How Rockford and Robert Downey Jr. turned my frown upside-down

05/06/2013 Nichole 3 Comments

Rockford was busy busy busy all last week. I do logically understand that it’s hard to be present-in-a-meaningful-way when you leave for work at 6:45am and don’t get home until 10pm. But I was feeling unappreciated and lonesome and insert-some-more-first-world-problems-here by Thursday night and so on Friday when the cat ate my pizza and the kids wouldn’t go to sleep and Rockford was out at a concert, the stress boiled over and turned into bitterness and I woke up in a major funk on Saturday morning.

I was still a sad and crabby crab until we left Target on Saturday afternoon and Rockford turned right instead of left and dropped me off in front of the movie theater.

“You need a break,” he said. “Go watch ‘Iron Man.’ Have some popcorn. We’ll pick you up when it’s over.”

So that’s what I did. It turns out that Robert Downey Jr. was just what I needed. (Well, that and an understanding husband. That helped, too.)

Monday: Quesadillas: Yesterday we had Shredded Beef Tacos because it was Cinco de Mayo and I am predictable. Today some of us will be using the leftover beef to make quesadillas, while others will just be using cheese.
Tuesday: Butternut squash ravioli: Last week I gave the kids a little alfredo sauce on the side as a dip, and they devoured it. So we’re having it again this week!
Wednesday: Fish sticks & mac ‘n’ cheese: It’s Poppy’s week to pick the kids’ choice meal. I was pleased that she asked for something to go along with the mac & cheese.
Thursday: Orange chicken: I saw this on Pinterest a few days ago and thought it sounded intriguing.
Friday: Birthday fiesta: Friday is my father-in-law’s birthday! I’m not sure what my mother-in-law will be making, but I’m positive it’ll be good.

Homeschool

This week in homeschooling: Russian history, piles of books and an intro to the martial arts

05/03/2013 Nichole 1 Comment

History

This week in history we read about the Rus people, for whom Russia was named. We read a Russian version of the Cinderella story called “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave,” and the illustrations of the creepy old witch lady were extremely creepy. I was a bit worried it would give Poppy nightmares, but so far so good on that front. (Pete didn’t even want to look at the book after he heard me say the pictures were creepy.) Our craft activity this week is supposed to be a traditional hat called a kokoshnik, but we haven’t quite gotten to it yet.

Homeschool @ ButterscotchSundae.com — The trading post at the end of our backyard Silk Road.

Last week, though, we did do an activity! We were talking about the Silk Road, so I set up a little path through the backyard that led the kids through the desert to a couple of oasis settlements (complete with Oreo cookies) and ultimately to a trading post. They spent a good part of the afternoon journeying to and from Peking with a variety of treasures.

Reading

Poppy has been on an American Girl kick lately. She read two books about Kit last week, she’s read through the most recent issue of American Girl magazine at least a dozen times and she picked up the entire Molly series at the library this week.

Speaking of the library, every time we go there Pete checks out as many “Arthur” books as he can carry. Usually he leafs through them, I read one or two to him and then we take them all back for a new armful. This week, though, we sat down and read all 537 of them in a row.

We finished “Gone-Away Lake” early this week, and the kids immediately asked if there was a follow-up. And there is! It’s called “Return to Gone-Away,” and we’ll be starting it as soon as I pick it (and 400 more “Arthur” books) up from the library.

Science

Our caterpillars finally arrived, so the science lessons have resumed! Poppy and Pete drew some lovely pictures of the ‘pillars this week. I’m looking forward to seeing their illustrations as the project moves forward.

Extracurricular

Pete started tae kwon do last Friday. The kids have to get six stripes on their belts before they’re eligible to test for the next level, and yesterday his instructor gave him his first stripe. It was, he said, for “being a very good listener in class.” I really like their system because two of their stripes will come from me, as his mom and his teacher. Their classes for 4- and 5-year-olds emphasize Courtesy; Doing Your Best; Not Whining; and Keeping Your Room Clean. All things of which I am in favor.

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

baking

For some reason I keep singing “macaron” to the tune of Bush’s hit tune “Glycerine”

05/02/2013 Nichole

In October 2009, the Daring Bakers made French macarons and I made some red beans & rice. I’m not sure what the Daring Bakers were up to today, but the kids and I were making French macarons using Martha Stewart’s Parisian macaron recipe.

I was a little nervous about retroactively taking on this Daring Bakers Challenge because I was under the impression that macarons are a very tricky species. Our finished product isn’t showroom-gorgeous, but I was pleasantly surprised to find they were pretty simple to make. They tasted great, too, despite what I overheard the kids saying after they pilfered a few fresh from the oven:

“Um, these taste kind of weird.”

“Yeah, they don’t taste like anything. They’re not very good.”

“But Mama said she was going to make a chocolate filling for them. Maybe then they’ll be better.”

I filled them with a chocolate ganache, and we are all in agreement that it did indeed make them better. Chocolate ganache’ll do that.

Butterscotch Sundae

Monthly Archives: May 2013