Homemaking on the Homestead

I've had some computer issues so blogging has been spotty.. I hope to be up and running with a new computer this week and back to blogging a little more consistently!! :) Monday Sub sandwiches, chips & dip, fresh fruit platter Tuesday Salad bar @ home, dinner rolls, watermelon Wednesday Homemade pizza Thursday Leftovers Friday Spaghetti, french bread, salad Saturday Crockpot orange and coconut chicken, brown rice, salad (did not make this last week so I'll try again this week!) Sunday Leftovers

I received a comment on a previous article I'd written: “ My Homeschooling Advice to my Daughter ”. I was going to reply to her in the comment section but my reply got so long that I decided to share my thoughts on a blog post. ~smile~ Here was the comment/question: “This was my approach to homeschooling too. My girls are now 9 and 6, and I'm worried about how to homeschool for the next 10 years. I don't know if I have it in me to homeschool for the next 10 years, and I don't know if I would do a good enough job preparing them for college. A future veterinarian and doctor.... as a mother who has "been there, done that" I hope you'll share your insight.” When I began homeschooling my kids I honestly never worried about the next year or the next and certainly not 10 years. You see I felt that God had led us to homeschool our children. It became and still is a matter of conviction. I determined in my mind th...

Life has settled down and I was able to get a menu made for this week!! ~smile~ .. Monday Crockpotchili , cornbread , salad Tuesday Bbq hamburgers, potato salad , watermelon Wednesday Kielbasa sauteed with onions & mushrooms, garlic bread, salad Thursday Leftovers Friday Crockpot orange and coconut chicken, brown rice, salad Saturday DeliciousItalian Casserole , salad Sunday Leftovers

Life is moving forward with baby steps. My son is home from the hospital and getting stronger each day, praise God!! He has a follow up appointment in a couple of weeks and then we will plan for surgery. Thank you all for your kind words and prayers. It has been a busy stressful week for sure. I mentioned in my last blog post about quick easy meals. I really could not do fast food for my family. We are not fast food people and the cost would have been ridiculous. So I was scrambling to come up with quick food to prepare in the short amount of time I had at home. One meal that I learned about from a friend is called, Summer Pasta. This meal was so easy and quick. In fact I've made it a couple times now. You can find the recipe here:  http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/2013/06/easy-one-pot-pasta-recipe-and-cooking.html#.U8nkjbHa8dW   What I liked about the recipe was that I could have dinner on the table in 20 minutes. The one big chang...

I've been 'Missing In Action'! What a July this has been. Since Friday I've been traveling back and forth to the hospital (about an hour away) for my youngest son. All last week he told me his right side hurt. Due to him having done a lot physical activity I thought maybe a pulled muscle? But to rule anything else out I took him to the doctors office. They checked him out and said it was a pulled muscle and sent us home with a prescription for anti inflammatory meds. Two days later he was much worse and had a temperature. It was an effort to walk from his room to the couch. I took him back to the doctors and they sent me to the Children's Hospital in the city. After exams and a CT scan it revealed he had a ruptured appendix. He is currently still in the hospital and doing better each day. We are hoping he will be home in a couple days. Surgery is then planned for him in about 4 to 6 weeks. Procedures have changed over the years an...

I experimented over the weekend with a new soap recipe. I really liked the way it turned out. I used herbal tea for the liquid. It was a mix of green tea and peppermint tea bags. Before you attempt to make soap please be knowledgeable about soap making procedures and safety using lye. If you’ve never made soap before I have step by step instructions on my website ( The Family Homestead ). I also give a list of supplies needed to make soap and links on where to find oils, scent oils, and lye. I also have and ebook on making cold process soap.  I go through the whole process, step by step, with pictures:  http://crystalscountrystore.com/handmadesoapebook.htm  This is a hot process soap recipe. Any cold process soap recipe can be made with the ‘hot process’ method. Just be sure to use the larger amount of water/liquid (most cold process recipes give you a range of how much liquid to use). I make my hot process soap in my crockpot. I often get asked the qu...

Monday Turkey sandwiches, chips & dip, coleslaw Tuesday Crockpot honey & dijon mustard chicken , brown rice, salad Wednesday Chicken, bacon salad, french bread, watermelon Thursday Baked chicken, potato salad, veggie platter Friday Sour cream enchiladas (chicken or beef.. have yet to decide), tortillas chips & salsa, salad Saturday Bbq burgers, watermelon, cheesecake & ice cream (hubby's bday) Sunday Spaghetti, french bread, salad  

You have to know when you don’t hear from me in several days it is because my life has been crazy busy… and blogging takes a back seat to living in the moment. And what a week it has been! The most precious thing that happened this week is that my hubby and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary… Wow.. I think we were both in shock to realize we’d been married 30 years! We spent time reminiscing and reflecting on God’s blessing on our lives. I love this man more today than ever before. He has been an amazing husband. He has held me when I cried, cheered me on when I succeeded in personal goals, we’ve worked together to reach so many goals in our life. We made 8 amazing babies who’ve grown (and are growing) into amazing adults. Our start in life was so rocky.. and I’ve felt like our life was nothing short of an example of God’s grace, love and blessings. When we met neither of us were Christians. I was 16, living with my mother and step father who were both alcoholi...