It's back...veganmofo starts tomorrow

Hopefully MoFo will get me back on the blogwaggon this year. I was successful last year at posting every day for the month of October, AND it has to be a vegan food related post. I'll be posting a wide variety most likely, such topics as cute vegan kids, what they eat, new products we've tried, and maybe some restaurant reviews. I already know what I'm going to write about tomorrow...pumpkin scones. I may also include some of my lunch ideas for Athena's school lunch, now that I have to pack one everyday. Looking forward to reading lots of awesome vegan blogs and hopefully "meeting" some new people along the way.

Soccer Kids (and Mom)

The ultimate soccer mom.

(More cute Athena soccer pix to come. I was coaching so I didn't take any, and Rowan was having a hard time so Chris was too busy with him)



Athena has played 2 soccer games so far on her team "Green Meerkats". I'm the coach! It has been fun so far, but it sure is a lot of work at times. Athena loves soccer this year (so different than last year), she even scored her first goal of the season this weekend. She is so proud of herself. Rowan was so jealous of Athena's soccer team, and me being the coach, that I felt I had to find him his own team. I found a league called "Little Rascalz" that started with kids his age. So far he likes it, but he wants me to be right with him most of the time, and he often refuses to kick the ball and would rather play "football" (that is what he says) and carry the ball from place to place. Oh well, he is only 2 so I'm not too worried about that. He always wants to go back and "see my friends" and always asks "why" practice is over at the end, so I think he is having a good experience.

cooking rut

It has been so hot for the last week (or 2), I haven't felt like cooking at all. I've used up all my uncooked ideas (sandwiches) and days of eating out so I had to figure out a plan. My friend Stephanie had this brilliant idea to run her slow cooker over night (when the temps go back into the 70's at least). I'm trying it out tonight with Dreena's chickpea ratatouille (stephanie also reminded me of this recipe that I've made before and haven't had in awhile). I'll let you know the results. It smells delicious uncooked so I'm sure it will be great. Of course I worry that it will dry out and burn over night while I'm sleeping, but hopefully I'll be able to push that worry aside and get some sleep soon because I'm really tired!
What have you been feeding your family in this heat? With our evenings getting busier and busier with soccer and swimming for both kids, meals like this are going to be a life saver.

School

Pictures from the first day.



Athena started kindergarten a week and a half ago. So far she is absolutely loving it and it makes me so happy! Choosing which school to send her to was a complete nightmare. We had it narrowed down to 3 very different choices: 1) our neighborhood school 2) a German immersion school 3) a new charter school with an emphasis on gardening, art, creativity, play based learning, multi age classrooms. Each of these schools I was confident was a "good" school, but ultimately I wanted to choose the school that best suited Athena. If you know Athena at all, then it comes as no surprise that we chose the 3rd option, the new charter school. So far she is really thriving there and seems to be becoming a part of the community there. Every day they practice yoga which she loves. She also works on signs and mail for the classroom everyday. She has made signs that tell kids where to stand, how to behave, etc. It is so funny to see her working so hard and to feel like she has a purpose. She is so lucky to have 3 playgroup buddies in her class, and one in particular has become a VERY good friend of hers. She has made a couple of other new friends as well. Her favorite times of the day are open choice, lunch, and rest!
So, I couldn't be happier with the choice we made. I still have my doubts from time to time, and wish we wouldn't have had to give up the language immersion program, but she would have had a male teacher and that is something she is super uncomfortable with so I know I made the right choice for now. And of course, sometimes I wish I weren't driving so far each day, but her smiling face at the end of the school day makes it all worthwhile. I keep waiting for her opinion of school to change, but so far she can't wait for school each day. She lays out her clothes the night before, and gets ready pretty quickly each morning, eager to start her day. What more could I ask for?