We got a shipment from Timberdoodle yesterday and there are some happy kids in the house.LOL I opened the Lauri puzzles first and Genevieve sat and put them together for over an hour. This is a miracle.LOL Isaac was frustrated by the puzzles but then I opened up his new favorite game, Rush Hour. He LOVES the cars and the little grid to put them on. All of the older kids loved that game and play it whenever Isaac will let them.LOL

Today, I opened up a new game for Evie, Mighty Minds. Here she is playing with it...

She made it all the way up to card #13 today.

Isaac stuck with Rush Hour.

Tomorrow I'll open up the Never Bored Books and another little game I bought. I love to see them engaged and learning.LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

Myths of Florida...

Dorothy from England asked us to dispel the myths of our various locations on the SHS board. Well, here is one...

It's always sunny in Florida

Because of the enormous amounts of rainfall here, I find it quite amusing that the state motto is "The Sunshine State." In fact, we have a Tropical Storm off our coast as I write this.LOL




Now for a truly horrific sight. Look away if you don't have a strong stomach.LOL

Everyone in Florida has a golden brown tan

If I were any whiter, I'd fade into the wall color. Yes, I do spend time outside. No, it doesn't help. Especially when it's raining.lolol

Blessings,

Lisa

Evie showing you what the grass skirt is really for

Day three of our school and things are going well. The kids are getting their work done and I'm hanging in there with all three littles in the morning. It's a little touch and go during the breakfast hour but then things settle down.

We are gearing up for swimsuit season and my mom picked out this cute little outfit for Evie to wear. I think it's very nice on her when she wears it correctly.lol

Yesterday, my mom took Jon and Evie out to lunch and then shopping. Jon is now wearing a mens 32W/30L in pants. I can't believe how big he is! Eric was a 34W/32L when I met him all those years ago.LOL My mom is going to take Allison and Jon for bathing suits sometime this week, hopefully tomorrow.

In a strange twist of events, I am hosting a BBQ for my best friends from MIDDLE SCHOOL this weekend. I am so excited to see them again! It should be a lot of fun to catch up. All combined, we have 11 kids! Pretty neat!

The smoke is bad again. We had a few good days, where I was thinking things would be better and then this morning it was foggy again. I can only pray for it to let up soon.

The patio cover is broken. I was hoping it was just a little bent but sure enough, the metal was snapped. I'm not going to sad about it. We will just need to save up for another. bummer.

I baked bread yesterday morning, it was good! I tried a new recipe and it was perfect for hamburger buns. We had hamburgers last night for dinner and it worked out. Sophia has been up most of the day today so I've not been able to do much but maybe she'll sleep some this afternoon. I did get the laundry done. I've been doing some each day in the morning.

Well, lunch calls!

Blessings,

Lisa

I forgot to mention my dishwasher.LOL I waited all day Friday for the repair man and he never showed. I'm pretty used to this from Miami where if they say they'll be out on Friday, it really means sometime within a week from Friday.LOL Saturday we called Lowes again to remind them of the "Friday" appointment and found that yes, they were planning on Friday but got behind and would be out on Saturday. Sometime....lol Finally, around 4 the guy showed up. He was extremely nice, very overworked and was able to fix the dishwasher very quickly. Somehow a little piece of plastic from one of the racks broke off and got lodged in the motor or something like that.lol He is ordering a whole new part and will bring it by sometime this week. Otherwise, the machine is working again! Hurray!!!

Yesterday, after church, Eric and Jon took the littles swimming in our pool. They were out there all day and had such a great time. I'm so glad that they swam yesterday because it's COLD today! I was a little surprised when I went outside this morning.lol Last night we finally got some rain but we also got some really high winds. The cover for our patio blew away into the yard and I'm afraid it may be broken. I sure hope not! Without it, the littles won't be able to play in the extreme heat that we get most of the summer. I'll have the older kids assess the damage when they're done with school today. That cover is so important. I know that it doesn't seem like it should be, but with Isaac's surgeries every two months, he wouldn't be able to go outside without it. I would love to have a covered patio someday.

Today is going great so far! The kids were woken up at 6 this morning and have been diligently working since 6:30. They should be done by 11:30. I got up with the baby at 7:30 this morning and Evie got up 15 minutes later. I've found that Sophia likes to eat, spend just a few minutes playing, especially with Evie, and then likes to take her morning nap. She was asleep in the swing by 8. Then I fixed the littles apple-cinnamon pancakes for breakfast. They promptly turned their noses up at them and haven't touch them yet.LOL I will probably fix them an early lunch since they will be hungry soon. I was also able to start the laundry, pick up the house, clean the kitchen, get the littles ready for the day, and take my shower. I know that not everyday will go this smoothly but I'm thankful for a good start to our week. The second half of the day will be for big projects today. I need to iron, vacuum and mop, bathrooms will need to be cleaned and my big project for the month is decluttering all the books in my house. I have kept so much and would like to clean out what I'll never use again. Yes, I'm a curriculum junkie. The first step is admitting it.LOL Now I must clean up my hoarding ways.LOL

Tomorrow afternoon is baking day and Jon is going with my mom to get some new clothes. He's outgrown everything he owns in the past week or two. He is now in men's sizes. Yikes! That should cost us now that we have two adult sized kids!

I'm hoping to take the littles to the park on Thursday. This will be our first park outing since the baby arrived. I'm still looking for help but so far no one has responded to my ad. LOL I guess no one is up to the challenge.

Well, the kids just came down and are done for the day! They were so excited to be back at work and very happy to be done for the day. It's 11 right now and I've been working on this post for a while now.LOL

Since I started the post, Isaac has come down with a fever. I'm thinking it's from the "well check" he had on Friday. I hate taking the littles to the dr. Every time I do, they end up sick. They should call them Inoculation days, not well checks. Other than that, life is good.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu

My Menu for this week...

Breakfast

Eggs and bacon
Pancakes
Waffles
Smoothie and granola bars
Bagels and creamcheese


Lunch

Lunchmeat x 2
Chicken Quesadillas, nachos and salsa
Grilled chicken salad and bread sticks
Mac and cheese

Dinner

Fried Chicken, mashed taters, salad
London broil, rice, salad
Spaghetti, garlic bread and salad
Porkloin, rice, salad
Hamburgers, fries, beans, and salad
Shrimp pasta, salad
Leftovers


I'm trying something new this week. I spent yesterday looking through all my menus and figuring out how much of each kind of meat we ate for each month. Then I averaged it out and am going to buy all my meats for a month at a time, focusing on what's on sale. Then I'm planning out each weeks menu based on what I'll have in the freezer. I'm hoping it'll save me money in the long run. Last week, whole chickens were on sale .79 a pound and I bought 6. Well, I found out that I only use whole chickens, on average, 2x a month so now I have enough for 3 months. This week, bags of frozen boneless chicken is on sale at Foodlion 4 bags for $20.00 (that's 10# of chicken). I found that we usually use 4 bags in a month, so I'll buy those this week.

We officially start our school back full time tomorrow. We've got all our curriculum now and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be getting the kids schedules ready today and the kids are setting up two desks in Jon's room for their quiet work. I'm also going to be doing some freezer cooking today after the grocery store in hopes that I'll have some ready made meals for breakfast and dinner while the kids are working. Sophia has been starting on a loose schedule for the past week and is getting somewhat predictable. It's not going to be easy but I should live through the week.LOL

Jon is going to start a garden this week. I think it's a perfect accompaniment to his culinary arts program. He's going to do all the work, although Evie wants a small plot for herself.lol I'm hoping that will also reduce our grocery bill. I'd like a salad garden and maybe a few things to freeze, like peas, beans, and maybe some zucchini or summer squash.

Blessings,

Lisa

Yesterday was one of 'those' days. It started out pretty good. I was being extremely proactive.lol First I made everyone breakfast, then loaded the dishwasher for it's first run of the day. After that I decided I'd better get my crockpot meal started so that I wouldn't forget later in the day. I browned the porkchops and got everything in the crock. The day was looking to be a good one. After the littles ate, I promptly put them in the tub. I've been bathing them in the day lately so that we have less to do at night when I'm pretty tired. I was able to collect all the laundry and get that started while the littles played in the tub. I got them out, then decided to check the porkchops. Normally, I don't even mess with a crockpot meal once it's in the crock but this was a new recipe and I wanted to smell the sauce to see if the littles would eat it. The crock was cold.LOL I guess it works better when you plug it in. Well, it had only been about 1/2 hour so I plug it in and am thankful that I caught it. A few minutes later, I hear this horrible noise coming from my kitchen. It sounds like my washing machine but as I run towards it, I realize it's my dishwasher!!! Now you all know I just replaced the last appliance in my kitchen. The dishwasher was the first thing we had to replace when we moved in last year. Here it is, grinding and shaking and hissing....ugh! I turn it off and call dh. I start a frantic search for the receipt and service contract. It takes me hours to find it. My dh says he hasn't seen it, that I had it and I remind him that no, he had it last.lol Finally, I decide to "be the dh, who really didn't want to mess with it and so I would sit it where ever so I don't have to." It works.lolol It was in his old briefcase. I call Lowes and they say the earliest they can come out is on the 10th. He must have heard the desperation in my voice when I asked if there was anyway they could come out sooner.LOL He searches around and is able to find someone who says they can come out tomorrow, which is today! I'm so relieved. Doing dishes for 7 while taking care of a newborn was not on my to-do list.lolol As I pass by the crockpot, I decide to check the "smell factor" since this time it's had plenty of time to cook. This is when I find out that my oldest son had unplugged it to plug in the toaster....three hours ago. double ugh! Now it's almost 4 and I usually serve the littles dinner at 5. My ds asks if he can take Evie swimming and I figure that will keep them busy while I fix a new dinner. I give Isaac the hose to play with, Jon's outside swimming with Evie, I start Beef noodle soup with the leftover roast I had from lunch, while Sophia screams in Allison's arms.lol I get the soup started, check on Isaac who has coated himself with wet sand, and take the screaming baby from Allison and have her snap beans. I then feed the screaming baby, then finish the soup, bathe the little's yet again, and feed them by 5:30. Then I ate while Allison held the screaming baby. Dh got home at almost 7 and offered to take Allison to her dance classes and he also took the two littles. When he got home, I had just finally gotten Sophia asleep and then I put Isaac to bed. Afterwards he went to get Allison and I read stories to Evie and then put her to bed. By now it's 9 and I'm tired. lol I'm just thankful that most days are better than this.lolol

Blessings,

Lisa

Am I in London?

Oooh, spooky...

Out front...

Now I'm sure you are all thinking, it's fog, so what?LOL This isn't fog, it's SMOKE!!! We have fires below us and fires above us. This is the worst it's been so far. Prayers for my asthma would be appreciated. lol

Blessings,

Lisa

I think this photo speaks for itself...

lol

Lisa

Photos from this week...

Evie crafting

Isaac doing the same

Sophia being cuteGrandpa playing with the littles

Lisa

Yvonne asked me this question so I thought I'd just answer in a post.

Hi Lisa, I saw that you are using Movies as Literature. I'm so excited about using it myself! Have you made any other curriculum changes? I'm curious! ~Yvonne

Yes, I've been overhauling our whole year, subject by subject. See, I found I liked the literature approach but the kids were dragging their heels. Yes, they liked the books but found it to be just too much. So here's what I've come up with so far...

Movies as Literature http://www.designastudy.com/products/1891975099.html

My dd loves movies. Not only loves them, she's one of those people who likes to buy and watch some movies over and over and over and well, over again.lol I want her to be discerning while watching these movies and this is a skill that will come in handy as she goes through life.

Math U See

We've now officially tried just about every single math curriculum out there.LOL Something that never occurred to me, is that Allison is especially VISUAL. So MUS is finally doing what no other curriculum has ever done, it's teaching her math. I think Jon could take it or leave it but for Allison, it's been wonderful.

Ancient Civilizations and the Bible by http://www.dianawaring.com/Ancient-Civs-Student-Guide.html This has the whole first unit online, just click the PDF file.

Now this is a real find! I love the way this curriculum is put together. After looking through it, I felt that it would be able to touch on both of my kids learning styles without letting us get bogged down. It's user friendly, has the reading that I like, an auditory segment, and hands on projects to do. I like how the kids can focus on different topics within the subject, like art for Allison and science for Jon but we're all still on the same page. We're still learning about the same time period. Plus, the customer service is great! I made a mistake and Mr. Waring actually called and emailed me to find out if I really wanted two copies of the same cd.LOL Pretty cool.

The other subjects we've got lined up are Drivers Ed in a Box, Culinary Arts, Guitar, and Website Design.

It has been hard to go off the beaten path with my kids but I'm already seeing fruit from trusting God. They are already learning so much and are excited about their subjects again. I'm hoping that our history will guide us into the right science for both kids. I haven't found a good match in science yet. The kids may take different paths but I'm hoping they'll end up in the same place.LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

I've been watching the show How Clean is Your House on the BBC channel lately and I love the different homemade cleaning mixtures that they come up with. So far, we've tried the grout cleaner made from salt, vinegar, and dishsoap. It worked pretty good. And we've tried dark soda in the toilet as a cleaner. It really didn't do much but it could be I didn't let it sit long enough but really, you have to be able to use the potty at some point.LOL I love the idea of homemade cleaners that are nontoxic. We have so many little ones, I hate having poison in my home. Of course, I like a clean home also, so it has to work.

All this watching has spurred me on in my own cleaning. I super cleaned my bathroom on Monday and scrubbed all the hard floors in the house. We had blueberry, plain, and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and I put the extras in the freezer for another day. I put a roast in the crockpot for lunch the next day and I made the Beef Tenderloin for dinner that night. I also did laundry and was able to get that all caught up. I did a quick clean, straighten, and vaccum of all the other rooms and I even had enough energy to go for a walk that night.

Yesterday started off a little slow. Sophia was up a lot that night. I made granola bars for breakfast and those who wanted smoothies made them themselves. I decided to make the sandwich loaf for lunch and invited my mom over to visit. The little ones had a great time helping with the breadmaking. I made a roast beef, muenster, parmesian cheese loaf and it was really good! Everyone, except the littles, enjoyed it. They wouldn't even try it.lol After lunch, my mom took Evie to her house for a few hours. Evie had cut her hair again and it really needed to be evened up a little. She is now sporting a short summer cut.lol By dinner time, I was tired so we had a fend for yourself night. There was plenty to choose from.

Today, I was awake by 6am and I've been keeping fairly busy. I had a loaf of buttercrust bread that no one really cared for, so I made it into bread pudding for after lunch. The rest will be served for after dinner. I did some crafts with the littles this morning. We started with an ocean scene and ended with making bird feeders. I love www.thebusybeebag.com They have some really cute crafts for preschoolers and I don't have to buy anything extra. Just open the bag and go.lol Perfect for the sleep deprived mom. I'm also looking at this next: http://www.mylilpicasso.com/ I like to keep those little ones busy.lol

Sophia's been a little grumpy today so not too much has been done. Just a few crafts, some baking, and baths for all the littles.lol I was going to make the California Porkchops tonight but forgot to put it in the crockpot so we'll just make the hamburgers on the grill instead.

We watched the second movie in our Movies As Literature program and the kids are really enjoying it. It's like I have my old kids back. You know, the ones who keep asking when we can do more work as opposed to hiding and hoping I don't make them do anything.lolol I also keep finding Allison at the table doing her math work. What a difference. The kids have been reading the first unit in their history online and have doing the work without my prompting. They are really looking forward to the hands-on part and have already decided what areas they want to study further. I guess praying and then searching for curriculum that is geared directly for your kids learning styles really does work.lol Do they have curriculum for hard headed people cause I think that may be my learning style.lolol

Blessings,

Lisa

Me and Sophia.

Genevieve holding a squirmy Sophia.

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu

My Menu for this week came from TamInAz's blog over on Xanga. She has some great menu's and I'm tired this week.LOL

Breakfast

Egg and Cheese Sandwiches
Blueberry Pancakes and sausage
Smoothie and Granola Bars
Eggs and Bacon
Granola, yogurt, and fruit
Bacon-Hash roll-ups

Lunch

Roastbeef Sandwiches
Fish Sticks, tater tots
Sandwich Loaf (recipe follows)
Grilled Veggie wraps
Tuna or chicken salad

Dinner

Roast Chicken, potatoes, salad
Hamburgers, mac and cheese, beans, salad
Swedish Meatballs, noodles, carrots
Beef tenderloin, spring veggies, rolls
California Porkchops, rice
Chicken Soup, french bread
Baked Ziti, garlic bread, salad


This weekend has gone by quickly. The older kids went skating yesterday and Eric took the littles to a church fair. They all had a really good time. I pulled a muscle in my shoulder carrying the giant baby around and decided to stay home and rest. I'm actually glad that I stayed home. The forest fires in Georgia are sooo bad that the smoke is filtering throughout the whole house. I thought I was catching a horrible cold last night so I stayed home from church only to realize it was the smoke playing with my allergies. I missed all the fun!lol Oh, well, Sophia and I are getting a lot of time to get to know each other. I can't say it's helping me to understand her any better but at least I get all the baby snuggles.lol

I'm looking for some computer games for Evie. She's just about worn out all the ones she has. We haven't bought any new ones for her ever.lol She's just been playing the ones that lasted from Allison and Jon. If you all know of any good ones, I'd love to hear of them.

I finally found a history curriculum that like.lol Well, that the kids like. www.dianawaring.com It's got a little of something for all learning styles. We are going to start with Ancient Civ. I like that it has hands-on, auditory, visual, everything! Now we have all the main subjects for the year. Finally.lol

I'm also trying a new schedule from Large Family Logistics. I need to figure out how to get everything done in a week's time. I really hope this helps.

I guess that's it!

Here's the recipe for the sandwich loaf, this is from Tam's web-site...

Sandwich Loaf

It is made by using a favorite bread dough recipe. It's great with either white or wheat. You use about 1/2-loaf worth of dough, and spread it out to measure about 16" X 10" on a floured surface.

Melt 1/2 stick butter and mix with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Spread this mixture over the bread dough.

Down the center third "longways", layer desired lunch meats (i.e. ham or beef or turkey).

Over the lunch meat, sprinkle about 1 cup of grated cheese or lay slices of cheese.

From there, you can roll up the dough over the meat/cheese layers or cut the sides (outer 2/3s of the dough) and braid them over the meat and cheese.

Transfer the roll to a pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, until golden brown.

Brush with butter.

Slice and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Lisa

When Kristine wrote to me and said that she had linked to my blog, I seriously thought it was a post maybe about how she'd always wanted a lot of kids until she started reading my blog or how my blog gave her inspiration because she knew she could always do better than me.LOLOL But no, it was to give me a "Thinking Award." Well, I'm honored and a little shocked. I certainly never tried to make her think and I'm deeply sorry that I unintentionally made that happen.lolol

So here are my top 5 picks for this prestigious award...lol

1.Liz is my first choice. She makes me laugh, cry, and feel human. I love this woman.LOL I always think, when I grow up I'd love to live at Liz's house.

2.Kimberly and her family live in Nepal as missionaries. I always wanted to be a missionary when I grew up and I love following this family in their work!

3.Jen, I love her blog! She has been doing a lot of research on Autism and all that she has found out really makes me want to change things in my own home.

4.Kathy is a babywearing, sling making women who I love to read about. She also does freezer cooking and that makes her top notch in my book.LOL

5.Bridget is another babywearing mom who I love to visit. She just had a new baby and I'm a sucker for baby pictures.LOL I also love how she is able to manage all of her kids and how organized she is.

Well, whew, I did it. This was hard because I tried to use people who have not already been tagged. These are some great women and I'm happy to inflict this award on them.lolol

Here's the rules, if I can figure out how to get it on here with all the links and such...lol

The participation rules are simple:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

More sprinkler fun...

Blessings,

lisa

Sprinkler fun in the sun!

Blessings,

lisa

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Cream Together

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup peanut butter

Add

2 eggs

Beat in

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 cups flour

Spread in a 13X9 greased cookie sheet, if it's a little dry add a drizzle of olive oil and mix. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Cut into squares while warm. Enjoy!

I made these for breakfast this morning and they are REALLY good! I got this recipe off of the Sonlight boards a few years ago and adapted it to my needs.LOL The basic recipe called for oil instead of peanutbutter and raisins and nuts instead of chocolate chips.

Blessings,

Lisa

Pictures from today...

Isaac with his boppy

Allison in her room

Sophia in her third outfit for the day

Blessings,

Lisa

The Art of Leaving the House with a Newborn


Firstly, I recommend not checking the diaper bag for needed items. Assume that everything you need is in the bag. You know what assuming does right? Next, make sure that you leave at just the "right time." Miss cues from your newborn, in your rush to leave the home, that mean that she may be "working on something." Make sure that you bring another small child that is not old enough to walk around on his own and then assign your oldest to watch over him. Now, drive to a nice store so that your oldest can pick out some shorts since she's been lamenting the fact that she outgrew all her old ones. Now you are ready to enjoy your trip!lololol

Here is what happened when I followed the above method...

We were there about 5 minutes before the baby began fussing. I set Allison off to find just the right shorts for the summer and I went off with the baby to get some shorts outfits for Evie and a few outfits for Sophia. I grabbed the first outfits I saw as by now Sophia was not happy. I couldn't understand "why not" since I had fed and changed her before we left. I picked her up and jiggled her while I looked for Allison and as soon as I found her, Sophia had a SUPER MEGA BLOWOUT!!! Up the back, out the sides and all over.lolol I just stick a cloth diaper under her and work my way to the checkout. I'm not worried as of yet, since I know that I have all the supplies to fix this situation in my handy dandy diaper bag, right? I check out and had the most amazingly fast checkout girl I've ever had, must have been the screaming baby with the twenty-seven cloth diapers layered on her.lol I make it to the car to change her and find that I have no wipes just 28 cloth diapers and one of Isaac's giant pull-ups. lolol Basically, at this point I add an extra cloth diaper to her already growing layers and pile everyone back into the car and quickly make it back home while my little stinky princess screamed the whole way. Yes, Allison found 3 pairs of shorts and 4 shirts in the less than 10 minutes we were there. You have to remember she's the oldest and has learned to shop fast over the years.LOL

I did find out that Sophia is 13 1/2 pounds from this trip though! The Publix is right beside the store we went to and so I weighed her. I can't believe she's so big! No wonder my wrists hurt.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu

My Menu for this week,

Breakfast

Pancakes
Waffles
Eggs and bacon
biscuits and gravy

All served with fruit or smoothies.


Lunch

Sandwiches
Pizza
Salad
Tuna or chicken salad


Dinner

Beef Stew, biscuits, and salad
Baked Chicken, rice, and Asparagus
Taco Stuff
Pasta Carbonara, salad
Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes, salad
Grilled chicken, noodles, and salad


Enjoy!

Lisa

Today has been a good day. The baby hasn't been sleeping too well but God has been so good to help me feel ready for the day anyway. I woke to Evie tip-toeing through my room and got up quickly and shooed her out. I was able to fix everyone breakfast before the baby woke and then get the wash sorted. I've been doing wash ever since and it's almost done.

Because of the gates, I was able to straighten and clean all the kid-areas quickly and vacuum them. I think it only took 15 minutes! Afterwards, I got Evie started in some preschool and Jon started in his MUS. It went much better today! I'm thinking it was just Friday inattentiveness that caused the problems. I did find that he really wasn't understanding Algebra at all and basically is starting over again. What a waste of time the other program was! I'm glad that he is finally getting this. We need to move on!LOL

Once the baby went down for her nap, Allison started her math. Now this is the biggest improvement to me. She really understands and likes this program! Her biggest problem now is trying to make the problems harder than they really are.LOL I'm proud of her!

While she worked, I cleaned my bathroom and then took Isaac to the grocery store with me. I asked Allison to finish her math, then clean her bathroom unless the baby woke up. Everything was done when I got home and Jon did some of the Ancient Egypt kit from Handsnhearts.com with Evie while I was gone. Publix had whole chickens on sale for $.79 a pound so that's what's for dinner tonight. I bought 4 of them for the freezer too. I have a few more loads of laundry and need to clean the kitchen floor but basically I'm done!

Who knew that something as simple as two gates would make such a difference! The kids are starting to get some school work done and I'm thinking in a week or two, we'll be up to a full course load day. I'm going to take it slow though, I don't want to crash and burn by taking on too much, too soon.

Blessings,

Lisa

My Mom and Sophia

My mom came over today and took the littles to her house for a little while. It was really nice to only have the baby for those few hours. Mom said the two littles fought the whole time. I'm not surprised. Isaac is going through the twos and Evie is good at pushing just the right buttons. Mom has decided to only take one each weekend for the next few weeks. Boy, do I know how she feels, too bad I can't do the same.LOL Really, things have been better since I've gated half the house off. The messes have been manageable and the littles haven't been able to find as much to destroy. It does take more work to keep them busy but it's a good busy instead of the kind that costs me money.lolol If little Sophia says happy, I may not need a helper! A good schedule and a lot of flexability and things might just work out. Although, if God sends just the right person along, an extra hand would be a blessing.lol

Well, I think I'll be attempting church again tomorrow so I better get to bed!

Blessings,

Lisa

Yesterday was good too! I've been trying extremely hard to eat only baby approved food the past week and it's really made a difference in Sophia's demeanor.

We had some extra time yesterday and decided to jump right into the MUS program. I watched Allison's preAlgebra video first with her and then helped her get started with the practice. She REALLY liked the program and couldn't believe how easy the work was with the manipulatives. She ended up getting a 100% on the page and decided to go for honors credit. She worked on the honors problems for the rest of her time and was able to finish half of them before it was dinner time. I'm really impressed! This is my "I'm not good at math" kid, so if she's happy we're all happy.lol

I then started Jon on his Algebra video but the littles became a distraction so left him to watch on his own. He had some trouble with the problem work because he wasn't carefully reading and writing down the problems. Also, the first lesson didn't show how to use the blocks and so I'm guessing it was review of preAlgebra and since I haven't gotten that far, I couldn't help him. It was a little frustrating but I think I'll just work on this today and see if I can be more prepared for Monday.

Even Evie got in on the new math day! She is very smart and I'm wondering if I got the correct program for her. I went with the primer since I haven't really worked with her yet but she whipped right through many pages without any problems and didn't want to quit well past quitting time.lol I'm seeing that she has been way under challenged around here and I'm going to need to work with her more, you know, in my "spare time."lolol


Today the kids will be skating and Eric and I will be running some errands. We are supposed to make a banner for Allison's confirmation day and will need felt and other things. I have to admit I'm not looking forward to a craft right now. I kind of wish he'd have given us a little warning so that I could have worked on this before the baby arrived but I'll do my best. So we'll go to JoAnn's fabrics and since we'll be close, to Babies R Us.LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

Today was a good day.lol The baby was good. No screaming like a miniature Wookie for hours on end. (Think Star Wars...lol)

My two that we call Mischief and Mayhem were unable to do "either."

The house is clean and tidy even as I type this.lol And everyone little is asleep. What a blessing a good day can be to a tired, worn-out woman!lolol I NEEDED a day like today.

I was able to look through the math curriculum and I'm impressed. We will start it on Monday and hopefully the kids will take off with it. We need to make some headway in this subject.

I made the casserole and forgot to put salt in it.lol Needless to say it really didn't go over too well. That's what they get for making a sleep deprived mom make them food.lol I think that they would all agree that if I'd remembered the seasonings, it would have been edible.lolol

Let's see, I guess this week has been pretty boring. Allison went ballroom dancing tonight. Eric was so sweet and took EVERYONE with him, even the screaming wookie baby, to drop her off and I got a break. Not only that but it seems to have interrupted the screaming session and the baby decided to sleep instead.lol I think I see many car rides in her future...lol

I took Jon to get gas for the lawn mower this afternoon. He's hoping to drum up some business this summer mowing lawns. He's saving up for a Nintendo Wii. I think it'll be good for him to earn his own money. We already pay him to do our lawn, which he did today and he does a good job. He's very excited. He's always been an entrepreneur at heart and I'm sure that this will be just the start of his business making ideas. I'm proud of him for wanting to work for what he wants.

Well, I'm going to take advantage of the early night and go to bed.lol Boy, I'm just a barrel of fun aren't I?lolol

Blessings,

Lisa

Oatmeal-Brown Sugar Muffins

3 cups flour
2 cups oats
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder

mix.

2 cups milk
1 cup oil
3 eggs

Blend in blender.

Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

We had these this morning and they were really good! For once, everyone liked them, although Allison said that they would be better with chocolate chips.lol (really, isn't everything?)


The baby's being a real doll today and I've been able to get a lot of stuff done. I went ahead and gated off most of the house today and thoroughly cleaned it.

The neighbors next door are getting their house painted today and it's just about killing me! I have asthma and the odor from the paint is somehow getting into the house and it's pretty stinky. We are also getting all the smoke from a forest fire in Georgia and so we've been stuck in the house. Smoke outside and paint fumes inside. Yuck!

I called my pastor's office yesterday to put in an ad for a Mother's helper. I'm hoping that if I'm supposed to have help that just the right person answers the ad. In the meantime, I'm trying to minimize the mess making abilities of my little ones by the liberal use of gates and by tying their closets shut.lolol Eric is buying locks for the closets this weekend but until then, I'm hoping my improvisation will work.lol

I ordered and received Math U See in the mail today. I was not going to buy another math curriculum but I heard a lot of good reviews about it, ordered the sample DVD and was very impressed! Last week, I tested both kids and found holes in their understanding of advanced math so I ordered PreAlgebra for Allison and Algebra 1 for Jon. I also decided to buy the Primer for Evie because for once I'd like to stick with ONE curricula from beginning to end.lolol I have three more kids to use this with so I figured the cost was worth it. Allison just needs to review some of PreAlgebra before moving to Algebra and Jon will probably only need the second half of the book but I'll have him review the first half since it's so visual and hands-on. I love the concrete way Mr.Demme explains Algebra. I am hoping that we will all come away with real understanding of this subject as opposed to rote memorization.

Blessings,

Lisa

Sophia-working on the art of smiling.

Blessings,

Lisa

My Menu for this week...


Breakfast

Eggs, Bacon, and Fruit
Pancakes, sausage, fruit
Casserole (recipe follows)
Oatmeal-brown sugar Muffins and fruit


Lunch

Chicken salad and fruit
grilled cheese and soup
Pizza and fruit
Sandwiches and veggies
Mac and cheese, veggies


Dinner

Rotisserie chicken, rice, and salad
Ham, greenbeans, and potatoes
Hash, salad
Black beans and rice, bread, and salad
Nachos
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, salad
Tuna Noodle Casserole


I'm trying a new breakfast item from the show Everyday Italian. It's called Chicken and Orzo Frittata. I think it'll be good.


Chicken and Orzo Frittata
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
See this recipe on air Saturday Apr. 21 at 7:30 AM ET/PT.
Show:
Everyday Italian
Episode:
Everyday Lunches

3/4 cup orzo pasta
6 eggs
1/3 cup whole milk ricotta (I'm using cottage cheese)
1/4 cup creme fraiche (I'm using sour cream)
2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed (about 2 cups)
4 scallions, chopped (I'm skipping these)
1/4 cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup diced roasted red bell peppers (I'm skipping these also.)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
In a large bowl combine the eggs, ricotta, and creme fraiche and stir until the eggs are beaten and the ingredients are combined. Add the cooked orzo, chicken, scallions, parsley, red bell peppers, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Place the pan under the broiler until golden on top, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let set for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with a side salad.


Yesterday, Allison read her paper to the congregation during service. It went well and she got quite the introduction from the pastor. We found out that most kids have to rewrite their paper a few times before it's accepted but Allison's didn't even have one red mark on it. He was most impressed and told everyone it was the best paper he's ever read, so everyone was especially quiet in order to hear this wonderful paper and Allison was mortified.LOL She was so quiet that I'm sure most everyone didn't hear her at all.

I'm on my new computer! Now we just need to finish getting Jon's room ready for the old one. Everything that I try to do takes at least twice as long as what I expect it to. I ended up with a horrible tummy bug last night so I have no idea what this week is going to be like. I'm praying that I start to feel better today and I hope that no one else gets this. Right now, I feel yucky and I'm trying hard to keep up with everyone.

De'Etta was saying on her blog that once you've had 3 kids, any others aren't so hard to handle and I kept wondering about that because ever since we added Sophia I've been having a really hard time keeping up with everyone and I've been feeling overwhelmed and out numbered. Well, I've realized that this is actually the first time I've ever had three little ones at one time. I just feel like EVERYONE NEEDS ME and I can't do it all. Evie's been acting out, Isaac's been having temper tantrums all the time, Sophia has horrible gassy colic.ugh. I know that things will get better, I'm just trying to figure how to make things a bit better now. I want to quit REACTING and start being PROACTIVE. Those of you who have had three in a row, what did or have you done to be more proactive in your parenting? How can I manage the three without a major disaster each and everyday?lolol

Well, the baby's done eating so my typing with one hand has come to an end.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Sophia in her new 3-6mo outfit.

Can you believe how big this girl is? She just outgrew her size 1 diapers and now she's wearing her new 3-6mo clothes! How can this be? It is definitely my dh's fault.lolol

Blessings,

Lisa

Does God really only give you no more than you can handle?

I look back over the past few years of surgeries, broken arms, health crisis', a move, and a new baby and I can without a doubt say that God gave me way more than I could handle. Did I make it through everything? Yes, but not without completely and totally relying on the mercy and grace of God. I did not make it on my own, it was not me who could handle these insurmountable odds, it was my Lord and Savior who carried me through to the other side. I learned that God will and does give me more than I can handle but that He will be there with me, even when I stumble and fall. Even when I cry out and say I can't do it anymore! God will comfort me, but that doesn't mean that He will take me out of that place. Am I without hope? No! I have come to understand that even when placed in hard times, I have an amazing Father who is with me and will help me to learn and help others during these trials that we all must go through. I have found myself, in the middle of hardships, learning to lean on Him and seeing for the first time the struggles of others. Once, when Isaac was quite young, the hospital scheduled his surgery for late in the morning. I was screaming out to God, this is not fair! He is so young! Why does he have to suffer this way? I cried and prayed for God to change his time, to make it a mix up and for him to be taken earlier. When we got to the hospital that day, it was a struggle for me. I wanted to take my little boy home and forget his surgery. I was ANGRY and HEARTBROKEN.

Then I saw him.

The tiny 2 month old baby who had taken Isaac's early surgery spot. He was soooo small and frail. His parents were so worried and anguish was written on their faces. Their eyes were red from tears and the grandmother couldn't stop crying. When that little boy went back with his parents to surgery, I held that grandmother while she cried. I sat with her in the recovery room after the surgery and told her that God was here and He was with her little grandchild.

It was then that I realized that it isn't always about me, sometimes we are put where we are, for others, who really need us.

Blessings, Lisa

What does one do with a sandbox?

Someone on the SHS list asked this question today and it made me chuckle.lol I know what MY kids do with their sandbox.....



they make a MESS!lolol My two little ones spend at least an hour a day playing in their sandbox and the surrounding areas. They build, create roads, make sand angels, dig, and imagine. I wouldn't have it any other way.LOL Just don't ever buy BLUE sand, and no, you don't want to ask why.lololol

Blessings,

Lisa

Allison and Isaac having some snuggle time.

blessings,

Lisa

Here's a new picture of Sophia and my girls...

Sophia 6 weeks old!

My three girls.

Blessings,

Lisa

Whoohoo! I finished the toy room! This was a huge undertaking, especially with a new baby. Moving the littles into Isaac's room and then putting all their toys into Evie's old room took us a little less than 3 weeks. Here are some photos of the new room...

Here is the closet and store.

Here are the new cabinets and desk, not quite finished.

Here is the table and kitchen area.

I arranged all the toys into separate bins, all the kitchen stuff into different zippered bags, and we are going to purchase childlocks for the cabinets and closet so that I can manage the toys without getting the chaos of them dumping all the bins out when no one is watching.lol Now the littles have a really nice area for play. I love order out of chaos!LOL

My next project is to set up the new computer and then get the older kids study area set up. I'm really hoping that I can get this done a little quicker because the older kids have a hard time studying with the littles around them. I REALLY don't know why.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Happy 13th Birthday JONATHAN!!!

I can't believe that my little boy is now a young man! He is a terrific person and I'm so happy that I get to spend this time with him and see who he becomes. We didn't do much today but we are waiting for his cake to cool so that we can eat it.LOL He got a total room makeover for his birthday and a few smaller gifts.

I told him "I can't believe that you're 13 already!" And he said, "Hey, it took me 13 years to get this far!"lololol He's got such a great sense of humor.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Pictures from Easter...

Isaac in his Sunday best.

Genevieve and Isaac

Isaac egg hunting and big brother Jon helping.

blessings,

lisa

My Menu for this week...


Lunch

Pizza
Turkey
Chicken salad
Mac & cheese
Fish sticks


Dinner

Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, salad
Steak, rice, salad
Ham, potatoes, fresh greenbeans
Split pea soup, fresh baked bread
grilled chicken, rice, salad
Hamburgers, fries, salad
Leftovers


First off, Happy Easter everyone! I know I'm late but yesterday was a very busy day and I'm running low on energy.lol

This week is going to be very busy! We are going to ease into school this week because some of the things we need are still on their way here.lol We are starting Movies As Literature tonight starting with the first movie, Shane. Pretty exciting!

I'm still organizing the house, mainly the new toy room. It's a real mess. My dh put some new cabinets together over the weekend and the last one had some screws missing (don't we all?lol)so we're waiting for those in the mail also.

I'm going to teach Jon how to make grilled food this week along with french bread. He's made our usual breads and rolls but we need to move on to some new kinds. He's also made chicken on the grill but we're going to try steak and hamburgers this week also.

Well, I guess I'll get back to work...lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Pictures from today...

Isaac studying his cars intently.lol

My three girls. 15, 4, and 6 weeks.
Jon and Sophia checking each other out.

Blessings,

Lisa

Here's the latest photo of Sophia. She is starting to heal up from her acne but still looks rough.lol

This is her favorite position. Too bad we can't figure out how to put her down in this position.LOL It's been one very long day starting on Sunday and it's still going on. I'm beginning to resent my happy, well-rested morning person dh, who cheerfully greets Sophia and I at dawn every morning right before he leaves for work. I bet if he took the night shift he wouldn't be so cheery. lol Really, it should be against the law to be that cheerful in the morning. So there.lol

I'm beginning to feel like I'll never be able to get this house in order. I get a room clean, go to feed Sophia, come back and the littles have crumbled playdough into the carpet, knocked a drink over, sprinkled toys like some kind of toy fairies all over for good measure and when I ask who made the mess they all deny even going into that room today.LOLOL I think I need about 100 more gates. I could gate off every single room and put one kid in each room.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Are they cute or what?lol

Isaac playing peekaboo...

Blessings,

Lisa

I know I haven't written for a couple of days. Let's just say I'm tired.lol Sophia is being a baby. Isaac is using markers on any surface closest to wherever he finds a marker. Genevieve has been needing a little extra mommy time lately and so I've been working on Sing, Spell, Read and Write with her. I've been working on what the older kids will be studying starting next week and trying to keep the house in order. Oh, yeah, and I've been trying to get some sleep each day.lol I've also been trying to declutter each room so that when the kids start school next week I'll be able to easily keep the house together. Ok., maybe not easily but at least to a point where I won't be embarrassed if someone comes over.lol I also gave Isaac a buzz cut for the summer.

Here's my boy with his new do.

Here's my two critters hamming it up for the camera.
Here's Genevieve being serious.

So far the older kids will be using most of the same books as before our break. I've decided to add in a few new things though. Here's their schedule..

These are the subjects we hope to finish within the next few months...

Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1

SL 5 (for Jon)

SL 200 (for Allison)

Apologia Biology

New subjects...

Movies as Literature

Life Prep for Homeschooled Teens

Electives...

Ballroom dancing (Allison)

Guitar (Allison)

Home Economics (Allison)

Culinary Arts (Jon)

Computer programming/gaming (Jon)

Confirmation classes (Jon and Allison)

Jon's birthday is next Tuesday and he'll be 13! I can't believe how old my kids are.lol I know we are all looking forward to beginning school again and getting back to some kind of schedule. It's been a little crazy with everyone just doing whatever for the past few weeks. It seems that more messes get made when we aren't busy. I just hope that I can keep up with everyone. lol

Blessings,

Lisa

My menu for this week...

Lunch

sandwiches
chili
pizza


Dinner

Roast w/potatoes and carrots and salad
chicken, rice, and steamed veggies
hamburgers, fries, and salad
pork loin, noodles, and salad
steak, rice, and salad