For those of you highly interested in the development of our Littlest one, I have included his/her ticker on the bottom of the page in the midst of Rachael's, Abi's and Child4's (our future adopted child(ren) ticker. I find it fun to see what all the week holds in terms of the developing baby's characteristics. Sure puts the miracle ever-present before me. So if you're curious and if you, like me, forget how far along you are in the jumble of everyone else's birthdays, etc, then feel free to check back every once in a while for a refresher.
Thanks for your continued prayers and support.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Thank You
Thank You
* written February 8, 2012.
- for 185beats per minute
- for the hope of getting to take the bag home
- for peace and rest in Your arms - regardless.
* written February 8, 2012.
To Take the Bag Home...
I'd like to take the bag home. I saw a woman leaving with the bag. Her
smile was big, "the scary window" had passed. Life alive inside.
I'd like to take the bag home, the one filled with hope, life, and joy. Bustling to the brim with "new pregnancy" freebies. And the Dr.'s water bottle. Even the little urine sample cup.
I've been praying to take the bag home, this time. I know You hear my prayers. The bag matters to You. It matters to me. It even mattered before.
I'd like to take the bag home, God, if it could please be in Your will. Last time it was left on the chair. She was gone. The bag was unneeded... nonfunctional without her heartbeat.
I'd really like to take the bag home, the first trimester accomplished. And tell of the good news to more than just a handful. Celebrating life as You create and prefect.
I'm praying to take the bag home, this time, Lord. Thank You for hearing my prayers. Thank You for the peace You bring, the comfort within, that in Your arms I can securely ask
to take the bag home.
* written February 8, 2012
I'd like to take the bag home, the one filled with hope, life, and joy. Bustling to the brim with "new pregnancy" freebies. And the Dr.'s water bottle. Even the little urine sample cup.
I've been praying to take the bag home, this time. I know You hear my prayers. The bag matters to You. It matters to me. It even mattered before.
I'd like to take the bag home, God, if it could please be in Your will. Last time it was left on the chair. She was gone. The bag was unneeded... nonfunctional without her heartbeat.
I'd really like to take the bag home, the first trimester accomplished. And tell of the good news to more than just a handful. Celebrating life as You create and prefect.
I'm praying to take the bag home, this time, Lord. Thank You for hearing my prayers. Thank You for the peace You bring, the comfort within, that in Your arms I can securely ask
to take the bag home.
* written February 8, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Priority Announcements
We told Rachael and Abi about our pregnancy last night. Abi just wanted in her bed, it was late. =) But Rachael was quite excited. She kept saying that we could have a little brother and a little sister. TWO babies later. Um.... no, child. Nice try, though. hehehe. But it was pretty sweet that a lot of Rachael's joy was for Abi getting to be a big sister too.
Looking forward to our secret being a new normal.
- thankful.
Looking forward to our secret being a new normal.
- thankful.
... No Matter How Small
"A person's a person... no matter how small."
[Coming to theaters ;) early September 2012].
*** The Stauffer's are ranked according to longevity with the name. ***
Monday, March 05, 2012
Our First "Significant" Snow
We took the opportunity today, in March, to celebrate our first "significant" snow by playing outside for a handful of minutes.
Then outside we headed for robotic-movement-like snow walking. Since all our outside toys were happily stored away for the "winter" we've been having, walking and snow inspection were the favored sports.
Until eventually she stopped dead in her tracks (refusing to move), put her hand straight out and announced, "Walk, Mommy. Walk!" Clearly assistance was not an option. =)
Then there was the three-year-old idea of going down the slide which resulted in Mommy picking her up because the ladder was slippery and "eww, dirt" felt the need to dust all the snow off each step of the ladder, thus revealing a mild layer of slippery ice. Then came for the top of the slide dusting - necessary, especially once your pants are already soaked through.
Abi was less brave, allowing for this "look away from the sun" picture
before demanding Mommy's hand of assistance. She had no desire to repeat Rachael's tumbling dismount.
Daddy joined in the fun too, swinging our little frozen robots to their squealing delights.
And then with a short bout of swinging, we decided inside was a great place to shed our dirty "snow" layers and enjoy a nice warm bath.
Here lies the product of three people playing in the snow (Daddy had already left for work and taken care of his things by then) - Nevermind the Feline Investigation Service on the left.
Straight into the tub went the girls and straight into the wash went the layers.
And our "significant" winter snow had all melted in the sunny places by 10am.
Great snow morning indeed!
To keep with the norm, we over-bundled our children producing this:
Abi couldn't get back up when she fell over. No crying, just called for Mommy 'til I could rescue her. =)
Then outside we headed for robotic-movement-like snow walking. Since all our outside toys were happily stored away for the "winter" we've been having, walking and snow inspection were the favored sports.
Movement frequently produced "I'm stuck" moments for the youngest.
Until eventually she stopped dead in her tracks (refusing to move), put her hand straight out and announced, "Walk, Mommy. Walk!" Clearly assistance was not an option. =)
Then there was the three-year-old idea of going down the slide which resulted in Mommy picking her up because the ladder was slippery and "eww, dirt" felt the need to dust all the snow off each step of the ladder, thus revealing a mild layer of slippery ice. Then came for the top of the slide dusting - necessary, especially once your pants are already soaked through.
And at last... the slide.
Promptly followed by the fall-off at the end.
Abi was less brave, allowing for this "look away from the sun" picture
before demanding Mommy's hand of assistance. She had no desire to repeat Rachael's tumbling dismount.
Daddy joined in the fun too, swinging our little frozen robots to their squealing delights.
And then with a short bout of swinging, we decided inside was a great place to shed our dirty "snow" layers and enjoy a nice warm bath.
Here lies the product of three people playing in the snow (Daddy had already left for work and taken care of his things by then) - Nevermind the Feline Investigation Service on the left.
Straight into the tub went the girls and straight into the wash went the layers.
And our "significant" winter snow had all melted in the sunny places by 10am.
Great snow morning indeed!
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Homeschooling Life
This past week's been a quiet week of cleaning, homeschooling, and living. Nothing really to report, except that my house looks more straightened than it has in a long time. The laundry is also caught up to the point that I'm waiting on the clothes we are wearing today before I can make a full load. Don't you love that feeling? Everything cleaned, folded and hung.
Abi got a little bug at the end of the week, resulting in some extra TLC and some unusual behavior for a day. But her character has returned with restful sleep.
We did the letter Gg in homeschooling this week. It was a fairly uneventful week of finger painting, puzzle work, reasoning worksheets, pattern work, and tracing/free handing letters. Rachael continues to write all her work with a fist-grab crayon hold that I don't plan on correcting until we finish our Alphabet series in August (I have vacation breaks planned in). In August, the plan is to switch to our Answers in Genesis pre-kindergarten curriculum when Rachael is 3.5 years old. With the more structured curriculum, it will build on Rachael's previous exposure to the alphabet and work on honing in more fine motor and cognitive skills. As with any pre-kindergarten material, Rachael will then be ready to either repeat the pre-K material or begin Kindergarten material at 4.5 (or whenever she completes the 180 lessons). I do not think age, but ability defines a child's readiness for school, though maturity is certainly something to be considered. So we'll see how she's trucking along and tweak accordingly. I have no personal goals of Rachael being a genius nor do I feel that her age should restrain her willingness to learn. I'm just trying to cease the opportunities to play upon her enthusiasm and expanding attention span in exposing and absorbing as much as we can. Thus far it has worked out well.
Our alphabet series (approximately one letter per week), is solely for the purpose of exposing Rachael to the alphabet this time around. Since this is all new territory for her, I didn't want her to be discouraged by the fine motor work and the pre-kindergarten level work of the Answers and Genesis curriculum. Since the Pre-K curriculum makes the assumption that the child is already somewhat familiar with the alphabet, therefore building on further skills of writing the letters correctly (emphasis on capitals), I didn't want Rachael to be so distracted by the challenge of the foreign shapes of letters that she miss out on the joy and challenge of learning the other material. Answers in Genesis also uses the one letter per week method for the first 26 weeks and then continues on for there so the transition should not be abrupt. We'll merely add on more to Rachael's workload as her attention span continues to increase, striving to naturally challenge her newly advanced skills. During our current alphabet series, we are using good old dollar store preschool books to provide additional worksheet reasoning exercises. Rachael has enjoyed cutting, pasting, coloring by dots/numbers, reasoning, etc. worksheets that we do together in introduction to pre-K skills. She has gone from very scary cutting (eeek!) to more controlled paper manipulation and intentional cutting. It's also really neat to watch her brain learn to reason from clues and prompts. So much is happening in that little head of hers in drawing connections, recalling information, and absorbing new information.
We also enjoy learning basic math skills, like counting beads/counters into an egg carton or into containers. We have used some marvelous $1 target bin colored shape counters to stack numbers 1-10 in an abacus style to teach her brain the concept of 10 being "larger" than 1, etc. We've enjoyed comparing measured amounts of water for "more than" and "less than" qualities. And we're just touching into the concept of viewing a number as a whole collection of things. It really has been a joy to watch the lights turn on and see that "I've got it" smile creep onto her face, followed by her accomplished giggle.
It's so neat to watch her put together things as her brain creatively computes making a big picture with many pieces. (Found the above sculpture as a bath-time creation and in delighting in her creative work, I took this picture).
Abi has been enjoying our homeschooling too, frequently taking the opportunity to rearrange materials on the table as she sees fit. ;) She also enjoys the extra snuggle time that "sitting still" requires of Mommy. Abi finds herself enjoying looking at books and participating in group games (like shape and number races), running and imitating Rachael's actions. On more squirmy or needy days, Abi draws a picture (scribbles like mad with any crayon she can reach) on the back of Rachael's work or on a nearby scrap of paper. Since we are doing homeschooling primarily on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for only about an hour to an hour and a half, Abi has found a greater sense of independent play in her "I don't have to share this" freedoms. Honestly, Abi is able to entertain herself for the majority of the homeschooling session without requiring redirection. Her favorite, by far, is sitting on the floor reading and talking to her books. Seriously the kid will do it for an hour!
Post homeschool, Rachael gives Abi a hug and thanks Abi for letting Rachael do homeschool (I want her to see that we're all giving to her education) and then the two friends play together for the remaining hour (or less depending on when we get started) until lunch. I love the jubilant play that ensues after homeschool sessions. It's like a reuniting of two long-lost friends. =)
So for now that's a little look into what homeschooling looks like in these parts.
Some days we have field trips to spice things up. But most days we just do a handful of preschool-appropriate tasks, even cooking on a brave day (Abi always must help), mixing up worksheets (you can only sit still for so long) and hands-on activities with races reviewing information and dancing or playing instruments to music. Right now it's just all about exposing Rachael to the things she'll be later required to produce fruit from with increased practice and watching as time and exposure produces that fruit, many times, faster than anticipated.
I am so blessed by her little heart and her little mind as she delights in the joys of learning. It really is so precious to get to share this time with her and do something together just me and my Rachael.
I look forward to the one-on-one that Abi's schooling will create as well in the distant future. And am grateful for her patient snuggles and contentment to watch and repeat Rachael's lessons (my little teacher) and even participate some too, in sharing Mommy with big sister.
It is so rewarding that some simple intentionality in education can lead to such delightful fruit in both my girls.
- thankful and blessed.
Abi got a little bug at the end of the week, resulting in some extra TLC and some unusual behavior for a day. But her character has returned with restful sleep.
We did the letter Gg in homeschooling this week. It was a fairly uneventful week of finger painting, puzzle work, reasoning worksheets, pattern work, and tracing/free handing letters. Rachael continues to write all her work with a fist-grab crayon hold that I don't plan on correcting until we finish our Alphabet series in August (I have vacation breaks planned in). In August, the plan is to switch to our Answers in Genesis pre-kindergarten curriculum when Rachael is 3.5 years old. With the more structured curriculum, it will build on Rachael's previous exposure to the alphabet and work on honing in more fine motor and cognitive skills. As with any pre-kindergarten material, Rachael will then be ready to either repeat the pre-K material or begin Kindergarten material at 4.5 (or whenever she completes the 180 lessons). I do not think age, but ability defines a child's readiness for school, though maturity is certainly something to be considered. So we'll see how she's trucking along and tweak accordingly. I have no personal goals of Rachael being a genius nor do I feel that her age should restrain her willingness to learn. I'm just trying to cease the opportunities to play upon her enthusiasm and expanding attention span in exposing and absorbing as much as we can. Thus far it has worked out well.
Our alphabet series (approximately one letter per week), is solely for the purpose of exposing Rachael to the alphabet this time around. Since this is all new territory for her, I didn't want her to be discouraged by the fine motor work and the pre-kindergarten level work of the Answers and Genesis curriculum. Since the Pre-K curriculum makes the assumption that the child is already somewhat familiar with the alphabet, therefore building on further skills of writing the letters correctly (emphasis on capitals), I didn't want Rachael to be so distracted by the challenge of the foreign shapes of letters that she miss out on the joy and challenge of learning the other material. Answers in Genesis also uses the one letter per week method for the first 26 weeks and then continues on for there so the transition should not be abrupt. We'll merely add on more to Rachael's workload as her attention span continues to increase, striving to naturally challenge her newly advanced skills. During our current alphabet series, we are using good old dollar store preschool books to provide additional worksheet reasoning exercises. Rachael has enjoyed cutting, pasting, coloring by dots/numbers, reasoning, etc. worksheets that we do together in introduction to pre-K skills. She has gone from very scary cutting (eeek!) to more controlled paper manipulation and intentional cutting. It's also really neat to watch her brain learn to reason from clues and prompts. So much is happening in that little head of hers in drawing connections, recalling information, and absorbing new information.
We also enjoy learning basic math skills, like counting beads/counters into an egg carton or into containers. We have used some marvelous $1 target bin colored shape counters to stack numbers 1-10 in an abacus style to teach her brain the concept of 10 being "larger" than 1, etc. We've enjoyed comparing measured amounts of water for "more than" and "less than" qualities. And we're just touching into the concept of viewing a number as a whole collection of things. It really has been a joy to watch the lights turn on and see that "I've got it" smile creep onto her face, followed by her accomplished giggle.
Abi has been enjoying our homeschooling too, frequently taking the opportunity to rearrange materials on the table as she sees fit. ;) She also enjoys the extra snuggle time that "sitting still" requires of Mommy. Abi finds herself enjoying looking at books and participating in group games (like shape and number races), running and imitating Rachael's actions. On more squirmy or needy days, Abi draws a picture (scribbles like mad with any crayon she can reach) on the back of Rachael's work or on a nearby scrap of paper. Since we are doing homeschooling primarily on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for only about an hour to an hour and a half, Abi has found a greater sense of independent play in her "I don't have to share this" freedoms. Honestly, Abi is able to entertain herself for the majority of the homeschooling session without requiring redirection. Her favorite, by far, is sitting on the floor reading and talking to her books. Seriously the kid will do it for an hour!
Post homeschool, Rachael gives Abi a hug and thanks Abi for letting Rachael do homeschool (I want her to see that we're all giving to her education) and then the two friends play together for the remaining hour (or less depending on when we get started) until lunch. I love the jubilant play that ensues after homeschool sessions. It's like a reuniting of two long-lost friends. =)
So for now that's a little look into what homeschooling looks like in these parts.
Some days we have field trips to spice things up. But most days we just do a handful of preschool-appropriate tasks, even cooking on a brave day (Abi always must help), mixing up worksheets (you can only sit still for so long) and hands-on activities with races reviewing information and dancing or playing instruments to music. Right now it's just all about exposing Rachael to the things she'll be later required to produce fruit from with increased practice and watching as time and exposure produces that fruit, many times, faster than anticipated.
I am so blessed by her little heart and her little mind as she delights in the joys of learning. It really is so precious to get to share this time with her and do something together just me and my Rachael.
I look forward to the one-on-one that Abi's schooling will create as well in the distant future. And am grateful for her patient snuggles and contentment to watch and repeat Rachael's lessons (my little teacher) and even participate some too, in sharing Mommy with big sister.
It is so rewarding that some simple intentionality in education can lead to such delightful fruit in both my girls.
- thankful and blessed.
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 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:
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 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.
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:
to this:
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. =)
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.
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. ;)
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:
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: [
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!
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).
My mother's recipe: [
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.
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!
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!
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