Day 28 - Math

We are working on math with the boys, kind of in a loosey goosey way until my Singapore Math workbooks and textbook get here (and I need to order the home instructors guide). I was really surprised that my boys did not immediately take to math manipulatives (i.e. counting with beans, rods, etc.), in fact they seemed annoyed by them. I was at a lose about what to do, so I have just been writing out the 1+ tables, and the 2+ tables, and so on and having them work on problems (really boring). Then, I came upon this really cool website called the Khan Academy. It is a series of videos on YouTube that teach math from basic addition on up. The boys watched it and were fascinated by the "yard stick" method in which you have a series of numbers written along a horizontal line. You mark the first number in the equation and then make little jumps equivalent to the second number in the equation to get the answer. Example: 2 + 5 = you would mark the #2 and then with your pencil jump 5 spots to land on the 7. I thought I would switch it up and make a game-type board. I want to get some little pieces (like from Monopoly but bigger so L won't eat them and choke)...maybe have one piece as the primary spot marker and then have a car or something that "drives" the number of spaces needed.


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My Singapore books came last night, but I am still going to use this when we do problems.

Day 27 - Corn Chowder

Wednesday is soup day. Today was simple corn chowder:

Saute one onion in oil or butter. Add about 1/4 small can of chopped japalenos or equivalent fresh. Also, add 1/2 package of frozen peppers or equivalent fresh peppers. Cook for a few minutes until just tender. Add one bag of frozen sweet corn. Add 1.5 cans of veggie or chicken broth (about 3 cups homemade broth). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30mins.


Blend with an immersion blender or in a blender.

Day 26 - homemade fun

Okay, so you may have noticed that I am sucking really badly at this challenge - I refuse to cheat and so am posting only on the days that I make stuff. I will go back and fill in, but I have lost some followers and think I need to keep things fresh. I do make alot of stuff but it tends to be the same stuff or variations thereof. So, today I am cheating. C, L and R-dog made their own fairy playland, using the comforter as a cloud, and played ponies.

Day 24 - Pork Roast Marinade

Sunday is meat day. We generally rotate between chicken and pork/ham with the very occasional beef meal. Tonight we had pork roast. I like to slather the roast with a yummy rub and then slow roast it.

Pork Roast Wet Rub:

grind together -

1 small package of pecans
1/4 C deli mustard
2 T brown sugar
2 T balsamic vinegar
as much garlic as you like
salt and pepper to taste
enough olive oil to make a paste


Then cover the whole roast with the rub

Roast it and then eat up!!!

I served this with cremini mushrooms, broccoli, roast potatoes, stuffing and gravy


BONUS - scrape the rub off the roast and add it with the pan juices to package or plain homemade gravy. Extra tasty!!!!

Day 18 - Tutus

I love making tutus. Luckily, the girls love wearing them, so I get to indulge my creative desires frequently. C had an unfinished tutu waiting, so today I finished it much to her delight. I am actually in the planning stages of creating my own little craft company to sell tutus and related items at craft fairs and online. Here are some pics of the ladies in their tutus (the one of L is actually of her in a tutu a friend made, she's just the model, and it was taken about 6 months ago so she is only about 5 months old).

Day 17 - Black Bean Soup

I love soup...cold soup, warm soup, hot soup, love them all. One of the family favourites (by that I mean it is requested often) is Miami Black Bean Soup. I did get this out of a cookbook originally, but I make it by heart now, and completely forget which book I got it from (sorry). Here is the recipe with my tweaks:

Chop one large onion, and several cloves of garlic. Saute this is a couple tablespoons of butter and/or olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add half a bag of frozen mixed peppers or about 2 cups chopped fresh peppers and also about 1/2 little can of chopped jalapenos or equivalent of fresh chopped japalenos. Cook for a few more minutes. Add two cans of black beans or about 2.5 cups of cooked black beans. Toss in a bay leaf, Tobasco and some ground cumin if you want to jazz it up. Then add about 3 cups of veggie or chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and then simmer for about 30 mins. Blend in the blender or with an immersion blender. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, some crusty bread or crackers.

Day 16 - Stirfry Sauce

Tonight I wanted a quick and hearty dish, so I made stirfry. Actually, it is not as spontaneous as it sounds because I always plan my complete menu a week (sometimes two) before I go to the store, so I knew we were having stirfry.

I know a lot of people like to buy store-bought Teriyaki sauce or other sauces to add to their stirfry, but I like a simple basic sauce:

1 cup soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
grated fresh ginger and chopped garlic to taste, and a squeeze of lemon

I like to follow the theory that a good sauce (and a good marinade) should have a salty element, a spicy element, a sweet element, an acid element, and a sour element.

The stiry fry itself was just brown rice, onions, broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts and scrambled egg. It was yummy.