Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year

 
Tonight is our Annual Movie & Game Night. We always have an evening starting at dark with games and movies. Finger snacks and the kids favorite Sparking Grape Juice! We will watch the ball drop and then hand out new calendars I got for them! Of course it will be midnight so then very quickly off to bed. I think we will have an issue getting them up and at'em for church! Pray for Kevin and I because tomorrow a good friend will take care of the kids while we travel to Kevin's Christmas present, a UNC game at Chapel Hill.
So friends
 Happy New Year!
Need goals for the New Year? 
Imagine who you want your kids to become. 
Be that.
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Friday, December 30, 2011

Still On Break - Just Had To Share


Hi All...
We are still on break but I just had to share what our new edition is to our school workboxes starting for the new year!! Some of you already know how badly I wanted these. Just had to wait for the right timing for price!! Well that time came this week!! 

(( DRUM ROLL PLEASE))

OUR NEW WORKBOXES



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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year


Hi All!! 
We finished up school today and will be on our 2 week break. Happens to fall perfectly at Christmas and New Years. So finishing school today I will also be on "blog break." So I will post more and carry on after the New Year!!

I hope that all my blog friends have a safe and wonderful Christmas this year. I want to leave you with a wonderful poem...

'Twas the Night Before Jesus Came

 'Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house,
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap. 

When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!
 

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray,
I knew in a moment this must be THE DAY!

The light of His face made me cover my head,
It was Jesus! Returning just like He had said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand,
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
When He said, "It's not here," my head hung in shame.
The people whose names had been written with love,
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound,
While all the rest were left standing around. 


I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight,
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call,
We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

    

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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

We are Baking -- Are You??

Today we are baking!!! Yes we are doing school too!! This is our last week. We school until Thursday. Then we will be taking Friday off along with the week following Christmas. We will be very busy this week. We have been crafting and getting started baking well after I blog lol!! 

I posted the other day that we do not give gifts to our family, friends etc. However we do bake goody bags and gift. This year we also found some really cute crafts the kids wanted to do to gift as well. I will be posting pics of this tomorrow for our Wordless Wednesday Week 18!! 

Menu For Goody Bags

Holiday Bark:
16oz. vanilla-flavored candy coating, chopped
2 cups small pretzel twists
1/2 cup red and green candy-coated chocolate pieces
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1. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. In medium saucepan, melt candy coating over low heat, stirring constantly. 

2. Add remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Spread mixture thinly on waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Cool 30 minutes or until set. Break into pieces.

Oreo's Dipped in Vanilla:
Take a package of vanilla chips or bark and melt...

Then this is really simple -- Just dip the oreos!!!!!!!!! 

Lay on wax paper and allow to harden - your done!!

We went to Michael's and purchased the colored chips that are Red & Green for the Festive time of year!! 


Peanut Butter Fudge:

I got this recipe from a Pampered Chef party and man oh man we have ate it normally since!! lol

1 can of vanilla cake icing
1 bag of peanut butter chips(I use the reese's)
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Melt the peanut butter chips in a microwave bowl for almost a minute you can tell if the chips are melted and stir easily.
Mix in the icing.
Pour into wax paper covered dish.
Let harden then cut.


Hip Homeschool Hop Button 



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Monday, December 19, 2011

House Hold Helps


 I got this in my inbox today... Wanted to share with you all. I have actually done several of these things before and they do work!!!

1.      Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.. I didn't know that!

2.      Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

3.      Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

4.      Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking. 

5.      To make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up. 

6.      Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic,  and at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic.

7.      Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

8.      Easy Deviled Eggs: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up.  Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg.  Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

9.      Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size.  You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.  

10. Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

11. Newspaper weeds away: Plant your plants in the ground, work the nutrients in your soil. Then wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go, cover with mulch, and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

12. To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

13. Flexible vacuum: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

14. Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip to eliminate static cling. It works; you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... Ta DA! ... Static is gone.

15. Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

16. De-fog your windshield: Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

17. Re-opening envelopes: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

18. Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

19. Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup an d gone forever!

20. Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed! 

21. Wash your dryer filter: Did you know that cleaning your lint trap with a dryer sheet can ruin it? Dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free, and smell good. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box? Apparently that stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! You can test it by running the lint trap under water. If the water goes through you are good. If not then you need to clean it. The best way to keep your dryer working for a long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. 

22. Drop a small object on the carpet and can't find it.  Place panty hose over the end of the vacuum hose and start vacuuming. The panty hose will trap anything to large to fit through the tiny hose and keep it from getting sucked into the vacuum. 

23. Wearing a skirt or dress on a windy day. Cut open a few sections on the bottom seam. slip in some heavy washers or flat weights (anything small heavy and flat will work) then sew the seam back up. 
           24. Need to cut some corn off the cob. Use your bundt pan.  Place the ear on the opening in the center of the pan, and as you slide the knife down the ear, all the kernels will collect in the main part of the pan.
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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Inspiration - Do U Need it?


I want to encourage you today! I need it often. As a stay at home mother I don't feel trapped however I know some other mothers do feel that way. As a teacher to my children it requires lots of work on my part, planning, paperwork and just creativeness! As a mother I have to provide time for my children. As a wife to my wonderful husband I to have to give myself to him, for enjoyment, talking over bills and just reading together(one of my favorite things). 

Its a hard job being a momma!! 

So today I want to turn you to a station I love. God sent it to me almost a year and half ago. It helps me DAILY. I listen to them online, in the car and also get the encouraging word of the day. The name of the station is K Love. Sign up for the encouraging word so it can come to your inbox! You will get it daily and its wonderful to think of "what" message was sent that day. Just taking a moment to see if you need to improve or if you need to help others, or if you just need a minute to yourself!! My favorite thing about K Love is that I can enjoy streaming it on line!!!!!! 
We have it on all the time :)

Today's word was:
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Colossians 3::23 

And this was the reason behind my post :) 
Happy Weekend.

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Weekly Wrap Up 17

Week 17 - TASK COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!!
One more week then on a 2 week break! 
We have been waiting patiently! 
We school year round and every 8 weeks of schooling we take 2 weeks off for those who don't know. This week went wonderful. I would like to say THANKS to all of you that have been praying for my health issues. My biopsy result #2 finally came back and we are GOOD!!! PRAISE GOD!! I feel great after my month and half of down hills, I haven't hit 30 years of age yet and I was beginning to wonder if I would... I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Break!! I will post next week then off I will be...

On to school...


Together:
 
Practiced Christmas Play parts. 
Play is Sunday Morning!! Kids are excited!

Bible Topics ~ Since its very close to Christmas we have been learning about things related to that... Check out last weeks round up... This week The Birth of Jesus & Swaddling Cloths.


Road Trip USA ~  We reviewed Connecticut, Delaware, Maine and Maryland.
We played Jeopardy for all 4 states and lots and lots of review. We also learned more about Harriet Tubman.


Geography A-Z ~
Grasslands

Christmas Party @ Library for our 
Afternoon Adventures Club


Crafts made @ party!


DS1

MUS Epsilon ~ 5 a - test (This has took longer than expected...)
Daily Reading Daily Writing 
Language Review AAS 3 step 9 & AAH Review
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Perfect picture of DS1... Enjoying his free time...

DD


MUS Beta 7 a - test Daily Reading Daily Sentence Building & Writing AAS 3 step 9 & AAH Review 
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Look what DD finished(pic #1)!! 
Didn't she do wonderful!!!!!!! I'm so proud of her!!

DS2

MUS Alpha 7 a - test AAR Pre almost finished. 
We have really enjoyed this and since the next level just got released we are really excited. We have stopped using Reading Lessons for right now since we are going to plan on using AAR Level 1. Daily work on sounds.(Hes doing really great) Placing simple C V C words together.  Working on knowledge of fact families. Up to 6!!  Daily Writing & Drawing.
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DS2 lost tooth #3 this week :)
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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Homeschool Really??


Do you ever really get aggravated when people call and ask "what your doing?????" Then follow that up with "oh well you've got a minute...."

Do I really have a minute? I mean really? Kids running around or in the middle of reading or a lesson or a game and then someone that has no respect for "YOUR" time calls to be rude or harsh to you over your decisions.

Homeschooling - Whats the definition to you??
Teaching?
Baby sitting?
Wasting Time?
Learning?
Loving?
Reading?
Educating?
Parenting?

To me homeschooling is a way to educate my children from the comfort of "MY" home. I want to love them while teaching them "THEIR" way of learning. Each of my children have a different learning style so how exactly am I suppose to send them to school to be taught by one learning style?? That probably means that 2 of my 3 children will not get it and 1 of 3 will do wonderful... That's the odds! And I'm not willing to take that chance!

So this is a call out to anyone that knows someone that homeschools ........ Friends, Family, Neighbors, ANYONE THATS NOT A HOMESCHOOLER...

Try to be nice to them. Their days are spent educating children the way they learn. Not the way the parent learns or what is easiest after all easiest is sending them to school. Its a hard job filled with daily household chores and responsibilities too. Its a job that NEVER stops. Our schools don't start at 8:30 and stop at 2:45. We don't get breaks, We are the lunch ladies that fix the meals and the janitor that cleans up, on top of the bus driver... Understand yet?? This means that they might not always have time for YOU, this means that the home you visit may not be 100% clean -- who am I kidding the home you visit may not be 50% clean. They might need a few days to call you back, it might not be in an hour!

Homeschoolers:

Don't be afraid to not answer the phone. Not go to the program that are at the library. Its alright to skip something every once in a while. If you have a load of clothes to fold and don't feel like it -- DON'T FOLD THEM! Pray often that way you can understand why your doing what your doing!!! I love ya and your babies love ya!!

I was reminded of everything we do - do it to the glory of God then we will always come out on top!!! 



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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Wordless Wednesday Week 17 - EXTREMELY LONG

 Working on Fractions (playing Fraction Formula from Educational Insights)

 Working on Homophones!

 Playing Safetyville (found this game at Goodwill and it teaches safety which is wonderful)
 Playing Fraction Formaula again and I lost...

 Kids playing Monopoly Jr

 Saturday Youth Meeting at Bo's...


 After Youth Meeting my husband went on a driving frenzy... We ended up looking at more lights!


 Sunday after church we got another wild streak... Went to Gatlinburg TN for an over night stay...


 Back in room after a long swim...

 Trip to Ripley's Aquarium

 Watched feeding at the Coral Reef Exhibit



 Went to a class on Sharks 101(we were the only ones there for that)

 We got to touch the shark and star fish inside the tide pool. It was really neat. I never would of thought that sharks are scaly however they are!!

 Watched Sting Ray Dive as well...


 We got really cracked up because while DS2 was petting the ray it actually spit on him twice!!!!!!

 That fish scared me lol!! Looks mean...



 The neat thing about the above pic is that last summer at Atlantic Beach we actually found one of these on the beach... Its called a Mermaid Case. You wanna know what is inside it??????

a baby shark growing!!!!!!!!! 


 Leaving Gatlinburg we saw REAL REINDEER!!!!!

Ok the deal with Ihop being pictured is that DD has begged to eat there for almost a year. We do not eat out much and when we do we have no restaurant like this around for hours. So on the way home we surprised her with her visit to Ihop!! She got Chocolate Chip pancake face and hot chocolate. She loved it!

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