Weekends are for Hikes and Picnics

We had a wonderful time at Pinnacle Mountain State Park today with some of my fellow Army wives and their children. 

Where are some of your favorite places to hike?

I can relate!

I just had to laugh as I saw this young chimp trying to get its mommy to get up and play.  Oh how many mornings I feel like that Momma Chimp!  This week has been especially exhausting as I have been trying to get unpacked, the house organized, the lawn mowed and garden planted, and my kids settled and back into a routine after our 6 week excursion, all while battling hay fever.  The kids on the other hand seem to have an endless supply of energy and have been starting their day going 100 miles an hour at the wonderful hour of 0530!  So what do I do when I feel like this Momma Chimp?  I turn to the LORD, the ONLY ONE who can give me REST and carry me through the day. 

 "Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint."

~Isaiah 40:28-31

Praying you all find strength and rest in the LORD today!

Tot School Tuesday - Circle Time

We honestly did very little tot school this week as we spent lots of time in the car and are getting settled in back home after being away for 6 weeks.  One thing that I have tried to maintain every day since we've been back is Circle Time.  It helps organize the day a little and gets us off to a good start. 

Here is what Circle Time generally looks like in our home:

1.  We start with the song "Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory".

2.  Then we sing our days of the week song.  This is to "Oh my Darling" and you can find a video on the Homeschool Creations Blog.  We do sing it a little bit differently:

DAYS OF THE WEEK SONG:

There are seven days, There are seven days,

There are seven days in a week.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Today is Tuesday, Today is Tuesday,

Today is Tuesday, yes it is.

Yesterday was Monday,

And Tomorrow's Wednesday.

3.  We count on the calender all the way to the present date (ex: today we counted up to 24).

4.  We rip off a link on the "Daddy" chain.  This is our way of counting down to Daddy's return.

5.  We go over the seasons and practice signing each one.

6.  We run to the window and describe the weather using words and signs, then Mommy takes out two weather cards and asks which one most describes today.

7.  Every Monday we choose a different Biblical Character Trait.  Each trait has a Bible Verse that we work all week on memorizing. 

8.  We sing several "action" songs.

9.  I either read a book, tell a rhyme, or do a puppet story.

10.  Close with prayer.

The whole thing takes about a half hour.  What does your Circle Time look like?

Here are some other fun things we did this week:

LEARNING HOW TO RIDE TRICYCLE:

This is "M's" first time on a Tricycle (where she can actually reach the pedals).  She still goes backward most of the time but she is getting it.

FIELDTRIP TO THE ZOO:

"Where'd it go?"

"C'mon mom, go fast!"

"M" signing Lion.

The penguins were a big hit with the kids.  If you put your hand up to the glass they would swim down and "kiss" it.

Make it Monday - Quick and Easy Snack Bags

Out of ziploc bags again!  It seems with two little ones in the house that I just cannot keep these around.  I had a few extra minutes today while the kids were napping so I decided to whip up some reusable snack bags out of some scrap material.  Trust me, it took much longer to write this blog entry than it did to make one of these.  You can use these for snacks (like animal crackers or cheerios) or anything you may need to toss into the diaper bag (pacifier, hair clips, handful of matchbox cars, etc.).  I think I may even make a few of these to organize scrap pieces of ribbon, odd buttons, etc.

TUTORIAL:

1.  Find a scrap piece of material.

2.  Iron it and cut it to the size you want.  It just worked out that my scrap piece was about 22" x 6".

3.  Fold your scrap piece of material (right sides together) in half and sew around three of the sides (leave one of the short sides open for turning - it will get tucked in and sewn later.

4.  Turn your material so the right sides are now facing out.  Tuck in the unfinished edge and pin down.  Fold the material in half and then fold the top side down about 1.5 inches (see below).  Pin and sew as shown below.

5.  Remove pins, cut strings, wash, and enjoy!



Frugal Friday - Dehydrated Kale Crisps

I love making quick, cheap, healthy snacks for our family.  We picked an abundance of kale from our garden so I thought we would make some Kale Crisps.  I thought "M" would love helping me with this, but as you can see from the pictures below she did not at all like the texture. 

DEHYDRATED KALE CRISPS

You'll need:

*2 bunches of kale - cut or ripped into 2 inch chunks

*1/4 cup olive oil

*juice from 1/2 lemon

*1 tsp. sea salt

*honey to taste

Directions:

Mix kale, olive oil, slat, and lemon in bowl.  Massage for about 3 minutes.  You'll start with a big bowlful of kale and end up with just a handful or two by the end of it.

Add honey and massage for 3 more minutes

Dehydrate ~8 hours depending on your method (we use a Nesco Food Dehydrator)

Enjoy!

Blessed because I am His!

A few weeks ago our dishwasher broke.  Tonight, the hot water heater broke, which left me heating water on the stove to wash our dishes.  Welcome home!  Kids were screaming; my blood pressure rising.  I needed to pray.  I needed to breathe.  I needed to relax.  So I scooped up my two screaming children, grabbed the brownies I made earlier in the day, tossed the kiddos and the brownies in the stroller, and started walking.  Our neighbors were kind enough to mow our lawn for us the entire time we were gone and I wanted to stop by and thank them with some brownies anyway.  When I knocked on their door the Dad answered with "How blessed you are!  Welcome home!" and went on to say how wonderful that God spared our house from the tornados and how wonderful that I was able to spend that time with our family.  All the while I'm thinking to myself if only you knew the scene ten minutes ago in our house! I bit my tongue, returned with a polite smile, nodded my head, thanked them again for their kindness, and headed back home.  But I couldn't get his comment out of my head.  "Blessed."  Me?  God, help clear my eyes.  Help me to see your blessings.  The smoke cleared.  A smile came across my face.  Yes, even if all goes wrong (according to my plans, anyway) today, I am blessed, if for none other reason than I am His!  I am His child!  I am VERY BLESSED!

"The LORD your God is with you,
   the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
   in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
   but will rejoice over you with singing.”

~Zephaniah 3:17

Weekends are for Cherishing the Moments

Our visit in NJ is coming to an end.  We're packing up and getting ready for our journey back home.  We have enjoyed the time spent with everyone and had a wonderful time.  Here are a few snapshots of moments that made up our last few days here.

Cousins playing together.

A dog reunited with his father.

Sitting with my girlies on the same steps my mom grew up sitting up.

A PopPop playing with his granddaughter

First dance of a husband and wife.  CONGRATS Mr. and Mrs. Esposito!

Newleyweds smiling away - such a cute couple!

Our children crashing the party!  Aunt Kate and Gammy just couldn't resist!

Jumping on the bed.

Giggles with family and friends.

Thank you to everyone who made this trip special!  May God bring us all together again soon.

Tot School Tuesday: Water World

We are still staying with my parents so our schedule is very off, but we did some crafts and a lot of reading this week. 

EGG CARTON UNDERSEA WORLD

This idea came from Family Fun Magazine.

 Paint and decorate egg cartons to create sea animals.  We made a fish and some jellyfish.

TADPOLES

Last week we collected some toad eggs and watched the tadpoles grow.  We are still watching the tadpoles in our container and also check the pond daily (there are millions of tadpoles there!).

WIKKI STIX: alphabet, words, art

Gammy came home one day with Wikki Stix as a treat for "M".  We used them to write out the alphabet and spell some "water world" words.  We also made some fish.

OCTOPUS FINGER-PAINTING

This idea is spun off from a craft in 365 Preschool Crafts & Activities.

Put blue paint on your fingertips to paint bubbles.

Put green paint on the side of your pinkie finger to paint seaweed.

Put orange paint on your palm and four fingers - stamp twice overlapping the palm so you make an octopus with 8 tentacles.

PRINTABLES:

I turned the printables from the Ocean Animals and Pond Life Tot Books into "books".  "M" and "Boo" love looking at these.

Make-It-Monday: Sit Upon

We were cleaning out my parent's basement and found a scrap of naugahyde (artificial leather).  Since we were going camping the following day my mom thought of a great idea to use it to make a "Sit Upon" for "M".  We made them in Girl Scouts when we were younger and we thought it would be something fun for "M" to do while we set up the campsite and it would then give her something to sit on.

MATERIALS:

18"x14"piece of naugahyde (a vinyl tablecloth will work too)

Section of newspaper folded into thirds (so it will be about 8"x13"

hole puncher

yarn

large needle (for yarn)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Fold the piece of material in half (so it will be 9"x14") and punch holes about every 3/4" around the outside.

2.  Place folded newspaper inside.

3.  Sew shut with yarn.

Weekends are for Delighting in your Children

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

What a blessing it is to be a Mommy!  My whole life really did change the moment I first held "M".  The weight of the gospel became so much more real - how could God ever send his Son to this Earth with the mission to die for my sins?  Wow, God!  You did that for me?  Thank you LORD.  How great is Your LOVE!

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"

~1 John 3:1

Our children bring so much joy and happiness to my life.  Yes, there are long days; days when I am exhausted, frustrated, feeling like a failure, and just wanting to cry.  The phrase "with children the days are long and the years are short" is so true!  Our children are growing up so fast.  I can harldly believe that "Boo" is trying to walk and is just 6 weeks away from being a year old.  "M" is looking less and less like a toddler and more like a little girl.  So as tired or frustrated I may be at times, I need to remember that my children are a blessing (not a burden) from God and to cherish every moment with them.  I must not waste a single minute with them.

"Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."

 ~Psalm 127:4-5

I just love delighting in our children.  I love watching them learn new things.  I love listening to "M's" thought process.  I love listening to her pray.  Through our children I learn patience and selflessness.  I remember to find joy in the simple things of life and to thank God for all things.  Oh, how much we can learn from these little ones!

 ^"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." ~Matthew 18:2-4

 "Boo's" first time climbing on the playground by herself.  She made it all the way up to the top and went down the slide!

 "M" went to visit her cousin at the barn, who had just gotten a pony named Miss Congeniality for her birthday.

 These two are best friends!

 "M" was patiently waiting for her turn to ride a horse.

 First ride on a horse!  At first we were not sure if "M" liked it or was about to burst into tears, but she kept asking for "more time".  Then she talked about it the whole ride home so I think she really enjoyed it.  "Boo" even got on for a short bit.

 We drove out to visit more cousins = Fun times!