Saying Good-Bye to one of our Furry Friends

We ended 2012 with, sadly, having to say good-bye to one of our Furry Family Members.  Our cat, Stratocaster, passed away on Saturday, December 29th.  It happened kind of unexpectedly.  She was fine before Christmas and even on Christmas day when I fed her, she was fine.  By Thursday, December 27th, I noticed that something wasn't right.  She was having some trouble walking and finding her way but then as long as she walked right by me, she was fine so I thought maybe her sight was finally gone.  On Friday, I noticed that she was doing worse and by Saturday evening she was gone.

 We adopted "Orchid" on February 25, 2005. She was several years old at that time so we know she was at least 9-10 years old.  We changed her name to Stratocaster since she is the same color combo as my husband's Stratocaster Guitar.  We called her Strat for short :-)

 Strat quickly became a part of our home -  finding all kinds of fun places to sit and sleep.

 I could never get a photo with her eyes open!!!  Strat started out as an indoor cat but eventually chose to move to the garage and live for various reasons. I didn't like her living out there but that was her choice and she actually enjoyed being out there most of the time. She had a warm bed and, in the winter, we would add a heat lamp for her as well. (And if it got really cold, she did come inside)  She never left the yard and, if she happened to get locked out of the garage because we didn't know she was lounging under the deck, she would sit at the patio door and meow until we let her back into her sanctuary.

Strat was really a sweet cat and I enjoyed her.  I will miss seeing her lounge on the deck in the sun - even in the winter. As long as the porch was clear of snow and the sun was shining she could lay there soaking in the warmth. She would sometimes perch on the rail where she could watch everything going on around her.  In the summer time she loved to wander through the flowers and lay in the sun.  When I would be outside, she would always jump up on my lap and wait for a good old fashion petting :-)  She loved to have ears scratched, that is for sure!  I made sure that no matter the weather, I would go out and spend a few minutes with her each day - in the winter I would make 2-3 trips to the garage to make sure she was warm and had fresh water.  Needless to say, now every time I enter the garage it breaks my heart to know she is gone and I won't see that cute cat.  

Farewell my sweet Strat.  You will be missed.

Weekly Menu

Some weeks going really smooth when it comes to meals and that was last week.  Things just fell into place and we had some great meals.  I did make a meal on Monday, Baked Shrimp Scampi, that sounded better then it tasted.  It wasn't awful, just not a "make again" recipe.

Here's the plan for this week:

Tuesday - Tacos, Rice, Beans and Chips and Salsa

Wednesday - My husband has practice so the kids and I will just have some frozen pizza - simple :-)

Thursday - Ham and Cheese Quiche, Potatoes, Fruit

Friday - Chicken and Dumplings and Salad

Saturday - Mongolian Beef, Brown Rice, and Broccoli

Sunday - Ham, Carrots, Potatoes and Cabbage roasted, Fruit Salad after church and then Grilled Cheese and Soup for dinner.

Monday - Lemon Chicken, Stuffing, Corn, Biscuits

Food Friday - Spinkle Cookies

Sprinkle Cookies
adapted from Cookin' Cowgirl

I was looking for a fun, easy cookie recipe and this fit the bill.  My kids love sprinkles so yes, it was an automatic plus with these cookies.  Added to that is that my kids could help makes these due to a short list of ingredients and, they even broke the eggs!  I will admit that these are not my personal favorite flavorful cookies but they were still fun!  I think that next time I might try using a yellow cake mix instead of white - yellow seems to have a better flavor (at least in my opinion!) Also, I ended up having to cook mine for about 12 minutes - the first batch I took out, let cool, and tasted one . .. it was still cookie dough!.  By the way, my kids discovered the joy of eating cookie dough off the beaters :-)


1 box vanilla cake mix, 18.25 oz
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C color sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and baking powder. In a small bowl, mix together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the cake mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the sprinkles. Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet or silpat.

Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack. They will be very soft at first. 

Cool and enjoy! 

Topical Study and What I'm Reading

I posted (HERE) about my Topical Study for the year - "Raising Conscientious kids".  I went on a search for books to read to help with my Topical Study.  Really, ultimately, this will make me be a better mom.  As I become a better mom, my kids will also become "better" and grow in ways I want them to grow.  Isn't it funny that when we want others to change we actually have to change ourselves and learn how to become the person who can HELP those we want to help.  This is really a long list of books I want to read this year.  I tend to read these in "paper form" instead of on my Kindle because, honestly, I will always pick the "fun" book I'm reading on my Kindle verses the "educational" book.

This list is in no particular order.

I know what you are thinking - there is no way I will get all of these read this year and guess what?  You are probably right but I wanted to plug all of these into this one post for easy reference.  I promise to share what I read; truths that I learn; how we implement new ideas and what works (and what doesn't!)  

I may come back and add more to this list throughout the year if I find some more new titles I'd like to check out so I will always try to remember to link back to this original post anytime I'm referencing the Topical Study or one of the books.

January Goals

For those of you who have read this blog for awhile, you know that I am a goal oriented person.  I'm the first person to tell you that I don't necessarily accomplish most of the goals on my list but without some goals to focus on I find that I flounder.  Completely.  My monthly goals help give me something to work towards each day.  When I'm really on top of things, I try to look at them weekly, if not daily, in order to accomplish the small tasks it takes to reach the big goal.

Two years ago when I attended the Life on Purpose meeting, one of the documents I worked on was called "Dividing My Time".  I picked 6 areas that I wanted to focus on throughout the year and most of my goals were tied to that as well as my theme word.  This year, I'm using my 101 in 1001 goals to drive my goals each month.  When I wrote them, I divided them into categories so it works our pretty well.

In years past, when I write out my monthly goals, I usually also have an extra category called "Misc" HA!  This allows me to throw in those little things that fit no where but need to get done.

So, what is on my radar for January?  Check it out below.

Darryl and the Kids
1. Plan and execute Nate's birthday weekend "Stay and Swim" get away. Completed - you can read it HERE
2. Plan and prepare Homeschool lessons - the goal is to get through A, B, and C in January This was a little difficult because we had extra friends with us for a few weeks during the day . . but we did get through A and B and I planned C :-) 
3. Do 2-3 fun activities with the boys separate from homeschool.
4. Do a movie night with the kids- My kids are not as into movies as I would like them to be HA!  We did go away for Nate's birthday though so that counts :-)
5. Work on Potty Training - Does pulling my hair out count?  HA  We are still trying!
6.  Order new piece for our wooden clockI contacted the company and they told me no - I had to buy a new clock so I took the clock to my my MIL's husband, who does wood working, and he is making a new piece for me!
7. Start Chore Chart concept
8. Read the Husband Project
9. Do January's budget plan and see how close we can come to sticking with it! What a success.  We wrote it, we followed it and we actually ended the month feeling good :-)
10. Find a "word a day" calendar  I found one - next months goal will be to order it HA!
11. Have a movie night with the hubs once this month - This month is War Horse.Done!
12. Plan February's budget BEFORE Feb. 1st  Done!

Home Management
1. Create a reusable Daily/Weekly/Monthly board (I saw an idea on Pinterest using a frame and a dry erase marker.  I love it) The more I thought about this the more I realized I didn't want it - I don't need my plan displayed . . I just keep it with my to do lists.
2. Work on my kitchen/bathroom - one thing a day in order to keep those rooms constantly clean
3. Begin planning the new landscaping - my goal this month is pick out the new bushes/flowers I want to plant in the landscaping areas.
4. Hang up a coat rack in the stairwell
5. Get a new Frame for Josh's photo Check - and it is even hung up!!
6. Go through pinterest boards for the home and choose one item from each board to do - a decor idea, a cleaning idea, an organizing idea; it doesn't matter - just need to do something new! 

Me
1. Begin the 10,000 step program - the goal this month is to reach 10,000 steps a total of 5 times all month.
2. Load the MP3 player with music
3. Set up my memory program for the Sermon on the Mount So it is set up, now I need to memorize it!
4. Read one book based on my theme study
5. Wake up at 6:00 for two weeks to see if this is something I can actually do (I am not a morning person)
6. Pick out 2 piano songs to practice and have ready to play. I picked out two songs and did get a little practice in but not enough to say they are ready to play

Travel
1. Narrow down our family vacation - goal date, goal location, and what we need to save This has been done
2. Schedule a camping trip
3. Check out passports - when to get them updated We have a year left so I'll revisit this in January 2014
4. Narrow down a get away for Darryl and I - goal date, goal location and what we need to save This has been done
5. See "Les Miserable" :-)

Crafts/Decor/Photography
1. Make a list of 100 facts about me.
2. Compile a list of projects I want to make and complete at least one this month (Looking back through Too Cute posts and Craft ideas on Pinterest)
3. Begin "How to Photograph your Baby" and spend one week on each chapter. 
4. Organize extra scrapbook projects in order of how to complete and make a goal list for getting those done.
5. Print November and December photos Done!

Organization
1. Completely organize the basement
2. Organize all of our tax documents from the past 10 years
3. Organize all manuals into a three ring binder for easy access and keep in the classroom closet
4. Set up savings plan for the things I want from IKEA Done

Holidays and Theme Word
1. Get a January wreath for the door - either make it or buy it
2. Make Sugar Snow (if we have snow) and hot chocolate with the boys

Misc
1. Do the boys Birthday questions (I think I lost the list I had from Josh so I need to re-do) and create the basic scrapbook. I found Josh's list and got Nate's too
2. Schedule the boys Well baby check ups January 31st :-)
3. Practice soundtrack for church Done! 


WOW!  That's a lot, I know.  Hopefully I can get at least half of the above things done - that would be great!!

Too Cute Not to Toot!

Welcome back to another week of awesome ideas.  One of my 101 in 1001 goals is to actually get some of these things done.  I hope - I need to start picking out my top favorite ideas to work on!

Check out this idea from My Own Ideas.  It is Hot Chocolate on a Stick.  I think this would be fun for little kids because the milk would cool off some while they stirred.  They would also make great additions to gift baskets.

Don't you just love this snowman from So you think your crafty?  I do and hope I remember to make one for next winter!

This next idea is for the kitchen and I want to do this soon!  Apartment Therapy shares an easy way to make clean up under the sink a cinch by adding peel and stick tiles :-)

The Brooding Hen gives a super simple idea for the bathtub using hardware plumbing pieces to make bath toys.

I found the cutest Tool Belt tutorial over at Vanilla Joy.  The boys got Tool Boxes for Christmas but I couldn't find Tool Belts.

Happy Crafting!

Preschool Fun - January

Last September we attempted to start homeschool preschool but, lets be honest, it didn't go well.  I over planned, Josh wasn't really ready to sit and be "schooled".  It become more frustrating for both of us - he thought it was a game and I got tired of planning things and then not getting it done.  We have made some good strides in the last few months to prepare him to actually sit and learn.  Along with that is the simple fact that he is a boy and, well, is a little immature ;-)  I think when we started in September, I was really trying to do preschool with a three year old, not an almost 4 year old. One truth I read over and over is that each kid is different so therefore, only do what your child is ready for and we were not ready for preschool!!

In December, we had a lot of fun making ornaments and having a very quick simple lesson each day.  I knew we were finally on the right track.  He looked forward to this time and took his time doing each of the activities.  Two things that have made a difference too have been Friday School and Sunday School/ Kids Korner.  He quickly learned how to sit and listen to his teacher and how to do various activities.  Josh is a very visual learner and being in classes helped him see what he was supposed to do.  Prior to last fall, he was still in the nursery so he always got to play.  So, those who have churches that offer an actual Sunday School or Junior Church class for 2-3 year old's, it makes a HUGE difference in helping them learn how to sit through a class.  Who knew??  I've also reconfigured the classroom slightly by using a card table in place of the banquet tables.  This gives room for all of us to sit around the table and work together or we can also easily move to the dining room table which I have found is a great place to do crafts because it is close to both the kitchen and the bathroom.

One of the other concerns I had was not teaching Nate because I didn't want him to get ahead.  I've thrown that concern out the window.  Instead I am focusing on some of the same skills for both of them.  This is "only" preschool after all.  Once Josh starts Kindergarten then I'll make sure Nate has different things to work on to build those preschool skills but for now, we are just going to have fun learning.

I have a few goals I'd like to accomplish over the next 5 months:
1)I'd like both boys to know how to use scissors (I debate this because right now, they can't cut anything they aren't supposed to HA!)
2) I'd like both boys to be able to hold a pencil correctly.
3) I'd like both boys to be able to write their names.
4) Both boys will be able to count to 20
5) Both boys will be able to recognize as many letters as we get through :-)  Now, they both know their ABC's and can already recognize most letters as Uppercase and quite a few lower case.  I am thinking that based on what we are doing, they will actually recognize all of them but at the very least it will be the ones we study.

So, what will we be using to learn over the next few months?

Bible - I think it is so important to teach Bible at home whether you homeschool or not.  Expecting them to grow up in God with only Sunday School lessons just isn't the way it should it be. I had planned to teach two classes at Friday school during this session but, due to being down to one car, I had to back out.  Instead, I'm using the book I purchased for the preschool class as my Bible Lessons for this time at home.  It is called "All-in-One Bible Fun" and is a study on the Fruits of the Spirit.  I'm trying to focus on teaching my boys to grow as kind and considerate young men - what better place to start than the Fruit of the Spirit!

Preschool Lessons - I will be using the Rising Rock Stars Preschool lessons from 1+1+1=1.  I really like the way she has things set up and her printables are fantastic.  The bonus is that she is starting the program with her youngest as well so she is doing some updating to quite a few things within the study units.  We are going to do it in ABC order which is what makes sense in my brain.  Within many of the lessons are lesson plans with links to the various things she is doing from other sites as well.  I plan on following that pretty closely.

Extra, Fun Stuff - Arts and Crafts and other activities teach so many things!  I'll being using my BFF, aka Pinterest, to help me build up some fun ideas to do with the boys.  They are also very into games right now and we are working on teaching them how to follow directions (and that one certain 4 year old doesn't ALWAYS have to win!!)

My lessons plans will be simple - I want to put together everything I want to do for Letter A, as an example.  Then, we will work on Letter A until we have finished all of those activities.  It may take a week or a month and that's ok.  I want the boys to memorize the verse that goes with each lesson and I don't want to move on until they can say it.  (We'll see how that goes . . .. if it is a real struggle, we'll go on to the next lesson and just keep reviewing)  We will also be working on learning some new songs that go along with each lesson (I love that I can download MP3's of individual songs for each lesson!).  We love to sing at night when we put the boys to bed and I'm getting really tired of the ABC song :-) 

We are starting our lessons today so look forward to next week to see how we do!