Being a mom is hard work. Being a mom of boys is also an adventure. If you are a mom of boys, whether it be 1 or 10, you know that they can see things a lot differently than we do. Life with boys can get very interesting (and messy and loud and unpredictable and sweet and funny and...). Sometimes, a mom just needs to share it with someone who can appreciate it. Like other mommas with hairy-legged, bear-hugging, bug-loving, risk-taking, on-the-go boys.

Link up your posts and share with us the joys and perils of your life with boys, whether it be about feeding, teaching, training, entertaining, or just loving them. Link directly to your post and keep it family-friendly, please. Don't have a blog? Leave a comment. As you skip through and read about other mommas and their boys, please leave comments to encourage and uplift.

Please link back here or grab the Life with Boys Link-Up button from my sidebar 

so other boy moms can join us!

Welcome! {2012 Ultimate Blog Party}

Welcome to Raising Knights! 

Thank you for stopping by! My name is Christy and I am a homeschooling mom to five boys, tot to teen. I write about a wide variety of things here. You will find my thoughts on and experiences with raising boys (sorry, I don't know anything about raising girls other than from being one), homeschooling, reviews, household tips, and any deals that strike my fancy.

Things have been quiet for a while here, but that's getting ready to change...as soon as I get a new computer. :) We have been waiting on our interest-free loan payment from the government tax refund. I'm writing this post on my husband's "work" computer and it's just not the same. I don't want to upload pictures or anything to it, so I'm limited in what I can do right now.

2012 is a year of big numbers for me.

• To kick the year off, my baby turned two, which means he's technically not a baby any more, and my second-born son turned 13, which means we now have two teenagers.
• The next big number will happen in July, when my oldest turns 18, the "official" age of manhood. He will be able to vote in his first presidential election, meaning one more vote for the conservatives!
• In September, I will be four decades old...yes, the big 4-0. That's all I'm going to say about that.
• Then the very next month, Papa Bear and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary! It's hard to believe that I have spent half of my life with him. What a roller coaster ride it has been! But definitely one I would do again.

How about you? Do you have any big things happening this year?

Oh! I almost forgot! Be sure to enter the giveaways over at 5 Minutes for Mom. I'm giving away a $25 gift certificate for Child ID & Safety products from To Love and Protect. It's about half way down this page. Have fun!

It's Almost Here! 2012 Ultimate Blog Party

 

Mark your calendar now for a week filled with awesome blogs and tons of amazing free prizes! Be sure to look for my prize offering - a $25 Gift Certificate for Child ID & Safety Products from To Love and Protect. You could use it to get Child ID Kits for all of your kids or a couple of Child Safety ID Wristbands for your next family outing. I even reactivated my Twitter account for this, so follow me (Raising_Knights). Even if it's only to laugh at how inept I am at it...if I ever remember to tweet. Don't forget - April 13-20!

Menu Plan Monday

Spring is official this week! Along with the warm breezes, thunderstorms, spring flowers, budding trees, and busy birds, comes soccer season. That means we'll be coming and going to practices, games, and cub scouts each week. And of course, that means I need a meal plan so we don't end up eating on the run.

My toddler is experiencing tooth decay, so I've been reading Ramiel Nagel's Cure Tooth Decay. I'll be incorporating as much homemade chicken bone broth as I can into our meals, as well as fish, cooked veggies and greens, yogurt, and maybe sauerkraut. The biggest challenge will be to reduce or avoid bread and pasta, except maybe some sourdough. My goal is to get a sourdough starter going this week. Wish me luck!

Monday
- Make sourdough starter
- Boil one dozen eggs for snacks
- Roast chicken, boiled red potatoes, garlic-butter green beans

Tuesday
- Feed starter
- Make chicken bone broth
- Chicken & rice soup, salad

Wednesday
- Feed starter
- Baked lemon-pepper salmon, sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli

Thursday
- Feed starter
- Chicken tortilla soup (served with corn tortilla strips & Greek yogurt)

Friday
- Feed starter
- Beef stew, salad

Saturday
- Feed starter
- New recipe, as yet undecided :)

Sunday
- Make sourdough sponge
- Grilled tilapia, rice & black beans, cole slaw

Applesauce Muffins

Applesauce isn't just a kid's snack. It makes delicious, moist muffins. The original recipe for these applesauce muffins came from Marilyn at The Urban Homemaker. The only adjustments I made, other than doubling the recipe, were to use organic virgin coconut oil, half honey/half maple syrup, and add a handful of unsweetened coconut, along with the walnuts and raisins. These muffins have a great texture and are springy, not crumbly at all. Everyone in my house loves them.

Applesauce Muffins
Makes 24 muffins

2 lg. eggs
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 cup honey (or 1/2 honey, 1/2 maple syrup or other sweetener)
3 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix egg, oil, applesauce, and honey in medium bowl; set aside. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder & soda, and spices. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stirring only until moistened. Gently fold in nuts, raisins, and coconut, being careful not to overmix. Fill oiled or lined muffin tins 2/3 full. (I ran out of liners, so I used coconut oil to grease the cups and it worked perfectly.) Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden and springs back when touched. Let sit in pan for just a minute before removing to wire rack to cool.

Linked to Tuesdays at the Table, Tasty Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, and Homemaking Link-Up.