Our journey as we raise four young men (so far) to serve the Lord. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:58:00 -0600 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:58:00 -0600 I am not a rain loving person. I grew up in California after all, where most years rain is a scarce phenomena. So when I moved to the Seattle area adjusting was hard. The really odd thing is that for as often as it rains here I still don't own an umbrella. My husband says thats because it doesn't really rain- it just drizzles constantly and that is true. Even in Ca. the rain that does fall will drench you quickly. Here though, walking from the car to wherever you are going is likely to just leave a fine mist on your hair and clothes.  I still  try not to go anywhere much in this constant drizzle. Dragging four boys through a puddle filled parking lot is something you quickly learn to avoid. They are good boys- they know not to jump, or even walk heavily through the puddles, but they are boys and expecting them to tiptoe like graceful ballerinas is insanity. Besides, although it comes down in a nice soft drizzle it still accumulates the same on the ground and there is often so much standing water its all a wash anyways- you are going to get wet. This year we have also had a lot of below freezing nights and sometimes days. We have gotten some snow but mostly all that daytime drizzle has turned into ice on our roadways overnight. Since we don't get real winter weather around here  for more than a few days most years there is not much point in our Dept. of Transportation investing a lot in road clearing or salting  equipment. It is standard protocol to call for snow days and as many people as possible just stay home. The boys learned of these "Snow Days" the kids that go to school get and immediately thought something was not working in their favor. They still have school when everyone else is getting their snow days. But on days like today, they see the benefit, Today is absolutely beautiful. The last couple days have been overcast but mostly dry and I have cancelled about half their schoolwork for the opportunity to stretch legs and breathe fresh air. Today, however, is a Sun Day. I call Sun Days on any gorgeous day we get get blessed with between about Oct. and April. As long as they stay playing outside there is no school today (this rule prevents them from wasting the sunshine and staying inside). So while kids across the Puget Sound are getting their sunshine in twenty minute recess sized doses, mine will be climbing their favorite tree and enjoying their Sun Day. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/480064/ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:58:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/480064/ This morning the Lord blessed us with this:   Made getting up early all the more worthwhile. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/426747/ Wed, 14 Nov 2007 09:21:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/426747/ The last couple of days have been the typical northwest dreariness but before that we have had an amazing few weeks. We spent a lot of time outside, doing field trips and just relishing the gorgeous fall days. There will be  plenty of rainy days in the months ahead to be stuck inside doing our typical school stuff. These photos were taken on several different days while we were out and about. Here is the Space Needle caught in the clouds. I looked up and there it was snuggled in downy clouds against a blue sky.       My kids in front of the International Fountain. The jets of the fountain "dance" as music plays. Some of the musical selections are better than others. Notice the squinting eyes, unaccustomed to sunshine.     Pacific Science Center The current featured exhibit at the Pacific Science Center is "Colossal Fossils." Here is one of the fossils in the exhibit.  Basically, his mouth is almost big enough for my three biggest kids.     The tropics have a home at the Butterfly House in the Pacific Science Center. It is warm and well lit any day of the year. The butterflies are amazing. I had a sleeping one in a stroller so I had to take this picture through the glass. This is a not to be missed exhibit.   This is a permanent exhibit where the kids can pretend to be weather forecasters. Watching them figure out how to move in front of the green screen can be funny.         There is an area just for infants and toddlers at PacSci. This is my little guys favorite activity.           Seattle Children's Museum   My kids hamming it up.                 This is not the only exhibit at the Children's Museum,but as far as my boys were concerned, it might as well have been...         I can't wait until this little guy can walk. He is going to have a blast here when he can get around on his own two feet.           Another water play station, another wet baby.                 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423726/ Thu, 8 Nov 2007 21:42:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423726/ It has always been on my heart to let the kids spend more time in the kitchen with me. The dinner hour is really not the time to do it. I have never been much of a baker but store bought cakes and cookies get expensive fast. To solve two desires I put baking with the kids as part of my 1001 Days Challenge. The purpose of this is to teach them some cooking fundamentals while spending that quality one on one time. We used a packaged mix out of the pantry, using the "special" recipe on the side of the box. He did practically all the work himself with me just showing him how along the way. He was mighty proud to share his creation with the family.     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423534/ Thu, 8 Nov 2007 17:05:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423534/ Here is a really good recipe we tried recently. It has been a desire of mine to expand our repetoire of bean recipes since beans are such an economical way to feed a large family. Usually I use dry beans but we recently had a sale on canned beans at the store and I thought it would be a good opportunity to try beans we have never had before. As I opened the cans of beans and caught a whiff I worried this was all a mistake. Later though as my husband looked at the empty pot with ladel in hand I realized I shouldn't have worried.I guess beans just don't smell good in a can. Gather your ingredients: 1/2 cup olive oil 2 large cloves garlic, minced 14 oz. can diced tomatoes 2 Tbsp. fresh sage leaves 1/4 tsp. ground allspice 1/4 tsp. black pepper salt to taste 3 c. drained, cooked, dried cannellini beans (I used 3 cans) 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced (omitted) In a large saucepan heat the olive oil and saute the garlic for one minute. (Garlic burns fast) Add remaining ingredients except parsley to pot. Simmer  for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve parsley at table to sprinkle on soup. Source: The Versatile Grain and The Elegant Bean by Sheryl and Mel London (out of print) My Notes: I didn't drain the tomatoes as this looked a lot drier than we are used to bean soups being. I probably should have  used another can of beans but I had to substitute great northern for one can as it was (the pictures looked the same.)We left out the allspice- hubby had a bad experience with allspice in the Navy. I think next time I will put the shaker on the table because I bet the allspice would have been really good. I didn't bother with the parsley at all. The recipe says it serves six but as a main dish it didn't go that far- next time I might make it half again as much. I just had to share. I have this vision of going out  to my garden and choosing fantastic herbs to add to my dishes. Reality is that so far my gardening efforts have proven laughable and the few herbs that have survived me tend to get forgotten about when it comes time to use them. But not this time; we had fresh sage out of the garden for this recipe:     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423522/ Thu, 8 Nov 2007 16:11:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423522/ We have two boys born on the same day, three years apart. One was early, the other was late- go figure. For birthdays we try to let them pick something fun to do that isn't too expensive then we go out to dinner. This year it was the rock wall at the mall. Happy Birthday boys. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423474/ Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:06:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423474/ Here are a couple of recipes that we have tried over the last couple of weeks that were oh so good. The Sweet and Sour Pork was originally  posted about a month ago at Elizabeth's Clothesline but her blog is no longer there (if you are out there somewhere new please let me know so I can visit). It was too delicious to let fade into Internet ether. If you are still out there Elizabeth- thank you for originally posting it. Sweet and Sour Pork 3-4 pound country style ribs 1/2 c thinly sliced onions 1/2 c sliced bell peppers 1 ( 20 oz) can pineapple tidbits undrained 2 cans ( 8 oz) each tomato sauce 1/2 c packed brown sugar 1/4 c cinder vinegar 1/4 c tomato paste 2 tbs worcestershire sauce 1 clove of garlic salt and pepper to taste   Place ribs in an ungreased 5 qt slow cooker. In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over ribs. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Thicken the sauce if desired. My Notes:  I actually used a pork roast because there were some marked down packages at the store making it cheaper than the country style ribs the recipe calls for.  I cubed it up and fried the meat in a little oil just long enough to brown the outside then added the veggies for just a moment more then put them in the crockpot along with the pineapple (seperated from its juice. I combined the remaining ingredients (including the juice from the pineapple )and used that  to deglaze the frypan to make sure all the good crispies made it into the crockpot. Teriyaki Pork Roast 3 lb Pork Loin Roast, cut to fit in crockpot 3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp vinegar 1 tsp. ground ginger 1/4 tsp. garlic powder 1/8 tsp. pepper 2 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch 3 Tbsp. cold water Place roast in crockpot. Combine all other ingredients except cornstarch and water and pour over roast, turning to make sure entire roast is coated. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Remove roast and keep warm. Combine water and cornstarch in  saucepan stirring until smooth. Add juices from crockpot and bring to boil. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes . Serve with roast. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423396/ Thu, 8 Nov 2007 13:11:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423396/ So I am a little behind on news. A few weeks ago there was a recall on infant cold remedies. I knew I had some in the house so I asked my husband if he knew what the recall was about. He said something about labeling. That was good enough for the current moment and I  figured when we needed to use them I would look up what the recall was for before administering anything. There are a few of us that when we get even a teensy little cold the congestion in our lungs is likely to make you think we are going to keel over from pneumonia at any moment. It sounds horrible and I have lived with it all my life and I passed on the genes for it to at least one of the boys. So when I heard about these little plug-in Vicks machines and these new Sudacare shower tablets that are supposed to help with chest congestion I went looking for them right away knowing it was a matter of time before the first bug of fall came knocking at our door (two days to be exact but that is another story.) While standing looking for these products I noticed a big gaping hole in the product selection and  a sign mentioning that there has been a voluntary recall on the infant cold products because of rare cases of misuse. Which according to this story they aren't even sure that these remedies are the cause (see page 2 paragraph 5 where it says may be warranted - may as in might, maybe, but also maybe not- and paragraph 6  where it mentions they are still investigating.) I really, really, really, hate it when mass sums of people have to suffer because of the actions of a few. It is about 75% of the reason I haven't flown since Sept. 11th. It isn't terrorists I am afraid of. It is the no food except peanuts, nothing liquid over 3 oz. , stand in line for hours and remove your shoes silliness that is supposed to keep us safe,but entirely miserable, that ensures I will never willingly set foot in an airport again. (Terrorists are not the other 25% either, the truth is deep down I have always been afraid of flying and now it is such a royal pain I can justify not doing it anymore.) So you can imagine how frustrating this medicine thing was to me. A few people don't read labels carefully and so now I can't adminster medicine to my baby without checking with the doctor first. I dont know about your kids, but my kids, especially as infants, never get sick at 9:00am on a Wed. morning when every medical person in this time zone is available. No, my kids wait until about 7:00pm on  a Friday night to get sick, when no one is available to tell me how much of what I can safely administer. This is what is truly dangerous. We are at our safest when we can make informed decisions at the moment that those decisons need to be made. Parents need to be able to walk into Wal-Mart at 2:00am and find products with complete dosage instructions that can be safely administered to their young (under 2 years) babies. We should not  have to put things off until Mon. morning or watch our children get so much more miserable that we are scrambling to an emergency room so our little babies can be thoroughly poked and prodded before being  professionally  told "I don't know, must be a cold." Sometimes I think doctors are way too  full of themselves and only out to milk us for as much money as they can get out of us, the supposedly incompetent public. Reading the labels on your medicine is the  most important thing you can do, not just for your babies but for everyone in your household. Last night, we all got sick (ok, so it wasn't Fri but it was after the doctor was closed.) My husband wanted to take NyQuil before bed but he wanted something in the interim to ease his symptoms. So there I am comparing active ingredients and timing instructions to find out what he can take at that moment so that he can still take his NyQuil before bed. I was going to do this nice tutorial on how to read your medicine labels, but I am not a very good photographer and all the pics I took of medicine labels are totally illegible and useless. Luckily, I found a really good site right here at the FDA. There are some nice PDFs (or PowerPoint versions if you have access to that) that go through showing you all the things you should look at and compare when deciding if you can take two medicines together (probably the place where most mistakes are made.) There is one geared toward older children (under students) and one geared toward adults (under consumer). There is also what you should teach kids about medicines at different ages and some worksheets. I thought it was really informative. In the meantime we all have the sniffles here. The really odd thing is that for what seems the  first time ever we all got hit with it at the same time. That is actually a blessing. Normally, one person gets it and just as he is clearing up another  one falls and so on and so on. It can take a good 6-8 weeks to go through a household this size when it goes through at that pace. With everyone getting it all at once we could have this thing escorted out the door in a week or so. Any post about illness require a plug for the importance of handwashing.If you google"handwashing" or " handwashing curriculum" you will find a lot of activities for teaching kids why and how to wash up- there are different resources for different ages. An image search of "handwashing" will net you several printable poster to choose from. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423353/ Thu, 8 Nov 2007 10:32:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423353/ One of my 1001 Days Challenge items is to learn 50 hymns by heart. The challenge part comes from the fact that I have zero musical talent. Nada. Zippo. I can't read music. Just when I think I know which little symbol means a whole note and which ones means a half etc. something comes along to prove to me I don't have a clue. I don't understand timing at all (Exactly how long is a "beat" anyway?)  I also can't sing worth a lick.   My only saving grace in this department is that if I have heard a tune before I can replicate the tune . I want to learn the  hymns just like we would sing them in church as a congregation. No fancy voice work, no show; just the simple singing of hymns in their entirety. We have tried buying CDs but either the song only covers one verse, or someone has fancied up the tune to show how well they can croon. So it was a real blessing to find Touchet Baptist Church hymn page. Just a man with his hymn book and his piano playing hymns, in their entirety, that the average person can sing along to. It truly is an answer to prayer for me because I have always wanted to be able to sing hymns to my babies but never knew how I was going to learn them myself. If you don't have a hymn book you can find the words to hymns at CyberHymnal or Hymnal.net. Neither site seems to have sheet music with lyrics on it. They have the words, they have sheet music with no words  and they have  midi files so you can hear how they are sung. I hope these bless someone as they have blessed me. If you know of any other great sites for learning hymns please feel free to share them in the comment section. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423014/ Wed, 7 Nov 2007 20:42:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/423014/ Bible Study/Devotions: Devotional: 15 Minutes Alone With God. (continuing) Memorization: Proverbs 31 (Continuing) Must Do: (Better titled: All the Things I Didn't Get Done Last Week and A Few More) Finish planner notebook Develop better morning school routine Exercise, at least once Started Diet. Zone Last weeks zones for each day seemed to work out for the most part. The weather was gorgeous here so we didn't always stay home so a few things didn't get done but the idea was a solid one. Today (Mon.) Errand Day Tues: kitchen Day Wed: Laundry day so I will work on the laundry room Thur: Deep Cleaning Day - continue in our bedroom Fri: Office Day ( most of the "office" is actually in the living room...) Train Them Up This week my husband will be home on vacation. He takes over their Bible training and directs a lot of their other activities when he is at home so this week will be all up to him. Menu Planning Mon:  Orange Chicken, Rice, Snow Peas Tue:  Meatloaf, potatoes, spinach Wed:  Chicken Pot Pie, salad Thr:  Chicken Curry, rice Fri:  Goulash, French Bread, Sat:  Waffles and Bacon Sun:  Fish sticks, French Fries, fruit http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/421840/ Tue, 6 Nov 2007 00:17:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingmen/421840/