Large Family Good Eats – Recipe Sources

Do you have a large family?

We have a large family. We have five children and visiting grandparents to feed most nights. That works out to roughly 9 people on any given night for dinner and sometimes through out the day. We have allergies in the family too (dairy, egg, and nuts). I have made it my mission to transform recipes to be free of our daughter’s allergens and still not break the budget.

As I set out to plan my menu for the week, I decided it was high time to gather a collection of resources for recipes. These recipe places were selected because of their “large family or crowd” appeal, not because of the lack of allergens (just a caution to you if you have allergies).

If you have  a large family (whatever that means to you) or you need to cook for a crowd, check out these amazing links.

What is your favorite “large” recipe? Please share…

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I climbed a castle guarded by…

the pirate from Peter Pan, a Rescue Hero, and a Playmobil Knight.

I climbed the castle to get into the shower!

You know you are a mother of boys when you go into the bathroom and find a battle scene. At any given moment, some room in my house has a battle scene being set up. I am getting used to it, but I still don’t like stepping on those little green army men.

This afternoon the living room floor was completely covered from one end to the other with pattern blocks. It wasn’t a mess, it was a carefully constructed war scene by my six year old (Malachi). He played out the battle over several hours complete with sound effects. Moms of boys know what I am talking about when I mention sound effects, right?

Sound effects abound in our house. Our house is loud. I don’t know how to make it quiet (I really wish that I could turn down the volume some days). I think boys are just loud (we have 4 boys and 1 girl). Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that girls can be loud too (I have one, remember). My personal experience is that girls are social (and chatty) while boys make sound effects (noise that doesn’t always make sense).

My boys love chatting too. I have one (Elisha) that will share facts all day long (and late into the night), if you let him. I have another (Moses) that has a fictional character and story he has created and their adventures are endless (the creativity, wow!). I have yet another (Malachi) who loves to share his stories. My boys love chatting, but I think they love making noise with their mouths more.

There have been times where I have mentioned to friends that my son (Moses) was in his room blowing up and people asked me what was wrong. There was nothing wrong… he just goes into his room and makes blowing up noises and plays out the scenes in his head. He used to do this all over the house, but we have trained him now to go to his room when he feels the need to “blow up.”  It’s like the stories are in there just waiting to get out and he can’t help himself (yes, we are working on self control).

Zion (almost 2) is a boy of a few words. He is a deep thinker. He gets your attention when he needs to be heard, but quietly minds his business. Hosanna (almost 2) is going to be a social butterfly and a chatterbox. She is always coming and chattering with everyone and is picking up more new words each day.

I climbed over a castle to get into the shower and was reminded how unique our children are and how much we love their individuality and their original characteristics. I think God really knew what he was doing when he gave us these children. Each one brings a special flavor to the mix. The house just wouldn’t be the same without the endless documentaries, the story telling, the battle scenes, or the distant sounds of blowing up.

So, I am curious… do your boys make sound effects?

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TOS Firefighter Review

WannaBe Series

When I grow up, I want to be… A Firefighter

This down-loadable e-book begins with an interesting introduction to the history of firefighting. There are detailed descriptions and very good explanations of the equipment that firefighters use. The definitions for the difficult words were easily found in the footnotes and colorful pictures were placed throughout. I love how this e-book takes interesting (but related) bunny trails into things like building codes and robotic arms.

There is a wonderful, first person narrative from the point of view of a firefighter which gives an excellent portrayal of what it is like to be a firefighter. So, what does it take to get a job as a firefighter? You will find out if you read this book.

But wait…

There is more: including worksheets, copy-work, coloring sheets, suggested related verses, theme ideas, answer keys, and additional resource lists.

I was impressed with how jam packed this book was with activities and I really liked the easy to read (and use) print and go format.  I was very impressed with the factual information and the amount of research that went into this product.

My oldest son read the materials independently and completed the work that I selected for him. He found it an interesting read and we had a great discussion after. The younger boys and I will cover this material later in the term when we cover fire safety. I am looking forward to using the materials with them.

Product Description

Title: When I grow up, I want to be… A Firefighter
Series: Wannabe Series (There are currently 10 books in this series)
E-book: 82 pages
Ages: 4-10
Price: $8.95

Publisher:

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC
PO Box 8426
Gray, TN 37615
Phone: 1-888-718-HOME
http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com

Disclosure: I was provided a free copy of this e-book for review purposes. The opinions in this post are my honest evaluation of this product.

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Special Needs – Sensory Resources

We have Special Needs children in our home…

Our oldest child has Autism (Aspergers) and ADHD. All of our children have sensory issues to varying degrees. A few of our children have fine motor issues (and struggle with putting pen to paper). We have a child with eczema and kids with allergies (one child has an EpiPen which we have never had to use – thankfully!).

Each week, on Fridays, I want to focus on a different aspect of Special Needs. There are so many resources and pieces of information that I want to share with you, but all in due time. Today’s post is about Sensory Resources. I love looking at catalogs to get ideas. I have created a list of my favorite Special Needs Catalogs. You can get amazing ideas from the catalogs below to create your own sensory experiences at home.

Do you know of any other great Special Needs Catalogs?

What aspect of Special Needs do you need more resources for?

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Using Your Talents To Make A Difference

My husband and I were having a discussion this morning about sunflowers…

He mentioned that sunflowers always grow towards the sun. I pondered that thought for a while and then I had this idea pop into my head, “No matter where you are planted you need to grow towards the Son and He will cause you to bloom.” Our goal at Sunflower Schoolhouse is to help you grow towards the Son. No matter what your circumstances or situation, if you look to Him, He will cause you to bloom. We would like to use our gifts and talents to encourage you in your walks as mamas, papas, and homeschool families.

I came downstairs to have my coffee and read the mail and I discovered an inspiring article in the Spring 2010 Mission Gateway magazine and just had to share it with you. There was this story about a sweet, little old lady named Wilma Saunders (link opens to PDF article). She was a lady who used her talents to make a difference. She made dolls. She wanted the dolls to go to Africa and did what she could to find someone to take them. This amazing lady created about 70 dolls a month that ended up going all over the world. I was very saddened to read that she had died, but I was inspired to find out more information about her. I googled her (doesn’t everyone do that?). Here is what I found.

You can also visit the website INTERCEDE NOW and subscribe to MISSION GATEWAY if you like.

In making free downloads and information available to you on Sunflower Schoolhouse, I am using my talents and my gifts to make a difference. Over and over, I have been told that these are a blessing to you (thank you for your kind words) and I want to continue to be a blessing to you.  We want to continue to use our gifts and talents to bless you, so please let us know if you need anything (even if it is just a listening ear).

How are you using your talents to make a difference?

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