This morning, I lost track of time.
Before I knew it, we only had a few minutes to have a daily reading at the kitchen table and write in our family gratitude journal. Hubs rushed out the door with Schäfer and Sianna agreeing to grab them a Chinese steamed bun on the way to school.
Selah and Senna had a late breakfast at home while I got my market list together.
Since our market is in a wind tunnel, I asked Ayi if Senna could stay home with her. Selah and I headed to market for pizza sauce staples (garlic, onions, 3 jin fresh tomatoes and red peppers). As always, we were in dire need of fruit.
I came home and started on the sauce while Selah ate her treat: a Chinese steamed bun she purchased in the market. I like to give her one kuai and wait for her to ask the seller in Chinese for a bread. It’s not much, but it gives her a chance to practice her Chinese.
All was going well with the sauce until I dumped way too much basil in. I added a can of tomato paste and that evened things out.
Hubs came home at 12:30. He tasted and approved of the sauce.
After lunch, we had a devotion with Ayi in honor of Good Friday.
Then, Sianna went to read books with Ayi. Selah usually does not go and listen, but today she did. I am thankful for Selah’s willingness to soak in more Chinese. Language takes work – at any age.
Schäfer and I started on homeschool. Normally, we do this in the morning before Chinese school, but today time slipped away. After we are done with reading books, phonics, grammar and math, we snuggle up in the big chair and I read to him. We are completely immersed in “On the Banks of Plum Creek”. Pa just walked 300 miles East to find work since the grasshoppers ate his entire wheat crop.
Meanwhile, Sianna and Selah never went to sleep. After Ayi read to them for 30 minutes, they played in their room. The good thing about this play is that they are together and happy and will be dead tired by 7:30 pm. The bad thing about this play is that The Grouchies sometimes make an appearance by 6pm.
Today, The Grouchies kept at bay. Thank goodness.
When Hubs came home, he sent me on a run. We’ve gotten into a pretty good routine where I can run in the evening while he directs the children in their chores. Hubs is passionate about teaching our kids the value of money so having him in charge of the chores works for me.
I love the 30 minutes I get all to myself. Running and listening to a podcast has become a highlight and true stress relief for me.
When I came back, we officially started our Family Fun Night. We always have pizza on Friday night. Selah requests, “Cheesy pizza!”
Earlier this morning, I made a big pot of sauce and each pizza only takes 3/4 cup of sauce so the rest of it will be portioned out in freezer bags and put away for upcoming Friday nights.
For our Family Fun, Hubs read the story of the Resurrection Eggs. Schäfer, Sianna and Selah each took turns opening an egg. The kids really did look at the items inside each egg.
While the pizza was in the oven, we dyed eggs. That’s always super fun, but very hands on. Each child was delighted when they got 4 eggs to color. Unfortunately, those four eggs went fast and all of the children were asking for more. Schäfer and Sianna asked several times, “When are we going to do this again?” Bless their hearts. I think they could have dyed eggs all weekend.
Finally, the pizza was ready and the kids dug in. Though I do like movie watching, it was fun to do a craft together tonight. Before we knew it, 7:30pm arrived and all the kids were tired from missed naps and long days of Chinese school + homeschool.
Today was Good Friday. It was good indeed.
Leave a Reply