Catch up

So this is what it is like to be a non-blogger. You get an empty blog for months until you remember you have a blog and you should write something. Today was a beautiful day. We hardly did any school and then we started our summer adventure. The idea is to visit every skate park in Washington State. The boys are going to write a description about the park, take picturs and videos. We'll see how this evolves. I have no idea how many skate parks are in WA. So this might take a long time and not just one summer. The goal is to get the boys writing. Titus' blog is "boom nation" and that is where all the action will be recorded.

The Future

I'm embarking on a huge task. First, I'm changing careers. I'm moving from an outward, monetarily measured career to a more internal, less outwardly rewarded career: mortgage consultant to teacher.

I've poured over curriculum reviews, talked to numerous other homeschool moms and done some deep soul searching to find just the right curriculum fit for our family. And I think I've found it. I'm super excited about starting it but extremely nervous. T and I seem to clash quite frequently so I'm going to need an arsenal of patience and creative parenting to thwart his constant emotional breakdowns and back-talking. G is making progress in his anger management, and it's always better when he's fed and well-rested. And of course Z is always eager to learn.

What will the days look like? How chaotic or smoothly they go will depend on 2 things: prayer (for my attitude) and preparation (for my mind). If I do those 2 things well, I think we'll thrive and learn a lot together.

First Post

So I've come to realize that I'm not all that great at introspection. I used to be a good writer and want to get better at putting my thoughts on paper (or e-paper). So about today. . .I tried a new muffin recipe:

Ever-Ready Red River Oat-Bran Muffins:
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups boiling water
3/4 cup Red River Cereal
2 1/2 cups ROBIN HOOD All Purpose Flour (any flour will do)
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup shortening (I used 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of olive oil as I don't like shortening)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilkk
2 cups ROBIN HOOD or OLD MILL Oats
1-1 1/2 cups raisins, chopped dates or dried cranberries
Preparation:
1. POUR boiling water over Red River Cereal and bran; let stand.
2. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
3. CREAM shortening, sugar, eggs and buttermilk together in large bowl until blended. Add flour mixture with bran mixture, oats and raisins. Mix thoroughly. Spoon into greased muffin cups, filling almost full.
4. BAKE at 375°F (190°C) for 18 to 23 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly touched.
5. STORAGE: Keep unused batter in covered container in refrigerator until using. Mixture can be kept for 1 month. To bake, use batter directly from refrigerator and bake 23 to 28 minutes.

MAKES about 2 dozen muffins.

They've turned out really good and the batter can be kept for fresh muffins later.