Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Tuesday Treats

I ALMOST forgot to post today! Checked my sweet friends blog and remembered I was TRYING to keep this Tuesday Treats thing up! :) I will take every chance I get to BRAG on my sweet hubby! SO....today I called him at work and begged for him to bring home some boxes for VBS, he pulled in with a TRUCK FULL of boxes AND helped me cut them tonight! No matter WHAT I get myself into, he is ALWAYS there to help me get it done! He NEVER complains about what I get us into, he is one AMAZING man!! I LOVE YOU MATT CHILSON!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Peaches and Cream

We LOVE pancakes in our house. And just so you know.....they are not always a breakfast food around here. We had them for dinner last night. Honestly, we have them for dinner about once a week! Yesterday at Whole Foods they had peaches on sale for .99 per pound! We stocked up ;)

So last night with our dinner we had peaches and cream on top. They were SO good! I made pancakes as I normally do, and I did this-

chopped up about 2 cups fresh peaches and mixed with 1/4 cup sucanat. I heated them for a while (while I was cooking the pancakes)

I poured some whipping cream in the Kitchen Aid mixer while the peaches were cooking and the pancakes were going, added a little bit of vanilla and let it whip us up some yummy cream.

Before I knew it we had pancakes with peaches and cream! WOW. That was EASY!

Do you "spice up" pancakes at your house? If so, what do you use?

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Homeschooling

As many of you know, we are a homeschool family. We have enjoyed having our babies at home with us (most days) and are just finishing up our first "real" year. Not sure that it was a "real year" but we are counting it!

Homeschooling can cause me a LOT of anxiety. What should our days look like? What curriculum should I use? What about my kids? Will they turn out okay? Should we join the local co-op? WHAT IN THE WORLD should I do with the other kids while we are "doing school"?

I recently read this note from a special friend, who is a bit further down the road. I can NOT tell you what an encouragement this is to me and how much I value her advice! I hope you find it helpful!

My friend writes-
We are gearing up for high school, so I am reaching back a while for some of this, but I can share a few lessons learned (some gathered from my education and experience as a teacher before becoming a mom, but mostly learned the hard way with our children).



First of all, the only specific curriculum I would recommend whole-heartedly for anyone and everyone is Explode the Code (phonics). It can be used along with any other program and is excellently organized. Otherwise, you have to find what fits your situation. Just be honest as you consider your actual, current lifestyle, not the lifestyle you aspire to have.



(1) Pray more than you plan. The Lord's hand of blessing and your walk with Him is more important than your academic choices. Think of homeschooling as a 24/7 discipleship program. The foundation you provide for your children has to be based in your relationship with the Lord, so keep that relationship fresh and growing.



(2) Keep your marriage as your top earthly priority; the man/wife relationship is the most important part of your home and school. Invest in it daily. If your spouse is not your best friend and the one person you’d rather be with than anyone else in the world, then you need to spend some time seeking the Lord and fix that. No curriculum produced will make as much difference in your child’s life than the comfort and example of parents totally committed to the Lord and each other.



(3) Attitudes and behavior matter more than education. Anytime you feel it is necessary- whether your kids are in preschool or precalculus) put school on the back burner and straighten them out. Academics are easier to restore than rebellious hearts.



(4) Choose your curriculum based more on personalities (yours as well as your children's) and lifestyle than on scope and sequence, especially in the early years. If you prefer a school-like atmosphere and are going to stick to a regular schedule, that’s fine. If you’re more likely to want to do hands-on stuff and have a little more freedom, that’s ok, too. If you want a little of both, that is do-able. Just be honest and find what suits YOU, not your friend or neighbor.



(5) Academically, I strongly recommend that you carefully select a math program and commit to it through at least 3rd grade, then if you need to make a change, do it and commit again through 6th grade. For preschool thru 3rd grade, do the same for reading and phonics. The program doesn’t matter as much as the continuity; this way you don’t let anything crucial fall in the gaps.



(6) Include Dad in your homeschooling regularly no matter what his schedule. Make a point of having your little ones share what they are learning with him, whether it's dinner conversation or a weekly show & tell before family movie night. However it happens, he needs to stay up to date and they need to see his interest.



(7) Consistency matters more than content. Make a schedule and make it work for you, but don't be a slave to it. I encourage you to get and use Managers of Their Home and other books from the Maxwell's at titus2.com, but use them as a guide to create what will really work for your family. If it takes honing your plan a dozen times until it’s right for you, it’s worth the investment of time to do just that.



(8) Make chores, personal hygiene, and manners part of your routines. Don't forget music lessons, either. These things will have as much (or maybe more!) to do with real success in life as academics.



(9) Make read-aloud time a priority every day. (My teenagers still love for me to read to them!) This is a great time to read things that are beyond their ability to read by themselves but are within their ability to comprehend. Stop and talk about new words, help them remember details of the story, and ask questions the next day while you’re driving to “test” their comprehension. We started reading chapter books (The Boxcar Children mystery series) during preschool and there are lots of classics you can include that they will remember fondly and want to re-read on their own when they are capable.



(10) Finally, make homeschooling fun for the kids AND for you! If it feels like drudgery, change something. They grow up too fast to spend every day feeling like it’s a burden.



I am certainly not an expert on anything, but I love sharing our journey. It would be my honor to communicate with you if you have any questions or comments about homeschooling, marriage, etc. I also consider it a privilege to pray for those whose paths cross mine, so if you have specific requests, please let me know. Beyond my family, my “favorite” ministry is to young wives and mothers who are walking the paths I have been down. If I can make it easier for you than I had it, then my trials were worth it!



As a homemaker, pastor’s wife, and homeschooling mom, I may not always be able to respond immediately, but I will get back to you as soon as I can.



With joy from Jesus,

Mrs. John (Tracee) Young

jtncmyoung@aol.com

Friday, May 20, 2011

What's for dinner??

I absolutely HATE that question. I do NOT like making that decision. EVER. Honestly, I don't really even like deciding where to go out to eat. But it must be done. Matt and I have started making a monthly dinner menu, and it is amazing!! All month long I have KNOWN what we are going to eat and when/how to prepare for that! It has been wonderful. We took into account when we had things going on that would make dinner rushed and when I would really have time to do dinner prep! SIMPLY.AMAZING. I find it very amazing that for almost three weeks, I have known what we will have for dinner and not had to stress....AND we have NOT eaten out! Well, we ate out for Mother's Day, but that was on the plan ;)

Do you make a menu? Do you do a week or a month? Do you plan breakfast and lunch too? Do you stick with it??

Thursday, May 19, 2011

What a day!

Whew! Yesterday is one of those days where I can easily say, I am glad that is over! SIGH. What a crazy day! As you know, Matt started the day very EARLY by taking the two big boys fishing. They had a great time! Asher actually caught his first fish! I wish I had the picture to post for you! He was SO proud! What a special blessing that HE got to catch a fish!! While they were gone, they two little ones and I ran out to Harris Teeter's triple coupon event and scored some great deals there! Great fun was had by all ;) Lydia was THRILLED with her free balloon and princess bandaids (which were on sale and with a coupon).

Later we all met back home for a few minutes before running more errands. We needed to leave the house around 10:30 am in order to pick up David's three month photos and make another appointment we had and be home for yet another scheduled visit! As we climbed into the van, I looked at Matt and said, "whew, it has been a day and a half" to which he smiled and said, "its still just morning sweetheart".

We ran out to North Hills and I ran in and picked up the photos without and issues at all. Climbed back into the van and off we went to our next stop...only for some reason we kept hearing a clicking sound. Pretty clearly coming from the tire. Matt was hopefull when we stopped to check it that he would find a rock. Not exactly. He found a rusted old bolt...right.in.our.tire. We pulled over to the side of the parking lot, pulled the kids out of the van and began to wonder what we would do to keep them busy while Matt changed the flat. At which time I realized it was 11 am.

Since the morning had begun SO early and been kinda crazy everyone had eaten early and some of us VERY light. So I pulled out the blanket we keep in the van and the lunch we had packed and fed the kids while Matt changed the tire. SWEET. Perfect plan, the kids would be fed and would likely fall asleep in the van, which would be great b/c they were SO tired!

Matt took the ruined tire OFF the van and went to the back to get the spare. Enter problem. SO, you know this van, yeah the one we just bought that is 20 years old? YEAH...well, apparently the spare had never been used and was also 20 years old. SIGH. You know what that means, right? yeah. It was useless. This is where we began to see God's hand in things. We were sitting in a Target parking lot. So Matt and the three big kids ran into the store while I sat outside with our stuff holding David. They were after fix-a-flat and maybe a pump. I walked around and tried to help David go to sleep. Countless cars drove by, MANY starred at us....MANY. But NONE stopped. NONE. It was FINE that they didn't we were perfectly fine and didn't need a thing, but I am FLOORED at all the "gawkers" who were admiring our vehicle but didn't notice the mom with her baby sitting there. Now this is where I began to wonder what in the world is wrong with this picture. Seriously. Who wouldn't stop to help a mom and her baby with a flat. Enter conviction. I then realized that many times with my four kids in tow (who am I kidding, I sometimes didn't with only two) that I see someone in need on the side of the road and didn't offer any help at all...I mean seriously, it is a dangerous world that we live in. Who knows if it is a trap or not...me with little kids, I certainly can't stop. Maybe that is true, and possibly wise, I am not sure....BUT it gets worse. There have been times when my husband stopped and what did his precious, loving wife do? Oh, she pitched a GRAND GLORY fit. Don't you know the baby has to eat? or we will be late? or fill in the blank. I have not been to thrilled when he was late coming home from work b/c he stopped to help someone in need. SIGH. No wonder no one would stop. If I, a believer in Jesus Christ can NOT take time out of my busy schedule to allow my hubby to help, then why would I expect someone else, likely a lost soul, to stop and care? Did Jesus not say, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:39-41

Seriously, I am amazed at how God used our day to show me His hand in our life. There are SO many details that He worked out. I had already canceled one thing we had planned (that we totally would have missed) due to grumpy kids. Matt was with us, which the original plan had him riding his bike while we were gone. We were in the Target parking lot, which meant we could get what we needed (at a discount ;) )....AND it wasn't raining!! God made a potentially horrific scenario (me alone with four kids and a flat tire, with basically no spare) a wonderful teaching time.

I am glad yesterday is behind us. We now have four new tires on our van and we made most of our connections for the day! But, I have a lot to reflect on and learn from our day....

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Triple Coupons!!!


Matt has been itching to take the big boys fishing....and today was the day. So while he and the older two were out trying to snag some fish, the younger two and I snagged all this for only.....$11.03 Twenty two things we bought....most of which are normal purchases!! :) We saved $48.84 with coupons this morning!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Tuesday Treats....

I am learning from a friend here, and I am going to TRY to share something special about my hubby on Tuesdays here....

This week, I am particularly amazed at my hubby...on Saturday, he got up EXTRA early to help me set up a yard sale, before he rode his bike with some friends. He also has done almost ALL the dishes this week and helped tremendously with the laundry! He is ALWAYS willing to "take one for the team" and help out!

Thanks Candace, for challenging me to do this...even though you may not have realized that you did! (I am just really late doing it) I look forward to sharing what a wonderful hubby I have with you all!!

Strawberry bread

This time of year one of our FAVORITE things is strawberries! We recently got 10lbs really cheap and ended up eating all of them, with the exception of the few I spared to make some yummy strawberry bread!

Strawberry bread-

3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 c sugar (we use sucanat)
1 1/2 c oil (veggie or coconut)
1 c nuts, finely chopped (we use pecan)
4 eggs well beaten
2 c strawberries mashed with their juice (can use frozen)

Combine dry ingredients. Add eggs, oil, strawberries, and nuts. Stirr until all ingredients are moistened. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 for one hour.

This recipe along with several others can be found in the cookbook Recipes for Redemption. Our friends the Roberts produced this cookbook as a way to raise funds for the adoption of their precious baby boy, Ezra! I still have some of these books for sale if anyone is interested, just let me know! :)

PLEASE keep praying for Ezra and the Roberts family as they wait to be with their son! It shouldn't be long now :D

Monday, May 16, 2011

Peanut Butter Granola

Our family LOVES this recipe! We eat it like cereal and sometime we mix it in with some vanilla yogurt....YUM! SO EASY and SO good!!

6T oil (we use coconut)
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
7 cups oats
raisins (optional)

Melt the oil and peanut butter together. Remove from heat and add the sugar. Pour over oats and mix well. Spread into a LARGE cookie sheet, I usually use a couple and bake at 350 for about 18-20 mins. Add raisins, if desired, in the last 5 mins of baking.

We like this SO much I have been known to double and even triple the recipe!