What a lovely week this has been so far!
There’s
really something so nice when our kids are home from school, isn’t there? I
homeschooled my son until he was nine, and then I was pretty much counting down
the days until every single break, because he was so much fun to have at home.
My daughter has been a different story; it’s been clear from the beginning that
she learns better from other people, so homeschooling was never really an
option for her (believe me, if it were, I’d gladly keep her home right now!),
and I was thrilled for her to go off to kindergarten (and, uh, maybe learn some
of those behavioral skills she obviously wasn’t showing me she’d learned at
home! Her kindergarten teacher called her her ‘angel child’ and seemed shocked
when we told her that our daughter’s nickname at home was The Beast, haha). But
she’s grown and matured and we have so much fun together now on her days off. I’ve
had such a nice time with her this week!
Here's what I’ve
been up to so far!
Monday,
20 December, 2021
After coffee
and breakfast, I posted my Monday post, then posted my review for Children
Under Fire: An American Crisis by John Woodrow
Cox over at my book blog. I scooped the litterbox, loaded the
dishwasher, and tidied and swept the living room. I wiped off the stovetop, got
dressed in some cozy, at-home clothes, and my daughter and I tidied her room
and then sat down to read a few books on climate change. Last week’s heavy
winds and high temperatures had prompted her to ask what climate change was, so
I’d gone to the library and found some children’s books that explained both the
science of climate change and things that we (even kids!) can do to be better
to the earth. This has led to some great conversations between us, and I love
when her thoughtful side comes out.
I put several
sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot and cooked up some Soyrizo to go with dinner,
and I made a batch of Spanish
rice in the rice cooker. And then I made up what I called our ‘fancy lunch,’
and my daughter and I had lunch together. It’s just steamed sweet potatoes with
white beans, salsa, and a little cheese, but she absolutely loved it, and I
thought it was really good as well!
After lunch,
we worked on my Read Harder project for 30 minutes (I read my The Joy of
Sects by Peter Occhiogrosso; my daughter read a middle grade series novel.
I told her she had to help keep me on track when she was home, and she readily
agreed). My husband came home and we did 22 minutes of Pilates while my
daughter laughed at us and played on her Kindle.
Some days,
Pilates wears me OUT. I wanted to read, but ended up napping for a while
instead. When I got up, I took out the garbage, the recycling, and the compost,
and I hauled the cans to the curb. I prepared a batch of Garlic
Brussels Sprouts, leaving a few behind to steam in the Instant Pot, since
my daughter hadn’t liked the oven-roasted ones the last time I made them. I
unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, replaced the garbage bag, and played on
the computer while the Brussels sprouts roasted.
I stirred the
Soyrizo into the Spanish rice, and we had the Brussels sprouts on the side (and
of course my daughter liked the oven ones better this time!). This was a really
tasty dinner!
After dinner,
I did my Duolingo, showered, showered my daughter, and cleaned up the kitchen
and put dinner away. I read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of
Cold Case Files before bed.
Tuesday,
21 December, 2021
After
breakfast and coffee, I prepared a pot of Cauliflower Potato Soup in the
Instant Pot (no link; I adapted this from a cookbook, and it’s a family
favorite. One day, I’ll put up a post about it...). I loaded the dishwasher and
wiped down the counters, I posted my review of When
I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teens by Ken Krimstein on my book blog, and
then it was upstairs to read with my daughter! We read a bunch of books about
activism, about using your voice to point out what’s wrong, standing up for
what’s right, and the importance of taking action to make things better. All lessons
that I hope she’ll take far into the future!
We spent the
morning reading; after lunch, we returned back upstairs to my daughter’s room to
do our 30 minutes of Read Harder (I finished the section on Islam and began the
section on New Age religions). When the timer went off, I finished reading American
Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadowy History of Adoption by Gabrielle
Glaser. When my husband got home, we did 20 minutes of Pilates, and then I began
reading Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu (a
book I stumbled across at the library last week).
I blended the
soup and we ate dinner. I did my Duolingo, biked, showered, read, and put my
daughter to bed (we began reading Rad Girls Can: Stories of Bold, Brave, and
Brilliant Young Women by Kate Schatz). I read more of my book, and my
husband and I watched two episodes of Cold Case Files before bed.
Wednesday,
22 December, 2021
Even when my
daughter is off school, I’m still committed to doing my volunteer work, so after
breakfast and coffee, I set to work on an hour’s worth of work. My daughter,
meanwhile, started on a project I’d found earlier this week: the local grocery
co-op-to-be put out a call for coloring some pages for a local nursing home to
bring them some brightness and cheer, so I had my husband print them up. She
had gotten a few pages done by the time I was finished, so I grabbed some of
the tougher ones, that looked more like they came out of an adult coloring
book, and got to work. This took us all morning, but we were pretty pleased
with the results!
We got
dressed, packed up the pages, and drove across town to drop them off, then came
home so I could prepare some breakfast burritos for lunch. Afterwards, I
unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, swept the living room floor, finished
reading Brazen, and then it was time for 30 minutes of Read Harder.
When my
husband got home, I headed out the door; I stopped by Aldi (so busy, yikes! I
did buy a new set of flannel sheets, though!), the Dollar Tree, for wrapping
paper, and the library, to pick up a bunch of books. At home, I put the
groceries away and took out the compost, then sat down to write this post. I
wrote two book reviews, then chopped up mushrooms to put on the pizza I put in
the oven. (I love nights when I don’t have to cook!)
We had dinner
and I did my Duolingo. I showered (no biking or Pilates today; my arms and legs
were so sore from Tuesday!), put dinner away, and then dove into my next book, Challenging
Pregnancy: A Journey Through the Politics and Science of Healthcare in America
by Genevieve Grabman, from NetGalley. My daughter wanted me to put her to bed,
so I did that, and then it was more reading before watching two episodes of
Cold Case Files with my husband before bed.
And that’s it!
I’ll see you tomorrow for Friday links. Whatever your plans are, be safe about
them. Things are a little scary out there!
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