Letters From the Homefront

What a game of catch up it is, too.  Blogging has taken a back burner for a little while, for a few reasons.  #1 - We are SUPER busy! Just flat busy, no other way to put it.  #2 - I am now solely dependent on my phone for pictures, which is fine - it takes great pictures, but I am trying to find the easiest way to get them from my phone to my computer in a way that doesn't try to save Every. Single. One. every time. I'm not real tech savvy so I am slow to try and mess with it.  #3 - The kids have testing (state mandated) this week, and though it's only one day - half a day, at that - I generally try to put a focus on the type of material that they will be facing so they are not surprised and ill-prepared for the final day.  I've pulled a few pictures together to try and give a good idea of some of the things we've been doing the last month or so, since the last time I posted. I still have a couple vacation posts I want to finish, and am determin...

Well, I didn't expect it to be almost the middle of January before I got back to blogging. Life wouldn't have been possible without this break, though. Things got so hectic, and probably will continue to be a little busy for the next couple of weeks as we try to enjoy as much time as possible with our family all together, and also try to prepare my husband to leave us for a 5 month stretch, then do a turnaround and leave again for 2 months. That's five months of  3 seasons worth of clothing, two types of uniforms, and so much more to get ready! Anyway, that has nothing to do with school and everything to do with life right now. A little update on the things we've been doing since the beginning of December. First of all - we moved, temporarily. If you didn't read the last post, the kids and I are staying with family (my mother) while my husband goes to an intensive, 5 month long school this year for his job, then follows it up with 2 months of OJT (on the job ...

Oh, I've been such a bad blogger! In truth, we have been very busy this past month.The last several weeks have seen a lot of work, some 'school' related, some 'life'. I've been leaning on my favorite term, life-school, here lately.  Bug working with the stereognostic bag. We have had many school days since my last post, and started some fun new things. Little Mama has *finally* begun to use the multiplication checkerboard that I made last year, and is working with five digit multiplicands, and  two digit multipliers. Due to her tendency to get overwhelmed, she generally tends to do only one equation when sitting down with that work, and I'm usually with her or close to her. She moves slowly with it, but I am glad, because she is seeing it work. Since she is already a second year/fifth grader, I wasted no time, and showed her how to use the board and how it looks to work it out abstractly on paper, all at the same time. I didn't push, but just...

Wait for it.... Wait for it.... IT'S FINALLY FALL!!!! Okay, so I might be a little premature to call it Fall in the South, but the last part of last week, it sure felt like it! :) Fall = BAKING LM made her first ever solo batch of Pumpkin Bread. This recipe is one that I can't say was handed down through the family with tons of secret, special ingredients. I will say, though, that it was a favorite growing up, and the tradition continues in my home now, with my children growing up loving it. It was also greatly associated with Fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas time. The recipe is so simple and easy to follow - you'll have great smells filling your house in under an hour! You'll need: 3 cups sugar 1 cup oil 4 eggs, beaten 16 ounces pumpkin (canned or fresh!) 3 1/2 cups flour 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1 tsp ginger (not ale - typo in cookbook!) 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp cinnamon 2/3 cup h...