Awesome Posts
Simplicity by Its Own Sweet Will
Parenting your Polar Opposite by Steady Mom
After my computer being down all afternoon I am just enjoying surfing & visiting some great sites. I thought I would share & thanks hubby for fixing my computer! Enjoy & have a great weekend!
I love FREE stuff but when I started trying to earn Swagbucks my family thought I was CRAZY! They have changed their tune now. We’ve earned 11 Amazon Gift Cards for $5. That is just from everyday searching. I don’t try to earn a bunch but it just happens. How easy is that? You can also redeem your “bucks” for Sephora or Starbucks gift cards, iPhones, HD Digital Camcorders and more!
Have you checked out Swagbucks?
If not, you are seriously missing out!
Fridays are Mega Swagbucks days where you can earn Swagbucks in increments of 100, 200, 500 and even 1000! It’s the best day for searching! I saved up our Gift Cards for presents & also used them for school books. It is so handy to have those available!
Remember, slow and stead wins the race. This is no overnight get rich thing but through the year you will get items just by searching. I love it!
The best way to remember to search is by downloading the Swagbucks Toolbar, so it’s right in front of you.
Interested in checking it out? Go to Swagbucks & see how easy it is to earn free stuff! I do get a referral(which means more FREE stuff for me—thanks!!!!) if you decide to try it out.
I snapped this picture at church.
The fun thing is that the sweet little one isn’t in her daddy’s arms. Children outnumber the adults most Sunday mornings.
We like it that way. Children are precious.
Everyone pitches in and it isn’t unusual to see a little one asleep on someone’s lap and the parents aren’t anywhere close by.
I don’t know about a village raising a child but I do know that a church should play a vital role. We love, encourage, warn, provide mentors, teach, play with the children. It is a vital role in their lives.
Definitely a Finer Thing!
We used to make this recipe all the time & I need to get it back out again. My oldest would request it and then brag to friends he ate spinach just to get a reaction. They are really good!
2 boxes frozen chopped spinach—defrost & press extra water out
2 cups Pepperidge farm herb stuffing CRUMBS
2 onion finely chopped
3/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
6 large eggs(7 medium)
1 TBS garlic powder
1-1/2 tsp salt
optional—you can also add 1-1 1/2 tsp of your favorite herbs here
Mix well, mixture will be watery. Make about 7 doz balls(about the size of ready made meatballs) and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 20 minutes on 350 degrees. These can be made(cooked and all) way ahead of time and frozen, reheat just before dinner, a party or potluck. They are fine even if they are cold—good flavor!
I am normally a person who MUST have a plan. It drives me slightly bonkers to just float along each day. Steve would give a hearty AMEN to that—the bonkers part.
I don’t get much done without a plan. I have various tools I use to plan each week.
TOOLS
Menu planner—for 2-4 weeks on the frig
Homeschool Tracker—enters our work & helps plan for future
Family Calendar—on the frig so I know when an event is coming up
Chore Chart—everyone has jobs & no excuses about knowing when to do them
Routines—we have weekly & daily ones, these aren’t written they just reoccur naturally ie—errand/grocery days, lesson days etc
Off Track Plan
We didn’t do much Monday or Wednesday due to sickness & my recovery needs(SLEEP). But we were productive. The girls keep on working even when I am down so I used some of my down time to grade papers. NOT my favorite chore but it must be done.
It makes me irritable to just sit. That is what I must do on these days of recovery. I walk doing errands and feel good one day & the next is a mixture of soreness & overwhelming fatigue. It is getting better slowly. The lesson that the children & I are learning is that school can be relaxed and still get things accomplished.
1. There is time for games. Mental math gets practiced!
2. I can work with one child on the quality of their cleaning in the zone.
3. Daddy can use their labor at a project. Like cleaning the basement—which I have yet to visit.
4. Its okay not to work as hard as we can EVERY day.
5. On the “good” days I need to work at keeping focused on the job at hand. My habit of doing nothing all the time is hard to break. I like to accomplish things but hey it is easier to do nothing instead.
There are lessons in working hard & giving your all to a job. But there are equal lessons to relaxing and mixing fun with learning. In 50 years, will my children remember if we tackled a math lesson each day or will they remember the time we spent together learning about life when it doesn’t go the way you expected? So I am going to do a little school today and perhaps read on the couch with my youngest & a cup of cocoa! That give us both something that we love!
What do you do when your day gets off track?
Sometimes days just don’t turn out like you want them to. We had a HUGE weekend and everyone was tired last night.
Saturday was Bible Quizzing
Sunday was worship with our church family and a Valentine’s Banquet put on by the quizzers—Yum!
So today was supposed to be a “normal” day.
Within an hour of getting up, Joshua was in the bathroom emptying his tummy. Poor little man! It went on all morning & then his temperature started to rise. Needless to say I wasn’t in my teacher hat today. He watched movies, read and sat on my lap a lot. This is the boy who never slows down and is always moving. This is when I knew he was really sick. He fell asleep on the couch.
I am sort of waiting for the other shoe to fall because I knew how tummy bugs work in this house. One by one they all get it. But right now I am just thinking how cute my almost 9 year old looks in his footie jammies. I love it when they wear them—I can’t help it. I guess that was his V-day gift to me.
That and making it to the bathroom in time.
This cake is deceptive. You look at it and think oh yum chocolate cake. After a bite or two though . . . .you just say oh my.
It is rich.
It is chocolate.
It is wonderful.
Add some vanilla bean ice cream and it is just to die for. Slice it thin because a big piece might be too much. My kids request it for their birthdays.
The dog reference is because chocolate is poisonous for dogs. Yes my husband is a veterinarian. Can you tell? And yes this was eaten before I could snap a picture. Sorry!
Ingredients
2 c sugar
1-3/4 cup flour
3/4 c cocoa
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil(or you can do no applesauce & 1/2 cup oil)
1 cup boiling water
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and mix in wet ingredients. Combine wet & dry. Batter will be thin. Bake in 2-9 inch round pans for 30-35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.
Icing
1 stick of butter
2/3 c cocoa
3 c powdered sugar
1/3 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
Melt butter and add cocoa. Alternate adding milk and powdered sugar as you continue mixing. Frost 1-9 inch cake. Place second cake on top of the first and frost it. Slice & enjoy!
Love. Chocolate. Sweets. Flowers. Poetry. Romance.
I seem to remember some of that from our “pre-kid” life. I love Steve don’t get me wrong but our love is lived out daily & doesn’t need a day where we make grand declarations or big gifts.
Sure I love flowers but I would rather have them on some day he just thinks of me than the day everyone gets flowers for their sweethearts. I really love it when he gets me flowers I can plant & see year after year.
That said we went to dinner last night but it sure wasn’t a normal dinner. My kids are trying to earn money to go to Bible Quizzing Nationals in April. It isn’t a small amount.
They helped other friends/cousins put on a banquet for our church family last night. They did a great job & it was a ton of fun for those involved! Here is the menu!
Main dish—Ham
Vegies—Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Bread—Wheat Dinner Rolls—made by Megan
Fruit—Pineapple
Dessert—Decadent Chocolate Cake—made by Elizabeth
It made my heart happy to see our church family blessing these children. What they didn’t know was what a blessing it was to us to have time to fellowship with friends and family.
Playing Bible Jeopardy!
Thanks guys I’d rather pay you than give or money to a restaurant. Great job!
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