Wacky Fall Fun Family Night

This is WACKY WEEK here at Blogger Friend School! Everything is wacky fun! This week YOU, the student, get to share something of your choice that is little “Wacky”!!!

To know PajamaMama is to know that "wacky" is my middle name. PajamaWackyMama? I blog on our wacky crazy all the time.

The topic for this week reminded me of something we...as in, just our family... did about a year ago. It was hilarious! If the neighbors were peeking, they'd just shake their heads and roll their eyes.

Read more here...and maybe you'll be inspired to try Fall Family Fun Night at YOUR house!!

We might make it our new Fall Family Tradition!

Spray It On!

My sweet Mama stopped by the other day and asked if I'd help her do something. And she whipped out a tall spray can.

She said, "I want you to spray this on my hair to cover my roots."

My first thought..."Oh no! She's being sucked in by infomercials now!!"

But, she said WC sold it to her....her renowned hair stylist. That helped my feelings a little.

It's a temporary shampoo-out colored hair spray that you spray on your roots in between colorings. I personally had never ever heard of such...EXCEPT for the pink, green, and blue versions you often see at Halloween and college football games. So, it wasn't completely a foreign concept.

I ran to grab something from my "old" bedroom...and had The Can in my hands. So, while nobody was looking, I decided to see what it'd look like on MY hair....in the event that I, you know, color my hair and just so happened to need a root touch-up or something like that.

Well. I didn't exactly expect it to come out of the can with the strength of a category 5 hurricane.

And I didn't exactly have The Can aimed right, evidenced by the fact that the entire left side of my face was spray painted light brown, including my eye glass lens.

It didn't help matters that I screamed...Ok...I hollered. And the eldest dd came running, quickly, and there was no hiding it. I was a pretty sad mess. No, I didn't take a picture and no, I will not recreate the event for the sake of a picture, either.

I will say that it actually worked beautifully on my mom's hair. It covered her roots and blended with her hair color! And I didn't get it all over her face, thanks in part to a towel she had plastered to her face, near'bout smothering herself.

As for me, I think I'll stick with my current hair care plan....

My First Luxurious Bath!!!

I have been waiting for this moment for 6 weeks.

Or maybe I should say 10 years since it's been that long since I have had a tub to call "my own" that doesn't include Star Wars men, mermaids, and ducks floating around.

My first bath in my new bathroom in my new deep-soaking tub.

Ahhhhhhh, the bliss.

I had my ipod playing, a candle lit, a soft and fluffy towel, and Me! Bath Icecream....chock full of skin-softening oils and a delightful scent.

The tub was filled with yumminess and my heart was filled with gratefulness.

Father provided for us. And my Hero put in a lot of hard work and he did it out of love for me.

I am truly blessed.

We Slept In the Garage Last Night.....

OH, WAIT!
It's not a garage anymore!!!!

It's our new Master Bedroom!!!

Being Grateful....Even In the Mundane (BFS Post)

My BFS Assignment for this week:

Intro: It keeps going, and going, and going…. (Marketing credit: Energizer)

Housekeeping: that household mess, it keeps going and going and going. It’s a perpetual chore that we diligently need to keep going on to stay on top it. We all have different ways of keeping ourselves energized..........This week tell us how You diligently keep going with your housekeeping chores.

Yesterday, my sweet and very pregnant friend came over with her two littles to check out the progress in the new room.

After walking through the den and into the kitchen, she exclaimed,"Look how clean your house is!!!"

To which I responded, "WHAT?!?!" Then I walked her around the corner and showed her this:



This is the current state of our school/computer room and I can't believe I'm putting it online for the world to see. It was organized and neat as a pin when we started up our school year last month. No, I don't have digi proof for you...just take my word for it.

To our defense, we ARE in the middle of adding a new master bedroom, which is almost done. Then the kids bedrooms will be juggled about, and desks and toys that are in the school room currently will be dispersed throughout the house. So in about two months, maybe I can post an updated pic of the neat and tidy school room.

Even under normal, non-remodeling circumstances, the housework is neverending. We live here 24/7. We get the house clean and enjoy it for about 2 minutes and 37 seconds...and then, back to reality.

With the ages of our kids now, we've entered a new season. They are able to help carry the load and lift the burden. We don't follow a cleaning schedule or have a chore chart. But they begin their training as soon as they can walk. In my opinion, it's as much about teamwork and being a part of the family as it is learning responsibility and being able to take care of their own homes one day.

One thing I struggled with especially as a young mom with kids in diapers, was dying to self and living in Christ (Gal 2:20), abiding in Him and He in me (John 15:5). I am a practical minded person and needed these scriptures to become more than nice, spiritual ideas but to come home, to settle into my heart and become reality in my life. But what on earth does that look like in MY life, in MY house, with MY family, MY messy house, dirty dishes and laundry, stinky bathrooms?

This was and is a huge help for me: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.....Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." Col. 3:17,23-24

Housework, cooking, laundry will always be there and is a part of our lives but should not overtake our lives or steal our joy. Giving thanks is the key to putting housework into perspective.

Being grateful for a husband who loves the Lord and shares the vision for our family.

Giving thanks to Father for the three priceless treasures he's given us to raise.

Being thankful for His provision to enable me to stay at home, even when it doesn't work out on paper.

Even when I'm cleaning the chocolate milk spill off the sofa, scrubbing the toilet, or sweeping the kitchen for the third time that day, I'm giving thanks, whispering praises, and I'm dying to self, abiding in Him.

".....In view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." Rom 12:1

And...We Have A Floor!

TaaaDaaa!

Hey, Mikey! You'll Like It!

Our Assignment This Week: Try it, you’ll like it! (Life Cereal)
When everyone else was afraid to try Life Cereal, they called on Mikey. Sometimes stepping out of our comfort zone is just too scary. Have you felt God gently (or maybe not so gently) nudging you to do something for someone else? You know that it needs to be done, but you keep putting it off because it is outside of your comfort zone? Well ladies, this week we are taking a step outside of our comfort zones.

My dh has a job that takes him in and out of homes and businesses every day. Most of the time, he just does what he has to do and leaves. But then there are THOSE times...those God-ordained appointments. He lives his life being keenly aware of what Father's up to and is willing to join Him. Many times, he has come home and asked for our help to minister to the ones he's met.

A willing heart. That's all we need. Saying "yes" to His plans for the day as soon as our feet hit the floor.

Sometimes, it's a one time thing. An email, a phone call, a letter, a card.
Sometimes, the relationship might last for years.
Sometimes, it's easy and convenient.
Sometimes, it's terribly difficult, heart-wrenching, and time-consuming.

But Father just needs our willing hearts. He's not going to call us to something and then leave us! He gives us everything we need for the task....courage, grace, mercy, patience, long-suffering, wisdom, etc.

Homeschool moms tend to guard our school time with a passion. It has to be something mighty important for us to lay school aside and GO! There is a line, though, between guarding learning time or family time and having a heart that says Yes to God. It's different for every family, of course. The Father has shown me that there are blessings that not just I am missing, but that my kids are missing as well when I let my "schedule" get in the way to what He's asking of me.

I trust Him. I trust His heart. I know that when He calls us to minister in any way, that WE are the ones who are truly blessed in the end.

Tar-jay'? No Way!

Look at this gorgeous tv stand that we did NOT buy

at an expensive upscale furniture store!

This beauty for our new bedroom came from Target.
Do we HEART Target or WHAT!?!?

Books and Chocolate

Books and Chocolate? Are you kidding me? How fabulous! Two of my favorite things!

Our local library people had a stroke of near genius when they started the Books and Chocolate event a few years back. They load up all of their books they don't need on their shelves anymore, donated books, duplicate copies of books, etc. and set them up in a fabulous location in town. Then, they have people donate absolutely decadent plates and platters of chocolate confections...anything from chocolate chip cheesecake, to mint iced brownies to ooeygooey fudge.

The event is free. Yes, free. Today was the day, and a stunning local bed and breakfast was the chosen location.

My Lovely friend and I took our kids....Aren't they cute in the pic?

There were books everywhere. On tables all around the wraparound porch and in three large rooms inside. We looked at books and nibbled chocolate divineness for a solid hour!

I left with two bags packed full of books. There is no charge for the books. We are just asked to give a donation for what we think the books are worth. How cool is that?!?!

Check out some of the fun books we brought home!!

We Artichoked!

Behold!
Sherwin Williams "Artichoke"

Thank you to my models Rayray and Chunji.

I painted doors "after hours" all week. ("After hours" is AFTER homeschooling all day, laundry, feeding hungry people, dishes, shuttling kids here and yon, cleaning up, etc. etc.etc.)

About those doors...there are 5 of them. Fronts and backs needed painting, two coats each. That's 20 doors, total. Let's just say I was thrilled to put the last of the paint on door number 5, coat 20 last night!

Tonight and tomorrow is the tedious process of trim painting. The Hero had the delightful task of painting the windows.

By tomorrow evening, the floors will be going down!!!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Stuffed Meatloaf

First of all, I am not a culinary artist as you can tell by the picture. Secondly, I've never been able to make a great meatloaf....until now.

Behold! Meatloaf that could actually be fed to dinner guests with no remorse!

Here's the recipe, which I tweaked a bit and it still worked.


Stuffed Meatloaf

1/2 cup chopped onion, cooked (I didn't cook mine...)
1/2 cup finely chopped roasted red bell pepper from a jar. (No, none of that to be found in SmallTown, GA and we didn't miss it...wonder if pimientos would work..)
1-2 tsp Adobo seasoning
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
3/4 t freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach (yes, you read right)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used round slices of provolone instead.)
20 very thin slices of Genoa Salami (about 4 oz). (This time, I used salami in the sandwich meat dept bc it was BOGO...and it was the same size as the provolone and just worked perfectly...but I did not use 20 slices.)

So, here's what you do. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the spinach, cheese and salami. Take your rings off and squish it all up really good. Then, you press it out into a 17x8 inch rectangle on wax paper. Yes, I actually got a ruler out and measured to make sure I was doing it just right.

Next, layer spinach, then cheese, then salami on top. Using wax paper to start (but not rolling it into the loaf, please), roll up meatloaf jelly roll style into an 8" log. Lift into loaf pan. (Some say it bakes nicely in a stoneware loaf pan...)

Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a meat therm in the center says 160. I don't have time for all that meat thermomertering...so I added a few minutes to be on the safe side.

Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan and slicing. Arrange on a pretty platter, and Behold! Be prepared for much adoration....And the kids won't even know you snuck in the spinach!

Let me know if you try it! The recipe came from Menus4Moms.com.

Somewhere Over The Celery

Because doing the celery experiment
with only one color is boring....

The mad scientist thought it'd be more scientifically
theoretical to try a rainbow of colors.

And here's the result:

Ok. So the colored rainbow celery
doesn't show up so great on digi,
but the blue worked best.
Take my word for it.

Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz

Oh, what a relief it is! This week's assignment is to "tell about something you’ve struggled with and how God’s mercies gave you the strength to get past it. Also, share any curriculum/homeschool methods that have been a relief to you, i.e., a particular Teacher’s Manual or Homeschooling method that’s been easier for your family. Talk about how you felt when the burden was lifted."

In my last assignment, I blogged on my thoughts about our Butter's struggle with reading and what Father keeps reminding me, daily. Earlier this year, my friend Beachmama excitedly shared a "find" to help one of her sons who had some similar issues.

The program is called the Barton Reading and Spelling System. It is based on the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching children who struggle with dyslexia and other reading issues. It's written so the instructor doesn't have to go through weeks and months of classes in order to tutor a child with it. In other words, the average mom (me) can watch the training dvd, then turn around and tutor the child.

When I researched the program, it sounded like just what we needed. But the price was way more than we could afford. As it turned out, Beachmama graciously offered to lend us the program level by level as they complete them. You can imagine what a Godsend that has been!!! The plop, the fizz, the relief all rolled into one!!!

For our oldest daughter Rayray, I have another plop and fizz to mention. For several years, she did Saxon math. But she hated math. She was very good at it.....but could find no joy at all in it. It was her most dreaded subject. Saxon was a thorough program but was not a good fit for her. I read about Teaching Textbooks and we decided to take the plunge. It has been incredible. She loves the program (especially when her kitty feels the need to help her out a bit, see pic.). I just can't say enough good things about TT.

Both Barton and Teaching Textbooks were answers to specific prayers on my behalf. Don't let anyone ever say that any detail is too small for our Heavenly Father. He has called us to homeschool, so he certainly won't leave us in the dark about how to teach our children, what to teach our children, when to teach our children.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you."
Psalm 32:8

Sheet ROCKS!

Sheetrock is UP!!! Woohoo!!! A homeschooldrywallingdaddy did the job and did it wonderfully. It SHOULD mean paint on the walls after trim and ceiling paint...

But we are having issues with the tub/shower surround. And I'll just leave it at that.....

We do have a paint color picked out, though. It's called "Artichoke" from one company and "Native Henna" in another paint line. All I know is that the Artichokethenative color will look gorgeous with my new quilt.

My First Assignment!

Oh, What a Feeling!!!

That's the title of my first BFS Assignment. I'm to share a little about what led us to homeschool in the first place....and our ups and downs.

The title is kind of funny to me...mainly because THIS homeschool mom runs the gamut of "feelings" about our home educating adventure. One day I feel great and encouraged...the next day I might feel like I've completely lost my mind to think I can teach my own children a livelong thing. One day I feel like I knowthatIknowthatIknow Father has called us to homeschool and the next day, I feel like I'm completely ruining the poor little dears! Please tell me I'm not alone!

My two older brothers and their wives introduced the idea of homeschooling to me, who went to a private school all 12 years. There were friends here in our small town, as well, who were homeschooling when hardly no one else in a 60 mile radius was. I talked to my sister in laws at length about their reasons for homeschooling and before we ever had children, it was on our hearts to homeschool. I taught in a public school for 5 years and quit once we had our first baby. That was almost 13 years ago.

Our oldest daughter was the guinea pig, bless her little soul. I fell in love with The Well Trained Mind and attempted to follow it to a "T." She succeeded, did great, learned a lot, progressed nicely. I was so proud of her....and me, too, bc I was the one teaching, right?

Then her little brother came along. I tried to teach him to read at age 4, bc that's when his older sister was reading....and all "those books" say a preschooler can learn to read. It didn't work. I tried again at 5. Still, nothing. 6? Nope, not ready but he did know his letter sounds. 7, I started getting a tad concerned but passed it off as "boys mature slower." By 8 when he was still struggling terribly with reading, I realized we had something more going on. He'd had years of phonicsphonicsphonics and we were progressing at a snail's pace. He has many strengths...and they are becoming more and more evident with each passing day. He just learns differently than his sisters

Father and I had some long talks about the Butter. I felt ultimately responsible for the fact that he wasn't progressing. Somehow, it seemed like it was my fault, that this would reflect on me...I was the one teaching, right?

Father continually and gently reminded me that my children are all fearfully and wonderfully made. This sweet soul of a son that he gifted us with has a heart bigger than Lake Seminole. God made him exactly like he is for a very good purpose....and he is perfectly wonderful to this mama.

Our little Doodlebug just started Kindergarten this year. She's your cut it out and glue it and color it and add glitter all over it kind of gal. Letters and numbers are easy for her. She'll sail right through her work...and she might even catch up with her brother in the reading arena one day, and that will be ok.

When we started homeschooling so many years ago, besides feeling called by Father, we started for one main reason. I had been in the public school setting as a teacher and didn't want my babies there.

But as the years have passed, our list of "why we homeschool" has grown and our first reason is actually down the list. We've had some happy by-products that we didn't expect...and those reasons are now on the list.

Over the years, the Father has weeded a lot of junk out of me...and how we homeschool is one of the areas He's worked on with me. Much learning takes place here....but its not always from a textbook.

Oh! What a million feelings I have about our homeschooling journey. But when those feelings don't line up with what I know is His Truth, I know my flesh is getting the best of me. And I remind myself of His calling, His will, His Truths for our family.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

(Click here for a few pics of our first weeks of school....)

Extreme Southern Home Makeover Update

The siding is up and painted.
The a/c is finished.

The Butter and his Daddy worked together
and got all the insulation up
in the room and attic yesterday.
It was hot and itchy work.

The City delivered this mound of dirt
first thing this morning.
It will be spread about to help with our
floodwater issues in case we get another foot
of rain anytime soon.
Read more here.

Um.....No. We didn't get hit by a tornado.
We had 4 sick and dying pines
taken down today......
because we like to do everything
all at once like that.

And this tree fell wrong
and demolished 1/2 of the swing set.
I don't have to tell you
that one little girl was devastated.
You may have heard her wails at your house!
The 2nd tree came down on the fence....
No, I'm not kidding.
It's ok, though.
Fences and swing sets can be repaired.

Next up is sheetrock.....!!!!