Everything Under the Son

It seems as though we are always counting down to something around here...a birthday, a holiday, a trip to MawMaw's house, the start of our homeschool...lots to count down to!  Here are a few other countdowns that I have going in my head.  Yikes...time is flying by!

There are 7 days until our homeschool year begins and Jones Academy will be in session!

There are 9 days until a certain birthday :)

There are 11 days until our first day of COOP!

There are 37 days until Dittos for Kiddos, which is my twice a year job!

There are 62 days until Halloween!

There are 87 days until Thanksgiving!

There are 118 Days until Christmas!

Whew...I have lots of fun to look forward to, and lots of work ahead of me...and I am blessed by it all!

What are you counting down to??

We've gone minimal carb's around here...meaning the children still get a few carbs, but Nathaniel and I are eating carb-free.  As you can imagine, I am having to re-vamp my cooking repertoire.  I think we don't realize just how many carbs we consume until you try to cook without using them.  Sheesh! 

Anyway, I have made a couple of Italian dishes this week that have both been delicious, and also healthy!  Yeah for delicious AND healthy!  Why is it that when I think of something yummy, it typically falls in the "you-shouldn't-eat-that-it's-poison-for-your-body" category?  Thankfully, as our eating evolves, so do our tastebuds, and more and more I am thinking of yummy things that are GOOD FOR ME! 

I know you are probably thinking, "Italian?  No Carbs?  Healthy?  That doesn't make sense, Anne!"  But. It. Does!  I've made pizza and lasagna, and we loved them both.  "How?", you ask?  Check it out...

Use Zucchini to replace the crust on the pizza, and to replace the noodles in the lasagna.  Delicious!

I simply sliced my zucchini long-ways, and put it on a microwave-safe plate, cooking in the microwave for a few minutes to begin the cooking process.  After 5-6 minutes in the microwave, I pulled it out and placed it on a foil lined cookie sheet with sides (you don't want juice dripping all over the oven!).  Then, just spread your sauce, toppings, and cheese on the slices, and bake at 350 until the cheese is melted.  You have to eat these with a fork, but they are delicious!  Even my 8-year-old said, "Mom, this is the best pizza I have ever had!"  A pretty good review if you ask me! :)

Then last night, I waited until late to decide what to fix for dinner.  Shame on me!  Anyway, I pulled out some ground beef and browned it up in the skillet, and added some yummy fresh mushrooms to saute as well.  I sliced 2 zucchini into rounds and cooked them in the microwave for a few minutes, again to expedite the cooking process.  Then, I just pulled out my 8x8 casserole dish and layered in sauce, zucchini rounds, browned meat and mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, and some diced pepperoni for flavor...layering again and again until I was out of supplies.  Then just bake at 350 until warmed through and cheese is melted.  I served with a green salad and carrot sticks...delicious and carb-free!

These recipes will continue to be enjoyed, and I cannot wait to keep experimenting for more yummy carb-free goodness!  I never imagined I would use some of the new-to-me ingredients that are staples around here...milk and egg protien powder, flax seeds, coconut flour, almond flour.  Up next on my list, some yummy muffins made with almond or coconut flour.  I'll let you know how it goes! :)

It's been several long months since my last update here...I have often wondered if I need update at all.  This has been an interesting summer...but not what I had planned.

For the month of June, we were busy, busy, busy!  We had swimming lessons, zoo camp, cousin camp with the Jones', and lots of other fun!  Despite the HOT temperatures, we managed to have lots of fun and make some great memories.

The last week of June, I found myself on the ER.  I was very sick.  After much stress and worry, along with many expensive medical tests, we have concluded that I have been experiencing an extreme reaction to a medication I was taking.  Thankfully all of the test results were good...my brain is good, my heart is good, my lungs are good.  I am now off the medication, but it is taking some time to get it out of my system.  After several weeks of feeling terrible, I am finally on the upswing.  Thank you Lord for healing.  If you think of it, I'd love your prayers as I continue to recover.  Like I said, a month of feeling bad is not what I had planned for the summer, but I am thankful for my family who has stuck by me, and nursed me back to health.

The last week or so, I have been playing a little catch-up.  I have watched movies with my precious babes at the dollar theatre.  We love turning our a/c up, and heading out to soak up the cool air at the theatre for the low price of $1.50 per person, complete with a fun movie!  We have used my free bowling coupons for some bowling fun, too!  BOTH of the kids have beaten me...guess I need some more practice!

There are other changes happening around here, too.  After prayer and research, we feel called to begin our homeschool journey this year.  We are all SUPER excited about the upcoming school year.  We have no doubts that the Lord is going to bless our socks off as we spend our days together as a family, learning and exploring this thing called life.  I have been busy planing and preparing our curriculum, and the more I think about it, the more excited I get.  I know not everyone believes that homeschooling is a good thing, but we know that this is exactly where God has led us, and can't wait to get started!  If you think we are crazy, don't tell us!  Only positive encouragement is allowed around here. :)

There is much more I could share, but I'll stop with this for now.  Maybe I'll be back to share some more scoop soon! 

Until then, stay cool, and thank the Lord for the blessings in your life.



With my