The Back of Nowhere

I'm excited to join Menu Plan Monday hosted by I'm An Organizing Junkie. Sometimes I don't get my plan together until Wednesday or later.... I'm hoping linking up to Menu Plan Monday will help me get my menu together sooner.

We aren't having an Easter dinner on Sunday, because I'm working. We will have ham dinner next Monday instead.

Monday
Chicken Breasts on rice
Creamed Green Beans
Fresh Bread (Breadmaker Whole Wheat)

Tuesday
Eggs and Bacon (Daddy's Cooking)

Wednesday
Chicken Noodle Soup with Dumplings
Fresh Bread (Breadmaker Whole Wheat)

Thursday
Pork Steak Marinated in Italian Dressing
Creamy Mac and Cheese
Corn

Friday
Pork Fried Rice
Fresh Bread (Breadmaker Whole Wheat)

Saturday
Snotdish (Tomato Hot Dish) in crock pot

Sunday
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Peas

Breakfast is always Children's Choice- Oatmeal or Malt-O-Meal

Lunch is always Leftovers, PB&J, or Tuna Sandwiches

Snacks Hard Boiled Eggs (of course!), Rhubarb Crisp, Banana Bread (I really struggle with getting these made, instead of just planned!)

Playing Hide-And-Go-Seek...

There are big changes coming to my house. My husband accepted a new job he is very excited about. It's a great opportunity for him to do something he has wanted to do for a long time. But (there's always a catch) his income will decrease by about 1/3. Also, he will not be able to work overtime. That almost prevented him from accepting it.

I feel God has been preparing us for this opportunity over the last few years. He has been working in our hearts to change our priorities. It wasn't long ago when we wanted to have everything that our society says shows success. We both worked long hours and our children were at G'ma and G'pa's more than they were at home.

We had a large home and a large mortgage to go with it. Now, losing part of our income will not cause us to lose our home. I feel God's leading in this as well- we didn't purchase our home, but inherited it.

We've had some experience with frugal living and there are several other things we're excited to try. Over the last 3 years we've been making a lot of small changes. Going paperless in the kitchen, cloth diapering, drying laundry on the line, etc. We've done a little gardening and are looking forward to growing a large garden this summer.

I know we will need to continue to make changes, but I feel we're up to the challenge. We've been put into a position where we can make it work.

Missy and I had a girl's night out last night. We went to Village Inn for dinner and shopping after.

I don't think Missy has been to Village Inn since she was old enough to remember. We had a dinner that came with a piece of pie and she couldn't believe the different kinds of pie that were available. It was a tough decision... It was an even harder decision for me, because I know they're all wonderful!

After, we finished summer wardrobe shopping for all three kids. $30 Weekly Grocery Challenge had written about a great deal at Target. They had Circo on sale and there was a coupon to go with it. It worked out to be less than what we would have spent at Goodwill.

Wardrobe planning is always a big deal for me. I know a lot of people don't plan their kids wardrobes and their kids always look fine, but if I did that- my kids would end up wearing plaids with stripes. We're lucky enough to have Grandmas that buy a lot of the kid's clothes (Thank you, Grandmas!). So I just plug the holes- making sure each has 5-7 pairs of bottoms and 7-10 tops.

This year Jeromebob and Cheesecake are both wearing Toddlers. Yes- I bought them matching outfits... I know it's cheesy, but it's the last chance I'll have. By the time they're both wearing Boys, they'll be old enough to complain.

The Hillbilly Housewife- I like the old page best.

Money Saving Mom- My all time favorite ever!

The Happy Housewife- The Itch to Pitch (gotta love that line)

simple mom- Spring cleaning

These are both older posts, but they apply to my life right now. I feel the walls closing in on me and I'm ready to get rid of everything (clutter, useful items, everything!) I told Cory to be careful not to sit still- if he does, I may send him to the thrift shop!

When you home school you have days of doubt... Are we covering enough? Should we be doing more written work? Are they listening? Are they really learning anything?

We have been covering Early American history this year. We're reading Joy Hakim's A History of Us. As a family we're watching Drive Thru History America and listening to an audio version of Johnny Tremain (I was too lazy to read it aloud). Missy is copying the Preamble for handwriting. This stuff is great (entertaining), but is it enough to really learn?

Last night we had a eureka moment. We watched Liberty's Kids and Missy argued with the TV about the "historical inaccuracies" in the program. To top it off, she was correct (according to Johnny Tremain). Yipee, she is listening!

Liberty's Kids really is a good animated series. The animation isn't great (compared to modern Disney), but the story was very well-written. Jeromebob even sat still and watched it. We were able to rent it from Blockbuster, but I'd like to buy it sometime in the future, if I can find a used copy.

Muthering Heights- Her skirt story is so funny and just like something that would happen to me!

Rosegate Harbour- This is great homeschooling resource, especially for printing books.

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home- I love the artwork on this site. It makes me want to hang up all the Sandra Kuck pictures I have sitting in my closet. Also March 2nd's post is a great reminder for me.

Daddy was in charge of science day a few weeks ago. They did all kinds of fun things.











Like blowing up a volcano...

















Blowing up water...


















Blowing up light bulbs...














I'm sure Missy learned lots-

She's still talking about how to test a 9 volt battery with your tongue.