The Attitude Girl

The Attitude Girl,
by Mila Bernadkin
Price: $16.95
Put out by: Five Star Publications

Jam packed with emotional conflict, trials and tribulations, romance, and humor, The Attitude Girl follows outspoken, materialistic 17-year-old Vicky on her rocky road to becoming an adult as she struggles with bullying, financial setbacks, idealism, loss and forgiveness along the way. Her attitude is her rock! Vicky is such a true character -I know so many teenage girls who actually pride themselves on a bad attitude as she does. To better understand them is why I wanted to read this book. The author does such an excellent job capturing the conflicts, situations, and so many issues teens are facing today. Since it is written from the main character's perspective you can really see the inner-workings and drive of this teenage girl.

One thing is for sure, the characters in this book are realistic but conservative, Christian they are not! There is a lot of language and wrong sexual choices in this book but, such is the life of the modern teenager. If you will notice, Ally will not be joining me in this review. Definitely not for those under 16+. I had hoped that the main character would find growth and satisfaction through a relationship with Jesus Christ, but she finally finds growth and satisfaction through a sudden inheritance that brings her money.

The Attitude Girl certainly gives you a glimpse of the life of many young girls lost without Christ. I only wish I had been in the book - or another character would've been sent to share with her that success, boys, friends, family stability, or popularity are never going to make her truly happy and satisfied. Only Jesus Christ can provide those desires of her heart. Anyone who knows me, knows that teenage girls and their purity are my heart. This book offers a classic example of the futile life that so many teens are seeking. I'm so glad that I read this book as it strengthens my resolve to reach those girls like Vicky, who so desperately need a Savior who will truly satisfy them.
Links: http://fivestarpublications.com/attitudegirl/index.html

Half My Life

I have been officially married to Byron 1/2 my life. 18 years Monday - we were hoping to go hiking -but the weather does not look too promising. Many times we end up on our anniversary doing our Christmas shopping - which is fun too. In the meantime, we had a great Thanksgiving with just our little family. Gracie and Byron cooked - and it was great!

In the meantime, the Christmas decorations are up! This is a photo of one of my 3 favorite ornaments. Each kid's first shoes are hanging on the tree - with their name and birthdate written on the bottom. Such a neat way to remember when they were so tiny! Their feet are so big now, if I hung their current shoes - it would pull the tree over.

I have really taken advantage of so many great online deals for Christmas this year. I DID finally get my 100 free photos http://ayersfamilyhappenings.blogspot.com/2009/11/amazing-deals.html there is still time to get yours if you haven't already. I also got some other great stuff online. I traded in my Swagbucks for about $20.00 worth of gift cards. I am working on some other projects -but I can't tell you about them because they are Christmas presents!

The kids decided to have a lemonade stand as many of the kids in our church have been. One of our church's missionaries to Cambodia has determined they can remove a child from an orphanage to an actual home for only $150.00. The children's ministries have encouraged kids to raise money on their own with lemonade stands to get these orphans into homes. All the kids together have almost raised $1000! My kids felt very convicted and really wanted to help. They set about to sell lemonade - without a lot of preparation and not much encouragement from me. I didn't have and disposable cups - so they started making cookies. They raised $130 in 3 hours with a cookie stand in the driveway, is that incredible, or what? They are a hard crew to say no to, believe me! They really prayed throughout the time that God would bless it - and He certainly did. Several times I would see one of them praying while the others worked the stand. I guess I didn't have much faith as I thought our sleepy little street would maybe yield them maybe $20 by the end of the day. You can learn so much from the faith of a child!

Uncle Eddie Math

Daniel's Uncle Eddie introduced him to a neat knife catalog and Daniel got his very own catalog in the mail! It has been kind of difficult to focus on school with that interesting catalog calling to him. So, as usual, we embrace the distraction. We did his math lesson today with the catalog. What is the most expensive knife in the catalog? What is the cheapest? Which knife is shortest, longest, which knives could you buy with $40? Would a knife this long fit in your pocket? How much would this knife be if we had a coupon for $5 off? How much more is this knife than this one? How much more money do you need to buy this knife? He did much more advanced story problems than his book would've given him, and he LOVED it! It also really helps him see that math is real life. Great math skills, practical skills, - and reading skills too.

Wright on Time

Author: Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley Illustrator: Tanja Bauerle
Ages 5-12+ Retail price: $12.99

I really wish there were more books about kids who are homeschooled! In Wright on Time Lisa Cottrell-Bentley is gearing up to write a whole series! These books are about a homeschool family who travels all over in an RV. A highly educational series, each book is going to focus on a different state and readers will get to learn and apply science and history knowledge as the Wright family travels!

My kids learned about stalactites and stalagmites and we actually looked up some pictures of gems and minerals because their interest was so peaked! I'd love to take a trip to the caves in South Texas with them now that we have read the books.

Here's my request for the author: let us know what the topic/learning interest will be so we can turn the Wright on Time books into a wonderful addition to a mini unit study! I'd love to have a study guide with non-fiction resources! These books are such a brilliant idea; I just keep thinking how the series could be expanded. What a great AND FUN resource these books will be to a homeschool curriculum.

The books are really ideal in that they are really appropriate for a wide age range. Lisa doesn't talk down, or kid-up the language or subjects. I liked how she didn't define and explain every little educational element like some "educational" chapter books do - you almost need to go look some things up. It is getting harder to find books to read aloud that interest all my kids, but even my oldest liked this book. We weren't too crazy about the cliff-hanger ending, we were hooked without that.



Links: http://www.wrightontimebooks.com/ This is a great site to explore and learn more about the books. You can already get book 2, which features Utah - and it looks like dinosaurs and archeology are the topics for this one. I can't endorse that one till I see if it passes the "millions of years ago test." If it is written from a Christian perspective, I'd love to pair this book with a trip to the dinosaur dig sites in Glen Rose! You can purchase the books from this link: http://www.wrightontimebooks.com/store/

*Thank you Mama Buzz and Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley for providing the book for the purposes of review.

Monday: Meatloaf and lots of vegetables. I make terrible meatloaf, but Byron wants to avoid any kind of pasta, so I am trying. I am browning up about 3 lbs of grounded beef today just to have it ready for some quick meals next week.
Tuesday: Lifegroup -I'll contribute baked potatoes-others will supply the fixings and everything else
Wednesday: Leftovers- gotta make room for those Thanksgiving leftovers. I'm going to make up a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for the freezer and a couple loaves of bread. I'm going to try to make a gluten free recipe. I've decided Thursday will be my regular baking day and I will try for 2 baked items. Just a small way to keep more made from scratch food convenient all week.
Thursday: Gracie and Byron will be cooking a traditional Thanksgiving meal. They both threw a fit when we suggested eating with Texas family. They really enjoyed cooking the turkey and dressing for us every year in NC and don't want to give up that tradition. I'm going to make a butterscotch pecan sandie pie, and I'll assist them some, but I don't do much. They do pretty well with the cleaning up and everything, too.
Friday: Grandparent's house - we are going to help Max and Nana with some chores and see if we can't pick some pecans. They have had a very small crop this year.
Saturday: Thanksgiving Leftovers -

Sometime this week we hope to be eating hiking trail food -if the weather holds (it's been pretty wet around here) we will go on a hike in a nearby State Park. We may decide to just do a day hike. When we are on the trail the emphasis is on light weight food. We usually cook easy mac with tuna, and we eat a lot of trail mix for snacks, and oatmeal for breakfast. We always pack some major incentive for the kids -"one more mile and we will have some Skittles" or something like that to keep them motivated on the trail.

This post is linked to the I'm an Organization Junkie site. Some of the www.orgjunkie.com meal planning posts are very elaborate this week, complete with Thanksgiving recipes and ideas. To see much more interesting meal plans- visit that site.

Book Review: The Quest for Thunder Mountain

The Quest for Thunder Mountain is the first book in the Tales from Terrestria series. The Tales from Terrestria are a companion series to the Terrestria Chronicles. Look for my review of that entire 7 book series in early December. The kids and I are really loving these books and going through the accompanying parent/teacher activities as we go through them together. What a great Christmas present these books would be!

Gracie is due to read Pilgrim's Progress next Spring, and frankly I've been dreading it a bit. Not to knock the great John Bunyan, but I think Pilgrim's Progress is going to pale in comparison to the Quest for Thunder Mountain. Both are clear allegories, both show the journey of a young man to find the will of God. Quest for Thunder Mountain is just so clear. The struggles the character faces are so apparent. Pilgrim's Progress is a great classic - but sometimes a little difficult to apply. It's like the Quest for Thunder Mountain goes further. I love the way Ed Dunlop highlights the daily provision of God - and lots of neat little things that go beyond Pilgrim's Progress. In the beginning, the characters don't know if they will like the will of God (or King Emmanuel in the book), but by the end, they see that that his will was the perfect plan.

The book is written for children, and the language although accessible, is on a higher reading level. I think children 9 and up will enjoy it, but younger ones would enjoy hearing it aloud. Eventually, there will be 7 books in this Terrestria Tales series. One thing I like about this series, they are stand alone tales and can be read in any order. I believe the first four are available on the website.

Ally's favorite part was when the main character Gavin tried to rescue his traveling companion and he has to sneak into the enemy castle. She liked the action and suspense, but also the message that we cannot do things under our own power. When Gavin failed under his own strength, he had to rescue her with Emmanuel's help. He could clearly see how much easier it would have been if he had just listened in the first place.

We all liked the way the instructions from King Emmanuel came from the small voice of a dove. The main character could offer petitions to the King, which gives prayer a place in the allegory. We completely loved this book! It should be a classic for all Christian families - and a great addition to your Christmas list!

Ages: 10 and up

Price: $7.99

Put out by: Ed Dunlop Ministries


Tales from Terrestria: http://www.talesofcastles.com/tales-from-terrestria.htm

Main Site: http://www.talesofcastles.com/


This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by Ed Dunlop Ministries for the purposes of review.

Gift Idea

I saw this somewhere and I thought it would be a neat gift for a mom -
print the poem on cardstock and include a basket of muffins or a homemade muffin mix. Maybe a copy of the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, or one of those books.
What a cute poem, though - so very true!


If You Give A Mom A Muffin
Author Kathy Fictorie

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook ("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger").
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old's diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are...
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.


Count it all joy, my [sisters], when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. -James 1:2-4

Ultimate Cloth Review

Okay, I admit it -have a huge dog snot problem. Anything that is below 3 feet in height gets generally sniffed, licked, and slobbered on. It is hard to tell from this photo, but my windows and glass doors are a ton of trouble! And if I turn this chore over to the kids - they just make a big streaky mess and it ends up even worse than before.

I laughed when I was sent the Ultimate Cloth to review. I thought NO WAY is this going to do anything for the dog slobber on my front window - without chemicals! It looked like a paper towel -it is very thin and lightweight. And, I haven't exactly joined the green team -I kind of like my chemically germ-killing cleaners. But, I hate for the kids to use chemicals, so I do most of the heavy -duty cleaning chores myself. And I actually have one of those microfiber rags I bought at Walmart that is supposed to clean without chemicals, and I haven't been very impressed with it. But, I got to tell ya - it totally surprised me how well this thing worked. Even on my dog snot! It is really the coolest thing! You can feel it gripping the surface better than a microfiber rag.

Can you tell? I mean -this cloth is so nice, and the best part is that it doesn't streak on glass and mirrors. Daniel has a new chore. We TRIED to make it streak and we couldn't. I Love that! A job I used to have to do can now be delegated to the youngest kid -that makes this mama WAY happy! I need about 3 more of them. I would like to have one or two designated just for glass and mirrors. Although I did have to yell at a kid at least once for thinking it was a paper towel and attempting to throw it away. It just kept going and going too -I cleaned about 6 windows and it was still working, you just wring it out and keep cleaning. It can be used for anything - even on your Swifter! What I love most is that you can just toss it in the washing machine. Byron says if it will get me cleaning windows -it is worth every penny.

Main Website: http://www.ultimateclothamerica.com/index.html

Cloth Information: http://www.ultimateclothamerica.com/information.html Purchase Page: http://www.ultimateclothamerica.com/purchase.html

The Ultimate Cloth only costs $6.00 - but you can get one FREE! All you need to do is follow Ultimate Cloth America on Twitter or become a fan on facebook:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ultimate_Cloth

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ultimate-Cloth-America/209222110335?v=wall&ref=ts

Here's what the company says about it -

The Ultimate Cloth is eco-friendly solution for homes as well as a money and time saver. The Ultimate Cloth is a brand new technology – in fact, it is the only cloth to receive a new patent in the last 25 years. The Ultimate Cloth is a simple, green and effective one-step cleaning process. The Ultimate Cloth cleans any hard surface – glass, wood, granite, stainless steel and many more – with just water! No longer do you have to use harsh chemicals in your home, nor do you need spend hundreds of dollars per year buying them. The Ultimate Cloth has been lab tested to remove 96% of bacteria, without the use of chemicals. And, can cut 50% off your cleaning time. The Ultimate Cloth is truly the ultimate in green cleaning.
*Thank you, Ultimate Cloth and Mama Buzz for providing the Ultimate Cloth for review.

History Fair!

Daniel's History Fair Project on Daniel Boone. He had such a great time making things and working on the book he made. He made a covered wagon, teepee, log house, and he even sewed the pouch for bullets on his belt.

Gracie did her project over the Pioneers. Her project was very popular - she had a bunch of recipes, and samples of Johnny Cakes, and a lot of craft projects like quilting, and a rag rug, cornhusk doll, and a quill pen. We still haven't figured out that drop spindle yet.

And - the big winner of the 10 and up judged division (the younger group was not judged). Ally got 1st place! Her project was very interesting. She displayed many of the ways women spies of the Civil War hid messages and did their spying. She had a loaf of bread with a message in it, a hollow egg with a message, and she made a hoop skirt for her doll to demonstrate how they hid things in their skirts and hair-do's. There were around 55 participants in all. The contest was judged by college history professors. Now Ally wants to enter her project in the regional history fair in February. The kids got all kinds of neat prizes - each of them got a gift certificate for a dozen donuts.

Review: When Moms Pray Together

When Moms Pray Together by Fern Nichols

Put out by: Tyndale
Price: $13.99

Book Info (as taken from the Tyndale site): Moms in Touch International is an organization that brings moms together to pray for their children and their children's schools. As MITI prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary, Fern Nichols, the founder and president, has collected some of the most inspiring and encouraging stories of God's work in answer to those prayers. When Moms Pray Together will inspire and equip mothers to pray more consistently and hopefully for their children while encouraging them through the stories from moms everywhere.

Disclosure: Mama Buzz- and reviewers -received a complimentary copy of this book for blog tour purposes.

What a great book this is! When Moms Pray Together chronicles some exciting stories of moms and their prayers and journeys with their children. Different women share throughout the book how the organization Moms In Touch affected the lives of many families by providing a prayer community to believe together. Each chapter tells a different story of a mom and her experiences with her children at any point birth to adult age- everything from learning difficulties to suicide.

All moms face times when we despair over our children in some way, and we all certainly know of many families who face seemingly hopeless situations within their families. When Moms Pray Together is a great resource for hope and encouragement. It inspires me to become stronger in my efforts to focus prayer on each of my children individually. The writers of each chapter share in such a vulnerable way about different things they did as they stood on God's promises for their children, verses, and even the feelings of guilt, shame, and despair they experienced as a result of their children's actions. Several moms talked about praying scripture specifically, and the importance of joining with other women to pray - if possible with moms facing similar issues.

The chapter that hit me most was the last in the book, called Hope for the Moms of Prodigals. I know so many prodigals who have run away from their faith, and I know so many moms who are hurting because of the actions of these children - and my heart breaks for them both. In so many cases, they are good families where it would seem their upbringing was ideal, yet they walk away from the faith and values they have been raised with. The story of this family will encourage you if you are in need of strength.

The book reaffirms that God does hear our prayers, that there is power and strength in Him, and you should never give up hope. God's word will never return void. I love what the mother who shared the story of praying for her prodigal son did- she would pray the following scripture with her son's name in it. "You will give (him) a heart to know you, that you are the Lord. (He) will be your people, and you will be (his) God, for (he) will return to you with all his heart." Jeremiah 24:7
Such a powerful book. Totally loved it!

Pioneer Living

We have been spending a lot of time working on our History Projects this week. Our presentations are Thursday night with our homeschool group. All these pioneer activities have certainly made us realize how tough life as a pioneer would be! Yesterday we dipped candles. Wow, it was MUCH harder and took MUCH longer than we thought! Come to find out with a bit further research, when the wax is too hot - it doesn't stick to the wick. When the wax is too cold - it makes the candles too lumpy. I think too cold must've been our problem. Them's some LUMPY candles! We melted the wax from old candles into a coffee can and heated it in an electric skillet.

Later today - we will be making Hoe Cakes! AND today, I'll be baking some homemade bread - maybe I can get it right this time.

Review: The Curse of the Spider King

The Curse of the Spider King: Book 1 in the Berinfell Prophecies

By: Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper

Ages: 12 - to adult

Put out by: Thomas Nelson

Price: $14.99

Disclosure: Thomas Nelson provided complimentary copies to Mama Buzz reviewers for the purposes of this blog tour.

Ally and I were SO excited to get this book! The Door Within Trilogy http://www.amazon.com/The-Door-Within-Trilogy/lm/R3VYTAHM15XLG4 (also by these authors) we both LOVED! We SO need more exciting, creative books for kids like this written by Christian authors! Much like the previous trilogy, The Curse of the Spider King comes in such a beautiful and fascinating volume. The action of the story alternates between two worlds, and we love the way the pages of the book change to an antique look when the alternate world is described. It just lends a neat dimension and mystery to the book. Ally and I both loved this book and will definitely be getting the next ones in the series. It does have some creepy parts - I am still haunted by the comment of a character that studies show that the average person swallows many spiders in our sleep each year. Pure fiction, I hope? Spiders were the evil minions sent to earth to spy on the good guys. The book has some real spiritual elements and a few times characters fall on Bible verses for strength. We actually used the Door Within Series in a comparison with The Chronicles of Narnia for school. The Curse of the Spider King also has that other-worldly analogy of Christian life - with a book that reveals the truth and enlightens the characters as to their true destiny. Students will love the action and adventure in these books! The Berinfell Prophecies would make a great movie - but as a book it can be hard to follow from time to time in the beginning; but hang in there - you won't be able to put it down by the end. Definitely for older kids - it would freak Gracie out with spider nightmares - but by age 11 -12 she could probably handle it.

Ally's thoughts - The Curse of the Spider King is packed full of adventure, battle, and the characters have supernatural powers which are just developing. I like how the author goes back and forth between the different characters perspectives. I also like that even though the characters have powers, they still face alot of problems normal kids have; like bullies, being made fun of, feeling shy and unsure, and others. I really like the suspense the book has, the only thing I don't like is that the 2nd book hasn't come out yet! I can't wait to find out what happens next!

There are several activities on the website http://www.heedtheprophecies.com/ and a riddle to solve.

There is a Catch!

So - it was too good to be TRUE! The original code I posted freebies4mom was a good promotional code for the free photo cards. In fact, I got mine in the mail today and they are very nice! However, I got an email today telling me the free ornament and additional cards are on hold. Apparently, the codes were wrongly posted on several Internet sites and spread around pretty quickly. :( Oh well, goes to show you if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Amazing Deals

Okay, this http://www.seehere.com/ thing is awesome. Makes you think, what's the catch? I just ordered another 50 photo cards ($24.99). AND a photo ornament ($12.99). All shipped for FREE. That makes 100 free cards in all!
For the cards - create yourself 50 4x8 photo cards and enter this promo code: NEWBABY
And for the ornament - choose one of their $12.99 photo ornaments and enter the promo code: MALLORNAMENT
I don't know when these deals expire - so you'd better hurry! The ornament I think doesn't expire till March. The site is SO slow - probably so many people trying to take advantage of the deal!

An un-rushed life

Today I had a lot of school subjects I wanted the kids to get to -a lot of inside studying I wanted to rush -rush them through. But, the weather was BEAUTIFUL, and the wind has been blowing pecans off our pecan tree all morning and the squirrels are going NUTS! My first instinct is to get agitated and rush the kids back inside to hurry into bookwork, but you know, there are times to rush and there are times to sit back and observe. I think the learning that comes from un-rushed observation is what so many kids are lacking. They'll rush and drive off everywhere, sit in traffic, and complain about slow drivers for most of their lives when they are grown. We can take an afternoon to lay back and watch squirrels!

When I stop MY rushing and go out to join them, I can see how much they really are learning. Made me kind of philosophical. I got out my copy of Wordsworth poems - there is this poem I was thinking of - "The Tables Turned" - "Enough of science and of art; close up those barren leaves; come forth, and bring with you a heart, that watches and receives."

Good stuff.

country kids

Kids Can Publish

I have discovered a great site for kids! It is called Kids Can Publish University http://www.fivestarpublications.com/kidscanpublish/ It is a really neat site for homeschoolers and children in grades 1-9. Kids have the opportunity to get their fiction and nonfiction stories, poems, editorials, articles, photography or cartoons published - free of charge - for all the world to read by entering pieces in Kids Can Publish University's monthly contest. Each month, Kids Can Publish will select the best pieces in a variety of categories and age divisions to publish online, giving young authors and illustrators their own byline.

I love to find opportunities for my 3 kids to compete. Being homeschooled doesn't give them as much experience with competing as public school would -and I think these things build character. Even losing has it's benefits for kids. Plus, my kids are SO competitive! They are already scrambling for some writing samples to submit. We have created some EXCELLENT writing this year by using Karen Andreola's book, Story Starters.

But, this site isn't just for homeschoolers, there are so many applications and services available for public and private schools. Schools and groups can access some really great workshops and author visits. There are teaching ideas and even help with grant writing. I see so many positives to this site - and it is free! And what a great thing for students to put on a college application! I love this site - I hope you can check it out!

Great Deal

Wow! Go to this link -
http://www.seehere.com/
and order yourself some photo cards.
Order 50 4X8 or 5X7 cards
Enter promo code freebies4mom-1109
and get them free - and you don't even have to pay shipping!
That's my kind of deal! You have until 11/30!

Bread Trouble

Well, my bread was only slightly improved by the new recipe. I'm sad. It rose a bit more - but it's still not right - not rising up over the top of the pan like it should! I have decided that breadmaking is one of those things that is not about recipes or head-knowledge -it's a "feel" thing. And I haven't had quite enough experience to figure it all out, yet. You just kinda figure out what the bread is supposed to feel like, look like and you just know. So I left out one little thing and I think that did it. When you put the bread in a bowl to rise, you grease the bowl and turn the bread over in it to get the oil on the bread all the way around. I didn't do that this time and the bread was all dry on the top when it rose - MAYBE that was it. I really feel like making another couple of loaves tonight so I can figure it out! But, my mini-baking day has kind of put us behind on some schooling that needs to be done.

Remind me again why I wanted to make all these muffins? I made a total of 144 mini muffins today! 96 of the pumpkin recipe (see post a few days back) and 48 banana chocolate chip. The pumpkin ones are fabulous! What a great recipe- and the kids LOVED them. The pumpkin really makes them moist and good. The banana ones on the other hand were not so great. I won't even bother to share the recipe. The kids didn't like them, and Byron hates Banana, so I think I'm gonna be eating some banana muffins all by myself. They're okay, but the banana taste is pretty strong, they also have sour cream in them, just an odd flavor.

Miscellaneous Fun Stuff

We went to Nana's Friday, then Grandma's. We had to work in a family baseball game at Grandma's.

The kids caught these lovely critters in the ditch in front of Grandma's house. The big one looked more like a lobster than a crawfish. We let them go, of course.

These are the new signs I am making for Christmas. I'm only going to charge $10 for them. My plan is to make a red bow out of tin at the top - I did a raffia bow for this one, but I didn't like that as much.

Gracie's Monday cupcakes

These are our paper pumpkin projects -they turned out very nice. We had fun making them too.

This Weeks Menu Plans

I wish I could do some cool links to recipes, but I don't know how to do it without it taking up so much room in the post. I'll work on it. In the meantime, I am planning our meals for the next week - and really missing the ease of the past weeks after our make ahead day cooking event. I think we are going to have to do that at least once a month. Having so many meals and snacks prepared made my life so much more organized and easy! I AM planning a mini -cooking day on Wednesday. I have got to solve my bread-making troubles - flat, brick-like loaves! Tasty flat, little bricks - but not what I intended. I think I am on to a solution. I'll post about that Thursday and let you know how a change of recipe works out. One of my favorite sites, www.orgjunkie.com does this every week and it really helps to see the plans of others -about 300+ people link to her site each Monday to share their menu planning ideas. It's a great resource for menu-block. Do you ever get that?
Okay -breakfasts this week: chocolate chip waffles, muffins, eggs and biscuits, Daddy makes Sunday pancakes
Lunches this week: sandwiches, soup and grill cheese (kid's favorite-requested everyday), make your own pizzas, goodie plates, leftovers
Monday -Cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot while we are at co-op. I'll cook Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti with it when we get home, and put the rest away for other things throughout the weekend.
Tuesday - Italian Ziti -Italian theme potluck church lifegroup at our house, it'll be completely gone. I am going to make 2 batches and freeze one for next week.
Wednesday - Leftovers from Monday
mini baking day: Just 3 items on the list -I have to try those pumpkin chocolate chip muffins http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2009/06/baking-day-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins.html
And I hate to overdo the chocolate chips - but I also found an interesting banana chocolate chip muffin recipe. I'll freeze most of this muffins. I've discovered my kids actually prefer frozen and thawed cupcakes and muffins. And finally Wednesday, I WILL solve this bread baking problem. Here's the recipe I hope will solve my problem:
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/deliciouswwbread.htm
This site has some great bread-making advice and trouble-shooting, too.
Thursday - Chicken Enchiladas
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday- Cook up 4lbs of Ground Meat to use in next week's recipes + make a big pot of stew
Sunday -Stew I love soup and stew weather! I love it because I love it, but I also love that I can make a huge pot of it -then I don't have to cook for 2-3 days.
Well, that's the plans. We'll see what the reality will be...

Friday Fill-Ins

And...here we go!
1. Plans and schedules for today are kinda crazy - school, projects, co-op, groceries, house cleaning, packing. Taking the dog along with us is always a challenge. AND I have to clean house for lifegroup here on Tuesday.
2. I'm happy when things go smoothly and no one is whiny.
3. The last thing I drank was water. I hate starting my day without milk, it's my coffee. Did I mention it was grocery day?
4. One of the most valuable things in my life is my husband, does he count as a "thing?" He does so much!
5. I like sausage on my pizza.
6. Dear November, please go easy on me!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _traveling 1 hour to Corsicana to visit my parents, we'll probably make a fire and smores. Tomorrow my plans include _a Home Depot kids workshop in the morning, and then off to Grandma's (in Mabank - another hour drive from Corsicana), and Sunday, I want to go to church and hang out with family - and maybe work on some craft projects.

Starting Out Homeschooling

I've been talking to a couple of different people who want to start homeschooling. Of course it can seem so overwhelming to think about different curriculum and programs -especially when you are dealing with several ages/grades. So here's my advice for what to do first.

First think about all the times/subjects when you can combine some or all of the children to learn together.

Second, plan for times/subjects when students can work independently.

And finally determine which subjects your kids are going to need you hands on one-on-one. Now, when that list gets too extensive, determine what areas your older kids can help out with. I have in the past turned entire areas over to my oldest for teaching, but I struggled with not controlling everything! So, now I have 3-4 areas my 2 older children help with - and I alternate their teaching of it with me. For example -Daniel reads aloud to different people every day - occasionally even the dog. :)

For us we start the day with Bible/prayer time together. I use an Abeka Bible sets because it has these great large pictures to keep the younger ones interested, yet it follows a book of the Bible in order with some great applications for the olders. We alternate though - we do a devotional a couple days a week, a character values lapbook, verse memory, a country prayer guide another day. This is one subject I want lots of interest in - so I change it up a lot!

We usually do a morning meeting time for a quick game together (spelling bee, hyperdash) our math basics, charting weather, temperature, but I will usually excuse the 6th grader & sometimes one of the olders will lead the 1st grader without me.

Handwriting is a great time for kids to combine -they can both copy together - I have before expressed my LOVE of the Draw Write Now series.

Science and History are so great for combining kids! I LOVE using lapbooks. But this is one area where you should relax! Go with their interests and let them learn to LOVE learning. Both subjects repeat many times from K-12th grade -they are going to get what they need. If I kid is into rockets - let him spend 2 months on it. If he doesn't get to the food chain that year -it will be OKAY. There's no cut and dry timelines -every school and curriculum is different. But if you think back to your own education, it is those times when you did a project, went to a museum, or did something interesting that stuck in your brain. Very rarely will something that you read in a book really help on a SAT, but you'll be able to write a essay in college about westward expansion if you spend a week dressed like Daniel Boone. I'm serious! And really realize one leisurely day on a nature trail with a notebook and pocket nature guide will help more with college entrance scores than a week in a classroom! So much of what we do is making learning a great way of life, interesting, and desirable -these are the things that make smart adults -not grades and worksheets.

My favorite site for free lapbooks of all kinds - WONDERFUL STUFF!

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/index_lapbooks_master_list.php

Here's a neat site with some cool printables. I love these geography printables:

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/archives/geography_az.shtml

I use calendars like these for daily journal entries -print each month and put into their notebooks

http://www.gigglepotz.com/writingone.htm

If I had to start all over at homeschooling day 1 knowing what I know now, I might've gone with My Father's World curriculum http://www.mfwbooks.com/ because it so well combines subjects and grade levels -all you add is math and language arts - everything else is the same for all age levels. It makes it very easy on you. I have a friend who has 4 kids 1-6th and Father's World makes it SO much easier for her. I have been so impressed with Abeka Math, spelling and language. I've always had cheap and easy access to Abeka stuff - financially it was a much better deal for us, and now at this point, I can keep passing down stuff I've used before to the next kid -it's just reasonable for me to stay with it. Plus, resources for geography, history, and science are so readily available through the library and computer for free -I just never could justify the expense.

Hope all that helps! Don't worry!

Cupcake Lessons

We stayed home from co-op today. Daniel's poison ivy has spread a bit and he was looking very red and rashy! I think he is probably not contagious at this point, but I thought people might be a bit freaked to look at him. I put apple cider vinegar on it - which is supposed to be a great help. But, he screamed bloody murder and ran around like a crazy man. Must'a stung.

So, since Gracie missed her beloved cupcake class, she gave Ally some schooling in cupcake decorating. These are cupcakes modelled after our dog. They did a very good job.

These are Gracie's

These are Ally's

Gracie always makes 6 cupcakes, how come Dad always gets 2?

Daniel's 1st Lost Tooth

Dad finally pulled Daniel's 1st tooth today. He's been waiting so long. He's been jealous of the girl's tooth losing. We don't really do the tooth fairy - but we tease about the tooth angel - of course they know the "truth."

Ally is on a streak and didn't want to be left out from the tooth pulling fun, so she pulled her own. That makes her 2nd this week.