Happy weekend!!!

Funny, I'm so looking forward to this weekend, because there is nothing planned.
I can knit, and cook, and play with the kids.
Jimmy has to work all weekend. :(
Bummer.
He is NOT looking forward to this weekend.
Friday movie night.
Saturday wedding.
Sunday wedding.
He will be one tired math teacher on Monday morning.
We'll have to be extra nice to him.

Movie night last night was great.
Great turnout,
Great weather.
Here are some pics:

Both kiddos got up with me for Bountiful Baskets this morning.
That's always a welcome surprise!
Even though I know they only do it because I bribe whoever comes on the early ones with a starbucks.
Oh well, 7:45 is early and they both cheerfully came along.
Got stocked up on 2 amazing baskets, peaches, and a juicing pack!
We're set!

Jimmy and the baby got ready while we were gone.
We decided to enjoy the crisp fall morning with a run.
Woohoo!
Felt good to get out!
Lexi came along on her bike.
I love these fall days where the morning is crisp and cool,
but the days still get a warm 80.
Great for sleeping and playing!
Map My Run said we went 3.88 miles.
Not a bad run/walk for an old lady.

Cam home and made peanut butter/banana smoothies.
YUM!
I just took four or five bananas,
about 3/4 cup peanut butter,
a couple cups of water and ice
blended it.
Then stuffed as much spinach as I could fit in the blender.
Blended that, and spread between cups for all of us.
Great breakfast!

Hope you have  great Saturday!!!

Homeschool is FUN

Ok, so maybe I'm a dork, but I love it.
I love our curriculum,
I love reading our books together,
I love setting up projects, and recipes.
I love having my kids with me all day.
I love the freedom we have to learn whatever, go wherever, play.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows.
There is clutter.
I do always with I had more time.
There are days the baby won't cooperated.

I still love it.
Our read-alouds this year so far have included:

Almost Home

 - an great way to feel as though you were on the Mayflower.  You really lived the ups and downs as the family tried to get to America

 and we are about one third the way through

Amos Fortune

  - it began as an African King and his children were having a ceremony in their village.  Captors came and snatched up the strongest males and females to be taken to America as slaves.  I really brings home how aweful the slave trade was, wiping out entire civilizations in Africa and following the journey in America.

The history we are reading to go along are:

Trial and Triumph


Story of the World


Building a City on a Hill

and a couple more....

We are also working on memorizing the whole book of James together, using
Boy, Have I Got Problems as our guide!

 - I don't know if we'll be able to do it, but we're having fun trying!!!!

Lexi had her second violin lesson today.
She is in love.
I am so surprised that I'm not covering my ears from squeakiness!
I hope this passion lasts a while.

Yesterday I made THIS (sort of) chili recipe.
I changed it a little by only adding 2 pounds of ground beef, but adding 2 summer squash.
I also at least doubled the broth so mine was more soupy.
Today we had leftovers of it and served it over mashed cauliflower.
It was really good!

Linked up at

Lexi's big day!

We had a great day catching up on school and canning.

I only have those 10 tomatoes left.
I think I will roast them and freeze them for future use.
It's not really enough to can anything with.
I canned  7 quarts of spaghetti sauce today.

I filled the dehydrator again with pears.
We really love them, so I know they won't go to waste!
I made  6 1/2 quarts of sauce with them,
and the rest are cooking down to fill the dehydrator for fruit leather.
Can't have too much of it, can you???
I'll probably add some blueberries to some of it.
I was thinking pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice to the other.
Is that too weird???
Kids might think so....  
I won't tell them what it is.

Lexi had her first violin lesson today.
She has wanted to learn for YEARS.
We finally decided we had enough time to really do it.
She couldn't stop grinning :)
Really, she loved it!

Dylan had to show his new song when we got home too.
He wouldn't let me take a video.
TEENAGERS!

Here's an idea from dinner last night,
everyone LOVED IT!
I took my big roasting pan and added about 4 big sliced chicken breasts,
3 big bell peppers,
3 big onions,
drizzled with olive oil,
seasoned with mexican spices
(cumin, chili powder, oregano, taco seasoning, salt, pepper, cayenne...)
whatever your family likes.
I added a couple cans of diced tomatoes.
Popped it in the oven at 400 for about 45 minutes or so.
The kids ate on corn tortillas.
Jimmy and I just ate in a bowl with salsa and sour cream.
No complaints from anyone!

Our parenting lesson today.
Encourage them.  ALL.THE.TIME.
Be their cheer leader.
Who else will?
"What you speak into the ears of your children can impart love and build bridges of hope for them or it can poison their perceptions and crush their confidence."
LOVE THAT.

Baby's new shoes...   Her second pAir from ebooba on etsy.  Love them!

Teach those children!!!

Today's Lesson from the Love Dare for Parents is good.
It is reminding us that we are here to teach!
Our entire parenting life is like a long drawn out seminar.
If we don't use every teachable moment,
we are doing our kids a disservice.
Next time you watch a movie, talk afterward.
What would they have done in the movie situation?
Next time you make up your family's calendar,
do it with your kids!
Next time you work out your budget, involve them.
Don't wait until they are adults to have those bigger teaching moments.
Make it a part of every day life!

So bible study today was great.
I know you all were worried :)
Arabella did great in her class.
Didn't care when I left, and they said she fussed only a little in the 2 hours!
YAY!
Tonight we begin Awana and Youth group.
Onward Fall schedule.

Last week, I got a bunch of green chiles from Bountiful Baskets.
The kids were so happy.
We all love them.
I boil them for just a couple minutes and then seed them and split them on one side down the middle.
I mix up some cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and mexican spices.
Ones we like are chili powder, cumin, oregano, taco spices, paprika, onion powder, garlic....
whatever flavors you love.
Stuff the cheese into the peppers.
Wrap a slice of bacon around them and pop them in the oven.
I cook at 375 for about 30 - 40 minutes and they are perfect.
SO yummy - spicy and creamy.
I served with a pork roast I added spices to and put in the crock pot all day.
YUM!

Ok.  Confession time.

Yesterday I might have mentioned that I am a hoarder.
I am a minimalist in most things, but one area.
Fruit and Vegetables.
Every time I can get a case for a good price, I can't help myself.
I dry it, I can it, I freeze it....
So far this week, I have purchased about 60 pounds of tomatoes,
and about 90 pounds of pears.
Is that a problem?
:)
My family likes it -
      - I think....
So far, you've seen my dried pears.
Here is what else I've done so far.....

Fruit leather out of pear sauce.
I made 3 different kinds
- one mixed with a pound of strawberries, 
- one mixed with a ginormous mango,
- one mixed with plain yogurt and cinnamon
I usually cut each 12 x 12 sheet into four strips across and roll them with parchment and tape the end.
Today I was lazy and I just quartered and stacked them.
It made 36 fruit leathers.
I hope they don't stick together.

I made 6  little four ounce jars of tomato paste.
Tomato paste is the dumbest thing to make.
That will be my last.
It takes SO MANY tomatoes.
You have to cook it down for SO long.
It is really cheap at the store.
duh.

I made 9 pints of pizza sauce.
I just add a lot of Italian Seasoning, some extra oregano, some garlic and onion powders and some red pepper flakes.

 I have a huge pot, a medium pot and a meduim crockpot cooking down tomatoes and I still have about 10 softball sized ones left!
I'll let you know what they become!

Ugh.... the schedule

Everyone settling in to their fall schedules???
I am loving the temps this week!
Perfect weather to get out and do something!
NOW, I just have to actually get out and do it!
Maybe I'll take the baby for an afternoon walk.

Lots of things are beginning this week.
My schedule will be adjusting and changing.
I'm not really liking that.
I'm trying to talk myself out of each and every one of them - actually.

First, a new bible study tomorrow morning.
This means the kids doing their schoolwork without me in the morning and spending the afternoon in our together stuff.
Every week.
I know it will be worth it, though.
It also comes with homework, I hear.
When will I possibly have time to do it - I tell myself.
Uhhh....  aren't you supposed to be making time for God every day?
It comes with a bible class for Arabella.
I hear it is WONDERFUL.
Be without my baby?
She LOVES other kids.
She is fine with other adults when I'm not in her view.
She loves new toys and singing and dancing.
She'll be fine - will I?

Lexi will begin violin on Thursday afternoon.
I hope she loves it.
I hope she wants to practice and I don't have to nag her every day and make it a chore.
She has wanted it for so long!
But with it, comes more scheduling.
Every thursday.
Every day to practice.

I will need to begin preparing for a study I am co-leading.
It is about parenting.
I want to get to much from this study.
I want all the other mommies to get so much.
I don't want to mess it up.


There is so much I want to do and I can't possibly fathom how to fit it all in.
Mostly it's me.
I am a home body.
I like downtime.
I don't like to over schedule.

Say a little prayer for us.

Here are some pictures from the last day....

Lexi's new-found love of archery.  She is hoping to add it to her 4-H program.

My kettle bell workout yesterday.  I love kettle bells.  My favorite is the Kettlebells app in Ipad.

This is how I'm attempting to remove millions of fruit flies from my home.  My addiction to hoarding fruit is not conducive of removing fruit flies.  Any ideas?

Arabella really wanted to help Lexi with the dishes this morning.

Pears cooking down to can pear sauce.

Smoothie for the kids for lunch.  A bunch of over-ripe bananas, a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder, about a cup of plain yogurt, a pinch of stevia powder, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of peanut butter, and a glass full of ice and water.  Blend it all up - YUMMO.

Today in the Love Dare for Parents, the remind us to use manners.
Kids learn by example.
They want to be respected.
They respond to love and kindness and MANNERS.
Model that behavior for them!
I know some think that you shouldn't have to coddle your kids and should be able to order something done and it be done.
It doesn't hurt anyone to say please.  Say thank you.  Say I'm sorry.  Don't burp in public :)
Your home will be much more peaceful if you practice what you are requiring of them.
Now go say thank you for something!!!

New chai recipe and a busy day

So I have a chai recipe.
It is a really good recipe, but I'm always on the lookout to try others.
I've tried some REALLY spicy, REALLY sweet, and some are just REALLY bad.
This one that I made this time is SO GOOD.
It is the only one I've seen that has you toast the spices.
I think it adds a depth that none have had yet!
I did add a couple vanilla beans from the bottom of my homemade vanilla.
I think that was the only thing I changed!

We ran errands all morning.
Beginning with picking up our Azure order.
I decided to order
ginger, watermelon, glycerin for tinctures,
olive oil, my favorite raw cheese,
hormone free butter, my favorite yogurt
that I use to make my raw milk yogurt,
a WHOLE case of organic pumpkin....
and a few other things that I can't seem to think of.
I'm still interested to hear what you get and find are great deal.

We headed to Sam's to get all our organic veggies for juicing.
By far the best prices on spinach and carrots.
They also had a great price on raspberries and Baby Bell cheeses.
That made my kiddos very happy and gave them something to much on for the rest of the errands.

Our next stop was the County Extension Office to ask all our 4-H questions.
Tiffany handles that and she was SO NICE.
I think she convinced Lexi that it would be great.
The whole way home, she was picking out all the things on the list that would be fun to do.
Dylan was even considering a couple things...  WOOHOO!
Did you ever do 4-H?
What was your favorite topic?
I'm still a little bit confused as to how it all works.....

At home I made my favorite lunch salad.
I have to keep lettuce and things all cut up in the fridge or I won't take time to do it and I'll just snack.
My favorite has lettuce, tomato, cucumber, avocado, pumpkin seeds, salsa, and homemade ranch.
YUM.
One time I would have just ran through a drive though.
So glad I don't even think of that as an option anymore!

Another great time-saving tip is my chicken in the crockpot.
It's my baby sister's birthday today and we will go over to my dad's for dinner.
He's having pizza.
We don't eat pizza.
The kids will, but Jimmy and I won't.
I wanted to have something ready that we could munch on when we got home but didn't have to work to hard to make or we'd just snack.
I took out one of my favorite yummy hutterite chickens from the freezer.
I buy a few every month - they are such a good buy for only $6.25 each!
Put it on some bunched up tin foil (next time I'll use parchment.  TIN?  What was I thinking?),
drizzled olive oil, sprinkled spices and turned on low.
It smells SO YUMMY!
It will be delicious when we come home later!

The parenting reminder for day 8 is to cherish your children.
That doesn't mean just love them from afar.
That means touch them.
Every day, hug them, put our hand on them, wrestle with them.
Even if they don't seem touchy feely and it takes you so far out of your comfort zone.
Even if it takes time that you don't have to give.
The feeling of love they will get from a one second touch will speak
volumes as to how you feel for your child.

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