Wordless Wednesday

We decided to walk to the store....not ride






Some were pushed....



Some skipped...


Some were daring....


There were adventures


One even drug something home


We decided to walk to the store not ride,
I am glad we did

Menu

This was supposed to posted yesterday, but alas.....

Everyone at sometime or another begins to look or take a second look at their diet. I do the same. I evaluate how much we are spending, how healthy we are eating, reading the list and checking it twice. I am constantly attempting to judge how much organic/natural foods we purchase. These items are not cheap and with a large family on an almost non existent budget it can become quite a juggling act to include these items in menu planning. I generally believe in the "hype" of an organic mostly vegetable (if not raw) lifestyle. I also know that Jesus stated did not want us to worry undully about tomorrow, and we were to sick the will of the Father first and foremost. Matthew 6:33-34. This allows me to have a fairly balance and open view of eating. I don't beat myself too much if I have to grab that sack of white flour off the shelf instead of my preferred unbromated unbleached flour.

I had noticed, probably due to my mood, that I was not fixing dinners. The kids had become accustomed to grazing. Eight kids eating all day is not a good thing. Of course all this last meeting eating also led to packaged foods, sweets, etc. So I had to check myself. We also have been watching those documentaries. You know Food Inc., Food Matters, Tapped and the like. Of course I walk away going I need to make some changes. I tweaked our menu. I have created a 5 week menu this way I don't need to worry about creating a new menu each week, which sometimes can be a task. Anyway in most families, certain items become favorites and most of us shuffle through several dozen recipes. I decided to cut down on some of our meat consumption. So we are going down to meat two days a week, this probably does not include our homemade pizza nights. I want to make our plates more colorful, making sure we partake of fruits and vegetables at each meal not just grains. Lastly I would like our morning and afternoon meals to composed of mostly raw fruits or vegetables.

Here is what I came up with:
5 Week Menu Plan


I love reading about cooking and attempting new recipes. I absolutely love my Cooking Light magazine. So you'll find the bottom non-colored row is what we are currently doing. I'll think I will use my menu as a jumping off point. I will adjust taking advantage of seasonal items, sales and recipes we want to try.

Things I know

Cover via AmazonI am joining in at Yay for Home, won't you

the soundtrack to Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Sound of Music, make me very happy and we go days playing them everywhere than they disappear for months only to return again sometime in the future

if springs doesn't not hurry its little tail along I'm going to go bonkers!

I am done with procrastination, it is causes so much drama over here...so maybe tomorrow I'll ....finish what I should be doing today...

somebody's feet, or legs, or arms are always growing

I enjoy turning up the music and dancing until I sweat with my kids so much more than I ever did in "da club"

What did you learn this week....link up at Yay for Home

Moving Away From Consumerisum

Image via WikipediaThis is a post and hopefully a series of post directed by bloggy friend over at Simple Single Mom she is most definitely an inspiration. The idea is to be conscious of what we buy and why we buy, to live within our means, and even more to consciously purchase.

The week of April 3rd:

Purchase of $11.99 Tea Tree Oil, we make most of our own cleaning supplies. So this item is indeed a house item, a consumable. I don't tend buy organic simply because of price. The same size bottle organic would cost $29.99. Now that I think of it we make ALL of our cleaning supplies except laundry and cloth diapering soaps.

Image via WikipediaPurchaesd of $53.46 for Legos. This were individual blocks purchased either through Lego directly or through ebay. These are for a Lego Club through Currclick. This month's class will be about building simply machines.

Purchase of $31.45 for math books. We school all year round and main subject items are purchased as needed.

While the last two items are necessary for the learning at home family. I still want to create a budget for these items. I want to have the money actually on hand, a line item budget item. I am not there yet but I hope to be by June.

I'll need to check with our dear leader in this matter as to if we should post all things we purchase or just the extras...hmm

Wordless Wednesday

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Now playing: Karen O And The Kids - Animal
via FoxyTunes
Loving diaper butts, baby legs, wool balls, and a curious kid

Join Triple Duty Momma and The Adventures of a Curly Tot, they're some of the best busy moms and they are hosting this party hop!!

Monday, Monday

Today was kind of like that Mamma & Papa's Song, or even the Bangles. While Monday morning it not the beginning of my workweek, I do get off of work at 7am. It was overcast, a chilled wind blew off of the lake and with the smell of rain in the air their was the constant threat of a downpour. It felt like a day that should be experienced in bed 3 feed deep under comforters.

However 7 kids begin to think the sofa was some sort of launching pad. A robotic launching pad for cannon balls, I mean 7 kids, as a nearby Lego village needed completed destruction.
Soooo I knew I had to get moving. Image via Wikipedia







I didn't think my mood could take too many melt downs and brick walls so I thought we would go a little light on the subject matter. So after circle time, I thought we would focus on spring. Why? Because I wish it was here already! I didn't want to venture out of the house so we took advantage of our many window views, since we are on the 2nd floor. Children to various spots in different windows and began to draw what they thought were signs of spring. This was a nice quiet activity, maybe a couple more zzzz's for mom. But wait, what is in those buds? and where do they come from? Questions began to flow. Out came the botany books, the x-acto knife, magnifying glasses, and in came a few branches, pods, pine cones, and acorns. Before it was all said and done, we had disccested seeds and beans, planted sunflowers, tomatoes, and sprouts. We munched on a cake that we decorated to look like a garden. (I'll share pics later.)

All this flower activity lead to a discussion on the earth's rotation, and what is the weather like in Australia. What happened to a light load!

Though I started Monday morning with one idea my title as a Homeschool Parent lead me down another. This is part of the sweet joys of learning in freedom. While I had no frowny faces because someone still couldn't remember their fact families and another didn't want to complete the last two stanzas of that dreaded poem, we did complete fractions, and spelling, worked on vocabulary, and generally had a good day all without kids and mommy even knowing what was happening.

Things I Have Read

I read this post over at Mama-graphy. The blog is by a very thoughtful and wonderful spirited mom of some very busy adorable little ones. This particular post was entitled "Where are all the Black Kids?" Please read the post yourself, because I do a horrible job of paraphrasing.

I don't watch the news much. Of course in these days of internet, smart phones, who needs to. There is a reason why newspapers are folding all across America. But the reason I swore off news shows, for the most part,was I began to feel as if the majority of their segments were just nonsense, sensationalized, fear inciting, attention grabbing gunk. The eptimone of this feeling came when a segment on a channel came on releasing the latest results of the local public school standardized tests. The reporter spend about 3 minutes informing all of us that blacks still are far behind white in just about every subject. And that was it. I thought, was that necessary. Why did I need to know that information. Would it make a mother choose to read to child who normally didn't. Would it encourage a teacher to implement a new strategy? What was the information given? I could not find a good reason for it, but old fashioned attention grabbing smut.

So needles to say I don't by into or believe the hype. This is why I found this post so very interesting. The mother was wondering out loud as to why there not more (or in this case any)blacks in the extra curricular activities she has her children involved in, and than further was this telling of our expectation of our children and why it seems black children are failing.

My response:


I wonder if we are over simplifying a very complex and personal problem. AAs make up only 12.6% of the population. So, when we choose to do an activity that is a smaller % partakes in say homeschooling or summer camps, isn't it only normal that AA will than be a smaller, if not smallest slice of that pie. . So all those black kids are probably at home playing their video games like all the other white kids.

Your post was barely 24 hour old and yet you have had responses for at least 2 other mothers of color who are doing very similar things with their children as you are. I too am a homeschooling momma of 8. I began over 9 years ago as a single mom, working out side of the home full-time. I am now married and I continue to work outside of the home. If it wasn't for our geographical differences it appears you might have several more children of color in the class. So already your question has been answered, we are here! We are different parts of this city, county, state, and country doing the same thing you are. Let's get a cruise together and we can all meet up.

I don't believe there is an education gap. {{gasp goes the crowd}}My black boys can learn, has learned, and will continue to learn at the same rate as his white counter parts. There are some subjects my children excel and others they do not. My black girls enjoy math, and except for attempting to cut up the pig, absolutely love science. Especially because it helps them so much in their baking. Personally, I don't allow the amount of money (I don't make lol) or my marital status or where I live define who they will become or who I am. I believe when we take responsibility for ourselves and our family and we begin to fully understand that every aspect of these children's live depends on what we do than maybe others will likely become more involved in their children's education. I don't educate to a test. You can believe in an education gap I know what my children are capable and I never allow some outsider to limit it.

There is a huge issues of class that your are speaking to. There are still children who may still be 1st generation high school graduates. For those parents all they may see is that huge accomplishment of getting them out of high school. While for you and others high school may be a given, a non speaking point, you are looking further. Oprah said something once (of course more than once the lady is always talking). Being raised by her southern grandma, she said many times that her grandmother's biggest wish for her was to find some "good" white people to work for. Oprah laughed and said I wonder how her grandmother would feel if she knew I have a few good white people working FOR me. So many parents are living a very different life. A life that we may have worked hard to leave behind or separate from. But for these families they struggle with just wanting their children to graduate without babies, keeping their boys off the street and out of jail. I will not say that this are indeed accomplishment for these families. But as I have told my daughter, that is not MY defining goal for her. I don't plan on lowering my standards for my family. However I understand that for this family it is all they can see. Personally, I have silly ideas of world travel, higher education, missionary service, no sex before marriage, no dating until ready for marriage....some of these may not be your goals and that is okay.

I wonder if media plays a part in this distortion. I was raised with 2 parents, they worked, we went to libraries, museums, I played ball in the backyard with my dad and my siblings. And until I was almost 13 and ALL my experience were with other AA families that looked, walked, talked just like mine. There was no drinking, no smoking. It wasn't perfect , no family is, but this was normal to me. Around 13, I remember when I began to meet other families that were single parent, or earned much less than my family an they had a different story. Trust me I was shocked to know that they never went pumpkin picking outside of their kindergarten class. What do you mean you don't spend hours at the library? Your parents didn't take you on a college tour? Most of the remarks I said to myself. Normally our family would just enjoy allowing said child/family participate with us on this new adventure. I learned to see them and accept them and learn from them.

And from there my last point. What is so wrong about not gaining a college degree. Are we saying a happy life is only attained in a mini mansion, 2 cars and take out? What about those who want to make sure there children are doing something they love, not just following a paycheck? One can live very happy on very little money, with no debt, if they chose a simple lifestyle. If one of my sons wanted to become a carpenter, great (as long as he built me a house..okay or at least a kitchen) if he enjoyed it I would love it. If a child, graduates from high school, has a pretty good personality, awesome etiquette, is productive and law abiding will I whine that said child just made the % of blacks not going off to higher education larger...no.

There are choices. One of my jobs as a parent is to show them their many choices and the potential results of them. I don't follow statistics, they may have me give up my boys too soon, or force a non traditional learner into a college setting that not do they hate but fail in. I don't care what the tests say. I am here for MY child. I can't lay came to anyone else's. I also won't fool them into believing that a piece of paper is what will define them and foretell their future..(the Governor of my state can back that one up.)

I am always a little saddened about being the only or the few. The only black homeschooling family. The only large black family. The only home cooked meal family, the only non broadcast TV family, but all of these were my choice. So while I dream of one day finding a family (maybe yours) that I can intertwine my journey with, I choose to stay the course. I choose to laugh at the test results, the statistics, and standards because well we don't fit ANY of them. But than again that's the home birthing, extended breastfeeding, co sleeping, attached parenting, home cooking, submissive wife, gospel spreading, only girl, blacksheep, kind of freak that I am.

Friday Five Fact

It's time again. Time to reveal 5 little known facts about you, your family, maybe your job, your childhood, whatever you may see fit. This little ditty was started over at Simple City Life, please join in.

#Many people feel that my religion does not believe in Jesus. We certainly do believe in Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior.

#After being thoroughly planted and raised in one house, one city, for over twenty years, I cut loose and have spent time in AZ, CO, MN, and CA.

Image via Wikipedia#Pepsi is my crutch. After watching the movie "Tapped" I was thoroughly enraged and determined to boycott Pepsi....that lasted all of 19 hours 33 minutes. I'll try again next week.

#I have worked 3rd shift for over 10 years and it has now become part of my fiber and personality.

#When I was younger, I would dream of my future family. It was made of 12 children, which were all twins, 6 sets, a boy and a girl in each set and for some strange reason...there was always a red head in there.

Go check Simple City Life's Facts and let's hear yours..