How was your weekend?

Mine was fabulous and peaceful and drama-free. Finally! And I’m thankful. I have to confess that when Friday comes, I can feel my stress-o-meter rise slowly and for months, I really didn’t know why. And I didn’t know how to make the stress go away. And then I realized that I was getting stressed out because I was worrying about how to meet my husband’s expectations of how the weekend is supposed to go and then how to weave that with MY expectations of how the weekend is supposed to go and I somehow got it in my head that it’s all up to me to make that all work.

Whew. Even reading that just made me feel super exhausted.

Yes, yes, I am learning.

To only own what I’m responsible for.

And this weekend, I took responsibility. I got clear on what I want out of the weekend for myself, how I want to feel when I am with family and let the rest fall into place naturally. And it was grand. We enjoyed ourselves, I enjoyed some me-time and we even had a few  sexy stolen moments as a couple. Oh yeah. That’s what I’m talking about. (Are you blushing yet? Good.)

So yes. Back to Week-Crafting.

Starting with breakfast.

Here’s what I’m thinking: how can I make it a more…delicious experience? I love to start the day nourished. So I usually do my fresh green juice routine (consisting of kale-cucumber-celery-brocolli-apple combo) while I make my daughter something hearty she would enjoy. And then I make myself eggs, more kale, sweet potatoes and some sausage if I’m feeling indulgent. My daughter usually has oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich of sorts along with a green smoothie and a bacon or some protein. She occasionally  asks for kale. And I want to up that. I really want to have a green veggie for her at every meal. And I’m inspired by this Breakfast Salad  (except I think I’ll put in either kale or some wilted spinach), this Kale-Goat Cheese Frittata combo and…this crazy idea of Sardines for Breakfast (anyone with me on that?) And I think  Zucchini Cakes from Smitten Kitchen counts for veggies right? (Except I’m gonna use spelt and replace sugar with honey. I’m back to cutting down on gluten  if I can help it.)

Now onward with Lunch…

I’m in love with butternut squash but unfortunately my husband isn’t so I think I’ll be having this Butternut Squash Sauce Pasta (with Rice Noodles) for lunch (and I plan on drizzling it with bacon and maybe with a side of greens.) This Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Almonds is also looking super appetizing. One of my easy-go-to protein for lunch is usually smoked salmon or canned salmon – super quick and easy. So I found this Salmon Cakes with Mango recipe that I can’t wait to try (and I think I will add cilantro.)

…and some Dinner Inspiration

So I haven’t successful cooked Brussels Sprouts in a way that will make my 4 year old fall in love with these green veggies the way she loves kale. So I googled “Brussels Sprouts that kids love”  and found this recipe (with Bacons and Raisins!). I’m thinking of trying it with this Mushroom Garlic PorkChops. And this Barley-Kale-Quinoa-Sausage soup looks amazing. I don’t think I’ve cooked with Barley before and I picked some up this week. Yay! I’m also craving for this Asian Wrap with Ground Beef and Lettuce and maybe try this Munggo Dish that I grew up with minus the shrimp and the beef cube (blech).

And Snacks & Treats of course!!!

Okay so it’s not summer but I want to either make this Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Gluten Free or these Strawberry Brownies. Which one should I try? And I am hoping to try these Rice flour crackers which we love to eat with salami and cheese. And these Avocado-White Bean hummus for dipping carrots and celery. Yes?

Oh, and this Fermented Beets with Ginger and Orange sounds really yummy. Except I don’t have a vegetable starter culture so we’ll see.

(Now I kinda want to say that I want to make a chocolate cake for a certain someone whose birthday is in two days but I might be in violation of said person’s privacy. So you didn’t hear it from me.)

So enough about food. I talk about food too much.

Let’s talk about unschooling.

This week, my intention for my time with Naomi is pretty simple: lots of time doing things with our hands, making art, listening/singing to songs & stories and being outside. We did awesome this last week or so making new friends and  I don’t feel so worried anymore about that. Despite living in the Seattle Chill, there are people out there willing to make space for new friends in their lives. Awesome.

I am worried a little about my free-styling ways. I’m always trying to establish rhythm in our home but I find that for me, everything is always subject to change. I’m consistently changing stuff and switching things up. So I’m still on the lookout for a rhythm and a routine that works great for us. I borrowed The Book of New Family Traditions: How to Create Great Rituals for Holidays and Every Day hoping it will help me some. We’ll see.

I want to do a science experiment this week to make me feel like a freakin’amazing mom (plus maybe she will enjoy it too) so this little activity might be fun. If I’m feeling brave, as inspired by our new friend Megan we might do this. And we’ll probably try this or this too if we get too ansty being home.
Whew. Ok. I guess that’s too much talking/writing for the day. 900+ freaking words and counting.

I’ll end here.

How about you? What are you crafting for your home this week?