Michelle Duggar

April is the month I choose to focus on ladies from both the past and present that have or currently inspire me in someway. I am purposefully choosing to only speak on those aspects of each woman.

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 Are you kidding me? How does she do it?! By the end of the day with my two young boys I think I may die. The nights my husband and I have to get up with my youngest drain us completely.

This woman manages to care, love, and flourish with her big, beautiful family. Beyond that, she home-schools. If you know my history I was homeschooled/unschooled through half of middle-school and all of high-school. It takes an incredible about of effort to get work together, grade, and provide enriching experiences. Now times that by a lot, say 19. She has got my respect for sure.

Another aspect in which I respect her is her faith. Considering both the hard and wonderful times, her and her family still cling to their faith in Christ. They make sure that everyone is aware of how important that is to every corner of their life.

All of her children seem to be well rounded and happy. This, again, amazes me. Her relationship with her husband is real and honest. No matter what others think, they must be doing something right! Relationships say a lot about people.

Among her other lists of respectable, inspiring traits you have confidence, modesty, and plenty of patience. I say, "Amen Sister!"

Smothered Chicken & Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

You may can call me "Queen Forgetful". I have barely made it through today. I keep forgetting all kinds of things. This morning I sat my lunch on the back of the car to buckle my son in and then drove off with it still sitting there! Needless to say, it ended up being "beanie weenies a la road" as my husband joked. I don't even know where I left the tiny notebook I keep notes in went! Now I need to attempt to remember everything I wanted to cover tonight. I'm doomed!

Thinking... Thinking... Thinking...

Smothered Chicken & Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

I wont lie;  I adapted both these recipes big time. I cut the broccoli down drastically and used frozen, bagged broccoli. I baked it on lower heat (350) and adjusted some of the seasoning to what I had available. Doing this cut the cost down at least ten bucks. I also adapted the smothered chicken by using frozen spinach and jarred mushrooms. Again, I cant afford to buy EVERYTHING fresh. I also rarely use fresh spices. So, if it calls for spices I am usually using dried. It works out fine in the end. I added more onions to the mix to cater to my family. Everyone enjoyed dinner, but no one will enjoy cleaning up. This meal used a large number of pots and pans. The sink is as full as our stomachs.

I put the chicken on a bed of rice, making the dish very filling! Even my two year old son enjoyed it.

Cooking, The Week Ahead

My list for this week is an enormous task, I hope I can do it! Below are the things I hope to complete by Sunday evening.

• Tomato basil Parmesan soup
• Carmel Cake
• Rosemary Olive oil bread (which I may change to basil olive oil bread)
• Individual beef pot pies
• Honeyed Pears in puff pastry

Please feel free to keep me on task!

Self Exploration

During the past month since I have become active in my blog, I have really learned a lot about myself. The confidence I've gained is amazing. There is a lot of things going on around me right now, that writing is helping me through. It has been a great blessing to have all this support of my family and readers as I continue to search out myself. I am more than just a mom, employee, or wife; I am Amanda and I am getting to know me again. Its interesting how sharing your life with the world can really dig down deep into the depths of you. I know that the road ahead of my family and I is going to get really bumpy for a while, but I'm glad to share it with you. Thank you for joining me on this journey.

Homeschooling To Dos

Neither of my sons are old enough to really get into what I'm about to share, but I really loved it when I heard it. I currently work in a Kindergarten class. They were doing handwriting today. I think the teacher I work with has a great way of teaching how to write letters correctly (keeping them where they should be on the line). Below is my terrible drawing of  the basic idea.

When explaining to kids how letters are formed on the lines you can describe each section like above. Letters never go to outer-space, only letters with "tails" play in the dirt, tall letters go in the sky, etc. This makes the whole process easier for them to understand. Over my years working with children I found a great website for creating your own coloring/handwriting worksheets. Twistynoodle has helped me cover many topics over the years.

Contest Reminder!

 Remember the contest ends April 13th at 8pm. See here to find out how to win a box of my favorite things!

BTW

Thank you everyone stopping by from Bloggy Moms and The Ultimate Blog Party!