Sometimes I feel this need to apologize to you all for not writing every day.  Like I’ve got some quota to fill and I’m letting someone down if I don’t post daily.  Sometimes I feel as if the person I am letting down is me.  But goodness, y’all.  This pace is hard to maintain.

The website for TR, homeschool, driving kids to events and activities and soccer practices and appointments and theatre camp, the prepping and planning of meals for half a dozen people like three times every day.  This sounds like a rant, a whine.  It feels a little like it too.

Anyway – thanks for continuing to read when the posts are hit or miss, when the days are not predictable and the weeks run on and off the  rails unpredictably.  It’s a terrible tension I feel at almost every minute of my life (and I’m guessing I’m not alone in this feeling) of wanting to be both connected and disconnected, engaged and disengaged.  I get a little tired of feeling as if my life is happening at my fingertips instead of in my living room or in my yard.  Lately I think I sit down too much and stare at squares (technically rectangles I guess) too much and the tension lies in the fact that it is both money producer and time waster.   Some days it is hard to turn it off and some days that is all I want to do.   The tension – do you feel it too?

It’s a moment of “Here is the problem.  Now, what am I going to do about it?”

I’ve got the question down.  I just haven’t decided the answer.

For today, for right now – I’m going to share this week’s Friday Fives.  One foot in front the other.  Do the next right thing.

 

 

funny

 

This cat.

Constantly showing up in silly places.

 

 

 

fashionable

 

I saw my daughter wearing this shirt this week.  (She says the company does sales often for $15.)

 

 

I think it’s so cute.

 

 

flavorful

 

We don’t own a microwave.  I forget why exactly.  I think when we moved to this house about five or six years ago there was not much counter space.  I stuck it in the laundry room.  We never missed it.  I gave it away one random afternoon and no one noticed.  (The only person who cares now is my dad on his random visits when he wonders aloud, “How do you people nuke anything in this house?”  Maybe he’s why I don’t have a microwave.  That and the word nuke.  Of course, he also wonders aloud, “How do you people clean anything in this house without paper towels?” because I never have those either.)

The only time that I think a microwave would enhance our lives is when we are heating up six different types of leftovers for our Mother May I? meals.  That’s a real hassle to get out a wide assortment of pots and pans.  Especially since our oven only has three working burners.

Anyway.  This week a friend introduced to me a new way to use my friend Instant Pot to heat up leftovers.  It’s some sort of genius I tell you.

This is what you do.  Put your leftovers in glass bowls or jars.  (This is generally what I use anyway actually.)  I’m talking mason jars or even a larger glass bowl.  It just needs to fit in your Instant Pot.  This morning I used three regular sized mason jars and they fit like a dream right inside.  Pour one cup of water into the bottom of the Instant Pot.  Close the lid and turn the manual setting to 15 minutes.  That’s it.  Since the kids have been taking their theatre classes this week we’ve been packing lunches in the morning.  Today, before I took a shower, I put the mason jars inside – tomato soup and mashed potatoes in the jars.  (Hey, their choices.)  Then I just left the jars inside the Instant Pot until we were about ready to go – left them on the stay warm setting and then we just transferred the contents to their thermoses.  Easy-peasy.  No pot to clean.  Just added the jars to the dishwasher and away we went.

I’ve tried the same method earlier this week for a bowl of rice.  Just put the largest glass bowl that would fit inside my Instant Pot and did the same thing to reheat the rice.  It was so simple.  And it stays hot until you’re ready.

The friend who told me about it said she actually stacked her glass containers on top of one another.  Hers were square.  I don’t happen to have many square glass containers currently but I like that idea too.

 

 

faithful

 

I talked with the kids this week about our time management struggles and the increased need I have to put in a few more hours of work each week and looking for a place to fit that in.

Breakfast was one area suggested that the kids could take some responsibility and help out.  We divided the weekdays up – giving each kid one morning of the week – and they will be in charge of making breakfast that day.  I’ll have the menu and the materials in the house, but they’ll prepare and make and clean up breakfast on their morning.  I’ll be in charge of the weekends.

They were so sweet and cooperative, not a one of them complaining about having a day to be in charge of breakfast patrol.  I’m so thankful for big kids and their willing spirits.

Bergen took his job seriously this week and whipped up scrambled eggs with a side of apple cider donut.  That’ll do just fine, son.

 

 

feels

 

One of my favorite parts of parenting is watching my kids develop their own skills and talents.  Watching them take a streak of this and a touch of that and making it their own.  Watching genetics and environment, nature and nurture, chaos and kindness add up in their individual lives and in their hearts, in their mannerisms and in their talents.

I’m especially fond lately of London’s stick figures and tiny doodles that appear everywhere.  This one is in her Time Line that we keep for History.

 

 

 

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