Mom2ThreeAdoptedSibs

Feeding Larger Families: Planned Leftovers

2012-02-01T13:36:00.000-05:00

Feeding a large family can be a challenge but it can be done, and done well, without breaking the bank!

Part of meal planning on a budget means that you need to be purposeful with your leftovers! Frequently our weeknight leftovers are the next day's lunch. This suits us just fine. We like leftovers. We get tired of just sandwiches all the time anyway.

However... Sometimes I like to plan ahead and get more than one main dinner meal out of cooking just once. Particularly crock-pot meals! For instance... This weekend I had planned Swiss Steak in the crock-pot for Sunday dinner. There were nine of us for dinner this week so I actually whipped out a second crock-pot to get this job done. Each crock-pot held:

Crock-Pot Swiss Steak

2.5lbs of Cubed Beef Steak

1 Chunked Green Bell Pepper

1 Envelope of Onion Soup Mix

50oz (or so) of Canned Diced Tomatoes (1/2 a #10 can)

Water

This cooked over night Saturday night on low and was held on warm until Sunday lunch. (w/Mashed Potatoes, bacon green beans, corn and homemade yeast rolls to completed the dinner.) We had a little meat left over... a few sandwiches worth... OR...

SOUP.

All that cooking liquid (and veggies) from both crock-pots was dumped up in the soup pot Sunday night and put to chill overnight. The next morning I skimmed off the fat that had hardened on the surface. Then I got out my handy stick blender and gave it a few pulses in the cooking liquid to break up some of the tomatoes and peppers.

To this I added:

the leftover swiss steak

leftover corn

leftover green beans

I also added:

dehydrated celery & carrots

another bag of frozen corn

additional canned green beans

another packet of Onion Soup Mix

5 regular size white potatoes

and about 2 quarts of water.

This pot of soup fed 7 for dinner that night...with a gallon and a half left over for lunches this week.

Out of the original 5lbs of cubed beef steak then 16 main meals and an additional 12 (12oz) lunch servings. 28 meals total out of 5 lbs of cubed steak. I'd say that is pretty good use of the resources...and an excellent example of planned leftovers put to good use. ;) OH...and it was GOOD. It drew rave reviews from the Grand-Parental-Units and family alike!

Quantity Stock-up Shopping Vs. Coupon Stock-up Shopping

2012-01-25T16:11:00.000-05:00

Why I no longer coupon or shop in traditional grocery stores…

Before kids (and homeschool, and caring for parents) I used to coupon. Thanks largely to a magazine and website called Refund Cents I used to be pretty good at it. I taught CLASSES on how to make the most of sales, coupons, rebates and then store it all. (Complete with zippered coupon binder bearing hundreds of coupons tucked into baseball card pages.) Because I lived in a large city close to several great stores that ran wonderful sales I was able to save a great deal this way.

Now I live in a tiny town outside of a small college town. I love the country, but it is a 20-30 minute drive to anywhere we might need to shop. Nothing is close to me. (Except, of course, my family.) Therefore I have totally changed how I shop and make the most of our income.

One way I have found to do that is to buy in large quantity… These canned giants are SUPER cheap when compared to their smaller counterparts. A 101 ounce can of Del Monte Green Beans is $3.18 at Sam’s Club. When was the last time you were able to get a “normal” 14.5oz size can of Del Monte green beans for $0.46? Oh, I know you may have gotten a few with coupons…but could you stock up without incurring additional cost in buying more coupons first? Could you count on that same sale to come again before you run out? What about all the time you used to find, purchase, cut, sort, file and pull those coupons when the sale hit?

By buying this larger can I just cut ALL THAT WORK out. I also know that I can walk into Sam’s any time and get the very same deal again and again. I have saved myself more than money here, I saved precious time and mental resources! (That is precious to a Mom who has her kids, her often-work-at-home-hubby and her parents with her nearly 24 hours a day!) Ooh.. and if you hate the sight of those large cans you can also purchase a case of (12) 14.5oz cans at Sam’s for $8.28 or roughly $0.69 a can. This is still far, far cheaper than the average price at a normal grocery store on any one given day. And, hello! It is Del Monte, not store brand! Every day of every week...all year long I can get this price on this brand.

Food Freshness Tip: Those 100+ ounce cans can be poured up perfectly into a 1 Gallon ice-cream tub container. We have such a large family we rarely buy ice-cream any other way. By saving those tubs and lids we then have a way to get opened #10 cans into something manageable that fits in the fridge or freezer. For Free…and it is using something that otherwise would be thrown away! These tubs can be run through the dishwasher (top rack) and used over and over.

Let me show you an example of how we made this work in our home…

A certain diabetic member of our household eats pineapple every day, sometimes twice a day. She eats approximately ½ cup each serving and up until last summer had been buying Dole Fruit Bowls. You know those cute little clear plastic fruit cup bowls that you buy in a four pack. Even watching sales these pineapple bowls were working out to cost $0.50 for each and every ½ cup serving.

By purchasing a #10 can of the same Dole Pineapple at Sam’s and pouring it up into a gallon tub and keeping it in the fridge we are doing two things…saving money and wasting less packaging! That #10 can holds 106oz of pineapple. Broken out into ½ cup servings that is 26.5 servings. The purchase price is $4.88 or $0.184 cents per serving. This saves $0.316 per serving! Over a year of eating pineapple twice a day that is a savings of $230… just on one staple!

The thing that seals the deal for me though is that I know I can count on getting that price, or close to it, just about any day I need or want to. I don’t have to run low and worry about stocking up at another sale. I can put it on my Sam’s list and bring it home at any time for that price. (There is much howling and blood sugar diving if the pineapple runs out. Trust me you do NOT want to go there!)

Buying in quantity takes planning. I sat and worked out a list of all the products that we use on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. For each item I figured out how much it cost per unit at my two most convenient stores. (Sam’s and Amazon.com.) Some things are cheaper at one place and some are at the other. I made a list and now I’m armed. I spent a couple hours one day and now I can use that information as my baseline. If I happen to be in CVS and our preferred brand of paper towels are on sale .25/roll cheaper than what I can get those other two places I know I should grab a couple bricks and head to the check out. I’m empowered because I know that it is a better price.

This very thing just happened to have occurred this week. I had done my online comparison list on Sunday when we were iced in. (I was motivated because we are expecting D’s quarterly bonus and our tax refund soon… And I’m planning a major stock up.) On Monday, while running other errands, I ran into CVS to use some extra care bucks we had before they expired. I saw a sale for the 8pk of Bounty Basic paper towels on sale for $5.99. This breaks out to just under $0.75 a roll. The cheapest ones I had purchased recently were roughly $1 a roll. So you can bet I spent my extra care bucks on stocking up paper towels. We were almost out, so I was very happy. I’ve drastically reduced our dependence on paper towels by using plain white wash clothes in the kitchen…but some jobs you really just need a good old paper towel for! (Sam’s does not carry Bounty Basic…and I have found that I prefer this paper towel over the more costly regular Bounty ones.)

Another good example is Hubby’s razors. He has found a disposable that he likes, that he knows he can count on working every time. (He has a really heavy and quick growing beard.) This particular razor is sold in either 4 or 8 packs. Previously I have found coupons for them…but not all the time. The price of these razors just seem to have skyrocketed over the last couple years too… like many things.

Just after Christmas he was running low so I found them on Amazon… (2) 4pks for $13.00. This is a fairly normal price. I’ve seen them much higher at the drugstore or grocery. This broke out to $1.62 each. On Sunday when I was doing my price comparison I realized that my Sam’s does indeed carry this very brand/style that Hubby likes. They are priced $19.99 for a package of TWENTY! I immediately scribbled it down on my Sam’s list. It hurts to blow $20 all at once on razors…but I remind myself of not just the savings…but the knowledge that I won’t need to worry about his razors again for 5-6 months! This is very important on a Sunday afternoon (out in the country) when you are rushing to pack a suitcase and send him off to work for a week! Who wants to have to be the one to rush to town to buy more? And at what price? (Or worse let him make a trip to Wal-Mart in whatever strange city he is working in this week… who knows what else he will buy.) All I’m saying is… It pays to be prepared.

Feeding Large Families: Fruit Salad!

2012-01-24T16:42:00.002-05:00

Feeding a large family can be a challenge but it can be done, and done well, without breaking the bank!

Carrying on with the large can theme (these bad boys are about 100oz each or 6+ lbs of food!) today I want to share with you my fruit salad recipe. It is cheap and delicious!

This would be a super thing to keep in your back pocket for a family function and/or church potluck!

I found this 6-qt sized container at Sam's Club in a three pack for $12.88! Love them for fruit salad, green salad, slaw... They are wonderful and they fit in the fridge well.

My fruit salad is so easy... I cover the bottom of the container w/frozen sliced strawberries (also from Sam's) and dump in the big can of fruit cocktail. I put in two 'normal' 15oz sized cans of mandarin oranges and topped with more strawberries. If you are wild and crazy you can put a little sugar over both strawberry layers...they come unsweetened. I let this sit in the fridge until we are ready for it and then stir. We love it, usually eat it up in just a couple of days. (Excellent over vanilla ice-cream too!)

Price Breakdown:

106oz Can Fruit Cocktail $4.88

(2) 15oz cans Mandarin Oranges (from box of 8) $1.95

20oz Frozen Sliced Strawberries (1/4 bag) $2.07

{All purchased at Sam's Club.}

Total: $8.90

Servings: (24) 1 Cup Servings = $0.37 each!

Feeding Large Families: Salad Dressing

2012-01-19T14:43:00.001-05:00

Feeding a large family can be a challenge but it can be done, and done well, without breaking the bank!

Almost seven months ago our family of 5 became a family of 7...and many times there are 9 around our table and occasionally even 14. We enjoy our meal times together...and we really enjoy eating! I have learned to adapt recipes to feed this number without too much additional effort using larger sized cans and packages of our favorite foods.

One major change I made in our situation was to stop shopping at grocery stores. (I can hear you laughing, but it is true!) Rarely, I do run into Wal-Mart if I am forced to...but only when I need something I can not get at the wholesale club or restaurant supply. (Or order direct from Amazon!)

I have shopped at Sam's Club, Costco and GFS for years...but not exclusively. Suddenly, seven months ago I found myself much farther from 'the store'. Previously we had lived just two blocks from a Kroger and we shopped there often. Now we are in the country, a 15-30 minute drive from 'town' depending on where we need to go. Shopping is not convenient.

I waste time and money when I shop too often anyway... SOooo. I started making major shopping runs once a month to Sam's Club... or if we happen to be up in Greenwood for a dentist appointment or to take the Daddy to the airport we will pop by the GFS store near the mall. GFS is Gordon Food Service. They are a restaurant supply chain that also happen to be open to the public. (Oh! And next door to a Hostess Bread Store too!)

We are on a once a month pay cycle, so this works well for us. When David gets paid I rustle up the kids and head to the store. I am fortunate to have very well behaved older children who LOVE to help. They help me keep a running tally as we walk the store and fill two huge carts. They help me unload at the checkout, load the van and then unload and put away at home! It would be an insurmountable task without their help!

One of the new items I have added to my 'big stuff' purchase list lately was salad dressing. We usually try to keep large bags of salad so we can throw together salads for dinner each night... Therefore we use a TON of salad dressing. We are kind of picky about what we like too... Some varieties are available in larger bottles. We frequently buy Hidden Valley Ranch Light in large bottles at Sam's.

One of our favorites, though, is not available that way. My family loves deep dark red french dressing...but it is expensive in those dinky little store bottles...even with coupons! One day while cruising the aisles at GFS I ran across a GALLON jar of the beautiful stuff. I snatched it up and ran over to the utensils aisle and found large 24oz squeeze bottles! Perfect!

We keep this gallon jar out in our secondary fridge in the garage. It doesn't take up very much space and it is there for easy refills. (Notice these are wide mouth squeeze bottles. That makes a huge difference!) I did date the lid of the dressing with a sharpie on the day we opened it. That way we will know how quickly we use it up and how soon we need to replace it. This squeeze bottle is a dandy. It also allows us to more evenly apply our dressing and not glop it on. Less waste!

The additional bottles will soon be put to use with other large bottle condiment purchases...and even maybe some homemade dressings!

Now if I could just get someone to clean out the fridge for me...

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce = a VERY Happy Birthday!

2012-01-14T12:36:00.000-05:00

D & B turned ELEVEN yesterday... We had planned a big family dinner at a local pizza establishment here in town... However the weather was a little uncooperative! It wasn't "bad" out...but I just don't want to drag Grandparents out in the cold when the wind chill is single digits!

*SO*. We instead had an at home party. Big spaghetti dinner...and Brownie Sundaes! The hit of the evening was the homemade hot fudge sauce that I whipped up. It was SO GOOD...the whole family raved. SO here is the ridiculously EASY recipe!

Hot Fudge Sauce

2 Cans Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Bag of Chocolate Chips

4T Butter melted

3T Hershey's Baking Cocoa Powder

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Add the SC Milk and stir...continuing to warm. Add Chocolate Chips and stir until they melt. At the end sprinkle in the cocoa powder and stir until smooth. This is a little difficult. The mixture is thick. Next time I may do this step in the Kitchenaid. Keep it warm until serving.

Special Needs and Hard to Place Adoptions

2012-01-12T15:09:00.000-05:00

Facebook is a powerful thing. I'm in contact with childhood friends...family...other homescholars... And today, most importantly, our former Adoption Agency and Attorney.

I've been posting like crazy on facebook and twitter every since I saw this post from Kirsh & Kirsh this morning...

Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C.

We have been contacted by an adoption agency who needs our help finding a family interested in adopting a baby that was just born with downs. Please contact Josh or Steve ASAP 317-575-5555

This afternoon I found out this particular baby has found a likely match! But this morning, of course, as a mother of three adopted sibs who has never given birth or even been pregnant... I wanted to go right out and buy diapers. However, knowing the state of our finances I know we can not cough up attorney and home study fees at the moment. But then it occurred to me... That shouldn't stop me from using my network to get the word out... SOMEONE out there is meant to have this precious one or like him or her in their forever family.

So... Important things you need to know if you feel the tug toward an adoption of any kind:

The Adoption Tax Credit makes adoption so doable. We spent $21K on our contested adoption in 2006/2007. Thanks to the adoption tax credit we got back every dime in our tax refunds 2008/2009.

In 2006 if our adoption had been uncontested we would have only spent a little over $5K. I'm researching now to find out what the current fees would be so that I can get the word out. I wouldn't want anyone to miss the blessing of adoption because they thought they couldn't afford it!

In the state of Indiana if you chose to use Kirsh and Kirsh as your adoption attorneys you could expect to pay... a few thousand dollars for a 'normal' or 'typical' adoption. HOWEVER I found out today that they take special needs/circumstances adoptions and on a case by cases basis they look at each family and sometimes do reduced fees or even waive their fees entirely in some cases! That makes a huge difference in what seems 'doable' when you are thinking about adoption. Our attorney was Joel Kirsh. (Special Needs adoptions can mean many things... so look into it before you dismiss it!)

We went through Adoptions of Indiana for our home study just prior to the placement of D, B and HJ. Their fees are currently... $2550 for a new home study and $1950 to update a previous home study. (Ask for Meg or Natalie...and tell them we said Hi! :D )

Here are some great resources about adoption both traditional and special needs/circumstances...

Special Needs Adoptions

Adoptions of Indiana (Facebook Link)

Kirsh & Kirsh (Facebook Link)

Oddly, just yesterday afternoon the kids and I were talking about how our adoption came about and the series of events that occurred months and even years before they came that contributed to our decision to pursue the adoption.

We were studying for our Bible/History test...reviewing. I drew a parallel between Abraham's willingness to obey God and follow his will at any cost...and be expectant! That is sort of the place we came to before we became parents. It was all about our willingness to submit to God's will and not our own. We had no luck in bullying God into letting us have a baby... We had to give it all up to Him and... Wait. Willing and Waiting expectantly. He didn't let us down as you can see...

Flashcards!

2012-01-11T17:17:00.001-05:00

This Amazon deal: 'Brother Personal Labeler Machine, White (PT90)' by Brother http://tinyurl.com/84n78qo $14.99 today got me to thinking... How much I LOVE my label maker and use it all the time.

I use it every single week. In addition to the normal things to label I make labels for our flashcards. As we add new lessons in each subject I make a flash card for it. (index cards on a ring) For example... our States study flash cards I make a label with the states capital and postal abbreviation and put it on the back. The front is a picture of the state. ;D (I know, as if I need to prove to you what a homeschool nerd I am!)

The state names/shapes are little cards I printed and glued on the fronts. It was a $1 ebook from Currclick! The flashcard set I got at Staples for $1.99 back in August but I'm sure you can find something similar. :D

I started at the beginning of the school year and we add two states each week. Then the kids have a running set of flash cards that can't get separated. We do (notebooking) mapping pages to locate where each state is and what region...but mostly this year I'm going for that automatic response of what the capital is and it's postal abbreviation.

We will build on this next year in sixth grade 'reviewing' and as we go add more information. I chose to do them in order that each state joined the union...so we could work in the dates later on.

Enjoy! I hope this helps you along in your own homeschool journey!

Amazing Peanut Butter Fudge

2011-12-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

For years I have made this wonderful recipe...and we all love it. (Well, except for Dad, but everyone ELSE loves it!) It is always at the top of the list of "must haves" at family gatherings... My Mom got the recipe years ago from a family member of a family member... Uhm... That is as close to a credit that I can give at this point!

Peanut Butter Fudge

1 Stick Butter (You can substitute margarine, but we like butter the best!)

5 Cups White Sugar

1 Can Condensed Milk (Carnation)

18oz Peanut Butter (Smooth or Crunchy, I use store brand smooth usually.)

Small (7oz) Marshmallow Creme

-Butter a 9X13 or 10X15 pan, set aside.

-Open your peanut butter and marshmallow creme and have them ready.

-Get out a nice big pot. I would use nothing smaller than a 3-4qt pan. Hot sugar is not something you want to mess with in a pot that is too small!

Over medium-high heat melt butter and add sugar & milk. Bring to a ROLLING Boil and set your timer for 7 minutes. Boil and stir. Don't walk away, don't wash your hands...boil and stir! (I like a heat resistant silicone spatula for this job.)

When the timer goes off remove your pan from the heat and quickly plop in your peanut butter and marshmallow creme. (The hot spatula you have been stirring the sugar mixture with will clean the jars for you nicely!)

You can now beat this with beaters if you like...but I just whip it together the hard way, with my stirring spoon. It goes pretty quickly. (This is a great time to holler for your hubby to come 'help' you. Men can beat this together really fast...not to mention the pan is heavy! Have them dump it up for you too!) Now pour it up and spread it in your prepared pan and let it cool.

Everyone will ooh and ahh... And it really isn't that hard. :D Enjoy!

Quick & Easy Meal Planning!

2011-08-25T10:10:00.000-04:00

Are you a homeschooling family? If you are, meal planning is essential whether your family is small or large. It will make school and your home run so much smoother!

Start by looking at what you have on hand and start planning your meals for next week. Make a list of the things you need to fill in and complete your meals. Don’t forget to check your spices, and staples! Once you have your list then you are ready to shop! The first week or two you may be surprised that you only need a few things each trip!

Post that meal plan on the fridge where it will be handy each evening and morning to check it and plan ahead for the day.

If your family is large (I cook for NINE each night!) consider buying your groceries in larger quantities from restaurant supply, warehouse stores or the internet! For instance, instead of buying cases of canned green beans and opening multiple cans, I purchase the large 100+oz can of green beans from my local warehouse store. It will feed my family of 9 for two meals plus left overs and the cost comes in at just over $4! The large can of pork & beans will make a crockpot FULL of baked beans for $5 or less! (Super idea for ANY family if you are going to a pitch in!) I have mixed up a couple different large cans of fruit adding some fresh or frozen strawberries and we have fruit salad for 2-3 meals. I <3 those large cans now!

Is there any doubt? I HEART Homeschooling!

2011-08-16T15:18:00.000-04:00

We are really loving Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space for our science curriculum this year! (All of us, not just the freaky homeschoolin' Momma one.) LOL :D

Homeschool Mother's Journal: New School Year

2011-08-12T12:57:00.002-04:00

In my life this week…

Oy. We are still adjusting to our new home... and STILL unpacking. The school room is coming along but there are still 5 (FIVE) rooms or areas of the house that are standing in box piles and furniture that can not be put away yet. This happens when three households and a business combine and shuffle and try to sort themselves out. There is a ton of stuff to sell/give away. We had thought there would be a large three day yard sale...but now we are thinking... AUCTION. Stay tuned. This will get interesting!

In our homeschool this week…

Today we complete day 10 of our homeschool year! (WHOOOP!) LOL! I am so happy that we went ahead and got started even though we still had many boxes and much unpacking to do. We typically go year round,... but we lost June AND July in the move...so... This year we only have August - May to complete our school year. June will be my buffer month if things get ugly and we need the extra time to finish up.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

We have found a local homeschool group that communicates via a yahoo group. They have a great Park Hoppers event set up every Friday. That has been a fun outlet for the kids and gets them out to meet some new friends. They don't know it yet but I plan to sneak in some time to take them to the local elementary school playground. It is SO close by...and I have not seen it since *I* was a little gal, swingin' on the monkey bars!

I’m reading…

DON'T LAUGH! :) Every summer since I was old enough to read I have read The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Typically I end up reading the rest of the series after that too... and this summer was no exception. I wait until the HOTTEST, YUCKIEST, NASTIEST days of summer...and then I crank down the air conditioning and sit and shiver under a throw blanket and read about that winter long ago when the Ingalls family almost starved to death.

THEN we started school last week and for Reading/Comprehension we started with Little House on the Prairie (We read The Big Woods late last spring.). Now I am reading ahead in On The Banks of Plum Creek because one more week of school will finish up LHOTP. I have always loved Laura's books...and when we are finished each of the kids will have read the whole series and will have their own set. (I have been purchasing them a paper back copy each as we go along so that we have four copies to work from for school and don't have to share.)

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

After two weeks of reading about Laura and Mary as they traveled to Kansas in Little House on the Prairie, it was only a matter of time until the horses, stage coach and covered wagon came out to play! Oh... and the cowboys too!

Things to share: Did you know that the SUMMER ISSUE of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is FREE? It is a MUST SEE resource for the beginning of the school year!

Back To Homeschool Goodies!

2011-08-12T10:00:00.002-04:00

Homescholars! Are you ready for some goodies!?

Notebooking Pages.com has their treasury membership on sale 25% off today! Use code treasury2011 Here is a second code you can use for an additional $5 off: bts2011 That brings the extended subscription price (a year and three months?) down to less than $49. There are tons of freebies too! (I bought mine this morning, so I know both codes will work on one order! ;)

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine SUMMER DIGITAL issue is FREE! I heart TOS. They have been a huge source of inspiration and comfort throughout our homeschool journey! Enjoy this wonderful free resource!

Mom2ThreeAdoptedSibs

Feeding Larger Families: Planned Leftovers

Quantity Stock-up Shopping Vs. Coupon Stock-up Shopping

Why I no longer coupon or shop in traditional grocery stores…

Now I live in a tiny town outside of a small college town. I love the country, but it is a 20-30 minute drive to anywhere we might need to shop. Nothing is close to me. (Except, of course, my family.) Therefore I have totally changed how I shop and make the most of our income.

Let me show you an example of how we made this work in our home…

Feeding Large Families: Fruit Salad!

Feeding Large Families: Salad Dressing

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce = a VERY Happy Birthday!

Special Needs and Hard to Place Adoptions

We have been contacted by an adoption agency who needs our help finding a family interested in adopting a baby that was just born with downs. Please contact Josh or Steve ASAP 317-575-5555

So... Important things you need to know if you feel the tug toward an adoption of any kind:

The Adoption Tax Credit makes adoption so doable. We spent $21K on our contested adoption in 2006/2007. Thanks to the adoption tax credit we got back every dime in our tax refunds 2008/2009.

In 2006 if our adoption had been uncontested we would have only spent a little over $5K. I'm researching now to find out what the current fees would be so that I can get the word out. I wouldn't want anyone to miss the blessing of adoption because they *thought* they couldn't afford it!

We went through Adoptions of Indiana for our home study just prior to the placement of D, B and HJ. Their fees are currently... $2550 for a new home study and $1950 to update a previous home study. (Ask for Meg or Natalie...and tell them we said Hi! :D )

Here are some great resources about adoption both traditional and special needs/circumstances...

Special Needs Adoptions

Adoptions of Indiana (Facebook Link)

Kirsh & Kirsh (Facebook Link)

Oddly, just yesterday afternoon the kids and I were talking about how our adoption came about and the series of events that occurred months and even years before they came that contributed to our decision to pursue the adoption.

Flashcards!

This Amazon deal: 'Brother Personal Labeler Machine, White (PT90)' by Brother http://tinyurl.com/84n78qo $14.99 today got me to thinking... How much I LOVE my label maker and use it all the time.

We will build on this next year in sixth grade 'reviewing' and as we go add more information. I chose to do them in order that each state joined the union...so we could work in the dates later on.

Enjoy! I hope this helps you along in your own homeschool journey!

Amazing Peanut Butter Fudge

Quick & Easy Meal Planning!

Is there any doubt? I *HEART* Homeschooling!

Homeschool Mother's Journal: New School Year

Back To Homeschool Goodies!

Homescholars! Are you ready for some goodies!?

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine SUMMER DIGITAL issue is FREE! I *heart* TOS. They have been a huge source of inspiration and comfort throughout our homeschool journey! Enjoy this wonderful free resource!

What other freebies or good sales have you heard about!?

In 2006 if our adoption had been uncontested we would have only spent a little over $5K. I'm researching now to find out what the current fees would be so that I can get the word out. I wouldn't want anyone to miss the blessing of adoption because they thought they couldn't afford it!

Is there any doubt? I HEART Homeschooling!

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine SUMMER DIGITAL issue is FREE! I heart TOS. They have been a huge source of inspiration and comfort throughout our homeschool journey! Enjoy this wonderful free resource!