Possibilities

Today, my oldest was thrilled to get an A on his art project.  He worked hard on it, and his teacher gave him a great eval which made him smile.   Those kind of moments make me both proud and happy.   He had to make up his own comic book character and describe it, and then draw the character.   But Clay decided he wanted to also do a comic, so he worked several hours above and beyond his regular schooling and over the weekend to do it.   And he had fun.  He never considered school fun before, at least not since we moved to Nevada.

Not bad for an 11 year old.  

But with Connections, it's less rigid.  The curriculum isn't less by any means, but when I see that he's getting stressed, we can take a break.  When he has a question, we talk about it.   We work through problems.   No more coming home with sheets of problems to work through and no instruction.  I can look up any lesson he's taking and know exactly what he's supposed to be learning.   There's learning coach guides to tell me what we can discuss and what he should know.  

Sometimes, with two, it gets hectic; both want/need help at the same time.  Sometimes the youngest decides to start talking about his lesson and it distracts his brother.   Sometimes I'll be asking Clay questions about his lesson and Ethan will answer.  

But they are learning.  With Connections, there's alot of writing, and note taking, and journals.   Something my oldest isn't keen on.   Writing.    For me, that's almost as natural as breathing.  I was telling stories before I could write, and writing them when I discovered the magic of putting words on paper.   But everyone starts somewhere.   And we'll get there.    The truth is, the most important part is learning.   So if he wants to make a science comic to help him remember what he's learning, that's cool with me.  

Sometimes, however, it feels like there's not enough hours in the day!   Today was hectic because I had to take the dog to the vet.   Our big, 150 lb. mastiff.   In addition to needing shots, she kept shaking her head and her ears looked dirty.  Turns out, she had an ear infection, so there was the additional ear flush and medication, and I left the vet $200 poorer.   She was oblivious to my financial pain, and was quite determined to meet the Daschund in the waiting room (who did not share her sentiments and, likely alarmed by her sheer mass, was growling a warning). We managed to get out of the office without her ripping my arm off in her attempts to meet another dog, and got home, had lunch, and then it was back to lessons.  

Since I'm busy helping them with school during the day, I try to think about what I want for supper the day before.   So tonight we had vegan jambalaya and it was amazing.   Yesterday, I'd made the seitan andouille sausage, and today was a simple matter of throwing it all in a pot and having some yummy Cajun vegan goodness.   It was amazing.   I believe I had seconds.   My children at every thing on their plate (unheard of in this house), and even hubby, an avowed Carnivore, ate it up, and had seconds.   And had second seconds later at 10 PM when he felt peckish.

Vegan Jambalaya with Spicy Andouille Seitan Sausage

I also tried out some new things.   I made vegan butter yesterday, which tastes amazing, and today I made some vegan mayonnaise.   The secret to making it blew my mind: Aquafaba, or, in the vegan world, the liquid left over from cooked beans.  It has the consistency of egg, and is thus used in recipes where egg is normally used.   So today, I tried it in a vegan mayo recipe and was astounded by how close it tasted like mayo.  Literally could not tell the difference.   Although the recipe I used called for chickpeas, I used liquid from some white beans, which was thick and goopy, just like real egg, and worked very well.  

Here is the recipe for the Vegan Mayonnaise I found.   

I also plan on making some lasagna tomorrow but needed some Vegan ricotta and most importantly, mozzarella cheese.   I found some melty, gooey goodness in this Melty Gooey Mozzarella Recipe, and it was approved by my 8 year old.  

So we were kinda busy tonight!   

Vegan Mayonnaise and Vegan butter.

It feels incredibly good to put food that I made myself on the table, and for that food to be delicious.  For a long time, I thought being Vegan meant missing out, but now that I've tried it, I'm finding that you don't have to compromise at all.  There's a little more work involved, but it's healthier, and certainly cheaper than buying the store bought version.   

Both the boys completed their 5 day vegan challenge easily, and Clay extended it to a 7 day challenge.   Ethan decided that he "can't live without milk", so declared he could be vegetarian, but not vegan, although he could eat vegan cheeses.  Clay has adapted  quite well.  He likes Rice milk best.   We shall see.  The whole point to this diet change is teaching kindness, and so if they only give up meat, that's a huge step.  And one made at a far younger age than I did.   And if they don't give up meat, well, this was a learning experience for them.   It will set a basis for thinking about what they eat in the future.  Life is about choices.  We must make our own choices.   If someone makes them for us, they are basically meaningless.  We need to know WHY we choose to do what we do.  If they choose to give up meat, I want it to be their decision.  I want them to understand and know why they choose to eat a plant based diet.  Not just that they were "forced" into it.  

I'm proud of both of them.   That is the best thing about parenting.  Pride in the wonderful human beings that you are raising and watching them grow and learn and mature.   Watching them make choices, and seeing how they view life.   Seeing how precious and unique and wonderful they both are.  

Parenting can be hard, sometimes, but it is an amazing journey.   I wouldn't trade it for anything.   Life is a classroom.  There's always something to learn, if we're open to learning.  We only have to be paying attention.   My kids have taught me more than anything I could have read in a book.   I  look forward to the new things we both learn each day on this journey called life.   Homeschooling is not something I ever in a million years saw myself doing, but here I am, and we are all thriving.  

Life is good.  Life is plentiful.   And the possibilities are endless.