our homeschool curriculum 2014-2015

School starts on Monday, and I'm finally looking forward to it!  I don't know why I was dreading planning so much this year.  Thankfully, once I was elbow deep into planning, I started to get excited.  Then, I was trying to decide why we waited until next week to start! :)

Amelia couldn't be more excited to start.  She was super disappointed a couple of weeks ago when I told her that we still had two weeks.  Meredith is supposedly "dreading" it, but I know she'll do great once we begin.  Claire is pretty excited as well even though she keeps telling me, "At the end of last year, I told myself that I was NOT going to be excited about the beginning of the year, but I am!"  Love it.

Amelia (1st grade)

Sonlight Readers 1 and 2
She started Readers 1 last year.  She has a few to complete, and she'll move on to level 2.

Handwriting Without Tears, My Printing Book

Explode the Code 1 and 2

Saxon Math 1

Spelling You See, level B

Harcourt Language Arts 1 workbook
We haven't done this book before.  It is a pretty simple little book, but I think she'll enjoy it.  I don't start them on their language arts curriculum until 2nd grade, but this will give her something to do and work on some skills.

Artistic Pursuits K-3, book 1

Co-op: performance, anatomy, and math/reading games

Amelia will be doing read alouds, history, and (some) science with the older girls.  She'll also be in gym class once a week, and we hope to find a swim lesson option in the spring.

Meredith (4th grade)

Saxon Math 5/4

Harcourt Language Arts 4 and Workbook

Spelling You See, level D

Explode the Code 5

Handwriting Without Tears, Cursive Success

Sonlight Core E: History, Readers, Read Alouds (American History, Year 2)

Sonlight Core E: Science (Electricity, Magnetism, and Astronomy)

Artistic Pursuits Grade 4-6, book 1

Daily Geography, grade 4

Writing, IEW's All Things Fun & Fascinating

Westminster Catechism for Kids

Co-op: performance, teamwork, and science 

Gym

Volleyball, fall season


Claire (6th grade)

Saxon Math 7/6

Winston Grammar

Spelling You See, level D

Explode the Code 8

Handwriting Without Tears, Cursive Success

Sonlight Core E: History, Readers, Read Alouds (American History, Year 2)

Sonlight Core E: Science (Electricity, Magnetism, and Astronomy)

Artistic Pursuits Grade 4-6, book 1

Daily Geography, grade 4

Writing, IEW's All Things Fun & Fascinating 

Westminster Catechism for Kids

Co-op: performance, teamwork, and science 

Gym

Volleyball, fall season

We are keeping a lot of things the same for the coming year, but we're also doing a lot of new things.  It's a good year for transition since we don't have any kinders this year.

Art, geography, spelling, and Claire's grammar program are all new to us this year.  Josh took the girls golfing each week all summer, and they both wanted to do volleyball this fall.  I loved that they both wanted to do those activities...make them much more easy to justify the travel aspect.  They are basically just participating in the practices once a week.  Claire was old enough to try out for the team, but she didn't feel like she had enough volleyball skills.  She wants to work on them this year and try out next year.  Meredith will have to wait patiently for her turn. :)

I'm looking forward to this year since I don't have to teach anyone to read!  And I love that Olivia is getting older and will sit and play/color/entertain herself.  She is so good at playing alongside her sisters.  She just loves being near them and watching them...monkey see, monkey do.

toddler activity ideas

We're at the beginning of the school year once again, and once again, I have a two year old to try to distract while trying to get school lessons completed in the morning.  This can be a very challenging part of homeschooling.  

Thankfully, I have some experience from the year that Amelia was 2.  Even more thankfully, I'm not pregnant like I was that year.  I won't be lying on the couch in the midst of exhaustion trying to teach, distract a toddler, and eat a bowl of plain Cheerios all at the same time.  This year just HAS to be better, right?!  

The creative ideas that I am about to share are mostly not my own.  I have perused many a blog post looking for the simplest, yet most effective, ways to distract my own child.  The non-creative, linked activities are things that we probably already had on hand that I pull out for Olivia.  They are things that we've most likely given to or received as gifts for our kiddos.  

I did go shopping at the beginning of the week to purchase items that I needed to get my activities together.  I did most of my shopping at the dollar store, and I think I spent about $30 total.  Look around your home to get ideas of what you already have that can be put to use!  

If you have a preschooler, please check out my preschool activity ideas post.  Some of the activities overlap.  And I don't know why I ended up with 60 both times.  It really was just a coincidence.  (I actually had 61 on this list, but 60 is such a nice even number, so I deleted one.)

Be sure to keep an eye on your kiddos as they do these activities since they are still possibly in the "I'd like to pop this thing in my mouth and chew on it for a bit" stage.  Who am I kidding?  My 5 year old reverts back to that stage occasionally.  

Most of these activities are things that I'll give Olivia at the school table/counter.  She'll play with them as she sees fit...nothing formal from me on the whole, but I'm sure I'll be able to squeeze in an educational opportunity here or there.  I'm also certain that her sisters will happily stop what they're doing to teach her something. :) 

Here we go...Operation: Distract Olivia.

1. sponge towers: cut several sponges into block-type pieces to stack/build/play/etc.

2. sensory balloons: large, heavy-duty balloons (not blown up) filled with dry beans, coffee grounds, flour, water, rice, etc.

3. piggy bank toy

4. ribbon pull activity: one slit on each side of a container with a long ribbon pulled through the slits and knotted on the ends; put several ribbons with different textures through one container to be pulled back and forth

5. popsicle stick container: yogurt container with slits in the top for popsicle/craft sticks; put them in/pull them out

6. lacing beads

7. outdoor water bins/buckets (warmer months): add some measuring cups/large serving spoons/tupperware

8. indoor water bins/buckets (bathtub/colder months): same as outdoor just in the bathtub (never underestimate my ability to teach a reading lesson in the bathroom :) )

9. water color books

10. pom poms pushed through the top of a yogurt container with holes

11. pipe cleaners and a strainer

12. egg carton filled with plastic eggs that are filled with rice/beans/bells/etc.: the eggs will be super-glued shut

13. puzzles

14. legos

15. soda bottle filled with glitter, oil, and water; yes, this will be super-duper super glued shut

16. wooden blocks

17. stickers

18. teddy bear counters

19. clothesline play: heavier string tied between two chairs, clothespins, hang socks/baby doll clothes/washcloths/etc.

20. nesting ABC stacking blocks

21. stamps/stamp pad

22. junk mail/cutting practice

23. play-doh

24. sorting: nuts/bolts, colored pasta, pom poms, etc.

25. chalk coloring on black construction paper

26. pouring practice: water, plastic cups, towels :)

27. pattern block play

28. stacking cups: plastic solo-type cups to create rows/towers/etc.

29. sorting pie

30. train bin

31. balloon play

32. pet shop bin

33. chalk board painting: water, paintbrush

34. plastic animal counters

35. play-doh/spaghetti/Cheerios: ball of play-doh, hard spaghetti sticking out of the top/Cheerios threaded onto the spaghetti

36. button snake: long ribbon with a large button sewn on the end, squares of felt with slits to "thread" onto the ribbon

37. shape puzzle box

38. duplo blocks

39. table fort

40. dot markers

41. coloring pages

42. caps activity: collect random milk/container caps, cut a hole in an oatmeal or yogurt container, drop caps through hole

43. book bin: lots of lift the flaps/color/animal books (her favorites)

44. stack and roll cups

45. bathe our baby dolls: washcloth, bowl of water

46. rainbow stacking toy

47. wooden balance board: 2x6 that lays on the floor to practice walking/jumping/balance, slides under the couch for storage

48. zingo

49. paper towel roll taped to a cabinet/drop pom poms through into a cup or bowl

50. masking tape play: put pieces of masking tape on counter, she peels them and puts them on a piece of paper

51. day and night activity

52. wipes box with continuously-knotted-together strips of material to pull and pull and pull

53. bumpy foam (think pet bed) with a bowl of marbles and a teaspoon sized "dipper" to transfer marbles into bumpy divots

54. toothpicks dropped into a parmesan shaker

55. salt shaker dump/small funnel: dump salt back and forth between two shakers

56. toilet paper roll threading: cut tp tubes and thread them onto a string or ribbon

57. magnetic dress up book

58. stuffed animal toss: stuffed animals/empty hamper/tape line to stand behind for the toss

59. jenga

60. tongs and toys: move toys/blocks/etc. from one bin to another using kitchen tongs

(If you can't tell, we're kind of big Melissa and Doug fans around here!  I love their products.  They are the best!!  We ask for them each year as gifts from our more than generous Grandmas and Grandpas!)

Let me know if anyone needs clarification on any of these!  Happy playing, distracting, entertaining, educating, and loving on your kiddos!

our family chores

Training kids for chores is a whole lot of work.  It's also an enormous blessing to our family.  I've made chore charts for the kids for several years.  I think I started with Claire when she was 4.

I'm a huge believer in chores for kids.  They help make the mess; they should help clean it.  It also provides good training for when they leave the house as well as when parents are busy or ill and need some additional assistance.  

Chores within your home will look different depending on whether you have younger kids, older kids, kids in public/private school, or kids at home who homeschool.  Schedules and abilities will vary...be flexible.  It's a complete trial and error process until you can find something that works well for your family.  We've done it several different ways.  What I'm describing here is what is currently working for our family.  

I used to make new charts for the kids every few weeks so that the kids wouldn't get bored with their chores.  And then, I read about a woman who had her kids do the same chores for an entire year.  Wow!  Being someone who likes variety, I didn't know if this was for our family.  Then, I had Olivia, and I did my best to simplify virtually everything in my life...including chores.  

I decided to give the kids daily chores and weekly chores that they would do the entire year.  I knew that once I taught them how to do their chores, I wouldn't have to teach new chores again for a year.  Doing the same chores for the entire year would give them routine as well as allow them to master a specific chore/skill.  This year, I'm training in the summer so that everyone will be in their routine by the time the school year starts.

I typically choose chores for my kids that help our household run smoothly.  I try to think about what drives me most crazy by the time we make it to 1:00 in the afternoon {which is about the time we do chores}, and I base their daily chores on those things.  Usually, the entryway is a mess, there are toys/games/things all over the kitchen and family room, the main area of our kitchen and the bar area are covered in crumbs of food, the kitchen counter needs attention, etc.  You get the idea.  This year I added dinner/after dinner chores for everyone as well.  This is a first for us...prior to this year, I have always wanted the girls to be able to get all of their chores finished during our "chore time."  It's working well so far.

On a side note, this is the first time in a couple of years that no one has had a "mom's choice" chore.  I've had those on our charts a lot, and I'm always thankful for that specific chore.  I can choose anything I'd like, and there is usually something random that needs done.  Consider adding this to your own kids' charts if you need an extra idea.

I always give my kids a set of daily chores and a set of weekly chores.  I assign their weekly chores to specific days, or the kids would wait until the last day, and everything would turn into a huge fight.  

Here are our chore lists for this year:

Claire {10 years old}

daily 

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, load dishwasher after dinner, wash pots and pans

weekly

Sunday: make dinner with Meredith

Monday: one load of laundry {pinks...I know you're not surprised to know that we have a full load of pinks :)}

Tuesday: sweep and steam the entire kitchen floor, clean the bathroom

Wednesday: vacuum all carpeted rooms

{This year, I allowed Claire to choose the days of the week in which she wanted her weekly chores.  I know she is going to have more school work this year, so she will have the flexibility to "make up" her weekly chores on Thursday and Friday if she doesn't get them done on the first couple of days of the week.  We'll see how it goes once school starts.}

Meredith {8 years old}

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, sweep main area of kitchen and under bar, pick up entryway/hallway, kitchen counter clean up with Mom, wipe table and main counter after dinner

weekly

Sunday: make dinner with Claire

Tuesday: sweep entryway and hallway

Thursday: one load of laundry {light colored towels}

Amelia {5 years old}

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, pick up family room floor and kitchen floor, pick up 50 toys/things in the playroom, set dinner table, clear dinner table with Mom

weekly

Tuesday: dust family room

Wednesday: load of laundry with Mom {dark colored towels}

Me

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, declutter kitchen

weekly

Monday: kitchen {The kitchen usually gets a bit crazy over the weekend, so Monday is a good day to get it back in order.}

Tuesday: straighten/clean master bathroom

Wednesday: declutter laundry room, office, hanging rack in entryway

Thursday: lesson plans/school prep

Friday: wipe cabinets/appliances, prep laundry

Saturday: laundry

  

If everyone gets to work, usually they can finish their chores in about 30 minutes.  The complaining, moaning, and distractions usually add to the time.  Some days, my kids really get right to work and are done in a flash...other days, not so much.  As of now, I'm pretty much walking along side of Amelia to keep her on task while she's learning.  She gets overwhelmed easily, but if I'm helping her, it's not so bad.  

While I'm really good at getting my kids to complete their chores, I'm not the best at getting my own completed.  I've been doing better in recent weeks, but honestly, the laundry room and the office are huge collecting spaces in our home.  We're working on it.  I try not to get too overwhelmed and just try to put out the biggest fire at the time.  

Here are some good links for chore chart printables or fill-in printables to make your own:

http://www.designfinch.com/2011/07/31/sunday-planning/ {I'm using one from this list for Claire and myself this year.}

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/9a/95/6a9a953c46a238cd327918ee3ef6b1c6.jpg {I'm using this for Meredith and Amelia.}

http://blog.worldlabel.com/2012/organizing-labels-for-more-stuff.html {I used these last year.}

http://www.howdoesshe.com/1-free-organizational-printables/

I always print them, laminate them, and hang them near the kitchen.  

Happy cleaning!

preschool activity ideas

One of the most common questions I continually get while homeschooling is this: what do you do with your younger kids while you homeschool?  Always a great question.

This is, admittedly, one of the most difficult aspects of homeschooling.  If I play my cards right and get my act together, I can usually make things go pretty smoothly for our family.

This year, during winter break, I came up with some easy "school time" activities for Amelia to complete while the older girls were working on school.  I geared these toward her current age at the time which was 4, almost 5.

The list that I put together is a little something I like to call "Operation: Distract Amelia".  I found a lot of these activities on Pinterest, blogs, and just by opening our game cabinet.  I brainstormed all kinds of ideas and chose the ones I thought I could tolerate and would take less than 5 minutes to get out each morning.

{If you need ideas for your toddler, please visit my toddler activity ideas post.}

I printed, laminated, and posted the list in my school cabinet so it's front and center each morning.  I chose two activities for each day.  Whatever day of the month, that's the day I choose.  Easy enough, right?!

These first 5 items are things that get put out each day.  Anything that I put in brackets {like this} are notes regarding my list.  Any games that you see listed/linked are just things that I pull out and let her play with the pieces...nothing formal.

-coloring page

-books on table {I choose about 5 books just for her to flip through...might be library/might be off of our shelves.}

-preschool skills activity page {Just a preschool skills page from one of those huge preschool books.  It might have drawing, cutting/pasting, circling, etc.}

-toddler swap box activity {We participated in a toddler activity swap a couple of years ago.  I just rotate through these each day.  I probably have 25.}

-puzzle {Amelia loves puzzles!}

The next activities listed are the ones that change each day.  I keep a special box on top of one of our cabinets that holds some of the "extras" that aren't regular toys so that they are new to her each time she plays with them.  

-activity of the day:

1.      Muffin tin sorting: buttons; cotton swab writing: alphabet {I printed off several alphabet pages for Amelia to use during these types of activities.  She uses a cotton swab and paint to trace the letters on an alphabet page.}

2.      Lacing beads; santa box

3.      Legos; stacking cups {these are just plastic solo-type cups that my kids love playing with and stacking}

4.      Rice and coins; Animal Logic lineup {rice and coins: store them dumped in a plastic bag kept in the special box}

5.      Play dough/spaghetti/cheerios; balloons {ball of play dough, uncooked spaghetti stuck into it, put cheerios on the spaghetti}

6.      Train bin; Uno cards

7.      Magnetic dress up book; sock match {I pull a bunch of my socks out of my drawer, mix them up in a basket, and have her match them.}

8.      Puzzles; pet shop box

9.      Muffin tin sorting: crayons; fill the bag: choose a color {fill the bag: choose one color, like red, and say find all of the toys that are red and put them in this bag}

10. Count the lights; zingo {I printed a bunch of pages with the numbers 1-20 on them, and she has to walk through the house and cross off a number each time she sees a light.}

11. Duplo blocks; cut magazines and make collage

12. Cookie sheet with flour; spoon matching activity {put a little flour on a cookie sheet and let her draw in it; spoon activity: plastic spoons with capital and lowercase letters...she matches them.}

13. Play dough; phone number practice {I write our phone number on a piece of paper, and she copies it several times.}

14. Chalk board painting; cotton swab writing: numbers {chalkboard, water, paintbrush}

15. Strainer/pipe cleaners; sticker book {picked up a huge sticker book where the stickers go somewhere in the book, she has to find the "shadow" of the sticker and put it in the right place}

16. Sorting pie; wash tupperware/plastic dishes

17. Wooden blocks; fill the bag: choose a letter {choose any letter and have her find toys that start with that letter, put them in the bag}

18. Count the windows; dry beans {same as count the lights; I have dry beans for play similar to the rice and coins}

19. Day and night activity; write name with pens, markers, crayons, etc.

20. Sort laundry; teddy bear counters {teddy bear counters are from our math curriculum}

21. Shape puzzlebox; plastic animals

22. Quirkle; count the cabinet pulls

23. Marshmallows/toothpicks; pattern blocks {build things with marshmallows and toothpicks}

24. Jenga blocks; table fort {throw a blanket over the table and play}

25. Build a letter; white board/markers {build a letter is a book that we have with pieces that allow you to build a letter along with the book...can't find a link for it}

26. Dominos; cutting practice

27. Legos; Rummikub

28. Popsicle stick free play; junk mail {I save our junk mail and let her open it, cut it, write on it, etc.}

29. Dot markers; memory match {basically a memory/match game that I picked up at a garage sale}

30. Chalkboard drawing; muffin tin sorting: coins

Hope this gives you some ideas for your own toddler/preschooler.  I can usually get at least 30 minutes of teaching time out of these.  She doesn't always want to do them, but most of the time if they're already out, she's itching to get started after breakfast.  

If you have any links or ideas to share, please do!  

{menu planning: 101}

One of the main questions I get through email, facebook, and on the street {a.k.a. my social circles...when I have time for them} is this:  how do you menu plan?

Along with that...do you really plan for a whole month at a time?  Do you really only shop once a month?  And a few others.

Well, instead of continuing to answer these questions multiple times per year, I'm going to lay out my techniques right here on the ol' blog.  You can all thank my blogger buddy Sarah for recently asking through email.  When I emailed her back, I decided to save the email and use it for this post.

You're welcome.

Here you have it...Menu Planning 101:

1.  Print a blank calendar for the month.
I print all of mine at the beginning of the year and keep them in the back of my home management binder that sits on my kitchen counter every day.  Once my calendar is all filled in, I slide it into the front of my binder so that I can see my menu plan easily at all times.

There are lots of different printable monthly calendars.  Find one that you like.  I'm using this one from The TomKat Studio this year.  This one is another option that I considered.

2.  Grab your personal/work calendar.
Get your personal/work calendar, and put an "X" through any dates that you don't have to cook at all {ex: going to a wedding, out of town, already have plans to eat somewhere else without any responsibility}.

Then, mark any other needed info in an abbreviated fashion. {ex: "no josh" if the hubby won't be home that night, "easy" if you need a quick and easy meal for that evening because of plans/babysitters, "cp" for crock pot if you'll be gone all day, "side dish" if you're going somewhere and have to bring a dish, etc.}

3.  Make a list of the meals you'd like to eat for the month.
On a separate piece of paper or on the computer {I recommend organizing a master list on your computer}, make a list of the meals that you'd like to make for the month.

I keep a running list in excel of the meals that we eat.  I know this is going to sound completely anal, but I categorize them by how often we eat them {once a month, every other month, a couple of times per year}, and I also have lists of types of food {breakfast for dinner, salads for summer, soups for winter}.  This just helps me not have to re-write them every month.  I just highlight the ones that I'm making for the month and plug them into my calendar.

I also try to make a couple of new recipes each month.  Pinterest has become my best friend.

4. Fill in the blanks.
Count your recipes and your blank spaces, and be sure that they are equal.  Then, start filling in the blanks.  I always start with dates that have special instructions because those need to be specific.

After that, I just try to spread out the different kinds of meats/types of meals so that we're not eating chicken or pasta or Mexican food 5 nights in a row.  I also try to put the new recipes between meals that I know we like in case we don't like the newbie.

5. Make your grocery list.
I go right down the line and look through each recipe to see what I need.  I keep a tally of how much of each item I need as I mark my list.

{On a side note, I would highly recommend a printable grocery list that is organized by aisle/product at your store(s) of choice.  Since I shop at two different stores, I print both lists on the same page...one front/one back.  This is also something that I keep 12 of in my home management binder.}

If I need any specific fresh produce for a certain recipe later in the month, I just write it off to the side of my calendar or highlight that recipe in some way.  When I know that Josh is stopping to pick up milk, eggs, and produce, I check my calendar to see what else I need.

6. Shop...alone.
Go shopping!  The alone part is just my recommendation.  I dread taking my kids to the grocery store, but maybe everyone else's kids don't ask for every box of sugar cereal and every box of doughnuts they see.

Anyway, go shopping, and buy everything you need for the month.

7. Use your menu plan.
Honestly, this is one of the hardest parts!  CHECK YOUR MENU PLAN BEFORE YOU GO TO BED AT NIGHT.  Yes, I put that in capital letters.  Yes, it's that important.  Read it again if needed.  If you can't remember, make yourself a note on your bathroom mirror or your pillow or somewhere you'll see before you go to bed.

This is when I know if I need to be thawing meat overnight or if I need my crock pot {which I do my best to put on the counter at night so that I remember to put my meal in at the appropriate time the next day}.  I dread looking at my menu plan at 4:00 p.m. only to discover that I was supposed to put our dinner in the crock pot at 9:00 a.m.  Oops.

8. Be flexible.
If you need to move a meal around, do it.  No biggie!  I do it all the time.  Sometimes things come up, and I swap one meal out for another.

If something comes up and we don't use a particular meal, I always circle it on my calendar.  Then, I can work that one in another time, or add it as a meal option for the following month.

9. Keep breathing.
Hopefully all of this information doesn't completely overwhelm you!  Trust me when I say that it does get easier the more you do it.  I always encourage everyone to start small and work your way up.

I started menu planning for a week at a time, and it just grew from there.  I was up to about 3 week segments when we started budgeting Dave Ramsey style.  We had a chunk of cash at the beginning of the month for our groceries, and it only made sense for me to shop for the month when we had the money.  I made my menu plan, shopped, and then we knew how much money we had for the remainder of the month for everything else.

The grocery store and I are not the best of friends.  I pretty much dread going.  I also used to dread the dinner hour because I never knew what to make.  So, now I only have to go to the store once a month {Josh does almost all of the other quick stopping/shopping.}  I always know what we're having for dinner, and I always have all of the ingredients.

I know some people are completely awesome at flying by the seat of their pants when it comes to dinner.  Not this girl.  It stresses me and overwhelms me.

Feel free to ask any menu planning questions that you might have!  Happy planning! 

{keepin' it real}

I've been thinking about this post for a long time.  And by a long time, I think it’s been at least a couple of years, if not more.

We have a lot of fun in this family.  We work hard, and we play hard.  Josh and I work hard to make memories for our children and each other.  

I say it on this blog, I say it on facebook, and I say it in real life over and over and over again.  We are so blessed…and we are blessed beyond measure!  God is good…all the time.

People often tell me how much they love to read my blog and my facebook status updates, and they also enjoy seeing the beautiful pictures of my girls that I post.  I love all of those things, too!  I wouldn't post them if I didn't like them. 

My continued fear, though, is that people will think that we live a perfect little life.  I sure hope that you know that we don't.  Hence, the reason for this post.

Let me start by sharing some self-imposed guidelines for my facebook page and my blog:

-You will never see me speaking poorly of my husband.  It is not becoming of any wife.  I will not do it.  {On a side note, Josh does have his faults.  However, I speak about them privately to him, my bff Deanna, or his family.  These are people who are discerning and will not take my side undeservedly.}

-I will put a positive spin on almost any situation...or at minimum find a little humor in it.  This is who I am, forever the optimist.  I might grumble about something today, but by next week, I'm sure I'll be doing my best to find a positive side to the story.  Whatever the case we'll be making the best of our current situation.  How else will we endure it?  

-I will encourage others and share what works for us.  This is one of my constant goals in life.  I realize that what works for us may not work for other families, but I crave knowing other people's routines and tricks because that's where I get all of my ideas.  I steal almost all of them.  Rare is the idea that was mine first.

-I will write about memories that I don't want to forget.  This is especially true for our blog.  You will see our highlights and bloopers because those are the memories that I treasure.  This is our highlight reel.  These are the parts that would make the scrapbook if I had one.

And here is some imperfect, kinda grimy, non-supermom reality for your reading pleasure:

-On days when we don't have to go anywhere, I often stay in my pajamas all day.

-If I don't dress Olivia during her first diaper change of the day, you can bet that she stays in her pajamas all day, too.  On a positive note, she has spent less time in her jammies than any of my other children.

-We use paper plates for lunch almost every day.  For $2 a month, my sanity is saved.  Well worth the money spent.

-Sometimes, I let my kids watch t.v. just so that I can get stuff done.  {You might not think this is a big deal at all, but I have issues with the t.v.  This one is a big one for me.}

-My pots and pans accumulate on the stove because I hate washing them.

-Sometimes I lose it and yell at my kids.

-As soon as I clean a room, someone messes it up again.

-My kids truly do enjoy being together, but they also know how to push each other's buttons. One or two of them are awfully good button pushers.

-My house looks clean and picked up when you come over because I knew you were coming.  Stop by on a Tuesday morning, unannounced, and you'll get the real deal.

The organizational side of me that you see has been born out of necessity.  I am not naturally an organized person.  I have good intentions, I know how to organize, and I can probably even tell you how to organize some parts of your own life.

Personally, I struggle with disciplining myself to use my systems.  They are in place, but my motivation and energy often seem to be in short supply.  Still, it is extremely beneficial to know where to start and how to go about it when I find time, motivation, and energy.  Again, I would lose my sanity if I didn't at least have a plan.

Now about our stuff.  {Another fear of mine is that people will think that we have a lot of money because we have nice stuff.}

I will be the first to say that we do indeed have a lot of nice stuff.  Josh works really hard to provide for our family so that we can have and do a lot of things.  He is also an extremely skilled do-it-yourselfer, and this man can find a bargain like no other.  We have saved thousands and thousands of dollars because of these skills.  {We have certainly not saved any time because of these skills...just money...lots and lots of money.}

Our finances are a huge priority to us.  We are awfully disciplined when it comes to our money.  I'll be the first to say it:  we are cheapskates!  We have a whiskey appetite and a beer budget.  Actually, I think our biggest problem is that we have a top shelf whiskey appetite and a cheap beer budget. :)

We aren't big spenders on a daily basis.  A lot of the nice things we have were birthday or Christmas gifts from our families or each other, or we've saved and saved to make a purchase.  We are not extravagant.  When we do shop, we often shop at resales/resale shops, garage sales, or get hand-me-downs from friends.  We are frugal, and it works for us.

My birthday dinner the other night?  That once-every-few-years extravagance cost us almost 2 months worth of our eating out/babysitter budget.  Trust me when I say that I enjoyed every single minute of it.  My commitment to cook dinner each and every night of the month has served me well this year.

Our priorities do not include "keeping up with the Jones'".  I certainly struggle with this from time to time.  I think we all do, but we need to remember that the Jones family is probably in debt up to their ears and miserable because of it.  We will not be that family.  We will not fall into that trap.  We will be thankful for all that we have, knowing that we've been given more than we need and certainly more than we deserve.

I will do my best not to play the comparison game.  It is my hope that I am real enough that you actually do see some of our struggles and challenges...we certainly have them.  I want you to be encouraged and to enjoy watching our family make memories and grow.

What you see is what you get.  This really is us...just remember that a lot of it is the best of us.  It's the favorite-edited-photo side, the we-cleaned-the-house-before-you-came side, and we-probably-baked-some-chocolate-chip-cookies-too, side.  This is our best foot forward.  Please remember that sometimes we trip and fall flat on our faces just like the rest of the world.

I pray that you see our family continually loving each other, continually forgiving each other, and continually falling at the feet of our Heavenly Father in thankfulness and humility for all we have be given.

Thank you for being faithful followers of us.  We love having you share in our memories.  

{containing the spices}

Let me start this post with a couple of confessions:  I'm in love with Pinterest...and I'm in love with all things Melissa and Doug.

Pinterest has these beautiful pins of these spices that are all contained in the exact same jars that are magnetically attached to your cabinet door.  They're lined up perfectly and I'm certain that anal perfectionists some people enjoy using them.  

Enter Jackie.  I'm practical.  I live in the real world where I would have to store all of that extra-spice-that-wouldn't-fit-into-the-jar-hanging-on-the-magnet-board somewhere else.  That would take up 2 spaces in my kitchen.  No thank you.

I kept thinking that I wanted something fabulous to contain all of my lovely spices so that I could take them all down at once, and so that I didn't have to take a gazillion small ones out to find the paprika that was hiding in the back.  IKEA, probably for the first time ever, failed me.  I couldn't find anything that was the right size for my cabinet.  

Now enter Melissa and Doug.  Melissa and Doug toys are often packaged in fun little wooden crates and boxes and such.  I never know what to do with these, but it seems like such a waste to toss them.  So, they sit in my game cabinet until I can repurpose them.

Spices+ Melissa and Doug containers=cabinet sanity {thank you Melissa and Doug: Shape, Model, and Mold}: 

Those are all of my main spices that I use on a pretty much daily/weekly basis.  They get prime real estate in my baking cabinet.

Next up, we have the spices that I use once per year {thank you Melissa and Doug: Lacing Beads}:

These guys get the top shelf of the baking cabinet.  Though I do have to stand on my tip-toes, they all come down at once and I don't drop a single one!

Love it.

This has been one of the best organizational improvements to my kitchen in the past two years.  I keep all of my larger items {salt, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa} sitting next to these on the shelf.  I used to have to get my big step stool and dig through my cabinet until I found the spice I wanted.  No more! Now, they come down altogether and go up altogether.  I never drop a single one.

Don't have any Melissa and Doug containers?  Find a kid, buy them a gift, and steal their container...and consider it a gift to yourself. :)

playroom.makeover

Can I tell you how excited I am about our playroom makeover?!  I have been wanting to seriously organize everything for a long time, but I just couldn't figure out how I wanted to do it.  

I started to doing some research, and I decided to browse the Container Store for some ideas.  Have you seen their prices?  Yikes!  So, I sent Josh this picture:

You know, it WAS on sale for $350 (and it was just the shelving and that container on wheels...no containers)...now back to the regular price of $450.  What?  You think that's too much?  I do.  I figured my handy-dandy hubby could figure out how to do it for much less. 

And what do you know...totally happened.  Thankfully, we had 4 of those shelves in our barn already that weren't being utilized.  That saved us a pretty penny in itself.  We had to purchase one extra shelf (which hasn't arrived yet...it will this week and will be the highest shelf), the brackets, and the containers.  There will also be 3 larger brown bins under the shelving that will house toddler toys, dolls, and stuffed animals.  The store where we're buying them has them on order, but they haven't arrived yet.  SO EXCITED!

On our girls' weekend a couple of weeks ago, we hit an IKEA, and I purchased all of the other containers!  Love them.  Love them.  Love them.

We'll see if our organization lasts.  I'm hoping so because I love it!

Now, I just have to talk my sister into working her publisher magic and making me some labels for my bins! 

may.menu.planning

I can't believe that it's May already! What happened to April??! May will be a busy month in our household, but a fun one! May through September are great months for me because I don't have to cook nearly as much. It's lake season, so we get to bring a dish or two somewhere instead of having to make an entire meal. Gotta love that!

May 3-8
5/3: deer steaks/fried morel mushrooms (josh found some!!)
5/4: fiesta chicken burritos (new/crockpot)
5/5: turkey breast (crockpot)
5/6: stir-fry (josh!)
5/7: super burritos (better homes and gardens...missed it last month)
5/8: claire's choice (bonfire cooking): chicken patties, toast, egg salad and crackers, smores for dessert
**i've never made chicken patties over a fire before...should be an interesting experience!

May 10-12
5/10: chicken cordon bleu (crockpot)
5/11: sloppy joes (new recipe)
5/12: charley's slow-cooker meat (new...missed it last month)
5/13-5/15:  no cooking...this will be a fun weekend...did i mention that i love may?

May 17-22
5/17: spaghetti
5/18: jackie chicken
5/19: grilled smoked sausage (josh!)
5/20: deer and noodles
5/21: carribean chicken (new)
5/22: meredith's choice (bonfire cooking): hot dogs, mandarin oranges, chocolate rice krispies

May 23-28
5/23: fish fryin' (josh!)
5/24: roast (crock pot)
5/25: frozen pizza w/ the babysitter (we're going on a date to a baseball game!!)
5/26: chicken manicotti (makes 2, freeze one for next month)
5/27: claire's birthday meal (her choice): deer steaks, creamy corn, stawberry/grape/apple salad, chocolate cake
5/28: homemade pizza (hopefully the kids won't mind eating pizza twice in the same week!)

By the way, the picture at the top of the post is the skillet penne and sausage supper from last month.  All I have to say is yum!  It is so tasty.  It is going in our rotation for sure!!  The kids weren't huge fans (more for us!) and it was a little on the expensive side, but we'll be making it again for sure!  This will be a good late-dinner meal for the two of us.

some.spring.cleaning

Ok, so I didn't get my spring cleaning done last week...not all of it anyway. I had poison ivy which was a blessing and a curse. Poison ivy: bad. Prednisone: good. I had lots of energy! :)

I did get a little spring cleaning done, but more importantly, I finished up an apron...pictures after she gets it....and made birthday presents! And I spent a TON of time with my kids.

Honestly, I'm kind of starting to dislike my computer. So, I'm definitely going to try to blog less (especially during the day) and says lots of yeses to my kiddos when they want to play. Hey, I'm a poet and didn't know it. (And some of you are wondering why you're still reading my blog!) :)

Ok, so here's a little spring cleaning action...this is my catch-all drawer that has the can opener/ice cream scoop/garlic press/chip clips/pot holders/oven mitts/pizza cutter/pretty much anything that doesn't go in any other drawer. You get the picture.

I hate this drawer. There seems to be a major lack of organization in there. And it's not even so much the disorganization that I hate...it's that I can't get it closed sometimes AND there's a ton of stuff that I don't use for 11.5 months out of the year (see the turkey baster way back there??? I've never even made a turkey in my oven.)

So here are the before and after pictures:

So, Jackie, what did you do with half of the stuff that was in there??? Drum roll please.....I give you the kitchen box that has stuff that I really do use just not very often:

I did this at our other house, and I'm not quite sure why it didn't make the transition over here. What happened to that box? It wasn't labeled...that was the problem!

I took out all of the medicine droppers that really should be with the medicine. I took out the tongs that I never use unless we're having a party. I took out the heart shaped cookie cutters (most of them!) because we really only need a couple to cut heart shapes out of pancakes or bologna. We don't need our corn on the cob handles in the middle of winter, nor do I need that turkey baster just taking up room.

These things were cluttering up my drawer! I DO use them, so I didn't want to get rid of them, but for cryin' out loud...how have they been living in my drawer for this long?

Ok, I'm all better. And you'll find my extra kitchen utensils under my bed. Labeled. In a box. Yes, I said under my bed....it's accessible and I'll remember and I can't think of a better place for them for the time being.

I've also cleaned my refrigerator, the coffee pot, the microwave (although I noticed that it's dirty again), my front entryway, and 1/2 of the main bathroom. I'm getting there, but we're having fun again this week.

One of my other new mottos? "A clean house is the sign of a wasted life." :) Well...just kind of...it can't be disgusting!

organizing.your.stuff

Simple Mom has a great article today about organizing your stuff!!

Check it out here!

I'm still spring cleaning, and I want to get finished, so I'm taking a blogging/computer vacation for the next week to put myself in high gear and finish up!  No blogging/facebook/browsing sites unless necessary for cooking or school.  I'll still check my email...minimally. 

So, I hope you have a great week!!  I will have my spring cleaning finished by the time I get back (or you might not see me for 2 weeks!). 

Quit laughing, Josh! :)  I know he's doubting my willpower...and rightfully so.  This will be good motivation.  I'll start Monday morning!!

spring.cleaning.day.3

It should be days 3, 4, and 5, but I'm pretending that I got it all done in 1 day.  Having 3 kids in the house and home schooling doesn't make for a lot of time in my day that I feel like spring cleaning!

But, I do have a renewed spirit because I'm seeing progress!  Here are before and afters of my kitchen counters!

Main area:

Stove and area to the left of the stove (which is a catch-all location of the kitchen...1 of 3 hot spots):

And the mail/phone/calendar area (one of the hot spots).  And how crazy is it that my wall colors look so different??!!!  Lighting, lighting, lighting:

So I pretty much did the following:

1.  I put everything AWAY that didn't belong on the counter.  That took care of a ton of it! 

2.  The mail holder needed to move, so it crossed the kitchen to the other side of the counter.  I hate having it in the kitchen, and Josh tells me that we can move it to the office once the office is in workable condition!  Yay! 

3.  Our keys, phones, and Josh's knives/wallet/watches always collect on my calendar.  It drives me crazy that it's all sitting out there.  So, I headed to the local dollar store and found that cute little blue container (2 for $1!) so those items have a place to land.  It will be Mod Podged to coordinate with my box soon!

The kitchen feels soooo much better these days!

april.menu

Welcome April! Here is our monthly menu plan for April. We're trying lots of new recipes this month! I make a lot more soups, stews, and casseroles in the winter. So when spring comes, I'm really ready to try some new things. Here we go...

April 1-3
4/1: homemade pizza
4/2: chicken and noodles
4/3: wedding (no cooking!)
4/4: Easter menu (monkey bread, strawberry lemonade bars, rolls)

April 5-10
4/5: slow cooker enchiladas (didn't get to it last month)
4/6: stir-fry (josh)
4/7: deer steaks (josh)
4/8: skillet penne and sausage supper (new)
4/9: santa fe chicken salad (like applebee's)
4/10: family Easter (orange salad and greens)

April 12-17
4/12: stroganoff (crock pot)
4/13: honey-glazed chicken stir fry (new)
4/14: grilled sage pork tenderloin with cranberry-apple relish (new/america's test kitchen)
4/15: angel chicken pasta
4/16: homemade hamburger helper
4/17: eden's baptism (no cooking!)

April 19-24
4/19: charley's slow cooker mexican style meat (new)
4/20: baked chicken breasts with parmesan-garlic crust (new/america's test kitchen)
4/21: peanut and sesame noodles (new)
4/22: breakfast casserole w/ blueberry muffins
4/23: galloping horses
4/24: chicken patty sandwiches

April 26-30
4/26: spaghetti
4/27: almond chicken and rice
4/28: homemade pizza
4/29: dinner plans out
4/30: super burritos (better homes and gardens)

Happy cooking!

spring.cleaning.days.1.and.2

So here's spring cleaning days 1 and 2. You're not going to be too impressed because our family room is already pretty well childproof/minimalist/plain. There's not much to it because our kids would break things. And we don't have any shelving. Or toys in this room. Or anything to make it look overly cluttery (when it's tidy).

You will be happy to know that I woke up Monday morning and didn't pick up a thing! I walked all around and took pictures of each room/space just so you can see how messy my house really gets when no one has picked anything up for 3 days.

And even my "after" pictures of the family room don't show a lot (other than me having put the laundry away), but I did CLEAN everything. The fan, the t.v. stand, the windows, the trim and base, vacuumed under the cushions, washed all the throw blankets.

And now we come to the inside of the t.v. stand. Again, not overly messy or unorganized, although everything was crammed in there.  Here's what I did to organize:

• took everything out
• divided everything into piles: ours/theirs
• divided those piles: keep/give back (borrowed)/donate
• our movies/CDs went in the back of the top shelf (we only have a few and don't watch them that often)
• most of the girls' DVDs and CDs were put in the ladybug disc holder (this encourages them to just pull out the ladybug instead of everything in the cabinet!)
• the cases for those items were put in the back of the bottom shelf
• the VHS tapes (yes, we have a few!) were put in the front for easy acess, as were the more often viewed DVDs that didn't fit into the ladybug holder
• ahhhh.  much better.

Now, nobody touch anything or bring anything into the room!!! :)

The kitchen is next, and you'll definitely get some good contrast of pictures!

motto.for.the.week

As you know, I am spring cleaning this week!  My motto for the week (the same as Simple Mom's):

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."  -William Morris

Josh is afraid that I'm going to throw a bunch of stuff away that we'll need for later.  Hopefully not.  I'll be sure to only toss if I feel a strong urge!  Either way, we'll have less stuff around which to work.  Yay!

Let the spring cleaning begin!  And I'm off...

spring.cleaning

A couple of weeks ago, I downloaded Simple Mom's Spring Cleaning for Normal People.  It's $7...that's it...and you download it right onto your computer.

I haven't even read the first page, but I'm so excited about it.  I think I'm going to start reading it tonight during the commercials of the basketball games!  It's only 68 pages (and they're short pages...not full length); it's not overwhelming at all!

I would l.o.v.e. it if a few of you downloaded it as well and we could be spring cleaning at the same time!  I'm going to be doing mine starting the weeks of March 29 and April 5.  I'm not sure how long it takes to spring clean, but I'm going to do it. 

Not only that, I'm going to post some before and after pictures!  You all might think that my house is clean all the time (because I clean it before you come!), but it's not...just ask my mom.  (She has horror stories about my master bathroom trash.) 

Here is a sample of a before picture that you might see:

I wish I had an after picture for you, but I don't.  Thankfully this was last year and my counter doesn't currently look like this!  But I'll be taking pictures of what's *inside* my cabinets.  Ick.  I don't even want to think about it right now.

Let me know if you think that you might clean along.  We'll all be in this together!  Anybody with me???

UPDATE:  I have officially read the entire e-book!  It only takes about an hour.  Several of the pages have cleaning supplies lists, checklists, etc.  AND the best part is at the back of the book where she shares simple homemade cleaning supplies!  I'm definitely going to be making a few of them.