Summer Bucket List

This is ours so far--find more details on my SUMMER board on pinterest.

Oh, and the party is a Garden Party for my turning-4yo. The youngest is turning 4!!

There are lots of ideas for that on my BIRTHDAY IDEAS pinboard. You'll be seeing lots more pics about that next week!

Have a great summer everyone! What's on your summer bucket list?

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Shabby Apple

I've spoken about Shabby Apple Dresses before, but did you know they now have swimsuits? I don't know if you've noticed, but attractive, modest swimsuits are very hard to find. Look no farther!
Shabby Apple really has mastered  the feminine, modest look in both dresses and suits.

These are two of my faves.

Simple, modest, colorful, feminine...

What more could you ask for?

Maybe, a SALE?

No problem. Just click the pic below for 10%  off your Shabby Apple swimsuit!

Snag them fast, this deal only lasts until the end of May.

Happy swimming!

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Sunrise Jogging

I've begun to jog a bit again. My favorite route has this view less than a mile in. I can't help stopping and instagramming a pic or two each time I run. It is breathtakingly beautiful, and these pictures do it much less than justice, but at least you get a small taste.

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School Planning

I think I've already announced that my two oldest, who have been in a half day 4-day a week tutorial, will be home schooling full time next year. I'm really excited about doing this. They are on the same level in many cases, so this just makes a lot of sense this year. Here's what our proposed schedule looks like--don't worry, I know that it could all change with the say, adoption of a baby, or any number of other events. But I guess it never hurts to have a plan.
First off, the curriculum:
Both children will be using the Saxon 3 Math

It will be a bit of a review for the oldest and it may be a bit challenging for the boy, but I think both of those are a good thing right now.
For our language/history/geography and Bible, we'll be following this

Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation & Epistles

from Simply Charlotte Mason. This is a family curriculum and the hubby is going to join us for an hour after breakfast to read from the family reading

and to study the geography that goes along with the lesson. This curriculum also takes the family through the epistles using this GOAL study model:

Grasp this promise

Obey this command

Avoid this sin

Live this principle

We'll be adding an S for Savior to that as we discuss that on our own, we are unable to do any of the G, O, A, or L. We need our Savior and His death on the cross to enable us to be free from sin and able to do works of righteousness.
This curriculum also has a wonderful list of historical fiction to use for our literature. I'll be writing questions to use for reading comprehension for this. There will be read-alouds as well as individual reading assignments with this.

I really like this writing book

but when I saw the $30+ price tag, I thought that maybe I would try using my 4 years of education as an English teacher to give them writing practice. We'll be continuing some of the skills they are learning this year and adding to that--learning to use strong verbs, quality adjectives, -ly words, who/what/which/although clauses, etc. We'll work on outlines and using triads.

I'm also going to manufacture their grammar using bits and pieces of programs we've used in the past. (Mostly following the Shurley Grammar model)

We're going to use Discover Spanish, both the audio lessons and the interactive on-line program, for our Spanish lessons.

We'll be using the biology section of this experiment book to explore animals a little--we'll also be visiting the local aquarium once every two weeks for a little lesson.

My plan is to have two notebooks--one with our "school work" that is all guided and another with all the worksheets and assignments that will be "home work" done on an individual basis. The "home work" will of course be checked each day. This will keep the model that the kids have had this year--and, I think, make a lot of sense to them.

Here's what our two-week schedule looks like:


M1: 9am History-Bible/10am Math/11am Science Experiment/Home work for grammar and literature
T1: History-Bible, Math, Spanish, Writing, Grammar, Geography
W1: Bible/Swimming/Art/Choir/Reading/Homework
R1:History-Bible, Math, Spanish, Writing, Grammar, Geography
F1: History-Bible, History Project/Homework
M2: 9am History-Bible/10am Math/11am Science
T2: History-Bible, Math, Spanish, Writing, Grammar, Geography
W2: Bible/Aquarium Science/Art/Choir
R2: History-Bible, Math, Spanish, Writing, Grammar, Geography
F2: Free for group learning, field trips, etc.


So there you have THE PLAN. I'm sure you'll be very interested to see what actually comes of it when we start school in September!
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What I Love About Being a Momma

I love the everyday moments: the baths, the meals, the books, the tickles, the cleaning, the folding, the putting away. Sometimes I forget, but when I really think about it, I realize, I really love all this!

I love the places we get to go and the things we get to see. You never stop experiencing when you're around little children--even if it is just a walk down your own street!

I love baby wearing (and oh, how I miss it!) I can't wait to wear our new baby--holding them close to your heart while your two hands are free to hold other children--to keep them safe too or to make them feel loved as well, all while the littlest is cuddled up happy as can be!

I love the screaming moments. Yes, I've lost it plenty of times when the screaming goes on and on and on (and on). But you know those times when the screaming is really so ridiculous that the giggle wells up inside of you and must be allowed out? Well, I love those times. That giggle is really an admission that I look just like that to my father when I cry over the things in my own life that seem such a huge deal at the time. I love the mirror aspect of your own children!

I love dressing up--making my girls (and guy) feel special and valuable. I'm not a huge one for just playing, but there are some games I can get into--and dressing up is one of them. 

I love to learn with my children. That's why homeschooling is such a wonder. I am constantly amazed by the facts that my children know and the wisdom that they can draw from those facts. I learn from them every day!

And I love the questions: How did God make us, Momma? Why do we have to die? Where is heaven? What happened to the dinosaurs? Even the simple ones--"Is this fiction or non-fiction?" I love their seeker hearts, their desire to understand balanced by their quick acceptance of the impossible.

I love the parties and the balloons and candy and the cookies and how my children love all of that too!

I love the gifts! I love giving them and helping them receive them. I love their joy at everything new and even the joy of discovering a gift forgotten. 

 Maybe my most favorite thing about being a momma is the fact that children are amazed at so much. I love to see their wonder in the little things--squirrels and sticks and birds and a new pair of shoes. I love how they remind me to see, to really see the things that I take for granted--the moon, the leaves rustling in the breeze, the sun filtering through the trees. I love that my children race down to the garage in the morning to feed the dog. I love that they can get so enthralled with making a lego creation that they don't even want ice cream for snack (it's happened a few times!). I want that! I really want that! Really, I don't ever want to grow up--

But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

Luke 18:16-17
I love being a momma!
Please feel free to leave what you love about being a momma (or about having a momma) in the comments. I know the list is infinite.
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Lemon Centerpiece

I've been seeing a lot of lemon centerpieces around pinterest land. (Check out my For the Home board.) I've always loved lemons, and showcasing them in the summer just makes sense.

I love this one: 

And this one:

And this one:

So when a slew of people were coming over, I decided to give it a try with what I had on hand. We have this huge patch of marjoram growing out by the end of our driveway and it's always begging for a little pruning. So I obliged. The smell and the look were gorgeous, I think.

Total cost for centerpiece $0.00. Nice, huh?
Happy decorating!
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Breakfast Cake

I discovered something this week that may revolutionize our breakfasts (or at least my cleanup from them). Guess what you get if you make a muffin recipe and pour it into a cake pan? Breakfast Cake! And guess what? Cake pans are a whole lot easier to clean up.
Now, I arrived at this realization in a very circuitous way. First I saw a recipe on pinterest for breakfast cake and I tried it. Then I cleaned the pan. Then I mentioned this to a friend and she said, "Yes, I often make my muffin recipes in a cake pan because it's easier to clean up." And I thought, "Brilliant! It was definitely easier to clean up." And there you have it. Would I have arrived at this conclusion on my own? I'm not at all sure I would have. But there it is. I am now a big fan of breakfast cake.
Here's the one we made this week--the pinterest recipe from Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen with lots of changes:

Breakfast Cake

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh fruit

1.  Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a 9-inch round cake pan with shortening. Dust with flour and set aside.

2.  Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, quick cooking oats, flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

3.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, 1/2 cup of sugar, and the canola oil until well blended. Whisk in the milk, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract.

4.  Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Arrange the fruit evenly over the top, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of white sugar.

5.  Bake 22 to 25 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool (or serve while it’s still warm).

I'm thinking that this particular cake might be much better if I subbed the oil for applesauce, used 1 teaspoon of cinnamon instead of the lemon juice and zest and used chopped apples for the fruit. That's how I'm going to try it next. And I plan to try my double chocolate flax seed muffins as a cake as well. Yum!

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{Beauty and Bedlam}

{Menu Plan Monday}

{Slightly Indulgent Tuesday}
{kids in the kitchen}

What to Watch

So I think I may have mentioned that the hubby and I are a bit addicted to a certain tv series right now. We pretty much put the kids to bed as early as possible and then get started and see how many we can watch before our responsible sides kick in and send us to bed. Ok, so we only do that once or twice a week and yes, we feed our kids dinner, I promise! When we mentioned our crazy habits to some friends, they offered some more suggestions--I guess they're trying to keep us addicted, or something. Here are the suggestions:

Lost--It's fun, has a few challenging deep themes ("Don't tell me what I can and cannot do!") and some interesting theology thrown in there for you to sift through your Biblical lense.

Foyle's War--This comes on recommendation. Evidently Foyle wants to be a part of the war effort during WWII, but is turned down for the army. So he continues doing what he does best--solving mysteries. Each of his mysteries has something to do with a real historical WWII event. The episode list indicates that there are 22 90-minute episodes.

Empire Falls is another friend recommendation. This is a two-part mini-series with some pretty big names playing residents of a small, declining New England town. The citizens of this town show their very real struggles and deal with issues of social status, trust and friendship.

And if you haven't seen this 30 minute video about abortion, yet, you are in for a very thought-provoking treat. Please, please, watch it!
Have a great week and enjoy the of doors as well as checking out some of these!
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Sailboat Party

For the sailboat party, we used the handmade paper sailboats as center pieces (and party favors).

The punch was like this one except that we floated plastic sailboats in it instead of duckies.

And...the table spread! This was an evening party, so we just served fruit, veggies, nuts, and cupcakes. We had tons left over, so I sent cupcakes home with some of the guests.

The expectant mother's pile of gifts! Notice the wooden sailboats weighting down the table cloth. It was pretty windy, and I'll have to remember this trick. A little hot glue and we had useful decoration that kept the table cloth from flying around.

And my first try at a diaper cake. Sorry about the glare! I would've liked it better with white diapers (the Baby's R Us brand has a lot of green on them) but I covered most of the diapers with ribbons and the result was very festive.

May this new momma sail into parenthood with grace and love!

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May Menu

It's not technically summer, but my baking motivation has definitely clicked into summer mode. What does that mean? Easy, easy, and more easy. I bake less, I spend more time playing in the sprinkler (or lazing in the yard, really) than cooking. And this is a good thing. So let the summer cooking begin:

May 1, Tuesday: Baked whole chicken, salad, green beans, seasoned quinoa

May 2, Wednesday: cheesy chicken lasagna, easy parmesan knots, salad
May 3, Thursday: Baked Pork, Brown rice, Salad
May 4, Friday: Bethany Banquet, kids eat roll-ups* with babysitter
May 5, Saturday: YARD SALE! We're raising money for our adoption through hosting a neighborhood yard sale. It's going to be an 8 to 4 kind of day, and I know that loading up all the stuff that doesn't sell is going to take a few hours after that. We'll probably have salads and roll-ups for lunch, and homemade subways will be for dinner--deli bread, deli sandwich meat, cheese and lots of veggies for fixings.
May 6, Sunday: healthy baked chicken nuggets, green beans, mashed potatoes
May 7, Monday: Mexican Taco Salad

May 8, Tuesday: Pesto Pasta with Sausage
May 9, Wednesday: grill out chicken, summer vegetable tian, easy homemade french bread
May 10, Thursday: leftover grilled chicken salad, leftover bread
May 11, Friday: crock pot sweet and sour pork, brown rice, stir-fried veggies
May 12, Saturday: italian crockpot chicken (probably for lunch since we'll be going to an evening wedding and will probably eat munchies at the reception for dinner.) This recipe calls for lots of things I can't eat, so I'll be swapping greek yogurt out for the cream cheese and making my own cream of chicken soup with soymilk.) We'll be eating it over brown rice and with broccoli.
May 13, Sunday: Leftovers
May 14, Monday: ham stir fry
May 15, Tuesday: breakfast for dinner--pancakes and sausage
May 16, Wednesday: cobb salad
May 17, Thursday: Pasta Salad with ham
May 18, Friday: chicken and veggie kabobs on the grill, brown rice cooked in chicken stock
May 19, Saturday: zucchini and bean salad, green salad, bread
May 20, Sunday: Leftovers and Sandwiches

May 21, Monday: Taco Salad (again, I know, but it's our favorite meal)
May 22, Tuesday: Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Pasta (might try to get away with no meat in this meal...we'll see)
May 23, Wednesday: baked chicken, green beans, seasoned quinoa
May 24, Thursday: egg salad sandwiches, guacamole, chips, fresh veggies
May 25, Friday: Last Day of School for kids: grill out hotdogs and hamburgers to celebrate
May 26, Saturday: Company in town, Pasta Salad for a Crowd
May 27, Sunday: Fajita Bar--salad, chicken, beef, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, salsa, warm tortillas
May 28, Monday: Order out Pizzas, salad
May 29, Tuesday: cheesy chicken lasagna, easy parmesan knots, salad (another repeat meal)
May 30, Wednesday: The youngest's birthday!! We'll be having sandwiches and tea at our garden party.
May 31, Thursday: Take it easy with some tuna salad, guacamole, tortilla chips, and crackers for dinner

GROCERY LIST:
whole chicken
three bags chicken breasts
canned biscuits
tortillas
sandwich meat
lasagna noodles
can pineapple chunks
ham chunks
frozen green beans
frozen broccoli
sausage
brussel sprouts
tortellini
cocoa
greek yogurt
potatoes
tomatoes
onions
squash
zucchini
sweet potatoes
tortilla chips
sausage
kidney beans
pasta


COSTCO:
shredded mozzarella cheese
shredded cheddar cheese
4 pork roasts
AP flour
sub rolls
eggs
dry ranch dressing mix
lettuce
peppers
almonds

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{Beauty and Bedlam}

{Menu Plan Monday}

{Slightly Indulgent Tuesday}
{kids in the kitchen}

How to Make a Sailboat

Sailboat Party #2

Since I'm on the sailboat theme this week, I figured I would just stick with that.

(See yesterday's post for my plan for sailboat cupcakes)

Today's sailboaty theme is building one!

Again, taking much inspiration from my pinterest Sailboat Board--

Building a paper boat is easy, but what really made this work was using the maps. This is a great use for old atlases (poor unused things).

Ours have a mast made out of a skewer. After making the boat, add a bit of hot glue about 2 inches from the flat end of the skewer. Stick the skewer up through the center of the bottom of the boat and pull through until the glue catches on the paper hole--Hold steady for a few seconds while the hot glue hardens.

My blue sails are doubled and I made them by cutting blue copy paper twice the size of what you see--it's easiest to cut out a straight triangle, then fold in half and cut the curved bottom. The blue sail is wrapped around the skewer and glued using a little hot glue near the skewer and elmer's stick glue over the sail.

The red sail is secured using a thin line of hot glue.

The small red flag is doubled and wrapped around the point of the skewer. Secure it to the skewer with a tiny bit of hot glue and add a little elmer's stick glue to the flag to hold it together.

The hot glue makes the boats pretty sturdy.

Our fleet of boats will serve as decoration for a sailboat baby shower I'm helping with on Saturday AND they will make perfect little party favors.

Again, stealing ideas from pinterest pins, I filled my boats with candy lifesavers and added in some peppermints to stick with the color theme.

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Sailboat Party #1

If you follow my pinterest boards, then you've probably noticed that I've been pinning a LOT of sailboat stuff lately. This is one of the beauties of pinterest, really. If you're interested in something, create a board for it and then everything you find on the internet is nice and organized in one place (and it can't get lost! That's a big plus for me!)
This Saturday I'm hosting a sailboat baby shower for a friend. Thus the sailboat craziness. (And no, I am not attempting the cake above; it's just one of the most wonderful sailboaty things I've found, so I thought I'd share it with you.) What I am making for the shower is cupcakes. Lots of cupcakes. I'm going to put little sails on each one--just a simple yellow cupcake with white icing with a little toothpick sail. The beauty of the whole thing is that, after searching far and wide, I finally found these cupcake cups on Amazon:

So a little white icing on top will, I hope, give the idea of a sailboat perched atop blue waters. Then the little sail will finish the whole thing off.
Now I could just buy box mixes and go with that, but I'm not crazy about eating box mixes, and what if no one comes to the party and I have to eat all 36 cupcakes myself? Sheesh! I don't want to have to down 3 boxes of yellow cake mix! (just kidding, btw) I'm pretty sure I'm going to use this (nice and healthy, ha!) Four Egg Yellow Cake Mix found on Allrecipes. I'm following some of the advice in the comments and changing out the shortening for butter:

• Yellow Cupcakes
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place paper cupcake holders in a cupcake pan.
2. Cream together shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared cupcake holders.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cupcakes test done. Cool.

Icing

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter

2-5 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, shortening, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat on low speed to combine, then beat on medium speed for a full five minutes. It won't look like Icing at first, but keep the mixer going for a full five minutes, and then you're done!

Hooray for sailboat parties. Expect tons of pictures next week showing off our homemade sailboat party favors, cupcakes (of course), and other party decorations!

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Menu Plan Monday
Balancing Beauty and Bedlam 
{Slightly Indulgent Tuesday}

Clean Closets

Remember that cleaning promise I made way back when? Well, I have been cleaning, just not posting as much as I thought. So today, for your viewing enjoyment, I will give you the clean closet tour of our house. I'm not promising that all my closets look this clean at this very moment, and really I'm not promising that these pictures show clean closets--just cleanER closets. (If you'd like the real tour of my home, come on in.)

We'll start with the entry-way closet. I count it clean if there's not too much on the floor and the jackets are mostly on hangers.

The oldest's "closet" is actually just a space underneath her loft bed. Her drawers were already there, but her hanging clothes were spread around in other closets. So I took an old mop stick and hung it with ribbon and tacks to the bottom of her bed. Now her hanging clothes are where she can see them with her drawers. We also organized her drawers and put labels so that hopefully my slightly scattered eight-year-old can keep her drawers neat. P.S. She also has a desk and a book shelf under her bed--it's truly HER space.

Cleaning closet--That little white shelf had been under the oldest's bed cluttering up her space. Moving it to this closet to hold our extra bathroom supplies was a no-brainer. Everything is much more accessible and pleasing to look at for all those guests who like to stare at my cleaning closet. Incidentally, when we had our home study, I knew that our case worker was supposed to see where I kept my cleaning supplies. I kept thinking she would ask, and she never did, so I opened the closet proudly and pointed them out. I had cleaned it and I wanted to show it off!

The hallway bathroom closet. There's something about the way these shelves are so deep that makes them very hard to keep neat. Here's my best stab at it.

This is the one I have to say can only loosely be called "clean." Mine and my hubby's closet is the place for storage, ALL of our clothes, shoes, my scarves, etc. And did I mention that it is an incredibly awkward shape and has old pipes for hanging clothes? So anyway, I think that these hanger things are making the best use of hanging space, but the rest of it is just the best we can do right now. The funny thing is, I remember the previous owners of this house opening this closet to show it to us and it was a huge mess! I remember vowing to never let it get like that. Now I understand completely. They probably moved because there was a better master closet in their new house. : )

Last but not least the garage/basement. It's not really a closet, but I did work to organize and clean it, so I'm showing it off here. See the fancy duct tape? That's so the kids can return their play things in an orderly manner. Does this happen? Not really, but the tape still looks awesome, don't you think?

So there's a bit of the cleaning that's been going on around here. Hope you enjoy!

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Double Chocolate Flax Seed Muffins

I'm still crazy about muffins, in case you wondered. I think it's the fact that cupcakes are made in the same form--whatever it is, I can get away with a lot of things in a muffin. Healthiness and yumminess collide in a way that make both momma and kiddos very happy.
For past muffin-craziness check out these:
Applesauce Muffins
A Week of Muffins
Muffin-a-day Update
Cinnamon Yogurt Muffins
If you search "muffins" down at the bottom of Of Such is the Kingdom, you'll come up with 8 (yes, 8) pages worth of posts. There's solid proof that I'm certifiable when it comes to this snack/breakfast/anytime food!

These are the latest muffin addition to our household.

I know. They look sinfully delicious. They taste the same way, but want to know a secret? They are healthy! Craziness. Their only drawback is that they don't keep very well, but I'm working on that. I'll let you know what I figure out.

Double Chocolate Flax Seed Muffins (find the original recipe HERE)

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup milk or buttermilk
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree or applesauce
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Combine flour, flax seed, oats, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and chocolate chips in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat the milk, pumpkin/applesauce, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing just until combined. Spoon equal amounts of batter into muffin cups.
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 to 30 minutes.

 {linked}

{Beauty and Bedlam}

{Slightly Indulgent Tuesday}