Saturday, December 10, 2022

Dumplings To Pancakes


I used my widest diameter pot in which to cook the chicken and dumplings so that I could fit in about a thousand dumplings. There's nothing sadder than a low dumpling-to-chicken stew ratio. 
That was not a problem last night. Dumplings for days! 


By the time we get around to eating supper here the boys were cranking it up to eleven when it comes to being wired. 
There were so many jokes told, many involving poop. 

 

I did not have the heart to suggest that this was not appropriate for the supper table. 


I did feel that it behooved us all, though, to point out the fact that a funny joke told once is great, twice- not so much, three times- forget it. August is really starting to get humor. He told us this morning that for April Fool's next year he wants to bring a box to school and tell everyone that it's filled with brownies. Inside will be many brown...E's. Get it? 

There were showers and stories and ice cream sodas and teeth brushing and then tuck-in's and they were both asleep before I could get the light turned out. Levon has become famous (infamous?) for getting up in the early, early hours. I mean, like getting up and staying awake until daytime. We did our best last night to try and convey the message that if he woke up and it wasn't yet light, to stay in his bed. 
Harumph. 
At five a.m. I woke up to find the little man standing by my bed saying, "MerMer, is it time to get up yet?"
"Lord no, child," I said, and welcomed him into bed and cuddled him up, hoping that he might just sink back into sleep but no, he did not. He tried so hard to be good but there was wiggling and sighing and "Mer, I am so bored," for an hour while Jack, who I suppose was jealous, was smashed up against me on the other side. At six, Brother August appeared and at that point, Boppy got up with them, Hallelujah, and I went back to sleep for a few hours. 

Of course Boppy let them watch TV while he snoozed in his chair and when I got up they'd been eating bananas and having juice- first breakfast. I had a cup of coffee and started in on the bacon and pancakes which they ate like little pancake monsters. I swear- August eats three or four times as much as I do at these breakfasts. 

We read some more books after we ate and then we did some "art". I have a fancy adult coloring book and we got that out with the giant box of crayons and colored pencils and got to it. 


We all had a good time and I wish I'd gotten a picture of what Levon colored. It was fabulous! Jessie and Vergil got here soon after we'd started and Vergil helped Mr. Moon with something to do with the Camaro again and Jessie joined us for coloring. It was sweet. 
Somewhere in there, August built another Lincoln Log house. Or as Levon says, "Leakin' Log House." 


Jessie and I laughed at Levon's face and he said, "That's one of my poses." 
Oh, those boys. 

Then Mr. Moon went to a basketball game and the Weatherfords took off to go find a Christmas tree with good-bye treats in hand and me? Well, I thought I'd probably go crash out in my bed as soon as they left but I got a second wind and in doing so, managed to accomplish a few things including sweeping and mopping the kitchen, pantry, and the adjoining bathroom which really could not wait one more day. So now my house smells like vinegar and Fabuloso which is one of my favorite smells and I feel like I've earned my salt today. The weather has been dull gray, moist (take that as you will) and not chilly but definitely cooler. I didn't think my floor would ever dry. Seriously- the humidity has hovered around 90%. 

When I went to the garden to pick greens to cook for our supper I realized that the mustard greens had a multitude of lady bugs on them. 


I was so thrilled! I also saw a lot of ants and I suppose that the ants are herding aphids and the ladybugs are eating those. So it's an entire little eco-system going on there. 

And now, after doing a google lens search, I see that this is not a ladybug at all but probably an Asian lady beetle which yes, eat aphids, but are also INVASIVE! Still, they seem to be beneficial to farmers and gardeners and I'm going to stick with that. 
Not like I don't have any other invasive species in this yard. 

Sigh. 

Well. Let's all sleep good tonight. 

Love...Ms. Moon




38 comments:

  1. How dare that invasive beetle masquerade as a ladybug!
    I love watching young'uns discover humour. But, as you said, it does lose something after the umpteenth telling - still accompanied by hysterical laughter. A bit like Alzheimer's I suppose.
    Mr Moon certainly enjoyed himself!
    Chicken and Dumplings and Pancakes and bacon. I want to live in your house.

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    1. "A bit like Alzheimer's I suppose". Exactly! Silly little children, silly old people.
      We do eat well around here. There is no doubt about that.

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  2. I'm so pleased Levon got around to explaining his strange faces and such. "One of my poses." Oh, spare me, as we used to say.

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    1. He is big time into the poses. I am hoping this stage passes rather quickly although some of the poses are pretty funny.

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  3. And they stink and bite—nothing ladylike about that at a’ tall. My white house is a siren’s call to the demons at first cool spell. We can all thank my nearby Ag Research Station for their original release.

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    1. Damn your Ag Research station! I have no idea how the ones in Florida got here but it seems to me that every invasive species in the world gets here eventually. Republicans, for example...

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  4. Brown E's, THAT is a brilliant idea!

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    1. I don't know if he came up with the idea himself or not but I love how he got the joke of it.

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  5. Though I know you love those two boys to death, having them stay over for more than one night could be injurious to your health. Now please excuse me while I go and practise my Levon pose.

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    1. You are so right about my health- I am no longer young and able to live without proper sleep. Well, honestly, I never was very good at that.
      How's the pose coming?

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  6. a coworker did the brown E thing one april fools. i like telling kids their socks are untied. xxalainaxx

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    1. I can only imagine the clueless faces you get when you tell kids that.

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  7. A very full day, yes, Young Children and Sleeping In are not a Thing... for Two Generations of Raising them I felt like I hadn't slept in Years. *LOL* So much Fun they are tho', and it looks like a good time was had by all.

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  8. Levon's as bad as a cat for early rising! And you've already got cats. That age when if a joke's worth telling once it's worth telling several more times! Arghghgh then when one boy outgrows it,his brother is ready to start! Levon is already quite a comic.

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    1. The cats are far better at sleeping in than Levon is! I can barely get Jack out of the bed at all.

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  9. Those boys! I'm glad you had a good day.

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  10. Those boys are growing like weeds. I love watching humour develop in kids too. It's so sweet. We're in the poop humour stage right now too, but do poop jokes ever get old?

    You get to sleep until eight or nine? You lucky woman. I usually get up around 6:30 when I hear Jack, 7:30 if I push it. Right now though I'm not pushing it. My mother in law has been awful and the big guy is grumpy as hell, even to Jack. I pointed out that it's not Jack's fault.

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    1. Nah Pixie, poop humour never gets old!

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    2. Oh dear! Sounds like everyone is having a rough time of it! I'm so sorry! I do not envy you having to get up with Jack at that hour.
      I wonder if poop jokes among little boys are universally common.

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  11. I guess the difference between ladybugs and Asian Lady beetles is the white heads? I love the pot full of dumplings! I'm definitely making those next winter. August is 7? That's about the age poop jokes become funny and part of their day for several years.

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    1. Yeah. I'm not sure boys ever really outgrow poop and fart jokes.
      I would eat dumplings in summer but I do really love them.

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  12. Having only had boys I remember well the poop and fart stories at the dinner table. Got one for you. Did you ever hear the story of the blind skunk that fell in love with a fart?

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  13. Oh my. Levon's poses. Brown e's. Early mornings. Pancakes. Humor. Art. So much cuteness, but then you have to follow up with Asian beetles. Ugh. They are a huge problem. They swarm. They stink. They bite. I know this because I managed to accidently trap one in my underwear while getting dressed once.

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    1. They will move in your house during the winter. Not good bed fellows.

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    2. I've read that they bite and I do not like that idea! I have had them swarm in the house before in another place we lived. At least they're eating aphids.

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  14. 37 paddington:
    I still consider as one of my highest parenting achievements when I taught my 4 year old son to fix a bowl of cereal for himself and then quietly watch cartoons till we awoke on a Saturday morning. He had those 5 am wake ups too. His sister was easier in that even if she awoke that early, she’d cuddle against me deliciously and go back to sleep. But my son was like August, bored and itching to start his day. Still, all sounds delightful over there, if exhausting. It’s the lovely sort of exhausting.

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    1. I taught Jessie how to microwave hotdogs! Oh Jesus. By the fourth child I was so done. She loved turkey hot dogs. I indulged her and she was so proud when she could make her own. I remember instructing my other kids to make their own cereal and turn on cartoons. Anything for an extra few minutes of sleep on a Saturday morning.

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    2. I remember teaching the oldest child and she taught the rest of them.

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  15. Those pictures of the boys with Mr. Moon are hilarious! Thunderstorm here early this morning, lots of lightning and rain. Cooling things off a little thank goodness. Those ladybugs or asian lady beetles whichever are swarming here too. They were all in those vines that I was cutting away and those little suckers bite!

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    1. Wish we'd get some rain. The humidity is so high that it might as well be raining.
      I'm sorry you got Asian Lady Beetle bit. How rude of them!

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  16. We have those harlequin ladybugs here in the UK too. I didn't realize they were in Florida. I figure, survival of the fittest, as Darwin said. What else can we do?

    Love the pics of the boys. They are becoming real characters as they grow up, aren't they? I remember being very little and going into my dad's room in the morning and trying to get him out of bed. I could never understand why adults wanted to sleep so much!

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    1. What else CAN we do? I don't know.
      Yes- I can remember my mother taking voluntary naps. WTF? Also, trying to sleep in on Saturday mornings. Poor thing. My brother and I invariably woke her up. We were raring to go!

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  17. Love chicken and dumplings. It was one of the few things our mom actually cooked when we were kids. Yours looks amazing. Can totally get behind your dumpling to soup ratio. And 'second breakfast' sounds just right.

    Maybe Levon has FOMO. Probably that same age i remember feeling the same way. If i woke up and music was playing and other people were already up, i'd know our mom was in a good mood and feel anxious i'd missed out on any of those moments.

    August should go with that prank, but *real* brownie 'E's. Because it really shouldn't be legal to kid about things like brownies. (One time as a kid i got to sit on a hiring committee for a hospital cook position. They all got the same time and ingredients to prepare a meal we evaluated them on. One of the candidates said, 'oh and there's cake!' But he was joking- there wasn't... not saying that was the only factor, but i'm saying he did *not* get the job. Not on my watch! ha)

    Oh geeze, when's the last time i thought about lincoln logs? What a glad thing. I suppose they *could* do with some chinking. Levon's got a point.

    Te amo, the lot of ya.

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    1. Second breakfast is a sound nutritional principle in my opinion. Especially if you get up early enough to need one.
      I think Levon does have FOMO. He just can't wait to start his day, no matter how dark it still is outside.
      What a great idea about real brownie E's! I'll relate that to Jessie.
      I love your story about the hospital cook. NO JOKING ABOUT CAKE WHEN THERE ISN'T ONE! That's just cruel.
      Lincoln Logs, Leakin' Logs- they're all good. Vergil said that August's house after he tried to move it (and it was then missing a few walls) reminded him of something you'd come across in the woods of Lloyd. I said, "Hey now! Watch it!"
      But he's right.

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  18. A friend of mine's mother taught us, first time is funny, second time is silly, third time you may get disciplined (something fun to do or fun to eat withheld later). We didn't push her.

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