Lionden Landing

I tried this new recipe for Shabbat this past week.  It was a long process because I needed to make the caramel sauce from scratch tso it would be parve. There may be a commerical parve caramel sauce but if so I have never found it.   I use this recipe for the sauce.  I have used it before and love it. Unfortunately this time I cooked it a bit too long this time which made it hard to swirl through batter.  You can see where the caramel stuck to the bottom of the pan where I baked it because it was not swirled well. The finished product turned out pretty well.  I loved it and even went back for seconds which is very rare or me.  Abba liked it as well and has been munching the leftovers all week.

We are working on senses this week for science.  Froggy is used to all sorts of the standard vision games and activities due to the problems with her eyes.  So we wanted to do experiment with color vision.  We had a friend over and we all took turns trying to distinguish colors in a dimly lit room.     We used just a standard box of colored pencils and wrote with that pencil the color we thought it was.   These are our results.

Monday - Orange Chicken, Rice and broccoli Tuesday - Pizza and salad Wednesday - out with friends Thursday - Chana Dal, Naan and broccoli Shabbat Dinner is extra fancy this week because we are having special guests Sangria ,  Challah,  gefilte fish loaf,  matza ball soup,  yummy store bought salad mix,  apricot chicken,   roasted root veggies,   borekahs,  chocolate caramel tart blueberry coffee cake Shabbat luncheon -at shul Dinner after havdalah - Stuffed peppers

This will forever forward be a special parsha for me.  I read the first aliyah at Mincha this past Shabbat. This was a terrifying, yet very awe-inspiring moment.  I know several of my friends feel that it is inappropriate for women to participate in services.  I disagree. This past April, a good friend of mine asked me to read at the Bar Mitzvah of her oldest.  I had to decline due to a lack of skill.  It was sad not to be able to share in the joy and specialness of the day like that.  I made a promise to myself never to be in that position again.  Studying parsha is good and interesting.  Listening to being read on Shabbos morning is special. But actually being up there reading it myself from the sacred parchment was so much more spiritual. To me it marked a change in my relationship to HaShem in a similar manner as becoming Bat Mitzvah did.

We had three snow days this past week.  We used that time to start working on Froggy's valentines for her friends.  We got the design from here To start the adventure, we made homemade glitter glue.   It was super easy  and made tons as you can see. Then we added the glitter.  Froggy picked the colors from the wonderful stash Grandma gave her.  While the glue cooled, Froggy cut out all the hearts,  We used cardstock but construction paper would also work. Then she used one of our tiny cookie cutters to dip in the glue and stamp on the hearts

With the introduction of OT twice a week, we have been forced to change up our schedule.  I am using this opportunity to try to create a new rhythm to our days and our week.  Froggy needs time to practice the skills she working on in OT as well as work on some other very important non-academic learning. Daily Rhythm Wake Up (roughly 8am) Get Dressed Morning Prayers Breakfast, Parsha Time and Telling Back OT break - play one or more (time depending) of the games assigned Major Outing  (Starts roughly 10am - ends by dinner if we are lucky) School part 2 in the car Lunch is a picnic Dinner OT break - play a different OT Game Grace and Courtesy excersize Bedtime Weekly Rhythm Sunday - We don't get to follow our regular daily rhythm as religous school starts at 9.  We are lucky if we are home by 6:30pm. Monday - 4H - one of our easier days of the week - introduce our new grace and courtesy topic for the week Tuesday - OT / Ice Skating / Religiou...

 Last week, I over planned our food and we ended up eating many leftovers and not cooking as much as I had thought.  The stuffed squash was a lose and will not be repeated.  The peppermint patties were fun to make and delicious to eat.  We did not get to the sesame chicken so it is on our menu again.  It is a short week for us as we head out of town early Thursday morning.  Sunday -  Tacos, yellow rice and beans and carrot sticks. Monday - Pizza and salad (sauce is already in the fridge) Tuesday - Honey Sesame Chicken, Rice and Broccoli Wednesday - leftovers (clean out the fridge) Food for the road- Cinnamon Rolls Truffles Chocolate Chip Cookies Cheese and crackers pretzels trail mix (need to make more)

We played a new game, Last Night on Earth ,  this past Shabbos.  It was recommended by a friend with a great track record for picking good games.  Based soley off of her description of the game, I ordered it.  It is a team-based strategy game. In that respect it is different than any other game we own.  From the manufacturer, "Last Night on Earth The Zombie Game is a fast-paced game of brain-eating zombies, small town heroes and horror movie action. Players take on the role of either the heroes, working together to make it through the night or the zombies, unending waves of undead spreading over the town like a plague. Featuring a modular board, eight heroes to choose from and several different scenarios to play that drastically change the game. Last Night on Earth is designed to create a cinematic feel as the story and game unfolds." We played the three girls against Abba.  The girls played the humans while Abba controlled the zombies.  I...

It has been a delightful break but it is time to get back to work.  Froggy and I both kick the schedule back into high gear this week.  Her new term of extracurriculars starts this week as well we have added Occupational Therapy twice a week.  And I start back to work.  Luckily my evening class is over leaving me gone during dinner only twice a week. Monday- Stuffed Acorn Squash and Salad Tuesday -  Soup and Fresh bread Wednesday - Honey Sesame Chicken, Rice, peas Thursday -Tacos, rice, beans, carrot sticks Shabbat - Challah (using a new recipe from Artisan Breads - the same basic dough I will use for the sticky buns) Gefilte Fish Loaf (already in the freezer), Tomato Spinach Soup, Apricot Chicken, Broccoli, Wild Rice Pilaf, Peppermint Patties , molasses cookies and pecan sticky rolls . * People have asked what kind of salad we have and why we eat salad so often.  The answer is very simple.  It is just a basic chopped salad of mixed veget...

Each term, we choose a person from our focus time period to study further.  Froggy loves delving further into one of people in our history books.  She feels it really brings them to life.  One of our favorite biographical author is Diane Stanley .  Right now we are reading, The Good Queen Bess.  We have also read Joan of Arc and Michelangelo .  Later this year we will also read The Bard of  Avon.  We have read biographies by other authors and they just do not have the long term impact as Ms. Stanley's books.  I believe the key to the enjoyment of these books is the glorious illustrations.  They make the story more alive and captivating.  But beautiful illustrations would not compensate for a poor story.  These books have both.  I strongly recommend these books over other biographies whenever possible.  My only complaint is that there are too few to choose from.

After learning about the composition of the blood, Froggy followed it on its path through the heart.  She investigated the valves and looked at the differences in the muscles.