A Sunny Saturday

~Today was the first event of Holy Soldier Airsoft.  OH, how my guys had fun!  But that meant they were gone for almost the whole entire day leaving me home with 3 of my favorite peoples. 

This one.

This one.

And this one. 

~We started the morning with a couple of Tom & Jerry episodes b/c that's a little kid thing that usually gets voted down by the bigger ones. 

~Then we tried our hand at whole wheat sugar cookies with sprinkles.   Not so good, but fun to make anyway.

~Milk and cookies for snack, of course.

~Then OUTSIDE to the oh so pretty day of sunshine!  Going around the block with tots on wheels takes a long time.  Mayfee is speedy on his bike or scooter, Babyest is second, but Bird?   We might as well be walking backwards.  She is sooooo slow.  Today I discovered that she's a little faster on her trike than her scooter, but not much.  I keep telling her that if she'd just stop talking, she'd pedal faster.  But of course she can't hear me cause she's talkin'. 

~A lunch of leftovers then I let them play in back yard while I worked on lesson plans for next week. 

~Tired of playing out, they came in and we colored.  Confession: I really like coloring.  I never outgrew it.   So I am thrilled with their coloring phase. 

~By this time, the house is a mess and there are 4 loads of laundry waiting to be folded on the couch.  I don't care.  It's been a fun day with little people. 

Today's Meals...
Breakfast - eggs (thanks Lane!)
Lunch - leftovers
Snack - milk and cookies
Dinner - leftover stuff again b/c everyone came home at 3:30 and wanted to eat.  Not is-there-a-snack(?) eat, but can-we-have-dinner-now(?) eat.  So we ate dinner at 3:30  Which was NOT the dinner I wanted to make but just something I could do fast.  Dinner at 3:30 meant 2nd dinner at 7pm.  Cereal.

Sidenote:  Hey, know what I learned last week?  That the public schools send backpacks of food home for the weekend to some of the kids.  As in the kids don't get to eat on the weekends b/c they aren't being fed breakfast and lunch at school.  Isn't that sad??    So it's a fundraiser thing my ortho is doing and there's a list of stuff you can contribute.  Looking over the list, the only healthy thing on it is raisins.  Even sadder.  It's all like pudding cups and pop tarts and vienna sausages and stuff that you can just open and eat. 

Wow.  Quite an eye-opener.  We are so blessed around here. 

Done!

"The end of a matter is better than its beginning."  Ecc 7:8

I guess Solomon did the Science Fair too!

This Week's Menu

8 out of 11 have been hit with the stomach bug.  I guess that means only 3 more to go!   And I hope I'm not going to be cleaning this food off the floor this week!   Was that gross?  Sorry. 

I've been playing around with breakfast cookies b/c I found myself with 2 new recipes for them this week.  Who wouldn't wanna eat cookies for breakfast, right?  We liked the second one best so I'll post that recipe on the bottom.  It would be even better with chocolate chips, but we were outa those. 

Breakfasts...
oatmeal
granola
blueberry smoothies
cream of wheat
bread and gravy

Dinners...
tuna casserole and basil carrots
chicken taco casserole
burgers and oven fries
spaghetti
scalloped potatoes and salad
pizza
date night

Snacks and Extras....
Whole wheat sugar cookies (new recipe)
August Pie
Cheesecake Bites
Apples and peanut butter
Oatmeal muffins

Hearty Breakfast Cookies

1/2 C butter softened
1 C. peanut butter
1 1/3 C. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 C. water or buttermilk
2 C. flour
2 C. oats
1/2 C. wheat germ
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 C. raisins

In a large bowl beat with electric mixer butter, pb, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy.  Beat in eggs and water.  Mix dry ingredients and add to pb mixture.  Add raisins.  Drop icecream scoop drops onto greased baking sheet.  Bake @350 for 15-20 min. 

Substitutions...1/2 C pumpkin puree for pb or 1/2 c. pb and 1 C pumpkin
or 1/4 C pb and the rest apple sauce.

This Weekend

~Alright now.  Only 4 more days until the science fair and then it will be OVER!!  YIPPEE!!  I'm seriously considering baking a cake to celebrate. 

~I got a new watch!  Most excellent because I've never liked the old one.  The clasp was broken and it would just randomly fall off at any time.  I kept hoping it would fall off at the park or at the zoo or someplace when I wouldn't notice it and I would be forced to get a new one.  But no.  So then I hoped that it would die.  I mean it was a few years old and watch batteries don't last that long right?  Apparently they do. 

But then my good Lane comes to me with a rather spiffy watch and asked me if I wanted it.  Well YEAH!  She's had it for a long time b/c G'ma gave it to her and she's not a watch-wearing girl. 

So I told her I'd trade her 3 fish for it.  Today we went to Petco to get some new friends for her fish tank.  And wouldn't ya know it was Adopt-A-Pet day?  It was almost enough to make me give the watch back.  But not quite.  I fell for that Adopt-A-Pet day about 5 years ago, remember?  I do love my Joey...but no more thank you.  I'm happy to report that we walked away with 3 fish and nothing that licks.

~I got a new magazine in the mail and was flipping through it last night when my eyes fell upon a beautiful sight.  A full page ad of Hostess cupcakes!  Oh that photographer was talented.  So I showed it to Honey and he reminded me that we have something very similar in the pantry, thanks to him b/c I was giving him the crooked eye when he picked them up at Aldi.  My man is a prophet, I'm thinking.

So I whispered in his ear that we could share cupcakes when the kids went to bed.  Big smile.

But ya know what?!  The kids didn't go to bed!  Oh I did my part and brushed teeth, read books, and tucked in the littles.  But then I hear someone say, "Wanna play a game, Dad?"   And "A" game turned into many apparently b/c they didn't go to bed until nearly midnight!  

No cupcakes.   But it IS datenight right?  And maybe there will be cupcakes involved. 

~Still have gross stomach issues around here and I'm not sure if the boys' bathroom will ever be the same.

~I worked on my cookbook a bit this weekend.  I'm adding pages of contents and page numbers.  I recently replaced the binder it was in and now it's a pretty bright green.  I re-typed some recipes and replaced a few page protectors.  Much better!

Stuff We Made This Weekend...
omelets and hashbrowns
a huge turkey, mashed potatoes, broccoli
breakfast cookies
cheese dip
english muffin pizzas
yogurt
orange julius drinks
blueberry smoothies
hummus
steaks and french fries

A Day In Pix

And they are terribly out of order.  But here goes anyway.....

I got a new book!  This is a school book that I ordered, only I thought I ordered it but it turns out that I ordered the wrong thing.  When I went back to try to get this one again I discovered it was another $40!!  So sweet Angelia ordered it for the FBC library for me.  Thank you Angelia!  And if you homeschool and you haven't been to the FBC library yet, you should really check it out.  It's a terrific resource. 

The laundry started like this.  But then my son got sick and added a ton of puke laundry to the pile.  By the end of the day it was such a mountain that it filled up my generous laundry room and the dogs didn't even have room to sleep.  But we've been working and now we're down to the final 2 loads.  Nobody else better even think about throwing up.

Dinner in the oven.  2 Veggie Lasagnas and an Apple Crisp. 

A good Mally Bird doing some dishes.

 

Until her shirt got wet.  Then it was, "Mooommmmm, I gotta change my shirt!"

Football game in the street. Gotta love this warmer weather.

And finally......Lane's new do! Isn't she pretty?

What We've Learned During Science Fair

#1.  Science fair is for people who have too much time on their hands.

#2.  Nobody cares what floats and what doesn't.

#3. Nobody cares how much grease is in a one ounce serving of potato chips. Who eats a one ounce serving anyway?

#4.  An experiment is not the same as a demonstration.  One is science fair worthy and one is not.

#5.  When people put an old microwave in the trash, there was a good reason.

#6.  When you take an old microwave apart it makes a big mess in the garage.

#7.  A big mess in the garage makes Dad cranky.

#8.  If your science fair experiment fails, you can just team up with your sister and call her experiment "ours".

#9.  Science fair junk costs money. 

#10.  Science fair makes Momma cranky.

Walmart Deals And Samples

Right Guard deoderant $1.97.  Use $2/2 printable here and here to get it for $.97
(Or use this at Target to get the travel size free!)
(For my friends in CO, this is on sale at Safeway and King Soopers for $1 through Wed so you'll get the full-size free!)

Malt-O-Meal cereal priced at $1.  Use the .75/1 printable here, here, and here to get them for $.25 a bag.

Kotex liners are free with this printable here. And you can choose from 3 free sample packs here.

One more...get a free sample of Poise here.

Enjoy!

Real Food Please

In chapter 5, the writer of Hebrews is admonishing the Jewish Christians for being immature in the faith.  He compared them to infants living on milk who were " not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness." (v.13)

He contrasts that by saying, "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (v.14)

My little kids do not like to be called "the babies".  If they hear me say that they'll usually come back with, "I'm big!". 

Neither do I want to be called a spiritual baby.  By "constant use" of the Word, I will grow beyond that.

Constant use. 

I've been thinking of the ways I've been wasting time. 
The movie I watched last night.  The stupid book I'm in the middle of.  The silly things I worry about.  Oh, there's plenty....

Well that led me to thinking about my kids.  And how important it is for them to be trained in righteousness so that they will be able to "distinguish good from evil"...especially Meg, who starts college in the fall.  Is she ready?  Have I used the time well? 

Constant use.....

Lord, please wean me from the milk and teach me to feast on the meat and potatoes of Your goodness!

Potatoes Anyone?

Friday was my shopping day.  I think it was my best shopping day since this summer.  Lots of good coupon deals at Walmart and I even scored 2 freebies....a bag of oreos and a razor!  

I have to confess that I did go a bit over budget buying up potatoes.  5# for $1 ad matched at WM and I couldn't pass them up.  Actually I'll probably go back for more before the sale ends.  I'll just have to be careful with the rest of the grocery money. 

So what's on the menu for the next several weeks?  You guessed it. 

Oven fries, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, baked potatoes, hashbrowns, potato soup... you name it. 
Last night I diced up a couple to mix in with our taco meat just to help it go a bit farther.   

Anybody have good potato recipes to share with me?

A New Word

For all of his 8 years he's said it the same way... AMANULS.

But things are a changing.  Today he got a new book to read for school.  It's a nature book and he reads along with plenty of AMANULS without missing a beat.  I'm listening to him read aloud when he comes to the word ANIMALS hyphenated between the syllabols at the end of the line. 

He stops.  AN-I-MALS?  He gives me his quizzical look with his head tilted and his eyes squinted. 

AN-I-MALS? 

I smile and nod.  And inside I'm a little bit sad. 

AN-I-MALS.  Huh. 

New Jurisdictions

Our jurisdictions were a bit outa whack.  Some kids had too much, some had too little.  (Guess which set brought this to my attention?)  So I rearranged it and here's what it looks like now. 

MallyBird (4) - Room and groom (this includes making beds, straightening rooms, fixing hair, brushing teeth),  Put away clean laundry, empty bathroom trashes, help her buddy with kitchen work on Thursdays.

Nate (5) - Room and groom, kitchen work on Sundays and Mondays, clear the table, dining room, entryway, and east hall, trashes on Mon, helping with meals Sun

Jes (7) - Room and groom, boy's bathroom, clear table, kitchen work on Tues and Saturday, empty paper shredder on Friday, trashes on Mon, helping with meals Sat

Jad (8) - Room and groom, living room, kitchen work on Wed and Fri., trashes on Mon, helping with meals Fri

LB (12) - Room and groom, fix Bird's hair, bathroom trashes with Mally, switch laundry, kitchen work on Thursday, keep tea made in the fridge, helping with meals Thurs

CT (13) - Room and groom, west hall, kitchen work on Wed and Fri, trashes on Mon, vacuuming once a day, empty vacuum canister once a week,  make cereal, help w/meals on Wed

Lane (15) - Room and groom, girls' bathroom, dining room with Nate (this is the hardest jurisdiction b/c of the carpet), kitchen work on Mon and Sun., help with meals on Tues

Meg (18) - Room and groom, kichen work on Tues and Sat., folding, ironing, school closet, help w/meals on Monday 

My kids don't get regular allowances.  Instead, I have a marker board where I keep jobs posted with a price beside them.  It is to their advantage to take the initiative to claim these.  If they are on the board too long, I will assign them to someone as part of their regular work for the day w/o pay.  

Here's a sample of what is posted today...
top of fridge - .25
spot living room rug - $3
make tortillas - $3
clean refrigerator - $1

It's SNOWING!!

OH I'm so happy! 

Everything that I didn't want to do is cancelled and it'll be a warm and cozy day at home. 

~Oatmeal for breakfast.
~Chicken soup for lunch.
~Bread in the oven.
~No school.
~Snow babies all bundled up and banging on the door to show me their snowman. 
~Hot chocolate.
~Time to read.
~And maybe, just maybe, my man will come home a bit early. 

Ahhh, bliss...........

Sunday's Sermon Notes

The Promise Of Rest

Hebrews 4:1-13

Just as salvation is multi-faceted (past, present, and future) so is God's rest that is described in Hebrews.

*We should be people who diligently seek the rest of the Lord.  Salvation isn't something to check off the list.  We need to be actively trusting in Christ all the time.

Hebrews 4:1 "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it."

*We can be confident of God's rest. 

Hebrews 4:3 "Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,  So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest. " And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world."

On one hand, we should be careful to keep seeking.  On the other hand, we can be confident in the rest we've been given.  It's both/and.

When we actively seek the Lord, we experience the confidence, encouragement, and assurance. 

*God's rest is available today.

(vv 7-9)"Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God."

Resting from my own works and trusting solely in Jesus and His works.

*Only God's people will experience the rest. 
(v.9) There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God."


*You can't fake God out.
(vv 12-13) "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
 

Hear the rest of it here. 

The Precious Is GONE!

Or might as well be.  For months I've been watching my faithful Bible tear away from it's cover.  Denying it, lovingly patting it, and saying to myself, "It's not that bad." 

And then I don't know what happened.  I opened it to read to the kids Friday morning and GASP!  I could put fingers into the hole!  How?  How did it get so bad all of a sudden?  KIDS????!!!!

So I had to face the facts.  It was time to retire my Old Faithful.  sniff...

No need to actually buy a new one though.  Honey had a Bible just exactly like it ('cept it's black and mine is was blue) that he never uses b/c it's not his favorite.  So it's brand new, still crinkly pages and all.  And now it's mine. 

I took it out for a test drive this morning and felt a bit unfaithful picking it up while my old one was sitting right beside it.   I didn't even try to look up anything b/c I figured it would be pointless without all my notes scribbled on most every page. 

I  turned to where I'd normally be reading and noticed that it was so clean.  So perfect.  So untouched. 

Well that will never do.  So I opened my old one to the same page and transferred all my notes to the newbie. 

The beginnings of a new relationship. 

Not Counting The Cost

Oh why oh why did I do it??

Co-op AND science fair all in the same month.  Really really bad idea.  For me. 

Science fair sounded like a good idea.  So did co-op.  But now as I look at my upcoming week I wanna
un-sign up for it all. 

Confession.  I've never even been to a science fair much less participated in one!  What kind of homeschool mom am I anyway? 

An unscientific one.

A Perfect Morning

The calendar square is completely blank.  Nowhere to go.  Nothing extra to do.

The refrigerators, freezers, and pantry are full.  Freezers and fridges - plural.  I'm so thankful.

My hard working man is off at his good job providing for us at home.  He leaves early with a smile.  He comes home with interesting things to share.

4 little boys bouncing on my bed.  9 happy kids all in perfect health and all at home with me.

New friends over for dinner tonight. 

And the best part?  "...there is a remnant chosen by grace.  And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. "  Rom 11:5-6  I am loved completely by my gracious Savior who decided to love me - not b/c of how I behave, but simply out of grace. 

It's going to be a good day.

Good Deals

Go here to print some high dollar coupons for games and toys.  My favorite is the $5/1 Pictureka.  It is reported that you can get the travel version of this for $.24 at Walmart.  My shopping is finished for the week but it's tops on my list for next week.  There's also many other game coupons that should make for some frugal gift giving.  Common Sense With Money has posted several deals you can get with these coupons. 

And this!  I love this one.  A free 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk when you buy a gallon a milk.  Just enter the great gallon giveaway and you should be able to print the coupon here.  (Thanks Money Saving Mom)  Sorry this one is already gone!  These types go fast.

I also wanna point out that there are some good deals and several freebies at Walgreens this week.  As for me, I'm finished with WG but if your store is better than mine you need to check it out. 

Happy Couponing!

Our School Schedule

Ever wonder what a day at the Tagg's usually looks like?  Probably not.  But I just finished our new schedule and I'm gonna show you anyway.   Besides, it keeps me from doing the grammar work I should be doing before tomorrow but really don't want to. 

I'm always tweaking it and rearranging things but here's the latest version.  To tell you the truth, it's almost always the same.  There haven't been any major changes in a long time.  But even a minor adjustment makes me feel like we've stepped out into the land of improvement.

~Everybody up, roomed and groomed, and to the table with chores done by 7:30.

~Breakfast, Bible, memory work, and a talk about what's happening in the day. 

~Breakfast dishes and teeth.  Watch The Gospel of John for about 10 minutes.  I'm reading this at the table and then we watch the corresponding chapters on the dvd.  Laundry folding while watching.

~Nate takes the babies (Mally and Zboy...don't tell them I called them babies) to his room to do flash cards while I do spelling tests with everyone else.  I use Spelling Power.

After spelling, I have them write out the verse we're memorizing (dictation) and we break it down with grammar exercises.  (Crossing out prep phrases, finding parts of speech, etc.)  I also check their spelling in this verse and make corrections.

~By this time the babies are tired of Nate and ready to do something else.  Mally reads to me from the 100 Easy Lessons book and ZBoy listens or plays with blocks.  Usually he tries to read it too and gets a sticker when the lesson is done.

Meanwhile, Lane takes the 3 little boys for a math lesson.  They count money, work with manipulatives, fractions, calendar, etc.  The older kids are working independently.

~I read with Nate from his children's Bible while the babies play with something I have assigned in front of me.  I switch out toys for this.   They can not play with anything else or get up.  (About 15 min.)

~The babies help me get snacks b/c by now it's about 10am.  Lane's class is done and everyone is back at the table.  This keeps the babies occupied for some time b/c of all the little pieces in the snack mix.

I help anybody with any questions or check whatever has been finished.

~Here is where Meg, CT, and LB switch off classes with the 3 boys.  Meg teaches writing, CT teaches geography (Geography songs), and LB does science (just reading to them from a science book and doing simple experiments sometimes).

Meanwhile, I read and play with the babies and help any big kids when needed.  Today we played bowling with the jumbo bowling set they got for Christmas.  I'm not a fan of free play during school time unless it's outside.  I want them to be quiet and the best way to do that is to keep them with me and keep them busy.   If I'm needed for something particularly time consuming with the older kids, I will sometimes pull another kid to do a "baby shift".  There's no movies or electronic gaming... the older kid is the servant to love on them and come up with something creative to do. 

~Everyone is working independently or doing classes until lunch.  The babies help with lunch. 

~Lunch and cleanup.  This always takes way more time than I'd like.  Ideally, I'd rather everyone just work through lunch and finish up.  They think it's a wonderful break.  They win. 

~After lunch I read to the babies and put them in their rooms for quiet time/nap. 
I read with J & J and we do a page of Daily Grams orally.

~When these guys are finished with all their school work (their buddy checks it all and it is completely cleaned up), they can play Building Thinking Skills on the computer while the older kids are still working.  After that they must play quietly if they can't go outside. 

~At this point, I'm almost done with school.  I help big kids, check math, answer questions, but the bulk is finished. 

I work on our tea snack and dinner prep. 

~(Here's the minor adjustment I was talking about.) At 3pm all school must be off the table and cleaned up.  Babies are up. Tea is served and I read from whatever book we're reading aloud.  Whoever is not finished with school must finish in their own room after clean up. 

Clean up and free time until Daddy comes home around 4:30. 

Then, of course, the FUN begins!!

Today

I'm sick.  But I'm almost better.  Just a yucky cold.  I hardly ever ever ever get sick.  As a matter of fact, I was trying to remember the last time that I was sick and I think it was the day that my 5yo son was born.  (I haven't touched roast since.)  Some of my kids had it on and off last week.  Now that I have it and realize how bad they felt, I wish I had babied them a bit more.  Sorry guys. 

This is the absolute perfect time to be sick.  We got snow this weekend and it was a beautiful scene outside my window while I was cozy and warm inside.   Snow doesn't happen too much 'round these parts and it is a blessed gift.  My kids bundled up in their snowsuits and built all sorts of snow structures.  When our snow was getting pretty slim, the elderly lady across the street offered up her front yard to them.  Sweet!

My only regret was that I didn't stock up with food first.  Partly b/c I didn't really believe it would be that big a deal.  We were running low anyway, but by the end of the weekend it was really a pitiful sight.  With no breakfast foods in sight, my starving children ate meatballs for breakfast this morning.  It wasn't all that bad...we did have half a jar of mustard, some tomato sauce, and a bag of chips.  Where is their creativity anyway? 

Eldest loaned me the first Love Comes Softly book.  I've always loved the movie and she was sure I would like the book.  She was right!  I'm not usually a fan of modern fiction...especially love story types..but this was sooo sweet.  Ma Graham was a great inspiration to me.   She reminded me of my mother-in-law and my step mom wrapped up in one. 

Have you ever been called for jury duty?  I've always wanted jury duty ever since I was little and my g'mother told me about the time she got to do it.  Finally finally(!) I was called!  In Colorado.  Ahhhh.
But the really bad thing is that once I got the summons I totally blew it off and forgot all about it!  yikes.
I didn't even give it another thought until last night when someone mentioned jury duty totally unrelated to me.  Talk about irresponsible!  I was able to take care of it online and apparently whenever I was supposed to go has already passed but they didn't call my number anyway....whatever that means.  

Football season is almost over.  Boy it lasts a long time!  I don't care a thing about football but I love the fun that others have with it.  I'm always glad when the season starts b/c it means that cooler weather is on the way.   Super Bowl is a big affair around here and we were trying to decide who to invite.   After much deliberation, it turns out that b/c this SB is sooo important we can't invite anybody b/c we might miss a second of the action.  Pathetic really. 

Today's Meals (Because we have food!)
Breakfast - the last crumbs of cereal, a bowl of frozen strawberries, and meatballs
Lunch - Chicken sandwiches
Dinner - 3 cheese penne pasta, salad, and bread sticks

An Oven Full Of Yumminess!

I love my convection oven!