So one on one time has resulted in a lot of baking for Jonah and I.  Turns out he loves it.  That’s no big surprise.  The shocker is so do I.  We’re having a lot of fun in the midst of a little extra messiness, a few extra spills, and a little longer to get it done.  I’d say it’s worth it, most of the time.  But, all those yummy treats cannot, must not, be consumed by Just the Six of Us.  Cuz uh, that would not be such a good thing in the end.  So we happily shared- with the kids’ school teachers, some of their friends, and their…

And so begins my mad dash through all the rest of our summer happenings.  It was busy.  And SO MUCH FUN.  And I hope I can get through them all before Christmas.   First up: Science Camp. My dear friend Gwen suggested we get together one week of summer to do some science experiments/learning activities with our kids.  Because she’s a teacher and she’s great about educating her kids.  Never mind that I used to be a teacher.  I have no idea what happened to me.  Whatever.  She was full of suggestions of lesson plans, going through the scientific method, physics experiments, or quantum something or other… That’s about when my…

Short and to the point- this is a super easy version of sukiyaki that I initially learned from my mother-in-law and then added a simple dipping sauce to it.  Ponzu sauce, garlic sauce, or other dipping sauces would also be good with this.  Whatever floats your boat, as they say!  🙂 Start off with a nice selection of cut up veggies (I used baby bok choy, napa cabbage, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, and cubed firm tofu), thin sliced ribeye (or chicken or whatever meat you prefer), and sliced kamaboko (fish cake). Cooked right to order at the table on a portable burner (sorry for the wonky photo.  Bah.) A Tsai family…

Well.  The kids started school this week.  And this year, we as a family have decided to try them all (minus Jonah) in school.  And so far, they each have been loving it.  Thank you, Lord.  Which means, for the first time in several years, I actually have just one at home with me during the days.  It’s odd.  And delightful.  And weird.  And wonderful.  Oddly delightful while simultaneously being wonderfully weird. So I’m just getting back into the groove of hanging with a two-year-old and deciding how we want to spend this gift of time we’ve got together.  I’m excited about it.  Plus, he’s going down for two-hour naps…

Ever feel generally overwhelmed by life?  None of it is anything life-changingly major, but more like what feels like hundreds of little things pressing down on you so that you can’t decide which thing to take care of or where to start or when? That’s where I’ve been these last few weeks of summer.  Trying to get to most of the items on the “Summer To Do List” and hoping the kids won’t remember the things we didn’t get to in the midst of making mostly fun memories.  All the while knowing which kid will remember that we didn’t get to her summer scrapbook project.  And being unable to shake…