Playing at the park

Today after we cleaned up breakfast the children and I went to the park. They added a new play area, and the children and I really wanted to try it out. It was so fun, we had the park all to ourselves which was a real treat and this new thing is huge with some great climbing things.
The boys pretended that they were pirates, and the girls just had a blast climbing all over the place. The baby (22 months) really liked going down slides with me and following her around all over the place, up and down again and again really gave me a workout. We had to leave and get school done but we decided to come back after that was finished. When we went back there were a lot of other children there so my children had so much fun! So, I got a double workout today!

I have decided to chronicle my weight loss here, so after each of my posts I will show my progress if any.

Start weight: 186
Current weight: 185
Goal weight: 135

Recipe-Taco Salad Enchiladas

Okay tonight I needed to use up some leftovers and this is what the result was. My husband REALLY liked it, so I thought I would post it.

I took a casserole pan and filled the small size flour tortillas with a small amount of leftover ground turkey taco meat and refried beans. Then I rolled the tortillas enchilada style. After the pan was filled I took some enchilada sauce and poured a small amount over the top (not too much or it will be a soggy mess). Then I sprinkled cheese on top, I like a lot so I used a lot, use what you are comfortable with. Then I put whole pitted olives on top. Then because of the heat I popped the pan in the microwave instead of the oven and cooked it until it was bubbling (about 5 minutes). After I took it out of the microwave I sprinkled broken tortilla chip crumbs on the top (again leftovers) and leftover shredded lettuce.

It was very easy and yummy. Enjoy!

Getting Back on Track

Every year in our homeschooling adventure I start to lose steam in the spring. I try to keep going, but I just lose stamina. What I have noticed through the years is that it seems to be a season. As I take a step back and rest I come back energized and ready to go!

Right now I am coming out of one of those times, and it feels so good to be ready to pick up and go. I have also discovered that trying to use curriculum that doesn't really fit helps to encourage those burn-out seasons. This year instead of throwing out a curriculum that I love, I have decided to adapt it so that it does fit our family. I have discovered after much experimenting that what works best for my children and me is to have worktext books that do the teaching and the assignments in one book. My children know what is expected and they don't have to wait for their ever busier Mom. When they have a question they ask and we go over it together and then I go over it and have them correct any errors. This might seem like a duh, but I have always been kind of a snob when it comes to school. I always wanted to have lot's of hands on learning and always chose those types of curriculums. But as I became busier with more babies I just couldn't keep up and I would want to crawl under a rock when burn-out would hit. But this year I have made changes, I have created master sheets that correspond to my favorite curriculum so that my children will know what is expected even if I am not available. I have a binding machine, so I will just bind these up and we will have the best of both worlds. My favorite curriculum in a format that works for us right now.

And now that your curiosity is peaked, I will tell you my favorite curriculum:
http://www.sowcurriculum.com

Cleaning

Today I have been cleaning like a mad woman. We have a room in our house that is the dump room. Everything that we don't have a place for or want to put away gets dumped in it. It is horrible, and having my darling little girls constantly dumping drawers and bins out doesn't help. Well, today I cleaned it! I boxed up and labeled all of those "little foxes" (Song of Songs 2:15) and stacked them neatly in the closet. I got rid of TONS of stuff that was hiding in there. On top of cleaning the dump room I have been doing never-ending dishes and scaling Mt. Never-rest (laundry pile). I have been weeding the yard and staying busy, busy, busy. I am so exhausted that I can hardly hold anything in my right hand.

You might have guessed that I am not the best housekeeper on my block (or anywhere), but I sure do try. You might even be thinking that if I hadn't let it get that bad it wouldn't have been such a job and you're right on both things. I did let it get bad and it was very painful to clean it. And I do try to keep things nice, but sometimes they just get out of control and then I kind of short circuit and don't know what to do. But, I love my dh and tomorrow is Father's Day. And knowing him as I do I know that what he would want more than anything else is a tidy house. And because of that love I worked and worked to clean it up and give him the gift of a clean and tidy home (even the DUMP room.

You know I kind of think it is the same in my heart with the Lord. Sometimes I have sins that I don't confess and repent of, and then my heart just gets dirtier and dirtier and then I short circuit and don't know where to start to be clean again. But I love my Lord so I want to be pure. Then I seek Him in His Word and find that He cleanses me and makes things right. But it is so painful and it hurts to admit that I have let things get so bad. But He is so faithful and I love Him so I endure the pain for the beautiful fellowship that follows. Just as I worked hard to clean my home and endured pain for the pleasure and fellowship that will follow tomorrow when my dh enjoys the gift I have given him.

Recipe-Pancake Mix

6 cups all-purpose flour
6 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbs salt
3/4 cup baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups powdered milk

Mix well and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

To make:
4 eggs
4 cups water
1/2 cup oil
6 cups pancake mix
1 tsp vanilla

Mix well and bake on a hot griddle. If needed add more water to make the consistency of heavy cream.

Exercise and Fitness

I am OUT OF SHAPE. Lately I have really been concerned because I want to have fun with my blessings and not always say that I am too tired.

When I had my first baby I was very thin. I gained 35 pounds and only lost 20, but that was okay, I was still pretty thin. After my second baby I was thin and I only gained 24 pounds, pretty good I thought, I was still pretty thin after he was born. Third son is born and I am about 135, not skinny, but for 3 babies I still am looking and feeling good. Now here is where it all changes, fourth baby turns out to be a girl. Well let's just say that caused a bit of friction in our happy home. I still did not gain tons of weight during the pregnancy, but I starting eating after the baby was born and I GAINED weight. This continued with the next two GIRLS and now I am NOT thin, I am ROUND. I am now the soft and cushy weight of 186 pounds. Yuck!

So, now that I am not currently pregnant or nursing and am starting to feel like a normal woman I want to deal with this problem. I have started to exercise with this neat Xbox program called Yourself Fitness, which is like having a personal trainer. I really like it and I'm sure I will see progress physically. But the fact is to lose weight I have to deal with my eating. Why do I eat too much? Because I am bored, or more often, not trusting in the Lord. I don't know why I think eating will help whatever I am worrying over, but somehow I think that a Kit-Kat bar will make it all better. What's up with that?

So on top of exercising consistently and breaking a sweat (yuck), I need to renew my mind and trust in the Lord with all my heart. This can only happen when I am in the Word daily, which I am ashamed to say I have let slip. So, now I will commit to exercise and deal with my overeating by seeking the Lord daily in His Word and trusting in Him. And I will tell all of my children to become the diet police and remind as only they can when I am reaching for something that won't help me reach my goal, which is 135 in case you were wondering.

And as far as the friction because of being blessed with girls, I am happy to say that we are very pleased with our beautiful daughters and couldn't imagine not having them.

How I Organize Our Finances

I pay our bills every two weeks, on paydays. How I organize it so everything gets paid is by using my planner. I have a purse planner that take 3-3/4x6-3/4 size sheets. It was a lovely gift from my young cousin for Christmas. In my planner I only use the week at a glance pages for a calendar. On the pay weeks I have inserted an index card with lines on it so that I can make notes of bills that need to be paid on that check. When that payday comes I know exactly which bills to pull and pay or if automatically deducted I know to write them in my checkbook. This has saved my tired mommy brain from having to think when paying bills. After I have paid the bills I take and place each reciept into a 6x9 manilla envelope labeled with the current month we are on. Each month I just file one envelope and start another, so at the end of the year I have 12 envelopes and I can find most anything I need by thinking of the month it happened (which can be remembered if I have written it in my planner).

Also in my planner are envelopes hole-punched to fit. In these I have written names such as Auto Maintenance, Groceries, Entertainment etc. . I put an alloted amount into each envelope each check and we are slowly learning to spend only that amount. The main bills come out of the checking account and other than the cash that goes into the envelopes, I am learning to not touch the money in the bank. I also keep my checkbook register in my planner so that I am able to know at a glance that I DON'T have any money :o) !

I have so much yet to grow in the financial area, but slowly it has become a mostly stress-free area.

Homeschool Worries....

Today I have been thinking about our homeschooling journey. Right now I am in the mindset that I don't do nearly enough and my children should be so much more advanced. I am living under GUILT! It is terrible to feel this way.

So, you know what I am going to do? I am going to give it all to the Lord. So child A is behind and child B needs training in diligence. The Lord knows the path each of my children will travel and He will make sure that they are prepared for it.

Over the weekend my mother gave me a bad time about not having my children involved in outside activities. I felt really bad and was sure I was ruining my children. But you know what, they need to know about the Lord and love him much more than they need to play soccor or t-ball. And not to be persnickety, but many of the activities for children and youth at church are just not all that edifying. I also have problems with outside activities stealing our children's hearts. I want their hearts for the Lord and family not everything else. This is something we as adults live with daily. Our hearts must be dedicated to the Lord first and our family second. Many things try to pull our focus from those two very important things, and we fight it daily. I think it is good for my children to learn this at an early age. Now, I am not saying we should go live in a cave somewhere, but what we do participate in needs to be evaluated as to whether it will bless our family or not.

But back to my point, I am going to rest in the Lord knowing that He is truly in charge of my children's complete education and rejoice in Him!