Life As We Know It

And the Verdict is....

2012-02-23T13:45:00.001-07:00

Definitely FRATERNAL!

We will be welcoming another little Girl and Boy into our family!

13.5 Weeks

14.5 Weeks

15.5 Weeks

Just in case you can't tell, I am getting huge fast. I have been majorly nesting. I am trying so hard to get our house in order and soon. I will try and post pictures of the projects I have been finishing up.

So far the twin pregnancy has been much the same as my others except that I feel further along than I really am. I look and feel like I am about 25 weeks. At this rate come July I am going to feel about 60 weeks pregnant.

The many faces of Ethan

2012-02-11T08:26:00.001-07:00

Ethan is about 14 months now and he is at the cutest age. He just laughs and chases after those big kids all day. He LOVES getting his picture taken. He is starting to talk a little with Mama, Dada and something like Baba for "ball". He is so happy all the time.
I love how different all of my kids personalities are- but they definitely fall into two camps- serious and not so serious. Afton and Ben are very literal where as Mei and Ethan don't take life so seriously. Last night as Rich was loading the van after our Bi-weekly Costco Mei turns around and says in an Echo-ee kind of voice "Hellooo back there". Then on the way home it was Ethan throwing his ball at Ben and trying to get him to play catch, while Ben says 'No Ethan, hold your ball'. Kids are funny :)

We Love you so much!

Identical? Fraternal?

2012-02-07T14:14:00.003-07:00

When we had an ultrasound at about 10 weeks the tech said, 'oh yeah they are fraternal, they're in separate sacs". Then when we got home I looked it up, and she's wrong, separate sacks doesn't mean they are fraternal.
Yesterday, when I went in for my 14 week check the Dr did a low grade ultrasound and he said they are identical because they share a placenta.

13.5 Weeks

I decided that if there was ever a pregnancy to take weekly pictures of this would be it.

This is probably silly, but I was okay with having fraternal twins and was so hoping for a boy and a girl. We like to keep things even around here, we have two girls and two boys already. I have boy clothes and girl clothes, I mean Mei and Ben are always in the same size so some of the clothes coordinate. I have summer blessing outfits that my brother and I wore. I have great reasons why we should be getting a boy and a girl. I am a fraternal twin, so I am more genetically disposed to having twins. I was okay if it was just a genetic fluke, we knew it could happen (didn't actually think it would, but we had joked about it).
For some reason, identical twins are really throwing me off. To me fraternal is just nature, but when they are identical I feel like the Lord really wants us to have twins. We can't blame it on genetics.

I am really hating being pregnant with twins, perhaps it would have been better if we didn't find out so soon. At first I was shocked, then I was kind of mad, and now I love them both and am paranoid that something is going to go wrong. I am getting bigger faster, which is a good thing, but I am dreading the summer.
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In other news, I ordered ourselves a Bountiful Basket last week and it has been so wonderful. It is great to open the fridge and have random yummy things. For lunch I served the kids broccoli and peppers with some hummus. With all the red peppers we were able to make Fajitas one night. It is great to have strawberries in our cereal, some apples and peanut butter for snack. I am not sure why I ever stopped doing it, but Bountiful Basket makes meals so simple around here. Some baked chicken with a side of steamed asparagus and a broccoli salad- so easy and delicious. I have been thinking about trying to come up with some freezer or make ahead meals but you can't really do that with fresh foods. So I think the best plan of attack is to just have salads, veggies, a little meat and a grain. Plain and Simple.

My Thoughts on Baby Food

2012-02-07T13:23:00.001-07:00

The more kids I've had the more I delay the introduction of solid or pureed foods.
First it started out as my own laziness, just didn't want to deal with the mess of yet another eater at the table. Then over the past few years as my nutrition knowledge has improved I've learned more about babies digestion and have intentionally delayed it. Babies don't have the proper enzymes to really break down food until their molars develop, close to 18 months. So really all the 'food' that they eat when they are under a year old is more for fun anyways. I have also noticed that each of my kids (and even my sisters baby) seemed to get diarrhea and bad diaper rash sometime around 12-14mo. This is yet another clue to me that something is going on in their digestive system at this age.
Anyways, the real point of this rambling is to bring up this article. One of the first I've read that doesn't advocate shoving pureed baby food in as soon as the baby turns 4 months.

"Our results suggest that infants weaned through the baby-led approach learn to regulate their food intake in a manner which leads to a lower BMI [body mass index] and a preference for healthy foods like carbohydrates," the authors wrote in the journal BMJ Open. "This has implications for combating the well-documented rise of obesity in contemporary societies."
The team believes that babies who feed themselves learn to regulate their food intake better, as well as developing a preference for "foods that form the building blocks of healthy nutrition, such as carbohydrates."

Personally, I let my kids decide when and if they want to eat food and we start right with table foods. Occasionally I use our baby food grinder but most of the time I let them eat just for fun and eat what we are having, knowing the bulk of their nutrition comes from their formula. Plus think of all the money (or time and energy) saved by skipping all the pureed foods.

Eleanor Roosevelt

2012-01-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Perhaps I should start reading up a little on Eleanor Roosevelt. I love both of these quotes. Any book suggestions?

Random Thoughts from the Zoo

2012-01-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

I came across a blog once entitled Random Thoughts From the Zoo... I think that might be a more appropriate blog name these days.

We went to the SLC zoo a few weeks ago and we got to hear the elephants make their noise- it was pretty cool and now the kids have been imitating it for weeks.

I haven't really felt like updating these days. Not much to say I guess. I think it's funny how everyone's comment about the twins is "well, if anyone can do it, you can". Sometimes I am not sure how to take that, that's the same comment I heard when we had Ben a year after Mei. But, we did do it and I think we did pretty good at it. I do think that two at once is going to be WAY harder than two that are a year apart.

(Mei's 4th birthday)

Madelyn and Ben both had birthdays recently, Ben's today and Mei's 8 days ago. Now that they are 3 and 4 and will have 3 younger siblings I guess I can't call them the babies anymore. For years I have just referred to them as "the babies", I guess they are now graduating into being the big kids.

(Lillie (friend), Ben 3rd Birthday and Afton)

My parents came out for a quick visit last weekend and that was really nice. The kids sure enjoyed it and even though we stayed up way too late and I skipped my naps it was all worth it (all though this week has been a little rough recovering).

Ben 'tasted his bread' I think he realized that dirt bread doesn't taste very good.

My Mom is insistent that I get Ben potty trained pronto. I'd sure like to, but that little boy has Zero interest, we are going to have to wait until summer :( maybe going around naked all day will work. Even my insistent mother admitted that we'd best wait.

Mei's cake- she has picked the same theme every year and so has Ben.

I also think the best thing about my Mom coming was that she made the birthday cakes. I know, I should love making the cakes, like all the other Moms seem to. But I hate it.... I hate deciding on what to make and then trying to create it. The thought of buying one from a bakery isn't very appealing. So thank you Mom for making us a "dinosaur tate" for Ben and a "no-man cake" for Mei.

Afton and Lillie- Ben and Mei lost their outside privileges when they neglected to clear their spots and green smoothie ended up on the stairs.

The weather has been a little interesting- some days are 50 degrees and well other are about 20. This has got to be one of the strangest winters. We've only had one snow storm and the snow barely lasted until noon and then today it was raining.
We are sad that we won't be able to watch Lillie much longer. We really like her and she's just like one of the rest of them. Also, I'm really going to miss the extra income.

We've been talking bedrooms- who goes where? Should we give up our guest bed? Should we move the girls to twin beds? We have three bedrooms for kids- one tiny one, one medium one and one large on. The original plan was to keep the older girls in the small room, but the twin beds (which are really cute) don't fit, I really like the boys in the medium room it fits their bunkbed and furniture well and Ethan's pack'n'play. So I thought to move the girls to the large room and the babies to the tiny room.... but then a few people who've had twins said that I want a way to sleep in the twins room... they said they slept on the floor many a nights in between feedings and trying to get them to sleep..... So I think the best option then is to keep the guest room where it is and add the babies to that room and then to get a bunkbed for the girls so they can move out of the toddler beds, but still stay in their small room. Does that make sense?

I have been really lazy about cooking recently. I just don't want to. I have no desire to eat anything that I make. I also forgot to order our Bountiful basket for two weeks in a row-- I cannot believe how expensive food is at the grocery store. I can spend like $75 and it still barely gets us through the week. I also don't know what to make.... I want things that are really simple and maybe somethings that I could make ahead and freeze, but there aren't too many vegan make ahead meals. You can't exactly freeze lettuce. I am in need of ideas?
I have added in Greek Yogurt and meat once or twice a week just to up my protein. I don't like chicken, and the only other meat I know how to make is hamburgers. So until I start craving something else I think we will be having hamburgers once a week.
I tried to make a list a simple things I could make, and they still weren't very simple. I asked a friend the other day if I was allowed to forget all my knowledge about nutrition and eat frozen meals for a few years and then in about 2 years, start all over again. She didn't think that was a very good idea, and I know that too. :(
I wish that whole wheat muffins froze well, but they just get crumbly.... and that my kids were content with pancakes for 2 meals a day and that we could afford to buy more cereal and maybe some frozen vegan lasagna from Good Earth. If anyone has an extra waffle iron lying around we would love to have it.

My house is pretty messy these days, I am trying, and we don't even have that much stuff. I jsut get lazy about putting things away (like school stuff) and keeping everything organized. Our closets are pretty empty, but without shelves what am I supposed to do just pile stuff in and close the door. The Berenstain Bears tried that once and it didn't go so well.

I should take a picture of my belly. I've only gained about 9 lbs (usually I've gained about 15 by now) but my stomach sticks out a lot farther than 9lbs worth. It just happened this week, I don't think it was that bad a few days ago. I am reading THIS book and I really like all the information about nutrition and how much of a role it plays in preventing complications like preterm labor and preclampsia. I also like the part about all the benefits to gaining weight in the first trimester, I have always felt guilty for gaining weight right away, but after reading that I feel a lot better. I have read almost all of the sample books on Amazon and this has been the only one that I bought and it has over 500 pages of good information.

I am kind of bummed about this summer. We had plans. We were going to take some trips- go to San Diego and visit my sister as she got off her mission, I wanted to go to Sacramento and visit my grandparents and then we have a reunion with my husbands family. With a single pregnancy I can travel until I am about 37 weeks (we drove from Nebraska to San Diego when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Ben) and I am recovered enough to do things after a week or two. We also have more expenses coming and Rich needs to save every hour of vacation that he can. I think this summer is going to involve a lot more down time. I am so glad we got most of our yard put in and the kids can go out and play.

Twin Belly Pictures

2012-01-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

I probably shouldn't have watched this wonderful little video. I just started crying when I saw how HUGE these bellies were, and then crying when I saw how cute the babies were.What are we going to do?

Today I am determined to get organized. We are going to have a menu plan where I rotate about 10 simple things, a laundry plan, a light cleaning plan... I also would like to buy a recliner, so my hunt of the classifieds begins today.

I went to the midwife yesterday, and I begged her to schedule another ultrasound- you know just to make sure this was really happening. Of course it is really happening- the intern found two heartbeats one at 145 and the other at 160, and the ultrasound definitively showed two babies in two separate sacs. There is about an 80% chance that they are fraternal and I am so hoping for boy/girl twins. Rich had a dream the other night about two boys.

Just in Case you missed the Big News

2012-01-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

See the two sacs? One on the left has a baby and the one on the right has a baby!

I went to a midwife yesterday all excited to prepare for a home birth. The first thing she did at the appointment was a quick check for twins (she can't see me if it's twins). Anyways, it wasn't hard to find them both. Although the one on the left (behind) was harder to see and kept moving. We had a really good shot of both of them, but it accidentally got deleted before printed. But there are definitely 4 moving arms, 4 legs, 2 heartbeats...
We are in for a whole new ball game around here! TWO BABIES!!!! All I can say is that the Lord sure has a lot of faith in my capabilities. I still can't believe it. We are about 10 weeks along and due the first week of August.
I am a twin (have a brother) but I didn't think I would ever have twins! I thought it was supposed to skip generations. I know most of my Mom's Great Grandmothers had twins (one had 3 or 4 sets) but then up until my Brother and I (30 years ago) there haven't been any other twins that I know of.
So when these new ones come, Afton will have turned 6 in May, Madelyn will be 4.5, Ben will be 3.5 and Ethan will be around 19 or 20 months. Crazy, I know. Good thing we bought that huge van!
Ready or not here comes #5 and #6. I am very happy that even though I can't use the Home Birth Midwife, I can still use the Hospital birth midwife that I had with Ethan. Many midwives won't do twins, so I am happy about that.

----I had a weird feeling and dreams of twins early on but I thought it was just my imagination. I have also felt like my dates have been wrong, I felt like I was about 14 weeks pregnant when I was only 9. The third thing that is different is that I have been sick (and tired) since the very first day. My husband noticed that I started nesting a few weeks ago, and made the comment that it might be a little early to be nesting.

Trying to Catch up

2012-01-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

I am really far behind, and in the next post you'll know why.
Here are the major highlights:
Ethan is running around like a champ, started a few weeks before Christmas at 11 months.
Ben is talking in complete sentences and still loves puzzles, but is now liking cars and tools.
Mei is enthralled with her Nursing Nana dogs and just a great little girl.
Afton is learning to read using THIS book and loves the George and Martha books.

We love playing Qwirkle (although I refuse to play for points, because I'll lose)

Sword fighting- this summer we need to get some swim noodles and make swords.

Everyone has been having fun with Ben's new tools.

We ate our ducks for Christmas dinner. They didn't taste good at all. We had three ducks.

One got injured by the neighbors dog, so that left two. Then we wanted to eat one and that

would have left one lonely duck, so Rich went ahead and killed them all. We miss them

quacking at the back door,but we sure don't miss the poop all over the place.

Ethan loves lounging in his bed. Sometimes he doesn't want to get out.

We had a great holiday by ourselves this year, so quiet, but so nice and fun.

Kid's Nativity

2011-12-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!!

A little persepective on Budgeting

2011-12-22T08:17:00.001-07:00

Maybe those in the government should should read a little One For the Money.

Fighting Infection without antibiotics AND Vaccines [may be] Contaminated

2011-12-17T19:56:00.001-07:00

I have the beginnings of a sinus infection and I am determined not to have to get antibiotics for it, this happens every December and for the past three years I have been able to ward of the antibiotics. (yes antibiotics can be good, but they kill good guys in your body too, not just the bad ones- if you do take antibiotics, get some friendly flora like acidopholous in your gut)

Here's what works for me:
1. Neti Pot (and always blow you nose, never suck those boogers in)
2. Natural Antibiotics, like garlic
3. Water and fresh lemon juice (not sure how this helps but it sure tastes good) and eating oranges

In searching for some more information today I was able to get this information:

In my opinion, garlic is the king of natural infection fighters. Although it is useful for almost any type of infection, bacterial, yeast or viral, it excels at fighting infection in the respiratory and lymphatic systems. When I'm really serious about knocking something out I use raw garlic. I've taken one or two cloves, chopped them finely and swallowed the pieces with some water and a little bread or crackers (to reduce stomach upset).
Garlic:
"garlic oil or garlic oil capsules, both topically and internally. I have been given to understand that each of these tablets is equivalent to about four cloves of raw garlic in potency. This form of garlic is nice, since it doesn't produce the odor or the stomach upset of raw garlic. I am not timid about using garlic for infection. I have taken as much as two cloves or one high potency garlic tablet every two hours for a couple of days to clear up a problem. I've rubbed garlic oil on my children's chests two or three times per day and I have given them a half dropperful or the contents of a soft gel capsule every 30 minutes for a couple of hours."
If I am faithful about this it works wonders.

Colloidal Silver (I haven't tried it yet)
" A colloid is a microfine suspension of something in a solution. Silver has long been known to have a preserving and anti-bacterial action. A few years ago I learned that one of the ways to purify water is to put some silver coins in it. This is what the pioneers did to preserve their water in their barrels while traveling across the plains. Silver coins also used to be put into milk to prevent it from spoiling. Colloidal silver seems to work very well in fighting bacterial infection. I used it on our son, Joshua, because of his weak immune system. I have used it in both his ears and my ears to help fight infection. It has an antiinflammatory quality to it."
Other natural antibiotics include: Oregon Grape (herb), Tea Tree oil, Oil of Oregano (very potent, don't over do), other herbs like yarrow, ginger, chammomile (I like encapsulating powdered herbs better than drinking gallons of tea)
source : http://www.webnat.com/articles/Antibiotics.asp

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ALL THE VACCINES ARE CONTAMINATED

I was refered to this article by a friend and found it quite fascinating. I have another friend who has struggled with infertilty and she kind of feels like there are some conspiring men who want women (and men) to become sterile. Interesting stuff to get you to think. Think before you vaccinate, don't just do things because your doctor says to. And don't not vaccinate because I say not to. Follow your own gut.

“The chief, if not the sole, cause of the monstrous increase in cancer has been vaccination” – Dr. Robert Bell, once Vice President International Society for Cancer Research at the British Cancer Hospital

As Shots Increase, U.S. Lifespan Is DECREASING
1980: 9 vaccines, autism is rare
2009: 36 vaccines before age 5
2010: 55 vaccines before age 6
go here http://inpursuitofhappiness.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/all-the-vaccines-are-contaminated-every-last-one-of-them/ to see the full chart

"All the vaccines mandated to children and many other vaccines as well, including the seasonal flu vaccines being mandated to health care workers, are contaminated with polysorbate 80, the central ingredient in a pharmaceutical industry patent to damage fertility. The pharmaceutical industry has a long history of of seeking a vaccine that would covertly sterilize whole populations So, in addition to being contaminated with cancer and other viruses, and with the bacteria mycoplasma, vaccines are intentionally “contaminated” with a chemical as well, which is, given the patent, a “patently” sought-after sterilizing agent"

"Beyond containing polysorbate 80 and cancer and other viruses, and likely mycoplasma, the Gardasil vaccines are contaminated in an additional way. It and all the new vaccines are contaminated with genetically engineered DNA. It can contaminate people’s DNA, just a genetically engineered crops can contaminate normal crops. Gardasil itself is contaminated with a man-made version of the HPV DNA, the very virus it was supposed to protect against, which now it threatens not only altering kids’ healthy DNA with synthetic DNA (!) but with a diseased version."
Though facing no serious health risk, people are paying to have their bodies contaminated by contaminated vaccines. In taking vaccines, they are trading the minimal risk of even contracting common diseases and which themselves are rarely dangerous and can be treated if contracted – for the absolute certainty of loading their bodies with 1. cancer and other infectious viruses, 2. a destructive bacteria, and 3. a fertility impairing chemical.

They are doing this because they are being terrorized by their own government with false information on the risks of various diseases and denied critical information on the scientific risk of the vaccines.

Those vaccines without a doubt threaten their own and their children’s fertility, and their very lives."

Please go read the full article: http://birthofanewearth.blogspot.com/2011/12/all-vaccines-are-contaminated-every.html
and if the link won't work try going HERE

How to make Grape Juice and other random stuff

2011-12-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, we've been a little busy around here. I have 3 other kids I have been watching during the day as well as our own 4, so I haven't had much time to blog. Things will slow down in a few weeks.

How to make grape juice.
Step One: Wait for a day when Mom is sick and doesn't care what you do.

Step 2: Wash the grapes in a colander, then lay out a towel to set your whole operation on.
Step 3: Squeeze the grapes into a bottle (in our case an empty salad dressing bottle)

Step 4: Give smooshed and squeezed grapes to Ben to eat.
Step 5: Pour the juice into individual cups and enjoy. Store any leftovers in the fridge.
I thought they really did a great job and the best part of all was that they cleaned up after themselves.

We made cameras! These were great, we put tiny pieces of paper in a back pocket, then you draw what you see. Afton said that it was better than the real camera because you picture is printed right away.

Afton all bundled up!

So other than the usual day to day things and some extra kids, we haven't been up to a whole lot. We enjoyed going to a live nativity, the Festival of Trees and we look forward to going to see Christmas lights and Santa's Reindeer.

Got Lecithin?

2011-12-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of my last pregnancy I could not walk, my hips and pelvis were so lose I cried if I had to climb into bed. I asked my midwife and she said there was nothing I could do. So I begged to be induce, luckily he came on his own. But I have been dreading the thought of that ever happening again.
So when I came across this article about the benefits of lecithin in your diet and it's ability to keep your pregnancy bones together, I see a glimmer of hope.

"In my midwifery training, we were taught that Lecithin works great for pelvic/hip pain caused by loose ligaments in the pelvis. It doesn’t effect the pelvis’ ability to move and expand during labour, but does help ‘keep things together’ and thus avoiding the pain during pregnancy. [You can also increase B12 and folate supplements, which support methylation and increases natural lecithin levels.]" (source)

"... go to the health food store and get LECITHIN capsules. They are simply a component of the fats we eat every day, but they are very effective for joint and ligament pain of late pregnancy. Start with one a day and increase to three a day if needed. They are completely safe and may allow you to enjoy these last weeks in comfort." source
So what are the food sources:

"Lecithin is a special kind of fat called a phospholipid, which contains the nutrient choline." source

Egg Yolks

Liver

Cauliflowe

Wheat Germ

Soybeans

Milk

and added to

ice cream, chocolate, margarine and

is often used as an emulsifier in processed foods

I have a whole bottle of soy lecithin in my cupboard that I had used randomly one time, if I had know this a year ago it would have been great.

The Potamus turns One

2011-12-04T22:01:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Ethan-Potamus! We love you so much!
Some of the great things about you are; your Donald Duck noises, your funny laugh, that you can walk everywhere, throw and chase balls, go up and down the stairs, your most consitent word is Mama, but I think you say Ball and Dad.

Daddy made you a dinosaur cake!

You sure loved eating your Cake tonight you kept eating and eating and eating!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Christmas FHE

2011-12-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

* I posted this last year but this is a great Christmas time Family Activity *

I used this little lesson in teaching my nine-year olds at church last year. This year we have been doing it at home. Wish I could tell you where I got it (then maybe I wouldn't have had to re-type it). The whole lesson takes around 20 minutes and is a mixture of scriptures and hymns relating to Christs Birth. I purposely did not include the verses of scripture as type written; I feel it is important that we read from the scriptures and that our children see us reading from the scriptures.

Christmas Family Home Evening

Materials Needed:

Bible

LDS Hymn Book

Prayer

Sing: Oh, Come All Ye Faithful, #202, Verses 1 and 2

“202: Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 202

Majestically

1. Oh, come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant!
Oh, come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold him,
Born the King of angels;

[Chorus]
Oh, come, let us adore him;
Oh, come, let us adore him;
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ, the Lord.

2. Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation;
Sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above!
Glory to God,
Glory in the highest;

Read: Luke 2:1-7
Sing: O Little Town of Bethlehem, #208, verse 1

“208: O Little Town of Bethlehem,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 208

Peacefully

1. O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

Read: Luke 2: 8-14
Sing: Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains, #212, Verse 1

“212: Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 212

Joyfully

1. Far, far away on Judea’s plains,
Shepherds of old heard the joyous strains:

[Chorus]
Glory to God, Glory to God,
Glory to God in the highest;
Peace on earth, goodwill to men;
Peace on earth, goodwill to men!

Read: Luke 2: 15-20
Sing: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, #209, verse 1

“209: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 209

Vigorously

1. Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations, rise;
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem!

[Chorus]
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!

Read: "The Wise Men did not come the night Jesus was born as the shepherds did. They saw the star in the East and traveled far to see him. They arrived in Palestine from the East sometime later, perhaps even months later.
There is no account that tells just how many Wise Men came to worship the Savior. There may have been three; there may have been seven; there may have been ten. But how many came is not so important. What is important is that they were wise men who came to present their gifts and worship this wondrous child. WE today should remember that wise men still seek him."
Sing: With Wondering Awe, #210, verse 1 and 2

“210: With Wondering Awe,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 210

Brightly

1. With wond’ring awe the wise men saw
The star in heaven springing,
And with delight, in peaceful night,
They heard the angels singing:

[Chorus]
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to his name!

2. By light of star they traveled far
To seek the lowly manger,
A humble bed wherein was laid
The wondrous little Stranger.

Read: Matthew 2:1-11
Sing: Joy to the World, #201, verse 1 and 2

“201: Joy to the World,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 201

Jubilantly

1. Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints, and Saints and angels sing.

2. Rejoice! Rejoice when Jesus reigns,
And Saints their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

Bear Testimonies of Christ's Birth and the Atonement
Sing: Silent Night, #204, All verses

“204: Silent Night,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 204

Peacefully

1. Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace;
Sleep in heavenly peace.

2. Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight!
Glories stream from heaven afar;
Heav’nly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior, is born!
Christ, the Savior, is born!

3. Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth;
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
Prayer

Fires of Faith

2011-11-28T21:31:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder how the English Translation of the Bible came to be? Why is it called the King James Bible? (hint: the title page says "authorized"). How do the Pilgrims fit into this?
I would highly recommend all Christians to watch these videos. They are well done and quite informative.
It is part of a 3 part story, about 3 hours long in total.

Here's the trailer: Go to BYUTV to watch the full episodes.

DIY Cardigan

2011-11-28T13:31:00.001-07:00

"Gratitude turns what we have into Enough"

I wanted a new cardigan, but I didn't want to spend the $20 or $40 for one. So I made one from a shirt I wasn't wearing anymore. Super simple and I think it's pretty cute.

Step 1: Pick out a shirt. The one I picked was great because it was pretty heavy duty (Lands End) and had a round neck (as opposed to a T-Shirt neck)

Step 2: Lay it out on a flat surface and cut the front (top-layer) in half.
Step 3: Fold in the sides about a half inch and stitch closed. (most T-shirts don't fray so you don't have to double it)

Step 4: Embellish! (I used flowers and buttons from a pair of slippers I was about to throw away.

I love this! Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or do without!

Childbirth

2011-11-26T21:39:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted about childbirth in a while... I guess there's not much to talk about. The less intervention in childbirth the lower the complication risk.
I was reading online news today and I came across two interesting news articles.

1. Study "Low Risk Births Don't Need a Hospital"

"A new study in England shows little difference in complications among the babies of women with low-risk pregnancies who delivered in hospitals versus those who gave birth with midwives at home or in birthing centers.

Based on the findings, researchers said women with uncomplicated pregnancies in England should be able to choose where they want to give birth — and one expert said about half of all pregnant women here could potentially safely give birth outside a hospital."

"There didn't appear to be a difference for the infants' health based on where the mothers planned to give birth.

But researchers found a higher risk for first-time mothers planning a home birth. Among those women, there were 9.3 adverse events per 1,000 births, including babies with brain damage due to labor problems and stillbirth. That compared to 5.3 adverse events per 1,000 births for those planning a hospital birth."

2. Study "Umbilical Cord Should Not be Cut for [atleast] Three Minutes

"The babies whose umbilical clamping was delayed benefited from higher iron levels at four months.

For every 20 babies whose cords are clamped three minutes or more after birth, one case of iron deficiency would be prevented. There also were fewer cases of neonatal anemia in those with delayed clamping.

There were no adverse health effects from delayed clamping"

Waiting until the cord has stopped pulsing is such a simple thing; here are a few of the health benefits;
"... the umbilical cord sends oxygen-rich blood to the lungs until breathing establishes. So as long as the cord is unclamped, the average transfusion to the newborn is equivalent to 21% of the neonate's final blood volume and three quarters of the transfusion occurs in the first minute after birth. For babies born at term, the main effect of this large autotransfusion is to increase their iron status. This may be lifesaving in areas where anaemia is endemic." source

A few things to share

2011-11-11T13:45:00.001-07:00

I loved this:

MEMORIZIN' MO

Mo memorized the dictionary

But just can't seem to find a job

Or anyone who wants to marry

Someone who memorized the dictionary.

-Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic pg. 27

I Love America, Volume I:

This 200 page spiral bound book comes with a music Cd and a printables Cd and is full of lessons about our Country for each month. There are about 2-5 lessons for each month of the school year. We are learning about the Flag, Columbus, Thanksgiving, George Washington, Being an American, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Pocahontas. You can go HERE to watch a short video about the book and to purchase it. I have been pleasantly surprised by how well each of my kids like the lessons. We have all really learned a lot about our country

Joy School:

As our house is full of kids these days (a kindergartener, 3 preschoolers and 3 babies)... we've needed something to keep us entertained so we've adapted Joy School as part of our morning learning time. They are short character building lessons intermingled with songs and simple activities. I don't follow the lessons exactly, but we do all of the flannel board stories, all of the songs and some of the crafts. The program can seem pretty expensive at first; but it does come with all lesson plans, music cd's, printables etc, plus once you buy it you never have to buy it again and you can use it for all of your children. You can view sample lesson plans HERE.

Khan Academy, A Free World Class Education for Anyone Anywhere

My Dad introduced this to me. It is a site filled with over 2700 short videos explaining topics from elementary math to biology, chemistry, history and so much more. It started a few years ago when a man wrote online math lessons for his nephew. After the videos you can practice the lessons and keep track of your learning. The first few lessons (that's all we watched) go right along with the Horizons K math book (lessons 80ish).
Now thanks to some money from Bill Gates the site has grown and now you can learn all sorts of things. My kids really enjoy watching the simple chalkboard videos that reinforce what they are learning from their school books.Go HERE for the full list of lessons.

Nurture Shock:

Rich and I are reading this book together, and even though we are only on chapter 2 we have learned a lot. We've discussed praise; praise kids for effort, not just saying "you are so smart"... and the value of sleep and its positive effect on IQ and performance. Can't wait to write more.

Hands Full and Loving It...

2011-11-10T07:44:00.001-07:00

My friend Christina writes about her family over at Hands Full and Loving It.... , I think she's the most mature and insightful 33 year old mother to 8 (soon to be 9) that I have ever met. She not only blogs about the adventures of her cute family (Daddy Trips), running a household, running her first marathon, but she also manages to write inspiring posts that motivate and uplift.

Here are some tidbits of her most recent post: (Go HERE to read the full post)

"I am thankful that this is what I've chosen. I've freely chosen to make sacrifices in other areas of my life so I can bear and nurture my children. I've chosen to allow this child to enter our lives, knowing (probably better than most women!) just how uncomfortable, exhausting and inconvenient it would be. I've done so with faith that the blessings of a happy family and a posterity who love each other and try to do good in the world will be worth all I can give it. A family is a long-term investment. It takes patience and faith to daily fill its needs, with hope that the future will be rich. It's like regularly placing money into a savings account. It takes discipline to give up the things you want and desire now in order to put that money aside and especially in the early years, that account seems to grow agonizingly slow. But because of compounding interest, over time, it will grow into something amazingly abundant."

Happy Birthday Christina!

Also in her spare time, she runs a mothers guild and one of these days I'll start going again.

Also, a side note, we are excited to start reading this book aloud today.

You can read it on the computer for free, download it to your Kindle for $2.99.

I Just AM

2011-11-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a quick ~~11 hour~~ drive to San Diego with four kids and no husband. We got to spend 5 days hanging out with family and just relax.
The drive was actually quite pleasant thanks to the Secret Seven and we had a great time visiting with my parents and sisters, brother-in-laws and nieces and nephews. My Mom kept saying "I don't know how you did such a long trip with all those kids?" Well, we just did it, and I am nothing amazing, I just Am.

Our trip was too short. We had a great day at the beach, so warm and wonderful. Ben and Afton loved the water and Ethan and Mei loved the sand.

Funny story- I let Ethan just crawl around, play in the sand and chew on sticks and rocks. He thought it was great. So my Mom, my sister and I are sitting there watching the kids play and a woman walks by (you know the kind that has never had their own children) and informs us that the baby is eating a rock. I said "I know, it's fine." and she proceeds to tell me that there is "sand on the rock and he's eating it." I smile and say, "it's okay". I got the WORST look ever, my Mom and sister and I look at each other and kind of laugh, all thinking that she obviously has no children of her own.

What makes this even Funnier is that the Exact same scenario played out exactly 2 years ago when Ben was a baby. So yes, call in CPS, I let my babies play in sand and chew on ~~large~~ rocks.

(Just in case your wondering, 4 little girls do fit on one bench)

Most of the trip was spent at Grandpa and Grandmas house just letting the cousins play and Ethan terrorize the house. (My Mom's house has no good way to contain him and I kept losing him, his favorite place was Grandmas shower with the pebbles on the floor).

Afton, Mei, Ben, Sadie and Morgan spent hours coloring, playing dress-up and of course staying up late to play Just Dance on the Wii.

We also attended cousin Jack's birthday party at a nice park. I hardly took any pictures, but we had a great time enjoying each others company.
My Mom and I watched 17 Miracles, it was excellent. I would highly recommend it.

After a road trip like that I LOVE MY BIG VAN!! I love being able to walk around inside, I love not having to 'pack', I love that everyone has their own space (room enough for their carseat and their dolls). I love that I can't really hear them so they figure out they should just talk to each other.
----------------
I've heard lots of sad news today and I am just reminded how wonderful families are. I am grateful for the knowledge of Eternal Families.

Homeschooling by the Numbers

2011-11-09T15:51:00.002-07:00

I found a free e-book today on homeschooling over at The Homeschool Classroom Facebook page. (If you go on their facebook page you can download it for free)

Here are a few of my notes (these are not my words)

"Say NO to comparing your children to their peers. If someone compared you to your peers, how would that look? It seems kind of silly doesn’t it? Adults are very different from each other and that’s OK! That’s not only OK, it’s awesome, because that means when we work together we can bless each other’s lives with the talents we’ve received. Enjoy the unique qualities and abilities of your children. See them for the blessing they are."

"I completely realize that “Stay home and get some work done!” is the complete opposite of “Leave your house and embrace the flexibility of homeschooling!” At the same time, though, the two ideas definitely complement each other."

Realize that your house is going to look as if people live there because they really do.What is my point? If your children aren’t home, your house won’t get nearly as messy!!! It stands to reason, then, if your children ARE home ALL DAY, the messes will pile up around you.
Now, I try to keep my house clean, tidy, and organized but I long ago accepted the fact that my house was not going to look as if nobody was here all day long. We eat in our kitchen three (or more) times a day. We study in the living room. We do projects in the basement. WE LIVE HERE. Our house reflects the fact that we really do live here.

We learn to interact with ALL ages. I have to admit that I that I have never once been concerned about socialization. I want my children be able to socialize with both young and old equally well. When we’re in the “real world”, we’re never separated strictly by age. You don’t find a corporation with employees assigned to work on the 3rd floor because that’s where all the other 30-year-olds work.

We have a great grasp of the workings of “real life” because we’re involved in it every day. My children know what the termite inspector does when he comes to check the house each year. They help with grocery lists and grocery shopping. They've sat in the long line at the tag office when it’s time for a new car tag, and they know how the process works. They have opened a bank account and know how to make deposits and withdrawals. “Real life” things will not be hard for them when they begins to do them on their own.

I choose either breakfast or lunch to cook, and serve something simple and cold for the other meal. So if I‟m cooking a hot lunch, we‟ll have cereal & a piece of fruit for breakfast. If I‟m cooking a hot breakfast, we‟ll have a cold sandwich for lunch.

homeschooling is 30%academics and 70% relationships
Skip the Strict Scheduling - I started the year with a color-coded spreadsheet with subjects filled in down to the minute. Yeah, that lasted about a week. A miserable, angst-filled week of torture. Eventually, I learned to aim for key points in the day (start school at 9, lunch at 12, etc.) and the week (library on Thursdays, Park on Wednesdays, etc.), and I played fast and loose with the rest. It might take thirty minutes for lessons one day and two hours the next day. That’s fine. It feels much more comfortable to flow with a generalized rhythm each day and each week than to try (and usually fail) to stick to some super strict schedule.
Follow the Seasons - Those daily and weekly rhythms that worked for us so well in the winter completely fell apart in the spring. I’ve since learned to take my cue from nature and be willing to change the way our homeschooling looks with the seasons. In the fall, we’re refreshed and excited, so we have lots of energy (and patience) for book work. The winter calls for long hours of reading, snuggling, staying home with a much slower pace. Spring, of course, calls for nature studies, gardening, and field trips. I try to keep this in mind and adjust our schedules as well as my lesson plans to accommodate these patterns.

My homeschool doesn’t have to look like a public school classroom, my best friend’s homeschool or my favorite blogger’s homeschool.
It’s HOMEschool, not homeSCHOOL.
Being flexible is an asset, not a character flaw.
The days may drag by, but the years fly. Enjoy the days
You will doubt yourself. That shows that you’re human, not a failure. Homeschooling is about 30% academics, 70% relationships/character building.God gave you your family for a reason. Do what works for you.
It’s great when school can be fun, but it’s not your job to entertain your kids. Sometimes we have to do things that aren’t fun. That’s life.

I will not second guess every decision I make, fearing that my kids will have no one to blame but me if their life goes terribly awry. Cheers to reckless abandon! Hurrah!

Other things in this great little book:
Recipes for homemade art supplies (finger paints, playdough)
Fun Art Supplies for $1 or less
5 Must Listen to Audio for Boys (Anne of Green Gables, Farmer Boy and the Little House books,
The Four Story Mistake, The Saturdays, and Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright, Jonathan Park Adventures, The Kingdom Series.

Sight Words

2011-11-01T13:54:00.001-06:00

I normally don't advocate teaching a child to read using the sight word approach, but having a child with Apraxia, it just may be the approach we are going with.
I met with Ben's Speech therapist today and we went over his goals from the past 6 months; and yeah Ben, he's just about passed them off. The only goal that isn't perfect yet is that he talks in phrases, which he does, but they are often very choppy. "Mei....and....Afton....come.... back.... to....our ....house... Me... want...to...see... Afton... and ...Mei. ... They ...at... " (he was waiting for the girls to come home from P.E.). So the phrases are there but they lack fluidity. Baby steps, but we are getting there.
Anyways, his therapist suggested that we not teach him to read with phonics because then his choppyness would transfer to his reading, so by teaching him to read "whole" words hopefully he won't be nearly so choppy. The idea is to teach him sight words before he starts to sound words out. So with Afton's phonics instruction in the afternoon we will add sight word instruction to our circle time.
The sight word list that I am most familiar with is called "Dolch Sight Words".

I found a website where I can print the flashcards for free. We are starting with the Pre-Primer List.

Dolch Sight Word Flashcards

Link to the 220 Most Frequently Used Words

Dolch Sight Words

Candy Corn Contest

2011-10-29T09:00:00.002-06:00

My husband recently started a new job. We are very happy about this. It's been a long hard struggle since he graduated from law school 2 1/2 years ago. Now he feels that he is finally on the career path that he wants- a Contracts Negotiator/ In-House Counsel position. Yay Rich!
He also won the candy corn guessing contest! (and he got a $25 gift card to Target).

I think it was a great way to get to know people in the office. We took the kids "trick-or-treating" through the building and everyone kept saying "oh, you are the guy who won, you must be new."

Congratulations!

Science

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

I am not a huge fan of crafts and messy science experiments. I think it's silly to use supplies up only to throw them away and/or buy random supplies for a silly craft project. The favorite "school" activities have all come out of these books.
In comes this great little book:

We actually have Volume I and II (and I just learned there is a III)

We've had supplies on hand for almost every experiment. Household things like cardboard, water, ice cubes, dirt, cups, straws, sugar, dishcloths, foil and bean seeds, just to name a few.

Today we did experiments with Air:

1. fill a glass to the brim, put some cardboard over the top, turn your cup over and the air under the cup holds the cardboard in place and no water spills out.

2. Put a straw into a small ziploc bag, zip up to the straw, blow in and out and see how the air changes. The little fingers thought it was great to see how strong the air was in the bag (you couldn't smoosh it).

We have purchased quite a few Usborne books to use in our curriculum and I have been very pleased with our books- high quality, great pictures and great content. We also really like the Usborne internet linked Encyclopedia. I have found our books on Amazon and at Abe Books for good prices.

What can you do to prepare?

2011-10-27T15:06:00.000-06:00

I thought this was an interesting list from Glenn Beck.

BUY FARM LAND
GROW YOUR OWN FOOD. LIVE NEAR PEOPLE AND BEGIN TO MAKE ALLIANCES OF SKILLS (BARTER) LIVE NEAR FARM LAND
ELECTRONICS FREE
PAPER COPIES OF IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
KNOW WHERE YOUR DEEDS ARE. TAKE THEM IN EMERGENCY
RUSSIAN GANGS IN TROUBLE
COLLEGE/SCHOOL
APPRENTICESHIPS ARE THE FUTURE.
DISCUSS THE VALUE OF SCHOOL FOR WHAT YOU CAN EARN.
DO NOT LOOK FOR LABELS THEY WILL BECOME MEANINGLESS (YALE)
FIND OTHER FORMS OF SCHOOL. ON LINE.
TEACH YOUNG CHILDREN NOW THAT COLLEGE IS NOT A GIVEN
DEMAND MERIT FROM SCHOOL AND STUDENT OR PULL YOUR TIME/ $
EDUCATE YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES. ALWAYS READ.
HAVE A HARD COPY OF IMPORTANT BOOKS AND DOCUMENTS
LEARN OLD AND OR LOST PRACTICES.
MENDING/CANNING/FARMING
LEARN TO FIX AN ENGINE
RE-LEARN READING A MAP
KNOW THE NEWS. LIFE CAN CHANGE QUICKLY.
BE ABLE TO DEFEND YOUR POSITIONS BY KNOWING THE OTHER SIDE
TRADITIONS
PRESERVE WHAT IS IMPORTANT. SHED ALL OTHERS. CONSERVE AND
PRESERVE. RECLAIM AND RESTORE.
MONEY -
GOLD, FOOD, CIGARETTES, LIQUOR, SUGAR, AMMUNITION, GUNS, SEEDS,
SKILLS (BARTER) KNOWLEDGE
HAVE 30 DAYS CASH ON HAND
BUY A HOUSE
STOP ALL EXCESS SPENDING. BUY QUALITY ONLY. FORGET FASHION ONLY
MEASURE TWICE – CUT ONCE. DO NOT WASTE.
CONSIDER A FUEL EFFICIENT – SUV/TRUCK
CONSIDER SOMETHING PRIOR TO 1979 FIX YOURSELF
LOCATION
LIVE NEAR LIKE MINDED PEOPLE. TEXAS, MOUNTAINS OR WHERE GOD STILL PLAYS A ROLE IN REAL LIFE
IF YOU CANNOT MOVE (NO PLACE WILL BE UNTOUCHED) CREATE NETWORK
BUSINESS/WORK
BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE. BE THE ONE EMPLOYEE NO ONE CAN FIRE
SMALL BIZ – BE THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE NO ONE CAN CANCEL
CONSERVE AND PRESERVE
LEARN FROM THE DEPRESSION -
ADVERTISE WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS: CHEVOLET
STAY IN BUSINESS BUT DOWNSIZE AND PRESERVE (ARCH)
HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND CHARITY.

BE GEORGE BAILEY
SPIT YOURSELF OUT OF THE SYSTEM. TURN UPSIDE DOWN NOW
PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR HEART IS
DO BUSINESS IN SYMBIOTIC WAYS – WE NEED EACH OTHER
DO NOT TRY TO PUT OTHERS OUT OF BUSINESS, LET THEM DO IT.
GIMBLES AND MACYS
NEVER BE THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE ROOM
TAKE CARE OF YOUR EMPLOYEES THE BEST YOU CAN.
TAKE LESS AND GIVE MORE
READ FRANKLIN AND WASHINGTON
LIFE
DO NOT PLAN YOUR LIFE AND THEN MOVE. PLAN, LISTEN AND OBEY
PRACTICE AT LEAST FRANKLINS AMERICAN RELIGION
SERVE
HONOR ALL OF YOUR OBLIGATIONS
PRESERVE – FOOD, TIME, MONEY, ENERGY
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN THE BASICS. VALUES/PRINCIPLES
DO WITH LESS NOW. LESS OF A SHOCK IF IT COMES LATER
SERVE/SHARE
JOIN A 9.12 GROUP. LINK ON LINE. PHONE AND LOCATIONS
HAVE A MEETING PLACE ESTABLISHED FOR FAMILY
READ THE BIBLE
HAVE A GUN AND KNOW HOW TO SHOOT IT.
RESOLVE THOSE ISSUES THAT ARE HOLDING YOU BACK
STOP ALL BEHAVIOR THAT DOES NOT EXPAND YOU OR OTHERS INTO GOOD
MAKE AMENDS FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE
FIND PEACE AND GET TO WORK
TEACH CHILDREN WORK ETHIC
TOLERATE NOTHING THAT YOU FEEL IS WRONG BY REMAINING SILENT
LET YOUR CHILDREN SEE YOU STAND
BE HONORABLE IN ALL OF YOUR DEALINGS
UNDERSTAND THAT ANGER IS A PART OF LIFE BUT NEVER FEED IT
THE FIRST LOOK IS NOT A PROBLEM. IT IS THE SECOND LOOK.
NEVER BE THE BEST MAN/WOMAN IN THE ROOM.
BE HAPPY AND OPTIMISTIC. LIFE WILL GO ON. MAKE PLANS FOR THE
FUTURE. GET MARRIED. HAVE CHILDREN.

You can watch clips from the show where this came from HERE.

Definitions for Feelings

2011-10-25T14:46:00.000-06:00

I came across these definitions of some of the more complex feelings. It's simple to define things like Happy, Sad and Angry, but harder to define Ashamed and Sympathetic. I got them from my Joy School books. I thought that they were worth sharing.

Frustrated: The way you feel when you try and try but something just won't work out the way you want it to.

Disappointed: The feeling you have when something doesn't happen the way you expected or hoped it would.

Ashamed: The way you may feel when you have done something you know was not right.

Embarrassed: A way you may feel when you have made a silly mistake.

Jealous: A kind of angry or sad feeling you may have when you wish you had what someone else has.

Proud: The way you feel when you have done something very well, or when someone tells you how well you did.

Frightened: Another way to say "scared".

Lonely: The way you might feel when you are all alone or you have no one to play with.

Sympathetic: The way you feel when someone else is sick or hurt or sad and you feel sorry for them.

Joy: Another word for "happiness".

Handwriting and Spelling Rules

2011-10-24T08:30:00.000-06:00

We (Afton) has just started a new handwriting program. We've been using handwriting worksheets which were fine, but I felt they were lacking specific direct instructions. There are 71 cards starting with "a" and ending with "ough".
"Our method of instruction, The Writing & Spelling Road to Reading & Thinking, begins by teaching manuscript letter formation through dictated instructions (no copying or tracing), together with a sufficient set of sound/letter relationships (the alphabetic principle)."

The idea of the program is that you teach the sounds the letter makes and not the name. You also start by teaching the clock, each of the instructions reference the clock. " 'a' is a short clock letter. Begin at 2 go up to toch the dotted lines around to 10 and 8 and then to set your letter on the baseline...."

The 71 cards are put out by the Riggs Institute. I really like how there are specific instructions to forming the letters, the instructions are always the same.

When I first teach the letter I have her practice with her finger on the clock a few times as I read the instructions to her.

I have noticed a huge improvement and consistency in her handwriting since beginning this program. I teach about a letter a school day and I like how the phonics are included with the writing. It makes me think that I should teach my kids the "ABC's" with letter sounds only.
You can read more HERE
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I copied these spelling rules from their site.

28 Rules For English Spelling

The letter q is always written with u and we say, "kw." The letter u is not a vowel here. (quiet)
/c/ before e, i, or y says, "s" (cent, city, cycle).
/g/ before e, i, or y may say, "j" (gentle, get).
Vowels a, e, o, u usually say, "", "", "", "" at the end of a syllable (belong, protect, futile)
Vowels i and y may say "" at the end of a syllable, but usually say "" (final and my as opposed to Indian and baby) [for spelling]
Vowel y, not i, is used at the end of an English word (for example, my).
There are five kinds of silent final e's. The first rule (as in time) is one of the three ways a vowel says its name.
o-r may say, "er" when w comes before the o-r (for example, works).
We use e-i after c... if we say, ""... and in some exceptions.

Exceptions:
receive, vein, neither, foreign, sovereign, seize, counterfeit, forfeit, leisure, either, weird, heifer, protein, geiger, height, sleight, feisty, stein, seismograph, poltergeist, kaleidoscope
s-h is used at the beginning of a word, at the end of a syllable but not at the beginning of any syllable after the first one, except for the ending, "ship." (shut, fish, nation)
t-i, s-i and c-i are used to say "sh" at the beginning of any syllable after the first one. c-h says, "sh" in a word of French origin. (nation, session, special, chic)
s-i is used to say, "sh" when the syllable before it ends in s (session) and when the base word has an s where the word changes. (tense/tension)
Only s-i can say, "zh" except for t-i in "equation." (vision)
When a one-syllable word ends with one short vowel and one consonant, double the final consonant before adding a vowel suffix. (hop, hopping/hopped)
When a two-syllable word ends with a vowel and a consonant, double the final consonant when adding a vowel suffix, if the accent is on the last syllable. (admit, admitted, admitting)
Silent final e words are written without the e when adding an ending beginning with a vowel. (have, having)
We often double l, f, s, after a single vowel, at the end of a one-syllable word. (full, puff, pass)
Base words do not end with the letter a saying, "" except for the article a; a-y is used most often. (may, pay, say)
Vowels i and o may say, "" and "" when followed by two consonants. (find, bold - gift, bond)
s never follows x. (box, boxes)
All is written with one l when added to another syllable.(almost, also)
Till and full added to another syllable are written with one l. (until, fulfill)
3-letter "j" (dge) may be used after a single vowel which says, "" - "" - "" - "" - "" (badge,edge,ridge,lodge,fudge)
When adding an ending to a word that ends with y, that has a sound alone, change the y to i unless the ending is i-n-g. (fry,fried - cry,crying)
2-letter "k" (ck) may be used only after a single vowel which says, "" - "" - "" - "" - "" (pack,peck,pick,pock,puck)
The letter z, never s is used to say, "z" at the beginning of a base word. (zero, zipper)
The letters e-d say, "d" and "t" as the past tense ending of any base word which does not end in the sound, "d" or "t." When e-d says "ed" after words ending with "d" or "t," they form another syllable. (loved, wrapped) (word,word ed-part,parted)
Double consonants within words of more than one syllable should both be sounded for spelling. (lit tle, but ton)

Pronouncing Spelling Rules:

Pronounce all sounds of letters written with virgules /o/. Pronounce the names of letters written alone (x) or with dashes between (s-i). Pronounce the sound of all letters written with quotations and dictionary markings as shown ("sh" "" "er"). Word examples in parentheses are not taught as part of the rule but are shown as illustrations only. The rules are most effectively taught when the phonograms are applied, sound by sound, in written dictated spelling lessons - not by rote memorization. Students learn the process of analysis and thinking.

Emptying the Camera

2011-10-22T21:26:00.000-06:00

I'm just cleaning out the camera and here's what I've found:

The kids have had "mud boots" for awhile now and Rich and I have really wanted some too. Thank you Amazon!

Look at how cute mine are!

The girls sharing a bed- it was all fun until Afton fell out at 4am.

We made spider hats.

A nice warm day at the park.

Links to Love

2011-10-22T10:59:00.002-06:00

Some things I've found that I need to keep track of.

Nicole sent me a link to Amazon where I can get all of the McGuffy Readers on my Kindle, for FREE. Plus I downloaded a ton of other things; poetry for little ones, bedtime stories, spelling lists... go HERE. If you scroll through all the "Customers who bought this item also bought" that's where you can find 17 pages of other great free books.

List of Historical Movies in chronological order, thank you Nici. go HERE for the Huge List!

A Perfect Birth Story

Economic Wisdom for challenging times:

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom.

What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that, my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.

You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.
~Dr. Adrian P. Rogers, three-time president of the Southern Baptist Convention" HERE

Tongue Twisters plus a whole lot more that I haven't even had time to look at yet. HERE The importance of tongue twisters;

"Why tongue twisters? Because it helps the child to get better at articulating words quickly and clearly. Tongue twisters should be done repeatedly and as quickly as possible without mistake" here

Memorization

2011-10-21T21:13:00.001-06:00

I have posted before about our memorization box and about the benefits of memorization for young minds. I have been struggling with what to add to our box besides scriptures. I'd like to add poetry and simple phrases but am not sure where to find them. Is there like a book of quotes for young people?
Here are a few my neighbor gave me from her son's homework.

Starting With Me by Rosalie Slater

God made me special

Like no one else you see.

God made me a witness

to His diversity.

Clouds by Christina Rosetti

White sheep, white sheep,

On a blue hill

When the wind stops

You all stand still.

When the wind blows

You walk away slow.

White sheep, white sheep,

Where do you go?

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands,

Serve the Lord with gladness:

Come before His presence with singing.

Know ye that the Lord He is God:

It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise:

Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting;

And his truth endureth to all generations.

I'm a Child of Royal Birth by Anna Johnson

I'm a child of royal birth.

My Father is king of heaven and earth.

My spirit was born in the courts on high;

A child beloved, a princess (prince) am I.

The First Article of Faith

"We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son,

Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."

Printable Math Charts

2011-10-18T09:45:00.000-06:00

Found some sites today where I can print things such as a hundred number chart. One site is interactive and you can use colored dots for skip counting.

Interactive and Printable numbers to 100

Create your own number charts and lists

Motivation

2011-10-17T10:02:00.000-06:00

I have two beds in my garage, they were my Moms as a little girl and then my sisters and I shared them and now they have been passed onto my girls. After being stored up in the rafters for a number of years they are definitely showing signs of wear and are no longer a nice rustic.
I keep going back and forth- should I paint them, shall I refinish them, would it be cheaper to scrap the idea and buy cheap white bunkbeds.... hmmmm
But after seeing this photo today

Image from HERE

I know that painting them will make them beautiful. I don't care much for the decor of the room, but the beds are identical to what I have in my garage (minus the TLC and white paint).

I also love these ideas of built in bunk beds. This first one is my favorite. For more bunkbed rooms you can go HERE.

Image from HERE

Children are Quite Good at Socializing Themselves

2011-10-16T15:40:00.001-06:00

When ~~family~~ people hear that we homeschool- everyone says, "What about Socialization?"
Our children have many social outlets- church, play meet-ups and family get togethers'. Our children interact often with other children in formal social settings. I am not worried a bit.

The Reading Bug

2011-10-14T14:30:00.001-06:00

Look who's caught the reading bug!

I am realizing that learning to read is a lot like potty training. You give them the right tools and then one day it becomes their idea and then it just clicks. You can't force it, but it is so fun when it comes.

For a few years now I have taught Afton her letter sounds, many of the blends, read a ton to her... and filled her little mind with all the pre-reading skills. Then about 6 months ago I started doing formal reading and that was awful, we both hated it, but a few of those lessons added to the tool box. And now today she is grabbing books off the shelf to read to her siblings and every day her skills are improving. She kind of likes the BOB books but she really likes the "I Can Read Book" from Sonlight.

The reading thing really is like potty training. A few weeks ago I experienced a disastrous attempt to potty train Ben (he's 2 1/2), he didn't get it all. So I've spent the past few weeks talking more and more about the process and then today I heard him teaching his baby. Unfortunately his baby pooped on the carpet... Ben said "Oh No, Ba-by"... so I think he is getting a little more warmed up to the idea of the potty.

There is a homeschool philosophy out their that is about "Inspire Not Require", while some of the ideals are wonderful... I am definitely and "Inspire AND Require" kind of Mom. I think all the cleaning I have been trying hard to keep up on is inspiring my children to be cleaner- Afton did the breakfast dishes today all on her own and Mei and Ben both made their beds.

Our Carnivore

2011-10-13T13:25:00.001-06:00

We went to the Fair a month or so ago and after walking through rows and rows of ~~stinky~~ farm animals we had this conversation.

Mom: "Why would you want to eat an animal? You saw those cows at the state fair. Do you think we should have bought a cow, cut it up and eat it?"

Afton: " NO! You have to cook it first!"

I told her she can eat all the "cow" she wants when we are with Grandpa.

Just to clarify: We eat meat rarely, we only buy it about 4 times a year on special occasions (birthdays, promotion) and we do eat meat if we are out. But we generally refrain and this works for us. Afton ate meat often as a toddler and developed a taste for it, where as my other three who haven't had it much, they like it, but don't love it.

And... Baby Makes 5

2011-10-11T22:14:00.001-06:00

Nope, we aren't pregnant, but I have been doing a lot of childcare lately. I've been watching a friends baby full-time. Lily is 14 months old and she fits right in, which is good since we spend all day Monday-Friday with her. She even has dark blond hair and big blue eyes, so matches the rest of them.
Starting in November I am going to take on a few more (part-time) so life is going to get really busy.

The past few months I have gotten so much better at managing my time and am getting so much more done. I truly believe that the Lord strengthens you when you need it. Everyone keeps saying, "I don't know how you do it.. you have so many little kids.... I don't know how you watch other peoples kids.... I don't know how you...." Well, I don't really know either, except I am so blessed to have the ability to jsut do the things that need to get done around here.

So all my blogging time has been sucked up with five little kids and trying to do speech therapy, kindergarten, preschool lessons and you know the regular "mom" stuff like laundry and cooking.
I thought that having an extra baby would be a ton more extra work but it's really been okay, we've even ventured out of the house to the library and the zoo and tomorrow the pumpkin patch.

The kids are growing up so fast; every time I look at Afton I can't get over how grown up she looks, her mannerisms, her vocabulary.
Afton is our resident Carnivore, she says the funniest things. Tonight Rich asked her what kind of dinosaur she would be and she promptly replied, "A T-Rex, because they are carnivores and then I could eat all the other dinosaurs." At meals she always eats her least favorite food first and saves her favorite for last, I thought it great that she thought of that all on her own.

Mei and I went on an outing to the library last night, and she is a funny girl. She is really quite shy in public. She is really into reading, and is pretty good at using pictures to figure out what the story is about. She really likes "A Fish Out of Water". I love when she comes up to me with her blankie and says "I need Holded".

Ethan has been talking for a few months now and that is so fun. The other day I was downstairs and I heard this laughing followed by a "ma ma ma" and there was Ethan so proud of himself or crawling up the stairs and discovering the hallway rails. I love hearing "mama" from such a sweet little boy (even if it is loudly during sacrament meeting). Tonight he was saying "dada" when Rich was outside harvesting our sunflower seeds. I have seen him stand alone and take a few steps, but I will be surprised if he walks before a year, he's pretty cautious.
---------------------------------------------------

A few things I've found:

How to Harvest Sunflowers

Interesting Videos on Population

5 Minute Basil Pesto

2011-10-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

This dairy-free version of Pesto is fabulous, it's one of the few recipes I'll make for my non-vegan guests. We've had such an abundance of Basil that we've been making a lot of this simple Pesto. It makes about 4 cups, so we use one or two for dinner and freeze the rest of the sauce for later.

Fresh Basil Pesto

4-5 Cups fresh basil leaves

3 TB Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

1/3 cup Rice Milk (I often use more)

4-6 Garlic Cloves

3/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds

2/3 Cup Walnuts

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Puree in the blender. Serve on Pasta or Bread. Freeze unused portion.

Notes: You can freeze it a few different ways; pour a cup in a Ziploc bag, freeze in a jar, freeze in ice cube trays and then later transfer to a bag.

A Quick Get Away

2011-10-03T21:00:00.001-06:00

This weekend we took the opportunity to go up to Oxford Idaho and visit the old Homestead (where Rich's Grandpa Fisher was raised). It was so beautiful. It was so fun to go to this small little house situated on 5 or so acres of green grass out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a few farms and a whole lot of rolling hills and yellow grasses. I wish I had taken more pictures of the property. It was so fun to let the kids jsut go, they could run and play and just gallivant around as little kids.

On Saturday evening we went on a short little walk to look at old farmhouses and we saw goats and chickens. When we went by a small dairy we met the farmer and he invited the kids to go feed the newborn calves.

There were about 45 calves each in indivdual pens. You had to go bring each one a 1/2 gallon bottle of fresh milk and then when they finished you walked back through and gathered up the empty bottles.

I know you can't tell from the pictures, but Afton loved it. She thought it was so much fun.

Afton enjoyed the calves so much she asked if she could come feed them again, so we went out there at 8am the next morning and fed them all again. Some of the calves were a few days old and some a few weeks. They were very cute.

The farmer nearly fell over when he found out we don't drink cows milk or eat beef.

More of the kids playing:

Mei and Ben on the swings.

Daddy and Afton enjoying the big swings.

Ben's "car", I love the corduroy circle pillows.

Ethan, he slept in the house with Moma while the rest of us slept outside in the tent.

It was a little cold at night so I'm glad I put double jammies on everyone. Rich hardly slept at all, the coyotes were howling all night and they sounded really close.

Ben, Afton and Mei enjoying the porch swing.

Mei, just collecting stuff.

Mei on the rope swing.

Afton enjoying the rope swing, she liked how she could climb up all on her own.

A picture of me so I can say I was there too.

The kids really enjoyed playing in the sand box, running through the grass, playing with sticks and swinging. It was great to hear the history of the place. It made me never want to leave. Sometimes I would love to live on a little homestead out in the middle of nowhere Idaho.

We had a wonderful weekend. My only regret is that we didn't listen to enough conference. So grateful for the internet and we can watch it all this week.

Finishing up our Garden

2011-10-03T20:22:00.000-06:00

(Our Potato Harvest)

As our first garden season is wrapping up we went out tonight and collected more of our bounty. As we were digging up potatoes (I think we got about 10-15 lbs) we commented on how we could easily just go buy a large bag of potatoes for $5, BUT they wouldn't be ours.

(about our 4th Basil Harvest, I've been freezing Pesto and also dehydrating some)

It has been so much fun to have organic produce straight from our yard. We have an idea of what we want to do next year and a little better idea of where we want to plant things.

(a little of This and That; cucumbers, potatoes, oregano, beans)

Looking ahead:
Close to the house:
              Culinary Herbs (oregano, basil, parsley, cilantro)
               Lettuces and Spinaches
               Peppers (if there is room)

Along the East fence line:
              3 Sisters; corn, squash and beans

Down below:
              Build a deep box for (purple, golden, red) potatoes, fill it partially with soil and then as they grow add more dirt
              6 cucumber plants
              40 tomatoes (this year we did 16)
              Onions
              Peas
Peppers
              Greens; cabbage, kale, bok choy, fancy lettuces (plant more than we can eat and freeze for smoothies)
Beets
              Eggplant (didn't grow this year, so we'll try again)

Along the West fence line:
               Pumpkins, wildflowers, sunflowers

(Purple Beans; so easy to harvest and they turn green when you cook them)

We had just run of the mill garden mix from the local landscape supply, nothing fancy and I think our garden did alright for the poor soil and lack of fertilizer. When we dug the potatoes it was apparent that the soil had improved over the season. So I'm assuming the dirt will get better every year.

(the reds came from 'seed potatoes' and the russets were planted from some rotting ones in the pantry)

Any more ideas on what to plant?
How should we clean up our garden? Do we pull all the plants out?
When and What should we add to our soil to prepare for next year?
Do all the "herbs" come back?

Skin Brushing

2011-09-30T09:15:00.000-06:00

I have heard about Skin Brushing for a few years, I think Dr. Cobb told me about it... anyways I finally started reading up on it and have started.
I found this on You Tube:

I also found this simple article about the benefits: HOW and WHY
"Your skin is your largest elimination organ. It releases a pound of waste each day and will be the first organ to show symptoms of imbalance or toxicity. The skin is often called the 3rd kidney because it eliminates a quarter of the toxins from the body (the lungs are the 2nd kidney). If your skin cannot efficiently release toxins, you may experience rashes, acne, hives, itchiness, body odor, or even eczema and psoriasis. Dead skin cells, excreted wastes and external pollution (including dirt and skin care products) can build up and clog your pores. Clogged pores inhibit your skin from effectively releasing toxins."
Benefits:

TIGHTENS Skin.

HELPS Digestion.

REMOVES Cellulite.

STIMULATES Circulation.

INCREASES Cell Renewal.

CLEANS Lymphatic System.

REMOVES Dead Skin Layers.

STRENGTHENS Immune System.

IMPROVES Exchange between Cells.

STIMULATES the Glands, thus helping ALL of the
Body Systems to perform at PEAK EFFICIENCY!

I was able to find a brush on Amazon for around $6. THE ONE I BOUGHT

How to Make A Green Smoothie

2011-09-19T09:00:00.002-06:00

Here's How I make a green smoothie. Rich and I have made it a goal to drink a quart of green smoothie (each) everyday. We've been doing pretty good and I really look forward to them now. Also, I've noticed since we increased our consumption of raw fruits and veggies (atleast double the past month) I am enjoying the tastes of the green so much more.
Anyways, here's my directions. As you can tell I don't have a fancy blender, one day maybe, but for now this blender works great.

Step One: Put two cups of water in blender. Then fill the rest of the blender with two or more different greens. I use spinach, collard greens, Chard and Kale. (I don't like the lettuces like romaine or cabbage).

Step 2: Blend it! I blend it for about a minute on the highest speed to get the greens chopped up really fine.

Step Three: Add in the fruit. I always add one or two frozen bananas and then whatever assorted berries I have. Today I added in 12-15 frozen strawberries, sometimes I use the mixed berries from Costco. (a note about strawberries, if you buy fresh you can freeze them with the stems on as more greens for your smoothie)

Step Four: Blend until smooth. Sometimes I have to stop and stir a bit and/or add more water to get it to blend.

Step Five: Drink up! Call me silly, but I measure mine out into two 2 cup jars and then whatever is left over in the blender I let the kids have. so between Rich and I's smoothies the kids have plenty of leftovers or I make more. I drink mine in two parts. Half for breakfast (around 9 or 10am) and the second half for lunch around noon. Sometimes I am still hungry but most of the time this fills me up great. Rich likes to drink his all at once.

Enjoy! There are a ton of recipes to be found online, this one is just the basic one.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes from GREEN SMOOTHIE GIRL, you can read more about Robyn HERE

A few weeks ago I got to go and hear Robyn speak, she was great.

She started by talking about the history of her family (back through her grandmother) and different health problems, particularly her son when he was a baby. In conclusion of the life story and her list of ailments (tired, overweight, poor eyesight, insomnia, migraines, 3 autoimmune diseases, hair loss) and seeing a host of medical doctors she was turned on to nutrition. "I didn't realize nutrition could be my answer- because it seems so lightweight."

60-80% Raw and 95% plant based Diet

She talked about the learning curve of changing to a healthy diet: be patient, write out your steps to change. Raw plant based diet can correct degenerative diseases.

Green smoothie drinkers: 65% of people crave junk food less.

2 Ways to afford Green Smoothies
1. Grow a big Garden
          2. Own a big freezer (buy fruit at Costco, freeze greens that you buy on sale or grow)
1 Qt. of Green Smoothie- $2.50, 15 servings of raw plant food in 1 qt.

She touched on mood disorders; anxiety and depression. Add in Omega 3 fatty acids. Sprouted Flax seeds, the vitamins go up 200-500%.
1-2Tb Flax oil has 700x Lignens, high in protein and high in fiber

Poll of people who started drinking 1 qt of green smoothies:
                - Better Digestion
                - Weight Loss
                - More Energy
95.4% said it noticabley improved their health or quality of life
85% had more energy
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I've been going through Robins 12 step program and it is really good. If you feel like you want to improve your diet and don't know where to begin her 12-step program is really good.

Thoughts on a Saturday Evening

2011-09-17T22:11:00.001-06:00

(Afton after enjoying some Collard Mashed Potatoes)

I've got a lot on my mind these days, perhaps that's why I haven't posted in a while.
Where to start...
Right now as we are going through the IEP process with Ben I have so many thoughts. Being on the "Mom" side of the table is a lot different than being on the "teacher" side of the table. As a Mom I want to scream at 'them' and say "He is my baby! He is so much more intelligent than you give him credit for. Just because he can't talk doesn't mean he's stupid. Just because his speech may (or not be)below the 7th percentile, he still needs speech services... and again, this is my baby you are talking about. He is not a number, he's not just any student, He's MINE!"

I am nervous to transition from the early intervention program into the public school system. He's my baby and I love him and I want everyone else to love him just as much as me, but I know that's not going to happen. The good news is that's he talking... there is nothing that can bring tears to my eyes quicker than hearing my little boy say the dinner prayer or say "Goo.... Nigh.... Mom... my" or make car noises as he drives the couch. I love him so much!

Ethan is 9 months old now. He's growing up so fast, but he still loves his mama. I wear him so much in the K'tan that whenever we are out he hates the stroller or the shopping cart or the wagon. In some ways that makes me feel good that the little guy likes me, but on the other hand carrying around a 20lb is a little much.

He crawls around and pulls himself up on everything. I hope he walks soon because crawling babies are so much messier than walking ones.

(Ben driving the girls and their kids around in the car. Only Dads are allowed to drive so Ben is the designated driver. Mei is behind Ben with Baby Kate in the carseat and Afton and Honey are in the back. Tonight they were going to the fair.)

Every night when I put the girls to bed I get the privilege of reading to them. I love that time of day. Afton snuggles up as close as she can get and Mei climbs around trying so hard to sit still, but always forgetting. Right now we are reading a lot of Fairy Tales and poetry. My in-laws have done an awesome job of providing us with some great literature.

The girls love their babies. Afton is "Honey's" mother and Mei is "Kate's". We had an incident a few weeks ago where the girls took colored pencils to their babies heads and arms. Upon further investigation it was brought to my attention that they were adding hair, make-up and jewelry to their babies, because as Afton likes to say "they are more different mommies than me."

We had a talk about belongings and they understand that the dolls are theirs and that whatever they do to them is permanent. Part of me wanted to be mad, but the most part of me realized that they love their dolls and that they weren't trying to be destructive. So we'll let this slide so long as they don't color on any of my things. Call me mean but the kids own very few things; their blanket, animals, pillow and dolls. Pretty much everything else belongs to our family or mom and dad.

School is going well, better than expected. We don't have school every day, but about 3 days a week and we are able to get 4 days worth of work done. We are in the 8th week of school so that is good. I already added to our curriculum because we were running out of things to do; we started Explode the Code book 1 1/2, Singapore Math book A(in addition to Horizons) and the I Love America curriculum.(purchased HERE) Singapore has more critical thinking and Horizons has more math facts and practice, so so far I like the combination of the two programs and it's easy enough right now that she can handle both. One thing that works well for us is that I hand Afton the stack of all the work I want to get done for the day and then she can pick the order that we do it. Sometimes I have to make a few changes, but this system works really well and she likes picking what she is going to. This past week we've been doing school during the little kids nap time since we've had an extra baby in our house. While this works for Afton I feel like Ben and Mei are missing out. So somehow I've got to figure out how to juggle the two babies in the morning and still get school done. Hmmm....

Today we took the kids to the State Fair, I think a fabulous time was had by all. We really enjoyed a hands on science exhibit/play room place and a farm play area, as well as the Kangaroos, goats, sheep and bunnies. I think we could have done without the stinky cows and pigs. We also saw the 4-H projects of sewing, photography, gardening, etc. All in all it was a great day. .

Our ducks are pretty fun these days.They are runner ducks and can't fly so they literally waddle as fast as they can. The three of them stick together and waddle around the yard and down to our "pond" and then back up again all day long, they even come and visit the back door.. (I'm glad someone's enjoying our ever growing mud puddle). The chickens have stopped laying and one of them is particularly broody, I keep kicking her out of the nest... if she doesn't stop I fear we may have to kill her. The other three hens are starting to not like her. I like how these birds eat our bugs.

Sprouted Grain Flour

2011-09-10T09:08:00.000-06:00

I still need to post some more of our rawlicous recipes, but for now here is some of my research on sprouted flours.

What is "sprouted flour": It's sprouted wheat that's been dehydrated and then ground into flour

Why would you go through all this trouble?
From the Nourished Kitchen:
"Sprouted grain differs from whole grain in three fundamental aspects: 1) sprouting activates food enzymes; 2) sprouting increases vitamin content, and 3) sprouting neutralizes antinutrients like phytic acid which bind up minerals preventing your ability to fully absorb them. When examining the nutrient density of sprouted wheat to unsprouted wheat on a calorie-per-calorie basis, you’ll find that sprouted wheat contains four times the amount of niacin and nearly twice the amount of vitamin B6 and folate as unsprouted wheat; moreover, it contains more protein and fewer starches than non-sprouted grain and as a further boon, it is lower on the glycemic index making it more suitable for those suffering from blood sugar issues."
"While cooking i lacks live food enzymes, it is still easier to digest than unsprouted grain and many of grains inherent antinutrients like phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors that our largely neutralized by the soaking and sprouting process. Sprouted flour can be used in a 1:1 ratio for white flour or whole grain flour. Sprouted grain is also well-suited to porridge's and warm breakfast cereals."

From Wikipedia:
“Sprouting grains causes increased activities of hydrolytic enzymes, improvements in the contents of total proteins, fat, certain essential amino acids, total sugars, B-group vitamins, and a decrease in dry matter, starch and anti-nutrients. The increased contents of protein, fat, fibre and total ash are only apparent and attributable to the disappearance of starch. However, improvements in amino acid composition, B-group vitamins, sugars, protein and starch digestibilities, and decrease in phytates and protease inhibitors are the metabolic effects of the sprouting process.”

Imagine eating your favorite baked goods such as pancakes, cookies or breads made with flour that digests as a vegetable! source

Notes:

Yummy Recipe for Sprouted Gingerbread Men- HERE

More tips on baking with sprouted grain flour HERE

Did you know that historically grain was sprouted (unintentionally), but do to modern processing this no longer naturally occurs? HERE

If Sailors had been eating sprouted grains there wouldn't have been incidences of Scurvy. (sprouting increases Vitamin C by a lot)

Last night we had sprouted brown rice with dinner (took about 4 days to sprout)- it tasted the same, the only difference was that it was slightly mushy.We sprouted the rice then I cooked it in the rice cooker.

Information from the Whole Grains Council HERE

Recipe for Sprouted Sandwich Bread HERE

Sprouted Flour Zucchini Brownies HERE

Even more about the WHY HERE with Kelly the Kitchen Kop

From the Sprouted Flour Blog; pizza, pear bread, Tortillas, reported results after switching to sprouted flour,

Closing thoughts on the matter:

The bottom line. When whole grains are properly sprouted they turn into a plant and are no longer a starch. Plants digest in the body as vegetables and don’t use pancreatic enzymes to digest. So when eating sprouted flour baked goods the flour digests as a veggie, not a starch, and doesn’t tax your digestive system.

Random:
Janie Quinn
Coconut oil is thought to have some interesting antimicrobial properties, plus, as a medium-chain fatty acid, it's digested without putting strain on the gall bladder. Or, you can ignore the health benefits – just enjoy the delicious coconut taste!

Puzzle Boy

2011-09-06T11:19:00.001-06:00

Ben at 31 months. He was mad that I was taking his picture during the 20 minute process, he says "no mom", BUT when he was all done I asked if I could take his picture and he more than obliged. Silly boy.

Forks Over Knives

2011-09-05T22:33:00.001-06:00

"You can eat yourself into poor health and early death or you can eat yourself into good health and a long healthy life."

"If everyone were to adopt a plant based diet we could cut healthcare costs by 70-80%"

"Eat to live and don't live to eat"

The Campbell Study is talked about a lot.
You can watch the full video online either at Netflix or by searching for it.

3 Years

2011-09-04T10:08:00.001-06:00

August marked 3 years since our dietary overhaul. I can't believe we made it three years without completely giving up. We honestly didn't think we could make it 3 months.

3 years ago, March 2008

To give a little history;
Year One: When I was pregnant with Ben, about 3 years ago (2008), early in my pregnancy a Thyroid problem was diagnosed. It kind of scared me, for some reason I just knew that the medicine was not for me that there had to be another way. (the thing with thyroid meds is that once you start your body stops making the hormone and it also depletes vital nutrients, like calcium, from your body) so to start a pill regimen at 27 years old felt like a bad idea. In comes my sister-in-law Maile, who just happened to turn me in the direction of Tam and Emily her friends over at SimpleHealthyTasty at the exact same time I am learning this about my body. After reading Tam's story (and my husband read it too), we knew what we needed to do and it would take a major diet overhaul.Within one month of the overhaul my Thyroid was completely normal, my endocrinologist thought it was jsut a fluke (and thought I was nuts when I told her what I did), but needless to say 20 some blood tests and 2 kids later it's still normal. It works!
The idea of a SimpleHealthyTasty lifestyle is to eat a plant based and whole grain diet, remove all processed foods, stick with natural sugars and a few cold-pressed fats. To make this transition we went through our whole pantry and cleaned house- we took out cake mixes, salad dressings, white flours, sugars, meat and cheese (the last two were the hardest). We were really strict for the first year, it's amazing how motivating carrying a baby is.
Year Two: Then came a few moves, across a few states and our diet started to wain. I was pregnant again and it was easy to justify eating a little processed food and a little cheese. Funny thing at the same time we started to loosen our strictness we both started to gain weight again. Funny how that happens when you trade fresh vegetables for pizza. This year I also started learning about herbs and natural healing.
Year Three: When we moved into our house last August (2010) we started fresh again. We've been doing well, not perfect but good and we've been able to maintain weight and feel good.

Today: We are in the middle of a Raw food diet and it is so fun. I'm learning so much more about dehydrating, sprouting and the benefits of fruits and vegetables. I am in the middle of reading a book about whole foods and in particular eating food the way God (nature) intended it to be eaten; raw, sprouted or slow cooked and basically no processing. (you can read the book HERE, I was able to put it on my Kindle for Free).
We've made it two weeks on the raw foods, although last night we had a little homemade whole wheat Tortilla. I'm learning more about what foods are best for our bodies. My cravings for junk are dissipating and given the choice of a hamburger or a salad I'll totally pick the salad.
Rich and I also just watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead- that was eye opening and showed some of the benefits of juicing (more on that later).
I am attending one of GreenSmoothie Girls classes this week and am excited to learn about more things to do in my blender besides Spinach and Berries.

It's amazing the changes we have made in the past three years and I have a feeling we'll have more in the next three. I wish that more people could catch the vision of eating fresh raw whole foods. It's not just about being thin, it's about being healthy. Since switching our diet my blood pressure is excellent, my glucose levels are stable, no more thyroid problems, my weight is easier to maintain and I have more energy. Providing your body with all the building blocks it needs is definitely the way to go.

Our family Today, August 2011

A Summer Hike

2011-08-28T22:48:00.000-06:00

We took the kids on a nice little hike to Battle Creek Falls. It was 1.5 mile round trip, and wasn't very steep, so perfect four our family of littles.

The only one who complained about the walking was Afton- I'm hot... my legs hurt... this is too far... Surprisingly Mei and Ben both walked the entire way. Mei was great and Ben hung in until right at the end when he slipped a little and then he got whiny.

We stopped above the second Falls and had a snack.

Can you tell who NEVER pays attention when we want her to?

Rawlicious bites- week One

2011-08-26T22:37:00.000-06:00

(left to right: Rejuvalac, alfalfa sprouts, green onions and wheat grass)

I am loving the raw food meals, I feel great.. no more bloating and heaviness that I usually feel. I am not missing the cooked food at all (now ask me in a few weeks and I may have a different answer). My husband, he feels like he's starving and is really missing the grains. We are determined to complete the full 6 weeks.

(Onion bread with Sunburgers, lettuce, tomato, avocado)

Here are our favorite recipes from week one:

Lettuce Wraps- so easy and delicious. Recipe found HERE (pistachios can be expensive, I only use half of what it calls for and it still tastes great). For dinner we wrap it in romaine like a burrito and the next day we serve it over a bed of greens like a salad. Yummy!

Onion Bread: I've been eating this a lot and it's so good, a little chewy but tastes great with Sunburgers or as the bread for Veggie Sandwiches. (I do use a little Vegenaise) A few years ago we checked out Matt Amsden's Rawvolution book, back then I thought he was absolutley crazy, now I wish I had written down the recipes. His onion bread recipe can is so good!

Ingredients:

3 yellow onions, large

1 cup flax seeds (golden, brown or a combo)

1 cup raw sunflower seeds, ground in a food processor

½ cup Braggs Liquid Aminos or Nama Shoyu

¼ cup cold pressed olive oil

Preparation:

Peel and half the onions. Slice in a food processor (with slicing disc).

Place onions in large bowl and mix with rest of ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Spread mix over a Teflex sheet and repeat until all of mixture is used (I usually end up using 2 sheets).

Dehydrate at 100°F for 24 hours.

Flip and return to dehydrator for 12 hours.

Cut into 9 equal pieces (2 cuts horizontally, 2 cuts vertically).

Usually makes 18 pieces.

Sunburgers: I like these better than most of the veggie or bean burgers we've tried. They are made from sunflower seeds. My kids didn't want to eat them, but baby Ethan ate a ton.

2 C sunflower seeds, soaked 6-8 hours
1/2 C carrots
1/2 C celery
3 green onions, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 C fresh basil
1/4 C fresh parsley
Braggs Liquid Aminos to taste

Directions:

Process all ingredients with S blade in a food processor. Make patties and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 12-24 hours until dry. Turn patties over when dehydrating on a teflex sheets after 6 hours.

(Tuna salad, served with Romaine, onion bread, cucumbers and tomato)

TunaSalad: YUMMY!!!
Simple Tuna Salad Recipe – Easy Tuna Salad Recipe

Serves 4 (approximately ½ cup servings)

Equipment needed: Food processor
¾ cup soaked sunflower seeds (soak ½ cup raw seeds for 8 hours)
½ cup soaked almonds (soak 1/3 cup raw almonds for 8 hours)
2 stalks celery diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon dry dill weed
¼ teaspoon herbemare
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Place all ingredients in the food processor with the S blade in place and process to desired consistency. Taste and adjust flavors to your liking.
We added a few tablespoons of Vegenaise to moisten- it really does taste like the real thing (either that or it's been so long since I've had the 'real' thing that I have forgotten). We served it with lettuce, tomatoes and on onion bread. My kids ate it on Triscuits and with a spoon.

gRAWnola:

Oat Groats (soaked overnight)
Assortment of nuts; walnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds (soaked and dehydrated)
Sunflower seeds (soaked and dehydrated)
Spices; Cinnamon, Nutmeg
Vanilla
Honey

1. Soak nuts, then dehydrate
2. While nuts are dehydrating soak the Groats
3. Combine all the nuts, seeds, oats and spices mix well.
4. Add in the Vanilla and enough honey to moisten.
5. Mix well. Spread on teflex sheet and dehydrate at 105 degrees til crunchy (takes quite a while).
Enjoy by itself or add raisins and almond milk for a yummy cereal!

Pepper Poppers: recipe found HERE, another one from Tam and Emily. These were a bit spicy, so next time I will tone down the spices.

Raw Chips: We haven't made the full Rawchos yet, that's tomorrow, recipe HERE, But we have been eating the chips all week (made with fresh corn from our Bountiful Basket). The chips are tasty plain, with guacamole or Salsa.

Mock-amole: I made guacamole this week and put in a large handful of peas with one avocado and you couldn't hardly tell. (I took out some frozen peas, ran them under warm water to thaw and blended them with our hand blender in with the avocado). I also mixed in some diced tomatoes, salt, pepper and lime juice.

(Lunch Buffet; grapes, plums, apples, cucumbers, almond butter and peach jam sandwiches)

Notes:
- The beginning of my Raw Recipe folder can be found HERE
-To keep on top of all the food prep, I printed out a blank calendar. In blue ink I wrote in the meal of the day and in pencil I wrote in all the prep work. In some of the meals you have to soak and dehydrate for a few days.
- For breakfast we are enjoying Rawnola, smoothies and fresh fruits. (I've let my kids have some cereal, toast, or pancakes if they are still hungry after the smoothie)
- Lunches- leftovers, fruits and nuts. (again the kids get a little more to supplement, peanut butter mixed with almonds and honey either on the spoon or with some bread, raw veggies and ranch dressing, steamed potatoes, a few Triscuits and fresh salsa)
- More about Rejuvalac (fermented wheat water) HERE, while this is really good for you it does taste like a combination of lemonade and dirty socks, I tend to put it in things, but my husband will just drink it
- We use our Excalibur Dehydrator a TON and couldn't do this without it
- We don't have a fancy blender (a 5 year old Kitchen Aid), BUT, I do wish I had a large food processor

These finished dehydrating tonight and I'm excited to have more for breakfast:

Bagels and Cream Cheese

Not as good as any of the above recipes, but they are still okay.

I need more recipes to keep us going for 5 more weeks! Please share.

Stake Resources

2011-08-26T21:35:00.001-06:00

I recently realized that our Stake has a blog full of resources- (if any of you don't know, a Stake is a large-ish geographical area of Church members)
Here's what I found tonight:
Back in December/January they had some disaster preparedness classes and due to me having a baby and/or our ward (congregation) splitting I missed out. I was excited to find the handouts.

Handouts from Stake Emergency Preparedness Night

Did you know you could make an 8 hour cnadle from some toilet paper and rubbing alcohol?

How about the need to store 6-ply plastic and ductape?

Anyhow the handout was very informative.

The second handout I found is for an upcoming food storage extravaganza. This 40 page handout has information about how much to store to keep you alive as well as information about cooking, storage and affording food storage.

Food Storage Preparedness

What a morning...

2011-08-22T16:07:00.000-06:00

In my frantic attempt to get everything in the dehydrator this morning so our dinner (which takes 10 hours) will be done by 6pm I neglected the boys.
I think I've learned a lesson... keep boys at my side at all times.

Ethan ran around wreaking havoc, expecially with the trash can.

Ben took it upon himself to change his own poopy diaper, in the upstairs hallway. Lovely :)

In other news, I didn't take a single picture from our amazing vacation to Aspen Grove. I even remembered to bring the camera, but always left it behind.

Raw Food

2011-08-22T16:01:00.000-06:00

From my Excalibur dehydrator book: "cooking foods at a high heat or for long periods of time is toxic because cooking transforms some ingredients, notably oil and salt, into harmful chemicals and destroys antioxidants, phyto-chemicals and enzymes contained in the food. "
" A diet rich in raw foods can help prevent degenerative diseases, retard aging, provide enhanced energy and make people feel more emotionally balanced. Raw foods contain enzymes which are catalysts to regulate digestive processes in the body."

Now if that isn't enough to convince us all that we need to be eating more raw foods than I don't know what is.

After reading about Emily's family and their adventures with "Rawgust"... our family has decided to give it a try. Our goal is to go 6 weeks (from now until the end of September) with eating 90% raw. After two days I have a feeling that our dehydrator will be running 24/7 until the end.
Before begininning I compiled a book of recipes. Then I printed out a calendar. In ink I wrote the meals for each day and in pencil I wrote in the prep work required for each day. Some of our meals require planning ahead by 3 or 4 days to get the sprouting done.
And don't worry Mom, I'll be supplementing the kids with some cooked things; like nut butters, breads and crackers.

Today I made us some fruit pizza! Yummm!

I've found our recipes mostly HERE, HERE and HERE.

A One Room School House

2011-08-11T09:00:00.003-06:00

I would really like to read a book about running a one room Schoolhouse. If you know of one please speak up.

My original plan was to have Afton and I do "school" and the little ones (Mei and Ben) could play. I soon found out that everyone wants to do "school-work" so we pretty much do it all together. Here are some of the ideas we have implemented in our "school".

Crayon Rolls:

These were a cinch to make up. I followed this pattern for the dimensions. I used fabric scraps, did not use the interfacing and used large buttons and elastic for the closure (instead of ties).

Everyone has their own set of "school crayons" that are only to be used during school. The kids love it!
A Timeline Book:

Memorization Box:

I copied this idea from Kimberly over at Raising Olives. I simplified it to fit the needs of our younger family. You can read her full system HERE.
We have less categories: Daily, Odd, Even, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
After reciting almost every day for a month we have them just about memorized so it's almost time to move our cards into the odd/even section. Then I will have to start paying attention to the date.

This year we are going to memorize about 20 scriptures from the Old Testament Scripture Mastery List, Each Paragraph of The Family A Proclamation to the World and the primary scriptures.
We LOVE this! All of us, including the two year old have much of these memorized.

Book of Centuries, a.k.a. TimeLine:

If I had made one of these Years Ago I am pretty sure that I would have a much stronger grasp of history. It is so fun to see how events and people fit together and to correlate the secular and religious knowledge.

I collect my own timeline figures as we study people. I have a Word Document with boxes all ready so all I have to do is paste the picture in and print it and they all come out uniform in size.

This page spans from 1800-1899, Joseph Smith on the left and Laura Ingalls on the right

I printed off the pages for our book HERE at Simply Charlotte Mason. It begins at 4000 B.C. at the Fall of Adam and Eve and includes 2 pages for every 100 years. I printed every other page (twice) so the pages would run front and back.

Random Activities with Materials we happen to have:

What are these? I'm not quite sure, but they sure are fun to build with.

Ben likes to make "things", boats, cars, chicken

Mei tries to block them all in together, like Tetris.

Plastic Letter Tiles:

Simple Phonics- three letter words

I took a few 3x5 cards, drew three lines across the middle. A vowel needs to go in the middle so I wrote in the vowels as a prompt.

Then I sorted the letter tiles between vowels and consonants.

First you pick something from the vowel pile, place it and then two consonants for the ends.

Then read what you've made. Not a big deal if it's not a 'real word' or if sock is spelt "s-o-k". Good phonics practice.

School is going much better than expected, so far we haven't had too many rough days. Now if I could just learn a little more about the One Room Schoolhouse thing I think Homeschooling is going to work well for us.

Ethanpotomus

2011-08-10T11:00:00.000-06:00

Ethan is in a hurry to catch up to his siblings. He's my earliest mover, at 8 months he's crawling, pulling up on things to stand and loves when you help him walk.

If the big kids are outside he just bangs on the back the door and blabs.

In Full Swing

2011-08-09T15:10:00.001-06:00

Homeschooling Year One: Afton Kindergarten

We started "school" the first week of July. I am so grateful for all the hours I spent planning... things are so much easier, lesson plans are ready to go and school is running smoothly.
Here's a little of how I planned out our school year. (my writing is kind of random, sorry)

First I started collecting materials that I knew that we wanted to use; these mainly came from our book shelf and from the Sonlight Core A list. If I had a book similar to the one Sonlight recommended then I substituted it. It was so nice to have a book list to start with. There are so many materials available that it is really overwhelming.

(Kindergarten "Core" Spreadsheet- click on the picture to open)

Then I made a spreadsheet with 10 columns (subjects) and 40 rows (weeks).Here are the subjects I picked for our Kindergarten Year; Science (reading + experiments), math, History, Geography, Literature, Reading Lessons, Handwriting, Old Testament and Memorization.
I purchased our books since the library is inconvenient and I have multiple children who will be using the books. I found good prices on Amazon and on Abe Books. Once I had all the materials it was easy to spread it all out over the table look at what I had and sort it into subjects- if I thought I was lacking in a subject I first went to my bookshelf to see what we had and then if I felt we still needed something I went ahead and purchased it (like the Thornton Burgess Animal Stories).
After that I just started plugging things in- I figured out that she would need to do 3 handwriting pages a week, 4 math pages, 2 geography, one Old Testament Story, a History Lesson once a week, Science experiments on Fridays and for Literature I planned a book every few weeks.

(weekly lesson plan)

Once I had our CORE in place it was easy to do weekly lesson plans. I am doing my planning in 8 week sections. So for our first "quarter" I have all my materials ready to go; copies made, books pulled from the shelf, and lesson plans laid out. My lesson plans are not detailed, just notes about what we are reading or doing on each school day. I cross off the items as we finish so it's easy to pick up where we left off the next day. Sometimes we get ahead in some subjects (literature) and behind in others (science).

(blue is week 1, red week 2 and blue week 3)

I keep three weeks at a time in a small file box and when we finish the three weeks I fill it up again.

Curriculum:
Science; we are using Usborne Encyclopedia and Usborne Science Experiments Volume II
Math: Horizons K
History: Usborne Encyclopedia, Old Testament Reader and Usborne book of Long Ago
Literature: Mainly Sonlights list along with Little House in the Big Woods, Charlotte's Web, Thornton Burgess Animal Stories, Fairy Tales, Nursery Rhymes
Geography: Evan Moore book from the teacher store (map skills, NSEW, following directions)
Reading: Teaching Children to Read Using the Book of Mormon (will start when she is 5 1/2)
Handwriting: A Reason for Writing (simple to use, coloring page on the back)
Memorization: Old Testament Scripture Mastery and The Family a Proclamation to the World

Testing Blogger

2011-08-05T08:34:00.001-06:00

So today Blogger is letting me add in photos, a few days ago it said that my Picassa web album was full? So I wonder if I was uploading too many pictures on the same day (our family picures). I am thinking of making the switch over to WordPress- any comments? It had 3x as much free storage. I like having a blog because it's so easy to reference the past, my notes, recipes and ideas.

What other free (ore nearly free) hosting sites are there?

Help?

2011-08-01T13:41:00.002-06:00

Blogger says I've reached my upload limit? What should I do now?

Family Pictures

2011-08-01T13:36:00.001-06:00

My friend Mary Beth recently took some pictures of our family. I was surprised how well they turned out... you never know what you are going to get when you take 4 littles out for an hour of photography.

Afton (age 5)

Madelyn Mei (age 3 1/2)

Benjamin (age 2 1/2)

Ethan (age 7 1/2 months)

Busy Weekend

2011-08-01T13:16:00.000-06:00

The end of last week and on through the weekend was filled with family and friends.

(left to right; Carter, Ben, Ethan, Brady, Sam, Jacob, Nathan, Afton, Mei, Leilani and Keller)

Thursday- Aunt Maile came over with Brady, Leilani, Carter and Keller and Aunt Minda and Uncle Alan brought over Jacob, Sam and Nathan. We had a fun afternoon. The kids got a little muddy in the backyard, but they sure had fun together.

(Back left to Front; Georgia, Maddy, Jack, Mei, Olivia, Afton, Ethan and Ben)

Friday- Our friends, the Smiths, came for the weekend to got to a wedding. I watched the kids on Friday and Rich and I watched them again on Saturday. We had a fabulous time (even with 8 kids under the age of 6).

Saturday- We enjoyed going down to Orem for Sammy and Jakie's 5th birthday party. We also enjoyed a leisurely walk around Bridal Veil Falls with Moma and Papa.

We also got our first dozen eggs and one of them even had a double yolk.

My Lazy Chair

2011-07-25T22:12:00.001-06:00

Mei outside today "This is my Lazy Chair"

What a wonderful 3 day weekend. Here in Utah we had a 3-day weekend due to Pioneer Day.

Friday night Rich and I made over our cloth diaper collection.

I had a friend give me a ton of prefolds (in exchange for my flats). Thank you Ella, we love them. Then I removed all the Velcro and Rich put in snaps for me. Thank you to my sister-in-law Mindy for pointing me in the direction of a snap press. HERE

While doing this Rich and I watched a fascinating video on Corn, King Corn, yep corn, just guess how much corn you eat every day?
Saturday we took a trip to Home Depot to get some more wood to build one more garden box. We now have 6 small boxes, 2 medium, and 4 big ones, plus 2 big strips along our fences. In the next few years we should be able to grow a lot of food. So far we have been eating snow peas, lettuces and zucchinni and are looking forward to basil (and other herbs), squash, beans, potatoes and lots of tomatoes.

Everytime we go to Home Depot we check the "junk" wood pile. Most of our garden boxes have come from this assorted pile. This weekend we were able to snag 1 1/2 pieces of beadboard ($4.51) and 5 laminated shelving pieces ($5.01)... we were ecstatic. Rich did some great haggling with the Home Depot guy to negotiate our steal of a deal. (all of our pieces had slight damage)

Before Paint

Rich got to work on the beadboard right away. We put it up in our kitchen where the kids are always getting the walls dirty and banging their table and chairs. So we actually did a few walls of our kitchen and a long wall in our dining room, not shown in the pictures.

After Paint

Rich took care of all the kids on Saturday and Monday mornings and let me sleep in. It was fabulous to lay in bed listening to the kids run around, eat breakfast and watch Dinosaur Train with Daddy.

Sunday the girls wore their Pioneer dresses, that I made two summers ago. See how little these guys were.

Also this weekend I got to enjoy reading a book. It was the first strictly for fun ~~junk~~ book that I have read in months. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I love the movie and was impressed how true the movie was to the book.

And tonight after Rich and I finished painting I've been blog hopping. What a great weekend it's been.

P.S. Here's a bit of what I read... Five Simple Ways to Nurture Your Children... How to Clean Your Hair Without Shampoo

So in Love... with my Kindle

2011-07-23T09:44:00.003-06:00

"Now, my young friends, this habit of reading is your pass to the greatest, the purest, and the most perfect pleasures that God has prepared for his creatures. But you cannot acquire this habit in your old age ; you cannot acquire it in middle age ; you must do it now, when you are young. You must learn to read, and to like reading now, or you cannot do so when you are old."

—Anthony Trollope.

My awesome husband bought me a Kindle E-Reader a few days ago. I LOVE IT!!!!

- I love how I can be reading multiple books without carrying around (or keeping track of) a stack of books.
- I love the sheer number of free books available.
- I love how when I am reading something I can quickly type in a note (and then access all my notes for the book later)
- I love how easy it is read from it, it really does look like paper
- I love how it has a "read to me" feature, I could fold the laundry and listen to my book.
- I love the keyboard and navigational buttons, I tried out the touch screen one and it was much harder to take notes and get to places.
- I love how many other people have Kindles, so I can get ideas and more free stuff.

I am also glad that I spent a little more and got a nice cover (with a light) for it. I was able to get a "used" cover for a little less. A used cover meant that it was brand new but missing the instructions to the cover.

Some of the Free Resources I've found so far:

The Magic Catalog of Project Gutenberg E-Books (you can download this to your kindle and save you the trouble of having to go to the computer to get the free Gutenberg books)

Ambleside Online Book lists with corresponding E-Books (Ambleside is a Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool curriculum)
Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary (just saved myself $40) HERE online look up HERE
Excerpt:

Marriage

n. [L.mas, maris.] The act of uniting a man and woman for life; wedlock; the legal union of a man and woman for life. Marriage is a contract both civil and religious, by which the parties engage to live together in mutual affection and fidelity, till death shall separate them. Marriage was instituted by God himself for the purpose of preventing the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes, for promoting domestic felicity,and for securing the maintenance and education of children.
Amazon also has many free books as well, and since Kindle is made by Amazon the downloading is simple and fast.
I have heard really good things about this book, The Daring Book for Girls (or Boys), not free but I've heard cool things about it.

Currently, on the Kindle, I am reading: The American Frugal Housewife HERE
Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know HERE
The Child's Book of American Biography HERE

Have you found any neat ways to better use your e-reader?

Skin Deep

2011-07-20T09:11:00.001-06:00

Over the past few years I have been working hard to get a lot of the common chemicals out of our house; chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, and other maladies.
This is my main list of avoidance, but really I try to avoid anything I can't pronounce. My list came from Tam over at SimpleHealthyTasty, you can read the explanatory list HERE.
-Isopropyl Alcohol
-Mineral Oil
-PEG
-Propylene Glycol
- Sodium Laureth/Lauryl Sulfate (look up thinning hair on that one)
- Chlorine
- DEA, MEA, TEA
- FD&C Color Pigments
- Fragrance
- Imidazolidinyl URea and DMDM Hydantoin (sp?)

This kind of a list could get exhaustive REALLY Fast... So in comes step 2: SKIN DEEP (go HERE)
This is a website dedicated to informing you what is in the products you commonly use and the risk factors associated with them. You can look up things like make-up, nail polish, shampoo, toothpaste and much more.

For Example: The sunscreen that I have (Alba Botanicals Sun ) is rated as a 5, a moderate Health Concern. Water Babies, spray on Sunscreen is rated as a 7 (especially high in allergies and immunotoxicity, where as the Water Babies Pure and Simple Sunscreen SPF 50 is rated as a 2 (excellent UV protection and low health concern). I'll be switching over to the Pure and Simple.

And one more reason why I LOVE Castile Soap, it's rating is a ONE.

After viewing this site I still have some more cleaning to do and some of the things that I thought were on the safer side weren't as 'safe' as I thought, like my expensive health store sunscreen (which they no longer make).

Zucchni for Breakfast- Yummm

2011-07-20T08:47:00.001-06:00

I found this recipe over at Little House in the Suburbs. With a few minor changes we made it our own.

Ingredients: Eggs, Zucchini, olive oil, salt and pepper

Slice the zucchini thickly into rounds. Scoop out the seeds (don't throw them out). Put some olive oil in a frying pan (like 1/8 inch) we did a little too much. Cook zucchini on medium high until tender (turning half-way).

While the zucchini is cooking get out your blender. Throw in half of your left over seeds, and enough eggs so you have one third an egg per zucchini slice. (6 slices= 2-3 eggs). Blend this together into a frothy mixture.
After your zucchini is soft.... fill each zucchini slice with your egg mixture. Cook until browned. Use a spatula to turn it over, cook until your eggs are how you like them.

P.S. We grew the zucchini and Justice (Mei's Chicken) grew the eggs.

Seen Better Days

2011-07-18T15:53:00.002-06:00

Update: (the next day)
Rich and I had a discussion last night about the diapers. Apparently he really likes the prefolds. We tried pockets once and weren't in love with them. Maybe if we had ones that had snaps and unstuffed themselves in the wash we'd think differently.If the husband is willing to do the cloth diapers, I guess I fell he gets to pick the kind. I've found the econbums on sale (buy one get one free) so at $5 they are an amazing deal, at $9, not so much. So my plan is to wait and watch for them to go on sale.

Over the past few years (pretty much our whole married life, minus the first year we were married and we were both working) we've had a pretty tight budget. Needless to say things are starting to wear out and need replacing. This month it was one of our cars and our cloth diapers.
These diapers have been through a lot the past 4 1/2 years and have definitely seen better days. Most of the velcro doesn't close anymore (or comes undone in their sleep) and my prefolds are getting awfully thin and holey.

(It's hard to tell in the picture but both of these started out bleach white and are now grey, this pre-fold is one of the better ones)

I had this genius idea today that I could just make my own diapers... I could even make some AIO (all in ones) or Pocket Diapers... Allison over at Mommymita did it and so did Montersorat at Chocolate on My Cranium. It really doesn't look all that hard. I was actually getting excited about it and dreaming up all the great prints and colors and how I could use my prefolds as doublers and maybe even make over some of my covers that I already have....
And then I looked at the price of the Snap Press, it would be over $100 just for the snap stuff.... bummer :(
So what should I do now?

So I think I'll just be sticking with the EconoBum Covers with snaps, they seem to be holding up really well. I have a bunch of fabric left from when I thought I would like using flats, so maybe I could remake those into contour diapers.

I understand (and I am sure not fully) the old saying:

Use it Up,

Wear it Out,

Make it Do,

Or do Without.

Bean Sprout Experiment

2011-07-18T09:00:00.004-06:00

This was a simple and fun to watch. All you need is a small jar (or old Pimento jars), paper towels, water and some beans.
Step 1: Read up on how bean sprouts grow and all the parts; shoot, root, seed coat (THIS book is great)
Step 2: Roll up one paper towel to fit inside of each jar, so that it is along the edge.
Step 3: Fill the jar halfway with water
Step 4: Place your beans in between the glass and the towel ( we used 2 pintos and 3 red beans- just from the cupboard)
Step 5: Watch them grow.

These are 3 days old.

At five days you can see the distinctive difference between the shoot and the root.

This morning, at 7 days old, here's what we saw.
Original idea taken from THIS book.

I'm Commited

2011-07-15T15:01:00.000-06:00

I LOVED the First Presidency message this month, in the Ensign, "Brother, I'm Committed."

Two young brothers stood atop a small cliff that overlooked the pristine waters of a blue lake. This was a popular diving spot, and the brothers had often talked about making the jump—something they had seen others do. Although they both wanted to make the jump, neither one wanted to be first. The height of the cliff wasn’t that great, but to the two young boys, it seemed the distance increased whenever they started to lean forward—and their courage was fading fast.

Finally, one brother put one foot at the edge of the cliff and moved decisively forward. At that moment his brother whispered, “Maybe we should wait until next summer.”

The first brother’s momentum, however, was already pulling him forward. “Brother,” he responded, “I’m committed!” He splashed into the water and surfaced quickly with a victorious shout. The second brother followed instantly. Afterward, they both laughed about the first boy’s final words before plunging into the water: “Brother, I’m committed.”

President Uchtdorf goes on to say, "Those who are only sort of committed may expect to only sort of receive the blessings of testimony, joy, and peace. The windows of heaven might only be sort of open to them. Wouldn’t it be foolish to think, “I’ll commit myself 50 percent now, but when Christ appears at the Second Coming, I’ll commit myself 100 percent”?

Commitment to our covenants with the Lord is a fruit of our conversion. Commitment to our Savior and His Church builds our character and strengthens our spirit so that when we meet Christ, He will embrace us and say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

In some way, each of us stands at a decision point overlooking the water. It is my prayer that we will have faith, move forward, face our fears and doubts with courage, and say to ourselves, “I’m committed!”

.......................................

The message this month felt so personal to me. Our family has made choices that are not exactly main stream. Sometimes I doubt our decisions and want to climb back up on that fence and just sit there, looking down on the life I want. Then I realize that the only way to get that life is to move off that fence and start going forward with confidence in our choices. Move forward with faith.

We've been needing to replace our Yukon and have just been waiting for the right time to do it. We were debating what to get... do we get a minivan, knowing that in one or two kids we'd out grow it... do we just stay in our Yukon (it has 8 seats, but 200k miles).

We stood at the cliff... then

yep, we are now the proud owners of a "new to us" 12 passenger van. We're committed to expanding our family. We picked out our house in hopes of filling it with 8 kids and now we picked out our van. It's great. Yes, it's huge, but you know how nice it is to be able to climb in through the back and buckle in all the car seats (all but Afton need help). It's great to be able to fit in a stroller with out having to shove it in and slam the door before it falls out.

Look Who's.....

2011-07-12T11:49:00.001-06:00

Laying Eggs...........

(This morning we found one green egg in the chicken coop, which means it came from one of the Americaunas, unfortunately it was cracked. I threw some golf balls in their house to hopefully curtail the egg breaking.)

Sitting up all on their own (meaning he crawled and sat up all on his own)........

(nothing is safe anymore, he can go anywhere he wants, luckily he's not pulling himself up yet)

Taking a trip....

(The other day we all spent the day doing touristy stuff in Salt Lake- more to follow on that)

First Week of School

2011-07-12T11:40:00.000-06:00

Last week we "officially" started homeschool; complete with lesson plans, goals and a schedule. Afton is in Kindergarten this year, Mei in Pre-K work and Ben in speech. Our plan this year is to school for 8 weeks, then take 3 weeks off. This year we are starting off with set school days to get in the habit. In the future I see us as more dedicated to schooling all year round and taking days off as we want.

Here's our simple schedule:
We spend a half hour on the rug together, next Afton and I go to the kitchen table for an hour (sometimes the younger ones come over and color) then the "couch" segment we do when the boys are taking their afternoon nap. During the table time Ben and Mei have 3 choices; they can come to the table and listen or color, they can go to the rug and play with blocks, books or little people and thirdly if they don't like either of those options they can sit on their bed. (they've never chosen option 3).
Also, we don't do everything everyday.

Date: ______________

Rug: (9-9:30)

Memorization

Gospel Art Kit

Read Aloud

Songs

Table: (9:30-10:15)

Math

History/Geography

Science

Handwriting

Ben's Speech

Couch: (1-2pm)

Literature

Teach Your Child to Read

Scripture Stories

Laughing and Playing Together

2011-07-06T22:41:00.000-06:00

Warning: Lots of Pictures
The kids pretty much do everything together. With the exception of Afton attending a class a few Wednesdays a month they are never apart. I love it! It's fun, we're happy.

Free horsey rides.

In celebration of the 4th of July we had a family flag ceremony and some crafts; hats, flag puzzle and paper fire crackers.

Ben loves playing with the firetruck and now that he can make all sorts of car noises it's really fun to watch him play.

Breakfast at our house.

One of many attempts at a picture with all of them.

Our Garden- these are some of our tomato plants.

"Shoot dat Bear!"- we don't shoot people around here, but we do shoot bears, although we haven't seen any, we would shoot one if we saw one.

Our "Ladies" should be ready to lay soon.

Mei thinks it's great fun to pick up the chickens and they don't seem to mind either.

Another attempt at a picture....

As a Mother Thinketh.. So is She

2011-07-05T08:19:00.000-06:00

I keep having this reoccurring thought lately...As a Mother Thinketh... so Is She.
Instead of just wishing to possess certain qualities and attributes, I need to be them. I need to become them. We all have the power to become who we want to be. The quickest way to change ones actions is to change one thoughts. Here's my current list which I am posting up on the wall where I will see it often (along with a few quotes from Sister Hinckley).

As a Mother thinketh…so is She.

I am patient.

I am forgiving.

I am soft spoken.

I teach my children.

I have a clean home.

I have an orderly home.

I speak kindly of others.
I am a scriptorian.

I read to my children often.

I am consistent in disciplining.

I spend time with the Lord each day.

I love my husband and fulfill his needs.

The Making of a Crawl

2011-07-02T23:27:00.000-06:00

Doesn't he look so grown up?

He's a moving. Ethan is our earliest mover yet (he's just shy of 7 months).
At his 6 month check-up is was 17# 10oz and 28 1/2 inches. He's a big boy.

He LOVES balls. Whenever there is a ball around, preferably moving, he laughs and laughs and laughs.

Here he is getting ready.

And he's off.

Lucky for us he's not too fast yet, but the big kids are realizing they need to put their stuff away.

Apraxia- Treatment (what's working)

2011-06-30T09:00:00.005-06:00

Disclaimer: I am not a Speech Language Pathologist, this information comes from my own knowledge as a credentialed Special education Teacher and a mother's intuition.

Whenever you desire to learn a new skill, whether it be photography, reading, running or in this case talking, you need to write down three things:
Where you started: a good speech evaluation (ours is 5 pages long)
Where you are going: 5-10 specific and measurable goals
How you are getting there: amount of therapy, programs being used, who is involved (the whole family)

Where Ben started:
At two years old, Ben was barely babbling and had one reliable word, "yep". Shortly there after he added a few more one syllable words or word approximations; "mum", "da-ee", "ba-ee" "boke" (Mom, Daddy, baby, broke). In isolation Ben could make just about every letter sound, minus the f and z (which are later developing sounds).
Where Ben's going:
I wanted Ben to be able to communicate effectively his needs and wants through speech. I want him to be able to say two and three syllable words (apple, baby, table, mama, dada, papa), I want him to put 4 or more words in a novel sentence. A novel sentence means that its not just a memorized phrase, I want him to change out the words, if not the structure. (Me want cup, me want food, me want more food, I need more food, I want noodles and apples)
I also want Ben to increase his vocabulary. (right now everything in his room is called a pillow or a night, I want him to say blanket, pillow, jammies, bed).

How are we getting there:(in no particular order)
1. We contacted our states early intervention center that services kids newborn to age three. By law, every state has a program like this and must do an evaluation (for free) for every referral (by parent or doctor). After meeting with the EI coordinators they determined that yes he is moderate/severly behind his peers in speech. They set up a Speech Therapist to come to our home 2x a month. Our therapist is wonderful and her whole job is to train me how to help Ben and monitor his progress, give tips and suggestions. This is great.
2. We did go to our local hospitals rehabilitation center and had a very in depth speech evaluation done. I would like to do this every 6 months. Private evaluations seem to be much more thorough than the ones done through the school district.
3. I did a lot of research about available programs; blogs, apraxia kids website, talking with many different speech therapists. (you know your child and you are the steward over that child and will be inspired as to all the different treatment options)
More on how we are getting there: What we are doing at Home
I am determined to do most of Ben's therapy myself. Not only do I have no desire to run all over town (with my 4 kids) to different appointments, but I also feel that I know him best and since I am with him all day I can incorporate everything he needs into our daily routine.

1. During diaper changes (and any time I remember) we practice two syllable words, I first break it up for him: Bay----- Bee, then we progressively bring the syllables closer together. Currently we are working on "dino", "baby", "people" and whatever else pops up during the day.

2. Easy Does it for Apraxia Preschool; this is a two book program. One book is a teachers manual complete with simple lesson plans and evaluation tools. The second book is the activities; cutting, pasting, coloring. I went and photocopied the pages. Example: a popcorn gluing page for practicing the "p" sound, turtle hand motions for learning vowels, turtles in the park coloring page for practicing vowels. I purchased it from HERE.

Ben loves his turtle book and we proudly display all the activities (so we can practice them again and again).

3. Sound pages the SLP gave us (I think they are LingiSystems). We are working on just the beginning consonant and vowel. After I model the correct pronunciation, he practices, When he says it correctly then he gets to color the picture.

4. Kaufman speech Cards- LOVE THESE! These cards are fantastic about breaking each word into the individual sounds.You start with the word listed on the bottom of the card- pah, as in papa. Then you move your way up the card until they can say the whole word. My five year old has gotten the concept pretty well and one of her jobs each day is to go through these cards with Ben. You can read more about them HERE.

I use small sticky notes on the back of the card to mark what level we are working on. On the "tweet Tweet card he has mastered the "tee tee" but is working on "teet teet".

5. The Vowel Circle- this is excellent for teaching motor control. I have posted this on my kitchen wall. You start under the nose and go down. Watch your own mouth in the mirror and see how it moves. .You go from "ee" down to "u". On the other side you you start with the top "oo". This came out of the Lindamood Bell LiPs program. The Lips is a great program for kids who are a little older and ready to learn their letter. The book contains fantastic ideas for littles, but the lessons are designed for older kids. You can read more HERE. I used to be a clinician at one of their reading clinics, so it helps that I am trained in their program.

More on the vowel circle- excellent for teaching motor control. Use with a mirror- with Mom and child together, so mom can model.

The LiPS program also has mouth picture to help cue the child (and Mom) the proper way to form your mouth, tongue and lips when speaking.

6. Sound Chains; much like you teach word families and word chains to beginning readers. These coincide with the vowel circle.There is a lot of power in nonsense (fake) words. Don't be afraid to use them.

m	b	p	d	t
me mi (mit) me (med) mae (make) ma (mat) mu (mut) mo (mop) mie (my) mue (muse) mou (mouse) moi (boy)	be (bee) bi (bit) be (bed) bae (bake) ba (bat) bu (but) bo (bop) bie (by) bue (use) bou (bouse) boi (boy)	pe pi (pit) pe (pet) pae (pay) pa (pat) pu (pud) po (pop) pie (pie) pue (use) pou (pow) poi (boy)	de (dee) di (did) de (ded) dae (dane) da (dat) du (duck) do (dop) die (my) due (do) dou (doubt) doi (boy)	Te (tea) ti (tip) te (ted) tae (take) ta (tat) tu (tut) to (top) tie (my) tue (two) tou (town) toi (toy)

7. Sing, Sing, Sing!! Slow down songs and use ones with lots of repetition. I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee, The Wheels on the Bus, use a search engine for phonemic awareness songs

July's Scripture and Theme

2011-06-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

We got a little behind and kind of skipped June (sorry about that). Anyways, here's July's.

July

Song: “I Love to See the Temple” ( CS, 95)

The Temple Is a House of God

“Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally”

(“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” paragraph 3).

Printable Copy HERE

Apraxia- Defined

2011-06-27T14:06:00.000-06:00

My 2 1/2 year old son, Ben, has been diagnosed as having Apraxia of Speech. He was/is a very late talker, never made the typical baby sounds (babbling), was late to smile and has extreme difficulty acquiring new words, especially two syllable ones (mama, dada, dino, baby).

(our ducks are so HUGE now, I'll try to get an updated picture soon)

Apraxia of speech is professionally defined as;
" a speech disorder in which a person has trouble saying what he or she wants to say correctly and consistently. It is not due to weakness or paralysis of the speech muscles (the muscles of the face, tongue, and lips)." (citation) and may I also add, it has nothing to do with a child's intelligence level or desire to communicate.

The symptoms: (young child)

Does not coo or babble as an infant
First words are late, and they may be missing sounds
Only a few different consonant and vowel sounds
Problems combining sounds; may show long pauses between sounds
Simplifies words by replacing difficult sounds with easier ones or by deleting difficult sounds (although all children do this, the child with apraxia of speech does so more often)
May have problems eating
Makes inconsistent sound errors that are not the result of immaturity
Can understand language much better than he or she can talk
Has difficulty imitating speech, but imitated speech is more clear than spontaneous speech
May appear to be groping when attempting to produce sounds or to coordinate the lips, tongue, and jaw for purposeful movement
Has more difficulty saying longer words or phrases clearly than shorter ones
Appears to have more difficulty when he or she is anxious
Is hard to understand, especially for an unfamiliar listener
Sounds choppy, monotonous, or stresses the wrong syllable or word (citation)

"One of the most notable symptoms is difficulty putting sounds and syllables together in the correct order to form words. Longer or more complex words are usually harder to say than shorter or simpler words. People with apraxia of speech also tend to make inconsistent mistakes when speaking.
Children with developmental apraxia of speech generally can understand language much better than they are able to use language to express themselves." (citation)
Ben can make almost all the sounds (b, m, n, ch, t, k, g, s, etc...), even some of the later developing sounds that some 3 and 4 year olds don't say correctly, however when he goes to use these sounds to form words they either come out incorrectly or not at all. (baby sounds like Bay-ee). In other words, his mouth isn't doing what his brain is telling it to do.

What causes it?
That's a good question. Some people think it is neurological, I feel it falls in the same category as Dyslexia and other Learning Disabilities.

Now what?
Since Ben's diagnoses 2 months ago his language skills have grown by leaps and bounds. I started feeling guilty that maybe I should have caught this sooner and referred him to therapy, but from what I have learned two years old is about the best age to start.
Ben is starting to talk a lot now. (most people can't understand him, but the most important thing is that he's talking). When we first started he had maybe 20 words, and an occasional sentence.
We have a speech language pathologist (SLP) come into our home 2x a month, for an hour, to train Mom (that's me) how to help him. This has been wonderful. I am a huge proponent of Direct Instruction and kids with learning disabilities respond best to Direct Instruction. We've had to teach Ben the exact difference, like how your mouth looks when you make an "m"/ "n" and "t" / "d".

I will be posting more on what programs we are using in another post.

Chore Chart: Take One

2011-06-27T08:00:00.003-06:00

This is our first ~~of many~~ chore chart. My kids are now at an age where they can start helping out around the house.
We were inspired to begin from Melissa's post on Summer Chore Cards (you can print hers if you want).
Chocolate on my Cranium posted an excellent Age Appropriate Chore list on her blog a few months back.
Since I have so many little that need supervision I decided it would be best if we all did our chores at the same time; we do our upstairs chores in the morning, before breakfast, and the downstairs chores around 4pm, after snack and before dinner.

STEP ONE: MAKE A LIST OF CHORES FOR EACH PERSON
Using that as a guide I started by making a list:

A.M. Upstairs Chores

Ben (2 1/2)- put his blankets and animals on his bed

Ben- Cloth diapers on the shelf

Mei (3 1/2)- Blankets and animals on her bed

Mei- make sure the bathroom floor and hallway are clear (put things away as needed)

Mei- Get dressed then put everyone dirty clothes in the laundry room (we have upstairs laundry)

Afton (5)- Get dressed, then put everyone's pajamas away
Afton- Vacuum the two kids rooms and hallway when they look dirty
Afton- Hang Towels after baths (this is more of a P.M. job)

Mom- laundry, put away clothes, make beds, clean bathrooms

P.M. Downstairs Chores

Ben (2 1/2)- Pillows on the Couches

Ben- Books in the Book Basket (see here how we set it up)

Mei (3 1/2)- Clear plates and cups from the kids table

Mei- Clean floor under the kids table

Mei- Put away rags (on laundry day)

Afton (5)- front entryway shoes on shelf

Afton- fold the rags (on laundry day)

Afton- Wipe fingerprints off the back sliding glass door

Afton- Wipe walls and doors in the kitchen area

Mom- Cook, dishes, sweep, mop, vacuum, empty dishwasher, clean-up and put away our school stuff, put away the baby toys, empty book basket and put the books on the shelf, pay bills, wipe counters and tables

Dad- take out kitchen trash, help with dinner dishes, chickens and ducks, lawn, garbage day, Chinese lessons 1-2x week, family prayer and Family home Evening

STEP TWO: MAKE CARDS FOR EVERYONE

Each card has a short description of the chore and a picture.

I typed everyone's cards on separate pages, so that I could print out everyone's cards onto a different color. With Mei I have intentionally put a few two-step chores on her cards, because she has difficulty following through with multiple step directions.
I included cards for Mom and Dad for a couple of reasons. 1) to keep Mom on task (I am easily distracted) and 2) so the kids see that I do "jobs" too.

STEP THREE:MAKE THE CHART
I used a piece of 12x12 card stock that I covered with contact paper. I drew in 12 rectangles (the size of the cards) with a small heading on the top the paper fit 12 chore cards (3 rows of 4).
I contact papered each of the cards, front and back.
Then I attached Velcro. I put one piece of the soft on the rectangle. I used two very small pieces of scratchy Velcro on each card, one on the front and one on the back. The idea is that when the chore is completed the card can be turned over.

STEP FOUR: POST IT
Our chores are divided into upstairs chores and downstairs chores. My children are young and need supervision so this helps us to be in the same place. We do our upstairs chores in the morning (before breakfast, while Ethan is drinking his bottle) and the downstairs ones are either after lunch, after snack or both.
The upstairs chart is posted in the upstairs hallway at kid eye level.
The downstairs chart is posted in our eating area/school room is also posted at kid eye level.

You can print/edit My Cards HERE.

Toy Chart

2011-06-24T10:38:00.001-06:00

As usual the toys have gotten out of hand again. Seriously, we have 20 toys, yet I am finding as my kids get older the messes are getting bigger, not better. So yesterday, after a minor ~~major~~ explosion on the part of Mom, I decided that it would be best if I just put all the toys away in a closet and begin a one toy at a time rule.

(Closet in the girls bedroom, all of the kids clothes are in the boys room, in one dresser and one small closet)

The kids know that they can't go in the school cupboard, get out the play mobils, or blocks without permission, so today we added a toy closet.
I think some of this need to organize is underlying stress because our School Year starts in a week. I feel like everything needs to be in order before we begin school. Over the next few days I'll probably have lots of organization posts as I've been going through our house room by room trying to make things more efficient.

(Our Entertainment Center; complete with our Television, trains, puzzles, movies and a few of our games. Didn't my mother-in-law do a great job painting it?)

New Plan of Action:
Kids take turns picking toys to play with. We have a morning person and an afternoon person.

You can print MY Chart from HERE and then you can edit it to fit your family.

Positive Changes Noted:

- No Fighting
- Imaginations at Play
- Play Room is Less Messy

Behavior

2011-06-20T09:00:00.000-06:00

You can't change behavior

using negative consequences.

Negative consequences STOP behavior.

If you want to change behavior

you must use positive consequences!

- Bert Simmons, 1983

Desirable Traits of ADHD

2011-06-17T14:25:00.000-06:00

Many kids, particularly 3rd grade boys, are labeled as having "attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder". Personally, I think this is severely over diagnosed and current teaching practices and teaching to the test single out the non-conformist, daydreamers who just want to have fun learning.

Desirable Traits of ADHD

- Resiliency

- Ingenuity

-Creativity

- Spantaneity

- Boundless Energy

- Sensitivity to the Needs of Others

-Accepting and Forgiving

- Risk Takers

- Intuitive

- Inquisitive

- Imaginative

- Inventive

-Innovative

- Resourceful

- Empathetic

- Good Hearted

- Gregarious

- Observant

- Full of Ideas and Spunk

Do You Have One of These?

2011-06-17T14:18:00.001-06:00

I found this little story/Quote when digging through all my old teacher stuff.

The Nonconformist

Every family has at least one; the child who will not conform, the rebel, the loner. As a preschooler, he's the one who gets locked in restrooms because he stayed behind to find out where the water went when you pushed the handle, who gets his arm stuck in a construction pipe, who rejects store-bought toys in favor of making tunnels out of old oatmeal boxes.

In school, he gets check marks for daydreaming, for not being neat, for not working to capacity. In his preoccupation with other things, he is unaware that he drives his family crazy, arriving late for dinner every night and wearing his underwear to bed to save time in the morning.

As he grow older, there aren't enough weekends for his projects. In the garage is his "pumping heart" devised out of plastic sandwich bags, tubing and cake coloring. Cluttering the bedroom are remains of his puppet show.

Parents are awed by genius, content with the average child, compassionate toward the slow learner. But the child who is none of these only puzzles, confuses and tries their patience. "What's to become of him?" they ask each other.

True he is accident prone because he daydreams, and he maintains a closet that the insurance company refuses to insure. But he reminds us that life is a precious gift to be lived to its fullest. And as Henry David Thoreau said, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears."

Erma Bombeck

Do you have one of these?
My little Mei:
Nearly landed in the creek the other day when she was riding her tricycle and turned to look down into the creek.
Has gotten herself stuck in the rocking chair, the toy shopping cart and her green kid table chair (so stuck that I had to think about who I might have to call.)
Is the most lovable, cuddliest and most affectionate.
Pulled out all of underwear to make clothes for her dolls.
Is almost always the last one at the dinner table and the last one done eating.
Stays up until 10 or 11 twirling, singing, talking, wandering... anything but sleeping.

Go to Your Room

2011-06-16T09:00:00.005-06:00

Afton's talking back has gotten funnier and so much more in depth.

"No, No, No... Do NOT send me to my room!"
"Let me get out of my room."
"You are NOT a very nice Mommy. Mommies are supposed to be nice."
"I do not belong in this room."
"Get me out of Here!"

It should be noted that most of this is being said at the top of her lungs and followed by screaming and banging of the door and then stomping around her room. I have no idea where she inherited this behavior from. (Sorry Mom)

Puppet Theater

2011-06-15T08:23:00.000-06:00

A very simple puppet theater.
Supplies:
         2 spring rods (for curtains, wide enough to fit in a door way or other desired space. Doorways are around 36")
         2 1/2 yards of fabric
         Sewing machine to close up the edges and make a pocket for the rod to go through

Why all the Backyard Chickens?

2011-06-14T19:48:00.000-06:00

I found THIS article in my newspaper today about the recent trend in backyard chickens.

Here are a few highlights:
Nutrition
Research conducted by Mother Earth News compared eggs from 14 flocks across the United States. The study found that when compared to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs, free-range eggs contained:

1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
3/2 more vitamin A
Twice the omega-3 fatty acids
Three times more vitamin E
Seven times more beta carotene
Four to six times more vitamin D.

Pest Control
Chickens eat ticks, fleas, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, fly larvae, grubs, caterpillars and even mice. Of particular interest for Utah gardeners, snails and slugs are high on their preferred menu. The downside is that they also don’t mind helping themselves to garden crops like leaf lettuce or to taking a few pecks from tomatoes.

The article goes on to point out that collecting ones own eggs is more expensive than buying eggs from the store. Factoring in the cost of feed, housing and the cost of the chicks you could buy a lot of store bought eggs and given that we can't have a rooster in a city we can't even replenish our flock when they stop laying in a few years. However, the upside is, there is the fun of raising your own chickens, knowing where your food comes from, health benefits and teaching responsibility in a family togetherness sort of way.

Our own chickens are about a month away from laying eggs for us.

What Ethan Will Eat

2011-06-13T15:11:00.002-06:00

Ethan has been very reluctant to eat any sort of food besides formula. I know at 6 months this shouldn't really be a big deal, but when he wants to drink 10 ounces of formula at a time I kind of think he needs to start eating some food. He won't eat any of the usual baby foods like rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, or sweet potatoes.

I have recently discovered that he WILL eat:

lemons (like suck on a whole slice, and like it),

Hummus (loves it),

Bread,

and now today he discovered sweet peppers.

What a funny little boy.Oh, and as Rich pointed out to me, this guy's got 2 bottom teeth now.

Artichokes (in the Oven)

2011-06-13T15:05:00.000-06:00

This is a yummy (and simple) way to serve up fresh Artichokes.

Preheat the oven to 425. Wash off your artichokes. Cut off squares of tinfoil large enough to wrap each one. Set your artichoke in the middle, start to fold it up and around (kind of make a bowl). Sprinkle on olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and minced garlic. Wrap it up tight. Put in in the center of your oven and bake for 45 minutes.

You really don't need any dipping sauce, by my husband really liked it with a mixture of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Kids, Kids, Kids

2011-06-08T22:28:00.000-06:00

We've been so busy playing in our yard, taking care of all our ~~farm animals~~ pets, and just enjoying one another's company that I haven't taken many pictures lately.

Ben and Ethan now share a room. As much as I love Ethan and enjoyed his sweet little spirit in our master bedroom, we hated getting up with him at night. So at 5 months we decided that it was time to boot him out and moved him in with Ben. He started sleeping through the night (or at least we stopped hearing him) and now the two of them are best buds. Ben sleeps on the floor next to Ethan, even though his own bed is about 5 feet away.

The girls are getting much better at sharing a room. They love to party when it is bedtime. I came up with a simple system to keep them on task and it works most of the time. They have a magnet board with three magnets (if I can't find the floor of their room then they lose a magnet), the magnets mean chances before I separate them into different rooms. They really dislike being separated so this system works fairly well most nights.

Mei loved this. Ben wasn't so sure, which was fine by me because we only had one ticket and I wasn't about to spend $2 for him to go on a 2 minute pony ride.

Today we went to Thanksgiving Point. Afton took a gardening class while me and the three younger ones toured the farm. We had three hours to wander around. Afton had fun in her class, but was disappointed that she missed out on the farm with the younger ones. She doesn't realize that sometimes there are trade offs. She will be taking a 3 hour class/activity on five different days this summer. The first was on gardening, then a science/space class, cooking, camping and art.

Rich got a promotion at work!!! He's busier, but I think he really likes the new responsibilities and to get to pass stuff on to his clerks.

I realized tonight that I haven't taken any pictures of him in a while (like 2 or 3 months), oops.

He's not up on his knees yet, but he does know how to move with those arms and legs.

A little more about Ethan who just turned 6 months old; he's scootingish around- kind of a rolling and pushing off with his feet. He REFUSES to eat any food besides formula (he kind of ate rice last night at dinner). He seems pretty long, I put on his 9 month summer clothes and with the cloth diapers I couldn't get them to snap. I have a few 12 month summer things, but it looks like i may start using more paper diapers so I don't have to buy him more clothes.

He cut his first tooth today- the bottom left one. (If memory serves me right, none of my other kids have had teeth this early)

Men are from Mars...

2011-06-08T09:27:00.000-06:00

My parents forwarded this video on with the message that it was "Life Changing". After watching it with my husband I too would say that the information in this video has the capacity to be life changing.

What stood out to me:
The part about women in indigenous cultures. Women spend their days together.
There are hormones that are released in women when they interact (person to person) with other women.
The "down time" that men absolutely need (that women don't).
How facebook, blogs and other media can mimic oxytocin (kind of like cocaine)and how women really need face to face interaction often.

Any fool can grow Radishes.

2011-06-07T22:15:00.000-06:00

My father in law always says "Any fool can grow radishes". Well it looks like we're not just any fool.

This is our first year of really trying our hand at gardening. Perhaps we are a little too ambitious. In designing our backyard we left over one third of it as dirt so we can grow food.. and lots of it.

( Some of our boxes aren't in the picture- garlic and potatoes are along the fence and the raspberries are along another fence. More herbs, potatoes and the strawberry is up by the house where we have 6 smaller boxes)

Here's what we have planted the last few weeks:
Garlic (planted in every crevice and corner, and all along our rock wall)
Onions (red we started from starts and we were given yellow starts)
Raspberries (we started with 20 root starts and I'm not sure more than 5 will make it)
Tomatoes (20, about half of them I started indoors from seed)
Peppers (3, the one I started from seed doesn't look well)
Cucumbers (6 plants, from seed, Ben planted some "old" seeds and all 30 of them sprouted, so tonight I thinned it down to 3)
Purple Bush Beans (30- they are just like regular beans but are purple so you can find them to pick them)
Lettuces, Spinach, Radishes
Herbs (dill, oregano, parsley, thyme, mint, cilantro, basil)
Zucchini
Spinach (we just ate it for dinner)
Peas (I am training to go up a tee-pee)
Butternut Squash
Potatoes (some in boxes, some in the ground)
Strawberry
Watermelon (I planted tonight)
Beets (I need to get going this week)
In the kids box we have pumpkins, sunflowers and cucumbers.

(these boxes up by our back door came from the fencing supplies, they are a great size, we have them on both sides of our back porch)

(Here I have some peas, lettuces, green onions and the radishes. We ate all of the spinach for dinner tonight. I've also learned that if you don't thin your radishes they don't develop a bulb, just a long root- I thinned them tonight... so we'll see what happens now)

Then we have our mini-orchard with a cherry, two different combo-apples, a plum and a peach. Plus this fall we should be getting chicken and duck eggs.
We really planted A LOT. We are probably way too ambitious, but you have to start somewhere. Right?

So now what do I do? We watered with miracle grow 2 weeks ago. Do I ever do it again? I was thinking I should put in the old straw from the chickens to keep the ground moist? How often do I water? I've been using the soaker hoses and they seem to do a good job. What do I plant after my lettuces are done?

Life As We Know It

And the Verdict is....

The many faces of Ethan

Identical? Fraternal?

My Thoughts on Baby Food

Eleanor Roosevelt

Random Thoughts from the Zoo

Twin Belly Pictures

Just in Case you missed the Big News

Trying to Catch up

Kid's Nativity

A little persepective on Budgeting

Fighting Infection without antibiotics AND Vaccines [may be] Contaminated

How to make Grape Juice and other random stuff

Got Lecithin?

The Potamus turns One

Christmas FHE

Fires of Faith

DIY Cardigan

Childbirth

A few things to share

Hands Full and Loving It...

I Just AM

Homeschooling by the Numbers

Sight Words

Candy Corn Contest

Science

What can you do to prepare?

Definitions for Feelings

Handwriting and Spelling Rules

28 Rules For English Spelling

Exceptions:

Pronouncing Spelling Rules:

Emptying the Camera

Links to Love

Memorization

Printable Math Charts

Motivation

Children are Quite Good at Socializing Themselves

The Reading Bug

Our Carnivore

And... Baby Makes 5

5 Minute Basil Pesto

A Quick Get Away

Finishing up our Garden

Skin Brushing

How to Make A Green Smoothie

Thoughts on a Saturday Evening

Sprouted Grain Flour

Puzzle Boy

Forks Over Knives

3 Years

A Summer Hike

Rawlicious bites- week One

Stake Resources

What a morning...

Raw Food

A One Room School House

Ethanpotomus

In Full Swing

Testing Blogger

Help?

Family Pictures

Busy Weekend

My Lazy Chair

So in Love... with my Kindle

Skin Deep

Zucchni for Breakfast- Yummm

Seen Better Days

Bean Sprout Experiment

I'm Commited

Look Who's.....

First Week of School

Laughing and Playing Together

As a Mother Thinketh.. So is She

The Making of a Crawl

Apraxia- Treatment (what's working)

July's Scripture and Theme

Apraxia- Defined

Chore Chart: Take One