Seven Quick Takes

Go visit Jen for more quick takes.

 

~1~

Ezra is collapsing into bed these days. He wakes up bubbling over with energy, talking a mile a minute and ready to go, plays hard all day and drops into bed the second the clock ticks to 8 o'clock.

It's beautiful.

 

~2~

After reading SouleMama's post about Elizabeth Zimmerman knitting this year I ran into a blog documenting a year of Zimmerman knitting. I'm not quite brave enough for a few of the projects, but I've read two of her books and I think I'm ready to take that next step forward into a few of her projects. I'm adding that to the goal list- knit a few Elizabeth Zimmerman designs this year.

 

~3~

I finished Superman's Jayne hat Wednesday. It was a *really* fast knit. I cast on that morning and finished the ribbing for the band in the spare minutes between students through the day, then knit for a few hours Wednesday night while we caught up on Chuck and 24 episodes.

I cast on for the large, which was fine, but I had to lengthen it quite a bit. Superman either has a weirdly shaped head, or the pattern isn't quite sized correctly.  I'd show pictures today but Superman wore it to work yesterday and again today- I'll grab some pics when he's home on Sunday.

The only bad thing about it is that the first rounds are practically neon orange. It's like knitting cheetos.

 

~4~

Ender and I had a conversation recently about large number words (million, billion and trillion) and ever since he tells us at bedtime "I love you a million, billion, trillion, gazillion, kajillion, fillion!" He doesn't really understand why the last one is so funny to us, but he plays along well. (The Jayne hat and the Fillion comment are sooo connected. Bonus points for you if you can tell me in comments why!)

 

~5~

When Superman got home from class last night he walked in on me watching 30 Rock surrounded by yarn- probably 15 skeins.

He was NOT surprised.

Should I be worried?

(And seriously- why have I not watched 30 Rock until now? Thank goodness  for Netflix instant play.)

 

~6~

I've been looking at seeds for this year's garden. I learned a lot last year and I think I have a much better idea of what we can successfully grow. Ender has dog-eared almost every page of one of the catalogues. He's convinced we can grow EVERYTHING in our little container garden.

Unfortunately someone has to help him narrow down his desires and that someone is me.

 

~7~

I finished reading The Lightning Thief last night. Superman actually read it on our trip in early December and told me I would enjoy it. The first few chapters were really rough writing wise, but the story was interesting and the writing did improve through the book. Supposedly the second book is much better writing-wise, so I'll probably read that one too after Superman is done with it.

 

Keeping Busy

Quiet Continued

Yesterday was a little strange.

 

My boys waved me off every time I asked what they were doing, if they needed any help, or wanted anything for a snack.

 

This strange behavior started right after breakfast and went straight through until lunch when I finally had to insist they take a break for food.

 

What was so important? What took the complete energy and attention of a 2- and 4-year-old?

 

 

Making cozy little beds on the floor to read together, play with cars and be generally silly with one another.

 

I ate breakfast without getting up once to refill cups, drank hot chocolate through the morning without being begged for a sip, did laundry without little hands digging through the fresh towels, vacuumed and even sat for awhile to knit.

 

 

I didn't realize how much I love the interruptions- a boy asking to fold his own way, another promising that he only needs one more waffle to be really truly full. Ezra climbs into my lap multiple times a day for a cuddle and a tight squeeze around my neck, but not today. He was with his brother- his buddy.

 

I needed that little hint of a break today. I needed to continue the quiet that started over the weekend and the boys gave me that in this sweet surprise. But I will be glad when they ask me for help later today, climb into my lap with a kiss at the weirdest moments, and insist to do it "my way".

 

Weekend Knit

 I spent the weekend being quiet. 

 

Well, as quiet as it can be when two little boys are around.

 

We stayed home except for church Sunday morning, both boys played hard in the mornings and slept away the afternoons- NOT a common happening around here! I didn't work during this unscheduled free time- I pretended there was no stress and I knit.

 

I knit throughout the weekend; lots of stitches, lots of calm, lots of love.

 

Some inspiration from the weekend:

 

:: Sarah put together a list about short-circuiting the February blues that afflict so many homeschoolers. One of my posts is on the list! For more inspiration, have a look at Sarah's post. There is some really great stuff there.

 

:: I finished the Dr. Horrible Wristers (except for buttons!) and started the Stella Pixie hat (pdf file) Saturday night during a movie with Superman. I've been pleasantly surprised with how fast it is knitting up, especially with fingering weight yarn on size 3s. The hat is meant for my soon-to-arrive nephew. His due date is a scant 10 days off, though my sister says he's showing NO signs of being ready to come.

 

:: I read a great post at The Artful Parent about a new-to-us author named Carole Lexa Schaefer. The artwork is very different from other picture books and when I showed Ender the posted picture he immediately asked if we could "try them from the library". They're on order!

 

Now on to the week. If you need me I'll most likely be knitting.

7 Quick Takes

Go visit Jen for more Quick Takes.

 

~1~

So, I'm stressed. Key indicators? I'm up way too late again, there's been a lot of Dr. Pepper drinking, and I've been knitting for about a week straight. Knitting keeps my mind busy enough to keep it off of other things going on, but not so busy that I can't find wayward puzzle pieces, read the same book again and again for Ezra (Brown Bear, Brown Bear), and listen to audio books.

~2~

I have a LOT of time to myself right now since Superman's semester began. I finished the Dr. Horrible wristers that I cast on on Tuesday night and it's the fastest I've ever finished a knitting project. Part of it has to do with all my free time in the evenings, but I've also noticed a big increase in my speed. I almost feel like I could call myself an intermediate beginner instead of a "totally don't know what I'm doing" beginner.

I'll post them after they're blocked. Saturday is swiftly coming to be  known as "blocking day".

 

~3~

I spent last weekend going through little boy clothes and swapping Ezra's 2Ts for 3Ts. I really should have done it about 3 months ago, but I can't bear that my barely 2 year old is already this tall and looking more and more like a preschooler and less and less like a toddler. How does it happen so quickly?

Also on the Toss 15 project list over the last week was the linen closet and the bathroom cabinets. Yet again I'm amazed at how much stuff manages to hide in such small spaces.

 

~4~

I'm putting a book list page up for Ender. I'm tired of trying to remember what that awesome seasonal book was that we read last spring/fall/winter and not being able to come up witha  title. My swiss-cheese brain is just not to be trusted. I know the list is a little scant right now, but it will fatten up after I put in the picture books we've been reading about winter and hibernation.

 

~5~

In our reading today we came across the word "paradise". I explained it to Ender as the best place you can imagine and he immediately said, "like a place where you can just ride your bike all day long and you don't have to stop for ANYTHING."

Exactly, honey.

 

~6~

A question for homeschooling moms- how do you decide exactly what to use or include each year for school? My precise situation is that I want to make sure we include some science for Kindergarten next year- how do you decide which specific topics to cover? I've looked at a few different scope and sequence for Kindergarten science and it seems like there isn't anything that is consistently listed. It's tempting to try to get it all in, but I don't think it's a good thing to do as much as possible at 5 years old.

My current thoughts- keep focusing on seasonal changes, talk about the solar system, melt ice cubes, measure stuff in different ways, and plan for weekly time outside to learn to observe. I'm thinking about using One Small Square: Backyard to help me know what to look for in different seasons. I am sooo not a science gal, so I need a little direction. Thoughts?

 

~7~

Tomorrow is the bridal shower for my last sister to get married. C is getting married in March and then promptly moving to New York. This feels a little like a last hurrah- it's going to be the sisters only, and there will be mud masks, pedicures and probably quite a bit of ice cream. C is getting married, 2 sisters are pregnant, and of course I have my boys . . . hello, adulthood.

Ender's Current Work

This has been an interesting month for Montessori work for us. For the first time in a very long time I haven't rotated any work in or out for Ender because he has been using every work every work period for almost three weeks. In a regular week we will start with work on Monday and usually by Thursday there is at least 1 or 2 baskets/trays I rotate out because he hasn't  used them all week. I usually rotate at least 2 more by the next Monday so that about every 2 weeks he has completely new work.

For the month of January the work on the shelves for my 4-year-old currently includes:

 

:: A tray with 1 die in a bowl and a half sheet of largely gridded paper that I made in MS Word. Ender rolls the die, figures out the number and writes the number in one of the grid boxes. This work meets his desire to be able to write numbers on his own (a frustration he met when he was measuring a lot of things over the Christmas break).

 

:: Moveable alphabet and cards with consonant pairs on them. -ch,  -sh, -th, -wh, -gh, -ng, -ph. Ender uses the moveable alphabet to form the pair and then says the new sound. We just added the last four pairs to this work after working for a few weeks on the first three.

 

:: A cutting basket. Ezra is learning to make little snips in paper with scissors so Ender asked for cutting work too. Ender's basket includes half sheets of paper marked with lines to practice moving the scissors forward has he cuts, precut strips that he can cut through with one snip and plain half sheets of paper that he can cut any way he likes. He usually starts with one of the more structured parts of the activity then switches to the plain paper part way through.

 

:: Using this cabinet for inspiration I've collected novelty erasers and small toys from the dollar store and the dollar spot at Target to use as counters. I've set the tray up in the same way with three bowls. The addition cards he uses only add up to 1-6 since he's just starting out with this work and he can choose any 2 counters to work the problem. In the coming weeks when he feels a little more comfortable writing his numbers I'll expand this work so that he wites the equation after representing it with the counters.

:: A tray with a white board, marker and eraser. I picked this board up inexpensively at Target awhile back. On one side it has the primary lines for writing letters and numbers and the other side is blank. Since Ender is still drawing many of his letters he uses the blank side most frequently. Recently, however, he has started to try to stay to a certain size when writing his name and he has been using the lined side for that.

:: Blank paper and markers to draw whatever he likes. There have been a LOT of dragons lately.

:: The Brain Quest Kindergarten book. I *know* it's totally not a Montessori thing, but it has a lot of letter and number tracing along with space to try each letter or number on his own. For a kid that feels the urge to utter the "I can't do it" phrase several times a day all the tracing work has been the perfect bit of confidence building for him. He's much more willing to try once he realizes he has traced that letter with a pencil before.

We work on these pages as he desires each day, so sometimes he does one page, sometimes as may as four if he's really wanting to write a lot that day. Our only rule is the same as other work- you must finish what you start.

 

:: As always we have two baskets of books on the bottom shelf. Right now our basket themes are Winter and Hibernation. We read from these in the morning and evening. Most are picture books, but a few are short non-fiction books. I order most of these from our awesome local library, but we do own a few. We try to add a few seasonal titles to our collection each year. Ender also checked out a few books about China inspired by dragons, so he also has a few of those titles on his shelves to look at whenever he'd like.

Super Simple Arm Warmers

 

There is nothing amazing or necessarily original here, but I needed something to keep me a little more on the warm side while I practice piano at night in my "cool" basement.

I specifically wanted something without the thumb hole since that little bit of bulk inhibits the piano playing, so I got to thinking about how nicely a leg warmer would work shortened up and thinned out . . . and after a few attempts to check sizing this is what I turned out.

Super Simple Arm Warmers

gauge: 6 st. and 7 rows to get an inch in stockinette

I used 4 size 6 DPN's and worsted weight yarn.

co 44, divide onto needles- 16, 12, 16 and join to work in the round.

K2P2 for 8 rows

K 10 rows

next row: K 15, K2tog, K10, K2tog, K 15 (42 stitches)

K 10 rows

next row: K 14, K2tog, K10, K2tog, K 14 (40 stitches)

K 10 rows

next row: K 13, K2tog, K10, K2tog, K 13 (38 stitches)

K 10 rows

next row: K 12, K2tog, K10, K2tog, K 12 (36 stitches)

K 10 rows

next row: K 11, K2tog, K10, K2tog, K 11 (34 stitches)

K 5 rows

K2P2 for 6 rows

BO in pattern loosely.

Next up, Dr. Horrible Wristers (ravelry link). I finished the first one last night- pictures to come!

February Blues

 

I start thinking about February in December.

 

In our area we have a lot of ice storms in January and February and it's not unusual to be unable to get out of the driveway for several days at a time. We do go out to play if we can, but the boys are small enough that they don't last long in the cold. We end up with all kinds of pent up energy and no where to spend it- we can't even go to a store or something to walk it off!

 

Add to that the Mama blues February brings- not as much light, chilly mornings and evenings (the ones that make you want to sit cuddled up on the couch and not move from there all day long!), and the same-ness of each day- and it's not a pretty picture by February 1st.

 

I've been thinking about this for awhile now, to be prepared for this February with my boys one year older and more active. I think for us it comes down to shaking things up on the day-to-day activities and spending the quiet time dreaming ahead to March.

 

For us beating the February blues will include:

 

:: Pushing the furniture back and riding bikes and trikes in the living room.

 

:: Lots of food making- juice popsicles, homemade marshmallows, hot chocolate, homemade pizza and food of the "treat" variety.

 

:: Pajama days. Maybe more than a few. Probably in conjunction with fort building.

 

:: Guilt-free knitting time for Mama. There is a lot of calm built into each little stitch.

 

:: Refresh our morning music. We've been in the habit of turning music on as soon as we come downstairs each morning and leaving it on through lunch. Sometimes it's K-love, sometimes classical, sometimes individual artists (Steven Curtis Chapman is a favorite here). Lately our morning music has been mostly demo tracks for my work, but I'm thinking February is going to call for Vivaldi- Spring perhaps?

 

:: Spring-time sewing, just a little on the early side.

 

:: Dollar toys and activities. I pick up small things for the boys here and there as we do our usual shopping (I *heart* the dollar spot at Target!) and collect them in a basket in my closet for a little surprise once in awhile. I'm planning to bring out a few of these things when we hit that third or fourth day in a row stuck inside due to ice.

 

How do you beat the February blues?

 

 

My Father's Dragon

Ender and I read My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett last summer and enjoyed it quite a lot. When a friend told us there were 2 more books in the series they jumped into my next amazon order! We finished them last week and as we read the last words Ender sat there for a moment then said, "That's the last one?"

"Yes, son."

"Can we ask her (the author) to write some more?"

There has been an awful lot of dragon pretending around here, and the packing of backpacks "like Elmer does in the book, Mom!" Ezra is even in on the act as the "very baby baby dragon" (since Ender is the actual baby dragon, you know) and asks us all the time to ask him if he's "a nice dragon or a scary dragon" so he can roar appropriately.

That led to a dragon book search and on to reading Day of the Dragon-King by Mary Pope Osborne (which I happened to have picked up from a garage sale last summer!). I was informed this evening that it's a good book, but "not as good as the other dragon books."

Books about China also came up in the library searches and it turns out that Ender *loves* the DK book about China. This is our first time reading about a different country beyond the setting in a fiction book, and I'm a little surprised at how much interest Ender has shown. I really thought he'd only be interested in the little bits about Chinese New Year and the dragon lore,  but he keeps pulling that book out and asking about different spreads in the book.

I'm just along for the ride on this one . . .

Seven Quick Takes

Go visit Jen for more quick takes.

 

~1~

Chuck is back! Superman and I both love this show. It's a spy show that doesn't take itself too seriously, and the new twist for this season is going to be really exciting to watch unfold. I don't think Superman has ever looked forward to the new season of a television show this much!

~2~

I'm officially promising knitting pictures to be posted next week. Bug me about it, okay? I finished two projects this week and I'm going to be blocking one over the weekend, I'm just really being terrible about posting crafty pictures lately for some reason.

~3~

I got my hands on a copy of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac that I've been told countless times is a classic volume that every knitter should own. The writing is just cracking me up! The humor is just my taste.

Yes, I'm reading it straight through as a book first. I'll get around to knitting from it soon. :)

~4~

Superman started back to school for  his last semester on Monday. That means no one has seen him since last weekend. He's been home pretty much just to sleep, then turn around and do it all again the next day. And on top of his  intense school schedule- changes were announced at his job that drastically affect his particular position, so he is job hunting too. He still has a job for now(thank goodness!) but needs to find other employment sooner rather than later.

~5~

One of my big habit changes last year was to stop drinking soda for the most part. My body doesn't deal well with sugar so I just feel better and sleep better without it. I don't struggle with sugary foods necessarily, but soda (Dr. Pepper!!!) is my downfall. I was doing really well through most of the year with occasional lapses, but since January 1 my body is approximately 80% Dr. Pepper, 10% apple pie filling. Why do you think I'm up this late writing and posting quick takes???

What I want to know is how I did so well for such a long period of time and suddenly I'm off the wagon. Apparently somewhere in the back of my head I took that "1 year commitment" thing REALLY literally and January 1 I busted out of that restriction full force.

Back to work on that one.

~6~

Ezra had the brilliant idea yesterday that he could have chocolate for breakfast. He absolutely refused to eat breakfast, instead hollering for chocolate again and again. (Oh, you are your mother's son, child!) I gave him a final "little boys that don't eat meals certainly don't get treats" thing and he settled down. After a bit he looked up at me under those long eyelashes with big blue eyes and said, "chocolate . . . Ezra happy!" then grinned the biggest grin trying to win me over. He seriously believes that being cute wins over everything else and the fact that he already knows this at 2-years-old totally scares me . . . and cracks me up at the same time.

Watch out, girls. He's a sweet talker!

~7~

I'm starting my "Toss 15" project tomorrow. The plan is to spend 30 days cleaning up around here with the goal of getting 15 items a day out of the house, whether that means into the trash, into the donation box, or out to storage. The only things I allow to go to storage are things that we are keeping for potential future kids (like outgrown clothes and toys). A few things will go to a friend or family member who might need it, but much goes to Goodwill. Maybe I'm the only person in the world that does her spring cleaning in January/February, but I figure that since I 'm stuck inside for most of those months I might as well take advantage since my spring months are wild. Plus I'd rather be outside during that time anyway!

On My Congested Mind

:: A Jayne hat pattern. *LOVE* Firefly  .  .  .  and Adam Baldwin

:: S.T.O.P.ping during the day.

:: the ravelympics. (ravelry link)

:: Dr. Beechick, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia. The more I read the more I realize that I'm not a purist on *anything*.

:: My winter reading list: Simplicity Parenting, learning more about science, and more historical fiction.

Taking a Sick Day

We are all down with some kind of congestion mess. No fevers or really crazy symptoms, just heads full of gunk and headaches to match. I was actually first with it this time around and despite our best efforts to keep everyone else healthy we're all down with it now. The boys seem to be managing much better than Superman and me!

See you again soon.

Seven Quick Takes

Go visit Jen for more Quick Takes. 

 

~1~

In our area at this time of year we usually have a light dusting of snow that disappears by the next day- that is, if we have any snow at all. We had about 8 inches show up on Christmas Eve/Day, and it actually stayed around! In fact, it has been so cold here that school was canceled Monday and Tuesday, and then another snow storm came through on Wednesday (with another 4ish inches!) that canceled school for the rest of this week. Try explaining to a 4 year old why he can't go out in all that glorious snow when the temperature is negative.

 

~2~

Superman has been home all week on an unexpected vacation. His truck has spent this week in the shop because of the accident he had right before Christmas, and he has to have his truck for work. So on this little break he has been keeping tabs on the boys while I taught, working with Ender on some schooly things and keeping up the laundry for me. That's how I know he loves me- I so dislike doing laundry and because of him I haven't had to even think about it all week long!

 

~3~

My sister's wedding went well last Saturday. It was very cold, but not snowing, and we were very thankful for that. We are praying for her and her new husband as they step into marriage and soon into parenthood when their son is born in the next few weeks.

 

~4~

The other day Ezra went to the cabinet and set out his own Montessori mat, sat criss-cross in front of it and looked up at me expectantly. Apparently the child needs some work! I suppose I need to get back into 2-year-old Montessori mode. I pulled out some lacing beads and block work, but I think he may be ready for a presentation or two. Look for more toddler Montessori work here soon.

 

~5~

We changed up our bedtime routine over the break, and I think we're all really enjoying the change. We're starting earlier, reading longer (usually 3 picture books with both boys and then 1 chapter of a read aloud for Ender while Ezra has time with Daddy), and the boys are calmer by the time actual bedtime comes around. The boys are really liking the time spent on their own with Daddy, and that was the major change we were going for. While Superman is finishing school this semester he will only be home to help put them to bed 3 or 4 nights a week. We both wanted to find a way to make a bed time more of a "daddy event" on those nights, and I think we found our answer.

 

~6~

Ender has become quite the master on his bike now. He's riding easily in the living room (it's the only place he can ride because of this strange snow, so we moved all the furniture against the wall for awhile) and navigating turns and stopping with ease. I think he might decide he's ready to go without training wheels this summer. He already asked Daddy if it's easy to take the training wheels off . . .

 

~7~

To keep up our date night during this school thing Superman and I have been making Saturday nights into a movie night. We start off with something to watch with the boys (their choice has been almost exclusively SuperWhy lately- thank goodness it's a free stream on netflix!) and then after the boys are in bed, we have a bit of wine and a movie of our own. It's been nice to catch up on the movies we haven't seen since the boys were born.

2009 In Books

A book meme snagged from Sarah at Amongst Lovely Things:

  

What was the best new (to you) author you discovered this year?

Kate DiCamillo- The Tale of Desperaux.

What was your favorite new (to you) series?

As much as I hate to admit it, the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. It isn't very well written and some place are groan-worthy, but it's a compelling storyline. After I finished the first book I couldn't stop thinking about it and felt like I had to get my hands on the second book immediately.

 

Book that made you cry?

I don't really cry with books or movies, but the one that stayed with me in a very serious way was One Second After by William L. Forstchen. I had dreams about that book for a few weeks after.

 

Book that made you laugh out loud?

Cape Storm by Rachel Caine. Over all it's definitely a dramatic urban fanasy, but taht girl writes some VERY witty stuff.

 

Book that totally changed your perspective on something?

Real Food by Nina Planck. Totally changed our diet.

 

Best homeschooling book?

This one snuck in on the last day of the year, but I have to go with The 3 R's by Dr. Ruth Beechick. This is totally the direction for us.

 

Worst book that you managed to finish?

Wideacre by Philippa Gregory. Not a single bit of redeeming value in this book. I actually threw it away after I finished it because I couldn't stand the thought of donating it. Thank goodness I only paid 50 cents for it at a garage sale.

 

Most disappointing Book?

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. It never really went anywhere, the characters were flat and the motivations fell short. I really wanted to like that book too.

 

Best book-that-was-better-than-the-movie? 

The only things I've read this year that are also movies are the 6th Harry Potter book, The Tale of Desperaux and Twilight. The Twilight movie was really bad, like you could only follow it if you'd read the book.

 

Most over-hyped book of the year?

The Jennifer Weiner book I mentioned above, Best Friends Forever.

 

Best feel-good book of the year?

The Little House books. I read all of them this year, and I'd forgotten how enjoyable they are.

 

 

Best young adult book of the year?

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson.

 

Book you’ve been meaning to read for years and finally got to?

I know this is a weird choice, but Storm Front by Jim Butcher. He's a decently big name is SF and he's also a local author that I've been meaning to try for about 3 years. Finally got to it and the first in the series was a good read.
 

Read aloud that the family enjoyed the most?

My Father's Dragon. Ender is ready to read it again. :)

 

Best non-fiction?

This is when I wish I kept track of the non-fiction I've read! The first thing that pops into my mind is The Power of Play by David Elkind.

 

Best religion/theology/doctrine/philosophy?

This Momentary Marriage by John Piper.

  

All-around best story of the year?

Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey. It's the second in Imriel's series, but I was sooooo sad when I finished that book!




Book that you feel is so integral to your library, you’d even pay full price for it?

The book I've pulled out the very most often this year is Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean by Linda Cobb. Ha ha ha! I've had to take crayon off of walls, ketchup out of beige carpet, and gum out of a shirt, and that's just the stuff I remember.

Be sure to share in comments if you decide to write your own 2009 book list!

From My Husband

 

"How old are you?" he asks me.

 

"What do you mean?" I ask.

 

"I can't decide if you're a 15-year-old boy or and 80-year-old woman."

 

I may have been knitting and playing World of Warcraft at the same time . . .

First January Daybook

Outside my window… even more snow. It was really hard to get places this past weekend, but with the wedding there wasn’t really much of a choice. We took our time and made it to all the important places.

I am thinking… about being back to work this week. I’m trying to remember that this is just a stage of life, that soon I will be able to work less and be with my family more, make dinner every night of the week, create more art, play music for myself rather than for teaching related reasons . . .

I am thankful for… my family, but in particular my siblings. Everyone came together for our sister K.’s wedding and in spite of the rushed circumstances everyone was there to hold her up and show their love for her, her new husband and their soon-to-arrive son.

Always Learning… I’m loving the Ruth Beechick book I received last week! I’ve already been through it once, and now I’m reading it through again. THIS is the book I’ve needed to read to make me feel more prepared for our first year of homeschooling, and confirms a lot of the feelings that I was having about a lot of curriculums asking for too much in a Kindergartener. I’m feeling more and more confident as I read.

From the kitchen… LOTS of soup. Best way to keep warm I think.

I am wearing… Jeans, a camisole, black long-sleeved tee, and a red t-shirt on top. Two pairs of socks. I’m considering adding a hoodie.

I am creating… space. I spent free time over my Christmas break de-cluttering toys in the boys’ rooms and cleaning out closets. I earned my sewing table back from the piles that had grown in November and December.

I am going… to stay home as much as possible this week. We all just need time at home after the wedding craziness last week for some quiet and normalcy. Plus it’s WAY too cold to try to venture out!

I am reading… The Host by Stephenie Meyer, Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman, and The 3 R’s by Ruth Beechick.

I am hoping… that Superman starts getting calls on some of the resumes he has been submitting.

I am hearing… Vivaldi- the Four Seasons.

Around the house… The Christmas tree is down, along with the nativity. My plans for January include finishing up the closet re-organization I started over the holiday break.

One of my favorite things… left-over treats from New Year’s Eve. They are all the things we never buy that we are snacking on for just one more week . . .

A few plans for the rest of the week … getting back to a routine, starting with regular bedtimes- Mama included!

2010 Goals

I wrote goals for myself last year and that list gave me much need focus for the year. I thought I'd do it again this year- please feel free to weigh in on my goals or link to your own in the comments!

2010 Goals 

1. BE PRESENT. This is my theme for the year. We have a lot going on in our family right now while Brian is finishing school, and it is very easy for me to spend all my time multi-tasking. I find my mind always half on what is going on around me and half on the things that need to be accomplished elsewhere. I am working very hard to be present with the people I love and saving the worry for later. One of the ways I'm trying to do this is to make a list for myself of when I will do things (work related tasks, house keeping, etc.) so that when those "I should be doing xyz" thoughts start popping up I can dismiss them easily because I've already planned a separate time to accomplish those tasks. Cleaning can wait. My children will not be this age forever.


2. Commit to Daily Scripture. I've been reading and re-reading posts by Ann Voskamp about the way Scripture is a part of the daily life of the family, and praying about ways to make changes in our own family concerning Scripture. I grew up in a practicing Christian home. Both of my parents became believers in high school and are the only believers in their families to this day. My husband came to Christ as an adult, so he doesn't know all of the Bible stories I learned as a child and the practice of daily Scripture reading and prayer is still not completely habit. One of the goals we share for this year is daily Scripture reading and prayer with the boys, developing this to be a habit for our family so that our boys grow up to know that Word is meant to be read, prayed and processed daily. It is a habit I learned early on, and one that Brian is still developing. My own personal goal to go along with our family goal is to commit to Scripture memory this year. I'm still working out specific plans (whether it's to memorize a whole book or separate verses I haven't quite decided yet) and I'll let you know when I settle on something.

 
3. Track the non-fiction I read this year. I read a very large amount of non-fic each year and I'm curious to know just how much. We'll just say that I check out an average of 100 books per month at our local library, and about 30 of those are for the boys. The rest are for me, with the occasional audio book for Brian to listen to while he drives for work.

 
4. Raise my fiction goal to 24 fiction books this year, 2 per month. I read more fiction in 2009 than I read in all of 2006, 2007, and 2008 combined. I chalk that fiction deficit up to having two babies! Non-fic was a ton easier to pick up and put down, plus I went on a parenting/mothering book craze for about 2 years.

 
5. Plan time to re-charge during the week, especially January-May while Brian is finishing school. Brian will be in class 2 nights per week this semester, and will have 2 online classes as well. Because he's taking an overload he will have to be even more diligent about his study time, which means that I will have a good amount of free time on my hands. I need to be sure to use at least some of that time to do things that bring me energy and refreshment so that on the nights he is home I will have energy and attention for him.


6. Keep up with great eating habits. Last year we worked really hard at changing our eating habits, and implented a few things that helped tremendously- we now buy and eat seasonally for our fresh ingredients, and we do not purchase items that are not good for us. No junk food in the house means no "surprise" midnight eating. We also did away with a lot of pre-prepared foods, which also saves us quite a lot on our food budget. Brian has lost and kept off the weight he wanted to take care of, and I feel a million times better these days. I want to continue the things we learned last year, but also to take it into the new year with a few improvements. I need to keep up consistently on meal planning and because of our odd dinner time schedule I need to make more use of my crockpots to provide healthy meals on the nights I have to work through the dinner hour.

 
7. Keep/Toss/Donate 15 items per day for 30 days. I did this challenge last year in January/February and it felt like a gigantic breath of fresh air for our house. I'm doing it again, thinking of specific places- the hall coat closet, the linen closet, the boys' toys . . . the house certainly feels full again and we need to find white space.

 
8. Move systematically through the house to declutter. I'm working through this again this year, because it really helped to devote one month to each room of the house so that by the time November hit I didn't have to do any mad dash holiday cleaning. I got a lot done by working just a little bit each day- I think that is the system that just works best for me.

 
9. Improve my crafting skills. I'm ready to learn some new skills this year!

Learn to do cables.

Knitting Goals:

Learn to do color work.

Attempt lacework.

Sewing Goals:  

Get going on the hexagon quilt I've been thinking about for 6 months!

Branch out into some harder patterns for myself. I have my eye on a certain dress.

Become more confident in the skills I already have instead of holding myself back.

Make the boys' Easter shirts and ties for this year. Superman's tie too. :)

Cut into some of the "special" material I've been hoarding!

10. Re-evaluate my goals every 3 months to stay on task. These goals are not set in stone; if something isn't working I reserve the right to make a change! I tried to set goals that I have control over, considering whether or not they are actually possible and if they serve our family or myself well. Checking in and an occasional re-evaluation is definitely necessary for me.

7 Quick Takes

Want more Quick Takes? Go visit Jen.

 

~1~

I'm working on goals for next year, and I'll post them on Monday. Want to join me? Write your own goals for 2010 and be sure to come back on Monday to share them with us!

 

~2~

After reading quite a lot in the last month I am feeling pretty comfortable with our Kindergarten plans for next fall. I think Superman and I have reached a compromise on materials, budget and level of "Schoolishness" that will make us both happy and most of all includes things that I think Ender will love. I also have some new work to introduce to Ender in January to help accomplish some of the things he's been asking to work on lately.

 

~3~

I received my amazon order on Wednesday- in it: The New Way Things Work for Ender along with a beginner's atlas, a tracing book for Ezra, a few chapter books to read with Ender, and for me: Knitting Without Tears, The Knitter's Almanac, and the Three R's. I'll be busy reading over the weekend!

 

~4~

I'm trying to figure out the best way to stay warm in a skirt this winter. I'm an absolute chicken about being too cold, but I do want to wear skirts during the winter. Suggestions? Thoughts? I'm thinking corduroy, or some kind of special slip- I've heard tales about using flannel-backed satin to keep a bit warmer. I do need a better jean skirt too- that's definitely on the sewing list for January.

 

~5~

Ezra has decided to be a dragon for the past few days. He asks what kind of dragon he should be and our job is to answer "scary" or "nice" so that he can roar in just the right way. He has such an imagination already! Ender didn't really develop that kind of thinking until after he turned 3- he's always approached the world in a very thoughtful fact-based way (even at 2 1/2), and to have a brother to imagine with has really helped him to branch out a bit and use the facts he knows in a playful way. It never ceases to amaze me how two brothers raised in the same house by the same parents can be so very different.

~6~

Last night we had family over for a New Year's Eve game night filled with  Balderdash, Trivial Pursuit, Settlers of Catan, Canasta, and Pit. Ender and Ezra made it until 9:30 before Ender actually asked to go to bed. Tonight will be another late night, as Ender and I are going to the rehearsal for my sister K.'s wedding!

~7~

Today my jobs are to clean up after last night's party and to find a pair of shoes for tomorrow's wedding. I've looked a few times this week and can't find anything that isn't REALLY expensive. I just need them for one day- I don't want to spend a gazillion dollars!