Monday, August 18, 2008 - What's for Dinner tonight....
Tonight we have Upward Cheerleading and Flag Football practice at 6pm... so, I thought I would put some ham from the freezer in the slowcooker and make little sandwiches with it on yeast rolls and maybe some oven fries and corn... Something easy but would be better than eating out...
Here's the recipe I am trying tonight.. I am substituting the cola with the Coke Zero (because it's all I have in the pantry)...and I am using a much smaller ham and just adjusting the recipe to fit it...
Cook Time: 8 hours
Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup cola (Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, etc.)
3 to 4 pound pre-cooked ham
Preparation:
Combine brown sugar and mustard. Moisten with just enough cola to make a smooth paste. Reserve remaining cola. Score the ham with shallow slashes in a diamond pattern. Rub ham with paste mixture. Place ham in slow cooker/Crock Pot and add remaining cola. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, then turn to low and cook for 6 to 7 hours.
I will let you know how it tastes... hopefully YUMMY!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008 - My Saturday Bargains...
Today DD and I went shopping together... I was really looking forward to it as we never get to go just the 2 of us... We had a great time and were able to hit all of our favorite thrift stores... We had lunch at the "Pizza Palace" which was on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" on FoodNetwork... We walked the all from one-end to the other, window shopping and then on to our favorite haunts...
I found some great buys to use in our HS... Spending a total of less than a whopping $8.00...
Here's what I came home with:
The Great Classics for Children hardback editions of "Tom Sawyer" and "A Little Princess" in NEW condition...
3 "Childhood of Famous Americans" series paperbacks (Davy Crockett, Robert E. Lee, Helen Keller) also in NEW condition...
3 of the "Cornerstone of Freedom" series: "The Story of the Presidential Elections" (perfect timing to find this), "The Story of the Supreme Court", and "The Story of the Gettysburg Address" ...
My own copy of "MR. POPPER's PENGUINS".... (which DS is thrilled about, one of his favorites!!)
An out-of-print book on Pocohontas that I found on Amazon for $32 (YEAH!!!)
A Golden Treasury of Knowledge book covering everything from Ancient Persia to molecules and space...
An Home Adventure library edition of America's Story...
Saturday, August 16, 2008 - DS and Dad's fishing trip...
Our church youth went on a fishing trip at a local pond today... DS managed to catch a total of 4 fishies...after a bout of anxiety over not catching any... he hasn't learned that patience is a necessity in fishing... I just wished DH had taken the camera....
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - Rowing with Thunder Cake...
We are easing back into our school routine... I have been considering taking 2 weeks for every book we row as I am doing lessons with both kidlets this year and DD is learning to read... I am thinking this might ease some of the pressure and we will get everything accomplished...
This week we are reading Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco... We will probably continue this unit into next week just to make sure we get everything completed because it is a wonderful unit...
There is a whole lot information about Patricia and the book here.
I am using the information about thunderstroms and rain from here and here.
HomeschoolShare has a unit on it here. We are working on a review of ordinal numbers, random placement, and common / proper nouns...
There is also tons of worksheets and go-alongs here.
This morning we had a little "home-ec" as both kids learned to "seperate eggs" ...I then let each one of them scramble them and make breakfast... They love to help me in the kitchen...
We have found Michigan on the map and have talked a little about Russia...
Tomorrow evening after co-op (yes, it starts back tomorrow) we are planning on working on setting the table properly (one of the HSS lessons)... and finding Russia on the map..
Friday, we plan on learning about the water cycle and doing this experiment.
1.Pour water into the skillet and heat it. Let your kids watch as the heated water turns into steam and disappears.
2.Using oven mitts, hold the pan of ice cubes about six inches above the steaming water and tell your student to watch the bottom of the pie pan. Observe and ask questions regarding evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.
Another experiment can be found here on how to make a thunderstorm..
And you can simulate lightening by using Wintergreen lifesavers. Go to a really dark room and stand in front of the mirror. Wait a few minutes until your eyes get accustomed to the darkness.Put a Wint-O-Green or a Pep-O-Mint lifesaver in your mouth. While keeping your mouth open, break the lifesaver up with your teeth and look for sparks. If you do it right, you should see bluish flashes of light...
Great Math Lesson: Next time you see a storm, count the number of seconds between when you see the lightning and hear the thunder. Take the number of seconds and divide by 5 and that will tell you how far away the storm is in miles. For example: If you counted 10 seconds between the lightning and the thunder, the lightning is 2 miles away!
We are going to have a Russian meal and then have "Thunder Cake" for dessert...
We are using these books as go-alongs...
The Storm
The Magic School House Kicks up a Storm
Flash, Crash, Rumble and Roll
The Gullywasher
and The Rain
You can find more recipes for "Thunder Cake" here.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - Our time with the Butterflies...
We had a wonderful time this summer raising butterflies... We did the "Painte Ladies" and it was a great learning tool...
Next year, I think we will try our hand a a swallowtail... A neighbor of ours raises different varieties of butterflies every year and I think we will try and get some eggs from her...
Little did I know what care they require... We keep this one in the house...she lives in a playpen and uses a litter box when she is out... She is very tempermental and frequently tries to bite me (quite successfully, I might add) when I am doing something she doesn't want or changing her water...
Rabbits also are finicky eaters... Their carrot intake has to be limited due to high sugar content and they love blueberries, bananas, and apples (I never knew any of this) and dry oatmeal is a treat for them...
They are very smart and love affection on "THEIR" terms...
So this has definitely been a learning experience for the kidlets and ME!!!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - Pictures of our Summer Sports...
This summer we tried our hand (or should I say feet) at soccer... DS loved it, DD tolerated it...*L*
Then we were off to Baseball and T-ball... This was DD's first year with coach-pitch T-ball... She improved as the season progressed and was able to hit without the aide of the T by the end of the season... Her team came in 5th in the tournaments...
DS was on the mound this year and I couldn't have been prouder...He really improved his accuracy when throwing to other bases and his catching improved as well... His team came in 4th in their tournament... Which I was extremely pleased with as they played their 1st game of the tournament with only 4 players (DS and 3 girls) ...His teammates didn't show due to a strom in the area... So not to bad... I was so proud of the fact the 4 of them gave it all they had and didn't want to go down without a fight.... what an effort!!!
DS is the one in black pants in the middle holding the trophy!!!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - July 4th destruction update...
While we were on vacation to Charleston, SC with the Boy Scouts, a horrible storm came through on the 4th of July... Here are some pictures of the destruction that was left in our yard afterwards...
We had only had the swing set about a year, so we thought the homeowner's insurance would cover things... We were sadly mistaken... They said since we didn't have the receipt (a year after it was purchased??) they could only give us 70% of the value... Well, at least it's something...
Now does anyone know where we can get a trampoline at a good price??? *L*
Sunday, August 10, 2008 - An addition to our bible studies...
we are using the Explorer's Bible Study this year for both kidlets and I am thinking about using some of the resources from here to beef up our bible studies... Going through the New and Old Testament, it has some great mazes, coloring pages, and word searches... I also hope to find some crafts to supplement with.
DH took off today to go to a doctor's appointment this morning for some routine bloodwork... So we decided to take the afternoon and go "into town" and catch a movie and dinner...
We had an excellent meal at the Macaroni Grill... (YUMMY!! but definitely not in the budget for a "family meal" ) and then were off to one of the newer theatres in town called the "Pinnacle"... It's an IMAX with an 18 plex...
So, we decided to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth"... It was a really cool movie... In 3D (which cost s an extra $2.50 a person BTW) and with some great special effects...and we got to bring the glasses home and the kidlets were thrilled with them as their "souvineirs"...
It's a great movie and now DS (who's now 8yo.) has decided he wants to read the book... A great way to spark some interest in reading, eh? *L*
Sunday, July 27, 2008 - The "STRESS" of planning our new school year...
Hello everyone!!! Im back...*LOL*
I took some time off to relax and enjoy the summer with the kids...sports, cook-outs, the pool... What fun!!!
We took a trip to Charleston with the Boy Scouts and toured and slept on the Yorktown.. DS gained an appreciation for all the aircraft he saw and even talked about "when I grow up, I want to be a _____" while we were there and on the way home... I think the Navy really impressed him....
But it is that timeagain to plan out the school year... I get nervous every year and worry that maybe I am not prepareing them well enough or that they will miss something in their education because of my lack of planning... I sometimes like to wing things on certain topics... It really stresse me and I am hoping to actually get some great ideas from FIAR friends and take their advise and just relax... *S*
Does anyone else feel this way? And if you do, what do you do about it?
And please share your plan...I welcome all kinds of ideas on different planning methods and schedules...
It is an excellent resource for a free, factual, American History curriculum...I received my CD a couple of weeks ago and just got around to looking at it this weekend... I really like it... It is for middle / high school level, so it will be a while before I get to use it... *S*
This is what is said about the American Heritage Foundation from their website...
"AHEF is a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America's factual and philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among our students and citizens.
AHEF accomplishes this patriotic mission by writing, producing, and distributing FREE K-12 lesson plans to teachers, students, and families in all 50 states and through additional initiatives, programs, and partnerships."
Now on to what we managed to do today... I did well with drinking more water... I took my vitamin, but I had a burger at Wendy's today, YUMMY but definitely not calorie free..*L* And have you heard about the salmonella outbreak in the tomatoes? Well, there was big sign up at Wendy's about no tomatoes being served... I think this will really help some of the area farmers here as they are smaller scale farmers and this will be a boost to the tomato crops in this area.. Last year things were sluggish due to drought... ( I live in the "tomato" capital of Tennessee, we even have a "Tomato Festival" every year..)
DD had ballet again today... then we went to a friend's house and went swimming... what a wonderful way to spend a hot day... *G*
We did manage to get in some school... We played Monopoly Jr. and then read some stuff on "FIREFLIES" to prepare for our campling trip tomorrow... you can check out some of the info we found here.
Well, I am off to finish packing for our trip... Have a great week...
Woke up this morning to my DS complaining of an area behind his knee...I had looked at it last night and it sorta reminded me of an infected hair follicle or a small boil... This morning, it was really inflamed, red and hot to the touch... I took him to the local doctor where I was told he thinks DS was bitten by something Saturday and that it has become really infected.. So now he is on antibiotics and I am cleaning it twice a day with Hibiclens solution...
Then we were off to a ballet workshop for DD... She had so much fun... I sort of hate that she will miss the last 2 days of it this week due to our camping trip, but I think we will have just as much fun playing in the creek, watching the fireflies, and making smores...YUMMY!!!
I also started my new routine today... I am trying to make an effort to be more healthy... My goal is just to exercise in some way every day and be more conscious of the food I am eating and to DRINK MORE WATER!!!
So far, I did pretty well... I did drink a couple of glasses of lemonade, but it is water based...*L* but i also played in the pool for several hours today doing some water exercises... So, I think I am off to an ok start...
Monday, June 9, 2008 - Camping with the kidlets...
This week I am challenging myself... I am taking my kidlets camping by myself... We are going to Elkmont in the Smoky Mtns. to see the "Synchronized Fireflies" . which is considered to be a "modern day phenoman" as they were once only thought to be found in Southeast Asia... I tried to get a spot for the weekend, but it is booked a year in advance for this time of year due to the immense number of people from all over the world that come to see the fireflies...
So, I decided to be brave and take my kids myself... We leave Wednesday and are going to stay until Friday evening... I will update everyone on how it goes...Just pray that I don't forget any necessities and that I can actually get tent set up...*L*
Tonight was our commencement for VBS... It was great... The kids really had a good time this week at VBS and we had 2 of the older kids come to know the Lord...HALLELUJAH!!!
So all the classes did a little performance or rectied things they had learned this week... Our class, the 4-5 yr. olds sang a song and did a little dance to go with it....
After the commencement, we all gathered in the fellowship hall for desserts.... The kids had a wonderful time and are so prooud of the things they learned and made this week... and the sugary snacks also ranked high up on the list...*L*
And I guess one of the things that I loved most was the motto, which I am going to use this summer for some of our Bible studies... And one of the older boys who attends church with us, proved this motto this week to me... I had bagged up some of DH's clothes that he could no longer wear (yes, he has gained some weight, *G*) and I had given them to this young man since they were still in good shape...My DH had left $41 dollars in one of the pockets, (which lasted through the washer and dryer)...This young man brought me the money and siad he had found it in the pocket, we never even knew it was there... His honesty stuck with me and really helped reinforce this weeks motto for me...
KNOW THE TRUTH, SPEAK THE TRUTH, LIVE THE TRUTH.....
This afternoon we went to see Kung Fu Panda with DC's karate class... It was a great movie... It taught an excellent lesson in that we have to believe in ourselves and that's what makes each of us special... I definately would recommend it as a "family must-see"...You can check out more about the movie here ...
Finally some time to get caught up on our blog and what we have been up to....
It seems that lately we have been running so much, that I feel like a hamster caught in a wheel...*L*
Our weeks have been filled with karate 2x a week, Soccer practice on Thursday evenings, 2 baseball games a week plus a T-ball game a week and then the soccer games for both kidlets on Saturday morning...I mean WHEW!!!
and then this week was VBS at our church...
Beginning last Saturday (the kick-off cookout for all the kids) , our pastor (who is also a police chaplain)arranged for the area "Rescue and Search" dog teams to come out for the kids...There were 3 dogs with their handlers and they did several little run throughs for us and they had "trading cards" with the dogs pictures on them for the kids... They took my DD headband and let the dog sniff it and then pick her out of a line of all the kids..It was so cool...The dog (a hound, just like Jed Clampetts) came right up to her and tapped her on the chest... She wasn't too sure about that though...*L*
For our week of VBS, DH and I taught the 4-5 yr.old class... It was lots of fun... They are such little sponges, totally absorb everything that they come into contact with... they knew the motto before Wednesday... this years theme was "Outrigger Island" and was really cool....
And last but not least, we got our pool up again for the summer...YEAH!! I think we have decided to wait on getting a better one til' next year... With the economy and gas, you never know what the future is going to hold for family finances...But the pool we got last year is 12' x 3' so I think it will do just fine... and the kids certainly love it...It has been record temperatures for this time of year here and when it's 90 degrees and above, all I want to do is swim...*L*
So, that's where I have been and hope everyone has been enjoying the summer!!!
Saturday, May 24, 2008 - Today's PET PEEVE...SUBWAY RESTAURANTS!!!
Today's pet peeve is SUBWAY!!! Yes... The restaurant chain... yes, the one with the $5 footlongs that my DH loves...
Well, we will no longer be eating there.. Yes, I am boycotting them... After seeing several posts in several homeschool groups that I belong to about their "Fit for Kids" essay contest... I had to of course check it out myself and yes, it appears to be true... HOMESCHOOLERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER!!!
You can check it out for yourself here. And if you would like to also post a complaint to SUBWAY, you can do that here.
Hi!! I'm Lisa... Homeschooling mom to 2 wonderful kidlets and this is a journal to share our family life and learning adventures with you...Have a great day and thanks for sharing it with us!!!
