It's Friday! SO How About a Cookie Recipe!

 

This school lunch business is really making me crazy. I don't mind them eating sandwiches and chips (that's what they ate many days homeschooling) but I can't handle or afford the little prepackaged snacks.

 

I'll admit it, I bought some. I was overwhelmed (like most parents) this first week and I caved. I didn't really feel bad about it either. But into the second week, as we were running out of lunch food, I felt like I could do better. Mary said that one kid had cookies and another had fudge rounds and a list of other things that I don't buy regularly.

 

I get it. They want sweets and junk food. So do I.

 

My last couple of batches of healthy sweet stuff haven't been very tasty so I needed to try something less drastic. My theory on food is "make good choices when you can, anything is better than nothing". So I made a batch of semi healthy chocolate chip cookies. They are no doubt better than pre-packaged desserts and they actually tasted really good. Yes, I ate three of them :(

 

Here's my recipe! Use what you have. Pretty much every ingredient is organic so I'll spare you and not put organic in front of everything.

 

Semi Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

1/2 cup shortening of your choice

1/2 cup butter

1 1/4 cup flour

1 1/4 cup oat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sucanat

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

 

 

Mix ingredients in order of recipe with an electric mixer. Then stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

 

 

Roll or drop (I did both and they both worked) onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Makes about 60.



 

 

Paisley approved!

 

 

 

Have a Super Happy Friday!!!!

 

 

 

Homemade Wide Plank (Plywood) Hardwood Floors {Bedroom Makeover}

It's a good morning today! The babies both slept pretty much all night, the weather is amazing!!!, and I'm ready to share what we'll call "phase 1" in our girls' bedroom makeover.

 

 Our homemade wide plank  hardwood flooring in the girls room!

 

 

 

So we bought 5 sheets of plywood and had the guy at Home Depot cut them into 8" wide strips. We sanded the best side of each piece.

 

Then we removed the furniture, baseboards, carpet, and padding. And played around with the layout a bit.

 

 

I painted the room an awesome griege color. You'll see through the pictures how the color changes in different lighting. All of the pictures were taken from my phone, just at different times of the day.

 

The next day we layed down a sheet of thick plastic to protect the cheap particle board subfloor underneath.

 

 

And then we pretty much mixed and matched the pieces and nailed them down with the nail gun when we had the look we were after. While he nailed, I came behind him and stained.

 

 

We started out seperating the boards with a penny to leave space for expanding but it wasnt really necessary because of the slight variation in the size of the boards. It worked out just perfectly.

 

When the stain dried, we did two layers of polyurethane.

 

 

The only mistake that we made (and I mean "I" made) was not letting the poly dry enough before eagerly skidding the box springs across. I'll have to fix that another day.

 

 

 

Paint color: Whiskers by Porter Paints

Stain color: Walnut by Porter Paints
Room size: 11x13
Floor cost: Around $150


 

Valentine's Day- Love and Pretty {Journey's Decorating- Nashville TN}

 

I don't know how many families celebrate Valentine's Day as a kids holiday or a holiday for Mom and Dad, but we like to involve the kids in our Valentine's Day fun. Our anniversary is on February 11th so we usually have a special date day to celebrate our marriage on that day. Then for Valentine's Day, we celebrate with the girls.

 

I thought I'd share some of our Valentine's Day fun from last year as well as our plan for this year.

 

Decorating is a huge part of the fun. We always start with the center of our family room, the mantel! I love a beautifully decorated mantel. I started on ours this week. Here's a picture. As we get a little closer to February, I'll start changing things around and adding more fun decorations.

 

 

We like to "adopt" a special Valentine friend every year.

Someone we can do something nice for. Last year we picked one of my daughter's friends who has been battling cancer for two years now. She is a sweet, adorable little girl. We made her this gift bag and delivered it when she wasn't home. The girls love doing good deeds and serving others. This year our lucky "friend" is going to be Ray (our preacher). We love him dearly and he just may need a cheering up on his first Valentine's Day without his wife.

 

 

Something new, we're starting on February 1st we're calling "I love you because...". Each person in our family will have a box on the counter, which they will decorate and every day we will all write down one reason that we love each person and put it in their box. I feel like we spend so much time correcting the littles and pointing out all of the things they do wrong, so I though it would be a good idea to share with them all of the wonderful things that make each one of us unique and valued. What a fun way to do it! Then on Valentine's Day we can dump out our boxes and see why we're loved so much.

 

I'll share pictures and posts on how it works out.

 

When February 14th finally arrives, I like to surprise the kids with a fun breakfast of some sort. I found this on Pinterest last year. It's literally canned cinnamon rolls shaped like a heart with sprinkles. They were so happy about them, you would have thought I had slaved in the kitchen all morning. It's the little things, the attention to detail that makes life special. Add cute straws, some pretty napkins, and a candle and BAM- It's a Valentine's Day candlelit breakfast for a queen (or four).

 

 

 

When Daddy gets home, the real fun begins!!! We usually surprise the girls with goodies and gifts. But seriously, we only buy them things that they will be needing anyway. The picture below is from last year. Looks like we went all out right? That's the point! But we didn't. I just think it's more fun to give them a new outfit in a special way. I should also mention that my kids rarely get new clothing. We pass down everything we can, so new clothes are special to them. And sometimes, every girl just needs a new outfit.

 

 

 

 This year, I've bought the three little girls coordinating bathing suits with flip flops and mating accessories (I had Gymbucks so I got it all at a great price). The 2 babies also got pajamas and some chocolate. The 2 big girls got a box of chocolates. Mary (7) got a stuffed owl and Taylor (14) I have no idea what else to get her but I'll figure something out. 

 

I hope you'll embrace this little holiday this year and make it extra special for your family too. This is the stuff they'll remember forever :)

 

 

 

2015 Daily Homeschool Schedule {Journey's Homeschool}

With the beginning of a new year, I felt like we needed to revisit our daily homeschool schedule. The babies are growing quickly and have started napping together now, which makes for a couple of uninterrupted hours during the early afternoon. So we switched a few things around and updated it a little.

 

Here it is!

 

 

 

This week we're just easing back into our schedule. The kids didn't take school work very well on Monday and the babies were nothing short of a disaster. We'll just say that there may have been a few tears and they may or may not have been from children, wink wink.

 

 

I hope everyone else is off to a good back to school week :)

 

Many blessings!!!

 

 

 

 



Halloween Candy Overload??

If you take your children to any kind of Halloween activities, you likely have an overload of Halloween candy when the first day of November rolls around. What are you going to do with ALL of that candy?

 

Here's what I do after the children pick through it for a day or two.

 

• First I pick out all of my husband's favorites and set them aside for him.

 

• Next I pull out all of the butterfingers and snickers. Then at the following monthly church potlucks, I make a butterfinger cake 

like this one.

And a snickers cake like this one.                               

 

• Then, the rest of the candy either gets put in to a bag for decorating gingerbread houses at Christmas OR it gets thrown in the trash.

 

 

Happy November!

 

 

 

 

March Dinner Menu

I owe my family a big apology. February has not been my best month. I have slacked for sure. Really, the entire last half of the month has been a disaster. My meal plan never made it past the first week. That's right, I didn't even plan the last three weeks at all.

Every night has been it's own nightmare to end my unorganized day.

Next month will be different though. This month I'm ready. I've got my menu made early. My shopping list is started and our budget is in the works and I'm focused. Focus is the most important part. It's what keeps me prepared and motivated. I bet focus would work for my diet too..... hmmmmm. I'll have to think about that another day. One thing at a time. Menu!

 

Here is my dinner menu for March. Keep in mind that I've some how fallen backwards into survival mode again. I had to pick meals that were easy, cheap, and fast. I'm struggling to keep it all together but as usual, if I plan, then life will become less stressful.

 

 



Schedule Break Down

So I posted our wonderful Homeschool schedule already but now I feel like I need to explain it. I'll try to break down each section with a few more details.

 

Breakfast & Chores: I hope to have the kids chore charts posted soon but I don't even have them typed right now. Basically, I wake up between 4:30 and 5:30 to pump and feed the baby. After my husband leaves for work around 6:00 I work on my art, enjoy my coffee, watch the news for a bit, prepare school work, start laundry, work on any chores I'm behind on (usually laundry), and start breakfast.

 

I don't wake my kids up. I just let them sleep until they're ready to get up on their own. Now and then I do wake up my 13 year old if the babies are tag teaming me and I need to do something important (like shower or use the bathroom, haha). Then I'll take one baby with me and bring the other one to her.

 

When the kids wake up, they usually play for a little while and start chores while I finish breakfast. We all eat together and I try to explain our plans for the day so they're not wondering around confused about everything.

 

Then they get dressed and finish chores.

 

10:00 Circle Time: Circle time is about the only time on the schedule that we try our very best to keep. I'll holler how much time is left before circle time a few times every morning so they can speed up their chores if needed.

 

 

We meet at 10:00 on the rug in the play/school room. We start with a prayer together, asking God to help us accomplish our tasks with joyful hearts and to guide us throughout the day. This is also when we name the sick, pray for the lost, and ask God to bring Daddy home safely each day.

After that, each day varies. We do mystery riddles like, "I am white and I fall in the winter. What am I? Snow" or one from yesterday was "I fly, but I do not carry people. I hunt at night. What am I? An owl." Mary actually got that one. She gets almost as many as Taylor. We also do a Character story from a favorite book of mine and read scripture.

 

10:30 Handwriting and Language Arts: Time varies but we always start with these after circle time, except on Kitchen Day.

 

Lunch: We always eat lunch together, even if we don't eat the same lunch, we still sit down together and eat. The girls clean up after themselves and I clean up the kitchen.

 

After lunch I put Victoria (1) down for her nap. I usually rock her to sleep. I have busy work I some times give to Mary (6) to do while I'm getting Victoria down.

This is my new favorite busy work. I bought this big activity pad at Michael's a few weeks ago and it has 50 pages of seasonal activities. Mary had so much fun working on it yesterday. I'd say it's good for grades K-2nd. It's always good to have something the little ones can do on their own. 

 

 

 

Then we do math. If the day is crazy or Mary isn't feeling like it, we may skip math. If we skip it we'll either do it later or catch up the next day. Some times math can be flash cards or a math activity that isn't actually in her book. She doesn't really like math very much so I don't stress her out about it.

 

Science and Social Studies: We are totally laid back about these two subjects. I try to work them in at least twice a week and they usually involve me reading something while Mary draws a picture of it, labels it, and colors it. Sometimes it's a movie or experiment. It all just depends on how the day has went so far and how long the babies sleep. It's better to do activities if the babies are awake because if I'm trying to read her a lesson or have her listen to a movie, she can't concentrate with all the noise.

 

Story time can be a library book or something from our book collection.

 

Free time & art are pretty self explanatory and times vary as well as activities. Today the girls painted wooden butterfly magnets and decorated them.
 

3:30 Clean up: By this time every day the house is in complete disorder. I know a few paragraphs ago I talked about chores and cleaning up but non of that matters. Kids still manage to destroy any and all progress we've made throughout the day. This is supposed to be a quick but thorough whole house cleaning before Daddy gets home. Some times it's just 30 minutes of me saying "Come one everyone should be cleaning" and "Get off the floor and help clean" and so on.

 

Dinner Prep: Me and the kids preparing dinner, the dinner table, and juggling babies.

 

Dinner: At last we all sit together and enjoy some together time. Victoria usually screams through the whole thing and afterwards Daddy reads scripture and we talk about what he read.

 

That's it! After dinner is play time and evening chores. If the evening chores get done well, then morning chores are a breeze.

 

 

 

Our Family's Daily/Weekly Plan

 

Today was our first official full day of the school year. I thought I was ready, but when you have two little ones under two, I don't think you can really be "ready" for anything. But somehow we finished our work and we all survived, barely.

 

Reflecting on what went right and what went terribly wrong, I can now see that it probably went better than it felt like it did. I was stressed at first but it all worked out over the course of the day. It does help to have a plan to follow but I can't expect to follow the schedule, to the minute, 5 days a week. There is no way! So maybe we should call this a guideline for a schedule. But whatever we call it, it works pretty well for us. We've been following this plan for a while now but I only put it on paper today. Instead of trying to figure out what I should do, I decided to use what we already do. This is about the only way to fit it all in. Notice Mom is not on the plan? That's because I'm bouncing around from kid to kid meeting their needs, answering questions, checking chores, pumping milk, rocking & feeding babies, and cooking, cleaning & organizing where ever I can find time.

 

Day one is over. The house is still pretty messy and my husband saved me by bringing home pizza. Then after dinner and Bible time he took the three big kids and went for our CSA box and milk.

 

My plan probably won't work for every family but maybe it will help just one.

 

 

Kitchen Scraps

 

Something new we've been working on this summer is saving our kitchen scraps for the compost pile and the chickens. We've not yet successfully made compost but a few years ago we made a compost bin and this year we're actually filling it up. To help prevent me and everyone else from being lazy and throwing away the scraps I placed two buckets on the kitchen counter next to the sink. One labeled for the chickens and one for the compost pile.

 

 

It really helps to have something with a lid so the kitchen doesn't stink. Well sometimes it stinks anyway but it's not from the scraps :)

 

So then there was the problem of what scraps to put in each bucket. So I printed this handy little picture from Healthy Homemakers that someone posted on Facebook and hung it over the sink. It lists what to compost, what not to compost, and how to compost.

 

 

 

I hope to find something similar to print that lists favorite chicken scraps. For now I'm just winging it and giving the chickens everything that's still good. I do have a website I reference to on my phone if something is questionable.

 

 

 



Laundry Room Makeover

 

One of the challenges of a having a large family is the endless piles of laundry. Laundry that needs to be washed, laundry that needs to be folded, and laundry that needs to be put away. You never know what you're going to find in the dirty laundry. I find clean and folded clothes at the bottom of the hamper pretty often. Some times I even find new clothes with the tags still on them. The laundry basket is the perfect place to stash stuff when you're 5 years old and too lazy to put it away. The more children you have, the more laundry you have.

 

Anyway, clean clothes are one of the basics needs for every family no matter what size your family is and no matter what Mom has going on in her life, she still has to supply food and clothing for the gang, day in and day out. It can be frustrating and exhausting to wash and fold your days away if your laundry area is not functional.

 

I recently spent a few months in what we call "survival mode". We were about to have baby number 4 and it was all I could do to feed and dress everyone daily. My goal was to simply survive and keep everyone alive each day. Sounds easy enough right? Well, it wasn't! 

 

I'm not even going to go into the feeding everyone part, that's another story. But my laundry area was in a tiny closet in the hallway, next to the kitchen. It was dark, ugly, and not at all functional. I hated standing there folding clothes. So naturally I carried the clothes to my bed to fold them there. But once I was in there I thought I'd better go ahead and get the next load started. And then after that load was started something better always seemed to come up. Before I  knew it, it was bedtime and there was my bed with a massive pile of clean clothes covering it. Obviously, it wasn't working for me.

 

Thanks to Pinterest, I came up with this crazy idea to move the laundry area to a hallway by the back door. It might be the best idea I've ever had and it's certainly made doing the laundry more enjoyable and functional.

 

 

Beginning stages of our new mud room.

 

 

 

View from the den.

 

 



Backdoor entrance.

 

 

I already owned the big shelf so all we had to do was round up some baskets to sort folded clothes and store all of our clutter. The top shelf is where we store the picnic basket, outdoor tablecloths, and outdoor blankets. The second shelf is detergent, softener, bleach, and guinea pig food. The third shelf is mom and dad's basket and the missing sock basket (which is always full). The fourth shelf is the girls baskets and the bottom is flip flops & pool towels.

 

I hope this idea can inspire someone else to spruce up their laundry area and make the dreaded task a tiny bit more enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homeschool Curriculum Plan 2013-2014

Selecting the perfect homeschool curriculum for a child can be a daunting task. Every child is different and every child changes from year to year. I love to hear what works and doesn't work from other families. That's one of the many advantages of having a strong homeschool support system. We have been blessed to find some of the most supportive homeschool families out there. None are the same. Each family is unique and each family has different struggles and strengths. 

 

Our family has been pretty successful when selecting curriculum. We have had a few things that didn't work, but for the most part the material I have purchased has been great. Most of our success has come from recommendations from other families. I'm hoping that by sharing our family's recommendations we can be a blessing to another family. I also thought some of our friends and family might be curious about what we're teaching at home.

 

So here's our homeschool curriculum plan for 2013-2014. My material budget was around $300. We usually spend about $600 total on registration, testing, and materials. My Dad helped us this year by giving us $300 which will cover the cost of curriculum. I should mention that I pickup material throughout the year if I see it used and know I'm planning on using it in the future. I already had Mary's first grade social studies, science, and math.

 

 

8th Grade

Math- Saxon Algebra 1

 

 

Website description:

Algebra 1 covers all the topics in a first-year algebra course and builds the algebraic foundation essential for all students to solve increasingly complex problems. Higher order thinking skills use real-world applications, reasoning and justification to make connections to math strands. Algebra 1 focuses on algebraic thinking and multiple representations - verbal, numeric, symbolic, and graphical. Graphing calculator labs model mathematical situations.

 

 

Science- Abeka Earth & Space

 

 

Website description:

 Earth and Space investigates fields such as geology, oceanography, meteorology, astronomy, and environmental science with the goal of discovering the thoughts of the Creator through the ingenious structure and orderly function of His creation (Psa. 19:1).

Earth and Space is written from the Christian perspective with the conviction that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. The text naturally rejects the unproven hypothesis of evolution, recognizing special creation as the only reasonable explanation for the origin of the universe.

Earth and Space also recognizes God’s command for man to have dominion over creation (Gen. 1:28-30). From geology to astronomy, the goal is to learn how man might extend his “dominion” and make better use of creation. The idea of responsible conservation is supported. With man’s dominion over the earth comes a responsibility to be a good steward by tending, managing, and conserving resources. But the ultimate purpose of creation must not be forgotten: the earth was made for man to inhabit, and its resources for man to use wisely.

Language Arts- Lifepac

 

 

Website description:

Improving Communication, All About English, Punctuation and Literature, Words: How to Use Them, Correct Language Usage, Language and Literature, Critical Thinking, Write, Listen and Read, Speak and Write, Looking Back. Grammar is heavily emphasized at this level; you may wish to supplement additional literature study.

 

As your child gets older, the need for proficiency in written and spoken language grows. With the LIFEPAC 8th Grade Language Arts homeschool curriculum, you can be sure that your student is mastering these critical language skills. At Alpha Omega Publications we accomplish this by using a unique integrated approach designed to build critical connections between grammar, vocabulary, literature, writing, and speaking. The major benefit of this integrated approach is that it increases a student's capacity to apply language skills in everyday life. The LIFEPAC 8th Grade Language Arts Set consists of ten student-friendly worktexts designed to provide daily instruction and application as well as regular opportunities for evaluation. This Alpha Omega curriculum includes handwriting practice as well as instruction in etymology, punctuation, grammar, dictionary and thesaurus skills, written and oral language, and much more.

This is only the beginning! With a focus on independent learning, the LIFEPAC 8th Grade Language Arts Set encourages critical thinking and academic independence in your child. Also included is a must-have Alpha Omega curriculum teacher's guide designed to help you increase language proficiency in your child. Some of the useful features of this great teacher's guide include teaching notes, answer keys, alternate tests, and an abundance of enrichment activities. The addition of this material provides ample opportunity for individualization of the program according to your child's particular needs

 

 

History- Lifepac

 

 

Website description:

Europe Comes to America, British America, The American Revolution, A Firm Foundation, A Growing Nation, The Civil War, Gilded Age to Progressive Era, A World in Conflict, Cold War America, Recent America and Review.

 

Wouldn't you like your child to learn history from a biblical perspective? Reinforcing a biblical worldview, the LIFEPAC 8th Grade History & Geography homeschool curriculum integrates a biblical perspective into instruction in six major content strands. These strands, which are covered at most grade levels, include geography, history, government, citizenship, economics, and social studies. LIFEPAC 8th Grade History & Geography presents lessons in ten colorful worktexts. Your homeschooling child will study the complete history of our country beginning with a look at the exploration of the New World, conflict with Britain, the Revolutionary War, and the birth of the United States. Covered topics include Washington's presidency, Jeffersonian democracy, the War of 1812, the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, the Wild West, the World Wars, and much more.

Student worktexts in this Alpha Omega curriculum include daily instruction and review as well as ample opportunity for assessment of student performance using self tests and unit tests. To encourage individualized instruction, we also have included a teacher's guide designed to help you guide your student's learning experience according to his specific interests and needs. This essential teaching resource includes teaching notes for each unit, a complete answer key, additional resources, and fun learning activities.

 

 

Reading- Christian Light

 

 

Website description:

Based on the reader Where Roads Diverge, this course centers around life choices. Many of the stories present eighth graders with examples of people who faced diverging roads, and how their choices affected themselves and others.

The five major themes are “The Right Kind of People,” “Every Good Gift,” “The Gifts of Love,” “Hold Fast Your Dreams,” and “Integrity.” Two or three lessons a week provide work for the whole year.

Many LightUnit exercises also deal with the theme of choosing, giving students tools for thinking through alternatives and taking the right road. Other exercises help students increase comprehension, analyze what they read, and apply it to themselves and their situations.

Home Economics- Christian Light

 

 

Website description:

This 10-LightUnit course introduces high school girls to skills and knowledge needed to be godly wives, mothers, and homemakers. Many hands-on assignments provide practice in these skills.

LightUnits 1-4 cover food preparation from basic nutrition to smart shopping to putting tasty food on the table. LightUnits 5-7 teach sewing from the basics of sewing machine operation to actually sewing clothing. LightUnit 8 discusses how to keep a godly home clean and clutter-free. LightUnit 9 covers child development from birth to the preteen years.

LightUnit 10 focuses on the student herself, giving her guidance in becoming a godly woman. She is challenged to understand herself, God’s plan for her body, her relationship with God, friendships, modesty, singlehood, and Christian courtship. (Grade 9 and up)

First Grade

 

 

 

Reading- Learning to Read, Christian Light

 

 

Website description:

Learning to Read introduces and reviews all consonants sounds, consonant digraphs, long and short vowels, most two-letter vowel sounds, and many sight words. It also integrates handwriting, spelling, and listening skills to create a complete language program for beginners.

Each sound is introduced with a picture card followed by a story focusing on the picture and new sound. For example, for the t sound, the story of children discovering a turtle with a house that “just fits” captures the child’s attention and motivates him to learn the sound.

The story ends with a fun rhyme to connect the sound with the letter—“/T,t,t,t/ Turtle Tim takes his house on top of him.”

Learning the rhyme and repeating it rivets the combination in the child’s mind. Questions about the story help develop comprehension. A moral lesson or truth about God’s greatness and goodness helps develop the child’s character.

Except for the Picture Cards and Sound Slider, second edition materials will not mix and match with the first edition of Learning to Read.

Language Arts 100 Second Edition LightUnits are integrated with this course. Students begin Language Arts 101 LightUnit when they begin Learning to Read 105-05 LightUnit. After completing Learning to Read, students will be ready for the Reading 100 I Wonder reader and workbook.

Social Studies- Abeka, My America and My World

 

 

Website description:

Children learn how our country was founded and what our basic freedoms are. They meet several famous American patriots and take a trip across America. Good citizenship is emphasized and reading skills are developed. Patriotic songs are included. Introduces major countries and U.S. Territories.

 

 

Science- Abeka, Discovering Gods World 

 

 

 

 

Website description:

This colorfully illustrated science text for first graders presents God as the Master Designer of the world around us. The studies of plants, animals, insects, energy, health, the seasons, and the five senses provide an excellent introduction to science, with the emphasis on building interest and augmenting the students’ reading skills. Hands-on activities to help increase comprehension of basic science concepts are included.

 

 

Math- Everyday Mathematics

 

 

 

Website description:

 Number & Numeration

• Count on by 1s and skip count past 100
• Use base-ten block structure counting
• Count collections of objects; estimate objects

Operations & Computation

• Create and solve number stories
• Solve addition and subtraction problems
• Develop readiness for learning basic addition and subtraction facts

Data & Chance

• Collect, order, record, and display data
• Explore equal-chance events and predict outcomes

Measurement & Reference Frames

• Tell time to the quarter hour
• Measure to the nearest inch

Geometry

• Identify and describe 2- and 3-D shapes
• Identify and complete line-symmetric shapes

Patterns, Functions, & Algebra

• Create numeric, visual, and concrete patterns
• Solve number grid puzzles
• Use expressions and number sentences

 Handwriting- Zaner-Bloser

 

Website description:

The Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Grade 1 Student Edition

• teaches students how to legibly write manuscript letters, numerals, words, and sentences.
• includes easy step-by-step instruction and self-evaluation.
• provides meaningful practice and application.
• engages students with colorful, fun activities.

Something Sweet

My Honey has a very powerful sweet tooth that needs special attention every night after dinner. Our easy and affordable substitute for candy is a jar filled with organic walnuts and organic dark chocolate chips.

 A quick fix for nights when homemade snacks are out of the question!

Magical Tea Tree Oil

A few months ago I was introduced to a tea tree/melaleuca oil. It has definitely amazed me with it's wide variety of uses and effectiveness. I have only used it for a few ailments but I have found it to be more effective then other products I have tried. This lead me to do a little research to see what other uses there are for tea tree oil. Apparently there are tons! I advise you to do your own research before treating any condition with a home remedy but below is list I have compiled from many different resources on the uses for tea tree oil. 

But first, what is tea tree oil?
Tea tree oil is an essential oil obtained by steam distillation of the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, a plant native to Australia. Historically, the leaves were used as a substitute for tea, which is how tea tree oil got its name. The part used medicinally is the oil from the leaves.Tea tree has a long history of traditional use. Australian aboriginals used tea tree leaves for healing skin cuts, burns, and infections.Tea tree oil contains constituents called terpenoids, which have been found to have antiseptic and antifungal activity. The compound terpinen-4-ol is the most abundant and is thought to be responsible for most of tea tree oil's antimicrobial activity.

Uses:

Abrasions: Add 5 drops of Tea Tree Oil in a bowl of warm water to clean the abrasion. Tea Tree oil may be applied directly to the skin to stimulate regeneration of injuries and fight bacterial and fungal infection.

Acne: Using a Tea Tree Oil Soap to treat acne has been very effective for many.

Athlete's Foot: Being a fungal based problem, Tea Tree Oil does a great job eliminating the problem. Add Tea Tree Oil directly to the affected area as needed until fungus is completely healed or put 2-3 drops in your palm and add a carrier oil or lotion and apply at least once a day. Keep foot clean and dry.

Bad Breath: Add a drop or two of Tea Tree Oil and baking soda to your tooth brush. DO NOT SWALLOW!

Body Odor: Add several drops to bath water daily to fight off the bacteria causing body odor. Add a few drops to a small amount of baking soda and put in smelly shoes to eliminate nasty odors.

Boils: Wash the area surrounding the boil thoroughly and then apply full strength with a cotton swab two to four times each day for four days. A gauze pad saturated with the oil may also be applied directly to the boil for up to twelve hours. Also, there is clinical evidence that topical dermatological preparations containing tea tree oil may be more effective than conventional antibiotics in preventing transmission of MRSA. I wish I had known this when MRSA swept though my family six years ago.

Bug Buster: Keep a spray bottle mixed with 15 drops of Tea Tree Oil and a quart of water to repel insects. In the summer when you see ants on your patio or deck, spray your natural Bug Buster several times a day for several days and they'll find somewhere else to go. Natural doesn't work fast like chemicals, but then it doesn't kill a little bit of you either.

Burns: Being a non-greasy and volatile oil, Tea Tree Oil is excellent for burns. Any of the oil which has not been absorbed within 10 minutes will evaporate, allowing the skin to breathe. Speedy treatment is essential. The burn should be put under cold running water or packed in ice for one minute. Then, alternate applications of Tea Tree Oil and cold water for ten more minutes. The oil may be poured from the bottle directly over the burn. The oil can be applied liberally twice daily for three to four days if necessary.

Canker Sores and Laryngitis: Add 3-4 drops of Tea Tree Oil to one cup of warm water. Gargle this solution twice daily. Do not swallow.

Cleaning: Add 1 - 2 teaspoons of Tea Tree Oil to 1 - 2 cups of water in a spray bottle to disinfect and clean surfaces.

Cold Sores: Drastically reduce the healing time of cold sores by applying Tea Tree Oil directly or diluted if necessary to the cold sore.

Common Cold: Add a ten fifteen drops of Tea Tree Oil to a pan or sink of HOT water. Cover your head with a towel and inhale the steam from the water as deeply as possible through your nose or just add to a vaporizer.

Dandruff: Add to your shampoo for dandruff, dry or oily scalp, and itchy scalp. Use 10 drops to an 8 ounce bottle. Diaper Rash - Apply 2-3 drops of oil mixed in your palm with a carrier oil (not baby oil - it contains mineral oil which causes Vitamin A deficiencies).

Dry Skin: Add 6 - 7 drops of Tea Tree Oil per oz. of Almond Oil and apply to skin often.Earache: Add one drop tea tree oil to one teaspoon olive oil. Gently drop a small amount into the affected ear for a few moment, then tilt head to remove excess oil. You can also massage the diluted oil around the outside of the earache. Repeat as necessary. NEVER apply tea tree oil to the ear without first diluting.

Fleas: Use 10 drops to 8 oz. of water and spray on animal's coat as you rub it in. It will be good for their skin also. This needs to be done daily until the problem is under control in the home. After all fleas are gone you can put it in a spritzer bottle and give your animal a spritz all over once or twice a day if fleas are in the area.

Fungus Nails: Andrew Weil, M.D. in "Natural Health, Natural Medicine", says Tea Tree Oil will clear up fungal infections of both toenails and fingernails even if they are resistant to strong systemic antibiotics.

Flu: Add ten drops tea tree oil to a warm bath and soak. After dilute five drops tea tree oil in one teaspoon almond oil and massage your whole body. Go to bed and rest.

Genital Warts: Simply dab a cotton swab into the tea tree oil and gently apply it to the wart. Repeat this once a day for 10 days. If the treatment is effective, the wart will eventually turn white and then fall off. Note that the tea tree oil may causing a slight stinging sensation.

Hair: Add a few drops to your shampoo or conditioner.

Infected/Sore Nails - Applied several times a day.

Insect Bites and Stings: As soon as possible, apply the oil full strength directly to the bite with a finger or cotton ball. I felt immediate relief!

Laundry Disinfectant: For heavily soiled, bacteria ridden laundry, add one teaspoon to the washer to disinfect and reduce transmission of fungal infections.

Leeches: To remove leeches apply one or two drops of tea tree oil directly to the leech

Lice - Mix five drops of Tea Tree Oil in a teaspoon of shampoo and wash the hair. Repeat this treatment twice daily until the lice are gone.

Mites: Use 10 drops in a tablespoon of water.Then take a small eyedropper and squirt in one ear at a time, instantly covering the opening with the ear flap and a towel to avoid it being shaken on or around the animal. You can also use olive oil instead of water which will "stick" better to the ear. Spend at least a full minute massaging the ear to keep the animal from shaking it all out before it gets into the ear canal and begins doing its work. Massage as long as you can because it could be a one administration event if you can keep it all in there for 3 - 5 minutes. Be sure to wipe any residue off with either method so you don't have the dog or cat ingesting it since smaller weight animals can get too much of it quickly.

Mustiness and mold: Add 15 drops of tea tree oil to 2 cups water in a spray bottle and spray generously to eliminate mold and musty odors.

Nasal Congestion:  boiling water. Inhale the vapours for 5 to 10 minutes.

Poison Ivy: Add two teaspoons to 1/4 cup almond oil or other carrier oil. Dab onto poison ivy repeatedly until blisters heal

Ringworm: Apply two to three drops directly to the affected area several times per day until gone.

Skin Problems: Use one teaspoon in a tub of bath water for a very invigorating bath. It is reported to help sooth and disinfect the skin in cases of psoriasis, eczema and so forth.  That's a lot of uses!!!!!

Splinters: First, soak the afflicted area in hot water to soften the skin. Then, apply Tea Tree Oil full strength. Remove the splinter with a sterilized needle. Clean the cut, dry the area and reapply the oil.

Sunburn: Add five - seven drops to 1/8 cup Vitamin E oil and apply to burned skin frequently or dilute one part Tea Tree Oil with ten parts of olive oil or coconut oil and spread freely over the affected areas. This is reported to be soothing and pain-relieving and to reduce blistering and peeling. People have also applied tea tree oil full strength to sunburn.

Ticks: Apply a drop or two directly to the tick then gently remove tick with tweezers. If tick doesn't let go, apply another drop of tea tree oil.

Warts: Add a drop or two directly to wart frequently until gone.

Yeast Infection: Cisopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Mix the solution, which should appear milky white. Store the solution in the dropper bottle. Add 10 drops of the solution to a pint of water. Use this douche once a day for a week.

WOW!