1/8/12

Cocoa Puffs with the Dark Lord

Friday morning, I had breakfast in my kitchen with Darth Vader and a Clone Trooper. Melody had just discovered the book Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark and was reading them ghost stories while they ate Cocoa Puffs. Not only did the masks make it difficult, but, being a literal person, Melody had to read the stories in the dark.

We're back into the swing of things. School's been in for three days and, now that my computer AND voice work, classes are so much more productive than they were for the entire month of December.  Charlie's bus driver has requested that we arrive earlier, as he now has another kid added to his roster. Dowlan's still living and working in another town and, despite a few interviews right before Christmas, that doesn't seem likely to change soon. We did get to be together as a family for holidays and travels and it made it that much harder for him to leave again.

Today's Lazy Parenting Tip: My Pampered Chef pizza stone sits in the bottom rack of my oven all the time. It catches drips from the top rack and is easier to store that way. As an added bonus, any time I make prepared freezer kid foods like corn dogs, fish sticks, chicken nuggets or frozen pizzas, I just plop them on there to warm. No large bulky dish to wash. It's also convenient for quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches. 

4 comments:

Linda P. said...

Gretchen--I love to read your blog. I am amazed at the grace you have to deal with your family situation--and still keep your wits and sense of humor. One day your children will look back on these days and realize what an amazing mom and dad they have. God bless you and your family and I pray this new year will bring all of you living in the same house!

Linda Priest

P.S. My 3rd grandson is due in late April. Christopher and his wife will bring Jaydon into the family to meet his cousins, Estevan (Christina's 2 yr-old), and Silas (Daniel's 1 yr-old).

Anonymous said...

Alton Brown of Good Eats actually recommends that you leave the pizza stone in the oven as it will help to stabilze the oven heat and prevent hot and cold spots. Aunt Debbie.

It's the wife said...

I thought I was the only one who left the pizza stone in the oven, catching all the drips. I don't even use it to cook anything, I'm not sure if I need to clean it first or what. AND, I'm not even a parent! I have no excuse!

Love your blog!

~Gretchen~ said...

I'd forgotten AB said that. Thanks!

Congrats on grandbaby #3, Linda! I've only kept tabs on Daniel, so I'm glad to hear that.

& thanks for the compliments!