Field trip...and I'm STILL stuffed, 4 hours later!

We took a field trip today to a culinary school. It was mentioned that we would be eating, but I had no idea how much! The table was elaborately set and we enjoyed a wonderful four course menu! **Special thanks to Tammy for putting it all together!!!**

We started out with a wonderful beef barley soup. It was so good I could have made that the main course. :) The kids loved it as well. Then we moved on to a salad with a berry vinaigrette. the kids weren't as wild about that one but I thought it was perfect. They are just typical kids who are hooked on ranch even though my fridge is loaded with more diverse flavors for salad dressing than you can imagine.

During all of this we got to practice our proper etiquette and learning which utensil went to which exact course and what to do with that napkin. I did realize that I am a bit lax on our table manners but I'd like to add maybe a 'fancy' dinner night to get them used to the "extreme etiquette".

Back to the meal....after our salads we were served this wonderful entree. I believe it was called a Seafood Newberg in a pasty shell. It was served with vegetables and a rice pilaf. Oh my goodness, this dish was absolutely delicious! The little shrimp and seafood was so fresh and the sauce was perfect and the pastry shell was light and fluffy. Oh, my mouth waters thinking about it!

He said these students had only started cooking today. Really? No way! You could not tell! That ENTIRE meal was only $5! Oh and I forgot the kids favorite part...dessert! We had a parfait of homemade sugar cookies crumbled into puddings and different layers and it was perfect. Other than the dessert I asked the kids what their favorite dish was (because obviously they would say dessert if I asked, lol). Zack said his favorite was the entree and Sierra said she enjoyed the soup best.

After our dinner, we were taken on a tour. There was a kitchen set up in the corner where Chef Richard has his own television show that is broadcast to a bunch of different states. Then we went through the kitchen. The kids were amazed at how large everything was in comparison to a regular kitchen. We then went downstairs and saw the classrooms and the library as well as the bar (they have bartending classes). Back upstairs was the smaller room in front where they serve lunch and dinner through the week and then we saw the kids favorite part.....and mine as well..hehe:

The baking kitchen! I have to admit, I would chose baking over cooking. :D But this kitchen was filled with all types of mixers and a huge deep mixing bowl as well as cake pans of every imaginable size! It was so cool! And we got to see the beginning of a contest piece that is for one of those large competitions that they have nationwide. I wont go into details, but I love the idea of sculpting with edible materials! If I had the time and start up money, I'd definitely get into making those fancy fondant cakes. :D
It makes me want to go out now and buy some! Maybe I'll take the 'for fun' class of cake decorating! OOOOh......I'm getting side tracked. :)

The main reason for going on this field trip is that my kids, and especially my son have started showing a real interest in cooking. I've started trying to let them help with a majority of the cooking (with my direct supervision). My only problem is I'm still so wary of giving them REAL knives yet....*gasp*....are you kidding! I mean, my son will loose a finger! I just know it!

I know that I was cooking and using knives by his age....but....(hides all of the knives) it'll be okay...just another year? lol. I know, I need to let go. I just need to teach proper knife handling....can we say home ec class next week? *cringe* Maybe....

$5 dinner anyone?

I was so tickled to find a bag of green beans marked down to .89 cents. And right beside of it, a package of corn marked down to .99! They both looked great, why were they on discount? I couldn't tell, but I bought them anyway along with a $3 and something pork roast.

I was right, the veggies were both in excellent condition and cooked up perfectly! I think you can't beat a large, delicious, homecooked meal like this....FOR $5!!

OMGosh!

I was going to post this pic of my daughter....It was her first lost tooth just within a couple of weeks. She just lost the other one so now both bottoms are gone.
Yes her adult teeth had already started to come in.

But what am I OMGoshing? LOOK HOW DARK HER HAIR IS????? MY BABY IS BLONDE! HOW IS HER HAIR TURNING THIS DARK? I bet she's turning brunette. There's nothing wrong with being brunette, I just expected her to stay blonde. I stayed blonde until 17 and my son is still very blonde.

Maybe it's just because of it being winter and her not being able to be outside as much to lighten it? I don't know...it's just shocking. :)

Time is running out!

It hit me the other day that there is only THREE MONTHS LEFT in this school year (well, maybe 4 if I make up all the time that we ended up missing!). We are so far behind and then on top of that we need to take our end of year testing soon. Can I start pulling my hair out now?

I am going to aim to take the test at the beginning/middle of May, which should leave us 10 more weeks of instruction time.....which means 10 more weeks to make sure that we understand every math concept that is going to be on the test. I hate that. That is one of the problems of public school, I feel. They have to teach to the test instead of to the interest of the child.

Oh well, I guess let this be a lesson to always make time to teach, regardless of whether severe weather drives us from our home (broken heater/frozen water) or we are laying in bed sick or whether we are in the process of moving.

I guess we should have had school while sitting on the floor surrounded by boxes (oh wait, the boxes are still there, lol) before we do anything else. I need to learn to prioritize and make school a non-negotiable each day regardless of what extremes come our way!

We are already going to be without a spring break so hopefully we'll be able to make up some time then. And hopefully we'll be able to make the grade so to speak on our testing.

Am I rambling? I got 5 hours of sleep. With the time change and moving and all of that, I have been going to sleep at 2am or later and we've all been waking up at 10 am! AGAIN! didn't I just fix that problem??????

Well, this week I am working on getting us back on schedule. Speaking of which, it's nearly 8am, I let the kids sleep later than I intended so I'm off to wake them up. Double math lessons everyone? :D

The Weirdest thing....

I noticed something really odd the other day. I've not done the FIAR this past week because I have to go to the library.
So doing the EXACT same curriculum as we had done before we moved, it took us around 2 1/2 or 3 hours. Now, we are doing math together instead of adding an extra 45 minutes for separate math but that shouldn't equal that much of a change in schedule! Before we were doing around 6 hours per day.

I don't know what it is....if we're getting through it easier or more efficiently due to a change of location or what. It's just baffling. But hey, I am not complaining.

When I pick FIAR back up this coming week then it will fit in perfectly. That's with our added math, spelling and grammar. So it should put us at four hours or less.

I am happy and definitely not complaining!

As for the moving...I have been making trips to get the last of our stuff whenever I have time. I took a week off from school a few weeks ago, then with Zack getting sick, I didn't go. This week hasn't been promising either. It's killing me....I believe that the stuff that is left behind is reproducing in secret. I also picture a villain tossing stuff back into our old place and cackling "I'll get her! hahaha!"

I just never realized how much I had packed into that place! It was such a tiny place so whenever I got anything I would pack it under here, behind this, on top of that....and I didn't think of it until now! Can I just leave it there and forget about it????? I am very close to just going in with trash bags and pretending that I'm on one of those supermarket sweep shows. Time how quickly I can toss stuff into a bag/ tie it off/ toss it outside/ run it to the trash! Sounds like a plan to me! hehe!

I'm ticked a little and update on my son....not related to each other.

Okay, first, my son had two extractions today and he is doing really good. He is already wanting to run around. I'm just trying to keep him relaxed for the rest of the evening so his bleeding can stop. He will have to have a spacer to keep his teeth from spreading apart until those come in.

Moving on....the reason I am miffed. I got a letter from our new school board saying that they can't approve my request until they get my diploma. I told them that the county we came from has it on file and that I would be happy to get them a copy. I told them this when I sent in the intent....and the counties aren't even states apart...they even touch!

I just got ticked by the way it was worded. I mean, the lil ole school district is not approving anything. I just have to let them know. It just angers me that they had to be so rude about their wording. I hope that this is not a hint of things to come in dealing with them.

I liked our previous school board. The only time in 2 years that I heard from them was a friendly reminder that my son was old enough for testing last year. I am kind of paranoid that this new one is going to get a little big for their britches so to speak. I just have to try to stay upbeat about it though and not have a pessimistic view on things.

Anyway, I'm happy my son is better. I am taking care of the diploma thing. I am ALMOST done with moving...ug! It's aggravating! If it's not one thing it's another!
Oh, and another note....I just realized that we only have 3 more months of school left! yikes! What?! No way, we've fallen so far behind for the year! I am already going to have to add another month! School straight through June just to catch up! I am thinking of having to do double math's each day to catch us up.
yikes! that stinks!


**NOTE ADDED***
Well, the pain meds wore off and him running around has made it hurt worse. He's back to square one pain wise, but at least it will only be for the night probably. I hope, bless his heart.

Update....

Well, after finding out that the MUMPS have similar symptoms...you can imagine I was freaking out! What if it's mumps, antibiotics does nothing to mumps...he'll have to be quarantined! Wait....what exactly does mumps do? We had the vaccinations. But what if it's like how some people get a flu shot but still end up getting the flu. All of these crazy thoughts were running around in my mind.

Well, yesterday we took him in to the dentist. They x-rays, poked and prodded to confirm that it was indeed AN ABSCESS ~NOT MUMPS ("See why it's important to brush your teeth better!"~I found out in the commotion of moving that he had just been brushing his front teeth and not even trying to brush the back!). They gave a stronger antibiotic and an appointment for tomorrow. But the tooth will probably have to be completely extracted instead of simply repaired.

Overnight the antibiotics have shrunk that swelling down incredibly! He looks like himself again. Well, almost. I can still see a bit of swelling, but it looks normal. And you can still feel the knot under his skin, although much smaller now. He's also no longer in pain (unless you poke it, as sis found out). God is great! And....(heaving a sigh of relief) it's not mumps or any other crazy thing!