October 2007

Oct. 30, 2007 - New Jammies in a New Way!

I have established my daily sewing time of 30 minutes and have been enjoying the progress. Well, today I had invisioned making a set of pajama bottoms as I have been out of sheets. Well, I had a wild idea of using the pillow cases. I thought about how they are probably the perfect length for one of the boys and already hemmed to boot. So I set to work.
Well, first I had to set my handy timer. We have gotta keep this going so I won't work all day on sewing.
Here's one of the pillow cases before getting started. It took both pillow cases to make one pair of bottoms.
Here I am cutting it out....and praying that it turns out and I am not wasting my time or the "material".
Here I am sewing...I have misplaced the directions so am winging it. Guess what...the timer goes off. So I reset for another ten minutes. Yes, I am cheating. LOL The suspense of whether the experiment was going to work was killing me.
So, here it is! The pillow case worked for my eight year old like a charm~! I am thrilled with the results. Dig the matching bandana? That was an added touch of my son's. So tomorrow I hope to get a pair made for our youngest boy and then they'll have matching jammy bottoms.

I got these made and in under 40 minutes! And to top it off, the bobbin case ran out EXACTLY as I had finished up down to the last stitch ran. Aaahhh, TRIUMPH!
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Oct. 30, 2007 - The Story of a New Avatar
I have to tell you that I dislike having pictures taken because I never like how they turn out. So with the marvelous invention of digital cameras I am thrilled to pick and choose what I think it the best. Well, sometimes I am. Well, today after getting dressed Brittany said that I needed to have her take my pic and let me have another avatar today. So I agreed.....what I thought would take all of 2 minutes took 30! Yikes!
She'd take one and each time I have a natural smile my eyes would close. Then if I tried keeping them open and smile I looked like a mad woman. I looked goofy not smiling too. Well, then there's my belly from having babies yet to lose and well...there's the wrinkles. Sigh. So, then Brittany said that maybe if the guitar was in the background that it would help....Dalton said the pics were fuzzy(it's just that I am BIG in them. LOL) Well, my hair was up but I thought it'd look better down so we did that and it was gross. So I put it back up into it's every day do. Then I finally said, that enough was enough and I picked this one. It's not the greatest but I was tired of smiling. Who knew you could blog on your avatar pic? Snicker.
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Oct. 30, 2007 - November Menu
Here is our menu for November, subject to change when needed.
These are not in any particular order. I have them numbered to insure that I have precisely 31 days worth of food. I am about through with my grocery shopping. I have just a few more things to pick up for the month. It's nice to have it all done and not have to venture out more than we have to. We had some time to consume in between church services and a funeral on Sunday. So, I suggested us going ahead and doing our grocery shopping for next month. I am glad we did albeit making the day even more tiring than initially. So guess what, I didn't have a list!!! Aaahhhh!!!! So I just went into Aldi and literally picked up what I usually buy, aisle by aisle. It worked out well but I did forget a few things. We had already done our Sam's shopping last Friday. So when I got home Sunday evening I worked on my menus. Here is what I came up with.
1.biscuits and gravy 2.cereal 3.cereal 4.cereal5.cereal6.cereal7.cereal8.cereal9.eggs and grits10.eggs and grits11.eggs and grits12.eggs and grits13. Visitation Saturday, eat with church
14. oatmeal15.oatmeal16. ham in pop biscuits17. pancakes18. pancakes19. pancakes20. pancakes21. doughnuts22. doughnuts23. cheese biscuits24. cheese biscuits25. cheese biscuits26. grilled cheese27. grilled cheese28. grilled cheese29. grilled cheese30. blueberry muffins31. blueberry muffins
1. hot dogs2. hot dogs3. hot dogs4. soup5. soup6. soup7. pizza rolls8.fried bologna sandwiches9. fried bologna sandwiches10. ham and cheese sandwiches11. ham and cheese sandwiches12. quesadilas13. quesadilas14. pb&j15. pb&j16. pb&j17. pb&j18. leftovers19.leftovers20.leftovers21.leftovers22.leftovers23.leftovers24. leftovers25. leftovers26.leftovers27.leftovers28. leftovers29.soup30. lunch out31. lunch out

1. ham 2. ham3. ritzy chicken4.crockpot chicken5. Italian chicken6. chicken casserole7.spaghetti8. cubed steak9.liver and mushrooms/onions10.Poor Man's Steak11.pork chops12. salmon patties13. salmon patties14. fried fish15. oyster stew16. Pintos17. Northern Bean Soup18. pizza19.pizza20. pizza21. pizza22. grilled chicken salad23. chili24. meatballs and gravy, mac and cheese25. pinto bean casserole26.baked potatoes27.meatloaf28. vegetable soup29. homemade sloppy joes30.steak and potatoes, salad31. Turkey Day!

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Oct. 29, 2007 - Monday, Oct. 29, 2007
Brittany wasn't feeling too well today and I wanted to get some odd jobs done so we didn't do school today. I am going to have us to double up one subject a day so that by the end of the week we'll be caught up. We should have no problem of this at all.
Today I pulled out my sewing machine and set to work. I cut out a pattern for the boys' pajama pants. I got a pair made for our 10yo and now have to make a pair for the 8yo and 5yo. Hopefully by Friday they can all wear their matching "jammies"! I am making them out of some old Ralph Lauren sheets. They are going to be cute!
I also sewed up some more bloomers for Bethany. I need to make her a few more pair soon. I am sewing these bloomers out of flannel for warmth in the cooler months. So maybe I can take out thirty minutes a day the rest of this week and at least get those other two pair of pj bottoms made.
I also did a little bit of organization today although it's nothing that's seen on the outside. For one, I am organizing my sewing patterns in a few of the bathroom drawers that's not being used. This will help to locate a pattern quickly.

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Oct. 26, 2007 - Do You Know What these Are?

These are a few items that I picked up today at Good Will! I was telling James that I needed to stop by soon there as they sometimes have a light fixture here and there. Well, they were stocked today! Glory!
I got all of these light fixures for $13.00! I did my research and would have paid between $325 and $350 for the lot. The chandelier($3) at the top will go in the diningroom (EEEEEEE! A dining room!!!!). The fan that's in that room now(which is currently the girls' room) will go into the new girls room. The ceiling fan to the left($4) will go into the boys' new room. The round ceiling mount fixture($3) will probably go in the hall. The vanity fixure($6) will, of course, go over the vanity in the bathroom. God is so good to us and is showing us that He will indeed take care of us. I just know that these were sitting in that store waiting for us to come along! The bad news is that I broke another ceiling mount light that was for $1. The lady would not let me pay for it...which made me feel even worse.
Anyhow, this is the beginning of getting our things frugally. Oh, we do have an exterior door from some dear friends. They are in the door business and graciously allowed us to pick a door that was removed from someone's property. Thank you guys! So we have a door and some lights. Ha! That's a good start. We plan on scouring the local traders and hitting the sales.


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Oct. 25, 2007 - Praise Report
We have been approved for our loan!!!! We close in 7-10 days, Lord willing. We are thrilled yet nervous at the same time! Thank you, to anyone who prayed for this situation. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us but are very excited to get things started and rolling. One of my favorite sayings is that it always gets worse before it gets better and I am keeping that in mind as we step into this. Ha!
Thank you, Lord, for your many blessings. Thank you for giving us our heart's desire although we are not worthy. Thank you for taking care of our EVERY need and a lot of wants to boot.
I hope to keep everyone up to date on our addition journey through our blog. Hang on for the ride!
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Oct. 23, 2007 - Sigh of Relief and a Cool Breeze
Well, the appraiser left a short while ago and all I can say is that I am glad that is over! On up till this past Sunday we were dealing with painting, hammering, sawing, grouting and more with fixing up the place. Then yesterday I spent mostly teaching and then took a trip to the library and Walmart. Today, besides the piano lesson, I have been scrubbing and cleaning. I cleaned nonstop until the man pulled into the drive. Well, at first the man made us reallllyyyyy nervous but then he loosened up. James showed him the plans of a hopeful addition and he was impressed with the design. He asked how much we would need, minimum, to get the loan we needed and James told him. He made a comment that this shouldn't be hard! I hope he's right. Then James was talking about how the houses down the road are selling at such a high rate and how ridiculous that seems. The man said that we'd be surprised how much property is going for now and that things have changed much for the better since our appraisal a decade ago. Yeah!!!!!!!!! Hopefully he wasn't just joshing us but it sho' did sound good!
So, on the school side things are shaping up for this year. I was thinking Brittany was a bit behind in Social Studies but it turns out she's finishing up her 3rd lightunit(out of 10) so that's not too bad. I am having fun planning out for next year and pray for providential wisdom in what to teach and when.

So that's that in the Watson household! I will definately update about the pending addition news as soon as I find out something.




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Oct. 19, 2007 - Menu Time!

Here's the menu for the last several days of October. We have already ate a few of them already and will be having pizza tonight. I have not, yet, put these in order as to when to eat what.
Supper
1. Beef patties and saut'ed onions with mashed potatoes and gravy, collard greens
2. cabbage casserole
3. Middle Eastern Lentil soup
4. Pizza
5. Chili(made from dried kidney beans) and cornbread
6. Roast and veggies with rice
7. Roast Soup
8. Vegetable soup and cornbread
9. Country Bean Soup
10. Chicken Casserole
11. Potato Soup

Lunch
baked potatoes
leftovers(whenever possible, planning on it being often)
egg salad sandwiches
tuna salad sandwiches(twice)
Ramen(twice)
Fish sandwiches and fries
Breakfast
baked oatmeal(twice)
cereal (twice)
cinnamon rolls
cheese biscuits
pancakes
muffins
eggs and grits
Farmer's Delight(eggs, bacon, biscuits, grits)
A homemade copy of Bojangles Boberry Biscuits
Beverages
tea, Koolaid, coffee, juice, milk
Snacks
Homemade treats such as cookies, brownies, muffins, popcorn, pretzels, canned fruit, peanut butter crackers... Our oldest is good at fixing the sweet, fattening stuff that we just can't resist.

I put us on a VERY tight budget this month! It's been fun and challenging to come to a new horizon in the food budget world. I'll go ahead and say that I am hoping to make it at $350 for this month. This includes all household consumables. I will throw in that we were gone for a day trip and ate out for breakfast and lunch, of which is not included on this budget. We ate out one other time which was included on this budget. We have not bought any beef as we still have some in the freezer. I use disposable diapers and "goodnights" for the children on a part time basis. We have chickens but their feed does not come from our grocery budget. The menu above has a lot of soups in it! Hopefully we won't get burned out on soup. Next month I hope to have a more varied menu from the start.
I am thinking of setting next month's budget at $375 but if we have very good sales I might can keep down at $350. Happy budgetting!

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Oct. 18, 2007 - Field Trip and Other School Thoughts...
We went on a fabulous field trip on Tuesday and met some new "in person" friends to boot! We headed to the Carolina Renaissance Festival in Charlotte. I will have to share some pictures as soon as Brittany gets them ready. We had a wonderful time learning the very artsy culture of what it was like in the Renaissance era of Europe. We were able to learn how birds of prey were used by royalty during these times, jousting, archery and much, much more! It was a great time to get away and learn something.
As we took a few days off this week from bookwork it gave me some time to focus on a few issues we are having in school. In addition to flylady with trying to focus on how to get our house in order, I was also trying to think of how to get our school moreso in order. Lately we have been lagging at getting school started right after breakfast. This is a big mistake here! We have to get started early or we won't get done. That's a proven fact.
But on a deeper surface I realized that we can't be going in all different directions and being in different worlds for half the day. I didn't want my 13year old trading furs with the Spanish while my younger ones are galavanting somewhere in India or Egypt. And then at the same time their mom is at the kitchen sink or working out menus or folding the mountain of wash. I had origonally started us on a different course due to Brittany's high school requirements to get a diploma. At first we were thinking of using an umbrella type school that would issue the diploma for her once she finished their curriculum, with liberty to supplement a portion of it. We are talking about A LOT of workbooks. At first, this really did appeal to me. I thought, "How easy! I'll go do my wash and dishes while they sit and do their workbooks.". Then I began to see that it was taking Brittany a very long time to do her Social Studies. Also, she wasn't enjoying it. She was doing it because it's required. It's a thing to get that diploma.....just like I did in school....doing the work to get that diploma. Was it done to learn??? No, but to get a diploma. What's my point? I don't want them stuck in mundane workbooks to get a certificate.
Well, now we are going through our accountability association to get Brittany's diploma. Or so that's how we are led so far. We have much more liberty to pick and choose what curriculum and what style of learning to use. We will use workbooks with Language Arts and Math. Still yet, I have decided, effective immediately, we are resigning from workbookdom with Social Studies. I want our family to journey together, have fun together and learn together. I want to go back to my first love of education which is simply reading the material in real books, pulling videos on the content, writing about what we've learned and loving it. Not seeing history as a boring bunch of paragraphs that must be learned memorized long enough for a test in order to get that important piece of paper.
So for this year, I am taking what's left of Brittany's and Dalton's Social Studies and am using it as a scope of sequence. I hope to read a lot of matter out of the workbooks but yet, pull from other sources to make it fun and real. We will be on this journey together! There will be no more, "Do the pages....are you done YET? You've got to get this done by the end of the year or you get no credit! I don't care if it's boring....just do it!" No, we won't have that in the Watson Family Homeschool. Ooh, how did I get into this mess of thinking it'd be easier? I feel so much better now knowing we will go back to the fun way of learning. What memories we will be making! I am looking forward to the land of notebooking and lapbooks.
Stay Tuned.
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Oct. 16, 2007 - Fun Day!
We are headed off for our out of state field trip! We hope to have a very good time learning and fellowshipping with some new "in person" friends. We are very excited to get away for a "fantastical" day, do a little bit of travelling and learn some new things about history.
I hope you are having a very blessed week in the LORD.

God ye good den! (God grant you a good day!)
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Oct. 10, 2007 - Wednesday? Already?
Boy, time flies by when you're having fun...or I guess even when you're just busy~! Ha!
Flylady Endeavors....
I am still Flyladying(is that a word? It is now!) it. I can declare that I have wore lace up shoes TWO days in a row from 8:30am to 9:00ish pm! Okay, so today I slept in. Once getting up I started breakfast right away. Now here we are at 9:30 and I am still unshod. I am waiting my turn in the shower and then I will lace up.
Also, I have done the night routine with making sure the sink is shined, laying out my clothes,etc. I am semi doing the morning routine. We will get there. I must admit....I have not, once again, fit in laundry folding! This week the mountain gets higher and higher of clean clothes. I need a young teenage girl to come over and help me fold some wash....oh yeah, I have a young teenage girl to help. I must get better at this reorganization! LOL So, now I have aired all my dirty clean laundry to ya!
Today we are continuing our studies on the Renaissance era. We have been in Mystery of History for SO LONG that we have never touched this era. Even while not doing Mystery of History, we studied a lot on American history. So this is refreshing and yet humorous. Yes, I said humorous. I think we have laughed at some of their customs more than any other time.
Budget/Menus....
We are semi-sticking to our menus. A few things have changed, mainly just fixing meals on the undesignated days. I have set a super low budget challenge for this month. Not that I had to but I guess I like self induced denial....just so long as it's not continuosly painful denial.
Home Addition....
The lady at the local bank that we are working with called James yesterday. She said that she will be out of the office the rest of the week but that she wanted to call the appraiser so that he could call us to set up a time to come and appraise the house! We are still working at fixing up little things here and there. There's nothing major but just painting and fixing little things like cracked light switches, etc. The lady said that the appraiser wants to look at our plans to add on and that he could consider that added value to our existing home! This whole circus process just goes on and on. I am praying that the ball will get rolling. The lady said that going this route the whole process should last only a few weeks. What's so hard with getting a dumb loan especially with good credit and funds to make monthly payments? What we see happening is that the banks were overzealous in loaning out money to every Joe on the street and now bankruptcy is at a high and the market is falling. So now the banks are paying for the greed they had before. Now, the honest people have to pay by going through a bunch of red tape. I am really becoming more at rest with this. What happens, happens....although of course we know what we want. LOL Please keep those prayers directed to the One who controls all.
Have a great day!
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Oct. 8, 2007 - Happy Monday!
It has been a long time since actually posting our happenings around here. I must say that we have been extra busy. I couldn't imagine being busier! This week should prove to be slightly less busy....maybe! Ha! I am looking for some down time to just do normal chores, etc.
Last week we had a WONDERFUL week of Revival at church. All of the messages were right on for what we needed. God is an on time God! Getting reading and going wasn't hard at all. Just the time taken up was the hardest but really, nothing was hard about it. God provided grace to get us ready and going with ease. We were so glad to go and so glad to hear God's word each night. The children were all so very glad to go too. We were able to help in feeding the visiting evangelist one night and that was a treat as well.
Well, I am trying to embark on Flylady again. I am trying not to have the attitude that the woman doesn't understand as she doesn't have so many children with so much school and work. But, no, I won't cater to that attitude! I mustn't do that! NOPE! It doesn't matter if others have less work than I. IT DOESN'T MATTER! If she says do one load to stay on top of the wash....I know I must do 4 or more. I will just adjust her tasks to fit our needs.
One tip for anyone who does Flylady that works with us is to actually have a washpan to bus the tables with. The dishes go in the washpan and not in the shiny sink! The dishes go right from the washpan to the dishwasher or THEN is put into the sink to be washed. Just like Flylady says, she doesn't care where you put those dishes...just don't put them in the sink! Ha!
I am dressed down to my shoes. I have those shoes on for now. That's a big baby step for me. I am going to try to get used to the shoes although bare feet DO feel better....well, if the floor's clean. LOL
This week we have the usual blah, blah, blah school, chores and maybe a little home improvement work as well. But, on Friday we are going to have some fun~! Some of the fellas of the church are going on a camping/ fishing trip, our guys included. So it was going to "just" be us lonely girls. Then our pastor's wife and dear friend was going to be all by her lonesome self with her children. So I thought, hey, "why not get together and have a sleepover?" So we are! Yay!!!! I think this will be fun. So we are having some fun finger foods and ice cream....talk cooking and daily life stuff........allow the children a movie or so and play.....gab, gab, gab.....I can't wait! I was joking to her about it being a ministry.....Sister, it'll minister me more than you! I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to it!
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Next week we are going to have more fun! See, this fun stuff just keeps going and going....but anyway I'll talk more about that later. I'll give a hint.....we are studying on something this week to help us enjoy it next week. This is like our vacation for the day. We didn't have a vacation this year and so we are getting away for the day. But better yet we are learning and meeting friends all at the same time! Yippeeeee~!! My sweetheart got the day off so he will be able to enjoy this with us. Are ya' wondering where I am talking about??? I can't say just yet. You know we have high security around here. LOL
Okay, I am off to serve lunch and then get things rolling again. Please have a blessed day with and in the LORD.


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