School is starting

It's hard for me to believe school is starting next week. Where did the summer go? I have decided that when school starts I will start homeschooling preschool with my 3 year old. The problem is I have not yet decided what or how I am gong to do it.

I am thinking that I will do it 4 to five days a week for about an hour or two depending on his attention span and what we are working on. During the months he has story time we will only do it four days that week, the rest of the time five because that is just too much in one day for a little kid.

My main problem is coming up with lesson plans that aren't too complex or projects that I are above his ability. I used to be a daycare teacher and I was required to come up with lesson plans for different stations in a classroom of of 10-15 children. So, I need to reign things back a bit to keep it fun and exciting and not like I am putting him though toddler boot camp.
I have some material already and some things in mind, but any suggests would be appreciated

Taking advantage of summer harvest

I have so much buzzing around my head that I want to share with you, but haven't had much time to do so. Therefore, I decided to just pick one topic and go with it. And the winning topic is: saving money by taking advantage of the seasonal produce.

Even if you are like me and didn't get your act together to get a garden planted, you can still get in on the summer goods. (I WILL do it next year- I promise. Please don't ask how many years I made and broke that promise, but next year will be different.)

Depending on where you live you should be able to find farmer markets or road side stands where the produce is fresher and cheaper than the grocery store. Or you may be blessed enough to have a neighbor with too much who is looking to give the stuff away. Buy in bulk if possible and then freeze or can your purchase.

When shopping don't be afraid to haggle especially if you plan on buying a huge amount. I know a man who goes to local road side corn stands and asks them how much they would charge him for their entire stock. He fills his pick-up truck up and blanches and freezes it all.

A few summers ago I discovered a farm where they had U-Pick tomatoes and it was only $5 to fill a 5 gallon bucket. I also bought some peppers and corn and I made enough of my "famous" salsa to last a year.

Peas, beans, broccoli and cauliflower and corn freeze well, just blanch them first. If you want to bake with zucchini grate it before freezing, but if you want to steam or saute then slice it first. I have hear that tomatoes can be frozen, but I have not tried. Instead I have canned them using the hot process method (not a pressure canner.) This seems a little scary, but it is really very easy.

Also, once you get your canning equipment, all except for the lids can be reused, and these are fairly inexpensive. The bans only need to be replaced if they rust. (The equipment you will need is: a large pot, jars with lids and bans, tongs for lifting the jars. A funnel is helpful, but depending on what you are canning may not be necessary.)

I get my geek on over the weekend

Hi! It's Monday and my house and life are a disorganized mess. On the upside I had a great weekend. On Friday we took a road trip to pick up our oldest daughter from my sister's house. She had been visiting there for just over a week. We spent the night and then went to the Maker Faire in Detroit.
We had a good time. I think though it could have been a better experience. There really was things for all ages but with having ages 1-41 in our family it seemed like we were constantly trying to make sure everyone got to do and see everything they wanted. In theory someone could have stayed with the little ones and did all kinds of activities while the others went and saw what they were interested in. The only problem with that is that the person with the boys usually wanted to see what the others saw. So, I you need to approach the Faire as either a "geek fest" where you check out all the newest technology and inventions or a hands on museum for the kids. We tried to do both and it didn't work out as well as we thought.
The highlight of the day was that I spotted Leo Laporte and my husband and I got to meet him. If you don't know who he is he is a "god" in the geek world. Back when Tech TV was on he was on a show called the Screen Savers. He now hosts several pod casts including TWIT (This Week in Tech). The main reason we were there is because my husband had heard about the Maker Faire on one of Leo's pod casts and he knew he was going to be doing a live pod cast from there.
While we were eating I looked up and saw Leo walking with a man and woman and recognized him. We grabbed the new video camera, told the teenagers to watch the toddlers and took off after him. We caught up to him and I recorded my husband meeting him. Leo was really nice and so were the other people with him. The lady (maybe his wife?) offered to take the camera so I could get in. It was cool and I was so happy that I spotted him and for my husband. I know it really made his day.
Although some of the tech stuff there was beyond my way of thinking it was a cool place. I enjoyed the craft tents and the "upcycle" booth. I have been inspired to help my daughter create a dress out of Target bags. The main problem there is I've been doing more shopping at Walmart than Target and their bags just wouldn't look as cool as a dress.
Well it's a busy day. I need to do my morning routine and get the house in order, than its grocery shopping day and a doctor appointment later.

Making changes

I have been doing some serious thought about my blog and realized it is not quite what I envisioned. I have not been keeping it as up to date as I planned. I think my daily themes have become a road block instead of an inspiration. I also feel like my blog is too preachy, like I'm the mom expert or something. That is the opposite of my original idea.
I intended this to be more of a journal of my life as a mom. I wanted to share my successes and even my failures and have others comment and share theirs. So I am making some changes to try to achieve that.