The Daily McBlog - Homeschool Blogger

Holiday Weekend Blessings

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:47:00 -0600

I hope that everyone in blogland had a blessed Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends(or, if you haven't celebrated yet, then blessings to you!). We were able to host Eric's parents this year for Thanksgiving Day. I love hosting on Thanksgiving. I very much enjoyed baking and food prep all day on Wednesday. The kids and I made strawberry creamcheese breakfast muffins to eat during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (pet-peeve...when people call it the Macy's Parade and leave out the Thanksgiving part, which is the point of the day, to give thanks to GOD!). We made cranberry bread since we had just been learning with the help of a fabulous children's book called Cranberry Thanksgiving. It has been one of our favorites so far this year (Ava even asked Grandma to read it to her yesterday), though the Five in a Row books are all so terrific that it is challenging to pick a single favorite! I also made a delicious apple crumb cheesecake, baked sweet potatoes for a casserole and got my stuffing mixed for the turkey (but didn't stuff it until the morning). It was a busy, busy day, but it was so much fun and worth it because I was able to watch the parade with the kids! Having the kids help in the kitchen was a blast. We also spent time turning sugar cookies into turkeys, a treat we saw in a Pillsbury ad. I'm not a fan of the cookies, but I am a fan of how completely adorable they are and of the family time we had while making them.

Thanksgiving Day started at a decent hour for a change. Our turkey was only 13 lbs, so I didn't get up too early. Next time, I'll just get up early because it took much, much longer than it should have to roast. I would rather it be done an hour or two early than an hour or two late. This was my big frustration on Thanksgiving. I am a planner. I try to think through every detail. Sometimes I miss a few, but I try to plan as much as possible to make things streamlined as much as I can. A turkey taking 2 extra hours to cook was not on my list of planned for details. The good news? It was delicious, and no one died of starvation. This is America, after all, where few people have any understanding of what it means to be starving. This is one of Eric's newest pet-peeves. Any time the kids say they are starving, he quickly points out that they are not starving and reminds them not to say it again. I have to work on this myself because I know I am guilty of saying it too.

After Thanksgiving dinner was eaten and tummies were stuffed (some more than others), we visited with Eric's folks for a while and then played a couple games before enjoying dessert together. It was a pleasant day. It felt odd to have such a small crowd, but we still had a blessed day.

The rest of this holiday weekend has been amazing as well. Eric had to work part of yesterday (and part of Thanksgiving as well), but I can't complain about that. He's only working part-time at United Dairy Farmers. I am extremely thankful that he had that job in place before having to go on unemployment for his regular job. Speaking of which, please be praying for us. We're still waiting on unemployment to come through and haven't had a paycheck in a month other than the very small UDF checks. We would appreciate your prayers during this very challenging time! One of the many things that we have been able to thank God for during this season of Thanksgiving has been provision. He truly is providing for all our needs!

We pulled out the Christmas decorations yesterday. The tree was assembled last night, and we spent most of today decorating after Eric and I slept late. We decided to use my grandparent's garland on the tree this year. It's older than I am. When we were first married, my mom gave us some of it to use on our tree. There wasn't enough for the whole tree (she gave half to Cassie since she got married that same year), and we were so poor that year as we were still in college that we couldn't purchase anymore. The next year, when we both had jobs, we were able to find some that matched it pretty well. With what we added to it, the tree is perfectly decorated with gold and white garland, and you can't tell which is which because it matches so well! It's special to me to have their garland on the tree. When the kids said they wanted to use the gold this year (we have silver as well), I asked them if they knew why it was so special. I guess this is one of those stories that they've heard a few times because Lukas kind of rolled his eyes, tilted his head to the side and said, "Yeeesss, cuz it was your grandma's." Heehee! Yep, that's right. It sure was, and I love it even if it isn't what I might have chosen myself. It will have a roll in our Christmas decorating until it completely falls apart!

The rest of the house is decorated as well. Eric is going to vacuum for me in a little while (we desperately need a new vacuum cleaner with a hepa filter so that I can do it myself. I can't tell you how sick I get if I'm in the same part of the house as the ancient, barely working vacuum cleaner we are currently using...it is also older than I am). After that, we'll snuggle our kids into bed and watch a Christmas movie together before heading to bed ourselves. Tomorrow is an early day. We get to serve in the choir, which means we need to be at church by 8:30(sometimes, on an early Sunday morning, I must remind myself that this is a blessing...haha!). We'll have a few hours between worship services and returning to church for children's musical rehearsal.

This restful weekend at home has been a blessing. It is much needed as our upcoming schedule is anything but restful. I have considered taking the entire month of December off school, but then we would have to go into June, which I would NOT enjoy, so we're going to push through the best we can in spite of the busyness and still take a 3 week break later in December. I'm excited that My Father's World plans so well that we'll be studying Norway including stories of Saint Nick and reindeer people in the next couple of weeks. How perfectly timed is that? We have some great special events coming up in December as well. We are truly blessed to have so many choices in our lives. I'm going to try to remember that next week when I'm starting to feel overwhelmed with it all. :) It's a blessing to be so busy, but it is also a blessing to have moments at home with your family. Those moments are the most important moments you'll ever have with your kids. Don't take them for granted because they'll be gone before you know it.

In Support of Home Education

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:46:00 -0600

A fellow blogging friend (who you should totally check out...www.homeschoolblogger.com/buckeyeblog) just posted this quote, and I simply had to share it with you. I realize it was said in the UK, but could easily be said about our own system of education as well.

"There is no evidence that this part of the Bill is needed; in fact, the reverse is very much the truth. We have just had the chief inspector saying that 1/3 of state schooling is unsatisfactory, while the true figures on home education say that maybe 1% of home education is unsatisfactory. The phrase involving beams, motes and eyes comes to mind."

~Lord Lucas's, House of Lords - 26 November 2009 [emphasis hers]

The Simple Woman's Daybook #19

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:49:00 -0600

For Today, 23 November 2009

Outside my window...a dreary fall evening, the kind we haven't had very many of this unusually mild fall. I'm not complaining.

I am thinking... about what it really means to be thankful and how to teach that to my little ones.

I am thankful for...my husband who seeks God's will, my kids who make me smile and laugh, and God's provision in difficult of times.

I am wearing... the same pair of worn out sweats I had on last week with a different sweatshirt. :)

I am remembering... all the ingredients I need to prepare Thanksgiving dinner (I hope!).

I am creating... an afghan for Lukas. It's getting close to being done!

I am going... to find a pair of very, very inexpensive size 8 husky black pants for Lukas to wear in the children's musical (again, I hope!).

I am reading... a Gilbert Morris book that I put down a couple months ago and never finished during our busy fall schedule.

I am hoping... for a peaceful, pleasant Thanksgiving Day.

On my mind... what can I sell next?

From the learning rooms... We're continuing to have fun with Cranberry Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we'll be making cranberry bread, of course! We'll be making turkey crafts tomorrow and finishing our studies of South America and the rain forest before taking Wed-Fri off this week.

Noticing that... my kids need more to keep them busy lately. They are going through an arguing stage that is driving this mama up the wall!

Pondering these words... "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle." Samson, as recorded in the book of Judges 14:18. Basically, he called his wife a cow. The things you discover in the Bible are quite interesting, aren't they?

From the kitchen... homemade chicken and dumplings this evening, but later this week the kitchen will be hopping with turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, an apple cheesecake and something I am sure to remember after I post this.

Around the house... cleaning must be accomplished before we have company for the holiday.

One of my favorite things... slower-paced weeks like this one. It's nice to have a break in the schedule now and then, but how blessed are we to have plenty to keep us busy!

Praying for...direction, guidance, provision, peace.

A few plans for the rest of the week... a few errands to run tomorrow, baking, cooking, crafting with the kids, cleaning and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

For more Simple Woman's Daybook information and to join us, see the blog created by the initiator of this great idea!

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Lukas' Story

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:53:00 -0600

It has been a while since I've published anything that the kids have written. Ava hasn't written anything lately, but Lukas has. His assignment in Primary Language Lessons was to use specific words within a story, and I am very proud of the result. I am going to publish here for your enjoyment complete with his mistakes. We are learning about rough drafts and final drafts, but I think it's more fun to know how he really wrote it. I like to remember it that way. So here you go...

Hi. my name is Frank Wilson. I am a owner of a horse. I think I'm going to half to get rid of him soon. I think I'm going to get rid of him cause I lost five bucks. If I had them I would be able to keep him.

So I entered a race to win five dollars. I ran and ran and won. I put the money in my pocketbook. I was so happy. That reward made it so I could keep my horse.

The end.

Here's what caught the teacher's eye...He remembered to indent the second paragraph but not the first. We've been talking about indenting paragraphs lately, so I was glad he remembered it even once! I also loved that he wrote "half" instead of have, a mistake at which he rolled his eyes when I showed it to him. I I also giggled about the $5, which I am certain would provide great care for a horse...if we lived in the year 1800 maybe.

We haven't worked as much on writing this year as we have in past years. It's something on which we'll have more time to focus now that our co-op isn't meeting for a few months. Co-op is fun, but it sure is nice to have the break to focus on having a five day school week!

More stories will come your way in the near future!

Simple Woman's Daybook #18

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:06:00 -0600

For Today, 16 November 2009

Outside my window...the day is growing dark. A new layer of leaves covers my lawn. Eric and the kids are raking them onto the garden.

I am thinking... that I need to figure out a way to thrive in my current, difficult circumstances because, at this point, I am doing anything but thriving.

I am thankful for...surprises..The surprise that came in our mailbox on Saturday...movie tickets complete with free popcorn and soda coupons for an upcoming date night, and the surprise that came from Eric's UDF boss today, a Thanksgiving turkey and a few things to go with it. God provides abundantly more than we could ever ask.

I am wearing... my favorite pair of well-worn sweatpants with an even older, too-big sweatshirt (purchased while I was expecting Ava).

I am remembering... to expect Ava to respond to situations like a 5 year old, not like an 8 year old.

I am creating... a yummy Thanksgiving menu and fun crafts and activities to do with the kids this week as we prepare for Thanksgiving Day.

I am going... to paint a shelf for Ava's room.

I am reading... Cranberry Thanksgiving. Thank goodness the Westerville Library had it available! I hope it was worth the trip there to get it. ;)

I am hoping... to find a way.

On my mind... shopping for Christmas gifts for my children.

From the learning rooms... Cranberry Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving crafts, activities and lessons, a brief study of Nate Saint that will simply have to land us at Missionary Maintenance Services in Coshocton for a field trip sometime soon(similar ministry)! How fun will that be to share with my kids (because I am remembering a CYC field trip to that very place when I was a little girl)!

Noticing that... I enjoy something about each new stage of childhood, but I miss the little things that disappear when another stage has passed.

Pondering these words... "Dad, it's alright if you don't buy me very much for Christmas this year because Santa will bring me lots of stuff." Lukas, age 8. Yep. That broke my heart.

From the kitchen... homemade chili and corn bread, and a fresh loaf of bread for tomorrow will be baking before I head to bed.

Around the house... more and more stuff is disappearing through Ebay sales. Yay!!!

One of my favorite things... weekends at home. It is rare to have a full weekend at home, and this past weekend was one of those (other than going to church).

A few plans for the rest of the week... finishing the Thanksgiving menu so I can shop for ingredients and a fun field trip to our local science center.

For more Simple Woman's Daybook information and to join us, see the blog created by the initiator of this great idea!

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Love a Child

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:41:00 -0600

I was thinking today about how easy it is to make sure your children feel loved, and then I was thinking about how many children don't feel loved even though it is easy to show them. A day doesn't go by that I don't tell my children that I love them. No matter what your child's love language is, I firmly believe that children need to be told they are loved every single day, and so I continue this quest to tell my children as often as possible that I love them. I don't tell you this to boast because I don't think that it's boast-worthy. It simply is part of the parental code. If you have a child in your life, tell them you love them. It's that simple.

On the topic of love languages, it took me until Lukas was 6 to get a firm handle on what his primary love language might be. Oh, I know there are naysayers out there who disregard this topic altogether, but I have found great value in the concept of love languages. I believe that we all feel love in our own way. Lukas needs our time. He needs us to spend time doing things with him, anything at all. This is easy for me because I spend so much time teaching school with him and planning projects and crafts. I cook with both kids, plan field trips, read to them, etc... We're always spending quality time together. It's a little more challenging for Eric since Lukas seems to think that Daddy is one big playmate. He needs Daddy to play with him. Basketball, soccer, a trip to the park, wrestling on the living room floor, Wii, board games, whatever...He wants Daddy's playtime, and Eric loves to spend this kind of time with him. Today, they're hanging Christmas lights together, a tradition to which Lukas looks forward each year and a simple way for Eric to show him love.

Ava's love language was a little more obvious to me. Since she was a baby, she has been a snuggler. If she is within reach, she must be touching you. She still loves to caress our faces, arms, and hands whenever she is trying to show love to us. She still wants to be carried when we go places because it brings her closer to us. She likes to sneak into our bedroom in the middle of the night so that she can cuddle between us. Physical touch is extremely important for her, and it's easy for us to accommodate her. I love to snuggle with my girl!

We make sure we meet these needs for our children in addition to telling them that we love them. Isn't that what a parent should do? I think so. How hard is it to say, "I love you" once or twice a day? It makes my heart hurt to think about all the children who have never heard those words, who have never felt that kind of love at all.

Children, not just my own, mean the world to me. You may have guessed this. If there is a way to show love to a child, I want to be a part of it. Obviously, this is not always a tangible possibility, but sometimes, there are ways to help give a child joy. One of my absolute favorite projects that I look forward to year after year is Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan's Purse. You may have heard of it. If not, go to their website and check it out. It's easy to participate. You simply pack a shoebox with small toys, school supplies, toiletries or any number of suggested items from their website, take the filled box to a designated drop-off site, and then Samaritan's Purse will take the boxes and ship them to a child in another country who would not receive any Christmas gift otherwise.

I love this project. We usually do two boxes, one for a boy and one for a girl, although, this year, I am afraid we will not be able to fill even one box for the first time in a decade of enjoying this project. Because of this, I have decided to share this on my blog to encourage you to do it if you are able. It is an incredible project to do with your family. My kids always love to shop for the items to send in the box. This is not only a meaningful project for the child who receives your box, but it can be an excellent learning tool to teach your own children compassion, appreciation for what they have and so many more valuable life lessons.

If you take the time to fill a shoebox, please let me know. I would love to hear about it. You can find drop-off sites on the Samaritan's Purse website. National collection week is this week, November 16th-23rd. If you live in the Columbus area, Grove City Church of the Nazarene is a drop-off site.

Also...if this concept of love languages is new to you, check out Gary Chapman's books, The Five Love Languages or The Five Love Languages of Children. You can also find more information on his website, http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/.

The Simple Woman's Daybook #17

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 13:19:00 -0600

For Today, 9 November 2009

Outside my window...is another warm, autumn day which allows the children to jump into piles of leaves and to create leaf houses just like I did when I was a little girl.

I am thinking... that I run into trouble when I try to think too far ahead. One step at a time, one moment at a time is all I can handle sometimes.

I am thankful for... gas in my car and food on my table.

I am wearing... jammies. I have had an "I haven't taken the time to get a shower yet" kind of day.

I am remembering... so much. Too much to list here.

I am creating... plans to make Thanksgiving crafts.

I am going... to stop thinking for other people. Sometimes, people just need to figure it out themselves.

I am reading... Ginger Pye.

I am hoping... that ducks are in a row without me having to put them there.

On my mind... the stress of not knowing.

From the learning rooms... cursive writing is going very well for Lukas, which is much changed from a month ago. Ava is reading and doing Explode the Code mostly on her own!

Noticing that... if you do too much for someone, they will always expect you to do too much for them.

Pondering these words... God chooses people to be heroes because they were faithful in the small things.

From the kitchen... freshly baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies will be baking later today for tomorrow's co-op pizza potluck(i.e. they're ordering pizza, and we're supposed to bring desserts/drinks/chips). Can you smell them? ;) Fresh baked honey wheat bread will also be baking in the bread machine. Love the smell of baking bread!

Around the house... yard work is getting accomplished. Leaves are raked and will be bagged or mulched or composted in the garden. Herbs are picked and drying in the kitchen. I'm sorting things in the house to sell on ebay and Craig's list. Much is being accomplished!

One of my favorite things... going to our church. Grove City Church of the Nazarene is the perfect fit for our family. I am so happy to be serving and growing together with such an incredible family of believers.

A few plans for the rest of the week... I'm going to scrapbook Friday night with the ladies at Crosslink Community Church! I can't wait!!!

For more Simple Woman's Daybook information and to join us, see the blog created by the initiator of this great idea!

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

A Happy Saturday

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 18:38:00 -0600

Today was a happy Saturday. We started our day earlier than most Saturdays and headed to church for Bible quizzing. Lukas is a "quizzer" this year. The Nazarene quizzing program is phenomenal. We are amazed at how much he is learning on their quest through the books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth this year. They're still studying Joshua at this point, and I am pretty sure he knows more than I do about that particular book of the Bible, though I have learned quite a bit through helping him to prepare for the quiz meet. I am the most proud of him for memorizing all 10 Bible verse/passages that he had to know for this event. He knew them all, hands-down! If I said the verse, he could tell me the reference. If I said the reference, he could tell me the verse. 10 Bible passages that he's learned over a little over 2 months was pretty good work in my opinion, especially considering that I have him learning different verses for school (I am considering changing that, but why fix something that isn't broken?)!

I love the way this program is designed. It is obvious that this program is well established in the Nazarene church. Since we are relatively new to attending a Nazarene church, we were unfamiliar with their quizzing program until now. Lukas uses it as his morning devotions. He works through a little each day. I don't even have to remind him. He is enjoying it that much! They also use some great multi-media tools to help the kids learn and study during their weekly time together. Lukas comes home singing the Bible verses. As I mentioned in my last blog, he was singing them Elvis style last night. At any rate, I believe I have taken a tangent from my original purpose of writing, but now you know a little about the Nazarene quizzing program for kids. If you get a chance to try it with your child, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

After we were done with quizzing for the day, we came home on this lovely fall day with several ideas of what we could get done. There's always something that needs to be accomplished. Unfortunately, I did not accomplish much. I can admit it. I chatted with a dear friend on Facebook, and that was worth my time. I cut the rest of the sage from my herb garden, tied it into bunches and hung it to dry in the kitchen(technically, Eric hung it for me because I couldn't reach). I started planning the rest of this month's school work. That's it. That's all I accomplished. It was a relaxed Saturday afternoon, the kind of afternoon that comes our way not nearly often enough.

Eric and the kids were a little more productive. They raked the leaves. The kids and the neighbor kids were all buried in the leaves at one point, jumping into the pile and over the pile. With two maples in our back yard and two more hanging over our yard from the neighbor's back yard, there were plenty of leaves to rake into a giant pile. Eric was also buried in the leaves. He's such a cool dad that way. Some years, I get into the leaves too, but I didn't dare with the way my allergies have been lately. It turns out that I might as well have taken the plunge. Just being outdoors taking pictures of them playing while leaf dust floated in the air and picking the sage bundles has left me with a massive allergy headache. I am not complaining though because it was worth the time outdoors on this lovely autumn day!

Since it was so beautiful, Eric made dinner on the grill, which was a treat since I didn't have to cook. BBQ ribs, baked potatoes (on the grill, so they were technically grilled potatoes) and peas. I bought one of those steamer bags of veggies that goes into the microwave. I didn't even realize I had bought it until Eric asked if that was okay to use for dinner (when he is cooking, I am pretty lenient. Whatever he wants to cook is fine with me!). It worked pretty well and made for simple cooking for Eric!

Can you imagine a better way to spend your Saturday? Maybe this isn't your ideal, but it was a great day for us. Of course, I have all kinds of favorite ways to spend a Saturday. This is just one of them. The only downside is that I still have quite a lengthy to-do list. I did one load of laundry instead of 5 as I had planned, and school is not planned for the rest of the month. I'll get to it. It'll all get done. Monday is just around the corner. :)

They Said Something Else

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 20:02:00 -0600

My children have been on a roll this evening saying things that simply make us laugh. Tonight during devotions, we had a discussion about the husband being the leader of the family in the Biblical model of the family. The kids seemed to understand this. I misunderstood at one point thinking that Eric had misspoken and said "leave" instead of "lead." Lukas thought it was quite hilarious that I misunderstood and said, "The husband leads the family and he leaves the family to go make money for us." Yep. That's pretty much how it works around here. I thought it was pretty funny. The good news is that he always comes back.

After this, Ava had to get in on the action by innocently explaining what she expected her future husband to do to properly lead her family. She was sitting on Eric's lap, and she looked up at him and said, "Dad, you know what I want my husband to do to be a leader for me? To be a leader for me, he needs to cook, unless he is sick, then I will cook for him." If that is the definition of godly leadership, then Eric better get on the ball because he is so NOT the one doing the majority of the cooking around here. I couldn't help but smile at that comment. This of course led to Ava's big confession about who her husband would be and more info than we wanted to know. "Dad, I'm in love with Austin! I kisseded him on the cheek before. I'm gonna marry him!"(note, "kisseded" is exactly how she said it). Please rest assured that we do not encourage her to kiss boys other than her brother, and, at some point, we will discuss proper courtship. I think we're safe for a couple more years with her. She's 5. We're safe, right? Please don't tell me if we're not. There are some things that I simply don't need or want to know.

At the end of our family devotional time, we always pray together. Ava prays first, then Lukas prays and then Eric leads us in a family prayer time. Tonight, when it was Lukas' turn, he prayed, "Thank you, God, that dinner was good even though I don't usually like it." How lovely is that? He truly meant it with kindness, and I took it that way. It made me giggle. It's true. He doesn't usually like it when I make stir-fry. He picks the meat from the veggies and eats the rice. Tonight, I made beef stir-fry with strips of meat, mushrooms, onion, red pepper, ginger, garlic, dry mustard, and??? That's right. I neglected to add an ingredient, the ingredient that pulls it all together in my book. Soy sauce. How in the world did I get distracted enough to leave out a main ingredient? Lukas, apparently, does not like soy sauce. I took one bite of my meal and realized that I had forgotten it and added it to my plate. It tasted the same as if it had been cooked into the mixture. Next time, I guess I'll purposefully leave out the soy sauce because it obviously makes it taste a little bit more acceptable to Lukas' pallet.

Earlier this evening, Lukas was making me laugh as well. He loves to be the center of attention. This can be good, and this can be not so good. We're working on helping him figure out when it is appropriate. For instance, pulling your pants to your chest and acting like a "hillbilly" during a brief lecture from Daddy is probably not the most appropriate, but singing Bible verses from memory while holding a homemade microphone and doing an Elvis impersonation? Yep. That's okay. Oh, I guess someone out there might think it was fairly poor judgment, but it pretty much made this mama laugh. He knows those Bible verses.I really don't care if he sings them to me like Elvis. He's going to do a great job at tomorrow's Bible quiz meet, and if he managed to figure out a way to make today's quizzing review marathon a little more fun, then so be it! He's a trip. I love that boy.

I love my girl too. They both entertain us. I am extremely blessed to be their mama. Everyday brings something new and exciting with them around. I am thankful that God chose these two children for us to raise. They bring us joy each and every day.

Pate Chinois

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 15:43:00 -0600

We're studying world geography this year. I decided that we should have a meal from each country that we study. Cooking with the kids is a blast for me, and it is highly educational for them. Ava gets to practice kitchen safety, and Lukas gets to practice his math skills by measuring. Plus, they both love it! This week, we made a Canadian meal. I found interesting things on the internet when I was googling for traditional Canadian recipes. For instance, did you know that seal fin is quite the big deal on the east coast of Canada? I also found a couple recipes for muskrat. Since seal fin is not readily available in central Ohio and muskrat is anything but appealing, we opted for an inexpensive French-Canadian dish similar to shepherd's pie called pate chinois. It's so simple and seems to be so similar to traditional American cuisine, that you won't believe that it's actually a traditional French-Canadian recipe. I found several recipes for this, and I decided to use the one that seemed to be the friendliest for my kids (well, Lukas, mostly, since he's the picky one). Here it is for your enjoyment:

PATE CHINOIS

1 pound ground beef, lamb or pork (we used beef)
1/2 medium onion
1/2 cup green pepper
1.5 cups frozen corn or 1 can whole kernal corn
1 can creamed corn
6-8 servings mashed potatoes (I guessed at this and think we actually had more than this)
1.5 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown ground meat, onion and pepper. Salt and pepper to taste. Drain any fat from meat, and spread meat into bottom of 9x13 casserole dish. Pour whole kernel corn over meat (if using a can, drain water first). Pour creamed corn over the whole kernel corn. Layer the mashed potatoes over this. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the top with cheese and bake for 10 minutes longer.

Note: If your potatoes are not freshly made (ours were cold), you will need to bake this longer. Ours baked for almost an hour because the potatoes were refrigerated. Also, I left the green peppers out because neither of my kids eat them. Normally, I would put them in anyway, but I knew it was going to be a battle to get Lukas to eat this meal. He doesn't do casseroles very well. Let me know if you make this! It's delicious, and it makes a lot! It's a great meal to stretch your grocery buck too!