Dump after Dump II

 Greetings from Snowville!

Since last week's storm we have had two more!!!  One on Sunday and one on Tuesday.  Definitely dump after dump.  These last two did not bring us as much snowfall as last week, so shoveling has been a bit easier on M's and my backs.  For that I am thankful.  I do enjoy going out there to shovel as a team, just me and him, getting our exercise and having a laugh or two together.  Sure makes the chore more fun to have a partner!  And it feels so great to finally be able to help after many years of being either pregnant or having small children who couldn't be left alone.

When I came upstairs from a basement treadmill run on Monday morning, I was greeted with this party of stuffed animals arranged by C, gathered to celebrate the birthday of the sparkly owl beanie baby you see in the middle of the pile.  I just thought it was so sweet.  We aren't able to gather with friends and loved ones for our own birthdays right now, but why not gather stuffed animals and make an occasion of it?  Love the thoughtfulness of these kiddos.

We attended a virtual baby shower for my cousin and blew up balloons sent by the hostesses to decorate our Zoom window.  The next morning the girls figured out an appropriate use for the leftover balloons!

This week, in honor of Black History Month, we have been gathering in front of the fire to watch The African Americans series on PBS as part of our homeschool each day.

Parts of it have been very sad for the girls to watch, because... well... this is a sad history, is it not?  I feel the series does a good job of presenting the information in a way that is truthful and impactful without being overly graphic or violent.  I have tried to pre-view each episode, and other than one or two disturbing images that I've had to skip over, it has been okay for all the girls to watch.  We have had to have conversations, however, about the sad and uncomfortable feelings we get from watching, and what we can do to make that discomfort productive.  It's a tough tightrope to walk-- I don't want to traumatize my children, but I do feel it's important for them to know the absolute truth and the gravity of our troubled history, without any sugar coating.  Anyway, it has been hard... but good.

I have been cooking some from the More With Less cookbook this week, just because I was flipping through it as I did my meal plan this past weekend, and remembering some old favorites. Pictured above are the makings of the Mashed Potato Casserole, to which I added chopped roasted brussels sprouts and bacon, and it was a HUGE win.

We enjoyed it with some shrimp cocktail, because I had a ton of cocktail sauce that needed using in the fridge, leftover from our Christmas Eve snack feast.  C of course had chicken nuggets (no shellfish) and plain mashed potatoes (no dairy).

I also made up a big batch of tomato soup last night and we had it with some ooey gooey grilled cheeses on homemade bread.  Sooooo comforting on a cold and snowy night.  After teaching online lessons for 3.5 hours that day in our cold cold basement, I was very happy to come upstairs to a hot bowl of soup.

I subbed cashew milk and diary-free butter, and I think it was even better than the original recipe!  Very rich and delicious :)

That's all I have for this week!  Stay safe in the snowy weather, everyone!