We’ve got summer started off right. Archer is gone on vacation with someone else’s family. Shelly and Eli are constantly running around without shoes and the bottoms of their feet have turned black. Grandma and Grandpa have treated the kids to programs at the library, fishin’ in the creek and kayak practice in the pool. What a great beginning!
David introduced this recipe to me long ago, way back before kids, etc. etc. The story is that his mom would make it the day after Thanksgiving, using turkey and all the leftover ingredients that they had from the day before. It's one that we both love, it's easy and kind of quick, and you don't actually need to measure anything. Whenever we've brought this to a family event, people seem to love it. Or, they're just being nice?
Here goes.
Grandma Sue's Famous Chicken Salad Ingredients
About 1 lb chicken breast
Celery, Onion
Grapes halved (or Apples, diced)
Cashews (or Carrots)
Mayo, Mustard, Salt and Pepper
Instructions
1. Cook the chicken breast with whatever seasonings you like (Italian, basil, whatever smells good)
2. Set aside one of the chicken breasts for the kids that don't like chicken salad
3. Cut up all the remaining ingredients, mix it all together, add some mayo mustard salt pepper to taste
Why we love it
No measuring required! A nice fresh meal in the heat of the summer. And with the option to leave some of the chicken to the side for some of the kids, it's a meal we can all enjoy. (3 stars because 2 of the kids prefer the chicken to the chicken salad)
As promised, here are some recipes we've been experimenting with in the last week or two.
#1 Eggnog Smoothie
Original recipe is here, but none of us liked it. We tried a new food (dates) and we did not appreciate their overpowering flavor.
Tonight I made up a new version, we'll call it
Banana Spice
1 cup vanilla almond milk
2 frozen bananas (cut them up before you freeze them)
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla
Toss it all in the blender, let the kids take turns pushing buttons, and that's it!
I bet it would taste REALLY good with chocolate almond milk. Just sayin'.
This one was fine but I don't know if we'll make it again. Peeling the orange was annoying, and you could barely taste it over the other berry/fruit flavors. The nice thing is that in this recipe, the banana flavor didn't come through as much. Other recipes (like the Eggnog and the Banana Spice) have a really strong banana flavor which the kids didn't like as much.
We learned our lesson with the dates and left those out when we made this one. We skipped the flaxseed and used plain yogurt, not vanilla. Dicing the apple into tiny pieces was a hassle and the kids didn't like that I left the peel on. So. If we made it again, we'd peel the apple. This one was really tart, the sweet banana didn't quite overcome the raspberry's flavor. Also, we used a green apple. Sour.
And finally...
#4 Wing It Smoothie
Once you've tried a bunch of recipes, you realize all you actually need to do is toss in some frozen ___ and add some milk, maybe yogurt if you want it thicker, and blend. Too tart? Add a banana or a little honey. Too thick? More milk. And so on.
I have been lucky enough to visit the Milwaukee Zoo with each of my kids as they finished up kindergarden. This year it was Eli’s turn, and I was so happy to have the opportunity to join him and some friends as we visited their favorite animals and enjoyed a train ride around the grounds. As always, chapperoning this type of trip is all about counting heads every thirty seconds and trying not to panic every single time the count comes up short, because it definitely happens at least twelve times in the four hours that we’re there. Someone’s always running too far ahead, or lagging behind, or standing just behind you and they don’t get counted. And yet, still, I’ve never lost a kid and we’ve all come away happy that we had a day out of the classroom/office and enjoyed the sunshine.
Elijah Graham, you’ve passed another milestone and you’re just that much closer to being a First Grader, bring it on!
Five school days left, and the kids are getting a head start on summer.
The HC Resort pool has officially opened and the kids haven't wasted any time testing the water. Eli was the first to jump in, but his siblings and cousins weren't far behind.
Cub Scout Rain Gutter Regatta aka Little Boat Race with Handheld Fans...
Eli was a trooper and raced strong, David cheered him along while Shelly and I visited with friends. Good job E!
Archer wasn't at the race because he was home finishing up some big school projects. One of these was his presentation on Norway. He had enlisted help from Grandpa and Eli and they made a zillion pieces of lefse over the weekend. Tuesday night we rolled up the lefse with butter and sugar and Wednesday he was off to school with two pans full. I'm happy to report that the Norway presentation was a huge success, and the entire class enjoyed the treats. And as far as I can tell, Grandpa is successfully passing on his lefse knowledge to the next generations. He makes everyone else do more and more of the work whenever we're around to participate. Pretty soon he'll just get to sit back and relax while the rest of us whip up a fresh batch!
Speaking of Archer... This weekend he and David are camping at the Milwaukee Zoo. This morning Archer participated in the 5K run, and although I wasn't there to cheer him on, I heard he did wonderfully. I think this is his first ever 5K? His troop has set up an activity station for kids to visit and learn about their group. David has reported that it's a VERY popular station and they've had a lot of visitors, despite the rain and the heat. Their troop won third place (out of 31 groups) for their presentation. Way to go Scouts :)
Since the gentlemen are out camping, the rest of us went looking for our own fun last night at First Fridays downtown. Live music, food vendors, all the shops open late, we went to check out the free admission at the museum. We visited lots of little shops and a gallery on our way to the museum. And guess what we found at the artists' gallery? Beautiful art, incredible pieces of jewelry and an impressive display of woodcrafts. And there, nestled in among platters and bowls and cups, I spied... you'll never guess.... A LEFSE roller! I knew what it was immediately, that long roller with the grooves, and it was incredible, an artifact that many people wouldn't recognize. But thanks to Grandpa's determination to carry the family tradition forward to the next generation or two, there we stood, admiring that lefse roller on the shelf with all the other beautiful platters and bowls. AND. And the artist who crafted those fine pieces was sitting right there, on a stool, watching us admire his work! He introduced himself and we chatted for a long time. He's Norwegian, he made that roller that we were looking at, he was surprised that we recognized it. It was a great chance to meet the talented man that created those things. I hope someday to go back and pick up one or two of his pieces. Shelly later told me that she thought he and Grandpa would like to meet each other, perhaps we can make that happen sometime!
When we left the gallery it was getting dark and we were finally ready to visit the museum. Sadly, we arrived just a few minutes too late and the doors were already locked so we headed for the van. Lots of fun just hanging out together, it was a wonderful time with the kids. And to close out the night, the snuggled into my bed so I wouldn't be lonely last night.
Today Shelly decided she wanted to try out a couple of smoothie recipes so we gave it a shot. One was OK, the other a huge hit. We'll post recipes later. The best part about it was trying new foods. Almond milk and dates, anyone?? It's great to see the kids trying new things, learning new things, and working together to create something we all enjoy. Great job kids!
Last week I had the pleasure of taxiing Eli to his monthly Cub Scout event. I heard that it was a picnic and kickball event. So, we dressed warm, cause the temperature was taking a dive and it was chilly and windy. We brought cookies to share. Little did I know what I was in for.
This was not a scouts vs. siblings event, or older vs. younger event, it was Kids vs. Grownups. Participation Mandatory. And that was the moment when I had to decide - will I be one of the 3 parents standing along the wall playing on their phones, or will I join the crowd in the outfield? I wasn't wearing my kickball shoes, but still, I felt I had no choice. Off I marched into the outfield. The kids lined up to take turns at bat/kick. We spread out and waited. What ensured was some hilarious adventuring. Most of the kids were 2nd grade and younger. Many of them didn't understand the basic idea of the game. And so the grownups shouted out instructions/coaching while also pretending to try to get the kids out. Mostly the grownups fumbled the ball, tossed it to a teammate but tossed it too far, ran after the ball laughing. We looked like bumbling clowns. The kids looked like they were having a great time at our expense.
Then, the grownups turn to bat. We kicked the ball, but not too far. Sometimes too far, and the entire mob of kids went chasing after it, like bees swarming to a single flower. When my turn came, I managed to get to first base safely, but at the next chance to run I had to swerve around a crowd of kids that came up only to my waist, trying to run without mowing down any innocent bystanders. "Where's second base??" I shouted - there was a mob of children all standing directly ON the base. Again with my run to third base, don't plow over the children, push the mob off the base so I could stand there safely, attempt to make it to home plate with children hanging on my arms and legs, and AREN'T THERE ANY RULES in this game? Where are the umpires? It's anarchy!
As the innings wore on, the grownups started complaining a little more frequently, a gradually louder. We're hungry, when can we eat? It's too cold out here, can we go inside soon? Three innings of kickball. Only three minor injuries (one kid it in the face with the ball, one kid run over by his dad, another dad fell on top of his daughter as she tried to stop his run). None of the kids cried for more than a couple minutes, so I'd say that was a success.
The whole thing was followed by hot dogs and s'mores. Another Scout Adventure under our belt.
Only 10 school days left and the kids keep reminding me how close they are to vacation. (Eli just read that sentence to me after I wrote it. He's become a READER!)
The projects have started coming home, clearing out their artwork stashes at school and filling up their folders. Here's a little view of the latest from JLS. Sorry Shelly, I only have 1 of yours, the rest belongs to E.
Archer's in track, along with cousin Annika. We cheered Annika on at her final meet of the season last week, the kids had fun rolling around on the grass together and screaming for her as she flew by us in her various events. There's some talk of State? Not sure where that's going for her, but Good Luck!
Archer's last meet of the season was tonight. Every time he has a meet, I tell him to run like the wind. He rolls his eyes at me. Once, at one of his meets, one of his friends hung out by me for a few minutes and we got to chat a bit. It was nice. Archer accused me of being the loudest mom at the meet, I was proud to wear the title. I have no idea who most of the kids are, I just scream the school name and watch the kids streak past, pushing their legs and lungs harder than they think they can go. I've only seen one kid collapse at the finish line so far. Clearly they had more to give. :)
May 6 was a day that will go down in history... It was the day that my firstborn, Archer of many names (I won't list them all here, to preserve his integrity and avoid embarrassing him to death) came into this world and I proclaimed to everyone who would listen, "Isn't he the most perfect thing you've ever seen?"
May 6 will ALSO go down in history because it was the day that great Piano Concertist (is that a word?) Shelly debuted on stage (actually the front of the church)... Shelly performed beautifully in her first Piano Recital.
These kids never cease to amaze and impress me.
Archer. Yes, I gave up pretending that you haven't outgrown me. You're taller than me, you weigh more than I did when I graduated high school, you're wearing Grandpa's running shoes. I say you have Ski Feet. Eli calls you Big Foot. Sometimes you look like you have jelly legs, how are you so floppy and scrawny and tall? Hey Mr. Tall Guy, you're growing up into someone I'm proud to call my son. Normally I don't like to brag about this stuff publicly, except for this blog is pretty private now so mostly I'm just bragging to myself. You were on the High Honor roll last quarter! Not just the regular one, the HIGH one! With your name in the paper! Also you were the champion of the school Geography Bee! Also you're a track star!! Ok, I know you say you're only doing track because I'm making you, and I know you pretend to not like it, but you look like you're having a great time with the other kids on your team. And I see you out there, running HARD and taking pride in your finishes and I'm so proud of you. Keep it up, keep up all the hard work, keep up the antics, keep being you. I'm proud of you, Kid!
Shelly Anna, my love. You decided to try something new this year and WOW have you ever flourished! Every week we go to piano lessons and you speak with Ms. Heather in some other language that I don't understand. From the very first week you seemed to know exactly what she was saying to you, and I sat there having no clue what the two of you were talking about. Every week it gets a little more foreign to me, and you settle further into the music and the notes flow from your fingers. I love when you practice and our house is filled with your music. Beautiful.
We invited family and friends over to celebrate Archer's birthday after Shelly's recital and we had a crowd in the house from early afternoon to late into the night. If 9:00 is considered late. I guess it is for me, I'm getting too old to stay out too late. ;) Anyway it was a wonderful day. Moments of kids chasing each other with weapons, lots of shouting and laughing, some games and accusations of cheating, etc. etc. etc. The perfect kind of fun.
