Thursday Thirteen

This week's list is another fun list!  However, instead of doing more junk food, I thought I would be more diet friendly and talk about homeschooling!  

So here is my list of thirteen ways you can tell you are a homeschool family...

You might be a homeschool family if:

1. Going to the grocery store is considered both a "field trip" and a "math lesson" because they get out during regular school hours and are doing math by adding up the cost of the groceries as you go along.
   
   
2. Your school uniform is your PJ's.
   
   
3. You have to clear the breakfast dishes before you can start school.
   
   
4. You can't make it through the grocery produce department without asking your preschooler the name and color of every vegetable.
   
   
5. You exclaim that the unknown dish in the fridge isn't because you need to clean, but because of science experiments! 
   
   
6. You live in a one-house schoolroom. 
   
   
7. Your children start coming up with curriculum ideas of their own: "Mom, can I make myself a Robin Hood hat for language arts?"
   
   
8. You find yourself evaluating the aerobic value of vacuuming so you can log it under physical education. 
   
   
9. Talking out loud to yourself is a parent/teacher conference. 
   
   
10. The teacher gets to kiss the principal in the faculty lounge and no one gossips.
    
    
11. Your neighbors think you are insane.
    
    
12. Discipline for "cutting up in class" may include vacuuming or dishwashing.
    
    
13. You get to change more than diapers; you get to change their minds.

So there you have it!!  Can you add anything to the list??

For more lists, head over to Happy to be at Home!!

Homeschooling the Preschool Years

Do you have a preschooler??  Are you thinking about homeschooling your preschooler??  Are you wondering if you should get a pre-packaged curriculum to do with your preschool child?

Don't stress over getting a pre-packaged curriculum.  Relax and let them imagine, interact and explore their world!  Want to read more encouragement in how you can do that??  

Head over to Happy to be At Home and read more of my post Homeschooling the Preschool Years!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday--Two Bowls Better Than One

My tip today is probably a no brainer for those who do a lot of once a month cooking(OMAC) or who do up big batches of certain foods but this little tidbit I am about to share really helped me this morning while doing up a hot breakfast for my crew.

The tip is when making up a huge batch of pancake or waffle batter remember that TWO bowls are better than ONE!   

Now you are probably wondering how I came to this revelation.....

I am working at getting out of a rut for the breakfast routine.  I am trying to up my average of hot breakfasts from 3 days weekly to 5 days during the week, hence working towards ridding my family of the cold cereal and toast morning routine.   

Anyway, I planned to do pancakes and bacon for breakfast so I made up TWO triple batches of my pancake batter. Well this Mom of five does not have a gigantic mixing bowl to make up the batter in ONE bowl!  So I got out TWO of my mixing bowls and set to work putting the ingredients into each bowl making the batches up simultaneously.  Once I completed making up the batter, I was able to put a lid on the bowl that I wasn't going to use first and put it in the fridge so I wasn't losing counter space and nothing got dropped into the batter! 

Another reason to put it into TWO bowls rather than just one is if I did not have time this morning to make up the both sets of batter I have the ability to come back to it later and finish making them for putting in the freezer.   

One downside to multiple bowls is that it creates more dishes to wash but in the end if it is going to save my sanity...well I'll use two bowls.

The end result of my madness of TWO triple batches of pancakes is one hot breakfast for seven and two gallon size freezer ziploc bags for two more hot breakfast by thawing and reheating.

For more kitchen tips, head over to Tammy's Recipes.

Organizing Round-up---Filing Cabinets

Laura, the Organizing Junkie is having an Organizing Round-up again this year so I thought I would join in!!

These are two crates of homeschool resources & papers plus articles I want to keep plus some college research papers I want to keep. However, I need to delutter it and reduce!! This is the BEFORE pic:

This is the AFTER picture!!

This is "junk"/recycle paper stack that came from those two crates!!  AHHHH!! Feels good to get rid of all that pile!!

I just got a new to me desk that has a drawer for hanging folders so I took what was left in the two crates and put them in the drawer. (sorry forgot a pic of the drawer!)  There is room to spare in the drawer!!

To see what others have accomplished, head over to Laura's Roundup Post!!

Menu Plan Monday 2/1-2/7

Last week's menu plan went pretty smoothly. There was just one “hiccup” where I didn’t get my roast, carrots, and potatoes meal in the crockpot on time for it to be ready for our dinner hour. I had a “plan B meal” in place just in case so we ended up going with the “plan B meal” and the roast dinner ended up being a simple heat-up for the following day! I tried a new recipe by tweaking it for my family’s tastes. The dish was a success and will definitely be making it to my master main dish list.

This week’s shopping trip was a little different for me in that I really did not use much in the way of coupons and still saved money by shopping at Save A Lot & Aldis and the sales at the grocery stores.

This week’s menus are another round of family favorites. I decided to give my family a break from the new dishes by doing the tried & true recipes.

Lunches listed are for the kids & me. Unless we are having leftovers, our lunches are served with apple slices or baby carrots along with fruit juice or water. Hubby usually takes a dinner leftover for his work lunch.

A special thanks to Laura-Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! Need help with your menus; go check the over 300 other delicious meal plans that have been linked at Laura-Organizing Junkie's site or look down in my right sidebar for my menu suggestion lists! 

Sunday (2-1)

Breakfast: eggs, sausage, hash browns, and cinnamon rolls
Lunch: leftover spaghetti
Dinner: ??
Snack: snack basket

Monday (2-2)

Breakfast: pancakes
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: chicken/fish, mashed taters & corn
Snack: cookies, milk & yogurt

Tuesday (2-3)

Breakfast: cereal, toast & yogurt
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: burgers, homemade fries, and carrots
Snack: snack basket

Wednesday (2-4) 

Breakfast: waffles and sausage
Lunch: sandwiches & chips
Dinner: Cordon Bleu, boiled potatoes, and corn
Snack:“mystery snack”

Thursday (2-5)

Breakfast: French Toast
Lunch: pizza rolls
Dinner: Saucy Chicken, rice and green beans
Snack: snack basket

Friday (2-6)

Breakfast: cereal and toaster strudel
Lunch: sandwiches & chips
Dinner: pizza and breadsticks
Snack: ice cream night

Saturday (2-7)

Breakfast: “Cook’s Choice”
Lunch: ???probably leftovers
Dinner: pork loin, mashed potatoes & gravy, and corn
Snack: snack basket or popcorn