Adventures in Mommyhood

Ahhhh... February.  Spring is so close, and seems so far away.  Two weekends ago, it was supposed to "Blizzard."  We were so excited to receive our first really snow storm of the year, but instead we just got a bunch of slushy/icy stuff.  We made the most of it and built a snowman and climbed a tree. Fisher is up there somewhere... "Frosty."  Holland kept patting him, saying "Hi little guy..." We've been playing a lot of  "Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel" .  It is a great game for a preschooler- and it is SO cute. This weekend, the temperatures rose into the 40s, beckoning us outside.  We were met with a lot of slush, a lot of puddles and of course a lot of mud.  But the fresh air was worth it.  Definitely. At our beloved Outdoor Campus I called out, "Fisher!!!  Where are you??"  He answered back, "In the forest, of course!"  

What a treat, in the middle of Winter, to open a jar of homemade raspberry jam, given to us as a Christmas gift.  It was perfect on the biscuits I made to go with our beef stew. Whole Wheat Buttermilk Drop Biscuits 1 c. whole wheat flour 1 c. all purpose flour 1 Tbsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/3 c. shortening 1 c. buttermilk Mix dry ingreedients.  Cut in shorting.  Stir in buttermilk.  You may need to add more if it seems to dry. Drop onto a greased baking sheet and bake in a 400 oven for ~10 minutes. Makes 12 biscuits Classic Beef Stew 1-2 T olive oil 1 pound stew meat, or roast cut into chunks 2 cloves garlic, crushed or diced 1/2 onion, diced 2-3 potatoes, washed and cubed 2-3 carrots, washed and cut into chunks 2-3 celery stalks, washed and cut into chunks 4 c beef broth 1 Tbsp white vinegar (the secret ingredient!!) 1 tsp basil salt and pepper to taste 1 Tbsp cornstarch or 2 tbsp flour Brown meat, onion and garlic in h

 Sunday, after preparing Super-bowl snacks containing way too much Velveeta, cream cheese and mayo, while the littlest was sleeping and before we headed over to Grandma's to watch the game, I took the Bigs on a new adventure- ice skating!  There are several rinks in our town that rent skates for super cheap.  It has been on my "must do" list this winter. When I walked out the door, keys in hand, ready to drive the 8 blocks to the rink, the kids said "NO! We want to walk!"  "It's too far," I said.  You'll decide you don't want to walk home."  "NOOOO!  We want to walk!" said the Bigs.  Then I thought to myself:  " What's the MATTER with you?  Isn't this EXACTLY the kind of afternoon you were hoping for?? A winter's walk in the sunshine followed by bonding on the ice??"   "Ok!" I said.  "Let's go!  What a good idea!" And we were off.  The walk went great.  No complaints, but