My Latest Inspiration for Reading Assistance

Samuel (my kindergartner) and I were reading his children's bible this morning.  As he learned some new words - just reading them several times, I realized that I could be doing more to improve his reading vocabulary.  A while back I labeled some items around the house (just notecards with words written on them in marker) and that helped some, but some of the labels have worn off and I just feel I should be doing more.  So, as he learned the word "snake" and "fruit" this morning, it dawned on me that I could make up little charts like those below to help him make the connection between these words and the objects they represent.

This is Paul's hand, pointing to our exciting new posters.

 I simply googled each item I wanted and chose the images tab.  Then I copied down these images (saved them to the computer) and put them in a drawing document.  I added the text, printed them in color, threw them in page protectors, and sticky-tacked them to the wall.  Viola!!  Now I can draw attention to them during meals and other times we are at the table.  I hope to make more, but this was all I had time for today.

What do you think?

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

We celebrated Gordie's birthday today.  It was kind of a crazy day.  We have had 17 inches of snow so far (and it is still going) so Daddy was not able to get the car out to go to work - seriously - and he drives a Ford Escape!  He worked from home.  No big deal.  For dinner I chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and cream gravy.  We are all stuffed now.



Rebekah made the gravy.  She is getting SOOO helpful in the kitchen!

Nice writing, 'eh?  Saying this (rather than "Happy Birthday") seemed easier.  Gordie's response to the cake: "Wow!  Do you or the kids do the writing?"  Yep, he had to ask. 



Fun facts about Daddy:

*This year I put "tech guy" down for his job description on our taxes.  (Jokingly as I planned to go back and fix it later, but forgot to do so).

*His favorite meal (that I cook) is chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes.  (He likes to eat his with cream gravy on top and ketchup.)

*His favorite dessert is a toss-up between homemade brownies (my friend Karen M's recipe) and homemade chocolate chip cookies (his Mamma's recipe).

*He likes to work on cars in his spare time.  Right now he just saves us and his friends money, but one day he hopes to build (or rebuild) an old car (or several).  This is one of the driving factors behind the addition of our "monster" garage.

*Along the same vein as the previous, he recently lamented that our children are homeschooled (which is not set in stone for any pre-determined time, btw) as he wants to work with each of them to build AWESOME cars for them to drive to high school.

*He likes to play games online.  He has dabbled in World of Warcraft (well, we both did that for several years), Star Wars Online, Tabula Rosa, Dungeons and Dragons Online, a few others that I cannot remember, and currently plays League of Legends.

*He equates playing online games with playing real sports.  We argue about this regularly.  He claims he has to "practice" to play online games just like I used to practice to play college basketball.

*His favorite liquor is Grey Goose Vodka.

*This year I got him a remote control helicopter.

*I like him very much.

 

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!



Daddy being Daddy :)

Journal # 9 - Mildly Depressing Snow Day

Out my window:

Snow.  Supposedly we are in the middle of a HORRIBLE winter storm for the next few days.  I'm not overly concerned. . . but perhaps I'm the only one thinking this way.

Clothing myself:

Wind pants, Camp Hansen tie-died t-shirt, sneakers. (Looking AMAZING today, let me tell you - hah)

Around the house:

Fighting an uphill battle to keep it "tidy" and "sanitized" around here.  There is simply too much "picking up" and "cleaning" to be done, but having the children help takes 15 times as long, however I am obviously a "bad parent" for not already having a routine where they help (and are actually a help - yeah, you figure it out).  [Depressing point #1]

The Baby:

She actually slept REALLY WELL last night.  She only woke up once, after almost 9 hours of sleep!!  Then she nursed for a bit and I put her back in her crib (awake) and she slept another 3 and a half hours. 

She is getting into food more and more.  At her 9-month-check-up on Monday we got the ok to introduce all foods except eggs and honey.  Yes, you heard that right, peanut butter is fine to introduce at nine months now - crazy!  Although I'm not quite ready to give her a big PBJ sandwich (just goes against my training thus far), I did give her some orange (a fruit I would normally hold off until about a year) and she LOVED it.

Speaking of her check-up, she is perfectly proportioned, 75th percentile in everything (head size, weight, height, body mass).  My little 19lb 6oz bundle of joy :)

The Kids:

Paul is potty training.  I put this off as long as I could.  He has been showing signs of readiness for some time.  Finally, it seemed like "the right time."  And surprisingly he has done really well.  The first day he pooped and peed in the toilet all by himself, at least five times.  But now, about a week later, he is having issues timing his bowel movements and this Momma is TIRED of finding "packages" in his pants (after only a week, what a wienie I am, but I changed Jacob's poopy underwear every day for six months while he "figured things out" and I am NOT excited to repeat the process with Paul).  I really dislike potty training.  Rebekah got it so well and so quickly.  None of the boys have been so easy.  [Depressing Point #2]

Also, Paul missed his nap the other day (because I was out of the house and Daddy gets "distracted" sometimes) and he did not melt down in the evening.  So I tried him skipping nap the next day.  Again, no melt down.  He is now on day four of no naps and although he is still a crazy 2-year-old, doing crazy 2-year-old things, he is not a crying blubbering mess and he actually goes to sleep better at bedtime, so it looks like farewell to naps for Paul.

Jacob still WAILS when Paul takes his toy or messes up his stuff and I am TIRED of that reaction.  But Jacob is only four, so I'm trying to cut him some slack (but failing a lot - hello Lenten Resolution to keep calm - lots of "practice" on that here).

As odd as this sounds, my kids normally do not fight much with each other, but lately they have had some scuffles over toys and that is frustrating.  And it usually ends with me doubting my parenting style.  [Depressing Point #3]

In the Kitchen: 

Today I made yogurt and jelly.  The yogurt has become routine (thankfully), although I'm still not happy about using store-bought hormonal milk (haha) but that is something I cannot control right now.  The jelly has been a HUMBLING experience.  We are OUT of jelly and since I give the kiddos peanut butter and jelly toast every morning, we need to NOT be out of jelly.  Plus, they LOVE the taste of the jelly I make.  The trouble is that in the two times I have made it, some of it did not set up well, or seal right (still a beginner in the canning and such - and don't look now, but one of the jars I did today I did not fill full enough - I guess I was distracted or something - oh well, I'll just toss it in the fridge with the open one).  But I suppose since it is just to feed us, it really does not matter, as long as it is edible, right?  [This was going to be Depressing Point #4, but now that I've reasoned myself out of that I will say it can be demoted to "Depressing Point #3.5 - only half a point of depression here.]


Crafting:

We (aka MOSTLY ME) made homemade valentines for our homeschool valentine party and we also made valentine boxes.  Yes, I only shared that so I would have something to write here.  I have not had time for real crafting.  [Depressing Point #4]

Learning:

Here is a snapshot of our 2nd semester assignments.  We are plugging along.  The visual REALLY helps me and I think the kiddos like it, too.

Curriculum reviews are coming up at my homeschool group and I am getting anxious.  My doubts and fears about homeschooling are resurfacing as I try to review and decide on what materials would serve us best.  Plus I think it is natural to compare my kids to the other homsechool kids when that really is not fair as we do not use the same material, have the same personalities, or are really even in similar situations as far as other responsibilities (having a baby and a toddler to run after - or other additional duties to factor in).  Being new to homeschooling makes this a bit overwhelming.  [Depressing Point #5]

Reading:

I finished Christopher West's new book, Fill These Hearts: God, Sex, and the Universal Longing.  I LOVED this book.  Seriously, it really "moved" me in a good way.  But every time I sit down to write a review of it I get stuck and end up deleting it all as junk.  I think the devil might be poking fun at me over it right now and making it difficult for me to share about it.  Do not fear, I will keep trying.

I am focusing on Scripture and my Catechism again to keep up with the regular catechism readings.  We are almost a fourth of the way through the catechism.  And I am enjoying it immensely - as odd as that sounds - I'm just a nerd like that I guess.

The following catechism quote really struck me recently:

For all their (the laity's) works, prayers and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit -indeed, even the hardships of life if patiently born - all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (Catechism of the Catholic Church #901).

Entertainment:

I'm still sorely missing Warehouse 13.  We are keeping up with Castle but that is about it.  I have been working out in the evenings lately instead of "socializing" with the hubby, so not having anything to watch has not been too big of a deal.

We actually got to "GO OUT" to dinner the other day.  (Well, I took Gordie out for a late Valentines, early Birthday dinner.)  Nana was kind enough to watch the kiddos.  THAT was quite entertaining :)

Bringing me joy:

I have not been very joyful today.  I definitely need to work on that "attitude of gratitude" bit.

Ok, after some thought I'm concluding that baby smiles bring me joy.  And Paul in general is just a joyful little man.  EVERYTHING is a reason to smile for him - and he has some great dimples and curly hair.  Ok, even I am smiling now.

Thinking about:

Exercise.  I am still waiting to "bounce back"after this last babe.  I lost the "extra" weight fairly quickly, but the aches and pains during and after my work-outs. . . well, they are making me feel old and frail!!  (And I like to think I am neither of those!)

Bible verse:

I give you a new commandment that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.  (John 13:34-35)

Pictures to share:

Here Comes Lent!

I am really looking forward to Lent this year.  I'm not sure if it is because I really feel like I personally need a good solid "detox" from worldly thinking, acting, eating, and just living in general, or because I am looking forward to Easter!!  The resurrection, the climax of our love story with God!  Joy that I desperately need this time of year when sickness is running crazy, cabin fever grows, cold weather lingers, and life just looks bleak.

In any case, ready or not, here comes Lent!!  So, what is the plan in our household, you might ask?  Well, read on and I will tell you all about it.

First off, check out my calendar.  After much deliberation, I concluded that construction paper taped to the bottom of my number pockets was my best bet for now.  I just do not have time do to anything more elaborate.  It is not fancy, but it works!  The kids can look and see that now we are in Lent!!

(Side note, this picture was taken last week - we are not that far behind in our calendar-keeping-skills :)

Secondly, the "Prayer Platter."  This concept came from Advent a couple years ago.  With young, curious children, I needed to move the Advent wreath off the table after use, so to make it easier, I put it on a platter.  Then I realized that lighting candles helped my kids focus on prayer, so when the Christmas season ended, we changed up the platter to reflect ordinary time and have been using it ever since (changing to the appropriate season, of course).  I try to have at least four candles (one for each kid to blow out) and the correct color (or close) for the liturgical season, and then whatever I can find to fill in.

As for the prayer part, we usually do a reading from this devotional (mostly for the little kids - although the big kids enjoy it, too).  Then we do some Scripture.  Sometimes I read from this Read-Along-Bible.  Other times I use the daily Mass readings (which I now get on my kindle from The Word Among Us - and am very pleased with I might add).  Then we usually do some sort of catechism lesson.  Sometimes I read from the "school" religion book (Religion 1 for Young Catholics, from Seton Homeschool), or we read a seasonal devotional,such as This Pamphlet, or we might even just read part of an educational children's book (such as Living the 10 Commandments for Children or Beatitudes for Children).  We close by saying our Morning Offering:

Good morning, dear Jesus, this day is for you.  We ask that you bless all we think, say, and do!

a Hail Mary (because that is Paul's favorite prayer), an Our Father (Samuel's favorite prayer), and a St. Michael prayer (which they all love).

Sometimes I also read a prayer from My First Prayers for My Family or My First Prayers With Mary, either before or after our formal prayers.  When we get back to studying the Rosary we will do the mystery for the Scripture and catechism part and then pray that decade (with our Scriptural Rosary book) instead of the formal prayer.  (That is what we have done in the past, anyhow.)

I should add that we usually do our "prayer" at breakfast.  But in a pinch, any meal will do - or snack for that matter.  The Morning Offering can easily be adapted to "Good afternoon, dear Jesus. . . " or even, "Good evening, dear Jesus. . . "

Up next is the Lenten Cross. We tried it a couple years ago, but I was not really properly prepared and the kids were a bit young.  The youngers are probably still too young, but I think Rebekah will get something out of it and possibly Samuel.  It has taken a bit of work to get it "set up" but I hope we can enjoy it for many years.



Here is what it will look like on the last day of Lent.

 I have a great 8x10 picture of Jesus with the crown of thorns and his head bent in prayer that I wanted to put here but I cannot find it. I used this frame to keep the spacing when I made the cross. Then, the only picture I could find to put here was this little postcard, so I left the frame up, but I am really not all that happy with it. Another bit of suffering I guess.

For the cross, I got a piece of fleece fabric and cut it into this cross. That was tough for my perfectionist nature as my hands are not crafty enough for what my brain thinks it should look like, but I sure tried.  Then I copied the symbols, colored them, laminated them, cut them out, and put velcro on the back so they would stick to the cross. Here are a couple close-up examples of the symbols and verses for each day.





I want to focus on the Stations of the Cross and I'm in the middle of making up a matching game for the stations as mentioned here.  I would show you a picture, but I'm not quite finished.  I'm hoping to pray the Stations of the Cross on Fridays.  We have the Stations of the Cross for Children book and I think it will work well for the kids.


This year we put our Lenten resolutions on crosses and put them up on the wall.  I did mine (Remain Calm, No Sweets, and Prayer - just to remind me of the prayer habits I am trying to continue and add to) and then Rebekah came up with her idea ("If one of my brothers wants something I have, I will give it to them.")

 

Return to the Lord, your God.  For gracious and merciful is he.  (Joel 2:13)

Know Your Limits

I bet you are wondering what this "random" picture is all about.  Well, you are in luck, this picture here is the point of my post!!  But first, enjoy the picture. . .take it in. . . now, see below for me to explain it.

 

 

Today I did A LOT of things.  After my post on yesterday's craziness, I could not just leave you hanging wondering if my house ended up getting cleaned this weekend, could I?

Ok, in all honesty, it did not get ALL cleaned, but man I got a good chunk done!  And yes, I will be honest.  I did not clean (this time) for someone else to come visit.  And even when I do clean for "someone else" to come visit, I honestly know I am not cleaning for THEM, but for me and what I want my house to look like for them.  Does that make sense?  I feel better when my house is clean.  The people visiting often would not care one way or another, I do it for me - there ya go, honesty at its best.  But enough of this tangent, back to my point.  I cleaned today FOR ME!!  And then, I one-upped it, I took pictures!!  AND posted them here for all to see!!  But not just for you to pat me on the back and say how awesome I am.  I actually had a "mini-revelation" that I thought I would share.  And since I was on here anyhow, I figured a few of those "clean house pictures" would help make my point. . .   Err, maybe I did just want to show off that it is actually clean because by 7:30am tomorrow morning when the little ones come upstairs, it will promptly be "not clean" anymore.

No, the baby does not actually stay on this little rug, but it makes me happy to give her a "space" to keep throwing her toys back in.  Yes I am OCD like that.

This is "The Study."  It is also where I envision us doing "school work" but my kids seem to float wherever they please and in the midst of the chaos, I tend to let them!  It also houses A LOT of other things (if you may notice) as we do not have a storage room in this house.

Ahh, once again it is time to get back to my initial picture and my point. . .   I have often had a "collection point" for little odds and ends such as game pieces that got left out when the game was put away, or pieces of this or that set of blocks or gears, or even puzzle pieces!  And I have often felt guilty over such a point and tried tirelessly to be consistently emptying it and getting things back where they belong.  Well, no more I say!  Today I realized that putting such "pieces" in a box is ENOUGH!!  And when we play said game or have such a set out, or need a piece for a puzzle, this is where we can look!

So brilliant, right?  Yeah, I really did not need this mega-long post and lots of pictures to tell you this, but. . . yeah, I'm a sucker for drama.  So enjoy. 

Journal: An Unlikely Saturday

Let me share my Saturday with you. . .

It all started in the middle of the night.  The baby has been GOING to sleep better than ever!  The trouble is she is not doing so well at STAYING ASLEEP.  Between two and four hours is generally all she will give me.  Now, I THOUGHT I had learned a thing or two with my five babies so far, but Miriam is making me stretch as she will nurse fine, but instead of drifting off when she is done she will pull off and chatter at me or wiggle and kick until I put her back in her crib to drift back to sleep.  So three or four times a night I am getting her from her crib, laying down to nurse her in my bed (perhaps I should just go for the chair here?) and then getting back up a half hour to an hour later to put her back in her bed.  Ugh.  That really makes for a LONG night of LITTLE sleep!  My hope is that she is growing or cutting teeth or something else that will pass SOON and give me a chance to sleep a bit more as I am beginning to go a little crazy.  It has been MANY YEARS since I got a full-night's sleep, but my body is definitely letting me know that this is not acceptable for very long and I KNOW I could be slipping toward getting sick again if I am not careful!

So, I finally dragged myself out of bed about 9am - once the baby babble and wiggles that had been present for the past hour beside me finally woke me enough to get on with the morning routine.  Kids dressed, breakfast, and then I made the "to do" list:

scrub kitchen floor
scrub dining room floor
vacuum carpet
clean both bathrooms
clean out fridge (it is due for a good scrub-down)
put away toys  and such in the Study (our "catch-all" room that houses A LOT of "stuff")

Just a "few" things.  Oh and I threw in diapers and planned to do a few loads of regular laundry, as well.

But then something happened.  I think maybe I just "snapped." 

Back Story:
A while back I had this yearning to play Super Nintendo again (the game system we had when I was a kid).  Since they no longer make this system, they have emulators that you can download and play the games on your computer.  I purchased a controller similar to the Super Nintendo controller (ok, it was practically the same thing, minus the "Super Nintendo" logo and the plug was USB).  Gordie had just gotten it set up for me a few days ago. 

I sat down in front of the computer to play a "few minutes" of the Super NES games I had downloaded (The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario All-Stars).  I figured I would play a few minutes and let the kids see how it worked and then let them at it so I could clean.  I know, great Mom here.  Hey, Gordie was not even AWAKE yet, so I had him beat by a mile :)

Well, a few minutes and I did stop because the baby was fussy and other things made me GRUMPY!!  I was losing and it was not my fault!  That always makes me grumpy.  But within in a few minutes Samuel and Rebekah were "stuck."  I could hear them trying to figure things out and finally came over to "rescue" them, only to sit down and play for SEVERAL HOURS STRAIGHT!!  Gordie finally got up and made lunch.  I kept playing.  I put the baby to bed for her nap and thought about working out, only to find myself AGAIN playing this silly game!!  Finally I dragged myself away from this mindless drivel (that was oh so entertaining) and out for a run to enjoy this beautiful weather.

It has been A LONG TIME since I even THOUGHT about running, but it mostly came back - the thoughts anyway.  I started.  I got in the groove, I felt for the rhythm.  I think I finally found the rhythm, but I never quite found the "runners' high."  I hurt everywhere.  My chest was going to explode, my mouth was dry, my nose was running.  I was going slow enough that breathing was not an issue - thank God for that one.  But I really felt like I was running through water!  My feet and legs were lead.  It basically sums up in: I FELT OLD! 

But I pushed on.  And although that magical adrenaline rush that makes all the physical pain disappear (the runners' high) never came, I did manage a little theological reflecting.  I realized, that despite the pain, I really enjoyed this.  I enjoyed the challenge.  I enjoyed doing something I did not think I could.  It made me think about virtue and sin.  Virtue is hard.  It is struggling and striving for something we do not think we can do!  Sin is easy.  It is not necessarily fun.  In fact, in my experience, sin is down-right disappointing, but it is easy and believable.

Yep, that's all.

Then about 20 minutes from my house, after this great theological reflection I realized something else. . . I was pretty-much "tapped out" as far as energy reserves go.  I am not what I used to be.  It was sheer stubbornness and pride that kept me plodding along.  And although I SERIOUSLY contemplated stopping at the local Catholic Campus Center (that I was fairly near at this point) and calling Gordie to come pick me up, my pride said NO!!  You can get home!!  (Stupid pride.) 

Well, 20 minutes later (and maybe an extra five for the few times I let myself walk a bit) I managed to drag myself inside.  I probably will not be able to walk tomorrow (heck, I can hardly walk now) but. . . a day of mindless video games followed by psychotic exercise.  Not the typical Saturday here, but there you have it.  And if you have read this far you probably:

A) Had a VERY BORING day yourself.

B) Are simply so amazed by me that you cannot help but read every word I write (hahaha :)

C) Deserve a prize

Oh and if you are just sitting around wondering what to do with yourself tonight or tomorrow, my house could still use some cleaning. . . .

Happy Saturday :)

Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.  Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.  So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified. 
(1 Corinthians 9:24-27)