Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Kids Chores and money

I have a hard time giving my kids money for home chores. I give my daughter a modest allowance biweekly when we get paid. Its not for doing chores around the house its just allowance because we love her and we want her to save and handle money wisely.

Doing chores around the house is part of all families duties and I really dont think kids should get paid for it. My daughter chores are pick up trash with help of her brother. Put dishes away in dishwasher or counter if I can't get to them. Wash, fold and put away her own clothes. Keep her room cleaned, feed her own cat sometimes the other house cats or outside cats if her Pa'Pa is away and cant do it. She helps me dust and fold the towels sometimes.

My son hasnt got an allowance yet he is 8yrs but he is just understanding about money right now I am teaching it at co-op and he is one of my students. He puts away his own clothes and pick up his room, helps sissy with trash, feeds his dog sometimes his sisters dog if she is away for the night and her fishes as well.

We all work together, when daughter wants to earn a bit more money I have her do things for extra like , pair up her fathers socks and put them in drawer for $1 I hate doing this and hubby likes them together...mine arent they are clean but I dont have time to pair them up blaaaa...hahaha

She cleans the inside of my car for a few dollars although picking up trash in car is not one of the things she gets paid for because that is required to keep the back seat clean that's where her and her brother sit.

She has to dust and clean the fabric and dashboard of the car. Sometimes when her brother rooms is sooooo messy I can't get him to even start because he is so lost I have her help and direct him a bit.

Sam

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Company Picnic

Oh what fun we had today as my husbands company had their annual picnic it’s still good to see things normal even with these hard times everyone is going through right now. Gas is almost back to normal so it wasn’t too much as we headed out to the beautiful hillcountry to this one ranch.

My husband and my two kids along with me and dad tagged along. When we first got their we were starved because we had only oatmeal for breakfast knowing we would eat like pigs for this thing we saved room in our stomachs hahaha

Mini hamburgers, hotdogs, quesada’s, B-Q chicken, sausage on a stick and beef sandwiches, chulupas or some people call them tostadas depending on if you’re from Calif or Texas. They had corn on the cob, potatoes salad, cole slaw, salads with watermeon, to drink they had sodas of all kinds, lemonade, punch, coffee, hot chocolate, water. I noticed they didn’t have bottle water this year just the water in the jugs. For Desert they had smores with a camp fire to cook your marshmallows, cookies, brownies, candy apples, and the Swans truck was there with all kinds of ice cream as much as you can eat they kept trying to push it on everyone that went by it was funny.

For entertainment they had a small 30 min rodeo, which was fun they had a cowboy roper and he made everyone laugh with his jokes as well as his gimmicks along with bull riding and barrel racing. They had Texas poker and bingo and they all had cash prizes of $50-$175 certificates. I really tried and I came close to it but I didn’t win too many other lucky people there with their troop of kids hahaha-no fair. Mine were off to the rides, Tons of bouncing things and two rock climbing walls, hayrides, usually fishing but the creek was dry. Freesbie toss, all kinds of rides my kids kept going on them till they were green in the face especially with all that food I am surprised they didn’t barf.

Best of all it was 5 hours of fun with the family and it was all FREE!!! Did I mention it was FREE!!! My husband company also hosts a Christmas night out with a big band and free food for the adults only, for years I didn’t go because hubby didn’t tell me who was playing he just said you want to go to Christmas party? I am like hmmm I don’t think so…. but he forgot to always mention the big hits bands that were playing I thought it was some DJ or something. Like last year it was Chicago then the year before that it was Journey I Think. That’s a big thing not to mention!

So once a year now hubby and I leave the kids with whoever we can and we dress up in beautiful clothes that we only wear once a year hahaha and we get a hotel room and we party all night long. Can’t wait to see who is playing next.

Well its 11:40 here I need to get to bed my allergy’s are killing me I need sleep! It was a beautiful day thanks Lord for making it normal and a blessing that we could take my dad with us.
Sam

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Pantry all organized

So after 3 pay days I finally got my pantry organized the first week I had it organized I saved $50 on shopping because I didnt buy extra stuff. The last couple of paydays I was buying in bulk or extra stuff because I wanted to be ready just in case of hard times coming ahead. I had no idea though what I have now I do I am soooo proud.

I am cleaning off my kitchen table next and my pantry for my cans next. I have a microwave in it that I only use once a year so I am thinking of putting it away till Christmas time and using it for my computer and other stuff.

Well its almost turkey process time. My dad has been helping clean up the farm and I have been trying to help when I can. He made a mistake of burning some grasss which almost gave me a heart attack lol. Can you imagine your going to have people come over and they are going to see burnt grass....sigh anyways took care of that problem with a little sweat I put in some of my compost around it, I couldnt use it anyways my dad made it posion by putting in round up spray around it..sigh again. What can I say my dad loves chemical sprays.

The sheep have been busy clipping the grass which is good they will hit the spots where the grass is high so we don't have to pull out the weeds. There is so much to do still, this weekend we are going to my husbands company picnic, which is free, Free food, free prizes, free rides...you cant beat that and all the dessert you can eat.

Hubby pulled out the hive didnt get stung thank goodness the other day he really got them mad shaking their box trying to get it lose they stung him 3 times but he is kind of allergic so he was down for a whole day just feeling really bad.
Well got to get going, we are going to football game tonight, then tomorrow is my daughters anime meeting.

Sam

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Speech Problems Homeschooling Kids-Texas

As most insurance companys they usually only carry kids up to 5yrs with speech problems then they think the public schools are going to help so they cut you off. Public schools must do a evaulation on the kids its the law. They can make exceptions for homeschoolers but they dont have too. Yes I know we pay their school taxes yet they dont have to help us if they dont want too. Pretty sad. So you be nice to them and see if they have room to help you on the side or if you want to have full speech therapy you need to enroll full time.

My son has a speech problem where he forgets to make his "S" Sounds and forgets the "D" sounds in the middle. He talks too fast so it comes out mumble. Every year I kept hoping it would get better he is 8 yrs now and it hasnt gotten much better but at least we can understand him, others can't which he has a hard time making friends because of that plus he is behind in his studys. How could I get him to read when I cant even get him to say his ABC out loud.

Our insurance cut us off so we have to look for alternatives. I called THSC they were not much help they directed me to a volunteer site which the most information all I got was that they were extremely busy and they volunteered but if you have a question feel free to ask them. So I did and in response I got was the same thing they volunteer and are extremely busy good grief. Yes well I got that why dont you even have links to your site at least!

So I spent hours trying to find the information I needed. To help myself and others I plan to put them here and perhaps send to THSC for others. I feel alone right now.

Here is a list of Texas Speech Schools they have direct links to their school so you can find out if you can qualify to take your kids there. Most have a flat rate fee but if your low income they might offer classes for less. They have a l ot more to offer so I am going to contact them next to see what they can do to help me. I will update later.

Texas Speech Language Hearing Association-List of Schools

http://www.txsha.org/texas_university_programs.asp

San Antonio offers Our Lady of the Lake University
http://www.ollusa.edu/s/346/ollu.aspx?sid=346&gid=1&pgid=1041

At the time I write this the cost for evaluation is $175 flat rate fee -$55 for each hour taught which is about $100 less then the place my insurance used to pay.

It goes before a board the paperwork you do and it works by semester so the sooner we do this the better. If your lower income it might be cheaper. We are middle class so I doubt it for us.

Sam

Update: Letter finally from THSC dated Friday/Oct 24

Dear Samantha,

I am sorry you have not been able to find any assistance with your son's speech problems.

Since July 1, 2001, public schools have not been required to provide special education services to home school students. Then Texas Education Commissioner Jim Nelson confirmed this in a letter to THSC in March, 2001. "Public schools may still choose to provide special education services to private school students on a part-time basis if they wish, but they will no longer be required to do so," he said.

This is the result of changes in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997 and the federal regulations issued in 1999. The 1997 regulations required public schools to "provided special education and related services designed to meet the needs of private school children with disabilities residing in [its] jurisdiction."

However, the new regulations state, "No private school child with a disability has an individual right to receive some or all of the special education and related services that the child would receive if enrolled in a public school."
According to Commissioner Nelson, public schools are now required to spend a portion of their IDEA funds to provide for participation for private school children with disabilities.

However, "the type of services and manner in which they are provided are to be determined by the local school district based on consultations with appropriate representatives of private school children with disabilities." Commissioner Nelson concluded by saying, "Those students will receive only those services that can be supported by federal funds..."

We would encourage you to contact the school district and ask them to meet with you concerning how they can help you with the special needs of your child as a "representative of private school children with disabilities."
Hope this is helpful.

Sincerely,

Sheila

Friday, October 17, 2008

Organized

Ok, so while trying to do my cleaning this last few weeks I am trying to organize as well. I find that as I organized its like losing pounds of worry off my mind if that makes sense. Also its been helping me with my diet....oh I hate to say that word....ummmm healthy living choices is much better.

When I think of dieting I think of starving myself it has such a negative impact on the mind the word especially if you are trying to do that for years. I bought a white magetic board for my bathroom to encourage myself, its the first thing I see in the morning and so far I saw it and got encouraged so I am drinking water as I type this right now.

1. Take Vitamins (Check)
2. Take Garlic Pill (Check)
3. Drink Water (Check on 1 -8 oz 1/2 4 oz of water
4. Exercise (Going outside in a min to do chores and walk around the grounds I wish my peodeometer was working!
5. Eat slowly today (noted)
6. Nightly stretch ritual in bathroom before bath

Last night I bought shoe box size containers and put the jello in one, pudding in another, sauce mixes in another, hot cereal in yet another. Also have two one for tea and the other for different flavor teas. I will take a picture of it when I can. Speaking of picture I am keeping an eye out for cameras. I really want a new one for our trip as well as for taking pictures for my ebook and website my old one is soooo blurrrry lately and its only a 4pix.

The one I am looking at has 8 pix and has a mini video camera with sound :)

Well lots to do this morning. I got us an hair appointment with our hollywood hair dresser. I call her that because when we get our hair done it feels like we are movie stars hahaha...yah she is that good, she is expensive but you get what you pay for which is why we dont do it very often.

Sam

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Clean Clean why cant I clean

Well for days now I have been trying to clean the house I had it in my mind that was going to organize some more but with just doing basic chores, trying to get some homeschool in and doing extra stuff like trying to sale our lamb and rest of the turkeys its been impossible.

I have only been able to do the basic stuff like keep dishes clean, sweep floors and do the laundry. We found out this week was the last week to get our lambs in before our butcher shuts the door on us livestalk people and open up for only deer hunters and this will go on till January.

Poor deer ....well....maybe...but have you ever had deer meat and did I mention we will be getting some really low cost deer meat from our butcher at the end of deer season :) It seems that after deer season hunters will take their kill there but wont pick it up or varies reason, no room, no money or wife says no WAY! anyways thats low cost deer meat for us.

We bought our tickets to Washington state for Thanksgiving my husband is really excited he hasnt seen his family in a long time and while I am excited too I am a bit worried because I need a suitcase, I need warm pants because I really dont own that many living in Texas :) Tommy needs some pants too, Miranda needs a jacket...sigh the list goes on and we have only 3 more paydays. Looks like I am hitting the thrift shops.

With this economy right now its pretty scary I was having doubts but hubby and I sat down talking about our finances and I am feeling much better now, things are not so bad with us at least. Its funny we are able to invest in our retirement but I hardly have any money for clothes for us right now.

Well need to sign off to go do dishes to go to bed.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Shot Friday-More Anime

Well we just got back from San Antonio where the kids had to get shots updated. The girlscout group wanted a copy of my daughters shot record and when I went to get it out I noticed some of it was missing, so when I called to get it they said by the way......

My daughters eyes watered up but she didnt cry, my son did I had to hold him down for the second one plus they got the mist flu shot. They hated it. I myself would rather get it as a shot then shot up my nose. They tried to get me to give my daughter that cervic cancer one ummm its for girls with risk of cancer from having intercourse...I told them no, they looked at me...she is guarded more then fortknox hahaha please......she is not even allowed to date yet. Not saying there is anything against it but its farily new so I want to wait to see what happens. I wouldnt even give my kids the chicken pox shots till it was out for a few years.

To make up for the torture I put them through that morning I took them to Dennys where they could have breakfast served to them other then mommy :) We then hit the thrift shop on the way back looking for yet another Anime costume for my daughter, this time I told her we are making it not buying it she agreed.

Her character has 4 pony tails, black dress with v neck (we couldnt find so we got blouse and skirt) We got material that looks like it was part of a curtain (red) to make around her waist. The shoes are the one thing I am worried about finding and the huge fan she is suppose to have too.

I wish I could afford to just buy it for her but its just not possible we are trying to save as much as we can right now and its coming out of my allowance money.

Not much going on for the weekend there is Oct Fest in one of our nearby towns but that usually cost money. I would freely give it if I had it :)

I had lost my coupon books awhile back so I had to do another, while trying to find my blouse I had just bought that was on sale I found it....but still havent found my blouse sigh...I am so disorganized right now so much going through my head.

I have a homeschool magazine write me for an interview about my postcard group they want a picture but I need to wait for my hubby (takes awful pic, sorry honey) or my sister to come to take it for us to send to them. My editor that buys my homeschool articles wants some comments from me for her updated books she is doing so I need to do that too.

I have been working on my ebook again I printed it out to be able to look at it better then on the computer so its slow going havent had much time but at night when the kids are asleep to work on it. I really want to get this out soon I think its a good time to introduce it.

I need to reread my ebook on how to get it out again. I need to find an artist and I need to get it edited.


Sam

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Veggies in Season

Seasonal Veggies

Januaryoranges, grapefruit, tangerines, tangelos, lemons, papayas, cabbages: red, white and green; leeks, broccoli, cauliflower
zSB(3,3)


Februaryoranges, tanelos, grapefruit, lemons, papayas, broccoli, cauliflower

Marchpineapples, mangoes, broccoli. lettuce

Aprilpineapples, mangoes, zucchini, rhubarb, artichokes, asparagus, spring peas, broccoli, lettuce

Maycherries, pineapples, apricots, okra, zucchini, rhubarb, artichokes, asparagus, spring peas, broccoli, lettuce

Junewatermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, cherries, blueberries, peaches, apricots, corn, lettuce

Julywatermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, peaches, apricots, kiwi, raspberries, plums, cucumbers, tomatoes, summer squash, corn, green beans, lettuce

Augustwatermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, peaches, apricots, kiwi, raspberries, plums, cucumbers, corn, eggplant, tomatoes, summer squash, green beans, lettuce

Septembergrapes, pomegranates, persimmons,eggplants, pumpkins, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce

Octobercranberries, apples, pomegranates, grapes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, winter squash, broccoli, spinach, lettuce