If You Give a Mom a Muffin...

This is just too funny! It's posted over at Girl Talk blog...enjoy :)

(this is done to the popular story, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)

If You Give A Mom A Muffin

Original Author Unknown

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook ("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger").
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old's diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are...
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Co-op

Yesterday was another fun-filled day of learning for our gang! We are in our third week of co-op and it's really going fast!

Megan has two preschool classes that are very different but both are loads of fun. She's finished at noon when we break for lunch. Brandon has art, science, Around the World, and geography. Nicholas has a literature class based on Lois Elhert, art, nature and Around the World. Last week one of their favorite things (besides Cow who is still alive by the way ;)) was the chocolate mousse they had in their Around the World class! They learned a bit about France and their teacher brought some to try (I knew I should have volunteered for that class ;)).

This week, Nicholas made this really cute little bird's nest:
My friend, Angi, who is leaving this semester at noon with her sleepy little ones, let her son Rhyse stay for the afternoon hour to go home with a friend. He happily entertained our young ones and was so sweet about sharing his Gameboy (or DS?). You can tell he has a younger brother and sister ;) Thank you, Rhyse, for babysitting!
Tonight, Brandon is going to a friend's house for a get-together with some of his co-op friends. Pizza, munchies, Wii, and a movie is the agenda. He's going to have so much fun!

We are really so very thankful for co-op and the friends we've made there. It has been a wonderful experience and we've walked away richer for it. And Angi, the field trips have been great! It's been a great way to beat the winter blahs!

Put Me in the Zoo!

Brandon has been studying a book called Land Animals of the Sixth Day published by Apologia for science. We really love Apologia books as they not only support our belief in a literal 6 day creation but they are funny and creative books as well! It is sometimes hard to find science books that actually teach creation, even though God is the ULTIMATE scientist! So we are very excited about these books! They don't just say God created the world and life they give scientific proof! These aren't the only books we've found that support creation but they are probably the best as far as teaching to the age, having beautiful pictures, and being very fun to read.

Well, ,the suggested project at the end of one of our recent chapters is building a zoo out of clay and other items you may have laying around....right up Brandon's alley :) He got to work right away and this is what he made in a very short time:




My photos don't do it justice..he really did a great job and had so much fun! He used Lincoln Logs and Legos for the zoo structures and clay for the animals. Did you see that monkey?! And his turtle had a removeable shell so you could see the soft body underneath! What a great job!

And for anyone interested in another source of creation information: http://www.answersingenesis.org/ is wonderful! They have books and magazines you can buy, featured topics on the website, and a creation museum in Kentucky just across from Cincinnati that we hope to visit this summer.

Drumroll Please

Kristen was able to check her ACT scores tonight and she did very well! Looks like I have a college-bound girl! (not that I had any doubt!) I cannot tell you how satisfying that is for a homeschooling mom :) Really, we're so proud of her! I have to brag a little here...she got a 30 on the reading portion! WOW! As much as she reads, that shouldn't be a surprise, but wow!

Making Butter

Nicholas and I (and Megan of course!) have been reading a series called My First Little House Books. They are based on the Little House Books by Laura Ingals Wilder but they are picture books which I like for two reasons: they aren't as long (important for young ones) and they are beautifully illustrated! We have been devouring these books! Last time at the library I ran across My First Little House Cookbook. Nice! In the cookbook, are many of the foods Laura writes about in her stories. The one thing I don't like about the book is the use of modern appliances where it isn't necessary, so today, when we decided to make butter I did it the way I've seen it done before:)

It is so simple! Put heavy whipping cream in a jar (I'm not sure how much we used-about a cup) add a few dashes of salt and shake!


You shake for a really long time! The kids just took turns, each shaking the jar until they got tired then passing it to the next. When it started thickening they got really excited, but we opened the jar and it was more like whipped cream than butter so we put the lid back on and shook some more! I think they shook for about 15 minutes or so then I took over. It was almost done. The recipe recommended cheesecloth which I didn't have so I just shook some and drained the liquid off then did it again til we had butter!
Of course we had to have some buttered toast to check out our hard work! Nicholas had his eaten before I could get a picture!

I can't wait to make homemade jam this spring!

Outnumber the sand...

13 For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb,
14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
wonderful are Your works,
and my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
when I was made in secret,
and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unborn substance;
and in Your book were all written
the days that were ordained for me,
when as yet there were not one of them.
17 How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake I am still with You.
Psalm 139:13-18

Meet Cow

This is our new fish...named Cow ;) Guess who named him? Yep, Nicholas! We started our co-op classes back up last week and LOVE them! We have always enjoyed our days there, but as the kids get older, they really look forward to going....even Nicholas! Last week we were sitting at the table having a snack after co-op and I asked them all what was their favorite class and Nicholas said all of them! I can't tell you how relieved I was! He's not the most enthusiastic person when it comes to school-type work, but he has really been excited to go and participate so far this semester! :)

So back to the fish. It was given to him today in Nature Enrichment class (each student got one) and so now we are fish owners ;) I'm just glad the teacher prepared them by telling them these fish don't live more than a few days. This seems to have revealed a new interest though so don't be surprised if I post pictures of a new aquarium one of these days ;)

Redoing School...again?

As I've posted before, this has been a year of change for us. Anyone who knows me knows this isn't easy! But I'm a reasonable person (most of the time) and I know that when things aren't working out you have to change them! So we have done ALOT of experimenting this year to see what works for us now.

First, we've left the Tuesday co-op. Not completely as Kristen still has one more semester, but the younger kids and I will not be going back this semester. Kristen is old enough to do the volunteer part herself and believe me when I say she is more than willing to take on this responsibility! :) Little Miss Independent she is! I'm feeling a little guilty this morning watching her drive away, I'm used to being VERY involved, but she's a talker so I'm sure I'll hear all about it every week :) And I'll still go on the days they have senior meetings to help plan the graduation. (Can you believe she's graduating?!? I'll be saying that alot this spring ;))

Another resent change is our math. We used Math-U-See last year and I really liked it so when it came time to buy books for this year, ,that one was a given. However, I'm finding I don't really like it anymore. The explanations are getting weird and the work doesn't seem to flow as easily as it did. Todd watched the video with Brandon a couple of weeks ago and was also questioning the teaching methods. So it looks like we're back using Primary Math with Brandon anyway. I love Primary Math! There aren't tons of redundant problems, just enough to practice a concept so the work is quick and if we need more practice I come up with my own problems! Now I just have to figure out what to do with Nicholas. I found this at Holcombs:


Our Montessori teacher at co-op uses a similar one and I love it! One side is blank and the other has the numbers on it, great for younger kids too. And the numbers are magnetic. I'm sure Megan will work on it soon :) Nicholas has done it twice and already I see a big improvement in number recognition and he's been noticing the patterns of numbers! It can also be used for graphing as it's a wipe-off board too. I'm sure that will come in handy! We may stick with Math-U-See for him as it's mostly adding, but I think I'll put a major spin on it (for example no confusing video!).

My Sanity Saver

This little project took me by surprise! I hate the basement. It's a perfectly fine, finished basement and I'm happy to have it, but spending time down there isn't for me. It's the dungeon ;) However, I've been thinking about a way to change my feelings about this nice, under-appreciated space in our home and I thought maybe if I paint it something warmer, more cheery then maybe I wouldn't mind it so bad. The space is divided into two rooms, one lager than the other. The smaller room has been trying to be a playroom for a while now, but what it's been is a yucky place for the kids to make a mess! I decided to start there and maybe I could get the toys that are all over my house somewhat under control! I had been looking at paint chips for a while but hadn't really given it too much thought, but it's amazing what being snowed in does to a person! One afternoon a couple of weeks ago, I was taking stuff to the basement and just started clearing the room! Next thing I knew it was done.....carpet cleaned, room painted...done! My before pictures don't really show the mess because I had almost cleared the room before I even thought about it! That shows how much this really took me by surprise!

Ugly playroom before:
Much better after:
Art work by Nicholas and Brandon in their fabulous art class! I had been saving them for whenever I got around to fixing up their space now I can show them off!

We're still trying to get more toys in there...just taking our time with it going through them as we go weeding out the ones not played with. When we get all that done, the bigger room is next!

12 This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

John 15:12


7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1John 4:7-11

Happy Valentines Day!

We just wanted to say Happy Valentines Day to all our family and friends! We love you more than you know! :)

Here are some outtakes from our little photo shoot ;)


We don't really do much around here for Valentines Day. Maybe I will get better at this sometime in the future because all those heart decorations are just plain cute! But really, to me, everyday is Valentines Day!

A Chilly Afternoon

Once a month a good friend of ours sets up an afternoon of ice skating at the Chiller! She is a teacher with OHVA, a state-sponsered school-at-home program, and even though we aren't enrolled in OHVA we get invited! Lucky for us Todd has Friday afternoons off and I can take the bigger kids while he stays home with Megan. Here are some random pictures of our afternoon:
Brandon's action shot ;)


Several of Kristen's friends go too.
Yes, she bosses EVERYONE!
My little guy :) He did really well for his first (?) time!

We had a great afternoon!

Big Day part 2

Yesterday was a big day for another reason....Todd's birthday! Usually, on his birthday we turn off all the lights and "surprise" him when he comes home from work, but this year his big day was on a Saturday so we had a little party instead!

We are so thankful for such a loving daddy and husband! We're glad you had a wonderful birthday!
Todd's family came up to celebrate with us. Some are missing from my pictures (I was busy talking and visiting and forgot my camera duties ;)) My mom and Aunt Willa stopped by also (I forgot to take pictures then too..ugh)

Thank you all for coming! We really enjoyed our visit!

Compassion

8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He will not always strive with us,
nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:8-13

Big Day!

This early this morning (can you see it's still dark?!?), my baby left to go take her ACT. I can't believe how fast this year is going!! She'll do fine I'm sure. She's been very busy preparing and studying. God has big plans for her! :)

Crazy bird!

This crazy bird flies up to the window and hangs on the screen! He cracks us up! Last spring, we had a cardinal (the same one??) that would fly up to the back window, peck it, then fly away. He drove us crazy with that!! He would be at it for hours starting at sunrise! We tried removing the thing he was perching on, scaring him...all kinds of stuff but we were stuck with that bird for months! Now it looks as though he's back doing something almost as annoying and a little creepy ;) I think we're being watched ;)

Oh and sometimes he just pecks the window and flies away :)

They will walk and not become weary

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait on the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:28-31