Saturday, February 25, 2012

Organizing Helpfuls

Most of the world of household organization requires expensive labels, racks, or totes. But I have found a few tricks of the trade to help cut down on space and time. I'd like to share them with you, as well, for they are virtually free.

I recently tackled the explosive cords drawer. You know, that grocery bag or drawer filled with random electronic cords, chargers, old cameras (still working but upgraded), headphones, etc. I hate that drawer. I feel like no matter what I do I never know what is in it and then ultimately end up going to the store and buying the exact same cable because I didn't dig through the heap of wound up cables in the "ever terrifying" drawer.

Well, a while back I started collecting recyclables that we could use to crafts. We have a box in the garage of old cereal boxes, various funny-shaped boxes or canisters, toilet paper rolls, etc for preschool crafts. Then I saw an organizational idea and ran straight to the recycles box. I found that old toilet paper rolls are wonderful organizers of chords. Simply fold up the cord, shove it in the tube, label the tube and if you're really tricky, leave the ends of the cord poking out the the ends of the tube. That way next time you want to figure out if you need to buy a new cord you can compare the cord's ends to the appliance to see if it's compatible without ever unraveling the cord.



I also used small snack bags to put earbugs in and then put them in a ziplock with my headphones in them. Next time I need to get any kind of headphones - voila! just take out the bag and have my pick. Maybe these tricks could be helpful to you to finally know what is in that electronics hodge-podge drawer. So now that hideous drawer looks like this:

(I put it all in a box in the drawer because I hadn't decided if I'm just going to store it all in the box and thus free up the drawer space or not.)


I also found that folding sheet sets and putting them inside a pillow case helps for neat linen closet shelves, uniform folding and easy "grab and resheet" options. That way you are not spending all your time and energy tracking down all the pieces (bottom sheet, top sheet, pillow case) when it comes time to wrestle that bed on "new sheets" day. And if you have a queen bed, just shove an extra pillowcase in the sack to complete the set. My shelves went from sheet chaos to:

(Don't judge the shelf below it. I haven't gotten there yet.)

I also found it quite helpful to label cords, especially on those power strips, with old bread bag tags. Not only does it help you to keep from resetting the alarm clock a billion times, but it allows you to make a judgement call on what you can unplug in the moment to plug in something else without having to trace cords back to the appliances. I have found this one very helpful in "I'm just going to use this once and the closest plug is full" situations.

 Yay for knowing what you're unplugging. =)



Yay for practical and FREE (or nearly free since you had to first buy and use the toilet paper) organizational ideas. By the way, I found these ideas at various locations online. I just thought I'd share what I've found to work.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Useable Space

After taking a few pictures of Rachael's homeschooling I noticed my ugly, explosive school shelving unit in the background. Ever done that? Found some nasty, "Oh I really need to fix that" section of your house in the background of your favorite memories?

So with the inspiration of a dear friend, Kassie's, recent Spring cleaning kick, I tackled the "should have been done months ago" task of the school shelves.

First came the ever-so-obnoxious task of figuring out what to do with the puzzles. I had been looking around for seriously months at various puzzle-stacking racks. Man those things aren't cheap! And I was nervous that after spending our life inheritance on one of those said racks, we would have the dreaded, unthinkable happen to us: we'd get a new puzzle - one too many for the rack. And since our children are not past the puzzle using years, I figured the dreaded would repeat itself many, many times. =)

So I recently looked into other methods and found this one to be realistic, cheaper than half a puzzle rack's cost, and affective for other non-puzzle yet bulky items. Thus I bring to you (cue the music and pull out the megaphone): The Ultimate Puzzle Organizing Experience!!!

I used an old dowel rod, three screw in hooks (that fit said dowel rod on the ends and in the middle - cause puzzles are heavy), hefty zipable gallon and 2.5 gallon sized bags, shower curtain hooks, and binder clips (large metal pinchers to use a practical description). I screwed the hooks into the top shelf's ceiling of our bookshelf, alternating directions to avoid the inevitable "everything falls off the rack when it's bumped" possibility when you have small children shopping through the puzzles. Then I hung the dowel rod (Thanks Jenney and Brian for using your sweet saw to cut it down to size - my steak knife and box opener blade would never have gotten me there.) Then I hung the shower curtain hooks (I chose c-hooks because I wanted us all to be able to get the binder clips off without Rachael and eventually Abi being dependent on Mommy only to wrestle them off - though I am aware that this makes Abi able to take them off right now during the "don't touch this- EVER" training phase.) Then I bagged up our puzzles in the gallon or 2.5 gallon sized bags (I found the larger wooden puzzles - those bigger than a sheet of paper- in need of the 2.5 gallon size to fit well). Then put our lovely clip on them and hang them on the curtain hooks.


As seen in the picture, some heavier puzzles either needed to be clipped to the clip itself (binder clips providing said aid) or the bag needed to rest far enough down that the puzzle could use the shelf to relieve the weight - thus not actually hanging, but attached nonetheless.

I also found the bagged method QUITE helpful in bagging up other "what the heck do you do to store this" homeschool items such as the loved and hated Cootie catcher bug pieces (Does Abi ALWAYS have to end up with one in her mouth even though she's not playing?). [Does anyone actually play the legit game or are you like me and just attach the legs and crazy mouths/eyes for freeplay?] Or the ever loved, but crazy hard to store knobbed and chunky puzzles. I also found it a nice way to store the awkward shaped things and the "we would actually use this if we saw that we had it" items.

Some things will always need a box - like our beautiful and rolling wooden train (Melissa and Doug). I love that train, but that space-hog is far better in a stackable box than occupying 6 puzzle spaces on my shelf. And with the addition of the dowel-rod method my shelves went from this:

(Large open space on top shelf had "Please let these survive Abi's toddlerhood" books that I decided to move to safer quarters.)


to this:
(No worries, Jes, the indoor snowball fight just moved to the game shelf since apparently it's frowned upon to snow-bomb your preschooler during quiet homeschool work - who knew?!)


Yay for actually seeing what you have, spending a total of $13 on the project and getting to see that cute picture of baby Rachael from her first Easter that I haven't seen on the mantle in over 6 months.

 Oh and for those of you wondering what's the deal with the "Stop" and "Go" signs on the shelves. We have non-readers here, but I have placed these signs on the shelves to remind my non-readers of the things their "need for independent" selves can do without Mommy and those they need to come ask Mommy to do. Due to Abi's oral explorations, small pieces are in the "Stop and come ask Mommy" section and require tabletop play. Added bonus? These signs are helpful for babysitters when we have to run out quickly and I forget to explain the school shelves.

Maybe these ideas could be helpful to you.
If not? Eh, thanks anyway for reading my organizational delights. =)


Rebounding School

We were sick with a stomach virus - all of us except Rachael, so homeschool was put on hold while I was *ahem* rotting into the couch. But today we picked back up from where we left off on Monday and, while we decided to have school in our Monkey jammies (slow start post sickness), we found ourselves back in the regular swing of homeschool excitement.

We are learning the concepts of "more", "less", "most", "least", "more than", and "less than" in preparation for expanded math skills. To familiarize ourselves with the language and build on the math concepts, we used food dye in bowls this morning, pouring and comparing various amounts. At first we began comparing different colors and when the concepts were obviously sticking, then we started comparing alike colors to reinforce the concepts themselves and not just identifying difference based on color. Then we lined up four different amounts and compared them in a large group, ranking them from "most" down to "least" with comparing each size until we found the right places in line. It was quite fun work with two large measuring cups (the initial starting point of the water), a funnel (for my increased accuracy in pouring) and four bowls.

This joy about "the one with the most"


And "the one with the least" ensued. 


Then an obstacle course helped us practice two preschool skills of walking on a straight line


and walking backward with a "crawl through the tunnel" and "hurry down the slide" to keep things exciting.


Rachael enjoyed her "watch this Mommy" accomplishments with flailing arms for balance. =)


Today was a good step back into the ordinary.


Now back to my laundry while the girls enjoy some together play post school. And then, I guess, we'll actually change out of pajamas.... maybe. ;)





Tuesday, February 21, 2012

A Day Away

We took the privileged opportunity to President's Day to go to a dear friend, Kassie and Jacob's house and bombard their clan. Kassie, a fellow "youth pastor's wife" enjoys her three wonderful kids age 4 down to 11months. Jeffrey is 4, Josie is 2 and Josiah is 11 months. So with those three little ones, we highly enjoy group play and discovery. And I'm tell you right now, these are some of the best behaved kids I know - comfortable in love and boundaries. So I love the opportunities, though sometimes far between, that we get to spend time with them. Many times we get the opportunity to enjoy play together amidst a joint-church youth function.

Monday, on the other hand, we joined in their normal schedule, joining them for a pizza lunch (yum), naps and some fun indoor and outdoor play before returning home to our Daddy. While the kids all napped, Kassie and I enjoyed some Mom-time chatting about homeschooling, kids, and life.

It was a wonderfully refreshing time for all to play and enjoy eachothers' company.

I look forward to further hangouts.

Here's a few pictures I took during outside play:

 Rachael enjoying the car.

Abi after she "patiently" awaited her turn.
She means business, don't even think about asking for your turn. 

 Abi traded her four pink wheels for Jacob's two wheels.
(Jacob had just returned home from a weekend youth function when we were leaving.)

All the kids minus Josiah, who was in the house due to the weather and only being in a onesie (he wasn't feeling so well, poor guy).



Wonderful day had by all. Thanks again, for the invite and the joy, Kassie.

Meatball Soup Goodness


Tried this and thought it quite yummy.

"This meatball soup is easily made with frozen meatballs, beef broth, tomatoes, and vegetables, along with herbs and seasonings.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound frozen meatballs, Italian seasoned
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings (I didn't use Italian seasoned tomatoes and it was good)
  • 1 cup diced potato, about 1 medium potato
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 16 ounces (about 3 cups) frozen mixed vegetables

Preparation:

In crockpot, combine meatballs, broth, tomatoes, potato, onion, garlic powder, and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours, until potatoes and onion are tender. Stir in frozen vegetables and cook on HIGH for 1 hour longer.
Serves 6."

I chose to put everything in at once and cook on Low for 5 hours and high for 1 hour. It turned out great. 



Mmm, this was tasty and cheap and easy and we already had everything thanks for some meatball and tomato can sales Matt had previously taken advantage of.

- just sharing.

Friday, February 17, 2012

57 Dollars of Silence


There is danger in believing that we deserve something. There is danger in elevating ourselves and puffing ourselves up to "deserve better than this" or "deserve" an ice cream or a long walk on the beach. We can begin to set ourselves up for not only a superiority complex with others who are "depriving us" of the things we "deserve", but we can also begin to look upon our current situation as the enemy. If I deserve an ice cream, then not getting an ice cream or worse yet, being deprived of an ice cream is absolutely unacceptable. Can you imagine the level of selfishness that could come out of an "I deserve" lifestyle?

Sometimes I slip dangerously close to justifying "I deserves" in my mind. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there. I think that's one of the reasons God makes it so clear that we must serve Him with our minds as well as our hearts, bodies and souls. Our mind is an outpouring of our heart. You harness in what your heart believes and shut out the untruth that pops into your mind when it is in conflict with your heart... the very heart Christ redeemed.

Breaks can be that way, as a mother. They can be highly appreciated when happened upon, or I can choose to live my life in discontentment of "never getting a break" from my fill in the blank (kids, laundry, dishes, cleaning up cat puke, you name it). I can look at a break with gratitude as it arises and as I am able to incorporate it into my schedule or I can live a lifestyle of exhaustion and loathing getting the "short end of the deal" by being "on-call" 24/7.

It's all an exercise of the mind. What truth and untruth am I clinging to?



I found a quiet moment out tonight, pumping $56 dollars of lifesavings into our van.  ;) The cold, quiet breeze refreshing my soul. The dark, wearing down minutes of eight thirty dancing headlights and neon fast food restaurants across the horizon. Winter dark freezing time, stilling time. The pulsing click of the pump as the numbers turned and turned before the receipt was printed. Still. Quiet. Breathing deep.

The wait I didn't mind. No where to be. No demands. Liberty. The teenager asked for my order as I pulled a ten from my wallet. The last of my allowance money for the month felt so freeing in my hand. One dollar ice cream cone of cheap and liberating delight. Sunday driving on the way home, soaking up the wind rustling the van windows and watching the neighborhood settle in for the night.

I don't deserve this. I didn't earn this. It has been given me. The enjoyment of life. The fast and the slow. The loud making an appreciation and a soaking in of the quiet. The quiet refreshing for the loud.

Thank you, Lord, for the break. Unplanned escape.
The 57 dollars of silence.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Normal Hum-drums.

A few fun pictures to share about our little world around here lately.

I've gotten a little creative in review techniques for homeschool.


Here Rachael, (who is not usually in her pajamas for homeschool, but we were having a lazy morning) is sorting capital and lower case letters into corresponding plates. I just used refrigerator magnets, Scrabble Jr. pieces, a few handwritten lower case letters, Word Whammer magnetic pieces, and Upwords (a stacking version of Scrabble) pieces. It did take her a handful of minutes to complete the task, but this allowed me time to spend some attention/love on Abi (after taking a picture or two, of course, so you all could witness this).


 Here Rachael's using her Wax Paper Helper to distinguish b's and d's.


And we made Valentines day review cookies. If you look close you can see that I decorated with A, a, B, b, C, c, and D, d. Rachael and Abi are still enjoying eating their way through Rachael's review. =)


 In other news, I attempted a pork stew (you can use any meat) to the success of the adult opinions in this household (since the sprouts have more picky moments when it comes to stews). My mom sent me the recipe and I had to get all of NOTHING from the store to make this. LOVE those kinds of practical recipes.

My mother's recipe: [ "All you need is an oven pan with a lid (or oven okay bowl with foil on top). Cook meat (Chicken, cubed beef, turkey) in a fry pan to brown the outside, cut up potatoes, carrots, celery, onions. Put in oven pan. Add a couple of bay leaves, salt and pepper to your liking, a little steak sauce (A-1, Worcestershire, etc). Then add water about half way up the pot. Cover, bake at 350 degrees a few hours until the meat is done and the potatoes are fork tender. Longer for beef, shorter for chicken, turkey."] 

I was running out of time before dinner so i cooked it on 375 for 1.5 hours. That worked quite as well, though I'm sure there would have been a thicker broth with the extra slow simmering time. 


Bravo Mom for the "pop it in the oven and forget about it" meal. 
Preparing at nap time is the way to go! 





Wednesday, February 08, 2012

14 Months of Time





This turned into this.

















And this turned into this -->





All I gotta say is wow!
14 months went fast!

Because We Could

Beautiful weather lately has brought us outdoors before the "second" snow fell (a dusting). So don't mind me as I soak in these pictures of outdoor life lately while I check the weather channel for future cold and snow news.

 Taking our babies for a walk.

This leader had no problem running the pack 
- I had to ask her to stop a few times to keep up with her.

 She may think she's huge, but she is still our little one. 

 And this one? Well let's put it this way... 
we did some waiting. Little legs can only go so fast.

 Then came shoeless in the sandbox!

 No 'eww, dirt's here.

 Dump and fill, dump and fill.


 So delightful to experience it all together.


That's all I caught in pictures from our few days outside. I try to participate more than document because the participation will leave the lasting memories for these two small ones. But I did get a moment to snap a few pictures. Other days we "rode bikes" in the driveway, went on nature walks, did some sidewalk chalk, and then kicked a big ball in the yard.

(sigh) Alright.. on to dust the snow off the bikes and return them to the playhouse that I'm using as a small shed for the winter.

Enjoy the cool weather, everyone. Stay warm!

Monday, February 06, 2012

Homeschool Loves

Love how:

  • Scrabble Jr letters, Upwords letters, Boggle Jr. dice, and refrigerator magnets make their way into letter quizzes, letter identifications and sorting piles. 
  • Any day can be a school day.
  • Any day can be a break day.
  • Her ecstatic giggle of accomplishment fuels her, "let's do one more."
  • "Last one!!!" always comes with such joy and pride of her previous work. 
  • "I'm gonna show this one to Daddy," is a priority.
  • Science experiments involve smashing old pumpkins into a zillion pieces in the driveway.
  • Little sister is included in the "run and find" identification games.
  • "Will it float" education is added to bath time. (Two-for-one score!!!)
  • Rachael gives her little sister a hug and thanks her for allowing special time with mommy for learning. 
  • Preschool is just a part of our lives, identifying letters, shapes, colors, numbers and animals on the walls as we walk by during the day. 
  • Abi randomly repeats Rachael's lessons while playing nearby.
  • Grabbing a nearby cat is included in animal anatomy and body-part identification. (They like the appreciation cat treat counting post-lesson).
  • She can't wait to tell Daddy and show Daddy what she learned over lunch.
  • Nature walks are scheduled regularly. 
  • School is just normal, structured and yet flexible and gentle - catered to her pace, my pace, and Abi's patience pace for the day.
  • She is soaking up so much and loving almost every moment of it (let's be real, some things are a challenge until accomplished). 
  • Abi can count to ten as a byproduct of listening in. (Though I'm quite sure she's just repeating it in progression at this point). 
Lovin' me some family learning.
Lovin' me some special bonding time and sharing in discovery.
Lovin' me some homeschool.

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Wax Paper Helper

I got this great idea in the shower (any one else do that?). In an effort to go through the alphabet with Rachael and introduce her to capital and lowercase letters, I have come to the dreaded b vs. d roadblock. So in anticipation of this potential confusion, this idea popped into my head amid the steam and bubbles:

I grabbed a vellum sheet from our old wedding invitation stash (pathetic, right), but wax paper would do the trick as well. On it I wrote Dd and Bb on opposite sides. Then I used two symbols, a heart under the Bb side and a smiley face under the Dd side.


This see-through item can then be put onto any paper and is used as an aid to distinguish d and b. If the "bump" points to the smiley, it's a Dd. If the "bump" points to the heart, it's a Bb. Any symbol could be used, and as the child gets used to the concept of left/right (which I have used in representation of the symbols since Rachael has no concept of left/right yet) you slowly remove the wax paper helper from use.



I'm not sure if this would help anyone else or not, but I thought I'd share just in case it could.

Best wishes introducing/teaching the ever-confusing b and d. =)


Friday, February 03, 2012

A Morning to Remember

Today was a wonderful morning filled with slow children's museum moments - really it is possible. Not those moments of stress, wondering how long before your toddler loses it. But one of those mornings of taking things at a preschool pace, stopping and smelling all the flowers along the way. Don't you love those kind of mornings? No agenda or schedule pressings. Just life. One. Step. At. A. Time.

Due to going to the Children's Museum with Ellen and "the cousins", Rachael had a play group, Abi had someone to carefully study, and I had a reliable source of eyes to leave Rachael with when 19 months was done waiting.

This is the only picture I captured while the crew 
(5 total, age 4yr down to 19months - Abi's the youngest) 
checked out some meerkats in the animal exhibit.


Abi was in such a sweet mood this morning. Her mellow little nature of exploring and satisfaction with taking things slow were so sweet to watch. She was a little shy in some moments, finding reassurance in Mommy's leg-holding. But that little one listened so well today and was so easy going. Such a breath of fresh air was she.

Rachael was her normal curious self, finding delight in trying to figure out how things worked and what happened if you tried this... or that. And Ms. Social Butterfly spent a good portion of the morning repeating others' phrases. I think Bekah (Ellen's oldest) enjoys having her own echo sometimes. =) And Rachael seemed to enjoy being the echo as well. It reminded me of how we must first learn to follow before we learn how to lead. And some good, clean preschool copy-cat is always amusing to watch. When Rachael is on her own her imagination has taken flight involving story lines in her play. Oh what a wonderful age of enjoyment of stories, characters, and role playing. On the way to the museum Rachael "found" a baby chick and carefully cared for her baby chick, whom she cupped and sheltered in her hands, while in the car. She was sure to reassure the "scared thing" and nurture that little imaginary friend.

Rachael and her "chick".


Daddy had a meeting with Grandpa today at the house from 11a-1p. Since I was not sure of whether they would eat lunch at our house or not and if the distraction would be welcome, I thought it a great day to have a special lunch date with the girls.

I'm not one to promote the Golden Arches restaurant. But there are occasions in which we choose to partake in the grease. When you don't eat out too frequently it surely is a joyful event in the life of little kids. We had such fellowship and joy over chicken nuggets, french fries, apple slices and chocolate milk. Oh and then sharing an ice cream brought such over-the-top dancing joys.


It was one of those "mark that down" pleasant mornings with no hiccups. I love those "every day" memories that turn into such great joys in the world of three years and nineteen months. We can be a busy crew indeed, but the overwhelming excitements of "typical" things and discoveries, even if I can't catch them on film because we're still very Mommy-dependent, sure leave pictures upon pictures that I hope I never forget.

- so thankful.

Goodmorning World

I woke up early this morning and thought how I should use my time productively. Don't you like how quiet it is in the world before the day really begins? Maybe only you morning people know what I'm talking about. You sleep-in people are just laughing. ;)

I could feel the crisp air outside, unseasonably warm, yet still cool. I didn't even have to be out there thanks to large sliding glass doors. A train or two announcing their presence in the distance. Yes, the sweet sounds of morning.

The agenda today is one of delighting in fellowship. I look forward to spending some time with "the cousins" at a local children's museum. We usually have homeschooling today, but thus is the joy of homeschooling that we bumped it to yesterday to accommodate a little over-due visiting.

As a gracious part of Matt's parent's Christmas gift to our family, they gave us season passes to a local children's museum and then expanded the pass to include a whole host of nearby museums and attractions (like zoos) around the United States. Such a thoughtful and blessing-filled bunch they are, those Grandparents. "The Cousins" have a similar pass and thus play dates in the quiet mid-morning hours of the weekdays have spurred and continue to spur from such delights.

Last night I wasted a few hours on the couch beside Mr. Right, soaking in American Idol (really the auditions are the best part of that show) and "The Finder". It's not something I pride myself on doing, sitting and watching TV for two hours, but sometimes the cleaning and homeschooling prep is done and it's nice to do something together. Hopefully we'll get back to our Lego video games soon. =) It's fun to whack someone to pieces (literally) in laughing play. I love how we can be "kids" together.

Read some encouraging reports on an old friend's adoption blog. Ironically enough, I watched her children when they were younger than mine are currently. That's one crazy thought that ages me. I'm excited to track their unification story as they bring home their newest family members from Haiti - a sibling group of three, adding to their bio three. Such a wonderful time of celebration and love.

Got report that my dear friend, Theresa, has malaria. Thank the Good Lord for medicine that makes Malaria common-cold oriented to dear African missionaries. God is such a good God to give those willing to serve "the least of these" a safety net too. Praying rest and healing over Theresa.

This weekend holds another Upward basketball game - this time scrimmaging my Matt. Hehehe. Let the competition begin. Kidding - that's nothing like Upward. But we can sure pass silly glances back and forth during the game of "you're going down." My sweet little team is so pumped up to hear their names called and enjoy their moments of glory. Hoping my girls will be cooperative and kind to Mama amid their involuntary personal cheer leading recruitment. They've done decently at cracker and coloring book distractions amid my "coaching techniques". ("Get on out there and play kids.... good luck, have fun!")  I'm proud of my "try to sit still" toddler and "I just want to be a part of it all" preschooler. They have had many examples of patience and grace from the "player's bench."

Hope you're able to get out and enjoy this unseasonably warm weather we've been having. The neighborhood has been thoroughly graced with our "let's take a walk" presence lately - let alone the park. Though I must say that as she is beginning to come into her own personality, Ms. Rachael, has voiced her "inside over outside" opinions over the past few days. It doesn't change her UV ray needs, but alas, her bookworm character is almost fully emerged. I can foresee many book picnics in seasons to come for my pasty-white brunette. Oh, but Blondy? She's too busy exploring all the new things she can do "all by herself" to slow down for any foolish indoor play.

We "rode" our bikes over at the church gym yesterday. My preference was outside. Rachael's preference was inside watching a movie. So we compromised and we got indoor gym play. The bikes are only as fun as pedaling frustrations. But the bleachers? Oh they are a whole new level of joy. For 20 minutes there was bleacher play: walking the bleachers, crawling through the bleachers, crawling under legs on the bleachers. Repetition, repetition, repetition. And the joy thereof. Activity comes in all forms - I'm just thrilled for activity.

And speaking of activity, I better get my devotion time in because activity will be waking in an hour.

Thanks for sharing in this journey with me.

How have you been journeying lately?