I consider it all joy...sometimes

Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. - James 1:2-3

I consider parenting a great joy in my life, but yesterday was one of the less than joyful moments.  Hannah was having some behavior issues, giving me an attitude when she was told to do something.  I said if she didn't straighten up she couldn't play soccer.

Long story short, I caught her slapping her sister and knew I had  to follow through.  I cannot describe how much I hated having to go through with this punishment.  I took no pleasure in it at all.  It was the last game and Hannah has been loving soccer.

At our Strong-Willed Child bible study last Wednesday, a woman in class talked about a friend's teenage daughter who got her car taken away for lying about where she was going to be one night.  This girl knew she would have her car back in less than a week, because her parents never followed through with any prior punishments.   I could have called off the punishment thinking I would go through with it the next time, but  it would no doubt have gotten harder and harder to do.  Before I know it Hannah and Autumn will be teenagers and well aware of the pushover I had become. I emailed her coach, and his wife responded saying she understood and respected my follow-through since so many parents don't do that.  I really appreciated that bit of encouragement.

I told Hannah I let her coach know she would not be at the game, and she acted like a big girl.  I was quite proud of her.  While at the time it was so hard to do, I have absolutely no regrets! I hope I can encourage all parents to follow through and make your statements more than just empty threats.  Your kids may claim to hate you, but they will come to respect you and definitely won't forget having to miss out on that one thing they love.

Week in Review #43: Gg is for Giraffe and Gross Negligence

Making fall trees one morning as a "warm-up" before
actually beginning school

Build-A-Giraffe

We had a good week. Some bumps throughout the week (you'll read more towards the bottom), but I think that's a requirement for all homeschool families. :)

 

Autumn enjoyed learning about the letter 'G'--mostly the gluing activity you see below. :)  She was doing pretty good and then decided to go all random,. which is fine.

This activity only requires a sharpie, construction paper, scissors, and a glue stick.  Autumn loves gluing stuff to paper so I figured why not give her lots of exposure to our current letter. :) I think I'm going to do this every week. What's cool is you can create a bunch of sets ahead of time and put them all in little ziploc bags so you can just grab it when you need it.


I don't know about Hannah, but I sure enjoy teaching the language portion of school.  Finally, my English degree is being used! LOL We learned about past, present, and future tenses, and she caught on pretty quickly. We're getting into the money section in math, and I swear that was the bane of my existence last year.  I sure hope it clicks better this year. I got some encouragement from other homeschool moms that it will click when it clicks, and that it's nothing to get stressed over.

Sister Storytime :)

I'm currently participating in a Bible study on Wednesday nights based on the book The Strong-Willed Child by James Dobson (have I mentioned that he is my parenting hero?).  Shouldn't be any surprise to those who personally know us, but Autumn is my strong-willed one. This will be where the "gross negligence" thing comes into play. 

It dawned on me this week that I am neglecting to correct Autumn when she whines and demands (i.e. "I want juice" as opposed to "May I have some juice?"). That's not really doing her any favors, is it? I told both girls a few days ago that if there was whining, tattling, or bickering between them I just wasn't going to hear it.   I completely ignore them, and so far it seems to go over pretty good.  Hannah caught on to this new regime pretty quickly, but Autumn is so appalled that her whining has not gotten her very far this week. Driving to the store to do grocery shopping Autumn dropped her precious Violet and wailed and screamed because I didn't pick it up right away like I normally do.  I told her she had to stop whining first.  She thrashed and screamed, and I started thinking that grocery shopping at that time may have been a mistake.  Long story short we survived shopping, and I was reminded while I consider shopping by myself a treat.

"Train your child up in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." - Proverbs 22:6

Please say a prayer for me as I continue to train Hannah and Autumn, in hopes they will go to the Lord and not turn from Him!

Monday Musings

It must be Monday! My mood had tumbled off a cliff and went SPLAT at the bottom. This little gem you see above did not help a thing.  While the cord has been loose for a while when plugged in, it officially will not register unless it is placed just so.  I finally got it to register and taped it up as carefully as I could. Even as I type this it is still working well, but I'm afraid to move the computer anywhere.  Time for an upgrade perhaps?

Of course that wasn't enough. I dropped a glass on the kitchen floor and as I'm trying to make sure I got every single little piece swept up and thrown away, the kids both picked that time to ask me to "eat" their play-doh ice cream they were making at the table.  Later today we needed a few groceries, and I was looking forward to getting out of the house.  Couldn't find my keys. Argh.  I have an extra key, but it was still frustrating.  I had visions of them accidentally being knocked  into the trash and considered going through it (I just took it out this morning :-/), not at all looking forward to it.  God bless Hannah.  When I was obviously frustrated she said so sweetly, "Mama, you don't have to be frustrated.  I like for you to be in a good mood." Then she proceeded to give me a hug, and I felt like the worst mother ever. Or the best, depending on how you look at it. :-p

The day is now over, and I am pleased to say it ended well. Kids went to bed without a fight, I got a workout in (thanks Jillian Michaels!), and we got a good bit of school done this morning.  I definitely do not have a lot to complain about. Oh, yeah...I also found my keys. They had fallen into Hannah's workbox. Silly me.

30-Day Mom Challenge

I like to think I'm not the only mom out there who by the end of the day wonders if she did enough to contribute to the raising of her children.  I could easily say "Oh, what's one day?", but then that one day turns into weeks, then months and then years. I think you know where I'm going with this.  I found this 30-day Mom Challenge which is originally from iMom, which I think will be a fun thing to do--not saying you can't hug your kids until Day 3--just make it a point to do so on the given day. I find myself already doing Day 9.  Day 2 might be a bit of a challenge for some (I'm included in that). It's all definitely worth a shot though, right? :)

Parental FAIL!

Hannah has the radio on when she goes to bed every night.  The Christian station sometimes decides to not come up on the radio (the CD player portion of music player is broken :-/), and I found the oldies station. I assumed that was harmless enough. Around 11 PM the other night I went to check on the girls and what was on the radio but "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye! Yes, Hannah was asleep but still! Goodness knows what else could have come on the radio. I'm already preparing myself to tell Hannah that "afternoon delight" is having ice cream after lunch. 

10 Bizarre Courses I Could Teach

I got this idea from Dishwater Dreams.  Pretty fun. :)

1. Aspartame Denial: A 2-liter of Diet Coke a day isn't that much, right?  Splenda is the "safe" sweetener right?  Everyone puts 4 in their coffee.

2. How to Say No: That's saying no to your kids.  Apparently some parents have a hard time with denying their kids, but I think I make it look quite easy.

3. Making Your Husband Smell Good Forever: Through couponing one thing I have created a good stockpile of is men's deodorant (we're talking $1 or less at final cost).  Ryan has gotten to the point that he gets annoyed when I put new deodorant in his cabinet in the bathroom.

4. Bear Surgery: Through both the girls I have repaired many a bear.  They wear them out!

5.  How to Cook Frozen Fries: Ryan says he wishes he could make fries like I do. *shrug*

6.  Getting Your Husband to Leave the Room: I turned on Little House on the Prairie and Ryan is quick to make his way to watch TV in our bedroom.  Fine with me, since he tends to offer his commentary on what ever I'm watching anyway.

7. The Life and Times of the Cereal Nazi: This is one of those things unfortunately passed on to me from my dad--no opening new "good" cereal until the opened stuff is eaten. Grrr. Never good when the opened cereal is cornflakes and the new is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  :-p Now I am the same way since I know if the new stuff gets opened the old stuff will never get eaten.

8.  Nick Jr. Character Profiles: Knowledge of different Nick Jr. characters only comes from hearing the various shows in the background--I promise. ;)

9. Forcing Yourself to Not Spend Money: I am no Dave Ramsey by any means, but all you have to do is accidentally transfer money to your money market account making funds unavailable for at least 5 business days. Good times!

10. Dragging Out Laundry: If you only get to one load a day for a family of 4 or more then it will surely take a hot minute.

4 Subjects, 1 Activity

Hannah started on thank you cards from her birthday party last weekend, and I realized in just doing that we covered quite a few subjects--reading, handwriting, spelling, and etiquette.  Hannah was so thrilled to write them.  "Oh, Mama! That is so polite!"  I was so amused since I remember hating to write thank you cards after my birthdays, but of course I now know the importance of them.

I know etiquette is not specifically a school subject, per say, but there is actually an etiquette curriculum out there for preschool all the way up through high school called The Etiquette Factory.  It goes from table manners all the way up to etiquette for a job interview. I read about it on another blog and I was definitley intrigued. Through day to day activites I tell Hannah what is considered polite and what is not.  

Your Kids are Always Listening

Numerous magazines have said in some form or another kids are much more intuitive than we give them credit for. They may look occupied, but they are still taking in most of what is going on around them.  We found this out several days ago when we were all in the car.  Hannah had one of her many bears with her, and she was pretending to talk to it.  She started saying something along the lines of "You've been very bad.  You're gonna have some hot sauce."  Ryan and I looked at each other, horrified.  Recently there had been a story on the national news about a woman on Dr. Phil who gave her child hot sauce and put him in a cold shower for misbehaving at school.  I could have been easily watching this on TV, while the kids were playing in the same room without even thinking about it.  We asked Hannah where she heard about the hot sauce, and she told us pretty much verbatim what they said on the news. Wow. She really was listening!   I don't like thinking about my kids having such images in their head.  I know I can't shelter them from the fact there are not such nice things in the world (I talked to Hannah the other day about what is going on in Japan), but I by no means want them to think that this behavior is acceptable.

Bringing Up Girls

Over the past year I've become quite interested in various parenting books, preferably from a Christian standpoint.  I asked Ryan for Bringing Up Girls by James Dobson for Christmas and it is so phenomenal. I am not at all a science person, but I really enjoyed reading the chapters talking about what happens in the female brain that makes us the way we are. I about laughed out loud when Dr. Dobson said that when the male brain is "bathed" in testosterone in the womb that the part of the brain dedicated to communication is disconnected. That's why so many wives complain  that their husbands don't talk to them! Ha! I think in Ryan's case they might  stayed connected and added a chatterbox mechanism, but I digress...

Anyone who has a daughter or is pregnant with a daughter needs to read this book!!! I felt so encouraged that just because the rest of the world is going you know where in a handbasket doesn't mean your family has to! I am also kind of intrigued to read Bringing Up Boys...just in case. ;) I will at least be picking up Dr. Dobson's other books.

Nighttime Chats

Sometimes if Hannah seems a bit bothered I will ask her if there's anything she wants to talk about.  If she's pretty adamant that there's nothing I just try to reiterate that if there's something wrong she can come to me or her daddy. Lately most nights when she's getting ready to go to bed she says she wants to talk.  Her topics of conversation are not what adults would consider serious.  The last thing she wanted to talk about was how she needs to go to the dentist next month and that she needs to be a big girl.  Obviously we talk about what ever is on her mind whether it's going to the dentist or "pandies". :)  These moments in the evening are so important to me, since I really want her to be able to come to us as she gets older and the "big" issues of life are plaguing her.  The key is to not be dismissive or else she will stop asking to talk. I am certainly doing nothing important enough to forgo a chance to talk to my daughter. Autumn is currently not interested in chating as she is asking for "joof" (juice) or her "bi-yet" (Violet, her favorite toy), but it won't be long!

Week in Review #9



painting pumpkins--less messy than
carving :)

 This is our first week without Ryan and things have gone surprisingly well! I know I should have had more confidence in myself, but I didn't. Sue me. :-p Ryan is now home for the weekend and we are so thrilled!



playing musical hats

Monday - Fall festival with the homeschool group.  Hannah had a blast and Autumn just kind of stood around taking it all in. Afterward we visited my grandma and had lunch with her.  After we got home Hannah got a bit whiny while we were doing Geography so I told her that the new is that if she gets whiny it means she's tired.  I sent her back to bed where she slept for about an hour. During the day while Autumn is up I will have Hannah do school work she can easily do on her own with very little direction(addition problems, handwriting).  After Autumn goes to bed I can focus on the subjects that require more of my attention like reading and geography.  Around 4:30 my mom came over to stay with the girls while I went to the gym.  She's going to come over a couple times a week while Ryan is gone so I can go to the gym. Such a godsend!

Tuesday -  After nap/quiet time, I called my dad and he came over so I could go to the gym yet again. :-D The girls had a great time, especially since their beloved Papaw brought pizza rolls and chocolate milk! Once again, we did school work after Autumn went to bed and all went wonderfully! We started a new reading lesson (#6 out of 20) and Hannah did great! We're reading the different 'e' sounds like, "need" "meat" and "bee".  Also the sounds for 'l' and 'p' but those are easy. ;)



Hannah and Kracker Bear,
who is practically our 3rd child ;)

 Wednesday - A more lazy day today. No gym for me so I pulled the girls around in the wagon for my exercise, loving the cool fall weather! Fall is way to short if you ask me.  Autumn took a late nap so Hannah and I were able to get some school work done.  We did a lot of math since for right now it's tapered off and is just review for the time being. The kids kept picking at each other, so I was most looking forward to taking them to their respective classes at church and bidding them farewell for an hour. :)

Thursday - I was not really in the mood to do school, but we got three subjects done before I knew it. My mom came over to watch the kids while I went to the gym, and Hannah was most excited to read to her. The latest reader is about a crab who grabbed a ham...something to that effect. :-p


how I felt a good portion of the week--
reckon it just comes with motherhood :p


Friday - Today was particular stressful for me. I think after Ryan being away for almost a week I was feeling burnt out.  My fuse was a bit short, praise the Lord we made it through the day.  Hannah was amazing, because she started picking up the living room without me even telling her. "I"m picking up the toys fast!" she said.  She even stops what ever she's doing and asks to pray for me. What have I done to deserve such a child? 

TAG! You're it!

These are always fun.  I was tagged by Tristan from Our Busy Homeschool.  I will answer the questions she listed, and then I will put in my own questions and tag who ever I want! :D

1.  What is one food or meal you love to eat that your family does not enjoy, so you don’t make it often? 

I actually really like brown rice, and I used to make this spicy chicken bake with it all the time.  Ryan isn't crazy about brown rice, so I don't make it very much.  Not to mention if you want to make it really good you have to cook it (by it I mean the real stuff...no Minute Rice here! :-p) in the oven for 45 minutes. 

2.  Tell me one thing you swore you would never do when you were a parent, but since having children of your own you have actually done.

Spanking. Oh, well.  Spare the rod and all that. :-p I am happy to say it is not an every day occurrence.  Taking away their bears seems more traumatic anyway.

3.  What character issue is God working on in your life right now?

PATIENCE!  Right now Hannah is having trouble grasping addition, and I know it's something that will just have to all of a sudden click in her brain.  I found myself just this morning getting very frustrated, but Hannah asked to pray for me so that brought me back to earth. :)

4.  What is your favorite household chore? How about your least favorite chore?

It's not done inside the house really, but my favorite is grocery shopping.  I enjoy using coupons and finding great deals while buying as healthy as we can afford. :) Not to mention I make it a requirement that I do it by myself.  Any parent can say shopping with kids period is not cool most of the time, and Ryan always finds stuff not on the list that we must have.  Yeah,we really needed that pound of salmon and the cedar plank to cook it on. :-/ 

My least favorite would be laundry.  I'm not very good at immediately getting the stuff out of the washer and dryer, and by the time I remember I'm usually busy with something else. It's also tedious folding the girls' clothes because they're still in small sizes. It does all get done even if it is stretched out a few days.

5.  As a homeschool mom, what is one area you feel you do well in, and one area you struggle with?

I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing right but Hannah just loves doing school work! I don't know what I did to instill that, but I guess I'll keep doing it. :)

See #3 for one area I struggle with.  I think when you start homeschooling you just have to figure out what works for both you and your kids and what doesn't.  There are a couple subjects that Hannah flies right through and a couple others that we need to spend extra time on.  I can never tell you what to expect on any given day.  I've had a day where I planned to do five subjects and due to the happenings of the day we wouldn't get any school done.  Kinda throws you in a tailspin, so you have to learn to adapt real quick!

6.  Would you rather eat health food or exercise regularly? 

I actually love exercising...great to relieve frustrations and stresses of everyday life.  After a good workout I feel accomplished and rejuvenated, so I couldn't give that up.  I also like to eat. ;) I don't go crazy with the junk food but I do enjoy indulging once in a while. 

7.  What is one thing you love about your husband, and one thing that drives you bonkers?

What I love about Ryan is he does not procrastinate and he gets right on the ball with what need to be done.  He's not afraid of hard work and doing what he has to do to take care of his family.

Now that drives me crazy is that boy loves...to...TALK. *big sigh*  Something that takes 20 seconds to explain Ryan will take 5 minutes to explain it.  I've gotten used to it to a certain extent, but if I'm already in a bad mood I will not tolerate one of his jab sessions. :-o  

8.  When your kids all leave the nest what is one job you would like to try in all your free time?

Oh my gosh.  I can't even imagine that season in my life right now. Let's get through Kindergarten first. ;) I'm hoping to be a working writer of some sort by that time in my life.  I'm not looking to be a world renowned novelist (although that would be nice) but just earning income for writing would be just dandy. :) And I guess enjoying time with Ryan will be nice, too. LOL

Now it's time for my questions:

What is one movie you can watch over and over and never get sick of? (I'm going to be lame and say Titanic. Sorry, folks. ;) )

Tell me about the day you got saved.  (I was 13 and I got saved at church.  My Sunday school teacher led me to the Lord.  What's funny is there was no one else my age in our little bitty church, so I just had one on one time which was so awesome! I really enjoyed that.  Some years later I ran in to her (her name was Grace) and I was able to thank her for leading me to the Lord.  I'm really glad I was able to do that.)

What would you do with a day to yourself? (I would go for a pedicure and some shopping, although when I have done that I always pick up stuff for the kids. :-p I would hope to catch up on some scrapbooking since I'm in desperate need to do that)

What is the best thing about fall? (I have big laundry list of what I love about fall, but I would say going to the pumpkin patch and the many photo ops that come with that. :) Us in hoodies, carrying pumpkins.  Gotta love it!)

Early bird or night owl? (There was a time when I could stay up until all hours of the night just hanging out with friends, but now I much prefer getting up early to prepare myself for the day.  I like to read my Bible, get online, eat breakfast, etc, before my little herd stampede their way downstairs.)

I'm going to tag:

Grendy's Gifts
Mau Loa Mama
Life as His Wife
Confessions of a Homeschooler

and anyone else who wants to join in the fun!

My Favorite Kid Products

I see results of surveys in various parenting magazines of what the most popular and hottest baby products are.  It gets me thinking about the various products that have helped Ryan and I through our kids' infanthood and what is now getting us through their childhood--consumables we buy again and again and other baby items we have used and just can't get rid of thinking the good Lord is not done expanding our family.  ;)

1. The Beginner's Bible

I distinctly remember having this when I was a kid--or maybe it was one of my siblings.  No matter.  I believe I got this as a baby shower gift and it has stood the test of time, having been taped up many times due to pages falling out and the cover separating.  While you always want your Bible intact, it's good to know that when it's falling apart you know it's been put to good use. 

2. Aveeno Lotion and Sunscreen

Autumn had pretty funky eczema before she was a year old and this helped (along with Zyrtec and steroid cream :-p).  I still use it and am more than happy to pay $5 for it.  When you know something works for you and your family you are willing to pay the price for it.  The sunscreen on the other hand is $9 for a small tube, but it's not greasy or heavily scented.  I believe I used it for Hannah the first summer after she was born.  Even with two fair-skinned girls, I was still stunned by the amount of sunscreen we went through this year.

3. Quaker Chewy Granola bars

This has been a perfect go-to snack for years.  Hannah used to call them "yellow bars".  She still says that sometimes. :) Autumn now enjoys them as well, even if she does pick off the chocolate chips before actually eating it.

4. Little People

Back in the day we had the old school Little People (the old farm is almost guaranteed to be found in almost any church nursery since that's where all retro toys seem to accumulate), but I think the current ones are much cuter.  Hannah got the farm for her 1st birthday and we've collected various sets ever since, to include a zoo, school bus, SUV, Noah's Ark, Nativity, and grocery store.  We don't have the plane which is surprising.  The sets never stay together which is fine because both girls love playing with them and they're actually pretty easy to keep up with.

5. Saucers and Bouncers

We had two of them--one was Leap Frog and the other was Fisher Price  We got the Leap Frog saucer when Hannah was a baby.  It was about $80 and I believe my mom and my aunt got it for us.  It was great when Hannah was more sturdy on her legs, but she was so short we had to put pillows under her feet! Aside from that, she bounced like a crazy fool!!! I was sorry when she outgrew it, but beyond thrilled we held onto it for Autumn because she was also a psycho jumper.  Autumn also enjoyed the bouncer at church (pictured on the left), and Ryan found one at a consignment shop for $25! We snatched it up, and Autumn all but wore that out as well.  It was more like a Johnny Jump-Up if anyone happens to remember those (I know my mom does).  You would think our kids have legs of steel! 

6. Portable DVD Players

21st century parents--can I get an amen?!? It's twice as nice when your vehicle comes with one built-in.  We first got one when we moved to KS and made that 12-hour drive.  After 3 years, it went kaput.  We got some good mileage from it. :) Lots and lots of The Backyardigans and Clifford the Big Red Dog were played on that thing. We haven't been on any long road trips in a while, but it's still nice on even just 30-minute drives to have the kids focused on something other than making you crazy. :)

7.  Hug 'N Learn Baby Tad

Tad is that well-known frog adorning the packaging of many LeapFrog products.  I got this for Christmas 2004, while Hannah was still in utero.  It is currently in her room, no doubt snuggled in her bed.  I'm startled if I see a brand new one on the shelf in a store--startled to see how green and clean it looks!

8.  My Pal Violet

Another fabulous LeapFrog product.  This time it's a purple puppy.  You can hook it up with the included USB cord to the LeapFrog website and personalize it with different songs and your child's name.  Autumn's Violet is very loved, I guess you could say.  She got it last Christmas from her Nonna Jonna (if I'm wrong on that feel free to correct me).  Since it's electronic, it cannot be tossed in the washer so we have had to come up with creative ways to ensure her cleanliness.  When we tell Autumn it's time for bed or a nap, she immediately asks "Where's Bi-let?" :)

What are some of your favorite kid products?

Week in Review #3

Monday (Labor Day) - Hannah hasn't quite grasped the concept of weekends and holidays, which is perfectly okay with me considering how little time it takes us to do school.  So while everyone else had the day off we "labored" away. Har har.  Like any seasoned homeschooler will say, your kids are always learning and you need to take advantage of teachable moments through the most mundane tasks. 

Tuesday - I had to run some errands so Ryan did a couple of subjects with Hannah while I was gone.  I can never say enough how important it is that the other parent, or even another relative, steps in once in a while because it's just refreshing because no two people will teach a subject exactly the same. It's great when Ryan does geography with Hannah because he's had some much training with maps and direction through the Army, so he is able to get more creative.  Ryan and the girls also got down and dirty with finger painting so much so that he had to give them both a bath.  When I came home there was at least 10 pictures taped to the door.

Wednesday - I developed another nasty headache.  I'm not one to get headaches very often but over the past week I've had 3 which make me just want to crawl into bed in a dark and silent room.  It's pretty awful.  At first I thought it was from too much caffeine so I'm trying to cut back.  I had one cup of coffee this morning and then 45 minutes later the pain just crept up on me.  Ryan was so fantastic and insisted I take a nap while he got the girls lunch.  I slept for 2 hours. Wow. When I got up he and Hannah were just finishing the rest of her school work.  I had hoped to make it to the library today but no such luck.  I did, praise the Lord, make it to church.  Just what I needed.  Something I must always remember...whenever I don't feel like going to church that is probably when I need it the most.  The kids had fun in their respective classes and I received great encouragement at the homeschool support group.  I will most likely end up going to the doctor regarding this headache thing...stay tuned...

Thursday - It used to be after the kids go to bed, my night would then be filled with relaxation--surfing the internet, watching TV, but not this week.  I find myself spending that time preparing for school! I made chore charts for both girls one evening, I created (very simple) chore charts for both girls which age-appropriate tasks and they receive a sticker after completion.  I love that stickers are still a good incentive with Hannah...just like when she was potty training. :) Last night I created some (again, very simple) lesson plan sheets to keep track of the schoolwork, but to also write in little extra things we do throughout the day.  There are plenty of learning moments that are unplanned so I decided to start keeping track--an idea I got from the homeschool group at church. I even made a set for Autumn, even though she's not officially homeschooling yet.  I want to see on paper the different things we do which help in her development.  There are some days when I feel like we have accomplished nothing, so this will really help.

We finally made it to the library and spent almost 2 hours there playing and picking out books.  While I check out books Hannah likes to put change in the large donation bin the library keeps by the front door.  It makes me wonder how much we've actually donated with all the change put together. :)

Friday - We woke up to rain and thunder which we declared a "stay at home day".  Ryan was off work, so I could not think of a more fantastic idea.  We got a bit behind in reading but caught up quickly.  I wrote out lesson plans for next week.  I love seeing on paper all that we are going to do in the coming days. Addition seemed to really be clicking with Hannah today.  We use Horizons for math and the pace is great.  The first several lessons have been review of numbers and then the slows down as addition comes to play.  The Inchimals really help since Hannah enjoys playing with them and figuring out which animal is what number. 

Another great week here at Caulfield Academy. ;D 

More registry items

I have some more items I use on a regular basis that I would not have thought as a new mom to ask for as a baby gift.

5. Laundry basket

I'm talking about a good solid basket, not one of those flimsy Rubbermaids. Maybe some of you already thought to ask for this since it is widely known babies create a lot of laundry, but that's not the reason I'm adding it to this list. From toddlerhood on, kids love to play Race Car--plopping themselves in the basket (various stuffed animals optional) and having a parent push them around the house at high speed.  This is a position Ryan takes on at our house.  He is much better at it than me. 

6. Clorox Anywhere Spray

I've been using this since Hannah was in a high chair!  On the commercial they used it on a high chair because it's safe to use where ever food may be. I was sold--disinfect the high chair tray without the baby having to taste lemon-scented Lysol along with the pasta pick-ups.  Only between $2-$3 at your local retailer. :)

7.  Thumb drive

Be sure it's one with the highest storage possible! The use I have in mind for this is for the many pictures you will be taking of your kids, since most of us have officially gone digital with our photography.  A few years ago our computer crashed and I lost at least 2 years worth of pictures (it still makes me sick thinking about it), so I have since purchased a thumb drive which gives me a peace of mind.

What SHOULD have been on the Target registry...

When I was pregnant with Hannah, my mom's BFF threw me a great baby shower.  I got a ton of gifts and saw a lot of friends I hadn't seen in months.  I got the typical must-haves for newborns--onesies, bibs, swaddling blankets, all things that would be considered a "layette" if you will.  While onesies are important there are so many other products us moms seem to use all the time that I now wish I knew to put on my baby registry.  But I guess no one could foresee all the unexpected needs that will come about.  Here are some items I use on a regular basis which I should probably buy some stock in:
1. Batteries

AA, AAA, C, D--there has been a time a when I have needed at least one of these.  I would need AA but only have AAA (isn't that always the case).  These days almost every single toy kids have is battery operated, and batteries are not cheap.  Ryan and I finally sucked it up and spent $20 on the big packs which have been so handy.  Autumn has a Leap Frog puppy that plays lullabies that she goes to bed with every night.  If we hear the voice getting deeper and slower then we have stuff to take care of it immediately.  If we take a toy and set it aside saying we'll get batteries later, we know it will never happen.

2.  Laundry stain remover

Shout, Spray N Wash, some expensive "green" product--pick your poison.  I prefer Shout myself.  This is needed pretty much immediately after giving birth due to spitting up and the surprise of explosive diarrhea.  I admit, I am pretty pathetic by getting emotionally attached to clothes because my girls just look so darn cute. :)  If Hannah spills red kool-aid on light colored clothing then I can't just say "oh, well" and toss it aside.  I will Shout and wash until the stain is gone.  Granted the stain and I have fought and the stain has won, but I am glad to say it doesn't happen very often. ;)

3.  Cornstarch

If one of the babies is getting a diaper changed and has some chapped hindquarters, my grandma will be first to call out "Get the cornstarch!" when no diaper cream can be found.  I think it's something that goes waaaay back in the day. Cornstarch takes the sting out diaper rash, which is wonderful since we all know our kids' cry when they're in pain from such a culprit. :(  Vaseline is also handy as a substitute diaper cream since it's something that is usually in the house. 

4. A Sewing Kit

I think you can find something like this anywhere...comes with just a few needles and those little spools of thread.  This is for when your child becomes attaches to a particular stuffed toy (always humorous after all the money that is put into other toys they don't ever look twice at!) Anyway, this past weekend I performed surgery on Hannah's favorite bear who had lost all the stuffing in his head.  I gave him a face lift (oh yeah, a seam cutter is also handy and yes, Mom, I'm giving yours back), and I actually had to get a needle and thread from my mom since I didn't have any (which I might keep :D). So Kracker Bear sat around with his throat cut open until I was able to sew him up, but the bleeding was minimal. :p

Y-E-S to V-B-S!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

This past week Hannah attended VBS at church, learning about the Lord and having a blast in the process. She came home every day with some sort of eclectic craft (hence the hat) and a new memory verse. Yesterday I asked her to say one of her verses from the week and she said "God has a plan. Jeremiah 29:11" Obviously, the abridged version to make memorization easier for the kids. :) I love this verse and it can get you through all kinds of hard times if you have the faith.

I know Hannah could have easily attended VBS every week all summer long, but after VBS week is done and over it is up to me and her daddy to continue to plant and water seeds of faith that will eventually come to her knowing Christ. She has recently started asking us questions about what's going on based on pictures in her children's bible. The other day we talked about Jacob and Esau, and she wanted to know why Esau was so mad. I know there are moments when Hannah wants to do some sort of activity (read, color, etc), and I'm "busy" with dishes, laundry, etc. While I do try to make sure my priorities are in line, I pray that when Hannah has a question about the Word I am immediate in dropping whatever I'm doing to answer. "The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." " -1Samuel 3:10 Even though the first couple times Samual mistakened God's calling as Eli calling him, God continued reaching out to him. I know no matter what God will always be calling me for his will, and I hope that I don't let any of those precious moments pass me by.

I thought the hard stuff would come later

What I mean about the hard stuff is parenting and that can mean pretty much EVERYTHING! One thing I am referring to right now is violence in video games. I know, I know...I should stop letting Hannah play Grand Theft Auto. Ha ha. The game I'm talking about is a Kung Fu Panda game we got Hannah for her birthday to play on her V-Motion. Each of these cartridges has about 7 differents game that teach different things like shapes, colors, etc. There is a game that is supposed to teach geometry by breaking open boxes to find matching shapes (see pic). Some of the boxes contain these spiked metal balls that the characters throw at each other, making the other one dizzy and see stars. I was very surprised that they included such a thing in a video game aimed at ages 4-6. As far as I can tell the other games seem perfectly fine, and Hannah really enjoys it (in case you didn't know, she has a thing for pandas). The best thing I can tell her is that she can't play this particular game, because they don't act nice to each other. She seems understanding to this, but I can't believe I am having to deal with this at this age. Threw me for a bit of a loop. Yes, kids (including mine) are bombarded with cartoon violence and most of the time we don't give a whole lot of thought to it. Once in a while we'll say something like, "Squidward wasn't be very nice to Spongebob. You should never hit other people." We recently dealt with a situation where a little boy at Hannah's school was hitting her, and we have told her hitting back was not the way to solve it. I just didn't want her to think that hitting (or in this case, throwing mideval weapons at other's heads) was funny or even a little bit okay.

Ugh, the second she turns 5 and I have to start teaching her about being a decent person in society. I'm hoping the next big thing that comes along will be more simple, like...how does a baby get inside mommy's tummy? I think I can deal with that.