The Sunshine Award

When I arrived home from camping, I was thrilled to learn that Susie from Earning My Cape has nominated me for The Sunshine Award. This is an award given by bloggers to bloggers who, "positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere".



The award works this way. First, the nominee must thank the blogger that nominated her and link back to their blog. Next she must nominate ten bloggers for the award. Then there is a list of ten questions to answer, and finally the Sunshine Award button must be posted on the blog.

Due to my camping trip, and then houseguests, I am horribly late in fulfilling these obligations, but now I'm finally getting to them.

So thank you, Susie! It's such an honor to be nominated and it's really made my whole week! Susie can be found at Earning My Cape, where she blogs about homeschooling, crafts and recipes. She hosts a wonderful linky party each week that is lots of fun.

The next part, nominating fellow bloggers for the award has been tough for me. There are so many wonderful blogs and really talented bloggers to choose from, I've had a difficult time narrowing it down to just ten. In the end, I tried to narrow it down to fairly new blogs that I'd love for others to discover and enjoy as I have. Here is my list in a random order.

1- Angie at Echoes of Laughter, is a Canadian blogger who posts about her family, projects, and cooking. I'm very envious of her organizational skills!

2- Lisa at Wine & Glue, tells of her life as a mom of small children, as well as posting about crafts and recipes.

3- Meredith at Mom of the Year, is a SAHM who makes me laugh with her parenting stories. She also has some sound advice about living on a single income.

4- Emmy at EmmyMom - One Day at a Time, speaks her mind about parenting issues, and also posts about crafting and recipes. She hosts some great linky parties, where you can actually brag about your kids without anyone minding!

5- Eddie at The Usual Mayhem, is a homeschooling mom who posts about nature, books and projects. She's great at finding learning opportunities everywhere.

6- Miriam and Erika at Be Book Bound, are sisters who share a blog about books and come up with recipes and crafts related to the stories. We seem to share very similar tastes in reading, so I really enjoy checking to see what they've come up with lately!

7- Sue at Journeying Sue, is a homeschooling mom who blogs about living with and educating her large family. She's further along on her homeschool journey than I am, so I find her advice about homeschooling teens very helpful.

8- Mary at One Realistic Mom, posts realistic stories about parenting, and being outnumbered by little people. She manages to tell about the tough side of parenting, while never losing sight of the wonderful aspects of it.

9- Darci at STEM Mom, is a science teacher and a mom, who posts about all kinds of great experiments and projects to do with the kids. Her blog is a wonderful source of educational information for all parents, whether their kids go to public school or homeschool.

10- Cheryl at Prickly Banana, blogs about home decorating and her wonderful DIY projects. I tend to look at the pictures and think, I really should try that. I just love her blog's name too!





Congratulations ladies! You all have wonderful blogs that I hope everyone will stop by to check out. Now it's time for me to answer the ten questions about myself.

1- Favorite Color: Periwinkle. I think it's the perfect combination of lavender and blue.

2- Favorite Animal: Black bear. We used to live in bear country, and as long as we were safely in the house, it was really neat to look out the window when one would wander into the yard.

3- Favorite Number: Whatever ages my kids happen to be at the time. Right now, my favorite numbers are 12, 8, and 6.

4- Favorite Drink: In the mornings, it's coffee with hazlenut creamer. Most of the time, it's plain water, and if I'm celebrating, it's red wine.

5- Facebook or Twitter: I have a confession to make. I'm terrible with technology and I haven't joined either yet (I will be soon though). It's amazing that I blog!

6- Good Book or Good Movie: There's no question...good book! Sometimes I read while watching a movie.

7- My Passion: My family. Everything I do is ultimately for them.

8- Giving or Getting Gifts: Giving, I think. Although I tend to stress about it. You don't want to talk to me right before Christmas or a birthday. I'm a basket case!

9- Favorite Day: Christmas. The whole season is my favorite. Then as soon as the decorations come down, I'm ready for winter to be over.

10- Favorite Flower: That's hard, they're all so pretty! I'll go with an old-fashioned lilac, because they're delicate, beautiful, and smell so good.

So there you have it. If you've been nominated don't forget to grab the button and start thinking about who you will nominate. Be sure to take some time to check out some of these great blogs!

Book Review: The Catsitter's Pajamas

Fans of Blaize Clement's Dixie Hemingway series will be happy to learn that there is a new mystery out. The Catsitter's Pajamas, came out in 2011, but I just found it at the library last week.

For those who haven't read any of the series yet, it is about a thirty-something, former sheriff's deputy in Siesta Key, Florida. After the tragic loss of her husband and young daughter, she surrendered her badge and took up pet sitting. Somehow, though she tries to keep to herself, mystery and drama find always find her.

In The Catsitter's Pajamas, Dixie is trying to resolve whether to continue a long distance relationship with the darkly handsome Detective Guidry or begin a new one with the equally appealing attorney Ethan Crane. Naturally, in the midst of her romantic troubles, she stumbles across a dead body at the home of one of her cat sitting clients.

Dixie is drawn into the case against her will when the prime suspect, an international supermodel named Briana, pleads for her help. Unable to resist any creature in need, Dixie agrees to meet with her, knowing that it could land her in trouble with the police. After hearing the model's far-fetched story, Dixie sets up a meeting with the lawyer, Ethan Crane and then washes her hands of the whole affair.

Unfortunately her involvement is not at end, as international smugglers seem to think that she has information that they need. Dixie is attacked in own home and living in fear, before the resolution of the mystery finally brings the bad guys to justice. And yes, her romantic entanglements are finally sorted out too.

If you've read the Dixie Hemingway series before, you'll want to read this one. It's as fast paced, and exciting as the rest. If you haven't yet read the series, get reading. Blaize Clement has created a flawed but lovable character in Dixie, and you'll find yourself cheering her on, rooting for her to find happiness at last. I'll be eagerly looking forward to Dixie's next adventure.

The Family That Camps Together...

I must apologize for being bloggy AWOL for the past week. BadDad and I took the kids on our first camping trip of the season. I had plans to set up blog posts ahead of time so no one would miss me. I also planned to be done with the packing and planning by the day before our trip, and not frantically packing clothes and coolers at the last minute, while my hubby struggled with roof racks and bikes. Maybe next trip it will work out that way.

Even though it's a lot of work, I love camping because of the family togetherness it fosters. There's nothing like setting up and sharing a tent to do that.

We went to Sampson State Park, on Seneca Lake in upstate New York's wine region. It was beautiful! It only rained once. Unfortunately that happened as we slept during the wee hours of our first morning there. Even more unfortunately, we belatedly discovered that someone had left a window open in the tent. When questioned, the kids declared it must have happened last year. Oh, and their father must have done it. On the positive side, everything eventually dried out.

The weather was quite hot while we were there, and perfect for being at the lake. We spent our time going for bike rides, hikes, swimming, and just generally enjoying each other's company.

BadDad and I are recovering from our vacation now. I've just about finished with the massive loads of laundry, and he's just about got the tent refolded for storage.

The kids...well, they're asking when we can go camping again.

Summer Tea

Summer is here and once again our garden is yielding beautiful surprises. This will be our third summer in this house, with a garden that is nearly at the half-century mark. I can't boast of being an excellent gardener, but someone who once lived here surely was. Every day, M-girl and I like to stroll around our property, seeing what delights are popping up.

Yesterday, she asked if she could cut a bouquet. Her stems were on the short side for the vases we had. She rummaged through the dining room hutch and decided to create a trio of sweet summer tea cup bouquets.

Now we have refreshing summer tea to enjoy!


linking to:  Weekend Bloggy Reading, Country Momma Cooks, Six Sisters Stuff

Kids Can Cook: Cheese Toast

The other day we were low on supplies around here. Fortunately we had bread and cheese, all that's needed to make one of my kids' favorite lunches...Cheese Toast. This recipe is long and difficult, but after years of mentoring, they can make it themselves. I still stand by in the kitchen while they work, just to make sure that they don't inadvertently burn the house down or something.

My Kids' Recipe for Cheese Toast

1 loaf of your mom's homemade bread* (we used onion)
8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese

*If you don't have homemade bread, you'll just have to use store bought. Try something interesting like marble or pumpernickel.

If the bread is not sliced yet, get your mom to slice it. Then tell her that you can handle things.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, and set aside.

Toast bread in toaster. As each slice is done, place it on the baking sheet.

Meanwhile, shred cheese using a box grater. Be careful not to hurt your fingers. Watch out for cheese thieves!

Sprinkle generous amounts of cheese onto prepared toast.

Put the pan in the oven, and watch carefully. If your mom doesn't think you're old enough, she can help with this step. When the cheese starts bubbling, it's time to take it out. Don't do what our dad did the other night with the cheeseburgers! Enjoy!


Servings vary, but we recommend planning for at least 2 or 3 pieces per person.


linking to: It's A Piece O' Cake

When is the Schoolyear Done?

It's the middle of June, and here in the Northeast, the schools are winding down in anticipation of summer vacation. My nine-year-old neighbor blithely informed me that they are no longer really doing work, even though they still have two weeks until the last day of school. Brick and mortar schools are like that. The teachers and students know going into the school year the approximate date that they will be done. It doesn't matter if they've completed their books, or if every child has really understood the concepts taught. The calendar declares that it is time for break, and so it it is. Weak skills are left for the parents or next year's teachers to deal with.

People ask me all the time when we will be done with our homeschool year. It's never that simple to answer. I want to be done for the year, and have no responsibilities for the next three months. So do the kids. But I can't just quit teaching them at a random point in their studies. Because I am next year's teacher as well as this year's, I'll just make my own job harder if I stop too soon now.

Like most parents, no matter how they choose to educate their children, my husband and I are working to produce true students, who will be life-long learners in this ever changing world. We are working to raise children who set goals for themselves and don't quit until success is achieved. It's hard to mark that date on a calendar. It's also hard work at times, to motivate a child to keep trying and learning, but that's just part of being a parent.

When we first started to homeschool, we did try to keep to the same schedule as the public schools. We started our school year on the same day as them, and took all of the same holidays. So there we'd be, cruising along with our schedule, when suddenly the schools would have a long weekend, so we would take one too. This made class planning difficult, since many courses are set up with a five day week in mind. Often the rest of the world (including my husband) did not have the day(s) off, because it wasn't a real holiday, just administrative stuff.

I quickly realized that exactly following the school calendar didn't work for us.Now we still follow it roughly, in that we aim for a lighter schedule over the summer (while doing enough work not to lose skills), and we take off for major holidays. Sometimes our activities require days off that the schools don't have. We make our schedule work for us now. That is the built in flexibility of homeschooling.

We start out each school year trying to follow the suggested rate of the lessons in the textbooks. Since each grade level in our homeschool has only one pupil, that suggested schedule soon falls apart. We can and do progress at the rate of the individual child. Some subjects come easily to them, and we're done with the texts early. Others are more difficult, and then we take the time needed to be sure that the concepts are properly learned. We don't skip lessons, and we keep working until the books are completed.

So to sum things up, yes our 'official' school year will soon be done. We're wrapping up the last of the core subjects as I write this. My kids will soon have time to stay up late and sleep in. They'll spend lazy afternoons by the pool, and relaxing with friends. As a family we'll fit in some fun times and go camping. Summer will be everything that it should be.

That doesn't mean our learning stops though. Summer is a time when we can explore less traditional topics that interest us. It's also a time that we can use to improve certain skills in preparation for next school year. As the primary teacher, I've realized that true learning can't stop just because it's summer. We'll all pay dearly for it in September if I do.


linking to:  Pour Your Heart Out

Healthier Strawberry Shortcake

Early summer wouldn't be complete for me without homemade Strawberry Shortcake. The key is to make homemade shortcakes and use real whipped cream, not those store bought cakes and whipped topping! Naturally, being me, I found a way to make the shortcakes a bit healthier by using a whole wheat baking mix and adding oats (I just can't help myself). It's not diet food, but it will help ease the guilt of indulging in such a decadent treat. I promise the results are every bit as scrumptious as the old way.

My kids were anxious to dig in, so I didn't have time to get a great picture. You'll just have to trust that it's good!

Healthier Strawberry Shortcake

4 lbs fresh strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 cups whole grain baking mix (I used Hodgson Mill)
3/4 cup oatmeal
6 tbsp brown sugar
1&1/4 cups skim milk
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 pint heavy cream*
3 tbsp granulated sugar*

*Or use ready made whipped cream

Wash, hull, and slice strawberries. Place in large bowl along with 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready for use.

In large mixing bowl combine baking mix, oatmeal, and brown sugar. Add milk and butter all at once.

Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto greased baking sheet (recipe should yield 12 shortcakes). Bake at 425 degrees for 13-15 minutes, until lightly golden brown, and centers seem set.

If making homemade whipped cream, beat chilled cream in mixing bowl with electric mixer. When cream begins to thicken, slowly add granulated sugar and continue mixing until soft peaks form. Do not over mix, or it will turn into butter.

Assemble in bowls. Split one shortcake in half like a hamburger roll. Top each half with strawberries and juice, and finish with whipped cream.

Makes 12 strawberry shortcakes.

linking to:  My Meatless Mondays  Foodie Fridays  Summer Fun Party  Whimsy Wednesdays
                  It's A Piece O'Cake