Testing, testing

Homeschool laws vary from state to state, and lucky for me, Colorado is considered pretty reasonable. This could possibly change for the worse, however, with the democrats winning the state in the last election. It's been nice--our current hs law was co-written by Bill Owens, who just ended his second term as our governor.

As a homeschooling parent, I have to notify the school district yearly of my intent to educate my kids at home, including basics such as name, age and location of the child/ren. In general, we are required to teach a specific number of days, and our "program shall include, but need not be limited to, communication skills of reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, science, and regular courses of instruction in the constitution of the United States." We are to maintain private records of attendance and immunization.

During grades three, five, seven, nine and eleven, we are to either have our child tested with a nationally standardized test OR have our child evaluated by a "qualified person." The results are to be submitted to either the school district OR a private school.

I've always gone back and forth on this testing vs. evaluation. I know how my children are doing. I have a bit of that rebel hsing attitude that test scores don't really matter. Even if they do, I have issues with the state getting involved--I'd be more inclined to trust them if they were doing such a bang up job. On the one hand, I understand the reasoning behind their mandate to test; but on the other, I have the urge to resist their authority and their determination of how my kids (and I) are doing. (Really--why should I let them know things are going so well.)

I also like everything to be convenient. When Holly was in third grade, she was attending a part time public school program. They did the testing for free. The only thing I had to do was make sure she showed up on test days. It was an easy "out" for me, so I did it. I bought a "test prep" book specific to that test and she knew exactly what to expect. She'd taken similar tests in the past, it was in her regular part time classroom, with kids and a teacher she knew. I received a copy of the results, and the school even took care of all the other notification stuff so I didn't have to. Piece of cake.

Last year was a different story. We were no longer with the part time school. While I don't want to share any results with the government, I still like the idea of knowing exactly where she tests, and the first test was a great baseline. We signed her up with our hs co-op. For $55 (ka-ching), she took the test over two mornings at the co-op in a facility with which she was familiar, in a group of other fifth graders, some of whom she knew. For an extra $10 (ka-ching), I opted to have her test results held by the private umbrella school that is associated with the co-op. This satisfied my rebellious side--the school district would not know her specific scores. Too bad for me, sometimes rebellion is not cheap.

This year, it's Trevor's turn to be tested. He will also be tested through the co-op. $55. Ka-ching. The umbrella school will hold his results. $10. Ka-ching. Poor guy's a little nervous; he's never done anything like this before. I know he has nothing to worry about. Just like I've done with Holly in the previous years, I bought a test prep book for Trevor to practice. It's definitely to his advantage to at least know what the test will look like and to practice darkening those little circles. $10 for the practice booklet. Ka-ching. (On the plus side, I already have the teacher book from when Holly did this in third grade.)

Trevor began his book this week. It's so very interesting to me to see how differently my kids each learn and how opposite many of their strengths are. It will also throw a different spin on this test, since Trevor will be 10 months younger than Holly was when she tested as a third grader.


I'm glad to have the baseline. I'm thankful to have the option to test or to evaluate. I'm pleased that I don't have to provide the results to the district. It'd be nice if all of this happiness didn't cost me quite so much. But at least I worked it out so the kids test in alternate years, making it a little easier to swallow. Ka-ching.

Holly's Fable

As the kids continue their study of Ancient Greece, they both read several of Aesop's Fables last week. Holly's writing assignment was to create her own fable.

The Rabbit

One day, Rabbit was hopping down the road humming his favorite song when he spotted Lion at the edge of a canyon. "What are you doing, Lion?" Rabbit asked.

Lion glanced at Rabbit. "Well, I'm going to jump over this hole," he said.

"Why would you want to do that?" Rabbit quizzed.

"Because I can," Lion said. Then he jumped across to the other side easily.

"I can do that!" Rabbit said. But then he bit his lip when he realized what he had said. There was no way he could jump that far!

"Show me!" Lion yelled from across the canyon. Rabbit nodded and went back a couple feet. "Go!!!" Lion bellowed.

Rabbit jumped quickly to the edge of the hole, he felt his feet go into the air. He soared through the air for a second. But just about half way over, the rabbit fell to his death.


Morale: Don't boast

This week's menu

Robert: chile rellanos

cheeseburgers, salad, strawberries

Spaghetti Carbonara (new recipe), bread, salad?

chili cheese dogs, canned fruit, tater tots

meatloaf, mashed potatoes, asparagus, _________

Robert: beef noodle soup, bread, salad

YOYO dinner (You're On Your Own)



On the back burner (as a substitute for something this week, or planning for next week):

Sam's Club buffalo chicken pizza, salad
Bockwurst, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, canned fruit
pork chops and rice OR stuffing, _________
Emily's Greek Soup, Cheese Gougeres (new recipe)
Beef Stroganoff for Noodles (new recipe)
cutlets Romano
a main dish to go with Dorothy's Baked Rice with Cheese and Green Chiles
vanilla cake

An overdose of reality

In general, I don't think we watch a lot of regular tv. When the kids use the tv, it's usually for PlayStation or DVDs, sometimes Nick-type cartoons. But Holly has a few tv shows that she really likes to watch, and she likes me to watch with her. It's that time of year when everything she wants to watch is on.

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." John Lennon

Monday: Supernanny. The kids love to see how naughty the children are on the show. By the time it's over, Trevor has lost interest. He only wants to see the "bad" stuff. I just wish I could learn some tips from the show, lol.

Tuesday: American Idol. (Don't forget to check out www.dialidol.com!)

Wednesday: and American Idol again.

Friday: Nanny 911. Basically the same thing as Supernanny.

Sunday: Amazing Race. I don't think Holly'd watch this if I didn't like it. Trevor drifts in and out with it, and then I have to keep my finger on the Mute button the whole time he's around. The teams have such potty mouths. But I really enjoy this show. Rob and Amber have been my favorites in the past, and I continue to root for them this time!

By now, I'm looking forward to American Idol going to once a week. Please tell me that will happen soon! Meanwhile, I'll agree with this T.S. Eliot quote:

"Humankind cannot bear very much reality."

Stunning Sunday

It was a little hazy this morning and the sun reflected that on the mountains. As ALL my Pikes Peak pics from my house, this is completely unretouched, unchanged from how it came out of my camera. Isn't it amazing? It's an unusual sunrise for us. Most typically, the wind blows all the yuck out of the air and it's crystal clear.


We took the trampoline down today. (That's the collective we, although Trevor helped.) We've had it up for several years, and there's now a tear in the canvas. Robert wants to get the grass growing in that spot again. But the tramp's such a great thing, we plan to replace it later this summer. The kids have definitely made good use of it and can continue to enjoy jumping for many years to come. When the weather's nicer, we will sometimes eat breakfast on it and do school work, a great place to relax in the sun, as long as no one bounces around too much!


I remember my parents taking us to see the Santa Clara Aquamaids synchronized swim team when we were little. I don't know how many times we actually went--two? four? more? But it stuck in my mind. When I saw that there was a synchronized swimming competition locally, I decided to take Holly and Trevor.

It was an all day event, very relaxed, and free! After driving around six times to find a parking place, we were set. (Note to self: Have dh teach kids how to parallel park.) On our journey between car and pool, we made our way across a big park. I was slightly surprised to see an obviously homeless man stumble out from his sleeping place, ready to start his day with his back pack on. I don't know that Holly noticed what was going on--she didn't say anything. It was such a contrast that's typical of downtown for me, the homeless man who had his own "place" immediately next to one of the very top-rated private colleges in the country.

We watched the swimming for about an hour and a half. It was fun to watch, and these girls are true athletes in every sense of the word.




Pretty neat, and definitely a different way to spend the afternoon!


(I'm a day late posting this--what I get for waking up at 5 a.m., falling asleep at night earlier to make up for it!)

Book Review - Teach With Your Heart by Erin Gruwell

I saw Hilary Swank on late night tv promoting her movie based on this book, and I requested it from my library. I later wondered why in the world I thought it would be of interest to me.

I'm happy to say that I was wrong.

I loved this book, couldn't put it down, stayed up for a few nights reading it and woke up at 5 a.m. today to finish. Erin Gruwell is a new teacher with fresh hopes for her students. She has the worst of the worst, kids who have been kicked out of other schools, have parents in jail, have seen gang murders, and more. In a desperate attempt to spark an interest in their learning, she finds a connection for them in stories of other children who found hope when there seemed to be none. Her students begin reading about the Holocaust. Anne Frank. Elie Wiesel. They can relate these stories to the horrors in their own lives.

Through a number of circumstances, her students end up meeting Steven Spielberg and later Miep Gies, in whose house the Frank family hid in Amsterdam, and who preserved Anne's diary. They raise funds to fly Zlata Filipovich (Zlata's Diary, another book the class studies) and her family from Sarajevo to the U.S. for a visit. They take a summer field trip to Europe, visiting Amsterdam and Auschwitz and Sarajevo. On another trip, they visit Washington, D.C.

To say that this book is a story about a teacher that brings hope and a better life to each of her students is inadequate. It's about the teacher and students, both facing their own challenges, finding a common ground, and giving each other life changing gifts that they never could have imagined. It's about dedication, determination; it's uplifting, heartwarming, inspiring.

I have no desire to see the movie, but the book is definitely recommended.

Friday finish

We had friends over for dinner tonight. I really wanted to take a picture of what I'd fixed but forgot until we were done eating. There wasn't a lot left--it was pretty good!

GRILLED FLANK STEAK

1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. oil
4-1/2 T. honey
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. dried rosemary, crumbled
1 t. black pepper
2 lb. flank steak

(Halve the marinade ingredients if the steak is very small.) Mix all marinade ingredients in a ziplock freezer bag; add steak, turning to coat. Seal bag, place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, turning occasionally if you are home.

Remove the meat from the marinade before cooking. I usually strain it, boil it, and serve it along with the meat. The meat is definitely best cooked on the bbq over med-high heat, but if you can't bbq, then cook under the broiler on high. When done, let rest five minutes before carving. As with any flank steak, slice thinly across the grain.

We've had this rice recipe since we were kids. It's still a favorite.

BAKED RICE

1 c. white rice (uncooked)
4 T. butter or margarine
1 can Campbell's Beef Consomme Soup
1/2 c. white wine or water
1/2 onion, minced (I use a couple of tablespoons of dried minced onion)
1 can sliced mushrooms (can use this liquid instead of water or white wine; I used 8 oz. fresh mushrooms sliced)

Mix all in a casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350 for an hour until all liquid is absorbed. Serves 6; can double if necessary which might increase cooking time.

I also made Caesar salad, just romaine lettuce, Paul Newman's Creamy Caesar dressing, and grated parmesan cheese. My friend Christine brought a yummy apple cinnamony crumble type of dessert.

Like I said, there wasn't a lot left of anything.

In the news from Egypt

An Egyptian blogger was convicted yesterday and sentenced to four years in prison for insulting Islam and Egypt's president.

Read more here.

We so take for granted our basic rights as Americans, don't we?

I think it's Thursday

My days are still mixed up!

We've had a good week school-wise, and the kids did some of tomorrow's work today so tomorrow will be pretty light. As I said yesterday, I'm ready to start winding our year down. I can do this, as the first part of our year was bulked up, intense and busy. Memory work has gone really well, but unless anything specific comes up in history that's worth memorizing, the kids will just be working on their weekly practice, instead of learning anything new. For the rest of the year, we've dropped the formal writing curriculum, although they are both writing a few times a week for a few different subjects. I want them to finish their map books before the year's out, but we've pretty much dropped the second math activity every day. We had a late start on Latin, so Latin will continue right up to the very end. Trevor's closing in on his grammar book, but we'll see how things go--I love Shurley and am considering what I'll do next year (as the more advanced Latin that H&T will move into can take over for our grammar also). But for now, we'll probably ease up on Trevor's grammar--he's learned things such as direct objects, verb transitives, and personal noun adjectives, and working on predicate nouns and predicate adjectives. I'm not too concerned what he does in grammar over the next few weeks, LOL.

Literature, Bible, regular math, spelling and history will continue. Our history curriculum has 42 weeks, and I've never finished up one volume within one 36 week school year. Art and music are usually studied with history. Science will go to the very end too, to make it to the end of the book. The big insect study is about to begin, and it should be fun. Holly has logic that will last the rest of the year too.

So what will they do with more free time? Have assigned "free time." Last year, I realized the importance of this, especially for Holly, to have specific time to pursue whatever she wants. Usually it's filled with her fictional story writing or planning, and pleasure reading. In the past 7-10 days, she's re-read the first seven Red Rock Mysteries by Jerry Jenkins, one of her favorite series.

The weather has been nice. Trevor's been so good this week, and having Robert gone has been especially hard on him. When Trevor asked this afternoon if we could go on a quick walk, even though I had several other things I really wanted to get done, I quickly said, You bet! We grabbed some leftover bread and threw it to the ducks that were walking around on the ice. (Can you believe this little pond is still mostly covered? Trevor was happy to be photographed.

And Holly wasn't, so I just shot from the other side (snicker). I guess it's the sun that makes their hair look so red, because it's really not.


After two loooong days of work meetings, Robert came home tonight. I'm surprised he didn't go straight to bed, he was wiped out. Tomorrow will be a good day, he's off, the kids don't have too much work, it will be warm before the new storm blows in tomorrow night, and we're having friends over for dinner.

Book Review - Raising a Nonviolent Child by John Rosemond

It dawned on me that this might seem like an odd book selection. Kids, boys particularly, and my boy, can so easily be attracted to video games and so many of the games lean toward violence (or just flat out are). Sure, kids, boys, have typically leaned toward "violent" games in general for a long time, with no seemingly ill effects. Remember the games boys played when we were kids? "We turned out okay," right? But life is different now, media is different now, exposure is different now, and like it or not, our culture is different now. You can't compare the cops and robbers and war games played back then to what kids play now.

I don't know where I found this book, Raising a Nonviolent Child, but I need to keep better tabs on where I'm getting my recommendations. Of course, there's also the possibility that I just ran across the title somewhere. It instantly rubs me the wrong way when books like this focus on Columbine. It's no different, in my mind, to adding in Charles Manson. It doesn't belong in a book like this, it's a key phrase designed to freak parents out. Statistically what are the chances that violence in children would come to this end. (Not even worth following that sentence with a question mark.)

The book jacket credits the author, John Rosemond, with "seven best-selling books on parenting." I don't doubt this, but I've never heard of him. He writes from a Christian perspective, yet he's not popular in my circle of friends (or I would have heard of him!). This book didn't grab me at all, nothing got my attention, and by the third chapter I was just turning pages looking for something redeeming. There's a nice chapter at the end of the book, "Don't Allow These Fifteen Behaviors, Period!" but it's not enough to recommend this book to others.

I've read a lot of parenting books, and once you weed past the fads (1-2-3 Magic, for example, is for some reason very popular but just bad), there are a handful that are outstanding, worthy of recommendation. My all time favorite remains Scott Turansky's Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining and Bad Attitudes . . . in You and Your Kids. It's hard work, and we keep trying to get it right. It's worth it.

Book Review - Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity by John Stossel

I don't catch 20/20 very often anymore, but in general I like John Stossel. I enjoyed his first book, Give Me a Break, and I assumed I'd like this one. The entire title is Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel--Why Everything You Know Is Wrong.

Unfortunately, it was a disappointment. Regardless of the "experts" he consults for the couple of hundred "myths" contained in this book, you could easily find conflicting evidence supporting the "myths." And there's that organic food debacle of several years ago that will always cast a shadow on John's "research" . . .

Not recommended.

Wednesday

My days are all messed up this week, and I kept thinking that today was Thursday. I don't know why--Thursday would be Robert's normal day off, but he's out of town for two days of work meetings. He's so very rarely gone, and I don't think he's ever been gone twice in one week like this.

We have less than 12 weeks of school left. For the past few years, I've bulked up the work at the beginning of the year, specifically so we can slow down once we hit that winter slump. And the winter slump is here! I picked up Ruth Beechick's Language Wars book today and already like what I see. Almost everything I read of hers turns on a light bulb in my head. I'm looking forward to reading if anything is applicable to Holly, or if it's all geared toward the lower elementary students.

Trevor had karate today. We hit 60 degrees, woo-hoo! We stayed "late" at co-op, and he played with a new friend on the playground for awhile. When we came home, he played with his buddy down the street.

I took the kids to Chili's for dinner, one of our favorite restaurants. I've been going to Chili's since I was about 16. It dawned on me tonight that most of the people eating there were much older than me, although there were a few parents with younger kids. Has Chili's turned into an "old people's" restaurant? Even worse, am I one of those old people?

We came back home in time to settle in for two hours of American Idol. Is it just me, or are the singers really rough this year? If you want a bit of a spoiler, check out DialIdol.com for a good prediction on who might be voted off next.

Hope in my house today

The newspaper has a reputation for bringing bad news. Really, how often do you open it up and read something that makes you happy? I read an article today that not only made me happy, but it brought me hope. This is the kind of hope that makes a mother know all of her efforts are worthwhile.

Video game players make better surgeons, study says

By Denise Gellene, Times Staff Writer
1:33 PM PST, February 19, 2007

Worried that kids spend too much time playing video games? Take heart, they may become great surgeons.

New research today found that surgeons with the highest scores on "Super Monkey Ball 2," "Stars Wars Racer Revenge" and "Silent Scope" performed best on tests of suturing and laparoscopic surgery.

Doctors who had played video games at least three hours a week sometime in their past worked 27% faster and made 37% fewer errors on the surgical tasks compared to those who had never picked up a game controller, according to the study.

"For as little as three hours a week, you could help your children become the cyber-surgeons of the 21st century," said Dr. James C. Rosser Jr. of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and lead author of the study in the Archives of Surgery.

The research looked at 33 surgeons attending a course on laparoscopic surgery and found that t heir game-playing skill was a better predictor of success on the surgical tests than years of medical practice or number of surgeries performed.

Expertise with "Super Monkey Ball 2," which involves steering a ball containing a monkey down a serpentine track while simultaneously targeting bananas, was most closely linked with high test scores.

Dr. Myriam J. Curet, a Stanford University surgeon who wrote an accom panying critique, cautioned against uncontrolled gaming, which has also been linked with aggressive behavior and bad grades.

The study agreed, saying "indiscriminate video gam e play is not a panacea."

Properly channeled, game playing can foster the hand-eye coordination and fine-motor skills needed by laparoscopic surgeons, who rely on television monitors to guide them during surgery, said Rosser, who plays video games five to six hours a week.

"Where did you go to school? Did you pass your boards? Patients may also ask their doctors, 'Are you a 'Super Monkey Ball player?'."


Until today, I worried about my son. Carpal tunnel. A lifetime goal as a video game creator. Instead, I was able to dreamily imagine all sorts of possibilities. A doctor is only one thought. How about a fighter pilot?

When this news was shared with Trevor, he was non-committal. "But I don't think I want to be a dr.," followed quickly by, "Mom, I told you PS2 was educational!" Yep. Just keep thinking that, kiddo.

Political Profile quiz

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Social Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

The Name Game

As the pregnancy picture posts continue on some of my loopy friends' blogs, another thread brought up names. Poor Liz shared the trauma of being called "Lizard of Oz" and the subsequent satisfaction of taking matters into her own hands. (You go, Liz!)

Everyone has a name story, don't they? Even Robert. It's a simple name, common. You think it'd be easy. But you can't imagine how many people are introduced to him and then immediately call him "Bob." Robert is not a Bob. He never has been, never will be, and anyone who knows him knows that. His family's never called him Bob, not Bobby, not even Robby. It's Robert. The closest it gets is when his sister or I will call just the first syllable of his name, "Rob-" But even then, his name's not Rob.

Christine. That's what my parents named me, and in a desperate need for any change at all, I changed the spelling in high school. It's on my social security card as Kristine, so it will stay that way. But I digress.

Christine. I don't think my parents ever called me Christine. Chris, Chrissy, Tippy, Tipper. Crispy Critter. Chris. It was a perfectly fine name. But when I started kindergarten, I found, to my horror, that it was a boy's name. It wasn't just a boy's name, it was a weird boy's name. Poor little Chris Rodriguez, he was odd through no fault of his own. I think his father had died. He had a terribly over-protective mother who walked him to school every day. This was back in the 60s, and no one's mom walked them to school. (Instead we hid behind trees, terrified, when strange cars drove past.) His mom wore a thick, long, black, wool winter coat and scarvey things around her neck. It was sunny California, remember, in the 1960s. My mom wore sleeveless mini dresses, pretty much the norm for moms back then.

(Don't worry, Mom, I won't tell about the mini dress with the naked ladies outlined all over it. At least not this time. And I don't think that was the norm.)
Even at the age of 5, I did not want to share my name with a boy. So I didn't. After that, for at least eight years, I made every teacher call me "Christine." My friends continued to call me Chris, eventually Kris. Now it's Kristine. New friends often will call me Kristin or Kristina. I don't care, but if they call me Kris, I remind them it's Kristine.

The possibility of having a boy name even affected how I named my kids. I loved the girls' names Jordan, Taylor, Kendall. At some point it dawned on me that I would have hated any of those, because they could be boy names. I bet you don't know many boys named Holly.

We had our son's name picked for many months before he was born--Cameron John. Cameron. Cam. A boy's name. But that was the year Cameron Diaz became famous. Camryn Manheim was on The Practice. Two days before my Cameron was born, I realized -- he was going to have a girl's name.

The only thing worse than being a girl with a boy's name would be a boy with a girl's name.

Robert came up with Trevor. It sounded like a boy name to me. Trevor. Not hoity-toity British Trevor. Trucks, tractors, dirt, big-guy in dirty jeans, deep voice, unshaven, masculine. Trevor. I've never heard of a girl named Trevor. Lucky for Trev, he wasn't born any earlier. (It's almost funny how often he gets called Travis, but at least that's a boy name too.)

I wonder what happened to Chris Rodriguez. Poor kid. He had enough to deal with in life. He was probably even more horrified to discover a girl named Chris. I'd almost bet he's called Christopher now.

This week's menu

Indian Butter Chicken with rice, canned pineapple

Breakfast Burritos

??? when Robert's gone one night

Encore Presentation (thanks, De'Etta, for that great title!) of lasagna, bread sticks, salad

Robert: beef noodle soup

chili cheese dogs



On the back burner (as a substitute for something this week, or planning for next week):
Sam's Club buffalo chicken pizza
Laura's Beef Pot Roast, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots
Bockwurst, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes
Spaghetti Carbonara (new recipe)
a main dish to go with Cheese Gougeres (new recipe)

. . . we now return to our regular programming

To say that I'm not very flexible is an understatement. (Okay, you don't have to laugh.) I like my regular routine, I like knowing exactly what to expect. I do not like surprises, I do not like change, and I do not like things I cannot control. Take yesterday. It was all planned out, basketball; library; grocery store; baking lasagna and chocolate cake; Holly spending the night at a friend's; and picking Robert up from the airport. I had it all planned.

It started out well. Because it was Saturday, we woke up to snow. I think that's seven out of the last eight Saturdays that it snowed. It's expected.

Trevor swept the kitchen, vacuumed the family room and was just in general helpful. That was definitely appreciated.

Trevor had basketball. We were one minute late--just like we've been for the past two weeks. His team lost. Although this was only their second game, after their first loss, this wasn't so unexpected either.

And then my routine, expected, controlled day began to fall apart.

Robert called while we were at basketball. His plane was indefinitely delayed. Even if he made that flight, it was unlikely he'd make his connecting flight in Chicago. Chicago had suffered weather delays and flights all over were a mess. Robert was stuck in Hokietown, USA, and he wanted me to save him via the internet.

So no library. No grocery shopping. Instead we came home and I sat in front of the computer, which I'm getting pretty sick of. My flight search was hopeless. Even if he could take one of Hokietown's four flights out yesterday, he still couldn't get HERE until today. And it's better to be stuck in Hokietown than Chicago. Sometimes. (More on this later.)

Two hours later, we made it to the library, dropped Holly off at her friend's, and Trevor and I went to the grocery store. We had a quite lovely dinner, just the two of us, with tv dinners of our choice. We decided to try my Grandma's old chocolate cake recipe for the first time. I expected it to turn out great.


It seemed, um, odd to add 2 t. baking powder AND 3 t. baking soda. But I'm not a science-minded person, I just follow the recipe. It should have been called Volcano Cake, the way it bubbled over the sides of the pan, leaving a giant crater in the middle, smoking up my kitchen. Oh, it tasted great. But it was ugly, not quite the cake we expected.

At midnight, I was making meat sauce for the lasagna, also not part of my plan.

I optimistically held out for today. It started out great.

Trevor and I made our usual Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake and frosting.

I had time to clean house.

We picked Robert up, and as usual, I was five minutes late to the airport. We picked up Holly. I got everything out for the lasagna, and she assembled the whole thing.


Dinner was pretty good. The lasagna had a smoky flavor that I didn't really like. I think it was from the Jimmy Dean hot breakfast sausage. Robert thought it was from the cake that burned all over my oven last night. But next time I make lasagna, I'll try regular hot Italian sausage. Our chocolate cake was wonderful, just as expected. To be sure, I had three pieces, also just as expected.

Everything pieced itself back together today. I'm looking forward to tomorrow too, as I'm expecting it to be another good day.

* * *

I later found out that although the flight from Hokietown was two hours late, Robert's connecting flight from Chicago was also two hours late, so he would have flown in at 11:30 p.m. I was relieved that he missed it. I do not like driving at night, I don't like driving on Saturday nights, and I don't like driving at night. Oh, and I thought he might be really tired too. Unfortunately, there was "no room at the inn," and he ended up sleeping in a hotel closet with a pull down bed. There was no cable tv--gasp!--and the adjacent room partied all night long. So he was tired anyway.

Finally Friday!

This has been a crazy end of the week. It's after 1 a.m., I'm STILL awake, finally beginning to post. Robert has been out of town, and I sleep so poorly when he's not here. That's why we were up at 4 the other morning, to take him to the airport. (Was that just yesterday?) Last night, Holly was still awake after midnight, so I let her sleep in my bed. At 3, Trevor came in. That did not help me sleep at all. I can't wait for Robert to come home "tomorrow" (at this point, it's really later today).

The wind blew hard all night long, but that was a good thing. I knew it was bringing nice weather for Holly's riding. She practiced riding today without reins, did great and had a blast! The wind continued to blow all afternoon, and it was much worse out on the plains. Trevor was worried he'd blow away when we walked to the barn. The blowing dust and clouds made for some awesome photos. These are the original photos, and you can see the different layers of clouds, clear sky, and at the bottom of most of the pictures, the brown/grey dust layers.





So the weather was much warmer today, but as the wind continued to blow . . . you guessed it. More snow! It's a little more than a dusting, but I'm not expecting it to be around tomorrow.

I'm gearing up and hope I get everything done that I have planned for Saturday. I'm in the middle of writing next week's school schedules (just 12 weeks of school left!), I desperately need to clean house, Trevor has basketball, and I'm making Pioneer Woman's Lasagna.

And I really, really can't wait for my dh to come home.

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Thursday things

There's not been much to post about this week! It's been trying to snow for several days, with the clouds hanging right over the mountains. We ended up with maybe a 1/2". That's enough for me! These were taken over the past several days.




My brain is gone tonight--I've been up since 4:00 a.m., so this will be a short post--I just hope it's somewhat coherent!

We had a nice Valentine's Day, with Holly getting a pink sweater, and Trevor a red sweatshirt, along with "enough" candy. That's by my standards, not theirs. Robert brought me flowers and ta-da, a box of Good n Plenty! I ate it for lunch today. Sigh.

He was not home tonight, so I took the kids out the a giant Chinese buffet. You know the kind--with several tables of Chinese food, along with a table of everything under the sun fried, a (canned) fruit table, a salad bar, dessert bar, soup bar. There's also another room with Mongolian bbq, and a sushi bar. Usually we eat way too much, but tonight we paced ourselves. I made sure the kids took only one of anything before deciding if it was good enough to go back for more. Sometimes this place is overwhelming, but we had a great time.

Tomorrow will be the nicest day of the week, just in time for Holly's riding lesson, yay!

My brain is spinning--what's left of it anyway . . . I need sleep!

Book Review - Last Man Out: The Story of the Springhill Mine Disaster by Melissa Fay Greene

My sister recommended this amazing book. It took me awhile to open it up; I didn't think it would hold my interest. But Lori has a pretty good idea what I like–this was no exception. Once I began reading, it was hard to stop.

The Springhill Mine was located in a small town in Nova Scotia. In 1958, a "bump" caused a cave in, trapping 170 miners underground, down to 13,000+ feet. About half were rescued or walked out soon after; 19 were rescued a week later. Seventy-four died. This is the story of the two groups of men men who were trapped for 7+ days.

The title "Last Man Out" refers to the call made when the last survivor exits the mine–an indication that anyone not already out won't be coming out alive. That how people are told their loved ones are dead.

This cave in drew international attention, as it was the first major event to be reported on live television. Published in 2003, 45 years after the story happened, the author's research is impressive and included poring over survivors' psych reviews in the aftermath.

She details the lives of many of the trapped men before the accident and is able to replicate many of their experiences while underground. It's well written, suspenseful, and interesting to follow. Some of the men got jumbled up in my mind, but it wasn't a detractor.

In general, I don't give much thought to coal miners. I don't know any, I've never lived anywhere that it's affected me. Sometimes we read in the paper about cave ins, deaths, explosions. I can't imagine this way of life, how truly dangerous it is, even now. These men are something--maybe not well educated but brave, stand up men, who display an inspirational "miner's code."

A continuing secondary storyline put this book in a very different light. She also tracks the state of Georgia's segregationist governor Marvin Griffin and his aide Sam Caldwell. As an attempt to draw tourists to Georgia, Caldwell invites the survivors and their families for a free vacation to Georgia. One of the survivors is part black--who is treated to a "separate but equal" vacation. While it's sickening to see the mindset of some of these politicians, they get their due, and not exactly the PR bonanza they'd initially envisioned. It was a very different spin to put on a book, but it worked well.

About a year ago, I read Isaac's Storm (about the 1900 Galveston hurricane) and The Children's Blizzard (1888 blizzard on the plains). Although not a natural disaster, Last Man Out would be in that same group. It was an excellent read, and I highly recommend it. Thanks, Lori!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

For God so loVed the world
..... .that He gAve
. ..... . .His onLy
. . ... ...begottEn
. . . ...... . .SoN,
. . . . . ........ .That whoever
...... .believes In Him
...... . .should Not perish
... ...but have Everlasting life.

John 3:16

More mood for food

I have been enjoying Lisa's weekly menu planning posts on her blog. She writes in her menu plan, but planning ahead like this is something I've not been doing lately. ("Lately" in my vocabulary means a year or so.) While it drives me nuts to go to the grocery every day or two, it's not motivating enough to get back to a "plan." It's time for a change!

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With just two kids, breakfast and lunch are easy. School begins at 8:30 with breakfast and me reading aloud while the kids eat. They usually have cereal, oatmeal, frozen waffles, or bagels, sometimes I'll make eggs. They also have fruit, either with breakfast or as a morning snack.

Lunch is easy too, sandwiches or leftovers, sometimes macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, etc. Again, they also have at least one fruit or vegetable. Holly sometimes makes her awesome smoothies, a great way to get in a couple of fruit servings.

Healthy snacks are encouraged, with my biggest goals fruit, protein, whole grain--and microwave popcorn shows up sometimes too.

I try to serve a couple of fruit/vegetables with dinner, because I figure it gives them choices. Saying we are "picky" isn't quite right, but we all have definite likes and dislikes. No one likes me to make many changes to our usual menus. Hey, no one likes me to even make anything new, but torturing them is my idea of fun.

So back to posting my menu. It's purely for my benefit. I'll be able to plan ahead of time, keep track of what I've already bought, and have everything in one place (instead of searching for my grocery list). I'll be more accountable, even if it's just to myself.

Here's my plan for this week:

Greek Soup, bread, salad

Smoked pork chops, Lipton oven roasted potatoes, peas, canned fruit

Laura's Shredded Beef, cottage cheese?, frozen corn

Pioneer Woman Lasagna (I don't like lasagna, but this looks fabulous!), Vanilla Cake (new recipe)

taking the kids out one night (Robert will be gone)

YOYO (You're On Your Own)


On the back burner (as a substitute for something this week, or planning for next week):

Indian Butter Chicken with rice, canned pineapple

Laura's Beef Pot Roast, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots

Breakfast Burritos

Bockwurst, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes

Spaghetti Carbonara (new recipe)

a main dish to go with Cheese Gougeres (new recipe)

A glimpse of spring!

Our food theme continued today. Trevor started our morning off just right by making (frozen) waffles for Robert for breakfast. He called me into the kitchen shortly after, where he'd made breakfast for me too, a bowl of dry Frosted Mini Wheats with a glass of milk. I like to eat them this way--they don't get soggy, and I can save the really sugary ones for last. How sweet is he to make individual food according to what we like best!

Trevor's been playing basketball on Saturday mornings. It's pretty obvious that many of the kids haven't practiced during the week. It's been impossible--but today, the big patch of snow in the middle of my street finally melted completely away.



While we played, Robert finished taking down the outside Christmas decorations. Under normal circumstances, that would be an embarrassing admission--but if you know Robert, you know he would NEVER let these go this long. The outside decorations get put away the first week of January, period. Until this year, anyway, since there's been several inches of snow on the ground for at least six weeks!




Trevor and I went for a walk around the pond today too.

And we celebrated Valentine's Day a little early by having crab legs for dinner. YUM!

While it seemed like spring, I'm not holding my breath. Snow is forecast over the next couple of days. But I enjoyed it while it lasted!

In the mood for food, part 1

My loopy friends have been a source of endless wonderful support over the past 5-1/2 years. As a group, we share two things in common--"we are a group of Christian Homeschool Women who teach our children using living literature."

Those are the only two standards. Other than that, it's pretty much up for grabs. A popular discussion topic is food and nutrition. In fact, if you search "food" on our list, there's over 5000 hits. We have "crunchy" people, organic people, Feingolders, vegetarians, juicers, wheat grinders. Someone even mentioned a "miniature" cow, 30" tall, to provide fresh milk. . . . And then there's me.

I know I'm not really alone. When everyone else seems to be touting their healthy habits, in reality, quite a few of us keep quiet. The truth is that we have no idea what they are talking about. What exactly do you put in a Nutramill, and what is spelt, for starters?

I think my kids eat pretty healthy and are in the middle of their friends. Holly and Trevor might eat more fast food than others, but we've moved out of McDonald's and into Wendy's and Subway. We eat a lot of pizza. (As if Wendy's were any improvement over McD's.)

I'm not too hung up on the "organic" label. When Holly was little, I would buy organic milk, but now she'll only drink chocolate milk. I buy organic ground beef, because we greatly prefer the taste. I buy organic fruit/vegetables when they're on sale and a better deal. I believe it's important to GET fruits and vegetables, and it's less important where they come from, whether it's organic, pesticide laden, frozen or canned. There are too many conflicting studies; I'm just not convinced.

Everyone makes different choices for their families every day; I'm grateful for the options. Besides, I have to face it, I'm fighting a losing battle.

The baked potato chips were an easy win--everyone liked them.

White bread rules around here--so I get satisfaction buying "whole grain white" bread. (Sounds like a freaky lab experiment.)

I was just happy to finally decide that diet pop was better for my kids overall than non-diet pop, you know? I spent way too much energy weighing the pros and cons of fructose corn syrup versus fake sugar with zero calories.

And I certainly won't be buying any cows soon, even little ones.


LOL.

In the mood for food, part 2

Trevor got his hands wet in the kitchen today. I'd asked if he wanted to help make Rice Krispie Treats. With only three ingredients, I figured it'd be a good start. I am hopelessly optimistic; I think he spent a grand total of two minutes with me, running in and out. But he was excited about helping, and I'm all for encouraging that.


Maybe next time!

In the mood for food, part 3

I found this in an old Cooking Light magazine and fixed it for the kids' lunch today. When I told them I was making something "special," I got the typical enthusiastic response: "But I don't liiiiikkke peanut butter!" (stretch that into a big whine). And even better: "Oh," with that all-knowing tone of voice that's already determined to hate whatever the "surprise" is.

Mom's secret tip #14: If the kids are hungry enough, they'll eat anything.

So I kept them out running errands until a few hours after their regular lunch time.

GRILLED PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA SPLIT SANDWICH--Makes one

2 slices white sandwich bread
1 t. butter, softened
2 t. honey
1 T. creamy peanut butter
1/2 t. semisweet chocolate minichips
1/2 small banana, sliced
1 large strawberry, thinly sliced
1 T. pineapple jam

Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Combine peanut butter and honey, spread over plain side of one slice of bread. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, top evenly with strawberry slices and banana slices. Spread pineapple jam over plain side of remaining bread slice. Carefully assemble sandwich.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add sandwich and cook 2 mins. on each side until lightly browned.

I don't know if they were just hungry enough to eat anything, if they were overcome with guilt for acting ungrateful, or if the sandwiches were actually good--but they oohed and aahed and ate every last bite (a couple of corner crusts excepted). When I asked if I should make these again, they both gave a resounding, "YES!"

According to the magazine, these are even supposed to be relatively healthy. Imagine that! 436 calories; 9.4g protein; 4.6g fiber; 3mg iron; 100mg calcium.

It was easy to make substitutes too. Instead of strawberries and pineapple jam, I used grape jelly, and 6 regular sized chocolate chips.

These were definitely a hit. I think.

Book Review - Freedom by Malika Oufkir

Freedom: The Story of My Second Life is Malika Oufkir's sequel to her autobiographical Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail. I flew through the first book, a gripping story of her family's 20 year imprisonment in Morocco following a failed coup attempt led by her father (who was subsequently assassinated).

There is really no comparison between the two books. The first one was much longer, a much more intense read, a detailed, logical retelling, clearly driven by the talents of co-author Michele Fitoussi. This follow up story is jaggedly pieced together, although that lends a sense of what the author's life continues to be like as she tries to make up 20 missing years of her life.

I was glad to read a continuation of the story, but this book would not be interesting on its own. Only recommended as a follow up to the first book.

Holly's photography

Holly is having a blast with her photography class. She was mildly interested at the time she signed up and is surprised with how much she's really enjoying the class. The teacher is a professional photographer with four girls of his own. He's pretty relaxed--Holly reported him wearing just socks in the classroom the first week. (Perhaps I should reword that--he had taken off his shoes and was walking around in his socks. ::snicker::)

The kids are taught specific elements each week and later e-mail their best shot to the teacher. He shows the photos in class on a video screen, critiquing and offering encouragement. Holly is much more creative than I am, and taking photos seems to come pretty naturally to her. She's done a great job at learning how to use the camera (the one I was afraid to try for a year--in fact, I've still never used it).

Here are some of her best photos over the past week or two.

From our trip to Denver.

And from skating last night. Of course, I can't remember who's who, but this girl in blue is Kimmie Meissner.