$47 Menu

We've been working hard, here at the Campbell Abode, to save money on groceries. We've been using coupons and CVS shopping to build up a small surplus of items.  So here is our $47 Menu for the end of August. It's nothing special, but hey, we paid less than $50 to feed a family of 4 for a week!

Monday: Black Bean Soup with homemade biscuits
Tuesday: Left over Black Bean Soup.  I added chicken to vary the recipe a bit.
Wednesday: Breakfast Casserole
Thursday: Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with Rice
Friday: Spaghetti with Red Sauce
Saturday: Pinto Beans with Cornbread Muffins
Sunday: Grilled chicken and Chef Salad

The Beginning of Our Journey

Here's a rundown/self-evaluation of my first day teaching both Abby and Caedmon with our new curriculum.  I won't be blogging about each and every day of our school year (I can hear your sigh of relief) but it's always fun to document at least the first and last day. :)

We started out the day with 2 kids in our bed at 5 something AM.  Caedmon was complaining for "Sood" (i.e. Food).  Seriously, how is that child so small?...all he does is eat! Finally, got that one back to sleep and I slipped out of bed, grabbed a glorious cup of coffee (I love our 3 minute Bunn!!!) and headed out the back door for some time reading 1 John before starting the day.  I love watching the sun come up, listening to the birds and the cows, drinking coffee and hanging out with God and His Word!

Abby was dressed and ready to start by 7:30. She even fixed her own hair!  I had to continually convince her that 9:00 would be here soon enough. "Please eat your breakfast, child!" :)

Our roughed out schedule (which we ended up veering off from) is:
Bible
Math
Language Arts (Story telling, reading, writing)
Music and Movement
Snack
Art/Picture Study
Nature Study/Science
Geography (once a week)
Lunch
Rest time

 We begin at 9 and end around 2ish (including lunch/rest), though we had so much fun today with the nature study and the story telling that we carried it way over into the afternoon.  And several of the above are presented on alternate days rather than every single day.

We are reading out of the Children's Story Bible. I. Love. This. Bible.  It's so easy to understand, yet doesn't gloss over details. You read it as though you are talking with a good friend. Very cool!

Today, Math was all about measuring cups and recognizing basic numbers. Greater than and less than. The kids had quite an enjoyable time playing with different size measuring cups and spoons in the kitchen sink with water.  Maybe they had too much fun...but as least my floor was mopped and clean by 10am!  Then we carried over this lesson as I let them measure out ingredients for our black bean soup.  They took turns measuring, adding ingredients and stirring the soup in the crock pot. I was was thrilled with my multitasking here: teaching and cooking dinner before lunch!  That's a winner in my book!

At this point, I needed to do an "assessment" with Abby to determine her readiness/level for this curriculum. I was so proud of her!  Most of it is basic information, but she really took off on the "tell it back to me" section and the "tell me a story about the picture" section.   I was nervous about Caedmon being a distraction during this time, but he entertained himself with Lauri toys (particularly the Number Express) while I worked with Abby. In fact, I checked in, only to find that he had sorted all the pegs, stacked them by color and created a "sishing pole" (fishing pole). I didn't even know he knew how to sort by color yet! Cool!  Way to show initiative, Caed!

We spent a lot of time doing rhythms and beats to different songs as well as rhymes and finger play songs.  We also did several active games like finding all the body parts that bend/shake/stretch. Then the kids walked around the yard stretching like cats and dogs, then running like chipmunks. 

Great intro into our nature study. Today we looked at several flowers in our garden and a butterfly landed perfectly in front of Abby's nose on a flower while we were studying the flower. Great timing!  We noted several different leaf and petal shapes and colors. Then we searched for chipmunks.

I was most nervous about what to do with Caedmon all morning, but for the most part, he did everything that Abby did. He wanted to be part of it. Obviously, I didn't teach him about measurements while playing in the sink, but I did show him some basic info such as "this one is bigger; it holds more water. Which one is smaller?"  etc.  I also read in some homeschooling book that by giving the youngest child quality one-on-one time before beginning your day, you are are basically setting them up for success and getting them on your side. It proved to be true, today at least!

After lunch we read some wonderful nursery rhymes out of the Mother Goose book, then off to rest time for everyone!

Over all, I felt like today was very successful. I even found time to do the laundry! (Though, admittedly it's still sitting in a pile on our bed waiting to be folded).  However, I still need to work on my transitions from one subject to another. I felt I was very choppy with my starts and stops.  Also, I want to better discern good stopping points. I feel the pressure of moving onto the next thing even while the kids are enjoying the current task. Yet, today we didn't get to everything I wanted to do. We missed out on 2 short stories I wanted to read as well as our art project. But we did spend a lot of time on math and science. So tomorrow we'll pick up on the other subjects.

One other thing I've learned (since teaching Abby last year) is how to read her cues. I better know when to push her because she's almost got it verses she's acting disinterested because it's over her head. She starts acting very silly and using baby talk when she's had too much. So, I've learned to back off and review one point that I know she knows (so as to end on a positive note) then we break and move on to something new.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE teaching my kids. This is what I want to be doing with my days. I'm excited to see Abby and Caedmon grow in knowledge and truth. But I'm also excited to see how God is going to change me and teach me through this experience!

Great first day...now if I can just keep up the stamina!

In true Charlotte Mason fashion, they are journaling about (drawing pictures of) leaves in their "Field Journals" I loved this part of the day because I actually got 10 minutes to do some flower sketching as well. I haven't taken the time to do that in quite a while!

8 Reasons I'm Glad I Said Yes...

The year was 1997. Oh. My.

"You're going to marry him."  my college roommate declared to me about my guy friend, PJ.
"No way!  He's like a brother to me!" were my famous last words. 


PJ and I met through a mutual friend, Adam, at Camp Cowen, in West Virginia. It was love at first sight... <clears throat> ...well there were a few details in between the first sight and the love part.

I knew PJ long before he knew me. I stood in the back row of the 7th/8th grade chorus concert, singing and swaying (and pushing up my hot pink glasses)  to the tune of "Staying Alive" while PJ stood in the spotlight as the lead role of "Dick Clark".  Everyone knew PJ. 

Then Adam introduced us. We said "Hi" and that was the extent of our conversation all week and any hopes of a summer romance.

But then in 10th grade, I gathered up enough courage to declare my love for PJ and ask him to be my boyfriend! I boldly sent my BFF, Karen, to ask PJ if he would "go with me." He said "no".

After the pressure of dating was off the table, we actually began to form a friendship. We'd hang out at lunch sometimes, we would see each other at church youth events, and gradually he came to call me his buddy.

We both attended college in the Chicago area. I went to Wheaton. He went to that other school, Moody. I'll never forget my first weekend in college. I actually spent it not at Wheaton, but at Moody.  I stayed in the girls dorm with some of PJ's (or as they called him "Ronnie") friends and he showed me around Chicago. It was that weekend that he proposed to me...in the back of a taxi.  I said "no" (and reminded him of my 10th grade attempt at a relationship).  We finally declared that if we weren't married by the age of 26 (or somewhere around there) then we would marry each other.

Our friendship grew over the next few years. He invited me over to his first Christmas party. I secretly pretended to be his wife as we entertained all his guests. We talked on the phone for hours. Christmas breaks were spent having deep late night conversations together with friends at the Pancake House. He began visiting me at Wheaton more frequently.

Then one rainy evening in May, it hit me. I loved him. I didn't want to be with anyone else, and I certainly didn't want him to be with anyone other than me.  Knowing it to be the real thing, I fearfully and excitedly said "yes" when he asked me to be his girlfriend.

Six months later, standing in the freezing cold February temperatures of Chicago, next to the Wrigley building overlooking the Chicago River, I fearfully and excitedly said "yes" as he bent down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

I'm so glad I did! My life is sweeter and richer because of my husband and dear friend. My only regret is that I didn't marry him sooner.

I saw this on a blog once, and wanted to do it for our anniversary. So in honor of 8 wonderful years of marriage, here are 8 Reasons I'm Glad I Said Yes...

1. He can cook. In fact, he taught me how to cook. The only thing I could cook when we got married was chicken casserole. It's good...but not every night of the week! We have shared many wonderful conversations over omelets, bacon, and coffee. Late nights at The Pancake House are amongst my favorite memories, but also evenings in our first apartment discussing the spices in the chili as well as dreams of our future together!

2. He can sing and play guitar. The best moment at our wedding (besides the "may I introduce Mr. & Mrs. Ronnie Campbell part) was the moment that the pastor asked PJ to say "I do", he dropped my hands and walked away. You can literally hear the audience gasp on the video.  He walked over and picked up his guitar and sang Steven Curtis Chapman's song "I Will Be Here."

3. Um coffee...need I say more?  He loves it as much as I do!

4. He helped me build my first snowman. Yes, by age 30 I still had never built a real snowman...technically, I still haven't as he did most of the work on this one while I tried to keep the kids from crying about being so cold in the snow.

5. He repeatedly humors me and appreciates the small details that I think are so vital, like silly annual Christmas pictures (emphasis on repeatedly, and silly).

 6. He does his own stunts and home repairs.  Seriously, he works SO hard to provide for his family, and he never complains about it.  He's amazing!

 

7. Abigayle Grace and Caedmon Alexzander...a dream come true for me. Couldn't have done this without my dear husband.  He's an excellent daddy and I love traveling the parenthood journey alongside him. He makes pretty cute kids, doesn't, he?

8. He's my very best friend! Most days, I feel like he knows me better than I know myself. He values me and treats me with respect as a whole person. He believes in me. He has always believed in me. He makes me laugh even on the most cloudy days. He leads me towards Christ, and thus helps me find my security in Jesus.  Regardless of the simplicity of my questions about faith, he is patient and always encouraging.


Paul Jr. I love you! Happy 8th Anniversary. I hope I get to share 100 more years with you! 

 

A Weight Loss Rant

Today at the gym, I was working hard on the EFX (elliptical machine) and watching whatever morning, feel-good news show was on.  They did a story on a woman that used to weigh 336 pounds and now weighs 150!  I found it to be very motivating as they scrolled through her "before" pictures and told her story. 

Then she bounded out from behind the screen with a new look and a wonderful smile! I was so excited for her.  The lady next to me (also on the EFX) grumbled "She's got a long way to go yet."

I found this so annoying. Aren't we all in the same boat...especially those of us at the gym??

That woman on TV lost 186 pounds!!!  That's incredible!  She obviously has worked very hard physically and has worked just as hard to change her habits (eating, attitudes, etc).  Not to mention the fact that she is extremely brave!  How many of us would be willing to go on national television and admit our heaviest weight (so that it is fixed at the bottom of the TV screen throughout the entire piece) as well as have pictures of your largest self scrolling as you tell a story about how you let yourself get to that point.  Sheesh!  I find it hard enough to go to the gym each morning knowing that I'm not where I'd like to be.  I get embarrassed even thinking about which pictures would be chosen for my "before"!

Ladies, let's not be so hard on one another.  We all have insecurities. Some poor women are crippled by insecurity to the point that they can't even leave their homes. Some women are more functional and have insecurities that are hidden and only rear their ugly heads during times of crisis.  But we all have them.  Let's encourage one another and not throw each  other under the bus.
 

That's my rant for the day. :)