Real Life Math

In past years I have not been very faithful in planning times to practice real life math. This year, I hope to change that. Cooking with the kids is such an easy way to do that. Especially when we double recipes. That gives great practice in doubling fractions.

A big deterrent in this, for me anyway, is that it takes so much longer. It is easier for me to tell the kids, "We need _____ amount of flour." My goal for this year is to slow down and let them do the math.

And one of the best parts about cooking in order to practice real-life math are the yummy results. In these photos, A and I were making zucchini bread sweetened with maple syrup. Yum.

"Look, Ma, There Are Seeds!"

Yes, I know seedless is convenient, but every now and then buy a watermelon with seeds. Azure is a good place to find them. My kids get so excited when we get a seedy watermelon. I guess it is a novelty to them. It sorta reminds me of how I felt when seedless watermelon came out. It was a novelty, but now it is the norm.

3 Days Later

We had a fun family day in the city, walking by the river, visiting the science museum, going to the ReStore, and doing some birthday shopping. It was a super day. We arrived at home in the late afternoon and 2 kids went outside to play, 1 went up to play with Legos, 1 was still at work, M changed into grubby clothes and went right to work on a project and I plopped in front of the computer.

One of my sons came into the office and said he didn't feel well. Then his words became jumbled and incoherent at times. I tried to hurry him outside to M, without acting alarmed. I didn't want to scare him, but something was clearly wrong. Things got a bit worse, we loaded everyone into the van and were off to the emergency room. It felt like the longest drive.

When we got there we explained what was going on and after a brief wait we were ushered right in to triage. We went back to our seats and in minutes we were back in talking with a nurse. A CAT scan and blood work were done and by this time my kiddo was doing better. The scan and blood work came out normal. That is a huge relief. But we still don't know what happened. There are a couple possibilities, but we still don't know.

Since that time, all has been good with our son, but I have spent days calling, waiting for returned phone calls and hanging up and crying. Crying over the process and over how long things take and the emotions of it all when your child could have something wrong. And crying over the one phone call I missed because it was early morning and I had had the phone with me nonstop until bedtime the day before and hadn't thought about getting an early morning call.

Monday we went to our chiropractor, who is a very wise and knowledgeable man. He and his wife have lost a child, so he has the compassion of a parent who has been through painful things. He is well rounded in acknowledging what medical doctors do best and in where they may be limited. I have seen him for 10+ years and he has been consistently reliable and helpful. This situation was no exception.

Meanwhile on the medical side, we had to wait 24 hours for my primary care doc to get a referral filled out for our insurance company so we can see a specialist. Then once that was turned in it was another 24+ hours before it was approved. And that was fast for our insurance! Then the specialist was called and his first opening is over a month out. So, we wait and pray for a cancelled appointment so we can get in earlier, but mostly we wait.

Thankfully our son is doing very well. Things could be so much worse, but they are what they are and what they are is hard because I want answers. I want to know what is going on in his body. I want to know what the odds are of this happening again. But I don't get to know all that right now.

This is also the week that I learned that our primary care doctor is moving and I have to find someone new and it is the week that L took scissors to a bit of her hair, and it is the week that C decided to get highlights in her hear, and it is the week that I need to finish mapping out our schedule for the coming school year and it is the week that I need to get some clothes boxed up for donation and it is the week I need to get my grocery list ready for my big monthly shopping trip next week and...

And that is life. The normal stuff carries on even in the waiting, and that normal stuff is a security in ways when something in life is amiss. These situation is a reminder that all can change in a matter of moments. In the waiting we strive to keep living, to savor life a bit more, to hug a bit tighter and to really listen and look when someone says, "Hey, mom can I show you..." Because all of this is so very precious.

What a difference 3 days can make. One day I sat in the ER cranky and can clearly recall the people who were in there waiting as well. Then three days later, with a true emergency, my thoughts were anything but cranky and my entire focus was on my boy. Nothing else mattered in those scary moments.

The Speck in My Eye

Nope, this isn't a sermon, this is actually about a real speck that was in my eye. Last Monday my eye bothered me and felt like something was in it. It bothered me, but wasn't terrible and my in-laws were visiting and the day was full, it was easy to ignore it. As I went to sleep my eye felt quite irritated, but my eyelids were so heavy with sleep that I figured whatever was going on with my eye would resolve itself in the night.

In the morning my eye did feel better! It seemed that whatever was amiss with my eye had been taken care of. Or had it? As the day went on, my eye bothered me periodically until finally it just hurt. After dinner I caved in. I asked M to take me to the emergency room. I felt silly going in there, but my eye really was hurting.

The ER is a pain and I was cranky. I was annoyed at all the people in there from the guy in pajamas and cowboy boots to all the people sitting drinking soda after soda while waiting to see a doctor for some ailment. Then it struck me that I was there because of a speck in my eye and that I really shouldn't sit there judging everyone.

Finally, we were called back, the ER doc was abrupt, yet likable. He said, "Well, you have a boulder on your cornea!" Then he hollered at the nurse to bring the "eye kit", I think that is what he called it. Outside my room was a woman who had previously been screaming, she had stopped yelling and was being led around blindfolded. Maybe someone was leading her to the bathroom? Strange.

The doctor numbed my eye, told me I was his favorite patient of the evening because I wasn't screaming or threatening to kill him and because my eye would be easily fixed. Then he grabbed out a long metal pointy thing. "Tell me you are not going to use THAT thing in my eye?" He just smiled and told me to hold my eye open.

Yeah, when something is in ones eye, you have to watch as the doctor works on it. No looking away here if I wanted the "boulder" removed. And I would have to cooperate if I wanted to maintain "favorite patient status". Is there some sort of discount for that? There should be! Anyway, the doctor got right to work, my eye was thoroughly numbed so I didn't feel a thing. And this time when I got home and settled in for sleep, my eye really was completely better the next day.

I survived the emergency room and since, thus far, trips there have been very rare in our family, my assumption was that it would be a very long time before we would be back. I had no idea then that we would be back there 3 days later.

Iced Coffee

Used this fantastic coffee mill to grind beans to make this yummy iced coffee. Delicious. Simply delicious.

M received the coffee mill for Christmas last year from my parents. I can't recall the last time we used the electric coffee grinder.

The iced coffee recipe is so simple to make and is simply delicious. Truly, the flavor is amazing. I actually cut the recipe down and quartered it-1/4 lb coffee beans, 2 quarts of water and it made a more manageable amount for my first try. I can see the reason for going ahead and making it with an entire pound of coffee though-it is that good!

Coffee ice cubes are the next thing to try. Although, based on the yumminess factor, I can't imagine my drink sitting around long enough for ice to melt in it. And since the coffee is already cold to begin with, unlike most iced drinks that start with hot coffee poured over ice, mine probably won't "need" ice. Still, coffee ice cubes sound like a fun thing to try.

You Know You Homeschool When...

You know you homeschool when your pantry contains a pickled frog and fetal pig awaiting dissection. Gross. And why are they in the nice crystal bowl that we received as a wedding gift? I am not sure. It is where I set them when they arrived and I haven't moved them. And now, I'm used to them sitting there. I know, this is ruining any ideas about homeschool families being normal. But, really, where should one store animals awaiting dissection?

The Rules, Or a Few of Them Anyway

As they push the limits, I make the rules. Some of these rules are serious, some are funny, some are seriously funny and some are seriously enforced without exception, some are enforced on occasion and some are not enforced at all, some applied to a one-time circumstance. But all of these rules came about because of a real-life situation/inspiration.

• No handstands in the kitchen.
• No ha-ha-ing. We don't ha-ha people.
• No using one's shirt as a napkin.
• No wiping one's nose on other people's shirts. Or pants. Or socks. Or jackets. Or hair. Or pillows. Or bath towels. Or on the cat. Or on your own shirt, pants, socks, jacket, hair. Just don't.
• No poking mom in the eye. That includes both eyes. I don't like it.
• No sitting, standing or laying on the coffee table. It was cheap and from Ikea, it won't last forever, but I would like it to last for awhile longer.
• No coloring on the couch. Just don't. It came brown for a reason and does not need a pattern. Nope, not even a custom drawn one. I don't care if the crayon is the same shade of brown as the couch. Don't draw on it.
• Eat with the utensils that are provided to you. Soup is not finger food. I don't care if you like to dig for the beef chunk "buried treasure" in your soup. Use your spoon.
• Do not walk into my bedroom with food on your hands and wipe your hands across my bedspread. In fact, just don't walk into my room with messy hands. Wash them first. Seriously, there is a bathroom right outside my door. Use it. If someone is in there, walk up the stairs and wash your hands there. If someone is using that, wash your hands in the kitchen sink or the laundry room sink. If those sinks are being used too, then practice patience and wait. And while you wait, don't wipe your hands on the wall.
• Don't put buggers on the wall. It is just gross and unnecessary and they are as hard as cement when dry.
• Dont' talk in a super mean voice to your sibling(s) the moment I walk out of the room. I can still hear you. And even if I couldn't hear you, it is still wrong.
• No, you can't wear your soccer cleats to AWANA.
• If you have to go potty-GO! Nothing is gained by doing the wiggle dance and squeezing yourself.

Mud Room

Another summer project, still unfinished, but usable even in an unfinished state. This new mud room, means my tiny, but adequate laundry room isn't cluttered with muddy clothes and various sports equipment. And as a bonus, M added an outdoor shower. It is wonderful. Thankful for a hubby who knows how to build things.

Brick Patio

One of our summer projects. We are just over half-way done and are currently scouring Craigslist for more used brick. I love how it looks and that it reminds me of this.

Strawberry Ice Ice Baby

4 cups fruit. We used strawberry.

2 1/2-3 1/2 cups cold water

3/4 cup honey or more or less depending on how sweet you want it

2 T lemon juice

2 T lime juice

Run all ingredients through the blender until there are no longer any chunks. You can do this in batches if it does not all fit in the blender. Pour mixture into a container that can be frozen. Freeze until mixture is firm. Usually overnight does the trick or make this in the morning and it will be a great after-dinner dessert. Scoop it up with a sturdy ice cream scoop and enjoy!

This stores well in the freezer. We made a bunch of this back in late June or early July and still have some stored in the freezer. It is a great, easy dessert.

It can be garnished with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, mint leaves or... Fruits could be mixed together or pick a fruit and add a bit of frozen juice concentrate to create a unique flavor. Oh the possibilities!

Summer Dinner

The Gifts I Never Wanted

M has a knack for suggesting gift items that I am not interested in having. One memorable time involves the digital camera. About seven years ago he started suggesting that I switch to a digital camera. Nope. Now way. I was not interested in digital. At all. Over the course of a year or so, he wore me down, I reluctantly agreed to give it a try and he bought me a digital camera. I love it. Absolutely love it. Why on Earth had we not made the switch sooner? Digital is amazing!

There was also the cell phone upgrade. Why would I need a cell phone with a camera and all that stuff? Texting? Honestly, I don't need to text. My phone was fine. I did not want an upgrade. He persuaded me, I upgraded and was hooked. I laugh when I recall asking why I would need a phone with a camera. Now when I consider future phone upgrades the camera quality is certainly a consideration. And texting? How would I manage life without the ability to text?

A couple of years ago, it was me bugging him to upgrade my phone to a Blackberry. He was about to deploy, a smart phone was a necessity so we could connect whenever possible. The Blackberry is wonderful and served to keep us well connected through his deployment. It still feels like my brand new phone and the romance has not even begun to fade even though my phone plan allows for another upgrade soon. We've been together for awhile now, my Blackberry and I and while the love is still there, I know we won't be together forever. There are better, sleeker phones in my future, so I will enjoy what we have now and when the time comes, I'll happily move on.

The latest gift I never wanted is a digital picture frame. No way did I want a digital frame. Why would I want another gadget? A digital frame will not go with my decor. I have to load pictures onto it. What a pain. M didn't even try to talk me into it. He just bought it for me. Oh, he was smart and he prepped me ahead of time. One day about 2 weeks before Mother's Day he informed me, "I bought you a digital frame for Mother's Day." I didn't argue. I rolled my eyes, but I didn't argue. Slowly, I am learning. It was good to have advance notice of the digital frame that would be entering my life. It allowed my eye rolling to subside and my excitement to slowly grow. It gave me time to imagine the possibility that I might actually enjoy the digital frame.

And I do. I do enjoy it. Mostly the kids enjoy it. But their enjoyment brings me enjoyment. In giving me a digital picture frame, an unexpected thing happened. M, unknowingly, released me from my guilt of not keeping up with scrapbooks. He freed me up from the pressure that I felt about all the wonderful family photos that are stored on my computer, unseen by anyone on a regular basis. Now with a simple transfer of photos from my computer to the card in the frame, hundreds of formally archived photos are now on display! The pictures are enjoyed and and memories are vividly preserved in my minds of us all and that is why they were taken, right?

The digital frame is even better than a scrapbook because there are no scrapbook pages to be possibly damaged by kids looking at them and not handling them with enough care. For our family, for right now, a digital frame, with its ongoing family slide show is a delight. Now, if only I could remember how to upload photos on the card by myself, I have more to put on there. Tonight, when M gets home maybe he can show me again how to do it. And while he shows me, I imagine there will be a flutter of adoration for this man who knows me well enough to get gifts for me that I will adore, even when I don't initially want them.

Jam: My Rediscovered Summer Hobby

Here is what my freezer looks like. I love it! And I am a bit persnickety about it. My kids keep asking if they can make things with jam and for some reason I feel the need to ration it. To save it all for crisp, cold days. This week I actually let them open a large container of raspberry jam. But, that just might be it until September or October, unless I cave in and I probably will.

Blogs are great because while trying to recall when I last made freezer jam and what was made, a quick search of my blog revealed two posts on making jam. There were vague memories of jam making in my past, but they were foggy, until I searched the blog.

I last made jam in 2007 and according to my posts, it brought me as much joy then as it has this year. I was sure I had made it before, but when and the details of how eluded me. It was nice to discover that I had blogged about the process. Very helpful.

These raspberries are HUGE. I mean HUGE! The picking was super easy with such large berries. So far this season we have made jam out of strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries and cherries. My hope is to tackle peaches next and maybe some blackberries.

The cherry jam is especially thrilling because it is from our own trees. I have yet to actually get cherries from our pie cherry tree, but this harvest of sweet cherries from our own tree was the first time we got the cherries before the birds! So exciting! And all credit goes to M and the kids who noticed the ripe cherries way up in the tree then got the ladder and picked them. Oh, and we got to use the Cherry Stoner again.

Look up at the first picture. The one with the jam in the freezer. Notice in the bottom right-hand corner. Yup, the round container that has a golden, yellow something in it. That is a bit of pineapple preserves. A recipe for a salad dressing calling for pineapple preserves recently came my way. Since I was already making jam, it seemed that making pineapple preserves would not be too difficult. I searched and found this recipe, then I changed it a bit. I ran the pineapple chunks through the blender then cooked three tablespoons of pectin in the juice until it boiled for a minute or so to thicken. Then the juice and pectin was poured into a bowl of the blended pineapple and some sugar was added. It turned out very well for the salad dressing and would be a delicious ice cream topping. I had never considered making pineapple preserves before.

Here are the berries all blended up. C does not care for chunks of fruit in her jam. We ran the fruit through the blender and it made a wonderful non-chunky jam. At this point, I only make freezer jam, partly because I have not learned to can. But mostly because making freezer jam is super easy and by not cooking the berries more of the flavor and natural enzymes are preserved. The down side is that it can take up quite a bit of freezer space.

Tangled

And all this time it is gum in hair that has worried me. I never considered this.