Pinewood Castle

Saints in the Making

Happy Feast of All Saints, everyone!

Isn't it amazing to ponder how many saints are in heaven, canonized and uncanonized? I think of family members who have gone before us and am grateful for the gift of faith that has been passed down through generations. I pray for their help in fostering the gift of faith in our own children and hope that we might see them one day in heaven to thank them. Some days this hope is stronger than others - depending on how we are coming along in developing basic virtues. For most of September and October, my hope was pretty low.

After years and years of "laying down the rails" it can be pretty discouraging when our train derails so frequently. My children (one in particular) continue to be challenged with the basic expectations in our family regarding obedience, responsibility, respect, and keeping on task with the rhythm of the day even though we have had daily plans and rules  visibly posted for years. As much as I wish it could all become automatic and habitual, I find that keeping a home (with children in it) and homeschooling takes constant vigilance.

The other night my husband let the kids watch as he unclogged globs of hair and goop from the shower drain. One sister, teasing her brother said, "See, this is what you will have to do if you become a dad!" The brother replied, "Then I'll be a monk instead!" At times like these I think about the future of our children and realize that one of them may very well end up in the religious life - and I panic. Will they be prepared? Do we pray enough? Are they developing virtues? Will they wish we had raised them differently? I guess if God calls them and they follow, everything will work out with His help and grace. I just want them to be prepared for whatever God does call them to do - in religious or married life. This motivates me to learn, to grow, to read and try new ideas that might help me  achieve my goals in raising up saints. Sally Clarkson just discussed this very thing - 

The problem with motherhood and the need for women to build godly estates of godly leaders in their homes, through multiple children that a woman will invest her life into, is that most women had no training, preparation or education of what it would take or how much it would cost them. Most just got married with the hope that someone would love them and take care of them and provide security and affirmation, and then babies came, and overwhelmed them.  They had never been trained for the job, never seen it modeled when they grew up,  never had a vision for how powerful a house (family) for God could be or how much work it would take.

I love reading Sally's blog and her books. She speaks to my heart.

I am also slowly working my way through a stack of very practical and hysterically funny Carol Barnier books such as this one for "highly distractable moms". I say slowly, because every three or four pages she has an idea I want to implement, then I get distracted and it's a week or two before I pick up the book again. See, this book fits me to a T.

One idea I borrowed and adapted is the Dial-a-Child Chart. This is working out rather well for us even though it's basically our old chore chart in a more exciting format. Here's what it looks like hanging on the pantry door:

The dials get turned on Sunday morning. One glance and everyone knows who is supposed to do what.

Another passage from the Barnier books inspired me to fine tune our Family Rules and Consequences. These will look different for every family, of course, but this is what is important enough to our family to post on the wall:

One - We respect God, our Heavenly Father, and the earthly parents He has placed in authority over us.

• We are made to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life and be happy with Him in heaven. 
• Obedience, service, reverence, honor, truthfulness. 
• “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” Ephesians 6:1

Two - We respect others: parents, our siblings, friends, and guests in our home. 

• Peacefulness, cheerfulness, truthfulness, generosity, sharing, hospitality, helpfulness, forgiving, compassionate, kindness, gentleness, polite table manners.
• “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.” Colossians 3:23-24

Three - We respect property and are good stewards of our belongings and our bodies.

• Clothing, shoes, books, toys, furniture, bathrooms, musical instruments, the van interior, personal hygiene, pets, etc. 
• Orderliness, cleanliness, responsibility, being trustworthy.

Four - We are self-disciplined in our home work, school work, music practice, and commitments to outside activities. 

• Diligence, perseverance, sanctifying and meaningful work.
• “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings.” Proverbs 22:29

(If you have a good quote for #3 let me know - most scripture quotes refer to detaching from our belongings rather than taking good care of them. It's a fine line - not giving stuff too much attention, yet giving them proper care. I tell the kids that you can usually tell a lot about a person by the way they take care of their things.)

We are experimenting with consequences - I suspect I have been at fault by having far too few consequences because they have so few privileges to revoke compared to the average American child. Here's the new routine: when a child is having a problem, I call them over and ask them to tell me which rule they are having trouble with. They get a check mark for each rule violated. For instance, if a certain child (without naming names) leaves dirty socks on the floor they get a check mark for #3. If I ask them to put them in the hamper and 15 minutes later they are still there, they get another check mark under #1.

Two check marks result in allowance reduction and another consequence is added for each additional check mark: an extra job, do dessert, temporary loss of a prized possession, and an 8pm bedtime. No check marks by Saturday = Wii time and some of Mom's birthday chocolate. Plus marks can be earned for extra spectacular behavior like volunteering to take on jobs or being a great example of cheerful service.

Plus mark behavior can also make check marks disappear! Children without any checks and at least one plus mark get to go out for ice cream with Dad Saturday night. Two kids out of four made it this week. We are hoping that at least three kids make it next week, but of course what we are really aiming for is that all five make it to heaven with the rest of the saints we honor today.

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine.

Taming That Grocery Bill

Can you sense by the use of the word "that" in the title that I am at odds with our grocery bill? Are you? Can anyone really believe that a grocery bill can be as high as a mortgage payment? Personally, I think it's a crime to have to pay so much, especially for organic food. Some advocates of organic food claim that it is simply "honestly priced" food after factoring in government subsidies and eventual health care costs of conventionally grown food. But still. I think something is wrong with our food system when a bag of grapes (even non-organic) costs exponentially more than a fast-food hamburger.

I tackle the grocery budget from time to time, especially after reading message boards where I see that other mothers of many somehow spend half of what we do, even with twice the number children. I really don't know how they find food at the prices they claim to have found. I'm still figuring that out!

Some moms save big by using coupons and matching them with store sales and double coupon days. To me this sounds like hours of work and running from store to store beyond the already time-consuming task of menu planning and list making. What I hear from several friends is that while some coupon deals can't be beat, other discounts still total a price higher than the store brand. I just have not felt called to play the coupon game. Lazy me.

After doing some price comparisons, I am about ready to give up certain organic items since they cost twice as much as the non-organic versions. We have been in the habit of buying organic milk, yogurt, eggs,and butter, as well as some fresh and frozen produce on the "dirty dozen" list. For beef we buy locally raised grass-fed meat and whole chickens are also from a local organic farm.

My biggest accomplishment of late is overcoming my Fear of Aldi. Their prices are less than half of the grocery store across the street. If I shop there first, our grocery bill is easily lowered several hundreds dollars.

However, I was surprised to find that Costco's prices are often lower per ounce than Aldi's. The problem, of course, is quantity. Purchasing a three month's supply of pantry items quickly runs up the tab. It is difficult to check out with less than $300 worth of provisions at Costco. At Aldi I rarely spend over $100 - usually closer to $50 a visit. 

Here are the few items at Aldi I have found priced less than Costco:

• pasta sauce .075/oz
• rice .56/lb
• crackers .14/lb
• canned tomatoes .55/can
• sour cream 1.29/lb
• parmesan .40/oz
• canned salmon .13/oz
• ice cream .052/oz

These items are priced about the same:

• chicken broth cartons 1.40/32oz
• white sugar .57/lb
• brown sugar .75/lb
• chocolate chips /15/oz
• honey .18/oz
• milk (non-organic) 2.63/gallon
• eggs (non-organic) 1.55/dozen
• cottage cheese 1.32/lb
• cereal .10/oz
• tuna .21/can

Costco beats Aldi's prices on most everything else from nuts to tortilla chips to disposable items.

Aldi, on the other hand, carries wonderful European dark chocolate. I am not aware that any of their other products are from Europe. I wish they were - Europe has stricter standards when it comes to GMO's and pesticides.

I am putting together lists for comparison shopping. One with Costco's prices, one for Aldi, one for Azure, one for Trader Joe's and another for other local stores. Someday when they are more complete maybe I will post a pdf link. Photos will have to do for now!

Fortunately, my husband does the shopping at Costco and Trader Joe's since it is on his commute home. I am in charge of the local shopping. We don't buy much at Trader Joe's, but their price on 32 oz. organic yogurt and whole bean French roast is the best we can find. And the wine - definitely budget friendly!

What are your favorite secrets for eating well on a budget?

Our School - The First Three Weeks

Well, we started school the day after Labor Day like most families. We took a class photo on the porch just like always.

I think the kids were a little more excited than I was. I guess that's a good thing. I really am trying to remember to smile more. I even taped the lipstick smile cartoon to my bathroom mirror and added Kirsten's quote: "An extraordinary education begins with a smiling mother."

Well, it's not Kirsten's quote, but it's the one that she posted and I think of her when I read it. I've never met Kirsten IRL, but maybe I will someday since our girls are pen-pals. I really admire moms who smile.

 

My students enjoyed having special outfits to wear - especially the preschooler. She loves to have special clothes for specific occasions. For instance, she has one pair of panties she won't wear because she says they are her Birthday Panties.

And the kids enjoyed the schulte cones. The contents were minimal but they were no less appreciative.

Usually we "do school" four days a week and spend Wednesday mornings at piano lessons. This month I said "yes" to so many field trips and appointments so we are doing morning schoolwork only two or three days a week in September and October. Subjects have been layered on each week. We are almost up to the full load, except we still  have to find time to finish the IEW writing program.

 

Time Management is the battle I am picking the big goal for us this year. Really - are all home schooled kids as  lazy relaxed as mine? Mine seem to take forever to get ready in the morning and transition from breakfast to chores to schoolwork. They can tell time, but just don't seem to get how fast time ticks by and how behind we get by lunchtime with five minutes wasted here and there.

I think they are finally getting the timer enforcement - I am insisting they wear headphones and listen to baroque or classical music to keep from being so distracted by one another. The first two or three weeks they timed each subject and now they are setting their timers to the time allotted. At noon I add up the minutes they wrote down and compare it to the time gone by. Sometimes there are large chunks of time unaccounted for! I really don't get how this happens and the child somehow never knows.

Well, I take that back. One day Sunshine admitted that she spent time here and there watching out for the butterfly to emerge from it's chrysalis. Today my eldest had an hour unaccounted for with no explanation. Hopefully the long talk with the principal after dinner will be the remedy for this time-wasting syndrome.

(yes, he does his school work standing up)

I know many homeschoolers are not so uptight about this, but I find that our day works best if the book  work is finished by lunch so we can have wider margins around lunch and dinnertime. On paper we have an hour and a half for lunch & outside before beginning a piano/read alone/check-in with mom rotation from 1:30 - 3:00. The goal is to finish by 3:00 and gather together for art or science before getting back outside.

These kids love outside.

After that I unload the dishwasher and start dinner. Two nights a week my son has to eat early and get to choir by 6pm. The toddler's tummy alarm goes off about 5pm so we have all been eating earlier and having more time to clean up after dinner and to spend more time outside before the sun goes down. Or like tonight, finishing school work!

Do your kids cherish their time outside as much as ours? The current passion is concocting recipes from the doll mud pie book such as Pine Needle Upside Down Cake, Roasted Rocks, and Sandwiches made from sand and leaves. Pretty tasty cuisine for dolls.

 

Getting the little ones to bed by 7:00 - 7:30pm has made a huge difference in their happiness and well being as well as the rest of the family. It's nice to have an hour that is noticeably quieter than the rest. By 8pm dad reads to the the big kids, we pray, and they get off to bed by 8:30. Usually.

And as for the actual school work? My 6th grader is totally excited about The Ancients. She made the nomad tent suggested in SOTW and plans to sleep there tonight.

My 4th grader is combining history and home ec. by cooking from Eat Your Way Through the USA. Everything has been a hit so far!

(lobster casserole and blueberry pie for Maine)

Our 3rd grader was pretty non-compliant with the timer directives for the first two weeks, but then he got in gear and was able to finish his work in two hours and start making lunch by 11:30! I about fell over in disbelief. Maybe he will turn out to be a reliable fellow after all.

The preschooler is usually cooperative with preschool activities, though we just do the plans when we can. Sometimes before the toddler's nap, sometimes during. She surprises me with her memory for song lyrics, counting, interest in the alphabet, reciting the months of the year, and even adding numbers on her own.

And the toddler - he loves to "read" in his little hand-me-down Thomas chair. He's soooo adorable at this age - which happens to be 18 months this week.

One more crucial item to our school routine has been resurrected - Morning Devotional Time. It's almost back in place - we have yet to decide if this should take place before or after breakfast. Either way, we had slacked off with our routine of morning prayer, reading the saint-of-the-day, a chapter of Proverbs-a-day, and singing a hymn. As for the Devotional Stories for Little Folks - honestly the girls just read them on their own in years past. Since their brother has not gotten to reading them, the girls unanimously agreed that he needed to hear these stories and get on the bandwagon of putting some more virtues in practice, so I am reading them out loud for the first time even though I honestly don't like cutesy moralizing stories. But if it works and bears fruit I am willing to give them a try.

The theme of our home school mom's group also inspired this change: First Things First. After deciding on this theme one of the co-leaders came across this article on the same topic by Jeannie Fulbright that confirmed our chosen focus.

At our first meeting she read the article aloud (with tears in her eyes) and we handed out notebooks decorated with a picture of the proverbial cart before a horse. It was such a poignant reminder that everything we do as homeschoolers is difficult enough with out God's help, and can be unbearably difficult unless we put God first and ask his blessings on our day and on our children.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Let's just say I am super impressed these days with homeschooling moms of many who still manage to crank out posts at a steady rate. This endeavor just seems beyond my reach these days. There are so many things to do, I just have to prioritize and think, "What is the one thing I need to do right now?" The possibilities are a endless, but it is usually something like:

help the kids with school

help the kids practice

take a violin in for new fine tuners

read to the older kids

read to the younger kids

fold laundry for the kids so they can go outside and get the sunshine and exercise they need

go outside and walk so I can get the sunshine and exercise I need

make a menu plan

make a grocery list for the menu plan

read the choir boy's newsletter

update the calendar with performance dates

make necessary phone calls like scheduling the chimney sweep

write a thank you note and bake cookies for someone who did something nice for me

place my Azure order

close the pantry door

grade math

order library books

return library books

re-do my grocery price lists and see if Aldi is really less expensive than Costco

make some iced coffee

go to the bathroom!

order snow gear for the eldest

sign up for that field trip

get to a dr. appointment for me

drive to karate

drive to boy choir

grocery shop during choir rehearsal

drive to violin

drive to Ft. Snelling for a field trip

print out the educational material for that Young People's Concert

ask my husband what day he can mow and take the van for an oil change

order beeswax candles for the dark months

talk to my niece about her new baby boy

clean the floor

clean the appliances

change burnt-out lightbulbs

wipe the dust off the light fixtures

get out bigger clothes for the baby

change the outfit on the 4 year old's baby doll

at least do puzzles with the 4yo since we didn't get to doing preschool

let the new butterfly go

pick up the family room again

water the porch mums

pick the lock on my bedroom door after the 4yo locked the baby in my bedroom all by himself

look at what's for dinner tomorrow

make sure I have all the ingredients

You get the idea. You get that "write all those blog posts I have swimming in my head" isn't the one thing I need to be doing unless it's 9pm or earlier, the kids are all in bed, the laundry is all folded and put away, I know what's for dinner the next day, and I am not about to fall asleep standing up.

Patience. And priorities. And all for the love of God and these precious people He put in my life ~

All Those Nooks and Crannies

Although the basic housework is now delegated to the three older children, the details of actual housekeeping and cleaning still fall with me. Now that last year's homeschooling is almost completely wrapped up and most of next year's materials are prepped my attentions are naturally falling to all the unclean and neglected areas of my home.

My fifth grader is a week away from finishing the MODG subjects we choose to follow and would love my help. The poor girl follows me around the house asking, "Mom, can you help me finish memorizing O Captain, My Captain?" to which I reply, "Sure honey, after I finish scraping off the rings in the toilet with this  pumice stone." Or another day,  "Mom, will you please quiz me for the final Latin review and then tune my violin so I can practice?" and I put her off a few minutes with "Sure, after I finish cleaning the gunk off the shower door track with a toothbrush and wash all the wastebaskets!" Here I had imagined that I would spend some time on the sofa with her these last weeks reading about the Civil War but for some reason I can't stop cleaning instead.

Other areas are making the cleaning list for next week: vacuuming the drapes, wiping light fixtures, removing everything from the kitchen drawers and wiping them out. Really, how do so many crumbs get in a silverware tray full of clean silverware? I know some of you supermoms actually do these tasks regularly, but most of this I have not done in over a year - when my nesting instinct kicked in before the LIttle Prince was born.

Keeping up with the basics has been challenging enough. It seems like a daily fight to keep my house from looking like the ones you see on TV - you know those hoarders with one path from the front door to the easy chair to the fridge and back and the rest of the house stack floor to ceiling with junk? Sometimes it seems like I just can't move in my own home but I suspect it has more to do with a certain toddler, four year old, three older kids and two cats with constant and various demands.

Now I had better be off to clean the garbage disposal!

Retiring to Management

I just gave myself a promotion!

Inspired by some talks I have been listening to, I delegated more responsibility to my children so they can become more proficient in their home ec skills and I have more time for things like taking the littles for a walk.

The new assignments:

11yo girl: Head Laundress. Bring down the hamper of the day (pre-sorted in designated hampers that reside in the upstairs hallway), load the washer, run the washer, transfer to dryer, etc. Everyone still helps fold and deliver, preferably during read aloud time. We typically wash a category a day, resulting in one or two loads. Monday - kid's clothes, Tuesday - jeans, Wednesday - towels, Thursday, mom & dad's clothes, Friday - kitchen laundry, Saturday - sheets.

9yo gir: Head Bathroom Custodian. The kids used to clean one bathroom every Saturday, now one child cleans a bathroom a day for just three days. Everything but the shower and tub, which I do every other week or so.

8yo boy: Official Duster. One room a day between breakfast and school.

4yo girl: Table Setter. Sometimes she is eager to help, sometimes not. Let the training begin.

After Meal Clean-Up: 11yo clears, 8yo wipes, 9yo vacuums. 11yo also starts the dishwasher.

End of the Day Cleaning Zones: 11yo - mudroom & cat box/food, 9yo family room books & toys, 8yo classroom and den.

Meal Helpers: 9yo - breakfast, 8yo lunch, 11yo dinner.

Everyone: Saturday room cleaning and vacuuming. Helping with the baby when asked. Helping with anything when asked!

 

It's a Mouse & Cookie Kind of Day

It's Cleaning & Reorganizing Day.

When you put away St. Valentine's decorations you realize you have collected too many for them to share a storage tub with St. Patrick's too. So you add "storage tub" to the Target list.

You bring up the Purple Box (advent and lent) and pull everything out. You realize that you never did get an "N" or a "T" to change your advent PREPARE to the lent REPENT like one of your favorite bloggers does. You add two letters and a little bottle of purple paint to the Michael's list.

You find the card stock crosses you painted and decorated last year but never made into a garland. Where did you put the hole punch?

Then your dear, dear husband takes all the car seats out of the van so he can take it to the fancy car wash that cleans floor mats and interior windows just because he know the state of the van is driving you nuts. He figures out our two car seats have expired, finds a YouTube video on the possible consequence of this in case of an accident, decides to err on the side of safety and orders two new Britax car seats. Good thing there is 20% code at diapers.com!

Now it's time for you to clean the glass on the back door to make it ready for the Lenten path that is faded but still usable. You already cleaned the floor and moved the chairs to the family room. Your kids turn this into a train, just like you did when you were young. This is the excitement of the day. You even eat lunch picnic style on the floor because the kids beg you to leave "the train" up longer.

There is at least one oasis of calm and order you can set your eyes on. And good thing you cleaned out those votives last year. It's the one thing all day that did not lead to another!

Thank you, all you bloggers, who have shared so many wonderful ideas over the years that have become beloved family traditions. We are looking forward to a cleansing, yet joyful Lent.

Cookie Convenience

Thank you Krusteaz Chocolate Crackle box mix from Costco for making it easy to bring six dozen cookies with three variations to the boys' choir concert today!

The Helm of the Ship - The Kitchen Sink

I often think of our home not only as a castle but also a ship, with the kitchen sink as it's helm. Second to the shower, this is often where I do my best thinking, praying and cleansing. What I do here gives our family direction and vision, the beginning and end of almost every meal as well as each day.

See evidence of Saturday's blizzard on the window?

I remember back when I first looked up Fly Lady and was impressed by her emphasis on keeping a clean kitchen sink. Clean it well before bedtime and you will feel better waking up to a clean kitchen sink, she said. I took her advice and never regretted it. In this season of my life my dh is more often the kitchen closer and opener but he follows suit, I am happy to say. I still love getting in there during the weekdays and on weekends to give it a good cleaning and spruce things up a bit.

Even though I wish we had a magazine-pretty sink with white woodwork, casement windows, a deep and flat windowsill, granite counter tops and retro faucets. I have the opposite: oak woodwork, a slider window, a shallow uneven sill, laminate counters and an easy lever faucet. Still, I am pretty content with what I have.

Close-ups:

A prayer for my husband and wikki stick and bottle cap gifts from the kids -

Hot cocoa mugs within easy reach (rather than digging in the depths of the cabinets for them) -

Recently created garland -

A molded beeswax ornament -

A kitchen Madonna -

 

I will be very much a late-comer to Leila's kitchen sink linky party (62nd) but I am taking a little time out for this post because I love the meaning of it all.

Leila observes that the reason women commonly feel discontent in this hidden home-maker life is "not understanding or not being willing to commit yourself to the little tasks that make up this life."

Here is her vision: "The wife and mother has the ability to turn something that seems like drudgery into a pleasure and even a prayer . . . make the area around your sink pretty, according to what you think is pretty! And not just pretty, but maybe even a place that your prayers rise like incense to Heaven even while your hands are in soapy water."

This, my dear readers, is the main lesson of life that I am trying to pass on to my children: cleaning does not have to be drudgery. Your home is your castle, your ship, your church. Be a good steward of your environment, do little things well, create a happy hum in your home environment not only with your own disposition but also with what your eyes rest on each day (sometimes my disposition is my greater challenge). Sanctify your dwelling - start by keeping your kitchen sink pretty!

Cocoa Mix Picks

You thought I was all done with questions? I thought I was too until today. You see, I would love to know what people like better: cocoa mix that you mix with milk or cocoa mix you mix with hot water. Which do you prefer?

Why do I want to know, you ask? Well, once upon a time I ordered 5 lbs. of organic powdered cocoa and underestimated how much this would be or how long it would last. Recipes really don't call for all that much. Last year (or two years ago?) I made a cocoa mix but made the mistake of using non-instant milk powder. My kids do not like lumpy cocoa - and neither do I. The batch was finally thrown out, just a couple of weeks ago.

This weekend with the snow and all I have been using a mix I bought at Target. This mix requires warm milk, which is quite good, but used up a gallon of milk now that we have six cocoa sippers in the family. Inspired to use up that cocoa powder and attempt to make my own once more, I have been looking for recipes for our own supply and possibly as Christmas gifts for some IRL friends and relations. This is the one I made today for our pantry.I have not used it yet since we used the Archer Farms mix today. 

I have twelve quart jars ready to go for gifts, now I have to make a final decision for the give-away batches: a mix that tastes great but uses up a family's milk supply or a mix using instant powdered milk. Is there a big difference?

My Husband is a Genius

Me, wistfully, "Oh, I wish I had time to go out and refill the bird feeders. I wish the kids were tall enough to reach them."

My husband, the genius, "Well, they could use the step stool in the garage."

One more job permanently delegated.

The Secret to Angel Food Cake

For years I would try to make angel food cake on the Feast of the Guardian Angels. For years my cake fell apart because I could not find a wine bottle with a skinny enough neck for inverting the tube pan. Some reader (thank you whomever you are) suggested using a metal funnel. I finally found one (online) after a long search. It works. It really works!

(I meant to post this last week, but you know how things go. Just FYI for next year!)

Love Is . . .

. . . more shelves installed by my DH. Why? Because I was suddenly driven nuts by having all my arts & crafts supplies in five different places.

Trouble is, this was the front coat closet. If you visit me this winter, you'll have to leave your coat in the car!

No More Bent Books (hopefully)

When we returned from vacation and our mail delivery resumed we found over a week's worth of mail stuffed into our standard sized mail box. It took my husband ten minutes to extract everything, including a large envelope with a used hardcover book ordered from Amazon. The book was bent, of course, and I made a special trip to the post office to politely and patiently ask why we continue to have problems with books being stuffed in our mailbox rather than delivered to the door.

The answer? Our mail carrier is supposed to deliver over sized packages to the door. Why doesn't he? I may never know. But we decided to meet him halfway by getting a larger mail box like this:

 

I am also making a sign: PLEASE DO NOT BEND FLATS CONTAINING BOOKS - PLEASE BE KIND AND DELIVER THEM TO THE PORCH SO THEY ARRIVE FLAT AND IN NEW CONDITION.

I hope this does the trick. If not - perhaps cookies?

Summer Savings

 It's Back to School time and for some reason as a homeschooler I always feel a little guilty about taking advantage of the sales. I don't know why. Our kids need clothing and school supplies just like everyone else's!

I can't possibly provide a complete list of specials but a few deals out there have saved us some of my husband's hard-earned cash. Famous Footwear's current special is "buy one, get the second pair for half price and take an extra 20% of your entire purchase". My son now has the next size up and I suspect my second daughter will be in need now that her older sister wears shoes long enough to make them unfit for hand-me-downs.

Prismacolor colored pencils ($65) were on my art supply list so I printed a 40% off coupon for Michaels which brought it to $35 (no need to buy a newspaper for this) and was pleased to find a $10 rebate in the store bringing the total cost to just $25! Plus, teachers get an extra 15% off of an entire purchase on Fridays through September something. This will come in handy now that we are traveling to a Costco every other week with a Michael's in the vicinity.

Costco/slashing the grocery bill update coming soon!

My Honey Luvs Me

And he was tired of always being the one to fetch meat from the basement freezer.

I can now enter the lowest level of the house without having a panic attack and I won't have to spend all of our tornado warning time cleaning while watching the radar.

The remedy? Shelves my dh installed on all of those rainy Saturdays the past month -

 

I don't seem to have a before picture for comparison, but just imagine all those clothing storage boxes on the floor collecting dust and spider webs.

I might even start using that treadmill again if we can replace the broken dehumidifier.

 

These two shelves were already here but they hold school/toy items not in current use. You see the kids still have their beloved refrigerator box. Like the baby? We found him down there in a swing between boxes. He's really cute.

 

Newly organized Little People, train table and race cars.

 

This is where I am putting 2010-11 curriculum until we are ready for it.

The basement used to be so empty. The girls rode their tricycles down there and one winter or two we hung swings from the rafters. Growing pains are good pains in a way. In a blink of an eye we won't need all those children's clothes anymore and will have empty shelf space for who-knows-what. Sniff sniff.

Top Ten Sanity Savers

At least for this week. It's a real nose to the grindstone week for us. More about that later. 

Here it goes . . .

10. Creating something beautiful with my hands. I needed this therapy. It's even better when the materials you work with smell as good as real beeswax.

 

9. Finally something to help her understand numbers through the millions.

8. I still marvel that my phone gets charged as we listen to Pandora during school time.

7. My new revolving desk carousel holds everything: scissors, glue, tape, highlighters, tape recorder, date stamp, flashcards, teaching clock, stapler, hole punch, protractor, post-its, dice, lip balm, fingernail clipper, pencil sharpeners. Everything. Keeps me from hunting through my desk every five minutes. I love this thing. So does Pipsqueak. 

6. Setting a timer for 4th grader for each subject to help stay on schedule. Rewards for finishing before the timer beeps. Timer tucked into coat pocket so they know when to come in after recess unless they are crawling through snow tunnels and the wrong buttons get pushed. If they didn't cost $10-$15 each I would buy ten of them!

5. Schedules for each child. Laminated. Doubles as a place mat!

4. Tip from homeschooling seminar - keeping your hands busy while monitoring potentially frustrating sessions such as math lessons and piano practice really helps you keep your cool. The presenter got this idea from pondering how long it took Jesus to fashion a whip before driving the merchants out of the temple.

3. Violin is now from 4:00 - 5:00 twice a week = more crock pot meals.

2. Need I explain?

Drum roll please ..............................................................................

1. DADDY'S HOME!!!

She's Here!

The dishwasher, not the baby!

She actually arrived a few days before Christmas. I thought my Santa had come, but unfortunately the delivery guys did not install. No, the dishwasher did not come in a box for the kids, but they did give them a refrigerator box! They were thrilled.

Installation was finally arranged for today. Somehow we survived the holidays without it. I can't run it until it warms up to room temperature because it sat out in the garage for almost two weeks in sub-zero weather. There's a possibility of damage from the cold, I am told. That didn't stop me from loading it anyway to clear the clutter on the counter. See the bathroom cups all ready to be sanitized?

I have a sneaking suspicion that the racks are are a few inches less deep than the Kenmore. Humph. I think we'll love her anyway!

Dishwasher: Good News, Bad News

Bad News: Sears can't send a repairman out to look at our dishwasher until Tuesday.

Good News: If the guy determines that the leak is caused by a factory defect, we get full credit (of the original cost) towards a new dishwasher and the builder's discount on a new one.

Bad News: The insurance adjuster who came out said that to repair our floor properly we would have to wait several months for the floor to be completely dry, replace the warped boards and have the entire first floor refinished.

Good News: If the leak is caused by a factory defect then Kenmore is liable for that cost too. DH really thinks it is - that the plastic bottom shows wear and the water is seeping through these little craters.

Good News: We went out to a Sears showroom to look at some models in case we do get a replacement. This Bosch looks good to both of us - stainless steel interior, 47 dBA and some extra feature that shuts everything off if a leak is detected. The screws that hold the door together look sturdier too.

Bad News: They sales guy thinks there is a 1% chance that Kenmore will say it's a factory defect, and even if they do they will only offer a fraction of the credit. He thinks we should buy from him this weekend and cancel our service call.

Good News: We think he just wants to make a sale on "friends and family" weekend. 

In the meantime, we stocked up on paper plates, etc. at the dollar store. I just love that some of you (or your kids) love doing dishes. I really don't mind if I can do them early in the evening, but these days I am all tuckered out by dishes time. My dh arrives home around 6:30, we eat by 7:00 and if we let the kids do the dishes they would get to bed really late and/or we would not have much at all time for our usual evening activities of read-a-loud, a decade of the rosary or crafts. My dh usually does the dishes which normally consists of knives, pots and pans, two French coffee presses, coffee mugs and the kids' stainless steel sippy cups (not really sippy - they have built in straws). 

So, we wait with anticipation, unsure of how much to hope for here. At least the kids are excited about the possibility of getting a big box to play in!

Appliance Dependence

First, Jamie's fridge went out the first day back to school.

Jessica's fridge followed suit.

Then Margaret's stove and oven went out, forcing an involuntary fast of microwaved soup.

Now, our dishwasher its leaking!

It appears that the bottom of the plastic tub is being eaten away and water is seeping through the powdery spots.

Yes, the tub should be covered by warranty, but that still requires a $$ service call and labor. Plus, many of the screws that hold the door together are stripped, have fallen out, and we have been thinking that the whole door will come apart any day. We could be looking at a substantial repair bill even with a warranty.

It would be nice to have a dishwasher with a more durable stainless steel interior and a quieter decibel rating.

It's only six years old. But don't we homeschooling families run our dishwashers more than most?

To replace or not to replace, that is the question!

Impromptu Cookbook Project

It seems I am constantly reorganizing here at Pinewood Castle! Just when I finally arranged a monthly file file system I started typing up my Circle Time Plans (which I need to finish, bty) and most of the crafts and recipes I had filed were transferred to that notebook. Trouble is, I don't like hauling my Circle Time notebook to the kitchen all the time so I decided to arrange my favorite recipes into seasonal 3 ring binders with page protectors.

This is also why I have been posting recipes - I am typing them up from recipe cards and magazines pages so that I can print them out for these notebooks. It's easy enough to copy, paste and share over here!

I figure I can print them out for my children when they fly the coop as well as bridal or baby shower gifts. I have also been doubling most of them as I go since our family has grown. This way we have leftovers or a second batch for the freezer.

I started out by moving them to a cardboard pocket folder a few months ago. I think the binders will be much better. Now I just need several more packages of page protectors!

Here's what I have so far:

The Fall Favorites and Winter Warm-Ups hold feast day recipes in the front, every day soups, stews and baked dishes in the middle, and desserts in the back third, and Thanksgiving in the very back. Recipes using apples, pumpkin, squash, beans, potatoes and cranberries go here.

Advent & Christmas/Winter Celebrations are my special recipes for feasts that fall from December through the end of Lent. This is also for Christmas cookie recipes, Liturgical Teas, Christmas and New Year's meal ideas and other seasonal treats. 

Meatless Meals are for Fridays, fast days and Lent. We don't give up meat for all of Lent, but do try to increase our meatless meals. This one holds plenty of soup, pasta, seafood and bread recipes.

Spring Specials will hold everything from Easter through about June. Asparagus, rhubarb, lamb, mint, lemon, stir-fry, salads and stove-top recipes have found a home here. 

I started Summer Cooking months ago to hold recipes using summer berries, zucchini, greens, salads, corn and tomatoes. I am also putting no-bake meals and grilled foods here.

I hope this helps us in our efforts to eat more seasonally and locally. I also hope it helps me find what I am looking for and better remember what we have eaten in years past!

Charting a Path to Sanity

Now that we I made peace with unfinished workbooks and are fully immersed in the business of enjoying our cool and short summer it seems we have traded one problem for another.

The problem seems to be this: the children think that since they are not doing school work that they are off the hook for everything else household and routine related.

Does this happen at your house too?

Hence, the spool of red tickets emerged from the depth of the pantry this week. (Remember Jessica's Ticket to Summer Fun post?) Last summer this system worked wonders. I have high hopes this summer as well. But we are doing things a little differently this year.

Tickets will be earned for the following items that are hot on my mind - it's back to basics this summer!

• complete Morning Routine before breakfast
• complete daily housework
• lend a Helping Hand throughout the day
• finish a chapter book
• finish a "fun book" on their shelf (to make room for next year's school books!)
• be caught doing good and wonderful things

Here are my charts just revised and re-posted:

• Morning Routine - my girls know what to do by know. My son has a picture chart, as in  photographs of him doing each step.
• Daily Cleaning is posted upstairs in the hallway: Download Chores - Upstairs Copy
• Helping Hands is posted in the kitchen: Download Helping Hands - kitchen
• House Rules are posted too: Download House Rules
• and the Ticket Exchange chart: Download Tickets to summer fun

*** I might add for clarification that I do work alongside the children and "inspect what I expect" whenever possible, especially with the 6yo!

For each ticket earned I write the child's initial on the back and place them all in a jar on the kitchen counter. At the end of the week we will count them up and see if, collectively, they earned enough to make an exchange.

Today they were amazingly motivated. They even invented a Nice Club that performs various acts of charity such as bringing me bouquets of Johnny Jump-Ups, giving gifts of painted rocks and wiping the porch with wet rags. Four tickets have been earned for finished Thorton Burgess and Boxcar Children books. For the first time ever, the two children not on kitchen patrol are doing the dishes and actually enjoying their time with the water and suds.

With dishes done earlier we have had more time to reinstate an evening rosary, albeit interrupted by someone's toot setting off the "explosive gas" alarm and a toddler who alternates her pious kneeling and folded hands with flinging her rosary across the room with a smile you can surely imagine.

"Habit is ten natures" as Charlotte Mason says. Hopefully the habits (the good ones) cemented over the summer will continue on into the next school year and will be applicable to their studies. I also desperately hope that our littlest one will, over time, learn from the good example of her older siblings. Especially during the Rosary!

Cleaning House

I do hope to resume regular blogging (and my 5 a.m. exercise routine) in the near future. In the meantime, there has been so much TO DO! Spring and fall always usher in a burst of change in my life.

First I caught a bad cold after staying up late two nights in a row. That's all it took for major congestion to move in and steal my voice for a week. I attended the MACHE conference and I do still mean to blog about it.

Then there was Easter and ham and lamb and potatoes and chocolate. And chocolate. And chocolate.

In the midst of this there was the overwhelming urge to spring clean, put away winter clothes and purchase needed summer clothes and shoes. I might also mention the big summer planning session I had scheduling soccer, T-Ball, introductory karate, a session of ice skating and swimming lessons at the Y.

Oh, and the basement. For a few exciting weeks my DH and I had decided to finish the basement and make a school room for morning seat work as well as a bathroom and exercise room. We mapped out a schedule and for some reason thought we could pay as we went along. Can you guess what happened next? Yes, we quickly decided that a summer-long DIY project would be WAY too much stress for us at this time.

So.

I re-arranged and cleaned our current classroom. We are still planning a paint job - maybe a refreshing green or robin's egg blue with this rug from LL Bean and this desk (for me) from IKEA. This is due to the fact that sitting in kids' chairs for two hours really does a number on my low back!

While I don't have any pathetic before photos of my mess, here are some "after" shots:

I moved all my Catholic Mosaic and seasonal books by the sofa to free up some classroom bookshelf space

I moved all of my "teacher help desk" stuff away from the kitchen table and carved out a spot for myself in the learning room

The toddler loves to pull up a chair beside me at these kids' sized desks but they will have to go soon!

In the meantime I enjoy having some space by my mom books to plan to week -

My new label maker is working overtime these days updating files

And here is the current TO-DO file holder -

I cleared off enough to designate TODDLER SHELVES, though she is still too much of a pitter-pat to apply herself very long -

I am also in the process of making toddler acticity bins for each day of the week. These are in the front hall closet -

The science/art/music shelf

And our liturigal/circle time table with holy water in the teacup (for now)

I am also meaning to post about candle decorating sometime soon!

Here is another wall of the classroom

And our new schedule with house cleaning moved to a time slot AFTER seatowrk is finished. Much less stressful for me and easier to begin the school day on time!

For the basement, we decided to move down the toys-with-many-parts such as these -

 

And the Waldorf toddler play stands/kitchen

Another HUGE task was the periodic cleaning of the girls' room. All because we thought a shelf like this would help keep their room neater -

 

But after we filled it the room still looked like this:

Notice that Sunshine gave up and is talking to her siblings out the window?

Two big trash bags later it looked like this:

 

Fairy Town was moved to the floor of the closet

 

And a dress-up corner was arranged

The BOY project the same day was this:

 

The mud room looks slightly better without winter coats and the mitten tree doubles as a hat rack.

Now here are the spaces I DREAM about being clean and organized:

 

 

The next challenge I am facing before returning to the blogging and exercise world is waiting for my little toe to heal. Yes, I broke my tow by walking into a door frame on my way to change a poopy diaper. My foot is bruised and swollen and all I can do is to take Advil, Tylenol, buddy tape my toes and elevate my foot with an ice pack for days on end.

My toddler however LOVES mommy's new hobby of lying on the sofa. I'm really present to her these days as she climbs all over me!

Easter blessings to everyone and please pray to Dr. St. Gianna (whose feast day is coming up on the 27th) for quick healing!

It Came!

The back-ordered mitten tree arrived just in time for the temps to reach 32 F and make for wet mittens! (I would link to it, but Plow & Hearth says it's no longer available.)