Summer Goals

Dinner Nights- Tues thru Thurs the boys will be in charge of helping with dinner.  That means the week before they need to decided what they are making so that when I shop on Friday I can get ingredients.

Library events- I want to take the boys to lots of events at the library this year like the special ones about dragonflies, etc.  And of course, sign up for the reading program

Reading Programs-  Speaking of which there are lots of reading programs- Barnes and Nobles, Half Price Books, library.  Every day as part of their chores they need to read at least 20 minutes.  We're going to have a Reading log and they need to fill this out for at least one book a week.  The log will ask the following questions:
What is the title and author?
Who are the characters?
What type of book is this?  (nonfiction, mystery, historical fiction, etc)
What is the conflict?
How is the conflict resolved?
What was your favorite part of the book?
Did you like this book?  Why or why not?
Summarize the story.
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highly recommend) how would you recommend this book?

Exploration- Every week I want to focus on a different topic.  Throughout the week we will check out books about the topic, find info on the web about it, do activities and organize what we learn into a notebook.  There will be certain questions they need to answer in their notebooks to write about it.  They can draw, cut out pictures, etc. to include as well.  Some of the topics we will take field trips to learn more about.  Topics: dinosaurs, diamonds, the moon, bees, butterflies,

International Dinner- Once a month we will visit a foreign country and eat what they would eat.  I will let the boys pick what country they want to visit.

Art- I would like to have some art projects (once a week?).  I also want to frame the art they've already done and hang it up nicely in our play room.

Day trips- (On top of our longer planned vacations) 50 cent movies, beach, Brazos Bend, Lone Ranger Train?, Austin, Outdoor Theatre, Science Museum- free night, zoo

Schedule- Quiet Time everyday between 1-3 in their room to let Evie get  a nap and Mom accomplish things or take a nap, too. :)  After 3 we can play with friends, go swimming, have media time, etc.  I would like to start out quiet time with Mommy reading hour right after lunch I want to read out loud to them for 30 minutes.  During lunch I would like to read part of For the Strength of Youth and repeat the articles of faith.  (I'm kind of thinking backwards here.)  Breakfast will probably be whenever they get up and are ready so no set time.  But I do want to have some sort of exercise in the morning.  I haven't figured out how that will work yet.

Bored?  Do indexing!!!  Dallas said he wants to learn to do this this summer.

Chores:  Once they finish chores they can one hour of media time- computer games, cartoons, Wii.  Watching another play counts as their time!  Here are the chores:
Dress, teeth
Make beds (do better job)
Put away clothes
Weed 100 weeds or do garden chore or Trim under trampoline
Read 20 mins, Fill out reading log once a week
Practice piano
Do vocab practice on computer
Do TEA website
2 a week work on Exploration Notebook
2 a week do a WS page from school books

Piano lessons:  I am going to teach all my lessons, including Dallas and Levi on Mondays.  I have some goals for my students:  1 Min Race; Banana Split practice incentive; Recital in July; Find Curriculum about ear training and study; Visit music store to find some fun sheet music

Marriage:  Plan weekly dates; Have Sunday night planning/companion study

Personal:  Get 3 month food storage; 30 minutes a day in my scriptures;  I want to do strength training and 30 minutes a day exercise; Eat more protein and less sugar- Drink a green smoothie everyday; Practice my piano, too; Make more homemade bread; Stick to a budget; Finish my sewing projects; Continue to keep up the blog; Plan fall garden and start seeds

Thinking ahead...Future Garden Plans

This year I thinned out my strawberries big time.  I'd grown sugar snap peas around a teepee trellis in the garden where I grow my strawberries and I only had a few strawberry plants left at the beginning of spring.  Now the entire bed is covered with plants.  I took out 20 or so plants to put in the holes of my cinder blocks but they just keep making runners and multiplying.  We have gotten quite a few strawberries, too.  I put some in pots and those have done okay.  They haven't made all that many strawberries.  I think it was beneficial to thin the plants some.  Next year I should probably add some compost to the bed.  I also need to remember to cut off the runners from the parent plants so that they put their energy into making berries instead of runners.

This fall I want to plant more dill to let flower.  Especially in the front flower beds.  I also want to plant basil in the front this summer and lots of chard and kale in the front flower bed this winter.  

Kale Salad

My friend made this delicious kale salad for us one night.  Kale does fabulously in my garden so it's nice to have some good recipes to use it. (I always half it.)

Ingredients;

1 large bunch of raw, rinsed, stemmed and chopped kale (yields about 6 cups)

1/2 cup canola oil (I have used vegetable oil)

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (I’ve used white vinegar)

1/2 cup orange juice

1/8 cup soy sauce

1 tsp minced onions (in lieu of shallots)

1 tsp ground ginger

1 handful craisins or dried cranberries

1 handful roasted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) (I’ve used sunflower seed kernels)

1 handful chopped or slivered almonds (roasted or raw) (optional)

pinch of salt & pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Optional: slivers of candied ginger to taste (I don’t like it, but it’s in the original salad)

Directions;

Mix all of the ingredients except for the cranberries and seeds together in bowl with a whisk until well combined. Pour on top of kale and mix well until all leaves coated. Sprinkle on the cranberries, almonds and pepitas. Let salad sit for at least 1 hour in the fridge so that kale softens up a bit. Best if eaten the next day!

Menu & Goals for the week plus sale trends I've noticed

I need to keep track of when things go on sale.  The past few weeks pork shoulder roast has been on sale for 99 cents a lb.  Around Easter butter went on sale for $1.99 and eggs for 99 cents a dozen.  Strawberries also went on sale for 88 cents on week.  Pot Roast is on sale right now for $2.49/lb.

This past week was a crazy one with my hubby having surgery and multiple doctor appointments so I'm a bit behind but here are my goals for the week:

Garden:
Fertilize all plants & plum tree
Get more cinder blocks to finish lasagna garden.  Plant strawberries in holes.
Make trellis
Keep on look out for snails and slugs
Weed around border
Take pictures!!!
Make fall garden plans

Kitchen goals:
Make yogurt
Make pinto beans
Make granola
Make Rosemary Olive Bread (from theprudenthomemaker)

Personal:
Exercise daily
Read a book
Practice the piano

Spiritual:
Keep up with scripture reading
Family trip to the temple grounds

Family History:
Update blog

MENU
Monday- White Bean and Tuna Salad with homemade Wheat Crackers
Fruit and Cottage Cheese

Tuesday:Fauxtiserie Chicken (our best bites), Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (in freezer from smothered pork chops), green salad or green veggie

Wednesday:  Baked Chimichangas

Thursday: Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili, cornbread

Friday- Pizza Night

Saturday- Baked Spaghetti

Sunday- Kalua Pork

Monday- BBQ Pork

Tuesday- Jambalaya

Wednesday- Stuffed shells