School Days

The school year officially started here about a week ago. Sarah is loving math, science and history. Writing and English, however, are not her forte. It is literally like World War III trying to get her to write a sentence. We are working on learning to tolerate these subjects. (Yes, I really mean we!) I am much less worried than I thought I would be, and we're having so much fun together. Hopefully we can sustain this feeling for the year!

My parents bought Sarah a microscope for her birthday, so that's WAY cool, too. The kids have so many neat options for learning that I think it will be tough to not start Danny as well. He is really involved when Sarah has her lessons, so we'll see what happens there...

We're also working on what time of day works best for school. I have learned that Danny being present for writing is one ingredient in our recipe for disaster, so that will have to happen when he's at preschool. Once the other neighborhood kids go back to school it will be easier to tell. Right now, it's tough to get her to pay attention when there's someone outside having fun! There are so many things to learn before we even get to the "learning" part of it, but I'm up for the challenge!

Canning Season

It's so exciting to have enough tomatoes to begin canning. I'm on my first batch of spaghetti sauce of the year, and there are 2 batches of salsa downstairs on the shelves already. My garden is, for the most part, winding down though. Snap peas are done as are the green beans. The zucchini is much less prolific than it was a couple of weeks ago. The strawberries which weren't supposed to send out runners are doing a great job of sending out runners! I hope to have a nice patch next year, as well as being able to gift some to a friend. Hopefully, pictures will follow when I have a few free minutes!

Sleepwalking

So...last night, Sarah had a little "episode" of sleepwalking. I was startled awake by doors slamming multiple times. She was going in and out of her room. By the time I made it upstairs, she was closing the bathroom door. I went into her room to find a trail of drips from the bed to the bathroom. The sound of her going to the bathroom seemed a little higher pitched than usual, so I was a little concerned, but not enough to check. I commenced changing the sheets on her bed. After I had her tucked in, I was really concerned that she continued to make a peeping noise, much like a young chick. Not sure what that was about. I entered the bathroom to find a LAKE of pee on the floor next to the door. Nowhere near the toilet. What fun at 0100! Both kids found this story quite funny. I'm still not sure.

Maftoul

This recipe is posted for Mom, but anyone who likes Mediterranean food would like it. So easy and so tasty!

Maftoul with Pine Nuts, Parsley and Lemon

2 T butter, divided
1/2 c pine nuts
1/2 c shallots, finely chopped
1.5 c Israeli couscous
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 3/4 c chicken broth
1/4 c parsley, finely chopped
zest of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Melt 1 T butter in large saucepan over medium low heat. Add pine nuts and stir til golden brown. Transfer to bowl. Melt remaining butter and 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and saute til golden, then add couscous, cinnamon and bay leaf. Stir often until couscous browns slightly. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender (about 10 min). Remove from heat, transfer to bowl, and stir in parsley, pine nuts and zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.