X is for X-Ray

"X is for X-tra PAIN and AGONY" says Morgan. 10 teeth pulled, impacted canine teeth exposed and chained for future pulling, and lots of squishy foods and liquids (without a straw for six weeks). She's just glad that only mama noticed the "instruments of darkness" tray before the surgery.

Now she's feeling much better, thank you for asking. And she's catching up on her school assignments after a week of narcotics and Ensure shakes (yuck).

Her words of advice for those of you about to have this type of surgery? "Don't get your teeth pulled." Ha! But maybe she'll change her mind when her pearly-whites (after they all grow back in) are straight and pretty. Hope so, because dental surgery is not cheap. Until then, she'll just flash you her charming gummy smile and wish you and X-tra happy day!

What letter adventures are you having in your homeschool lately? Tell me your story.

More info about this alphabetical photo meme is below...

Join me at the Homeschool Post for the A B See Meme (an alphabetical photo meme) and a chance to win a prize each month. All you have to do to enter is upload your photos to their Flickr Group or tag them in Pixosphere each week. You don't even technically have to be a blogger to play along... you just have to have an alphabetical themed photo and a Flickr or Pixosphere account!

Here are the links to the past few 'A B See' posts I have done here:
A is for antique.
B is for bugging big-sis.
C is for computer.
D is for digger.
E is for eat... and Elmers.
F is for fried rice.
G is for goofy girl.
H is for Heather.
I is for insect.
J is for joy.
K is for Kreative Spelling and Killer Homeschool Deals.
L is for live music.
M is for matryoshka.
N is for national cemetery.
O is for Orchids and Opryland.
P is for Pregnant.
Q is for quack.
R is for rocks.
S is for street.
T is for Train and Tunnel of Turmoil
U is for unwound.
V is for vanity.
W is for Waaaaaa!

Tip: Use the dictionary to get ideas if you are stumped on a letter. No excuses! Get to clicking!

A Yummy Way To Use Up Left Over Chicken - or Turkey

Other than Thanksgiving, we don't cook turkey that often. I have very few recipes for turkey. It isn't that different from chicken, though, so you could pretty much use it in any dish that calls for chicken. Just be prepared to take a little snooze after lunch - ha!

I made this before the holidays, and it is one of my easy meal favorites when there's not enough time to cook (or not enough energy). This easy casserole makes a great way to use up left over chicken or thanksgiving turkey.

I know I don't usually post recipes in here (especially recipes with turkey), but I'm considering moving my recipe blog over to this blog and merging the two together. I don't have time to keep up with both of them (as you can see by the date of my last post over there). I'm just not sure how easy it would be to search through them over here. I'd love some ideas on blog organization - but that's for another day...

And so here's the recipe... We'll tackle the big blogging issues of life when the tryptophan has worn off.

"Broccoli-Cheese-Rice-Chicken (or Turkey) Casserole"

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked white rice (I use basmatti - boiled and then simmered 15 minutes with 1 lump butter and a teaspoon of salt)
• Leftover chicken or turkey - shredded or chopped
• garlic salt (to taste)
• dash of pepper
• teaspoon of salt
• cup (or more if you love it) of frozen broccoli (cooked - I microwaved mine)
• 4 oz or less of grated Velveeta (I hate grating the stuff, but you want it to be evenly spread)
• Dehydrated onions (dash) - or you can pan fry chopped red onion (and even some celery)
• small bag of cheddar or colby jack cheese (I put a large handful of cheese in the mixture and use the rest for the top)
• Can of cream of something soup (celery, chicken, or mushroom work great)*

*If you don't have cream soup or don't like to use them because of the MSG and other additives, you can add a little chicken stock, and either some half and half, milk, or sour cream. If I use the thinner substances like broth and milk, I also add some butter - and if you like it thicker, add a tablespoon of flour.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix everything together in a large bowl until creamed and consistent. Spread in to a flat baking dish with a raised side (like a brownie pan). Cover top with a layer of shredded cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes depending on your oven - or until sides are bubbly and the cheese looks melted and slightly browned at edges.

Enjoy!

The Pros and Cons of a Farmish Field Trip on Friday

I missed my blogging deadline yesterday at the Homeschool Post. I was supposed to say "The polls are closing" and few other fun announcements... but I was busy all day from the time I woke up - hardly stopped to eat. The day was so eventful, that I wanted to recap it for you. It was worth sharing.



The big event was a field trip to a dairy farm where they make raw milk, cheese, yogurt, and sell other good foods like jam, salt, soap, and maple syrup. I'll review the field trip for you on my Field Trip Foto Friday series later. For now, just sit back and enjoy the photos and have a little laugh at my expense.



Friday Cons

1) Getting everyone ready for the field trip took forever.
2) I rushed around cleaning up for the in-laws to visit before we left.
3) When giving my daughter her antibiotic, I absentmindedly TOOK it myself.
4) McDonald's drive-thru was renovating, so I had to go in and carry everything out.
5) We got there 45 minutes late and missed the trailer ride.
6) Had to drive 20 minutes out of the way coming home because I was so low on gas.
7) The gas hose malfunctioned and sprayed my entire arm with gasoline at the pump.
8) I had to smell gas the entire way home on a long drive and my arm was stinging.
9) When I got back in my car, the tea spilled on my leg.
10) My inlaws beat me home and had to wait outside for 20 minutes.




Friday Pros

1) The outhouse made me so very thankful for running water and indoor plumbing.:::
2) It was grey and not too much sun (makes for great photos and less sunburn).:::
3) Very thankful that the vehicle got us there without excitement; boy those dirt roads were bumpy!:::
4) The farm was awesome and all of us enjoyed being out in the fresh air and seeing the animals.:::
5) Oh, my - the goodies we brought home are delicious.:::
6) My in-laws bought us pizza, so I didn't have to cook.:::
7) Payday came early.:::
8) The iPhone Mapquest and Gas Buddy apps work like a charm.:::
9) I got some fantastic iPhone pictures with the 4S (it was worth the upgrade just for the camera).:::
10) The baby looked cute in the shirt grandma got him (Kaden called him the "Techno-color Sith Lord"):::
11) I found a Four Square location called "Middle of Nowhere" and checked in - gave me a chuckle!:::




So, the day was not a loss after all. Even if you can still smell gasoline on my arm despite the scrubbing.

And, while I didn't get my blogging done, I enjoyed a busy day of IRL. You know - you won't have much to blog about if you aren't really living. Our farmish field trip fun inspired me to get back to my homeschool series in here. Nice to have a field trip to review for a change. The babies both behaved perfectly, so maybe I will venture out more with my two under two. Helps to have teens around for sure... (another Pro I forgot to list).

Flat Kelly's Adventures at Relevant '11

A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Kelly at Blissdom. It was a crazy trip - a huge hotel - and there wasn't enough time to get to spend with her in person. I always hoped to see her again IRL because she lives in Texas! #Yeehaw! Unfortunately, Texas is a REAL big state, and Kelly and I live many hours away from each other. When I heard she was coming to Relevant this year I was thrilled. She had a ticket... but life got in the way of her going, and at the very last minute, she sold her ticket and decided to stay home.



The above picture is Kelly with me and the Viking when he was about the same age as my tiny Gladiator. It was taken in the Gaylord Opryland {#swoon} at Blissdom 2010. The photo below is at the SavvyBlogging Dinner with Kimberly of Raising Olives. {I love homeschool mamas.}

 

I was bummed out when I found out Kelly wouldn't be coming to #Relevant11. I cooked up a plan to take her with me - and Kelly had a friend print out a flat version of herself to travel to Harrisburg and meet me at the conference. She caught someone else's flight to Pennsylvania and caught up with me on day 2 of the conference. We spent the rest of the trip hangin' together in 2D. It wasn't quite the same as having her around in person... but I hope she'll enjoy these fun photos and see that she was able to rub shoulders with a few of her favorite bloggers even while still home in Texas... and know she was missed by all of us!




There might be some flat Kelly shots in the Relevant stream which aren't pictured here (the one above is by Darcy - who was the official conference photographer)... so follow the link and see how many other flat people you can find. I know there were at least 4 or 5 flatties networking at Relevant. It's hard when you want to be there and have to stay behind... but traveling by flat isn't all that bad. I did Blissdom 2011 as a flat person traveling with Dawn last February.

Here are Kelly's adventures after we hooked up:


Katey's (@MamaKautz) "I am sooo blogging this" T-shirt caught Kelly's eye. She wanted to get a snapshot of it while we were in the Dayspring (In)Courage Lounge...



We hung out at the Mercy House booth with Kristen and Kelly had a hard time picking her favorite necklace. Did you know that these were made by African women and girls who are learning skills to help them support their babies - and that they made them out of rolled newspaper? What a wonderful GREEN product! It would make a lovely Christmas gift! There were so many AWESOME sponsors at Relevant.



Kelly wanted to get her picture taken with The Nester and Emily P (who hates her P, but I love it - and who also has a new book out called "Grace for the Good Girl"). Kelly was kind of hoping she could take home a copy of the book that Emily wrote, but they weren't giving them out to flat people. {It would have been way to heavy for Kelly to carry around anyway.} Maybe she can put it on her holiday wish list?



Money Saving Mom had a little chat with flat Kelly about budgeting and couponing so that she would have more money to spend on her family this December. Kelly remarked on how great of a babysitter Crystal was. My little guy and this little guy enjoyed a few slobbery glances as they wondered where in the world they were, what the meaning of life was... and why people were afraid of the elevators.



Jolanthe and Kelly enjoyed chatting in the hallway after helping Jenn print some affiliate cards for Bright Ideas Press. Jenn told me that Jolanthe was "hard core" {geek} because she took a printer along to the blog conference. You might not need a printer, but if you're SMART, you'll take along your own mobile hotspot and an extension cord. The hotel had horrible internet service (every hotel I have ever been to has been the same).



Amy Bayliss and Lisa Boyd sat next to me at dinner. I took most of my photos with my iPhone while I had the baby on me... and somehow my 12 year old "babysitter" ended up working for Dayspring instead of me... so the baby was with me a lot and photos became few and far between. Kelly kicked me in the shin under the table to remind me to get a good picture with Amy since she knew how much I had been anticipating meeting her IRL - FINALLY. Amy is one of my blog friends that goes back to ancient blog days! Of course, I could hardly feel Kelly's kick since she was made of paper; therefore, I'm stuck with just this sorry iPhone 3G shot. [The iPhone 4s didn't come until the day after I got home from Relevant - go figure.]



Kelly attended a few of the break-out sessions with me after we ate (I have no idea how she was able to stay so paper thin eating all that BEEF).

I have to be honest - it's hard to listen and take notes when you don't have free hands and you are worried about keeping an almost 9 month old baby busy and quiet. I learned a lot more at Relevant 2010 - because my whole family came with me and stayed at a friend's house (I was pregnant with the tiny dude then and the bigger one was already weaned, so he didn't come to the hotel with me and I was able to SOAK in the messages and really BE present with the people).

If you have to take a baby to a blog conference, be sure you get with the speakers and ask for their notes. Or if you have a babysitter at a blog conference, make sure they are not a teenager (going on 26) with a serious fettish for swag and coffee. Take your mother - grandmas make the perfect travel companions for blog babies... and they don't charge for babysitting. Win - win!

These are some of the other bloggers - and I know I should know their names (I'm horrible with names - and the stack of business cards I collected at Relevant will be useless to help me unless each card has a photo of the person it belongs to, I'm afraid)...

Update - 30 minutes later after asking Twitter:
According to my Twitter genie @DeniseBlooms... "@sprittibee Here are their blog links http://t.co/wBOqB58T (Giving Up on Perfect) and http://t.co/CPYPGv8R (Domestic Serenity - holy cow her header is so hypnotizing! Love!) #Relevant11"



Below is a shot of the lobby centerpiece that reminded me of Beth. I stayed at her house last year when I was at Relevant 2010. She's another person that should have gone to Relevant in 2D this year with me (oops)... and I'm sure Kelly kicked me under the table about that, too... but again... she was such a light-weight and I was a bit preoccupied. Hindsight is 20/20. Next year, Beth - start saving up!



Kelly thought it was really funny that she was smaller than the Halloween contest entries and really took a liking to the Tin Man pumpkin. I let her cast a vote for him, but we have no idea which pumpkin won.

Hotel staff were helpful during the conference. Our favorite employees were the restaurant owner/manager, the awesome night waitress who brought us eggs and bacon even though it wasn't on the menu - at nearly midnight, and the wonderfully witty Scottish guy. {We were all suckers for that accent - could have listened to it all day.}



Right before we checked out of the hotel, Ann Voskamp got to visit with Kelly. Ann is an introvert, so she pretty much stays in her room unless she's speaking. We adore her - and are so glad the Farmer made her come to deliver the ending keynote. I always wished there were more time to spend with Ann... but I know she gets claustrophobic in crowds. How could she feel any other way with all those miles of Canadian wheat, open skies, forests, and with leading the quiet life of a busy farm wife? Maybe one day I'll happen to pass by her farm and she'll invite me to sit down and drink tea? Nice thought... but Texas and Canada are oh, so far from each other. I can't imagine what would ever take me back that way. 



There was a lovely pink sweatshirt that Kelly had her eye on in the Sheraton Gift Shop. I had to remind Kelly that they didn't have a size which would fit her flat mini-self. I thought they were a little pricey, too. We settled for an iPhone picture instead. Maybe next year she can save up her pennies and get herself a Hershey Chocolate Souvenir when she's in town for Relevant 2012? I hear Relevant won't be at the Sheraton next year. We'll miss them.



Unfortunately, though she tried, Kelly was not much help with the luggage when it was time to load up.



We caught up with Myra in the lobby as we were waiting on everyone to scrape the ice and snow off of their windshields and car tops. This Texas girl really enjoyed seeing snow so thick and white... but was VERY glad that it didn't deter driving or flying for the trip home. I took Kelly outside and let her "chill out" in the snow for a picture, but the iPhone just couldn't do the moment justice.

It was so sad seeing everyone load up and leave. That's the awful thing about being with friends for a whirlwind conference weekend... there are only so many things you can cram in to such a short time... and so many people you adore... that you often feel like you failed and left things undone when everyone parts ways. [Speaking of failing, I only wrote in a few of the prayer journals because it was so hard to get in there with a noisy baby and my big stroller.] That's what makes blog conferences so addictive: you always want MORE of being around "your people" (who understand you and encourage and inspire you to be good at what you do).



After saying good-bye to Myra, Kelly visited with Maggie Hogan of Bright Ideas Press (who was my airline sponsor for the conference). Pretty soon, we said good-bye to Harrisburg and headed to Baltimore through the snow. Maggie and Stacy with BIP drove me to the airport (Kelly rode in the darkness of my laptop bag - that I still don't know how Stacy fit in to the back of the vehicle). Kelly was pretty quiet for the rest of the trip to Texas.

We gave Kelly the tour of our house after finding her smashed in the luggage she helped us get unpacked. Remember that "If I can homeschool, ANYONE can" bookcase post? Kelly got to be the first blog friend to see my new book cases (in rare form: right after the 2 year old scribbled all over the white painted doors).

Kelly was in her element with all those homeschooling books and curriculum, and in fact, she hasn't wanted to come down from the shelf on home-making, parenting, and organizing. We homeschoolers enjoy looking through each other's book shelves. Don't worry, Kelly - I'm letting you spend a lot of time up there on the shelves reading to your heart's content. You let me know when you want to go home... or I can stick you in an envelope and send you on another flat Kelly adventure!

Or... maybe I'll just bring you to the MomHeart Conference in February? Is that a plan? I'd much rather hug you in 3D.




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The "I Need a Clone" Edition of Sprittibee

I'm back at it again... writing blog posts in the shower. Speaking of... if you are a writer - or just a parent - that does their best thinking ALONE in the shower (whether that's the only moment in your day you get alone, you don't have to tell me)... you might want to get one of THESE things:



My AquaNotes notepad has been really handy. Even for leaving notes for the husband (who leaves the house before 5:30AM). I love blogging in the shower. If only they made waterproof computers... until then, I'll be using my AquaNotes pad & pencil - the old fashioned way to shower-blog.

Until the kids are all four in college I have time to blog daily again, there's always the 140 character version of my brain dribble on Twitter.

You might miss important tweets like this one if you don't subscribe to the tweetishness:



... yes - even recipes. For the over 140 character version of the soup (for those of you who love me enough to read my blog): let's see... 3/4 cup lentils, leftover chicken stock from last night's rotisserie, chopped chives, leftover rosemary baked chopped potatoes that were cooked in olive oil, a dash of lemon pepper, water, coriander powder, sumac, poultry seasoning, dehydrated onions, garlic salt, pepper, salt, a can of mixed veggies, leftover green beans (chopped)... and it was oh, so yummy. My 2 year old asked for seconds. My leftover soups are always different - never make the same one twice. Twitter helps me remember what I cooked so I can try to re-create it later.

Bet you never thought about twitter as a kitchen tool. Didja?



I've been up to the usual around here... cooking (hence the soup for today's lunch), cleaning (besides the collosal laundry pile in my bedroom that we're busy avoiding - and picking clean clothes from each day), homeschooling (between pain pills and teen 'tudes), and generally surviving. The surviving part includes nursing my 12 year old back to health after nearly all of her teeth were pulled yesterday. Ten of them. Including her wisdom teeth. She used to be so smart...



And the night before the surgery I took her to the McDonald's drive thru for french fries and got her medicine at the 24 hour drive-thru pharmacy so she could start taking it before her teeth were pulled (because I love doing things last minute)... and then came home to get the voting pages up for the Homeschool Blog Awards. Thank the Good Lord that we hired someone this year to get the nominations and polls done because I guarantee you that there would have been no awards this year with my available amount of free time.

You are going to go over there and vote, right? There are like 1,186 nominated blogs. More than enough reading material for the rest of your online time - forever.



Oh, and if you want a lovely November desktop wall paper, Dawn came up with something so lovely in brown and yellow... just in time for Thanksgiving. You have to click over there to get the bigger versions to download...



And just a little side note: the baby of the family had his 15 minutes of fame at The Relevant Conference. Check out his appearance in this lovely blogger video for Veggie Tales! Amanda did such a great job editing. {wish she would teach me how to vlog - I'm video impared}



Isn't he cute? I know something he's needing for Christmas now! Amazing how it's already time to start making those lists out - this year has flown by!

Everything fits in to this thing we call life (and life for us is learning) and that's worth blogging about.



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Disclosure: the AquaNotes was given to me free to try after I whined on a blog post about needing a waterproof tablet to take notes with. My opinion is uncompensated and I really do love it!

How Does a Blog Conference Relate to Homeschooling?

Blog Conferences and Homeschool
Are you tired of hearing about Relevant? And just how does a blog conference relate to homeschooling? How do homeschool and blogging fit together? Those are really great questions. Did you know that there were so many homeschool mom bloggers at Relevant that there weren't enough prizes for them when Jenn did her Homeschool Meet and Greet? 

Rumor had it that there were over 70 women there who were homeschooling (out of the 200 attendees). That's a huge amount! Wouldn't it be grand if there were that large of a ratio of homeschoolers out there in mainstream America - 40 percent of American kids?! How great for the kids if their moms were able to be home with them - and to feel empowered and capable of nurturing and educating their kids from diapers all the way to decimals - and beyond.

Field Trippin'
Homeschooling provides a way for you to do a lot of things with your kids that wouldn't be possible in traditional schooling methods - freedom to travel (hello Relevant!), to field trip, to explore, to GO. There's a lot to learn OUT THERE.

Like for instance: Chocolate World (hello field trip!). Who knew all those wonderful mysteries about where the dark stuff comes from... or that you could make your own chocolate bar and design the wrapper?


Keeping a Record, Connecting with Others
One of the many things that makes blogging so attractive to homeschool moms is the journal aspect - the passion of sharing the journey that you are on with your kids. It is like a huge "school project" this blogging thing. A timeline of sorts. Living history. And of course, the homeschool kids can write their own chapters - on their own homeschool blogs. Writing is one of the best skills you can give them - so they can communicate well and shape the world.

Sharing the journey also means connecting with others - encouraging them on their own path, helping those who are struggling, answering questions... being a tiny part of the bigger picture: an online teacher's lounge for homeschool moms.

Blogging Income and Perks
Another great thing about a blog for a homeschool mom is that it can be a source of income (which might equal more field trips - or books). Granted, for most of us, it isn't a large source of income... but a little extra mad money, Amazon book money, or grocery money is worth it if you would have been spending the time "digital scrapbooking" or checking email anyway, right?

And what "funner" way to make money than blogging? Blog conferences are helpful in showing bloggers how to take their website and build on it so that the income streams are possible - and more profitable. Life after Yahoo Email groups for some of us extends to blog posting the best of our ideas - and sharing with an even larger community online. No harm in making a little money for the effort you put in to your online space.



Then there is the 'swag' or free stuff you can get blogging. Usually, the free things come in the form of the type of niche your blog falls in to: homeschoolers usually get educational materials (ie: curriculums/books/etc). If you are smart, you won't let your review box get as full as mine did this past year. [I'm in the learning to say no stage.] I'll be digging out far in to 2012. Note to those waiting on my reviews: I'm on it!

Free stuff is fun - and blog conferences are a way to get in on the goodies - even if your blog is small. Companies want an honest review - because word of mouth is the best kind of advertising. Free stuff WITHOUT deadlines for reviews (like the swag from conferences) is even BETTER.



Life and Learning = Worth Writing About
So... let's recap. Here it is in a nutshell: blogging and homeschooling are great together.

The Relevant Conference was a wonderful source of encouragement that spoke right to my Christian homeschool mama's heart. You don't have to let go of your passions when you take on homeschooling - you can find a way to merge them in to a mixed media masterpiece. Think... art, photography, digital scrap, writing, video, education, field trips, travel, learning - a big blog smorgasborg!

Everything fits in to this thing we call life (and life for us is learning) and that's worth blogging about.



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A Bit of Conference Talk and Dayspring Winner

So I went to that conference again, you know ... the Relevant one. And I saw all these great people - my peeps - again. It's hard to get back in to the REALITY of here and today when you have so much information to process... so many wonderful people that your heart misses. So many photos to edit and emails to check...
 

Remember the (In)Courage give away I did before I left? Well I have a winner. Number 27! #WOOT

Julie Ann of Whimsical Words won the DaySpring loot! Wish I could give away a Relevant 12 conference ticket to go with it... but no cigar.

I can't wait to tell you all about our little adventure (the baby, the big girl, and the crazy blogging mama) in Hershey and Harrisburg. But first... there are orthodontist visits, homeschool assignments, piles of mail and laundry, chicken to fry, and many thoughts to sort out. Until then, you can take a look at the few photos I actually snapped in my flickr set for Relevant11. This year I was carrying the baby around with me at the conference for more than half of the time I was there (last year his brother was already weaned and stayed at my friend Beth's during the day). It made for a very BUSY time, but I still enjoyed seeing all my blogging friends.

Now for the bumpy re-entry in to "life"... and putting some of the wisdom I took home from Relevant in to practice.