First Day of School

What a great day it has been!

I couldn’t be more excited about my new class. I have 18 students this year. Each and every one of the 18 kids are incredibly kind and well-behaved. We had such a nice first day together!

One little girl, who is new to the school, was so nervous that her tummy hurt and she wanted desperately to go home. I was able to make a deal with her that if she still felt ill by lunch time, I’d call her mom. By 10:30 she was laughing and smiling so much that every thought of an upset tummy was history!

Before going home, each child had to write about their feelings and the new school year. One little girl wrote, “I feel happy in this classroom because I know Ms. Brady already loves me.”

Melt my heart!

Each of the activities I planned for today were very well received. Expect a marathon posting session tomorrow because I want to tell you what all about we did on our first day of school.

Unfortunately, the standardized testing begins tomorrow so we need to get right to work. I’m sure I can still squeeze in some memorable fun between boring tests!

So, let’s move into food… because I do recognize that this is what most of you come here to see!

Breakfast

Homemade Greek-style yogurt with chocolate chip banana bread crumbled on top and a dollop of peanut butter.

Lunch

2 tomatoes stuffed with tuna salad (made with tuna, mayo, fresh parsley and Italian seasoning.) 3 Sesame seed crackers.

After school we had a staff meeting and then I stayed behind to get a little more work done. I left around 5:30 and went to the grocery store. While there, the electricity went out! I was shocked to see that a grocery store didn’t have a back-up generator to keep the refrigerators and freezers running. The electricity was out in the whole neighborhood, including my apartment. It came back on around 7:10 so I had to make another very quick dinner before going to play rehearsal at 7:30. 

Dinner

Couscous with sautéed smoked tofu, red peppers, onions and zucchini.

It has been a great day but an exhausting one too. I am now ready to drop. My face hurts from smiling so much today. Anyone know any good face muscle exercises?

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Twice Baked Potatoes

It has been a good day!

Being able to take dinner photos at 8:30 in natural sunlight may have been the highlight. The days are getting longer! I love spring!

Want to know what else I love? Oatmeal

There is nothing like the prospect of a delicious bowl of oats to get me out of bed in the morning.

1/4 cup or oats, milk, and water

1/2 ripe banana, mashed

Dash of salt, heavy sprinkling of cinnamon

Topped with:

chia seeds, flax, hemp seeds, cinnamon, and almond butter

The school day went really fast. Apparently we all thought it was Thursday today as my classroom assistant wrote Thursday April 14, 2010 on the board this morning and no one noticed- not her, me, or the kids until about 2:30. I hope thinking it was Thursday on a Wednesday doesn’t make the week feel longer!

I forgot my camera at home so no snack or lunch photos. For snack, I ate a butter cookie from the staff room. During my morning break, I had a really nice talk with on of the assistants. She just came back from maternity leave and is the most peaceful, serene woman I know.  She asked about Sebastian and said that things must be going well since I always look happy. We then started talking about why some relationships last and others done. Emma said the most important thing to remember is to speak gently and simply take care of each other.  Good advice, Emma.

Lunch consisted of a tuna salad sandwich, an orange, and pumpkin seeds.

After work, I had an apple on my way to the gym. The trip was quick today as I had another dental appointment. I powered through 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer as hard as I could to try to get the most out of the limited amount of time. I then spent about 15 minutes on abdominal exercises. Sauna. Shower. Go.

After almost 2 months of jaw pain and 5 dental appointments, I have finally received what I hope will end all jaw pain.

Behold my TMJ night guard!

This transparent contraption fits over my lower teeth.

The doctor made a cast of my teeth then recreated my entire mouth/ jaw using measurements and other important dentist stuff. The Me Mouth was really cool. He showed that when I bite, my back molars do not have the same amount of space between the top and lower teeth on both sides. One side has a slightly larger gap between the top and bottom teeth. Apparently, while I’m sleeping, I subconsciously grind or clench my teeth in an attempt to “even out” the difference. This excessive muscular activity is what causes my pain. This guard was designed to a) protect my teeth from grinding b) make up for the difference in space. I hope it works!

After my jaw-inspiring appointment, I went to Aldi to do a bit of grocery shopping. Hunger led the way and I ended up leaving with way more than I needed, including these whole grain animal crackers.

Once home, I whipped up some dinner. Roasted broccoli and asparagus and a twice-baked potato. All drizzled with fresh squeezed lemon.

Broccoli and asparagus were misted with olive oil then sprinkled with sea salt and pepper before being roasted. Lemon juice enhances the flavor like you wouldn’t believe. Try it.

Last night we baked extra potatoes. Today, I scooped out the insides and mashed them up with 1 T. cream cheese, splash of milk, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and sea salt. Put back in the skins and baked.

Delicious!

The potato was so good that I immediately made another for lunch tomorrow. Technically, tomorrow it will be a once baked, once microwaved potato.

I also whipped up two for Sebastian’s midnight snack when he comes home from work tonight.

Final project of the day: more homemade almond butter!

This is probably my best batch yet! Perfectly roasted. My add-ins include a drizzle of agave nectar, cinnamon, flax, hemp, and coconut oil. Yummy!

Alright, I hope you have a great day! I’m off to try out my new night guard. Night!

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Haiku for Food

You may recall an earlier poetry post. This week, my students are learning how to write Haikus. A haiku follows a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. In true teacher fashion, I present to you my Food Haikus.

Breakfast

Peanut butter toast

Layered German whole grain bread

Strawberry jam drips

Mother Nature’s juice

grapefruit, orange, apple

carrot, ginger too

Lunch

Glorious lettuce

A bed for veggies and fruit

Summer’s nearly here

After School Snack

A slice of plain bread

Sliced gouda cheese quickly tops

No time for photos

Snack #2

My mom’s special treat

Peanut butter chocolate

Unhealthy but good

Dinner

Potatoes baked soft

Creamy tuna salad stuffs

Baked beans like frosting

A small side salad

No dressing, only veggies

Too full to eat all

I hope you all have a poetic day!

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