Rules of Eating

September 1, 2010

chocolate chip torteWe’re gearing up for a big weekend with my entire family.

A weekend that will be full of fun and laughter – and food. You can’t forget the food.

Not that we will try!

No – we will mark the passing of time by which meal is put in front of us! We see it as a sport that we call “recreational eating”.

We have a “dessert bar” that is open day and night. There’s nothing like a little chocolate brownie for breakfast. :)

We’ve gotten so good at this that we have even discovered certain “rules of eating” to avoid gaining weight.

Would you like me to share? :)

1. If you eat it off a child’s plate, there are no calories – the child got them all.

2. If you cut your food in half before eating it – all of the calories fall out.

3. Any food eaten standing up has no calories since the effort it takes to stand up counteracts the calories in the food.

4. Any food eaten outside has no calories – they are absorbed by the fresh air.

And finally – they one we rely on most heavily -

5. All food eaten during a meal that is filled with lots of laughter will have no calories because the sound of laughter will wipe all the calories away!

truffle lovers cupcakesNow with rules like these – I just need to decide what decadent chocolate treat to bring to share!

Cupcakes? Cookies? Brownies? Bars?

New recipe or an old favorite?

Hmm…I wonder what my sisters and nieces are bringing?

It’s going to be a great weekend! :)

By Country Gal | Posted in Cooking and Food, Family Traditions, Memories | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Our First Day of School & Other Surprises

August 20, 2010

We started school this week.

Okay – pick yourselves up now.

For those of you who know me well – you know that I don’t like to start school until at least after Labor Day.  I want a really long – very s t r e t c h e d out summer.

Stuff

Yet – here we are starting school in the middle of August – before even the public schools have started.

What’s up with that?

Well…usually I’m up to my eyebrows in veggies to can and freeze right now, but this year the garden is really behind.

And…for years we didn’t have air conditioning and it was just too hot to even think – let alone do math.

But…mostly we started early because we have something really exciting planned.

I mean really exciting!

Are you ready for this?

In September, we’re going on a massive 10 day trip out west – with all five kids – and we’ll be camping.

That’s right – all seven of us for 10 days – camping.

But not in this RV – no, that would be too easy. It has a kitchen and an indoor bathroom.

No, that’s not us. We’ll be the ones driving a 15 year old suburban pulling a 35 year old pop-up camper.

Think Brady Bunch.

We’ll see the Tetons, Yellowstone and the Black Hills while enjoying the comfort and lack of indoor plumbing of a 35 year old Starcraft pop-up. It sleeps eight, is very clean and most importantly – it’s free.

Vintage Coleman Pop-Up

Did you notice that I called this a “trip” not a vacation? A vacation happens when you stay in hotels and eat in restaurants and don’t have children with you.

No – this is most definitely a trip – an epic adventure that will go down in the annuls of family history.

It will be a major memory making event and the excitement is building!

But for now, we have an entire week of school under our belts. Then in a few weeks – when everyone else is doing math problems and diagramming sentences – we’ll be hiking in the Tetons and watching Old Faithful.

Just one more reason to love home schooling!

RV picture courtesy of Michael Gil.

By Country Gal | Posted in Family Traditions, Home School, Memories | Tagged , , , | Comments (10)

A Golden Birthday Surprise!

July 16, 2010

We have a birthday double-header every July with Pedro’s birthday on the 15th and Dagmar’s on the 16th.

This year is extra special with Dagmar turning sweet 16 on the 16th – making it her golden birthday.

We couldn’t let this special day go by without something special – so we cooked up a little surprise – 3 of her favorite cousins!

Balloon Faces

It was logistical feat of genius to get these gals here – one lives 4 hours away, one 3 hours and one 2 hours – and none of them drive.  But the look on my daughter’s face said that all the phone calls and secret conversations were worth it!

Oh the craziness that is happening in my house right now!

Vuvuzela

One niece brought her vuvuzela (or stadium horn – just like those they played at the World Cup Soccer Games). It’s been heard now in every corner of my house and all over the property. I wonder what the Amish neighbor’s think?!

I dropped the girls off at the local thrift store this morning while I got groceries (yes – we’ve gone through a lot of food!).

They had a blast at the “Fill a bag for 50 cents” sale! I picked them up one hour and $2 later.

They’ve filmed a movie, ate bunches of food, played frisbee, had a water fight, cartwheeled across the yard, picked blackberries, and celebrated 2 birthdays.

I think they even slept – at least a little!

Happy birthday Sweet Sixteen! May all your birthdays be this golden!

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Family Traditions, Holidays, Memories | Tagged , , | Comment (1)

Family Camping

July 12, 2010

We had another amazing all-family camp-out weekend! With the crazy fun people I’m related to – what else could you expect! :)

Every year we rent the group camp area at a State Park – complete with a kitchen/dining hall, small cabins, and our own bathhouse.

We heard about a little worried this year when we heard several reports about flooding at the park. They were true. The only road through the park was still covered with flood water. The week before they had to evacuate the campground in the middle of the night as the river started to rise. But the our group camp area was on high ground and still open – so we had the entire park to ourselves!

The first day we took a hike to see the high water – it had receded quite a bit, and left behind amazing sights – like a picnic table 6 foot up in a tree – and a deep gumbo -like mud.

It also left behind mosquitoes! Lots of mosquitoes. Big mosquitoes. Bug spray was our friend. I lost count of many bottles we used up. By the time we came home some of my kids looked like they had chicken pox!

But we still had fun hiking the trails that were open and spending time playing in the creek. What is it about water and rocks that makes guys want to build a dam? And mud that makes kids want to cover themselves with it? :)

We even squeezed a hot dog roast and sparklers in the first day – which was a good thing – since the second day was a total wash! It rained all day.

But that didn’t stop us! We had a special church service, played lots of games and even had an “Improv Night”!  Each family brought a bag of random props, we exchanged them and had about 10 minutes to come up with a skit using them. It was hilarious!

But then the whole weekend was filled with laughter and fun. That’s what happens when you spend time with people you love.

Memories happen.

A special thanks to my niece Faith for the pictures!

By Country Gal | Posted in Family Traditions, Memories | Comments (2)

This Little Piggy…

May 12, 2010

“This little piggy went to market,

This little piggy stayed home,

This little piggy had roast beef,

This little piggy had none.

And this little piggy made the family laugh

‘he he he’ all the way home!”

Meet our family practical joke!

Okay – maybe I better explain.

You see, I have a rather eccentric aunt who has a habit of watching the shopping networks late at night. She tends to buy things – interesting things.

One of her most memorable purchases was an 18 inch plastic Bubble Bunny that moved in circles while playing “It’s a Small World” and blowing bubbles.  It terrified small children.

So a few years ago when she moved from her apartment and gave my mom several boxes of stuff, we really had no idea what to expect. My Mom went through all the boxes and then shared some things with my sisters and I. There were some nice things in those boxes that we split between us  – and then there were the pigs.

We were speechless as we gazed in amazement at the ceramic momma sow with several nursing piglets. Then we burst into laughter.

Hmm…which one of us wants to put a lactating pig on our mantel piece?! I’m country – but not that country!

The more we looked at it – the more we laughed!

I’m not sure at that point how the legend got started – but the piggies disappeared soon after  that only to reappear, all wrapped up and under the Christmas tree.

We had a good laugh at my sister’s shocked face when she opened them.

A practical joke was born.

That sister hid them away for awhile until everyone forgot about them, then rewrapped them and gave them to another sister at a birthday party.

That sister in turn, re-wrapped them and gave them to a brother-in-law, who re-wrapped them and gave them to another family member… and on and on the joke continued.

These little piggies have made an appearance at birthdays, Christmas gatherings, graduation parties, and, for the first time last weekend, at a Bridal Shower.

Since I was the last recipient of the piglets, it was my honor to choose the next home for the little piggies. I thought it was the perfect to way to welcome a new family member – to include them in a family tradition. So I wrapped them up and gave them to my niece at her bridal shower.

I know – I’m such a good aunt! :) (And yes – I did give her a real gift as well!)

I think my niece was honored. I’m not so sure about her fiance!

I doubt that momma pig will ever grace the mantel at their new home – but from the glint in my niece’s eye – I’m sure our family joke will live on.

Hmm…I wonder who’s next?

By Country Gal | Posted in Family Traditions, Memories | Tagged , , | Comments (9)