Homeschooling Question and Experimentation

For about 6 months, I posted on another blog.  This a post that was copied from that blog.  I used different names for the family.  Just so you know the names were as follows:

Prince Charming - Wandering Aengus
Princess Belle - Lilly
Princess Magpie - Rose
Princess Snifflefritz - Lotus
Little Prince - Reed

Now, I have a question for all you homeschooling moms out there, when you are homeschooling at your kids are tired, do you try to get them to continue on and do their work anyway? I don’t know. I did today, but for the most part, I don’t want our schoolwork to be a drudgery. I would like there to be enthusiasm, but at the same time I don’t want it to be a matter of simply pleading tired and then you don’t have to do anything? How do you find a balance? I am interested in your thoughts on it.
For supper tonight I experimented with making split pea soup in a slow cooker today. It apparently takes a LOT longer than I expected so I am leaving it in there to cook away and I am improvising with something else yummy for supper. This is the basic recipe that I am making, but as this is just the idea I have come up with and I will be making it for the first time, I will be experimenting with it a little.

Broccoli and Tofu with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Dried rice noodles
1 lb firm tofu (that has been frozen, thawed, pressed and cut into chunks)
1 lb broccoli
1 red pepper cut into same strips
1 yellow pepper cut in the same way
1 courgette/zucchini cut into strips
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil or canola oil
2 cups onion
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
4 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 scallion, minced
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup hot water
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1 red chili pepper flakes (to taste)

Directions
1.Cook the rice noodles according to the instructions on the packet – often this is just pouring boiling water over them and leaving them for a while.
2.For the Sauce: Place peanut butter and water in a sauce pan, heat on low heat and whisk until mixture is uniform. Add vinegar, honey, soy sauce and red chili flakes.
3.Set aside.
4.In a wok, heat half the oil, half the ginger, and half the garlic.
5.When hot, add tofu and stir fry for a few minutes.
6.Add tofu to sauce and set aside.
7.To wok add the rest of the oil, ginger, garlic, and onion.
8.When hot add the broccoli (which should be chopped into manageable bits, including the stems) and the other veggies, then stir fry a few minutes.
9.Add the soy sauce and stir fry until broccoli is just tender and bright green.
10.Add sauce to broccoli and stir until everything is coated with sauce.
11.Add the rice noodles and combining well (you may want to cut them up if they are very long). .
12. Top with lightly toasted chopped nuts and scallions.

I thought I would share a belly pic today. It is NOT a good one, I hate my hair, the angle and everything, but it does show my HUGE belly at exactly 29 weeks. I am feeling really, really tired lately and I am worried about having enough energy to get the things done that I need to do.