homeschool reading help?

Posted at 09:59 AM, Tuesday, August 12, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

I am wanting a workbook or something for my ds6.  He reads voraciously (must be my kid! LOL) but I am not sure that he comprehends everything.  We have a phonics book with small (2 paragraph) stories with questions at the end.  but I want something more on his reading level with reading comp questions.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

thanks

mommy brag

Posted at 06:10 PM, Friday, July 25, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

dd22mo has been noticing her, um, how shall we politely say,  bodily functions for some time now.  two days ago she pointed to her behind and said "owie," and made the classic baby pooping face.  then she pointed to the bathroom.  so I sat her on the potty, not expecting anything, and went upstairs to get her a book.  when I got back, she had done her business.  and was so pleased with herself.
she did it again this morning.   I praised her mightily, gave her a Dryer's ice cream dibbs (have you seen these - perfect for things like potty training because they are bite size and fully contained and a definate treat in our ice-cream-for-special-occasions-only house.
This afternoon she again let me know that she was needing to sit on the potty, so we went in, she put the converter seat on the toilet, I sat her down, and she not only "pooped" but, as she said very surprised "aug!"  not sure why she says "aug" but it is her word for water.  water to drink, water to bathe or swim in, water for showers.  and, I guess, water that comes out of your bottom area.
she is growing so fast.  i guess it is a good thing that we will be having another one soon.  I love my babies.  now if I can only survive the next few months.  oh, btw, thanks for all the suggestions on the last post/delima.

vertigo and electrolytes, help if you can

Posted at 07:08 PM, Tuesday, July 22, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

Hi.  do you ever feel like you are the top of a very high building (think Empire State) when the wind is blowing.  the world is gently swaying, but not enough to make you sick.  that is my constant state of being right now.  I am not sure the exact cause, but if you have any thoughts on my thoughts, I would love to hear them.  Oh, and this has been going on since at least Sunday, maybe earlier....
given: I am pregnant, and in that awful first trimester, the one where I wonder "WHY did I want this again.  NEVER AGAIN!  agh!  will three nine months EVER end?"  (note: I do this every time, but I am on number four, so I guess I forget.  or the thought of that lovable armful at the end overrides the memory.)
given: I have normally low blood pressure.  no, I am not sure of my normal, but I know it is low enough the nurses always comment on it.  I also cannot give blood - they start pumping, and I fill about half a bag, then it just stops.  seriously.  my midwife often has to poke me in two different spots to get all the prego blood tests (about 4 vials) full.  It runs in the family (my grandmother was prescribed potato chips by her doctor to bring up hers)
given: I get very anemic while pregnant.  I am taking 25 mg of iron biglycerate twice a day, and my main iron-deficient symptoms (exhausted-tired-like-I-cannot-move, shaking, etc.) are not in evidence.  this is the very type of iron I have taken in my two previous pregnancies and it has raised my iron levels to manageable levels.  I like it.  (I did have to try like 6 brands/ types before I found one that did NOT make me sick.)

other possible factors:
I am still nursing my 22-mo.  would that contribute?
it is kind of warm here, but I am not even breaking a sweat.
I am nauseated a lot of the time, but I have not actually thrown up (yet).  thanks, I think in large degree to the liberal use of nasty, pasty, chalky ginger tablets.  but they do work.  even if the chewing and tasting seem to aggravate the sensation for a bit.
my ears do not hurt - so and ear infection is not a culprite, is it?

if you have any suggestions, oh wise ones, I would like to hear it.  if you have any recipies for elctrolyte drinks, I would love those as well.  The gaterade, etc. is so full of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) that I am afraid I will have a reaction to that since we have it so very rarely and in small doses.

meanwhile, I am here, atop my own personal skyscrapper.  I am trying to enjoy the view.  and the swaying while sitting still.

anxious for fall

Posted at 09:30 AM, Sunday, July 20, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

I cannot wait till fall.  I never can.  I love fall and winter - those are my favorites, except last winter when I was anxious for spring so I could plant my garden.  that is dead.  sigh.
I have given up on my garden.  between the grasshoppers, the dog, and the landscaper guy (who told me they would be starting"next week" and I needed to move my garden boxes so they could get in the big earth movers - THREE WEEKS AGO! - and he hasn't even started yet), my garden is dead.  I might get some potatoes - if the grasshoppers let me.  and the tomatoes hanging upside down will probably give a few (in fact, I have 8 or so tiny romas growing.)  but the melons, pumpkins, beets, peas, etc.  are hopeless cases.  sigh
guess I will just need to buy from the farmers market this year for my canning needs.

and this year, I have an extra reason for hastening the coming of fall: my morning sickness (which is more like afternoon sickness, really) will be over.  (notice the new addition to my blog?)

1/8 of a cow

Posted at 12:32 PM, Wednesday, July 9, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

I have an eighth of a cow.  We (being my SIL and I) ordered a "split half" from Tami's Grass Fed Beef and it was ready for pickup yesterday.  So I drove down to get it.  because we ordered a split, we were not able to get all the cuts we wanted - each "half" is butchered the same, so if you split a half, you have to get the same cuts as the person getting the other "split" of your "half."  It sounds very confusing, but it isn't.  Basically what it means is that we only got 1 pound of stew beef and 48 of ground.  I NEVER use ground beef.  dh won't touch it.  and only a few roasts, but lots of steak.  sigh.
I also got around 23 pounds of soup bones (there were more, but I "generously" allowed SIL to take around 10 pounds of it ).  I have a number or roasts and a few steaks.  it worked out to around $4 a pound for the meat.  our hanging weight was 200#, but the actual weight of the meat was around 167#.  So we lost around 1/6 of the weight from the hanging.  it was interesting learning all of this.  I have heard of people buying "a cow" but never done it.  I took all the organ meat we were alloted as well.
so I have 10# of ground beef (I did take some.  maybe I will try making hamburgers again - have not generally liked homemade burgers, but.... meanwhile I can use it in chili or something for potlucks.)
I have a cow tongue.  ewwww, gross.  it is huge and gross looking.
I also have the heart, liver and kidney.  I am planning to throw those into the stock with the bones.  I figure they will make the stock that much more nutritious.  oh, that is where the tongue is slated to go as well.  My father was horrified that I would plan such a thing for the liver, best fried up with onions.   ewww.... gross.  I remember being made to eat that as  a child.  I know, liver is VERY good for you, and especially for someone as iron-low as I am, this would be a  very good thing to be eating ,but I cannot bring myself to doing that.  Childhood tramas die hard.
I also have a number of roasts and a few steaks.  we do not eat a lot of steaks here.  too much meat in one sitting for dh (I know, he is abnormal that way!).  So I gave SIL the majority of the steaks - her family will eat them happily.  Especially her dad, my FIL, who lives with her now.  His eyes grew very large indeed when we started listing the steaks (and poundage) in the freezer.  He asked how many steaks that was, because poundage doesn't indicate that.  I had to remind him that just because one steak is 2.4 pounds, does not mean he gets to eat the whole steak himself!  LOL!  he would try too!
I would start the broth today, but we are going camping tonight.  not too far, but near a lake and lots of fun.  So I will have to wait on the broth.  I am also wondering if I do not want to wait a few months on that anyway!  It is so hot, I cannot imagine keeping two pots of broth simmering on the stove for a few days.  not to mention there is nowhere to put the broth at night to keep it cool.  During the winter (when I make my turkey broth) I take the pans off the stove and place them outside for the nights.  I would prefer to let it continue cooking all night, but dh doesn't like the stove on all night.

getting things done

Posted at 08:12 AM, Monday, July 7, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

We left the kids at my parents house last Thursday morning.  We spent Wed night at my SILs where we had a BBQ, fireworks, and homemade ice cream.  lots of fun.  So Thurs morning, we dropped off the two eldest (Bug, 6 and Bear, 4) for a week at grandma's.  nothing more fun than that!  We ot home Thursday evening - we spent the day running around Salt Lake doing errands easier done without children in tow.
Friday I started the cleaning.
I cleaned the basement.  reorganized the storage room, moving the paper goods (kleenex, TP, diapers etc) to the top of the kids' closet - it was just empty space collecting junk.  this freed up room on my shelves for the food storage I was reduced to placing on the floor for lack of room!  hehehe.
I straightened the "moving box" room - you know , the room with all the moving boxes we haven't unpacked after almost 2 years.  LOL!  maybe I should just toss those unopened at this point.
I cleaned the book room - found 2 socks.  cleaned the old toy closet under the stairs.  found 4 socks, including 2 church socks.  that boy is hopeless with socks.  I just bought him a dozen pair of socks.  last laundry day, he had 4 pair.
I then moved up the stairs.
On Satuday I cleaned the couch room, including washing the couch covers (1 sock) and the family room (where all the toys are now).  I also did the entry, the hallway and the laundry room (no socks).
Yesterday I cleaned the school corner and cubbies.  No socks, but a lot of garbage, markers-without-lids, crayons, and some wipies. 
I also straitened the toy cupboard where we keep the play-do, dominoes, stickers, puzzles, etc. and the kitchen (which had gotten very filthy since I was neglecting to clean that while I purged the rest of the house.)
Now I have all day today to clean my office.  ugh.  there was a reason I left that for last.  sigh.  oh, and I need to go do some gardening.  I should do that earlier than later so that it is not too hot.
anyway, have a great day.

"'tinky baby"

Posted at 09:27 AM, Wednesday, June 18, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

so dd1, well21 months, aka Lion has started having awareness of her diaper.  it started a few months ago....
I was changing a stinky diaper when dd4 (Bear) walked by.  "oh, that is STINKY!" and plugging her nose, she backed away, repeating "stinky stinky!"  Lion thought it was funny, so she plugged her nose too and repeated "tinky, tinky."   the next day, we were driving and passed a dead skunk.  Before I could say anything, Lion plugged her nose and said "'Tinky!"  okay, she realizes this is more than just a diaper thing - she knows what the word (and hand sign) mean.
Now, for some Lion "'Tinky" foibles:
she brought me her teddy bear (a Build-A-Bear from Grandma when she was born, picked by her siblings) and sniffed his behind area.  "Tinky!" she declared, and grabbed a wipie from the pack.  she spent the next 3 minutes wiping the "stinkies" from his bottom.  Only after she was done with that did she allow me to clean her bottom!
Bear's My Little Pony also had a "Tinky" behind the other day.  she thrust it in my face (back side, of course) and announced "Tinky."  she then plugged her nose and carried it by the tail to the window sill  where she forgot about it.
I was sitting on a banana chair and Bear had draped herself across my lap, bottom up.  Lion comes over and sees Bear's underwear peeking up out of her pants.  Lion delicately pinched it up and then announced: "Tinky" and backed away, fingers on her nose.  Now Bear has been having some accidents recently in this department, but his time she had not.
This morning, Lion brought me a dress-up princess dress for assistance in dressing; I was sitting at my computer.  oh, she stank.
me: "are you stinky?  should we change your diaper?"
Lion: head shakes.
me: "well, someone is stinky."
she then sticks her head under my chair arm to smell my bottom, and then backs up with her fingers on her nose
me: "oh, mommy is stinky?"
"yeah"


mostly, she only claims "tinky" when she herself is stinky, but not always.  I am trying to figure if the other times are preceding the stinky, and if so, can we start the process of potty training?

Pantry Replacement Chart

Posted at 11:22 AM, Saturday, June 14, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

I wanted to post my chart: "Pantry Replacement Times."  This is a tool I use to track how long it takes us to consume certain items in my pantry/food storage/freezer storage.  I made this in the OpenOffice version of Excel

Pantry Item	size of item	start date	end/start date	end/start date
balsamic vinager	1 qt	10/2407
Basmati Rice	20lbs	09/01/07
brown sugar	4 lb	9/23/07	4/17/08
butter	6 4-lb
cornstarch	1 lb	11/28/07
dry milk	#10 can	04/15/07	12/14/07	03/25/08
eggs	5 dz	12/20/07	01/03/08
EVOO	2 liters	05/07/07	10/24/07	03/??/08
green peas	5 lb	04/14/08
hard white wheat	45 lb	12/01/07
maple syrup	2 qt	05/08/08
molassas
oatmeal	42 oz
salt, cooking	1 lb	06/07/07	11/27/07	04/27/08
soft white wheat	43 lb	4/21/08
vanilla	2oz/4oz	04/22/07	08/06/07	03/25/08
veggie oil	3 pints	03/01/07	07/17/07	03/10/08
white unbleached flour	75 lb	12/06/07
yeast	2 lb	03/25/08

It is not an exact science, but I try very hard to remember to update it every time I have to bring some food upstairs from the storage room.  I decided to add the size of the container when I noticed that I had 2 sizes of vanilla.  so the blue is for the 2oz size, and the black is for the 4oz size.  You need to remember to compare apples to apples - otherwise you will not understand why you went through so much vanilla in such a short time.  LOL!
Of course, then there are times you make oatmeal cookies (3cups)  and apple bars (2 cups) and oatmeal once a week; and your oatmeal usage explodes.  That is why it is important to have a running chart, so you can find your average over a period of time.
I also have some items that I opened BEFORE I made this chart.  At that time I was just writing the date I opened the package on the lid or label.  I have not yet moved those over to my chart.
And I am much better at charting my dry pantry items than my fridge or freezer items.  A work in progress.  but it has really helped me see what we need for our long term storage.
For example, recently, I was approached with the opportunity to buy bulk EVOO that is packaged in such a way as to last 10-15 years.  Did I want any?  How much?  Well, I looked at this chart and realized that I go through 2 liters in about 5 months, on average over two bottles.  because the time was 5 months for both bottles, I figure that is a close approximation of use.  Also factored into that was my current bottle is a bit more than half gone, and we are a little more than halfway to 5 months from when I opened it.  So I figured I would need 5 liters a year, or about 1 1/3 gallons a year (they were coming in gallons).  I could order with confidence on how much I needed.

Entry #200: CAST IRON question!

Posted at 12:16 PM, Thursday, June 12, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

okay, I know in over 2 years, 200 is not that many, but, mostly I like to read everybody else's homesteading journeys.  and I like to post homestead-y things, after all, that is the purpose of this blog site.  Do not get me wrong, please, I love reading about your lives and families.  but I am a more private person and so I like to post mostly homesteady things here.  and I should post more, but I have this feeling that no one is interested in my garden delimas or animal woes.  which I know is silly, since that is what I love to read the most on other people's blog.  silly me.
anyway, onto the homesteading question of the day.  I am borrowing my mother's dutch oven for the summer.   I would give you any number of excuses, but part of repentance is to OWN the problem, RECTIFY the problem, NEVER REPEAT the problem (I am using "problem" here instead of "sin", because this was a sin against a beautiful piece of cast iron, not against God, unless you count not taking care of what He has given me, of which sin I am guilty in this!)
so, my mom gave me her dutch oven for the summer, the one out of her 3 that needed to be re-seasoned so that I could learn to do that as well.  what did I do with the thing?  I sat it on my back porch thinking it would be fine for a few weeks.  We have had an uncharacteristically WET spring here, and it has rained 2-3 days each week for the past 3.  Now, my cast iron is not only needing to be re-seasoned, but is rusty as well.
so, thanks to kitty, I have scrubbed my pot and lid with veggie oil and salt until the rust was gone.
but it isn't.  I mean large sections of my pot are reddish-orange.  should this worry me?  I have coated it with oil and sat it in the oven as per Kitty's instructions.  but will I need to scrub it again to get off the orange coloring?  it seems to not want to come off.
I would appreciate any help you can give me

beans and rice

Posted at 10:16 PM, Friday, June 6, 2008 by Morning Sunshine

I made tacos tonight.  but meatless. and dh gave me THE LOOK.  "can I just have a quesadilla with the ricew and beans on the side?"  "sure, you can make yours a quesadilla."  He was, as he says, "afeared" of a rice and taco.
but he made a taco, good example for the bean-disliking children.  I had made this before, and LOVED it (dh had been feeling ill that evening so he did not try it then), so I made me a PACKED-FULL taco, and Lion (dd1) had a half-taco with sour cream, cheese, beans and rice, and tomatoes.  Bear (dd4) rolled her eyes and put a good-sized scoop of the R&B on her taco.  Bug (ds6) balked, tried to convince us that he had a scoop ion his tortilla (yeah, sour cream and cheese!)  He finally put a good-sized scoop on his plate.  dh made a taco too.  He loved it!  silly husband, he ought to trust me a bit more on food stuff. 
We have resorted to bribery on bean nights: tonight it was ice cream.  no ice cream if you do not eat your beans!  I know "they" say not to bribe with dessert.  but we feel it is very important that the family learn to eat beans.  so we bribe.  at least for now.  as they learn to eat them, we will phase that out.  meanwhile dd1 happily ate hers no problem.  Bear ate hers without balking, but Bug needed a time limit.  and he ate his R&B without gagging - just  eating bite after bite.  which tells me this bean dish was better than others, at least in his mind.

so anyway, without further ado, here is the really yummy R&B dish we served tonight.  from Cuisine at Home weeknight menus:

Boil:
1 c chicken stock
1 T lime juice
1 t sugar (today I used 3/4 t honey - I did not taste the difference)
1/4 t salt (I used a rounded 1/4 t salt - my homemade broth is salt-free)
1/2 c long grain rice (we only use basmati around here)

when rice is soft (and with basmati, I had to add some water before it was done), add:
1 T unsalted butter (but I used salter - again, the broth thing)
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed, warmed (or one heaping cup of homemade beans)
1/4 c fresh cilantro (I used 2 T dried)
lime juice to taste

well, I also added some water since my beans were cold, and I didn't want to dirty a pan just to warm the beans separately.   anyway, this made GREAT tacos!

- Sunshine