First Little House Link Up

 

  

When I was growing up I remember getting to watch the reruns on TBS of  Little House on the Prairie every afternoon Monday - Friday. If you can believe this, as a child I never read the book series. I know! What was I thinking, did I live in a black hole? Now fast forward many years and I am just fascinated with the whole Laura Ingalls experience. Three years ago I read aloud the entire series to Grace and we both got to share in the great experience of wading through the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I think Grace's favorites were Farmer Boy and when Laura met and eventually married Almanzo Wilder. When Grace was even younger and learning to read better she really enjoyed reading through the Little House Series of picture books. The illustrations are just wonderful. Now we have moved on to something different. It is my plan to purchase, when funds are available, each television season of the Little House show. We already watched the first season through Netflix but I really want them in my own library. So far we have purchased season two. 

The Little House Series has also inspired me to do a lot of things differently around the household. We now raise chickens for eggs and in the next couple of weeks will be butchering some for the freezer. I make butter from the cream of bartered milk, crochet, quilt, make many more meals from scratch, and lots of gardening and preserving. I think most of the population could actually learn a great amount of knowledge from the books and inspiration. Grace still makes references Laura Ingalls and some of the things we learned through the books. This year in our Notgrass America the Beautiful book there was actually a whole chapter about Laura and her life. Grace was fascinated to learn that her grandparents were alive at the same time as Laura Ingalls. Of course Laura was very old at the time and not famous yet. Be sure to visit The Usual Mayhem to link up your stories, etc. about Little House On the Prairie.

My View at Lunch

This is my view at lunch each day. Three dogs trying to mooch something good of their momma.

TOS Review For the Molly Crew - Everyday Cooking

Our family has taken a journey over the past two years of eating better and exercising. One key element of eating a healthy diet is cooking with whole foods. I was very excited to be offered the opportunity to review Everyday Cooking through the Molly Crew. When I received the product, I was not disappointed. Most of the recipes included in this e-book are simple but delicious and made economically with whole food ingredients in mind. To view sample recipes you can view Everyday Cooking Recipes. Recipes are broken down into the following categories:  Appetizers, Bread and Grains, Main Dishes, Soups and Sides, Desserts and Snacks. Something I really enjoyed in the back of the e-book was basic measurements and helps. I love to bake but cooking takes more effort from me. Some of the dishes we tried were big hits with the family; mac and cheese, basic muffin mix, and Doritos Casserole.  I also enjoyed her pages of step by step instructions for baking bread. As soon as my oven is repaired it will be next on my list to prepare. I plan to use this as one of my go to recipe books. Great for new ideas to take to gatherings and socials. Everyday Cooking is available as an e-book for $14.00 or a coil bound with glossy cover for $17.00. Everyday Homemaking has many other products available, so visit their website and take a look. 

This was Grace's favorite. Mac and Cheese.

This is hubby's favorite, Doritos Casserole.

To view what other crew members think about the products they reviewed visit TOS Review Crew.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product at no cost to me in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

 

Youth Fiction Series Favorites

 


    


    


  

Recently I have kind of given up on adult fiction. Nothing really good out there these days. So I have turned to youth fiction. The first seven I have listed have been read by Grace and myself but the last four I will have her wait till 16 or so because of some adult like themes. I just finished the second book in the Divergent series and I really like it. But hands down the one book that a lot of people may be overlooking is Michael Vey the Prisoner of Cell 25. The second book in this series just came out and I hope to purchase it in the next couple of weeks. I read a wide variety of book, fiction and non-fiction, if I don't have at least 2-3 books going at once something is wrong. I definitely need to read right before bed to relax and get in sleeping mode. If you haven't checked out some of these please give them a try, they won't disappoint.

Weekly Wrap-Up: The One With The Banana Pepper Incidence

If you want to know about the banana pepper incident first read here then here. I never want to relive that day. Anyway, the rest of the week was pretty uneventful. This week started another extracurricular activity for Grace, Anime Club, which will meet once a month. Only two people showed up yesterday but she is hoping to get the word out more and have more kids join up with them. The fine arts cooperative went great this week. Grace found out she will be the unicorn in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and she also has four new scripts to learn for Acts of Faith. In dance class they started learning the waltz, which means Grace had her first boy dance partner. Fine arts cooperative on Tuesday and Thursday is probably Grace's favorite days of the week. She is not very academic and would probably be labeled a struggling learner, but in choir, acting, and art her true skills shine. After six years of struggling through academics we have come to a decision to do what we can and not worry about the rest. Focus on her strengths, not her weaknesses.

All of the main subjects were covered this week. Two of our favorites that were worked on this week was a read aloud book and science unit study that we are reviewing for TOS Review Crew. Can't really comment on the name yet but look for future review posts about the two products in September. The product I would like to highlight this week that we used is Language Lessons from Queen Home School. Grace really likes this product because of the variety of lessons and the length which is very short. So far she has done copywork, picture study, limericks, poetry study, and conjunctions. The variety ensures that she doesn't get bored and the length of the lesson helps with the whining.

This week because of a busy schedule and a whole day I lost because of my hands being burned we didn't make it to Jazzercize. But we did two days of P.E. with another review product and walked three times.

To view what other families were doing this week visit Weird UnSocialized Homeschoolers.

TOS Review - Golden Prairie Press - Ten Girls From History E-Book

The author of Ten Girls From History, Amy Puetz, is a home school graduate that found herself changing up careers very early on in her life due to chronic illness. Like she says on her website, "When God shuts one door another is opened". Due to this huge change that happened in her life, we get the blessings of her passion for history. For this review our family was offered Ten Girls From History in an e-book format that I read on my computer as a read aloud. Grace's main complaint is that each girls' story was not broken down into chapters. We like to finish a chapter before stopping. Each story, in my opinion, is too long for one sitting. Ten Girls From History is 238 pages, is recommended for ages 10 and up, and retails for $15.00. Currently Amy is having a back to school sale where the book can be purchased for $12.00 until September 1st. According to Amy's last email her book is now available as a PDF, MOBI, EPUB, audio book, and a printed book. Each chapter is about a special girl's life and accomplishments from history. Here is a list of who you will find in the book:

• Louisa May Alcott
• Clara Barton
• Molly Pitcher
• Cofachiqui
• Madline DeVercheres
• Dorothy Quincy
• Ida Lewis
• Elizabeth Van Lew
• Virgina Reed
• Clara Morris

As I have mentioned before we tend to use a lot of books as read alouds so we can enjoy the experience together. Our favorites of the Ten Girls From History were Louisa May Alcott (we just love Little Women), Cofachiqui (found very interesting her dealings with DeSoto), and Clara Morris (because of Grace's aspirations with acting). The website states, "Girls of all ages will enjoy meeting these ten remarkable girls from the past, and parents will appreciate the godly examples found in these pages. Both inspirational and entertaining, this book will bring history alive for your family". All of the young girls that Amy chose are very interesting. We found it fascinating to take a peek back into their childhoods and see how they grew up along with their family life. Other books available that crew members reviewed were Heroines of the Past Bible Study, Costumes with Character, and Uncover Exciting History. Please check out Amy's website Golden Prairie Press and check out all the great history items she has available.  To view all the opinions and reviews visit the TOS Review Crew. 

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product at no cost to me in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

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Update on Banana Pepper Burns

Okay, that was some of the most awful pain I have ever been through. I literally tried everything to get the stinging and burning to go away. Soaking in ice water, milk, and vinegar. Making a paste of baking soda, applying aloe, and taking two pain pills. It boiled down to me soaking my hand in a bowl of water for the first 3-4 hours then switching off to a frozen coke bottle to hold. I literally went to bed last night with a frozen coke bottle of water at my side and my hands holding it. I finally fell off to sleep at about 1 a.m. and when I woke back up at 2:30 the pain was gone. So heed my warning, when cutting up peppers wear rubber gloves. The Internet says latex gloves will not work, sometimes the juice gets through the latex. This morning my hands are not stinging or burning but still a little sore. I have to teach a puppetry arts class today so I was a little worried. Looking forward to a productive day, now that I can use my hands again.