On the Fifth Day of Christmas

On the Fifth Day of Christmas my parents gave to me: This is NOT a Math Book

 This book combines math and art making both a lot of fun. Designed for kids 9 and up, to enjoy math and take a break from the repetitive drill work. This gives them a chance to enjoy math in a fun new way. (Don't tell the kids but even adults have enjoyed this book. Shhhhh) 

The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales

Farmyard tales are great duel level readers. You can read just the top or read all the words and the story still makes sense. This wonderful collection has a CD of the stories which mom's love to pop in the van or car.

 Muddle and Match

 

These delightful books will keep kids laughing and having fun while teaching them descriptive words and action words, making super silly sentences. Let your kids muddle up the pages and laugh at the results. 


100 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly

This wonderful book comes with paper and directions to make some really awesome paper planes. This is the #1 book purchased for birthday and Christmas gifts. The hubby has so much fun making planes with the girls. 

There are a few choices for these awesome books: 100 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly, 100 More Paper Planes to Fold and Fly, 200 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly which is a combined volume of the first two, 100 Paper Dragons to Fold and Fly, and 100 Spaceships to Fold and Fly. 

  
 Secrets of Winter

This super fun book is a Shine-a-Light Book. Each page has something hiding and when you shine a flashlight behind that page, you'll see what's hiding. We love these books and I know your kids will too.  There are five others to chose from: On the Construction site, Secrets of the Seashore, Secrets of the Apple Tree, On the Train, Secrets of the Rain Forest.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

On the Forth Day of Christmas my parents gave to me: The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales

Farmyard tales are great duel level readers. You can read just the top or read all the words and the story still makes sense. This wonderful collection has a CD of the stories which mom's love to pop in the van or car.

 Muddle and Match

 

These delightful books will keep kids laughing and having fun while teaching them descriptive words and action words, making super silly sentences. Let your kids muddle up the pages and laugh at the results. 


100 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly

This wonderful book comes with paper and directions to make some really awesome paper planes. This is the #1 book purchased for birthday and Christmas gifts. The hubby has so much fun making planes with the girls. 

There are a few choices for these awesome books: 100 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly, 100 More Paper Planes to Fold and Fly, 200 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly which is a combined volume of the first two, 100 Paper Dragons to Fold and Fly, and 100 Spaceships to Fold and Fly. 

  
 Secrets of Winter

This super fun book is a Shine-a-Light Book. Each page has something hiding and when you shine a flashlight behind that page, you'll see what's hiding. We love these books and I know your kids will too.  There are five others to chose from: On the Construction site, Secrets of the Seashore, Secrets of the Apple Tree, On the Train, Secrets of the Rain Forest.

On the Third Day of Christmas

One the third day of Christmas my parents gave to me: Muddle and Match

 

These delightful books will keep kids laughing and having fun while teaching them descriptive words and action words, making super silly sentences. Let your kids muddle up the pages and laugh at the results. 


100 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly

This wonderful book comes with paper and directions to make some really awesome paper planes. This is the #1 book purchased for birthday and Christmas gifts. The hubby has so much fun making planes with the girls. 

There are a few choices for these awesome books: 100 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly, 100 More Paper Planes to Fold and Fly, 200 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly which is a combined volume of the first two, 100 Paper Dragons to Fold and Fly, and 100 Spaceships to Fold and Fly. 

  
 Secrets of Winter

This super fun book is a Shine-a-Light Book. Each page has something hiding and when you shine a flashlight behind that page, you'll see what's hiding. We love these books and I know your kids will too.  There are five others to chose from: On the Construction site, Secrets of the Seashore, Secrets of the Apple Tree, On the Train, Secrets of the Rain Forest.

On the Second Day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas my parents gave to me: 100 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly

This wonderful book comes with paper and directions to make some really awesome paper planes. This is the #1 book purchased for birthday and Christmas gifts. The hubby has so much fun making planes with the girls. 

There are a few choices for these awesome books: 100 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly, 100 More Paper Planes to Fold and Fly, 200 Paper Planes to Fold and Fly which is a combined volume of the first two, 100 Paper Dragons to Fold and Fly, and 100 Spaceships to Fold and Fly. 

  
 Secrets of Winter

This super fun book is a Shine-a-Light Book. Each page has something hiding and when you shine a flashlight behind that page, you'll see what's hiding. We love these books and I know your kids will too.  There are five others to chose from: On the Construction site, Secrets of the Seashore, Secrets of the Apple Tree, On the Train, Secrets of the Rain Forest. 

Updates Galore!

So it's been awhile since I've posted anything. I have been super busy with about a million things going on. So I'll briefly let you know what to expect in the next few weeks. I will be posting more detailed updates.

April I signed up as a consultant for Usborne Books and More. I have been doing both Facebook parties and Homeshows. Here is my shopping link if you are curious in what we offer.  https://h4503.myubam.com/

I have been working hard this summer playing catch up from about February- May. We own rentals and had one that unfortunately need a lot of work. We were able to get it rented right before we left for our trip to Arizona. Yeah! After we got back I started taking on many roles in our brand new American Heritage Girls troop. Things just ended up working out that way. Thankfully this year is starting out so much less stressful. 

We were more sporatic then I wanted to be with homeschool but since my oldest is already ahead. With the other two I want to make sure we aren't going through preschool too fast, so I wasn't too worried. In April I went to MACHE (Minnesota Association Christian Homeschool Educators) and found a lot of great curriculum for this year.
 
We have been enjoying our summer camping and the sunshiny days. In July we went to the Wilder Pagenant. If you don't know what it is, in Walnut Grove, Minnesota there is a play put on about the Ingalls family while they were in Walnut Grove. It is super fun and so many things to do while there.The girls and I also took a trip to Duluth to visit family and visit a few places for an extra educational punch. 

So now for a few cute pictures:

 

Going dairy free

What does every parent pray doesn't happen to their kids? An allergy to some type of food. Our youngest has been having reactions to chocolate since she was a year old. A few months ago we started noticing some odd reactions her body was having to something and doing some research it pointed to a dairy allergy.

Oh boy, was my reaction. I was hoping it wouldn't happen but something was not right with our little one. After having a hot dish that had TONS of dairy in it and waking up the next morning with a little one complaining of a tummy ache, we decided to cut dairy out for a month. After a week we were seeing a lot of improvement and elimination of symptoms.

It was a long and tough month for us. The list of things we couldn't feed our daughter grew daily. After a couple of weeks into it I was wishing she had a gluten allergy instead. Dairy is in EVERYTHING. We have to buy Hebrew National hotdogs, because other brands have a dairy protein used in preserving the product. Pepperoni has the same dairy protein. Some spice mixes can also have a dairy protein. The list just keeps growing and growing.

It was completely overwhelming. I found a great website that really helped me figure things out. dairyfree.org has been an amazing resource for me. I am slowly getting better at not only finding substitutes for dairy but meals that we can all eat together. 

As I continue on this journey I will be sharing with you recipes that I have found that work well, taste good, and are easy to make for my family.

Someday

 Someday the clothes will all be washed and put away, but the closets will be empty.

Someday the house will be quite, but there will no longer be the laughter of children that makes me smile.

Someday there won't be toys all over the house, but the house will feel like an empty tomb.

Someday dishes will always be clean, but the dishes will collect dust as they sit there waiting for someone to use them.

Someday my food bill will be almost nothing, but no one will be there to share the meals I make. 

Someday I won't be a the "soccer" mom hauling kids everywhere, but I won't get to watch them with pride and say to other parents, "That's my kid!".

Someday I will look back and wish I had more time with my kids. This time with them is precious. 

Today is the day to be OK with the things that can bring me down. 

Today is the day to appreciate all the gifts that have been given me.

Today is the day to hug and kiss your children and thank God they are in your lives. 

Tomorrow you can enjoy the peace and joy that comes when you raise your kids to love God and love others.

Reading Out Loud is . . .

In one of my early childhood classes in college, my professor had one saying we all heard daily: "Reading out loud is the single most important thing you can do for a child." When it comes to their education I really do have to agree. Reading opens so many doors, and children who struggle in reading tend to struggle in most all areas of school.

Unless the child has a disability that interferes with reading ability, children who struggle often struggle because they were not read to at home. Just like many things kids learn there are stages to reading that can't be skipped. 

1. Kid's learn what a book is and how fun it is
2. They learn that the pages have something meaningful
3. They learn how to hold it the right way and turn the pages to make a story
4. Finally they learn that the scribbles on the page mean something. This is the point they are ready to learn to how to read. 

Imagine if they went to kindergarten not having been read a book? 

What should you read to your child? Everything and anything you can get your hands on. One of the great things about being a parent is knowing what your child is interested in. Teachers can't know everything about your child and can't customize reading to fit your child's need, but you as a parent can.

In our house we read picture books for fun and for information. My four year old is very interested in a spider book now and her Bible. My oldest is interested in easy readers since she can read some of the words on the page. Picture books is where I let them be in control of what we read. 

My girls are currently 5, 4, and 3. Guess what we read at night? Before bed we read a short devotion from a princess devotional and a chapter book. If it's my husband's night to read, they read something he has picked out. Currently it's an Usborne girl story book, but in the past they've read The Bernstein Bears (chapter books), Magic School Bus and so many others. On my night's (Mon-Fri) we are reading through the Little House Series. Currently we are reading By the Shores of Silver Lake and the girls are loving it. 

Now I'm sure your wondering if they actually listen and understand chapter books. Well the answer is yes and no. Yes the 5 year old listens, understands, and remembers. The 4 year old listens most of the time, understands some and is curious about some things, and sort of remembers. The little one will usually sit quietly and listen.

So what's the point of reading to the younger ones if they barely remember and understand? The purpose is to train them to sit and listen and retain. It's a skill that has to be developed. We have been reading chapter books for 2 years now and you can slowly see the abilities in sitting still, listening and comprehension increasing. Vocabulary also increases since they are exposed to more complicated language then you find in typical picture books.

As a family we are closer. Spending that time reading together is a memory they will always cherish. It is one of my favorite childhood memories. It is something that brings us together at the end of a long day. 

So don't be afraid to pick up books that are slightly above their reading level. Spend some quality time with your kids and help them become lifelong readers. 

Here is my list of book recommendations to get you started:

• Little House Series
• Chronicles of Narnia
• Harry Potter
• The Secret Garden 
•  Adventures in Odyssey book series
• Micheal Vey by Richard Paul Evans
• Lion of War series by Cliff Graham (about King David's Mighty Men)
• The Boxcar Children

I'd love to hear what you like to read with your kids. 

10 Rules of Parenting

 
 

1. No matter what game you play, your child will always win.
   
2. Every Christmas, you will have a sick child.
3. They will take long naps only when you need them up so you can go somewhere.
4. Toys will never be picked up.
   
5. There is no dish fairy. Never again will you be able to have all dishes clean and put away. 
   
6. Even if you send them to the bathroom before you leave the house, one will always yelling they have to PEEEEEE 5 minutes down the road.  
7. Every time you sit down on the toilet, check and double check before you sit.
8.  You will never shower or pee without an audience. 
9.  No matter how much extra time you allow to get somewhere, you will be late.
10. Your kids will make you laugh and cry, pull out your hair and weep for joy. There is no greater joy then being a parent. 
    

What are your rules for parenting?

Night Time Terror, Night Time Delight

One of the best and worst times of my day is usually bed time. It can go one of two ways: a complete nightmare or a great delight. Today I am thankful to say it has been much more of a delight. 

About 8 months out of the year my husband isn't around Monday through Friday because he works very long hours, so I put all three girls to bed myself. I have had to find creative ways to get them all into bed, which seems to change continually. 

In the past some of our nights have been terrors literally. My oldest had night terrors as an infant. The second had whopping cough at three months and spent the next four months in our bed waking every 45 minutes. The third didn't stop nursing during the night until about 17 months and then finally started sleeping through the night every once and awhile.

Getting the girls to bed has had a lot of ups and downs. I am very thankful my oldest has been very easy. She listens, gets dressed, goes potty, jumps in bed and falls asleep. The middle has been the hardest. When she was in the crib I could put a blanket over her head (I know this sounds weird and unsafe, but she started doing it herself around age one and that's how she would sleep) and she'd fall sleep. Once she got the toddler bed, it was a different story.

 I first started rocking her, then she just needed to be tucked in. Soon she was having a hard time staying in her room so I put the baby gate up and she'd just knock it down. Then I would lock her in the room and sit outside until the crying stopped and unlock the door. Next I tried massaging her arms and legs. That really helped relax her and sometimes fell asleep. Now she has a weighted blanket that helps relax her and I sometimes need to sit by her and sing for a bit.

Our current routine has been working very well for us lately and it has made our nights a true delight. After getting the older girls in jamies, they get in bed with a few books in their containers and can read until I get back down. I take the little one up and get her ready for bed. She has her own routine which consists turning off the light, closing the door, rocking with me, and singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Then on nights that aren't too late, I read a chapter in the book we are reading which is currently "Little House on the Prairie".

I hope if you are having a tough time with your kids at night this post will help encourage you. There is no doubt that you will have times that are tough and you may want to cry, but know this: There will also be times where you get to kiss your little ones good night or rock your little and just know that you are blessed. You will get to feel that you can finally relax and enjoy the time of peace and quite and now that no one is going to need your attention. There will be good times.

A Few of My Favorite Things for Baby

There are a few things I absolutely loved having when my girls were babies. Today I want to share two of my favorites.

 The first thing is called Milkies Milk-Saver Breast Milk Collector. This is so amazing. I found out about this product just before I had my third daughter. I had mastitis with both my other girls even though I did everything right.  When I found this product I was hoping that it would prevent mastitis.

How it works is simple. You insert over the nipple on the side you are not nursing. When your milk lets down, you collect in the Milkies allowing your breast to drain naturally. Most mornings I was able to collect around 4 oz or more. I rarely had to pump and still had plenty of milk stored up.

 

 Another thing I love is my cloth diapers. I started using them when my oldest had just turned two, my second was about 7 months old, and I was pregnant with the third. It started using them because I wanted to save money. We were spending $80 a month on disposables and cloth only cost us a few hundred for several years.

At first I wasn't sure but was willing to give it a try. The more I used them, the more I started falling in love with them. The poop didn't bother me because I learned shortly the I had worse poop messes with disposables. The washing didn't bother me either. It just became part of the routine and I never really noticed the extra laundry. It ended up being easier then I ever thought. 

(contains affiliate link)

What did you or do you use that you love for your baby?

Microwave Kool-Aid Playdough

Kid's love play-dough, but it can be expensive to keep play-dough stocked. Growing up it was one of my sister and my favorite activities. My girls are no different. They can sit and play for an hour.

My mom always made play dough from scratch. I can remember her standing over the stove making us a new batch of play dough. 

In High School I helped out in a special education preschool room. Several times during the year I made play dough for the kids. The teacher had a great recipe that could be made in the microwave and used Kool aid. I thought it was a much better recipe then the one my mom made. It smells so good and is so easy you can make it almost anywhere. 

Now that I am a mom, this is the recipe we use in our house. I makes a large batch of play dough, so all the girls have plenty to play with. 

Microwave Kool Aid Play Dough

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 Tbs oil
4 tsp Cream of Tartar
2 cups water
1 pkg of kool aid

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Heat water and oil to boiling in a microwave safe bowl. When cool to the touch, mix together. Knead as it cools till it is all mixed and smooth.  

Potty Training Woes

I have now potty trained all three of my girls successfully. I can now tell you that you can read all the wonderful books, blogs, and articles you want but nothing will really prepare you for potty training. 

Let me tell you that everyone makes it look so easy and maybe it is for them. But all kids are different, so your child may be easy or maybe not. Let me tell you how different mine were.

First I will tell you I did use the boot camp method with all three at some point. This was the most effective way to train. They got underwear and potty breaks every 15 minutes to start. The time gradually turned into every couple hours after about a month. They all started somewhere between 2 and 3 years old.

My first was the easiest. By day three she successfully peed and pooped in the potty. After that it was easy until about a year later when she was constantly having accidents. It was her not wanting to take a break and go to the bathroom. I took away her dress up clothes since they were important to her and I was tired of washing them. Every time she went in the potty she got one back and when she had an accident, one was taken away. Within a month she was back to being accident free. 

The second was the hardest. She had no desire to be clean and would play in her wet clothes after her accident. It was very frustrating and I just couldn't get her to care. For about 6 months I was cleaning her up several times a day. She rarely went a whole day without having an accident and NEVER pooped in the potty. 

I tried rewarding her but nothing seemed to work. We even gave her a Barbie when she finally pooped on the potty. Finally I decided to take away her My Little Pony's every time she had an accident. Like her sister, she could earn them back by going in the potty. Again like her sister, after a month she was accident free and finally pooping on the potty. 

The third was in between the two. She learned quickly how to pee in the potty and had no desire to use the potty chair but instead the big potty (we have one of the seats that has a built in child seat). It took her a few months to finally poop on the potty. The crazy thing is, it took us going on vacation to get her to start pooping on the potty. She went at our hotel, at her aunt and uncle's house, and at gas stations. For most of our trip she stayed dry. It has now been two months and she has had very few accidents. 

In my experience potty training takes work. It is so worth it once they are trained but it is much harder then most want to admit. It's ok if your child is taking a long time to learn. It's ok if you feel like it will never end. You are not alone. It will end eventually and it does get better eventually. 

I'd love to hear your stories. What worked for you? What kind of crazy stories do you have? 

The 5 Love Lanuages of Children

Do you love your child? I mean really love your child they way they need to be loved? I didn't really understand what my child needed to feel loved until I read The 5 Love Languages of Children.

There was so much I learned, I could never list it all. I can say that I now understand my children much better. When we have poor behavior I take a moment to reflect on if I've been feeding their love bank.

The 5 Love Languages are: 

• Touch
• Quality Time
• Gifts
• Words of Affirmation
• Acts of Service

My oldest has the love language of gifts. Anything can be a gift and she has so much joy. The hard thing with gifts is that I really need to make sure that I am still showing her love with all love languages or she will see gifts as empty. 

The middle is very much words of affirmation. She is very emotional when she is told she has done something wrong. She needs to be encouraged often as her ability to do something depends on that encouragement.

Our youngest is a touch girl. She is content and always has been content to just sit on my lap for long periods of time. She also has to have a paci and blanket even though she's almost three. When she is having a bad day, it is often because we have not had enough cuddle time. 
 
After reading this book, my relationship with my children has really changed. I feel more in tune to their needs. There is very practical advice for each love language. Their love language may change over years, but I have a guide to meet those needs.

Why Homeschool? Part 2

In April I attended my first homeschool conference. It was a wonderful experience for me personally. I already had an idea of what I wanted for my soon to be kindergartener. But after my sessions and browsing the curriculum, I was able to decide on what I feel is going to be the best and easiest for our family. 

I didn't think it would be so easy. So many said it will be overwhelming but with my background in education, I didn't find it so overwhelming. I knew what would work for my kids and what wouldn't. I don't say this to brag to those who don't find it so easy, but to tell you how thankful I am for all those hours spent in a classroom, studying in my room, testing, and volunteering in different schools.

I walked away Saturday afternoon feeling confident in our choice to homeschool and with another long list of reasons to homeschool. Here are the main ones I felt I needed to add to my first list reasons to homeschool.

1. Minnesota has just passed an anti-bullying law. We can all agree that bullying is wrong but you can't legislate behavior. It has to be taught in the home. This law is dangerous and takes away parents rights and invades private property. The lawyer discussing the law told parents to teach their kids this phrase if ever taken into police custody before talking,"Call my mom." The main problem with this law is that the state can discipline the child how they see fit rather than the schools are parents.
2. Homeschooling provides flexibility, schools do not. My oldest is a very motivated learner and flies through her work. She has a desire to do more then one lesson a day. My other two aren't quite as motivated. My middle needs confidence in what she's doing or she shuts down and stops trying. She is very smart. If she can observe and then try when she is ready, she is very successful and maintains what she learns. Homeschooling gives me the chance to pick and choose curriculum that works best for my kids. If it doesn't work I have the choice to pick a different curriculum. If you have a child who is struggling in school and hating it, there is no choice in different curriculum. Since they are accommodating so many students they have to pick what they feel will work best for most.
3. Testing. After working in the schools and seeing the changes in law which increase the amount of standardize testing, it makes me so frustrated with what we have allowed our government to decide for our kids. Just before the testing, teachers take a couple weeks to go over what might be on the test instead of focusing on what they still need to master. They teach to the test rather than teach for mastery. Homeschoolers are currently required in Minnesota to test once a year from age 7-16 and report to the district that they tested. Results stay in the hands of parents and have no effect on anything except maybe seeing where your child might be lacking. I am not worried about this because most curriculum I have purchased will be a year or so ahead of tests aligned with Common Core.
4. Family connectedness. One thing I heard from several people is that homeschool conference, is that homeschooling allowed them to be a very close family. When the kids were in school all day and only home for a few hours, there was little communication between family members and little relationship building. Your kids friends will come and go but family will always be present. Those who experience strain in family relationships know first hand how precious those relationships are.
5. Since we parents spend most of our time with our children we become the most influential model for behavior in their lives. My husband noticed one time when we were with friends how much more behaved our girls were. Ours were the only ones not in daycare. I'm not saying daycare is wrong but you can see when one adult is in charge of several children, how the behavior they imitate is not the adult but peers because they see more peer behavior then adult. This is the same in public schools. I want my kids to be respectful to others, caring, generous, hard-working, diligent, and so much more. I truly believe they cannot learn this as well in any other environment but our loving home. 

 As you can see I learned a lot about why homeschooling is so important for my kids and my family. God gave me reassurances I needed and I saw my husband go from reluctant to somewhat interested in how this is going to work. Although he'd love to save money and just send them to school, especially since we already pay for it, he is seeing more value in homeschooling. Yes we could save money and yes I could have at least a part time job, but this is about our kids spiritual well being not about our temporary comfort.

Minnesota to Arizona

Vacation time!!!!!! We so needed a break from the cold cold extremely cold temperatures and constant snow we have had in Minnesota this year. We are crazy of course and drove all the way to Arizona. We left around 4:00PM on Sunday after we had an early supper.

 

 

Driving through the night makes the trip go much faster. No needing to entertain kids for hours on end.

 Monday morning we saw the sunrise in beautiful Colorado Springs. We planned to spend two days enjoying
the area so after breakfast we enjoyed a nice, warm, sunny, and beautiful morning at the Garden of the Gods.

 The afternoon was spent exploring the Cliff Dwellings, The Ghost Town Museum, and swimming at the hotel.

 The next day we spent 4 hours enjoying the Focus on the Family Visitor Center. Including lunch at Whit's End. If you ever get to Colorado Springs this is a must. There are two different play areas, one for the older kids and one for the four and under crowd. My five year old's favorite part was the three story slide she could go down by herself. Of course we couldn't leave without checking out the bookstore.

 

Our last stop in Colorado Springs was the Pioneer Museum. With our 5 year old having a strong interest in that era, thanks to The Little House series, we were able to spend time showing her things that she was really interested in. The last room was for the little ones. It had a covered wagon, tepee and train for the kiddos to play in. They had a lot of fun interacting with the tepee and toys inside.

 After Colorado we drove through the night and arrived in Arizona the next morning. The next week was filled with time at a gymnastics place, swimming in the pool, lunch at Chick-fel-A (twice!), exploring the Children's Museum, and the zoo.

Of course the best part was being able to spend time with family. The girls loved being able to spend time with their cousin, aunt, and uncle and of course my husband and I did too. 

 

We were happy to finally be heading home at the end of 9 days. We had a great time and I know the girls were really missing their cousin, but vacation can't last forever (and I don't think I could handle that).