ZimWex Family Blog

Violet En Vogue::10

This week, I am focusing not on the outfit, but on this signature hairdo.

AZ

Violet En Vogue:: 9

Tie Dye, Floral, and yes, plaid (the pants...hard to spot at first...)

AZ

Violet en Vogue:: 8

This one is all about the knee socks.

In which she forces them to eat new foods:: #2

On tonight's menu....

Macaroni and Cheese that does not come from a box

This is a recipe of my friend Diana's from the school potluck cookbook.  With two children, and this mother, it was a hit, though I probably would go a tiny bit easier on the optional onion the next time.  My youngest child suffered through it one slightly too cheesy elbow at a time, but nonetheless, by drinking water in between bites, managed to get to the end.  My eldest son, and total food wimp most picky eater, refused to try.  About an hour later, he decided to try (because I hadn't given him any other food).  Again, he lost confidence before the first bite. Finally! (at about 8:15 PM) he ate a very small portion.  Victory? The mere fact that there are general histrionics when macaroni and cheese  is served is enough to put me over the edge!

Sauteed Spinach

Simple spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil.  Not new for me to cook, but new for me to ask my children to eat.  Three children at the table tonight said unprompted, Great Spinach! The other one has, ahem, yet to try it.

Baguette

Clearly not new. But good! And uncontroversial...

Brownies not from a box

Yum, yum, yum. And what else would you expect with one pound of butter and several cups of sugar? they are good and gooey and rich!

So, now you are getting the idea of what qualifies as new in my family.* How did it come to this? But, in any case, I am having fun with the idea of finding new stuff. Next week, chopped liver!

These recipes, I feel I cannot reprint, because if you email cookbook@lrei.org  you can order you own cookbook and support our school.  There are lots of great recipes in there, including from some fabulous chefs like Mario Batali! 

AZ

*Literally any change from the exact recipe  they are used to.

 

I think I'm back.

It has been a long, long absence. But I have missed this space- the ability it gives me to reflect on what is going on in my life, the way it helped me find humor in situations, the chance it gave me to document fleeting moments.

So I am going to try to get back in the saddle, and hope you will all be able to get into the habit of reading again.

To quickly review what you all have missed:

Tanya came back to the US

Jerry had a school dance

We suffered through another 10 year old sleepover

Ruby got a palate expander

Jerry got braces

We finally got our carpets cleaned

It snowed a lot

Violet turned 5

It snowed some more

Tanya went back to London

The washing machine broke

I got a hair cut that even Tanya noticed

Many birthday parties were attended by many children

Many Playdates were had

We discovered that we can tolerate ordering in from "Empire Szechuan".  Enough time has passed that we no longer need to mourn Mama Buddha.

I had lots of drama renewing Violet's passport

We went to London again to visit Tanya

And saw lots of things

Which I will at some point post pictures of

And all the children got lice

And some of them were a little behind on their homework

I read a few books. (but not one a week).

And saw many a movie on my transatlantic flights. (note: you can skip renting "Burlesque").

That's pretty much it.

Feel caught up?
I will be back in real time starting tomorrow.

AZ 

What you don't see

The blog can give a kind of a skewed sense of reality.

So, keeping it real...here are some other things that we have been looking at every day.

Yes, we see lots of beautiful sights right now. And when the kids smile for the camera, they are pretty darn cute.

But a lot of the time this is what I am looking at. One of the fun things about the blog is that you can completely create your own alternate reality and escape from the things you don't want to think about  can really choose the moments you most want to remember.  But to be honest, I probably should remember all of this, too.  It goes hand in hand.  Someday when I am bemoaning the lack of cute little ones around me, I will probably forget quite what chaos they created.  So its good to see it all..

AZ

We have begun.

Our possibly insane foray into homeschooling.

It begins with some ground rules.

 And went from there.

The first day, all in all, seemed to be a success.  No outright rebellion.  No complete frenzy. One of the calmest mornings I've had with all my kids, actually, and my own determination not to answer the phone/check email/do other stuff/ while schooling made it strangely some of the most focused time I have had with my kids in years.

We did have to confront the question: is picking at your toenails when homeschooling acceptable etiquette? (No)  bear hugging the student next to you? (well, yes, I guess), do we want assigned seats (jury is out on this one).  Mommy also discovered that "meetings" where she talks a lot are kind of the least effective part.  They want to do.  

so, so far, so good.  

AZ

Where we are.

After four plus years of waiting for this movie to be green-lit, we have finally arrived in London.  It is somewhat unbelievable, yet here we are.

I hope to be a much more regular blogger during this time, but to start out, here is a look at where we are.  

 

   

 

 

A little bit of inside, outside, and the touches we are making to make this feel like "home".  And, of course, the school supplies for the homeschooling that is about to take over all of our lives for the next few months...Which nobody in this house enjoyed organizing at all.

AZ

     
 

Quiet.

In the world that is two weeks in which to pack up for the next chapter in our London Adventure, see all the NYC friends we have been missing soooo much, get hair cuts, orthodontist appointments, and soak up all the NYC-ness we can, while we are here....

In that world, I cannot seem to write.

So we are here and we are good, but we are very distracted and not in the least reflective.

As we are about to embark on a nearly three month journey to London and through Scotland, perhaps Wales, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and luxembourg (!), I will be back with many dispatches.  And tales of home-schooling.  And cream tea.

But for now, I must return to packing....

AZ

Answered the following questions today:

1. What is apartheid?

2. What is non-violent resistance?

3. What is a nuclear bomb? Was it good or bad that we dropped it?

4. What is Communism? What is Capitalism?

5. How did we win the cold war?

6. Where was I before I was born?

7. Is the Dalai Lama a King?

8. Do women in china wear pants?

9. Why was Saddam Hussein hiding in a hole?

10. How do we know Hitler is dead?

11. Who is the leader of the Taliban?

12. How did Nelson Mandela end apartheid?

13. Can I have some ice cream?

14. Why do they sing "London Bridge is falling down?" when London Bridge is not falling down?

15. How long did they leave the heads on the London Bridge before taking them down?

16. Do they still cut off people's heads today?

17. What did Jack the Ripper do?

18. Can we take a taxi?

19. What is colonization?

20.  Who was Madame Tussaud?

21. How did Princess Diana die?

22. What does the Queen do?

and many more.

maybe a little less gruesome.

you can't say its ever boring.

AZ