Well the good thing about complaining is that sometimes on the very rare occassion, someone actually does something about it. 

Yesterday as mentioned I was frustrated with our park.  It just seems crazy to me that our park is inadequate and we have to drive to other parks when there is one just a couple of blocks away!  Well I called the director of the parks and she actually called me back this morning!

She told me it was such a "minor issue" to them that it had fallen through the cracks.  She said that she was having a staff meeting later this week and would address the problem then.  She even told me she would call me back! 

I guess I was happy she was honest with me and admitted to me that it had fallen through the cracks, but that also kind of peeved me off!  I mean, us moms in the neighborhood have taken survey's and meetings regarding changes that could happen to that playground.  We spent time thinking of it before giving her suggestions in the spring about what could be done to improve it.  All of this by the way, she had asked us to do. 

So then saying it had fallen through the cracks because it wasn't a big deal just seems silly.  It's a big deal to us!  We want to use that park every day! 

Anyway, it pays to make your voice known sometimes, see? 

Serving in the Home

Photo courtesy of Beth Mann

Who doesn't feel this way sometimes?  I know I do.  Sometimes it feels as if there really is a chance my precious angelic children are out to sabatoge me.  In fact just this morning I discovered that there's either a barbie head or a peach pit in the drain of the downstairs bathroom sink.  I'm not finding out...I'll let Nick :)

I came across this verse this morning in my devotions:

"If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:11b

Now, I've read this verse before but it spoke differently to me this time. Don't you just love that about the word of God?  It speaks to us differently and shows itself new and in different ways. 

Anywho, this morning I read this verse in regards to serving my children and family.  In regards to serving in the home. 

Rather than complain about the piles of clothes I sometimes muddle through or the beds I find with toys shoved under them, I should take care of the mess in a godly way and do it with a serving heart. 

I want everything I do to bring glory to God.  Whether anyone else can see it is irrelevant...because God can see it.  He knows my heart behind things. 

I also love the part of the verse that talks about the strength God provides because honestly there are a lot of times when I am just sick and tired of cleaning the same things over and over and over and over...day in and day out.  But I know that it is God who gives me the strength to do it.  And I know that He's there that I can reach out in times when I feel desperation and anxiety creeping in. 

Mildew doesn't take care of itself you know :) 

Let God be your strength today.  Lean on him and He'll stand you upright :)  And if things seem HORRIBLE and you just can't go on, try looking at things with new eyes...you are taking care of your little blessings and your home which God has given...take care of things for Him. 

Nick's Jeans

Yesterday I thought I had linked up to Lands' End so you could buy some jeans for yourself and I didn't...so sorry about that!  The link is below...and the link to the uber cute shoes I bought for myself!   I'm hoping they are comfy as my flats are about on their last legs...the poor dears!

Click here to go to these jeans :)

Here are the shoes I bought too :)

Random Thoughts that a Monday Afternoon Produces...

Homeschooling is done, the children are napping, and I find myself with the devil and angel on my shoulders...

Relax!

Get to work! 

So I did...kind of. 

I ordered these jeans from Lands' End for Nick...cute right?  They are 14.99 on clearance and if you use the promotion code "Discover" with the number 6956 you'll get an additional 25% off and free shipping (no minimum required)!  Awesome, huh?  Thanks Money Saving Mom for, well, saving this Mom some Money!

A side note is, if you don't shop at Lands' End then I really recommend that you do.  They are always having super great bargains!  And they stand behind the quality of their products which is something I love and respect about them.  I buy almost all of my clothes from there and I love them!  I also love that they are sold at Sears so I can find some super great bargains there and I can return something there if it doesn't work out...none of the having to mail it back business! 

I also spent a lot of time on the phone which I hate doing but sometimes it just can't be helped.  Nick and I's debit cards expired in August but weren't replaced. Weird, we haven't had debit cards.  Well we got them...we got 4 cards total...all with different numbers.  So now which ones are we to use?  I was a little frustrated that the girl told me to take them ALL to the ATM and try to use our old pin numbers as they should be  the same.  At that point I was so frustrated I just said "okay".  Okay not meaning okay but rather meaning, I'm making my husband call about this...

My final call was to the Parks Department of our City.  Again, frustrated with them.  I have spoken numerous times with the lady in charge there about getting our neighborhood's park playground equipment updated.  She assured me in the Spring that something would be done, but now it is officially Autumn and nothing has been done.  I try to think that it would be nice to have it done, but it's nothing that I'm owed or something. But then when I think that we pay taxes and should be able to ENJOY our park, then I get a little torked off.  Is that how you spell torked???   I also spoke to someone about the tennis courts in our neighborhood.  We have some wicked nice tennis courts, let me tell you.  No exagerating people come from all over the country to play on our courts.  But for us common folk they are hardly ever open.  And I have a couple of kiddos who just want their Daddy to teach them how to play.  So I was on the phone with them for that.  Apparently you have to ask about 7.25 people before you find someone who knows about tennis courts.  Weird, wild stuff going on around here. 

My final question/random thought here as I ramble on has to do with homeschooling.  I've been printing off things for Emma and things are either too hard or too easy.  So here's my question for all of you, and you don't have to be a homeschooling mom to answer...if your child can breeze through things do you give them MORE of that to practice (oh say, addition worksheets?) or do you make them try to get something harder (multiplication? Fractions?) Emma's only a Kindergartener but I've been using first grade curriculum and she's finishing everything in about half the time they say to work with her on it.  I don't know if that means I should give her more practice or if she's ready for 2nd grade material.  And yes, I do feel kind of stupid asking this.  Just so ya know...

Happy Monday!  Make some coffee and perk yourself over that midday slump we're in now :)

Thank you!

I just wanted to say thanks to you all for reading this blog.  A lot of times, when things are awry in the day and I have no one to "vent" to, I take solace that come naptime I can sit down and type my feelings out.  It helps. 

It gives me something to do that's not covered in dried playdoh or other ucks. 

It always touches my heart and spirit when someone pulls me aside at church or the grocery store and tells me how much they enjoy my blog. 

Seriously, sometimes I wonder if anyone reads this thing. 

And it's not about readers, its about just sharing what's on my heart.  But I can see numbers and I do see that you all are reading, so I thank you. 

If we were in person right now I would sing you the "Golden Girls" theme song, but we aren't, so I won't :)

Our Humble Home

http://mypaintinggallery.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/thomas-paintings/kinkade/

"Thank God, O women, for the quietude of your home, and that you are queen it it.
Men come at eventide to the home; but all day long you are there, beautifying it, sanctifying it, adorning it, blessing it.
Better be there than wear a queen's coronet. Better be there than carry the purse of a princess.
It may be a very humble home.
There may be no carpet on the floor. There may be no pictures on the wall.
There may be no silks in the wardrobe; but, by your faith in God, and your cheerful demeanor, you may garniture that place with more splendor than the upholsterer's hand ever kindled." 

--Reverend T. DeWitt Talmage, D.D

I love this little snippet of inspiration that was spoken by Reverend Talmage (1832-1902).  Last week and the week before I was feeling a little blue.  I wouldn't say it was a full-blown depression, but I just was feeling mopey and uninterested in anything for no good reason.  Does anyone else ever feel this way?  Ugh, sometimes there's just no good reason for it.

I'm so glad that I have a loving Heavenly Father who makes sure to snap me out of it before it spirals out of control.  And I have a husband who is on me to talk about it and do whatever it takes to feel like myself again. 

So I talked to Nick about it.  A lot.  I remember him telling me that I am the little heart of this family.  Isn't that just the most precious thing???  He went on to explain himself: that when I am sad and mopey that is the general feel of the whole house.  Everyone waits to see how I am reacting.  Our home's warmth and feeling reflects my own.

And I guess that is somewhat true.  So when I read this quote above the other day, it really hit home. 

I desire a home that is quiet and peaceful, and no maybe we don't have the most stuff or the nicest things in the world but the job God gave me is to work with what I have to make our home welcoming, and inviting, and my family's safe haven. 

So my prayer is that in the coming months I may offer my family a place of warmth, and refuge, physically and spiritually.  This goal has brought me out of my slump, and when I think of it, I take the time and make the effort to stay up a little later than normal to get the kitchen completely clean, or wake up earlier than I prefer to fold laundry and tidy our little home. 

My prayer:
May all who enter our home leave feeling better than before.

God bless you and your home today...

Apples to Apples

Apple picking is one of the highlights of the year for us.

This girl is ready to go!  She grabbed the wagon on her own and hightailed it out of there.

Here we are!  Aren't they cute?

Bucket heads!

They are so cute...I just can't get over how cute they are!

Here's Emma's first apple

Here's Cal's first apple

Okay this is so cute!  I love these series of photos...while Nick and I were picking apples, you know, the actual work, they kids took the wagon up the hill in the background and then would come back down...

They would go up....push and pull, push and pull.

And then they would come tumbling down the hill like Jack and Jill...sometimes quite literally! Nick and I just held one another and listened to their squeals and watched them.  I praise God that they are able to live perfect childhoods...what a gift He has given them.

Here's Emma's basket!

Here we are almost reado to go.  We had one more basket too but we couldn't get it to fit...50 pounds of apples folks makes for one happy Mommy :)

Yummy!

Check out the size of these apples!  They are huge!

Fall Party

 Homemade Snickerdoodle cookies...perfect Autumn food :)

 Here's our picnic.  I love our life

 This sweet little boy loves bread.  There is nothing he loves more than a good piece of bread.  And that's one of the things I love most about him...the simple things in life are the ones that bring him such joy.

 Apple cider of course

 Aren't they so precious?  Don't you love the little waterfall behind them?

 This is what usually happens at the end of a photo shoot...it's how I know they are fed up with having their pictures taken

 Here's my big guy.  It amazes me how big he is getting.  4T?  Are you kidding me?  What happened to 18 months clothing?

 My little girl.  She looks so big to me!  I know that someday I will look at her someday and think "my little girl!" but right now she looks so grown up to me!

 I love this series of photos... "hey where's Cal?" "hey where's Em?"

 "There you are!  Get over here!"

Kisses!

 Pure bliss!

 I love these Dahlias!  So cute!  The kids called them apple flowers which is so true...they really do look like apples!

Here are the two of us...we are usually just in the background of the fun, watching to see what the kiddos are doing.  How they will surprise us with their magnificence.  Watching them running around and chasing one another, and laughing, and laughing, I couldn't help but notice tears in my eyes.  The time will be gone before we know it and I cherish the days where the sun is shining, the weather has a bite of cool in the air, and we have the time to watch, to laugh, and to cherish our family. 

Yesterday was the first day of Fall.  We celebrated with our picnic of Panera, cider, and Snickerdoodles.  Afterwards Momma got some pictures and then we toured the mill in the background of the picture above.  We do this every year and it is one of my favorite things to do!  The children were fascinated with it and every year we notice something different about it.  I may have forgotten to mention this but it is actually a working mill!  We buy our stuff from there.  Today I needed cornmeal so that's what we got.  There's something really special about the millstone's grinding the wheat into flour right in front of your eyes, placing your order, then the man gets a bag out, scoops it up out of the freshly ground bin right next to the millstone, weighing it on the ancient scale, and then tying it closed with a piece of twine. The kids really understand where things come from when we watch it being made! 

After this we went to pick apples.  But those pictures are for another post... :)

Coffeemaker Cleaning Time!

 Just a friendly reminder to clean out your coffee pot!  Mine had become a little slow.  I realized that I was a little late in cleaning it so I did it the other night. 

If you use tap water like I do (and your city water stinks, like ours does) then over time the inside gets a little calcified and needs DE-Calcified.  Have you ever done this before?  It's super easy! 

Take your coffeepot and mix half water and half vinegar.  I used 3 cups vinegar and 3 cups water. Put that in your water reservoir. 

Turn on. If yours grinds beans like mine, make sure to turn that feature OFF before you do this or bad things will happen to you.  Bad things.

Let it brew away on the vinegar concoction and when its about half way done, turn it off.  You want to have that vinegarry water all throughout the tubes and machine so its sitting in there cleaning everything out.  Let it sit for half an hour then turn it back on to finish brewing. 

After that throw the gross water away, fill the pot with fresh water and brew fresh water through it.  Then do this again, just to make sure that the vinegar taste is out.  After all who wants vinegar coffee?  Bleh!

Then in the morning you will have a wonderful coffeemaker experience with super fast brewing and wonderful taste.  I hadn't realized that my coffee was tasting, well, different.  I don't really know how to describe it, the taste was just a little off. 

So there you have it.  How to clean your coffeemaker. :)

Otters

For our homeschooling science this year, I decided that we would study 3 different things: animal science, health science, and plant science.  We are spending time studying animals first.  I think we are studying 19 animals for the next 19 weeks with obviously, 1 animal a week.
This week we have been studying River Otters.  Our zoo has otters so yesterday we went to the zoo and spent time observing them, their habits, and their habitat. 
Today we spent more time with all things otters: we studied their bodies, what they eat, and how they live.  The children seemed to really enjoy it.  The children drew a picture of an otter and then we made a craft of an otter our of toilet paper roll.  I included the links of the things I used below.  The children seemed to really have a great time with all of the projects and doing things like this is why I love homeschooling!
http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/motter.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/weasel/Riverotterprintout.shtml

We also found out that they are endangered and filled in our journaling sheets about what they eat, how they live, how long they live, etc, etc.  Emma seems to really be enjoying it and anytime I can get Cal excited about it, well, that's just icing on the cake :)

Wonder Woman

Why yes...

That is our dog dressed as Wonder Woman. 

Why do you ask? 

Preschool

The week after Labor Day Cal started Preschool.  Honestly I knew this day was coming.  It's been marked on my calendar for months, I attended orientation meetings and had to fill out all of the application forms for him to be reviewed.  I've had a hand in this.  But the night before Preschool I found myself in shock and disbelief that my baby is going to preschool. 

I had no idea how he would do.  But he has wanted to go, begged to go, since Emma had started.  He has been so, so excited. 

So here are some pictures of his first day.  You can see he's armed with his new sneaks and his new Chuggington backpack that Gigi and Pops got him. He's such a big guy.

These pictures have a strange effect on me.  They make me smile and sob simultaneously.  Weird stuff that is. 

Sporting stitches on his first day of school.  Nick was telling him he'd be a big hit with all of the ladies :)

 Sporting his new Chuggington backpack :)

 Raining on the first day of school :/

 Praying...I got this picture with Emma too during our morning prayer time. 

 Hot man, 12:00.  Sorry, just can't help myself...is it bad I tell people behind his back he's growing beard for a Prostate Cancer awareness benefit?  That's not bad, right?

He didn't even look back.  That's the way he is.  He's wanted this for two years. 

When he was done all he could talk about were the cool toys that were there.  Every time we visited Emma's class he just loved the toys and was so excited that now they are his class' toys! 

Cuneiform

http://www.ancienthistoryforhomeschool.com/homeschooling.html

This year Emma (and Calvin I guess) is studying Ancient History.  That's right folks, my 5 year old little bitty girl of a thing is studying from the dawn of time to 400 AD. 

Cal would say that's "impressive!" 

We've been studying Ancient Mesopotamia in the Fertile Crescent and are learning so much.  We learned that their writing was done on wet clay tablets and they developed a writing style called "cuneiform" by using reeds to write with. 

Well wet clay I have not, and reeds I have not. But I did have playdoh and shish-ka-bob skewers!  So we went with that and made our own cuneiforms.  I showed Em on the chalkboard how they used symbols instead of letters and she could tell a story. 

This is her intently working when I reminded her to tell a story or make some sense of what she's doing (I didn't say it like that!)  Her response?  "I've got it.  I'm writing you a list of what you can buy me."  Well played Emma, well played. 

So that is what we are up to around here.  The mesopotamian people would also bury their dead under the place in their house where they sleep.  Ew and ew.  I think we'll skip that hands on project :)

It's Fall Ya'll!

I really wished we lived in a place where it was appropriate to use "ya'll" in everyday language.  I mean, why does that have to be a Southern thing?  I'm southern...South of Canada!  But alas Yankees think it isn't proper (said with pinky in the air, mind you!)

Had to share this photo with you...aren't they just the best?  This picture was taken when we were getting ready for church, and as you can see, we were playing "the adventures of Woody and Buzz".  I love that they play this on a regular basis.  I love that Emma plays with Woody still...and American Girl dolls, and does her hair at her little vanity...if I had sent her to school she's probably wear a "Beiber Fever" t-shirt all of the time and have her nose pierced.  Well maybe not, but you know what I mean.  I love that we've captured that child like youth and I plan on holding on to it as long as I can. 

The other thing I love about this photo is that they came up with it.  They plopped down next to Lucy (who by the looks of it had to do some serious scootching over on her bed) and then they yelled to me in the kitchen, hey mom!  come take our picture! Of course I'll take your picture! 

I love that we have these pictures because I can capture their footwear.  Emma has these amazing boots...why don't I have boots like these? And Cal is almost too big for his red chucks and that makes me sad :( 

I also love Emma's sweater dress.  Adorable!!!!  I somehow buy their clothing, wash their clothing, iron their clothing, put their clothing away, pick out their clothing, lay out their clothing, and then when they have it on I have this child like wonderment at their outfits.  "Hey!  When did you get that awesome dress?" And then Emma rolls her eyes at me and says her catch phrase of really dude, really?  And then I remember that I bought it!  Me!  With my husband's money that he makes me say is my money!  I feel so grown up!

Anyway it is Fall here and we have started decorating!  Yesterday Emma BEGGED me to let her help put things out.  The girl loves Fall just like her Mama!  Fine by me baby, fine by me. 

Last night Cal needed nighttime pull-ups so a trip to Target was in order.  I swung by Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Latte (and think of my Aunt Jan as I find myself doing in a Starbucks drive through...hi Aunt Jan!  Hi!!!!)  and had a grand ole' time perusing the aisles.  I think that made it Fall for me. 

Hope you all are enjoying fall!  We are enjoying that we haven't had to have our air or our heat on for nearly a month!  The weather is crisp and perfect and everynight the season beckons for us to reintroduce a comfort food dinner.  Yum!