Oven Pancakes

 

 

Mornings around here get busy and the kids get tired of cereal every morning for breakfast. Other than Blaine he will only eat dry cereal no milk and only certain cereals.

Making things like pancakes and eggs always ends up with someone eating a cold breakfast, not everyone eating at the same time etc.

I started making my grilled cheese in the oven then decided hey let's try pancakes. I have a very large cookie sheet it takes up the entire oven so if you are making pancakes in the oven you will need to adjust your recipe to a smaller pan. I would say by half. You will need to adjust bake times if you are making a smaller batch I would start with 7-10 mins and go up as needed.

I used pancake mix for this that I got at dollar tree for $1.50.

What you need:

Cookie sheet
Pam
Oven
Whisk or fork
Big Bowl
3 cups Milk
8 Eggs
4 cups Pancake mix

Step One:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Step Two:

Put all your wet ingredients into your bowl and whisk them together.

Step Three:

Add in pancake mix and whisk

Step Four:

Spray your cookie sheet with pam and pour your mix onto the cookie sheet. 

Step Five:

Bake 20 mins. Checking to make sure the bottom is golden brown.

Step 6:

Cut into desired piece sizes. I got about 10 large pancake squares from mine. We used 5 and put the rest in the freezer in a ziplock freezer bag to be eaten later.

The kids loved these and so did the adults. To warm them up I just toss them in the microwave but you can do them in the toaster if you would rather.

Enjoy!!!

 

 

 

Virtual School

 Things in Ontario shifted to virtual learning for those children who are in school.

Which for me is just one. The other three are full-time homeschooled.

We are on day 4 of virtual learning with L. My issues so far are this:
The teacher posted an activity and told the kids to do it. L watched one of the videos 4 times and still couldn't answer the questions. When I asked her about it she said the teacher never taught them about community or growth mindset.
I let the teacher know this and suddenly the activity was removed.

The teacher tells them they need to do 1000 hours as a class outside each week. Okay, I am all for outside and being active!!! I do the math. It works out to almost 60 hours each week per child..... I don't think she thought this through...

The teacher tells them to go outside and identify trees by their bark! Oh, I love this we do this for homeschool with bark and leaves and looking at the trees we do it a couple of times a year while we hike! I ask L so you guys covered trees? and know what different bark looks like? L "No but you did for homeschool" SIGH

I help L with her schooling last week. She yells and screams because I make her sound out a word she wants to spell (the same thing I do for all three of the kids that are homeschooled). I give up after her being nasty for 30mins and tell her teacher I will no longer be doing the school work with her and that she will only be attending the online meets and things that are done as a group. Her teacher says okay I will do it with her one on one. This means L is sitting in front of her tablet fighting to do school with her teacher for what worked out to be a total that day of 8 hours...I wasn't impressed. I listened to some of it. She allowed L not to sound out words, gave her the answers instead of making her think about it.

Today I was listening to their morning small group activities. I watched L do nothing and the teacher asked "what did you get" L says "The same" and that is just good enough. No how did you get the same answer? no show my work? nothing noda.  I email the teacher to let her know that L is not actually doing any of the work and she just sits there and stares at the tablet.

In all of the time that L does her virtual school (8ish hours) and does not complete any of the activities. The homeschooled children do workbooks, 15 min break, a video about something they wanted to learn about (today it was what it means to be grateful), self-awareness journals, 15 min break, snack, learning game (Today was letter go fish), our group reading which was about star constellations, 15 min outside break, individual reading and sight words with me and lunch. They also either do a game on Osmo or a learning app. Then they are free to play until snack at 2 plus 15 outside and then more free play until supper.

Supper is when I say okay L you have had enough for today.

If she would homeschool without yelling and screaming at me about everything she would be homeschooled but that isn't how it works for her and I will not be yelled at, screamed at, and the rest of the kid's school and day disrupted. So school is for her. Do I think she is learning anything at all from this virtual school? no. Do I think she has learned anything since starting back at a traditional school in Sept instead of homeschooling? nope. However, I have to look at the family as a whole and what is best for everyone and that is L being in school. 

Spotify: Jan 2022

 I use Spotify for not just music but also my sleep hypnosis and I listen to pod casts as well.

2021 Wrapped from Spotify. I was so excited when they released this to see which song I listened to the most in 2021.

I wasn't so much shocked as I was disappointed to see what was the top song on my list.

I took a screenshot just to prove that it was the top song. 

I will only list a few because there was a lot of song on that list. I added links so you can experience the songs as well.

Stinky Stinky Dog Poop by The old man who sings about poop

Do you know why this song is top of my list? Because Alexa + Kids ='s the ability to say "Alexa play the dog poop song" 

 

Lil Bit by Nelly and Florida Georgia Line  

I love when a rapper that I grew up listening to teams up with a country singer and makes an awesome song!!

 

Don't Cha by the pussy cat dolls

Man I loved these guys when they came out on the TV many years ago!! and Yes I dance (maybe badly to their music)

Blue (da ba dee) by Effel 65

This here is another one played by the kids. I am not even sure how they heard about it. I listened to this song when it first came out but as far as I knew it was a one hit wonder, never to listened to again. Then suddenly the kids are playing it on Alexa. When I was a kid everyone just guessed what they were actually saying.

Truth hurts by lizzo

This is a newer song, I found it by accident and fell in love! Some people call it something called "ratchet" as far as I knew was a tool. When it comes to music I don't much care what other people think. It is about how the beat makes me feel or how the lyrics touch me.

Country Girl (shake it for me) by Luke Bryan

Who doesn't love that sexy man. I love this song. The kids say "They are singing about shaking butts" I say "Nope its about hips, dancing and using your whole body to move"

If I can't have you by Shawn Mendas

This song the beat and lyrics just hit right. The beat wants to make you move.

 

What did you wrapped 2021 list look like?

Business success?

 hmmmmm a success business-wise this week? That's a hard one. I try hard to get everything done and out the door including items to the shop.

This week I would have to say that getting stock to the shop this week is my success. That may sound simple to most people but for me it's huge.

It means that, 10 car seat covers, 5 outfits with tutu, onesie and bows to match and other odds and ends that I get finished or that the shop needs.

What do you consider a success this week?

 

 

Thrive by Level

 About 6 weeks ago I started a program called Thrive it is by a company called Level. I have seen a few of my friends use but I was still on the fence.

At the vendor show, I met a woman who has been using the products since before you could buy them in Canada. She gave me a free trial. She said I likely wouldn't notice a difference for about a month or so because I wanted the product for energy not for reducing appetite.

Turns out a few days in and I started to notice I was having an easier time getting out of bed in the morning, even on the days when the kids had a rough night before. I decided I would buy a month and go from there.

I ordered and am now onto my second order.

For me they have made a huge difference in the energy levels unless of course, the weather has caused me to have a migraine then I am pretty much SOL.

It's a three-step program starting with a vitamin capsule that you take with 200ML of water before you do anything else. I take it when I get to the kitchen usually within 5mins of me opening my eyes. Some people take it before they even step out of bed. Each daily package comes with 2 capsules, you can take both at the same time, you start out with one and move up to two or you can stick with one. Whatever works best for you. For me, one is where I am at.

Step 2 is the pre/probiotic shake. I have tried chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and apple pie. Apple pie is my favourite. Let me start by saying I have what is called a spastic bowel, this means that I can feel food digest, bowel movements can be extremely painful for the intestines. Sometimes I can go a week without getting the urge to go. Since about 2 weeks in I haven't missed a day of having a bowel movement. This is big for me as my whole life I have had these issues. You mix the shake with water or milk. I use water. I also add a bit of ice because they taste horrible warm. You can do half the package mix or the whole package. You can start with half and move up to using the full package. I use half a package and that is what works for me.

Step three is my favourite part because it uses "mom science" I am sure a real scientist came up with it before a mom did but it's what moms say. You absorb most of your nutrients through your skin. They are vitamin "stickers" that you place on your skin. They come in lots of colours and designs. Don't place it in the same spot twice. It allows your body to take in vitamins all day long and not just while it is being absorbed through your digestive tract.

I will add the videos that I do every morning showing the products use. I don't sell the product but if you want the information of the amazing lady who does I would be more than happy to give it to you!

It truly has made a world of difference for me and for my life! 

Week2 2021; every shot is a power shot

 

With each new week, we cover a topic the kids choose. We are also covering a new life skill each week.

Tennis wasn't an easy topic to get anything for when it comes to little kids. So I made do with what I could find.

Week 1: C's choice Tennis. Life Skill: Helping Set the table

Day 1: Workbooks, Tennis video, book, Tennis worksheet, game, reading, sight words, writing book. 

Day 2: Work Sheets, Tennis video, book, Tennis craft, game, reading, sight words, learning application.

Day 3: Workbooks, Tennis video, tennis worksheet, book, game, reading, sight words, writing book.

Day 4: Worksheets, Tennis video, book, game, reading, sight words, learning application.

Day 5: Workbooks, Tennis video, book, game, reading, sight words, writing book. 

Games we play vary between letter sound bingo, math bingo, puzzles etc. 

We use a few learning applications and they alternate between them. Homer, Khan Kids, adventure academy, and ABC mouse.

The packs of worksheets I use come from different sources, Pinterest, google, teachers, pay teachers, Canadian Curriculum books that are subject-based.

 

 

 

Sept 2021 workout

 The past month I have been using my willpower and pretty much just the fact that it has now become routine to get my workout and yoga in every day.

What my workout looks like:
Each week I 5 more reps to each exercise. I use upbeat playlists to keep my pace moving.

10 normal squats
10 pile squats
10 narrow squats
10 sumo squats
10 squat to knee up

 

10 per side alternating hip dips

10 in and outs

10 sit-ups

10 reverse crunches

10 per side Russian twists


Yoga! I use a different playlist each day and a different mantra depending on what I need at that moment. My yoga movements are harder to explain than my workout so I am just going to say use an easy one from Pinterest and take it slow.

Plus I get in 10,000 or more steps a day and do two walks with the kids and dogs!