- Baby had a nasty ear infection in both of her ears, and a wheezy cough to go with it. So I've been operating on limited sleep. Survival doesn't allow for blogging, so hence a week went by without an entry.
-Hubby started his new job Mon. He hates to be inefficient, and so he's struggling to find his groove in the new company.
-I discovered a GF french bread recipe that is easy and delicious. I first "discovered" French bread in the Ivory Coast (colonized by the French ), and I have been a avid fan ever since. It's a little dangerous to know how to make a good GF version.
- We're reading short stories about a country vet in school. E is feeling very sorry for himself for being the only kid around without a pet. I, personally, ADORE being pet-free, but I am feeling a bit guilty.
- Bub's been limping more lately.
- M has turned a corner in reading - and is gettting better all the time.
-Baby's adoption should (in theory) be finalized by July. I'm starting to get annoyed by all the home visits. I really like both our workers, but the whole thing is starting to feel intrusive. Worth it, but intrusive.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Yellow Walls and Old Furniture: A Life Sans Cub Scouts
When we moved into our house I was sick of earth tones; I wanted something bright and cheery. I painted most of the walls in my house a pale yellow. It's a nice color, but still, its a lot of yellow. Now, I want some earth tones. And I want some new furniture. Actually, I'd like a lot of new furniture. If I talked to hubby about it I'm sure he'd agree to me pick out a new piece or two. But that is not the issue. The issue is not if I CAN get new furniture, but whether I SHOULD get new furniture (and paint).
Cub Scouts is seemingly unrelated to the furniture dilemma, but allow me a chance to explain. I want E to be involved in Cub Scouts. It'd be great for him, and I think he'd love it. The problem is that we have activities planned Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday evenings. M is in art lessons and E is doing rock climbing. This is about as much as our schedule can handle. So its not a question of whether Cub Scouts is a good thing, but rather whether Cub Scouts is a good thing for our family right now.
There's nothing wrong with furniture or activities. But for now we are swimming upstream against the culture and choosing less, not more. We're choosing old furniture, and fewer activities. We're choosing homeschool, not charter. We're choosing an old van, not new car payment. We're choosing more family time, and more giving - and frankly, I fight it.
I want stuff. I am not immune to suburbia. I feel its call to business, and perfection, and achievement and affluence. Sometimes the clearance racks at Gap, and the Potterybarn Magazine are like Sirens singing me their seductive song. "Buy Me, You'll look so put together, and hip. Buy me, this is an opportunity that you shouldn't let slip you by. " But like the Siren's song, the song of suburbia leads to destruction. More and better are the enemies of contentment. Activity is the enemy of community. Heaven doesn't look like Potterybarn.
Cub Scouts is seemingly unrelated to the furniture dilemma, but allow me a chance to explain. I want E to be involved in Cub Scouts. It'd be great for him, and I think he'd love it. The problem is that we have activities planned Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday evenings. M is in art lessons and E is doing rock climbing. This is about as much as our schedule can handle. So its not a question of whether Cub Scouts is a good thing, but rather whether Cub Scouts is a good thing for our family right now.
There's nothing wrong with furniture or activities. But for now we are swimming upstream against the culture and choosing less, not more. We're choosing old furniture, and fewer activities. We're choosing homeschool, not charter. We're choosing an old van, not new car payment. We're choosing more family time, and more giving - and frankly, I fight it.
I want stuff. I am not immune to suburbia. I feel its call to business, and perfection, and achievement and affluence. Sometimes the clearance racks at Gap, and the Potterybarn Magazine are like Sirens singing me their seductive song. "Buy Me, You'll look so put together, and hip. Buy me, this is an opportunity that you shouldn't let slip you by. " But like the Siren's song, the song of suburbia leads to destruction. More and better are the enemies of contentment. Activity is the enemy of community. Heaven doesn't look like Potterybarn.
In my inbox!
I'm an aunty - again. Got this message in my inbox this morning. Yea! Can't wait to meet my new niece.
To all, Last night, ok EARLY this morning we had the honor to welcome a new member to the Crocker household. Adalyn Joy Crocker was born this morning at 12:06 via C section.She was six pounds on the nose and 19" long. Last night we noticed decreased baby movement and Gretch decided to go to the hospital to have a look. Well they decided that the baking conditions were not that good and that Adie needed to come out. I rushed down to the hospital (thanks Matt and Mike) and met Gretch there. Kari was a huge support and come down as well. All went well for the surgery and we have a happy and healthy Momma and Baby. She is recovering at Littleton Hospital and is going to bored out of her mind so visitors are quite welcome!
To all, Last night, ok EARLY this morning we had the honor to welcome a new member to the Crocker household. Adalyn Joy Crocker was born this morning at 12:06 via C section.She was six pounds on the nose and 19" long. Last night we noticed decreased baby movement and Gretch decided to go to the hospital to have a look. Well they decided that the baking conditions were not that good and that Adie needed to come out. I rushed down to the hospital (thanks Matt and Mike) and met Gretch there. Kari was a huge support and come down as well. All went well for the surgery and we have a happy and healthy Momma and Baby. She is recovering at Littleton Hospital and is going to bored out of her mind so visitors are quite welcome!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Invisible
This morning I woke up thinking about a friend of mine (a mom) who is struggling with depression and feeling insignificant. I get that. I understand the sadness and unshakable feelings of despair that are part of walking through life with depression as a companion. I get the insignificance thing too, because I've been there. But feeling insignificant doesn't mean you ARE insignificant, especially as a mom.
You remember that Bette Middler song, "The Wind Beneath My Wings". The thing about wind is you can't see it. It's invisible. Good moms are the proverbial wind beneath the wings of their family. They pack lunches, and drive carpool. They read stories, wipe noses and behinds. They do laundry, make dinner, and apply band-aids - sometimes simultaneously. Good moms create an environment for their family to thrive. But the nitty gritty of building an environment to thrive are endless thankless tasks. No wonder moms feel insignificant, so much of what they do is unseens, and taken for granted. But the service of a mother, just like the wind beneath the wings of an eagle in flight, is essential.
I have another friend, who is adopting a little girl from China. The little girl is almost 4 and has significant special needs. But probably the biggest hurdle to overcome, for this family, is healing a little girl who has not had a mother's love. She has spent her young life without the security of a mother to rock her, or kiss her owies, or give her baths and read her stories. These little acts of service, are critical to a child's health and survival. Children who grow up without them are hurting and broken. They need a family. They need consistent, determined, self-less mother-love. In most cases, it is their only hope.
My friend, the one who is feeling insignificant, is a great mom. Her boys are some of the most well adjusted, happy, healthy kids on the planet. What she does as a mom may be invisible, but I can sure see the effects in her boys. They have been well loved, and nurtured, and she has no idea of the legacy she is leaving. In God's economy her acts of service could not be more significant.
Sometimes the invisible things are the most important.
You remember that Bette Middler song, "The Wind Beneath My Wings". The thing about wind is you can't see it. It's invisible. Good moms are the proverbial wind beneath the wings of their family. They pack lunches, and drive carpool. They read stories, wipe noses and behinds. They do laundry, make dinner, and apply band-aids - sometimes simultaneously. Good moms create an environment for their family to thrive. But the nitty gritty of building an environment to thrive are endless thankless tasks. No wonder moms feel insignificant, so much of what they do is unseens, and taken for granted. But the service of a mother, just like the wind beneath the wings of an eagle in flight, is essential.
I have another friend, who is adopting a little girl from China. The little girl is almost 4 and has significant special needs. But probably the biggest hurdle to overcome, for this family, is healing a little girl who has not had a mother's love. She has spent her young life without the security of a mother to rock her, or kiss her owies, or give her baths and read her stories. These little acts of service, are critical to a child's health and survival. Children who grow up without them are hurting and broken. They need a family. They need consistent, determined, self-less mother-love. In most cases, it is their only hope.
My friend, the one who is feeling insignificant, is a great mom. Her boys are some of the most well adjusted, happy, healthy kids on the planet. What she does as a mom may be invisible, but I can sure see the effects in her boys. They have been well loved, and nurtured, and she has no idea of the legacy she is leaving. In God's economy her acts of service could not be more significant.
Sometimes the invisible things are the most important.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Paying Attention
"It is no accident that we speak of PAYING attention to people; attention is the most valuable currency we have." - John Ortberg
Ain't that the truth.
Every night before bed my M needs to be tucked in, kissed on the nose, and sung her song. She's five, and that's probably reasonable. But it is always so painful to me. I know this should be one of those special bonding moments that I look forward to with my daughter, but, I'm ashamed to admit, I don't. I'm done by the end of the day. I'm done working, and parenting, and giving. I'm spent, and I feel like I have nothing left to give. But my daughter needs me, and so I sing her song, and tuck her in, and kiss her nose. It costs me. I literally PAY attention to her.
One of the reasons we chose to homeschool is to preserve relationships. Homeschooling forces me to invest face time with my kids. It gives me plenty of opportunity to capture their hearts and listen. Sometimes I let those opportunities slip through my fingers, and sometimes I grasp onto them like the treasures they are.
Often the opportunity to connect to my kids passes me by because it feels like it will cost too much. After all, I have dishes to wash, papers to grade, and calls to make, I certainly don't have time to read another story or paint another picture. But this is such a false economy. Relationships, family and friendship are the richness of life. While its true that it will always cost me to PAY attention to the people in my life, I need to remember that there is no better investment. People matter. Friendship is vital. Community is essential.
This last month I have been working out faithfully, and eating healthily. It's hard and it takes discipline but I'm starting to see the pay-off in my overall health. I think relationships are like that too. I've got to PAY attention, I've got to make the investment in people, but there is a payoff. If I value relationships then my life will be full of rich community.
Ain't that the truth.
Every night before bed my M needs to be tucked in, kissed on the nose, and sung her song. She's five, and that's probably reasonable. But it is always so painful to me. I know this should be one of those special bonding moments that I look forward to with my daughter, but, I'm ashamed to admit, I don't. I'm done by the end of the day. I'm done working, and parenting, and giving. I'm spent, and I feel like I have nothing left to give. But my daughter needs me, and so I sing her song, and tuck her in, and kiss her nose. It costs me. I literally PAY attention to her.
One of the reasons we chose to homeschool is to preserve relationships. Homeschooling forces me to invest face time with my kids. It gives me plenty of opportunity to capture their hearts and listen. Sometimes I let those opportunities slip through my fingers, and sometimes I grasp onto them like the treasures they are.
Often the opportunity to connect to my kids passes me by because it feels like it will cost too much. After all, I have dishes to wash, papers to grade, and calls to make, I certainly don't have time to read another story or paint another picture. But this is such a false economy. Relationships, family and friendship are the richness of life. While its true that it will always cost me to PAY attention to the people in my life, I need to remember that there is no better investment. People matter. Friendship is vital. Community is essential.
This last month I have been working out faithfully, and eating healthily. It's hard and it takes discipline but I'm starting to see the pay-off in my overall health. I think relationships are like that too. I've got to PAY attention, I've got to make the investment in people, but there is a payoff. If I value relationships then my life will be full of rich community.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Jumping Ship
I'm an unschooling flunky. We made it till Thursday, and I couldn't take it anymore. The main irritation for me with living an unschooled life is that school is never done. You're always learning. Sometimes a girl just needs to say, "finish your schoolwork and then you can play on Lego.com"
And though I enjoyed playing and interacting with my kids more than usual; I need a break. I cannot always be "on". They need to do their own stuff, and I need to feel like I can check something off my list.
I do think that unschooling is a viable alternative to traditional education, or traditional homeschool - that is if you can stand it.
And though I enjoyed playing and interacting with my kids more than usual; I need a break. I cannot always be "on". They need to do their own stuff, and I need to feel like I can check something off my list.
I do think that unschooling is a viable alternative to traditional education, or traditional homeschool - that is if you can stand it.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Bub's Scrambled Eggs Dance
Bub was so excited about having scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning that he did a little jig. I'm a dork and can't figure out how to rotate the video, so you'll just have to watch it sideways.
Further Adventures in Unschooling
Unschooling is MESSY! Today we played store. The kids emptied the pantry of all my canned goods. Bub arranged them into categories. We emptied piggy banks and pulled out the toy cash register. Cans sold for $.50, large cans were a buck, and there was a sale running on the beans, only .15. Bub and I were customers; E and M calculated the cost of our purchases, because they were the all important clerks. M wrote receipts. Ethan didn't want that job because he hates to write, but he did concede to writing the sign (scotch taped to my wall) and the open and closed sign. Bub started to write "King Soopers" on my family room wall, but I caught him while he was still on the "C". I'm not sure what exactly he thought he'd write, seeing as he can only write A, C, X and O. After the store was closed, and the open/closed sign duly flipped, the kids took inventory. M practiced skip counting by 5, and using tally marks. E calculated how much it would cost to re-stock his inventory if the wholesalers sold cans for $.20 each and he needed 6 beans, 8 baking supplies. 3 fruit, and 4 veggies. Bub knocked over cans just to irritate his sister.
The kids have done their chores. E finished his volcano book, and M still needs to sit down to read with me. E is now playing educational computer games and Bub and M are watching a movie about a woman who had a lion cub for a pet. I vacuumed. But my wood floors need mopped. All and all we had another successful day of unschooling. Unfortunately, my house is trashed,and we never talked grammar, phonics, spelling, or history. But we did have a much better than average math day.
Unschooling is fun, messy and time consuming. Kids learn and are engaged. It's been a nice change of pace, but I don't think I could do this all the time. I have this fabulous schedule that gives me the illusion of control. And I know that my kid are learning their grammar even if it is a semi-lame worksheet. I miss our read-alouds. And I miss my kids ability to do some tasks independently. I'm thinking of being a part time unschooler, and taking a break from our regularly scheduled programming once a week. That way we will get to enjoy the freedom in homeschooling and still satisfy my need for order.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Experiments in Unschooling
Apology: I just read my last post. It's a grammatical nightmare. Next time I'll proof read. Sorry!
There are several camps of homeschoolers. There are the classical education folks on the one hand (think Latin, Rhetoric and History), and there are the unschoolers on the other side of the spectrum. Most people fall happily in the middle somewhere. I definately land someplace in the middle of this continuum too, but I've always been a fascinated skeptic of unschooling.
Unschoolers, despite the name, are very pro-education, they just are not pro-establishment. They operate on a premise that kids, when untampered with, love to learn. It's the endless worksheets and force feeding of meaningless facts that squelch a childs natural passion for learning. So unschoolers say life is thier classroom and fascilitate their child's educational journey. The read books, and go to museums, they listen to great music and grow experiments in their refrigerator on purpose.
That sounds fun, and I'm sure kids do love learning and learn a bunch. But I remain somewhat of a skeptic. Here's why:
-I think kids might end up with an education of fine swiss cheese. Delicious and robust, but holey.
-I have no idea how you manage the logistics of that when you're teaching several kids with different interestes and personalities.
-I have a hard time believing that my child could ever get excited about multiplication. Unschoolers would say, "Just wait, wait until he wants to do a science experiment or figure out how many cupcakes to bake for a party, then he'll be motivated to learm." Maybe. But I'm betting he'd learn how to operate a calculator before he sat down to memorize what 7x8 is. And to that an unschooler would say, "Who says you have to have 7x8 memorized to be well educated?" Hmm...good point.
Anyway, I've decided to conduct an experiment. It's just for one week; surely I cannot do any permanent damage in 1 week. I'm going to be an unschooler. We're doing child directed learning just to see if it might work. Here's how it went;
-We read the end of a biography on Mary Breckenridge and found the Appalachian Mountains on our map.
-We Googled Mary Breckenridge and Frontier Nurses and watched a slide show of historic pictures.
-We watched Christy, and talked about the poverty in the Appalachians.
-We drew pictures of the most interesting parts of the stories we heard. M drew a bottle of moonshine :) and Bub drew a horse ( a horse drawn by a 4 year old is worth seeing).
-We talked about what a journalist was and talked about the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, why)
-We listened to our phonics CD 2x and Bub discovered that you always have to read left to right. Always.
-I spent 30 minutes addressing a particular character issue in a child, who shall remain nameless. We re-addressed the fact that we can show disrespect with our words and with our actions. Foot stomping and eye-rolling are disrespectful.
-We melted ice cubes on our stove top and watched them turn to steam. We caught steam in a Ziploc bag (while boiling pasta) and put the ziplock in the freezer. We put a measuring cup of water in a Ziploc and then nuked it in the microwave. We hypothesized about what would happen and talked about the speed at which water molecules travel.
-M read a book about pets with me.
-E read a chapter in a book about Mt. St. Helen.
-We played legos
-We played pretend.
-Baby scootched all the way down the hall. Bub chased her.
-E made cereal
-M made a snack for her brothers.
-We did no math whatsoever.
-We didn't cover any spelling or grammar
-We had fun. In general it was a success. Maybe I'll be a part time unschooler. Wonder if you can do that?
There are several camps of homeschoolers. There are the classical education folks on the one hand (think Latin, Rhetoric and History), and there are the unschoolers on the other side of the spectrum. Most people fall happily in the middle somewhere. I definately land someplace in the middle of this continuum too, but I've always been a fascinated skeptic of unschooling.
Unschoolers, despite the name, are very pro-education, they just are not pro-establishment. They operate on a premise that kids, when untampered with, love to learn. It's the endless worksheets and force feeding of meaningless facts that squelch a childs natural passion for learning. So unschoolers say life is thier classroom and fascilitate their child's educational journey. The read books, and go to museums, they listen to great music and grow experiments in their refrigerator on purpose.
That sounds fun, and I'm sure kids do love learning and learn a bunch. But I remain somewhat of a skeptic. Here's why:
-I think kids might end up with an education of fine swiss cheese. Delicious and robust, but holey.
-I have no idea how you manage the logistics of that when you're teaching several kids with different interestes and personalities.
-I have a hard time believing that my child could ever get excited about multiplication. Unschoolers would say, "Just wait, wait until he wants to do a science experiment or figure out how many cupcakes to bake for a party, then he'll be motivated to learm." Maybe. But I'm betting he'd learn how to operate a calculator before he sat down to memorize what 7x8 is. And to that an unschooler would say, "Who says you have to have 7x8 memorized to be well educated?" Hmm...good point.
Anyway, I've decided to conduct an experiment. It's just for one week; surely I cannot do any permanent damage in 1 week. I'm going to be an unschooler. We're doing child directed learning just to see if it might work. Here's how it went;
-We read the end of a biography on Mary Breckenridge and found the Appalachian Mountains on our map.
-We Googled Mary Breckenridge and Frontier Nurses and watched a slide show of historic pictures.
-We watched Christy, and talked about the poverty in the Appalachians.
-We drew pictures of the most interesting parts of the stories we heard. M drew a bottle of moonshine :) and Bub drew a horse ( a horse drawn by a 4 year old is worth seeing).
-We talked about what a journalist was and talked about the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, why)
-We listened to our phonics CD 2x and Bub discovered that you always have to read left to right. Always.
-I spent 30 minutes addressing a particular character issue in a child, who shall remain nameless. We re-addressed the fact that we can show disrespect with our words and with our actions. Foot stomping and eye-rolling are disrespectful.
-We melted ice cubes on our stove top and watched them turn to steam. We caught steam in a Ziploc bag (while boiling pasta) and put the ziplock in the freezer. We put a measuring cup of water in a Ziploc and then nuked it in the microwave. We hypothesized about what would happen and talked about the speed at which water molecules travel.
-M read a book about pets with me.
-E read a chapter in a book about Mt. St. Helen.
-We played legos
-We played pretend.
-Baby scootched all the way down the hall. Bub chased her.
-E made cereal
-M made a snack for her brothers.
-We did no math whatsoever.
-We didn't cover any spelling or grammar
-We had fun. In general it was a success. Maybe I'll be a part time unschooler. Wonder if you can do that?
Sunday, January 13, 2008
John Locke etc.
It's been since college since I read any of the writings of John Locke. You know, he's the guy who first talked about those inaliable rights to life, liberty and happiness. Except for originally, those rights were to life, liberty, and the persuit of property, and they only applied to white guys living in England. Women, children, and people of color were distinctly not included.
Now I know that good ol' Locke was on to something. And certainly his thougts have shaped our American culture. But I'm not sure agree with Locke, and I absolutely take issue with the fact that John Locke did not believe that what was good for the goose was good for the gander. But I'm letting my femenism derail me...back to the issue at hand.
Here's the deal, as Christ followers do we really have the right to life and liberty and happiness? Yes, I know we were enslaved to sin and that when Jesus died on the cross he losed sins death grip on our collective jugulars. We are saved! We are free! That is the Good News. That is the Gospel.
But there is a flip side to this story, a juxtaposition. We are free from sin, but we have been bought with a price. A steep one. We have been ransomed from sin and death. 'But if I call myself a Christ follower I need to follow Christ. That would mean submission to His authority. I am not my own. I have chosen to love, and follow and submit to the authority of another. I have surrendered my rights to life, liberty and the persuit of happiness, or property or whatever.
Here is the great hiccup, the thing that Locke didn't account for: Jesus explodes the notion of inalieable rights. He says that its only in surrender that we can be free. He says that what law was powerless to do Jesus accomplished in his Grace. So we cannot have these tidy little camps. There is no freedom /slavery or or law /grace. Somehow it is a messy mix of both. And the only way to muddle through it is to hold tightly to the hand of the One who refuses to be confined to our little theories.
I'm always looking for a new system, or theory that I can apply to my life to streamline its messiness. You should see the elaborate excel documents I have. Impressive, but not particularly useful. They can manage my life for a time, but to really live I've got to walk in the presence of the One who made me;I've got to obey his still small voice. And this is a hard elussive task, one that I need to be traained in, and one that is not compatible with holding tightly to the rights I think I have.
Now I know that good ol' Locke was on to something. And certainly his thougts have shaped our American culture. But I'm not sure agree with Locke, and I absolutely take issue with the fact that John Locke did not believe that what was good for the goose was good for the gander. But I'm letting my femenism derail me...back to the issue at hand.
Here's the deal, as Christ followers do we really have the right to life and liberty and happiness? Yes, I know we were enslaved to sin and that when Jesus died on the cross he losed sins death grip on our collective jugulars. We are saved! We are free! That is the Good News. That is the Gospel.
But there is a flip side to this story, a juxtaposition. We are free from sin, but we have been bought with a price. A steep one. We have been ransomed from sin and death. 'But if I call myself a Christ follower I need to follow Christ. That would mean submission to His authority. I am not my own. I have chosen to love, and follow and submit to the authority of another. I have surrendered my rights to life, liberty and the persuit of happiness, or property or whatever.
Here is the great hiccup, the thing that Locke didn't account for: Jesus explodes the notion of inalieable rights. He says that its only in surrender that we can be free. He says that what law was powerless to do Jesus accomplished in his Grace. So we cannot have these tidy little camps. There is no freedom /slavery or or law /grace. Somehow it is a messy mix of both. And the only way to muddle through it is to hold tightly to the hand of the One who refuses to be confined to our little theories.
I'm always looking for a new system, or theory that I can apply to my life to streamline its messiness. You should see the elaborate excel documents I have. Impressive, but not particularly useful. They can manage my life for a time, but to really live I've got to walk in the presence of the One who made me;I've got to obey his still small voice. And this is a hard elussive task, one that I need to be traained in, and one that is not compatible with holding tightly to the rights I think I have.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Organized Thursday
If you saw my closets you'd know that I am not one of those "organized types". But meal planning is an area of my life that I do pretty well. Here are some of the things I do.
-I shop the loss leaders in the grocery ads. Last week Albertson's had chicken breasts on sale for 1.66/lb. That's a bargain, so I bought 20 lbs. Really.
-I make liberal use of freezer bags. For example, when I got home with 20 lbs of chicken I devided 6 lbs into meal sized portions and put them in LABELED freezer bags. The rest of the chicken I baked. I sliced and diced some and left some whole. All of the chicken got tossed into quart sized freezer bags. Now its easy to pull out cooked chicken to toss into meals like fajitas, quesidillas, enchiladas, soup, casserole, or pasta dishes.
-I have an excel spreadsheet with my grocery staples that I use for making a grocery list. The list is divided into areas of the grocery store i.e. produce, or dairy etc.
-When I'm really really organized I do Once A Month Cooking. My version is slightly less glamorous than the official once a month cooking, but I do get a bunch of meals made and put in the freezer. It saves me on those days when I just don't have time to cook.
-I indulge in buying pre-diced onions in the freezer section. I hate dicing onions and its worth it to me to spend the extra 15 cents to pay for someone else to do it. Sometimes I also buy pre-diced green pepper.
-I have stuff on hand to make a "no complaints" meal at the drop of a hat. Some days its just worth it to eat whatever the kids like and enjoy a relatively silent meal. At our house this includes pancakes for dinner, tacos, pizza, hamburgers, mac and cheese (typical kid stuff) and frittata.
-Sometimes I make things I know my kids won't like because its good for them to try new things. Recent experiments have been African peanut stew, curry chicken, and pasta with a spinach cream sauce. Crab cakes are on the menu for tonight - we'll see how those go over.
-I've been taking tips from Jessica Seinfield's new cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. I pureed veggies and store them is snack sized ziplocks in the freezer. You'd be amazed at how many veggies you can sneak in under the radar when they're pureed. Our veggie consumption has gone way up.
-I plan five or six meals for the week, and buy the groceries before hand. Then I always have the ingredients I need but can flex on what meal we eat when based on how busy we are and what sounds good.
-I shop the loss leaders in the grocery ads. Last week Albertson's had chicken breasts on sale for 1.66/lb. That's a bargain, so I bought 20 lbs. Really.
-I make liberal use of freezer bags. For example, when I got home with 20 lbs of chicken I devided 6 lbs into meal sized portions and put them in LABELED freezer bags. The rest of the chicken I baked. I sliced and diced some and left some whole. All of the chicken got tossed into quart sized freezer bags. Now its easy to pull out cooked chicken to toss into meals like fajitas, quesidillas, enchiladas, soup, casserole, or pasta dishes.
-I have an excel spreadsheet with my grocery staples that I use for making a grocery list. The list is divided into areas of the grocery store i.e. produce, or dairy etc.
-When I'm really really organized I do Once A Month Cooking. My version is slightly less glamorous than the official once a month cooking, but I do get a bunch of meals made and put in the freezer. It saves me on those days when I just don't have time to cook.
-I indulge in buying pre-diced onions in the freezer section. I hate dicing onions and its worth it to me to spend the extra 15 cents to pay for someone else to do it. Sometimes I also buy pre-diced green pepper.
-I have stuff on hand to make a "no complaints" meal at the drop of a hat. Some days its just worth it to eat whatever the kids like and enjoy a relatively silent meal. At our house this includes pancakes for dinner, tacos, pizza, hamburgers, mac and cheese (typical kid stuff) and frittata.
-Sometimes I make things I know my kids won't like because its good for them to try new things. Recent experiments have been African peanut stew, curry chicken, and pasta with a spinach cream sauce. Crab cakes are on the menu for tonight - we'll see how those go over.
-I've been taking tips from Jessica Seinfield's new cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. I pureed veggies and store them is snack sized ziplocks in the freezer. You'd be amazed at how many veggies you can sneak in under the radar when they're pureed. Our veggie consumption has gone way up.
-I plan five or six meals for the week, and buy the groceries before hand. Then I always have the ingredients I need but can flex on what meal we eat when based on how busy we are and what sounds good.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Statistics You Need to Hear
I heard there is a book out called "Death by Suburbia" - and if that's true then I want to read it. From what I understand, the premise of the book is that Americans living in suburbia become so insulated from real life the become desensitized to everything that matters. I pulled these statistics off a Google search; maybe they will shake us out of our stupor:
The following is from hfgf.org:
Every 15 SECONDS, another child becomes an AIDS orphan in Africa
Every DAY 5,760 more children become orphans.
Every YEAR 2,102,400 more children become orphans (in Africa alone)
143,000,0002 orphans in the world today spend an average of 10 years3 in an orphanage or foster home .
Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…Every YEAR 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and AGE OUT4 of the system.
Every DAY 38,493 children AGE OUT.
Every 2.2 SECONDS, another orphan child AGES OUT with no family to belong to and no place to call home .
In Ukraine and Russia 10% -15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18.
60% of the girls are lured into prostitution.
70% of the boys become hardened criminals.
Many of these children accept job offers that ultimately result in their being sold as slaves. Millions of girls are sex slaves today, simply because they were unfortunate enough to grow up as orphans.
Reliable statistics are difficult to find, even the sources often list only estimates, and street children are rarely included. But even if these figures are exaggerated by double, it is still an unacceptable tragedy that over a Million children would still become orphans every year, and every year 7 Million children would still grow to adulthood as orphans with no one to belong to and no place to call home. They are totally vulnerable and easily fall prey to predators and slave recruiters.
1. http://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/current_appeal.htm
2. According to figures from the United Nations. These statistics include children in the American Foster Care system
3. This is an estimate. Infants may stay as long as 18 years while children who become orphans at an older age stay a shorter time.
4. To AGE OUT means to grow to the age where a child is forced to leave the orphanage or foster home with no place to call home.
5. http://www.hopefororphansoftheworld.org/default.aspx?id=30Courtesy of the Home For Good Foundation www.hfgf.org
The following is from hfgf.org:
Every 15 SECONDS, another child becomes an AIDS orphan in Africa
Every DAY 5,760 more children become orphans.
Every YEAR 2,102,400 more children become orphans (in Africa alone)
143,000,0002 orphans in the world today spend an average of 10 years3 in an orphanage or foster home .
Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…Every YEAR 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and AGE OUT4 of the system.
Every DAY 38,493 children AGE OUT.
Every 2.2 SECONDS, another orphan child AGES OUT with no family to belong to and no place to call home .
In Ukraine and Russia 10% -15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18.
60% of the girls are lured into prostitution.
70% of the boys become hardened criminals.
Many of these children accept job offers that ultimately result in their being sold as slaves. Millions of girls are sex slaves today, simply because they were unfortunate enough to grow up as orphans.
Reliable statistics are difficult to find, even the sources often list only estimates, and street children are rarely included. But even if these figures are exaggerated by double, it is still an unacceptable tragedy that over a Million children would still become orphans every year, and every year 7 Million children would still grow to adulthood as orphans with no one to belong to and no place to call home. They are totally vulnerable and easily fall prey to predators and slave recruiters.
1. http://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/current_appeal.htm
2. According to figures from the United Nations. These statistics include children in the American Foster Care system
3. This is an estimate. Infants may stay as long as 18 years while children who become orphans at an older age stay a shorter time.
4. To AGE OUT means to grow to the age where a child is forced to leave the orphanage or foster home with no place to call home.
5. http://www.hopefororphansoftheworld.org/default.aspx?id=30Courtesy of the Home For Good Foundation www.hfgf.org
Sunday, January 6, 2008
News
1)We are the proud owners of a brand new water heater. Saturday morning we woke up to discover we had no hot water. Uggg.... Our water heater was BUSTED. Hubby wanted to invest in one of those snazzy (albeit pricey) tankless water heaters, unfortunately the venting in our basement would have had to be altered, so we had to get a tank. I told Hubby that it was no big deal; basically its the difference between a Toyota and a Lexus. He insists that a traditional water heater and a tankless water heater is the difference between a 1974 Chevy Nova and a Lexus. Whatever. We've got hot water. I'm happy.
2)I have now plunged head long into the crunchy side. I know this because I purchased Stevia when I went to Vitamin Cottage. If you don't know what Stevia is, fear not, you are in no danger of becoming a true hippy. For the curious, Stevia is an herbal supplement that can be used in place of sugar. It is 30 times sweeter than sugar, calorie free, it has no effect on blood sugar, and is actually good for you.
3)Hubby has had a smart phone for over a year. But now he has a new one. This one is a BlackBerry, I mean CrackBerry. He's addicted. I'm hoping he'll come off the initial buzz sometime in the next week or so and we'll make eye contact.
4)Bub got new pictures of his bones (what are commonly known as x-rays). They don't show any deterioration of the bone in his hip. The doctor thinks he still has Perthes, but it is looking like he's got a very mild case, and the prognosis is very good.
5) Bub also got a whopping huge case of eczema after I fed him gluten for 4 days in a row. Crud! Now I'm thinking that 3 out of 4 of my kids will be gluten free. I'll test it again sometime, but seriously, my kids will never get to experience Chucky Cheese Pizza.
6) Baby's social worker will motion for Termination of Parental Rights on the 13th of this month. Recent case developments make it very likely that this will not be appealed. Before we can officially adopt Baby there has to be a termination hearing and we will have to be assigned an adoption worker. Adoption proceeding can take about 3 months. It's possible we'll have baby adopted by spring and very likely she'll be adopted by summer.
7)Homeschool starts tomorrow. It's gonna be rough. My kids are getting pretty used to doing nothing...and I'm not at all certain that they haven't forgotten everything they've learned up to this point.
8) E is taking rock climbing classes at the health club. This is a big deal because E is afraid of heights. He's demonstrated real courage by continuing to work hard even though it makes him nervous. I'm so proud of him.
9) M is starting art classes this week. She is so excited;she loves art. She got me to color with her today. I colored my Littlest Pet's poodle black. M is apparently not a "fan" of black poodles. Tough. It's my #@!**#@ poodle; I can color it whatever color I #@!**! well want. Okay - I didn't tell her that, but that is what I was thinking. Is that uncharitable?
10) Hebrews 12:11 is becoming my theme verse for 2008. That's the passage that says, "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but produces fruit of righteousness..." I'd rather have it be something like, "For God so love the world..." That seems easier. Nicer. Less hard. If I were placing orders, I'd ask for a nice happy verse with a side order of fries. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, God intends for me to grow up.
2)I have now plunged head long into the crunchy side. I know this because I purchased Stevia when I went to Vitamin Cottage. If you don't know what Stevia is, fear not, you are in no danger of becoming a true hippy. For the curious, Stevia is an herbal supplement that can be used in place of sugar. It is 30 times sweeter than sugar, calorie free, it has no effect on blood sugar, and is actually good for you.
3)Hubby has had a smart phone for over a year. But now he has a new one. This one is a BlackBerry, I mean CrackBerry. He's addicted. I'm hoping he'll come off the initial buzz sometime in the next week or so and we'll make eye contact.
4)Bub got new pictures of his bones (what are commonly known as x-rays). They don't show any deterioration of the bone in his hip. The doctor thinks he still has Perthes, but it is looking like he's got a very mild case, and the prognosis is very good.
5) Bub also got a whopping huge case of eczema after I fed him gluten for 4 days in a row. Crud! Now I'm thinking that 3 out of 4 of my kids will be gluten free. I'll test it again sometime, but seriously, my kids will never get to experience Chucky Cheese Pizza.
6) Baby's social worker will motion for Termination of Parental Rights on the 13th of this month. Recent case developments make it very likely that this will not be appealed. Before we can officially adopt Baby there has to be a termination hearing and we will have to be assigned an adoption worker. Adoption proceeding can take about 3 months. It's possible we'll have baby adopted by spring and very likely she'll be adopted by summer.
7)Homeschool starts tomorrow. It's gonna be rough. My kids are getting pretty used to doing nothing...and I'm not at all certain that they haven't forgotten everything they've learned up to this point.
8) E is taking rock climbing classes at the health club. This is a big deal because E is afraid of heights. He's demonstrated real courage by continuing to work hard even though it makes him nervous. I'm so proud of him.
9) M is starting art classes this week. She is so excited;she loves art. She got me to color with her today. I colored my Littlest Pet's poodle black. M is apparently not a "fan" of black poodles. Tough. It's my #@!**#@ poodle; I can color it whatever color I #@!**! well want. Okay - I didn't tell her that, but that is what I was thinking. Is that uncharitable?
10) Hebrews 12:11 is becoming my theme verse for 2008. That's the passage that says, "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but produces fruit of righteousness..." I'd rather have it be something like, "For God so love the world..." That seems easier. Nicer. Less hard. If I were placing orders, I'd ask for a nice happy verse with a side order of fries. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, God intends for me to grow up.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Finish the Race
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2Timothy 4:7
I'm not a marathoner. I'm not a triathlete. I'm more of a Sunday afternoon stroll kinda girl.
After years of not working out my husband decided it was time to get into shape. So he hopped on the treadmill and set the workout to the Navy Seals fitness test, determined to pass. He did. Maybe it wasn't the brightest move, but it does say something about my husbands personality. He's driven.
Me? I set the treadmill for a gentle 30 minutes, and exercised with my heart rate in the target zone. I didn't set any records. I showed up.
What does this have to do with anything? Well, this year I've been learning lessons about endurance, patience, surrender, long-suffering, and discipline. These are not fun lessons for a Sunday afternoon stroll kinda girl. Just the other day I told my Hubby."'m sick of fighting. I'm sick working so hard. Why does everything have to be a battle?"
There is something to be said for rest. God invented the Sabbath for a reason; we need rest. There is also something to be said for hard work and endurance. Couch Potatoes can take many forms. There are emotional couch potatoes, and intellectual potatoes, and relational potatoes, and spiritual couch potatoes and physical couch potatoes (there are also baked potatoes, but that's beside the point). Aside for the baked potato, none of these are good. We are meant for the race; we are meant for battle. We are made for the Navy Seals, not 30 minutes in our target heart rate.
So what does a girl do when she is battle weary and tired? When she's hurt. and spent? She puts one foot in front of the other, and keeps going. It's not so desolate as that though. For I am not alone in the race; I am not alone in the battle. When I limp I have a heavenly father who is right beside me.
A couple of weeks ago our pastor showed this illustration, it is of the 1992 Olympics. Derek Redman was an athlete from the UK who had overcome many health obstacles just to compete. The man who runs onto the field is Derek's father. You gotta watch it to understand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyWwSR9xBH0
I'm not a marathoner. I'm not a triathlete. I'm more of a Sunday afternoon stroll kinda girl.
After years of not working out my husband decided it was time to get into shape. So he hopped on the treadmill and set the workout to the Navy Seals fitness test, determined to pass. He did. Maybe it wasn't the brightest move, but it does say something about my husbands personality. He's driven.
Me? I set the treadmill for a gentle 30 minutes, and exercised with my heart rate in the target zone. I didn't set any records. I showed up.
What does this have to do with anything? Well, this year I've been learning lessons about endurance, patience, surrender, long-suffering, and discipline. These are not fun lessons for a Sunday afternoon stroll kinda girl. Just the other day I told my Hubby."'m sick of fighting. I'm sick working so hard. Why does everything have to be a battle?"
There is something to be said for rest. God invented the Sabbath for a reason; we need rest. There is also something to be said for hard work and endurance. Couch Potatoes can take many forms. There are emotional couch potatoes, and intellectual potatoes, and relational potatoes, and spiritual couch potatoes and physical couch potatoes (there are also baked potatoes, but that's beside the point). Aside for the baked potato, none of these are good. We are meant for the race; we are meant for battle. We are made for the Navy Seals, not 30 minutes in our target heart rate.
So what does a girl do when she is battle weary and tired? When she's hurt. and spent? She puts one foot in front of the other, and keeps going. It's not so desolate as that though. For I am not alone in the race; I am not alone in the battle. When I limp I have a heavenly father who is right beside me.
A couple of weeks ago our pastor showed this illustration, it is of the 1992 Olympics. Derek Redman was an athlete from the UK who had overcome many health obstacles just to compete. The man who runs onto the field is Derek's father. You gotta watch it to understand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyWwSR9xBH0
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I Homeschool my Kids Because...
We've taken the last three weeks or so off of school. Next Monday we need to be ready to hit the books hard. The problem is I am having a hard time getting motivated, and its sure hard to motivate others if your not feeling particularly inspired yourself. So, I've decided to make a list of the reasons I homeschool my kids, becuase I need to be reminded. I homeschool because:
-I understand the unique needs and gifting of my children better than anyone else. I can tailor our schooling to fit the unique bent of each of my children. Besides, I care more for my children's success than any teacher; I'll do whatever it takes to see that they succeed. I know that my kids won't get lost in the shuffle.
-When we school at home life long learning becomes part of our family's culture; I want to pass this value on to my kids.
-Education, by definition, is social engineering. I want to be the one who influences my children's values and character. Public schools are influenced heavily by Secular Huminism and Marxism. Christian schools take their cues from Fundamentalism and Religiosity. I do not subscribe to any of these "isms". I want to foster an environment that produces authentic faith. And I want my kids to be well informed critical thinkers. This does not happen by default. If I want to see these qualities in my kids I better be willing to invest the time.
-I want my kids to be socialized differently. When kids are placed in large groups of their peers (aka a classroom) a pecking order is sure to develop. Everyone knows who the cool kids are, and who are the best athletes. They also know who the nerd and geeks are. Of course, this happen in society at large. But there is something uniquely cruel about how this is played out among children. And bullying, teasing in classrooms injures kids when they are uniquely vulnerable.
Some people say that being bullied, teased and left out are rights of passsage. And maybe they are. But having passed through these "rights" I cannot say that I have benefited at all from the experience. I think most adult would agree that they are not better or more whole from being bullied or teased as a child. '
Yes, homeschooling shelters kids, but kids need parent to shelter them and help them navigate life before they have the experience and maturity to do it themselves. Who says a little sheltering is a bad thing?
Homeschool kids are socialized. They learn to interact with people who are much older and younger than them. They learn how to have fun in groups of kids of many ages. Homeschool kids learn that they belong to a family and they have responsiblities to that family. Homeschool kids HAVE to become friends with their siblings.
-Education is bigger than Reading, Writing, and 'Rithmatic. I want my kids to know how to budget, and cook, and clean and deal with real life stuff. This takes training, training that is hard to squeeze in when kids are in school all day, but easy to incorporate into homeschool life.
-I want my kids to have their innocence and childhood. I want them to have time to color, and play with legos and dig in the dirt. Homeschooling preserves my kids innocence.
-Sending my kids to school doesn't mean that my schedule would suddenly free up, and I could check out as a parent. Good parenting is hard work, and most days I'd rather do that work with my kids at home with me.
Okay - times run out. Baby's up, and I've gotta run!
-I understand the unique needs and gifting of my children better than anyone else. I can tailor our schooling to fit the unique bent of each of my children. Besides, I care more for my children's success than any teacher; I'll do whatever it takes to see that they succeed. I know that my kids won't get lost in the shuffle.
-When we school at home life long learning becomes part of our family's culture; I want to pass this value on to my kids.
-Education, by definition, is social engineering. I want to be the one who influences my children's values and character. Public schools are influenced heavily by Secular Huminism and Marxism. Christian schools take their cues from Fundamentalism and Religiosity. I do not subscribe to any of these "isms". I want to foster an environment that produces authentic faith. And I want my kids to be well informed critical thinkers. This does not happen by default. If I want to see these qualities in my kids I better be willing to invest the time.
-I want my kids to be socialized differently. When kids are placed in large groups of their peers (aka a classroom) a pecking order is sure to develop. Everyone knows who the cool kids are, and who are the best athletes. They also know who the nerd and geeks are. Of course, this happen in society at large. But there is something uniquely cruel about how this is played out among children. And bullying, teasing in classrooms injures kids when they are uniquely vulnerable.
Some people say that being bullied, teased and left out are rights of passsage. And maybe they are. But having passed through these "rights" I cannot say that I have benefited at all from the experience. I think most adult would agree that they are not better or more whole from being bullied or teased as a child. '
Yes, homeschooling shelters kids, but kids need parent to shelter them and help them navigate life before they have the experience and maturity to do it themselves. Who says a little sheltering is a bad thing?
Homeschool kids are socialized. They learn to interact with people who are much older and younger than them. They learn how to have fun in groups of kids of many ages. Homeschool kids learn that they belong to a family and they have responsiblities to that family. Homeschool kids HAVE to become friends with their siblings.
-Education is bigger than Reading, Writing, and 'Rithmatic. I want my kids to know how to budget, and cook, and clean and deal with real life stuff. This takes training, training that is hard to squeeze in when kids are in school all day, but easy to incorporate into homeschool life.
-I want my kids to have their innocence and childhood. I want them to have time to color, and play with legos and dig in the dirt. Homeschooling preserves my kids innocence.
-Sending my kids to school doesn't mean that my schedule would suddenly free up, and I could check out as a parent. Good parenting is hard work, and most days I'd rather do that work with my kids at home with me.
Okay - times run out. Baby's up, and I've gotta run!
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