Update on Life

It's been way too long since I've posted......

We've been gearing up for the school year. We are doing a Kindergarten/1st grade year for Ryan. Academically he's at a first grade level, motor skills are still kindergarten level. He'll be turning six in November.

Robert is going to be starting preschool, and we'll test the waters to see if he is ready to start reading.

We are using Tapestry of Grace as our foundation. For science we will be using Apologia Botany. I got a fantastic deal on Ebay for the Veritas Press Phonics Museum for grades K and First for just $35. It is thoroughly used, but if I really like it, I'll just order a new set when this one dies. We are using A Reason for Handwriting and A Reason for Spelling as well as First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind for Language Arts. We are using Song School Latin as well. For Math we are going to be using Math U See's primer level.

I am in my very last week of the Couch to 5K running program and am happy to say that I enjoy running! I am going to start working on increasing my running from three days a week to six, and then increasing my time from thirty minutes to one hour. The baby weight is coming off slowly but surely. I'm down 13 pounds now.

I am doing much better with menu planning after my two week crockpot challenge. I have stopped exclusively crock-potting, but I am using 2-3 times a week.

I am learning more and more on using every minute of my day wisely. I have a lot I want to get done every day, and wasting time is really no longer a luxury I can afford. I am tweaking a schedule right now that will hopefully work for us. I'll post it when it is finished.

We got another goat, a nubian a few months ago. She's loud, and a bit spacey, but she is pretty. We are getting a new piglet or two in a few days too.

Clara is six months old today. She has her first tooth and is very close to sitting up all by herself. She loves jumping in the Johnny-Jump-Up, and Ryan says she looks like a little ballerina when she jumps. She is such a joy and delight. Teddy turned two on August 17, and Robert turns four on October 11. I have a birthday in September, 27 years old!

I did some canning this weekend. I did ketchup (my grandmother's recipe) and pasta sauce. Both turned out very well!

I believe that's about all that's been going on. I hope to update more regularly, and get some new pictures up too.

Menu Plan Monday

I've started a two week crockpot challenge to minimize my afternoon stress levels and make a last ditch effort to stay within my grocery budget (and to avoid serving the same thing three nights in a row). Listed below is what I will be serving this week.

Monday: Crockpot Chow Mein
Tuesday: Crockpot Tamale Pie
Wednesday: Crockpot Apricot Chicken
Thursday: Crockpot Sloppy Joes
Friday: Crockpot Mongolian Beef
Saturday: Crockpot Spanish Rice Casserole
Sunday: Crockpot Roast Carrots and Potatoes (My own recipe)

For more recipe inspiration you can go take a look at what other bloggers have set for their menu this week at The Organizing Junkie.

Crockpot Challenge!

I have been seriously menu-challenged for the past few weeks. Every day around 5:00 I get a sinking feeling in my gut. Darn, I did it again. I completely forgot that I am solely responsible for getting dinner on the table by 7:00. Grrrr. I hate it when that happens. Every.single.day.

What happened? I used to be so organized about meals, planning up to one month ahead of time. Oh well, no use analyzing what went wrong, I'm not really interested anyway. I just want a solution please and thank you.

What's the solution? The crockpot! But there's a problem there. I HATE cream of mushroom soup and any recipe that uses it. It's looks icky, smells icky, tastes icky, feels icky, and IS icky. So many crockpot recipes require cream of mushroom soup.

What's the solution? A Year of Crockpotting! This gal is a genius. She made a new year's resolution to cook in her crockpot for 365 days straight! She is on day 213. She posts the recipe that she cooked the day before, pictures and whether it was a success or a flop. The best part is......she doesn't use cream of mushroom soup! The second best part.....they cook gluten free! What a jackpot!

I sat myself down this morning to make up a menu for the next two weeks, based solely off of Stephanie's Crockpot recipes. There were tons to choose from, it didn't take me long at all to choose fourteen. I picked a bunch of asian and a bunch of mexican recipes. I am so excited to get started tomorrow.

I made up my grocery list and got everything I am going to need for the next two weeks. It felt so good to go in there with a plan this time instead of just winging it. I ended up saving about $50 off of what I have been spending on shopping trips the past two months or so. Having a menu plan really does save a good bit of money. I had to buy at least ten bottles of stuff like cooking sherry, sesame oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, etc. And I still came in $50 less! I need to remember what a savings using a list is. I'm excited to see how much I'll save next pay period, now that my cupboard is stocked with ingredients.

So, I am going to post my menu through Sunday, and on Monday I'll post another week's worth of menus. Go check out A Year of Crockpotting!

Friday: A-1 and Dijon Steaks
Saturday: Salsa Chicken
Sunday: Roast chicken with potatoes and carrots (My own recipe)

Make sure to check back in on Monday to see what I'll be cooking for the next week!

Huge Money Saving Sale!

Have you heard the big news? TODAY ONLY you can get an incredible ebook package from MoneySavingMom.com--over $100 worth of money-saving ebooks, homemaking helps, and encouragement for only $5.97! I can't believe she's offering such a great price and I'd highly recommend you run over
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What makes this deal so good is that this ebook package includes the ecourse Supermarket Savings 101--this course alone is worth much more than $5.97 and will teach you how to drastically reduce your grocery bill. If high fuel and food costs are discouraging you and leaving you strapped for cash, you definitely need to buy this ecourse. You'll learn how to cut your grocery bill by up to 50% or more and have fun saving money at the same time!

Click Here! to read more about this huge sale! Hurry, though, the price goes up tomorrow--get this money-saving ebook package at a ridiculously low price while you can!

Crystal's e-books are where I learned how to save huge amounts of money on groceries and other products. I never ever used coupons, and really didn't know much about shopping sales for the best bargain. Crystal is the master at this. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from the best!

Do you want to see for yourself just how GOOD Crystal is at saving money? Go here to see what Crystal got for $49.60 last Saturday.

These e-books will revolutionize your shopping, I know they sure did mine!

Starting a Running Program

Two weeks ago I started a running program called The Couch to 5K Running Plan. I used to hate running, I mean really, really HATE running. Even when I was in the best shape of my life in high school I hated running. I always felt like my lungs were going to explode, and everything burned. I really needed a good way to get back into shape and drop the pounds that I have accrued after four pregnancies. I knew that in general running burns more calories than any other exercise. So I started The Couch to 5K Running Plan.

The Couch to 5K eases you into running for thirty consecutive minutes over a span of nine weeks. You start off with week one walking for five minutes, then you run for sixty seconds, then you walk for ninety seconds. You repeat the running/walking for a total of twenty minutes, then cool down.

I just finished my last run for week two, and I'm feeling great! I am just running around my big backyard area. It is hilly, and bumpy, and the grass is too long, but it beats sitting on the couch. I knew that if I had to drive myself to a track it would never happen. And I'm not confident enough to run on the road yet, I look too goofy when I run. So, I'm sticking to the backyard, at least until I am done with my nine weeks.

I started off asking my husband Ryan to run with me to keep me motivated. It worked really well that first week when I tried every excuse in the book to get out of running. Ryan wouldn't let me give up. He also bought me a really expensive pair of New Balance running shoes. I think the shoes are the biggest motivator! Forget the increased cardiovascular health, lost pounds, bragging rights......I don't want the crazy expensive shoes to go to waste! I hate spending money, especially on something other than books and farm animals! So I am making sure to get my money's worth out of those shoes, even if it makes me skinnier in the process.

So, if you've been considering starting an exercise program, give the Couch to 5K a shot. It works for me.

More on Cooking With Dry Beans

I have done a few posts on dry beans. They are a great nutritional and monetary bang for your buck in the kitchen. Searches for tips on cooking dry beans ends up bringing a good amount of traffic my way. I thought I would add another dry bean cooking tip today, one that I have found useful over the past few months when time is at a premium.

On Monday, I measure out five or six cups of dry beans, and rinse them off really well. Take the time to check your beans for rocks. I have found small rocks in my beans quite a few times, so it is worth the extra time to thoroughly check them over. Put your rinsed beans in your crockpot, and fill it with water. Then I throw in a bay leaf or two, and add about a tablespoon of both garlic salt and onion powder. I let the beans cook most of the day on low heat, and then I switch the crockpot over to low. In the evening I put the pot in the refrigerator, and the next morning I put it back on the burner and set it for warm again. The beans are warm by lunch time. I use my slotted spoon to dish them out. I leave the beans in their liquid until they are gone, then I start the process over.

I kept finding that my beans would dry out too much if I strained the liquid off before storing them. Nobody likes a dry bean! This method has worked really well of us. We always have nice warm tender beans ready at any time. This saves me money and headaches.

To read my other posts on beans, look here and here and here

For more great kitchen tips make sure to visit Tammy's Recipes for Kitchen Tip Tuesday

The House Was So Quiet...

I came down with a bad case of mastitis on Tuesday, fever, chills, bodyaches, the works. As soon as Ryan got home from work I got into bed and stayed there for the remainder of the evening. I called a friend to see if she wouldn't mind watching Robert(3) and Ted(1) so that I could stay in bed on Wednesday too.

Ryan got up extra early and made breakfast for all of us, then dropped off the two middle kids on his way to work. I kept Little Ryan(5) with me to entertain the baby and get me things so that I could stay in bed. We were so lonely without Robert and Ted, and bored too! The house was quiet, not just quiet, spooky quiet.

I thought I might enjoy my day of rest, but truth be told I couldn't wait for my husband to get home with my two MISSING children. Little Ryan was a trooper, but I could tell he was miserable as well. When the two little sweeties finally got home they hugged me really tight. They probably didn't miss me as much as I missed them.

I'm so thankful that God hand-picked Robert and Ted especially for MY family. They BELONG here, and I NEED them. I think it is interesting how the role of the mother is always emphasized as being so important, the role of the father too. What about the role of the children? I NEED my children! When one or two of them are not around, I feel a bit lost. I ENJOY my children. Their role in MY life is every bit as important as my role in their's. They sanctify me, daily, hourly, minute by minute.

Thank you God for giving me my children...