Paradice Academy

Discipling Our Children

2012-01-13T08:10:00.000-05:00

I'm rereading a book by Paul David Tripp called Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens. I read it several years ago after I purchased it from a homeschool conference, but think it should be reread periodically as a refresher. I'm learning new things this time through because I'm in a different place spiritually, and my daughter is older and hopefully more spiritually and emotionally mature. The last time I read it was with my son in mind, as my daughter was not yet a teenager.

Something struck me today and I'd like to share it. Chapter 3 has a section that discusses interpretation. Paul says,

"...all children think, and the thoughts of their hearts shape the way they live their lives...Parents who understand that their children are interpreters do everything they can to get them to think out loud and instill in them a distinctively biblical view of life. They will realize that this is usually not done in formal times of instruction like family worship, but spontaneously as issues come up in the course of family life...It is vital that as we live in the mundane moments of life with our children, we teach them to see life from God's perspective. Parents who understand that their children are not simply reacting to the facts, but are interpreting the facts in a way that gives them a particular shape and meaning, will ask good questions and be good listeners."

I don't think I've ever really stopped to think about this, but it's true. I find myself wondering why in the world my daughter gets so upset about certain things, and I now understand it's because she's interpreting them in a different light from what I am. These are good teaching moments, once we get past the anger.

Paul goes on to talk about "fixing" a fruit tree that won't produce good, juicy fruit by stapling good, juicy fruit to the branches. He didn't solve the problem of the tree not producing good fruit, but only made an outward change that won't last. The new fruit doesn't have any support and will eventually rot.

"I'm convinced that much of what we have called Christian parenting is nothing more or less than 'fruit stapling'...This 'sin is bad, don't do it' brand of parenting forgets that sin is not only a matter of behavior, but a matter of the thoughts and motives of the heart as well. It fails to recognize that if the heart does not change, any behavioral changes that take place will be temporary and cosmetic, because they will not be attached to roots in the heart."

I've fallen into the trap of trying to change my children's behavior by "stapling" instead of getting to the root of the problem. It only creates more work for all of us, however, because the original problem never gets solved and typically only grows bigger.

Our biggest problem right now is that our daughter doesn't take discipline well at all. She immediately gets an attitude and doesn't listen to what we say, instead arguing or negating everything. It's quite frustrating to try to have a simple conversation with her or give her a simple instruction, only to have it turn into an argument.

Verse for 2012

2012-01-01T08:46:00.001-05:00

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

New Blog Open

2011-12-25T14:20:00.002-05:00

I just started a new blog titled Adventures in Homesteading. The address is http://dicefamilyhomesteading.blogspot.com/ if you'd like to follow me there as well. Paradice Academy will be used for general family news and school related news, but all homesteading news will be at the new blog.

Pie Recipes

2011-11-23T16:09:00.001-05:00

I decided to try two new pie recipes this Thanksgiving. I know, a holiday is probably not the best time to try something new, but I hate doing the same old thing. I've done a pumpkin cheesecake for several years, but this year I found a recipe with a cheesecake layer on the bottom, a regular pumpkin layer on top of that and then it's all topped with a yummy streusel topping. I also found a recipe for pecan pie (one of my husband's holiday requests) that doesn't use corn syrup. I don't know about you, but just the idea of using corn syrup grosses me out. I won't even eat one bite of regular pecan pie if it's made with the nasty stuff.

Pie Crust

Ingredients

· 1/2 cup vegetable shortening or butter, frozen (I used butter)

· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 1/2 cup ice cold water

Directions

1. Mixshortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until verycrumbly or pulse gently in a food processor. If using a food processor, transfer to a medium mixing bowl at this point. Add as much water as needed, one tablespoons at a time to hold together, and mix lightlywith a fork. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Rollgently on a floured pastry cloth to about an inch larger than pie plate. Foldcarefully in half, lift to pie plate, and unfold. Press into pan. For asingle-crust pie, trim with a small knife to about 1/2 inch beyond rim. Foldup, and pinch so edge of pie is raised from rim.

3. Follow directions for whichever pie recipe you're using for baking instructions.

*Add 1 T. fine sugar to flour if desired for a sweet pie.

Pecan Pie V

Ingredients

· 1 cup light brown sugar

· 2 T white sugar

· 1/2 cup butter

· 2 eggs

· 2 T bourbon or Grand Marnier (not in original recipe)

· 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

· 1 tablespoon milk

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 1 cup chopped pecans

· ½ cup halved pecans (not in original recipe)

Directions

1. Preheatoven to 350 degrees F.

2. Ina large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter. Stir in thebrown sugar, white sugar and the flour; mix well. Add the milk, bourbon,vanilla and nuts.

3. Flourboth sides of pie crust before placing in pan. Pour into an unbaked 9-in pieshell. Spread halved pecans evenly on top. Bake in preheated oven for 15minutes, then reduce heat to 300˚ and bake an additional 50-55 minutes, oruntil done.

4. Allowto sit overnight so the flavor mellows and the texture sets up.

Old Fashioned Paradise Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

1 (9 inch) pie shell

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

1 egg, beaten

1 1/4 c. pumpkin puree

1 c. evaporated milk

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. white sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. salt

2 T. flour

2 T. brown sugar

4 T. flour

4 T. butter, softened

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. To make cheesecake layer: In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1/4 cup sugar, then add vanilla and 1 egg. Beat mixture until light and smooth. Spread into pie shell and chill for 30 minutes.

3. To make pumpkin layer: In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and flour. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

4. Pour pumpkin mixture over cream cheese layer. Cover edges of crust with foil and bake in oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes.

5. To make streusel layer: While pie is in the oven, combine flour and brown sugar in small bowl. Mix well, then add softened butter and stir until combined. Mix in pecans.

6. After pie has been in the oven for 50 minutes, remove and sprinkle with pecan streusel evenly over top. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-09T15:06:00.002-05:00

*I'm thankful for a husband who does little (and big) things to make my day better.
*I'm thankful for healthy children.
*I'm thankful that my husband makes enough money to support us while I homeschool.
*I'm thankful for friends to get together with and laugh and have a good time.
*I'm thankful for my wonderful sister and that we have such a good relationship.
*I'm thankful that my daughter and I enjoy being with each other.

Peter Reinhart's Sourdough Starter

2011-10-25T17:31:00.000-04:00

I think my previous sourdough was a failure. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post, but starting at about day four or five it developed what looked like white strands on the top connecting little white balls, almost like spider eggs. It also started smelling pretty bad and never really developed the nice, yeasty aroma I kept reading about. I did a ton of research and came across the site BreadTopia. This site is amazing if you are truly interested in bread baking. Eric has tons of videos, including a series on starting, maintaining, freezing, reviving, and drying your sourdough starter.

The method he uses for making a starter was taken from Peter Reinhart, the author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, and Crust and Crumb. This method utilizes pineapple juice instead of purified water, though you can use water if desired. The reason for the pineapple juice is that the acidity in the juice keeps the pH balance where it's supposed to be so the good bacteria wins and the bad bacteria doesn't take over. I'm hoping this will take care of the problem I experienced with the first starter.

I did try to revive the first starter, but didn't have any luck. Even with aerating it several times over two days, it didn't grow and started developing white balls on the top. Since it also started smelling, I threw it out.

Now for my third attempt. I combined 3 1/2 tablespoons of flour and 1/4 cup of pineapple juice in a mason jar and covered it loosely with plastic wrap. This is now supposed to sit on my counter for approximately 48 hours. During that time I need to aerate it 2-3 times per day. Bubbles may appear, but it is also normal to see absolutely no activity.

Day 1 right after mixing.

Kefir

2011-10-24T12:13:00.001-04:00

I just received my kefir grains from Keysands through Amazon and made my first two batches of Kefir. I rinsed the grains with Dasani water and put them in a mason jar with 1 cup of organic 2% milk. I left it on the counter for 24 hours to ferment and drained the milk away from the grains. The directions stated that the first batch would probably be "off" and could be discarded. I dumped the milk down the drain and transferred the grains to a clean mason jar. I added one cup of milk and put the lid on, but didn't tighten it all the way.

Taken a few hours after transferring.

After 20 hours I drained the milk into a glass cup and separated out the grains.

Once it was done draining, I put the grains in the bottom of mason jar. They look similar to cottage cheese.

I poured in two cups of milk and if you look closely you can see some of the grains floating on the top towards the left. The directions state to use about 1 tablespoon of kefir grains per cup of milk. This time I used organic creamline whole milk.

This is what was left in the glass after straining. You can see a thin line towards the bottom of the glass. That's the whey. I just left it for now. I'll either mix it back in and use it in a smoothie, or try to strain it out and have whey and cream cheese.

New Apron

2011-10-24T11:52:00.001-04:00

I made myself a new apron this morning. I have an over-the-head full-size apron, but sometimes I want a shorter one. I already have one, but I think it's too pretty to use. I'm afraid to get it dirty for fear the washing machine will damage it.

I decided to use a kitchen hand towel that has some bleach spots on it and a ribbon we got with our quilt. I folded the top edge over about one-inch to hide another bleach spot. I then tucked a length of ribbon into each side and sewed right on the existing seam. Horse Girl suggested next time I thread the ribbon through the top and leave it loose and adjustable. That would have been much easier.

Cost of new apron = FREE

I folded the bottom up about a third and sewed the edges. I made an oops in the beginning and accidentally sewed the top edge of the pocket. I was so proud of myself too, because I just followed one of the lines on the towel and made a nice straight line. Oh, well!

I also sewed a line up the middle of the folded section to make two pockets.

Pizza Crust/Breadstick Recipe

2011-10-23T19:15:00.002-04:00

One of my menus this month features breadsticks so I searched around until I found some pizza dough and breadstick recipes. I ended up combing several recipes in order to get what I wanted. The ingredient list and most of the directions come from Passionate Homemaking. Here's the recipe, including my changes.

2 T. yeast
3 1/2 cups water, divided (110 degrees)
3 T. acid medium (yogurt, kefir, lemon juice, whey, apple cider vinegar)
1 t. honey
1/4 cup honey
1 T. salt
8-10 cups whole wheat flour (or combination with kamut)

Soaking:
Combine 8 cups flour, 3 cups water, substituting some of the water with 3 T. acid medium, and 1/4 cup honey. Allow to soak for 12-24 hours.

Kneading:
After soaking, activate yeast in a small container with the remaining 1/2 cup warm water and 1 t. honey. Allow to foam up for about 5 minutes. Add the proofed yeast to the soaked flour, along with the salt. Mix well and let rest (autolyse) for 15 minutes. Knead for 5-10 minutes, adding additional flour as needed. Transfer to a greased bowl, turning to coat. Let rise until double.

Dough ready to rise.

Baking:
For Pizza: Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Divide into four sections. Roll each into desired shape. (Roll on parchment paper, turning 1/8 of a turn once every roll, only rolling away from your body.) Pre-bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and top with desired toppings. Bake for an additional 10-165 minutes, watching to make sure edges and cheese don't burn.

For Breadsticks: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dough will be slightly sticky so you'll need to flour your hands as you roll. Divide into portions slightly larger than a ping-pong ball (I ended up with 7, but some of mine were a bit long). Shape each onto a ball; roll each into a 9-inch rope. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes or until doubled. Bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Brush with butter and sprinkle with garlic salt.

Shaped and rising

Baked, buttered and salted! Yum!

Freezing:
Mix dough completely as instructed and then divide into four portions. Freeze the dough in individual Ziploc bags. You do not need to pre-bake. When you are ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator several hours, bring to room temperature and then roll out and assemble as desired.

No-Knead Bread

2011-10-19T13:28:00.002-04:00

I had two recipes for no-knead bread that I wanted to try, but decided to go with the one that didn't require sourdough. This particular recipe calls for regular bread flour, but I used freshly ground hard white. I think the amount of flour needs to be increased by at least 1/2 cup because the dough after 20 hours was very liquidy and would not hold its shape. I ended up adding the additional flour during the shaping stage so I could get it to hold its shape and stop sticking to my counter and the towel. The original recipe is as follows, with my changes and suggestions marked in blue.

I have to say this bread was amazing. Even Horse Girl liked it and she has been very critical of my baking lately. I had two pieces fresh out of the oven smothered in butter.

No-Knead Bread

3 cups bread flour (increase to at least 3 1/2 cups if using freshly ground flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 ~~3/4~~ tablespoon kosher salt (too salty with 3/4 T. so maybe it was only supposed to be 3/4 t.?)
1 1/2 cups warm water
Parchment paper
Covered pot (5-qt or larger that can withstand a 450 degree oven)

1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

2. Shape and preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so the dough doesn't stick. Lay a piece of parchment paper on cotton towel (not terry cloth) and generously dust with flour. ~~Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour.~~ Set dough seam side down on top of parchment paper ~~towel~~. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you've got about half an hour left, slip your pot into the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. ~~Holding towel, turn over and dump wobbly dough into pot, using your hands to get the dough off the towel. Shake to even out.~~ Remove towel and transfer dough to pot, leaving parchment paper around outside. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until crust is beautifully golden and middle registers 210 degrees. Remove and let cool on wire rack. Can re-crisp crust later in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Sorry about the half eaten loaf. I forgot to take pictures until after we sampled it.

I close-up of the inside. Look at the wonderful crumb!

Monthly Menu

2011-10-18T20:51:00.000-04:00

Weekly grocery shopping is such a time hog that I decided to find a way to shorten the time spent every month. My time in the actual store is only about 45 minutes, but when you add on the driving, putting everything away and pre-planning, you have a pretty lengthy process. I would guess I was previously spending 2-2 1/2 hours per week total, not including cutting coupons. I'm not into extreme couponing and don't stockpile, so I only cut coupons for the items I actually plan to purchase. I also only shop primarily at the commissary with occasional trips to Publix for their BOGO deals. I simply don't have time in my day/week/month to spend cutting, planning, organizing, shopping, storing and figuring out what to do with all of the products I would accumulate if I was an extreme couponer. If it works for you, great! I don't have the brain energy to do it.

I do, however, plan to start making a monthly trip to Whole Foods, Earth Fare or Trader Joe's and a twice monthly trip to the farmer's market. I also plan to increase my order from Bread Becker's to take advantage of their bulk grains and beans. I would love to be able to order from Azure Standard, but it doesn't look like it's a good deal to have it shipped to the east coast.

As always, I started with the internet and began researching monthly menu planning. I've done this in the past, but haven't stuck with it for any length of time. I found that in the past I didn't spend enough time planning everything out before trying to implement it. This time around I'm spending several weeks getting the menu just right, making sure it's filled with foods we won't mind eating on a monthly basis and making sure we have plenty of variety. As part of my healthy eating goal I've made sure the majority of the meals utilize healthy cooking techniques and ingredients.

For now I'm going to try to plan one menu to last us at least 3 months. The menu will simply repeat itself at the beginning of each month. I did not plan for holidays or special events, but figure that should not be a problem as we get to them. Each day of the week uses a different meat or type of dish. Sunday is pork, Monday is chicken, Tuesday is fish/seafood, Wednesday is wraps/sandwiches, Thursday is soup, Friday is beef and Saturday is meatless. With the high cost of grass-fed meats, though, I might find myself searching out more meatless meals. I have already decided to cut back on the quantity of meat in most meals. For dishes that previously used one pound of meat, for instance, I'll cut it down to 1/2 pound or 3/4 pound.

I did not include lunches since those are normally leftovers or sandwiches, but I did include breakfast for six days. Again, I tried to shoot for variety and have things like eggs/toast, pumpkin pancakes or waffles with orange syrup, oatmeal, creamy rice pudding, sausage/egg rollups and biscuits and gravy. My family loves dessert so I included one dessert per week, but will probably make a few more depending on how much of a sweet tooth we get.

To make shopping easier I made a twice monthly shopping list that details everything I will need for two weeks. I did not get nitty-gritty and include things like baking soda and flour, but I did include things like pecans, eggs and buttermilk. I want to make sure I get the correct amount of eggs,milk, cheese, etc. from wherever I decide to purchase them and not run out before I get a chance to get more. Since I'm trying to stay grass-fed and pasture-raised, I don't want to get store-bought milk and eggs if I can avoid it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do a screen-capture or upload a copy of either the menu or shopping list. If you are interested in either one, please leave me a comment and I will email them to you. I'm bummed because it would have looked so cool in the post.

Sourdough Banana Bread

2011-10-17T15:33:00.001-04:00

I just finished my sourdough starter and am praying that it's okay. I was, and am still, a little concerned about it not being right. I got varying information in all of my research, with some sites saying to cover with plastic wrap and others saying to cover with cheesecloth. I had some saying to feed once per day and others feeding every 12 hours. Hmm, what's a girl to do?

I decided to make a batch of Sourdough Banana Bread since I have the sourdough and bananas needing to be used. I took the recipe from Wild Yeast Blog and tweaked it slightly. I don't like using a lot of oil in my baking so I substituted 1/2 cup of applesauce for 1/2 cup of the olive oil, used 250 g. of Sucanat and 50 g. of honey, left out the lemon zest and used all banana. I also added about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to one loaf. This recipe made two 8x5-inch pans and one smaller loaf.

In addition to this banana bread I plan to make Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes, No-Knead Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Bread, and Pancakes.

In order to make all of these wonderful things, I've placed several items on my Amazon wishlist, including a digital scale, The Bread Bible book, Silpat, and Kefir grains. I'm so excited to begin this amazing journey! I can't wait to get them ordered.

October 18, 2011 Update: The banana bread is wonderful. It's nice and moist and full of flavor. The pancakes this morning turned out fine, though a bit tough. I think they would be wonderful as a cross between bread and tortillas. I put fresh peanut butter (from Whole Foods) and raspberry jam on mine to make a sandwich.

I decided not to make the cupcakes as I didn't keep enough starter out. I put roughly 2 cups in the refrigerator and left one cup out. I added 1 cup of flour and 2/3 cup of water to the one I left out and it grew slightly overnight. I used that this morning for the pancakes, No-Knead bread and regular sourdough bread. The sourdough bread is currently in its final rise and waiting to go into the oven. The No-Knead is in its overnight resting phase and will be baked around mid-day tomorrow.

I couldn't wait any longer and ordered my Kefir grains and the digital scale last night.

Sourdough Starter Day 5

2011-10-14T09:51:00.002-04:00

I think my starter is beginning to come together. It's doing exactly what the tutorial said it would and the odor is getting fainter and sweeter. I did remember to take pics this morning.

View from top with weird, but really cool bubbles.

No Dairy No Chocolate "Chocolate" Pudding

2011-10-14T09:33:00.000-04:00

Horse Girl is using the book Nutrition 101: Choose Life for her health credit this year. Each chapter has a recipe to try that utilizes foods that benefit the particular part of the body that was just studied. We are getting ready to start studying the respiratory system and the first recipe happens to be for chocolate pudding. This recipe intrigued me because it was specifically mentioned at the booth when I was researching the book at the last home school convention and also because I think I'm sensitive to both dairy and chocolate. So, daring to be brave and try something I have never liked, I took the plunge and bought the avocados for the recipe and gave it a shot a few days ago.

Verdict: husband, daughter and I did NOT like it. Son liked it, but said his ears started to feel funny within a few minutes. Husband actually said it tasted like it had a dirty dish rag in it. Daughter and I just thought it tasted odd. It might be an okay recipe if you take it one step at a time and replace the more common ingredients over time. It uses avocado in place of dairy, carob powder in place of cocoa powder and honey in place of sugar.

Here's the recipe if you're interested in trying it.

2 small ripe avocados
1/2 to 3/4 cup Blue Agave Nectar, raw honey, or Grade B Maple syrup
1/4 cup carob powder
2 tablespoons coconut milk or rice milk
1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Make sure the avocados are ripe, as unripened avocados will change the flavor. Place the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend on high until smooth. Chill until serving. Makes about two cups.

Sourdough Starter Day 3

2011-10-12T10:26:00.000-04:00

I forgot to take pictures this morning before pouring off the dark liquid and mixing in the new flour and water, but boy, did it stink. I think it's supposed to be stinky if I remember correctly from the directions. Horse Girl said it smelled like a dirty diaper. I'm not sure what I would compare the smell to, but let's just say it wasn't pleasant.

Sourdough Starter Day 2

2011-10-11T11:31:00.001-04:00

I've decided to try my hand at making a sourdough starter. I found directions on the Heavenly Homemaker site at this link. You need to scroll all the way to the bottom to find day 1 and then wind your way back to the top to finish with day 8. This link also has recipes for different ways to use your sourdough once it's finished.

Morning of day 2 with a layer of dark liquid, hooch, on top.

View from the top.

After 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of cold water have been added and thoroughly stirred. It is now sitting on top of my refrigerator.

Cornbread using soaked grains

2011-10-11T11:18:00.001-04:00

I recently came across information on soaking grains to get the most out of them nutritionally. I decided to try a recipe called Blender Batter Cornbread from Sue Gregg. It turned out phenomenal. I am saving it for cornbread stuffing tomorrow evening, but this may become a staple item for us. I just had some for a snack and I can see making a whole meal out of it. I should have taken a picture this morning after it had been sitting for 24 hours.

Batter ready to go into the oven.

Out of the oven and cooled a bit. It sank down in the middle, but it still tastes awesome.

Unfortunately I spoke too soon and this is what the cornbread looked like several hours later. It's a weird grayish color inside. I'm not sure if it's still safe to eat. Any ideas?

Wedding Pics

2011-10-11T11:09:00.001-04:00

A few pics from my husband's brother's wedding in August.

Me with both kids

Me with husband

The whole family

The Secret Garden Movie Review

2011-10-10T07:37:00.002-04:00

Horse Girl and I just finished reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Let me clarify by saying that I finished the book, but Horse Girl did not. Even though she had over three weeks to read it, she still has several chapters to finish. Oi, what to do with her? I told her this would be reflected in her discussion grade as she will not be able to discuss several points with me.

I thought it would be a great idea to watch the movie once we were finished reading and ordered the 1993 version from Netflix. I did that previously with Around the World in Eighty Days and it wasn't quite so bad. It was still off, but not as much. I didn't realize it when I ordered The Secret Garden movie, but it stars Maggie Smith as Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper. She plays Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter. This turned out to be a bad thing, however, as Horse Girl could not get over the change in character. (Horse Girl much prefers her in Harry Potter!)

Overall, the movie was a poor adaptation of the book. So many things were changed! It was frustrating to watch because we kept pointing out all of the discrepancies. It wasn't just the scenes, either, but the behaviors of the characters that were off. Mrs. Medlock was portrayed as mean, but in the book she's more stern with a kind soul running beneath. Dickon was thoughtful and wise in the book, but is portrayed as somewhat silly and rambunctious in the movie. It could have been a good movie if they had stuck closer to the book.

Healthy Eating

2011-10-07T14:27:00.002-04:00

I've been doing quite a lot of research the past few days on healthy eating. I've decided to avoid using a specific "plan" as outlined in any number of books, but rather to simply strive to go back to nature. God gave us food abundantly and in perfect form. He didn't create foods intending for us to alter them with chemicals. Our bodies are designed to live and thrive with the foods He gave us.

I've decided to take this whole lifestyle change gradually. I typically jump in too soon and then fail when it becomes overwhelming so I'm not doing that this time. I'm not going to stress myself out with everything I could be doing and all of the things I could be buying and making. One thing I'm going to do that I believe will help is to make a schedule for my time each week. It is going to vary each week, depending on outside appointments, so I need to plan each week as I get to it. I plan to schedule in things like starting my bread dough (which needs to sit overnight to soak), making and checking on yogurt, and possibly sprouting some grain.

I had fun at the commissary this morning trying to find new products. It was kind of frustrating at the same time, though, because I didn't find everything, which means I will have to shop at at least one additional store each week/month. Some of my finds include coconut flour, coconut oil, and cage-free chicken at a decent price. I also wrote down the price for a 3L jug of olive oil and found that it was cheaper than at World Market by $5.

Some websites to learn more:

Nourishing Gourmet

Keeper of the Home

Kitchen Stewardship

Health, Home and Happiness

Heavenly Homemakers

Dinner menu for the week:

Tonight-Caribbean Jerk Chicken, sweet potato fries and green beans

Saturday-Spaghetti with homemade sauce and rolls

Sunday-Meatloaf, mashed potatoes

Monday-Tilapia, cornbread stuffing

Tuesday-Black-eyed pea soup, bread

Wednesday-Beef Noodle Soup, bread

Breakfast:

Steel-cut oatmeal with apples

Cinnamon scones

Apple-Cinnamon muffins

Maker's Diet vs Eat Right 4 Your Type

2011-10-03T15:50:00.002-04:00

I've struggled for years with digestive issues, fatigue and headaches. My headaches are finally somewhat under control with a new medication I'm on, but I still have around 14 headaches per month. I've had allergy testing done and know I'm not allergic to any of the commonly tested items. I've also had a gluten test done and it came back negative. I believe my problem has two culprits, over-eating and an unhealthy diet combined with dehydration.

I never went without food as a child, so I'm not sure why I overeat. I can't stand to waste food and have a hard time throwing food in the garbage. I tell myself I'm being a good steward by finishing the last few bites. I also eat because food tastes good and I'm bored. I eat even when I'm full because I can't get my mind off of a particular item of food. Another part of my problem is unhealthy eating and dehydration. My typical diet consists of coffee with cream and sugar, yogurt with granola for breakfast, leftovers for lunch, chips/cookies/ice cream for snack, and meat and carbs for dinner. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat, as I've experienced pain after eating salad, dairy, wheat, processed foods, etc. You name it, I've probably had pain after eating it.

I've owned Eat Right 4 Your Type Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo for several years, but was recently loaned The Maker's Diet by Jordan S. Rubin by a friend. I'm desperate to find an answer for why I can't eat without pain. I don't need to lose weight, so I'm hesitant to say the books are diet books. I consider them more along the lines of lifestyle books. Both books cause you to radically alter your current way of thinking and living and both offer good suggestions and make a lot of sense. I agree with much of what both gentlemen put forth, but there are some big differences between the two plans.

The Maker's Diet tells you to avoid all shellfish, soy milk, commercial dairy products, pasta except kamut or spelt, and all breads unless they are made from sprouted grains. It also recommends the use of special supplements throughout the day. It takes you through three phases, with the first phase being very strict and the last phase less restrictive. The first phase is "designed to stabilize insulin and blood sugar, reduce inflammation, reduce infection, enhance digestion, and help balance the hormones in your body" (p199). Phase two continues with the above benefits, but allows you a greater number of foods to choose from, and phase three is the maintenance phase.

Eat Right 4 Your Type says that our food choices should be linked to our blood type. I, for instance, am type O. Type O is characterized as a hunter and should eat lots of meat with very little grains and dairy. It also says we have hardy digestive tracts, are intolerant to dietary and environmental adaptations and respond best to stress with intense physical activity. This book goes into great detail about what to eat and what to avoid, even down to condiments and spices.

According to the dietary guidelines, I should be eating:

6-9 servings of meats and poultry weekly

3-5 servings of seafood weekly

3-11 servings of dairy and eggs weekly

10-18 servings of oils, nuts and seeds weekly

1-2 servings of beans and legumes weekly

2-3 servings of cereals weekly

0-3 servings of bread and muffins daily

0-6 servings of grains and pasta daily

6-10 servings of vegetables daily

3-4 servings of fruits daily

2-3 servings of juice daily

Does anyone have any experience with either of these plans? I don't really want to put forth the time and energy needed to successfully carry out either of these if they aren't worth it. I also want to make sure I'm fully prepared when I do decide which one to follow. I tend to jump in too quickly and then fizzle out just as quickly. I think if I put more time and effort into the planning stage, the actual doing stage will go much smoother.

Procrastination

2011-10-02T17:19:00.003-04:00

I am the queen of procrastination. I have a myriad of excuses for why I can't start a job/task/project, but in truth, all of my excuses are simply EXCUSES. Here are a few of my most used:

1. I can't finish within the allotted time

2. The end-product might not be perfect

3. I have to do important internet research first

4. I don't have all the ingredients/supplies

My goal for the next few months is to stop procrastinating in all areas of my life. I need to start off with prayer and sincerely ask God to order my days. I've asked Him to prioritize my time before, but I never really listened. God will not give me more to do in one day than I can accomplish.

The next step is to stay moving. It's amazing how much I can accomplish if I don't sit down. Once I sit down, I'm down for awhile. I always have a really good reason for why I'm sitting down ;) There's my important internet research, reading a book for book club or school, catching up on email and Facebook, or watching the news. My problem is that I tend to spend too much time on any or all of the above. I get carried away and the time just flies by. The next thing I know, it's dinner time and nothing much has been accomplished. Nothing gets done if zero effort is put forth.

My final step is to lighten up on myself. I don't need to be perfect in everything I do. I couldn't be perfect even if I tried, and honestly, I don't think anyone is expecting it. I'm going to strive to live life with joy and thanksgiving, not fear and judgment! God knows the state of my heart and whether I'm following His will for my life or not.

Forest Gump's Life Lessons

2011-09-21T08:30:00.003-04:00

Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get. Sometimes our lives are difficult and sometimes our lives are easy. We never know what each day holds, but as Christians we do know that God is with us. God doesn't promise us an easy life when we accept Him into our hearts, but He does promise to stay with us. There are times when He's walking in front of us, times when He's beside us, and other times when He's behind us. He leads, supports and encourages us every step of the way.

It's up to us whether we keep our eyes and ears on Him. So often we tend to look at and listen to the world around us. We put our focus on ourselves, problems, and solutions, and only turn to God when it gets to be too much for us. God knows exactly what we need, when we need it, but He wants us to ask for His help. He wants us to recognize in our hearts that He is Lord and God over ALL creation and that He loves us and desires to guide us.

His ways are not our ways because we can't see the big picture like He can. He is able to see both sides of the tapestry, knowing exactly where each string goes and where it connects with other strings, as well as what the completed tapestry will look like. We only see the back side. We see the thousands of strings weaving in and out and under and over, but can't follow their paths with our naked eyes. We must sit back and trust that God knows what He's doing and that He's making something beautiful. Faith is allowing God to weave us into His tapestry even when we can't see the other side.

It's not easy, though. I struggle every day wanting to take control of the weaving process, begging God to show me the other side. That's not faith, however.

Helpful Websites

2011-09-19T15:37:00.003-04:00

I recently discovered www.quizlet.com. It's a really neat site that allows you to make flashcards for anything you can think of. I've made several sets so far for our 1st year Latin course and have been pleased with how easy they are to make and how quickly I learned the Latin words once I started studying them.

I also really like the Glencoe Literature Library for their wonderful study guides. I've used several of their study guides for school purposes and also for my ladies' book club. Another good site for literature study guides is Penguin Classics.

House...SOLD!

2011-09-09T14:41:00.002-04:00

We sold the house here in South Carolina. We closed on Tuesday and will be renting it back from the buyer for a short period of time. Whew! What a relief. We are now awaiting orders that will hopefully take us back to Virginia and our other house.

We never truly appreciated our house when we were living there, but now we can't wait to go back to it. We have so many plans, like tearing up the yard and replanting grass (with no weeds), refinishing some hardwood floors, tearing out some wood paneling and replacing it with drywall, updating the downstairs bathroom, etc. So many things on our wishlist, and hopefully enough time and money to do them.

Offer on House

2011-07-18T13:18:00.002-04:00

We had a showing on the house this weekend and are expecting an offer this evening. Please pray for God's will to be done and conviction in our hearts as to what to do.

Winding Down Summer Break

2011-06-30T09:55:00.003-04:00

I just realized two days ago that our school year starts in 1 1/2 weeks. I've been so busy planning everything out, writing lesson plans, entering work into HST+ and organizing books that I failed to realize the actual start date was quickly approaching. ARGH!

I ordered TallBoy's health/science book last night and will get that planned out when it arrives. I ended up saving $5 in shipping by ordering from the company via Amazon compared to their website. Hopefully it arrives quickly. Amazon is normally pretty quick with shipping.

HorseGirl almost threw a fit when I told her we were starting so soon. She quickly calmed down when I explained it was only for this year since we are moving mid-year. She also found out that her best friend started this week, making our start-date look even better. Her lease days for the horse just changed and she now has two weekdays and one weekend day. This will alleviate one weekday so she isn't out of the house four days each week. She previously rode Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and had co-op on Thursday. She ended doing most of her schoolwork in the afternoons and evenings.

The biggest change/challenge for this upcoming year is for me to be more involved in TallBoy's schooling. He simply is not able to take his assignment sheet and go off on his own. He is easily distracted and does not take pride in his work. He would be perfectly content to do the bare minimum on assignments and take whatever grade is given. Most of history, science/health, math, and writing will be done together.

I made up my own version of a school planner for him. I made a two-page blank monthly calendar to be printed for each month, followed by weekly two-page spreads for assignments. Each day has 12 lines to write assignment details. I printed out all of the pages going through the end of August. It's nothing fancy, but hopefully by following it, he will learn time management. I plan to sit down with him each Monday morning to fill it out. HorseGirl prefers to have HST+ open on her computer and go off of that.

More School Planning

2011-06-26T08:20:00.003-04:00

Ok, I'm probably going about this the wrong way, but I've decided to reorder all of TallBoy's schoolwork for the upcoming year. He only has one more year until he turns 18 and I can pretty much guarantee he will be moving out and not looking back. So, we have one year to work on maturity, responsibility, real-life living skills and whatever schoolwork I think he needs to survive in life. Oh, my!

For the past five years, he's done TOG with his sister and that took a huge weight off of my shoulders as far as planning went. When it came time for discussions, though, it was a nightmare. He simply does not care about doing the work or getting a decent grade or keeping my blood pressure in check.

For history I searched my shelves to see what I could come up with and found a ton of books and a DVD. Last year at some point I ordered (for FREE) America: The Story of Us, the 12-part DVD from the History Channel. I'm combining it with Joy Hakim's Freedom: A History of US and lesson plans from PBS. The PBS lesson plans coincide with a series they did on the book, but unfortunately their DVD is $200! I think I've spent four pretty solid days so far cutting and pasting text, questions and lesson activities into a Word document to use as a lesson plan. But, that covers roughly half the year, so I'm pretty happy. I have lesson plans starting with the Pilgrims and will eventually cover present-day. We should be able to accomplish this all in one year.

For science, I'm still debating. We have Physical Science (he's already attempted it twice) and Biology, both from Apologia. Physical Science bores him and Biology is over his head. I again headed to the internet to do some searching. I found some mapping lesson plans from USGS which will cover about 2-4 weeks. I haven't looked closely at them since printing them out to determine a time-frame. I was thinking, though, of ordering Nutrition 101: Choose Life. I can use this as science and health and was going to use it with HorseGirl next year anyway. It covers the brain and nervous system, digestion and elimination, respiration and olfactory, muscular and skeletal systems, cardiovascular and immune systems and the endocrine system and emotions. It has a ton of information in it, including recipes in each chapter to strengthen whichever system you've just studied.

I think it is very important for TallBoy to be knowledgeable about his body and how everything works. He has recently been putting nothing but junk into his body, sugared cereals, Toaster Strudels, cookies, ice cream, juice, soda, etc. I know, a lot of this is partly my fault for buying all of the junk, which is why I'm going to stop. My husband just gave me permission to stop buying all the sugared snacks. I've also been insisting TallBoy eat a fruit or vegetable as at least one of his snacks each day.

HorseGirl will be doing Latin in the Christian Trivium I next year, so I will have TallBoy do it as well. It won't hurt him to know the meanings of words and may actually benefit him at some point. If nothing else, it will serve to expand his vocabulary.

For math, well, that's something I haven't quite figured out yet. I bought VideoText Algebra for HorseGirl and was going to have him use it as well, but I think he may be better served by learning real-life math. He needs to know how to make and keep a budget, and how loans are structured and how to avoid being ripped off (ie. payday loans and Rent-A-Center). I'm sure there are other math skills he will need, such as measurements that we should cover. I posted a query on one of my Yahoo groups and got a couple of recommendations for curriculum. I don't want to spend a lot of money, though.

For writing, we will be using Paradigm Online Writing Assistant at the beginning of the year to work on writing in general and how to write different kinds of essays and then will start National Novel Writing Month. We will begin that in October in preparation for the actual writing in November. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. There are lesson plans in the Educators section that go over character, plot, setting, etc.

For literature, I'm planning to use Teaching the Classics by IEW and will choose literature based on what we're studying in history. I have several classics and other good books already chosen based on the time period. Even though we're studying American history I plan to include authors from all over the world.

School Planning & Summer Break

2011-06-02T16:57:00.002-04:00

I am pretty much done with school planning for next year, but I still find myself drawn to the computer and curriculum books looking for ways to streamline and organize things for next year. Since we will be starting the bulk of our schooling mid-July, I want to make sure everything is as planned as possible. I typically plan things out and then find myself falling apart several weeks into the school year. My problem is that I like to research things to the extreme, but lack the follow through to put my plans and research into action. This year I'm going to try a few new ideas for staying organized.

1)I made a list of supplies for science labs and will purchase everything I need for the first quarter at one time and put it all in a bin. Lack of supplies will no longer be an excuse to get out doing labs. Luckily, physical science does not require things like bananas and lima beans.

2)I've already done through every course and made a syllabus, writing down every book to read, map to fill in, chart to complete, etc. I then entered everything into HST+ so I can quickly transfer it to assignment sheets. I also made sure to give a Points Possible value for all graded assignments so I will know at a glance what needs to be graded.

3)We use Tapestry of Grace for history, geography, and some literature and writing. I went through next year's curriculum and cut and pasted all of the General Information pages, Accountability and Thinking Questions for both history and geography and all the Reading Assignments I'm planning on having the kids read. Everything is gathered together in one Word document, ready to be printed out. In the next few weeks, I'm going to print the information out for each week and put it chronologically in a folder, ready to be pulled out each Monday.

4)I've gone through every book we own and have organized them according to subject. My shelves were already organized by subject, but I cleared out space on another shelf in order to organize specifically for next year. The kids and I should be able to see at a glance where each subject is and whether the required resource is available.

5)I have a used-book sale to attend this weekend where I hope to pick up a good quantity of my history and literature books. After that, I'm going to add a reminder to my Google calendar for each week that I need to reserve books from the library. This past year I was constantly forgetting to reserve books in time.

If you have any additional tips, I would greatly appreciate hearing about them.

Enjoy the Moment

2011-05-28T17:05:00.002-04:00

A friend's husband passed away Friday morning after a long battle with cancer. He leaves behind a wife of 24 years and three sons, the youngest of whom just had his 14th birthday last week.

We never know what today or tomorrow will hold. Enjoy each and every moment with your spouse and kids. I don't want any regrets when Jesus calls us home.

Almost Done!

2011-05-10T10:05:00.003-04:00

We are almost done with school for this school year! We have one more week of regular school and then two additional weeks of an essay course Horse Girl is taking to prepare her for the literature course she will be starting next term. I'm very excited about the closing of this current year, and the beginning of next year. We will be starting our next school year mid-July in order to give us time off whenever we end up moving.

Everything is still up in the air with the move. Dh will not be able to talk to the detailer until September and since jobs are in such short supply right now, we may end up leaving earlier or later than intended just to get something. I'm leaving it all up to God and trusting that He knows what's best for our family. I've learned over the years that my worrying does not benefit the situation and only causes me undue stress.

Just Discovered HST+

2011-04-11T11:39:00.002-04:00

I kept hearing the ladies on one of my TOG Yahoo groups talking about this great home school planning software, but never checked it out. I thought I found what they were talking about several ago online, but it turns out I was looking at a completely different product. I did some research this weekend and finally found HST+.

I was looking for something that would be easy to track my lesson plans and organize my grading. I previously was just using an Excel document for my assignment sheet, Word documents for my syllabi's and another Excel document for grading.

So far, HST+ is amazing. I have managed to input all of history, science and part of English for next year. I have everything broken down into activities so I can assign a different weight for grading purposes. For instance, reading is not graded, geography is 20%, discussions and exams are 45%, charts are 15% and history writing is 20%.

Horse Girl can log in on her computer, see what she needs to accomplish on any given day or week and then check it as completed when she finishes. She can even go in and add notes if necessary or fill in the assignment if it was something that was open-ended. I then go in behind her and input the grade for anything she completed. If it's a multi-day assignment, such as reading, it will stay on her agenda until the due-date I assigned. The program tallies everything up on its own and even keeps track of attendance. I have it set up to count each day that we accomplish four hours or more of school as one school day. When you block out holidays and off-days it will not assign school work on those days.

Right now I'm just using the 30-day trial, but will more than likely purchase it when my 30 days are over. The program is only $49, and it's a one-time purchase. You then receive free updates whenever they come out. If you're interested in ordering, let me know and I will give you a code to use. My girlfriend receives $5 for every purchase made with her code. I will eventually sign up for my own code, though.

Conference Thoughts

2011-03-22T08:42:00.002-04:00

We went to our local home school conference this past weekend and it was such a blessing. I came away feeling refreshed, invigorated, inspired and renewed. I learned so much from the wonderful array of speakers and vendors.

I went into the conference pretty much knowing which curriculum I want to use next year, so I didn't purchase too much that I hadn't planned for. Horse Girl was able to find a "Little House on the Prairie" book that she's been looking for. She wanted a specific cover to match the rest of the set she's accumulated and she found the exact one for $2!

I went to a workshop by Susan Wise Bauer on preparing for college that was wonderful. She spoke about academics, emotions and life-skills. I also went to a workshop by Barb Cash titled " She Senses the Worth of her Work...". She talked about discontentment and how it breeds resentment, finding joy in the simple things and remembering that my job is a privilege from God. Another workshop I really enjoyed was "Parenting the Strong-Willed Teenager" by John Rosemond. He spoke about the fact that mothers fail to move from season 1 in their child's life in which they orbit around the child and serve them and protect them, into season 2 in which they teach leadership and the respect of authority. They then have problems in the teen years, in which their children should be in season 3, but are in actuality still in season 1. He writes a book called "Teen-Proofing" and it was the only non-planned purchase I made.

Horse Girl already knows she wants to go to college and knows what she wants to do for a career (we still need to figure out exactly what major that equates to). Because of this, I have been able to go to the college's website and look at their admission requirements and home school course recommendations. I put together a four-year high school plan that also includes the 8th grade as dd will be taking some high school level courses next year. For next year, my plan is as follows:

Math: VideoText Algebra

English: Analytical Grammar & Teaching the Essay & Introduction to Literature I

Science: Apologia Physical Science

History: Tapestry of Grace Year 2

Latin: Latin in the Christian Trivium I

Bible/Character: books by Elizabeth George like "A Young Woman's Walk with God", etc.

Economics: Whatever Happened to Penny Candy & Economics: A Free Market Reader

PE: Horse Riding

Family Update

2011-02-18T07:06:00.002-05:00

It was recommended by a friend (Thank you, Mindy, for the reminder) that it's time for a family update.

Jeremy and I have started exercising and watching our calories. We use My Fitness Pal online to keep track of what we eat each day and to log in our exercise. Jeremy has already lost 11 pounds and I have lost 4 pounds. I feel better during the day and find myself thinking about what I eat instead of just mindlessly eating. Jeremy has most of the guys in his office counting calories as well, LOL. I've been very busy trying to find low calorie meals and have had success with many of the ones I've found. We try to stay under 400 calories per meal.

We just lost our tenant in our Virginia rental and this is our first month without rental income. Let's just say we are feeling the pinch and I, personally am praying for God to see us through until we get another renter. It's complicated, though, as we are hoping to get back to Virginia next year and would like to be able to move right into our house. The longer it takes to get a renter the farther we will be pushed on the other end. This is definitely a test of my faith in God's provision.

We will be putting our South Carolina house on the market next month and that is causing a bit of stress. I want the house to look its best, but at the same time we need to live in it. The housing market is not as bad here as other places, but the average time on market right now is 4 months. If the house doesn't sell by October or November we will put it up for rent and go that route until the market picks up again. We would also do a lease-purchase option if necessary.

Horse Girl is doing well and growing up so fast. She is now riding at the barn three days per week and has just started some basic jumping. The horse she leases has arthritis in his right hock and cannot do too much. Her instructor makes sure to use the already broken cross beams so he won't break them if he forgets to lift his back legs. Otherwise he is fiesty thing and has already taught Horse Girl a ton.

Tall Boy is, well, Tall Boy. We have our ups and downs, but it seems to be getting more frustrating lately. He has never liked authority and has really been bucking us for the last two years. With his 17th birthday quickly approaching he is bucking even more so. In SC, parents can't do anything if their children "run away" at 17 except file a missing persons report. If the police find them they will bring them home, but no more. The exasperating part is that the parents are still financially responsible for anything their children do when they're gone!

Hopefully I will be able to get back on later, but we need to leave for a field trip. I am praying for a great day with friends and for sibling harmony.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-01-25T10:25:00.004-05:00

Monday-pizza

Tuesday-Greek Penne and Chicken http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Greek-Penne-and-Chicken/Detail.aspx with French bread with olive oil and herbs

Wednesday-Burgandy Pork Tenderloin http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Burgundy-Pork-Tenderloin/Detail.aspx with mashed potatoes and green beans

Thursday-Sloppy Joe sandwiches with French fries

Friday-Pancakes, eggs and bacon

Saturday-Weeknight Lasagna Toss http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Weeknight-Lasagne-Toss/Detail.aspx with Parmesan croissants

Sunday-Split-pea soup with kielbasa

Menu Plan Monday

2011-01-10T13:25:00.002-05:00

Hopefully I will be able to keep up with this weekly. I make a weekly menu plan and stick to it pretty well. We typically eat at least five of the seven meals planned and then do leftovers for the other nights. Whatever I don't end up making just gets transferred to the next week's menu plan. I am doing better about making smaller quantities of most items so we are not having so many leftovers.

Sunday-Meatball Soup from Better Homes and Gardens (mini meatballs, spinach, navy beans, diced tomatoes, shredded carrots, chicken broth)

Monday-Tostada Pizza from Better Homes and Gardens (refrigerated pizza dough, ground beef, green chilies, taco seasoning, mashed pinto beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese)

Tuesday-Cincinnati Chili from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cincinnati-Chili-I/Detail.aspx (served with hot dogs)

Wednesday-BBQ Bacon Pizza (pizza dough, bbq sauce, Canadian bacon, pineapple, cheese)

Thursday-Salmon patties and sweet potato fries (1 package Salmon, 1 package butter crackers-smashed, 1 egg-beaten, Old Bay seasoning or Season Salt to taste, 1-3 tablespoons milk)

Friday-Chicken and Dumplings from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-and-Dumplings/Detail.aspx

Saturday-Swiss Steak

Horse Show

2010-12-21T12:03:00.002-05:00

Horse Girl's friend.

Getting ready.

Proud winners! Both girls took Champion in their classes and got 2 first place and one second place each. Way to go, girls.

Bulbs and plants

2010-12-21T11:52:00.002-05:00

Hubby's mom, Horse girl and I decided to plant bulbs and winter plants in the front flower garden. We spent several hours total of back-breaking work. First we had to pull out all of the old mulch and dirt to remove the weed-barrier we had put in last spring. We then had to replace the dirt and add several more bags to give it the depth we needed. We planted over 100 bulbs in this bed alone and then added the pansies on top.

Horse girl watered while Grandma planted.
My back hurt so badly at this point that I wasn't sure I would be able to get up.
I did manage to get up, though, and continued pulling out plants for Grandma to place. The bed looks wonderful and I'm glad we did it.

Battle of Secessionville

2010-12-21T11:24:00.004-05:00

The re-enactment of the Battle of Secessionville happens twice a year. We previously had gone to a re-enactment at another location, so this was our first time here.

Arms inspection.

Grandma and Grandpa checking out some historical facts.

Parade to the battle grounds.

Beginning of the battle.

Hubby's new hat.

Corn Maze

2010-12-21T11:12:00.003-05:00

We once again went to the Corn Maze a couple days before Halloween. Horse girl was pleased to hook up with two friends and Tall boy managed to find himself a group of teen boys to hang out with. Hubby and I followed the girls and let them lead us through the maze. It took us one hour because the girls had trouble finding the first 6 spots. Finally, one of the girls took over and we breezed through the last 6.

Victory is ours!

World Equestrian Games

2010-12-21T10:43:00.005-05:00

As a semi-surprise, we took horse girl to the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY at the beginning of October. Hubby could only take so many days off of work, so we were only able to stay for one day. Horse girl wanted to see the Cross-Country event since she is planning to do Cross-Country.

It was absolutely amazing and nothing like I had imagined. We arrived around 9am, along with about 10,000 other people. We heard later that there were around 30,000 spectators that day. We walked through the shopping area and took notice of the shops we wanted to visit later. Horse girl of course wanted to go into the Breyer store.

This is a picture of the back-side of one of the arenas. You could walk all the way around the lake to get to different jumps. We started on the left and ended up hitting all of the jumps over the course of the day. There were around 28 jumps and a ton of riders. The event lasted from 10am until around 3 or 4pm. Each rider took roughly 11 minutes to get through the entire course.
This is a practice area and we got to see this horse rearing up.
Mom and horse girl, waiting for the first rider to come through this jump.

The spectators were able to get right next to the course, giving us great photo opportunities.

Take a look at the amount of people watching just this jump. This was typical for all of the jumps. We were free to wander the course over the course of the day and watch the jumps in whatever order we felt like.
This horse decided he didn't want to take the jump at the last minute and almost threw his rider. The rider held on, circled around...
took the jump beautifully. The crowd cheered!
Us, at the end of a very long day. Horse girl managed to spend close to $100 at the Breyer store of her own money. She had been saving up for months and was able to purchase Secretariat, a mare and foal, and a Cavaletti (a type of training jump).

The World Equestrian Games were started in 1990 and are held every four years. This was the first time they were held outside of Europe.

Christmas musings

2010-12-10T14:53:00.003-05:00

Christmas is quickly approaching and I do not feel like I am as prepared as I want to be. I always set such high goals for myself and desire to enter the season with a well-laid plan. I sat down in mid-November and wrote down a list of events, people to give gifts to, and cookies to bake. My goal is to have a simple, relaxed December, without all the hustle and bustle that make the month dreadful.

We are planning to attend the Nutcracker ballet and drive around to look at Christmas lights. My sister, daughter and I have plans to make several different kinds of cookies, including peanut butter fudge. I am including a couple of recipes that I don't normally do, but they were my mom's favorites. It will be like having her here with us.

I was able to purchase the bulk of dd's presents this summer while she was at her grandparents house. The only things I still need are stocking stuffers, but I don't want to fill her stocking with meaningless nothings. She has requested knee-high socks in funky designs, so that is one idea.

Ds is another story all together. He does not have any clear interests besides playing the guitar and video games. With his attention span being so short, I hate to spend money on something that will be tossed to the side within a short amount of time.

Husband and I are not doing gifts this year as we just spent a good deal of money on our 15th anniversary. We spent the weekend at the Inn at Middleton Place and just enjoyed being alone for 2 whole days. I think I might get him something small, but I want it to be something he will truly enjoy.

My sister will be here for Christmas week and I am so excited. This will be a hard Christmas for us as it will be our first without our mom. Mom passed away in January which means we are also coming up on the one-year mark. I think of her frequently and am brought to tears when I think of all the things in my life and her grandchildren's lives she is not going to be here for.

Contentment

2010-05-19T07:42:00.002-04:00

"A contented man is the one who enjoys the scenery along the detours." George Herbert

"...Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." 2 Corinthians 6:10

"I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:12

"Suffering is having what you don't want and wanting what you don't have. Subtract your wants and you'll have contentment." Joni Eareckson Tada

How many of us suffer from a lack of contentment? For me personally, it's a huge struggle. I find myself frequently looking at what others have and wishing I had something similar. Wouldn't it be nice to have a larger house, better furniture, more money to play with, a body without stretch marks, etc? As Joni says, though, we need to subtract our wants from the equation if we ever want to be truly happy.

When we aren't content with what God has blessed us with we're essentially telling Him that He's not good enough for us or to us. When I look at it like that, I sure don't want to offend God with that attitude of ungratefulness.

Faith is...

2010-05-14T07:33:00.001-04:00

Faith is...doing the right thing regardless of the consequences, knowing God will turn the ultimate effect to good. Pamela Reeve

Backyard birds

2010-05-12T08:36:00.003-04:00

I have recently developed a passion for bird watching. I have two feeders in the backyard along with a hummingbird feeder. So far I have seen a Northern Cardinal, a Tufted Titmouse and either a wren or sparrow of some type. We also have a hummingbird that just found our feeder.

House Wren

Northern Cardinal

Tufted Titmouse

Earthquake

2010-05-12T07:49:00.002-04:00

I was jolted awake at 5AM this morning by a 2.8 earthquake. It felt like something had hit the house. I checked outside, but didn't see anything. I then passed it off as Annabelle (our rottie) jumping up too quickly and hitting the bed. The local Christian radio station just happened to be talking about it when my alarm went off at 7AM.

Birds of Prey

2010-05-08T11:40:00.003-04:00

We were able to go to the Birds of Prey sanctuary last Friday for a field trip with our local homeschool group. Dd had a great time and took lots of great pictures. I, unfortunately, spent the entire time lying on a picnic bench in the shade as I got sick within 30 minutes of our arrival. We learned that the sanctuary opened in 1991 and they ministered to 8 birds that year. This past year, they ministered to around 360!

Look at that wingspan!

I believe this is a kestral. They are pretty small compared to the other birds shown.

Kingfisher environmental

2010-05-08T11:22:00.004-04:00

This past Thursday we got the opportunity to go to the Isle of Palms beach for a field trip. We learned about erosion, all sorts of neat sea creatures, and sand dunes. We had a picnic lunch on the beach afterwards. Dd fell asleep in the car on the way home. Playing at the beach really wears you out!

Learning about erosion.

Shells that we brought up in the seining net.

Seining in the surf.

A small flounder. All living creatures were released back into the sea.

Fathers, Help Your Kids Stand Tall

2010-05-05T08:03:00.002-04:00

Taken from 30 Days to Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs by Bruce Wilkinson. This excerpt was taken from Steve Farrar.

1. Be a leader yourself - "There is as much risk in doing nothing as in doing something." "Are you standing tall or just standing around?"

2. Be a spiritual submarine under the surface of your children's lives - "A man who has put on the full armor of God is a force to be reckoned with. The prayers of a man who has put on the full armor of God are lethal."

3. Expect your children to be leaders

4. Encourage your children to be leaders - Encouragement-to put courage in

5. Remind your children that they are leaders

6. Support them in their leadership - be there with large ears and a large heart

7. Reward them for demonstrating leadership - "acknowledge their achievement or accomplishment verbally"

Wisdom

2010-05-05T07:50:00.002-04:00

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. James 3:17-18

Weekly Recap

2010-04-26T16:40:00.002-04:00

Last weekend I was able to spend time fellowshipping with other moms while we watched Sense and Sensibility and then Monday night was Bunco. This past Saturday I spoke at our local homeschool mini-conference on using Tapestry of Grace to simplify homeschooling. I also attended a workshop about reluctant writers and learned a ton.

Dd got to enjoy playing and chatting at the park on Tuesday while I again got to fellowship with other moms. She also had riding twice last week, so she was pretty busy.

I have started reading Les Miserables, but am only 1/3 of the way through. I don't get too much time for free reading so it will take me awhile. Dd and I are reading Black Storm Comin' for our read-aloud.

I made a yummy banana roll, similar to a pumpkin roll. It was delicious. Today I made a three-layer raspberry chocolate cake. Dh will be thrilled.

For my quiet-time, I am reading 30 Days to Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs by Bruce Wilkinson and Discovering the Treasures of a Godly Woman by Elizabeth George.

I am still having problems with daily headaches. I am on a new medication and had 2 days last week of no headaches, but other than that, it has been headaches every day.

Yard Work Part 2

2010-04-20T11:35:00.003-04:00

Our poor, uninteresting tree in the front yard. Again, this was taken last spring.
This is a view of the whole front yard with the new flower bed in all its glory.
We are very pleased with how this one turned out as well. The flowers are starting to take off and getting fuller.

Yard Work Part 1

2010-04-20T11:24:00.002-04:00

This is off our front porch and was taken last spring. We hated these bushes as they were so sparse and blah.
This is our new and much improved flower bed. We are very pleased with the way it turned out. We also had gutters installed to keep the rain from 'waterfalling' into that area.
Here is a view of the front porch as a whole. The hanging basket has fake flowers in it this year because last year we had a mama bird make a nest in my freshly planted real flowers. She came back this year and is currently residing in her nice, comfy home with her two babies. Our cat loves to sit in the window right there and watch all the goings-on.

Awesome Lasagna

2010-04-16T13:35:00.002-04:00

Ingredients:

1 jar Prego Italian Sausage and Garlic pasta sauce

1 cup fresh spinach leaves with stems removed

Lasagna noodles (I used 8 no-bake, but you could also use 10-12 regular. No need to bake them,

either.)

1 pound Italian sausage, browned and drained

16 oz. Ricotta cheese

3/4 cup Parmesan

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 t. oregano

Directions:

1. Lightly cover bottom of 8x8-inch baking pan with pasta sauce. Layer with noodles. Top with browned sausage and spread 3/4 of the jar of pasta sauce on the sausage. Add another layer of noodles. Mix ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella and oregano in small bowl. Spread cheese mixture over noodles. Add one more layer of noodles and cover with remaining pasta sauce. Top with additional mozzarella or fresh Parmesan.

2. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 5 minutes to completely melt the cheese.

Spring Horse Show

2010-04-11T10:58:00.003-04:00

Getting ready with her awesome instructor.

Look how poised she is!

Dd and friend with their hard-earned ribbons.

Dd had her second horse show yesterday at the stables she rides at. She did really well and took 1st, 1st, 2nd and overall champion for her class. She looked so good on her horse, with really great posture. Her friend was in another class and did really well, also. She took 1st, 1st, 1st and overall champion. Way to go, girls!

Easter!

2010-04-04T08:55:00.002-04:00

I hid all the eggs last night and made them a bit harder than in previous years. Since the kids are older, I figure they should have to work for their goodies. I even hid their baskets! Dd and I decorated the real eggs yesterday with acrylic paint and they turned out so cute. I made one to look kind of like a 'humpty dumpty' and we did polka dots and swirls on the rest. I will try to get a picture posted.

We went ice skating yesterday and had a blast. Both hubby and I are sore, me from the workout, him from wiping out. He was in the process of spinning around to get a picture with his cell phone when he crashed. It was funny as he slid pretty far across the ice. He is feeling it this morning in his hip, where he took the brunt of the fall. FYI-Nick and I did not fall once!

Spring is in the air!

2010-03-23T08:05:00.002-04:00

I love spring! I love the sound of birds singing and kids playing. I love the warmer weather and the chance to break out my capris and sun dresses. I love watching the flowers bloom and the trees fill out in all their fabulous greenery. I love going to the store and browsing through all the plants, trying to figure out what to plant where. I love spring!

Dinner Menu

2010-03-23T08:02:00.002-04:00

Spaghetti, broccoli, french bread

Pork loin, roasted potatoes, corn

Brats, cucumber salad (w/tomato, cheese, onions)

Taco salad

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes

Salmon patties, sweet potato fries

Soup, sandwiches

This week's dinner menu

2010-03-02T18:29:00.002-05:00

Saturday-Tacos

Sunday-Pork loin roasted in peach chutney, sweet potato fries with fresh Parmesan and steamed broccoli

Monday-Chicken Tortilla Soup and cornbread

Tuesday-Italian Meatball Soup with Parmesan bites (refrigerator biscuits cut in thirds, dipped in melted butter and Parmesan and then baked)

Wednesday-Salmon patties and roasted red potatoes

Thursday-Chicken Cassoulet (crockpot)

Friday-Turkey burgers and macaroni salad

My mom passed away

2010-02-09T10:17:00.002-05:00

My mom passed away on January 27th after suffering a possible stroke or seizure. She had just come home from the hospital after receiving a feeding tube because she was continuing to lose weight. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease around 2005. After undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation surgery in July of 2009, she declined rapidly. The surgery was supposed to reduce and/or eliminate many of her symptoms, but she lost most of the muscle control in her neck and was unable to hold her head up without assistance. She relied more and more on a walker to get around.

I pray she is with Jesus and is pain-free. I miss her terribly and want desperately to hear her voice. We will be holding a memorial service in Woodland Park, CO on February 20th. Dd and I will be flying back for that and will stay with my sister for the week.

Daniel 7 vision

2009-10-26T07:38:00.002-04:00

Daniel sees a vision during the first year of King Belshazzar's reign in Babylon and recounts it in chapter 7. He describes four beasts that come out of the sea, with the last of them being 'terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet.'

The four beasts represent four world powers. If I understand it correctly, the fourth beast will be the strongest and will devour the world. It will have ten kings who will rule kingdoms or empires. From them will come one additional king who will subdue three of the original kings, defy God, oppress Christians, and change religious festivals and laws.

I am definitely going to have to dig deeper.

What we should be doing in America

2009-10-26T07:18:00.003-04:00

May God be merciful and bless us.

May his face smile with favor on us.

May your ways be known throughout the earth,

your saving power among people everywhere.

May the nations praise you, O God.

Yes, may all the nations praise you.

Let the whole world sing for joy,

because you govern the nations with justice

and guide the people of the whole world.

May the nations praise you, O God.

Yes, may all the nations praise you.

Then the earth will yield its harvests,

and God, our God, will richly bless us,

and people all over the world will fear him.

Psalm 67

3 Weeks of School Completed

2009-09-05T11:12:00.002-04:00

We have now successfully completed 3 weeks of school. I have a little bit of tweaking to do with our schedule, but things have been running very smoothly. I am so pleased with myself for keeping up with history discussions and grading. We are continuing to use the workbox system, which is keeping me accountable on a daily basis to get things graded, recorded and prepared for. Another big help was to enter all of the assignments for the year into an Excel spreadsheet for grading purposes. I can now open that up and see at a glance what I need a grade for. It is a visual reminder for me, which I find extremely helpful.

My biggest problem right now is how best to utilize our science lapbooks. We started with Ecosystems from Hands of a Child. I got this one for free several months ago, and went on to purchase lapbooks on Sled Dogs, Chocolate and the Holocaust. Dd is not enthused each week to continue with her lapbook. Right now there has been a lot of writing involved and she typically does not like to write things by hand. HOAC does have many of their lapbooks available as "Type It In". I purchased at least one of our lapbooks in that format so we will see if she likes that format better.

I signed up to be the coordinator for the middle school field trips for our local homeschool group. It is a lot of work since I have never coordinated field trips before, but I hope it will be incentive for me to get out of the house on a monthly basis and do something fun. It is suggested that we do one educational and one social event per month, but that is not strictly enforced. I already have us scheduled for a scavenger hunt downtown (complete with tours of the Powder Magazine and the Heyward-Washington House), a trip to the state museum and a living history day at Boone Hall. That will take us through the end of the year on the educational front.

Freshman Orientation

2009-08-16T14:04:00.004-04:00

Ds and I spent Saturday morning from 7:45AM-12PM at his new high school for Freshman Orientation. We were split up with the parents sitting in the auditorium and the kids going off for what sounded like a pep rally (with lots of screaming and noise), a tour of the school, and small groups. I learned a lot during the first half of the morning and passed on the info to ds when we got home. Here is a snapshot of what I learned:

1. They need to have 17 credits in order to advance as a senior. They may be in their 4th or 5th year of high school, but until they have 17 credits they are considered a junior and do not receive senior priviledges.

2. GPA's can now be higher than a 4.0-AP, IB and Honors courses are weighted heavier than regular courses, so it is possible to graduate with a GPA of 5+.

3. 'Busting a sag' is not permitted and the school has zip ties to cinch belt loops if needed.

4. Underwear and excessive skin is not allowed to be shown. The school has 'high fashion' clothing available for the students to wear if their parents cannot bring them a change of clothing.

5. Cell phones are not permitted and will be confiscated. Parents must come in to retrieve them and are charged $25 (which I would pass on to my child). The school uses that money to offer rewards to solve crimes at the school. Last year they gave out almost $2,000.

6. Hats, hoodies, bandanas and sweat bands are not allowed as they obscure the face from the numerous cameras in the hallways and around the campus.

7. The school has 2 uniformed police officers and 1 security officer for roughly 2,300 students.

Do I feel comfortable sending my son to a public high school? Not really, but I am trusting that God will keep him safe until he gratuates or my husband is convicted in his heart to bring him home.

Church News

2009-08-16T14:04:00.001-04:00

Dd just moved up to the middle school section at church this morning and loved it. She had not been happy in Kids Church, but her face was shining this morning when I picked her up after the service. I had been praying God would show us where He would have us worship and where we would all feel comfortable. We are returning again tonight for Sunday evening classes and on Wednesday evening they break into small groups where they can go in depth on different topics.

Ds 'graduated' from the middle school section to the high school section and will be attending that service tonight for the first time. I am so excited to finally feel like we are 'home'.

Successful Plane Ride

2009-08-16T13:55:00.003-04:00

Dd made it home in one piece and very happy. She was taken to the unaccompanied minors room at the layover airport which had snacks, a movie and board games. She said it was nice to fly solo because you don't have to talk to anyone. For all of you who know my dd, that statement is hilarious! I don't remember a time when dd did not like to or desire to talk, and talk, and talk. Ds and I barely made it to the gate on time as her flight arrived 20 minutes early. I could have just waited at security and they would have brought her to me, but I wanted to meet her at the gate and had to get a special boarding pass to get past security. We picked up pizza on the way home and had a great, relaxing evening.

First Solo Plane Ride

2009-08-13T07:55:00.002-04:00

Dd will be taking her first solo plane ride today. She is flying from Kansas to South Carolina. Our ds has done several solo trips, but this will be dd's first. I am nervous to say the least. We paid dearly for her to fly as an unaccompanied minor, which means she will be escorted from plane to plane and we will have to show ID and sign for her on our end. Grandma and Grandpa will be allowed to go with her to the boarding area and will not leave her until she is under the care of one of the stewardesses. She has her cell phone and has been instructed to call us when she boards both planes, when each plane lands and during her lay-over. Please pray for my nerves and her safety. I know God is in control and He has His hand upon her.

Strawberry Pretzel Squares

2009-07-17T16:47:00.002-04:00

This makes a great summer treat!

From Kraft Food and Family (with some slight variations)

2 c. finely crushed pretzels (mine looked slightly larger than chopped pecans)

1/2 c. sugar, divided

2/3 c. butter, melted

1 1/2 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened

2 T. milk

1 c. whipped topping

2 c. boiling water

1 pkg. (6oz) strawberry jello

1 1/2 c. cold water

4 c. fresh strawberries, sliced

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix pretzel crumbs, 1/4 c. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. (I added 2 graham crackers, crushed as well). Bake 10 minutes. Cool.

Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar and milk until blended. Stir in whipped topping; spread over crust. Refrigerate.

Prepare jello according to package directions. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours or until thickened. Stir in strawberries; spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.

Serve with more whipped topping if desired.

Curriculum for the Upcoming Year

2009-07-12T08:57:00.001-04:00

Tapestry of Grace for history, geography and literature (going into Year 4 Redesign)

Saxon 7/6 math

A Beka Grammar

Spelling Workout G

Writing Aids (to coincide with TOG)

Lapbooks for science (Ecosystems, Dolphins, Sled Dogs, Chocolate)

Bible Bee and Kay Arthur studies for Bible

Unit study based on 'The Book of Virtues' by William J. Bennett for character training (downloaded fromhttp://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ShiverAcademy/Book%2Bof%2BVirtues/)

Sewing unit fromhttp://sewing.about.com/library/lessons/bllessonindex.htm

Weight Loss & Healthy Eating

2009-07-12T08:14:00.002-04:00

After having to squeeze into more than one pair of shorts/capris this week (and stepping on the scale) I started counting calories and watching what I eat. I have always had a high metabolism and have never needed to watch what I eat, but I have always struggled with stomach upset. This has been due to eating too much and eating the wrong foods. I am like most people and enjoy my food, but I have a weakness in knowing when to stop eating. Even though I never went hungry as a child I feel a strong urge to finish everything on my plate and to eat more than I should simply because something tastes good or because it is still sitting in front of me.

I found a great site called Calorie Count for figuring out how many calories are in different foods. You just type in the food you are searching for in the 'Search for Foods' box at the top of the page and it will bring up a selection of matching foods to choose from. I really like using it for fruits and vegetables or for recipes in which nutrition information is not given. I use another site for figuring out how many calories I burn doing different exercises or chores. You simply type in how much you weigh and then the number of minutes you spent doing 1 or more activities. I found that by increasing my walking pace from 2mph to just under 4mph, I burn an additional 75 calories in 50 minutes. If I increase my pace to a jog, I burn an additional 189 calories.

Tracking my food intake and looking at different exercises as calorie burners has caused me to think about every bite of food I eat, not just as I am eating it, but also as I contemplate the depths of my pantry and fridge.

First Swim Meet

2009-07-06T16:58:00.002-04:00

Dd is getting ready to swim free style. She is the one in the blue and gold suit, adjusting her goggles.

Diving in. She is much improved from the beginning of the season. She can now breathe properly when swimming instead of swimming with her face constantly out of the water and she finally uses her legs when swimming.
This was our first experience with a swim meet. The whole evening was one delay after another. The meet finally got called due to lightening at 10:30PM-and we were not even halfway done. To make a long story short-this was not the norm and the rest of our swim meets have run much smoother. Dd has really been enjoying herself and our plan at this point is to have her swim again next year.

Pictures of our Backyard

2009-07-06T16:39:00.005-04:00

Finally, pictures of our new and improved backyard. We had the fence installed in March and are loving the freedom it gives us with the dogs. The backyard also feels larger to us now because we can clearly see exactly where our boundaries are. Since this picture was taken the flowers against the house have spread considerably. They are now twice as deep and wide. The flowers that are in the pots (sitting on the brick) are now planted in the front row.

My husband has been diligently working on our front and back yards and flower beds and has done wonders with what we had originally. The original owners did not live here for very long and the yard was pretty bare. We have since purchased a dark wicker loveseat which sits inside the screened patio against the left side with small matching end tables on either side. Dh rigged up a small set of speakers and we have two fans that sit against the right-hand section. We can now enjoy sitting in our backyard, which is where you will find us most evenings. Every evening we enjoy sitting outside and listening to the orchestra of frogs, crickets and cicadas.

When winter comes we will bring the table and chairs inside the patio and move the loveseat out so we can sit in front of our (not yet bought) firepit. We also hope to purchase a hammock to place near the back fence as that spot gets afternoon shade.

Pictures of Nature

2009-07-06T16:31:00.002-04:00

This is one of the flowers I planted outside my front door. They are beautiful when in bloom.

I saw this dragonfly one day and grabbed the camera and snapped this shot. Little did I know that this would not be the last dragonfly of this size I would see. We have the pleasure of seeing these beauties every day. Our rottie, Annabelle, loves to chase them around the backyard. She does not try to eat them, but just loves chasing them. My dh said it looked like one of them was playing with her the other day as it would circle around her and then stop and hover in front of her before circling and hovering again.

Boys!

2009-06-08T08:56:00.002-04:00

Ds never ceases to surprise me. Last Friday, he thought it would be a good idea to put a cable bike lock around his neck. This is the kind of bike lock that looks like a noose when it is locked. He did not think to find the key first, but simply acted on his impulsive thought. He tightened it enough so it would not fit over his head, but gave him plenty of room to breathe. He was never in any danger, other than dying of embarrassment.

We did not have any idea where the key for the lock was, so husband suggested going to a hardware store to have it cut off with a bolt cutter. Ace Hardware was out of bolt cutters and he had to go to his therapy appointment with the lock around his neck. It kind of looked like a tie, with one end hanging almost to the ground. My next thought was to take him to the fire station to see if they had bolt cutters, but luckily, the therapist took pity on him and they walked back to Ace and cut it off with a wire cutter. I, of course, did not get a picture. Why can't I remember the camera at times like these.

Do boys ever grow up?

Bike lock-$15

Trip into Ace-embarrassing

Memory of event-Priceless

Thinking Outside the Box

2009-05-21T13:45:00.003-04:00

How many boxes do you fill? I typically fill 6-8 boxes per day

Do you expect your children to go in order? Yes, because I throw in fun things to be done after lengthy assignments to break the day up.

Do you use the schedule strips? No. I used poster board and library card holders to create a schedule. I glued the card holders on the poster in 5 rows of 5 cards. Dd starts with the top left card and moves along the rows until she completes the last filled card holder. I have written subject titles onto index cards for the things she does regularly, like AQ/TQ work, research, edit, rough draft, chores, etc. I then use additional index cards to write the specific assignment down. For instance, I will right the chapter or pages to be read and that is placed in the box with the book(s).

How long does it take you to fill the boxes? It typically takes less than 15 minutes.

Do you fill your work boxes EACH night with all new items? Some subjects are done daily, such as math, Bible study, study for Bible Bee, and walk the dog. Those just get rearranged each day for variety.

Do you have some boxes repeat each day so there is less filling/refilling? See answer above

What do your kids do with the empty boxes? Right now the filled boxes go on the top shelf of our baker's rack and the empty boxes are placed on the bottom shelf. This works because I have room for 3 sets of 3 stacked boxes on each shelf. If/when we need more than 9 boxes dd will just put the completed boxes on the floor beside the baker's rack.

Do you put away the ‘supplies’ each night? or do your kids? So far I have not put any supplies in the boxes except for the vanilla pudding mix that dd was to use to make cookies. She is 10yo and more than capable of finding her own pencil, pen and paper. Next year I will be putting supplies in the boxes for science experiments, history lapbooks and projects, sewing projects, Keepers of the Faith activities, etc. I will probably have dd help with putting things away.

Workboxes

2009-05-18T13:45:00.006-04:00

I came across the workbox idea on one of my yahoo groups and immediately saw the benefits to this system. Dd was getting bored with school and I needed to find a way to add in some fun to our days. We had gotten into a bad routine of only doing academics and putting off anything that even remotely looked like fun. Sue Patrick came up with this system and describes it her book, 'Sue Patrick's Workbox System'. I will admit I have not purchased the book and have instead set up my system based on comments and reviews posted by others who have read or have set up their own systems based on the book.

I bought a piece of white poster board and small envelopes that look like library card holders. I glued the card holders to the poster board in 5 rows of 5. I am using this in place of the schedule strips. Each card slot will hold an index card on which I have written either a box number (to coincide with the baskets) or something for her to do that does not need to go in a basket (ie. walk the dog, read aloud, chores, snack, lunch, etc.). She moves through the rows from top to bottom and left to right, putting all of her finished index cards in the card slot on the far right in each row.

I purchased 9 medium stacking baskets from Target (below) in three different colors and we keep these on the bottom two shelves of our baker's rack in the kitchen. The kitchen is next to the office, so that is the ideal spot to keep dd's work. I am only doing this with her for right now, as ds will be heading back to public school in the fall. So far, little bug (20mo) does not get into the boxes. I am not sure what we will do if she decides they are interesting.

Today's work:

Box 1 (with Mom)-Bible study

Box 2-Bible Bee study

Walk Milo

Snack

Kitchen Duty

Box 3 (with Mom)-Math

Box 4-Literature book

Chores

Box 5-Research for Speech

Lunch

Library-Gather books

Read Aloud

Box 6-History Reading and AQ/TQ

Snack

Box 7-Preposition worksheet

As you can see, we do not use all 9 boxes or 25 card slots per day. They are there just in case we have lots of small assignments or I choose to break longer assignments into smaller pieces.

New addition

2009-05-18T13:41:00.002-04:00

Ds has been placed on homebound and will be schooling with us for the rest of the year. A teacher from school will come to the house once or twice per week and go over his schoolwork. I will also give him additional work as I see fit to fill in his days. Hopefully this goes well and we don't have to battle with attitude adjustments too much.

Strawberry Picking

2009-05-15T18:34:00.004-04:00

I set up a field trip to one of the local strawberry farms. I have never picked my own strawberries so it was a new experience for me. We ended up filling 4 of these white baskets and purchased some onions that had recently been picked. I was dumb when I went to freeze the strawberries, though, and I froze them with their stems still on. Now I need to go through and cut the stems off when they are still frozen as it is quite messy if I wait until they thaw out.

This is the little girl I watch during the week. She had a blast sitting in the aisles and holding the baskets. She could not pull the strawberries off so I helped her by pinching them with my fingernails.
Dd did a wonderful job filling 2 baskets. We both had sore backs and legs at the end.
Here is little bug. She decided the strawberries were good enough to eat right out of the basket, dirt and all.
Anybody have any good strawberry recipes?

Easter

2009-05-15T18:28:00.003-04:00

Dd and ds had a great time finding easter eggs. I hid lots of them inside and then went out back and randomly tossed more into the buffer between our yard and the golf course. We only lost one egg outside, and luckily it was plastic. Someday someone will find it and become .50 cents richer. This just proves that you are never too 'big' to hunt for eggs (ds is now standing at 6').

International Night

2009-05-15T18:21:00.007-04:00

One of the support groups we belong to hosted an International Night in which each family chose a country and put together a display. We chose Scotland and used several pictures and books dh and I got when I visited him during a port call. We chose to make scones for our dish and made one batch with a cheese topping and the other batch with a sugar topping. We brought along strawberry jam, and surprisingly, some of the ladies put the jam on the cheese scones. I was not sure if people would like them, but they disappeared at an alarming rate. Dh and ds came and looked at all the displays and sampled the food before heading out.

Art pics

2009-05-15T18:06:00.005-04:00

Here are pictures of our latest art project. We used art masking tape to make nice clean lines around our rectangles. We colored the first square with an orange crayon and then a blue oil pastel crayon. The second box was done with a yellow crayon and a violet oil pastel. The third box was a green crayon with a red oil pastel on top. Using a toothpick, we then scraped away the oil pastel to reveal the crayon underneath while looking at different photos of insects on leaves and twigs. The first one is mine and the second is dd's.

This project was done to introduce us to shading. This was a several week project and involved drawing the bear using a photo reference, using a charcoal pencil to add shadow and then using a white pastel pencil on other areas. We also got to use a blending stump to blend certain areas. The first drawing is mine and the second is dd's. We are enjoying our art time, even though we don't manage to get around to it every week.

Horse Show

2009-05-09T17:07:00.004-04:00

Dd had her first horse show today and she did great. We arrived around 10AM so she could get registered and watch some of the competition. She received 4th place in the first round, 4th place in the second round and 3rd place in the third round.

Awaiting the results with 'Scamp'

Dd and her friend with their ribbons

Prayer Warriors Needed

2009-05-08T11:22:00.002-04:00

A little boy named Noah is desperately in need of our prayers. I have been following his mom's blog for for over a year and I have been amazed at each new blessing I have seen in his little life. He is in a VERY bad situation right now and needs prayer very badly. Here is the link to his mom's blog.

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ourquiverfull

Psalm 73

2009-04-10T09:51:00.002-04:00

Truly God is good to Israel,

to those whose hearts are pure.

But as for me, I almost lost my footing.

My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.

For I envied the proud

when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.

They seem to live such painless lives;

their bodies are so healthy and strong.

They don't have troubles like other people;

they're not plagued with problems like everyone else.

They wear pride like a jeweled necklace

and clothe themselves with cruelty.

These fat cats have everything

their hearts could ever wish for!

They scoff and speak only evil;

in their pride they seek to crush others.

They boast against the very heavens,

and their words strut throughout the earth.

And so the people are dismayed and confused,

drinking in all their words.

"What does God know?" they ask.

"Does the Most High even know what's happening?"

Look at these wicked people-

enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.

Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?

Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?

I get nothing but trouble all day long;

every morning brings me pain.

If I had really spoken this way to others,

I would have been a traitor to your people.

So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.

But what a difficult task it is!

Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,

and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.

Truly, you put them on a slippery path

and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.

In an instant they are destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors.

When you arise, O Lord,

you will laugh at their silly ideas

as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.

Then I realized that my heart was bitter,

and I was all torn up inside.

I was so foolish and ignorant-

I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.

Yet I still belong to you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

leading me to a glorious destiny.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

I desire you more than anything on earth.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,

but God remains the strength of my heart;

he is mine forever.

Those who desert him will perish,

for you destroy those who abandon you.

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Update on Son

2009-04-07T09:01:00.002-04:00

Ds is home now and some things have gotten better. He is much more responsible with his chores and he 'was' getting along great with his sister. The two started fighting again yesterday, but I think both children were at fault. We will see how today goes, as dd is in quite a mood already because she had to get up at 8:30AM on a Spring Break day. Poor baby!

Her attitude has gotten quite bad lately and it is really starting to wear on me. A lot of the problem stems from me giving her so much free reign with her time. She has been allowed to work on her schoolwork unattended and did well in the beginning, but has gotten increasingly more lazy and many times gets to the weekend with unfinished work. She argues with everything I tell her to do and throws up an attitude when I make her do something-whether chores, schoolwork or helping around the house. I think she has developed a bad case of entitlement-thinking she is in charge and should not be required to do anything unless she feels so inclined. Argh!

We just moved the schoolroom downstairs where I can see her, so that will make it easier to keep an eye on her. Another struggle for her is realizing that her workload is getting larger now that she is moving up in grades. She is used to getting done with her work in such a short time, and hates that some things are now taking longer to complete. Writing is a good example. She 'says' she cannot complete an entire writing assignment in one week because it is too much to do each day. When I told her it is not unreasonable to spend up to 45 minutes per day pre-writing, doing the rough draft and editing, she about had a cow!

Does anyone have any ideas for moving a child from 'easy' elementary work to more 'advanced' middle school work? She is very smart and has no trouble understanding the assignments for the most part, it is just her willingness to give what it takes to do it right.

Prayers for son

2009-03-25T07:44:00.002-04:00

We had an interesting end to our week on Friday. I don't really want to go into details, but I would definitely covet your prayers for ds. He is struggling with some serious stuff right now and can use God's protective hand over him. If nothing else comes of this situation, it has caused me to sit back and take a good hard look at our family. I also pray it will be an eye-opening experience for others in our family.

Homeschool Memoirs #28

2009-03-11T17:19:00.002-04:00

Last week's theme was Life Skills. This is one area in which I would truly like to be doing more. My 10dd has normal chores like dusting, kitchen duty, and yard clean-up. My children are each given a weekly allowance that is based on them completing their chores. Chores that are not done or done incorrectly do not get paid for. They still have to do them, they just don't get paid. I am not sure if this is actually working as my 14ds does not care enough about money to 'remember' his chores. 10dd also gets paid to help me with the baby.

We go through periods of time when one or both children start slacking off on thoroughness. A lot of this is due to dad and I not checking and verifying that the chore was done correctly or completely. I get so worn out having to come behind my children and check everything. It is my job as their mother, but I wish they would 'get it'. I guess we are all like that, though, sometimes. I don't like to admit it, but I also have a lazy streak. 'Research' on the internet, school or pleasure reading, playing with the baby, etc. can all pull me away from cleaning the bathroom or doing laundry (my two least favorite chores, next to mopping).

I am preparing to start Keepers of the Faith with my dd and hope to do it in a group setting. I am hoping that a group setting will provide the accountability I need to keep up with things. I am the queen of starting projects and not finishing them. Everything sounds so interesting until we get into it, and then it becomes work!

In the past I have had my children each prepare dinner one night per week. I think I will use this opportunity to begin that again. I would also like to bring my daughter beside me when I am baking so she can develop the skills to one day take care of her family.

A Virtuous and Capable Wife

2009-02-25T10:13:00.002-05:00

Proverbs 31:10-12 'Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.'

Wow! That is a powerful passage. I got done typing and really thought about the last sentence. 'She brings him good, not harm, ALL the days of her life.' How many times have I said something snotty to my husband because he has hurt my feelings or I think he is doing something wrong? How many times has he asked me to do something and I have forgotten about it? How many times have I argued with him (even if it was just playfully) for the sake of playing the devil's advocate?

My Bible reading plan for this year is to read 2 chapters of the Old Testament, 1 chapter of Psalms, 1 chapter of Proverbs and 1-2 chapters of the New Testament daily. I got to Proverbs 31, though, and decided I should camp here for awhile instead of starting Proverbs over. I am going to take one section of Proverbs 31 each week and concentrate on it. I hope that by the end of the 8 weeks I will be a better wife and mother. If need be I will go back through it again and again. I have a really good book that I should be able to incorporate-A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George.

Thankfulness

2009-02-25T10:02:00.002-05:00

Psalms 50:14-15 Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.

I have probably read this chapter in Psalms many times, but never picked up on this. I know we don't make physical sacrifices anymore, but God is saying that even if we were it is our hearts that matter to Him. We can make all the sacrifices we want and claim we are making them for God, but God knows our hearts.

I want to live my life in a constant state of thankfulness. I want to thank God for the large blessings in my life as well as the small blessings.

Thankfulness list for today:

1. All of our needs are met

2. Friends I can turn to when I want to share sorrows, frustrations and joys

3. Automated postage machines at the post office (the kind that weighs your package and prints out a shipping label and is available 24 hours per day)

4. At least two more months on my car's warranty

5. A healthy family

Track 'meet'

2009-02-23T13:52:00.002-05:00

I was recently discussing with my ds his upcoming track schedule. I asked him if he knew which races he was going to be competing in. He looked at me and said, "No, a meet is just where we go and meet each other and hang out." I almost died of laughter (laughing to myself, of course). What was he thinking track was, just another alternative to PE?

Homeschool Memoirs #25

2009-02-12T18:11:00.002-05:00

This week's theme is laundry and how many loads we do of it. We just moved into our new house and for the first time have the laundry room upstairs. It is nice because that is where the majority of the laundry is generated, but is an inconvenience because I am downstairs for most of my day. Even with the signal set to loud, I still have a hard time catching the loads when they are just getting finished. Most of the time I get to them hours later and they are already wrinkled.

I would say we do an average of 6-7 loads of laundry per week. We only have 4 people living here, though, so that helps. I just started watching my girlfriend's 15mo daughter, but I only dirty one washcloth per day extra with her. I do keep little socks on hand, but as those are so tiny, they don't amount to much.

Speaking of laundry and not catching it in time, I am off to fold and put away the load that has been sitting in the dryer for awhile.

Track/Swimming/Soccer

2009-02-12T14:07:00.002-05:00

Ds just tried out for track. We had to get him a last-minute physical that was quite the ordeal, but he made it to try-outs in time. It really was not a try-out as the coach did not cut anyone. Ds will ride the athletic bus to the high school every day after school and practice for 1 hour. The middle school has Friday and Monday off and they will have a two-hour practice Friday. He is very excited and sore from two days of running. Tuesday he ran about 2 miles and Wednesday he ran 3 miles in Converse sneakers. Poor kid could barely walk last night and went to bed around 7:30PM. Dad loaned him his running shoes until we can get to the store this weekend. Ds will be outfitted with new running shoes, several pairs of athletic shorts, several pairs of athletic pants and probably a couple of t-shirts.

He also started taking percussion at school. His drum sticks (brand-new, but not expensive) are already missing, either lost or stolen so we will have to replace those. He is really loving school and has settled down with his behavior. He knows that he has to keep his grades up and have no behavior problems in order to stay in track.

Dd signed up for the swim team, but practices do not start until April. We might sign her up for soccer as well, but it will overlap with swimming for about 3 weeks at the end. I am not sure if that will be too much for her. It might be too much for me as we will be having track meets, swim practice and soccer practice/games. Sounds like a lot of running around to me.

What a beautiful day!

2009-02-09T14:45:00.002-05:00

Nice weather has finally arrived! We have had such yucky weather for the longest time (yes, I know, it is officially winter) and I am more than ready to be able to go outside without a coat. We took the dogs to a dog park this weekend and had a great time. The dog park has a large open space for the dogs to run and play with plenty of picnic tables for the humans to sit at. Both dogs did great, but Annabelle wanted to stay close to us. The trainer at the dog obedience classes we are attending is working with her to socialize her with other dogs and also people. Milo was great with all of the dogs. He is such a stinker when he is on the leash, but acts like a completely different dog when he is off of it.

Today we headed off to the park in the neighborhood after lunch. Dd kicked a soccer ball back and forth and Annabelle chased after it, burning off lots of energy. We then headed over to the playground area and allowed 'little bug' (my daycare sweetie) to swing and play on the slides. Unfortunately, she slid right into some lovely water at the bottom of one of slides, so she got to take a bath when we got home. She proceeded to get dd and me wet from splashing. It did feel good, though.

I have most of the windows open in the house and the fans whirring.

Dd's book report

2009-02-08T14:23:00.002-05:00

This book report is about Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child.

Clarice is the second oldest in a family of seven, including a granddad. Her older brother Kurt is always shut up in his room, which smells like rotten cheese, her older sister Marcie is always grumpy, her younger brother Minal is always annoying, her dad is always on the phone, her mom is tired of being a "maid", and her granddad is, well, granddad.

Partway through the school year their teacher, Mrs. Wilberton, announces they are going to have a book exhibition. Unfortunately the winners' cup goes missing. Clarice and her utterly BEST friend Betty Moody decide to look for it together. They read mystery books about a girl named Ruby and they learn a lot from that. They decide to do their book exhibit on them. If they find the cup in time, can they win it?

I like this book because it seems as if you are reading her diary. It's also very funny. Once Betty loses her glasses in a nasty place and the janitor has to fish them out. I would recommend this book for most girls.

Pics of outside for MIL

2009-02-07T19:27:00.008-05:00

These are pics that my MIL requested so she can give me gardening tips. Everyone is welcome to look at them, but they are not very interesting unless you are into gardening.

Planting area around the screened patio that the dogs have access to. If you keep following the house to the left you will see the bay-window.

Bushes around the kitchen bay-window. (above)

Close-up of the bushes closest to the front (from the second pic below).
The garage is off to the left of this picture. The close-up is the picture above.

Close-up of bushes from pic below.
Looking at left side of house.

Close-up of bushes on the right side of patio (if you are looking at the house).

Right side of patio.

Finally...pictures of the house

2009-02-02T09:47:00.009-05:00

I know, I know! You have all been waiting patiently for pictures of our new house. We have been in our house for almost two months now. The downstairs is pretty much how we want it. We are planning to replace the bathroom and kitchen linoleum with tile, replace the sliding glass door with a french door and replace all of the mini-blinds with 2" faux wood blinds. I will post more later. My computer is not "seeing" my camera.

Looking from the living room into the foyer.

View of the kitchen. Eat-in kitchen.
Looking from the living room into the office. You can see the kitchen bar off to the right. Looking into the living room from the foyer.

Flower dissection

2009-02-02T09:42:00.003-05:00

Dd is doing Apologia's Botany book for science this year and seems to really be getting into it. We got a late start on some of the experiments due to poor planning on my part and the stores not carrying seeds until just recently. Below is a picture of a flower dissection that she did this last week. She is amazing me with what she remembers about the different plant parts and what they are for.

Ds's Knee

2009-02-02T09:23:00.003-05:00

Ds injured himself at school while playing with some friends. He tripped over another kid's foot and slammed his knee into a concrete curb. He called me from school to tell me about it, but did not mention that his knee was swollen to nearly twice it's normal size. I was shocked when he came home and I saw how big it was. We went to the nearest urgent care center as it was after hours and x-rays showed that nothing was broken or fractured. Even now, one week later, he still has some swelling and pain.

Frozen feet

2009-01-22T12:16:00.003-05:00

My dd had another horse riding lesson yesterday, but it was around 38 degrees the entire 1 1/2 hours she was there. She normally wears one pair of riding socks (about the thickness of dress socks) and rubber boots. Her feet were cold within minutes after arrival. She said it hurt really badly when she had to jump down from the horse at the end of the lesson and every time she needed to push her heels down while riding. Does anyone have any ideas about how to keep her feet warm during riding lessons? We only live 10 minutes from the stables. I am wondering if they sell socks with some kind of gel that can be heated up, kind of like those hand-warmers they sell at Walmart.

I had thought I would be cold as well sitting in the car with the heater off, but the sun shines straight through the windshield and turns the inside of the car into a nice toasty place to sit.

College

2009-01-15T18:49:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to say congratulations to my sister for entering college. She will be starting her first semester on the 22nd and is starting with a full course load. Her goal is to get her degree in teaching and she would like to teach high school history. I am so proud of her!