So Many Possibilities!

I'm very excited.

VERY.  VERY.  VERY.  Excited.

After half a year of "unschooling" Chaos, the Type A Mama in me couldn't resist fretting about his evaluation in April.  Doing the odd workbook isn't real school work.  Playing outside all day isn't school work.  Watching Phineas and Ferb reruns is DEFINITELY NOT school work.  So, I pulled up a list of "first grade skills" and began reading over it.  Whoa- what an eye opening experience!  Chaos has completed 2/3 of the list of skills.  (I honestly was worried that he'd even pass Kindergarten- he's so stubborn about doing anything schooling related.)  He's right on track, exactly where he needs to be.  The best part of this is that HE'S TEACHING HIMSELF.  Sure, I step in and offer a bit of guidance, but for the most part, my little mad scientist is learning what he wants to learn at his own pace. 

The Husbeastie and I talked it over, and Chaos will be starting some additional activities.  At the moment, he's involved with the local home school co-op (they have monthly events like PE, science, art, and volunteering and social opportunities) and Boy Scouts.  He's been asking to join 4H ever since we went to the County Fair last fall.  We're also starting him with jogging- that boy can run ALL DAY LONG.  I have a suspicion that he's a natural free-runner, but I'm not encouraging him to leap fences and cars.  (I already hear complaints about him and flower beds when he's tracking animal scat trails- EW!)  We're talking about swim classes but we're holding off on that until pneumonia season is over.

I love watching my bigger wee man play.  He's so creative (but don't let him know I said that!) even if he's horridly loud.  The kidlet has never heard of quiet play time.

I'm looking forward to the year ahead!

12 for 12- It's Not about Resolutions, it's about Results

Earlier this week I mentioned that I'd be changing twelve things each month.  Some of these things directly improve my or my family's life.  Some of these things indirectly change our lives.

January's Changes
   

• Swap to reusable grocery bags- I have a ton of these bags.  Sadly, I'm guilty of never having them at the moment I'm at the grocery store.  So, my goal is to get these in the van and start using them.
• Begin drinking diet sodas- Note the word "begin".  The plan this month is to swap some of the full sugar soda that I drink for sugar-free versions.  I'm thinking this will happen something along the lines of 1 sugar free soda for every 2 full-sugar sodas I drink.  I hope in later months to introduce more change.
• Write a bi-weekly menu- I do this often, but with fibromyalgia, I'm rarely certain which days I'll be able to stand long enough to cook a full meal.  So, I'm going to start writing a fibromyalgia based menu of meals that require minimal prep or prep than can be done sitting or broken into smaller sessions.
• Use lotion- I have the world's driest skin.  It breaks out in weird rashes and spots from being so dry.  I buy expensive lotion... and never use it.  That's a real waste of money and skin cells. 
• Zone Cleaning- I've tried FlyLady and I've got to say... it doesn't work for us.  (It assumes that the other members of the household CARE that the house is clean or dirty.)  However, zone cleaning has always worked well- I just stopped doing it when we moved because I took forever to unpack.  Now that I'm unpacked, Zone Cleaning will be restarted again.
• Establish a writing schedule- I've pared back from 60 hours of writing per week (mostly for others) to a manageable 2 hours per day.  I'm going to develop a better writing schedule and begin planning ahead.
• Eat Lunch-  I rarely eat anything I cook.  Even worse, I end up grabbing a soda for lunch and forgetting to eat until dinner.  So, in January, I will eat lunch.  Plain and simple.
• Brush my hair- I confess, I'm a clean person.  I shower daily (sometimes several times a day).  I always wear clean clothes.  But, yeah... most the time I don't have time to brush my hair.  It's longer than ever now and is such a pain to brush with all the curls and thickness.  Most days I can get away with it.  But, once in a while, I get a knot and then don't have the time to take care of it.  I wear a lot of buns and ponytails.  So, brushing my hair WILL happen.
• Use an alarm clock-  I wake up currently when the kids wake up.  I want to get back on a sleep schedule, though.  So, the alarm clock (which is unpacked) will be plugged in.
• Clear off the counter tops- I'm guilty of letting dishes dry on the rack overnight.  No more.  I will have clean counter tops every night.
• Label everything- This is huge for me.  I'm one of those weirdos that LOVE to label things.  I'm going to label as much as I can get away with before my Husband stops me.

More changes to come in February.

So, what changes are you  looking forward to in the New Year?

My Twist on A Figgy Pudding

     Thanks to Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb, children all over the US are becoming familiar with a most unusual holiday tradition: the Figgy Pudding.  Chaos must have asked me at least 5 times to make him a figgy pudding before I finally relented.

     When I saw Kitchen-Play's menu for the month, I knew exactly how I wanted my Figgy Pudding to taste- spicy, sweet, fruity, rich with a savory and salty bite.  Kitchen-Play is a site where each month a sponsor offers bloggers the opportunity to create a themed menu based off their products.  Then, the challenge goes out to food bloggers around the world to create your own version of their menu items for a change to win some fabulous prizes.  I'm such a food-geek anyway, this was right up my alley.  This month's sponsor of Kitchen Play is MySpiceSage.com- a spice emporium of the sort that makes my jaw drop and my taste buds drool.  Seriously, I've spent HOURS browsing their online shop and I'm trying to figure out where I'd put all the spices; after all, I can't live without most of them now that I know where to locate them!

     Inspired by the amuse bouche course of Spiced Cake Bites Topped with Cardamom Goat Cheese and Maple Bacon that was created by blogger Wasabi Prime, I give you Figgy Pudding Cake Balls.

Kind of looks like a little bird hunkering down.  Even on desserts I go kawaii!

Figgy Pudding Cake Balls with Cardamom Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients for the Pudding:
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup dried figs
peel from an orange
1/2 inch knob of peeled ginger1/2 cup dried apricots
1/4 cup dried currants
3 crispy strips of bacon, drained well 1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of pumpkin puree
3 eggs
3 1/2 cups of AP flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
pinch of salt
2 batches of Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients for Glaze:
4 oz of cream cheese
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 cups of icing sugar
1 egg white
1/4 tsp ground cardamom

 In a small sauce pan, combine the dried figs, orange peel, and ginger with the milk.  Place over low heat and bring to a simmer.  Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.  Strain, reserving milk for later.  Place ginger knob and orange peel into food processor and pulse until finely minced.  Add in figs, apricots, currants, and bacon and pulse in five second increments until diced.  (You do not want this to be mush!)  In a mixing bowl, combine sugars, molasses, syrup, vegetable oil, milk, eggs, and pumpkin.  Combine until smooth.  Add in flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and pepper and combine until smooth.  Stir in diced fruit and bacon.  Pour into a greased spring form pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour (or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.) Cool for thirty minutes before crumbling into small pieces.  Mix in glaze 2 tablespoons at a time and combine until the texture is like lumpy modeling clay.  Using a small scoop, portion out the Figgy Pudding into small "balls".  Chill or freeze balls for at least two hours before glazing.

To make the glaze, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add in the egg white.  Slowly mix in the powdered sugar and cardamom and mix until smooth.

Household Hint Wednesday: Portioning Soap

Every Wednesday, I'll bring you a simple tip to make your life a little easier.  Some of them are downright ingenious and others so basic you'll be slapping your forehead wondering why you haven't thought of it already.  (Or, maybe you have!)

My son HATES showers.  Being 6, I fully expect this phase to pass when he discovers dating, but until then, I tolerate all manner of excuses on why he "can't" take a shower.

His biggest excuse lately: I'm out of soap! 

My son, while detesting showers, loves BUBBLES.  He uses as much soap as possible to get as many bubbles as his brief stint in the shower allows.  I've watched as he's gone through an entire bottle of body wash in one bathing.  He just doesn't understand how much soap he's allowed to use.

The solution: A discarded medicine cup.  This holds about a tablespoon of soap.  He fills the lid with soap, then pours that onto his wash cloth for bathing.  Any soap left in the cup is his to play with AFTER he's clean.

Chaos is pleased with being able to bathe without maternal interference and I'm pleased that I don't have to turn into the Soap-Nazi.

Who Says Dinner Needs to be Complicated?

I love that I can toss together dinner in mere minutes.

Teriyaki Glazed Pork Chops, Broccoli tossed with Garlic-Ginger Oil and Furikake, Jasmine Rice with Quick Carrot Pickles

Total time to cook dinner: 35 Minutes.  (To be honest, it would have been less, but I was side-
tracked by kids.)