Tomato and Green Chile Salsa
(Watch out for those horny tomatoes)

Yes, we wrestled the traffic, the bugs, and the boiling 50 lb. pots and now have….. drumroll

11 3/4 pints of Salsa
4 lbs. frozen Kentucky Wonder Beans
and 9 quarts of Tomato Ketchup

Yes, it is the Weekend Canning Update…. Nothing as exciting as Miss Sodapop’s weekend, but hey, I do sport a new burn in the shape of an eyeball on my hand – does that count? Oh well, we can’t all act like kids again, although, we did a pretty fun job of it at dinner.

I asked the boys this morning to pick up their toys so that I could vacuum and change the sheets on their beds before starting on freezing veggies. They grumbled a little bit about having to do it, but, after about 10 minutes, J1, in a great cheerful mood comes out and says – “Wait til you see how good lookin’ my room is…. But don’t come in until I tell ya…. promise?”. J2, grinning from ear to ear, comes out – tells me the same thing, then cheerfully walks away rolling the vacuum. J3, being only 6 and Mommy’s Helper, decides he’s really good with scissors and is going to help me get the beans ready to freeze. He happily chats my ear off as we pick ends off and break them in half into a pot. When he’s done, he proudly tells me what a great job he did – I agree – he disappears for a little while. About 30 minutes go by and all three show up in the kitchen. Tell me to close my eyes, take me by the hand to their bedrooms and reveal each room – one by one…..

Lord, I don’t know what caused it ———– but THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Their rooms were absolutely meticulous!! Toys neatly put away, even from U-N-D-E-R the beds, dirty clothes put in the laundry room, they even removed the dirty bed linens and took them to the Laundry. They all had twin fitted sheets half on the beds – but the pillowcases were actually on the fluffed pillows!!! J3 had decorated his wall using some stickers to stick up costume jewelry, put his favorite shirt on a hanger on his dresser knob, then decorated it with beads, and arranged his pillows. He was very proud of his contribution as decorator!

What a wonderful suprise that was! I just gave all three giant hugs and kisses!!! J1 told me he didn’t want me to have to do all of that on top of the canning. Just when I worry about their sibling rivalry or seemingly lack of interest, they go and do something like that!

It got even better as the day went on. Slobo and I cooked dinner together for the first time in years. After finishing the Salsa at 4am last night (sheesh), we decided to give the boys a dinner tonight as if they were at their favorite restuarant, El Jalapeno (or as our 7 yr called it – El Happenin’ El Nino). So, we made Carne’ Asada, Cheese Tortillas and Homemade Chips to go with our Salsa. After it was cooked, Slobo called the kids to dinner, by greeting them at the stairs with “Welcome to El’ Happenin El Ninos”, escorted them to their table, then introducing himself as their waiter for evening, he presented each with their favorite meal. They absolutely loved it and so did we. It was great fun!

As dinner came to a close, and as most dinners, the kids started playing with their food, but this time, we joined in. We made picasso faces with salsa, guacamole, lettuce and other veggies. The kids made flying characters – then as all dinners with small boys – they recognized the melted Monterey Jack as all kinds of bodily fluids, so we had to close the restaurant before we got health code violations or Mommy got sick! It was alot of fun tho. As the two oldest were leaving the table they gave me and Slobo pats on the back and said we got five stars! Awesome. They have all agreed to dine with us again at the next artist hangout, soon. Maybe a Matisse night with Italian food and veggies. Leonardo would be a stretch, but it would be fun to build his inventions in pasta or breads!

I highly recommend a night out at your favorite family restuarants at least once a week. They are a real stress reliever and everyone walks away with an aching belly from too much laughter.

It was better than Mother’s Day Today!