September Goal Recap

I had planned to write up the recap of my September Goals but . . ..

It's been a long, but good day and, as I sit here this evening watching some football, I've realized how tired I am and, instead of writing details, I'm going to bed :-)  Today included church and Sunday School, a quick lunch, and then I had a concert today which is exhausting! 

Did I accomplish some of my goals, yes.  Did I also not accomplish some, of course!  October is a new month and it is time for new goals but for tonight, it's time for sleep!

Scripture Sunday

Our Week in Photos #15

Another fun weekend despite record breaking temps!

 The weekend included the annual Halloween Weekend at the campground.  We started with pumpkin carving at the Lodge. 

 After pumpkins we went swimming - it was 95 degrees and the pool was packed . .. .until someone pooped in the pool and they had to close it!!  BOO! 

 Next up was the costume content.  Nate decided to be Godzilla this year. 

 And Josh is Enderman (Sp?) from Minecraft. 

 Even though I thought my kids had the best costumes, they did not win! 

 Nate's pumpkin. 

 Josh's Pumpkin.

The boys got to go Trick-Or-Treating throughout the campground and got a bag load of candy.  We ended the night with a Haunted House (which the boys loved) and a trip back to the pool (which had been cleaned and re-opened).  The night ended with a spooky Hayride that made the boys and I scream many times!!!

Monday I took all 4 kids to the pool as our local school district had a half day due to the heat.  (for Real).  

Tuesday was the official last day at the pool.  After dinner, we headed to the pool for the evening. 

 I'll miss this sunset view until next summer! 

We even got Darryl in the pool this one last time.  

Wednesday and Thursday were quieter days.  We accomplished a lot of school.  The boys had AWANA on Wednesday and my mom and I took off Thursday evening for dinner and a book review with an author.  

Friday = Friday School 

Friday school is a busy day for sure.  The Lego Robotics Teacher posted this photo today so I thought I'd share.  Honestly, the boys are not loving Lego Robitics - they thought it was more about Legos and less about learning but, in reality, it is more about learning and less about Legos!  

That's our week! 

Weekly Menu

Things are really starting to quiet down which means that our menu starts to stay the same.  This week's menu is unique because my husband just had some major dental work done and is on a very limited diet since everything has to be soft.  So, trying to keep it simple without having to make multiple meals for different people and not go crazy! Really, this next week it is more of an idea than a plan ;-)

Basics that will be eaten in this house this week between the husband and the kids:

1) Mac and Cheese
2) Mashed Potatoes
3) Baked Sweet Potatoes
4) Tomato Soup
5) Refried Beans w/ Cheese
6) Chicken Nuggets and Fries (can you guess that's for the kids HA!)
7) Spaghetti
8) Cream of Wheat
9) Acron Squash

I might add a few extra things for me
1) Tacos
2) Left over Pulled Pork BBQ
3) Pancakes and Bacon
4) Lasagna (seriously - I'm the only one who really loves it so I thought I might make a big pan and eat it all week HA!)

School Update

So we have completed almost a month of school. 

It's been a big transition. Our on-line school changed both the Language Arts and Math curriculum and I won't lie, I hate highly dislike it.  There have been tons and tons of technical issues turning 40 minute lessons into 2 hour lessons.  The quizzes and tests are subjective and therefore even I am struggling with finding correct answers.  (And I'm pretty smart!!) I've been close to throwing in the towel, withdrawing, and doing my own thing.  But I haven't. Yet. 

This month has included 2 hours of Live Lessons for me, the parent, back to back in the middle of the day; MAP testing for both boys which takes up hours of our day AND there were technical difficulties with Nate's testing not once, not twice, but three times which delayed the test and impacted our schedule. 

Yet, as we wrap up September I can say that we are current on all assignments.  Even though I comment on every single Math and Language Arts lessons with issues (everything from the wrong videos posted for a lesson to spelling errors in reading assignments) I'm figuring out how proceed through those lessons in less time, without watching ever single video which take forever to load, while still making sure the boys are understanding concepts. 

As we start October, I'm hoping we finally have a routine.  I started this year thinking that I could do 30 minute sessions with each boy, back and forth, and accomplish a lot.  But Math and Language arts are often taking 45 minutes-1 hour and 15 minutes so a 30 minute time slot just wasn't working.  Just today I went back to the concept of I teach one boy in the morning and one in the afternoon.  During their "non-teaching" time, they have AWANA lessons to work on, journals to write and math worksheets to work on.  This one day went better than the whole month!   Now, next week, both boys will have their full scale of Live Lessons (Josh's started last week but Nate's start next week) so I may have to revert back to an hour at a time to get around the Live Lessons but it will still be better than what I was doing! This homeschooling stuff is not for the faint of heart ;-) 

My goal for October is to head in the same way we are ending September - current. 

Something Yummy - Sausage Balls

Sausage Balls
adapted from Cowtails and Haybales

Sausage balls are little round, bundles of goodness.  At the end of October, I'm heading to a scrapbooking retreat and was trying to decide what meal to sign up for that was easy.  That lead to breakfast and taking a coffee cake but I felt like I needed something with some protein in it too which led me to the idea of Sausage Balls.  I can make them in advance, freeze them, and then people can just heat up the (thawed) goodness in the microwave.  Super easy.  My sister-in-law has made these for years, or a version of them, so I knew they were good.  This recipe is exceptional - it is flavorful and not dry!  The cream cheese is the game changer for sure! 

Ingredients

1 lb  sausage  (if you like hot sausage, you can use that - I used just regular Bob Evans ground sausage)

8 oz cream cheese (softened)

1 & 1/4 Cup Bisquick

4 oz sharp shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all of the ingredients.  The original recipe said to use your hands but I just ended up with a huge mess so I dumped it all in my mixer bowl and used my mixer instead!!  Roll them into 1 inch balls and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 20 minutes at 375* until browned.

Enjoy! 

The Stink about Deodorant

I would have never thought I'd write anything about deodorant but, for about the last six months I've been on a search to find some anti-stink deodorant.  Here's the back story.  I've worn this deodorant for 25+ years.

 This little blue stick has been my sidekick forever and has served me well.  Through summer camps, hot sweaty teaching days, several moves in the heat and humidity of July.  There was never, ever, any stink.  Until 6 months ago.  At first I chalked it up to a couple of shirts that have outlasted their shelf life but . . then I wore a new shirt and was like, "Holy Cow, someone stinks."  Oops.  So, thus began my search of the perfect, stinkless deodorant.  I went online to Pinterest and did a search for the best deodorant and got all excited when some links came up.  Then I clicked on them and they were for All Natural stuff - like rubbing charcoal in the pits.  Nope. Not doing that.

One stood out and after reading the reviews I decided to try it.

Hello Native.  It smelled good, came with the cutest instruction card ever, and even asked you to wait 14 days before giving up on it because you needed to transition to a new deodorant.  Well, let me tell you, 14 days later and this stuff still only lasts 2-3 hours.  For real.  I'm more like a 12-16 hour type of deodorant person.  I'm still trying to get my $12.00 back (guaranteed supposedly) (and yes, that price is not a typo HA!).  This stuff, well, stinks.

So, now I went back to the store and picked out deodorant number 2.

I wanted to go more middle of the road price wise so I picked up this Dove brand.  First of all, it works great.  It lasted all day and then some.  The only think I didn't like was that it was wet.  I never felt dry and that is, well, just the pits.  HA!

Finally, I bit the bullet and spent $8.00 on a grocery store deodorant.

Yep, back to Secret, but this time their "Clinical Strength."  I have my thoughts on this - I think that the clinical strength deodorant is exactly what I've been wearing for years but, in order to charge so much, they made it sound better.  For real.  I love this stuff.  It has been true tested this past week in 95+ degree temps.  I have sweated with the best of them and there has been no stink, no wetness, and just sheer pit happiness!

So, there's my take on the Stink about Deodorant!