5 Kids and a Dog

Waiting

Momma Knows — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:41:21 +0000

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5

O: I need to put my hope in God and wait for Him to change the situation which I am powerless to change.

A: Sometimes we think we know what needs to happen, nd we spend our time fixed on that one thing. We work it out in our minds and let it take over our thoughts and become a huge stressor in our lives. We have a situation like this right now. The Lord just reminded me this morning that it’s in his hands. He is in control. So I wait.

P: Father God, I pray your protection and grace over this situation. Please give us the wisdom to know when to speak up, when to be quiet, when to step in, and when to just wait.

Ten Things I am Looking Forward to at Relevant

Momma Knows — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:00:00 +0000

1. My invisible friends will become “real”! I really, really cannot wait to meet so many of these ladies!

2. I get a five day vacation, without kids or husband. Just me. Short of a ladies’ retreat, that has never happened. And it’s definitely never involved airplanes!

3. Fellowship with Christians who also blog. I know lots of Christians. Most of them either have no idea I blog or think I’m weird because I do.

4. Fun! This may sound like a no-big-deal thing, but I’m a full time homeschool mom AND I work part time in a nursing home. I don’t get out much for things besides necessary home supplies.

5. Meeting possible sponsors. I hear lots of brands come to conferences to connect with bloggers. I’m right here! *waves*

6. Learning from more experienced bloggers. I’m really new to the whole business side of this industry, and looking forward to learning a whole lot more. I am a nonstop student, and I can’t wait to soak it up!

7. A chance to focus on my blog’s focus. Slowly it is developing, but Relevant will give me a big boost in this area. I want to write better, and for the glory of God. Why else do it?

8. Hotel maid service, fresh towels every day, and food which I don’t have to prepare. For anyone.

9. Connection with more bloggers I have yet to meet (even online) and widening my network.

10. Friendship. I know that #1 and #9 also sound like this, but I am talking more about deeper, real, can-I-pray-for-you-right-now type friendships. Real friendships.

Only 44 more days!!!!!

My Top 20 Favorite Blogs

Momma Knows — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:52:00 +0000

SisterLisa listed my blog in her top 20 favorite blogs, and asked me to list my top 20 and link up! It sounds like fun to me, but it was harder than I thought to come up with JUST 20! I had to pick the 20 I read the most often, but there are just SO MANY MORE I could add. These are in no particular order, just the random order they came to me.

Donna Young’s site isn’t exactly a blog, but it is my #1 go-to site for anything related to forms and organization. I’ve followed her site for… ever. All 13 years of our homeschooling. She has a nature blog too, which has apparently disappeared but I’m sure she will re-link it soon.
The Run Amuck Amber’s blog is a little bit artsy, a little bit playful, and very, very deep. I love her writing, and her thoughts about life, love, God, and raising kids.
The MOB Society This group of moms (and a dad!) also includes yours truly. All of us are raising sons and learning together in this adventure!
Our Homeschool Home Robyn is a homeschool mom and also a pretty darn impressive cook. Her food photos make me drool, and the recipes she posts make me want to spend more time in the kitchen.
See Jamie Blog Jamie is a homeschool and adoptive mom, and she keeps it real all the time. You should pop over and read their adoption story- It’s really neat!
My Blessed Life Myra hosts the Friday Fails meme, and she’s always good for at least one or two. She has no trouble laughing at herself, and she’s gone one cutie pie little guy she loves to write about too. Her blog is always fun and interesting.
The Gypsy Mama Lisa-Jo can make me giggle and cry all in the same post. She is from South Africa, writes beautifully, and praises God gloriously.
The Buttered Side This is a new favorite blog in my reader. I don’t remember how I found her, but when I did I spent half an hour just going from post to post… and laughing my head off! Sometimes she leans more on the PG-13 side, and sometimes we just need to “go there”, ya know?
Raising Arrows Amy is a homeschooling mom-of-many, expecting baby #7 ANY TIME now! Go here for support for large-family living, homeschooling, and just general how-to-itivness.
Classic Housewife in a Modern World Amber was my very first blog friend, when I started my first WordPress.com blog. She blogs about homeschooling, frugal living, and life.
Sunflower Schoolhouse Honey has a massive blog, with more resources than you can possibly imagine stored within! She’s a twins-nursing, homeschooling, Canadian mama and also my graphic designer.
Sprittibee Heather is another homeschooling mom, and a really great photographer too. She keeps it real, which is really refreshing.
AP Freewriting Ashley is a great writer, and always encouraging us in the Lord. I met her in January during the Bible in 90 Days challenge and have been stalking her ever since. It’s okay. She knows.
Layton Family Joy Steph is another blogger I met through B90Days, and I love her heart. It turned out we “run in the same homeschool circles” online.
Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom Bethany is in her 11th year of homeschooling, which is 2 years less than me. Even so, I learn something every single time I read her blog. This lady KNOWS organization!
Applie’s Place Michelle is a homeschool mom with teens now. I ‘met’ her in Donna Young’s site forums eons ago and have followed her blog almost as long. She teaches a science co-op for teens and posts a lot about that.
Views From the Farmstead Kiva is a homeschool mom with a very green thumb. She grows, harvests, dries, cans, cooks and blogs all about it.
The INAdvertent Farmer is a newer favorite of mine. Kim is a fantastic photographer and has the most amazing garden I’ve ever seen. She hosted KinderGardens this year. Which I dropped out of, thinking it was over. I just found out it’s not. *Whoops!*
Free-Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts With Worry) I think the title speaks for itself. Lenore Skenazy was called America’s Worst Mom, but in my eyes she’s smart, witty, and a VERY GOOD MOM. I love her sense of humor and her blog really calls things like they are.
Dewey’s Treehouse Mama Squirrel is a Charlotte Mason homeschooler, and I love reading all about their experiences.

So what are YOUR Top 20 Favorite Blogs? Be sure to link up over at The HomeSpun Life!

Sunday Worship: At the Cross

Momma Knows — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:00:00 +0000

The Prep Wrap-Up

Momma Knows — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:27:00 +0000

It has been SO LONG since I’ve posted a Homeschool Weekly Wrap-Up, that I decided to get a one week jump on it and post where I’m at as far as preparing for our school year.

So this week, I have:

1. Printed about half of the worksheets will be using with our Middle Ages Study. I also printed two ebooks, and I think I have two more to go. And can I say AGAIN how much I love ebooks, and how much I LOVE MY LASER PRINTER!? I do, I really really do.

2. Filed our Declaration of Intent To Homeschool form with the school district. I even remembered to have them stamp it received and make me a copy.

3. Visited The Homeschool Bookshop yesterday, and picked up some books there:

Math U See Gamma student test book
Knights & Castles: 50 Hands-On Activities to Experience the Middle Ages
Life of Fred: Geometry & the answer book, for J to prepare for Running Start in January
A student planner for D1. He has decided that he wants to take on that responsibility, and I do think that may help him stay on track as far as assignments go. He is very checklist-oriented.

I even had some store credit to use, which made it really nice! I love that we have this store here. We don’t have to wait for the next used curriculum sale, or pay shipping to order online. Just drop by the Bookshop.

For now, that’s where I’m at. I know I have a bunch of things yet to do.

Disclosure: Contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, a small amount will go to support 5 Kids and a Dog, and you have my sincere thanks!

Fails, oh My

Momma Knows — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 +0000

This week I have several fails to share. As you know we are gearing up to begin homeschooling again on Tuesday. I have been going through our curriculum, sorting and organizing, and planning. As I’ve been doing that, I discovered failure #1…

Fail #1: I realized we did no science last year. Nothing. Okay, I know that we can count gardening, but since most of it was done by me (and not very well), I don’t think I should count it. This year WILL be different!

Fail #2: We budget our cash using an envelope system. Each payday, I take out grocery money, and envelope money. We have envelopes for clothing, household items/repairs, haircuts, curriculum/school related items. Last payday, E came home early on Friday and went grocery shopping with us. That’s not usually a big deal, except he has this thing about NOT going to the bank before we go. “Just use the debit card”, he says. So I did. And completely forgot about the envelopes. Now I notice the boys are in desperate need of jeans, and we have no money in the envelope because it stayed in the bank account and got spent.

Fail #3: We let the puppies sleep with us again. Missy pooped sometime in the middle of the night, and Levi did it RIGHT before I went to let them outside in the morning. Back to the kennel they go!

Fail #4: Last Monday D1’s OT was cancelled because the therapists were at a conference. I forgot, and took him anyway. After a few minutes in the waiting room it occurred to me and we left. Whoops.

I think that’s enough for now. As you can see it’s been a very productive week in terms of failures. I won’t even tell you about the 6 times I forgot about my tea water in a mug in the microwave. My kids are now trained to take it out for me and remind me it’s there.

The Trouble with Puppies

Momma Knows — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:00:00 +0000

The Wonder Twins are at it again. This time, it was a bolster pillow from my bed. They killed it, gutted it, and dragged it home. Okay, not exactly, but they would like to think that’s what they did. They actually chewed the button off of the end of the bolster, ripped the pillow open, and had a wonderful time ripping the stuffing out of it, all over my bedroom. I caught them in the act, and both tried to look innocent, with stuffing stuck between their teeth.

In the past month, Missy and Levi have:

Dumped 5 bathroom waste baskets and shredded the contents (you don’t EVEN want to know)
Ripped up my bolster pillow
Killed 3 mice and two birds (again with the hunting! Like here, and here.)
Rolled in something nasty. Not sure what but it smelled horrible!
Escaped from the back yard 4 different times
Pooped or peed in more places than I can count, INDOORS
Stolen 13 separate socks and 1 pair of underwear, and dragged them outside
Spent untold hours barking mindlessly at the back fence.

I did get to have a little revenge though. They have both been neutered (Ha! Take that!), had rabies shots (again, HA!) and I bought an ultrasonic bark-stopper that seems to work quite well. The only trouble is that I need one on each corner of the fence to stop the yapping in the yard. In the house, it is quite effective!

Despite how it sounds, they are actually getting much better about going to the bathroom outside. They have graduated to being allowed to sleep with us again, since they don’t wet my bed any more. J and I are training them, working on sit, lay, leave it, and beg. Missy begs very pretty now. Both also walk very happily on a leash with a harness.

These puppies though, they are nothing but trouble! Sweet, annoying, trouble.

Endurance

Momma Knows — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:39:00 +0000

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Cor. 4:17-18

This time of year I always see stressed out moms. They are either frantically purchasing school supplies for that ever-growing “required list” for their children’s teachers, or they are scrambling to fit the upcoming year’s homeschool curriculum into a one-income budget. They may be noticing bald tires on the van, gray hair, a leaky faucet, hot flashes, or ankles showing beneath a child’s jeans- which fit two months ago. Life happens. The way we respond to it has enormous effect on our health and on the family around us.

You do realize that what you are dealing with is small in the grand scheme of things, right? You are so important to God! He knows and He cares what you are going through. Not only that, but He said that if we pray and ask in faith, we will have what we ask. He also promised us that through our persevering, it would be worth it.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb. 12:2

Do you know WHY Jesus did that? He did it because he KNEW THE OUTCOME OF IT. Jesus knew that He had to endure the cross so that we would receive the eternal benefits. Everything you do has purpose. Everything you deal with strengthens you, molds you, changes you into who the Lord wants you to become.

Endure! Persevere! Hang in there! What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Just One Thing: Raising Independent Kids

Momma Knows — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Lately the terms “delayed adulthood” and “extended adolescence” have been heard amongst parenting experts, and many television news programs have had feature stories on the phenomena. The joke about the video-game addicted boy growing up to be the 35 year old man who can’t hold a job and lives in his parent’s basement, but holds the high score in World of Warcraft or Halo 2 really isn’t a joke anymore. It happens. My one question this month refers to fostering a child’s independence so that he or she will grow into a responsible adult.

How do you help your children to develop independence?

Kiva at Views from the Farmstead encourages her kids to take on some personal management early on. “My children are 6 and 8, so their independence is limited. My hubby and I think it is important for them to have strong character and we believe we are achieving that by firmly rooting them in God’s Word. As they grow older and find themselves in different situations, we pray that they will make wise choices and decisions. At their young ages, they also manage their savings accounts, contribute to the house via chores, and our daughter is gaining kitchen confidence to hopefully start helping with family meals.”

Penny from Living Above Ministries has a great idea for independent chores! “My children are young (6 & 3). To help them clean their room independently, I have created a chore chart with pictures & fun moveable buttons for them. They enjoy finding success when they can “do it by themselves!” When we go to new places or meet new people, I explain to them the people who we know to be “safe” and that they can feel free to talk with them and not be afraid.”

Saidah, of A Proverbs Wife, with 4 kids ranging from 9-16 believes in giving them responsibility in planning their schedules. “I allow my children to help me make their chore and school schedules. Taking part in the creation of their schedules builds independence. When they complete tasks on their schedule they feel a sense of accomplishment in knowing that they managed their time and energy well.”

SisterLisa, mom of many from The Home Spun Life allows her children to experience freedom while Mom gets the final say-so. “I let them know they have some extra freedom in an area, but I have veto power if they make too risky of decisions. If they violate trust in that freedom, they lose it for a while. I avoid being controlling because it speaks fear to them and a lack of faith. I encourage independence in areas they are strongest in.”

I also need to speak up here. You see, we learned the hard way about teaching our kids independence, when we looked around and realized we had TWO 18 year olds without driver’s licenses or jobs, who couldn’t get themselves up in the mornings and were still dependent upon us for transportation. This isn’t how either of us were raised, and we are very ashamed to see that we raised our kids this way. Things are different for them now, and for the remaining three at home. Until she can take driver’s ed, our 16 year old takes the city bus many of the places that she wants to go. She and two friends took it downtown (gasp! Spokane!?), went to the park, walked around the skywalk shopping center, had lunch, and had a blast. All on their own. And with many more trips this like this to come. She will be attending Running Start at the college, and will ride the city bus to & from. She’s also looking for a job. What a concept!

And although she didn’t contribute to this post, Lenore Skenazy of Free-Range Kids is probably the most prolific writer that I have found lately on the subject of independent kids. You must read her blog. While you’re at it, check out this video of her talking about being called America’s Worst Mother because she let her 9 year old exercise some independence.

I feature new, different bloggers each month! Want to play along? I will link up and promote your blog and Twitter profile in exchange for your (2-3 sentence) input! For next month I need moms with more than one child, who have at least one over the age of 10.

Email me at submissions@5kidsandadog.com Send your response by October 15th!

The five most helpful, fun and or interesting answers will be featured– just answer this question for October:

What is just one thing you do to motivate your kids to do chores?

Ten Things To Do Before School Starts

Momma Knows — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:01:00 +0000

We start school again in a week. One week. 7 Days and back to homeschooling. It just occurred to me that I’m not ready yet. I have some of their books but not all. And we didn’t finish their math books last year.

As I have been thinking about this, I came up with 10 Things I need to do between now and September 8th, in no particular order.

1. Declutter the paper piles in my bedroom.

2. Tear out the used pages in their Math U See books and handwriting books.

3. Find D2’s Bible. He lost it somewhere in the house. Must send the kids on a hunt.

4. Print out all of our ebooks and my planner notebook, and bind them or have them bound.

5. Schedule the math tutor, so the 16yo will be ready for college math when she starts in January.Purchased Life of Fred Geometry instead.

6. Connect my 16yo with the Running Start counselor at the high school so she can get registered.

7. File our Intent to Homeschool form with the school district.

8. Organize our school cabinet and purge or store anything we are not going to use this year.

9. Come up with a workable menu plan for 30 days. And use it!

10. Re-establish bedtime routines and times, and morning alarm clock use.

Yikes! Seeing it all listed like that makes me afraid I won’t be able to get it all done.

Deep breath.

Yes, I will. I will put my laptop away and get on it. After I print out those ebooks and planner pages, that is.