Monthly Archives: May 2013

menu plan Monday

This week’s table features potlucks and pizza subs

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Poppy had her final soccer game of the season on Friday night (They won! Whee!), and we went straight from the soccer field to the Japanese steakhouse to celebrate our 5-year-old friend’s birthday. I loved the “clear soup” served at the beginning of the meal, Pete ate nearly all of his Hibachi shrimp and Poppy ate least tried her Yakitori. I call that a win.

The kids loved the show the chef put on at the table, despite their initial concern about the flames. Poppy even tried to catch a bit of fried egg in her mouth — “tried” being the operative word; it ended up on the birthday girl.

On Saturday we took advantage of the parents’ night out at Pete’s tae kwon do place so Rockford and I could go see “Star Trek Into Darkness,” where I ate popcorn for dinner and spent a few hours trying to decide whether Benedict Cumberbatch makes a better good guy or bad guy. (My final conclusion: Bad Guy. He makes bad look pretty darn good.) The kids were exhausted when we picked them up, and they went to sleep with zero fuss when we got home. It was a win-win-win-win Saturday night.

Monday: Pot luck dinner

It’s our homeschool co-op’s Demo Night, when the kids show off what they’ve been doing this session. Pete is very excited about his role as the Big Bad Wolf in his puppetry class’s performance of “The Three Little Pigs.” I’ll be bringing Black Bean and Corn Salad and at least one peanut butter sandwich.

Tuesday: McAlister’s Deli

One of my goals this week is to actually do Weight Watchers. (I’ve been paying for their services for quite awhile, but as it turns out that alone isn’t at all effective.) So yesterday I looked up the McAlister’s menu to figure out what I’d be ordering. I’ll either get the “choose two” with a chicken salad sandwich and a chef’s salad — for a total of 17 Points — or just the regular-size, 12-Point chef’s salad.

Wednesday: Pizza subs

The kids made lists this weekend full of options for their kids’ choice nights. And yet, we’re having pizza subs again. Maybe Poppy will pick something else next time.

Thursday: Crunchwraps

With all the talk about food and kids’ choice night, Rockford asked if he could have a Rockford’s Choice night. Which means we’ll be having crunchwraps every Thursday.

Friday: Baseball game

The game we were going to go to a few weeks ago was rained out — they still played, I guess, but we didn’t go — so we’re going to try it again this week.

What’s for dinner at your house this evening?

Homeschool

Science has taken over our living room

We’ve reached that point in our school year when the kids ask me every morning how many days we have left. As of today, the answer is 9. There was much rejoicing about that, even though they know full well that we’ll be doing a our usual June session. I think they’re just excited about their annual end-of-school ice cream breakfast.

Science

This week the kids read about the life cycle of a ladybird beetle (aka the ladybug). The specimens in our ladybug garden have entered their pupa stage. They haven’t been as entertaining as they were last week, when they were very active little larvae.

The last of our trio of caterpillars finally entered his chrysalis stage this week, so now the three of them are all busily metamorphosing in the butterfly hatchery. I’d never given much thought before to exactly what goes on inside the chrysalid, and I kind of wish I didn’t now know that the caterpillars completely liquify themselves before they reform into caterpillars. It’s an amazing and totally gross process.

First, the caterpillar digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all of its tissues. If you were to cut open a cocoon or chrysalis at just the right time, caterpillar soup would ooze out.

— from Scientific American’s “How Does a Caterpillar Turn into a Butterfly”

I’ll never look at a butterfly the same way again. Nature can be pretty creepy.

I see a wing!

History

This week we talked about the Black Plague. It was a pretty bleak history study.

Reading

Poppy seems to have the same issue I have with reading in that she reads too fast and then can’t remember what she read five minutes later. So this week she started a reading journal, in which she’s supposed to summarize each chapter as soon as she’s finished reading it. I feel kind of bad for doing it, because I certainly wouldn’t want to interrupt my reading time to jot down any thoughts, but I think it’ll be good for her in the long run.

Extracurricular

Most of the kids’ extracurriculars are winding down, too. Poppy’s last soccer game is tonight, Pete’s it tomorrow, and Poppy’s ballet recital is this weekend. I’m looking forward to having less running about for a few months.

blessings, Prayer

Praying for more tomorrows {a guest post}

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Hello, lovely readers! I asked my sweet friend Brook to share a little about her son with you today. And here’s what she had to say —

I can hardly describe Gabriel to you. He’s too close to me: My very heart.

I can tell you that close friends say he’s a spitfire and too smart for my good. I can also say he’s persistent, perceptive, funny and full of energy. He has his mama’s eyes and his papa’s smile.

He also has Cystic Fibrosis — a genetic, life-shortening, chronic illness.

We put a lot of work into keeping Gabe as healthy as possible. He eats six high-fat, high-calorie meals a day accompanied by pancreatic enzyme replacements because his body doesn’t absorb fats and other nutrients properly. He does chest clearance twice a day to keep the mucous in his lungs from settling in and creating inflammation and scar tissue. He uses a nebulizer and inhaler to thin that mucous and dilate his airways. And when he gets a cough, we ramp into overdrive to keep everything moving.

So far, so good. He’s almost exactly two-and-a-half years old.

I know that over time the symptoms will take a toll. It’s pretty likely he’ll develop CF-related diabetes. He’ll always have to focus to keep his weight up. Eventually, his lungs will have borne the burden of too many coughs, too much inflammation, too much scar tissue, and they won’t be able to support him. Whether this happens when he’s 20 or 50 is anyone’s guess. The median life expectancy for someone with Cystic Fibrosis right now is in the late-30s.

Which is amazing, really. Thirty years ago, CF kids didn’t make it through elementary school. Newborn screening leads to early diagnosis and early intervention. Modern therapies have made it possible to keep patients healthier longer. And there is amazing research being done right now to treat the disease at a cellular level, helping the CFTR protein function as it should, which keeps that mucous from getting all sticky and problematic in the first place. I’m hopeful.

And I worry. He’s my baby; how could I not? I pray (and pray) for more tomorrows. But I know he’s not mine to hold onto, not really. So in the between-times, I cherish him. He really is amazing.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation uses donations effectively and efficiently to support promising research on a number of fronts. Please consider donating. Please consider Gabriel.

May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness month, and Brook would like to see at least 30 people to donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in honor of Gabe. This family is so dear to my heart. I wish you could all meet them; I know you’d love them, too. If you have a few (or several) dollars to spare this month, I hope you’ll send it to CFF.

– Nichole