Hard Work Pays Off

This is the second year Emily and Matt are attending Hackensack Christian School. 

Last year went well for their first year in a new school and we were very pleased with their academic performances. We did know going into this year it would be a whole new ball game.

Matthew is now in 3rd grade (hard to believe) where the work is getting harder and more detailed. This year he has started learning "true" American History. I was somewhat concerned on how he would take to it but let me tell you he LOVES it. Every day he tells me more and more facts he is learning about the characters from history - Squanto, Miles Standish, William Penn, George Washington, etc. He loves imparting his new knowledge on me even when he isn't studying. His easiest subject but not his most favorite is math. Clearly he has his dad's mathematical mind. Matt's report card showed he is doing extremely well earning him a place on the school's "Principal's List" (their highest academic achievement list). The funniest part is that his lowest grade was in PE. What can I say he is not a "gym" kid.

Emily has now started 5th grade. This year the 4th, 5th and 6th grade teachers are teaching their strength subjects for the 3 grades and the kids are changing classes accordingly. Emily surprised us from the onset taking very easily to this system and the teacher's different teaching styles. This year we are having her work more independently. Although we help her with questions she has on homework, we do not correct her work before it is turned in allowing her teachers to see the areas in which she struggles. Dave and I do help her with studying for quizzes and tests and have helped her develop a few systems, especially in history, that help her retain large chunks of material when it comes to the  comprehensive chapter tests. We also recognize the fact that because she does struggle on the larger comprehensive tests that that grade may not be as high as her quizzes and that is okay. Our feeling is that if we see and know that she has worked hard the grade she receives will truly reflects her knowledge.....we also know when she does not put effort or time into her work and for that she does have consequences. As parents of a child with learning issues, we find that each year we are learning more about how to help Emily by being involved in some area, staying out of others but always being firm and keeping her informed on her progress. This year we are really striving to get her to understand her need to study over the course of a few days and not just the day before. We also do not allow her needs to be an excuse for not trying or lack of effort. Being in tune with her abilities allows us to be able to work with her to be successful no matter what letter grade is earned. As parents, we know when a lower grade is hard earned and when it is a lack of effort.  

Now Emily did start school sports this year and because we knew this would help her socially, we decided to be a little more lenient on our overall "grade" expectations. When she started soccer, we told her we were looking for B's. Knowing the work of 5th grade, the time for practice and games and the time left over for school work we didn't think this was unreasonable. We also thought it would help her to not put too much pressure on herself and enjoy both the sports and academics of school.

Emily's work this first marking period was amazing considering the addition of sports. She also earned a place on the Principal's List for her academic achievements. Now, we do realize that this may be only a first period achievement but we will continue to help her strive to achieve her best work. 

I don't want to say we are proud of our kid's for their grades, we are proud of them for all the work they have put in achieving those grades. Hard work does truly pay off!
As always, thanks for stopping by!

A Family Fall Saturday

Today was one of those warmer fall days that you just had to take advantage of and we did!

As most of you know during the week, I'm up at 4:30 each day in order to get to the gym by 5 and a workout in by 6. Well, Saturday is my day to sleep in and I'm happy to say that I was not disturbed and got out of bed after 8. I know, some of you are saying that is still early but for me it is 3 1/2 more hours of shut eye. 

Most Saturday mornings Dave heads to the gym by 7 and brings home bagels and coffee.  Today he was right on schedule for my rising.

After a short quiet time in the morning, I headed to the basement to start laundry and Dave to the store to by a second rake. 

I knew that the day was an "at home" day so I chose to make a Crock Pot recipe from my weekly chosen recipes. I got that started to be ready around 5:30 as we would be heading to our church tonight for movie night.

When Dave returned from the store, he and the kids got busy raking the leaves. It is funny, we have no trees on our property and our neighbor's huge oak tree was removed about 2 years ago but we still get a good amount of leaves on our lawn and caught in our shrubbery. It was fun seeing the family pitching in on a home chore. While I was taking pictures, there happened to be an elderly lady walking with her care giver (you can see them in the first picture). I said "good morning" to which they responded "good morning". I took the next two pictures and walked a short distance behind them heading to our side door when I heard the elderly lady say, "It is so nice seeing a family working together." It warmed my heart that the actions of our family made an impression on her. It is those small acts that show God's love through us. 

The kid's were good at pitching in and I didn't hear any complaints. Then again, I was mainly in the house doing inside chores of laundry, dinner prep, coupon clipping and a handful of other tasks. I think they most enjoyed the shoveling of the leaves ...... little do they know this is preparation for this winter's snow shoveling. 

It is always nice after a day of  housework (and to be honest a little napping on the couch in the sunshine), to know that a hot meal is being prepared in the Crock Pot and dinner decisions do not need to be made.

Tonight I decided to make Crock Pot Cheesy Italian Tortellini that I found through Pinterest at the website Keeley Mcguire. This is such a simple meal with the sauce cooking for 6 hours and the tortellini and cheese going in for 15 extra minutes at the end of the cooking process.

Let me tell you this was absolutely yummy!! Everyone gave it a big thumbs up and I will be making it for our company that is coming at Thanksgiving time.
As always, thanks for stopping by!

A Comfort Food Favorite

Tonight's dinner was a take on the classic comfort food favorite Chicken Pot Pie.

Because of the amount of "work" needed to make this meal, I chose to make it tonight seeing this is the only night Emily has no basketball practice.

I found this recipe for Cheddar Bay Biscuits Chicken Pot Pie through Pinterest at the website Seeded at the Table. 

There are several steps to this recipe as I stated previously. First, there is the prepping of the chicken. Earlier today I poached several chicken breasts in broth and then shredded it using my Kitchen Aid mixer. I chose to shred the chicken to make it more palatable for Emily who is a bit of a chicken "snob". When I brought the kids home from school, I started the remaining steps which included prepping the veggies and making the sauce. While that was cooking, I made the biscuits that would top the "filling" along with the garlic butter that was put on top of the biscuits for the browning process.

Yes, it tastes as good as it looks. Emily believe it or not gave it a thumbs up - I think the biscuits won her over. Matt liked it but wasn't thrilled with all the veggies - carrots, peas, corn and the ever awful potato. He picked out his favorites - peas and corn. I was able to keep it in the oven on a "warming" setting so that Dave was able to eat when he came home. He gave it a thumbs up.

There is a slight downside to this recipe for our family.

This is the portion all four of us ate for dinner. Being a non-leftover eating family, this poses a bit of a problem. Next time, I will definitely half the recipe. Oh, and don't be concerned I didn't throw the leftovers away, I will try and get one more meal out of it. 

Seeing I've made new recipes the last two nights, I'm going to give the family a break tomorrow night and make some pita pizzas but I'll be back using the Crock Pot Friday night. 

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Cookies and Cashew Chicken

Today was my day to get back into cooking mode when it comes to our evening meal. 

Well, I was so inspired by the thought of cooking the meal I decided to make today also a "homemade, from scratch cookie baking day". I admit that I usually use cookie mixes just to make things go a little faster. 

Okay another confession, I've had the ingredients for these Pumpkin Scotchies cookies on had for several weeks but just haven't been inspired to bake. Today's cold, flurry flying morning put me in such a mood. I found the recipe for these cookies off Pinterest from the website The Girl Who Ate Everything. They are very yummy and perfect for this time of year. Love the combination of pumpkin and butterscotch!! 

Of course, I made these while the kids were at school and sampled a few (just 2) to make sure they were edible. When I went to pick up Matt who waits with me at the school for Emily's hour and a half of basketball practice, I surprised him with two of the cookies, which he gave a big thumbs up!!! Emily tried one when she came home...also a thumbs up!! Dave has yet to try them but if he approves there is a batch waiting to accompany him to work tomorrow. This recipe made a lot of cookies....too many for us to eat. 

All this cookie excitement did not distract me from my mission to make dinner. I decide to make the Crock Pot Cashew Chicken recipe I found also through Pinterest at the website  Daydream Kitchen. 

The cooking time is for 3 hours on low so I assembled the ingredients and turned on the Crock Pot just before heading to the kid's school. I heated some rice to serve the cashew chicken atop. So, the rating are thumbs up from me and believe it or not my "chicken snob" Emily. Matt was a so so mainly because he didn't like the cashews. Fortunately, my Crock Pot has a warmer setting so I was able to feed Dave this same meal just a little while ago when he came home from work. He gave it his approval so it looks like we have another recipe to add to the family binder. 

As always, thanks for stopping by! 

What on the Menu? is back!!!

Woohoo!! I finally got my act together when it comes to dinner. Well, at least for the next 8 meals.

Sunday night I pulled recipes from my "to try" folder to be made during the upcoming week. Monday morning I made my list, shopped my pantry shelves for items already on hand then headed out to the food store. 

Last night for dinner I pulled meatloaf mix from the freezer and made our family favorite mini Italian meatloaves. They were served with mashed potatoes and corn. A yummy meal with all the ingredients already on hand.

When choosing the week's meals, I focused on ones that would work well with Emily's new basketball practice schedule. Three of the meals are made in the crock pot, which I LOVE!!!

Here is the list:

• Crock Pot Cashew Chicken
• Cheddar Bay Biscuits chicken Pot Pie
• Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
• One Pot Cheesy Chicken Pasta
• Crock Pot Cheesy Italian Tortellini
• Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
• Cheeseburger Pasta

Looking forward to trying some new recipes and I promise to keep you informed on the success of these meals.

As always, thanks for stopping by!