Monday, April 28, 2008

A Good Day

I've been feeling these last weeks rather keenly of late, due I think to the usual suspects: I need more time alone than I currently get; I'm homeschooling three lively extroverts; we're heading towards the end of the year; we follow a busy curriculum. I'm sure most of you know exactly what I mean, particularly those of you with more than a couple of kids. They seem to multiply their noises and needs exponentially, these groups of little people, and mine, while I love them dearly, are no exception. Not that I begrudge these factors, but round about this time of year they can be wearing, and I often find myself longing for the little things - more blog time, drinking my tea while it's still hot, not having to dash out the door to some activity or another at 6pm, or simply being able to stare blankly into space without the risk of having some little face poking into mine, asking for one of the following:

food
solace
clean underwear
protection
food
vengeance
TV time
food
conversation

You know. The usual roundelay of the SAHP...

But today was a pretty good day. I enjoyed myself. The kids enjoyed themselves. There was a minimum of squabbling, a maximum of benevolent behaviour, hardly any trails of crumbs under the table after the 16 sweet potato muffins had been consumed (recipe here), and the weather - ah, such weather! - was charmingly sunny and warm. We spent some time outside in the sunshine, me weeding while the kids climbed trees and emptied the water barrel all over an ancient Lego village (it was a watery grave this time for poor Pompeii). Max and I had an inspiring conversation around something that confused him in his Word Roots book (discussing the word civi, what a civics teacher does, what rights and duties we have here in Canada vs. those we'd have had if we'd stayed in the US). Dominic worked steadily through his reading work without a single wilt and managed his Robert Louis Stevenson poem quite admirably. And FDPG flitted from history to spelling to reading to drawing to reciting her own poem without a minute's hesitation. It was a day when I wanted to burst out into song. And wear underwear like this:

7 comments:

Maureen said...

Great underwear, Sheila!
The sweet potato muffins look yummy. Two questions. First, can you use yams instead? (We usually have yams on hand, rarely sweet potatoes) Second, how big is the sweet potato supposed to be? They range in size so much that I can't even guess.

sheila said...

Hey Maureen!

I'm greatly enjoying your blog, by the way.

Yes, you can use yams (actually, they're both technically the same thing unless you're getting those weird tubers from a Filipino market off Kingsway!).

I use the orange yams myself. They seem juicier than the yellow ones. I think the amount I used today was around 3 cups. And you want the batter to be relatively stiff, otherwise it can ooze around and drip everywhere.
Max says hi to Noah!

Sandylein said...

Oh, do I hear ya! I've re-heated my tea three times this morning--so far. The constant interruptions really take a toll on your brain. How I yearn for a room of my own where I can close the door.

According to my DK Pocket Encyclopedia of Cook's Ingredients, yams are a large tropical, white-fleshed tuber, native to Africa and Asia. The photo shows a root I've never seen before: big as a squash and covered with what looks like tree bark. Sweet potatoes come in two varieties: the red with sweet orange flesh and the white which is smaller and has a drier yellow flesh. We often use the names interchangeably, hence the confusion. I'm sure both would work admirably. I'll have to add your muffins to my sweet potato repertoire.

Heck, piano practice is over, so is my own time!

sheila said...

Sandylein! How did the house buying go? Are you back? Today is the anniversary of our Take Possession date - I'm trying to compile a blog post right now!

Yes, yams and sweet potatoes are all the same thing up here, although I remember seeing a few of the Real Yams (the kind Anansi likes) in those markets on Kingsway. I find the orange ones have a better moisture level though - the yellow ones tend to be dry. But I think you could use both interchangeably in a recipe. Sob, all this makes me miss Vancouver even more...

Now get thee to thy blog and let's see some shots of the new abode. I've been reading Super Happy Girl's blog - say hi to her for me.

Anonymous said...

Happy Good Day, and here's to many more :). Loved the list, especially "vengeance". Too true...

I'd settle for a CD of Simon & Garfunkle singing instead of the underpants, though lol.

I'm feeling the same way, but in my case this is the time of year when the extracurriculars threaten to eat my brain and I need time doing n*o*t*h*i*n*g*. Preferably in the garden. And the snow the other week didn't help.

I don't know if it's because we're in Canada, but by the time the nice weather rolls around, we're all ready for a loooooooong break from hs'ing. We're just not cut out for year-round schooling...

Nicola said...

Hi Sheila - we love Snoopy. My sister used to draw some great pictures of a dancing Snoopy when she was younger. And we're very nearly finished our reporting for this year - yay!

Rosezilla (Tracie Walker) said...

Just stopped in to say hello - love the underwear! As a newly "graduated" homeschool mom (well, at least my youngest graduated last spring, so for the first time in 20 years I am not home schooling), I just want to encourage you who are still at it. One day after eons, it will suddenly end. And it will have been SOOOOO worth it. And you'll have some time to yourself. Not much, but a little. Hang in there!