Happy Mardi Gras!

Haven't posted in a few days... We had a small Mardi Gras party at our house so cooking took precedence over several things for a bit. I guess you really know that you've become a homeschooler when you use anything and everything for teaching your children. And Mardi Gras is definitely one of those things!

The kids and I ordered two King Cakes from a bakery in Keller, LA (http://www.catdancingproductions.com/guests/kellers.html); they were so great! In addition to the yearly cream cheese filling, we also bought a cake with blueberry cream cheese filling. YUM! We also made crawfish dip, chicken & sausage gumbo, and seafood jambalaya. The kids made their own 'trash' with pretzels, M&Ms, goldfish, and sour gummy worms. Between the trash and the crawfish dip, they could barely stand the wait for our guests to arrive!

Because we move so much, I worry that the children won't remember many of the wonderful flavors that I had at home in Louisiana. Ok, granted that I grew up in North Louisiana, and those flavors are quite different from South LA! Dad often made gumbos and the like from duck or rabbit or squirrel. Fortunately - who knows, maybe you think unfortunately - the kids don't have those foods now except for when we visit grandparents. My oldest son even tried fried alligator - or was it fried frog legs - this past November at the hunting camp...

A little nostalgia here. This time of the year reminds me of many wonderful memories I have. And keeps me going to provide some of those for my chidren, even if they pop up in our homeschool!