Apart from regular school subjects, what things do you think are important to teach your children to prepare them for life?

Or, what things do you wish you had known more about when you became an adult?

Tell us.

Robin

One of the first really cold days this fall one of my classmates came
to school with a hot thermos of Russian Tea. She let me have a sip and
of course I asked for the recipe.

I made the tea as a before/after Thanksgiving meal treat. It was a hit!

Russian Tea

2 family sized tea bags
4 oranges
4 lemons
peppermint sticks (as much as you like)
1 cup of sugar

Brew the tea bags according to package. Juice the oranges and lemons;
add to tea. Simmer on stove, add sugar (I used splenda so you don’t
have to use as much) and peppermint sticks. Stir while sugar and
peppermint dissolve. Serve hot with an extra peppermint stick.

Everyone really enjoyed it and it is great for this cold weather we’ll
be having.

**Watch for my special Christmas drink, hot red wine cider!

Katie

In his lifetime, Leonardo DaVinci was a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer. How did he get it all done?

Cat naps.

DaVinci had a special sleep schedule that allowed him to utilize 22 out of 24 hours per day. Sure, he may have gone half-crazy, but that insanity only served to increase his genius!

On the DaVinci sleep schedule, you sleep about 20 minutes every 4 hours. In a 24-hour period, you get about 120 minutes of sleep. Since there are 1440 minutes in a day, you’re left with roughly 92% of every day to GET STUFF DONE. Laundry, Bible study, healthy cooking, errands, exercising, art projects, scrapbooking, blogging…just THINK of all the things you could do in 22 hours!!

What would you do if you had extra hours in the day?

  Abbi

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Note from Robin:  Abbi has TWO new blogs!  Check them out:

The Bod Squad - Abbi and a group of her friends are doing a form of “The Biggest Loser” via the bloggesphere.

Z as in Zebra - All things “Abbi” – her cakes, her books, her designs.   You’ll love them!

From my in-box this week:

Dear Robin,

What do you do when your husband doesn’t clean up after himself?  Do you leave it until he notices later while in the meantime it is driving you crazy and in the way of our daily life?  Or do you constantly follow after him cleaning up his little mini tornadoes all day.  We’re talking dirty clothes all over the floor when he has his own laundry basket, dirty dishes left at his place on the table and elsewhere wherever he leaves them in the house, and little projects he works on just being left as is,  mess and all.  I have really been focusing on this in teaching my kids, but when hubby doesn’t even do it,  how do I expect my kids to learn the right way?

OK – I haven’t replied back to this question yet.  See?  In our family, Dirk is the really neat one….a knot, if you will and I’m….well, I’m just not.  J  Not to make excuses for your husband, but I’m telling you, he just doesn’t see that stuff.  It’s invisible to him….and it doesn’t bother him a bit. 

Another thing to remember, even though his things are driving you nuts, I’m sure there are some things you do that drive him nuts too!  We all need a little extra grace from time to time. It’s one of the things that keeps a relationship healthy.

But, I know this wife wants to honor her husband, and not mother him.  So?  What are your suggestions?  How can she tactfully let her husband know that his stuff is getting out of control and help him see that he is setting a poor example to his children?

Come on…I know you have some great ideas.

Robin

This is a great way to use up your turkey leftovers!

(around 6 servings)

1 can fat free evaporated milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds chicken meat
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups onions
2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
2 1/4 cups frozen green peas, thawed
3 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a small bowl stir together evaporated milk and flour until smooth. Place chicken,  potatoes, onions, carrots and peas in pot. Pour in milk mixture and broth. Season with salt, pepper, Cook until potatoes are tender.

*This is a great recipe to make the day after you have the deli chicken because you can shred up the leftovers and use in this stew.*

This is a real crowd pleaser, my girls even liked it. My husband also liked it so much he requested me to make it he called it that chicken pot pie soup that you made last week!

Ali

After having surgery in September for removing my gall bladder I can say I’m back to normal. I am self-employed so any work I missed while recuperating was easily rescheduled. What could not have been so easy were the many (can I say MANY) bills that came after surgery. Remember, I’m self-employed. No company health insurance. We as a family are on our own.

Total cost after sixteen or so bills later: $21,000+  !!  All that money just to get a stinking diseased GB out of me. I give God all the praise for watching over me.

Now, rather than us being stuck with paying $21,000, we are only responsible for $300!  And that’s with us being considered one of Oklahoma’s uninsured families.

We have been lead to a great organization that we joined many years ago. Samaritan Ministries was created as a way for individuals to help families that have medical needs by using a health share newsletter.  It is not insurance, but it is assurance. SM has gone back to doing business the way insurance companies used to when they were first created many years ago, helping people with medical needs.

As I write today, we have paid all the bills and have heard from over 65 families sending their “share”, notes of encouragement, and prayers for my well-being. We have just experienced the fulfilling of Malachi 3:10-12 in our lives. This, though, is not the best part. The best part is when we get to send our share to help someone else, people that really need help in these uncertain times.

Do you have insurance?

Is it 80% or 70% coverage for medical bills, after a deductible?

Do you have fears about medical emergencies and what happens afterwards?

Let me know of any experiences you have had with the systems you now have.

Next, I will share how to maneuver through your medical bills.

Dirk