Monday Fundays!!!

This last week we actually had to do our "Monday Funday" activity on Wednesday.

But that's one of the perks of Home Education.

You have that flexibility to adjust your schedule.

So we wanted to attend the State Fair of Texas.

I don't know if you've heard about it or not, but it's a pretty BIG deal down here.

But to be able to afford it with a family of 8 is hard to pull off.

You can easily bleed out several HUNDRED dollars in just a day there, and well,

that's just not doable for us.

So here's how we enjoyed a day at the fair for less than 50 BUCKS!!

First, after a little research, I discovered that on Wednesdays it's "Canned Food Drive" day.

Bring 3 cans of food per person and get in for only $2 per person.

Since Aryn is under 3 she was free anyway.

That was $14 for admission for 7 people.

Regular admission is $15 for everyone over 48" tall.

That means we would've had to pay $15 for 3 children and 2 adults.

It's $11 for our two younger ones.

Do the math.

We saved $83 on the price of admission alone.

My husband did want to pay the $15 parking fee because he's tired of paying $5 to park in the drug dealers backyard and then walking 2 miles through tricky traffic with cases of canned goods and six children.

We took our meals and snacks with us.

We always let them choose a fair treat,
but this year my husband spent $9 for two bags of cotton candy,
and used the rest of the food tickets for drinks and snacks to share.

Finally, we discussed with our children long beforehand that we wouldn't be able to do any rides or games this year.  We've done them in the past, and we let them know that we would do them again another year.

We asked them not to complain or whine about that, and I made sure our schedule was packed
with fun things to see and do so they wouldn't feel like they were missing out.

We arrived in time for the 11:00 am dog stunt show, and were hot, tired, and ready to go home by 3:00 pm.

In the past, we stayed until after dark for the lighted parade, but this year, we were just worn

out and wanted to beat the traffic out of down town.

So, here's the rundown:

Admission:  $14

Parking: $15

Food/Ride Tickets: $20

Total:  $49

And we had a blast!!

Abby ate more cotton candy than anyone else.  It was her favorite!!

Dog Show:  Free!!

Diving Show:  FREE!!

Beautiful day for a picnic lunch!!

We checked out the Lego creations in the "Creative Arts" building that received a ribbon to get ideas for next year's contest!!!

BMX Bike Stunt Show:  FREE!!

Our zoo membership got us free admission into the newly remodeled "Children's Aquarium"

which is also located on the fair grounds.

The children loved getting to touch the sting rays and to see all the beautiful new aquatic displays.

We saved $40 in admission with our membership!!

Doing fun things with a large family can be challenging when on a budget.

But with a little ingenuity and creativity,

it CAN happen and it CAN be fun!!

Intuniv update

Recently, I've noticed that many of you stopping by to visit here have been looking for information about the ADHD medication, Intuniv.  Of course, since we started our son on this medication in January, I've talked extensively about it.  But I haven't spoken of it in several months, so I thought I would give you a little update on our son and how he's doing now that he's been taking this for nearly 10 months.

Can I just say that we are THRILLED??  

I'm not sure how else to put it.

Compared to this time last year, he is a completely different person!!

This medication has been so helpful to him, and thus to the rest of the family.

For those of you new to this medication, Intuniv is not a stimulant.

So it doesn't have your typical stimulant related side effects such as crazy mood swings, weight loss due to suppressed appetite, etc.

The generic form of this drug used to be used to treat high blood pressure.

So we watch for any changes in that area, but so far he has had no side effects whatsoever.

But this medication has taken the edge off of my son.

We give him his 3 mg. dose (which took several weeks to build up to) first thing in the morning.

It's a 24-hour time release thing, but he wakes up quick and happy and hits the ground running.

We don't cut it in half.  He gets the full pill first thing in the morning.

Within a half-hour or so, he can be still and engaged in seat work,

and now he can sit and participate in great conversation for at least a half hour at a time.

He still has his meltdowns and gets angry and mouthy with us.

So we send him to his room where he has been instructed to stay until he can calmly 

discuss the situation with us,

and then we can peacefully dole out the discipline for the disrespect or disobedience.

It used to take him a half hour or 45 minutes to calm down; now it's 5 or 10 minutes.

He GETS it now.

We are seeing new things in him that we couldn't see behind the mask of the ugly side of ADHD.

Now that the mask is coming down, we're seeing him draw pictures that have a fluid story line.

We're seeing him eager to learn.

We're seeing him retain math concepts.

And this last week, he quoted from memory the entire 1st Psalm as a part of our monthly scripture memorization here at home.

I do want to say though, that I really think the reason we have seen such tremendous progress in our son,

is not JUST because of the Intuniv.

We have made a number of changes in our home since he and his sister were diagnosed with ADHD.

You can read through all the things that we have worked on by clicking "ADHD" and "Intuniv" under the labels on the right hand side bar of this blog,

but they include "cleaning" up our diet, changing up our schooling completely,

and solidifying our daily routine.

My husband and I have been working very hard with ourselves and the other children also

in remembering that now that Grant is thinking  more clearly, 

we need to adjust the way we respond to him too.

We got so used to him always throwing a fit about everything, that we would brace ourselves and usually end up angry ourselves.  That never works.

So we've changed our perspective and our responses too.

ADHD is such a complex issue. 

It has so many varieties and so many "parasites" that like to hook onto it just for the ride,

that make it just enough different from person to person that it's hard for professionals to see a pattern and know just exactly what the "magic bullet" is to make it all go away.

So I've learned that there is no magic bullet.

There is no perfect pill to cure it.

Intuniv has just simply been one tool in an entire collection to help us manage our son's issues,

and to help him learn how to control HIMSELF.

I think all parents of ADHD children would benefit from understanding that medication alone is not

the end all.

We have seen a "clean-up" in his diet to be as equally beneficial as the Intuniv alone.

Put those two changes in combination with changes in our lifestyle at home, 

and the progress in our son has been no less than DRAMATIC!!

I'll be talking more about Intuniv here in the next couple days, so feel free to ask any questions you may have.  I can only share my own experience, but would be happy to help in any way I can.

Monday Fundays!!!

Last Monday we had our original plans for the day change on us, but everything turned out even better than we could have planned.  We have some very dear friends who are in the process of raising support to head to the country of Peru as missionaries.  They just happened to be in Texas last weekend, and wanted to get together with us.  This lovely couple worked together with us as summer camp counselors before they and we were married, and they were even in our wedding.  It has been so much fun watching their family grow and how the Lord has guided them into different ministries.  Now they are praying and working towards moving to the country of Peru in January 2011 to begin language training before they can begin working in the mountains with village people and planting new churches there.  Please pray for them as they still don't have all their support yet and have many miles to travel before they get home (to Michigan) to conclude their packing and moving preparations!!!

A little football with the Dads!

Abby and the twins.

Please pray for the Harris Family!!

 Fun at the park!!

After playing at the park, my husband gave both families a tour of the police station.

Our fun evening concluded with fingerprinting all the children!!!

They were all excited to compare their "swirls and lines!"

Mommy's Retreat

I am so blessed to have a husband who is aware of the daily challenges that I face, and who wants to give me a "break" as often as he can!!  He is usually very agreeable to my slipping out of the house when I can to shop by myself, or run an errand alone, and I know he wants to do those kind of things more often than he is able (with his long work hours).  This weekend I get to go with the ladies of our church to our annual fall Ladies Retreat.
Last year, he bent over backwards and basically demanded that I go, and I was so thrilled to get such an opportunity.  What a blessing to just fellowship with other ladies for 2 nights and 2 days!!
This year, I asked him if I could go again, and he agreed!!!  He took the entire week of work off to take care of all the domestic and child care responsibilities, and I'll be gone until Saturday late afternoon!!  He's even going to do the grocery shopping while I'm gone too!!!  Isn't he AMAZING!!!!
Be back next week with pictures and memories of a refreshing time!!

Back-to-school: SNACK TIME!!!!

Another thing that can be challenging about homeschooling is the amount of food consumed by children who are home all day.  

Children are just hungry.  

My boys seems to be hungry ALL the time!!  

The girls not as much.  

But it goes without saying that when they are home as opposed to away from home (i.e. a school) they are consuming more of your grocery budget!!  One frustrating tendency that my children have is eating hardly anything at breakfast and then finding themselves "STARVIN'" about 2 hours before lunchtime.  Then commences the constant grazing and rummaging through the kitchen,

 spoiling and plundering all my meal supplies for the week!!  

So, in addition to meal plans, I have found I need to have a "PLAN OF A-SNACK" as well!!

Additionally, for children with ADHD, when hunger kicks in it often triggers angry emotional outbursts and annoying behavior.  So keeping those hunger pangs in check is another key to a more peaceful school day!!

I like to have a morning snack and an afternoon snack planned.  You'll usually see us taking a break and refueling around 10:30 am and 3:00 pm.  Here are a few ideas that work really well for us!!  I'm still sticking to a list of things that are not a part of our diet anymore including high fructose corn syrup, MSG, artificial colors, less cow's milk and less gluten.  My official list is found here.

5 Days of Hunger-Busting Snacks

Monday:  "Power Balls"

In a blender, coarsely chop: 

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup raisins

Mix with:

1 T. oat bran

1 - 16 oz jar crunchy or creamy peanut butter

1 T. apple juice concentrate

Mix with hands.  This will be sticky.  I have chopped a little more of the seeds and raisins together and added it to the mix so it was easier to roll into balls.

Roll in unsweetened shredded coconut.

Store in refrigerator.

Makes 3 dozen

** You can add in carob chips or whole raisins too!!

Tuesday:  Apple "Cupcakes"

These are so simple to make:
Half an apple crosswise and scoop or cut out the middle with the core.
"Frost" it with peanut butter or cream cheese (that has been mixed with a little sugar).
Sprinkle on any fun topping you like:
Raisins
Cereal
Nuts

Wednesday:  Fresh veggies and hummus dip

Hummus Dip

Drain a 15 oz. can of chickpeas reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid.
Toss the chickpeas into the blender.
Add 1 clove of garlic (I sometimes use two as we love garlic!!),
1 tsp. cumin,
splash of lemon juice,
dash of salt,
and the reserved 1/4 cup of liquid.
Blend together until very smooth.
DELISH!!!
Also, lovely when served with Tortilla Strips

**I do have to be honest and say that not all my children are crazy about this one.
If they like the hummus, they prefer it with the tortilla strips that I buy from Costco (gluten free).
But we're working on eating more veggies, and I firmly believe that the more a child is exposed to certain veggies, they will eventually learn to enjoy them.  You could even slather some peanut butter on that celery too.  The pretty the presentation, the more excited they are also!!!

Thursday:  Mini Clementine Oranges

"Very-Berry Smoothies"

(I hope you can tell this is a picture I copied from somewhere on the web.
But this is exactly what mine would look like!!)


In a blender,
pour 3-4 cups of milk (I use skim, cow but you could use soy or almond or goat, etc.)
1 cup frozen strawberries
Handful of frozen blueberries (you could also substitute frozen bananas too!!)
Couple tablespoons of honey or "splenda" if you prefer
Scoop of ground flaxseed

Blend it all on high until smoothie like consistency.  I like ours really thick, so I may add more frozen berries if too thin.

Friday:  Popcorn  (Fresh popped or microwave)

Making popcorn on the stove is so much fun!!

It's a great fall/winter treat too!!

And.....gluten free!!

Here is a simple way to do that!

Monday Fundays!!!

Last Monday we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and our gifted zoo membership and took the children to see the new addition at our local zoo.  Then we used one of the last remaining prizes from the summer library reading program (a free kids meal for each child!!) and went for lunch at Applebees!!!  

Total cost for the entire trip: $21 (lunch for both Mom and Dad and an appetizer to share!!) 

 Come!!!  

Take a peek!!

The Dallas Zoo recently finished this amazing addition!

If you are local, it's a must see!!

The children were so excited with how close you can get to the giraffes!!

Our zoo went from 2 giraffes to 10!!!

The only thing between me and these beauties was a thick 'ol piece of glass!!

In the "Children's Zoo" portion, the school age children took their nature journals we've been working on here at home and discussed them with the guides in the "trading post".  They received points for their work and then can "purchase" other nature related items (shells, rocks, bug collections, mineral samples, etc.) with those points.

Our little dolly tickling her toes in the stream!!

Yes.....don't worry!!!  We slathered everybody's hands with hand sanitizer before they started handling their french fries!!!

Such a fun day!!!

Saturdays are for: Tents and "Tom and Jerry"

Occasionally, we put up our small pup tent in the living room for the children to enjoy a "camp-out" on 

Friday nights.

It makes for a great addition to "Friday night movie night" and an incentive for good behavior through-out the week!!