(Thank God!) Dinner's Ready...Oh. My. Word.

Oh. My. Word.

I had the most insane day as a substitute teacher last week.

Insane.

I made four kids cry...

Like when I said, "Sorry, your friend is right, you aren't allowed to eat a Carmel apple sucker for snack time-Please put it away-"

{It IS May, and we all know the rules by now-but I am the meany who had to enforce that rule...}

That was the first episode -of several- how  I had to deal with crocodile tears with the accompanying soundtrack...

Two kids cried because they couldn't find their homework.

{Can't fault that- but they both ended up finding the homework, so the tears were for naught-}

The last cry episode was because one student wanted to work alone and not with a partner.
He cried, his partner cried-and I was trying to figure out how to bring peace while also making sure the class stayed on task...because it was almost lunchtime.

{That makes the cry count FIVE! Oh -My -Word-}

I put two kids on "Yellow" light-including one of my dear friend's kid-after several warnings...

{I had my cell phone with me, and I swear, I nearly called her!}

After lunch,

(yes, this all occurred BEFORE NOON-)

I had a different class:

They had to write apology letters to the substitute from the day before-
{!!!}

I almost put my OWN son on "yellow" light because he was throwing a pencil to a friend at another table!

Oh. MY. WORD.

This second class was just chatty, but overall, the afternoon went kind-of smooth.

There were the (normal) moments that I had to figure out:

whose pencil sharpener it Really was-

whose garbage was on the floor even though everyone at the table said it didn't belong to any of them-

whose turn it was to be line leader-

who really had to go to the bathroom right after bathroom break, and who was trying to trick me-

You know,

the usual.

So by the time I got home,

I didn't want to think.

I didn't want to solve any issues at home like:

was all the homework complete and ready for the next day-

what was for dinner-

who the hockey card really belonged to-

who needed a bath, even though they insisted the bath from three days ago was still good-

I just wanted to sit on the couch, curled up with my four year old and a cozy blanket, and listen to silence.

Sweet, sweet, silence.

Instead,

I figured it was bath time (since it was raining, and homework was done-)

and prodded my two youngest into the waiting tub with bubbles, while I grabbed a book to read while sitting with them on their bathroom floor.

{Oh. My. Word-The Kite Runner: So hard -subject matter hard, I mean- to read! But so fantastically written! Go HERE to read my review of the Kite Runner-}

I heard my dear, dear Tin Man downstairs clanging around the kitchen.

He had arrived home from grocery shopping after work-

and spicy smells and crackling noises were starting to float up the stairs.

I heard him and my oldest son emptying the dishwasher, and putting things away.

Then I heard the music flip on-

Big Band  coming from the surround sound.

Happy Music.

Music that made me smile and want to dance.

{-and I don't dance. Bad visual-}

As I got the two little boys out of the tub, dressed them, and headed downstairs-

This is what greeted me:

A table set,

Thai Turkey Cakes  (Recipe listed below-) ready to eat,

and a lovely romaine Caesar Salad, sprinkled with fresh Parmesan, and my favorite croutons-

And the Big Band Music playing happily-not too loud, not too soft.
Just perfectly.

My middle son said:

"I will go find the party hats!"

"This feels like a party!"

And it was:

A party-

A wonderful meal, a happy family, good music-

a perfect ending to a stressful day.

I asked my husband, as the boys cleared the table after we all ate our fill-

"How did you know I needed this today?"

He replied,

"I saw you had called me six times on your lunch break."

"I couldn't answer because I was in a meeting, but I knew if you were calling, it meant your day wasn't going like it usually does. When you sub, you are so happy to be there, I don't hear a word from you all day."

Oh. My. Word.
{So true!}

I want to remember this night forever!
It was too wonderful-

And so my Oldest Son, said,
"Here's your camera-Take a picture, and blog about it-"
So I did:

(...Who has stressful days now, and again-but felt her stress melt away with Big Band Music, Thai Turkey Cakes, a favorite salad, and my wonderful, crazy family!)

Thai Turkey Cakes:
{A Family Favorite, Re-Posted-}
(Serves 4):


1 package of lean ground turkey
1 tablespoon of ginger
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped white, sweet onions
3/4 cup bread crumbs (I use Italian, but you can use plain as well)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of lemon juice

*optional* 1 green chile chopped extra fine. (Only if you like heat...my kids don't, but Tin Man does, so he sneaks this in on me when I am not looking!)
Mix the ingredients in a bowl. (It is like you are making a meatloaf), pat out into patties, and fry up in a pan of 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil.
Place patty on top of  a romaine leaf, and drizzle soy sauce over top.