More relaxing. A totally la dee dah day.
The day actually started last night. Poor Jimmy is sick with some kind of sore throat/cough/sinus thing/virus. And unfortunately for us all, when Jimmy has this kind of illness, he snores like a freight train. It's absolutely wall-shaking, nerve-rattling, and totally sleep-depriving.
So I banished poor sick Jimmy to Jude's bedroom. Which is really to his own benefit, as when I am waking up every thirty minutes to kick him, he doesn't really get any sleep either, and as he's sick, he particularly needs sleep. So Jimmy was sent to Jude's room early with a shot of NyQuil, and Jude and I snuggled up in the big king bed. Hehehe.
Now to truly appreciate the very snuggliness of my son these days, you have to understand that for Christmas we gave him a particularly cute pair of red footie jammies. It's was a tradition from my childhood that I received a new nightgown every Christmas Eve (and you really should click on the link, because it's an uber-sweet story). And now, every Christmas Eve, Jude gets to open one present, always from Jimmy and me, and it's always pajamas. And sweetly, he really loves this because he knows now that it's a tradition, and I think he senses that it's my way of giving him a gift from my Mama, his Grandmama that he never knew.
He's really super-duper snuggly in these red footie jammies. Embarrassingly, I have been considering purchasing a pair of my own...perhaps these from Target...
Are they just too gross? I have always been anti-old maw maw sleepwear, opting for silky nightgowns rather than flannel pajamas. But there's something so sweet and snuggly about snuggling up together with Jude in his sweet, snuggly footie jammies...
Okay, I just freaked myself out with my over-usage of the words sweet, snuggly and footie. Ewwwww.
So anyway, after falling asleep snuggled up with me in spoon formation, Jude woke up at an absolutely acceptable 8:00, and asked if he could go in and play the Wii. I agreed immediately, and went back to sleep. I woke again at...prepare yourself...10:30. Really! I then got myself a cup of coffee, checked to make sure that Jimmy was still in a NyQuil induced slumber, grabbed my laptop and fiddled around on the internet.
For a very long time.
At 12:45, I heard Jimmy rooting around in the bathroom. Then Jude came into the bedroom and said "Mama, I'm hungry."
Hmmm. That's right. It was 12:45 pm, and I had failed to feed my child...at all. Mildly horrified, I asked him what he would like for breakfast. He then excitedly informed me that it was, in fact, brunch, something that he was seldom given. He decided that for brunch, he would like 10 pieces of bacon, and two pieces of French toast. Which I made him. Don't judge me.
After that, I decided that really my child and I ought to do SOMETHING today. So we pulled out his Cub Scouts Wolf Cubs Handbook and went to work. We were, embarrassingly, about three months behind on our requirements. But, while Jimmy headed off to see the doctor, Jude and I banged these suckers out. Know Your Home and Community Achievement - check.
Healthy Body Achievement - almost all checked. We still had to go outside and play catch. And while we were at it, Jude decided to do a little scootering. Santa had given him a new, groovy Razor Spark Scooter, which has wheels that sparkle when you scoot, and has a brake that sends up a cool spray of sparks. So dude!
Be Safe at home and on the Street Achievement - check. Cooking and Eating Achievement...
This achievement involves planning and executing a healthful meal for your family. Shockingly, Jude decided that the menu for his meal would be (not tacos or cheeseburgers or pizza) Linguini with Clams. His poor sick Daddy's favorite. Sweet yet again (and he wasn't even wearing those footie jammies).
So we went to the store and bought all the ingredients for Linguini with Clams and Tomatoes. While at the grocery store, I realized that all week, I'd been thinking about those Peppermint Martinis that we had LAST year for Christmas Eve, but didn't this year because because I didn't want anybody to vomit, and decided that it would be quite fun and chillaxish to buy the ingredients and make some for myself. Jimmy would get his clams and his NyQuil, and I would get clams and Peppermint Martinis. Joy!
And so my sweet, snuggly boy made his Daddy Linguini with Clams and Tomatoes for dinner. I did all the chopping. But he did all the washing and measuring and dumping and stirring. He turned on and off the burners on the stove and drained the pasta. He set the table and even folded the napkins in an attractive way.
I must say, it turned out absolutely brilliantly. Jimmy was super impressed, even though right after he finished dinner he was forced to take his shot of NyQuil and go to bed. Alas, he's in our big bed tonight, which banishes Jude and I to his room, with me on the blow-up mattress. But still a better alternative than sleeping with SnoreMan.
Here is a poor iPhone picture of Jimmy and Jude slurping their linguini. Yes, we are at the coffee table. Don't judge me. Again.
And I seem to have been greatly enjoying my Peppermint Martinis! What an excellent idea I had!
So before I go and snuggle into my sweet blow-up mattress and watch a couple of Stargate SG-1 episodes from Netflix (and one more small cocktail shaker of Pep Marts) I will leave you with...
Jude's Linguini with Clams and Tomatoes -
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle clam juice
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 pounds clams
4 or 5 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (about one Gretchen-sized handful or two Jude-sized handfuls)
salt and freshly-ground pepper (this pepper grinding was particularly fun for the 7 year old)
1 lb. linguini
Bring large pot of water to boil. When boiling, add the linguini. Heat olive oil in large stock pot, then add the garlic. Heat for about 30 seconds, then pour in the bottle of clam juice and the wine. Bring to a boil. Dump in the clams. Dump in the tomatoes. Cover tightly and steam for about 9 minutes (about what it takes to boil the linguini al dente) or until all the clams have popped open. Toss on the fresh parsley and add salt and pepper. If you are 7 years old, stop adding pepper when your mother tells you to. Drain the pasta, finding it really funny the way the steam goes up in your nose. Serve to your eagerly waiting sick father with a big smile. Accept huge hug and kiss from aforementioned sick father.