Favorite Things...Vinegar

Vinegar. 
I rediscovered vinegar when The Man was diagnosed with an egg allergy.
We had to start keeping vinegar on hand to make a substitution mixture for eggs when baking.
It works.
Then he grew out of the allergy, and now I forget about this little trick for egg substitutions.  If only there was a trick to remind me when I run out of eggs so I don't have to run to the neighbor's house to beg for eggs. 
Once vinegar was in the house, I started to experiment a bit with it. 
I love it in my laundry.
My Sis-in-law told me she used it as fabric softner.
It works.  Put it in the rinse cycle.
When I use vinegar as fabric softner I get a bonus out of the deal...my clothes don't fade.
If you ever do a dying project at home, they always recommend a run through the washer with vinegar at least once to set the colors. 
Well vinegar will do that for your clothes. 
My daughter was the first to notice.  Cause she gets those t-shirts for this or that and they have to been worn every week.  Well hers wasn't fading like her friends.  Vinegar. 
It is, also, a disinfectant.  Sick kids/family.  Colored sheets?  Colored towels? Colored PJs?  Want to disinfect all this and whatever else the germy family has drooled and snotted all over.  Bet you don't want to use bleach on all of it.  Well vinegar won't hurt the color or fabric.  If I am feeling real germ-a-phobic, I will put it in the wash cycle and the rinse cycle. 
There are lots of recipes out there for window cleaners, multipurpose cleaners... I haven't gone there yet. 
Maybe one day, I will take a moment and give some of the other possibilities a try. 

Home School High School Transcripts

The dreaded transcript. 
Talk about breathing fear and dread into the soul of a home school mom.
They make or break the college admission process for these kids.
Or so they seem.
All in all, the idea is not really complicated. 
The process in creating them, can be daunting.
The whole process started somewhere around seventh grade. 
Planning out course of study, dotting i's and crossing t's.
Then life happened and I started the stress all over again between sophomore and junior year. 
This past fall, I needed transcripts.  We were doing dual enrollment.
Once I discovered to shelve my anxiety, the process wasn't so daunting.  Especially, now that we have the internet.
Donna Young's website of free reproducibles has this awesome template available.
I just entered the information and did the math for GPA and voila all done.
Fast forward to November and College Applications and my life changed.
You see, now I need to record all these dual credit classes and the classes intended for next semester.
How do I fit in College name next to course study?
How do I explain GPA calculations?
Insert 3-4 hours of work on a Sunday afternoon.
I started with the intent to recreate my document.  Meaning no TEMPLATE.
Never having created a Word Document with tables before, I tried to follow the instructions in Transcriptions Made Easy, by Janice Campbell.  The whole process ended up with a grouchy momma.  I took a break, got something to eat and the light bulb went off.  I had made enough progress in creating a document from the blank new page, to discover I just needed to add some details to the comment section of the transcripts I already filled out earlier in the year.
At the bottom of my transcripts, along with GPA calculations and grade values, I noted abbreviations.  I did have to become a bit creative here, as my daughter is attending Friends University.  Just using initials did not look too appropriate next to course of study.  I indicated credits represented high school credit only, not college credit. 
All that I have left now is to buy the pretty paper in which I need for printing the transcripts. 

Thieves from Young Living

I am loving this Essential Oil for Young Living ~ Thieves!

Thanks to my diffuser, yesterday, my basement smelled like Thanksgiving, autumn, pumpkin pie.  Take your pick, everyone in the family has their own description of how Thieves smells.  Dad's Bud says it smells like Snickerdoodles and pasta. 

Little Brothers are Super Clever

I open my front door to see this....

 

What are you doing?

 

"Dad said we can't be outside with the IPad."

 

By all accounts, they are sitting in the doorway!!!

I gave them five more minutes and shut the door.

 

The creative problem solving in this house exceeds my creativity and expectations.  5 years ago, I might have been 3 steps ahead.  Not anymore, I am about 3 steps behind. 

 

Gotta love these boys.

When homeschooling gets to the youngest child....

The answers you get to questions are quite humorous. They have so many more varied experiences the older siblings didn't have, just because they get dragged around following the older siblings. :)
For instance the following questions in his Explode the Code workbooks:
Can a stitch be made in a dish? yes.  Really?  "But Mom it is plausible!" "If you want to use a dish when you knit you can stitch in a dish."   What really killed me, is he used plausible in a sentence and used it correctly!!  Probably from watching all those Myth Buster episodes!

Will you get rich if you sell trash?  yes.  Really?  Well if the trash has gold in it, you can....  He has been to way too many garage sales.  He, also, has a grandpa that likes to junk and strip items down to elements to be taken to the recycling center where he is paid by the weight.  If you are a kid, any money in the pocket amounts to being rich! 

Counting my birthday blessings

A little late, i have had to snag seconds here and there to compose this post. 

Getting older doesn't bother me, though the fact I can't remember my age half the time may be the reason. I do have children who are more than willing to remind me at any given memory lapse. They are so lovingly helpful.
To mark this milestone, I wanted to list 40 blessings.
1. My husband and children
2. A birthday card from my parents, with my Mom's signature..Mom isn't able to really talk anymore with me, and the last time I saw her attempt to write it was scribbles. So to see her signature on a card....well I did the ugly cry.
3. Late night chats with the kids.
4. Homeschooling, I love the random memories I have with my kids because they are with me all day... In spite of all the times, I think I am losing my mind or send them outside to run. :)
5. Slowly and steadily getting my brain back and being involved with my kids
6. Autumn colors and country drives, time to marvel at God's creation and chat with Him.
7. The ability to learn and explore new passions with my children as we discover the paths He has for each one.
8. Comfy and CUTE shoes. My feet hurt a lot, finding comfy shoes that are cute...BoNuS!
9. Facebook...in this season of busy children and being their Mom, I can still connect and get sneak peeks into the lives of the people I care about on a regular basis.
10. Texting!! It allows me to disconnect mentally and take mini brain vacations during the day and still be available. It also keeps this crazy family connected across the miles in noisy gyms, arenas and when we are out in the middle of no where!
11. Fresh garden tomatoes, still getting a few!
12. Friends near and far.
13. Unexpected times when God allows "Mom moments" for this Mom... Those random conversations in unexpected places, a laugh, smile.
14. Kitty snuggles
15. My dog herding and tripping me cause he can't get close enough to me as I try and enter the door, all because he missed me.
16. Late afternoons in the yard playing ball with the kids.
17. Trips to the lake just to look at the stars.
18. Swim meets, hockey and soccer games, volleyball matches, scouts and camping
19. Random conversations that reveal information about an interest a child has, answer to prayer. Conversation isn't so random as it is God orchestrated.
20. Pictures! They capture memories, otherwise easily forgotten, especially now with post-concussion syndrome.
21. Life lessons, in all that we experience. The good and bad. Embrace the lessons and grow, learning to not protect my children from them, but teaching them to embrace all of them, even the hard ones.
22. Sunday comics!!
23. Libraries and all the many many many books, I don't have to acquire bookshelves for in my home.
24. Quirky grandmothers and the memories they leave behind
25. Essential oils and the healing they can bring about in our lives, physically and emotionally. 

 26. Hope I have, all because of Jesus and being adopted by my Heavenly Father
27. "Hugs" from God, those moments He provides just as you discover the need.
28. Garage sales--they are just so much fun!!
29. Kiddos that love vegetables and fruit! Their favorite section in the grocery store: the produce department!
30. Chocolate!!!
31. Four seasons...I love them all for what each has to offer.
32. Rewards cards and coupons and Dillons fundraiser cards!! Creativity it takes to make the dollars work for our family!
33. Childhood memories to share with the nest generation!
34. My MeSSy home...it drives me nuts, but I wouldn't trade the messiness, my life would be so empty without the ones who make the messes.
35. Church-- a place to learn, grow and serve. And hopefully a place of acceptance, accountability and encouragement.
36. Children willing to serve and pitch in
37.  Yummy smells from the kitchen as 4 of 5 kids are now able to cook something. 

38.  Piano practice.  I love the sound!

39.  Church and the ability to worship wih so many other believers. 

40. Hugs, they are amazing! 

And one to grow on:

41.  Having a ten year spread between my children.  As one prepares to soar into adulthood and a couple in the teen years, snapping apron strings left and right, I still have a couple of younger ones that help keep me young doing things with them.  

A word well spoken

I love home schooling.  I love the mornings and listening to the various exchanges between my children as the day begins.  I never know what I will wake to, a hungry cat, a dog digging in the trash, a ball crashing through the house, the beep beep of a video game, or the serenades of my youngest favorite song of the morning.  Sometimes, I wake to find lots of school work being done.  However, I often wake up to some kind of ruckus, a skirmish of sorts filled with laughter or run and hide I have antagonized a sleepy bear like brother and he is going to get me kind of skirmish. 

This past week, I have been left pondering the exchange between two of my children.  Left in awe of the maturity and wisdom in the response of one child.  Pondering how do I respond and where did this child of mine learn a response such as this?  I am realizing my children are growing up and my role is changing.
You ask what did my child say?

As I was peeking out from the covers debating whether I wanted to leave their warmth, I hear pounding on a bathroom door.  "You have been in there 20-25 minutes, I need the shower."  I am prepared for bathroom drama.  Muffled noises, I can only imagine the response as I know the name of the child on the other side of the door.  And then the response, "The past doesn't matter (as when I showered last), I need to take a shower and I would appreciate you respecting that."  Not said with attitude.  Not said with sass or anger.  Said matter of fact and respectfully.

At that moment I was so proud of this child and relayed that information.  No arguing.  No hurt feelings.  Just to the point. 

Shortly after the door opened.  No bickering, drama, door slamming or hatefulness.  Just stepping aside and offering the respect and bathroom as requested.  A word well spoken, a soft word and where wrath could of reigned it was turned away.  Without knowing it, these 2 children have left their Momma pondering and reflecting on the choices they have made.  I am humbled by the maturity and growth they are both demonstrating.  As I remember the impatience and frustration I often exhibit, I am grateful to see they don't always follow their Momma's example.