Our New Hobby: Bird Watching

I always thought anyone who thought bird watching was a pleasant past time was either old, eccentric, or just plain boring.  Well, I guess I fall into one of those categories now;-)  Since we have snow this year, we started feeding the birds on the first day of our first snow.  Our first visitors were typical.

 Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal, and some type of snow bird, we have several of these.

 Red-Bellied Woodpecker

He has black & white spots on his back but was too timid to stick around for a good picture.

 Downy Woodpecker

I think he's cute, its a lot smaller than the red-headed or red-bellied ones.  He has a big white strip down his back an all his markings are symmetrical!

 Chickadee {so cute!}

And here is a new {to me} one...

European Starling, they are different colors in different seasons-

More spots in the winter: more black in summer.

A couple of Blue Jays frequently stop by, but not when I have the camera ready. ;-)

We aren't really doing a unit study, but it is fun to hear the kids discussing the bird types.  Even the younger ones are picking up on them.  When I got the starling picture, {I had never seen this bird before} Peter had already found it in the bird book!  He is particularly interested in the birds.  I sort-of put him in charge of feeding them, but Joe likes to do it sometimes, too.

I must add that I really enjoyed photographing them, too!  I used my big lense and it did a great job.  {I was afraid all the fingerprints on the windows would show, but they don't!;-) }

Happy winter!

Judy

Homeschooling with laryngitis

Today I have learned a lot about Proverbs 15:1,

"A soft answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger."

Due to either a cold or allergies, my voice is abnormally soft.  In fact it is only a whisper!  My kids keep saying, "Just try and talk normal."  "I am," I whisper back.  I have had a scratchy voice before, due to a cold or chest congestion, but I don't think I have ever lost my voice so completely!  Ugh!

What I have learned is that if I speak in a whisper, they respond in a whisper.  This has probably been the quietest day we have ever had!  Without having any control over the volume of my voice, I have managed to control the volume of their voices.  Hmm...  I guess King Solomon knew what he was talking about.

For those moments when they still got loud and I needed to get their attention, I was sure glad they are trained to respond to a finger snap or a hand clap!  That sure comes in handy in public when I don't want to shout their names because they disappeared around the corner, I clap my hands.  Or if they are too far away for me to reach in church and I need to get their attention, I snap.  I know, they should be trained to NOT walk away from me at the store or misbehave in church in the first place, but for those times, it works. 

The one thing I wish I could change in this situation {other than NOT losing my voice!} is that I wish I would  have taught them sign language!  I still can, it just won't be too handy NOW! 

I think I'll go drink some more hot tea.  And sleep, I am soooooo tired!

Judy

Why I haven't been blogging

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I decided at the beginning of the summer that we needed to "unplug." Less T.V. and computer, more God. Once I got off the computer,  I realized how much of my time gets sucked away when I am on it! I also realized how I really, really, really needed to be more of a "present mom." Not presents like gifts, but present like really there!  When I'm not "really there," well, you know the saying... "When the cat's away, the mice will play!"  Messes. Fighting.  Sin.  Not the godly character I would like to cultivate in my children!  At the end of each day I would realize, another day had gone by without reading Scripture or praying with them.  My excuse was, "that's Dallas' responsibility," which is true, but his job is different from week to week and he is not always able to get it into his schedule, either.  So it's my responsibility, as well!

Something else I have been working on all summer is getting my thoughts organized, then getting them on paper, then following the plan.  Once upon a time, I had a notebook organizer.  I made it up myself, with printed planner sheets from MicrosoftWorks and plain notebook paper.  The dividers were recycled from something else, I just flipped them over and wrote on the backs.  I had everyone trained to just look in the book for chores, shopping list, homeschool contacts, etc.  And guess what... it worked!  It worked really well, too!  At that time I had three high schoolers, one little'un in school, and then came the babies... February 2003, October 2004,  July 2006, and June 2009.  Throw in six wrestling seasons, Hubby's bout with cancer, rebellious teenagers and very little sleep.  Oh, and my health crashed. (Barely any progesterone and phase II adrenal fatigue.)  All I could do was survive.  Barely.

Anyway, I forgot all about that handy-dandy notebook organizer!  The Holy Spirit poked and prodded at me all summer to get an organizer.  I really didn't want to make one again, so I looked and looked and looked online for the "perfect" notebook to buy.  Several had a lot of what I needed but not ALL of what I needed, and they are expensive.  So guess what?  I made one after all!  I need full-size pages (I am less likely to lose it that way!)  I need a weekly planner with lots of writing space per day, a calender, a menu plan, and a shopping list.  I found just what I needed at Organized Home.  I went to Staples and bought dividers with built-in folders to store pages that don't have holes.  My other sections include: schedules (MicrosoftWord2007), cleaning schedules from Money Saving Mom, chore charts from Homeschooling at the Speed of Life, Bible, (just different ideas I find or notes), goals (ideas from Sarah Mae), old menu plans to refer back to, and a school section, with attendance charts, notes from homeschool conventions of the past, copies of CPI forms,  copy of supervising teacher contract, etc. The theme of this organizer is

"The wise woman builds her house, 

But the foolish pulls it down with her hands."

Proverbs 14:1 

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(This verse and picture is on the front cover of my notebook.)

Now that I have my organizer all organized (he-he) all I have to work on is, "eh-hem", #1 NOT letting it get buried on my desk*blush*, and #2  following it!  I honestly don't know which one is harder!  Really!!!  I have come to realize a little bit of rebellion in my heart when it comes to following a plan rather than being lazy.  (I am praying about a submissive spirit in this area!)

Through all the toil I also suffered with some depression.  I have a lot of back and neck pain and normally visit my chiropractor weekly.  But our insurance decided I go too much, I guess, because they have cut me off.  So every visit comes out of pocket now.  I have suffered more aches and pains than any 40-year-old should have!  Sometimes the pain was debilitating.  That's depressing.  We made our first real estate investment and it made a huge impact on our finances up front. (We're pretty broke until we get the house ready for a renter.)  That's depressing.  I could hardly walk through my basement due to piled-up junk, misplaced toys, and construction supplies.  That was frustrating, and a tough task to attack while having a lot of hip pain, especially while going up & down stairs.

But God is good!  He is patient!  And He wants me to ask for His help- which is a good thing since I need so much of it!!

I also haven't blogged much because my computer was in the shop several times.  Mr. Fix-It did a clean up but couldn't find anything seriously wrong--- at first.  He ended up saving all our data, wiping out the computer and re-installing the programs.  When that didn't work, he told me that it is just time to get a new one.  (Not what you want to hear when you are flat broke.)  So I am still using it, and asking God to heal it.  So far its working!  But next time I drop off the face of the earth, that just might be WHY!

If anyone actually had the patience to read this entire article, thank you for your time and patience!  I know, Laurie, you are probably the only one, so, thank you!

Judy

Our Lunch Menu

With our busy homeschooling schedule, I have found it easier to have a set breakfast menu and lunch menu.  Our typical lunch menu goes like this:

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Sunday:  Something Good! (Later I will post my monthly menu)

Monday: Macaroni & Cheese with Hot Dogs

Tuesday:  PBJ Day! (Peanut butter & jelly on the go before activities)

Wednesday:  Rice Dish Day*

Thursday:  Lunchmeat Sandwich Day (Again, on the go before activities)

Friday:  Hamburger or Pork Tenderloin Day

Saturday:  Frozen Pizzas 

Linked up at:  Menu Plan Monday

* I am trying to re-think "Rice Dish Day" because I have had a hard time finding 3-4 rice dish recipes (in order to rotate) that can make an all-inclusive meal that my kids will ask for a second time.




Have a great week!

Judy

Our Breakfast Menu

After years of feeding my kids cold cereal, only to have them begging for a snack 30 minutes later, I decided a couple of years ago that I needed to actually cook breakfast.  It saves us a lot of money on cereal and is so much healthier and more filling for the fam.  Also needing to simplify life and cross one more thing off of my list of things I have to think about each day, I made a "set" breakfast schedule.  It makes life so much easier for me, and the kids love knowing {and looking forward to} what they know is for breakfast that day!

Monday is Oatmeal Day {not a favorite, but very simple for a Monday morning!}

Tuesday is Toast of Bagel day  {not too exciting, but we have an early lunch on Tuesdays/Thursdays due to activities}

Wednesday is Pancake Day {Yeah!!!  Everyone loves that!  Served with Little Sizzlers}

Thursday is Eggs & Toast Day

Friday is French Toast Day 

Saturday is our special Omelet Day {Served with bacon or sausage and sometimes leftover pancakes or French toast}

When possible, I make Saturday breakfast sort-of a party.  My husband is normally only home for one meal per day {if that} so when he is home on Saturday I want to make it special for everyone and fix something he really likes.  The kids prefer just eggs with cheese {no "yucky" stuff like onions, peppers, etc.}  Dallas & I like to put all kinds of "yucky" {YUMMY} stuff on our omelets.  

Green onions, green peppers, red peppers & mushrooms sauteed in butter.

Kids' cheesy eggs.

The Little Sizzlers

Mamma & Daddy's omelets.  Mmmmm!

It makes a great start for our Saturday!

Judy

Linked up with:  Menu Plan Monday  Welcome Home Link up

Overwhelmed

The title describes how I have been feeling for the past month+.  Starting homeschooling without much organization, always feeling like I haven't had enough sleep {because I really don't}, dealing with the issues that go along with having elderly parents, starting a new home business- with all the fears, expenses & new things to learn that go along with THAT,  Hubby working extra hours, a constant backache, the repentant prodigal son who is stuck in Texas indefinitely{and very homesick, I might add!}, my 91-year-old dad {whom we thought was saved for close to 60 years} says now that the Bible is not true and he just can't believe it, and don't forget the two-year-old and her campaign to gain full control of the house- particularly her MOTHER....  I believe it all adds up to a nervous breakdown!!!

My Pastor's wife likes to share the verse, "when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2  This verse has meant a lot to me these last several weeks.  Whenever I start feeling like crawling in a hole is the only solution, I remember this verse.  It is really the only relief I have.  I go to the Rock and He refreshes me and fills me with His love.  He gives comfort and peace.  I am so thankful for my relationship with my Savior.  I don't know how an unbeliever could get through all this stress.

"Thank You, Father, for the love and strength which only YOU can give!  I am so thankful for what You have done for me on the cross, and in my life.  Help me to just lean on You all the time!"


P.S.  I do have a few pictures to share, but the computer is not accepting my memory card... *sigh* just one more thing...

Book Review: The True Story of Noah's Ark

I haven't done this before, but I have found a fascinating book about creation that I just had to mention!  It is required reading for our new history curriculum {Simply Charolette Mason's Genesis through Deuteronomy}.  It has fabulous, detailed art work and it even has a CD that reads the story and has sound effects!  It is written by Tom Dooley, Illustrated by Bill Looney and published by Master Books.

Front cover

The construction of the ark

The animals coming to the ark

A pull-out picture of what the inside of the ark might look like

A book every Christian home should have to teach children about creation and Noah's ark!

Good-bye, Summer, 2011

After two weeks of our 2011-2012 homeschooling year, I thought it might be time to get back for an update.  The summer seemed so fast, but it didn't seem very productive.  I was pretty lazy this summer!  Normally I do as much cleaning and getting together with friends as possible.  Not this year.  I am not sure where the summer went!  I finally went to the doctor in August to ask (AGAIN!)  "Why am I so tired?!"  After a few questions, my doctor signed me up for a sleep study.  He thinks I have sleep apnea!  He scheduled me to do a home test.  The first test was just an oxygen sensor.  I didn't think it would be too big of a deal, but it was pretty tight on my finger and woke me up with my finger throbbing.  I slept terrible so I kept it another night and did it again before I sent it back.  I thought I was done, but another company called me and sent more equipment for another night.  I had to strap a device around my chest, use a nasal candula, and a finger moniter.  THis finger monitor wasn't as tight as the first.  I slept fairly well that time and sent it back the next day.  I don't know the results yet, but Doc. said that if sleep apnea is the problem, a c-pap machine will work wonders and I should feel more rested after the first night.  Hopefully I will find out the results next week.

Next I went to a new chiropractor and had x-rays and scans done.  I was shocked to find that my spine has developed a slight curve between my rib cage and my sacrum.  No wonder my lower back hurts so much!!!  YIKES!!!  Of course this chiropractor can "correct" the problem.  We'll see.  I have been going to chiropractors for years....

My garden has kept me slightly busy, too.  I have had plenty of zucchini and am finally getting a good crop of green beans.  {We haven't had enough beans to freeze in several years, so I am pretty happy about that!}  I have started digging potatoes, but will leave the rest for Dallas & the kids.  My mom-in-law gives us corn every year from a farmer up north.  I see no need to plant it if she is going to give it to me!!  We're set for another year.

"Tom & Huck" just having a little backyard fun on a REALLY hot day!

August 22 was our big day to start school.  Despite the disorganization of the basement {where our schooling area is}  we do have a small area reserved for schooling.  I have accepted too many people's "cast-offs" that I never ended up using.  It is going to the dump!  As our basement fills with stuff, it gets harder to fight off dampness.  A lot of things are going!! I have a goal of filling the garbage can twice each week.  It is actually harder than I thought it would be.  I hate having to make a decision of what to do with stuff!  We are sort-of doing a half-week this week because Dallas will be home.  We normally plan NO SCHOOL when he has a vacation, but he planned it so close to the beginning of the school year, I didn't feel I could cancel altogether.

Here's hoping we have a lot of fun with Daddy this week, it is his last vacation week until after Christmas.  He has some single vacation days left, but this is the last full week.  We are really hoping to make it count!

June 5-11

First thing Sunday morning Peter lost his first tooth!  By the time his Tuesday softball game, he had lost its neighbor!

Speaking of teeth...

Corah got her braces on her top teeth on Tuesday!  This is phase one of a two-year process. {Isn't she so cute!

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I love "no school" times.  There are just soooo many things I'd rather do than school!  But taking sick kids to the doctor and changing 300 diarrhea  diapers isn't on that list!  But, being the mommy, that is what I did Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Mary had all the symptoms of strep throat, but with a test and a culture, neither showed up.  She is on antibiotic and is better, but was not comfortable to eat for 4 days!  Leah, on the other hand, had diarrhea for two days for no apparent reason.  Her poor little back-side was so sore, I had to spray her off each time with the shower hose. {I love that thing}

Thursday was a very special day for Leah {despite the diarrhea}.  It was her second birthday!  We went to Grandma & Grandpa Dale's house {Pa-ka & Ma-ka as Leah would say, sort-of backwards *cute*}  They would be here by breakfast time on the kids' birthdays if they could drive!  So we take the party to them!

Leah & her cake

Leah & Mommy... Love the expression on her face!

Good cake!

Grandma and Grandpa are soooo kid crazy!  They enjoy our visits so much.  Being older, they thought they might never meet my little ones, so every visit is extra special.  I am very thankful they have lived to their ripe old ages!  Dad will be 91 this week, Mom is 85!

 Mary, Grandma Mary, Leah

Me & my Momma

Friday was the first day of the NICHE Conference. {Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators}  I LOVE going to NICHE and now that Corah is getting older, she can go with me!  We have such a good time together, one-on-one, can't beat that!  I so appreciate the encouragement and education I get there.

When we got home, I got to find out everything that Daddy did while I was gone.  I heard about how the kids drove him nuts {hmmm, welcome to my world!}, but he also moved the boys into their new room! {Jordyn moved out and they inherited her room}  Exciting!  And then "the news"....  "Dad painted our room... CAMMO!" {hide freaked out feelings}  "Oh, really?  SHOW ME!"

OK, well that wall is 90% doors.  They LOVE it!  And then Mary said, "Now wait 'til you see your bathroom!" {Oh, no!......  OK, its not cammo.  just some dots like that only tan.  ONLY tan.  Not sure what he was thinking, but the whole room needs paint, anyway, so... oh, well!

Saturday night EVERYONE was home!  Tyler {and his girlyfriend} and Jordyn, plus all of us.  I was beat from NICHE and all the guys {+girlyfriend} went fishing.  I collapsed on my bed and put in a "Love Comes Softly" video.  *Sigh* Chick time.

Cleaning Games

A few months ago I was burdened to write down some of the ideas I have thought up (out of desperation) over the last few years to help me with my housework.  I posted it on our local homeschool loop and someone from the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators (NICHE) contacted me and asked me if they could publish the artical in the next NICHE Newsletter! (Which, I might add, now-a-days takes on the look of a "real" magazine!)  I was thrilled, and said, "YES!" Here is a copy of the artical:

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Like many modern homeschooling families, we have a relatively large family. We started out with my husband’s three kids, then we had five more. With two of the older children moved on, we still have six at home, and all the laundry and mess that goes with it. Add homeschooling to it all and whew! Sometimes you would think a tornado went through here!
Our children at home are now 19, 11, 7, 6, 4 and 18 months. We can whip up a mess in no time! It isn’t just the kids, I have some bad habits that certainly add to the chaos, as well. The mess sometimes drives me crazy. Some days it seems like I clean all day, and never seem to make a dent. I tried “Flylady” and “Emily Barnes” and more books than I dare to mention (even “The House That Cleans Itself“)! Funny, reading all those books didn’t do a thing for the condition of our home!
During my pregnant/nursing years, I had to get creative. What works during one season of your life doesn’t always work for the next, but I thought I would write down some of my ideas, hoping to remind myself of what has worked in the past, also to help those who are in the thick of it!


1) Playing “I Spy” is a great game for pregnant and nursing mothers! You sit on the couch or in a chair and “spy” the toys and things that mysteriously end up all over the living room. This is a good opportunity to train them to put things away where they belong. You may need to follow the younger children, or put an older child with a younger child to help train them to put things away properly. If you don’t’ have children old enough to help in this way, you could have the child bring the items to you, then at least you won’t have to bend over that baby-belly and pick things up off of the floor. You could also try having a different basket for each room and the children can sort the items according to which room they go in.


2) Scavenger hunt: my eleven-year-old daughter invented this game. She walked around the house and made a list of out-of-place items in the room. When she would call off the item, the children would have to find the item. This could be good for an early reader, too if you had him read off the list. The items may or may not be all in one room. This one takes a little more time than “I Spy” and would be better if the house is “kind-of” messy rather than a disaster.


3) “The Cleaning Race” is my favorite cleaning game. The best way to “play” this game is if you have recently had your home really clean, what I call “company clean” (clean enough to allow company to visit). It may take a day or two (sometimes it takes me a week!) to get the house that clean, then every day after that, you do the cleaning race. What we do is start at the entrance of our home, where our family primarily comes in, which is in the attached garage. We all line up at the back door, like we are going to have a race. I ask three questions: 1) “Why do we do this?” (Answer: to be good stewards of what God gives us!) 2) “How do we do this?” (Answer: as to the Lord and not to men!) and 3) “What is teamwork?” (Answer: everybody helps everybody until the whole house is clean!) We put our hands together like a team would do before they begin a game, shout “TEAMWORK!” and “GO!” And the race begins! We rush around the garage, picking up shoes and coats and putting things away. Next we move into the mud/laundry room and pick up shoes and bags and laundry and whatever else is on the floor there. Next is the kitchen: cleaning up from the last meal, sweeping the floor, washing and putting away dishes, and changing the tablecloth. After the kitchen we do the living room, then the bathroom, hallway and finish in the kids’ bedroom. If I call it a “race” they hurry through it, even when I forget to set a timer! If I just say “we are going to clean the house” the results are not so good. We started this at the beginning of our summer vacation and did it every day, except sometimes we skipped Sunday, then had twice the mess to clean up on Monday. Once we started school, it was hard to squeeze the cleaning race into our schedule, and we got really behind! But we had Grandma & Grandpa over this past weekend so we had incentive on Saturday to kill ourselves cleaning the house, now the cleaning race is not such a big deal! When you are trying to keep it clean, rather than cleaning all the time, with (seemingly) never an end in sight, everyone has a much different attitude about that nasty phrase: “clean the house”.


4) “The Sock Game” At our house we have a laundry basket which is about half-full of socks that don’t seem to have matches, I call it the “dead sock pile”. Every few weeks or so, I spread out all the socks on the living room floor. I organize them into rows then the children take turns finding matches. Even the four-year-old can play this, or even three-year-old with a little help. There is always a reward for playing all the games for us it is usually candy or playing a game together so we can enjoy our clean house and the extra time Mommy has because they helped so much.
I made a spin chart to assign chores to different kids. I spin the chart each day so they don’t have the same chores every day. Here is an example of our spin chart: child #1 unloads the top left dishwasher rack (Left, being left of the dishwasher, which is cups, mugs & glasses), feeds the pets, sweep kitchen; child #2 unloads the top right dishwasher rack (little plates and plastic storage containers), cleans the bathroom (each child has a different region according to their age capabilities - sink, toilet, trash- the 19 year-old gets the bathtub); child #3 unloads bottom dishwasher rack, is in charge of living room clean-up and helps with meals. The four-year-old puts away silverware and empties the bucket of vegetable peelings & coffee grounds in the garden.
I do laundry for my husband & myself and towels. Anyone over 10 does their own laundry. Our 19-year-old daughter does everyone else’s. Practically every morning we have a basket of clean towels and washcloths to fold and put away. I separate the 4, 6 & 7 year-olds to different parts of the room, then I start sorting the clean towels. “Seven” gets big towels, “Six” gets kitchen towels and hand towels; “Four” gets washcloths. About the same time I finish sorting, they finish folding!
Keeping the home clean with a large family really does take teamwork. When I switched from a “just do it” attitude to a “good stewardship” attitude, everything changed. I hope that someone will find these ideas helpful, and keep in mind, you are not alone!
Judy


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So when the newsletter arrived, I sat down in my total-disaster-of-a-house and read the artical I wrote about keeping house!  LOL!  Thankfully, I inspired myself!  I am happy to say, that as I write this, we have re-intituted the cleaning race and our home is quite tidy!  "On your marks, get set, GO!"






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