Tuesday List

My blessing list for Tuesday:

1.   I never liked meatloaf until I made Upside-Down Meat Loaf from Leanne Ely's book Saving Dinner.  It is delicious--definitely qualifies as a blessing.

1 1/4 pound extra-lean ground beef  (just as good with extra-lean ground turkey)
1 3/4 cups oats
 3/4 cup buttermilk  (I keep powdered buttermilk in the fridge for recipes and just add water.)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 onion, chopped  (I use 1 1/2 tablespoons onion powder)
1/4 teaspoon ginger

Combine all ingredients.  Mix the following glaze, and spoon it onto the bottom of your 5 x 9 loaf pan.  Place meatload on top of glaze.  Bake for one hour.  Turn upside down and serve.

Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup  (I buy All Natural Hunt's Ketchup without high fructose corn syrup)

_____________________________

2.  - studying my baby's face after she falls asleep nursing

3.  - The humidity, which has made me less active the past week, should end in about three weeks.  Can I hear an Amen?!

4.  For the first time in two months all the clean clothes are folded and put away.  I'm sure you're all gasping at this.  Yes, I'm pitiful.  I am determined to keep up this time!

5.  Over a week ago we took Paul's bicycle training wheels off.  It was long overdue--husband had been busy.  We took turns holding the tail end of his bike during our neighborhood ride that day, so Paul could learn to balance without fear of falling.  The heat and humidity, which at first didn't seem that bad (at 8:30 a.m.), made me feel old and ragged as I ran along beside him.  My shirt began sticking to my skin and I could think only one thing.  Shower.  Fast.  

I miss the California high desert!

Okay, not really.  108 degrees is not unusual there in mid-summer.

So here's the blessing.  I do not have to run alongside Paul any longer.  Peter taught Paul to ride his bike in our backyard this week, on the grass, where Paul felt confident and safe.  We girls all jumped up and down like cheerleaders.  Paul is happy.  Peter, the teacher, is proud and happy.  The sisters are proud and happy.  And Momma is real, real happy.  I don't know whether to be prouder of Peter or of Paul.  They both brought tears to my eyes this week, as I watched them working together on this important milestone.

I learned that I'll be sticking to brisk walking for my exercise, thank you very much.  Running + humidity = deadly combination.  I know Stephanie from Canada, a reader friend, has taken up running and loves it.  And I believe she has high humidity in her area of Canada.  So I have this to day:  What a woman!  You're crazy!

6.  My kids ask a lot of questions and make a lot of comments when I'm reading to them--particularly Peter and Mary.  They should be interacting with the books, rather than just passively listening.  Even though this taxes my patience, I'm reminding myself here that it's a blessing.  Parents of disabled children would LOVE to have their kids interrupt the reading to make a comment or ask a question.  We don't know how lovely our circumstances are!

7.  We're back in Proverbs for our mealtime Scripture.  A second helping, shortly after the first, seemed a good idea.  I noticed the kids are starting to use vocabulary words picked up from Proverbs.  And sometimes I wondered if they were really listening!

8.  I read that hardship boosts a child's creativity.  What a blessing!  They have to solve more problems and make do with what they have, presumably?  Create their own fun?