Weekend Round-Up!

Simplicity and grace. That's going to be my theme this week. This morning in Sunday School, we talked about some of the roots of anger. One that came up over and over again was the Almighty Schedule, and how upset we get when something forces us to deviate from it. And I was convicted of the many times my so-called simple life ends up being just another to-do list, and how often I get frustrated and angry with my children for interfering with my plans to create a perfect childhood for them.

Here are some ideas that might help.

1.Simple Homeschooling: Check out these awesome cookie maps over at Little Home, Big Love. The farm maps are great, but I'm thinking Michael might enjoy making a Pennsylvania map as a sweet way of hitting our PA history requirement. And Montessori Mama made this simple but lovely book, Helping Hands. The Crafty Crow linked to this wonderful lesson on Klimt's "Tree of Life".

2. Simplicity in the Kitchen: Mmmmm.... make your own granola bars! Carrie's Cooking shows you how. The spicy chicken n' bean skillet looks good too! Passionate Homemaking has some great tips for simplifying canning.

3. Simple and Frugal: I'm a sucker for free printables. Here are a whole bunch from Tipnut. The Crafty Crow has some vintage lacing cards you can print out for free as well.

4. Meal Planning Made Simple: But First We Have Coffee has a great list of what The Basic Pantry needs. And if your budget's tight (or you want to save some money so you can stock your pantry!) visit Money Saving Mom for tips to live on beans and rice for a week... without losing your mind. You can also pop on over to The "Cent"sible Sawyer and check out her meal planning video tutorial.

5. Frugal Gifts: If you're looking for some frugal gifts, how about this oven mitt pattern from Skip to My Lou? Or how about this simple but sweet Hedgehog and Baby Softie from Molly Chicken?

6. Simple Ways to Bling Your Blog: Split Decisionz was busy this week, making free blog buttons, found here and here. She's got a wealth of other information, freebies, and tutorials as well, so check her out!

7. Simplify Your Computer: Declutter your computer using tips from I'm An Organizing Junkie.

8. Simple Ways to Help Your Budget: Here are some easy tips to lower your heating bill this winter, brought to you by beingfrugal.net. And here are some tips from Frugal Families on creating a rich enviroment for kids, whatever your budget.

9. It's Simply Autumn: These beeswax-preserved leaves from Resurrection Fern are just lovely. Then you can jump over here and whittle some gnomes for your nature table as well. Happy Hearts at Home has some lovely free autumn homeschooling resources. Tree Hugging Family has some recycled autumn kids' crafts to enjoy.

10. A Simple Way to Make a Difference: Tree Hugging Family has some great info on Blog Action Day. All you have to do is register and commit to blogging about poverty on October 15.


And finally, I would encourage everyone to read this simply wonderful and thought-provoking article from Simply Home Remedies: Flu Shots... Yes or No?