Prairie Oak Homestead

I revamped a lot of Hunter's home school . We were using SOS for the full curriculum and I just wasn't happy with it. The History, Science, and Language went WAY too fast. They packed so much in that he'd only learn about one topic a day and then jump right to the next one. Ugh! So I got to looking and found a great site called Old Fashioned Education. It's based on 19 th century education. Very interesting. I was looking into Sonlight at first because my son is a wonderful reader and has a high comprehension level. But, Sonlight was WAY too expensive for us. OFE is a great alternative to that. It's literature based. You download the books for free and can print them out. Now I didn't want to use so much ink, so I ordered most all of them from Amazon. I didn't want to get the books from the library because I wasn't sure if they would carry them or not (most books are out of print) and I don't have a library card and I would have to p...

It's a very foggy morning here in central Illinois. My husband and son were going to go dove hunting, but I don't think they can. Maybe they can target shoot later if the fog lifts. I'm in desperate need of getting the house ready for winter. It's just not where I want it. There is so much to do and I haven't been well enough to do it. :( I'm feeling stronger today, so I think I will try to tackle some of it. I need to make laundry soap today and get some laundry done and then switch out the summer/winter clothes. The clutter needs cleaned up and the floors need mopped. The bathroom needs a good cleaning! Why can't boys ever hit the target?! Ugh. Maybe I should start sending them out back! LOL. We have a cookout to go to tonight and I think I'll take some gluten free brownies. They always taste like the original and so yummy. I revamped some of Hunter's homeschooling...more on that later. :) Right now, my tummy's grumbling. I'd ...

One of my very favorite things about fall are caramel apples! They are just sooo good. We have a store in town called Del's Popcorn Shop. They make the BEST popcorn and caramel apples. I treated myself to one today. Oh boy. Wow. Oh man. *wipes drool off lip* Sooooo good! The next best thing is pumpkin pie. :) There's only one problem right now. ALL of our stores are OUT of pumpkin!! WHY?! lol. I guess I'll just have to settle for an apple pie. :) Actually, I was going to make a Cast Iron Skillet Apple Cake. Tasty! This recipe comes from www.thepioneerwoman.com. You should check it out. :) It's just overall a great time of year! Looking forward to a lot of good ole homecooked pies and cakes!

It's the simple pleasures in life that mean so much. Enjoying a fire, listening to the leaves rustle, enjoying the sunshine, the smell of laundry dried on the line, collecting your own eggs, the beauty of fall, the smell of apple pie, the smell of oak burning in the woodstove, cuddling under a blanket with the one you love during a cool evening... All these things I love. I love my life being simple and not hurried. I watch people hurry and scurry and rush by and wonder if they enjoy that. Have they lost something in that hustle and bustle? They are missing a wonderful piece of life. I'm sure some thrive on that, but I think most if given a choice, would rather slow down and enjoy the simplicity of life. I don't like fancy things or an elaborate home. I like simple things and a simple, cozy, homestead home. I praise God He put that in my heart as a very young girl. I've ALWAYS wanted a simple, slow life. :) Enjoying the beauty and smells of the country and a c...

I just had to post this picture of our kitten we kept from the litter that was born 6 weeks ago. My son, Hunter, took this. He did a really good job! :) She is a cutie for sure!

This is really yummy! There is no crust so it's naturally gluten free. It has a topping to it that almost tastes lemony, but there is no lemon in it. :) Enjoy! Bottom 3/4 c sugar 2 pkg cream cheese softened 3 eggs Top 1 c sour cream 1 t vanilla 1/2 c sugar Preheat oven to 325. Mix bottom ingredients together until smooth. Pour into 8 x 8 pan. Bake for about 45 min and remove from oven. Let the center sink in. Mix topping together until smooth and pour on top of the baked bottom. Bake for another 10-15 min.

Our friends got FREE tickets to the Cardinals/Braves game this weekend. I have never been to a Major League Baseball game. It was so exciting to enjoy with my husband for the first time. America's favorite pastime. The Cardinals didn't do well at all. But, I also like the Braves so it was fun either way. :) It was neat to see the Arch in the background. He wasn't too happy he let the Braves score 6 runs in the 3rd inning... In addition to the game, I enjoyed a turkey leg! I had NO idea they had those! It was so good! I just love those. Ryan had these incredible nachos! Good times! :)

Today marks 8 yrs since 9/11. I remember vividly where I was. I was a nurse at the time doing transcription for my neurologist. I was driving in to pick up some more to do at home when I heard on the radio what happened. I had bible study that morning so I went on to it and we all sat and watched in horror what was happening. We were all just so shocked. My husband was roofing and the customer came out and told them all the get down off the roof. She had them come in to see what was happening on tv. They were all dirty and gritty, but this lady didn't care. This song helps us think back to that day. May we never forget...but may we move on...

Hunter had another homeschool art class yesterday. This time he did mosaics. I liked it because it was small pieces of glass he had to manipulate with his fingers. This is good for fine motor skills for kids with Asperger's. He seemed much more comfortable this time. It is not finished. We'll go back next week to work on it. He did have another meeting for 4-H robotics tonight. He was kinda nervous again and his tics were exacerbated tonight. I wish I could do more for him on that. It's hard to see him seem uncomfortable. But, he says he's not. Here is his finished windchime...I think it turned out pretty good! :)

Went down to Amish country again today. I needed some supplies so I took my mom down. It's only 35 min away from us. I enjoy watching the woman work in the gardens in their dresses. I miss wearing skirts/dresses at times. I love the simplicity of it. My husband enjoys my jeans and thinks that's pretty simple. I will honor that. I didn't visit any of my Mennonite friends this time, I really didn't have time to stay. The weather was just wonderful. The breeze was nice and the temperature was pleasant. Well I'd better put up my supplies. :) Hope you all have a great day!

Twelve years ago today I received one of the biggest blessings of my life. The doctors told me I may not be able to carry him due to my weakness, but by God's grace I did. I did go preterm labor at 7 mos, but after a week in the hospital, the labor stopped. Then he decided he liked in there too much and I had to be induced because he was late. (He gets the lateness from his dad LOL) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUNTER! I can't believe he's 12 already! It seems just like yesterday I was holding a sweet little baby. He has grown up and is becoming quite the young man. I am very proud of him. I thank God for this blessing he has given us. He has brought such joy to our lives. He is a kindhearted, obedient, loving, funny, smart, God loving son. God only allowed me to have one child and I am so glad He chose him! :) I'm going to post some of his photography soon. He does a really good job! :)

I found this cookbook the other day. It's mostly about once-a-month cooking, but I thought I'd try some of the recipes and see if I could do once-a-week cooking instead. Cooking one day a month the whole day would kill me. I cooked one of the recipes today and actually put up two other recipes from the book and put them in the freezer. I LIKE that. :) It will be nice to do this and then the days when I am extremely weak and tired, I can just pull something out that is already done for the most part. Just have to pop it into the oven. I really like this idea. I know it's been around a while, but I just never got into it. It just intimidated me to cook one day for the whole month. But doing it for a week and not a month seems to work out pretty well for me. The recipes in this particular book are "normal". They are not all fancy. I can't stand that in cookbooks. Just give me some good ole fashioned cooking. Just good food that has ingredients that I...