How to Eat Green Beans - Cook Till Half-Past Ten

We were having green beans with lunch yesterday. Michael also had some ketchup on his plate. The ketchup was intended to be a dip for his chicken. My husband and I noticed Michael happily dipping his green beans in his ketchup as if they were finger food and munching away.

We raised our eyes a little and exchanged a subtle glance that said "ick," but didn't draw attention to the situation. After all, he was happily eating green beans and requested a second helping.

Then he sweetly offered me a green bean dipped in ketchup and asked me if I wanted a taste. I reasonably replied, "No thank you sweetheart, I already have my own." He was too smart for that though. Without skipping a beat he countered with, "But momma, this one is covered in ketchup!"

Well, that certainly put me on the spot. I wasn't the slightest bit interested in tasting that green bean. We've discussed the concept of taste buds before and how everyone has slightly different taste buds which is why different people like different foods. So, I told him that my taste buds like their green beans plain, but thank you for offering.

That seemed to be the end of that. Conversation, and the meal, moved on for a while with no more discussion of how to eat green beans. Then Michael started to explain how you make ketchup-covered green beans. First, you cook the green beans. Then you cover them in ketchup. Then you put them in the oven and cook them again until half-past ten. Then you get to eat them.

Nice to know he has it all worked out.

So yummy! Dutch Chococcino Loose Leaf Tea

I have been using my new tea maker to make at least three pots of tea a day. I've tried several new loose leaf teas in the process. I intend to do a post about my favorites once my first wave of research is complete, but I wanted to share a new discovery that I particularly like.

I love the Dutch Chococcino from Vianne's Tea House. I opened the bag and it smelled heavenly. It smelled just like a really good dark chocolate bar. It also has an amazingly rich dark chocolate taste to it. It is the closest a tea has ever come to replacing a really good cup of hot chocolate for me. I made mine with plenty of raw sugar and a little milk in it.

If you enjoy making loose leaf teas and you enjoy chocolate you should definitely try this tea.

The Weekly Review: Week 47

Blog Post of the Week

I enjoyed Swistle's idea about spite charity. I love the way her mind works.

Weekly Pleasant Surprise

An old friend that I had lost touch with years ago sent me an email. Since then we have exchanged several more. It has been lovely catching up. It makes me sad that we are now living several states apart.

Ava this Week

Ava adapted to her cast amazingly quickly. She's capable of at least 85-90% of her usual activities with her right hand out of commission. Every so often, she'll want a little assistance though. She'll run up to me and ask for help, and then casually add on to the end of the request, "because I have a cast, you know." I love the way she continues to inform me as if I could possibly be unaware of the fact.

Weekly Michael

When Ava wants a snuggle, she'll come over to me and plop herself down in my lap. When Michael wants a snuggle he'll ask to be tickled. It's adorable. He'll come over and plop himself down in front of me demanding, "Tickle me Mama!" If he feels my initial tickle was too cursory he'll request, "Tickle me some more Mama." He also uses this as a delaying tactic after all the stories have been read and it is time to climb into bed.

Weekly Procrastination

Hmm... Ava's birthday is in less than three weeks. I should probably plan a party, order a cake, and think about a couple of presents.

Ava's Weekly Home Therapy Focus

This week we've dialed way back. We're taking a break from /k/. Ava's done so well with initial /s/ and /sh/ that we're taking a break in the initial position and just pushing those in final position. We're continuing to work on /l/. We're also testing the waters with s-blends. Specifically we're doing some /sn/ words.