Quote from Forum Archives on January 27, 2003, 9:47 am

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

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THE HOPE CHEST:
Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
January / February 2003 
Issue #54: Keep Going!
Part 3: Life's Little Practicalities
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Part 3: Life's Little Practicalities

• Mommyisms by Virginia Knowles
• Watching Your Wallet by Virginia Knowles
• Doing the Wash: Grandmother's "Receet" by Author Unknown
• Chicken Enchilada Casserole submitted by Angie Blackman

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MOMMYISMS
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I'm just wondering... Are there certain things that home school
moms everywhere say over and over again?  Here are the phrases
that keep popping out of my mouth:

 

• Just put it on my desk.
• How did my desk get so messy?
• No, NOT "just a minute"!  Do it now!
• Just a minute, sweetie...
• Remember, when you learn something new, it's hard.  But once
  you get the hang of it, it's easy.
• Brought, not brang!
• Hey, no food in the living room!
• Did I ever comb my hair this morning?  Oh where is my
  hairbrush?
• If you want to talk to me, come here.  Don't shout!
• Mary, no Julia, no I mean Rach... JOANNA!  COME HERE!
• Anybody want to change a diaper?
• I know you like to read, but don't leave your library books in the
  bathroom.
• No, you can't go outside yet.  Finish your math first.
• Because I'm the mom, that's why!
• I don't want to smell it!
• If you were in public school, you'd be sitting for hours.
• I've got a hug with your name on it.
• Turn that video off! 
• I'll be really impressed with your maturity if you ___________.
• Whining won't get you anything but trouble.
• I don't understand grunt language.  Please speak in nice words
  that I can understand.
• If you want to live in a pleasant house, you have to be pleasant
  yourself.
• Quick!  Clean up!  Dad's home!
• Do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do it.
• You asked for it, you eat it.
• Sip it, don't drip it.
• If you don't have time to clean it up, you don't have time to do
  the project in the first place.
• Cut the noise!
• All hands on deck!
• Learn to get along with your sisters and brothers.  You still have
  a lot of years to live with them.
• Do it 'til it's done.  I'm not raising quitters.
• How did I get so many sweet kids?
• Don't provoke.  It's not nice to tease.
• It's not gross.  Just try it and you'll learn to like it.
• I just LOVE math!  It's such a fascinating mystery to solve.
• How'd you learn that so fast?
• You acted that way when you were her age.
• You'll get to do that when you are her age.
• I didn't ask if you WANTED to do it.
• Mmmmhmmm...... Pretty!
• Just let me check my e-mail one more time!

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WATCHING YOUR WALLET
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

How does a large home schooling family survive when finances are
tight?  Many people have asked me this during this period of bare
minimum income.  Fortunately for me, I have a very prudent
husband who has always insisted on thrift, so not only do we still
have a cushion to live on, but we have the penny pinching habits
already established. 

 

One of the most important strategies for saving money is to delay
purchases as long as you can.  It is my experience that if I refrain
from rushing out to buy a new item, one of the following usually
happens:

 

1. I lose interest in what I thought I wanted.  The impulse just wears
off!

 

2. I find a way to adapt or repair what we have.  

 

3. I find it for a great price: used, on clearance, or with a good
discount or coupon.

 

4. Somebody gives me one that they aren't using anymore.

 

If one of the above does NOT happen, and I still NEED to buy the
item, I buy it with confidence.   I can appreciate it more because I
waited for it!  Not only that, if the item is a large one that will need to
be replaced again in the future, I am extending the average life span
of each purchase.  In other words, if I can make my computer last
six years instead of four, then in a period of twelve years, I will
purchase two computers instead of three!

 

Here are some other ideas for saving money.  This list comes from
my book The Real Life Home School Mom.

• Avoid eating out or using expensive convenience foods
  very often.
• When running errands, bring food and drinks with you in an
  insulated bag.
• Cancel subscriptions which encourage a materialistic
  lifestyle. 
• Make your own gifts, greeting cards, decorations, and
  entertainment.
• Cut your children's hair.
• Learn how to repair clothing and household items.
• To save on labor costs, ask friends to help with big
  projects.
• Barter your skills.
• Use garage sales and consignment stores to buy and sell.
• Organize your home to avoid replacing lost items.
• Borrow seldom used items.
• Shop around!  If you take your time, you can usually find
  the best deal.
• Alert friends to your upcoming purchases so they can keep
  an eye out.
• Choose items that are versatile enough for many purposes
  and seasons.

When you are planning your curriculum, try these money-saving
strategies:

• Shop carefully, concentrating on the basics first.
• Borrow, trade, or buy used materials as appropriate.
• Look for reusable or reproducible materials.
• Try to see products or get personal recommendations
  before you buy them.
• Consolidate mail orders to save on shipping charges.
• Consider making some of your own teaching aids.
• Use the public library!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DOING THE WASH: GRANDMOTHER'S "RECEET"
by author unknown
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Virginia's note: I clipped this out about ten years ago from a home
school support group newsletter (either Heritage in  Montgomery
County, Maryland, or Grace here in the Orlando area).  Maureen
Hartnett was the lady who submitted it to whichever newsletter it
was.]

 

Here are laundering instructions from a time when the only
"appliance" was a scrub board.

 

1. Bild fire in back yard to heet kettle of rain water.
2. Set tubs so smoke won't blow in eyes if wind is pert.
3. Shave one hole cake lie soap in billin water.
4. Sort things, make three piles.  1 pile white, 1 pile cullord, 1 pile
work britches and rags.
5. Stur flour in cold water to smooth then thin down with billin water.
6. Rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, then bile.  Rub cullord but
don't bile -- just rench and starch.
7. Take white things out of kettle with broom stick handle then rench,
blew and starch.
8. Spred tee towles on grass.
9. Hang old rags on fence.
10. Pore rench water in flower bed.
11. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.
12. Turn tubs upside down.
13. Got put on cleen dress, smooth hair with side combs, brew cup
of tee.  Set and rest a spell and count your blessins.

 

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CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
submitted by Angie Blackman, Vaudreuil, Quebec
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Virginia's note: For those days when life is too hectic to cook,
wouldn't it be nice to have a dinner in the freezer, just waiting to be
baked?  Plan ahead, and reap the benefits!  Angie said that she
originally found this recipe in Gentle Spirit Magazine many years
ago, but she has adapted it.  I must confess that I wasn't sure how
the different flavors (cream soups vs. tomatoes & spices) in this
recipe would blend together, but decided to give it a try.   I'm glad I
did!  It was yummy, and my family asked for more!  I increased the
amount of chicken and rice, and filled one large baking pan with only
one set of layers.  I had enough left over for a second pan, which I
put in the freezer. (It froze well, and tasted fine.)  I should note that I
forgot to use any chicken broth at all, and I added in some minced
green pepper instead of black pepper.  For the diced tomatoes, I
bought Del Monte Petite Cut (on sale, of course!) so that my littles
ones wouldn't fuss about big chunks.  Bon appetit!]

 

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
(10-12 servings)

 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked, chopped chicken
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1-1/2 cups chicken broth (simply made by boiling chicken for
  this recipe and using the water)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 4 tsp minced onion
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (or more if you like garlic)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 12 oz grated cheese
• 5-6 cups crushed nacho chips (I like to mix golden and blue
  chips)

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients except chicken, cheese and nacho chips.

 

For conventional oven: In a 3-qt oven safe casserole or large
disposable foil pan, layer ingredients in this order:  1/2 of nacho
chips, 1/2 of chicken, 1/2 of sauce, 1/2 of cheese.  Repeat layers.
Cover and heat in oven at 325F until it is warmed through and
cheese has melted.  If you freeze it, you can place frozen, still
covered,  in a 325F oven for 1 hour. Uncover.  Bake another 1/2
hour or until warmed through and cheese has melted.  

 

For microwave oven:  Layer the ingredients as above in a
microwaveable dish, and either heat or freeze for later.  OR layer
and freeze in a plastic container the same size as a microwaveable
dish, and then transfer the food into the cooking dish before
defrosting/heating.  Add 4 tbs water to microwaveable dish, and
defrost (if necessary).  Cook on Med-High for 30 minutes (900 mhz
oven).