Another Home schooling tip

It does not take 6-8 hours a day to homeschool your child. Most of the time children spend at school consists of waiting. Design a plan that works for your family and be prepared to scratch it several times and start over. Don't sacrifice your family's happiness to 'school' your children. There are many ways families homeschool; find what works for you and your family.

Sweeter days.

I'm not being ugly, because I love my nephews, but their momma isn't working again. I know she needs to, but I can finally home school without a lot of interruptions. Now I just got to get my kids back in the groove.
I think if we would still have Eli it wouldn't be that hard with him here and the younger one wasn't around me much when he was small because his momma had done me wrong with Eli and I didn't want to close to the other one. I know that can sound mean, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do to take of yourself.
They both live with maw maw and she has got them spoiled bad. Usually it takes me till Tuesday or Wednesday to get him settled down and stop being a whine tail. Hopefully if she gets this other job she will have all of her paper work to put them in day care.
Daniel's mom has always been against me home schooling. She thinks that since I'm home I don't do nothing. She is the one that has talked my youngest into going to public school. I had been asking Daniel to talk with his mom about day care and he wouldn't so I did. It pissed her off, but she got over it and started getting the paper work for the day care. I told her that if she wanted JB to go back to school, but since the little ones needed so much attention I wasn't being able to work with him or the others. And if I wasn't able to work with him, he wouldn't be able to pass the placement test to get back in school. Sometimes you just have to be blunt and ugly right back.
Sometimes I seem to come across here and other places sorta mean and blunt, but maybe now that thing will settle down and I don't have to be so defencive in my normal life, I wont seem so defencive in my blogger life.
3 Cheers to Sweeter Days!

I'm a Slightly dorky high nerd

Fun Monday!

This weeks Host is Karina @ http://candidkarina.blogspot.com . She wants to see your security blankets. No, not the kind Linus carries around with him in the Charlie Brown cartoons. What she wants to see are the items you just can not leave home without.



When I leave the house and going to be gone a while I have have my purse ( For those that saw my purse on the purse contest my husband felt bad and went and bought me a new one. So, at least I did get a new purse out of the contest. :)
that has my medicine, insurance cards, check book, drivers licence, my cell phone and a little more of this and that. Also got to have my cigarettes and my cup of Dt Mt Dew.

Yeah, can't forget those keys!







If I have my nephews I gotta have the diaper bag. 4 Sure!








If we going to gone all day I have the kids bring work books to work on.









If I'm just going on a short run to the store I make sure I at least have my dew!









So, there you have it. These are the things I make sure I have before I leave home besides the kids and myself.

Momma's being momma's

I can not understand why a lot parents, especially mommas don't have more instinct than they do. ( this is personal, not knocking anyone) I have a niece that has 2 beautiful boys and I wish she would grow up and be a momma. She is more worried about this man that don't give anything to their relationship and her drugs. Maw maw does most of the care for the boys and I help maw maw out by babysitting. Sam has got her a job (again), but when she gets off, she is off till way after bed time. And you can't find her on the week ends. I'm glad she don't take them off with her, but this will come back and bite her one day. I took the youngest to the health Department this morning only to find out that he was way behind on his shots. He just turned 1 in September and his last shots were done March of this year. So, the poor fellow had to have 6 shots and will get 6 more in 6 months to get get him caught up. She had been telling maw maw and me that he had all his shots. I love her don't get me wrong, but she has drained the life out of maw maw and me.
She isn't the only one I know that has babies and don't take care of them! AAARRRHHH! I just wanna shake these women and ask them what the "HELL" is their problem. I don't mind helping and babysitting, but these little darlings need their momma. In my point of view, if she or others not wanting to be a momma need to leave the scene and quit playing games with these babies.
I protected Sam one more time yesterday, but the Health Department still made a check mark. I told maw maw this and she asked me why didn't I tell them the truth, that she was lazy and unfit. I just told her I didn't feel it was my place. I wanted to, but them maw maw would have held it over my head. If & when she has had enough of Sam's grap I feel she will put a end to it. But Sam is my niece by marriage and maw maw raised her. I know she probably wishes Sam would straighten her tail up or leave or someone would report her. One of the options would give us all a lot of relief, but I personally don't need maw maw mad at me for something that she can do her self, but if everyone keeps looking away the Health Department will do something.

I wanna say Thank You!

I just want to thank everyone from the TDJ and the blogger world for signing my guest book and helping me with History/ Geography. My kids have really enjoyed it and so have I.
When I was at my wits end, yall came through!

Help a momma with History.

History is not going well this year. I was doing Western Civilization and was getting no where with my middle child, so I went to American History. No dice there either. I was still forcing it down his throat, but about to give up on History for this year or for now anyways. Till the other day when I put my guest book up. He was like, WOW! He said it would be great to get to know about other people who are alive around the world. So, if you don't mind fill out my questionnaire below and sign my guest book. If you like you can add a little more when you comment to give us a better understanding of what its like in your world. I know there will be several from the same place, but that's okay. Because not everyone sees where they live the same.
Thank You so much!
These questions are from my kids.
1)What kind of food do you eat?/ What kind of food do you grow?
2) What is your climate like?
3) What are the most common animals? and/or dangerous animal?
4) What is your state and /or country flag? state bird, flower, symbols, maps, songs and trees.
5) What is your population?
6) What kind of shoes and clothes you wear?
7) What kind of jobs do you have?
8) What type of entertainment or fun do you have?
9) What is your time zone?
10) What is your main fabrics?
And to add a bonus: What is your native language?

How our Home School Has Changed

Last year on the Denim Jumper we had a post "Show Your shelves. Well, I was looking around and realized how much we have changed. We seem to have got more settled in our routine and have more now than we use to. We also do most of our schooling in the dinning part of our kitchen instead of the living room. I thought it would be great to share and just post for we would have something to look back on in our schooling years.
Below are the links of what we 1st started off with. As you can tell we have come a long way. Plus I have remolded. (I haven't finished my remolding yet is the reason I haven't posted the pitures. I tried before school started, but got sick. So, on Thanksgiving break I'm gonna try to finish, but can't promise, just hope.)

http://kittens-homeschool.blogspot.com/2006/04/some-of-homeschool-stuff.html
http://kittens-homeschool.blogspot.com/2006/04/more-school-stuff.html
http://kittens-homeschool.blogspot.com/2006/04/my-work-area-stick-horses-we-been.html

Fun Monday, clothing art

This week's Fun Monday is being hosted by WT, he wants to see some clothing art. That's tee shirts, baseball caps, hoodies, sports uniforms or any bit of clothing that you or your kids own that has interesting, funny or artistic graphics.
I guess you can tell by my pictures that we have your typical shirts and hats. Nothing too interesting or funny, but they give you an over all glance of what we are like.

Yes, living in the Dixie Land and the South we have our Red Neck shirts.









We have bought a few home school shirts from the big group we are in, but I have made our own.







We all have a few Religous shirts.











I have a shirt that says, "I would give up chocolate, but I'm no quiter!






We all like camo and hunting shirts also. My husband and youngest boy are more into it thou. My little girl loves pink camo.
























My oldest son and I wear a lot of Boy Scout shirts. He has been in BSA for 9years now. I was a leader till last year, but that's a whole other post. I also went through woodbadge and was a buffalo. "Be careful when you follow the Buffalo, the chips fall where they may!"














As you can tell, we are Ole Miss Fans. So, alot of our shirts, hats, pants and even 1/2 dosen candels are of our favorite team.

Dish cloth Give away. (Up Date)

Here is a picture of my ratty old dish towels. But I still think Dawn needs them more than me because I don't use a clothes line any more. No, I'm not knocking Dawn, I'm trying to help her.
So, get on over there and show your support!



TeaMouse is Off Her Rocker!!! Dish Cloth for a Year Give-A-Way!!
How do you enter, why it's easy as can be! Leave me a comment( TeaMouse)so I know you are participating that will score you one POINT towards the contest. Write a blog post about the contest which links back here( TeaMouse)and gain another POINT - the wackier your Post the more POINTS I'll give it - remember this is CRAAAAAZY TeaMouse! For every person who you recommend(they have to tell me that you sent them) you get yet one MORE POINT! The person with the most points will be the lucky winner!
This contest will run a full 30 days - ending at Midnight on November 6th, 2007! Then me, that's Craaaazy TeaMouse will stay up all night tallying the points to determine the winner. The winner will be announced once I've slept and had a chance to wake up with some tea! http://www.teatimeramblings.blogspot.com/
I found out about this at Dawn's blog. I thought it was pretty neat. So, I guess I'm crazy too. I really do love Dish towels and such, but you couldn't tell it right with what I have been using, but that's okay too. Go check out TeaMouse's blog and leave a comment. You can say it's for me or Dawn or both, I guess. But, really I'm doing this for Dawn. http://coloursofdawn.wordpress.com/
I will post my pictures as soon as my niece brings me her camera, hopefully today, no later than tomorrow. I really need to use it to send the kids pictures for the annual, but saw this post and said ooooooooooo.

We got rain!

It may not mean a lot to you, but it does to me. It has been so unseasonably hot and dry. It rained for 2 days. It was so nice! Not the tornado warnings, but the rain. My turnip & mustard greens were so perky today. It felt so good outside and actually a little cool tonight. The bad part is that every body's grass perked up also. So, we had to mow yards today. But with the crisp in the air means fall is coming! YEAH! And the mowing will stop soon. (I don't mind mowing, but this year has been awful long.
weather 38863 - Google Search: "55°F Clear Wind: W at 5 mph Humidity: 83%Fri 77°F | 44°FSat 81°F | 48°FSun 84°F | 61°FMon 75°F | 57°F"
Don't that weather look nice! :)

A few fun treats & crafts

I had to take my little nephew to the Dr. yesterday and I found these little treats and could not resist!
Click on the image to be able to read. Have fun!!!

Chicken Combo

Ingredients:
3-4 leg quarters
1 large can stewed tomatoes
5-6 fresh okra (thinly sliced) (or you can buy the can tomatoes that has okra in it)
1 onion (chopped)
3-4 celery sticks (chopped)
3 smoked sausage links (sliced)
(you can use a 1 lb or 2lb bag of veg all) OR
1 can or small bag of whole corn
1 can or small bag of green beans
3-4 potatoes ( cut in small cubes)
1 can or small bag of your favorite pea.
3 hot peppers (sliced)
3 mild peppers (sliced)
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of celery or mushroom
Add salt and pepper and any of your favorite seasons to taste.
Saute polish sausage and onion before you add.
In a large pot boil you chicken till done. When done take out your leg quarters to cool while you add everything else. Let it come to a good boil then turn down to medium and let cook 20 minutes. Then de bone and de skin you chicken and add it back to your soup.
Serve with corn bread.
You can freeze the left overs till later.

A few kind words to get you through

Happiness keeps you Sweet,
Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrows keep you Human,
Failures keep you Humble,
Success keeps you Glowing,
But Only God Keeps You Going!

Be kinder than necessary, for
everyone you meet is fighting
some kind of battle.
************************

A friend is like a flower,
a rose to be exact,
Or maybe like a brand new gate
that never comes unlatched.
A friend is like an owl,
both beautiful and wise.
Or perhaps a friend is like a ghost,
whose spirit never dies.
A friend is like a heart that goes
strong until the end.
Where would we be in this world
if we didn't have a friend. - By Emma Guest

Another good thing about Home Schooling......

Resources! When home schooling your resources are limitless!
I was at the library the other day looking for a certain book I needed. The lady that was helping me asked, "Do you not use one particular curriculum?" I was like, No. Before I could say anything else she asked, " How do you teach without using one complete curriculum?" With out even hesitating I answered, "Resources!, of coarse." She looked at me funny. I told her she would be surprised how many resources were out there. She just stood there like she wanted me to give her a few and I did. The 1st thing out of my mouth was... The local library is a valuable resource, but that's only the beginning. She looked very pleased and said, I guess you are never too old to learn new things. She still asked, Well, is there anymore? Boy, I was like a little kid in a candy store. This lady was really interested and not being judgmental, so I kept talking. I told her that no only the library, but museums, the Internet, and that the list could go on and on. I told her that this year we went around interviewing elder adults for some of our History. She looked a little puzzled. I explained what better way to know about what happened in the early years than from the people that lived it. I told her that with my kids, if you go on a field trip and let them see it, then discuss it a little more at home, that they retain it better. I walked away from this conversation very pleased with my self. The more I home school the more I LOVE it!

Easy Hamburger Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 lb Hamburger meat (browned, scrambled and drained)
1 lb frozen veg-all
1 large can diced tomatoes
small onion (chopped)
4-5 peppers (I like to use 2 hot and 3 mild)(chopped)
2 cups noodles
For seasonings I use a little salt, pepper, season salt and garlic powder to taste.
Use a 6 - 8 quart pot.
You can either saute your peppers and onion when you brown your hamburger meat or when you put your veggies in. After you drain your hamburger meat add your veg- all, dice tomatoes, and noodles. Put enough water to cover well. Cook until veggies are tender and noddles tender.
Sometimes I add one can of tomato juice. Sometimes I also add a can of whole corn, green beans and purple hull peas to make a bigger batch. (you can use these veggies fresh or frozen, just what ever you prefer.
That's the good thing about soup, you can mix and match or add and take away.

You can either cook a pan of cornbread or eat with crackers.

I wanna say Thank You!

Here while back I had just got in this mood. I couldn't get in the mood to cook or what to cook. I started posting some recipes to see if I couldn't get my self out of that rut. Thanks to a few friends ( I really hate to start naming, because I may leave one out and wouldn't wont to offend anyone, but I think they know who they are) I have been able to get out of this. Yes, it may been just the summer, but hasn't happened before. One person not only has been posting recipes, but also a menu plan. I really like her idea of planing for the month. Here are a few of my reasons.... #1- I get my check at the 1st of the month and usually buy most of my meat in bulk. #2- I think if you plan by the month, then you are less likely to have burn out. #3- I think you also have a better since of making a budget.
I haven't sit down and done this yet, but really need to. Dan Dan and I sit down and write down what bills to pay on what days. Why not make a meal plan also to go with our bills.
Thank all of you that has help me get out of my rut.

WOW! I must have a big mouth!

I just noticed I'm just over the 200 mark on my post. 178 of them was this year. Yeah, me!

Home Schooling Tip of the Week #2

Children love to learn. It is as natural to them as breathing. They have an inborn hunger to explore the world and examine what is interesting. They learn by following their interests, with one interest leading to another. This is the way we all learned as younger children and how as adults we learn after we leave school. Homeschooling families learn together and know that learning is a life-long process.

Fun Monday "Meet Cute" Stories

Here are a few of our wedding pictures, almost 16 years ago.
Describe your meeting with your spouse/significant other. I especially want to hear "meet cute" stories. And it doesn't have to be your actual current sig/other. Perhaps the "meet cute" story is a former boy/girlfriend... or even a best friend. Illustrate with photos, of course.
Okay, if you don't read careful on the 1st part you might misunderstand. So, to make it clear, we were only step brother and sister for one year and I was 5 and he 4 and it had been almost 18 years since we had saw each other. So, with no misunderstanding of incest or anything like that I'll start my story of my husband and I.
Okay, my husband at the time was in jail and I was on the road of trying to straighten up my life. I went out with a friend girl one night just to get out a little bit. She kept telling me of this guy she was in love with and how wonderful he was. She told his name was Daniel Mc. I wanted to meet him because when I was 5 he was my step brother for about a year or less and I had not seen him since. I sure was not trying to or wanted her man. (To make the record clear) When we walked up to him on the court square with his friends, he grabbed me and whispered in my ear to keep that girl away from him. He said that his car broke down one night and she gave him a ride home and wouldn't leave him alone. Well, I was happy to see him, but was not looking for no man! I took him over to momma's because she had not seen him either in a long time. We just started hanging out catching up on the years. The more we hung out the closer we got, but he was getting closer than I was. He would scare the mess out of me because he would buy me things and take me out. He was so sweet. I try to run him off a few times. Well, when it was time for my husband to come home, which I had meant to get a divorce from, I told Daniel that I needed to do the right thing. Only Alen being home 2 days, I put him on the road fast! Daniel kept coming over, but I was still running. The day Alen came to get his divorce papers I was so glad Daniel was there, he ran him off. Well, I finally let my guard down and this wonderful man in my heart. The 25th of this month we will be married 16 years.
I don't know if that is what you consider a "Cute Meet Story" But it sure is an unusual one.

Home Air Freshners

We all like for our house to smell good, but so many are allergic to some many of the odors of the air fresheners, you just don't know what to use. I use something that not only helps makes your house smell good but adds moister back in the air. I get a pan of water and different kind of spices. (kinds you like and don't bother you)
Here is a list to help you get started.............
Add Cinnamon (ground or sticks) to 3-4 quart sauce pan of water. You can Orange peels. (either/or)
You can just squeeze a fresh orange and peel to water
You can add fresh lemon and peel to water
You can add fresh grapefruit and peel to water.
Or just any of your favorite spice.
Not only is it less expensive, but to me it makes your house smell so much better.
After you have chose the spice or fresh fruit you want to use, get it to come to a boil, then turn it down on low to slowly seep through the house. Turn it off when not needed. You can use and re use the same pan for 3-4 days before changing.
Hope You Enjoy!