Easy on the Budget

I just got an email today with some good budget recipes from Taste of Home. Check out Taste of Home's Budget Meal Planner!

Bad Hair Day

Well, I just did something I've never had the guts to do before. My hair grows really fast, so even though it was cut a month ago, it's been looking straggly for about a week. I was so glad I had time to get it cut today, and I just went in and took whoever could get to me first.

But it just ain't right. I usually don't complain, because I hate making people feel bad, but I did this time. However, I did not go back and complain to the one who cut it, because I don't want her to try to fix it! I called the manager and asked if someone else would fix it. Now, I just have to live through tonight till they can get me in tomorrow morning. :(

More Williamsburg Discount Info

I just got a flyer in the mail for Colonial Williamsburg's Homeschooler Experience...the deals are incredible! I wish I could go back in September. In my humble opinion, every single American should visit Williamsburg at least once, and spend enough time there to listen to the speeches given by the founding father reenactors.

The dates are September 12-27th, 2009 and February 27-March 7, 2010.

Ticket prices are as follows:

One-Day Adults and Students: $5.50 in advance, $6.50 walk-in
Two-Day Adults and Students: $8.00 in advance, $9.00 walk-in
Five-Day Adults and Students: $11.00 in advance, $12.00 walk-in
Children under five are free.

This is an incredible price. This ticket provides admission to everything, including the Governor's Palace and the museums.

Deadline for reservations by mail/telephone is Aug. 31, 2009. Walk-ins are welcome after this date. Call 1-800-228-8878 for more info, or email: schoolandyouthgroup@cwf.org.

Very Interesting Idea...

I would love to see this happen. What about you?


Happy 4th of July!

Christmas in July-- Don't Miss Out!

If you aren't a subscriber to The Old Schoolhouse mag, or if you need to renew...now is most definitely the time. I just renewed for 2 years, and will be receiving 19 free gifts along with the subscription!

Here's what's coming:

A free 10x13 from Sears Portrait Studios, no session fee
My choice of one of three gift packs from Wildtree All Natural foods (I'm picking Decadent Desserts: Gourmet Crepe Mix and Raspberry Cheesecake!)
Handwriting by George (from Greenleaf Press)
A $20 gift certificate to Franklin Springs Media
A $10 gift card to Apologia
Come What May- film from Advent Media
VALUE (a math game from Games by Bea)
A Free 12 month personalized photo calendar
Quartermile Math
One year membership license to I Can Write Online (grades 2-6)
Wikki Stix with activity book
Teaching American History Through Art, (art studies and projects from Visual Manna!)
$25 worth of books from Library and Educational Resources
One free Light Speed Math dvd
One free lapbook project from In the Hands of a Child
Cooking With Children cd from Sue Gregg
Digital Frog's Science Matrix: Cell Structure and Function
$10 gift certificate from Daystar Publishing
Two skill based activity books from Barker Creek Publishing
Plus, some subscribers will win bonus gifts!

I can't believe the gifts that come with this subscription...truly the best promo I've seen from TOS, yet!

If you don't need it for yourself, may I suggest purchasing this subscription for your favorite homeschooler? I guarantee it will make their day. :)

This promo is only good through July 4th. Click here to order!

Lazy Days of Summer?

I've mentioned I made a summer schedule. It's working...on the days that special events don't intervene...LOL!

I'm not sure what happened to the lazy days of summer, but they seem to be few and far between. Our summer's filling up with good things, but it's flying by! I like to use the summer for activities that we get too busy to do during the school-year. So, dd#2 will be taking a cake decorating class, and dd#1 is cooking a full meal with dessert once a week. Dd#1 is also going to take Driver's Ed to get it out of the way before school starts.

We're also trying to take some field trips that relate to next year's studies, reading some books from Tapestry's summer reading list, reading other books that relate to a conference we'll be attending in July, and reading for fun! I'm taking ds on some nature walks, and to some museums the girls did when they were little that he's never seen.

This week, we've had cousins in town, and the girls are out sight-seeing with them. We have a mom's planning meeting for co-op today...Oh yes...there's another thing I'll be doing... lots of planning!

What I really like about the schedule we're using is that no matter what's going on that day, the morning and evening routines ensure the main things get done. And, if you miss a day here and there, or decide to be spontaneous, it's still easy to catch up!

Our routine when we're home all day looks like this:

6:00 Exercise (alternating bike, Walk Away the Pounds, and Pilates)
6:30 Personal Devotions and Shower, start laundry
7:30 Breakfast/Bible time w/kids
8:00 Clean up kitchen, change laundry, kids do chores
8:30 Girls' personal devotions
9:00 Read to ds, younger two do math drills online
9:30 15 minute chore* for me, change laundry
10:00-11:30 Blogging, TOS Crew work, School planning (kids play, dd#1 works on math)
11:30 Lunch/Proverb
12:00 ds helps me clean kitchen, I start laundry, do a 15 min. chore
12:30 Quiet Activities: kids read, craft, play quietly in room, listen to books on tape, etc...Mom reads, crafts, plans, writes letters, makes phone calls, does work other than online
2:30 Snacks, play outside, take a walk, do a project together
5:00 Make dinner

*On Fridays, I use the 10-11:30 block to deep clean: bathrooms/fridge/mopping/changing sheets/etc, and the 12:30-2:30 block to run errands, grocery shop.

*15 Minute Chores: I like this better than a set list telling me what to do every single day. I keep a list of chores that need to be done regularly, and I just choose what area's bugging me the most, or what I want to do that day. Leaves a little room for spontaneity!

Our evening routine includes all the normal stuff...the girls clean the kitchen, the kids get their showers, and story time for the littlest one before he snuggles and goes to bed. We try to get the kids to bed by 8:15. The girls read awhile, and ds listens to stories while he falls asleep. My dh has to get up at 4:15, so he needs to get to bed early. On nights where we've gone to church, or stayed out later, we just adjust the schedule accordingly...the kids can sleep in if they need to and we just bump the chores up, using my am work time to try to catch up by lunch. Poor dh just loses the sleep!

You can see that this schedule leaves me much more time than usual to think, read, plan, blog, etc... When the school year starts back, my free time will be very limited. That's why it's so important to think through everything during the summer, and try to plan out as much as possible!!! Also, the free chunks of time give the kids an opportunity to be creative.

If you're very detail oriented, you might note that I'm posting this off schedule. LOL! The girls spent the night at the grandparent's house. Ds and I slept in a little this morning, as yesterday was very busy with friends and relations. We'll catch up by lunch and then go to the co-op planning meeting. I really like the fudge factor sometimes. :)

Impossible Pizza Pie

We tried a new recipe for lunch today, and it was yummy. :) Found it online here, but I'll post it for you, too! I have picky eaters, so no grated carrots and no mushrooms for us.

Impossible Pizza Pie

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound spicy pork sausage
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms, drained
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups canned pizza sauce
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour a 15x10" jelly roll pan or 14" round pizza pan and set aside. In heavy skillet, cook ground beef, pork sausage, onion, garlic, and carrots together until beef is browned. Drain well, if necessary, and set aside. Stir in mushrooms.

In medium bowl, combine flour, salt, Italian seasoning, baking powder and pepper and mix well. Beat eggs. Stir eggs and milk into flour mixture and mix until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan, gently spreading so batter covers pan. Arrange meat mixture on batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until pizza is golden brown. Remove from oven, spread pizza sauce over meat and sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven for 15-20 more minutes until cheese is melted and begins to brown. Serves 8-10