A Day Under the Tent (mucho pictures)

I've been contemplating a "Day in the Life" post for awhile now, since I get so many questions and comments about what our life ...dramatic pause and breathless......"must be like," but honestly, I just hadn't gotten to it.  Trying to focus on homeschooling and healthy habits has kind of, well, taken all of my brain power.   But when I saw Dwija  joining in on the How I Homeschool blog hop, well, I got super excited.   A link-up of only pictures that answers the "What do you do all day?" where I'm not allowed to even caption the pictures?   Yes, please, and thank you!  So, here goes......here's what life looks like under the Circus tent.....the good, the bad, and the messy!

6:00am....

7am...

8am...

8:45am....

9am....

10am...

11:30am...

12:30pm.....

1 pm....

2pm.....

3 pm......

....insert gymnastics pictures here that I didn't want to take because I didn't want to be *that* creepy lady at the gym with the big ol' camera.....

6:22 pm.....

.......and there you have it....a day in the life at the Circus Academy!

(now, I'm going to go inside, put my feet up, and have some dinner!)

Sunday Funday

There's something to be said for tradition.   For years, it was the norm to have businesses close on Sundays.    Sporting events didn't happen.   Families gathered together for big Sunday meals.   Sunday was a day for fun, for family, and faith.

Somewhere along the way, before I was really aware of the world around me, that changed.  Sunday became a day that looked just like any other - full of activities, errands, and things to do.  For many families (my own included, during some seasons of our life), Sunday became the day to catch up on things and chores took precedence over family gatherings.

We're at a point in our lives now that most weekends, our Sundays can return to the "fun, family, and faith" model.   There are a few exceptions - like when the kids have been sick and Mike has been working and the only day I have that I can get to a grocery store, sans kids (since they're sick), has been Sunday - but most weekends, our Sundays are full of relaxation and fun.  

We head to mass, and then have a small "family" gathering at our house for brunch.   The rest of the day is usually filled with naps (sometimes for an adult, too!), time spent outside playing, and reading and movies inside.   As I type this, Mike is napping, the little ones are playing in the living room, and the big ones are outside playing in the snow.   The house is quiet and calm.   

There is some wisdom to be found in preserving a day of the week like this.   Keeping it separate from the mundane tasks that fill up the other 6 days of the week.   Life is unpredictable, and it's hard to make it happen regularly for many of us (especially those of us who are married to someone who works a fluctuating schedule, or work one ourselves), but my gosh, I don't know how I'd survive without these slow days now.   

There's peace in the quiet.  Joy in the relaxed laughter.   Newfound energy in the calm.

We start the week feeling recharged, and connected to each other.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to set Sundays aside and to return to the tradition of years past.    There's strength there, enough to carry me through the "busyness" of life.

Sometimes traditions deserve to be resurrected.  

Five Faves: Pantry Cooking

Linking up over at Call Her Happy again today!

Sneaking in at the last minute because I'm cool like that.   And because I just spent waaaayyyy too long converting our "one-room-schoolhouse-lots-of-verbal-lessons" homeschooling lesson plan for tomorrow into worksheets and activities so we can take it on the road (Mr. Theo has a bunch of therapy sessions tomorrow).    

Today was also grocery shopping day, and I'm trying to clean out what we have in the pantry and restock in time for the projected snowstorms (yes, more snow) this week.   So, I thought, why not do a "What Heidi Always Has On Hand" .... also known as pantry-menu-planning......for this week's five faves?

One little catch, though, not everything in these recipes is a pantry-stable item - some of these recipes include fresh foods or perishables.   But, for me, these are "pantry" recipes.  The things that are produce-based or perishables are things that I consider our staples, and that i always have on hand.  If I don't have one of these things......it is way past getting to the grocery store!

Here we go!

1.

Indian yellow lentils.  

I always have everything for this recipe on hand, and it's my go-to "I don't want to grocery shop" meal.   Usually what happens is that any veggie that i have on hand that needs to be used up gets tossed into the recipe as well - the other night, I included extra onions, some tomatoes, and some kale.  It was still delicious!    Definitely a great "base" recipe to add into the rotation.

2.

Quinoa/black beans/corn

A meal that can be made quickly  (in less than 30 minutes), and tastes great as it is, or wrapped up in tortillas.   Definitely a win-win in this house.  At any point in time, I will have 2-3 bags of corn in the freezer, and since the fridge/freezer are hooked up to what the generator would run if we were to lose power...I don't stress about losing it (too much).   That makes this go-to meal a very easy one to have on hand!

3.

Sweet Potato/black bean burritos.

This isn't an "official" recipe that I can link you to, but it's always something I have on hand.  It's super scientific, are you ready?

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed) + one peeled and diced sweet potato + 1 jar pineapple salsa (we like Newman's Own)

That's it.    Dump it all into a pan, and cook on medium heat until the potato is soft.   Wrap it in tortillas.  If you have it, add sour cream.   If I want to bulk it up some, I'll add some cooked brown rice into the filling for the burritos.   If I have kale or spinach that I want to use up, I'll tear it into tiny pieces and add it in the last few minutes of cooking.   Once it wilts, it's an easy way to sneak greens into a reluctant kiddo - you can't taste it at all!

4.

"Southwest" salads.

It's probably not correct to call this those, but, well.....it happened one day and it stuck.   Again, no recipe to link you to, but it's a stand-by for me.   It's pretty simple:  take your basic green salad (the boys like romaine lettuce for this one).   Top it with a black beans (I used drained, rinsed canned beans), cooked corn, and tortilla chips/strips (crumble them up).   If I have any veggies that need to be used up (bell peppers taste especially yummy with this!), I'll add those in.   Toss it with ranch dressing (again, we like Newman's Own for this), and voila!  Dinner is served.

5.

Black Bean Burgers

I have played with this recipe so many times, just trying to use up what I had on hand, and it has never let me down.     Peppers get replaced with extra onions, bread crumbs are replaced with cornmeal or ground oatmeal, and it still always turns out wonderfully.   Make your own hamburger buns, and keep a bag of sweet potato fries in the freezer, and it's a super quick and easy meal!   Even my carnivore extended family loves these burgers!

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In case you were curious, my "must have" items in the pantry and fridge/freezer are:

quinoa

black beans

frozen corn

kale/spinach/chard

lettuce (I usually keep salad made/prepped in one of these containers)

lentils

onion

sweet potatoes

salsa

tortillas (I buy in bulk and freeze them, OR plan on making them myself)

ranch dressing

brown rice

If I start running low on these items, I definitely hit the grocery store before a snow storm hits!

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Enjoy the snow if you're getting some tonight, like we are!

Quick Takes: Musings

Linking up with Kelly because it's still open, even for us lazy procrastinators!


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My view...well, up until a few minutes ago with the big brothers barged in and woke her up:

It was almost the perfect break time.   Oh well.   Next time!

I'm currently banished to the master bedroom.   The boys are all working on a Valentine's dinner and surprise for me.  I'm not complaining.  They came into the bedroom bearing hot coffee and chocolate, after a quick run to the grocery store.   I'm happy to stay in here a little longer.

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Also, if I stay in the bedroom, I avoid looking at this monstrosity: 

  That's one heck of a fort creation.   And it's totally stressing me out.

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Yesterday, we told the boys that we were going to change our plans and go out for lunch before gymnastics practice.   I told them to get their shoes and socks on, and Mr Theo stopped abruptly, turned around QUICKLY, and took off running down the hallway to his bedroom.  He came out minutes later, socks in hand.   Such a smarty-pants.

Also, you may visit Chipotle too much as a family when they give you coupons for free burritos the next time you come in, because "You're such loyal customers."

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I've been thinking a lot about happiness recently.   It seems to be the word that keeps popping up in day-to-day conversation, especially in relation to things like disappointments.   I'm coming to realize that a lot of my role as a parent is helping the kids recognize that happiness isn't our goal in this life.  That there's a difference between choosing happiness and choosing joy.    And that sometimes (all of the time?) you learn more from your disappointments than your happiness.

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Lent has been on my mind a lot recently.  It starts next week (!!!).   As is the tradition in the Catholic world, I'm planning on sacrificing something for the 40 days of Lent (people typically say they're "giving something up.").  I'm contemplating giving up my snooze button, but that sounds so silly and superficial to say.   But Lent is supposed to be the time that you sacrifice something as a way of growing closer to Christ, right?   Well, that darn snooze button is a huge stumbling block in my prayer time and writing time.   I tend to hit it 2-3 times every morning, and well, that's 18-27 minutes of my life every day that I could be using in a better manner.  I think getting rid of the snooze button in my life might be way more spiritually beneficial than, say, giving up coffee.

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Ruthie is full-time pulling herself up and cruising now.  Didn't take her long to figure it out - and now she's also starting to let go and balance there, in a standing position.   Silly girlie.

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I'm trying hard to get back on track with the diet plan again this week, and I'm happy to say that I've done a pretty good job.   My biggest hurdle was/is breakfast - it's hard to have a veggie-based breakfast that isn't also grain based (because I'm trying to limit how much grain I have (it's a trigger food for me for over-eating), too).   Getting this blender seems to have been the magic trick.   I really like eating bowls of fruit for breakfast, but prepping them and then sitting down to eat them would take WAY more time than I had before the kids needed me.  Now, I've just been blending them and drinking them as a smothie instead of sitting down to eat them.   I love the to-go cup option, especially on Theo's early school/therapy mornings.  I've found that if I start the day with a fresh fruit smoothie, the rest of my food choices are so much better throughout the day.

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My coffee's cold, so it's time to venture out and see what exactly is going on out there in the Circus.    It sounds a bit crazy!

Snow Day Science Class

I never thought I'd be ordering critters for schooling purposes, but that's what I've done!   Mr Joseph needed to dissect a perch for science class, and we finally did it today (We were waiting for a day when Mike was home to do it with them, since he really wanted to do it).   Today was the day.  Originally, we were supposed to be at a gymnastics meet with the biggest boys.  Winter Storm Neptune had other plans....

So, instead of driving in the blowing snow.....we pulled out the dissection kit.   Joseph had a blast, and it was pretty cool how interested the younger kiddos were, too.  Not a bad way to spend a snowy morning!