Decisions, decisions!

It's that time of year for me again. Our school year is quickly coming to a close and I'm looking into what needs to be done to prepare for next year. We've been using the same curriculum for 2 years now. I REALLY like how it incorporates Christ into every. Single. Aspect. Only one problem though...it's boring. I literally have to force myself to teach math every day. And the past couple months I've been having a problem with Lilly that I have never had before. She doesn't want to do school work. When the teacher and the student are frustrated, that doesn't make for a happy home school experience. All of that to say, we're looking into a new curriculum for next year. I think I've pretty much decided on one but I still need to get John's okay on it. A lot of Christian homeschooler's use Sonlight. And while I really enjoy their emphasis on books, I question some of the material they use, especially in the later years. Plus, it's REALLY expensive because of all those books. I've also known some people who've used Rod & Staff. I like their more conservative approach and they certainly incorporate Christ into it all but from what I hear, it's boring too. Very textbook driven. Not quite what I'm looking for either. Although, they do have some great story books for children. So, after looking, I really like Christian Light. They use lots of godly reading material, workbooks, they offer a number of electives in the high school years, and seem to keep the childrens attention. They also have a lot of quality story books. So, while this other curriculum I've been using has helped both Lilly and Luke learn to read, I think it's time to part ways. Which, is okay because it's intended for early education anyway.

Any one else out there home schooling? Do you have any curriculum suggestions? What do you do when your children don't want to do their school work?

Thanks for reading!
~A

Nutritious "Mounds" Candy Bars...Mmmm....

Could it be? A candy bar that could be...healthy?Yes, my friends! Let me introduce you to my friend, Mr. Coconut Oil.Chalked full of healthy goodness, coconut oil should be your friend too. You can read about it's immune boosting abilities here. It can be a little more on the expensive side but, hey, it's cheaper than going to the doctor!

And this recipe calls for a lot of it. I can just feel myself fighting off those germs now! :)

I can't claim this recipe as my own. It comes from Kimi who is very dedicated to healthy eating. Okay! Let's get started. I even took pictures, you should be so proud!

“Mounds” Candy Bars-makes 12, large

1 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup of coconut oil
1/4 cup of honey (raw is nice)
1 teaspoon almond extract
36 almonds, left whole or chopped (your choice)

1-Melt the coconut oil and honey over low heat until just melted. Whisk to combine. Add the almond extract and coconut flakes.

2-Now take out your muffin tins (you will need a 12 compartment muffin tin). In each compartment, place three almonds, or divide the chopped almonds) Then, divide the coconut mixture, making sure you get an even mixture of coconut flakes and coconut oil. Place in a freezer (make sure it’s on a flat surface), and freeze until hard (about 30 minutes)
Now it’s time for the chocolate! You will need:

3/4 cup cocoa powder (not dutch cocoa)
1/4 cup of honey (I used a scant 1/4 of a cup)
1 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3-Combine these ingredients in a 2 cup glass measuring glass and place in a pot of simmering water. Heat until everything is just melted, and remove from heat. Either whisk briskly, or use a hand blender to combine well (the hand blender is the easiest way to do this).

4-Take out the frozen coconut flakes mixture, and divide your chocolate mixture over it (about two tablespoons per muffin compartment).

5-Put back into your freezer, and freeze until hard (again, about 30 minutes). To get them out, simply slide a butter knife down one side, and pop it out. This is very easy to do, as long as you do it directly from your freezer.

Then, enjoy! (and keep them frozen, they melt fairly quickly)

The only changes I would make would be to cut back on the almond extract a little and next time I'd chop up the almonds (I left them whole this time). I think it would be easier for the children to eat if they were chopped. But overall, very good! And NO SUGAR! woo hoo!

Now, may I introduce you to my cast of characters? I know you all just LOVE knowing what it's like to try and do things with 4 small children running under foot, right??

"The Helper"
Lilly is always at my side seeing what she can do to help. I decided that she could not only help but we could even work a little school work into this. She had to put 3 almonds in each compartment and then at the end count the total. She's awesome.


"The Sneak"
Luke was sneaking around the whole time taking an almond here, licking a spoon over there. He even tried some of the coconut oil all by itself, which I imagine was rather...oily. Ick.


"The Troublemaker"
And Brad...was being Brad. I'd have to stop every 10 minutes because someone was yelling "Mom! Bradley's playing with the scissors!" "Mom! Bradley's in your bathroom (usually eating toothpaste or something)!" That's how it goes, people.

"The Sleeping Beauty"
And Kate helped just by sleeping the whole time. Which at this stage in the game is all a mom could want!

And one last picture, I promise. Did you see the cupcakes I made for Lilly's birthday? I saw them in a magazine and thought they looked so springy and cheerful that I just had to make them. Sunflowers!


Next up, my favorite smoothie recipes!

Thanks for reading!
~A

5 years old and lovin' every minute!

Happy Birthday, my sweet little Lilly! I love you!

Pictures...Finally!

I finally decided to sit down and devote some time to my little blog. It's a beautiful day today. So, I sent the kiddo's outside to reek havoc on nature while I sit and have some "me" time. I feel a little guilty since the dishes are sitting unwashed, the laundry needs to be put away, and the house is a mess but I do that stuff everyday! :)

Kate was 7 weeks old on Wednesday. Where has the time gone? She continues to be so wonderful. She had a little period where she was fussy in the evenings but things are already starting to get much better. Here's the latest pictures from our house!

Sleeping like a baby.


Here's my sweet girl. 7 weeks old! And I would just like to say that she hasn't lost ANY hair yet. Might, we avoid the dreaded "back of the head bald-itis" this time???


I think somebody isn't quite ready to give up his reign as the baby yet. :)


These two are always wanting to hold her. Which is good and bad. Luke still needs some assistance while holding her but Lilly can pretty much hold her by herself. Which is nice because then I can get a little bit of stuff done while Lilly keeps her entertained. She is a HUGE help! I'm so thankful for her!


A little hint of a smile.








The full thing!






Life around here has been pretty busy, for me anyway. I told John yesterday that I feel like I need 3 more of me. One to clean the house, one to keep up with the laundry, and the other to homeschool. The original me could then just spend time staring at my baby, reading to the children, baking yummy treats, and spend time with my wonderful husband. That's all I really want to do anyway! I have felt stretched beyond my limits lately. But the Lord obviously knows that because He has brought some really encouraging messages into my life the past couple days. First, I've had some awesome quiet times with Him. Since Kate was born I've been so tired that I just haven't been making the effort to connect with God. But this week He's really brought me back to Him. Thank goodness! I also read a post and Laura's blog that I REALLY needed to hear at the time. Also, I read a wonderful message of how to serve John better. Plus, a friend invited us out to lunch today! I think it will be really nice for me and the children to get out and visit with friends for a little while this afternoon. So, I've been stressed but the Lord has been taking care of me. Yesterday I kind of thought to myself "Ya know. God already knows what is going to happen today and He has allowed it. It's really just a matter of how I respond to to a given situation." That thought helped me alot. It also helped me remember to lift of little prayers to Him whenever something happened that made me feel overwhelmed. I'm hanging in there with Jesus as my lifeboat!

Thanks for checking in!

Running the race,
~A

T-A-S-T-Y

I promise this will not become a food blog. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not what I set out for this to be! I made a new recipe last night and I just HAD to share it. It was a very, very delicious pie and it had one very...unusual ingredient. Okay, okay, I'll give you hints and you guess, okay??

1. It's green
2. It's yummy
3. It has a pit

Anyone?

Last night I made an AMAZING avocado pie. That's right, avocado. I saw the recipe and it was just so unusual I had to try it. I wouldn't tell my family what it was until after they tried it and everyone loved it. John couldn't even guess what kind it was. So, even though it sounds a little weird, go here, try the recipe (it's super easy, by the way), and enjoy. I know I sure did.

~A

Fun recipe of the day!

I decided to experiment in the kitchen a little bit today. This recipe was so easy, I can't believe I didn't think of it before! The children loved it and it fell into my all time favorite category of "something yummy that doesn't contain sugar". Always a plus. And it's very quick to make. For me, that's a must.

Strawberry or Banana Milk

2 bananas or about 8 strawberries (fresh or frozen)
a glass of milk
1-2 Tbls of sweetener
1 tsp vanilla

Fill container (I used a measuring glass) with fruit. Pour milk on top. Then add sweetener and vanilla. Use a hand blender (or you could make this in your blender) to blend all ingredients. That's it!

Just a note, I used vanilla soy milk. So I didn't use the vanilla in mine. The banana milk was much sweeter than the strawberry. I added around 1 Tbls per glass to it and didn't add any sweetener to the banana. You could really use any fruit you wanted. I was going to try blueberry milk but had a crying baby. Priorities!

Try it and enjoy it! It's a great treat for a hot day. Yum!

Running the race,
~A

Menu Plan and update

Howdy, howdy everyone! I'm still here in case you were wondering. You'd never believe it, but having a 4 year old, 3 year old, 2 year old, and a 1 month old....sure can keep a lady busy! I'm finally starting to feel like I'm getting back to normal....kinda...sorta...maybe. I actually baked a loaf of bread yesterday! The meals from church are stopping this week so I actually had to make a plan for meals. Yikes! We'll see how this goes.

*All items are subject to change depending on how many dirty diapers I've changed, how many times I've had to send children to their room, or the number of times in one day I've had to pick up the living room.*

Breakfast
~muffins (mom made some and stuck them in the freezer for me)
~smoothies/toast
~lemon bread (again, mom-made)
~oatmeal
~egg burritos

Lunch
~PB&J rollups (somehow, my children just think it's more fun if I roll it up in a tortilla)
~leftovers
~turkey sandwiches
~or whatever I can throw together

Dinner
~hm (homemade) popcorn chicken/oven fries
~sloppy joes (mom-made) on hm buns/ salad
~pizza/ apples
~taco potatoes/corn/hm bread
~beans and rice/ cornbread
~baked ziti/ breadsticks/salad

Personally, I think its HIGHLY unlikely that I will get all of these made this week. I'm sure one or two days this week I'll be too exhausted. Kate has started being fussy in the evenings and we've had some pretty late nights recently. But after watching "Super Size Me" this past week John and I are refusing to eat out anymore...unless, ya know, a tree falls on our house or something. So I might have to pull another mom-made meal out of the freezer.

On a totally different note, Lilly decided that the boys needed a hair cut this week (can you see where I'm going??). Bradley has two nice big chunks missing off the top of his head plus a chunk missing over each ear. And Luke, well, let's just say his head must feel much lighter. Also, a well meaning person gave Brad and Lilly gum for their birthdays. I had my reservations when I first saw it but I hated to take away their birthday present. Never again, people! I've been scrubbing gum out of things for the past week.

I started using cloth diapers a couple weeks ago. It's going awesome. If I had known how easy it would be I would have used cloth for all four of my kiddo's. I'm sure I'll go into a more detailed post later. I'm also really enjoying my grain mill. I found out that a lady in town sells 50 lbs bags of wheat for a great price and so I've been using that. My bread and other baked goods have been great. I couldn't even tell the difference!

I'd love to write more but time doesn't allow it! Thanks for checking in. Maybe I'll actually get around to posting some new pictures of Kate soon...wait, I'd have to take some first. I'll get on that. Thanks, again!

Running the race,
~A