Monday-
Potato soup and cornbread
Tuesday-
Veracruz Tilapia
Broccoli
Brown rice
Cornbread
Wednesday -
PW Chili
Cornbread
Thursday- Taco Salad
Friday-
Papa Murphy's pizza
Sundried tomato chicken
Chicken bacon artichoke
Saturday-
Dinner out-Tres Amigos for Jaared's bday!
Snacks- Magic Cookie Bars (Hello Dollies)
Monday- Pioneer Woman's Shrimp Alla Betsy
Broccoli
Grandma Reasor's rolls ( I miss those but I got to eat feta stuffed olives with mine. Cameron and I are the only olive eaters in the family. They're missing out!)
Tuesday- Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup (Make it Fast, Cook it Slow)
Cornbread
Wednesday
Tilapia Vera Cruz (Trim Healthy Mama)
Brown rice
Broccoli
Sweet potatoes
Thursday
Pioneer Woman's Chili
Make Frito pie or eat with cornbread
Friday- Pioneer Woman's Sour Cream Noodle Bake
Salad or veggies
Bread
Fried Apples
Saturday-
Pioneer Woman's Macaroni and Cheese
Green beans and bacon
Sweet potatoes
Sunday-
Leftovers or something simple
Snacks-
Singing Canary (Trim Healthy Mama)
Plain Greek Yogurt and Polaner's jam
Fruit
Trim healthy mama frappa
???
Dessert- Magic Cookie Bars
http://themarathonmom.com/magic-cookie-bars.htm
*Some key items needed this week (not all): Apples, lots of lemons, turmeric, heavy cream, poblano peppers, jalepenos, green olives, tilapia, butter, seasoning blend, fresh tomatoes, limes, cilantro, flat parsley, beef, cornbread, rice, sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese, macaroni noodles, gf flour, dry mustard, seasoned salt, sea salt, rotel, tomato sauce, green onions, plain greek yogurt, Polaner's jam, more gf noodles, a good flavored tea, lemon or lime essential oil, coconut flakes, chocolate chips, 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, chopped pecans, gf graham cracker crumbs
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/penne_a_la_betsy/
Only these two ingredients:
1 cup cornstarch
5 TBS coconut hair conditioner
http://theimaginationtree.com/2014/02/creamy-coconut-play-dough-recipe.html
Caroline, from themodestmom.com, recounted "Morning Time" growing up homeschooled as a precious time with cherished memories, while she couldn't recall many memories of her book work completed. She wrote a blog post describing her own with her six children. It is almost exactly how I would describe ours! And she also usually puts the baby down for a morning nap and has everyone else sit still. She said, "I try to keep morning time to 1.5 hours at the most. Sometimes we spend an hour. It just depends on how much time I want to devote to it that day. I have a hard time stopping some days as we all enjoy it so much! Other days it’s been chaotic (because morning time is not always perfect!) and so we move on rather quickly." She went on to talk about when the morning falls apart. She described, "No morning time is perfect. There are days when the children are full of giggles, or they are not getting along. There are times when I’m so tired I can barely stay awake while I’m trying to read."
Yep, there are days we have to work on character or relationship!
I know it is building such sweet moments and memories for me and I hope that my children will one day look back on it in the same way. It is a time we spend going to the same places together, laughing, going back in time, or some other myriad of emotions stirred from different books we've chosen (Little Britches, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elsie Dinsmore are some recent ones). Most importantly opening God's word, being captivated in the Old Testament, amazed by grace in the New. We have been reading a Proverb of the day (whatever day of the month it is) for several months as well as chronologically going through the Bible. In the winter, I feel like we get to cozy up on the couch and read a lot of books and, yet, don't get much needed exercise, sunshine, and outdoor time so much. When the weather is lovely or warm out, we spend a good deal of time on morning walks, taking in more sunshine, feeling energized, for me- losing more of the straggling baby weight left from having Noah (and truthfully a little still tacked on from the other babes), getting exercise and, yet, not reading wonderful books on top of our Bible time because we need more time for the aforementioned. I finally decided to reconcile myself with the fact that we have good in different seasons but just a different good and accept it. Then hubby said, "Hey! The kids need some p.e." and could we fit it in asap? So, I'm working on it. I had them do some push ups and sit ups (don't ask how I fared on my push ups- okay push up-) the other day before our morning time and we went around the block. It was very nice and Derrick was off and able to go with us. What will I do on the cold days though? Yeah, I'm looking forward to spring but, at the same time, not the loss of our wonderful read-alouds.
http://www.themodestmomblog.com/2016/02/our-homeschool-morning-time-routine/
I couldn't help but share another quote from themarathonmom.com.
“Which shall it be? Which shall it be?”
I look’d at John – John look’d at me
(Dear, patient John, who loves me yet
As well as though my locks were jet);
And when I found that I must speak,
My voice seem’d strangely low and weak:
‘Tell me again what Robert said.”
And then I, listening, bent my head.
This is his letter: ‘I will give
A house and land while you shall live,
If, in return, from out your seven,
One child to me for aye is given.”
I look’d at John’s old garments worn,
I thought of all that John had borne
Of poverty and work and care,
Which I, though willing, could not share;
I thought of seven mouths to feed,
Of seven little children’s need,
And then of this. ‘Come, John,” said I,
‘We’ll choose among them as they lie
Asleep;” so, walking hand in hand,
Dear John and I survey’d our band.
First to the cradle lightly stepp’d,
Where the new nameless baby slept.
“Shall it be Baby?” whispered John.
I took his hand, and hurried on
To Lily’s crib. Her sleeping grasp
Held her old doll within its clasp;
Her dark curls lay like gold alight,
A glory ‘gainst the pillow white.
Softly her father stoop’d to lay
His rough hand down in loving way,
When dream or whisper made her stir,
Then huskily said John, “Not her, not her!’
We stopp’d beside the trundle bed,
And one long ray of lamplight shcd
Athwart the boyish faces there,
In sleep so pitiful and fair;
I saw on Jamie’s rough, red cheek
A tear undried. Ere John could speak,
“He’s but a baby, too,” said I,
And kiss’d him as we hurried by.
Pale, patient Robbie’s angel face
Still in his sleep bore suffering’s trace.“No, for a thousand crowns, not himl’
We whisper’d, while our eyes were dim.
Poor Dick! bad Dick! our wayward son,
Turbulent, reckless, idle one-
Could he be spared? Nay; He who gave
Bids us befriend him to his grave;
Only a mother’s heart can be
Patient enough for such as he;
“And so,” said John, “I would not dare
To send him from her bedside prayer.’
Then stole we softly up above
And knelt by Mary, child of love.
“Perhaps for her ‘twould better be,”
I said to John. Quite silently
He lifted up a curl astray
Across her cheek in wilful way,
And shook his bead: ‘Nay, love; not thee,’
The while my heart beat audibly.
Only one more, our eldest lad,
Trusty and truthful, good and glad-
So like his father. “No, John, no-
I cannot, will not, let him go.”
And so we wrote, in courteous way,
We could not give one child away-,
And afterward toil lighter seemd,
Thinking of that of which we dream’d,
Happy in truth that not one face
We missd from its accustomed place;
‘Thankful to work for all the seven,
Trusting the rest to One in heaven.
– Ethel Lynn Beers
"So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."
No, not the real kind here in February. My children are fruitbugs. It will not take very long for my beloved fruit bowl from Greatmother to grow lonely and desirous of being filled with more fruit.
*A picture of sweet Greatmother (We sure miss her).
This is such helpful advice for busy mamas with so much to do at any given moment.
Does the toddler need a diaper change?
The baby to be fed?
The big kid need some help with math?
Dirty dishes screaming from the sink?
Laundry needing to be changed over?
Middle child have a spelling test to be administered?
Another child needing to be corralled to play quietly while the big kids work on their schoolwork?
Another child with a sour disposition needing a talk?
All at the same time?
Sometimes I get what I call "frozen" if I'm overwhelmed and have trouble not knowing what to do next or even avoiding something. Say, sweeping the kitchen floor. Then I put things off and feel like I'm spinning in circles, practically accomplishing nothing.
The following advice from Brandy at themarathonmom.com is for times like this:
"The marathon of motherhood is quite often an interesting dichotomy.
On one hand, you must keep the goal in mind – the finish line, so to speak.
And on the other hand, sometimes, you simply cannot allow yourself to think about the fact that this race (sometime feels like it) is all uphill, all 26.2 miles.
Are you at a place in this “race” like me, where you need to not think about how hard it is and you need to just keep running? Assuming cruise control mode is sometimes very beneficial. Adjusting your pace to slow and steady will allow you to keep going, to breathe a little easier, maybe take in some more of the scenery, and gear back up to run a little faster in the future.
It’s not about the speed, but about the journey, anyway.
So, if you’re struggling on any level, whether it be a mountainous pile of laundry, never-ending dishes, a thousand soccer practices a week, or whatever it is, maybe the best advice is this:
Don’t think about it. Just do it. Don’t think about how big a job it is, how long it will take you, or how much it makes your back burn. Just start. Go.
Keep runnin’!"
It reminds me of Elizabeth Elliot's advice to "doe the next thynge":
"From an old English parsonage down by the sea
There came in the twilight a message to me;
Its quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven,
Hath, it seems to me, teaching from Heaven.
And on through the doors the quiet words ring
Like a low inspiration: “DOE THE NEXTE THYNGE.”
Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, doe the nexte thynge.
Do it immediately, do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing,
Leave all results, doe the nexte thynge
Jesus says, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).
Looking for Jesus, ever serener,
Working or suffering, be thy demeanor;
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance be thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing.
Then, as He beckons thee, doe the nexte thynge."
I found this on themarathonmom.com (a wonderful blog). While I do think a grain of salt should be added to the following quote, I still like it. God is a God of order and obviously order, cleanliness, teaching our children how to work hard and be thorough are good things. I know the author of the blog agrees with those things as well. I think the quote points to balance in those areas.
“I am sadly concerned that thousands of mothers are so over-burdened that the actual demands of life from day to day consume all their time and strength. But of two evils, choose the lesser: which would you call the lesser–an unpolished stove or an untaught boy? Dirty windows, or a child whose confidence you have failed to gain? Cobwebs in the corner, or a son over whose soul a crust has formed, so strong that you despair of melting it with your hot tears and fervent prayers?
I have seen a woman who was absolutely ignorant of her children’s habits of thought, who never felt that she could spare a half-hour to read or talk with them–I have seen this woman spend ten minutes in ironing a sheet, or forty minutes icing a cake for tea, because company was expected.
When the mother, a good orthodox Christian, shall appear before the Great White Throne to be judged for the “deeds done in the body,” and to give her report of the master’s treasures placed in her care, there will be questions and answers like these:
“Where are the boys and girls I gave thee?”
“Lord, I was busy keeping my house clean and in order, and my children wandered away.”
“Where wert thou while thy sons and thy daughters were learning lessons of dishonesty, malice and impurity?”
“Lord, I was polishing furniture and making beautiful rugs.”
“What hast thou to show for thy life’s work?”
“The tidiest house, Lord, and the best starching and ironing in all our neighborhood!”
Oh these children, these children! The restless eager boys and girls whom we love more than our lives! Shall we devote our time and strength to that which perishes while the rich garden of our child’s soul lies neglected, with foul weeds choking out all worthy and beautiful growths? Fleeting indeed, O mother, are the days of childhood, and speckless windows, snowy linen, the consciousness that everything about the house is faultlessly bright and clean will be poor comfort in that day wherein we shall discover that our poor boy’s feet have chosen the path that shall take him out of the way to all eternity.”
–Author Unknown
*The picture of Cameron is of Derrick "stealing away" on a daddy/son day with him.
Some real live pictures of messes around here.
Bella holding a book that will break your heart on this topic.
Me reading a book to Cameron.
A day we stepped away from schoolwork to go on a neat tour of an underground tunnel.
