Thursday, September 20, 2012

School Fun for All Ages

 This is our first year with someone in school!  It has been pretty exciting around here.  Hermione has started Kindergarten at Aumsville Elementary.  She is having fun learning and meeting new friends.  She can sometimes be hard to wake up so early in the morning, but we (which mom has had to work on too) are getting into the swing of things.  Mom gets up at 5:30 to get at least half an hour alone to do Bible study with Good Morning Girls, then wake up Lucy and nurse her while listening to a sermon or Focus on the Family, wake up the other 2 around 6:40, and start breakfast.  I have been learning to make it simple.  We either have eggs and toast or oatmeal.  We get dressed, brush hair, find shoes and sweaters, and pack up.  Goal is to be out the door by 7:30. 
Hermione doesn't talk much about school, but she seems to enjoy it.  She can write her name if you tell her the letters to write, which I find pretty impressive in itself since her name is so long.  We practice at home and the thing we are focusing on is making sure we start as far to the left as possible so we have plenty of room to write.  She is expressed a great interest in letters and she enjoys The Berenstain Bears books and Hello Kitty accessories.  We have made a deal to pick at least one favorite thing at school to tell me about at the end of the day.  She usually says recess, crafts, or coloring.  We have had a lot of fun singing "I Love My Blue Shoes" from the Pete the Cat book.  
 Ariana, along with Hermione, are working on the program Little Hands to Heaven.  Some days are great and some days are just too silly and some days everyone is a little too tired.  The time it takes to do everything for the day's lesson always seems just right.  I have set up file folders for all the crafts and paper work.  It keeps thing so much more organized.  Since the program basically focuses on one letter a week I have added a couple things.  On Monday we pick snacks that go along with our letter ex. B= bananas, brownies etc.  This week we are working on D so we have been eating WAY too many donuts and Doritos.  There aren't a whole lot of healthy foods that start with D (hehehehe).  We also pick extra literature to read with the letter of the week which we get most of our suggestions from Letter of the Week
 


Ariana is so much fun when she isn't over tired and frustrated.  She can also be very whiny so I have had to use a new discipline plan I read about in 123 Magic.  She is responding well.  But I love teaching this little girl.  She knows what she likes and loves to recognize the letter A especially since it is the first letter in her name.  She has started Cubbies just yesterday so she is surrounded by much spiritual training this year.  These pictures are from our last summery thing before it started cooling down- fountains at Riverfront Park.  Ariana's favorite things are anything fashion related, ponies, the color purple, coloring, and painting.  She has also made me take back something that I thought my kids would never do- color on the walls.  




Lucy- she has a lot of explaining to do.  She is 9 months old and so tiny for her age.  At almost 16 pounds she can sit up and army crawl where ever she wants to go.  She wants mom pretty much 24/7 and almost always smiles for the camera.  We love her!  She is just too cute except for when she doesn't want to take a nap.  As for school, she has finally warmed up to the idea of being read to.  We use the Brightly Beaming Baby Lessons so we read a lot.  We rock back and forth to Love You Forever and can't get enough of Are You My Mother? 




We can't wait to tell you more about what we are learning and doing.  Right now I am currently involved in teaching 2s and 3s Sunday School class and on Women's Ministry Committee.  Next school year I hope to homeschool full time so all encouragement and prayers are greatly accepted.  Jeremiah 29:11-  "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."

Friday, August 3, 2012

Stumped and Slumped

Lately I have not been able to finish reading a book (at least not one in the adult section of the library).  I have even been having difficulty starting books.  This truly bothers me because I LOVE to read.  I think it is a mixture of things right now.  First of all I have a baby.  She is seven almost eight months old.  She is sitting up now though she is still spitting up a couple times a day.  She certainly loves her mama.  I am holding her now and typing one handed.  This little cutie has made reading very difficult.  I usually read AT LEAST 30 min every day but with the one particularly needy child it has been hard to carve out this time.

Secondly, I have just discovered Heart of Dakota.  I have been debating whether to homeschool my girls on and off for awhile now.  Financially, even with all the "free" homeschool help, we just knew it was not possible.  But God has truly blessed us with better finances though we are not monetarily rich, we are in a much better place.  Heart of Dakota is budget friendly AND not confusing or time consuming.  It looks AMAZING and I can't wait to get started.  I have to order every piece one at a time, which is about one book or resource a week and I am getting impatient to start.  So every time I get a chance to read I end up looking through the catalog to see what I am able to order the next week.  I am getting so excited about teaching!

Thirdly, I usually make a book list and I have really been convicted of reading junky things.  I can usually read my way through some crazy stuff, but I am getting older.  I just want to read good books now.  I hope I can find them because many of the "classics" are not cutting it.  Here is to hoping I will fall in love with reading again soon. 

Friday, June 15, 2012

I Am (Sometimes) the Overwhelmed Mom

I aim to do a lot more than I should, and that is why I am overwhelmed.  I have tried schedules, lists, chore charts, and work books etc.  It is an endless cycle.  I feel like I am walking on a treadmill.  I am constantly moving but not getting any where. 

Getting the Children to Help
My oldest is 4 (Hermione).  She is actually very helpful these days.  She will get cereal for the baby and towels for all the spit up and has an attention span long enough to finish cookie recipes.  I recently bought her a responsibility chart which was going very strongly for the first two days now we have already been slacking off.  Please, LORD, help ME be disciplined enough to keep up with the day to day things that need to get done.  See how this doesn't help an overwhelmed mom very much the weight is again put on my shoulders.  Ariana (2) is slowly learning.  We changed things up at home recently that has her in tears almost every day.  I want us all to be dressed for breakfast and they want to be in pjs.  I want to change this around because of all the appointments we seem to have (especially in the morning).  We have daily battles right now, again, another overwhelming thing to deal with.  The baby has reflux and obviously can not help except to make cute faces, which do brighten my day.  In the long run, I know all the overwhelming stuff can't compare to the joy of teaching every day lessons and learning to work together and instructing in righteousness.

Let my yes be yes and my no- no.
Usually not a big problem, but Hermione is a good negotiator and sometimes I actually have to be flexible on this because she can often come up with something more important that needs to be done that mommy forgets about.  I don't love to see my children cry.  I hope I am doing the right things.  Right now I am battling the television.  I praise God that we do not have cable or any tv channels at all.


Stop excusing your child's inappropriate behavior
I guess I don't know how this helps with not being overwhelmed.  What am I SUPPOSE to do when my daughter won't say anything to her teachers or people who are passing her at church?  Stop right there and discipline or instruct (talk about super overwhelming)?


Ask Others for Help
This I do not think I have a problem with.  I am not afraid (any more) to ask for help though sometimes I don't know the right people to ask.  My neighbor has definitely been one of the most helpful with last minute baby-sitting and bringing over coffee when I have run out.  I am not above anyone in asking for help.

Me Time
Ahh...the ultimate balance in life.  I never know if I am just plain lazy or do I really need all this me time.  Take last night for example.  We had spent the day making some cookies and Lucy was having a very rough reflux day (a lot more spit up than usual).  The kitchen was a mess but it was beautiful outside.  My husband was not home.  I just heated up a can of chili, plopped in their bowls, let them watch T.V., bathed, and read to them and sent them to bed.  It was almost 10 o'clock by the time I got this all done.  Now do I go clean the kitchen?  spend time with my husband?  take a me time bath and read for fun?  I chose the last one.  And now my kitchen is still a mess and my husband and I spent time watching a couple shows he likes.  I didn't get to bed till 12:07am.  Now was that right?  Should I just clean the kitchen and go straight to bed?  I just have so much guilt over "me time".

Well that is me-  one overwhelmed momI pray that I can become more disciplined so my children will follow suit.

These tips were given from Far Above Rubies.  I was just giving my responses to feelings to the list.  




  

Monday, June 11, 2012

What Is At The Top of the To Do List

After reading this devotion this morning during a week in which I have so much going on really put things into perspective for me.  On the top of my new to do list this week-

#1.  Love God with all my heart, soul, and mind.
#2.  Respect and Honor my husband.
#3.  Instruct my children in righteous conduct.

I am so very blessed and hope that I can spread the joy.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Just Sitting in Anticipation

Since Lucy has to go into the clinic twice a week to get weighed and she wants to be held- often, we haven't done much.  I probably shouldn't be blogging but I needed to get some words out.  It is helpful during stressful times and there is plenty of that to go around here.

Ariana and I worked on our All Kinds of Eggs Lesson this week.  Sadly didn't prepare because I only had one egg in the fridge but she had loads of fun with an egg hunt in which I hid words inside for her to learn.  She is only 2 years old, but I thought she might like the activity.  I should have just put the word EGG in all of them but we had recently been working on the letter Q so it was just some easy words like- quilt, queen, and mom, dad.  I think she had fun.

Hermione and I have Kindergarten registration today.  Mama, of course, is a little nervous and still unsure that this is the right decision for our family so I am taking a step of faith.  

We caught up with a tiny bit of laundry and went to the library.  I ate a little bit of ice cream (I know, I know that is a no-no), but I am a stress eater and there has been some extra unmentionable problems right now.  Please pray for my husband and our church right now.  Here are some pictures of my 5 month old 10 lb. 11.5 oz baby to make us all feel a little better.  She is itty bitty.





Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Priority Shift

I have to put some goals on hold and switched to some new ones.  My youngest daughter, Lucy, is almost five months old.  A couple weeks ago we took her to the doctor and found out she wasn't gaining any weight.  She has been spitting up most of mama's milk.  The doctor put her on some medicine for GERDs, but from the advice from some real moms I decided to lay off the dairy.  I am on week two of no dairy.  At first it was very difficult because I had to wait for pay day to replace some of my snacking habits with nondairy items.  But my husband went to Costco and came back with a nice big box of Larabars.  He was so very thoughtful and encouraging to me while making the no dairy switch.  So in between feeding her every 3 hours plus supplementing with formula to make long story short Lucy has gone from 9 lbs. 3 oz to 10 lbs. 5.5 oz in about 2 weeks.  The doctors goal with her is for her to gain at least one ounce a day.  Just to recap because I don't know when I will have time to post again-

Old Goals (put on hold)-
*52 Weeks to an Organized Home
*Reading 12 Books this Year (I usually read a lot more than this but I figured I would make the goal VERY attainable because of the craziness of life and it obviously was a good decision seeing that the health of my family has taken center stage.)
*Keeping the cookie jar at least half full with HOMEMADE cookies

New Goals-
*Lucy needs to reach 12 lbs by the end of the month (to make doctor happy)
*The 21 Rules of this House Project (this is long over due)
*Keeping up with no dairy diet

I am excited for the new goals but sad about not being able to bake or read as much, but sometimes priorities have to change. 

End the Chapter

  Dear Reader, I don't think I have ever been more angry, embarrassed, disappointed, and ashamed.  We are at the end of the chapter.  We...