I Did It!

Christmas Angel

I got a call yesterday from a friend who announced "I have a Christmas present for you!"

I tentatively answered "Okay?" as I'm scrambling in my brain thinking why she would be giving me a Christmas present. While I do consider her a friend, she's really more of an acquaintance -- we know each other from church, and a homeschool group, and from a few other shared experiences. I like her very much, but we just haven't gotten that deep.

She replied "I'm giving you my teenager for 3 hours. Whenever you want, so you can do whatever you want while she watches the kids."

"WOW! Okay!" "If you want to think about it and call us back . . . " "OH, NO! Let's get out the calendar and get it set right away!" ( I know her daughter; she's very sweet and kind and my boys know and like her as well.)

She's coming next Tuesday afternoon. I had thrown a random comment out a few weeks ago on an internet board that what I wanted for Christmas this year was time. She saw it, and she & her sweet daughter decided to gift me. A wonderfully fabulous gesture that I am so grateful for!

sweet potatoes

We've had a great day so far. Tuesday had been very challenging . . . but everyone seems to have snapped out of it today!

C woke early and got started on his schooling immediately. He cheerfully completed the work he didn't finish on Tuesday, then did today's work and tomorrow's! N woke later, but was also cheerful about completing his assignments.

They played outside without fighting, and are now watching a Mickey Christmas dvd. They wanted to watch Rudolph, but our VCR is acting up.

L didn't nap . . . she naps beautifully when the boys aren't home on Wednesdays and I'm not sure what to do. She is a very light sleeper . . . although you'd think the 3rd should be able to sleep through anything!

L & I just finished a sweet potato that DH grilled on Thanksgiving. L & I are the only ones who like sweet potatoes, but DH cheerfully cooks them for me. I just warmed it back up, split it open and enjoyed! I love the taste of sweet potatoes.

L is cranky, so I'm going to snuggle her and hope I can get her to stay asleep for more than 5 minutes. Tomorrow I'll write about a Christmas angel who called me this morning ;)

Mother Talk Review: The Daring Book for Girls

When I opened the package containing The Daring Book for Girls, I was immediately impressed. I was grateful that it wasn't pink for starters, but it was sparkly! I started flipping through the book and couldn't help but think of young women who would love this book as a gift.

My sister came over and started flipping through the book. Her first reaction was "How cool! I want this book!" (She's 28, and I may just give her a copy for Christmas this year!) I found something new every time I picked it up over the last few weeks.

I imagined what fun it would have been to receive this book for Christmas as a child and spending the next few weeks (months, years!) reading through it whenever I had a chance. As a child, this would have appealed to me immensely. I loved playing Nancy Drew and Harriet the Spy, and this book would have fed into my play beautifully. It is chock full of interesting facts and things to do. There are sections on

• Reading Tide Charts
• Karate Moves
• Every Girl's Toolbox
• How to Put Your Hair Up with a Pencil
  
• Rules of the Game for Softball, Basketball, Darts and more
• Princesses Today
• How to be a Spy
• and tons (literally tons!) more

Even though The Daring Book for Girls is obviously geared for girls, there is plenty of interesting stuff in here for my two active boys. My oldest was fascinated by the sections on creating a clock that runs on lemons and bird watching. My middle child wanted my oldest to read the section on knots out loud a few times to help him learn to tie better knots. And they both looked through it for things to do with their baby sister as she grows.

One of the things I loved most was how nothing in the book required a computer. It encourages children to be active, playing, working, thinking, outdoors and indoors -- using their hands and minds to create.

Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz did an amazing job creating this book. The extensive research and the wide breadth of subjects is fantastic. I will be giving it as birthday gifts for many years to come as the young girls in our life grow older.

Check out the website for the book for more information, and some fun downloads!

I was able to review this book thanks to MotherTalk.

laundry

I think I'd be mortified to look back through this blog and see how many entries I wrote about laundry. It's something that everyone does, and I don't know why it's one of the hardest housekeeping tasks I perform!

I've started having the boys fold and put away their own laundry. They had been putting away their clothes for at least a year, but in the last couple months I've had them fold as well. You'd think I was asking them to fold EVERYONE'S laundry (like I have done for years . . . .) I am holding firm on this one, however, and will continue to wash and dry their clothes, but I'm not folding or putting them away.

Today I cleaned the washing machine. For something that is supposed to clean clothes, it's amazing how much gunk ends up in the fabric softener cup and around the edges. I clean it at least once a month, and I'm so glad I do as I caught sight of someone's recently who I don't think has ever cleaned it and it looked disgusting. (how about that for a run-on, ungrammatical sentence?)

I wrote out the laundry schedule yesterday. I've had a few over the years, and with L's appearance it's time for a new one.

• Monday - adult whites & socks/unmentionables
• Tuesday - boys clothes (usually 2 loads)
• Wednesday - L's clothes (usually 1 load)
• Thursday - adult darks (usually 2 loads, sometimes 3. I wash shirts separate from pants.)
• Friday - towels (we go through a ridiculous amount of towels, but hopefully with the pool closed we'll do better. I'm seriously considering emptying the linen closet and donating about 1/2 the towels just to cut down on the amount of dirty towels that are possible.)
• Saturday - sheets (everyone's, which means at least 2 loads. More when I'm also washing blankets, which I do at least once a month.)

When it's laid out like that, it doesn't seem like such a big deal. I know it works better when I get the loads started in the morning and have them completed (meaning put away!) by lunch, so that's what I'm trying to do. We're on track so far this week, which feels good.

I have said since L's birth that when I can get back on track with laundry I'd put her into cloth diapers. I know that's a place where I can save some money (granted, it's probably about $10/week, but every little bit helps.) I already have the diapers, only need a couple covers, and we're ready to go. The thought of the laundry, however, has kept me from it. It would mean about 3 extra loads a week.

Fundraiser

My dear friend, Kelly, has some amazing children! They decided they wanted to donate "everything for a family with nothing" through the Food for the Poor organization. This means they have to raise more than $3500!! They are working hard towards their goal, and I want to help them get there.

They are hosting an online Usborne book show with 20% of all sales going right back to them for their donation. If you have kids to buy for this year, please consider giving books! Usborne has some of the best educational (and fun!) books out there. If you shop through this link, your books will be shipped right to your door within a few days.

For more information about their efforts, please visit the blog their mom set up to share their progress. If you have any questions about Usborne, please drop me a note (or comment). Thanks!

Mom Central Review: Jump Start World 1st Grade

We have had a great time this week playing Jump Start World, 1st Grade. When I told C (my first grader) that we had the chance to review this software, he eagerly checked the mailbox each day. He had previously played it at his enrichment program, and had told me he liked it. He was excited we'd be getting a copy of our own to play at home.

We had a little trouble loading it (took a couple restarts of the machine to get it working), but once it was loaded, the boys were off! The software is set up like an adventure video game, with multiple characters to "be" and lots of different places to visit. C was a bit annoyed that the mouse didn't move his character, and that he had to use the arrow keys instead. Once he got used to it, however, it wasn't an issue any longer.

C quickly started earning "gems" by playing different games geared to helping him practice math, reading and other first grade skills. (The website talks about the curriculum standards here. I liked the fact that it clearly explained what each module was helping the kids learn.) N has also enjoyed playing (he's my kindergartener), since there is plenty of vocal help from characters within the game.

When I asked C what I should share about Jump Start, he told me "Tell them it is a lot of fun. You can be a different character every time you play! The games are fun and pretty easy to play."

The box and website refer to a Parent Center, but I was unable to locate it in the game. From the screen shot, it looks like a parent can see exactly how a child is progressing through the different units. I searched the game, and then the website and wasn't able to find the answer. In the FAQ section, I was told the information could be found in the Parent Center, but I couldn't find out where the Parent Center is located.

The game, as purchased, includes 2 adventure units, which provide 80 or so learning games. Additional units can be purchased via a monthly subscription, which can add 10 more units to the game. I'll be more likely to purchase the additional units if I can find the Parent Center so I have a clear picture of how the boys are doing on individual tasks.

I know the boys will continue playing this game. It will make a nice complement to our regular schooling activities, and reinforce the skills that they are learning. I would recommend it to other other families with first graders, if they were looking for an educational software game.

I was able to review this product thanks to Mom Central!

I have another week

Advent doesn't start until NEXT Sunday. I feel like a doofus. It usually starts the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but that would have meant there were 5 Sundays in Advent this year, when there are only 4.

Oh, well, that means I have another week to get done what I wanted before it started.

yesterday was a bust

Um, yea, all that stuff I thought I'd be doing yesterday?

Didn't do a lick of it.

Maybe today . . .

Advent Preparation

Advent is the season of preparation, and today is my day to prepare for that season!

My sister and I sat down last night and decided what Christmas cookies we wanted to make this year and picked a weekend to make them. I will go through the list and check for ingredients we need to add to the shopping lists over the next couple weeks.

Today is a cleaning day. I'm almost caught up on laundry, so I will finish the laundry today and then re-create my laundry schedule. Years ago, I had a great schedule that had me doing laundry 5 days/week almost and I never had overflowing baskets. I need to add in L's laundry to the schedule, but I still hope to keep laundry to only 5 days a week.

The kitchen is clean, but today I'm going to wipe down the cupboards and the chandelier. The house will get vacuumed or swept as necessary. The boys room is clean, but I still have work to do on mine. The fish tanks need to be cleaned today. The house needs to be dusted.

The playroom is the worst room of the house (well, maybe the office is the worst . . . ) and I don't think I'm going to tackle those rooms today. They WILL get done before Christmas is here, however!

I found the box of Christmas/Advent/winter books, so I just need to put them in a basket and place them in the living room.

I'm trying to decide when to put up our tree, and I think we'll wait until the 16th. That gives us a couple weeks to enjoy it, but not too much. I imagine L will be crawling by then, which will be fun ;) DH will probably finish the outside lighting tomorrow after church.