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-Paula
Entertain Your Kids, the Cheap and Easy Way
If you wander into a Toys R Us or stroll down the aisle of any major store, you might think that kids these days need battery-operated light-up noise machines in order to be entertained. If you watch commercials with your kids *shudder* you will find yourself being told that they need the latest and greatest toys to keep them entertained, occupied and happy. Let’s all say together what we know to be true: They Are Wrong.
Actually, I have found that the things my kids find most engaging tend to be the cheapest and easiest forms of play. Often their favorite toys are things that were never intended to be toys in the first place. Allowing our kids to play and use their imaginations is so valuable, as is teaching them that they don’t need stuff to be happy. So, I thought I’d share with you some of my daughters’ favorite cheap and easy forms of entertainment. (Bonus: Many of these things can be done alongside you as you work in your house. That means you don’t have to wait until naptime or bedtime to go on an all-out cleaning frenzy!)
1. “Washing” dishes in the sink. This is a huge hit with my 4 year old. A couple of inches of water, a squirt of soap, a few dishes and she’s good to go. Yes, her shirt usually ends up soaked, but it’s only water. And, it is a good pre-rinse for dishes while I’m preparing dinner. Washing vegetables is also loads of fun.
2. Cutting up…anything. Obviously, this is only for kids old enough to use scissors, but the older crowd loves to cut once they figure out how. Clipping coupons? Give them the ones you don’t want and let them have at it. My daughter’s current cutting obsession is fabric scraps. She loves to make “dresses” for all of her imaginary friends using my smallest sewing scissors. (Under my supervision, of course!)
3. “Cooking” while you cook. Here is one even the little guys can do. While your cooking, give them a bowl and spoon of their own to use. (Hint: metal spoons and bowls make a better sound than plastic ones.) If you’re feeling brave (and if they won’t eat too many) give them a handful of dried beans or rice to stir in their bowls. Yes, you will need to sweep afterwards, but you will also get to cook with 2 hands.
4. Actually cooking with you. Again, this is not something wee ones can do, but my preschooler has been cooking with me in some form or fashion since she was around 2 1/2. I’ll admit that it takes a little longer and usually makes a bigger mess, but she loves helping stir and dump and measure. I know that when she is grown we will both cherish the memories of cooking together and I can’t wait until my youngest can join in.
5. Wiping off furniture with a rag. Whenever I dust or clean windows or such, the girls love to have their own rags to clean with or, on special occasions, the fuzzy little duster thing we own. Along these same lines, giving kids a little brush and dustpan is also a great idea. They are very cheap and fun, even if no actual gathering of crumbs takes place.
6. Digging in dirt and planting things. Not the cleanest of activities, but kids wash up pretty well. Invest in a little garden spade and rake and watch them go. Both our girls are enjoying helping us with the garden this year. It is a very cool thing to see their eyes when the seed they planted actually grows into a plant! And seeds are cheap : )
There are tons of other fun, easy, and cheap (or free) activities that will entertain your kids for hours. Simple Mom has a post with some great ideas and I’m sure you have some of your own, so please share!
Filed under family, motherhood
Survival Tips for Working From Home
With technology making the world a smaller place, it seems like more and more folks are working from home. Especially moms. As parents, working at home is a great way to provide some extra income while not giving up [too much] time with your family. My husband and I are both blessed to work from home at least part of the time. He runs a non profit ministry and pastors a church from our home office and while I teach outside of the house 2 days a week, I do all of the rest of my work at home.
While working from home is a WONDERFUL thing, it also takes a little creativity and a lot of…well…work to be successful. So, as I gear up for another school year I thought I’d share some of what we’ve learned in our home office journey.
1. SCHEDULES ARE YOUR FRIEND. While it is tempting to just sit back and go with the flow when you work from home, it can end up feeling like you work all the time but never accomplish anything. To avoid wasting time and energy, give yourself a schedule. My husband and I both sat down and made a list of all the things we need to accomplish in a week and then customized a schedule for each of us…even for the tasks that aren’t actually work related (i.e. grocery shopping, lawn maintenance, etc). Our schedules help keep us on track and greatly increase our efficiency (and decrease our tendency to leave things until the last minute).
2. WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING, DON’T WORK. Once you have your schedule in place, stick to it. Especially your downtime. Resist the urge to work on your website on Saturday morning, unless that’s your scheduled time to do it. Sure, when you work from home you can work any time, but you shouldn’t work all the time.
3. CONTAIN YOUR WORK SPACE. We live in a fairly small home and within it we house a non-profit organization, a church headquarters, a teacher’s office, a home school, and a family of four. Yes, sometimes my lesson plans end up on the dining room table and sometimes our coffee table doubles as a mail center for our non-profit…but as much as possible we try to contain work to the office, which was finished in our basement with the help of family and friends. If you don’t have extra space for an office, at least try to have a designated desk or storage box to contain your stuff. Then when you’re finished with work you can put it away and really be finished.
4. BE FLEXIBLE. Okay, so this is the one I am really trying to work on. I love a schedule. I thrive on schedules. But one nice thing about working from home is that when the schedule gets thrown off course, or thrown overboard altogether, it’s not the end of the world. So I was supposed to grade papers on Friday morning and my kid woke up with a fever of 102. The papers will have to wait. The ability to be flexible is a gift, so don’t freak out when the day runs askew (I say to myself over…and over).
How many of you work from home? If you do, what are some of the things you do to keep your sanity and your job??
Filed under family, motherhood
There are No Stupid Questions…
On a recent drive to my parents’ house, I was first annoyed and then amused by the INSANE amount of questions my daughter asked. If you are a parent of a preschooler, you can sympathize. Here are the ones I can remember, the way she asked them, in the order she asked them (as best I recall):
Are they fixing the road?
How do you fix roads?
Why do they have to fix the road?
Why do trucks carry cars? [after seeing a tow truck]
What fixing place are they going to?
Are they going to our fixing place?
When can Ella [her best friend] spend the night?
Is that the car wash we went in Gigi’s car?
Was Ella with us when we went there?
How old were we?
Were our babies borned yet? [referring to their younger siblings]
Are we close to the Waffle House?
Where did Maw Maw use to live?
Is that her road?
What just happened? [in response to a honking horn]
Why did that car not go when he was supposed to?
Will a policeman get him?
Why won’t a policeman get him?
Do dogs bleed?
Are we almost there?
Ah, the inquisitiveness of children. I smile and try to remind myself that this is how she learns about the world, that asking questions is a good thing, something to be encouraged.
And I relish the days when she wants to play the quiet game : )
Filed under motherhood
Learning to Really Love
As I write this, I am tired. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and I can’t seem to get the sleep out of my eyes. I was up in the middle of the night with a feverish kid then up early this morning with a hungry one. I have already played 2 rounds of Candy Land, read every Angelina Ballerina book we own, and vacuumed while holding a very heavy 18 month old to keep her from screaming. And it’s not even lunchtime yet.
As moms, there are always a million things in a day (and night) that exhaust us. Rare are the days when we get to sleep at a decent hour and wake the next morning bright eyed and bushy-tailed. As so many have said before, in parenthood there are no days off. Whether you’re tired, under the weather, upset, or just plain grumpy, the kiddos are always there, raring to go and looking for a worthy opponent in a good game of Candy Land. The daily challenge is to smile and laugh and love regardless of how we feel at that moment. The call is to not be overtaken by frustration but to enjoy the wonder of parenting even on the exhausting days.
I recently got Sandra McCracken’s live album “Live Under Lights and Wires”. It is excellent. One of my favorite songs on it is titled “Storehouse” and the chorus includes these lines:
When I give you all that I have to give,
I still have the storehouse full.
In her intro to the song (one of my favorite features of live recordings, by the way) McCracken talks about how it relates to the birth of her son. She remarks, “When you feel like you’re at your wits end, you’re just beginning to learn to love somebody.” Those words struck me when I first heard them and ring so true as I listen to them again. Really loving someone- sacrificially, unselfishly- is a tremendously hard thing. That kind of love is born out of the crucible. It is realized when you give and give and give…and then still find your storehouse full.
Sounds like motherhood, doesn’t it?
Filed under motherhood
Creative Solutions
Real Simple is one of the few magazines I have ever really enjoyed reading. Before my gift subscription ran out, one of my favorite regular features was called “New Uses for Old Things”. It was a wonderfully creative little section where they would take everyday items (like felt pads for chair legs) and give you a new use for them (like quieting slamming cabinet doors).
Even without my subscription to Real Simple, I’ve been able to find a few New Uses for Old Things myself. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? And, I’m sure that all of you have a few tips and tricks of your own, so please share!
The first one I have uses the same felt pads as the magazine example. However, I currently use them to quiet loud children’s toys. I have no idea why toy manufacturers have decided that volume control is unnecessary, but they have. Enter sticky felt pads! The pre-cut circular ones work nicely on many speakers, but you can also buy the plain sheets and cut them to fit any size. Duct tape also works well for this purpose, layering it can tailor the volume to your specifications nicely!
I recently needed a new solution for storing bath toys. The little frog mounted on the wall was cute, but after it fell off the wall for the 3rd time, I decided we needed something else. Ever heard of mesh lingerie bags? They are these lovely little bags (usually with a zipper closure) for putting your dainties in when you wash. Now, I have never used them for that purpose, but when I saw one at the store decided that it was the perfect size for keeping all of our foam letters, fish, and mermaid dolls in between splash fests. It even has a little loop to hang it up, which speeds drying. And, it was $1.50!!
Next is an idea I got from the Simple Mom blog on making your own composting bin. You can link to the site here for the full explanation, but the project basically involves turning a large garbage can into a fabulous compost bin in a few simple steps. I love it and I’m heading to Home Depot to get a trash can ASAP!
Finally, a tip for any of you making your own baby food. (It’s simple, healthy, and usually much cheaper than the jarred stuff). Ice cube trays make perfect little cubes of frozen fruits and veggies! Yes, I know that lots of places sell those little freezer cube storage things, but ice cube trays are much cheaper and work wonderfully. Each little cube is about 1 oz and they can be popped out and stored in Ziploc bags in no time. Just warn your husband so that he doesn’t go for ice and end up with frozen peas : )
I’m sure there are tons more that you all know that will leave me saying, “Wow! Why didn’t I think of that?” Let the creativity commence!
Filed under motherhood
Vacation Reflection
My husband, daughters, and I recently returned from an amazing vacation in Sea Grove Beach, FL. God graciously provided a condo for free through Spencer’s fabulous aunt, Waverly, and He also provided an amazing beach, great times with family, and gorgeous weather. It was the longest vacation my husband and I have EVER taken (not including mission trips) and it was wonderful.
My tendency is to enjoy blessings like this while they last, but then rush headlong back into routine, work, and general busyness the moment we arrive home (sometimes I even get ahead of myself and start worrying about those things before we get home). But this time, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on the blessing of this vacation, and the God who provided it.
First, I am thankful for the time with my family. It is so nice to be able to play with my girls, talk with my husband, and not be thinking “I need to fold the laundry, and start the dishwasher, and when am I going to have time to work on that project for school?” The distractions were at a bare minimum (thanks, in part, to the meltdown of our laptop some months ago) and it was great! It was so much fun to see the girls experience new and different things, like playing in the waves, building sandcastles, and jumping into the pool (unattended) for the first time! Oh, and I even came close to finishing a book while we were there…such good times.
There is also the blessing of enjoying time with extended family. Piper and Haddyn got to spend time with cousins they don’t regularly see, hopefully furthering those relationships for now and in the future. They also got to bond with their aunt & uncle on Spencer’s side and even spend time with Birdie & Pitts (one set of grandparents) in a totally new setting. I am enormously thankful for all of these people and the experiences we were able to share with them.
And, of course, I can’t leave out the blessing of spending time in God’s incredible creation. Soaking in the surf, sand, and sun (with proper SPF, of course) was relaxing and rejuvenating. Watching the few storms we saw roll in was even a blessing, to have a chance to marvel at the power and strength of the creation around us.
All of these things were good. They were great, in fact, and my heart is filled with gratitude for them. But I fear that my reflection would be empty if it were to stop there, because thankfulness is not meant to be an end unto itself. These gifts are not meant to satisfy me in and of themselves, indeed they cannot. They are meant to point me to the one who gives all good gifts. They are meant to point me to God.
That is what I think C.S. Lewis meant when he said:
Pleasures are shafts of glory as it strikes our sensibility … I have tried to make every pleasure into a channel of adoration. I don’t mean simply by giving thanks for it. One must of course give thanks, but I meant something different … Gratitude exclaims, very properly, “How good of God to give me this.” Adoration says, “What must be the quality of that Being whose far-off and momentary coruscations [flashes of brilliance] are like this!” One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun …
When we arrived home, my husband preached on this concept because it was something that had struck both of us so profoundly during our time away. My reflexive response to blessing is to say, “Thanks, God!” But how much more is God glorified when I don’t stop there but continue to ponder how great and amazing is the God who gives such blessings. I pray that my mind will run “back up the sunbeam to the sun” more often now, whether those sunbeams strike my face on the beach in Florida or right here in Canton.
If you’re a friend on Facebook, you can check out our family vacation video.
Filed under family
Packing Essentials for Family Vacation
Next week our foursome will be heading to Sea Grove to hang at the beach for a while. I am extremely excited! Ahhhh, a week at the beach with nothing but sand, surf, my family…and all of the stuff we can possibly cram into the luggage carrier on our Jeep. Vacations are the best!
One of the things I have learned as a mom is that I am not organized enough to pack without the help of a list. Take our overnight trip to Atlanta just last week when I neglected to put the diaper bag in the car! Seriously?? Seriously. Of course, this list will go way beyond the usual “bathing suit, 5 shirts, flip-flops”. I am trying to think of all the stuff mom, dad, and 2 girls will need for a week away (which can reasonably fit into a luggage carrier). So, I thought I’d give you my Top Ten list of essential items for family vacations. Underwear and socks are assumed : )
1. A portable fan or noise machine. We take a small portable fan with us most places and it has been a wonderful help. It drowns out noisy hotel neighbors or the movie mom and dad are watching in the next room when the kids are sleeping.
2. A stocked medicine bag/First Aid kit. I learned my lesson when I had to spend $10 for the world’s smallest bottle of Motrin in a hotel gift shop. Now I go prepared, including the thermometer and the medicine dropper.
3. Snacks and breakfast food. Of course, if you are staying in a place with a kitchen, you will probably be taking lots more. But even hotel rooms will have hot water for instant oatmeal (via the coffee maker) and eating in will save tons of money!
4. The stroller. This is one my husband and I have often debated, just because the thing takes up so much room! You will regret not having it, however, when you hear for the hundredth time, “My feet hurt! I can’t walk anymore!”
5. Books and toys, but don’t overdo it! As a mom, I often forget how entertaining it is just to be in a new place! My kids never need as much “stuff” to entertain them when we are away. However, I always have a bag of favorites (books, paper, crayons, a game or two) for rainy days.
6. Lots of baby wipes. Even if all your children are potty-trained, baby wipes are a must have. They are extremely handy when you have to eat in the car (for the kids AND the car seats) and are great for wiping ice cream off of faces, cleaning hands when there isn’t a bathroom around, etc, etc.
7. Essentials specific to your destination. For our beach trip this will include things like buckets, shovels, sunscreen, hats, beach towels, etc. I know, I know, the gift shop is fun. But I’m cheap, and these things are always much pricier when you wait until you reach your destination to buy them.
8. Camera, video camera, along with extra batteries and/or charger. This one is probably a given, but I’ll put it on my list just to be sure we remember all the parts. Quite frustrating to have your digital camera’s battery die on day 3 and realize you forgot the charger.
9. Your journal (if you keep one). If you regularly write in a journal or diary, be sure to take it! I love recording my girls’ reactions to seeing new things, like Haddy’s first encounter with waves. If you don’t keep one, consider starting one while on vacation!
10. A thankful and positive perspective on the adventure ahead. I’m aware that vacations can be a lot of work for moms. But be mindful of the fact that your attitude greatly affects your children. If you are stressed and high-strung, they will likely respond in kind. So, relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the fact that the Lord allows us to rest, even if the packing list is 3 pages long ; )
What are the items you don’t leave home without?
Filed under family, motherhood
A Twist on Twitter
If you have read the first post I wrote for this blog, you know that I resisted the Twitter account my husband set up for me at first. Even once I started Twittering or Tweeting or whatever you want to call it, I wasn’t really convinced. I followed a handful of people and some of them followed me back. I found out about some interesting album releases and was updated on what several people were eating on a daily basis. But I still wasn’t sold. I just kept wondering what the real point was. What was this Twitter thing actually going to accomplish?
In the past week, however, my appreciation for Twitter has increased tenfold and I have been amazed at how it, and technologies and applications like it, are truly changing the way the world works. One word: Iran.
I have been fascinated not only by the events unfolding since the “election” took place in Iran, but by the impact that different networking media applications have had. News from Iran has been severely restricted through official sources, but Iran has not been able to contain the posts on Twitter, videos on You Tube, and Facebook updates that have been coming from those within the country. In fact, much of the reporting that is taking place is based heavily on those sources.
Even the U.S. Government understands the far-reaching effects of Twitter. They actually asked Twitter to postpone their scheduled maintenance, which would have taken the site off-line for 90 minutes during the daytime in Iran on the Monday following the election. The government did not want this vital line of communication for the protesting Iranians to be out of reach for even an hour and a half. And Twitter complied.
Part of me wonders if the developers of Twitter (and the other sites) could have ever fathomed this type of impact back in their meager beginnings. I’m fairly confident that they first few people who heard about Twitter probably replied, “You want to do what? No one will ever go for that.” At least, that’s what I would have said.
Who could have known? Who could have known that Facebook, originally developed as a social networking site for college kids, would become a major factor in exposing the brutality of an oppressive government to the watching world? Who would have guessed that Twitter, with it’s excruciatingly limited 140 characters and childish name, would be asked by the United States Government to please stay online in order to assist would-be revolutionaries in a Middle Eastern country? But this is the way of technology. Ideas are hatched, advances are made, programs are developed and they have a tendency to take on a life of their own. The waiting world dreams up applications that the originators never could have conceived. And the world is changed.
So, I’m glad my husband dragged me onto Twitter all those months ago. Glad that I fought through the annoyance of having to be succinct in my updates. Glad that I made it through the Ashton Kucher/CNN propaganda without being jaded (or ever following Ashton). And I am glad that I can now watch and know how to pray for my fellow images of God in Iran as they struggle and share their plight in new ways with the global community.
Filed under Technology
A Dad and His Girl
Like all parents, we are occasionally awakened in the night by cries from our children. These days they are usually caused by a bad dream or a need to pee. Most recently, our 4 year old awoke calling for a glass of water. Daddy was the first to respond this night and stumbled, half asleep, into the kitchen to fix water to quench the middle of the night thirst. He made his way into her room, dimly lit by the glow of the Snoopy nightlight. As he handed her the water and turned to head back to his own waiting bed he heard her speak softly.
“Daddy, I scooted over for you.”
“What, honey?” he asked.
“I scooted over for you. See?” She showed him the space she had made in her little twin bed.
How could he resist? Logic and exhaustion both said to tell her thanks, but she needed to go back to sleep on her own and that he was going to sleep in his own bed. His nice, adult sized bed. But logic and exhaustion were no match for the love of a Daddy for his little girl. The heartstrings won out. The voices that said, “She’s so sweet. She won’t stay little forever. One day she won’t be in your house any more to scoot over for you,” ruled the night and a tired dad squeezed himself into the little twin bed with the purple flowered bedspread and took up the space his daughter had so thoughtfully made for him.
These are the moments that we realize what a precious gift parenthood is. In the soft glow of a nightlight we see our children, beautifully and wonderfully made, asking for us to love them, care for them, just be with them. To be sure, there are hard days and difficult decisions and fatiguing times and struggles. But then there are these moments, when we can simply relish in the fact that we are their parents and they are our children. When a Dad and his girl can be together and simply thank God that they have each other.
Filed under family, motherhood
