This morning it is rather overcast outside.  I believe rain is in the forecast.  We are in need of some rain in our area.  So I hope we see at least a little rain. 

It has been hot the last couple of days.  It was in the ninety's yesterday and I believe it is supposed to be the same today.  However, I do believe we will see the eighty's tomorrow.

Apples of Gold Ministries is hosting a great give-a-way for some childrens books.  Here are the titles of each book in the give-a-way:

God Loves Me More Than That
When God Created My Toes
God Gave Us Heaven

If you'd like to enter the give-a-way, simply click on the graphic at the top of this post. 

Wow - it has been a VERY productive day!  My older daughter and I got quite a bit of school work done.  Sugarplum took a pretty long nap late this morning so I was able to do some things.  I got more work done on my home management binder.  I was able to get more of the school binders done.  Woohoo!  My older daughter worked on getting her room straightened up.  That's the first step in getting the girls' room clean. 

This afternoon, my daughter made homemade bread for our dinner meal.  I stood in the kitchen with her and still had to give some instruction here and there.  She remembered my previous instructions pretty well.  I think a couple of more times with me in the kitchen with her and she'll have it down! 

I've been working on the changes I'm needing to make in our school curriculum today.  I've found a couple of things that look like they are going to work better for the specific subjects they are.  We've already started giving one a test run and my hubby definitely likes it better.  He's the math man so he does the math instruction with our teenage son.  He has not been pleased with the program we bought for this year.  However, this new FREE program I found is one he likes a LOT better.  He said it is easier to understand.  Yay!!!!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful day!

The day started with a wonderful temperature.  It was perfect walking weather!  So walk we did - my Mom, myself, and my two daughters.  My Mom, myself, and my older daughter try to walk together at least 4 days a week (sometimes more).  When it's too hot outside, rainy, etc. we walk at our local community center.  But we much prefer to be able to walk outside in the fresh air.  We've been blessed to be able to walk outside a couple of times last week and both yesterday and today. 

After such a wonderful temperature this morning, it's actually around 90 degrees this afternoon.  I haven't been outside since this morning so I don't know if it's humid or not.  I can see outside my window that the sky is pretty clear!  There's plenty of sunlight coming through our front window.  I love that!  I know that closing the blinds in the summer time when the sun is shining through the windows helps cut back on cooling costs.  But I need to have sunlight coming in!  If I kept the blinds closed all the time, it would be dreary and down right depressing for me!  So one of the first things I usually do each morning after the sun has come up is open up the living room and kitchen blinds.

Well, I've come along quite nicely on my list of things to do by Wednesday night.  I've gotten part of the bills organized and filed.  I also have some of the school binders organized (for now!).  The laundry is almost caught up (well, as of tonight anyway LOL).  Our bedroom is straightened up.  Woohoo!  I'm on my way!!!

I'm still working on adding some things in our new school curriculum.  Our children actually began their new school year several weeks back.  We're finding that some things are not working out well for our older son (he's high school age) so I am adding things in and redoing what needs to be redone.  One thing I don't see a lot of in the grammar course he's taking this year is the reading of literature.  So I am adding novels in myself including a lot of classic readings.  Among some of things I plan to have him read are: 

Ivanhoe
The Prince and the Pauper
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Age of Chivalry
A Tale of Two Cities.......
and more.

He is actually beginning a book this week.  I also want him to read Pilgrims Progress.  I am actually going to read a condensed version of this classic to my oldest daughter (elementary age).  She and I also began Pollyanna tonight.  We're reading it together.  She reads some out loud and I read some out loud.  So it is both for her reading as well as a read-a-loud.  Her grammar program was lacking in literature as well.  My daughter loves to read and check out books at the library.  In fact, just today she checked out several books including a couple of the Dear America series and American Girl series. 

I have to tell you, it seems like the day flies by and I think to myself that I want to get in bed before 11:00pm.  Before I know it, it's 11:00pm and I'm just settled down from doing things around the house.  Some nights, by the time I sit down to wind down and do something relaxing before bed, it's almost midnight!!!  And tonight is no exception.  So, I'm off to my recliner to wind down, relax and go to sleep!

One thing I absolutely CANNOT stand are cockroaches!  They just give me the heebee jeebees!  Late this morning, I went in the kitchen to get me a pancake.  I reached in the silverware drawer and began pulling out a piece of silverware when I spied it.  Look what I saw:

Do you see it in the bottom lefthand corner?  A ROACH.....and not only a roach but a HUGE roach.  The silverware went flying into the air as I let out a yell.  I began hollering for my hubby (who was sleeping at the time).  I flung open the bedroom door and told him to come here.  In the meantime, I went to the bathroom and washed my hands because I wasn't for sure if I touched the hideous thing!  As my hubby walked in the hallway I told him to look in the silverware drawer.  I trotted in behind him.  He reaches in and picks the thing up....and chuckles.....and I knew something was up.  It was a fake, rubber bug that my hubby sneaked in the drawer to get a good laugh at my expense!  And it worked!  I had the bathroom towel in my hand from where I was drying my hands after washing them.  I playfully flicked him with the towel and told him it was a good thing we didn't have a doghouse because HE'D BE IN IT!!!!  We all laughed pretty good!  And let me tell you, this girl was relieved it was fake!  The sad thing is, I can't get him with a fake bug or something like that because they don't bother him!  So...hmm.....I've got to think of some kind of trick to play on him.............of course, all in fun.  Any ideas????

Moving on....we had a wonderful time at my parents for our weekly family dinner.  I can't tell you how much I really enjoy getting together at my parent's house for a meal.  It's something I wished we could've done for a long time and now we are being able to do it!  I thank the Lord for it!  My children are having the chance to build wonderful memories with their Mamaw and Papaw.  And I can't tell you how much it tickles me that my parents are getting the chance to be around their new grandbaby - our little Sugarplum.

My Mom served up an absolutely delicious meal.  She made homemade jambalaya.   We had bread and corn on the cob.  She also made a very yummy jello dessert and served it with sugar cookies.  I've really been watching my portions and I have to say a meal like that you just want to eat a lot of it.  Well, I asked the Lord to help me and He did.  It wasn't too difficult and I didn't overeat or eat when I wasn't hungry.  I did eat a little more than my portion size but not by much.  So overall, I think I did pretty well with the Lord's help.  For some reason, I tend to really want to eat when we go to my parent's house.  My Mom makes such scrumptous foods you just want to eat a lot of it!!!!  My hubby's Mom also makes delicious food.  I always enjoyed eating what she made as well!

The nice thing is I was able to bring home some leftovers that I can eat when I'm hungry and eat within my portion size. 

Well, I've got a load of laundry to start and then I think I'm going to relax a little in the recliner, watch some TV, and work on a list of chores/projects I want to get done in upcoming days.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Tonight, it was girl's night!  Little Sugarplum got to sit in the kitchen with Mommy and big sister for a lesson in cooking (well not really a lesson....she played in her seat while we cooked).  My daughter will be adding a healthy pancake recipe and homemade syrup to her collection of recipes she can make.  If you haven't checked out my three grain homemade pancakes and syrup, you need to hop on over to my cooking blog and try these out!  Ummm....they're good!!!  Tonight, we added another ingredient into the original recipe though.  I chopped up some dried cranberries and threw them in the batter.  Oh my - they turned out so well.  I altered the spelt flour to white flour ratio - adding more spelt flour than white.  I'll be posting that on my cooking blog in the next few days.  These pancakes also have oats and dried apples in them.  Tonight we added in some allspice instead of cinnamon.  Wow!  Amazing!  Why even go back to a box pancake mix when you can easily make up this batter.  It's also kid-friendly - no eggs!  So if you're hesitant to have your child work with raw eggs, this is the perfect recipe for you!  I think I might try working on making this a pancake dry mix that you can keep on hand and simply add the liquid to however much you want to make. 

We made a double batch and froze individual bags for future eating.  I put approximately 4 pancakes in a freezer bag.  We made these pancakes in small portions because that is how we are eating our food.  So, we took a 1/4 cup measuring cup and used that to measure out the batter for each pancake. 

Sugarplum got her bath and went to bed.  Shortly after that, my older daughter and I watched cooking shows together while she played with my hair.  I like my hair to be played with.  It's so relaxing for me!  Well, most of the time.  Sometimes she gets a little rough and pulls my hair some.  But overall, it's pretty relaxing.  I'm also one who loves going to the beauty salon!   Going to the beauty salon is a real treat for me.  I don't do it very often but when I do - I thoroughly enjoy it! 

Saturday nights, my son and I get the opportunity to spend some time together.  My older daughter goes and stays the night with my parents each Saturday night.  That's her night to be with Mamaw and Papaw.  She looks forward to it every week!  I'm not a big video game person.  In fact, I really don't like them much at all.  But I won't go there.  Well, my son really likes video games.  He has purchased a gaming system with his own money.  He usually plays video games with his Dad.  However, last Saturday I think I might have surprised my son when I told him I'd play a game with him.  So this Mama sat down and played a game with her son.  You know what?  I actually had fun.  (Shhh....don't tell anyone!) 

Honestly, my son and I had fun together.  We were laughing.  That's such a good thing.  You know, in the teen years you can have so many battles with stubborn wills, independence, attitudes and the like that sometimes the art of laughter gets lost.  But oh how important laughter is!  I believe tomorrow night my son and I will be playing video games again....and laughing....and being silly.  It will be a fun time - a fun time I don't want to miss.

Well, it's getting late so I better wrap it up!  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!