?  Even in my debilitated state (say that 3 times fast), I still managed to make 5 dozen meatballs for dinners this week, a loaf of fresh bread, and get dinner on the table.  (Pats self on the back repeatedly)

So, that's the fun stuff around here.  Oh, and Gary came home early today complaining of a stuffy head and sore throat.  Lovely.  Guess we need to break out the Level 5 Decon protocols....

What's cooking with you?

Today has been, in my humble opinion, a very productive day despite the fact that I only got two of the umpteen million things on my to-do list (also known as the "List of Absurd Impossibilities") done.  The guest bedroom is now on its way to becoming our home office, I cooked and froze three dozen chocolate chip waffles for the boys' breakfasts next week, made my artisan bread recipe (go here for the recipe), put 4 lbs of chicken into marinade for dinners next week and froze them,  made partial headway on the catastrophe that is my bedroom closet and now, dinner is a-cookin' in the oven (if you want to see what I've made, go here).  **Whew**  I'm a bit wiped out.  How about you?  What did you do today?  :)

Well, gentle readers, a plague has descended upon our happy home.  Both of the older boys had to go to the pediatrician's office today because they spent half the night coughing and playing musical beds (from their bed to our bed, back to their bed then back to our bed  It was a FUN night).  The verdict?  Sinus Infections/Bronchitis.  Lovely.  Little man spent the latter half of last week suffering from the same thing.  I can feel the bulls-eye forming on my own forehead as we speak, and I wonder how long it will be before Madam Sinusitis comes calling for me as well.  **SIGH**

Can "Random" be a theme?

     So, I've decided to pay more attention to this blog and try to post each day.  What I'd like to ask all of my readers out there (all, uh, 4 of you) is--Do you prefer the blogs you read to have a theme, or does it matter naught to you and you prefer instead the random musings of a somewhat sleep-deprived, middle-aged, domestically challenged, wanna-be writer?  If your choice is the latter, then hey--this is the blog for you! 

     I find that I've always chafed quite passive-aggressively at being made to write about a particular subject.  In my junior year English classes, my teacher often forced us to write short stories about a subject that she herself would choose. (Subject: Write about a girl on an airplane who looks out of the window. What does she see? What does she do then? Etc., etc. Blech.)  I HATED that.  And I would often rebel by writing the most inane thing I could muster up about her subject. (Sally is riding in an airplane.  Sally sees the engine is on fire.  Oh no.  Sally tries to warn the flight attendant, but he is too busy passing out little bags of peanuts to notice.  BOOM!  The plane explodes and everyone dies.  The End.)  But, I digress.  All of that was to say that I don't really like being limited to a theme.  So, for me, random is good. 

     I often find myself with random thoughts rolling around in my head anyway.  Deep, earth-trembling questions like:  Why does Charlie Brown only ever get rocks in his Halloween bag?  He's in a costume, how does anyone know it's him?  What kind of sick person would do that to a kid anyway?  or  If I use rapid-rise yeast with self-rising flour, will I blow up the house?  or  Why does the Man with the Yellow Hat send Curious George to do the grocery shopping, when he knows it will only mean trouble?  What is the exact nature of the relationship between those two anyway?   You know, the really important questions that NEED to be answered. 

Well anyway, that's how I roll.  Uh, randomly.  And not always with any sort of clear message.  Enjoy.            

Adventures in Domesticity

     I have discovered a new website that I dearly love. It is called Mom On A Mission and she is a veritable font of information regarding cooking in bulk and freezing for later. She also has the easiest--and when I say EASIEST, I mean "could not be simpler, made for dummies"--recipe for making bread that I have. EVER. SEEN. No kneading, no proofing, no letting it rise for the approximate length of the the Hundred Year War, nothing. You mix it (she mixes hers in a 5 qt. plastic shoe box--clever), let it sit in the box on the counter for about 2 hours with the lid on, then stick it into your fridge and let it hang out for 24 hours before you bake with it.

     The next day, you pull out the box, tear off a hunk the size that you need, let it come to room temp (about 1 1/2 hrs) and then use as you will. She even includes a list of all the things you can do with this bread--loaf bread, cinnamon rolls (oh, I am ALL. OVER. THAT.), pizza crust, dinner rolls--you get the idea.

     Anyhoo, this got me very excited. In the past, I have had an aversion to making homemade bread that bordered on phobic. Kneading!  Proofing!  Kneading again!  Rise time! Too much commitment! Cue Cathy-like scream of "Aaack"! (For those of you who do not know who "Cathy" is, try this website: http://www.gocomics.com/cathy ) Nope, no bread for me, unless it came from the store in a plastic sleeve, already sliced and ready to go.

     When I stumbled across this website and read the recipe, I decided--hey, I can do this. 'Shut up', I told myself. 'You have limited domestic skills, you CANNOT do this!' 'No, YOU shut up, I can so do this!' 'No, you CAN'T. For the love of Pete, you set the oven on fire at Daniel's 3rd birthday party just trying to make some lousy Bruschetta! Who are you kidding, Martha?!' 'Listen, you! I am 43 years old and dammit, if I say I can do this, then I. CAN. DO. IT.' And then, I left my psychoses by the wayside and got up, and DID IT. And I didn't just do it once. I DID IT TWICE. And now, I'm going to do it all the time. Because I CAN. So, there. It turned out perfectly, by the way. And all of my men loved it. Happy Mommy.

     Here is the lovely lady that I'd like to thank for helping me to overcome my bread phobia:

http://momonamission.me/?p=1025

     Be sure to check out the rest of her website as well. It is a-maze-ing.

P.S. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the yummy goodness that my bread became. I promise that I'll try to edit this post at a later date and include the pictures.

Funny

Huh. My husband is funny. He seriously expected that king-size Reese's Peanut Butter Egg in the refrigerator to last until he got home. We've been married almost 10 years......he should know me better than that. Now, pardon me whilst I lick the chocolate from my fingers....

Patience challenged?

Okay. So, I know that I have issues with temper. I am fully compos mentis on this area, trust me. I have been married to my wonderful husband, Gary, for nearly a decade. He knew what I was like before we married as well, because we dated for 4 years. So, why now, after all this time, should it suddenly come as a complete shock to him that I am easily annoyed. And the thing that annoys me the most is STUPID PEOPLE. As my Mother says, I do not suffer fools gladly.

My hair

Today, my hair looks like Roseanne Roseannadanna's. What was it about gestating 3 little boys in my womb that caused my hair to turn into this frizzled mass? I mean it never looked like this before I had them, so what the hell?! Is there some sort of direct line from the hair follicles to the uterus that my biology teachers failed to mention? I've read recently that it has something to do with the staggering amounts of hormones released into the bloodstream while growing the little raisin snatchers--that your actual chemical makeup can be changed by pregnancy. I guess I should consider myself lucky. After all, in a few years, when they start dating and driving, I'll be pulling out said frizzled mess.