The Chef

So, I made chicken soft tacos for dinner last night.  Quinn is not a fan of Mexican food, even if he likes all the individual ingredients.... if the word "taco" is used, he adamantly refuses to consume it.  When Quinn got home from organ lessons, he decided to transform dinner to something he deemed palatable.  He took the tortillas and cut them into triangles, and baked them into chips.  Then he took the avacados, mashed them and added spices to make a guacamole.  He added the chicken with tomatoes, and topped it with his guac and chips.  It looked dang good, and I was seriously impressed.  All those times he watched the Food channel with his mama have paid off!  He's a great cook!

Not Quite Awake

The mama was dropping the children off at school this morning, and Colby was telling me about what they did yesterday.

Colby: "We watched Forest Gump in English".
Mom: "Of course you did.  It's only in English.  Why would you watch it in another language?  That makes no sense!"

Quinn and Colby: "UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....Mom...………….. in English CLASS."

Oh.  Yeah.  Right.

I obviously am not yet fully awake.

The Poor Children

All three of my children are neglected and deprived.  It's true.  They've told me.  The boys say that ALL their friends make fun of them because they only own an iPad mini, an iPhone 4 (without data), an HP laptop, and a WiiU, which is reportedly "the worst gaming system there is".  Because of this, according to my children "all their friends" think that we are POOR.  "When we go to robotics for the weekend, you only give us $40 a piece for food!  Yes, that's enough to eat, but what if we got stuck there?  There's no extra in case of emergency!"  Reagan concurred about the Aho kid status as economically deprived.  "Evelyn thinks we're poor because we don't have candy or Kleenex here."  It's true.  They only get candy at Easter, and Halloween, and Christmas, and for their birthdays, and during parties. But not every day!!  AND we use toilet paper to blow our noses.  Even worse, we treat our boys as "one person", because they have to share a bedroom and share a computer.  When I pointed out that Colby had his own keyboard, and his own launchpad, he told me "YES!  That wouldn't work if I didn't have a computer that is shared with Quinn!  And shared with his music program!"  That does sound like they're one person, having to share like that.   Poor children.

I offered them all kinds of household chores in an effort to help them earn their very own new computers.  I was told that this was unfair because "I never pay them enough.  Not even minimum wage!"  I assured them that if they DID minimum wage-quality work, I would certainly entertain the thought of paying them minimum wage.   When I reminded them that they did earn money for good grades on their report cards, I was told that that also wasn't a "good deal" because it only happens every three months.   Poor children.

Electronics are not a human right, children. They really aren't.  I was in college before I got my first computer... bought with my own money from my own job.   I was 43 before I got my first smart phone.  I must've been even poorer than we are now.  That's pretty sad.  I didn't even KNOW I was poor!  How horrible is that???

A Colby In His Natural Habitat....

…. the music store.   

  (Colby borrowed my camera to take these last two pictures)

Schooling

This week, the first week of Spring, March 18-22 will be the FIRST FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL for my children in 2019.  Yes.  Between diving meets, robotics competitions, band festivals,  snow days, teacher in-services, and influenza, the Aho children have not gone to school for a full five days in a row since Christmas break.  My shambled house, and their struggling grade point average, are a testimony to this fact.

Third quarter ends on Friday.  I don't feel a lot of learning happened in this third quarter.  Here's hoping for a more consistent, productive, and less stressful fourth quarter!

Silly Cat

Quinn's been practicing his trumpet a whole lot lately, getting ready for Solo and Ensemble this weekend.  A certain trumpet case makes the perfect bed for our resident feline!

Overheard, In the Kitchen

The scene:  Mom, Dad and Quinn in the kitchen, because it's a snow day, and 2 out of 3 of these characters don't have enough to do.  Quinn is making himself some oatmeal.  The real stuff, on the stove, not the instant, microwave kind.

Dad:  "Quinn, if you're going to make oatmeal, you have to do it right, or it's a waste.  Your mom makes the best oatmeal of anyone I've ever seen, so ask her how to do it."

Quinn: "Dad, it's not hard.  Boil water.  Put in oatmeal.  Done."

Dad: "NO!  That's all wrong!  Ask Mom!  You have to know how much water to put in.  You have to boil the water first, then you have to cook it the precise amount of time to get it perfect.  SHE makes it perfect!  DO IT HER WAY!"

Quinn: "Dad, I'm not stupid.  I've made oatmeal before."

Dad: "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!  ASK YOUR MOM!!"

Notice that Mom was silent during this whole exchange, quietly emptying the dishwasher, and thinking that both of these guys really needed to get out of the kitchen.  Finally, I spoke up.

Mom: "Rob, why don't you go in the living room, and I'll help Quinn make the oatmeal."

Dad: "Fine.  Because I'm giving you big props here.  You make the best oatmeal in the world, and you need to teach him how to do it right."

Mom: "Yup.  Thanks. Will do.  Buh-bye."

(after Dad's gone)

Quinn: "So?  How do you do it?"

Mom: "Put some water and oatmeal in the pot, and bring it to a boil.  Go away for awhile until you smell something burning and think   'OH!  I left the oatmeal on the stove!', and then go scrape out the portion that's not burned and stuck onto the pot. THAT'S how I make oatmeal."

Rob: "I HEARD THAT!"