Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Sorry everyone

Things have been super crazy and not well. I am not sure when I will postagain. I will as I can though.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Ball Crafty Challenge

So I went to Hankcocks and found panels of Disney fabric for 2$. I had been wanting just a light throw for the kids so this was perfect. I have made tie fleece blankets for them but before but I wanted just one layer. So I was going to try a weave looking edge I had seen on pintrest, just to find I am no good at it. So my 1st one has some fridge cut on it and the others I just trimmed up the white on the edges.

Friday's Learning Challenge

I went to Walmart and was able to get 24 crayon box for 0.25$, a math workbook (1st grade level), a manuscript composition journal, and a preschool workbook tp add to my book of tricks.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Thursday's Learning Challenge

Today DS is working on a kindergarten book from Dollar Tree about shapes. You have to trace the word of the shape, write the word of the shape, draw the shape, and look at pictures of objects and choose if they are in that shape. I love these books and so do the kids.

Thursday's Food Challenge

So tonight I'm going to make a version of Zucchini Rice Casserole. TR does not like onions or peppers and I am pushing it hoping he will eat the zucchini so hopefully it will pay off.

Missed Posts

So yesterday I tried to post from my iPad, but for some reason it would not allow me. Sorry.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Tuesday's Cleaning Challenge

Today's challenge, and it is really proving to be a challenge, is to have the kids clean their rooms. Usually they keep it fairly picked up but today when I looked in as passing by they were a wreck. I have already had to punish over them not listening and just sitting there. So hopefully they will get on it and I can have a fairly decent looking part of the house.

Tuesday's Food Challenge

So today's more challenge is more about me and less about the family. I am one of those people that love Starbucks but can not afford it. I have been wanting some, yes enough though the temperate gauge says 100+. So I searched Google looking for how to do it, and came across one that said it by name so I thought I would try it. So I boiled some milk, melted some white chocolate chips in it and pour in coffee. Then it was time for the taste test....fail. I don't know if it was that I did it wrong or the recipe was not quiet up to par. So I will have to try and tweak it some. If anyone has any suggestions please post a comment below.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Monday's Food Challenge

Well I had run out of the basics so I had to go to the store today, and TR had to go to the DR today about his cholesterol being high so I had a new list to add to the don't buys. So tonight we had breakfast: one egg, two sausages, one biscuit, and a fruit.

Monday's Learning Challenge

They worked on reading again on the website I tried to post before but just today realized did not work so I fixed it. I also went today and got some books from the library to read about all the different ways to homeschool and try to make sure the way I would prefer is what is actually best for my children.

Monday's Cleaning Challenge

I have to get the living room and kitchen clean today. The kids destroyed the livingroom over the weekend, and I thought TR hadn't done his turn on the dishes and he had so they got backed up.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Saturday's Food Challenge

Tnought for dinner I'm going to make Thai Basil Chicken. Easy, yummy, and healthy. I will let you know how it turns out.

Friday was a long day

So I missed a day of posting again. :( I had an apt for LC at 08:00, had to go get a prescription filled, and we had to return library books so of course I didn't get home till after 15:00. We went to a different library than usual and the kids loved it. The children's section had benches that looked like book spines, a pillow seat that looked like and open book, and one that looked like a giant eraser. The bookshelves made a square and it had its own bathrooms so we were there for two hours. Each child got two books, and I got Charlette's Web by E. B. White to read to the kids at bed time. The kids have already had all their books read to them. I am so blessed that my chi Dream love books and reading. On Thursday I has posted wondering what in the world we would eat for dinner. I ended up making sliced cucumber (a big plate of two cucumbers that the kids could eat freely through out the evening) and egg omlet muffins. A recipe I found on pintrest. :) Everyone enjoyed them. Tough I am still cleaning the pans I made them in even though I greased them. :/ So not sure if it will be a repeat.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Thursday's Food Challenge

What do you make when you have two fussy basically babies, everyone has an upset belly, and you just do not feel like being over a stove? I wish I had things for lettuce wraps but all my veggies went bad in like two days for some reason. So now I'm sitting here trying to figure it out. So anyone have any suggestions?

Thursday's Learning Challenge

So today we watched Sid the Science Kid, my kids love this show, and they talked about sound waves. The kids loved it so today we are discovering difference sound waves. Whispering, talking normally, speaking through a megaphone (a little plastic toy one, thankfully), tapping different things, playing the game telephone to show how you have to listen to sound waves to know what you heard, and listing different things that make sounds. How do you teach your children about sounds?

Thursday's Cleaning Challenge

I had to deal with the cleaning challenge no mom or dad or caregiver even ever wants to deal with, that's right poop. Ugh it was so bad. TR was letting me sleep this morning and I was right in the middle of a great dream. Why was it great you ask? Because it was a dream. That's right right now anytime I can dream no matter how messed up they may be I welcome it because most of the time I do not get that much sleep. Well anyway back to the story. I was dreaming and TR comes to the door and says sorry but you have to get up. A short grumble and sigh later I ask why. He responded that during the night GM must have taken his diaper off and now the beds, pillows, him, his brother, and more was now covered with poop and the diaper was not. Lovely. So I get up and am tasked with the room while he cleans the boys. So I take off everything of the bed and head to the washer. The first load was fine: daddy doll (in case you are not sure what this is it is a military clothed doll that you can put the soldiers face on), pillow pet, pillow case, sheet, and diaper (we cloth diaper and it was wet). First I rinsed them and then washed them. After they were done I put them in the drier and put the pillow and mattress cover (kind of pillowy (I know not a real word but do not know how else to say it)) in. I set them to rinse and let. I come back to put them to wash and the carpet out side the laundry room is soaked, the laundry room floor is soaked in a gross colored water and such. Ugh this just isn't getting much better. I took the pillow out and looked and I guess because the pillow is so fluffy it was to full. When I turned the water on again to wash it was not spraying from the filling up, so I guess I was right and it could not empty correctly. So now not only do I have to finish nasty laundry, but I have to clean a nasty floor as well. This is definitively not the cleaning challenge I wanted today.

Wednesday's miss

Sorry I forgot to post yesterday. I had to go to Walmart to get more formula for LC and the van lost all power while driving, and of curse I was by myself. So between being flustered and upt over that and dealing with a fussy baby I just forgot.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tuesday's Food Challenge

So yesterday I was not up to cooking so grandma made pancakes. So soup tomorrow maybe. Tonight TR has class and he does not care for onions or cabbage to tonight I will cook something that I like that has it in it :). That way he doesn't it have it o complain ;). I will make him a burger for easy travel. Anyway tonight for dinner we will have Khee Mao. I love this beef tangy Thai dish. It can also be made spicy. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I will let you know how it turns out being homemade.

Tuesday's Learning Challenge

Today we are working on reading. I found a great site that helps them learn words and then do a book that focuses on the the word they learned. Check it out for your little ones. StarFall.com

Monday, July 9, 2012

Monday's Food Challenge

With my tooth problem today for dinner I am going to make soup. I should be able to eat it for the most part hopefully. I will be making Tom Kha Gai which is a Thai Coconut Chicken Soup. I used to have it when I worked at a Thai restaurant and loved it so hopefully I can do it justice. Here is where I got the recipe.

Monday's Learning Challenge

Today we are going to start working on learning the Ten Commandments. I learned a song when I was younger to learn them and today I'm going to start showing it/singing it to them. here is a link the song. The Perfect Ten

Monday's Cleaning Challenge

Today we are going to clean the van. The weather is not as bad as it has been raining so we are going to clean the van in side and out. I know it is supposed to rain again but if you have seen our van you understand why we are just going to go ahead and do it anyway. I looked this weekend again for my camera to yet again no success, so if you do get pictures it will be after pics.

Well today is a new day

On Sunday's I try my best to have a family day and church. In the morning we went to Sunday School and church service and it was wonderful. In the afternoon we ate and napped and then TR played with the older kids outside while I napped some more. It was a wonderful relaxing day.
Well today is Monday and TR has class this morning, LC is just going to bed, and I have to get a tooth pulled this afternoon. Today will be fun just having to deal with a new tooth pain. So please pray that it goes smoothly.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Saturday's Challenges

Well today TR had school so we rode with him to visit my mom. The kids really enjoyed it. We then went back to pick him up and headed back home. We had breadless blackened ham and cheese (we use vegan rice cheese) sandwiches with rice cakes and clementines for lunch and then everyone took a nap. DS and I slept until 17:45 so I got up and made dinner. I made some things I found on pintrest: pizza balls and buffalo chicken rollup. The family loved it. Then the kids had popsicles for dessert. Afterwards we had a great life lesson, its okay to play in the rain. We were outside playing frisbee and it started raining. At first they started saying something and I told them it wouldn't hurt them and it was okay and they loves it. (It was only sprinkling not pouring)

Friday, July 6, 2012

Food Challenge

Today is already three meals down and one to go.
Breakfast: eggs, bacon, and grits
Lunch: PB&J with clemintimes
Dinner: tonight we will have Frito tacos. Brown some ground beef, season with Old El Paso taco season (GF so nice), put on some lettuce, cheese, sour cream, black beans, cherry tomatoes, and avacado. Yumm!

Learning Challenge

Today is shopping day. I already went to Walmart this morning (yep 01:30 this morning I was the crazy lady walking around with a list getting a cart full of food so I would not have to fight with the children), but they did not have everything I needed. So today when I go to the Asian market I will take David and use the chance to teach prices, adding, money, and quantity.

Cleaning Challenge

Well I got the dishes done till we eat today, and the clothes are still in the same state but today the cleaning challenge is the living room. I am going to decluter the toys, papers, and so on.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Food Challenge for the day

So today's food challenge is to try to find something to make for dinner. Sounds silly right? Wrong. Tomorrow is shopping day and we are the tail end of our supplies so I will be scrounging through the freezer, pantry, and fridge to see what I can throw together. One of the things that always makes meals fun in my house is that there are allergies that always have to be taken into account: gluten, casein, soy, oats, and chocolate. On top of that TR has many dislikes which are almost always veggies. I try to cater to everyone but it is becoming more and more challenging and I think some things will just have to be made anyway (not allergy food) and just dealt with.

How I did on my cleaning challenge

I got about half the clothes folded while the two youngest where napping. When they got up I had the older two put their clothes away. At that time it was time for lunch, so off to make it I went. After the children were finished I sent the older two for a nap (we planned to go see the fireworks so they would be up past their bed time). TR told me to go take a nap while I could and I have basically been asleep since then (13:00). I woke up to make lunch and feed LC once but other than that I was out. TR came to ask me about the fireworks but I felt so bad I could not really wake up. I think that the lack of sleep I have had has caught up to me. So now I have to finish half the laundry and now add the kitchen in. Hopefully I will be able to finish it all today.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Today's Cleaning Challenge

Today's cleaning challenge is laudry.
Yeah that's right laudry, and in this home it never ends. With six members each wearing clothes, the towels and rags to clean, and the cloth diapers on the two youngest I am doing laudry daily. Well I should not say doing I honestly have no trouble washing clothes. We don't really use our hamper I tell the kids to just throw their dirty clothes in the washer and when its full I run it. I then move it to the drier and whala clean clothes. My issue is folding them. I absolutely HATE folding clothes. Right now my couch and rocking chair in my room is covered in clean (now wrinkly) clothes. We have all gotten used to just looking through the pile of clothes finding what we want/need and then getting dressed, changing a diaper, taking a sower/bath, and so on. So today I'm challenging to fold and put away (the older two do theirs) all the clean clothes. Hopefully before I go to bed tonight it will all be done.

The ends and outs

We currently rent living space from my grandma. DS and GM share a room, SK and LC will share a room when LC is in a crib, and TR and myself have a room. We have to full baths, a laundry room, living room, breakfast nook, and kitchen so plenty to clean, organize, and decorate. We have an acre and a half of land as well. We will be setting up our trampoline and swig set that we got for the children when TR was still in the army. There will be a train table set up in the boys room that was also purchased while TR was in the army. We are still not completely unpacked as we moved in right before LC was born in late April. I will be setting up the house to be able to live, have guest come over, and home school. So I will have plenty to post about. Hopefully I will be able to find my camera to be able to post pictures as I do it all. We also have a van than is not completely filled with car seats so I will be organizing that as well to be able to fit things that are needed with four children in it. TR goes to school three days a week as well, so I am going to try to set up a place for his school materials as well.
My first mission is to finish the boys rooms. So keep a look out for boy ideas.

My daily challenge

The life of the Ball family is a daily challenge, and with things constantly changing I thought a blog would be a great way for me to keep up with my progress and response so the new challenges. I am a wife to an injured army veteran (TR), and the mother to four children all with in five years of each other (DS [5 boy], SK [4 girl], GM [1 boy], and LC [2 months girl]). The two boys and I have food allergies, we are conservative Christians that home school, and we have not been able to find work. So with all these factors combined we are constantly presented with new challenges. I plan on posting one cleaning challenge, food challenge, and learning challenge a day, which will end in of itself be a challenge. So come along for the journey and lets see what we can learn together.