Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window it is a bit foggy this morning. It looks a little chilly, but when I went out on the front porch it was actually warm.

I am thinking about my date with my husband and kids tomorrow evening. It's been a while since we've gone to see a movie and I'm looking forward to it!

I am thankful for my husband who works so hard so that I can stay home with our children.

From the learning rooms - We have two Algebra assignments to complete today since we missed yesterday's. However, we have a lunch date today with Dad and some out of town friends so I don't know that this will be accomplished!

From the kitchen it looks to be a simple dinner tonight. Something along the lines of a casserole maybe.

I am wearing my pajamas!

I am creating new daily themes for my blog. It helps keep me organized and focused and hopefully someone will like what I post!

I am going back to the theater this evening for play rehearsal! The two older girls are doing "A Christmas Carol" this year - one is a character in the play, the other is tech crew.

I am reading a book by Nora Roberts.

I am hoping I get everything done this week!

I am hearing the sounds of the girls waking up and moving around. The dog's nails clipping on the floor. The quiet hum of the refrigerator.

Around the house I see things that need picking up, a few dishes in the sick that need washed, a pile of laundry that needs putting away. But, oh, here I sit blogging away....

One of my favorite things is talking to my husband after a long day.

A few plans for the rest of the week: to get through our weekly assignments and get our chores done!

Here is picture thought I am sharing:

Mom Help!

Oh, do I LOVE this topic as, I'm sure, do other homeschool moms. We need a lot of help, right? Ok, maybe some more than others. There are those who make it look so easy! Can I have a piece of their pie, please?

So, what gets me through the day? What keeps me from going insane? Let's see....

1. The thought of a good book at the end of the day. I like to curl up in a quiet spot (even if that means shutting myself in my room) and reading until I drift off to sleep.

2. Knowing that SOON I can put my pajamas back on and curl up with hubby on the couch to watch a little tv.

3. My new found friend - blogging. I love to see what other moms are doing and I'm learning a lot!

4. A nice hot bubble bath - which I haven't had for quite a while and may be the reason my family has been complaining that I'm having hissy fits lately. Well, if they'd just pick up their clothes and rinse their dishes so the food doesn't dry on them, I might not have hissy fits! ....Excuse me for a moment, there's playdough in the 3 year old's hair and the dog has a sock that does NOT belong to him.....

Obviously, I don't get these things nearly as much as I should....er....want. However, I do have a date with my husband coming up very soon. Maybe that will provide a little down time.

I can't wait to see what other moms do for their down time!

Coupon Shopping

For the last several months I've been searching for ways to save money that we spend everyday. Since my dh was medically separated from the military we took quite a paycut, especially when he couldn't find a job right away. We were desperate and needed to find ways to cut expenses.

I came across this website after God gave me the idea to try using coupons. I've been hooked ever since!

The Grocery Game

This site teaches you how to use coupons along with the current sales at your local grocery store. Teri loads a database of the sales each week and helps you match the sales with the coupons in that week's newspaper. You can even shop at local drug stores like CVS or Walgreens.

Since I've been doing this for a few months, but coupon file has grown and I usually have more than I need. Unfortunately, I don't live in an area that has good coupon flyers in our newspaper so I have relatives who live in larger cities mail me their coupons every week. I also occassionally purchase coupons online using CouponMaster. They clip the coupons for you for a small fee. (These come in lots of 3 so you may have extra)

Normally I don't spend over $75.00 a week for groceries. That's just the budget I've set for ourselves and it works for us (We have five in the household right now - the two older boys being on their own). Last week we splurged a little and spent $205 on groceries. But we saved $96 of that - almost HALF my grocery bill!

We don't even save that much when we shop at Walmart. We used to go to Walmart to get things a little cheaper, but using this method it's MUCH cheaper to shop for our groceries at Publix!

I encourage everyone to try this and I would love to know your results!

Homeschool Memoirs #12: Let’s Play A Game!

This week's theme at Homeschool Blog Awards is Let's play a game. I haven't kept up like I intended to but I will try my best to do better.





We play a few games now and then. There are times when we have a family game night. We like to play clue and monopoly. We use these as learning experiences for the older ones.





We've been thinking about trying Risk. I've heard this is a great strategy game and makes you think - kind of like chess? Which is another one I, myself, would like to learn. Of course, I don't think I could beat my husband at any strategy game - he's really good at that!





We've started playing I Spy again.... Ainsley is old enough now that she knows her colors and loves to play it whenever we go somewhere. But it always seems to be the same thing with her! "I spy something green!" And before we can answer.... "It's the trees, Mommy!" It reminds me of the scene in Finding Nemo:





"Uhh, It's orange with white stripes..."





"It's me."





"Ok. It's small and orange, white stripes...."





"It's me."





"Ok, Mr. Smarty Pants. It's...."





"Me. And let me guess, the next one, it's me...."

We also love computer games. Ainsley has started playing Jump Start Preschool and loves it! I think Santa is going to bring her a Leapster for Christmas.

Overall, we're pretty spontaneous! Not all of our games our educational. Some are just for fun! We've been know to have a rousing round of Uno or Chicken Foot with dominos!

I look forward to seeing what games others are playing!

Dana

Catching Up

As usual life gets in the way and I don't always find the time to blog. When I don't, I miss it though. Here's what we've been up to....

A little school work.... Ainsley is learning her alphabet. We try to work on one or two letters a week while reviewing previous letters at the same time. Here, she's playing the Jump Start Preschool games. She loves the computer.

A little fun time with the local homeschool group teens. As you can tell, we have mostly girls. These five have been together for the last several years through the homeschool group and Girl Scouts.

And I finally have all my kids under one roof. The three girls are, of course, still at home. The boys though are off on their own. The one of the left, K, is in the Air Force. The one on the right, Z, has a family of his own now and works hard in the local community. (This photo was taken after much struggling and complaining and elbowing and tickling!)

I hope everyone has a great week!

Weekly Chaos

Obviously I set goals that are too large for myself. I didn't realize it had been so long since I've posted a blog. I think about doing it everyday, telling myself I need to post an entry. But, life always seems to get in the way. I have GREAT goals - but sometimes I just can't seem to reach them.



I've missed reading all the neat posts though that come from the Homeschool Blog Awards weekly meme. I'm going to try to do better about posting my own again, but I can't promise anything.



So anyway, here's what we've been up to.



We visited Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia last week. Our oldest daughter is considering this college in four years when she graduates our homeschool. She has plans to be in Veterinary Medicine.

Homeschool Memoirs: #5 My Favourite Things - Er - Sites!

Oh, boy, do I really need to catch up! I wasn't able to do Meme's 3 & 4 - I just didn't have time. It was all getting away from me. Now that I've rearranged my schedule and eliminated some things I have more time for other things.... so here I go.

Magazines/Carnivals - I'm not sure, don't have enough time to read these - any suggestions?

Freebie sites - Freecycle sites, donnayoung.org

Forums/book clubs - The Homeschool Lounge looks great but I can't use the features...something about my computer I guess. :(

Mom site - Menus4Moms.com

Youth/kid - nationalgeographic.com, kidsreads.com, bizkids.com

I guess I need to think a little more about my favorite things. Maybe I should get out more. At the moment my most favorite thing: rest!