Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium…

We had a great time today visiting Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium. Some friends of ours were going and invited us along, so we decided to take the day off and make a great field trip of it… It was great…

They have a herpetarium, a raptor center, a wolf enclosure, and other animal habitats.
We took in the planetarium show about the solar system which was fabulous and also took the pontoon tour of the lake where we got to see some great beaver dams…
And to finish off the day we had a picnic lunch and an ice cream on the way home!!!

Spending time in Ancient Egypt

This week we continued our studies in Ancient Egypt. I have been using a curriculum from Learning Adventures called “A World of Adventures” and we love it. 

The kids have been working on memorizing Psalm 24 and it is a doozey… Very long, but it seems to be coming along nicely. I have it written on our dry-erase board and then we work on it every day and I erase a word a day as they recite it. That technique seems to be working for the kids.

Today we discussed the spelling rule of  :

“Writing i before e, except after c, or when sounded like as in neighbor and weigh. “

This is the first time we have done spelling together and it seems to be working ok ~ I give  DS some harder words and DD seems to do just fine with the more words like chief and reindeer or deceive. Today they had to copy their 20 words and label them with the rule: “i before e” or “e before i".

Then we read Genesis 39-41 about Joseph being sold to Potiphar and then his life from there until he was released by Pharoah and given his Egyptian name and had children with his Egyptian bride. It was difficult for me to explain adultery involving Potiphar’s wife wanting to be with Joseph . But in the end I think using the concept of dating someone other than your husband worked just fine and got the message across.

We looked at the geography of Egypt and labeled a map from “Uncle Josh’s Outline Map Book” (which has to be one of my favorite resources) taking time to talk about the Mediterranean and Red Seas, Thebes, Karnak, Luxor, Aswan, Giza, and the Valley of the Kings.

The kids enjoyed watching a movie on Netflix from National Geographic called “Egypt Eternal”. We watched one earlier in the week called “Flying Pyramids, Soaring Stones” and one called “Egyptians” that discussed the different Gods like Anubis, Bastet, and Re.

Then to finish off our school day, we hit briefly on biomes with deserts and that they are measured based on arid level and learned some new vocabulary words like flora, fauna, and biota. 

 

Getting caught up…

This summer didn’t go as planned. We had a lot of things happen unexpectedly and had to make changes in our lives accordingly.

Some of the changes I have made fit into needs.

I need to be FLEXIBLE!

I need to be RELAXED!

I need to try and stay STRESSFREE!

I need to ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES!

I need to ENJOY LIFE ~ ONE DAY AT A TIME!

I need to be THANKFUL EVERYDAY ~ FOR EVERYTHING!  not just the things I want, but to be blessed by my circumstances. Try and see the colors of the rainbow not just the arch.

The kids have had to adapt and make changes as well. Most of all, I think they have gained patience and compassion. Hopefully, we can incorporate these changes permanently and be a better family as a result.

The beautiful outdoors…

We got some great photos of God’s beautiful handiwork this summer and fall… Here are a few of our favorites…

    How beautiful… Sunset in the mountains…

     Cades Cove

     The Little Pigeon River

My hubby and me…

Here we are… My hubby and me… by the creek… notice the fur growing on his chin… after over 13 yrs. together, I finally convinced him to grow a some facial fuzz… I think he looks soooo handsome…

My own Grizzly Adams…  *LOL*

Tommy’s First Poultry Show and Sale…

Today we went to Tommy’s first 4H Poultry Show. It was held at the Rose Center. Tommy took his 3 best hens in size and appearance. He placed 2nd in the show bringing home a blue ribbon. He was so sad at the thought of selling his hens to a farm, that “I” (and I mean “I” as in “sucker”) bought them back to the tune of $15 and brought them back home.
I never thought chickens would be a pet we would be having at our house, but they have been lots of fun for Tommy and have helped make him more responcible.
Tommy's Hens

                 Proud chicken man!!!

       The Judging Process                                  The Auctioneering

Nothing like a little swim…

 

to cool you off on a hot summer day…

 

      

What’s Cookin’ at Our House This Week…

Another week, another grocery list, another menu plan…

This week, I’m trying out some new recipes and hoping they will be a good fit for our family… we have some finnicky eaters (of which I am the QUEEN) and it makes it difficult some weeks.

If you are needing some menu ideas or some new recipes, check out the many blogs that participate in Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Monday ~ it’s a delicious El Paraiso Mexican meal with my pals for me while the kids are in class, for the family, it’s Slim Jim sandwiches, chips, and fruit salad.

Tuesday ~ French Dip Sandwiches, oven fries, green beans

Wednesday ~ Italian Sausage Penne Pasta, salad, bread maker yeast rolls

Thursday ~ Chicken Enchiladas, refried beans, salad

Friday ~ Hamburgers on the grill, baked beans, cupcakes (made with the kidlets)

Next week, I’m wanting to try an “Oven Risotto with tomatoes and sausage”… I’ll let you know how it turns out…

Happy Cooking!!

 

New Recipe to Try This Week…

I borrowed this recipe from “The Adventures of Miss Mommy” and I can’t wait to try it out!!

French Dip Sandwich

Just needs cheese & a little broil.... YUMMY!!!

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

• 4 slices smoky bacon, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 beef brisket, chuck roast, or big piece of meat that is about 3 pounds
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, quartered or sliced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 loaf of French bread {UK- white bloomer} , cut into 4-inch sections, split and toasted
• Sliced Swiss cheese, provolone, or white cheddar

In a large skillet over medium heat drizzle with EVOO.  Add the bacon to the pan and cook until just starting to crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Return the skillet to a medium-high heat leaving in the remaining bacon fat.  Season both sides of the beef with salt and pepper and sear on all sides until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side.

While the meat is searing, add the reserved bacon and remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.  Add in the seared meat to the pot and cover.  Set the timer/heat level of the slow cooker depending on the time at which you want your meal to be served, or cook until the meat is tender.

Thinly slice the beef.  To serve, place a layer of sliced beef, cooked veggies, Swiss cheese on top of a slice of the bread and broil until cheese starts to brown.  Serve with a small bowl of juices to dip sandwich.

Frugal Finds ~ My shopping trips to CVS and Walgreens

Okay, I’m a little late with last weeks post on my deals from CVS and Walgreens, but here it is…

This is my Walgreens purchase… and I spent $2.11 OOP and got $3.00 back in Walgreens bucks… So basically, I made money… YEAH!!

And here’s what I managed to get at CVS ~  

I hadn’t planned on getting the Dove chocolate bars, but they were B2G1 Free and I had 2 coupons for B1G1 Free, so I couldn’t resist… Using ECB’s from last week, I spent $2.91 OOP and got $7.99 back in ECB’s… made money again!!! WOOHOO!!!

Then I was off to Kroger ~ I spent more this shopping trip than normal, because I was buying chicken (which when buying free-range, vegetarian fed birds gets super expensive) but I still managed to shave off $96.25 using coupons and my Kroger Plus savings… all I will need over the next 3 weeks will be some fresh veggies and milk…

Happy Shopping!!

Our New Pets…

Tommy is participating in the 4H Chick Chain, so we are now the proud owners of 16 chicks.. (14 from 4H and the other 2 from a neighbor with chickens)

Here’s some pics of our new pets…

We made a brooder from a livestock trough and a infrared heat lamp.

 

         

and here’s the little doodles… they are all black, except for one yellow one..

       My favorite one..

Planning for our summer session…

For the last couple of days, I have been working on a new plan for our summer school session. While exploring curriculum choices makes me happy and excited, that feeling doesn’t carry over into the actual ins and outs of the everyday school day. We are a relaxed homeschool family, but we function better and get more accomplished when we have some sort of plan ahead of us. So, 3 times a year, I work on a schedule to give us a guide for what we need to accomplish.  I like the idea of new curriculum but the implementation is so difficult for me.
I have had so many plans that have been unfulfilled over the last 6 yrs. of homeschooling, that it took lots of soul-searching to decide what were our family goals, what really would work for us and how to go about it. I came to the conclusion that I wanted my kids to “LOVE” learning as one of our primary goals, unit studies and chronological history using living books worked for us, and that we are really laid back and a relaxed style was what was needed in our home. No stress!

We’ve homeschooled for 6 yrs. now but every time I start looking at curricula for the next year or sit down to make a plan, I have to remind myself of what our priorities are and what works for us ~ because it all looks good from the outside!!

Do my kids study different things and do they need to? Well, when we started, I had only 1 child in school, DD played with play-doh and doodled, watched Sesame Street counting videos and pretended to read books from the pictures. So it was so much easier, and we also went that first year with basics for kindergarten. We followed that first year with Abeka, which is a great intensive learning curriculum ~ we liked some aspects of it like the math, but overall it wasn’t a fit for us. That led us to unit studies and Five in A Row… This is where we begin to really have our eyes opened to what worked for us as a family unit.
I found that it isn’t necessary or desirable for us to use different curriculum for each child. Some mothers are better at scheduling and can handle this. I can not… My brain will not allow me to have so many things floating around and stay sane. This may come as Earth-shattering news, but it’s true…
My kids study the same topics and subjects using slightly different information and intensity based on age. I try and plan for certain subjects based on grade level (like Math, English, Spelling)  to assure continuity and increased levels knowledge and understanding based on age and ability. .

We homeschool year-round, so we can still take breaks often but not have to repeat information that I spent weeks working on with them due to it being forgotten while we spent 2.5 months playing outside in the sun. For us, it works to be able to do both. They still have frequent vacations, just not for months at a time, and are able to get some school done everyday. And it is possible to do it all the while meeting the needs of your kids who are most likely at different stages of development. Another thing that I like about using one curricula is that it saves time, money, and sanity.

We are able to take field trips, do crafts and activities, and play games as they relate to our studies as a family unit. Not having one child be bored or uninterested because they aren’t familiar with what the other child is studying or what the field trip is about. Plus this allows for me to get our goals accomplished without overextending myself. Something that used to happen on a daily basis and left me tired, grumpy, and not enjoying the time spent with my kids.

There is no single curriculum that is going to answer all your homeschooling needs. Children in a family are at different ages, abilities, interests, and developmental stages. But you can develop a plan that suits your own family needs and can build on it to help aid you in your learning adventure. Take the time to build a library for your house, and encourage your kids to have fun while learning. By combining our studies, I have saved money (very important in this economy), my time (one of my most important posessions), and saved my sanity (at least for awhile). And the best benefit is that my family is growing, learning together and becoming a closer knit family. The best outcome of all.

What’s Cookin’ at Our House This Week…

Every week, Laura at Organizing Junkie hosts “Menu Plan Monday”. If you are new to menu planning or want to look at some great menu ideas, this is the place to check out. Here you can find great resources to make planning your weekly / monthly menu easier, like recipe sites, dietary restriction recipe sites, coupon help, printable planners, etc. Plus lots of other great organizing ideas if you’re interested. Here’s our plan for this week:

Monday ~ Easy Fritatta w/ bacon, cheese, and tomato

                spinach salad, and clementines

Tuesday ~ Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (this was a change since it was rainy and I wanted something warm and comforting)

Wednesday ~ Pork Chops, roasted red potatoes, broccoli and cheese

Thursday ~ Sloppy Joes, oven fries, light salad,

Friday ~ Grilled slaw dogs, baked beans, corn on the cob

To my darling son on his 11th birthday…

Dearest son,
I want you to know that you are always first and foremost in my mind. I thank God everyday for allowing me to be your mother and it’s a blessing to be able to watch and see you grow and change everyday. I have had 11 years with you and wouldn’t trade a minute of it. I wish I could turn back time and start again, but that isn’t God’s plan and all I can do is be thankful and enjoy the ride.
I am so proud of all your accomplishments and how hard you work at things. You are not a quitter and are so determined at times, that I often wonder where it comes from. You have a giving heart and are so patient and kind.
I love your interest in sports, your love for art and music, and your appreciation for design and architecture. How you enjoy your animals or playing with Legos and even the dreaded Xbox. I am happy to be able to see you enjoy these things and how each day as you grow and mature, your interests change…
I am so thankful that you are generous, helpful, and sensitive. Most of all, I am thankful for the love you have for Jesus.
I am blessed to be your mom and look forward to seeing all that you become in the future!
I love you! 
   This year for his birthday, Tommy wanted to go to MagiQuest.
    Tommy and Libby casting spells with their wands…
   At his favorite restaurant for the birthday dinner…


 The skateboard his sister got him for his birthday ~ yes, he’s already tore the knee out of his pants…
  And he’s off…

 



  Tommy wanted a birthday cookie this year ~ so here’s what he and I whipped up together.
  A happy boy!!

What’s Cookin’ at Our house This Week…

It’s been awhile since I posted a weekly menu, I’m sticking with the planning ~ because it just makes my life so much easier to have an guide to go on.
Monday ~ Mexican for me (It’s my evening to eat with my friends while the kidlets are in a sign language class).. Grilled cheese with tomato and bacon sandwiches for the family
Tuesday ~ Chicken and dumplings, green beans, rolls
Wednesday ~ Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, coleslaw
Thursday ~ (slow cooker meal) Chili
Friday ~ Chil dogs (with the left-over chili), over fries, corn on the cob
Saturday ~ Grilling time (depending on which cut of meat is on sale this week
Sunday ~ visitor’s lunch @ TLC,  spaghetti, salad, and homemade rolls (gonna put on some dough before we leave for church in the bread maker to mix and rise)