I DID write up a meal plan last week. On the back of an envelope while the littles dilly-dallied over their lunches. And then I lost it. I know for sure that we ate pasta with vegetable cream sauce (mushrooms, peppers, yellow squash, onions, garlic, white wine, Parmesan, and just a touch of cream), corn griddle cakes with baked talapia, and sloppy joes with lots of onions and peppers.
Wednesday- Baked pasta with sausage and kale in chipotle cream sauce. A riff on this recipe.
Thursday- Roasted fingerling potatoes with garlic and green onions. Roasted beets. Roasted chicken with lemon.
Friday- Tabbouleh. Moroccan spiced meatballs. Tzatziki.
Saturday- Baked zucchini. Chicken salad sandwiches.
Sunday- Crustless quiche with garlic and spinach. Raw bell peppers with leftover tzatziki for dip.
Monday- Chicken noodle soup. Bread.
Tuesday- Crock pot roast beef with onions, carrots, and potatoes. Broccoli salad.
I'll work on getting my activity advent calendar posted. Are you doing anything special for advent this year?
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Menu Plan, uh, Thursday?
For those of you who read my blog and aren't friends of mine IRL (anybody? Nope? Just checking.) or who haven't been paying attention recently, I had a baby. He's a boy. We're both doing super. And my mom was here for a while, but then she left, and I remembered WHY I started doing meal plans to begin with.
You see, for the past 9 months, I've had 2 reasonably cooperative children. Advance meal planning has been a nicety, not a necessity, because I could start throwing something together with no real plan in mind at 5:30 PM and still have a decent meal finished when The Hubby walked in the door at 6.. Now I've got a newborn again, and if I don't start thinking about dinner before 10 AM, there will be no dinner. Also, I can't keep track of any thought for more than 30 seconds, so written reminders of what we're eating are paramount.
Without further ado, then, here is the menu for this week.
Thursday- Pasta with garlic and kale. Buns.
Friday- Stir fry with cabbage, beef, and green onions. Black rice, because The Gibbon says the black rice is tasty, but brown rice is not.
Saturday- Chili in the crock pot. Crackers.
Sunday- Baba ghanoush and humus with bell peppers, cucumbers, and bread sticks.
Monday- Homemade salsa verde, roasted chicken, cornbread, raw carrot and celery sticks.
Tuesday- Oven baked homemade macaroni and cheese. Possibly whole wheat? Frozen peas.
Wednesday- Crock pot sausage, kale, and bean soup.
You see, for the past 9 months, I've had 2 reasonably cooperative children. Advance meal planning has been a nicety, not a necessity, because I could start throwing something together with no real plan in mind at 5:30 PM and still have a decent meal finished when The Hubby walked in the door at 6.. Now I've got a newborn again, and if I don't start thinking about dinner before 10 AM, there will be no dinner. Also, I can't keep track of any thought for more than 30 seconds, so written reminders of what we're eating are paramount.
Without further ado, then, here is the menu for this week.
Thursday- Pasta with garlic and kale. Buns.
Friday- Stir fry with cabbage, beef, and green onions. Black rice, because The Gibbon says the black rice is tasty, but brown rice is not.
Saturday- Chili in the crock pot. Crackers.
Sunday- Baba ghanoush and humus with bell peppers, cucumbers, and bread sticks.
Monday- Homemade salsa verde, roasted chicken, cornbread, raw carrot and celery sticks.
Tuesday- Oven baked homemade macaroni and cheese. Possibly whole wheat? Frozen peas.
Wednesday- Crock pot sausage, kale, and bean soup.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Things to Learn and Do
I said last week that the family had sat down and come up with a list of things to learn and do during the next school year. For points of reference: The Gibbon is 4, turning 5 in January. He taught himself to read last winter with www.starfall.com and has good comprehension, although he's still very slow. He has also so far shown minimal interest in drawing, coloring, or writing. The Sparrow turned 2 this summer. She loves to listen to stories, sing, and get her hands messy. The Baby is due in October, so I'm not sure what all I'm going to accomplish, based on temperament and what-not of the new addition.
The Gibbon
Write all the letters
Spell my name
Add numbers less than 10
Recognize numbers up to 999
Tell time
Pop wheelies on my bike
Try to be in a circus
Do a headstand
Climb trees
Cook on the stove
Make waffles and oatmeal for breakfast
Build a rocket with Dad
The Sparrow
Mix in the kitchen
Cut with scissors
Glue things
Name 16 colors
Count 10 objects
Me
Plan a decent garden
Set up a big-kid bedroom for The Gibbon and The Sparrow
Submit foster parent application
Work at least 2 hours a week for pay starting in January
Paint and organize the basement play space and craft room
All of us together
Read 60 classic fairy/folk tales
Memorize 10 poems
What are you learning and doing this year?
P.S. For the record, our Something New on Monday was a trip to the splash park with Daddy and Auntie A. Good times were had by all. Except maybe The Sparrow, who was not inclined to actually get wet above her knees, thank you very much.
The Gibbon
Write all the letters
Spell my name
Add numbers less than 10
Recognize numbers up to 999
Tell time
Pop wheelies on my bike
Try to be in a circus
Do a headstand
Climb trees
Cook on the stove
Make waffles and oatmeal for breakfast
Build a rocket with Dad
The Sparrow
Mix in the kitchen
Cut with scissors
Glue things
Name 16 colors
Count 10 objects
Me
Plan a decent garden
Set up a big-kid bedroom for The Gibbon and The Sparrow
Submit foster parent application
Work at least 2 hours a week for pay starting in January
Paint and organize the basement play space and craft room
All of us together
Read 60 classic fairy/folk tales
Memorize 10 poems
What are you learning and doing this year?
P.S. For the record, our Something New on Monday was a trip to the splash park with Daddy and Auntie A. Good times were had by all. Except maybe The Sparrow, who was not inclined to actually get wet above her knees, thank you very much.
Monday, August 26, 2013
It's a new school year!
Howdy folks! Did you have a fantastic summer? Today was the first day back at school for kids in our district. Mind you, that doesn't include any of my kids, as The Gibbon is still only four, and the district rule is that you have to be five before the first day of school to start kindergarten. What about preschool, you ask? I've found that saying, "We've decided not to send The Gibbon to preschool," results in arguments from some people and silent judgement from others. So my standard reply is, "We're homeschooling preschool."
Here's the thing, because parents around here push for it, the preschools tend to be more academic leaning. Except for the really-really-really pricy ones. We can't afford a really expensive play-based preschool, and I don't actually want to pay anything for a dubiously beneficial academic-based program. I figure, since I'm a reasonably engaged parent with a reasonable number of resources at my disposal, "homeschooling preschool" and "being the stay-at-home parent of my preschool children" are probably basically the same thing.
Sample curriculum! Observing the vegetables available at our local supermarket and touching the ones we are going to buy (literacy, math, tactile processing, and health/nutrition). Picking up the toys before vacuuming the carpet (sequencing, motor control, and cooperation). Jumping on the bed and yelling while intermittently turning the radio on and off.(creative thinking, gross motor skills, and auditory processing). What a well rounded program I'm running here!
No, seriously. The Littles and I talked about what we'd each like to learn and do this school year so that we would be sure to cover all the basics. And we're also starting up Something New Day again. We did Something New Day from August through maybe April last year, and The Gibbon has been asking to bring it back. The basic premiss is that on Mondays we do something we've never done before. It doesn't have to be big or complicated, but it has to be new. Last year we introduced new art supplies (colored pencils one week, big sheets of tag board another), tried new activities (making an obstacle course, painting on the sidewalk), did old things in a new way (eating dinner on the front lawn, wearing our clothes backwards), ate new foods (cheese fondu, pepper jelly) and occasionally even went new places (a playground we walked to, a museum). A few things were big hits and went into the regular rotation of what we do around here. But mostly it was good entertainment for me to come up with the New things, and the kids both enjoyed having something special planned for every Monday.
Today, The Gibbon ran the blender and we made our first ever granata. Watermelon granata. It was supposed to be Watermelon Sorbet, but after The Gibbon stirred it all in the ice cream maker for 30 minutes, it became abundantly clear that something was wrong with our ice cream maker, and the sorbet would never ever be frozen. So we improvised. And we froze the watermelon slurry in ice cube trays before mashing it with forks, because I figured that would make it freeze faster. I was totally right. Also, it was delicious. Something New!
Here's the thing, because parents around here push for it, the preschools tend to be more academic leaning. Except for the really-really-really pricy ones. We can't afford a really expensive play-based preschool, and I don't actually want to pay anything for a dubiously beneficial academic-based program. I figure, since I'm a reasonably engaged parent with a reasonable number of resources at my disposal, "homeschooling preschool" and "being the stay-at-home parent of my preschool children" are probably basically the same thing.
Sample curriculum! Observing the vegetables available at our local supermarket and touching the ones we are going to buy (literacy, math, tactile processing, and health/nutrition). Picking up the toys before vacuuming the carpet (sequencing, motor control, and cooperation). Jumping on the bed and yelling while intermittently turning the radio on and off.(creative thinking, gross motor skills, and auditory processing). What a well rounded program I'm running here!
No, seriously. The Littles and I talked about what we'd each like to learn and do this school year so that we would be sure to cover all the basics. And we're also starting up Something New Day again. We did Something New Day from August through maybe April last year, and The Gibbon has been asking to bring it back. The basic premiss is that on Mondays we do something we've never done before. It doesn't have to be big or complicated, but it has to be new. Last year we introduced new art supplies (colored pencils one week, big sheets of tag board another), tried new activities (making an obstacle course, painting on the sidewalk), did old things in a new way (eating dinner on the front lawn, wearing our clothes backwards), ate new foods (cheese fondu, pepper jelly) and occasionally even went new places (a playground we walked to, a museum). A few things were big hits and went into the regular rotation of what we do around here. But mostly it was good entertainment for me to come up with the New things, and the kids both enjoyed having something special planned for every Monday.
Today, The Gibbon ran the blender and we made our first ever granata. Watermelon granata. It was supposed to be Watermelon Sorbet, but after The Gibbon stirred it all in the ice cream maker for 30 minutes, it became abundantly clear that something was wrong with our ice cream maker, and the sorbet would never ever be frozen. So we improvised. And we froze the watermelon slurry in ice cube trays before mashing it with forks, because I figured that would make it freeze faster. I was totally right. Also, it was delicious. Something New!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Toys for the car
Or, what I packed on my 60 hour road trip to Alberta, Canada.
I was really, really nervous about taking a 60 hour, 6 day car trip with my 2 and 4 year old children. In retrospect, it wasn't so bad, but the anxiety I had leading up to the trip led me to make list upon list of things to pack. Of course there were clothing and toiletries, diapers and the little potty for the newly potty trained Sparrow, dozens of kid's books, a DVD player with plenty of cartoon movies, and more snacks than you could possibly justify.
But I also packed toys. The Sparrow isn't much into movies. And the books that hold her attention tend to be little 5-minute stories that she wants you to read over and over and over and over. Would you like my giant obsessive compulsive list of toys for the car? Even if you don't want it, I'd like to record it so the next time we undertake this kind of delightful family togetherness, I've already got the list compiled. Also, my notes on what worked.
1. A doll or stuffed animal for each kid
2. A magnetic lap tray for each child (In retrospect, we really only needed one at a time. However, having *A* tray was immensely handy not only for toys and coloring, but also for making and serving meals in the car.)
3. Lots of paper (construction, lined, printer, watercolor)
4. Scissors
5. Crayons (Not markers this trip. The Sparrow loses the caps like nobody's business.)
6. A dozen sheets of stickers.
7. Homemade I Spy bottle with 34 items and 10 letters
8. A set of magnets with colors, numbers, and shapes. Maybe 50 magnets total.
9. Rubber stamps (The self-contained stamps were ok, although a bit messy. The stamp pad was a disaster. The Gibbon enjoyed it for maybe 3 minutes, and The Sparrow dyed her hands, face, outfit, and car seat blue. Maybe for older kids, but never again for preschoolers.)
10. Fancy colored Duct Tape (The Gibbon likes to just cut inch long pieces and stick them on paper.)
11. Construction trucks.
12. Little People and their vehicles.
13. Playdough and a few tools to work it. (It definitely keeps the kids occupied for a good length of time, but it crumbles and makes a mess. I had enough else that I didn't actually get it out of the bag. Plastic modeling clay will probably be my choice for the future.)
14. LED flashlights.
15. Bubbles (Another idea that didn't go so well. The kids wanted to hold the bubbles, and that always results in a mess. So they alternately popped the bubbles I blew and whined that they weren't holding the wand.)
16. Magnifying glass.
17. Clips (I had bulldog paper clips, hair clips, clothes pins, and mini-carabiners. They clipped themselves, their clothes, their car seats, their hair, and me. Good times.)
18. Toy doctor kit.
19. Coloring books and preschool worksheets.
20. Post-it notes. (The Sparrow enjoyed removing each post-it from the stack and handing them to me. The Gibbon enjoyed drawing on the notes and sticking them to things. I also drew simple shapes or sketches on the notes and hung them on the window after the kids guessed what they were. We got almost an hour of play out of a $1 stack of post-its. Totally a win.)
21. Paint rollers and brushes. (No paint, just the rollers and brushes. My kids both like to pretend paint. "What color do you want, Mom? Dip, Dip, Dip. I paint your hand blue.")
22. Magnetic drawing pad (Like the Magna Doodle, only generic).
23. Lacing shapes.
24. Dinosaur toys.
25. Pony beads.
26. Pipe Cleaners (These were used for stringing the above mentioned pony beads, but The Sparrow also enjoyed taking them out of and putting them into their package. Subsequent to the trip we've used them to make fabulous accessories. Pipe cleaner glasses are awesome.)
27. Pom Poms (Because they're basically balls, but you can't hurt anyone with them. We played tiny games of catch, blew them on the trays, treated them as fuzzy pets, and of course put them into and took them out of their package.)
28. Dollar store plastic shot glasses. (For stacking, pretend cooking, and putting pom poms into.)
29. Shape sorter (Didn't get enough play value for the amount of space it took up. I'd skip it in the future.)
30. A magnetic door puzzle.
31. Calculator (Doubles as a pretend phone and a "find the number" game.)
32. A dozen Easter Eggs stuffed with random tiny toys. (The Sparrow, being two, likes to open and dump stuff. Have you noticed that trend yet?)
33. Playing cards. (The Gibbon is old enough for War and Old Maid.)
34. Scrabble ties. (The Gibbon is also reading and learning to spell. So these were good fun for him.)
35. Plastic laces. (You could use these to string pony beads instead of pipe cleaners. Or you could simply tie them in knots or threaten your siblings with them.)
36. Hole puncher. (Office supplies are awesome to preschoolers!)
37. Stapler (See #36.)
38. Staple remover. (See #36, again.)
39. Dice. (There are a million games you can play with a handful of dice. We like to roll them and count. To make that an actual game, you can say that when you roll doubles your turn is over and try to get the biggest number before then. Or try to be the first to roll a 1 then a 2 then a 3. Or just google "easy dice games" and find a few that suit you.)
40. Pirate action figures. (These are the tiny guys, like you're used to seeing little soldiers. We've also got football guys, although we didn't bring them on this trip.)
41. A wallet full of cards. (We honestly used our store discount cards, some business cards, and one of my old student IDs. But it would be truly awesome if you had a set of these.)
42. Two copies of this free printable travel game. (The Sparrow got one set hole punched and on a ring. The Gibbon got seven cards at a time and a snack when he found all seven items.)
43. Glow bracelets. (We used these the one day we ended up traveling after dark. Good times.)
I was going to make a latch board, but I ran out of time. Maybe next year.
What are your favorite toys for long road trips with the kids?
I was really, really nervous about taking a 60 hour, 6 day car trip with my 2 and 4 year old children. In retrospect, it wasn't so bad, but the anxiety I had leading up to the trip led me to make list upon list of things to pack. Of course there were clothing and toiletries, diapers and the little potty for the newly potty trained Sparrow, dozens of kid's books, a DVD player with plenty of cartoon movies, and more snacks than you could possibly justify.
But I also packed toys. The Sparrow isn't much into movies. And the books that hold her attention tend to be little 5-minute stories that she wants you to read over and over and over and over. Would you like my giant obsessive compulsive list of toys for the car? Even if you don't want it, I'd like to record it so the next time we undertake this kind of delightful family togetherness, I've already got the list compiled. Also, my notes on what worked.
1. A doll or stuffed animal for each kid
2. A magnetic lap tray for each child (In retrospect, we really only needed one at a time. However, having *A* tray was immensely handy not only for toys and coloring, but also for making and serving meals in the car.)
3. Lots of paper (construction, lined, printer, watercolor)
4. Scissors
5. Crayons (Not markers this trip. The Sparrow loses the caps like nobody's business.)
6. A dozen sheets of stickers.
7. Homemade I Spy bottle with 34 items and 10 letters
8. A set of magnets with colors, numbers, and shapes. Maybe 50 magnets total.
9. Rubber stamps (The self-contained stamps were ok, although a bit messy. The stamp pad was a disaster. The Gibbon enjoyed it for maybe 3 minutes, and The Sparrow dyed her hands, face, outfit, and car seat blue. Maybe for older kids, but never again for preschoolers.)
10. Fancy colored Duct Tape (The Gibbon likes to just cut inch long pieces and stick them on paper.)
11. Construction trucks.
12. Little People and their vehicles.
13. Playdough and a few tools to work it. (It definitely keeps the kids occupied for a good length of time, but it crumbles and makes a mess. I had enough else that I didn't actually get it out of the bag. Plastic modeling clay will probably be my choice for the future.)
14. LED flashlights.
15. Bubbles (Another idea that didn't go so well. The kids wanted to hold the bubbles, and that always results in a mess. So they alternately popped the bubbles I blew and whined that they weren't holding the wand.)
16. Magnifying glass.
17. Clips (I had bulldog paper clips, hair clips, clothes pins, and mini-carabiners. They clipped themselves, their clothes, their car seats, their hair, and me. Good times.)
18. Toy doctor kit.
19. Coloring books and preschool worksheets.
20. Post-it notes. (The Sparrow enjoyed removing each post-it from the stack and handing them to me. The Gibbon enjoyed drawing on the notes and sticking them to things. I also drew simple shapes or sketches on the notes and hung them on the window after the kids guessed what they were. We got almost an hour of play out of a $1 stack of post-its. Totally a win.)
21. Paint rollers and brushes. (No paint, just the rollers and brushes. My kids both like to pretend paint. "What color do you want, Mom? Dip, Dip, Dip. I paint your hand blue.")
22. Magnetic drawing pad (Like the Magna Doodle, only generic).
23. Lacing shapes.
24. Dinosaur toys.
25. Pony beads.
26. Pipe Cleaners (These were used for stringing the above mentioned pony beads, but The Sparrow also enjoyed taking them out of and putting them into their package. Subsequent to the trip we've used them to make fabulous accessories. Pipe cleaner glasses are awesome.)
27. Pom Poms (Because they're basically balls, but you can't hurt anyone with them. We played tiny games of catch, blew them on the trays, treated them as fuzzy pets, and of course put them into and took them out of their package.)
28. Dollar store plastic shot glasses. (For stacking, pretend cooking, and putting pom poms into.)
29. Shape sorter (Didn't get enough play value for the amount of space it took up. I'd skip it in the future.)
30. A magnetic door puzzle.
31. Calculator (Doubles as a pretend phone and a "find the number" game.)
32. A dozen Easter Eggs stuffed with random tiny toys. (The Sparrow, being two, likes to open and dump stuff. Have you noticed that trend yet?)
33. Playing cards. (The Gibbon is old enough for War and Old Maid.)
34. Scrabble ties. (The Gibbon is also reading and learning to spell. So these were good fun for him.)
35. Plastic laces. (You could use these to string pony beads instead of pipe cleaners. Or you could simply tie them in knots or threaten your siblings with them.)
36. Hole puncher. (Office supplies are awesome to preschoolers!)
37. Stapler (See #36.)
38. Staple remover. (See #36, again.)
39. Dice. (There are a million games you can play with a handful of dice. We like to roll them and count. To make that an actual game, you can say that when you roll doubles your turn is over and try to get the biggest number before then. Or try to be the first to roll a 1 then a 2 then a 3. Or just google "easy dice games" and find a few that suit you.)
40. Pirate action figures. (These are the tiny guys, like you're used to seeing little soldiers. We've also got football guys, although we didn't bring them on this trip.)
41. A wallet full of cards. (We honestly used our store discount cards, some business cards, and one of my old student IDs. But it would be truly awesome if you had a set of these.)
42. Two copies of this free printable travel game. (The Sparrow got one set hole punched and on a ring. The Gibbon got seven cards at a time and a snack when he found all seven items.)
43. Glow bracelets. (We used these the one day we ended up traveling after dark. Good times.)
I was going to make a latch board, but I ran out of time. Maybe next year.
What are your favorite toys for long road trips with the kids?
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Conversation Openers
I have a friend who is taking a long road trip with her toddler, infant, husband, and mother-in-law this fall. She's an old pro at the travel thing, so she's not stressing about the small people, but she is finding the prospect of 30 hours in the car with her MIL unpleasant. Why? Because she feels awkward staring out the window, entertaining her kids, and ignoring the other grown-ups in the car. But her MIL feels no compulsion to even attempt conversation.
Now on my recent 60 hour road trip with my preschooler and toddler, I brought 60 toys. The idea was that every hour, I could bust a new toy out of the bag. Granted, most of the toys were simply packed from our copious toy, craft, and office supply collections. But having something "new" every hour provided a modicum of excitement and anticipation. If the kids were playing, eating, or sleeping happily, I didn't bother interrupting them, so many of the toys didn't make their appearance at the beginning of the hour at all. And I certainly didn't need 60 toys, because the kids slept for at least 90 minutes every day anyway. But, I felt good having a bag of tricks in reserve, and as every parent knows, kids tend play longer with the single toy available than they do with any given toy in a group of options. So even the things that wouldn't have been good for more than 5 minutes at home stretched out to 10 or even 20 when presented all alone as *the* new toy for this hour.
What do the previous paragraphs have in common? I've suggested to my friend having a new topic of conversation for each hour of the trip. She can bust them out when the kids are eating, playing, or sleeping happily and she starts to feel awkward sitting in silence with her MIL. If the MIL does her part, they can chit-chat for a while on any given topic, and if she doesn't, my friend can feel she's done her best to be sociable and happily settle back to look out the window until the kids need her attention again.
In the interest of being a good friend (read: Because I am obsessive compulsive), I've even done the mental work of coming up with a list of topics to start conversations with an older relative. Feel free to use them any way you'd like.
Do you have any suggestions for further topics?
Now on my recent 60 hour road trip with my preschooler and toddler, I brought 60 toys. The idea was that every hour, I could bust a new toy out of the bag. Granted, most of the toys were simply packed from our copious toy, craft, and office supply collections. But having something "new" every hour provided a modicum of excitement and anticipation. If the kids were playing, eating, or sleeping happily, I didn't bother interrupting them, so many of the toys didn't make their appearance at the beginning of the hour at all. And I certainly didn't need 60 toys, because the kids slept for at least 90 minutes every day anyway. But, I felt good having a bag of tricks in reserve, and as every parent knows, kids tend play longer with the single toy available than they do with any given toy in a group of options. So even the things that wouldn't have been good for more than 5 minutes at home stretched out to 10 or even 20 when presented all alone as *the* new toy for this hour.
What do the previous paragraphs have in common? I've suggested to my friend having a new topic of conversation for each hour of the trip. She can bust them out when the kids are eating, playing, or sleeping happily and she starts to feel awkward sitting in silence with her MIL. If the MIL does her part, they can chit-chat for a while on any given topic, and if she doesn't, my friend can feel she's done her best to be sociable and happily settle back to look out the window until the kids need her attention again.
In the interest of being a good friend (read: Because I am obsessive compulsive), I've even done the mental work of coming up with a list of topics to start conversations with an older relative. Feel free to use them any way you'd like.
- Childhood pets: Did you have them? Did your kids have them? Should kids in general have them?
- What would you do if you won the lottery?
- Memorable food: Holiday or special occasion meals, travel food, the best thing you’ve ever eaten, your favorite go-to recipes.
- Baby & toddler milestones: when did your kids reach them?
- Favorite TV shows OR why you don’t watch TV.
- Ideas for making family occasions memorable.
- Your plans for coping with more extreme weather.
- Most and least favorite sports to watch and play.
- Doping in professional sports.
- Is the Internet destroying reading? What about magazines?
- Read any good books lately?
- Opinions of ethnic foods. Which do you enjoy, not enjoy, and why?
- How to choose clothing. Philosophy and practical application. Both for yourself and for kids.
- Wine, beer, break, cheese, or pickle making. Pros and cons of making vs. buying. Personal experiences.
- Memories of school.
- How to think about school for today’s children. Public, private, home school, and why or what to consider. The state of education.
- How to feed children. Philosophy and practical application.
- Travel: Do you enjoy it? What parts? Why or why not?
- Tiny homes: 400 sq ft apartments in NY and San Francisco, Tumbleweed Tiny Houses from 130 to 500 sq ft. What do you think? What would you put in one?
- Collections: Do you or did you ever have one? What or why not?
- Dating and courtship: How you met, dated, fell in love with your husband. Philosophy on dating and courtship in general.
- The perfect day, if you were going to live it over and over like the movie Groundhog Day.
- Jobs: Best, worst, your first, your perfect.
- Technology: Your opinion of tech in general. What you love and hate of new tech.
- Amazing places you’ve been.
- Things you are proud of.
- Opinions of GMO crops.
- Is peace possible in the Middle East? How?
- Should the US use capital punishment?
- Games you’ve enjoyed. What games did you play with your kids? What games did you play as a child?
- If time and money were no object, where in the world would you like to try living?
- A place you’d like to visit but have never been.
- Worst fashion trends.
- Your and your children’s favorite toys at different ages and stages.
- Five words to describe you. Five words to describe other people in your family.
- What do you think of cooking shows? Celebrity chefs? Food as entertainment in general?
- Opinions on Global Warming. Is it a thing? What should be done?
- Have you traveled internationally? If not, why? If yes, where did you go and what did you learn?
- Race relations in the US: George Zimmerman, Detroit, how to raise children to respect other races.
- College: Did you go? Is it worth the cost? Will it continue to have the same significance in the future as it does now?
- Energy security in the US. Fracking, peak oil, alternative energy, green initiatives, your family’s relationship with energy.
- Domestic auto makers: the bail out, the direction they are headed now, what to consider when buying a car.
- Medications and kids: When they’re justified during illness, overmedicating ADHD, teens abusing prescription meds.
- Favorite movies: Recently? Of all time?
- What are your most precious possessions? Do you own any heirlooms? Are heirlooms or antiques important?
- Favorite children’s books.
- Hobbies: Which do you enjoy now? Which have you enjoyed in the past? Any that you’ve considered but never attempted?
- Your memories of family life that you hope your children remember too.
- What values did you try to instill in your children? Do you feel they exemplify those values?
- What kinds of music do you hate? Why?
Do you have any suggestions for further topics?
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Meal Plan Together!
So here's a sample of menu planning. It's a little stream-of-consciousness. But that's the way I roll.
Do you have a system? Maybe I should be learning something from you.
Leftover fresh produce from last week: a tiny head of broccoli, a huge bowl of coleslaw, a head of lettuce (on rapid decline), avocados, 1 jalapeno.
Household staple fresh produce I am almost never without: Onions, garlic, carrots, and potatoes.
What was cheap this week: ancient red sweet peppers (thinner flesh than bell peppers, but similar taste), tomatillos, tiny Indian eggplants, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn on the cob.
Reading my list I think, there's got to be a Mexican dish in there (tomatillos, tomatoes, sweet peppers, jalapeno, and avocado lend themselves to Mexican), and I should make a salad (lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, and tomatoes can do salad).
I also defrosted a chicken yesterday, so that's gotta go on the menu ASAP.
Thursday is hot, so crock pot the chicken. And corn is best right away. Might as well use the coleslaw up. Add mashed potatoes, and put some barbeque seasoning on the chicken. American classic. Done.
Sunday is a business meeting potluck. Sandwich theme means condiments, toppings, or sides. I like to bring veggies, because I care if they're there. How's about pickled stuff... Pickled carrots and dill pickles.
Salad something to use up the lettuce. Leftover chicken for the protein. Some kind of bread? Oh! Pasta salad instead. On a bed of lettuce. With some of everything vegetable and leftover chicken and a balsamic vinaigrette. That's Friday.
Something Mexican with those tomatillos and the jalapeno. That would be tasty with Mexican rice and refried beans. Maybe ground beef or tortillas, too. But I don't have any cilantro, so that limits things a bit. How about Avocado and Roasted Tomatillo Soup? With rice and beans? Yes. Tortillas, yes. Ground beef, no. Beans will be enough protein. Let's schedule for Monday, because we have people coming over.
Indian eggplants. I did curry last Tuesday, so maybe a Chinese preparation. Chinese needs rice, too, so it can't go the day before or after Mexican. No tofu in the house, so defrost pork chops. Stir fry. There are a zillion recipes for Chinese Eggplant. Just add finely diced pork. Saturday.
Still a lot of sweet peppers, probably. Italian. Pasta. Sausage? Sure. Pasta with sausage and peppers in creamy white wine sauce. Wednesday.
Main dish celery? A gratin? Those all have heavy cream. Maybe something with cheese instead. Google celery and cheese main dish, Braised Celery with Cheese and Onion Sauce is the third result. Ignore all the pretentiousness in the intro, it sounds tasty. Still, no starch, and only cheese for protein. And I'd have to adapt it to the crock pot, 'cuz it's too hot for the oven. Try Googling celery main dish recipe. New York Times article! Let's do Wild Rice Salad with Celery and Walnuts. Fresh fruit. Cheese cubes. What day is left? Tuesday?
So that's...
Thursday- Crock pot bbq chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and coleslaw.
Friday- Mixed vegetable salad with chicken and balsamic vinaigrette.
Saturday- Stir Fried Chinese Eggplant and Pork.
Sunday- Quick picked carrots and dill pickles for business meeting.
Monday- Avocado and roasted tomatillo soup. Mexican rice. Refried beans.
Tuesday- Wild rice salad with Celery and Walnuts. Fresh fruit. Cheese cubes.
Wednesday- Pasta with sausage and peppers in creamy white wine sauce.
Do you have a system? Maybe I should be learning something from you.
Leftover fresh produce from last week: a tiny head of broccoli, a huge bowl of coleslaw, a head of lettuce (on rapid decline), avocados, 1 jalapeno.
Household staple fresh produce I am almost never without: Onions, garlic, carrots, and potatoes.
What was cheap this week: ancient red sweet peppers (thinner flesh than bell peppers, but similar taste), tomatillos, tiny Indian eggplants, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn on the cob.
Reading my list I think, there's got to be a Mexican dish in there (tomatillos, tomatoes, sweet peppers, jalapeno, and avocado lend themselves to Mexican), and I should make a salad (lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, and tomatoes can do salad).
I also defrosted a chicken yesterday, so that's gotta go on the menu ASAP.
Thursday is hot, so crock pot the chicken. And corn is best right away. Might as well use the coleslaw up. Add mashed potatoes, and put some barbeque seasoning on the chicken. American classic. Done.
Sunday is a business meeting potluck. Sandwich theme means condiments, toppings, or sides. I like to bring veggies, because I care if they're there. How's about pickled stuff... Pickled carrots and dill pickles.
Salad something to use up the lettuce. Leftover chicken for the protein. Some kind of bread? Oh! Pasta salad instead. On a bed of lettuce. With some of everything vegetable and leftover chicken and a balsamic vinaigrette. That's Friday.
Something Mexican with those tomatillos and the jalapeno. That would be tasty with Mexican rice and refried beans. Maybe ground beef or tortillas, too. But I don't have any cilantro, so that limits things a bit. How about Avocado and Roasted Tomatillo Soup? With rice and beans? Yes. Tortillas, yes. Ground beef, no. Beans will be enough protein. Let's schedule for Monday, because we have people coming over.
Indian eggplants. I did curry last Tuesday, so maybe a Chinese preparation. Chinese needs rice, too, so it can't go the day before or after Mexican. No tofu in the house, so defrost pork chops. Stir fry. There are a zillion recipes for Chinese Eggplant. Just add finely diced pork. Saturday.
Still a lot of sweet peppers, probably. Italian. Pasta. Sausage? Sure. Pasta with sausage and peppers in creamy white wine sauce. Wednesday.
Main dish celery? A gratin? Those all have heavy cream. Maybe something with cheese instead. Google celery and cheese main dish, Braised Celery with Cheese and Onion Sauce is the third result. Ignore all the pretentiousness in the intro, it sounds tasty. Still, no starch, and only cheese for protein. And I'd have to adapt it to the crock pot, 'cuz it's too hot for the oven. Try Googling celery main dish recipe. New York Times article! Let's do Wild Rice Salad with Celery and Walnuts. Fresh fruit. Cheese cubes. What day is left? Tuesday?
So that's...
Thursday- Crock pot bbq chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and coleslaw.
Friday- Mixed vegetable salad with chicken and balsamic vinaigrette.
Saturday- Stir Fried Chinese Eggplant and Pork.
Sunday- Quick picked carrots and dill pickles for business meeting.
Monday- Avocado and roasted tomatillo soup. Mexican rice. Refried beans.
Tuesday- Wild rice salad with Celery and Walnuts. Fresh fruit. Cheese cubes.
Wednesday- Pasta with sausage and peppers in creamy white wine sauce.
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