Report Card Shopping & Tacos

I had been looking at a picture of myself and comparing it to pictures of Taylor lately. Many people were talking about how much Taylor looked like me, and I've always joked around about how she is my clone, but I took it one step further today. I have a picture of myself in First Grade, and I used Picasa to put a picture of Taylor from First Grade side-by-side. The results are in - Taylor is my clone:

Just for clarification on the picture quality - my picture is on the left and Taylor's is on the right. Yep, I can't deny this child if I wanted to. Luckily, Taylor is very excited that she looks like me - I'm hoping it lasts forever, but she is going through the teen years.

The girls got their first Trimester report cards, and we sat down and reviewed them together yesterday. After discussing the areas where they are having some trouble, we discussed the really good points and the improvements from last year. Then comes their favorite part of all - the money they earned with their grades. Ken and I developed a system that really works out well. If they are "basic" or "average", then they don't earn money. If they earn "proficient" or "advanced" then they get paid an amount. If they are "below basic," then they have to pay us. The same goes for their Citizenship grades - if they are "Excellent", then we pay them, but if they are in "needs improvement," then they pays us. 

Taylor had the best report card this term and made out with $45. She immediately started combing the sale ads to see who had the best deal going for clothes and she purchased another outfit for herself. Jordan brought in the rear of the three with only $10, and she is still deciding how she wants to spend her money. Mandy has had her eye on a jewelry starter set, so we went to Joann's this afternoon armed with some of Mama's coupons, and she managed to get the starter kit with some basic tools, some jewelry basics (earrings, pins, etc.), and then a few beads. She also found a book to help her learn some of the basics. Luckily, Mama helped out with a few items to get her going a little further on her new hobby with the reminder that you always keep a list of what you want and purchase it as you can.

Mandy was very excited about her purchase, and she was very happy that Mama had a bead organizer she wasn't using to help with storage (a major item that went on her wish list), and then Mandy spent a couple hours combing the internet for ideas, techniques, and places to shop for beads that might be cheaper than Joanns.  

Ken and I had decided on smoking a tri-tip for supper, but the weather was way too foul and windy to use the smoker, so we opted for the carne asada tacos and all of the fixings. We picked Jordan up from the birthday party she was attending, and we went to Stater Bros. to get the items we needed: carne asada ranchera, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime, jalapenos and some black beans. 

While getting some black beans, Jordan saw cans of kidney beans. She became very alarmed, got one of the cans and held it very tenderly. She looked at me with her blue eyes very wide while holding the can out to me and asked, "Mama! Whose kidneys are these?!"  I couldn't stop myself! I started laughing long and hard and could barely breathe let alone answer her. Jordan persisted, "But Mama! Who died for these cans?!" Now, Ken is laughing as are the two people in the same aisle with us. It was such an honest question, and Jordan was so proud that she knew what a kidney was. Finally, Ken was able to answer her and explained it is a red bean in the shape of a kidney, but she seemed a bit skeptical of that explanation for a while.

When we returned home, Ken and I got busy in the kitchen. It had been quite a while since we had cooked supper together, and we really missed it. I had a great time having him in the kitchen with me. Ken is the expert chef especially when it comes to chopping and mincing. I refuse to slice, chop or mince an onion, so he got the fun of doing those, but he also hates how much time it takes for me to mince items with a knife - I so want to purchase the specialized tools to make it faster and easier. The process was fun and soon we had salsa and fixings for the tacos. Ken got the carne asada cooked up while I worked on the rice and beans as well as heating the tortillas.

My hot flashes were anything but flashes tonight. It was a steady stream of "Holy Hell It's Hot" and caused me to open up the house and freeze everyone else. I did make sure to hand the camera to Taylor for a picture of us cooking, but I wanted to be able to explain what the hell was wrong with my hair:

Supper was amazing!! Even Mandy kept eating the salsa despite the three jalapenos and their seeds in it. She would go on and on about how hot the salsa was, but when Ken asked her why she was still eating it, "Because it is SO good!" He was very happy and proud of her.

You can always tell when the girls really love supper - they are all completely quiet because they are too busy eating.

We were again joined by Michael Gallagher for supper. He is so busy trying to get his house ready for move-in, and he loves that he can count on us to help feed him in the meantime. We love having him around and the girls love their crazy uncle Mike, so it all works out. 

Mandy could not wait to start making jewelry, so she scurried off into my office/craft room after supper and got started. She was so excited to make her first pair of earrings!!

Once she showed off her creation, Taylor was interested. Apparently, Mandy and Taylor struck a deal, and I am now "keeper of the contract" where Taylor wrote a contract to Mandy that states, "I swear I will help pay for everything if I can make the necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Signed, Taylor"  Well, for at least an hour tonight, the two of them didn't argue, the worked together and have agreed to combine their efforts into a project. I'm just glad that they are interested in learning a skill and they are enjoying themselves!