Harry Situation

Harry Potter on tape.

   Here's an update on my happy campers this summer.  I suggested some names to do with camping, nature and summer, but the kids voted for a Harry Potter theme.  My oldest is reading the first book and was thrilled when his Aunt sent over the first three books on cassette.  I am trying to stall him from going on to the later books as they get more intense.  He became fascinated with Harry Potter through the Lego sets.

   Now they are earning house points for Gryffindor by completing morning chores and helping out around the house.  When we get to 25 points each a week they are awarded the house cup.  One week the prize was an A to Z Mysteries book.  The next week was a movie night with my husband's wonderful homemade popcorn.  After a great job cleaning up in the morning, I surprised them by inviting a friend over.

  One morning at breakfast we had a "family meeting."  I got out a pad of paper and wrote What can ____________ do to help?  We had a discussion of what they were old enough to do around the house.  Including them makes it more fun than always having me tell them what to do.  They suggested simple chores like feeding the dog, emptying the dryer, cleaning up toys, hanging up a towel, putting away the toothpaste, cleaning up the craft table and UNDER the craft table.  Now if they are looking forward to a family game night or a small prize they ask us, "What can I do to help?"  In their minds it means, "What can I do to get a point or prize?" but I will take it.  I have pointed out that when they wipe the table or clean up toys their Dad and I have more time to take a walk, play a game or take them to the park.

 

Happy Campers

  We are at the kick off point of summer vacation in my house.  Do you know what that means?  Sun, fun and activities for everyone.  It also means everyone is home in my house.  The upside to this is we are free to travel as a family.  The downside is my usual routine gets lost.  Apparently I am a creature of habit.  When we are off schedule I get a bit antsy.

   I feel like I spend the day saying, "Please clean up your room.  Please clear your dishes from the table. Please get ready so I can drive you to XYZ."

   Instead of living moment to moment I am being proactive.  We are going to have "camp at home". This is what I have so far.  The children will come up with a name for their room and earn clean cabin awards for keeping it picked up.  The living room will be the park and they will check it for litter.  This can also be applied to towels left on the bathroom floor.  Instead of nagging them to help out, they will receive prizes or outings for their effort.

   Monday will be our arts and crafts morning.  My daughter has been wanting to get into the Melty Beads, stamps and butterfly garden that she received for her birthday. Tuesday will be art. Wednesday is P.E. time.  Thursday will be a field trip and Friday we will have music time.  This is not set in stone, but is a reminder for me to stop cleaning the house and make time for their interests.

   I will not map out every minute of vacation.  There will be plenty of time for swimming, visiting friends, lounging with a good book and just good old fashioned play.  What ideas do you use for avoiding the "I'm bored" days and keeping the peace over vacation?

Peaches 'N Cream

    We brought out the basket to pick the hundred peaches off our tree.  The baseball sized fruit is ready and I am not letting any birds peck at them before I get them.  You can eat them right off the branch, but it's best to have 2 napkins for these juicy beauties. Somewhere in the back of my mind is the goal to can this abundance, but in the meantime my favorite treat is to serve them up sliced with whipped cream.  No there isn't any cobbler in there, just peaches and cream.  It's a wonderful, easy treat on a hot night. 

Whipped Cream
from: Betty Crocker's Cookbook

For 1 cup whipped cream: Beat 1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream and 1 tbs powdered sugar in a chilled small bowl with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. I omit the sugar and opt for 1 tsp vanilla.

Never Ending Salad

    So much has been going on here that I have been neglecting my duty to spread recipes to the greater good.  I can blame it on the holiday weekend.  I can blame it on the 90 degree weather since I didn't even want to go near the stove on those days.   Now that I am back from camping and catching up on a pile of laundry from our rainy woodland adventures it is time to get back to business and catch up on my writing. 
    I have been veering off the recipe pile lately and coming up with my own creations.  There is something fun about coming up with a nice meal with only a few ingredients.  While away I made a three bean salad that morphed into another meal of pasta salad and then evolved into a mayonnaise based veggie and pasta culinary delight.  It became the never ending salad for our Memorial day weekend.  It would be great for another summer trip, picnic or hot evening meal.  Keep in mind that I didn't use a recipe as we try to re-create my weekend salad.

Never Ending Salad (aka leftovers that keep on leaving)

Day 1- 3 Bean salad
2 cans green beans, drained
1 huge can, kidney beans, drained (but not rinsed)
1 can black olives, drained
olive oil
vinegar
oregano, season salt

I poured all the canned items into a big bowl, added about 1/4 cup olive oil (I didn't pack measuring cups), 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon each

Day 2- Pasta Salad

1 bag Tinkayada brown rice shells
1 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup salsa

   I boiled a bag of pasta shells for lunch and added the leftovers noodles to the 3 bean salad with some chopped broccoli.  I poured in 1/4 cup salsa and stirred everything up.  The vinegar and spices from the 3 bean salad made a nice pasta salad that everyone enjoyed.

Day 3- Veggie Salad

1/4 cup Vegenaise
1 cup cauliflower pieces

    My husband added Vegenaise and cauliflower and we had a whole new flavor for the third salad night.  This time we finished it off.