Blast From The Crazy Past: A Jump Back To 2005

Welcome to memories...my memories....welcome to a Blast from my Crazy Past!

I was digging around and found this blog post from 12 years ago!

The girls would have been 10 months, 2 years old, 5 years old and 7 years old...

Monday Madness: Math~ Dad Style

Welcome to Monday Madness where I will talk about pretty much anything that comes to mind. From homeschooling to special needs to strange blog posts about silly objects to interviewing a family member...you never know what you might read on Monday Madness! Enjoy!

I found this post from March 23, 2011....

Where To Go From Here....

I'll be honest...I really haven't known where to go with this blog. I had numerous family members and friends let me know over the past couple years that they missed my blog and wanted me to write again...

So I did. On October 9, 2016, I got back on the band wagon and was really excited to do it!

However...

I LOVE MONDAYS! Really!!!

Mondays are different around here: We do not give our girls school work on Mondays as they volunteer with their grandparents at a local rest home and Lil Mr goes to preschool. So it is perfect for catching up on the little things that build up over the weekend or finishing up projects from Saturday.

Today was no exception. I dropped Lil Mr off at preschool then ran to the post office to get some stamps and also get hollered at by some random stranger who was not having a great day. That was pleasant. Then it was homeward bound with the vision of the two projects I wanted to finish dancing in my head.

The first was to reclaim my son's room. He is very good about putting things away, he likes everything in it's spot or he starts twitching. ( Reminds me of his dad.... :P ) However, if he has a friend over, things don't always get put away before said friend leaves. Then I see this glazed look come over him and he just dumps everything. Probably part of the Sensory Processing Disorder. So...to make it easier on him, I gave away a big sack full of toys that he really doesn't play with as well as a stack of books. Then I put up some of the toys like his blocks, Legos and Little People. This left his cars and trains to play with. The others can be pulled out when he wants to play with them, but  are out of the reach of  friends. Looks MUCH neater in there. We also moved out his big dresser he wasn't using and put in a smaller one. I have to say that it warmed my heart when he came home and saw his room. I pointed out where his shoes go and he said, "Wow, thanks, mom! Where do my socks go?" Too cute!

On hubby's lunch break we ran to Home Depot to get a few little things and off to Joann's to get another panel of muslin for my dining room curtains. When we got home, hubby put up my curtain rod, fixed the doors on my corner cabinet and changed out the hardware on the doors. The result was amazing! (Pics below.) While he did that, I scurried to my craft room and got my curtains sewn up. Was pretty simple to do but did take a couple hours.

All in all, I am really happy with how the dining room is turning out. It's taken a couple months, slowly but surely. It started with being wild and crazy by painting the dining room table and chairs. I moved some furniture around in the dining room. Hubby also moved the piano out of the dining room and into the living room. Then Saturday, hubby painted my dining room a beautiful creamy white color while I finished painting the corner cabinet. I have just two more things I want to do to finish it: I want to get a  cool "vintage" window and make a chalkboard out of it. I am also looking for a nice English or French countryside picture to hang on one wall.   I am pretty picky about what I will spend. I don't like spending more than I have to, as I would rather make things myself! However, a painter I am NOT. My poor parents tried giving me classes in middle school and let's just say...I am not talented in that area!

Anyway, there are some pics below. I hope you enjoy them and have a great night!

New hardware for a lovely old piece. Found out that this corner cabinet has been in our family for over 45 years.

Doors are secure and it is finished!

To save money, I waited till the outside panels of material went on sale for 60% off!
Then I only bought 3 yards, cut it in half and added muslin panels in the middle.

That long dresser was in my son's room. We brought it in here and turned it into a buffet.
Then I was going to put that little dresser out in the shed and hubby had the
great suggestion to put my cookbooks on it and walah! (Also known as "voila"! I just like my non-words!)

Picture update on our backyard!

So I promised pics of our backyard and here they are:

Here is the fence I had to put up...

Then I realized that I needed to put some burlap on it cause my baby plants were not fairing so well...

They get the wonderful morning sun though....

What's over here?

Why....it's tomatoes and pumpkin!

Compost pile...

The privacy shield I was talking about...

From the sidewalk side...really looks nice and gives us privacy...

Working on a flower arrangement...

Finished product...

The lovely shade cover over our patio that I mentioned I wanted to do. 

Hubby so sweetly did it for me! I sure love him!

Outdoor Dining...

Love this area!!!

Backyard Work...(Update: Some pics added)

I woke up this morning and thought, "Wow...it is going to be a perfect day today. Let's get started!" So we got breakfast and chores out of the way, then headed out to the backyard. I had one of the girls bring out a Bible story book and we started our day right there in God's outdoors!

While some of the girls did school indoors, one of my girls joined me outside to do her school work while I worked. Every now and then we would find something interesting to share with the others. It was alot of fun!

So what was I doing outside? Well....I have a dog. Also an outdoors cat. I would put pics up of their cute selves, but I am on my husband's computer and am not finding any pics on here....(I will add some later!) (Added!)

At any rate, my dog is part chihuahua and part "doxie". A sweetheart, but in case you don't know, "doxies" like to dig. We have never had problems with her digging under fences or anything like that. She is very happy in her backyard with her peeps. However, she does like her holes. Well, she decided that she was going to dig in my potato barrel. I was NOT amused! I decided to put some old chicken fencing up around my raised beds and barrels. I think it will work great, but it was WORK. Whew!

I also planted the rest of my veggie seedlings! I have a few flower seedlings that are not ready to plant, but other than that, I am down to the plants I will be directly sowing into the soil. I love how God made His system of providing food for us!

Then I took the weed-eater to the whole backyard. Didn't take long and that was another workout! Add in the raking of the grass and boy was I ready for lunch afterwards!

After lunch, I hung up a privacy curtain in our walkway in the backyard. This would be really hard to explain without you seeing my yard. To give you an idea, we live smack dab in town. Basically we are surrounded by school buildings, our church, businesses as well as a couple sweet neighbors! On three sides of our yard, there are bushes, a fence and a building. In our walkway, there was no privacy and people could see right into our backyard. Anyway, I now have this nice privacy curtain hung up. I really like how it looks!! In fact, it looks like it has been there all the time.

We also set up a table for our future BBQ's/picnics and doing school outdoors. After that, we set up some other things to get our living area ready for the next 6 months. When I say we live outdoors during Spring/Summer/Fall, I am not joking! We take it seriously! An extension of our living space and of course, the garden is out there.

I forgot to mention that I also ironed and put up some darkening curtains for the sliding glass door heading out to the patio. In our main living space there are sliding doors and a HUGE picture window that need help in the summer to keep the heat outdoors where it belongs. These curtains help keep it cool in the house, not to mention that they are one of my favorite colors! :)

Tonight, I am hoping to get our awning set up and possibly my clothes line!!! Can't wait!!! I will try and take some pics tonight and add them to this post so you can see what I am talking about and maybe it will make more sense! Pictures always help me!

Saturday's Projects including this week's menu!

Today has been a busy day to be sure. However, it started nice and lazy, which is just how I like it!

After we got started on our day, I went over to the church and finished projects for Sunday School. While I was there, I met up with my grandma and had a fun chat!

Later I took my 6yo, Bob, to go grocery shopping. Here is my routine: Before I go shopping, I start by looking through my pantry, freezer and frig. I make a menu based on what I already have. I get out my coupon folder, the weekly ads and open up the internet to my favorite coupon sites. I spend about an hour, sometimes less, and look for the deals. Then I make the grocery list. I try not to shop for anything I don't need unless it is a great deal (ON things we use and need) and I can stock up on it. For instance, this week there was a sale on our favorite BBQ sauce, 10 for $10. This was an almost 50% savings! There were a couple other deals like that, so I stocked up on those.

Here is our menu for this coming week:

Monday: (B) Oatmeal (L) Noodles (D) Bean Burritos
Tuesday: (B) Waffles  (L) Tuna  (D) Spaghetti
Wednesday: (B) Cereal   (L) Leftovers   (D) Chicken
Thursday: (B) Oatmeal   (L) Smorgasborg* (D) Cheesy Chicken and Noodles
Friday: (B) Cereal   (L) PB&J   (D) Leftovers

*Smorgasborg for us, is when we look at the frig, the pantry and the freezer and see what we can come up with. It is always interesting and each time it is different!

So after grocery shopping and putting things away, it was time to head over to my maternal grandma's house to help out there. Today Peter hung some wind mobiles on grandma's patio while I vacuumed and tidied up inside. The kids were in and out enjoying the good weather! Then I took grandma to feed her kitty cats.

Now we are settled at home, we have done some house projects this afternoon. We are having fun with my friend's kids who are hanging out for the evening. Hubby even got his BBQ going again for dinner! YAY!

Update on me!

For One, my hubby sent me away on a week long trip to visit with my momma and daddy in Wisconsin!!!

Then when I got back, there was Easter....

Then......drum roll............we FINALLY had the judge sign papers on Lil Mr's adoption! It's a done deal!!!

Now, Lord Willing, we are back to our normal life of well...what is called normal around here! I look forward to getting back to my regular posting!

God bless!

Back To our Schedule!

So I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I wouldn't be able to post much for a couple weeks. There were several reasons for that...

For One, my hubby sent me away on a week long trip to visit with my momma and daddy in Wisconsin!!!

Then when I got back, there was Easter....

Then......drum roll............we FINALLY had the judge sign papers on Lil Mr's adoption! It's a done deal!!!

Now, Lord Willing, we are back to our normal life of well...what is called normal around here! I look forward to getting back to my regular posting!

God bless!

Break? What Break?

While on a break from school we have been working on our garden and lanscaping. My hubby wrote such a nice blog about it, that I will just link up to his blog for you to read! Just go to PTSGP to read about our adventures.

Tests and First Break...

As a result of having a break coming up, today and yesterday are being filled with tests.

 One right after another.

 I am proud to say, that so far, they are passing with flying colors!

So, as you know, we are starting our first year of year-round schooling. Our first break is coming up and I have had different people ask if we are planning our breaks or if it will be complete free time. We won't have a schedule, but we will be doing some specific things. All of our breaks will include this:

• A Field Trip
• A Elective Class (This is a class that is not necessary, but fun and a learning experience.)
• An Home Making Class (These are things having to do with being a keeper of the home.)

During our next couple week of free time, the girls will be having some cooking/baking lessons, an art class (A course by Thomas Kinkade) and a field trip. Our field trip will be going to several art museums in the area and observing different styles of art. 

Our breaks will also include:

• Sleeping in. (Yay!!!)
• Endless hours of playing outdoors.
• Fun and Games.

So while we won't have "book" work or a "school" schedule, but we will be having fun doing some extras that don't get to happen in a regular school day. As well as just simply being lazy!

E is for Everyone Helps!

I have had several people ask me about what kind of chores I give my kids to do. So I thought that would be a perfect topic for our E letter in that Everyone Helps in our house.

There are a couple ways we have approached chores in our house and there is by no means a right or wrong way. Just like homeschooling, you have to find what works for your family. In a large family like ours, it is crucial that everyone helps. My husband likes to remind the kids that I am not their slave. It's nice to hear that once in a while! LOL

My hubby and I were raised differently, so when it came to chores, I put both concepts to use. My hubby was raised that as soon as you were tall enough to do something, you were old enough to train to do it. So as soon as you could reach the table, you helped with clearing the table. As soon as you could stand at the ironing board, you were trained to use it. I was raised a little bit differently. I never had set chores till I was 12. Up till that point, we had to keep our rooms clean and do whatever chores mom and dad asked, but other than that, there was no specific chores to do. Then when i was 12, my mom became bed-bound by MS for quite awhile. So dad got out a posterboard and we sat down and divided the chores. He made it so that we didn't do the same chores every day for variety. But there was a routine in how and when we did it. 

As a result, we have come up with something that works for our family. A long time ago, I ran across a website that gave a run down on what they thought were age appropriate chores. I found that very helpful to get me started in making chore lists for my kids. I cannot find that website now, but here is one that is helpful at Lots Of Kids.

I started chore lists when my oldest was about three. I know! Mean mom, right? However, kids thrive on responsibility and being able to please their parents. Yes, there is alot of training when they are learning a new task. Once they have it though, I am free to leave them to their jobs.

So for example,on different days in the week,  my 9 and 11 year olds are responsible for:

Collecting all garbage in the house and taking it out.

Collecting the recycling and taking it out to the bin.

Mopping.

Empting and loading dishwasher.

Switching laundry.

Bathroom duty.

Sweeping cobwebs.

Washing walls.

My younger two girls are responsible for:

Switching laundry.

Feeding and watering animals.

Bathroom duty.

Sweep cobwebs.

Washing walls.

They also sometimes help with unloading the dishwasher.

Everyday they are all  also responsible for:

Making their bed.

Hygiene twice a day.

Tidying the schoolroom in the afternoon.

My son, who is 3 years old, has chores too! He has to keep his room clean, he helps me tidy around the house, he feeds the animals on the day the girls are not responsible, he has to put his diapers in the garbage, and he helps clear the table right now as well as other little things.

We don't pay the kids for doing chores. It is part of being in our family. I don't think there is anything wrong with it, but we don't do it.

There are consequences for chores that are not done. This happens so rarely in our house, that I don't usually have to think about it. But they lose priviledges to do things or cannot go to friend's houses if they do not finish their chores.

Anyway, I hope this helps out those who have questions! The main thing to remember is that we want to train our kids to be responsible adults. That doesn't happen over night. They have to learn how to be responsible children first. While it will be some work at the beginning as you are training, you will reap great benefits!

Question about canning...

So I have canned off and on for years. Sometimes with my grandma, other times on my own or with my hubby. We have always used the big stock pot that we have. However, I have been watching some youtube videos on canning and a majority of them use a pressure cooker. Now I know for a fact that the pressure cookers fly off the shelves during canning season, I used to work at Walmart in the housewares section. My question is:

Is one better than the other for canning? What do you use, a stock pot or a pressure cooker?

TODAY: Planting Starters, Pizza Dough, a Challenge and so much more...!

We had so much fun this afternoon that I HAVE to share, complete with pictures. So enjoy!

So I admit, when we get the "bug", we get the bug. We haven't had a garden for two years for reasons out of our control. This year, we were so antsy that we decided to start our plants indoors!

Spooning the soil into containers...

Some of the plants, ironically, none of this are the ones we started. But I wasn't in charge of the camera the whole time! LOL

Ahhh....some cantaloupe and bell peppers...I can taste them already!

Jalapenos and small sweet pumpkins. 

(This variety is great for pie and canning.) 

I had lots of help...

Fancy watering pot, eh?

My Kindergartener showing off her printing skills! Not bad!

My First Grader helps as well...

First person to tell me what kind of seeds these are will get some in the mail! Put your guess below!

My hubby fixed up this lovely spot for my seedlings...

"I'm gonna watch them grow...!"

My wonderful hubby made pizzas with home-made dough for dinner!!

Yum, yum! This one is ours, can't wait to taste it!

And THAT was our afternoon in a nutshell of pictures!