July update

I seem to be so very bad about updating lately. I do apologize. The baby is taking up some of my time, plus the garden, school preps, housework.....Oh My! I am hoping to get into the swing of things soon :)

I hope to shortly share our curriculum choices for the year and some review stuff that I have been working on. Also, this week is the last week to sign up for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo at the discounted rate! Those speakers are such a blessing to me as I walk in the morning.

Our garden is finally growing! So many of our neighbors have been harvesting and we have been jealous, but yesterday I picked 4 green beans and we have little tiny cucumbers, zucchini and spaghetti squash on the vines. We also have several green tomatoes! And a little tiny pepper I think. I ordered some seed for fall planting. I hope it gets here in time!

I have been decluttering school stuff. I sold some stuff on ebay, but ended up not making hardly anything after shipping. I think that shipping rates have went up recently. I know everything else has. I ordered flours, popcorn, honey, and oatmeal from our local food co-op and was surprised at how much the prices had increased. I am going to have to be more creative with our food budget I think. I am also trying to store some food for emergencies. I have been very blessed by a website HERE with a bunch of ladies (and some gentleman) that are helping me in my long term preparations. No matter what the future holds for each of us, it doesn't hurt to be ready for it!

Little Bear is almost 9 months old! I can't hardly believe it! He has started to take a few steps alone at a time.....6 is the most so far. We have some little kitties as well and they all entertain each other with chasing and stuff. The little kitties aren't smart enough to stay away from the baby though and he tries to squeeze the stuffing out of them.....or drops them when he is done......grabs them by the tail, etc. I spent an hour yesterday saying "be nice to the kitty, love the kitty, don't throw the kitty, don't drop the kitty, don't strangle the kitty, love the kitty". I was beginning to sound like a broken record! Luckily enough the older boys came home from grandmas and helped and Little Bear had to go to bed. Right now Bear and the grey kitty (with no name - we are hoping to find it a good home) are sleeping on the couch. Sleeping they seem to get along pretty well..........with very little stress for momma!

Well, I need to finish my chores and get lunch started before Bear wakes. I am going to be trying a sourdough english muffin recipe tomorrow. I will let you know how that goes!