Rubbing Off...

Yesterday we found a small gecko hanging out by our front door. My 14 year old daughter and I were observing it as it stood still. Sumo, my 3 yo found pleasure in observing it too....until it moved. When that tiny little amphibian moved, my and my daughter went to screaming and jumping around....and so did Sumo.

A friend of mine was over visiting and she got some hairspray to freeze the little bugger to make him easier to catch. She caught him and put him in a container (cutting of his tail in the process). Now...I was ready to throw that little something into a neighbor's yard three blocks down but my daughter wanted to keep him until my husband came home. My worst fear?....that the baby lizard like thing would get loose in my house. Stupid for me to freak out cuz it was really only about this big:

So for two days until hubby came the gecko lived on my kitchen island. For two days, my 3 yo didn't want any part of it.

I wondered how he went from being curious to being so afraid of that little thing.....OOOOOOOOhhhhhhh...cuz his MOMMY WAS SCARED!

So my fear rubbed off on him I'm sad to say. As a homeschooling Mom, I'm always reading about other homeschooling families looking at life as school and taking advantage of opportunities like this...but not me....I had taken this opportunity and created a fear of geckos in my 3yo.

When hubby got home I tried to get my 3yo son to show Daddy the gecko...you know...trying to redeem myself and encourage my son to look in awe at that little creature. "Nooooooooo" is all I got.

Around dinnertime, hubby and I are talking, and my son came up to the couch with a big smile on his face saying, "Daddy look at the lizard". There was no lizard. My son was carrying only the top from the container the lizard was in. Very slowly, I said, "Sumo, where is the lizard"....hoping to God that what I thought was happening was only a figment of my imagination.

I got up from the couch and saw the container laying on the floor with no lizard in it. "oh no", I cried. Right at this instant my little boy jumped on the couch and started crying and saying over and over, "I scared of the lizard"! Shoot...I rubbed off on him again....

Well, this started an all out search for the gecko which ended with me hoisting up our sofa and my husband doing the honors of capturing the rodent. We looked around for Sumo, only to find him in our bed, under our covers, hiding out. He would only come out when we had convinced that the "wicked old gecko" was gone. My husband told our son to stop crying and was actually getting irritated that his son was so freaked out by the incident. After all, he's a boy and boys are supposed to love this kind of stuff...that is...unless they are freaked out by their little-animal-fearing-mamas.

I'll have to remember that my power to influence my kiddos is awesome. I can rub off on them so easily. They watch and imitate so much of what we do and say. I'm gonna have to grow up and realize, the next time that I jump at a spider, that my son is watching. You think that maybe I can summon enough courage to be brave for the sake of his curiousity and feelings of security? I hope so.

Enjoying preschool

I started homeschooling my eldest half way through her 6th grade year. I was a wreck. I was so uptight (still am sometimes). Veteran homeschoolers kept telling me to RELAX... but I just couldn't figure out how to do that. Once I started to let go of the reins just a tad, things got so much better. We have now reached a nice stride...not perfect but nice...

So after "falling" into homeschooling, I found myself slowly starting to view it as more of a permanent choice for our family rather than a temporary fix for a situation with one particular child. Fear stepped in when I realized that this would mean I would be responsible for teaching my little ones some of the most fundamental stuff in education....and I've never considered myself to be a "little-people-person".

Once again I was freaked out. I read so much about how preschool should be and what they should learn....and then I remembered the lesson I learned with my oldest....RELAX...so I decided to try that and it has been wonderful. I can't believe the things my son learns while with me and I thought I'd share some of things that we do around here just in case it might encourage someone that small kiddos just don't need to be stressed over but ENJOYED!

I never though I'd enjoy being with my ltitle ones. I really do....God is so good.

I JUST made my three year old a notebook and put a piece of paper in the clear pastic spine that says "Sumo's Notebook". Right now, it has one thing in there that he colored. We will soon be getting back to our routine and I'll be adding stuff that he does in there. Things like alphabet coloring pages, worksheets (learning how to drawn in a line or from dot to dot). He fingerpaints the words he learnes to read so I'll probably be adding a section soon called "Words I Know". Stuff like that...but mostly this is for HIM to look at and get excited about what he's accomplished. I'm really not concerned about a "knock" at the door". Texas is such a GREAT state to homeschool in.

The best that it gets with Sumo is that he has his spot on our family routine and I have time during the day set aside for him to work on certain things. I have things that we work on during his preschool time but even more than that....he's learning all day in my house. During preschool time (30 minutes) we work on:

• Reading - Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (but we are progressing S-L-O-W-L-Y)
• Counting and Number Recognition - Number coloring pages or an Abacus I bought from Ikea.
• Fine Motor Skills - Puzzles, Large-Piece Floor Puzzles, Lacing, Workbooks, etc.
• Computer time with w/Mom - PBS Kids or Starfall

During Blanket Time or Table Time Sumo can work on:

• Puzzles - gotta get some more cuz he's mastered all the ones we have!
• Coloring - he gets to choose what he wants to do
• Table Toys - Lauri Toys are GREAT. Pegs/Shape Sorter/Lacing
• Finger Paint - I've TAUGHT him not to make a mess
• Library Books - I keep a nice set in a basket on our fireplace where he can browse whenever he wants. This worked great until recently when the baby (who we are still training) started getting into it and messing it up :)
• Wooden Tool Set
• Wooden Blocks
• Play Doh
  

And then there is all that Free Play. I try not to give them free access to our game room or their bedroom so that when I DO allow them in, they are excited to the toys relegated to that room. I just put them in their room and fold clothes while they play or let them have a good time in the game room while I read a book on the couch or make some quick phone calls.

Sumo is really working his mind all day though. I try really hard not to buy toys that don't have purpose. We are really into puzzles, wooden train sets (Ikea), coloring, paint, make believe play with all of those free kid's meal toys, etc. I'm hoping to invest in a good set of legos soon. I have the letters of the alphabet posted at his eye level going up the stairs.

Also, I'm big into him helping around the house. Sumo helps me empty the trash, put the wet clothes into the dryer, throw away dirty diapers when I change my youngest, cleaning up his toys and books, etc. I recently taught him how to crack eggs so he loves helps me in the kitchen too!

I can get really stressed over wanted to do everything "right" but with the fruit I see in my kids, I'm becoming convinced more and more that it's not about meeting every task on the checklist but about developing great character in kids and giving them the freedom to be curious and begin to love learning.

Hope this helps someone!

Well...so much for order!

It never fells that the best laid plans...well...they are not so well laid out. Last night in the middle of my wonderful planning for today, my youngest son fell ill and kept me up half the night. This made way for a "wonderful" Monday morning where I was running late and trying to make heads or tails of making a morning work that wasn't following my prescribed, well-thought-out direction.

Mondays are our coop day. My oldest has a day full of classes and I teach at the coop as well to support the classes my daughter takes. My hubby and I juggled who would do what and when so that I wouldn't miss out on my classes and he wouldn't miss out on a meeting. It all worked out OK...it always does....but I'm a sucker for routine and so I just felt a little lost all day.

I guess we'll try again for the schedule later...tomorrow I think I'll be cuddling with my 3yo and trying to get things slowly back in working condition.

Getting Things In Order...

So here I am already into September and just now getting around to working out the kinks of our household schedule. A couple of years ago, I heard about "Managers of Their Homes", a book that teaches homeschooling Moms how to structure their days for smooth sailing. (Go to www.titus2.com for more info).

Well it took a looooooonnnnnng time to get through it but it was SO worth it. We now have a guide for our days and everyone has an idea of what comes next. Our schedule is not law and not rigid. We use it as a tool to assist us in maintaining order and Mommy's sanity :).

Since I'm starting this daily blog up fresh, I thought a good place to start would be to share our newest schedule! You can take a peek by clicking HERE !

Wide-eyed and bushy-tailed....

Well it's past midnight...again! I have this bad habit of trying to hard to accomplish more and more and more when I have elongated times of peace and quiet. Fortunately for me, I don't really need that much sleep. Unfortunately for me, I don't know when to call it quits and therefore I burn the candle down to the bottom of the wick on a regular basis.

Funny thing, I don't mind working this hard. I have this burning desire and passion for my family that just doesn't die out.

The key is balance though. I've got to learn to love everyone else and love myself too so that I continue to have a resevoir of peace out of which to share and cultivate the building of the same.

One day, one morning, and one midnight hour at a time...

Raking Leaves

I was driving today and happened to pass through the old neighborhood I lived in when I was in elementary school. Things haven't changed too much in that neck of the woods and so I always feel a small, slow rise of emotion as old memories come rushing to the front of my mind. One of those familiar things in my old neighborhood is a park that my parents would take me and my siblings to for a romp and a frolick. I'm sure this was to assist us in burning off some steam so that we would be ready to bathe and go "night-night" once we got back home :)

I have fond memories of that park especially during that season of the year when the tall oak and pecan trees would start to shed their leaves, dropping dead, but yet gorgeous, multi-colored foliage on the ground. We would run through those mounds of leaves, many times falling on nature's cushioned padding. Sometimes, our goal would be to bury ourselves under the crackling piles, only to burst out of them soon after. The absolute most fun in playing at that park was enjoying those leaves with my parents who would engage with us, throwing leaves back and forth, scooping up piles for us to fall in, and helping to bury us up to our chins.

Leaves weren't only at that special park. There were plenty of them in our front yard too. When leaves covered our lawn, it was different than at the park. We couldn't just play...we had to WORK!

It was a family affair, going out front to get those leaves up with our trusty red-headed rake. We'd all help in some way. Some would rake, some would collect the leaves to put in the bag and others would hold the bag. I remember whining and complaining about being tired or about my nose running, or about having to do more work than another of my siblings (especially being the oldest). Occasionally we'd have a little fun with those leaves but not too much cuz we didn't want to lengthen our laboring time picking up the leaves we'd thrown or the piles we'd messed up!

Funny thing...that raking-leaves-family-affair. Each year as we did this lawn work together, we built memories. One by one, our moments together built upon one another to entrench themselves in our memories and our hearts forever. Just as those piles of leaves were raked together, collected with little hands, and thrown in large black trash bags, we slowly added to the family tie that still binds us together.

Many of life's memories are made this way, moment by moment, small "pile" by small "pile". In today's frantic pace, we have the tendency to go for the "big-bang's". Those trips to Disney World, that fantastic Christmas present, or that once-in-a-blue-moon special family dinner. We forget that the biggest things come in small packages. Most of the things I remember well about my upbringing are the things we ALWAYS did - no matter how small. The things that we did over and over, day by day, month by month, or year by year are the things I recall the best.

Unfortunately, in my current neighborhood, there aren't many trees and the trees that do exist are so small that you can't see the trees for the houses! I really miss that wooded neighborhood of my childhood but I have memories that are so rich and warm, they will remain entrenched in my heart forever. I'm so grateful to my parents for every fall evening that they got us dressed, bundled us up, and took us to that park to let us run through the leaves again and again. I'm so grateful that they took a job like raking leaves and, although they could have done it a lot faster themselves, they involved their small children in the job to create memories....pile by pile.

That's how memories are created, pile by pile, one by one, building on one another over time, cemented by love, cured with hugs and kisses, laughter, warm smiles, and welcoming arms. Memories take time...and they take sacrifice. I pray that I don't waste the time I have now with my loved ones. I pray that I don't take for granted that time is the best gift I can give my family. I pray that I will not pass by a park with fallen leaves and not ever have the time to unload my kids, bundle them up and let them run, jump, throw, and bury themselves in memories.

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Target Heart Rate

Today, my 14 year old daughter received her homework assignment via email from her Fitness & Nutrition teacher. Because she is homeschooled, the homework assignment is her responsibility to complete between now and the next time her class meets. We have to find ways of working in Fitness (P.E.) and Nutrition (eating healthy) into our everyday lives. The assignment for this week was to:

Run/walk a mile and time it.

Immediately after finishing your mile count your heart rate

Find your target heart rate and target heart rate range

So, we went as a family tonight to 24 Hour Fitness (for the first time with everyone together I might add) and we proceeded to do our own workouts. My hubby and daughter ran side by side on their respective treadmills working on making that one mile benchmark.

I was on an elliptical machine that put my back to them but every now and then I would glance back to see how they were doing. Realizing that my daughter kept reaching for her neck to find her pulse, I worried for a brief second that something was wrong. But then...I understood. She was trying to keep a tab on her pulse while she ran. Funny, you would think that a person running a mile would only be focused on the mile...not their pulse during the mile. You would think that the focus would be on putting one foot in front of the other, keeping one's breathing rhythmic, and inhaling deeply. But oh no, this girl had her hand on her neck.

I find this funny because in the Christian walk, there are so many measurements of how well we are doing in our journey. We want to make sure we are having devotions every morning. We try to make our Sunday morning worship services at all costs (even if we make it late). We even tithe to our local church EXACTLY 10%. We are keeping our fingers on the "pulse" of our Christianity.

But the real measure of our walk with Christ is whether or not we are keeping one foot in front of the other, walking with Him and talking with Him, believing, by faith, that He will help us finish the race that He asked us to run.

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. - Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

The real measure of our walk with Christ is being able to hear his voice clearly along the way. Our conversion with him should be a vibrant prayer life - one that is not confined to a certain time of the day but is like air in that we need it throughout our day to sustain us.

Pray without ceasing. - I Thessalonians 5:17 (NASB)

The real measure of our walk with Christ is how much of Him we "inhale" and receive deep, deep within our souls until it is not us powering our life but His glorious resurrection power seeping through our pores.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

The challenge of this walk of faith is to make sure that our focus is in the right place. Although the "pulse" or indicators that Christians are accustomed to looking at are real, and do provide a gage of what is going on inside of a person, they are NOT the end all.

We have a God and Savior who wants us to WALK with HIM. He wants a relationship with us that transcends measurements and benchmarks. He wants us to KNOW Him. Isn't that somethin'!

I've seen many a runner take a towel and cover up the treadmill "dashboard" that details the distance run, time remaining, and calories burned. Why? Because they don't want to focus on their stats....they want to enjoy the run.

My hope for my daughter is that in the midst of taking her pulse and meeting her class requirements...she would learn to ENJOY THE RUN!!!

That is also my hope for you!

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I wanna be a Toys R Us Kid!

I don't wanna grow up
I'm a Toys R Us Kid
There are a million toys at Toys R Us
That I can play with

I don't wanna grow up
Because if I did...
I wouldn't be a Toys R Us Kid

Do remember this song from the Toys R Us commercials?

Well...I did grow up and I remember that I was dying to grow up at that. Adulthood is certainly not all it's cracked up to be. As a kid, all you see are the freedoms and privileges that come with being a "grown-up". Children are oblivious to the responsibilities that accompany the position and so are always in such a hurry to pass through to what they perceive as greener pastures. If only there was some way to make them find contentment and appreciate the pasture they are in!

I am sitting here looking at a stack of bills to go through and pay. Behind me is a kitchen sink that is full of dirty dishes and a floor that needs to be mopped. There are clothes that need to be folded and carpet that needs to be vaccuumed. There are lightbulbs that need to be replaced, running toilets that need to be fixed, and remotes that need to be found. The flower bed could use some weeding and front door could use some paint.

And these are only the concerns centered on the house...

There are books that need to be read, doctor's appointments to be scheduled, digital photos that need to be printed, friends that need to be called, gifts that need to be bought, and pounds that need to be lost.

And we haven't even starting talking about the additional pressures of family related stuff...

Time for date nights, time for family nights, time for family vacations, plans for the holidays, plans for the weekend, plans for Sunday afternoon, school work, school plays, school friends, money for college, money for clothes, money for braces, money for sports, money for camp...

The list could go on and on in these categories and in countless others, seemingly robbing us of the ability to enjoy THE PRESENT.

While it appears much easier to look at the time of childhood as a time to appreciate simple joys, is it possible that we miss out on the fact that such joys are available to adults too?...even in the midst of the requirement of responsiblity? Childhood is viewed as a time where the cares of the world are cast on caretakers who make sure that the more difficult matters of life are handled for them. Why is it that we stop believing as grown-ups that we no longer have the same privilege? The last time I checked, I have a Father who cares for me and wants me to "cast all my cares upon Him for He cares for me" (I Peter 5:7).

In all of my responsibility, there is so much joy if I would stop allowing myself to feel like the buck stops with me. Life does include bearing "yokes" of responsibility but the Word says that His "yoke is easy and (His) burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). The truth be told, a simple change in my perspective yields a ton of relief.

Instead of focusing on all of the things to DO around the house...

I can focus on the fact that I HAVE a house to enjoy...

Instead of focusing on the length of my To Do list...

I can focus on the fact that I have ANOTHER DAY to get things done...

Instead of focusing on HOW MUCH WORK family can be...

I can focus on the fact that my children will only be children for a brief moment and that one of my greatest treasures in life will be the TIME I have spent with them...

I'm always telling my kids that if they would focus on what they DO have, they wouldn't be as disturbed about what they DON'T have. There is always a new toy to have or a new gadget to own and nine times out of ten, when I INDULGE my children and treat them like the Toys R Us Kids they want to be, those new toys end up broken, unused, and unappreciated.

It's not about the toys....it's about how much we APPRECIATE the toys...

You see, the real joy in being a Toys R Us Kid is in NOT HAVING TO PAY THE PRICE FOR ALL THAT STUFF! It's the freedom to enjoy gifts without bearing the ultimate responsiblity.

The good news is that the same can apply to me - even now as an adult! While there are responsibilities that "grown-ups" must shoulder, there is still so much in life and in this "pasture" to enjoy. The key is to maintain an attitude of gratitude.

So...

I don't mind growin' up

I'm a Toys R Us Kid

There are a million joys at Toys R Us

That I can share in

I don't mind growin' up

Cuz even though I just did...

I still can be a Toys R Us Kid

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