I am truly tired of the snow. The next two days are looking like snow days AGAIN!!! In addition to the 6 feet we already have on the ground. It is really tough to keep a routine going when we keep having this strange winter. I am afraid to sign the kids up for anything at the library because the snow is such a constant thing, I am never sure if we will be able to go or not. Not only am I going stir crazy, but so are the kids. They need to get out, and so do I. Maybe in a few months when the snow starts to melt!
So our week started well, and the kids did great at school time today. CJ and Eliza are having some difficulty following directions at other times of day though. We are starting a new thing tomorrow. If I don't have to yell at them in the morning about throwing food on the floor, or picking up their toys, or other things they know they should and shouldn't do, then they get a Backyardigans card I printed. If they take their nap they get another one. This is because CJ keeps getting into things he knows he is not supposed to when I think he is in his bed. Today he went into the play room, woke Mason up and got Yahtzee and dumped it in his bed! If they make it through dinner without me having to yell at them (and I was very clear and specific when discussing this with them, though I admit I am vague now) they get another card. If they get 3 cards they get a gold medal, that Rich picked up at the store. If they both get gold medals all week, then on Saturday we can make a special treat, or watch a special movie, or go someplace special. I will let you know how this goes.
Our lessons this week are J, 10, crescent, gray, jerboa and javelina for animals, maps (continued from last week) and winter. Wednesday we will learn about groundhogs, and Groundhog Day. Later in the week we will learn a little about Chinese New Year, and maybe make fortune cookies. Our craft Wednesday are these cute little groundhog puppets in a paper cup. You use a popsicle stick to peek the groundhog out of his den and back in. Friday our cooking project will be Jello Jigglers. Tomorrow we will make some sort of cooking project, and clean the house. CJ and Eliza love to help dust and vacuum, and they especially love to help cook. They are always so excited to get their aprons and measuring cups out. They love trying new foods, too. Over the past couple of weeks we have made recipes from Greece, China, Japan, Morocco, India and Mexico. Some things they liked, some they didn't, but they tried everything. They are like that with school work too. They almost always try to do things, even if they don't want to, or think they can't do it well. They usually try, and do pretty well. I realized today though, how soon we will be done with our letters. Now I have to think of what we will do next! We started our last color today. Next week we will review colors, do the rainbow, and maybe mixing of colors. I guess after we do our letters, we start on words and real reading. As it is they are spelling words, sounding them out, and we point out letters and words wherever we are. In the car tonight they were spelling Mason's name, as well as their own names. Now we need to work more on tracing, coloring, and writing skills. Mason does phenomenally well at coloring, often in the lines on a coloring book. He holds the crayon perfectly and does slow careful coloring. Unfortunately he is not consistent with recognizing his letters and numbers. CJ and Eliza are great at knowing all their letters and numbers, but their prewriting skills leave a lot to be desired. Mason is also far better at using scissors, but doesn't count items consistently or recognize all the shapes. It is like he is completely opposite of CJ and Eliza, they have opposite skill sets. Hopefully they will continue to model for each other. Next goal though, is to get Eliza out of diapers. I would love to be done with diapers except at nap and night. Any suggestions? CJ decided on his own that he was ready, no matter what we did, he resisted, until he decided it was time. Eliza, not so much. I am a little lost on what else to try.
I must say every day is an adventure in this house. This is the best job I have ever had, albeit the most insane. At least I can wear my slippers to work. Off to get some sleep.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Update
Isn't it amazing how time gets away from you? I realized it has been too long since I blogged at all. Between snow days, cleaning, falling, healing, baking, and planning, things just sort of took over my time. On the plus side my house hasn't been this continuously clean in a very long time. We have been eating yummy healthful foods, and I have been completing and preparing lesson plans without being a slave to them. I feel better than I have in a long time, at least about my accomplishments. The fall on the ice certainly didn't make me feel better. My neck still hurts a lot, especially by the end of the day. I don't bounce like I used to. But while resting on the couch, I have spent a lot of time over the past week looking at state requirements and district guidelines for preschool and kindergarten curriculum. I am starting to integrate those topics into lesson plans over the next two months. We have only one color left to do and that frees up a whole subject time to add in more social studies and science topics. We are studying I, 9, pentagon, pink, iguanas, and maps this week. I has been very interesting this week though. Mason was home Monday and Tuesday, and the lessons on maps have been shortened from the original plans. They are all three having some difficulty concentrating today, I am sure because they haven't seen each other in near a week. It looks like tomorrow will be a snow day as well, so CJ Eliza and I will be making some finger paints and using some envelopes to paint on. The envelopes were in a box in the basement and the residual moisture in the air was enough to seal them shut, so they will make perfect little canvasses for toddler fingers. Upcoming our theme topics will be transportation, winter, weather, and health, not necessarily in that order. I have found that CJ and Eliza respond so well to school even on the days Mason isn't here. They are so disappointed if we don't do school. It keeps their minds active, and keeps the routine, which makes for a better day for all of us. They don't like having an entire day without some sort of structure. They like knowing what is coming. It is so wonderful to me to be able to see every day how they grow and learn, and to learn about them as we take this journey together. Watching them learn and grow into amazing little people is probably the greatest gift I can imagine. I love being the one who knows how they are learning and progressing, the one who can adapt lessons to work with their personalities and strengths, to teach them manners and moral responsibility. Seriously the best job ever! I really have never been so happy in my life as I am now, especially when the kitchen floor is clean!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Easy Day
It has been a long but good day. We made play dough in all the colors we didn't have, for our Wednesday craft project. We used a Melissa and Doug toy that sorts animals into their habitats, to talk about different habitats and the animals that belong there. We traced H, 8 and octagons, and made them out of pipe cleaners. We added a lot of words to our H poster. We reviewed our Venn Diagram for Horse and Hedgehog. They all seem extremely interested in the Venn Diagram, and we added to the one we made of CJ and Eliza. CJ explained all about it to his Memere and Pepere. Since I am expecting a snow day on Friday I think we will make our H recipe tomorrow. I am thinking hot cross buns. I have almost all of my lessons ready for the next two weeks, and I am almost done deep cleaning the house. Knickknacks are being washed, and I am cleaning out junk drawers, and those piles of things that never get thrown out. All my resolutions have made for a much cleaner, and less stressful home environment. It is so much easier to educate the kiddos, and get dinner made, and get all manner of things accomplished. Plus I just feel better knowing that the floor is clean, that the laundry is put away, and that I can find things when I need them. What a difference it makes everyday. Plus I keep setting myself up to make it easy. Every night I get out clothes for me and the kids. I keep wet soapy washcloths in an old wipes container, with a little bit of tea tree oil, so that before the kids get up from the table I wash their hands, faces and trays or table. Less grubbiness gets spread around the house, and I have to wash their trays and high chairs less often. I spend a few minutes each night preparing for the next day, so it is easy to get things done. It has made it so that I have more time each day to spend doing something I want to do, blogging, reading, writing or playing a video game. As much as everyone tells you that organization is important, you just have to come to that realization in your own time. I truly feel like a new person with a new outlook on life, that is how different these resolutions have made things. Thanks for listening to me ramble. More tomorrow. For now I am going to go enjoy a decaf coffee and some video games with my hubby.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Just Keep Swimming
So yesterday a holiday, today a snow day. Possible snow day again on Friday. I am still sticking to my resolutions, and getting a lot done with the kiddos. We are learning about habitats this week. Today we learned about Venn Diagrams. It amazes me what they can understand and absorb. Unfortunately a lot of heavy duty cleaning I wanted to do has had to be put on hold due to the fact that I fell and injured my neck on Sunday. Luckily Rich has been super helpful. I am feeling better, but it still really hurts. Tomorrow should be better. At least the house was pretty clean to start with. I made spelt bread and spelt pita today, we made delicious Greek food for dinner, and CJ and Eliza enjoyed helping. We have been playing Hungry Hungry Hippos, and we watched Howl's Moving Castle as a treat. It has been a very nice few days, and today was quiet. The kiddos really miss Mason though, and so do I. We are looking forward to having a "normal" week. Maybe next week we will have no snow days. I already have most of my lesson plans done for next week. I just feel so much less stressed, and more able to accomplish things lately. Here is to hoping that lasts!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Another Week Complete
So even with the snow day I accomplished everything on my list and lesson plans for the week! We made granola bars for our G week cooking project. We made gorilla stick puppets to go with the Yellow Gorilla we watched on the storyplace website. Today we did some review and assessment, and all three kiddos seem to have learned what I wanted. They have had a pretty good week, and so have I. As I am typing Eliza and CJ are singing the Alphabet of Nations from Here Come the ABC's, they really love They Might Be Giants. Mind you, the CD isn't actually playing, they simply have memorized the entire playlist. Yesterday I had them stack 7 blocks, and CJ got two, and I asked them how many more they needed, and Eliza never even thought about it and said 5. I was blown away!
CJ is writing his name more consistently and finally holding the crayons and pencils properly. We are working on using the safety scissors. What a difficult thing to teach! I have been using the highlightskids.com site for read alouds and other stories, and storylineonline as well. Since Rich attached my PC to the TV I find it so much easier to do computer activities with the kids. I have also found that this week went so smoothly, because we finally have ironed out a routine that works. Each school day starts the same, and it sets the kids up for the learning time. Each day includes music, and coloring, and discussion and reading. We also watch very little TV, some days we don't watch any. And we stick to Dinosaur Train, Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid and the like. Though once in awhile, like right now, I let the kids watch a special movie. They chose Howl's Moving Castle today. Which is one of my favorites, so I didn't complain too much. On Saturday's they usually get to watch some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Imagination Movers as well, while I do some cleaning and such.
Since Monday is a holiday and Rich is home I think we will visit the library and get some materials to go with our lessons for the next couple of weeks. We never got there this week with the snow. We are going to work on H, 8, octagon, the color white, horses and hedgehogs (I couldn't pick), and habitats. I would like to find some age appropriate books about the animals and their habitats if I can. I just need to choose a letter H day recipe. Does anyone have a good suggestion? Wednesday we made German food, schnitzel, spaetzle, cucumber salad, and braised red cabbage, with rye bread. That was a big hit. Every meal we talk about the food groups and which foods are healthful or not.
Tonight we will probably play Go Diego Go on the Wii, since they really enjoyed that. Next week will probably be Hungry Hungry Hippos all week! I also hope we will be able to get outside to play a little more. Here's hoping!
CJ is writing his name more consistently and finally holding the crayons and pencils properly. We are working on using the safety scissors. What a difficult thing to teach! I have been using the highlightskids.com site for read alouds and other stories, and storylineonline as well. Since Rich attached my PC to the TV I find it so much easier to do computer activities with the kids. I have also found that this week went so smoothly, because we finally have ironed out a routine that works. Each school day starts the same, and it sets the kids up for the learning time. Each day includes music, and coloring, and discussion and reading. We also watch very little TV, some days we don't watch any. And we stick to Dinosaur Train, Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid and the like. Though once in awhile, like right now, I let the kids watch a special movie. They chose Howl's Moving Castle today. Which is one of my favorites, so I didn't complain too much. On Saturday's they usually get to watch some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Imagination Movers as well, while I do some cleaning and such.
Since Monday is a holiday and Rich is home I think we will visit the library and get some materials to go with our lessons for the next couple of weeks. We never got there this week with the snow. We are going to work on H, 8, octagon, the color white, horses and hedgehogs (I couldn't pick), and habitats. I would like to find some age appropriate books about the animals and their habitats if I can. I just need to choose a letter H day recipe. Does anyone have a good suggestion? Wednesday we made German food, schnitzel, spaetzle, cucumber salad, and braised red cabbage, with rye bread. That was a big hit. Every meal we talk about the food groups and which foods are healthful or not.
Tonight we will probably play Go Diego Go on the Wii, since they really enjoyed that. Next week will probably be Hungry Hungry Hippos all week! I also hope we will be able to get outside to play a little more. Here's hoping!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Recipes
I love food, and I love cooking food, so I am going to share some favorite recipes, and a few other tidbits.
1 1/2 cups rinsed uncooked quinoa
3 cups broth or water (I usually use veggie stock)
Fresh or dried herbs of your preference, I like dried dill and fresh parsley a lot
2 cloves garlic minced, or a big spoonful of the prechopped stuff in the fridge
5 cups assorted cut up veggies, I often use broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, squashes, green beans, asparagus, really whatever strikes your fancy, or needs to be used up from the fridge or freezer
A blob of reduced fat cream cheese (neufchatel) about 1/4 of a bar
1/4 to 1/2 cup cheese, depending on what you are using, parmesan or romano I don't use a lot of, but Cabot's reduced fat shredded cheddar I use more of
Place quinoa, broth, herbs, garlic and veggies in a rice cooker or large saucepan. In rice cooker, hit the start button, in a saucepan bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes till quinoa has absorbed liquid and veggies are about tender. Stir in cream cheese and shredded cheese of your choice. CJ really liked the version with parmesan cheese, green beans, drained diced tomatoes, carrots and Italian seasonings, Eliza loved the cheddar, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, corn and dill version. I have even used leftover roasted veggies, waiting to add them at the end. Yummy!
I also do the same thing with quick cooking barley, and Rich really enjoys that! I sometimes add leftover roast chicken to make a one dish dinner.
Saute one onion chopped and 6 cloves of garlic minced in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil till tender. Add 1 1/4 cups rinsed drained uncooked quinoa, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 1/4 cups water and 1 3/4 cup broth (1 can) or more water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered 10-15 minutes till liquid is absorbed. Uncover and stir in 1 cup frozen corn, 1 can black beans rinsed and drained, and 1 cup of your favorite mild salsa. I often also add a bit of lime juice. This goes great with grilled fish or chicken, or fajita seasoned steak. I always use mild salsa since Eliza does not like hot foods, but CJ prefers it with a bit of jalapeno or some medium salsa on his.
I did a wonderful black bean and brown rice in my pressure cooker, and if anyone wants me to post it let me know. I just don't want to waste space if no one else has a pressure cooker.
I have used cooked quinoa as a cold salad, mixing in a bunch of raw chopped veggies and vinaigrette. I like a lemon olive oil vinaigrette with celery, carrots, green beans, thawed frozen peas, and chopped tomato. And lots of chopped fresh parsley. It tastes a little bit like tabbouleh.
I mix whole wheat orzo, brown rice, chopped onion and garlic salt and pepper, and saute in olive oil to start a whole grain pilaf. I add frozen peas and carrots to this, and Rich loves it. Add the veggies and liquid, and cook till tender.
I also have used leftover cooked barley and quinoa mixed together with frozen broccoli to make a grain and cheese. I warm milk whisked with flour or cornstarch to thicken and add Cabot shredded 50% light cheddar to make a cheese sauce. I mix in leftover cooked chicken to make a whole grain healthy version of chicken divan. You can't go wrong with cheese, and most especially Cabot's light cheese, it is our favorite.
I also have made a baked barley and rice. Toast barley and brown rice in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, until it starts to brown. Use about 1/2 cup raw per person you are serving. Place in a casserole dish and cover with hot liquid, twice the amount of grain, 1 cup grain 2 cups liquid. I usually use some veggie or chicken stock and some water. It is important that the liquid is hot, otherwise this takes F O R E V E R to cook. Stir in 1 cup of chopped veggies for each person you are serving, and 1/2 cup of chopped leftover chicken, turkey or pork for each person you are serving. Alternately, you could throw in some raw shrimp or scallops towards the end of cooking, if you would prefer a seafood version. Bake in a 350 oven covered for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. I like to sprinkle fat free crumbled feta on this. If using the seafood, uncover when it still has 12-15 minutes left to cook, and place fish on top of rice mixture and recover. I usually also add a ton of seasonings to this. I love smoked paprika and curry powder, or Italian seasoning and a bit of parmesan cheese. I like also using taco seasoning and some leftover ground beef. It is a perfect recipe for adding the types of spices and veggies you prefer. Plus it only dirties a couple of dishes, which I love.
In addition to these, I am also including the recipes for play dough, and finger paint in case you don't already have them. These have become my friends in recent months!
1 cup flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup salt
1 1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Optional: cinnamon, or apple pie spice blend, or food coloring, or extract, or package of crystal light or unsweetened kool aid for color and scent
Cook all ingredients together in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, it will get stiff quickly. Let cook till it forms a ball in the pan, and let cool enough to handle. Knead it a bit to soften and blend it, till it is cool enough for the kids. I find this lasts a very long time if I keep it in ziploc bags.
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups cold water
food coloring
Mix cornstarch sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat about 5 minutes till thick. Divide into several small bowls and add different food colorings to each. Stir till blended and cool. Store in an airtight container. This does not store as well as the play dough, but lasts longer if stored in the fridge.
Incidentally, I use pretty much the same method to make homemade pudding, except using milk instead of water, and 1/3 cup sugar. Whisk cornstarch, milk, and sugar till blended, then heat and whisk till thick. After it has thickened to pudding consistency, add vanilla or whatever flavoring you like, and a bit of butter. For butterscotch use rum flavoring brown sugar and more butter at the end, about 2 tablespoons. For chocolate, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder with starch and sugar. It is yummy.
Please comment, and share any opinions, questions, or other recipe ideas. Thanks!
Creamy Quinoa Primavera
1 1/2 cups rinsed uncooked quinoa
3 cups broth or water (I usually use veggie stock)
Fresh or dried herbs of your preference, I like dried dill and fresh parsley a lot
2 cloves garlic minced, or a big spoonful of the prechopped stuff in the fridge
5 cups assorted cut up veggies, I often use broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, squashes, green beans, asparagus, really whatever strikes your fancy, or needs to be used up from the fridge or freezer
A blob of reduced fat cream cheese (neufchatel) about 1/4 of a bar
1/4 to 1/2 cup cheese, depending on what you are using, parmesan or romano I don't use a lot of, but Cabot's reduced fat shredded cheddar I use more of
Place quinoa, broth, herbs, garlic and veggies in a rice cooker or large saucepan. In rice cooker, hit the start button, in a saucepan bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes till quinoa has absorbed liquid and veggies are about tender. Stir in cream cheese and shredded cheese of your choice. CJ really liked the version with parmesan cheese, green beans, drained diced tomatoes, carrots and Italian seasonings, Eliza loved the cheddar, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, corn and dill version. I have even used leftover roasted veggies, waiting to add them at the end. Yummy!
I also do the same thing with quick cooking barley, and Rich really enjoys that! I sometimes add leftover roast chicken to make a one dish dinner.
Southwest Quinoa Pilaf
Saute one onion chopped and 6 cloves of garlic minced in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil till tender. Add 1 1/4 cups rinsed drained uncooked quinoa, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 1/4 cups water and 1 3/4 cup broth (1 can) or more water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered 10-15 minutes till liquid is absorbed. Uncover and stir in 1 cup frozen corn, 1 can black beans rinsed and drained, and 1 cup of your favorite mild salsa. I often also add a bit of lime juice. This goes great with grilled fish or chicken, or fajita seasoned steak. I always use mild salsa since Eliza does not like hot foods, but CJ prefers it with a bit of jalapeno or some medium salsa on his.
I did a wonderful black bean and brown rice in my pressure cooker, and if anyone wants me to post it let me know. I just don't want to waste space if no one else has a pressure cooker.
I have used cooked quinoa as a cold salad, mixing in a bunch of raw chopped veggies and vinaigrette. I like a lemon olive oil vinaigrette with celery, carrots, green beans, thawed frozen peas, and chopped tomato. And lots of chopped fresh parsley. It tastes a little bit like tabbouleh.
I mix whole wheat orzo, brown rice, chopped onion and garlic salt and pepper, and saute in olive oil to start a whole grain pilaf. I add frozen peas and carrots to this, and Rich loves it. Add the veggies and liquid, and cook till tender.
I also have used leftover cooked barley and quinoa mixed together with frozen broccoli to make a grain and cheese. I warm milk whisked with flour or cornstarch to thicken and add Cabot shredded 50% light cheddar to make a cheese sauce. I mix in leftover cooked chicken to make a whole grain healthy version of chicken divan. You can't go wrong with cheese, and most especially Cabot's light cheese, it is our favorite.
I also have made a baked barley and rice. Toast barley and brown rice in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, until it starts to brown. Use about 1/2 cup raw per person you are serving. Place in a casserole dish and cover with hot liquid, twice the amount of grain, 1 cup grain 2 cups liquid. I usually use some veggie or chicken stock and some water. It is important that the liquid is hot, otherwise this takes F O R E V E R to cook. Stir in 1 cup of chopped veggies for each person you are serving, and 1/2 cup of chopped leftover chicken, turkey or pork for each person you are serving. Alternately, you could throw in some raw shrimp or scallops towards the end of cooking, if you would prefer a seafood version. Bake in a 350 oven covered for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. I like to sprinkle fat free crumbled feta on this. If using the seafood, uncover when it still has 12-15 minutes left to cook, and place fish on top of rice mixture and recover. I usually also add a ton of seasonings to this. I love smoked paprika and curry powder, or Italian seasoning and a bit of parmesan cheese. I like also using taco seasoning and some leftover ground beef. It is a perfect recipe for adding the types of spices and veggies you prefer. Plus it only dirties a couple of dishes, which I love.
In addition to these, I am also including the recipes for play dough, and finger paint in case you don't already have them. These have become my friends in recent months!
Play Dough
1 cup flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup salt
1 1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Optional: cinnamon, or apple pie spice blend, or food coloring, or extract, or package of crystal light or unsweetened kool aid for color and scent
Cook all ingredients together in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, it will get stiff quickly. Let cook till it forms a ball in the pan, and let cool enough to handle. Knead it a bit to soften and blend it, till it is cool enough for the kids. I find this lasts a very long time if I keep it in ziploc bags.
Homemade Finger Paint
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups cold water
food coloring
Mix cornstarch sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat about 5 minutes till thick. Divide into several small bowls and add different food colorings to each. Stir till blended and cool. Store in an airtight container. This does not store as well as the play dough, but lasts longer if stored in the fridge.
Incidentally, I use pretty much the same method to make homemade pudding, except using milk instead of water, and 1/3 cup sugar. Whisk cornstarch, milk, and sugar till blended, then heat and whisk till thick. After it has thickened to pudding consistency, add vanilla or whatever flavoring you like, and a bit of butter. For butterscotch use rum flavoring brown sugar and more butter at the end, about 2 tablespoons. For chocolate, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder with starch and sugar. It is yummy.
Please comment, and share any opinions, questions, or other recipe ideas. Thanks!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
I want some wine with that whine!
So today started with three super cranky whiny kiddos. I think CJ and Eliza are about to do a growth spurt, as they seem really tired no matter how much sleep they get. I also think the weather is affecting all three of them. So we went pretty slow and easy today but I wanted to get a few things done. We accomplished everything I planned, albeit slowly. I gave several breaks in between subjects for free playing, which is unusual. We usually do a few subjects, and have maybe one or two breaks. We read a G poem and G book from readinga-z.com. We counted sets of seven items in the school room. We compared gorillas to other mammals we know. We talked more about food groups and the food pyramid. We watched and listened to Guji Guji on storyline online, and Yellow Gorilla on storyplace.org. We did some coloring, and lots of songs. We even listened to Peter and the Wolf and Hansel and Gretel on CD. (Thanks Maggie, for the tip about audiobooks! They loved it) We had issues with crankiness and whining all day, but I just kept my cool, and didn't let it stress me out. Even with some tantrums and a little bit of book destruction we still had a productive day, and I am still sticking to my resolutions. I am not letting myself get angry, and I am still choosing to be happy. Though it was not by any means easy today. The amazing seared steak with blue cheese butter and butternut squash risotto helped my mood. As did the spiced red wine I had for dessert. My first bit of butter since New Year's, and worth every calorie! Tomorrow is a snow day, as all schools have already been cancelled, so the recipes I was going to post today will be posted tomorrow. Hope you all enjoy the wintry wonderland!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Back to a "Normal" Schedule
Almost all of my resolutions are going swimmingly. My house is less cluttered, and so my mind is less cluttered. I feel less stressed, and everyone is eating better. Today was our first day in a while where we were on what would be considered a normal schedule. We started a new letter, number, color, shape, animal and theme. G, 7, blue, hexagon, gorilla and nutrition. I actually accomplished all of my lesson plans, and we played outside in the snow for almost 45 minutes! Having everything organized and prepared is helping me stay on track and feel like I have accomplished a lot, with very little stress.
We do the calendar and weather daily, as well as sing the alphabet and the letter sound song. We added words to our letter poster, and made a number 7 poster and a blue poster. We looked at the food pyramid for preschoolers (mypyramid.gov) and colored a black and white version. I held the crayons, and for each food group they had to tell me a food that belonged before they could have the correct color crayon. They loved it, thinking it was a game. We learned about gorillas and their habitats, and traced and colored hexagons. We read The Goose and the Golden Eggs, an Aesop's Fable that the kids enjoyed. We even played Eric Carle's ABC game, though we didn't finish it. It takes too long, and the kiddos were getting close to needing a nap. Everyone ate a good breakfast and lunch, and helped clean up every toy they played with.
Tonight we played a new Wii game, Go Diego Go Dinosaur Rescue as part of our nighttime routine, and Daddy is reading them "The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish" by Neil Gaiman (one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE authors of all time!!!) and they seem to be enjoying it. They loved "Wolves in the Wall" by the same author. If you have never read it to your kids, I highly recommend borrowing it from the library, it is so much fun to read.
My day started before 6 today, when CJ woke up with a diaper problem. Fixed that, then went downstairs and weighed myself and exercised, cleaned up, brushed my teeth, unloaded the dishwasher, and made coffee all before Mason got here. I am feeling so much better that I am sticking to my resolutions.
My plans for the week include an online story, Yellow Gorilla, from storyplace.org, with a craft (Gorilla on a stick) for Wednesday. We are using the starfall.com site, storylineonline.net, and higlightskids.com. Rich put a PC connected to our TV and I have a wireless mouse and keyboard so anything I do shows up on the large screen, and the kids don't have to crowd around my laptop! We are going to playgroup again Friday, provided there is no snow delay or cancellation, and we are making Granola for our G week recipe. CJ and Eliza are excited about this since it means they get to pull out things from their cooking cabinet. We have a food groups game I made, and we will be playing with the Melissa and Doug wooden food toys, including a food groups set. I also have some books printed from readinga-z.com, and songs from KIDiddles.com. I love some of the amazing resources available. I am excited about all the activities I planned for the week, and I think that helps keep the kids interested.
My goal for next week is to get to the library, so we can choose some new books to go with our lessons. I also want to be sure to read more books to the kids, and watch less TV. We have been listening to Here Come the ABC's along with Here Comes Science, and now CJ wants us to get Here Come the 123's. They adore They Might Be Giants. If anyone has any suggestions for other educational yet fun music, please let me know. I much prefer that to many of the "educational" preschool shows. Thanks for tuning in for yet another installation, here's to a safe journey!
We do the calendar and weather daily, as well as sing the alphabet and the letter sound song. We added words to our letter poster, and made a number 7 poster and a blue poster. We looked at the food pyramid for preschoolers (mypyramid.gov) and colored a black and white version. I held the crayons, and for each food group they had to tell me a food that belonged before they could have the correct color crayon. They loved it, thinking it was a game. We learned about gorillas and their habitats, and traced and colored hexagons. We read The Goose and the Golden Eggs, an Aesop's Fable that the kids enjoyed. We even played Eric Carle's ABC game, though we didn't finish it. It takes too long, and the kiddos were getting close to needing a nap. Everyone ate a good breakfast and lunch, and helped clean up every toy they played with.
Tonight we played a new Wii game, Go Diego Go Dinosaur Rescue as part of our nighttime routine, and Daddy is reading them "The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish" by Neil Gaiman (one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE authors of all time!!!) and they seem to be enjoying it. They loved "Wolves in the Wall" by the same author. If you have never read it to your kids, I highly recommend borrowing it from the library, it is so much fun to read.
My day started before 6 today, when CJ woke up with a diaper problem. Fixed that, then went downstairs and weighed myself and exercised, cleaned up, brushed my teeth, unloaded the dishwasher, and made coffee all before Mason got here. I am feeling so much better that I am sticking to my resolutions.
My plans for the week include an online story, Yellow Gorilla, from storyplace.org, with a craft (Gorilla on a stick) for Wednesday. We are using the starfall.com site, storylineonline.net, and higlightskids.com. Rich put a PC connected to our TV and I have a wireless mouse and keyboard so anything I do shows up on the large screen, and the kids don't have to crowd around my laptop! We are going to playgroup again Friday, provided there is no snow delay or cancellation, and we are making Granola for our G week recipe. CJ and Eliza are excited about this since it means they get to pull out things from their cooking cabinet. We have a food groups game I made, and we will be playing with the Melissa and Doug wooden food toys, including a food groups set. I also have some books printed from readinga-z.com, and songs from KIDiddles.com. I love some of the amazing resources available. I am excited about all the activities I planned for the week, and I think that helps keep the kids interested.
My goal for next week is to get to the library, so we can choose some new books to go with our lessons. I also want to be sure to read more books to the kids, and watch less TV. We have been listening to Here Come the ABC's along with Here Comes Science, and now CJ wants us to get Here Come the 123's. They adore They Might Be Giants. If anyone has any suggestions for other educational yet fun music, please let me know. I much prefer that to many of the "educational" preschool shows. Thanks for tuning in for yet another installation, here's to a safe journey!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Resolution Number Three
I will choose to be happy. I found that little things were getting me down recently. The lack of organization was one, already been tackled. My attitude, which is is the process of turning around. And my lack of anything for just me. I have made a resolution to do something this year that I have always wanted to do but was never able to. It may be to put some streaks of blue in my hair, or learn to do something new, I haven't decided yet, but I need to find me again. I need some creative outlet that has nothing to do with being Mommy. My kids are my center and my joy, but I can't let them become my everything, I need to be myself in addition to being their mom. I will find more joy every day, and hold on to those moments more than I have been. I will take time out of all the stuff I have to do to play with and hold my children, and let them know how happy they make me. I will cuddle with my husband on the couch even if I have laundry waiting to be folded. I will make time for things that make me happy. Today part of that was sitting with the kiddos and reading all about the animals we have learned about so far, and answering every question they had. We learned what crustaceans are today, and they were very interested in learning all about them. Instead of becoming frustrated with their over excitement, I just kept repeating things and enjoying the time together. It is all about attitude, and I am choosing to make mine positive. I am choosing to be happy every day.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Resolution Number Two
So, I resolve to be healthier. I am no longer going to go on any diets. I am going to provide nutritious delicious food to my family and to myself, and not eat fast food garbage that makes us all feel icky. I am cooking with almost exclusively whole grains. We are focusing on a diet of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and good for us proteins. Does this mean we will never have rib eye again, of course not. Am I still eating cheese, absolutely. We are just making smarter choices.
We are having one dinner a week of beans or legumes instead of meat. We will have seafood once a week for dinner. We are not having real desserts but once a week or so. The remainder of the week will be fruit for dessert, or some other healthy option as a treat. I want to be a healthy role model for the kids.
This week I am focusing on making changes to how we eat. This is also part of the organization resolution. I am planning all meals ahead and making it easy to make healthful choices in the kitchen. Yesterday we made a large batch of homemade pumpkin oatmeal, with dried fruit and no sugar. The kids and I loved it. Rich didn't like the extra creamy texture, go figure. Now we have a healthy delicious breakfast we can just warm up in the microwave. Whole grain, no sugar, high protein from the milk, and full of actual fruit and veggies. And I get to sprinkle it with roasted pumpkin seeds!
Once a week we are having barley, once a week quinoa, once a week brown rice. If anyone has any other suggestions as to other whole grains we can try I would love to hear it! We are having some type of leafy green every day. I am drinking only two cups of caffeinated coffee a day, and adding green tea daily, which I have always loved, but seem to always reach for the java. We are trying to remove as many preservatives and fake ingredients from our everyday meals as we can. We are paying closer attention to ingredient labels, and we are finding that we are also saving money on our grocery bills by doing this.
Because I am making a life choice, rather than focusing on losing weight or dieting, I find that it is much easier to do. I am not "cheating" if I have something sweet or high fat, I am simply making a poor food choice which will be counterbalanced by the healthy choices I will make the rest of the day. It is a shift of mind, that really is setting us all up for success. Our goal is to be a healthy and happy family, and this means focusing on nutrition, not on calorie counting or dieting.
Next week we will add in a focus on activity and movement. Rich and I are making sure that we are more active with them. We played indoor soccer last night, and we all danced together the evening before. We will just keep making little changes to our lives to keep us healthy, and to prevent our children from ever developing the weight issues we have. I am so totally ready for these changes, and I am prepared to make it a lasting change.
This is an important part of our homeschooling adventure, because of course children learn more by example than by words. They are learning early how to love different foods, on trying new cuisines, and they are learning where all their food comes from. They understand that farm animals can become food on the plate, and of course they are familiar with fresh produce growing on plants and trees. They now have their own cabinet of cooking items, that they can reach and use whenever we are in the kitchen. They are learning numbers and recipes, and how food is created and preserved. Their interest and enthusiasm in cooking and food makes me very happy. We borrowed a book from the library once called Foodie Babies, and it reminds me of the kids so much. I have foodie babies. They get really excited to go to farmers' markets, and we were lucky enough to find out that there are several winter farmer's markets in our area. Having fresh local food available makes following our health resolutions easier.
As a family we are working together to be happy and healthy. This is such an integral part of how we live, and we are already feeling much better because of the changes we are making. I am excited to continue trying new foods, and to teach my kiddos by example how to enjoy nutritious food. Now if Rich and I could get more sleep, we would be, as Benjamin Franklin said, more "healthy, wealthy and wise."
We are having one dinner a week of beans or legumes instead of meat. We will have seafood once a week for dinner. We are not having real desserts but once a week or so. The remainder of the week will be fruit for dessert, or some other healthy option as a treat. I want to be a healthy role model for the kids.
This week I am focusing on making changes to how we eat. This is also part of the organization resolution. I am planning all meals ahead and making it easy to make healthful choices in the kitchen. Yesterday we made a large batch of homemade pumpkin oatmeal, with dried fruit and no sugar. The kids and I loved it. Rich didn't like the extra creamy texture, go figure. Now we have a healthy delicious breakfast we can just warm up in the microwave. Whole grain, no sugar, high protein from the milk, and full of actual fruit and veggies. And I get to sprinkle it with roasted pumpkin seeds!
Once a week we are having barley, once a week quinoa, once a week brown rice. If anyone has any other suggestions as to other whole grains we can try I would love to hear it! We are having some type of leafy green every day. I am drinking only two cups of caffeinated coffee a day, and adding green tea daily, which I have always loved, but seem to always reach for the java. We are trying to remove as many preservatives and fake ingredients from our everyday meals as we can. We are paying closer attention to ingredient labels, and we are finding that we are also saving money on our grocery bills by doing this.
Because I am making a life choice, rather than focusing on losing weight or dieting, I find that it is much easier to do. I am not "cheating" if I have something sweet or high fat, I am simply making a poor food choice which will be counterbalanced by the healthy choices I will make the rest of the day. It is a shift of mind, that really is setting us all up for success. Our goal is to be a healthy and happy family, and this means focusing on nutrition, not on calorie counting or dieting.
Next week we will add in a focus on activity and movement. Rich and I are making sure that we are more active with them. We played indoor soccer last night, and we all danced together the evening before. We will just keep making little changes to our lives to keep us healthy, and to prevent our children from ever developing the weight issues we have. I am so totally ready for these changes, and I am prepared to make it a lasting change.
This is an important part of our homeschooling adventure, because of course children learn more by example than by words. They are learning early how to love different foods, on trying new cuisines, and they are learning where all their food comes from. They understand that farm animals can become food on the plate, and of course they are familiar with fresh produce growing on plants and trees. They now have their own cabinet of cooking items, that they can reach and use whenever we are in the kitchen. They are learning numbers and recipes, and how food is created and preserved. Their interest and enthusiasm in cooking and food makes me very happy. We borrowed a book from the library once called Foodie Babies, and it reminds me of the kids so much. I have foodie babies. They get really excited to go to farmers' markets, and we were lucky enough to find out that there are several winter farmer's markets in our area. Having fresh local food available makes following our health resolutions easier.
As a family we are working together to be happy and healthy. This is such an integral part of how we live, and we are already feeling much better because of the changes we are making. I am excited to continue trying new foods, and to teach my kiddos by example how to enjoy nutritious food. Now if Rich and I could get more sleep, we would be, as Benjamin Franklin said, more "healthy, wealthy and wise."
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Resolution Number One
So first, after identifying the parts of my life that needed a bit of an overhaul I made my first resolution to be more organized. After Christmas we went through all the toys here and at Memere and Pepere's and culled out ones that could be donated, recycled or otherwise removed from the premises. We reorganized and then did the same to clothes. I undecorated the first few days after Christmas and completely cleaned the house. I organized parts of the kitchen that kept attacking me, including, finishing yesterday, the kitchen/pantry closet. Over the "Christmas vacation" I organized my materials and plans for what I want the kiddos to learn over the next couple of months. I sorted, planned and otherwise made my lessons as easy as possible to do. I found several craft projects and recipes to try with the kids, and made the learning space much easier to use. I now know what we have, what we need, and what I want to accomplish. I am also ready to continue this new manner of organization. I am tired of being stressed, and unprepared. It sucks. So the new me will be organized and attentive and working smarter, not harder. Part of this is to get up every morning, dress in real clothes, put on a little makeup and some jewelry as if I wasn't staying home. It makes each day more focused on getting things accomplished. In my mind it makes the day start earlier, and therefore it makes me get going. It also improves my outlook, which makes it easier to accomplish more. Strategy for successful homeschooling number one: Set yourself up for success in anyway possible. This means mentally preparing yourself in addition to physically preparing things. Plan ahead, and allow for things to not go as you hope. But also understand that staying home is hard work, like any job, and respect that job more than you would any other. Respect yourself, your children and the life you have chosen.
Moving on, we are practicing with scissors this week. Each day we are doing cutting practice with safety scissors. We cut out a letter and glue it next to the picture that begins with that letter. Mason is pretty good with holding the scissors, as is Eliza, but CJ is the best at using them once I get his hands positioned correctly. Today he sped through his, and he glues so neatly. We also today, did a shape book. They trace and color and identify a shape, on the next page count them and color the number it says to. CJ went right through it, tracing carefully, coloring really well, counting, and never making a mistake. It totally blew my mind. He is so ready for more. Mason got really tired, and wasn't really into it, and Eliza needed a lot of attention and reminders to finish, not to mention she really was not ready to trace even remotely neatly. CJ also was able to identify shapes that did not belong in a group by counting sides of the shapes. He even identified octagons that did not look like stop signs. He understands that the number of sides tells you what the shape is. He also was able to explain to me why a shape didn't belong very succinctly. Eliza was able to identify what didn't belong, but didn't have the vocabulary to explain it. Mason had a difficult time with it, since there were some shapes he didn't know, like trapezoid and pentagon, so he and I spent some time just identifying and recognizing shapes using a puzzle, and our posters, and some books I have on shapes. We will try it again tomorrow and review what we did.
Back to the resolution on organization. I know I am flip flopping topics, but my brain is a bit in overdrive today. I have been getting morning clothes ready the night before, as well as breakfast dishes etc. I do dishes as I dirty them, always start the day with an empty dishwasher, and try to keep up with the laundry. I am planning all meals ahead, so that there is no scrambling, and saying what on earth are we going to eat? As I am blogging, my chicken is smoking in my stovetop smoker, barley pilaf is simmering in the rice cooker, veggies are roasting in the oven, and I made the salad when the kiddos were napping. I feel like supermom, simply because I am not overwhelmed with what needs to be done. Today when we went to play outside, I made sure drinks were ready for when we came in, and while we were out there we all got some good exercise, and we cleaned up the yard. When we came in we did our "lessons" and read some books. The kids had some play time inside, and then Mason napped. As he wakes earlier than my two he is often down for a nap earlier. While Mason slept CJ and Eliza helped me make lunch and we watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in Wonderland. We listened to Here Come the ABC's while we ate, as we have been for many breakfast and lunch times over the past several days. We had lunch, CJ and Eliza went down for a nap with no complaint, and they promptly went to sleep.
We had been having trouble at night, where we are all tired, and the kids get crazy. It was driving Rich nuts, so we instituted a game time each evening, where we all play a board game, puzzle, card game or one of the kids' video games. Last night was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Yahtzee. Night before was Hungry Hungry Hippos. Night before that was the Goodnight Moon puzzle. After nighttime milk or juice, we do bath, brush teeth, use potty, read a story, play a game, sing a song, then sleep. This has removed all the stress time from before bed, and has made Rich and I much happier at night. It is all about attitude. I have decided to look positively at things more, and so things bother me less. Including the nighttime craziness. Organization resolution has helped a ton here.
So tomorrow I will tell you all about my next resolution, so stay tuned . . .
Moving on, we are practicing with scissors this week. Each day we are doing cutting practice with safety scissors. We cut out a letter and glue it next to the picture that begins with that letter. Mason is pretty good with holding the scissors, as is Eliza, but CJ is the best at using them once I get his hands positioned correctly. Today he sped through his, and he glues so neatly. We also today, did a shape book. They trace and color and identify a shape, on the next page count them and color the number it says to. CJ went right through it, tracing carefully, coloring really well, counting, and never making a mistake. It totally blew my mind. He is so ready for more. Mason got really tired, and wasn't really into it, and Eliza needed a lot of attention and reminders to finish, not to mention she really was not ready to trace even remotely neatly. CJ also was able to identify shapes that did not belong in a group by counting sides of the shapes. He even identified octagons that did not look like stop signs. He understands that the number of sides tells you what the shape is. He also was able to explain to me why a shape didn't belong very succinctly. Eliza was able to identify what didn't belong, but didn't have the vocabulary to explain it. Mason had a difficult time with it, since there were some shapes he didn't know, like trapezoid and pentagon, so he and I spent some time just identifying and recognizing shapes using a puzzle, and our posters, and some books I have on shapes. We will try it again tomorrow and review what we did.
Back to the resolution on organization. I know I am flip flopping topics, but my brain is a bit in overdrive today. I have been getting morning clothes ready the night before, as well as breakfast dishes etc. I do dishes as I dirty them, always start the day with an empty dishwasher, and try to keep up with the laundry. I am planning all meals ahead, so that there is no scrambling, and saying what on earth are we going to eat? As I am blogging, my chicken is smoking in my stovetop smoker, barley pilaf is simmering in the rice cooker, veggies are roasting in the oven, and I made the salad when the kiddos were napping. I feel like supermom, simply because I am not overwhelmed with what needs to be done. Today when we went to play outside, I made sure drinks were ready for when we came in, and while we were out there we all got some good exercise, and we cleaned up the yard. When we came in we did our "lessons" and read some books. The kids had some play time inside, and then Mason napped. As he wakes earlier than my two he is often down for a nap earlier. While Mason slept CJ and Eliza helped me make lunch and we watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in Wonderland. We listened to Here Come the ABC's while we ate, as we have been for many breakfast and lunch times over the past several days. We had lunch, CJ and Eliza went down for a nap with no complaint, and they promptly went to sleep.
We had been having trouble at night, where we are all tired, and the kids get crazy. It was driving Rich nuts, so we instituted a game time each evening, where we all play a board game, puzzle, card game or one of the kids' video games. Last night was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Yahtzee. Night before was Hungry Hungry Hippos. Night before that was the Goodnight Moon puzzle. After nighttime milk or juice, we do bath, brush teeth, use potty, read a story, play a game, sing a song, then sleep. This has removed all the stress time from before bed, and has made Rich and I much happier at night. It is all about attitude. I have decided to look positively at things more, and so things bother me less. Including the nighttime craziness. Organization resolution has helped a ton here.
So tomorrow I will tell you all about my next resolution, so stay tuned . . .
Monday, January 3, 2011
Welcome to the New Year!
I resolve to be a healthier and happier person. I am ready for a change, ready to be more healthy, more happy and more fun. I will be more organized and spend less time harried and angry. I will focus on educating my children well. I will choose to do this. I will choose to be happy. I will spend less time worrying about things that don't matter and more time being me. I will enjoy my children and my life, and make choices so that I will be able to spend more time on this earth with them. I will choose to be myself at all times, and not be concerned about how others see me. I will choose to be the best role model I can for my children. Let me say it again:
I
WILL
CHOOSE
TO
BE
I
WILL
CHOOSE
TO
BE
HAPPY!!!
This is my resolution - to be healthier, happier, less stressed, more organized and more ME!
Oh yeah, and to eat less butter . . .
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