Lentil recipes, Hagia Sophia, and why every little boy needs gymnastics....

Howdy.  

Today was one of those days that seemed much longer than it really was.   We rushed through schoolwork to try and have a free afternoon, which we then spent sitting around and staring at each other while waiting for various contractors to show up at the house.   The first group did show up, which leads me to celebrate because THIS will be happening soon:

Why yes, that IS our indoor pool! 

The second appointment didn't show, so we sat around and watched a PBS NOVA episode about the Hagia Sophia, and called it bonus schoolwork.   That led to this in my dining room:

That was quickly followed by making dinner, with my little sidekick:

And during all of that, I finally connected the camera to the computer and found these gems:

Which led me to contemplate just what it was about gymnastics that I loved so much for our boys.   There are so  many things (the physical strength and learning how to control their muscles, their awesome coach who is a great role model for them, and the focus on sportsmanship (the judges do NOT take lightly to non-gentlemanly behaviour!)) that we love about the boys being in gymnastics, but honestly.....the thing  I think we love the most is this:

They might get to compete individually, but gymnastics really is the best of both an individual sport AND a team sport.  These boys (this is only half of the team - they were split up into two sessions at this meet, unfortunately) are taught from the very beginning that they are a team of gymnasts, not individual athletes.  They might not be passing balls to each other on a field, but they are very much competing as a team and supporting each other as a team.  I love that about this sport - they learn how to handle the stress of individual performances, but yet have an amazing support group holding them up.   It's an awesome dynamic.

It can get to be an expensive sport, but man, it is worth every penny to me when I see what these guys can do and how much they love each other.

But back to dinner.   We got dinner made, and the table was put back together, so I started moving plates of food onto the table to eat.

I came back into the kitchen and instantly knew that Theo had been there.  How did I know, you wonder?  Because of this:

It's like one of those Poltergeist movies or something around here.  ;)

But he also does this, so he can stick around forever and ever, amen.

Yes, friends, he cleans up after himself, too.  Love this kid.  

And because she's the only one not yet featured in today's post, here's a pretty Baby Girl:

Alright, I need to get rascals in bed, but don't you worry!  Here's tonight's recipe, courtesy of Mr Grahaminator!

Lentil Sloppy Joes

1 cup dry lentils (I usually use green, because they're the easiest to find around here)

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup water

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp vinegar

Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan.   Once it is boiling, add the lentils and cover.  Reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are tender (stir often and add water if it gets too dry).

Once the lentils are cooked, move them to a large frying pan, along with the green pepper.   There should be some water/broth mixture left in the lentils, but if not, add water to cover the bottom of the pot.   Simmer until the green pepper is tender.

Add the ketchup, mustard, sugar, and vinegar.   Continue to simmer, this time covered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You want the lentils to kind of fall apart and get "mushy."

Add ketchup, mustard, sugar, or vinegar, to taste.   These are the quantities that we used tonight, but you might have to adjust it to suit your family's preferences.

Serve warm, on buns.   Sweet potato fries are the perfect side dish with these sandwiches!