The Long Easter Weekend

South Africa, like England and a few other places, has a 4 day weekend during Easter.  However, the Monday following Easter isn't Easter Monday.  It's Family Day.  Interesting, I think.

Anyways, we were busy last week with Lovely Little Girl having a chest infection, and Crazy Little Man being off school for a month.  (Pray for Lovely English Lass.  She'll need it with CLM being home for a month.)  And of course April means Evaluations for the Department.  Goodness help us if something really big happens during April and May, as almost all of the Department is writing evaluations.  I wrote mine, and then I had three others I had to finish as well.  So.... very busy indeed.

This meant that Friday was going to be a good day with time off with the kids and of course the long suffering wife. (Long suffering because she has to put up with not only me and my spawn, but a housekeeper that seems to think it's her house and we are just residing in it.)  This weekend I learned quite a bit.  For example:

1) Crazy Little Man is a VERY apt description of my three year old.  He picks fights with his sister, his mother and with me.  He runs around and cries at the slightest angry word.  He is, in short, a three year old boy.
2) LLG can be quite sweet when she wants to be.  However, she still has a huge attachment to her mummy, which can be quite a problem, especially when said mummy is in need of a restroom.
3) My children will say they want to watch a movie for the sole reason that they get popcorn with it.
4) South Africa really agrees with my cooking.

The fourth point is interesting, because I've always liked to cook, but I think I'm doing a better job of it now.  For example, I used to use Trader Joe's baking mix for my biscuits while I was back in the US.  They are very tasty, and everyone likes them.  However, now that I don't have any mix, I've been making biscuits from scratch because that's what my kids want for breakfast sometimes.  Let me tell you: I've figured out how to make those bad boys rise even while at almost 6,000 feet above sea level.  And they're good too.  Never would I have known I could do that without being in South Africa.  Somewhere in the afterlife my southern relatives are looking down at me and smiling that I'm making my own biscuits from scratch.  (Looks to the sky, kisses fingers and points upward) Thanks guys!

So this weekend I started off by making chili.  I got a top roast of meat, put it into the crockpot and cooked that thing down.  I also soaked black beans and navy beans overnight, and put them in as well.  LEL put some carrot strips and green peppers in and we made a fantastic batch of chili.  Sunday I got up and made what I call Sunshine cups.  (Bread cut into muffin tin, lightly cooked bacon on top and then crack an egg on top of that.)  It turned out pretty darn well.  This morning I made bacon and fresh buttermilk biscuits and just now I made really nice burgers which I put fresh made guacamole on top of before eating.  I'm telling you, I'm really enjoying this.

Anyways, it's been a good weekend, and I'll be sorry to go back to work tomorrow.  Hopefully it'll be a good week, and I'll be ready for next Saturday.  Not sure what we'll do, but I think it'll be fun.  And hey, I can always cook, right?