Jeremiah 29:13

In Jeremiah 29:13 God promises...
When you seek me with all your heart you will find me.

My Banana Cream Pie

Now I know there are very complicated recipes out there for banana cream pie, but I'm not the complicated type. You can buy all of the ingredients ready made or if you chose to make everything from scratch then good for you. It just depends the mood I'm in...

Here is the quick version:

1 graham cracker crust

1 box banana OR vanilla flavored instant pudding

1 2/3 cups whole milk

2 bananas

1 container cool whip

Wisk up pudding mix with milk for about 2 minutes. Pour into crust. Slice bananas over that. Top with cool whip. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Easy as pie!

Good Morning!

Today is our first day of homeschool for the 2010-2011 school year!
Also the first day of my new routine...mainly the same but it includes getting up with hubby. Which for me is very early. I can only go one day at a time so today was a good start.
Hope you all have a nice day. As for me I'm headed for another cup of coffee & to turn on the news...

All-around home organization...

I didn't want to say at the time, but my children were on vacation to Alabama & Virginia with my mother for a couple of weeks. So I was here all alone during the work days. I got so much accomplished though & worked out a few things around the home that I'd been putting off for one reason or another.

In my home binder: a new monthly menu planned, pantry/shopping lists, bills in order, & new daily routines printed out

In my home: kitchen floor down, cubbords wiped down & organized, fridge wiped down & organized, all bookshelves organized, slip covers washed, bathroom cabinets all washed & organized, I also bought a potato/onion bin at a yard sale for $5 and love it...now I just need 2 more!

Homeschool: All books ordered & are now here ready to go, put a couple things on ebay, school supplies bought

I had plenty of extra time on my hands so I was able to accomplish alot. I mostly wanted to get things in order so come school time we can get back to a routine & be able to basically "upkeep" what was done.

Another thing I worked on was scheduling in a baking/cooking day. Now I prepare the majority of our meals anyway, but I am meaning like a day to bake our weekly bread & extras to freeze. I'm really trying to keep eating healthier and part of the drawbacks to all scratch meals is time. I usually have the time, but when it's getting late & we've been out or whatever then it's like what do I do now. So I made up a few things that are in the freezer now & will make at least 1 extra thing on baking day to keep it stocked.

Right now I have 2 meals frozen:

chili & vegetable barley soup

Other I made:

1 gallon bag filled with french toast

1 bag of pancakes

2 loaves strawberry bread

2 single layer zucchini cakes

All made with low or no sugar (honey) and my freshly ground flour so they are more healthy.

Old Fashioned Peach Jam

Our last peach tree was picked the other day. Small peaches, but tasty. So I made a batch of peach jam. The insides were very dark so my jam looks more like a very bright fushia instead of peachy in color. ~It looks pretty~

Old Fashioned Peach Jam

4 cups peaches (peeled, pitted, & mashed)
5 1/2 cups sugar --yep, jam takes alot
2 T. lemon juice
1 box pectin

Pour peaches & lemon juice into a pot. Then sprinkle with the pectin. Stir. Bring to a rolling boil. Then add all the sugar at once. Stir until boils again. Allow to boil for 1 full minute. (sugar should be dissolved) Then pour into clean jars. Wipe rims & put lids & bands on. Turn upside down on a towel & let set for 5 minutes. Then flip up-right & let set until sealed. (You can also waterbath can these, but this works) --Make sure the lids have sealed after a few hours. If not refrigerate the ones that didn't & use that first.

Thank Goodness

Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.
Beatrix Potter

***

Well, I have all of our materials ordered and most of them delivered for our schooling this year. We are mainly going to go by the guidelines set in "The Robinson Curriculum." I have done homeschool a few different ways in the years we have homeschooled. I have come to realize that no two children are alike...

There are things that have worked for my son, the oldest, that just did not seem to connect with my daughter. I've also learned that it's ok to let them learn at their own pace!

My son will be completing his homeschooling this year! Our plan is for him to take his GED at the end of the year & the for him to go on to college.

My daughter will technically be in the 6th grade but to be honest I've come to realize grades really don't matter.

While everyone needs to evaluate what they want for their children & should make their own choices, I will share what we will be using this year now that it's finalized.

***

Son:

The Robinson Curriculum (as a spine & for reading lists)

Saxon Math (with the teacher cd's) & GED math study book

GED Language arts study book

English from the Roots up flashcards & vocabulary words from RC

Science- will be suggested readers in the RC

History- will be suggested readers in the RC but focusing on American History

Also per RC he will do writing every day

***

Daughter:

Basically the same schedule with the readers for her ability & without the GED books.

***

I did also order a magic school bus science kit because my daughter really enjoys experiments. If it's good then we'll probably order another one or two during the year.

***

My son is really wanting to get a part-time job so that will basically be his extra curricular activity. I am hoping to get my daughter involved in GEMS.

***

~So that's the plan~

Been a busy couple of days

I've been getting quite a bit done in the past couple of days. Friday we spent the day at the flea market. Saturday I go up early & went to rummage sales with my sister & we got alot done around the homestead. Sunday we drove my mother-in-laws camper down to the lake for her & spent the day there. Then yesterday I went through all of the boxes of pictures & things we still had from the remodel of the kitchen & decluttered alot. I bought a nice tall bookcase at the rummage sale for $15.00. I almost ordered one online for much more & was so excited to find this one for such a good price! It is now sitting in the hallway dusted & organized.
Today I plan on deep cleaning the bathrooms. The children's bath has a mess going on under the sink so I definately need to tackle that.
Temperatures for the next couple of days are in the 100's and that's the actual temps, not the heat index. So I will probably spend most of the day indoors, other than a quick dip in the pool perhaps. I might make a run to the library, but that will be about it. Hopefully I will find a good movie there to watch.
I've got another batch of tomato paste in the crockpot. It should be ready in a couple of hours. This time I added some italian seasonings & a tad of sugar to it so I'll label it "italian tomato paste." So that will make 2 gallon size bags of tomato paste in the freezer. -That should last quite a while.
I hope you all have a great day!