Midweek Hump...Or Maybe Slump

The picture above depicts a little of how I'm feeling...blown along by strong winds that can't be held back and can't be fought.  Along with numerous extra end-of-school-year things that need to be dealt with it has been so warm the last few days.  Not uncomfortably so, for the most part.  But enough to make sleeping a little troublesome.  Enough for mozzies to dive-bomb you all night long.  Enough to make you think going to bed at 9.00pm feels late, because of the sleep you lost the night before!

And with the realisation that the end of the year is upon us also comes the awareness that Christmas is coming and presents must be bought.  Quickly.  So that I don't have to shop for more than food in the week between the end of school and Christmas.  The children have placed 'wish lists' on the fridge.  I have to laugh.  They are quite lofty and unreasonable.  But they're good for a laugh.

Mr Busy:  "a mobile phone, so that if I'm alone and something's wrong I can ring you"
Miss Mischief: "lots 'a money"
Miss Sunshine: "a new iPod nano (pink)"

Of course, Miss Mischief also has a note about the promised, but un-findable pretty glasses case.  Her comment ends with  "....still waiting"

I giggled over bits of all of them, but Mr Busy's about the mobile phone made me laugh the longest.  Because what 10yo boy is ever away from adult supervision long enough to need a mobile phone?  Except maybe in Disneyland when he decides that he doesn't want to stick with the rest of the family and gets himself left behind?  Visible to us...but he didn't know that.  And neither did we for a good 5-10 minutes.

How is your Christmas preparation and shopping going?

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 22 November

As the week begins I'm thinking of the busy days ahead and the heat that has been forecast, weather wise.  Good thing Wednesday will be warm.  I won't have to come up with a creative solution to keeping warm for Our School's Yr12 Graduation dinner.

Our meals this week:
Monday:  Chicken parmigiana, salad
Tuesday:  Chinese corn soup, prawn crackers
Wednesday:  Chicken Noodle Stirfry ~ a la Miss Sunshine
Thursday:  Nachos
Friday:  Roast pork, vegies, dessert
Saturday:  Homemade pizza, dessert (again!)
Sunday:  Roast lamb, vegies OR something unexciting!

We have two young ladies coming to stay for the weekend while their parents take some time out.  Roast pork was the request.  Dessert apparently a must.  How could I possibly disappoint such cute gorgeousness?  The younger one is so excited about staying.  And excited about the potentially delicious things she will be fed. I suspect a fair amount of class time this week to be spent reminding her to work, rather than dream of yummy food!

End of the Week Catch Up

It must have been quite a week if I haven't posted since Wednesday!  The next two weeks follows pretty much what this past week has held.  I have been working on a couple of extra projects at work.  Preparing Year 6's for their graduation night and organising transition/social story books for students coming in next year has taken much of my time during the day.  At home, the regular hum drum of end-of-the-week happenings have had us running all over the place.

In the midst of it all, the fridge has decided it doesn't need the defrosting element any more.  Of course, we know it does because when that little part goes on the blink the fridge doesn't work very well.  The man came to have a look on Friday and said he'll be back on Monday (or Tuesday!!!!!) to replace the part. We've been instructed to turn the fridge off tonight, so that the ice build up in some hidden place defrosts before he arrives.  I hope he comes on Monday. More than that, I hope he fixes the thing and that it lasts another four years, at least.  That's not asking too much is it?

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I came across a new blog yesterday, thanks to Joy from The Stay at Home Missionary.  The three women who post at Courageous Homekeeping provide some really thought provoking posts from a deeply faith-filled perspective.  Kristi has bravely tackled the subject of Attachment Parenting and whether or not it is a sin to work outside the home.  In both cases I kind of held my breath.  The Attachment Parenting post began and I thought "where's the 'but'...".  It didn't come.  Kristi's perspective on the subject is almost identical to mine, only she does a far more eloquent job of stating her views than I would have at the stage, when I was at home with Preschoolers.  I was relieved!  Even moreso, I was relieved when she came to the conclusion that it is NOT a sin for mothers to work outside the home.  I was beginning to like Kristi and was scared my appreciation for her wisdom was about to prove misplaced.  But no, she wisely indicates that on this subject a mother must seek God and know her motivation.  It appears that Courageous Homekeeping is a fairly new site, and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes from them in the future.

In Honour of Debates

I received this week's Simple Savings 'Tip of the Week' in my email box on Sunday.  I must say, this one had me raising my eyebrows.  And wanting to wage a debate of proportions such as our Yr 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9's have never seen (they're all doing debating at the moment).

What has me on the defense?  This week's tip was about the financial benefits of being a SAHM, and how much working mothers waste on pre-prepared food items.  I'm not in complete opposition to the writer's opinion.  Yes, there are expenses to do with working.  Petrol, clothing, child care (for some), a slightly higher inclination towards take away (again, for some).  My objections was specifically to do with comments made about the type of foods consumed and the higher grocery budget required in those households where Mum works.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with this woman.  The friend for whom this lady cleans has obviously made choices.  But not ALL working mothers (or working women, generally) make those same choices.  Just because you may work does not mean you cannot cook a meal from basic, fresh ingredients each evening.  It does not mean you resort to boxed/prepared snacks.  Last year I worked four very full days each week, and was often out and about on my day off.  I managed to shop wisely and cook the way I normally do ~ using fresh, raw ingredients.  When I was a SAHM I would have evenings when I just didn't feel like cooking.  I don't believe that happens with any more frequency now than it did then.  I still rely, occasionally, on having a bag of frozen vegies as a back up, and a packet of rice crackers in the pantry for school lunch snacks.  Just as I did before I began working.

Every one of us makes choices based upon that which is important to us.  I strongly believe in providing healthy, nutritious meals for my family.  How busy I am may change the meal I cook on busier days, but I am still cooking as I always have.  Other families don't place the same importance on nutrition that I do and their food choices bear that out.  But it is these values and beliefs about what is important in regard to food that governs what a family eats.  Not whether or not a woman works.  We may blame work.  But I don't believe that is the entirely accurate perspective.

I'll hop of my soap-box now....

Recipe Review: Nigella's African Drumsticks

I wish I had a picture for you, but alas in the flurry of serving lunch as quickly as I possibly could a photo was not going to happen!

I used Nigella's recipe from page 46 of 'Nigella Kitchen'.  A simple marinade of wocestershire sauce, tomato sauce, mustard, ground ginger, jam and onion on chicken drumsticks made for a very delicious foundation for our Sunday lunch.  Along with jacket potatoes, fresh corn salad and a garden salad there were lots of happy people sitting at our table!

As much as I would love to post Nigella's recipe, I have a feeling I'm not allowed to.  Copyright laws and all that.  So.  Borrow the book from the library, get it from your favourite online bookstore, take a peek at a friend's copy.  However you do it, it's worth taking a wander through the pages of this hefty volume!  This recipe is a keeper at our place.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 15 November

What a whirlwind of a weekend, mostly spent in the kitchen.  Dessert to go out with us on Friday evening. Cake and bikkies for afternoon tea on Saturday.  A Sunday lunch for guests.  It almost seems lazy to have a roast chicken in the oven after all of that!  Regardless, amongst all that food was some great fun with friends and family.  And now plans are afoot, according to a 10yo friend who is coming to stay in a couple of weeks.  She sidled up to me this morning with "What are we having to eat while I'm at your house?".  I think the question is better asked by me...."What would you like to eat?"!  So far a roast pork has been requested.  I'm sure she'll come up with more as time goes by.  And so it seems my cooking slump has ended, more by force than by natural inclination I suspect.

This week at our table you might find the following:

Monday:  Roast chicken, vegies...perhaps even a dessert!
Tuesday:  Quiche, vegies or salad
Wednesday:  Meatloaf, vegies (we'll again to make this one happen!)
Thursday:  My SIL's tomato & bacon pasta
Friday:  Ricotta fritters, salad, potatoes
Saturday:  Teriyaki chicken, rice
Sunday:  Soup, sausage rolls

One thing our recently-returned nephews and niece adore is to be treated to party pies and sausage rolls.  Something not found easily in the US, but certainly a favourite party food on this side of the world.  I much prefer homemade sausage rolls.  I might have to trek my way to a Coles store to see if I can find the gluten free pastry (frozen) that I have heard tales about.

One of my greatest discoveries this weekend?  Costco in Australia has Cashew Clusters available.  When we popped in on Dh's brother yesterday he handed me the pack and encouraged me to take a decent handful of these little delights.  Oh what a treat!  I am thinking a Costco membership might be worth it, now that I know they're available.

To Be or Not To Be (slack, that is)

I'm officially calling it.  I'm in a mid-term slump when it comes to churning out meals.  There.  I said it.  Out loud.  I just can't be bothered.  Perhaps I need to conserve some energy tonight before creating a magnificent dessert to take out with us tomorrow, and before having some friends over for Sunday lunch.  I think I'm on to something.

I could never understand it when I would hear other mothers talk about the slackness of their meals (ie not to the standard they normally deem appropriate) when their husbands were out and they just had the kids to feed.  I never understood it, because the kids and I constitute the majority portion of our family.  Dh is but one (a very important one, mind you) of the number who grace our family table each night.  It never made sense to me that four out of five people weren't enough impetus to get a person cooking.  I still hold to that opinion.  If you're going to cook and only one of your tribe is missing, you might as well do what you normally do and cook a proper meal.

Tonight, however, I'm cheating as if to prove myself a complete hypocrite.  I'm not going to cook at all!  I could blame the fact that Dh will be out.  The reality is that I am using that as merely an excuse.  A more astute mother would have seen this mid-term slump coming and planned to have something in the freezer to be whipped out and reheated.

On the upside, I've just spent a few lessons being entertained and amazed by the Prep kids and what they've managed to accomplish this year.  They're all so very sweet, in their own unique little ways.

Hungry Jacks, here we come.