happy taco tuesday!

Happy Taco Tuesday!

Who-ever thought of food theme days, thank you. It helps us figure out dinner ideas when we are to tired to think.

And, I know it’s been awhile since I have posted. Things have been happening, and y’all are way overdo for some updates. So: grab your beverage of choice (I’m currently loving Trader Joe’s pumpkin spice coffee pods) and let’s chat, shall we?

IRMA

This photo sums up my Irma experience:

Yes,  we had a visit from Irma (I’m in southeast Florida) and she left a mess of downed trees and powerlines, debris, and loss of power for several days. We were in the upper right quadrant of the storm, and if you know hurricanes, that is the section with the most dangerous feeder bands of storms, usually with lots of tornados spawning. It’s like a tornado breeding ground within a hurricane.

And, to top it off, I had a head cold during the ordeal, and I was not a happy camper mommy. I’ll admit, I lost my temper way more in those few days than any other time in my life. The baby was clingy, my daughter was whiny and my head was pounding in 94°F weather that there was no escape from. Once the stores got power (and A/C) we would loiter in them… which really gets to not be fun with a whiny kid and clingy baby.

We had extensive property damage, but thankfully no home damage.

At one point, during a tornado warning (there were 40+) two trees simply snapped and fell. These weren’t little wee trees, either. I’m talking two 700-900lb trees. Mother nature has some strength. “Mother Nature Tree Trimming and Landscaping, 24/7 service, no appointment necessary.” Ha!

Anyway, we survived and that’s all that matters, also it wasn’t as bad as the storm back in the day that almost made me amish. 

HOMESCHOOL

We finally kicked off my 3rd year of teaching homeschool, I now have a 5th grader, and I’m fostering an almost toddler. Thank goodness for playmats and baby-gates. I don’t know how people homeschool with a tribe of young uns’ .

This year I am utilizing Timberdoodle curriculum, which is really heavy on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and LLATL, (learning language arts through literature) and FIAR (Five In A Row)

My daughter calls Five in A Row Fun in a row, since the books are pretty easy and we meet up with friends for a co-op and related theme lunch and book discussion.  We just completed “Grandfather’s Journey” and the go along “Tea with Milk”. I loved the later of the two; it was set in Japan, and there was a small little love story in it, swoon…..

We made homemade San Fransisco rice, which is a recipe I will be sharing soon.

The science and tech part of homeschool is using Apologia Zoology 3, Land Animals of the Sixth Day, and a stop motion animation kit. I wonder if she will let me use it to make some stop motion foodie videos? Hmmmm.

Our theology  is “Cat and Dog Theology,” and so far we both love this. It really has been helping us both have less of a wordly perspective of our surroundings. And, coming from a mom: it helps her clean her room like a dog. (you have to read the book to know what this means)

I have always had difficulty finding a spelling curriculum she actually enjoys, and this year we are doing “Spelling You See” and so far, I have seen improvement. YAY!

Math has always been a battle. Math has made me want to quit homeschooling. Seriously, we both loathe it. So, this year I’m not teaching it. Nope. Not me.

This year, I splurged on Teaching Textbooks.

Best. Decision. EVER.

That ( sort of )wraps up homeschooling. I owe you guys posts and pictures from our recent field trips: a chocolate factory where we got to dip our own treats, a science museum class with liquid nitrogen, and a dairy farm.

FOSTERING

Our little 3 year old went away and was reunified with her biological dad. The worst part of this was, me finding out just hours before. I had just gotten a haircut, and getting ready to pick up some items for dinner, when a phone call came stating for me to have her and her things packed for her to go home in just a few hours. I didn’t even know there was a court hearing regarding her that morning. That’s one of the toughest parts of being a foster parent: you take kids in, never knowing the outcome-some stay months, some stay years, and some are adopted into your home. And: you never know which. So, you love them as if there are your own.

So, we had our little “Elsa” (not her real name, she just LOVED Frozen) and we loved her, and had her as a part of our family. She called me “mama,” and my husband “daddy”; and would proudly announce to everyone: I have two mamas, and two daddies! (Because she was clearly not our bio child, lol!)

Now we are back to having just one of our own, and the baby that feels like our own. Which means: we also have a “vacancy”.  And, that’s difficult also. Because I want to take on another newborn, but I know I physically can’t until I get this baby to sleep through the night.

And, yes, as soon as she’s sleeping through the night, I am crazy enough to take on another non sleeper. I can only do one non sleeper at a time, though.

Or, maybe we will take in another toddler… and other little Elsa or Anna. Or, maybe another little boy will counteract the estrogen in the house?

God knows. He has a plan for the children.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

We took a much needed getaway to Epcot Food & Wine Festival, and stayed at a pet friendly full kitchen efficiency near the park.

It had a dishwasher.

Mind you, I have NEVER had one of those.

I need one of those in my life. Especially with the extra young uns’.  And, now I can make my jams and pickles because it has a sterilization button, no more boiling my jars before filling. Yay! Now my kitchen is “modern” and I have a huge amount of counter space to roll out cookie dough!

I never knew what I was missing.

GARDENING

Its “fall” which is planting time in zone 10.

I homeschool and foster.

I’ll be lucky if my grass survives.

Ha.

I do have a milkweed and a small butterfly garden which is planted with mostly native plans, so they just do their own thing,  however as far as my days of veggie gardens and sunflower patches…. Well,… maybe next year.

The oldest mom on the block

Having more younger children has gotten me back into my beloved MOPS (moms of preschoolers) group. But: this time around is kind of weird, because I’m in-between MOPS and Mentoring mom age bracket, too old to fit in with the twenty-somethings but too young to gel with the 60+ crowd.

But, fortunately… there is only an age limit on the kids, not the moms, so I assume you could be in mops your whole life if you foster kids birth to school age. Shhhhh…. I found the secret “ticket” to NEVER leave MOPS.  I love MOPS, always have, always will-all the moms are sweet, loving and welcoming to this old lady. 😉  And, I’m pretty sure some lifelong friendships will be birthed from this new season of MOPS.

In case you don’t know, MOPS stands for “Mothers of Preschoolers” and it is a faith based international organization that equips moms in all aspects of motherhood.

Feel free to Google.