I don’t cook German food very often, certainly not as much as I should, but when I do, it’s always a popular meal! I fried some pork schnitzels I found at Aldi (my new favorite store!), and made a jaeger sauce to go with them. I also made homemade spaetzle and served it with sauerkraut, also purchased at Aldi.
I do have to admit, it’s not a very interesting plate to look at…Turkey commented on how everything is pretty much the same color…but it certainly was delicious!
“Dr. Banner, your work is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous, green rage monster.” Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in The Avengers
I knew I wanted to wear my new headpiece (again) for the Second Sunday of Easter, but it was watching the Captain America movies (again) this weekend that directed the 1940s vibe of the rest of the outfit, starring a floral Butterfly dress from Pinup Girl Clothing.
I especially enjoyed going super girly with a pink and purple bracelet stack and glitter bead necklace from Splendette. And have I mentioned how much I love these sandals? They go with literally everything, and now that it’s warming up (well, except for today), I can wear them all the time!
“On your left.” Chris Evans as Captain America in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
This week went by really fast…I think because we were so excited about going to Avengers: Endgame last night. We did manage to get some work done, though.
Turkey and Bunny studied the Great Schism and the Norman Conquest in history. They also wrapped up the chapter on the Second Law of Thermodynamics in science. They got to write a poem about politics for their creative writing course, too, which was entertaining.
Ladybug read about Copernicus, Galileo, and Queen Elizabeth I in history. In math, she continued to work with negative and positive numbers. She has almost finished Brighty of the Grand Canyon. In science, she learned about thoroughbred horses.
We’ve only got about 16 days left in the school year…it really does go by fast!
Ready to see Avengers: Endgame!
I was wandering around Target this morning, as you do, and I came upon this:
I just want to know why?!? I like the Toy Story aliens as much as the next guy, but I’m still not a fan of rompers for women, so male rompers, or romphims, if you will, are completely preposterous to me. Who is the, if you’ll pardon the pun, target audience for this piece of clothing? My teenage son thought it was ridiculous, so it clearly isn’t him…what is the demographic that would consider not only spending money on this piece of clothing, but would also consider wearing it?
Last week was a short week of school, but we were so busy, I didn’t even get a chance to think about what we did until today!
On Monday, we went to the monthly homeschool day at the Missouri History Museum. It’s been a long time since we had room in our schedule and enough interest in the topic to make it to one of these events, but we were really excited about the topic–poetry and prose. It fit in perfectly with Turkey and Bunny’s current study of Medieval poetry and prose, plus we got to hear a Cardinals historian talk about the process he went through writing his most recent book, which was amazing. The craft activity was also very popular…the children got to make magnetic poetry kits. While Bunny and Ladybug chose to use poems written by local authors, Chickadee wanted to do something a little different, so Turkey wrote a fun poem for her. We also finally got to see the Muny exhibit, which is good, because it will be wrapping up soon. While we were in Forest Park, we also took a walk to enjoy the beautiful spring blooms.
As for the rest of the week…well, like I said, it was short. We did find time on a nice morning to practice our increasing tennis skills. Turkey and Bunny learned more about thermodynamics and continued to read To Kill a Mockingbird. Ladybug started adding and subtracting negative and positive numbers and read about the Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent in history. Chickadee read a few more Dr. Seuss books on her own, and worked on reading and writing word numbers in math.
The rest of the week was spent observing Holy Week and preparing for Easter, which may have been a break from school, but left us even busier than we are during the school week. The children had many choir commitments from Palm Sunday through Good Friday, which they enjoyed, but their voices are all ready for a rest! We’re back to work tomorrow, and we have less than a month left in our school year, so it’s full speed ahead until we’re done!
Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!
It may be hard to believe, because this year, it seemed like Lent lasted an eternity, but it’s time for another Markel Family Easter celebration! As always, it was a four-day affair, beginning with the Divine Service on Holy Thursday, where we got to hear Moose and Ladybug’s choir sing.
On Friday, we had the opportunity to experience a worship service that was new to (most) of us…the Good Friday Tre Ore service, which was a circuit event hosted at a church in south St. Louis, where once again, Moose and Ladybug’s choir sang…and this time, Bunny also joined in. We stayed for one of the three hours, and we really enjoyed the solemnity of the segments of the service we participated in.
We spent our Good Friday afternoon walking around the Missouri Botanical Garden and Forest Park. It was a blustery, but beautiful, day:
In the evening, Ryan, Turkey, and Bunny sang with the adult choir for the Good Friday Chief Service.
Holy Saturday is always a busy day. There was cooking, rehearsing at church for the Easter Sunrise Service, cooking, and the making of the family Paschal Candle:
Of course, the highlight of Holy Saturday is my favorite church service of the entire year, The Great Vigil of Easter!
After the vigil, we always stop at McDonald’s to get hot fudge sundaes for the Fab Five:
We never get enough sleep on Holy Saturday night, but the promise of Pop-Tarts before the Sunrise Service helps get the children out of bed.
This year, since Easter was so late, the sunrise was a little farther along than we’re used to!
Bunny, Moose, and Ladybug got to dress up and help with the outdoor reenactment before church:
Our sanctuary always looks especially beautiful for Easter!
After the first service, we enjoyed Easter breakfast in the church basement…I love the biscuits and gravy!
Of course I had to take pictures after breakfast:
I also had Ryan take a picture of me, because I love this year’s Easter outfit!
Did I mention I like to take pictures?
We had the privilege of serving on Altar Guild for the Divine Service:
And Moose and Ladybug got to acolyte, and all four of “The Bigs” participated in the processional:
Following an afternoon of watching movies, we had a nice Easter dinner. I made sure that the table looked extra pretty, since I failed in that department at Christmas.
Our rosemary-themed feast included leg of lamb (marinated in garlic and rosemary), rosemary smashed potatoes, sautéed asparagus, roast carrots and Brussels sprouts, rosemary dinner rolls with rosemary-garlic butter, and cherry Jell-O “salad.” We also had multiple options for both sparkling grape juice and wine, since I couldn’t decide what I wanted to serve.
I think this might be the best Easter dinner I’ve ever made!
For dessert, we had lemon cheesecake with a lemon-rosemary shortbread crust, and it was delicious!
After dinner, we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which is one of my favorite fun Easter traditions!
I love the way we celebrate Easter…it’s a been a busy, exhausting four days, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!