We are eating from the freezer and fridge this week. We have been shopping every few days for a 'couple of things' so there is no grocery money left in the budget : )
Monday - nasi (Indonesian rice) with leftover pork
Tuesday - Dad's creamy sausage pasta
Wednesday - chili & corn muffins (freezer meal)
Thursday - taco salad
Friday - chicken curry casserole
Saturday - Pad Thai chicken
Sunday - chips/salsa
Kezia turns one this Sunday, so I will be baking a birthday cake this week.
February 28, 2012
February 24, 2012
Quotables
"Do you think Dad will say you're amazing for making this, he always says you're amazing?"
(Tiana watching me make Gyros for supper)
Mia, Ksena, and Tiana all slept in one room when Mel was here. I had given Tiana a quick talk before bedtime on being quiet and if not she would have to go in another room etc..... and then I asked her "what do you have to make sure you do?" In all seriousness she says "Make sure they are quiet"
(Tiana watching me make Gyros for supper)
Mia, Ksena, and Tiana all slept in one room when Mel was here. I had given Tiana a quick talk before bedtime on being quiet and if not she would have to go in another room etc..... and then I asked her "what do you have to make sure you do?" In all seriousness she says "Make sure they are quiet"
February 23, 2012
Cousins visit Worcester Dr.
Mel came Tuesday at lunch and stayed until lunch today, so that's a 48 hour stay. It was so good to see her and her four girls, since we have not been there since Christmas. The cousins had a good time outside biking and rollerblading, and we got drink our tea/coffee.
Kezia and Brie had to stay inside with the Moms
We took all eight kids to Rivertown Crossings and then later to Meijer
all of them but Kezia got a ride on Sandy the horse
they watched pretzels being made at the mall
got a carousel ride
ate A & W fries for lunch
got to drive in a van with their cousins
slept in a room with Tiana
played in the basement
Mia got to go to girl's club at church with Tiana
Eight kids in one house was a bit crazy at times, but not as crazy as eight kids in a mall together! We got funny lingering looks, but I would have looked at a crowd of 10 people making their way around the mall too. We left the mall with a 3.99 purchase and lunch in our stomachs.
February 20, 2012
Meal Planning Monday
Last week Thursday - Saturday we had a quick family vacation to Detroit, MI. I enjoyed the bacon/egg breakfasts at the hotel and two nights off cooking. It was so nice! Today I looked at the Meijer flyer and my freezer to see what meat I have to work with. Chicken is on sale, I have sausage, ground beef and ground pork in the house so this is the plan:
Sunday: Rob bbq'd pork chops, potatoes, mushrooms/onions for us. Yum!
Monday: Chili with tostitos
Tuesday: mongolian beef with rice from Rachel's blog
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Chicken Gyros (Yee-ros)
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: meatballs on rice
Sunday: Pasta Fagioli (pasta and Beans) Soup from Heather's blog
My sister and her four girls are coming for a visit tues-thurs. so this could change a lot.
Sunday: Rob bbq'd pork chops, potatoes, mushrooms/onions for us. Yum!
Monday: Chili with tostitos
Tuesday: mongolian beef with rice from Rachel's blog
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Chicken Gyros (Yee-ros)
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: meatballs on rice
Sunday: Pasta Fagioli (pasta and Beans) Soup from Heather's blog
My sister and her four girls are coming for a visit tues-thurs. so this could change a lot.
February 16, 2012
Why do you Homeschool?
This was the question we discussed at our home school Mom's coffee last night. Here are a few reasons why I/we homeschool:
1. Relaxed mornings. I compare weekday mornings to the Sunday morning scurrying around to get everyone dressed and out the door with clean faces, and love my mornings.
2. Cost is significantly less than brick and mortar schools, which frees up money for extras like music or sports.
3. Flexibility for travelling to Canada. Our kids would have missed many school days with our monthly trips back home, but now we just have to do a little extra catch up to stay on track.
4. It is a constant in our children's lives. When we moved here three and a half years ago our children only had to adjust to a new church, and it was a blessing that they could continue schooling in the home.
5. Family worship happens at breakfast, lunch and supper. Rob is able to lead us for more than half of the meals this semester, which is lovely.
6. The kids can learn practical skills on and off during the day.
7. My Children wouldn't have it any other way! I am trying to soften them to the idea that someday they might 'go to school' but they don't want to even think about it. It is the unknown that scares them.
8. It builds good sibling relationships. Tiana is a second Mom to Kezia, and Caleb gets to be a big brother/helper to Tiana, Jude, and Kezia. They do need alone time, but learning to be a servant to others is essential.
9. More free time for kids to be kids
10. Clothing doesn't matter. You can do school in pj's or a pretty new dress here - and Tiana does both.
11. You can do school at a desk, on the couch, or in a bedroom.
12. Behavioral and spiritual training moments are abundant!
13. You get to see your children all day long, and this results in fun moments and quotables that I would not want to miss. (This is also the most exhausting part of homeschooling but I put a postitive spin on it : )
14. I almost forgot, I am able to prepare gluten free meals at home. Packing a gluten free lunch is doable but keeping my children free from crumbs at school is not.
It was fun to go around the room and hear eight different women answer this question with conviction and reaffirm why we homeschool our children! Thanks for hosting Heather.
1. Relaxed mornings. I compare weekday mornings to the Sunday morning scurrying around to get everyone dressed and out the door with clean faces, and love my mornings.
2. Cost is significantly less than brick and mortar schools, which frees up money for extras like music or sports.
3. Flexibility for travelling to Canada. Our kids would have missed many school days with our monthly trips back home, but now we just have to do a little extra catch up to stay on track.
4. It is a constant in our children's lives. When we moved here three and a half years ago our children only had to adjust to a new church, and it was a blessing that they could continue schooling in the home.
5. Family worship happens at breakfast, lunch and supper. Rob is able to lead us for more than half of the meals this semester, which is lovely.
6. The kids can learn practical skills on and off during the day.
7. My Children wouldn't have it any other way! I am trying to soften them to the idea that someday they might 'go to school' but they don't want to even think about it. It is the unknown that scares them.
8. It builds good sibling relationships. Tiana is a second Mom to Kezia, and Caleb gets to be a big brother/helper to Tiana, Jude, and Kezia. They do need alone time, but learning to be a servant to others is essential.
9. More free time for kids to be kids
10. Clothing doesn't matter. You can do school in pj's or a pretty new dress here - and Tiana does both.
11. You can do school at a desk, on the couch, or in a bedroom.
12. Behavioral and spiritual training moments are abundant!
13. You get to see your children all day long, and this results in fun moments and quotables that I would not want to miss. (This is also the most exhausting part of homeschooling but I put a postitive spin on it : )
14. I almost forgot, I am able to prepare gluten free meals at home. Packing a gluten free lunch is doable but keeping my children free from crumbs at school is not.
It was fun to go around the room and hear eight different women answer this question with conviction and reaffirm why we homeschool our children! Thanks for hosting Heather.
February 15, 2012
A Valentine Heart Cake
Caleb and Tiana thought yesterday should be a holiday, but I said instead if they finished school we could make cupcakes or something yum. They hurried through their school pages and then all three of them took turns measuring and mixing the ingredients with me. Here is our Valentine's Day cake:
We baked the cakes in an 8' square pan and an 8" round pan. Then we cut the round cake in half and placed each half on top of two square sides. It made a large cake! I use my tupperware thatsa bowl lid as a cake platter, and then put the bowl on top as a lid. It works well. I used to sell tupperware years ago and that was a trick I learned from my manager. Caleb suggested we put R + T on the cake : )
February 14, 2012
Timportance (you know the coffee and donut shop)
Did I mention Grand Rapids now has a Tim Hortons? This excites me! It opened in December, and we recently made the drive across town to see it. I had to see it to believe it. It's about 15 mins. away from us. You need to get on the highway, weave over to another highway (Interstate actually) and then drive through stop and go traffic for about 6 mins. Needless to say, there won't be any spontaneous trips to Timmie's for me, but it is fun to know there is one in town if I reeeeally want a coffee.
We challenged Caleb and Tiana to get three tests that were 90% or better to earn an ice capp. They did after a couple of 89% tests! We were in the van anticipating the sweet ice cappuccinos and Jude was talking about his "Timportance bagel" He loves their cinnamon raisin bagel. We tried to explain to him that is called 'Tim Hortons' after the hockey player, but he says "It's ac-chewy Timportance!" I guess that's how he has been hearing it all along in his mind, and change is hard. He is not convinced.
We challenged Caleb and Tiana to get three tests that were 90% or better to earn an ice capp. They did after a couple of 89% tests! We were in the van anticipating the sweet ice cappuccinos and Jude was talking about his "Timportance bagel" He loves their cinnamon raisin bagel. We tried to explain to him that is called 'Tim Hortons' after the hockey player, but he says "It's ac-chewy Timportance!" I guess that's how he has been hearing it all along in his mind, and change is hard. He is not convinced.
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