The Friday Five!

Well, unless you've been completely oblivious (which I get, it happens to the best of us), you probably noticed we got totally walloped this past week with a killer winter storm. I'd say we fared pretty well. Living in a neighborhood where the kids could just go outside by themselves and meet up with kids on the block for sledding, epic snowball fights, and just general snow revelry was a HUGE difference from living in our condo. I basically didn't even go outside for the first several days (I was sick and we weren't going anywhere anyways). We also had the good fortune of living along a snow emergency route, so we were almost immediately plowed out and able to get out and about. We did do A LOT of crafting and reading and cooking, so it was hard to narrow things down for this week's Friday Five. But, here you have it!

Cooking -- everyone groaned when I announced this Swirly Crustless Quiche was for dinner, but then scarfed down several pieces each. The kids seriously didn't even notice how many veggies were in there. The rosemary gives it an almost sweet taste. And it couldn't be easier to make. We had it with a side of chicken sausage and grilled fruit. This will be a new once-a-monther.

Reading -- we spent a lot of snowed-in time reading. We're almost finished with the monstrous Magnus Chase book and we've simultaneously moved on to a monstrous audiobook Queste. It's the fourth in a series and I'm finding it hard to follow since we didn't read the first books, but the kids insist on forging ahead. I wrapped up Pretty Ugly quickly and was totally depressed by it. I get that it's satirical, but I honestly found the commentary on marriage, society, parenting, etc. too depressing to be funny. I followed that up with The Shore, which was also not an uplifting read. It focuses on several generations of different families on a group of small islands off the Chesapeake Bay (near where we've visited in past summers). Lots of heavy subjects and a lot of characters and jumping around, but I really enjoyed the writing. I'm finishing up The Jezebel Remedy now and while the story is a bit far fetched, I get a kick out of the married couple who run their own law practice.

Playing -- I broke out some new Brain Quest cards when we shoveled our way out to a good dinner last Sunday. And the kids keep requesting them. We've tried several iterations of them, but they both really enjoy this reading set. Awesome skills building.

Making -- did you catch our DIY Scratch Art post? It was definitely a favorite art project of Cam's!

Wanting -- adult coloring books intrigue me and this seems like the perfect one to start with after last week's storm. Although Unicorns are Jerks and the Swear Word coloring books are also at the top of my list.