Popsicle

When we have them, we like to use our own frozen pops that we make with fruit and juice — then they are getting some vitamins and fiber with their treat.  But when we don’t, a pre-made popsicle will suffice.

I even still use this trick with my 15 year-old daughter, when she eats something particularly crunchy and cuts up her mouth.

Linked to: Works for Me Wednesday

I had bought a little “How to Make Sushi” kit at a bookstore on clearance awhile back. It included a DVD, a mat, and a cookbook. We watched the DVD a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday, we made the California rolls.

We couldn’t find any sushi rice at any of the stores nearby (we’d bought some from a far away store that didn’t make it into our bag, but the gas to go get it would have cost more than the rice), so we used medium grain rice. It worked just fine.  We rinsed and “massaged” it about 5 times, I think.

My 10 year-old massaging the rice

While the rice was in the rice cooker,we sliced up the cucumber, avocado, and imitation crab meat (we call that krab-with-a-k).

Both kids slicing up imitation crab.

Then we made the sushi-zu (the rice vinegar and sugar dressing for the sushi rice). Next time, we’ll do this first, though, since it needs to be cooled and poured over hot rice. My rice cooker kept the rice warm while the sushi-zu cooled, but being patient was hard. Then we poured the sushi-zu over the rice, and my 16 year-old cut and tossed it into the rice. Then we had to wait and fan the rice until it was cool, while Mommy snuck bites of the krab-with-a-k.

Since we only have one sushi mat (I’ll be getting more!), my 10 year-old got to go first. Here he is spreading the rice on his nori:

Making sushi!

(The little green bowl is for dipping fingers and knives into rice vinegar – that rice is sticky!)

After we rolled the sushi, it was time to cut it. So close…

They may not have been the prettiest rolls ever, but they sure were tasty.

We will definitely be doing this again – and trying other kinds of sushi, as well!

For enough ingredients to make nine rolls (54 pieces!), I spent less than I would have paid for one person at a nearby all-you-can-eat sushi train. We even have some pieces still in the fridge for snack today!

One of the things I love most about homeschooling is the opportunity to embrace learning experiences like this. Yesterday, we got to have an adventure in our own dining room.

Linked to:

Works for Me Wednesday

We Did It Wednesday

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lara604/ / CC BY 2.0

When I was  a little girl, preschool age at best, I had a Raggedy Ann doll. I carried her everywhere. At some point, her face had been destroyed (my mom thinks chewed off by a dog) and my aunt had created a new one out of sheeting and embroidered Ann a new face. I carried her everywhere.

After a visit to the park with some teen babysitters and a rushed departure, I realized I had lost my beloved doll. The babysitters refused to turn back — after all, it was just a doll.  My mom was livid at their dismissive attitude. She fired the girls and took me back to the park, but the doll was nowhere to be found.

* * *

A few years later, I was walking to the (different) babysitters after kindergarten. I stopped at a four-way stop sign, and waited for the car that was coming. He pulled to a stop and waved me on, annoyed — or at least it seemed so to a 5 year-old. I was afraid to step out in front of that big car with that annoyed man driving, but waiting just made him more annoyed, so I stepped out into the street.

The memory ends there, and I’m sure it ended well, since I was never run over by a car as a child. But, strangely, that memory comes back to me every single time I’m at a four-way stop and there’s a pedestrian. Every time.

* * *

It’s funny what memories stick with you. It makes me pause and wonder what things my kids will carry with them as adults. Will they remember a particular fun thing we did, or will it end up in a vague jumble of  fun things? Will Bobo remember last night, when I heard him tossing and turning on my way to bed, and invited him out for a cup of herbal tea to help him sleep? Will the dark year before their father and I were divorced overshadow the happier memories that came before and after?

I hope that my kids will remember that parents are just people, and they do the best they can. I do know that the one thing my kids will take with them from childhood is that they were absolutely unconditionally loved.  And I know that will serve them well.

Here are the houses my kids made:

Haunted gingerbread (chocolate) houses for Halloween

They were a lot of fun, and I think this year I will pick up a gingerbread house pan on clearance after the holidays for next year’s October fun!

Another problem is that, while I would like the kids’ honest opinions when we try a new recipe, I also want them to learn good table manners — and critiquing dinner at the table is not good manners.

My kids' comment cards from last night's dinner

A few months ago, I created these comment cards.  I write the name of the recipe on the card — I can imagine having problems one day when everyone creatively named a dish differently. The kids fill out, or circle, as many stars (from 1 to 5) as they want to give the dish, circle their initial, and write any comments on the back. For example, Bobo might write that a dish is a little spicy and he would like to only have it on nights that something besides water is available to drink, or Doodle might say that something was good but overly salty.

During dinner, though, they are required to be polite. If they don’t like a new recipe, they can refuse seconds, but they still need to honor me for making them dinner and appreciate my intention. Later, after dinner, they can share their critiques – in writing, on the comment cards, as a solicited opinion.

A happy side effect of the comment cards is that my kids are now excited to try new recipes. “Don’t forget the comment cards, Mommy!” So comment cards to let the kids weigh in with their opinions on new recipes works for me.

Note: If there’s interest, I’ll make a printable of the comment cards, without my kids’ initials, of course.

How does that miracle happen? It’s a simple matter of having clear expectations, giving the kids a say, and having real-life consequences/rewards for success.

We have a chart that I made in Excel that hangs on the fridge, detailing out each kid’s chores for each day of the week. I try to spread the weekly-style chores out so that no day is overwhelming. Some kids may prefer one big chore day a week, with the rest of the days having just the daily stuff, but my kids aren’t wired that way.  With a quick glance at the chart on the fridge, the kids know exactly what they are supposed to do that day.

The kids and I have a “meeting” every other week. Refreshments are served, business is conducted, and then we do something fun as a family, either at home or out and about. During the business portion of the meeting, one area we discuss is how things are working out with the chore schedule. For example, last meeting, my 12 year-old asked to not have his trash day be the same as his cleaning the bathroom day, because he felt overwhelmed. It was an easy thing to rearrange.

I wanted things done in a timely fashion each day, and with a minimum of fussing. I know my kids, and I know what their “buttons” are, so I told them that there would be no electronics – no computers, no video games, no iPods, no TV – until chores were done each day. The one exception is that an iPod can be used <i>while</i> doing dishes. With a different sort of child, their button might be “no playing outside until chores are done” or “no getting out the art set”. With my oldest daughter, it was “no reading until chores are done” – which freaked other people out, but getting that child to read was NOT the problem.

In our household, there is no allowance for chores. The kids do get an allowance, but they get it because they are part of the family (and because I’d like them to learn some money management skills). They also do chores, because they are part of the family. But they don’t get paid for their chores. I do keep a list of extra chores they can do to earn extra money on the fridge, right next to the chore chart. They can do those chores only if their regular chores are done.

All in all, it’s really simple and it really works for me.