This and That

Popping in to update you all on life in the homestead!

E: She lost her first tooth yesterday! She was over the moon excited. We were standing in line at Sbux and she noticed it was really hanging by a thread and she reached in to pull it out. She skipped all the way to Daddy to tell him the big news!

Teacher conference went well with for her. Her teacher enjoys having her and said "she knows the answer before anyone else in the class". Any concerns that I had about her and one of her best friends being in the same class were erased. It seems they have both branched out and made lots of friends but are still very close and work well together.


L: We've been working on "responsibility" and being less careless after he dropped something on the screen of Daddy's laptop and destroyed it (accidentally). Then the same day, played soccer in the entryway and broke the glass on one of my frames! He is a bit of a klutz!

His teacher conference also went well! He is doing well in all subjects and excelling in PE :) Just like his Mum! His teacher mentioned his great writing and the fact that she has had to stop him from stylizing his printing. I jokingly mentioned my dismay, as an artistic person, and she apologized for stifling him ;) He has even been attempting to write in cursive now as well.

Ok, enough bragging :)

Teacher Gift

Teacher conferences are coming up next week. I am going to take a little something to each teacher because I am a major suck up like that. Just kidding....because I appreciate the teachers!

Here is a quick and easy gift that I am giving to one teacher because she never has supplies like elastics at the ready.

I found this box at Ben Franklin. Any little box will do, but one with sections works best. Paint all over in chosen color. Keep in mind you will want to co-ordinate it with the paper you choose.

Cut out paper to cover front and back. I just traced around it and cut it inside the line just a touch.

Glue both pieces on. Make sure you cover the paper in glue or you will deal with lifting and bubbles. Use a brayer if you need to make it flat.

Next, I distressed the edges with some sandpaper and inked it with brown ink. A little distressing goes a long way!

Finally, embellish as you wish! I used the trifecta: ribbon, flowers and bling!

Fill it up with elastic bands, assorted clips and staple. Wrap with cello and VOILA!

Increase Your Cooking Skills

I had an impromptu dinner guest last week and was so happy to have her stay! It was really the first time in my life that I had already started cooking and someone was going to stay and eat what I was preparing without any planning ahead on my part. Ack! Makes me sweat just thinking about it.

It made me even more nervous because this was the night I had decided to just kind of throw something together. I had no recipe and was feeling ambitious. I had all the right elements and I just wanted to try and throw them together using skills I have learned over the past couple of years. I have been subscribing to Everyday Food magazine for about that amount of time and it really has increased my knowledge and skill when it comes to cooking. I highly recommend it if you want to learn some basic skills that will help you create healthy and delicious meals.

Don't be afraid that it's Martha. Trust me. Most of the recipes are on one page, 4-6 steps, 6-12 ingredients. Lots of fresh and seasonal items. It will help you to eat outside the box and not use boxed stuff to cook. You will quickly learn how to make your own dressings, sauces to put on top of meat and poultry, what to do with different vegetables you have seen at the grocery store.

One section I particularly like is where they give you a recipe for something basic (like grilled veggies) and then show you 3-4 ways to use those (in a salad, to top a pizza, side dish). Everything I have ever cooked has been very tasty and healthy, not to mention easy!

Japan Job Update

Just thought I would update everyone on the Japan job situation.

D did not get the job. Just before the interview, he was made aware that should he get the job, he would be working with a company that is in direct competition with the company he worked for in Japan. Being the typical loyal Japanese worker that he is, this was very conflicting.

When he left his company in Japan to pursue our lives here in the US, he told me he would always remain loyal to that company as they had put a lot into developing him and his career. So, during the interview, he mentioned he would not work with this other company.

We found out yesterday that they hired someone else and were told that they wanted to hire him but could not find a way to make it work because of the statement he made.

He isn't disappointed. I think he feels pretty at peace with it and I am darn happy :)

War

This morning on the news, they showed President Obama at Dover Airforce Base in the middle of the night where he attended the return of 18 servicemen killed in the war.

I mentioned how much I admire the President and the kids watched the footage. Of course, this led to questions.

These days I have to be pretty careful with them watching the news. They used to be pretty oblivious and didn't pay attention but now they catch things and ask lots of questions. I don't want them seeing too much. I don't want them to see all the killing, the abductions and things that they don't need to know about.

But I have felt for quite some time that I want them to know about the war so I have slowly been telling them things here and there.

Let me tell you, this is not an easy discussion! We spoke about freedom and how most countries in the world are free but that some are not. We spoke about the different beliefs and lifestyles that people have around the world. I explained that not all countries understand each other and that causes fear. Which causes some countries to react with fear and try to protect themselves.

So I got through Part 1 of the discussion. The rest gets so complicated! I want them to know that there are other alternatives to war. I want them to respect the sacrifices that the military make regardless of my disagreement with the war.

Sensitive territory!

BIG NEWS!

Feeling the need to document this so I don't forget when it happened :)

Ellie is on her own 2 wheels on her bike now! Off went the training wheels. At first she just used the neighbors driveway, but yesterday we went for a bike ride and she made it all the way around the block twice with a couple of pit stops.

Lucas is just over the moon for her and is ready to race! He was so encouraging and was riding right next to her saying "You're doing great!" and "keep it up!". I am so happy she has a big brother!

Seeing Daddy running next to her with Baxter, and Lucas riding along full of encouragement? It put tears in my eyes. These are the moments I love.

What's on the menu?

The fun part about shopping the farmer's markets is having to use what is in season at the time. My last purchase involved a lot of root veggies. Two huge bunches of carrots covered in dirt, beets, parsnips. Parsnips? What do I do with these things?

I loved them. I pre-steamed them then popped them in the oven with some butter and brown sugar and roasted until the started to caramelize. Yeah, they were good but I was the only one who loved them.

Look at this lovely bunch of scallions.




I sliced up a bunch and put them on top of salmon with soy sauce, lemon juice, sake and a bit of butter and baked. 375 for about 20 mins. Yeah, the kids had nuggets that night :)

We are trying to make a lifestyle change in eating more local and less processed. We have always been pretty good and plow through fresh items in our house quickly but also have our standby snacks in a box. Meals in our house have always been fresh and homemade but it's the snacks and treats that are a hard habit to kick.

I am also considering buying a half cow. This may not happen until next year but is on the list of things I will be doing. My Mum offered me her chest freezer so it will definitely be doable.