“Mom, I did reading today, but it wasn’t In Grandmas Attic.”

“Okay. I’m glad you read today. Did you do any other schoolwork?”

“No. Dad gave us the day off.”

“Okay. As long as Dad said you could have the day off.”

I wasn’t surprised. Here I was gone for the week, and the kids managed to do about 1 ½ days of the schoolwork I assigned them. But, that’s part of having a week with daddy.

I rarely leave my kids for more than a couple hours, much less overnight; but for the last two years, I’ve gone off for a week-long business trip, leaving the kids home with their dad. I have no worries about doing so, as he is a very capable person. But there’s no doubt that we do things differently.

At my husband’s request, I leave a schedule of activities and maps/directions so he knows who to get where, when. On the refrigerator I post a list of breakfast, snack, and dinner ideas for the week. And I leave the basic chore assignments and schoolwork assignments for the week.

My husband said he might take the kids fishing and to the zoo. Cool, The kids would like that. So I reminded him that those two activities have value as schoolwork, so on those days, just cut out or cut down the school assignments I had listed.

When I arrived home a week later the lawn was up to my knees, and I had to work hard not to say anything more than “Oh My.”  But inside and out back, I had other surprises.

The kids may not have folded laundry, cleaned their rooms, or finished all their schoolwork. But instead, they expanded my new drip system in the garden, laid a new wood floor in the bathroom, and put together a bunk bed.

Wow. It’s not what I assigned, but in my eyes, these activities were just as worthy as school activities.  And they got to learn at the hands of their father. Very valuable.

The schoolwork can be done anytime. But that father-child work time cannot. For now, I’ll just be quiet about what wasn’t done and be very appreciative for all they accomplished.

5 yr old making pizza

Pizza is a staple in our house. Every Friday night is pizza night.  I usually make up dough on Friday afternoon for Friday night pizza. But we love pizza and calzones for snacks and quick meals as well. 

Here’s our favorite pizza sauce recipe along with a few easy ways to serve up quick pizza snacks:

Favorite Pizza Sauce Recipe

1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
6 oz. water
1 tsp of powdered garlic (for garlic lovers – fresh chopped garlic is wonderful as well)
1 tsp of Italian herbs
Honey to taste (1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, depending on your taste)

In a bowl or saucepan, combine tomato paste, water, garlic, Italian herbs, and honey. If you are in a hurry, use immediately. If not, heat over low-medium heat to infuse flavors.  Freeze any extra for future use.

Pizza Snack Ideas:

Bagel pizzas: Smear on ½ bagel or mini-bagel and sprinkle with cheese. Heat until cheese is melted

French bread pizzas: Slice French bread open horizontally. Spread sauce over bread. Sprinkle with toppings and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted.

Calzones: Use left-over pizza dough - or other premade pizza dough. Spray a pan with non-stick spray or a light dose of olive oil. Break dough into about 2 inch balls and flatten each with the heel of your hand. On one half of each, place 1T of pizza sauce, cheese, and other favorite topping ingredients. Fold over and pinch the edges together. Cook in a preheated oven at 450 for about 15-20 minutes (depends on the size of your calzones).

(These supposedly freeze well but I’ve never been able to try it because they get eaten so fast at our house.)