Delayed remorse

This afternoon, Scott was in the car when Munchkin began asking questions about Christmas lights. They talked a little and then Munchkin was quiet. A few minutes later, he let out a small cry.

Scott asked what was wrong and Munchkin wailed in the pathetic manner only a 4-year-old can that the gingerbread man didn't have legs anymore. At age two Munchkin ate an ornament off our tree, and he just realized what he did. Click here for the original post.

Dennis the Menace moment

We closed on our house -- all done, signed, and delivered. Now all that's left is to pack, find a new home and move! Before I leave the "selling" part of the process, I had to share one story...

The whole-house inspection by Mr. Scary (not his real name) was almost complete and it looked like we would pass (whew!). The buyer took notes as the inspector walked her around the house making comments. He opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink, pointed to an electrical cord leading to the disposal and told the buyer that it needed to be tied up to something. As the inspector was about to close the cabinet, Munchkin piped up helpfully, "There's a whole bunch of ants in there, too!"

Imagination

After seeing three boys in astronaut suits at the preschool Halloween party, Munchkin came home, donned a suit which looked a lot like his footy pajamas, and built a spaceship. I was invited on a little trip to the moon.

Everything went fine until the engine broke. I finally got Munchkin to fix it so we could go home, but every time he repaired the engine, he pressed the "go back to moon" button. He said he didn't want to return to earth -- he liked floating on the moon.

I couldn't persuade him to stop pressing the button, so I asked what would happen when we ran out of supplies. If we ate all the food, wouldn't he get hungry? Munchkin didn't miss a beat. His friend Duck had a spaceship grocery store and he would fly up and give us everything we needed. Duck brings food to all the astronauts.

Code silly: Stat!

While playing "paramedic" the other day, Munchkin asked me to record Elmo's vital signs. I jotted them down exactly as he recited them to me.

Heartrate: 50
Temperature: 90
Respiratory rate ("Mommy, what's repiratory?" "It's how fast the patient is breathing."): 1 mile per hour
Oxygen: 20-21
Blood: 14
Metal: blue

Odds 'n ends

We sign closing papers tomorrow -- looks like the sale of our house is really going to go through! In the meantime, it's been pretty hectic around here and we still haven't found our next house.

Munchkin's going to be a Workman for Halloween, which is a big deal since up until a week ago he was going to be a fireman like he's been every year since age 2. He wants to be a Lowe's guy. I guess their advertising works.

In the midst of moving, I've decided to do (not so) Urban Hennery's Dark Days challenge again this year. The added twist for me will be that I will be between various houses and trying not to stockpile food for the winter, but still eat local at least one meal each week. We'll see how it goes. Here's the link if you want to join me.

Cute Munchkin story of the week: Scott told Munchkin something he didn't like, like it was time to go to bed or pick up his toys or something. Munchkin ran into his room wailing, "You're ruining my appetite!" Not.

Grace

Dear God,
Have a nice lunch.
Amen.

-- Munchkin

Scrap Soup

As we prepare to move, I am trying to use up stored food from the pantry, fridge and freezer. I think it's a little like trying to use up fabric scraps in a quilt. No matter how hard I try, I can never reduce the size of my scrap pile -- I always have to buy some new fabric to complete even a scrap quilt, and the new fabric generates new scraps. And the old scraps get smaller, but never really go away...

I recently dug out a soup recipe that I'd forgotten about. I have no idea where the recipe came from since my copy is hand-written on a scrap of paper. It included only ingredients that were already in my kitchen, so it was perfect for my purposes. But besides that, the soup turned out to be about the most tasty soup I've ever made! Here it is:

Chicken & Rice Soup
1-2 quarts homemade chicken broth
1-2 cups diced, cooked chicken
1 small onion, diced
1 large leek, diced (use both white and green parts)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp each of dried basil, onion powder, marjoram & thyme (substitute fresh herbs if you have them)
2-4 tsp salt (to taste)
dash of pepper
1/4 cup rice
generous splash of lime juice

Saute onions, leeks & garlic in olive oil. Add broth, chicken & spices and simmer for 1 hour. Add rice, simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add splash of lime juice and salt & pepper to taste.

Cuckoo bird

The other day, Munchkin was weaving a delightful story about his imaginary friend "Duck," when the story grew sillier and sillier. I finally said, "I think Duck's flown over the cuckoo's nest!"

Munchkin giggled, and then he said, "I just learned a new 'spression!" Giggle, giggle.