The Boss of the TV.

Last night my 7-year-old came running to me, pointed at my 8-year-old and said "who told her she's the boss of the TV?" I thought it was funny since it seems to me that in most households the big boys usually take control of the remotes. Thank goodness for our "kid of the day" system because the dispute was resolved without me really having to do anything except ask "Who's the kid of the day?" She was, so she got to be the boss of the TV which meant she got to pick a movie to watch during our weekly hair combing-out session. I hope she can work out some sort of similar system when she grows up and gets married. :-)

Our First Homeschool Summer.

This is our first summer as homeschoolers. Last year, I spent the entire summer trying to decide if it was the right thing to do, to homeschool our oldest instead of sending him to middle school. Now that the year has passed, I am convinced it was a good choice. With the other two kids the decision making process was much quicker. We had a month of homeschooling the oldest under our belts and the public school was beginning to drive us crazy, by giving my daughter 3 hours of homework a night that she didn't know how to do, among other things. She said that the teacher's aide couldn't explain how to do it because she wasn't the teacher and the teacher didn't have time, so the kids lost out.

I can't believe how much I have changed in this year. I am now such a pro-homeschool person, its funny. Right now we're sneaking in a little bit of school by reading Swiss Family Robinson at night before bed. The kids beg for 1 more chapter.

2 weeks ago.

Last night my kids were having a discussion about what day it is, what we've done this summer and what events are coming up soon and I heard my daughter say "Two weeks ago today was the day before the day before vacation."

A Comfortable Landing.

My youngest son just ran into the bedroom, tripped and fell on the bed. He said, "I hurt my leg, then I fell on the bed, so I had a comfortable landing but a hurtful beginning." Then he paused and said, "Now kiss my leg and get me a sandwich." Another pause, then, "Please."

Perfectly Good Bread.

I was going to a party today and I was going to take spinach dip inside of a party style loaf of bread. The dip was in the fridge and the bread was in the package on the table. Just before the party, I scooped out the top of the bread to put the dip in. My youngest son said "Aw, Mom, why did you have to ruin perfectly good bread by putting dip in it?"

Sign Language

Home*School*Home
This morning my 7-year-old son got out of bed, walked into the kitchen and said "Mommy. If you are doing sign language, you have to take a break when you have to scratch."

I couldn't possibly make this stuff up.

The Scholar

Is anyone watching the latest reality show on ABC, The Scholar? A bunch of recent high school graduates are competing for a scholarship, apparently a big one. Anyway, there is a homeschooler from PA on there.

See Scot's Profile Here

One of the judges keeps making remarks that he doesn't expect Scot to do well on certain tasks because he probably has no social skills. So now, officially, I'm cheering for Scot.

Recipes.

Home*School*Home
My favorite recipes are all quick and easy. The fewer ingredients, the better. Here are some of my favorites.

Spaghetti
2 handfuls of spaghetti.
1 can Ragu (our favorite flavor is roasted garlic) sauce.
1 cup water.
cut up hotdogs, prepared meat balls or previously cooked hamburger (optional).

Put in crockpot and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Peanut Butter Cookies.
1 cup peanut butter.
1 cup sugar.
1 egg.

Mix. Drop onto cookie sheet, bake for 10-14 minutes at about 400 ish, (I think.)

Fruit Ka-Bobs.
My kids are much more likely to eat fruit if it is on a ka-bob. Why? I don't know, but I like to put strawberries, grapes, pinapple and cantaloupe on some kind of skewer for them. I dull the end of the skewer by clippng it with the scissors (or by hitting it on the table if I can't find any scissors!) and make them eat them sitting down because those skewer thingys seem kind of dangerous.

Can you tell I'm not a gourmet? I don't have time to get fancy, usually. It is amazing that I have any recipes at all. My mom is a great cook, but she doesn't measure. After I got married, I'd call her to ask how to make my favorite recipes and she'd say some of this, some of that, but there'd be no measurements. I finally have become that kind of cook too. I usually don't measure either, which means if it is really, really good, I can't repeat it. Sorry. I hope you enjoy it this time because next time, it won't taste like this. :-)