Teaching Tuesdays - We made it through the first week.

Week one is done.  That's all.  Lets keep it real.  Week one was hard.  Between teaching both boys, prep, computer problems with the program and pulling my hair out (really  . .almost) I spent anywhere from 5-8 hours a day doing school.  That is not what I anticipated.  I understand it is the first week but wow.  On the first day I spent about 5 hours sitting in a chair talking and teaching one boy at a time. By the time Wednesday rolled around (day 2 . .) I mowed the grass and faced the underground bees (I can run fast HA!) just to get away from all things related to school.  Here's hoping week two goes better. 

Of course, we took some awesome first second day pictures:

Such cute kids!

So, you might be wondering where I'm at with Connections Academy after our first week so even after a tough first week here's some truth:

1) I know it is only week one.
2) The boys have things they like and things they don't like.
3) I've changed my strategy and spent several hours on Saturday prepping for the week by reading through every lesson, using post-it tabs to mark daily assignments in books, copy, pasted, and printed the "Learning Coach" (that's me!) lesson guides so I don't need to use the IPAD constantly to ready what I'm doing AND I highlighted what is important for me to emphasis.  I tore out workbook pages and prepped vocab words and sight words.
4) I'm hopeful that as the weeks progress I will be able to have both boys working on schoolwork at once to free up time for play, getting outside to exercise, and time for me to actually get something done (for real!)

The boys also had their first week in Tae Kwon Do at our homeschool co-op this past Friday which counts toward their PE time.  I didn't get any great photos this first week but hopefully next week the boys will be more relaxed and will be more "into it". 



What's coming up?  We still have AWANA to add to our schedule this week, weekly Library trips which start today, and some upcoming field trips. Not to mention that they start Gymnastics next Monday too.  I've finding that our schedule is much busier this year which is keeping me on my toes!

Make-It Monday - Misc Musings

I'm not one to always click on posts/links that people put on Facebook to various articles and blog posts but periodically one catches my attention like this one I'm featuring here today. See, in our house, my husband is the one who plays - trains, video games, make believe.  I'm the one who makes sure everything is taken care of and everyone is where they need to be.  Sometimes I feel guilty because I'm don't equal all of those perfect moms out there who do it all - you know those ones you see on Facebook or through Pinterest . .. . then I'll talk to a friend and we laugh at our real laughs :-)  No, I/we don't feet this article completely in any form or fashion but there are bits and pieces that speak to me.

The article can be found at We Don't Chew Glass.  I debated posting this because it is not a Christian Blog (as is evident in one word on the header) but the good outweighs the bad in this one so my apologies ahead of time.

Ultimately, my kids tell me I'm awesome, love to hang with me, and come to me first when they are hurting.  They think I'm funny and will always come to me with questions or wants (umm . . needs HA) even if their dad is sitting in the same room as them and I'm taking a shower HA!.  I'm thankful that my husband is creative . . . imaginative . .. he teaches the boys how to play outside the box.  Where, I'm an "inside the box" type of girl.  We make a great team and balance each other well - our kids are happy and that's really the most important thing of all. 

Weekly Menu

This was our first week back to school so I didn't do much except school.  BUT one thing I did do was follow the advice of some pinterest post I actually read about planning menus and saving money.  So, I'm trying something slightly new this month.  I planned the entire month of menus (which I've kinda done in the past with my rotating month menu) but I also created all of the grocery lists for each week.  I can be more focused on buying what is on sale or that I have coupons for to save money.  Like many people, we have some weeks where there is more flex money than others so I'm trying to plan ahead for those weeks when funds are tighter (for example the vast majority of our bills are due the first two weeks of the month verses the last two weeks so my grocery budget is much tighter those first two weeks).  I promise to keep you updated on this new adventure and see if it really works.

Here's the plan for the next week

Saturday - I have Pizza on the menu but Josh has been begging to go to the Chinese restaurant. At the writing of this, I'm not sure what we will do yet.

Sunday - Grammys Swiss Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots and Yeast Rolls.  The weather is cooling off so I'm looking forward to this wonderful meals once again!  Today is also the first Sunday of football so, for dinner we'll have Chili Mac.

Monday - Our schedule gets a little busy!  Today is the first day of gymnastics AND I have choir practice.  We will be crossing paths so I just have nuggets and fries on the menu

Tuesday - Asian Beef w/white rice, Store bought egg rolls and Mac and Cheese (Ok, this is for Nate - who is expanding his taste buds but is still pretty set on what he likes)

Wednesday - AWANA starts tonight which means quick and easy dinners are best since we need to eat and leave.  I love breakfast on Wednesday.  So, Amish Breakfast Casserole, Fruit, and Waffles and Sausage - that way everyone of us gets something we love HA! 

Thursday - Lemon BBQ Meatloaves, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and Yeast Rolls YUM!!

Friday - Tacos, of course :-)

Family Time - A Camping Vacation

A just over a week ago we had the opportunity to go camping again but this time we went for four days, which is the longest we have ever camped. We were traveling further away so I wanted to give us an extra day to actually enjoy the area and not feel rushed to get pack.  It was awesome.  I wish we could camp for four days every time :-)  This time we went to a little campground called "Betsie River Campground" on the recommendation of a friend.  It is near Frankfort MI.  Now, to keep it real, when we first pulled in Darryl and I were both like, ummm really?  What's so special about this place?  Once we got our pop-up set up (we ran into some obstacles getting it level due to unlevel ground) and figured out the campground we enjoyed it and we WOULD go back again.  Really, it isn't all about the campground - it is about the area and the area was fabulous.

 Once we set up and ate dinner, we went exploring into the adorable town of Frankfort.  What we discovered was out of this world - they have a public beach on Lake Michigan that is unlike anything I've ever seen.  It has a boardwalk that takes you to the pier so you can walk all the way to the water without walking in the sand (what is the hardest part of the beach? Walking in the sand!).  There are benches and a huge length of beach.  Not to mention the incredible sunset we got to see. 

 The boys loved the beach and the water.  There were some pretty decent waves - this is the first time they have really gotten to play in the waves.

 Love this shot - so much fun :-)

 We had perfect weather - the sunshine, and waves just made for a perfect evening.

 Before we left, we walked out on the pier.  The boys wanted to go to the light house but the waves were crashing up over the narrow walkway and we just didn't feel like, this year, it was the best thing.  I would be the one jumping in the lake since I can swim ;-) and well, I didn't feel like rescuing anyone!

We didn't get back to the campsite until just about dusk and then enjoyed a nice campfire.

 We got up on Sunday morning and relaxed for a bit - it was raining and cold so we headed to town for lunch.  There was an A and W restaurant that we thought would be fun. . .. 45 minutes later we finally got our not very good burgers, flat root beer and cold fries.  For real.  From there we headed out to Sleeping Bear Dunes.  The photo above is the 1st stop on the scenic drive.  It was just about 3 weeks prior that this are was hit by a good size tornado.  The number of trees that were down and the size of the ones taken down were amazing. 

 Checking out the scenery at one of the overlook stops. 

 This was at the top of the of the really high dune and the wind was out of this world.  It literally just about blew the boys off their feet. 

 My boys!

We ended the trip by stopping at another little beach before heading into Glen Arbor.  Now, Glen Arbor took the brunt of the Tornado.  Wow.  A lot of destruction.  From there, we headed back to the camp ground and had dinner (it was in the crock pot ready to eat!).  That night, the weather took a turn.  I had moments when I honestly thought the Pop-up was going over the wind was so strong.  We didn't get a ton of rain but, wow, the winds were like nothing I've heard/seen in a very long time.

 So, what do you do when it is cold, windy and rainy?  Do all sorts of fun things with balloons.  The boys had begged to do water balloons on this camping trip but, well, it was way too cold.  They, along with Darryl, spent well over an hour on Monday morning do all sorts of fun things with the balloons. We laughed a lot.

 We did finally emerge and headed to town for lunch.  After lunch, while driving through town, we saw these deer up on a ridge behind a house (a beautiful house which was for sale and I would have bought in a moment!).  We had fun watching them for quite awhile.

 We then went to the Betsie River Lighthouse.  The waves were intense.  The photos don't do them justice.  We walked along the beach for a bit and just enjoyed God's power!

 Can you tell by the trees how strong the wind is blowing???

 We toured the light house, even climbing to the top (yikes!  Not for the faint of heart!) before getting the boys photo by it.  They love light houses and want to travel to as many as possible.  We bought a poster with all of the Michigan Lighthouses and hope to get their photo by as many as possible!

 We headed back to town where we got Coffee, Fudge, Ice Cream and more!  Then went to a really awesome playground where the boys played "Pirates" with Darryl for awhile. 

We ended at another park where the boys played on the See Saws - which they haven't gotten to do before (at least not with us).  Once done, we headed back to the campground where Darryl got an amazing fire going (it was a little chilly out!) and we roasted Brats, Hot Dogs and Marshmallows.  The boys rode their bikes around, played in the little park at the campground and just hung out with us.

It was really a great camping trip!  We are still planning to go once more at the end of September - probably to our favorite campground, Muskegon State Park.  Hard to believe the camping season is winding down!

Weekly Menu - The one that REALLY has Labor Day

Boom.  It's here.  The end of summer.  For real.  Just last week I went through my recipe book and looked at all of those well loved recipes for those fall/winter foods like Lasagna, Chicken and Dumplings, Soups, and more.  I'm working on putting together my "simple" menu planning but for now, we are still dealing with some really HOT days!

Here's the plan for the coming week!

Saturday - We are allowing my mom to cook for the entire weekend ;-) LOL

Sunday - My Mom is in charge of meals :-)

Monday - Still hanging with the parents.  We'll head home after an early dinner - I'm sure my dad will grill out.

Tuesday - It's the first day of school so, as is our tradition from last year, we'll eat at Applebees - the Kids eat for $0.99 so it makes it a cheap dinner!

Wednesday - AWANA kickoff is tonight at church with Hotdogs for dinner.

Thursday - You mean I have to cook?? LOL  Ready?  Spaghetti and Meatballs.  Not even good meatballs either - I have a bag of frozen meatballs to use up in the freezer so I'll throw those in.

Friday - Tacos!!

"Flight School" - A New Book Release

I love to read, as you all may know so periodically I get the opportunity to share new books with you!  "Flight School" is a new release - check it out below!

New Novel From Christian Author Jason McIntire - "Flight School: One Summer, Many Choices"

If you've read The Sparrow Found A House by Jason McIntire (Elisha Press, 2013), you'll already know his style: Real-life situations addressed with equal parts humor and biblical wisdom. It's a combination reviewers find powerful. They've used the words intriguing, believable, captivating, and unique - among many others - to describe his writing. The Sparrow Found A House (which is available as a free Kindle download from Elisha Press) was also endorsed by Exodus Mandate, the prominent homeschooling action group. It tells the story of the Rivera-Sparrows, a newly-blended and newly-homeschooling family facing opposition from without and within.
Today Elisha Press is announcing the release of a sequel to The Sparrow Found A House - and to celebrate, they're giving away signed copies to four randomly-selected winners. You can enter the giveaway here, or go ahead and order the book on Amazon. It's $2.99 for the Kindle version, or $9.99 for the 256-page print edition.
Flight School follows the Rivera kids as they meet new friends, explore careers, and encounter the challenges and choices that come with adult life. As a homeschool graduate himself, Jason knows the things that matter most to homeschoolers, and how to write about those things in a way that will edify, resonate, and entertain.
"If you like Flight School," Jason says, "thank God. If you don't like it, blame me."
Enter the giveaway, or buy a copy now.

What We are Eating - Scalloped Potatoes and Ham in the Crock Pot

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham in the Crock Pot
adapted from Allrecipes.com

A few weeks ago, I cooked a ham I had in the freezer in order to use up some things that were getting closer to being "old".  The ham was good but then I used it in some other recipes and one of those was this recipe for Scalloped Potatoes and Ham in the Slow Cooker.  I wasn't 100% sure how this would turn out but sometimes you just have to try and, in Darryl's words, "I don't know why you would make this any other way.".  It really was good and super easy.  

Ingredients

 

• 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped cooked ham (I did not shred the ham - I just laid ham slices among the potatoes) 
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Add all ingredients to list

Directions

1. Place sliced potatoes in slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix together shredded cheese, onion and ham. Mix with potatoes in slow cooker. Using the same bowl, mix together condensed soup and water. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour evenly over the potato mixture.
2. Cover, and cook on High for 4 hours.