Last seen: In the kitchen, near the freezer
Description: Approximately 3 lbs, brown/pink, and wrapped in a freezer bag.
Markings: March 2010
Reward: Ham dinner with all the trimmings
Really- some people misplace their glasses, but a whole ham? (It's not really a whole one, we usually divide our hams in three.) Do you ever feel like your freezer is the wardrobe to Narnia? Where do things go? I guess my family will just have to make do with other meals until the ham is found. Probably when I clean the freezer next Fall.
Lost Ham
12 Ways We Battle The Common Cold
My house sounds like it's been taken over by barking seals. Everyone has a cough and a stuffy nose. There may be no cure for the common cold, but this is what we're using to feel as comfortable as possible. This is just what we do when we're sick. If you'd like to try anything listed here, please check with your doctor first and use your common sense.
1) Hot steamy baths with vapor rub on our chests and under our noses. In these we drink at least one large glass of water.
2) Similarly- we go to bed with vapor rub on our chests and covered with a rice hot pad (I need to make new ones, I'll try to post instructions when I do).
3) Boiling water on the stove. We've had several humidifiers, but I can never keep them clean enough to make me comfortable.
4) Sitting with baby in the bathroom with a hot shower running to steam up the room. Sometimes I even nurse him there, if he's too stuffy to nurse.
5) Johnson's Soothing Vapor baby bath- for the whole family, not just the baby.
6) Hot raw honey and lemon tea and rose hip tea (high in vitamin C).
7) Echinacea morning and evening and extra vitamin C (just for the adults, I don't know the dosage for children- do you?)
8) Halls Mentho-lyptus cough drops. These are the worst tasting flavor, but the most effective at clearing out my nose.
9) All the juice you can drink. The kids really like this one. Right now they need the liquids more than I need to worry about sugar consumption.
10) A large pot of (sort of) homemade chicken noodle soup. I just used broth powder as a base and added noodles, leftover chicken, and veggies.
11) Easy entertainment- I'm re-reading Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly Series. Jeromebob is watching VeggieTales and Missy is watching Little House on the Prairie.
12) Sleepovers- The older children are sleeping on the living room floor, which makes them closer to our bedroom if they need something.
I knew this was coming, I was the last to get sick. But I thought it would miss me,because I don't have time to get sick... I sure wish I would have made better use of that warning!
Photo credit: FreeFoto.com
Menu Plan- Week of March 29th
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!)
How We Home School
We've been trying The Robinson Curriculum for a few months now. It emphasizes the basics- Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic and claims to have everything you need for 12 years (and more) of education on 22 CDs.
We haven't bought The Robinson Curriculum CDs, even though they really are a bargain. Since most of the books needed are older and are no longer copyrighted you can print them from Project Gutenberg or find them used very inexpensively. We're printing the books from Rosegate Harbour and using vocab sheets from Walker Family Life. We're also enjoying the audio versions listed on Rosegate Harbour, mostly for Mom and Dad. We did invest in a good duplex printer and a comb binder, but they cost less than one year's curriculum usually does.
We're starting to follow The Robinson Curriculum, but I'm just looking at it as a goal. Right now Missy is reading 1 hour a day and we're adding 15 min. more each week. Saxon math isn't a choice for us, because Missy had her heart set on Teaching Textbooks before we started using Robinson. We're also continuing several other programs we had already (Writing Strands, Simply Grammar, Spelling Power). We haven't made all of the lifestyle changes Dr. Robinson suggests, we still have our TV and eat sugar. I could make the children stop doing this, but I can't make Daddy!
Though we are not following the program exactly, we are seeing great results. Missy is willing to do her work without arguing (too much). The books are very interesting, even to me. They are of good quality and we don't have to be concerned about objectionable content, like we do with many modern books. I think this is our new favorite home school curriculum!
So, what's your favorite home school curriculum?
Big Changes...
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.
Girl's Night Out
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
