November 3, 2011

Outside Temp: 38 F (I feel cheated, since they promised snow for the next 24 hours, although it was 44 about 30 minutes ago)

What I cooked today:
Pork Chops and Pasta: At the old house, I had learned to make steaks and pork in my cast iron skillet, by heating it in the oven, searing the meat on the stove top and finishing it in a 500 degree oven.  But, in my new house, the first time I tried it, the oven heated to about 700 and the place was filled with smoke.  So, I've been a little hesitant to try it again (even though I have about 8 lbs of steak in my freezer, calling out to me). 

So, tonight, I thought I'd try it with pork, since I can't really over cook pork (too much) as opposed to steak, which everyone likes at an exact 120 degrees of medium rare.  I set the oven temp to 400-450, instead of going with the 500, since my oven runs pretty hot, and I checked (using my handy-dandy oven temp gauge) the temp every 5 minutes or so.  I pulled them out a few minutes early, but was able to just toss them back in and they turned out great.  I'm not sure if I'm psyched up enough to try steaks, but I feel a lot better about it than I did a month ago.  Perhaps I'm finally learning how to use my temperamental stove and oven!

Brownies: yes, from a box.  I think I was going through withdrawals from all the Halloween candy, so I needed something chocolate.  Of course, I forgot to pick up more milk at the store this week, so I need to make the last gallon last until Sunday.  I feel a little guilty while I poured myself a whole glass to go with my brownies, then told the kids they couldn't have any.  Okay, I secretly drank my milk while I was cutting the brownies and the kids didn't know.  I know, bad mom... :)

Update:
The kids had parent/teacher conferences today after school.  I was a little nervous, since I've been homeschooling the kids for 5 years now, and if I found out they were years behind, I'd have to feel pretty bad.  Fortunately, for me at least, they are all doing great! 

Allen is learning the ins and outs of a 'real' middle school, complete with 8 periods (with different classrooms and different teachers) and a locker and all the angst that comes with it.  The teachers said he was very bright and confident and was having no problem with the school work.  He WAS having a little trouble remembering to come to class prepared with paper and a pencil, but that didn't surprise me.   His science teacher said he sometimes started whistling in class, but he would stop once she brought it to his attention.  I laughed; he does that at home all the time.  He tested into Algebra 1 with no problem, which is amazing since he used to struggle with math.  And his History teacher said they have a 'Geography Bee' later in the year, in which he would probably like to participate.

Connor's teacher said he was a great writer (which I kind of already knew) and she could really hear his voice in his writing.  He'll be writing at least 2 articles for the class newspaper this month, including something on the Nutcracker performance they will be seeing at the end of the month.   He's a little irritated that he's being required to learn touch-typing instead of his 'hunt-n-peck', but he's dealing with it.  ( I think he expected me to tell his teacher that he didn't have to, since he was such a good typist, but I explained how important touch typing is, and he grumbled 'okay').

Katie's teacher thinks she's just wonderful, and she really just 'goes with the flow'.  She has had no problems making friends and becoming part of the 'group'.  She struggled with her first reading test, but once she understood how the test was formatted and designed, she did great!  Her second reading test she got an A.

Ryan's teacher talks to me every day, so there wasn't much to tell me.  She thinks he's a wonderful little boy and she's great with him.  We're working on recognizing letters and counting and other 'school' things.  I think he just likes playing with all the Kindergarten toys.  I mean, wouldn't you?

Everyone told me that my kids were a great addition to the school.  Billie, the lunch lady, made a point of telling me how pleasant my kids were at lunch, how polite and respectful.  I mean, I knew my kids were fabulous, but it's always nice to hear other people say it!

The boys have a game tomorrow in Winifred, and we've decided that we'll all go (even though it's a 2 hour drive there and a 2 hour drive back, ugh).  Assuming it's not snowing too much, it will be a pretty drive and we've never been to that part of the state.  Winifred is north-east of us, right off the Missouri river.  I think it's in a valley, with a population of about 150.  That's the average population size of most of the 'towns' around here.  I love it!  I'll try to get some pictures of the trip, assuming Patrick lets me stop and take a few.  I'm sure there will be plenty with fresh snow!