it’s my poop and i’ll put it where i want to…

3 year olds, humor, Parker, potty-training July 27, 2012 Comments: 3

What makes potty training so delightful? Such a wonderful, sweet bonding time with your toddler/preschooler? It’s the dialogue.

Open, honest dialogue that takes place constantly through their waking hours, and even into their sleeping hours.

I wrote a post back in March where I mentioned starting to potty-train Parker. Ha. Well, that lasted about 2 and half days and now here it is July. He’s officially 3 so I’m feelin’ the pressure. Not just from other people who’s kids were potty-trained in 4 days by 2 years of age. No, from everyone around him who I know has to be subjected to big kid sized poop in a diaper. Lovely.

So anyway, the dialogue…

Parker: “Good morning Mommy!”

Me: “Good morning Parker, do you have to pee-pee? Did you pee in your pull-up? Let’s go try and use the potty.”

Parker: “NOOOOOOO!!!!!! (screaming and howling and buckling his knees as I try to lead him there)

After getting to the bathroom:

Parker: “I want to pee-pee like this. I want to stand up. I’m big.”

Me: “Ok, just be…” (too late) “…careful…”

Parker: “Uh-oh”

Me: “It’s ok, we’ll clean it up.”

Approximately 10 minutes after breakfast:

Me: “Parker, if you have to go poop you tell Mommy. Don’t go poop in your underwear. Poop goes in the potty.”

Parker: “OK! My poop is not coming out.”

Me: “Parker where does your poop go?”

Parker: “In the potty!”

Me: “That’s right so you tell Mommy. You don’t want to get poop on your Thomas underwear.”

As I finish the dishes and clean up Jonah I hear from the other room:

Katie: “Mommeeeeee!!!!!! Parker STINKS!!!!”

Me: “Parker come here! Did you poop in your underwear?”

Parker: “I have to go potty.”

Me: “Did you poop in your underwear?”

Parker: “Yes I did.”

Great. And so it goes, day after day. See how close we are becoming?

it’ll keep ’till tomorrow

humor July 23, 2012 1 Comment

What I want to be doing right now…stepping outside (after checking on my sound asleep babies) to a small, private patio with a good book, listening to the waves and watching the sunset over the ocean.

What I need to be doing right now…lesson plans, schedule plans, cleaning at the new house, packing at the old house.

What I will do right now…relax, blog, sleep.

There’s always tomorrow to spend on all those “have to” things, right?

I am sure that there is some scientific data out there somewhere to prove that procrastinators actually live longer and are healthier and happier than those people who get everything done in a timely manner. The research is probably not complete though.  They’re still waiting to get the answers back from the last few people taking part in the study.

Three cheers for procrastinators! Well, how about two today and the last one tomorrow?

a field trip with Daddy

field trip, homeschooling, military July 22, 2012 Leave a comment

After Foster completed a week of WW1 camp, his teacher coordinated a field trip to the home of Sgt. York. Chris took Foster, Katie and Theodore. When I asked them what their favorite part of the day was they all said “the swinging bridge”.

how about we decide what’s best for us?

blessings, God's goodness July 20, 2012 Comments: 4

I recently wrote this post.  When I wrote it we were house hunting and hoping to buy a house.  Well, it turns out God has opened another door for us. We received a generous offer from a relative to rent a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house for less than someone could rent a studio apartment. 

After giving it much prayer and consideration and weighing the pros and cons, we have decided to take them up on the offer! So now we are in the process of cleaning at the “new” house so we can pack up and move.

On the surface, some might say that this move is not a good one. Because we aren’t buying, we are not investing money into a home but are continuing to “throw money away” on rent. Because it is smaller, we’ll have to get rid of some STUFF. Because the whole point is to save money, we will be as frugal as possible with updating and decorating.

I guess I’m just weird. I am so thankful that we will be paying less rent.  That it will help us as Chris goes back to school. As we feed all these littles and provide an education for them.

I grew up in a very comfortable home, in a super comfortable neighborhood (it had it’s own pool).

But, I had several relatives who did not live as comfortably as I did. They didn’t have nice, basement ranchers and living rooms that were filled with furniture that no one ever sat on.

I have not been on international mission trips, I’ve never even left the country. What I have seen and what I do know is that my cousin would rummage through the dumpster at her trailer park for new treasures.

I know that the girls who came to live at Blount County Children’s Home often came with their belongings in a black trash bag. That their parents couldn’t pay the gas money to come pick them up for visitation.

I know there are children and families within a mile from me RIGHT NOW who will go to bed hungry tonight.

I know there are children and families across the world from me RIGHT NOW who will sleep in the dirt, who will not have clean water to drink or bathe in, who will be lucky if they get ONE meal today.

So am I thankful that my family gets to live in an outdated, smaller house? Ummm, yeah.

And am I so proud that I have a husband who would rather do things God’s way than try and kill himself and us to achieve the AMERICAN DREAM? Ummm, yeah. I am.

We could be drowning in debt. We could both be working 60 hour weeks. We could be paying car payments and $200 cable bills.

But, INSTEAD I think we’ll play board games with our kids. And I think we’ll keep paying our tithe first. And then we’ll keep seeing how God blesses us when we serve Him and do things His way.

Thanks.

Parker’s 3

3 year olds, blessings, Parker July 17, 2012 1 Comment

We went super simple this year with an afternoon, backyard party. Family, friends, chocolate cupcakes (Parker’s only request), ice cream and water play. Parker is a hilarious little kid. You never know what he’s going to say next. Last week at VBS he told the workers that we don’t have a washing machine and I wash all our clothes by hand. Yep, that’s me – supermom of the year! He’s a sweet, cuddly little boy a good part of the time. Then there’s the times where he’s trying to figure out his place in the world, and that means lots of screaming and crying and tantrum throwing. Each time we have a child go through this stage we think “this one is the worst at this age” but he’s not, he’s just Parker. And I am just so thankful that he is healthy, smart and adorable.

is VBS just glorified babysitting?

growing-up, Summer July 14, 2012 Leave a comment

4 of our kids have been going to VBS this week.  As a homeschool parent there are very few times when I pull up outside of a building, let my kids out and drive away.  Last night, after I watched them walk inside and waved to our associate pastor who was standing outside, I actually had this thought…
“Do they think I’m just taking advantage of free babysitting?”

Now, I have been one of the volunteers at VBS and I can honestly say I never had that thought. So I am sure that most of the volunteers don’t feel that way. They are there because they want to create a fun, safe place for kids from the community to hear something they may have never heard before and might not ever hear again. That there is a God who loves them and a Savior who died for them.

I’ve written before about what church was like for me growing up. I think we may have had VBS from time to time but it was such a tiny church with very few children, it wouldn’t have been the type of VBS that my kids have had the privilege of attending. I think at times because VBS has become such a production that a few critics have popped up along the way. Making comments and criticizing the time, effort and cost that it takes to host a great VBS. After all, the kids are just there eating junk food, making crafts, playing and the parents are taking advantage of a break from their kids, right?

Not really. At least not in my case. Personally, I don’t remember the VBS at my church. But I do have a strong, clear memory of attending a VBS when I was around 9 or 10. We lived in a really big neighborhood. Well, it was really big to me then, when I’ve driven back through 20 years later the streets somehow have shrunk and the houses of my friends had been squished much closer to my childhood home. I’m not sure how that happens, are you? Anyway, I was friends with a little girl whose family lived a few streets away from mine. They attended one of the biggest churches in my hometown and for some reason had ended up hosting a VBS in their “huge” backyard.

I was invited and spent a few summer nights getting bit by mosquitoes, eating popsicles, playing games, making crafts and I’m sure listening to some Bible stories. I don’t actually remember that part. But what I do remember is that I made this scroll. It wasn’t paper, I’m not sure what material it was on, but someone had painted the verse John 3:16 on except it looked like this:

For God so loved ______________
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believes in Him
should not perish
but have everlasting life.
And in that blank we painted our names.  Just another VBS craft. A little bit like the bag fulls my kids brought home last night. The difference is I kept mine. For years. It hung in my room until I left for college. It was always there, silent but powerful.
A reminder that God so loved ANNETTE.
So, no VBS is NOT just glorified babysitting and a drain on a church budget. It’s critical.
You never know just how critical it could be for some child who won’t hear about Jesus again until next year’s VBS.

WW: secret city festival 2012

Wordless Wednesday July 11, 2012 Leave a comment

10 reasons I can’t wait for the school year to start

homeschooling July 10, 2012 Comments: 3

Top Ten Tuesday
I get so excited about the start of a new school year! Here are my top ten reasons why I am looking forward to starting our 2012-2013 school year.
1. A clean slate! Sometimes at the end of the school year, or on other extended breaks, our daily routine gets lazy. We start to watch too many movies and our attitudes get ugly. The start of a new daily routine is just what we need to jumpstart the new school year.
2. A new daily schedule! Since we began homeschooling in 2008, no two school years have looked the same at the beginning. When we began Foster was a pre-schooler, Katie a toddler and Theodore was still a baby! Each new school year our daily schedule has had to change to work around all the littles and when they nap, etc. Now that Foster and Katie are big kids at 8 1/2 and almost 7, I hope to be able to utilize their babysitting skills and pair them up with Parker (3) or Jonah (9 mos.) while I do one-on-one work with Theodore or whoever. I will post that when I figure it out!
3. A new stack of books! Oh Sonlight, Oh how I love thee, let me count thy ways…I received my new Core in the mail the other day. I have no idea why unpacking that box is such a joyful experience but it really is! And then to see the awesome free gift I got, the new Core tips CD, the changes to the Instructor Guide! I even paid for the new Sonlight binder and it was so worth it!
4. A new Kindergartner! There is just something special about the Kindergarten year. Theodore is all boy and moves to the beat of his own drum. It will be exciting to see how he learns and grasps new concepts this year. I am thankful that Foster and Katie were my guinea pigs on what a true Kindergarten year should look like. I am sure that I stressed too much about what they did or didn’t know. No more. Theodore will do this at his own pace and I will just be coming along side to help him out.
5. A change of scenery! We are house hunting! So at any time we may have to pack our little Grubb Christian Academy in some boxes and move on down the road. We have been renting for the past 5 years and we are ready to have a house of our own.
6. A change of perspective! I’ve been reading many articles and post about relaxing the way we “do” school. I have felt a sense of freedom set in as I realize that the whole reason we homeschool is to instill a love of learning in our children. If I try to have “school-at-home” then I am not allowing that natural love of learning to flourish and grow.
7. A new planner! Ok, so I don’t actually have this yet, but when I get it (soon) I will be excited about mapping out the year.
8. Adding more field trips! This is a big one for me. I feel like because I have been either nursing or pregnant the whole time we’ve homeschooled, I haven’t taken the kids on as many field trips as I would have liked. I am hoping to change that this year and be more intentional about participating in the field trips that are offered through our co-op.
9. Adding more exercise (kids included)! This morning when I took the kids to the park to play, instead of sitting on a bench I walked the path around the playground and before I knew it they were walking with me, doing the stretches I did and giving me ideas (“Let’s do 10 jumping jacks Mommy!”) If we incorporate exercise into our homeschool days now then hopefully it won’t be something they balk at when they get older. Mentally and physically I need it and so do they! 
10. Asking Daddy to co-teach more! My husband works very hard, is in the Air National Guard and will be starting back to school himself this August. Because of that, I tend not to ask him to take on teaching the kids. But one thing they love for daddy to do is read to them at night and do hands-on-science experiments with them, so hopefully we can incorporate that in on a regular basis.
Linked up today with Many Little Blessings for Top Ten Tuesday!

3 beautiful things

blessings July 5, 2012 1 Comment

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my big bible

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my coffee maker and homemade coffee mug

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my new-to-us couch

free-range parenting

children, choices, growing-up, motherhood, parenting July 4, 2012 1 Comment

Since becoming a parent a little over 8 years ago, I have read numerous articles and books on how to be a successful parent.  My definition of successful parenting is that we don’t screw our kids up so badly that they have to spend years in therapy.

Of course, I also would love for them to dedicate their lives to God and serving others, have happy families of their own, have lucrative, fulfilling careers and a few exciting, rewarding hobbies. But I try to set the bar low, so then if they have any or all of those things in their future, I can be pleasantly surprised. Winking smile

There are some new trends and catch phrases in parenting these days and I recently read this one that has to do with “free-range parenting”.

As I read, I kept thinking that while the idea may seem “new” it’s actually the way parents use to parent.  The main idea behind free-range parenting is you don’t keep your kids under your watchful eye ALL the time. Since we homeschool and I am with my kids 24/7, I try to make a concerted effort to get away from them as much as I can. That sounds pretty bad, but what I mean is that when I send them out to the backyard to play I try to stay out of their play as much as possible.

It isn’t healthy or necessary for me to be correcting every ugly thing they may do to one another as siblings or even to their neighbor friends. Kids do need the time and space to learn about relationships on their own. I have been letting my 8 year old climb a fence to play with our neighbors, who have a pool and a creek and lots of land to roam on, since he was 7 years old. I usually give him a watch and time to be back. He has always been back on time and that has given him a chance to earn my trust. Believe it or not, I have never even seen this neighbors property past their home.  I haven’t driven down the long driveway to check out the pool, the chicken coop, the creek  and the woods.

Are there things that could go wrong when Foster visits the neighbors? Of course, he could wreck his bike (that he mostly rides with no helmet) or he could drown in the pool. But I have to trust that he is making good choices and that God is caring for him. He has been hurt emotionally while out of my sight. But I realize that I can’t protect my kids from every uncomfortable thing in their lives. They have to have some space, so they can learn to navigate life on their own.

To me, free-range parenting doesn’t mean you let your kids run wild and never address negative behaviors, it means you let some of the consequences come naturally. If you punch your friend in the gut, you might get punched back. If you speak hatefully to your sibling, they probably won’t share their treat with you.

I’m not raising little robots who only know how to behave when I am around and controlling the situation. I am raising little people, who have free will and need a chance to exercise it.

What types of freedoms do you give your young children?