Us and the Kiddos: July 2021

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Family Update

As always, it seems like it has been forever since I did just a basic family update. As you can imagine, life is CRAZY these days!!

So lets just jump right in with some house projects we are working on. We had every intention of getting our backyard fully landscaped and finished this summer, but after calling literally no less than 20 landscaping companies and getting no response from any of them....we gave up that pipe dream until next year.

Instead we have turned our attentions indoors and started there instead. We have been looking at getting new floors for a while, but we had no intention of financing any of it...we're just not credit type of people. So that means patience was a virtue. Fortunately, Louis got a decent size bonus this year, so we were able to use that, with plenty leftover to get this done.

We have started with putting in new flooring in the majority of our home. We have kept the existing carpet in the bedrooms, playroom and living room. Everything else has been ripped out and is being replaced. We are doing a ceramic tile that looks like wood. Our reasons for this are simple: dogs. There isn't a hard wood in the world that can withstand a 115 lb pit-bull PUPPY. Wood isn't water proof, scratch proof or any of that stuff that we really do NEED with three big dogs and kids. I love the look of hardwood though, so fortunately this was a win-win option for us.

It should be done within the week, and we can NOT wait! Living in a tiny room together isnt great circumstances.

Our next project, after the flooring is going to be a baking nook. I'm not gong to get into this too much now, but it has been drawn up and started as we speak. It is going to be awesome and will include shelving, a butcher block, ship-lap and all sorts of other wonderful things that I am just so, so, so excited about!

We also decided to put a few things on the back patio to make it a little more enjoyable for Tatum until we are able to get their play area and backyard all done.

First thing was to try to tackle this damn heat. We installed patio curtains to enclose the space and provide some shade. Then we installed a fan and misting system to keep it even cooler. He LOVES this. We also put in quite a bit of industrial padded gym flooring. He has a swing and slide and stuff out there and he is constantly falling, so at least now that big ole noggin' is protected!! He also has a water table and picnic table and of course toys and all that good stuff, so he spends quite a bit of time out there. It's been a life saver in this sweltering, miserable heat!

We will take a break once these projects are done, but will probably get the bedrooms carpeted within the next few months.

All of this remodel work has me wanting new furniture. Well, just a dining room table, so we got that taken care of as well. We had purchased 4 new bar stools last month , so luckily that is already taken care of.

Once the floors are complete, we have a week off to get the house put back together, and then we are off on vacation for a week! Which, of course, came with its own list of things to do. I had to get all sorts of stuff to get us READY to go on vacation. I had to get both of the boys suitcases. We needed DVD players for the car and then of course the DVDs to go in it. Tatum only watches like 2 things, so just Disney movies wasn't an option. None of us had proper 'beach' wear, so we had to get that, plus beach toys and towels. We don't have a pool or anything, nor a beach close, so we just don't have any of this stuff.

I think we have it all taken care of now though, so it is a nice light at the end of the tunnel for us! We will be heading to the Oregon Coast for a reprieve from heat, a break from the hustle-bustle of living around so many people, and a nice time to just chill and regroup.

We will head out and make it to Portland. We will spend a day there exploring the city. We will spend the night and half of the next day before we head the rest of the way into Lincoln City, which will be home for the next 5 days. We will come home through Bend, which we will stop and spend the day/night and make it home the following day. We are really looking forward to this!!

Two days after we get home my dad and his wife are coming for a visit. Yes, my DAD...as in birth father. I haven't physically laid eyes on him since I was 15 years old, and that was the first time since I was 6 years old. We just recently reconnected thanks to his newest wife, Sarah, and facebook. So, while this is nerve wracking, it should be awesome. This is also something that I'm pretty excited for.

That is all that's basically going on 'household' wise.

Here is what is going on with each of us.

Louis: Working hard. Not a ton to report here.

Meagan: Same thing. Just being a feral housewife and trying to keep everything running smoothly.

Rachel: Is currently on vacation to the Oregon Coast and California. She has finished her sophomore year online, and will be returning to in person school for her junior year this fall. She will be taking driver's ed this August, and as you can imagine, she is so excited for this. She continues to play violin and piano. She has also recently picked up the electric guitar. Her art skills continue to improve and she is just an outstanding artist. She recently drew out my newest tattoo. A family tree, that will go on my back, between my shoulder blades. Tattoo #12 for me!!

Bella: Still skates on the regular, and is really, really good. She is doing 'tricks' that are insane, and was even able to skate with the some of the pros that come to Rhodes. She tells me I'm crazy, but I think they're trying to scout her. Pro girl skaters are rare, and they are always on the search for them. Several pro teams come through Rhodes, and twice, she has been approached, watched, and asked for her name. Anyways, she just does it for enjoyment and could care less if anything comes out of it.

She has a couple camps she is going to this summer. She's not super excited about that, but it keeps her busy for a little bit.

She got her drivers permit a couple weeks ago! Mercy me....I'm not ready for this!!!!

She also decided she wanted a job, and was hired at Little Caesars with a bunch of her friends. How grown up is this kid?!?!?!

Zoe: Just got back from a 3 week vacation in Mexico City with her dad. She had a great time. She, of course, is still riding horses...totally her life right now!

She is also going to a few camps this summer, but unlike Bella, is actually looking forward to them.

She has decided she doesn't want to go back to Foothills this fall. She has chosen a different, homeschooling program, which will allow her to go to the horse stable daily at noon. She will then spend the afternoon with her horse- cleaning, training, and riding.

Tatum: Is the funnest little 2 year old you've ever seen. He is just so sweet.

We have an appointment with the Autism and Pediatric Neuroscience Specialist next week. Just for an evaluation, so we can A) Diagnose autism if present B) Get a routine, therapies and schedule worked out sooner than later, if necessary, and C) Get a future plan worked out to get him on the best path possible.

He has started to babble, but he isn't making any logical words. The babbling is probably on a 9 month level..lots of ga-ga's, and noises, etc, but no mama, dada or anything else.

He has started to grasp the concept of pointing, but it is only prompted and with quite a bit of help. Waving and other physical gestures aren't present.

On the flip side- he is the MOST social kid you will ever meet. He loves everyone, laughs all the time, makes eye contact and loves to interact with kids his age as well as older kids and adults. So who knows. All I know, is that he is perfect and the best little dude you will ever meet!!

Jack: Our sweet little nugget. He is so sweet and he LOVES his mama. Every time mama comes into focus he is nothing but smiles!!

He, unfortunately, is allergic to milk proteins. That means that I had to stop nursing and had to start giving him this disgusting formula called Nutramigen. He hates it and it stinks like dog food. Poor little guy. He is 16 weeks old as of yesterday and is already almost 14 pounds. He is gaining, but he hasn't gotten chunky yet. Soon hopefully. He doesn't sleep well, only resting maybe 2-3 hours at a time at most. I'm hoping once we are able to get him on some solid foods and have to give him less of that gross formula, that he will be more content and fuller. Otherwise, he is happy and healthy.

Sunday, July 11, 2021

Here we go!

Demo work started and completed last week. Flooring installed in over 1200 Sq feet of our house all at once beginning tomorrow!

Monday, July 5, 2021

Guatemala

The next choice landed us in Central America. Guatemala was up! Another one we had never done before, so that was awesome. Another cool note, is that Bella went to Guatemala over Spring Break, so it was cool to be able to talk to her about some of these dishes and ask her opinion on how they tasted vs what she remembers from actually being there. Super neat.

GUATEMALA

Facts About Guatemala:

via the factfile.org

The instant coffee process was invented in Guatemala by George Washington,an inventor, and businessman of Anglo-Belgian origin
The first ever chocolate bar was also invented in Guatemala during the Mayan times.
Chocolate residue dating back to 460-480 AD was found in a vessel in Guatemala.
Guatemala is known for its steep volcanoes, vast rainforests, and ancient Mayan sites.
Guatemala has one of the highest violent crime rates in Latin America. The country saw 6,000 violent deaths in 2014. And an average of 101 murders per week were reported in 2016
There are more than 30 volcanoes in Guatemala, out of which three are active.
The export of coffee is the country’s biggest business. Almost 50% of Guatemalans are employed in agricultural activities.
Fourteen percent (14%) of Guatemalans live on less than $1.25 US a day.
Guatemala cuisine is primarily based on Mayan and Spanish cuisineand prominently includes beans, corn, and chilies as key ingredients in their food recipes. Pachas (a kind of tamale made from potatoes) is a common dish in Guatemala eaten usually on Thursdays.
locals in Guatemala prefer to drink coffee weak and sweet with little milk. Apart from drinking fruit juices, Guatemalans also love drinking fruit shakes, commonly referred as “licuados”. The national beer of Guatemala is Gallo.
the Mayan people are known to wear bright colored shirts, blouses, dresses, and capes. Each village has its own individualist pattern, making it easy to identify the village of the person by the design of his or her clothes. While traditional clothing is worn often by the poorer Guatemalans, Ladinos prefer wearing western- style outfits.
families in Guatemala share a close bond with each other and remain that way their entire lives. The typical rural family of Guatemala is hard – working. While men work in the fields, women raise their children and weave beautiful textiles with motifs that are unique to each community.
if you put your thumb in between your index and middle finger while making a fist, it is considered an obscene gesture. Similarly, speaking loudly in public is looked down upon.
marriages in Guatemalan society is celebrated in a civil ceremony, followed by a religious rite. Among the poor classes of both the Ladino and Mayan, unions are free and ties are brittle. As a result, many children are unaware nor are recognized by their father. Although Monogamy is a rule, many men have a wife as well as a mistresas soon as a baby is born, hot tortilla drink is given to the mother. It is believed that drinking hot tortilla helps provide abundant, good and rich breast milk. A red bracelet is put on the baby’s right hand to protect her from bad spirited people.
If invited to a household in Guatemala, it is appropriate to bring chocolates, wine or flowers (avoid taking white flowers as they are generally brought to funerals)
events such as the ‘Semana Santa’ Easter celebrations, All – Saints – Day, the election of Maya princess ‘Rabin Ajau’ in Copán and the ‘Palo Volador’ are some of the events that represent Guatemala culture. In addition, every village celebrates the day of their Patron Saint, where cultural activities such as a presentation of crafts, processions and folkloric dances take place.
when invited to a Guatemala household for dinner, carry a small gift item (avoid food items) for the family. Before starting a meal, it is a custom in Guatemala to say to everyone “Buen provecho” (enjoy your meal). Similarly, before getting from the table after having the meal, you must say “Con permiso, ya vengo”(with your permission, I’ll be right back
when a person passes away in Guatemala, they are buried in a wooden coffin hours after their death. To prevent the soul of the dead from returning to haunt the village, Guatemalans place the treasured items of the deceased along with them.
It is a Guatemalan tradition to fire guns into the sky during the Christmas celebration. Sadly, every year between five and ten people die from falling bullets after the act.
Guatemalans celebrate “Dia de los Muertos,” or the Day of the Dead,every November 1st. On this day, Guatemalans visit the local cemetery and fly kites in memory of their loved ones. People also paint the gravestones of their relatives with bright colors.
Guatemalans consume a lot of corn, beans, and rice, which are served alongside meat and fish.
For breakfast, Guatemalans use eggs, spicy salsas and warm tortillas that are usually served with local cheeses.
Fruits also form a significant portion of the diets of Guatemalans. They eat fruits like papayas, mangoes, bananas, pineapples, and carambola.
Guatemalans eat a meat-heavy diet. Pork and beef is very popular. In some rural regions, chicken is served with the feet still attached.

One of my favorite mexican dishes is enchiladas suizas- a chicken enchilada dish made with a green tomatillo salsa. Jocon de pollo is basically a thick chicken stew type dish, made with very similar ingredients.

the recipe called for pepitas, or pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds. i dont like either, so I was leary

you roasted the seeds first in a cast iron pan

once they got a golden color, you let them cool and then ground them into a fine powder

the 'stew' is done. smells fantastic!

picture via glutensugardairyfree.com

what it takes to make the beans!

The beans were quite flavorful. Cooked in a pressure cooker, they are fast, and could be eaten with a variety of meals. Awesome. The original recipe mashes them, but also states you can leave them whole, which seems to be the most common, so that's what I did.

photo via allrecipes.com

The Guatemalan Rice was eaten in huge spoonfuls, so I wasn't able to get any pictures. Originally, I was going to use the recipe out of the 'Recipes of the World' book, but then I found the one linked above online and decided to use that one.

The recipe from the book is as follows:

2 cups long grain rice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup mixed vegetables: carrots, celery, red bell pepper, green peas), finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups chicken stock

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan, and add the rice.
Saute lightly until the rice has absorbed the oil, being careful not to let it change color.
Add the mixed vegetables, salt, pepper and chicken stock.
Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low.
Cook for about 20 minutes until rice in render and the liquid is absorbed.

the hibiscus punch, or tea, depending on the recipe was really good. cold and refreshing

the ingredients for the dough of the empanadas

the recipe calls for achiote, or annato

The achiote gives nothing but color basically to the dough.

custard filling time!

photo via keyingredient.com

dinner is served

Thursday, July 1, 2021

India

It has been FOREVER since we did a country night. In typical, Type-A fashion, I had to start over after such a long hiatus. Truth is, it gave me an excuse to re-organize everything, and start fresh with new ideas and such.

Our first stop on the globe was India. We had never done India before, so that was great. I don't like Indian food, so that is not so great. Confession- I had actually never had Indian food before. I don't like the smell of it, so it has never been appetizing first of all. Second of all, I'm not fond of what I know as baking spices- cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc, in meat, or savory dishes. And it is used A LOT in Indian cooking.

BUT, that is the whole point of this little adventure- to try new things. So I went ahead with it, and found things, that I hope are truly authentic Indian dishes, that I could enjoy.

INDIA:

Facts About India:

via kickassfacts.com

Rajendra Singh, known as “waterman of India” revived 5 rivers and brought water back to 1000 villages in the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan in India using native water-preservation techniques.
In ancient India, Diabetes was called “madhumeha” or “honey urine” as the urine would attract ants. Indian physicians Sushruta and Charaka identified Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes as separate conditions for the first time in 400-500 B.C. –
In 2004, 200 women in India, armed with vegetable knives, stormed into a courtroom and hacked to death a serial rapist whose trial was underway. Then every woman claimed responsibility for the murder. Akku Yadav, who was murdered, headed a gang that shook down people for money, raped the women, and threw acid in their faces if they didn’t pay him. He had been brought to trial a few times for minor charges, and whenever this occurred the judge dismissed the case. This was the same judge he was going to see the day he was murdered.-
India contributes 70% of global spice production.
The Beatles trip to India ended badly because the Maharishi wanted the band to deposit up to 25% of their next album’s profits in his Swiss bank account as a tithe, to which Lennon replied, “Over my dead body.”
The Satiyaa community is a gypsy tribe in the Indian state of Rajasthan that celebrates death as one of the happiest events in their lives, while treating births as occasions of great grief.
The Golden Temple in Amritsar, India is the holiest site in Sikhism. It runs a free kitchen operated by volunteers that serves up to 100,000 hot meals a day regardless of race, religion and class
There Khasi tribe in the Eastern Indian state of Meghalaya have learned to train the roots of fig trees to create natural suspension bridges that can span over 100 feet and lasts 500-600 years.
Gin and Tonic were originally created by the British East India Company in India as a way to get their soldiers to have quinine to prevent and treat malaria. Quinine (in tonic) was too bitter. In order to get them to drink the tonic, sugar, lime, water and Gin was added to make the drink more palatable.
In the 1980s, India released 25,000 flesh-eating turtles into the Ganges River in an attempt to clean up corpse-pollution. The turtles were raised on dead fish so that they wouldn’t develop a taste for the living, as they ate mostly everything.
India Pale Ale(IPA) was invented not because they thought it tasted better or was of better quality than other Ales, it was just the only way they could make a beer that could survive the boat trip to India.
India is credited with being one of the first civilizations to inoculate their children in times of pestilence to boost immunity and stop the spread of disease (1,000 years ago). They made a small incision into the child’s arm, then rubbed it with Smallpox scabs and a thin cloth.
In 1954, the city of Bombay, India had such a bad rat problem that they began accepting dead rats in place of taxes. This led to the mass breeding and killing of rats to use them for tax payment.
When Jai Singh, Maharaja of a princely state of India, visited the Rolls-Royce showroom in London, he was affronted when the salesman implied that he couldn’t afford to purchase the car. He purchased ten, shipped them to India, and ordered to use them for collecting and transporting garbage.
When the English colonial government in Delhi, India put a bounty on cobras to eliminate them from the city, it resulted in a cobra population boom. The bounty was greater than the cost of breeding a cobra, and the citizens were breeding them to sell to the government.
In Mumb ai, you can have your fresh home-cooked lunch picked up and delivered to your office by Dabbawalas with less than one error per six million deliveries
The Roopkund lake in India located at 16,000 feet above sea level is filled with ancient skeletons, all killed by blows to the head
In 2009, when 18-year old Kashmiri girl named Rukhsana Kauser saw her parents being beaten as part of a forced marriage proposal by a militia commander, she killed one militant with an axe, gunned the commander down, then started a 4-hour long gun battle with the militia
If the whole population of New Zealand got into the Mumbai local trains, it is still just about half of the average daily ridership. Average daily ridership of Mumbai local is 7.585 million. Population of New Zealand is 4.47 million.
Tata Steel in India was the first company in the world to introduce an 8 hour work shift in 1912. Henry ford adopted it in 1914.
. The biggest human evacuation was done by the Indian government in 1990 when 170,000 Indians were airlifted out of Kuwait in 488 flights over 59 days during the Gulf War
India was so good at Hockey in the 1920s that British withdrew from Olympics Hockey to avoid possible embarrassment of defeat by its own Colony, India and came back in 1948, only after India’s Independence in 1947.
The street dogs in India are a distinct and ancient breed of dogs known as Indian Pariah Dogs. It is thought to be one of the few-remaining examples of mankind’s original domestic-dog.
. All packaged products sold in India have a “maximum retail price” printed on the package by the manufacturer and it is illegal for a store to charge more than that. India is one of the few countries with this system.
The Great Gama of India is the only undefeated wrestler in the world. His career spanned 50 years and Bruce Lee was a fan
Asola-Fatehpur Beri is a village in India that exclusively produces bouncers and bodyguards for New Delhi nightclubs
Freddie Mercury is of Indian descent. His parents were from Gujarat (India) and he grew up in Zanzibar and India till his mid-teens.
Natwarlal was a conman in India, who repeatedly sold the Taj Mahal, the Indian parliament and various other heritage sites. He was sentenced to 113 years, but managed to escape prison 9 times, last when he was 84 years old and wheelchair bound.
The word “thug” comes from a group of professional assassins called “thuggees”; a fanatical religious group in India that killed in the name of the Hindu Goddess Kali. Thuggees would find a group of travelers and gain their trust before strangling them at night with a handkerchief.

MENU:

Keema Aloo
Tamatar Salad
Basmati Rice
Madras Lentils
Naan
Baath
Masala Chai Tea
*homemade Garam Masala

First up, we have the chai. It was simple and delicious, smelled fantastic while being prepared, and blew anything that I have ever had at a coffee shop or bought pre-prepared before outta the watah.... :)

Ingredients are simple- cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamom, sugar, black tea and milk.

simple, black tea bags from the grocery store are what I used. Tetley brand.

whole green cardamom- I had to go to a Middle Eastern grocer to find, cinnamon stick, and whole cloves

coarsely grind the spices. I used a mortar and pestle

spices are added to the tea and then milk and sugar are added to taste. Click the link above for the whole recipe from the source.

Next up, we have the tamatar salad. I found this recipe in a book called, "Foods and Recipes of the World." There are four volumes, broken down alphabetically. These are old school books. I first ran into them at the Boise Public Library. They were trashing them and wouldn't let me check the out. I went to THRIFT BOOKS and found them pretty cheap. The recipes is as follows: