Cooking a Whole Chicken

So, as many families out there, we are trying to cut costs as much as we can around our home. The best and most awesome way I have recently run across is to cook whole chickens in the crockpot…and then make your own, homemade chicken stock (which can be frozen!!) in the same said crockpot. WOOOOHOOOO!!

Besides getting over actually touching the gross chicken & worrying that I will contaminate my kitchen and family with e-coli, it is an awesome time & money saver, and yummy, to boot!! It makes the kitchen smell heavenly, like Thanksgiving!!

There are several really great-sounding recipes out there, but the basic of the basic I found at The Happy Housewife. (and look in her comments for even more tips & tricks!)

Not only do we eat the chicken for dinner one night, after the chicken has cooled (TRUST ME), get the rest of the meat off that carcass, stick the bones back in the juices you left in the crockpot, along with some carrots, celery, and onion, and let it cook on low overnight. The next day, strain out the yuckies, and let your broth cool in the fridge. When you get done homeschooling/from work/the spa, you can scrape the layer of fat off that has settled on the top, and then freeze the broth for future use!! So, not only are you eating that chicken TWICE, you are also making delightful homemade stock that you don’t have to put on your shopping list!! Usually a chicken will go for about $4 for a 4-5lber.

I don’t know why, but this thrills my heart to heavenly places… Maybe because when I threw my casserole together tonight, all I had to do was literally throw ingredients together and put it in the oven… Time saver!!

Maybe you think this is a really lame post. But I {heart} saving money!!

The Family Man... No, not the cartoon...

Last night, Steve & I had a very rare date night. We started with dinner at Grub Steakhouse (it.was.amazing.), then went to Fairhaven Church to hear one of our favorite homeschooling speaker & author, Todd Wilson of Familyman Ministries. I will start by saying, even if you are NOT a homeschooling family, Mr. Todd has some very wise general parenting advice for all families there on his site, so don't let the "homeschooling" label scare you away or make you think it's not gonna be applicable for you!!

He spoke mainly about how we as parents {and this applies even if we're not homeschooling} can doubt our effectiveness on our children's hearts. We with smaller children, since we're in the thick of it, find ourselves in "the fog," forgetting "the most important things" we can teach our children. Worrying about this activity, that curriculum, socialization, manners, and the list goes on, we often forget about training the heart, teaching to trust God in EVERYTHING, not just through music or songs, but through our LIVING life.

I will never be able to express to you how important and pivotal that message was for me last night. We started back to school last week, and I mentioned it was a rough start. Monday & Tuesday were a bit better, but Wednesday was another stressful day.

Tuesday, we began school, using a Unit Study. A bit like pulling teeth to get Abbey into the swing of things, and most of all, the dreaded writing...

Wednesday, a little better, we finished what we were supposed to, and life went on... But, oh the drama... you would think that making her write was a criminal offense.

Thursday, we woke up to NO ELECTRICITY. No prob. I can roll with the punches. Let's go to Burger King & have breakfast kids! Then, ON TO TARGET!! Then, we went to Wegerzyn Gardens in Dayton & had a blast in the Discovery Garden. And, there was no blessed writing.

Friday, we woke up to A FLOODED TOILET. Awesome. Crazy kid mayhem. Crying Mommy cleaning the whole.blessed.mess. More frustration from Abbey because she didn't want to write. I even threatened not to take her to her cousin's birthday party. I know, I know, mean Mommy.

We had a lovely weekend, though. Relaxed, go with the flow, it felt more like summer... *Ahem* maybe because it still is.

Monday, not too bad. Electricity on. No flooding. Still being stubborn with the writing.

Tuesday, can't complain. No problems... except the writing.

Wednesday, tears, mayhem, chaos, more crying, pleading, bribing... It was not pretty, people. And, I'm not even talking about Abbey. She was out of control yesterday. I was out of control yesterday. Finally, we got through it, and she had to finish her work at Mammy's house, and Steve & I went to see Todd Wilson, and I literally had to hold in tears as he kept talking.

Somewhere along the line, I decided that the curriculum was more important than my children's hearts. Wrong purpose, people, whether we are homeschooling, private schooling, public schooling, and everything in between. Education is great, and obviously important... Yet, if we don't have love, what's it all for? (referencing I Cor. 13, very loosely ;) )

So, today, I didn't hurry, and I admit, almost lost it when I saw it was 12noon and we hadn't covered any of the unit study, yet, but Todd's voice was still fresh in my ears, "focus on the relationship first..." So, we did. And, you know what? We did get through all of school today, got everything done that needed to get done. But I enjoyed my kids more. I laughed with them. They laughed at me! (in a good way! lol)

So, now I'm on a quest to keep things (schooling, activities, hobbies) in perspective with my eternal eyes, not my "Get 'er done" Homeschool Mama eyes.

{please forgive me, I forget the source of this picture.}

Crazy Busy Summer... Sort of...

Hey, Everyone... and by everyone, I mean those that still remember that I have a blog and every once in a great while, will put something on it ;) LOL I haven't been on the ball this summer... It's been a fun & busy one & I will have pics coming soon. I still have to download all of them, especially from the beach... Ahhh, the beach... I wanna go back there...

Anyways, we had a great time being off school & 'normal' routine, but we have started back to school & things are going *ahem* well. The first day was pretty rough, and the 2nd day, oh, and the 3rd, but it's a new week, and things have been running much smoother!

We're 'officially' ending summer break this weekend with our annual trip to Reunion, followed by a few last days in the Smokies! We're all looking forward to the last "HOORAH!!" of summer.

And, this is weird, but I'm excited to set up boundaries so that we don't get over-scheduled this year. Balance. Isn't that a complex word? LOL

Anyways, I have a few topics I plan on blogging about soon, a few projects. I know that I am not completely bloggy-hopeless since I still think, "Oh, I should take a picture of [insert craft/idea/activity] so I can blog about it!" LOL

That's it... I just didn't feel right with my last post having a June date on it!! LOL ;) And, because she is awesome, here is a little eye candy from one of my favorite bloggers, Julie @Joy's Hope.

"Time to get our summer on!"

In my life this week… It has been a BUSY week!! Steve & I have been watching The Middle this year, and the last episode of the season absolutely sums up how I felt the last 2 weeks!! LOL I am happy to report, though, that I am NOW going to buy a tiki torch & “Get my summer on!” LOL

In our homeschool this week… We had our annual assessment this week & everything looks great! It’s amazing to me all the different things we covered this year, especially using unit studies. I am in love with unit studies! And, the progress we’ve made this year has only made my love grow!! I think I am most in love with Amanda Bennett… She.Is.Awesome.

I am inspired by… My Dad. He has been such a great teacher and leader in my life, and I realize with every passing day, every young woman’s testimony who hasn’t had a great relationship with their dad, how awesomely I have been blessed with mine. He has made it so easy to accept my Heavenly Father because of his example & love in my life… Happy Father’s Day!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing... Last Sunday (NOT Father’s Day) we went to Wegerzyn Gardens for the first time with Daddy (meaning, the kiddos & I have been there, but Steve hasn’t ever been). It was an impromptu trip, and one the kiddos are still talking about! Gotta love that!!

My favorite thing this week was… Friday night was Abbey’s dance recital! I can’t believe how much she has changed from the cute little Pre-dancer to the Tap I class I-can-remember-my-whole-routine dancer… Amazing to see the progress! And, she was still so stinkin cute!!

Things I’m working on… I am working on getting my house clean… Keep reading, there's more to this…

I’m reading… I am getting ready to start Sarah Mae’s 31 Days to Clean; Having a Martha House the Mary Way. I have joined the Homeschooling 31 Days group on Facebook for more accountability & encouragement! Ugh, that I even have to join something like this… But, it is what it is…

I’m grateful for… My family, my home, and my bed. I made my daughter do 3 chores today, and because her attitude stunk (where does that come from? *ahem*), I made her tell me 3 things she was thankful for when she was done with the 3 ‘assignments.’ Her 3 were “Family, Friends, and my bed.” I have to agree with her… And, I totally saw the log sticking out of my own eye at this, so I am also thankful for the things that cause me the most grief. I need to be reminded that these are blessings, not burdens… I have so much when others are happy with much less…

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

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I am linking up with Hip Homeschool Moms, but since I have used the Homeschool Chick's prompts, there's a link to others there, too... I was just too late to join this time around :)

Homeschool Home Stretch...




In my life this week…We are in the home stretch! We have our assessment scheduled for next Tuesday the 14^th… I am trying to keep calm about everything, but I waffle back & forth between “I can DO this!” and “What was I thinking?!?!” Thankfully, I’ve hopped back into my book “Super Homeschool Mom… NOT!” & that has been encouraging & keeping it real for me… Yet, my perfectionism still rears it’s ugly head & that’s what I’m battling.

In our homeschool this week… We have pretty much finished our Spring Surprises unit study. That is part of a series of Download N’ Go by Amanda Bennett that we have been doing this year. We started with Autumn Treasures, continued with Winter Wonders, and are almost finished! Explode the Code… almost finished!! One more lesson in 2 ½, and some post-tests, and we’re done! I want her to finish her Map Quest workbook, too, so we can officially wrap things up & “get our summer on!”

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… This week we celebrated Memorial Day with my parents & my Grandma & Uncle. The kiddos got to play in Dad’s sprinkler (Eli called it “Papa’s pool” lol) and we made a trip to the cemetery.

My favorite thing this week was… How well the week seemed to go while actually doing school work! HAHA It was a great week & we got a lot accomplished. I am starting to see the fruit of not losing my temper patience, and using a gentle, quiet voice. PLEASE DON’T MISUNDERSTAND!! I do NOT mean that I never yelled raised my voice, but I did notice a difference in my attitude this week. That’s what spending time in the Word will do for a gal!

What’s working/not working for us… Setting a no-distraction/no TV/no appointments policy this week, and really & truly devoting an allotted time JUST for school. This sounds like it should happen naturally in a homeschool, but, um, yeah, it doesn’t. Life DOES get in the way, and sometimes the importance of saying, “NO” to these things can get underestimated. Just sayin…

Questions/thoughts I have… Does anyone know if Math-U-See EVER goes on sale?!?!?! Seriously!! Even ebay is pricey!! Ugh…

Things I’m working on… Patience…

Books I’m reading… Super Homeschool Mom… NOT! I LOVE IT... Again, just sayin...

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”^[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Philippians 2: 14-16