10/3/12 - Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes

We had a pretty different morning today. Christian took Amelia to school because Olivia and I had some stuff to do!

After getting ready, Olivia and I were off to a very nerve-wracking appointment…her kindergarten screening! WHAT?!? How is it even possible? Granted, she doesn’t actually started kindergarten for another nearly 2 years, it’s still crazy. Apparently it’s Minnesota state law kids get screened for kindergarten readiness/early intervention needs before their 4th birthday. I was pretty nervous about it because Olivia still seems so young to me, and is so extremely shy around people she doesn’t know. I talked to her about the appointment a lot, hoping to psych her up for it. Unfortunately, it didn’t go great.

First, we met with a nurse for her hearing and sight testing. She flat out refused to do the hearing test – she was terrified of the headphones. I finally got her to participate by sitting next to her, and letting her “high-five” me when she heard the beeping (which, were the lamest high-fives ever). She made it through though, and no hearing issues. For the sight testing, they have her wear some glasses with one eye covered up. They have one of this vision screens on the wall, and have her sit at a little table with 4 letters on it. The nurse pointed at a letter, then asked her to find it on the table to see how small she could read. She was apprehensive about it, but she did complete the testing and passed. YAY, no glasses! Though, I didn’t need glasses until my late teens, so I wouldn’t be surprised if our kids don’t need them down the road.

Next up, we met with a teacher to “play some games”. This part, I KNEW would not go well. It required a lot of interaction with the teacher, and I knew that no matter how nice she might be, Olivia was not going to be interested at all. She tested Olivia’s ability to write (lines, circle, triangle), and because it was independent, she did great. She tested her ability to build a tower with 8 blocks, then “copy” a bridge that she built. Again, independent task, so she did well. Then, it went downhill. The teacher would show her an object (red bouncy ball, yellow car, etc.) and asked her to describe it. Olivia would do the basic – color. And have to be prompted to say anything else. She did a “complete this sentence” activity, which seemed WAY over her head to me. For one, she said “If brother is a boy, sister is a ____”, another as “a table is made of wood, a window is made of _____”. I just cannot see a 3 year old “filling in the blank”. The only one she got was big vs. little. There were a few other activities, but none of them went great. Basically, as I expected.

In the end, she needed a score of 16 to pass. She had exactly 16. The teacher did say it was obvious Olivia COULD do more, but wasn’t comfortable and it was affecting her scores. I’m bummed that she didn’t work up to her potential, but relieved she passed and happy the teacher recognized her potential.

We stopped in to McDonald’s for breakfast, then I dropped her off at school. Work of course flew by since I missed half the day, so that felt good. The evening was pretty standard…dinner, playtime, baths and bed. Christian did end up meeting a friend at the bar down the street for a couple beers after the girls went down. I say, he’s crazy on a work night!

Tonight’s dinner was Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes, with fruit on the side.

Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Reduced Fat Biscuits
• 1 Chicken Breast, poached and diced
• 1 10.5oz Can of Reduced-Fat Cream of Chicken Soup
• 2/3 Cup of Shredded Low-Fat Cheddar Cheese
• 1 Cup of Frozen Mixed Veggies
• 1 tsp Dried Parsley Flakes
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• ¼ tsp Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Separate biscuits and place each in a cup of highly greased 12-hole muffin pan, pressing dough up the sides to edge of the cup (I made them bigger, in 6 cup pans).
2. Combine chicken, soup, veggies, cheese, onion powder, parsley and pepper in a bowl, and mix well.
3. Spoon mixture into prepared biscuit cups, and bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Note: I would recommend using a light colored pan, vs. dark, because I think the dark makes the biscuits cook too fast along the side. This is another good, family-friendly meal - as long as you can find some veggies your kids will eat.