For those who want to homeschool but have a disapproving spouse or other family members, maybe this will convince them! It is so true, and this is only a glimpse of how strongly I feel about homeschooling!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Caesar's children
For those who want to homeschool but have a disapproving spouse or other family members, maybe this will convince them! It is so true, and this is only a glimpse of how strongly I feel about homeschooling!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Breaking the silence
Ugh! I just have NOT been in the blogging mood this entire month! Plus I still need to catch up on pictures from December. I am so far behind. I'll just give a quick update.
Myles has been sick or had some sort of "issue" ever since his birthday last month. I guess 40 wasn't the magic number for him, it was 36! First he pulled a muscle in the top of his leg. That was very painful for him, but on top of that he got some sort of virus. He thought the two may have been connected at first, but when the worst day past and he started getting over the cold or whatever he had, the leg was just sort of irritating but tolerable. Well, he seemed to get another cold or something, and one of the symptoms that is still not completely gone is a cough! He is usually the one who gets sick the least, so he has been very frustrated the last few weeks. I was really worried with the leg/cold combo, but once that passed, I just haven't really felt sorry for him much. Oh, I know I should, but what's the fun in that? :) His cough is nearly gone now though, and he is getting back to normal. Next I'm waiting for some of his hair to fall out or for him to need glasses!
Jonathan has this weird lump on his jaw that he is taking an anti-biotic for. The doc said it is likely a swollen gland and the anti-biotic is the first line of defense for these types of things. She is not quick to prescribe them, so I'm just going along with it. If it doesn't work, then she'll go on to plan B, which may be a specialist. Jonathan thinks it is getting smaller and is not as tender though, so maybe it's working! :)
All of the kids have been playing together so well lately. Jonathan has finally decided to give up meat, so just because Jacob is still so young and he was the last one (besides Myles), all of us are vegetarian now......me and the 4 kids. We still have some dairy but not every day and only in trace amounts usually. Anyway, I think that is helping their attitudes! I've always noticed that when they eat healthy they seem to be in a better mood and get along better. They have always played well together, but we are rarely apart, so it is natural to expect some arguing. But they've been doing great with that, so I really think cleaning up their diet has helped!
Jayla is really into drawing lately. They "take notes" in church by drawing pictures of things the pastor says. I need to find their pictures from the first week and post them here. Jonathan drew a picture of the Lake of Fire and (separately) two people arguing and then the two helping each other.....something like that. (I John) Jayla drew a picture of two people hugging or holding hands and then the rest of the page was full of hearts. :) They're retaining a lot and it gives them something to do so they don't get bored. I want them to like church, but more importantly to actually learn while we are there! But anyway, the drawing, Jayla wants me to order some "how to" books off of Amazon. One is fairies and mermaids and the other is ballerinas and princesses. They are perfect for her! She has been drawing mermaids so much in the last couple of weeks!
Oh, and she is doing quite well in dance class too. She loves it. Her ballet class is supposed to be ages 9 and up, but since she'd already had a year of dance, the owner let her try it on a one month trial basis. I talked to the owner last night and she said that her teacher told her that Jayla is improving very nicely and she seems to be doing great! I told her that I hadn't seen her dance (in class) in a few weeks and I could tell she has improved a lot too. Then she went on to say that it is rare for young girls to want to "torture themselves with the bar" or something like that. LOL! Jayla loves it though, and the owner is impressed with her ability to focus at the age of 6! It's what she has always wanted to do though, and she totally loves it. She is my healthiest eater too and loves to do yoga and pilates! That girl is going to be very fit, for sure!
Jacob, on the other hand, will steal donuts at church every time we turn around if we're not keeping an eye on him! We tell them no more than 2 every week. Not only do we want to make sure there are plenty for everyone else, but we stay for lunch every week and it is only a couple of hours later. Two donuts are plenty to hold them over! Plus they certainly don't need all that sugar in their system while sitting through the sermon! LOL! I had also brought oranges last week, which is a much healthier option (or addition), so I may bring some fruit every week to add to the variety. But anyway, Jacob does not know a stranger! He will pounce on anyone who will give him the time of day. Seriously. We went to a game watching party a couple of weeks ago, and there were a couple of people there who we had never met before who ended up being jungle gyms for that kid! He certainly is not shy at all!
I thought this was going to be quick!
Jack-Jack.....well, that kid keeps getting ear infections. :( We're not talking tubes a lot yet, but it has been mentioned. He is on anti-biotic for an ear infection right now, and after being on it for a few days already, he just today started having some congestion and a runny nose! Good grief! I think Jonathan had some asthma symptoms (congestion, wheezing) when he was little, but he cleared up as he got older and as we cleaned up his diet, and we haven't really had to deal with this much since then! So I guess I shouldn't complain, I just hate it when my kids are sick. :( And the little boogar is still not walking! I'm starting to think that maybe he does have some "learning disabilities", because he is physically capable of walking, but he just doesn't seem to get it. He gets really frustrated when you hold something just out of his reach to encourage him to walk. He just won't move his feet, so he gets very frustrated and will throw a fit or just cry if we let it get to that point. :( I can't stand it when he gets upset unnecessarily, so I push him a little, but not too hard. He has almost taken a step a few times but will either fall or grab onto something as he is stepping. It just seems to be taking forever for this to "click" for him! I'm not worried about him though. He'll walk eventually, I just wish it were now!
Me, let's see.......I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new church family! God brought me to this awesome group of believers at the perfect time. I have been seeking this type of fellowship for a while, but God's timing is perfect. He knew I would need them right now, and they have been such a blessing. And we actually meet in a building! Who knew I'd find such authentic believers in a building instead of a home? LOL! Okay, that sounded wrong. It's not that I think people who attend a church that meets in a building are not authentic, but the types of things I was looking for were more of a "home church" style as opposed to an "institutional church". Whew! That is a whole 'nother topic, so I'll save that for another time! But I love this church. The bible study is very good. It is deep, sound, and motivating. And these people are prayer addicts! LOL! I have to say though that my favorite part is the fellowship. I love just chatting with people, and we have plenty of time for that since we eat lunch together every single week. I also have email addresses and phone numbers. It's nice to finally be in a church again where I am confident that people actually do care about me and my family!
Okay, I'll end this with a Jacobism.
I was out tonight after the bible study running an errand. I called home and Jacob answered the phone (which is a new thing for him). We don't have a land line now, just a cell phone each. The conversation went like this:
Jacob: Hello?
Mommy: Hi, how are you?
Jacob: Fine. Where are you?
Mommy: I'm at Walmart. Where are you?
Jacob: I'm in the bathtub.
What?! I was trying not to freak out and laugh at the same time! I just told him not to get the phone wet and to go get Daddy. Well, he couldn't find Daddy, so he laid the phone back down, after we hung up, on the edge of the tub! Myles finally called me later and his voice was a little muffled, but at least the phone still works! I'm sure it will dry out and work fine in a couple of days.
Whew! We survied yet another Jacob episode!
Myles has been sick or had some sort of "issue" ever since his birthday last month. I guess 40 wasn't the magic number for him, it was 36! First he pulled a muscle in the top of his leg. That was very painful for him, but on top of that he got some sort of virus. He thought the two may have been connected at first, but when the worst day past and he started getting over the cold or whatever he had, the leg was just sort of irritating but tolerable. Well, he seemed to get another cold or something, and one of the symptoms that is still not completely gone is a cough! He is usually the one who gets sick the least, so he has been very frustrated the last few weeks. I was really worried with the leg/cold combo, but once that passed, I just haven't really felt sorry for him much. Oh, I know I should, but what's the fun in that? :) His cough is nearly gone now though, and he is getting back to normal. Next I'm waiting for some of his hair to fall out or for him to need glasses!
Jonathan has this weird lump on his jaw that he is taking an anti-biotic for. The doc said it is likely a swollen gland and the anti-biotic is the first line of defense for these types of things. She is not quick to prescribe them, so I'm just going along with it. If it doesn't work, then she'll go on to plan B, which may be a specialist. Jonathan thinks it is getting smaller and is not as tender though, so maybe it's working! :)
All of the kids have been playing together so well lately. Jonathan has finally decided to give up meat, so just because Jacob is still so young and he was the last one (besides Myles), all of us are vegetarian now......me and the 4 kids. We still have some dairy but not every day and only in trace amounts usually. Anyway, I think that is helping their attitudes! I've always noticed that when they eat healthy they seem to be in a better mood and get along better. They have always played well together, but we are rarely apart, so it is natural to expect some arguing. But they've been doing great with that, so I really think cleaning up their diet has helped!
Jayla is really into drawing lately. They "take notes" in church by drawing pictures of things the pastor says. I need to find their pictures from the first week and post them here. Jonathan drew a picture of the Lake of Fire and (separately) two people arguing and then the two helping each other.....something like that. (I John) Jayla drew a picture of two people hugging or holding hands and then the rest of the page was full of hearts. :) They're retaining a lot and it gives them something to do so they don't get bored. I want them to like church, but more importantly to actually learn while we are there! But anyway, the drawing, Jayla wants me to order some "how to" books off of Amazon. One is fairies and mermaids and the other is ballerinas and princesses. They are perfect for her! She has been drawing mermaids so much in the last couple of weeks!
Oh, and she is doing quite well in dance class too. She loves it. Her ballet class is supposed to be ages 9 and up, but since she'd already had a year of dance, the owner let her try it on a one month trial basis. I talked to the owner last night and she said that her teacher told her that Jayla is improving very nicely and she seems to be doing great! I told her that I hadn't seen her dance (in class) in a few weeks and I could tell she has improved a lot too. Then she went on to say that it is rare for young girls to want to "torture themselves with the bar" or something like that. LOL! Jayla loves it though, and the owner is impressed with her ability to focus at the age of 6! It's what she has always wanted to do though, and she totally loves it. She is my healthiest eater too and loves to do yoga and pilates! That girl is going to be very fit, for sure!
Jacob, on the other hand, will steal donuts at church every time we turn around if we're not keeping an eye on him! We tell them no more than 2 every week. Not only do we want to make sure there are plenty for everyone else, but we stay for lunch every week and it is only a couple of hours later. Two donuts are plenty to hold them over! Plus they certainly don't need all that sugar in their system while sitting through the sermon! LOL! I had also brought oranges last week, which is a much healthier option (or addition), so I may bring some fruit every week to add to the variety. But anyway, Jacob does not know a stranger! He will pounce on anyone who will give him the time of day. Seriously. We went to a game watching party a couple of weeks ago, and there were a couple of people there who we had never met before who ended up being jungle gyms for that kid! He certainly is not shy at all!
I thought this was going to be quick!
Jack-Jack.....well, that kid keeps getting ear infections. :( We're not talking tubes a lot yet, but it has been mentioned. He is on anti-biotic for an ear infection right now, and after being on it for a few days already, he just today started having some congestion and a runny nose! Good grief! I think Jonathan had some asthma symptoms (congestion, wheezing) when he was little, but he cleared up as he got older and as we cleaned up his diet, and we haven't really had to deal with this much since then! So I guess I shouldn't complain, I just hate it when my kids are sick. :( And the little boogar is still not walking! I'm starting to think that maybe he does have some "learning disabilities", because he is physically capable of walking, but he just doesn't seem to get it. He gets really frustrated when you hold something just out of his reach to encourage him to walk. He just won't move his feet, so he gets very frustrated and will throw a fit or just cry if we let it get to that point. :( I can't stand it when he gets upset unnecessarily, so I push him a little, but not too hard. He has almost taken a step a few times but will either fall or grab onto something as he is stepping. It just seems to be taking forever for this to "click" for him! I'm not worried about him though. He'll walk eventually, I just wish it were now!
Me, let's see.......I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new church family! God brought me to this awesome group of believers at the perfect time. I have been seeking this type of fellowship for a while, but God's timing is perfect. He knew I would need them right now, and they have been such a blessing. And we actually meet in a building! Who knew I'd find such authentic believers in a building instead of a home? LOL! Okay, that sounded wrong. It's not that I think people who attend a church that meets in a building are not authentic, but the types of things I was looking for were more of a "home church" style as opposed to an "institutional church". Whew! That is a whole 'nother topic, so I'll save that for another time! But I love this church. The bible study is very good. It is deep, sound, and motivating. And these people are prayer addicts! LOL! I have to say though that my favorite part is the fellowship. I love just chatting with people, and we have plenty of time for that since we eat lunch together every single week. I also have email addresses and phone numbers. It's nice to finally be in a church again where I am confident that people actually do care about me and my family!
Okay, I'll end this with a Jacobism.
I was out tonight after the bible study running an errand. I called home and Jacob answered the phone (which is a new thing for him). We don't have a land line now, just a cell phone each. The conversation went like this:
Jacob: Hello?
Mommy: Hi, how are you?
Jacob: Fine. Where are you?
Mommy: I'm at Walmart. Where are you?
Jacob: I'm in the bathtub.
What?! I was trying not to freak out and laugh at the same time! I just told him not to get the phone wet and to go get Daddy. Well, he couldn't find Daddy, so he laid the phone back down, after we hung up, on the edge of the tub! Myles finally called me later and his voice was a little muffled, but at least the phone still works! I'm sure it will dry out and work fine in a couple of days.
Whew! We survied yet another Jacob episode!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Portuguese Sweet Bread
Adapted from allrecipes.com
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup milk (we used rice milk)
1 1/2 egg (we used 1/4 cup soy yogurt)
3 tablespoons margarine
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
5 teaspoons active dry yeast
DIRECTIONS
Add ingredients in order suggested by your manufacturer. Select "sweet bread" setting.
We made basically the same recipe but multiplied it by 1.5 and changed the first two ingredients to make it vegan. It came out great! This is a very good bread machine recipe with excellent taste and texture! It was a little sweet but not too sweet, dense enough to spread butter and jelly on but not too dense or course. The outside crust was a little too crunchy, but i want to experiment to see if maybe we can change that any. It still tasted great though! Jonathan made this, so he was proud that his first loaf of bread turned out so good. :)
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup milk (we used rice milk)
1 1/2 egg (we used 1/4 cup soy yogurt)
3 tablespoons margarine
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
5 teaspoons active dry yeast
DIRECTIONS
Add ingredients in order suggested by your manufacturer. Select "sweet bread" setting.
We made basically the same recipe but multiplied it by 1.5 and changed the first two ingredients to make it vegan. It came out great! This is a very good bread machine recipe with excellent taste and texture! It was a little sweet but not too sweet, dense enough to spread butter and jelly on but not too dense or course. The outside crust was a little too crunchy, but i want to experiment to see if maybe we can change that any. It still tasted great though! Jonathan made this, so he was proud that his first loaf of bread turned out so good. :)
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Raw birthday cake and ice cream!
This is so good! I have made this several times now, mostly for birthdays, but I also made it once for a raw potluck. I had several people who I had never met before hunt me down and ask me for the recipe. non-vegs like this too, though they do mostly seem to prefer a "regular" cake (mostly judging by my hubby). Everyone so far has liked it though!
Un-Chocolate Cake (adapted from Eating Without Heating by Boutenko)
5 C. ground walnuts
3 C. raisins
4 T. raw carob powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
Blend in processor well. Press into bottom of dish.
Frosting:
1 C. raw tahini
4 T. honey
3 T. raw carob powder
1 tsp. vanilla
Water to thin
Mix in processor and spread over cake. Refrigerate. Eat when you are ready for it!
I made this with raw cocoa last time because I didn't have any raw carob, but I have to say, I really prefer the carob! Normally I would prefer chocolate/cocoa, but not in this recipe. It is so good exactly like it is.
I like the idea of decorating it with fruit! That would be pretty and add even more flavor.
For the ice cream to go with it, I do one of two things. I either do the simplest ice cream recipe of just frozen bananas processed through the Champion juicer using the blank, and then we sometimes will add other fruit and/or toppings. Simple. I've heard you can also make this in a food processor, but I've never tried it myself since we have the Champion.
Another option is one of the recipes from the recipe book called Vice Cream. (I got mine on Amazon.) I've made two different ones so far, and they are really good, but most of them are made up primarily of cashews. I tend to only use this if I am wanting a specific flavor. The last one I made was mint carob chip. It wasn't green (YEA!), but it tasted very similar to the traditional SAD dairy mint chocolate chip! I was impressed!
Usually when I make this there are leftovers because it is so filling, so I have let the kids eat it for breakfast the next day. It is so yummy and healthy, so I don't have to worry about them being hungry, whining or getting something that is highly processed with little nutrition. It works for everyone! :)
I haven't made this in a while, and now my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
Un-Chocolate Cake (adapted from Eating Without Heating by Boutenko)
5 C. ground walnuts
3 C. raisins
4 T. raw carob powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
Blend in processor well. Press into bottom of dish.
Frosting:
1 C. raw tahini
4 T. honey
3 T. raw carob powder
1 tsp. vanilla
Water to thin
Mix in processor and spread over cake. Refrigerate. Eat when you are ready for it!
I made this with raw cocoa last time because I didn't have any raw carob, but I have to say, I really prefer the carob! Normally I would prefer chocolate/cocoa, but not in this recipe. It is so good exactly like it is.
I like the idea of decorating it with fruit! That would be pretty and add even more flavor.
For the ice cream to go with it, I do one of two things. I either do the simplest ice cream recipe of just frozen bananas processed through the Champion juicer using the blank, and then we sometimes will add other fruit and/or toppings. Simple. I've heard you can also make this in a food processor, but I've never tried it myself since we have the Champion.
Another option is one of the recipes from the recipe book called Vice Cream. (I got mine on Amazon.) I've made two different ones so far, and they are really good, but most of them are made up primarily of cashews. I tend to only use this if I am wanting a specific flavor. The last one I made was mint carob chip. It wasn't green (YEA!), but it tasted very similar to the traditional SAD dairy mint chocolate chip! I was impressed!
Usually when I make this there are leftovers because it is so filling, so I have let the kids eat it for breakfast the next day. It is so yummy and healthy, so I don't have to worry about them being hungry, whining or getting something that is highly processed with little nutrition. It works for everyone! :)
I haven't made this in a while, and now my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
Raw recipes we like
I haven't made these in a while, but my kids loved these when I made them regularly. I had to search for the black tar recipe and couldn't remember the name of it at first, so I wanted to get them on here for future reference. Both of these are by Juliano, but the nutmilk recipe is pretty generic and common.
Black Tar
(Tastes just like chocolate syrup except it’s way better!)
In a blender place:
3 cups maple syrup
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. Vanilla Extract (optional)
1 cup raw carob powder
Blend well and enjoy!
Nut Milk
1 cup favorite soaked nuts (almond, walnut, cashew, Brazil nut, macadamia, pine nut, etc.)
3 cups water
A few drops of almond or vanilla extract (optional-to taste)
Approx. 1 tsp. of maple syrup (optional-to taste)
Blend 2 minutes or until creamy. Chill well. Stain if perfect smoothness is desired.
Black Tar
(Tastes just like chocolate syrup except it’s way better!)
In a blender place:
3 cups maple syrup
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. Vanilla Extract (optional)
1 cup raw carob powder
Blend well and enjoy!
Nut Milk
1 cup favorite soaked nuts (almond, walnut, cashew, Brazil nut, macadamia, pine nut, etc.)
3 cups water
A few drops of almond or vanilla extract (optional-to taste)
Approx. 1 tsp. of maple syrup (optional-to taste)
Blend 2 minutes or until creamy. Chill well. Stain if perfect smoothness is desired.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Professional picture time!!!
We took individual shots of Jack and Jacob for their 18 month and 4-year-old photos. We also took our annual family photo. We haven't had a professional one in a while, so this was fun! Myles and I even got to pose together, just the two of us! :)
This is what we ordered. I'll post a few more another time, including the composites and calendar that we received for "free", but I'll have to take pictures of or scan those. So we got two family poses, one of just the kids (ordered a package of this pose), Myles and me, Jonathan and Jayla, Jacob and Jack, Jacob alone and Jack alone. All except the last two were done in our coordinating OU shirts. Hey, even though they lost, we're still big fans. :)
This was fun since we usually do a dressier type family picture. This casual look was much more "every day us". So it was fun to do and I know Myles loves that it is OU themed. :)
And because I know someone will be asking, we went to Portrait Innovations. This was our second time to use them, and I have been very pleased both times!
Click to enlarge. Enjoy!
This is what we ordered. I'll post a few more another time, including the composites and calendar that we received for "free", but I'll have to take pictures of or scan those. So we got two family poses, one of just the kids (ordered a package of this pose), Myles and me, Jonathan and Jayla, Jacob and Jack, Jacob alone and Jack alone. All except the last two were done in our coordinating OU shirts. Hey, even though they lost, we're still big fans. :)
This was fun since we usually do a dressier type family picture. This casual look was much more "every day us". So it was fun to do and I know Myles loves that it is OU themed. :)
And because I know someone will be asking, we went to Portrait Innovations. This was our second time to use them, and I have been very pleased both times!
Click to enlarge. Enjoy!
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