Life Lessons and Chore Chart- Week of June 24-28, 2013

This week, Trey decided to spend some time at his grandparent's home.  They are building a cabin on the lake and have quite a bit of work to do, so Trey offered to go help out with whatever they needed.  Turns out a 13 year old boy is pretty handy to have around!  :) 

I've started the girls on a mini-unit on Independence Day.  I'm trying to get the point across that we celebrate Independence Day, and it's more than just the 4th of July... it's not just about hot dogs and fireworks! 

I set them up with various materials to work on during the day, and then I go over it all with them at night.  Fireworks will be part of the ending celebration, but they will also know why we are celebrating in the first place. 

I've found a few different resources that I'm using online, but I'm also using some of the homeschool materials to work from.  Nothing too stringent...this is fun learning time.  I'm stressing the importance of history...of voting...of exercising our right to free speech...of standing up for what you believe in.

First I went onto YouTube and found the Liberty's Kids show (#13) that deals with the first fourth of July. 

I also printed out some coloring pages for Lindsay to work on (she loves to color!).  You can find some here.

We're also planning on doing the Mentos in the Diet Coke experiment tomorrow.  I know I said Independence Day isn't about the fireworks, but it is part of our tradition of celebration, and I thought this would be a fun way to get them excited about the real fireworks we will be also watching this weekend.  (See?  I don't spoil all the fun!)

 

 

 

Anyway....That's about it for the life lessons this week.  Unless you count the new chore lists that I made for them.  I'll post mine below, but I want you to try my best to back track the history of this chart.  I saw a cleaning list on Pinterest.  I followed that link to this blog:  Tips and Pix.   When I read through there, I found that she had adapted that list from idea she found on THIS blog:  Kalanicut, who had adapted it from THIS blog:  Little Green Notebook, who originally got the idea from her friend who is a mom of boys, who thankfully doesn't have a blog (that I know of anyway...lol...I was tired of copying links.)

 

So this list has been around the block a few times.  I adapted it so that all my kiddos would have chores to do this summer.  I tried to work it so that each of the kiddos have ample free time, but not so much that they do nothing but sit around eating and playing video games all day.  As you'll see, Mom does her fair share of chores as well....most nights I do waaayyyy more than what's on the list.  I basically just put myself on there so that they would see that I am also holding myself accountable and "pulling my own weight" so to speak.  Here's my list: 

 

 

 

Yes, I color-code EVERYTHING.  I have a problem, I realize this.  Hope everybody has a great weekend! 

 

 

 

 

 

What I'm Wearing

So I've lost a few pounds recently, and that's gotten me thinking more and more about fashion.  As you may know, I'm no longer a stay-at-home mom, which means that my typical wardrobe of buffet britches and t-shirts will no longer suffice.  I am a legal advocate and do need to dress professionally for court a couple of times a month, but for the most part, my office is pretty casual.  We can wear pretty much anything besides jeans with tears/holes and t-shirts....and I've even gotten by with a plain white tee dressed up with scarves, etc. before.  I figure if the boss lady tells me how nice I look, I'm good.

I've decided to start trying to post some of the outfits I've been wearing lately.  A little disclaimer...I can not afford expensive clothes.  I have 4 children (one of whom is in college), and I work for a non-profit.  That alone should shed some light on just how skim my clothing budget is.  :)  So most of my posts will feature things that are extremely budget conscious.  For instance...this entire outfit was less than $80.  If you leave out the bag, it was only about $42!  I used a comparable bag on the polyvore site, because I have no idea where I got mine, but I know it was less than $40.  :)  It's pretty similar to the one listed here though.  :)

(P.S.  I'm doing this via my polyvore boards because I'm not brave enough for cameras just yet.  We'll see how it goes...maybe one day!)

Summer Casual on the Cheap! by amysuzyq featuring a denim skort

Sonoma life style denim skort
kohls.com

Charlotte Russe ankle strap flat sandals
charlotterusse.com

Kelly katie  
dsw.com

Basic Editions Women's Boat Neck Top - Striped - Clothing - Women's -...
kmart.com

Menu Plan Monday - June 24 - 29, 2013

It has been a terribly busy summer.  Silly me, I thought that since school was out, we would have more time to get things done.  I had dreams of coming home to find that my wonderful children had done their chores and had cleaned their rooms and would be ready for evenings of lounging by the pool, eating smores and catching lightning bugs.  Bahahahahahaaaaa.....funny.  I really crack myself up sometimes.

Our summer so far has consisted of my children wasting their entire day on video games and snacking on junk food.  I come home to a messy house, and end up yelling and screaming about how unfair it all is that I have to work all day and come home to a pig sty (yes I said it...and sounded just like my mother).  I think I even accused one of them of being raised in a barn.

Enter Super Mom to the rescue.  I occasionally get into these fits of cape-wearing, swiffer-wielding Mom rage, where I vow to rescue my children from the error of their ways.  First, was the vow to continue teaching them from home (which I am still trying to do, albeit not near as often as I'd like - but we DO have learning moments, and I take full advantage of every learning opportunity that presents itself).  And now, I will add to that vow....Menu Planning (to save my children from some sort of Junk Food induced coma by the end of summer), and Chore Lists (which I will get to in a later post, I promise).  I'll let you know how it goes...

I used to do the Menu Plan Monday over on I'm an Organizing Junkie, but I fell off the wagon....not in planning, but in posting about it.  I've always been a menu planner.  I enjoy it...really.  What I need to fix is the constant supply of Little Debbie's and Hostess products that seem to find their way into my pantry week after week.  I've become a lazy planner and thus a lazy shopper, and I realize that I need to get a handle on it.

My husband and I have been following a Low Carb diet - trying to lose a few pounds ya know.  But I realize that my kids don't need to be on that sort of restriction, so I usually fix stuff for them, and stuff for us.  Here's how our dinner menu looks this week:

Monday	Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Spinach, Cheese, & Mushrooms.  (The kids will eat this, so I only have to cook once!  Hooray!)
Tuesday	Turkey Tacos for the kiddos / Taco Salads for Hubby and Me Homemade Guacamole and Oven Baked Pita Chips
Wednesday	Almond Parmesan Crusted Tilapia (Hubby and Me) from Peace, Love, Low Carb. For Kids, Chicken Strips, Mac n Cheese, Green Beans.
Thursday	Chef Salad and Baked Potato Bar (hubby and I usually eat a small potato or ½ of a medium one – IF we have the carbs to spare.  J
Friday	Pizza & a Movie Night (we’re watching ParaNorman).  Hubby and I will have these Pepperoni Pizza Stuffed Peppers (also from Peace, Love, Low Carb – can you tell I love this blog?)
Saturday	We’ll either grill out or have leftovers… whichever!  J

Hope everyone has a great week!!  With our new menus and chore lists, I'm sure our bellies will be filled with good things, our rooms will be cleaned, and we'll have time left over to lounge by the pool and catch those ever elusive lightning bugs!  :)