If you know anything about me, you know that ice cream has always been one of my favorites. Since I cannot have milk, I am always looking for alternatives. Here is one that makes some out of strawberry and bananas. The kids and I have been making a lot of strawberry-banana smoothies lately, but it looks like ice cream is pretty simple too!
Recipe: 4 Ingredient Ice Cream
Ingredients
• 2 bananas, cut into 1-inch slices(frozen)
• ½ cup frozen strawberries, sliced
• 2 Tbsp almond milk
• ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
1. Place banana slices on a plate, separating each slice. Place slices in freezer for 2 hours (overnight is best!).
2. Remove strawberries and bananas from freezer and place in food processor, blend until they are the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
3. Add almond milk(more or less for desired texture)and vanilla and blend until smooth and well-mixed.
4. Transfer ice cream to a freezer container and freeze until solid.(dont have to wait if fruit is frozen, it is like soft serve ice cream)
5. Scoop with ice cream scoop and serve.
You can really use any frozen fruit to make this
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Friday, January 30, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Back to School Tomorrow!
After having two days off from school, we are going back to it tomorrow! Megan woke up at 10:15 this morning feeling brand new, but since she hadn't completed her homework from the day before, I couldn't do much school with her today. Courtney and I did go over her math, spelling, and English. It's been pretty low-key for the last two days, but it has been nice.
Tomorrow we are going to pick up history with a discussion of the television and how it made such a difference in America's lives during the 1950's and 1960's. Our book actually talks about how the television made such a different in the election of 1960 with the Nixon-Kennedy debates. I found a short clip on history.com that I thought would be helpful. Of course, the entire debate is online, but I think we will pass on that!
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/kennedy-nixon-debates
Tomorrow we are going to pick up history with a discussion of the television and how it made such a difference in America's lives during the 1950's and 1960's. Our book actually talks about how the television made such a different in the election of 1960 with the Nixon-Kennedy debates. I found a short clip on history.com that I thought would be helpful. Of course, the entire debate is online, but I think we will pass on that!
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/kennedy-nixon-debates
Sick Kid!!
Yesterday, I took Megan to our field trip, and things did not go so well.
We left the house and she was fine.
We stood outside the theatre for about an hour and she was fine.
We watched the first 85 minutes of the play and at intermission, Megan said she didn't feel well. I noticed that she had her legs curled up on the bench and she kept leaning her head back on the back of her chair. At intermission, she kind of teared up and said the back of her head hurt and she was a little dizzy.
I thought she was just a little dehydrated and needed a break from the chair, so I encouraged her to get up and walk to the restroom with me. Honestly, she didn't look too good!
We sat down to the 2nd half and kept giving her my water bottle. She kept laying back and closing her eyes. I kept nudging her to get her head up as we were in the 3rd row. I think it was hard for her to sit through the last 70 minutes of the show!
After the show, I decided to take her out for lunch. We headed to Village Inn and had a quick lunch (where I got yelled at by a drunk man!). She insisted that she just wanted to go home, which is very unlike her.
We got home and she went right upstairs and crawled into bed! I am still thinking that she is just dehydrated and needed to rest a little bit. I had her up earlier that morning than usual to go to the play, so maybe a 20-30 minute nap would do her some good.
About 4 pm, I took the younger two kids outside and I said to Megan, "It's about time you got out of bed, you've been in there long enough!" She got her shoes and coat on and came outside, but she did not look well and was crying again. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I just want to go back to bed!" Ok, apparently fresh air wasn't working for her!
I sent her back into the couch and took her temperature. 100.1!!! The kid is really sick!! She sat and watched TV until Matt came home.
When he came home, we had to decide who was going to church. I took her temp again and it was 101.3, it was going up. I ended up taking the littler two kids to church and he stayed home with Megan.
When we got home from church, her temp had risen again to 101.7.
She got to bed about 10 pm and I haven't seen the whites of her eyes yet today. She is still sound asleep.
I had a very busy day planned today and as I am calling everybody, the response I am getting is that there is just a fever going around.
Hopefully she will recover quickly!
We left the house and she was fine.
We stood outside the theatre for about an hour and she was fine.
We watched the first 85 minutes of the play and at intermission, Megan said she didn't feel well. I noticed that she had her legs curled up on the bench and she kept leaning her head back on the back of her chair. At intermission, she kind of teared up and said the back of her head hurt and she was a little dizzy.
I thought she was just a little dehydrated and needed a break from the chair, so I encouraged her to get up and walk to the restroom with me. Honestly, she didn't look too good!
We sat down to the 2nd half and kept giving her my water bottle. She kept laying back and closing her eyes. I kept nudging her to get her head up as we were in the 3rd row. I think it was hard for her to sit through the last 70 minutes of the show!
After the show, I decided to take her out for lunch. We headed to Village Inn and had a quick lunch (where I got yelled at by a drunk man!). She insisted that she just wanted to go home, which is very unlike her.
We got home and she went right upstairs and crawled into bed! I am still thinking that she is just dehydrated and needed to rest a little bit. I had her up earlier that morning than usual to go to the play, so maybe a 20-30 minute nap would do her some good.
About 4 pm, I took the younger two kids outside and I said to Megan, "It's about time you got out of bed, you've been in there long enough!" She got her shoes and coat on and came outside, but she did not look well and was crying again. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I just want to go back to bed!" Ok, apparently fresh air wasn't working for her!
I sent her back into the couch and took her temperature. 100.1!!! The kid is really sick!! She sat and watched TV until Matt came home.
When he came home, we had to decide who was going to church. I took her temp again and it was 101.3, it was going up. I ended up taking the littler two kids to church and he stayed home with Megan.
When we got home from church, her temp had risen again to 101.7.
She got to bed about 10 pm and I haven't seen the whites of her eyes yet today. She is still sound asleep.
I had a very busy day planned today and as I am calling everybody, the response I am getting is that there is just a fever going around.
Hopefully she will recover quickly!
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Field Trip Today!
Megan and I are going on a field trip today and we are excited. The local community playhouse is putting on "Little Women" and we were able to get tickets for a cheaper rate because of school. We are going with five other families this morning. Courtney and Christian are staying behind with grandma and grandpa.
Honestly, I have never read the book, so I read it the last two nights. Megan has read it and said it was really good. When I mentioned we had an opportunity to go, she was pretty excited! It will be a fun time for just us two. :)
Maybe we should just take the whole day off since it is supposed to be in the 60's today!!!
Honestly, I have never read the book, so I read it the last two nights. Megan has read it and said it was really good. When I mentioned we had an opportunity to go, she was pretty excited! It will be a fun time for just us two. :)
Maybe we should just take the whole day off since it is supposed to be in the 60's today!!!
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Recipes again. :)
I will need to tweak these both a bit to get them gluten and dairy free, but I think it can be done!
http://myfridgefood.com/recipes/entree-chicken/bbq-chicken-enchiladas
AND
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion (diced)
1 garlic clove (minced)...
1 small can black olives (sliced)
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen corn
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies (diced and drained)
1 (12 ounce) can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 (16 ounce) bag shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (16 ounce) package frozen tater tots
1 (10.5 ounce fluid ounce) can enchilada sauce
http://myfridgefood.com/recipes/entree-chicken/bbq-chicken-enchiladas
AND
Tator tot taco bake
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion (diced)
1 garlic clove (minced)...
1 small can black olives (sliced)
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen corn
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies (diced and drained)
1 (12 ounce) can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 (16 ounce) bag shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (16 ounce) package frozen tater tots
1 (10.5 ounce fluid ounce) can enchilada sauce
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat a skillet to medium high heat. Add ground beef, garlic, and onion and cook while breaking the meat apart with a spoon or spatula until the ground beef is completely browned. Drain off any excess fat. Add taco seasoning mix, green chilies, frozen corn, and black beans to the ground beef. Cook until heated through.
In a large bowl combine ground beef mixture, ¾ of the Mexican cheese blend, and all of the tater tots. Stir well to combine.
Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish and lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tots.
Place into the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. During the last few minutes of baking, top the casserole with the remaining Mexican cheese blend and the sliced black olives. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
In a large bowl combine ground beef mixture, ¾ of the Mexican cheese blend, and all of the tater tots. Stir well to combine.
Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish and lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tots.
Place into the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. During the last few minutes of baking, top the casserole with the remaining Mexican cheese blend and the sliced black olives. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Who is going to win this battle??
It is 2:53 and my fine young son is still sitting at the lunch table. Has not been excused yet. Why, you may ask? He has to finish his lunch. One little piece of celery with almond butter, that is all he has left!
He is not one to try new things, but I think he should! He has told me numerous times that "I am full" or "I am tired." None of them are working. I just keep saying, "Don't you want to go play?" or "Don't you want to read a book?" If the answer is "yes," then finish your lunch!
He might sit there all afternoon. I started this battle, I need to finish it.
He is not one to try new things, but I think he should! He has told me numerous times that "I am full" or "I am tired." None of them are working. I just keep saying, "Don't you want to go play?" or "Don't you want to read a book?" If the answer is "yes," then finish your lunch!
He might sit there all afternoon. I started this battle, I need to finish it.
PS- This battle ended yesterday at 5:15 PM! He sat in his chair all afternoon. Yes, he got up a few times, moved around, changed chairs, went potty, but for the most part, stayed at the table. I had to take Courtney to basketball practice at 5:15 and he had to go with me, so time was up. He still hadn't eaten his celery! He kept saying, "It's yucky!"
Matt met us at basketball and I told him what had happened. I asked him if he thought Christian should sit back at the table when we got home from basketball. He said, "If he already sat there 5 hours, that is enough time. It is over." So who really won??
Movie Night!
Last week, we studied the Civil Rights in history. There are so many resources out there to teach about this subject, but halfway through the week, I remembered that I had a movie here that we should watch.
It is called "Remember the Titans" and it is about a school in Virginia that integrated in 1971. The plot of the movie was how the football team came together to overcome discrimination and eventually won the national championship.
I remember now why I love that movie so much! It has such a clear message and exact examples of how blacks were discriminated against during that time in American history. I would recommend it to anybody PLUS it's family friendly and anybody can watch it. :)
It is called "Remember the Titans" and it is about a school in Virginia that integrated in 1971. The plot of the movie was how the football team came together to overcome discrimination and eventually won the national championship.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Oxygen and carbon dioxide
We had an interesting conversation at the breakfast table this morning.
Megan and Courtney were deciding that they wanted to get rid of the swing set and get something else, like a trampoline or a pool for the backyard.
In order to do this, they decided that we would need to remove a few trees to make things fit!
Of course, Megan said, "We can't remove the trees, we need them for oxygen."
Christian responds," Well, I don't like those oxygen trees!" (Obviously he doesn't quite get it!)
Megan and Courtney then proceeded to breathe out and say that is carbon dioxide and that is what the trees need to grow. Then they told him to breathe in and said we breathe in oxygen and that is what trees give off as waste and we need to grow and survive! (I'm glad they listened in science class!) So we need trees to survive!
Megan's next thought was, "If we cut down every tree in the world, how long would it take before the earth would run out of oxygen??"
Good question!!
Megan and Courtney were deciding that they wanted to get rid of the swing set and get something else, like a trampoline or a pool for the backyard.
In order to do this, they decided that we would need to remove a few trees to make things fit!
Of course, Megan said, "We can't remove the trees, we need them for oxygen."
Christian responds," Well, I don't like those oxygen trees!" (Obviously he doesn't quite get it!)
Megan and Courtney then proceeded to breathe out and say that is carbon dioxide and that is what the trees need to grow. Then they told him to breathe in and said we breathe in oxygen and that is what trees give off as waste and we need to grow and survive! (I'm glad they listened in science class!) So we need trees to survive!
Megan's next thought was, "If we cut down every tree in the world, how long would it take before the earth would run out of oxygen??"
Good question!!
Monday, January 19, 2015
MLK, JR. Federal Holiday
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr, day. It is a federal holiday and none of our neighbor kids went to school, but we did! I found it pretty surprising that today in history class, our assignment was to read about the civil rights of the 1960's! I can't believe our history lined up so well with the calendar!
We spent about an hour this morning reading our assignment and then looking at pictures and footage online from the 1960's. We looked at pictures from the Montgomery bus boycott, Rosa Parks, sit-ins at lunch counters, the March on Washington, and also watched a short clip of King's "I Have a Dream" Speech. I think Megan and I could have sat and watched more, but we needed to get to our other subjects! I also found a few chapter books at the library that I either want to read to the kids or have them read on their own. They are great historical fiction books that give a viewpoint from a 10-11 year at that time.
We are getting closer and closer to modern times! Pretty soon, our study of American history will be over for a few years. Wow! I have learned so much! I hope the girls have too!!
We spent about an hour this morning reading our assignment and then looking at pictures and footage online from the 1960's. We looked at pictures from the Montgomery bus boycott, Rosa Parks, sit-ins at lunch counters, the March on Washington, and also watched a short clip of King's "I Have a Dream" Speech. I think Megan and I could have sat and watched more, but we needed to get to our other subjects! I also found a few chapter books at the library that I either want to read to the kids or have them read on their own. They are great historical fiction books that give a viewpoint from a 10-11 year at that time.
We are getting closer and closer to modern times! Pretty soon, our study of American history will be over for a few years. Wow! I have learned so much! I hope the girls have too!!
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Nothing done!
How can I tell we are back to school in this house?? My house is a complete mess! This is just what happens. :)
1. My kitchen counter has not been cleaned off in two weeks. I looked at it today and noticed there are boxes of shoes from our wedding two weeks ago that have not been put away yet. I know there is a lot of mail buried, like checks from a healthcare provide because we overpaid, apparently. There are also Christmas presents still on the counter...I will get to it eventually!
2. I have "mountains" in my laundry baskets! I usually don't do clothes until Saturday during school weeks and it's about time to do it again!
3. I started cleaning up my bedroom and the playroom over Christmas break and now that project is at a standstill. I was sort of waiting to put Christmas presents away until we got the rooms situated. Maybe that won't happen until summer now and I should just find spots for everything until then?
4. Dishes have been done everyday, thankfully!!
5. The girls have also been playing basketball up at a local church. Courtney has practice on Monday nights, Megan has practice on Thursday nights, and they both have games on Saturday. We have a game at 1 and 2 today. There goes my afternoon...
6. We have also had small group lately on Sunday nights, so I need to get everybody fed early, which cuts into my afternoon. I do get some things done during that time though!
On the other hand, things have been done:
1. The kids are taught every day! I am up at night planning again; nothing like planning a Bible lesson right before I go to bed at night! We have four more weeks in our current history curriculum, so then we get to start new curriculums for Megan and Courtney's language arts, science, and history. This will take some time to get ready, but I will get there. I have a few weeks yet!
2. All the Christmas decorations are down and in the basement, not put away yet! I need some help from Matt for that!
3. Christian has his trains in his room and he is learning to pick them up every night, so that is good!
4. We do pick up the main floor every Tuesday for piano lessons, so that is my way to not let the mess get out of control. It seems to work!
What would life be like if I didn't homeschool the children and actually was home with just Christian while the other two were in school?? It would certainly be different and my house might be a little bit cleaner!!!
1. My kitchen counter has not been cleaned off in two weeks. I looked at it today and noticed there are boxes of shoes from our wedding two weeks ago that have not been put away yet. I know there is a lot of mail buried, like checks from a healthcare provide because we overpaid, apparently. There are also Christmas presents still on the counter...I will get to it eventually!
2. I have "mountains" in my laundry baskets! I usually don't do clothes until Saturday during school weeks and it's about time to do it again!
3. I started cleaning up my bedroom and the playroom over Christmas break and now that project is at a standstill. I was sort of waiting to put Christmas presents away until we got the rooms situated. Maybe that won't happen until summer now and I should just find spots for everything until then?
4. Dishes have been done everyday, thankfully!!
5. The girls have also been playing basketball up at a local church. Courtney has practice on Monday nights, Megan has practice on Thursday nights, and they both have games on Saturday. We have a game at 1 and 2 today. There goes my afternoon...
6. We have also had small group lately on Sunday nights, so I need to get everybody fed early, which cuts into my afternoon. I do get some things done during that time though!
On the other hand, things have been done:
1. The kids are taught every day! I am up at night planning again; nothing like planning a Bible lesson right before I go to bed at night! We have four more weeks in our current history curriculum, so then we get to start new curriculums for Megan and Courtney's language arts, science, and history. This will take some time to get ready, but I will get there. I have a few weeks yet!
2. All the Christmas decorations are down and in the basement, not put away yet! I need some help from Matt for that!
3. Christian has his trains in his room and he is learning to pick them up every night, so that is good!
4. We do pick up the main floor every Tuesday for piano lessons, so that is my way to not let the mess get out of control. It seems to work!
What would life be like if I didn't homeschool the children and actually was home with just Christian while the other two were in school?? It would certainly be different and my house might be a little bit cleaner!!!
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
The sweet dog went home!
Our sweet week-long pet went home last night. :( Courtney was sure sad! Before the dog even went home, she was already begging her dad for a dog! I admit, she did a GREAT job taking care of Coco! She got up at 3:45 am to take her outside, picked up her mess when she went in the house, and just absolutely loved on her! Courtney really has a heart for animals!! (In the middle of this, her last grasshopper died, which was not much drama at all.)
Today is our first day in a week without a dog and it's actually pretty quiet. We don't have to worry about getting the dog outside every 1-2 hours or if it's going to mess in the house. Courtney and Christian have also been finding things to do today, we brought some of their toys back downstairs yesterday, so that has occupied them today, which has helped!
I admit thought, I didn't mind having the dog over here. She was a very lovable dog who would just jump onto your lap, curl up, and go to sleep! You felt bad getting up because it was so sweet!
When the neighbors came and got her last night, Courtney was in tears. She was tearing hours before they arrived! They were running a little late and wanted to know if we wanted to keep her another night, I wrote back and said it would be better to just come and get her and get it over with! And it was! It was hard on Courtney, but apparently, our neighbors are going on a cruise in February and may need another dog-sitter. :)
Today is our first day in a week without a dog and it's actually pretty quiet. We don't have to worry about getting the dog outside every 1-2 hours or if it's going to mess in the house. Courtney and Christian have also been finding things to do today, we brought some of their toys back downstairs yesterday, so that has occupied them today, which has helped!
I admit thought, I didn't mind having the dog over here. She was a very lovable dog who would just jump onto your lap, curl up, and go to sleep! You felt bad getting up because it was so sweet!
When the neighbors came and got her last night, Courtney was in tears. She was tearing hours before they arrived! They were running a little late and wanted to know if we wanted to keep her another night, I wrote back and said it would be better to just come and get her and get it over with! And it was! It was hard on Courtney, but apparently, our neighbors are going on a cruise in February and may need another dog-sitter. :)
Monday, January 12, 2015
School Days!
Today was our first day back to school for the week and things did not go so well. We had school last week and things went well, what is the difference between today and last Monday??
One thing: a dog!
We have been housesitting a dog since last Wednesday, this has been Courtney's job and she has done a great job with it! Matt says if the dog's owners don't pay her, then he will!
The problem with the dog is that she wants to know where everybody is at all times, especially Courtney, and does not like to be left alone. During school, I have to put her in her kennel because she is still a pup and likes to have accidents in the house. :( Today we were reading in the living room and she was in her kennel in the kitchen, whining, so I pulled her into the living room and she was much better. She kept turning her head and looking at Courtney.
Well, Courtney wanted to play the game too and after about 20 minutes of reading, she couldn't help herself and went over and got Coco out of her kennel to play with her! That was the end of reading!! The dog took off running, so Courtney took off too! She ran upstairs, and then Courtney decided that she had to go outside. Megan had already lost interest in the story, so I declared that read-aloud time was done!
After this fiasco, I said Coco had to go back in her kennel and stay there until school was over at noon! She was pretty good in her kennel the rest of the morning.
The dog goes back home on Wednesday, then I think we will have two sad girls who will be begging their dad for a pup. They play with her every chance they get and they have not been on the computer as much as they were last week because of this little furball. :)
One thing: a dog!
We have been housesitting a dog since last Wednesday, this has been Courtney's job and she has done a great job with it! Matt says if the dog's owners don't pay her, then he will!
The problem with the dog is that she wants to know where everybody is at all times, especially Courtney, and does not like to be left alone. During school, I have to put her in her kennel because she is still a pup and likes to have accidents in the house. :( Today we were reading in the living room and she was in her kennel in the kitchen, whining, so I pulled her into the living room and she was much better. She kept turning her head and looking at Courtney.
Well, Courtney wanted to play the game too and after about 20 minutes of reading, she couldn't help herself and went over and got Coco out of her kennel to play with her! That was the end of reading!! The dog took off running, so Courtney took off too! She ran upstairs, and then Courtney decided that she had to go outside. Megan had already lost interest in the story, so I declared that read-aloud time was done!
After this fiasco, I said Coco had to go back in her kennel and stay there until school was over at noon! She was pretty good in her kennel the rest of the morning.
The dog goes back home on Wednesday, then I think we will have two sad girls who will be begging their dad for a pup. They play with her every chance they get and they have not been on the computer as much as they were last week because of this little furball. :)
Monday, January 5, 2015
Snack Time
I just saw this and thought I would put it here to remember.
http://myfridgefood.com/recipes/snacks/apples-in-a-bag/
Sounds yummy!!!
http://myfridgefood.com/recipes/snacks/apples-in-a-bag/
Sounds yummy!!!
History Lessons
We hit the school books today and survived our first day back! I didn't go easy on the girls either, we did a full day!
Tomorrow we will be doing the same.
For history, we are starting in on the Cold War and along with our reading, I found a short video on YouTube to help the kids understand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTk3dFC7t00
It helped me understand!
Tomorrow we will be doing the same.
For history, we are starting in on the Cold War and along with our reading, I found a short video on YouTube to help the kids understand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTk3dFC7t00
It helped me understand!
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Are we ready to go back to school??
I hope everybody is ready to go back to school tomorrow because we are hitting the books at 9 am!
It might be quite the struggle to get everybody out of bed, we have all been able to sleep in for the last two weeks! I may have a hard time!
I spent two hours this afternoon in my "office" organizing papers and books from last semester and getting things ready to go tomorrow. The kids played nicely and Matt was helping a neighbor, so it was a nice chunk of time that I could get this done. I still have a little bit more to do tonight, but I feel better that all the stray papers are put away and assignments from last semester are filed away.
We are going to start slowly tomorrow. My kids don't have any old assignments to check, so it's just picking up our books and starting on the next lesson. I am hoping to actually be done by noon and then maybe continue organizing my house or heading out to get groceries. My pantry and fridge are a little low on the main supplies!
Courtney also starts basketball practice tomorrow at 5:30 pm, and she is looking forward to it! She is playing with the Upward Program at a local church and they have practice every Monday and games every Saturday. Megan is also playing basketball with the same program, except her practice is on Thursday nights and she also has games on Saturday. Both girls were supposed to have practice yesterday, but we were at a wedding instead. This should keep us busy for the next two months.
Better get these kids to bed early tonight! :)
It might be quite the struggle to get everybody out of bed, we have all been able to sleep in for the last two weeks! I may have a hard time!
I spent two hours this afternoon in my "office" organizing papers and books from last semester and getting things ready to go tomorrow. The kids played nicely and Matt was helping a neighbor, so it was a nice chunk of time that I could get this done. I still have a little bit more to do tonight, but I feel better that all the stray papers are put away and assignments from last semester are filed away.
We are going to start slowly tomorrow. My kids don't have any old assignments to check, so it's just picking up our books and starting on the next lesson. I am hoping to actually be done by noon and then maybe continue organizing my house or heading out to get groceries. My pantry and fridge are a little low on the main supplies!
Courtney also starts basketball practice tomorrow at 5:30 pm, and she is looking forward to it! She is playing with the Upward Program at a local church and they have practice every Monday and games every Saturday. Megan is also playing basketball with the same program, except her practice is on Thursday nights and she also has games on Saturday. Both girls were supposed to have practice yesterday, but we were at a wedding instead. This should keep us busy for the next two months.
Better get these kids to bed early tonight! :)
Friday, January 2, 2015
Vacation week!
Somebody asked me how my vacation was going and I did not answer "busy," but rather I answered "relaxing!"
I do admit though that prior to Christmas, I was very stressed and busy. I was trying to finish school up AND get ready for Christmas at the same time. Once school was over, I took a deep breath and continued my plans. It is very hard to sneak presents around when there are three children in the house!!
With all the Christmas celebrations over, I could finally feel my stress levels going down on Monday and for those of you who have had adrenal problems, you are well aware of levels of stress! I have been sleeping better this week, my patience has been better with the kids, and my eyes have even stopped twitching! (this was a new sign of stress for me that came last week).
This week, we have slept as late as we have wanted and have really done nothing! Nothing too constructive anyway!
I did manage to get my sitting room cleaned up a little bit and had a lady over to give me an estimate for painting my upstairs. We had some friends over twice, who didn't care that my Christmas presents were not put away yet. I cleaned off some bookshelves and decided that I can start packing some homeschooling books away. I have also acquired a large pile of donations that need to go to the Open Door Mission. I went out to lunch with a friend and got some groceries. We also made a trip to the library. Yesterday, Matt was home and we went and saw the new "Night at the Museum" movie. It is highly recommended!
We did not get the girls' rooms switched around or even started on that project! The Christmas tree is still up and I have a list of errands to do! The girls start playing basketball on Monday, so I need to go shopping and get them some shorts to play in. That may happen on Sunday. :)
We also have a big wedding tomorrow! Matt's sister is getting married and Megan is reading Bible verses (she needs to practice), Courtney is a flower girl, and Christian is a ring bearer, who does NOT want to do it! I may need to do some more convincing or bribery with him! Matt is an usher and I am in charge of keeping the children looking nice!
We all have our clothes ready to go, except a few things need to be ironed yet, but I can do that today or tomorrow.
Again, this is not too stressful. I am anxious to get back to school Monday and get the children on a schedule again. We have really let the chores slide this week and some things are getting out of control, like the girls' bathroom! I have some planning to do for school, but nothing too major. I didn't give the kids any homework from the day we were done, so we are just going to start out on new lessons on Monday. We will just pick up our reading from where we left off.
We have 4 weeks worth of lessons left with our American History curriculum, so that will probably take about 5-6 weeks in reality. After that we are going to start learning about the Eastern Hemisphere, so I need to start reading those books! I am anxious to teach about this part of the world, because I don't know much about it. We'll see if my stress levels stay low when we start school up again! I sure have enjoyed it!
I do admit though that prior to Christmas, I was very stressed and busy. I was trying to finish school up AND get ready for Christmas at the same time. Once school was over, I took a deep breath and continued my plans. It is very hard to sneak presents around when there are three children in the house!!
With all the Christmas celebrations over, I could finally feel my stress levels going down on Monday and for those of you who have had adrenal problems, you are well aware of levels of stress! I have been sleeping better this week, my patience has been better with the kids, and my eyes have even stopped twitching! (this was a new sign of stress for me that came last week).
This week, we have slept as late as we have wanted and have really done nothing! Nothing too constructive anyway!
I did manage to get my sitting room cleaned up a little bit and had a lady over to give me an estimate for painting my upstairs. We had some friends over twice, who didn't care that my Christmas presents were not put away yet. I cleaned off some bookshelves and decided that I can start packing some homeschooling books away. I have also acquired a large pile of donations that need to go to the Open Door Mission. I went out to lunch with a friend and got some groceries. We also made a trip to the library. Yesterday, Matt was home and we went and saw the new "Night at the Museum" movie. It is highly recommended!
We did not get the girls' rooms switched around or even started on that project! The Christmas tree is still up and I have a list of errands to do! The girls start playing basketball on Monday, so I need to go shopping and get them some shorts to play in. That may happen on Sunday. :)
We also have a big wedding tomorrow! Matt's sister is getting married and Megan is reading Bible verses (she needs to practice), Courtney is a flower girl, and Christian is a ring bearer, who does NOT want to do it! I may need to do some more convincing or bribery with him! Matt is an usher and I am in charge of keeping the children looking nice!
We all have our clothes ready to go, except a few things need to be ironed yet, but I can do that today or tomorrow.
Again, this is not too stressful. I am anxious to get back to school Monday and get the children on a schedule again. We have really let the chores slide this week and some things are getting out of control, like the girls' bathroom! I have some planning to do for school, but nothing too major. I didn't give the kids any homework from the day we were done, so we are just going to start out on new lessons on Monday. We will just pick up our reading from where we left off.
We have 4 weeks worth of lessons left with our American History curriculum, so that will probably take about 5-6 weeks in reality. After that we are going to start learning about the Eastern Hemisphere, so I need to start reading those books! I am anxious to teach about this part of the world, because I don't know much about it. We'll see if my stress levels stay low when we start school up again! I sure have enjoyed it!
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