Homeschool, Food and Other Stuff

We started our homeschool year on August 3rd, so we are almost a month in. I am loving this year. This is my second year homeschooling the twins and they are in the third grade. They aren't loving it so much yet because it is a little more challenging than second grade. This year they have a lot more memorization type work and they have a lot of writing to do. Compositions and book reports. They are not liking that.One of them is more hesitant than the other to write when she has to make up a story on her own. I just encourage her the best I can and she has been doing pretty well with it and each time she writes a story she is so proud of herself for doing it and that is so good to see. And they are not a fans of learning cursive. I try to talk it up and show them how pretty cursive writing can be, but its yet to change their minds. I haven't decided how hard I am going to push it. I think they need to learn it but, we'll see it's too early to give up on it yet anyway. 

I homeschooled our son Nick from fifth grade until he graduated, with the exception of the eight grade, and I have never been this excited to teach before. I am not sure what the change is. I'm 12 years older than when I first started, could that be it? I don't know, I am just glad I am excited about it. It makes the days a lot better. 

So, I didn't do a great job keeping you posted on my menu plan for August. August was another month that I just blinked and it was gone. Just like that! Homeschool took up most of my time and I had several out of town appointments, you know how it goes. 

Here is a list of a few things I made:
Chorizo and Potato burritos (Mexican style chorizo)
Homemade Spaghetti Sause (My Grandma's recipe) A huge pot. Froze a bunch of it.
Spaghetti and Rotini with the sauce.
Pazole with pork (One of my favorite meals eva) 
A big pot of Chili Mac ( a new Pintrest recipe) It was a hit, it made so much it almost lasted too long. I froze the rest. 

And my husband was out of town for a week and I don't know about you but when the husband isn't home I do as little cooking as possible! While he was gone we ate one of those Viola frozen dinner meals, Beef Lo Mien one. The girls loved it, me not so much. I didn't like the texture of the meat. Anyway, I made another chinese frozen meal, cause I like Chinese food, the girls opted for PB&j's which was fine with me. We even had macaroni and cheese and hot dogs for dinner one night. 

I joked with Rab that I was going to be as lazy as possible while he is gone. I really was planning on weeding the front yard because it was horribly grown over with weeds from all the rain. The morning he left I went to turn on our evaporative cooler and it just made a noise and would not turn on. It was 105* that day. My wonderful brother and stepdad came over and fixed it for me. Then I was doing some cleaning and had my phone on the back of the recliner and when I was done cleaning I sat in said recliner and reclined. Yes, I did. I seriously cracked my phone. Long story short and 3 long trips to Walmart I have a brand spanking new phone that took no less than 12 hours to get working. It was a mess. Then the cooler wouldn't turn on again. My poor brother had to come over every day and get it going for me. Some other random chaotic stuff happened that I won't bore you with but I will say that I will never say I plan to be as lazy as I can when my husband goes out of town, again. Seriously, things are so much better when he is home. And when he got home he weeded the front yard because I never got around to it. 

Jen

A Weekend Getaway!

All by ourselves. No kids. No work. No dogs. No cat. No goats. No chickens. Just me and my husband. It has been years since we have gotten away together, just the two of us, on purpose. It wasn't a work trip or some meeting we had to go to that we try to squeeze at least a dinner in. We made reservations people. My mom offered to take the kids for 4 days and 3 nights. A late anniversary gift to us.  I got on the phone immediately to make the reservations. I wasted NO time.  AT ALL. 

We used to try to get away once a year, usually around our anniversary. We would go to a quaint little cabin in the forrest. Really cute, rustic cabins and when we were talking about where to go we immediately thought of those cabins. Then played with the idea of going to Bisbee, Arizona. Then I remembered the Georgetown Cabins.  And we settled on that. It was a pretty quick decision. Bisbee would have been nice too, but we haven't gotten away together for a long time and the idea of just us and a cabin sounded really nice. 

Since we have never been to these cabins before we didn't really know what to expect. They are on private property in the Gila National Forrest. When we were trying to find them we weren't really sure we were going the right way. We decided we would travel another mile and if we didn't find it we would turn around, thinking maybe we missed a turn or something. Then there was a turn in the road and we look up and there they were! I cannot explain how gorgeous it was and the picture really doesn't do it justice at all. But it was a gorgeous site! It's like a little village in the middle of the forrest! There are six cabins total, the one we stayed in was the one at the top right.   

                                                                                            

Here are some closer shots of it. 

It was way better than what we expected. It really was nice! They have a full kitchen, it didn't have an oven but the grill could be used as one, there were plates, glasses and even foil in the kitchen drawers. There was a lovely little porch area with a grill and table. They also have a solar heated soaking tub that has dead see salts in it. Amazing! Another plus to these cabins was the free wifi and directv. They even had a dvd collection and books to read. The owners did a great job with these cabins! They thought of the little details that really make your stay nice. Oh and there was a sitting area with a gas fire pit outside and this was our view.

We had a great time just hanging out together. We went on a little outing, we talked, cooked together, watched movies and played cards. Canasta. 

We had to bring all our own food. For lunch one day we had canned Hormel Tamales. Classy, I know. Rab used to eat them when he was a bachelor and was craving them. It's been 15 years since he has had them and will probably be another 15 till he has them again, they were that good. 

 For dinner we we decided to step up the class a little and grilled some really nice NY Strip steaks. They were so good. 

It rained everyday that we were there. That was nice and refreshing. The clouds would build up over the mountains around the same time everyday. We even got to see the super moon up there.  

It was a great getaway, we loved every minute of it! But it was nice to come home to the kids, the dogs, the cat, the goats, and the chickens. Work...ah not so much. 

Jen

Cinnamon-Raisin Graham Bread

I get on these kicks where I want to make everything homemade, EVERYTHING. About a year ago I was on one of these said kicks and I ordered Graham flour and square cookie cutters to make homemade graham crackers. Why not, right? I had good intentions but we all know what they say about those. Anyway, needless to say I have never made the graham crackers. The reality of things are at the time I was homeschooling my kids and working two part time jobs and I did sleep sometimes. So the dreams of making homemade graham crackers and goldfish were just that, dreams. 

Anyway, today I was staring into my pantry to find something to make and I saw the Graham flour and decided to make the recipe on the back of the bag. It just passed the sell by date so I have to use it up....I have 3 bags of it. I have raisin bread on my grocery list so I am thinking that this Cinnamon-Raisin Graham Bread will fix my craving. Raisin bread reminds me of my Granny. The first time I ever had it was during one of the summers spent with her down the shore. I miss those carefree summer days that seemed to last forever, the suntans, beach hair, hanging out with the Jersey family, getting into trouble with my favorite cousin, but most of all hanging with Granny. She was a sweet but tough lady that is very missed. So, about twice a year I get a craving for some raisin bread toast and it has to be the raisin bread in the red bag.

This recipe was pretty easy to make and it smelled amazing even before it was being baked, there is just something about the smell of warm molasses.  

In mixer bowl simply mix:

2-21/2 cups of unbleached white flour

1 package Active Dry yeast

 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

 1/4 ts. ground ginger

 In a small saucepan combine, 1 c. milk

3/4 c. water

1/4 c. molasses

1/2 c. salt

3 Tbsp. butter

Heat and stir until warm, around 115*F

 Add mixture to flour. Mix for 3 minutes. Stir in 3 c. Graham Flour and 1 c. Raisins, mix to combine.  

 Then change to a dough hook and knead for 5 minutes.

 

Put in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for one hour in a warm place.







Separate dough into two
pieces, form each into 
a ball and let rest for 10 minutes. Prepare two pie pans and add balls of dough to each pan and press down to form a 6 inch diameter. Let rise another 30 minutes. Then bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. 

       Then enjoy with lots of butter! 

Oh! And today the girls made a bunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the freezer. A whole loafs worth. They were so happy and probably a bit surprised that I let them do it all by themselves, but I did.  I saw this idea on Jamerrill Stewart's vlog. It's just like uncrustables with the crust. These will be great for quick lunches. 

Jen

White Sands National Monument

In July we took a trip to White Sands National Monument. It is part of a 275 square miles field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. It is the largest gypsum dune field in the world, smack dab in the middle of the desert and it is absolutely beautiful! We have gone several times and spent the day sledding down the dunes but this time we got to spend the night! It was a campout! It was a whole process to be able to camp there. You have to be part of an organization, they don't just let families camp there. This was a work trip for me. I work with the New Mexico FIESTA Project as a Family Contact. As a Family Contact I provide training and support groups for foster and adoptive parents, and we do family activities too. Creating community for families formed through adoption, like mine. 

We had a blast! Several families from the different areas we serve came and we chatted while the kids wore themselves out sliding down the dunes over and over and over again. They didn't even want to stop for S'mores... S'MORES people! They were just having too much fun! When it got too dark to sled anymore we all went to our respective campsites and called it a night. Well, there was quite the lightning storm going on so my husband and I took a blanket up to the top of the dune and watched the lightning. It was nice. The girls ended up coming up there too for a little bit. I could of slept up there if I wasn't so scared of scorpions. So, we went to our tent. 

Then the storm got closer. And closer. And closer. Our tent was blowing over, the wind was not letting up. There we were at 1 AM taking down our tent, hoping not to wake the baby in the camp next to us. So, with the girls moved to the van and the tent down. And down for good because the poles snapped. We tried to get comfortable in the van. We made it in just before the rain came. After it stopped Rab slept outside the van door on my cot. I slept or tried to sleep in a very tight space on the floor of the van, I quickly gave up on that and moved to the passenger seat. The dark haired child slept under one of the back seats while the blonde one got one of the whole seats to herself to sleep on. She was unmovable. When we woke up at the crack of dawn she said, "That was a very restful sleep." Say what?? She was the only one. 

We had pop tarts for breakfast, visited with the other families and headed out around 9 AM. We stopped at BK for an early lunch and came home and had a very lazy day! 

As I am writing this it dawned on me that every single time we have gone camping it has rained. And I'm not talking a slight drizzle, there has been times where it has been hail and a torrential downpour! 

Menu Plan Confessional

I only made 6 things on my menu plan for July. I know. I made the black beans, Glug, Coconut Lime Chicken, Chick Pea Curry, Meatloaf and baked Ziti. July kinda turned in to a crazy month. A good one but crazy.

It started off with some great friends visiting. They brought us a smoked brisket that was absolutely amazing. Then a camping trip with our son and his girlfriend and the amazing brisket. The twin's birthday.  Then our daughter, her boyfreind and grandson visited. Mix in a little work, a few days out of town and another camping trip. I have been to the store and Little Caesar's way more than I'd like to admit. 

August is going to be another month that may be a little crazy and unpredictable so I am going to plan by the week this month. That means at least 4 trips to the store...UGH. Such is life. 

For the first week in August I am going to carry over some meals that I planned in July. So this week I will make:

Smoked sausage and potato hash
Sesame Chicken (one of my favorite recipes eva)
Lentil tacos
BBQ Pork Chops and Rice Pilaf
Fish tacos

We'll see how it goes. I'll keep you posted.

Jen