Tales of a Pee Dee Mama

Thankful Thursday - March 1

2012-03-01T15:05:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm thankful for friends who are willing to listen to me when I need to vent. I'm also thankful for friends who pray for me.

Wordless Wednesday - Britt's hair

2012-02-29T09:42:00.000-05:00

I decided to do something different with Britt's hair this morning. Now I have a couple of other girls who want their hair done this way.

Sunday Morning attitude

2012-02-28T12:20:00.000-05:00

Our church is going through the Bible together this year, and it has been wonderful for helping me stay focused in my daily reading and keep plodding through those tough parts. We have a daily reading guide, and then each Sunday the lesson in Sunday School comes from the reading of the past week. The last couple of weeks have been in Leviticus.

As I was reading about all the details that God gave for how to worship in the Old Testament and for how Aaron was to prepare to enter the Holy Place, I started thinking about how I prepare to go to worship. Sadly, my attitude on Sunday mornings is usually not where it should be as I drive to church. I don't know why, but the 5 children who can get completely dressed in mere minutes every other day of the week, seem to take 5 times as long on Sunday mornings. When you add on to that, the time it takes to do hair for 4 girls, Sunday mornings become quite stressful at my house.

Is this really how I want my home to be before we leave to go to church? NO! I really don't want my children to grow up equating church attendance with a miserable, moody mother. I can't think of a faster way to push my children away from their faith. So I've had to sit back and think about how I can give Sunday mornings a more pleasant atmosphere at my house.

One thing that has helped is laying out all the small people's clothes on Saturday evening. I need to start laying out my clothes as well because I can't begin to count the number of Sunday mornings I've stood in front of my closet trying to figure out what to wear. (Of course, if all of my clothes fit, that wouldn't be an issue. I'm working on that.)

Breakfast on Sunday mornings is simple - cereal and a poptart. While I know there are many out there that debate the nutritional value of such a breakfast, I don't think that eating this way one time a week (or 2 since they also eat that way on Saturdays) is going to developmentally harm my children. I would much rather have them eat this way and us have a pleasant morning before we leave for church than for me to make a large breakfast and us to all be rushing around and grouchy.

So what do you do to help make getting ready for church on Sunday morning a pleasant experience at your house?

Menu Plan - Week of Feb 26

2012-02-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

I'm noticing a theme for my Monday nights. I don't like having fast food; I don't like serving my kids fast food every week. However, this is the schedule for my Mondays, and I can't figure out how to have a meal:

School from 8 to 2:30.
Then I fold laundry and grade papers until it's time to take Caelin to dance at 3:30.
After dropping Caelin off at dance, we go home to get Aria's and Bobby's soccer things.
Then drive across town to get Aria to soccer at 4:30 and Bobby at 4:45 (they're at the same set of fields, but I have to wait for Bobby's coach to get there).
Caelin's dance class ends at 4:30, but thankfully I have VERY helpful friends who either a) bring her over to the soccer fields or b) take her to their house for me to pick her up.
After getting Caelin, I take her, Brailey, and Brittany to get something to eat. We could eat at home at this time (or at least the 4 of us).
Aria and Bobby both finish practice at 6, and Robb picks them up.
Then they pick up something to eat on the way to Bobby's boy scout meeting at 7.
Sometimes Robb has soccer meetings on Monday evenings at 6 so that can get a little crazy.
I have ensemble practice at 6 and then church visitation at 6:30 until about 8.

I might try to have us eat during that window between picking up Caelin and going to my ensemble practice. I still need to find a solution for the 3 at soccer stuff on Mondays, though. As for today, it will be fast food since I haven't planned otherwise.

Dinner:

Sunday - Sandwiches
Monday - Fast food
Tuesday - Barbecue ribs, mac n cheese, vegetable
Wednesday - Spaghettim
Thursday - Chicken roll-ups, vegetable, rice
Friday - Italian pork chops, orzo, vegetable
Saturday - ?

Breakfast (The rotation stays the same every week):

Sunday - Cereal, poptarts
Monday - Oatmeal or grits
Tuesday - Bagels or English muffins, fruit or yogurt
Wednesday - Waffles, fruit or yogurt
Thursday - Cereal, fruit or yogurt
Friday - Eggs, sausage or bacon
Saturday - Poptarts (Yes, I'm incredibly lazy on the weekends, and I let my kids eat junk. I'm okay with that.)

Lunch (also usually the same every week):

Sandwiches, wraps, or leftovers
Fruit or veggies (I like to get whatever is on sale)
Pretzels, chips, or goldfish crackers

Mis-Heard Lyrics by the Small People

2012-02-24T12:11:00.001-05:00

Brittany's new version of "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep":

Blah, blah, black sheep have you many more?

Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.

One for my master, one for my dame,

One for the little boy who lives down the drain.

Image from Google Images

So, what is your favorite mis-heard lyric?

Looking for inspiration

2012-02-23T13:23:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time I was a creative person. I could spend hours with photos and paper creating amazing scrapbook pages for my children's albums. I sent out handmade Christmas and birthday cards. I cross stitched stockings for my 3 older ones. I finished Brailey's last year. (Ignore the wrinkles; I took the pics before I ironed it.)

I don't know what happened but I've lost my desire to do those things. Brailey's stocking only was finished because she kept asking me about it, and I felt guilty about not having it finished for her. I've started Caelin's stocking, but it's very slow going. I struggle with motivation to pick it up and work on it.

I haven't done any scrapbook pages in a few years. I can't remember the last time I made a card.

Between schooling the kids all day and then ferrying them to their activities in the afternoons, I just don't have the desire to work on crafty stuff. I guess I've lost my muse.

Anyone have any suggestions for where to find my muse and get inspired to work on these things again?

New Button

2012-02-22T14:58:00.000-05:00

I do not profess to be technologically proficient. I like to think that I am, but reality says otherwise. A couple weeks ago, my computer and my modem refused to speak to each other. I tried everything I could think of to get them to communicate so that I could connect to the internet. Nope, no way, no how. Once Robb got home, he was able to find the problem and fix it.

All he did was unplug the modem and plug it back in. Now WHY didn't I think of that?

So, after I made the last button for this blog, I completely forgot what I had done. Then I went and changed the blog name. WHAT was I thinking??

I needed a new button. I've thought about it, but since I couldn't remember HOW to make one, I just kept putting it off. Well, last night I did a google search for "how to make a button" and happened about this tutorial over at Paper Heart Camera. How easy! It took me no time today to make the button.

So, here's my new button:

Today's conversation

2012-02-20T12:17:00.000-05:00

I like to joke around and sing as I'm making lunch. So today, as I'm making sandwiches, I was singing "This Is My Country" at the top of my lungs. Brailey was setting the table. This is the conversation that occured:

B: "Mom, sometimes, you are weird."
Me: "Oh?"
B: "Yeah, but you're weird in a cool way. Not in a weird way, like Bobby. He just acts weird."

Nice to know that, although my kids think I'm weird, at least I'm cool too. Funny!

Kindle Giveaway plus 2 e-books by Andrea Pearson

2012-02-14T00:01:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Tales of a Pee Dee Mama, Terri's Little Haven, Grandma Bonnie's Closet, and Andrea Pearson have teamed up with some other wonderful bloggers to give you the opportunity to win a Kindle Touch with Special Offers and 2 wonderful e-books by Andrea Pearson - The Key of Kilenya and The Ember Gods.

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I love being able to borrow books from the library on mine. It's convenient (I can browse on the computer in the evenings after the kids are in bed), and I never have to pay any late fees because the books automatically go away after the loan is over.

This giveaway is open to US residents only. Thanks!

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Menu Plan - Week of Feb. 12

2012-02-13T15:06:00.001-05:00

Dinner:

Sunday -Sandwiches
Monday -Fast food - too many people need to be in too many different places at dinner time tonight.
Tuesday - Chicken roll-ups, orzo, vegetables
Wednesday - Beef stew ole', rice

Thursday -Slow cooker ribs, mac n cheese, vegetables
Friday -Chicken and broccoli casserole
Saturday - ?

Breakfast (The rotation stays the same every week):

Sunday - Cereal, poptarts
Monday - Oatmeal or grits
Tuesday - Bagels or English muffins, fruit or yogurt
Wednesday - Waffles, fruit or yogurt
Thursday - Cereal, fruit or yogurt
Friday - Eggs, sausage or bacon
Saturday - Poptarts (Yes, I'm incredibly lazy on the weekends, and I let my kids eat junk. I'm okay with that.)

Lunch (also usually the same every week):

Sandwiches, wraps, or leftovers
Fruit or veggies (I like to get whatever is on sale)
Pretzels, chips, or goldfish crackers

(Not Really) Wordless Wednesday - My boy

2012-02-08T15:56:00.000-05:00

I love this boy so much! It's hard to believe that my time raising him is over halfway over. The job of training and instilling good values is beginning to change to one of allowing him to show me that he is able to make good decisions. It's hard to let go and allow him the freedom to make mistakes, but I know that it's better for me to allow him to make those mistakes now, while Robb and I are still here to help him out, than wait and have him make mistakes when he's out on his own.

A Super Evening for the Super Bowl

2012-02-07T15:22:00.000-05:00

We had our own little Super Bowl party with just the 7 of us the other night. We had a great time watching the game together, but no Super Bowl gathering is complete without food.

Here's what was on the menu at our house:
Pepperoni Pizza Muffins (see recipe below). I found this recipe on Pinterest. I changed it from mini muffins to full muffins. They were declared a success by the small people, and will be making more appearances at our dinner table.
Cheesy salsa dip with tortilla chips (see recipe below)
Chocolate chip cookies - These have to be the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had.
Brownies - Superwoman I am not. These were from a box mix.

Pepperoni Pizza Muffins - adapted from Lick the Bowl Good

Ingredients

3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
pinch of salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cubed pepperoni
1/2 cup store bought pizza sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan. (I used a well-seasoned Pampered Chef stoneware pan so there was no need to grease it.) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, and salt. Whisk in milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the batter. Divide among muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 25-30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the muffins with the sauce for dipping.

Cheesy Salsa Dip
16 oz Velveeta, cubed
1 jar salsa
1 lb ground beef, browned

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low 2 hours to melt cheese.

Menu Plan - Week of Feb. 5

2012-02-06T12:29:00.000-05:00

Dinner:

Sunday -Super Bowl Fun (I'll be sharing our menu for that in another post.)
Monday -Fast food - too many people need to be in too many different places at dinner time tonight.
Tuesday - Lasagna, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday - Cooker chops, orzo, vegetables
Thursday -Slow cooker ribs, mac n cheese, vegetables
Friday -Chicken and broccoli casserole
Saturday -Deep dish taco, spanish rice

Breakfast (The rotation stays the same every week):

Sunday - Cereal, poptarts
Monday - Oatmeal or grits
Tuesday - Bagels or English muffins, fruit or yogurt
Wednesday - Waffles, fruit or yogurt
Thursday - Cereal, fruit or yogurt
Friday - Eggs, sausage or bacon
Saturday - Poptarts (Yes, I'm incredibly lazy on the weekends, and I let my kids eat junk. I'm okay with that.)

Lunch (also usually the same every week):

Sandwiches, wraps, or leftovers
Fruit or veggies (I like to get whatever is on sale)
Pretzels, chips, or goldfish crackers

Garlic Parmesan Crusted Chicken

2012-02-04T16:22:00.000-05:00

This is a favorite at my house. The small people call it "The Chicken We Like" (which I guess doesn't say a whole lot about the other types of chicken I make, does it?). It's super easy, too, which is always a plus.

Ingredients
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1/2 cup butter
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Combine cracker crumbs, cheese, and garlic salt in a shallow bowl. Set aside.
3. Melt butter. Add Worcestershire sauce.
4. Dip chicken breasts in butter mixture, then roll in cracker crumb mixture, coating thoroughly. Place coated chicken in the prepared baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining butter mixture.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Weeks in Review - Jan 22-Feb 4

2012-02-04T09:28:00.000-05:00

In the midst of the difficult time I've had lately, blogging hasn't really been at the forefront of my mind. I've kept up with laundry and feeding the people who live in my house, but everything extra has fallen to the wayside. Now that I think I'm through with the funk I've been in, I will hopefully be able to pick up the rest of the pieces of my life. My house needs to be thoroughly cleaned, I need to get caught up on school stuff, and I have a couple of posts running through my head that might actually find their way to the blog soon.

Bible - We're continuing the life of Jesus. We studied the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness and Jesus' first miracle of turning the water to wine at the wedding in Cana.

History - We finished up our study of the Vikings and began studying the Medieval period in Europe. Kings, nobles, peasants, knights, serfs, and castles are definitely fun topics. This coming week, we'll begin building a model of a castle. The small people are definitely excited about that. I'm sure there will be plenty of pics from that for next week's week in review.

Science - The girls and I started Astronomy. We began by learning about the basics of astronomy - what it is, important people like Copernicus and Galileo, and creating mnemonic devices to remember the names of the planets in order. Since Pluto has been demoted from planet status, we made 2 mnemonics - one with Pluto and one without.

My Very Excellent Mother Jumped Suddenly Up Near Palaces.
My Very Exciting Morning Just Started Under Noodles.

Then we began studying the sun. We learned about sun flares and sun spots, drawing pictures of the sun.

This is Brittany's drawing. I thought she did a great job for a 4 year old.

We also talked about why you shouldn't look directly at the sun. Then the older girls wrote speeches to tell others why they shouldn't look at the sun.

Brailey's speech: You should not look at the sun because it will burn your eyes. But your retina doesn't feel the pain.

Bobby spent the past two weeks studying the 5-kingdom classification system for living organisms.

Math - Bobby learned the FOIL method of multiplying polynomials. He caught on to that really quickly. Turning words into polynomial expressions was a different story. Things like: the sum of a number and twice the difference between the number and four confounded him. We did finally get through that section with some success, though, and now we'll get to move on to first-degree equations. Woohoo!

The twins have started memorizing their multiplication facts. So far they've learned their 2's, 5's, 10's, 7's, 12's, 3's, 4's. I was a little skeptical when I saw that their math book had them learning their 7's and 12's so early, but it was presented by learning how many days in 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, etc., and how many months in 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, etc. This made it more concrete for them, and they're doing well.

Preschool - Brittany worked on classifying and sorting shapes.

She also worked on letter recognition.

1st grade - Caelin is reading well enough that now she can rearrange mixed-up words to make sentences.

Other stuff - I mentioned earlier the funk that I was in for the past couple of weeks. Plus we had a couple of days where Brittany was sick with a fever. One of the benefits of homeschooling is being able to adjust your plans for the day when you need to. We spent a day just being a family - well, just me and the small people because Robb had to go to work. We played board games and did some cleaning around the house.

Winner - Mile in his Shoes DVD

2012-01-29T14:41:00.000-05:00

The winner is Lisa with comment #3:

blessedchick Jan 20, 2012 08:25 AM

I would like to win this because we are always looking for good movies for our children to watch. with so much garbage out there it is hard to find good movies for the family

Lisa

Congrats, Lisa!

Leaning

2012-01-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

I've not had the best of weeks. About mid-week, I got some news that rocked my world and totally devastated me. (I'm not dying or anything, just struggling with some things.) I am so thankful that I have so many wonderful people in my life. If it hadn't been for my husband who is so incredibly supportive, my friends who listened and prayed for me, and my Savior who is always in control, I don't know if I could have gotten through this week.

Music is a huge part of my life, and this song has been an important part of my week. I've sung it a lot, and it's helped me get through moments when I thought I was going to fall apart. I have to say that I really don't know how people who don't have a relationship with God get through tough times. Knowing that God is always in control, even when I'm not (especially when I'm not), is the only way I can manage those times.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
- Refrain:
  Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
  Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Menu Plan - Week of Jan. 22

2012-01-23T07:24:00.002-05:00

Dinner:

Sunday - Soup, sandwiches
Monday - Chicken teriyaki, rice, vegetables
Tuesday - Spaghetti
Wednesday - Parmesan baked chicken, mac n cheese, vegetables
Thursday - Italian pork chops, orzo, vegetables
Friday - Sloppy Joes, french fries, vegetables
Saturday - Caelin's birthday party

Breakfast (The rotation stays the same every week):

Sunday - Cereal, poptarts
Monday - Oatmeal or grits
Tuesday - Bagels or English muffins, fruit or yogurt
Wednesday - Waffles, fruit or yogurt
Thursday - Cereal, fruit or yogurt
Friday - Eggs, sausage or bacon
Saturday - Poptarts (Yes, I'm incredibly lazy on the weekends, and I let my kids eat junk. I'm okay with that.)

Lunch (also usually the same every week):

Sandwiches, wraps, or leftovers
Fruit or veggies (I like to get whatever is on sale)
Pretzels, chips, or goldfish crackers

Orgjunkie.com

Week in Review - January 15-21

2012-01-22T15:34:00.000-05:00

Bible - This week we studied the ministry of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus.

History -We studied the establishment of the monasteries in England and Ireland and how the monks helped to preserve some of the history and writings from the Dark Ages. The small people colored a picture like those that the monks drew to illustrate their writings.

We also spent time studying Viking longships.

Science - The girls and I took the week off from science while we waited for Caelin's Astronomy notebook to come in. It finally arrived on Friday, so we're going to start on Monday. Bobby finished up his lab report on his DNA project.

Grammar -The twins began memorizing the poem "A Slash of Blue" by Emily Dickinson and drew a picture to illustrate the descriptions of the evening and morning skies.

Math - Bobby started learning how to multiply polynomials on Friday. He completely understood multiplying a polynomial by a monomial. I hope he catches on as quickly to multiplying 2 binomials.

Preschool -Brittany worked on letter recognition. Strangely, she can only recognize letters by using the alphabet song. If I hold up a random letter and ask her what it is, she'll sing the song until she gets to that letter. I don't know if it helps her "see" the letter when she sings it, or if she just likes to sing.

She also worked on following simple directions. I would tell her things like "Lace the square with blue lace." She does great with one-step directions. Next up, 2-step directions.

A Mile in His Shoes - Movie Review and Giveaway

2012-01-18T17:28:00.000-05:00

I've said before, I'm always looking for good family-friendly movies. So when I was given the opportunity to review A Mile in His Shoes, I was super excited.

From the director of "Angels In the Outfield" comes an inspiring story about a special boy with an amazing gift, and the coach who believed. Dean Cain and Luke Schroder star in the gmc movie based on the book "The Legend of Mickey Tussler".

Mickey Tussler is a young farmer who has Asperger's Syndrome and an incredible amount of baseball talent. When Coach Murphy stumbles upon this young man with the outstanding pitching arm, he convinces Mickey's parents to let him join the minor league team. The interaction between Mickey and the team is amazing.

The small people and I watched this movie together, and everyone enjoyed it. It was fun to hear my children cheering for Mickey to do well. Brailey commented that she really liked how the movie showed that Mickey was a Christian.

For more information about the movie, check out this website, Facebook page, YouTube, and Dove Foundation Review.

Not only did I get an opportunity to review this movie, but I also get to give away a DVD copy of this movie! The giveaway will end at 11:59 PM on Saturday, January 28th, and the winner will be posted on Sunday, January 29th.

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post telling me why you'd like to win this DVD. Please leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.

For additional entries - use a separate comment for each entry:
1) Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect.
2) Share this giveaway on Facebook.
3) Tweet about this giveaway.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Menu Plan - Week of Jan. 15

2012-01-16T12:07:00.000-05:00

Dinner:

Sunday - Pizza
Monday - Slow cooker beef, noodles, vegetable
Tuesday - Spaghetti
Wednesday - Hamburger casserole, vegetables
Thursday - Shredded pork barbecue, french fries, vegetables
Friday - Chicken and broccoli casserole
Saturday - La Bamba!

Breakfast (The rotation stays the same every week):

Sunday - Cereal, poptarts
Monday - Oatmeal or grits
Tuesday - Bagels or English muffins, fruit or yogurt
Wednesday - Waffles, fruit or yogurt
Thursday - Cereal, fruit or yogurt
Friday - Eggs, sausage or bacon
Saturday - Poptarts (Yes, I'm incredibly lazy on the weekends, and I let my kids eat junk. I'm okay with that.)

Lunch (also usually the same every week):

Sandwiches, wraps, or leftovers
Fruit or veggies (I like to get whatever is on sale)
Pretzels, chips, or goldfish crackers

Orgjunkie.com

Week in Review - January 8-14

2012-01-15T12:13:00.000-05:00

Bible - We continued our study of Jesus' younger years, finishing the story of the visit from the Wise Men. We then talked, read, learned about the flight to Egypt to escape the mass murder of baby boys by King Herod. We also read about Jesus' visit to the temple at age 12. We discussed how when He returned to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph, the Bible says He was obedient to them. That even though He was God in human form, he set the example for them to obey their parents. He could have said, "I'm God, and you will listen to me. I will have MY way." But He didn't - He obeyed His parents.

History - We moved from the land of the Franks to Britain. We learned about the Celts, and then how the Celts were invaded by the Angles and Saxons, pushing them into Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. I read a portion of Beowulf to them. I never imagined, when I was studying Beowulf eons ago in high school, that I would be reading it (albeit a translation, not Middle English) to a 6th grader, 2 3rd graders, and a 1st grader. They absolutely loved it! Even Brittany was able to retell parts of it to me.

Science - The girls finished their Anatomy books this week by making a mini-book about genetics and drawing the stages of development of a baby from conception to newborn.

I love the stick person baby in utero in Caelin's drawing.

Bobby also has been studying genetics in science, and he created a DNA model using pipe cleaners and beads.

Vocabulary - This is Aria working on her vocabulary assignment. She was supposed to read a passage containing this unit's vocabulary words and then answer comprehension questions about it. This assignment comes at the end of every vocabulary unit. Since we're on Unit 11, one would think that she'd be able to complete this on her own, but no. She still needs me to be right there. Even though all I do is listen to her as she talks out the answers on her own, she needs that comfort of knowing that I'm there to help if she needs it. As aggravating as it may be to me some days when I wish she would just work independently, I also know there will come a day when she won't need me there. That thought makes me sad.

Math - Bobby has spent the week learning about polynomials. First, he learned what they are and how to simplify them. Then he learned how to add and subtract them.

1st grade - Caelin continued reading in her Bible reading book, but instead of simply drawing a picture to illustrate the story, she is now writing a one-sentence summary.

Preschool - I know I've mentioned before how much Brittany loves anything to do with math - numbers, shapes, etc. We spent a lot of time this week with the peg board and pegs exploring numbers and shapes.

Independent Reading - Bobby has been reading on his own the past couple of weeks, reading 4 books. He has a goal to read at least 2 books a month, but one of them has to be non-Star Wars. All 4 of the books he's read so far are Star Wars books, so now he has to find another book to read this month.

Aria has also been doing a good bit of reading on her own. She found a series of books that are dog mysteries, and she's read 3 of them already in the past 2 weeks.

Outside Activities - Caelin's basketball season is almost over. She's improved so much over the past few weeks. The first 2 games, she was very reserved and didn't really try to get the ball. Since then, she's gotten much better, taking a few shots each game. Yesterday she took 6 shots and made 1 basket! She was so proud of herself. Of course, Caelin ALWAYS has her own sense of style, so not only was she decked out in her basketball uniform, but she was also sporting a very stylish headband and some multi-colored monkey toe socks. I love this girl!

Over the winter break between soccer seasons, Bobby and Aria have been playing in an indoor soccer league in Columbia. I was able to get some shots from Aria's game yesterday. They aren't the best quality since they were taken through the glass. She scored a goal in her game yesterday too.

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

2012-01-13T16:29:00.000-05:00

I'm working my way through the cookbook that my church compiled a few years ago and passed out to all of the ladies in the church.

I made this Chicken and Broccoli Casserole the other night with a little trepidation over how it would be received by some of the small people who live here. Brailey LOVES broccoli, so I knew she would like it, but the others - I wasn't really sure about that. Brittany is probably the pickiest eater on the planet. She doesn't like meat (unless it's a chicken nugget or in a taco shell); she's not a big fan of vegetables in cooked or raw form. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when, not only did they all eat the casserole without complaint, but all of the girls asked for a second helping!

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen broccoli florets, cooked and drained
1 chicken, boiled and deboned
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can of chicken broth
1/2 C mayonnaise
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 C shredded cheese
1 tube of Ritz crackers
1 stick margarine

Spray an 8x11 1/2 inch casserole dish with PAM. Place the cooked broccoli in the dish. Add the chicken on top of the broccoli. Sprinkle cheese on top of chicken and broccoli. In a separate bowl, mix the soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and chicken broth. Pour it over the chicken mixture. Top with crumbled Ritz crackers. Melt margarine and pour over the crackers. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Notes

I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Since I don't care for boiled chicken, I baked the breasts and then chopped them up to use in the casserole.
My children (and I) like things cheesy, so I used 3 cups of shredded cheese instead of 2.

This is definitely going into my recipe rotation! It was super easy to make and the small people liked it, so I will be making this quite often.

Happy Birthday, Caelin

2012-01-12T07:51:00.000-05:00

Happy 7th Birthday to my beautiful, dimpled red-headed girl! Your smile makes me smile. You have the sweetest personality (when you want to).

In the past year, you've started 1st grade, learned to read, started playing basketball (which I think is your new love), danced in Cinderella as a firefly, danced in the Nutcracker as an angel, and made friends everywhere you've gone.

I am so blessed to be your mama!

Fitness - Day 43

2012-01-12T07:45:00.000-05:00

More weight lost, and my clothes are getting looser! Woohoo! P90X is getting a little easier. Note that I did NOT say it was easy. But it is easier than it was week 1.

Weight last week: 140.5
Weight this week: 139.0

Goal weight: 120 - Getting closer to this!!!!

Menu Plan - Week of Jan. 8

2012-01-09T06:59:00.001-05:00

Dinner:

Sunday - Soup, salad, and sandwiches
Monday - Tacos, Spanish rice, refried beans (We ended up not having this on Saturday, so it got moved to Monday.)
Tuesday - Crockpot barbeque ribs, mac n cheese, vegetable
Wednesday - Chicken and broccoli casserole
Thursday - Caelin's birthday dinner - Spaghetti, garlic bread
Friday - Slow cooker beef, noodles, vegetable
Saturday - Chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, vegetable

Breakfast (The rotation stays the same every week):

Sunday - Cereal, poptarts
Monday - Oatmeal or grits
Tuesday - Bagels or English muffins, fruit or yogurt
Wednesday - Waffles, fruit or yogurt
Thursday - Cereal, fruit or yogurt
Friday - Eggs, sausage or bacon
Saturday - Poptarts (Yes, I'm incredibly lazy on the weekends, and I let my kids eat junk. I'm okay with that.)

Lunch (also usually the same every week):

Sandwiches, wraps, or leftovers
Fruit or veggies (I like to get whatever is on sale)
Pretzels, chips, or goldfish crackers

Week in Review - January 1-7

2012-01-07T18:10:00.000-05:00

This was our first week back to school since Christmas break. While I really enjoyed our time off to relax and spend time together as a family, I was happy for the structure that our school day brings.

Bible - We began a study of the birth and childhood of Jesus before Christmas. This week we discussed the birth of Christ and the visit from the Wise Men. They made pages for their Jesus books. While they were doing their drawings, Brittany entertained us with her version of The First Noel. Instead of "Noel, Noel", her words were "No crib, No crib." At least she understood that part of the Bible story.

Aria's drawing of Jesus in the manger

Bobby's drawing of the angel announcing Jesus' birth to the shepherds. The shepherd on the right is saying, "I think I'm going to faint."

History - In history, we talked about the barbarian kingdoms that were established after the Roman Empire fell and began studying the Franks and Charles the Hammer.

Science - The girls and I are finishing up the Apologia Anatomy book. We began the last chapter about genetics. It was fun to discuss how Caelin and Bobby ended up with red hair when neither Robb nor I have red hair. We also discussed the difference between how fraternal and identical twins are formed. Aria and Brailey found that very interesting since they are fraternal twins.

Reading - Aria and Brailey began reading The Minstrel in the Tower, and Bobby started Redwall. Both books are set in medieval times so they will correspond with what we're studying in history.

1st Grade - Caelin is just flying through her Bible reading book and is comprehending her phonics lessons so much quicker than she was. She's finally reading well enough that I can give her some independent work every day to do while I work with the others. Yay!!

Preschool - Brittany loves anything to do with numbers, which doesn't surprise me since she's so much like Bobby and he's also very good at math. This week she was using manipulatives to work out simple addition and subtraction problems. She's not as comfortable with her alphabet, but I'm not too stressed about it. She recognizes most of her letters, and she's only 4. Plus, she has an October birthday, so if I sent her to school, she'd only be in 3K. I'm content with where she is.

Independent Reading - Brailey (age 8) is participating in the Excellence in Reading book challenge this year, with a goal of reading 52 books from the lists. This week she read The Secret Garden. Here's her review:

The Secret Garden was about a girl named Mary who moved from India to England. While in England, she met a boy named Colin. Mary finds a secret garden while playing in the gardens. She and Colin spend a lot of time in the secret garden and have adventures. I liked this book because the mystery of the garden was interesting. I recommend that you read this book.

Tiger Pride

2012-01-06T19:08:00.002-05:00

For most people who live in South Carolina, there are only 2 college football teams that are important - Clemson and the University of South Carolina (referred to as USC by South Carolinians but not to be confused with the USC in California). If you live in SC, you are expected to cheer for one and despise the other. Most people outside of South Carolina have probably not even heard of either school, or if they have, they don't have a strong preference for either. That's okay and completely understandable.

On Wednesday of this week, Clemson had the opportunity to play in the Orange Bowl. Sadly, Clemson was routed by a dominant West Virginia team. I've had this post swirling around in my brain for the past two days, while I've read posts on Facebook from USC fans ridiculing Clemson fans and from Clemson fans who have actually written that they are embarrassed to be Clemson fans.

Here are my feelings on the subject:
I am a Clemson fan. But I'm not only a fan of a football team. I am a fan of a university, of a tradition, of a part of my history. You see, I am a Clemson alumna.

Clemson is more than a football team. Clemson is a university with a strong military and agricultural tradition. There are some who find that agricultural background a source of mockery. I don't understand that; South Carolina and the entire Southeastern United States have their roots in agriculture. Is this something to be ashamed of? I don't think so. That military and agricultural background have grown into an outstanding educational institution with a standard of excellence.

Clemson is more than a football team. Clemson is where I graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Early Childhood Education. I also got my certification in Learning Disabilities through my classes there. With that education, I taught in the classroom for 7 years. For the past 9 years, I've been educating my children at home.

Clemson is more than a football team. Clemson is where I met my husband during my senior year. Robb also graduated from Clemson with a degree in electrical engineering. We have had a wonderful marriage for the past 15 and 1/2 years with plans for many happy years to come. We have 5 incredible children, and I couldn't imagine my life without any of them.

Clemson is more than a football team. When I say that I am proud to be a Tiger, it runs much deeper than a football team and definitely much deeper than a single game or even a season. I am proud to have been a part of something bigger than that. Clemson is a part of my life. My love for Clemson will be there whether the football team wins or loses. Would I like them to win? Of course. Will I be embarrassed to be a Tiger if they lose? NEVER!

I have always been, am now, and will always be - Proud to be a Tiger!

Fitness - Day 36

2012-01-05T07:27:00.000-05:00

I'm dragging. I'm not sure if it's because I've been working out 6 out of 7 days for the past 5 weeks or if it's because during our 2 weeks of Christmas break, I slept in later than I should and now I'm back to getting up at 5 this week. Maybe it's a combination of both. I don't know - all I know is for the past couple of days, all I want to do is lie down and sleep.

If fatigue wasn't enough, all of my muscles ache. When I say all of my muscles, I'm not exaggerating. Even the muscles in my toes hurt.

Okay, I'm done being negative. I do love the fact that I'm getting into better shape. This past weekend, I went for a bike ride with the twins and had a wonderful time. I know once I push through this valley, I'll be able to do so much more with my children.

Also, I lost 2 pounds!!
Last week's weight: 142.5
This week's weight: 140.5

Goal weight: 120

I'm also planning on calling the doctor to have my thyroid checked out. I'm only 39 and for the past 2 weeks, I've been having hot flashes. That's not normal. Plus the fact that in 1 month, I only lost .5lbs total while doing P90X and eating better.

Beef Stew Ole'

2012-01-04T07:52:00.000-05:00

In my search for easy crockpot recipes, I found this one in the Fix It and Forget It Cookbook this weekend. Since yesterday was supposed to be super cold (and it was - we went from temps in the 70's over the weekend to a high in the low 40's yesterday), I figured this would be a nice warm, filling meal. This stew was incredible! Every one of the small people asked for a second helping, even Brittany who is by far our most picky eater.

Recipe:
4 carrots, cubed
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 onion, quartered
1 1/2 lbs beef stewing meat, cubed
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 pkg dry taco seasoning mix
2 cups water, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Layer first 4 ingredients in slow cooker. Add tomato sauce.
2. Combine taco seasoning with 1 1/2 cups water. Stir cornstarch into remaining 1/2 cup water until smooth. Stir into rest of water with taco seasoning. Pour over ingredients in slow cooker.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Cover. Cook on low 7-8 hours.

I knew that my crew would probably not eat onions that way, so I used minced onions. I served it over rice. Aria, who almost daily tells us that she HATES rice, loved the rice with the stew. In fact, she asked Bobby for his leftover rice.

Menu Plan - Week of Jan. 1

2012-01-02T11:38:00.001-05:00

Dinner:

Sunday - Spaghetti and garlic bread
Monday - Hamburgers, baked beans, sweet carrots (Robb is home today so he is grilling the burgers. The kids and I agree that you can't find a better burger anywhere!)
Tuesday - Beef stew ole, rice (This is a new recipe I'm trying from the Fix It and Forget It cookbook. If it turns out tasty, I'll share it.)
Wednesday - Hamburger casserole, cucumbers, mashed potatoes
Thursday - Parmesan baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, squash & zucchini
Friday - Baked pork chops, orzo, broccoli
Saturday - Tacos, Spanish rice, refried beans

Breakfast (The rotation stays the same every week):

Sunday - Cereal, poptarts
Monday - Oatmeal or grits
Tuesday - Bagels or English muffins, fruit or yogurt
Wednesday - Waffles, fruit or yogurt
Thursday - Cereal, fruit or yogurt
Friday - Eggs, sausage or bacon
Saturday - Poptarts (Yes, I'm incredibly lazy on the weekends, and I let my kids eat junk. I'm okay with that.)

Lunch (also usually the same every week):

Sandwiches, wraps, or leftovers
Fruit or veggies (I like to get whatever is on sale)
Pretzels, chips, or goldfish crackers

Goals for 2012

2012-01-01T15:56:00.001-05:00

I really did a bad job of keeping up with my 2011 goals. So bad that I have no desire to go back and look at them to see just how poorly I did.

Instead, I'm going to jump right into my 2012 goals with the desire to be more intentional towards them this year, and actually review them at the end of every month to see how I'm doing.

Bible (reading and studying, memorization):

Read through the Bible - Our entire church is planning to study through the Bible in Sunday School this year. We have a reading guide that goes chronologically through the Word, reading 6 days a week. This is perfect for me because it allows me to have a day to make up my reading if something happens without me feeling like I've fallen behind. I figure if I'm on track, I can always read a Psalm or a chapter in Proverbs on that 7th day.
Memorize 12 verses - This is only 1 verse a month, which I should be able to do.

Obedience to God (attitudes or character issues that need to improve):

Not raise my voice to discipline - I hate when I yell at my children, yet still I do. I don't want to do that anymore.
Ask myself – True? Helpful? Inspiring? Necessary? Kind? – before speaking - There are so many times that I speak first and think afterward. Then I regret what I said. Unfortunately once the words are spoken, it's like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.

Relationships:

Set aside 1 night each month for a date with Robb - I didn't do such a good job with this last year. I want to be more intentional with it this year.
Spend 1 evening a week with 1 child - With 5 children and a very busy schedule, it's easy to find that no one gets quality time with me. I know that I can easily schedule 1 evening a week to do something special with one of the small people one-on-one.

Learning (school, independent reading):

Complete 2012 Eclectic Reader challenge - You can check out my post here about this one.
Grade kids’ work at the end of every day and prepare their folders for the next day - By the end of the day, I tend to find other things to do and put off getting school stuff done. So many times this fall, I've had to hurry to get it done early in the morning before we start the day. I really don't like having to do this at 5:30 in the morning.

Home:

Declutter 1 room a month - My house has more stuff that it needs. Actually there's more stuff in my house than 2 or 3 houses need. It needs to go.
Make a menu plan each week - I hate not being organized about meal planning. I hate feeding my family fast food and junk because I didn't get my act together and plan meals for those busy days that we have. So many evenings we don't get home from our activities until right at dinner time. If I plan better and make better use of my crock pot, this will help keep us from eating poorly.

Hobbies:

Complete Caelin’s Christmas stocking - I finished Brailey's stocking in time for Christmas 2011. Thank you to Tina Boyle for helping me get the finishing touches on it! I've started the cross stitch for Caelin's, but it is very detailed and I will need to work hard to finish it this year.
Knit a scarf - I don't know how to knit. My aunt tried to teach me a few years ago, but apparently my mind is like Swiss cheese and all of that information fell through the holes. Robb and the kids bought me Knitting for Dummies and some other newbie knitting things for my birthday this year so I want to teach myself to knit. I figure a scarf is a simple enough project to start with.
Take at least 1 photo a day - I want to be more purposeful in using my camera this year. I will be posting the photos at Soccer Mom Photography, my other blog.

Personal:

Weigh 120 lbs - Robb and I started P90X on December 1st. In the past month, I've lost one half pound. I'm trying really hard not to be depressed about it and am focusing instead on the fact that my clothes don't seem to be shrinking anymore.
Fit in size 8 jeans - When I married Robb, I was a size 2. Fifteen years and 5 children later, I am no longer a size 2. Far from it. I don't even want to get back to that size; I'll be happy getting into a size 8.

Last night, Robb and I sat down with the 4 older children individually to help them set their own goals. Their categories were similar to the ones I have, with some slight variations.

One of Brailey's learning goals is to read 52 books from a book list. She will be participating in the Excellence in Reading challenge.

What are your goals for this year? Are you willing to commit to check in with me at the end of every month to evaluate our progress? Will you help hold me accountable so that I'm not too embarrassed this time next year to see how I did?

Eclectic Reader Challenge 2012

2011-12-31T17:36:00.000-05:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to complete the Eclectic Reader Challenge found on Book'd Out. (I'll post more about my goals later.)

The challenge is to read a book in each of the 12 genres during this year.

Genres

Literary Fiction
Crime/Mystery Fiction
Romantic Fiction
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Non Fiction
Horror
Thriller /Suspense
Classic
Your favorite genre

I have a couple of reasons for wanting to complete this challenge:

Because I homeschool, I do a lot of reading, but I don't often set aside time for ME to read something for pleasure.
When I do read for pleasure, I tend to stick to the same authors, genres, etc. I want to branch out and push myself outside my comfort zone a little.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, check it out. I'm really looking forward to reading some good books this year.

Fitness - Day 29

2011-12-29T11:21:00.000-05:00

The week of Christmas is definitely not a good week for someone trying to lose weight. I confess that not only did I eat foods that are not good for me, but I ate WAY too many of them. That being said, Robb and I did continue our workouts this week, only skipping the workout on Christmas Day.

Last week's weight - 141.5
This week's weight - 142.5

Goal weight - 120

With all this yo-yo-ing back and forth, it may take me years before I hit my goal weight. I am happy, though, that I only put on 1 pound this week, knowing that my diet this week was definitely not conducive to weight loss.

Fitness - Day 22

2011-12-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! I was very excited when I weighed in this morning. I've lost a half pound this week. I realize that's not much, but it's progress. This week is our recovery week, so there's more yoga. I don't like yoga. I am NOT a flexible person, but I'm getting better. The plank/push-up/upward dog/downward dog vinyasa (?) just about kills me by the end, but I'm doing them. (Well, not the push-ups in between, but the rest.) My heels are almost able to touch the floor on the downward dogs.

Last week's weight - 142.0
This week's weight - 141.5
Goal weight - 120

Christmas songs

2011-12-20T11:08:00.001-05:00

I have a new favorite Christmas song. For years, my favorite song at Christmastime has been "Mary, Did You Know?" While I still like it a lot, my new favorite is "How Many Kings?" by Downhere.

This song embodies everything I believe about Christmas - There is only ONE God who sent HIS Son to this earth so suffer and die for MY sins. I don't deserve it. I can never be good enough; it is only through that sacrifice that I can receive eternal life.

Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. Sadly, many churches are not having a service on Sunday so that families can celebrate Christmas. Really??? If we stop to think about what Christmas is about, shouldn't we desire to spend at least a portion of our day in worship of Him? Christmas isn't about presents, or family, or baking, or decorating - although all of those things are good, none of them should be our focus. The minister of music at our church wrote this editorial about the lack of services on Christmas Day.

What is your favorite Christmas song? Why is it special to you?

On an unrelated note, can anyone answer this question - what in the world do "scary ghost stories" have to do with Christmas? Every time I listen to "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", I ask myself that question. I still don't have an answer.

Happy Birthday to ...

2011-12-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

My Blog!! Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of my starting this blog.

In the past year, I've written 158 posts beginning with this one.

I've written about a wide variety of topics, mostly homeschooling things but sometimes just family stuff. Back in April, I wrote about Brittany's accident where she hurt her eye. I'm happy to say that after having surgery 2 days after that post to put a tube in her tear duct, she was able to get the tube out in October and is doing great. There is no evidence that she even had the accident. (And she still hasn't learned not to run through the house.)

Apparently, the map of Africa that I added to Into Africa is quite a popular hit for google searches. That post is by far my most popular, and I'm sure it's not because the information in it is that interesting.

Thank you to all of you who have read what I've written this year.

The Nutcracker

2011-12-18T06:23:00.000-05:00

Brailey and Caelin both take ballet at the local ballet school. Caelin is in the preparatory level, and Brailey is in the lowest level of company this year after having spent 2 years at the preparatory level.

Every year, the ballet school does a performance of the Nutcracker. The preparatory kids, along with some girls from outside the ballet school, are the angels. Here's my Caelin in her angel costume.

Brailey has been looking forward to being in company for a LONG time. She was so excited this year because she got to dance in 2 roles - a mouse and a gingersnap.

Performing in the Nutcracker requires a lot of hard work and a lot of rehearsal and performance time. Theater week was rehearsal on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday that were about 2 hours. Wednesday was semi-dress rehearsal and Thursday was dress rehearsal. Both rehearsals started at 7, and both nights we finally left the theater around 10:30. All that hard work was worth it, though, because the performances were absolutely wonderful.


The backdrop for the party scene

Brailey is the mouse on the left side of the stretcher

Brailey is the front mouse jumping

Brailey is the one on the left side messing with her neck strap

My red-headed angel

This next shot is one of my favorites, even though it's not of either of my girls. I love watching the older company girls dance, and I got this shot of their feet during Snow.

Absolutely Drained (Fitness Day 16)

2011-12-16T10:26:00.000-05:00

I think I have hit a wall. I woke up this morning absolutely drained of all energy. I did get up and do my workout, but right afterward, I crawled back in bed while Robb took his shower. Then I came downstairs with him so I could make breakfast for the small people, and I crawled onto the couch after that. I feel like I have no energy whatsoever. I don't think I'm sick; I have no other symptoms other than just fatigue. I think I've just been so busy for the past few weeks that it's finally caught up with me.

Two weeks ago was the Living Christmas Tree at our church. I sing in the choir so I was there Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for either rehearsals or performances. Last week was the Nutcracker. Brailey and Caelin were both dancing in it, so we had rehearsals or performances Monday through Sunday, including 2 performances on Saturday. (I'm still editing pics from dress rehearsal. I'll post them to the blog as soon as I'm done.) Plus the ladies' ensemble that I'm in sang on Sunday evening at church, so we can add that in to an already busy week.

This week only had our normal ballet classes and soccer practices, so I thought it would be an easy week. Nope! We had a funky smell in our kitchen that I was trying to find the source so I could get rid of it. By Wednesday night, it was beyond horrible! When we got home from church, Robb said it smelled like death - and it did. The smell was emanating from the bottom cabinets by the refrigerator, so Robb pulled out the refrigerator - nothing. I pulled everything out from the cabinets - found nothing - and wiped the shelves down with diluted bleach. We finally decided that it had to be something under the house, so yesterday morning I called Terminix. The guy came out, crawled under the house, and - sure enough - there was a dead possum under there (or at least what was left of him). Dead animal removed, smell gone!!! Can I tell you how much I love that we have service with Terminix, and how happy I am that I wasn't the one who had to find that or dispose of it?


image from google images. Thankfully I did NOT have to find this.

Anyway, I think the past few weeks have finally caught up with me, zapping me of any energy I might have had in reserve. Today I think I will do a lot of nothing. (Maybe I'll even finish editing those Nutcracker pics!)

Fitness - Day 15

2011-12-15T06:54:00.000-05:00

Last week's weight - 143.5
This week's weight - 142.0

Yippee! I've lost 1.5 lbs this week. I realize that's only 1% of my weight lost, but it's a start. I'm able to do more of the P90X workout every day, which makes me happy. When I started, I was only doing about 1/2 of the workout. I'm also burning more calories than I'm taking in most days. (SHH! We won't talk about those other days.)

Goal weight - 120

Fitness - Day 8

2011-12-08T08:15:00.000-05:00

I've now completed a week of P90X. I seriously think that Tony Horton is evil. I struggle with just about every exercise, especially the yoga and push-ups. I can now do 3 successive push-ups, where last week I was doing good to do a half push-up before I collapsed in a heap on the floor. So I am seeing improvement. Unfortunately, my weight hasn't seen an improvement. I'm trying to convince myself that I'm building muscle and that muscle weighs more than fat. I'm not really buying it, though.

Last week's weight - 142.5
This week's weight - 143.5
Goal weight - 120

I have decreased the amount of calories I'm eating every day, so I'm hoping I'll start seeing some results in my weight loss soon.

What We Learned in November

2011-12-04T13:31:00.001-05:00

I don't know about you, but for me, this school year is just flying by. Maybe it's because we have been so busy; I don't know. Anyway, here is what we worked on during November:

Bible - We spent November studying the life of Daniel. Since the 4 older kids had performed the church musical about Daniel this summer, this was just a refresher for them.We made books about Daniel's life. Here are their pages about Nebuchadnezzar's golden image and the fiery furnace.

Brittany's drawing of the fiery furnace

History - We finished the Roman Empire!! Now we get to move into the Byzantine Empire. The kids (and I) learned a lot about the lives of the Roman people, especially the emperors.

Science - The girls studied the brain and the nervous system. We had a really important lesson about how we learn information by making connections in our brain. The more connections that are made, the better we learn something. This really helped the girls to see why I have them do so many things with new information - listen to me read about it, read about it themselves, write/notebook about it, etc.

Spanish - We use Rosetta Stone for Spanish. The kids seem to learn it quite well, which makes me happy.

Typing - After watching Bobby hunt and peck for the past couple of years when typing a paper, I decided to get a simple typing game for the computer to help the older three learn to type. I've seen tremendous improvement in the speed of their typing. While they may not hold their fingers on the correct keys, they at least know where each letter is located.

1st grade - Caelin is really reading well now. She started her Bible book, and every day she reads to one of the older kids.

Co-op - We had our last day of classes for this semester the Thursday before Thanksgiving. As much as I enjoy co-op, 10 weeks is just the right length. Bobby has really learned a lot in his US Geography class.

That night, our homeschool group had it's semi-annual Fine Arts Night. Usually, Bobby sings in it, but this year he had soccer practice that he couldn't miss so he was going to be late to Fine Arts and had to skip singing. He did have art work from his co-op art class on display, though.

Other - We also did some Thanksgiving theme activities. Caelin worked on some Thanksgiving sight words, and Brittany did number recognition and one-to-one correspondence with pilgrims and Indians.

Fitness - Day 1

2011-12-01T06:30:00.000-05:00

This morning was Day 1 of doing P90X. Can I just tell you - oh my!!! I couldn't even DO half of the exercises. I realize now that I have NO upper body strength, so push-ups were next to impossible. But, it was a start. I can either give up because it was so hard, or I can remind myself that today was just the beginning. Just like my children don't just pick up a book and start reading, there are steps to this process. I'm not going to be able to work out like the people on the DVD because I'm just beginning. Hopefully by Day 90, I'll be able to say I finished a complete workout. If not, that's okay too because something is better than nothing.

Starting weight - 142.5
Goal weight - 120

Cyber Monday

2011-11-28T08:32:00.002-05:00

I've said before that I am much happier shopping in the comfort of my home than facing the crowds in the stores. So Cyber Monday is PERFECT for me!

Here are a few sales that I've found for today:

Bright Ideas Press - 20% off everything.
Target - Has deals going on all week, not just today.
American Girl - Up to 50% off while supplies last
Costume Express - 20% off selected items + free shipping for orders over $65
Doorposts - 10% off your order the entire month of December with coupon code CHRISTMAS11

What sales have you found today that I need to check out?

Redecorating and Name Change

2011-11-27T14:19:00.000-05:00

I was in the mood to do some redecorating today. So I did some re-vamping to my blog. I also changed the name. Since I'm @PeeDeeMama on Twitter, this name goes along with that.

Feedback would be nice - do you like the new look? Hate it? Couldn't care less? Didn't notice there was a change? What about the name?

For those of you who are wondering, "what is a Pee Dee Mama?" The Pee Dee is a region of South Carolina, where I live. The Pee Dee River runs right near here. Therefore, I am a mama in the Pee Dee.

Now, I need to make a new button. If only I could remember how I made the last button. It might take me a while to get to that.

I Must Be Crazy!

2011-11-26T18:23:00.000-05:00

A while back, Robb bought the P90x workout stuff for us. Since then, everything has sat nicely in boxes in my house, minding its own business, behaving rather nicely. Today, however, the boxes are open, and we are planning to begin this craziness on Thursday - to start on the 1st of the month.

As much as I'm dreading putting my body through such torture, I know I need to get back in shape. There was a time, many moons and 5 children ago, that I was thin and in decent shape. Over the past few years, I've become more fluffy, and lately the dryer has been shrinking my clothes even more. (That's my story, and I'm sticking with it. I will NOT admit that I'm gaining more weight.)

I would love for you - my friends who live both inside and out of my computer - to hold me accountable. Ask me how I'm doing. Ask me if I've done my workout that day. And when my whining about how hard it is reaches a level of ridiculousness, call me on it. Remind me that my children need their mom to be in shape, that I'll be able to spend more time DOING things with them because I'll feel better, that I'll live longer if I'm healthy.

Black Friday

2011-11-25T08:19:00.000-05:00

I'm going to confess - I do not like to shop. Well, that's not exactly true. I don't like to shop in actual stores where there are a lot of other people. I like to shop online, which is how I do most of my Christmas (or other) shopping.

I guess it's because of my aversion to shopping with a ton of other people that makes Black Friday a bewilderment to me. No discount is worth me having to deal with mobs of people, long lines in the cold, or lack of sleep.

Image found at Google images

For those of you brave souls who did venture out today to find a good deal, share with me - what did you find? Did you get a great deal? Was it worth it?

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:35:00.000-05:00

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto him,

and bless his name.

Psalm 100:4

image from Google images

Game of Your Life - Review

2011-11-24T06:18:00.000-05:00

On Friday, December 2nd, NBC will be airing another Family Movie Night movie at 8/7c. I got a chance to preview Game of Your Life, and once again, Family Movie Night offers a wholesome movie that I feel comfortable with my entire family watching.

'Game of Your Life' Synopsis

When industrious high school gamer Zach Taylor lands a prized scholarship to the prestigious Digital Institute of Game Design (DIGD), his future breaks wide open. The opportunity to study under gaming legend Marcus Bentton and alongside the country’s most creative minds will certainly propel him into a successful career as a video game designer. That is, if he can pass the infamous freshman project that eliminates more than half of the class within the first three months.

Paired with brilliant yet socially awkward teammates Phillip and Donald, the trio persuades Sara Ramirez – a determined and striking team leader with whom Zach has a history (and possibly a future) – to join their team. Working off-campus in the teched-out Lincoln Alley loft, the four set out to involve the entire campus in a quirky new social interactive game. But as the group becomes entrenched in the project, Zach learns that his father Billy, a widower, is facing growing financial woes at home. To help out, Zach accepts an opportunity to work directly with Marcus Bentton on a secretive side project that seems too good to be true. The effort requires nearly all of Zach’s time and energy, which he should be devoting to the project. Struggling to keep it together, Zach is torn between his responsibility to his team, his admiration for Bentton and a chance to help his father.

Everything comes to a breaking point when Zach’s team threatens to remove him from the group and the deceptive truth behind Bentton’s project comes to light. With the guidance of Professor Abbie Lambert, Zach must make a decision that not only affects his future, but the lives and livelihoods of the people around him as well. It’s a revealing story that recognizes the magnitude behind the choices we make and the importance loyalty plays in making good decisions.

The movie starts off a little slow, but after about 10-15 minutes the pace picks up. This movie offers plenty of opportunities for discussion with your children about many things - making good choices, especially how the choices you make affect not only you but those around you also; having loyalty; keeping one's commitments; and making family important. This is a great movie for older children, pre-teens, and teens.

To find out more, visit the Family Movie Night website, find them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter. You can also watch a trailer.

Thankful Thursday - November 17

2011-11-17T14:59:00.000-05:00

I am thankful that today was the last day of homeschool co-op until January. Don't get me wrong, I love our co-op, but 10 weeks of a semester is just long enough of planning and teaching. By January, I'm sure I'll be ready to start back.

Brailey working on her Brazilian Carnival Costume at co-op.

Winner - Christmas Lodge DVD

2011-11-14T05:50:00.000-05:00

The winner is #3:

April said...: My favorite Christmas memory from childhood is getting my diary in 4th grade. I remember thinking, " wow it has a key!". :-); November 10, 2011 7:29 PM

Congratulations, April!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-11-11T22:30:00.000-05:00

I love the smells of fall - pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg. When I found this recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies last week, I knew I had to make it. Tonight was the perfect night to try them. A cold front came through yesterday, and having a nice warm oven heating up the kitchen was perfect. Oh, the smell coming from my kitchen was heavenly!! It also gave me some bonding time with Aria, who loves to help me in the kitchen. I have a feeling she's going to take over my kitchen someday.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp clove
pinch of ground ginger
1/ 2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
15 oz can of pure pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F.
Sift together (or whisk in small bowl) flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger together and set aside.
Beat butter, brown sugar and sugar together in a large mixer bowl.
Add pumpkin and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
Add egg and beat well until fully incorporated.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop rounded spoonfuls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 13-15 minutes until edges start to brown. Remove from oven and let sit on hot baking sheet for 2 more minutes.
Move cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

I had a 29oz. can of pumpkin, so we doubled the recipe and ended up with about 5-6 dozen cookies.

These are definitely yummy, and we'll be adding this to our fall recipe collection.

Casting aside bitterness

2011-11-11T15:41:00.000-05:00

I've been in a bad mood for the past couple of days. Without going into too many details, basically there is a person who is making decisions that put extra work on me. The fact that I disagree with those decisions has made this even more difficult. I've been allowing this situation to affect my mood. I've been complaining and bitter about what I feel is an injustice.

This afternoon, I realized that I was wrong - actually, not just wrong, but sinning. Bitterness was controlling me, and it wasn't just affecting me, but it was affecting my family as well. I was being short-tempered and irritable with my children and Robb, and that wasn't fair to them either. I realized that I needed to go spend some time in God's Word and fix my attitude problem.

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. Proverbs 10:12

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32

These verses reminded me where my priorities should be. Rather than grumbling and complaining, letting bitterness take root in my soul, I needed to look on this situation with love and kindness. I spent time in prayer, asking the Lord to help me give over this situation to Him. There is absolutely nothing I can do to change the circumstances, but I can change how I react to the circumstances. I am going to choose to do the work that needs to be done without grumbling.

I love this cartoon that I found today:

This is what I plan to do with the bitterness I've been harboring the past few days - just put it all in the dumpster.

Are you harboring any bitterness right now? If so, leave it in the dumpster of forgiveness.

Thankful Thursday

2011-11-10T14:41:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day.

Today I am thankful for all of the veterans, both those who are still with us and those who gave their lives in service.
I am thankful for the freedoms that I am able to enjoy living in the United States.
I am thankful that I have the freedom to homeschool my children. I can choose to incorporate spiritual lessons into our school day. I can focus on building Christian character in my children.
I am thankful that I have the freedom to worship at the church of my choice. I can share my faith with the people around me if I choose to without fear of punishment.
I am thankful that I have the freedom to vote for the leader I choose to run my country. The person I choose may not necessarily win the election, but at least I have the freedom to express my opinion.
I am thankful for those men and women who gave their lives for me to enjoy these freedoms.

Christmas Lodge DVD - review and giveaway

2011-11-06T20:54:00.001-05:00

Are you ready for Christmas? I can't believe it's only a month and a half away. I have to admit, I have done NO shopping yet. After watching Christmas Lodge on DVD, I am definitely in the mood for Christmas now, though.

Synopsis:

Thomas Kinkade presents Christmas Lodge: a place where a heart-warming past and loving future meet for one remarkable group of people. During a weekend trip to the mountains, Mary (Erin Karpluk) finds herself at the now- dilapidated lodge where she spent the holidays with her family growing up. She becomes determined to restore the building to its former glory. Inspired by her grandfather and guided by her grandmother in heaven, Mary throws herself into the project, and during the process finds herself drawn to Jack (Michael Shanks), a handsome man who loves the lodge as much as she does. Historically unlucky in love, this chance encounter allows Mary to renew her faith in life and discover her one true love. For an uplifting story about the importance of faith, family and the true holiday spirit, go to the Christmas Lodge.

I loved the way this movie worked faith in God into the story line. There aren't enough movies that are willing to openly discuss God and faith.

The scenery in this movie was incredible! I am not an outdoor kind of gal, but the scenes of the mountains and hiking trails actually made me want to visit there. I now have a desire to find a little mountain lodge like the Christmas Lodge to go visit. I can see how someone with a love of the outdoors, like main character Mary, would have such a passion for a place like that and want to see it restored.

To see a trailer, click here.

Not only did I have an opportunity to watch this movie to review, but one of you will get to own your own copy of the DVD.

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this blog post letting me know your favorite Christmas memory. The giveaway will run through 11:59 pm on Sunday, November 13. The winner will be posted on Monday, November 14.

For additional entries:
1) Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect. (Leave a comment letting me know you are a follower.)
2) Share this giveaway on Facebook. (Let me know that you have.)
3) Tweet about this giveaway. (Let me know that you have.)

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

All Dressed Up

2011-11-04T06:58:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, our church had a fall picnic with a trunk or treat for the kids. It was a great time of fun and fellowship, even if it was a bit chilly.

Bobby dressed as one of the players from the Brazil soccer team, Kaka. He already had a Kaka jersey and just had to add blue shorts and socks, which he also had.

Aria was a cat. Her costume was super easy - black leggings, black leotard, and black boots. We added a tail by putting an empty paper towel tube in a black soccer sock and pinning it to her leotard. We found the cat ear headband at Claire's.

Brailey originally wanted to be Princess Leia. I managed to convince her that she would make a very cute sailor girl, and we went with a store-bought costume.

Caelin also had to go a different way than her original plan. She really wanted to be a "mean rion", her name for lions since she was small. I had trouble finding a yellow hooded sweat suit, though, so again, we went the store-bought route and she was a ladybug.

Brittany wanted to be a cheerleader, another easy costume since we already own the Clemson cheerleader outfit (Thanks, Pam) and orange pom-poms.

Getting a decent shot of the entire group proved to be challenging, but I finally got one that would work.

More shots from the fall picnic:

Winner - Cooper and Me

2011-10-24T16:54:00.002-04:00

I apologize for not posting the winner this morning. There's a story there, but it's a whole different blog post.

Anyway, the winner is comment # 2 Bee's and Jay's:

Bee's and Jay's said...: I follow you on GFC - BritJJ Thank you!; October 15, 2011 6:50 PM

Congrats!

The Mighty Macs - Movie Review

2011-10-21T20:58:00.000-04:00

If you're looking for an uplifting movie to see, I recommend The Mighty Macs, released in theaters today, October 21st. This movie is based on the story of Cathy Rush, the women's basketball coach of Immaculata College in the 1970's. As Rush worked through the many challenges that faced her in her new position, I found myself drawn into the movie. The fact that it is family friendly is always a big plus for me as well.

ABOUT THE MOVIE:

It's 1971. Cathy Rush is a woman ahead of her time ... and she's about to embark on an adventure for the ages. A new era is dawning in the country and in collegiate athletics, where a national champion will be crowned for the first time in women's basketball.
In the lead up to this historical season, major universities are preparing their game plans to win that first title. Meanwhile a tiny all-women's Catholic college in Philadelphia has a more modest goal: find a coach before the season begins. Providentially, Cathy Rush is about to find Immaculata College.
Recently married, Cathy is dealing with the aftermath of a truncated playing career. While cultural norms would have her staying at home, she's willing to do the hard work necessary to help her new team reach their goals—or perhaps she's just trying to achieve her unfulfilled dreams through them.
From the beginning, her challenges are as imposing as the big-school teams Immaculata will face on the court. Cathy learns there is no gymnasium on campus, she receives little support from the school's Mother Superior, and the school is in dire financial straits. To top it off, she may not even have enough players to field a team!
While it appears the Macs don't have a prayer, all hope is not lost. With the help of Sister Sunday—a spunky assistant coach—and the support of a booster club of elderly nuns, Coach Rush creates a new game plan that just might bring the team—and the school—together.
Will this pioneer buck cultural norms and spur her rag-tag team to unexpected heights? Or will her hard-driving ways create a wedge between the coach and everyone around her? One thing's for certain: there's never been anyone like Cathy Rush at Immaculata!

For more information about the movie, check out the website or the Facebook page. You can also find them on Twitter and YouTube.

Disclosure: I was given the opportunity to preview this movie in exchange for my honest review. The opinions given are entirely my own.

Dora Cake - Pinterest Challenge

2011-10-21T13:45:00.000-04:00

When Brittany told me she wanted a Dora cake for her birthday, I went on an internet search for Dora cakes. I absolutely love Pinterest; I was able to "pin" several cakes that I liked aspects of so that I could use them for inspiration when making Brittany's cake.

This is one of the cakes I pinned.

I loved the colors used and the grassy area where the Dora figures were placed. I used this as my basis for Brittany's cake.

I just used a round cake pan and used the pink, orange, and green color combination.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

2011-10-21T10:24:00.001-04:00

Today is Brittany's 4th birthday. It doesn't seem possible that she is this old. Feisty and strong-willed, she definitely keeps me on my toes. The girl is a bottomless pit; she can EAT! Even though she is tiny for her age, she could easily eat her weight in goldfish crackers everyday.

Brittany is most definitely a mama's girl. She doesn't like me to be out of her sight for more than a minute and is constantly climbing into my lap or asking me to hold her. (She told me last week that she would need to be held all the time once she turns 4. Now that she's 4, we'll see how long that will last.)

She also LOVES her big brother. If you ask her who is the best soccer player in the world, her answer is always, "Bobby". He adores her too, letting her play in his bedroom with his toys which are off limits to the rest of his sisters.

I'm very blessed to have Brittany in our family. I know that she is probably my last baby, and I try to remember to cherish these days (although I have to admit, I'm not always good at it).

Happy Birthday, Brittany!

Weeks in Review - October 3 - 14

2011-10-19T07:16:00.001-04:00

I could never join the circus; I'm simply not a very good juggler. Since the beginning of this school year, I've been trying to juggle schooling the small people, being a wife and mom, keeping the house clean, and getting small people to their extra curricular activities. I've yet to figure out how to keep all of those in the air at the same time. So, if any of you have any tips for how to manage everything successfully, please share them with me.

History - We finished the life of Augustus Caesar. I found it fascinating to study the people who were alive during the time Jesus was born. I hope it made the Bible facts a little more tangible to my children, that they could see that the Bible talks about real people who are a part of history and that it isn't just a group of stories.

Science - Bobby was studying simple machines and completed an experiment to determine how to use a lever in the most effective way.

The girls began studying the circulatory system, learning about the various components of blood. I love using Apologia for science; the chapter on blood began by discussing the importance of sacrificial blood in the Bible and how Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Read-Aloud - To go along with our study of the Roman Empire, we have been reading The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. What a fabulous book! This story of a young Jewish man who wants to avenge the crucifixion death of his father and how hearing Jesus teach touched his life captivated my children.


Image from Amazon.com

1st Grade - Caelin was very excited to begin reading in her Bible Reader. Marie Hazell from My Father's World has retold the Bible stories in easy to read words.

Preschool - Brittany has mastered number recognition, so we are now working on simple addition using number pegs.

Extra-Curricular - Bobby's and Aria's soccer teams competed in a tournament at the beach. While Aria's team wasn't successful, they showed a lot of growth that weekend. They learned to play hard in spite of the score, in one game they came back from a 3-0 deficit to lose 4-3. Bobby's team had an amazing weekend, ending with a 1-0 victory in the championship game! In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, both teams wore pink socks that weekend. This meant a lot to me since I lost my mom to breast cancer 6 1/2 years ago. The girls even sprayed their hair pink for the first day. Here are some highlights from that weekend:

Bobby and his coach

Cooper and Me - Review and Giveaway

2011-10-13T13:56:00.000-04:00

Cooper and Me is an enchanting book about a little girl's apprehension about her first day of school and her relationship with her best friend, Cooper the dog. Even though her parents tell her about all of the things she'll learn and do at school, she doesn't see how she will be able to face this without Cooper. Her mother comes up with the perfect solution.

About Cooper and Me:

Cooper and Me was illustrated by 11-year-old Alexa Peters and co-written with her mother, Monique Peters. The idea was inspired by Alexa's own experiences on her first day of school. A talented young artist and writer, Alexa wanted to give back to others in a meaningful way through her art. Starting at a very young age, Alexa created illustrated stories about her daily experiences, and from the pages of her sketchbooks came the idea for her first book, Cooper and Me.

Through rhythmic verses, Cooper and Me tells the story of a young girl who is nervous as her first day of school approaches. She is frightened about leaving home and doesn't want to go without her best friend, her dog Cooper. Fortunately her mother finds the perfect solution to help the little girl overcome her fears – a small replica of her beloved pet she can take to school with her. In Cooper and Me, the story of a child’s fears about starting school has evolved into a timeless tale about overcoming separation anxiety and trying new things – basic emotions all people experience throughout their lives – but this time, written by a child, for children.

The story behind Cooper and Me also offers an inspiring example of families working together to help others. In addition to helping young children gain emotional resilience and confidence through their books, Alexa and mom Monique wanted to go beyond that to help less fortunate kids. Their search for an organization to which they could donate a portion of the proceeds from the Cooper and Me book led to a charitable alliance with the Happy Hearts Fund, founded and run by Petra Nemcova, the supermodel who was directly affected by the tsunami in Thailand. Happy Hearts improves children’s lives through education and sustainable programs in natural disaster areas.

I love the fact that this book was written and illustrated by a child the same age as Bobby. I used the book as a read-aloud with Caelin (age 6) and Brittany (age 3). They loved it, and it opened up the opportunity to discuss the kind of things they could do when they feel nervous about doing something new. Brittany has been having a difficult time when we drop her off at the church nursery, and we were able to use the situation in this book to talk about how we can make things easier for her.

This book is available the Cooper and Me website for $12.99, and there are other Cooper and Me books and products available as well. In addition, I have one available for one of my lucky readers. The giveaway will run through 11:59 pm, Sunday, October 23. The winner will be announced the morning of October 24th.

To enter the giveaway, simply visit the Cooper and Me website and come back here and leave me a comment telling me about one of their other items available.

For additional entries,

Follow me via Google Friend Connect on the right side of the page. (Leave 1 comment)
Share this giveaway on Facebook. (Leave 1 comment)
Tweet this giveaway on Twitter. (Leave 1 comment)
Blog about this giveaway. (Leave 1 comment)

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Winner - Carlito C. Caterpillar's Math House Game Card

2011-10-10T05:33:00.000-04:00

Congrats to Our Side of the Mountain, comment #8.

Our Side of the Mountain said...: We LOVE learning while playing games, especially Math!; September 29, 2011 2:22 PM

Week in Review - Sept 19-30

2011-10-05T16:08:00.000-04:00

I'm so far behind that I'm combining 2 weeks of reviews into 1. Not only that, but I'm not counting my weeks any more because I keep losing count. I'm pitiful.

History - We are still reading Augustus Caesar's World. We learned about how Augustus commissioned Virgil to write the Aeneid to preserve the religion of the Romans. We also discussed how the months and days were named.

Science - Bobby finished up his study of the scientific method with a couple of experiments exploring the effect of weight on the free fall of objects.

The girls finished up their study of the digestive system and created a pocket book, writing facts on cut-outs of food to place in the mouth.

They began their study of the respiratory system.

Writing - We are using IEW this year, and I'm seeing tremendous improvement in the twins' writing. Brailey, who used to despise writing, actually seems to enjoy it using this approach. I'm using IEW at home with both her and Bobby, and Aria is doing an IEW class at our co-op.

1st Grade - Caelin is still plugging away at learning to read. She's starting to use context clues to help figure out words, in addition to sounding them out. It's exciting to see her able to read some of the easy reading books she checked out from the library.

Preschool - Brittany was excited to get to use the new Carlito C. Caterpillar's MathHouse Game Card set that I received to review. You can read more about them here. She especially loved getting to eat the manipulatives (M&M's). She had her mouth stuffed full.

Co-Op - I mentioned that Aria is taking an IEW class at co-op. I love our co-op! The ladies (and gentlemen) who teach are such a wonderful group. Brittany is still going through a clingy phase, so dropping her off at her first class usually draws some tears, but once she's in there, she has a blast the rest of the morning.
Caelin's classes are

The Magic School Bus - a science class based on the videos and books
Literature Pockets
Worship and Wonder - where they learn stories from the Bible.

Brailey's classes are

American Girl History - which she loves since she loves the American Girl books
A Trip Around the World - a world geography class
Worship and Wonder with Caelin

Aria's classes are

Spanish
IEW
Meet the Masters - an art class based on the paintings of the masters

Bobby's classes are

Art
Apologetics
US Geography

In Bobby's Art class, he had to do a pencil sketch of our house. Of course, when he went out to do his sketch, Aria had to go also.

Homeschool Soccer - Our homeschool soccer team is doing amazing this year! We went from not winning a game last year to now we have a 3-1 start. Bobby's done a great job, scoring 7 of our 9 goals.

Carlito C. Caterpillar's Math House Game Card - Review and Giveaway

2011-09-28T21:37:00.002-04:00

I love getting to teach my children. I especially love teaching them when they're young and getting to see the "light bulb" turn on. There are so many fun activities to use with my young ones, where they don't even realize that they're "doing school". The new Carlito C. Caterpillar's MathHouse Game Card set is full of those fun activities, teaching children concepts in quantity, numeration, and operations in just 20 steps. The 2 games in each step are designed to build on the knowledge that the young child already has.

The cards are sturdy, printed on heavy card stock and lacquered to protect against spills, and attached to a ring so that you can easily flip through them. Most of the games are played with common household items, like socks, goldfish crackers, Cheerios, etc. There are also some supplemental materials used in the games that can be found for free on the C3 website. Here is an example of one of the printouts. They're brightly colored and really kept Brittany's interest.

I started these games with Brittany last week, and she is having a great time with them. Step 2 had a game called "Hungry Lion". This was one of her favorite games. We substituted M&M's for the healthy snacks that the cards recommended. (The child would live on M&M's if I let her.) She had to face the plate with more candies. Then she got to eat the candies on that plate. Needless to say, she LOVED this game. (Please ignore her interesting outfit. I'm letting her pick out her own clothes and that always is interesting.)

I can't wait to finish going through the steps with her.

Important info:
You can find these cards at Carlito C Caterpillar's Math House Games. The cards are only $23.95, which includes free shipping. You can also find out more about them at their Facebook page.

Here's the fun part:
One of my lucky readers will get a chance to win a set of these game cards. To enter, simply leave me a comment on this post letting me know why you would like to win.

For extra entries (Make sure to leave a separate comment for each item):

Follow me via Google Friend Connect on the right side of this page. (Leave a comment letting me know.)
Like Carlito C. Caterpillar's Math House Games on Facebook. (Leave a comment letting me know.)
Share this giveaway on Facebook. (Leave a comment letting me know.)
Share this giveaway on Twitter. (Leave a comment letting me know.)

Please make sure that you leave me your contact information in your comment so that I can get in touch with you if you are the winner. The giveaway will be open until 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Sunday, October 9th. The winner will be announced the morning of October 10th.

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Winner - The Shunning DVD

2011-09-26T05:37:00.000-04:00

The winner of The Shunning DVD is comment #5! Congrats and I will be contacting you soon.

Anonymous said...: I follow via GFC!!acgoad at comcast dot net; September 24, 2011 11:15 AM

Week in Review - Week 5

2011-09-22T08:51:00.000-04:00

Bible - Our study of Joseph brought us to the time of the world-wide famine and Joseph's brothers journeying to Egypt to buy grain. We also began memorizing the books of the New Testament. It is so precious to hear Brittany saying them, "Matthew, Lark, Luke, John."

History - We discussed Roman family life and clothing. We learned how wealthy Romans gave their infants jeweled rattles and made our own jewle

At one point Brittany was creating something that resembled a pig face.

Brittany's final creation - notice the pig face has morphed into a snake.

Science - The girls spent the week studying the Digestive and Renal Systems. Bobby learned about the scientific method. The four older ones finished the week with a field trip to ScienceSouth, where they spent the morning using the scientific method experimenting with how many drops of water will fit on a penny and making a balloon car. They had a great time and are looking forward to October's class on ecology. Brittany enjoyed the 2 hours of having me to herself.

1st grade - Caelin's reading is improving each week. She even told me that she thinks her phonics work is too easy (it isn't, but I'm glad she thinks so). She's mastered reading words with silent e, and is now working on other ways that long vowel sounds are made.

Preschool - Brittany used the pegboard and stacking pegs to sort by color and make color patterns.

Read-Aloud - The Bronze Bow is the book I'm reading with the older ones. With Caelin and Brittany, I read books by Margaret Wise Brown. One of our favorites was The Little Scarecrow Boy. After the story, Brittany and Caelin practiced their (not-so)scary scarecrow faces.

The Shunning DVD - Review and Giveaway

2011-09-18T15:35:00.001-04:00

I absolutely love Beverly Lewis' novels. I discovered them this past spring and have now read almost all of them. I read The Shunning this summer, and when I got the opportunity to see the DVD based on the book, I was excited to get to see it.

Beverly Lewis' The Shunning - About the Movie

Before she succumbs to cancer, the dying wish of Laura Mayfield-Bennett is to be reunited with the daughter she never knew. Unfortunately, that daughter, Katie Lapp, is a member of the Amish order. Katie is about to be married, but uneasy about the path ahead. Now she discovers the secret her parents have kept from her: she's adopted.

The film is based on the celebrated first novel of the best-selling "The Heritage of Lancaster County" book series from author Beverly Lewis. Stars Danielle Panabaker & Sherry Stringfield.

This Hallmark Channel movie will definitely pull on your heart-strings as you watch Katie and her Amish parents deal with the decisions that they have to make. As with any movie based on a book, there are some differences between the two, but for the most part, the storyline was the same.

Did I mention that I really love author Beverly Lewis? I highly recommend checking out her novels based on Amish life. Here is a little background information on her:

BEVERLY LEWIS - Author of "The Shunning"

Beverly Lewis, born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, is The New York Times bestselling author of more than eighty books. Her stories have been published in eleven languages worldwide. A keen interest in her mother's Plain heritage has inspired Lewis to write many Amish-related novels, beginning with "The Shunning," which has sold more than one million copies. In 2007, Lewis' "The Brethren" was honored with a Christy Award.

Lewis has been interviewed by both national and international media, including Time magazine, the Associated Press, and the BBC. Lewis lives with her husband, David, in Colorado.

For more information about The Shunning, check out the Hallmark Channel website or the Facebook page. You can also see a trailer for the movie here.

One of my lucky readers will get the chance to own this DVD for themselves. To enter, simply leave me a comment letting me know that you would like to win.

Bonus entries:

Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect on the left side of the page. Leave a comment letting me know. (1 entry)
Share this giveaway on Facebook. Leave a comment letting me know. (1 entry)
Share this giveaway on Twitter. Leave a comment letting me know. (1 entry)

Please make sure that you leave me your contact information in your comment so that I can get in touch with you if you are the winner. The giveaway will be open until 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Sunday, September 25th. The winner will be announced the morning of September 26th.

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Winner - Ginny Owens' "Get In, I'm Driving"

2011-09-16T06:26:00.000-04:00

The winner is Comment #6 - Congrats to Nickandkatherine!

nickandkatherine said...: I shared on Twitterhttp://twitter.com/#!/mumoffunkids/status/112246328398069760; September 9, 2011 3:30 PM

Week in Review - Week 4

2011-09-15T06:51:00.001-04:00

Another week with very few pictures, but a lot of work done.

Bible - We studied Pharaoh's dreams of the fat cows and skinny cows and the fat ears and skinny ears and created a page for our Joseph books.

History - We continued reading Augustus Caesar's World, discussing how Herod became the King of the Jews and the marriage of Antony and Cleopatra.

Science - The girls finished their study of muscles by creating a newspaper article and a lift-the-flap book about muscles.

Bobby began the unit on Scientific Inquiry.

1st grade - Caelin continued marking the vowel sounds with short, long, and silent markings, and her reading is progressing quite rapidly now. Praise the Lord!!

Preschool - Brittany and I worked on one-to-one correspondence. She recognizes all of her numbers to 10, although it took her a couple days to stop calling "10" twelve. We also worked on comparing numbers - Which number is bigger, 3 or 7? Which number is smaller?

In our extra-curricular activities last week, Bobby had his first referee job. Over the summer, he took the class to get his ref license, and last week he got his first paying job reffing both a 1st-3rd grade soccer game and a 4th-6th grade game in our local private school league.

The coin toss

Last year, Robb began a homeschool sports association for the homeschoolers in our area. We are in our 2nd year of the Palmetto Homeschool Athletics, and Bobby plays on the 4th-6th grade soccer team that competes in the private school league. We had our first game of this season last week. We got off to a great start with Bobby scoring the first goal of the game. In all of our games last year, we never had a lead, so this was a nice change. Unfortunately, we weren't able to hold on to that lead, and we lost the game 2-1. Even so, GREAT JOB, Warriors!

Going for the goal!

Week in Review - Week 3

2011-09-09T13:28:00.000-04:00

While we got a LOT of learning done last week, I didn't take a lot of pictures.

Bible: We will be studying Joseph for a while. Last week we learned about the dreams of the baker and cupbearer who were in prison with Joseph and how God gave Joseph the interpretation of those dreams.

History: We continued reading in Augustus Caesar's World about the time period when Octavian was a general and was co-leader of Rome with Antony. We also learned about Roman gardens and how they decorated their homes with mosaics and frescoes. We made our own mosaics using small pieces of paper.

Our finished mosaics:

Science: The girls began learning about muscles and why exercise is important for building strong muscles. Bobby completed a science lab about density, seeing how water, vegetable oil, and corn syrup settle into layers when poured into the same container. He then dropped in a rock and an ice cube to see where they would go in the layers.

1st grade: Caelin learned how to mark cvc words with a short vowel mark to help her remember how to read them.

Preschool: Brittany and I worked on her large motor skills by trying to mirror each other's movements.

Pre-Algebra: Bobby finished Module 1 and took the test, making an A. I've spent some time wondering if I made the right decision, putting him into Pre-Algebra this year when it's usually an 8th grade level class and he's only 6th grade age. During this first module, Bobby's shown me that he is definitely ready for this level math. It hasn't been easy, but it's not too difficult for him either.

Language: Aria and Brailey memorized the poem "The Land of Nod" by Robert Louis Stevenson.

The small people have been working hard and are really learning a lot.

Ginny Owens "Get In, I'm Driving" Review and Giveaway - 9/15

2011-09-08T15:05:00.000-04:00

I was given the opportunity to preview the newest release by Christian Artist Ginny Owens. Her CD entitled Get In, I'm Driving is scheduled for release on September 13th.

When I was asked to review this CD, I didn't really know much about Ginny Owens. After reading the following, I knew that this was definitely an artist that I wanted to check out simply because her story alone is inspiring.

A three-time Dove Award winner, including the Gospel Music Association’s 2000 New Artist of the Year recipient, and multiple ASCAP Award winner, Ginny Owens has sold nearly one million albums. A top performer on the Christian radio charts with hits like “If You Want Me To,” “Free” and “I Wanna Be Moved,” among others, Owens’ music has impacted mainstream audiences at Lilith Fair, the Sundance Film Festival and the White House. Her music has received widespread film and television placement, including songs on the popular WB series’ “Roswell” and “Felicity.” Owens was featured on national television, including NBC’s “Today” and CNN, for her contribution to help rebuild New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Born and raised in Jackson, Miss., Owens was discovering melodies on the piano almost before she could complete a sentence. Songs began to emerge from her fingers as the vision began to leave her eyes and by the age of three. A degenerative eye condition left Owens completely blind. Despite her physical challenge, Owens pursued a music career. Songs provide a window into a world Owens can’t see and an outlet for her to express her thoughts and dreams. Owens’ unique musical style and inspirational lyrics continue to appeal to Christian and mainstream audiences alike.

In 2005 Owens launched The Fingerprint Initiative, a hands-on, non-profit organization designed to “bring hope to the world, one project and one touch at a time.” The organization has partnered with and raised money for groups such as Compassion International, International Justice Mission and Habitat for Humanity.

It turns out that her music is just as inspiring as her story. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to this CD! There are 11 tracks; each with its own unique message and feel. The blues-y feel of the music really makes it relaxing.

Like I said, her CD will be available on September 13th. Until then, you can check out Ginny Owens at her website, her Facebook page, or her Twitter feed. You can also find her pre-release single "Before You Fly" at her iTunes page.

One of my lucky readers will also have a chance to win their own copy of Ginny Owens' "Get In, I'm Driving". This giveaway will be open until 11:59PM on September 15th, and the winner will be announced and notified on September 16th.

Here's how to enter:
Mandatory Entry - Visit Ginny Owens' website and leave me a comment about something you learned about her or her music.

Bonus Entries -

Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect on the right side of the page. Leave me a comment letting me know. (If you already follow this blog, leave me a comment letting me know that.)
"Like" Ginny Owens' Facebook page. Leave me a comment letting me know.
Follow Ginny Owens on Twitter. Leave me a comment letting me know.
Share this giveaway on Facebook. Leave me a comment letting me know.
Share this giveaway on Twitter. Leave me a comment letting me know.

Please make sure that you leave me some way to contact you in your comments. Thanks!

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services
mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255:
"Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

WonderMaps Review

2011-09-05T07:56:00.001-04:00

We spent last year doing a year-long world geography study and discovered the importance and the fun of map work. Knowing where important events in history occurred helps make learning much more concrete so this year, we are continuing to use maps for both Bible and history.

WonderMaps, a product of Bright Ideas Press, is an incredible product that will add so much to our map work. This software includes more than 350 maps in 4 different categories:

World maps - 60+ maps of continents, regions, and nations
United States maps - 60+ maps of states and regions
Historical maps - 125 maps, including 25 biblical maps, featuring maps from The Ancients, The Middle Ages, The Renaissance and Reformation, and Revolutions to Modern Times
Thematic maps - Explorers, American History, Chinese Dynasties, and more

WonderMaps also includes the complete map sets for The Mystery of History vol. I-III and All American History vol. I and II.

One of the best features of WonderMaps is that you can customize the maps by deciding which layers to use. Each map has a variety of layers that you can turn on and off, including:

Latitude and longitude lines
Country borders
Country names
City/town locations
City/town names
Topography in color or black/white
Historical boundaries for historical maps
And much more!

There are so many things I am planning to do with these maps.

First, we're studying about Joseph in our Bible study. One of the historical maps is of Joseph and his brothers. I printed the map with just the cities labeled and had the older kids draw the journeys of Joseph and his brothers to match the key on the map.

I can't wait to do similar things with the historical maps as we continue through our study of Rome to the Reformation in history and as we study through the Bible.

I printed out some continent maps with just country outlines for the kids to color/label depending on their ability level.

I also am teaching a world geography class in our homeschool co-op this year. These maps will be very helpful tools for this class.

WonderMaps will work on both PC and Mac and requires Adobe Flash Player 9.1, which is a free download.

WonderMaps can be purchased at Timberdoodle for $44.95, a great price for everything you can do with this software.

If you are interested in other hands-on geography or geography puzzles, you should definitely check out Timberdoodle. Check out their Facebook page or request a free catalog.

Review disclosure: As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team, I received a complimentary copy of WonderMaps in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

Week in Review - Week 2

2011-09-02T16:54:00.001-04:00

I'm still running a week behind trying to blog what we've done each week. These first few weeks of school have been busy, busy, busy! I am steady working with the small people doing school from 8 am to 2:30 pm every day. Then we start with the afternoon activities - ballet on Monday afternoons for Caelin and Brittany, ballet on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for Brailey, soccer on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for Aria and Bobby, boy scouts on Monday evenings for Bobby, and church activities on Monday and Wednesday evenings for the family. I know that as we get adjusted to the schedule, it will calm down a bit.

So, what did we learn last week?

Bible - We are studying the life of Joseph. Last week, we studied how his brothers sold him as a slave. We talked about how jealousy and lying anger God.

History - We are still learning about Ancient Rome and the Roman Empire. We learned about how towns were set up in grid patterns and about the layouts of the houses of the wealthy people.

We began reading Augustus Caesar, where we learned about the assassination of Julius Caesar and how Octavian and Antony began their attempts to control the Roman Empire.

image from Amazon.com

We also learned how to play a game that was popular in Ancient Rome, called Odd or Even. To play this 2-player game, you need 20 small stones (or something similar - we used the pieces from our Mancala game). Each player starts with 10 stones. The first player hides any number of stones in his right hand. The 2nd player must guess if there is an even or odd number of stones in the hand (saying only "even" or "odd"). The first player opens his hand. If the guess is correct, the first player gives the 2nd player a stone. If the guess is incorrect, then the 2nd player has to give a stone to the first player. Then it's the 2nd players turn to hide stones in his hand. Play continues until either one player has all the stones, or a set number or time.

1st Grade - Caelin continued her review of the letters and their sounds.

Preschool - Brittany and I spent time learning about shapes. We used the Lauri Fit-A-Space puzzles to sort shapes and play games with the shapes. One game we played was Brittany had to close her eyes and choose a shape out of the pile. Keeping her eyes closed, she had to determine what shape the piece was by feeling it. I absolutely love how she says the word "parallelogram".

Brittany's still trying to adjust to the idea that my entire day will not be spent teaching her, but it's getting better.

Also last week, the Children's Choirs at our church performed their summer musical. Each year, the rising 6th graders perform the drama for the musical and all of the choirs (grades 4k-6th) sing with it. Since Bobby is one of those rising 6th graders, he was a part of the drama. This year's performance was Kings, Dreams, and Schemes, and Bobby had the role of King Belshazzar. He did a great job!

The older three girls enjoyed singing.

Do I Understand?

2011-08-30T16:23:00.000-04:00

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for another letter in the ABC's of Homeschooling.

U is for Understanding

While it's important that the small people understand what I'm trying to teach, it's far more important that I understand my children. I have 5 children, which equals 5 different learning styles and needs. In order for us to have a successful day/year, it is vitally important that I understand what each of them needs.

I have 2 who are extremely independent perfectionists. They do not like to be wrong, but they also don't want to be taught. They like to figure things out on their own. Unfortunately, sometimes when you're trying to learn something new, you're going to make mistakes. I've had to learn how to encourage them to be independent, allowing them to learn from their mistakes while balancing their perfectionism. (I'm going to be honest and tell you that I'm still trying to figure out how to balance this.)

I have 1 who loves to read and hates to write. The loving to read is extremely helpful; she reads science and history books for fun and absorbs facts like a sponge. We discovered a few weeks ago that her eyesight is not the same for both eyes, and writing causes her to have headaches, especially if she's trying to copy from one place to another. I'm hoping that once we go to the eye doctor next week, this situation will have a remedy. Until then, I'm content to allow her to do more drawing than writing for her notebooking activities, and I happily take dictation for her during writing activities.

I have 1 who is struggling to read. Any reading activity for her requires the rest of the house to be silent - not an easy task when there are 6 people in the house during school. Understanding what she needs means that I have to try to provide the very best atmosphere for her by scheduling her reading time while the others are working quietly.

I have 1 who wants my (or someone's) attention all the time. She was so excited to start school this year. Somehow, though, she got the idea that her starting school meant that ALL of my day would be spent working with her, and the others would just have to do their own thing. Now that we've established that I will spend time with her, but that I also need to teach the others, I've had to find ways to include her in the rest of the day when I'm not working with her one-on-one. I do this by scheduling time for the oldest three to work with her using her activity bags. When she isn't working with them, she is learning to sit beside me working on puzzles, coloring, or doing a quiet activity. This helps her with her desire to be near me, while allowing me to be able to still teach the others.

Because I teach them at home, I can use my understanding of their personalities to teach them in a way that will best allow them to learn. I've had 11, 8, 6, and almost 4 years of getting to know them to help me understand what they need. This gives me an advantage over a classroom teacher who might have only met them 2 weeks ago if they went to one of our local schools.

Family Movie Night

2011-08-26T18:09:00.000-04:00

I missed seeing A Walk in My Shoes when it first aired in December. I'm excited that I will get a chance to see it this weekend. This Family Movie Night movie will air again on Saturday evening at 8/7c on NBC.

Ever judge someone just by looking at them? Of course, we’ve all made snap judgments about people. But what if we really got to know them? How would our opinions change? And what if we were forced to become them…how would the shoes fit then? Stressed-out high school teacher Trish Fahey can’t understand her students’ lack of effort and why their parents don’t seem to care.

This is especially true of Justin Kremer, a popular, skateboard-loving, basketball star who is underperforming in her class. Trish has him suspended from the team and quickly chalks up the situation as a case of bad parenting. This perspective dramatically changes when Trish meets Molly, a mysterious stranger intent on helping her see things differently. When Trish wrecks her car, Molly is there as Trish wakes to find herself living the life of Cindy Kremer, the woman she has personally judged and criticized. Trish discovers that there is often more to the story and learns a powerful lesson that affects everyone she interacts with. Her husband, her daughter, the ex-Marine next door… No one is left unchanged.

The small people and I have really been enjoying these Family Movie Night movies, and I'm sure this one will be good as well.

For more information about A Walk in My Shoes, you can check out:

Trailer: http://www.familymovienight.com/a-walk-in-my-shoes/#trailer

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/familymovienight

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/fmnib

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/fmnib

Week in Review - Week 1

2011-08-26T07:55:00.000-04:00

Our first day of school was August 15th. I'm not sure why I didn't get my week in review post done earlier, but that's okay. I'm doing it now.

History We're studying My Father's World Rome to the Reformation this year. Last week we began studying Roman life. We learned about Hannibal's march to Rome and mapped his route.

We are also learning Latin roots for vocabulary. Here Bobby was writing sentences using words that came from the Latin word duo, meaning two.

1st Grade Caelin started with a review of letters and their sounds.

Preschool Brittany was very excited to start school with us this year. Unfortunately, she thought that I would be spending the entire day teaching her. She wasn't pleased that I had to teach the older kids as well. She worked on putting the number puzzles together and placing them in the correct order.

Winner - The Grace Card DVD

2011-08-25T05:58:00.000-04:00

The winner of The Grace Card DVD is #4 - Tina Boyle!! Congratulations, Tina!

Tina Boyle said...: Love your blog TaMara! I would like to win the DVD!!!

It's a Matter of Time

2011-08-20T14:59:00.001-04:00

In our homeschool, I am very much outnumbered. There are 5 small people who need my help, my attention, and my time, and there is only 1 me. In order for everyone to get what they need educationally and emotionally from me, I have to have a plan for our school day.

T is for Time

About a week before we started school, I started working on our daily schedule. After hours of sitting at the computer working over the schedule, I finally settled on one that would work.

Here are my keys to successfully scheduling our time:

Combine, combine, combine. There is absolutely NO way I could have everyone doing their own thing for every subject. There are just too many of them and too few of me. All of the small people are together for Bible and History. The girls are together for Science and Calendar Math.

Utilize technology. This year I've added some classes via internet or DVD for Bobby and the twins. For the past couple of years, Bobby has done Spanish on the computer using Rosetta Stone; this year the twins are also doing Spanish. Bobby is using Chalkdust for Pre-Algebra, so one day he watches the DVD and the next day he does the assignment in the book. He is also using Apologia General Science. A friend of mine found a free on-line class for this (Thanks Audra!), and he watches the class and does the assignments during the time I'm teaching science to the girls.

Independent work. Realistically, a good bit of their school work can be done independently. Allowing the older ones to work independently as much as possible frees me to work with the younger ones more, in addition to fostering responsibility in the older ones. We have a variation on workboxes that we use. Each child has a set of folders numbered from 1 to 12/15, depending on how many things they have to do independently. Each day, I put an assignment in each folder for each child, either written on an index card or a worksheet. Folders include activities such as:

Morning chore list
Devotions
Vocabulary pages (using Wordly Wise)
Spanish assignment
Journal writing
Math fact practice
30 minutes of Wii or computer time
15 minutes of soccer drills or dance practice
Do an activity with Brittany
Practice guitar (flute and piano to be added this year for the twins)
Handwriting practice

Activities for Brittany. Left to her own devices, this girl can get into some trouble. In a 3 day span, she 1) thought my Bath & Body Works body spray was hair spray and heavily spritzed her hair with it (boy, did she smell good!), 2) got into my lipstick and proceeded to paint her entire face, and 3) painted the bathroom floor with fingernail polish. To keep my house in one piece and my sanity intact, I have activity bags for her to do, while she is sitting next to me on the floor. If you have a busy toddler or preschool child, I highly recommend Preschool Activity bags; if you have enough people interested in making them, you can organize a swap where each person makes a set number of 1 type of bag and then everyone gets a variety of bags. (If you are interested in doing this, leave a comment and I can coordinate one. We would need at least 10-12 people for a good swap.)

Structure. Some people can have a successful homeschool day without a schedule, just working on whatever they decide at that moment. I am NOT one of those people. I need my day planned out. I can be flexible within that structure, but I need structure. To Robb's chagrin, I've conditioned my children to be this way also. They like having a schedule and knowing what comes next. There is a downside to that, though; they aren't very flexible with it. If the schedule says snack time is at 3, they will be in the kitchen AT 3 to have their snack.

Here is a copy of how our time is organized every day. (I've tried 50 times to get it on this post. It's not happening!)

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

2011-08-18T15:00:00.000-04:00

I do!! I made a button today. I felt like my blog was lacking something so I created a button today. I'm usually pretty technologically inept, so the fact that I made one makes me happy.

Feel free to grab my button if you want.

The Grace Card - movie review and giveaway

2011-08-17T19:37:00.000-04:00

I'm always looking for good, Christian-based entertainment for our family, so The Grace Card was definitely a movie I wanted to see.

Everything can change in an instant … and take a lifetime to unravel. When Mac McDonald loses his son in an accident, the ensuing 17 years of bitterness and pain erodes his love for his family and leaves him angry with God … and just about everyone else. Mac’s rage stonewalls his career in the police department and makes for a combustible situation when he’s partnered with Sam Wright, a rising star on the force—who happens to be a part-time pastor and a loving family man.

Can they somehow join forces to help one another when it’s impossible for either of them to look past their differences—especially the most obvious one? Every day, we have the opportunity to rebuild relationships and heal deep wounds by extending and receiving God’s grace. Offer THE GRACE CARD … and never underestimate the power of God’s love.

I thoroughly enjoyed this DVD. The struggle of emotions for both Mac and Sam as they try to build a relationship through the pain of the past and Mac's journey toward a relationship with God drew me rapidly into the story.

For more information about The Grace Card, you can check out

Website: http://www.thegracecardmovie.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thegracecard

I would highly recommend buying The Grace Card DVD. But for one of my lucky readers, you won't have to buy it. In addition to the DVD I received to review, I've been given the opportunity to offer one to you as a giveaway!

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me that you would like to win this DVD. Please make sure you leave your contact information with your comment.

For additional entries:

Become a follower of this blog. (Leave a comment for 1 entry.)
Share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog post. (Leave a comment to let me know how you shared it for up to 3 entries.)

The giveaway will be open until August 24th, and I will post the winner on August 25th (my birthday!!)

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Our version of a Physical Education

2011-08-16T06:44:00.000-04:00

"How do you teach PE?" This question was asked of me by someone who had just learned that I homeschool. Truthfully, I don't. That isn't to say that my children don't get some sort of physical education. It actually brings me to our next letter in the ABC's of Homeschooling.

S is for Sports

First, we have soccer. Anyone who knows my family knows that if you can't find us at home, we're probably at the soccer fields. Bobby is a soccer addict. He plays on one of the travel teams, watches soccer in his free time, participates in pick-up games as often as possible, knows the stats for more players than I can name, etc. Aria isn't quite as addicted, but she's getting there. She also plays on a travel team. Between the amount of time they practice and play with their teams and the time they spend at home getting touch on the ball, they get plenty of physical activity.

Those in my house who do not play soccer, dance. Yes, we consider dance a sport at our house. Our dancers put forth just as much physical effort as our soccer players. Brailey LOVES dancing and at one point said she wants to be a ballet teacher when she grows up. (She might still want to, but at this age, her life goals change daily.) Caelin enjoys ballet, not as much as Brailey, but she still has fun dancing. I love watching her on stage because she always has a smile on her face. Brittany will be joining the other 2 girls at the dance studio this year, which will be interesting.

Like I said, I don't teach them physical education, but I do have them in activities where they learn the importance of being physically active. My soccer players are learning good sportsmanship and how to win and lose gracefully. My dancers are learning to conduct themselves like ladies (I absolutely adore their teacher and love how she puts an emphasis on this). These lessons will help them, not just in the here and now, but for life.

Ready (or Not), Here It Comes

2011-08-09T08:38:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it's already August?! I can't. It seems like just yesterday we were finishing up our school year. Our summer has flown by much too quickly. All of the small people were busy with summer camps, but that is a post for another day.

I had planned to begin school on August 1st; however, that didn't work out. Aria has had morning soccer practices for the past 4 weeks, ending this week. Brailey had morning dance classes last week. There is no way that I could start school while having our mornings interrupted with activities. So we put off the beginning of school until next week.

Which brings me to my letter R post for the ABC's of Homeschooling

R is for Ready (or Not)

You would think that, since I was planning on starting school last week, I would be ready. I don't feel like I am, though. Our school table still looks like a bomb exploded, with papers everywhere from me trying to get ready.

Here is what is ready:

School books for this year are sorted and placed on the appropriate shelves.
Most lessons have been put into Homeschool Tracker. I'm a little befuddled as to how to schedule and plan out Bobby's math and science this year. He's moving into jr high subjects, and it's a little more difficult for me to plan out. I know that as we begin the year and I see how he's doing, it will be easier to plan the rest of the year.
Most of the school supplies have been purchased and are sitting in my bedroom closet. (No, they won't stay there.)
The daily schedule has been planned. It took much thought this year (and stress), trying to figure out how to make sure I can teach everyone everything they need, but it did get done.

Here is what is left to do:

Clean off the school table.
Put away the rest of the books from last year. I have a few that I don't think we'll use again so I don't want to pack them away but I don't want them cluttering up my school room either.
Purchase a couple more items for the kids for the first day of school.
Get the kids' bedrooms organized. Even though they don't do school in their rooms, I really would like them to have a nice, organized place to go when they aren't having school time.
Watch a couple of the dvd's we'll be using for school this year (IEW and Pre-Algebra) so that I can have a clue as to what I'm doing.

Regardless of whether or not I am ready, we will be starting school on Monday. So, are YOU ready for school to start? I hope so because ready or not, here it comes.

Hopping on Sunday

2011-08-07T07:48:00.000-04:00

Joining in with some blog hops today.

Five Question Friday - August 5

2011-08-05T15:27:00.000-04:00

It's Friday, which means it's time for Five Question Friday.

1. Do you have siblings and are you close with them?

I have 1 brother and while I haven't always been close with him, our relationship is getting closer.
I also have 2 half-sisters and 1 half-brother. My half-brother passed away when I was in high school, and I'm not close with either of my half-sisters.

2. Would you rather be slightly UNDER weight or slightly OVER weight?

I've been both under- and overweight. I would rather be slightly overweight like I am now. These extra pounds I carry are a result of being mama to 5 wonderful small people.

3. What's your favorite State Fair food to splurge on?

I'm a cotton candy kind of gal. I love some spun sugar!

4. What are your thoughts on your kid(s) going to school in a few weeks?

Since I homeschool, the small people don't actually GO to school. I am very excited about starting school. I need to finish organizing the school room and our curriculum materials, and then we're ready to go.

5. Pool or Ocean?
Definitely Pool! I can't stand the thought of things in the water with me, especially things that bite or sting.

Wordless Wednesday - Cousins

2011-08-03T06:33:00.000-04:00

Three of my girls and 2 of my nieces.

Quiet Time

2011-08-02T14:45:00.000-04:00

Last week, I wrote about the importance of prayer in my homeschool. This week, I would like to share with you how important having a quiet time is for me.

Q is for Quiet Time

Some people call it devotions, others call it Bible study time; I call it Quiet Time. With 5 children, time to myself is hard to find while the small people are awake. For a long time, I let this hinder me. I didn't spend any time in God's Word because I couldn't "find" the time during the day. Unfortunately my life suffered from it. I've learned that when I'm not in His Word, things don't go as well as they do when I'm reading my Bible.

After struggling with lack of quiet time and lack of peace in my life, I came to the realization that if I wait for a time during my day to just appear, then I will never have a quiet time. I needed to create that quiet time. I've made the decision that I need to get up early, before the small people rise, in order to have time to spend with the Lord. I won't say that it's easy. There are many days that I want to stay in my bed and get some more sleep, but the days that I do don't go nearly as smoothly as the days that I've spent reading my Bible.

My husband has a saying: "People will find the time to do the things they want to do." He was right; when I decided that having a quiet time was a priority, I found the time to have one.

2011-2012 Curriculum

2011-08-01T15:09:00.001-04:00

I'm linking up this week at the Not Back-to-School Hop. This week is Curriculum Week.

Here's what we'll be using this year:
Everyone:
Bible - Bible Study Guide for All Ages Unit 1 We used this several years ago, and I loved it. Then I did what I usually do, and switched to something else to see if that was better. It wasn't. So now, I'm going back to this. I love that we can all do Bible study together, but that it also offers the applications for the various levels in my house. It incorporates map and timeline skills, plus Bible memory work. Memory work isn't just limited to learning Bible verses, although they do that also, but includes learning the divisions of the Old and New Testaments, the books of the Bible and their authors, Jesus' apostles, etc.
History - My Father's World Rome to Reformation We made the switch to My Father's World last year, and it was a great move. I'm looking forward to this year's study.
Science - Apologia Anatomy and Astronomy The girls will be doing these together. We'll do Anatomy for the 1st half of the year, and then finish the year with Astronomy.
Spelling - Spelling Power
Foreign Language - Rosetta Stone Spanish
Vocabulary - English from the Roots Up
Reading - Progeny Press Study Guides

6th Grade:

Science - Apologia General Science

Math - ChalkDust Pre-Algebra

English - Rod and Staff 6th Grade English

Vocabulary - Wordly Wise 3000 Book 6

3rd Grade:

Math - Saxon 3

English - First Language Lessons Level 3

Vocabulary - Wordly Wise 3000 Book 3

1st Grade:

Math - Saxon 2

English - First Language Lessons Level 1

Phonics - My Father's World 1st Grade, Explode the Code Books 3 and 4

4K:
My Father's World Preschool

Welcome to Moms of Boys

2011-07-29T09:08:00.000-04:00

I'm joining up with the Boy Mom Blog Hop over at The MOB Society. I want to welcome anyone who is visiting from over there.

I'm TaMara, and mostly I blog about life with 5 very active children (better known as the small people who live in my house). A lot of my posts are about our homeschooling journey since that is the largest part of our life.

Although I'm more known for the 4 girls that I'm a mom to, I also have one pretty amazing boy. He's 11, and loves all things soccer. When I say he loves soccer, I mean he LOVES soccer. He plays travel soccer, watches professional soccer on television, and has a soccer ball at his feet almost every spare moment of the day.

I love photography, especially sports photography. I love to try to capture that "perfect" shot - like the one of my boy above. I have another blog at Soccer Mom Photography, where I share most of my shots.

Right now, the books my son enjoys are all Star Wars books. When he's not playing soccer, he's watching Star Wars, reading Star Wars books, or discussing Star Wars characters and plots with whomever will listen. But, I won't complain; I'm happy he's at least reading something.

So for those of you visiting from the Boy Mom Hop, thanks for stopping by. Feel free to look around and get to know us a little better.

Who Is Simon Miller?

2011-07-28T15:57:00.000-04:00

What are your plans for next Saturday evening? I would suggest you add watching Family Movie Night's Who Is Simon Miller? to those plans.

When unassuming geologist Simon Miller mysteriously disappears one night, the Miller family is thrown into a desperate search to find him. Simon's wife Meredith and their two kids, Sarah, 18 and Kevin, 15 frantically search Simon's office for information. When they find a stash of passports, all with Simon's picture but each with a different alias, they realize that their father has been keeping more than a few secrets. Who is Simon Miller? And what has he gotten himself - and his family - into? Not sure they can even trust the dad they thought they knew, the Millers embark on an international mission to get him back. It's a heart-pounding adventure that tests the limits to which families will fight for each other.

I absolutely love that Family Movie Night produces movies that my whole family can watch. I don't have to worry about bad language or inappropriate content. In addition to that, Who Is Simon Miller? has enough action and adventure to keep the small people interested, especially Bobby.

Who is Simon Miller? airs on Saturday, August 6 at 8/7c on NBC.

For more information about this movie, check out:

Website: http://familymovienight.com/who-is-simon-miller/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/familymovienight

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/fmnib

Wordless Wednesday - My Clowns

2011-07-26T21:58:00.000-04:00

Prayer

2011-07-26T08:42:00.000-04:00

After taking a couple weeks off from the ABC's of Homeschooling, I'm jumping back in at the letter P.

P is for Prayer

What would my homeschool be without prayer? Definitely much more difficult than it is with prayer.

I pray about the curriculum choices I make for my children. I know you may be thinking, Does God really care what spelling program or math book my children use? Yes, I believe He does. God cares about each one of His children and desires the best for all of us. Wouldn't He then want to help me choose the best curriculum for each of my children?

I'm learning that God speaks to me about my homeschooling choices in a variety of ways. Sometimes, it's through a feeling of peace I get when I finally settle on a certain curriculum choice. Other times, it's in the way my children respond to how I'm teaching them; they learned so much more this past year when we switched History curriculum because they were engaged in the learning process. I truly believe that was God's way of helping me decide which way to go for this year.

Sometimes, God speaks to me through my husband. Robb usually takes more of a supportive role in our homeschool, letting me make most of the decisions since I'm the one "in the trenches" every day. Every now and then, though, he'll share his opinion on something that we need to do. Unfortunately, I don't always take his direction right away. One example is when he wanted me to join a particular homeschool support group. I put it off and put it off, until finally Robb made it clear that this was what we needed to do. So we joined. Now I am SO glad we did. This group has been such a blessing to my family and me. I'm learning that when Robb shares his feelings about homeschool decisions, I really need to listen because most of the time, it's the Lord trying to tell me something.

We begin every school day with Bible time and prayer. Each child gets a turn to pray for whatever is on their hearts. They're still small, so God hears a lot of "Please heal my boo-boo". But He also hears some very tender prayers coming from the small people in my house. They pray for each other. After Brittany's accident, every day each child would pray for her healing. They pray for others outside of our family. A young man in our church was paralyzed in a skiing accident earlier this year, and he has been prayed for repeatedly in our prayer time. They pray for their daddy. Every morning, at least one child prays for Robb to have a good day at work.

Prayer is one of THE most important parts of our homeschool, and I know I wouldn't be able to do this every day without prayer.

Pajama Run

2011-07-23T17:21:00.000-04:00

This weekend we had a girls' weekend. Robb and Bobby left yesterday afternoon to go to the lake, so the girls and I declared it an "All-Girls' Party". I told them I had a surprise for them at some point during the weekend, but I wouldn't tell them what.

The surprise was a pajama ice cream run. Last night, we did our usual routine and I got all of the girls tucked in to bed. After about 5 minutes, I went running upstairs yelling "Get up! Get up! Put your shoes on!" I told them that we were going to get ice cream and to go get in the van. We then drove to Sonic to get ice cream. All 4 girls ordered blasts - 2 Reese's, 1 M&M, and 1 Oreo.

Since the girls were in their pj's, they didn't want to sit outside at Sonic, so we brought our treats home to eat them. It's a good thing we don't live far from Sonic because it was still HOT when we went, and the treats were already starting to melt by the time we got home.

The laughter of my girls while we were on our escapade and then eating our ice cream was my reward for planning this for them. We definitely will be repeating this, although I can't say when because that would take away the fun of it being a surprise.

A Week at the Beach

2011-07-13T14:31:00.000-04:00

Every year we spend a week at the beach. We used to go in our pop-up camper, but we've outgrown it so this year we rented a house.

Our schedule was the same almost every day. First thing in the morning, we would head down to the beach before it got too crowded. The kids would frolic in the waves and sand.

Jumping the waves was a favorite activity.

Looking for shells

Aria seemed to enjoy sitting on the ocean floor and letting the waves knock her around.

Britt was yelling at the water to "stop taking her shells" as the waves would go in and out.

Afterward spending a couple of hours at the beach, we would head over to the pool. I love the pool where we stay; there's a nice L-shaped pool with depths from 3-5 feet that the bigger kids can play in, 2 kiddie pools with depths of 1-1 1/2 feet, and then the Splash Zone with all kinds of fun water guns, pouring buckets, and a water wall.

Brittany had fun shooting the "old people" as she put it. She would find random adults to shoot with the water gun.

Ari and Caelin behind the water wall.

I love this picture of Caelin getting dumped on by the water buckets.

After time at the pool, we'd head back to the house for lunch. Brittany would be in need of a nap after the activity of the morning, and the older kids would play games or go do something with Robb. In the evenings, Robb would take the kids out riding on the golf cart. It's become a tradition that they eat AirHeads while out riding. (The small people seem to think it's hilarious to stick them out of their mouths and pretend it's their tongue.)

One morning the waves were incredibly rough. Robb and Bobby decided to take advantage of the opportunity to do some decent body surfing.

We didn't spend all of our time in the water. Bobby has become quite the ping-pong player. He played in the Jr./Teen Ping Pong Tournament at the campground and came in 6th. He had a good time playing against the rest of us. He never could beat Robb, though. We spent the last evening playing mini-golf.

There's No Place Like Home

2011-07-09T13:46:00.000-04:00

We just got back this morning from a week at the beach (a post for another day). I have already been to the grocery store, and I've begun the laundry marathon to get caught back up. We had a wonderful time, but it's nice to be home. I think Bobby said it well this morning as we were driving home - "I like the beach, but now that we're driving home, I just want to get home."

Brittany went to her room immediately after we got home to say "hi" to all of her stuffed friends. Caelin said she can't wait to sleep in her own comfy bed.

Now, I have a bunch of pics to edit and more laundry to do.

(not so) Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T12:51:00.000-04:00

Aria during a morning of soccer camp. The poor thing doesn't sweat; she just turns bright pink when she gets hot.

What's for Lunch?

2011-06-28T06:43:00.000-04:00

I am the first to admit that I am not a whiz in the kitchen. I'm not one of those homeschooling moms who bakes their own bread and makes every meal from scratch. I'm okay with that. One of the things I would like to do better, though, is to have more variety in my lunchtime repertoire.

L is for Lunch

I have fallen into a lunch-time rut for the small people. On the menu everyday is a sandwich (either bologna or pb&j), goldfish crackers, and a fruit or vegetable. It's not necessarily a bad lunch, and it's quick to make so I don't have to spend a lot of my teaching time trying to prepare lunch. That being said, I would like to add to my menu so that we can do something different every now and then.

So, I need help. I need lunch ideas that are

Quick to make. I don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen making lunch. I'm usually teaching someone up until lunchtime.
Cheap. The money tree in my back yard isn't producing any fruit this year, so I don't want to spend a fortune on lunch time foods.
Different. I'm sure that a sandwich every day isn't necessarily going to stunt the growth of my children, but I would like to offer them something different occasionally.

Motivation

2011-06-27T13:13:00.000-04:00

I'm struggling with a lack of motivation this summer. I have a LOT of things I would like to get done, but absolutely no desire to get off my behind and get them done. What is it about 90+ degree weather that makes me want to pretend that I am a bump on a log, and do nothing at all.

So, to help with my motivation this week, I'm going to share this week's want-to-do list. Maybe someone in blog land can help me be accountable for how I spend my time this week.

Finish planning my co-op class for next year.
Edit photos from soccer camp and ballet camp.
Mop the kitchen floor.
Put My Father's World plans into Homeschool Tracker.
Organize Aria and Brittany's room.

That's it. 5 is a good number, don't you think?

Wordless Wednesday - My Pool Monster

2011-06-22T09:16:00.000-04:00

Keep on Going

2011-06-22T06:33:00.000-04:00

I skipped J in the ABC's of Homeschooling last week. I had a J, but didn't really have any blogging desire so I'm skipping from I to K.

K is for Keep On Going

"How do you do it?" I've been asked this question many times over the years. When the twins were tiny and on heart monitors, how did I do it? When Caelin was born 20 months after the twins and I had 3 really small people to care for, in addition to Bobby, how did I do it? Homeschooling 5 children, how do I do it?

The answer is, I don't. Not by myself at least. I couldn't do any of these things on my own, but I can through the strength the Lord provides me each day. Philippians 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

So my K is to Keep on going. Every day is a new day, and I try really hard to just take each day as it comes. I know that each day, the Lord will provide me strength sufficient to get through that day's trials - no more and no less. I would be lying to say I never worry about what the future will hold, but I try really hard not to do that.

For those who wonder how I, or anyone else, does what they do every day, when it seems like it would be more than what you could handle, it isn't. God's Word says He will give us strength sufficient for our needs. So my advice when your circumstances feel overwhelming is to Keep On Going, leaning on the strength of our Lord, strength sufficient for you each day.