We Interrupt This Normally ♥Sweet♥ Blog.....

.....for a somewhat frivolous and useless post!  Only somewhat frivolous because I'm linking up with The Homeschool Village today for February's Fantastic Finds.  If you're visiting from The Homeschool Village, please feel free to ignore the first part of this post and scroll down to my Fantastic Find (look for the Homeschool Village button), and may I offer my apologies ~ my brain is all over the place today and if you notice my blog header.....I suppose I'm feeling a little more Sassy than Sweet! ; )  I do have a GOOD find.....be patient with me.

First, my rant:

Why, oh why, oh WHY must they discontinue products I have fallen in love with???  Seriously....WHY???  I recently found out that the company who makes my skincare and make-up products has gone out of business.  This is a major ordeal for a girl with problematic skin that stages a rebellion at the mere thought of changing products.  No kidding.  I took me YEARS to find the perfect line.....and I log on to reorder, and literally told my computer screen, "Noooooo!!!  You can't do this......I need you!" 

I love this skin care line.....because my aggravating, oily, sensitive, break-out prone skin loves this skin care line.  I also loved the fact that it was a small, independent company in a world of corporate  monopolies.  I ♥ the little guys.  And I woke up this morning to yet more rebellion at trying new products when I looked in the mirror ~ and I know true beauty is on the inside....but it's really nice when the sight of you doesn't scare people. *Sigh*.

In light of this devastating disclosure, I'm giving a shout-out to a few of my very favorite products (and I am not in cahoots with the product manufacturers ~ I am just a big fan):

I'm not sure why it took me so long to try this, but I am hooked!!  I think I avoided it, thinking it was something along the lines of the sugar-laden energy drinks that are all the rage now.  I'm a label-reader, and once I took the time to read this one, I discovered that it's full of good stuff!  Wow!!  It's amazing!!!  I think I might be able to conquer my to-do lists with this little mighty booster!  I also think I need to find it wholesale.  I need lots of it.  It's awesome. 

Next, we have my absolute most favorite hairspray.  And I've tried lots of hairsprays.  I ♥ this one ~ it only takes me a little dab and I'm done.....and is the only one that will hold my hair (long hair is heavy!).  I know it says Instant Freeze, but I seriously only use a little bit and it leaves my hair less stiff than the others because I don't have to use as much.  It smells good, too.  I like it.  A lot.

And now, because I ♥ CHOCOLATE, and ♥ it VERY much.......my indulgence that leaves me feeling not-so-guilty:  Zone Perfect Double Dark Chocolate Nutrition Bars.  *Sigh*  The let me have my chocolate with a little less guilt.  Without ruining my protein-to-carb ratio that I try to maintain.....and are sometimes a quick meal replacement when I'm too busy or am on-the-run and don't have time for a real meal.  I may be slightly addicted.....but I'm okay with that.

And now, I'll stop.  But I think you should buy these products.  I'm absolutely sure that you should......because I don't want them to ever, ever be discontinued.  I need them.  Every day. ♥

I wonder if I've lost my Homeschool Village linker-uppers yet.  If not, your perseverance of reading through all that nonsense has paid off.  I promise I'm not this flaky all the time, so please come back!  Here's the real find:

 

One of my children is a very reluctant reader, much to my dismay.  His weakest area is also spelling and grammar, regardless of the fact that we drill him and focus on it A LOT.  With his two siblings being good readers and also much better spellers, I 've always thought if I could find a book series that he could "get into" that his weak areas would naturally improve (at least a little).  It worked for my daughter and my other son.....but they also seem to be naturally inclined that way.

Have you noticed that there's not a whole lot of good fiction series out there for boys?  I had been checking out a youth sports series from the public library, but when my other son (they have the same reading level....his is above-average, while his older brother's is average) brought me one wanting to know what !@#$% meant, I was less than impressed.  Seriously, is that necessary?  I realize that I probably should have been born 100 yrs. ago, but I really despise profanity.  I despise how profane, rude and crass our society has become.....and even thought the actual word wasn't printed in the book, it's like saying "this is a bad word and when you're older you can read what it is, because when you're older it's ok.....and that's what grown-ups do".  He was half-heartedly reading the series anyway, so I kept searching.

I wanted a series that would appeal to him, but also reinforce good values and character traits.  We homeschoolers, we're so picky ~ aren't we?  A good friend of mine recommended a series she recently discovered, and I bought him the first 4 books for his birthday.

He was actually excited to receive them.  Frank Peretti is one of my MOST favorite Christian fiction authors and I have many (if not all) of his books in my collection, so he was fully expecting them to be good.  Lo and behold, over the next few weeks, I would find him curled up in his bed, propped up with pillows, happily and contentedly READING.  He would often come to me, telling me how good the books were and giving me a play-by-play of the story line.....and asking when I could buy the remaining books in the series.  This is the child that we would have to threaten with dire consequences to get him to complete his required reading time each day.....and reading ONE WHOLE CHAPTER was an effort (not because he couldn't, but because he didn't want to).

I also found several series for kids by Jerry Jenkins, another of my favorites, and have them bookmarked for when he finishes this one.  I knew he had the Left Behind Kids Series, but was unaware of the others.

Also, for some good non-fiction History reading, we've found these by Peter Marshall to be wonderful.  There's a series of three books.....and all three of my children used these as part of their reading time, without complaint!

Now that I've got him hooked, I think perhaps a whole new world has been opened to him.....I hope, I pray.  We shall see if his spelling, grammar and writing efforts improve.  I'm ordering the next 4 very, very soon.  :: )

Plans Interrupted......and a "Stylish Blog Award" ; )

Linking up once again with The Homeschool Village for their January Thursday theme of linking up and posting our weekly homeschooling accomplishments......although this week, I feel we didn't accomplish very much!

Last Thursday, we had our bi-monthly meeting at 4H and Jacob gave his very first devotion as Chaplain.  He learned how quickly you forget what you want to say when all eyes are upon you and I suspect that next week, he'll have notes in hand ~ just in case! ; )  I still think he did a fabulous job & pray he always desire to be a leader for Christ.

Friday is Co-op Day, and then the weekend hit.....bringing with it coughs, sneezing and high fevers that interrupted the plans we had for this week.  I have to admit, although I truly hate it when my kids are sick, it's been kind of nice to be stranded at home for several days.  Some schooling got put on hold, but Mom has accomplished a lot!  Several stacks and piles of things that accumulated here and there and never got put away due to the hustle and bustle of life got sorted and organized ~ meaning no more piles and stacks stressing me out by their presence!

My home is more organized than it has been in months and cleaner as well.  While deep cleaning my kitchen to the point that an Amish woman would be impressed, I found a cleaning chart taped to the inside of one of my cabinet doors.  I made it years ago when my children were too young to be really helpful in the whole cleaning process, taped it to the cabinet door and eventually as life got busier and busier with each passing year.....I stopped following my schedule.  It was replaced by a rather random clean-it-when-I-have-time-or-it-looks-like-it-needs-it routine that doesn't actually work very well and stresses me out!  Now, with 3 more-than-able-bodied helpers, the cleaning schedule is back full force.  Now someone can stop by my house unannounced without that dreaded feeling of, "Oh no....the house is a mess!" (although that doesn't mean it will always be nice and orderly due to these people that live with me and leave their belongings scattered all over the place!).

Like I said, it's been there for years and I need to print a new one.....thought we'd follow this schedule for a couple of weeks to see if I need to adjust it before I replace it.

We did get a lot of academics in, much of which looked a lot like last week, but due to being sick it was mostly do-only-what-we-have-to-do and nothing more.

Also, since I believe that tons of learning takes place outside of "school books"......

The day I made banana bread, I ground some flax seed to use as a healthy egg substitute which (as always) brought The One With The Inquiring Mind (aka: Robert) to the kitchen.

Flax seed, pre-ground....

 ....and post-ground:

You're not supposed to grind flax in a wheat grinder (too oily), I grind mine in a coffee grinder.  I usually grind more than I need and store it in the freezer for quick additions (makes a great thickener for fruit smoothies) and substitutions.

Whole grain banana bread with flax substitute for some of the eggs.  I do this quite often and it works wonderfully!

Flax Egg Substitute:

For each egg you want to substitute, use...

1 Tbsp. ground flax seed

3 Tbsp. water

Combine and let sit for 5-10 min, until water is absorbed.  Then, add to recipe as a substitute for eggs.

Although they've seen me do this countless times, on this day it peaked their interest and ended up being a lesson in itself, prompting opening the same book as last week to see why I go to the trouble.  Jacob, with a fever topping out at close to 104 on this day, suddenly found this book quite intriguing.....



....and because I don't think watching lots of movies {a couple were fairly educational ; ) } and laying around lethargically while our world was drowning in tissues, thermometers, essential oils, herbal teas, soup and jello qualifies as accomplishments, I think my "homeschooling" list is done.

I also received a lovely little award this week from Brenda at Therapeutic Crafting!

I love the way it color coordinates with my blog ; )  ......and, since I always follow the rules.....

To accept this Award you must:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.  (below)

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

1.  I almost drowned when I was two-ish. I can remember very distinctly watching the bottom of the pool get closer and closer and watching the drain get bigger and bigger the closer I got. I don't remember being scared.  My sister saved me, although sometimes I'm sure she regrets it ; )

2.  I like the beach but am afraid to swim in the ocean. There are creatures in there that I can't see.

3.  I hate to cry in front of people!  I am not a person who "wears her heart on her sleeve" and prefer to shed my tears in private.

4.  I have never in my life told my "testimony" or life story, but I love to hear others' stories. I find it fascinating to hear what the Lord had done in people's lives, how events and circumstances have shaped them into who they are, etc. To me, that's what a testimony is....not just someone telling when they got saved. If I know that telling your life story is expected before I go to an event, I usually won't go because I will get emotional and cry (see number 3).

5.  I can write about things that I can't talk about.  ???

6.  I flat-out refused to blog when everyone jumped on the blogging band-wagon.  I have friends who have been urging me to blog for years and I wouldn't consider it.  And yet, finally, here I am. 

7.  I have a very real need to laugh every single day.  I am always trying to teach my children that life is so much more fun when you can laugh at yourself and the stupid things you sometimes do. God is good and faithful - He is constantly providing them with first-hand examples of how someone should do that through the ridiculous blunders their mother continually makes. : )

I actually hate talking about myself and I'm glad it was only seven things!

Homeschooling While Fighting the Desire to Hibernate....

 We may live in the only state in the USA with no snow......but it's still COLD!!  I happen to be one of the few that is actually enjoying the Winter experience, but it is wreaking major havoc on my productivity levels!!

Hibernation sounds heavenly, and there's nothing I'd like better at the moment than to stock up on hot tea, honey, hot chocolate, soup & sandwiches, cozy blankets, family movies, good books, shut the world out and hole up with my three bears (and my Grizzly).......and just rest, relax and freeze some moments in time for some stress-free family togetherness. 

Linking up with The Homeschool Village today to share our Accomplishments for the week, because the world stops for no one ~ especially not a weary and frazzled (but determined) mother bear ~ and I must keep going.....even if it's at a bit more sluggish pace than usual.  To my children's delight, all their activities ~ including church, choir, co-op, etc. ~ are "up & at 'em" again.  Their favorite at the moment would probably be the 4H Club that just started.  I'm actually delighted with this one as well as I've been looking for this type of club in our area for over a year ~ and ALL THREE of my children can and WANT to participate.  We met last Thursday and voted on officers as well as an official name for the club.

We have the best location ~ at a local horse stable, where the owners have been so gracious and generous in sharing their facilities....and their horses!  Here, the clubbers are taking nominations for officers.

 For a couple of siblings choosing not to participate, there is a very interesting checkers game in progress with my favorite horse, Jazz. : )

Saying the (4H) pledge....

The officers for the remainder of the school year (my children - Jacob(orange jacket) Chaplain; Robert (red hat) Recreation Leader....very appropriate for the One Who Can't Be Still; and Ashlyn (next to Robert) Historian):

I promise I didn't rig it so that all my children were voted in as officers!

A pic of the entire group.....capped off at this number to allow enough time for interaction with the horses.

 Some pics of our favorite 4-legged 4H members while the clubbers were observing their behavior for their books:

Seminole

Hershey

Jazz

Gypsy, who wears a hot pink halter ~ a girl after my own heart ; )

And, Ashlyn's favorite ~ Bubba:

We also managed to plow ahead through the mundane Math (yawn - not my nor Ashlyn's favorite subject) and all the other not-so-exciting basics, and I was rewarded with a surprise by finding my VERY reluctant reader curled up on his bed & propped up on pillows......READING!  Reading WITHOUT my  having to threaten him or bribe him ~ thanks to discovering this fiction book series written for kids by one of my personal favorite fiction authors.

Ashlyn also started official sewing lessons with me after I bought her a machine from Craigslist.....

....which stopped working just a few days later.  : ( 

I took it to my local dealer and, as suspected, I can buy her a new similar one for the same price as getting it fixed.  She'll have to wait a bit for that new one, but can use mine until then.  Meanwhile, I dissected the one that gave up the ghost ; )

Ever wondered what the inside of a sewing machine looks like? Now, you do!  Kind of cool to see all the parts work together when you turn the hand wheel {and I totally took advantage of that teachable moment by inserting some comments about how when we all work together, blah, blah blah..... : ) }  One of my children found this fascinating......the one who always has the tools we're looking for stashed in his room, whose mind never stops thinking & body never stops moving!

 We threw in a quick Science experiment for co-op regarding earthworms.....

.....along with some running to and fro, some really good episodes on Nova after dinner & other things here and there ~ like cleaning those blinds (I didn't even ask how they got dirt on them) & that ROOM.......boys are a mess & it drives me CRAZY ~  that's pretty much it.....or, all that's worth posting about anyway!  Recollection of anything else is currently trapped in the part of my brain that resembles a frozen tundra and is stubbornly refusing to cooperate at the moment.

*Yawn*

Going to make some hot tea now and work on a sea turtle project.....slowly, but surely.  : )

Binding Books Beautifully ~ Motivating Reluctant Writers

Several years ago I visited a booth by Binding Books Beautifully  at a Homeschool Convention and loved the hands-on approach to making books.  "What a fun and creative way to motivate my little writers to work hard on their writing assignments", I thought.  I then purchased the kit and brought it home.......where it sat on a shelf and got moved around quite a few times, but basically was untouched and very neglected due to the chaos and busy-ness of life (much like many of my great ideas and intentions  : / ).

This fall, we joined a Homeschool co-op where I thought I would get to sit back and assist in a class for a year while we adjusted to something new.  I somehow, however, often find myself being volunteered for and/or asked to things I didn't actually plan on and ended up as the teacher of the 5th grade writing class.

After several weeks of receiving half-hearted assignments from many of  my crew of 15, I came across the binding tool and thought, "A-ha!  We'll do a book project & I'll let them make their own books before Christmas break!  Perhaps that will motivate my reluctant writers to put a little more thought and effort into their assignments!".  So, I announced the book project to the class and plans were made.  Quite a few of the students were excited about it and others ~ not so much........until the day came to actually make our books.  THEN the ones that saw us making them were quite disappointed they didn't participate.  It turned out to be a bit stressful for me and I'm not sure I will offer such a hands-on project again to a class this size.  Part of the stress was due to the fact that in our co-op, participation in these things seems to be optional and until the week before the project was to be completed I wasn't actually sure how many students were going to participate.  Kind of frustrating for the teacher who is trying to plan and prepare!  In the end, about half the class made books while the other half played Punctuation Bingo ....and my students absolutely loved their finished product! 

It was a crazy, chaotic day that left me thinking, "WHAT was I THINKING????"!  Bad things happen when I am trying to help one glue, put another one's book in the binding tool, listen to something another one was saying to me & answer a mom's question all at the same time! If, after reading this post, you think "What a GREAT idea.....I want to do that with my kids" and end up getting one for yourself, I have one word of caution:  Should you ever do what I did (get distracted and not match up the symbols on the end of the tool, resulting in a book being trapped in the tool) - do not, I repeat DO NOT - try to pry it apart. It only makes it worse and more difficult to get the nails out. Get a pair of needle-nosed pliers and it will grip the nails perfectly and they come right out {small amount of muscle required, but not much ; ) }

Despite the chaos and some unexpected blunders, I was thrilled to get feedback from moms who thanked me for doing it.  Turns out my intentions were rewarded, as the hands-on project that included writing, drawing, fabric, glue, hammers, nails, needles & thread WORKED and DID motivate those reluctant writers I was seeking to inspire (one of which was my very own 5th grader)!

With all the craziness of trying to make so many books during class, I didn't get any pictures worth posting, but ♥Jacob♥ and I made his book at home the day before:

Gluing (Tacky Glue works well) his chosen fabric to the book boards (I bought a package from Amazon):

The covered book in the binding tool:

Hammering the nails in:

Binding/sewing the book together:

The finished book (minus label)!  The Binding Books Beautifully site shows samples of different label ideas for the front.

A few samples of the pages within (you can click to enlarge if you actually want to read them):

Title Page

There are some spelling, punctuation & miscellaneous other errors, but this is a HUGE improvement from what I often get from him and the point was to motivate his creative thinking and inspire him to work harder on his weak areas ~ so I'm happy with it!!

My personal favorite : )

He is so proud of his book......as were his brother and sister.  They found it very unfair that he got to make one and they didn't, so they are now feverishly working on revising some of their writing assignments and creating some new ones in order to give them as Christmas gifts!  : )

It really IS a very fun project......one or two students at a time.... ; )

Linking up with: