Wednesday Hodgepodge - April 19, 2017

From this Side of the Pond

1. Tell us about a time you felt like you were "flying by the seat of your pants."

By definition, flying by the seat of your pants is "to do something difficult without the necessary experience or ability." Anything that I have done for the first time has felt like that in my life - like simple things around the farm: ordering and raising rare and endangered chickens; starting and raising a flock of sheep; or repairing a fence.

Babydoll sheep that Sophia, Olivia, and I saw

at a sheep and llama festival.

I didn't raise babydolls.

Mine were cross-bred sheep....nothing fancy.

(Taken on May 12, 2012.)

One of the ongoing areas that comes to mind is being a mother. There is no plan because life is different each day. Yes, I can have goals for what I want to do as a parent and have a parenting philosophy to direct my actions.

The girls and I watched a ship

move towards the dock in Two Harbors.

(Taken on June 4, 2013.)

In reality, those are only guides. What is presented to me on a daily basis by Sophia and Olivia as well as the world around us, determines what happens and how our lives unfold.

Donating food to the food shelf.

(Taken on December 8, 2012.)

I can only hope that the job I am doing as the girls' mother is a good one and that helps prepare them for the future - as participants, leaders, and contributors to making the world a better place.

2.  When or where would you most like to be "a fly on the wall?"

I don't know if I would want to be listening to information that I shouldn't hear - especially if it is about me. Sometimes it is better not to know what people are saying about you or how they truly feel. It can be quite hurtful if they don't have your best interest at heart.

Gretel as a puppy listening

(Taken on March 28, 2008.)

The only thing I could think of where I would want to be a fly on the wall would be in the future in a situation that could help me and/or my family now. Could there be something we could be doing differently now that would help us later? Learning information like that would be helpful and positive.

3. "Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder."-Henry David Thoreau 

Would you agree? Why or why not?

There is truth in each part of the quote. If you are so focused on creating that perfectly happy life, it can backfire because you're only looking in the future and missing the present. There are moments in each day that are happy and positive, yet those could be overlooked if one is only looking into the future - towards a "greater" happiness.

Sophia and Olivia having a tea party on Christmas Day.

(Taken on December 25, 2007.)

Conversely, if there is a darker or harder time in one's life, trying to schedule activities or do things that bring happiness can make difficult days more palatable. It's creating happiness and happy memories despite challenging times.

Olivia doing therapeutic horseback riding.

Riding helped her overcome a lot of

developmental and speech delays.

She loved the weekly sessions, and

I am so grateful for the improvements and skills

she gained because of the experience.

(Taken on September 11, 2007.)

Sometimes - when you're not trying at all - just being in the moment...fully present...you can find yourself incredibly happy and grateful for the life you have - however simple it is.

Girls by the leprechaun trap.

(Taken on March 16, 2009.)

4. Share a favorite movie, book, or song with flying in it's title, lyrics, or theme somewhere.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the only movie that comes to mind that refers to flying or air travel in the title.

My Dad by a plane in Colorado.

I took him there to visit his brother who also had Alzheimer's Disease.

He was impressed with the size of the plane.

(Taken on July 6, 2010.)

I've watched this movie many times. It's a classic comedy about a man who wants to get home for Thanksgiving (played by Steve Martin),  and who has to deal with the company of a shower ring salesman (played by John Candy) along the way.

Although it is a comedy, the movie does touch on the loss of a spouse and the difficulty of going on with one's life; and the generosity of strangers/friends in welcoming others to join them for the holidays.

5. What is one task or chore you tend to do "on the fly?" Is this something that really needs to be done another way?

Sometimes dinners are done on the fly which isn't the best or most thoughtful way of making food for my family. There have been many times when - in the middle of the afternoon - I'll hear, "What are we having for dinner?" and I'll realize that I didn't take something out to thaw in the morning.

My response - typically - is, "I haven't gotten that far." In other words, I didn't plan ahead like I should have done.

Sometimes I have done meal plans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. During the late-winter and spring, we have been trying to use what we have on hand rather than purchasing a lot of new ingredients for recipes - so I haven't been as diligent with meal planning. I should get back to doing that. It makes life much easier.

6. What was happening the last time you thought to yourself or said aloud, 'Wow, time flies when you're having fun', and you meant it.

Whenever I am on vacation or taking a short "field trip" the time seems to fly by.

The girls feeding the chipmunk in Grand Marais.

They named it "Chippy."

(Taken on September 8, 2010.)

Spending time with family doing something special always feels like time goes by way too quickly.

A pelican flying at Lake Shetek State Park.

Sophia, Olivia, and I stayed here when we were

exploring the southwestern part of Minnesota and

southeastern part of South Dakota.

(Taken on June 9, 2012.)

It seems like time in general is going by too quickly. Days go by and it's as if I don't even know where the hours went. It's like everything is on a fast speed at this point in my life.

Days are full and the time goes by at a pace which I'd like to see decrease. Maybe that happens when you get older. Too much that you want to do and accomplish...and the reality that there isn't enough time left.

7. This Thursday is National Garlic Day. Will you add garlic to your menu on Thursday? Do you like garlic? What's your favorite dish made with garlic?

I like garlic. However, I'm going to be at a homeschool conference starting on Thursday so I don't think it would be a good idea to eat a lot of garlic that day or sweat it out on Friday.

Olivia making the sauce for lasagna.

(Taken on April 27, 2012.)

My favorite dish made with garlic is lasagna. My mom made the best lasagna and I continue to make the recipe. It has about 15 layers of sauce, noodles, and various kinds of cheeses....and, of course, garlic.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

In the past, Olivia and I always made and decorated a lamb cake for Easter. This year, Sophia wanted to make a cake for Easter that she saw on YouTube. It's a geode cake.

 

Sophia with the geode cake she made; and a close-up of it.

It's a four-tier cake that has homemade frosting between each layer and on the cake. It is topped with a blue and white fondant and decorated with three colors of rock candy (to look like a geode).

She tried a new cake recipe (which turned out well), learned how to use fondant, and did a cake design that was new to her. It was very time consuming, yet the result was beautiful and delicious.

Saving Money and Being Frugal - Week in Review - March 25, 2017

Here's what the week from March 18th-24th looked like:

Progress on Financial Goals I Set for this Week

Last week, I set six goals to work on. This is how I did:

- Bring taxes to the accountant. I've made progress on them. Only three parts left to do - the most difficult ones for me - two businesses and homeschooling because of the volume of receipts and statements I need to condense and total. All other parts are organized and totaled which is a huge relief.

- Take Sophia and Olivia to the local bank so they can deposit money into an emergency fund account that they will each establish. Sophia did this on Saturday, March 18th and Olivia did this on Thursday, March 22nd.

- Help Sophia set up an appointment with a financial advisor to help her set up her first mutual fund/Roth IRA. Talked with a financial advisor earlier in the week about different plans and which one would fit what Sophia is looking for in the long-term. When I bring the taxes into the accountant, we will meet with the financial advisor (they share office space).

- Make a deposit into two Roth IRAs. Did not do this.

- Help Sophia and Olivia set up binders to hold their statements for different accounts (e.g., savings, checking, CD, emergency fund, retirement, college, life insurance). Sophia created her binder on March 21st. Olivia has all the components for creating the binder (e.g., binder, section dividers, page protectors). It's just a matter of putting things in the proper order in the binder now.

Source

- Finish setting up my binder to hold statements for different financial accounts and policies. Did not do this.

Progress on Blog Goals I Set for this Week

Last week,  I set the following blogging goals to work on  as they relate to saving money and home organization:

- Write a blog post about "Paying for College Without Going Broke." I read the book, and wrote a blog post about what I wanted to remember.

- Continue to work streamlining and organizing our home by doing Weeks 11-13 of the 52 Weeks to an Organized Home. Finished doing Week 4 (which I had been postponing until a more appropriate time to do the challenge), Week 11 and Week 12. Did not have a chance yet to work on Week 13.

- Write an update about 40 Bags in 40 Days about Days  16-22. Did not do this.

- Make homemade Peppermint Bath Melts. Purchased all the supplies to make these, but have not made them yet.

Smart and Not-So-Smart Purchases

A not-so-smart purchase was a generic version of a peroxide cleaner for contact lenses. Even though the ingredients appeared to be the same, the solution ended up affecting the lenses in that two of them ripped.

That was an expensive lesson. We are buying the brand name version of the peroxide cleaner from now on.

Also, one of our new dogs, Danny, snuck a pork chop bone (about 1" long and 1/4" wide) from the garbage and ate it in a matter of seconds.

Since he is small (about 20 pounds), this size bone can pose a challenge. So, we had to take him to an emergency vet who immediately, upon our arrival, took his vitals and did x-rays.

They found that he had four bones in his stomach - three smaller pieces and one larger piece.

The four bones can be seen in Danny's stomach.

They are on the right side of the photo

about in the middle of the x-ray.

The two options were to:
(1) feed him small meals for a few days and hope that the food binds with the pieces of bone and, as they move through the intestines, provides a cushion or barrier between the sharp edges of the bone and the intestinal walls. OR
(2) do surgery which costs about $1,500.

I chose the former...and the vet said she would as well.

Since we paid for the x-rays, I thought it would be good to take photographs of them since we rarely get to see the inside of a dog.

It was a good science lesson for Sophia today.

Frugal Meals

- Ate leftovers was a good way to stretch the food budget and use up what was on hand.

- Friday night's meal was from Blue Apron that we were gifted from another blogger. Another meal will be on Saturday night.

The ingredients to make two dinners - enough for 8+ meals.

That saved us almost $70 in delicious food this week!

What was on the table for dinner last week:

Saturday - Leftover spaghetti or fresh-baked cinnamon rolls with apple slices. (Sophia and Olivia picked the rolls since they were hot out of the oven.)

Sunday  - BBQ beef and pork on homemade parker house rolls. The BBQ beef and pork was a crockpot dinner I made last month and had a lot leftover. Just needed to reheat it for an easy dinner.

Monday -  Turkey meatballs and green peas. This was a memorable meal. One of the meatballs had a penny in it....and I didn't put it there. It looks like it went through a grinding machine at the processing factory or wherever they make ground turkey.

Sophia cut open the meatball and was surprised to find the coin.

It was really sharp and had jagged edges. She ended up cutting her finger on it.

I'm surprised I didn't come across it when I was mixing all the ingredients together or making the meatballs.

Needless to say, we are all a bit hesitant now to eat ground turkey (or any ground product).

Notified Jennie-o (the company that produced the turkey) to let them know that there was a penny in the ground turkey since there are obviously missing pieces to it and probably in someone else's turkey.

Their response was a mixture of apathy towards what happened to Sophia and defensiveness that it was impossible that the coin was in their turkey because of the size of their screens that filter out items. You would think a company would be concerned and want to make sure no one was hurt eating their products.

Well...neeedless to say, after their response we will not be eating ground turkey produced by their company.

Tuesday - Pork chops with dressing.

Wednesday - Pork roast and mashed potatoes with gravy.

Thursday - Leftovers.
    
Friday - Za'atar Spiced Chicken with Bulgur from Blue Apron.

This was super good and the portions were overly generous. The recipe says it makes four servings. However, there were probably eight meals that could have been made from the one recipe. Of course, some of the family members ate what we consider a normal dinner portion plus...because it was so delicious...they had second helpings.

We all agreed that continuing with Blue Apron would be a good idea. Not every week (because we need to be mindful of our spending), but perhaps once or twice a month.

What stands out about the meal, too, is that almost every ingredient was used. With the exception of garlic cloves (which will be used for the other meal that Blue Apron sent), there were no ingredients leftover. So, no food waste.

This is a big deal for us because we enjoy trying new recipes and will buy the ingredients. Often times, there are leftover ingredients that aren't used and that we don't have an immediate purpose for (e.g., fresh cilantro, inner part of lemon if only the zest is used, broth). Sometimes, these are then wasted which is frustrating. I liked not seeing that waste with Blue Apron.

My financial goals for this week:

- Bring taxes to the accountant. There is no more flexibility on this goal since after April 1st there is a 10% surcharge for tax preparation. I don't want to incur that fee.

- Help Sophia and Oliva set up their first mutual funds/Roth IRAs after meeting with a financial advisor.

- Go to a Fashion Consultant at the Thrift Store for New-to-Us Clothes. There's a free service where a fashion consultant helps clients at the thrift store find clothes that match their style.

There's a comprehensive profile form that you fill out ahead of time and provide the link to your  Pinterest board that shows examples of the types of clothes you wear. She will pull clothing in your size and style that she thinks you will like. My oldest daughter and I are doing that this week.

- Go to Fare for All. This is a great way to stretch one's budget. They buy food and/or are given food by grocery stores that are put into food packages and/or sold individually.

The produce pack has a nice variety of fruits and vegetables; the meat pack has about a half dozen types of meats; and the mega meat pack has about a dozen types of meat products. There also are special buys and free bread products.

My parents introduced me to Fare for All, and I've gone to monthly buying events whenever I am able to do so.

- Make a deposit into two Roth IRAs.

- Help Olivia finish setting up her binder to hold her statement for different accounts (e.g., savings, checking, CD, emergency fund, retirement, college, life insurance).

- Finish setting up my binder to hold statements for different financial accounts and policies.

Blog as it relates to saving money and home organization:

- Continue to work streamlining and organizing our home by doing Week 13 of the 52 Weeks to an Organized Home. The schedule for the year is posted on the link. It's been a very helpful guide to setting up the year and weekly goals.

- Write an update about 40 Bags in 40 Days about Days  16-22 and 23-29.

- Make homemade Peppermint Bath Melts.

- Make natural Vapor Rub using essential oils.

- Make an  upcycled bag holder for plastic bags.

*Part of Financially Savvy Saturdays on brokeGIRLrich.*

Recipes for a Labor Day Meal

We tried a variety of new recipes for Labor Day this year. This is a result of doing an online homeschooling planning session during August. Part of the task was to look at the rhythm of the year - which includes holidays and special celebrations.

I went through my recipes as well as looked on Pinterest for ideas for some ideas for a Labor Day meal. Below are the recipes and pictures of what we made.

For our main meal, we ate later in the day...about 2:00 p.m. We had brats, hot dogs, baked beans, honey sweet corn, and an orange-lemonade drink. For dessert, we had peach melba mountain. The last three items were all new recipes.

Peach Melba Mountain I made for Labor Day.

For dinner, we weren't very hungry so we just had some crackers and cheese. We also had caramel apple grapes and homemade peach ice cream for dessert. The recipes for these items are below.

Honey Sweet Corn

Honey Sweet Corn.

This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine. (I found a pin for it on Pinterest as well.) It's very easy to make and everyone enjoyed it. The honey does not add a lot of flavor. In fact, we weren't able to taste it. Perhaps it did add a hint of sweetness, though, to the corn.

6 medium ears sweet corn
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon honey
Ground pepper and salt

Place corn in a Dutch oven or stockpot; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cover and cook for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Drain. In a small bowl, combine butter and honey; brush over corn. Sprinkled with salt and pepper, if desired.

Orange-Lemonade 

Orange-Lemonade.

Holidays Central has a variety of recipes for Labor Day. (This is the pin on Pinterest.) One that I wanted to try was the beverage. My grandma used to make orange-lemonade from fresh oranges and lemons. I still prefer my grandma's version, but this recipe was so easy to make.

The only modification that I made to the recipe was that I didn't include the grated lemon peel or orange peel. If the girls saw the peels floating in their beverage, they wouldn't have drank it.

1 1/4 cup water + 3 cups water, divided
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon grated orange peel

Bring 1 1/4 cup water and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and then pour into a pitcher.

Stir in lemon juice, orange juice, grated lemon peel, and grated orange peel. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Stir in 3 cups of water and serve over ice.

Peach Melba Mountain

Peach Melba Mountain.

Made from angel food cake, whipped topping, 

peaches, and strawberries.

I've wanted to try this recipe for seven years now...it's from the May/June 2006 issue of Country Woman. (I also have a pin of it on Pinterest.) The three-layer angel food cake has lots of fresh fruit and whipped topping between each layer, so the final cake ends up being very tall.

Instead of raspberries, I used strawberries, and I didn't include any almonds in the recipe - either in the topping or as decoration.

The recipe calls for letting it chill for 30 minutes before serving. Since we were going to be eating only a small part of the cake, I chose to remove a section, do the layering with the whipped topping and fruit, and immediately serve it. By chilling it for 30 minutes, it could give the cake a bit more stability and ease for cutting. Otherwise, it is a wobbly cake (because of the height) and difficult to cut into thin slices.

1 package (16 ounces) angel food cake mix
1 package (3 ounces) peach or orange gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted, divided
3 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches
3 cups fresh raspberries

Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using an ungreased 10-in. tube pan (also known as an angel food cake pan). Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water; cool. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and extract until fluffy. Gradually beat in gelatin. Fold in whipped topping and 3/4 cup almonds. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake.

Cut cake into three horizontal layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with a third of the cream mixture. Top with 1 cup of peaches and 1 cup of raspberries. Repeat layers.

Adding the fruit layer.

Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12-14 servings.

Nutritional Facts: 1 serving (1 slice) equals 336 calories, 13 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 18 mg cholesterol, 301 mg sodium, 47 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Caramel Apple Grapes

Caramel Apple Grapes.

I saw a pin for caramel apple grapes on Pinterest. The pin led to a recipe on On The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife. I was intrigued by this one because it said that the grapes end up tasting just like caramel apples. None of us thought they tasted like caramel apples, but they were delicious nonetheless.

They are easy to make. One thing we learned was that it was best to allow some of the caramel to drip off of the grape before putting it in the peanuts. We also didn't have enough toothpicks on hand, so we just used a few toothpicks to dip the grapes and them removed them when we were done.

1 cup caramel bits
2 tablespoons heavy cream
handful of seedless green grapes
1 cup salted peanuts, crushed
toothpicks

Poke toothpicks into the tops of each grape; set aside. In a small pot over medium-low heat, combine the caramel bits and cream. Stir until melted. Reduce heat to lowest setting just to keep warm.

Place the peanuts in a shallow dish and dip the grapes into the caramel sauce and then roll in the crushed nuts. Place on a plate to set. Repeat until all the grapes are used.

Peach Cheesecake Ice Cream

Peach Cheesecake Ice Cream.

I've been holding onto this recipe for years (since 2007), and I'm so glad that we finally tried it! (I also pinned it on Pinterest.) This is an incredibly rich and flavorful ice cream. You do not need to eat a lot to enjoy it.

We followed the recipe closely with the exception of the last part that talks about dividing the peaches and adding them to each batch. The ice cream maker we have was large enough to hold the entire recipe, so we could add the peaches all at once.

We also were unable to find peach nectar. So, we substituted mango nectar and guava nectar - 1/4 cup each to equal the 1/2 cup that was noted in the recipe.

1 cup milk
1-1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup peach nectar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
4 medium peaches, peeled and chopped or 1-1/2 cups frozen sliced peaches, chopped

In a small saucepan, heat milk to 175°; stir in 1-1/4 cups sugar until dissolved. Whisk a small amount into the egg yolks. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches at least 160° and coats the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from the heat. Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

In a blender, combine the cream, vanilla and cream cheese; cover and process until smooth. Add to cooled milk mixture. Stir in peach nectar and lemon juice. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. (Note: we refrigerated the mixture for three hours.)

Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Place peaches in a bowl; sprinkle with remaining sugar. Set aside, stirring several times. Drain and discard juice from peaches. Add some of the peaches to each batch of ice cream during the last 5 minutes of freezing.

Refrigerate remaining mixture and peaches until ready to freeze. Transfer ice cream to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving. May be frozen for up to 2 months.

Yield: 2 quarts.

The ice cream is loaded with fresh peaches.

I enjoyed making a variety of new recipes. Sophia helped me with the ice cream and caramel apple grapes which made being in the kitchen on a holiday even that much better!

Homeschool Planning for 2013-14

Since early-August I've been planning the 2013-14 homeschool year. I registered for an online class called "Sketching it Out :: A Four Week Planning Session" led by Lisa Boisvert Mackenzie.

Originally, it was a four-week planning session. However, it has since expanded to eight weeks. The original participants went through the four-week planning process; and then could choose to begin again. This has been helpful to re-visit some of the earlier topics covered and fill in sections that I didn't have time to address during the first process.

At any rate, the focus of the class was an exploring the rhythm of the year in the context of planning a homeschool year. We began by getting a planner. I had several on hand, so I picked a small, maroon 3-ring binder. I added a pencil case and lined paper.

3-ring binder for academic work,

tabbed dividers, and a pencil case.

I also added some information I printed out from Lisa's website and links; some of the ideas from conversations on the Yahoo group set up for the class; and other ideas from the internet that focused on creating rhythm in the home and within homeschooling.

I began pinning ideas on Pinterest for different subjects:
=> Waldorf Rhythm, Routines, and Meal Times
=> Waldorf-Inspired Home

The next step was to create a school calendar. For us, that means a yearly calendar since I consider homeschooling more of a learning lifestyle than a set period of days when the girls learn. That being said, there is a "start date" and "end date" of the more "formal" homeschooling. This year, that is September 3rd and May 30th respectively.

School calendar.

Normally, we go on a "not back to school" trip the day after Labor Day for a few days. This year, however, we will not be going on a trip. Instead, we will do a "not back to school picnic" on September 3rd - the day after Labor Day.

Also on the calendar are days that there are no school or a holiday. This year on holidays we will focus on activities related to the holiday rather than doing traditional school work.

The calendar also shows birthdays and anniversaries (e.g., Adoption Days); breaks; and when we start and end the time period where we focus more on alternative ways to learn (e.g., 4-H, county fair, state fair).

Wheel of the Year.

Next, I looked at the different holidays that we will be celebrating and learning about this year; and found pins on Pinterest for them. We will be celebrating additional holidays and special days (e.g., New Year' Day, Mother's Day), but these are the core ones that had quite a few ideas that I wanted to remember.

JANUARY
=> Epiphany
=> Tu B'Shevat
=> Chinese New Year

FEBRUARY
=> Brigid's Day
=> Candlemas
=> Groundhog's Day
=> Valentine's Day

MARCH
=> Mardi Gras
=> Lent
=> St. Patrick's Day
=> Spring Equinox

APRIL
=> Passover
=> Easter

MAY
=> May Day
=> Memorial Day

JUNE
=> Pentecost or Whitsun
=> Summer Solstice
=> St. John's Tide

JULY
=> Fourth of July

AUGUST
=> Lammas

SEPTEMBER
=> Labor Day
=> Autumn Equinox
=> Rosh Hashana
=> Michaelmas

OCTOBER
=> Yom Kippur
=> Halloween

NOVEMBER
=> All Saints Day
=> All Souls Day
=> Martinmas
=> Adoption Day Celebrations
=> Chanukah
=> Thanksgiving

DECEMBER
=> Advent
=> St. Nicholas Day
=> St. Lucia Day
=> Las Posadas
=> Winter Solstice
=> Christmas Eve and Day
=> 12 Days After Christmas
=> New Years Eve

Monthly activities on a circular calendar.

I created a wheel of the year after I found a pin that I liked. using a free PDF pattern from Daily Colours.

Then I looked at the weekly rhythm that I would like to start doing this year. Some of the ideas are based on Rudolph Steiner's beliefs and/or what some families using a Waldorf methodology/lifestyle follow (e.g., color of the day, grain of the day) while others are what works best for our family.

Rhythm of the week.

I noted the color of the day, grain of the day, activity of the day that involves Sophia and Olivia, and an activity of the day for me. Some of the activities that I do, the girls can help (e.g., Soup Day), but most are personal things that I want or need to get done.

SUNDAY
=> White
=> Wheat
=> Bread Making
=> Renew the Spirit

MONDAY
=> Violet
=> Rice
=> Music
=> Errands

TUESDAY
=> Red
=> Oats
=> Art and Painting
=> Mending

WEDNESDAY
=> Orange
=> Millet
=> Writing
=> Yard Work

THURSDAY
=> Yellow
=> Rye
=> Nature
=> Wash and dry bedding + towels

FRIDAY
=> Green
=> Barley
=> Adventuring (field trips, visit my mom, volunteering at the nursing home)
=> Soup Day

SATURDAY
=> Blue
=> Corn
=> Handiwork (e.g., sewing, embroidery, crocheting, knitting)
=> Menu Planning (also includes cleaning out the refrigerator)

Daily activities on a circular weekly calendar.

Once the color of the days were set, I thought that the best way to implement that was by having them be a part of the meal. For example, it may be the color coasters, place mats, tablecloth, table runner, and/or candles that we use.

I also looked on Pinterest for ideas for food that incorporates the different grains. I was surprised at the lack of recipes for millet. Apparently it's an under-rated grain.

I also made a rhythm of the week wheel. Daily Colours (the website mentioned above) has a free PDF pattern. However, I ended up using only the back and pointer. The colors on Wednesday and Thursday were the reverse of what I wanted to do in my family. (I prefer the flow of red-orange-yellow-green rather than red-yellow-orange-green since it follows the look of a rainbow.)

So, I made the circle and divided it into seven sections. I wrote the daily information into each section, and then colored in each part with the appropriate Prismacolor colored pencil.

One of the other things I did that ties into both the monthly holidays and special days; and the weekly grains was go through a binder that I have with lots of recipes that I would like to try. The recipes were divided by type (e.g., appetizer, main dish, bread, vegetables). This did not lend itself well to easily finding recipes.

To address this challenge, I went through all the recipes and pulled out ones that I'd like to try during a particular month, at a specific holiday/special occasion, or that included the grain of the day.

After the recipes were divided, I put each grouping into a plastic sheet protector. In this way, I can easily find recipes that use peaches, for example, since they are in the August sheet protector. (This is the month that peaches are readily available in Minnesota.)

The next step for me was to figure out what to teach on a daily basis. Honestly, this is where I got stuck for well over a week. The girls each have some work left to do from the 2012-13 school year. Since they enjoyed what they were doing, I wanted to continue with it into this year. There were other subjects or activities that I let go in favor of new ones that we will be adding this year.

The other challenge is that funds are quite limited this year. That means there is no extra money to purchase curriculum that I would like to try. Rather, I went through the resources I have on hand as well as look at free resources online to create the curriculum for the 2013-14 homeschool year.

A page from Sonlight's curriculum.

This is the one that Sophia will be finishing this year.

Already, there is quite a bit done on this particular week.

As I have done in the past, I look at the girls' interests, skill levels, educational levels, and learning styles. Although both girls have a strong interest in reading and literature, Sophia has done particularly well with Sonlight's curriculum.

Page from Sonlight's science curriculum schedule.

Thankfully, Sonlight includes so much into one level of of curriculum, that it can be stretched out into 1 1/2 - sometimes 2 years. In Sophia's case, she will complete what she started last year by January 2014. At that point, she will move onto Ambleside Online since it's a free curriculum and follows Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy.

Page of Ambleside Online's schedule for Olivia.

Olivia will be starting with Ambleside Online in September. Since she is working with the local elementary school to receive assistance with some learning, auditory processing, and short-term memory issues, some of her subjects are covered in a way that works well for her: through workbooks.

This is quite a different path than both a Waldorf and Charlotte Mason approach, however, for Olivia it works well. The workbooks are supplemented by "living books" from the library which gives her some quality reading on subjects addressed in the workbooks.

She also will be doing Beyond Five in a Row. During the first semester, she'll be working on four books (two fiction and two non-fiction). There are a wide variety of hands-on activities for her to which she is looking forward to doing.

One of the pages in the planning binder.

There are three of these per week - 

each row has a different subject.

In addition, the girls each have a variety of subjects that they learn about during the year:

A to Z Book (Olivia is creating a book about different subjects that begin with each letter of the alphabet)
Art
Character Education
Foreign Language (French for Olivia; Spanish for Sophia)
Grammar
Handwriting (standard for Olivia and Spencerian for Sophia)
Holidays
Journaling
Latin/Greek (Sophia only)
Literature (listen to 1 Newberry award book per month)
Math
Music (piano for Olivia; piano, harp, and violin for Sophia)
Nature Journaling
Physical Education (sports, equine vaulting, dog training, dog agility training - not all at the same time)
Poetry
Religion
Science
Service/Volunteering
Social Studies (includes geography and history)
Speech Therapy (Olivia only)
Spelling
Typing
U.S. Geography
Vocabulary
Writing
4-H

Another page with more subjects

that the girls will study in the 2013-14 school year.

Using free printable sheets from Donna Young's website, I did a plan for these subjects as well as using Sonlight's, Ambleside Online's, and Beyond Five in a Row's schedules for 9 weeks. This will take us to November 2nd. At that time, I will complete another 9 weeks of planning based on what has and hasn't been completed. I have the schedule for the academic portion of the girls' year in a purple 3-ring binder. There are tabbed-dividers that separate the plans by week.

One of the many types of planning sheets 

available from the Donna Young website.

The last component of planning for the upcoming home- and homeschooling year including creating a larger binder with non-academic subjects and home management items.

Binder with non-academic subjects and 

home management items.

Organized Home has many free printables that will be invaluable this year in terms of keeping organized. The tabbed sections in the white 3-ring binder include:

- Contact numbers - includes emergency numbers, frequently-used numbers, and a list of birthdays/anniversaries

- Menu planning - this has a plan for theme dinners when things get a bit more hectic and we don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, or making meals for various school subjects (e.g., meals that focus on different states, meals from Beyond Five in a Row).

Some of the meal themes dovetail nicely with the grain of the day. For example, on Monday the grain is rice so I chose "Asian Night" as the theme. On Saturday, the grain is corn so I thought "Mexican Night" might fit well. Here is the weekly plan:

Sunday - Sunday Dinner - meat with potatoes and carrots. The leftover meat can be used for sandwiches during the week. Have a very light meal in the evening if anyone is hungry (e.g., cheese, crackers, fruit).

Monday - Asian Night

Tuesday - Crockpot Night

Wednesday - Pasta Night

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Soup Night with Fresh Bread

Saturday - Mexican Night

I've also included several printables from Organized Home in this section including weekly and monthly meal planners.

Shopping List - Copies of a shopping list. One will be posted in the kitchen to add to each week. In this way, when we run out of something it can be immediately added to the list.

Food Inventories - There are sheets for the freezer, pantry, and larder. The larder, in our case, is part of a closet that holds heavier canned goods (e.g., peaches, pears, tomatoes, applesauce) as well as the top shelves of a built-in bookcase that hold lighter canned goods (e.g., jams, jellies, salsa).

Recipe Locations - There are pages that have the name of favorite recipes, the cookbook/source, page number, and comments.

Monthly Rhythm - This is my chart that has five columns: month, mood, symbols/color, activities, celebrations.

One of the pages that has the monthly rhythm.

This page still needs to be retyped 

so that it includes the hand-written information.

Monthly Sections - I have a tabbed section for each month. It starts with August right now because that's the current month. Once this month passes, it will go to the back of the monthly section so that September is first.

Each section has a list of the holidays and when they are in 2013-2014. I've also included some ideas, instructions, and information that relates to some of the holidays. Following that is the plastic page protector that has the recipes for the month.

This is December's section. 

The first part has a list of holidays and

the second part has a sheet protector filled with recipes

that can be made for the month's holidays and celebrations.

Seasonal Chores - Organized Home has a free printable that has a fall and winter checklist; and spring and summer checklist.

Weekly Rhythms - This is the typed version of the daily color, grain, learning activity, and home activity. There also are daily to-do sheets from Organized Home.

Weekly rhythm.

Grain Sections - The next seven tabbed sections are labeled with the grain of the day - starting with wheat and ending with corn.

Protector sheet with

a variety of recipes using rice.

Patterns for Meal Time Accessories - I printed out some ideas for making tables look welcoming and pretty. There also are patterns to create napkins and place mats.

Blessings - There are some blessings I've collected that I would like to print out on cards made from watercolor paper that the girls painted.

One of the meal blessings in the binder.

Daily Rhythms - This section is a reminder of what I would like my daily rhythm to look like:

Wake up before the girls and:
- Get dressed
- Let the dogs out, take them for a walk, and feed them
- Make hot chocolate
- Write in my journal
- Start the laundry (if needed)
- Review the meals for the day, and take out anything that needs to be thawed
- Prepare breakfast

I'd like to play a board or card game with the girls each day. Integrating an element of play into each day is a goal I'd like to work on during 2013-14.

The next section focuses on family values. In terms of family values, I'd like to have the following words describe my home: contentment, love, acceptance, comfort, spiritual, truthful, generosity, helpfulness, exploring, learning, togetherness, openness, happiness, caring, compassion, wonder/discovery, reflective, excitement, enthusiasm, gratitude, and service.

The last section focuses on a family mission statement. I have a rough draft of one; and would like to work on finalizing that during 2013-14.

I also included several daily to-do lists from Organized Home. These will come in handy - especially during November-January when there is a lot to be done on a daily basis.

Daily Chores - This section has ideas for keeping a home clean. I have a proposed schedule for daily cleaning that I am interested in seeing if it will work or not this year. It is:

Sunday: Bedrooms
Monday: Mudroom
Tuesday: Offices
Wednesday: Bathrooms
Thursday: Dining Room
Friday: Living and Family Rooms
Saturday: Kitchen

Following that are more comprehensive daily chore lists that I pinned from Cedar Ring Mama. At some point during Autumn 2013, these would be nice to review and adapt to my home.

First Aid Inventory and Medicine - Organized Home has a inventory sheet for first aid supplies. I also would like to list everyone's current medications they are taking.

Bills -  There are forms on Organized Home that are for each month. The top half has lines, and the bottom part has the name of the bills, date they are due, and the amount owed. There also are important dates and a monthly calendar on each sheet.

Social/Support/Craft Groups - This section will have information about any groups that the girls and I are participating in and/or leading. Once the groups begin in September, this section will have more things in it and may be sub-divided for each group.

So, what happened to the maroon binder? It has information that I still want to read, think about, and integrate into our daily lives and homeshool. This will be an ongoing resource that I can refer to, add to, and adapt the 2013-14 homeschool plan by as I make my way through the information.

Information about handiwork in the maroon binder.

I am very grateful to have taken this online class. It will add a dimension to our lives and to homeschooling that was not fully developed or - in some respects - completely absent. The plan is definitely a work in progress as I see what feels right for our family and what doesn't feel like a good fit.