New stuff...

After a new baby and a move to a new state, I find myself in the midst of a little chaos! I am eager to get organized and start some new routines. Things are moving pretty slowly at our house. I feel behind and don't really know how to catch up. I don't think I can actually. We are just starting fresh I suppose. Starting fresh is good.

For a little motivation I listened to Kendra, from Preschoolers and Peace, talk about organization. She had some great ideas. I am also reading her book about Circle Time. I hope to do this is some form very soon. I think the kids will love it.

I'd like to write about what we are doing here on my poor negelected blog. We will see. It might happen!

I want this!

Cheeseslave is hosting a giveaway for this awesome Norwex Microfiber Mop!

I have never had a good mop! This one looks wonderful. It can be used without chemical cleaners. I am especially excited about the fact that essential oils can be used with it. Lovely!

The giveaway ends tonight. So hop over to Cheeseslave and enter. While you are there, take a look around. Cheesesalve is one of my favorite REAL FOOD bloggers!

Menu Plan Monday - Oct. 12

It has been a very long time since I posted a menu plan. I've missed it. This menu may be a little ambitious for me, being 37 weeks pregnant and all. I was feeling quite motivated when I planned it. We'll see how things go.

Breakfasts:
Oatmeal
Scrambled Eggs
Toast and smoothies
Puff

Lunches:
Leftovers
Egg salad sandwiches
Quesadillas
Chef's Salad

Dinners:

Monday
Curried Chicken and Rice Soup

Tuesday
Baked 3 cheese macaroni served with carrot sticks

Wednesday
Vegetable Streudel
(This link is not the exact recipe we are using, but very similar. I'm looking forward to this one!)

Thursday
Tender Texas Style Steaks (crockpot) with corn pudding and veggies

Friday
Ham, Peas and Potatoes

Saturday
Quick Roasted Tomato Soup and Cheese Quesadillas (or grilled cheese).

Photos in need of Taste the Rainbow Actions

I have been playing with my new camera a lot, hoping to learn how to take some good quality pictures! Here are a few that could use the magic touch of Taste the Rainbow Actions by Amy-Rose King!





To learn more about Amy-Rose King photography, visit her website: Photography by Amy-Rose King

Amy-Rose Photography....beautiful!

Toni mentioned Amy-Rose Photography and I went to check her out...WOW! Her work is absolutely beautiful.

I love the way she captures relationships between people in such natural settings. The personality of her subject really shines through. Everyone looks at-ease and comfortable. Each shot is extremely unique and artistic.

I just got a new camera and have been trying to figure out how to take good pictures! It's not always easy. Amy is giving away a Taste the Rainbow action set, which she created herself. It looks amazing! I really want to win it! Oh to enhance my pictures with skin softening, eye enhancing, and make some romance blur. A dream!

If you want some photography inspiration or need a photographer, be sure to visit Amy-Rose at Photography by Amy-Rose King.

Free Autumn e-book for K-4th grade

The Old Schoolhouse and Amanda Bennet have teamed up to create a fun and easy to use, week-long unit study for K-4th grade. I thought it was excellent and am really looking forward to using it with my kids next week. Right now it is available for free! Just click on the picture above.

This is what I had to say about the study:

The Autumn Treasures Download N Go e-book contains a wonderful plan which enables families to experience a fun-filled week of learning together. The lessons are laid out clearly and include a multitude of links to all the information needed. Practically everything is right there: videos, poetry, bible verses, and lapbook templates. A quick trip to the library for books and a check of the homeschool cabinet for lapbook supplies (glue, paper, and file folders) is all that is left to do.

I thoroughly enjoyed the variety included in this week long study and feel this would give children a well rounded understanding of all things Autumn. I also appreciated the encouragement to take nature walks each day; a perfect way to tie things together. Autumn Treasures is not only fun and educational, but also an excellent tool for building special memories.

I should add that is unit is not just for homeschoolers. All families could enjoy and benefit from this fun study.

Here is what is included:
(Information is from the Old Schoolhouse website)

Each day, your student will explore and investigate, creating and adding more learning components to his Autumn Treasures lapbook—building a wonderful reminder of all that he is learning. Even though these studies have a great list of books that you can use to enrich your study, they are not a requirement.

There are science discoveries, such as learning about the cause of seasons and how animals in the wild use autumn to prepare for winter. Your student will learn history as he studies about the pumpkin in America, and how Johnny Appleseed helped pioneers spread across this great land.

There’s much more than this, but here’s the week at a glance highlighting a few of the fun learning and lapbook activities to explore with your children:

Monday, Day 1: What is Autumn?

• Take a fascinating look at the earth, the sun, and the seasons.
• How do the trees change? When is sunrise and sunset in your town?
• Begin work on a vocabulary lapbook activity, adding to it each day.
• Your kids will be fascinated with video links such as: “What Causes Seasons?”, “Earth Seasons with Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
• Make a “Changing Seasons” wheel and “Seasons” flap book.

Tuesday, Day 2: Science Secrets of Autumn

• How are nuts and acorns spread in autumn? What is a harvest moon?
• Find answers to “Why do leaves change color?” with lots of video clips.
• Do the “pigments of autumn leaves” lapbook activity and make a leaf rubbing book.
• Explore leaf identification Internet sites and compare to your collection.

Wednesday, Day 3: People and Places of Autumn

• Answer questions for the Johnny Appleseed petal book.
• There’s a lot to learn about apples—good for cooking, crafts and more! Make apple recipe cards that fit in a special pocket for your lapbook.
• What is a harvest, and what is being harvested near you?
• Take virtual visits around the country to see what autumn looks like in other places. Enjoy coloring and activity pages!
• Watch “The Seasons” powerhouse animation.

Thursday, Day 4: Time for Tips and Treasures of Autumn

• Create animal hibernation and migration matchbooks.
• Develop a time chart of the earth’s position during the seasons.
• Investigate migrating Monarch butterflies and make a Monarch butterflies book.
• Learn about the life cycle of pumpkins, and who taught the pilgrims how to grow them!
• Watch a video of a black bear and cubs in hibernation.

Friday, Day 5: Goodies and Gadgets of Autumn (Fridays are fun days!)

• Where does popcorn come from, and how does it pop? Fashion a book about the process of making popcorn.
• Study the history and manufacturing process of candy corn—that fun autumn candy. Watch the video!
• How do they make apple cider?
• Make a beautiful fall foliage bouquet and decorate with fruit and vegetable prints.
• Creative writing lapbook project: Why do you love autumn?

Plus there are additional fun family ideas: projects, crafts, and recipes.

Amanda Bennett (www.unitstudy.com), author of this series, is well known for her groundbreaking unit studies which remain popular with homeschool families around the world. She is also a sought-after speaker at homeschool conferences and women’s retreats. With two students who have graduated from college and one teenager at home, she and her husband stay busy on their tree farm in Tennessee. Amanda takes great joy in sharing her faith, homeschool experiences, and contagious love of learning.

Welcome the opportunity to use Autumn Treasures in your homeschool.
It’s a $7.95 value—yours for FREE! Download it now.

Baking Day!

Today was a big baking day at our house: bread, tortillas, cinnamon rolls and Cheesecake Brownies!

The Cheesecake Brownies are from smittenkitchen.com. You should really go and check it out. I've made a bunch of her recipes and loved every one.

Crystal and Stephanie wrote about stocking the freezer to get ready for baby’s arrival and this really inspired me to get cooking. It will be very helpful to have some easy meals on hand.

So far I have a few batches of muffins and bread. Next will be spaghetti sauce, and then our favorite turkey sausage* which we use for Stromboli* and pasta dishes. I think some meat and veggies cooked up for Shephard’s Pie and Burritos are also in order.

It has been a little strange thinking about stocking the freezer when we are moving so soon. I feel that we should be emptying the freezer! But I remember how hard it can be to get meals ready with a newborn. Moving, coupled with new baby, means easy meals are a must!

*Just some info in case you click on the link for turkey sausage or Stromboli - I have not made the turkey sausage in patties as shown...just cook it all up in the pan to add to pasta sauce or use in the Cheesy Turkey Stromboli. I'm sure the patties are good too. We just haven't tried them yet. One more tip, the Stromboli is super yummy with a marinara dipping sauce. I made this one last time and it was very good.