The Hobbit Teacher's Lounge 5-3-2017

[scrapbookbuzz]

Good morning, all!

 

Sorry for my tardiness in getting the Lounge open. Was cooking breakfast for the family and wanted to wait until dh left, so I could give him my attention. We just don't seem to have any "alone" time together lately.

 

Today's Lounge is brought to by the Hobbit eating schedule:

*Breakfast

*2nd Breakfast

*Elevensies 

*Lunch

*Afternoon Tea

*Dinner 

*Supper

 

We are attempting to follow that schedule of eating during Tech Week for sustained energy.

It might seem like a lot but it it isn't  . . . and it is.

Here's today's menu (which, sadly, I am not 100% prepared for!):

*Breakfast: homemade breakfast toasters (eggs and bacon on Texas toast; I had gf bread)

*2nd Breakfast: trail mix and spiced mixed nuts

*Elevensies: rosemary mac - n - cheese

Lunch: zesty chicken salad (made with horseradish sauce and crushed red pepper)

Afternoon tea: whatever is in ds's Tech Week bag (B-fuel shot (similar to 5 hour energy but MUCH healthier for you, energy bar, protein bar, snack bar) - some parts eaten right before rehearsal, some during, some after)

Dinner: includes the above

Supper: baked potato bar

 

 

Do you have any special menus for weeks your kiddos have competitions or performances? Here: see above.

 

What competitions or performances do your kids do? Here: theater, obviously. Taekwondo, although we're taking the month of May off, due to theater schedules. this summer my son will be on swim team and Discovery Guard again. DD had decided to take the summer off from swim to focus on her studies but she really needs the exercise, too, so I'll have to figure out how we can do this. Maybe she and I will both just do lap swim . . .

 

Do YOU do any competitions or performance-based activities? Here: I really want to get back into ballet but trying to figure that all out, monetarily and schedule wise.

 

Talk to me! :bigear: 

[wintermom]

Hope tech week goes well. My ds 15 was an apprentice at a open-air professional theatre last summer and was super busy with the theatre's tech week and set-up. They built the stage and set, moved the bleachers, and postered all around the downtown core.  He got no special food except what he carried in his lunch box.  He was ready to quit before the opening night.  I convinced him to keep going as it would get a lot easier. It sure did. Preparation for opening night is so much work!

 

We do a lot of performing. I've got 2 ds in theatre and classical guitar, 2 dc in violin ensembles, 3 in concert band, and the whole family leads music for our church on a part-time basis. No competition in music, though.

 

Competition happens in some of the sports we do: dh and I play competitive tennis (singles and doubles), and the boys all play recreational basketball, dd plays recreational soccer as well as the boys, and they all play recreational tennis. The youngest ds plays recreational hockey. Ds 13 competes with his cadet troop in biathlon, marksmanship and drill.  We all used to do Taekwon-Do. I was competitive, but not the dc. Dh coaches the boys in basketball, but used to be competitive. I was a competitive swimmer and swim coach in my youth.

 

 

[HeWillSoar]

Good afternoon!  My boys would get a kick out of the hobbit eating schedule.   Although that sounds like a lot of extra work for me!  I'm kind of on strike from cooking lunch here lately.  My kids are old enough to help themselves, and one has had unreasonable expectations of me lately.  

 

My kids aren't doing any competitions.  They are the shy type who don't like a lot of attention.  I'm just happy that one of them found his "thing," which is going to the Y nearly every day to lift weights.  It weighed on me a little before because he didn't have any outside activity or interest other than video games so now he has a nice balance.  He is getting out in the world.

 

The other kid has a lot of interests that are of the academic nature but I haven't found just the right thing for him yet.  If there was a STEM type group around or a history club, he could really get into that.  Most kids his age aren't watching documentaries on the crusades for fun. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

My kids do some carb loading the day before races.  And we have a tradition of going for breakfast at Denny's after all races.  But other than that, no special menus. 

[ScoutTN]

I am using Hobbit meals lately b/c my kids are growing so fast they are always hungry! Even after second breakfast, they still eat a hearty mid-day meal. It will be crazy this summer at the pool, when they eat every hour. Or maybe easier? No special menus here, except general low carb for me and Dh and zero sugar when kids are sick.

 

Performing. My kids have a drama class performance each semester, a piano recital and several choir gigs each year. Dd does some presentations for AHG, but not really a performance, unless you count campfire skits. ;) We are all done with performances for this semester. Competitions - ds usually plays a sport or two each year, so weekly game/meet. Dd has entered some story writing and art contests, but never won. 

 

I am way past any competitions and never was one for performing arts. 

 

 

 

[scrapbookbuzz]

Thanks for sharing, all! I enjoy reading about different families' activities. And it gives me some ideas for mine!

I do want to find an actual hobby for my son to get involved with. DD has found she really likes to read fanfiction and 

she likes to write her own stories. DS only likes to play video games or watch videos about video games; no real hobbies to 

speak of. need to change that!

 

The spiced mix nuts are cooking in the oven. When they are done, I need to go to the Farmers Market to go get some grass-fed beef.

Last week I bought some cheap beef at the grocery store to save money. Eww. I mean, it was okay, not spoiled or anything, but I've eaten

grass-fed beef for so long now I can taste the difference. So I'm willing to spend the $7.00/lb today for grassfed. Oh, I should probably make the

zesty chicken salad before I go,too. this is a much busier day than I anticipated!

[Butter]

Special Menu: No.  I just make sure they have some sort of high protein snack in the TKD bags at all times.

 

Competitions: Taekwondo.  Next weekend is the demo team competition.  Only Cameron's on it this year.  Hopefully, Ani will be able to be back on it next time.  She's getting stronger so it's possible.  She won second in sparring in districts this time last year.  It's sad thinking about how much worse she has gotten since then.  Fritz swims every summer and has several meets during that season.  Practices start a week from today.

 

Me: Taekwondo.  I'm not doing the tournament this time, though.  It was either tournament or book group... I chose book group lol

[dirty ethel rackham]

Yowza.  That is a lot of food to plan!

 

Do you have any special menus for weeks your kiddos have competitions or performances?

Well, I do have to plan our regular weekly menu around dd's climbing training schedule 3 days a week since we leave the house at 2:45 and don't get home until 9.  That means I have to plan something that I can make ahead and is portable and can be kept warm or cool depending on the type of meal.   

 

For competitions, I usually make sure that she has a really healthy dinner, but not too junky the night before. This can be difficult if we are traveling, so our default is often a Pick 2 at Panera.   I also make sure she has a good, high protein breakfast.  It depends on the timing of the competition.  If she has a morning check-in, we stop for a bagel with cream cheese and a chai tea latte.  I have her packed with orange slices for quick energy, cocoa balls (basically like homemade lara bars) and a sandwich if she will be longer.  If it is an afternoon check-in, I make sure she has a good lunch (because the comp may be in the afternoon, but the check-in is usually over lunch time.)  Lunch will often be a good sandwich (meat/cheese, veggies, on whole grain bread), some fruit, usually a cocoa ball, and some "crack balls" - Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered power berries to share.  The last thing is more just for fun to keep things chill. 

 

 

What competitions or performances do your kids do? Dd is a competitive rock climber.  Some competitions are really low key.  They have 3 hours to climb as many routes as they can get on.  But the championship competitions are pretty intense.  We drop our competitor off at the gym at a specified window of time and they are taken into "isolation" where they can't see the competition wall or talk to anyone who can see it so that no one has an unfair advantage.  They can't have any cell phones or wifi enabled devices.  I had to get dd an iPod nano for listening to music to help her chill.  They bring out the competitors one by one to climb their routes so they can be in isolation for upwards of 3 hours.  She has one in 10 days.  After her AP exams are done, she will be updating her music to help her chill when she needs to stay relaxed and to motivate when she needs to get her head together. 

 

Do YOU do any competitions or performance-based activities? I do some climbing competitions, mostly just for fun.  It can be a great way to hang with other climbers, try new problems, and to stretch my skills a bit.  I really like the competitions that have a separate category for old people like me.  I used to dance but these knees and angles won't let me do that well. 

[mom31257]

Scrap, I think our sons might be kindred spirits! Ds does enjoy swimming, but honestly, I think he does it so he can say he does a sport. He didn't want to go to a single meet during the school year this year. He'll do some this summer, though. He doesn't like reading unless it's something very interesting. We had mixed feelings about Harry Potter until our older dd read them. We are allowing him to read them right now just so he'll be willing to read something on his own.

 

He belongs to a drama ministry team at church that meets every week and goes on two in-state mission trips each year. We are thankful he has those opportunities to branch out away from home and video games. LOL! Ds does have a friend at church who he plays video games with online. They have microphones and talk to each other, so I feel more justified allowing that because he is interacting and using team work skills. 

 

We don't have a special eating schedule for any activities, so I'm no help on ideas there. 

 

Our dd did community theater while she was in high school. Ds does the drama ministry I talked about above. They perform in children's church monthly as well as on the trips they take. Our church puts on a huge Christmas program every year. The youth start practicing in August for 2-3 dance numbers. Ds did that for the first time last year.  After judging in the NCFCA regionals last week, I'd like for him to do that. 

 

I don't do anything like that at all. The only thing competitive I did in high school was math competitions. Now, the games around here can get very competitive! Catan and 7 Wonders can get ugly. LOL! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scrapbookbuzz]

I LOVE Settlers of Catan! And I keep eyeing, and drooling over, 7 Wonders. Maybe for Mothers Day?

 

As for our Hobbit menu, it does LOOk like a lot but with the proper preparation, it works out wonderfully.

I now have sweet and sour chicken ready (and in the freezer) for DD's Tech Week in 2 weeks. I have about

four Ziploc snack bags full of spiced mix nuts. I have canned spaghetti sauce for tomorrow's breakfast:

spaghetti and meatballs (ds' request). And I have the meat now, too!

 

ETA: Amy, you may be right about our sons. My son will be 13 in July!

Edited May 3, 2017 by scrapbookbuzz

[FaithManor]

We had a special menu for the rocket team. No junk food, no pop. Water or tea, fresh fruit, fresh veggies with dip to snack on, peanut butter always available, and picnic lunches and suppers in the hotel room. Chicken salad sandwiches one night, subs, ziti, roast chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans from the deli, etc. We had pizza night at the end of the week when all the pressure was off. The hotel had fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, custom omelettes, granola, oatmeal, and biscuits with gravy every morning so we encouraged eating big breakfasts.

 

We have always been careful during performance weeks with our own kids, so have continued with our 4H teams. It is easy to do because we make all the travel arrangements as well as do the food planning.

Edited May 3, 2017 by FaithManor

[mom31257]

Scrap, my son will be 14 this weekend. We really like 7 Wonders. There is a way to play it with 2 players, but it's best with 3 or more. We got a couple of games for Christmas that we like, too. Citadels is a card game. Kingdom Builders is a board game. 

 

I've been wanting to do a LOTR movie marathon this summer, Perhaps a Hobbit menu would be good for the day. 

[scrapbookbuzz]

Ooo, an LOTR marathon! Can I come??  :001_cool:

[mom31257]

Ooo, an LOTR marathon! Can I come??  :001_cool:

 

Yes, I'm not too far from Atlanta Hartsfield if you want to fly in! I have the extended editions on blu-ray, too!  :001_smile:

[scrapbookbuzz]

Don't tempt me! I might have to look at r/t flights to ATL!