Squirrels and Chestnuts

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . verifying that orange peels really do seem to be deterring the squirrels from digging up parts of my veggie garden.

And another thing . . .

. . . ever wondered whether Google would return any results for the search "chestnut smoothie"?  I can now tell you from personal experience that the answer is yes.  My tai chi teacher gave me a big bag of roasted chestnuts (which I've never tried before today--funny how Americans sing a Christmas carol about roasting chestnuts by the open fire, but few of us have ever tasted one), and I'm not really loving them by themselves.  Phillip suggested I could put them in smoothies, and as it turns out, the good ole internet has lots of suggestions to make that happen.  I'll report back tomorrow.

Eating (or Drinking) Meals with My Kids

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . sipping a green smoothie  for breakfast with Todd, while he says cute things like, "Thanks for the smoothie, Mama," and, "Guess what!  I'm two!"

. . . eating lunch with Joy at school.  The kids' school lets parents come and eat lunch with their kids, and I've started doing that once a week, with a different child each week.  I'm finding it's a good way to have one-on-one time with my big kids (since each grade eats at a separate time, and Todd doesn't talk much), and to learn about their school experience.  They're much more inclined to talk about the ins and outs of their school day during lunch, maybe because things from class and recess are still fresh in their minds.