Home School 6 month update

Well we are 6 months into our 12 month school year (we homeschool year round). This year is by far our most consistent year yet...but it's not what you think. Usually by December I have pretty much washed our homeschool books because we bore of them/I am lazy. But this year we love the homeschool books we have and I have forced my self to be a little less lazy. Both have paid off! So here is our updated schedule that seems to work pretty nice for us, it's an average schedule that we try to do Monday-Thursday...notice I said try, we probably only consistently do this schedule 3 times a week on average but I usually make up what school is missed on Friday and the Weekend:

3:20 I get up or see my husband off-This is usually when I blog
6:30 I get up if I don't stay up after husband goes to work-blog
8am get boys up
8-9:15am chores-has chore chart

• start laundry
• make bed
• shower
• clean room
• eat
• brush teeth
• put laundry in dryer
• start school

9:15-9:45am guitar lessons using book and CD (electric guitar primer)
9:45am-10am bible study and memorization (my oldest boy's choice to memorize)
10-10:15am snack
10:15-10:45 reading (Chronicles of Narnia)
10:45-11am spelling (spelling power)
11am-12pm

• Monday and Wednesday: History (The Mystery of History)
  
• Tuesday and Thursday: Science (Apologia)
  

12pm-1pm lunch
1pm-3pm Saxon Math KONOS or other school activity of his choosing
3-5 Free time

My summer schedule (starts first real hot days or first day of summer)will look like this:

8am get boys up
8-9:15 chores (listed above)
9:15am-10am garden/yard work
10-10:30am guitar
10:30-10:45am bible
10:45-11am spelling
11-12pm History or Science
12-12:30pm reading
12:30-1pm lunch
1-3pm Saxon Math KONOS or other project
3-5pm Free time

With this schedule he loses 30 minutes of lunch but gains really nice morning time outside relaxing and weeding the garden.

getting the funk out of funky

Do you ever get to the point when your own funky home grosses you out? Okay I am one of those strange people who wants a super organized home but I don't mind dirt-it's just too unavoidable. But there is a point you get to that you can just no longer touch many parts of your home cuz it's just so gross you think...

"should I just go ahead and clean today?-or would it be best to just condemn this house burn it to the ground and start over with a new one?"

You want to know what is really sad? I clean for a living! Well actually I am a house/homeschool/nurse/butt wiper wife and mom for a living, I just earn a few extra bucks cleaning homes and offices. Which pays well mind you.

And it's not that I mind cleaning my home compared to theirs it's just that mine takes longer!

-days longer...

Want to know why?

I have to organize, homeschool, yell at the kids, and wipe butts, as I go. When I clean other homes...I just clean. I have tried pawning the kids off on to other family members so I can clean but instead I do other things like blog, or read, or nap.

I would love to say I deep clean my home well twice a month but lately some rooms have not been cleaned 'well' in months!

So all this funky funk cleaning got me to wondering how often do you deep clean your home? Ya know where you get the funk out of the funky spots like behind your toilet...or even maybe the toilet it's self? Do tell, this cleaning lady is dieing to know!

Now I am off to try and get the funky-ness outa here.

Faith

My frugal addiction...I need help!

Well I have been neglecting this blog for my frugal blog...I am just so addicted to saving money now! I mean when you save more than 70% or more every time you shop, it gets in your blood! Take yesterday for instance, I purchased $305 dollars worth of stuff from Sears, Walgreen's, and CVS and only paid around 88 bucks! And almost all of it IS stuff we need. Anything we don't need (the stuff we don't need I got for free) I donate to a local charity or give to friends in need.

To see my deals from yesterday go here!

Love,
Faith

Get off that ladder and get back in the Cabinet NOW!

Okay awhile back my husband mentioned he was going to throw an old rickety wooden ladder away after purchasing a swank new metal one. -I said the heck you are! I am going to decorate with it. At which point laughter and "what are you talking about" remarks from my dear Husband ensued .

All I pretty much had to do was tell him "it's free decor" and I got my ladder!-evil grin!

But over the course of remodeling, the place I had in mind (to hang it on the wall flush against the ceiling with herbs dangling from it) was replaced...will be replaced with a wood stove.

And I don't know about you but a wooden ladder with dry herbs above a wood stove sounds like a fire hazard to me?

So my next idea, well why don't you see for yourself:

On the bottom rung I put magazines (because the ladder is right next to the toilet and everyone knows a toilet and reading go hand and hand)

Next rung toilet paper-again, toilet=need for toilet paper

Then I put towels and wash cloths on the upper rungs and in the bottom picture you can see I put some candles on the back rungs so if someone wanted to they could light them...


but I pray not on the ladder!

Sorry I did my pictures in sepia because the paint on my walls is just plain ugly and I did not want you to see it. -I will be painting over it the next few months.

So what do you think?
Latte

You want to put concrete where?....

I love rustic...absolutely love it! If you have read older posts you know I am a big square and I like things that are beautiful and well basic. So when my husband told me he was thinking of going into the concrete counter top business I jumped at the chance for a rustic counter top!

This is my main (main meaning the main one we use day in and day out) bathroom counter before:
Um...that is a hair tie in the sink, and do you see those black marks on the sink that is were I dropped something and it chipped the sink. I did that when we first got the house almost 10 years ago and not one time since!

Go figure!

Here is another:
you can see the chips better in this one and a the outlet without a cover...we are getting to that.

So drum roll on my new counter top!..............ththththththththtthththtthhttththththt



Don'tcha just love it! I asked for black, but it seems that charcoal was as close to back as they could get...dreamy huh! Did I mention it only cost him about $20 (counter top only) to make?

Here it is at other angles:
If you notice the crease in the counter in the picture above it's because my husband made this one upside down...and the tape (while flat when he laid it) wrinkled from the weight of the concrete. That is also why you see such color variations, that would not happen if you do it right side up-but I love it this way! I actually love it both ways!

So what do you think? You won't hurt my feelings none! My husband earned real brownie points in my eye! Now he HAS to do the whole house (all counter tops!)

Recipe Iced Latte

My favorite Iced Latte:

two shots of espresso (need espresso or cappuccino maker! or REALLY strong coffee )
2oz-3oz hazelnut creamer (I use Nestle cafe-mate liquid creamer)
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
ice

YUM! To find more great recipes check out The Grocery Cart Challenge

Menu Plan Day

Organic Gal!

My version of the grocery cart challenge!
Trying to live organically and naturally on $70.00 a week!

Well I was suppose to do this on Thursday...but I got lazy! NOT GOOD! We ended up eating out, which I don't know how to avoid on days we go to Springfield because it's 40 miles from the house and we already made breakfast and lunch to take, dinner would not last 10 hours! Oh well ya's do what ya's can do huh?

Please keep in mind I get all my recipes from America's Test Kitchen cookbooks so the ones below with links while they are close to my recipes that are not ATK!

Okay my meals for the week:

Breakfasts:
Smoothies
Strawberry muffins
Organic Cereal
Organic Poptarts
Eggs and bacon
Oatmeal


Dinners:
*Tuscan Bread Soup x's 2 but makes one meal
-Salad
*Potato & Onion Pizza x's 2 but makes one meal
-Salad
*Grilled Chicken x's 2 makes 2 meals
-creamy mashed potatoes x's 2
-green bean parmesan x's 2
*Pulled Pork x's 2 makes 2 meals
-honey glazed carrots
-mac-n-cheese
*Nachoes

Snacks:
lattes
organic popcorn
homemade pita chips
yogurt
cottage cheese
smoothies
strawberry muffins

Homemade ingredients needed for:
BBQ Sauce
Bread sliced sandwich bread
Caesar dressing

Come back tomorrow to see what I purchased and how much it cost me! Don't forget I will be adding my eating out from Friday!

Don't forget to check out the Grocery Cart Challenge for other great tips and recipes