Random thoughts to share tonight:
The first week of school went like this:
Monday - boys melted off the very hot school bus looking completely shell shocked
Tuesday - tiredness
Wednesday - started feeling hard to get out of bed but over all, a little bit better
Thursday - so tired that Little P's default mood became angry
Needless to say, we were all relieved when Friday rolled around and we could sleep in (except, of course, none of us actually slept in). Four days at home has given Little P time to recover, to the point where I am now equally relieved that he's going back to school tomorrow. My boys watched The Last Jedi yesterday and today, so Little P's "pew pew" noises and explosive star fighter inspired running around the house have reached an epic level. As a meme that I saw on Facebook said, "Teachers - tag! You're it!" Love all us summer-exhausted moms.
Recipes:
Once upon a time, lets say about 18 years ago, I was driving through the California desert with my family and we came upon an old diner whose specialty was date milk shakes. As I recall, they even had a movie that told the story of dates and their place in California's agricultural history. (As I write and ponder this memory further, there may have even been a billboard advertising the movie titled, 'The Sex Life of Dates' - not kidding.) My teenage self was incredulous at the movie and appalled at the idea of a date milkshake, but my sweet-toothed grandfather it and declared it good. End of memory. Fast forward to last week when I stumbled upon a blog post for date milk shakes that I flagged a couple years back and all the sudden my taste buds just had to try it. And oh my goodness friends, my grandfather was right. He may have actually understated it - date milkshakes are amazing. Now I just need to get my hands on some chocolate syrup so that I can try the "monkey flip" version!
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/04/palm-springs-date-shake-monkey-flip/
Also, appealing to completely different taste buds, I discovered this tofu scramble a few months ago and made a fresh batch this morning. For us egg-free people who can't have omelets or scrambled eggs, this has turned into a pretty acceptable substitute. Plus I love starting off the day by stuffing myself with veggies!
https://minimalistbaker.com/southwest-tofu-scramble/
Current soundtracks of my life:
The boys screaming, "Get out of my church!" Initially I thought this was my children's odd variation on "Get out me garden!" and I was going to let it go. But when it kept cropping up in their play I asked in a scolding tone of voice what it was about (because surely the Christian Educator's children should not be running around yelling at people to get out of church). "But Mom, it's what Friar Tuck says to the sheriff!" aka a quote from Robin Hood. Alright Disney, I'll let you win this one...
The Greatest Show soundtrack - I joined this party late but I'm loving it. Whose voice is your favorite on this album? I keep listening and just can't decide...
Musing:
I've been enjoying the Parenting Forward podcast since I discovered it a few months ago, but this episode was extra intriguing to me. I have been aware of the amazing childrens books that Sandy Eisenberg Sasso has put out in the past few years and I loved hearing about the philosophy and thought process she shared regarding the power of stories and how she came to be a writer of children's books. Listening to this finally put some solidity to an aspiration that has been quietly sitting in the back of my mind for a couple years now but I'm going to come right out and say it. I'd love to be a children's book author someday. Especially books like what Rabbi Sandy writes that help children come to know God and discover how beautiful God can be. It's a little thrilling to put that in writing, a first step perhaps? Like many ideas I have had for my life, we'll wait and see what God does with it.
