Way to go! You have made the decision to home school! Now what?? The first thing you need to do is join an umbrella group. This group is who you will report your attendance to in the younger years and who will calculate your child’s transcripts and diploma in high school. They will keep you informed to the laws of your state. As well as, provide you with a membership card. This card can provide you with discounts to most museums, zoos, and aquariums. This card is also great to have if you happen to be questioned about your child being home schooled.

There are a few choices. The attached link lists the most common groups in South Carolina. https://www.home-school.com/groups/SC.html However, the group we use is not listed there. Grace Homeschool Association has been a great group to be apart of. http://gracehomeschools.org/

Once you have joined your group, now the big decisions start. There are many paths to choose from. Those paths can vary for each child and family. They often depend on the age of the child and the goals of the parent. Remember, it is important to begin with the end in mind. Then make the daily decisions that will slowly bring you to your desired location.

Now you must decide on how you want to home school. There are MANY ways to home school. Thehomeschooldiner.com does a great job explaining each choice here: http://www.homeschooldiner.com/guide/intro/main.html The most popular here are Eclectic (REACH), Online schools (K12) and Classical (Classical Conversations).

These three groups vary greatly. K12 is public school online. It is very convenient for a lot of parents because they send you everything you need for free! All of your books and supplies are mailed to you and all you need is a computer. With all those free things comes mandatory time spent on the computer. There is not as much freedom in this type of program.

REACH is a homeschool group in Florence. They offer a co-op which meets once a week for 20 weeks (ten weeks in the fall and ten weeks in the spring). The parents decide on the curriculum to teach at home and you come together once a week to take classes. These classes are taught by parents and vary from week to week.  You must teach or help in at least 2 of the three classes offered. REACH is very affordable. Classes tend to be less than $40. This is a wonderful group. I love the community I found here.

Classical Conversations is a group that is world wide. They meet for 24 weeks (12 in the fall and 12 in the spring). Parents are required to attend class with the child. The tutor (teacher) is introducing the material to the parent, as well as, the child. CC would be your foundation curriculum and you would add math and language to the memory work. CC provides the memory work, art project, and science project every week. CC is more expensive than the other options. However, CC pays their tutors. Paying the tutors raises the bar and provides more accountability. It also pays for all training for the parents, tutors, and directors. CC is a wonderful community. They encourage the parents to pack a picnic lunch and eat together each week. It is wonderful that everyone is working on the same work from week to week. The 4k and 6^th graders are doing the same material, but on different levels. There are three levels: 1. Foundations (4K-3^rd grade) 2. Foundations + Essentials (4^th grade – 6^th grade) 3. Challenge (7^th -12^th grades). We absolutely LOVE Classical Conversations!!

Choosing the day-to-day curricula can be very overwhelming. The most helpful thing is to first decide your approach and then search for the curriculum to fit that style.

Kindergarten

http://www.thecurriculumchoice.com/2013/06/choosing-preschool-and-kindergarten-homeschool-curriculum/

I used Singapore Earlybird Math, Horizons math, Horizons Language Arts, Before the Code, My Father’s World, and Sonlight. I did not do these all at the same time. This list is for both girls over 3 years.

Elementary School

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2014/01/looking-for-elementary-school-curriculum-recommendations/ check the comments

I am planning on using My Father’s World this year with Horizons math this year.

High School

http://cathyduffyreviews.com/

As of now, I am planning on doing Classical Conversations for high school.

**Cathy Duffy does a great job reviewing the most popular curricula.** http://cathyduffyreviews.com/

I hope this helps!!

With Love,

Kenan

G...goldfish live forever (well not all of them)

Have you ever bought something that you immediately regretted?

Yeah, that happened to us Christmas of 2012.

We thought it would be great to get the girls a goldfish! But we knew that we couldn't just get one fish! We had to get one for each of them. So we got them. They were Christmas presents and the girls LOVED them!!!

Sissy Bell came up with the creative name of Goldie and Sassy Sue decided her fish would be Sushi. (How funny is it that our not quite 3 year old came up with the new Sushi??)

Things were going great at first! The fish seemed to be doing well and the girls loved to watch them. The cats were even leaving them alone!

The same day the girls got the fish, we told the girls that mommy would be having a baby! We were all so excited!

But then the other shoe dropped! I found out January 10, 2012 that the baby was in the arms of Jesus! We all mourned the loss of our little one, especially Sissy Bell! It was just a few days later that we found Goldie belly up!!

You have got to be kidding! What a terrible way to start the year! I now had developed a new dislike for goldfish! How was I supposed to tell my child that something else had died? We cried for the goldfish. I cried for Sissy Bell! And she doubted God.

It was so sad to hear her question God's love for her. She was so looking forward to meeting her brother. She had so wanted a fish! And now, they were both gone. She was completely honest and upfront about the way she was feeling. She was extremely angry! And I was right there with her. Why did this have to happen? Why us?

And then like a ton of bricks, the question hit me. "Why not us?"

Who am I to doubt God? Who am I to question His perfect will? Do I like it? NO! But if anyone knows the pain I am feeling, it is God? He knows better than anyone the pain of losing a child. He knows the pain of reject and lies and deceit. He knows!! He knows!!

This happened well over a year ago! And boy does time heal!

Am I still saddened by the loss of that precious child? Oh yes!!!! Do I look at other children who were due near him and imagine my little guy? Sure!! But I rejoice in their life. And when I hold our sweet boy in my arms, I am truly grateful for three souls that God has trusted me with. And I long for the day when I get to see that precious face and hold that sweet one in my arms.

With love,

Kenan

**PS: Sushi is still going strong! He lives on a diet of peas! Did you know that you don't have to feed them fish food? Crazy, huh?**

F...fixing thing

These past few weeks have been crazy! But crazy in a good way! We were finally able to sneak away for a few days of vacation. Well, not really vacation, Daddy-o was at a conference. So the kiddos and I were able to play by the pool for a few days. It was a much needed break from the norm.

In our world, the summer is crazy. Daddy-o is busier during this time of year than any other. So that means working long days and lunches. It also means 6:00 am phone calls and an extremely tired daddy-o. Mix that with a baby who is still not sleeping through the night (don't worry the doctor said he will get it in a month or so!! seriously?) and we have crazy!!

It took getting away for a few days to realize the amount of time I waste each day. Now don't get me wrong, I love my kids!! But sometimes I get stir crazy! Really stir crazy! And as busy as daddy-o has been, getting away at night just has not been an option! So I have caught myself getting away in my mind!

Now I am not talking about day dreaming! I am talking about living in a world of Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram! Looking for fun things to do with the kids, dreaming about what it must be like taking a vacation like so-in-so, and picking apart the comments of others.

Let me just tell you, this is NOT a healthy place to live. There is no room for Jesus in a life of social media! There is also no room for family in a life of social media. There comes a point when social media goes from a fun thing to a god! If social media is my god, I have no room for THE God!

So things have to change!! Big time!!

What does that mean? I still don't know exactly! But we are starting a new day tomorrow! In the morning there will be no sleeping in! Even if The Boy decides to wake up 3 times tonight, I will get up at 6:45 am! I will use that time to drink a cup of coffee and read The Word. I want my kids to see their momma in The Word and not on the phone. I want them to remember me as a woman of faith. Not a woman who is unhappy with what she has and who she is.

This means we will cut out TV time for the girls. I predict that this might be a problem. But I hope it can be replaced by a morning walk or bike ride before we start school. I also, think that this means we will finish school much earlier in the day. Finishing school earlier means more swimming/playing and more time with the kids. It also means I can get supper cooked and the flower beds tended to. It also means time to love on others.

I want to teach my children that it is more important to love on others than it is to have fun. Now don't get me wrong. I want them to have fun! But is there a better feeling than the feeling you get by helping someone?

So...what is going on in my life right now?? A lot of fixing! What does that mean? I pray that means mending relationships and building new ones!!

With love,

Kenan

D...Diapers (cloth that is)

Yes, you read that correctly! I am blogging about diapers. I know you are so excited. Don't worry! I am not about to tell you what brand I love and hate! But I am going to tell you how cute my little guy is in cloth diapers.

That is right, we cloth diaper! I guess that is something else we have in common with the royal family! Did you know the royals use cloth diapers? Did you know that they also named their baby George? How crazy! We are virtually related! :)

Anyways! We started cloth diapering when Sassy Sue was a baby! I was going through a ton of diapers with her and Sissy Bell still wasn't potty trained. I don't even want to think about how much money we were spending on diapers. So I started doing some research! I was really impressed!! Cloth diapers have really come a long way. No more giant pins. No more folding and praying they don't leak. And did I mention how cute these things are?

So The Boy has been wearing the same diapers his sisters wore. We have added to our collection over the last few years. Right now we are really loving Fuzzibunz. These are great for Daddy-o and the grandparents (or basically anyone who has no experience with cloth diapers). All they have to do is snap it on! There is no stuffing (I have already done that for them). My current favorite is the Thirsties. These are great because you can use the same cover all day and just replace the insert!! That is awesome!!

Getting started with cloth diapers can seem super expensive. In reality cloth diapers can save you about $2000 per child. That is a nice little savings. Also, cloth diapers are not a lot of work. It is just one more load of laundry. And if they stain, you simply hang them in the sun! :) And did I mention that they are cute? Just check out this little handsome man!!

E...Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips

I LOVE chocolate! I will repeat that for emphasis! I LOOOOOVE chocolate!

Chocolate is wonderful, but not when you are seriously trying to lose the last of the baby weight (and the baby weight from the other two kiddos). So lately, I have cut out pretty much all white and processed food. That means no chips, potatoes, rice, pasta, cookies, and cakes! Oh and dairy! But it does mean I can have all meats, fruits, and vegetables.

This plan works for me because I can have fruit which satisfies my sweet tooth! Huge bonus! It also works for me because it reduces the amount of salt that I eat. This means less water retention. That is a huge bonus to almost every woman. :)

Have you looked at the sodium levels on the processed food??? It is unreal!!! Usually, a company will add salt if their food is lacking in flavor.

I do extremely well with this type of eating plan, until about 2:00 pm! And that is when my chocolate bone starts screaming! It starts aching! I start convulsing. OK, not really. But like I said, I do love chocolate!! I have tried blueberries and peaches. I have tried flavored water. I have tried to sleep it off. Nothing seemed to work. And then I found Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips.

These things taste wonderful!! They are soy, dairy, nut, and gluten free chocolate chips. They are all natural and have a whopping 3 ingredients. And did I mention, they tastes great??

These work for me because I can't just eat one piece of chocolate. When the craving hits, I get about a teaspoon in a small dish. I don't just down them all at one time. I get a few at a time and savor the flavor. :)

These are slightly more expensive than your average chocolate chip, but they are totally worth it!! You get the chocolate flavor without the waxy aftertaste! Boo the waxy aftertaste!!! Trust me, you want to try these! They are perfect! I have heard they have a chocolate chunk, but they were out at our local store.

So what do you treat yourself with when you are dieting? Chocolate? Chips? Pasta? Or are you hardcore and forego everything??


**I was not given any Enjoy Life product to review! I wrote this review because I love their product! Here is their link! http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/#page=page-1 **

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C - Cream Cheese Chicken Topped with Bacon

If you are like me, you get tired of the same old things. That is exactly how this recipe came to be. It is super delicious and I always have these ingredients in my fridge!!

This one has been a huge hit with my family. We have made it a few times and it is always devoured. I like it because it is easy, but looks like a lot of work. The fact that I always have these things makes it wonderful when I need to go to the store. I usually serve this with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. This particular night, it was fresh tomatoes, fresh corn, and fresh Dixie Lee peas with rice. :) Man I love summer food!!

So here is goes!

4 boneless/skinless chicken breast (pounded out to 1/4 inch)
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons cream cheese
4 slices of bacon
Mrs. Dash Table Blend or your favorite spice combo

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13x9 pan with Pam.
2. Pound out boneless/skinless chicken breast until they are about 1/4 inch thick (I am not Martha Stewart. So I don't measure. Just guesstimate at your measurement.)
3. Salt and pepper one side of the chicken breast.
4.Sprinkle Mrs. Dash's Table Blend.
5. Dot a tablespoon of cream cheese (pinched into small pieces) onto the chicken.
6.Roll the chicken up with the seam on the bottom.
7. Salt and Pepper the top.
8. Cut the bacon into thirds and place on top of the chicken.
9. Bake for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

Enjoy

Marshmallow Firecrackers

Are you still looking for a last minute craft to do with your kiddos?

 These marshmallow pops are super easy and yummy!

(Don't you just love my fancy stand?)

 Check out these easy steps...
1. Melt white chocolate or almond bark.
2. Dip cake pop sticks in white chocolate and insert stick into the marshmallow.
3. Once they are set, dip marshmallow into the white chocolate and shake off the excess.
4. Dip chocolate cover marshmallows into colored sprinkles.
5. Allow to cool on wax paper.
 Done!

 If you are like me, you have some chocolate left over!

 You could dip some cookies or make come festive candies!!!

 My girls are so excited they can hardly stand it!! (lol...even though they are totally faking it here!)

B is for Babyfood

Well, at baby boy's check up the doctor gave us the thumbs up for starting baby food!

What was that you said, good doctor?!?

Real food?!?

Does the good doctor realize this is just a new born baby?

He cannot possibly be old enough to start real food! I mean he is only....uh oh! He is 5 months old! He is old enough to start eating real food!!

Where is the time going? At this rate I will be begging Daddy-o for another baby by the end of the year!
Shh...don't tell him!!

But that does bring up another chore that mommy gets to tackle. We don't "do" store bought baby food. I know it would make my life a ton easier to just purchase it. However, we are on a budget and it tickles me to save that money. So the savings are well worth my time.

We (by 'we' I mean me) decided to introduce foods on a weekly basis. I also chose to introduce new foods on Tuesdays. That gives me a chance to make new foods on Mondays.

First up, sweet potatoes!!

This is by far one of the easiest foods to prepare.

Wash and place your sweet potatoes on a tin foil lined pan.

It is as simple as roasting your sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 45 minutes (sometimes they take up to an hour). The potatoes should be tender to touch. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and dispose of the skins. You can either mash the flesh with a potato masher or throw them in the stand mixer with the whisk attached. The stand mixer does an awesome job getting the job done. I wish I would have thought about this when I was making food for the girls! That is it! The sweet potatoes are made!! Easy Peasy!!

He LOVES sweet potatoes!!

Next up, peas!!

These are also super easy. You can use fresh or frozen peas. I used frozen. Place the peas in a steam bag or a steamer. Follow the direction for the bag or steamer. Once the peas are steamed, begin mashing them through a fine strainer. This part is a little long and boring. But soon you will have nothing but skins left in your strainer. Throw the skins away and store the flesh. 

This will be really thick!! I freeze the food as is. Upon defrosting the food, add breast milk, formula, or water. Mix it well until you get the desired thickness. 

I wish I could tell you Baby Boy likes peas, as well! But he gags! haha

Maybe they will grow on him!?!

Oatmeal Cereal
Sassy Sue loved oatmeal cereal! So I thought, why not try it with Baby Boy? That is when I found that yucky word: "wheat gluten"!!
::Gasps::
So that is where her first gluten came from!! :( I did not know I was poisoning her at such a young age!

As many of you know, Sassy Sue has Celiac Disease. Celiac is a genetic disease, which means she got it from either me or Daddy-o. Knowing that piece of valuable information makes us look at feeding this little guy a little differently. We will not introduce wheat or gluten into his diet until we are able to determine if it effects him.

I thought we would just skip oatmeal altogether! But she can have gluten free oatmeal, so I decided to make my own. And boy was it easy (and gluten free)! :)

1. You simply put the rolled oats (not instant) into the blender and grind into a powder.
2. Sift to remove any large pieces.
3. Cook 1/2 cup of ground oatmeal with 2 cups boiling water for 10 minutes.
4. Cool.
5. Mix with your fruit of choice.
6. Serve or freeze.
    The End!

Now how easy was that?? AND!! It tastes great!!

Storage

There are many ways you can store your baby food. I like simple! So the old fashioned ice cube tray comes to play. Simply, scoop the food into the tray and freeze. Once it is frozen, remove the cubes and place them in an airtight container. Make sure you label your containers and date them!! They all starts to look the same when you get into other foods and you don't want them to be eating old food. One ice cube is enough to feed Baby Boy one meal if it is mixed with breast milk. I simply grab a cube out of the container, defrost, mix it with milk, and he is ready to go.

Benefits

Like I already said, the first benefit is the price. The second benefit is the health. I know exactly what I am putting into his food. There is never a question about freshness or taste. Which brings me to number three: a good eater. Homemade baby food tastes worlds better than store bought food! I would actually eat this stuff!!

Stay tuned for more baby food posts. I will be working on carrots, blueberries, pears, and many more in the next few weeks!!

With Love,
Kenan

A is for Chunky Apple Chicken Salad

Here in Grangerville we eat A LOT of apples! There are some times of the year that we will go through 4 bags of apples in a week! Did you catch that?? 4 bags!!

We do everything from muffins to chicken salad. Chicken salad is one of my all time favorite things to make, especially in the summer! 

Here in the south it has been hot and muggy. We have had crazy thunder storms every afternoon for well over a week. And a few weeks ago, it rained for about 10 days straight! ::gags:: And when it gets hot, I do not want to cook, nor do I want to eat! So we snack! And I usually have a container of chicken salad hanging out in the fridge. 

This is a super easy salad! Think of it in twos.

2 cooked chicken breasts shredded 

2 ribs of celery (finely chopped)

2 pink lady apples

1/4 cup finely chopped bread and butter pickles

1/2 - 1 cup mayonnaise (this varries on how juicy the apples are)

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/8 teaspoon paprika

Mix the ingredients in a medium bowl. Chill for at least 1 hour prior to serving. Enjoy!!

I serve this with Glutino Crackers. But you could use your favorite cracker or pita chip! And every chicken salad needs a side of fruit.

I hope you guys enjoy this super easy and tasty lunch!!

Much Love,

Kenan

I'm back with TWO announcements

Well! I'm baaack!!

I have been on a wonderful little blogging vacation to drink in the joys of motherhood. Our sweet baby boy arrived in late January!! He is such a little blessing. I cannot explain the love and joy he has brought into our lives.

This baby has been a balm to my heart. I cannot wait to share our precious gift with you all!

 He is such a sweet baby and his sisters are absolutely in love!! But more on that later!

I am here today to announce a weekly blog hop with some friends. The girls and I will be going through the alphabet a letter at a time. I am so very excited about this blog hop. I am pumped to be getting back in the swing of things. I am pumped that you guys are going to get to experience the ends and outs of our crazy lives. Get ready for honesty. Get ready for recipes. Get ready for chaos! :)

Much Love,
Kenan

Until We All Come Home...first book review

I have read some great books in my life. But recently, I won a book from another mommy blogger at Organized SAHM. Thanks, Tara!!

This book came with great reviews so I was SUPER excited about picking it up. But it did come with a warning! The warning was very simple, "You won't be able to put it down!"

Boy, was she right!

Until We All Come Home by Kim de Blecourt was an adoption story like I have NEVER read!

Admittedly, I am not familiar with the in's and out's of the local adoption process and much less familiar with the process abroad. But, I did not expect to read about how twisted and corrupt the Ukranian foreign adoption process was.

Kim spent nearly a near in Ukraine solely devoted to bring HER son home. During much of this time she was without her husband in a male dominated land. The last few months of the process, Kim cared for her own daughter as well as the son she was adopting. It was then she found herself trapped (for nearly two weeks) in a small apartment with two young children who had an abundance of energy.

It seemed that God was saying "no" every time there was an easy path to be taken. However, Kim would cry out and He would answer every time!!

If you are looking for a wonderful page turner, I strongly recommend Until We All Come Home by Kim de Blecourt. You will not be disappointed!

Enjoying the Little Things

There are many reasons I love home schooling.

But now that I am being forced to have more down time, I have been able to enjoy the little things with the girls.

For example, today we were able to take a walk for the first time in a few weeks. :) We talked with the neighbors and totally enjoyed our 70 degree December morning!

But this afternoon, Libby (THE bulldog) was whining to go out, as soon as I sat down to rest. Trying to put her off a few more minutes, I rubbed her belly. This worked for a millisecond until she started routing around in the basket of blankets.

You will never guess what she found! A roll! Yup, a dinner roll!!

I guess, yesterday, when I wasn't feeling well a dinner roll (in a ziplock bag) ended up in the basket of blankets.

Libby quickly ran out the back door to bury the roll. And the girls were on the chase.

It is great to be able to enjoy the little things with these crazy kids (and bulldog) of mine!

(This was taken at Easter, but it shows exactly how much the girls love Libby. They HAD to include her in the egg hunt. I think they may have been cheating a bit!!) 

Easy Beef Stew!

When the cold weather comes to town, I want to hibernate and eat warm food! One of my favorites is Stew Beef. However, every recipe I have ever made contains some type of flour. Well, that is all well and good, but foods thickened with gluten free flour doesn't reheat well! So I tried something new. I came up with this recipe out of sheer desire to eat comfort food!! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Oh, and by the way, this was Daddy and kid approved!!

Here are the stars of the show. Yep! That is it! The only thing I added that isn't pictured is salt and pepper. If I were to add anything else, it would be mushrooms. But we were out! Oh well!

Start by getting about a tablespoon of olive oil hot. Next add your finely chopped onions. You will notice all the vegetables are cut pretty small. You don't have to do this at all. My little ones will only eat them if they are cut up small.

Brown the onions well before adding the beef. Brown the beef well, but it does NOT have to be fully cooked. It is actually better if it rare!

Once you have the beef cooked add enough water to cover the beef. Stir in the carrots and celery.

And not for the GREAT part. Bring it to a boil, turn it down, and walk away!! Let it go until the vegetables are tender and/or you are ready to eat! I usually serve this with rice, but potatoes would be great as well. Or if you want throw the potatoes in the pot!! Enjoy!!

Gluten Free on the Cheap!!

Charlotte has officially been gluten free for two years! It doesn't seem like it has been that long. Many times, I feel like we just began this journey! A gluten free diet has been WONDERFUL for our baby girl!! She is a totally different person. When she does get gluten, watch out world!! She is a bear! She is a three year old force to be reckoned with!! Needless to say, we try to insure she NEVER gets it!!

Gluten free can be expensive!! In the summer, it isn't bad at all! We eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. In fact our house looks like the corner market in the summer. The fall and winter in a totally different story!! And Charlotte is beginning to notice that her food is different! 

We attend a Classical Conversations meeting every Tuesday and we eat lunch together as a group. No big deal normally, but it obvious that her food looks different. So we make a lot of homemade "lunchables"!  But, Charlotte's crackers cost $5.32 a box! There are 3 (or so) lunch portions in a box. And she LOVES these crackers. She would eat them for any meal! We make her stick to snacks and occasionally for lunch. We also pack her snack for every outing, including church and play dates!

We have been spending $6.50 on bread, $8.32 on pretzels, $5.32 on regular crackers, $5.32 on garlic bagel chips, and about $5.00 on cookies per WEEK (some weeks we don't buy the pretzels)!! ON ONE CHILD! Needless to say, I am always looking for a cheaper price! Occasionally, you can find them on sale, but a sale is rare! 

So a few weeks ago, I found this website. I know I am behind on the times, but I really don't order a lot of things online. Maybe it is the fear that the delivery man will be eaten by the dog! She has never eaten anyone, but I am pretty sure she has caused the occasional change of undergarments! 

Whatever the reason, I overcame my fear last Friday. I placed an order with Vitacost! I received my order today! That is right, the order was placed on Friday and received on Monday!! 

**Vitacost is a company that carries pretty much anything health food (not just gluten free stuff)!**

Check out the comparison!! 

Grocery Store		Vitacost
Pretzels Crackers Bagel Chips Cookies	$8.32  $5.32 $5.32 $5.50	Pretzels Crackers Bagel Chips Cookies	$5.29 $3.79 $4.94 $4.79

I ordered multiple boxes of everything and 4 new things to try. It ended up costing $65.22! That is nearly $70 in savings! I also received an emailed coupon for 10% off my next purchase. I am pretty sure we have enough GF food to last Charlotte about 2 months!! The only "necessity" I will need to buy is bread. I am one happy mommy!! 

Now I have been planning on writing this post as long as I was satisfied with the company, but when I picked up my invoice it had a beautiful little treasure on the top of it! They have a refer a friend program!! That is right, by me referring you I get $10 AND you get $10!! How awesome is that?!? Just use the link attached and we will both receive our little gift. I hope you guys are as satisfied as we have been. https://www.vitacostrewards.com/eMuYNTv 

15 minute pick up

I have been a fan of www.Flylady.net for a few years. Her thing is called a 15 minute sweep and it is basically the same thing as what I describe. Now if you need some serious help organizing/cleaning, check her out. She seriously helped me after the miscarriage. I found lots of things that I could do to fill my time and keep my hands busy. I have kept up with most of it because it is simply that easy.

Now, I do NOT claim to have a house that is picture perfect!! Did you hear that?? If you were to come over, you will see cups on the counter, toys on the floor, and other random items laying around. This does make my type A personality a little crazy. We have a "every item has a place" kind of house. Well, I like to think we do. The girls are quickly driving me nuts with all their baby stuff that ends up all over the house. You know how it goes, as soon as you finish cleaning one room, they destroy it while you are cleaning the next room.

But today I decided to get the little ones involved! I am not sure why it has taken me this long to get them on board. But the crazy nesting stage has begun and the constant picking up after them is driving me nuts. Plus bending down these days is, well, interesting!

We have cleaned out just about everything that we can clean out, and they are still having a hard time keeping it picked up! So today I actually used my brain and decided not to nag or threaten, we played a game.

I called the game "The 15 minute Pick Up".

Right after lunch, we started. I still needed to get the dishwasher going, so I knew where my 15 minutes were going to be spent. The object was to see exactly how clean we could get the house in 15 minutes. I am very impressed with how they worked. After about 10 minutes they said they were done and I did a quick glance into the rooms. There were a few things that still needed to find their homes, but they were pretty much done!! By the end of the 15 minutes all the clutter had been put away!

I could breathe! AHHHH!!

We all sat down for a story and then it was rest time. And today instead of cleaning while they rested, we ALL rested!! And I am a happy mommy!

Do any of you have some kind of system like this?

Field Trip

We all have weaknesses! One of my homeschooling weaknesses is taking field trips. Between trips to the grocery store and extra children around the house I just don't have the time (nor the energy) to plan a field trip!

BUT!! Being apart of Classical Conversations has remedied that situation!! Every week we get together to learn all sorts of amazing facts about the world we live in. I truly believe, I have learned more in these 10 weeks than any of the kids I tutor (or my own). It is an absolutely fascinating program!! We, also, are able to draw from each other's strengths. Jennifer Grimsley is super-mom field trip planner and has actually planned a few field trips for us this fall! YEH!! 

This mommy doesn't have to think about those days and they COUNT!! 

The first trip was to Lynches River County Park. They offer such an impressive program!! The younger students learned about the needs of plants and came home with a planted seed. When they start sprouting, I plan to have the girls measure them every few days and chart their growth. The older students talked about trees. They went home with a ring of a tree! 

The park also offers animals to observe and a beautiful nature walk. Charlotte and I left early because I was totally wiped, but Ansley stayed and came home totally excited about her trip. She was ready for Daddy to come home to teach him what she had learned. 

If you need a FREE field trip, this is the place to go!! Here is a sample of our trip!!

With love,

K

An Update!

I haven't blogged in, well, forever!! There are a few reasons for that! Morning sickness, homeschooling, babysitting, gluten free everything, and a trip to the hospital sums up what has happened for us the last few months. I hope to start my blog back, but I am not promising anything. :)

The girls are doing great! Ansley turned 5 last month and we visited some enchanting princesses that wonderful day! She was so excited she could hardly speak. Which, if you know Ansley, is a rare thing! Ansley is also learning to read and her handwriting is much improved over last year. But, her favorite subject is math. She learned to add and subtract before her birthday!! Classical Conversations has been wonderful for her speaking skills. Every week, she gives a presentation on a subject that interest her. I love that she is able to speak in front of her peers and their parents!

Charlotte is the same old spunky, sassy Charlotte!! She loves to keep us guessing! Over the summer, we spent a scary night in the hospital because she decided to go back in the pool after I had taken her swimmies off! I think she learned her lesson and I learned mine (swim lessons begin in January)!! She is smart as a whip! Nothing gets by her! And when you think she isn't listening, you better be careful what you say...she doesn't forget a thing! Her favorite thing to do now is count. When she gets to 99, she says "tenty-ten"! Just because she knows it is funny!

As for Cole and I, we are doing great!! Cole is a great daddy!! And I am super blessed to have him! Can you believe that he (with my mom and sister) threw me my first surprise birthday party?? I was shocked and humbled at the same time. How blessed can a girl be? I am getting bigger by the minute! George Cole is due to arrive sometime in mid-January. We are getting ready for that glorious day. He is a busy little guy!! He moves from about 8 am until around 10 pm! He seems to sleep at night these days! Lets stop and pray he continues that after he is born! All seems well when we visit the doctor and my appointments are now every 2 weeks! We can feel the end coming!

We are working on his nautically themed nursery! I can't wait to have all the pieces in place and start washing those baby clothes!! It is almost done! We lack a dresser and some decor things. I can see the end in site!

This time of year is very busy for us. The prep work has started in the kitchen already! I have already made the gluten free bread crumbs for Thanksgiving Dinner. And I am currently working on a gluten free vanilla wafer  If this is successful, it will rock our world! I am about half way done with Christmas shopping. We have had to make some decisions about what we would and would not include in our Christmas schedule this year. Some of those things are hard, but we are looking to have a healthy FULL TERM baby! No one wants to see their little go to the NICU, because they got so busy and forgot to care for themselves. Well, that is what ALMOST happened with Charlotte and we don't want a repeat performance.

I think that is about it! Stay tuned for more adventures in Grangerdom!

Sour Cream Chicken and GF Bread Crumbs

I seem to always be looking for another great recipe to go in my collection. I loooooove to try new things, but it is sometimes made difficult due to cooking GF. Sure, I could easily get my GF cookbooks down and make something that would taste okay. But we have young taste buds to deal with and (most of the time) they don't do funky foods. Unless, my mother makes it. But, that is another story entirely. So, normally, I convert what I THINK they would like into GF! It is easy to find new recipes to try (I may or may not be addicted to Pinterest). And when I stumbled across a Sour Cream Chicken recipe, I knew it was for me. :) The only problem was BREAD CRUMBS! AHHH!!

Now "bread" and "crumbs" are scary words in world of a Celiac patient. Normally, we RUN from them for a two reasons. Store bought crumbs are FULL of gluten, so nope! And gluten free bread is expensive. Who wants to grind up a $6 (6 inch) loaf of bread for crumbs?? Not this chick!! But I had been preparing for this day.

If you visited my freezer in the last few weeks, you would have noticed the bread grave yard. I have been saving the butts from every GF loaf of bread for about a month. It was starting to get ridiculous. We looked like we were hoarding the ends of the bread loafs. Cole tried to throw them once! Only once! :) I had a plan to carry out!!

Anyways, today I threw all of the odd pieces into the food processor and crumbled them up all nice and pretty. Once they stopped making a crazy noise, I melted about 1/2 a stick of butter and poured it in with the whirling crumbs. Along with the bread and butter went about a teaspoon kosher salt and a palm full of parsley. Once the crumbs looked like wet sand, I spread them on a baking sheet and put them under the broiler for about 5 minutes (stirring once half way through).

Bread crumbs, CHECK!!

Now the Sour Cream Chicken!

To make super easy cleanup, line a 13x9 pan with foil. You will love me for this tip later.

Place however many chicken breast you like in the pan. Sprinkle each with salt, pepper, and whatever seasoning you want (I used Mrs. Dash, because that is what I had).

Next, coat your chicken with a nice smear of sour cream. You will want to put some in a separate bowl! Don't cross contaminate your sour cream! And top with your homemade breadcrumbs.

Throw it in a 350 degree oven for 30 - 45 minutes. And voila! Supper!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe!! My little family loved it! I will be adding it to the rotation! Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration!

With love
-KG

Homemade Corn Dog Muffins

Let me tell you, being GF is an adventure! I have tried and FAILED at many recipes. But after almost 2 years of being GF I have finally stumbled across a recipe for cornbread that I like.

We have tried many cornbread recipes over the last few years. I would normally just buy Bob's Red Mill, but it made a ton of cornbread. Probably enough for a large dinner party or enough for about 3 meals. We can't do that much cornbread and we all know that cornbread must be fresh!! After all I am a southern girl. A southern girl that has never made homemade cornbread, what a shame. Also, I have come to the conclusion that I can't search of GF stuff!! So the other day I was on the hunt again. This time Pinterest was my guide. 

I am looking for a good cornbread recipe and I must convert the recipe myself. This could be trouble! And that is when I found a sweet little treasure!! My heart melted when I read about a Jiffy Cornbread Mix recipe!! Finally, someone understands what I have been seeking. Jiffy is my favorite, but have you looked on the box?? The ingredients list is SSSOOOOO long. Even if we weren't GF, I can't bring myself to eat it anymore. So here is the super simple recipe. My recipe is based on www.fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com.

Cornbread Recipe

Ingredients
2/3 Cup Flour (GF for us)
1/2 Cup Yellow Cornmeal (PLAIN! Not self-rising)
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 egg

1/3 to 1/2 cup milk (start with 1/3 but you may have to add more, I did)

2 tablespoons oil

honey (I don't know how much honey I put in there. Just give the bear a GOOD squeeze)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Allow batter to rest about five minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until brown. 

**To make the recipe GF, I used Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Flour. Yesterday, I put Zantham Gum in it, but I don't really think you need it. Today's batch did not contain Zantham Gum and I liked it better!**

So you might be saying, "I thought this post was about corn dogs!" It is! I promise!

To make the corn dogs, use the above recipe for cornbread and 4 nitrate free hot dogs. Spray the 

muffin tin well (or you will hate me later). Fill a mini-muffin tin about 2/3 of the way full. Chop a hot dog into small pieces (about 8 pieces per hot dog) and push the little pieces down into the batter. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until brown. 

Note: If you have little ones, chop the hot dogs into smaller pieces and put 3 or 4 pieces into each muffin tin. 

My crew loved these! This picture is the second batch of the week and this is all that is left. I didn't bother to put them in a plastic container. I know they will be gone before dinner. I think the process took me about 20 minutes from nothing to the little ones eating (that is with cool down time). Now, how easy was that? 

Out of the Mouths of Babes

We can't quite figure out what Ansley is going to be when she grows up. She has the ability to question a person like I have never seen. Even as a itty bitty thing she was talking and asking a million questions. She once talked for 3 solid hours on a road trip. Should I mention that she was barely two at the time?

She also loves to ask questions. Her favorite question is, "what is his/her name?" When you answer, she wants their middle and last name. She gets very annoyed at me when I don't know the name of the guy in the car beside us. There was a time that I would make up names for people. She caught on! Why does she have to be so smart??

She will also ask you the same question in a different way in order to catch you in lie. Like I said, she is smart.

She is very in touch with her feelings and the feelings of others.

Lately she has been talking a lot about Parker. She wants to spell his name (his full name). She tells me almost every day that she misses him. I think she feels how emotional I become when she talks about him. She almost always speaks about him like he is sleeping right there in the room.

I tell you all of this so you will understand what happened today.

Today, we had both of the boys. Ansley was the first one up from nap and was super excited about our afternoon activity. She finally asked to go wake up the others. We woke up Charlotte first.

Charlotte was in a great mood (which has not been the case these last few days). Ansley, Charlotte, E and I were laying in the bed playing. I was doing "super baby" with Little E. He was high above my head when I heard the following: "Mommy, when you get to Heaven you can do that with Parker!! Won't that be wonderful and fun? That will make you very happy!"

Love that sweet love that she has for her brother. The brother she never knew, yet she speaks like they have been friends forever. I love that she knows. I couldn't imagine loving her any more than I already do, but I love her more every day!!