Crew Review: SchoolhouseTeachers.com

The results of my drawing will be posted on Saturday along with Bruiser's 8th birthday note. That will give me time to put it all together so I can crow about take a picture of exactly what the lucky winner will receive! In the meantime, I'd like to give a bit of a nudge to a great new-to-me site that I've found...

For some time now I've been looking at various homeschooling websites for new ideas that might excite and motivate the older boys in their studies. I've signed them up for classes over the years, or brought out classical books to read aloud with them, or let them play around on various websites on their own. Sometimes the content of the sites, classes and books lures them in and inspires them to learn more, and sometimes it falls flat and we move on.

One of the sites that I've found more recently is run by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, called Schoolhouse Teachers and is geared towards Christian homeschooling families and has gobs of great stuff! The site breaks the topics out first by grade/level - Pre-school, elementary, junior high, etc. - then has topics below that. Because of how much the site offers, I had to really get specific about what I wanted to try out first.

29 Gifts - Day 26 - Buttercup's 4th Birthday (and a Give Away!)

This post was going to include a recipe for Sweet Vanilla Pecans. It was going to include my give away and an invitation (pleading?) to help get my numbers up by sharing my blog with those around you. It was going to be those things - but it's not.

With her Pop at about six months - wearing a dress that I wore as a baby

It's not because it is Buttercup's 4th birthday. She is spunky and clever and sharp as a tack. She challenges us at every turn - both delighting and... well, challenging us beyond what one would think endurable. With her three older brothers, our lonely-only girl often holds the reins. She comes by it honestly. She adores her brothers. She delights in being big sister to Mr. Magoo. Above all, she is Absolutely. Awesome. 

29 Gifts - Day 24 - Care Packages (and a give away)

In addition to Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, we have several events this time of year: Maestro, Buttercup, Bruiser and Jeff all have their birthdays in those weeks from October 31st to December 25th, and our anniversary is in that time as well. You can imagine it's a busy, fun-filled time!

Last year's birthday bash

On top of all that, this year Jeff has been away and I've been really working on changing the look of my blog - adding new pages, selling some things, etc. In short, I've decided to start working a little more "business" into my blog, without making it all-about-business.

29 Gifts - Day 22 - A Gift of Faith

There is a new Orthodox chaplain at the base near us. He kind of travels around from parish to parish for Sunday Divine Liturgy but he'd like to start holding mid-week services on base as well. His first effort at this has been to start holding Akathist services three days a week. Well, I took all of the kids on Thursday (day 21, for you who are counting). The Catholic church/chaplain gave him the use of a small side-chapel so we were able to be in a smaller, more close-in setting for the prayers. That is a good thing with restless younger kids around!

Actually this is a window from the back of our last church in Maryland, but it fits in until I can get a better picture of the little chapel.

29 Gifts - Day 21 - Encouragement

Today's gift was an opportunity almost missed. 

As we wandered the narrow aisles of Michael's Craft Store looking for items for Sweet Nuts, Christmas wrapping and gift-giving, and Maestro's magic show/kid drop in tomorrow night, Chef bemoaned his fate of not having a way to earn money. 

*** Interruption for a shameless plug: did you see that I've added two new pages at the top? If you haven't checked them out, please make sure you do! ***

Back to the almost-missed opportunity... Chef went on for some time about not having a way to earn money, and to be honest, he was getting really. really. irritating. (I'm not a perfect mom, just an always-there Mom, and I pray that in the end it is enough!)

29 Gifts - Day 14 - Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

Ah, how the days fly past when we have so many birthdays, holidays, our anniversary, and other great things to celebrate! My gift for day 14 is homemade hot fudge for the kids to have on their ice cream before bed - and I'm sharing our recipe here with you as well. It is super simple, and as hot fudge syrup goes, it is healthier than what you get in the bottle at the store.

29 Gifts: Day 8 - Happy Birthday Oldest!

I'll recap my gifts of these past few days. Right now, something important has come up in the middle of my journey. Not a surprise, it happens every year, but important is important, and this is Important.

Ladies and Gentlemen: I give you my Oldest - Maestro - as an emerging TEEN. This child is my first gift to the world as a "Mom." He is special. Don't break him. He is wonderful. Help him stay that way. He is unique. And I am in awe of him as he grows into a young man who is now big enough to almost fill Pop's shoes (he is in a bigger shoe size than dear Mom now, poor soul!)

2012 - playing around in the garage in VA. Love that we can still laugh this way.

When he was born, we had to find "preemie" clothes for him to wear for a week or two, he was "on time" but just so tiny. Now, he can wear some of his pop's old pants (glad I saved them!) and shirts. He can help keep the house going when I am not at hand. And yet... he can laugh with his friends and play tag with his brothers and sister, and handle her sometimes-screaming fits with aplomb.