Jenny

Last night we lost one of Madeline's kittens. Jenny was a family favorite - struggling with life from the get go. She was the runt of the litter and due to her brother's huge appitite, she struggled to get enough food when she was young. Once she started eating better and building her strength, she became the alpha of the bunch. She quickly could take down her brother and sister in her playful manner. She also started her hunting skills young and would attack anything that moved. When we found Tiny out in the rock fence, it was Jenny that babied him and acted like his mom. She was very protective of him as well as the other kittens. When she, Tiny & Tubby moved outside, she became very protective of Cupcake's other litter. When Cupcake had to go and hunt, Jenny is the one that would go in and lay with the babies, making sure that they were protected. During one of these outings for Cupcake is when Jenny got in a fight protecting the babies. Sad to say, the oppossum that got her did quite a bit of damage to her. We brought Jenny in and started treating her with medicine and lots of love. Her appitite left her until she was unable to eat anything. We lost her last night between 10:30 and 11:00. She was a wonderful cat and she will be grately missed.

Such a wonderful morning...

I know that school isn't finished yet, but Madeline is in Chinese class with her daddy so I had a few minutes. We start the day with Math and in the past, Math has been such a struggle. Well, today she got perfect papers in it all around! I am so proud of her. And she told me that she really likes the layout of this book. She likes having the little practice box first thing and then doing her lesson herself (instead of me teaching her) and then the review with me and finishing up with her assigned work. Praise the Lord! I think we might have finally found her the perfect book! The Lord is so good!

Today's grades!

Math...98 A
Journaling... + great job!
Spelling... 100 A
History... 99 A
Typing...100 A
Handwriting... 101 A+
Logic... 100 A
Latin... 100 A
Language... 98 A
Reading... 100 A

1st day of school!

What a wonderful day at school it was! Today, we had 10 subjects. The day started off before 7 (she was ready to go). Because handwriting was today, we started with that, and shockingly, she got extra credit for knowing what book it came from. I did a quote from Pride & Prejudice today and we have never read that book. Then we jumped straight into Math. Math is so different this year. I am used to teaching her, instead of her learning on her own, but this year, she has all of the information in her book. So after the warm up box, she read the lesson to herself and then came and did the examples on the board. It went great. Then she did a short practice and we corrected it together. Then she had complete confidence to do her work. It went great! The other lesses were pretty simple, but she isn't happy with History this year. No coloring sheets and a lot more writing. Basically this year she will learn how to take notes! She did great though and I am very proud of her. Really ready for tomorrow! I'm so glad we are back in school :)

Setting up the school room and extra preparing

Today I am rearranging my school room trying to get it ready for school to start. Not a lot of changes going on, but hoping that this will be our main place of learning.

Daddy will be doing two of her classes this year and he spent all day preparing for his Chinese class yesterday. I think he is getting as excited as I am about the possibilities for the year.

My daughter and her will to learn...

The last time that we went home to Georgia, my father in law was fussing at my husband about Madeline not knowing Chinese. He says that she is now too old to learn and we have missed our opportunity for her to learn to speak Chinese. Well, of course, my dd has decided that she will prove Ah-Yeah wrong. She has asked her daddy to teach her Chinese this year as apart of her school work. If there is one subject that she is determined that she is going to do well in - it is Chinese. All to prove to Ah-Yeah taht she can do anything!

My sweet husband has been working all day (on his day off) figuring out how he is going to teach her Chinese. He has been preparing his notes and getting ready for our first day of school. This will be his first subject that he is teaching her, but I have no doubt that he will do excellent as well as she will prove to Ah-Yeah that she CAN learn Chinese.

The Wonders of God

We can go outside and see all of the wonders that God has made. It always amazes me that there are such beautiful things in nature. Even a spider web that is so carefully sewn together is a wonder from God. We currently have more than our share of spiders in the front yard and dd and I love to go out in the morning when they are catching the dew to look at them.

We went to Gainesville this week to a butterfly exhibit and I was truly amazed at the delicate wings that are able to fly so well. God is so awesome making something so beautiful and so useful.

As we go to the House of the Lord this morning, let's remember to look around us in our travels and be amazed in the presence of the Lord.

Change of School Schedule...again!

Well, seeing that we only have 2 weeks before school starts - it seems only right that I make some changes! I decided that dd needs a health and PE class. I keep her very active and we usually do PE on Fridays anyhow, but I think this year we will add health to our lineup.

One of my main reasons for this is because I think it is time that she really study nutrition. She doesn't like vegetables at all and I feel that maybe if she learns the benefits of eating healthy, she might try to eat some vegetables. Of course, dad only eats meats and starches, so she gets it honest.

So by adding the PE/Health class to her lineup, that will give my dd 17 classes. However, I really don't think that it is going to be too much for her. If it is, I am more than happy to ease up and take off some things, but I know my girl and I know that she can do it! She is my awesome little one!

Missing my mom!

My mother has gone to Maryland for the week to be with her sister. Aunt Neenie is celebrating her 80th birthday, so it is such a blessing that the two of them can spend time together. I am so glad that mom was able to go, but boy do we miss her around the house here.

While in MD, mom went to have lunch with the "girls" for Neenie's birthday. She got to see my other aunts and some of my cousins. What a blessed day they all had celebrating the birth of one of the most wonderful ladies that I know.

It's almost time for school :)

Only 18 days before school starts. I finished some more calendars today, but I still have so much to do before school begins. Actually, I still have some curriculum that I don't have yet. But I just know that this is going to be the best year ever and that my daughter will be so much smarter for this coming year. After she finishes this year's math - she might even be able to teach Daddy a thing or two.

Day at Natural Museum of History

What a wonderful day it was today. With Dad off this week, we've been trying to do something special with the girl. Today we went to the Museum of Natural History. We were amazed by the butterfly exhibit that they had. Not only did we get to go into the Butterfly Garden - but they had wonderful displays of thousands of butterflies. DD was amazed at how they were arranged in the boxes. For me it was a great reminder of my childhood. While Dad was pastoring in Rhode Island, there was a young man in our church that needed a place to stay while he went to the University there. David moved in with us and lived with us until he married. I was five at the time and have always considered David to be my brother. David studied bugs at college and I remember all kinds of boxes with butterflies, roaches, bees - every insect you could think of. Fond memories of a great brother!

Recipes for the week:

Spicy Rice Skillet

1 lb. ground beef
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can water
1 beef bouillon cube
chili powder
cayenne pepper
4 c. cooked rice
Frito Scoops
Cheddar Cheese
Sour cream

Brown ground beef until no longer pink. Stir in Rotel, water, bouillon and seasoning. Cook on low for 15 minutes. Add in Rice and stir to incorporate. Let cook an additional 10 minutes to heat through. Serve with Scoops, Cheese and Sour Cream.

Ranch Potatoes

Potatoes of your choice, cubed and boiled
Ranch dressing
Cheddar cheese
butter

After you cook your potatoes, drain them and put in 1/2 stick of butter to melt. After butter has melted, pour ranch dressing over to coat your potatoes. Transfer to a baking pan and cover with cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and it is bubbly.

Menu for the week:

This week I am blessed to have my hubby home with me (very rare). This is our planned menu for the week - with the help of dd.

Monday: Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese (found on FoodNetwork.com)
Tuesday: Steak and Ranch potatoes (recipe to follow in new post)
Wednesday: Spicy Rice Skillet (recipe to follow in new post)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: dinner with friends
Saturday: Breakfast for dinner - pancakes, grits, sweet & spicy bacon
Sunday: Chicken n Dumplins (family recipe - can't share)

School Planning...

School starts in less than a month. I am so excited - but dd is not so thrilled! I am currently in the planning stages of school. Today I am working on the daily calendar that she will use. It will have each subject listed with what is expected of her for that day. I try to spice it up for her a little bit by putting some picture on the top of each new week. Looks like she will be extremely busy for the year though. Here is a run-down of her subjects with what text we will be using for each:
Bible: Bible Study by Mary Baker
History: Story of the World - Book 4
Language: 1st Language Lessons of a Well Trained Mind - Vol. 4
Math: Saxon 5/4
Science: Real Science 4 Kids - Physics
Writing: Hot Fudge Monday
Latin: Classical Academic Press
Reading: Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables,
Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island
Typing: Typing Instructions for Kids
Art: Usborn Art Ideas
Logic: Mind Benders, Red Herring Mysteries, Think Analogies
Journaling: Daily journaling topics
Handwriting: Famous Quotes
P.E.: Whatever Mom can find for us to do (haha!)
Chinese: Learning to speak Cantonese with Dad
Shop Project: Variety of projects - 1 per quarter

I am very excited about the material that I already have, especially the Latin. I have such high hopes for this year!

Chemistry & Cootie Catchers.

I just ordered Madeline some Chemistry material off of HomeScienceTools.com.

I hope that by me trying to make science fun, she will love it more then her mommy did. Science was always my worst subject, I just never understood it. But she doesn't seem to have that problem.

Today, we are also doing something new. I am making Cootie Catchers to review vocabulary words in Latin. Seems like a fun way to learn and review and I am hoping that it will help us with remembering things.

2 Days until my in-laws come!

Square Roots

Funny thing. When I was in the third grade I am pretty sure that I had no clue what a square root was. However, Madeline learned about square roots today in math and absolutely nailed it. I guess it helps that she knows her mutliplication tables. She is doing so well in school. I am amazed every day at how smart she is. She has her goals in life all set out that she wants to go to Harvard, own her own business (candy store where she makes her own candy), become President of the United States and then after her terms as President, she wants to go to Tim Gunn's school of fashion in NY and begin her own line of fashion. She is such an amazing blessing to me.

Spicy Chili

Tried a new chili recipe this past weekend and it was great.

1 lb. ground beef, browned with minced onion and minced garlic until no longer pink
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 small can (5 oz) hot & spicy V8 juice
1 T. chili powder

Put in the crock pot and cook on low for 5 - 7 hours.

I also think this would be great with noodles in it, as it is a thin chili.

Valentine's Day

Our church is doing something different for Valentine's Day this year. I have mixed feelings about it, however, I am going to support it, because it is the church. I come from a family that Valentine's Day is a day that has always been special - to the whole family. Daddy always included me in his plans for mom and now that I am married, Madeline is always included in our plans. Not to mention, now that we are with mom and she is widowed, we always include her. It is a very depressing day for her. But the church is doing a couples only thing. I really don't like the thought of it, I expressed my views, and apparently my views didn't matter. I just don't feel "right" about it. And truthfully, I might just support them with making the food, and still do things with my family like we had planned. I don't know why it can't be a "family" day. If we wanted to do a couples thing, then we can invite couples to our homes to start that kind of group. I don't know - guess I am just venting!

Visit from family

My husband got a call from his mother this morning saying that they would be coming to visit next weekend. Of course, this makes my daughter very excited. It's been about 5 months since she has seen Ah Poah & Ah Yeah. They went to China for therapy for mom's leg (healing from the stroke). I am really praying that they will actually come for a visit. This has been said before and never amounted to anything. Madeline (being 8) doesn't always understand why things do not happen. But I am praying that this week, Madeline & I can be very productive in getting the house ready for our company and hoping for a wonderful visit with Ronnie's parents and sister.

Fibromyalgia

What a terrible way to start the day. This weather that is blessing North Florida is really starting to hurt me. I think it the weather would either be cold or hot and not jump so much and so radically, I would be fine with it. However, the jumping of the weather is making my fibromyalgia act up terribly. Of course, I do everything that I can do so that it doesn't look like it effects me. I still go on with my day to day, I just go a lot slower. I have noticed that the older that I am getting the more that I do seem to be suffering from migrains. They always told me that I would get them, I was just hoping that they were wrong.



So today my prayer is that the Lord helps me get through the day, getting done everything that I need to get done, as well as

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I often buy things from Schwann's, and one of my favorites that I have found is the Buffalo Chicken Dip. I just absolutely fell in love with it. Well, I just can't have an addiction that is so expensive, so this is my version of it:

2 cans chicken breast
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/4 c. hot sauce
1/2 c. ranch dressing
1 - 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together your cream cheese until smooth. Add in chicken, hot sauce and ranch dressing. Put into a shallow pie plate and cover with cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Serve with Tortilla chips.

New Year, New Me

This year I have decided to make some changes. First, I am going to do my best to blog more. I really think it will be helpful to me in my growth as a homeschool mom, a wife and a Christian woman. I have also decided that I am going to FLY with Flylady. I have already taken this into effect, making myself a control journal and following it with my daily schedule. I am cleaning every day, just a little a day, to hopefully make it where all of my cleaning doesn't have to be done on one single day.

I have also made Madeline an age appropriate chore list. She is doing so well, getting her morning chores and afternoon chores done.

There are some other changes that we are making. I am trying to keep her up until 9:00 at night, to try to help with the sleeping in time. This 5:00 AM is killing me! I am doing a new Bible Study during my "me" time. It is on the women of the Bible, and so far I love it. Of course, I am still on my first lady - Eve. I love how the study is broken into 5 days so that it isn't just a quick study on the woman, it is actually digging in the Bible and finding more that she has done.

I am also hoping this year to try new recipes. I always make the same type of food, and I love cooking, but I have soooo many cookbooks and I would really love to try some of the recipes that I have admired in them. This week we will be having a new chili (very impressive for me since I have the ultimate chili recipe). Hoping that I can try one a week.

School is going to be great for the remainder of the year, even if we are starting it behind. From the schedule that I made back in August, we are currently a week behind. And of course, we are behind this week, when it is freezing in Florida and Maddie is fighting this cold for all that she is worth. She is a trooper though and is working on her school work - just a bit slower then normal.

Well, here is to a great year. So looking forward to all the things that I know I will learn this year and looking forward to a great year with my family.