A TOS Review: Stinky Kid Math

Math isn’t always easy at our house. Josiah has dyscalculia and I am constantly looking for resources that can present the ideas in a way that he might understand. He does respond well to video tutoring and some computer based learning. I think it’s because he can watch videos over and over again as needed. I, myself, did well in my college algebra class (in college). However, I am one of those peculiar learners who have no idea how I know what I know. Know what I mean? I also am a teacher by training, but it's been a long time my friends. Plus, there wasn't a whole lot of Algebra learning going on in my kindergarten class. I felt I could do with a refresher myself. If Josiah is going to enter this whole world I need to be on my game. 

Enter Stinky Kid Math. For one, who could resist something called Stinky Kid Math? I have had the opportunity to review this online math product over the past few weeks. I received a Stinky Kid Math subscription for 6 months for the purpose of my review. 

What I Received

As I mentioned above, Stinky Kid Math is an online math program that teaches:

 Foundational Algebra (Pre-Algebra & Algebra 1)

Complex Algebra (Algebra 1 & 2)

Geometry

Each section is broken down into smaller concepts. Each concept has a series of videos. These aren’t long videos (perfect for Stinky Kids everywhere). There are approximately 300 videos.  There are also lesson PDF's, worksheets (along with answer keys) and games to help reinforce the skills being taught. 

I liked that I could pick and choose any concept as we went along. The videos and accompanying activities are excellent supplemental resources. It is not intended to be a comprehensive curriculum, but certainly can be used as one. 

How We Used It

Josiah has struggled with even remembering his basic math facts. In my frustration with trying to find methods to help him conquer that particular mountain I have been guilty about neglecting other parts of his math education. In my search for wisdom in helping Josiah learn to compensate with the dyscalculia issues I discovered that he learns best with story based methods.

It was also my hope that this program would also give me a little Algebra remedial course.

The learning model behind Stinky Kid is story based and uses a fun formula to help students solve any algebraic equation.  

I found that the site is extremely easy to navigate. There are a few different ways you can use the program. You can use the search box or browse through the videos to find one that meets your needs. 

Or you can go through the program by using the "Video Lessons in Order" option. 

I decided to use that option. 

This is one of the first videos we watched. You can see how easy the whole site is easy to navigate. 

Here is a little bit of a look at what's involved. 

This is an Algebra Overview. On the left-hand side are the videos under this particular lesson. 

Here is a little look at the PDF lesson (under Books). The Worksheet is also a PDF.

This is one of the games we enjoyed. It is called Math-A-Mole. In this game we are supposed to find the coordinates on the graph. Big fun!

My Thoughts

This was such an easy program to use and to navigate. The videos were just the right length. They were short and easy to understand. Josiah also enjoyed the instructor. 

I really appreciate the fact that I could easily find any topic. We spent quite a bit of time just reviewing (and reviewing) concepts that were harder to understand.

I truly like that it has helped me with some of my own forgotten Algebra skills. In fact, Stinky Kid Math is an excellent tutor for any student. 

Just a word for those who have children who struggle with dyscalculia. I don’t think there is ever an easy answer or solution. I think, however, that the more we expose our kiddos to positive and helpful math resources (such as Stinky Kid Math) the more likely it is going to stick.

You can connect with Stinky Kid Math via the following social media outlets. Don't forget to click on the banner to read more reviews. 

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/StinkyKidMath
Twitter- http://twitter.com/StinkyKidMath

A Weight Loss Journal: I'm Back in the Saddle Again

I'm saying it out loud.

I've gained almost 35 pounds of my 80 pound weight loss back.

Ding Dong it!

I have had some help. I had to start taking some medication that caused an increase in appetite and weight.

But then there was some stress eating and missed trips to the gym.

Let's not even talk about the Twinkies that came home with us from our trip to Indiana a few weeks ago.

Mostly, my body doesn't work right. Sometimes I deal with crazy food sensitivities. My thyroid is wonky and my hormones are just running amok.

I've really, really struggled with all of this. I've been discouraged, depressed and unmotivated.

My thoughts have been, "Why even try. Nothing I do works."

Some of you have been there. Maybe you are there.

I am ashamed. I feel like I have let myself down.

I never want to go back to what I was. I want to move forward and be a healthier version of myself. I want to stay around for The Muffin and Josiah. I want to look cute in my clothes.

The past few weeks for me has been a reevaluation of my goals. I have discovered that I have significant triggers and that, yes, it is harder for me to lose weight. But it's not impossible.

I've had to have some frank conversations with myself. Which is always interesting.

I'm kind of fruity.

Do you need to get back on the weight loss train? Or maybe you've never really taken the ride.

I think I have a few tips that might encourage you.

1.Take one meal at a time. We get so busy and wrapped up in day-to-day stuff. I have to remind myself that living healthy needs to be one of the top priorities in my life. Therefore, I have to consider each meal as if it is contributing to my ultimate goal. Because really it is!

2. Be deliberate about your movement. If you haven't been working out for a while don't immediately think that you can jump back on the treadmill for a an hour. Begin your routine again by adding just one healthy habit at a time. Park away from the door at the store. Use your hand weights for an easy workout while you are watching TV. Go on a walk with the family. You will eventually be conditioned to start adding in those more strenuous activities. Just be consistent.

3. Be prepared to have some frank conversations with yourself. I am the queen of excuses. Granted...most of them are pretty good ones. But I also have to take ownership for the things I have allowed to creep back in my life.

4. Take a good look at other areas in your life. Are they contributing to your health goals or are they a hindrance. Stress is a biggie for me and I have had plenty of it recently. My truth is that I am a stress eater. And while I thought I had put some of that behind me I have found that when pushed I am capable of reverting back to my old habits. I have had to recommit myself to finding healthy ways to combat my stress.

5. Make sure that there isn't an underlying medical issue. Sometimes we can be dealing with some sort of deficiency or maybe a reaction to a medication. I don't think my thyroid is functioning as well as it needs to be. And then there is the fact that half of the medications I am on can contribute to weight gain. I am going to have to have some heavy duty conversations with my doctor.

6. Give yourself GRACE! There have been many times that I have just beat myself up. I have been ashamed. Why can't I just get a handle on this. The truth is that some of this I need to leave to God. He can provide answers where I see none. He can provide strength and grace when I have none to give myself. My responsibility is to do what I know how to do; which is...eat real food, use sensible portions, move my body and just live!

Have you been here? Are you here right now? I suggest that we encourage one another.

Creating a Cozy Corner:17 Weeks of Learning to Live A Beautiful Life

Welcome to the very FIRST week of Learning to A Beautiful Life. I am going to share some thoughts and a challenge every week until the first of the year.

I hope that this series will be a blessing to you. I am not going to promise that it will fix all of your woes, but maybe it will help you find inspiration in your own life.

This week's challenge is about finding a place all your own.

Growing up we had this huge puffy chair. It sat in our living room (along with its matching huge puffy couch). The living room was always a place of tranquility. The TV was banished to a family room and this was the room of the house that my Mom always insisted stay clean.

It was perfectly natural that I would gravitate to this huge puffy chair. In this chair I would read. My head on one arm and my legs dangling over the other. I would also spend time scribbling my hopes and dreams into my diary.

Not much as changed. Although the huge puffy chair disappeared when I was in High School and I have been married for almost 24 years....I still require a bit of tranquility.

I still require a little cozy corner in the universe.

Here are some truths about me.

1. I am a morning person, but I like to ease into my morning.
2. I need quiet time in my life. I am one of those introverts who require time alone to regroup.


I like to get up in the morning. I take my early medicines and make a cup of tea. Then I sit in my Cozy Corner with my Bible and prayer journal. I like to write out my thoughts and maybe a Scripture or two. I check my calendar and make a plan of action for my day. After breakfast, Josiah and I will return to my Cozy Corner. I will read aloud from any books we are working through.

My Cozy Corner has become a little haven.

Now this has been hard to do in the 700 square feet I have to share with a man child and a husband.

When looking to create my own corner, I found lovely examples on Pinterest. However most were impractical for my needs.

I knew that my cozy corner had to be part of  my living room. I had to do with what I had. No huge puffy chairs were in my future.


For several years now, my cozy corner has been a nice little area of my living room. It is on the end of my couch. I have all I need for devotions, read alouds, doodling, knitting...even a spot to charge my phone.

I want to talk about a few things that help make my cozy corner practical, yet cozy!

This is where I have my cup of tea. This tea cup was one I kidnapped from my Dad's stash in his barn. Bahahah! If you don't have a ritual of a daily cup of tea or coffee I suggest you create one. There is something so calming and gracious about sipping on a warm cup of tea. You don't even have to put tea in your tea cup. Choose whatever beverage floats your boat. Many of my tea cups (other than those I have set free from my parents' barn) have come from The Thrift Store.

I do like owls. This guy was a present last year from my Mom-in-law.  The doily under the books was crocheted by my Great-Grandmother. The books are a collection of family heirlooms and treasured finds. My mom gives each grandchild a photo book every Christmas. Those are included with the books in my corner. I also like a little candlelight in my corner.

You can put memories in your cozy corner. This shell was one given to me by my Mom. It came from one of family vacations to the ocean. Whenever I look at it I am reminded of those days.

My old typewriter is a new addition to my corner. The Muffin purchased it this summer for me from a Flea Market here in town. I had been on the hunt for one. We don't know if it works yet...I just like it!

This is my stack of books that we are currently reading aloud. Also included is a journal (or four) and a couple of Bibles. I have two different versions (The Message & NIV) so I can read out of both.

A Cozy Corner allows you to surround yourself with just a few favorite things. Collections make more of an impact when they are grouped together. This shelf has a beautiful vase (not seen) that was made my niece. A children's book about owls. A picture of Josiah and the word "Hope." And then all of my owls standing in a row.

I fill my cozy corner with beautiful things. Sparkly pens make me happy. This book mark was hand tatted by my momma.

Beside the desk I have a knitting basket and a bag with my doodling supplies at the ready. I like to do either while my guys are watching TV in the evenings. I have a feeling my knitting basket is going to be much used. It's Football season!

Under the desk I have a larger basket that I have filled with special books. Some are those I am reviewing, some might be ones I want to add to our read aloud. There are others that I want to keep at the ready for reference.

This guy is my constant companion in my Cozy Corner. My Momma illustrated him (he's actually a watercolor) for a children's book she wrote. I was thrilled when she gave me the original.

So now you've seen my Cozy Corner. I encourage you to either create one of your own or personalize the one you've been using.

Here are some suggestions.

1. Make it practical. There is an electrical outlet under the desk. I did add a extension that has multiple outlets. I can plug multiple things in if I need to. I also love the drawers in my desk. I am never without a pen. The men in my house don't think to look there! If you don't have drawers put your pens in a pretty mug or pint mason jar.

2. Make it yours. Do you like butterflies or daisies? Is there something you can add to your corner that makes you smile? I suggest to find things around your house to use in your corner initially. I am a big believer in using what you have.

3. Make it peaceful. If you have little kids this might be harder. However, we do have some rules in our house. In the mornings (when I have my quiet time), the TV does not come on unless I turn it on. I often will turn on some of my favorite classical music down low to set the tone.

4. Don't clutter it up. I realize my corner looks pretty cluttered. Why do I need an old typewriter anyway? On the other hand, I have become very conscience of what is in my cozy corner. If I am planning lessons I make sure I return all the textbooks, notebooks and planners to where they came from. If I am writing out Christmas Cards...I make sure they find another home when I am done.

Remember that your cozy corner will be useless if you don't actually use it. It's more than just having a place to put your stuff in. For me, it's finding that quiet part of the day that I can reflect and plan. If I am facing a challenge it helps me sort it out. I can write in my prayer journal and pour my heart out to my faithful God. The ritual of the cup of tea and the flickering of the candle makes it all seem special and beautiful.

If you decide to take this challenge let me know how it turns out!

17 Weeks of Learning to Live a Beautiful Life

In some parts of society I might considered a bit too optimistic. I am one of those “sees the glass half full” kinda girls. I am that perky girl you grabbed your coffee from at the McDonald’s drive-thru early in the morning way back in the day. I remember you! You mumbled a gruff greeting and restrained yourself from lunging into the drive-thru window to smack that crooked smile off my cheery face.

Yep.

Just because I tend to see life through rose colored glasses doesn’t mean I don’t get discouraged. I have struggled with depression over the years. There have been lots of reasons. Chronic health issues, near-death experiences, infertility, loss of purpose, stress, inadequacy….Life.

I have had to come to terms with what I can change and what I can’t change.

Do you know that we spend our lives looking forward to those special events? Holidays. Birthdays. Graduation. Vacation.

Or how many of us are waiting to enjoy life when something changes? Our finances. Our weight. Our spouse.

That's a whole lot of wasted time. We have bought into the lie that we have to have "things" or what society deems as success to be happy. Those expectations that we set for ourselves or are placed on us by others can be heavy. They only bring about shallow and meaningless results.

The  million minutes of your life are spent in anticipation, but not appreciation. We simply survive. And more often than not even those big events overwhelm us.

I have a simple philosophy that has kept me sane and smiling all of these years.

I have to learn to live a beautiful life. I have to take what is in my hands and make it count. I have to learn to appreciate each moment.

Living a beautiful life has little to do with wild vacations, extravagant events, shiny possessions and exalted positions.

What if you can’t take a vacation, keep up with Jones’ or rule the world?

Or.

What if your body fails you? What if life hands you an insurmountable challenge? What if your fairy tale turns into a horror show?

What if you lost those things that you feel define you.

My friends. We must learn to embrace those little moments in our day. We must take control and change those things that we can and give those things we can’t to God.

We also have to change what we feel is successful or worthwhile.

For the next 17 weeks (until the end of 2015) I am going to present you with a challenge. These are going to range from encouraging you to take control of your space to learning to take care of you.

You can read more about what brought me to Living a Beautiful life here.

In meantime, I’ve got my first challenge to you almost ready to go! You can look for my challenge every Friday! This will give you a chance to use your weekend to gets your ducks in a row. 

Are you ready to do this with me?

Week 1 - Creating a Cozy Corner

Week 2 - Having a Bad Day? 

Week 3 - On a Walk

Week 4 - Fixin' It Up For Fall

Week 5 - A DIY Pedicure

Week 6 - Creating Frugal & Fancy Feasts

Week 7 - Finding Your Jam

Week 8 - Put on Those Big Girl Skivvies

Week 9 - Handle With Care

Week 10 - Be Someone's Blessing

Week 11 - An Attitude of Gratitude

Week 12 - Light One Up!

Week 13 - Your One Thing

Week 14 - Use Your Words

Week 15 - Mom Fail

Week 16 - Celebrate!

Week 17 - What is Beautiful?

Chili Cheesy Hominy Casserole

WARNING: This is not the lightest dish I am going to present to you on the blog. We enjoy it only
occasionally. However, it's easy to make and perfect to take with you to a church dinner or family get together.

It's all about the hominy.

What is hominy? Hominy is made from whole corn kernels. The corn kernels are soaked in a lye or lime solution. This process helps soften the tougher outer hulls of the corn. The kernels are washed to remove all of the process solution and the hull.

Whew! Sounds like science.

Hominy is also used to make masa flour...which is the flour used to make those wonderful corn tortillas we all enjoy. I happen to love Grits. If you are a fan of southern style grits...those too are made from hominy.

If you are worried about the chemical process that is used to make hominy you might be interested to know that lutefisk is made the same way. The Swedes certainly haven't suffered.

The dish I am sharing with you today was one we enjoying growing up. Along with Posole, grits and homemade masa tortillas.


For this dish you can use either golden hominy or white hominy. I used both. I am equal opportunity hominy user. I did use 3 cans of hominy for this recipe.

I rinsed it and let it drain in the colander.

Sour cream makes everything better! I added one 8 ounce container. You could use Greek yogurt if you wanted to make it a little lighter.

Then one small can of chopped green chilies. Don't ask me the ounces. Just get the smallest can!

 Cheese was next. The whole recipe calls for 2 cups of cheese. I used 1 cup in the casserole itself and then saved 1 cup for the top.

I mixed it all together and put it in a oven safe stoneware bowl.

Sooo easy! This is one dish that gives you a lot of "wow" with just a little effort.

I baked it in the oven for 25 minutes at 350. It came out loverly!

This night I served the casserole with some pinto beans (with just a little cumin and garlic added) and a salad with tomatoes and avocados.

Here is the recipe.

3 cans of hominy (drained and rinsed)
1 can of chopped green chilies
1 container of  8 ounce of sour cream
2 cups of cheese

Mix everything together except for 1 cup of cheese. Put in an oven safe casserole dish (greased). Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

A TOS Review: Mayan Mysteries from Dig-It! Games

A while back, we had the good fortune to review Mayan Mysteries (Online Game) from Dig-It! Games. I was excited to have a chance to review it again. It seemed like the perfect end of summer distraction.

Mayan Mysteries is an online game intended for grades 5-9. To play you must have a computer with a reliable online connection. For those of you who are concerned, I recently downloaded Windows 10 and we didn’t have any issues. I think your browser would be what you would need to be concerned with. We use Google Chrome without any difficulty. The game explores the ancient culture of the Mayans. This is primarily done through the study of archaeology.

You can imagine how that has gone down in our house. Did I mention I wanted to be an archaeologist growing up? Josiah, himself, cut his teeth on the tales of Indiana Jones and his adventures. He was heartbroken to discover that most archaeologists, in fact, don’t spend their time fighting off Nazis and snakes.

Back to the game. The game can also be downloaded on an iPad if you would rather go that direction. The website says the game itself features over 9 hours of play time. The whole thing is completely interactive. Not only does the student read about Mayan culture and history, but they complete challenges of knowledge, skill and chance.

We explored maps, interactive encyclopedia articles, played games and tried to solve a mystery throughout our review period.

How We Used It

Our review period happened to coincide with our summer break. There are a few of us crazy homeschool mommas who really never take a break. This game fit in nicely with my goals for an easy, but beneficial break (code word for we never-evah stop!). We got to learn and play at the same time.  

Here are just a few of the activities that we encountered. I've taken some screen shots along the journey. 

This is shot is from the very first stop. The explorers are visiting Ceren located in El Salvador. Ceren was a small, farming village. It was completely buried by a volcanic eruption around 600 AD. 

At this point, Josiah had already completed on of the challenges. The challenges can be identified by the question mark over the explorers heads. 

After clicking one such question mark, Josiah found himself reading about Maize. Josiah is dyslexic, but the reading is simplified by a wonderful narration option located on the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

By clicking on any of the blue underlined words or phrases, you are able to learn more. This click to Josiah to an article about the Three Sisters in Mayan agriculture practices...maize, squash and beans.

After reading the information the student is then taken to a serious of challenge questions. The yellow car represents the good guys. The red truck is looters. With each answered question the yellow car moves forward towards the prize. If the question is answered wrong. If the red truck happens to catch you (we know this first hand) the student is given opportunity to answer the question again. They do, however, lose points.

I had to include this question. It had nothing to do with the above reading challenge about Maize. This reading was more about archaeological practices. The questions is as follows.

What is relative dating? Answer a? Going out with your cousin.

Well played, Dig-It!. Well played.

Some of the challenges are games.

This game involved Josiah guessing the purposes of each artifact.

There is sooo much more to the whole game. You can see that it's not only educational, but entertaining as well. 

What I Thought

During the course of the game there are some sort of spirit guides. I mentioned this in my last review. They are still there. I don't think they are necessary, but I suppose that in the context of Mayan culture they are permissible. 

This game has a lot of content in it.  Much of it is a reading comprehension exercise. There are math and calendar exercises incorporated throughout, however. The game is not merely filled with funny story lines and punchy games. It really strives to instruct.

Overall, it is easy to navigate and to understand. As a parent of a child who struggles with dyslexia I was thrilled with the option to read along with narration. It made all the difference in the world to Josiah. I like that the questions were not lengthy and complicated. Neither were the reading passages themselves. Josiah’s curiosity didn’t have to be subject to a complicated program.

We would LOVE more games to be developed. If you have an iPad there are more available to you.  Everything about the game is just so well-done. It is all of excellent quality. We look forward to see what Dig-It! comes up with next. 

You can follow Dig-It! Games via the following social media outlets. Don't forget to click on the banner below to read more reviews. 

https://www.facebook.com/DigItGames

https://twitter.com/digitgames

https://www.youtube.com/user/digitgames

The Family Supper: Chicken Soup for the Sickies

Anybody else here grow up eating super at the table nearly every single night?

This girl did.

In fact, it was considered a great treat to eat our meals in front of the television during Family Movie Night.

You can be sure that I incorporated the same practice when I had my own family. Sadly, I haven't been as diligent.

It became even harder when several years ago (we are talking over 8), The Muffin started working a strange shift. We had been in the full-time pastorate for years and years. All of the sudden, The Muffin was working for "The Man" and the "Man" wanted him at work from 3:30pm - 1:30am.

Because we have also continued our work in the ministry (The Muffin is the Assistant Pastor at church) our lives have been a whirlwind of time that is not our own.

Add to that swim team practice...

I'm surprised  we've seen much of each other.

This summer The Muffin's schedule changed. He is now home just a little after 4:30. Of course, there is still swim team practice, cycling with the buddies...but I can now plan a real Family Supper every week.

I like to cook. I like to make things fancy and obviously with a busy schedule and a tight budget it's been hard to manage both.

For most of the week I fix simple things. These are meals that be prepared ahead of time or slow cook all day.

On those nights when I have more time I can bless my family with a meal that takes a bit more time and effort.

I want to start featuring some of those meals on my blog in the hopes that I might provide inspiration for those who are like-minded.

A couple of weeks ago I was already to go. I had the chicken. I had the butternut squash. I had the apples.

And The Muffin was sick.

Boo!

You would think he would have been a bit more considerate of my plans.

So I changed them just a little bit. I made sure he had plenty of juice, Vitamin C and Kleenex at his disposal.

Then I went into the fridge and grabbed the carcass of a much-enjoyed rotisserie chicken  (I had found several in the deli at Wal-mart marked down to $2.49).

I chopped up a few carrots, an onion and some celery and threw it all in a pot.

I covered it with water and added a few bay leaves, thyme and salt and pepper and let it simmer on the stove while I puttered around.

What am I talking about!

I read. There you have it. One can't really consider "reading" as puttering. I just thought "puttering" sounded more industrious.

Anyhoo. I probably cooked the stock for about 4 hours. This is a good basic stock recipe using chicken bones from Epicurious. Their recipe only simmers for 2 hours. I also like the Barefoot Contessa's chicken stock recipe...except that she uses whole chickens.

I like using the bones. She also uses parsnips. I happen to love parsnips and used some in the chicken soup itself, but not in the stock. I had just a few and they were precious. Parsnips are wonderfully healthy and provide all sorts of extra benefits.

I don't really have a recipe for the chicken soup. I saute my veggies first (I used carrots, celery, parsnips and a little garlic). I also turmeric in my chicken soup.  It not only has excellent medicinal properties, but it adds a beautiful golden color. The Pioneer Woman has a lovely Chicken and Noodle recipe . She uses turmeric and I was inspired several years ago to add it to my chicken soup. Thyme is also another herb I like using in chicken soup. I added both this time around.

The finished product was heavenly.  The Muffin can take or leave cooked carrots. I could have used more parsnips, but it didn't matter. The soup was soo comforting and tasty. The Muffin inhaled buckets of it.

Not literally. That would be a bit much.

I also made some Cheddar Sage Biscuits. I generally don't provide bread with every meal. This time around I thought this would be a nice addition. I used our tried and true family biscuit recipe,  added some chunks of sharp cheddar and some chopped fresh sage I had in the crisper. It was either that or cilantro. I think I made the right choice. We usually cut our biscuits out (with an assortment of fun cutters), but I just turned these into drop biscuits. 

I finished off the meal with a buttermilk pie. My crust looks a bit wonky. I also needed to let it brown up just a bit more.  Buttermilk pie is a really easy pie to make. You don't have to prebake the crust and the ingredients are minimal. If you don't keep a supply of buttermilk in your house like we do (my husband is a buttermilk addict), you can sour regular milk by adding just a little bit of vinegar to it and letting it sit for about 30 minutes. 

Here is a great video from Southern Living that shows you all the steps. Their pie looks decidedly better than mine. Another note about buttermilk pie. Some recipes call for lemon juice. Mine does. The Muffin grew up eating Sugar Cream Pie (he's an Indiana boy born and raised). The Sugar Cream Pie is richer and sweeter. The Buttermilk Pie has more of a tartness to it. I really find that it is the perfect pie to make when you are short on special ingredients and inspiration. 

Of course we didn't eat at the table that night. I did spoon up supper into pretty dishes. That was about all we could do. This last week I made a yummy Braised Chicken dinner with smashed potatoes and an apple cake.

Sadly, I don't have any pictures to share. I can't find my camera battery charger.

I put it somewhere...you know how that goes.

This week my plans are to fix another chicken dish for our Family Supper night. Hopefully, I will locate my battery charger. Otherwise I might have to resort to drawing stick figures. I want to share how it all turns out.

 I do need to note that generally my meal planning doesn't include  simple carbs or "white" products (flour, rice, potatoes). I have decided that life is too short to keep potatoes out of my life completely and that once in a while a bit or two isn't going to ruin my life.

One of these days I'll share more of how I do it all.

Do you set aside time for a Family Supper?

Breakfast Ramblings (and Okra Pickles)

At some point I am fairly certain I am going to receive an award for being the best wife, EVAH!

Yesterday morning I was up early with The Muffin (try 5:00am) helping him search for a variety of objects he needed to pack in his work bucket.

While he was stuffing his bucket with apples and MiO he told me that he had been forced to eat okra pickles every morning this week for breakfast.

What?

Who does that?

Apparently men who can't find anything to eat for breakfast. Except for maybe okra pickles.

Don't judge me, please.

I was fairly certain that he'd at least reach for the bread and peanut butter. That's exactly what happens when our 13-year-old son can't find anything to eat.

Last week, I made The Muffin beautiful breakfast sandwiches and lovely wrapped each one up in red cling wrap left over from Christmas. I rocked it.

Last night I made up for the disgraceful way I have treated breakfast in this house.

I made pancakes.

I even made homemade syrup (mostly because we were almost out of syrup).

This morning he was up bright and early for a bike ride. He and his buddy plan on going 80 miles today. The Muffin has been sniffling with miserable seasonal allergies so I worry about him.

Can you blow your nose and ride a bike at the same time?

I'm pretty sure he did not take a box of Kleenex with him.

In any event, I was up again making sure he had what he needed.

And (drum roll, please) I made him a blueberry smoothie.

See? Wife of the year.

It's about time for Josiah to get up. Boys of 13 are always hungry.

I wonder if we have any okra pickles left?