"Happy Cow" Shepherd's Pie

This is what I’m making tonight for dinner. It’s from Mom’s Ayurvedic recipe book. Feel free to substitute whatever vegetables you have in the fridge (shredding whichever ones the kids don‘t like).

1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (or veggie ground if you like that stuff)

1 onion (chopped)

2 tsp ginger (minced)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

2 stalks celery (chopped)

1 zucchini (shredded)

1 cup green beans

2 carrots (chopped)

½ head cauliflower (chopped)

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp parmesan cheese (grated)

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

3 medium sweet potatoes (cooked and mashed)

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup cilantro (minced)

Brown meat in a skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add vegetables and saute until soft. Add all ingredients and simmer until cooked (20 minutes). Pour vegetable mix into a baking dish and spoon mashed sweet potatoes over top. Spread and pat even with a fork and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Holiday Gifts

Image via Wikipedia

A friend was asking for ideas for saving money during the holidays (and the rest of the year too). Her family is feeling the crunch of moving, spending, and overspending with Christmas just around the corner. I had a few ideas, and as I was pouring them out and hogging the message board, I realized I felt strongly about the subject.

I really think that Christmas is for spending quality time with family and friends. For enjoying each other’s company and reaffirming our affection for one another. For laughing at inside jokes and welcoming newcomers into our circle. For enjoying the children and grandchildren as they learn about the magic of the season. For sharing food and stories and warmth on a cold evening.

Yet somehow a few Christmases ago I found myself full of anxiety and tension over lists. Lists I wrote down of everyone to whom I needed to send a card. Lists of everyone for whom I needed to buy a gift. And lists in my head of how much money each gift should cost, what I gave them last year, what they gave me, how much money they probably spent, etc etc etc. I shopped and shopped for the gifts so I could cross the people off the list. Each thing had to be just the right price, just the right taste for the recipient, just the right size and colour. As Christmas grew closer my anxiety grew as well. Would everyone like their gift? What if someone else bought them the same thing? What if they spent more on my gift than I spent on theirs? What if I’ve forgotten someone I should have bought a gift for? What if someone gives me a gift when I wasn’t expecting them to? So I bought extra “gifty” things just in case I needed an emergency gift. Needless to say, this all added up to quite a bit of spending every year. And quite a bit of anxious worrying. And my focus was not where it should be: on my loved ones and what I love about them.

Truthfully, we don’t need a lot of that stuff. It’s just something pretty in a box for the sake of having a box to open. Obligation dilutes the spirit of what the holidays are all about. So here are my ideas for cutting back on spending while focusing more on the important things.

Reduce - My husband and I have agreed not to give each other gifts. Instead we might buy something for the house or the family. We have asked that extended family also abstain from gift-giving with us; our gift to them is that they don’t have to buy us a gift. And I used to worry about the proper gift for service providers like my mail carrier, garbage collector, and hairdresser; I have since reduced those gifts to a simple note, or a smile and word of thanks.

Simplify - Of course we still buy and give gifts to our children on Christmas. But they don’t need piles and piles of toys. One (hopefully well chosen) toy, one activity, and one book or useful item is plenty for a child to receive. They can really appreciate their new treasures if they are fewer but more meaningful.

Homemade - For teachers, instructors, and other peripheral recipients we have often made gifts ourselves. Baking, treats the children helped with, crafts, decorations the kids made, etc. It really is the thought that counts in this case, because our budget would really not allow for a very special store-bought gift. The important thing is that with the making of each gift we really think about the recipient and what makes that person special.

Donate - Our society is one of excess and there are many in the world who live without the basic essentials. One idea is to give a yearly donation to a cause like World Vision. Help the kids choose a goat or pig, and then give cards to the people on your gift list describing the merits of “their” gift to people in need.

Ask for what you need - For the people who will still insist on buying gifts for us, sometimes we make suggestions of things we really need. Our parents like to outfit the kids with most of the new clothes they ever need in a year and that takes a lot of the burden off of us. Sometimes they pay for the kids’ activities or equipment. Christmas stockings can be filled with practical items like toiletries and underwear.

The holidays will still hold some pressures and worries. But hopefully some of the tension will be eased for our friends and family who no longer have to worry about buying us a gift. I hope they put that money towards something nice for themselves, or towards something really needed. And hopefully now we can spend more of our attention and energy on enjoying our family time together this Christmas.

Oh, and just because we have reduced our gift-giving and spending at Christmas time, doesn’t mean we never give gifts to our people. During the year if I see something that I know somebody I love would enjoy, I might buy it for them as a surprise. Often I make personalized projects for my folks as well - the time and effort involved are well worth the reward of presenting my finished work to them. And because “just because” gifts are not tied to a deadline, I have the leisure to work at it and finish it whenever life allows.

The spirit of giving at the holidays is a wonderful tradition. The gift of one’s time and attention is really a beautiful offering, no matter how much or little it costs.

Weekday Afternoon

Image via Wikipedia

It was an ordinary, hectic weekday afternoon. Madison and Kai were home from school and all the kids were in the throes of homework, snacks, and general mess-making. I was working my way through my seemingly never-ending (or never-even-shortening) Stuff I Gotta Do List. The kids were bickering with each other and squabbling over who did what to whom, nagging me about where’s my this or that, and basically getting on my nerves. After shouting at them to “stop it!” over my shoulder for the tenth time, I put down my broom. I told them to go and sit on the couch and wait for me. Not knowing what was coming, they somberly lined up on the couch expectantly. I went upstairs and retrieved my copy of Le Petit Prince and brought it downstairs to read to them.

The children were instantly engrossed in the story of The Little Prince; asking questions, making comments and observations, and snuggling in close to see the pictures. We had less than an hour before I had to round them up and take them to their evening activities, and we spent the whole time reading the book.

When Kent came home from work that night, he found the house a mess. I hadn’t finished sweeping the floor and there was a pile of dirt and debris in the middle of the dining room. There wasn’t any bread ready for dinner, there were toys and books and clothes everywhere. I took the kids to Tae Kwon Do with my hair a complete disaster and not a bit of make-up on my face. But instead of getting all of that done, I got to experience the following:

ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY: “Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again.”
MADISON: (Nodding her head with a very serious expression) “You know, that’s true - it is.”

When the narrator tires of drawing sheep for the Little Prince that time and time again don’t meet with his approval, he draws instead a crate and says the sheep is inside. There is an illustration of the crate, and Caylie leans close to the page to see if she can see the sheep in it through the holes.

Upon being asked if he thinks he would try to tame an animal, Kai answers, “I would tame a cobra snake. If I found one. Then it would be my friend and it would follow me around.”

If you have never read this moving, fantastical tale - or if you have but it’s been a while since you really thought about it - I recommend you pick it up and give it your attention. You will not regret spending the little time it takes to re-familiarize yourself with the simple, yet deeply profound existence of a child. It’s not just a story; it is a guide for living your life and seeing the beauty in the world around you… though the true beauty lies beneath and within that which you can see.

It is only with the heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Fire Chief for a day

This year, as every other year, the school and community do a fire safety awareness campaign in October. The Fire Department sends out a pamphlet with activities and safety reminders. Then the kids complete it and enter it in a draw for prizes. This year Kai won the first prize for his school! The prize was getting to be Fire Chief for a day and a party for himself and the whole family at the fire station! This all took place a few days before Halloween and the kids were beside themselves with excitement.

It was a spectacular evening. The little fire chief and his sisters were invited to the station where they first got to try on all the real fire fighter gear. There was a weighted dummy they got to try dragging to safety, a coil of hose they could haul up with a pulley, a block they got to whack with a sledgehammer. They tried spraying a target with a real fire hose, and went for a ride in the fire truck! Kai sat in front and even sounded the siren!

After all this they had a special treat for dinner - McDonald’s had sent happy meals and nuggets for all the kids. While they were eating, Sparky the fire dog came around to give high fives and hugs to everyone. After dinner the “other” Fire Chief and the Mayor gave some speeches and presented all the little fire chiefs with an honourary certificate and a full colour - fold out page book about fire engines. Everyone left with a plastic fire fighter’s hat, McDonald’s happy meal toy, placemat, and colouring books.
I was blown away by the great lengths the department went to to make this a special evening for the kids. Lots of the folks at the fire department turned out to show their support, and they were all friendly and enthusiastic.

The kids had a blast and came home with beaming smiles. So I planned a little thank you surprise for the folks at Fire Station 2. I made cupcakes with a firefighter motif and brought them down to the station for all to enjoy. I had subtly asked how many people in the fire house at the party, and there were so many I did a double batch of cupcakes. I decorated them with little ladders and axes, hydrants, dalmations, and flames. This took me a while to do because we have been busy, and also because there was no set deadline to have them done. But finally I put it all together with a thank you card made of pictures of firefighting the kids drew, and am taking them down to the fire station tomorrow.

Halloween Fun

Well, Halloween came and went. The children had a very busy and fun filled week.

Caylie’s preschool hosted a Daddy-daughter pumpkin carving evening. Caylie proudly escorted her Daddy to the school, showed him her classroom, introduced him to her teachers, and instructed him to carve her a unicorn on her pumpkin. They came home with smiles and an expertly carved unicorn pumpkin, so all must have gone well.

Caylie’s preschool also hosted a Halloween party during class. I volunteered to help kids make a centrepiece craft, and there were loads of “stations” for kids to participate in Halloween activities. Caylie was feeling a little timid that day, but she gamely tried out all the activities. She was not a fan of the haunted house air-filled balloon tent (like a bouncy castle but not bouncy). There were creepy noises, scary decorations, and it was a dark and confusing maze. Caylie wanted to leave and go home at that point, but afterwards she was proudly telling anyone who would listen how she went in the scary haunted house and how much fun the party was.
Then Madison and Kai had costume day at school where they wore their outfits, had a parade, did a performance at the assembly, and had a special Halloween-inspired lunch provided by the school.

Our family was invited to a costume party in Kelowna with spooky snacks, crafts, music and fun. This was all outdoors, so I layered us up and we made our way north. Rob and Mel were entertaining their guests on their beautifully renovated deck/patio, and the kids had a blast! There was hot cider, pumpkin soup, finger munchies, and mini pumpkin pies. We stayed until bedtime and then rolled ourselves home with full tummies.

Madison and Kai’s pumpkins were begging to be carved and we chose some challenging designs this year. Madison’s is a unicorn head, and Kai’s is a dragon.

Next we were invited to trick or treat with the family of a little boy in Caylie’s preschool class. We met at Anthony and Kim’s and did a turn around the block. Little Rhys had had enough after some very realistic Halloween decorations at a neighbour’s house turned out to be highly spirited neighbours in disguise, so Anthony whisked him home and prepared some warm cocoa and goodies for us when we returned with the other, more stoic children. We played and visited for a while and the kids had a whale of a time with Macson’s new drum set before we took them home to sort the candy.

Each of them ate a few favourite candies and chose 10 more for later. Then we left the rest of the candy out for the Halloween fairy. The fairy was generous this year and she left each of them some presents, stickers, and fun straws.
So my favourite event/holiday is over for another year, and it was a success despite the lack of the family theme costumes. Maybe we’ll think of something clever and cute next year, but this year we had lots of fun with friends and treats!