Loving Our Homeschool

Weekly Wrap-Up: Science & Art Edition

2009-11-05T16:18:00.008-05:00

This is my first attempt at doing the Weekly Wrap-Up which is hosted by Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Check out more weekly wrap-ups by clicking here.

We did a lot of art activities this week. We went to a homeschool class at the public library that was about Mexican Folk Art. The girls made sugar skulls which is what is made in Mexico to celebrate Day of the Dead (not a gruesome holiday, but rather a celebration of life and loved ones, or so the librarian told us).

We also had our art appreciation co-op. We learned about Rembrandt. We made etchings since Rembrandt did a lot of etchings. Unlike Rembrandt, we used crayons for our etchings, but we got the idea. We've discovered some terrific videos about artists that are funny and educational. Gotta love that! The moms in the co-op get a kick out of how the animators cover up certain parts of certain works of art, if you know what I mean. The DVDs are from a series called Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists. There are books and DVDs in the series. Our library has several of both which is fantastic.

We're making little scrapbooks from paper lunch bags as we study each artist. We glue on a picture of the artist and/or a picture of some of his greatest works. Then the girls write down (on an index card) some things they've learned about the artist. The card then can go into the paper bag.

Before he painted them in a picture, Rembrandt sometimes liked to dress people up in funny clothes, so the girls put together some fun outfits before we started our etchings.

The girls also attended a birthday party at a local pottery painting place and got to make and paint three Christmas ornaments each. They were in craft heaven this week, especially Lauren!

On to science:
For our regular science studies, we use Apologia's Young Explorer Series. We're doing Land Animals of the Sixth Day which we love, love, love!!! I've heard that some people think these are too in-depth for their kids, but I'm wondering if those people either just read too much each day or started when their kids were a bit too young. My girls are 6 and 8 and ASK to do science. They DREADED science for the last two school years, so it's wonderful to hear them asking to do it now! We finished up our study of marsupials this week and began the chapter on primates.

We threw in some more fun science when we took a field trip to a local hands-on science center. Some out-of-town homeschooling friends met us there which was very fun!

Lauren and I got to ride this bike that is on a track waaaaaay above the ground. It was very strange to have such a big drop-off next to you! Stranger yet was the fact that I actually rode the bike given my adult-onset fear of heights! (Really, it's a fear of anyone falling from any height.)

And of course we did our regular subjects like math, reading, language arts, and history this week, but the theme of the week seemed to be science and art!

What a Quacky Day

2009-10-22T22:56:00.004-04:00

We had a really great field trip to a duck farm recently. This is not a little, bitty farm. They raise and process approximately 3.5 million ducks annually. Products include duck breasts and cooked duck halves in five flavors, as well as a variety of duck sausages. Their primary market is the Asian food market.

These eggs have just arrived from the egg supplier farms and are waiting to be washed and checked for cracks.

The above eggs are waiting to go to the incubators. My incubator picture was really boring, picture a white wall with white doors, so I didn't post it. This particular duck farm takes very good care of their ducks.

Trays and trays full of ducklings! These ducks are being sorted....the white trays held the males and the yellow held the females. I think. It could have been the other way around. Personally, I think the trays should be pink and blue.

Did you know that adult male ducks don't quack? Kind of funny if you think about it.

In an email we had received before the field trip, a suggested question to ask was how can you tell a male duck from a female . So I asked. Our tour guide kind of looked at me funny and didn't really answer. A little while later, he took me aside, without any kids, to where two employees were sorting the ducks according to male or female. And sure enough, ducks have the same little parts that people do. They're just harder to see. Much harder.

Lauren asked a minute later, "Well, how DO they tell them apart, Mom?" So I took her over to the sorting spot. I asked the lady if she could show the girls the duck parts.

She loooooked at me and said, "Oh, I'm not sure we're allowed to do that." To which I replied, "Well, I was just over here and you showed me. I can go check and make sure it's okay if you want."

She then replied, "Well, some parents might not want their kids to see this. We don't usually let the kids see it."

Hmmm.....we were a HOMESCHOOL field trip group. Meaning I am both parent AND teacher and had only walked my two kids over to the sorting spot.

I kindly replied, "I'm their Mom, and it's okay with me if they see it." She then looked at two other girls standing next to me who had just walked over. I said, "And she's THEIR mom and it's okay with her as well."

So, she showed us.

I found that little exchange to be rather humorous. The girls didn't think it was any big deal. Trust me, once you've seen animals like elephants and zebras giving birth via internet video and have seen Michelangelo's David statue in all its glory, a little part like that on a duck is oh-so insignificant. I'm still not sure Ashley realized what she was looking at.

Fire Prevention Where We Need It Most

2009-10-04T20:59:00.001-04:00

I wrote this for our Upward Soccer newsletter and thought I'd go ahead and share it here as well.

It’s Fire Prevention Week which makes me think about, well, fire prevention! We probably all do things around our homes to make sure our families are more protected in case of fire. I know my family does. We have smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher. We have discussed how to use 911 and where we would meet outside of our house in case of a fire. However, my husband and I are very aware that there is something more important to us than the structure in which we live, and that is our marriage. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day activities of life with kids, school, jobs, sports, church activities……you know the drill! But as husband and wife, the best thing we can do for our children is to do some fire prevention in our marriage. How is that done?

It may be as simple as a hug as soon as you both come home at the end of the day. Or it might be actually turning the TV and computer off so that you can really listen and look at and talk to each other without distraction. It might mean not going to those websites or watching those TV shows that you know deep down in your heart are harmful to your marriage. Fire prevention in marriage is you removing yourself from temptation’s way.

Maybe it’s asking a friend to watch your kids for a couple of hours while you take a stroll in the park, go bowling or to the driving range, or have dinner together without the kids. It doesn’t need to be fancy! You could even get take-out and eat at home, but just spend some time together! Perhaps fire prevention in your marriage is noticing when your spouse does something helpful, like making dinner or taking out the trash or mowing the lawn, and then saying something like, “Honey, I so appreciate how you take care of our family by making sure our trash cans are empty.” Okay, so it might sound silly, but it might be just the right thing to say to a busy, tired spouse. When words of appreciation and encouragement are spoken, your spouse knows he or she is loved.

Do you notice that your husband has really awesome leg muscles? Do you think your wife looks fantastic in that color she’s wearing? Then say it! Would your husband appreciate you filling up the gas tank for him? Then do it! Would your wife love it if you bought her a yummy piece of chocolate? Then buy it! Do it out of love for your spouse and a commitment to making your marriage fulfilling and lasting.

Sometimes it’s the big things and sometimes it’s the little things, but they all add up to preventing “fires” in your marriage before the flames of destruction can take hold. What are you doing to quench the sparks of destruction and protect what is so precious to your family?

My Husband's Half-Marathon Mystery

2009-09-26T22:24:00.002-04:00

My dear husband is humoring me by letting me post this message he wrote on a message board for runners. I'm posting it on the off chance that there are more people than just my dear homeschooling friend Stef, my aunt & grandma, and my college roommate (whose blog is WAAAAAY better than mine, you should check it out) reading this. Maybe someone will have some advice for DH.

So, here it is, in his own words. (gasp!)

I have run 3 half-marathons and the last two have been very rough. My first half was one year ago. My splits ranged from 8:03 - 7:31 for a 1:43:08. I was thrilled, I felt good after the race, just the normal tightness and fatigue I expected.

My second half was last May. Splits were 8:22, 7:41, 7:42, 7:42, 7:53, 7:49, 8:04, 7:45, 7:48, 7:58, 8:14, 22:30(last 2.1) for a 1:49:34. I hit the wall in mile 11 and walked several times through the last 2 miles. I still felt pretty normal right after the race, but about 2 hours later I got nauseous, lightheaded and threw up a few times. That passed after laying down for about 4 hours.

Today I finished my 3rd half and had a very similar experience to my last race. Splits started 7:51 – 8:09 for 7 miles, then I faded again and finished with a 1:55:51. When I felt my body start to fade in the middle I tried to slow myself down a little to avoid a repeat of my last race, but still just felt like my body gave out.

Again, I felt normal right after the race, but then almost 2 hours later had the same experience with feeling nauseous until laying down for several hours. My training has been very similar for all three races. After the second race I was thinking it was a hydration issue (still could be) so I made sure I got good hydration leading up to today. I never have any stomach issues in or after training runs.

Any thoughts on what might be going on?

And may I (the wife) just add that he's running a FULL MARATHON in a few weeks??? His first ever!!! I'm a little freaked out about this. My dad (who has a slight obsession with marathons...love you, Dad!) is running it also. Dad, if you're reading this, your goal is to keep DH at a reasonable pace and deliver him to me whole and functioning!! No more puking and being bedridden for hours after a race!

The Star Almost Stopped Her

2009-09-25T22:57:00.004-04:00

My daughters ran in a kids' marathon today. They ran 25 miles over the course of several weeks and ran the last 1.2 miles tonight at a big event.

My girls did a fantastic job! My six year old ran the entire 1.2 miles....something she had not done even in all of their training runs. My older daughter was running with some friends and saw her dad and sister pass her. She told her friends, "I'm going to go faster now because I can't let my little sister beat me."

DH actually didn't think our little one was going to cross the finish line. Right before the finish line, maybe 30 feet (I'm not sure, it could have been 100 feet for all I know because I'm horrible at estimating distances) there stood the mascot, the very cute, brightly colored mascot, for a local radio station. She is TERRIFIED of mascots. We will not be able to go to Disneyworld until she is about 16, I swear.

DH said she shuffled her feet and came to a stop. He seriously didn't think she would run by the mascot and finish the race. He told her not to look at the mascot and to just keep going. She told me later, "I watched him the whole way." There was no way she was taking her eyes off of the mascot in case he decided to make a move toward her!

I'm proud of my little runners!

How Do You Spend YOUR Time?

2009-09-17T13:28:00.003-04:00

"Guest" blog post from Todd Wilson, aka "The Familyman." Permission to copy and post it granted in the email we received. See his encouraging website by clicking here.

Hey Dad,

Things are mighty busy around the old Wilson house. We just got back from speaking at Spruce Lake Camp in Pennsylvania and then had to be in Chicago to speak shortly after that. My beloved bride thought it would be a great time to kill two birds with one stone so we all went and tackled IKEA the same day. Now, we're bushed and running on fumes.

While we were in Pennsylvania, I told the group a story about a dad who travels too much and whose child asked him to "please come home." Afterwards, I walked out of the building with a couple, and as soon as we hit the outdoors, the wife took off unannounced and walked right into the woods.

"I guess she's going on a hike," the husband said with a look of surprise.

Later, the wife came up to me and apologized for "running off." Being a man, which means I am almost never offended by anything, I assured her I didn't think anything of it. Then she explained her "need for a hike."

"After you told that story about the traveling dad...I just lost it." I expected her to tell me that her husband is a workaholic and that he is gone all the time, but that's not what she said. "My dad traveled and was gone A LOT," she said through teary eyes. "Forty years later, I still feel that impact."

She paused, and for a moment I saw a little girl who desperately needed her daddy. Then she added..."Tell that to all those dads you speak to."

And so I am. Because one day, even if it’s 40 years later, your son or daughter will still feel the impact of your absence. That's the power you have in their lives. That's Father Power.

You ‘da dad,

Todd

I (Loving Our Homeschool) think this could apply to moms and how much time they do or don't spend with their kids too, don't you think?

If you would like to receive the "Familyman Weekly", sign up at www.familymanweb.com

I Like to Win Giveaways

2009-09-14T22:34:00.003-04:00

The Crafty Crow's Giveaway Monday item is a new book from Klutz. In order to enter the drawing, I needed to post a link here, so that's the sole purpose of this blog post.

If you've never visited The Crafty Crow blog, it really is a great blog with lots of fun, crafty ideas to do with your kids!

So Many Books, So Little Time!

2009-09-12T00:05:00.005-04:00

In lieu of the exciting blog posts I usually put here (HA) I thought I'd post the list of all of the books I've read so far in 2009. I was surprised by how many it is, but then I remembered we basically quit watching any and all TV during the summer months and instead I read a lot.

There's no big reason we quit watching TV but having only about 14 channels, that number including four, count them, four, PBS channels, two weather radar channels, and two religious channels whose shows are usually just not my cup of tea, might have had something to do with it.

Besides this list, I'm also in the middle of two different fiction books, one biography, and two non-fiction books, one about love and marriage and one about daughters. I like to have a little variety in my reading choices for the day.

Here is my list for all three of you who still check this blog. :o)

And yes, I know you're supposed to underline book titles, but tough. I'm not going to keep hitting "underline" and "un-underline."

A disclaimer: Just because I read these books doesn't mean they're for everyone. I like a good mystery and many of those do not have rated G language or situations.

Fiction:
· Ninth Witness by Bodie & Brock Thoene
· Tenth Stone by Bodie & Brock Thoene
· Eragon by Christopher Paolini
· Eldest by Christopher Paolini (Well, I didn’t really read the whole thing because, quite frankly, I got bored with it. I found his first book, Eragon, to be a much better read.)
· A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson
· A Lady of Hidden Intent by Tracie Peterson
· A Lady of Secret Devotion by Tracie Peterson
· Winds of Promise by Bodie & Brock Thoene
· Love’s Enduring Promise by Janette Oke
· The Negotiator by Dee Henderson
· The Guardian by Dee Henderson
· The Witness by Dee Henderson
· The Protector (didn’t read the whole thing, skimmed about ¼ of it...sometimes I skim a lot if it just gets too slow moving) by Dee Henderson
· M is for Malice by Sue Grafton
· One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
· Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
· Three to get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
· Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
· High Five by Janet Evanovich
· Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
· Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
· Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
· To The Nines by Janet Evanovich
· Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
· The Associate by John Grisham
· Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
· Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

NonFiction
· Crazy Love by Frances Chan
· Multiple Blessings by Kate Gosselin (well, only read ¾ of it, then they announced they were getting divorced, so I figured what’s the point of reading the rest? It just made me sad.)

Books of the Bible:
John
Malachi
Romans
Galatians
Isaiah
I & II Corinthians
Ephesians
I & II Thessalonians
James

Read-Alouds (chapter books only, I’m not listing all of the picture books!) that I read to the girls:
· Tales of Robin Hood retold by Tony Allan
· Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
· My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
· The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
· A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
· Catching Their Talk in a Box by Betty M. Hockett
· The Apprentice by Pilar Molinaa Llorente
· The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
· The Watermelon Mystery by Paul Hutchens
· Dolphin Adventure by Wayne Grover
· The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
· Walk the World’s Rim by Betty Baker
· Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
· Pedro’s Journal by Pam Conrad
· Five True Dog Stories by Margaret Davidson

Our Past Couple of Weeks

2009-08-27T23:12:00.007-04:00

I started typing this post a few days ago. Now it's Sunday, and I'm totally bummed that I'm stuck at home and couldn't go to church. A couple of times a year my back decides to have terrible muscle spasms which make me hunch over like a 90 year old woman, the pain of the spasms making me bite my lower lip so hard that today I thought, "Hmm....I could possibly bite through my lip, not good" and I actually become crooked with my right shoulder several inches lower than my left, noticeable when I can actually stand up straight. This all happened this morning for no apparent reason. Fun, fun.

Anyway, on to the post I had started writing earlier this week:

We had a really good week this week! Wednesday & Thursday were just really good school days. I have to remember to cherish those because it doesn't always go like that!

Ashley LOVES her learn-to-read program, Headsprout, which she does on the computer. I found her sitting this way while doing it one day. I thought it was funny.

We've been studying Native Americans, so one day Lauren decided to wear this Indian headband that she had made a while ago.

We've had a couple of fun trips to the zoo. We let the girls take their annual ride on the ponies and horses.

The absolute cutest 6 year old I know:

She's coloring a lion and a mouse to go along with Aesop's Fables literature pockets we're doing. She LOVES her "pockets" as she calls them.

Kid Quote #1 for the 2009 School Year

2009-08-24T22:11:00.006-04:00

Our six year old was praying at bedtime tonight.

She prayed, "Deah Jesus, thank you fow this day. I hope we have a good day tomo-whoa. And I hope I don't have to do handwhiting. In Jesus' name, Amen"

DH and I did a great job of supressing our smiles.

Earlier in the night, we were talking about how we could show love to others. Her idea was this, "If you have to do handwhiting but you don't want to, then you just do it and don't compwain about it."

Handwriting (or "handwhiting") was a new addition to her school work today. Apparently it was not a favorite of hers. LOL

Keeping It Real

2009-08-23T21:35:00.003-04:00

Our pastor often talks about being authentic....basically what I call "keeping it real." Showing people not only your "good" side but the one that messes up or has troubles sometimes too.

So I thought I'd do that now.

Often when people share about their homeschooling experiences, they share only the good, wonderful parts, of which there are many, to be sure! But that sometimes makes their homeschooling peers feel inadequate and like they're the only ones who have rough days.

Not so, my friends, not so.

We have eight school days under our belts for the 2009-2010 school year.

Keeping It Real Item #1: My oldest child has cried EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

She does this when she feels like she doesn't know how to do something. She does this when she is frustrated. She basically does this at the drop of a hat. It's so FUN FOR MOM. Ha.

I mentally check myself during these times:

Am I being patient?
Am I monitoring my tone of voice?
Am I expecting her to do something she's incapable of doing?
Did she ask for more explanation and I ignored her?

Over the past eight days of school, when I asked myself these questions, I have been able to answer in the way I would hope to answer. It's just her. She's apparently hard on herself or just ultra sensitive or something. I'm trying to respond in the kindest, gentlest way and trying to let her know that the beauty of homeschooling is that we CAN slow down or take some extra time to work on something. Usually that's not the issue though and the perceived problem is easily remedied and then she is fine.

Keeping It Real Item #2: My house is not magazine picture perfect.

Books, papers, pillows, blankets, toys, more papers, unfolded laundry, folded laundry, dirty laundry, craft supplies.....these things are found in abundance throughout the house.

I figure I'm doing well if I have supper planned and everything accomplished for school that I wanted to accomplish. Anything else I was able to get done is a bonus. Thankfully, I'm blessed with a husband who understands this and doesn't mind pawing through the clean laundry for his underwear.

Keeping It Real Item #3: Sometimes we eat popcorn from Target for lunch.

This usually only happens on days when we have piano lessons and then need to run some errands afterwards. Really.

Keeping It Real Item #4: Sometimes I let my kids watch TV during lunch because I know they'll be quiet and it gives me a break.

Keeping It Real Item #5: Some days I don't get showered and dressed until after lunch, and then it's only because I have to go somewhere in the late afternoon.

This has not happened yet this school year, but I'm sure it will.

Keeping It Real Item #6: I will willingly talk to and/or start up a conversation with a complete stranger in the grocery store (or the cashiers, some of whom I see more regularly than some of my local friends) because I just want to talk to an adult at some point before 5:00 each day.

Keeping It Real Item #7: There are days when I feel very much alone.

Keeping It Real Item #8: Sometimes I get so caught up in wanting to get everything done, I forget to have fun along the way.

#8 makes me sad. So I'm trying really hard to fix that one. Smile more. Laugh more. Go outside for breaks more, all of us, not just the kids. REALLY enjoy these precious 18 or so years that I have them with me at home.

Why Do I Work?

2009-08-14T17:08:00.004-04:00

About nine months ago, I got a part-time job at a local tutoring place. We specialize in helping kids who have a variety of learning problems including visual processing & tracking problems, auditory problems, reading problems (decoding & comprehension), attention problems, etc. It's not a typical "homework" tutoring situation.

I put in about 9 hours a week....8 hours of that is spent with kids.

I've found it interesting that in the past month or so, I've had two people, a new neighbor and a lady I was talking to at the pool, who, upon hearing we homeschool AND that I have a part-time job, say about the job, "Oh, that's good that you get out of the house" or "It's nice that you can get out of the house."

Ummmmm.......no, that's not why I have a job!! I get out of the house plenty, thankyouverymuch. Just because a person HOMEschools doesn't mean the person never leaves the home!

Has anyone else felt the pinch of rising grocery, gas, and electric prices? Well, we sure were feeling it, and THAT is why I work. Trust me, I have plenty on my plate, and I get "out" just the right amount. I would not work if I didn't need to do so.

We are very thankful for the blessing of my part-time job. It has allowed us to have more of a cushion in our finances. The training I received for my job has helped me be a better teacher to my own children because I know how to better address some of the struggles they have.

But trust me, I do NOT work to "get out of the house." And I don't work to "have a break" from my children. If I wanted a break from my children, would I go spend eight hours a week teaching other people's children......children who are usually a bit harder to work with? I think not.

Get Ready, Get Set.....

2009-07-23T22:12:00.009-04:00

***Note: read the comments for a little more explanation. I know this is a long blog post. I hate reading long blog posts. LOL

.....for the fall activities to start! Come mid-August, our lives get hectic with L's soccer practice & games, cross country practice & meets for DH, school, swimming, field trips, and for the first time in years, I'll be working 9-10 hours outside of the home during the fall madness. I work during the dinner hour which creates even more craziness.

In an attempt at preserving my sanity, and hopefully to keep us from eating only frozen pizzas and sandwiches for dinner two times a week, I spent a whole Friday making freezer meals. A few people were interested in how/what I did, so I'm writing about it here. Aren't you LUCKY?

First, let me say that I have an incredible husband who is not picky at all. I am the more picky one and that works out well for us since I do most of the cooking. I've known women whose husbands won't eat soup as a main dish, won't eat casseroles, won't eat meals/meat/bread that have been frozen, won't eat breakfast foods for dinner, etc. We have never been able to tell the difference between a freshly made meal and one that I have pre-made and frozen.

I feel very badly for those women, and if I were one of them, I think my husband would have to do all of the cooking unless I were picky in that same way.

So, if you HAVE one of those husbands, I'm sorry.

And if you ARE one of those husbands (not that many men actually read this blog), well, I will just bite my tongue and not say anything else.

Okay, first, last summer I read the book The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet : A Month of Meals Made Easy by Nanci Slagle. The book gives you all sorts of tips and tricks for making freezer meals, snacks, and desserts. It has charts you can copy that help you organize your meal plan, ingredient list, and shopping list.

The book also has a lot of recipes to use and their website, 30 Day Gourmet, has tons and tons of free recipes as well. Each recipe lists the ingredients for making just one of the item clear up to six of the same item.

If you want to do a big cooking day with a friend so that you both go home some meals, the book explains how to do that in detail. I do not like group cooking, so I chose to do my meals by myself.

I pre-cooked the ground beef and chicken that I was going to need. For casserole type dishes, I line a pan with foil (put the foil around the outside bottom of the pan, then flip the foil over into the inside of the pan for an easy fit). I do this so that all of my 9x13 pans aren't in the freezer. When it's time to bake that food, I just stick it, foil and all, back into the 9x13 pan.

Here is what I put in the freezer (not all are from the 30 Day Gourmet). And we haven't actually eaten a lot of these yet. I was experimenting. Oh, and there are a few of these things that I didn't make on my big cooking day, but this is what is in my freezer right now.

Stuffed Shells Soooo easy to make a double recipe! When doubling, I use 16 oz. ricotta and 16 oz. cottage cheese. For me, when I double this, I need just over one box of pasta shells. I use my Pampered Chef cookie scoop to stuff them.

Fireman Dan's Chocolate Cream Pie

Cheeseburger & Fries Delight (probably not the healthiest of choices here)

Cheesy Pizza Casserole

Best Homemade Chicken Soup

Chicken Divan (this one is in The Freezer Cooking Manual mentioned above)

Pizza Burgers (this one is also in The Freezer Cooking Manual mentioned above)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (in The Freezer Cooking Manual)

Parsley Parmesan Chicken.... (scroll down to see the recipe after clicking the link) I did pre-bake this one and it smelled SOOOO good!! (also in The Freezer Cooking Manual)

Sausage/Egg Casserole....you can find recipes for this type of thing all over the place. Just choose the one that sounds best to you.

Peanut Butter Bars (scroll down to see the recipe after clicking the link) These are awesome!!!(also in The Freezer Cooking Manual)

Turkey Meatballs---I put the recipe below b/c I got it from my mother-in-law:
Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy

1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey (I just use turkey in those frozen tube type thingies like sausage comes in)
Medium onion, minced (or use onion flakes if you don’t have an onion)
3 slices of bread, shredded
1 egg
Salt & pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 cup rice (raw) (I find that Minute Rice works the best. Other rice doesn't get soft enough for me.)

Mix above ingredients together and form into meatballs. Place in a casserole dish or in a crockpot. **If freezing the meatballs, bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until they look done. Freeze on a cookie sheet. When frozen, place in a ziplock or other freezer container.

For serving day, combine the following:
1 Tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet (a browning sauce that is flavorless…used so that the meat looks brown, I guess)
1 c. water
1 c. cream of mushroom soup OR cream of chicken

Pour the soup mixture over the meatballs.

Cover and bake at 350 for 1-1/4 hours (I've never done this with frozen ones, so just try it and see what works) OR put in the crockpot on low for several hours/all day. I always use the crockpot for these.

Can serve with mashed potatoes, noodles, rice, whatever you like. I like to thicken the gravy up a bit with some guar gum or xanthan.

I also froze several ziplock baggies filled with chicken breasts and some of our favorite marinades. Usually I just use some sort of salad dressing for the marinade. These are handy to just let thaw during the day and then throw them on the grill.

I think that's it!

Rollin' on the River

2009-07-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

While at the family reunion, we went on a little canoe trip. The river was great....no rapids or scarey parts at all. In fact, there is only a current when the wind is blowing. It's very calm.

Ashley rode with DH and myself. Near the end of the trip, I gave her my paddle to use which she thought was great!

Lauren rode with Grandpa.

Our canoe and DH's cousins' canoe.
The whole group minus two adult brothers who were on a mission to find turtles.

We saw a beaver, some turtles, fish, birds swooping down to catch fish (father-in-law called them "shore birds" which we all thought was a rather convenient name...they probably have a more specific name but no one knew it), and we saw a bald eagle. It was so incredibly cool to see that eagle soaring in the sky!! God's creation is awesome!

Just Add Water

2009-07-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

At our annual Christmas in July family reunion, we have a decorated tree and everyone puts out Christmas stockings for the annual stocking stuffing event.

Some of the male members of the family brought this tree back to camp to decorate. They told all of the kids to each add a cup of water to the bucket. The kids were then sent on a hike.

Upon returning from their hike, lo and behold, they found a Christmas in July miracle! The tree had turned green and beautiful.

Amazing, don't you think?

What A Sight It Must Have Been

2009-07-12T17:38:00.004-04:00

We had our annual Christmas in July family reunion at The Springs Camp this year. DH's cousin and wife run the camp. What a wonderful place! We had perfect camping weather and had the whole place to ourselves since it was the July 4 weekend and no teen or kid camps were taking place.

The very first day we were there, in fact, within the very first hour, Lauren and her new cousin friends (second cousins once removed or something to that effect) decided to ride their bikes down this big, BIG hill. This is the sledding/tubing hill, mind you.

This is the view from the bottom.

This view gives you a little more perspective. This is from the top as Lauren is sliding down a giant slip-n-slide later that weekend.
And this? This, my friends, is the result of deciding to go down the hill once WITH brakes and once WITHOUT. It looks pretty gross in this picture because cousin Martha had this handy-dandy cool bandage that allowed air in but did not allow the injury to form a scab. But the blood kind of squooshed all over under the clear bandage and looked gross.

We found it quite ironic that we were the only parents who made their children wear bike helmets yet our child was the only one injured the entire weekend. The bike helmet may have saved her face from further damage though since she DID hit her nose and had a little bruise on it.

We're a little disappointed that we did not see the actual event take place since it was probably just crazy, although I'm not sure my heart would have survived such excitement.

2009-06-19T00:24:00.000-04:00

A Sandbox & A Water Hose....

2009-06-13T17:01:00.003-04:00

....make a fun, yet messy, combination. This combo also makes for happy kids (& neighbor kids). They had so much fun making this.

Park Day for Mom

2009-06-04T22:47:00.005-04:00

We went to the park today with some friends. Lauren said, "I know why you moms want us to go to the park. It's so you can TALK."

You got that right, babe! She learns quickly, huh?

Apparently I don't though because while I put sunscreen on the girls' faces and on the back of my neck and on my arms, I somehow neglected the front of my neck and the v-neck part of my t-shirt. I'm nice and rosy there. Nice little "v" with the occassional white streak from where I came around from the back of my neck to the front while applying the sunscreen to the back.

I somehow forgot about my own face because I now have a half red, half white forehead. My bangs only cover half of my forehead, so only half got burned which results in an interesting look.

Maybe I could wear my bangs the opposite way tomorrow so as to burn evenly.

Somehow, even with sunscreen only on their faces, the girls aren't sunburned at all....they are all one color.

The strange sunburn (which really isn't THAT bad...it doesn't even hurt) is worth it for all of the laughs and good talking that went on for four hours at the park. My mom said, "FOUR HOURS? You were at the park for FOUR HOURS?"

Yep, but it didn't seem that long at all. Good thing I was there with the right people. I think other moms were jealous of all of the FUN going on at our little bench.

Good times, good times.

Moms....get yourselves to a great park, pronto. Meet up with some great friends there, be honest and real with each other. Your life will be all the better for it. (And your kids will think you're awesome for letting them play with their friends!) Whatever it is you might be dealing with, you're not alone. Sometimes it just takes a park day to find that out!

It's Math-Tastic!

2009-05-17T14:10:00.006-04:00

We use Math-U-See for our math curriculum. We love it. When the girls start a new lesson, they watch a short video clip of Mr. Demme explaining the new concept. Lauren and I got to chat with Mr. Demme at a homeschool expo yesterday. She was thrilled.

Lauren's comment about Mr. Demme: He's really TALL!

Ashley's comment about Mr. Demme (upon seeing the picture): He's really BALD! lol (He wasn't shaving his head yet when the videos were made)

Why I love Math-U-See:

We use blocks to demonstrate just about every thing....love the hands-on concept of BUILDING an addition and subtraction problem. The child can really see that the two block plus the three block is the same length as the five block.
I love how telling time is taught...once again, with the blocks....and you only do minutes until those are mastered and then add hours alone and then combine them. And you get to put the blocks on a huge clock pattern.
I love that each single digit number and the numbers 10 and 100 are associated with their own unique colors. I feel this is especially helpful for right-brained children as well as for children with learning disabilities. It helps give color and visual cues for that right-brained child. When we add 2+3=5, we see that it's orange+pink=light blue. And believe me, the kids KNOW that orange is two, three is pink, and five is light blue!
I love how it teaches place value with "Decimal Street" and houses for the units (ones), tens and hundreds blocks.
I love the on-line worksheet generator and the on-line practice drills.

You can watch a demo video of how Math-U-See works by clicking here. And no, I am not getting paid to write all of this stuff. I just think, when used correctly and the way they tell you to use it, that this is a really good math program!

The Fiber Arts Festival OR The Bowel Regularity Carnival

2009-05-09T17:00:00.003-04:00

We went to a Fiber Arts Festival this week. Our friend Aaron said it sounded like it should be called the Bowel Regularity Carnival.

Hopefully the only ones displaying the regularity of their bowels were the alpacas and goats that were available for our viewing pleasure.

For a mere 50 cents each, the girls were able to weave their own baskets. They also did some wet felting and make little flowers out of wool. Well, I think it was wool. I was a little unclear on that part.

The girls each spun some yarn. I was just glad that Ashley didn't growl at the man showing them how to do it. He got a big kick out of her and how shy she was. In fact, I think we had a break through today because I don't think she even scowled at him. Trust me, the look in this picture her scowl.

They also did a little stitching and made little stars on plastic canvas. A fun, cheap time was had by all.

Ignore the Yard Clutter

2009-05-07T19:20:00.008-04:00

If you promise to ignore our yard clutter, I will post some pictures of our recent gardening adventures. We truly are not the hillbillies of the neighborhood, but you can't tell that from these pictures. The shed will be re-roofed this summer (it's just hideous looking, don't you think?) and the sawhorses will hopefully be placed INSIDE the shed SOON. The wood pile is one of DH's little summer projects. He has a lot of wood to split so that we can burn it in our wood burning stove next winter.

Hmmmm....maybe we ARE the hillbillies of the neighborhood.

Regardless, the plan is to eventually hide the woodpile with plants, but that might take a few years. I was thinking of putting up some sort of trellis and having some sort of creeping flower plant on the trellis. Feel free to remind me of what those types of flowers are called because the name escapes me at the moment. This year there will be loads of sunflowers growing along the back edge. We hope.

This is the "after" picture of the above flower bed. It will get a nice edge and some stepping stones in among the plants someday (instead of the handy shingle scraps we had available). We moved all but two of the flowers in this flower bed from other places in our yard. Two of them come from DH's parents though.

Below is an empty corner where DH doesn't want to mow. I do not mow. I am not allowed to mow for various reasons, one being the safety of everyone around. Once while using the electric hedge trimmers, I almost cut through the cord. I cut down to the wires and through their plastic coating miraculously not getting electrocuted in the process.

These hostas are from our front yard, our side yard, and DH's parents. I think he wants to put rocks around these hostas even though he knows how much I abhor rocks in flower beds. But, since I'm the primary weed puller, I might let him try it in this corner. NEVER in the front flower beds or the one by the shed though!
This is a picture of the edging DH is putting around the front flower bed. I have wanted a defined edge around these beds for three years. Isn't that middle bush just LOVELY. It's a late bloomer and every year I swear it's dead, but it comes around.

At least the front yard doesn't look like a hillbilly yard. We actually have a very nice looking front yard due to DH's diligence with the weed killer and grass fertilizer. Plus, I paid Ashley a dollar per flower to go through and pluck off the yellow dandelion heads. I figure if you pluck the flower part off before they go to seed, then the week killer can kill them through the leaves and we'll be good to go AND have less seeds floating around. I hate dandelions.

Easy to Grab Snacks!

2009-05-07T14:56:00.004-04:00

I love to have snacks that are cheap, easy to grab, and portable.

Since my kids love Chex Mix, I make up a batch of that, put it in individual snack sized baggies, put all of those into one large baggie, and stick them all in the freezer. This keeps them fresh, they are easy-peasy to grab, and yes, they are VERY portable!

I just use the three different kinds of Chex cereal (the store brand usually) and sometimes throw in some pretzels if I have them.

I don't use the recipe on the cereal box because I SWEAR they have added ingredients to it since I was a kid, and I like the one I use better.

The Recipe:
3 cups EACH of wheat chex, rice chex, and corn chex.
1 cup each of pretzels and/or nuts if you want

Mix all of that together in a big bowl.

Melt 6 Tablespoons butter (or margarine if you don't like the good stuff) and mix in 2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce and 1-1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt.

Pour over cereal mixture and mix it up well. Try not to break all of that crunchy cereal. :o)

Pour the cereal onto big baking sheets (like you use for cookies, but you need to use one with sides on it!)

Bake at 250 degrees for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Another great recipe that freezes well and is good to grab & go is this recipe for homemade granola bars.

Happy Spring!

2009-04-30T16:09:00.004-04:00

We've had some really nice days this week, but today was not one of them weather-wise. However, we were actually home ALL DAY LONG today. FINALLY. So, we made tissue paper "stained glass" flowers. The girls decided to go for the multi-colored flower look since that is so common in nature.

We got the idea for this craft from ninth street east. She has detailed instructions on how to make these. It's not hard. We were even able to do it without using an exacto knife.

We used a glue stick for the glue and it worked just fine.

Yes, I still have up snowmen decorations. (see the background of the picture below) Every Christmas I put them up when we do the Christmas decorations, SWEARING that I will take them down before spring arrives. And every year, the snowmen are there to greet not only spring, but sometimes the early days of summer as well.

Let Them Eat.....Dumplings

2009-04-19T22:07:00.003-04:00

You may have seen this post around in blog world, but let me just say YUUUUUMMMMMMMM!!!!! Yum, Yum, Yum. And EASY. Easy, easy, easy. That is a big requirement in recipes.

And you must serve them with vanilla ice cream. Or cinnamon if you can find it.

From The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Apple Dumplings

And a big shout out to my friend Kathy who sent a text to her hubby to let my hubby, who had forgotten his cell phone, know to stop at the store to buy some vanilla ice cream on his way home. We'll have to have you over for dumplings so you can enjoy their extreme yumminess.