Prayers at the start of a new year
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I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, but I am looking towards this new year as a time for improvement over the last. I pray that in 2010 I will be:
A better disciple – I’ve gotten so lazy. Inexcusably lazy. God has blessed me so much and I spend so little time focusing on His Word and prayer, using the demands of two children as a lame excuse.
A better wife – less argumentative, more respectful and helpful.
A better parent – more self-control, more simple enjoyment of my children, more patient and wise.
A better steward – of our finances, my body, our home
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1
The key to a more healthy meal: divided plates
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I’ve always been rather less than diligent about giving my kids a variety of foods at any given meal. I knew I needed to be offering multiple things, and offering new things regularly, but just didn’t pay as much attention as I should in my hurry to get food in front of them and move on to the next in the long list of things that needed to be done. Recently we were shopping at Target and ran across these cute divided plates, and bought them, having no idea that they’d actually transform how I feed the boys.
Because the plates are divided, it automatically causes me to try and fill each space with something different. The space is there- it must be filled! Big J is magically more interested in eating too, because it’s just plain fun to get a cool monster plate with lots of different things on it. I’m also much more likely to offer a small amount of something he isn’t as fond of, and he’s more likely to eat it. Awesome!
The FunPlace Database
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When I get an idea in my head for a new project, I have a hard time resting until it’s done. That’s why I haven’t been around here much lately. My sister and I have begun a new website project called the FunPlace Database! Because you can never have too many websites…right?
We’re trying to build a central place to find all the places in your area where you can go to get out of the house with your kids. There’s no good resource like this on the web, and we are going to need lots of help to fill up the database.
It only takes a couple of minutes maximum to add a place- if you could add one or two (or lots!) and tell your friends we would be grateful and you’d be helping to create a great resource for other parents! Thanks!
How to Become a Computer Expert
By · CommentsThis little flow chart is right on the money. I’ve had so many people ask “how did you learn so much about computers?” Now I have a visual aid to answer that question with.
via Natalie Jost
Easing into homeschooling
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The question of whether or not we were going to send our kids to public school or homeschool them has never really been a question for us. We always knew homeschooling was the right thing for our family. Big J is 4 and has been rather off and on with his desire to sit down and do any type of schoolwork or reading, which is totally fine because, well, he’s 4. We signed up for a once a week “Kindergarten Concepts” class at the local homeschool co-op and I was hoping it would help us sort of ease into the school thing this year, and it has. We’re not ready for more than 15-20 minutes a day of sitting down to work on handwriting/fine motor skills, of course, but because some of it is “homework” from his class we just sort of fell into doing a little schoolwork every day. Other things I’ve begun to make more concerted effort to teach “along the way”. We don’t sit down to learn about the calendar, telling time, money, etc. but we are learning about those things as there is opportunity.
I know homeschooling is going to be challenging, especially since Big J persists in the belief that he knows more than I do. But at this moment I’m really looking forward to it.
Bathroom Wall Decor
By · CommentsThe prior owners of this house were kind enough to leave the super cute shower curtain in the boys’ bathroom when they moved out. They also left a large roll of wallpaper border that went with the curtain that we didn’t necessarily want to put up because wallpaper can be so difficult to remove. So, my aunt offered to make us a 3-D shadow box with it to dress up the bathroom. My mom and aunt spent HOURS cutting and sticking yesterday. Look how cute it turned out!
Here’s a close up. The basic process is to cut out each item multiple times and put small adhesive foam pieces between each layer, varying the height to give different levels of depth in the finished piece.
Monkey Boy
By · CommentsWe were out playing on the patio the other day and I took my eyes off Little D for just a minute and turned around to see this:
He would have climbed the slide before but it’s been too hot to play outside much. I’m just praying we can keep this little monkey out of the emergency room. He’s begun to try and climb the bookcases and loves to stand on his Mickey Mouse train to reach higher spots. This works well for him until Micky Mouse decides to roll out from under him!
Wal-Mart vs. Target: a price comparison
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Which is cheaper? Wal-Mart or Target? A Super Target recently opened near us and while I would much prefer to visit Target over Wal-Mart, I wondered if I would end up spending more by doing all my grocery shopping there. So, I did a little un-scientific price comparison and thought I’d share, since I’m sure I’m not the only one with this question.
(Some products at both stores were on sale, but this is not noted in the price comparison.)
| Item | Wal-Mart Price | Target Price |
| 1 Dozen Lg Eggs | $1.24 | $0.99 |
| Kraft Singles Cheese | $3.38 | $3.39 |
| Oatmeal Bars | $2.78 | $3.29 |
| Lg Can Star Kist Tuna | $2.22 | $2.24 |
| Can Spaghetti-Os | $0.87 | $1.09 |
| Gogurt | $2.50 | $2.49 |
| YoBaby Yogurt Cups | $3.22 | $3.24 |
| Sausage Links | $2.53 | $2.54 |
| Oscar Meyer Turkey Slices | $3.00 | $3.04 |
| CapriSun 100% Juice Pouches | $2.50 | $1.97 |
| Aunt Jemima Lite | $3.82 | $3.79 |
| Pace Picante | $1.92 | $2.89 |
| Nature Valley Nut Clusters | $2.28 | $2.99 |
| Arm & Hammer Cat Litter 20lbs | $8.82 | $6.74 |
| Campbell’s Bean & Bacon Soup | $1.44 | $1.52 |
| Tide Total Care | $10.84 | $10.99 |
| Oscar Meyer Turkey Slices | $3.00 | $3.04 |
| 1lb Ground Beef 93/7 | $3.48 | $2.99 |
| Store Brand Butter | $2.17 | $1.99 |
| Store Brand Mozz. Cheese 8 cups | $6.78 | $6.49 |
| Store Brand Vegetable Oil 48oz | $2.84 | $2.69 |
| Store Brand Baby Snack Puffs | $1.78 | $1.84 (and smaller size) |
| TOTAL | $73.41 | $72.24 |
So, with this mix of products, Target is lower, although if there weren’t quite so many store brand products, I suspect that Wal-Mart would be have been lower.
Grateful
By · CommentsI’m so grateful for the health of my children today. For some months, I’ve been following the blog of Jennifer McKinney about her family and specifically her son Stellan who has had a heart condition since before he was born. He’s doing very poorly today and because he sorta reminds me of my sweet Little D, I can’t help but empathize strongly with them. Blogs and Twitter are wonderful things. You can connect with people in ways not possible before we had these tools. I’m sitting here distracted, waiting for each Tweet to find out what is happening with a family I’ve never met, and never will. Thankfully, they are trusting in God’s sovereignty no matter what happens.
I can’t imagine having to deal with the prospect of losing one of my boys. So grateful for them.
Sand Art
By · CommentsThis video is mesmerizing. (via Laughing Lion Design)
