Food Adventures

As I mentioned in my first post, I am trying to do better at preparing dinners for my family. Not only am I trying to plan meals in advance, I am also trying out new recipes. Most of my new recipes have come from a magazine which I have subscribed to for almost two years now, Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I like that most of the recipes use good-quality ingredients without requiring things that are not easily found in the grocery stores around here. And the recipes are ones that we can fix and eat "every day." I'm not into trying bizarre-I mean "exotic"- recipes.

As I was unloading my groceries from a recent shopping trip this week I noticed how the food that I keep on hand in my pantry has changed. I am using less of the items I used to keep a large supply of: jarred spaghetti sauce, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, canned corn, canned green beans, and canned ready-to-eat soups. While I still use those items from time to time, I find that I am more likely to use fresher ingredients for my recipes as well as fresh vegetables for side dishes than before. I have a long way to go before I only use good-for-you ingredients, but I can see the progress I have made.


This evening Brett paid me a nice compliment on our dinner. It wasn't anything special - in fact, it was essentially leftovers. A few weeks ago, I made a new recipe (from Everyday Food) called Eggplant Bolognese. It is a tomato-based sauce served over pasta. The recipe made quite a bit, so I froze half of it for later (tonight's meal). When I originally told Brett that I would be making this recipe he wasn't thrilled - it sounded gross. However, tonight he said that it was probably his favorite spaghetti sauce ever - and it's full of vegetables. He recommended that I make a double batch and freeze it for some good, fast dinners. I know that my mom used to do that, but from the time that I was cooking for myself it was always easier to just grab a jar of Ragu. But now I am inspired. Brett's only suggestion was that I change the name to something like, "Mom's Awesome Spaghetti Sauce" - what a compliment!


Now that I have been doing better at dinners, I decided it was finally time for me to figure out how to make a pie crust from scratch (successfully). I made my second attempt last week (my first attempt was not the greatest), and even made a lemon meringue for the first time. This picture might not look that impressive, but I thought my mini-pies were quite tasty. I may even be ready to contribute a homemade pie for Thanksgiving!

Three-Ring Circus

The circus came to town last month, and Brett's parents took me and the boys to watch it. The boys, especially Todd, were excited about going to a real circus.

I was happy that we were able to do something new with the boys' grandparents. However, I have tried to find a word that sums up my feelings about the circus and the only word that seems to express what I feel is . . . strange. The smell under the bigtop was overwhelming for the first few minutes, until you mostly got used to it. And, it is hard for me to imagine the life that the circus employees lead.

Once the show started, I kind of got into it and enjoyed watching the different acts. The motorcyle riders who sped around inside the spherical cage were amazing, but . . . crazy. I did enjoy watching the acrobatics, the horse-riding jugglers, and the dancing poodles. And, of course, we had to let the boys have a turn riding their first pony (or miniature horse, I'm not really sure).
The elephant show was sweet, but I also couldn't help but feel a little sad for the animals.


All, in all, we had a good time. After the show we went to a restaurant nearby for a nice dinner. Though Ryan started to lose interest a few times throughout the afternoon, the picture below really captures the way Todd felt about our outing. He really enjoyed the circus, and was the perfect age to go.

Learning Through My Children

I have really appreciated the programs of our Church lately and the opportunity it gives to strenghthen my own testimony as well as my children's. I know that my boys are learning things at Church, and because Todd has been learning at Church, it has sparked more conversations and teaching moments at home.

About two weeks ago Todd participated in the Primary Program at Church on Sunday in front of the whole congregation. Prior to that Todd had asked to give the scripture and prayer for Primary (Primary is like Sunday School for the children). Unfortunately, he completely choked and asked if I would do it all for him. I was afraid that he would really panic when reading his part for the Primary Program. I made sure that we practiced his line every morning before I gave the boys their vitamin. It was a success! Todd read his line loud and clear enough for me to understand him at the back of the chapel. Of course, I'm his mom and had been practicing the line with them, so I knew what he was saying. Still, he didn't panic and many members of the congregation who know how shy Todd is came up to him later and congratulated him for doing so well and being so brave. It became a fun activity for each of us, and Ryan had the line memorized as well after a week. We have continued that and turned it into an opportunity for the boys to become familiar with and memorize popular scriptures. Last week they both memorized John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep the commandments." Before practicing for the program, I would not have expected that a little 3-year old could memorize a scripture so quickly.

I also love the songs that the boys learn through Primary and at home. I made a CD with the songs that they were using for the Primary Program along with some other popular Primary songs. We have been playing the CD in the car for months, and the boys often request me to sing the Primary songs before bed. Todd's favorite is "I'll Follow Him in Faith." He also likes "This is My Beloved Son." The songs have invited lots of questions as the boys have tried to understand the lyrics. Ryan's favorite has been "Teach Me to Walk in the Light." He has all three verses memorized, and he sings it so well that I have been considering doing a special musical number in Church with Ryan and myself singing that song. As long as he didn't get nervous and start singing silly (or not at all) it could be a beautiful.

We have also been practicing the Articles of Faith songs for the past couple of months. The children will be singing them in Church next week. The Primary president gave us a CD to play in the car with all thirteen Articles of Faith. When I was in Primary we did not have songs for the Articles of Faith, so they were new to me. Although I had all thirteen Articles of Faith memorized years ago (a few different times), I had forgotten a few of them in the middle, and could not keep track of the order. I can now say that I once again have all of them memorized, and I hope that knowing the songs will make it harder for me to forget them. I didn't expect that the boys were memorizing them as well. This week, however, the boys are practicing an Article of Faith for their scripture memorization. Ryan really tunes into music, so he has to sing the first Article of Faith to recite it (with help still). Todd has been asking me to sing the song for the thirteenth, so that is the one he picked to recite. Although this is the longest one, he has the one thing memorized without help and can recite it without singing it - "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul- We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

Lastly, I am happy that my children are learning about Jesus Christ - who He is and what He did for us. A few days ago I was sitting on the couch with Todd watching him play. I don't remember the exact question he first asked, but it was something like, "Did the airplanes fly to Jerusalem when Jesus was there?" I tried to explain that Jesus lived on the earth a long time ago and the people didn't have airplanes then. Todd asked, "Are the crosses still at Jerusalem?" I answered that I didn't think so. He asked, "Is Jesus' tomb still there?" I said, "Yes, it is." His eyes opened wide and he smiled as he replied, "But the tomb is empty!" He understands the excitement of that statement. "And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen..." (Matthew 28:5-6). What a perfect way to start the month of November and the beginning of the holiday season. This is the joy and good news we need to share with our children.

Ryan's New Game

Ryan is still at that age where almost everything he says is too cute and brings a smile to my face. Yesterday, when he woke up he came running out of his room saying, "Neigh! neigh! neigh!" followed by the explanation: "Mommy, I'm a horse."

This morning when he woke up he came running out of his rooming saying, "Aaank! Aaank! Aaank!" Todd thought that Ryan was being a pig. I agree, it did kind of sound like "oink". But Ryan said, "No. I'm the thing that goes up and down in the sand." "A digger?" "No, a boat." What??? "I'm an anchor!" Oh, of course.

Don't Cry for Me

Just because I live a small city, don't assume that I don't have access to at least some cultural activities enjoyed by those from big cities. Our local college has a fantastic fine arts program with a theater that has housed a number of notable productions. This week I was able to see a Broadway production of the musical "Evita". What a treat! I really enjoy the music and had to keep myself from humming along while watching the show.

I had seen the musical advertised when the school announced this season's events. But I was undecided about spending the money on a ticket and put it off until the show was sold out. On Wednesday, I decided to bring Todd and Ryan over to say hi to Oma and Papa after picking up Todd from school. (Todd thought she would enjoy the new song he learned at school, "The Ants Go Marching", because as he said, "Oma likes marching.") My father-in-law has been ushering at the Fine Arts Center for a few months now and had requested ushering for this show. He was starting to get ready to go and Oma asked whether I was going to the show. I said no, and told her that the show was sold out already. She said that if I could get a ticket she would be happy to watch the boys. So, at 3:55pm I called the box office and there were 3 seats that had just become available. So, I bought a ticket, went home, ate dinner, and got ready for the show which started at 7:30pm. The seat was in second row of the balcony. I have had balcony seats twice before and had not been impressed. But the lady in the box office said the second row was actually a pretty good seat, and I found that she was right.

I thoroughly enjoyed my spontaneous night-on-the-town and hope to repeat it again soon.