Snap Bead Soup

*Disclaimer* yes, I know I said I would try to write almost daily but the past few weeks have been a bit wild with Steve out-of-town and working on weekends; then school started and I had an order for 90 baby announcements...excuses, excuses :)

Nope, that's not a typo...I'm currently enjoying Snap Bead Soup made by Julia. Obviously she's been watching me freeze beans from the Farmer's Market. Last night it was Snap Bead Salsa. Again, obviously watching me can salsa after our weekly trip to the Market. We haven't been served Snap Bead Pickles yet...but she may never want to see pickles again after we pickled 20 pounds of cucumbers! Lately she's been expressing her culinary abilities since I've been spending so much time pickling and canning our treasurers from the Manassas Farmer's Market.

Julia has also started making cakes and pancakes. She enjoys watching Steve make chocolate chip pancakes on the weekends and watching me make the various cake orders that come in. Two weeks ago I had two cakes to decorate, both for girls named Molly. One was Cinderella and the other was an electric guitar. Julia sat in the chair next to me and watched me carefully ice the cakes with homemade buttercream icing. I wish I could say that she was quietly watching, but no, she was telling me how to decorate. Now we all know her love of "Lowly" but this was sweet. While I was putting the icing strings on the guitar she clearly stated "Mama! You put Lowly on the cake!" "No," I said "Lowly doesn't go on cakes" "No, Mama, Lowly is on the cake. Yes". Well, that was that.

For weekday breakfasts she loves to eat waffles with peanut butter. So much that we buy them in bulk. Yes, she loves her 'awfuls and peanut utter'. While walking into school we step over a man hole cover that is in the middle of the sidewalk. I never really paid attention to the cover. Most mornings I'm just trying to get her to walk faster so that I can get into the classroom to set-up. She loves to watch the squirrels in the trees and sing about something or other. Last week she stopped on the cover and proclaimed "Mama! It's a 'awful!" HUH!?! My first thought was to tell her not to pick it up, thinking another child dropped their breakfast waffle on the ground. As I turned to look at her, she said it again and pointed down to the cover she was standing on. Sure enough the cover has a grid pattern, just like her waffles.

Although this morning was a little different. She had yogurt but I have to share with you what she said to me. Yes, last night our beloved Eagles lost to the Dallas Foulboys. But we still have our pride. I put her Eagles shirt (brave here in Redskins Country) on and as I was helping her with her shoes she said to me "Mama, I wear Eagles! I love my Papa's Eagles" Now that's father/daughter bonding at its finest. Fly, Eagles, Fly!