Once again dealing with sleep issues, I decided to get up and write out my lofty goals for the next 6 months.
Earlier today, I updated a schedule of mine. I absolutely loved the schedule I created for myself in January of this year, and it worked great for me. As needed, I tweaked it and made changes here and there. Naturally, a very busy time of life came and I became unable to use that schedule. However, I continued to create updated versions from time to time, although I never did get back into the swing of using one again. In the last few weeks, I created a new daily schedule for myself. I kept some of the aspects of the schedule that worked so well for several months at the beginning of this year, but I made a few drastic changes as well. I think it will work better for these busy days with uncommon business and projects and goals to be accomplished many of our days.
What I did today, was to create a second schedule sheet that covers weekly needs as well as less frequent things that need to be done (but in my home, are often forgotten). I want to use the new daily and "general" schedules for a week or two, so I can tweak them with any necessary changes, and then I intend to laminate them back-to-back. I can then either find my dry-erase pens, or purchase another set. I am hoping this serves the purpose of reusing the same sheet over and over, rather than printing a new one every day.
I hope this schedule works as well as last year's did! It was so successful, that I feel it has made a change in our life even after it was no longer in use!
As far as the many goals I listed a few minutes ago, to attempt to cover during the next 6 months, I think I will not announce them... I can only take so much embarrassment if they do not come to pass! LOL. I suppose I will mention, though, that I intend to purge, re-purge, and purge AGAIN my entire household. This is something that is so important to me, that I found myself re-listing it again every two months. (January - Household purge & re-purge. March - Household purge & re-purge. May - Household purge & re-purge.) I'm not even kidding!
That is another thing that has made a vast difference in my life. Beginning last January, I began to "KonMari" my home. I whizzed through the first 3 categories (out of 5 - but the 4th category is the biggest). I did both my items/belongings, and also the kids'. This was accomplished January-March. It actually seems like we were halfway through January before I began, but I can't recall for sure. In any case, I was so pleased with the results, and it has still made an amazing difference! Although it needs done again (supposedly you are supposed to do it once and never need to repeat. Although that didn't quite work, this is still the best method I've discovered so far!).
My current intention is to just start culling down anything & everything that is no longer useful or desirable, until I've gotten this place under control enough to reKonMari, hopefully in one quick shot. I have a lot of stuff in the basement that is already ear-tagged for donations, but I'm finding myself noticing more and more and ever more items that I want OUT. OF. MY. HOUSE. As of now, it feels hopeless to finish my beautiful KonMari cause. So I'm thinking that if I work hard at everything I already know/guess that I want out, then I'll make enough room and brain-space to be able to do the job properly.
I honestly do not know how this will go. But I'm hoping that January will see this first portion fully accomplished. Then in March, I can do the proper KonMari. And in May, I can re-evaluate, maintain, and work on any possible remaining tidbits of junk. Not sure it'll go down this way, but oh, do I ever hope so!
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Pin-teh want nuggle wi- me...
Honey received Cinderella and Ariel dolls in a Play-Doh set from some friends for Christmas. The dolls are made out of that hard plastic, a little bigger than green army guys, but still fairly small. She decided the other night that "My pin-teh want nuggle wi- me." (My princesses want to snuggle with me.)
The first I heard of it was when I came up to say prayers with the kids. Usually they are either waiting at my bedside, or else running back and forth up there. However, I found Honey already in her little bed, whereupon we had our little conversation.
"Mommy, my pin-teh want nuggle wi- me."
"Oh, your princesses want to snuggle with you?"
"Yeah, so I let dem!"
*Chuckles* "Oh, so you're letting them snuggle with you?"
"Yeah!"
We said prayers, then she went to sleep happily with a princess in each hand. About 20 or 30 minutes later, she woke up bawling and bawling. I went to see the problem - one of her princesses was lost. I helped her find it, and she promptly settled down and went back to sleep. Did she come to snuggle with us even one time that night? No.
Last night she fell asleep leaning against me on the couch. But needless to say, I put her princesses in her little hands before I went to sleep, and once again she stayed in her own bed through the night.
What a cutie. And so nice to her princesses, too. :-)
The first I heard of it was when I came up to say prayers with the kids. Usually they are either waiting at my bedside, or else running back and forth up there. However, I found Honey already in her little bed, whereupon we had our little conversation.
"Mommy, my pin-teh want nuggle wi- me."
"Oh, your princesses want to snuggle with you?"
"Yeah, so I let dem!"
*Chuckles* "Oh, so you're letting them snuggle with you?"
"Yeah!"
We said prayers, then she went to sleep happily with a princess in each hand. About 20 or 30 minutes later, she woke up bawling and bawling. I went to see the problem - one of her princesses was lost. I helped her find it, and she promptly settled down and went back to sleep. Did she come to snuggle with us even one time that night? No.
Last night she fell asleep leaning against me on the couch. But needless to say, I put her princesses in her little hands before I went to sleep, and once again she stayed in her own bed through the night.
What a cutie. And so nice to her princesses, too. :-)
Monday, December 12, 2016
Knitting
I decided to learn to knit, and yesterday evening, my Man was so kind as to go buy me some knitting needles (he was going to the store for something else anyway). Yesterday, I did a practice piece, and today I did a dishcloth... although it ended up rather small. :-) I'll add pictures soon. I took pictures of the practice piece and the dish cloth, but I don't feel like uploading them right now.
By the way, I used Youtube knitting tutorials to learn, along with "Needlecraft Encyclopedia", a gigantic book full of awesome info about all different sorts of needlecraft. :-)
Okay, so I only knitted one practice piece, and one actual item. However, I had so much fun, I thought everybody else should give it a try! LOL
By the way, I used Youtube knitting tutorials to learn, along with "Needlecraft Encyclopedia", a gigantic book full of awesome info about all different sorts of needlecraft. :-)
Okay, so I only knitted one practice piece, and one actual item. However, I had so much fun, I thought everybody else should give it a try! LOL
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Three Little - Donuts?
There is possibly going to be a talent show after the Christmas Play tonight. If so, our kids will be performing "Three Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" together.
I just heard the Son & Sissy practicing it over lunch. And all of a sudden I hear Sissy with a new version:
Three little donuts jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head.
The kid called the fry and the fry said -
"No more donuts jumping on the bed!"
I was so amused! :-)
Also, we have taught this version to our kids, and I really like it way better - plus it's more accurate. :-)
Three little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell of and bumped his head.
Mama called Daddy, and Daddy said -
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"
They love to say the last line in a "deep" voice, and shaking their finger. It's so cute!
I just heard the Son & Sissy practicing it over lunch. And all of a sudden I hear Sissy with a new version:
Three little donuts jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head.
The kid called the fry and the fry said -
"No more donuts jumping on the bed!"
I was so amused! :-)
Also, we have taught this version to our kids, and I really like it way better - plus it's more accurate. :-)
Three little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell of and bumped his head.
Mama called Daddy, and Daddy said -
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"
They love to say the last line in a "deep" voice, and shaking their finger. It's so cute!
Friday, December 9, 2016
Matching Yoga Skirts
We had fun at the Christmas Play practice tonight. Tomorrow is going to be great!
And my girls will get to wear..... matching yoga skirts that I MADE FOR THEM!!!! I'm so thrilled with my accomplishment today! :-) Actually it wasn't too hard. I was surprised. :-) I used two tutorials I found on Pinterest. Maybe I'll link to them later.
I made the skirts to match a pair of darling matching long-sleeve shirts they were given. Unfortunately, Honey had no skirts, so while she could wear the shirt around the house with her pants, there wasn't really an opportunity for her to match with Sissy when we're out and about. :-) But now they can be totally cute and matching! Yay!
So that's my current news. :-)
And my girls will get to wear..... matching yoga skirts that I MADE FOR THEM!!!! I'm so thrilled with my accomplishment today! :-) Actually it wasn't too hard. I was surprised. :-) I used two tutorials I found on Pinterest. Maybe I'll link to them later.
I made the skirts to match a pair of darling matching long-sleeve shirts they were given. Unfortunately, Honey had no skirts, so while she could wear the shirt around the house with her pants, there wasn't really an opportunity for her to match with Sissy when we're out and about. :-) But now they can be totally cute and matching! Yay!
So that's my current news. :-)
Monday, November 28, 2016
A Few Small Christmas Thoughts
I have been reading about Fred Harvey, and it is extremely interesting!
I've also had the opportunity to read two separate blog posts written by homeschool moms, about the spirit of Christmas and avoiding entitlement/consumerism. They both echoed my sentiments very accurately, along with pointing out a couple things I hadn't thought of before. I have been putting more thought into Christmas of this year than any previous years I recall. Each year, I seem to think about it a little more deeply, and for a little longer before Christmas actually rolls around.
My Man and I have always aimed the same direction concerning the entitlement/consumerism of Christmas, and also our limited budget. But we both have trouble coming to a concrete idea of exactly what feels right for our family during the joyous Christmas season. It isn't an argument between him and I, it's an argument between us and the rest of the world - and yet we don't even know where we stand, so our argument isn't firm within our own minds.
I feel like I've personally made a lot of progress this year, in finding what I feel comfortable with. I haven't yet shared with my Man, because without comfortable guidelines, this has (sadly) been a depressing subject for us to talk about in the past. I don't want it to be like that this time, so maybe we'll just concentrate on the spirit of doing our Christmas (e.g. decorating, taking cookies to the police & fire departments, etc), and worry about the finer details later, after the season is over. :-) I think it would be easier for both of us to discuss it then anyway. But we'll see what the flow of life brings us this year. :-)
We have tentatively discussed something drastically different than ever before, for this one year. We only mentioned it once or twice, and it happened to be in front of the children, so we ran the idea by them, too. They are gung-ho for it. It is this: We might, and I repeat, might, as a family, build ourselves a chicken coop this year as a Christmas gift to all of us. I had plans for gifts I wanted to make for the children, and on what I could help them make for each other. I had not discussed those plans with them. It is still up in the air, what we are going to do. However, we would like to get chicks this spring, and will need somewhere to put them. And the one Christmas idea that is already cemented in our mind, and has been ever since our first child was born, is that at least some of our Christmas giving must be homemade. Making a chicken coop together, while untraditional, would also still fit the bill in our tradition... if that makes sense to you. :-) Anyway, it is all still up in the air.
I've also had the opportunity to read two separate blog posts written by homeschool moms, about the spirit of Christmas and avoiding entitlement/consumerism. They both echoed my sentiments very accurately, along with pointing out a couple things I hadn't thought of before. I have been putting more thought into Christmas of this year than any previous years I recall. Each year, I seem to think about it a little more deeply, and for a little longer before Christmas actually rolls around.
My Man and I have always aimed the same direction concerning the entitlement/consumerism of Christmas, and also our limited budget. But we both have trouble coming to a concrete idea of exactly what feels right for our family during the joyous Christmas season. It isn't an argument between him and I, it's an argument between us and the rest of the world - and yet we don't even know where we stand, so our argument isn't firm within our own minds.
I feel like I've personally made a lot of progress this year, in finding what I feel comfortable with. I haven't yet shared with my Man, because without comfortable guidelines, this has (sadly) been a depressing subject for us to talk about in the past. I don't want it to be like that this time, so maybe we'll just concentrate on the spirit of doing our Christmas (e.g. decorating, taking cookies to the police & fire departments, etc), and worry about the finer details later, after the season is over. :-) I think it would be easier for both of us to discuss it then anyway. But we'll see what the flow of life brings us this year. :-)
We have tentatively discussed something drastically different than ever before, for this one year. We only mentioned it once or twice, and it happened to be in front of the children, so we ran the idea by them, too. They are gung-ho for it. It is this: We might, and I repeat, might, as a family, build ourselves a chicken coop this year as a Christmas gift to all of us. I had plans for gifts I wanted to make for the children, and on what I could help them make for each other. I had not discussed those plans with them. It is still up in the air, what we are going to do. However, we would like to get chicks this spring, and will need somewhere to put them. And the one Christmas idea that is already cemented in our mind, and has been ever since our first child was born, is that at least some of our Christmas giving must be homemade. Making a chicken coop together, while untraditional, would also still fit the bill in our tradition... if that makes sense to you. :-) Anyway, it is all still up in the air.
Friday, November 18, 2016
A Little Update
I have accomplished a great deal today. I cleaned the laundry room (our worst catch-all area), which was in horrible condition because I'd been dreading doing it, and putting it off for longer and longer and longer. I cleaned out the refrigerator, which also was in great need. Orange juice had been spilled in there. And I have done regular housework.
My mother-in-law should be in tonight, Lord willing. She would've been here by about 4, but they ran into car trouble. :-( The guest room is all ready and waiting. We are all ready and waiting. My Man went to pick up his deer antlers, which he accidentally left with the friends he went hunting with. So groceries will be bought tomorrow. I should be able to go by myself. That will be nice.
My mother-in-law should be in tonight, Lord willing. She would've been here by about 4, but they ran into car trouble. :-( The guest room is all ready and waiting. We are all ready and waiting. My Man went to pick up his deer antlers, which he accidentally left with the friends he went hunting with. So groceries will be bought tomorrow. I should be able to go by myself. That will be nice.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Trunk-or-treat Ahead
I'll be honest. Trunk-or-treat does not thrill me. It feels like a big bunch of work, and the kids will come home with big bags of what I once heard referred to as "Poison Soup". Even though it is a church function, there were three things I was very displeased with last year. A little earlier this year, I discussed my issues with my Man (he was gone hunting during trunk-or-treat last year), and expressed that if this is the case again this year, that I would like it to be the last year we go. At least for some time. You see, there are several reasons we don't do regular Halloween. One of which is we believe in sheltering our kids as much as we can at this young age. If they will also be exposed to certain undesirable things at our church trunk-or-treat, then it is our job not to take them there. Last year was the first time I had problems with what I saw, so I'm willing to pass it off as a one-year thing and try again this year.
So the trunk-or-treat is tomorrow afternoon. Apparently I have to make a Rubik's Cube costume for Son. We have lots and lots of beautiful dress-up for the girls, but as soon as Sissy found out what Son was going to be, she wanted to be the same. So we have two boxes ready, and today I have to get them decorated. Honey wants to be like her brother and sister, but she is two; I think I can get some of the dress-up she hasn't seen for a while, out of storage, and sway her mind. I can't find a box the right size for her, so there you go.
Also, I have to buy candy. Ugh.
So the trunk-or-treat is tomorrow afternoon. Apparently I have to make a Rubik's Cube costume for Son. We have lots and lots of beautiful dress-up for the girls, but as soon as Sissy found out what Son was going to be, she wanted to be the same. So we have two boxes ready, and today I have to get them decorated. Honey wants to be like her brother and sister, but she is two; I think I can get some of the dress-up she hasn't seen for a while, out of storage, and sway her mind. I can't find a box the right size for her, so there you go.
Also, I have to buy candy. Ugh.
Monday, October 17, 2016
Yucks & Blocks
This season of our life is turning out to be somewhat depressing. The last couple of weeks we've had a bit too much lethargy going on. All of us have felt just a little under the weather and blah. I hope we're at the end of that season! This is why you haven't heard much from me. Probably will continue not to until we're all out of it. :-)
On a good note, it hasn't been bothering Son as much as the rest of us. The other day, he flew through 35 pages of Are You My Mother? Last night, he experimented with folding his lunch meat snack. He wound up using 8 slices of lunch meat, more than I'd usually grant him, to make "pizza slices" which he arranged into a circle so it would look like a cut pizza. He was pretty impressed with himself and showed me with a great deal of excitement. I, too, was impressed. And today, he has built many creations out of their wooden blocks.
The last one before bedtime, he stacked in a line, pyramid style, and didn't have enough blocks to make it as tall as himself, which is what he'd been attempting. So I began to wonder aloud how many blocks they already had, and he started counting. He got to 35 on the bottom two rows, and I decided to show him a quicker way to add them all up. Starting at the bottom, there were 18 blocks. The creation 9 blocks high, but the top row was one block shy of a full row. So we added 18+17+16+15+14+13+12+11+9. We have 115 blocks. Wow! I have a feeling that there are a few hiding here and there in places they aren't supposed to be, though. So actually, we probably have a few more than that.
On a good note, it hasn't been bothering Son as much as the rest of us. The other day, he flew through 35 pages of Are You My Mother? Last night, he experimented with folding his lunch meat snack. He wound up using 8 slices of lunch meat, more than I'd usually grant him, to make "pizza slices" which he arranged into a circle so it would look like a cut pizza. He was pretty impressed with himself and showed me with a great deal of excitement. I, too, was impressed. And today, he has built many creations out of their wooden blocks.
The last one before bedtime, he stacked in a line, pyramid style, and didn't have enough blocks to make it as tall as himself, which is what he'd been attempting. So I began to wonder aloud how many blocks they already had, and he started counting. He got to 35 on the bottom two rows, and I decided to show him a quicker way to add them all up. Starting at the bottom, there were 18 blocks. The creation 9 blocks high, but the top row was one block shy of a full row. So we added 18+17+16+15+14+13+12+11+9. We have 115 blocks. Wow! I have a feeling that there are a few hiding here and there in places they aren't supposed to be, though. So actually, we probably have a few more than that.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Slow, Yuck Week; Slow, Wonderful Weekend
Our family has been feeling under the weather this week. It all started Tuesday. My mother-in-law and her sister were supposed to be arriving in the afternoon (just passing through, this time), and of course we started feeling blah right about that time. We still enjoyed their visit, though. And Grandmother came bearing gifts. Lots of gifts! :-) She had brought a 3rd grade workbook that was unused and she had picked it up at the Pound Goodwill where she lives. Son was determined that he was going to use the workbook, and boy, did he ever try! :-) I told him that he may trace the words, but do none of the other activities, because we didn't want it written in once he's old enough to actually get use from it. He also discovered that he loves Word Searches. He spent a LOT of time on Wednesday, completing Word Searches, and tracing words/letters in the 3rd grade book. Everyone wasn't feeling too horrible Wednesday, so we didn't cancel our dinner date at a friend's house that night. Thursday morning, Mother & Aunt left early, early. Apparently there was snow on the road, and they went off the road. They didn't tell us about it until my Man called later to find out if they'd made it in. It took them a couple of hours to get back on the road, and then they had to sit and wait for 4 hours to get past a wreck.
Friday, I felt awful all day long. My Man had left early, early in the morning, to go do a job several hours away. They didn't know if they'd have to spend the night or not. It turned out that they were able to come home, but he didn't get back until 1:00 in the morning. During the day, I had to force myself to get some housework done, but I had the kids help me and that made things go a little quicker. Not much, but some. :-)
Then this morning, since my Man had got home so late, we didn't get up until about 7:30. We spent most of the day slowly getting around to this or that. In the morning, he and the kids left at around 9:15 or so, to go to the restaurant for breakfast. This is something they frequently do on Saturday mornings, but usually he wakes the kids up at about 5:30 or 6:00 to get ready. That's part of the special time - they have to get up really early. :-)
They saw some friends of ours while they were out to eat, and my Man invited them over for supper tonight, since we've been meaning to have them over for a while. They agreed, then my Man & the kids went to a couple 2nd hand stores. That's a fun thing for our family to do. :-) He called to let me know we'd be having company in the evening, and I immediately started thinking about my sister-in-law's delicious version of Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden soup). I had gotten the recipe from her 2 years before, but this was the first time that I actually got around to trying it out for myself. I planned my small alterations, and went grocery shopping.
After we all sat around at the house for a little while, my Man decided to go to the 2nd hand store around the corner from our house, which is only open on Fridays & Saturdays. The kids had been too tired to go to this one, as part of the Saturday Breakfast Tradition is that they always try to walk down there and back. They'd done a LOT of walking this morning. :-) Well, Sissy & Son ran off with their Daddy, while I was in the middle of reading a Dr. Suess book to Honey. As soon as she realized everyone was gone, she wanted to go too. So she and I moseyed down to the store, where I bought a small cast iron skillet and a container full of wooden blocks to add to the kids' collection. Wooden blocks are a toy that my Man & I both approve of, whereas many toys we don't particularly care for.
I left the kids with my husband, and walked home with the purchases. Then my Man called to tell me that there was a Kirby vacuum cleaner at the adjoining 2nd hand store. Since his family had great success with a Kirby, he wants to buy every Kirby he sees. So I told him that if he wanted to buy it, he could, but I was NOT interested in storing two Kirby's, and I like the vacuum that I currently use. I said that if he bought that Kirby, I thought we ought to promptly get rid of the one sitting in our basement. Surprisingly, he agreed to this. I had expected him to decide that $45 was too much just to switch out storage vacuums. But after talking to the proprietor, he paid $30 and brought home the Kirby.
Then our company came over, and the guys went shooting. I had Son take his shower while I began to prepare supper. We had a good time visiting with our company, and the Zuppa Toscana and whole wheat breadsticks turned out very good. We all ate too much. Although I dished up small portions of peach cobbler for the kids, they didn't eat any. All of us adults didn't even try. We knew we were too full!
So then I bathed the girls, our company left, and I took the kids to bed only 30 minutes late! :-) Everyone is all cleaned up for Church tomorrow, and I feel pleased with our slow-paced, moseying around, relaxing Saturday. For a change! It was really quite nice to take a rest. And yet the day wasn't wasted! I'll wait to wash up our supper dishes until tomorrow... Oh, for a dishwasher...
:-)
Friday, I felt awful all day long. My Man had left early, early in the morning, to go do a job several hours away. They didn't know if they'd have to spend the night or not. It turned out that they were able to come home, but he didn't get back until 1:00 in the morning. During the day, I had to force myself to get some housework done, but I had the kids help me and that made things go a little quicker. Not much, but some. :-)
Then this morning, since my Man had got home so late, we didn't get up until about 7:30. We spent most of the day slowly getting around to this or that. In the morning, he and the kids left at around 9:15 or so, to go to the restaurant for breakfast. This is something they frequently do on Saturday mornings, but usually he wakes the kids up at about 5:30 or 6:00 to get ready. That's part of the special time - they have to get up really early. :-)
They saw some friends of ours while they were out to eat, and my Man invited them over for supper tonight, since we've been meaning to have them over for a while. They agreed, then my Man & the kids went to a couple 2nd hand stores. That's a fun thing for our family to do. :-) He called to let me know we'd be having company in the evening, and I immediately started thinking about my sister-in-law's delicious version of Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden soup). I had gotten the recipe from her 2 years before, but this was the first time that I actually got around to trying it out for myself. I planned my small alterations, and went grocery shopping.
After we all sat around at the house for a little while, my Man decided to go to the 2nd hand store around the corner from our house, which is only open on Fridays & Saturdays. The kids had been too tired to go to this one, as part of the Saturday Breakfast Tradition is that they always try to walk down there and back. They'd done a LOT of walking this morning. :-) Well, Sissy & Son ran off with their Daddy, while I was in the middle of reading a Dr. Suess book to Honey. As soon as she realized everyone was gone, she wanted to go too. So she and I moseyed down to the store, where I bought a small cast iron skillet and a container full of wooden blocks to add to the kids' collection. Wooden blocks are a toy that my Man & I both approve of, whereas many toys we don't particularly care for.
I left the kids with my husband, and walked home with the purchases. Then my Man called to tell me that there was a Kirby vacuum cleaner at the adjoining 2nd hand store. Since his family had great success with a Kirby, he wants to buy every Kirby he sees. So I told him that if he wanted to buy it, he could, but I was NOT interested in storing two Kirby's, and I like the vacuum that I currently use. I said that if he bought that Kirby, I thought we ought to promptly get rid of the one sitting in our basement. Surprisingly, he agreed to this. I had expected him to decide that $45 was too much just to switch out storage vacuums. But after talking to the proprietor, he paid $30 and brought home the Kirby.
Then our company came over, and the guys went shooting. I had Son take his shower while I began to prepare supper. We had a good time visiting with our company, and the Zuppa Toscana and whole wheat breadsticks turned out very good. We all ate too much. Although I dished up small portions of peach cobbler for the kids, they didn't eat any. All of us adults didn't even try. We knew we were too full!
So then I bathed the girls, our company left, and I took the kids to bed only 30 minutes late! :-) Everyone is all cleaned up for Church tomorrow, and I feel pleased with our slow-paced, moseying around, relaxing Saturday. For a change! It was really quite nice to take a rest. And yet the day wasn't wasted! I'll wait to wash up our supper dishes until tomorrow... Oh, for a dishwasher...
:-)
Friday, September 30, 2016
An Update On School
Well, we have played around with some morning school, which we attempted to keep up, but it only lasted a couple of weeks.
But I used the time afterwards to do a little research and formulate plans in my own mind on what we want to do this school year. I am very happy with all of my plans. I have also made goals, but intend to look them over and go a little more in-depth on specifics, etc. I won't write all of my plans down here, but I'll list a couple of them.
I have already taught Son how to write print letters, but he and I are going to practice cursive this year. After doing practice for a while, we are going to start some copywork exercises. That will probably constitute most of his writing for this year, since he's not very interested in writing for very long. However, I still intend to write from his dictation. I haven't decided how frequently I will require the copywork or dictation sessions, but I intend to do them, and we'll figure out how it works best for us as we go.
Also, I have done some reading and thinking, that brings me to the conclusion that I ought to try teaching my kids cursive first, from now on. So I intend to write big cursive words on pages, put them in page protectors, and have Sissy trace over them with dry-erase markers for her "copywork" exercises. If Honey wants to be involved, we'll probably work on shapes, color matching, and maybe letters. Maybe.
I intend to keep a "Blessings Book" for each of the kids. It will be more of a list, with just a sentence or two per kid, per day.
And finally, I plan to do lots of reading. We already like to read together, but don't do it as often as we should. The kids are always asking, but I'm always busy. However, I am having the kids start helping me out a little more, which should leave a little more time in the day for reading.
So here is a possible school day goal:
8:00am - Morning Time begins
Family prayers
Fix & eat breakfast
Family dressed, hair fixed, faces washed, teeth brushed
Read from the Bible, and choose a verse for our chalkboard
Rhyme Time (poem, fingerplay, song, or suchlike)
Memorizing of emergency info (parents names, phone numbers, address)
Copywork (still not sure how frequently this will be done)
and then, a flow for the day
Morning Chore
Walk (beginning in a couple weeks or so)
Lunch
Afternoon Chore
Quiet Time (kids sit still and quiet for an hour and a half)
Reading
Projects
Baths/Showers
Supper
Evening Chore
Free Time
7:30pm - Bedtime Routine
8:00pm - Bedtime
This looks more rigid than how it has been working in real life. We also have been reading throughout the day. Son's reading time has been divided into a morning session right after Morning Time, and an afternoon session around Quiet Time. There has been a lot of time for the kids to play and Mommy to do things like... make lists.... write a blog... talk on the phone... :-)
So that covers my plans for this next couple of months, and generalized plans for the course of the whole year.
Because of the busyness that has been going on in our life, we didn't begin this stuff in earnest until Wednesday. We did things a little differently that day, since it was "the first day". We read the Bible, practiced a new poem, and made up a "first day page" for each child. It included the date, along with their name & age, height, weight, favorite colors, favorite stories/books, goal to reach by their next birthday, a tracing of their hand, a photo of themselves, and a small picture they each drew in the corner. Then we went to Storytime at the library.
Later in the day, I asked them to tell me what to write about Storytime. I wrote everything in their own words. I was very impressed with their dictation.
First 2016 Storytime, September 28, by Son
I only know one song. It's the song that we had to get bean bags for. We had to throw and catch. We had to put it on our head and walk around the room. We had to put it on our shoulders, and elbows, and knees, and toes.
I know two songs now; it's about leaves. We had to put the leaves on our hands, and sing the leaf song. We had to make our hands up high in a tree. I had six. I dropped one before it started, because I wanted to only have five. That's 'cause I am five.
The lady in the room had to take off the leaf with her other hand and drop it. With the hand that didn't have leaves on it. With the hand that she had the singing words with.
We had to get rattles for another song.
This filled up one notebook page. I was impressed with his details about what he remembered. After his was done, I had Sissy tell me her version:
First 2016 Storytime, September 28, by Sissy
I only know zero songs right now, so don't write about any songs.
I only know one song, that we had to throw beans up.
Now I know two songs. The song is about when we had to do the rattles.
We did the Hokey-Pokey!
We got to color with those markers. We put a umbrella on our papers. We took them home, and we goed home.
We got books.
We got to play with toys. The toys were fun, so we started doing the Hokey-Pokey.
We goed home after all those fun things, and I got tired! We goed home and we put the purple papers on our furnace.
(Mom Note: The papers were dark blue, not purple. Also, they didn't do the Hokey-Pokey when they played with the toys.)
I was impressed with Sissy mentioning as many things as she could, although there wasn't much detail to it. She tried not to leave anything out. And then:
First 2016 Storytime, September 28, by Honey
We got a story. That lady read the story to us. Draw on paper? YAY!
(Mom Note: When I reminded her that they colored on paper at Storytime, she got so excited. :-))
Her baby talk was SUPER CUTE!!!!!
We have had a lot of fun the last couple days. Yesterday, we followed the "schedule" I laid out above, a little closer, and the kids helped me make no-bake cookies for after-church snacks. Son also emailed a few emails back and forth with Grandpa (he was sure that his cousin needed Grandpa to sing him happy birthday, even though it wasn't Grandpa's grandkid. Since Grandpa said he wouldn't be able to, Son said that "we REELEE need to sege to him win he trns 4." :-) I need to show him Grandpa's reply: "Yes and maybe just maybe, we will forget that it really needs done so bad." LOL. Nice, Dad.) :-)
Well, so far, I am super happy with my plans/intentions, and where we are in the implementation stage. :-) You will be hearing more on this subject, mark my words. :-)
But I used the time afterwards to do a little research and formulate plans in my own mind on what we want to do this school year. I am very happy with all of my plans. I have also made goals, but intend to look them over and go a little more in-depth on specifics, etc. I won't write all of my plans down here, but I'll list a couple of them.
- My Man & I have discussed several times, how we like the idea of year-round homeschool. However, I keep coming back to the conclusion that I just KNOW I will burn out, even if I were only doing 4-day weeks. I have come up with a plan that might work: Do school for 3 months, then have a free month, and repeat. I can reevaluate, rejuvenate, and revamp (if needed), during the in-between times. I especially like this idea because it's been a longstanding goal of mine to take the month of December off each year, and just focus on the Christmas spirit and our family Christmas traditions.
- I still like the idea of a 4-day school week, but my Man surprised me by saying he thought we should do 6-day school weeks. Yikes! But then I realized that we could do our Morning Time 6 days per week, and do the rest of our school work only 4 of those days. If we are ambitious and do more, that works for me. But I don't have to have feelings of failure if we don't. :-)
- We will be trying to make it to Storytime at the library each week. We can pick up some history and science books every time, as I intend to use living literature books this year for science and history.
- We have both Primer & Alpha materials for Math-U-See, so after this coming week, I am thinking to add a math lesson 4 days each week.
- I have some awesome ideas for our binders. I know I can't hold myself back from the details, so I'll write more about that some other time. :-)
I have already taught Son how to write print letters, but he and I are going to practice cursive this year. After doing practice for a while, we are going to start some copywork exercises. That will probably constitute most of his writing for this year, since he's not very interested in writing for very long. However, I still intend to write from his dictation. I haven't decided how frequently I will require the copywork or dictation sessions, but I intend to do them, and we'll figure out how it works best for us as we go.
Also, I have done some reading and thinking, that brings me to the conclusion that I ought to try teaching my kids cursive first, from now on. So I intend to write big cursive words on pages, put them in page protectors, and have Sissy trace over them with dry-erase markers for her "copywork" exercises. If Honey wants to be involved, we'll probably work on shapes, color matching, and maybe letters. Maybe.
I intend to keep a "Blessings Book" for each of the kids. It will be more of a list, with just a sentence or two per kid, per day.
And finally, I plan to do lots of reading. We already like to read together, but don't do it as often as we should. The kids are always asking, but I'm always busy. However, I am having the kids start helping me out a little more, which should leave a little more time in the day for reading.
So here is a possible school day goal:
8:00am - Morning Time begins
Family prayers
Fix & eat breakfast
Family dressed, hair fixed, faces washed, teeth brushed
Read from the Bible, and choose a verse for our chalkboard
Rhyme Time (poem, fingerplay, song, or suchlike)
Memorizing of emergency info (parents names, phone numbers, address)
Copywork (still not sure how frequently this will be done)
and then, a flow for the day
Morning Chore
Walk (beginning in a couple weeks or so)
Lunch
Afternoon Chore
Quiet Time (kids sit still and quiet for an hour and a half)
Reading
Projects
Baths/Showers
Supper
Evening Chore
Free Time
7:30pm - Bedtime Routine
8:00pm - Bedtime
This looks more rigid than how it has been working in real life. We also have been reading throughout the day. Son's reading time has been divided into a morning session right after Morning Time, and an afternoon session around Quiet Time. There has been a lot of time for the kids to play and Mommy to do things like... make lists.... write a blog... talk on the phone... :-)
So that covers my plans for this next couple of months, and generalized plans for the course of the whole year.
Because of the busyness that has been going on in our life, we didn't begin this stuff in earnest until Wednesday. We did things a little differently that day, since it was "the first day". We read the Bible, practiced a new poem, and made up a "first day page" for each child. It included the date, along with their name & age, height, weight, favorite colors, favorite stories/books, goal to reach by their next birthday, a tracing of their hand, a photo of themselves, and a small picture they each drew in the corner. Then we went to Storytime at the library.
Later in the day, I asked them to tell me what to write about Storytime. I wrote everything in their own words. I was very impressed with their dictation.
First 2016 Storytime, September 28, by Son
I only know one song. It's the song that we had to get bean bags for. We had to throw and catch. We had to put it on our head and walk around the room. We had to put it on our shoulders, and elbows, and knees, and toes.
I know two songs now; it's about leaves. We had to put the leaves on our hands, and sing the leaf song. We had to make our hands up high in a tree. I had six. I dropped one before it started, because I wanted to only have five. That's 'cause I am five.
The lady in the room had to take off the leaf with her other hand and drop it. With the hand that didn't have leaves on it. With the hand that she had the singing words with.
We had to get rattles for another song.
This filled up one notebook page. I was impressed with his details about what he remembered. After his was done, I had Sissy tell me her version:
First 2016 Storytime, September 28, by Sissy
I only know zero songs right now, so don't write about any songs.
I only know one song, that we had to throw beans up.
Now I know two songs. The song is about when we had to do the rattles.
We did the Hokey-Pokey!
We got to color with those markers. We put a umbrella on our papers. We took them home, and we goed home.
We got books.
We got to play with toys. The toys were fun, so we started doing the Hokey-Pokey.
We goed home after all those fun things, and I got tired! We goed home and we put the purple papers on our furnace.
(Mom Note: The papers were dark blue, not purple. Also, they didn't do the Hokey-Pokey when they played with the toys.)
I was impressed with Sissy mentioning as many things as she could, although there wasn't much detail to it. She tried not to leave anything out. And then:
First 2016 Storytime, September 28, by Honey
We got a story. That lady read the story to us. Draw on paper? YAY!
(Mom Note: When I reminded her that they colored on paper at Storytime, she got so excited. :-))
Her baby talk was SUPER CUTE!!!!!
We have had a lot of fun the last couple days. Yesterday, we followed the "schedule" I laid out above, a little closer, and the kids helped me make no-bake cookies for after-church snacks. Son also emailed a few emails back and forth with Grandpa (he was sure that his cousin needed Grandpa to sing him happy birthday, even though it wasn't Grandpa's grandkid. Since Grandpa said he wouldn't be able to, Son said that "we REELEE need to sege to him win he trns 4." :-) I need to show him Grandpa's reply: "Yes and maybe just maybe, we will forget that it really needs done so bad." LOL. Nice, Dad.) :-)
Well, so far, I am super happy with my plans/intentions, and where we are in the implementation stage. :-) You will be hearing more on this subject, mark my words. :-)
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Firstborn Son
Son: Mommy, do you have camo thread?
Me: Um, no. I have green thread and brown thread, though. But not camo. Do you?
Son: [sudden giggles] No! I'm your kid! Your firstborn son!
Me: Oh, yeah, you are, aren't you!
Sissy: Look, Mommy! I'm tied to the stove!
[she has been entertaining herself for the past 30 minutes by tying herself to things with her winter scarf]
Honey: Mommy! I go tinky! [stinky; and whew! it was in the potty chair!]
My Man: Do you have any more chicken legs in the crock pot?
Me: Um, no.... I cooked half of a chicken.
What a beautiful family I've been blessed with. :-)
The whole "I'm your firstborn son" part really cracked me up. :-)
Me: Um, no. I have green thread and brown thread, though. But not camo. Do you?
Son: [sudden giggles] No! I'm your kid! Your firstborn son!
Me: Oh, yeah, you are, aren't you!
Sissy: Look, Mommy! I'm tied to the stove!
[she has been entertaining herself for the past 30 minutes by tying herself to things with her winter scarf]
Honey: Mommy! I go tinky! [stinky; and whew! it was in the potty chair!]
My Man: Do you have any more chicken legs in the crock pot?
Me: Um, no.... I cooked half of a chicken.
What a beautiful family I've been blessed with. :-)
The whole "I'm your firstborn son" part really cracked me up. :-)
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
More Basement Work
Another hour and a half working on the basement, with wonderful results! We've still got a long ways to go, but this total of 3 hours has made so much difference! It's very inspiring every time I need to go down there to get something... sometimes I go down there for no reason except to inspire myself! :-)
Yesterday, we did some housework, and then worked on the basement while Honey took her nap. Today, I was lazy and we didn't get around very early. But then we went down and the kids fully played with a toy tea set down there, for the whole hour and a half while I was working. Oh, I guess they DID find some random bike tires that they were having a blast with. I kept having to tell them to stop throwing the bike tires because it was dangerous. They didn't fully stop until I explained that I would just take the bike tires to the trash (which is to be picked up today) if they threw one of them even one more time. Boom. Sudden obedience.
Yesterday I got a lot of kitchen-related items moved into one area. Today I got most of my sewing scraps moved into another area, and after emptying two of the wonderful, sturdy, stackable storage bins that my Man has been keeping me supplied with, then I promptly filled them back up with what I'd wanted to put in them in the first place; into one, all outgrown diapers, both disposables and cloth, and related diaper changing paraphernalia. Into the other, things to keep on hand for another birth, including the only baby outfits/shoes/etc that I couldn't possibly give up when I went through getting rid of almost EVERY SINGLE OUTGROWN ITEM a few months ago. Or was it a year ago? I don't recall. In any case, I do have a boxful of things that I just HAVE to have on hand for when we have another baby someday.
But now I still have cleaning to do. Lots of laundry, that I washed yesterday, but never folded or put away. Lots of dishes, some left over from yesterday, some dirtied today. I'm not going to vacuum, even though the floor needs it. After laundry and dishes, I'm hoping to go back to the basement for another hour and a half.
I haven't been setting a timer. But during both yesterday's session and today's, then I got to a point where I all of a sudden felt like "I can't do this for even one more minute!" Then I looked at my clock and saw that I'd worked for an hour and a half.
I think part of it is having the kids down there "helping". And part of it is all the dust that gets stirred up. And part of it is thinking the dust is so bad that I don't want the kids breathing it, even if I could deal with it.
So... first I'll put Honey, and HOPFULLY Sissy, down for naps. Then, sort the clean laundry. Then, wash half or more of the dishes. Then, back to the basement for, most likely, an hour and a half. I definitely WANT to get more done before we apply the spider bombs, if I am able to. However, if I don't get another chance to go down there, I think I've got it well enough that there won't be much of anywhere for a spider to hide from the poison. :-)
Anyway, I hope.
Yesterday, we did some housework, and then worked on the basement while Honey took her nap. Today, I was lazy and we didn't get around very early. But then we went down and the kids fully played with a toy tea set down there, for the whole hour and a half while I was working. Oh, I guess they DID find some random bike tires that they were having a blast with. I kept having to tell them to stop throwing the bike tires because it was dangerous. They didn't fully stop until I explained that I would just take the bike tires to the trash (which is to be picked up today) if they threw one of them even one more time. Boom. Sudden obedience.
Yesterday I got a lot of kitchen-related items moved into one area. Today I got most of my sewing scraps moved into another area, and after emptying two of the wonderful, sturdy, stackable storage bins that my Man has been keeping me supplied with, then I promptly filled them back up with what I'd wanted to put in them in the first place; into one, all outgrown diapers, both disposables and cloth, and related diaper changing paraphernalia. Into the other, things to keep on hand for another birth, including the only baby outfits/shoes/etc that I couldn't possibly give up when I went through getting rid of almost EVERY SINGLE OUTGROWN ITEM a few months ago. Or was it a year ago? I don't recall. In any case, I do have a boxful of things that I just HAVE to have on hand for when we have another baby someday.
But now I still have cleaning to do. Lots of laundry, that I washed yesterday, but never folded or put away. Lots of dishes, some left over from yesterday, some dirtied today. I'm not going to vacuum, even though the floor needs it. After laundry and dishes, I'm hoping to go back to the basement for another hour and a half.
I haven't been setting a timer. But during both yesterday's session and today's, then I got to a point where I all of a sudden felt like "I can't do this for even one more minute!" Then I looked at my clock and saw that I'd worked for an hour and a half.
I think part of it is having the kids down there "helping". And part of it is all the dust that gets stirred up. And part of it is thinking the dust is so bad that I don't want the kids breathing it, even if I could deal with it.
So... first I'll put Honey, and HOPFULLY Sissy, down for naps. Then, sort the clean laundry. Then, wash half or more of the dishes. Then, back to the basement for, most likely, an hour and a half. I definitely WANT to get more done before we apply the spider bombs, if I am able to. However, if I don't get another chance to go down there, I think I've got it well enough that there won't be much of anywhere for a spider to hide from the poison. :-)
Anyway, I hope.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Finally Worked On The Basement
I only worked in the basement for an hour and a half today. During Honey's nap. The older kids helped me. We actually got a LOT done! It's so inspiring! Tomorrow I intend to work on it some more, but in several spurts this time. Maybe we can get a total of a few hours in over the course of the day, that way. I forgot to take "before" pictures, but I did take after pictures, and when I post them, I can at least explain how horrid it was before, and you can guess a small fraction of the reality.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Ugh!
Ugh! I have too many things on my plate! Busy, busy, busy.
Today I had simply intended on keeping up on the housework, and working as hard as I could in the basement. I was going to keep up that routine for Monday-Thursday, and then use Friday to put clean laundry, dishes, etc into bags so they don't have to be rewashed after the spider bomb we have to do on Sunday. Then, on Saturday, prepare Church dinner, and be sure everyone is bathed and hair washed. And bag any few things left that I don't want to wash on Monday.
Instead, we had a wonderful day yesterday but I never got any cleaning done. We received more peaches, and some corn, from different sources. So I need to take care of them today (I'm happy, but it delays basement work). My Man has a check he wants me to cash for him, and then I'll want to pick up a few groceries. And I need to buy a bubble envelope and mail a package of gospel CDs that I copied off for somebody who stayed at our house a few months ago and wanted copies. My Man also asked me to take something for him that he wasn't able to deliver over the weekend, and bring it to some friends house about 20 minutes away from us. And, of course, the house is a livable wreck but will go downhill way too quickly if I don't clean it again today. So add into all that, the fact that I will have to make sure 3 kids and myself are clean, dressed nicely, and hair fixed before we leave the house, and the fact that I will also need to fix meals in a timely manner (which will, of course, make a few more dishes to clean up)...... It's a full day. And I still tell myself "Well, after all this, you can do a little work in the basement." Ha. Yeah, right.... most likely not.
I'll say it again:
Ugh!
Today I had simply intended on keeping up on the housework, and working as hard as I could in the basement. I was going to keep up that routine for Monday-Thursday, and then use Friday to put clean laundry, dishes, etc into bags so they don't have to be rewashed after the spider bomb we have to do on Sunday. Then, on Saturday, prepare Church dinner, and be sure everyone is bathed and hair washed. And bag any few things left that I don't want to wash on Monday.
Instead, we had a wonderful day yesterday but I never got any cleaning done. We received more peaches, and some corn, from different sources. So I need to take care of them today (I'm happy, but it delays basement work). My Man has a check he wants me to cash for him, and then I'll want to pick up a few groceries. And I need to buy a bubble envelope and mail a package of gospel CDs that I copied off for somebody who stayed at our house a few months ago and wanted copies. My Man also asked me to take something for him that he wasn't able to deliver over the weekend, and bring it to some friends house about 20 minutes away from us. And, of course, the house is a livable wreck but will go downhill way too quickly if I don't clean it again today. So add into all that, the fact that I will have to make sure 3 kids and myself are clean, dressed nicely, and hair fixed before we leave the house, and the fact that I will also need to fix meals in a timely manner (which will, of course, make a few more dishes to clean up)...... It's a full day. And I still tell myself "Well, after all this, you can do a little work in the basement." Ha. Yeah, right.... most likely not.
I'll say it again:
Ugh!
Friday, September 16, 2016
Goals & Quilts
I have significantly lessened my list of what to accomplish during the remainder of this week (yesterday, today, and Saturday).
Yesterday, my goal was just to clean the house and bathe everybody before Church. I was successful in that, although I now have a couch full of laundry ready to put away. And the laundry room itself needs some work (it gathers random odds & ends like you wouldn't believe!).
Today, the goal is to burn off some CDs for an older "aunt" who stayed with us a few months ago. Pretty quickly after she left, I went on my 3-week trip to the West Coast to see family & friends I grew up with. Then two of my sisters were out here for a month, immediately following that. Now it's been a couple of weeks, and I need to get that job DONE! I also want to try walmart.com again, and see if they fixed their problem so I can order picture CDs. If not, I'll have to find somebody else who provides that service.
Tomorrow, the goal is to keep the house clean, and make lots of specific homeschool plans... Yay!!!! And spend the day with the family, of course. So the homeschool planning of the day may go down the drain... But oh well, if it does. My family is most important!
So last night, I forced myself to clear my mind early enough that I could actually get a somewhat decent amount of sleep. But not before remembering... Oh! Sissy's next birthday will be her fifth! On Son's fifth, I made him a denim quilt. Hmmm.... I only have 10 months left... maybe I ought to start now! LOL. Son's was accomplished in a matter of two days, but I happened to have my mother-in-law assisting me, and she is an excellent and experienced quilt-maker.
So what did I do this morning? As soon as I had my husband's breakfast, lunch, and work clothes ready, I hopped right on to Pinterest, and spent 40 minutes looking at denim quilts and just any quilts in general.
Last night I had the idea to make a center panel for the quilt, with an appliqued Sunbonnet Sue pushing a baby carriage. I wasn't sure how to surround it, though. After lots of pinning this morning, I'm thinking surround with smallish blocks made of:
~ four triangles
~ two triangles
~ hearts
and, of course
~ pockets
Of course, knowing me, I could change my mind entirely and not make a quilt at all like what I presently have in mind. And as much as I want to, I can't really justify starting her quilt right now, anyway. Besides, I may wait on hers until she's older. I did Son's just because he was so enthralled with the denim quilt that Grandmother made for Daddy when Daddy was a boy, and he wanted me to make him one, too. Sissy hasn't got such a desire at this point. I could just make her a denim doll quilt and call it good. She'd go bananas for that! :-)
Yesterday, my goal was just to clean the house and bathe everybody before Church. I was successful in that, although I now have a couch full of laundry ready to put away. And the laundry room itself needs some work (it gathers random odds & ends like you wouldn't believe!).
Today, the goal is to burn off some CDs for an older "aunt" who stayed with us a few months ago. Pretty quickly after she left, I went on my 3-week trip to the West Coast to see family & friends I grew up with. Then two of my sisters were out here for a month, immediately following that. Now it's been a couple of weeks, and I need to get that job DONE! I also want to try walmart.com again, and see if they fixed their problem so I can order picture CDs. If not, I'll have to find somebody else who provides that service.
Tomorrow, the goal is to keep the house clean, and make lots of specific homeschool plans... Yay!!!! And spend the day with the family, of course. So the homeschool planning of the day may go down the drain... But oh well, if it does. My family is most important!
So last night, I forced myself to clear my mind early enough that I could actually get a somewhat decent amount of sleep. But not before remembering... Oh! Sissy's next birthday will be her fifth! On Son's fifth, I made him a denim quilt. Hmmm.... I only have 10 months left... maybe I ought to start now! LOL. Son's was accomplished in a matter of two days, but I happened to have my mother-in-law assisting me, and she is an excellent and experienced quilt-maker.
So what did I do this morning? As soon as I had my husband's breakfast, lunch, and work clothes ready, I hopped right on to Pinterest, and spent 40 minutes looking at denim quilts and just any quilts in general.
Last night I had the idea to make a center panel for the quilt, with an appliqued Sunbonnet Sue pushing a baby carriage. I wasn't sure how to surround it, though. After lots of pinning this morning, I'm thinking surround with smallish blocks made of:
~ four triangles
~ two triangles
~ hearts
and, of course
~ pockets
Of course, knowing me, I could change my mind entirely and not make a quilt at all like what I presently have in mind. And as much as I want to, I can't really justify starting her quilt right now, anyway. Besides, I may wait on hers until she's older. I did Son's just because he was so enthralled with the denim quilt that Grandmother made for Daddy when Daddy was a boy, and he wanted me to make him one, too. Sissy hasn't got such a desire at this point. I could just make her a denim doll quilt and call it good. She'd go bananas for that! :-)
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
"Close your eyes, Mommy!"
Here's another post before I go to bed again;
A few months ago, I was talking to my cousin and close friend over the phone. I was telling her that I'd previously gone back and forth between whether I thought it was okay for me to watch movies or not, and that I'd finally come to the conclusion that if a movie meets certain criteria, I can enjoy it and not feel at all uncomfortable, as long as I don't get excessive in the habit. On the other hand, most modern movies do not meet that criteria, and even if I enjoy them, afterwards I wind up feeling as though I partook in something dirty, which causes me to think I should not watch movies whatsoever. Anyway, as I told her the type that I actually enjoy, I mentioned that I was afraid to try too many more, in case they were ones that would bother me. She suggested White Christmas and Holiday Inn, both Bing Crosby movies.
I don't recall which one I watched first, but while watching Holiday Inn, which featured vaudeville performers. Of course, since there were vaudeville performers, there were vaudeville costumes... so there were some dancing girls who had tights and whatnot, but also shorter, fluffier dresses (maybe like a tu-tu or something, I don't recall). At any rate, while some of these girls were dancing across the stage, my not-quite-four-year-old daughter turned to me and exclaimed "You need to close your eyes, Mommy! Those girls aren't wearing decent clothes! I'll tell you when you can open them, okay?!" whereupon she returned to watching the scene, and I inwardly laughed and laughed.
IT WAS FUNNY, OKAY?!?!?!?!
A few months ago, I was talking to my cousin and close friend over the phone. I was telling her that I'd previously gone back and forth between whether I thought it was okay for me to watch movies or not, and that I'd finally come to the conclusion that if a movie meets certain criteria, I can enjoy it and not feel at all uncomfortable, as long as I don't get excessive in the habit. On the other hand, most modern movies do not meet that criteria, and even if I enjoy them, afterwards I wind up feeling as though I partook in something dirty, which causes me to think I should not watch movies whatsoever. Anyway, as I told her the type that I actually enjoy, I mentioned that I was afraid to try too many more, in case they were ones that would bother me. She suggested White Christmas and Holiday Inn, both Bing Crosby movies.
I don't recall which one I watched first, but while watching Holiday Inn, which featured vaudeville performers. Of course, since there were vaudeville performers, there were vaudeville costumes... so there were some dancing girls who had tights and whatnot, but also shorter, fluffier dresses (maybe like a tu-tu or something, I don't recall). At any rate, while some of these girls were dancing across the stage, my not-quite-four-year-old daughter turned to me and exclaimed "You need to close your eyes, Mommy! Those girls aren't wearing decent clothes! I'll tell you when you can open them, okay?!" whereupon she returned to watching the scene, and I inwardly laughed and laughed.
IT WAS FUNNY, OKAY?!?!?!?!
Insomnia
Another night where I can't get to sleep. Sigh. And I've been strictly avoiding coffee in the afternoons to prevent this, too! I haven't been sleeping in most mornings. It's just that I've got so much on my mind, and can't seem to clear it out at night until I've tossed and turned for at least an hour or so. And I've got the irritating cold that's been going around ever since they started up shots and whatnot again this year. So that doesn't help.
So one of the things on my mind tonight; I bombed the house for spiders yesterday, which was, of course, a big ordeal. After four hours, I stopped by the house to open all the doors & windows and let the place air out. What did I find? A spider. A live spider. Grrrrrrrr.
And then, because the stupid "30 minutes" to air out the house is never enough, including yesterday, then we had to spend the rest of the evening away from home, as well. Finally we came home, but the odor was still pretty strong. We didn't have anywhere else to go, so left all the windows open and the fans blowing for the night. Which, of course, was bad for my cold. So irritating.
This morning I woke up and had a huge to-do list, scrubbing things down from the spider bombing. But I was so discouraged, and I basically did nothing except stay a little depressed and grumpy until about five o'clock. At that point, I called my sister while I washed the kitchen cabinets so I could put at least some things away. I tried to get re-inspired while I was on the phone, but I just kept the discouragement. It just lessened a little. I bemoaned the fact that I'd forgotten to bag the coffee maker before bombing, and all throughout the day, I'd never made myself go put it through a cleaning cycle.
We had pancakes for supper, which I fixed while my Man and a couple of the kids watched an Astrix show. Then I went down to the store and got milk, because I forgot to when I was at the grocery store yesterday. I came home, watched the rest of the show with my family, and then got everyone settled into bed. And then tossed and turned for an hour, and finally came back downstairs to type up a post, because I felt a headache coming on, and I haven't posted in a few days anyway.
One good news is that my Man & I decided that the best course of action would be to bomb the house again on our next two Church Dinner days. This is because we are supposed to bomb again in 30 days to catch any hatched eggs. I had been so irritated by the live spider I found, that I had intended to bomb again next Tuesday, or maybe this Sunday. But when my Man suggested doing it on our Dinner days, I felt very relieved to be able to wait a tad longer.
Other things on my mind are thoughts about:
~ School ideas for this year
~ Parenting methods
~ KonMari'ing the entire house
~ Setting up our basement, as per my lofty plans
~ Sorting through the junk in my Man's shop (he requested this favor)
~ And a variety of smaller things to boot, assail me each day & night :-(
Other good news is that just before I left for the grocery store, I poured vinegar in the coffee maker and got the clean cycle started. Tomorrow morning I'll have to run a couple quick cycles of water through, and wash the pot. Then I'll be able to have coffee!
So here's hoping for a better day tomorrow. (I do think I'll feel a little better tomorrow. The wheels spinning in my head tonight are because of the myriad of things I'm planning on planning tomorrow... if that makes sense!)
So one of the things on my mind tonight; I bombed the house for spiders yesterday, which was, of course, a big ordeal. After four hours, I stopped by the house to open all the doors & windows and let the place air out. What did I find? A spider. A live spider. Grrrrrrrr.
And then, because the stupid "30 minutes" to air out the house is never enough, including yesterday, then we had to spend the rest of the evening away from home, as well. Finally we came home, but the odor was still pretty strong. We didn't have anywhere else to go, so left all the windows open and the fans blowing for the night. Which, of course, was bad for my cold. So irritating.
This morning I woke up and had a huge to-do list, scrubbing things down from the spider bombing. But I was so discouraged, and I basically did nothing except stay a little depressed and grumpy until about five o'clock. At that point, I called my sister while I washed the kitchen cabinets so I could put at least some things away. I tried to get re-inspired while I was on the phone, but I just kept the discouragement. It just lessened a little. I bemoaned the fact that I'd forgotten to bag the coffee maker before bombing, and all throughout the day, I'd never made myself go put it through a cleaning cycle.
We had pancakes for supper, which I fixed while my Man and a couple of the kids watched an Astrix show. Then I went down to the store and got milk, because I forgot to when I was at the grocery store yesterday. I came home, watched the rest of the show with my family, and then got everyone settled into bed. And then tossed and turned for an hour, and finally came back downstairs to type up a post, because I felt a headache coming on, and I haven't posted in a few days anyway.
One good news is that my Man & I decided that the best course of action would be to bomb the house again on our next two Church Dinner days. This is because we are supposed to bomb again in 30 days to catch any hatched eggs. I had been so irritated by the live spider I found, that I had intended to bomb again next Tuesday, or maybe this Sunday. But when my Man suggested doing it on our Dinner days, I felt very relieved to be able to wait a tad longer.
Other things on my mind are thoughts about:
~ School ideas for this year
~ Parenting methods
~ KonMari'ing the entire house
~ Setting up our basement, as per my lofty plans
~ Sorting through the junk in my Man's shop (he requested this favor)
~ And a variety of smaller things to boot, assail me each day & night :-(
Other good news is that just before I left for the grocery store, I poured vinegar in the coffee maker and got the clean cycle started. Tomorrow morning I'll have to run a couple quick cycles of water through, and wash the pot. Then I'll be able to have coffee!
So here's hoping for a better day tomorrow. (I do think I'll feel a little better tomorrow. The wheels spinning in my head tonight are because of the myriad of things I'm planning on planning tomorrow... if that makes sense!)
Sunday, September 11, 2016
To-Do List
This has been a very good day.
Church this morning was very encouraging. Choosing spouses, and interacting with them after marriage, was focused on. It was good to be reminded of, and I really enjoyed it.
Then we came home for lunch, and I had the kids look at books while my Man & I took naps. Of course, the kids didn't stick to the books like they were supposed to, but still. They were less destructive than they might've been without the direction, and the sleep was totally worth it.
Then we drove 45 minutes to visit some friends of ours. I hadn't been to their new home before, and was well impressed. They are expecting their first child, and she asked me for advice & tips I might have for her, to help her prepare. It was a fun visit, although she mostly had everything listed already, as she's asked several other women as well.
Tomorrow is the beginning of a very big week for us. I'll be getting the house prepared for spider bombs, and then Tuesday, we will set the bombs off as we head out the door. We'll do a few things in town and then go to the weekly quilting we have at the church. After the house has aired out, I'll have to really make myself work so I can get a few things scrubbed down post-spider-bomb. With special attention paid to the kitchen.
Things I want to do later in the week, include more scrubbing, fixing torn/broken books, adding category tape to some new books we've acquired, and sorting through my small stack of paperwork. Yes, that means that last week I did get our clothes reKonMari'd, but not the books or papers. Sigh. I'm worried that doing the spider bomb will put me further behind, but I'm determined to try to work as hard as I can and NOT let that happen!
And of course, we want to keep up on our Morning School each day of this week.
So I intend to be busy!
Church this morning was very encouraging. Choosing spouses, and interacting with them after marriage, was focused on. It was good to be reminded of, and I really enjoyed it.
Then we came home for lunch, and I had the kids look at books while my Man & I took naps. Of course, the kids didn't stick to the books like they were supposed to, but still. They were less destructive than they might've been without the direction, and the sleep was totally worth it.
Then we drove 45 minutes to visit some friends of ours. I hadn't been to their new home before, and was well impressed. They are expecting their first child, and she asked me for advice & tips I might have for her, to help her prepare. It was a fun visit, although she mostly had everything listed already, as she's asked several other women as well.
Tomorrow is the beginning of a very big week for us. I'll be getting the house prepared for spider bombs, and then Tuesday, we will set the bombs off as we head out the door. We'll do a few things in town and then go to the weekly quilting we have at the church. After the house has aired out, I'll have to really make myself work so I can get a few things scrubbed down post-spider-bomb. With special attention paid to the kitchen.
Things I want to do later in the week, include more scrubbing, fixing torn/broken books, adding category tape to some new books we've acquired, and sorting through my small stack of paperwork. Yes, that means that last week I did get our clothes reKonMari'd, but not the books or papers. Sigh. I'm worried that doing the spider bomb will put me further behind, but I'm determined to try to work as hard as I can and NOT let that happen!
And of course, we want to keep up on our Morning School each day of this week.
So I intend to be busy!
Friday, September 9, 2016
Freezing Peaches
Some of my list from the other day, I accomplished. Some I did not. Some everyday work NOT included on the list, I accomplished. Some I did not.
On Monday, a precious friend brought me a box of peaches. Because they were pretty hard, I divided them up into a total of 3 boxes (so they wouldn't smash the bottom layers while they were ripening up).
Then on Wednesday, I sorted through and took out all of them that had softened. I rinsed, cut, flash froze them, and then transferred them to gallon freezer ziplocs.
Today, I did nearly half of what was left, since they were almost all softened and it wasn't worth finding the couple that were still fairly hard. Here are pictures of my mornings work:
Also Wednesday, I froze the beets that another friend gave me. I would advise to anyone who wants to flash freeze beets... it will be easier to get them into your bags if you don't try to freeze them before they've cooled down...
The reason I bring up the beets is because my children & I couldn't resist eating a few while I was cutting them up. The results have had the kids intrigued and excited. Poor Sissy, though. She only had one beet chunk. Not enough to change the color of her potty. :-( And trust me, that is very disappointing to a four-year-old. Especially one whose favorite colors are pink & purple...
On Monday, a precious friend brought me a box of peaches. Because they were pretty hard, I divided them up into a total of 3 boxes (so they wouldn't smash the bottom layers while they were ripening up).
Then on Wednesday, I sorted through and took out all of them that had softened. I rinsed, cut, flash froze them, and then transferred them to gallon freezer ziplocs.
Today, I did nearly half of what was left, since they were almost all softened and it wasn't worth finding the couple that were still fairly hard. Here are pictures of my mornings work:
 |
| All rinsed and ready to cut. |
 |
| I wanted to use the same box to freeze them with, so in went the layers of wax paper! |
 |
| Let me pause so I can go start the next youtube "educational show" for my early rising girls. :-) |
 |
| More wax paper for more peaches :-) |
 |
| Since there were only 3 peaches left, I went ahead and succumbed to adding a partial third layer. |
 |
| Not too much of the valuable peach went to waste! |
 |
| I feel so accomplished! |
 |
| Hmmm... when did that frost build up? Better take care of it. |
 |
| Busy taking care of it. :-) |
 |
| Fits exactly right! Notice the way I hold up the lid when a kid isn't handy... |
 |
| This is the results from Wednesday. I did slightly more this morning, and have a little more than that for the batch I'm about to start. :-) |
Also Wednesday, I froze the beets that another friend gave me. I would advise to anyone who wants to flash freeze beets... it will be easier to get them into your bags if you don't try to freeze them before they've cooled down...
The reason I bring up the beets is because my children & I couldn't resist eating a few while I was cutting them up. The results have had the kids intrigued and excited. Poor Sissy, though. She only had one beet chunk. Not enough to change the color of her potty. :-( And trust me, that is very disappointing to a four-year-old. Especially one whose favorite colors are pink & purple...
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
First & Second School Days 2016-17
We had our first day of "school" yesterday. We just did morning school, and not even all of it.
We read the book of Jonah and explained what was going on as we went through it.
We read a chapter of Agatha Campbell's Hat by Danni McGriffith (too intense... it's been too long since I read that book! I had to soften it up quite a bit as I went!).
We practiced a verse about September:
September is a time
Of beginning for all,
Beginning of school
Beginning of fall!
Then Sissy and I went through all of her clothing and chose what to keep out and what to store. My, how we reduced her former gigantic pile of all the clothes in her size - both in season and out! This may not have been the greatest time to do it, since the seasons are changing, but we went ahead and got it over with anyway. She's had this mess of clothes to sort through every day since this spring... don't tell anyone about that, though. It's been safely hidden away in our room. Nobody is supposed to know.
I also mended the things that needed it, that she chose to keep in her current wardrobe. A mixture of warm and cold weather clothing so she is prepared for whatever the day brings as we gradually transition to winter.
At breakfast today, we discussed the story of Jonah, and the kids remembered it very well. I was happy about that!
Then we walked the few blocks down to the shop my Man's boss just bought (Yay!!!) and grabbed the car. We drove down to the dollar store (I'm so cheap) and picked up some AAA batteries for the kids' tag reader. Unfortunately, once we'd dropped the car off and walked back home, we discovered that we still couldn't get the tag reader to work. Okay, so either the dollar store batteries are total junk, or else the kids had bathed the tag reader shortly before it went into storage for an undetermined number of months. I'm not sure which. We'll have to buy good batteries, try it out again, and see if it works. I sure hope so. I didn't spend a bunch of money on the tag reader, as it was given to us, but still! It's such an awesome "toy" - fun, but educational as well. I would hate for it to be unusable.
At any rate, we practiced our September verse a couple more times while we were in the car.
And we will be reading more of Agatha Campbell's Hat at the start-out of Quiet Time.
Other plans for the day include:
Housework
Honey's wardrobe (same thing we did to Sissy's yesterday)
Son's wardrobe (")
My wardrobe (won't take as long, just a little KonMari maintenance)
Food - take care of the peaches, zucchinis, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and beets that were given to us from several sources.
And hopefully:
Prepare for dividing everything in the house into KonMari subcategories of "Miscellaneous".
Figure out what is needed to make Honey her own bed so she doesn't have to share with Sissy anymore (I have plans... maybe I won't have to buy anything... we'll see...)
And...write a blog post
So we'll see what of that weighty list actually gets accomplished!
We read the book of Jonah and explained what was going on as we went through it.
We read a chapter of Agatha Campbell's Hat by Danni McGriffith (too intense... it's been too long since I read that book! I had to soften it up quite a bit as I went!).
We practiced a verse about September:
September is a time
Of beginning for all,
Beginning of school
Beginning of fall!
Then Sissy and I went through all of her clothing and chose what to keep out and what to store. My, how we reduced her former gigantic pile of all the clothes in her size - both in season and out! This may not have been the greatest time to do it, since the seasons are changing, but we went ahead and got it over with anyway. She's had this mess of clothes to sort through every day since this spring... don't tell anyone about that, though. It's been safely hidden away in our room. Nobody is supposed to know.
I also mended the things that needed it, that she chose to keep in her current wardrobe. A mixture of warm and cold weather clothing so she is prepared for whatever the day brings as we gradually transition to winter.
At breakfast today, we discussed the story of Jonah, and the kids remembered it very well. I was happy about that!
Then we walked the few blocks down to the shop my Man's boss just bought (Yay!!!) and grabbed the car. We drove down to the dollar store (I'm so cheap) and picked up some AAA batteries for the kids' tag reader. Unfortunately, once we'd dropped the car off and walked back home, we discovered that we still couldn't get the tag reader to work. Okay, so either the dollar store batteries are total junk, or else the kids had bathed the tag reader shortly before it went into storage for an undetermined number of months. I'm not sure which. We'll have to buy good batteries, try it out again, and see if it works. I sure hope so. I didn't spend a bunch of money on the tag reader, as it was given to us, but still! It's such an awesome "toy" - fun, but educational as well. I would hate for it to be unusable.
At any rate, we practiced our September verse a couple more times while we were in the car.
And we will be reading more of Agatha Campbell's Hat at the start-out of Quiet Time.
Other plans for the day include:
Housework
Honey's wardrobe (same thing we did to Sissy's yesterday)
Son's wardrobe (")
My wardrobe (won't take as long, just a little KonMari maintenance)
Food - take care of the peaches, zucchinis, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and beets that were given to us from several sources.
And hopefully:
Prepare for dividing everything in the house into KonMari subcategories of "Miscellaneous".
Figure out what is needed to make Honey her own bed so she doesn't have to share with Sissy anymore (I have plans... maybe I won't have to buy anything... we'll see...)
And...
So we'll see what of that weighty list actually gets accomplished!
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