Everyday Life for Four Seasons

Hey there, today you'll find me posting over at From Scratch Club, sharing my recipe for Summer Rolls with Cucumber Dipping Sauce. Go forage through your garden, check out your local farm stand, or visit the market to pick up the fresh ingredients for this delicious dish. Enjoy!

'A' has taken to designing "fabric" using plain white paper and pencils or markers. She sells it in her fabric store to anyone who will stop by. Some of her designs are full pictures with scenery, and some are prints and patterns.

She decided to do all of this because, you know, back in Laura's and Mary's day, someone would have printed the fabric and sold it in a store. And she's just like them.

Blueberry season is here, my favorite time of year. My mother was here for the weekend and we picked almost 10 pounds at a local farm. Today I'll be making the blueberry-basil jam I tried last year for the first time.

This is also the time of year when I start feeling swamped with produce, so I set down a few rules to follow as I plan out meals.

Jillian's Rules for Summer Meal Planning

* Basil makes great pesto. Make a lot of it, then freeze it. Use pesto as a main ingredient in summer dishes no more than once a week, preferably less. Save it for the winter, when that fresh taste is not only welcomed, but greatly needed. Use fresh summer basil to accent the other flavors in a dish.

* There are so many types of produce available in the summer. Make tried and true favorites a few nights a week, and experiment with new recipes the rest of the time.

* Don't let vegetables go to waste. Turn extra veggies into veggie burgers or pizza toppings, or cook, puree and freeze them for use in muffins or sauces in the winter. (I like to do this with summer squash and beets)

* Experiment with new salad recipes.

Now onto meal planning for the week. I've got:

Beets
Beet Greens
Turnips
Lettuce
Pac Choi
Red Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Kohlrabi
Garlic Scapes
Cucumbers
Purslane

Recipes I'll try:

A Middle Eastern menu, including Liz's Garlic Scape Tzatsiki, pita bread, Israeli couscous, chickpeas and purslane.

Sarah's White Pizza, using turnips and swiss chard or beet greens, with a Pac Choi salad on the side.

Frittata with swiss chard and red potatoes.

Interested in hearing more about the Egg Challenge Muffin Recipe? Head over to From Scratch Club and read my post.

:: The beach at my father's home. We spent the weekend playing in the waves before our trip to Children's Hospital Boston. ::

Our food allergy family had a big day today! We woke up bright and early and took 'A' to Children's Hospital in Boston for a baked egg challenge. We hoped she would pass it, but prepared ourselves for failure, and are so pleased to say that she passed with flying colors.

What's a baked egg challenge and why would you do it? Here's a quick and simple explanation. People who are allergic to eggs are allergic to some of the egg proteins. When eggs are baked at 350 degrees F or higher for 30 minutes, all but one of the allergenic proteins are denatured. They change form and no longer cause an allergic reaction. The one protein that is not denatured is called the ovomucoid. Not everyone who is allergic to eggs is allergic to the ovomucoid, and they can eat baked goods that contain eggs. Research has shown that if people who are allergic to eggs can eat muffins or cakes with baked egg, and eat these foods on a regular basis, they will outgrow their egg allergy sooner rather than later.

'A's bloodwork shows that she is only slightly allergic to the ovomucoid. Her doctor at Children's Hospital wanted her to come in for a baked egg challenge. "Sure!" we said enthusiastically. After all, her chances of passing it were decent, and if she did pass, the future would be positive. The egg challenge sounded like a good idea.

It was a good idea until the date neared and reality sank in. Doing the challenge could show us that 'A' is able to tolerate baked eggs and it would give us the most concrete hope we've had yet that she'll outgrow her allergy. On the other hand if she failed it, we would leave there with another defeat under our belts, with further proof that visits to the allergist resulted in bad news. It wouldn't be a crushing blow, but it would have a negative emotional effect. We're looking for hope at this point.

Here is what happened. We arrived by 8 am. 'A' was weighed, her temperature and blood pressure taken, and she was then examined by her nurse, Janet. Janet was great. 'A' and I were both a little nervous. As hard as I tried, I couldn't keep it all bottled up. I knew 'A' was nervous because she became a little beligerent with the nurse who took her vital signs and ignored Janet when they first met. She was not going to let Janet know that she was there to eat a muffin or two! Janet told me that her strategy is to take a light-hearted approach to the whole experience so as not to alarm the children. I liked that. She did a very good job of relaxing us.

Janet looked at 'A's skin to see how sensitive she is and make note of any existing hives. Then came the muffin! She first ate a quarter of one muffin. She was hungry because I hadn't let her eat breakfast, and ate the quarter of a muffin in a bite and a half. Janet checked her out right away. No breathing issues, no hives around her mouth or on her belly and arms, no tingles on her tongue or stomach aches. After 15 minutes, 'A' ate a half of a muffin. Again Janet checked her out and she had absolutely no reaction. 30 minutes later, the last portion of muffin was served: a muffin and a quarter. If you're counting, this makes two whole muffins all together. She started out hungry, ended up with a full belly, and had no reaction throughout the whole session. Amazing. Just amazing!

What now? We were sent home with the remainder of the batch of muffins. She is to eat one and a quarter a day for the next three days. If she has no reaction during this time, she's free (and encouraged) to eat any baked good I make on a regular basis. Again, eggs have to be baked for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Wow! Cakes and cupcakes made with eggs have such a different texture and crumb when they're baked with eggs - it's better, as far as I'm concerned. I'm so excited for 'A'. Next year, when she undergoes annual skin and RAST testing, we'll see if her numbers have improved, and determine if she's ready for a different type of egg challenge at that point.

It's been a big day, a wonderfully big day!

If 'A' were to start school in September she would be in 1st grade. In our state, this is the year when I have to officially register her as a homeschooler (by filing a Letter of Intent with the school district). There are a few pieces of additional paperwork that need to be prepared throughout the year, including an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP), Quarterly Reports and an Annual Assessment.

This is also the year I'll start to be a little more organized with my homeschooling plans and records. 'A' is getting older, and she's ready for days filled with a little more purpose. I've been thinking of what kind of filing/record keeping system will work best. Here are my requirements:

* I want to easily record the books we take out of the library. Ideally I would copy the author and title from the library's website and paste it into my records. I guess then that this record keeping system will be electronic, not paper. I want more than just a document listing the books though - I would like to be able to tag each book with one or more topics (such as "spring" "science" "birds") and be able to search and sort.

* I want to be able to plan ahead by seasons, months or weeks, making notes about what topics to address at certain times of the year. I need an "Idea List" where I can write down things that we can do in the future.

* I want to record what we do each day/week.

* I also have a fair number of paper materials that need to be kept somewhere handy. DVDs, maps, activity ideas I've picked up here and there. Right now I have them sorted by subject. I would like to be able to make a quick note in my electronic system when I have a new material for the paper file. For example, under "Science" I might write "NASA Journey to the Stars DVD" to remind myself that I have it.

* I need to have a place to keep finished work. Sorted by subject, I suppose, and date. This will be the last system I set up - I need to see what finished work is going to look like (size, shape, etc).

* I want some sort of a system for taking handwritten notes - notes by me and notes by 'A'. She'll take notes or draw pictures about things she sees during a science-oriented field trip, for example, and I'll take notes at the same time about interesting facts that we can discuss for review after the field trip is over, or more questions to explore. Composition books, maybe?

* I'll want to start using a composition book for her spelling lessons. Right now I have her write on a single piece of paper and I save them, but I think having it all in one place will be easier for all of us. Ditto for math.

* Most of all, the entire system needs to be free.

Where do I start?

From time to time I've talked about 'A's approach to learning how to read and write. A while ago I decided to give up on actively teaching her how to read. It seemed that no matter what approach I took, it ended with tears and frustration. She's not open to overt instruction when it comes to reading. She:

* will only do something if she can do it perfectly the first time (this is a painful way to go through life, and I am on the lookout for gentle ways to show her that it's okay to try and not be perfect, over and over again)

* blames others when she feels frustrated. Example: she wants to read a book, and picks one out. She sits next to me to try to read it but is frustrated with the process. She starts to yell at me because she "can't do it".

On the bright side, she also:

* is the most highly motivated child I have ever met. She does things because she wants to do them, not because other people want her to. She appreciates praise but is not motivated by it (the way 'H' is - what different personalities they have!)

* loves to write, draw, hear stories, act out stories and make up her own stories. I'm not a childhood education expert by any means, but I think those things are important ingredients in the Learning How to Read recipe.

Also on the bright side, I've learned:

* when she reads and gets stuck on a word, I help her out by telling her if the vowel is a short or long sound.

* as soon as I sense her frustration mounting, I ask her if she would like to stop reading.

* I ask her once a day if she would like to do a little reading, but it's a quick question and if she says "no," I don't say anything else.

Lately she's been writing note after note after note and giving it to anyone who is interested. They're all written phonetically, so it sometimes takes me a few minutes to figure it out what she's trying to say. The funny thing is that even though many of her words are misspelled, she honestly believes that they are correct. That's why she can write them and still feel as though she's doing it perfectly the first time.

Now that I have some experience working with 'A' as she learns to read and write, and I understand her approach, I appreciate the effort she puts into her phonetic notes. Everything about them is self-motivated: deciding when to write and what to write are her decisions. I think this is a significant step for her and she is now finding herself further along on her journey toward literacy.

As much as I think this is a good thing for 'A', I have a real problem with learning how to read phonetically. Both Jeff and I learned to read in the 70's, when learning phonetically was all the rage in our classrooms. But the English language, with all the exceptions to the rules, isn't designed to be learned phonetically. Perhaps our brains learn better by sounding things out, and we just have the wrong language to learn? Take simple words that 'A' has tried to sound out this week: Of, One, Where. When she follows The Rules I teach her about short and long vowel sounds, those words sound like this:
Of = Ah-f
One = Oh-n
Where = Weer

And when she's busy writing her phonetic notes, she always sounds out "of" and writes "av". Yes, "of" does sound like it should be written "av," at least the way we pronounce it in our home.

When she's open to it, I show her how to spell a word or two and have her write it out 10 times, with the hope that it will "stick". There are some things that simply must be learned by memorization and drill. I guess the puzzle is figuring out when she's ready to learn them. My thoughts now are that she'll continue to write her phonetic notes and at some point she'll incorporate the correct spellings as they start to make sense to her and she remembers them.

As I write all of this, she's sitting down to read a few pages of "Biscuit Meets the Class Pet." I took a quick photo. She's reading beautifully. Clearly she's memorized some of the words and some she's sounding out. What I really like is how she reads with emotion, as if she's telling the story to someone and wants it to sound interesting. I dared to tell her that. I added something about how not everyone reads aloud like that and she responded with, "I don't care how other people do it."

A journey, folks. This is a journey and she and I are both on it.

Summer is here... how can I tell? My desire to cook is kicking in. I worked at the farmer's market on Saturday and the Kilpatrick Family Farm stand was jam packed with so many different kinds of exciting vegetables. I wanted to buy them all and cook them up. In my mind, everything had the potential to be turned into a delicious meal. But I have so many vegetables in my kitchen from my weekly CSA box and I just can't justify getting any more. I stood there selling those wonderful vegetables, thinking about all the meals I could whip up, and wished I could spend a week cooking.

It feels sooo good to get some zip back in my step.

The only problem with the desire to cook again is that I want to make flavorful dishes with interesting ingredients and my children don't feel as excited about that as I do. So, what am I going to feed my children this week?

Monday
Jeff and me: Linguine with grilled fennel and sun-dried tomatoes, salad
'A': pasta with olive oil and a vegetable
'H': hot dog with a vegetable

Tuesday
Jeff and me: Chickpea spinach stew (in addition to some other goodies - that's our contribution to a potluck dinner we're attending)
'A' & 'H': roasted chickpeas, carrots

Wednesday
Jeff and me: Garlicky white bean puree with sauteed beet greens, salad with roasted beets, goat cheese and walnuts
'A' & 'H': Middle Eastern stuffed lentil bread (if they like it and it's easy to make, it'll become a staple in our house)

Thursday
Everyone: Coconut soynut butter & banana stuffed vegan french toast

Friday
?

While I cook this week, Jeff will be preparing the gazebo for screens and a screen door. Finally we're undertaking this project to screen in the porch! I love our home and our backyard and the only thing that's missing is a place to sit outdoors in the evening without the threat of being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. You know what I mean.

Jeff has never done a project like this before, so after he took apart the existing railing and got the gazebo down to bare studs, we called my stepfather for help. Dick is a very handy person and we knew he would know just what to do next. We were lucky that he and mom could make the trip over this past weekend. Jeff now has "homework" to do to prepare the gazebo for their next trip - in 2 weeks - when they'll hang the door and finish up the screening. And then we'll all sit down inside and enjoy it!

Until then, my favorite late afternoon relaxation spot has been taken over by lumber and boxes of nails.

Are you an organized person? Sometimes? All the time? Not often?
Do you get organized in bursts and starts, excited when things seem to be in line, with trouble staying on top of them after a while?

I consider myself to be an organized person, and I would answer those questions with "Sometimes" and "Yes." To me being organized that means I have an active "system" that I rely on and periodically tweak. My system keeps me organized so that I don't have to spend so much time doing it myself. I don't take time every day (or every week) to sort through things, and I'm not so good about putting things away in their proper home. Instead I use what I think of as a Holding Bin System. If I have papers that need attention, they go in my "Active" folder on my desk so that they don't get lost. Clean laundry goes in a basket on the appropriate floor (downstairs for Jeff and me, upstairs for the girls). Miscellaneous items that need fixing or need to be returned or given to people have a place on the kitchen counter. Things pile up in the assigned holding bin, and after a while I take some time to go through the folder/pile/basket.

I've noticed through the years that I tend to sort through those piles for a few simple reasons:

1. I have bills to pay or time sensitive things that need some attention (this applies to my "Active" folder).

2. Company is coming (this applies to the laundry baskets and kitchen counter pile).

3. Things have piled up so high that it no longer seems like I have a clean house with a pile here and there, instead it seems like I have a house full of piles.

4. I WANT to.

It's only recently that I've paid more attention to the meaning of #4. When I start to feel like I want to get more organized (and it's not because of numbers 1-3 above), it's a signal to me that my emotions are driving my actions. This happened just the other day. I cleaned out all of the file folders on my desk (the ones I currently add to on a regular basis - activities for the girls, church business, work stuff). I purged, sorted and filed. After I finished the files, I moved on to the desk drawers. And finally, the magazine/reading material basket. Those are my paperwork "hotspots," the places where things tend to congregate and get stuck. I did it because I suddenly decided that I wanted to know what was in those files, drawers and basket; where things could be found; and because I wanted to unload the things I didn't want anymore.

Boy, that felt good.

I do this every few months. I used to view it as a fresh start, a time to get organized "once and for all." I'll tell you, looking at it that way set me up for failure. I've come to realize that I don't want to spend a day getting organized and then stay that way all the time. It's just not my style. It makes me uncomfortable to have to put things away every day. Besides, I have a million other things to do. I like to semi-clean up every day, moving things to a holding bin close to their final destination, with the promise that someday, for some reason, they'll find a home.

My emotions are always changing. I have ups and downs, more energy some days, less on others. My desire to keep things orderly is an indicator of how I feel. After taking this past week to lay low, say "no" to new requests for my time, energy and creativity, and focus on myself and my family, I'm finding that my desire to clean things out is growing strong. I've given myself a break from life, and I'm getting ready to bounce back. Weeks from now (or maybe months), when I'm feeling rushed and overwhelmed, I'll look around at the tall piles of stuff in my home and I guarantee that I won't have the desire to clean anything out. That's okay, I know that it will cycle back around. In the meantime, I'm still an organized person.

I was working with 'A' on a number of projects today and thought I would snap a quick photo of our table. Oak leaves for a leaf collecting project; a book about space; shrinky dink paper and colored pencils; spelling lessons. It's not unusual for the table to be covered with a number of in-progress projects.

We spent the morning at home but originally had other plans: we were supposed to wake up bright and early and head to the Adirondacks to the Warren County Fish Hatchery with home school friends for a class. Today's thunderstorms kept us all away.

Here's something that falls under the "interesting but not surprising" category. In the last week, while I've been trying to keep a low profile in order to heal, I've found that the quality of my parenting has gone up dramatically. The girls and I usually have good days, but there are times of the day when the tension rises: leaving the house and trying to get somewhere on time and cleaning up toys are the main ones. But this past week, the tense moments simply aren't popping up. For starters, we haven't had to be anywhere on time because I've cancelled all of our outings. But it's more than that. The girls have been a pure pleasure to be with, all day, every day. They've been so caring, creative and responsible. And responsive. They're both quick to use problem-solving skills when they encounter something that frustrates or confuses them. When they can't figure something out on their own, they ask me for help instead of whining and demanding a solution. Wow, I can't tell you what a difference this shift makes for our family harmony.

I'm sure that part of it relates to the fact that I've slowed down. I'm feeling more relaxed, playful and spontaneous, and they pick up on that. The lesson is, what's good for mom is good for the children, and what's good for the children is good for the whole family.

Now that our CSA share has started up for the summer, I'm having trouble planning meals for the week. I like to plan my meals on Monday, but I pick up my vegetables on Wednesday, and I don't know what I'll receive until that day when I actually get my box. This makes meal planning a bit challenging. I could switch to meal planning on Wednesday nights or Thursday mornings, but it goes against my way of doing things, so I won't.

I know what I would like to serve all week - PASTA. These antibiotics are really hurting my stomach and I find that taking them with pasta helps a lot. Truthfully though, there are only so many dinners in a row that I can serve pasta and still be excited about it. So here we go:

Monday:
Jeff and me: tilapia, asparagus, roasted red potatoes
'A': Sliced Turkey, pita chips, asparagus, a bite of tilapia
'H': Hot dogs, pita chips, roasted red potatoes, asparagus, a bite of tilapia

Tuesday:
Jeff and me: vegan Hoppin' John with collard greens
'A' & 'H': Hopefully vegan Hoppin' John

Wednesday:
Jeff and me: Chickpea Tacos
'A' & 'H': Hopefully Chickpea Tacos

Thursday:
Jeff and me: Salad Pizza
'A': Pizza with hummus and carrots
'H': Pizza with tomato sauce and cheese

Meal planning gets more and more challenging as time goes on. What do other parents feed their children?

I am:

...Wishing all the fathers a Happy Father's Day today!

...Happy that we stayed home all day and crossed many things off the "To Do" list.

...Resting and watching my infection slowly get better.

...Feeling good about the strawberry jam I made today (no pectin, stainless steel pot, and it reached 219 degrees... I think it's a good batch).

...Appreciating the silence I hear outside. Global Foundries started operations near here last week and it's been excruciatingly loud ever since. Until last night. Finally, a good night's sleep.

...Playing with my camera. I took a photography class yesterday and am looking forward to exploring a bit.

...Hoping I can go strawberry picking tomorrow with friends. If I can't, it's because the antibiotics are telling my body I can't travel.

...Wishing you a good night.