Posted in whimsical quips
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The other we were looking at Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites - The Foot Book. The 7yo asked how you can have "sick feet"? I had to think a minute than reminded him of when he stepped on a nail a little over a month ago. He had a sick foot than. "But that was just one sick foot. It says feet so it means both. How do you get two sick feet?" The 4yo piped up, "Step on two nails."
 Sounds like the solution to me!!
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Posted in Deep Thoughts
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I have said it and I have heard it said by other home school Mothers – “I don’t know if my child is learning anything but I sure am!!” Home schooling, has nothing to do with text books – math, reading, handwriting, science and other forms of so called “formal” learning but it has everything to do with sharpening dull rocks into finely sharpened arrows. The end product is strictly up to us as the parent. This is both scary and challenging as you are working with several different personality types and living in a society that no longer values righteousness. I can truly say I feel sorry for, and yet at the same time envy, Mother’s who can pat their kids on the head, kiss their sweet cheeks and send them off to some institution for 8 hours or more a day to be trained by other people.
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To read other peoples articles who participated in this memePosted in Homeschooling Adventures
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Throw out those Text books and pull out the games!! Games can be a great way to learn (maybe even better) and you can have a lot of fun in the process!!  The first game of choice has been Tally HO! We have actually worn this game out and we have only had it for three months. It is a spin off of checkers, created in Germany, it helps work on those critical thinking skills. It is actually for 8 years and up but our 7 yo has gotten the hang of it. He just didn't win very many games but this really wasn't a problem. The tables have turned though. Some of the important pieces of the game are now "marked" which only 7yo's seem to be able to figure out so now the 7yo is whooping the adults. It has complimented our math program (math-U-See) quit well since it includes skip counting by 2, 3, and 5 and "re grouping" (or carrying). Tally HO has revived an interest in learning to play checkers and learning to play chess.  Sorry - even the 4yo can play this. It is helping him learn to count and building his attention span.  They greatly enjoy getting the "sorry" cards and sending someone back to start. No proper horse people can be without the game Pony - oply. This game requires counting, adding, and subtracting. Along with a little horsing around. The kids love it but, yes, it is a very long, long, long, long, long game. Do start in the middle of the afternoon.   Scrable Junior is the latest game we have been playing. The 7yo has been catching on to this.   Stay tuned for Part 2 - will be coming to another Show and Tell Friday some time in the distant future. |
For more show and tell Friday visit Posted in Kids Antics
 For more Thankful Thursday!!We are Thankful for new shoes!!    Our little pony is Thankful for the box!!   Light up shoes at that!!  Woo - hoo!! |
Posted in Kids Antics
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More wordless wednesday with 
Posted in Husband Antics
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This is the latest house that my husband built. The house is 3200 square feet, it has a full basement - the basement is made out of arrax block. More on that later.  the garage  the shop from a distance   the entrance the back -  the area is actually the dining area the kids taking a ride  |
For more show and tell Friday visit Mary aka Posted in Kids Antics
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Posted in Kids Antics
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Posted in Kids Antics
 Daaa-vv-eeyy, Davey Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier Buffalo Bill For more Friday Show and Tell - visit Mary at Canadagirl |
Posted in Kids Antics
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Posted in MoneyMatters
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Give your own hair cuts. |
Posted in Deep Thoughts
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While visiting with friends one day there was a discreptancy among our two boys. We did the "good American" thing and had the older boy say "I'm sorry" to the younger child - then there is the hug and make-up ritual and everything is all better now. End of story. Our friend watched the process and, afterward, said this: Before we come to Christ we
1. need to recognize that we are sinners in need of a saviour. Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 2. Repent of your sins Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 3. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour. Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 4. Turn away from your wicked ways Eze 33:14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 5. Sin no more Joh 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Here's the scenario - Johnny takes a toy from Katey - Teacher tells Johnny to give the toy back to Katey, Teacher now makes Johnny say "I'm sorry," hug, make-up and all is better now.
Or is it
Not more than two hours later this is repeated again- To truly be sorry about something one needs to recognize the "action" is sin, repent of this sin, than turn from this sin, and than not continuing the action - you now recognize that it is sin.
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? To look further at the scene - Teacher pats Johnny on head, tells him what a good boy he is and what not - Johnny now feels good about himself and has now learned how to manipulate the system or become a good liar. The "Christian" churches of today teach the same philosophy but concerning salvation instead - Just "believe" in Jesus as Lord and now your saved - Your "IN"......Jesus Loves U - oh, did we tell you about all the amazing stuff He wants to give you......This is much different than what it says in Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. God is not mocked - Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. He knows the heart...Jer. 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all, things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? One of our favorite child trainers tells the story of when his daughter became a believer - He simply said "We'll see 6 months from now and left it at that." 2Co 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. Now when our children do something that needs to be called an "I'm sorry" we show them that what they did is SIN, we inform them that sin is what separates us from God and that if they are really sorry, they won't do it again. Bad behavior does not get rewarded - we say We'll See - after all, when it comes to our children occupying heaven or hell this is nothing to play around with. A result of this is our children recognizing what SIN is. A couple weeks ago my 7yo came up to me and apologized to me for not listening to me earlier in the day. I could see that his apology was sincere, after all he had had over 3 hours to think about his action. Over the course of the next couple days I could tell that he was really trying hard to listen. This is met with praise and encouragement. He is learning the difference between right and wrong. This is preparing him to hear the Father knocking on his hearts door and making a heart that will be moldable by God. This makes for one proud Momma!! |
Posted in Kids Antics
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Posted in Homeschooling Adventures
My tightwad tip for this week is build your own shelving. It is extremely cheaper than buying it and all you need is some screws, a screw gun, and some boards. Yes and maybe a saw.  This project went along real well with the 7yo's math lessons this past week. The 4yo put screws in the holes. The 7yo holding the boards in place. Notice their fancy aprons. The got them for free at the Home and Garden show this past weekend, they were very proud of them.  The 2yo worked on sanding a little. Here is a picture of the shelf in the office. The nice thing about building your own, you can customize them to any size you want, just be sure to put in lot of bracing as well. This book shelf is in our office. This is were all my books are stored.  This is the one we just built. It is for all the games and miscellaneous things one collects while home schooling.For more Tightwad Tuesday tips - visit Mary at Canadagirl |
Posted in Day to Day Adventures
This past weekend we installed our window sills in the windows. Everybody had a job. The 7yo vacuumed them out. The 4yo had a board to measure the edges to see if they would fit. They all helped put them in place. The 2yo tried to help. window sill in her room.  The boyz room. We also got the vent system covered above the stove. We got the last window sill installed Wednesday night.  Just one of five hundred more projects accomplished.For more Show and Tell Friday - visit Mary at Canadagirl |
Posted in MoneyMatters
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Yes, the Money Saver. This little paper has saved us heaps of money this past year.  We found our piece of land in it and got it much cheaper than the going rate. It even had a hay shed on it which made it worth much more.  We found our Surbanan in it. Plus, we advertised our last house in it. Hurray for the money saver. Believe me though. I had spent a lot of time looking through it. I looked every Thursday for a piece of land for at least the last 3 years. One has to be a hunter to find the good deal. Act fast too, it just so happened I was the first person to call on the piece of land that Thursday morning, other people know the secret too. For more Tightwad Tuesday visit Candagirl |
Posted in Day to Day Adventures
 Must Do - Have a pile of laundry that needs to be folded/put away Be sure to make the meat sale at Rosauers on Thursday Get back into some sort of routine again. Menu Planning - Monday - Chicken Enchilada Tuesday - Something with spaghetti sauce Wednesday -Potato Chowder Thursday - something with chicken Friday - Pizza (Maybe) or roast something over the camp fire
Saturday - LeftoversSunday - Church Group Supper Home keeping - Reorganize boys' bedroom. Going to try to get one more box emptied out. Get our bedroom some what cleaned up again. Throw some more boxes away in the garage. Train Them Up - Try to ease back into our school work again, mainly only math was put aside while everyone was sick. 7yo also stepped on a nail so I let him take sometime off. He did build a fire pit last week though and is working on cutting up our HUGE pile of tree limbs. They have started a fire twice in it. This is a fun project for the boys. I was thinking that I would get a couple books on cooking over the camp fire. This would excite them a lot. We would have to get a "dutch oven", I was looking last night to see what would work. We could also try making our own marshmallows out of real marshmallow like they use too. I also have a recipe for gram crackers we could try. It would be a fun way to learn history as well. The 4yo has been showing some interest in learning his letters and #'s. I have been trying to come up with fun, little projects that will help him along in this area but not over tax him. I found a cookie recipe (like sugar cookies). He had a lot of fun rolling these out last week and using the cookie cutters I got a while back at Joannes. They are in the shape of the alphabet and #'s and other miscellaneous things. He greatly enjoyed this. Bible Study/devotions - I got a great email from the Urban Homemaker this past week. To read the article click on the link. Here is my working definition of Perfectionism:
Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one Jer. 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all, things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; Man only deceives himself if he thinks he can make himself a better person. |
Posted in Day to Day Adventures
  A Documentary film from Executive Producer Ricki Lake and Director Abby Epstein"But as I did the research, I discovered that the business of being born is another infuriating way medical traditions and institutions – hospitals and insurance companies – actually discourage choice and even infringe on parents’ intimate rites, ultimately obstructing the powerful natural connection between mother and newborn child." Abby Epstein. The ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) recently made a statement which reinforces their opposition to home birth (and perhaps their opposition to BOBB) "Childbirth decisions should not be dictated or influenced by what's fashionable, trendy, or the latest cause célèbre". It's interesting to contrast the ACOG statement to a 2005 study by the British Medical Journal which collected data from more than 5000 women planning home births with Certified Professional Midwives in the U.S. and Canada, and found that outcomes for mothers and babies were the same as for low-risk mothers giving birth in hospitals, but with a fraction of the interventions. It's also interesting to compare the ACOG statement with the joint statement on home birth made by the UK's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives in April 2007 which opens by saying, "there is ample evidence showing that labouring at home increases a woman's likelihood of a birth that is both satisfying and safe." We at BOBB do not endorse one type of birth over another, but we do feel strongly that women deserve to have access to all the available information. It is time to take ACTION AGAIN!
The more people go out to see it, the bigger chance that they will show it in other towns. This will help educate people about the truth. It's time women know about the joys of child birth. That child birth is not a "problem" or an ailment but instead it can be an empowering and wonderful experience. Did you know that there is only one independent practice of Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) who attend both home and hospital births in the Chicago area. There are only THREE midwives who can legally attend a homebirth in Chicago! Of course, there are many Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) attending homebirths across the state, but they are forced to practice illegally because Illinois is one of the 10 states that does not offer them licensure. Idaho being one of those states right now. As you read this a bill is the House to help Midwifery in Idaho and "they" aren't passing it!!
And you thought we lived in a free country!!How you can help - Spread the word about this film is will be showing in Palm Desert, CA - Tulsa, OK - Omaha, NE - Seattle, WA To learn more on how you can get involved go to the Business of Being Born site. Disclaimer: Not responsible for any extra emails you might get do to participating. Sometimes freedom comes with a cost. |
Posted in Kids Antics
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OR maybe I should say boy! I have been buying all these great things to help make life more organized and product around our house but who do I find to put them together -
 Waa - Laa - The Mustang Boy          It's a Dog Leash.Hope you have a great Friday!! |
Posted in Book Reviews
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A friend of mine introduced me to a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious. My first reaction to this book was Yuck and no way!! But as I looked through the book further I found the recipes very "do able" so I headed to the library to check it out for myself. The idea behind the book is to get your kids to eat more veggies and since the grocery store was having a 13 hour produce sell, I decided to give it a try. The first thing she does is walk you through how to cook, steam and puree up your vegetables. I found this to be some valuable information since I have found that too many cookbooks assume you know how to do that and just get started. Her nutrition facts are "out dated" since we know the little food pyramid only leads to things as diabetes, heart attacks, high cholesterol and mainly most of the worlds health problems of today so I just ignored this part of it. She is right in the fact though that we don't incorporate enough vegetable into our diet or like me, don't know how to incorporate them into our daily meals. The first recipe I started with was the oatmeal. We eat lots of oatmeal and it can get very boring having the same old thing. "The Books" suggestion was to add 1/4 a cup of sweet potato puree or pumpkin. We tried the sweet potato. I am sorry, it tasted like I was eating vegetables but it was somewhat edible. I at least got it down and it didn't revolt me as much as I thought it would.  I even thought I would try it again. Note: Kids asked for this again a couple days later. They actually like it!!Next, I headed for the pancake recipe. This called for 1/2 cup sweet potato puree. I made the batter up the night before, therefore, my husband was absolutely clueless.  (This is deception at its finest. ) Outcome: he new there was something wrong with them from the get go. What's wrong with the pancakes, he said. Yum, nothing! He agreed that they were edible, I could probable get away with it again.I saved the rest of my breakfast experiments to perform on the kids (sinister laugh). Scrambled Eggs with 1/2 cup cauliflower puree -  - I recommend serving this with a bottle of ketchup and about 3 gallons of orange juice to wash it down (luckily we had some in the fridge). Mine still wants to come back up . I do not recommend this to any pregnant ladys, the smell alone is enough to gag you. Maybe have a few essencial oils on hand like peppermint or something citrus to sniff. In the words of the 7yo (after his first bite), "Ewww, gross." He quickly warned the younger siblings,"It's okay if you don't eat the white stuff." (This is impossible since it is all creamed together) And remember, If you won't eat it, don't make your kids eat it.For lunch: Mac and Cheese - I omitted the 1/2 cup cauliflower puree (just can't handle that). I am always looking for a really good Mac n' cheese recipe but haven't found one yet. I thought for sure this one would be great because it called for cream cheese. The 7yo informed me it was excellent and I could cook this one again. It did have a sour milk taste, I am not sure why. After he was all done though he did inform me that the orange stuff from the box was better and I should fix that one again. This was better the next day.Her second recipe for Mac and Cheese called for 1/3 cup of pureed navy beans. This added extra protein to the mac and cheese. This actually was quite yummy. The husband happened to be home and ate some and gave it a  .Deviled Eggs with Cauliflower puree or carrot puree - I used the carrot puree, it gave it kind of a sweet taste. The kids loved it. Dinner consisted of : Sloppy Joes with sweet potato puree and red pepper puree - I omitted the sweet potato but I did add the red pepper. I also used my own recipe. This wasn't bad. Of course, I didn't hear anyone say they wanted to have it again. I threw the rest of the red pepper puree in my spaghetti sauce a few nights later. Aloha Chicken Kebabs with 1/2 cup sweet potato puree and 1/4 pineapple puree and 1/4 cup flaxseed meal - This wasn't to bad. The flaxseed meal is a great idea. I have added this to my other recipe for chicken strips. Rice Balls with 1/2 cup sweet potato puree and broccoli - I omitted the broccoli. Other than that this really is pointless, other than you can stretch a small piece of meat a loooonnnnngggggg way. The kids had fun making this as well. It does need some kind of sauce or something, I haven't figured out what it should be yet. Quesadillas - This was all right. It needs a little refining. She added navy beans pureed to the sauce for extra protien. I am sure you could probable use any kind of bean you wanted to. I was thinking about black beans. We also made home made flour totillas with this. They needed a little refining, as well, but again it was a great project with the kids. Let's not forget dessert: Graham Cracker Ice Cream sandwiches - It probable wasn't best to try this in the middle of winter with snow on the ground. The kids loved it of course, that 1 cup sugar does the trick. Her husbands remark is he wants to have this his last day (I think she has brain washed him personally - just go out and buy me a box of ice cream sandwiches, a greasy hamburger and fries and throw in a few milkshakes - if I die before I digest it all, I will be fine otherwise I will wish I were dead).) Marshmallow Crispy Treats - I tested these out on our home church group. They were made with brown rice (I just added a little brown rice so there wouldn't be any surprises) and 1/4 cup ground flax seed meal. This is a great way to get those Omega 3's.Carrot Cake Muffins - Well, I think I forgot a cup of flour but can't be sure if I did  or not. If you smother them in cream cheese frosting they are just fine. Her remark on these is that her friends come over when they know she has made them and they are gone before the kids get any. I don't think that is going to happen but I do think they are edible enough to make them for the church fellowship group.I made her banana bread recipe as well but I omitted the califowler puree so I won't be able to give you a true honest assement of it. This also had Flax seed meal in it as well. There are still many more recipes that I have yet to try. These are just a few that I found simple. I do think some things are best to just leave raw, like broccoli and cauliflower. Like I said before, the recipes are very do able. It is probable one of the first cookbooks that I have tried more than one recipe, actually I think it is the only cookbook but I have to get the book back to the library because it is now over due. If you aren't afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new and different this cookbook would probable be very appealing to you. If you already like your veggies this cook book would probably be very appealing to you. If you need to eat more veggies but just don't know how to incorporate them in your eating than this book is definately for you. I did go out and buy the book. |