kids

Product Review~ Batter Blasters

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This morning I decided to try out my Batter Blasters. This is a product I wouldn’t normally buy due to my large family. But I saw a buy one get one (BOGO) deal plus had coupons making it a dirt cheap deal. So I thought “why not, sounds like fun.”

For those of you who don’t know what Batter Blasters are, they are pancake or waffle batter in a Redi-Whip type spray can. The price for one can is about $3.99. With my BOGO deal and coupons, I was able to get 2 cans for $1.99. But was it worth it?

The directions on the can state to shake can, turn upside down and push nozzle to spray batter on hot griddle or skillet.

I did this but the can didn’t state how much to put on the griddle so in my opinion the pancakes turned out a little small compared to what I usually make.

Another thing, the batter didn’t bubble up the pancake batter usually does, telling you it is time to turn so the first batch came out a little too dark for most of my family. Thank God for Bri who likes them dark!

I have 7 people in the house to feed breakfast too. So I didn’t think 1 can would be enough with the pancakes being smaller.  SO I got out the second can.

Half way through the second can, disaster struck! The spout wouldn’t quit spraying out batter and then it started sputtering and then it burped and then died. The spout wouldn’t do anything. I lost half a can of batter because of a packaging default.

The good news is while the can was uncontrollably spewing batter I moved the batter along the griddle enough to make my lil man a hummingbird pancake. He was thrilled!

In the end, the pancakes tasted good but the batter was very sticky and hard to flip over. The cans were fun until the volcano erupted then disappointing because my money went in the garbage. The pancakes came out significant smaller causing my large family to eat more and the leftovers were much less than if I made my homemade pancakes.

For my family this deal was not worth it. Maybe if I had younger kids, but I have 1 teenager and 2 preteens that eat like horses. So batter blasters is one item I won’t be buying again.

Homeschooling with a toddler part 2

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Part 1 talks about getting a schedule set for your older child that way you and her aren’t always wondering what’s next. And this also allows more time for you to play and be hands on with your toddler. With my toddler I have a toddler/preschool curriculum I bought (very cheap I might add) and I also use preschoolpalace.org and preschoolexpress.com to supplement.

At the beginning of the month I like to pick my themes and color for the month.

beginning of the month

I then go on the websites and through my own curriculum and pick out the activities that would interest Dakota.  Then take a blank monthly calendar and list one activity on each blank spot. I do not fill in the dates because that is not relevant to me. Basically I say these are the things I want to accomplish this month. Every morning I look at the calendar and say ok I have everything for this or I can fit this activity in between errands. As we do an activity I highlight it so I know what we have and haven’t done. Very simple and yet organizing. As you know life with a toddler is day to day. Today they could be sweet as pie and tomorrow their evil twin might show up. So with this kind of relaxing scheduling you can accommodate anything that life throws at you. Some days it is as simple as reading a specific story. Those are good on days when your toddler isn’t feeling well.

Also at the beginning of the month I like to hang up our theme posters on Dakota’s bulletin board. That shows Dakota pictures of what we are learning along with our color poster for the color of the month. Throughout the month as we do an activity I like to hang some of them on his board so everyone can see and he can show everyone. Sometimes it spills over onto the refrigerator because what Mom doesn’t have a refrigerator full of art.

Dakota’s board

By the end of the month our board is full and we take it all down saving some things of course and getting it ready for the next month.

Breakfast for Dinner

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Some days are absolutely crazy in a large family.  Some days I am trying to get so much done that I forget about dinner, or to read the recipe and make sure I have all the ingredients and also how much time it takes to cook. This is me scatter brained (but what’s new).

I hate when I get home from my bus run (some days 3:45pm and some days 4:15pm) and listen to the question what’s for dinner! When I am in a pinch like this I try (and fail) not to do the whole fast food thing. Well this past week I ran into one of those days. And what did I do? Take a look at the picture……

 

I made breakfast. Homemade pancakes which only take a few minutes. And defrosted some bacon and fried it up! Yum Breakfast for dinner is Heaven! By the way I make 30 pancakes with the hopes of having some left over for another breakfast for my 2 youngest kids. This day I walked away with 7 left over. THAT’S ENOUGH FOR 3 KIDS!

Homeschooling with a toddler part 1

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Homeschooling a middle schooler while having a toddler at home can be VERY challenging. My son would very happy watching Toy Story 2 (has to be 2) or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse all day long but it makes me feel guilty! So I decided that there has to be some kind of compromise on homeschooling my older child while homeschooling my youngest. I needed to be organized, not my strongest area. But it was the only way to quiet my guilt and make me feel like a supermom.

First was getting my daughter on a set schedule. This way she knew what to expect and I knew what was coming next. I sat down wrote out all the subjects and then wrote out our timeline. Because we do have 2 other kids in Public School we have to finish by the time I go on my afternoon bus run. Now this is our second schedule, I had to some tweeking. I originally had math as our first subject because this is one she struggles with and I thought that if it was the first subject of the day she would feel refreshed and understand it better. But after many weeks of stressing because our schedule was being thrown off I moved it to our last subject of the day. This gives her the whole rest of the day to work on it ( if need be) and I am not stressing her out saying we need to move on.

At first we had Mondays off but my hubby didn’t like that. Another long story…..

One these days I promise I will tell all my long stories.

Okay back to Mondays. So on Mondays we do a review of what we learned the week before. Which makes sense to me more than Friday reviews because chances are they are going to forget over the weekend not from Monday to Friday when you have been working on for 5 days straight. Plus my youngest daughter gets out an hour early from public school.

Tuesday and Wednesday we wrap up everything as far as me teaching by 2:30 pm. I go for my bus run and my daughter stays working on math if need be.

Thursday and Friday, my youngest has tutoring so I don’t have to leave until 3 pm to get my oldest. That gives us and extra 1/2 hour so we try to fit in Music, Art and Clickschooling.

Then I factored in when my son would take a nap and also when lunch would be so I could schedule the more hands on lessons during that time. I also put a more hands off subject the hour before lunch which would give me time to make a healthy lunch (no sandwiches here, well maybe once in a while).

Yes I still have to stop and give the assignment and possibly teach a lesson or two but I am not sitting here dumbfounded going UMMMMMM when asked what’s next. We both had the schedule right in front of us and could easily look ahead of time and prep.

Part 1 accomplished!

Instant Grow~ Large Family

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ABOUT ME~

 

I did not acquire a large family the traditional way. First I had a child in my teens. Then I fell in love and married in my 20’s a man who had 2 kids. We adopted each other’s kids to make it legal. 6 years later we were pregnant with our first child together. 2 years later my grandmother moved because my grandfather had went into a nursing home.  So this is my Instant Grow Large Family. The kids ages range from 2-13. And we are raising all of them on a shoestring budget that my hubby brings in being self-employed. I am homeschooling 1 of my daughters and the other two choose to go to public school. And my little man is gearing up for his first year of toddler school as he will be homeschooled as well.

 

 

ABOUT THIS BLOG~

What do I hope you will find on this blog? A little bit of everything. Recipes, frugal tips, life learning lessons because we are all still learning, funny stories about our life as a large family, homeschooling activities and household management. So please have patience with me as I am new to this whole blogging thing.

Raising my kids…..

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Sometimes being around my kids can be very trying. I am not gonna lie. There are days when I am like that’s it; I have lost all sanity; why did I have all these kids? Okay most days are like that. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have a boy who is a toddler just hitting terrible twos and testing the waters with his parents. I have an 11-year-old daughter who is special needs with ODD, ADHD, language and speech delays and sometimes acts worse than my 2-year-old. I have a 12-year-old daughter who is a peacemaker and honestly an emotional wreck. Say the wrong thing and the tears flow. Then I have a teen, my 13 almost 14-year-old daughter, who prefers to lock herself in her room with her TV than spend time with the family.

But like I said I wouldn’t have it any other way. AND the crazy part is I would like to have one more. We aren’t perfect like the Duggars with the best kids in the world. But they are MY kids and with all their quirks and craziness; I love them with all my heart!

Even the weeks where I feel like I can’t catch my breath, it’s 9pm and just realized there is no milk in the house and my kids are running around acting like I fed them sugar for dinner. Even when my sanity is gone, my patience is tried and at the end of my rope. I wouldn’t change a thing! And to those who say I don’t know how you do it? I say I don’t know how not to do it.

This is me….. This is my life….. and the rollercoaster ride that comes with it…….Hang on and Enjoy the ride!

Jeanette