Wednesday, August 31, 2011

WFMW- Secrets of Organizers

I was going through some old magazines and articles earlier this summer and getting rid of most of them. (recycled!) I found an article from 2000 from Family Circle and decided to summarize it for my blog!

The article is titled:
Secrets of Super Organizers: Say Goodbye to Clutter


The article discusses excuses that we give for getting organized, and how to BUST them!
Excuse #1: "I paid good money for it."
-At this point, the item is not earning you anything. You can re-coup money from the item by re-selling it or donating it (and getting a tax deduction).
-The item may actually be costing you! -consider the expense or storage or maintenance...
-The item provided it's value, and move on from that.
-When you organize, think of the money you are NOT shelling out, because you are not buying duplicates of the same item.
-Emotional cost of the time being used endlessly searching for misplaced belongings.

Excuse #2: I might need it someday.
-If you save everything you might need someday, you're going to need a warehouse to store it all!
-Clarify your personal mission and goals, and it will help you decide what to get rid of and what to keep.
-Define a financial threshold: Can it be replaced for under $5? Even if you might need the item in the future, the promise of clear space makes it worth pitching and replacing, when and if necessary.

Excuse #3: They don't make them like this anymore.
-There may good reason for that! Product improvements often render earlier generations obsolete.
-Have you used it in the past two years? If so, fine. But if you're holding onto it because you can't replace it comparably, it's only wasting space.
-Discarding it does not mean you are negating its quality. It may just not have a place in your life anymore! Someone else may appreciate its value AND put it to good use!

Excuse #4: It holds a special memory for me.
-Getting organized is not about throwing out all your treasures! It's about weeding out the junk, and keeping only what is beautiful, useful or loved.
-Is there another way to reminisce? Does another object (photo) prompt similar feelings?
-Memory-joggers may create want for more... things you may need need or use!


For many people, the down-side of getting organized is letting go! It doesn't have to be that way! These stumbling blocks can help you live clutter free, as well as create space- physically and mentally for what truly matters in your life.

It didn't help me decide if I can get rid of my tennis racket, though!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Labor Day lapbook

This is another lapbook that we made several years ago. It is all about LABOR DAY! Since we are getting close to Labor Day (how did that happen?), I thought I'd post this great freebie that we got from In the Hands of A Child. You can find it here. You might be able to get it as a freebie from them or from CurrClick.com, like we did! 
The cover of our lapbook

Whole lapbook, open

Mini-books open: (top to bottom)
The first celebration-When? Where?
When and Why Then?
Celebrations (around U.S.)

Middle bottom:
Undesirable Jobs
My Life without Them (firemen, police)
A Reason for Labor Day
and some graphics from the Project Pack
Middle top:
Timeline mini-book open
Reason for Labor Day book open

Left flap:
Vocabulary mini-book (words like Negotiator, Union, etc.,)
Equal Value mini-book open (we wrote on two sides)
Work interview with--Her Dad!
She wrote the questions and interviewed him. She asked:
Where Do You Work?
What do you Do?
When do you Work?
Who do you work with?
How do you do your work?
It was a great lapbook! We learned a lot about the history of Labor Day and different jobs. I hope you'll be able to do this lapbook soon too! I'd love to hear your review!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Kids' Favorites

I had seen this on another blog, recently and liked it. I tried it, and we took pictures of the kids with extra room on the first day of school. Then I put the photos into the Picnik website, added their favorite things right now, and saved them! It was easy and fun! I hope to try this every year!

My youngest...

My son...

My older daughter...

Friday, August 26, 2011

Baked Beans recipe

This is a delicious side dish that I have been making for a few years. My friend Kim from church brought it to a bar-be-que a few years ago, and gave me the recipe. It is the best! The beans are even yummy as leftovers!


Adding the bacon before cooking...


Awesome Baked Beans
32 oz. Bush’s original baked beans
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp worchestershire
4-6 strips of bacon
Mix together all ingredients except the bacon. Pour into 9 X 9” or 7 X 12” dish. Layer bacon on top. Bake at 350 for 45 min. Broil 5 min to crisp the bacon.
Easy to double, may need a few more minutes baking time. 
YUM!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

School starts tomorrow...

written on Tuesday, August 23, 2011


School starts tomorrow.

That sentence means something different for homeschoolers. For homeschoolers, it means that Mom gets to work alongside her kiddos. She gets to be there for all of the ups and downs of learning. Mom gets to be the one that sees her child's "A-HA!" moment in learning, when they "get it". Mom gets to be the one that chooses what they learn and when. Dad may get to teach them one subject, like math, science or Bible. Usually Mom is the primary teacher, the one that grades their papers, keeps them on task, and still wipes their tears, as Mom always has.

Some moms look forward to their kids going back to school so they can have a break. For homeschool Moms, it's the opposite. It is the start of using a curriculum, and working on the 3 R's... right alongside the students, your own children. It is teaching your child to add, subtract, multiply and divide. It is teaching your child the letter sounds and how to read. It is working on their handwriting, first printing and later cursive. Homeschool moms get back to work when school starts.

The new school year beginning marks a new time to read new books on the couch, maybe one or four  missionary biographies over the year. It is sitting at the table, explaining their grammar and the rules of capitalization. It is helping them learn punctuation and practice it in their writing. It is exploring new things in science that your child may not have ever learned before...like how the eye or ear works. It is learning in depth with your child all about a country, such as Brazil.

It is getting to be together, day-in and day-out, not getting away from the child, but fostering the relationship. It is helping your child get along better with their siblings, who will become their life-long friends. It is reading the Bible together first thing in the morning, and memorizing Scripture together. It is teaching character traits and seeing your child grow in the area of patience, or perseverance.

I am looking forward to getting back into the daily routine, not making spontaneous trips to the store, but plan them better. I look forward to being with my kids at the table learning together again. Sometimes I wonder if I am ready. It seems like a big job to teach my kids. But I know God is with us and has a plan for us. "I will never leave you or forsake you."(Hebrews 13:5) "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) I am so thankful that He will help me all along the way. I have a good teacher to learn from- Jesus! May I strive to be like Him each and every day as I teach my children. I have given this year to the Lord, and I hope it is one of our BEST!

How about you? Are you ready?

School starts tomorrow.




This is a writing prompt by Mama Kat's. Prompt 4: Write a post that begins and ends with the same sentence.


Our kindergartener!!
Our third grader!
Here are a few pics of our first day yesterday...
Our 7th grader!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: End of Summer fun!

Well, almost wordless! We had a fun weekend, hosting friends for dinner and a movie, hanging out with family, playing at the park, great church services, and going to another friends' pool! It was packed with fun times! Here are a few pics...

Mallory and her friends, Ashley and Chloe
The three amigos! 
Our "Charlie's Angels" pose on the backyard screen! LOL!
Watching "101 Dalmatians" with friends/ family!
Daddy and kids in the pool!
Bethy getting a ride from Rebekah! (Caleb and friend too!)
And this picture is from last Wednesday night, when Rebekah sang in her first voice recital! She did well and we were so proud of her!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

New calendar board

We are getting ready to begin homeschool soon, and last week I ran across this great website that had free printables for a calendar board. I am going to use the calendar again with my new kindergartener, and I liked the idea of updating my sad, old system. So I printed the new pieces for the board, laminated them, (it's my favorite teacher's tool!) used an old foam core board that we had and put it together. I am looking forward to using it!
Putting it all together...
There is:  a Today is the ____ Day of School, with a hundreds place chart;  100 chart to check off the days of school with a marker; a  weather chart to add the day's weather; and a flip chart with The Date, Every week, Days of the Week and The Months of the year charts.
The finished product!
You can also check out this blog for calendar board ideas.
This blog has added a few things to the calendar that are for preschoolers and for skip counting.

I hope my kindergartener enjoys it, and I am looking forward to teaching her from it- something new! The main thing I added is in the bottom right corner, the "Letter of the Week," since that is something we do in kindergarten. I printed cards from a here online, and made a pocket for them. I also made pockets for the Days of the week and the Months of the year. We tried taping a dry erase marker to the board, but it fell off. I guess we'll have to keep it nearby, or maybe tie it onto a ribbon! In the middle on the bottom, I also added the Pledge of Allegiance to our board, a laminated printable that I've had for several years.

We have a wall calendar nearby that we will refer to also.

How do you do calendar in your homeschool? I'd love to hear your comments and ideas!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Summer "Bucket List" review

Since Summer is coming to a close, I thought I'd review my "Bucket List" made in the beginning of the summer. (Technically, summer's not over until the Fall Equinox in September, but we are starting homeschool again this week!)

Here is my original post from June.

Here is my list copied from that post:
My Miche bag cover
Kids writing on the hall wall...
Repaint walls in front hall -DONE
VBS -DONE

Wash all curtains & valances-DONE
Repair rings on blue & white curtains-DONE
Sew bag for cross-stitch supplies- DONE
Sew cover for Miche bag-DONE
Sew valance for kitchen window- DONE
Sew-DONE
Purge toybox-DONE
Swim lessons for kids-DONE
Prep for Josefina/Kirsten classes, Read-Partially DONE
Wash M/B food/toys -DONE
Go thru MOPS books @ RCC-DONE
Regal Cinema moviesDONE
Go to the park! (at least 2 X) -DONE (I think?)

Visit family in Durango=ROAD TRIP!- DONE
Go to Glade Park Movies- no...did not do...
Hikes/ geocaching with family-no...
Clean fridge-DONE
Make homemade popsicles-DONE
Go to the local drive-in-no...did not do...
Have picnic lunches & dinners outside!-DONE
Go camping? DONE (with lots of S'mores!)
My dad with Beffy while camping...
I later added a few- Potty-train Bethany (we've been working on it!)
Home school prep for fall- almost DONE
Bethany on the potty...


The only ones that I did not do out of those 23 items are these three!
Go to Glade Park Movies
Hikes/ geocaching with family
Go to the local drive-in



We still have time to do them, I think... maybe not the Glade Park movies... They are so fun, but hard to get the crew out the door early to get good seats there!


All in all, it was a great summer, and I am a little sad that it is almost over!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Cucumber Salad recipe

Here is a family favorite recipe- it's another EASY and delicious one! It is a great recipe to make this time of year when cucumbers and tomatoes are ripe and fresh!
Cucumbers ready to slice and eat!
This is one of my mom-in-law's recipes, and of course we change it a wee tad each time we make it.

Summer Salad (aka Cucumber Salad)
 2 tomatoes, diced
1 large cucumber, sliced
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup vinegar, any kind
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
If desired, you can also add 2/3 cup oil, and 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.
Combine veggies in a bowl. Add vinegar and dill, salt and pepper. 
Let stand in refrigerator for at least an hour to let flavors mingle. 



Vine-ripe tomatoes from our garden!

Sliced cucumbers, also peeled pretty!

All mixed up...

And ready to eat! Yum!
Let me know if you make it- I'd love to hear your review!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Thrifty Thursday: New Coupon Binder!

This is my old binder, just a big 3-ring notebook.
Several months ago, I found the Krazy Coupon Lady's website and on it, she has pages to put into a binder for coupons. My old coupon holder was falling apart, so I decided to try it. The KCL site has pages that you can print to help you organize your binder into sections, and talks about what you need for the binder. I had some old sectioned page protectors, so I used them. Then I did buy some baseball card holders at Target for my binder. They are just the right size for coupons! 

My new ZIPPERED binder!
I have been looking around for a new binder that zippers. The best time of year for school supplies is NOW! So I picked one up at Office Depot this week with a discount, so it was $10. (Of course the next day I saw one at Goodwill, and I'd never seen one there!)
Empty
Full!
This shows the index in the front of the binder, and the tabs on the side.
A little closer up of the pages...
I found the KCL website very helpful in building my coupon binder, using all the categories and downloads. She says you can also get the baseball card holders at Walmart and even on eBay. I've had people ask me about my binder in the store, and I tell them about KCL! (and show them my system). It makes it very quick and easy to find the coupon I need and use it! I did change my binder categories slightly after using it for a bit. I added a section for breads/ biscuits and one for Deli-Meat. You can really customize it any way you want!

I hope this helps you in being more frugal. And remember, "If she has a binder, don't get behind her!" (in the checkout lane!) :-D

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Watches

Watch #1 with heart bracelet!
Some of you readers may remember my watch battery saga from last year. If you haven't read it, you can find it here. In the past few months, I've been wanting to have fun watch bands again. We had family visit in the end of June, and my "auntie" helped me make a watch band bracelet. I've worn it LOTS, and when I was at the craft store recently, I found another bracelet for my watch.

This watch face was one from an old watch bracelet I had that broke.
I reused the watch face and the toggle clasp- I like it a lot!
New bracelet pieces from Hobby Lobby with a discount =$2+!


I love the fun hearts on this chained bracelet band!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Rosetta Stone Spanish!

We are excited this fall to begin our new Spanish curriculum with Rosetta Stone. We got it last week and are beginning to figure it all out! I am planning to use it for my older daughter and my son too.



This is what Wikipedia says about the REAL Stone...

"The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek. Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some minor differences between them), it provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Originally displayed within a temple, the stele was probably moved during the early Christian or medieval period and eventually used as building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Delta. It was rediscovered there in 1799 by a soldier of the French expedition to Egypt. As the first ancient bilingual text recovered in modern times, the Rosetta Stone aroused widespread public interest with its potential to decipher the hitherto untranslated Ancient Egyptian language. Lithographic copies and plaster casts began circulating amongst European museums and scholars. Meanwhile, British troops defeated the French in Egypt in 1801, and the original stone came into British possession under the Capitulation of Alexandria. Transported to London, it has been on public display at the British Museum since 1802. It is the most-visited object in the British Museum."
You can read more here.

Here is a page where you can read all about Rosetta Stone.

Here is a page where you can see the Spanish set that we bought.

Here is a great place to find it for a lower price.

This is a quote from the above web site:


Award-winning Rosetta Stone Homeschool includes:
  • proprietary speech-recognition technology
  • real-life simulated conversations
  • predefined curriculum paths
  • parent administrative tools

We are excited to start using and learning more Spanish with this set!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Four All Who Reed and Right


This poem I got by email a few years ago, and I like it as a teacher and a mom. It is funny because I've wondered some of these things as I've taught my kids how to speak... Enjoy my "Friday Funny"!


We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;
but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
yet the plural  of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a  nest full of mice;
yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
why shouldn't the  plural of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,
and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
why shouldn't the  plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and  three would be those,
yet hat in the plural would never be hose, and the plural of cat
is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother  and also of brethren,
but though we say mother, we never say  methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and  him,
but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.
Let's face it,
English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant,
nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in  pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England.
We take English for granted.
But if we explore its paradoxes,
we  find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square
and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea, nor is it a pig.
And why is  it that writers write but fingers don't fing,
grocers don't groce and  hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make  amends,
but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds  and ends
and get rid of all but one of them,
what do you call  it?
If teachers taught,
why not preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables,
what does a  humanitarian eat?
Sometimes, I think all the folks who grew up  speaking English
should be committed to an asylum for the verbally  insane.
In what other language do people recite at a  play
and play at a recital?
Ship by truck and send  cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
while a  wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at  the unique lunacy of a language in which
your house can burn up as it  burns down;
in which you fill in a form by filling it out
and in  which an alarm goes off by going on.

poem found online here.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Thrifty Thursday: Library

We are a family of readers. We can not afford to buy every book we need or would like to own. That's why one of my favorite places is our local library! We enjoy checking out books, DVDs, and even Wii games (though they don't have many, and they're often checked out). In the summer, we go there more often since they offer a free reading incentive program for kids. We took advantage of it again this summer, and the kids got some great free books, water bottles and other little goodies. My almost -teen even got a nice canvas bag! (and she won a gift card from the drawing too!)

If you haven't been to the local library recently, I suggest you give it a try. I remember being appalled years ago in our MOPS group that several moms didn't take their kids to the library. Really?! It's free! Well, pretty much... unless you incur those pesky fines like we do occasionally! :-D

Here are a few library tips for you...

*You can renew books and DVDs online! Here is our local library web site, all you have to do is plug in your library card # and voila! Books renewed with a click of a button! (or key on the keyboard, as the case may be!)

*I allow our kids to check out as many books as they are old... plus one. We love to read books, and we could check out a million at a time. We have maxed out my card for books etc., from the library more than once. Our library allows us to borrow 40 items at one time. That's a lot of books/ movies to keep track of! So if I limit them to 5 books for my 4-year-old, and 3 books for my 2-year-old, it is a lot less books to keep tabs on!

*Keep library books in a designated place in your home, so it is easy to gather them together when it is time to return the books. I've tried to do this, and it is tough. My kids really like to read in their rooms. I nearly always check their bedrooms when I am gathering library books. The library system here prints a list of items that we checked out. I will sometimes check through the list and cross out the items that I have gathered. This helps us remember all of the books & DVDs we checked out and need to return. I can also check the library web-site (see above) and check what we have remaining on our account.

*You can also research what books your library may have on it's shelves, and reserve them. That is nice since it is faster to run in, pick them up, and on you go! I've had times as a homeschooler where I needed books, and didn't want to spend time IN the library finding where they may be. I can gather the author info, and the general location, and find it in a relatively short amount of time. It makes it easier when the preschoolers and toddlers are running around too...

Do you use your local library? If not, check it out (ha ha!) soon! It is a wonderful resource in many ways, especially when you're a reader and learner! I hope you'll find it a thrifty location to visit too.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Swimming

For this Wordless Wednesday, I am posting about our swim lessons. Here are some pics from our adventures the past two weeks...
My youngest, Bethany enjoys the "alli-dator" in the Splash Pad...
Mallory, the fish! in her class, swimming for rings and more!

Caleb kicks with a kickboard...

Rebekah practices her backstroke and more...

Rebekah dives off the diving board, too!

And at the end, there is lots of cousin time! :-D
It has been a fun session of lessons, the kids have advanced in their skills and levels so far. I've enjoyed watching them learn and work! Hope you enjoyed the snapshots!
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