Tuesday Tidings

In spite of a broken arm, our week is going so well, for which I am very thankful. The Lord has given me added strength and I have felt so much better lately. My pastor told me about something called Rhodiola and it is AMAZING stuff! You should look it up online sometime. The Russian Cosmonauts used it. It supports the body under stress. When I ask my husband if it is helping me, well, let's just say that he thinks the answer is VERY obvious. My "handler" is handling things much better and more sanely.

Another original idea is that we have actually been going to be during the times that normal people go to bed...IMAGINE THAT! We are actually getting some sleep which I am sure has something to do with Mama's outlook being much better.

All that to say, the days are full and busy, but this little train continues to plug along. School is so enjoyable. I am learning to view school as a privilege to enjoy, rather than pages to check off. It has only taken me 8 years to learn this (actually still learning). Instead being so consumed with how many pages we can check off, we are learning how to learn, and enjoying all that the Lord will teach us. Instead of snapping at my child when they ask a question (Son, we are doing grammar, stop asking me how an oyster has babies). I am learning that the impromptu opportunities may be the best education there is. "Children, stop LEARNING so we can do school, ok?) This new outlook for me is allowing us to actually enjoy our times, and maybe even allowing us more productivity.

For dinner tonight we had crockpot lasagna and I thought I would share the recipe with you. It was so easy that I think it's a keeper! Lasagna is a family favorite, but in this busy homeschooling house the normal way "ain't gonna happen". So here is the crockpot rendition and as my son put it "It's better than Stouffers, Mom". Now, I am not saying it is better than my mother-in-laws, but....

Spoon a liberal amount of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of your crockpot

layer the following into your crockpot:

uncooked lasagna noodles (it does not have to be the quick cook kind)

spaghetti sauce (I used Classico)

ricotta or cottage cheese (I used Ricotta)

ground beef

Mozzerella Cheese

Keep layering all the way to the top of the crockpot. The recipe did not give quantities, but it did say be very liberal with the sauce. I used a whole pack of lasagna noodles, 2 jars of sauce, a tall thing of Ricotta, 3 lbs of ground beef, and one of those big long packs of cheese (very precise aren't I?) It made a full crockpot and I have alot of leftovers. It was really yummy. Next time, I think I am going to add another jar of sauce to make it even juicier. I have even though that putting spinach in there would be good.

Oh, yes, the recipe said to put it on high for a couple of hours and then cook on low for another 4-6 hours. Mine burned at the bottom, though, so I plan nextime on just cooking it on low all day.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. It was a winner for this house!

We are leaving on Friday to go up to our dear friends the Myers family for an extended weekend. We have not seen them in YEARS. Even though we have known them since before either of us couples were married, our children have never met each other. We are SO excited! They live in Virginia. We are going to drive to D.C for a day all together and have a wonderful homeschool field trip. I think we are also going to make a trek as a group to Maryland for a psalm sing one of the nights. So a busy weekend is planned. Grandma, I will not be able to call you on Saturday, but I love you! We hope to leave Friday morning, arrive there for dinner on Friday night. Spend Saturday-Tuesday with our friends. Leaving Tuesday morning we plan on heading home, but stopping over at another friends home for dinner on the way into town. You can be sure that I plan on having a slideshow of pics from our trip that eventually I will try to post. I still have several slideshows I am behind in (Father's Day, S's birthday last June, not to mention the first few days of school). But, that is for another time. For now, I will say Goodnight!