My Verse for 2011

I am guessing all of you can relate. I have been in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Add that on top of regular life and things are certainly a bit crazy around here. In the first ten days of December alone we have had two end of season soccer parties, three Christmas parties, and two church events. All that on top of trying to finish the semester strong and being sick in the middle of it all. Phew!

Yet in the midst of preparing for the holidays, I am also thinking about starting off 2011 strong. Every ending also means that a beginning is near, right? As I am trying to enjoy the holidays and keep the true meaning of it all in front of my kids I am also thinking about 2011 and a new year.

This morning I read a verse I have read many times. But like it so often happens I saw something I had never seen before:

One thing I have asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

~ Psalm 27:4-5

This is my heart's cry - I want 2011 to be about my seeking after the beauty of the Lord. I am praying about how to make that ever more a reality in the middle of the busyness of everyday life. How to do center on His beauty in the commonness of dishes, laundry, cooking, cleaning, and teaching my boys? How do I focus on structuring my days so that there is room to, "inquire (meditate) in his temple"?

David wrote these words while Saul was seeking to take his life. He was sleeping in caves and worrying if each day might be his last. His prayer was that he would seek God above all. That is encouraging to me. David's prayer from so many years gone by is mine as well.

Five Dollar Friday: How to Make it Happen: Couponing

Sometimes things go all out of order. ;) This Friday I wanted to write a post that backtracks a bit and tells more about how to make $5 meals a more regular occurence for your family. Most of my "Five Dollar Fridays" are meals that you can make for that price only if you are getting some of your items on sale...and often with coupons as well.

One of the first tricks to making $5 meals a reality is having a well-stocked pantry. When you find something on sale for a great price, stock up! I have extra shelves in my laundry room and an extra refrigerator outside to store my surpluses. One of the best ways to get your pantry stocked is often (but not always) through couponing.

The rest of this post will focus on couponing. I have used coupons on and off for about 15 years. Sometimes effectively, sometimes not so much. It wasn't until about four years ago that I really learned that there is an art to using coupons and it is basically this - save your coupon until the item goes on sale (hopefully for its "rock bottom price") and you maximize your savings, especially if you shop at a store that doubles and triple coupons. My store triples coupons that are $.35 or less and doubles coupons that are $.50 or less. This really helps rack up the savings even more quickly.

I wanted to share two things about couponing before beginning... First, you can coupon and keep to healthy items. It is definitely more challenging and you typically won't have the stories that some have of walking out of a store with $100 in merchandise for $6 (or something similar ;) but you can get big benefits from couponing and still feed your family healthfully. Second is that, like with many things, you will get out what you put in. Those women who do have the amazing stories of feeding their family of 6 on $20 a week are typically women who spend many, many hours doing this and often shop multiple stores. I don't have that kind of time. You can still coupon without spending hours and hours a week. I spend about 10 minutes a week cutting out coupons and an extra 30-45 minutes a week at the store looking for my best deals. Now how to get started...

First you need to obtain coupons. If your store accepts computer-printed versions then you won't have to spend a dime to get yours. The coupons that come in the weekly newspapers can be printed right at home and redeemed at your local store. (Smart Source, Red Plum and coupon.com are just a few to get you started. There are literally 100's more!) None of my local stores accept these anymore, so if you are like me you'll have to get coupons somewhere else. I get the Sunday paper delivered to my house for $1 a week; it's $2 at the store. This is well worth the cost for me because if I average just a $1 savings per week then I've broken even. The reality is I save far, far more than that. :)

After cutting my coupons each week I also swap what's left with a friend who coupons but we tend to use very different items. I also used to go by Starbucks each Sunday night and pull coupons out of their newspaper share bin. Many people read the Sunday paper but have no interest in the coupons. They drop the whole stack in the newspaper bin to share with another patron - or for someone like me to get their coupons. ;) I don't do this much anymore just due to time restraints. You can be creative though. Maybe see if you have a neighbor or family member who takes the paper but doesn't coupon. :) Getting multiple copies of the same coupons is not only okay but is desired. I read recently on a site where a mom had 6 copies of the paper delivered to her house each week. Wow!

Next you need a place to organize your coupons. I use a simple file box designed for index cards. I have it divided into these categories: personal (products for mom), personal (shampoo, shaving, soap, deodorant), sweet snacks, savory snacks, cans/boxes, condiments, breakfast, baking isle, meat, dairy/eggs, frozen, medications/vitamins, refrigerated section/produce. You may need to add a section for baby, cleaning, laundry or even more. My box looks just like the one in this post about organizing coupons except I do mine by the categories and not alphabetically like theirs. The linked post shows other ideas for how you can organize your stash. :)

Now it's time to coupon. When I started really getting into coupons I used the Grocery Game website. You pay for their services but at the time it was a great investment. You can get a four week trial for free if, after reading this, you are interested. You pay for each list you want from each store. That list will tell you what is on sale, if there is a coupon to pair with that sale, which flyer it came from (ex: SmartSource, Red Plum, P & G) as well as which week it was in the paper. They will also indicate if this is a regular sale or an item's "rock bottom" price (meaning stock up if you can because it won't be this cheap for awhile again).

GG was invaluable to me and I used it for a solid year. It taught me what those sales trends in my store were (not that they come out and tell you; it's just something you pick up on as you do this) and really helped me master the art of couponing while holding my hand a bit. Now I can do it on my own now that I know my preferred store's sale trends. :) Coupon Mom is another site like GG but it's free. You have to sign up but there is no cost. And her videos are wonderful to help learn how to use her lists and the coupon database. It's not quite as user-friendly in my experience, but the fact that you don't pay can quickly make up for that.

If you choose not to use one of these list sites you can still be an effective "couponer"! Plan on having your grocery trips take you up to twice as long while you are figuring out this coupon thing. Go to an isle (for example the soap/shampoo isle) and peek at what coupons you have. Walk the isle and see if any sale items match a coupon you have. If so, great. If not, keep looking.

Buy some items at a grocery warehouse if possible: I have a membership to a wholesale warehouse through dh's work, and I shop there once a month. The prices I get for first cold pressed olive oil, raw almonds, five pound blocks of cheese and frozen fruit beat even my store's sale prices and there are rarely coupons for those anyway. I also get dh's contact solution, maple syrup, a few healthy snacks and laundry detergent.

Other Tips: Don't worry as much about about brand loyalty. If you typically buy Gillette razors but you can get Shick for a deep discount, go for it! Also don't worry about whether or not you need an item. If it's on sale for 50% or more of its typical price, stock up big. My store only allows you to use three similar coupons per week and they will double/triple only the first one. Be aware of this because it will affect your final cost. Also keep an eye out for "catalinas" - those coupons they print off at the register. And watch for manufacturer's coupons attatched to some of the items you buy that can be redeemed that day at checkout.

A few examples from my recent grocery list: Pillsbury pie crusts are usually $3.09 at my store. Last week they were on sale for $2.49 each. Plus there was a special bonus advertised that if you got any four items from a specific Pillsbury list then you got an additional $4 off your grocery order bringing each pie crust down to $1.49 each. Then, attached to the pie crust boxes were different manufacturer's coupons for assorted Pillsbury products. I made sure to get the boxes that had pie crust coupons that were for $1 off 2 pie crusts. That brought each pie crust to $.99 each. Then at the register a catalina printed for $1 off my next grocery order. That means I basically got each box of pie crust for $.66 each. Pretty good and I can freeze the extras and pop them out each time I want to make a chicken pot pie to take to a new mommy!

Another example is Muir Glen oganic spaghetti sauce. It is normally $5.79 a jar. The past few weeks it has been on sale "2/$6.00". On the jars there were coupons for $1 off two Muir Glen products. That brings the final cost down to $2.50 a jar for organic sauce. I know you can buy other sauces for $1.00 but I really try to stay with organic and/or healthier options still avoiding hfcs, additive, preservatives and dyes (the above pie crust examply being a detour because pie crust is my cooking nemesis!).

I haven't paid more than $.20 for deodorant in years. I prefer Suave but will use any brand. The small size is $1.19. This week it was on sale for $.88 and I had a $.50 off coupon. That coupon was doubled meaning I got the product for free. Similarly I haven't paid for hand soap in years either. I save Dial and Softsoap coupons that are for $.50 off one item. When they go on sale a few times a year for 10/$10 I stock up and don't buy it the rest of the year.

There are tons and tons of websites that do a better job of explaining this than me. Here are helpful links where you can learn more:

Perfect Art of Couponing

How to organize your coupons:

5 Unique Ways to Organize Coupons

How to Organize Coupons (Binder)

Making a Coupon Organizer System

Day Runner Coupon Organizer

Places to find more inexpensive meals for your family:

$5 Dinners blog and her best-selling cookbook

More with Less Cookbook

A funny story about Erin's site ($5 Dinners): When I came up with the idea for Five Dollar Fridays I thought I was so creative! A week or two into this new concept (or so I thought) of mine, a friend emailed to tell me that there was a mom out there who had been doing this for a very long time...and doing it very well I might add. ;)

I hope this post encourages you to try out couponing. I love that I am stretching every penny we have to make the most of every cent God gives us. I choose to see it like a game and see how much I can save each week. It can be really fun and truly addictive.

Getting Started Homeschooling - Part Two - Deciding Your Philosophy

This is the second post in this series. You can read Part One: Deciding if it's Right for Your Family first if it would be helpful for you.

Once a family has made the decision to homeschool most assume the next step in the journey is deciding what materials they will use to educate their children. This is important to be sure but there is yet something that precedes this. First you need to determine your educational approach - the philosophy/methodology by which you will filter all other decisions. This first step and the next (this is when you choose what materials you will use) are typically the most time consuming of all.

Before you decide the "What?" (curriculum choices) of your school you should decide the "Why?" and that "Why?" will largely determine the "How?" Will you follow a Classical approach? Charlotte Mason? Unschooling? Textbook/Traditional Method? Eclectic? Unit studies? Waldorf? Montessori? Will you use an online school? An umbrella school? There are other options as well.

Skipping this step can be a bit like preparing for a long trip not exactly sure where you are going and no map to guide your way. You probably have a pretty good notion of where you would like to go? Do you like hiking in the mountains or laying on the beach? A busy trip to an historic city or a more peaceful time browsing art museums? And if you are not exactly sure where you want to go, what do you pack? How do you prepare? How do you get the most out of your time if you spend much of each day planning the next? And with no map, you don't know the specifics of HOW you will even get there. You may get to your final destination...or not. And if you do, it won't be because you were efficient in the journey, unless you are insanely lucky. ;) No one would ever plan a trip like that. And no one should start (or get very far) on a homeschool journey without deciding where they want to go and the best vehicle (educational method) to get them there.

What you decide about which educational approach you will adopt is influenced by many factors which can include (but is not limited to):

• how you feel children best learn
• how you feel about the education you received
• your ultimate goals for homeschooling
• your personality: type A or laid back?
• your child's learning style and personality
• what you can commit as a teacher: Will you work while homeschooling? Do you have any health issues that may limit your role? Any mental health concerns?
• other family factors: large family? small family? special needs child(ren) who will require large amounts of time and/or attention?
• budget

Now let me pause here and say that I have an education degree and I never, ever learned about different educational methodologies. Kids learn one way in most public schools - textbooks/traditional. There was no need to teach us about other ideologies we wouldn't be able to implement anyway. When I made the decision to homeschool and started hearing all these terms I was completely overwhelmed. It was akin to learning another language. And the more I read, the more words were thrown at me. If you are already feeling like I was, just breathe. Seriously, it will get better soon. :)

So, where do you go from here? It depends on your level of overwhelmedness (*giggle*) at this moment and how much time you have before starting to homeschool. You can read this short article (or just google "homeschool methods" for tons of other links) for a quick overview. Then I would recommend Homeschooling Methods: Seasoned Advice on Learning Styles by Paul and Gena Suarez. This book shares about each method by first giving an introduction and then following up with articles from experts in that particular area. Very readable, very informative and very well done.

Next I would offer Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum. This book also gives a brief overview of different methods but is not nearly as in depth as the prior book in this. It also begins to cross over into what the third post in this series will cover dealing with choosing your curriculum but has much that will help you get to that point. Her first five chapters are: (1) How on Earth Do I Figure Out What Curriculum to Use? (2) "Drill and Kill", "Real Books", "Delight-Directed Studies"...What's Best? (3) Putting Together Your Philosophy of Education (4) Learning Styles: How Does My Child Learn Best? (5) Who Should Learn What and When? These two books together I feel compliment each other well. If you only had time/desire to read one, I would go with 100 Top Picks.

I hope you are feeling a bit empowered. You can do this. It is overwhelming for just about everyone in the beginning. Really it is. You will look back on this someday and smile. Really!

Decorating: I'm Trying! ;)

Recently I referred to my old "Confessions" post. Confession #6 was about how I cannot buy my own clothes (now I can organize a closet full of clothes, but the buying of them - ICK!) and I certainly can't accessorize. This applies to my home as well. Decorating is not my cuppa. Yet recently I have been so inspired by different decorating blogs out there.

I think it has something to do with the fact that I no longer have babies in the house. I have a tiny bit more time to devote to actually thinking about what I want my home to look like. I love going to Mt. Hope Chronicles and looking through her "Project Hedi" posts (and lately I want to visit just to see all those adorable pictures of little Lola Collette, too!) And I just adore the Nester. When I grow up I want my house to look just like theirs. ;)

In the meantime I have taken a baby step (and yes, it is truly a baby step) towards decorating. I decided that for one year I would keep a centerpiece on my island that I would change with the seasons. I got the idea of using these candles from Heidi at Mt. Hope years ago. I bought the candles and they sat in a cabinet until a few months ago. Here is what is currently sitting on my island. (I cheated and already changed it out for Christmas since we leave town in the morning and won't come back until the weekend. I wanted to come back and already have the house decorated for Christmas so I was a busy beaver this weekend).

Here is what it looked like before when I had it decorated for Thanksgiving.

I wish I would have taken a picture of what it looked like in October; it was precious. I had Halloween ribbon and candy corn filled the bottom of the plate. Just wanted to share something silly and fun.

Five Dollar Friday: Shredded Barbecue Chicken Stuffed Potatoes

Stuffed baked potatoes are one of my favorite comfort foods. Mix that with one of my other favorite comfort foods, barbecue, and you have comfort food heaven! On top of that, this recipe is perfect for a busy school day and, if you watch your toppings, it's healthy to boot. Take five minutes to pop the ingredients in the crock pot at your morning break and you will have the majority of dinner ready in a few short hours.

One tip: There are a few times a year you can be sure to find great sales on barbecue sauces - Memorial Day, Labor Day and Fourth of July. These holidays that revolve around grilling are a great time to stock up on your favorite sauce for cheap!!! I typically make my own sauce using a kid-friendly modified version of this yummy recipe from allrecipes.com, but when a good sauce goes on sale for $1 a bottle I can't pass it up.

Shredded Barbecue Chicken Stuffed Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken breast

1 bottle favorite barbecue sauce

4 baking potatoes (about a lb one for Dad & smaller ones for the kids and Mom)

4 T butter

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

a few tablespoons of corn starch or arrowroot starch (optional)

Directions:

1. Place chicken in crock pot and pour barbecue sauce over the top.

2. Cover and turn crock pot on high for 4 hours.

3. Remove chicken and allow to cool slightly. Remove skin, take chicken off bone and shred.

4. Skim sauce in crock pot to remove any extra grease.

5. This step is totally optional: If your sauce is too thin or you just prefer a thicker one, remove a cup or two and place in a small saucepan. In a separate small bowl, combine 2 T corn/arrowroot starch with equal amount hot barbecue sauce until it's completely dissolved. Pour starch mixture into barbecue sauce and raise temperature until it comes to a very gentle boil and thickens desired amount. Add more corn/arrowroot starch if needed (using the technique of dissolving first in small amount of hot liquid) to get to desired thickness. Add mixture back to crock pot.

6. Return chicken to crock pot. Turn crock pot to low, allowing mixture to simmer and all flavors to meld for 30-60 minutes.

7. In the meantime prepare potatoes (check out howtobakeapotato.com if you need help with this step).

8. When potatoes are ready, sprinkle all generously with salt and pepper. Stuff each with one tablespoon of butter, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/4-1/2 cup chicken mixture with sauce and top with 1/4 cup cheese.

9. Enjoy!

Thoughts on this recipe:

My first attempt at chicken in the crock pot was a similar recipe a friend shared with me that started by using boneless skinless chicken breasts. That time the meat turned out a little dry and had a bit of an odd texture. When I tried it this way, on the bone and with skin, it was juicy and wonderful...and the meat had even been previously frozen for two months.

To thicken or not to thicken...it will depend on your preference, how thick your barbecue sauce is to begin and how much water is retained in your chicken (most chicken has water added, some more than others).

You can add more seasonings to the crock pot when starting if desired. A teaspoon of garlic powder and/or onion powder can be yummy if your sauce is a bit bland. Or a kick of cayenne if you like it hot (just don't forget about the kiddos!), or an extra tablespoon or two of honey or molasses if you want a sweeter sauce.

I skip all toppings and simply use the chicken and barbecue sauce on my potato to keep calories lower. I love all the butter, sour cream and cheese but don't need it. My skinny boys, now that's another story. :)

Cost Breakdown: $6.14 (with plenty left for a mommy lunch later that week :)

$ 3.00 - chicken breast (bought on sale for $.99 per lb)

$ 1.00 - barbecue sauce (see note at top of post)

$ .75 - baking potatoes (from a 5# bag purchased on sale and with coupon for $1.00)

$ . 28 - butter (sale)

$ . 50 - sour cream (sale for $1 for pint)

$ .61 - cheddar cheese (I buy in bulk each month at wholesale club)

A Needful Medicine

Almost three years ago I did a post called Confessions because I never want others to think I have it all together. I didn't then; I certainly don't now. All those confessions I wrote 34 months ago still are true today, but recently God has been showing me I need to grow much in one particular area. And He has revealed this to me through my middle son, Haddon, the one I have nicknamed, "Chocolate Eyes". When you see your own weaknesses showing up in your children it is humbling...and saddening... and a huge kick in the pants. From that old post:

Confession #5: I take myself and life in general waaaaay too seriously. I need to laugh a lot more and chill out. Dh used to tell me that on a scale of one to ten everything for me was a 12 - from the Tupperware drawer to something that really matters. I have come a long way but still have much room for growth

Haddon is taking after me in this area and it grieves my heart. But I am greatly encouraged in this...I know the cure, or at least part of it. Laughter! Yep, laughter. Dh is such a blessing to me in this. When I am in one of my "take myself too seriously" modes he has wisdom enough to know that the salve for my soul in that moment is laughter. And I have seen several times this week that it will be the salve for Haddon, too.

This change needs to first start with me. The adage, "It is better caught than taught" rings true here. My boys will learn to laugh at the little things (and sometimes the big things, too) when they see me doing so. Knowing that Mommy doesn't sweat the small stuff will give them freedom to do the same. How far I have to grow in this. How very, very far.

To inspire myself I have found quotes on laughter. I am printing these off and putting them in my Teacher Notebook and on my fridge. I want my house to be marked more often by the sound of children laughing. For when my boys think back on their childhood to remember that we laughed as a family. Because where there is laughter there is joy. Proverbs 22:17 says, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.

~ ee cummings

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.

~ Lord Byron

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.

~ Mark Twain

Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart.

~ Mort Walker

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.

~ Victor Hugo

Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.

~ Karl Barth

Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.

~ Mark Twain

Getting Started Homeschooling - Part One - Deciding if it's Right for Your Family

Through my church or this blog, I get lot of calls and emails from moms who are either thinking about or have already made the decision to homeschool. The majority of the calls/emails begin basically the same: "Where do I go from here?" I am beginning a series of posts I can reference that will hopefully be a resource for moms starting out on this journey...or even moms who have already jumped in and are learning as they go.

If you have already decided homeschooling is for you, feel free to skip this post. The second in this series (Deciding Your Philosophy) will be published soon and that one may be more helpful for you.

Last I want to say, borrowing from Lisa Whelchel's So You Are Thinking About Homeschooling, I am not anti-traditional school (be it public or private). I am just pro-homeschool...for our family. This is a very personal decision and I am not one who feels homeschooling is right for every family in all seasons of life. I want to be dogmatic about the things that Scripture is dogmatic about and give freedom in the areas where we have liberty. I think homeschooling is certainly an area of liberty in the Christian life. Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 details the parents' responsibility to teach their children God's truths:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Nowhere in the above passage does it specifically detail HOW we are to make this a reality for our family; homeschooling is one way that this passage can be applied. In my opinion, you can be obedient to the command of this Scripture and have your children in public or private school, too. Furthermore, there are also many reasons not to homeschool that a family need to consider before beginning, too. I think that for any family though, it is a worthy investment of time to thoughtfully consider all educational options for their children before beginning.

And now onto the reason for this post....you are thinking about homeschooling and you ended up here. First, I would love to humbly point you to two posts I have written. The first details our journey into homeschooling (Why We Homeschool - Part One) and the second gives the specific reasons our family has chosen this path (Why We Homeschool - Part Two). I also have thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Greg Sherman's article titled, "Ten Good Reasons to Homeschool."

If you would like to learn even more about the specifics of homeschooling here are two books that can provide much more information. The first is,

So You're Thinking About Homeschooling: Fifteen Families Show How You Can Do It. This was the book a friend put in my hand when I told her I was pretty sure we would give homeschooling a try. Whelchel gives a snapshot of fifteen families who all homeschool for different reasons and in different ways. It is a quick read and I was so encouraged after reading it years ago. I think you will be, too.

The second book is called The Homeschooling Option: How to Decide When It's Right for Your Family by Lisa Rivero. This book goes into greater detail about the specifics of homeschooling. One of my favorite chapters is Chapter 7, "Parent Coffee Break: Frequently Asked Questions". I think both of these books together are an excellent one-two punch for someone wanting to earnestly learn more about what homeschooling really is and if it might be a fit for their family.

This is certainly not an exhaustive study on this topic. If you google "why we homeschool" or "reasons to homeschool" you will find pages and pages and pages of information. I have tried to find just a few of the resources I personally have enjoyed or that others I trust have used with success. Use this as your stepping stone and research more if you need additional information. And many blessings on your journey. My hope and prayer is that you are able to come to a decision that you feel a great peace about and one you feel will bless your entire family, whether that is homeschooling or not.