A Friday Post

Happy Friday! The hubs returns home after being gone all week so it really IS a happy Friday around here. We sure missed him.

Last night Max and Sophie slept in bed with me. I had bribed encouraged them to be be good all week at bedtime with the promise of sleeping in mom's room as the "big reward". And believe me, they were so excited! Man, I will miss the days when sleeping in bed with mom is no longer a really exciting thing.

Can you guys believe that Thanksgiving is next week? It is so early this year! My mom is having our family over and my mouth is already watering in anticipation of the food. I LOVE Thanksgiving food. I think my favorite is the sweet potatoes... or maybe the green bean casserole... maybe the mashed potatoes. I don't know! How do you decide? Because we all know the true beauty of the Thanksgiving meal is the combination of the delicious flavors.

I also wanted to pass on a few good reads this week from around the internet.

I loved this article by Dr. Peter Gray, "As Children's Freedom Has Declined, So Has Their Creativity". I feel like we are witnessing this first hand and it is such a good encouragement to turn off the TV, stop directing our children's every move and let our children play!

I shared Ruth's post, "Why I Took All of My Kids Toys Away" a few months ago because I loved it so much and it encouraged me on my own journey to simplicity in our home, especially with our kids! She has a new post called, "What I Won't Give my Kids for Christmas". I really enjoyed this follow up article and is great food for thought.

P.S. Although I loved the article I will be giving my kiddos Christmas presents. But, we will be choosing quality toys that fit with what we want our home life to look like and we have a little gift giving system we use with our kiddos that has worked really well for the past few years that I will be sharing next week!

Now, I really have been praying about whether or not to post this last link for awhile now because the subject matter is extremely controversial. I use this blog to talk about happy things and to be an encouragement more than anything else. But, I realized that it is information I really would have appreciated having years ago and so I am putting it on here just for those who want it. I have prayed a lot weather or not to post it because I am not here to start a debate. Anyway, a few years ago I had talked to my OB/GYN about using the Mirena IUD. I had been very open with him about our families beliefs and convictions and when I brought it up my doctor (who is not a Christian himself), said that based on my strong personal beliefs of life beginning at conception, he did not recommend it for me. I came across this booklet not to long ago and just wanted to share it in case anyone would benefit from reading it. You can read the whole thing here.

month of {gratitude} day 15

Today's gratitude might sound a little silly to some people... but it isn't any less true! Today I am so thankful for resources like Pinterest and a few great food blogs that make meal planning and cooking for my family so much easier! Meal planning can be a little overwhelming for me sometimes, but online resources like these have been a huge game changer for me! 

I have worked my entire married life to attempt to overcome a bad fast food habit. There is just something so easy about grabbing quick (fairly inexpensive) food and being able to throw all of the trash away... a family with full tummies and the kitchen is still all sparkly, how do you compete with that?? 

BUT... I know that it is so terrible for my family health wise and that it really isn't as easy on the wallet as it appears at first glance. So, I have really tried to make sure we are eating at home most of the time and success in that area for me has meant that I have to have a meal plan. I think I have tried every possible method out there. But, I always come back to the old pen and paper... write out one to two weeks of meals method. It is so easy now that I can just scroll through Pinterest and pick out a handful of meals with the recipes only a click away to make a quick grocery list! 

I tell ya, me and Pinterest... love at first sight! Are there any super practical things you are grateful for today?

The "S" word

The "S" word... If you are a homeschooling mom you probably already know what I am talking about... SOCIALIZATION. It is the first question everyone asks when you admit to homeschooling your children (or planning on it) and probably, if you weren't homeschooled yourself, probably one of the first questions you asked yourself!

People are curious as to how a child who stays at home and isn't surrounded by 30+ same aged peers everyday will fit into the world after highschool graduation. In some ways it is a valid question... most of us have met one or two homeschooling families in our life that are just a touch on the kooky side. However, let's remember that despite their kookiness the children probably did grow up to be somewhat functioning members of society... And we all know a few public school wierdos as well... let's just keep it real here people...

Even though most of us have asked the big socialization  question ourselves at one time, once you begin homeschooling you start to dread the question. You dread it because probably from the first week you started homescholing you realized how ridiculous it really is. You have not locked your child up Harry Potter style in the closet under the stairs. You still go to church, family events, the grocery store, and on a really good day you yourself might spend a few minutes chatting with your own children (I kid).

And we are validated in our decisions when our kiddos walk up to another kid in the Chick-fil-a play place and ask them their name and if they want to play "horrible angry space creatures" with them. When they order their own drinks at a restaurant and tell the waitress "thank you". When you are around other children their age who go to school and realize that maybe your kids aren't complete weirdos and you aren't the worst parent in the world for avoiding the big yellow bus.

Deciding to educate your children at home can be a hard decision to make. I don't think any of us come to it lightly. And feeling constantly like we must defend ourselves to the outside world certainly doesn't do a lot for our self-confidence. So, I just wanted to take a minute today to encourage all of my fellow homeschool mamas that we are doing okay! It is okay to feel defensive sometimes and there will be days when we question if we are doing the right thing. But, isn't that true in all areas of motherhood? Be encouraged friends! People might question why we do many of the things that we do, but let that not be a determining factor in our decisions. 

When I need an extra dose of encouragement in homeschooling I love to look at Deuteronomy 6:5-9. I don't think there is a more beautiful picture of what educating your children at home can look like out there- 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

month of {gratitude} catch up day!

I am behind on my gratitude posts! Eek! I have been single mommin' it these past few days while the hubs is out of town so blogging has taken a bit of a backseat! So, I will just list a few things I am grateful for in bullet point form! 

• wonderful friends and family who have helped out while Nick is gone
• God meeting my daily needs by providing me with patience, gentleness, and kindness towards my children when I know I couldn't do those things on my own
• quiet mornings with candlelight, music, and hot coffee to spend time alone with the Lord and prepare for the day ahead
• a husband who goes to a conference but acts like he is on a mission trip and uses the opportunity to share the love of Christ with people he comes across on the streets
• Friend2Friend this semester- today was our last meeting but I have been really grateful this semester for my kiddos teachers, my class and the people in it, and the guarantee of drinking a cup of coffee among adults every week while there are no children yelling in the background
• God's provision for us financially over the past month when unexpected things have come up
• a Savior who should have left me where I was but instead chose to save me and continues to pursue me and work in my life...

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the Lord;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock 

and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see sand fear 

and put their trust in the Lord.

The great price compare

Our town recently got a Sam's Club. I felt like we hit the big time! Ha! I was really excited! But, I have heard that not everything at Sam's is a good deal. So, I decided it was time to do some major price comparing. It is something I have always wanted to do so that I would know what to buy where or be able to recognize a really good deal, but it  was something I had never gotten around to.

Well, I finally got in gear and made a big list of all of the things we buy on a regular basis or always have on hand. Things like diapers and wipes, bread, peanut butter, toilet paper, etc...I took a few days and wrote it all down. Then I did the really cool thing of taking a notebook and a pen and writing down prices and product sizes as I wander through the store... Yep, I am awesome.

So far I have done Aldi and Sams (although I have a few blanks to fill in because both were trips with kids!) for groceries and Sams, Target, and Wal-Mart for diapers. I still need to do Wal-Mart for groceries. But, it has been very interesting! So far I was surprised to realize that some things that I thought would be cheaper at Aldi were cheaper at Sams and vice versa.

For diapers and wipes I am not brand picky once kiddos are a few months old. I like the Pampers Swaddlers for newborns but after that I will use whatever is cheapest. I found Sams Club was cheapest for the Swaddlers in size 1 (about $0.19 a diaper) and generic unscented wipes (.017 cents per wipe). For bigger diapers I found Parent's Choice in the big box to be cheapest at Wal-Mart ($0.18 per diaper when you buy the box with 108 diapers in it).

As I compile all of my data I am putting it in a Google doc.. here is my little screen shot as I was doing my awesome consumer math this today...

When I am done I am happy to share my little chart... although I know prices vary by region so it will probably only be helpful if you live in my neck of the woods! 

I have no doubt that if you have a smart phone there are apps for this that would make it much easier. Or there are a lot of easier ways to do this! But, I have enjoyed my little project on pen and paper the old fashioned way! 

Make Your Home a Haven

Do any of you follow Courtney over at Women Living Well? I found her blog several years ago and it was one of the first Christian woman/mom blogs I started reading. It is still one of my favorites today. I love how Courtney has a such a heart for her family and home and she gives lots of practical advice for homemaking. And even more, Courtney loves the Word of God and she shares practically how to study and learn from the Bible.

All of this to say, Courtney has been doing a challenge over at her blog called, Making Your Home a Haven. She is sharing ways to make your home a peaceful and beautiful place for you and your family. I was sold on the concept immediately. Right now with three young kiddos, another one on the way, a dog, and a cat I wouldn't say "peaceful" is the first word I would use to describe our home right now!

The first week Courtney challenged us to light a candle in one of the main rooms in our house and have it burning all day. Not only does this look (and smell!) wonderful and peaceful but the candle is then used as a reminder to pray for peace in your home. I love this. I have been doing this everyday. I have my candle right in my kitchen. I blow it out if we go anywhere but as soon as we are back home I try to remember to light it again!

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This week's challenge was to play soft music in your home. This is never something I have really done. However, I really want to give it a try! I found a classical Christmas station on Pandora and made breakfast this morning to instrumentals of my favorite Christmas songs.

This was huge change in the tone of my morning. I usually feel a little stressed in the morning (I am not naturally a morning person, I joke often that no one should even talk to me until I have had a cup of coffee) but this morning, honestly, I felt anything but stressed. The candle and soft music combined with the fireplace on and a yummy cup of coffee from my new Keurig started my day off right! What a huge improvement from cartoons on in the background and kiddos fighting over which show they want to watch!

It makes me wonder how often there are little things we can do to make our home a happier and more peaceful place for our families? Sometimes it takes a little more effort and thought beforehand to light candles, turn on music, etc. but what if it could turn around your entire day? I am willing to make a little extra effort!

What kinds of things do you do to make your home a little more of a haven?

Sophie School!

I wrote awhile back that probably the question I got asked most often when we decided to homeschool was about what we would do with Sophie. I shared my answer here.

For the past month or so Sophie has started begging to "do homeschool" too. She has let me know she wants her own workbooks and activities. Since then I have passed her some little preschool activity books or printed off worksheets from the computer. And she has enjoyed that. But, I don't have a ton of extra time for lesson planning these days and started thinking, "why not take advantage of her interest?"

So, last week I decided to spend a little bit of money and have the planning and work done for me and I purchased All About Reading's Pre-Reading Program.

The program starts with identifying letters and then moves on to sounds. I think a lot of this will be review for her but I wanted to err on the side of too easy and ensure she has the basics down rather than rushing her to the next level. Plus, my husband lovingly reminds me every time I purchase homeschool materials that there are several more children coming up that will use whatever I buy!

I am really looking forward to seeing how Sophie enjoys this program. After reading lots of reviews and searching the options I felt that this one was probably the best fit for her.

I will update on how she likes it! One of the best things about homeschooling is being able to switch gears or start things at any time! So, if she decides she is not ready for this and we can set it aside until later or we can go through it quickly and buy the next level in a few months!