Homeschool Snippet

We are currently in our summer holidays! I am a bit torn on settling on a particular curriculum. DD1's main curriculum is Switched on Schoolhouse. I really do like this programme but feel she was learning more from a classical approach. Before she began SOS she was doing my own version of Old Fashioned Education (www.oldfashionededucation.com). That worked brilliantly! I have toyed with the idea of combining both curriculums relying heavily on SOS for math and Bible and the other subjects from OFE. Who knows what will happen. For right now she is doing a part-time scaled down OFE style curriculum so she doesn't fall behind when school officially starts up again in September. Today we started "Our Island Story." Should be a fun read for us! I haven't yet settled on a summer science book(s) yet but will have a look tomorrow. I must say, I am well impressed with how far her narration has come!! :-) For the first time she has fully narrated one of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Most of it was done with no prompting from me! Narration does work brilliantly for reading comprehension! Can you tell I am excited about this!?!?! Anyways, I am falling asleep and still have loads to do before getting the kids in bed. So I will have to continue this when I can make more sense! God Bless!

You may notice that my menu week starts mid-week. This is because our budget runs on weird days! I usually do my shopping on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. This allows for a Wednesday or Thursday delivery. Delivery on these days is cheaper than the rest of the week so it works out quite good and saves us a couple of £££ a week. :-)

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Toast, fruit

Lunch: Nachos

Dinner: Cheese on toast, salad

Thursday:

Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal

Lunch: Pizza Toast

Dinner: Sandwiches (too hot to cook!)

Friday:

Breakfast: Leftover Baked Oatmeal, fruit

Lunch: Taco Salads

Dinner: Pinto Beans, cornbread, vegetables

Saturday:

Breakfast: Pancakes, fruit

Lunch: Leftover Taco Salad

Dinner: Spaghetti, garlic bread, vegetables

Sunday:

Breakfast: Muffins, fruit

Lunch: Leftover Pinto Beans, cornbread

Dinner: Hamburger Pinwheels, vegetables, salad

Monday:

Breakfast: Pancakes, fruit

Lunch: Bean Burrito Sanwiches

Dinner: Hamburger Rice Skillet, vegetables, salad

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal, fruit

Lunch: Leftover Hamburger Rice Skillet, salad

Dinner: Breakfast for Dinner...eggs, bacon, toast, ect.

New Project

We have very graciously been given a bike by a friend of ours. It is a 8 year old BMX. We absolutely love BMX bikes! Now for the fun. FYI, I'm not being sarcastic, this will be fun!!! The bike came to us with everything completely covered in the worst paint mess we've ever seen, including the brake pads. YIKES! It has 1 wheel and tire, brakes hanging off, completely destroyed crank and the list of problems goes on and on. It is currently in pieces in our dining room, except for the seat post and the crank which are still connected to the frame. We will be cleaning and salvaging as much as possible. As for the rest of the parts, we will either need to buy new, be blessed with a donor or find at a skip site. It will obviously take a lot of time to complete this. I will attempt to put some pictures in this post. (To be honest, my husband will be handed my computer in a few minutes to do this for me because I don't have a clue!) Now, for a warning. If you like bikes, these pictures might make you cringe. If you love bikes, these pictures may inspire you to take action to stop those who abuse them in such a heinous way! lol :-)

All these parts should be black!!!

Do I really need to comment!?!

The forks...these used to be chrome not silver and red/rust colours!

And here we have the frame...is also supposed to be chrome. Not too good in silver, black and red/rust!

I think I can, I think I can...

I have finally gotten off my backside today and started exercising. I'm limited on what I can do because my knees are busted up but still was able to get 15 minutes in. Not bad considering how out of shape I am! Our loft is a play room for the kids and our gym. When we aren't using it for those things we get the pool table out for some fun. So far we have a weight bench, eliptical trainer and recumbent bike. We bought the bike off Ebay from a shop that sells ex-stock and ex-display items. I think we got it for £60. Very good deal! The other two were given to us. I love free! We'll add more as finances permit but it won't be anytime in the near future. I ended up doing 10 minutes on the bike and 5 on the eliptical. I could stand to lose about 30 pounds. Right now my focus is on eating healthier and moderate exercise so I am ready to kick things up a gear after baby is born. As much as I would like to lose weight now that isn't an option. As far as eating healthier I am starting with making my portions smaller. I can easily eat a serving suitable for an overweight grown man. :-{ Today has been easy. It is tomorrow and each day after that I find most challenging. I have struggled with my weight for nearly 15 years. In this time I have failed more than I have succeeded. It is my prayer that God will give me the strength I need to overcome my self doubt and give me the strength I need to improve my health.

Meal Stretching...

Do you ever have one of those times when your usual weekly shop needs to last 2 weeks? Well, that's where I am at. I haven't been able to build my pantry back up after moving a couple months ago so there are no hidden treasures to be found in my cupboards. The only sources of protein I have are TVP, 3 sausages and 1 meals worth of left over chicken in the freezer.. No cheese, no butter, no potatoes or any other fresh veg to be found. I have 3 days to go until I can get anything in and 5 days before groceries will be delivered. We aren't able to drive so get home delivery. So, here is my plan... Tomorrow I will start the day with getting the bread machine going and laundry on. Then on to get rice cooked up ready for lunch. We'll be off to the park for a bit of fun and home for lunch. Here is what I have so far for meals...

Friday:

Breakfast: Cereal and tinned fruit

Lunch: Chicken, Vegetable and Rice Soup, bread

Dinner: Pasta Bake made with TVP (no cheese), cauliflower, tinned fruit, bread

Saturday:

Breakfast: Cereal and tinned fruit

Lunch: Fried egg sandwiches, chips, tinned fruit

Dinner: Vegetable Lo Mein for hubby and I and left over Pasta Bake,peas, bread for the girls

Sunday:

Breakfast: Yup, Cereal and fruit again! What can I say, it's cheap and healthy at the same time!

Lunch: Tomato rice with TVP and sweet corn, bread

Dinner: Sausage, mash potatoes (instant), peas, bread for the girls and Vegetable curry over rice with bread for hubby and I.

That should do it! Well, I'm off to unload the dishwasher. It finally decided to work, yippee!!

Such A Beautiful Day Full of Bargains!

The weather is so nice right now!!! We've been able to go out yesterday and today. We just went to town to have a walk around and get things we need. One thing about me is I love living frugally. I started living this way out of necessity but keep doing it because I love it! We found some brilliant bargains today. Between both our girls (DD1 is 7 and DD2 is 1 1/2) we got 3 skirts, 2 tank tops (vest tops for people in the UK), 1 pair of trousers, a VTech cuddly dragon toy and a giant foam floor puzzle for £8.10. Bargain! Then we were off to Primark for socks and underwear for DD1. I understand some people will buy these things second hand but not me. There really isn't a need when for £4.50 she got 10 pairs of underwear and a 6 pack of multicolour socks. So, can't complain about that. Another bargain of the day was a lovely yet gently used computer desk with a hutch for only £20 including delivery! That will come tomorrow morning. I'll try to get pictures up soon of our charity shop finds. As for tonight, hubby and I will be eating later than the girls. For the kids it's left over roast chicken, mash potatoes, cauliflower, dinner roll and gravy and for us a simple chicken curry with rice. Time to get busy!

I Finally Have My Own Blog!

Well, I am not sure if this blog will ever be read my anyone besides myself and my family but at least it will be an experience to enjoy. For a bit more basic info about me just read the about me section in the upper right of this page. I've always wanted to write but for some reason have never done so. Well, now is the time! The basis of my blog is that the Lord above does not want us wives and mothers to be stressed out with everything we have to do. It should be a joy to us. Unfortunately, I have spent many years being miserable and bogged down with responsibilities. I've come to realize that I am the one creating my own mess. Taking care of house and home may not be easy but it most certainly can be simple. Now is the time to simplify my life for the glory of God.