More than Adrift

Two posts in two days?!  It's true!  Count me out for the rest of the month now :-) This one is much more practical in nature, and inspired by my creative children, a book my sister in law was kind enough to recommend to me, and a wintry afternoon. I've always wanted to write a book.  I love writing.  I love reading.  Reading more than writing. I find words to be inspiring, moving, beautiful.  The bible is chalk full of examples of how important words can be. Ang brought a book this weekend while visiting, Honey for a Child's Heart, that reminded me of how important it is to pass that love of reading and writing down to my children. Who hasn't curled up in a cozy armchair by a fireplace, and been caught up in another world, transferred to a different time, a different country?  Lived through another person's fears, failures, triumphs? The world of writing is transformative, magical. For a child, all the more so. So today while the winter stor...

On August 13th, I wrote a blog posting on discipline, if you haven't read it, it might be amusing to go back and read it after! Lately, life has felt a bit out of control. First, it started with meeting my weight loss goal, which was an exciting milestone, but with that comes a lack of strict self control with eating and exercise. "One extra cookie won't kill me now!"  Soon one cookie was five cookies, and soon five cookies... well.  I won't admit how many cookies I've eaten. in one sitting.  But it's not pretty. Next, my newly acquired discipline with cleaning the house, my check mark list I completed each week, felt like routine.  So I quit.  I thought, how realistic is it to have a list that I check off EVERY week?  I need to find a healthy balance here, and now that I'm used to cleaning every day, it should be easy.  Ironically, this is pretty much the same talk I gave myself when I "quit diet-ing" ... which I already knew wasn'...

I've been thinking lately, as I plan preschool curriculum and have lots of learning opportunities around the house, about the purpose of schooling. As I teach, I find myself gravitating towards an attitude of preparation rather than exploration.  I want to make sure the kids are prepared for the rigorous demands of kindergarten, and lest you think I'm joking, I'm astounded at the amount of information kindergarten-ers are required to learn in class! I find myself worried about the students who don't know their upper case letters and are entering the school system next year.  Our preschool is one of the best around. I love it there, we have caring and loving staff, small intimate classes, with a LOT of one on one attention, but regardless of it's merits, it still has to follow societal expectations and demands. I think society is moving towards a preparation and testing approach in general.  What I mean by that is the attitude seems to be unsaid but very loudly...

These days have been SO full! K has been SO busy in kindergarten, she comes home exhausted!  She always requires a little down time, but is ready to be busy with her very busy little brothers within a half an hour! D has wanted to do structured activities all day long also, so I've been doing a lot more "lesson planning" at home (which I love!)  So this week, we made Goop!  Can I eat this? Just a box of cornstarch, mixed with some water, and it made THE coolest sensory goop I have ever seen!  The kids were busy playing for almost 2 hours, NO fighting!  We played this many times this week. And yes, it made a huge mess. totally worth it. It's been so much fun lately, that being at home with the kids has seemed like such a huge blessing.  I know, I know, it should always be a blessing, but there are days that it feels strangely burdensome!  But these days... life is easier.  Warmer. More fun. Filled with love and learning. There was a...

My best of friends, v, is going through a bit of a rough patch right now.  Her and I both bounce back and forth between joy & exhaustion, and it seems like God always gives one of us the "right" perspective at the other's down moments.  It's one of God's greatest gifts to me, to have a friend who understands being up, and being down, and who knows the One who is greater than my feelings. Yesterday, she came to me feeling a way that I have felt a million times before, and I think most moms feel a million times.  Adequacy.  Or lack there of.  How many times do we go through the motions, and feel like we aren't measuring up?  You unpacked the dishwasher (three times today) swept the floor (it still looks dirty) made three meals (and somehow half of it ended up on your shirt...) but the kids wouldn't eat it.  You ended up raising your voice and losing your temper, and now your husband's on his way home, and frankly, you think this could be all his fa...

We are in full swing of school and activities! Expect no deep thoughts here, I have been literally too busy to over think anything, which sometimes can be a good thing! In an effort to keep my kids eating healthy, I have been trying out lots of new fun meals.  Here are some of my hits and misses:  feel free to email me for any of the recipes, which I keep on hand! * Carrot Muffins (YUM!)  Huge hit.  We shredded carrots together in our food processor, which the kids thought was very fun. * Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies.  Hit!  I posted the recipe on facebook, and my kids ate them all up the first day.  I meant to freeze some for future lunches.... ah well. * Raisin, Feta, Spinach Pizza.  Miss.  Except for me, I loved it!  I sauteed garlic and spinach, added the feta and soaked raisins onto yummy thick bread and baked it.  Kids thought it was disgusting. * Fresh Apple Cake. Made with whole wheat flour, no oil, not much sugar. Del...

Tomorrow is D's first day of preschool! He is growing up so quickly.  Today, as a special treat, I took him to the local variety store in town and told him he could choose whichever back pack he wanted. We both were having so much fun. He had his own little cart to push around, he "tried on" several back packs (to see if they fit right) and finally chose the perfect one. Iron Man won out over Cars and Transformers! On our way to the cash register, I was watching him drive his little cart and thought to myself "he is such a good boy... I should take him to a special lunch after this."  As I thought this, he passed by a wooden train set. d: "I want this!!" me: "no, put it back, we're just buying the back pack" We get up to the counter, and he sees a flashlight. d:  "Please mom, I REALLY need this flashlight." Now, the flashlight was only 2 dollars, but as a matter of principle, I felt it necessary to say no. He can't ...