Recipes!

My mom is a wonderful cook. She can make an amazing meal from scratch out of anything she has on hand. I remember her cooking smoked sausage when I was younger. So I set out to find a great recipe that I could tweek and make my own, and boy did I ever find it :)

Smoked Sausage and Pasta
Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked Penne pasta
1/2 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices, and then cut those slices in half
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
½ teaspoon of basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes (with green chilies)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, saute the sausage, garlic and basil in oil until sausage is crisp. Drain pasta; add to the sausage mixture. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper; toss gently. Heat through.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Not only is this recipe yummy it is also cheap. It makes enough for a family of four and it only cost me 4 dollars (smoked sausage was on sale for $2.00, $1.00 Del Monte diced tomatoes, Penne Pasta was on sale for $0.79).


I have been making smoothies for my kids in the morning. It is a great way to get some fruits in my kids that they would normally not eat. Here is my favorite smoothie recipe...

Strawberry and Blueberry Smoothie

Ingredients:
10 frozen strawberries
Handful of frozen blueberries
½ cup skim milk
½ cup vanilla yogurt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix all in blender. Makes 3 servings (one adult, one child, one sippy). I double this recipe if I am making a smoothie for 4 people.

Art Time !!

I pulled out the paints, easel, and play-doh this afternoon. Joshua and Elliana had a blast painting. Although I think Elliana got more paint on herself, the floor, and the refrigerator than she did on the paper :) Asher spent almost an hour playing with play-doh. While they were creating I played some classical music. It was a great experience for all :)

hmmmm..

I do my best to discourage my children from watching television..In other words when they ask I say "no". They do get to watch a little television. But whenever I can, I do not allow the kids to veg out in front of the t.v. I found a great article on the effects of television on children and adolescents. I posted just the results and conclusion of the study.


Association of Television Viewing During Childhood With Poor Educational Achievement
Robert J. Hancox, MD; Barry J. Milne, MSc; Richie Poulton, PhD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159:614-618.
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/159/7/614

Results The mean time spent watching television during childhood and adolescence was significantly associated with leaving school without qualifications and negatively associated with attaining a university degree. Risk ratios for each hour of television viewing per weeknight, adjusted for IQ and sex, were 1.43 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-1.65) and 0.75 (95% CI, 0.67-0.85), respectively (both, P<.001). The findings were similar in men and women and persisted after further adjustment for socioeconomic status and early childhood behavioral problems. Television viewing during childhood (ages 5-11 years) and adolescence (ages 13 and 15 years) had adverse associations with later educational achievement. However, adolescent viewing was a stronger predictor of leaving school without qualifications, whereas childhood viewing was a stronger predictor of non attainment of a university degree.

Conclusions Television viewing in childhood and adolescence is associated with poor educational achievement by 26 years of age. Excessive television viewing in childhood may have long-lasting adverse consequences for educational achievement and subsequent socioeconomic status and well-being

Homeschool Books and Experiments

We visit the library once a week. By the time we check out we usually have two big bags of books. We take them home, spread them on the living room floor and read. After the kids have perused most of them, I stick them in Asher's school desk. Everyday I grab a pile for Asher and another for Joshua. Asher and I read through his pile (him helping me on the easier books). Joshua takes his pile up to his bed for reading time. Here is a picture of our living room floor after a recent library trip... For some reason Ellliana loves to walk on all the books...Joshua has been studying electricity in science. Today he did a cool experiment with batteries, wire, and light bulbs. I actually did this same experiment with my 9th graders years ago when I taught high school. It was neat to share this experiment with my son :)

We have been working through an awesome book on poems. Each section has poems related to a given topic (dogs, food, birthdays). After reading those poems there is a section that talks about writing that particular type of poem. The reader is then given a prompt to help him write his very own poem. It is neat to see Joshua writing a poem each day. It is a lot of fun to have a peak at what is going on inside that head of his :)

I plan for two weeks of school at a time, which normally takes me about three hours. I was starting my school planning this afternoon and I realized that there are many books that I use that I think are just awesome. So I thought I would share them :)

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For Joshua:
We use Sonlight for his core curriculum But I supplement with the following books.

Daily Paragraph Editing- I LOVE this curriculum. Joshua is given a paragraph with assorted mistakes and he must fix them.

Language Fundamentals- A great addition to our curriculum. I love focusing on different parts of writing and language in general (nouns, adverbs, adjectives, punctuation, usage).

Wordly Wise- This workbook enhances vocabulary.

Daily Math Warm Ups- Each warm up consist of two math problems that do not relate to our main math curriculum. I love that! Sometimes these problems are review other times they cover new material. Saxon-Our main math curriculum. It is a great fit for our family.

Sequential Spelling- Everyday I read a list of words and Joshua attempts to spell them. I check each word as he writes it and we make any needed changes. It has been a great program. Joshua is amazed that he can spell long words.

Spanish Workbooks- These two books are packed full of Spanish worksheets and activities on a large number of topics.

For Asher:

We use My Fathers World for his core curriculum But I supplement with the following books.

Explode the Code- We start with the primer books and over about two years we work through books 1-4.

Right Into Reading- A great supplement to our reading program.

Cows, Turkeys and Pakistan

One of our goals in homeschooling is to help our kids have a world view. We want them to know that the world is much larger then their backyard. Both boys spend time studying our globe each day. Each week Joshua is given a a list of about 20 locations he must locate. We also use the book entitled Window on the World to help us learn about different cultures (really cool book!).

So why was I surprised when Joshua told me that he was going to pretend that he was in Pakistan. And in that country people wear things on their heads to keep them cool. After I did my best to cover his head properly, he informed me that it really did help keep him cool. Here is a picture of my little Pakistani boy :)

I have mentioned in earlier posts that Joshua spends the first hour of school reading. I couldn't resist taking a picture of my little bookworm.

Yesterday was so beautiful! I took the kids to a local dairy farm to see the cows and pet turkey :) Elliana was not at all timid. She wanted to be first in line for everything. She jumped right in and touched a cow, a turkey and fed a llama. This girl has no fear...kind of like her mama :)

It was very windy..(check out Elliana's hair!)

I Corinthians for Homeschoolers

If I teach my children how to multiply, divide, and diagram a sentence, but fail to show them love, I have taught them nothing. And though I take them on numerous field trips, to swim practice and flute lessons; and though I involve them in every church activity, but fail to give them love, I profit nothing.

And though I scrub my house relentlessly, run countless errands, and serve three nutritious meals every day but fail to be an example of love, I have done nothing. Love is patient with misspelled words and is kind to young interrupters. Love does not envy high SAT scores of other homeschool families.

Love does not claim to have better teaching methods than anyone else. It is not rude to the fourth telephone caller during a science lesson, does not seek perfectly behaved geniuses, does not turn into a drill sergeant, and thinks no evil about friends' educational choices.

Love bears all my children's challenges, believes all my children are God's precious gifts, hopes all my children establish permanent relationships with Christ, and endures all things to demonstrate God's love. Love never fails.

Where there are college degrees, they will fail; where there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we teach in part. But when the trials of life come to our children, the history,math, and science will be done away and faith, hope and love will remain; but the greatest of these is love.

From Marybeth Whalens blog :)

Art!!

My day off at the Hearts at Home conference was AMAZING! I loved being able to buy M-n-M's and eat the entire bag without having to share :)

I went to several awesome workshops but the one I loved the most was by Sally Clarkson. She talked about homeschooling and the importance of reading out loud to your kids (from infancy on up). One item that stuck in my mind was the influence of art and poetry on the human brain. We already read poetry everyday in school. But we have not been stressing art. Sure we play with playdoh, color, draw, and do art projects. But we have not been studying artists of the past.

I decided to fix this flaw in our homeschool :) I have made one side of our refrigerator our "art wall". We will showcase one artist each month. I am going to add new pieces each week. I have already caught Elliana staring at the artwork :) My mind is racing with ideas on how to integrate this new material into our curriculum.

For example..

-Joshua will be writing poetry about whatever piece he likes best.

-Asher will be discussing which pieces of artwork he likes the best and which ones he dislikes.

-Joshua will also be writing short essay's on pieces of artwork that I pick for him (as well as those he chooses for himself).

It will be so neat to discuss different types of art over the dinner table. :)

So without further hesitation, here is our art wall....

Little Update

We have been fighting sickness at our house for weeks. As soon as someone gets better another one bites the dust. We "think" we might be getting better :) We are so looking forward to Spring. Here are some cute pictures of my family.

Aaron cuddling his little girl :)

Who do you think is older??????

Asher was sick and Elliana was cheering him up :)

I am taking a mommy vacation tomorrow :)

How to Seize Each Day

Lord, I’m Yours. Whatever the cost may be, may Your will be done in my life. I realize I’m not here on earth to do my own thing, or to seek my own fulfillment or my own glory. I’m not here to indulge my desires, to increase my possessions, to impress people, to be popular, to prove I’m somebody important, or to promote myself. I’m not here even to be relevant or successful by human standards. I’m here to please You.

I offer myself to you, for You are worthy. All that I am or hope to be, I owe to You. I’m Yours by creation, and everyday I receive from You life and breath and all things. And I’m Yours because You bought me, and the price You paid was the precious blood of Christ. You alone, the Triune God, are worthy to be my Lord and Master. I yield to You, my gracious and glorious Heavenly Father; the Lord Jesus Christ who loved me and gave Himself for me; to the Holy Spirit and His gracious influence and empowering.

All that I am and all that I have I give to you.

I give you any rebellion in me, that resists doing Your will. I give You my pride and self-dependence, that tell me that I can do Your will in my own power if I try hard enough. I give You my fears, that tell me I’ll never be able to do Your will in some areas of my life. I consent to let you energize me…to create within me, moment by moment, both the desire and the power to do Your will.

I give you my body and each of its members…my entire inner being; my mind, my emotional life, my will…my loved ones…my marriage or my hopes for marriage…my abilities and gifts…my strengths and weaknesses…my health…my status (high or low)… my possession… my past, my present and my future… when and how I’ll go Home.


I’m here to love You, to obey You, to glorify You. O my Beloved, may I be a joy to You!

From: 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers

God Provides

We have been planning on getting a different van for some time. Aaron's work car was starting to show its age. With such a big investment we felt we needed to seek Gods guidance. So we spent a lot of time in prayer. On Wednesday we put Aaron's car up for sale. I prayed that God would allow us to sell the car in one day (if He wanted us to get a new van soon). By the end of Wednesday we had a buyer. It gets better, they were willing to pay our asking price. Definitely an indicator that God was involved :)


So on Thursday we went on a road trip to Peoria to look at what we thought would be a good van. I immediately got a bad feeling. This was not the van we were supposed to buy. On the way home we talked about a van that was in Springfield. It cost less and it was white (we both liked that color). So we decided to stop at home, get directions, and drive to Springfield.


We pulled up to the dealership and I immediately knew that this was the van for us. Without even getting in the van, I knew. God is amazing. This afternoon I was just in a state of prayer and I was wondering- why does God bless us so much. Not just the van but in our lives in general. We have great kids that are healthy and an amazing marriage. Gods answer was immediate and felt deeply in my heart -"because I love you". I am in awe... I do not expect anything from Him. The price He paid on the cross for my sins is more than I deserve. So when He takes the time to think of me and my family..I am just left in awe. Life with God is an amazing ride :)