Ferdie
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Posts posted by Ferdie
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My kids have a sticker chart and they earn stickers for doing their morning chores before coming downstairs, for starting their school before 8:30am and for doing their afternoon chores. They get an incentive when their sticker chart is full.
For math, I make sure my kids understand the lesson and I sit near by to encourage them. If they are really struggling we set the timer for 30 min and they do as much as they can until the timer goes off.
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Can I sneak a question in your thread too? :D
I'm wondering how many of the meals (from any plan) call for being smothered in cheese (or use dairy). Not all of us here can eat dairy, so that cuts out about half the recipes I come across lol
I buy 2 packs of grated cheese a week, so they use alot of cheese. This week there was cheese in the Tortilla Casserole (2 cups), Wild Rice Soup (16oz Velveta), Taco Cornbread Bake (1 cup), and the Smothered Ravioli used cheese filled ravioli.
Savingdinner.com and sixoclockscramble.com also offer meal planning services so you might want to check those out. Also yesterday someone posted about menusformoms.com which I think is menu planning too.
Good luck!
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I use the weight watchers points any-store menu. I really like it. Very few starchy whites (WW points are based on low-fat, high-fiber foods).
Thanks for the tip! I didn't know about their WW points plan.
I tried their vegetarian plan last month, but thought the food was lacking so we switched back to Walmart low-fat. I think they only let you switch once every three months so I will try WW next time.
Thanks!!
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I have been using e-mealz for several months and love it.
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Hi Julie,
I use the low-fat Walmart plan. My family is not too picky and overall they like the food. My dh said the food is good, but not so fantastic that we are tempted to overeat. LOL!
Here is the menu plan from this week:
Easiest Chicken Tortilla Casserole - everyone liked it
Christi's Wild Rice Soup - didn't make because I refuse to buy Velveta cheese, we had leftovers instead
Paprika Chicken Saute - making it tonight
Taco Cornbread Bake - everyone liked it
Easy Jambalaya - loved it. Ds ate 3 bowls and DH asked for it again
Mexi-Beef Stew (crockpot)- everyone like it
Smothered Ravioli - everyone like it
I have been using the plan for about 5 months and have made some tweeks: I substitute turkey breast for pork, ground turkey for ground beef. I only use e-mealz for the main entree because I don't agree with their side dishes, (white flour carbs and whimpy veggies). I stock pile whole wheat noodles, couscous, brown rice, whole grain wraps, and instant mashed potatoes and make one of those to go with the main entree. Also my family loves roasted/grilled veggies, kale, sauted spinach, stirfry and broccoli so I make my own veggies sides too.
The strength of E-mealz is that the recipes are so easy. I usually have dinner prepped in less than 20 minutes. Since we have been on the plan I have only ordered take out once or twice. With their plan, it is almost easier to fix a meal than stand in line at a restaurant. I originally planned to use it for 3 months to take a little menu planning break, but loved it so much we renewed.
It has also saved me alot a time. I used to plan our meals on Sat. morning, then inventory the fridge and make up a grocery list. By the time I got home from grocery shopping, (in a very crowded store) it was noon and half my Sat. gone. With e-mealz, I print the list first thing Thurs. morning, grab my ongoing grocery list off the fridge and go work out. On the way home from the health club I stop by Walmart and am usually done grocery shopping by 7:30am. I love having my Sat. morning back. Yeah!
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We told our children that they can have a cell phone when they have a job and can pay for one.
I would love to have an extra family phone for my kids to use when they bike out of the neighborhood or when they are ready to be picked up from an activity. Also my oldest has a group of friends in the neighborhood. They go from house to house to play and often go out to the woods. Sometimes it takes me awhile to track him down. It would be so nice to be able to call him on a cell.
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Thank you for sharing. Your children are beautiful!
I loved your cat's resting spot and the pics of you dd and dog.
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Yes, we have been married 25 years. He is an amazing person and I would remarry him in a heartbeat.
Now if you had asked me that question during year 7-10 of our marriage I probably would have given you a different answer. Those were some tough times.
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Yes!!!! We just did this and it was the best week. It was great to reconnect with my dh and strengthened our marriage.
Maybe you can board the dog and prep some of the food before you leave. Also do you have to go so far away? Could you vacation closer to home so you can get back quick if you need to?
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Wow! Y'all have cheap rates.
We've been watering 2x/week here since we've had over 100 degree days almost every day all summer long with less than 1" of rain all summer long. We have a sprinkler system divided into 9 zones that waters each zone for 10 minutes.
Our water bill this month was $113. $49 of that was water, $48 was sewer, and $15 was trash pickup. The rest was tax.
That is the same as our water/sewer/trash bill for a family of 5 + pool.
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Please do tell more, what exactly is a meal planning service, how does it work and how do you go about finding one?
Here are three that you can check out. I have used all three. The downside on the first two is that you are not shopping store sales. The last one is designed around store sales so your grocery bill will be less expensive than the first two.
1. Savingdinner.com - they have a book that you can probably get at the library or second hand at Amazon. They also have an on-line menu planning service called menu mailer.
2. Sixoclockscramble.com - food is great
3. e-mealz.com - I use the Walmart low-fat version. I skip the bread, use whole grain carbs for side dishes and make my own veggie sides. I love this service because the meals are so fast and my family likes them. My dh said that food is good, but not so great that we overeat. LOL!
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I use a meal planning service. I love, love, love not planning meals or making up a grocery list. It costs about $1 a week and it so worth it to me.
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Thanks Sweetfeet. I have a Desk Apprentice and love it. When I was searching on Staples for the pencil organizer I found a Jr. Desk Apprentice type unit. Be still my heart. It is beautiful:
http://www.staples.com/SpinWorx-Rotating-Desk-Organizer/product_678939?cmArea=SEARCH
Thanks for the link Kalanamak.
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Does anyone remember a thread, about 6 months ago, that linked to a rotating desktop pencil and supply holder. It was circle shape, (blue I think) and held school supplies. I would love one for our art center. It looked something like this:
https://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=15585&words=tool%20holder
Maybe I dreamed it because I have searched this forum high and low for the post. Does anyone know what I am talking about?
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I will think of you, Ferdie. Shall we post progress reports?
Julie
Yes, Julie. Let's do that.
Thank y'all for your heartwarming posts - I knew you guys would understand me.
Progress report - phase 1 is complete. Desks cleared off, backpacks cleaned out, old curriculum in boxes ready for resale and the bookcases have been dusted. Yeah! On to phase 2.
On a bright note I found the lid to the photocopier - don't ask. I also found SOTW 2 CD's which I didn't know that we owned. Bummer because I just ordered them from Amazon.
Looking forward to updates from the rest of you.
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I think I can....I think I can.
My goal this weekend is to tackle our den: pull out all of our old homeschool curriculum, dust the bookcases, load up the co-op backpacks, restock supplies and set up the desks/notebooks for a new school year.
For all of you on the same mission today....may the force be with you.
For all of you that have already finished this task....enjoy your weekend.
I have a trash bag, storage boxes and my duster. Here I go......
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My gf left their hamster alone for a week. She put in an extra water bottle and extra food and he was just fine.
For our hamster and pet rat we found a neighbor that wanted a pet for a week, (which was hard to do with the rat-LOL!) and gave them a little gift card when we got back.
Have a great vacation.
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My ds is going to a charter school this year for 7th grade. They are spending the entire year, 1 hour per day, on Texas state history. I know Texas has a rich history, but a whole year. Wow!
On the postive side the history teacher worked for a state official so hopefully there will be some great stories to go along with his year long study.
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I have a couple of hs friends that work out of their home: one tutors ps children one on one, one writes grants for a grant writing company, and one makes tamales during the holidays to earn vacation money.
Also when my nephew was in public school middle school he went to a homeschool family's home after school twice a week. The mom offered a home work/tutor service. I can't remember how much she charged, but since my sister worked full-time she loved it because she would come home from work and his homework was done. This woman also tutored him in math and his grades improved that year.
Also wasn't there someone on these boards that had an early morning newspaper route?
Ditto what Megan said above. I consider it a part-time job to focus on reducing our outflow.
Good luck!
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Plano gets a bum rap from many people because of two stereotypes. They are stereotypes, yes, but with some valid bases. One is the perceived income level. Not everybody in Plano has lots of money. (Our relatives and friends who live there don't !) Many families are, however, wealthy enough to spawn a lot of "conspicuous consumption" jokes. The other stereotype is of a rampant drug problem among the city's youth. There was one year when I recall Plano nicknamed the "heroin capital".
Some consider Frisco to be "the next Plano" because of its rapid, up-scale growth.
McKinney is growing rapidly, also, from what I pick up. I never have been there -- just have driven through on 75 in order to visit a friend who used to live in Anna.
I think I'm the primary poster with negative remarks about Dallas. Many people really, really like it here. I just happen to someone who considers the weather heathenly hot and unbearable. (I would use another "h" word, but shall refrain from doing so.) I also find the place very dull, overall. There are enjoyable activities and organizations, if I had the money for such luxuries. (museums and classical musical concerts) Lastly, I find the terrain hideous.
So don't listen to me. Listen to somebody who likes Dallas !
Girl, come move to Flower Mound. I promise you will love it here. The house next door to me is going on the market. Do you need a big ol' Texas house?
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Sorry for the hijack, but what is so terrible about the Dallas area? Does anybody have anything to say about Plano or McKinney?
We live in Flower Mound which is about 20 minutes from the DFW airport. I think it is beautiful here, (compared with CA). Lots of trees and walking trails. We are nestled between two lakes, Grapevine Lake and Lake Lewisville, which are great hiking/biking spots.
We have an amazing community center:
http://www.flower-mound.com/cac/
and fantastic library:
http://www.cityoflewisville.com/wcmsite/publishing.nsf/Content/Children+Programs
We have great places to shop/eat out, and lots of youth activities.
The summer heat takes a little getting used to, but since we didn't have AC in CA it hasn't been as bad as I thought. We run most of our errands in the early morning or evening when it is cooler. We also have a pool and a water part at our community center so we have some great cool off options. They also have great indoor facilities for youth activities, (playgrounds, miniture golf, skateboard park, dollar movie theatre), which are good outing options if we need to get out of the house in the heat of the day.
If you are looking to move to the Dallas area I would also recommend Highland Village and Carrollton area too.
Good luck!
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We moved from CA to DFW area of TX 3 years ago. I love the people, (so nice), love the youth culture and love the cost of living. We also have a large hs population so there are plenty of learning and social opportunities.
Down side is the mosquitoes. In the summer they frequent our yard in the early evening - just when it is cooling off enough to go outside. Last week we had a family time in our pool and I got two bites on my face which were the only parts of my body not underwater. My dh and kids all had several bite, too. Ugh!
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Thank you all so much for the input. It has been a lot of pondering which way to go. We are excited for our journey so far for foster/adopt most people say a year. I guess if we plan for it that way and it takes longer fine.
As far as the microscope thing- we have nothing to hide but I'm very protective of my family and fear of the unknown always makes me nervous. I am so glad to hear it has worked out for so many. Very encouraging indeed.
We adopted three children through the foster system. We were in a special fost-adopt program where they try to place children who they think will go up for adoption with parents wanting to adopt. In our case they were 100% correct as all three of ours ended up being adopted by us. They came to us very young 6 mo, 1 and 2 years old. I think you are smart to adopt a child younger than your youngest.
I really never felt like we were under a microscope, but I did feel like we had to constantly explain ourselves. There was such a high turn over of social workers in our county that each of my children had several over a 2 year period. We also had visits each 6 months from their attorney, and we were audited once. We had a lot of visitors in our home during the process. Mostly, everyone was very respectful and appreciative of our efforts.
We were on a waiting list for one year for each of our children. After the child was place with us it took about 18 to 24 months to get into the adoption process and 6 more months for the adoption to be final.
We were reimbursed all of our costs and were paid about $450 per month, (tax free because it is reimbursement) per child while they were in foster care. After the adoption process we still receive $500 per month per child until age 18, (called Aid to Adoptive Parents which is also tax free).
Good luck and please keep us updated.
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So tired of cleaning our carpet so I vote for wood. Wood is better for resale value too.
Goodie bag alternatives for a birthday party?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Check out the dollar store:
Journal with a fancy pen
Sidewalk chalk with a jump rope
My dd had a cooking party last year and we found measuring spoons and a cute apron. I love the dollar store.