Spaghetti Squash Bake

I love to cook. I love to find new recipes. I love taking those recipes and making them my own. 

I use veggies instead of noodles. I try to use fresh foods as much as possible. Going to the Farmers Market is a great family outing on Saturday's. 

Italian food is one of my favorites, but the carbs about kill me. My stomach throws a tantrum. A great substitute for for noodles is spaghetti squash. I've made 10 different dishes using this delish vegetable. 

When I cook, I never measure. I taste and taste some more. Pinch of this. A dash of that. Drives my friends and family crazy when I post pictures of what I made on Instagram or Facebook and they want the recipe. Ummmmm, I threw it together, I didn't measure anything out, but it was awesome. 

Here is my way of explaining recipes...

Spaghetti Squash Bake - serves 4

1 - Good Size Spaghetti Squash
Fresh Basil Leaves
Fresh Garlic 
Sargento Havarti, Aged Wisconsin Cheddar, and Asiago
Newmans Own Organic Marinara 
Garlic salt
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven 375

On a sheet pan, layer with non-stick foil.

Cut squash in half the long way. It's easier to dig the insides out. Salt and pepper the inside. Put that aside and work on your garlic and basil.
Peel two garlic cloves. Pluck two basil leaves. Take and pair the garlic and basil, put them on the foil. Grab the spaghetti squash and flip them over so the inside is covering the garlic and basil. Why do that? As the squash cooks, the aroma from the garlic and basil infuse into it. 

Cook the squash for 35-40 minutes.

I flip them over and test the squash with a fork. If it pulls away, it's ready. I let mine cool for a few minutes before scraping the squash into 'noodles'. 

I grab a small glass dish and put the spaghetti squash inside. I pour half the Newman's Own sauce on it and stir. Shred the cheeses and sprinkle them on top. Place a few basil leaves on the cheese. I also sprinkled some garlic salt on. Broiled on high until cheese was brown and bubbly.   

The pan was devoured within minutes. 

I know it's not the most descriptive recipe, but make it your own. Change out the cheeses, make your own sauce. Whatever floats your squash boat.

Enjoy quirky peeps! 

Better Than Picking His Nose

Here at The Quirky Mustache, we embrace and accept all quirks--physical, vocal, and all of those in-between. 

This was once Logan's sock. (RIP Hanes white ankle), now it's a new dust rag. I have piles of these. Like, piles in the laundry room. Why do you think I go to Target so much. I should purchase stock in Hanes. 

Picking at his socks in not new, he's been at it for some time, but before that he picked at his mattress and waistband of his boxers. Logan apologizes when he annalates his socks. I tell him, "Don't worry about it. We all have quirks."

We do. Every single one of us. We don't have to be on a spectrum or have a psychological disturbance to have quirks. That seems to be the viewpoint with some. I was having a discussion about this topic with a woman and she seemed to think that she didn't possess a quirk. Not even when she was stressed or nervous. 

Interesting.

I observed her picking at her cuticles. I brought it to her attention. She stopped and looked around as if the cuticle police were lurking around the corner. 

People pace, twirl their hair, bit their nails (me). We all do something to release an emotion. 

When Logan was younger, he would shake his head. I feared his brain was being swished about inside of his skull. It was his release when he was excited. When he was nervous, he bit his hand. We quickly saw that when one physical quirk stopped, another began. As he has gotten older, he has confined his sock picking to home or at his best friend's house, where he feels comfortable.

We were asked many of times, "Why does he shake his head? When will it stop? Can't he control it?"

I asked his doctors the same questions. Funny, my favorite doctor asked, "What would you like us to do? Strap a device to his head and anchor it to his shoulders?"

The visual is...well, but, no, I didn't want to do that. I just didn't want kids to make fun of him any more. This was pre-homeschool and the constant taunting was wearing us down. Sadly, when people saw his quirks they assumed he was unintelligent. I've had it said to me so I know it to be true. The mama bear in me would poke them in the shoulder (verbally, of course) of my son's genius and brilliance. Einstein didn't have anything on Logan.

There came a time when I didn't say that either. I didn't have to prove a thing to anyone. Neither did Logan. 

People are quick to judge if what they see doesn't fit into their "normal" size box. Even though inside their normal size box, is an uneven octagon. The outer shell is what matters. Neighbors, PTA moms, and grandparents only should see the perfect box, with the pretty bow on top. Not the messy, wrapped, tape all over, patchy box.

The other night, I caught myself doing one of my physical quirks in front of husband. At first, I was mortified. He looked at me puzzled. Not because of my excited quirk of rubbing the palms of my hands together and clapping 3 times. He looked at me that way because I apologized for doing it. 

Now I know where Logan's gets it from. 

Does that make me weird? 

Duh. But, if you know me and my boys, we embrace weird. 

To my quirky people...QUIRK OUT! 
Spread the quirky love. 
Don't apologize.
Don't explain.
If your friends ask, well, they don't get it. My closest, dearest friends have never, EVER, once asked, "Why does Logan do that?" "Why do you do that?"
They love us.
Quirks and all.
That's the way it should be. 

Let's be honest. I would rather have Logan pick at his socks than other...things or places. 

Homeschool is a Battlefield - Part 1

Last week the boys and I piled into the car and drove 3 hours north to Williamsburg, VA. We were in desperate need to get out of town and disconnect from the tech world. That meant limited access to email, social media, and text messages. I took pictures and fired them off to Instagram and Facebook, but other than that, I was pretty good.

8th grade is drawing to a close for Logan *cue me rocking back and forth in the fetal position* and I really wanted to visit a place with deep rooted history. It was vacation but it was also school. Our brains soaked in so much information by days ends, we would collapse onto our hotels fluffed beds and drool.

We didn't waste any time and dove right into a ghost tour our first night. Not only was in filled with spooky stories but we learned a lot about the area. 

Top of the Govenor's Palace

Wythe House

College of William and Mary

The creepiness of the photo above gives me chills.

There is no denying the horrible history of Williamburg. War is bloody. So many lost their lives. Hearts were broken, murders were committed. We have our own beliefs about spirits.

College of William and Mary

My camera started having tantrums halfway into the tour so I didn't take too many pictures.

I fell in love with this house

I plan on breaking our trip into parts because there is just so much. 
Who said you have to homeschool inside all day?
Pfft!
The world is our classroom! 

What Autism Means To Me - Part 2

Two years ago I wrote What Autism Means To Me. I was going to read it to my homeschool group when we lived in Florida but I couldn't. Mom read it for me and she started to cry. Everyone cried. I didn't want to make people cry, but I wanted people to know that they need to educate themselves about the autism spectrum. 

I push my feelings about this because it makes me sad when kids that are viewed as weird or different and they get treated badly. It's not right. My mom and dad have taught me to love everyone, no matter who they are. 

Schools don't do anything for kids that are bullied. They make the ones bullied feel bad and don't punish the bullies. How is that right? Why should we change to fit in? Why should we hide our quirks so we aren't bullied? Why are we not accepted for who we are? 

Everyone has quirks. 

I don't play sports. I can swim, but I'm not strong at it. I don't want to ride a bike. I'm a nerd. I love computers and video games. I can write codes and programs. I read a lot. I love cartoons like The Regular Show and Adventure Time. I love being a nerd, a gaming geek, it's what I do. I don't bully other kids if they love sports or can swim or ride a bike. That's what they like to do. 

Autism is a small part of my DNA. The rest of me is...me. Logan. I love the beach and the mountains, but I don't like bugs. I believe in ghosts and aliens. I love our environment and want to protect it. People that litter make me mad. 

Autism doesn't define me or any other kid. We want acceptance and encouragement. We can't always express how we feel, but we want to be loved. 

Fist bump bang to everyone! 
And don't forget, today is the best day ever!  

Sarcastic School is Now in Session

My mom is funny. She makes me laugh everyday and that is why I love to be homeschooled. For a long time she has been doing sarcastic ecards and pictures, not just about homeschooling but life. I started doing some on Picmonkey and last week mom and I did this one:

She posted it on The Quirky Mustache's Facebook page and KABOOM! It blew up! I would check the numbers and more and more people shared it. It was awesome! It even can be found on the North Carolina Coalition of Home Educators page. 

Since I love Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, mom made this one:

  

Last night, I made this one:

We put the name on this one, mom said that people would know where they came from and come check out our blog and Facebook page. 

I put defeated instead of survived. I watch Helix on SyFy and what they have is a virus, but also a cure. Homeschoolers would take out the zombies and create a cure.  

I think in my book I will put some of these sarcastic pictures in it. The book I am writing with my mom is about my illness when I was a baby, being touched by an angel or God, the autism spectrum, bullying, and homeschooling. 

I have been through a lot. Some bad and some good, but I'm alive and I have forgiven those people that have hurt me and my mom and dad. We use sarcasm and humor to get through tough times. It makes it easier to cope. That's just the way we are. 

Look for more funny pictures from me and my mom! 

Make it the best day ever! 

Homeschool This...

Frequently people will say to me, "You're home all day, you can get a ton done." "I wish had could get all my stuff done, but I work outside of my home." or my oh so favorite, "Must be nice to go to the mountains during a work week." 

That 'must be nice' phrase needs to be banished from people's mouths. I can't stand it. We all make choices in life and our family's choice was to homeschool our son. Now, that doesn't come without sacrifices, but we wouldn't have done it any other way. 

When you see a homeschool family at the beach or the mountains or Washington, D.C., yes, they're having fun but they're also learning. Every day is a lesson. Life is our curriculum and the world is our classroom. 

Does that mean that our laundry is always folded, dinner's on the table promptly at 5pm, and the bathrooms are spotless.

NO.

Does that mean that us homeschool moms gather together every other week for a wine playdate to regain some of our sanity and unload our frustrations? 

YES.

Just because I don't post every single lesson Logan is doing doesn't mean he didn't school that day. He is very independent in his school work and I'm very blessed and lucky for that. 

There are many days I feel I'm living a double life. Maybe a triple life, even. Homeschool mom vs. Author vs Wife. My brain is tugged a hundred different directions at any given moment. The guilt I feel is excruciating. When I'm working on a book I feel that I'm neglecting my family and house. When I'm scrubbing toilets, I feel like I should be writing. But publishing books don't make you an instant millionaire. Even when signed with a publishing house, I had to pay out money for shipping and advertisement (not to Montlake). Money that I could have put toward Logan's curriculum. 

Guilt.

More guilt.

Shove more guilt down my throat with a side of guilt. 

Now this is my life and I don't judge others. They choose to do what they do each and every day and who am I to say that's wrong. Not my job. But what I don't appreciate is people doing that to me. I reign in my snarkiness when someone posts something on my Facebook page about 'it must be nice'. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I have my moments when it's been a tough day and I'm over people's drama and sour words. 

No matter the chaos in my life, I chose it. Each week I stop and analyze what I'm doing. I love writing my twisted dark fiction books and I will continue on with the Deadly Series but Logan's story, our family's story is what pulls at my heart and soul daily.  Of course, Logan equates that to literature studies;-)

Our typical homeschool week equates to a chicken with it's head cut off. With peppered in, field trips, middle school hang outs, sleepovers, museum classes, gaming chill time, cooking class--you get the point. 

The chaos will be amplified once freshman year begins. 

I don't know what my writing schedule will look like, but Logan's education will always be #1 and if that means the third book in the series doesn't even become a title page of my Word document until autumn, so be it.  

Cloning would come in handy. I keep telling Logan to hurry up and build his machine for that.  Slacker. 

The Quirky Mustache's Facebook page has blown up and Logan is loving it. Please show your love and like the page. We will have some giveaways very soon and snippets from our book, Mom, I know I'm Different. 

Until the next post, keep it quirky! 

In The Words Of The 13 Year Old

"Our school room rocks!" 

The kid said as he stopped mid-vocabulary lesson. 

"I'm glad you think so." I responded. 

It's no secret that our family is quite unhinged and our house reflects that with random bits of quirkiness throughout each room. 

On the days when homeschool lessons become stress induced tantrums (from me) I want the environment to reverse those ick factor feelings. 

The newest awesomeness is this:

And language arts just wouldn't be the sale without Zombie Magnetic Poetry. 

When those tough days come around we cover our frown with some sassy lips or sir it up with a fancy mustache. 

Having a fun school room is what has made the difference. I've been schooling the kid for five years and I'm happy that we have a designated space and can find humor when blech moments pop up.