Crock-Pot® Seasoning Mixes Review

I received some samples of Crock-Pot® Seasoning Mixes from Smiley 360.  Always eager to try new things in my slow cooker, I was pretty pumped to give these mixes a go.  The first one I used was BBQ Pulled Pork.  Now, I make pulled pork quite a bit in my slow cooker, and while I like it, honestly, my husband isn't a fan of the way I make it.  But, I'm happy to say that he, the kids and my brother-in-law (who is a picky eater!) all really liked it this time around.  Yay!  It was simple to make following the recipe on the back, and yeah... came out delicious!!!

Over the course of the next few weeks, I also made the Savory Pot Roast and the Hearty Beef Stew, and they were both wonderful.  I've always had a hard time making Beef Stew come out just right, but I nailed it with the help of this seasoning mix and the recipe on the back.  Woo hoo!  I felt like such an awesome wife/mom/cook on the nights I made these, because they were so good (and EASY!).  I will certainly be picking these up again in the future!!!

[I was sent samples of the above mentioned product from Smile360 in exchange for my opinion via facebook, twitter, blog and/or word-of-mouth.  I was not further compensated for my opinion and the text written above is in my own words.]

Gorton's Skillet Crisp Tilapia Review

Gorton's now offers a delicious, lightly battered frozen Tilapia filet that cooks up quickly... and CRISPY... in just minutes!  I usually get frozen tilapia filets and either cook them with just a little lemon pepper sprinkled on or create my own crust with bread crumbs.  I'm a BzzAgent and they sent me a coupon for a free package of this new creation from Gorton's and I was definitely interested in giving it a try. 

Garlic & Herb sounded so good!

As soon as I opened the box, I could smell the yummy garlic and herb aroma... mmm!  And as it sizzled in the pan, it smelled so good.  I was worried it might not REALLY come out crispy, BUT... it actually did.  Honestly, it came out better than when I do the batter myself - 'cause oftentimes the fish ends up sticking or just getting too soft. 

And it smelled delicious in the pan!

Yummy dinner!!!

The fish was delicious, and even my young boys liked it!  I liked that it was lightly coated so that it didn't overpower the filet and yes, there was a crunch to it.   I definitely recommend this new product from Gorton's when you need a quick, healthy, tasteful meal on the table!  And I will certainly be purchasing this again, a great thing to have on hand when you have one of those days you don't want to spend much time or energy in the kitchen!

[I was given a coupon for a free package of Gorton's Skillet Crisp Tilapia, but have not been otherwise compensated.  The review posted above is my own, honest opinion.  "I got it free from BzzAgent."]

Homeschool Recap, September 28th (Week 10)...

In my life this week...

So, the allergies have set in.  I LOVE Fall, and so I am willing to overlook the ridiculous amount of sneezing, itchy and watery eyes and sniffles.  But Thursday was CRAZY BAD.  I don't think I ever went half an hour between sneezes the WHOLE day long.  Yeesh!  C'mon, Fall weather and I'll completely ignore my symptoms and just enjoy it, I promise!

Books I'm reading...
I read and reviewed Unconditional: The Novel, and I also read the eVersion of Around the World in 80 Dates: Confessions of a Christian Serial Dater.  Yeah, I dunno why that jumped out at me...it just looked cute and I wanted something light and amusing, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  It was pretty entertaining!

Things I'm cooking...
I made a delicious crockpot recipe from Chef in Training yesterday, Bacon-Wrapped Apple Chicken!  Michael and I loved it, the boys hated it.  I was so surprised... it's got chicken, apples, brown sugar, bacon, and BBQ sauce... what's not to like about ANY of those things?  But both kids basically refused to eat it, so Michael and I had hearty helpings of it.  Their loss.  Lol.

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: We continued the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "F" for Foot, and the other body parts.  We spent some time tracing Callen's whole body and his feet.  We played with MamaJenn's Education Cubes Body Parts theme, wiggling our toes and showing off our knees.  And we read lots of books on feet and the body: Feet, Centipede's 100 Shoes, Barefoot: Poems for Naked Feet, Dancing In My Bones and My Body, Your Body.

Full-size tracing of Callen!

Bible:  We used Mama Jenn's printable up on our Morning Board to help us memorize John 7:37, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink," and talked about how God gives Living Water. We looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that talked about Jesus giving water to the thirsty, or being the living water to our souls.  Preston copied the verse for his notebook, and we put the drop of water picture up on our poster.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure.  Preston aced both spelling tests he had this week, again.  Continued with lessons 16-18 in Primary Language Lessons. 

History:  We continued talking about the Revolutionary War, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson this week.  We read The Fourth of July Story, part of Red, White & Blue: The Story of the American Flag, added several pieces to our timeline and notebook, including the Declaration of Independence.  We continued Sarah Whitcher's Story.  We read a couple of other books as well: Discover Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson, a Picture Book Biography, The 18-Penny Goose and Sam The Minuteman.

Math: Preston continued along in Chapter 4 of his Math Mammoth workbook, adding over 10 and three-digit numbers.  He especially enjoys answering word problems, he says.

Science:  This week's focus was on disappearing water, using Science With Water.  We did a few experiments to see how water evaporated or didn't evaporate if it was enclosed in a plastic bag.  We have some colored sugar water set out, and are waiting to see what happens as it evaporates.  We also put some marker on coffee filter paper and put it in a dish of water, and watched as the colors moved up the paper.

Pretty experiment!

Music/Art: We continued the My Very First Art Book, using random items to make paint prints.  Things like bottle caps, cardboard, legos, etc.  Preston's artwork was very nice.  We also continued learning the three verses of Yankee Doodle.  And I had Preston read The Nutcracker Ballet aloud while we drove around doing errands one day.

Spanish: Continued with the next two episodes of Salsa, which included the story of The Little Red Hen and more We reviewed words having to do with "El Campo" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish.  And we continued on to Lesson 4 of La Clase Divertida!.

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.



[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

Pumpkin Comfort Food...

This evening it was under 70 degrees. Mid-September in Texas, that isn't always the case. It may not last, but I'm taking advantage of it. I whipped up a batch of Pumpkin Dump Cake and some Pumpkin Mocha Latte. I'm in heaven (ok, I'd be further into heaven it was 60degrees, lol)!

This + 70degrees, windows open = LOVE!

Pumpkin Dump Cake
- 1 15oz can Pumpkin Purée
- 1 10oz can Evaporated Milk
- 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 3 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 Cup Coarsely Crushed Graham Crackers
- 1/2 Cup Butterscotch Chips
- 1 Box White or Yello Cake Mix
- 1 Cup Melted Butter

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Prepare 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together: pumpkin, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs and spice.
Pour into pan. Pour cake mix on top, then graham cracker crumbles and butterscotch chips.
Evenly pour melted butter on top of everything. Bake for 50 minutes.
Center will be set and edges browned. Can easily burn on top, so be aware.

Pumpkin Mocha Latte
- 1 package of Starbucks VIA Pumpkin Spice mix
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa Mix
- 8oz warm milk

Happy soon-to-be Fall, y'all!

Michigan Vacation Recap...

Wow, ok, I kept saying to myself that I'd sit down and blog about our Michigan vacation in full detail with pictures and links and everything.  And, well... it's been nearly three weeks and I have not had the time to sit and focus like that... nor do I see that opportunity arising in the future.  So, dang it.  This will have to do...

Route 1: Grand Prairie, TX to Whitehall, MI

Friday, Aug 3rd:

Michael arrived home from work later than expected and it took us longer to pack up than expected as well.  Late start, but finally on the road around 330pm.  We got about an hour into the trip and Preston already had to go to the bathroom.  Stopped for Dinner and bathroom in Greenville.  Then proceeded to drive all night.  Several stops for bathroom, drinks, snacks, diaper changes.  One particularly memorable diaper change occurred in the middle of no where Arkansas.  Callen started complaining that his bottom hurt quite vehemently, so we pulled over at the next exit... nothing but cornfields, not even a streetlight.  Oh well.  Proceeded to change the kid, who was neither wet nor messy (grr!), and approximately 1billion mosquitoes flew into our vehicle because of the light.  Oops.  That was NOT cool.  We also realized that we were getting very poor gas mileage and the wind noise caused by the overheard luggage was incredibly irritating.  We decided to stop, also in Arkansas, and take everything down from the luggage rack and cram it in the back so we could stop the noise AND get better gas mileage.  To our surprise, everything fit fine.  We didn't even NEED the luggage rack and cross bars, which we had purchased specifically for this trip because we though the back was simply too small for our luggage.  Sigh.  Anyway, other than that our overnight drive went rather smoothly and we arrived at our destination around 1130am on Saturday morning.

Saturday, Aug 4th:

Arrived in Michigan, then drove through a parade in Grand Rapids and finally ended up in Whitehall, Michigan - our final destination!  Left the kids with grandparents and attempted to rest for a while.  Enjoyed checking out "Grandma" and "Grandpa's" house, and the nice lake view out their back window.  And the kids fell in love with their giant basement.  Michael and I were able to slip away after dinner and have dessert by ourselves at Pekadill's.  Mmm!

Sunday, Aug 5th:

Church and lunch afterwards at... Pekadill's.  We got to spend some time with Great Aunt Laura there.  Great Grandma Kathy came over and Callen got to meet her for the first time in person!  Later we all went to Duck Lake and splashed around in the little creek there, and went out into Lake Michigan.  Callen LOVED the little creek.  However, as soon as we got a bit out into the "big water," and a large wave smashed into his face, he wasn't so crazy about the water.  Plus, it was a bit cool and he couldn't stop shivering, poor thing!  Preston loved every bit of it.  Michael and he ran up and down the sand dune, and thankfully didn't fall!

Monday, Aug 6th:

Michael's birthday!  He wanted to go sailing so he, Preston and Steve went over to a friend's house to borrow a boat.  Michael and Preston sailed a little ways, then the winds kicked up and pushed them into the shore... they had to abandon the boat and walk back to the friend's house.  And when the got there the friend and Steve were gone.  They had gone in another boat to tow back to the sail boat because they had seen what happened.  It was quite a little adventure for Preston!  After that we visited a little tourist town called Pentwater... it was so fun.  We visited the Cosmic Candy Company to get some pressed pennies for Preston.  And I scored some delicious Michigan Cherry Coffee, mmme!  Then we went out to Ludington State Park to get some more pennies and visit the dam.  We also went over to the SS Badger Car Ferry for some pennies.  Played at the park there and had a pizza picnic.  The kids were rather grumpy off and on even though the weather was nice and we were having fun along the way

Tuesday, Aug 7th:

We knocked ourselves out on Tuesday!  We picked blueberries... the boys loved that, so much fun!  Then we went to Mac Wood's Dune Rides, the Country Dairy and Lewis Farm to pet some animals.  At the Country Dairy we got to drink all the milk/chocolate milk we wanted, visit some cows and had some yummy lunch.  That place was neat... next time we'll have to go earlier to get to do the dairy tour (it was closed).  That evening we went out to see the sunset on the Lake at White River Light Station.  It was lovely. It was a full day of fun and being outside in the nice weather.

Wednesday, Aug 8th:

The boys, Michael and I went down to Holland to visit the little Dutch Village to get some pennies.  We had lunch, went out to see Pere Marquette and the Big Lake again.  Then went and visited with Great Grandma Kathy again.  And met up with Steve, Jill and Laura at the Unity Fest Concert.  We saw Manic Drive, Abandon Kansas, Group1Crew and Peter Furler and Phil Joel.  It was fun... and it drizzled on us.  

Thursday, Aug 9th:

Michael wanted to take Preston out on a canoe ride, but he wouldn't go (grumpy guts!) so Michael went with his Dad.  The kids and I just hung out around the house.  Later we went out to a little town called Bitely because they had a little shop there with a penny machine, and pretty much nothing else.  We stopped and ate at a restaurant called "Daniel's." And we dropped by an Amish store... with no electricity and all kinds of fun little things!  That evening, Michael and I had a date by ourselves for dinner at Sam's Bistro.  We shared a yummy pizza, and the owner of the store gave us our dinner for free because Jill always sent him so much business!  Yay!  We started packing up and getting ready for the return trip.

Friday, Aug 10th:

We left around 815am and had several stops to make on the way to our hotel.  After the long drive there, we decided we needed to break up the trip home.  We stopped in Arcola, Indiana at Rockome Gardens.  It was this neat attraction that had a lot of Amish stuff, old schoolhouse and shops, a Raggedy Ann & Andy museum and all kinds of neat stuff.  Would have loved to stayed and looked around a while, but since we were on a schedule we just had to get the penny and go.  We also stopped at some truck stops in Portage, Indiana to get pennies.  We arrived in Marion, Illinois, where we were staying for the night (Sikeston was completely BOOKED!).  Got checked into our hotel and walked across the street to the 17th Street Grill for dinner and pennies!  It was delicous!  Then we drove over to Makanda to get some more pennies at their Boardwalk, but it was all closed up.  Booo!  (I left a note with some money and they ended up sending us the pennies in the mail, yay!).  We went back to the hotel and swam in the indoor pool, boys had a blast.  The hotel was REALLY great for the price... it was  a Country Inn & Suites, and I highly recommend it!

Saturday, Aug 11th:

Left the hotel around 815am and our first stop was at Boomland for pennies and drinks.  Then we stopped by Lambert's Cafe, but they didn't open for another 1.5 hours and we didn't want to wait so we had to skip those pennies.  We stopped in Benton, Arkansas for a penny and finally made it home all in one piece.

Whew!  It was a fantastic trip. The weather was so nice it was very hard to leave Whitehall that Friday.  We would have loved to stay for a week or two more, but just couldn't do it.  The boys had a great time, even though the fussed and complained about a lot of things... I know they enjoyed it.  It was so great to just get away and do fun stuff and enjoy family up there.  I can't wait to go again!

See Preston's Pennies blog post about the trip here.

Here are pix... they're not exactly in order.  Enjoy!

A Chickfila Civil War...

I don't have anything brilliant or terribly insightful to add to the recent Chickfila controversy. But since this is my blog, and I enjoy looking back years later to see what was going on in the world... I thought I would post something for posterity.

It is heart breaking to see this "civil war" breaking out right now over this.  Both sides seem to be spinning their wheels, and are only further hurting their causes, it seems.  If you like Chickfila and/or agree with what Dan Cathy said about traditional (one man-one woman) marriage, you're intolerant and hateful.  If you are on the opposite end, you're offended and want to shut down/keep out all CFA restaurants because of one man's comments.  Really, y'all?  Really?  Don't we have bigger things to worry about than whether or not it's ok to eat at a restaurant?  CFA (or it's CEO) has just as much right to be in favor of traditional marriage as the other side has to be in favor of same-sex marriage.

I am a Conservative Christian and I do believe in traditional family values, which seem to be so passé these days. We have been (and will continue to be) avid customers of our local Chickfila. #1, because we like the food. #2, because we appreciate the company as a whole. No other fast food chain I know offers such fantastic, high-quality product, outstanding customer service, seems to truly appreciate and work hard to treat their employees well, and has such a mindful attitude about family values. They have books as the prize in their kids meals! They do a fine job of keeping their restaurants, food and employees above most fast food standards.  Psh, and they're fun, too!

My family just a few weeks ago.

These recent someecards.com graphics sum up my thoughts nicely...

I mean, really?  What did you expect him to say?

There isn't just one side being "intolerant" here.

I appreciate Chickfila for taking a stand for what they believe in.  For not being "PC" just to make sure they don't lose business. I don't think Cathy's comments, in the grand scheme of things, are all that earth shattering, nor are they a reason for this huge uproar on either side.  I think those that are eating Chickfila today should be doing it to show their appreciation of the company's stance regarding their traditional values... not just to rub it in the faces of those who disagree.  We are entitled to our own opinions... this is AMERICA, after all.  If you want to voice your opinion, you should probably be able to handle hearing someone else's opinion.  Ok?  But, let's try to make ALL of our voices loving (I'm not saying "tolerant" here, I'm saying loving... this CAN be done, y'all).  We are still neighbors, and I'm pretty sure our top two instructions in this life are to "Love God.  And love your neighbor."  It doesn't say agree with your neighbor, and it doesn't say tolerate your neighbor and his actions... it says LOVE them. Period.

What Would You Do?: Not So Great Meal Leftovers

I am curious to know what you would do in this situation.

The other night I tried a new recipe for a Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake.  It looked really good in the picture, and seemed like a good way to get all of us to eat some veggies we don't normally manage to consume.  Michael and I both like fresh spinach leaves, but aren't that crazy about canned/frozen spinach and well, we don't care for artichoke either.  And the boys... uh huh, right.  Yeah, I dunno what I was thinking, to be honest.  Bottom line: Callen ate a bit of it, Preston tried a bite or two and gave up, Michael and I ate our portions but weren't thrilled.  It was a "not so great" meal (ie. was edible, but certainly not something we enjoyed greatly).  Well, then... of course the recipe made 8 servings and half where left.  Since we didn't particularly LIKE this meal... do I just throw it all out and waste the food and money spent on this meal?  Or do I save it to be eaten again?

Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake

Being the frugal mom that I am, I saved it.  Knowing full well my kids would not eat it, and the husband would probably not be overly joyed to find it in his lunch box, I went ahead and ate it again for lunch this afternoon.  Again, it was edible, but certainly not something that I liked and/or ever want to taste again.  I ate my portion and have now thrown the rest out.  

All of this made me wonder: "What would you do?"  Yes, you.  If you make a less-than-stellar meal and have some leftover... do you keep it and serve it again?  Or do you just face the facts and throw it out right away?

Cow Appreciation Day 2012

We take our cow days seriously...

Moo, y'all!

Yay for FREE food!

By the way, would you vote for the Clark "Herd"?  Lol.  It does require you to use a "Facebook app" but you can always delete it later.  Thanks!  https://apps.facebook.com/cow-appreciation-day/gallery/photo/838

Wordless Wednesday: Birthday Party Nomz!

Valentine's Day 2012!

This year, I let the boys make their own Valentine's... with a lot of help from me, of course.  We printed some things from the internet and assembled them with lots of glue!  Preston helped me a lot, and did a great job signing him name to each one (there were 40!):

Diligently writing his name over & over!

I let Callen do his little scribble on each one too, then I followed up by writing "Callen" under it, haha:

Callen adding his scribble.

They came out really cute.  A maze on one side and a reminder of the source of True Love on the other:

Final product.

We went to our homeschool group's Valentine's party and the boys had a blast playing with the other kids.  Snacks, games, passing out Valentine's... it was a lot of fun!

Michael worked that whole day, so the boys and I had a special Valentine's dinner: Pumpkin Pancakes, sausage, eggs and yogurt-covered frozen strawberries.  They didn't come out quite as I expected, but the boys enjoyed them anyway!

Does my mouth look heart-shaped?

It's a little tart, mama!

We also played "Towel Ball," which is really just wacking at the ball with a towel to try to get it past Mama.  Haha!

Get it, Callen!

Homeschool Recap, Jan 27th (Week 18)...

In my life this week...

We are on the hunt for a new/new-to-us car.  We need to replace the Rav4, as we just don't want to put any more money into and with our plans to expand our family, we need something slightly bigger anyway.  Just a little, really.  We don't want any mammoth vehicle, but it needs to fit three carseats across or have a third row.  And be good on gas mileage, preferably not already have too many miles on it... and be in our price range.  Which is low.  Haha, yeah... it's gonna be an interesting ride.  We put our Rav4 up on Craigslist yesterday, so hopefully it'll sell quickly.  Then we can turn around and get ourselves into something.  We test drove a Kia Soul (we love everything except that it doesn't have much cargo space in back at all, like... my stroller won't fit back there, I don't think) and a Subaru Forester (which, I really liked, but is not quite big enough).  Also looking at Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander.  We are kind of all over the place, not really sure WHAT we want.  Truth is, we need two cars.  Replacing the Rav4 doesn't really solve our one-car family problem... need a BOGO car deal, please!  Lol.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...
This past Saturday, I had an Open House Bazaar and it was so much fun!  I had my Usborne stuff out, my mom brought her chain mail jewelry, her best friend Mel brought her handmade photography greeting cards, we had Scentsy, Pampered Chef (Kelli, whom I haven't seen in like 12 years came!  Yay!) and my friend Ginger's Delightful Decor.  Having that mix of people was fun, but also the people that came to hang out/shop was such a neat thing.  At one point I looked around and was just overwhelmed at how cool it was to have such a random mix of people from all areas of my life in one room, getting along so well!  I loved it!  This afternoon, the boys and I are going to eat lunch with our homeschool group.  Hooray for a sweet lady who is going to come pick us up and bring us home so we can attend!  Thank you, Kathryn!  I really enjoying hanging out with those families... hoping we can make it a more regular occurance!  And later today I have an Usborne booth at a lady's event... pretty excited about that!

Praying for...

Obviously wisdom and guidance on the car thing.  It's scary to buy a car, new or used... for different reasons.  I just pray we make a good decision and don't jump into anything we will regret.  And that we can get a good price on our current car so we can pay our property taxes (eep, due Jan 31st!) and have money to put down on whatever we decide to get.  Also, on a less selfish note, praying for friends who are also struggling with finances, job issues and a need for clear guidance!

A recipe and photo to share:
I tried a Mini-Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe from Pinterest.  And it was soooo good, and really easy!  Not good for our diet though (I dunno how many WW points these are, but they're worth it!).  Yum!

They LOOK good and TASTE good!

Callen loved it, for sure!

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School:  Oh my goodness, the closer we get to two-years-old, the more of a handful Callen becomes!  But, he's also getting smarter and saying a lot more words lately... so, it comes with the territory, I suppose!  The other day, he got hold of his washcloth and laid down in the floor and started "cleaning" it... I guess seeing me do it after every meal is rubbing off on him.  He is one messy baby!  It's about time he start cleaning up after himself!  Lol!

I put him to work cleaning the floor!

Bible: Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." Oh, how this verse will serve as constant reminder for year and years to come!  We went through books of the Bible Micah through Zephaniah.  Talked more about Moses, the burning bush, the 10 plagues and passover.  Is it bad that Preston giggled the entire way through the description of the plagues?  I mean, he's 6 and the idea of frogs hopping all over the place could be amusing to a boy.  To me, it's complete nightmare... eeeep!

Reading/Writing: Went over the sound |n| spelled "gn" and "kn," and the use of "ough."At bedtime, we've been reading a book that I'll be reviewing soon called TJ & The Time Stumblers.  Yes, he actually let me pause our Hank The Cowdog series!  Anyway, it's ... interesting so far.

Math: This week was pretty much a review of shapes/geometry.  Though we did talk more in depth about different kinds of triangles, polygons and quadrilaterals.  He got to play with his food a bit!

Pretzel triangles!

Coming up with designs together!

Science:  The subject from Science with Water this week was sinking and floating.  Using some other fun books from the library, we did some fun experiments like creating an iceberg and seeing how it floats, making a floating rainbow and just throwing a bunch of stuff in water and guessing if it would sink or float.

Does the iceberg sink or float, guys?

Water, oil & alcohol!

Why do some things float or sink?

Music/Art: This week's hymn was "The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want."  After reading through it, Preston declared that kind of stuff should be in the Bible.  Lol!  Yes, dear... it is pretty much STRAIGHT from the Bible, so good call!  We also talked about tenor and baritone saxophones and watched some youtube videos of those instruments to hear the differences.  For art, we looked at an abstract work of a city and I introduced Preston to pastels (oh, what a mess!).

It's smudgy!

Spanish: This week we continued talking about words having to do with family. We checked out some bilingual books from the library from Carmen Lomas Garza about her family.  These are neat because they have a painting of a scene, and she describes it in English and Spanish.  I'm reading the Spanish, and letting Preston tell me what words he recognizes, then reading the English so he understands what was said.  Also, last weekend, while we were at the library, Preston picked up a bilingual book and spent the whole time reading it out loud in Spanish.  He really enjoyed it!

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

Blog Hoppin' with:
 

Christmas 2011 Recap...

My goodness, I have a serious Christmas hangover.  I'm not the only one, right?  Geez.

Christmas Eve...

My parents came over, we all went to church for the Christmas Eve Service at Grace Fellowship Church.  It was really good - loved the music!  When we got back home, we ate delicious food like taco chili, my mom's tuna sandwiches (YUM!), Nutella Tarts, brownies, tamales, cheddar bacon dip, and so much more.  Then we got to open presents.  We mostly watched the boys enjoy their gifts.  They got books, clothes including a winter coat for Preston and cute monkey pjs for Callen, a tent/tube thingee to climb around in, a puzzle, a Glow Station and more!  My parents really spoiled those kids!  Michael got a tool and I got a Dutch Oven (yay!). After the kids were in bed (finally!), Michael and I stayed up and watched It's A Wonderful Life.

Christmas Morning...

The boys got to check their stockings, and then peek inside the Santa bags to see what their big gifts were.  Preston got a kid-sized guitar and Callen got a toy box for his room!  Then we headed back up to GFC for the Christmas Morning Service.  It was the exact same program, but the boys and I were helping with the nursery and Michael was helping with the stage.

Christmas Day...

After that, we came back home and gathered things up and went over to Michael's parents' house for lunch and more gifts.  We had the traditional ham and cheese sandwiches and potato chips, along with lots of sweets, of course.  And then, yes... more presents!  We again, mostly watched the boys tear into their haul (again, they were totally spoiled!).  They got more books (lol!), more clothes, a dinosaur, a car, a giant stuffed Scooby Doo, a neat art set and more!  I got some kitchen gadgets (yay, a garlic press!) and Michael received some gift cards to Abuelo's and Lowe's!  And we got a cotton candy maker!  We brought over Michael and Preston's guitars, and along with the piano and the various toy musical instruments they have, the family did some Christmas carols.  Lol.  It was kinda ridiculous.    

We hung out some more, Michael took a nap, the kids played.  Then, as soon as we got in the car to head back home, the boys crashed... we took more naps at home.

When I awoke from my nap, I opened the front door to turn on the Christmas lights and there was a box on the front porch that said "To The Clarks."  Inside were some toy trucks, a duck hunting game, some clothes for Michael and me... and an envelope of cash.  Michael and I just started crying, it was such a blessing.  We don't know where it came from, but thank you, Jesus!  The money is definitely going to help with paying for our car repairs (our car is in the shop right now to get the head gasket and water pump replaced).  We are still just in shock about the whole thing.  God is such an amazing provider!  I know He is.  It's still just such a neat thing to experience it like this!  

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Taco Chili Recipe...

Weather like this (cool, dreary, drizzly) deserves some Fall foods!  Last week I got a little anxious and went ahead and made one of my new Fall favorites called Taco Soup (or Chili, as it's kind of more like chili than soup, at least the way I make it) even though it was still a bit warm outside.  I actually got this recipe from a friend of mine last year that made it for us on her ranch.  It's super easy and SUPER delicious!

Here's what you need...

ingredients!

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 can of Rotel
• 1 can of Golden Hominy
• 1 can of Ranch Style Beans
• 1 envelope of Taco Seasoning*
• 1 envelope of Ranch Dressing mix

Brown and drain the ground beef first, then stir that and everything else together in a crock pot.  You literally just open and dump all of the ingredients together in the crock pot, set for a while and you have a delicious meal.  I usually set it for about 6 hours so it's nice and cooked together.  Then we top with sour cream, and sometimes avocado, and eat with chips.  See?  Super easy, super hearty and wonderfully delicious for Fall!

If you want the chili to have a real kick to it, try using Ranch Style Beans with Jalapenos and for an extra burst of flavor try the variety of Rotel that has Lime & Cilantro.  Mmm!

* I'm a BzzAgent, and was sent several products from Lawry's to try.  This was my first time to try their Taco Seasoning, and it was perfect for this recipe.  My kids eat this stuff, so I try not to use the extra spicy stuff (ie. not using the jalapeno version of Ranch Style Beans even though I WANT to), and the Lawry's Taco Seasoning has a great taco flavor, but isn't too spicy for the kiddos! They LOVED it!  Lawry's does have a HOT Taco Seasoning if you do wanna give this chili a try with a SERIOUS SPICE to it!

Homeschool Recap, Oct 7th (Week 5)

In my life this week...
The downside - I tweaked my neck and had to visit the chiropractor a couple of times this week.  It's doing much better than that first day, but I'm still a bit sore.  The upside - I got a new car!  Kind of.  For 2 weeks.  But it's sweet!  I'm working with The North Texas Chevy Dealers on a blogging campaign and test driving the Chevy Traverse.  We got to go to the State Fair of Texas to pick it up on Wednesday.  I can't wait to tell you (and show you!) all about my ride!  So, with a car I've been able to get around and do things - oh, how nice it is!  Lol. 

That one is mine!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...
The State Fair of Texas was fun.  We ate some deep fried pineapple upside down cake, a Belgian waffle, some foot-long corn dogs and a ton of random samples as well.  Mmm. Preston did a funhouse maze thing and went on the log ride.  The boys spent some time with both of their grandmas in the same day on Thursday since I had chiropractor appointment in the morning and then an Usborne book party with our homeschool group that evening.  And today we're going to have lunch with our friend Candi and her family!

Praying for...
Complete healing of my neck.  Complete healing of Michael's various issues.  Complete healing of Preston's allergies lately.  We love Fall, the allergies are pretty much the only thing that brings us down this time of year.

In our homeschool this week...
Our homeschooling was pretty erratic this week.  I don't think we stuck our "normal" schedule on any of the days.  But we still got everything done, so that's nice!

Tot school:  Callen has really been enjoying Preston's Melissa & Doug mailbox lately.  Guess it's time to move it to his room permanently since he always ventures in to Preston's to find it.

Bible:  Read everyday from the Hands-On Bible.  Also discussed how there were several authors of the Bible, but only ONE real author.  Our memory scripture was Proverbs 21:23 "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity."  Oh, if more of us could remember that one!  =/

Reading/Writing: Started on long vowel sounds and writing sentences in the Animal Tales booklet.

Checking out new reading set!

Math: Still focusing on counting this week, mostly skip counting 2's, 5's and 10's.  Read several fun math/counting books from the library (see below).

Science: Our theme was Trees.  We got outside and Preston did some bark rubbings of our two different kinds of trees ("bumpy" bark and "smooth" bark).  We also read a bunch of tree books, including the beautiful book from Usborne, appropriately titled Trees.  Hehe.  Preston drew a fun illustration of a tree with lots of holes for squirrels.  Then he added a stoplight in the middle of the tree because "with that many squirrels, there's probably lots of traffic in that tree!"  (Love his creative brain!!!)

Art/Music:  We looked at a landscape painting from Come Look With Me. Talked about clarinet and bass clarinet, listened to examples from youtube. In our drawing lesson, I made a bunch of duplication and matching images for Preston to do, and let him do a couple for me.  The mirrored images were a little too difficult for him at this point, he tried though!  And we went over our first hymn in Hymns for a Kid's Heart!  "Holy! Holy! Holy!"  We talked about the man who wrote the hymn, some of the words in the hymn that were new to Preston (like cherubim and seraphim), and listened to it several times.

Duplicating basic pictures.

Listening to Holy! Holy! Holy!

Spanish: Started talking about the Spanish alphabet. The concept is a little confusing for Preston, so I didn't push too much (ok, well, initially I tried to get him to "get" it, but then realized he wasn't and backed off).  The next several things in the workbook are learning parts of speech and some things that I don't think he's ready for, so we're going to skip around and cover things like colors or something for a while.

Some of the books we used this week in addition to our curriculum:

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

Blog Hoppin' with:


*The Chevy Traverse campaign is being sponsored by the North Texas Chevy dealers. They are letting me test drive a Traverse for two weeks as well as providing me with a gas card and a spa gift card.