Sunrise!

Nathan's picutre

A few days ago I blogged about using masking fluid during a watercolor art project.  You can find complete instructions for this method here:  A Day in the Life + Watercolor.  It was a fun project and we learned how it can be used to highlight areas in the medium of watercolors.  Our final result does not show these "highlighted areas" because we choose to paint them with colors.  It was nice to have my children go though a multi-step process before they get to see their final result.  They looked forward to finishing them today!  Here are some more pictures:

Trevor removing the masking fluid with a white eraser.

Trevor's picture

All of our pictures!

Eat the Rainbow (and I DON'T mean skittles!)

Shrimp and Vegetable Lo Mein

I see GREEN, ORANGE, RED, YELLOW and WHITE!  Lately I have been working at increasing my fruit and vegetable intake.  At first, I tried juicing.  Let me be the first person to say that fresh squeezed fruit juice in the morning is perfect!  Unfortunately it is loaded with calories.  So, I am currently trying to decrease the calories in my morning fruit drink.  I also tried juicing veggies.  Yuck.  Not for me.  Some people can do the v8-style thing, but am not one of those people.  I like the taste of most vegetables, but I just don't like them in a pile on the side of my plate.  I prefer them mixed into the entree.  Which leads me to tonight's Weight Watchers dish:  Shrimp and Vegetable Lo Mein.  Serving Size is 1-3/4 cup and worth 6 points plus.  I got this recipe off the WW website.


Ingredients

• 8 oz uncooked spaghetti
• 8 oz uncooked shrimp, large, peeled and deveined
• 6 medium uncooked scallions, thinly cut
• 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp peanut oil (I substituted canola oil because of peanut allergies)
• 4 cloves (medium) garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ginger root, minced
• 1 cup uncooked carrots, julienned
• 6 oz snow peas, chopped
• 1/2 medium sweet red pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup uncooked bamboo shoots, sliced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Two minutes before it's done, add shrimp.
2. Drain cooked spaghetti and shrimp in a colander with scallions in it.  Place mixture in large bowl and toss with sesame oil.  
3. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and set aside.
4. In the spaghetti pot, heat peanut oil over high heat.  Add garlic and ginger.  Cook, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
5. Add carrot, pea pods, pepper and bamboo shoots.  Cook, stirring frequently, until just tender.
6. Add sauce ingredients, stirring to mix.  Add cornstarch mixture and bring to boil.  
7. Toss vegetable mixture with spaghetti and serve immediately. 

Yoda's Corner

Do or do not.

There is no try.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

1. Darn wagon, I fell off on Saturday.  I had sugar.  The funny thing is, it didn't taste very good.  I gave the remaining portion of my candy bar to Mark.  However, I really DID love the pretzel salad that was loaded with sugar.
2. Today I am back on track with no sugar.
3. I have tracked points all day (WW).
4. I did a 30-minute rundown on the treadmill.
5. We cleaned the house, which makes it much easier for me to stay on track during our homeschool day.  If my environment is organized, then my thoughts are also organized.  
6. I am reading a great, but heavy book.  Reading is just for me, and I am glad that I took the time to do it over the weekend.  It is also a movie starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.

May the force be with you.

A Day in the Life + Watercolor

Trevor almost made it to his drum lesson on Tuesday.  We literally were two houses away, when he said "I think I am going to throw up!"  That is every parent's nightmare.  Quick!  Pull over! Get out, get out, get out (of my car)!  He says "Why mom?  I don't want anyone to see me!"  Trevor, you CANNOT puke in my car!  So, he gets out, and does not do a thing.  Whew.  We head back home, and he takes the next two days off school.

Since Trevor was still feeling ill today, Nathan and I did school on our own.  He is a really great writer.  He is currently working on a persuasive essay which he entitled Electrify the Street.  It is about his stance of increasing the number of electric cars in use and decrease gas powered cars.  That took us a couple hours to get through, but it looks great for his first draft!  Math, Nathan's least favorite subject, has nothing interesting to report.

The most exciting part of the day was WATERCOLORS!  We painted using a masking fluid.  Rubber cement works. There are more expensive "official art supplies" that you can get that probably work even better.  Below are the pictures so far.  We hope to finish them sometime next week.

This one is mine.

Step 1:  Sketch a picture on watercolor paper.

Step 2:  "Paint" the masking fluid on the areas of your picture that you want to keep white (you can paint these areas later if you wish).

Step 3:  Let the fluid dry completely.  I directed a fan at ours until they were dry.  It took a couple hours.

Step 4:  Paint your picture using watercolors.  You can paint right over the masking fluid.  I did it here.  You can see the beading.  It will come off in step 6.

Step 5:  Let the paint dry completely.  This was much faster.  It took about 30-45 minutes with a fan.

Step 6:  Use a WHITE eraser (the pink eraser will leave color on the paper) and gently rub off the rubber cement.  See below: (excuse the sideways picture, blogger does not like my rotated one for some reason).

Nathan's is the one with rolling hills.

Step 7:  (YET TO BE COMPLETED)  Paint the white area and let dry!

We had a great time doing this.  Nathan and I chose a sunrise because it is a simple way to experiment with the masking technique.  If you are interested, search on you tube.  There are much more advanced uses to see there.

Yoda's Corner
Do or do not.
There is no try.

1. I still have not had any sugar!  Today is day 4!  Slight ice cream craving successfully avoided.
2. I went to karate class last night, and survived!
3. I got on the treadmill today, even when I REALLY did not want to do it. 
4. I practiced Chon-Ji Kata with Nathan.  He really loves it when we do karate together.  

May the force be with you.

The Beauty of Homeschooling

Before our Christmas break, the boys were starting to be less content with our current structure of school.  At first I chalked it up to the pre-holiday brain mush that happens to kids.  After returning to our routine, I realized that it may be the way we are doing things.  They seemed to feel school was a chore, rather than a fun and exciting experience.  We were sort of following a traditional school environment, just in the home.  We hit up several subjects for a short time during one school day.  The boys seemed stressed by the long list in my plan book.  I decided to try things a little differently today.  We did some core subjects (reading, math, writing for Trevor because he is still learning letter formation).  Then we took about 4 hours and devoted it just to science.  We did both levels, K-1 for Trevor and grade 4 for Nathan.  Part of the time was spent reading aloud.  Nathan helped Trevor read words that are still new to him.  We completed experiments with magnets (K-1) and potential and kinetic energy (grade 4).  They drew pictures or wrote sentences to document their results.  To conclude the day, they both practiced their instruments, and exercised, a daily requirement at the Ashby Academy.  I think the day went better.  I know the boys enjoyed themselves.  School was "fun" according to Nathan.  He even gave me a hug for the change.

Yoda Corner
Do or do not.
There is no try.

1. I changed our format of school.  It was a success!
2. I did slow kicks and push-ups with Nathan.
3. I practiced my karate techniques.
4. I did a 30 minute run-down on the treadmill.
5. I attended karate class.
6. I went grocery shopping and did not buy any sweets.
7. I made the kids realize that we are serious about the no-sweets in our house (expect once in a while).  They started to choose fruit on their own.

May the force be with you.

Do or do not. There is no try. -Yoda

Yoda was onto something when he said "Do or do not.  There is no try."  Trying indicates possible failure.  I was recently listening to a podcast of Jillian Michaels.  She said she hated the word "try".  You either DO IT, or you DON'T.  So, to avoid vision of Jillian yelling at me, I DID several things today. 

1. I threw out all the left over sweets from the holidays and my birthday.  I had Mark hide the oreos and 100 calorie chocolate covered pretzels.  The No Sugar Mission has officially begun for the Ashby house.  I predict that Mark and Nathan will not struggle with this as much as Trevor and I.  Sugar is the dark side.  I will beat it with the force within me.  
2. Exercise.  I did my slow kicks for my karate class (snap and side), push-ups, crunches and leg raisers.  I also practiced my techniques.  
3. I did a 30 minutes "run-down" on the treadmill, as suggested by The Biggest Loser runner-up and ex-NFL champion Antone Davis.  It consisted of a 2-3 minute warm-up, then walk briskly for 1 minute, run for 1 minute, walk for 2 minutes, run for 2 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, run for 3 minutes, then repeat the sequence in reverse order.  Cool down and stretch.  
4. I went to lunch with my best friend.  I made a point to save 1/2 for dinner tonight.  We went to a movie, and I did NOT order anything to eat or drink.  

From now on, I will conclude my blog with Yoda Corner.  A place to list what I did that is actively working toward my personal goals of health, homeschool, fitness and family.

May the force be with you. 

SAHHM - Stay At Home Homeschooling Mom

I have tried this before.  Being home, I mean.  When my youngest son was born in 2005, I took a year off from being a pediatric occupational therapist.  At that time Nathan, my oldest, was almost 4 years old and had not started school yet.  You would think that I would have loved it.  Being a mom full time.  I didn't.  I missed working.  So, I went back.  Fast forward to fall of 2009.  Nathan was in second grade at one of the best elementary schools in our county.  He had been deemed gifted and was easily excelling in school, but he as unhappy.  After several weeks of discussion with my husband Mark, and Nathan, we concluded to try homeschooling.  My best friend homeschools her children, and her children were (and still are) doing very well.  It may just be the solution we were looking for, for Nathan.  It was to be a temporary fix for his mental health, knowing that he could go back when he felt ready.  It became obvious that homeschooling was the perfect for Nathan.  He was thriving on an educational level, and so much happier!  Now it is 2012.  Nathan has been homeschooling ever since.  He is in the 4th grade.  Before now, Mark and I shared the responsibility of teaching.  Since Mark works from home, he was able to do some of the teaching while I worked part time as a therapist.  The 2011-2012 school year brought a new challenge though.  Trevor was ready to start school.  Starting from scratch with a child takes intensive one-on-one interaction until independent reading an writing is achieved.  Our previous scenario of shared teaching between Mark an I was no longer going to work.  Mark was not able to spend that much time away from his work.  We decided that I should stay home.  Here I am.  Home.  I have a new title:  SAHHM.  I am so proud of that title, yet I am afraid of the feelings it brings. A feeling of being unsettled, or out of balance.  It is time to find a new balance.  A new Yin for the Yang in my life.