Mar. 3, 2009
Wisdom from the pastDefinitely still valuable today
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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An 87-Year-Old's Economic Survival Guide The article above is written by Chuck Norris and discusses the guidance his mother gave him about getting through hard times—advice based on her childhood growing up in Oklahoma in the Depression. Her advice is as sound today as it was then and far more rarely followed. |
Feb. 26, 2009
When I Wear Red
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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This morning I got out a red top to wear. It never fails. When I wear red I think of my gramma, a gorgeous 80+-year old woman whose favorite color was red. Not a muted burgundy, not pink, RED. Bright red. Bold red. The kind of red that shouts "Here I am world!" Gramma was that kind of spunky, funny, faith-filled woman I aspire to be. She left behind some very big, size 5, candy-apple red pumps for me to fill. She was not always confident in her own abilities, but she was always confident in the abilities of her Lord. And when she left this world she was leaning on him still. When I wear red I am feeling a little bolder, a little more daring, a little more fun than other days. I'm feeling SELF-confident, but I must always remember that my daring and abilities are insignificant; my plans, inconsequential. I have to remember to be GOD-confident. Anything I am is because of Him. Wear red today. Be bold today. Be GOD-confident today. |
Feb. 24, 2009
Where oh where has my little blog gone, where oh where can it be...
Posted in Cool For School
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What can I say? I have neglected my blog. I apologize. To describe our lives recently as "busy" would be a horrible understatement. And now I'm out of the habit of writing. So, I'm going to attempt to get back into this again a little at a time. I may say a whole lot of nothin' for a while until my creative juices start flowing again. Just so you don't feel totally cheated by this post, I am going to offer a brief recommendation for a new line of products that TOS is offering. The  Series is a fantastic new resource for busy homeschooling moms on a budget. TOS is so excited about offering WeE-books, they're giving two of them away FREE: One of my favorites in this new series is The Me Time Myth. This e-book has a very powerful and convicting message for today's homeschooling moms. If you're feeling like you don't have enough "me time" you need to read this one. It'll really make you think about this in a new way. Oh, I forgot to mention one of the most exciting features of WeE-books... They're only $1.95 each! |
Jan. 26, 2009
What a Homeschooling Mom Needs
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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A friend sent me a link to this blog post today: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/PreschoolersandPeace/257413/ What wisdom lies on this page. Love it! |
Jan. 23, 2009
Turning Points
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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Turning Points, the latest E-Book released from The Old Schoolhouse®, is phenomenal! If you need a boost of encouragement, to know that you are not alone, this is the resource for you. Turning Points offers up a bounty of real-life encouragement from over 20 homeschooling families from around the world, sharing their frustrations, joys, and revelations in this homeschooling journey. Each author’s story is unique, yet each shares these commonalities:
I LOVE this one! |
Jan. 20, 2009
Bird Dog MinistryFreedom in Obedience
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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Check this out: How cool! |
Jan. 19, 2009
The Wrath of the Flu Bug
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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It's been so long since I posted I almost forgot my own URL! I have been down with the flu (way, way down) and not keeping up with my posting. I think I'm on the mend (slowly, but surely) now. We're continuing along with the inauguration unit study we started last week and really enjoying that. Also, TOS has their 2009 Freebie Directory up and running—always fun! My oldest daughter turned 13 last week and we had to abbreviate our celebration due to my illness. I'm hoping I'll be well enough tomorrow to do some belated celebrating with her. (spraying Lysol) Stay well! |
Jan. 9, 2009
Amanda Bennett Inauguration 2009 unit study
Posted in Cool For School
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Oh, I'm so excited! Amanda Bennett's just released an inauguration unit study. What a great idea. I'm downloading it right now. It looks great. I can't wait to start it next week. It's only a 2-week study; really I should have started it this week, but I just saw it today. That's okay. The inauguration is on the 20th, we'll just have to accelerate the pace a bit. Shhhh, don't tell the kids.  Check it out at the Schoolhouse Store: Inauguration 2009 Unit Study |
Jan. 8, 2009
No-Cream-of-Tartar biscuit recipe
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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Thanks for the suggestion, Heidi! Here's the biscuit recipe (no cream of tartar involved!): Angel Biscuits (taken from Best of Taste of Home, The First 10 Years, Taste of Home Books, 2002) 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees) 2 cups warm buttermilk (110-115 degrees) 5 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons salt 1 cup shortening melted butter or margarine Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the buttermilk; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in yeast mixture; mix well. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 3-4 times. Roll out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-inch biscuit cutter (we use a large drinking glass instead). Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1-1/2 hours. You can't be in a hurry for these. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter. Remove from pans to wire racks. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen. This recipe makes too many biscuits for our family to eat at one time, so we put the leftovers in a zipper bag in the freezer to enjoy another day. |
Jan. 8, 2009
You put what in the biscuits?
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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Yesterday my oldest daughter had a hankerin' for biscuits. We've been having lunch later and later in the day for some reason and it was about 1:30 p.m. when she came and asked me if she could make some biscuits. I was surprised to see that it was so late in the day and told her I just didn't have enough time to make biscuits, we need to eat pretty quick. "Oh, I'll make them, you don't have to," was her response. "Well, okay, as long as you clean up your mess when you're done. And that means wash all the dishes you've dirtied, not just pile them up in the sink," I said. "Yes, Mom," she replied with that look of long-suffering on her face. So I went and heated up some leftovers for myself and my younger daughter and left my oldest to work on the biscuits. After I was done eating, I glanced into the kitchen and noticed about 6 cookbooks spread out all over our flour-coated kitchen counters. "Did you have trouble finding a recipe you liked?" I asked. "Yes, I did. Almost all of them had cream of tartar in them!" she said. Confused, I said, "What's wrong with cream of tartar?" "Oh, I don't like that stuff" Now more confused, I asked for clarification, "What do you mean you don't like that stuff? What do you not like about it?" I was pretty sure my daughter had never even used cream of tartar before and I was wondering how she could have formed such a strong opinion about it already. She clarified, "I don't like any of that stuff: cream of celery, cream of mushroom, or cream of tartar."  After I gained control of myself and quit laughing, I explained that while I don't really know what cream of tartar is, it's nothing at all like cream of celery or cream of mushroom. Here is a picture of the wonderful, no-cream-of-tartar biscuits that we enjoyed with dinner last night. They were delicious!  |
Jan. 2, 2009
Let's go Cruisin the Country
Posted in Cool For School
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Have you ever traveled around the country while still wearing your pajamas? When it's 4 in the afternoon and I'm still wearing mine, I often feel like I've traveled the country in them. But if you really want to experience our country in your pj's, checking out TOS' latest planner module, Cruisin' the Country, is a fun way to do it. In this module you and your kids will explore our great country, making stops to learn about our nation's landmarks. Learn about Niagara Falls, The Statue of Liberty, Washington, D.C., Disney World, Philadelphia, the Columbus Zoo, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon, and several other interesting places to see in the beautiful U.S. of A. As in all TOS Planner modules, theme-related activity, copywork, and coloring pages are included; and a couple of recipes too (just to round out this great package). ☺ Don't miss out on this amazing, mini unit study. And remember, the TOS planner modules are stand-alone, mini unit studies. The Schoolhouse Planner is not needed to use these monthly modules. Order Cruisin' the Country today! In case you haven't yet checked out some of the recent months' modules, they're still available too: |
Dec. 31, 2008
Auld Lang Syne - Huh?
Posted in Cool For School
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What in the world does that mean? The kids have asked and, of course, Wikipedia has the answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne Pretty interesting history. |
Dec. 31, 2008
Road Trip Pics
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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Here are a few pics from our Christmas break. This is our dog, Alley, modeling one of her new, homemade doggie vests (mentioned in a previous post)  Now here are some pics from our big road trip. The first one is looking down into Palo Duro Canyon (Texas). It was a gorgeous view but we didn't stay long. I was afraid the wind would blow the kids down into a ravine. Had to be over 50 mph winds that day!
 This one is from down in Palo Duro Canyon. Occasionally we even saw prairie dogs scurrying around. Sooo cute!
 Now this last one depicts what can happen when you spend 20 hours in the car in one week. This one's kind of a public service message... beware....
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Dec. 30, 2008
The After-Christmas Break
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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Well we're back from our annual road trip to the Texas Panhandle. It was an uneventful trip which makes it VERY unusual for us. Last year a turkey flew into our windshield halfway there (on Christmas Eve). That was exciting. I had little bits of glass falling into my lap for about 4 hours. On the way home (after having the windshield repaired) we drove into a hail storm. THAT was a typical family trip for us. Something crazy always happens when we travel. However, this year was different. Nothing bizarre happened. I guess that, in and of itself, is bizarre. Anyway, we're back now and taking this week off to relax. I can't remember the last full week we took completely off. We're usually just doing a little school or working around activities. Seldom are we completely without some form of school work. Since we're not tied down with schoolwork, I'm scheduling doctor's appointments and hair appointments and stuff like that. We wouldn't want to have actual relaxation time now would we? Oh no! We wouldn't know how to handle that. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will, likewise, take some time off to just enjoy each other. See y'all in 2009! |
Dec. 29, 2008
Molly
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Dec. 23, 2008
Braces, Pianos, Dog Vests, OH MY
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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One last quick update on our activities before Christmas... My oldest got braces:  My youngest played Christmas music in church:
 And we made 3 vests for our little dog yesterday:
 That was a fun project for a yucky-weather day. Our dog is now on the best-dressed list in our neighborhood (it's a very short list).
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Dec. 18, 2008
Party
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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Here are a few pics from yesterday's big holiday party. The girls and I made 20 of these tins for our friends and neighbors. They were filled with homemade truffles (very chocolatey!)  We also made this pinata, filled with candy, for our guests to work out some of their pent up holiday frustrations.   |
Dec. 16, 2008
Busy... Christmas and Spelling
Posted in Cool For School
Dec. 11, 2008
Lots of Frugal Ideas Here
Posted in A Day In The Homeschool Life
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If you haven't heard about Molly yet, check her out: www.econobusters.com She's the latest source for all things economical and in these difficult, changing times, everyone can benefit from these ideas. Thanks Molly! |
Dec. 11, 2008
Another free Christmas unit study
Posted in Cool For School
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I saw this free Christmas unit study just this morning. This one we didn't write ourselves (see yesterday's post for that one), but it's very nice too. Homes School in the Woods - A Mini-Study of Christmas Enjoy! |