I had a chance while on the plane to sit and think about activities to do with the children. I wrote a list of plans for the next few weeks to fill our mornings and afternoons. Of course, I included our pre-planned gymnastics, library, and swim lessons. I added in a trip to the museum and one to the Grove. I scheduled to stay at for science, art, and game days. This is mostly to keep myself accountable as Jon starts track - to put down the computer. But also to keep bickering among the kids to a minimum as the cold weather continues. I'll continue to encourage free play, but when the kids can't seem to play together anymore or are clamoring for video games, I'll start with that day's plans. I'm looking forward to having some things down on paper.
One thing Carolyn had expressed interest in is counting to 100. James is starting to be able to count to 10 as well. We finally got him over "1, 2, 3, 8" and now he does 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10! Just have to sneak that 7 in there and he'll be good. But I figured number recognition would be good for both of them. So today I found some coloring pages and arranged them so I could print 1 page with 2 numbers so they could have matching projects. I explained to Carolyn the need to color neatly, which she did well with at first. We are going to do one page a day until we reach the 100th day of the year. It being the 4th though, they completed 4 pages and when she got to 4 she got a little sloppy. It's okay though, part of being a 4 year old. I then took Carolyn's 1-4 and taped them to the top of the wall in the playroom. Since that will be one of the last rooms redecorated, I figured this would make a good decoration. We'll go all the way around the top of the room with a new number each day. James' sheets were bundled into a clip for the kids to look through.
Very much so looking forward to getting back into a routine on Monday! I'm excited to see what the kids can learn in this second half of the school year.
By eating healthy foods, including eliminating wheat and most grains, enjoying time outside without gadgets, and teaching our children about the world, we hope to raise our children to enjoy life and be free of physical maladies. Follow us on our journey towards general health and a sense of well being.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Memories that last
What a great trip! We arrived pretty late on Monday evening, but everyone slept in Tuesday and in the morning we headed over to see my grandpa and Doris. We walked over there and my grandpa met us on the sidewalk, a huge deal as this was his first venture out without a walker since his surgery. We enjoyed just sitting and talking until the kids got cranky and we headed back to the other house for lunch and naps. It was great to get out and walk in the sunshine with hats and coats! We went back in the evening for dinner which was also nice.
On Wednesday my grandpa came over to his house while Jon took the kids to the park. We went through some things in the house and talked about what he would like to see happen to them. I will be looking into the price of shipping his stained glass materials including a saw and grinder to our home. I also might look at the price of shipping some of his other tools and a couple furniture items at the same time. He really wants us kids to have his things and I think we might really use them. First we need to clean out our garage to see what we have room for. There's a sewing table with sewing machine that I have my eye on as well, so we'll see how it all works out. What was great about this visit though was a chance to talk with my grandfather. I think I got him to understand that we visit with him because we want the memories. He tried to say that talking on the phone is just the same, but I pointed to James' phone skills to highlight that not being true. He lamented his vision being poor and his hearing not so great (he lost a hearing aide) and I told him that our reason for visiting is selfish - we want the memory of being with him. Unfortunately I made him cry, reminding him that family is what matters. He has decided to move towards selling the house, although backpedaling a little now that Doris looks to be on the mend. I told him that even if he sells his house I will still be coming to visit him. I'll never forget sitting in the room and hugging him as we both cried over the idea that he won't be with us forever.
Another great memory from this trip took place on Wednesday night. Since Sheri (Doris' niece) treated dinner Tuesday, we brought pizza over on Wednesday. Everyone ate their fill and then we sat around the table talking and the kids played their video games a bit (thanks for both systems Dad, a major life save on this trip!) As usual, James continued to nibble at food, telling Jon as he started to clean up plates. He then found the cup of ranch dressing for the salad and put some on his plate. Shockingly, he didn't make a huge mess. He proceeded to dip his pizza into the ranch and take a bite. My grandpa then commented on this and James offered him a bite. It was the cutest thing in the world to see him try to hand my grandfather what was left of his piece of pizza. Grandpa said no, and told James his stomach was full, pointing to the top of his throat. We had another good chuckle about that at bed time back at the house. These are the memories life is made of, and time we'll never get back. I'm sad to think it's possible I may never see my grandfather alive again, but I continue to pray that my kids will continue to make memories with him for a few years. And I hope that Grandpa will get to meet Tim's new baby in a couple months.
Time to get some rest as it's back to the grind with 2 tutoring sessions and plenty of work tomorrow!
On Wednesday my grandpa came over to his house while Jon took the kids to the park. We went through some things in the house and talked about what he would like to see happen to them. I will be looking into the price of shipping his stained glass materials including a saw and grinder to our home. I also might look at the price of shipping some of his other tools and a couple furniture items at the same time. He really wants us kids to have his things and I think we might really use them. First we need to clean out our garage to see what we have room for. There's a sewing table with sewing machine that I have my eye on as well, so we'll see how it all works out. What was great about this visit though was a chance to talk with my grandfather. I think I got him to understand that we visit with him because we want the memories. He tried to say that talking on the phone is just the same, but I pointed to James' phone skills to highlight that not being true. He lamented his vision being poor and his hearing not so great (he lost a hearing aide) and I told him that our reason for visiting is selfish - we want the memory of being with him. Unfortunately I made him cry, reminding him that family is what matters. He has decided to move towards selling the house, although backpedaling a little now that Doris looks to be on the mend. I told him that even if he sells his house I will still be coming to visit him. I'll never forget sitting in the room and hugging him as we both cried over the idea that he won't be with us forever.
Another great memory from this trip took place on Wednesday night. Since Sheri (Doris' niece) treated dinner Tuesday, we brought pizza over on Wednesday. Everyone ate their fill and then we sat around the table talking and the kids played their video games a bit (thanks for both systems Dad, a major life save on this trip!) As usual, James continued to nibble at food, telling Jon as he started to clean up plates. He then found the cup of ranch dressing for the salad and put some on his plate. Shockingly, he didn't make a huge mess. He proceeded to dip his pizza into the ranch and take a bite. My grandpa then commented on this and James offered him a bite. It was the cutest thing in the world to see him try to hand my grandfather what was left of his piece of pizza. Grandpa said no, and told James his stomach was full, pointing to the top of his throat. We had another good chuckle about that at bed time back at the house. These are the memories life is made of, and time we'll never get back. I'm sad to think it's possible I may never see my grandfather alive again, but I continue to pray that my kids will continue to make memories with him for a few years. And I hope that Grandpa will get to meet Tim's new baby in a couple months.
Time to get some rest as it's back to the grind with 2 tutoring sessions and plenty of work tomorrow!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Clean house
We've enjoyed relaxing around the house the last couple days. But with our trip to AZ on Monday, it was time to get to cleaning. We took down the tree and all indoor Christmas decorations. Since the lights aren't in our way and it's freezing outside, we left the outside things up. I figure we'll unplug them next weekend at least. I must say, though, that it is very nice to have a clean house. I even finished finding places for everything in our bedroom from when we moved in. We found places for everything in the playroom and all floors were swetp/vaccumed. I am looking forward to starting off the new year in a clean house when we return.
I continue to spend a bit of time working on the kids' rugs each day. They are both big enough that if I wanted them to be small I could stop and call them done. But it's really rather easy so I'll continue to work until I discover I no longer have time. We'll see how big they end up, perhaps these will be the big rugs in their rooms rather than small. They feel really cool to sit on and so I'm thinking I want them to be big enough for the kids to lay on them. Just not sure how much work I'll get done once Jon goes back to work.
One thing I had intended to do over break was create a schedule for afterwards. And that I have yet to do. So I am committing to doing so upon our return. Or perhaps I'll take some paper to think about it while on the plane. Our first week back we only have gymnastics, although I'm thinking we'll head to the library as well. Second week we're back in full swing with gymnastics, story hour, and swim lessons. Our free days will be Wed/Fri, so I'm thinking I'll plan activities out on Wed and Fri we'll stay home to relax, do laundry, and work on science projects. We have lots of cool new art supplies as well. Looking forward to getting back into a routine and helping the kids learn. I'm hoping that we can get some snow to make playing outside a bit more fun as well.
Can't wait to visit Grandpa on Monday and get some quality time with him. Hoping for a calm day tomorrow as I tutor and finish up work for a few days.
I continue to spend a bit of time working on the kids' rugs each day. They are both big enough that if I wanted them to be small I could stop and call them done. But it's really rather easy so I'll continue to work until I discover I no longer have time. We'll see how big they end up, perhaps these will be the big rugs in their rooms rather than small. They feel really cool to sit on and so I'm thinking I want them to be big enough for the kids to lay on them. Just not sure how much work I'll get done once Jon goes back to work.
One thing I had intended to do over break was create a schedule for afterwards. And that I have yet to do. So I am committing to doing so upon our return. Or perhaps I'll take some paper to think about it while on the plane. Our first week back we only have gymnastics, although I'm thinking we'll head to the library as well. Second week we're back in full swing with gymnastics, story hour, and swim lessons. Our free days will be Wed/Fri, so I'm thinking I'll plan activities out on Wed and Fri we'll stay home to relax, do laundry, and work on science projects. We have lots of cool new art supplies as well. Looking forward to getting back into a routine and helping the kids learn. I'm hoping that we can get some snow to make playing outside a bit more fun as well.
Can't wait to visit Grandpa on Monday and get some quality time with him. Hoping for a calm day tomorrow as I tutor and finish up work for a few days.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Merry Christmas Eve!
We had another nice day today. I spent the morning making the sticky buns and apple pie. They look great! The kids were pretty good and Jon had a chance to do a bunch of cleaning while I baked. I didn't get anything prepared in terms of real food for tomorrow, but should be okay. Just have to mix together the cheesy potatoes and sweet potatoes. As usual I do need to sit down and figure out a timing schedule for everything, but likely in the morning. Jon even remembered to charge the video camera today!
This afternoon Michelle and Brian came over for a nice visit. Miraculously, both children slept until nearly 3pm. We all shared the birthday cake, which turned out pretty well. I think I'll skip the almond extract next time though, because it was very strong! Then the kids provided entertainment until it was time to go to church. It was really nice to see Michelle and Brian and now that we're closer I'm hoping to see them more often.
We went to the 4pm family mass, which was different than when I was growing up. They moved the children's play portion to before the official mass and the homily was fairly long. As usual, the church was packed and we ended up sitting on the floor in the vestibule, which was okay for the kids. Next year we'll go earlier though and hopefully they'll be old enough to actually sit through mass. And once Carolyn starts Sunday school next fall hopefully we'll start to know some other people involved at the church as well. It's going to be nice to be settled into one town. We came home and had our usual special dinner, looked at the Norad Santa tracker, read the Christmas story book, then the kids put out the milk, cookies, and carrots. They put a bunch out, so we warned them Santa might not eat it all. I already had a couple things though. Jon is wrapping some of the presents now while I keep watch for opening doors. Luckily Carolyn is bad with being quiet when she leaves her room. I am really looking forward to the look on their faces tomorrow morning. They each will only have 7 things to open, but they're all things we know that will get played with. Plus we know others will spoil them! Looking forward to the big crazy day tomorrow and then a quiet time at home before we head to AZ. Great end to 2012.
Looking forward to the many blessings that God has in store for us this week! Merry Christmas to all.
This afternoon Michelle and Brian came over for a nice visit. Miraculously, both children slept until nearly 3pm. We all shared the birthday cake, which turned out pretty well. I think I'll skip the almond extract next time though, because it was very strong! Then the kids provided entertainment until it was time to go to church. It was really nice to see Michelle and Brian and now that we're closer I'm hoping to see them more often.
We went to the 4pm family mass, which was different than when I was growing up. They moved the children's play portion to before the official mass and the homily was fairly long. As usual, the church was packed and we ended up sitting on the floor in the vestibule, which was okay for the kids. Next year we'll go earlier though and hopefully they'll be old enough to actually sit through mass. And once Carolyn starts Sunday school next fall hopefully we'll start to know some other people involved at the church as well. It's going to be nice to be settled into one town. We came home and had our usual special dinner, looked at the Norad Santa tracker, read the Christmas story book, then the kids put out the milk, cookies, and carrots. They put a bunch out, so we warned them Santa might not eat it all. I already had a couple things though. Jon is wrapping some of the presents now while I keep watch for opening doors. Luckily Carolyn is bad with being quiet when she leaves her room. I am really looking forward to the look on their faces tomorrow morning. They each will only have 7 things to open, but they're all things we know that will get played with. Plus we know others will spoil them! Looking forward to the big crazy day tomorrow and then a quiet time at home before we head to AZ. Great end to 2012.
Looking forward to the many blessings that God has in store for us this week! Merry Christmas to all.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Baking is complete!
Almost all the baking is complete. Well, everything that could possibly be done in advance is complete. Today I finished up with lemon love notes, kalachkis, and birthday cake. We'll see how the cake tastes, but I think it looks awesome. I used a gluten free recipe and it seemed a bit off as it cooked. It inflated a lot while cooking and totally collapsed afterwards, although doesn't look terrible. I put a layer of my usual frosting on it, some Christmas sprinkles, but then gave my first try ever at fondant for decorating. Wow was this easy to work with! Definitely will take some more finessing as far as coloring is concerned, but so easy to shape. I have been thinking of doing a cross, but Jon suggested a star as I was mentioning my plans. So I put a yellow star top with red and green stars around the edges. I then wrote out "JESUS" as well. We took a picture that I'll post when I upload. (Looking forward to the tablet as perhaps that will make pictures here easier.) Tomorrow I just need to do the sticky buns and apple pie, haven't decided on what other prep work I'll do. That will most likely depend on how the day is going and what I have time for. Not too much left overall though.
My dad and Patty were over this afternoon and it was nice. Jon and I ran to the store to finish getting wrapping paper and stocking stuffers. Then we relaxed, opened presents, and just enjoyed each other's company. My dad is taking us to Disney on Ice, which I'm sure the kids will love. They gave us a bunch of gluten free foods, which will be great as I get fully back into that in the new year. Each kid received 2 TAG books with they immediately started playing with. It's amazing how much they love their books. The solar system book is sure to provide Carolyn with hours of discovery as well. Definitely something we'll be bringing on the plane next week, since each system can have headphones inserted as well.
Well, off to go paint the handprint sets and then work a little on the doll sets. I managed to get 1 doll and 1 outfit for each child. So anything more is just extra, so we'll see what gets done.
My dad and Patty were over this afternoon and it was nice. Jon and I ran to the store to finish getting wrapping paper and stocking stuffers. Then we relaxed, opened presents, and just enjoyed each other's company. My dad is taking us to Disney on Ice, which I'm sure the kids will love. They gave us a bunch of gluten free foods, which will be great as I get fully back into that in the new year. Each kid received 2 TAG books with they immediately started playing with. It's amazing how much they love their books. The solar system book is sure to provide Carolyn with hours of discovery as well. Definitely something we'll be bringing on the plane next week, since each system can have headphones inserted as well.
Well, off to go paint the handprint sets and then work a little on the doll sets. I managed to get 1 doll and 1 outfit for each child. So anything more is just extra, so we'll see what gets done.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Local decorations
We had a busy day today as Christmas draws near. Jon took his car in to have the shaking at high speeds investigated. Luckily it turns out the tires were just out of balance after the recent tire rotation he had done. While we were waiting we had breakfast and went to The Grove. The Holiday House is still going and has wonderful handmade crafts at decent prices. We were truly amazed at the prices on the items and will definitely shop there in the future. We got 3 ornaments for us, 2 for Jon's parents, and one for his grandma that are all personalized. A great tribute to our first Christmas here. We will likely go there for our ornaments each year as well since it's only slightly more expensive than typical stores and these are personalized and really cute. We are thinking we'll do some of our shopping there or earlier at the craft fair in November next year. The kids are really at a point where they don't need/want much for Christmas, so buying some well-made keepsake type things will probably be just what we want these next couple years.
Seeing the various crafts gave me some ideas for things I'd like to do. There were pillows made similar to the fleece blankets I've made in the past. No sewing, just tying the sides all together. It could be nice to fill pillows as much as desired. I could make some decorative ones for around the house as well. Could even be something nice for right in front of the fireplace as well. I really need to figure out a color scheme for each room in the house so we can start decorating. I'm excited to finally have a house where I can get each room exactly as I want it.
I started on the felt doll sets while everyone was at the store. They are very difficult to make! I'm having to make foam cutouts at the same time because I can't draw on the felt but the paper is too hard to work with when cutting. But it's okay, because the kids can just dress up the dolls in the bathtub as well. I will work more on this tonight after we're sure the kids are asleep. It feels like Christmas has kind of snuck on me, but I'm looking forward to the craziness of the next few days and then the stillness afterwards. The rugs will be far from finished come Christmas day, but that's okay, I will have something to work on while the kids are playing with their new toys/books. Looking forward to some time with my Dad tomorrow as we officially start our Christmas celebration. Then Christmas Eve with a cake, church, and special dinner.
Missing my mom quite a bit this holiday season, but I know she would be proud of what we are sharing with our children. Love you Mom!
Seeing the various crafts gave me some ideas for things I'd like to do. There were pillows made similar to the fleece blankets I've made in the past. No sewing, just tying the sides all together. It could be nice to fill pillows as much as desired. I could make some decorative ones for around the house as well. Could even be something nice for right in front of the fireplace as well. I really need to figure out a color scheme for each room in the house so we can start decorating. I'm excited to finally have a house where I can get each room exactly as I want it.
I started on the felt doll sets while everyone was at the store. They are very difficult to make! I'm having to make foam cutouts at the same time because I can't draw on the felt but the paper is too hard to work with when cutting. But it's okay, because the kids can just dress up the dolls in the bathtub as well. I will work more on this tonight after we're sure the kids are asleep. It feels like Christmas has kind of snuck on me, but I'm looking forward to the craziness of the next few days and then the stillness afterwards. The rugs will be far from finished come Christmas day, but that's okay, I will have something to work on while the kids are playing with their new toys/books. Looking forward to some time with my Dad tomorrow as we officially start our Christmas celebration. Then Christmas Eve with a cake, church, and special dinner.
Missing my mom quite a bit this holiday season, but I know she would be proud of what we are sharing with our children. Love you Mom!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Snow!
Well, kind of anyway. It snowed for a little bit and accumulated a little on the lawn. I'm hoping we'll get more tonight so the kids can have some to play in tomorrow morning. Otherwise we'll likely head to the library, so it's a win either way I suppose.
Today was a busy day, but apparently the kids needed that. Oddly enough, we never left the house! We had breakfast, read a bunch of books, and then made snickerdoodles this morning. After lunch the kids took wonderful naps, likely due to the darkness and rain. This afternoon they each had 2 snickerdoodles for snack and then we made handprint coasters for Jon's parents for Christmas. They didn't turn out as well as I had hoped so we plan to see if we can find anything at the Grove on Saturday. But I'm sure they'll still love them. I plan to paint the second set with real paint after we get some on Sunday. I let the kids use their washable finger paint on the first set since they didn't turn out great anyway. Maybe we'll try the real salt dough that bakes in the oven next time. But that took us just about until Jon got home. I have made some more progress on the rugs for both kids as well. They are both excited to see them grow. I need to find a way to flatten them while I'm not working on them, I'm thinking I might put Carolyn's under the overturned coffee table tonight. James' was started second so it's turning out a little better and is still pretty flat. I have to start to decide what size I want these to be. It's pretty clear I bought too much fabric, but you live and learn.
Jon's last day before break is tomorrow and I'm very excited. I have to go tutor at 4:30 so I won't get to really relax until about 6. But we have some fun things planned and then after Christmas we get to just relax as a family! I'm really looking forward to it and hoping I don't get asked to tutor much.
Here's hoping for a bunch of snow to dump tonight!
Today was a busy day, but apparently the kids needed that. Oddly enough, we never left the house! We had breakfast, read a bunch of books, and then made snickerdoodles this morning. After lunch the kids took wonderful naps, likely due to the darkness and rain. This afternoon they each had 2 snickerdoodles for snack and then we made handprint coasters for Jon's parents for Christmas. They didn't turn out as well as I had hoped so we plan to see if we can find anything at the Grove on Saturday. But I'm sure they'll still love them. I plan to paint the second set with real paint after we get some on Sunday. I let the kids use their washable finger paint on the first set since they didn't turn out great anyway. Maybe we'll try the real salt dough that bakes in the oven next time. But that took us just about until Jon got home. I have made some more progress on the rugs for both kids as well. They are both excited to see them grow. I need to find a way to flatten them while I'm not working on them, I'm thinking I might put Carolyn's under the overturned coffee table tonight. James' was started second so it's turning out a little better and is still pretty flat. I have to start to decide what size I want these to be. It's pretty clear I bought too much fabric, but you live and learn.
Jon's last day before break is tomorrow and I'm very excited. I have to go tutor at 4:30 so I won't get to really relax until about 6. But we have some fun things planned and then after Christmas we get to just relax as a family! I'm really looking forward to it and hoping I don't get asked to tutor much.
Here's hoping for a bunch of snow to dump tonight!
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