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For the yogurt, which is served as a side to the chicken, you just mix Mango Chutney (an Indian sauce) with plain yogurt. It was VERY sweet.
Here is the recipe
1 Tbsp curry powder
2 Tbsp oil
salt and pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp raisins
3 Tbsp flaked almonds
2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cubed
Try it. It's good.
The boys have also been getting a good lesson in dish washing. They have had to clean up after each day of cooking. They do not like that part at all, although they have done it with a bit of constant supervision. They really want to run off and play, so it has been a bit of a struggle to keep them focused.
Tomorrow should be fun, as they cook and serve their moms.
Thursday, I woke to a phone call from my dh who was not very happy with me. I had left our bikes out in front of our garage for longer than I should have and in the night, someone stole two of them. Our conversation did not go well. Then I had camp, which went fine, and a friend even stayed after for some conversation.
I knew that we had a 3:30 appointment to take our dog to the vet for a full medical exam in preparation for getting rid of her. When we left to take her, my husband informed me that she was not coming back with us. That the rescue lady had made arrangements for her to stay at that time. I was devastated and cried all the way there, most of the time we were there, and most of the way back. I was so emotionally drained. In addition, I had some other things on my mind that were not helping any. I called a friend to see if she was going to run her errands that night and would she like to go to Starbucks after. Of course she would say yes - she LOVES Starbucks. Needless to say, we went and I got home late and went straight to bed. I have not recovered from life to get back on top of my blog.
This weekend was hard, as I instinctually did things or thought things based on our life with our dog. It will take quite a while to get used to her not being here and not "hearing" and "seeing" her everywhere. I am very sad that we had to let her go. And I never expected to get so attatched to an animal. It will be a long, long time before we get another dog. I only hope she has adjusted better than me and her next owner will love her as much as we did/do.
After we painted the aprons, we talked about kitchen safety.
Then we got to "cooking". Today we only made fruit smoothies. They had fun, and made a mess.
They didn't listen too well, as they were constantly talking about other things. They drank the smoothies, decided they needed some sugar (which was optional in the recipe) and decided they were much better after adding it. Then we decided to make another batch and add the sugar from the start and we added a scoop of ice cream. They liked that much better.
Then they cleaned up and washed their dishes - they did not like this part and asked if they had to do that all week. Yep.
Then we sat and had a talk about the food pyramid and they got a take home sheet to keep track of how much fruit and veggies they eat each day. We will talk about their progress on Friday.
I will say that it was a much different camp than either of the previous two weeks. I am not sure I am looking forward to actually COOKING with these boys, but I am sure we will survive. I am not sure my house will though
After that they made place mats to learn how to set the table. Then they made green eggs.
They didn't think they would taste very good.
Their final product - they loved them!
Don't they look happy?
Things I learned this morning about Johnny Appleseed. He was born in Massachusettes. He traveled west with many pioneers, but he walked barefoot rather than ride in a wagon. He traveled all over the west bringing appleseeds and planting orchards to and for the people in the west, mainly in Ohio. He had been trained as an orchardist by his father. He gave away the best of the clothes that were given to him and wore the most ragged ones. He walked barefoot even in the winter snow. He lived a long life, never married or really had a house. He had a great love for nature and the animals. When he died he left thousands of acres of orchard to his sister which was worth millions of dollars then. Today it is worth much more than that.
So, enjoy an apple, some applesauce, or apple pie and thank Johnny Appleseed for spreading the deliciousness across the country.
The one on the rightToday we celebrate the 16th Birthday of our dear first born child. I can hardly believe it was 16 years ago that we welcomed our first child into the world. Then again, it feels like we have had him forever. We were such young parents, relatively new to the city, me, without any family and few friends. I remember calling my friend (who was also my boss) at 3 in the morning for her to take us to the hospital. We ran every red light (they were blinking) all the way to downtown. We then had to call another friend to pick us up and bring us home a few days later. We didn't have a car yet. In fact I was 20 and did not know how to drive yet. Boy would my kids laugh at that.
My husband will tell you about all of the horrible nights our son cried uncontrollably when I finally had to leave him with the baby while I went to classes. I often think he exagerates those days a bit.
Of all the children, he is the neatest, the most organized, the most anal, the biggest perfectionist. He is extremely hard on himself. He is very rule driven and doesn't like change. He loves music and his friends. He plays the bari sax and the electric bass.
He was home schooled for grades 6-9. He went to a small public high school this past year and transitioned very well. He got promoted to Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble. In addition, he was nominated for Texas Lone Star Ambassadors of Music to travel to Europe for 16 days and perform for the countrymen. He is very excited and I am so proud. He loves Church Youth Group and has spent the majority of this summer so far on retreats.
With this birthday comes many changes that I am not looking forward to, but are inevitable. He will be going tomorrow to apply for a summer job. His dad has secretly been teaching him to drive in empty parking lots (can't do the permit or license yet, insurance will kill us). He will be making a decision about his future this school year and applying for college or the military. Things I don't like to think of - especially the latter.
While he and I have been at odds alot these past few years, he holds a special place in my heart as our first born.
Happy Birthday Son! and many more.
Then the girls worked on their napkin rings. We took a piece of memory wire (long enough to make two full loops), made a closed loop on one end and strung them with beads. The girls had a lot of fun making the napkin rings and I teased them that I better not see them on their wrists as bracelets. But later we decided that it would be even better to wear them because that way it was a dual purpose item and even more functional.
Each girl made three napkins with rings. I was so happy that my dd picked a fabric that matches our dining room - reds and browns. They came out great!
I know that the girls are sad that it is over, but I know that they had a great time. One of the moms asked her daughter if she was having a good time and her reply was - No, I'm not having a good time, I'm having a GREAT time.
I have never charged for these classes except for the cost of the supplies. I almost always short change myself in this area as well, because I usually come across many fun and exciting things to use that are not neccessarily part of the curriculum, but that I feel add alot to the kids' experience. I put ALOT of time into my classes through preparation and activities beyond the curriculum.
I love doing these things for all of the kids -especially my own and I think that they learn alot of valuable skills by being part of a group class instead of always being taught one on one. I also think that for many of the children in the classes this is the only "fun" school (besides field trips) that they get. As opposed to book work.
My dilemna comes from seeing other people charge for their classes ( Not always cheap either) and looking at the quality of their offerings to my own. And wondering if I am doing myself a disservice by not charging for my time. It is not that I want this to become a money making venture, BUT I could certainly use the money and if everyone else is charging, why shouldn't I?
My question is - Should I charge for these classes beyond the cost of supplies? Would you be comfortable charging your friends for these classes? Do you thinkn that by charging I would limit my attendance? Would charging make people more responsible for the work they are supposed to do for class (take home wk, etc..) as this is one of my frustrations with class?
I would love to get some input from those of you who have taught classes, both free and paid. Also those of you who have taken part in classes, both free and paid. I need to make a decision soon. I know my friends that participate will respond to this, but I REALLY need to hear from some objective outsiders. Thanks so much for ANY input you can give me - negative or positive- I will not take it personally.
Jewelry Making
Soda Can Flower Picture Holder
I came across this site, Free Rice, many months age and have played a few times, but never seriously. I came across it again today and decided to make a commitment to play every time I blog. While I have very little trust in any National or Global entity, I will just have to trust that somehow this one will be different and the hungry will truly be served by my actions. If not then I will have gained an increase in vocabulary skills for my own using
It only takes a few minutes or a few hours - depending on how competitive you are - and for every word that you get correct, 20 grains of rice are donated. You can read more about how the whole system works by clicking on their FAQ tab. I hope some of you will join me in this endeavor on behalf of those less fortunate and more hungry than any of us have ever been.
I was quite surprised at how relaxing and calm it was. There was just the right amount of time for the girls to enjoy each other and play inbetween things drying that they were always ready to come back and work again and stayed focused when they were working. If only I could achieve such a feet when I try to teach 6 boys to cook later this month
Each day I have decided that one friend may stay the rest of the day to play with my dd. That way she gets some one on one time with many of her friends that she doesn't get to see too often.
The one unexpected thing of the day wsa that my youngest dd was quite upset that she was not getting to have camp, so being the sucker that I am, I agreed to have a camp for her next week. We will read a picture book and do a craft related to it. I'll let you know how that goes!
(My dd is in the middle looking over a shoulder)
Most of June we have been busy doing outside house projects, and a few inside. I am happy to say that that aspect is about done. We only have to stain the deck. I know have grass in my backyard (the first time in at least 4 years and it looks weird, but sooo nice) I hope to have less dust floating around my house.
Our older two boys have been on a whirlwind of Catholic Summer Retreats and Vacation Bible School for the past 2 1/2 weeks. I took the year off from volunteering so today was the first day that I got to hear them play. They played the music each day. They sounded great! And that is not just my opinion. I am immensely proud of them. They are very tired though - falling asleep many days as soon as they get home. Of course they have been staying after for a few hours to practice some of their regular songs and do who knows what with their special effects, air soft guns (empty) and video camera. Don't know if I want to see the result of that project.
My brother has been here to visit since Sunday. The weather has not been that good. Kind of like he brought the Seattle weather with him. He gave us lots of great electronics to add to our collection. He also spent many, too many, days helping me try to get some kind of adequate computer up and running. After going through three computers, we have finally succedded. I now have twice the memory, 3x the hard drive, a nice big LCD monitor, a proper security system. and a HUGE external hard drive (so I can back up my system and not lose all my pictures and documents next time it crashes. Right now he is off making a video of the boys and their band with the green screen that he bought them - so they can make cool videos to go with their playing. Can you tell he likes this electronic, video, picture, movie stuff?? He gives us all his "old" eauipment when he upgrades to newer stuff - which is often.
I have been busy making invites for two baby showers. I also have to finalize my crafts for my daughter's craft camp coming up. I will have to work all next week on that. No rest for the weary.
Our weekend plans look like some relaxing fun. Tonight we have our Small Faith group (a small group of people who regularly meet to read and reflect on the upcoming Sunday scripture reading). The kids love to go and we love to spend time wit our group. The kids will get some good go-cart time too. Saturday is still undecided for the day. In the evening we will go to my inlaws for a going away for my nephew and family who have been visiting for the past 1 1/2 weeks. Sunday we are going to go to the drive in - that is not a typo- for the first time. We have friends who go alot and we are going with them. Monday my brother leaves.
I have spent the past week watching too many movies, as that is how to connect with my brother. They were good movies but I have been going to bed at about 2 am every night - of course I do sleep in until about 10 am too.
All in all I feel that I have not had much relaaxing time or much fun time, so that is my goal for the month of July. Hope you all are relaxing more than I.
our homeschool to go to the same public school as his older brother.
Last year we made the decision to put our oldest (10th grade at the time) into a small, application only public school in our district. There were many reasons for our decision and, while I was deeply troubled by it, I have seen many good things come from it. He made a relatively easy transition after being out of school for 4 years. And a pat on the back for me (meaning I got reassurance that I did not totally mess up his education) was that he got all A's and B's, an A in what I thought was his worst subjet, he passed his state test, with commended in some areas, got promoted to Jass band, and got nominated for a Europen Concert tour band. I would say that his year turned out pretty well.
Well, son #2 was told last year that if we were happy with the academics and the social aspect of the school that he could apply this year. Well, last week we went to apply and got word this week that he has been accepted. I am relieved because if he had not been accepted, he would have remained at home and that would have made everyone miserable. I also don't have to agonize all summer not knowing his fate. He is excited and eager to try out for their Jazz Band. I haveno doubt that he will fare jsut as well as his older brother.
It will be a quieter year this year with the two of htem gone. I will not miss the fighting between him and the younger ones. But I will miss hearing his guitar music most of the day. Having a "big kid" to help with chores, and having a babysitter if I need to do anything without the kids during the day (not that that happens often).
Next year will be a time to focus on the younger children without trying to teach such vaarying ages. We will do Music, Science, and History together. Math, English, and part of Religion will be done independently. The kindergartener will join us in all of our together stuff in a more hands on way this year.
I am changing up my plate this year in that I am taking a year off from teaching Art. l think this last year really strained the kids, as it was far less exciting and nothing but drawing - in black and white at that. So, I will be teaching The History of Classical Music instead. I know it will be a great change and lots fo fun, but it will be more work because I have more to put together for it. I will also be teaching a weekly science class using Apologia Zoology 2. Alot of that is planned out already, but I still will need to do alot of prep work. We will continue our bi-weekly book club where we will be reading, the Secret Garden, Bud, Not Buddy, The Witch of Blackird Pond, The Whipping Boy, Old Yeller, The Indian in the Cupboard, and maybe we will get to The Lion the Witch and teh Wardrobe in the spring.
Looking at this it seems I have more curriculum chosen and decided upon than I thought. Now to get it all ready!
Well, you know summer is in full swing when two weeks into it, the kids are complaining about being bored. Never mind that they have a sandbox, trampoline, swingset, all kinds of sports equipment, bikes, basketball hoop, books galore, legos galore, and most any other toy a child could want (well not literally). But Mom . . . they say . . .we're bored. I don't remember ever saying that to my mom - especially not at 5 yo. How can a 5 yo be bored? I don't think she even knows what it means.
Another sign of summer is the teenagers getting up real early! Like 7:30. Now, could that happen during the school year? No, they want sleep until noon. I will never understand.
I have been busy trying to get the house sorted and organized and finish home maintenance projects this month so that I can relax and enjoy the rest of the summer. Of course that leaves me unavalaible to play most days.
So here is what I have planned for a few of their days.
July
Girls Summer Craft camp where we will make at least 5 useful, functional items. So far we have 7 girls.
Boys Summer Cooking Camp where we will learn how to make an item from breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and apetizzer. Maybe a drink too. So far we have 5 boys.
August
Two or three week Olympics unit study.
So that takes care of 4-5 weeks. Only 4-5 more to fill.
Today I had to think about our school year - next year. I am not ready to do that yet. I went to our local homeschool conference's used book sale today with two other homeschool moms. They had nothing that was on my list, but I did get a lot of books that I will use (to cut down on library trips) and got multiple copies of four different books for our book club. Of course when I got home, I realized that I had miscounted the number of kids in book club and so I am short.
Oh well.
After we finished we went to lunch at a wonderful restaurant that I had never been to. It was nice to chat with my mom friends without the kiddos around and enjoy a nice lunch on top of that. Something I almost never do.
After that I had a doctor's apt and then a few errands dh had to run. It was almost dinner time and we had not taken anything out of the freezer, sooo dh decided to pick up pizza for the kids. That was nice for me - not having to cook.
My dd and I walked down the street to a friends house to deliver my give-away for today (Anne of Greene Gables books 2-6). She just recently finished reading the first book aloud to her children and they liked it so much that they wanted to read the rest of the series. When I saw them at the book sale today for a great price, I knew that was what my give-away was going to be today.
After dinner the big boys went off to church for a VBS meeting. I helped dh finish another backyard project and now I am going to get the younger kiddos into bed. Then I am going to bed early to read. And then it will be . . . another day.
As I wrote in a previous post (Proud Mom Moment), my 15 yo son has been nominated to play in the Star of Texas Music Ambassadors band which will travel to Europe on a concert tour next summer. It is an honor to be nominated and he is thrilled about it. Well, we went to the meeting on Monday to find out the final details before making a decision on whether he will go or not. Well, we are confident in the progam, the staff, and the safety of the trip. We, however, are not too happy about the price of the trip - $4697.00! Now that is a great price for what they are getting, but that is more than we could ever hope to pay for anything! There is no way that we can come up with thta kind of money on our own, so I have begun brainstroming ideas for fundraisers. I have a few in mind, but would love to pick your brains about what you think would be effective ventures for us to pursue.
Because he is going for music, one idea that I REALLY want to do is some kind of concert, party, dinner, ..... where my boys and the others in their band will perform a concert. I am not sure how to make that work for families and really how to go about it, but just know that I want to include a concert by them. Please send me some ideas!!! And pray that we can find a way for him to go on this once in a lifetime trip.