Monthly Archives: May 2013

menu plan Monday

Not every weekend finds me hoping for more Weeping Angels

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I had avocado tacos at my favorite Mexican restaurant yesterday, and Rockford and the kids gave me a Doctor Who t-shirt and Doctor Who Yahtzee for Mother’s Day. It was a nice day. Last night the following phrases (among others) were uttered:

  • “Well at least I got a Dalek.”
  • “Ooo, you got three Silence!”
  • “You need a Cyberman to get the small straight.”
  • “Four Weeping Angels! That’s very good.”
  • “I only got two points for the Silence. That’s pretty bad.”
  • “Sontaran Yahtzee!”

    This week we’ll be eating out more than usual, which is fine by me. Sometimes I love cooking but lately I’ve been not-so-enthused about it. Which may explain and may be explained by the reoccurrence of the same 5 meals every week lately. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy on the wheel of repetition. Or something.

    Monday: Black bean soup

    Bacon bacon bacon. And beans. But mostly bacon.

    Tuesday: Out

    We’re going to try to switch things up a little and try out some new restaurants rather than ordering pizza every week. This week we’re going out for Mongolian beef. (Or something else for other people, maybe, but I’ll be having Mongolian beef.)

    Wednesday: Family dinner

    Rockford’s sister and her fiancé will be in town. We will be dining with them.

    Thursday: Orange chicken

    I think this is week three for this one. Maybe I’ll remember to thaw the chicken this week!

    Friday: Out again!

    We wouldn’t normally be going out twice in one week, but we’ve been invited to a friends’ birthday dinner at a sushi restaurant. She’s turning 5.
    • Homeschool

    If you’ve a date in Constantinople, she’ll be waiting in Istanbul

    Homeschool at ButterscotchSundae.comMonday is the last day of this session of our homeschool co-op. It seems like it went really quickly this time. Poppy’s been taking a class on Weaving and one about Fairies, and Pete’s taking Puppets and my class, Superheroes 101.

    The Superheroes class has gone OK, but the disparity of abilities and attention spans when you’re dealing with the 3- to 5-year-old age group is always a little challenging.

    History

    Yep, this week we read about the Ottoman Turks conquering Constantinople. Pete’s been singing the song all week. We didn’t do any crafts or activities this week, but I did find a rather cool Ted Ed presentation on “The City Walls of Constantinople” that we watched a time or two.

    Reading

  • We started “Return to Gone-Away” as our family chapter book.

  • Poppy discovered that we could access ebooks from the library on the Kindle! She’s been reading “Magic Tree House #37: Dragon of the Red Dawn” on it.

  • I checked out a very-incomplete copy of the first level of Hooked on Phonics to try out with Pete. Most of the cards and all of the little books are missing, so he’s just been working his way through the main book. He’s doing really well with it, though; I think it’s building his confidence on the reading front.

  • And just so you know: Registration for next year’s Pizza Hut BookIt program is open.

    Science

    Ladybug Land
    I panicked a little bit yesterday when I read the instructions for the kids’ Ladybug Land kit. They said to take the larvae out immediately, and I’d left the poor things in their envelope for days. They were pretty still when we put them in their biodome. They perked up pretty quickly, though, and now there are about 20 very creepy ladybug larvae creepin’ around in there.

    Wanna read more about homeschooling? Check out the Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers weekly linky thing!

    • Music, reviews, sponsored

    Have I told you lately that I love a classic crooner?

    Michael Buble
    Hello ladies.
    “So I’m going to review a Michael Bublé album,” I said.

    “Excuse me, you’re what?”

    “I’m going to review a Michael Bublé album,” I said. “So I need to listen to it. A lot.”

    “Um, okay. Right now?”

    “Right now.”

    And Rockford rolled his eyes and humored me, as usual.

    I’ve listened to Michael Bublé’s “To Be Loved” roughly 524 times since that conversation, and it has been a completely pleasant addition to our sonic landscape. Rockford is more on the Rush side of the Canadian musical spectrum, but even he’s cut out the eye-rolling when I put “To Be Loved” on. The first single, “It’s a Beautiful Day,” is a deceptively pop-boppy breakup song that’s positively Taylor Swift-ian in its put-downs:

    Baby, it’s fine, you said that we should just be friends
    Well, I came up with that line and I’m sure
    That it’s for the best
    If you ever change your mind, don’t hold your breath.

    That’s sassy, Mike. (Can I call you Mike?) I like it.

    My favorite parts of the album, though, are the covers. “You Make Me Feel So Young” and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” rarely fail to put a smile on my face, and Bublé’s version of “Have I Told You Lately that I Love You” is pretty much swoon-worthy.

    You can croon to me anytime, Bublé.

    To Be Loved

    “To Be Loved” is available at Amazon and iTunes (and undoubtedly many other fine retailers as well).

    Nichole received a free copy of “To Be Loved” for review. She is eligible for incentives for her participation in this One2One Network campaign. All opinions expressed are solely her own.