Daily Schedules

Since school started back last week, we have slowly been getting into a routine/rhythm. Going into a new year, I never quite know what our schedule is going to look like, but being completely OCD, I try my best to plan it out and then tweak as necessary. This year has been no different.

I thought that school would take 3-4 hours, but after starting have realized it will only take 1 1/2 - 2 hours (maybe a little more if the subjects get tougher), so that really changes our previously planned schedule.

I know that I always enjoy looking at people's schedules to figure out ways that might work for our family, so here goes:

MONDAY
7:00am - Lee, Luke, and I wake up and do our morning routines (Lee - get dressed, make lunch) (Ashley - get dressed, make bed, start laundry, make breakfast) (Luke - get dressed, make bed)
7:30am - Luke and I eat breakfast and Lee leaves for work
8:00am - Nathan wakes up and eats breakfast (I clean up the kitchen while he eats his Cheerios)
8:30am - Play with the boys
9:o0am - Go to the library
10:00am - Nathan goes down for a nap - Luke and I do homeschool
HOMESCHOOL TIME
10:00am-10:15am - Bible
10:15am-10:30am - Handwriting
10:30am-10:45am - Reading & Spelling
10:45am-11:00am - Math
11:00am-11:15am - Science
11:15am-11:30am - History
11:30am-11:45am - Geography
11:45am-12:00pm - Spanish
Of course every subject doesn't take exactly 15 minutes, some take more, some take less. This is just a rough overview. If we finish early, we just hang out until lunch time.
12:00pm - Luke, Nathan, and I eat lunch
12:30pm - Play with the boys
2:00pm - Nathan naps, Luke naps/rests/has quiet time, and I have my down time (or do some dinner prep and/or chores)
4:00pm - I feed Nathan a bottle and Luke has video game time (he can earn up to 30 minutes a day)
4:30pm - Bathe the boys
5:00pm - Play with the boys
5:30pm - I cook dinner while the boys play
6:15pm - Family dinner
6:45pm - Family playtime (Nathan gets a bottle sometime before bed)
7:45pm - Get the boys ready for bed
8:00pm - Bedtime for the boys (Sometimes Nathan goes to bed earlier, sometimes Luke goes to bed later)
Lee and I have a flexible time until bedtime
11:00pm - Lee and I go to bed (that's the goal at least)

TUESDAY
7:00am - Lee, Luke, and I wake up and do our morning routines (Lee - get dressed, make lunch) (Ashley - get dressed, make bed, start laundry, make breakfast) (Luke - get dressed, make bed)
7:30am - Luke and I eat breakfast and Lee leaves for work
8:00am - Nathan wakes up and eats breakfast (I clean up the kitchen while he eats his Cheerios)
8:30am - Play with the boys
10:00am - Nathan goes down for a nap - Luke and I do homeschool
HOMESCHOOL TIME
10:00am-10:15am - Bible
10:15am-10:30am - Handwriting
10:30am-10:45am - Reading & Spelling
10:45am-11:00am - Math
11:00am-11:15am - Science
11:15am-11:30am - History
11:30am-11:45am - Geography
11:45am-12:00pm - Spanish
Of course every subject doesn't take exactly 15 minutes, some take more, some take less. This is just a rough overview. If we finish early, we just hang out until lunch time.
12:00pm - Luke, Nathan, and I eat lunch
12:30pm - Play with the boys
2:00pm - Nathan naps, Luke naps/rests/has quiet time, and I have my down time (or do some dinner prep and/or chores)
4:00pm - I feed Nathan a bottle and Luke has video game time (he can earn up to 30 minutes a day)
4:30pm - Bathe the boys
5:00pm - Play with the boys
5:30pm - I cook dinner while the boys play
6:15pm - Family dinner
6:45pm - Family playtime (Nathan gets a bottle sometime before bed)
7:45pm - Get the boys ready for bed
8:00pm - Bedtime for the boys (Sometimes Nathan goes to bed earlier, sometimes Luke goes to bed later)
Lee and I have a flexible time until bedtime
11:00pm - Lee and I go to bed (that's the goal at least)

WEDNESDAY
7:00am - Lee, Luke, and I wake up and do our morning routines (Lee - get dressed, make lunch) (Ashley - get dressed, make bed, start laundry, make breakfast) (Luke - get dressed, make bed)
7:30am - Luke and I eat breakfast and Lee leaves for work
8:00am - Nathan wakes up and eats breakfast (I clean up the kitchen while he eats his Cheerios)
8:30am - Play with the boys
10:00am - Nathan goes down for a nap - Luke and I do homeschool
HOMESCHOOL TIME
10:00am-10:15am - Bible
10:15am-10:30am - Handwriting
10:30am-10:45am - Reading & Spelling
10:45am-11:00am - Math
11:00am-11:15am - Science (Every other Wednesday we don't do Science)
11:15am-11:30am - History (Every other Wednesday we don't do History)
11:30am-11:45am - Geography
11:45am-12:00pm - Spanish
Of course every subject doesn't take exactly 15 minutes, some take more, some take less. This is just a rough overview. If we finish early, we just hang out until lunch time.
12:00pm - Luke, Nathan, and I eat lunch
12:30pm - Play with the boys
2:00pm - Nathan naps, Luke naps/rests/has quiet time, and I have my down time (or do some dinner prep and/or chores)
4:00pm - I feed Nathan a bottle and Luke has video game time (he can earn up to 30 minutes a day)
4:30pm - Bathe the boys
5:00pm - Leave for church
5:45pm - Eat dinner at church
6:45pm - Bible classes at church (Nathan gets his bottle in the church nursery)
8:00pm - Drive home
8:30pm - Get the boys ready for bed and bedtime for the boys
Lee and I have a flexible time until bedtime
11:00pm - Lee and I go to bed (that's the goal at least)

THURSDAY
7:00am - Lee, Luke, and I wake up and do our morning routines (Lee - get dressed, make lunch) (Ashley - get dressed, make bed, start laundry, make breakfast) (Luke - get dressed, make bed)
7:30am - Luke and I eat breakfast and Lee leaves for work
8:00am - Nathan wakes up and eats breakfast (I clean up the kitchen while he eats his Cheerios)
8:30am - Go to Co-Op
9:o0am - Co-OP
12:00pm - Luke, Nathan, and I eat lunch
12:30pm - Drive home from Co-Op
1:00pm - Nathan naps - Luke and I do homeschool
HOMESCHOOL TIME
1:00pm-1:15pm - Bible
1:15pm-1:30pm - Handwriting
1:30pm-1:45pm - Reading & Spelling
1:45pm-2:00pm - Math
Of course every subject doesn't take exactly 15 minutes, some take more, some take less. This is just a rough overview. If we finish early, we just hang out until lunch time.
2:00pm- Nathan is still napping, Luke naps/rests/has quiet time, and I have my down time (or do some dinner prep and/or chores)
4:00pm - I feed Nathan a bottle and Luke has video game time (he can earn up to 30 minutes a day)
4:30pm - Bathe the boys
5:00pm - Play with the boys
5:30pm - I cook dinner while the boys play
6:15pm - Family dinner
6:45pm - Family playtime (Nathan gets a bottle sometime before bed)
7:45pm - Get the boys ready for bed
8:00pm - Bedtime for the boys (Sometimes Nathan goes to bed earlier, sometimes Luke goes to bed later)
Lee and I have a flexible time until bedtime
11:00pm - Lee and I go to bed (that's the goal at least)

FRIDAY
7:00am - Lee, Luke, and I wake up and do our morning routines (Lee - get dressed, make lunch) (Ashley - get dressed, make bed, start laundry, make breakfast) (Luke - get dressed, make bed)
7:30am - Luke and I eat breakfast and Lee leaves for work
8:00am - Nathan wakes up and eats breakfast (I clean up the kitchen while he eats his Cheerios)
8:30am - Play with the boys
10:00am - Nathan goes down for a nap - Luke and I do homeschool
HOMESCHOOL TIME
10:00am-10:15am - Bible
10:15am-10:30am - Handwriting
10:30am-10:45am - Reading & Spelling
10:45am-11:00am - Math
11:00am-11:45am - Geography Projects
11:45am-12:00pm - Spanish
Of course every subject doesn't take exactly 15 minutes, some take more, some take less. This is just a rough overview. If we finish early, we just hang out until lunch time.
12:00pm - Luke, Nathan, and I eat lunch
12:30pm - Play with the boys
2:00pm - Nathan naps, Luke naps/rests/has quiet time, and I have my down time (or do some dinner prep and/or chores)
4:00pm - I feed Nathan a bottle and Luke has video game time (he can earn up to 30 minutes a day)
4:30pm - Bathe the boys
5:00pm - Play with the boys
5:30pm - I cook dinner while the boys play
6:15pm - Family dinner
6:45pm - Family playtime (Nathan gets a bottle sometime before bed)
7:45pm - Get the boys ready for bed
8:00pm - Bedtime for the boys (Sometimes Nathan goes to bed earlier, sometimes Luke goes to bed later)
Lee and I have a flexible time until bedtime
11:00pm - Lee and I go to bed (that's the goal at least)

SATURDAY
7:30am - Lee, Luke, and I wake up and make breakfast
8:00am - Nathan wakes up and we all eat breakfast together (I clean up the kitchen while he eats his Cheerios)
8:30am - Play with the boys
10:00am - Nathan goes down for a nap - free time for Lee, Luke, and me
12:00pm - Lee, Luke, Nathan, and I eat lunch
12:30pm - Play with the boys
2:00pm - Nathan naps, Luke naps/rests/has quiet time, and Lee and I have my down time (or do some dinner prep and/or chores)
4:00pm - I feed Nathan a bottle and Luke has video game time (he can earn up to 30 minutes a day)
4:30pm - Bathe the boys
5:00pm - Play with the boys
5:30pm - I cook dinner while the boys play
6:15pm - Family dinner
6:45pm - Family playtime (Nathan gets a bottle sometime before bed)
7:45pm - Get the boys ready for bed
8:00pm - Bedtime for the boys (Sometimes Nathan goes to bed earlier, sometimes Luke goes to bed later)
Lee and I have a flexible time until bedtime
11:00pm - Lee and I go to bed (that's the goal at least)

SUNDAY
7:30am - Lee, Luke, and I wake up, get ready, and make breakfast
8:00am - Nathan wakes up and we all eat breakfast together (I clean up the kitchen while he eats his Cheerios)
8:30am - Leave for church
9:00am - Sunday School
10:30am - Worship
12:00pm - Lee, Luke, Nathan, and I eat lunch
12:30pm - Drive home
1:00pm - Nathan naps, Luke naps/rests/has quiet time, and Lee and I have my down time (or do some dinner prep and/or chores)
4:00pm - I feed Nathan a bottle and Luke has video game time (he can earn up to 30 minutes a day)
4:30pm - Bathe the boys
5:00pm - Play with the boys
5:30pm - I cook dinner while the boys play
6:15pm - Family dinner
6:45pm - Family playtime (Nathan gets a bottle sometime before bed)
7:45pm - Get the boys ready for bed
8:00pm - Bedtime for the boys (Sometimes Nathan goes to bed earlier, sometimes Luke goes to bed later)
Lee and I have a flexible time until bedtime
11:00pm - Lee and I go to bed (that's the goal at least)

Harris Teeter Took My Lowes Foods Coupon

My awesome friend, Louise, informed me that Harris Teeter would take a $10 off $50 purchase coupon from Lowes Foods. How awesome since I don't shop at Lowes Foods much but shop at Harris Teeter a lot. Sure enough they took it. It is really smart for these companies to take competitors' coupons so you spend your $40 or more at their store instead of the competition.

Crockpot Chicken Stew

Crockpot Chicken Stew

Ingredients:
2lbs chicken breast, cut into 1in chunks
2-3 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cups chicken broth
Salt & pepper
Sage, basil, & parsley

Directions:
Put chicken on bottom of crockpot.
Put potatoes, carrots, and onions on top.
Pour chicken broth over.
Add salt, pepper, sage, basil, & parsley.
Cook on low heat for 4-5 hours.

Enjoy!

My Son Started Kindergarten Today

My son started kindergarten today. On my sister blog to this one, you can see pictures of his 1st day as well as pictures of our school room and what we are using for curriculum this year.

Check it out:
http://organizedhomeschooling.blogspot.com

:)

No Ricotta Crockpot Lasagna

You are probably wondering, why make a lasagna without ricotta? I know what you mean. I love lasagna the regular way. My husband doesn't care for ricotta cheese. So I decided to try to make a lasagna sans ricotta. My dear friend, Juli, gave me a recipe and said to omit the ricotta and see what happened. It turned out beautiful so I decided to share. Enjoy! :)

No Ricotta Crockpot Lasagna

Ingredients:
1lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 small pepper, chopped (I used a little bit of all colored peppers)
...A few cloves of garlic, minced
Some olive oil
1 bag (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese (divided in half)
Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 box no-cook lasagna noodles
2 jars pasta sauce (I used the Aldi brand and it is awesome)

Directions:
Saute the ground beef or turkey, onion, peppers, and garlic in olive oil until meat is thoroughly cooked.
Drain really really well.
Add eggs, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese (1 cup), and some Parmesan cheese and mix well.
In the crockpot, put 1 cup of sauce.
Put a layer of lasagna noodles (break to fit - doesn't have to be perfect).
Put a layer of the meat mixture.
Put a layer of sauce.
Repeat until you run out of supplies (make sure sauce is on top).
Add the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
Add some Parmesan cheese.
Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours (mine was done at this point).

A Busy Mom's Cookbook

What mom isn't busy, right? Between playing with kids, household chores, errands, playing taxi, church activities, sports, school, homework, and for some, working outside of the home, there never seems to be enough time in the day. I don't know about you, but something that plagued me for years was dinner.

There were days when I didn't think about it until 4:00pm and by then it was too late to thaw anything. Other days, I would lay something out like chicken and have no clue what to do with it. Then there are days (most days), that I don't have time to make an elaborate meal.

Going through cookbooks and even searching the Internet for recipes has always proven to be really frustrating, time consuming, and most of the time fruitless as the recipe would be really complicated, require lots of ingredients, and/or not turn out like the picture.

Over time I have come up with some tried-and-true recipes that my family loves, are not super expensive or complicated to make, and are generally pretty healthy. I have shared many on this site and enjoy doing so because I know that I always love to find a recipe that a real mom (not June Cleaver) has made and fed her family and gotten rave reviews over.

The idea has come to me that I should get recipes from other moms and compile a cookbook. The theme (or title) would be Real Moms' Tried-and-True Recipes. I would love to get as many as possible, type them up, and get the cookbook bound for people to purchase.

I WOULD NOT MAKE ANY PROFIT OFF OF THE COOKBOOKS. I would simply sell them for the cost of printing, binding, and shipping if required. I know I would love this and I feel others would as well.

If you are interested in this idea, please comment and/or email me at ashley-webber@hotmail.com. Let me know if you are interested in sharing recipes and/or interested in purchasing a cookbook.

:)

A Quick Tip for Spaghetti Sauce

If you are like me, you want to keep the dishes to a minimum when cooking dinner. I don't mind the cooking as much as the clean up. I try to look for ways to cut down on the dish washing (especially hand washing big things like pots and pans). Here is a tip for making spaghetti sauce:

Before:
Use 1 skillet to cook meat, peppers, and onions.
Use a pot for sauce.

After:
Use a big pot and cook the meat, peppers, and onions.
Add sauce to the pot once the meat, peppers, and onions are cooked.

This cuts my pot usage down to 1, uses less electricity since you aren't having to heat up two burners the whole time, and makes less mess (the grease doesn't pop all over the place, plus there isn't the difficulty of trying to pour a pan of meat into a pot of sauce.

Want to hear another trick?

After I cook my pasta, I go ahead and add it to the sauce as well to make it all stay good for that day and the days to come. Just make sure you cook the pasta al dente (AKA a little tender) so it doesn't get soggy.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
12oz (1 big bottle) Frank's Original Hot Sauce
16oz Regular Cream Cheese (not lowfat), set out at room temperature
8oz Ranch or Blue Cheese Salad Dressing (I use Ranch)
1 large can White Meat Chicken, drained and chopped
8oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring hot sauce and ranch dressing to a simmer over medium-low heat.
Add cream cheese and stir continuously until fully melted.
Add cheddar cheese and stir continuously until fully melted.
Add chicken and stir to combine.
Put in crockpot and heat on low OR put in a baking dish and bake at 350 until bubbling (she did the oven).
Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Another (and Better IMO) Pizza Dough Recipe

Pizza Dough Recipe: Ingredients: 1 cup whole-wheat flour 2 1/2 cups white flour 1 cup warm water 2 Tbsp honey 4 Tbsp olive oil Pinch of salt 3 pkg yeast Directions: Put everything in bread machine in order listed. Make dough on the "dough" cycle (takes roughly 90 minutes so plan ahead). Roll dough out on pizza pan or big baking sheet. Top with tomato sauce, pizza sauce, or traditional spaghetti sauce. Top with cheeses. Top with meats. Top with veggies. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Enjoy! :)