What's for breakfast?

Banana Pancakes

(sorry for the stinky picture...I need to work on my photog skills)

In a blender mix

2 eggs
1 large banana
pinch of baking powder

blend until mixture thickens

butter griddle or skillet and pour like "regular" pancakes

This recipe makes about 9 medium pancakes and it is so delicious!!!  

Stress reliever...painting?

This time of year is busy for everyone BUT we have 10 birthdays in our family between November and the end of December.  Plus, Scott and I have an anniversary November 9th.  It's cray-cray around here.  So what's my point?  I've been busy crafting the last 2 weeks and the only reason why that I can think of is it must be a stress reliever; because we all know ain't nobody got time for dat.  

I've been on a canvas kick.  This first one is around 14x20...I can't remember the exact size and I'm too lazy to go measure.  :)

This is a small one, 8x10, that I distressed.

This next one is the same size as the first one.  I experimented with colors and distress.  Brown and turquoise are my go-to colors.

With my Cricut, I can pretty much cut out any lettering or shape so the possibilities are endless.  I've had my Cricut for several years...not sure why it took me this long to get on this wagon but I'm here now!!!  

Etsy shop...hmmm, maybe so!  

Hybrid Schooling

I guess you can see from my lack of blogging that hybrid schooling has taken over my life.  While I thought I'd have some "free" time on campus days when the kiddos are away, that hasn't been the case.  Every week I feel the need to run a million errands while I have the freedom.  Blogging has taken a back burner but hopefully now that we are well into the semester I'll have more time for it.

So far we have sunk our teeth into Latin, ancient Egypt, multiplying and dividing fractions, biology, history of medicine, science experiments, essay writing, Middle East geography, states and capitals, Abraham Lincoln...I'm sure I'm missing something.  One thing's for sure, hybrid school ain't no joke.  ha!  Can I say ain't on a homeschool blog?!

Our current science experiment is algae growth in pond water.  Lucky for us, we have a pond in our back yard so we didn't have to go far to gather our materials.  We've had fun watching the little bacteria dart back and forth in the jar.  We are to check the growth after 7 days and then again at day 14.  After my 5th grader observes the jar on the last day, she will write up a lab report consisting of the Scientific Method.

Here is a peek at our jar on day 6

Our Homeschool Room

I'm going to preface this post by saying you do NOT need a special room to homeschool in and you certainly do NOT need all the extras you will see in my video.  

I lucked out and already had a space practically ready for us and I happen to have a mom who was/is (once a teacher, always a teacher?) a math teacher.  

You can certainly homeschool at your kitchen table with nothing but your books but I enjoyed getting all the cutesy stuff, posters, and supplies for our room so I *might* have gone overboard.  

As I get older, I'm realizing I have a tendency to be Type A and can only function if things are in order and organized.  I know my kids do better when we are on a schedule and they know the routine, too.  So, here it is...

Prepping for the school year...

Organized chaos!  That's how I'm feeling right now with our school supplies and books piled high on our desks.  

University style schooling is exactly what it sounds like.  The kids will attend school on campus 2 days a week with professional teachers, administrators , and Head Master and continue homeschooling 3 days a week at home with me, the unprofessional.  Ha!  Lesson plans are uploaded the Friday before so I will print it out and follow the plan all week.  This is such a relief coming off a year of ME planning every subject, every week.  I'm thankful for the reprieve.  

Once I get everything organized for real, I'll post another pic or video showing how we keep it all together.  Organization is the key to sanity.  Trust me.  

Has it really been that long?

Time flies, right?  

So much has happened since I last blogged yet everything seems the same.


One major change was the decision to pull our kids out of public school to join the homeschool team.  I fully intended to blog about that adventure but time got away from me.  This school-year, we are going on yet another adventure...Hybrid or University style schooling.  I found an amazing campus in Houston where the kids will go 2 days a week and continue homeschooling 3 days at home. 


My plan is to blog about our 2014-2015 school year.  Hopefully posting some videos of math lessons and any other interesting or exciting lessons we attempt.  I'll also post pictures of our school room and current curriculum.  I'm still trying to eat healthy(aren't we all...) and exercise so there will probably be some recipes thrown in from time to time.


I hope you stick around!  

Jenny

Snack Time

I have sweet tooth the size of Texas. My daughter inherited this gene and often times puts me to shame. haha! I've learned not to buy a bunch of junk food at the store because it will be us two chicas that scarf it down. Hubby and son can take it or leave it but my baby girl and I take it and take it when it comes to the sugary stuff.

My latest discovery came from the Schwan's man. Strawberry Cream Fruit Bars!! Yum!! It's only 100 calories and 11 grams of sugar so it's just enough to satisfy that sweet craving and it tastes just like strawberry ice cream.

Way to go, Schwan's!! These 2 sweet girls give it 2 thumbs up!