Simple Joy ~ The School Book Fair

The school book fair happened last week. It was a big couple of days in our house. The little people were jumping out of bed with joy in the wee hours of the morning proclaiming, "The book fair is today. It runs for the next three days. It starts as soon as the bell rings after school. When is that? How many hours until school lets out? Is it soon? Is it soon?" Honestly, I have never seen three little people so excited about books. At least not the three little people who live in my house.

A few interesting things unfolded last week around said book fair:

Most importantly ~ My entire house was cleaned "marine style" late Monday night by three people under three feet tall in an attempt to earn dollars for spending at the fair. They did well. And I woke up to a sparkling clean house. I was one happy mama.

Most gratefully ~ We made it in and out of the fair without any whining, complaining or throwing ourselves on the ground. (While it is typical for the youngsters to take to these tactics to try and get what they want, it is more common for me to fall victim to these methods whenever I take this triad into a retail setting, any retail setting. There are days shopping the aisles of Target when throwing myself on the ground seems a reasonable solution to the chaos unfolding around me the moment we roll by the toy aisle.)

Most hysterically ~ My husband was absolutely flabbergasted when he learned that the children took their own money into the book fair and bought books to take home. It wan't the fact that they took responsibility and earned money for their purchases that was shocking to him. Instead, it was the fact that at the book fair, students could actually purchase the books. He recalled his experience with school book fairs as a child—each kid got a free book to take home. And that was that. To which I replied with a puzzled look, "True, but the idea is that you would come back later that day with your parents and BUY more books. It's always a fundraiser for the school." "Oh my gosh", he gasped, "I wonder if my mom knew that?" We joked about this harsh realization for the better half of last week.

The thing I loved most about the book fair showing up at our local school—the cuteness that resulted. They were all helping each other read their books.

3-D glasses and all.

Even if the glasses weren't on quite right, it was the sentiment that brought joy to my heart.

Get Out There and Have Fun

Garage Sale Rules of Engagement

Rule #4: Get Out There and Have Fun

There is nothing better than garage sale-ing in the fall. 

Those crisp sunny mornings with leaves swirling all about my feet... 

The colors on the trees in the early-dawn light... 

The way a warm cup of chai feels in the palm of my hands... 

Ahhhhh. Heaven to me.

Garage Sale Rule of Engagement #3 talked about not bringing home sh*t you don't need. But just because you're not going to buy everything you see doesn't mean you should restrain yourself from going at all. You never know what treasures await you. 

Tangible treasures can be hard to find sometimes. However, for those of us who have been garage sale-ing all our lives, it's clear that the real treasure lies in something slightly less tangible. 

The adventure. The mystery. The suspense. The laughter.

Whether you're actually on the lookout for something you need or not, hitting the pavement with family and friends is guaranteed to be an entertaining outing. 

Who knows? You may set your eyes on an artifact from your mother's kitchen you haven't seen in 30 years, like this penguin ice bucket. Or you may discover a well-kept stash of Multiples clothing your neighbor has been preserving for the last 20 years. And if you find nothing beyond silly dress up items that your children put on to act goofy with, than the morning has been a success. Half the point of the outing is the adventure of it all. 

Laughing with Bubba while he tries his darndest to make those miniature John Lennon glasses fit his baby face is worth every minute of the morning away from home.

Simple Joy ~ Ten Toys Per Child

Remember last week when I posted about Bubba cutting his own hair while all the children were "quietly coloring" at the kitchen table? Turns out there's more to this story, folks.

Over the weekend a friend sent me this note:

"Maybe he really needed 15 toys! Creativity is an amazing adventure! So cute and so damn funny! At least your sweet little girl did not cut her hair!"

I guess I have more to tell you. Let me back up a little.

The day I wrote that post I spent the morning at coffee with some girlfriends.

I was retelling the story about the five minutes alone, the oh-no they've been way too quiet for far too long realization, and the fact that the older kids didn't stop Bubba from whacking at his luxurious locks.

Over cappuccinos and lattes and cute chubby babies I was also explaining the new M.O. (modus operandi) set forth by my dear husband regarding toys in our home.

Two weeks ago we adopted the Ten Toys Per Child policy.

Let me back up a little further. You see, recently he went on a trip where he stayed in the home of some dear friends. This family of four lives in a very small home. Our home is small. Theirs is smaller. They described a simple rule they keep with their kids that has lead to greater happiness, stronger focus and fuller creativity.

The Rule: Ten Toys Per Child

My hubby came home raving about how great it was being in a home without—please excuse my French—all this sh*t laying around all. He has been an advocate for extracting the massive quantities of—please excuse my French—sh*t that so easily accumulates when you have three little people and two big people living in a home together.

The pack-rat in me said, "Oh no, but we might need it. We can't live without 23 plastic horses, a giant robot, 600 million flash cards and 42 miniature dinosaurs."

The housewife in me said, "Anything to make my job easier and I'll take it."

I hesitantly agreed with the new plan. We presented it to the kids. They jumped on board immediately running to their rooms to fill garage sale bags with their things. Clearly the thousands of precious little plastic thingies laying around here didn't really mean all that much to them after all.

We had a garage sale. They sold everything and kept the money for themselves. (Enter Pokemon cards. But that's a different story for a different day.)

Now that we function in a Ten Toys Per Child house I have to agree that the reduction of clutter has led to greater happiness, stronger focus and fuller creativity for all.

Enter last week's Five Minutes Alone episode: Quietly Coloring at the Dining Room Table.

After the children woke up in the morning, I began quizzing them about the previous night's events trying desperately to understand why no one stopped the baby from cutting his own hair. Quite quickly it was revealed that Bubba wasn't the only one taking liberty with the scissors. Turns out he got the idea from his older sister who got the idea from her older brother. Yes indeed, all three children cut their hair that evening.

Which brings me back to the note my friend sent over the weekend:

"Maybe he really needed 15 toys! Creativity is an amazing adventure! So cute and so damn funny! At least your sweet little girl did not cut her hair!"

Ahhhhh, the simple joy of youthful creativity!

Five Minutes Alone ~ Haircut

This is Bubba.

This is Bubba with his nifty new haircut by mama.

(Notice the sideburns and short bangs. I'll admit, it needed help.)

This is Bubba after he spent Five Minutes Alone with the kids scissors at the dining room table while he and his siblings were "coloring quietly".

This is Lance Corporal Bubba after daddy's attempt to correct the Five Minutes Alone episode with a new high and tight 'do featuring Vanilla Ice flair. 

Better Than Bouillon

There is one thing that Bubba LOVES more than fluffy dogs, wheelless skateboards, and backyard chickens combined... and that's tasty food.

One of the most important staples in my pantry is the Better Than Bouillon line of concentrated paste food bases. According to their website, "these bouillons are made primarily from meat, seafood or vegetables which gives them a richer and more natural flavor than ordinary bouillon cubes or granules."

True dat. I cannot live without my Better Than Bouillon bases. Trust me, I've tried. But my soups don't taste nearly as delicious when I use regular bullion cubes. I can get an 8 oz jar at the grocery store, containing 38 servings of bouillon, or if I go to Costco a 16 oz jar with 76 servings for just a dollar more than the smaller jar. This just might be my favorite reason for going to Costco lately!

Something I learned early-on with this brand is that their Premium line of bouillon bases contain dried whey. Which is a no-no for our casein-free family. Thankfully, most of the Organic line is free of dairy ingredients. Thanks, Better Than Bouillon, you make me one very happy dancing cook.

And the best part about it is how easy it is to use. One teaspoon is equal to one bouillon cube. So for every cup of chicken stock my recipe calls for I quickly grab a teaspoon of bouillon paste, mix it with one cup of hot water and we are good to go.

This brand makes bouillon in so many different varieties—Vegetable, Mushroom, Turkey, Au Jus, Clam, Fish, Ham, Lobster, Vegetarian-No Beef, Vegetarian-No Chicken, Reduced Sodium, Kosher, and much more. If you are working with food allergies, just be sure to double check the back of the package before purchase, as some of them do contain dairy.

I hope this deliciousness finds its way into your pantry soon!

And just in case you were wondering... this is not a paid advertisement. My motivation to write about the food in my pantry is quite simple—I love this stuff and want to share it with you all. 

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And now a little something to dance to...

Rihanna - What's My Name? ft. Drake

8: Spring Break ~ Pillow Skateboarding

Hello Dear Bloggy-Blog,

It's been quite a while since we last saw each other. Please excuse my absence. It's spring break over here at The Little White Kitchen and we've had our fair share of spring break excitement.

Each day holds a new adventure. Today it was the scientific examination of rocks and all of the geological fantasies that come along with this type of creative play. The oodles upon oodles of rocks on the back stoop were enough to keep everyone busy while mama prepared Creamy Mushroom Quinoa Chowder for din-din.

Just the other day, however, the theme of the morning was "pillow skateboarding".

It began by properly applying shark tattoos to the top of the wheelless skateboard deck.

Then properly identifying said object as the "charcs scatbord." (original spelling prior to Mommy making a few suggestions—which you see reflected here)

Teaching baby brother the proper stance atop a pile of wobbly pillows.

And wrapping up the lesson with true couch surfing lessons and hand-sign gesturing. With all good intentions, said hand-signs were believed to represent hang ten, dude, but mistakenly got confused with the hand-sign representing the Devil or The Texas Longhorns. I place my vote for the Texas Longhorns. Hook 'em, horns!


It's been good to spend a little time with you today dear bloggy-blog. We'll be seeing you again soon.

Yours truly,
Judith

PS — This post signifies the 8 week point in our countdown, not that I'm keeping track :)

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I'm convinced my eldest son watched this video prior to his instructional wheelless skateboarding lesson with baby brother.

A Saturday Morning Sentiment

A thought...

A second thought....

And a smile...

I hope you find time to enjoy the simple things today. 

Happy Last Day of Winter!!!

Present Moments

They all say it. And now I know it's true.

These moments go by so fast. Too fast to try and hurry them along.

Seeing as Bubba is my third and final baby—to the best of my knowledge, that is—I find myself cherishing all of the little things he does throughout the day. It is such a gift to observe a child as he learns to do things for the very first time.

Take for instance Bubba on the soccer field, as seen in this video...

I love watching him discover the joy of kicking a ball down the field. It won't always be this new. Or this precious.

Soon there will be sweat. And stinky socks. And jock straps.

But I digress. 

In my short seven years of parenting, I realize that I have spent a lot of time wishing my child was onto the next thing. Too often finding myself saying things like,

Boy, does he seem frustrated just sitting in one place. I can't wait until he can crawl.

I'm so tired of carrying him around everywhere. My arms are about to fall off. When will the child learn to walk on his own?

Please God, give him words to speak. All this whining and crying is short-circuiting my mind.

Now that I'm officially saying goodbye to the baby years, I realize how quickly these kids move through each stage. And how each and every moment is to be cherished.

Like this brief moment in the video below. Bubba has recently been learning to formulate words to express his thoughts. He wanted to tell brother and sister all about his morning at soccer practice. It is a wonderful privilege to witness the process unfold...

Take some time this weekend to cherish the unfolding of something beautiful in your life.

Happy Friday!

28

To celebrate the unusually warm fall weather this week, we brought the whole family out back for a little chicken chasing session. Guess who caught the first one?

Now that we've had our fun, we're moving right along in our countdown to that glorious graduation day in mid-May. The weeks seem to be flying by, which I don't mind at all.

ALERT: The remainder of this message has been lost due to technical errors on my trusty old computer. I must clarify that this was no fault of Apple, my dear friends. Rather not surprisingly it was user error. Although it was a great literary accomplishment I choose not to rewrite it at this late hour. I'm feeling drowsy and ready for sleep and if my memory serves me correctly there is a monstrous pile of socks on my bed that need to be sorted before I retire for the night.

That said, I will summarize the contents: Too much Halloween candy makes people sick. Therefore we are imposing a new law around here. Each child chooses one eerily enticing miniature sugar bomb per day. On Saturday Dada will purchase the entire stash for fair market value. Then this old Marine will pack it up and send it to his comrades serving overseas. The children will take their loot to Target and buy something cheap and plastic and made in China. The end.

Week 28 Meal Plan


Monday - Creamy Lentil Soup (for the Dairy-Free Cream Lover)
Tuesday - Papa's Chili Mac
Wednesday - Spiced Chicken with Stubby Vegetables
Thursday - Efo Riro (Nigerian Vegetable Stew)
Friday - Coconut Curry Comfort
Saturday - Tuna Salad on Green Salad
Sunday - Leftovers

29

There is nothing that makes me happier than watching a dancing baby.

I can hardly stand the faces he's making while he boogies. By the way, I have no idea where he learned that hand in the air, hip shaking thing.

Week 29 Meal Plan

Monday - Red Lentil Soup
Tuesday - Fish Tacos on the Grill
Wednesday - Egyptian Rice and Lentils
Thursday - Five Fold Burrito
Friday - Mama's Beef Stew
Saturday - Tuna Casserole
Sunday - leftovers