I put my post in my private journal. Too negative for public consumption. Suffice it to say I am not a happy camper right now, trying to get my oldest to finish his first semester of school work from this past year. We have a deadline of August 3rd. If it’s not completed by that date, he gets a zero. He MUST do 7 lessons each day, 5 days a week to make this happen. He barely gets 3 done. I have to sit right next to him and tap him to keep him focused. I’m just so tired of doing this. This has been my experience with homeschooling. It has not been a good experience. I can’t wait till it’s over and I can put homeschooling behind me. It has been nothing but a struggle the whole time. I have no energy left for my other two children, so now they’ll go to school as well. This is not how I imagined that it would be. This is so not the way I wanted things to turn out.
Monthly Archives: June 2011
Yep, I Did
Last week, on our way home from town, we stopped by Taco Bell for a quick supper. On the way to Taco Bell, I passed the marquee of a local grocery store, and one of the items flashing caught my eye. I should have kept driving. I should have ignored the “.88 cents” price tag on the item. But I couldn’t help it.
I made a fatal right turn, parked my car, and marched into the store.
They had Betty Crocker Cake Mixes on sale for .88 cents! YES, only .88 cents!
I couldn’t let a deal like that pass me by.
I had decided a couple weeks ago that I would take a simple cake with canned raspberry topping to potluck every time we went (at least twice a month). A simple white or yellow cake was quick and easy to make, everybody likes it because it’s not too sweet, and our home canned raspberries as a topping make it pretty. It was the perfect solution to my potluck brain freeze.
So I thought, “I’ll just pick up a ‘little supply’ of these Betty Crocker cake mixes to have on hand for my potluck cake idea.”
As I stood there, looking at all those boxes of cake, that were only .88 cents each, something wild and terrible came over me.
I wanted every flavor.
I began to devise how I could use every flavor of cake mix.
I began to think of ways to use cake, give away cake, sell cake, donate cake, make cake into amazing kitchen creations that I could post on my languishing Kitchen Blog.
So I began to fill my cart. I grabbed 10 boxes of this type, 10 boxes of that type.
I made sure to get Vanilla and Yellow. I mean, that was the reason I came into the store in the first place, right?
I only wish I had taken a picture of my grocery cart, filled to the top with cake boxes. It was quite a sight. The checkout lady asked me what I was going to do with all that cake??
I heard the words “I’m using it for fund raising” come out of my mouth.
Where did that come from??
So, what AM I going to do with all this cake?
Well, first, I’m going to give it to my 11 year old son.
He had tons of fun with it!!
Spiral tower…
Fortress…
Fortress again!!
Tower…
Tower Details…
King in his Castle…
Throne…
Happy King on his Throne…
And here it is! 10 boxes of Vanilla. 10 boxes of White. 10 boxes of German Chocolate. 10 boxes of Yellow. 10 boxes of Lemon. 2 boxes of Carrot. 2 boxes of Spice. 2 Boxes of Chocolate. 2 Boxes of Chocolate Fudge. AND 2 boxes of Confetti (for the kids).
I BOUGHT 60 BOXES OF CAKE!!!!!!
Yep, I did.
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Two Layer Tacos
We finally ate something worth telling about! This is a simple meal, but takes an old standard and gives it a new and fun twist! I think I got the idea from Taco Bell, but I don’t remember for sure.
First, take a warm corn tortilla…
Then cover it with a thin layer of refried beans…
Then wrap it around your warm, crunchy taco shell like an old, worn glove…
It’s really easy to do…
Then fill with all your favorite Taco fillings. We like to use veggie beef crumbles in the hard taco (though on this day, we just put in more refried beans), lettuce, tomato, olives, cheese, sour cream…whatever you like to put in a taco…
And enjoy!!! The beauty of wrapping the hard shell in a soft shell is that when you take that crunchy bite, nothing falls apart! The hard taco crunches and may actually break, but the soft shell holds it all together!! These are fun to make and fun to eat!!
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Nothing Happening
My kitchen is hibernating. Nothing has been happening in it besides my trying to get my children to do their chores and get the dishes done. Meals have been haphazard…grab some cereal, toast some bread, grab some cheese and crackers, eat a few cherries, thank goodness for Taco Bell, “there’s nothing to eat”, “what can we eat?”, and so on…
I think by tomorrow, we’ll have it clean again, and I need to tackle the tiny, apartment size fridge that we have in our tiny, apartment size kitchen. We have lettuce in the garden. The least I could do is make a salad like the Wood Man did (hubby’s new blog name). It would be pretty, taste earthy and fresh, and be full of nutrients. That will be my goal for tomorrow! See you then!
First Summer Salad
This is the first salad from our garden this year.
I’m sure it was delicious!
I didn’t make it, wash it, or pick it, but my hubby did.
He enjoyed eating it too!
4-H Practice
The weather is great and I’m sitting here watching Kaelyn’s 4-H practice. She is really excited about being in the fair this year with Shinanigan. Today she is working with Blade the mustang.
Kaelyn is in pink!
George and his pup.
Learning how to stand with your horse in front of the judges. These kids are all preparing to show their horses at the NE W*shington County Fair this fall.
This is one, big, velvety black, with touches of neon feathers, PROUD Rooster. He is head honcho in the flock, and simply gorgeous looking, and he knows it!!
Barn Cat
Baby Geese learning how to swim in the horse trough.
Lots of critters keeping me company while I watch!!
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Bad Day in the Kitchen
Threw together Haystacks for lunch and everyone fended for themselves for the rest of the day, including breakfast. Kitchen is a disaster, table is a disaster, sprouts are rotton and need to be thrown out. Food from grocery shopping still not put away and cluttering up the living room. Tomorrow will be a new day.
My Life is About to Change
My days have been heavy emotionally. My life is overwhelmed with duties that I cannot keep up with. The home schooling is suffering, and it has spurred me to make a decision. I already put the oldest in school this past January. It has been a good experience. Some of his grades were barely passing, so my fingers are crossed that he can maintain well enough to stay there at the boarding school and not have to come home to special education in the public school.
And now I’m going to put the other two in the local Christian School that is affiliated with our church. In some way, I’m feeling like a failure to make this decision. I’m feeling lost, as my identity has been a home school mom for 10 years. But our life cannot keep spiraling out of control like it is and we need the discipline of an imposed schedule. I should be able to have my own schedule. I should be able to keep them on task. I should…
But I can’t keep beating myself over the head about what “should” be, and I have to face reality. I run a full time dog kennel and breeding business. I am in charge of all the marketing, photos, shots, worming schedules, email communication, FB page updates, website updates, etc…and we still need this income to live. I can’t let up on this responsibility, not to mention the daily tasks of being a wife and mother, plus living FAR in the country with wood heat, huge garden, etc. I just can’t keep feeling like I’m failing my kids in the homeschooling realm, so I have decided to enroll them in school.
I am a credentialed teacher. I get excited about the opportunities they’ll have in the tiny, one room school. I want to help in there. I think I can make the school a better place. I think I can invest in the school and be an asset, even if I’m just a volunteer mom that listens to kids read, or helps kids with their multiplication tables. I am a great teacher, but not so much when my time is divided with so many responsibilities.
I feel settled in my decision, but I can’t help feel like I don’t belong in some of the home school groups that I frequent online anymore. That makes me sad. I hope the online friends I’ve made will still like me even if I don’t home school, and fit into that mold. It will be a different life, there will be pros and cons. But I can’t keep doing what I’m doing. I’m not doing anything well, and just barely keeping my head above water in all areas. This is not the model I want for my children. This is not the chaos I want them living in.
Boarding School
Darien is HOME now, but this was his home away from home since January. It was a little more cozy looking when all his stuff was in it. Here he is, after we’ve cleaned his room, right before he checked out of the dorm for the summer.
UCA was a great experience for him and he’s happy to go back next year. He won’t be in this same room, but one very similar. His only request….a comfy, big chair to study in. I think we can accommodate that!!
Goofing off in the lobby!!
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Oops, Forgot to Water the Sprouts
Sabbath, the day I usually don’t have to do much in the kitchen. This morning I skipped breakfast (only Daryl ate a quick bowl of cereal). We had potluck at church, and then a picnic supper with the Pathfinder group. I didn’t spend any time in my kitchen, which is a welcome relief, but it also means that I didn’t see my sprouters, and therefore, forgot to water my sprouts.
Oops.
One batch smelled rotton, and the newer batch smelled ok. I went ahead and watered it tonight, so hopefully, missing one watering won’t hurt it too badly. I am noticing that the sprouts are not doing as well as it’s getting warmer in the house overall. I may have to set aside my sprouting during the summer and pick it back up as September rolls around.
SILVER PAW CAVACHONS 