We are up late tonight because we are having a Slumber Party! It's been fun. Joshua mad dinner tonight. It was yummy. He mad homemade pizza all by himself! They were individual pizzas. I over ate because they were so good.

Then Annette and I each made a cake each. We made a basic Yellow Cake. I replaced the sugar with honey and Annette mad it as is. This is for Joshua's science experiment. He is going to write about how the cakes are different tomorrow.

Once the cakes were done we cleaned the kitchen and living room. The kids brought down their blankets & pillows. When they were done I made Hot Chocolate (courtesy of Swiss Miss) and I cut the cake into eight equal parts. We did a fraction problem with the cake. It was fun. Then we gobbled our piece all up. I read Autumn With the Moody's.

We washed Win-Dixie ( think that was the name) it was a happy-sad movie with a good ending. Now I'm blogging and the kids are drawing, sewing and talking. I am going to sleep on the couch tonight. The kids are really happy about that. Guess we are sleeping in tomorrow.

Here is a photo of our fraction cake before we cut it and ate it all up.

Here are the experiment cake. I was suppose to cook them exactly alike but I need to buy another 9 inch pan. I am going to ask my Dear Hubby if he can get buy me a set for my birthday or CHRISTmas.

Here are two pieces of cake from the same recipe. The nice fluffy one is the Yellow Cake made to a 'T' the other one Joshua replaced the butter with Organic Omega something or other with Flaxseed but he also accidentally put Baking Soda instead of Baking Powder . You could smell the Baking Soda. What a sweet aroma.

I wish I would have taken pictures of his Pizza's they were sooooooooooo gooood and they looked nice. It was a simple recipe of warm water, yeast & flower.

I need to get back to my Slumber Party =)

Email me at Homeschooling6[At]hotmail[Dot]com.

Where? On my plate. Yes, I said on my plate. Yesterday evening we went to dinner at the home of some dear friends and we had black bear roast for dinner, it was delicious. My husband had had a bad bear experience years before we married so we have never done much with bear meat except maybe a little sausage, plus there haven't been that many bears brought home over the years, I think only a total of two. But I know that bear will be coming, it is kind of a "coming of age" first hunt for many a young fellow and I would think that within the next two years my oldest blessing will join the ranks as he has sat out at the bear stand for the past two years as a spectator and he always helps get the stand ready in the spring.

On a more everyday note, I had my OB check up today. Baby is measuring about 32 so a little larger than my 31 weeks. I personally do not think this a big deal since the baby could be all stretched out plus I was seen by the PA in the office today and not my OB Doctor, things are always a little different when a different person takes a look at ya. On a good note, I have not gained any weight in the past month. That always makes me happy, my weight gain is right where it should be. I am not nauseted any more but I can still take or leave food. I mainly eat for necessity sake. No gourmet dinners coming from my kitchen any time soon!!  I also received my pre-registration packet for the hospital, this is really happening. This whole pregnancy has seemed un real to me for some reason. I mean I am pregnant and not in denial of that fact, the baby is constantly moving but it just doesn't seem real that we will be adding a new family member in just a matter of 8-9 weeks. We'd better get things ready. The to-do list is long but I tried shopping at Wal-Mart today and there just isn't much gender neutral items out there. So, I have two sleep gowns with the elastic at the botttom (I love those for those first few weeks especially for thos middle of the night diaper changes when you are barely awake.), and a couple of packages of white onesies. I will begin picking up diapers next grocery trip. Oh, we must get a wipey warmer for those middle of the night changes as well. Daddy can't stand to change a baby with cold wipes. He is a good daddy that way.

May the Lord find us faithful.

When a few of us decided we were going to start a homeschool co-op this year, I knew exactly what I would teach. I wanted something that would help draw in families, so I thought about dissections. So many families hate doing dissections labs. I have always loved doing hands-on science, didn't always do well on the textbook part, but I loved the labs.

The great thing about dissecting is that you can see just how wonderful Gods hand is in everything. Once you see how everything works together, how there had to be a plan, there is no way you can still believe that things just happened to collide into each other and formed life. There had to be a plan, Gods plan.

Basically, I'm just going to tell you where my resources are from for each lab we do. There really is alot online.

You can get your supplies: specimens, tools, tray, etc.. at HomeTrainingTools or Nebraska Scienctic .

One book I use often is "How to Dissect" by William Berman. It has 11 specimens, including a fetal pig, which I won't be doing.  

For Earthworm:

http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/earthwormdissection.htm

This was the worksheets I copied off for us to follow along with.  I made sure I knew what each of the bold words were, and I also made a volcabulary crossword puzzle out of these bold words. You can do this online for free at http://www.puzzle-maker.com/ . Then I printed off the one copy and made more copies somewhere for my students.

Other sites you can go to are:

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/earthworm2.htm

http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/earthworm.htm

http://sciencespot.net/Media/yuckywormwkst.pdf

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/articles/worm-dissection-project.html

http://kentsimmons.uwinnipeg.ca/16cm05/16labman05/lb6pg2.htm

http://www.gonzaga.org/teachers/dfreedbe/newweb/labEarthwrm.htm

Virtual Labs:

http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs/BL_14/BL_14.html

http://biog-101-104.bio.cornell.edu/BIOG101_104/tutorials/animals/earthworm.html

I told the kids that I wasn't an expert on dissections, which I'm sure I proved quite quickly, but that we were learning together. Have fun with it. Just explore and see what you can find. Also remember that this is not the time to necesarily (I know, bad spelling) understand each and every organ, but to find them and see where they lie, follow the digestive system, etc.... They can go into  more detail at home in their own biology studies.

Next.....Crayfish

Moe's Sloppy Joes (aka Sloppy Moe's)

6 pounds lean ground beef 2-3 onions, chopped 1 1/2  chopped green bell pepper 4 (8oz) cans tomato sauce 1 1/2 cups ketchup

3 tsp. salt 3/4 tsp. pepper 3 tsp. chili powder atleast 3/4 cup brown sugar or to taste

1.	In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.
2.	Stir in the tomato sauce, ketchup, salt, pepper, chili powder and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. (TASTE) Add more brown sugar to taste, should be slightly sweet. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Once cool, estimate how much your family will eat per meal and ladle into gallon size ziplock bags. Lay flat on a tray and freeze. Once frozen, stack sideways to save room. To reheat, just defrost and warm on stove.

I have had a laundry sorter/organizer for several years but not only have I had more children since I bought it, they are now getting big. (6 kids, ages 18, 16, 13, 11, 5, 2) 

Bigger Kids = Bigger Loads of Laundry in my house

Recently, this started to become a problem not only because of the children's size but because I've taken on some additional responsibilities which has caused my laundry piles to get away from me.  Laundry was flowing out of my organizer to the floor.  I would think "I'll get to it TODAY," but then something would hinder and it would be there the next day.

This would not do.  As you'll read in various organizing books something may work for you for a long time but then circumstances, etc., change and the method becomes ineffective.  When this happens it is time to change your approach to it.  For me this meant buying another organizer.  Even though my one organizer had been enough, it had ceased to be effective for me.

I would look at the pile of clothes on the floor and get discouraged.  When something gets completely out of order in my house I tend to ignore the area and go somewhere else.  I lose motivation.

What to do?  My solution was quite simple.  Another organizer was needed.  I bought one from Wal-*art.  It has 4 bins and my old one has 3 bins with a hanging rack above which holds clothes that need ironed.

My new organizer below.

For each of my bins (I have a total of 7) I have labeled them with not-so-pretty masking tape.  

The labels read:

Towels

Blues

Dishcloths

Coloreds

Jeans/Rags

Boy's Whites

All Other Whites

Now when I see a bin full, I know that I must do that load of laundry next.  Everything is sorted for me, I just grab the items from the bin, place them in the washer, add some soap and I'm done!  For the next 40 minutes that is.

This has been a perfect solution for me.

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments

Black Friday: That is what AOL said is happening today. I am not going to pretend I understand it or even how it is going to effect my family but what I do know is that the Lord started prompting me last February to begin a garden I was terrified to start and to start stocking up on our normal meager food supply.

In my home, I used to just have a small pantry of food items. Really no more than 2-3 weeks worth of food. Over the summer I created three new food storage areas in my home. The first was an unused closet that I installed shelving in, the second was a tall shelf in my basement and the third was a large, new deep chest freezer I keep in the basement. All of my pantry's are full (although I would like to add more) and my freezer is on its way.

Another thing I have done for several years is make and freeze food to save prep time in my home. I just don't have the time to cook from scratch everyday. Well, with the way things are going, I believe it is a good idea to have as much stock as possible, and freezer food is a great way to save time and money.

I don't make all my freezer meals in one day, but I do make a lot over several days time. I am going to share with you a few of the items I am currently stocking my freezer & pantry's with in the next few posts so check back often.

Yesterday my family and I drove way out to an apple orchard and bought about 60 lbs of apples. We bought seconds which allowed me to buy at an excellent price. One 10lb bag of apples was only $3 each!!! These apples are beautiful, healthy apples. It is just their skins that are a little rough looking. Here is what I have made so far.

Yesterday my husband and I made applesauce. We washed the apples, then sliced them into quarters. We then put them in a huge pot I own with about 1/4 full of water. We boiled the apples, stirring occasionally. Once they had broken down we put them through my mother-in-laws antique food mill. Using this, I didn't have to peel or core the apples, but if you didn't have one, you could just peel and core them and then use a potato masher or whatever you have on hand. 

After that, I added sugar and cinnamon until I liked the taste of it. We then labled 12 gallon size freezer bags and ladled the apple sauce in. Once cool, stack the sauce on a tray or other flat surface and freeze. Once they are frozen solid you can stack them sideways to save space in your freezer.  

Today I made apple pie filling. I am sure I have enough for atleast 10 pies if not more. Here is the recipe I used: (I slightly altered it based on reviewers advice)

Apple Pie Filling

Submitted by: Terri Rated: 5 out of 5 by 80 members

Yields: 40 servings

18 cups thinly sliced apples 3 tablespoons lemon juice 4 1/2 cups white sugar 1 cup cornstarch

2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 5 cups water

1.	In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and set aside. Pour water into a Dutch oven over medium heat. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add to water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
2.	Add apples and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
3.	Ladle into 5 freezer containers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Cool at room temperature no longer than 1 1/2 hours.
4.	Seal and freeze. Can be stored for up to 12 months.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/10/2008

Coming up: Homemade Sloppy Joes, Chicken Lentil Chili, Pantry Mixes and MORE!!!

Wow, it just amazes me at how fast time does fly by. I have so much to update, but I know going in detail on one post would be so long, not to mention boring. So I'll just briefly mention some and go into details later.

• my older daughter did get married, almost two weeks ago, wow. She seems very happy, and I can already see some maturaty in that silly head of hers. I'm waiting for some pictures, then I will post some and go into more detail.
• migrains....seems to be something I am dealing with  daily/every other day lately. Seems like about a month before the wedding it started. I use to be able to know when they would be coming, around my period and at ovulation. Now they are coming so often. I'm starting to chart them so I can see a doctor if they don't settle down. I've never had a problem with them concerning stress, so I don't think that is why. In the last 7 days, 5 days I've had one.
• husband is still looking for a job. He had an interview last week and another coming up this next week, two differnt jobs. We did just recieve our last unemployment check, so if something doesn't come up in the next month or so, we may both have to find minimum wage jobs. But I'm not too worried about it. If we have to, we have to, and it will work out.
• we had our second homeschool co-op on Monday. Dd(7) loves having cooking class (so far she has made muffins and apple salad), sign language (now if I can get her to stop signing her math), and storytime.
• at the co-op I am teaching a dissection lab. So far we have done an earthworm and a crayfish. I'll post something later for those who are interested in doing something like this.
• been busy in the kitchen, canned some tomatoes and applesauce. I'm going to work on apple pie filling today. Also tried some new recipes, cream of brocolli and eggplant parmesan. Both dh and dd loved. I'll post the recipes later.
• school has been going slow lately, due to wedding and migrains, life....we are finishing up MFWAdventures week 4. I'll again share later what we have done up till that point.

I guess this will do for now, hope I didn't loose anyone. lol.....