Makin up for Lost Time, Part 4: First Day of School!

Thanks so much for your patience while I try to catch y'all up on the what's up with our family. It's probably a bit of a headache jumping around like this, but I have SO much I want to share with everyone! Keep hangin' in there! I have this post and one more, and we'll have completely caught up with all things Dolar Family & Academy.

With a new year, came a new schedule. One that was needed, but not one that I wasn't exactly looking forward to implementing. We were so used to having our super late nights and even later mornings, that jumping into a 6am wake up call didn't seem all that inviting. But, as mentioned, it was needed.

We've changed it up a little bit, because (at the last minute) we decided to not do Latin this year. But, other than that, we follow it pretty closely. 

This is a snapshot of our new schedule, as it is in my new planner.

Coming Soon: More about the planner is coming in the next/last "making up for lost time" blog post. 

Believe it or not, we're in our 4th week, and all but about 3 days have followed the schedule!

Someone please be proud of me!!! ;D

This was me on that first (very early) morning.

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone, but it's actually sorta nice to get things done before school starts. Not that I enjoy waking up that early, or anything. I just like the results. lol

After I had completed my early morning tasks & after everyone had been fed & dressed, it was time to get started! Here we are. Look at us. All happy, eager, willing and stuff. *sniff* Isn't it beautiful?! I just hope we look like this after the first few weeks! haha!

The black t-shirt & khaki pant matching thing was a happy accident. lol!

Here are some pics of the rest of our day.

Side note: If you want constant photos of our every day stuffs, follow me on Instagram! (Lissiegirl78) I post alllll the time. ;D

Math! We're currently using Math Mammoth (Grade 1) for Ben & Jo and Teaching Textbooks (finishing Grade 7 & moving on to Pre-Algebra!) for Dan jr.  I highly recommend both!

This year, I was determined to put the timelines on the wall. (we have one for Mystery of History & one for Apologia's General Science Dan & I tackled the project after all of his other subjects were done for the day. We had a major mess-up in our timeline that we didn't notice till we were DONE! hahah!! I felt so bad for Dan Jr, that I re-did the timeline for him. Poor kid, he'd worked for an hour! I wasn't going to make him do it all over again. I'm such a giving parent. ;D

 I put the photos of the mishap in reverse order in the collage. DOH! Ah well...it wouldn't be me if it was perfect. lol!!

And who wants to stay at the table all day?! Not us! We do our science (Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy) reading & discussing on the couch & leave the seat work for the table.

All in all, our first couple weeks have been great! I was worried about all of the changes, but all have been for the better!! Can't wait to see what the Lord has for us the rest of the year.


Ps.

How could I forget to mention Genevieve?! lol!
She has been absolutely perfect in all the school hubbub. Even tho she sleeps through most of it, we enjoy having her with us during our school day. Love this kooky 'lil face.

Library Book Bags

A few months ago I decided that since we live within walking distance of the library, perhaps we should actually go to the library. I know, I know...what a novel idea! ha! It's one that I've considered a few times, but it was hard to get the kids interested. We have a bunch of books at home & I have loads on my tablet, so they really didn't get the point. But, after dragging taking them, and forcing helping them to check out a few books, the light bulb sorta went off in their heads, and we've been going faithfully (every 3 weeks) ever since. Now they can't seem to get enough! We enjoy our walk there, having our lunch and playing at the park & then browsing through the books. It's gone from something they dread, to something they anticipate with excitement!

The only downside: having to juggle the stroller and all the books on the walk home.

The solution: book bags!

That's simple enough, right? Um. Wrong. I have 3 boys. I can't just get them any ol' bag. Well, I guess they wouldn't really mind, but I wanted to get them something they'd actually like to carry around. I just couldn't find anything that fit the bill....and the budget.

Then, I thought to myself:  Why not make them?!

So, I did!

JoAnn's had a 50% off sale for the canvas material, the comic material was 25% off  & I had 2 50% off coupons!!! I was able to easily fit this project into our budget. Praise the Lord!!

Here are my Library Book Bags.

Please, let me know what you think! I'm considering selling them. I still have to practice a bit to get the stitching just right, but I think one or two more bags & I'll have them exactly the way I want them. Private message me via facebook if you are interested!

This is the first bag I completed. It's a bit off-center, and my stitching is a bit wonky, but all in all, I think it turned out great! It's Star Wars Comic, and exactly what Dan Jr. wanted. He loves it! That's really all that matters. <3

Here are all 3 bags. Ben has Retro Marvel Comic & Jo chose Retro Star Wars Comic. They are a HUGE hit with all 3 boys!

Don't let the size of these bags fool ya! They hold a TON of books! This was today's haul.

Ben's bag is the far L (can you tell he's not a big reader? lol!), Jo's stack is in the middle & Dan's is on the far R.

They love their bags! The whole walk to the library they were talking about all the different ways they can use them: sleepovers, road trips, piano lessons, and more! You should have heard them go on and on... they were so  excited to break them in!

I am so glad I was able to do this for them. It makes my heart so happy.

*sigh*

This really is the best job in the world.

The Easiest & Cheesiest Dinner Ever!

I'm sick!

Oh no!

Call the maid!

Call the substitute teacher!

And, for goodness sakes, call the chef, or all will surely perish!!!

Oh.

Wait.

I live in the real world.

haha!

Don't all mothers wish we could call in the subs on days like this? It would be so lovely to go to bed, hide under the covers, put a marathon on Netflix & just rest.

Aahhhhh...so nice.

But, again. Real. World.

The house still needed to be cleaned.

The schoolwork still had to get done.

And, the family had to eat.

Which brings me to the topic....dinner!

After a long day of dealing with being sick & homeschooling & making sure the boys didn't kill each other & keeping a clingy baby happy, the last thing in the Universe I wanted to do, was slave away in the kitchen all day. Often, Dan will make dinner, but he's been working so much overtime lately & I felt half dead well enough, I decided to let him hang out with the kids at the park, and throw something simple together for dinner. (aww...I'm such a good wife!)

Thank the Lord for pinterest!

I had found this meal a while ago, and had it in the menu to make it for dinner earlier in the week; but our plans had changed, so it got put on hold. Luckily, the ingredients were still fresh! I was able to give my family a delicious, from scratch meal, in under 30 mins & with hardly any effort.

Can I get an AMEN?!

The original recipe is from this blog (found via pinterest). I only tweaked it for our taste & family size. Below are the ingredients to feed a larger family. With a salad & bread, you could easily feed 8 hungry adults. We have a family of 5 hearty eaters, and we ate well over half, without any sides. (Don't judge! I'm sick, remember?) For a "normal" family size, just reduce to half.

One Pan Chicken Alfredo (aka Easiest, Cheesiest Dinner Ever!)

Ingredients:

5T Olive Oil (If you half it, use 3T, as per the original recipe.)
2c Chicken
2c Mushrooms (I added the mushrooms instead of doubling the chicken. They're not in the original recipe, but soooo good in this dish!)
1 Head of garlic. Just kidding! I used 4 cloves, but use enough to suit your families taste.
4c Chicken Broth
2c Heavy Cream (I'm sure whole milk will work, but the cream makes the dish so...creamy!)
1lb Penne Pasta
4c Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions are super easy:

1. Cook the chicken in the olive oil 'till just beginning to brown. It doesn't have to be all the way cooked yet.
2. Toss in the mushrooms & garlic and sautee for round about a minute.
3. Pour in the chicken broth & cream. Let it come to a boil.
4. When it begins to boil, throw in the pasta, lower the temp & let simmer for 15-20 minutes. (The recipe says to cover, but my pan is massive and doesn't have a lid. Mine was tender at 18 minutes)

5. Add the cheese!

Okay, so the recipe calls for "freshly shredded real parm cheese".

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

Real. World.

Target & Walmart. BAM! Perfectly good cheese.

Seriously tho...freshly grated cheese...who has time for that?!?!?! I hardly have time to shower!!

Anyway, back to step 5. Add the cheese!

6. Add the salt & pepper to your taste. (You shouldn't need too much salt, due to the vast amounts of glorious cheese.)
7. Serve it up

It really is SO GOOD! And, SO EASY!

A meal you can cook in a jiffy, and apparently, half dead! Bonus!

So much thanks to the hubbs for taking the kids to the park so I could get a bit of quiet, to the kids for pickin' up my slack around the house, and to pinterest for another winning meal!

I must be sick to leave a stack of schoolwork on the table during dinner and in the photo. ha! 

Now, go!

Shut your interwebs portal off & spend some time with your loved ones.

It will all still be here in the morning.
 

Making up for Lost Time Part 3: The Nuts & Bolts of Homeshool Decorations

Every year, I do my best to have some sort of decorations for our 'lil school. The house that we had before, even tho only 900 sq ft, had a HUGE bedroom (I think it was a converted garage) that we were able to use for school. When we first moved into that house, the 3rd bedroom was being used for a guest room, so we had to do our schooling at the dining room table. It wasn't too bad, but not what I wanted. When that room was no longer needed for a guest room, we literally swapped every bedroom & were able to use the room pictured below for school & storage. Just in time for pre-school and having to teach 2 grades! I LOVED it!

Sept. 2010 - Ben & Jo's first day of pre school & Dan's first day of 4th grade. *sniff* Where does the time go?!

But, God had other plans for us. The Feb. after doing our big bedroom swap, we moved from that house and into the duplex. Going from an entire room, to one small wall (even less than what I had in the dining room of the old house!) was a difficult adjustment for me. I will admit I was more than grumpy about putting school back into the kitchen. *sigh* I really loved my school room and just didn't wan to "settle" for the kitchen table...again. Eventually (months later), the homeschooler in me beat up the grump in me & I gave the kids a school wall.

The picture on the L is from our 2011/2112 year & the one on the R is from the 2012/2013.
Both photos were taken mid year.

Both of those years, I went bold and busy in my decorating & it was so much fun!

In 2011, I chose a Monster theme. It was fun, bold & silly - perfect for Kindergarten! Even Dan Jr. liked it!

In 2012, Jo & Ben were learning to read, so I chose a Seuss theme & added a lot of extra posters that were relevant to Dan Jr.'s studies. It was a good compromise, but ended up being a bit distracting after a while. 

For some reason, this year I wasn't feelin' the whole "loud" thing. I went for a much more simple, streamlined look. It's a bit of a change, but we all really love it!

I went with a theme from Creative Teaching Press called "Riveting Robots". Super cute.

I purchased the calendar/weather set , the bulletin board "welcome" set & the letters. I also purchased the trimmer, but they are on back order. (Guess it's popular!) Even tho my wall is white, I purchased a white background to give it more of a smooth look. I *really* wanted a chalkboardish colored one, but when you wait 'till the week after the local schools start, you're sorta stuck with the leftovers at the teacher store. lol

It was, by far, the easiest bulletin board I've ever punched out! None of the pieces tore & it looks so clean!

I love everything about this set! The colors and fonts are so fun! It makes me happy.

This calendar was very easy to put together! Unlike most bulletin board sets, this one does NOT have the slots for the dates. I actually like it a lot better. The pieces will hold up much better over time. Another trick to keep the pieces looking nice the entire year (even re-usable another year!) is getting the sticky stuff (from 3M) for posters. I just cut the sticky squares into quarters & put a piece in the center of each space on the calendar.

All I will have to do is re-arrange the numbers each month. Super easy & no hassle.

Here's an up close of the rest of the calendar/weather set. Seriously...so fun!

I later took the pieces in this part of the set to Staples and had them laminated. They will be moved around almost every day, so I wanted to make sure they lasted the whole year.

Oh! Everyone in the family is somewhere on the board. That's been a tradition since moving here. Aren't we cute?! lol

Here's the board in use. I'm still waiting on the other trimmer set and I have to laminate the robot so I can write on it, but for now, it's finished & I'm quite happy with it.

 
*sigh*

I really, really, really, love my job. 

4 Simple Words: Bacon Cheeseburger Egg Rolls.

Oh. My. Word.

This is one of the guiltiest pleasures I've ever had. 

If you're familiar with making egg rolls, then it's a total cinch! You basically omit the veggies, add bacon & cheese, fry & voila! A very tasty treat for the whole family.

If you're not familiar with making egg rolls, you're in luck - I took pictures! And, I'm willing to share.

Yup. I'm that amazing.

So, without wasting any time, I present to you:

Bacon. Cheeseburger. Egg Rolls.

Ingredients are as follows:

2lbs ground beef
1 onion
2 cloves garlic (I'm pretty sure I used at least 4. ha!)
1 package bacon (I bought the cheap stuff & it turned out just fine.)
2 packages egg roll wrappers
Vegetable oil
Shredded cheddar cheese (I'll have to get the good stuff next time. It must have that strong cheese flavor, or it sorta flops. Lesson learned.)
1 egg
Lots of paper towels
Tongs

Step 1: Pour the oil into a pot. Turn pot to a medium high heat & let sit

Step 2: Fry the bacon in a frying pan.

Step 3: While the bacon is cooking, dice the onion and mince the garlic.

Step 4:When the bacon is crispy enough, take out of the frying pan & place on paper towels to drain grease.

Step 5: Place the onion, garlic and ground beef in the same frying pan & cook 'till browned.

Step 6: Chop whatever bacon you didn't eat while browning the meat.  Mmm...bacon.

Step 7: Gather up the meat, bacon, cheese, wrappers and egg, and get to wrapping!

Step 8: fill & wrap as many as you can get with the ingredients. I think I had 10 wrappers left over. 

**To Fill: Place the meat down in the middle of the wrapper, crumble bacon on top, then add the **Wrap by folding the sides in first, and then rolling. (The package will have directions.) 

**Seal with the egg. 

So pretty! But, seriously, they didn't all turn out this perfect. lol

Step 9: Take your beautifully wrapped egg rolls to the stove & fry 'em up!

Step 10: Place on several layers of paper towel to soak up extra grease.

Step 11: ENJOY!!!

Egg rolls are the main course in this house. We serve them up with piles of steaming hot white rice & several sauces for dipping. For this version, we served it with: Ketchup, Yellow Mustard, Sweet Chili Sauce & Sweet Hot Mustard.

Oh. Man. So. Good!

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Making up for Lost Time, Part Two: A Place for Everything & Everything in Its Place

After much prayer and searching, Dan & I decided to give our school a complete overhaul. As much as we loved what we were using, it just didn't work out for the kids. So, we made the switch. Just about all of our curriculum is completely new to us, and a totally different method. You'd think it wouldn't really matter when it comes to logistics, right? But, when you combine it with overwhelming urge to either move, or re-do the living room, you've got a recipe for a huge project...mess...headache...oh boy...what did I get myself into?!

When the shipments from cbd.com and elsewhere came, I was so enamored by the pile of new books and Walmart bags spilling over with new school supplies, I completely overlooked one major problem: space. PACE's are easy! A filling cabinet drawer or a couple of crates (or all of the above when you have multiple students), a bookshelf for Literature books & supplies, and bam! School is neatly stored and out of the way. 

But, with textbook teaching, you need much more space to store it all. I found myself standing in stacks of textbooks/notebooks/workbooks for Dan, textbooks/notebooks/workbooks for Ben, textbooks/notebooks/workbooks for Jo, teacher books galore for Me, books for readers/literature/read-a-louds AND a year's worth of school supplies for everyone!

HOLY BOOKSTORE, BATMAN!

I have this teeny-tiny duplex, that's already bustin' at the seams...where was I supposed to put all of these new things?!?! Then a light bulb went off in my head. We had already planned a trip out to Pacifica, so I figured we'd stop at IKEA on the way home. Mostly to kill time & escape the horrendous traffic through the East Bay (okay, I really just wanted meatballs) but also to see if they had some awesome blue box that was bigger on the inside (if you get it, then we are obviously best friends) so I could hide away the whole lot.

After an hour or so of searching, there wasn't much in the way of blue boxes, but we did find these awesome bins. They aren't exactly a subtle color, but for $1.49ea., I was convinced I could make them work, so I grabbed a stack for me & some for my girlfriend. You know...if they work for me...lol.

Boy, am I glad I did!!! They are EXACTLY what I needed!! So, after supervising doing a major furniture swap in the living room, I went to work.

I started by pulling out all the school supplies, textbooks & such.

Then, created a huge mess.

I didn't take a picture of that. You're welcome.

But, I got to work on getting everything into its proper bin. 

I had just about finished with the sorting when I realized I hadn't taken any photos! Ah well. You get the idea.

I gave each student 2 bins. One for all their textbooks, workbooks & notebooks, and then another for all of their school supplies.

Above is what's inside of Dan Jr.'s school supply bin. This will easily last him the year. Praise Holy God for Walmart's annual school supply bonanza. I purchased an entire year's worth of supplies for 20 bucks per kid. And, that included the "fun" things. If I would have purchased boring folders and generic crayons/markers/pencils, I'm sure I could have done it for way less.But, seriously, who likes a plain folder? Especially when you can get Lego ones!! And, is there anything better than coloring with Crayola? I think not.

Also: Ticonderoga pencils are worth every blessed penny. Get them whether they're on sale or not. I promise, you'll thank me.

I also gave myself 2 bins & a cute little crate I picked up for $1 at said Walmart bonanza. One bin for my teacher books & than another one for those miscellaneous things that never have a place to go. The mini crate will hold my pens, pencils & such.

After a couple days of keeping the books on their spine, they were already starting to get a warp, so I decided to lay them flat in the bins. It works so much better, and keeps the books in better condition.

After all the sorting was done, I now had to get it all to fit on ONE bookshelf. Boy, was that a task! after 7 years of homeschooling, we've acquired quite a lot of books! I wasn't sure it was going to work, but here is the result!

I think it turned out perfect!

On the very bottom shelf, I have Jo's bins.

The next shelf up, is for Ben.

The shelf in the middle has this year's readers & read-a-louds.

Above that, is Dan Jr.'s shelf.

The top 2 shelves are misc. books that we've collected over the last few years. Some are school related, some are not.

The 2 bins on the floor are books that I wanted to keep out, but that wouldn't fit on the bookshelf. The top one has all of our look & find type books, and the bottom one has random books the boys didn't want put away or donated.



Although not pictured, I added a bin for Genevieve's toys & one for library books. They go on the other side of the bookshelf and help with my inherent need for everything to be symmetrical. lol!

Here's a photo of the boys actually grabbing their school stuffs. I promise this was not staged! I was taking a photo of Gen & turned around to see how perfectly it works for us. I just had to grab a pic, so I shouted "FREEZE!" They immediately froze like statues & I was able to capture this moment.

*sigh* I love my job.

 I cannot tell you how awesome I slept the night I finished this project!

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

Finally. 

Making up for Lost Time, Part One: Genevieve's First Trip to the Beach!

Oy! What a crazy, jam-packed month! I'm so sorry for not having a post, but it has been off the charts busy in the Dolar Universe. We (okay, I) spent a couple weeks sorting, organizing, cleaning and re-arranging, in an attempt to get the house ship-shape ready to start school. Then, spent the weeks after that, actually starting school, attending birthday parties & weddings, having conference at church (this week), and there's another wedding this weekend! Needless to say, I haven't exactly had the time to sit down & write a post.

Anywhoo! During all the cleaning/organizing shenanigans, we were able to get a much need day away with the kids before starting school. It was wonderful to take them on an adventure!

Remember a while ago, Dan took me to Pacifica for my birthday?! Well, Dan & I fell in love with Pacifica so fast, that the minute we stepped out of the car, we knew we wanted to come back with the kids as soon we could! So, we arranged to borrow a car, loaded it up with beach & travel stuffs and headed to the coast.

Unbelievably, it was another perfect day!! Every weather forecast said it would be completely overcast & gloomy, but we were blessed with mostly sunny skies and gorgeous weather. Aaahhhh...once again, we were in love with all things Pacifica!  Having the kids with us in our new favorite spot made it all that much more enjoyable.

GAH! That face!!

Rock climbing & hiking with Daddy!!

My babies & me!  And, yes, that is a rice cooker. Gotta feed my Pinoy family!

We enjoyed everything about that day! The beach, the food, the candy store, the drive there (and back!), hangin' out at IKEA and all the laughs along the way.

My crazy bunch!

It really was a fantastic day! Exactly what I needed to get me re-charged & ready for the school year!!