Awards Day

The kids had Awards Day at school.

Ella received the award for Most Improved Reader.

She received a Bible Award and the.......

Spanish Award. As Ella would say, "Mom, did you know that I canu  speakea Spanisha!"

Laney received.......

The President's Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and the award for Outstanding Improvement in 3rd Grade. My favorite however is the one that her teacher personally gave her in the classroom which was.....The Curiosity Award for asking great questions and finding lots of interesting answers.  Things like...

1. "Mrs. DeLeon, where do birds poop come out at?"

2. "Mrs. Deleon, I know what the breastbone is ....that is where the milk is."

3. "Mrs. Deleon, my parents got married in Las Vegas......did you know there are naked people all over there." (No! we were not married there and I don't know where she go that one from?????)

Griffin received....

Most Outstanding Student in Algebra 1 and The President's Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence.

He wanted me to take a picture of this.....

He said mom, "Did you know that this was signed by Obama?"

Well it is the Presidential Award and he is the president. Do think I should tell him it is a copy not the original?

Another baby present

This time I was able to test out a girl onesie and bib. I am really loving Hobby Lobby!

Extreme or Not?

What would you do for a few coupons?

Did I mention that you can get them for free?

The first thing you do is make sure the coast is clear.........

then you ever so gently place your already dirty children in the cubby hole.

Those of us who cannot fit (or do not dare to try)......find other ways to get what we want.

As the sorters hand us the goods, we skim through the coupons.

Once we have what we need, we quickly retrieve our trainers in progress.

If you notice that there is an older boy missing....... he is in the car taking these pictures.......TRADER!

Just in case you are wondering, we did take items to be recycled. Also, we will clip and return the portion not used. It is hard to go to the recycling center and see all those  coupons( money) go to waste.

I was able to find an All You magazine with all those great coupons still in it.

Strawberry Jam

Remember all those strawberries we picked. Well,  we went back for a second time plus both Laney and Ella went on a field trip to pick. So we had quite a few strawberries. We ate some,  froze some and made strawberry jam. Here is another reason why I LOVE my bread machine.

Next up will be blueberries, blackberries and then peaches. I can't wait!

Sports Banquet

We had a sports banquet at school a couple of weeks ago. Since all 3 of my children played a sport(s), they were each recognized.

Ella was first. She cheered this year.

Of course they had show us a cheer!

Laney played basketball and practiced volleyball( she will be old enough to play next year).

Griffin played football for the first time ever, basketball and soccer.

For all of you who played sports with me back in high school, I just want you to know I never got  as loud as a certain someone in my family.

You know who I am talking about!

Jog-A-Fun

A fund raiser at the school each year is a Jog-A-Fun. This is where the kids get pledges for the laps they do.

With younger ones ......including Ella, we had to do a lot of motivating. We heard a lot of I'm tired(whine, whine).....or I'm thirsty(whine, whine).....or when can we play(desperate voice)?

and finally.......playtime.

Laney age group was better. She was fine as long as she had her friends to talk to and her shades.

Griffin was  more serious than the other ages. He ran several. I think his motivation was the music on his ipod and the fact that he is doing  a triathlon in a few weeks. 

A day out of the classroom equals fun for all!

White Chili with Chicken and Green Chile Corn Muffins

White Chili with Chicken

Warm 3 tbl of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 large onion(chopped) and saute, stirring often for 7 minutes. Stir in 2 ts chili powder, 1 1/2 ts cumin, 1 ts oregano, 2 garlic cloves( minced) and saute for another minute. Stir in the 2 (15 ou) cans of navy beans( drained and rinsed), 4 cps diced chicken, 1 cp frozen corn, 1 (7 ou) can diced green chilies, 2 cps chicken broth, and 1/4 ts salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer and do so for10 minutes partially covered. 

In a small bowl, blend 2 tbl butter( soft) and 1 1/2 tbl flour. Add the mixture to the chili and stir until it thickens. You can add more broth to thin or I like to add 3 to 4 tbls of half - and - half to thicken it. Top with cheese.

This is a very easy and delicious recipe. I like to make a double batch and freeze for later.

You cannot make this soup with out making these little guys!

This is Paula Deen's recipe and they are so YUMMY!

Green Chili Corn Muffins

1 1/4 cps stone ground cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 cp shredded cheese

1 (8ou) can cream-style corn

1 cp sour cream

1 (4ou) can chopped green chiles

1/2 cup canola oil

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. In a small mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt and baking powder, stirring until lightly combined. Add the oil and eggs and stir until everything is just combined; do not over mix. 

Place about 1/2 tbl of batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes.

Can you believe there was no............BUTTER!

Who needs expensive manicures, pedicures, facials and messages......

when you have this!

L2L

Every year on Easter weekend, we attend the Lads to Leaders Convention. Boys and girls are able to participate in many different categories( bible bowl, Good Samaritan, song leading, bible reading,etc). The main focus is the children. Not only do they spend a whole year working on bible knowledge but it helps them to build up their confidence as well. It takes a lot of guts to get up in front of others( an area I lack in). If they start out young speaking in public, it should not be as hard later in life. 

Griffin participated in : bible bowl, Good Samaritan, puppets, group scrapbook,  and second language

Laney participated in: bible bowl, Good Samaritan, puppets, group scrapbook, know the books, centurion of scripture and song leading

Ella participated in: bible reading, song leading and know the books

A few  lot pictures from the weekend.

One of the highlights of the weekend..........

riding the elevator to the top floor.

Laney's bible bowl team. They were finalist.

Each night they have a ceremony where they recognize the participants.

Ella gets so excited about this part. 

The awards......

At the beginning of L2L kickoff season(usually May for us), some kids get excited from the convention and want to participate in everything for the upcoming year. Someone from the above picture who's name I will not reveal did this very same thing. Our leader submitted his form without checking first to see if he.... in fact.....accomplished those marked items. So guess who racked up on the awards this year. We decided to give a new award for next year.......The Non Deserving Award.

After we thought about it, there was only 1 catergory he did not follow through on. Besides counting the number of times Griffin was called to stage, some found other forms of entertainment.

I was so proud of our group scrapbook team. They won first place again this year!

Here was our scrapbook held by the lovely Ella.

Our book was all about love this year. On the cover we made a box of chocolates( wooden blocks we spray painted brown).  On the chocolates, we wrote this years theme.

We had another fun year of learning God's word.

Teacher Appreciation Ideas

for next year.

I wanted to post these ideas last week but due to computer issues( AGAIN!), I was not able to. Maybe you could use them for next year!

Whether it is  public, private or  homeschool teachers, I feel they are never given the attention they deserve. I am not just saying that because I am a teacher. I think 1 week although very appreciated is not enough. 

I decided my kid's teachers needed something special to show them how much we appreciated all their hard work. We surprised them with a little something each day.

Monday

We took graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate and placed them in a bag.

We wrote a note that said, "There should be smore teachers like you". We took some ribbon and tied it all together. 

Tuesday

We sent a pack of Extra gum along with a note that said, "I think you are EXTRA special!"

Wednesday

I forgot to take a picture but we put a candle in a bag and on the outside it said, "You light up my world."

Thursday

We made their lunch which consisted of Chicken Chilli soup(post recipe later), Mexican cornbread muffins( post recipe later) and a desert and........

put it all in a cute little bag.

Friday

Again......no picture! My excuse is it was Friday. By this day, I am completely drained from the week. Not to mention we had field day the day before.

We made peanut butter balls, wrapped them up along with a note that said, "You were balls of fun this year!"

We had a great time putting these together. The teachers loved getting a little something special each day!

Have you thanked a teacher lately!