Catch-Up Time

Oh, my, I don't quite know where to begin catching up after a whole week of being absent. But since I love making lists, I think that's how I'll do it.

8 Great Things That Have Happened at Our House Lately
(how's that for a title?)

1. Our family friend was here for a little over 2 weeks and we truly enjoyed every moment with this beautiful, sweet girl. Kay, you have a wonderful daughter! We're missing her today...

2. We visited the aquarium and went to the IMAX, thanks to Katie, who gave us the great gift of a membership for Christmas. We loved it, Katie!

3. I've been re-reading A Thomas Jefferson Education and have gotten very excited about the possibilities for our family. A patient and kind friend has been helping navigate this type of learning. We started reading and discussing as we go: The House at Pooh Corner (Abby), Laddie (Thomas), and The Hiding Place (Carrie). Anna and I are going to begin Les Miserables when she gets back from TeenPact next week. I have lots of things floating around in my brain and hope to have some time this week to think about some of them and make some plans. Thanks, Shonda!

4. Thomas is learning a lot at Upward Basketball. And we're having a good time attending his games.

5. I decided that our table manners are terrible need some attention. So I bought a pretty green-bordered dry erase board and put it in the dining room, intending to write on it some different ideas that would be helpful toward better etiquette. We're already improving!

6. Several people have asked me for a recipe for chocolate gravy, which I mentioned on our menu for last week. Here ya' go:

About 3/4 cup sugar
3 heaping Tablespoons cocoa
3 heaping Tablespoons flour
1 1/2 -2 1/2 cups of water or milk, depending on how thick you want it. We like ours to be almost the consistency of pudding, but some people prefer it thinner.
3 Tablespoons butter

Mix the sugar, cocoa and flour in a small saucepan. Mix in about a cup of water, reserving the rest to use as needed. Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, adding more water as needed. Remove from heat and add butter, stirring until melted. Serve over hot biscuits immediately.

7. God has been very good to us this winter (and always), providing everything we've needed, keeping us safe and healthy, and helping us to grow in Him. Here's a verse from Psalm 27, which we read in church today.
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

8. I thought I'd just take this opportunity to sneak in a picture of the lovely Ella Grace, who certainly qualifies as a great thing that's happened in our family.

Eyeshadow and lipstick galore

Crowns, dress-ups, cookies, noise-makers, the story of Esther:
Purim!

Weekly Menu

Friday: Out to eat.

Saturday: Taco Salad

Sunday: Pork roast with BBQ sauce, baked beans, potato chips, cookies and cream ice cream, Hamantashen cookies. The ice cream is a carton of vanilla ice cream, softened, mixed with one package of crushed Oreos and a container of Cool Whip (any size will work). Mix and freeze.

Monday: Mandarin Orange Chicken, homemade egg rolls.

Tuesday: Grilled chicken, Cajun sweet potatoes, fried okra.

Wednesday: Bean soup, cornbread.

Thursday: Minestrone, bread

Someone asked me to post our menu for breakfast, too. We have company and aren't being particularly healthy this week.

Thursday: We had gingerbread scones.

Friday: Blueberry muffins.

Saturday: Buttermilk and milkless biscuits with chocolate gravy.

Sunday: Homemade white bread with homemade peach jam.

Monday: Oatmeal, ww toast.

Tuesday: Either French toast or pumpkin pudding, which is a new recipe we're going to try.

Wednesday: WW banana muffins, another new recipe.

Thursday: Cereal, homemade granola.

Simple Woman's Daybook (February 15, 2010)

Outside my window...
a little bit of snow left and clouds this afternoon.

I am hearing...
Thomas practicing fiddle, Anna listening to her math video, Abby talking to me about some books she's looking at. Actually pretty quiet here because the other girls are gone with Emily to the orthodontist and the bookstore.

I am thinking...
about Lent and trying to decide how to personally approach it this year.

I am thankful for...
Thomas' Bible study book, Lord, Teach Me to Pray for Kids by Kay Arthur and Janna Arndt, which speaks to me, too.

I am reading....
a Grace Livingston Hill book, which does not require any thinking. I can just be when I read it, which is a good thing when I'm tired. I'm also reading What the Bible Says About Healthy Living by Rex Russell and working on our diet with Emily and Anna, who are using this for their health class.

I am hoping...
that our friend, Kylie, is enjoying her visit with us, despite the bleak weather.

From the learning rooms...
reading some Revolutionary War books, readin', writin', and 'rithmetic in earnest this week, a field trip to the aquarium at the end of the week if it doesn't snow again, getting Anna ready to go to TeenPact in March, giving Emily some encouragement about her CLEP test study.

From the kitchen....
granola this morning, with Grape-Nuts, sesame seeds, and dried cranberries mixed in. We're trying to eat healthier breakfasts and cut out some of the sugar in our muffins and other baked goods and we're reading more labels and looking for better recipes. Last week Emily made great scones with apples and ww flour and she has a ww banana muffin recipe to try sometime this week. She'll probably post those recipes sometime soon on The Parson's Daughters blog.

Around the house....
Keeping up the house, laundry, and meals, as usual.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
basketball, aquarium trip, errands and library, church, Purim party, Fat Tuesday pancake and game party with our oldest son.

One of my favorite things....
Red Diamond Decaf Coffee with a little half and half!

A photo I'm sharing....
the beautiful Katie in the snow

Happy Valentine's Day....

to my sweetheart.

Read Aloud Week!

We took off a few days at the beginning of the week so I could work on some projects. But yesterday we were able to start our read-alouds.

I got a couple of Hank the Cowdog books for Thomas at Christmas and we started one yesterday. I don't care for Hank myself, but it's so funny to listen to Thomas laughing when I read about Hank!

Abby and I are reading about the Revolutionary War and I've included Thomas along the way. But I've owned Yankee Doodle Boy by Joseph Plumb Martin for a long time and was waiting for Thomas to be old enough to enjoy and understand this true narrative of a soldier's adventures. I like the glossary of military terms in the back of the book. There is some humor and the story is informative, too.


This morning Abby and I finished our very old copy of Martha Washington: Girl of Old Virginia by Jean Brown Wagoner. I have no idea where I got a copy of this book, printed in 1947, but mine has an orange cover and was not labeled as a Childhood of Early Americans series. We're starting Abigail Adams next.

Menu For The Week

Friday: Rosemary Chicken, red potatoes, carrots. I'll post this new recipe soon!

Saturday: Homemade pizza. We tried this crust for the first time a couple of weeks ago and really liked it.

Sunday: Grits with Italian Sausage and Peppers, homemade rolls, black-eyed peas.

Monday: Enchiladas.

Tuesday: Hamburgers, potatoes, baked beans.

Wednesday: Roast, cooked in the crockpot with a package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix and a Coke and then the broth thickened to make gravy. Something-or-other to go with it. Oh! Maybe fried okra, since our friend, Kylie, is here and we're feeding her Southern food.

Thursday: Chicken Noodle Soup.