Thursday's Dinner and a Freak Out

I forgot to take a picture of dinner last night. It was a variation on the Chickpea Cutlets recipe from Veganomicon, oven fries, and fruit. I love the Chickpea cutlets because they are so fast and easy, and kids will usually eat them. You can make a bunch and freeze/reheat them as needed, too. I'm pretty sure you can google that one, or just go buy Veganomicon because it's such an awesome cookbook.

And now for the Freak Out, homeschool style.

I post on a couple messageboards, one of them being a cloth diaper sewing board. On the homeschool forum, mamas are constantly posting about their curriculum, or if they should buy this curriculum, or is that curriculum any good? I have discovered that some homeschooling families have curriculum for EVERYTHING. Handwriting? Curriculum. Grammar? Curriculum. Spelling? Curriculum. I'm not saying this is bad or wrong, but it sends me into a tizzy every time I read one of those threads.

Our curriculum? Singapore Math. And a phonics on tape program I found at a garage sale that no one has ever heard of. Oh and I pick and choose from the 4 Blocks program that I used to teach. We use the library a TON.

Uh. That's it.

I read a post about the merits of two different handwriting curriculums and spent the rest of the afternoon on a curriculum website debating on buying it. Thank goodness I didn't because I came to my senses later and realized we don't need that. But this is what I mean by Freak Out.

I even fired off a message to a close friend of mine who happens to homeschool her children to ask if she thought I was worrying too much. And to find out what THEY do because I really respect her as a mother and fellow homeschooler, and her kids are awesome.

It doesn't matter what she said they do, because honestly, every homeschooling family MUST find their own way, they MUST do what is right for their situation. But her main message was DON'T WORRY. Spending time with my children, doing cool things with them, reading to them...those things are more valuable than any curriculum.

And in the aftermath of my freak out, I agree. Perhaps because I taught in a charter school that didn't have an organized curriculum, I feel comfortable going it on my own. I have a curriculum writing background, I have access to the education standards in my state (everyone does, by the way). We are going to be okay, probably more than okay.

As with anything, going it without the support of a curriculum isn't for everyone. I have to embrace that at this moment, it's right for US. And I have to say, I'm quite happy that it is.

Freak out over. Phew.

Sometimes it works...

sometimes it does not. And that's okay. And this is what happens to it:


This was a butternut squash, carrot, onion, and rice crockpot meal. Yeah. No. Although Eric did say the flavor was fine, but the squash got all mushy because the rice took a thousand hours to cook. I'm undecided if we'll give this recipe another go or not.

And here's a picture of something NOT gross! Reese and Eli went to their first play ever today. It was called If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Other Stories. We got to go to the River Center. Oh la la, fancy! It was a good time, for the most part.


The not great part was the cranky ushers. We walked in and they tried to make us sit way off to the side "to make room for the school groups." Uh, excuse me. We ARE a school group. A small one, but still. Maybe if they want to have control over where we sit, they should assign seat numbers when we purchase tickets.

Anyway, I'm hoping we can go back in March for another performance geared to younger kids. The kids said they would like to go again. I might have to find some books about theater production too because Eli was fascinated by the control room and the lights.

Tuesday...whoops...Wednesday Round Up!

I guess I missed Tuesday round up. How did it get to be Wednesday already? Could it be that I spent all day yesterday sewing? This is a Marigold Skirt, this lovely pattern right HERE

It was a challenging pattern, not really difficult, but lots to think about and endless variations. Definitely a keeper!


And then I guess you have to feed people, huh? This was a back up dinner. My original dinner was a crock pot meal that I was testing, and it wasn't ready in time. Luckily, I tend to have a couple quickie convenience meals all ready in the freezer. This was sloppy lentils, pita bread, oranges, and a white bean dip.

Other things that have been going on:

The kids have been sick. It's a drag because we can't really go anywhere with sick kids. Eli seems to be well on his way to healthy, and Reese is on the mend. Maybe next week we can do more stuff?

Have I mentioned my pro-vegan coloring book? Well, I made one. I need to look it over one more time, and then as soon as I have some dollars, I'll make some copies. Several people have expressed interest, and I'm considering opening an etsy for this kind of thing. We shall see. Anyway, it's a cute little coloring book, I hope lots of people will want to share it with their kids.

I went to a La Leche League conference last Saturday and it was awesome. It's exciting to know that LLL is alive and well in Georgia. It was nice to spend time with so many likeminded people, and hear some great speakers.

I guess that's all! Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

Stir Fry!

We had stir fry for dinner, and I think I've mentioned before that it's one of my go-to meals. It ends up on the table a lot, especially when I need to use up some veggies. I didn't take a picture because I forgot until we were done eating and figured you didn't really need to see a crummy picture of some mostly empty bowl of stir fry. Besides, I think I've posted pics of it before. It was the same as I always make it.

Some people have asked about my stir fry sauce. I used to buy commercially made sauces, until I found a delicious stiry fry sauce recipe on a blog called Luciana's Vegan Kitchen. I tried to link directly to her blog, but man, blogger is being a cranky You-Know-What tonight and I have other stuff to do. So I'll just type it out for you real quick if you promise to google Luciana's Vegan Kitchen and check out her blog.

Infinitely Adaptable Stir Fry Sauce

1/4 cup low sodium tamari (just soy sauce is okay)
1/4 cup orange juice (or whatever citrus-y juice you have on hand...ask me how I know)
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp dry sherry white wine or mirin
3 tbsp brown sugar or agave necter
2 cloves garlic, minced (I shredded mine with my handy microplane)
1 rounded tbsp ginger (you can use dried or fresh)
1 tsp chili garlic paste
2 tsp sesame oil

Basically you whisk this stuff in a bowl. Pour it in your stir fry. I usually pour it in after the aromatics are sauteed (see how fancy and chef-like I am!), right when I put the broccoli in to steam. At the end. I like to thicken my sauce with a little cornstarch.

It looks like a lot of ingredients and I know that turns some people off, but throwing this sauce together takes like six minutes. Maybe. It's really fast. Enjoy!

Tonight's dinner was lentil tacos. Lentil tacos are a staple food at our house. It's a kid friendly meal, very easy to prepare, and definitely tastes good. I use this recipe, subbing vegan ingredients where needed. I don't have a picture from our dinner, but trust me, it was good.

It was a quiet day here. I took a bath, did some sewing, went to the library with Reese, and we took a long walk around our apartment community. Nice Sunday.

Tomorrow is back to our busy-ness. We have a homeschool gathering at a local park Monday, we're going to see a play on Thursday, and there's a gathering with some homeschool friends on Friday.

My Babywearing Experience

It has come to my attention that babywearing is under attack, that some types of slings/carriers are under attack. This makes me really sad. I can't imagine a world where some government entity tells me I'm not allowed to wear my baby, or that I can't choose to purchase a baby carrier. Crazy, isn't it? When done safely, there are so many benefits to babywearing. Here's my experience.

I received a hammock style baby carrier at a baby shower before Reese was born. I used it a few times, but there was something about it that made me uncomfortable. Reese hung down too far, the sides seemed to close in on her, and when I carried her, she kind of swung around if I moved. I think I would have become one of those moms who claimed that babywearing didn't work except that at the same time I was attending LLL meetings. Mamas at LLL used a variety of baby carriers, and I was assured that sometimes you had to try a few before you found one you really liked.

So my second baby carrier was a boring, gray Nojo ring sling that I got in desperation at Babies R Us because Reese got so upset when I put her down. I needed some way to hold her but also go about my daily business. We used the ring sling some, but not a whole lot. Admittedly there's a learning curve with ring slings, it takes some practice to feel comfortable and get it just right. But before I knew it, I was using the ring sling instead of a stroller when Reese and I went out. It was so freeing! No stroller! No loading and unloading!

When Reese was just 9.5 months old, I discovered I was pregnant with my second child. I continued to wear Reese, but explored other carriers too. Along the way I tried a mei tei and a Moby wrap. Nothing felt as comfortable as my ring sling.

After Eli was born, into the sling he went. He was an almost totally in arms baby from the start. And again, I found it was so easy. With a sleeping baby in a sling, I had my hands free and was more mobile. I could care for Reese while still caring for Eli. That's a win, win! I used an upright carry with Eli, his head and neck supported well, his head near my collarbone (so I could easily kiss him). His little legs were tucked up inside the sling. You know one of the best parts? The edge of the sling could be pulled right over his little head and people weren't always touching him. It was literally a barrier between my precious baby and germy weirdos who wanted to coo over him and touch him. We never did get the hang of nursing in the sling, but you know, that's okay. The experience we had with the sling was amazing, and I wouldn't change it for anything.

That old, boring Nojo went on to be used until Eli was around 3. There was no need for a stroller, of course. I didn't have to drag a baby bucket car seat around because I had the sling to carry the baby. I was able to hold Eli securely while still holding Reese's hand when we were out. I can't imagine anything easier. I'm always going to treasure those sling moments, when I could duck my head down and smell my baby, kiss his little head, know that he was so close to me.

Please consider reading this position paper released by the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance: Position paper for babywearing

If you have a babywearing experience you'd like to share, please do so! I'd enjoy reading your story, so link me in the comments. :)

Happy World Vegetarian Day!!!!

Yay for being vegetarian!!!!

I was undecided about this picture...it's the risotto in progress from last night's dinner. It was an artichoke and spinich risotto, recipe from a Moosewood cookbook called Simple Suppers. I'm not sure if I would make this one again or not. It needed something.

And tonight for World Vegetarian Day, I made pizza. I wish I could say that this was a well planned meal, but it wasn't. I found the pizza dough in the freezer last night and decided that was dinner. My vegan pizza was tomato spaghetti sauce, onions. red peppers, green olives, mushrooms, and some seitan-based pepperoni. I'm not going to talk about the omni pizza on World Vegetarian Day (but that is the nice thing about pizza, people can use the ingredients they want).

One of the things I wanted to discuss with you during Vegetarian Awareness Month is convenience cooking. Convenience foods don't have to be unhealthy (or unvegan...is that a word?? it is now!). My idea of convenience food is having pizza dough in the freezer. Or having a batch of seitan in the freezer. Or having fast, easy, go-to meals at your fingertips for those nights when you don't feel like cooking. Oh! You know what's convenient? Canned beans. Well, canned beans are convenient if you usually cook your own dried beans.

So if a meal I make is considered a convenience food meal in our house, I'll let you know. Maybe I'll even spill some super secret recipes, because wouldn't that be fun?

I won't be at home tomorrow, so no pics or blog. I kind of think I might not blog at all on the weekends. Maybe I'll do a weekend round up and tell you what we ate. Would that work out for y'all? I hope so, because that's the way it's going to be.

Have a great veggie filled weekend!!