There is a sacred time that occurs here at casa de phillips on most days between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 pm.

We call it Quiet Time and it is glorious.

Many of you may be scratching your heads and thinking, “Aren’t their kids starting to get a bit old for naps?”

The answer to that question, my friends, is “Yes and No.”

Allow me to explain.

Most homes in suburbia are quiet around 5:30am. Rooms are still dark. The only sounds that can be heard are the soft ins and outs of breathing as family members continue to slumber.

Here at casa de phillips, around 5:30am the pace is a bit more…interesting.

Usually one can find someone attempting to hide a light while he/she plays covertly in their room.

A little girl might be spied with dress up clothes already put on over her pajamas.

The mother of the household is gone during that time, working off that peppermint mocha at the gym while the father of the household is getting ready to head into work.

Although the children of casa de phillips are supposed to stay in bed, asleep, with lights off until at the very earliest 6 am, there are days when that does not happen. I cannot really blame these two early birds, as they are the off-spring of two early birds themselves. Because of our early wake-up time, a time of quiet in the afternoon is essential.

During the quiet time, the boy often reads and does independent school work. He also uses that time to create his newest invention (the latest is a recreation of Bowser’s Castle crafted from discarded boxes that is as tall as he is).  The girl reads and usually naps for about 45 minutes or so. I have talked to other mothers, with children much older than mine, who also have a daily quiet time in their homes. It restores balance, creates a time of peace mid-day and helps mom gather her wits before the evening routine settles in.

isaac with his Mario that he made a few weeks ago during quiet time

I have had parents ask me how in the world I am able to get my two kiddos to observe quiet time. Because it has always been a part of our day from the beginning, the observation of this time is fairly easy. However, there are some basic tips that can help any household create a downtime for kiddos and parents during the day.

Provide Guidelines

If a house has not had a quiet time and wants to create one, parents must provide guidelines for children in order for them to understand what they need to do (and not do) during this time. In our house, Evelyn must be in bed during quiet time because she still needs to fall asleep most days. Her brother, however, is allowed to play quietly in his room once his school work/reading have been finished. These guidelines allow the children to understand what is expected of them during quiet time. They know they are allowed to leave their rooms to use the restroom, but must quickly return until quiet time is over.

Create an activity box

Some children do not understand how to do “quiet.” If this is the case, provide a box of quiet activities for the child to enjoy during quiet time. This can include books, crayons, paper, soft toys and stuffed animals. Children have to be taught how to play quietly as it is natural for them to be loud and use their bodies in dynamic ways. Providing a focused tool that can be utilized during quiet time enables kids to successfully remain quiet during the set time. Remember to only allow the child access to the box during quiet time to keep it special.

Have a beginning and an end.

Sending kids to their rooms to “be quiet” for an indefinite amount of time will prove to be unsuccessful and frustrating. Let kids know when quiet time begins and when it will end. Provide a clock so the child can be in charge of knowing when quiet time is over (even very young kids can read the hour on a digital clock…both of mine have had clocks since around the age of three).

Plan for the “after”.

In our house, after quiet time is over we have snack. If the weather is nice, the kids go outside. Sometimes we also go on errands after quiet time, depending on our supper plan. After being still and peaceful for a set amount of time, children will need space to exert some energy. Allowing them to do so will also make for a more peaceful dinner and evening routine.

Be consistent.

When the children were little, I never let them miss a nap. We worked our entire schedule around their sleep patterns. This is not something that works for everyone, but it worked for us. Their sleep was important and we made it a priority. Now that they are big, we do not make a big deal to be home for a rest time everyday (nor does our schedule allow us to be home every afternoon). However, on days that we are home, quiet time is essential. We are consistent with our quiet time routine and let the kids know when there might be a change in the routine. Consistency allows kids to know what to expect and when to expect it.

Do you observe a quiet time with your children at home? If so, how do you go about doing it?

Back in December, I hinted that the gift I was giving the husband for Christmas was going to be pretty awesome.

Because the husband is typically one of the first people to read any new blog posts, I could not disclose what this gift was until he actually opened it. After weeks and weeks of playing up the awesome factor of this gift, it finally came time for our little family of four to exchange Christmas presents.

Let it be noted: When one plays up a present for weeks on end with endless chatter about how great said present is going to be, one gets a bit nervous when the time of actually giving of that gift arrives.

Especially when one opens her present from the husband first and it is completely and totally wonderful.

However, the gift did not disappoint.

Behold: The Date of the Month Club

(Thanks, Pinterest!)

I gave the husband thirteen large white envelopes, each with a different month written on the outside (one was a “Bonus” date). Each month’s envelope contained a pre-planned, pre-paid date and everything needed for that date (that fits into an enevelope). Each date has a cute little title. Some dates are for out-of-the-house fun while others are ones we can do at home (Hey, paying a babysitter 13 times adds up!).

I wanted to give the husband the gift of time with this present: time for us to spend together (minus the children…there are no family dates planned!) and do something enjoyable. Each date is unique and most of them are not some of the standard things we typically do on date nights.

To find the inspiration for these dates, I used social media deal sites such as Groupon as well as looking at event calendars for our area. I made sure to mix up the dates so we were not really doing two similar things in a row.

I am really excited about digging in and enjoying these 13 dates and all I have planned for them. 2012 should be a fun year!

(Disclaimer: This picture was not taken the night the husband opened up his present. Rather, it was snapped by one of our children at another holiday celebration. However, I love it for many reasons: 1. I like to imagine this is how the husband felt when he opened his gift 2. It makes me laugh out loud every time I see it 3. I think it looks like us when we were in college. )

What gift did you give your spouse for Christmas?

I am a thirsty person.

I truly believe I was born thirsty, as I have always felt the need to be drinking something. I drink a crazy amount of liquids during the day. Bless any wait staff who works the table I sit at in a restaurant because they will be doing double-time to keep my drink filled.

My thirstiness intensified when I was pregnant with both of my kiddos, which I did not even think was possible. I would order two drinks when out to eat and advise the waiter that I would be in need of LOTS of water.

In the past, my go-to drinks were diet sodas. I lived for the Sonic Happy Hour and Route 44′s. I would often run out at night once the kids were in bed and grab a big gulp of soda for the husband and myself at the nearest gas station.

Like I said, I am a thirsty person.

In the fall, I started to realize that despite my extreme thirst, I probably needed to back off of the diet sodas. My weight was not really were I wanted it to be and money seemed to be falling out of my wallet every time I scooped up a mega-large, extra-caffeinated, fake sugar soft drink. I always figured since I was drinking diet soda, that consuming so much of this sweet nectar of goodness would not effect the size of jeans I wear.

Then  a study came out discussing the negative effects of artificial sweetener and how it can sabotage one’s diet plans.

Oops.

The children began noticing my soda habit as well.  They were taking such notice that they were requesting their own carbonated drinks. The boy has had Sprite a handful of times, but that is it. The husband and I do not want little soda junkies for children and have kept their liquids to milk, water and juice thus far. It was starting to become a bit hypocritical to tell them they could only have healthy drinks while I was frantically attempting to poke a straw into my gallon-sized drink and get my soda fix for the morning.

At the beginning of October, I gave up soda.

Surprisingly my local Sonic did not call to see if I had fallen terribly ill. They also did not shut their doors and declare bankruptcy. In fact, they seem just as busy as they were in my hay days of swinging by and grabbing one (or two) extra large drinks.

Giving up “the juice” was difficult for a few days but I pressed on. After about a week, it was not as difficult. Once a month passed, I did not really even miss it that much.  I have had a few sodas since October, especially during the holidays. However, I quickly realized that once one goes without drinking soda on a regular basis they taste much too sweet and syrupy to be enjoyable anymore.

Since giving up soda, I drink water (lots and lots of water), coffee, iced tea and the occasional (small) glass of milk. I use Truvia or Splenda (in a pinch) to sweeten my tea and coffee. Artificial sweetener is no longer a staple in my diet. My jeans fit just a bit better, my mind feels a bit clearer and I no longer attempt to work our schedule around getting a large soda to drink.

Yesterday on Pinterest, I found this interesting diagram of what soda does to the body.

It is not good, folks.

By the way, I also gave up BREAD in October.

BREAD.

That one was hard, but I’ll save that story for another blog post.

What food/drink have you given-up that has had a postive effect on your health?

This article recently ran in Savvy Kids of Arkansas and I thought I would share it with all of you. Enjoy!

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My family of four recently moved. After one moves to a new home and finally unpacks those last few boxes that linger in the recesses of the garage, the polite thing to do is invite over close friends and family for the grand tour of the new home. Although we still have a few pictures to hang and a peach-colored bathroom to transform, we have opened the doors to our home and welcomed in those dear to us.

Our home tour is a bit different than those on television design shows. There is no television that magically appears for what seems to be an ordinary piece of furniture nor are there any crazy paint colors (with the exception of that peach bathroom). Ours is a typical home in a typical suburban neighborhood. The tour of our home is relatively standard as well. One can travel from the living room, make a turn at the kitchen and then step through our school room.

Yes, our new home has a school room because we are a homeschooling family.

Homeschooling is on the rise in theUnited States. Despite being a relatively young movement that first gained steam in the late 1960’s, schooling at home has become the education choice for over two million American children.  Homeschooling is no longer a choice just made by the stout religious or rural family, but rather it is a choice made by thousands of families across the nation for a variety of reasons.

History behind Homeschooling

Before 1850, most children were being educated in private schools or at home by tutors or parents. It was not until 1870 that all states offered free public education in the form of elementary schools. Fast-forward to 1964, when public education has found its place in American culture. During this time, the book How Children Fail was published, supposing the idea that public education is failing American children rather than benefiting them. Many consider this book to be the initial propellant behind the homeschool movement. During this time, parents begin to fight for the right to school at home.

By 1980, the homeschooling movement gained steam despite the fact that it was illegal in thirty states to educate one’s child at home. Various states prosecuted families for educating at home.  It was not until the mid 1990’s that homeschooling would be made legal in all fifty states. As of last year, there were reportedly 2.5 million children being educated at home, with that number steadily on the rise.

Reasons for Homeschooling

Homeschooling is not merely for one subgroup of individuals, but rather a choice being made by a diverse group of people for various reasons.  Some prefer keeping the family at home together, some live in areas where alternative educational opportunities are sub-par while others choose to stay home in order to take a non-conventional approach to educating their children. The most common reasons people decide to school at home include the desire to provide a specific religious or moral instruction, a concern over the traditional school environment and a sense of dissatisfaction with the education choices (both public and private) available.

Benefits to Educating at Home

All parents, regardless of their approach to schooling, would agree that they desire for their child’s education to be beneficial and purposeful.  No one desires for their child to simply breeze through his schooling without really grasping a concept or learning something of value. There are many benefits to schooling at home, one of those being the ability to tailor one’s education to his or her specific learning style, strengths and weaknesses. When the teacher to student ratio is 1:1, in-depth, personal learning can occur. Other benefits of homeschooling include being able to make the world one’s classroom by taking learning outside the walls of a school and finding educational opportunities in real-life settings. Strengthening the family unit (traditional or non-traditional) is also a benefit of homeschooling. Many families consider it a great blessing to be able to be together during the day, sharing in learning and in familial activities. A notable benefit to homeschooling centers on college. Many children who are homeschooled enter college earlier than their peers. They also are considered to be better prepared for college life because they have had previous experience with self-directed learning.

Accomplishing school at home

Many people wonder how school can possibly be accomplished at home. What does homeschooling look like?  How is the day structured? Are the kids simply watching TV all day while doing a workbook page on occasion?

Just like in every public or private school, no two homeschool “classrooms” are the same. Some people homeschool in a traditional manner with a set schedule while other families approach schooling in a relaxed style, fitting in academics alongside their daily life. When schooling at home, one can choose from curriculum that is entirely religious based, that takes a classical approach to education or that is computer-centered. Although no two families are likely accomplishing homeschool in a set way, they are keeping records as required by their state of residence and ensuring that their children are meeting education goals and milestones.

Because of the rise in popularity of homeschooling, homeschool networks, co-ops and learning communities are in abundance. The homeschooling family is rarely alone in their pursuit of education, but rather have ways to plug into their community that helps them meet educational goals.

As for my family, we homeschool because we wanted our children to be educated in a particular manner that challenged their abilities and that allowed them to grow in the presence of both adult and child company. We are part of a wonderful learning community as well as an enrichment co-op. Our homeschooling days vary, but we generally get school accomplished between the hours of 8:00am and noon, leaving the afternoon open for extracurricular activities and extension projects.  Our school room is quaint, filled with books, desks and a white board. Is this the path we will continue to take with the remainder of our children’s education? We are not sure. Right now, we simply make home and school one.

Today is the epitome of January: bleak, cold, wet and dreary.

It is the perfect day for a good book and a hot cup of coffee.

Reading is an important activity to our little family of four. We all love to devour a good book and frequent the library on a weekly (if not more) basis. Over the past year, I have read a lot. Despite being a mom to two young children and homeschooling, I set aside time everyday to read. Sometimes it is for pleasure, other times it is to learn something and sometimes it is merely to provide a distraction. I strongly believe that if you want children who love to read, you have to read yourself. The husband and I both have stacks of books on our nightstands and in our living room. The children now we love to read and both have developed quite the taste for it themselves.

Below are some of the books I read in 2011 (in no particular order), just in case you need a bit of inspiration to get you on the path to reading this year.

Just for fun, I have added my own personal star rating systems as well as some thoughts about a few of the books.

You’re welcome.

The Hunger Games Trilogy: ***** I was hesitant to begin this series. I shied away from the whole Twilght craze and thought The Hunger Games would be on the same level. I was wrong. The moment I picked up the first book in this series, I could not put it down until I had devoured all three.

The Core ***** Written by the force behind Classical Conversations, The Core shines a bright light on how to successfully homeschool one’s child in a classical manner. I am currently re-reading this book in preparation to hear the author speak at the end of the month.

The Well Trained Mind ***** Another essential for those wanting to homeschool classically. Love, love, love this book and refer to it often.

Mitten Stings for God **** Great little mommy book.

Handle with Care **** I jumpedonto the Jodi Picoult train in October of 2011 and have not slowed down yet. Love her style of wrting, despite the fact that she can depress the perkiest of individuals with her story lines. Since reading this first book, I have since read four more of hers. She provides good, mindless reading.

Plain Truth ***

The Tenth Circle ***

The Pact ***

Silver Girl *** I love Elin Hilderbrand and her obsession with Nantucket. Her latest was a quick, enjoyable read.

Drowing Ruth **** An old Oprah’s Book Club pick, Drowning Ruth is an entertaining read with a fair amount of suspense.

Water for Elephants ***** I was late to this party as well, but loved everything about this book once I picked it up.

My Name is Mary Sutter ***

The Postmistress * Don’t bother with this one.

The Write Start **** Love this book and use it for homeschooling.

The Glass Castle ***** If you have not read Jeanne Walls memoir of her childhood, run out and get it today. It is that good and that moving.

Sarah’s Key ***** Terribly depressing yet terribly good.

A Secret Kept ** A bit of a disappointment

Creative Homeschooling *** A good resource that I often scoop up at our library

Drawing with Children **** A great way to teach drawing techniques to children. I highly recommend this book to the homeschooling parent.

Steady Days: **** Another great little mommy book

Homeschooling Our Children, Unschooling Ourselves **** An interesting look at rethinking how one approaches educating their child.

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling ****

The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading ****

Cinderella Ate My Daughter ***** A must-read for all mothers with daughters. It will make you sort-of hate Disney, but that’s okay. It really helps understand the effects of media and current culture on today’s little girls.

These are just a few things that I read during 2011. I am sure there are many more that I have simply forgotten that I read.

How about you? What did you read last year and what are you gearing up to read this year?

After taking three weeks off for Christmas break, we hit the books again yesterday.

The great thing about homeschooling is that I get to decide the school calender.

The bad thing about homeschooling is that I get to decide the school calender.

In retrospect, taking three weeks off was a bit of a rookie mistake. It was hard getting back into the groove yesterday and no one  skipped into the school room, whistling a happy tune about getting serious about work again.

We got so serious today, that our work took over not only the school room but the kitchen table.

(note the container of marshmallows…they make jumping feet first into a new school year just a bit easier to take)

We did some school in December, but most of it was uber-fun and holiday oriented. One science project even involved cookie dough, which makes learning more enjoyable in everyone’s book. However, December is past and we are staring straight into the face of January. There is still much more to be learned and accomplished, thus prompting us to get right back into the swing of things right after we rung in the New Year.

Hello, second semester, I am (mostly) glad that you are here. Hopefully we will finish you up before the 4th of July…

Anyone else tired of seeing my “Merry Christmas” post every time they check out savethephillipsfamily.com?

Yeah, me too.

However, the delay in posting has occurred for many reasons:

1. I had a very bad itch to completely de-Christmas-fy my house the moment the 25th had passed.

2. I had a very bad itch to completely de-junk three main closets in my house last week.

3. Farm Flu 2011 infested 3/4 of my household last week.

The first two of my points are self-explanatory (both of which were successfully completed, thankyouverymuch). Allow me to discuss point number three: Farm Flu 2011.

This year we were with the husband’s family for Christmas. His family is much large than mine and can boast up to 30+ members at any Christmas celebration, all joining together for holiday merriment. On Christmas Day, the husband’s granny fell ill. Because of some other health issues she is currently experiencing, no one really thought “Oh, it’s the stomach bug.” Rather, we all felt bad that Granny was sick, attempted to help her how we could and continued on with our holiday merry-making.

Christmas Evening two other family members fell ill.

The day after Christmas, Miss E. woke up perky and happy.

By breakfast, she was complaining of a tummy ache and was not interested in eating her Texas-sized waffle.

At this point in time, we had not heard of the other two family members’ sickness. We continued on with our day, packing up to leave for home. Being the diligent mother that I am, I set Miss E. up with a trashcan and Nick Jr. while I packed suitcases.

Then the vomitting began.

I said a silent prayer of thanksgiving over the fact that she had not consumed that Texas-sized waffle and then the husband and I set about the process of figuring out how to drive our family home (six hours) with a stomach-bug infested child. A phone call to the family doctor (What’s up, Dad?), a trip to the local pharmacy and a piece of tupperware designated as a throw-up bucket and we were ready to hit the road.

This is what the girl looked like during the trip

while this is what the boy looked like

It was a long trip, with several stomach issues (one involving a change of clothes on the side of the highway in 30 degree weather and another involving the use of a large puddle on the side of the road as a makeshift dishwasher). We survived and arrived home tired, hungry and ready to be still for a moment.

By the time bedtime rolled around that evening, Miss E. seemed on the mend. She was able to eat a few crackers, smile a bit and talk up a storm. Things were looking good for those of us at casa de phillips.

Fast-forward to Tuesday at dinner time. The boy complained of a headache, which quickly morphed into a stomachache. He is pretty in-tune with illness and his body and promptly relocated himself to the downstairs bathroom (with a book and pillow in tow) while the rest of the family sat down to dinner. Not one bite had been eaten when the stomach virus hit the boy. It also took down the husband and appeared to have affected the girl again by the time I returned to the table. While all the sick people found solace in various locations around the house, I finished my dinner alone and cleaned up the kitchen.

By 10:00pm that night, this is what our living room looked like:

Yep, that is two sick kiddos on pallets in the living room. Isaac had continued to be sick frequently since supper and Evelyn had woken up in a large pool of “sickness” around 9pm. The husband was battling feelings of sickness and had been quarentined to the upstairs with instructions to text me if he needed anything. We opted to keep the kids in the living room with me so I could help them when they needed it and also to make sure all of the “sickness” was contained on things that could be easily washed.

Tuesday was a long night, bringing back images of being a mom with a newborn and being up at all hours while it seemed like the rest of the world slept. The sickness appeared to pass in the wee hours of the morning, leaving us all tired yet thankful by the time Wednesday’s light of day greeted us. By mid-day, all was back to normal with children running around the house again and superheros ready to protect innocent victims at a moment’s notice.

By week’s end, 15 out of the 27 members who celebrated Christmas with us had experienced Farm Flu 2011. On the other side of the husband’s family, we know of five members who also experienced Farm Flu (despite never actually being at the farm, yet whom we had visited over Christmas).

Farm Flu…the Christmas gift that keeps on giving.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

I am  a card-carrying member of Christmas Overachievers Annoymous.

I guess it is not so annoynomous now that I have revealed my affliation with the society, huh?

And that card? It actually does not exisit. But if it did, mine would be laminated because I got a laminator for an early Christmas present.

(If my 8 year old self knew that one day a laminator for Christmas would be terribly exciting, I think a piece of my soul might have died right then.)

Anyway…back to Christmas Overacheivers Annoynomous.

At the end of November I was FIRED UP about December. We were going to finish school projects, we were going to do some amazing Advent activities, we were going to make a helping tree, we were going to deliver baked goods to our neighbors, we were going to visit family, we were going to be festive and merry and bright yet still have time for contemplative, quiet reflection by the fire.

Apparently in November I thought December had at least 45 days leading up to Christmas, all of which consisted of 38 hours each.

Newsflash: It doesn’t.

Instead, here I sit in the early pre-dawn hours of December 22nd. I still have one more stack of Christmas cards to address. No festive cookies have been baked. And I have yet to catch a Lifetime Christmas movie on television.

What is it about December that sends us into overdrive and makes us want to accomplish it all? I know I am not the sole member of the Christmas Overacheivers Annoynomous because I have a Pinterest account and I see all of you fellow mamas pinning Christmas ideas like crazy.

Tuesday the children and I had to run many pre-Christmas errands. No one was too thrilled about the idea, including the crazed red-haired mother driving the family station wagon. As we were all fussing and complaining about various things, I pulled the car over at the entrance of our neighborhood. The kids were incredibly confused as to why we had stopped, moaning about just wanting to be done with the errands and that they were thirsty/hungry/bored/tired/etc (despite the fact that we were only47 seconds from our warm home from which we had just departed).

I turned around to them and told them (and I quote) “We are going to be merry if it kills us.”

We then proceeded to have a lenghty conversation about how we want the state of our hearts to be, all the time and especially during the holiday season. No one has much fun if everyone is whining, overscheduled, stressed-out about having fun.

Mary rode all the way to Bethlehem on donkey nine months pregnant being lead by a nineteen year old boy. Surely I could tolerate driving my heated car with cupholders in a five mile radius with two kiddos that I adore.

I am giving up my membership to Christmas Overacheivers Annoynomous. I am not letting it bother me that we never finished all of our Advent activities or that we have yet to watch our favorite holiday movie.

Instead, I am focusing on being merry and bright.

Even if it kills me.

Have you ever noticed that there is a line in a popular Christmas carol that says “And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again..”

That, dear readers, is because Christmas break can be a beating for parents.

Kids are just SO EXCITED about Christmas and all that energy can lead to issues on the home front.

A great way to channel such energy is to focus it into Christmas activities. Sometimes parents want seasonal activities that can sit down and do with children while other times they merely desire an activity that kids can do independently.

This is an independent activity, friends, that will allow mom to get something down while children are quite and creative.

Early in December, I made a Christmas card kit. I filled it with pre-folded paper, holiday stickers, ribbon, glue, tape, markers, a list of friends and family names and a list of words one might need when sending a Christmas card.

I then gave the children the bucket and let them go to town crafting cards.

This has been a great activity this December and we have a wide variety of cards to show all their effort and hard work. Sure some are a bit more interesting than others, but all the cards are festive, fun and from the heart.

If you need a moment of peace this Christmas break, have kids make a stack of cards. Need someplace to deliver their cards once they are finished? Try stopping by an area retirement village and nursing home. Residents there would love a child-inspired Christmas wish.