Joyful Always

Sam's 6th Birthday

2012-01-30T21:26:00.000-06:00

Saturday was Sam's 6th birthday! He was so excited the night before his birthday. We began our day with Sam opening his presents, and then we had bacon and eggs for breakfast. His cousin, Joey, spent most of the day with us. Sam and Joey played legos all day long! Later that afternoon we all went to Joey's house for supper. We all really enjoyed our visit with Joe and Leanna and their four children.

Here are some pictures from Sam's big day.

a gift from Leah

posing with his gifts

He liked the cake!

blowing out the candle

the Lego-themed table

Olivia hot-glued a lego on each fork--cute!

Sam's presents

One last picture of the lovely cake!

To be such an ugly cake, it tasted so good. I determined that the problem with the cake was the icing. I miscalculated the amount of water when doubling the recipe, and I never could get the consistency right!

Happy Birthday Sam!

Remind Me To NEVER Make a Birthday Cake Again!

2012-01-28T13:41:00.000-06:00

I went to bed at 1:00 AM last night. The cake was looking pretty pitiful, so I just refrigerated it, and hoped for the best this morning.

When I woke up this morning, this is what the cake looked like!

It slid to one side overnight!

Pitiful!

I have been drinking a lot of coffee today!

I used a knife and two spatulas and took off the top layer of the original leaning cake. I had an extra layer that I did not use last night, so I placed it under the layer I sliced off.

I added the smaller layer for the Lego man's head bump.

I wedged in a couple of legos, because the cake was still leaning.

I iced it the best I could....

Just Pitiful!

The Finished Product!

I looks NOTHING like the cake I copied from Pinterest!

The Lego Man Head Cake

2012-01-27T23:23:00.001-06:00

It seemed like a good idea a couple of weeks ago! When Julie and I were scrolling through Pinterest looking for cute ideas for Leah's and Sam's birthdays, I saw a couple of pictures of a lego man yellow head cake. What a bright idea! I knew I could make that! I even watched a You Tube video that featured step-by-step instructions. Unfortunately, I could not find the link to that video tonight.

Sam's 6th birthday is tomorrow, and he plans to get up bright and early!

I began mixing and baking Sam's birthday cake at 8:00 tonight. Actually, Julie mixed the first two cake mixes, and I mixed the second two. Yes, this cake requires four cake mixes! And we added 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup sour cream to every two mixes. As soon as we were ready to pour the batter into the pans, I realized I had a very big problem---I had only one pan of the correct size, and I had to bake 4 layers! The fourth layer as well as the fifth smaller layer are in the oven right now (at 11:15 PM), and I still have to let the last layers cool and then ice the entire cake. I am hoping to be in bed by 1:00 AM.

I will post pictures tomorrow, hopefully of the finished product. I am sure that the second I am finished tonight, I will go to bed!

While Julie and I worked in the kitchen (baking cakes as well as preparing some other food that Sam requested for tomorrow), Olivia wrapped all of Sam's gifts for me! That was a huge help. Jimmy, with an audience of Sam, Leah, and occasionally Clay, made homemade fruit and nut bars (kind of like Lara Bars, but for half the price). There was a lot of measuring and mixing going on in my kitchen tonight!

I am almost through decorating the kitchen table for Sam's big day. I couldn't start on it until he went to bed, because it will be a big surprise for him. The theme is....LEGOS. I will take pictures of the table tomorrow too.

I am not sure how we will ever eat all of this cake!

Homemade Doodle Paint

2012-01-25T07:03:00.001-06:00

I love Pinterest! I have found so many cute ideas on there, and yesterday we tried one. Here is the link to the original directions for Homemade Doodle Paint, and here is a recap of how we did it here at our house.

What You Will Need:

all purpose flour
salt
plastic squirt bottles (I got mine in the cake decorating section of WalMart--$2 for 2 bottles)
coloring--the original directions suggested gel icing, like I have in my picture below, but I found that regular food coloring produced much richer colors.

I found that mixing 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup salt, and a little more than 1/3 cup water made the right consistency. I began by using a whisk, and then when I added the food coloring, I just used a spoon to stir. If you want more paint, you can use 1/2 cup of each ingredient.

I mixed each color in the same glass measuring cup, so I had to wash the cup and spoon after every color.

This is the pink, made with red gel icing. After making this light pink and a light blue, I switched to food coloring. Much better!

Spoon the mixed paint into the squirt bottle using a funnel. I snipped the end off of paper sno-cone cups to use as my disposable funnels.

After making eight different colors (and this took me about 30 minutes), Leah and Sam were eager to begin painting. To paint, you just squeeze the bottle and draw.

Here are all the colors I made.

We used our doodle paint on cardstock. The original directions suggested using poster board too. I wasn't sure if the paint would dry, but the children painted last night while I was cooking supper, and this morning, they are dry.

Some of the finished products:

by Sam

by Leah

enjoying the painting

by Leah

by Sam

by Leah

I am not sure how long this paint should be stored, so I am going to encourage my children to doodle with it for the next few days.

Insanity Day 44

2012-01-24T15:46:00.000-06:00

Yes! I have completed 44 days of the exercise program called Insanity. Yes, I am insane for doing it! But I have surprised myself. When I first began back in December, I was not sure if I could make it through the first week, much less 44 days! I am no longer sore every day, and my knees are holding out. Most days I do the workouts at around 6:00 AM, but on days that I cannot do it that early, I make sure that I do the workout before bed. I have done a workout as late as 8:30 at night, and then at 7:00 or so the next morning. I have not missed one single workout! The schedule is 6 days on, and then 1 day off. One week I had to take the off day on the 6th day, and then exercise on the 7th day when Sam was sick.

I am seeing light at the end of the Insanity tunnel. There are only two workouts left that I have never done, and I will do both of them this week. The rest of the 19 days are repeats of various Level 2 workouts.

Here are a few highlights:

I have not lost a single pound! In fact, I have gained 4! I am hoping that it is muscle!
I did not take my "before" picture.
I did not take any body measurements before I began, but I DID take them on Day 21. I plan to take the same measurements on Day 63. I am hoping for improvement.
I am loosely following the Insanity eating plan. The plan recommends that you eat five times a day, beginning with 300 calories at each meal. When you enter Level 2 (week 5), you can increase each meal to 400 or 500 calories. I am trying to eat 5 times a day (really not a problem!), but sticking to 1500 calories a day is tough. Some days I do, and some days I eat over 2000! Maybe that's why I have not lost weight!
I am much stronger than when I began. I can do 16 push-ups without a break (boy push-ups!). I can keep up with the people on the video throughout the entire warm-up and usually through the first and sometimes second round of each circuit. I improve each time I do a workout.
I have never sweat so much in my entire life!
Jimmy bought me a heart rate monitor. I love seeing my heart rate and the amount of calories I am burning.
I am much more flexible than when I began.
I have really enjoyed this exercise program. Shaun T. is very encouraging.
I am comforted by the people in the video collapsing on the ground at the end of the workouts (like me!).

I do miss running a little bit. I am not sure exactly what I am going to do when the 63 days of Insanity are complete. I will definitely get back to running, but I don't want to lose all of the strength I have gained.

I am so glad that I chose to tackle Insanity again.

Clay's Hobby

2012-01-22T16:19:00.001-06:00

Clay first started collecting knives when he was 10, I think. For the last couple of years he has saved his hard-earned money to purchase knives, and he has also received a variety of knives as gifts.

Lately, he has started making his own knives. He found directions online for how to make a knife from a railroad spike. Who knew? A knife from a railroad spike?

BEFORE

I am not exactly sure of the knife making procedure, but I do know that it takes a good bit of time. This is one of the reasons that Clay gets up early to complete his chores and school--so that he can get to his hobby. I know that some of the steps involve fire and a grinder. Clay has also constructed his own tools that he uses in his forge.

AFTER

That's quite a transformation! I think that he has shined and ground this knife even more since I took this picture. The knife is really sharp!

BEFORE AND AFTER

What a cool hobby!

Our Day

2012-01-16T20:23:00.000-06:00

What a day!

I got up at 4:55 AM, and I have been going full force ever since! That is the key for me--getting up early. I began Phase 2 of Insanity today, and the workout was 1 hour, 24 minutes. I haven't exercised that long since the marathon on December 3. Believe it or not, I have not been dragging all day. (Lots of coffee). Leah and Sam both have alarm clocks now, and I set them last night for 7:30 AM. They both got up, and we were ready to begin school at 8:15. I was able to get all schoolwork done with all five children today! Yay! I pulled out the school day schedule I made last August, set my phone timer for every segment, and pushed through all day. We even had a one hour home ec class, and my girls got a lot of work done on the skirts they are making for themselves. I trimmed a pattern for a cute outfit I plan to make Leah for the spring while they were sewing.

I also did my housekeeping chore for Monday (clean the boys' bathroom), supervised and helped Leah and Sam do their Monday chore (dust their rooms), completed three loads of laundry (folded and put away too), and cooked supper. I really, really think what made my day so much more successful than last week was a few things:

1. I got up early.
2. I followed my schedule and changed activities when it was time--even if I wasn't through with what I was doing. Like this morning I still lacked three chapters of my daily Bible reading when it was time for me to exercise--I will read those final chapters tonight. When the timer buzzed for the 15 minutes snack break to be over, I stopped folding clothes and got back to school. I only allowed 3o minutes for lunch.
3. I was mentally ready for a hard day.
4. We did not leave the house today.
5. My children were glad to be back on a predictable schedule.
6. I went to bed early (for me) last night--10:00. This helped me to get up early.
7. I spent absolutely zero time on the computer. I just posted my workout from this morning on Daily Mile.

In other news, Clay has been diligently working on creating a knife out of a railroad tie. It is really cool. He has built himself a sort of forge--complete with handmade fire tools. He has been working on metal working and blacksmithing for quite a while now. He is still an early riser, and a hard worker. He gets up, completes his chores, and then gets started on his schoolwork, usually while I am still exercising in the morning. Then he uses his hard-earned free time to enjoy his various hobbies. When he has the knife complete, I will take a picture of it.

I am hoping and praying for another productive day tomorrow.....and I am also praying that I will still be just as pleased at the end of tomorrow if the day does not go how I plan. I have to remind myself that how I deal with interruptions to my schedule affects my whole family. Following a schedule is nice, but dealing with life's little problems with patience and a smile is even nicer.

Leah's 8th Birthday

2012-01-15T19:49:00.000-06:00

Leah celebrated her 8th birthday last Thursday. She is growing up to be such a sweet young lady. Leah is kind, generous, and loving. She loves to do things with her sisters! She enjoys drawing and coloring, crocheting, and sewing. My children are all growing up too fast!

I surprised Leah with a La La Loopsy themed birthday table. She loved it!

Those La La Loopsy dolls are so top-heavy! It took me forever to get them propped up!

Leah began her special day with opening her gifts from us and my parents.

Leah with her presents

Leah, sitting with Daddy and Sam while opening her gifts

After Jimmy made me the crafting table for my Christmas gift, I was inspired to sew. I was also inspired to sew after Leah asked for matching outfits for her and her American Girl doll for her birthday. I looked online at those outfits, and they cost around $100! I decided that I could make them matching outfits! I haven't sewn in years, but I was so excited to begin! I worked many, many hours sewing skirts for Leah and her doll and a long sleeved shirt for the doll to match a shirt that Leah already had. All of that sewing is one reason I felt so swamped last week, but I enjoyed the sewing so much!

Leah knew that I was making her a birthday gift, but she had no idea what it was. Here are some pictures of her opening the gift.

beginning to look inside....what can it be?

What is it???

A skirt!

And one for my doll too!

Here they are!

Julie helped me out immensely last week! She made Leah's birthday cake and decorated it all by herself! It had buttons on it to go along with the La La Loopsy theme.

the beautiful cake

the birthday girl surrounded by her family (minus the family photographer!)

Leah asked for me to cook sausage and cheese muffins for her breakfast and potato soup for her birthday supper. Actually, Julie made the soup! Leah wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, so we ate at the Chick-Fil-A in our mall. After that I took Leah clothes shopping at The Children's Place. Most of her playclothes, and all of her church clothes are hand-me-downs from her two sisters. I thought it would be a nice treat to let her pick out an outfit that was brand new to her! She chose two very cute skirt outfits and a pair of hot pink flats.

At the end of a very fun day, Julie gave Leah the birthday gift that she had lovingly made for her.....a crocheted La La Loopsy doll! It is precious!

Leah with her new doll

Happy Birthday Leah!

Still Swamped!

2012-01-13T22:34:00.000-06:00

I cannot get into a groove! After taking 3 weeks off in December which actually stretched into 4, I have not had a fully productive school day since we started back! I cannot figure out what is wrong, but I am not anywhere near getting everything done. My older children are completing all their schoolwork that does not involve my assistance, but the things that depend on me are holding them up. I am behind in Clay's, Leah's, and Sam's Sonlight reading, behind in checking Olivia's schoolwork, and behind in the little bit of help/tutoring that Olivia occasionally needs (like go over her study guide for her upcoming science test). I am also behind in our official home economics class, however my girls have completed many hours of home ec while helping me clean out and reorganize during our Christmas break and also by helping me prepare for Leah's birthday--Julie baked and decorated Leah's birthday cake and cupcakes all by herself!).

This weekend I plan to pull out the school day schedule I made for us back in August, and start following it. Previously, I was setting the timer on my phone for each segment, and running a pretty tight ship. It is apparent that I need to do that again. When we started school back a couple of weeks ago, I abandoned the schedule, and was trying to go with the flow---that is not working! Another change that I made that is not working is sleeping later than normal on school mornings. I have not been getting up at 5:00 AM, and that has got to change! I am setting my alarm for 5:00, and I am going to hit the floor running! Well, hit the floor running to the coffee pot!

I am trying to choose to enjoy my days, but it seems like by my slowing down my personal pace, so much is getting left undone that it is actually causing me more stress! Does that even make sense?

I am going to work on finding the balance between "getting it all done" and "enjoying the process". I hope I have a better report in several days.

How is your January?

Swamped!

2012-01-10T22:15:00.001-06:00

Since we started back to school last Thursday I have been swamped! I have not had a chance to blog, and I am already behind in my reading the Bible in 90 days! Day 9, and I am already behind! But I will catch up. Leah's birthday is Thursday, and I have been sewing her a gift. She is going to be so surprised (I just hope I get it finished!).

Anyway, we are all fine here at the Johnson home.....I just have not have much computer time.

I am working on choosing books that I want to read in 2012. These are books that I plan to read in addition to the Sonlight and Notgrass books that I pre-read for my children.

I am also trying to choose to not get overwhelmed by life in general and the daily clutter specifically.

I hope you are having a good January so far, and that you are having success in keeping your resolutions or focusing on the word you have chosen for 2012.

Back To School

2012-01-05T07:04:00.000-06:00

After a much enjoyed break from school, we are beginning again this morning. I was NOT ready to dive back into school. In fact, I had scheduled us to begin Monday, January 2, but I chose to be spontaneous, and gave us a few more days off! We have had a wonderful break, but it is time to jump back in.

I have not gotten up at 5:00 AM in about a month, but I did this morning. I know I will be needing coffee around 2:00 PM today! I am hoping and praying that our day goes smoothly, and that everyone is eager and cheerful all day! (Me too).

Choose

2012-01-04T08:22:00.000-06:00

Choose

Like I said yesterday, choose is my focus word for 2012. I have many more things to choose in addition to choosing to be spontaneous.

Jimmy gave a short talk/invitation at our Wednesday night church service a couple of weeks ago. He said that we are not forced to serve and obey God or follow Jesus. It is our choice. A choice that we all must make. By not choosing to serve God, we are choosing not to serve Him. That got me to thinking....every action and reaction we make is a choice. And we are in control of our choices. From the big choices, the ones that affect the salvation of our souls, to the multiple small ones we make on a daily, even hourly basis, that may also affect our service to God.

So this year I want to make myself aware of the choices I make. I want to choose the better thing, each and every time. How do I know which is the best choice? Some are easy. Some are hard. But the answer is always found in God's Word, which leads me to my first choice.

1. Choose to spend time in God's Word. Daily. More than once a day. I began reading the Bible in 90 days for the 3rd time on January 2nd. I didn't start on January 1st, because I just decided that I wanted to do this again on December 31st, and then I spent a couple of days contemplating how I wanted to do it. Did I want to read the Bible straight through? Which version did I want to use this time? Did I want to read the Bible chronologically? Which chronological plan should I use? Where were the 90 day chronological plans? After much going back and forth, and actually starting two different plans on January 1, I decided to use the straight through the Bible in 90 days plan offered on You Version. I am using my iPad, and I am reading the English Standard Version, the version I read the first time I did this, one year ago. I still want to read the Bible chronologically, and I found a great one year plan that includes explanatory notes, but I am going to do it after I do the 90 day plan again. In addition to reading most or all of each day's readings first thing in the morning, I also am going to choose to read my Bible when I have little snippets of time instead of playing games on my iPad/iPhone. I like to take my turn with Words With Friends, or play a round of Moxie 2 or Solitaire when I have a spare moment....but this year I am going to choose to read one more chapter in my daily Bible reading.

2. Choose to continue to exercise. I met a huge goal for myself last year. Run a marathon. In fact, I ran two marathons last year. Now, that I have met the big goal, I was unsure of what my exercise goals should be. So my goal is to just continue. My short term goal is to complete the 63 day Insanity program, exactly as it is prescribed. I am currently on Day 23, and so far, so good. After completing Insanity, I am not sure what my exercise program will be, but it will involve getting back to running, and I will choose to continue exercising!

Right now I am going to have to choose to close this post and get on with my day. I have many other goals/choices to list, and I hope to get to that tomorrow!

Joshua 24:15

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Colossians 3:1,2

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.

My 2012 Word

2012-01-03T08:01:00.003-06:00

Choose

I have finally decided on a word--choose.

I considered simplify, savor, and slow down, but after much consideration and prayer, I have chosen choose. Yesterday when Jimmy came home from work after working over 30 hours straight, he asked me if I had made any New Year's Resolutions. I told him that I was doing just like I did last year--choosing one word to focus on all year long and applying that word to all areas of my life, instead of making a list of resolutions. I still make a list of goals of course, but they are all related to my focus word. Anyway, after I explained all of this to him, he asked me what my word was. I replied that I had not completely settled on one word just yet, and I shared him what I had narrowed it down to. He immediately said, "I know what your word should be!---spontaneous!" This was welcomed by much laughter from the children. As if spontaneous could be my focus word! How would I set goals for the year focusing on a word like spontaneous? If I focused on being spontaneous, then I would not even list goals or resolutions, right? That would not be spontaneous!

But his suggestion did get me to thinking. I can be inflexible. I do like routine. I must have my days and weeks planned out in advance. If Jimmy comes home from work announcing that he would like for the whole family to load up and go to Sam's or the mall for a dessert or something like that, I panic. When will I do the dishes? What about those items on my to-do list that still need to be crossed off? To say that I am NOT spontaneous is an understatement. Can I make a spur of the moment road trip? Ha! What do you think? My natural response to anything that deviates from my plan is "no". But then most of the time I will think it through and figure out how to make it work.

I asked Jimmy to qualify his desire for my focus word to be spontaneous, and he responded that he would like for me to do (plan) one spontaneous thing each week. He said if I never tried new things or new ways of doing things that I might miss out on something that I really liked. So really more than being spontaneous all day, he wants me to try new things---and trying new things is spontaneous to me. I do live my life in a rut of routine. So, for 2012 I am going to choose to be spontaneous along with choosing all kinds of other things as well.

I have a whole other list of choices I want to make this year, but I will blog about that next time. This list of things I want to choose includes my original goals for 2012--plus one more goal--be more spontaneous.

More After Pictures

2012-01-02T06:42:00.000-06:00

When I shared pictures of Sam's completed room yesterday, I forgot a couple. The first two pictures are of his closet.

Sam's desk

As I was taking down the Christmas decorations last week, I moved furniture and my rug around to vacuum. Then I decided to try a different furniture arrangement. We have lived here for seven years, and the den furniture has not moved!

Here are some pictures of the new set up. I really like it.

That little bench in front of the coffee table was made for me by Sam.

Here is my schoolroom while I was moving the schoolbooks out of the storage room into those white cabinets. The white cabinets were full of my scrapbooking supplies that I moved back into the storage room!

This is my fantastic new table that Jimmy and Clay built me for Christmas. I love this table! It is the perfect height, and gives me such a large work space.

It's covered with the things we brought down from the sewing room.

All cleaned off now!

To the right of the table are shelves holding our stuff. The boxes have labels listing their contents.

This brown entertainment center stores scrapbooking supplies on the left. The brown chest on the left also holds scrapbooking stuff. The right side of the entertainment center and the white chest of drawers holds sewing supplies.

The boxes underneath the crafting table hold small scrapbooks, stuffing, bows, fabric, and the sewing machine cabinet (white). We roll the sewing cabinet out when we need to sew.

Another picture of my supplies. I know that my containers are not matching nor are they color-coordinated, but I just used what I already had.

Another gift from Jimmy--a pegboard. I love this! I had so much fun hanging all of those things on the pegboard.

This is another wall in the storage room--The shelves hold more of our stuff as well as the ribbon holder Jimmy made me several years ago. I use that table when I am making bows for presents.

One last picture of the crafting end of our storage room.

Before and After

2012-01-01T14:13:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!

I hope your 2012 is going great so far! We spent New Year's Eve like we always do--at our friends Kelly and Lynn's house. We enjoyed Kelly's famous chili plus lots of other unhealthy but very tasty food. The mocha punch, homemade pimento and cheese sandwiches and stuffed jalapeno peppers were my favorite!

I finally finished my three room redo! Here are some pictures. I must admit that this was a huge job that I tackled. It took me until Friday night to finish! I am so glad to have it all done.

BEFORE

This is the room that Clay and Sam formerly shared. When we built our house seven years ago, this room was intended to be a playroom. Well, my children played all over the house, and when Sam was two, we moved him and Clay into this large room together. The smaller bedroom that used to be Clay's bedroom was transformed into a movie watching/sewing room.

The other side of this room.

It was a big mess because this was the day after Christmas, plus I had already begun moving stuff from the sewing room (all of those games) into this room.

Another view of the mess.

And one more picture of before in this room.

This is the former sewing room, almost all the way emptied out. I removed the rug, couch and coffee table from this room.

The TV cabinet on the left stayed. This TV only shows DVDs. Clay decided to leave his desk in his old room for Sam, and to keep this TV in his room. This is my only child to have a TV in his room. He has to ask permission to watch a DVD, and I don't anticipate his watching any more DVDs than normal (infrequently).

AFTER

This is Clay's room now!

Another view.

Still another view.

And one last picture. Clay has legos displayed on the window seat and on the shelves.

Sam's room

This is his seating area. He and Leah are already enjoying playing all kinds of things on the rug.

The other side of Sam's room. The built in shelves are now holding all of our family games that are not stored in our den.

Since I spent all of last week redoing all of those rooms (I'll share pictures from my new craft/sewing/scrapbooking area later), taking down and storing Christmas decorations, taking Olivia to and from Winter Camp, and dealing with a broken washing machine (I have washed clothes at the local laundromat and last night at Lynn's), I have not had time to decide on my focus word for 2012. I have a couple of ideas, but I still want to think and pray about it some more. I also want to make a list of goals for 2012--in several different areas. I am going to get my thoughts together on beginning a new year as well as starting back to official homeschooling over the next few days. We will begin part two of this year's school year on Thursday.

Have you set 2012 goals? Made New Year's resolutions? Chosen a focus word? Please share your ideas--they may help me as I make my plans for this new year.

Still Working Over Here

2011-12-29T08:22:00.001-06:00

My major decluttering and rearranging of rooms and furniture is still continuing. In fact, I was unable to work on any of it yesterday! So far we have completely emptied out the former sewing room and have moved all of its contents into my basement storage room in my new crafting area. But it is just sitting there in baskets and bags, waiting to be organized and neatly put away. We did purge the contents before we moved them down there (two flights of stairs, by the way).

That was step 1. Step 2 is to move Clay's furniture and belongings from his former room which he shares with Sam into his new room. I plan to do that today. Sam is a little bit sad that Clay is leaving. He is only going next door, and they have a bathroom in between them! But, Sam has never had a room to himself, and he is concerned about sleeping in there alone. I am moving a couch into Sam's room (it was in the sewing room), so I told him that Clay could sleep on that couch sometimes, or he could make a pallet on the floor of Clay's room.

Step 3 will be to then clean out Sam's room. I need to help him really clean out under his bed and behind furniture (places Sam likes to stick things). We will then straighten his closet and put all of the games and puzzles in there---they were formerly in the sewing room on shelves.

Step 4 is to help Leah clean up her room. She likes to place things in little piles in the corners of her room. The middle of her floor is clean, and she can walk around with no trouble, but those little piles of items in her corners have to be dealt with! Also, I need to get her a trash can for her room. Maybe that would eliminate some of her piles! She needs some help putting away her Christmas gifts and generally tidying her room.

Step 5 will be my favorite of all! Organize my new crafting area! I have to remove all of my school books and supplies (ones not currently using, but items that I will be using in the future) from the entertainment center in the basement. Then I want to take all of my scrapbooking supplies out of the wall of cabinets in my schoolroom and put them back in the storage/crafting room. I will put the school stuff back in the schoolroom cabinets. Hopefully along the way I can get rid of some stuff!

I had wanted to get all of this done this week, but I am not sure if that is going to happen. Yesterday I didn't get to work on this project at all because it took my entire day to exercise (Day 15 of Insanity!), go to Walmart to pick up last minute items for Olivia to take to camp, and go to the AT&T store to buy a Go Phone with 5 days of service for Olivia to take to camp (last year we had no way to communicate with her and I was so worried about her! It was her first time to go away like that!). I instructed her to call or text us twice a day so we would know that she was ok. Then we had to actually take her to camp, about a 3 hour round trip. By the time we got home it was time for me to cook supper, get everyone ready for church, and then attend our Wednesday night church service. When I got home at 9:00 last night, I was just too tired to tackle any decluttering!

I hope you are having a productive holiday break!

One more thing.....I am starting to consider what my focus word will be for 2012. For 2011 it was persevere. Have you started thinking about what you want your focus word to be?

Continuing With the Declutter

2011-12-27T08:13:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a success! We pleaned all day! (clean 30 minutes, play 30 minutes, repeat until the work is done). Before suppertime we had taken down every single Christmas decoration and neatly stored them away. Our live tree has now taken its traditional spot on our back patio.....it will be knocked down by the wind almost daily, and the children will stand it back up. We usually leave the tree out there for a while for us to continue to enjoy looking at it. Plus the younger children to not like the idea of our precious tree being disposed of each year. We have to ease into getting rid of it.

I packed away all of the Christmas dishes, and we enjoyed our supper of leftovers on our regular blue dishes. I also rearranged our den! I think I am going to leave it this way. It seems more open and roomier.

I had also planned to wash clothes all day since I had taken a break from laundry for two days. Guess what? My washer broke during the first load! The appliance repair shop was closed yesterday for the holiday, but my repairman is coming this morning to check it out. If he cannot fix it today, I will be making a trip to the laundromat this afternoon. Olivia leaves for Winter Camp tomorrow, and she has to have her clothes washed before leaving.

I have another full day of cleaning out and organizing today--it may take me several days to do what I have planned. My Christmas gift from Jimmy (and Clay, who helped him a good bit) was a fabulous crafting table. It is the most wonderful thing! They spent many hours constructing it in secret, and they presented it to me on December 22. I love that new table! It is a 6ft x 6ft square table, built at the perfect "counter height" for me. No more bending over to cut out fabric, scrapbook, or wrap presents. It is the most perfect gift! And all the more special because it was made especially for me by the people I love the most!

I will share pictures at some point!

Today, I plan to begin the big move/reorganization project. The new table is in my newly cleaned out storage room in our basement, right off of my schoolroom (now I know why Jimmy and I spent 2 days cleaning out the storage room last week!). Currently, our sewing room is located in an upstairs bedroom--it is completely full of sewing materials, closet and all! I plan to relocate the sewing room into the storage room. I have 2 chest of drawers and a large entertainment center in the storage room that I will clean out in order to store my sewing, crafting, and scrapbooking supplies.

Next, after the former sewing room is completely cleaned out and cleaned, I am going to move Clay into this bedroom. This will be a big job too! Lastly, I will finish by cleaning out and reorganizing Sam's room after Clay has moved out and some additional furniture other stuff has been added to Sam's room. Our sewing room also stored many games and puzzles, and I will move those to Sam's closet. Thankfully, Sam has a huge closet, so storing some extra things will not be a problem, especially after Clay moves his things out.

Wow! What a task in front of me! But I am so looking forward to having it all done so I can enjoy my new table and creative area!

Pictures of the entire process will follow. I hope.

Just Do The Next Thing

2011-12-26T08:10:00.000-06:00

That is my motto for today! After a week (really 3 weeks) of fun and preparation--cooking, baking, cleaning, wrapping, visiting, celebrating, crafting, decorating, etc., today is all about cleaning up and organizing. I am not even sure that I am going to make a list. I am just going to start in my den, and do the next thing. Again and again until all of the Christmas decorations are taken down and neatly put up, and the floors are all vacuumed--or until bedtime comes, whichever comes first!

We had a fabulous Christmas! It really was wonderful. I enjoy the whole busyness of December and all that it entails. I love creating memories for my family when we do our traditions each December. I enjoy the work and serving my family, and even though there were times that I was truly exhausted, and I texted that sentiment to my dear friend Lynn and my sister-in-law Megan, I was not complaining! I was just stating the fact that sometimes doing what you love can exhaust you. And that is a good thing! My friend Emily wrote a post all about questioning why she exhausted herself in December, and concluded with the idea that it isn't all about her (or me). It's her gift to her family. Reading that gave me a jolt and reminded me that service really is uplifting. Doing things for others leads to happiness for yourself! I briefly considered simplifying my December activities for next year, but after reading Emily's post, and also after hearing all five of my children and my husband thank me repeatedly for all of our Christmas traditions, I changed my mind. I am not going to change a single thing next December. I have 11 months to rest up!

Jimmy was off all last week, and that really was enjoyable. We had such a nice week! He took the children to visit his parents for two days (and unknown to me they were all working on Christmas gifts for me!). I spent that time wrapping and cleaning, cooking and etc., and it was nice to be able to work uninterrupted. That was a gift in itself. We all went to see Authur Christmas one night at the 7:45 PM showing. I haven't been to a movie that started that late since college! The movie was hilarious!

My handmade gifts from my family were fantastic, and I plan to blog about them with pictures soon. Right now I better get started on the big Pleaning Day. Pleaning is a word my children made up years ago. On the day or days after Christmas they help me get the house back in order by pleaning----play for 30 minutes and then work for 30 minutes. I set a timer and we alternate working and playing all day. That way they get to enjoy their new gifts and willingly help me out too! Cleaning and organizing is play for me, so I will work, work, work until it's all done!

Two more things:
1. I have done 12 days of Insanity! Today will be Day 13. I have completed two weeks of six days of workouts followed by one day off (Sundays). So far, no injuries!
2. I joined Pinterest! What an addiction!

Cleaning and Baking!

2011-12-21T21:57:00.002-06:00

pretty sugar cookies

We have certainly been enjoying our Christmas Break! Jimmy is off from work this entire week, so our whole family has been busy, busy, busy.

The girls and I have baked sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies (both of which they are decorating right this very minute), rice krispie goodies, reindeer food, seasoned oyster crackers, millionaires, and chocolate peppermint bonbons. Also, we have wrapped presents, tried to keep up with the laundry, and Jimmy and I have cleaned out our entire storage room. That took the better part of two days! There were boxes in there that we had not unpacked since we moved from Jackson over 11 years ago! But now we have gone through every single box, purged and reorganized.

Tomorrow's plan is to clean our entire house in preparation for the Johnson Christmas Party. We will be joined by all of Jimmy's aunts, uncles, and cousins for a fun night of food and fellowship. Fun!

more pretty cookies

my sweet daughters

Also this week Olivia finally finished this 1000 piece puzzle. Our whole family has worked on it from time to time--for over a month!

She has already started on another one.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-12-19T09:04:00.003-06:00

Monday: potato soup, salad, homemade bread

Tuesday: baked fish (tilapia and orange roughy), roasted sweet and white potatoes, corn on the cob, salad

Wednesday: meatloaf (from my freezer), mashed potatoes, peas

Thursday: Johnson Christmas Party--I am ordering Subway sandwich trays and everyone will bring an appetizer or dessert

Friday: baked chicken, roasted sweet and white potatoes, salad, black eyed peas

Saturday: Lunch at Granmomma's--I am taking a ham, spinach dip, and chocolate bread pudding

Sunday: Breakfast--breakfast casserole, Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls, mocha punch; Lunch/Dinner--steak, steamed shrimp, hash brown casserole, salad

Please visit OrgJunkie.com for more menu inspiration.

Our Simmons Family Christmas

2011-12-18T07:36:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we all gathered at my youngest brother's house in Southaven to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. My parents came with both of my grandmothers and one of my grandmother's baby sister--she is 80! The youngest of 12 children! My grandmother, Momo, is somewhere in the middle of all of those children.

Anyway, I don't have any pictures! I am not sure why I failed to take any! Jimmy took a few with his phone, so I may figure out how to get those over here to my computer. We had a wonderful visit, and the children thoroughly enjoyed exchanging presents. We also enjoyed a delicious meal (cooked mostly by my sister-in-law, Amanda), but Mary Margaret and I each brought a couple of things too. They weather was nice enough for the younger children to spend a good portion of the day outside on the trampoline, and they also played inside with legos and trains! Leah is the only girl among several younger boy cousins, but she plays happily with them all.

We stopped by Target on the way home (remember, the closest Target to us is 1 hour, 25 minutes away--the one we visited yesterday). Then we enjoyed a nice quiet evening at home watching Christmas specials on TV while the children played with some of their new gifts. The girls were all furiously crocheting or knitting with their new yarn, Clay tried to figure out the correct path in his Perplexus maze ball, and Sam spent hours building his new lego set. This is the first time he has been able to read multi-step directions (in pictures) and construct the legos all by himself. He was so proud. And I can't believe that he is old enough to build little legos alone!

Yesterday was also my parents' 44th wedding anniversary! What a fun way for them to celebrate--with a houseful of their three children and ten grandchildren.

Holiday Baking

2011-12-15T11:00:00.001-06:00

We have begun our holiday baking! So far, we have made three things: Wreath Cookies, Bumpy Cookies, and Rice Krispie Goodies. This was our first year to make the wreath cookies, and I am pretty sure that we will not make them again. They were not a family favorite, although they did turn out looking pretty!

Wreath Cookies

1 package vanilla candy coating

green paste food coloring

2 1/2 cups crushed shredded wheat cereal

mini M&Ms

Microwave candy coating until melting following package instructions. Add green food coloring until desired color is achieved. Add cereal, stirring gently to coat. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper, shape into a wreath shape, and quickly press in M&Ms for decorations. I had to reheat the cereal/candy mixture for a few seconds before dropping out the last of the cookies. Let cookies dry for about 30 minutes before storing.

Letting the cookies dry

A wreath that Leah made

A plateful of wreath cookies

Bumpy Cookies

(my mother-in-law's recipe)

1 package vanilla candy coating

3 cups mini marshmallows

2 cups crunchy peanut butter

1 jar roasted peanuts

4 cups rice krispies

Melt candy coating in microwave following package directions. Stir in peanut butter. Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl. Pour candy/peanut butter mixture over and mix thoroughly. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Allow to dry for about 30 minutes. This made 103 cookies yesterday!

Letting the bumpy cookies dry

Rice Krispie Goodies

(This recipe came from a friend I met while Jimmy was in medical school, 20 years ago! The wives of the med students had a cookie swap, and we shared recipes too.)

1 cup light Karo syrup

1 cup sugar

Stir and heat until melted.

Add 1 cup peanut butter.

Stir until blended and melted.

Pour over 6 cups rice krispies.

Press mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Press down with your hands.

Melt 1 bag chocolate chips and 1 bag butterscotch chips in microwave. Stir to blend completely.

Spread melted chips over the rice krispies.

Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before cutting into small squares.

We made 3 pans of rice krispie goodies yesterday, but I failed to take any pictures of them! I packaged the rice krispie goodies and bumpy cookies (saving a portion for our family to snack on!) into little pails. We shared these with about half of the families at church last night. I plan to make the seasoned oyster crackers and reindeer food to take to the rest of the families on Sunday. We have 39 families in our congregation, and I just couldn't get the goodies ready for all 39 families at one time! I printed out labels with each family's name on them so I could keep up with which families I have given gifts to.

All packaged and almost ready to deliver....I added a bow to each pail before giving these.

For the next two days I plan to clean house, grocery shop, put bows on presents, cook for my upcoming family Christmas party, and make the remaining food gifts for Sunday.

Happy Holiday Baking!

Enjoying Our Break

2011-12-13T11:29:00.000-06:00

Our entire family has been enjoying our break from schoolwork! Friday night we attended two birthday parties (Jimmy went to one for an elderly friend of ours while the children and I attended a 6 year old's party). Saturday morning Jimmy ran the Rudolph Run 10K (Patrick House, winner of the Biggest Loser ran it too!). Jimmy got an autographed picture of Patrick for Julie. While Jimmy was running, Olivia took the ACT for the first time! She is very relieved to have that over with. Saturday afternoon I attended our ladies from church annual ornament swap. My friend Karen hosted it, and it was a delightful afternoon. A couple of the ladies and I lingered and enjoyed coffee after all of the other ladies left. I really enjoyed the visiting!

Sunday night Jimmy took the children to spend the night with his parents, and they left me behind to wrap Christmas presents. Fun! I stayed up till 2 AM! I had drunk a cup of coffee at 9 PM, and I was not sleepy!

Last night we joined several other families from our Keepers At Home and Contenders For the Faith clubs to sing Christmas carols at the local retirement home. We sang several songs, shared small gifts with the residents, and then stayed for about an hour visiting with them. I know that I was blessed more than they were with the visit. My children all want to go back on a somewhat regular basis to visit these residents. They were so appreciative of our company, and my children enjoyed it so much. It really is rewarding to make someone else happy!

I began the Insanity workouts yesterday. It is as tough as I remembered! Maybe worse! I have now completed two days, and I am reminded of how weak I can get when I am not doing any strength training. I have done days one and two, and I am already extremely sore!

Today I plan to make wreath cookies and maybe one more cookie with Leah and Sam (and the other kids if they want to help).

Here is the recipe for Reindeer Food. I don't know why this is called reindeer food, because it is for people, not reindeer! It is delicious though!

Reindeer Food

1 bag milk chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter

1 box rice chex (13 oz.)

3 cups powdered sugar

Melt chips, peanut butter, and butter in the microwave. Stir to combine. Pour over cereal, stirring gently. Pour powdered sugar over and toss gently. Spread out on waxed paper to cool. After completely dry, put in small containers to share!

Meeting Patrick House!

2011-12-10T07:59:00.001-06:00

Me, Patrick, and Julie

I am a Biggest Loser fan! I never watch television unless I am running on the treadmill, and The Biggest Loser is one show that I record every single Tuesday night and run 8-9 miles on Wednesday mornings (I fast forward through the commercials) while watching it. This show is very inspiring to me!

Last week while visiting with Jimmy's cousin Sam and his wife Emily at the restaurant the night before St. Jude, Emily told me all about Patrick's (Biggest Loser winner from last December!) weekend visit to Tupelo and Pontotoc. Emily arranged the entire weekend! She is also race director for the Rudolph Run 5K and 10K (which Jimmy is actually running right now as I type this). I knew that I would not be attending or running the race this morning, for two reasons--1: I am resting from running right now, and 2: I had to take Olivia to the ACT test this morning. Anyway, Emily shared Patrick's schedule with me, and I realized that I could meet him when he came to Tupelo's Wellness Center yesterday.

I took Julie with me because she also watches this show while running on the treadmill. We only got to attend the "meet and greet" event for 30 minutes, because I had to rush back home to take the children to a birthday party. Julie and I met Patrick, and we had a few pictures made with him. He was very nice! Always smiling and very easy to talk to. I wish I would have asked him all about the show! I want to know how long the process actually is--from the time they first arrive on the ranch until the finale. But I just made a little bit of small talk and let the next person meet him. As Julie and I were leaving, Patrick was leading the group in a 15 minute exercise session. I would have liked to do that!

So now I have met three celebrities! Patrick, Pat, and Vanna!

Holiday Hint #6

2011-12-09T07:07:00.001-06:00

We have begun our Christmas Break! Hooray! Now the holiday happenings begin!

Today's hint is to finalize your holiday gathering/party/family traditions/food to share with others menu. I plan to do that right now. I had rough draft of what I was going to cook for all of those occasions, and I have been picking up a few ingredients as they have been on sale, but I am going to make the final plan today. Then I will make the master grocery list and break it down by which store I will purchase each item from. I will be shopping at Kroger and Sam's. I will put the ingredients in categories based on when I will need to buy them.

non-perishables--things that I can buy today and will last all the way to Christmas Day
perishables I need each week--for instance I have a party to attend tomorrow, but I will also be needing fresh food for Christmas Day. I will be making 3 or maybe 4 trips to Kroger between now and December 25th. I am going to plan my lists for each trip, assigning the necessary perishable items for each trip--based on what I am cooking for.

Also today I am going to look at my calendar and plan at least three baking days. I learned long ago that conducting a marathon session in the kitchen, trying to complete all of my holiday baking in one day, is no fun! After a couple of hours, we are no longer making pleasant memories! So I break the cooking into three or even four sessions. For instance, making and decorating sugar cookies with the children will be all that we cook on that day!

Here is a tentative look at my holiday cooking plans:

sugar cookies with the children
special cookies/baked goods that we only make in December--some of these we will eat, and some we will package to share with others
oysters crackers and Reindeer food--we ALWAYS make these to package to share, and we also save some for us to nibble on.
my extended family's party (I am taking pound cake, crunchy romaine salad, and something else--I haven't decided yet)
Jimmy's extended family's party (I am taking ham and I have to plan the rest today!)
Christmas Eve supper--soup
Christmas Day--mocha punch, Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls, breakfast casserole, grilled steak, steamed shrimp, hash brown potato casserole, salad

I am going to get started on all of these lists right now! How is your holiday cooking coming along?

It's Thursday

2011-12-08T06:36:00.001-06:00

I thought that I would share some updates on various areas in my life right now. December is always such a busy month, and this year it is flying by! I can't believe that it is December 8th already!

Bible Study: I finished my study of the book of Mark, and on Monday, I began a study of the book of Philippians. I am currently reading the entire book each morning using a different translation each time. After four or five readings, I will then begin outlining each chapter and taking notes on specific verses. I am tentatively planning to read the entire Bible in 90 days again, beginning January 1st. If I do it again, this time I plan to read the Bible chronologically. I am not sure which version I will read this time. For my first two readings I used the English Standard Version, and then the New American Standard Bible.
Exercise: I have completely rested from exercise since my marathon last Saturday. Until Tuesday, I had difficulty going down the stairs and squatting down. Well, I had difficulty walking Saturday and Sunday! I plan to rest until next Monday, and I am going to do the Insanity workouts again. Only this time I am going to do Insanity only, and not try to continue running as well. Insanity is a 60 day program, and I want to do the program exactly as prescribed. We'll see if my knees hold out. After the 60 days, I plan to start running again, and I will probably mix running with either Insanity workouts or CrossFit workouts. I am not sure yet.
School: Today is our last day of school until January 2! The children and I are both excited! All of our brains need a break! I will need to do a little bit of planning during our break to prepare for the next semester. Actually, our 2nd semester will not begin until the end of January, but I still need to get things ready. I have to plan Julie's Mississippi History course, review her American Literature course, and prepare copywork for Leah. Olivia is taking the ACT for the first time this Saturday. She is very nervous!
Holiday Hints: As usual, I work very hard to prepare for the holidays in October and November, and then from Thanksgiving until we finish our schoolwork for the semester, I kind of slack off. I will begin this afternoon in full force! I need to update my master gift list with my purchases over the last month. I also need to make one more final shopping list (I have a few gifts left to get). I want to plan my holiday menus, finalize our baking lists, choose a couple of art projects for my younger children, and wrap, wrap, wrap presents!

I think that's all, and now I better get busy!

What Leah Said

2011-12-07T07:27:00.001-06:00

Completely out of the blue, Leah came up to me and said:

"Mama, I know why your hair is gray!"

"Why?"

"It's because you are so stressed by the cats!" (She is right, those cats do cause me a lot of stress--they shed every where and they break things and their litter box smells up my storage room!)

"Well, what do you think I should do about it?"

She thought for a moment and then she said,

"I guess you'll just have to have gray hair!"

Ha!

Trimming the Tree: Part 2

2011-12-06T10:44:00.001-06:00

Well, we had a DISASTER last night!

Our ten foot live Christmas tree with a 1 gallon reservoir full of water came crashing down. All the way down to the floor. With me almost underneath.

Ornaments shattered. Water spilled. Presents were soaked.

Since Jimmy was on call the day the we bought our tree, he was not here to check to make sure it was properly put in the stand. Clay and I did that! (But apparently we did not know what exactly to check.) The tree began leaning to one side a few days ago. Last night, I got underneath the tree to try to straighten it. I failed. The tree crashed! Thankfully, Jimmy was home last night, and it took all seven of us over an hour to do damage control.

We unplugged the lights, stood the tree back up, and took off every single ornament. We picked up millions of pieces of broken glass, filler from a snow globe, tree needles, etc. Jimmy secured the tree, and set up fans to dry out the floor, the rugs (one on either side of the tree), and the tree branches. We vacuumed. We went to bed!

This morning at 7:00 AM I began cleaning up again. I carefully sorted the ornaments and packed away all of the breakable, very heavy, and fragile ones. Jimmy says the tree's stability has been compromised, and in case it falls again, I don't want to lose any more ornaments.

We saved some of the broken ones to be glued back together. Since my children know the origin of every ornament on our tree, it is important to us to save all of them we can.

I woke the children up shortly after 7:00 this morning, turned on the Christmas music, and we decorated the tree. AGAIN.
This time we used about half of our ornaments. Even the some of the ones that were sturdy or light, we chose not to put back on this year. I don't want the tree to be too weighted down. When we had finished redecorating the tree, I sent the older three children to get started on their school. Then I carefully repacked the unused ornaments, sorting them and discarding broken pieces. Then I vacuumed again. I put the tree skirt back around the tree, and put the now dried out presents back under the tree (one of the gifts had to be unwrapped last night and aired out). I vacuumed again.

And now it is all done. And now it is 11:00! Time for me to begin school with the children, only 3 hours late!

St. Jude Marathon 2011

2011-12-05T07:55:00.000-06:00

I Did It!

I finished the marathon in under 5 hours!

My official time was 4 hours, 39 minutes!!

We had so much fun during the St. Jude Marathon weekend! Our entire family left for Memphis around 1:00 Friday afternoon. We met lots and lots of our friends and fellow runners at the Expo. That was fun as usual! This was Leah's and Sam's first time to attend the Expo. I am not sure that it was as exciting for them as it was for us, but they did seem to have fun. They both enjoyed samples of chocolate milk, Gu Chomps, and various pens and magnets. Fun stuff for little children!

After picking up our race numbers and milling around the Expo visiting with everyone, we joined several friends for dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. This has become a pre-race tradition for us.

The young people's table

Olivia, Leah, Parker, Julie, Sam, Carson, and Clay

A little while later we were joined by more friends (Yonea, Mary, Margaret, and Martha; Julie, Kirsten, and Alec; and Scott, Amy, Anna Beth, Ben, Claire, John and Catherine). Then my girls moved to an all girls table.

Our full of fun table!

Scott, John, Me, Barbara, Louis, Kelly, and Lynn

We carb loaded with lots of pasta and delicious bread, all the while laughing, laughing, and laughing even more!

Jimmy and Me

After supper, we all went to our hotel in downtown Memphis. Uncle Russ and Aunt Megan arrived to pick up Leah and Sam. They spent the night with them, and then the next morning, Megan took them to Aunt Amanda's and Uncle Rhett's house to stay for the day. Leah and Sam had so much fun with their aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am very grateful that my family was able to help me out this way! Thank you!

Leah and Sam leaving with Russ and Megan

Next, the Mims and Doles family hung out with us in the hotel lobby. Jimmy took everyone's Starbucks order, and he and Clay walked to the nearest Starbucks and brought coffee to all of us. Yummy! We spent the next hour or so visiting and laughing some more. The night before the St. Jude race is always so much fun for us! Jimmy also walked with Lynn's boys and Clay to see the Christmas decorations at the Peabody.

Parker, Carson, and Clay playing cards in the hotel lobby

Lynn and Kelly, enjoying their Starbucks

The next morning we arose bright and early and met a huge group of people in the hotel lobby at 7:00 AM. Everyone was excited and nervous. This was the first half-marathon for some of the younger runners in our party, and this was also Heather's first full marathon! Heather has been training some with Jimmy and Esther, and they all ran the marathon together.

Ok, now the race! I had a fantastic race experience! Much, much better than my first terrible marathon back in April! Lynn, Kelly, and I all started out together, and we did just as we planned....nice and slow. Our corral began the race 18 minutes after the official starting time (we were in corral 10). We just ran and chatted, and thankfully, the miles just passed fairly quickly. I was a little nervous that the bad part was coming, but it never did!

After a few miles we noticed that the 4:40 finish time pace group was just in front of us. At that point we decided that 4:40 would be our goal! We were keeping up with the pacer just fine. In fact, we would get ahead of the pace group between each water stop (water/gatorade at every mile), because we were walking for 30 seconds or so at each water stop, and they were running straight through. So, we would pull ahead, and then they would catch us when we walked. This continued through mile 19. We were still feeling good! We were surprised that we were still feeling good! My legs were aching, but I never felt like I was going to throw up or die, and I did not fall down!

Sometime during mile 19, the 4:40 pace group pulled further and further ahead. I did not want to lose them, but Lynn was getting a little bit tireder than me.....she agreed that I should go on ahead. I did! It took me .6 miles of running around a 9 minute pace or less, but I finally caught them at the 20 mile marker. I settled in running with the pace group, chatting with them and getting to know them. (Talking while running distracts me!) They were still not walking at the water stops, so I would walk a tiny bit while drinking and then catch right up to them. At mile 24, I didn't walk at all---I tried to drink while running, but it was a mess! I was still chatting away with all the runners in my pace group, when the pace leader told me that since I felt so good, (and was so chatty!), that I should just go on ahead. I did! I never stopped again. Just after mile 24, Jimmy found me! I think he was surprised to find me so soon, but I was so happy to see him. We ran the last 2 miles together! It is a very big comfort and encouragement to me for him to come finish every race with me. (So he ended up running about 30 miles in all after coming back for me!).

I was thrilled with my finish time of 4:39! I never hit the wall! I only walked at the water stations, and I did not even walk at every one of them. Lynn finished just 3-4 minutes behind me, and she felt strong for the duration of the run too. All of those many, many miles of training finally paid off!

Mission accomplished!

All of my family members who ran this race did FANTASTIC!

Jimmy set a personal record (PR) of 3 hours, 36 minutes! I was so proud of him! Heather, the running machine, ran her very first marathon in 3 hours, 34 minutes. I am honored that I ran some training miles with those two fast runners! Esther finished not far behind them, and I think she set a PR too!

Clay, Julie, and Olivia finished strong, and our friend Scott took pictures for us! Clay ran a PR as well: 1 hour, 52 minutes!

Clay is to the left of the umbrella, right beside a yellow cone. He has on a gray shirt. This is as he approached the finish line.

Clay, right after his finish

Julie after her finish

1 hour, 54 minutes

Olivia, catching her breath after finishing

1 hour, 57 minutes

Julie, Olivia, and many friends--all waiting for us to finish the marathon.

When we all had finished the race, some of us met at Huey's for a big juicy hamburger! It was delicious. We were stiff and sore, and I am sure we looked odd, hobbling around the restaurant!

Jimmy and Me at Huey's after the race

Do we look tired?

After finishing our meal, we picked up Leah and Sam and headed home!

An exhausting two days, but so, so worth it!!

In Case You Need a Laugh Today

2011-12-01T07:44:00.001-06:00

I posted this video last spring when I was training for my first marathon. I still laugh every time I watch it!

My second marathon is just 2 days away. 2 days! I am not nearly as nervous this time. I have run 480 training miles in 13.5 weeks to prepare. However, I have only run farther than 22 miles one time, and that was my first marathon. Lynn and I ran two 18s, one 19, two 20s, and one 22 miler during our training this time. We should be ok! The weather forecast is looking promising, with the low Friday night predicted to be 38 degrees and the high Saturday, 60. 60 is a little warm for a marathon, but that is way, way cooler than my first marathon, where the finishing temperature was 89!

My goal is still under five hours. Lynn and I completed our first marathon in 5 hours, 15 minutes. I really, really hope we can beat that time. I really, really want a 4 in the hours part of my time.

We have a fun weekend planned with friends before, during, and after the race. We have several St. Jude Marathon race weekend traditions that we have established, and I am looking forward to the entire experience.

Enjoy the video!

The Christmas Tea Party

2011-11-30T07:02:00.001-06:00

Leah, all dressed and ready for her guests to arrive

As part of my older girls' home economics class, they are required to plan, prepare, and host (and clean up after!) a variety of events throughout the year. Yesterday they hosted a Christmas themed tea party for Leah and eight of her homeschooled friends. Olivia and Julie spent several days planning the menu, creating a grocery list, planning the decorations, creating the invitations and place cards, preparing all of the food, and setting the table.

They did a fabulous job!

The menu was:

chocolate covered pretzels

cheese rounds

star shaped sugar cookies

fresh pineapple and strawberries

sausage and cheese mini muffins

hot chocolate

pineapple/banana punch

the table setting

the delicious food

the beautiful pretzels

The invitations asked each little girl to wear holiday attire and bring their favorite doll.

the guests with their dolls

the dolls sitting patiently while the girls enjoyed their tea party

the girls waiting to be served by Olivia and Julie

Yummy!

Olivia and Julie fixed each girl a plate and served them either hot chocolate or punch. They promptly served refills and seconds as the little girls enjoyed their tea party. The table was so quiet! I think the girls were trying to have good manners. They were precious!

After eating, the girls all gathered their dolls and went off to play. We then let all of the little and big brothers of the guests come into the kitchen to fix a plate of food. They devoured what was left! The boys spent their time playing legos and blocks in our schoolroom and playing outside in the freezing cold.

It was a super party! My girls are wonderful hostesses, and they did an excellent job of cleaning up after the guests had all gone home.

5 Days of Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make

2011-11-29T08:35:00.001-06:00

Today I shared my post about the Domino Christmas Ornaments at The Homeschool Classroom. The children and I made these cute and easy ornaments last year. The Homeschool Classroom is featuring gifts that your children can make all this week. Be sure to check out their site each day for fun ideas.

Olivia and Julie are hosting a Christmas Tea Party this afternoon for Leah and her friends. This tea party is part of their Home Ec curriculum. They have planned and prepared the entire party. I will post pictures and details hopefully tomorrow!

Our Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T08:05:00.001-06:00

Last Tuesday, the children and I traveled three hours south to my parents' house. We spent Wednesday doing some schoolwork and then cooking, cooking, cooking! Thursday we were joined by Jimmy, both of my grandmothers, and both of my brothers and their families. It was a day of food and fun. The weather was perfect for the children to play outside, and some of us even enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner outside on my parents nice porch.

The boy cousins playing football.

My grandmother, Momo, and my brother, Ryan. Just after this picture was taken, Momo through the football a couple of times! She is 88.

The entire family

Leah, playing on the bridge over the fish pond. No one fell in the pond this year!

Sam, Bounds, and Wesley---all five years old!

Sam and Wesley

My youngest brother, Rhett

The boys playing some more

Davis, coming through the doggy door. This is the preferred way to go in and out of my parents' house by all of the young children.

Olivia, holding our newest cousin, Johnson

My daddy with his beloved dog, Holly

All of the grandchildren

Pops and Johnson

Late Thanksgiving day afternoon, everyone packed up and left my parents' house. Some of us went back to our own homes, and one my brothers and his family went to enjoy another Thanksgiving meal that very same day!

My family traveled north Friday morning to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jimmy's family. We were joined by Jimmy's brother and sister and their families. We had another delicious meal followed by football watching and game playing. It was a nice, relaxing and fun visit.

Pop and Jimmy's brother, Russ

Me, Julie, Jenny and Megan playing Rummikub. We played two or three rounds, and had lots of fun!

The intense game!

Russ came in to watch the fun.

Our Thanksgiving week and weekend was really a lot of fun. It is nice to visit with extended family and catch up.

Jimmy is off work today too, so we won't get back to work until tomorrow. I plan to have school for 6 more days over the next 2 weeks, and then we will take off 3 weeks for Christmas break.

Trimming the Tree

2011-11-27T16:42:00.001-06:00

We finally have internet again! I hope to catch up on reading blogs and blogging about our Thanksgiving celebrations over the next few days. We'll see!

We decorated our tree over a week ago, but here are a few pictures from that afternoon.

Leah, dressed in green and red with festive ribbons in her hair for the occasion!

Clay hanging some of the first ornaments.

Julie made this paper plate angel tree topper when she was four!

A close-up shot of how packed our tree is with special ornaments. I still buy each child one or two ornaments each year--sometimes the ornament reflects a special interest the child has, and sometimes I just get something that reflects their personality. Some years I just buy what I think is pretty and that they will like! We also buy an ornament from our vacation spots--when I remember to do it!

The Finished Product!

I'm Still Here!

2011-11-22T18:06:00.001-06:00

We have been without internet for several days now, so that's why I have not been blogging! I can still access the internet via my iPhone, but I can hardly read the screen (I need to keep my reading glasses handy), and there is no way I would blog on that tiny keyboard (if you can indeed blog on a mobile device). Anyway, I have been busy, busy, busy the last week!

You can tell by looking at this picture of my sweet children, that we have put up our Christmas tree! And yes, it is a LIVE tree! Olivia and I bought it last Saturday, Julie and Clay prepared the house for the tree (moved furniture around and brought down all of the ornaments), and Julie and Clay hauled the 10 foot tree inside the house....around to the back of the house, over the fence, and through the double doors. Sadly, Jimmy was on call, so he did not get to help! Hanging on the window is one of the grapevine wreaths that Clay made for me using the vines from our woods. I have six of these beautiful wreaths hanging on my doors and windows. We did the rest of the Christmas decorating before we even put up the tree....last Tuesday, in fact!

That is not our Christmas card picture, I just took a quick picture of the children last Sunday morning before we left for our church service.

I finished my 44 miles of marathon training last week, and now I am in the middle of a 35 mile week. My last long run before the marathon is 15 miles this Saturday. The marathon is December 3!!! I cannot believe that I have (almost) survived marathon training, again. And it will be a long time, if ever, that I train for another one!

I hope to catch up on my blogging over the next few days....Holiday Hints, pictures of our Christmas decorations, Thanksgiving fun, and more!

Holiday Hint #5

2011-11-15T06:19:00.001-06:00

My holiday hint for today is featured at The Homeschool Classroom. It has to do with counting the days to Christmas, beginning December 1. You can click here to read this post.

My Christmas cards arrived yesterday! Hooray! Today, I plan to buy the pretty Christmas stamps when I go to the post office to mail a couple of packages. I hope my little post office has the stamps! Last time I checked, they had not gotten them in yet. I do know that you can order stamps online, so if the post office does not have them when I am there today, I will be ordering them online.

Also today I am planning to take down my fall decorations. Gasp! Yes, as Kelly would say, "I am robbing the Pilgrims"! It's really ok to me! I have had the fall decor up since around Labor Day, and we are ready to look at some red and green! Over the last few days I have replaced our wallflowers with various evergreen and holiday scents, so the house already smells like Christmas! We celebrate Thanksgiving at both my parents' house and Jimmy's parents' house, so it's not like we will be eating turkey and dressing while looking at the Christmas tree!

Last year Clay made me some really pretty grapevine wreaths, using the vines from our woods. I am planning to replace my regular greenery wreaths with his handmade wreaths across the front of our house this year. I bought some balls and ribbon to put on them. I am not craftsy, so I hope I can make them look right!

Don't forget to visit The Homeschool Classroom to read my hint for today.

The Parable of the Sower

2011-11-14T06:05:00.001-06:00

In Mark chapter 4, you can read the parable of the sower. After Jesus tells this parable, he explains it to His disciples. Recently when I read this, verses 18 and 19 stood out to me. I would like to think that my attitude of God's Word, my obedience to it, and its working in my life is like the good soil, but more often than not, I must admit that I succumb to the thorns.

18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

These are some of the notes I made as I pondered this passage.

Things that can choke out the Word of God in my life:

• The cares of the world--running our household,

homeschooling, training for a marathon, cooking, cleaning, running errands, Christmas shopping. All those things that take up so much of my time.

• The deceitfulness of riches--thinking that things will make me happy. I don't think I struggle with this as much, but all of my needs and wants are more than provided for. What would my attitude be if I lived in poverty in a foreign county? What if Jimmy lost his job and we had to seriously downsize? I need to be a good steward of God's physical blessings in my life, and make sure that my happiness is not tied up in things, the pursuit of them, the maintaining of them.

• The desire for other things--other things could be praise,

worldly recognition. An other thing could be anything that is distracting my service to God. Even the desire for appreciation and praise from family members. Validation for my hard work. I should be content to serve God quietly with my life, without any affirmation from man. Just do the right things because they are right. Not to seek a reward.

• All of these things can choke the Word. Take my time away from reading and studying my Bible, praying. God's Word will prove unfruitful in my life if I don't make it my top priority to read it, study it, apply it, live it. If I am going to live a life in faithful service to the Lord, then that must be at the forefront of my mind. It should affect every decision and choice I make. My attitude towards my daily life and my interactions with my family and others will be influenced by my conscious attention to serving God. Living a life that is pleasing to Him.

• I must be aware of the thorns of this life. Even if they don't look like thorns, they can very quickly choke out God's Word and it's fruitfulness in my life if I am not vigilant. I am going to purpose to watch out for those thorns, and diligently work on being good soil.

The Last Long Run Before the Marathon

2011-11-13T07:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I ran my last long, long run before the St. Jude Marathon, which is three weeks from yesterday. The tapering begins today! I was joined by Jimmy, Lynn, Kelly, Esther, Heather, and Dorothy. We had such a fun day! Yes! Running long distances can be fun!

We combined a local half-marathon race with our 9 miles to get a total of 22 for our longest long run before the marathon. We met 2 hours before the half-marathon start time yesterday morning, and ran around East Tupelo for 8.9 miles. Lynn and I stayed together the entire time, and we finished our 8.9 just as a lady was singing the National Anthem. She finished, the gun fired, and we were off! Nothing like beginning a half-marathon already hot and sweaty!

Lynn and I were pleasantly surprised by our 8.9 mile run pace (we stopped at 8.9 because the half-marathon distance is 13.1, and we only wanted to run 22 miles, not a step more!). Our average pace was 9:46, which is pretty speedy for us for a long run. I think we were motivated for two reasons. 1. We were running with our fast friends. 2. We were trying to get all 8.9 miles in before the race began.

By mile 5 or 6 of the half-marathon (which was mile 14 or 15 of our total run), I was wiped out. Really tired. Running at the pace we had earlier had taken its toll on me. But we kept on! I choked down two mint chocolate gus during the race, and I think the second one at mile 10 perked me up. Jimmy and Heather (who finished the half-marathon around 1 hour, 40 minutes) ran back to help Lynn and me finish. It is ALWAYS encouraging for me when Jimmy runs the last couple of miles with me in a long race. They talked and pulled us along. Heather entertained us with her recap of throwing up three times in the last half mile of the race. Three times! Yes, she ran that hard!

We finished in a respectable time of 2 hours, 11 minutes. That's a 9:59 pace. When we added that to our 8.9 previous miles, our overall average pace for 22 miles was 9:51. We were so happy! I am not sure if we can repeat that pace or keep it up for 26.2 miles, but we are definitely encouraged that we can meet our goal of under 5 hours at St. Jude. We just want our time to have a 4 in the hours place.

Olivia, Julie, Clay, and their friend Martha also ran the half-marathon. They are all training for the St. Jude Half, and they ran one mile before the race for a total of 14 miles for their training run. This was Clay's 1st half-marathon, and his first time to run this far. He finished in 1 hour, 53 minutes! That was 4th in his age group of 19 and under. Martha and Julie finished in 1 hour 55 minutes, and Olivia in 1 hour 56 minutes (a PR for Olivia--her 6th half-marathon!). Martha, Julie, and Olivia won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the 19 and under age group. Go girls! These children have been doing their long runs together, and they plan on running the St. Jude race together as well.

The rest of the day was exhausting. We hobbled around and enjoyed the post-race festivities.....music, BBQ, and a massage. We also met an online friend from Daily Mile (kind of like a facebook for exercisers). It was fun to actually meet Greg H. in real life. He is training for the St. Jude marathon too. After hanging around a while I rushed home to take Leah and Sam to a birthday party. Home again for 30 minutes, and then our entire family left again to attend our family Bible study at 6:00. When I got home last night, I put the children to bed and was in bed myself at 9:00. That may be a record for me---getting in bed that early! I slept soundly, and I think I can walk today!

My next two weeks of marathon training are:

44 total miles with a long run of 17, medium of 10, and 17 other miles
35 total miles with a long run of 15, medium of 7, and 13 other miles
Then marathon week! Monday-4 miles, Tuesday-3 miles, Saturday-26.2 miles!

When I complete this marathon, I am taking a break!

I Love Reading to My Kids!

2011-11-08T15:42:00.000-06:00

I do.

I know that when I am old and am looking back at the times when all five of my children still lived here at home, one of my favorite memories is going to be of me sitting in the rocking chair or on the couch with all five of them in the room listening to me read. The girls are usually knitting or crocheting, the boys are sometimes sitting quietly wrapped up in a afghan, or mostly building with tinker toys or legos, or rolling around on the floor. Sam likes to stand on his head on the couch. And even our little crippled dog Joy likes to hear me read. She will bark until we put her up on the couch (she can't jump up there by herself). Today Sam interrupted my reading to say, "Joy likes school".

Today I was reading from Carry On Mr. Bowditch, which is a book for Clay's school. As always, when we are reading a a really good book like this one, one by one all of the children wander into the den. They all want to listen. And today, I just looked around and took it all in.

Making precious memories.

Confessions of a Homeschool Mom

2011-11-07T05:41:00.000-06:00

I have a friend who has a shirt that says:

Super Wife

Super Mom

Super Tired!

That about sums it up, doesn't it? I have a post today at The Homeschool Classroom. In this article, I have listed a few confessions. Some things that are very good ideas for homeschooling moms, but things that I sometimes (well a lot of the times) fail to do. It's nothing really serious, in fact I wrote this post to serve as encouragement to other homeschooling moms. Homeschooling is hard work. Add to that homemaking (and all that job entails), and you can find your self slipping behind what the super women do.

Please click here to read the post.

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;" NKJ

National Homeschool Cross Country Championships

2011-11-05T22:00:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago, we traveled about 400 miles (I think it was that far....about 7 hours) to Springfield, Missouri for the National Homeschool Cross Country Championships. This was the first time for the Spartans to participate in this event. We all met at 9:00 AM to begin the 16 vehicle caravan. Jimmy had worked all night, and he still drove the entire way! I just talked a lot to keep him awake!

In the parking lot waiting to leave

We stopped twice on the way. Once for a restroom break and once for lunch. We ate at a pizza buffet place. The food was good, and the restaurant was large enough to comfortably hold all 70 (or so) of us.

Standing in line for lunch

It was cold waiting outside for lunch!

Clay, enjoying his lunch

Julie eating lunch with friends

Olivia and friends at lunch

We went straight to the cross country course when we arrived in Springfield. We all got to stretch our legs, and the runners walked and jogged the course.

Julie and Olivia

Checking out the course

The race was held at Lake Springfield Park

There they go! Isn't this a pretty course. That four wheeler is carrying the camera crew.

Jimmy and Sam, playing around after the run-through.

After the runners were done, we all went to the local mall for supper at the food court. The kids enjoyed this time together with their friends so much!

A girls' table at the mall

Our final stop for the night was the hotel. Finally! We were all so tired, and the runners had to get up bright and early the next morning for the big race! There was a little bit of confusion over our room reservations, so everyone hung out in the lobby while the grown-ups were working things out. Everyone ended up with somewhere to sleep!

Green shirts everywhere!

The morning of the race was beautiful! We all ate breakfast at the hotel, and then traveled back to Lake Springfield Park. The runners were all nervous, and I think the parents were too! There were some fast runners at this race!

Julie

Olivia

Clay

Olivia and Julie ran in the Varsity Girls race, which was a 5K. The team finished 3rd. Clay ran in the Jr. High Boys race, which was a 1.6 mile race. He finished 3rd overall, and their team finished 2nd. This was a competitive event!

The American Family Association filmed the cross country races as well as the other events that were held that weekend. I think the other sports were volleyball and maybe basketball. They were all homeschool national championship games.

The camera crew....Mr. Don, holding the microphone, is the husband of one of our coaches--Coach Sheri.

After the races, the Spartans all traveled home, but this time not in a caravan. Our family went to the Bass Pro Shop, had lunch in Springfield, and then drove all the way home. We enjoyed listening to the Lamplighter dramatic audios (books on cd) as we drove all those miles back home.

Holiday Hint #4

2011-11-03T10:48:00.000-05:00

Photo Credit: Microsoft Office Free Clipart

Time to begin thinking about holiday baking! With Thanksgiving just around the corner and Christmas soon to follow, it's time to dust off your holiday recipes. I like to make a list of what I am cooking for both of our Thanksgiving celebrations, refreshments for various Christmas parties I am hosting, baked goods that will be gifts, and my menus and contributions for the Simmons Christmas dinner, the Johnson Christmas dinner, and our Christmas Eve and Day meals.

Then I make my list of ingredients.

This time of year the grocery stores begin placing holiday type foods on sale. This is the time to stock up on brown and powdered sugar, chocolate bark, chex cereal, nuts, and the many other items you will need for your holiday baking. If you go ahead and make your list, you can buy the quantities of each item you need as your local grocery store puts it on sale.

Happy Shopping!

Thanksgiving Books

2011-11-02T16:10:00.000-05:00

Now that November has begun, I pulled out our Thanksgiving-themed books. I plan to read them at bedtime to Leah and Sam (and Olivia, Julie, and Clay too if they want to listen!). I have three or four longer Pilgrim type books, but for this year I am only going to read the shorter ones. Here are the books that I have:

Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? by Jean Fritz
If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern
Thanksgiving Is...by Gail Gibbons
The Pilgrims of Plimoth by Marcia Sewall
The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness
The Pilgrims at Plymouth by Lucille Recht Penner
N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims by Robert San Souci
Plimoth Plantation a Pictoral Guide, text by James W. Baker

Some of these are short enough to read in one night, and others will take a couple of nights or more. These books will certainly get us in the spirit of Thanksgiving!

A Good Tuesday

2011-11-01T20:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday day and today both have been good days. Days where all the chores were completed. The mounds of laundry are caught up--folded and put away. Schoolwork was finished and checked by me. Supper prepared. I like these kinds of days.

I know one reason why things have flowed so smoothly....we have stayed at home. Normally on Mondays we leave the house at 1:30 ish for piano lessons and cross country practice (I run errands while the older three are at piano), and don't get home until 5:30. Normally on Tuesdays, we leave the house at 3:15 for cross country practice, and we don't get home until 6:00 or later. Yesterday our piano lesson was cancelled, and cross country season is over, so we won't have running practice again until probably March. I really, really enjoyed being at home all day. I got so much accomplished. Actually, I had to take Leah to and from her art lesson today, but she was the only one I had to get out, and art is just a few minutes from our house. I was able to come home for an hour and a half during her lesson.

I really like being at home all day! I know I have already said that, but I do!

However, being home all day every day is not realistic. I know that too. So, I need to purpose to keep a good attitude on the days when we have to leave the house. Our outside activities are beneficial, and I don't feel like we participate in too many things. I do plan to take advantage of not having cross country practice three days a week for a few months. The girls and I are going to do more home ec classes, and I will have time to prepare for the holidays.

Speaking of holidays...I tried to buy Christmas stamps at the post office today (Leah and I stopped by there today on our way home from art to mail something), but they did not have them yet. The postal worker said that she had seen a picture of them, and that they are cute! Lime green and other brightly colored ornaments. I will see if they have them next week when I am out running errands.

I don't have anywhere to go the rest of the week during the school day, and I am very happy about that!

Getting Ready for the New Week

2011-10-30T15:23:00.000-05:00

Our fall break week last week went by in a blur! I accomplished a lot, however, I did not complete every single thing on my "to do" list. I will just have to save it until our December break. I stayed so busy last week that I only turned on my computer to post my running miles on Daily Mile. No blogging! I still have pictures and stories to share about Nationals, Spartan shaving cream fun practice and Spartan Crazy Hair and Sock practice. We also had our end of the season Spartan pizza party last night, and Olivia, Julie, and Clay ran a 5K yesterday morning. All of the pictures documenting these events are on Jimmy's computer, and I plan to make time to catch up really soon!

We will begin school tomorrow, bright and early! Thankfully, this upcoming week is a 25 mile running week for me, and so I do not have to run tomorrow morning. In fact, I am only running two days this week: Tuesday--5 and Thursday--20. Then, the following week I have 47 miles, which is the peak week of marathon training.

We are going to make a minor change in our schedule this week, to see if it will work. I am finding that each afternoon when we are all done with our schoolwork, everyone (including me) is too tired to think about cleaning house. We are able to pick up the house each afternoon before supper and put away our clean laundry, but frequently I have not required the children (nor myself) to do our daily cleaning chores. So what happens is that after a week or more of our neglecting to clean the bathrooms, vacuum, or dust, the house is really dirty, and it takes an entire day to get caught up. After spending two days of our fall break cleaning house, I decided that there has to be a better way! So, this is what we are going to try starting tomorrow morning.

Each morning after our regular chores/Bible reading/breakfast, we are going to do our daily cleaning chore before we begin our school day. Currently my goal is to begin each school day at 8:00 AM. Now, I am aiming for 8:30, which should give us enough time to do some housework. I am committing to trying this for one entire school week. I will reevaluate after Friday to see if this is something that we want to stick with.

I have a laminated chore chart hanging inside our pantry door. There are rectangles for each child and me under each day of the week. Each box has a chore listed. We simply mark off the jobs as we complete them. At the end of the week, I wipe the chart clean, and we are ready to begin again.

I spent some time Saturday making a monthly menu. I considered shopping for a month's worth of groceries, and even began making a list, but I decided that it is just too much for me to tackle. I am not sure I have storage for that much food, and with Thanksgiving coming up, I knew that I would be making trips to the grocery store for specialty items....so I plan to shop tonight after our church service for just one week's worth of groceries, just like always. I am glad to have such a large list of supper ideas to choose from. I have had the same grocery list for years. I print off about ten of them at a time. This grocery list is simply a list in column format (in teeny-tiny font) of all items that I buy at the grocery store. I have the list grouped by aisle, in the order that I walk through the store. Each week I highlight what I need to buy and I write the quantity out to the side if I need more than one.

I hope all of you have a fantastic week!

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

We're Having a Fall Break!

2011-10-24T20:50:00.001-05:00

Hooray! It's our annual Fall Break from school. Jimmy is off for the week, and we are all so excited to have a little bit of down time. We have completed 45 days of school so far this year. My goal is to complete 180, so we are about a quarter of the way through.

Today we began our day by running 10 miles! I ran my 10 on the treadmill (it's really not as bad it sounds!), and Jimmy took Olivia, Julie, and Clay to meet three friends to run in town. The children are training for the St. Jude Half Marathon, and Jimmy and I are still running more and more miles each week in preparation for the St. Jude Marathon. By the way, I will NOT be running another marathon anytime soon. I hope to meet my goal time of having a 4 in my finish time (as in any time under 4 hours, 59 minutes), and then I am going to take a little break from long runs. I think I want to try the Insanity workouts again, but this time do the workouts just like they are prescribed. 60 days of Insanity only, without supplementing the workouts with runs.

After running, we went to our mall's food court for lunch. Yum! Then Jimmy took Leah, Sam, and Clay to run some errands and then go home while Olivia, Julie, and I went shopping for the girls a new Sunday dress. After HOURS of shopping at several stores, I have concluded that modest, stylish dresses for young girls are not in style nor available! We finally found each of them one dress, but it took hours! I also did a little bit of Christmas shopping for Leah, and we went to Hobby Lobby for the girls to buy supplies for their gift-making.

Jimmy and the children he had with him visited an elderly man from our church family today while we were shopping. He had just put his wife in the nursing home today, so I hope that their visit cheered him up. Mr. Neaves mentioned that he wanted some bacon, so Jimmy went to town and picked him up some....and also bought bacon and the other items needed for us to have BLTs for supper! When we got home from our shopping, Julie and I prepared the sandwiches, and they were delicious! Unhealthy food can taste so good sometimes!

The rest of our week includes two last cross country practices, each one with a fun theme or activity. Tomorrow's practice is Shaving Cream Fun (in which I will NOT participate), and Thursday's practice is Crazy Hair and Sock Day (in which I MAY participate). Our official cross country season for Fall 2011 concludes Saturday with our end of the year pizza party. I hope to have pictures from all three occasions, and I plan to blog a little bit about each event.

Also this week I plan to go through each child's clothes and weed out what no longer fits, what is out of season, and go through the hand-me-downs and fall/winter clothes in storage. I also need to clean out my closet!

For this week's marathon training, I have to run a total of 45 miles. This week's long run is 20 miles, which I will be running with Jimmy, Lynn, Kelly, Esther, and Heather. I could never run this distance alone!

Thursday night we are having some dear friends of ours over for dinner, and Friday I plan to take dinner to Season (one of Jimmy's first cousins that lives here in town) in honor of the birth of her first baby. He is one week old today!

Hopefully tomorrow I will blog all about our recent experience at the National Homeschool Cross Country Championship. We drove over 800 miles this past weekend to Springfield, Missouri, and back for this event. We took many, many pictures, and it was a memorable trip.

I think that's about all I have planned for the week.....in addition to some housecleaning, laundry and catching up on the ironing.

I am glad to have a Fall Break!

Holiday Hint #3

2011-10-21T05:39:00.003-05:00

Here are today's hints:

1. Decide what homemade/handmade gifts you and your children will be making and make a list of the needed supplies.
2. Shop for the supplies.
3. Plan a day to actually work on these gifts (even if it is a baked good, and cannot be made until later in December). Put the day/days on the calendar! Maybe you need to work on them once or twice a week, or set aside a Saturday for crafting/baking. Plan it.
4. Order Christmas cards if you need to.
5. Buy stamps.

Scripture Memory

2011-10-19T14:53:00.000-05:00

I first made my Bible Memory Box about a year and a half ago. We have used it almost every single day since then! It has definitely been worth the little bit of time that it took to set it all up. I have a blog post describing how I set it up, and you can read it by clicking here. Last summer I finally bought a filing box to put all of the dividers and index cards in.

I feel like it is very important for both my children and me to memorize Scripture. One of the verses we have learned is "Thy Word I have hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee." (Psalm 119:11) I usually have two verses for the children to learn each week. One is a short verse that begins with the letter of the alphabet that Sam is learning. Leah (and the other children too) learned these verses two years ago when she was in kindergarten, and Sam remembers a lot of them since we drill them regularly. The other verse we work on each week is either a longer passage of 2-4 verses, or a portion of an even longer passage of Scripture, like an entire chapter. We began learning Psalm 103 at the beginning of our school year. By drilling it daily, even Leah and Sam can say most of it with a little bit of prompting.

I am constantly amazed at how well my children recall around 100 Bible passages since we are drilling them daily. It only takes about 5 minutes each morning, and of course that is time well spent!

I challenge you to set up your own Memory Box!

Psalm 103

A Psalm of David.

¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul;
         And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
² Bless the LORD, O my soul,
         And forget not all His benefits:
³ Who forgives all your iniquities,
         Who heals all your diseases,
⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction,
         Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
⁵ Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
         So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The LORD executes righteousness
         And justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷ He made known His ways to Moses,
         His acts to the children of Israel.
⁸ The LORD is merciful and gracious,
         Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
⁹ He will not always strive with us,
         Nor will He keep His anger forever.
¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
         Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth,
         So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
¹² As far as the east is from the west,
         So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father pities his children,
         So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
¹⁴ For He knows our frame;
         He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass;
         As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
¹⁶ For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
         And its place remembers it no more.^[a]
¹⁷ But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
         On those who fear Him,
         And His righteousness to children’s children,
¹⁸ To such as keep His covenant,
         And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

¹⁹ The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
         And His kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Bless the LORD, you His angels,
         Who excel in strength, who do His word,
         Heeding the voice of His word.
²¹ Bless the LORD, all you His hosts,
         You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
²² Bless the LORD, all His works,
         In all places of His dominion.

         Bless the LORD, O my soul!

Holiday Hint #2

2011-10-18T06:21:00.030-05:00

Gift Wrapping Supplies

Wrapping gifts is one of my favorite part of the holidays. I enjoy the pretty paper and colorful ribbons so much! I have bought gift wrap from a variety of places over the years, and I have found that Hobby Lobby gift wrap is my all time favorite. It is heavy enough to not tear when you wrap a gift, but thin enough to work with. The width of the paper is good too--not too wide or narrow. Hobby Lobby has it on sale this week for 40% off, and I bought a few rolls yesterday. I couldn't resist!

My favorite places to buy ribbon are PaperMart.com or SuperiorGiftWrap.com. At Paper Mart I buy the 1 1/4 inch poly satin and the 3/4 inch poly satin. The pink color called cerise is a lovely hot pink color. At Superior Gift Wrap I buy the Splendorette ribbon. The green color called citrus is a fantastic lime green. At both places I also buy curling ribbon, raffia, and tulle. I have also bought boxes of clear bags from these sites for gifts too. I don't order from both sites at one time, I just take inventory of my ribbon to see which colors and products I need, and then I check prices at both sites. I shop at the one that has the best deal for what I need at the time. Both websites also sell gift wrap. I have bought wrapping paper from both sites in the past, and the paper is good quality, but the rolls are not very wide. It is hard to wrap anything larger than a shirt box in their paper.

Today's Hint:
Take inventory of your gift wrapping supplies.
Make a list of what you need to buy, and plan your purchases.

This is what I make sure that I have:

white tissue paper (the best buy is from Sam's when they put it out)
a variety of brightly colored wrapping paper
clear tape
basic ribbon (1 1/4 inch) of the common colors
2-3 rolls of 3/4 inch ribbon in red, lime, hot pink
curling ribbon in a variety of colors
tulle in a few colors
raffia in a few colors
gift tags (I need some cute ideas for this.....I normally just buy the stick on ones from Hobby Lobby)
clear bags

Menu Plan Monday

2011-10-15T16:31:00.001-05:00

Here is this week's menu. I am trying a new recipe tonight that I found in a Southern Living holiday magazine at my parents' house. We just got home from a visit with them--we left Thursday after cross country practice, and we came home just a while ago. One of my grandmothers is in the hospital, so we visited her. I also went to Target and did a little bit of Christmas shopping. Julie had a home ec sewing lesson--helping to make a Snow White costume for Leah, and all of the children had a relaxing time at my parents' house.

Saturday
Brunswick stew. I would like to have homemade bread with this, but I don't think I have time to buy groceries and make bread before supper. I will pick up some bread at Kroger.
Sunday
leftover stew, hopefully homemade bread (lunch), and cereal, toast and/or oatmeal for supper
Monday
shrimp scampi
Tuesday
bean soup--I never got to cook this last week.
Wednesday
spaghetti with homemade sauce from the freezer
Thursday
leftovers from the soup and spaghetti

Brunswick Stew

3 quarts chicken broth

1 2lb. bag frozen baby lima beans

1 2lb. bag frozen niblet corn

1 lb. red potatoes,cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup BBQ sauce

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 lbs. pulled pork, cooked

Boil broth. Add limas, corn, potatoes, and onion. Return to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes, BBQ sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir in pork. Simmer for 15 minutes.

I am going to try to remember to link up with Menu Monday at OrgJunkie.com on Monday morning. Please visit that site for lots of menu ideas. Plus the entire site is an organizational inspiration!

B90 Update

2011-10-14T05:20:00.002-05:00

I finished!

I finished my second reading of the entire Bible in 90 days on October 8th. This time it took me exactly 90 days. Also this time I was joined by Jimmy and Julie in this endeavor. We all started back in July. Julie completed the challenge in 87 days, and Jimmy in 86! I was so happy for both of them.

Reading the Bible this quickly takes me about 45 minutes a day. Before I actually read the Bible using this plan, I doubted its benefit. I wondered how I would retain the information since I was reading quickly, without taking the time to take notes or study. I learned even more the second time through! As it says in Hebrews 4: 11-13

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

I learned so much! I read a different version this time (the first time I read English Standard Version, and this time I read New American Standard). I am already planning to read the Bible in 90 days again, this time beginning in January. Will you join me?

Holiday Hint #1

2011-10-13T05:10:00.001-05:00

Well, it's getting to be that time of year! Time to plan for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve and Day. I am going to try to post a tip/idea/hint/task once or twice a week for the next several weeks. Basically, I am going to just post my own to do list, and maybe some of you can benefit from it.

1. Locate your Christmas binder. Make a new dividers for this year, 2011.
2. If you have bought any gifts throughout the year, locate them, and put them in one central location. Then write in your Christmas binder everything you have bought and who it is for.
3. Look at your Christmas card address list, if you are sending Christmas cards. Make any corrections, and then print out the labels.
4. Begin thinking about your actual Christmas cards. Have you already taken a picture that you can use? Do you need to plan a family photo session? Are you going to compose a family letter? Are you going to make the cards? Plan to buy your supplies soon. I also plan to buy stamps as soon as they have the holiday ones available.

I think that is enough for this week!

Corinth Run With Rotary 5K

2011-10-12T05:32:00.002-05:00

On October 1, our whole family ran in Run With Rotary races. Everyone but Sam did the 5K, and Sam ran the 1 mile fun run. It was a cool morning! Perfect temperatures for running a race. Jimmy warmed up for the 3.1 mile race by running 11 miles. When training for a marathon, you get the miles in whenever you can!

Jimmy and I visiting after the race

I ran with Leah, and she had set the goal of finishing in under 34 minutes. Her previous PR was 34:07, and she wanted to beat that by at least 8 seconds. She ran fast! In the middle of the race, she slowed a little bit, and I told her that we would have to pick up the pace if she wanted to beat 34 minutes. I told her it was her choice.....and she began to run a little bit faster! She worked hard!

And she met her goal! 33:44! Go Leah! She was so happy. And to top it all off, she won first place in her age division (totally unexpected), and she got one of the cool trophies--an actual running shoe! Hers had pink on it, and that thrilled her even more.

Leah with her cousin, Grace. Leah is displaying her orange timing chip. This is the first race that she has run that had timing chips. She felt so official!

Olivia and Leah trying to stay warm after the race.

Sam approaching the finish line in the fun run!

All smiles and eating a post-race candy bar!

Sam's timing chip! He took the discarded side of someone's official chip and put it on his shoe. He was convinced that it would help him run fast.

It's still on his shoe!

Sam was so proud of himself during this race! For a few days afterward, he would tell anyone he came in contact with that he ran a 1 mile race that was over a mile (it actually was 1.2 miles)---with no walking, no jogging! Just running! Go Sam! He is now running one mile (or less) at each of our cross country practices. He will be faster than me before I know it!

Clay and Olivia after the race

Julie with her shoe trophy! A man's size 13!

Jimmy's trophy was the mate to this shoe.

Olivia and Clay won a shoe trophy too. Sam said that next year he wanted to run the 5K so he could win a shoe! We'll see about that!

Jimmy's Birthday

2011-10-11T05:47:00.001-05:00

We began the day with homemade monkey bread. It was delicious! We enjoyed a nice family breakfast. We rarely eat breakfast together, so this was a treat.

Clay and Sam, ready to eat!

Leah, sleepy, but smiling!

Julie and Olivia

After breakfast, we moved to the den for the present opening. Fun!

Sam giving his daddy a birthday hug!

Later that morning, Jimmy, Clay, and Sam joined over twenty other dads and sons for a homeschool camp out. They had a grand time, and Kelly made sure that everyone knew that it was Jimmy's birthday!

The girls and I and some of their friends all went to see the movie Dolphin Tale and out to eat supper. Fun night!

Saturday morning the boys packed up their campsite and went canoeing. I took the girls to the Topper Day 5K, and Olivia, Julie, and I all ran the race. Leah wanted to just watch this one. I only ran it as a somewhat fun way to get in the remainder of my 39 miles for last week. Topper Day was nice, and we had a great time!

Saturday afternoon, we all returned home! After unpacking all of the camping gear and showering, the boys joined us for a nice evening at home. We had supper together, and then we finally ate Jimmy's flan birthday cake. We called it flake...cake + flan = flake!

I think Jimmy had a nice birthday weekend!

Yum! Yum!

A Typical School Day

2011-10-10T05:32:00.011-05:00

I have a post today at The Homeschool Classroom. It was suggested that some of us writers describe our typical day of homeschooling. Hopefully to encourage the readers. I hope that my post doesn't scare anyone! We are very busy around here, and I run a pretty tight ship!

Here is the link. Enjoy! Next month I am writing about some myths of homeschooling moms (supermoms)--and how I have dispelled most of them!

My Weekly Menu

2011-10-09T14:33:00.000-05:00

Although it is fall, the weather here in Mississippi is still pretty HOT! We have had some cooler temperatures at night, down in the fifties, but the days are still warming up into the eighties. So, I am not really ready to cook soups and chili, but I am running out of options for not so hot meals that can be prepared in the crock pot while we are gone all afternoon for cross country practice. I hope our cooler weather settles in soon!

Here is the menu for this week:

chicken and rice, black eyed peas, garlic bread (made my Julie's friend, Leslie)
shrimp stir fry, served over brown rice
15 bean soup with ham (crock pot)
baked chicken strips, homemade macaroni and cheese, corn on cob, black eyed peas
pork roast sandwiches (roast made in crock pot)
pork roast, potato salad, slaw
leftovers on Friday night

You may visit OrgJunkie.com for more menu ideas and recipes.

The Birthday Flan

2011-10-06T20:55:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Jimmy's birthday, and for his birthday cake, I decided to try a new recipe that was in our newspaper this week. Jimmy loves flan, and I have never tried to make it before. Olivia and Julie have, and it turned out delicious. This recipe looked good, so instead of trying to make my usual pecan pie (that always turns out pitifully) for Jimmy's birthday, I made the flan cake instead. We won't eat it until tomorrow, so I am not sure how it tastes! I am posting the recipe so that if I do want to make it again in the future, I can just get the recipe from my blog instead of having to save a newspaper clipping!

Flan Cake

1 box cake mix

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract

1/2 cup sugar

Prepare cake mix according to box directions, and set aside.

In blender, combine both milks, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.

In skillet, cook sugar over medium heat until melted. Do not let it burn!

Grease 12 in. cake pan (I used my new smooth-sided bundt pan) and pour caramelized sugar in the bottom. Add cake mix batter. Carefully and slowly pour milk and egg mixture around the sides of the cake batter in the pan. The cake mix will rise and the milk mixture will be at the bottom of cake.

Place this pan inside a larger pan and fill the outer pan halfway with water.

Bake at 350 for one hour.

Once the cake has cooled, refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve, run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a serving plate.

I also made homemade monkey bread to serve for Jimmy's birthday breakfast tomorrow morning. Yum!

This morning, Jimmy, Lynn, Kelly, Heather, Esther, and I all did our long run together. Lynn, Kelly, and I ran 18, Esther ran 16, Heather ran 20, and Jimmy did 22. Jimmy did his 22 miles 1 minute faster than the three of us did our 18! I am exhausted! Jimmy and I have been rewarding ourselves with a Salted Caramel Mocha from Starbucks after our long runs each week. Lynn and Kelly joined us today in honor of Jimmy's birthday tomorrow.

We are planning a fun morning for Jimmy tomorrow, and then he and our boys will be going on our homeschool Father/Son campout.

Feeding The Preacher

2011-10-05T08:03:00.000-05:00

We are having a gospel meeting at our church this week (John Isaac Edwards is our speaker, and he is doing a fantastic job!), and as usual, I signed up to feed the preacher one night. You know what that means......clean the house!

Not that the preacher is coming over to inspect the house, but hosting the visiting preacher in my home for a meal twice a year is an excuse for me to do some deep and thorough cleaning of my house. We spent most of the day Monday and a little bit of yesterday doing just that. We cleaned the entire house from top to bottom. It is not often that my whole house is all clean in one day! I also trimmed the overgrown shrubs, Clay and Jimmy mowed the yard, and we all pitched in to scrub, scrub, scrub! And cook. While Clay was sweeping out the garage, he asked me, "Is the preacher really going to look at our garage?" Ha! I told him that actually the preacher would probably not even leave the den/kitchen area, but it made me feel better to know that the house was clean!

Well, John came for dinner last night, and he did not look at the garage. But, we had an enjoyable meal, and we all had a good time getting to know him better. And I am so glad that my house is clean!

WTVA Field Trip

2011-09-29T20:02:00.000-05:00

This morning I took Leah and Sam on a field trip to our local TV station. We got a behind the scenes tour of the newsroom. It was a lot of fun!

Leah and Sam checking out the foot pedal-controlled teleprompter.

The most exciting part of the tour was the weather wall. The children had so much fun pretending to give a weather report--trying to figure out which way to point to match up with what was projected on the TV screen.

The green weather wall

Trying to figure it all out

On the news!

The Seven Day Forecast

Sitting on the interview couch

I think Leah and Sam really enjoyed this little outing. The next fun field trip we plan to attend is at the local doughnut shop!

Making the Long Run Fun

2011-09-27T14:09:00.001-05:00

That title may sound like an oxymoron, but running long distances can be fun. It really can!

For over a year now, I have met friends to do my long run. My definition of the long run has changed over the last year, because when I first began driving to meet friends and run, we would run 5 miles. Now, we don't drive to meet unless we are going at least 10 miles. The length of the long run is different for everyone. I now run up to an 8-10 mile distance weekly on my treadmill (which is now my medium run), but I always meet friends for my long run (13-22 miles).

Who Do I Run With?

The one person who I always run the long run with is my dear friend, Lynn. We are joined most often by her husband, Kelly, and for several months (before she became injured) our friend Amber. Since we have started training for our upcoming marathon in December, Jimmy has joined us for all of our long runs. Also, some other friends are becoming regulars: Esther, Heather, and now Kim and Ginger, who joined us this morning, are planning to meet us more in the future. The more the merrier, we say. In our group, we all run different paces, but we run some miles all together, some in pairs, and some alone, but we generally all meet up at the water stops. Mostly Lynn and I stay together the entire time.
All that to say, that running in a group, no matter the distance, makes it so much more fun. Yes, running can be fun!

The Logistics: How We Keep Hydrated

Lynn and I each drive 20 minutes (we live on opposite ends of Tupelo), and the other ladies drive varying distances to our meeting place, a cul-de-sac of a subdivision. We park our cars, turn on our watches, and start running. In the dark. Most of us meet at 6:00 AM, but Heather and Esther usually start at 5:00 AM, and we join them at 6:00. On the way to the meeting place, Lynn and I set out water and Gatorade at a couple of locations. We have a friend who lets us use her guest house bathroom at 2.7 miles from our starting point. We keep cups with our names on them in the kitchen for water. Then we run to around mile 5.5 which is where our first water is set out. Next, we run back to our second water/Gatorade stop at around mile 9. From this stop, we usually go out 1.5-2 miles, and then come back to the water, and then out again 1.5-2 miles. Sometimes we run back to our friend's house, when our distance is super long. When we are within 1.5 miles of being done with our run, we head back to where our cars are parked.

What Makes This So Much Fun?

Support. Friendship. Conversation.

We call this our weekly therapy session. When you are running for up to 3 hours or more, you have time to talk about a lot of things! We share our current struggles, and someone usually has a solution. We plan our days and weeks. We laugh! We comment on people's pretty yards. Mostly, we just visit and encourage one another. And we feel good knowing that we are doing something that is beneficial for our bodies, both physically and mentally.

Happy Running!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-09-26T06:17:00.003-05:00

One reason that I list my weekly menu on my blog is so that Jimmy can look to see what we are having for supper! Also, the menu serves as a portable list for me....I don't have to be in my kitchen looking at the list taped on the inside of my pantry door to see what I have planned to cook for that day.

So, here is this week's menu. Maybe you will see something that looks good that you would like to try. I cook the same 15-20 meals repeatedly, and most of the recipes are here on my blog. In fact, I go to my recipe posts or use the search engine in my left sidebar all the time to find a recipe that I need.

I usually buy groceries on Saturday, but Menu Plan Monday is on Monday, so two of my meals are actually already cooked and eaten before I list my weekly menus on Monday. Today's menu will reflect what has been served as well as what will be served all week.

Saturday: manicotti (from my freezer), salad, homemade rolls
Sunday: grilled hamburgers
Monday: red beans and rice
Tuesday: 7 can soup
Wednesday: baked grouper, baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli
Thursday: grilled chicken, corn on cob, black eyed peas
Friday: spaghetti with homemade sauce (from my freezer)

Please visit Orgjunkie.com for more menu inspiration.

Sam's New Watch and a Race

2011-09-25T16:17:00.000-05:00

Sam asked for a "running watch", since he is now a self-proclaimed runner. He has been running at cross country practice (one day he ran a whole mile!), and since he was signed up to run a 1/2 mile Fun Run on Saturday, he asked for a watch! He wanted to keep up with his time.

Friday night, Jimmy brought home Sam a running watch. It is a digital watch with a stop-watch feature. Sam practiced timing himself until bedtime, and the first words out of his mouth Saturday morning when I woke him up at 6:00 AM were about the watch!

He was ready!

Sam, posing with Leah and THE WATCH before their race.

Even with all of his practicing, his watch timing didn't work exactly right! When he finished the race (which actually seemed like less than a half mile), his watch read 15 seconds. The official race clock said 3 minutes, 48 seconds......so I am thinking that he pressed the stop button too soon. He may have not started his watch until after the race was over and he thought he was pressing stop. And then when he found me, he pressed it again--and this time he did actually stop it. He must have timed from the end of the race until when he showed me his watch.

Anyway! He doesn't know any different, and he was pleased as could be with running his first race wearing a watch!

Leah and Sam, after the race--still trying to catch their breath!

The other children ran the 5K (This was the Tallahatchie River Run 5K), which began right after the Fun Run. Jimmy had to work this weekend, so I ran before the race to get my final miles for the week's marathon training, and then I watched and cheered!

The Spartans were able to compete as a cross country team against 5 other schools, as well as compete individually. Our Spartan girls won 1st place, and the boys won 3rd place. We now have another team trophy!

Sam (see the watch) and Jared (one of Lynn's sons) after the race.

Leah

Clay, playing frisbee

Leah and Avery (Lynn's daughter), enjoying a snow cone

The Spartan Girls

The family funnel cake. Sam thought I should get one for each person! I bought one for the 5 of them to share, and there was still some left over!

It was a beautiful day to run and enjoy time with friends.

Narration

2011-09-21T06:55:00.000-05:00

I have been familiar with the concept of narration pretty much the entire time I have been homeschooling (this is my 11th year!). Narration is simply having your child tell back to you what he has read or what you have read aloud to him. Narration is also listening to your child spontaneously tell you all about a fantastic book he has read...while you are driving down the road or sharing a meal together. Narration can be a planned part of your school day, or it can be a natural occurrence as your family reads good books together.

I learned about narration while reading articles about and by Charlotte Mason and Cindy Rushton. I have had my children narrate their books to me informally over the years, but this year is the first time that I have actually regularly documented their narrations. I wish I had started this years ago!

Both Clay (7th grade) and Leah (2nd grade) are narrating to me every single school day after I read to them their Sonlight history read alouds for the day. My procedure for doing this is very simple.

I take my laptop with me to our read aloud area.
I created a document for each of them. They are titled Clay's Narration 2011 and Leah's Narration 2011.
Each day after I finish reading to them, I ask them to tell me three (Leah) or five (Clay) things that they remember, learned, found interesting, etc. I simply type in the day's date, and list the items 1,2,3, etc.
I save the document, and that's it!

I plan to print out the entire year's narration at the end of the school year, but I am not sure how I want to save it. I plan to continue this simple narration for Clay, Leah, and Sam (when I begin with him next year) until they are in high school. I am excited to one day have the history of the world and the history of our country in my children's own words!

Narration can also lead to creative writing. As your child gets older, you could have him write his own narration instead of orally giving it to you. You could also have the child edit and rewrite his narrations occasionally, turning them into a descriptive paragraph, a character sketch, or even an essay!

Do you use narration in your homeschool? How? Do you have some great ideas to share?

Happy Birthday To Me!

2011-09-20T05:24:00.002-05:00

Friday, I celebrated my birthday!

I began my day with a 16 mile run with Jimmy, Lynn, Kelly, Heather, and Esther. Actually, only Lynn, Kelly, and I ran all 16 miles together. Heather and Esther started running at 5:00 AM, and we joined them at 6:00. Esther ran one more mile with all of us, and Heather and Jimmy ran 8 or 9 with us. Jimmy went on to run a total of 24!

After all of that running, Jimmy, Lynn, Kelly, and I enjoyed a Salty Caramel Mocha at Starbucks. Then Jimmy and I came home to a delicious breakfast of pancakes and bacon cooked by my sweet children! They had the table all set and decorated festively.

Next, I opened my presents! (And after the present opening, the children completely cleaned up the kitchen from our breakfast!)

Leah and Julie with the Chair of Gifts

I received precious handmade cards and gifts from the children. Jimmy had also taken them shopping, and I saw Sam give his contribution to the gift fund just as I began opening my presents.....he donated $.53.

Leah recently learned how to crochet animals, and she gave me her first creation--a jellyfish. Clay carved me a beautiful wooden spoon out of cedar from our woods. Olivia and Julie worked together to sew me two sets of cloth napkins. They did a fantastic job--the napkins even have mitered corners! They also gave me two more pieces of cute fabric with the promise to make me two more sets of napkins. Sam drew me a precious picture for a birthday card.

I also got a new pizza pan (which I used for the first time last night), a bundt pan (to make pound cake in), and a necklace with charms--5 of them, each one has one of the children's names on it. Thank you, Aunt Debbie for helping Jimmy with this gift!

the jellyfish

I know that I look rough---remember, I ran for over 2 hours before this picture!

After resting most of the afternoon, we all went out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants, and then we went to the mall.

It was a wonderful day!

A family photo on my birthday

Menu Plan Monday

2011-09-19T08:08:00.000-05:00

Lunches:

tortellini with homemade pasta sauce (from the freezer)
turkey sandwiches (I bought a turkey breast this weekend....I figured baking this and slicing it had to be healthier than the deli meat I buy at the grocery store)
baked potatoes
leftovers from suppers

Suppers:

homemade pizza (I plan to make this tonight. I am making bread today, and I will use some of the dough for our pizza crusts.)
roast with onions, carrots, and potatoes, green beans, and rolls. Also brown rice for those who don't care for potatoes.
potato soup (made by Julie), crunchy green salad
roast sandwiches and gravy, chips

For more menu ideas, please visit OrgJunkie.com.

School Schedule Update

2011-09-14T07:24:00.000-05:00

I am writing a post for publication in October for The Homeschool Classroom that chronicles a day in our homeschool, but I wanted to go ahead and share a couple of changes that I have made since we first began school. Today will be our 25th school day of the new year!

Adjusting to schooling five children instead of four, has really not been that big of a deal. I think last year's school day was much harder to adjust to. I already had the expectation of our school day lasting until mid-afternoon before we even began, so the time required to get it all done has not stressed me.

That being said, on the days we have school, that is basically all we do----school. I find it very hard to carve out time for blogging, housework (beyond keeping the house tidy, the clothes washed, and the kitchen clean), and major meal preparations. Since we have one day off from school each week (most weeks), I use that day to clean my house, run errands, fold all the clean clothes that I didn't get to, etc.

Things I have changed so far:

1. Julie (9th grade) is using a different writing curriculum than we first planned. She was using How to Write the Novel Way, a book that she has had for a few years now and was really looking forward to completing, but, as she began working in it, she realized that it was just not going to work for her. I completely understood, and we did a little bit of internet browsing, and decided for her to choose an IEW book. She chose Life Sciences. This works out nicely, since she is studying Apologia's Biology this year. The Life Sciences writing program goes right along with that book.

2. I am doing all of Leah's and Sam's schoolwork with them together, instead of separately. They wanted to sit with each other while they were doing their seatwork, and they both wanted to hear each other's Sonlight books (even though Sam's books are the very same ones that I read to Leah just two years ago!). So, I am beginning my school day by reading both of their Sonlight books to them. I usually alternate by reading one of Leah's, then one of Sam's. That takes us about 45 minutes. Then after our Bible lesson, the three of us sit at a table (I am in the middle), and they do all of their seatwork at the same time. I just go back and forth helping them. Sam finishes his work first, and then he is off to play. When I am done with both of them, usually by 11:00 or 11:30, I move on to helping Clay.

Thank you for all of the pencil advice!
I am going to buy two new items to try--Ticonderoga pencils and some mechanical pencils. I prefer a pencil that doesn't have quite as fine a point as mechanical pencils normally do, but a friend of mine suggested that I try mechanical pencils with lead 9. I will.

How is your homeschooling year going?

Pencils

2011-09-12T08:58:00.001-05:00

What kind of pencils do you use?

I have tried a variety of brands in a varied price range, and I still have not found a brand of pencils that sharpen easily without whittling away the entire pencil. Or break within one minute of use. Or sharpen on one side, but not the other. We are experiencing pencil frustration over here!

Please share the kind of pencils you like, and also include where you buy them.

Thanks so much!

Sherman Day 5K

2011-09-10T14:09:00.000-05:00

This morning our family (except for Sam) all ran the 4th annual Sherman Day 5K. We have run this race every year, and it is always a fun local race. This year, 101 runners participated. Everyone in our family had a super race! It was Leah's second 5K, and she beat her previous time by 3 minutes! She told me that she didn't want to walk except at the water stop at the halfway point, and that is exactly what she did.

Avery and Leah after the race.

This was Avery's first 5K, and she did great!

Jimmy ran a PR! (personal record)
He has been trying to break 20 minutes in a 5K for some time now. Today, he did! If you look at the printout above from the race clock, you will see his time in place 3.......

19:59

Way to go Jimmy! We are all so happy for him, and I think all of the Spartan spectators rejoiced with him as he crossed the finish line! I would have loved to see him meet this goal, but Leah and I were way behind!

Olivia, Julie, and Clay after the race

Clay ran a PR too!

He beat his previous time by one second! Julie and Olivia were both very pleased with their times. They both ran faster than they have in a while, and they were so happy! Clay won 1st in his division, Julie won 2nd place overall female, and Olivia won 1st in her division.

Louis, John, Jimmy, and Stephen

The CrossFit Men

I put everyone's finish time in the left sidebar under Race Results.

Strawberry-Cheese Ring

2011-09-10T11:08:00.000-05:00

I am spending the next couple of hours in my kitchen preparing food for our family Bible study tonight and also for Season's (Jimmy's cousin) baby shower tomorrow. I am making homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, and cream cheese/chocolate brownies for tonight and a strawberry-cheese ring for tomorrow's shower. Here is the recipe for the strawberry-cheese ring. It is delicious!

STRAWBERRY-CHEESE RING
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. sharp cheddar cheese 1 sm. onion, peeled 1 c. pecans, chopped 2/3 c. mayonnaise 1/4 tsp. garlic salt 1/4 tsp. pepper Dash red pepper Strawberry preserves Grate cheese and onion. Add pecans, mayonnaise and seasonings until blended. Shape mixture into a ring on a serving platter. Chill several hours. Fill center of ring with strawberry preserves. Serve with Wheat Thins.

Our First Home Ec Sewing Project

2011-09-08T07:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Olivia and Julie completed two t-shirt dresses for Leah. They turned out so cute! I think we spent 4 separate sewing sessions on their construction, each session from 20-45 minutes. That included all of the measuring, cutting, sewing, serging, and ironing.

I am NOT a good photographer, so these pictures really don't do these dresses justice.

Completed dress #1. The picture of Leah modeling this dress is a little blurry, so here is the dress lying on the ottoman.

Leah wearing dress #1

Leah wearing dress #2

A close-up of where the fabric joins the t-shirt

Isn't this a cute way to hem the dress?

I bought Leah leggings in the same color as the t-shirts for her to wear on cold days.

We used the instructions found on Cool People Sew. Look on the left sidebar for the "How to Make a T-shirt Dress" link.

We will spend the next few home ec lessons on menu planning and grocery shopping. Our next sewing project will be sewing twirly or tiered skirts for the older girls.

Sam's Wardrobe

2011-09-07T06:13:00.001-05:00

Sam likes to dress himself.

His idea of fashion and mine are not always the same. He especially likes to choose his "church clothes". I lay out his clothes for our Sunday morning service, but when he redresses for our evening service, he usually makes a few changes to the original outfit (which consists of khaki or navy pants, a shirt with a collar, belt, and brown dress shoes). He likes to wear long shorts with his original Sunday morning shirt, belt, shoes, and yes, the tall dark socks. The old man tourist look.

One Wednesday night he came down dressed for Bible study in jeans, running shoes, a navy shirt with the word "Run" on the front, and a too little (by 3 or 4 inches) navy sport coat. Lovely. People actually laughed (quietly) as we filed in to our pew.

For every day wear, he sometimes chooses a monochromatic color theme--navy shorts with a navy t shirt (Clay used to do the same thing!) or red shorts with a red shirt. Other times he chooses a shirt that he really loves, and he will wear it for several days in a row! He did this last week.

I dug out a MSU jersey for him to wear to the football-watching party last Thursday night. He loved that jersey! And he wore it for three days straight. I finally washed it Saturday, and he seems to have forgotten it...... for now!

Sam rarely sleeps in pajamas. After his bath he just dresses in whatever he is going to wear the next day. It could be jeans or a bathing suit, or something in between. That saves time!

Here are a few pictures of the beloved MSU jersey.

Here we are at the Prince's house. Sam is also wearing his Sky Dogs MSU hat. Another favorite!

Can you see his missing teeth?

Can you see my gray hair?

Posing in the shirt on Thursday night

Still wearing it on Friday night--he did change shorts.

As I am typing this, Sam is still in his pajamas---this time not day clothes, but still an interesting choice. Clay's plaid boxer shorts and a green and white snowflake long sleeved pajama top.

Good memories!

It Feels Like Fall!

2011-09-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

We have enjoyed temperatures ranging from the 5os to the low 70s for a couple of days. We also have gotten several inches of much needed rain.

Yesterday, Julie decorated our house for fall! Leah had already put our fall placemats on the kitchen table, and with the cooler temperatures, it seemed like a good time to make our home look a little bit autumn-y. I hope to get by Bath and Body Works tomorrow to pick up some fall scented Wallflowers.

a bowl of little pumpkins on a table in our den

one of several pumpkins on the bookshelves in the den

a cute little grouping of pumpkins on the hearth

Indian corn garland and two fall arrangements on the fireplace mantle.

I love fall! The cooler temperatures, the beautiful colored leaves on the trees, the crunch of leaves on the ground, running in the cold air, cooking the season's first soup, and an occasional football game. Before the children began running cross country, we usually had season tickets to the Miss. State football games. We are hoping to attend at least one home game this fall. Cross country or 5K races are also fun on crisp fall mornings.

Have you decorated your home for fall?

The Tupelo 14.2 Miler

2011-09-05T14:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Jimmy and I joined about 600 other runners for the annual Tupelo 14.2 Miler and Marathon. We ran the 14.2 Miler. We got up at 3:45 AM for this fun event! The race begins at 5:00 AM, which allows us to run the race and get home in plenty of time to get ready for Bible class and worship service. We were home before 8:00 AM!

I ran the first 9.65 miles with Lynn, and we had the best time chatting! The first hour of this race is run in complete darkness, and on this morning, in complete cloud cover. It was really hot and humid. Thankfully, it began to rain, and the cool drizzle continued for the remainder of the run. I spotted Kelly ahead of me as I was running ahead of Lynn, so I spent the next mile trying to catch him. I finally caught him around mile 11. Part of this race course includes roads that we run on our long runs, so I was in familiar territory.

My finish time was 2 hours, 19 minutes. That is a good bit slower than I have run it the last two years, but I am ok with that. I have not been training to run a long run at a fast (for me) pace, so my finish time reflects that.

It was a good run!

Last Week

2011-09-03T07:55:00.001-05:00

This has been a busy, but normal week.

School takes the majority of our day, but we are having a great school year! Both of my older girls are taking Algebra I or II and Biology I or II, and I enjoy those subjects much more than physical science, chemistry, and geometry. When I help them (rarely!) or review their study guides with them for a test, I can actually remember some of the material from when I was in high school or college.

I am proud of Clay and 7th grade work. His workload has increased, as well as the amount of schoolwork that I expect him to complete independently. He is doing well! He is working alone in the Apologia General Science book, and I have been pleased with the results so far. I am currently reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond to him (along with other books as well), and I am really enjoying that book! I have never read it before now. He is not as interested as me in how it will all turn out. It does seem to be more of a girl book.

Sam and Leah are moving right along with their studies. Sam has learned the letters B, T, F, R, and M so far. It is very enjoyable teaching both him and Leah. They are eager to learn, and they will sit and listen to me read to them as long as I will do it. Of course, they sometimes wiggle, moan, and distract one another during their seatwork, and Sam has been known to slingshot his pencil across the room or fall out of his chair while doing handwriting! So, my older children suggested that I do "The Treasure Box" with them. Olivia, Julie, and Clay remembered us doing that when they were young, distractable and wiggly. I bought a bunch of junk (treasures) at Dollar General, and put it all in a plastic box. Then I printed a grid with 25 small squares. They earn a sticker to place in the square when I observe them working nicely (not aggravating their sister, not complaining about the amount of math problems on the page, not playing the drums on the school table, etc.). It took them about 7 school days to fill the grid for the first time--Leah filled hers first--and then they visited The Treasure Box! Joy! Leah chose a small notebook with a butterfly cover, and Sam selected a tape measure which he promptly hung on his shorts (it goes nicely with his knife that he carries at all times!). They are continuing to try their best to work diligently, because they already know what they want to choose the next time they visit The Treasure Box.

I explained to them that we would not have The Treasure Box indefinitely. When its treasures were all chosen, the box would not be refilled. I want to encourage them to be good workers, and I like to reward their efforts, but I will not be bribing them for always! This is just a tool to help them (especially Sam) focus on learning to complete their work in a timely manner. I also use lots of verbal praise and hugs!

Pokey--He had is one week check-up yesterday. He gained 1.5 pounds in a week! Hooray! He is so much better! He received his vaccinations, and the vet x-rayed his hip. For now, we are watching his hip, and will decide on the course of treatment as he grows.

Housework--Our school days are so filled with schoolwork and then cross country practice three days a week, that most days I cannot get any housework done. We do keep the beds made, the dirty clothes washed, and the house tidy and in order, but I rarely have time to vacuum or clean a bathroom. On Jimmy's days off, I try to do housework, fold clean clothes, iron, run errands, keep appointments, etc. I can get behind very quickly!

Yesterday, while Olivia, Leah, Sam, and I were at the vet, Julie worked, worked, worked! She washed, dried, and folded several loads of clothes! She also ironed, cleaned the basement (workout room, schoolroom, bathroom, foyer, and stairs). She dusted, vacuumed, and she had to tidy up down there before she even began cleaning. What a blessing! When we got home from the vet, we all got busy and helped Julie finish cleaning our entire house! Hooray! Olivia bathed Pokey and administered the monthly medication to all 4 dogs. Then she, Clay, Leah, and Sam all helped with the remaining vacuuming, dusting, and bathroom cleaning. I cannot express how much better I feel with a clean house!

Today I plan to shop at Walmart (monthly stock-up), Sam's, and Kroger--with Leah, Sam, and Clay in tow! We also plan to work in the flower beds at our church building, and we are meeting friend of Leah's and Sam's for lunch.

Running--I will complete my final miles for Week 1 of marathon training tomorrow morning. This week's total was 26. In the running world, the weeks begin on Monday, and run through Sunday. Monday will start my week 2, I have 30 miles next week.

Bible--I have gotten a little bit behind in my B90 reading plan. It's ok! I got behind twice the last time I did this, and I was able to catch up and still finish in 89 days. I plan to spend some time this weekend reading extra, and by Tuesday, I hope to be back on track or even ahead.

Other News--We visited my brother, our dentist, last week for our check-ups. We are all in the no cavity club! We shopped at Target on our way home. I love Target! I have heard that Tupelo may be getting a Target. We'll see!

I hope to carve out some time next week to blog more regularly.

Have a super weekend!

Pokey Update and More

2011-08-29T07:35:00.000-05:00

The Pokey little puppy is getting perkier!

At the vet visit learned that Pokey had hookworms, a dislocated hip, and just general malnutrition and anemia from the worms. The vet also suspected parvo, but did not test for it or give Pokey any vaccinations. He just wormed the sweet little puppy, and told us to watch him over the weekend.

Thankfully, Pokey is now perky! He has a great appetite, and he is scampering all around, chewing on things, and wagging his tail. Since he is getting stronger, if the vet can confirm that he doesn't have parvo, we will proceed with putting the hip back into his socket. He will be in a sling for 7-10 days after that procedure.

Olivia, Julie, and Clay participated in the season's first cross country meet Saturday afternoon. It was a fun way to begin the 2011 season. Everyone seemed to have a super time! Even though it was HOT!

I finished the book The Hidden Hand. It was excellent! Just excellent! I now need to take a break from reading books strictly for my pleasure (a couple of weeks ago I read The Help too). When I start a good book I tend to stay up way too late or spend way too much time on the weekends trying to finish the book. So for now, I need to get back to pre-reading the Sonlight books that I haven't read already.

Today was Day 1 of my 14 week marathon training. The St. Jude Marathon is December 3. I ran 3 miles this morning. This first week's total miles are 26, which includes the 14.2 mile race that I will be running this weekend, the Tupelo 14.2 Miler. My training plan peaks at 47 miles, and that seems impossible. I know that it is not, because I did it last March, but took look at those numbers is daunting.

We have a normal but busy week ahead.

As If We Didn't Already Have Enough!

2011-08-26T09:10:00.000-05:00

Pets, that is!

3 dogs.
3 cats.

Introducing pet # 7!

His name is Pokey. We found him at the park at cross country practice on Tuesday. My friend, Kim graciously took him home....but her husband did not want them to keep the little puppy....they already have about 25 animals! The animal shelter is full.....

So yesterday, Kim brought him back to cross country practice, and we took him home!

Not surprisingly, he is not in perfect health. He seems to have some sort of hip issue, and he has a skin problem. He will fit right in with our other less than perfect animals!

I am taking him to the vet at 4:00 today.

School Supplies

2011-08-25T08:32:00.000-05:00

I have a post today at The Homeschool Classroom about some of my favorite school supplies. You can click here to read it.

Have a super day!

It May Be Harder For Me

2011-08-24T07:15:00.000-05:00

I miss Sam sitting in my lap.

He has held and smelled my hair while nursing or taking his pacifier ever since he could grab hold of it. Since he gave up his pacifier, he won't sit in my lap. I understand. He associates sitting there with the pacifier, so it is easier for him to just not snuggle at all. Yesterday, I asked him for a hug, and I got a once second one. Last night when I was lying down with him at bedtime, he flipped and flopped for 20-30 minutes, then he ever so slowly inched closed to me. I think he was trying to get close enough to smell my hair.....he finally fell asleep.

If I had known last week when he got in my lap with his pacifier, his face buried in my hair, that it was the last time, I would have held him a little longer.

I hope learns soon that he can still be close to me without being reminded of his pacifier. How long do you think it will take?

Getting Rid of the Pacifier!

2011-08-23T05:34:00.044-05:00

If you ask experienced Moms, you will get various opinions on how to get rid of your child's pacifier. Here are some of the ideas I have heard over the years.

Hope that one day they will just get tired of their pacifier and give it up on their own.
Take the pacifier away, and just let them cry.
Begin weaning them off the pacifier by limiting when and where they can use it (in the carseat, at naptime, during church services, etc.)
Wrap the pacifiers up in a pretty box, and give them to a new baby (a sibling or a friend's or relative's new baby). Tell them that they are a "big boy or girl" now, and the new baby needs the pacifiers.
Wrap the pacifiers up and put them on the front porch, in the mailbox, etc, and let the Pacifier Fairy pick them up at night. The Fairy will leave them a gift!
Take them to the store to buy a special toy, and let them "pay" for the toy with their pacifiers.

Sam is now 5 1/2, and I have not tried any of the above ways to convince him to stop using his pacifiers. Well, I have hoped that one day he would just tire of using them, but until a few days ago, I doubted that he ever would.

Have you ever read the book, Owen by Kevin Henkes?

This is a most delightful book about a little boy and his beloved yellow blanket. His nosy neighbor offers advice about how Owen's parents can get rid of Owen's blanket. The parents try her advice, but nothing works. Owen loves that blanket! (And I may add, why does he have to give it up???). Owen's kind mother devises a kind plan....you will just have to read the book to find out what she does!

I love reading that book to Sam. If I could do to Sam's pacifiers what Owen's mother did to his blanket, I would!

Anyway.....for the last few months, Sam has announced that when he is 6, he will throw away his pacifiers. His siblings ask him about his ba bas from time to time, asking him how long he going to be a baby, or is he sure he will give them up when he is 6? I sometimes say things like, "Since you are riding a big boy bike, do you want to stop taking your ba bas?" No pressure, I just ask him periodically. I don't want him to take them to college!

A while back, Sam began asking for a pocket knife. I always remind him that when he is 10, he can get a pocket knife. (Clay was 10 when he got his first pocket knife). Sam actually got a small pocket knife a couple of months ago---and Jimmy promptly dulled the blade and rounded off the point so that now it won't even cut butter! Last week, Sam asked over and over for a new pocket knife, this time one that would actually cut a stick! He sees Clay whittling and doing wood work in all his spare time, and he wanted a working knife as well.

So, three days ago, when Sam asked again, for a sharp pocket knife, I said, "If you will throw away your pacifiers, I will get you a knife."

You might be a redneck if you bribe your son to give up his pacifiers for a pocket knife!

He totally shocked me and said, "Well, throw them away!" I hid them (not in the trash can), and then he asked me to take him to WalMart right then to buy the knife. I told him he had to make it all the way through the night without a pacifier, and we would buy the knife in the morning.

He made it!

He asked for it twice, and then quickly said, "Never mind".

He woke up around 6:00 AM, ready to go to Walmart. We went after breakfast, and Jimmy did dull the knife a little bit before I gave it to him. I don't want to be visiting the ER!

Today is the fourth day without a pacifier. Last night was the worse. He had a very hard time falling asleep. He didn't cry, or even ask for his ba ba, but I knew he was struggling. The saddest part is that he is not sitting in my lap very much. He always sat in my lap with his pacifier while smelling my hair. He hasn't smelled my hair in four days.

It's a positive milestone, but I am still sad. My baby is growing up!