Restaurant Ratings

Henry started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this week.  He's only had one class, but he liked it a lot and he liked the instructor as well.  Todd was looking for a martial art that was geared more towards self defense as opposed to competition and scoring points.  This one is a lot about leverage, so the size of your opponent doesn't matter.  Henry got right into it on the first day. (Henry's in white.)

We decided to close out the year by using up restaurant gift cards that we have had for quite a while.  The first place we went to was the Cheesecake Factory.  The kids had never been before and as we sat in our booth, it dawned on us that we had not sat inside a restaurant since our trip to San Antonio last March.  Henry was impressed with the cloth napkins.  He was even more impressed by the amount of grease and mess he had made on his napkin by the end of the meal.  Since we were using a gift card, we got to tell the kids they could order whatever they wanted.  We got an appetizer, five meals, and four cheesecakes.  We left with very full bellies and seven containers of food.  The kids were super impressed by the fanciness of the cheesecakes.  They were quite good!  Surprisingly, when their cheesecakes were placed before them, all three kids immediately ate their whip cream first.    

A few days later we used up more gift cards.  This time to Cracker Barrel.  The kids were familiar with Cracker Barrels because we've used their restroom facilities during our car trips east.  And once, during the quarantine, we got their food to-go.  This was the first time, however, the kids had actually eaten in the restaurant.  Josiah won with his observation of the Cracker Barrel star system.  He informed us, "The waiters have stars on their aprons to show their ratings.  I feel sorry for our guy.  He only has one star."  Josiah ordered the biggest meal of any of us.  He got Momma's Breakfast, an adult meal that consisted of three large pancakes, two scrambled eggs, and a good amount of bacon.  He also got Todd's side of macaroni and cheese because he had wanted to try that.  When we got home he weighed himself because he was certain that he had gained a few pounds.  Nope.  Not Josiah. Still hovering where he's been for a year.  

Of course, we had to get the obligatory picture on the rocking chairs.

And with all the eating out, I've been trying to hit the reset button with our/my eating at home.  After all the Christmas cookies and candy and heavy foods, I've been making celery soup nearly every day for lunch.  It is literally just chopped up celery in chicken broth.  I like it a lot, but it is the most basic meal in the world.  When Henry sees that I've 'made' it, he always asks for some.  He's dubbed it, Amazing Celery Soup.

Benson was scared of the fireworks this go round.  He mostly slept through them for the 4th of July, but this time he sat alert for hours and hours New Year's Eve.  The fireworks started as soon as it got dark and they were still going strong by 1:00 a.m. when we finally went to sleep.  We were hoping to take him outside to use the bathroom, but he stubbornly refused to budge.  At some points he was shaking.  He barked a lot.  But mostly he sat at alert.  

We made Shrinky-Dinks one day this week.  The kids learned about them several years ago at a Children's Museum in Illinois.  The museum was three stories tall and while I was with the boys on one floor making Shrinky-Dinks, Caroline was on a separate floor with Todd and missed out.  The Shrinky-Dinks they made became Christmas ornaments and every year since then, Caroline has reminded us that she missed out.  So we bought Shrinky-Dink paper and got to work.  We drew pictures and then baked them in the oven.  The bigger pictures didn't always make it - sometimes they folded over on themselves in the oven and never folded back flat.  We learned that the smaller the picture, the better they turned out.  It was fascinating to see them in the oven and watch them transform.

We have a few resolutions/goals for 2021.  We are going to continue the kids cooking once a month.  I'd be a fool to stop that!  Added to it, we are going to take away daily desserts.  The kids have felt that they are owed dessert after every lunch.  Mostly it's just annoying that they're eating to get something sweet instead of just eating their meals and enjoying them for what they are...not what they'll get.  So, we're going to make a real, from scratch dessert on Saturday and then we can eat it for however long it lasts and then we're done for the week.  We've been watching The Great British Bake-Off on Netflix and the kids always want to try what they're making.  This way we can learn some new techniques and enjoy our desserts more than before.  Now we pray for patience to make these baked goods...

One last resolution, we are determined to teach the kids the difference between 'much' and 'many.'  They basically use them both wrong and it's become a top pet-peeve.  

Josiah said that when the clock struck midnight, ushering in 2021, that COVID would be gone.  It was just a 2020 thing.  Sorry kid.