Cooking, maturing and days racing by

This has been a really good week thus far. Friday morning started with my taking Maisie to get the H1N1 mist. One of the urgent care offices really close to our home had the mist available so we headed on over, got in quickly as there was no line, I filled out the paperwork and was all set...only to find out that we have to wait until at least next week for her to get it as it could interact with the seasonal flu mist which she received the end of October during her physical. So, next week we'll have to see if and where the vaccine or mist is available and do the whole thing over again. Then that afternoon Maisie had an awesome swim lesson with her instructor Rosemary. Due to our travels, scheduling conflicts, a class time change and teacher illness, Maisie missed a couple of weeks so it was good to return. I was happy to see that Maisie had retained what she'd previously learned and was able to pick up right where she left off.

Our weekend was fun too and the beautiful sunny warm weather made for awesome days. On Saturday Eammon took Maisie, K & A to the playground and they had fun running around and playing games. I liked that it gave me some alone time at home to run the vacuum and sort though some of Maisie's old toys getting them ready for donation pick-up. On Sunday Maisie had fun playing outside for a good part of the day with K & A. I on the other hand spent most of the day cooking, cooking and a little more cooking. I've started making meals for Eammon to have while Maisie and I are away in Aruba. I figure if the poor guy has to stay home and work while we're lounging on the beach and playing in the surf and sand, the least I can do is pack the freezer with some delicious homemade meals. Before I leave I want to have about 30 meals in the freezer ready for him. So far I've frozen a couple containers each of roasted lemon-garlic chicken with caramelized vegetables, curried shepherd's pie, hearty curried beef stew with jasmine rice and grilled eel with udon noodles. Each time I make a meal this and next week I plan to make extra so that I can pack more away for him but if anyone has some good suggestions or recipes that freeze and reheat well, please pass them along.

Since I was cooking up a storm Sunday I invited K, A & their parents over for Sunday dinner. Our meal started with a spiced cream cheese spread topped with homemade pumpkin butter on butter crackers and also some brie with a great pepper jam on multi-grain crackers. We then feasted on some of the roasted chicken & caramelized veg, the curried beef stew and some wasabi coleslaw. We finished the meal with homemade s'mores brownies which I'm sad to say were only a partial success. It was a new brownie recipe that sat on top of a graham cracker based crust and topped with browned marshmallows. The crust and brownies were both wonderful but for some reason the marshmallows were too thick and chewy to the point of being difficult to eat. In the end I pulled off the marshmallow top and everyone enjoyed the brownies and crust. To make up for the failed topping Eammon pulled out the can of squirt cream and filled Maisie, K & A's mouths with cream and they all thought that was wonderful. By the time they all left it was bedtime, a super fun way to finish the weekend, good food and time with friends.

Monday felt a bit strange at first with Maisie not having ballet but I loved having the afternoon free as having extra time to spend with Maisie was fun. We worked on a few arts & crafts projects, did a little cooking and even made some homemade larabars. Tim our gardener was here working and I could have kissed him as he made me so happy when he told me that his plans of moving to Texas in January had changed and for now they're staying here in Georgia, woohoo! He is just such a nice guy and the best gardener ever, I wasn't looking forward to him leaving so I'm happy beyond words that he'll be here for at least a little longer.

Tuesday was school and gymnastics and it too was a really good day. Just like at school Maisie's the youngest and smallest of her gymnastics group and even though she's always been good at doing the required skills and exercises she would often have a tendency to float to the back of the line, allowing the other girls to cut in front of her and she wasn't always the best at paying attention to the coaches, numerous times missing out on her turn. Not that she was ever bad or naughty it was more that she would do her skill and do it well mind you but then she'd zone into her own little world figuring that she had done it and was ready to move on. Lately though I've noticed that she's maturing, being better about paying attention, keeping her place in line and if the bigger girls cut in on her, she's telling them no. Even though she's always loved gymnastics and being at the gym, with her new found maturity and standing up for herself, she's enjoying it even more.

This morning I finally took Maisie's long-sleeved school shirts to the monogram place, poor little Maisie has been in sort-sleeved school shirts with sweaters as I had yet to get everything monogrammed. Maisie had a good day at school and right now she's sound asleep for her nap and once she wakes we're off to do a little shopping. We have a fun weekend ahead with my parents arriving on Saturday to spend the week and Thanksgiving with us and on Sunday it's A's 5th birthday party which we're all looking forward to attending. Monday I have a girl's night out which I'm really looking forward to and I'll be sure to blog about it because I know it's going to be great fun. I have yet to think about Thanksgiving and the meal I need to prepare...OY!! So in addition to recipes for Eammon's freezer meals, any good suggestions for our holiday menu?? I love recipes!

The picture at the top of the post was taken this morning. Maisie's wearing one of her winter school uniforms topped with a sweater as she has a short-sleeved shirt under the jumper. I do love that they can wear any plaid and Maisie still loves picking out and wearing her uniforms each day!