Leftovers

I have decided that families fall into two basic camps: those who eat leftovers and those who don't. I don't think I completely realized this until a friend who is a professional organizer did a kitchen organization job. My friend is a definite leftover person. She is very frugal and is quick to save even the extras from the Wednesday night church suppers. I have never dropped by her house at lunch time and been unable to find something to munch. Her client it turns out had no need for Tupperware because she said they never saved food.

Brian and I both grew up in leftover eating families. My sister's friend once commented that we were the only family she knew who could eat leftovers more than regular food. I am not sure this is a distiction most families are striving for. Some of our leftover eating came from necessity. It just wasn't feasible to throw out perfectly good food. Some of our habits were for logistical reasons. Both of us grew up in farm families where at least in the summer there was a bigger meal at lunch and then the leftovers from that were served at supper. There were also no fast food or other eating establishments and leftovers were an easy way to get supper on the table quickly. Remember this is the same small town where the grocer explained to me (when I asked for a boneless chicken breast after eating one at college) that " all chickens have a bone in their breasts!" and then walked off shaking his head at my ludicrous request.

We now seem to have a family that does not do leftovers- at least not for supper. We both claim the other is at fault for this perceived character flaw. I personally think the kids are to blame. Why not, they are not reading this and can't defend themselves. The reality is, that I can not seem to find a way to present leftovers in a way that brings the whole clan to the table. We seldom seem to have enough of one item to all sit down to meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans a second time. Leftover night is more likely: enough meat for 2 tacos (but no tortillas), one serving of peas, 1 chicken breast, a half a steak and 4 potato patties. When I try to add a fruit salad or bread, it seems we all enjoy a light meal of fruit and bread and the rest still sits where I placed it. Brian is more likely on leftover night to comment on the size of his lunch and opt for midnight yogurt. Now that B can boil water, she offers to fix Ramen noodles.

What does all this mean? A recent study shows that brown bagging is at the highest it has been in decades. Brian, in an attempt to eat a little healthier is trying to join those ranks. As for the rest of the food, we don't have that many leftovers. The few we do can be well enjoyed by the dogs. I think the time we spend lingering over the table when it is a meal we all enjoy is worth far more than the cost of a few leftovers.

Bedtime Reading

Like most parents, we have been reading to our children before bed from the time they became ours. I even took books to Russia to read on the plane. I am an avid reader and have desperately wanted to plant that same love in my children. B enjoyed many books, but quickly settled on My Great Aunt Arizona as her personal favorite. We read it in soft back until it fell apart and then replaced it with a hardback copy. B is a struggling reader on her own, but she still loves to be read to and as you can tell from my personal reading list, we continue our nightly reading adventures. Her new favorite is Ruby Holler.

Perhaps because I was occupied with B, who was unwilling to share me, Brian became H's reading partner. We tried reading as a family, but H is very active and her insistence on turning flips during the story made B crazy. Brian does not love to read and their time together quickly became about action books and finally Eye Spies. They spend hours pouring over the pages trying to find all the hidden items. Both of them still claim their favorite family Christmas card as the Eye Spy from several years ago.

J is all about the animals. We jumped around a little but it now seems we will not be able to end our evening without a reading of Margaret Wise Brown's classic, The Big Red Barn. I guess I should not complain as it is classic children's literature at it's best.

L is another story. She continues to struggle with eye focus and for that reason seems to have been captured by music instead of the written word. She is a huge fan of the Beach Boys and The Mamas and the Papas. Her second would be 40's big band swing. She drifts off each evening to her mama's very bad renditions of Favorite Things, Edelweiss, and Amazing Grace.

How thankful I am for those precious moments each evening. I know they should probably be in bed earlier and B needs to do more personal reading, but for now, while they are still so sweet and snuggly, I think we'll keep on reading, searching and singing.

Hospitality Pie

One of my favorite authors is Fannie Flagg. I love the depth of characters she creates, plus I also seem to know personally some of the more colorful personalities in her stories. My favorite way to experience a Fannie Flagg novel is audio book. She reads the stories herself and her delightful Southern twang just brings her people to life and pulls me right into the events. I have a particular fondness for Neighbor Dorothy. Neighbor Dorothy was a home economist during the golden age of radio and aired a daily show, sponsored by Golden Flake Flour, right from her living room. Her voice was friendly and helpful and filled the lonely kitchens of rural farm wives. She always had an uplifting word to share as well as lots of useful advice and household hints.

In true Neighbor Dorothy fashion I would love to share a scrumptious recipe I recently enjoyed. The creator called it Hospitality Pie and says she often makes several at a time and freezes them until she needs them for a funeral, or new mother etc.

2 graham cracker crusts
8oz cream cheese
1can sweetened condensed milk
1 small box instant butterscotch pudding
1 12oz container whipped topping

1 jar caramel topping
1 cup chopped pecans (toasted)

Combine the cream cheese, milk and pudding until well blended.
Fold in the whipped topping.
Spoon evenly into 2 crusts.
Sprinkle with toasted pecans and drizzle caramel over top.
Chill until ready to serve.

These can be frozen up to 3 months.

Co

Noah's Ark

Don't get me wrong. I like animals as much as the average person should. I don't see them as human wanna bes, but I am a firm believer that every family needs its share of animal companions. I should add that I have mild allergies to both dogs and cats. Sounds like we are a good, one dog family right? No such luck.

Before the arrival of our first child, I filled my need to mother with a dog, a cat and an assortment of abandoned calves that had to be bottle fed. My husband once pointed out that I treated calves like pets and they were not cost effective to raise that way. My hormones were on overload due to infertility drugs. Needless to say, I heard no further comments about my expensive calves. The dog was in an accident, the cat was very self sufficient and after B arrived, we felt no need for more animal responsibilities.

Then my sister called. It seemed the drama department at the college where she worked had purchased a puppy for a play and not really considered what would happen when it was over. Some one said "hey, take it to Karen's office. She loves dogs." Karen is as unable to say no as I am and agrees to find the dog a home. This is how our blue healer, Janie, came to join our family. She is completely B's dog and woe to the person that tries to come between them. This seemed enough for a while. We had a few fish drift in and out thanks to Sunday school teacher prizes gone out of control and a late night misunderstanding by Grandpa, but all was well.

Then as we prepared to go to Russia on the second of 3 trips to bring the twins home, the neighbor's dog had puppies. While we were gone, Grandma came to stay. B and H's first words to us on the phone while we were still on the plane were "Grandma says we can have 2 puppies if it is okay with you. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE." What do you say at this point? SO with only weeks to go before we brought home two almost 2 year olds, we added 2 Australian shepherd/ border collie mixes to our already crazy house. They chewed screens, chairs, shoes and anything else they could find, but we hoped they were teaching B and H responsibility before the babies arrived. I personally think they were to teach me how to handle all the added messes!

Enough I am thinking, not one more living creature in this house! Not even a needy calf unless it can fix its own bottles! But alas, the best laid plans of mice and men...... I am taking a shower, which always seems to cause trauma in our house. It is just not possible for Mama to disappear for 15 minutes without all you know what breaking loose. B comes into the bathroom holding a very small kitten. B and H have spent the afternoon with Daddy and have come home with two, yes I said two, very small kittens. I am completely shocked (and sneezing). Brian pulls me to the side and explains he overheard them praying God would convict us to let them keep them and he just couldn't say no after that. So, you guessed it. We now have 3 dogs outside and 2 kittens living in our basement. It is of course being heated to a comfort zone appropriate to Hawaii and Mama is feeding the kittens with a syringe. Did I mention the girls want Hamsters for Christmas?

Hamsters on a Wheel

Last week's Sunday school lesson was on the cumulative value of the small details of our lives. For example only ten minutes a day spent in family prayer or Bible study means over 50 hours of family worship by the end of the year. In contrast to that, we were asked to consider how many hours we spend in what seems urgent at the time, but in the long run will have no real value. The lesson was great, we had wonderful discussion. Walked out the door and on to church where my husband passes me a note, mid sermon, reminding me of yet another event we needed to attend that day.

We are unable to say no. We know that time spent with our immediate family unit or strengthening our own marriage is the best use of our time, but when someone is in our face asking we can't seem to put our tongue to our teeth and blow air. We have even had some rather heated discussions about when choosing "us" becomes selfish and when it is okay. Everyone seems to say cutting back is good, but when push comes to shove they assume you are cutting an activity that doesn't include them. What is the balance? How do we decide? I would love to know the criteria others use. How do we make sure we are going somewhere and not just spinning our wheels?

PollyAnna and the Presidential Election

I consider myself pretty intelligent. I am reasonably well read, and I try to seek news, advice and opinions from a variety of sources. I am also surrounded by staunch political advocates from both sides. During a governor's election several years ago, my parents were leading the charge in one part of the state for the Republican candidate, while my in laws hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic candidate. My children hear more and know more about all the candidates than most adults. My parents are attending the RNC as I write.

That being said, my husband and I feel we spend most of our time in the middle. We are pro-life voters which means we are against abortion, but we also think we should see that all children have health care, a good education, and enough to eat. Which side does this place us on? We are strong supporters of national defense but think it would best be achieved through making the USA more self sufficient. We favor alternative fuels but feel switch grasses, not corn, are the best answer. Which side does this put us on? We value education and think teachers should be better compensated, but our children attend a private school. Which side does this put us on?

This is where my Pollyanna view of the world comes in. I don't think it is too much to ask for a president that can reach across the aisle and abandon party politics. We are excited to have a campaign that includes such a diverse group of people. It gives me goosebumps to see what is possible in America. Anyone can become president! I want to shut out the raving lunatics (and both sides have a few) and help my children wrap their sweet, innocent minds around the history that will happen with this election. The winner here is America. Healthy competition only makes each individual stronger. The president is a powerful man no doubt, but our founders were smart enough to build in a system of checks and balances. I want to help my children delight in the fact that they live in a country where a free exchange of ideas is encouraged, diversity is valued and the worth of a man or woman is determined not by race, age, gender or parental heritage, but his or her own efforts.

Call me Pollyanna if you choose. I'll proudly take the label as I wave my RED and BLUE flag.