Snack and Lunch Ideas…..
at | In Health, Recipes | 4 CommentsA couple of my friends have asked for ideas for snacks and or lunches so I am going to give a list of some of the things my kids are eating this week.
Snacks:
Homemade trail mix: equal parts raisins, peanuts, goldfish cheese, goldfish pretzels and m&ms. I make a big bowl of this, then use the snack size ziplocks (off brand) and put 1/4 cup in each one for my children, this is a GREAT grab and go mix.
Berry Banana Splits: I cut a half of banana per child length ways, then top wih strawberry yogurt and teddy grahams.
Peanut butter on Graham crackers with blueberries on the side with a glass of milk.
For lunches:
Crackers, cheese, pears and carrots. I put the stuff on a platter then they grab what they want to eat. You can add add or turkey lunch meat as well and they can make their own “homemade” lunch-ables.
Bagels with cream cheese and fruit. This is a hit with my kids! They love it! We didn’t have a veggie with this at lunch so I had them have one with a snack that day.
Tomato soup and grilled cheese. My kids love to top their tomato soup (I have a great rec. for that in the recipe section of my blog) with goldfish and cheese or sometimes sour cream and tortilla chips etc.
Speedy Quesadillas (sp?): I just spread re-fried beans on a tortillas shell and top with cheese, then fold over and grill on stove for about 2-3 mins. each side, then I cut it up with a pizza cutter to make little triangles. They love to dip it in sour cream or salsa.
When making lunches or snacks I try to make sure I have a protein, complex carb and quick sugar. So we only use whole wheat breads and crackers and I try to make sure they have at least 2-3 servings of veggies a day and 2-3 fruits a day as well.
Some things on the menu for next week are:
Fig newtons with a 1/2 banana and milk to drink
Lunch Chicken ceasar salad ( some cooked chicken in bite size pieces, salad and grape tomatos) served with grapes and milk.
Chicken Quesadilla Sandwich (spread salsa on 1.2 the tortilla, top with chicken lunch meat and cheese) Fold and cut in triangles. Serve with green peppers to dip in ranch and fruit.
Snack: Chocolate pudding ( I use the yogurt if it is on sale) wtih apples and teddy grahams.
I hope this helps anyone out with meal ideas! Enjoy.
Motivated by God or Sin?
at | In Character Building, Spritual Growth, Stewardship | 1 CommentThese last few weeks, God has been working at my heart. What is my motivation? Why do I do the things I do? Is it for the glory of God or is it for sin?
Here are somethings that have been on my heart.
Why do I discipline my children? It should be so that God is glorified. Sometimes I discipline to look like a “good mommy”. I want others to see my children and think…”Look at that good mommy, her kids are so well behaved”. Ouch! That is the worst thing I could EVER do is bring my children into my sinful world. I have been praying that when people see my family they think….”wow, something is different about that family!” and I pray they come and find out that it is because of my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing else.
Why do I say no? Hummmm, think about that one. How often do you say no to your children only because you are in the sin of being lazy? I often say no to finger painting, riding bikes, going swimming etc. ONLY because it is too much work for me and I am lazy! Now, don’t get me wrong, there are many times we need to say “No” to our children, but it should be to glorify God. There are times when I need to say “No, we can’t play with play-do right now because mommy is making sure you have a healthy dinner to eat tonight and I can’t do both right now.” But in general what are my reasons for saying no.
Are my meals healthy and thought out? Do I take the time to prepare foods that glorify God? On many nights I want quickly put together something and not plan out a meal. I want to spend my children’s nap time on the computer or reading instead of in the kitchen preparing a meal that will grow their bodies for God’s glory.
This is what has been on my heart lately and I just wanted to share it with you. The list could go on forever, but for now I am taking it one step at a time….I am going to go and take the kids to the Library because they have been asking for a week! (I really am trying to work on making “Yes” be my natural reaction instead of “No”. Have a blessed day!
3 weeks down…what have I learned?
at | In Homeschooling, Stewardship | 2 CommentsWith three full weeks under our belts I wanted to write what I have learned. This is not about what I have been teaching my children, but from a mama’s point of view on what I have learned to make my day go smoothly.
1. Make sure the dishwasher is empty before morning. This way the dishes from breakfast and lunch have somewhere to go with out disturbing your morning teaching the little ones.
2. Don’t answer the phone during school time, we have an answering machine, so if it is important I can pick up while they are leaving a message, if it isn’t I will call them back….my children are the focus during this time.
3. Switch laundry in between subjects…this way it is done after school is done and during nap time I fold and put it away then.
4. Wake the baby up in the morning if they are over sleeping, this way they are ready to go down at the scheduled nap time and don’t disrupt school time.
5. Be flexible! If you are rushing though just to get your “check list” done, then you are missing out on the best part of homeschooling. (Watching your children learn!) If the kids really want to talk about their story or do math longer than the time I planned for I just do it! This time is too special. (That doesn’t mean we jump to the next days lessons if they want to continue, I just let them continue doing the same thing over and over….more on that if you want to know why)
6. Have lunch planned out for the week. This way I already know what they are going to have before my day begins and we aren’t running around crazy. I have a calendar that I made (I would post it if someone tells me how to attach a word document) and I fill it in on Sundays for the entire week! It works great for us.
7. Be prepared! I look over everything the night before for about 5 mins. I feel more prepared in the morning.
That is all for right now, I hope that gives you some help as you start your homeschooling year.
Camping
at | In Family, Family Updates, Friends, Pictures | 3 CommentsWell, we just got back from camping today and we had a blast! We went with our friends the Ayers Family and between the two of us we had 6 children 4 years of age and under. We were quite the site to see let me tell you.
Things we loved about camping!
1. our 1.5 mile hike through the woods…and I mean the woods! Spiders and all (maybe this should be on the list of things Becky and Heather did not enjoy the most).
2. Playing at the beach. The kids did soooo awesome with this!
3. Staying up until 1 am with our friends talking around the camp fire! The kids were all asleep and we just had a great time being adults, not just mommies and daddies.
4. The woman (Heather and I) showing how strong we are when we moved a tent UPHILL without the help of the men…they were taking the kids for a walk with the flashlights. The walk was a hit with the boys and girl.
5. Dirt! Well, this is not a favorite for the moms who have loads of laundry to do…but it was a favorite for the kids. I think the dirt called their names and they went running for it.
6. The racoons had a fight on our picnic table and Heather and Derrick thought they were attacking our tent. Those little creatures were crazy let me tell you.
7. The older kids swimming in the pool, while the babies took naps with the dads. The kids had fun swimming and Heather and I had fun just sitting on the pool side talking.
8. Roasting hot dogs over the fire for dinner….and of course smores!
Here are some pics of the trip…..a repeat next summer I hope!
Isaac and Dylan
Gracelyn with Nathan's favorite hat on
Nathan
Jayden
Owen
The Hike....notice Dave has Owen in a backpack carrier and Derrick has Grace on his shoulders
The kids earning their keep....making their own dinners
Our favorite brownies
at | In Recipes | No CommentsYou have got to try these out! They are the best brownies I have ever made. I have made them a few times now and every time someone has one they ask for the recipe. I am posting this especially for my friend Rebekah! You always tell me to post my favorites so here is one your boys and girl will LOVE! (you too I might add).
Chewy Chocolate Brownies
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup of butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Microwave 1 cup of semi sweet chips for one minute or until melted. (chocolate holds its shape when being melted, so stir so you don’t burn it). Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, combine four, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat well. Slowly stir in melted chocolate. Blend, gradually add flour mixture to chocolate mixture. Stir until smooth. Stir in remaining one cup semi sweet chips. Spread into a buttered 8 inch sq. pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 mins. Cool. Dust with powered sugar if desired.
These are so chewy and yummy! You will love them! If you try them out let me know what you think of them!
Week 1 Day 3
at | In Goals, Homeschooling | 2 CommentsWe are in our first week of school and on day 3 and things are going AWESOME! Isaac keeps asking to do more and then even more! We are making him stop after we do what we are scheduled to do for 2 reasons. 1. I don’t want him to get burned out and 2. We don’t want to go too fast that Gracelyn can’t keep up.
We really do enjoy Sonlight. The only thing is that we switch books so quick, but we are getting used to that. They love Handwriting without tears, even though Grace cried on the first day. :-( Other than that it is going great….I really love the program and they “get it”. Isaac understand why we have Frog Jump capitals and they LOVE the chalk boards!
100 Easy lessons for reading is going great just as before. We didn’t do any of it over the summer (almost 3 months) and Isaac picked right back up on it. We just had to review a few sounds etc (vowels, the hard ones for him). I think he is reading at about a mid K level, at least. Hard to tell because each state has their own grading system on reading. In Michigan where I was taught he would be at about a .5-1 on the scale. I am happy with that.
Math is taking some time to get back into. The new schedule is hard to get used to, but it is working so I can not complain. We did switch just a few things around to make the day go smoother and it worked! So we will keep taking it one day at a time.
Just wanted to let everyone know how it is going!
Tee Ball and Wee Ball
at | In Brothers and sister, Family, Pictures, Sports, Uncategorized | 1 CommentThe seasons are finished! I am a little happy and sad at the same time. Next year they will be so grown up and the time seems to go so fast.
Gracelyn enjoyed her games, but not her practices so much. She had a fun time with daddy (he was her coach) and she loved to run the bases! And let me tell you she is FAST! She was so cute with her legs going a million miles a minute!
Gracelyn and her buddy McKay
Grace getting ready to bat
Isaac was on the big kid team this year! He loved being on the team…and by the pictures you will see that he LOVED being out there. He counted down the days until his games every week. He also has a cannon for an arm, he can throw from 3rd to first in the air and on target (most of the time). He is a lefty when it comes to throwing but still righty at bat, we may make him a lefty at bat next year. Dave coached Isaac’s team as well and they had a great year.
Isaac before a game
Isaac on first base
Isaac and his buddy Ballard
Can I tell you something mama?
at | In Brothers and sister, Family, Milestones, Parenting | 1 CommentMy little Owen loves to tell me things….he is becoming such a great talker! He says Mama, Dada, Isaac, Grace, Hi guys, bye, teeth and a few more I think.
He signs : more, milk, hat, flower, banana, shoes, all done and eat.
I can not believe how much he says and does to let us know what he wants and needs at such a young age (12 months). He also has such a different personality! When you tell him no he puts his head down and puts his lip out and whimpers, but then he obeys. It is amazing how much “easier” he has been to train at times…other things he is much harder at (like throwing his food)!
Just a little tidbit on my youngest man in the house.
A Busy Week….kinda.
at | In Family, Uncategorized | No CommentsThis week I am not posting much, maybe something tomorrow. You ask WHY? Let me tell you……my two oldest children are at CAMP!!!! That is right from 9-2 everyday this week they are participating in an Olympic camp and they are loving it!
You would think I have lots of time to post etc….I could, but I have decided to plan their school year out, clean house and spend some one on one with my littlest, who seems to be getting bigger by the minute.
So I will try to keep up, but I am just having a little fun this week….tomorrow Owen and I are going to a Gymboree class and then lunch with another mom who also has her 2 older in camp…just us and the babies tomorrow!
Please Pray
at | In Uncategorized | 5 CommentsA little 2 year old boy was hit by a baseball bat at practice last night on a field near where Dave (my husband) was coaching. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Please pray for this family, all the children that saw the incident and the players on near by fields that saw the ambulances, workers etc.
Dave sat his team down and prayed with the players for this child, God said No and that can be hard for us to take at times. God’s glory is in this somewhere, we just can’t see it right now.
Please pray for everyone involved.
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