Plans awry

Did you ever have one of those days where everything you'd planned just doesn't happen? Or at least, it doesn't happen the way you'd envisioned it happening! I'm trying to learn to relax and let life happen. Really I am, I'm trying! So, here's how I envisioned my day today.

• Wake up around 2 pm (I worked last night)
• Shower and have a light snack
• Get together items needed for Adventurer Club Monday, so I don't forget anything!
• Do school with dd10 (and actually FINISH!)
• Make dinner and eat with my family before going to work

Sounds nice and easy, right? But no, I got up and nobody was even home! DH needed to get a prescription filled and even tho dd10 kept telling him they needed to get going, he procrastinated and put off going. They got home about the time I was getting out of the shower. And they were hungry because it was 2 pm and they hadn't had LUNCH yet. Bye bye nice easy "mom plans!" Here's how the day actually went!

• Woke up about 12:30 and couldn't sleep anymore, argh!
• Got up about 1:20 after tossing and turning for 50 minutes
• Informed by family that they need lunch
• Got together Adventurer items, so I don't forget anything!
• Decided to make a late lunch/early dinner, so we can at least eat together!
• Cook my famous mac 'n cheese casserole and make salads and we finally sit down to eat about 3 pm
• Phone rings while we are eating, with an invitation to meet a friend from church at the nearby beach if we're available
• Throwing caution to the wind, I decide to be spontaneous and accept the invitation
• 3:30 finds us on our bikes heading to the beach
• Weather was absolutely gorgeous. Water was brrrrrrrr chilly ;-) I laid on the beach while friend played with my children. She really needs grandchildren, LOL.
• Back home about 4:45
• School started at 5 and ended at 6:30, just in time for me to leave for work

There, now didn't that just fit in there nicely???? I told my dh that if things had gone according to MY plans, we'd have been right in the middle of school and I still would have had to fix dinner, so I probably would have turned down the beach invite. As it was, I knew we'd have time to fit everything in, so it all worked out perfectly.

Lesson learned--be flexible and have fun! Should I make that my new motto?

Yummy supper

I made a yummy supper last night. First of all, I had a nice big winter squash from my grandparents' garden, so I cooked that. Yummy, was that good, just mashed with a bit of butter and salt. It's one of my favorite "fall foods." Then I made this super easy layered eggplant & noodle bake. I'll try to reconstruct the recipe below ;-)

1 eggplant, peeled and sliced in 1/2" thick slices
4 oz uncooked noodles
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.

Place eggplant slices on a baking sheet and broil 6-7 minutes; turn and broil the other sides 6-7 minutes, until browned and tender. After the eggplant broils, turn the oven heat back to 375 degrees.

Stir the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, and salt and pepper together in a bowl.

Spray an 11 x 7" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Put 1/2 of the eggplant slices in a single layer in the pan. Top with 1/3 of the tomato sauce and cheeses. Cover with all of the cooked noodles. Top with 1/3 of the tomato sauce and cheeses. Place the remaining eggplant slices in single layer in the pan. Top with remaining tomato sauce and cheeses. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

All about 5 year olds

Well, not ALL about them, but I've got one so I'm getting to be quite the expert ;-) He's just so cute and smart and I love him to bits.

His latest career obsession is that he wants to be an archaeologist. I suspect this may be because he's discovered there are people who get paid to dig in the dirt ;-) LOL, j/k. I'm not sure where his interest came from, but I love it, because I love ancient history and hearing how they piece together the clues to learn about earlier civilizations. We currently have a large stack of library books on archaeology that we are reading our way through.

Evidence that he listens and thinks when I'm reading. Other than the constant interruptions to ask questions or comment on something I read, LOL. I am reading Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze to my dd10. We just started it yesterday. It mentioned that (100 years ago in China) rural children didn't receive any formal education because rural boys worked alongside their fathers, learning to farm, and why waste money on educating the girls so the girls didn't get education either. My dd, of course, protested that this wasn't fair. DS5 stopped my reading so sister could "get this straight" and proceeded to enlighten her that back then, the boys had to work with their "fodders"--"boring" as he put it. I asked if he didn't think it would be interesting working with his police officer father, and he replied that that would be, but being a country boy would not be ;-) Interesting dialogue aside, I thought it interesting that he caught the subtleties of the plot and was able to distinguish between the country and city child's life.

One other "new" thing in his life--he's singing in our little church choir! Grandma, the choir director, works with him almost every day, teaching him the songs we'll be singing. He made his debut last Sabbath and he was just so cute! He really knew the song, too. It was spritely little tune and he spit out all of those words. He even did well when we sang in parts. He can't hold his own yet one-on-one (he's only 5, after all!) but in the group, he even hung in there when we split into a 4-part canon. I was amazed!

Lest it seem I only brag about my ds5, let me mention dd10. She's a sweet, sensitive, caring child. At least the past couple of weeks she has been. I'm not sure why, but she's decided that I need to be appreciated and praised and I love it! She is sincere in her compliments, and thanks me for even the little things I do. Maybe I'm being buttered up for something, but I love it. She wrote me a little "I love you, Mom" note on the top of a math page, so I replied that I love her too on the next page where she'd see it when she went to do that page. She's been offering her help in little ways, without having to be asked (at least sometimes!) She's been pleasant to talk to. Her hand is still hurting a lot and she needs help with her writing still, but she's appreciative of the extra time I spend with her. Wherever the aliens got this child, I'm thankful they brought her to my home. They can leave her there for the next, oh, 100 years or so, and I won't complain a bit ;-)

Wrist update

We finally know, after two doctor visits, that dd's wrist isn't broken and she has no torn ligaments or tendons. She does have a whopper of a soft tissue injury, which could be another 2 weeks or so in healing, unfortunately. She's a trouper tho. She's taking her pain meds and exercising the way the doctor instructed her and we're going to get this thing well!!!

Wounded in action--still

A week ago we were at a hs group social event, and dd10 was playing a game with other kids and got plowed down and her wrist was stepped on. I didn't think it was broken but it's still hurting a lot and she's guarding it and not using it fully even when active, so I finally took her in yesterday for x-rays. I was right--no fracture. I'd have felt like a heel (and had to listen to dh harp on me for not taking her in earlier, LOL!) if it was. She at least has a rigid splint now, instead of the soft wrap I had her using, and they said to follow up in a week for more x-rays if it's not feeling better. Of course, this was her right arm, so her writing ability is limited. DS5 has become her scribe! He can write her math for her, and circle things, etc. Sentences I have to do or she'll never get done because he writes BIG and S-L-O-W ;-) Thank goodness for Sonlight and literature-based learning. I can't imagine having to help with all of her schoolwork if she had more writing and workbooks to fill in!

Homeschoolers don't need lunchbox notes!

You know. Those clever little books you can buy, and you tear out a note each day to put in your child's lunchbox. Totally not needed in our family, right? Well, dd10 wants a daily note. Typed at the bottom of her schedule. That custom-created-in-pink-and-purple-with-a-bit-of-yellow paper she gets each day, with her assignments on it. She liked the note I had on it this week that said "Enjoy doing some origami, using your special papers." Haven't had a bit of problem getting her motivated to do THAT part of the assignments! My house is now wallpapered with folded bits of colored paper. I do have to admit that the penguin she made me from black paper (it's white on the "wrong" side of the paper!) is pretty cute. And the piano she made from zebra striped paper for Grandma is just--well--I want one like it. A full-size one ;-) And the oblong boxes were perfect for holding a bit of candy, mini cards, and bookmarks--you DID remember that Grandparents' Day was last Sunday, didn't you? So anyway, I digress. When I run out of ways to say "I love you" or "You're terrific" I guess I'll have to peruse those scrapbooking sites with bazillions of quotes. Oh ha ha, here's an idea! I could spread a "knock-knock" joke over 4 days! Or give her a riddle, and the answer the next day. Hmmmm, this could turn into something fun!

How to dazzle your family in the culinary department!

Fix 'em some lentils to eat. Yep, that's easy, huh? I had this recipe for Mexican Lentil Casserole that I used to make sometimes BC (before children) but haven't made in--oh--forever. 8-10 years, easily. So the other day I ran across some lentils and decided to make it today. And my kids LOVED it. Talk about a shock--I figured they'd barely touch it!

OK, so here is the recipe, now that I've tickled your tastebuds.

4 cups water
1 cup lentils
1-1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced

Bring to a boil in a saucepan and cook until the lentils and rice are done. Stir in:

1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 tsp chili powder

Pour into a casserole dish and back 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and cover the top with shredded cheddar cheese; let sit 5 minutes. Serve as a main dish, or as a yummy dip with tortilla chips.

Date with my hubby :-)

We had a cheap date today! We both worked last night, so when we got up this afternoon, we went for a nice walk together, just the two of us. With my parents next door, we can safely leave the kids home, since they dislike walking with us! Anyway, for a change of scenery, we walked in a nearby park instead of walking just on the Rail Trail. We'd not explored the 2nd (longer) trail in this park, but we did so today. Lemme tell you, friends, the woods is FULL of red berries. Pixilated Mum, I thought of you. There were clusters of red berries on one plant, single berries on plants that looked like wintergreen but aren't, purple berries on stalks in the middle of flat clusters of broad green leaves--all sorts of thingies like that and I have NO idea what the plants were! They were pretty tho.

I think my dh is getting addicted to exercise--especially when he stepped on the scale and it said he'd lost a bit of weight! For some reason he'd plateaued and hadn't lost anything since we got back from vacation, but this last week he's been exercising more than he had and he's making progress! Anyway, he commented on how good the walk made him feel, and how nice it is to walk together, and how he noticed that a certain dress of mine fits better because I've been walking with him when I can.

Oh, and anyone interested in some motivation to move--check out iVillage's Walk On, Rock On to a New You: A 6-Week Walking Program for Better Health. It starts October 1st. I've already signed up, and when I mentioned it to my dh, he asked if he could do it with me. OK, first pick me up off the floor. This is NOT the man I married! He's ASKING if he can exercise? With me???? Yay, hurray, yippee-kiyee, rock on Mr. Hubby!

Your chance to contribute to research!

Researchers at the UCSF are conducting a study on the Genetics of Absolute Pitch, for which they invite anyone to participate. My mother had perfect (absolute) pitch, and she identified that at a very early age I also had it. It can be a boon or a bane, depending on the setting. DD10 has yet to learn that she shouldn't argue with me over what note she has just played on her flute, ROFL ;-)

5 year old in 5th grade!

Eeks! Well, ok, not quite. But ds5 sure thinks he should be included in the school of higher learning! So today, dd10 was doing some mapwork of Japan. Ds5 needed his own map, so I quick copied the map before she started writing on it. Then he wanted to know what to write! Thank goodness for answer keys, because I was working with HER and didn't have time to sit and spell out words for HIM to write. I just vaguely pointed in the direction of the map key in my notebook, and said "just write those words on your map!" Well, that kept him very busy and very quiet for quite some time. When he tired of writing words (little words like Hiroshima, and North Pacific Ocean, etc) I pointed out the symbols on the map and he drew those (triangles for mountains, anchors [which flummoxed him a bit, LOL] for seaports, and fireworks for Hiroshima and Nagasaki) plus filled in his map key. I dare say, his map looks almost as good as dd10's with the exception that his letters are bigger so he couldn't fit quite as much on ;-) Oh, and he also insisted that he needed to draw the Japanese flags. He was quite dismayed to find out that it was just a red circle, LOL, so he drew the rectangle around it "because sister's has a rectangle around it too, mommy" (that would be the box she was to draw the flag in on her worksheet, but hey, I'm not a stickler for detail ;-)

Anyway, in case you were worried LOL, he's just as cute and smart as ever!