Water Rolls Uphill

Operation Potty Learning

2012-03-08T09:34:00.000-05:00

It is hard for me to believe that a year and a half has flown by since the birth of our youngest child. We have successfully had our children potty learned, with a few accidents, by eighteen months. With the completion of the piering and re-shimming of our home's central level, new laminate looms on the horizon (it took nearly two years to find a contractor willing to do the work at a reasonable price). I am loathe, however, to install new flooring prior to potty learning the little guy. It takes about a month for the floors to settle into their new position, and we are rapidly closing in on the period of time where we are able to put in new floors.

So, four years later, it's time for new flooring, and for little buddy to be potty learned. It's going to be a whole lot of fun.

For stress free potty learning, I recommend:

Accepting that their there will be accidents and not shaming. Praising for hits.
Having potties easily accessible. We have one on each level and take one in the car.
Piddle Pads. We have three: one in the car seat, one in the wash, and one for backup in the trunk.
Baby legs. Baby legs allow for a tshirt to be an outfit and for easy access for tots to the potty.
Pocket diapers for nighttime. We have found that pocket diapers with aplix and minimal inserts alllows for a child to wake, remove their diaper and get to the potty without fear of ruining the family's bedsheets in the early stages of potty learning.

Salad Dressing Recipe

2012-03-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

The ginger in the recipe can be doubled, and will certainly give the dressing a bite. My spouse and I polished off the entire batch in two nights.

Ginger Dressing

1 1/2 cups carrots (about 12 baby carrots)
1 inch piece of fresh ginger (double if you like things with a real zing)
1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic
1 cup water
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (olive oil not recommended)

In your food processor, with the grating disc, grate your carrots and ginger.
In a saucepan on the stove, combine the water, carrots and ginger. Simmer until carrots are cooked through, approximately 3 minutes.
In a blender, combine carrot/ginger water with remaining ingredients. USE CAUTION! Vent the lid and cover the top with a hand towel to protect yourself when blending hot foods.
Cool and use to dress your salad.

Adapted from The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook: With More Than 1,000 Recipes for Choosing, Cooking, & Preserving Natural Ingredients by Dara Demoelt.

Fabric Clearance

2012-03-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

I went a little crazy at the designer fabric clearance and bought nearly 20 yards of mostly Michael Miller fabric (and 1.5 yards of blue interlock) for under $40.00. I am recuperating right now and am unable to sew, but when I am my sewing machine and serger will just be whirring along. I have so many grand plans!

Link me some fabulous ideas for some of these. For reference, our kids wear boys size 5t, boys 18m, and girls 7.

For the boy prints I am going to make some shorts for the boys and perhaps an embellished t shirt to match. I think skirt would be fun, or this dachshund embellished skirt. I plan on making a pair of sleep shorts for myself from the puppy fabric and am trying to figure out a skirt lining for the white fabric with flowers. Yes, I know I am a sucker for dachshunds!

Toddler Attack.

2012-03-04T16:19:00.000-05:00

Our kitchen "pantry" was attacked by the toddler. He swung from our spice rack ripping it out of the door. The door is hollow core, which necessitated the removal of all of the spice racks.

Thanks toddler.

I was walking completely across the kitchen to get spices, which made no sense. So, the spices now reside to the above left of the range. I was forced to clean them out and organize them when I removed the racks from the pantry door.

After, to the left of the range. It drops down, kind of fun, and makes it easier to access the top tier.

Spice rack drops down.

Spice rack returned to cabinet.

Then I was overwhelmed by our freezer. Our freezer is about 18 years old. If it is not jammed completely full, the whole fridge goes wonky. Yes, I know we need a new one, but this one still works. I also haven't found one that I completely love at a price I am willing to pay yet. Patience!

Before

After

The good news is that bread is usually two for a dollar, so once a month I buy six loaves and solve my freezer problem. The upper left is frozen fruits and veggies. The upper center is dairy. The upper right is bread. The lower left is poultry. The lower center is beef. The lower right is seafood and pork (we don't eat a lot of pork). I need to take the stickers off, but I wanted to make sure everything worked for the spouse and I before I did.

Hopefully nothing else will attack. The spouse is out flying his helicopter as he is tired of "honey do" lists for the day.

Country Bob's Giveaway Winners

2012-03-02T08:23:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to........

95 Robin S.

and

144 Beth E.

~~191 Amy W.~~

Thanks for participating, and thank you to Country Bob's for sponsoring this giveaway.

New giveaway coming later this month of another set of cloth wipes.

Boxer Briefs for Little Boys

2012-03-02T06:00:00.011-05:00

I made the mistake of purchasing Star Wars boxer briefs by Hanes for our middle child. Given his build, it is near impossible to find anything that fits him clothing-wise. I have taken to sewing for the child out of sheer desperation. I posted earlier about some Buzz pajama pants that I made for him.

Today I am going to share with you my feeble attempts at sewing boxer briefs, from the Fishsticks Designs Undercover Bottoms Boxer Briefs pattern. Yes, I did cough and sputter a bit about the cost of the pattern. Not being a very experienced seamstress, I had some trouble with the directions. I had to sew and re-sew the cod pieces together as the directions didn't state how the seams needed to caught. I also found the waistband to be a tad short. Learning to sew with a stretchy thread and double needles was also a challenge. I did use jersey, but not the luscious jersey that I bought new for subsequent pairs of boxer briefs. I make a habit of sewing a piece of clothing the first time with scrap fabric that is passable as clothing, but not expensive so that I can work out the kinks and learn without losing money.

All that being said, here is my first pair of boxer briefs, size 8 (yes, the legs are the same length):

I don't think that I need to use the double needle to top stitch. A single needle would have been fine. I found it frustrating that one thread would snap and screw up the look. Also, same color thread would be ideal! The pattern did state that using a lighter weight jersey would cause the opening of the cod piece to stick up and not lay flat - I found that to be true. I have some beautiful soft and thick jersey for the next few pairs, teal and a rich green.

Meal Planning

2012-03-01T06:00:00.004-05:00

March Dinner Meal Plan

Please note, we have a green salad most nights and at least one steamed vegetable. Our produce, beef, and ground sausage is delivered by Nature's Garden Delivered.

Taco Night - taco salads for adults, soft tacos for the kiddies; recipes
Chicken Casserole with broccoli, rice; celery soup recipe
Salmon, escargot
In-laws
Meatloaf, baked sweet potatoes
Chicken marinated in Italian dressing
Chili (vegetarian), cornbread
Chicken sandwiches topped with caramelized onions, salad, roasted potatoes
Chicken casserole with peas, mushrooms, rice; celery soup recipe
Nachos with leftover chili
Salmon
Swedish meatballs, spaetzle; equal parts salsa and jam for sauce
Quiche, salad
Chicken pot pie filling, biscuits or rolls
Pizza, salad
Teriyaki and pineapple meatballs
Chicken apple sausage (boys); ? (girls)
In-laws
Pasta with meat sauce
Simple Chicken with bok choy, rice, salad; sauce - equal parts Tamari soy sauce and BBQ sauce
Salmon
Soup, salad, rolls
Steak, sweet potatoes, broccoli
Taco night
Manwich, steamed veggies (I have tried other recipes for Manwich sauce, but nothing tastes quite the same, must be the HFCS)
Chicken of some kind.....
Pizza, salad
Salmon
Chicken casserole, rice
Black bean pasta with avocadoes
Soup, salad, rolls

Read my review and enter the Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce giveaway!

Cloth Wipes Giveaway Winner

2012-02-29T10:39:00.003-05:00

The winner of the cloth wipes giveaway is ............

#212 Kelly H!

For those of you who did not win, let me know that you are interested in another cloth wipes giveaway next month.

For those of you curious about how to secure serged threads on cloth wipes, I have tried:

Trimming them closely - most times they unravel. FAIL.
Flipping the cloth and serging the opposite direction over your serged threads - produces a pucker and pulls on the fabric oddly. FAIL.
Fray Check or the like. Hard bead of plastic-like substance, not comfortable to a tiny tushy or nose. FAIL.
Separating threads and then knotting the tail with a trim close to the fabric. Works, but very time consuming! So half pass half fail - the set just given away was done this way, or topstitched and then backstitched. Hopefully it will not fray, but should it fray, a zig-zag stitch over the fraying area should solve the problem.
Serging over the place where sewing started and then using a basting needle to run the tail under stitching. ON TRIAL RUN.
Contemplating this tutorial at Fiberosity.

So, if you were wondering why I have so many extra cloth wipes as "seconds/imperfect" for giveaways, the above would be the reason. The current set on a trial run that I am working on is with the tail hand sewn back under the stitching. They will be washed in Rockin' Green Soft Rock and I will see how it does. It will be the next set up for a giveaway. It is a polar bear print on a blue background.

Thread tail through needle

Run under about 6 stitches.

Tail is secure.

As I said, I am by no means a professional seamstress and I am learning new methods on these wipes.

Thank you for participating!

Country Bob's is sponsoring an All Purpose Sauce giveaway on the blog. Enter here. There will be two winners!

Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons - Review

2012-02-29T06:00:00.049-05:00

Teach Your Child to Read In 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann

I purchased this reading program, after we had failed miserably at Hooked On Phonics and Explode The Code. I believe it was partially due to my not realizing that my daughter simply wasn't ready to learn to read. We ended up waiting until she was a few months shy of six to formally being the program. We found the Hooked On Phonics and Explode the Code programs to be far too repetitive, with HOP being more so.

That aside, we found the Teach Your Child to Read program to be readily accessible by our eldest child, and the lessons were short enough for her to feel successful upon their completion, not become bored with them, and she was able to grasp the concepts taught quickly. Reading the introduction thoroughly and becoming comfortable with the sounds that needed to be produced for each letter combination is absolutely necessary. Skipping the introduction will cause problems in being able to teach the lessons effectively. I did occasionally struggle to figure out what sound the book was trying to convey for the letter/letter combination.

We found that it usually took 5-10 minutes to complete the beginning lessons and 15-25 minutes (or longer depending on how amenable our child was that day) to complete the later lessons that included reading passages that had comprehension questions. I was somewhat frustrated by the lack of more advanced lessons on pronunciation of sounds such as -ght or kn-. The program does state that additional materials will need to be used to teach these types of sounds for reading. We are using an A Beka book for this purpose, A Handbook for Reading, but the third edition.

Overall it is a very good program and we are very happy with how she progressed upon completion in both her reading and writing capabilities. We are now starting the 4.5 year old with the program and I need to remember to buy him a composition book for his letter sounds writing practice.

*My opinions are my own. I was not furnished with free copies of either book. I am sharing my experiences with these reading programs. I purchased it at The Homeschool Hangout after discussing reading programs with the store clerk. I purchased the A Beka book at HS Loft, which does not appear to have an active online webpage at this time.

Google Friend Connect Phase Out

2012-02-27T23:43:00.001-05:00

For those of you that follow the blog with Google Friend Connect, please be aware that Google is discontinuing this service in the near future.

I would absolutely love for you to continue following the blog either through Networked Blogs or Linky Followers. If you follow on Facebook or with Twitter, Networked Blogs automatically posts all content to the Water Rolls Uphill pages for you to keep up with me there.

Thanks!

Country Bob's Review and Giveaway - 2 Winners

2012-02-27T00:36:00.002-05:00

Country Bob's has been selling their tasty sauces since 1977 and their product lines include Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce, Spicy All Purpose Sauce, Barbeque Sauce, and Seasoning Salt. Their website suggests using the All Purpose Sauce for grilling, cooking, marinating, or just as a seasoning in all of your favorite dishes. I decided that I would try it on a perennial family favorite at our household, chicken. I marinated 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts in 1/2 cup of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce overnight and baked them the next day.

I will admit to sniffing the bottle, and then sneaking a lick off the seal, as I had noticed tamarind was on the ingredients list. It is one of my favorite spices.

Per their website, the All Purpose Sauce is gluten free. Here is the ingredient list.

So, what did the family do?

The spouse reached for the bottle two times during dinner and said he really liked it.
I liked it and put additional sauce on my chicken.
Our eldest child asked for seconds, and thirds of the chicken, as well as additional sauce on her plate.
The middle child ate all of his chicken.
The youngest, being 16 months, did his usual of eating some and throwing some to the dog.

The sauce locator can help you find a retail establishment that carries their delicious products, here, or, if it is not available to you locally you can buy Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce online, here. They also have a wonderful recipe library.

Please enter using the super simple Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received two bottles of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce to facilitate my review. My opinions are my own.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2012-02-24T11:58:00.002-05:00

Revisited!
I detail the original recipe that I used to make laundry detergent at home, here. The batch of detergent lasted approximately six months (I have twenty or so loads left approximately). It would seem that I wash a lot of laundry!

Did it work for us?
Absolutely! I did not experience stain setting as some other users have complained of with regard to using this recipe. For heavily stained loads, I will fill the washing machine and allow it to soak at the highest load setting overnight prior to washing (I have a top loader). I have not regularly used any additional stain removal products. I have been happy with the way the detergent has performed and thrilled with the way that I did not have lots of containers to store as many do when they dilute the recipe with additional water. The detergent worked fine without diluting it, as some online recipes claim is necessary. Note that we did strain our detergent prior to bottling it to catch any undissolved soap bits that could cause staining (thank you helper husband!). I did not see any negative effects on my septic system or the ground directly above it.

I hope this gives you the push needed to consider trying homemade laundry detergent and while saving some money at the same time.

On a related laundry note, do you cloth diaper? Need some cloth wipes? Enter my wipes giveaway.

*Disclaimer: The information contained within this site is given without warranty, either expressed or implied. Water Rolls Uphill cannot be held liable for any damages caused directly or indirectly by the links and information on this site. Research your situation and use your best judgement!

Great Homeschooling Supplements

2012-02-23T10:23:00.001-05:00

We have been studying people of importance in American History recently, and I wanted to share some of the library-found resources that we used. The children really enjoyed these and I feel that they made the lessons more accessible to them. We were very impressed when our daughter picked out Martin Luther King, Jr., on a television show and then she was quite happy to share many details about him and his goals that she had learned from our recent study of his life.

Harriet Tubman: An Apple for Harriet Tubman DVD (there are comprehension questions inside the DVD jacket)
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Holidays for Children DVD, Martin Luther King, Jr., A Life of Determination by Sheila Rivera
Theodore Roosevelt: The Camping Trip That Changed America by Barb Rosenstock, Theodore Roosevelt for Kids by Kerrie Hollihan, The American Presidents DVD (specific information on each president, intro is very good)
Independence: John and Tom Those Rebels by Barbara Kerley, Just the Facts - Declaration of Independence DVD

I hope that your family enjoys these titles as much as we did. The historically based fiction titles were favorites for nighttime stories before bed.

Looking for cloth wipes? Check out my giveaway.

Check back soon for a Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce giveaway.

Cloth Diapering Secret!

2012-02-20T17:27:00.001-05:00

Do you own pockets in your cloth diaper stash? Do you take the best care of them that you possibly can, washing them in special cloth diaper friendly detergents, never soaking, air drying, and often sunning to avoid whiteners in your wash? You do all of this only to find that the micro-fleece inner is still pilly and grungy looking?

I have a solution for you!

Step 1: Find a stiff bristle brush, or a natural boar bristle brush (I am certain that I don't want to Google the origins of the bristles, thank you very much).

Step 2: Gently brush your micro-fleece inner in different directions and watch as the fibers fluff back up! You will have some "fuzz" in your lap, so be gentle or you risk de-fleecing your pocket lining.

Step 3: Maintain your micro-fleece inner by brushing at least once a month, or more frequently if you have the desire and the time.

It will never return to "like new" though, sorry.

Need some cloth wipes? Check out my wipes giveaway.

*The information contained within this site is given without warranty, either expressed or implied. Water Rolls Uphill cannot be held liable for any damages caused directly or indirectly by the links and information on this site. Use your best judgement!

Consignment Sale Selling

2012-02-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

It is the season of the consignment sale. Some are massive sports arena-like events where people will wait in line for hours to "get a good deal". I, dear readers, am not one of those people. I do not wait in ridiculously long lines on Black Friday, at Apple Stores, or in general, unless under extreme duress. My spouse was so kind as to quote me, "A penny saved is a penny earned, Lizzie." Ha, ha, the babysitter cost would easily exceed the pennies saved by me driving myself crazy at the Kidsignments Sale currently going on. Twitch. I went one year and it was overwhelming and the lines were painfully long.

No, I am not hiring a babysitter, so that I can stand in line for an hour to get in the door, browse through a ~~massive temporary thrift store~~ consignment sale and then the coup-de-grace, wait for an hour in line to check out. I cannot do it.

I am, however, selling at a consignment sale again this year, because I have convinced myself that we have too much stuff. Regular theme here on the blog, "Too much stuff." Sort, enter in the database, hang, and tag. Good times. I will be selling at Mountain Park Methodist MOPS Sale in March. It is a nice, reasonably sized sale, where I usually find what I need at a price point that I am willing to pay.

Hopefully I will get a decent return while emptying the closets in the process.

Need some cloth wipes and don't want to pay, or wait in a long consignment sale line? Enter my giveaway.

Mommy Secrets

2012-02-17T06:00:00.004-05:00

Emily Goodwin, a good acquaintance of mine runs Mommy Secrets, a cloth diaper and natural family living boutique. I absolutely adore Emily's commitment to selling well made products that are only manufactured in the United States. Mommy Secrets has both an online presence and on Saturday, March 3, 2012, they will also be having their grand opening of a brick and mortar store at 80 South Alexander Street, Buford, Georgia. The grand opening festivities will run from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.

Mommy Secrets currently has the following products available online, for your fluffy and naturally minded living pleasure:

Cloth diapers and diapering accessories by Happy Heiny (and training pants), Flips, Knickernappies, Bummies, and detergent by Rockin' Green
Baby carriers by Sweet Pea's, Black Hawk, and Wombfruit Wraps
Baby skincare products by Hailey's Garden
Other popular items such as, amber teething necklaces, nursing pads, Little Me Tea, and Brooke Van Gory Designs diaper bags

The new brick and mortar location will feature:

A cloth diaper and natural family living store.
An organic food co-op, classes on budgeting your grocery dollars and organic gardening.
Childbirth education and a breastfeeding support group.
Fitness, sewing and knitting classes.

In addition, Cow Bell Boutique, Angels Halo Hairbows, Lumina Birth, Snugabug Nursing Covers, and Sublime Designs will be at Mommy Secrets' Grand Opening event! You can visit them online or at their Facebook page, here. There will also be a masseuse, Jennifer Berman, giving mini massages.

Need some cloth wipes for your family? Check out my giveaway!

**Disclaimer: My opinions are my own. I received NO compensation from any of the above vendors.

Sewing Successes

2012-02-15T06:00:00.013-05:00

Here are some of the lovely things that I have been sewing.

First is a beautiful skirt made with dachshund fabric and a blue tulle ruffle. I made it a bit longer than usual because I would like for her to wear it for a long time. I love dachshunds and the fabric isn't readily available. It's pricey too. Elastic on hand. Total cost: $7.00.

Second is a pair of skirts that I made from some upholstery remnants that I purchased for a $1 a yard. With the trimmings, I made the rosettes. I used a little scrap tulle from the previous project to add some flair and for Eldest's I added a random button that I found. Elastic on hand. Total cost: $4.00 for both.

Third is a peasant style dress that I made using this pattern, on BOGO day. The print was a remnant at $2.00 a yard, and the hem and sleeves were quilting fabric bought at Hobby Lobby on sale. Elastic on hand, that was purchased at $0.10 a yard a long time ago. Total cost: ~$3.00.

Fourth is a cute little number featuring an apple print. I wanted to learn to do pockets and buttons, so I fiddled until I managed them. I used buttons, elastic and thread that I had on hand. Total cost: $4.50.

Need some home sewn goodness at your place? Check out my cloth wipes giveaway!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T11:26:00.001-05:00

Today we cleaned out the husband's closet, made him Valentines and are planning a special dinner for him when he returns home from the office.

I gave Eldest a small notebook in a tulle bag and for Middle I made a pair of flannel Buzz Lightyear pajama pants. This is the back of the pants, with a cute little pocket on them with aligned fabric pattern even! I ordered some sew in hang tags from France (oh la la!) and am awaiting their arrival. Without the pocket, he wouldn't know front from back. Tiny gets to nurse and I am sure that is all he cares about!

Hope that you are enjoying your day!

Need some cloth happiness? Enter to win some cloth wipes that I am giving away.

Rockin' Green Laundry Detergent Review

2012-02-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

My experiences with Rockin' Green:

Hard Rock (ReMix)
My experience with Hard Rock was horrific. I was ready to burn my diapers. Really. Having not used disposables on the kids since the first actually grew into preemie sized cloth diapers, I was actually considering switching. Rockin' Green was recommended to me as pocket safe detergent. I had the crazy idea that loading up on a bunch of new to me pocket diapers (which I had never before used) would make life easier for me with three kids without my spouse in California for a month. Brilliant. Unfortunately, my parents are on some of the hardest water in the country and they have a front loader. I ran untold rinses, following the wash routine on their website for our make/model, and still got nowhere. The end result was ammonia build up. I have used various detergents in California before without this problem, however I had only used these detergents on cotton prefolds which will stand up to a fair amount of abuse not pockets which will not.

I stripped and re-stripped upon returning to the South, with no luck. I contacted Rockin' Green and was sent samples of their Soft and Funk Rock to strip my diapers. It worked spectacularly well. Also note that I have a top loader at my home.

Soft Rock and Funk Rock (ReMix)
Soft Rock and Funk Rock are septic safe. Soft Rock is sold for areas with soft water, like Georgia where I live. It is unscented. I do a cold rinse, add two tablespoons of Soft Rock to my hot water wash along with 1 teaspoon of Funk Rock and that's it. Many people will do an additional final rinse, but I only do the an additional rinse if I see soap bubbles during agitation or the diapers don't smell fresh.

I have seen online some postings that refer to the Rockin Green products being harder on the diapers than other diaper formulas; their claim is that the formula lacks an ingredient that binds to the chlorine that is present in most tap waters. They also contend that this caused the diapers to have a substantially shorter life than they otherwise would. I contacted Rockin' Green on their message boards and the response was that some detergents have a formaldehyde based additive that binds to chlorine to neutralize it, but Rockin' Green does not. I have been very satisfied with the Soft and Funk Rock combination that I've been using and intend to continue to do so, unless we start to suffer from some kind of build-up issue again.

Here is the ingredient list for Rockin Green's Soft Rock: sodium carbonate, sodium percarbonate, natural chelating agents, sodium sulfate, and biodegradable surfactants.

I like the Funk Rock, although I really don't like the price, but it has prevented the recurrence of the horrific ammonia stink (you could smell the diapers 20 feet away!) and ammonia burns that poor baby's hiney suffered in California. It also hasn't caused me any problems with the pockets that I did end up keeping (I have sold or given a number of them away because pockets are too much trouble for me).

Need some cloth wipes? Check out my wipes giveaway!

Cloth Wipes Giveaway

2012-02-11T22:21:00.007-05:00

Lucky you! Free cloth wipes, for use as cloth diaper wipes, baby wash cloths in the bath, family cloth or just general house cleaning.

The prize is as follows:

6 double sided flannel wash cloths in Folk Tale Friends for Red Rooster Fabrics print (light blue serged edge) and
5 flannel wash cloths in same print backed with pink tie dye minky (serged, flipped right side out, and top stitched).

All were sewn by yours truly, and I am by no means Martha Stewart. My serged flannels tend to come undone and I am trying to learn how to prevent this from happening, hence extra washcloths giveaway. I cover shipping.

Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest on Contestgirl.com.

Great Cloth Diaper Change 2012

2012-02-10T06:00:00.003-05:00

The Great Cloth Diaper Change

It is upon us once again. I am somewhat concerned, or perhaps relieved, that the youngest is starting to show interest in the potty (rather than peeing in the tub standing up). All the other children were well on their way to diaper free at 18 months, and he is 16 months now.

If you would like to participate, you can find more information and perhaps a location near you by visiting The Great Cloth Diaper Change. Local cloth diaper retailers often sponsor locations, so if you are fortunate to have a brick and mortar cloth store nearby, ask!

Encouragement.

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

A misbehaving child is a discouraged child.

Jane Nelsen

As adults, we know that life is hard. We know the feelings of pride that come with hard work. We know that sometimes we just have to do something, no matter how much we really do not want to do it.

Little kids, however, are still learning to navigate the maze of feelings they have and are developing their own ways for dealing with all of those big feelings. As a child, being angry, sad, or discouraged, can feel entirely overwhelming. As adults, one of the most important tasks we have is to teach children how to deal with all of the big feelings that they are having. They also cannot always verbalize how they are feeling. Imagine feeling as though you are being sucked into a tornado of emotion and not being able to reach out to an adult for help, because the only way you can think to reach out for help or attention, misbehaving, alienates the adult.

We struggle with this a lot at our house. I am homeschooling the two elder children and the toddler is a typical toddler, causing a ruckus wherever he happens to be. So today, after a disastrous morning, I decided that I would find as many encouraging things to say to the children as I could. Now, how do I remember them all? I wrote them all down, because writing things down helps me to remember them. I find that connecting to my child, especially through encouraging words, helps to get us back on the right track towards an amicable solution.

Another thing that I ended up doing, was creating a secret handshake with my daughter for those times when we both need to disconnect from a power struggle or when we are having trouble cooperating. It works some of the time, which is better than yelling or fighting at any rate.

So, from my pencil written notes, below is a list of encouraging things to say to children:

I'm sorry. (Yes, this is on a list of encouraging things, because it can really help assuage a child's distress at your actions.)

You are the leader.

Thank you for ______. (helping your sibling)

I know that we can find a solution that works for both of us.
What do you think we should do?

Tell me more.
Wow!
I'm listening.

I appreciate your cooperation.

I love you.

You are a great kid.

I'm sure that you can figure out a way to solve this problem.

That was very brave!

Good thinking!

You figured that out.

You are an excellent helper.

You are a very hard worker.

You did that so quickly.

I appreciate your help.

That was very thoughtful of you.
I am impressed quickly/well at how you xyz.

Your help is very important to me.
You never cease to amaze me.

You have the hang of it now.

I can see how hard you have been working. It's really paying off.

Fantastic!

You are really good at this.

Thank you for doing xyz, even though it isn't your favorite. I appreciate it.

Thank you for xyz; many hands make the work light.

Taco night, complete with recipes!

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

We have taco night at the house quite frequently. When all else fails, I am bound to have the ingredients for soft tacos for the kids and taco style salads for the spouse and I. I ran out of taco seasoning and was forced to whip some up from dry ingredients on hand. This has gone over very well, even with the toddler. I am happy that it doesn't have all of the crazy additives that most commercial varieties do, like MSG, maltodextrin,or whey solids. I also serve cilantro lime rice and guacamole on taco night. The toddler hates rice though and both the toddler and middle child won't touch guacamole. More for me!

Below you will find my recipes for taco seasoning mix, cilantro lime rice, and guacamole. All are mild.

Combine all of the above in a small container. Use 1 tablespoon per 1.5 pounds of legumes or meat that you are seasoning. I usually throw my meat back in the skillet after I have chopped it, deglaze my pan with a little water, and add the seasoning. I allow it to quickly boil, then serve.

Guacamole

1 avocado
1/2 lime, squeezed
5 or 6 sprigs fresh cilantro (remove leaves, toss stems)
2 tablespoons fresh onion, chopped
dash sea salt

Run it all through the food processor to desired consistency and serve.

Lime Cilantro Rice
1 cup white rice
2 cups water
1/2 lime, squeezed
5 or 6 sprigs of fresh cilantro (remove leaves, toss stems), finely chopped
1 tsp canola oil
sea salt to taste

Boil water. Add rice (you may want to rinse rice first, depending on how starchy it is). Simmer till cooked. Remove from heat. Fluff your rice and add the remaining ingredients, using either a bowl scraper or gently fluffing with a fork. *If you are rough with the rice, it will become gummy.

The School Room

2012-02-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

So, I have an absolutely lovely school room upstairs in our spare bedroom. Oddly enough, we still do our schoolwork downstairs in the kitchen. The school room turned into the "Oh, let's jam some such junk that I can't figure out what to do with it" room, and before I knew it, it was rendered completely untenable. Then consignment sale season hit, and the school room became command central for sorting and tagging.

I spent a good part of yesterday cleaning the school room in an attempt to make it useable again. However, I have come to realize that the reason we do schoolwork in the kitchen is so that I can actually get things done while they are working. I am not sure how well the spouse is going to take to my not using the room, but perhaps I can turn it into the pseudo school room where we do non-messy crafts and I overrun the place with my sewing machines. It would be somewhat similar to how he overran the garage, side room in the garage, the crawlspace, side-yard, and under the back deck with assorted and sundry car parts.

I'm voting that the pot can't call the kettle black on this one, and I'm pretty sure that as long as the school work gets done that he could care less where it actually gets done.

Follow Through and The Pox

2012-02-03T15:10:00.000-05:00

So, as I had previously warned, it did indeed become quiet on the blog. It has not been for lack of attempting to organize my life to be able to post about all of the wonderful things we're doing and trying, but I will give you a sampling and go into further detail soon:

We instituted chores on a ring and the children earn privileges for completing each set.
I am doing my best to keep the house clean by using my cleaning routine.
The foundation for the piers has been dug and poured.
The hot water heater vomited water all over my garage and into my crawlspace.
The middle child learned to ride his bike under his own power.
Homeschooling is going well. Eldest completed Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I will post my thoughts on this book soon.
I am so far behind on Family Formation that it is ridiculous.
Tiny is trying his hand, again, at potty learning.
I had my sewing machine tuned up, and will be posting lots of new made by me items as soon as I finish them (read: as soon as Tiny sleeps).

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Eldest and Tiny probably have the chicken pox. Yes, Eldest was vaccinated for it, under duress, but the other children haven't been. This may get exciting. And with that, I shall return to attempting to clean the house.
I also have an exciting new giveaway coming this month. Stay tuned!