This week's challenge on the MTH group, we are doing the pantry or food cabinets!
Last week, we cleaned out the fridge. This week, let's clean out the pantry/food cabinets!
Take everything out, wipe down the counters, sort through the foods, and see what is old or what you're not going to use. If you have something you know you won't use, and is still good, donate it!
Check for stale or expired foods.
If you have several cabinets, do one a day.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday
Tonight, I have a "Homeschool Mom's Night Out" and we are going out to dinner. So this afternoon, I am making My Lasagna . That way when the family is ready for dinner, my daughter can stick it in the oven and bake it.
I am also doing some "bulk" meat cooking this morning. The last time I bought ground beef, I could only find the decent kind in large, 3 lb packages. That is WAY too much meat for one meal, so I am cooking all three pounds and will freeze it in 1 lb portions for future use.
I have the second load of laundry in for the day, and the children are getting start on their day as well.
Here is the "Monday Menu" of the week:
Monday: Lasagna (made with turkey)
Tuesday: Split Pea Soup
Wednesday: Meatloaf
Thursday: Grocery Shopping day - pizza!
Friday: Crockpot Enchilada bake
Saturday: Winter Chicken Stew
Sunday: Baked Mac & Cheese
My goals this week, are to get one of the little house dresses sewn, and to make an apron.
I am also doing some "bulk" meat cooking this morning. The last time I bought ground beef, I could only find the decent kind in large, 3 lb packages. That is WAY too much meat for one meal, so I am cooking all three pounds and will freeze it in 1 lb portions for future use.
I have the second load of laundry in for the day, and the children are getting start on their day as well.
Here is the "Monday Menu" of the week:
Monday: Lasagna (made with turkey)
Tuesday: Split Pea Soup
Wednesday: Meatloaf
Thursday: Grocery Shopping day - pizza!
Friday: Crockpot Enchilada bake
Saturday: Winter Chicken Stew
Sunday: Baked Mac & Cheese
My goals this week, are to get one of the little house dresses sewn, and to make an apron.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The "Reclaim your Fridge Space" Challenge
I am finally getting around to sharing this challenge on here. This was from the challenge we had on the MTH group this week. Here is mine....
The "Before" Photo:
Not too bad, but it definitely can use some work. I do a thorough fridge cleaning about every couple months. This was last done just before the holiday season.
First, I'm putting on a work apron. This was my grandmother's and is made from a kitchen towel.
Then I put on some motivational cleaning music........this is one of my favorite new songs :-)
Now, I will take everything out of the fridge....
Lay an old towel down, and fill a wash basin with warm soapy water. And turn off the fridge. You don't want it running like crazy while you have the door wide open.
I start by wiping down the sides and back.
Then I work my way top to bottom. First, with the shelves.
Then I pull out the drawers and clean them out. I keep my drawers lined with folded newspaper or paper grocery bags. If something leaks, they soak it up, and make cleaning so much easier. Every time I clean out the fridge, I replace them with fresh.
I pull out the glass shelf over the crisper and clean out all the cracks. An old toothbrush can be handy here.
Then I clean out the bottom of the fridge, under where the drawers normally sit.
Don't forget to clean out the rubber gaskets on the door, and the grate at the bottom. I think the easiest way to do that, is to take it off, and spray it off in the shower. Dry with a towel and replace.
Then I sort through all the contents, separating the good stuff from the expired, old, or just "never gonna eat" stuff. Afterward, I put all the good things back.
What a huge difference!
Repeat with the door....
And on to the freezer....(before)
and after....
Look at how much is going!
Lastly, I take off all my "decorations," wipe down the whole outside of the fridge, and replace with only my favorites. Don't forget the top of the fridge too!
All done!
Now I will go through the discard items. I will empty any "leftovers" containers and empty the jars that I need to keep. They go straight into the dishwasher.
The "Before" Photo:
Not too bad, but it definitely can use some work. I do a thorough fridge cleaning about every couple months. This was last done just before the holiday season.First, I'm putting on a work apron. This was my grandmother's and is made from a kitchen towel.
Then I put on some motivational cleaning music........this is one of my favorite new songs :-)
Now, I will take everything out of the fridge....
Lay an old towel down, and fill a wash basin with warm soapy water. And turn off the fridge. You don't want it running like crazy while you have the door wide open.
I start by wiping down the sides and back.
Then I work my way top to bottom. First, with the shelves.
Then I pull out the drawers and clean them out. I keep my drawers lined with folded newspaper or paper grocery bags. If something leaks, they soak it up, and make cleaning so much easier. Every time I clean out the fridge, I replace them with fresh.
I pull out the glass shelf over the crisper and clean out all the cracks. An old toothbrush can be handy here.
Then I clean out the bottom of the fridge, under where the drawers normally sit.
Don't forget to clean out the rubber gaskets on the door, and the grate at the bottom. I think the easiest way to do that, is to take it off, and spray it off in the shower. Dry with a towel and replace.
Then I sort through all the contents, separating the good stuff from the expired, old, or just "never gonna eat" stuff. Afterward, I put all the good things back.
What a huge difference!
Repeat with the door....
And on to the freezer....(before)
and after....
Look at how much is going!
Lastly, I take off all my "decorations," wipe down the whole outside of the fridge, and replace with only my favorites. Don't forget the top of the fridge too!
All done!
Now I will go through the discard items. I will empty any "leftovers" containers and empty the jars that I need to keep. They go straight into the dishwasher.
Systematic Mathematics
I was recently asked to share some information about the Systematic Mathematics curriculum that I have listed in my side bar. I can't recall the post where the comment was left, so I thought I would go ahead and post my review here :-)
I have been homeschooling for a few years, and through most of the time, I used Saxon Math. It did wonders for my daughter's math skills, and her standardized test scores for math skyrocketed when we started using it.
However, this past year, I had started using if for all of my children. My sons in 5th and 7th and my daughter in Algebra. The math that had been such a great program for my daughter, was a nightmare for the boys. They couldn't grasp concepts with the spiraling style that Saxon has. They would no sooner begin a concept, when something new would be brought in. They weren't mastering the lessons, and it was just amess for them. Math shouldn't make you cry! And in regards to my daughter's Algebra 1, I kept finding error after error in the answer key. It got to where I would spend an hour every day just correcting her math, because I would personally have to work out every "wrong" answer to see if it was actually wrong, or if it was the book.
So I started reading reviews and found that many other parents had the same problem with Alg 1. They often voiced opinions that the company seemed to have used different writers once they hit the upper math. That while they had been thrilled with the lower math, were very frustrated and disappointed with the upper math. In my researching, I came across a mention of Systematic Mathematics. I had never heard of this math curriculum, and so I did some digging.
Systematic Mathematics (SysteMath) is based upon mastery of concepts. It was created by an older gentleman, named Paul Ziegler, who was a teacher for many years, and had become extrememly upset with the decline in math skills in the U.S. This curriculum is based on the methods of teaching that were used in the 50's, back when learning was the focus, and American schools were considered great.
The math lessons do not come in a text book. They are instead "modules." Each module will have a number of lessons. Each lesson will have a video, where Paul himself is teaching the lesson on a chalkboard. All of the lesson worksheets are on disk, in PDF form. You simply print them out as needed. Some lessons will have more than one "worksheet" and some have study sheets that go with them. These modules cover from around 6th grade math, all the way through Algebra 2.
For the younger students, SysteMath actually offers the old, 1920's text books that were used way back when. Those text books each cover 2 years of math, and are only about $14.99. Two years of math for $14.99! How often do you see a deal like that? And these really are the old, classic lessons. "Susie bought a doll for 5 cents" LOL My youngest really likes them, and he is LEARNING!
When I first tried out this curriculum, I wasn't sure if it would work for us, because it was very different, and not well known. But, I was so frustrated that I thought it would be worth a shot.
At first, my older son thought the videos were dry and boring....until about the third lesson he did, when he exclaimed, "WOW! I have never seen such an easy way to do that! MOM! Come watch this!" at which point he replayed a portion of the lesson for me. He was thrilled, because he actually understood what he was doing! I was thrilled because he was GETTING IT!
I print out each lesson for them, and if for some reason they don't do well, I simply have them repeat the lesson, and just print it out again. Since it isn't consumable, I can use it later, with the younger students, and not have to buy them all over again.
This curriculum may not be for everyone, but it certainly works for us! If you go to their website, you can watch and view sample lessons, so you have a better idea of what it is. There are even "final exams" for every module so you can print them out, have your child take it, and determine which modules you need, all for free.
I hope that answers the questions anyone may have, but if you have any further, please feel free to leave a comment :-) I'll answer any way I can.
I have been homeschooling for a few years, and through most of the time, I used Saxon Math. It did wonders for my daughter's math skills, and her standardized test scores for math skyrocketed when we started using it.
However, this past year, I had started using if for all of my children. My sons in 5th and 7th and my daughter in Algebra. The math that had been such a great program for my daughter, was a nightmare for the boys. They couldn't grasp concepts with the spiraling style that Saxon has. They would no sooner begin a concept, when something new would be brought in. They weren't mastering the lessons, and it was just amess for them. Math shouldn't make you cry! And in regards to my daughter's Algebra 1, I kept finding error after error in the answer key. It got to where I would spend an hour every day just correcting her math, because I would personally have to work out every "wrong" answer to see if it was actually wrong, or if it was the book.
So I started reading reviews and found that many other parents had the same problem with Alg 1. They often voiced opinions that the company seemed to have used different writers once they hit the upper math. That while they had been thrilled with the lower math, were very frustrated and disappointed with the upper math. In my researching, I came across a mention of Systematic Mathematics. I had never heard of this math curriculum, and so I did some digging.
Systematic Mathematics (SysteMath) is based upon mastery of concepts. It was created by an older gentleman, named Paul Ziegler, who was a teacher for many years, and had become extrememly upset with the decline in math skills in the U.S. This curriculum is based on the methods of teaching that were used in the 50's, back when learning was the focus, and American schools were considered great.
The math lessons do not come in a text book. They are instead "modules." Each module will have a number of lessons. Each lesson will have a video, where Paul himself is teaching the lesson on a chalkboard. All of the lesson worksheets are on disk, in PDF form. You simply print them out as needed. Some lessons will have more than one "worksheet" and some have study sheets that go with them. These modules cover from around 6th grade math, all the way through Algebra 2.
For the younger students, SysteMath actually offers the old, 1920's text books that were used way back when. Those text books each cover 2 years of math, and are only about $14.99. Two years of math for $14.99! How often do you see a deal like that? And these really are the old, classic lessons. "Susie bought a doll for 5 cents" LOL My youngest really likes them, and he is LEARNING!
When I first tried out this curriculum, I wasn't sure if it would work for us, because it was very different, and not well known. But, I was so frustrated that I thought it would be worth a shot.
At first, my older son thought the videos were dry and boring....until about the third lesson he did, when he exclaimed, "WOW! I have never seen such an easy way to do that! MOM! Come watch this!" at which point he replayed a portion of the lesson for me. He was thrilled, because he actually understood what he was doing! I was thrilled because he was GETTING IT!
I print out each lesson for them, and if for some reason they don't do well, I simply have them repeat the lesson, and just print it out again. Since it isn't consumable, I can use it later, with the younger students, and not have to buy them all over again.
This curriculum may not be for everyone, but it certainly works for us! If you go to their website, you can watch and view sample lessons, so you have a better idea of what it is. There are even "final exams" for every module so you can print them out, have your child take it, and determine which modules you need, all for free.
I hope that answers the questions anyone may have, but if you have any further, please feel free to leave a comment :-) I'll answer any way I can.
Friday, January 23, 2009
The Winter Whip-Up
I have been in a de-cluttering and cleaning mood again. It might be too early for the "Spring Cleaning" but I think a "winter whip-up" is needed as well! Time to whip my schedule and organization back into shape. This week I have completely cleaned and re-organized my room. I cleaned out the closet and storage area, and re-arranged the furniture. I created a work area for myself, so that I can more readily get to my MANY sewing projects that I have waiting for me.
Here are just a few of them:
1) 2 "little house" dresses for a friend
2) 2 wrap skirts, one for myself, and one for my daughter
3) 2 denim/BDU patchwork quilts for the boys (Recycling old blue jeans, denim skirts, and BDU sets.)
4) a flannel patchwork quilt (Recycling old sheets and flannel shirts)
5) a long list of projects I am going to do for an online shop I am going to open. (To include a variety of aprons, art kits, dish carriers, and plenty others)
My goal is to get at least 1 personal project, and 1 "shop" project done every week. Of course, the quilts may take more than a week, but I want to have significant weekly progress on those. I used to do a lot of sewing, and kind of packed away the sewing machine, and forgot about everything. Though I have certainly been hanging onto the fabric! In my cleaning and organizing sweep, I sorted out all of my 7 large rubbermaid bins. So, I have decided that it is time to get to it! :-)
On my "Making It Home" group, we had a challenge this week to clean out the fridge and reclaim the space! I think a weekly challenge there may be in the works. It is good to keep each other on task :-)
Have a blessed weekend!
Here are just a few of them:
1) 2 "little house" dresses for a friend
2) 2 wrap skirts, one for myself, and one for my daughter
3) 2 denim/BDU patchwork quilts for the boys (Recycling old blue jeans, denim skirts, and BDU sets.)
4) a flannel patchwork quilt (Recycling old sheets and flannel shirts)
5) a long list of projects I am going to do for an online shop I am going to open. (To include a variety of aprons, art kits, dish carriers, and plenty others)
My goal is to get at least 1 personal project, and 1 "shop" project done every week. Of course, the quilts may take more than a week, but I want to have significant weekly progress on those. I used to do a lot of sewing, and kind of packed away the sewing machine, and forgot about everything. Though I have certainly been hanging onto the fabric! In my cleaning and organizing sweep, I sorted out all of my 7 large rubbermaid bins. So, I have decided that it is time to get to it! :-)
On my "Making It Home" group, we had a challenge this week to clean out the fridge and reclaim the space! I think a weekly challenge there may be in the works. It is good to keep each other on task :-)
Have a blessed weekend!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
And MORE Snow!
Yep, STILL snowing outside :-D
So what do country folks do when it snows? Why we go sledding!
(I love my boots)
So finally JM decided to get in on the fun.....
But Mama couldn't resist either! (Note to self, taking pics while sledding means riding no handed .....Note the foot flying up in the air!)
So what do country folks do when it snows? Why we go sledding!
(I love my boots)
So finally JM decided to get in on the fun.....
But Mama couldn't resist either! (Note to self, taking pics while sledding means riding no handed .....Note the foot flying up in the air!)
Still Snowing....
It's Still snowing! Woohoo! So a few more pics....
The continuing saga of the snowball battle....raging on and on.....
JR and I decided to head to our creek and see what it looked like...
The continuing saga of the snowball battle....raging on and on.....
JR and I decided to head to our creek and see what it looked like...
SNOW!!!!
This is so exciting! Even though we homeschool, and realistically this wouldn't effect us, we still declare this a no-school day, because it is so doggone fun! In our part of the country, snow is a rare treat. I joked on my facebook page, that those Wisconsin people finally decided to share. (I am from Wisconsin originally.)
It was snowing when we got up this morning, and it is still coming down heavily.
Strider wasn't too sure about this though. Having come from Beaufort, SC we aren't sure if he has ever seen snow. He spent a good amount of time running and bucking, and generally going nuts most of the morning.
The doggies LOVE the snow!
The chickens weren't thrilled...
But the kiddos.....well, that's another story :-)
Mama was happy too
Daddy got to come home too, so he was able to join in on the fun
The birdies were grateful for the feeder, there is even a woodpecker on there.
Ahhhh, Snow
It was snowing when we got up this morning, and it is still coming down heavily.
Strider wasn't too sure about this though. Having come from Beaufort, SC we aren't sure if he has ever seen snow. He spent a good amount of time running and bucking, and generally going nuts most of the morning.
The doggies LOVE the snow!
The chickens weren't thrilled...
But the kiddos.....well, that's another story :-)
Mama was happy too
Daddy got to come home too, so he was able to join in on the fun
The birdies were grateful for the feeder, there is even a woodpecker on there.
Ahhhh, Snow
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
My Chicken Tractor
If you're wondering what a chicken tractor is, it is a moveable home for chickens. Sometimes it is just a moveable yard, or it is a combination. They vary in size and style, but this is ours.
This was made a couple years ago, so the children were of course smaller, and it was at our old house. (Which we found out that we had moved out for nothing! The Waffle House ended up not getting built right there, and all of the planned growth was canceled. That was devastating to us to find out we had left our dream house and didn't have to. That was our favorite home that we ever lived in, in all our years of military life. I cried the day we moved out. And if I think about it too much, I get sad all over again.) The original post below was made on my old blog, summer of '07.
***
Well, it is 99.99% finished. All that is left, is to attach a few latches, and that is it. I am just taking a break from the heat and drinking some iced tea. We got started at 9am today, running to the lumberyard for a couple more pieces of wood that I needed.
JR helping screw on a panel. (By the way that is PAINT on his arm! )
Painting the frame
Me, stapling the chicken wire to the yard enclosure.
After we got it all together, we moved it out near the shed, and moved the young birds into their new home! We placed them in the house portion, and they had no idea what to do with that door. So JR climbed inside and coaxed NeeNee outside.
These are the two perches inside the house.
And the nesting boxes.
Finally they began to adventure out into their new frontier!
And the completed Chicken Tractor! (Again, minus the latches
)
For more ideas or information about Chicken Tractors, you can visit these websites:
Link One
Link Two
Link Three
Link Four
A note to "MorningSunshine"...
I made up the plans for this on a scrap of notebook paper.
I made it out of 2x2's, plywood, 2 ft chicken wire, 2inch wood screws, staples, and some scraps of 2x4 (for the nesting boxes). Plus a couple hinges and latches, and barn paint.
If I remember correctly, the vertical beams are just under 2 ft high, I based it off of the chicken wire, to make sure I could staple it to the sides.
The long beams are 8 ft long, and the width beams are 4 ft long.
The house is 4 ft square, and is also made with 2 ft high vertical beams.
This is one of my older posts that I moved to this site, from last year. I have had a large number of people ask me for the plans since then. I think I may still have them somewhere... we moved in March, but if I do, and I find them, I will post the measurements of everything.
I originally had this for 12 young birds. We let our chickens run loose, but they can't go straight from the "nursery" to running free. We use this as an "in-between" house. Many people use these on a regular basis as the permanent/mobile homes. If I were to do that, I would use this for about 6-8 birds. It would be a little crowded for any more than that. Of course our birds are Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Barred Rocks, which are fairly large. If you had smaller breeds, you might be able to put more in there without stressing them.
This was made a couple years ago, so the children were of course smaller, and it was at our old house. (Which we found out that we had moved out for nothing! The Waffle House ended up not getting built right there, and all of the planned growth was canceled. That was devastating to us to find out we had left our dream house and didn't have to. That was our favorite home that we ever lived in, in all our years of military life. I cried the day we moved out. And if I think about it too much, I get sad all over again.
***
Well, it is 99.99% finished. All that is left, is to attach a few latches, and that is it. I am just taking a break from the heat and drinking some iced tea. We got started at 9am today, running to the lumberyard for a couple more pieces of wood that I needed.
JR helping screw on a panel. (By the way that is PAINT on his arm! )
Painting the frame
Me, stapling the chicken wire to the yard enclosure.
After we got it all together, we moved it out near the shed, and moved the young birds into their new home! We placed them in the house portion, and they had no idea what to do with that door. So JR climbed inside and coaxed NeeNee outside.
These are the two perches inside the house.
And the nesting boxes.
Finally they began to adventure out into their new frontier!
And the completed Chicken Tractor! (Again, minus the latches
)For more ideas or information about Chicken Tractors, you can visit these websites:
Link One
Link Two
Link Three
Link Four
A note to "MorningSunshine"...
I made up the plans for this on a scrap of notebook paper.
I made it out of 2x2's, plywood, 2 ft chicken wire, 2inch wood screws, staples, and some scraps of 2x4 (for the nesting boxes). Plus a couple hinges and latches, and barn paint.
If I remember correctly, the vertical beams are just under 2 ft high, I based it off of the chicken wire, to make sure I could staple it to the sides.
The long beams are 8 ft long, and the width beams are 4 ft long.
The house is 4 ft square, and is also made with 2 ft high vertical beams.
This is one of my older posts that I moved to this site, from last year. I have had a large number of people ask me for the plans since then. I think I may still have them somewhere... we moved in March, but if I do, and I find them, I will post the measurements of everything.
I originally had this for 12 young birds. We let our chickens run loose, but they can't go straight from the "nursery" to running free. We use this as an "in-between" house. Many people use these on a regular basis as the permanent/mobile homes. If I were to do that, I would use this for about 6-8 birds. It would be a little crowded for any more than that. Of course our birds are Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Barred Rocks, which are fairly large. If you had smaller breeds, you might be able to put more in there without stressing them.
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