This is from a friend, so I am not the originator(though I doubt she will mind as I think she found it in tightwade gazette? but I could be wrong)

here you go (my notes in parentheses):
1) Heat the oven to 350.
2) Spray 2 (9x13) pans with Pam. (I used oil)
3) In a large bowl, mix the following dry ingredients:

10 C whole oats (NOT quick -but quick works just soft IMO)
dash of salt
freshly grated nutmeg(enough)
cinnamon(enough - maybe 1 t?)

I also include almonds and walnuts. You can add in whatever's around and what your family enjoys. For example, I don't add chocolate chips because we eat this for breakfast.

4) In a pot on the stove over medium-high heat, heat the following:

2/3 C honey (or other sweatner)
2/3 C oil (NOT olive oil - I use regular canola oil)
1 1/2 C brown sugar

5) Stir together to combine then heat over medium heat until just beginning to boil. Don't stir this too much while it's heating. Then, stir really well and add to the dry ingredients.

IMPORTANT: STIR WELL. Really well. This might take more than 5 seconds. ) You want to make sure that the oatmeal is no longer dry or your final product will be less than wonderful.

5) Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 - 12 minutes or until it's a nice golden brown color.

6) Put the granola back in the original bowl and add raisins (enough)

IMPORTANT: STIR WELL. As it cools, this stuff gets sticky! You want to stir it enough during the first 30 minutes after baking so that it cools evenly and not in huge clumps. If you don't do this step, you'll regret it later! ) (Yep, one big clump in the bowl right now, but still good when you chip it off)

This is actually a double batch, so I halved it for playing.

I made two batches, one with whole oats the way it says to, and one with quick oats, cause that's what I had.

I like the quick ones better, the end result was softer, and since I am used to soft chewy granola bars, I think I vote soft.

I tried with honey and with half molasses, I like the half molasses better too.

And contrary to the recipe, I used craisins. (dried cranberries)

Friend of mine said she tried with some sort of brown rice syrup, sounded odd, but I bet it was interesting.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to make it more of a bar less of a crumbly mess so we gan eat it on the go more.

I really didn't know how hard it would be to find curtains, I thought if I was willing to spend some money I would find nice ones easy and move on.

Unfortunately what I am finding costs 150 or more and isn't quite right!

So still looking.

I did however get a desk, once I get this living room wall done I will take a picture, it is all coordinated and I am being very strict about putting things in it. though it is slow going, I hope to have it all done by Easter.

EL doesn't like naps, in fact lately she doesn't like sleep period. SO she is screaming at me not awake enough to go play, but not willing to settle down, and I can't think straight, I know there was work to be done on the computer, I just don't know what it was....

I said I didn't want to be frugal with this tax return (which BTW we keep as small as possible by claiming like 20 dependents or a bunch anyway, but overtime is taxed at a much higher rate, and he works a LOT of overtime)

OK so back to how irresponsible I am being.

1. bought a new entertainment system, IKEA generic, not top of the line, but affordable black and simple, all qualities I like.

2. bought new hats for everyone in the family. I always wanted a new hat and gloves and easter dress every easter as a kid, but never got them (why pay for something you will only wear for an hour a year?) Well this year I told JC I would buy her one if she wanted (just the hat), and happened to see a perfect one for EL, and one for me (though much less girly, cowboy with green beads) AND UE and GMC wanted one, though not girly of course. So we found an adorable armyish hat for GMC, and UE looks absolutely honestly AMAZINGLY adorable in a black fedora (I think it is a fedora anyway) so I spent good money on hats when we all have perfectly good if not so cute hats at home...but man were they ever cute in their hats on the way home!

3. organizer boxes, in pretty colors. Normally I think of function when it comes to organizing, and an old shoe box is just as good as a storebought box and hurts less when it busts..but this time I wanted matching, and a dozen of them. So I bought them.

4. Ate out twice in two days!!!! (all that stuff had to be shopped for, and unfortunately took two days.) yes I spent two days and not much to show for it, hard to find something worth paying for.

5. I tried and failed to buy new curtains/blinds for the kitchen and my sons room, I will keep looking.

6. chocolate, a new dark chocolate to try (not bad) some chocolate peanutbutter fudge eggs (easter bad habit) and the shrimp GMC asked for.

I am now about 2/3 of the way through the designated waste fund of the return, and I plan on buying a desk to match the entertainments system, plus possibly a few more boxes to organize, the curtains, and then I will be done and go back to not spending much of anything for months.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

cream 1/2 cup butter
slowly mix in 2/3 cup maple sugar
beat in 2 eggs

mix together:
2and2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

combine wet and dry

roll into balls roll in raw sugar (I use regular) flatten with bottom of sugared glass

bake on stone 8 minutes

You can roll them in cinnamon and sugar if you want, tends to make it a kindof spicy cookie. Not to sweet,but very good IMO.

They had plenty of other deserts so mine wasn't needed or used at all.

I hate baking when folk don't appreciate it.

I busted my hand so I will post the recipe later

Just remembered 20 minutes ago I was supposed to bake desert for tonight!

So I made some mini maple cakes, and now G is scooping them, J is rolling them, I am trying to remember what else I had to do on the computer

The parents and I had our first planning meeting, and at first glance, we are very different.

I am very driven about the three Rs, but beyond that I am very much an unschooler.

Not that I don't teach, just than in general I am not to picky what we are learning so long as we are.

So what if a kid is interested in Abraham Lincoln at 5, I do not plan on repeating or making him wait til 6 just because the 'plan' says 6 year olds have to study him..it is fine if they do, but fine if they don't.

And if they don't study him till 8 or 9. it is ok I might object if they never do study him though. But then again I might prefer they not to the current glamorized version of him.

Same with sciences, beyond life skills I see no need to insist that kids know how to classify birds or flowers, though I see no reason not to. I see no age requirements on Gods world, why do we impose them on children?

On the other hand I could get some Language and I would love for my kids to learn about nature from someone who knows....

Next week we meet again, I shall see how it goes.

I have heard some good things about Co-ops and have a couple friends that are interested in starting one of the Charlotte Mason variety.

We will have to read up on CM, plus more info on Co-ops, but I am hopeful we can start one in the fall. There are several subjects I hate and would gladly entrust to another. Would be nice to not have to care about if antelope's was a noun or adjective.

"The Antelope's vision was good"

vision is the subject...Was is the verb, Good definitely describes the noun..but Antelope's?

Seriously I have never in my adult life cared, except when checking children's English papers.

(see English is an adjective telling what kind of papers..but is Children's?)

Oh well, off to see if the kids want to hear another chapter of the Island Story.

EL is sick, she was sick on Saturday and still is, I hate colds, and I hate when my baby is sick.

On other notes, we are listening to a history online

island story Very interesting way to cover old history, we are only on chapter 5 now.

I found an online community page maker thing Ning. I am exploring it's use as a cub scout page, would be a simple website to remember, and we could let others update photos so it wouldn't all have to be me. I still am researching it, but I just might use it for the pack, and the girl scout troop. Would be nice to have all that info in one place.

Well our return will be a bit bigger than I expected, and we do have responsible things to do with it, beefing up an EF and such. (no debt aside from the house)

But I don't want to be responsible. I want to waste some money. Well not waste, I want to spend some on things for the house and kids.

I want some canvas type 'boxes' to be slid into shelves, one for library books, one for library Cds and movies. oh and one for baby toys, so I can have them easy to reach, but not so messy looking in the living room.

like these

Then I want to get my kids to the library and other places more often, since I don't drive, I am going to have to get others to do it for me, and for that I need to be able to help with gas at least some of the time.

I also want something new in my kitchen windows, not sure what though. I kindof like this roman shade But not sure I am willing to splurge that much on each window.

Though I did see some that had neat prints silk screened on the shades, that I might pay more for, but not the prints I saw. A cute simple scene. Saw a nice one that was mostly black and gray, with a few flowers in yellow, neat simple, enough color to not be drab, drew attention to the flowers, but not gaudy. Since my kitchen is mostly gray and black it would be pretty cool.

But looking at prices, I find it easier said than done. Ah well we shall see.

I believe libraries to be the greatest invention since, umm well greatest ever.

And to show my love, not only do we make frequent use of ours, we also support them monetarily.

By that I mean we pay plenty of library fines!

Every so often I notice it has been months since we paid a fine, been visiting too often turnover of books going to well. So I try to lose a book or two. Not to long, just long enough to accumulate a fine, or have to buy the book.

Then I can say I have done my civic duty and can go back to returning books more frequently, or renewing them at least.

ETA-this is just a joke, I do not intentionally create fines! I am just absent minded, and it sounds better this way. I do not advocate intentionally forgetting/losing books!

I just learned of a home school co-op that literally right up the street from me, It would be a long walk, but I could prolly do it.

I have to do a bit more research into it, because I am mostly an un-schooler, I like to take things easy and slow and I am not all that worried if my kids skip certain skills.

for example I spoke of cutting awhile back, by oldest has poor skills, I just discovered my daughter (almost 2 years younger) cuts almost as well as I do! I am ok with GMC not doing well, figure if he needs to he will learn better.

I did a bit of research into Charlotte Mason, the program the co-op is based on. Some of the info is interesting, some a bit more than I care to do.

For example copywork, I have terrible handwriting and I recall my mother wanting me to do copywork, I recall copying books, I prefered to read them to copying them.

Anyway, all that effort and I still have lousy handwriting, not to sure it was worth it.

But I thought I could at least see if a little interest could improve my kids. So the other day I set the kids a simple task of copying for 15 minutes just to see how they would do, I told them I didn't care how much they got done, so long as they were working and it was neat. within 2 minutes JC was in tears, carried that on for the rest of the time. GMC on the other hand worked for the whole 15 minutes, and at the end said he wanted to finish copying the section!

I was amazed at the difference, GMC after all is my boy with lousy hand writing while JC has comparable writing (at almost 2 years younger)

Oh well, I learn something new about the kids every day.

Tonight is the first night of our church Lent 'happenings' which is what they call music and classes.

The kids get music class, the adults have options, and all can have dinner for not to terrible of a price (6 adult 3 kid) Much cheaper to do it myself, but then I would have to do it, and eat and be in the car by 5:30, this way I just have to be in the car at 5. And the evening is taken care of.

I figure the extra cost makes up for the free music class, and the kids really seem to enjoy it.

Now if I could get rid of the last 8 boxes of girl scout cookies tonight that would make it all worth while!

Seems we will be getting about double what we expected, which is nice, been planning on an entertainment system for some time, this will be enough to pay for it.

Plus some to the savings, and a bit left over for something splurge-like. Not sure what, but something.