All Saints...

Our trip to the Pumpkin Patch and Archangels Gabriel (aka Big P) and Michael (aka little p). Don't they look angelic? My favorite part was we videotape all the children and ask them to tell us about what saint they are and a little bit about the saint. little p managed to say, "I Michael" and that was about it. Pretty good for 2. Big P talked a bit about Archangel Gabriel (he flies and he's God's messenger, etc.) and then, at the end of his video time he let out an extremely loud burp! Now, I know that he can't make himself burp but this could have been controlled better. Even better than the burp? They played the video at the end of the party and everyone got to hear Big P's burp. A lot of laughs...

Salt Shaker Philosophy

Last Thursday was a "bad" day... you know, one of those days where six different things happen and if each of those things had happened over a couple of weeks, I would have been able to "handle" it in a much better way. But, no, as my mom says (and the Morton Salt girl), "When it rains, it pours." That was one of those days. I am feeling better now (two of those things were taken care of over the weekend). One of those things I have to just accept. One was annoying. One is a wait and see. And one has no solution. That one is that my bike was stolen off our back porch. Yes, we have a fenced in backyard but I didn't lock my bike up. And the funny thing is that they didn't touch DH's bike or Big P's bike. Just mine. I am glad they didn't take DH's bike as he uses it to commute to work (but, as far as value goes, his is worth more than mine). It's just annoying that this has happened. I spent Thursday morning cleaning out our garden beds and filling our yard debris recyle bin. I needed a "healthy" outlet for my frustration at these circumstances. I think I did ok:)

Good things: I had a conference (yes, it's that time of year) with Big P's teacher. He is doing well. I started watching a baby girl last week (two days a week). We went to the pumpkin patch with yiayia on Saturday. Is it just me or are pumpkin patches (and Christmas Tree farms) becoming so gimmicky?

Picture: Little P painting.

Anyway, here is dinner from last night... it was yummy!
Beef Stefatho
2 lbs lean beef (I used a roast that I cut up into big pieces)
1 med. onion cut into big chunks
1/4 tsp. ground clove
1/4 tsp. allspice
2 bay leaves
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
4 Tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cloves garlic

So I did this in the crock pot. The recipe calls for simmering it in a deep sauce pan for 2 hours but I just put everything, in order, in my crock pot and cooked it for 10 hours. Then, I served it over Gluten Free noodles (ancient harvest brand). Yummy!

Menu for this week:
Mon: beef stefatho
Tues: leftovers
wed: baked lentils and rice
Thurs: grilled cheese and tom. soup (we have swim lessons and I have a meeting at school)
Fri: veggie soup in crock pot
sat: salmon with red potatoes and salad

UPDATE: Me feeling sorry for myself is just plain dumb. There are others who have to work with bigger problems than I have... please keep my sister, Katherine, and her family in your prayers. They have a lot going on right now...

Witness to one of those great moments in life...

This past August, when we went to the Oregon Coast with my sister, her children, and my mom, Big P saw his cousins (age 8 and 6) reading. He had, prior to this, never expressed and interest in reading. Mainly, he would just say things like, "someday,when I read...".

A while back, my sister let us borrow the Bob books. These are a series of books developed by a Kindergarten teacher on how to read. After speaking with Big P's teacher (this was back in March or April), she suggested we hold off on trying to teach him to read until he showed interest. I knew it would happen, at some point. And that little trip to the coast seemed to be the little push he needed. Since that trip, he has asked for me to teach him to read. Please, teach me to read. But these past few weeks have been kind of hectic with the start of school. And so, today, we read Book 1 of Series 1 of the Bob books. He sounded out the letters by himself. Said the words. And read the very short sentences. All by himself. I was just there to remind him to go slow or to start again when the sounds were just not coming out exactly right. I was there to just sit, listen and be a witness to a new world opening up for my little boy. And the pride of accomplishment when we finished! He had to call papa at work (yes, he is at work on a Saturday afternoon:( and Yiayia and Pappous to tell them that he can now read.

We are all avid readers and I am so excited to enter into this new phase of his life!