It's only one day after Christmas and I'm already thinking of next Christmas. The life of a mom, right?
We will be making some changes, making Christmas more simple next year. Doing more for others, expecting less for ourselves. It sounds great, but it won't be great until it is more than just words on a blog.
Something an online friend told me about years ago has stuck with me. She buys her kids only 4 presents, plus stockings. A want, a need, a wear, a read. That's it. Can it be that simple? I think it can. It should. And it will be.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Goals? Schmoals...
This is probably my last post this year, so a sort of recap of the year is in order.
In case you forgot my goals for this year...here's a reminder...
2. I did go GF and it has helped several health issues I have dealt with for years...migraines and sinus troubles. I was also diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis this year after seeing several doctors and having every test under the sun done. I feel best when my diet is cleanest...no refined sugar, no gluten, limited grains. When I eat gluten, I do feel it almost immediately in my joints and usually experience a 3 day headache. What do I miss most? Pizza and Tim Horton's cinnamon rolls. I also completely quit drinking Pepsi in May, which is amazing. I drank one or two 16-20 ounce Pepsi's every day for over 15 years, and quit...cold turkey. I have found a soda I can have on special occasions...Izze. It's made with fruit juice and no other sweetener. Last I tried a sip of regular soda, it tasted terrible. Never going back! :)
3. Walk more? Fail. In my defense, way back in January, I had no idea how sick I was about to get. At that point, I was having major vision disturbances but that was my only symptom. By May, I could not walk farther than to the bathroom and I ended up in the ER with lymph nodes swollen bigger than golf balls. In June, I was diagnosed and started on some medications for arthritis, but my joints have not recovered. Yet.
4. Model behavior and language I expect from my kids...always a work in progress. Some good days, some not so good. Thankfully, my kids are forgiving and every day is a new day...for them and for me.
5. Bank/late fees. Well, almost. I'd say we did pretty well, considering the kind of year we've had. God is good...
6. Blog at least 52 times? Fail. I just can't do it when there is so much I can't talk about and I have to worry about what little thing I say might be misconstrued and used against me. And no, I can't talk about why I can't talk about what I can't talk about. Ha. Someday I'll meet this goal...and until then, rest assured that I am just focusing on living my life and not caring who is watching or why. Watch away. We've got nothing to hide. So there...which goes into my one word for the year...
Fearless.
That word has applied in so many ways to our life this year. We've had some shakeups and big changes, but I have also had remarkable peace. This has been a big struggle in the past, and I am so thankful for God's blessing of peace. I am no longer scared of our future. We are going to be okay. We have faced so much already...what is there to be afraid of now? Things work out in the end, they always do. What is the alternative, you know? Again, God is good. I am thankful.
In case you forgot my goals for this year...here's a reminder...
- Play more games, at least a couple nights a week. We have a ton of board games, card games, and puzzles. This also counts as social skills therapy for my kids who have trouble with losing. ;)
- Eat healthier. Strongly considering going gluten free for at least a month, just to see what happens...
- Walk more. I'd like to get in 365 miles, which doesn't sound like much, but it's too darn cold right now, so I'll have to make up some miles in the nicer weather.
- Better model the behavior and language I want from my kids.
- Not pay any bank or late fees.
- Go on at least one date a month with my husband.
- Blog at least 52 times. Because I slacked off last year, especially after learning these posts are being watched.
2. I did go GF and it has helped several health issues I have dealt with for years...migraines and sinus troubles. I was also diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis this year after seeing several doctors and having every test under the sun done. I feel best when my diet is cleanest...no refined sugar, no gluten, limited grains. When I eat gluten, I do feel it almost immediately in my joints and usually experience a 3 day headache. What do I miss most? Pizza and Tim Horton's cinnamon rolls. I also completely quit drinking Pepsi in May, which is amazing. I drank one or two 16-20 ounce Pepsi's every day for over 15 years, and quit...cold turkey. I have found a soda I can have on special occasions...Izze. It's made with fruit juice and no other sweetener. Last I tried a sip of regular soda, it tasted terrible. Never going back! :)
3. Walk more? Fail. In my defense, way back in January, I had no idea how sick I was about to get. At that point, I was having major vision disturbances but that was my only symptom. By May, I could not walk farther than to the bathroom and I ended up in the ER with lymph nodes swollen bigger than golf balls. In June, I was diagnosed and started on some medications for arthritis, but my joints have not recovered. Yet.
4. Model behavior and language I expect from my kids...always a work in progress. Some good days, some not so good. Thankfully, my kids are forgiving and every day is a new day...for them and for me.
5. Bank/late fees. Well, almost. I'd say we did pretty well, considering the kind of year we've had. God is good...
6. Blog at least 52 times? Fail. I just can't do it when there is so much I can't talk about and I have to worry about what little thing I say might be misconstrued and used against me. And no, I can't talk about why I can't talk about what I can't talk about. Ha. Someday I'll meet this goal...and until then, rest assured that I am just focusing on living my life and not caring who is watching or why. Watch away. We've got nothing to hide. So there...which goes into my one word for the year...
Fearless.
That word has applied in so many ways to our life this year. We've had some shakeups and big changes, but I have also had remarkable peace. This has been a big struggle in the past, and I am so thankful for God's blessing of peace. I am no longer scared of our future. We are going to be okay. We have faced so much already...what is there to be afraid of now? Things work out in the end, they always do. What is the alternative, you know? Again, God is good. I am thankful.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Violation
So many things I want to say;
So many words I must swallow whole.
Violation of common decency,
There is none in you.
Not worth my time,
The distractions you present.
Life, as it is, is to be lived.
Never hidden or denied.
Each drop to be savored,
Wasting nothing in the pain.
Every day, new.
Skies not always blue...
Hearts! Stand Strong!
The battle is ours.
Fearless.
So many words I must swallow whole.
Violation of common decency,
There is none in you.
Not worth my time,
The distractions you present.
Life, as it is, is to be lived.
Never hidden or denied.
Each drop to be savored,
Wasting nothing in the pain.
Every day, new.
Skies not always blue...
Hearts! Stand Strong!
The battle is ours.
Fearless.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Spelling City
First the legalese...
Disclosure:
Disclosure:
I've been given a Premium Membership to VocabularySpellingCity.com for a candid, personal, online review.
VocabularySpellingCity helps students study word lists using 25 different learning activities such as Sentence Unscramble, Handwriting Practice, WordSearch, and FlashCards. Parents can create their own spelling lists, find published lists already available on the site, or use any of dozens of free teaching resources on topics such as Synonyms and Figurative Language. Be sure to come back in three weeks to read about my experience.
There might be more free memberships available for bloggers. If you're interested, find out how you can review VocabularySpellingCity.com.
Yes, I'm going to be reviewing another program. :) This one is one I had looked at and seriously considered getting already. It seems that I do not have any children who are natural spellers (at least yet), as this was the lowest score on both Noah and Hannah's annual testing.
Now, we'll see if I can get them to play with it over their summer break... :D
Now, we'll see if I can get them to play with it over their summer break... :D
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Tentative summer schedule
For an idea of what our summer days look like...
One TV show, which is done and shut off before I leave for "work" (my accounting internship) at 8:45.
Get up and dressed.
Eat breakfast.
Brush teeth.
Schoolwork for those having some left to do (just Noah now, and just science).
Reading, coloring, or crafts (CLEAN UP YOUR MESS!) for anyone with no schoolwork. Or outside…outside is always encouraged!
10:30 Snack. Not a meal. A snack.
Get your tiny heinies outside! And stay out until Mom is home. If it is rainy, you may watch a long movie instead.
12:15 Mom home. Stay outside while Mom makes lunch.
1:00 Lunch
1:30 Daddy leaves for work.
Levi...schoolwork with mom (Three more weeks? Slowly but surely...)
Rest/reading time. Quiet. Very quiet. Shut the pie hole. One hour is all I ask!
Chores/clean up.
Something fun, hopefully out of the house (playground, swimming, go for a walk, Auntie’s house, etc.). On hot days, I will tell them to get their chores done while I am at work so that we can go swimming sooner.
Dinner. Which means...whatever you want that fills the 'meal' category. Remember? I made lunch already. It's our big meal of the day. Dinner is leftovers, sandwiches, or some other random thing.
Outside. I mean it. Out, out, out!
Baths/showers.
Reading together.
Bed (9:00 Levi and Esther, 9:30 Hannah, 10:00 Noah). Noah and Hannah may read in their beds, but they must stay in their beds. And be quiet. My ears are done listening to people.
One TV show, which is done and shut off before I leave for "work" (my accounting internship) at 8:45.
Get up and dressed.
Eat breakfast.
Brush teeth.
Schoolwork for those having some left to do (just Noah now, and just science).
Reading, coloring, or crafts (CLEAN UP YOUR MESS!) for anyone with no schoolwork. Or outside…outside is always encouraged!
10:30 Snack. Not a meal. A snack.
Get your tiny heinies outside! And stay out until Mom is home. If it is rainy, you may watch a long movie instead.
12:15 Mom home. Stay outside while Mom makes lunch.
1:00 Lunch
1:30 Daddy leaves for work.
Levi...schoolwork with mom (Three more weeks? Slowly but surely...)
Rest/reading time. Quiet. Very quiet. Shut the pie hole. One hour is all I ask!
Chores/clean up.
Something fun, hopefully out of the house (playground, swimming, go for a walk, Auntie’s house, etc.). On hot days, I will tell them to get their chores done while I am at work so that we can go swimming sooner.
Dinner. Which means...whatever you want that fills the 'meal' category. Remember? I made lunch already. It's our big meal of the day. Dinner is leftovers, sandwiches, or some other random thing.
Outside. I mean it. Out, out, out!
Baths/showers.
Reading together.
Bed (9:00 Levi and Esther, 9:30 Hannah, 10:00 Noah). Noah and Hannah may read in their beds, but they must stay in their beds. And be quiet. My ears are done listening to people.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Time4Learning Review
I'm 3 months late with this. I've been just buried in my own schoolwork and very busy keeping the kids going with their schoolwork.
So, T4L...it's great! All of the kids did like it and they learned quite a bit without knowing they were really learning. I took a few days and made them 'T4L school days' and the kids were thrilled not to have their regular work.
However, it was hard for me to keep track of what they were learning. I don't have time to go on after them and see what they've done and where they've been. In this way, Always Icecream and Clever Dragons win hands down. I get an email on each kid once a week (I believe you can set the frequency). I peruse it quickly and then toss that email into an email folder and there the info sits if I ever need to get to it. With 4 kids homeschooling, I don't have time to chase around and find out what they have done. Having it automatically delivered is perfect for me.
As I figured, my boys did the best with T4L online format. They are both very computer-minded and learn well in that way. I would consider T4L for them in the future, but not as an every month ongoing subscription. I think my kids need breaks from it in order for it to remain fun and exciting.
Bottom line...while I like it, T4L isn't for us every day. Best use would be for fun, so I don't have to worry about what they have done or what they need my help with. We have regular curricula for that.
So, T4L...it's great! All of the kids did like it and they learned quite a bit without knowing they were really learning. I took a few days and made them 'T4L school days' and the kids were thrilled not to have their regular work.
However, it was hard for me to keep track of what they were learning. I don't have time to go on after them and see what they've done and where they've been. In this way, Always Icecream and Clever Dragons win hands down. I get an email on each kid once a week (I believe you can set the frequency). I peruse it quickly and then toss that email into an email folder and there the info sits if I ever need to get to it. With 4 kids homeschooling, I don't have time to chase around and find out what they have done. Having it automatically delivered is perfect for me.
As I figured, my boys did the best with T4L online format. They are both very computer-minded and learn well in that way. I would consider T4L for them in the future, but not as an every month ongoing subscription. I think my kids need breaks from it in order for it to remain fun and exciting.
Bottom line...while I like it, T4L isn't for us every day. Best use would be for fun, so I don't have to worry about what they have done or what they need my help with. We have regular curricula for that.
Friday, April 26, 2013
A good day
Holy canoli! I haven't posted here in almost 3 months. Better get cracking if I'm going to meet my goal of 52 posts this year!
Thursdays are rough around here. They are very busy days and because I am near stores, I usually also try to fit in some necessary grocery shopping. This wrecks Levi's world just about every week because if it were up to him, he would leave the house much less than we do and only go one place per outing. In my world, I just don't have time for that.
To add to the roughness of leaving the house at all, Thursday is swim and gym day for us. Forty-five minutes of swimming lessons followed by a forty-five minute gym class with other homeschoolers. This has been Levi's first year with the program and it has been a S.T.R.U.G.G.L.E. For a while, the Y gave me free child watch for Esther, so that I could be right with Levi for the entire program and not have to worry about what Esther was doing. We have weaned off of that totally in the swimming area and about halfway in the gym portion. For Levi, this program is not about learning to swim or play games. This is social skills therapy and occupational therapy. This is helping my little boy learn to live in a world where everything doesn't always go your way and where not too many people care about your low tolerance for frustration. These are lessons in stretching our comfort zone, and they are NOT fun.
Today, though...TODAY...while I was watching through the glass into the pool area, I witnessed an amazing thing. My little boy FINALLY was able to put his ears in the water and really swim on his back!! This may not seem amazing to anyone but me, but I can assure you that this is a miracle that has been 28 long weeks in the making. Then, not ten minutes later, I look up and see him putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles! No way... I would be lying if I told you that I remained calm. No, I was that crazy mom out in the viewing area, jumping up and down, demanding that everyone look at my little man and SEE the amazing thing he just did! With tears just rolling down my face, of course. Then he looked over, to see if I was watching, and I gave him our standard sign for 'you're doing great, keep it up!'.
Two thumbs up, Levi, two thumbs way up!!
Then gym came...and that is always a little rougher. There is a new teacher, who only observed last week and was on her own this week. She has a natural, wonderful knack of working with my boy (and all of the kids, really). He did struggle a couple of times (very minor, for him), but she was able to capture his attention and got him back in the games quickly. After gym, she headed straight for me and asked me how she can best help him. She also asked, before I could get to it, if he is on the spectrum. She recognized it in him because she has worked with other kids just like him. Ahhhh...the relief in knowing that the person helping your child really gets it.
Suddenly, life is looking a whole lot brighter...
Thursdays are rough around here. They are very busy days and because I am near stores, I usually also try to fit in some necessary grocery shopping. This wrecks Levi's world just about every week because if it were up to him, he would leave the house much less than we do and only go one place per outing. In my world, I just don't have time for that.
To add to the roughness of leaving the house at all, Thursday is swim and gym day for us. Forty-five minutes of swimming lessons followed by a forty-five minute gym class with other homeschoolers. This has been Levi's first year with the program and it has been a S.T.R.U.G.G.L.E. For a while, the Y gave me free child watch for Esther, so that I could be right with Levi for the entire program and not have to worry about what Esther was doing. We have weaned off of that totally in the swimming area and about halfway in the gym portion. For Levi, this program is not about learning to swim or play games. This is social skills therapy and occupational therapy. This is helping my little boy learn to live in a world where everything doesn't always go your way and where not too many people care about your low tolerance for frustration. These are lessons in stretching our comfort zone, and they are NOT fun.
Today, though...TODAY...while I was watching through the glass into the pool area, I witnessed an amazing thing. My little boy FINALLY was able to put his ears in the water and really swim on his back!! This may not seem amazing to anyone but me, but I can assure you that this is a miracle that has been 28 long weeks in the making. Then, not ten minutes later, I look up and see him putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles! No way... I would be lying if I told you that I remained calm. No, I was that crazy mom out in the viewing area, jumping up and down, demanding that everyone look at my little man and SEE the amazing thing he just did! With tears just rolling down my face, of course. Then he looked over, to see if I was watching, and I gave him our standard sign for 'you're doing great, keep it up!'.
Two thumbs up, Levi, two thumbs way up!!
Then gym came...and that is always a little rougher. There is a new teacher, who only observed last week and was on her own this week. She has a natural, wonderful knack of working with my boy (and all of the kids, really). He did struggle a couple of times (very minor, for him), but she was able to capture his attention and got him back in the games quickly. After gym, she headed straight for me and asked me how she can best help him. She also asked, before I could get to it, if he is on the spectrum. She recognized it in him because she has worked with other kids just like him. Ahhhh...the relief in knowing that the person helping your child really gets it.
Suddenly, life is looking a whole lot brighter...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)