Just yesterday I happened upon a post at Confessions of a Homeschooler about and upcoming bible study on Ephesians.  It’s going to last for 12 weeks.  I’ve done Read Through The Bible in 90 Days several times and feel like it’s time to do an more in-depth study.  If you’d like to do this bible study you can find more information at the Good Morning Girls website.

I’m finding some big holes in my food storage.  I thought I had more baking/making from scratch foods left.  Problem is I’ve been making more meals from scratch and not paying attention to how much I’ve been using.  I also discovered we are really low on toilet paper.  As in one 4-pack left.  Not good. Seems that other family members were replacing from the tote they were in and I wasn’t checking what was left.

I’m still winging it when it comes to meal planning. So far I’m only managing to do it one day at a time.  But, that does include breakfasts, lunches and dinners. We are eating well.

I did find a menu planner posted at The Happy Housewife.  I’m going to give that one a shot and see how it goes.

Oh, and so far?  I’ve only spent $67.  This has only happened because I’ve avoided the stores as much as possible and am buying only when we absolutely need something. I’m setting that extra money aside for…well, I don’t know what yet. I’m sure I’ll think of something good.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Still haven’t gotten the written inventory done…and the foodstuffs that were in the extra room closet are still laid out on the extra room bed.  Sigh…. My job keeps getting in the way….

Little Cloud by Eric Carle

In Little Cloud, a deceptively simple book, beloved artist Eric Carle celebrates the possibilities of imagination with textured collages of sky-blue and white.

Followup activity:

Whenever I read this story I usually do two activities to go along with it.  First, we go outside to lay on the grass on a cloudy day and try to find our own shapes in the clouds.  I also give the children blue paper and white paint so they can create their own shapes.

Most of them will probably be based on what I’m reading in the classroom.  My first pick is Dream Snow by Eric Carle:

In this musical and sound effects book, a farmer celebrates Christmas after the first snowfall.

Jessica at good(cheap)eats is hosting a pantry challenge for the month of January and I’ve decided to participate.  I really need to do an inventory of my pantry because I’m a little afraid of what I might find. This house has a very small kitchen so I don’t have a real pantry.  Most of our foodstuffs are stored in a closet in the extra room.  It started out fairly organized in the beginning, but as seems to happen pretty regularly in my life, it has become a jumbled mess.

I’m not organized enough to plan menus for the whole month.  I’m going for a weekly thing.  First up will be eating leftovers in fridge. We have several days worth…plus I have a roast thawed that will go in the crock pot today.  Breakfasts will be cold cereal, oatmeal or farina. Dh and I start back to work tomorrow so it needs to be easy. Lunches will be sandwiches or leftovers. Ds17  forages for himself during the day. I usually leave breakfast for him and he gets his own lunch.

So…my real goal for this month is to inventory the pantry and get rid of any items we’ll never use or expired items so I can see where there are any holes in what we really need.

We’ll see how it goes.

Each time I wear them put I get well-deserved compliments.  I love the coloring on the beads!