And, I might add, it’s not even over.
There is no surer way to invite disaster than to go and make plans when the first grader is off of school. So, to celebrate having her back home, a whole bunch of us went and got sick. Fevers, chills, sniffly noses, coughs… The kids are mostly feeling better, but now I’m down and out and all I can think about is how much longer it will be until I can crawl back to bed. It makes for long days.
Doesn’t matter how I feel though, I still have meals to prepare. Time for Make-Your-Own Soup… That’s a fancy name for ramen noodles.
I have some ramen stashed away for days like these, a natural brand with less sodium and no scary names on the ingredients list. I try to assuage my mama guilt by getting the kids excited to “make their own” by adding a bit of extras: a thinly sliced omelette made with two eggs and sesame oil; a chopped up cucumber; shreds of basil; some edamame in pods. Sometimes I have bits of chicken, peanuts, or broccoli; this time we added some toasted sesame oil.
See that pyrex measuring cup? Yeah. That’s how we roll when Mama’s sick. It’s not all crystal and china ’round here… OK, fine. It’s never crystal and china here.
The edamame is great for nights like tonight, when the kids need something to keep them occupied, and I need to burn through some time. Oh, and it’s healthy. Guess that’s a win/win/win.
Here’s the craziest thing about these quick “make your own” meals we do; I’ve found no better way to get my kids to try new things than to let them spoon, or smear, or sprinkle it over something themselves. Who knew ramen could be the gateway drug to broccoli and basil?
I mean, seriously, this is what my son, that we call the walking talking cheerio, put in his bowl. And he ate it all. That’s BASIL people. It’s green!
Doesn’t look so bad for ramen noodle soup, right?
