Keeping It Simple

A long time ago, I mentioned my kitchen cabinet redo. I said I would share. It only took a year or two or three... Anyway, let me just tell you that I think my husband is a genius. And an awesome builder. When I met him years ago, he was a furniture maker. That company floundered and he took his talents to work as a cabinetmaker for a building contractor. From there, he headed in to business for himself. It is tough to eek out a living as a cabinetmaker or furniture maker, so he moved on to building contractor. Now he is a building contractor with some mad cabinet and furniture making skills. Someday I'll show you the dresser he made for me about 35 years ago that still looks almost brand new. I digress... The front of these cabinets used to be our kitchen wall. By building around the hall closet and the bathroom plumbing that is on the other side, hubby was able to make our wall in to a pantry. I have mentioned the size of our house before- anyone could g...

In my life this week... We had a birthday to celebrate-  We became parents 29 years ago when our oldest daughter, Shauna, was born.  Shauna with her sweet hubby and her two little man cubs.  And we had babies to watch-   Ummm...  grandma, I don't think my uncles are really paying attention to me.  In our homeschool this week... We are moving forward with our Barton Reading Program. Mark admitted today that he was a little frustrated when we first started because he felt like he was going back instead of making progress. He told me that he is glad (yes, he used that word!) that we are using this program now- he feels that he is learning a lot. I have shared positive feedback from him before, but he was very convincing today! And he is not even the one I chose this curriculum for.  Helpful homeschool tips or advice this week... T he thought that comes to mind when I read this journal prompt is "just keep at it"...

Reviewed at Journey for Excellence today, this book is free today and tomorrow from amazon.com. After I ordered our copy, I quickly read the first chapter. I think my youngest two boys (9 and 10) will like it.

I have wanted to join Making it Count ( formerly Pinning it Down ) again to share some of my favorite internet finds, but life has been crazy lately. This soup has made an appearance in a weekly wrap-up, but I am featuring this most recent batch just so I can  participate !  All said and done, this recipe makes enough for my family to have dinner, to give a meal to each of the my three daughters' families (their kiddos are pretty little still), and to have  leftovers once or twice- depending on how many are at home eating.  I asked my son-in-law if he was interested in a batch again this time- without hesitation he replied, via text message, "yes, please!".                                            Pretty much this is just chicken, carrots, celery, onion, parsley, and celery salt. In addition to the original recipe, we added som...

I have been asked to write a guest post for next month. I am not sure how or if it will come together, but I am honored!! In doing research for that post, I am sort of interviewing each of my adult children on their perspective on homeschooling. This lead me to an interesting conversation with my second daughter, Jessica (homeschool graduate, class of 2001). Jessica graduated from college with her degree in Structural Engineering. That means if you have a building design, she is the one that tells you how to build it to withstand earthquakes and such. She did two summer internships and worked at an engineering firm after graduating. When children entered the picture, she quickly switched to tutoring a subject near and dear to her heart- mathematics. So, her perspective on homeschooling may be unique in the fact that she is a homeschool graduate who tutors current homeschool high school children and traditional high school students. As she explained, her homeschooling students ofte...

Have.No.Brainpower. So no wrap-up or homeschool mother's journal. Just a few random thoughts. Went shopping in my garage. Sort like a walk down memory lane. Pulling these out to use with the boys next year. Just love this edition. I got it used when my now adult girls were little for just a few cents. It actually cost less when it was new. Stumbled across this that I don't think I actually did with my girls, but it looks like a great resource. And just how many books do you need on George Washington? Nine should do. Movie night. (I did say this was going to be a random post) My husband purchased this screen and projector years ago for my now adult daughters to have outdoor movie nights with their friends. By today's standards, the quality is not very good, but Erin and her friends would still rather watch the movie outside. If a picture is taken on my camera, it is fair game to post- right? Night time is for frog hunting! Aren't they c...

To be honest, I don't always plan. Sometimes I am a "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of girl. Other times, I plan my brains out. I can't say that one method has been more successful than the other. Just different. This year, I feel like planning. Usually that is a sign that things are going to get crazy and I am going to need a plan to be able to fall back on! We'll see. Phase 1::History Plans  I have wavered all year trying to decide on what to do next year. When it came down to it, it needed to be affordable and doable. Following another blogger's lead, I am making this video series the base or guide to our history study. Step one was to print up the teacher guide for each episode through the Civil War. (Look down the left hand column to find the guides.) UPDATE- the above link is broken. You should be able to get the guides this way: By searching "American The Story of Us Episode ___" (fill in numbers 1-10 one at a time...

Lots of stuff! Ready to read.  Because I want to be able to sit down at a moment's notice, the reading stuff (Barton System) stays out. While it might be considered a step back for Mark and James, I am using this with them too. They have many "dyslexia moments" in their lives, so I am hoping this gives them a step up. They are nowhere near as severe as their older brother, but I am so impressed with the system that I want to use it with all three boys. Mark likes it- he feels that it is able to master each concept more than in the other program (also one that I love) we were using. James is amazed that he no longer reverses his "b" and "d". About the tickets (shown top left)-  The boys would do their reading program anyway, but it is summer, so I thought some incentive would be nice. Each time a section of the lesson is completed, a ticket is awarded. Prizes can be purchased when they earn the "cost" of an item. Really, there is n...