Speaking from the Heart

To Do List:

• Begin school at 8:00 every morning
• Begin new Bible Study with Life Group on Wednesday
• Check out Classical Conversations for 2008-2009 school year
• Do laundry on Monday and Thursday
• Iron Clothes
• Go to Natural Health Food Store for Super Tuesday
• Buy birthday gift
• Return Little House on the Prairie DVDs to Library
• keep track of kids' school work, less blogging
• Pay Bills & do expense report for husband
• Soccer practice on Tuesday
• Homeschool P.E. & choir on Wednesday
• Skating and child swapping on Friday
• Make it a priority to exercise at least 3 times this week

Children In Training: Do assignments with a good attitude, and don't ask "why do I have to do all of this".

Weekly menu: See weekly menu tab

To Do List:

• Clean the house thoroughly
• keep track of kids' school work, less blogging
• Make sure daughter finishes her story for Florida Studio Writing contest
• Speech and soccer practice on Tuesday
• Homeschool P.E. & choir on Wednesday
• Make it a priority to exercise at least 3 times this week

Children In Training: Do assignments with a good attitude, and don't ask "why do I have to do all of this".

Weekly menu: See weekly menu tab

Our family has never maintained a healthy weight. Because of my poor eating habits and lack of exercise, I am suffering from high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I want my kids to be in better health when they are my age. For the next twelve weeks, Our family lifestyle (dining and recreation) is going under construction. Hopefully, this change will last a lifetime for dear husband and me, as well as for the kids.

I have been doing some research, and have found this book to be very helpful.

by Melinda S. Sothern, T. Kristian Von Almen, & Heidi Schumacher

Note: This review is taken from keepkidshealthy.com

Parents can usually recognize when their kids are overweight and they basically know what they have to do to help them reach a more healthy weight, namely eat healthier and exercise more.

And when they see their doctor, that is the basic advice that they get. Diet. Exercise. No more fast food. No more snacks. No soda.

But making those changes isn't usually easy and they are even harder to stick to, so overweight kids usually stay overweight, eventually becoming overweight adults who might have to try The Atkins Diet or South Beach Diet.

Trim Kids, The Proven 12-Week Plan That Has Helped Thousands of Children Achieve a Healthier Weight, is the perfect book for parents of overweight kids. The only thing better would be if your child could particpate in a Pediatric Weight Management Clinic, like the ones the authors worked in as they developed their program and wrote this book.

Like other weight management books, Trim Kids talks about healthy nutrition and encourages exercise, but it adds an important component that is missing from many other books, and that is behavior modifcation. By learning to modify the behaviors that led your child to become overweight, you will help him lose weight and keep it off.

Before starting the program, you will learn about 'basic rules for healthy eating', including:

• eating fewer high calorie snack foods, fast food, sodas, and fruit drinks
• not overeating
• consuming less sugar
• avoiding foods high in saturated fats and hydrogenated fats and eating only moderate amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
• increasing the amount of fiber in your child's diet
  buying healthier foods and not keeping 'temptation foods' in the house

You will also learn 'fun' ways to get your kids to be more active, such as dancing around during TV commercials and only talking on the phone while she is walking around. Trim Kids will also help you to come up with a 'formal exercise routine' for your child and help you get him motivated to be more active.

And you will learn about gradually 'making behavioral and lifestyle changes'.

What I liked best about Trim Kids is that it describes a formal program with step by step instructions on what you should be doing to help your child lose weight. In the first week, you will learn some 'rules of eating' and how to set your goals for the program.

Each week, you will also start some new exercises and starting in week 2, you will get weekly menu tips and recipes to help plan what your child will be eating.

Other great resources include:

• an activity diary
• a portion control table and list of portion sizes to help you control the size of your child's meals
• a list of the amount of calories burned during various activities and exercises
• instructions on how to record your child's resting and active heart rate
• advice on improving your child's self image and self-esteem
  tips on increasing your child's physical activity level

Trim Kids is a great book for parents of overweight kids to help the whole family adopt a healthy lifestyle of healthier eating and regular exercise. Unlike other 'diet' books and fad diets, the Trim Kids program teaches 'lifetime weight management'.

Since weight management clinics for children aren't widely available and many Pediatricians don't have a lot of training in helping kids lose weight, Trim Kids will likely be your best alternative if your child is overweight. If you don't think that you can do the program yourself, you might ask your Pediatrician for help. Visits every one to two weeks, reviewing the Trim Kids' Weekly Checklists, Report and Goal Sheets, Aerobic Activity and Food Checklists, and Strength and Flexibility Workout Charts, can help both you and your child stay motivated and stick with the program.

It has been awhile since I've joined Tackle It Tuesday. I've been running around and neglecting my home. I have good intentions of cleaning it. However, by the time I am finishing teaching the kids and cook dinner, I am pooped. Therefore, I am going to daily implement


This week, I am going to concentrate on the entrance, foyer, and living room closet.

• Make sure the entrance to your home is clear and accessible.
  Visitors to your home get their first impressions of you from the entranceway. Make certain your front door, porch, steps, and other nearby areas are neat, so they speak well of you. (p.65)
• Keep your foyer clear of clutter. The foyer serves a a transition zone from the outside to the interior of your home. To make guests feel welcome, this area should be neat, clear, and inviting. Obstacles in your foyer make it difficult for visitors to move into the other parts of your home. (p. 66)
• Clean out a closet in your living room (this is my favorite one). Closets symbolilzes the hidden parts of ourselves. When you clean out and neatly organize a closet, you demonstrate your willingness to remove old attitudes, habits and behavior patterns that can cause confusion or blockages in your life. Because the living room is the place where socializing often takes place, cleaning out a closet can improve your social life. This cure also can have a positive effect on your public image and your interaction with other people in general. (pp. 67-68)

Bible Study: Chapter 5 of When Godly People do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore.

Homeschool To Do List:

• Communications for Christ Speech Class
• Make flash cards for literature terms
• Focus on finishing syllabus by Friday

I am grateful that my dear husband allowed me to be a Stay-at-Home Mom . Therefore, I must do the following without grumbling:

• Exercise: Mom- walk a mile a day with Leslie Sansone (DVD). Kids- Homeschool Physical Education
• Make meals (Sorry no Menu Plan Monday this week. I'm running behind)
• Pay bills
• Clean the classroom
• Continue to clean out filing cabinet(After being on "to do list" for 4 weeks, I finally completed the task as of Monday, 11:28 AM)
• Daily Blogging: Husband Encouragement Challange, Monday Meanderings, Tackle It Tuesday , Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, and Show & Tell Friday.

Training them up: Be more sensitive to other's feelings. More praises.

Prayer Requests:

• Karen's and Sarah's pregnancies
• Life Group leader's son is in the hospital ( don't know the detail)

Tips: Burn more calories in your daily activities. These little steps can burn up a few more calories.

• Instead of going to the first stall in public bathroom, go to the last stall.
• Park far away from the store

For more Monday Meanderings, click on the clipart.

Bible Study: When Godly People do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore.

To Do List:

• Plan Communications for Christ Speech Class
• Kids' doctor appointments
• Skating with homeschool organization
• Exercise: Mom- walk a mile a day with Leslie Sansone (DVD). Kids- Homeschool Physical Education
• Do last load of laundry & clean house by Friday.*
• Prepare to teach dear son algebra 2, & dear daughter Pages in My Head Reading 5

Training them up: More praises and less insults towards one another. insults

• Monday- chicken & pinto beans
• Tuesday- Spaghetti pork chops
• Wednesday- Egg Noodle Lasagna
• Thursday- Slow cooked Mac~n~cheese, spinach, grilled chicken
• Friday- Salmon wrap
• Saturday & Sunday- left over *

* Except for dinner dishes, I seldom clean, cook or do laundry on weekends. It is my resting time.

For more Moday Meanderings & Menu Plan Monday, click on the cliparts.

Bible Study: When Godly People do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore.

To Do List:

• Move 2007 documents (receipts, bills, medical records, etc) from current filing cabinet to an archived cabinet (I didn't get a chance to do it last week)
• Mail kids' first semester academic reports to their umbrella school
• Attend two schooltime performances: The Playmaker's Tour & Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major
• Take kids to participate in Homeschool Spelling Bee
• Homeschool small group birthday celebration
• Exercise: Mom- walk a mile a day with Leslie Sansone (DVD). Kids- Homeschool Physical Education

Training them up: It seems like lately my darlings have forgotten how to say "thank you".

More recipes from Taste of Home Slow Cooker Classics

• Monday- French Bread, Salad, Chili
• Tuesday- Beef ~n~ Beans
• Wednesday- Spaghetti (instead of ground beef, I use chicken breasts with spaghetti sauce covered with Mozarella cheese), salad
• Thursday- Slow-cooked coffee pot roast
• Friday- Beef Burgendy, Rice, salad

For more Moday Meanderings & Menu Plan Monday, click on the cliparts.

We've been in school for a week. Hopefully, this week will run smoother. It was hard to return to schooling, after a month off. For a review of my first week back to school, read Do we have to Start School Today?

This week. I hope to accomplish the following:

• Print pictures for yearbook and family
• Clean filing cabinet. Move 2007 documents (receipts, bills, medical records, etc) to another cabinet
• Get babyshower & birthday gifts

Bible Study: Try to do a lesson a day of When Godly People do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore

Exercise: walk a mile with Leslie Sansone DVD ( 3 times a week)

Training them up: A penny saved is a penny earned .

I have simplified my life by utilizing my slow cooker as often as possible. The main dishes in the following menu can be found in Taste of Home Slow Cooker Classics.

• Monday: Beef Burgendy, Rice, salad


• Tuesday: Golden Chicken & Noodles


• Wednesday: Chicken with stuffing


• Thursday: Herbed Chicken & Shrimp


• Friday: Beef in Mushroom Gravy, cheesy spinach, mashed potatoes, salad

Note:

• Click on Beef Burgendy and cheesy spinach for the recipes.
  
• For more Moday Meanderings & Menu Plan Monday, click on the Monday Meandering cliparts.

If you would like to participate in Tackle It Tuesday or to see other participants, Click on the icon.

I've been homeschooling my son for 7 years and my daughter for 5 years. As you homeschool moms know, we have to keep our kids' schoolwork for accountability.

My Tackle It Tuesday for this week is to store their schoolwork in a big bin.

If you would like to participate in Monday Meanderings, to visit Tiany's blog, Less of Me~More of Him, or to see other Monday Meanderings participants, Click on the icon.

Bible Study- When Godly People do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore.

Must Do:

• Monday: Busch Gardens


• Tuesday: Christmas cookie exchange & Christmas performance at a nursing home
  
• Wednesday: Clean house, grocery shopping, get ready for company


• Thursday: shopping with grandma, start planning Christmas dinner


• Friday: skating, pick up uncle from airport

Train Them Right- We must be alert of what we do , because little eyes are watching us. Our children are more likely to imitate our bad habits faster than our good ones.

I am retraining my kids to have only one serving per meal. Not until I had to change my eating habit, did I realized that I was unconsciously training my kids that it was a mandatory to have a second serving.

If you would like to participate in Menu Plan Monday or to seee other Monday Meanderings participants, Click on the icon.

Monday: Chili (excellent for dinner in a winter day in Florida)

Tuesday: Broiled salmon, salad & pasta

Wednesday: Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad

Thursday: Hot chicken wings, beans, cole slaw, potato salad

Friday: Bourbon chicken & fried rice

Sour Cream Drops

Christmas cookies
Yields: 2 1/2 Dozen

Ingredients

1/4 cup Shortening
3/4 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 cup Sour cream
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup All purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon Baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Instructions
In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add egg, sour cream and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture. Chill for at least 1 hour. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 425 degrees for 7 ot 8 minutes or until lightlybrowned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Burnt Sugar Frosting:
2 tablespoon butter (no substitute)
1/2 cup confectioners Sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 teaspoons hot water

For frosting, melt butter in a small saucepan until golden brown; stir in the sugar, vanilla and enough water to achieve spreading consistency. Frost cooled cookies.

After signing on with "Tackle It Tuesday, I've been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. So far, I have tackled 3 closets, and I am not ready to stop.

I don't know what overcame me last Thursday. When I woke up that morning, I wanted to clean my refrigerator. That was a rare moment, because cleaning and decluttering are not in my vocabulary.

My husband doesn't recognize me, but he loves the change. The new me reminds him of his grandmother, who made out a daily "to do" list. She didn't believe in cluttering. When my dear husband was a young boy, one of his old toys mysteriously disappeared, everytime he received a new toy.

Back to business, tackling the hall closet.

before

After

Bible Study- When Godly People do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore.

Must Do:

• Finish week one of When Godly People do Ungodly Things before Wednesday night Bible Study Class.
• Clean classroom
• Practice Communicators for Christ Christmas play
• Steam-vac carpet
• Dust and vaccuum living room
• Filter VHS videos

Train Them Right- Carry out an instruction, as directed. Don't alter it because it is incovenient.

Monday: Parmesan chicken, green beans, salad

Tuesday: Salmon, Asian Salad

Wednesday: Chicken Caccitorie

Thursday: Bourbon Chicken, fried rice

Friday: Left-over

Ingredient :

• 3 cups sweet potato -- cooked and mashed
• 2 each eggs -- beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter

Topping :

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar 1
• 1 can chopped nuts .

Instructions:

• Mix potatoes, sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, and butter together and pour into a greased 9x13 inch casserole.


• Cream butter, brown sugar, flour, and nuts. Sprinkle on top of sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping. **** Easy recipe software. Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com/ **

I braved myself to conquer a place where I have never considered of cleaning .... My Pantry

After

Thank you, Tiany for hosting Monday Meanderings. Last week was my first week as a member. With the list on my hands, I was able to accomplish many chores (i.e, cleaning the kitchen, dusting and polishing furniture) that I have been avoiding for many years. I was even motivated to clean out my pantry .

Bible Study- I hope I will be better this week, as I start study in When Godly People do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore. I definitely have to get my priorities straight. My pastor always remind us that an idol isn't necessary a statue, but is something (blogging, computer, TV, eating, etc) that takes away our time from God.

Must Do- Christmas cards and gifts are in the mail. I must push the kids to complete their schoolwork from last week. Exercise at least 3 times this week.

Zones:

• Mom's Zone: Clean classroom -put away textbooks, vaccuum floor, dust desk, ceiling fan, computer, clean marsh board.
• Kids' Zones:
• Monday: Kitchen--> wipe down adjacent doors, cabinets, appliances, & countertop, vaccuum floor, take out the trash.
• Tuesday: Den & Dining Room -> Vaccuum, dust furniture, clean window ledges & windows, mirrors, picture frames, clean baseboards.
• Wednesday: Put up Christmas Tree and all the trimming
• Thursday: Clean the fridge
  

• Train Them Right- paying attention to detail in all tasks. Go back and check before claiming that the job is done.

Tip of the Week: If you are in a financial bind, and you can't resist the temptations to buy something for yourself, don't look at the Sunday Sale flyers. You don't know what you are missing or what you think you need, if you don't look at them.

• Monday: Bourbon Chicken with broccoli, fried rice
• Tuesday: lemon Garlic chicken, garlic and olive oil vermicelli, aspargus, salad
• Wednesday: shells and white cheddar cheese tu na casserole, green beans, salad
• Thursday (Kids' cooking night) - B.B.Q. Chicken, steamed broccolli, green beans, baked potatoes, double fudge brownies
• Friday: hamburger and fries with vegetables on the side
• Saturday: Stir-fry beef and noodles with salad
• Sunday: left-overs

Broccoli Casserole has become a traditional dish for our Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinners.

Broccoli Casserole

• 1 Lb. frozen broccoli flowerets - prepared as directed 1 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

-= Instructions =-

Mix broccoli, soup, and ¼ cup cheese in 2 quart casserole dish.- top casserole with remainder of the cheese or more, if preferred. -Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

My goal is to go through Katherine's clothes, and get rid of clothes that don't fit her.

Before (Please ignore the date, I forgot to reset it on Saturday, November 24, 2007)

After (please ignore the date. I forgot to reset it when I took the pictures on Saturday November 24, 2007)