tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72382581051159126262024-03-13T12:14:26.097-07:00Art of a Joyful HomeBringing the beauty and joy of Christ into my home, the hearts of my family, and the world.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-63736489919230756272018-03-04T19:04:00.000-08:002018-03-04T19:04:23.541-08:00ResetLife get chaotic sometimes, even agonizingly horrific as loved ones betray, and friends fade away. <br />
Since I've last blogged:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>divorce (not my idea) traumatic for my 3 kids</li>
<li>full time job </li>
<li>dating</li>
<li>new job</li>
<li>move to a new city</li>
<li>ex-spouse moves cross country, leaving kids again</li>
<li>remarriage</li>
<li>left church of 35+ years attendance </li>
<li>pregnancy</li>
<li>had to leave job</li>
<li>summer visitation, aka no kids for several weeks</li>
<li>finding new places to worship</li>
<li>new baby</li>
</ul>
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Life has been way too crazy, difficult and painful to blog about. And all the lovely exciting wonderful hopeful things have been happening are keeping me too present in the moment to stop and reflect much. </div>
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Today is our 1st anniversary, and I am so very very thankful for my husband Mark. He is a loving, kind, God follower, and we are battling the enemy together, as well as reveling in the everyday gifts that our good Father sends to us. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zw0kPIo76bI/Wpyv_9CBu1I/AAAAAAAAir8/2q7vhrrQJ9Ip79-aMkC6xN7OOSM5sxsxwCKgBGAs/s1600/20171207_005609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zw0kPIo76bI/Wpyv_9CBu1I/AAAAAAAAir8/2q7vhrrQJ9Ip79-aMkC6xN7OOSM5sxsxwCKgBGAs/s320/20171207_005609.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Evie is a sweet addition to our family as well. It is such fun to have a baby again! Things are really different since the last baby around here. :) <br />
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Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-6216554816846576112012-03-29T11:35:00.000-07:002012-03-29T11:35:04.113-07:00Spring Cleaning, Part 1 School space clutterI've been bitten by the spring cleaning bug! Actually, for me it's more of a spring ORGANIZING bug. I rearranged my living/school area.<br />
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<br />
Before :<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n45/lanacelmer/DSC05933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n45/lanacelmer/DSC05933.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I had problems to solve: No home for the backpacks, school items in separate areas of the house, no boxes for Mark, office supplies spread out, bulletin board too hard to see or get to, and no space to get around the table easily. <br />
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I had also decided that I need to SEE where things are easily, so I placed the other 2 bookshelves within view of the workspace. I also reorganized the small kidlet supplies and activities into boxes. <br />
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After:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d7jZFlqboAA/T3ShrWeGydI/AAAAAAAAAS0/Elj4FwKPMFw/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d7jZFlqboAA/T3ShrWeGydI/AAAAAAAAAS0/Elj4FwKPMFw/s400/004.JPG" width="400" /></a>See the pink backpack box? LOVE this. Our home is old, and has no coatcloset, and the coat hooks in the narrow entryway are FULL. We co-op once a week, and love to dash out the door with books sometimes, so backpacks are a necessity for us. <br />
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Sterilite boxes are great! I like to organize my activities with lots of bits in those. I had done <a href="http://www.activitybags.com/ActivityBags_4/index.html" target="_blank">Activities in a Bag</a>, and I really like to concept, but was getting irritated by the ziplock bags in plain sight. So, I tried shoebox size boxes from Walmart. That worked really well for the few sets I tried, so I went back to get more. It turns out that you need to BUY MORE than you need right now, since if you like the boxes, finding the same boxes later is almost impossible, they change the lines far too frequently. <br />
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<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-My4kNEYHly4/T3SfK4HYbnI/AAAAAAAAASs/SMc0fxn-wm8/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-My4kNEYHly4/T3SfK4HYbnI/AAAAAAAAASs/SMc0fxn-wm8/s400/003.JPG" width="400" /></a>I also was able to finish getting my workboxes up. It's too expensive to buy these all at once, so I've been doing it slowly, over several months. The drawers hold 12x12 x3 items, so almost all their schoolwork goes right in. On days that I know will be rough, like Mondays, I like to prefill the boxes and just let the kids go for it, so I don't have so many questions or arguments to deal with. <br />
I have my printer, laminator, and their accessories here as well. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rImOSMDE33I/T3Sn5I1naSI/AAAAAAAAAS8/No-_z-yw-MA/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rImOSMDE33I/T3Sn5I1naSI/AAAAAAAAAS8/No-_z-yw-MA/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>While doing all this I discovered that great way to keep a board from falling down behind the shelves is to put something behind it, like a chunk of marble.. or a brick. Yes, it took me years to realize this... :-PLanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-69517968387318841542012-02-07T18:49:00.000-08:002012-02-07T18:50:08.767-08:00Baking Mat Givaway!So, Y'all know that I love to bake right? No, these haven't been actually cooked yet, but I offer them as proof that I do, indeed love to bake. :-) When they emerged from the oven, full of numminess, I was too busy eating them to take another picture. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yQRtsPrbEsg/TzHiV4R7_PI/AAAAAAAAASc/vbAcGJc0sm4/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yQRtsPrbEsg/TzHiV4R7_PI/AAAAAAAAASc/vbAcGJc0sm4/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
If you too, are addicted to bread and cookies, you might be interested in Kristen's blog, <a href="http://www.sageandchocolate.com/baking-mat-giveaway/" target="_blank">Sage & Chocolate</a>. She's giving away a professional silicone baking mat. (aka silpat type thingy) Hop on over there for a chance to win!Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-81888245488960418672012-01-26T10:20:00.000-08:002012-01-26T10:20:49.181-08:00Summertime Amid the Storms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Va0E9vte628/TyGZNtSPVzI/AAAAAAAAASU/_Q72nYdRp9o/s1600/doorknob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Va0E9vte628/TyGZNtSPVzI/AAAAAAAAASU/_Q72nYdRp9o/s320/doorknob.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><br />
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I was going about my daily toil last week, and it hit me all of a sudden, ......<i>.I'm</i> <i>happy</i>... WHat???<br />
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Yes, I was surprised by joy. The funny thing is, I thought that I was doing fine before last week. I guess when the storms of life become almost constant, you turn off your expectations for a while. <br />
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We have had a lovely month or two. We have gotten work done, and handled stresses that have happened with love and peaceful responses. (Yes, even the attempted break-in at our home) I feel a bit more comfortable in our daily routine, and I am finally getting a grip on teaching Shurley English. The kids are doing a bit better, and Mark is starting to play funny little pranks. When he climbed on the changing table facing left hand instead of right, he laughs "Look Mom, <i>I'm the wrong way!</i>" HAHAHAHhahahhaaha! <br />
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Levi is starting to take interest in his history reading, and I caught him reading the Book of Presidents for fun last night. Miss Charlotte is a delight, has loved learning to cook ala Anika, and she is burning through her history reading with speed and comprehension. My wonderful super-hubby has been so patient with our school messes, and has been happy to help pile the half finished school grading off the table for dinnertime. <br />
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<span class="reftext"><a href="http://bible.cc/jeremiah/29-11.htm"><b>"</b></a></span>For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the <span class="nivsmallcaps">Lord,</span> “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."<br />
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But look what's in front of that verse!<br />
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"<span class="reftext"></span>This is what the <span class="nivsmallcaps">Lord</span> says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. " <br />
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This is written to a people in <b><i>captivity,</i></b> not in their own place, not at home, torn between what they wanted, and what God in his merciful providence had given them. They weren't going back, nope, not for 70 years. Their kids might go back, but not them. <br />
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Sinning spouses, bratty kids, disease, birth defects, robbery, poverty, house fires, friends who turn out to be enemies in disguise, injuries, unidentifiable long term pain, church tearing wolves, a nation in unrepentant sin, death of those we love<br />
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EVEN THEN........ "I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not evil." <br />
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<b>A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-14321b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+30&version=NIV#fen-NIV-14321b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</sup> Of David.</b><br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14321">1</sup> I will exalt you, LORD, <br />
for you lifted me out of the depths <br />
and did not let my enemies gloat over me. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14322">2</sup> LORD my God, I called to you for help, <br />
and you healed me. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14323">3</sup> You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead; <br />
you spared me from going down to the pit. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14324">4</sup> Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people; <br />
praise his holy name. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14325">5</sup> For his anger lasts only a moment, <br />
but his favor lasts a lifetime; <br />
weeping may stay for the night, <br />
but rejoicing comes in the morning. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14326">6</sup> When I felt secure, I said, <br />
“I will never be shaken.” <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14327">7</sup> LORD, when you favored me, <br />
you made my royal mountain<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-14327c" title="See footnote c">c</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+30&version=NIV#fen-NIV-14327c" title="See footnote c">c</a>]</sup> stand firm; <br />
but when you hid your face, <br />
I was dismayed. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14328">8</sup> To you, LORD, I called; <br />
to the Lord I cried for mercy: <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14329">9</sup> “What is gained if I am silenced, <br />
if I go down to the pit? <br />
Will the dust praise you? <br />
Will it proclaim your faithfulness? <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14330">10</sup> Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me; <br />
LORD, be my help.” <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14331">11</sup> You turned my wailing into dancing; <br />
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14332">12</sup> that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. <br />
LORD my God, I will praise you forever.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-90558533974391979592011-09-29T09:28:00.000-07:002011-09-29T09:30:22.862-07:00Food Fun with the Preschooler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jW5i_xQg0Jw/ToSaKmgr7NI/AAAAAAAAARk/h8n5-KjvSig/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jW5i_xQg0Jw/ToSaKmgr7NI/AAAAAAAAARk/h8n5-KjvSig/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>My Hubby has his own business, so if things are busy, he must stay late, and lately he has been stuck at work till around 10-11 every night but Sunday. Dinner with just the kids & I has become much less formal. I had the bright idea to involve the kids in the dinner choices a couple nights ago. Mark usually gets to decide between square or triangle sandwiches at lunch. So I asked Mark what he wanted for dinner, and he promptly piped up "Need soccle sanish!" (circle sandwich)<br />
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Mark has begin using NEED in the morning quite a bit lately. He usually upon waking, shouts with emphasis from his room, "Need Up Mom! Need up!" Sometimes this changes to "Need cracker", or "Need breakfast Mom!" On one memorable morning though, we heard with much amusement, cries of " NEED APPLE PIE!!!! Need Apple Pie Mom!"Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-42391876840653907922011-07-22T10:56:00.000-07:002011-07-22T11:06:59.861-07:00School Setup #2- Curriculum Choices<b><span style="font-size: large;">Bible </span></b><br />
<ul><li style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our church, <a href="http://www.reformationcovenant.org/bible-classes.aspx">Reformation Covenant Church,</a> has a great Sunday school program that goes through the whole bible if you start at the beginning. I have the kids do their bible reading for Sunday school first thing every day, and we work on the memory verses during school time as well. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">WSC<b>-</b>A friend found this study, <a href="http://www.catechismforkids.com/products.html">Catechism for Kids </a>going through the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and I plan on working through it with the kids beginning this fall.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></li>
</ul><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Language Arts</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I have had quite a rough time of it with teaching language arts. I am not a writer, nor do I know why things are spelled the way they are. I just know when they look "right" to me. Because of this I didn't realize that my son needed MUCH MORE instruction in spelling until about 3rd grade. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Here's what I have tried that didn't work for us in grammar:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Waiting till 3rd grade for formal grammar( very bad idea if you ever MIGHT use a private school) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=8474&referral=97ncyd9l">Abeka</a> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Misc. free online grammar workbook that we were doing for a while, then realized that there was no answer key!</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;">I finally Settled on<a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=5916&referral=97ncyd9l"> First Language Lessons</a> for elementary grammar. This was just the right approach for kiddo & myself. Sadly, I realized that this was the best fit for him just before we decided to put the kids in a private school for last year. My son was placed a grade lower than I had thought mainly because of the weakness in the LA areas. They were using <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=5350&referral=97ncyd9l">Shurley English</a>, so this was completely the right decision for us. So, here we are again, homeschooling. I am going to use <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=5350&referral=97ncyd9l">Shurley English</a>. If I were starting again from the beginning I would definitely use FLL again, but he has now had a whole year of Shurley, and he is doing well in it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Spelling... GACK! I used <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=20142&referral=97ncyd9l">TATRAS</a> for reading instruction/phonics. However, I stopped when DS#1 was reading well. I didn't even think about the impact this might have on his spelling.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">I don't know how to spell. I just do it.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Remember, I just use my very accurate visual memory combined with my<strike> reading addiction</strike> love for reading. This means that most of my spelling issues are things like "Which version of the word colour/color should I use? Grey or gray? This meant that I had no idea of how to TEACH spelling. I was surprised that although DS could read well, he couldn't spell very well. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=5751">Sequential Spelling</a> did nothing for him. He could only spell the words by figuring out the pattern, and the base words were often completely wrong. A couple friends had been talking to me about <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=4863">Spell to Write & Read</a>. I was semi interested, but the teachers manual is very hard to work through. It is NOT open & go, so flipping through the book was a turn off. I was surprised when Levi came home from private school with a spelling rule chart from the SWR program. Charlotte was in 1st grade there, and was doing very well with her spelling. Levi was ok with the newer rules that were introduced, but the spelling lists that the school used were designed for those students who had already done 3 years of SWR.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I was able to hear Ms. Sanseri speak at the <a href="http://www.oceanetwork.org/calendar/">OCEAN</a> homeschool conference in June. This was very helpful with the reasoning why she taught what she does and when. The book is still hard to figure out, but hearing a few of the spelling rules explained in the lecture on how <a href="http://www.oceanetwork.org/tapes/detail.cfm?id=600">English is a logical language </a>was just amazing. Starting SWR at the beginning with an older reader is just fine, and he will move upward at the rate he learns, not based on grade level/age. So, I am now using the <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=4863">Spell to Write and Read core kit</a> for phonics and spelling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>History</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I prefer to keep on the same time period with all my kids, and I only have 2 in school. I imagine that teaching more kids in several different time periods would be frustrating. My parents used <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=5373&referral=97ncyd9l">Bob Jones</a>, Abeka, Rushdoony's <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=21433&referral=97ncyd9l">World History Notes</a>, and <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=7364&referral=97ncyd9l">America, the First 350</a> years, along with lectures from Dad. A few of my siblings used <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=7598&referral=97ncyd9l">Sonlight</a>. I was and am an avid reader. I remember much of what I read from actual books, and the lectures Dad used. However, I don't remember a lick of the textbooks. A few pictures from the textbooks stick in my brain, and I could pick out the book we used by its cover, but not what they were about. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">All this led me toward <a href="http://www.lampstandbookshelf.com/connect/jrox.php?uid=lcelmer">Tapestry Of Grace</a>. I couldn't afford it new when I found it. Thankfully, <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=7173&referral=97ncyd9l">Exodus Books</a> had the last 2 units of year 1 classic. I was able to get a good taste of the way TOG worked without spending a ton. I love it. I then bought year 2 used from<a href="http://www.homeschoolclassifieds.com/show_sale_age.asp?st=1&en=1"> homeschool classifieds</a>, and I was happily working along through it, and then disaster struck! I was missing a week. (it's a 3ring binder product,so the seller lost some of it) I really didn't want to skip that week, it was the week comparing and contrasting Islam and Christianity. I decided to buy the redesigned unit to compare the two, since I was missing a whole week, and I could get the digital version that day. It was so spiffy that I have been saving up for the redesigned ever since then. I am currently finishing up our first pass through Year 2, (it's summer, we're reading only) and will start year 3 in LG & UG in September. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fine Arts</b></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Charlotte Mason style Picture Study I have great hope of spreading this out to match our TOG weekplans.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.meetthemasters.com/">Meet the Masters</a> This is artist study & hands on art projects-<a href="http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/">Homeschool buyers co-op</a> had a 3 year subscription for about 1/2 price, so I bit. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Composer study<span style="font-size: large;"><b> - </b><span style="font-size: small;">Again, I am weaving this in with Tapestry. There are composer & artist listed in the TOG teachers notes, but no comprehensive listing of artist or composer by week plan. I want that so I can file my prints by the week we will use them. This means more work for me, but I'll only have to do it once for each year plan.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Music Lessons- I would love to pay for piano lesson for DD, and something else for DS, but the $ just isn't here right now. I am toying with the idea of buying the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Piano-Course-Success-Level/dp/0739037765/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I29R6JX46CR0I0&colid=2VSRSHPTPAGHL">Alfred piano kit</a> & teaching them at home, but that too requires money not currently available. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Writing </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I need to figure this out more, so I am currently doing <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=7646&referral=97ncyd9l">Writing With Ease</a> for 2nd grade DD, and I am a bit in flux with DS. I am currently having him do a report using a cluster diagram on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Bunnies-Quest-Carrot-Starter/dp/B0002V82O8/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1311354641&sr=1-1"> Killer Bunnies,</a> a silly and fun game he loves. We are going to do <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=5359">Imitation In Writing</a> this fall, and while we work through that, I need to get in depth with the IEW teacher training. <b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Languages</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">DS started<a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=7308"> Latin for Children </a><a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=7308&referral=97ncyd9l"> </a>last year in school, and we will continue that. DD wants to learn Latin too, so she is doing <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=13039&referral=97ncyd9l">Songschool Latin</a>. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Mathematics</span></b><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=2428&referral=97ncyd9l">Saxon</a> older grades are the best for us, but k-3rd is way too scripted for me. DS is a math kiddo, he likes to read the chapter, work the problems and go. He is currently in 5/4 and will be starting 6/5 in the early spring.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">I prefer <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=2431&referral=97ncyd9l">Horizons</a> for the younger grades of Math.</span></li>
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<b>Links for help:</b> <span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Some of my favorite places for information on curriculum choice are <a href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/?referral=97ncyd9l">Exodus Books</a>, a lovely LOCAL homeschool bookstore with great service, the <a href="http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/">Well Trained Mind Forum</a>, and curriculum fairs. Of course, if you know other homeschoolers, (I do, almost a whole church full :-D ) then they can be of great assistance in evaluating different choices. Just don't get swept up in a large wave of "Everyone likes it so you should try it" if what you have is working. The hs curriculum fairs are worth going to just to be able to look at particular things you may not have access to in real life. The OCEAN conference allows you to buy an exhibit hall only pass so you can browse & research without going to the expense of doing all the lectures. This can be a great option for a more seasoned homeschooler, or a non christian. </span><br />
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<div class="cssButtonOuter"><div class="cssButtonMiddle"><div class="cssButtonInner"></div><div class="cssButtonInner"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyhow, sorry for the lengthy post, but it's nice to get all my thoughts down in one spot. :-) </span></div><div class="cssButtonInner"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div></div></div>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-58705407999185213092011-07-20T12:09:00.000-07:002011-07-20T12:11:23.765-07:00School Setup #1- the plan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n45/lanacelmer/School%20Organization/029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n45/lanacelmer/School%20Organization/029.jpg" /></a></div>OK, I've been BUSY.... very, very, busy.<br />
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We are homeschooling again this year, and that means lots of preparation for me.<br />
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I spent the last couple months working on planning, and getting everything set up for the current year. Hopefully this will provide a framework for all the home school years to come. I hate reinventing the wheel each time I set up a year plan.<br />
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I had several steps to my planning this year, and hopefully I won't have to be redoing it all the time. If I don't have a well thought out and on paper plan, I get distracted and can't remember which step I was on. <br />
In the middle of the process I realized that my gazillions of post it notes stuck all over the kitchen weren't very helpful, so I wrote all that I still had to finish on the white board.<br />
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Here's the rough outline of my planning process. <br />
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1. Deciding on subjects & curriculum<br />
2. Buying Books<br />
3. Book storage<br />
4. Library tracking/setup<br />
5. Lesson planning<br />
6. File set up <br />
7. HST setup for all non TOG subjects<br />
8. HST setup for TOG by unit<br />
9.Print/Copy/File all that paper (I hate trying to remember to print things out the day I want them)<br />
10. Prep the working environment both static and on the go! <br />
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I didn't exactly do these in this order, but I wish that I had, it would have been much simpler. Next year I will have to look back at this post to see what I wanted to do differently.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-90188029174502006632011-05-23T14:13:00.000-07:002011-05-23T14:33:20.359-07:00Cloth Toddler diapers #2... Big Kid, long waist.My son is a solid boy. He has a long waist and is a nighttime supersoaker. Huggies size 6 good nights are not up to the challenge. <br />
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With the kids getting out of school, I am cloth diapering again. This is tricky since the regular Gerber prefolds are too small to pin on, and they need to be doubled for DAYTIME. :-P The rise is the most important fit issue for us. Mark is a boy, and needs lots of absorbency up front. If he has a leak, it is always at the waist. The low rise style diapers just don't work for him. <br />
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Here's what we are trying for more absorbency currently:<br />
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Peanut Butter and Ellie Larges<br />
RISE: 19"<br />
SOAKER: Rectangular Lay in<br />
SUPER ABSORBENT! When you stack these next to the regular Gerber prefolds they are much thicker! I can get away with 19" rise because the waist is super stretchy, the legs aren't elasticized, and the COVER rise (L thirsties) is long enough. I can still pin/snappi these, but I usually just lay them in the cover. <br />
Amy is no longer sewing diapers, but you can still snag them off DS used sometimes. I loved the set she gave me when Mark was born, but I need more larges, so I'm looking pretty regularly on DS for them. <br />
See how thick they are? Here are 5 pbes and 5 gerber prefolds side by side. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6MchwxSNNs/Tdq_tqpsvcI/AAAAAAAAAQg/AvKcHSaBTwU/s1600/055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6MchwxSNNs/Tdq_tqpsvcI/AAAAAAAAAQg/AvKcHSaBTwU/s320/055.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Meg A Roo's L Extrended Tab Prefolds<br />
RISE: 19" after washing ( bought them used)<br />
SOAKER: none<br />
These are bamboo fleece, so I would expect pretty good absorbency. :-) These pin on well.<br />
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Piddle Poddles TODDLER size OBV/ AI2 Cadillac (ai2 and obv fitted =same rise. )<br />
RISE:21.5 Stretched YIPPIE! this is the best rise for Mark<br />
SOAKER: shaped, 1" below waist snap in<br />
Might need a doubler for car trips/etc. The AI2 performed well the first time we used it without a doubler or washing a ton to prep.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d0OaNUAMhnY/TdrDwLAcQmI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/nCXuC8_axgg/s1600/pp+oibv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d0OaNUAMhnY/TdrDwLAcQmI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/nCXuC8_axgg/s320/pp+oibv.jpg" width="248" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Kim6NeMShQ/TdrDyEuwNoI/AAAAAAAAARA/QJiyUZC5E0w/s1600/pp+aio+toddler+pul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Kim6NeMShQ/TdrDyEuwNoI/AAAAAAAAARA/QJiyUZC5E0w/s320/pp+aio+toddler+pul.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-df3p2bjfApY/TdrDxnVM0TI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/CtxCFkpdA0M/s1600/Holdens+Landing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-df3p2bjfApY/TdrDxnVM0TI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/CtxCFkpdA0M/s320/Holdens+Landing.jpg" width="314" /></a> <br />
Holden's Landing Toddler size AI2<br />
RISE : 19" Stretched<br />
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SOAKER: 2 layer shaped, snaps in about 1/2 below the back waist, so too close.. might stick out when on... :-P Great absorbency though! There are 2 layers to the soaker, and a lay in doubler. <br />
I missed the fact that they are coming out in a larger size, the junior. This would probably fit Mark a tad better. Oddly enough, the rise is listed as 20", but I could only get it to 19" before washing. The JR size will be around 23"<br />
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Here is the HL laid out on top of the PP. See the size difference without stretching? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qcCruu_dFls/TdrJMY9wgMI/AAAAAAAAARI/2uMpLOVB7jI/s1600/040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qcCruu_dFls/TdrJMY9wgMI/AAAAAAAAARI/2uMpLOVB7jI/s320/040.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
HL snap placement for the soaker.. too close to the edge! The best placement I have seen is on Little Boppers , they have snaps about 2" down from the top edge.. perfect. I would prefer a snap in the front. If you did that, when you are using with a boy, the absorbency is where you want it. <br />
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</div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MFpzoPYK7BY/TdrJUwRiLGI/AAAAAAAAARM/xLZgc2W_vRU/s1600/047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-7625813732267420472011-02-22T10:47:00.000-08:002011-02-22T10:47:00.505-08:00Fun with bread doughThere is something about shaping dough that I like. I remember well how much fun it was to get up early and make bread art. I did a giant shaped turkey for thanksgiving one year when I was growing up. <a href="http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/whimsy-bread"> Whimsy Bread</a> was the recipe I used then. I believe it is from a 1970s sunset magazine issue... <br />
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I wish I had a picture of that giant Turkey bread loaf! This is a bear along the same lines, but not as cool... <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BLP3OjxViEk/TVbZb5fjuNI/AAAAAAAAAQc/AMee7dWLCE4/s1600/bread+bear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BLP3OjxViEk/TVbZb5fjuNI/AAAAAAAAAQc/AMee7dWLCE4/s1600/bread+bear.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Whimsy Bread<br />
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Source: Ask .com<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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1 pkg yeast<br />
1/3 c milk<br />
¼ c warm water<br />
¾ c soft butter<br />
½ c sugar<br />
½ tsp salt<br />
5 eggs<br />
About 4 ¾ c flour<br />
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In a mixer, blend yeast and water. Let stand 5 min. Add butter, sugar, milk, salt, and eggs. Add 2 c. flour and beat on medium for 10 minutes. Mix in 1 c. flour on low until thoroughly moistened. Stir in 1 ¾ c flour (do not knead). Cover air tight and let rise 1 ½ hours. Beat to expel air, turn out onto a floured board.<br />
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Overlap two baking sheets, cover with foil and butter.<br />
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Tips on shaping: The dough will expand, so make the shape skinnier. Butt pieces close together if joined, leave 2 inches if separate. Snip dough for surface detail. For attached stuff, set into holes in punched dough. <br />
Cover shaped dough, let rise 30 min. Brush w/1 egg + 1 tsp water mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. Let cool on pan 10 min. Slide onto wire rack to cool or tray to serve warm. Cool completely before wrapping. To warm: 325 degrees for 20 minutes.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-50838864619741892642011-02-14T09:18:00.000-08:002011-02-14T09:18:00.388-08:00Dinner Rolls... the easy way<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7vzqna5DfsM/TVbMHtzqdEI/AAAAAAAAAQU/4q3u3pLtjW4/s1600/005.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572866021845005378" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7vzqna5DfsM/TVbMHtzqdEI/AAAAAAAAAQU/4q3u3pLtjW4/s400/005.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
In an attempt to fill my family's bellies with less expense, I have been messing around with breads... This was the best success yet.<br />
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I stumbled across the recipe on <a href="http://nancysrecipes.wordpress.com/2008/10/24/awesome-bread-machine-dinner-rolls/">Nancy's Recipes </a>and had to try it.... EL YUMMO!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Awesome Bread Machine Rolls</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">1 cup water<br />
2 Tbs butter, softened<br />
1 egg<br />
3 1/4 cups bread flour (start with 3 cups and see if you need the extra 1/4 cup ~ I always need it)<br />
1/4 cup sugar<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
3 tsp yeast</div><div style="text-align: center;">Put all ingredients on the pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Use the dough cycle.</div><div style="text-align: center;">When finished, pull apart into 15 (or more) balls. Place on greased cookie sheet 2″ apart and brush with melted butter. Cover and set in slightly warm place to rise for about 30-40 minutes or until nearly doubled in size.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Bake at 375º for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove and brush with butter again.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Makes 15 or more depending on size.</div>This dough was LOVELY straight from the machine... All I did was shape it in to a strange version of Parker rolls, rise again, and bake. They were fabulous.<br />
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I found a nice place ( <a href="http://www.breadmachinedigest.com/tips/shaping-dough-a-visual-guide.php">Bread Machine Digest</a> ) with all those spiffy "how to form rolls" instructions. I have been fascinated by these diagrams since I was a kiddo leafing through my mom's Betty Crocker & Tassajara Bread cookbooks.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-79604273927828555122011-02-11T13:03:00.000-08:002011-02-11T14:06:41.278-08:00After school snacks.... Pretzels!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uChx2qVZT5A/TVWp6h0p5JI/AAAAAAAAAQE/xpY8ZPlKgsU/s1600/009.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uChx2qVZT5A/TVWp6h0p5JI/AAAAAAAAAQE/xpY8ZPlKgsU/s400/009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572546936917582994" border="0" /></a><br />I was shocked by how much more food my children need now that they are not being taught at home. Since they have PE (hockey, volleyball, tumbling, dodge ball) twice each week, and twice per day field recess, they come home each day from school ravenous.<br /><br />My car just after pickup sounds like this:<br /><br />Mom: Hi kiddos! How was your day?<br />L & C overlapping: , Mom! I'm hungry! Can we go to McDonalds?<br />Mom: NO!!<br />L&C I am thirsty! Can we have a snack?<br />Mom: YES, but only when we get home.<br />L&C: But we're STARVING!!!<br />Mom:I think you'll make it home before dying...<br />L& C: I did good on my quiz, so can I have a candy bar?<br />( I did this for the first month if they did well on their Bible verse test, and now it is coming back to haunt me)<br />Mom: NO FOOD TILL WE GET HOME!!! You may have a healthy snack then...<br />L& C: We're/I'm soooooooooo huuuuunnnnnggggrrryyyyyy...!!!!!!!!!<br /><br />I inform them of the punishment that will occur if they speak about it again until we get home, and after chatting briefly about school, I turn up the radio and enjoy the clouds & birds on the way home.<br /><br />We didn't really eat many snacks until school started. For C's first grade class, they asked me to send 2 snacks per day for her. I began packing lunches that included a juice drink, sandwiches, and 2 other snacks. The class policy was no sweet snacks, so the oatmeal cookies I had planned were out. We then switched to store bought snacks which although SUPER yummy, were a bit more than I would like to spend... 2 bags of chips, per kid per day = way too much money on chips.<br /><br />Lately I have been sending maybe an apple, and a slice of homemade bread. Today I began learning a new addition to the snack arsenal... Homemade pretzels...! I prefer to buy snacks, but this is MUCH cheaper (about $1.54 total) and not that hard. The most time consuming part is the kneading and rolling of the pretzel dough into ropes that makeup the pretzel shape... plech!<br /><br />We'll see how the starving students like them....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Soft Pretzels</span><br />2 1/4 tsp Yeast<br />1 1/2 C. Warm water<br />1 Tbs. Sugar<br />1 1/2 tsp. Salt<br />4 1/2 C. Flour<br />1 egg (lightly beaten for glaze)<br />Coarse salt<br /></div><br />1. Mix yeast, water & sugar in bowl. Allow to stand till foaming (about 5 minutes)<br />2. Stir in flour & salt. ( I think slowly is better)<br />3. Turn out onto lightly floured board or counter and knead about 8-10 minutes till smooth and elastic<br />4. Divide into 16 pieces (cover & keep the ones you aren't working with yet from getting all dried out... )<br />5. Roll each bit in to a 20" rope , and form into a pretzel shape ( or letters, etc.)<br />6. Place each as you make them onto a lightly greased baking sheet, cover and let them rise for 20 minutes.<br />7.Preheat the oven to 425 and brush the egg onto the pretzels, sprinkle with salt (or something else, like cheese, etc)<br />8. Bake for 15 minutes or till lightly brown. Cool on rack<br /><br /><br />OK, I messed this up and they still came out yummy, I just dumped all the flour in the bowl at once. This meant I couldn't mix it all into the dough properly, and it was REALLY hard to knead. Sometimes the amount of flour in bread recipes needs to be tweaked. I have a dry cold house, and I usually need less flour than called for. <br /><br />Anyhow, this made kneading a nightmare.... I did it though, and then when I was doing the rolling out, I forgot to keep the balls of dough moist... I had to use water on my hands to roll them out, and used the counter with a bit of moisture on it.<br /><br />Then to get the dough to rise well in our icebox house, I heated the oven to 170, left it on for 5 minutes, turned it off, let it cool a bit, and popped in the rising dough. I am not sure how long to hold the door open for, but this is the only way to get the dough to rise here. Well, the only Mark proof way.. (Our radiators are too close to the ground for safe dough rising) I have also heard of using a heating pad, and a couple towels under the pan, but we don't have one.<br /><br />So you can flub it up a bit, but the pretzels still are yummy! <br /><br />Just before baking:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CU-f4S39Ry8/TVWqYBxQS3I/AAAAAAAAAQM/1zJ5dm3Tubg/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CU-f4S39Ry8/TVWqYBxQS3I/AAAAAAAAAQM/1zJ5dm3Tubg/s400/012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572547443709463410" border="0" /></a><br />My cost per batch is about $1.54, or about 10 cents per pretzel. (40 cents per day) The cost of the single serving chips is about .36 per bag, or 1.44 per school day<br /><br />You could lower this by using different toppings. I figured the cost using roughly 2TBS coarse sea salt, but you could use regular salt, or just use cinnamon sugar, Parmesan, etcLanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-4615060010858691642010-11-18T15:43:00.000-08:002011-02-12T11:05:55.459-08:00Stay on target .... stay on target.....I get sidetracked easily.. When we started school in September,. I had resolved to iron out the kinks in the household maintenance system, and to have a routine that I was able to keep up with. I had a partial home cleaning schedule, and was working out the tweaks, then illness hit our home.<br /><br /> Asthma attack, chest congestion, fever, sore throat, eye growth issues and a bout of painful planar fascitus made for a very confusing and long Oct/Nov chaos. Then, to top it off, the almost 2 year old spilled coffee on my laptop, making it difficult at best to work with, (keyboard/mouse weird start up issues.) We had recently had to have a friend install a new hardrive on the desktop that died last may, and we hadn't transferred all the financial info over from the lap top yet.<br /><br />The clouds lifted, we were mostly better, then the baby had a fever again, and I totally forgot all about resetting the Celmer house. I was talking to Mike about school the other day, and I decided to draw up a comparison chart of all the different methods available to us in the year to come along with a detailed cost and effectiveness analysis. As I finished that, I realized that I hadn't even updated my housework notebook yet... It's been 3 months.<br /><br />FOCUS!!!!!!!!! This is easier said than done.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-3320525915634375802010-10-08T11:24:00.000-07:002011-02-12T11:05:41.748-08:00Craft organizer givaway...I love crafting... knitting, sewing, scrapbooking, cardmaking, quilting, beading, etc. This is just part of who I am, I create things to bless my family and friends.<br /><br />There is a downside to this though, where to keep it all.... Each of these lovely & fun hobbies has assorted tools, books, consumable items associated with it. I have only run across one item that would actually get it all organized, the <a href="http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/">Workbox</a>. (play the video, you will like it!)<br /><br />The company makes several versions, and they are currently having a giveaway of the slimmer, lighter version, <a href="http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/catalog/products/the-paper-tower">The Paper Tower</a>. This would enable the lucky owner to have all her scrapbook/cardmaking items stored neatly in the living space while looking neat & clean.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TK9lv0PytoI/AAAAAAAAAPw/ldH9NqqCKME/s1600/PaperTower.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TK9lv0PytoI/AAAAAAAAAPw/ldH9NqqCKME/s400/PaperTower.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525747139960026754" border="0" /></a><br />To enter the giveaway, you need to go to <a href="http://rachellewrites.blogspot.com/2010/10/back-to-school-paper-tower-giveaway.html">Rachelle's Writing Spot</a> and follow the instructions. Happy Crafting!Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-29940462290816329342010-10-04T05:00:00.000-07:002010-10-02T16:15:45.342-07:00Toddler diaper reviews....I have a toddler. It's hard to find cloth diapers that fit him well, and he is only 18 months old. We use pampers size 5 overnights for Sunday because he is a heavy wetter. We'll need to switch up to 6s next because he is wide of hip, and 5s seem to be too skimpy in the rear lately.<br /><br />Here are a few of the latest styles we have tried. I left off prefolds and fitteds, because Mark is a wiggler, and Mike isn't really into anything too complicated.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=98&products_id=2424">Bum Genius 3.0</a> --</span> ONE SIZE.... pockets<br />I bought these as seconds from cotton Babies, and I liked them for a long time, then I realized that something was wrong. The PUL (waterproof layer) had bubbled and peeled away from the fabric it was supposed to be backing.. This only happened with certain colors, and I am pretty sure that the PUL fabric was a bad batch. However, since these were seconds they were not under warranty. I had used them 6-7 months before I realized what was happening to them.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quality</span>- poor in the long run<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fit </span>- these stopped working well before we hit the 35 lb mark. We needed a longer rise.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Closure</span>- Velcro, I loved this at first because of the adjust-ability, but after they started falling off because the velcro would randomly come undone, I am less enthusiastic about aplix or velcro.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reliability- </span> Eh, ok I guess, not great, we had wicking (leaking) at the tabs from day one, and then with the pul issue, all the green ones are pretty much dead. The wicking isn't a problem if you stuff with the right amount of insert.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity</span> - The suede cloth was great for a while, but irritated him when he got bigger.<br />UPDATE: MArk has thinned out a wee bit, so we can get these on again, but without a pant to hold them on, they come undone when he runs...now I understand the snap only people :-)<br /><a href="http://hyenacart.com/fishnoodles/index.php?c=58"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Fishnoodles</span></span></a> - OS all in 2 -Seems thinner and less sturdy than the other diapers. I am afraid to rip it by stretching the tabs.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quality</span> -OK, not as sturdy as I would like.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fit-</span> ok for now, not sure about later. (small range of waist size)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Closure-</span> Snap<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reliability-</span> good, but works best with the snap in layers that came with it. Not so hot over other thicker inserts.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity-</span>No issues here! :-)<br /><a href="http://www.bumkins.com/"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bumkins </span></span></a>-- lots of cute prints<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quality</span>-- OK the waterproof layer in these is NOT pul, but some sort of water resistant stuff taffeta???.... ALWAYS leaked for us.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fit-</span> Fine, they have larger sizes, and we used these when Charlotte was potty training.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Closure</span>- velcro, but held together really well<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Reliability</span>- Poor, these leaked each time we used them, not around the legs, but straight through the fabric.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity</span>- This was the first cloth that we ever tried with Charlotte, and when she realized that she was WET, her eyes got big as saucers... the inner is cotton, like a prefold.<br /><a href="http://www.diaperjunction.com/rumparooz-one-size-diaper.html"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rump-ar-ooz</span></span></a> OS pocket Cute,<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quality-</span> Held up well so far, of course the fleece inside pills a little bit.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fit-</span> ok for now, not sure about later... these are getting small, mostly from double stuffing the front. (hey, I have a superwetter BOY)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Closure</span>- Snap<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reliability</span>- The inner gusset is great! <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity</span>- no issues<br /><a href="http://www.littleboppers.com/"><br /></a><a href="http://hyenacart.com/LittleBoppers/"><span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Little Boppers</span></span></a> - OS AI2-<br />Anne at Little Boppers is the fastest ship in the west! She was so prompt with shipping, that I would get her packages first even if I had ordered something a couple days before buying her dipes. The fit it great, and I LOVED these as soon as I opened the package. The fleece is now pilling a bit, but that happens to all fleece that is machine washed, at least all the fleece I've ever tried.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quality</span>- Great so far.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fit-</span> great! --<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Closure-</span> Snaps, and there is a cover for the snaps that are inside the diaper<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reliability-</span> work very well<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity-</span> No issues, the inner snaps have a cover, so nothing is rubbing against baby's skin.<br />The soakers that she makes are the best I've seen for a snap in multi layer. There are 3 sets of snaps to attach it to the shell, which gets great coverage where you want it. It also has multiple layers that all snap together, and you can get extra layers up front, or in the middle area. Because of the multiple layers it dries in one cycle, but is super absorbent.<br /><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheEliMonster"><br /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheEliMonster">Eli Monster</a> AIO</span>- these are uber cute, but they seem to always need a doubler for us, I just wish she also had a style with a snap in soaker... Or maybe I need some new doublers, I have old cotton babies rectangular ones that are a tad too wide thorough the crotch to fit most diapers well.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quality</span>- good<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fit-</span> OK for now.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Closure- </span>snap.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reliability </span>-OK with proper doubling. Not really nighttime worthy, but her new pocket styles might be. :-)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity</span>-No issues at all<br /><a href="http://tweedlebeeandtweedlebum.com/"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tweedlebum- XL</span></span></a> I bought a few used L ai2, and they need to be used with a doubler now. I also bought one lonely used XL, with a custom prefold soaker & booster. It is great, and I would love to buy more. They offer custom embroidery... SO COOL! we have a pirate ship, two musclecars, and a monster.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quality</span>- good<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fit-</span> fine, but we need the Extra Larges now at 18 months, but it is really hard to find XL dipes at all, so no complaining here!<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Closure- </span>snap.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reliabilty </span>- Great with proper doubling, and great on the hard to find prefold soaker! not really nighttime worthy<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity</span>- Suede cloth irritates Mark, so we had to pay extra for velour. :-)<br />UPDATE: I saved up enough to buy a custom from her, and the older style seems to work better for us, the new soakers are long & thin, but they seem to have twisted up inside, making them very non flat.; Also, the new one I bought just isn't as nice as the used ones. So, I probably wouldn't buy again.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/GreenBottoms"><span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Green Bottoms</span></span></a> Knit & pul cover with snap in minky topped soaker (a12) - L<br />I was surprised by this one. I was trying to get the largest Ai2 diapers that I could, and this didn't seem like it would work that well, but it is quickly becoming a favorite.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quality</span>- seems fine, time will tell... :-)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fit-</span> Surprisingly good, the snap attachment is far enough down in the back that it provides enough coverage in the front for a boy. Many other diapers that I tried with a snap in soaker had to be unsnapped to cover the front wet zone.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Closure</span> - snaps or aplix, your choice<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reliability </span>- good! The huge amount of absorption means that sometimes I can get away with just switching out the soaker and reusing the shell. However, you need to check the soaker after drying to make sure that it is all dry. We usually need 2 cycles to dry ours. Also, since the outer is knit, you need to have enough absorbency or it will wick a little bit.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity</span>- The minky is very nice, cushy, and non irritating.<br /><br /><br />Why do I bother with cloth? When I was potty training Charlotte, I realized that we were spending about $35 a month just for nighttime only diapers (Levi had enuresis for a while)<br />I bought 2 cloth diapers for each kiddo (<a href="http://www.happyheinystore.com/catalog.php?category=22">Happy Heiny Trainers</a>) and just washed them each day. We only used them at night with the big kids for about 6 months, but I still have them ready and waiting for Mark to grow into them. Anyhow, this experience opened my eyes to the fact that cloth was not as gross as it used to be! NO HORRID WETPAIL or dunking in the toilet! Cloth can be leakproof and easy.<br /><br />The eeeeeewwww factor is reduced by using flushable liners to flush away the ick, or just use a regular paper wipe to toss any ukko stuff...<br /><br />If you like paper, go for it! But, if like me you find the paper diaper expense too great, consider trying cloth. If I know you in real life, I'll spot you a diaper or two, so you don't have to spend a lot to try it out. :-)Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-80307701255706551972010-10-02T13:47:00.000-07:002010-10-02T14:26:38.404-07:00Semi-permanent Project Time!I need to do something each week that lasts a little longer than the average floor sweeping does (about 5 minutes)<br /><br />Here is what I did Friday. <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TKebEfScKoI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/s7zQLEdazL0/s1600/017.JPG"><br /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TKedB0PN83I/AAAAAAAAAPg/P0BJvOiY87s/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TKedB0PN83I/AAAAAAAAAPg/P0BJvOiY87s/s400/012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523556122521105266" border="0" /></a><br />I think I will eventually get around to hand embroidering some details on the Guitar, but for now, he has another long sleeve shirt to wear. That is, he will, as soon as I wash the coffee out of it. Yes, he got my mug after about 1 hour of new shirt joy. :-)<br /><br />The back<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TKebzr1cEeI/AAAAAAAAAPY/pNWYuYdd2_w/s1600/013.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TKebzr1cEeI/AAAAAAAAAPY/pNWYuYdd2_w/s400/013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523554780235698658" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The boy... my favorite part!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TKedXbQQOfI/AAAAAAAAAPo/qTgnn6h1THI/s1600/018.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TKedXbQQOfI/AAAAAAAAAPo/qTgnn6h1THI/s400/018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523556493771684338" border="0" /></a>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-9300430857151961622010-09-10T11:15:00.000-07:002010-10-02T14:27:18.080-07:00Back to school time...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TIqEvt2O1tI/AAAAAAAAAPI/dJqLIo4WCBQ/s1600/042.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TIqEvt2O1tI/AAAAAAAAAPI/dJqLIo4WCBQ/s400/042.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515366648964372178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TIqEf9MwFVI/AAAAAAAAAPA/D70cKVJSCGw/s1600/041.JPG"><br /></a><br /><br /><br />My kids are attending a private christian school this year. There, I've said it. I've been a bit nervous about telling people, because I know there are wonderful lovely folks who I love and respect who will be unhappy about this.<br /><br />Some have deep convictions that they should ONLY homeschool their children and that no-one outside of their family should teach them. Some just can't afford a good christian school, but are OK with using them. <br /><br />Even if you are in the latter category, it can feel very strange to have a friend not homeschooling. I was in that place myself a few times. I couldn't imagine sending my sweet kiddos away, to a place of strangers. I remember crying because a very good friend who had kids close in age wasn't going to homeschool, as I had assumed. I had visions of co-oping with them, and joint field trips to the zoo, farms, etc.<br /><br />Then I had 2 in school and a very busy toddler, combined with an increasing need to have a welcoming environment for my husband to come home to. (He had become a small business owner and was SUPER busy) I wasn't pulling it off. We were swimming in a sea of stress, chaos, and unhappiness daily, or just not getting the schoolwork done. I was having to choose, keeping on track with teaching, or keeping on track with my wifely duties.<br /><br />Can a homeschooling Mom do all the school and house managing well? YES! <br />Can everyone do this in all seasons? Maybe not. <br />For our family, it became best for all parties for the kids to be in a classroom setting for at least a year. And of course, for me to focus more of my time on the other duties that had pretty much slid away in the chaos of trying to teach 2 grade levels simultaneously and clean up the baby's 3rd giant mess of the day. I want to able to do well, not just stay afloat.<br /><br />So, having identified the issue, we brainstormed. We looked into help from both angles. Housecleaning, Christian school, laundry help, etc. We live in a fairly support group poor community... our church family has a few people who co-op together privately, but no formal homeschooling support group. I know of a single christian family that homeschools in our town. Beside, we live 30 minutes or more from most of the people at church with school age children. Merry maids was pretty expensive, and not all that we needed. A "Mother's helper" would have been useful, but I don't know anyone close by who could do that. We don't even have a local babysitter. (THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM!)<br /><br />We had been talking about it a little bit, and were leaning toward school, and then we had an unexpected tax refund. It was the perfect timing of need and provision of funds.<br /><br />So, here I am, rising early, packing lunch, driving, cleaning, driving, cooking and sleeping. It has been a whirlwind of a week, but I think after we adjust to the schedule, it should work quite well. The kids are doing very well, and their teachers are great.<br /><br />Does this mean we will never homeschool again? Probably not.<br /><br />Does this mean we will no longer be involved in the church homeschool community? NO WAY! I would love to get a group going to support other moms in the same position. Crashing and burning is no fun, and we should be involved in "one another-ing" one another. Maybe we don't all have to be the does-it-all-by-herself-super-mom all the time. :-)Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-10476249994136533922010-08-23T08:20:00.000-07:002010-10-02T14:27:32.278-07:00The Shabby Nest: A Super Fantabulous Product Giveaway<a href="http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2010/08/super-fantabulous-product-giveaway_23.html">The Shabby Nest: A Super Fantabulous Product Giveaway</a>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-54450862035724083842010-08-23T08:08:00.001-07:002010-10-02T14:27:50.468-07:00My dream givaway....I am a craftaholic, I admit it. I get all happy and must tighten the purse strings when a new craft gizmo is released. However, there are a few things that I think I would actually use, and the giveaway at <a href="http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2010/08/super-fantabulous-product-giveaway_23.html">The Shabby Nest </a>has what I want, the Silhouette digital cutting tool. (think printer, but with a knife instead of ink)<br /><br /><br />I know, you are too busy to scrapbook, but this cool thing can do vinyl too... Yes, those awesome birds on <a href="http://alittlebusy.blogspot.com/2010/08/more-progress.html">Amy's dryer</a> can now be yours. :-) You can use it to cut stencils and then etch glassware with them, and they also have temporary tattoo paper to cut out! My kids think that this is fun, but we view them more like stickers that last for days than "tattoos." There are no cartridges, it just cuts what you want to give it from your computer. <br /><br />Wishful thinking is fun sometimes isn't it?Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-9522507126733044072010-08-04T09:46:00.000-07:002010-08-04T10:07:04.536-07:00Car trip fun<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TFmeD0-8h2I/AAAAAAAAAOw/NqGim-oWg4I/s1600/sistersincar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TFmeD0-8h2I/AAAAAAAAAOw/NqGim-oWg4I/s400/sistersincar.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501602208409225058" /></a><br /><br />It all started 12-13 years ago, when my family was looking for a home to buy. We looked at every house in Oregon city that was close to ideal. For those who know it not, Oregon City is all hills. My little sister was 6ish at the time, and she got bored in the car on the way sometimes. Sooooo the faux-roller-coaster-car-entertainment was born. When driving up a hill, you make clacking sounds like a roller coaster heading up to the top, and then, when you rush down the hill on the other side you say (quietly in an inside voice) "Wheeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Arm raising, waving, and grinning ear to ear adds to the fun. <br />I still occasionally do this myself. <br /><br /><br />To my surprise, the last time were out & about, Mark started doing this to... He isn't very good at the "w" yet, so it was this in a sweet happy baby voice, "Eeeeeeeeeee!!!"<br /><br />If you don't mind a bit of noise in the car, you might show your kidlets the joy of roller coasters too....Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-17628970045171361622010-08-01T20:24:00.000-07:002011-02-12T11:06:03.751-08:00Loving Laundry tips...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TFYzLArfDRI/AAAAAAAAAOg/mHFOlYcXk8k/s1600/laundry+queen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TFYzLArfDRI/AAAAAAAAAOg/mHFOlYcXk8k/s320/laundry+queen.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>If you are tired of sorting & folding the giant mountain, here are some things that may help.<br /><br />1. Don't have 15 outfits per child over 2... this means you won't have as much to do when people run out of clothes. Maybe simple, mix & match around 6 playoutfits, and 2 church ones will suffice... main pont, PARE DOWN on excess laundry.<br /><br />2. Pack up non current clothing... no, I don't mean <i>style</i> silly! Just size, season, etc... You don't want to keep washing that maternity sweater that ends up on the floor for a year after your youngest turns 2.<br /><br />3. Use laundry bags, or baskets, but I recommend BAGS, they can be washed right along with the clothes, and they can hang on the back of the door, as long as you wash whats in them regularly. I still haven't found a great source for these... The nylon ones are plecchy feeling, and seem to be too big or too small. You can sew some pretty ones out of a heavier weight home dec stuff, or do a lined cotton version. You just want to be sure to add a strap to hang them up by.<br /><br />4. Make a schedule of laundry for your home, organized by the bag. Here's mine.<br /><br />Monday-Diapers, Mike's Jeans, Charlotte's<br /> --Jeans are Mikes work uniform, and being a mechanic, they get REALLY dirty (resolve, formerly Spray n Wash will remove grease if you use enough) --<br /><br />Tuesday - Levis, Towels, Sheets<br />Wednesday- Mark, Diapers, Lanas<br />Thursday--Kitchen Towels(yes, they have their own pretty bag...see below) Levi, Charlotte's<br />Friday- Towels, Lana, Mikes non jeans<br />Sat- Diapers, Levi , Charlotte<br /><br /><br />5. PUT the clothes right back into their bag out of they dryer, and put them away AS SOON AS THEY ARE DRY!<br /><br />No, I don't love laundry, but I am loving my family by getting them their clothes done BEFORE they need them.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TFY6WMp8OcI/AAAAAAAAAOo/jkitUF53W5E/s1600/kitchbag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/TFY6WMp8OcI/AAAAAAAAAOo/jkitUF53W5E/s320/kitchbag.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.livingonloveandcents.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp142/happygirlivy/untitled-3-1.jpg" /></a></center>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-26874647163717635772010-07-26T10:52:00.000-07:002010-10-02T14:28:20.501-07:00I'm reinstating my weekly planner...<div class="photo photo_center"><div class="photo_img"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6747506&op=1&view=all&subj=470146054185&aid=-1&auser=0&oid=470146054185&id=678657666"><img class="img" src="http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs174.snc4/38018_456340137666_678657666_6747506_4071662_a.jpg" /></a></div></div><br />
Monday <br />
<br />
O Dishes <br />
O Laundry Assignment <br />
O Sweeping <br />
O Personal/Project time <br />
O Monthly Chore <br />
O Swish Bathroom <br />
O Swish kitchen counters & microwave <br />
O Devotions <br />
O Hotspot -Put out the fire!! 15 minutes <br />
O Specific Chores <br />
O Lunches Packed <br />
<br />
Mommy- Menu Plan/Grocery Shopping<br />
Hotspot is Kitchen counter<br />
Laundry for today is Diapers, Charlotte's, Mike's Jeans<br />
<br />
Levi- Bring in and clean out church basket, and diaper bag<br />
Charlotte- Wipe off Mirrors <br />
<br />
<br />
Monthly Chore<br />
Week 1 - 2 pages scrapbook done<br />
Week 2 - Bills<br />
Week 3 - Scrapbook <br />
Week 4- BillsLanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-14030228083470736312010-07-14T17:29:00.001-07:002010-07-15T01:48:12.418-07:00BLECH!Reality check here....<br /><br />Up at 8:30, happy daughter is coloring on her window with window markers while the boys slept, ahhh lovely morning scene. ( she got the markers for her birthday. They are really neat! )<br /><br /><ul><li>9:00 I am dressed, and making coffee</li><li>I check email, and eat breakfast, doing a couple e-errands.</li><li>I start laundry.</li><li>I remember to bathe baby. (it's been a while) </li><li>I remind late rising child to eat breakfast. </li><li>I re-start laundry.</li><li>I move giant bag of soda downstairs onto the storage shelf and clean them while doing so<br /></li><li>I start to write out a couple recipes out on cards so that I won't have 5 extra cookbooks laying around.</li><li>Stop to judge a fight, discipline offenders.</li><li>Remind child to do their chores. </li><li>Change over laundry.</li><li>Sit down to pay bills and figure out how to import latest bank info to laptop computer.</li><li>(desktop had an accident a while back, now it can't find the hard drive.)</li><li>Lament the slowness of said laptop as it tries to deal with too much info... </li><li>Walk into the kitchen and remember the recipes that I had left 1/2 finished. </li><li>Finish up 5 cards. </li><li>TOSS 2 cookbooks. :-)</li><li>Get back to the laptop, and shout at children who ask is it time for lunch... Look up and realize that it is 3:00. </li><li>Apologize for epic Mommy fail, and encourage child who is sweetly trying to make lunch for all of us. </li><li>Refuse offer of picnic lunch, because I still haven't finished with the bills/computer issues.</li><li>Struggle with anger and frustration as I try to feed toddler, who refuses to eat, and instead sticks toothpicks all over sandwich</li><li>Kick 2 older kids out to the lawn to eat lunch. </li><li>Call back child who hit the other for no reason.</li><li>Discipline child. </li><li>Clean up messy baby</li><li>Put him on couch with winnie-the-pooh.</li><li>Call older two in, start them on cleaning tasks (we've still got time before swimming lessons)</li><li>Answer cries of emergency, emergency !! in the kitchen.</li><li>YES , it was... baby had followed sibling and after they had left the kitchen, opened up the no-no cupboard and proceeded to SOAK his front and face with googone stuff. </li><li>Panic while I search for the poison control number 1-800-222-1222, and instruct children to climb in the car so ER could be reached quickly just in case.</li><li>Get through to the Poison control, get off phone.</li><li>Get big kids out of the car, and proceed to bathe baby.</li><li>Attempt to give baby the 1/2 c. of juice recommended, but he will have none of it. </li><li>He looks like he wants the juice, maybe if I give him the cup... SPLASH... apple juice is added to the bath water. </li><li>Comfort child who thinks that maybe they killed the baby. </li><li>Clean baby, get him dressed while directing cleanup of giant slippery goo gone mess. </li><li>Realize that we have missed swimming lessons.</li><li>Realize that it is now 5.30, and there is nothing for dinner. </li></ul><br />I stink at this. I feel like the bugs in Microcosmos that follow each other, but end up in a pile, so confused they just sit there and twitch back & forth...<br /><br />But hey... at least the bills got paid right????Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-47017649889398358942010-07-11T17:03:00.000-07:002010-10-02T14:28:49.860-07:00Dancing With Crooked FeetMark had his checkup at Shriner's last week. I had been a little worried about it, since his feet seemed a bit curved in still. <br /><br />However, Dr. Sussman said that that was normal turning, not relapse, and Mark's feet are very flexible, and his feet are turned out when walking. Mark has been walking since Easter, and he loves to run now. He is very happy, and when he gets all excited about something like blueberries, he does a happy feet dance.<br /><br />I am so thankful for God's grace in providing us with Mark, and allowing us to live in a time where clubfeet are easily corrected, without multiple surgeries. <br /><br />It has given me a new perspective on Acts 3.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-24254860988454153492010-05-16T10:28:00.000-07:002010-05-16T13:12:16.020-07:00Menu PlanningWhat to make for dinner? You have several options if you want to start planning meals, or have them planned for you. Here are a few that I have stumbled across.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://e-mealz.com/amember/go.php?r=110356&i=l0">E-mealz </a></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cost: </span>$15 every 3 months, $1.25 per week.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shopping list:</span> Very nicely laid out, organized by food type, and has checkboxes. The list has staples listed separately across the bottom of the page, and is VERY easy to read. (the font of the staples list is pretty small, but I use glasses and it worked beautifully for me)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipes:</span> This is my favorite part!!! The layout an simplicity of the recipes is just AMAZING! There is a single page of recipes, no cards to flip through, multiple pages of clutter in my kitchen, just the single double sided page, with all the recipes on one side, and the shopping list on the other.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Flavor.</span>... This is pretty hard to rate, I find that with every plan, except my own, we don't like at least one meal, and often more per week. On the other hand, we have gotten a few Wowsa!! recipes as well.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delivery:</span> You must login to their site to print the plan out. Only 2 weeks info are on the site at any time, so be sure to print it out asap.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Samples: </span>Go ahead, check out the samples link on the <a href="http://e-mealz.com/amember/go.php?r=110356&i=l0">home page</a>. :-)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">E-mealz has menus for individual stores, as well as a regular plan that you can use with any store. Other options include, Vegtarian, Point System, Low Carb, Couples only, and also lots of combos, such as Low Carb Walmart.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://savingdinner.com/"><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:180%;" ><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Saving Dinner Menu Mailer</span></span></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cost:</span> $15 for 3 months, and far a limited time, $27 for 12 months<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shopping List</span>: A bit too cluttery for me. It breaks down the list by category of food, and also includes a special category for gluten free, and kosher options. So if I want to cook gluten free, I simply buy things from that category, and skip the corresponding regular item. This is great if you need this, but it makes it a bit confusing if you don't.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipes:</span> This plan comes with all of these options included in the one price, so you can choose a different style if you want to for the week. Low carb, heart healthy, regular, and each has a version for 2 or 4 servings.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Flavor:</span>There are some great recipes here, and some not so great. But with all plans, it is impossible to please everyone. :-) I LOVE the cube steak recipe!<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delivery: </span>an email will be sent each week, that has a link to the menu mailer. Like E-mealz, you must get it right away, since only the current and previous weeks are visible on the website. However, if you save the email, I think that you can see the mailer for much much longer than on the actual site. Of course, you can just save it on the computer.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sample</span>: You must sign up for their emails to get the sample week. (sample link located at savingdinner.com, NOT savingdinnershop.com)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> In a few weeks, they are starting a </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Custom </span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Menu-Mailer </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">service</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> ." As usual, you will get 4 different menus when you log onto your account. However, as an </span><em style="font-style: italic;"><strong>Elite Member</strong></em><span style="font-style: italic;">, you can choose which recipes you want out of those 4 menus to create your own custom menu, then click, push a button and you’ll have a customized shopping list to go with the menu you just created." I haven't tried this yet, but it looks interesting. This is listed under News, but I couldn't find a rate or actually check it out.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://www.menus4moms.com/kitchen/weeklymenu/archive/index.php"><br />Menus 4 Moms</a></span> (free and $5-$8 per month) the free are archived, under the menu plan basics bar on the left.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cost:</span> free!!!<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shopping list:</span> Simple Layout! Also has an estimate of the cost of each non staple item.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipes: </span>Recipes are on the webpage, so must print banners, bars & clutter as well.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Flavor: </span>Just a basic assortment of 4 person with leftovers, 6 without meals.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delivery:</span> Online archive only for free version.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Samples:</span> You need to create an account(free) and look on the left, under Menu Plan Basics, to access the Menu Archive.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This site was free with emailed menu planners for each week, but they had just too many people to keep up. You can access 6 years of recipes on the site, or if you don't want to have to remember, you can subscribe to one of their purchased plans. We liked a lot of these meals.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://hip2save.com/2010/05/you-in-bloom-week-two-day-four.html#more-19557"><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">You in Bloom</span></span></a><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> </span></span>(Free info on creating your own streamlined meal plans)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cost:</span> FREE!<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shopping List: </span>Just the way you like it!<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipes</span>: Laid out the way you like them.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Flavor: </span>This is your problem... :-)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delivery</span>: n/a<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You must put in a fair amount of work at the beginning, but should be pretty simple once you are set up. I like the laminated recipe cards idea, and the way she streamlines her recipes to only 30 dinners.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">My overall thoughts:</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Shopping List:</span> I like the layout of the E-meals plan, but I would prefer to use my own recipes. I have set up a spreadsheet in OpenOffice (free version of excel) and have arranged it ala E-meals.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Recipes: </span>simple, one page layout is what I like, and I am in the process of converting all my recipes to this format. I plan to keep a copy of my menu database in my coupon binder. This way, if I am shopping and notice that something I need for a recipe is on sale, I can grab the other ingredients for that meal on the fly.<br /><br />I am tired of getting out books to cook with in my limited counter space environment, so I would also like to eventually converting over to a box with laminated master recipes in it, and just printing out my meal plan for the week to keep on the fridge.<br /><br />I also hate eating the same things for lunch each day, so I hope to have a menu plan ready for our lunches soon.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7238258105115912626.post-40016869653949929372010-03-27T08:05:00.000-07:002010-03-27T09:24:12.146-07:00All The Rage Raglans<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/S64j7RWMXSI/AAAAAAAAAOE/eN9j8eNForE/s1600/levi+raglan.jpg"> <img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/S64j7RWMXSI/AAAAAAAAAOE/eN9j8eNForE/s400/levi+raglan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453335699967991074" border="0" /></a>Well, I finally got around to another creativity project. My wee people needed more long sleeve shirts, walmart has switched to summer clothing, and the thrift store was out as well. Once again, I turned to my favorite instant gratification sewing pattern fix website, <a href="http://www.youcanmakethis.com/index.htm?cxaaffrefcodea=1039330265">You Can Make This</a>. I love being able to buy and print the pattern without having to load the children into the car and drive for 30 minutes, etc. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/S64j2-YFcpI/AAAAAAAAAN8/W0O-3avbo1E/s1600/raglan+mark.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wtZAxPOuvmQ/S64j2-YFcpI/AAAAAAAAAN8/W0O-3avbo1E/s320/raglan+mark.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453335626156176018" border="0" /></a>I used tshirts from the resale store around the corner to make these shirts. After all, it is prewashed fabric, and if you are careful, you can avoid some hemming. Knits can be hard to find locally, and I always balk at ordering fabric online, so this was the perfect solution for us. This is fun too, because you never know what fun print you will find, like Willy Wonka jr, or rockin' guitar... :-)<br /><br />I had never sewn a raglan sleeve before, and was surprised by the ease and speed that these came together. I think that deciding what fabric to use for which part of the shirts took longer than actually sewing them up.<br /><br />Having an outlet for my creativity really helped lift my spirits. It is easy to get bogged down in the never ending cycle of laundry/home school/fishing the baby out of messes. For me, sewing is peaceful, fun work that doesn't become undone after 15 minutes.<br /><br />Enjoy The Day!Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515957334885548260noreply@blogger.com4