this is your brain. this is your brain on spongebob.

i made indian food for dinner last night...

chickpea curry
flatbreads stuffed with spicy potatoes
basmati rice
green beans

the curry was good...very spicy...i made the flatbreads and cooked them on a cast iron skillet...they were good, but i think they would be better with a bit more cooking time and eaten hot off the skillet...which is hard to do when you're making a bunch to accompany dinner...

i can't make rice to save my life...i don't know if it's my stove or what...but i can't make rice...and i've tried soooo many different methods...the only time it EVER turns out, is when i make hoppin' john on new year's day...and then i think it's because it's baked in the oven...plus there's the bacon...everything's better with bacon...

so, the rice was *okay* if you like it a bit *nutty* (read: undercooked) but i HAVE to get a rice cooker...the green beans were plain, just the way the boybarians like them...

tonight i'm making a pasta dish from a cookbook i've had for awhile...i haven't made anything from it yet, so tonight's the test...

penne with ricotta, orange, and rosemary
fennel and raddichio salad

it sounds like an interesting combination...the zest of the orange is used, and the rosemary is fresh...i have half a bulb of fennel and some raddichio left so another salad it is...but i'm getting balsamic at the store today so i think it will be even better this time...

i've been working on our curriculum for the official start to school in the fall...it's going to be a lot more one on one involvement than we've had in the past...generally, i give the lesson and with most things the duke then works independently...

our new curriculum is more intense...adding another language will be challenging at first, so will the new writing program...but i think once we get into a groove it will be smooth sailing...and since we will be working together much more, we can focus on the bitchy banter we sometimes engage in rather than all the work in front of us...

ah, the hormonal build up to full blown adolescence...there's just nothing like it in the world...

and that's just for me!...ha ha ha ha hmm...

wingman will still continue to go to the little school through the woods next door and starts in two weeks...he'll be a kindergartner and will go in the afternoon...he is very very excited and can't wait!...

some of you have wondered why i don't start homeschooling right away...well, the woman who runs the school next door is such a great teacher for his age group...very very patient and understanding...

patience is something i lack, for sure...though i'm certain i could have done pre-school and kindergarten with them, i am totally grateful for her and the opportunity she has provided...she's been a great influence on my boys' education and their eagerness to learn...

plus, i think it's important to learn to sit quietly in a circle and wait your turn with a bunch of other kids...i think if you learn those skills early on, you're ready for pretty much anything...

i never went to pre-school...i can't sit quietly in a circle to save my life and i hate to share...

the thing is though, we've been used to wingman being gone in the mornings...so it will be an adjustment in terms of being a distraction...not because he actively bothers the duke, just that the two of them in the same space generally spells trouble...

i'm definitely going to have to engage him in some lessons/projects that he can work on with limited assistance...i'd just have the duke do his schoolwork when wingman's gone in the afternoon, but i've found that afternoon is mush time in terms of brainpower...tackling math and latin and writing is better done in the morning...

his brain in the afternoon is not so much a sponge as it is a spongebob...emphasis on the bob...

right then...now that i've got the next few months sorted out i just have to figure out how to get through the rest of the day...

x.