What's Up With The Wennergrens

The Living Christ

2011-12-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

Discover The Scriptures offers a free download to help you memorize The Living Christ. The boys have been working really hard at memorizing this. It's broken down into 12 weeks. The boys want to recite it with their cousins at a family Christmas party that we have coming up. They are doing AMAZING! I didn't think it was possible to memorize something so long in such a short time, but even Mason has been keeping up. Now me on the other hand... I've been trying, but I just can't get it all. These kiddos young minds are just amazing to me. This download has really helped. It has print-outs, copywork, pictures, etc. I even made little cue-card books on a binder ring and laminated them for each of the boys.

Curriculum- Old Testament Study

2011-12-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Discover The Scriptures is my favorite resource for scripture study materials. I really wanted to start the boys on a 4 year course of study that was on the same schedule as seminary so it would be easy to transition to the seminary program when they hit 9th grade. This is definitely the program for that (for us, at least). They have workbooks for grades 1-3 and then 4th and up. The younger book has them use the illustrated children's stories that can be purchased through Distribution Services. The older grades use their scriptures. They learn about the stories of the Old Testament as well as memorize scriptures. They work with maps and have fun activities in them. I really, really love these! Last year we were studying the Doctrine & Covenants and used their Hand-On Church History. The only downfall was that they only had volume 1. Volume 2 and 3 are going to be released soon. If you want a more in-depth look at their products follow a link from this page. We will definitely be using The New Testament studies next year.

Christmas Spirit

2011-12-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

'Tis The Season

2011-12-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

This year I've had a really hard time mustering up any Christmas spirit. We've been sick, money's tight, and I'm tired of looking at all the holiday decor that's been up since Halloween. Blah! Well, since the kids seem to think we should carry on the tradition, I've tried to get into a better frame of mind. I sat down, took a deep breath, and remembered what we are really celebrating. Now come on- the birth of our Savior should be something we can all get excited about! This year we are focusing on Christ. I always say we are going to, and sometimes we do better than others. This year I'm serious- we have so much to be grateful for and we owe it all to the Savior. Our children need to "know" that. They need to "feel" that. I want my family to be grateful, compassionate, loving, and humble. This year we are doing a Christmas unit-study that we found on Discover The Scriptures. This is what it promises:
Discover Christmas will help your family put Christ at the center of your Christmas celebration. It will take your family on an adventure through the symbols and customs of Christmas, teaching you the meaning behind the symbols to help you focus your celebration on Christ. Each day from December 1 - 25, discover the story behind our holiday customs and how it relates to the birth of Christ.
So far we are really enjoying it! We are also trying to focus more on others. We picked an "angel" off of our ward's giving tree, donated gently used books and toys for an Eagle Scout project, donated video games to Primary Children's Hospital, and still have some quilts to make and a donation to make to a Sub-for-Santa family. It feels good to help others. It's an opportunity to forget about our own worries and stresses. It brings an added measure of peace and harmony into our lives. Christmas is also a time to think about family and spend time together. We are going to spend a little less time studying and a lot more time baking cookies, decorating, visiting Temple Square, walking through Christmas village, playing board games, listening to Christmas carols, and watching Christmas specials on TV. Hopefully, this will help us remember the true meaning of Christmas and worry a little bit less about the commercialism of it all.

Another Month Has Come And Gone...

2011-12-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe that another month has gone by so quickly. My weekly updates have turned into monthly ones :) We spent a lot of November sick, and December is already looking the same. We had to miss the field trip to the art museum because we were all home in bed. We did take another trip to Salt Lake, though. We went to Kingsbury Hall on the U of U campus to see a play. It was the 7 dragons. The boys were excited that there was finally one without the "girlie" theme they call it. Mason was entranced the whole time. He loved it! Nate the skeptic, was preoccupied about the dragons not really looking like dragons and the water not really looking like water, etc. It did lead to a great discussion on the difference between plays and movies, though. He was still not impressed. Hopefully he can at least gain an appreciation for the arts, if not a love for them. Lexii has been studying hard and will finish up her finals this week. She definitely is ready for a break, even if it's only 3 weeks. It's holiday time, so she will probably pick up a lot of hours at work until Christmas is over with. The other day she made the comment that "it sucks to be an adult". Yes, yes it does. I've been trying to tell her that for years, but for some reason they still always want to grow up too fast.

Weekly Review

2011-10-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

If I don't start posting more often I'll have to start calling this the "monthly review". So, what have we all been up to? Well, the big kids have just been working and going to school. Once you hit that big 18 and beyond, life just isn't as fun :( The world expects you to be productive- so work and school it is! The little kids have been busy too. They spent a day at Astro Camp learning about physics. They had a great time. Nate has been to several of these (including the 3-day camp) before. We also went on a field trip to the fire station and police station in Roy. Hardly anyone showed up so it was really fun for the kids to have the extra attention and see things really up close. They were excited to see what Lexii is going to do when she graduates. What little boys don't like police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks! I think the highlight of the month so far has been our trip to SLC. We rode the train to SLC and then met up with our science club at the new Leonardo museum. We then went to the SLC library. Mason declared it "The best day of his life!" Yes, my kids would rather go to a library than most anywhere else. He even begged for us to move to SLC just for the library, LOL. We then had lunch and spent some time at Temple Square. We were going to stop at the Planetarium, but Mase wasn't feeling well so we went home. We'll hit the Planetarium another day. We've been on a lot of field trips this month, but we've also got a lot of school work done. We've also been to science club (where I taught the physics class this month) and to swim group. Mason has been taking swimming lessons this month. We got the "homeschool discount" so it is really cheap at Marshall White rec center. it also turned out that Mason is the only one in his class. You can't beat private lessons! Both boys are still playing the piano everyday and Nate is loving violin lessons. I'm a little tired of Jingle Bells and Joy to the World, but their Christmas recital is going to sound great :)

Waiting to go into the Leonardo

Outside the library

At the Leonardo

Waiting for the train

Temple Square

Curriculum- Math

2011-10-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

My original plan was to review all the curriculum we use and LOVE in a timely manner- at least 1 a week so you could see what we do every day. As you can see, I haven't been that quick. Well, you know what they say about good intentions...

We use Saxon math and love it! Here is a review from Homeschoolmath.net: "Saxon math is one of the most popular among homeschoolers. It uses an "incremental approach". This means concepts are divided into smaller, more easily grasped pieces called increments. A new increment is presented each day and students work only a few problems involving the new material. The remaining homework consists of practice problems involving concepts previously introduced. Thus, every assignment (and every test) is a cumulative review of all material covered up to that point."

Some people might find it really repetitive and boring, but we really like the constant review. I remember taking math when I was younger and learning a new concept and then moving on to something new. By the time the test rolled around I had forgotten what I had learned. I feel really strongly that our children need a really strong background in math. They really need it for science and if they plan on going to college- every major requires at least 1 class of college level math.

Saxon is also fairly inexpensive. You can find used copies on ebay and amazon. I have also found some at the DI and on Paperbackswap.com. Saxon also has placement tests on their website so you know what level you should start with. This is very helpful if you are coming from another program. I also tested Mason at kindergarten age and he placed in Math 1 instead of the kindergarten level. It was nice to not have wasted money on a level that would have been too easy for him.

Weekly Review

2011-10-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh! I can't believe it's October already. I had planned on being diligent and posting on here at least weekly. Yeah, like that was going to happen :) Things have just been a little crazy around here the past month. We took a couple of weeks off from school so I could get some canning done. There was not a protest to be heard. I think the boys kept themselves scarce in hopes I would forget they needed to be doing more than just playing. It was a good break and I got a lot done. Canning spilled over into the rest of the month and I just barely finished peaches on Saturday. So far this year I have canned: 37 quarts of green beans, 18 pints of dilly beans, 8 quarts of apricots, 20 quarts of spaghetti sauce, 30 pints of salsa, 4 quarts of zucchini pickles, 6 pints of zucchini pickles, 15 quarts of peaches, 15 quarts of vegetable soup, 21 half-pints of strawberry jam, 14 half-pints of cinnamon apricot jam, and 28 half-pints of cinnamon peach jam. I'm hoping to do some more vegetable soup, chicken soup, and potatoes.
This month swimming group started as well as science club. It's been really nice to see old friends and get into a routine. We also went on a field trip to the Bingham Copper Mine. It was really interesting and we learned a lot. They have a great visitors center with a movie and many hand-on displays. Sadly, I left the camera home on the counter. The big kids have settled nicely into college life and between work and school, we hardly see them. We were able to get everyone home on the same night last Thursday and we went bowling and had pizza. We had a great time. OK October- bring it on! We have lot's of fun planned for the month :)

Free Reading Time

2011-09-20T15:16:00.001-07:00

Curriculum- English

2011-09-07T00:43:00.000-07:00

Rod and Staff is my favorite English program ever! This is Nate's 3rd year using it and Mason's 1st. It's a very thorough program that teaches traditional grammar, capitalization, punctuation, letter writing, story proof-reading, poetry, story writing, and many other useful skills. I really love that it is christian based and uses a lot of the Bible as well as historical and scientific facts. If you are going to diagram a sentence, you might as well diagram something from the Bible :)

The books are fairly inexpensive and include a hardback student's book, a teacher's book, test booklet, and an extra worksheet practice booklet. It's also easy to find them used. Ebay is a great resource for used textbooks.

Weekly Review

2011-08-29T22:11:00.000-07:00

Week of August 22, 2011

This was a really good week! We are finally into a good routine.Lexii and Kyle started school this week too. It's a little crazy with 2 in college and homeschooling a jr. high aged child and 1 in elementary school. We definitely need another computer, though. Lexii has her own laptop and that helps, but Kyle desperately needs one. His whole math class is online- no text book at all. Nate also started an art class taught by another homeschool mom. He didn't want to do it, but it turns out he loves it! We also had an orchestra meeting this week. Nate will be starting on the violin. They have about 6 kids in the class and are working on a holiday concert. In the spring they are going to do Celtic fiddling. I love that this will be during the day instead of another thing in the evening. Hopefully he can keep up with both the violin and the piano.

We also just got back from an awesome family camping trip. It's so fun when all the cousins can play together and we can just spend time with each other. There was plenty of eating, four wheeling, and fishing too. We are excited for the one next year already. Life is good at the Wennergren house :)

Curriculum- Morning Devotional

2011-08-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

This year, we decided to have a theme- Fulfilling All Righteousness. We have never done this before, but I think our family will really benefit from it. I'm planning on implementing it through our morning devotional, Old Testament studies, F.H.E., mini unit studies, and anywhere else I can fit it in! It looks like we will probably hit every significant milestone this year- baptism, Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood, a mission, and marriage. I really think this theme will help us to stay focused on the significance of these events.

For our morning devotional, we are using a lot of resources from LDS.org. We start the day working on hymns. It's easy to download them from the music section of the site. We sometimes download conference talks and articles from church magazines.

Preach My Gospel is another great resource. We will also be using the Duty To God , For The Strength of Youth, and Faith in God books.

Scheduling Our Day

2011-08-17T00:11:00.000-07:00

To have the most productive day, scheduling is a must. We have so many things that we want to learn so putting it down on "paper" helps us to be more accountable and able to budget our time better.

Monday/Wednesday Schedule

Morning Devotional
Pledge
Penmanship
Journaling
Old Testament Studies
Personal and Group Scripture Study
Math
Spelling
English
Reading
LUNCH
Music
Science
Typing
Group Read A loud
FINISH UP ANYTHING NOT ALREADY FINISHED- CORRECT WORK

Tuesday/Friday Schedule

Morning Devotional
Pledge
Penmanship
Journaling
Old Testament Studies
Personal and Group Scripture Study
Math
Spelling
English
Reading
LUNCH
Music
History/Geography
Spanish
Group Read A loud
Art with Mason
FINISH UP ANYTHING NOT ALREADY FINISHED- CORRECT WORK

Thursday Schedule

1st/3rd weeks- Swimming Group
2nd/4th weeks- Science Club
Morning devotional
Penmanship
Journaling
Scripture Study
Math
Music
English
Spelling
Reading
THE AFTERNOON IS USED TO FINISH UP ANYTHING THAT DIDN'T GET FINISHED EARLIER IN THE WEEK

I will also be throwing in a couple of mini unit studies throughout the year. Mason will have baptism and the Word of Wisdom. Nate will have the priesthood and a health one.

What do we do for fun and socialization? Wednesdays there is a park day that we attend, Nate has a monthly youth group, and there are always tons of field trips that we deviate from our schedule to participate in. Nate is also taking an 8 week art class on Tuesday mornings. We will also be participating in an Economics Fair, Science Fair, Spelling Bee, Geography Fair, Field Day, and Talent Show.

Even though we look good on paper, there are always things that keep us from getting a 100% done 100% of the time. That is why we school year round. It alleviates the stress when we take time off for field trips or "teacher prep days".

Our "New and Improved" Workbox System.

2011-08-07T21:06:00.001-07:00

Let me start with saying, I love workboxes! If you don't know what workboxes are- google Sue Patrick. She is the inventor of these wonderful little creations! Many people have taken her main idea and come up with variations. I am one of those people. I love so much of what she does, but not all of it so I have come up with what works for us. Some people use shoe boxes (we used to), file folders, cereal boxes, manila envelopes, etc. This is our current version. They help me to stay more organized and on top of things. The kids love them because they can "see" how much work they need to do for the day. I never have to worry about someone loosing a book or something because it's all contained to their carts. This current system was a little pricey, but it was well worth it. Our old system was shoe boxes (scroll down to the bottom of this page) and I hated how the books didn't lie flat. The drawers of the new system allow the books to lie flat and actually hold a lot. The cart has a sturdy shelf to hold extra supplies on top and it can be wheeled around if needed.

How this all works- The boys start with #1 and work through all the work boxes by the end of the day. As they finish 1, they remove the Velcro # and put it on the card attached to the side of their cart. When all 12 are complete, they are done with school. Ideally, they work in order. Every once in a while they might only have 10 minutes until lunch and the next box will take a lot longer so instead, they do a different box out of order that would only take 10 minutes. If it's an activity that won't fit into the box (like practicing the piano or typing on the computer) the drawer will contain a card that tells them what to do. Easy Peasy, right!

The Dreaded School Room

2011-07-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking it's time to clean the school room. Some how the piles have just grown and shelves are over-flowing. I'm not really sure how this happened because our 2 week summer vacation turned into 4. You would think that a room not used would stay clean, right? Well, for some reason it has become the dumping ground for clutter.

We are scheduled to start the new school year on August 1st so I better get busy. Sorry, I'm not going to show anymore pictures until it's clean. Way to embarrassing! I think the calendar says it all...

Paperback Swap

2011-07-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

Paperbackswap.com is an amazing site. Curriculum is SO expensive and I've been able to get some great finds off of there. Here's how it works: You list books you want to trade. When someone requests your book, you mail it to them. When they receive it, you get a credit to request a book for yourself! There is over 5 million books listed and just in case they don't have something you want, you can put it on your "wish list" and they will notify you when it becomes available.

Money is really tight at our house so this has been such a blessing. I was able to find 6 years worth of spelling (normally about $10 a book), reading comprehension for Mason, and Nate's algebra books. The algebra set is $85 new!

They have much more than homeschool curriculum. In fact, that is just a small portion of what you can find. If you decide to sign up, put my name down as a reference and I will get a free credit. It's definitely worth a look :)

I Did It!!!

2011-07-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

What did I do? I finally cleaned up my email inbox. If you think that isn't quite blog-worthy, well...then you have never seen my inbox. You see, I have this terrible habit of not deleting things. I would always "plan" on organizing it later. It quickly got out of hand. I've been trying to clean it up little-by-little, but I never seem to make any headway. Tonight I did it- I selected "all" and "delete"! 845 pages. Almost 19,000 emails. It feels good to have a clean slate. I just hope there was nothing important in there that I deleted. I don't even dare look!

Scout Camp

2011-07-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

The boys seemed to have a great time at scout camp, but they sure were dirty when they came home! Mud got tracked in everywhere. I've never seen so much stinky, dirty laundry either. I guess that's what happens when you send 3 boys into the wild for a week. They were very happy to get home to their soft clean beds. Mason was happy to finally have "the big boys" home too. I guess mom and sis just don't cut it for an entire week. He and I did have some fun, though. We went to the movie with grandma, watched way too much T.V. and ate way to much junk food. Fun times!

Pictures of Scout Camp

2011-07-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

More Pictures of Scout Camp

2011-07-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

Hiking Fun

2011-07-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

I made everyone get up early last Saturday and go hiking on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Well, everyone except Lexii because she had to work. Yes, everyone complained and tried to get out of it, but in the end we had a great time! The funniest thing was that Nate and I had done that same hike with Nate's youth group the week before. We were all so proud of ourselves because we figured we had gone at least 5 or more miles. Ummm....Yeah.... this time we had Kyle track it on his phone and we went a whopping....2 miles!!!!!! That was total- not one way. I'm thinking we all need to get in better shape :) I love spending family time together!

To school or not to school......during the summer, that is!

2011-07-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

That used to be such a simple decision. We were on a year round schedule in public school. I loved it! A few weeks off here and there- perfect. Now as homeschoolers we can school whenever, right?

Well, last summer we took it all off. We did math a few times a week and read everyday. The kids fought and drove me crazy with the "I'm bored" thing almost daily. I really don't have heat tolerant kids either. They love to play outside in the spring and fall, but not so much in the summer. It was miserable for everyone!

This summer we decided we were having school. Well, I decided, that is. It's been great so far. We aren't as "hard-core" as we are during the winter months, but we are getting a lot accomplished and having some fun too. We've even had a few weeks off and plan to take the last few weeks of August off, too.

So if everything is so great, why am I bringing this up? Because I WANT SUMMER! I want to sleep late and do things at the drop of a hat. I want to feel those lazy days of summer and maybe do a project or two around the house. More importantly- when am I going to find the time to put together school for next year? Definitely things to think about for next year :)

I'm A Bad, Bad Blogger....

2011-07-01T09:20:00.001-07:00

OK, I know I've said this before- I'm a terrible blogger! I don't know why because I've always got something to say. It might be because of Facebook. On Facebook you can say something quick and right at that moment, with a blog it takes a little more time. Yeah I know, more excuses. I haven't been here for about 6 months so I need to either delete- or get my act together.

OK, one last chance................

Why We Homeschool

2010-08-23T16:22:00.001-07:00

It's amazing to me how many people have asked if I was sending my kids back to public school this year. Some of the comments and questions I've heard lately: Don't you get sick of them, don't you want your free time, are you sure they are learning what they need to, don't you want them to be around other people? You have more patience than I do, I would/could never do that, etc.

I've found that after a year, I'm even more convinced that it's the right thing for our family. When we first started, I thought that it was because of large class sizes. I had always been in PTA- loved most of our teachers, and sent Lexii all the way through, from kindergarten on. What I soon realized was that I used the class size as an excuse to pull them out. I had really wanted to have my kids home with me from day 1. When Lex went off to school I really had no choice, I was working 60+ hours a week. A few years later I became a stay-at-home mom and found that the only place I wanted to be was at the school with her. I volunteered everyday and was on the PTA board. I loved knowing what was going on and voicing my opinion. Lexii was a great student and her teachers always loved her. When Nate started school I was the same way. I was at the school as much as possible and was in almost daily contact with his teachers. Nate is a great student but has many challenges due to him having Asperger's. When he started 1st grade it was horrible. I made the decision to pull him out of school, but then chickened out. I didn't know there was help and resources out there for homeschoolers. I returned the supplies I had bought and sent him back to school. We were both completely miserable. As the time approached to send Mason to school, I kept having a nagging feeling not to send them. I had gained some confidence from being in a preschool group for a couple of years and Mason was ready to start reading so I knew he would be completely bored. Nate was struggling with socialization and was completely miserable. He was acting out and very disobedient at home. We went and looked at the class lists on the school door a few days before school was scheduled to start. We turned around and went home. I called Steve at work and said I wasn't sending them. He replied, "I knew you weren't going to". We prayed for confirmation and felt a great peace. We had never had that about our children's education before. I love having my kids home! I love teaching them and watching them learn. I love it when they get something for the first time and are so proud of themselves. I love that we can pray in our little school room and read scriptures and learn about the Gospel along with the other subjects. Most importantly, I love that we get to decide what's important to learn and not someone sitting in an office somewhere writing standard curriculum for thousands of students. One size does not fit all when it comes to an education. In our family we place a high value not only on education, but also on a love for learning. I always want my kids to be inspired to learn about Heavenly Father and the world around them.

An End To A Challenge

2010-08-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we are ready to wrap up this challenge. We are not quite past the 4 week mark, but we've had a couple of cheat days (lunch with grandma and dinner out after Dave's wedding) so now it's hard to keep the momentum going. I think we have done awesome! There hasn't been any complaining and we've figured a few things out:
1. Powdered eggs are very necessary.
2. Cheese is a pain, learn to live without or do cheese sauce. A #10 can is pretty inexpensive but I always wonder what to do with it all once it's open. Ragu does make a small jar- I'm just a cheap skate. I hate to pay a $1 a jar. None of this solves my problem for pizza though. I guess I'll keep experimenting or we'll learn to do without mozzarella.
3. 1 mylar bag of hard red wheat from the cannery makes 10 loaves of bread using my favorite recipe. I'm lazy so I usually just buy my wheat flour already ground and keep my wheat in storage. Yeah, not going to do that anymore. We ran out a few days ago and so we had to grind. We don't have an electric grinder so we got out the manual one. The kids had a blast taking turns and Steve helped a lot too. The bread tasted so much better than usual and I'm sure had more nutrients than the processed flour. Anyway, it was nice to have a gauge on how much we could make with 1 bag. It gave me an idea of how much wheat we really need for what we make.
4. We need lots more powdered milk. I was surprised that we are going through about a can if not more a week. I only had a couple of months worth on the shelf so I will definitely be stalking up. It's pretty cheap at the cannery right now ($7 something a can) so it's a good investment and has a long shelf life.
5. Every food storage needs Cap'n Crunch and Cool Ranch Doritos. I always thought these were just luxury items, but when you have a crisis or a big change it's nice to have something familiar and something you enjoy, especially for your kids who may not understand what's going on.
6. A garden is a life saver. I don't know what we would have done without fresh veggies. I just wish we would have kept lettuce growing in pots in the shade. We really missed our daily green salad with dinner.
7. Eating from your food storage is a lot of work. We loved trying new recipes but it took so much time to prepare everything. It took me all day to make 10 loaves of bread! I am so grateful for my modern appliances. Even though it took all day to make bread, I used my Kitchenaid, nice bread pans, and oven. I can't even imagine all that kneading!

Anyway, I could probably go on and on all day with what we've learned. Most importantly we learned that we can do it and that we can do it cheerfully. Now I'm off to the store to buy some lettuce for the BIGGEST salad ever!

Convenience

2010-08-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

I can totally see why we go for convenience when it comes to food preparation. I had to make rolls and a salad for Relief Society activity. Normally, I would have ran into the store and bought a package of rolls and bought a bunch of fresh veggies to go in my spaghetti salad. The whole deal would probably have taken about 30 minutes, start to finish. In keeping with the no shopping rule I decided I better start from scratch. I started the rolls at 10:30 a.m. I took them out of the oven at 2:15. It is amazing how much time you need when you have to knead the dough and let it rise 2 different times! I was able to make my salad during that time, but it was a little difficult finding stuff to put in it. I always use yummy fresh veggies and this time I had to scour the shelves for something that would work. I ended up with 2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 can of mushrooms, a can of olives, and a zucchini from the garden. It was OK, but nothing like it usually is.

It took 4 hours for the rolls and now I need to make sandwich bread and laundry soap too. I am so glad I know how to do these things, but I am so grateful for the grocery store and the modern conveniences that allow me to buy a loaf of bread when things get a little crazy and I have no time.

Cheese Making

2010-08-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to try out a recipe for making cheese out of powdered milk.

3 c. powdered milk
6 c. water
Heat milk to 12o degrees and turn of heat. Add 1/4 c. vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes. Pour over a cheese cloth and rinse off cheese curds.

Sounds easy, right? Well, it was pretty simple, but it really didn't curdle at first so I added probably another 1/2 c. vinegar when it was all said and done. It only produced about 2 c. of cheese but I had to use the equivalent of a gallon of powdered milk. It tasted very bland. It did actually melt pretty well though. We made pizza pockets and put that in there and it wasn't so bad. I probably won't make it again, but I will maybe try a different recipe.

Gardens

2010-07-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

I really, really love having a garden! Yesterday we picked 5 cucumbers and tomatoes. Today we picked enough strawberries to have with lunch. I'm so glad we planted everbearing berries. They just keep producing all season long. In about another week we will have tomatoes coming out of our ears. We have been getting about 3 a day for a while now, but it looks like we are going to have a couple of bushels pretty soon. Our cucumber plants have been amazing this year- maybe all the rain and cool weather at the beginning of the season?

Anyway, this challenge has really shown me that having a garden really makes a difference. Of course we can survive on what's in the basement, but I have really enjoyed having the fresh veggies with our meals. I still have a long way to go on my gardening skills, weeding especially, but it is so nice to know we can run out back and pick something to go with dinner. It's really caused me to stop and think about how our ancestors must have felt about their gardens. If their gardens failed, they couldn't run up to Walmart and buy it. It also meant that they wouldn't have anything to can or dry to put into their storage for winter. We are so fortunate that we don't have to rely on our gardens the way they did, although you never know when we might have to. I think gardening is a skill that everyone should at least be aware of and I think I'm going to add seeds to my food storage. You just never know.

What's For Dinner

2010-07-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

I recently found out that someone else in our neighborhood is eating their food storage also. I was so excited and we talked at length about what is motivating us to do this. Their family has been doing it for a little longer than we have and they are having great success! It was fun to visit about what is working and what is not. It's amazing how much better you feel when not everyone thinks you're crazy.

It occurred to me that I haven't been putting on here what we've actually been eating. Here's a few things: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, canned fruit and canned veggies at most meals, tomatoes, cukes, zucchini, peas, beans, strawberries (all from our garden), milk (just mixed up some more powdered tonight), burritos with dehydrated refried beans, bbq chicken sandwiches (we had some frozen chicken, but you could easily use bottled), rice and beans,soup, tuna fish, and just tonight we had spaghetti. I asked my family if they felt that we were eating differently and they said no. It's probably because we still have treats and we have chips in our storage as well.

Here is my FAVORITE food storage treat:
6 c. rice krispies
1c. sugar
1c. corn syrup
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
Mix the last 3 ingredients together and heat until bubbly. Pour over the rice krispies. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. You can add m & m's or chocolate chips. I even added about 1/4 c. cocoa powder to them and they turned out great! Not very healthy, but yummy every once in a while. If I get enough time this week, I'd like to try a cheese recipe I got. It uses powdered milk. I'll keep you posted!

Eating Out

2010-07-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest parts of this challenge is not eating out. We have plenty of food here to prepare, it's just so easy to eat out when you have a busy night and you have to fit dinner in there somewhere. I didn't think it would be so bad, but the temptations are everywhere! Coupons for cheap food, TV commercials, a dozen fast food places and restaurants within a couple of miles, Yikes!!!! Today I almost caved. We had a late start to the day, which is never good when you have tons of things that need to get done. It seriously crossed my mind to eat out for lunch for the convenience. We didn't do it, though! I fed the kids before we left and just dealt with being later than I had wanted. We went to Office Max to get some supplies for school and that was a breeze- no food to be seen there. Sam's Club was a different story. Even though everyone had just had lunch, they became oh so starving once inside. Sam's is a place where I let them have lunch a little too often because it's so cheap and also because it's one of the few places that has caffeine-free diet coke. I gently reminded them that we were only there to exchange a defective product and then we were leaving. Mason, the little smartie pants, found a way to finagle some food anyway. His theory is that if it's free it shouldn't count against us- and samples are free, right? He actually had a few good points so I let them try the samples throughout the store. Lucky for them, it was a really good day for samples. Lemonade, mac'n cheese, peanuts, cheese sticks, lasagna, pizza, fresh fruit, smoked chicken and m&m cookies. Yeah, they were happy campers when they left the store. I particularly liked Mason's argument that I should buy them a DVD because it wasn't food, personal hygiene, or cleaning supply related. Ummm....good point, but no DVD.

Where Can I Get Food Storage?

2010-07-21T16:38:00.001-07:00

I'm amazed at how many options there are for food storage these days. There are TONS of different companies you can order from. Many companies have also made their way into Walmart and Associated Foods Stores. Most sites have a food calculator and you can plug in what you want to eat and for how long and it will calculate what you need per person. There are even ready made "kits" you can buy. I was amazed that for $1,999 I could purchase every thing I needed to eat for 6 months. Wow! That seems like a hefty price tag to me. There is also another company out there that will give you a years amount of food and put you on a monthly payment plan. Hmmmm.......I thought we weren't supposed to go into debt for our food storage. However you look at it, food storage and emergency preparedness has turned into big business.

Personally, I like the LDS cannery. You can get a current price list at the church's website and I RARELY ever find food storage cheaper anywhere else. That's because there is no markup- it's not a business, it's just a service they provide to the community. That's right- the community. You don't have to be a member of the church to use the cannery. The only thing I've noticed is that they don't carry everything. No oil, eggs, butter and stuff like that.

I also like to watch the case lot sales at the grocery stores and stock up on canned food when it's at the lowest price. For instance, I usually only buy pears or corn once a year. When stuff like that gets really cheap- buy as many cases as you will use and can afford.

What Does Your Storage Look Like?

2010-07-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

Do you have a separate pantry to store your food? Is it maybe your garage? I've heard of people storing in about any place imaginable. Bedroom shelves, under the bed, behind couches, and even burying items in their backyard. I've been very fortunate. When we finished our basement, Steve took a few feet away from a bedroom and built me a food storage room that includes the cold storage under the porch and the area under the stairs. It's really awesome but we are quickly realizing that we are going to need more space. Here's a few pics of some of our storage.

Food Strage - slideshow maker with music

One of my favorite food storage blogs is over at The Prudent Homemaker. She has had to do better at storage out of necessity. Her family has been eating out of it for 2 YEARS. Check out her pictures of her food storage under a well stocked pantry. Ahhhhh......... my dream. Something to work towards I guess.

So far, I've already noticed a couple of things. We're going to need eggs! I don't know why I don't have powdered eggs, but I guarantee I will after August 15th. Also, I have TONS of peanut butter. It's a great way to get protein and it stores for at least a year. The problem is that Lexii is allergic to nuts (yes, I know peanuts are actually a legume- but they affect her breathing the same as almonds and cashews). This is something that has come up in the past 6 months or so and I never thought to make adjustments within our food storage for it. Luckily we have plenty of tuna for this month, but that is something I'm going to have to address.

Something I Forgot To Add........

2010-07-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

Something that I forgot to put in that last post is that if there is something storage related or something I need to can, it can be purchased but CANNOT BE USED until after the challenge is over. I felt that I really needed to put this clause in because we only buy things when they are on sale, so it will really cause a problem with my grocery budget if I have to pay full price. For example: I only buy cooking oil once a year when it is at it's lowest price. If I miss a sale like that it could mean lots of extra $$'s. Also, with canning there is a small window of when produce is "on" and at it's lowest price. If I need to purchase 200 lbs. of tomatoes and wait until after the challenge and have to pay $.50 more a pound- that's a lot of money!

Adventures in Food Storage- Our Rules

2010-07-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

We have decided that we will not purchase any food, personal hygiene products, or cleaning supplies until after August 15th. The reason we are doing this for a whole month is because we do have items in our fridge and freezer that we will be allowed to use up. There is no way I want to throw out unused perishable items. We just can't afford that so I figured after a week or two those things should be pretty well depleted so we will be strictly onto canned and dried goods from then on. Also, there are a couple of previous commitments we will have to honor. I will be having dinner at girl's camp one night this week and Steve will be allowed to eat at work when they have their "lunch meetings" or when he has to take a customer out to lunch. Since both of these activities are part of his job and his company pays for it, he can do it. I also have to shop for an extended-family campout (I'm in charge of the meals) and an activity that involves an eating contest for Nate. These were also previous commitments so I feel I need to honor them.

I know this won't be "exactly" like it would if we were eating our food storage during an emergency. We will be using our refrigerator, stove, and microwave which we wouldn't have if it was the "real thing" but hopefully it will be a good gauge on what we need to do better on. On one of the blogs I read they call this eating from the pantry. You can eat anything and use any modern convenience- you just can't eat out or shop.

Adventures in Food Storage

2010-07-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? Yes, it's me the terrible blogger. It's been a long while since my last post, but I have decided I'm going to do better! Yes, I finally have something to blog about- our journey in surviving on our food storage for a month.

The initial reaction I get from people is "why". Why would you want to subject yourselves to something like that? Well, I guess it's because I love food storage! I love buying it, I love having it, and I love that I'm actually following through on something that I've been commanded to do. It's been really surprising to me that most people think you should only bring it out in the event of an emergency. This is what it says in the new Family Home Storage Pamphlet. "Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage. For longer-term needs, and where permitted, gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat, white rice, and beans".
So, if you've built up your 3 month supply it shouldn't be so bad-right? I mean, who just wants to eat for sustenance? I want to eat what we always eat and have happy, non-complaining kids.

Lately, I've been seeing such an interest in food storage among members of the church and non-members alike. There are blogs everywhere about it. There seems to be a sense of urgency about storing food in the case of an emergency. People have seen calamities in our country and world-wide and know that they need to prepare because governments can't be relied upon to meet the needs of it's citizens. A wonderful by-product is that people are learning new skills such as canning, bargain shopping, gardening and such in their drive towards self-sufficiency. I also feel that call. I feel the Holy Ghost whispering to me about the need for preparedness so here we are!

What I'm hoping to learn from this challenge ( eating out of our food storage for a month) is where our gaps are. What important things am I missing that need to be stored in case of a real emergency. I also hope to inspire someone to do better with their storage and realize that it doesn't have to be 300 lbs. of wheat to be called food storage.

Are you as prepared as you think you are? Join the challenge for even a week or two. Tomorrow I will be outlining the rules. At least the rules we are going to live by for the next month.

Grapes, Grapes, and More Grapes

2009-10-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I've pretty much given up on saying how I'm going to post more often and be a better blogger- It's probably never going to happen. In my defense, we have been really really busy lately. In case you were wondering- this is what 125 pounds of grapes looks like. It was a family event and everyone pitched in to help. It definitely is satisfying to look at the finished product. Hopefully it's enough jelly and juice for the coming year. That is if I let anyone actually eat it! It took so long to do (4 days) that we might just have to leave it on the counter to admire for just a while longer :)

You Know He Loves You When......

2009-08-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

It's Friday night at 9:30 and you ask your husband for the tiniest little favor. Can you go to the store? It should be easy right? He asks what you need. Not even a trace of complaining in his voice. This is what you tell him- Go to customer service and ask for an ad, find the double coupons, cut them out, put them with the other coupons I'm about to give you, find the stuff on the list, make sure it matches the coupons, and go pay. But wait! Make sure that you separate the items, do a transaction, wait for the catalina to print and then ring up the other stuff and pay for it with the catalina that printed in the first transaction. I don't know what amazes me more- that he did this without protesting even once or that he actually knows what a catalina is. Who needs roses and the romantic dinners, this is true love and I'll take it any day!!!!

Just a typical morning.........

2009-07-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

Mason says, "thanks babe" to Nate. Nate says, "shut-up! I'm not a girl". Mason replies, "o.k. then handsome". I say "stop it!". Mason says "sure thing Jen".
Ahhhhh, another day at the Wennergrens.

Breaking News........

2009-07-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

There's breaking news out of a home in Clinton. 10 year old boy is charged and convicted for his masterminding and carrying out of a major crime spree involving guns and trespassing. The child in question "shot up" the house with water guns and broke into the food storage room. Major damage occurred, mostly to the child's digestive system after eating oh let's say, 40 candy bars or so. He was, however, conscious of eating a more balanced meal and finished it off with pickles, salsa, pasta, water, juice and other condiments before being apprehended. The sentence is being carried out as we speak. $46 in restitution to be paid and $200 to be worked off at his mother's discretion- yes, slave labor. He is also grounded for life. If his parents are unable to carry out this sentence a sibling or spouse will ensure the sentence is carried out. Some have criticized this sentence calling it cruel and unusual punishment because there is no Nintendo DS or Game Cube time allowed, but the most cruel may be the missing of Scout Camp. The cruelty is to the mother of course, for having to deal with having the child complain to her about it for the whole day. When the mother was asked for her comment, she only asked "Does anyone know what the law says about child abandonment until the first day of school?" That should not be puzzling to anyone with children. Oh how we all love summer!

Cow Appreciation Day

2009-07-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yikes!!! It's been a long time since I've posted here, but this is definitely blog worthy. Do you remember the line from the movie "As Good As It Gets"? "Go sell crazy some place else- we're all stocked up here", well that's us! I have been sick for the past few days. This is down in bed sick with an earache and fever sick- but wait!!!! It's cow appreciation day at Chick-fil-a. Who misses that? I asked the kids if they still wanted to go and Mason resolutely answered "Absolutely!" Nate was game as long as there were other cows there. We got all our spots on and headed to chick-fil-a. I think we hit every stop light and the stares were comical. Of course chick-fil-a is in the mall too. All those people! Oh well, it's free food. It was so fun :) We got there and there were plenty of other cows and people were yelling "cute costumes". They rang the bell when they saw us and ushered us over to spin the wheel for prizes and had a basket full of candy for the kids. We won free drinks and sandwiches for our next visit. We ordered our food and the cashier said she loved to see families coming in to do this- not just the kids. She gave us all adult combo meals and told us about the new store that was going to be opening soon and that the first 100 people in the store on opening day would win free food for a year. Hmmm maybe a campout in our future? As we headed home I realized that we were out of gas. I so didn't want to get gas in a cow costume- maybe we could make it home. Yeah right- maybe if there wasn't an accident that diverted us totally off our route home. What's worse than getting gas in a cow costume? Running out of gas in a cow costume. All in all it was such a fun day. It was a nice change to be "fun and crazy" mom for a change instead of just "busy and serious mom".
*o.k. I know Mason looks like he has rabbit ears, but that's the best we could do with a cat costume. Nate's ears look like Goofy, but from the side they are cow ears.

Road Trip!

2009-05-02T00:24:00.000-07:00

The countdown is on. Only 1 more day 'til we leave for Chicago!

Just another day...

2009-05-02T00:06:00.000-07:00

Well, a few weeks have gone by and we've all survived the big "move out". I can't believe how whiny I was about the whole situation, someone should have seriously said , "enough already!!!!" Maybe it's having an awesome new sewing/exercise room that padded the blow. Whatever it was, I'm glad that things are starting to be normal again ( whatever normal is). I really need to start posting here more regularly. Steve commented tonight on the infrequency of the posts. Now if Steve's complaining about not enough on the blog, you know it's pretty bad because most of the time he forgets we even have a blog. I don't know why I'm so terrible at it, I post regularly on my other blog. Maybe it's because there is always so many more interesting things going on in Relief Society. Nah, I think I'm just lazy. What could be more entertaining than Mason explaining to the dentist that he's not old enough to have x-rays and making sure to tell him about pretty much every embarrassing thing that has ever happened in our household. Yeah, it's gotta be the lazy thing because I have enough material provided by my family to post hourly. I know I say it all the time but I will try to be better.

2009-04-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

Lexii is settled into her new apartment and loving life! Boy, does time go by fast. It seems like I should be preparing for a spring dance recital or kindergarten graduation, not planning what I can turn her bedroom into (it is going to make a really nice exercise and craft room though). My baby is no longer a baby. I'm sure going to miss seeing her and talking to her everyday, but I am very excited for this new chapter of her life. Ahh.... to be young again (no thanks, I had a hard enough time getting to where I am. Only a crazy person would want to do it over again)!

Lex, congratulations on surviving through the teenage years. You have a wonderful life ahead of you. Go and be brilliant as usual.

Life in the Dark Ages

2009-03-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Can you even remember what life was like pre-internet? My children often wonder how survival was possible before the modern conveniences of today. No spell check, no internet, non-existent cell phones? No call waiting, caller ID and the WORST- only 1 phone in the whole house? How cruel. Having to make plans with people face to face ahead of time would be unheard of today. I've watched Lexii check her Myspace, chat on the internet, talk on the phone and text all at the same time. That makes my brain hurt just thinking about it.

I do have to admit though, I love the internet. Just today I've hooked up with an old high school friend, chatted with friends, found out where my bro-in-law will be doing his residency, sent friends recipes via e-mail, looked up recipes, used my cell phone because I was waiting for a call on the other line, received a text message for a free DVD rental and a free meal if I live in Texas, found information on saving money, updated my blog and Facebook, watched an episode of Lost that I missed Wednesday and before the day is through I will have booked a flight, hotel and rental car and renewed library books. Isn't it amazing what you can do online!

Whew! I must have been a pretty boring person before the internet. The funny thing is- I thought that I was doing just fine.

Spelling Bee Update

2009-02-22T21:45:00.000-08:00

Well, Nate has wowed us all again. He is advancing to yet another level of the spelling bee. I can't even pronounce most of the words, let alone spell them. So far he has been competing with 4-5-6 graders but now it will be 4-5-6-7-8 graders. The new word list contains 1,150 words but they haven't guaranteed that they will only go off of that list. It could be any of 45,000 words if competition is tough. He only has til March 10th to practice. Good luck Nate- nationals is only 1 step away!

2009-02-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

Things have been pretty busy at our house lately. Definitely the biggest thing is that Nate is advancing to the next round of the spelling bee. He's made it through the class and the school and is on to the next level. Congratulations Nate! The next round is on February 17th.

The Bed

2009-01-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

Mom- this post is for you! (And yes, that really is my bed.)

Growing up, there was always a constant battle between my Mom and I. The bed. She wanted my bed made every day. I didn't (and still don't) see the point. She would say she hated to walk by and see and unmade bed. My solution- close the door. I would remind her that it was my room and she would always trump me with the fact that it was her house. I still don't remember actually making it much. Usually it was the obligatory throw of the comforter over it all to at least cover it up. As an adult I still rarely make my bed and I don't force my kids to make their's either. I mean, what's the point? It's not like reusing a dirty dish or putting on dirty clothes. I still sleep great in it at the end of the day.
A couple of days ago we had a home visit from our adoption caseworker. It was one of those visits where they tour your house, go through your cupboards, and ask tons of personal, uncomfortable questions. Feeling totally inadequate, I decided I had better make my bed for the occasion. It only took a few minutes and it looked really nice! As I admired it, I thought, "Hey, maybe I'll make this again tomorrow!". As I left the room I thought it couldn't hurt to listen to Mom and maybe TRY to make it once in a while. I went downstairs to check the boys rooms and Nate proudly proclaimed "I made my bed! If my bed is made and my room is nice she will probably want to give us a baby". As I stood there thinking of the hundreds of reasons that she might not want to give us a baby, bed making didn't really make the list. So- sorry Mom. The kids still don't have to make their beds and I haven't made mine since. Steve has though, so maybe there is hope for me yet.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-27T00:33:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! It has been a little bit different for us this year. We have had snowy weather so we have just stayed couped up at home (lazy days). We went nowhere on Christmas day, well nowhere unless you count going up the street to Maverik in search of bread that we didn't think we would need because we weren't supposed to be home. There were no trips to the mall and we didn't hit any after Christmas sales. A quick trip to the store for some essentials and back home to snuggle up on the couch. In some ways we missed out, in others it was nice to just be home together. Life gets so crazy and busy sometimes that it's nice to take a little time out to just breath.

Happy Holidays!

Chuck E. Cheese

2008-12-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

With Mason's birthday looming, it was time for a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. I guess you could say this is becoming a tradition (if you consider twice a tradition) to go to Chuck E. Cheese for birthdays. I have a feeling that if the boys have any input, Lexii will also be spending her birthday there! We let Nate skip out on school a little early and we went in the afternoon. We had a blast! Hardly anyone was there and they gave us tons of free tokens and tickets. Lexii's favorite things were the picture taking booths. They were really neat. There is one that prints pictures out that look like a drawing (like the one above) and one that prints out I.D. cards. Very cool. Nate loved anything that gave him a lot of tickets and Mason loved climbing in the indoor playset (Lexii told me later it had throw-up in it- I hate those things, they never get cleaned and are very gross!). Steve loved having an excuse to play video games and I just loved seeing everyone together having so much fun. Mason convinced us that even though it wasn't his birthday until Sunday that he should still be able to open a present or two because it was technically a birthday party. Of course he won out and spent the rest of his night showing us his "Jedi moves" with his new light saber. It's so hard to believe that he is turning 5. If this past year is any indication of what is to come, we are definitely in for an adventure! At least he keeps us laughing.

Busy Days...

2008-12-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

O.K. it's official. I am the WORST blogger ever (notice that I picked a background that is not just for Christmas in case I don't get here again for a while). I love to see what everyone else is doing, but I guess I forget that maybe somebody might care what we've been doing. So here's what we've been up to lately.

Nate has been really busy with school projects and the Pinewood Derby for scouts. He and Steve had a great time working on his car. I just realized today that Nate is half-way through with fourth grade -he is growing up way too fast. He has also started basketball practices for this season. Steve is helping coach his team this year.

Mason is just as crazy as always. He has been dressing up in costumes again and having a great time decorating for Christmas. He is sad that we are on break from school right now but Nate is off-track for a month so he should be plenty entertained. We took an awesome trip on FrontRunner to the Ogden train station as a field trip. The kids (and adults) had a great time.

Lexii is as busy as can be. It seems that she is never home. She works a lot (2 jobs) so at least that keeps her out of too much trouble. We did see her on Thanksgiving, though. Here's a nice picture of her shoving way too much mashed potatoes in her mouth. Very attractive!

Well, that's what we've been up to lately. Not much new with Steve and I, we just chase everyone around and try to find some sense of order in all the chaos. I'm really going to try harder to keep you updated!

Goodbye for now....

2008-10-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

This just made my day when I saw it. These pictures, depicting the life of Christ were actually done to promote the Easter pageant at the Mesa Arizona temple. It became such an phenomena that it is now a traveling exhibit. We are hoping to see the actual exhibit of these pictures this week at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake. I hope you enjoy!

No, we didn't drop off the face of the earth...

2008-10-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

O.K. I am a terrible blogger. I take time to read other people's blogs, but I just never seem to update my own. I always have grandiose plans, but I always think "I'll do that later". Things have been awfully busy around here lately. Lecsi is busy working at the salon and Sephora. Nate has been off track and will go back to school on Monday. Mason is in the full swing of preschool. I have already taught for 2 weeks and will teach again the week after next. Steve has been on a business trip to Atlanta and will be going again the same week I teach preschool. I hate the shorter days that come with Fall, but maybe it will give us a chance to slow down a little.

Here's my cutie pie on the first day of school. Doesn't he look happy and grown up?

Here's Mason on our school field trip to Dinosaur Park.

Nate and his awesome science project on the desert. He did a great job. Way to go Nate!

Another field trip picture. Did you notice my boys trying to actually scale the bars. They definitely can't be held in captivity, not even for a picture.

Organization On A Budget

2008-08-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

My family has been having a problem with throwing all of their stuff right in front of the door when they get home. After about breaking my neck tripping over the stuff a few times I decided something needed to change.This is what I really wanted to get.

With a hefty price tag of almost $300 I knew that wasn't happening, so it was time to get creative. I ended up with this for about $50 and I like it a lot better. I got the bins at Dollar Tree and made labels for each person in the family to go on them. The coat hooks, shelf, and shoe organizer all came from Lowes and there is a place for everything imaginable that comes home at the end of the day! For more frugal ideas check out Frugal Fridays on Crystal's blog.

Taking A "Sick" Day

2008-08-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

What do you do when the weather is incredible and summer is quickly coming to an end but you are supposed to be at work and school? Take a day off, of course! We just couldn't resist having 1 last day together before summer ended so we went to Bear Lake for the day. We had such a great day. I don't think Nate can go anywhere without his fishing pole anymore. I don't know what he's going to do when everything freezes. I guess he can go fish for brine shrimp in the Great Salt Lake, because that is the only thing around here that never freezes.

Fun Friday

2008-07-25T23:03:00.001-07:00

Mason has become very interested in the "bad guys" on Scooby Doo. He loves how the monsters are really just people dressed up (except for on the Scooby Doo 2 movie, those monsters are "real"). Today he decided it would be fun to dress up in all the different Halloween Costumes we have.

He even convinced Nate to join in. Don't you just love those creative little minds at work!

2008-07-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

It's Frugal Friday again on Crystal's Blog. My frugal tip for the day is sharpening the blades of your garbage disposal. Put ice down the drain and turn on the disposal. What could be easier than that? If I have ice that has been sitting in my ice maker for a long time I like to do this. It gives me a chance to get rid of stale ice and sharpen the blades at the same time. Is your sink drain getting a little smelly? Pour a little vinegar down it to freshen it right up! Don't forget to check out other great tips here!

Happy Pioneer Day!!!

2008-07-25T17:45:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome 24th of July holiday. Steve had the day off so we headed to the local pond so the boys could fish. We had a lot of fun but didn't catch anything (thankfully, I hate to cook fish).

Super Savings Saturday

2008-07-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

O.K. I know it's Monday but I couldn't resist sharing what great deals I was able to get last week. I ended up with a lot of extra coupons and hit the store early on Monday. This is what I got:
Walmart
*50 powerades ($.60 each -used 50 $1 coupons)
*5 -24 packs of Dasani water ($4.98 each -used 5 if you buy 10 powerades get a 24 pack Dasani free)
*18 packages of koolaid ($.20 each)
*6 jars of planters nuts ($2.00-$3.88 -used 6 if you buy 3 Kraft items get $3.00 off of Planters nuts)
*16 Electrosol dishwashing 20 count gel packs (priced matched for $2.99 -used 16 $2.25 coupons)
Total OOP: $.42!!!
Walgreens
*3 Loreal Vive shampoos & 3 conditioners ($4.99 each buy 1 get 1 free -used 3 buy 1 get 1 free coupons)
* 2 Kotex pads (2 for $6 get $2 register rewards -used 2 $1 off coupons)
Paid $4.58 with a gift card and got back $2 in register rewards
Total OOP: $.00!!!
I also was able to get 54 bottles of Vive shampoo and conditioner from Smiths for tax only and 20 Welpatches from Walmart for tax only. It was a great week shopping! So for all of you who don't have time to use coupons- get clipping! The only prices going up faster than food is personal hygiene supplies and cleaning supplies. For more Super Savings Saturday ideas go to moneysavingmom.com Crystal always has such great ideas to share.

Frugal Friday Tip

2008-07-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

I love Frugal Fridays on Crystal's blog! It seems like everyone else's ideas are always so much better than mine that I never post. This week I have an awesome frugal and easy idea. Doughnuts. This recipe is from someone in my recipe club.

*Pillsbury Grands biscuits (I used the Walmart brand and they worked great too)
*Make a hole in the center of each biscuit (I used the cap off of a water bottle)
*Fry in oil (350 degrees) for 1-2 minutes on each side (don't forget the holes)
*Let cool on a paper towel and then either frost them with chocolate frosting or dip each side in glaze (mix together powdered sugar and milk into a thin liquid)
*Let dry on waxed paper
Enjoy! This is super easy and inexpensive.

For more frugal ideas go to biblicalwomanhood.com and check out Frugal Fridays.

2008-07-11T22:03:00.001-07:00

2008-07-11T21:32:00.001-07:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I've posted anything. Sometimes life just gets in the way doesn't it? We have been so busy lately that I haven't had time for much of anything. We've been wrapping up the kid's baseball games and have been having a lot of playdates. Steve still has 2 more softball games before he's done for the season. We spent the night tonight over at the church participating in a humanitarian project. It was a whole ward effort. We had dinner and got a lot done. I love teaching the boys about service. Today was free slurpee day at 7-11. If you went in they gave you a free 7.11 oz. slurpee. As we were driving there Nate asked, "what's a slurpee"? I felt kinda guilty- after all, I thought slurpees were part of a food group or something when I was growing up. Steve reminded me that are kids are quite familiar with "frosties" and 1/2 price slushes from Sonic. The boys are definitely not deprived.

Today was also "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-fil-a. If you dressed up like a cow you could get a free combo meal. We were so going to do this. I thought maybe I had finally gone to far with what I would do to save a dollar but then realized that as long as it's honest and fun you can never go to far. I thought it would be a really fun memory for the kids too. What stopped us was that it would cost us quite a bit in gas to get to the nearest chick-fil-a thus defeating the purpose of the free food. Oh well, we stayed home with our slurpees instead. If you want to see some of the fun pictures from other peoples trips, head over to moneysavingmom.com and check it out. There are some really fun pics. Crystal's website is one of my very faves.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

2008-06-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

What a great summer day today was. The weather was perfect. We decided it was a great day to have a barbecue at my Dad's house. We also spent time with my Grandpa. The boys made special cards for everyone. It is on days like today that I realize that we should spend more time with the people we love.

The boys were so excited to make presents for Steve. They could hardly wait to give them to him. Yesterday they refused to let him in the kitchen because he might "see". After they said happy father's day and handed out their awesome cards, they promptly went into the other room and started fighting with each other. Kids certainly move on quickly don't they? I have to sometimes remind myself that these are the kinds of days I'm going to miss as the kids get older- fighting and all. Pretty soon they will be as old as Lexii and starting their own lives.

It really was an awesome day!

Birthday Fun

2008-06-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Nate!

Who's having more fun? Mason or Trent?

Lexii and Trent after Chuck E. Cheese

We've started our busy summer but it doesn't feel very much like summer. It is really cold and rainy again. Last night Nate played his baseball game in the rain and it looks like rain for Mason's tonight. We had such a fun time at Chuck E. Cheese in Denver with John, Natalie, Ivy, and Porter that Nate wanted to go there for his birthday. We had a great time, big kids and all.

Yes there really is a place called nowhere!

2008-06-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here we are in the middle of nowhere. There was a bait shack and a couple of trailers. Awesome town.

Road Trip!

2008-06-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we're finally back from our whirlwind trip. 5 states in 6 days, in a van with 2 boys- CRAZY!!! We had a great time visiting family and seeing new babies. Now we are back to our lives and looking forward to a summer of baseball and swimming. Well, at least a little bit of summer before Nate starts school again in July. It's time to make grocery lists and sort coupons so I'll post pictures later.
Signora, as Mason likes to say!

How many e-mails do you get?

2008-05-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

I got home from a 2 day P.T.A. convention last night and had almost 500 e-mails (not all of them were new) in my inbox! At what point do you just delete it all without looking and not feel guilty that you might have deleted something earth-shatteringly important? I guess I should have paid better attention in my "Effective Time Management" class yesterday.

Steve took the boys to the Stake overnight camp out last night. I heard a key in the door at about 11:00 p.m. They got up there and had the tent, but no poles or stakes. Oh well, they had a great time while they were there and Steve saved himself a backache!

How We Spend Our Days

2008-05-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

Nate earned his Wolf at Pack Meeting a few weeks ago. He's also keeping us really busy running him to piano lessons, baseball practice and Scouts. Way to go Nate!!!!!

Mason is...well just a nut! He needed to wear his glasses that day so he could see. He wore them constantly from breakfast to bedtime. He has become obsessed with playing Club Penguin on the computer. He gets up early before anyone else and logs himself onto the internet and plays on the Club Penguin website. Yes, he's just 4.

Last week at Stake Conference there was a talk about how we should be raising our children. There was a story cited about how well children should be behaving. The opinion was that if a child was not completely obedient and tantrum free by age three, parents were in for a long life of trouble. Could I be any more freaked out right about now?

Lexii is doing awesome. She is working full time at Salon Tantrum and loving it! She has to work on commission, but I watched her count out $91.00 in just tips the other day so I think she's doing pretty well already. Her transition to adulthood is going pretty smoothly (for her that is). I still can't help waiting up for her and making her call me after she gets off work every day. She thinks I'm quite nosy. Hey, what are moms for?

Emma Smith Movie

2008-05-09T00:13:00.001-07:00

Steve and I went and saw this movie a few weeks ago. It was so good. I highly recommend it. I think that sometimes we forget that everything that the Prophet went through Emma went through also. This movie will break your heart (yes, even Steve cried). She was an incredible woman.

Emma Smith: A Woman of Faith - Joseph Smith

2008-05-09T00:07:00.001-07:00

Finally...

2008-05-08T23:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!! After many, many months of saying I was going to do this, I finally did. I first must say Thank You, Thank You to Lexii for all her help. Through this process I've learned that she does in fact have patience. I am so not computer savvy. Her parting words to me after hours of help was "Mom, don't touch anything- you'll screw it up". After getting over being offended, I did in fact mess it up. Luckily, she knows me well enough to have saved it. Thanks also to Natalie for her link to shabbyprincess.com, they have awesome paper.

I'm hoping this blog will be a connection to the people that we don't see often enough and it will let you all know what is going on in our lives. Time goes by so fast. Kids seem to grow even faster. Hopefully this will help you to not miss a thing.