Saturday is a busy day! Up early for the used curriculum sale, followed by a trip to Farmers Market, and dinner guests. So I am trying BBQ ribs in the crock pot! Woo hoo! Can’t wait to see how this goes! I will report!

Slow cooked BBQ Ribs (for crock pot) Recipe #16705

This is the most perfect recipe for ribs. You can’t get them in a restaurant better than this! The meat falls off the bone as you take them out of the crock!

½ day | 10 min prep | SERVES 4 -6

1. Do not pre-heat the slow cooker.
2. Dice up the onion, add to crock pot.
3. Rub the ribs with salt and pepper, add to crock pot.
4. Dump BBQ sauce on top.
5. Cook on low setting for 8-10 hours.
6. Try not to lift the lid too much.
7. The meat will FALL OFF THE BONE!

© 2007 Recipezaar

DON’T TRY THIS ONE YET - it came out horribly for us! Ugh -  not sure if it was the ribs, the crockpot, not enough BBQ or what.

When we began our homeschooling journey, we were determined to go with the Classical style all the way and that included Latin (and because I am ambitious, let’s learn Greek too!) As we progressed and we saw the learning styles and glitches of our kids, that melded into more of a Charlotte Mason approach, which has since purposefully become an eclectic, lifestyle of learning with an entrepreneurial bent for Emily! God has a purpose and a plan for each of our kids, and it is our job to prayerfully find it! That includes language programs, which can make you want to pull your hair out as you try to figure out which one will work for your family and for your kids! If you have a child with learning challenges, it is doubly hard.With the exception of Artes Latinae, MOST will require a chunk of Mom, from a minor amount to a major amount of work, it differs by year and program. Latin is a commitment and it can be a family commitment! 

We have owned and tried several Latin programs in the past, Wheelock’s Latin, Latina Christiana, Our Roman Roots (which is a text for Catholic kids – which we are not –but it was  highly recommended from a language specialist back in CA), and Latin in the Christian Trivium. When we first started homeschooling, I did Wheelock’s (an old college text) with a bunch of moms that had never taken Latin. It was a jolly time - we spent more time laughing than learning, but it was also frustrating NOT to have a tape (the old days) to listen to. I had taken Spanish, lived in So Cal so heard Spanish spoken constantly, and years of French in HS and college, but never Latin.

HEARING a language helps tremendously!

We are about to start Latin THIS year with Emily. With all of her learning glitches, a FOREIGN language was certainly not something I wanted to start until things solidified in her mind with English. Her mind can be like a colander, so we wanted to get her past some roadblocks in her brain, before we attempted to learn a foreign language. She is excited to learn Latin, would like to do a few years of it and then maybe take Spanish and French later on (on her own). So as we have been getting ready for these sales, prayerfully considering WHAT WE OWN, how to use it, what the Lord wants us to accomplish in high school, and what she wants to do, along with a realistic assessment of her capabilities at this time, I pulled out our 3 Latin programs (yes, THREE!) and we began to look at them.

Our main high school program will be Latin in the Christian Trivium as her first year of actual high school Latin. As I reviewed it, it specifically said prior Latin is helpful. We haven’t done Latin since third grade and Emily has learning glitches. So I pulled out the other Latin resources we have, which I had intended to sell, to figure out what would work with high school, with the idea of what would actually be retained in her brain right now! Our goal is always “the lighting of a fire, not the filling of a bucket” and I don’t “care” that much about when we finish and what year we finish, we are more interested in mastery. So understanding this rather eclectic bent that doesn’t always mesh so well with a transcript, and trembling a bit that it was now a HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT, my original intent was to do Our Roman Roots, then segue into Latin in the Christian Trivium and sell the other stuff. As it was on the table ready to be priced for the sale, Emily looked at Latina Christiana and decided it looked fun and she would actually like to start there! If she blew through it in a few months, so be it. Then we will go on to Roman Roots and from there, Latin the Christian Trivium. That may only constitute a year of actual Latin for high school, and it will probably take 1 ½ to 2. We are okay with that. The goal is learning, not merely finishing in a neat and tidy grade frame that lines up with the government schools! This is key, especially when your child is brilliant, but has trouble getting that brilliance on paper (dyslexic, dysgraphic, etc, etc). 

A great site that for Latin reviews from a language specialist is found at http://www.homeschoolchristian.com/Reviews/LatinComparison.html You will find beginner and intermediate comparisons and a lot of helpful information!

Are you all familiar with the Product Reviews at The Old Schoolhouse Magazines website? Real families review homeschool programs, curriculum, books and more, and they write up an honest review on how they used it, what they liked, what they didn’t and this gives you a great idea on whether or not this would work in YOUR home! http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Homeschool_Reviews/Foreign_Language_products.php

• Artes Latinae, Level One
• The Book of Roots: Advanced Vocabulary Building from Latin Roots ****
• English from the Roots Up, Volumes I and II and Word Cards ****
• First Year Henle Latin Guide For Units I & II
• Getting Started with Latin: Beginning Latin for the Homeschooler and the Self-Taught Student of any Age
• Latin for Children, Mastery Bundle, Primer A
• Latin for Children Primer A
• Latin for Children Series: Primer Sets A, B and C
• Latin in the Christian Trivium
• Latin Playground English & Spanish Activity Kit
• Latin Primer I, Student and Teacher’s Book
• Latin Road to English Grammar, The
• Latina Christiana I and II
• Latin’s Not So Tough
• Ludere Latine I
• Ludere Latine I: Latina Christiana I Puzzles and Games
• Ludere Latine II
• Ludere Latine Book I: Latina Christiana I Latin Games
• Minimus: Starting out in Latin
• Power Glide Latin Program
• Prima Latina, Introduction to Christian Latin, 2nd Edition
• Rosetta Stone Latin, Level I (Homeschool Edition)
• Tres Mures Caeci: A Moral “Tail” in Latin
• Vocabulary Bridges from English to Latin & Greek ****
  

**** Denotes a Latin or Latin/Greek ROOTS

I do hope this LONG treatise helps!

With Gas Prices UP, how DO we afford the Real Life Marriage Conference (At the Journey Church in Gray TN - June 13-14, 2008)

So glad you asked! We are all feeling the SQUEEZE of gas and food prices these days! It feels like the month runs longer than the money! Here are a few suggestions to raise a little cash for the RLMC (and you will notice many of them are really HOMESCHOOL ENTREPRENEUR 101 ideas)!

1. Take the money you make Saturday at the NETHEA Sale and invest it in one of the most important things your kids will ever see – a SOLID MARRIAGE! Quietly, in a life well lived honoring the Lord and loving your spouse, your kids will pick up more values and truths than any curriculum you can buy with the same amount of cash! A solid marriage IS one of the best gifts you can give your kids!
2. Sell something on ebay! We all have too much stuff! Get creative, enlist the kids in a homeschool experiment and get to selling stuff on ebay! Goal – pay for dinner out for mom and dad, and the RLMC!
3. Have a garage sale! We all want to declutter, so get a jump on your plans and have that garage sale the first week of June, then sign up!
4. Scalp a little money out of the vacation fund, and treat mom and dad to a weekend they will long remember!
5. Schedule “Entrepreneur Days” at home with your kids – challenge them to earn half of the marriage retreat as a gift for you (and you will contribute the other half!) This will teach them a cornucopia of invaluable tools (they can earn money, gift someone else with their hard work, reach a goal, etc!)
6. Go to Sam’s Club and buy the large candy bars. Create a contest for your kids, scrub them up, give them a lesson in salesmanship and unleash them on the world! Plan a special trip for them, and the special trip for mom and dad and let them roar off! Don’t we all get asked a million times a year to buy wrapping paper, junky gifts, candy, candy, candles, and more from all the other neighborhood kids! Since we aren’t “working” for the school district – why not let them “work” for the family homeschool?
7. Gather up all the lose change, roll it up and you might have enough!
8. Use your birthday money, anniversary money, etc.
9. Stop eating out for a month – drop the lattes, or fix hubby fabulous brown bag lunches for a month!
10. Pull some cash out of your Emergency Fund! Really, a homeschool retreat JUST for HOMESCHOOLERS is an emergency!
11. Sign up for The Prudent Wife E-newsletter for money saving ideas and tips!

Ever wondered where the “Marriage Retreat” for homeschooling parents is???

Real Life Marriage Conference – Journey Church in Gray TN - June 13-14, 2008 

www.extrememarriagemakeover.com/

Oil is up. Gas is up. Food is up. Headlines keep telling us how BAD things are! I am feeling a little overwhelmed and discouraged as we chunk away at our own balances….and then I read this!

That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise.

— Abraham Lincoln

While being rich is not our goal, debt free, savings toward retirement and able to really go above and beyond is our goal!

THE BEST OF BLUE CHEESE DRESSINGS

1/2 c. mayonnaise (DO NOT use salad dressing)
1/2 c. blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 c. sour cream
Garlic salt to taste

Blend all ingredients well in blender or with beaters, so that there are no lumps of blue cheese left. Add garlic salt to taste, and it is very essential to taste. DO NOT add any other seasonings to dressing. Salt and pepper may be added to salt, but not to dressing as it will change the taste of the dressing. This recipe will serve 4 to 5 medium salads.

Yes, Lord willing, it is finally here! We are in the final touches of putting The Prudent Wife Website together! We are going to launch officially in June of 2008 and are so excited to bring you our signature videos full of money saving adventures, great meals, healthy tips, homemade green cleaners and a website dedicated to helping you survive the turbulent financial times we are in and prosper!

Why has it taken so long? Well, instead of a team of 30 creating this site, all the recipes, photos, and videography, you have one very busy homeschooling family doing it all! This has truly been a labor of love, diligence and hundreds of hours have gone into this site, with hundreds more to go get it launched! We are very appreciative of a dollar here at The Prudent Wife, and we were determined NOT to launch until this site until it was well worth your money! If we can’t save you the membership price dozens of times over, it is not worth launching - period!

We appreciate your patience and your prayers as we head into launch!

Summer is the time of cleansing at The Prudent Wife and this summer is no different! I have been considering one particular cleanse for about 5 months, as strange as it may seem. It is the “Master Cleanse” or the Lemonade Diet, also known by several other names. The article under the subscriber section of The Prudent Wife will expand daily, sharing the Adventures with the Master Cleanse, recipes, thoughts, realities, and the who, what, where, when and why of it, along with charts and more! I thought I would do the MC alone, but my whole family determined to do it with me, so you will have the man’s point of view, mine and our 13 year old daughter (yes, we checked with her doctor on juice fasting last summer and they are okay with it - but you check with yours)!!

  Mark Twain says “A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicines and the best doctors. I do not mean a restricted diet; I mean total abstinence from food for one or two days. I speak from experience; starvation has been my cold and fever doctor for 15 years, and has accomplished a cure in all instances.” 

Got one set of news from the GI doctor - the initial blood test says I am good on the gluten. While the test came back negative, for some reason, there is still an inner whisper and lack of ease with it. I don’t feel as good when I eat a lot of gluten, some is okay, but a lot really sends me into a carb coma. But at least don’t feel like I will kill any additional pregnancies by eating a sandwich. I mean that literally, which is a tremendous relief.

I do have H. pylori, this nasty bacteria in my stomach that cause ulcers and eventually causes lymphoma (cancer). So I have to do an industrial strength protocol of antibiotics etc, a triple threat (my doctor is so cool - he says - I know you HATE antibiotics and drugs - BUT - it may become cancer, so I would suggest you really consider this. I appreciate a brilliant doctor who really cares about the patient, and the fact that the patient does not like pharmaceuticals!

I may have to do it several times to eradicate it, from researching it is pretty nasty.

This explains why I have non stop morning sickness feelings - H. pylori make you feel sick all the time, which is why I always feel prego - every single two week wait (and actually have for years - it is just worse now!)

That said - I am in the TWW right now and cannot start the triple threat until I know for sure I am not prego. The PrevPac routine can damage a fetus, so it is not recommended during pregnancy. So much of my life is lived two weeks at a time.

And I am thoroughly grossed out to have BACTERIA in my stomach that are NASTINESS! Ugh. It is like filth - get it out NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! So I will do a natural protocol that is safe now (bentonite clay, Oil of O, etc this week - all of which are safe in the TWW)

And - that baby aspirin - well, according to some things I have read, that FEEDS the H. pylori and really harms the stomach situation (lets cut a pathway quicker to cancer??) You know the old adage, you take one pharmaceutical and it leads to a host of others to fix what it is destroying! I just can’t seem to win for losing, but hey - I can eat bread!

But God is so good, we were at the HFS and talking to my favorite person there and I told her about the blood clotting issue. She told me,the aspirin can eventually eat a hole through your stomach. While looking at natural remedies - I have to tapdance on possible pregnancy - I can’t not have something that thins my blood. Get this - if I get prego - the stuff they give me beyond aspirin is a rat and mice killer! Yes! And there were tainted batches in China - that killed folks outright. And I would have to INJECT it - oh sign me up for that.

So my choice – rat killer to save the baby – OR – herbs (which we all know can be toxic).

I ended up getting this BAC formula - that might be ideal for you (info below). I would have systematically dismissed it - I don’t have high cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. But I do have blood clots which can kill me and have killed 4 babies. I bought a booklet on it and read it as we were out and about. It made total sense - so I went back and got it and at $39.95 NOT a minor choice. That was Sunday, so Connie double checked with the mfg on Monday that it was okay prego/or TTC so we are good there.

The next day - the GI doctor diagnosed me with me H. pylori and that pretty much eliminates ANY desire to take aspirin - so the BAC formula is a blessing!

We just got home from an amazing trip to New England. Did hubby use that cruise control through a horrid rain storm on our way home, traversing three states….No! God was merciful throughout – and we did not have issues. Great information!

NEVER KNEW THIS BEFORE… and it checks out with Snopes – and includes ice and a few other conditions. http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/wetroad.asp

I wonder how many people know about this?

A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car. A resident of Kilgore, Texas she was traveling between Gladewater & Kilgore. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began to hydroplane and literally flew through the air. She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!

When she explained to the highway patrolman what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR

CRUISE CONTROL ON. She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain.

But the highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydroplane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane. She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred. The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver’s seat sun visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT IS WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning. We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed - but we don’t tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.

The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the patrolman), was a man who had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries. If you send this to 15 people and only one of them doesn’t know about this, then it was all worth it. You might have saved a life.

NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on.