Long Winter Part II

I have been plotting this post for weeks... Most days I have just lacked in the motivation a few days I lacked in the time. ;) While sitting here folding diapers and putzing around on the web I decided now is better than never.

1. ICE
I have been reading about an idea I had last year on a few blogs. Colored Ice! Simple, quick and FUN! Last year Little Bo Peep and I made red, yellow and blue ice (just fill up your ice trays with water and food coloring). We charted what happened to the ice as it melted. I did this to teach her how to make secondary colors. We started with a red cube and a yellow cube. She was able to play with the ice in a closed zip-top bag for a little while before it started to melt and the colors started to blend into my favorite, orange!

2. SPECIAL ADVENTURE
Another thing I've been reading about is something I have been waiting since last year to do with the girls. We made a red and green countdown paper chain for Christmas. Every day we take a link off and have a Christmas Adventure! Some of our adventures will include: watching a Christmas movie and eating popcorn, making ornaments and reading a Christmas book. I'll post the entire list of our adventures later. It has been so fun the past few days having an adventure as a family during my favorite part of the year.

3.READ
I just came across a challenge I think I may be up for. Reading 100 books in a month. My girls L.O.V.E. to read. We went to the library on Tuesday to get some more Christmas books and walked away with 60 books. The guy behind me asked if I was a teacher! I said, "I homeschool." :)

I am now going to fill you in on what has been going on around our Crazy Castle.

Friday I put Mr. Darcy in the exersaucer so I could make lunch. I knew Little Bo Peep was in his room playing with him and could hear that she had turned on the music on his swing. When I went to get him I found Alice (Little Bo Peep's Bitty Baby) sleeping in the swing, lights and music on, covered with Mr. Darcy's blanket while eating up the batteries in the swing! I laughed and turned it all off but didn't have time to put Alice in her own bed. When I went back in there later to get a diaper I almost had a heart attack from seeing a baby in the swing when I knew I had just left Mr. Darcy in the other room!

Earlier this week Mr. Darcy was playing on the floor in our living room and Little Bo Peep and Goldilocks started playing with him. The next thing I saw was them "wrapping" him up in the blanket he was lying on and calling him "Baby Jesus." Little Bo Peep and Goldilocks were taking turns being Mary and the Angel!

We had a wonderfully busy Thanksgiving weekend. B's sister and her family from Rhode Island were here. His parents stayed with us. My brother was home for the week. We gave my mom a surprise birthday party on Friday. Had lunch with some friends from Ohio on Saturday. We dedicated Mr. Darcy on Sunday and then had the ENTIRE family back to our house for lunch. It was all wonderful but busy.

We also found out that B's brother and his wife Rebecca are parents!!! I am SOOOO EXCITED!!! My kids won't be able to babysit for their kids like they have joked about for years. Mr. Darcy and their new squisher will be a year apart, HOORAY! I just keep thinking of all the things we can do together now that we have one more thing in common, motherhood. Mom2Mom sales, Mom's Night Out, 2AM laundry... Hooray for another baby!

Now I'm off to watch Blake Lively, I *heart* SNL!

cmas pageant

Longgggggggg Winter

This was the message on my answering machine the other day:

Hi Andi, it's Jenny. It's going to be a longggggg winter. I have an idea so give me a call.

When I called her I expected her to tell me of great plans to move us all to a warmer climate... Wishful thinking? No, I love the seasons too much to move south. Her idea was to compile a list of activities with supplies that can be pulled out at any time. This idea has been swimming around my brain the past few days. It hit me today, don't keep this between us, put it on here to share with others.

I'm sharing this with you on one condition, you share with me.

I know I can't make you share ideas, but I would SO appreciate any input from you!

Over the years of teaching and now being a mom I have collected many books and websites I turn to when I need ideas. With all of these resources overflowing from my classroom bookshelves and my Delicious account busting at the seams I don't have time to look for an activity when I have one, two or even three kids screaming from boredom. I need something fast that doesn't take any planning or preparation. I can only retain so much information so I think this post will be perfect.

I'm planning on making it a regular post. We'll see if I can get to posting ideas weekly but for now I'm aiming for twice a month. Subscribe to my blog so you don't miss any ideas and if you post a list of your own add it to Mister Linky (at the end of this post).

Long Winter Day Ideas

Shaving cream in a bag-- Buy the cheep bottles of shaving cream at the dollar store. Keep some gallon size zip lock bags with the can. Squirt some shaving cream in the bag, seal and squish! Sometimes I add a few drops of food coloring or a dab of paint. If you mix primary colors it doubles as a lesson for secondary colors and the effect white has on colors.

Water race-- Pull out a piece of wax paper, a straw and get a little water in a bowl. (You may need to tape down the corners of the wax paper.) Dip your fingers into the water and put a few drops onto one end of the wax paper. Start blowing the water with the straw. Once your child becomes a pro you can have races to see who gets to the end first. Here is a video for all of the visual learners! (Side note- this lady is AMAZING! Pull up her page any time for a song playlist your preschool kids will enjoy, which takes me to my next idea.)

Sing a song-- I know it sounds too simple, but it's not easy. When I'm trying to get seven things done at once and my kids are bouncing off the walls singing is NOT the first thing that pops into my head. While I have a lot of songs tucked away in my back pocket I still forget about them ALL. THE. TIME. Last week I spent a few days putting together a song book. I now have a binder with 40+ songs that my kids can look at and tell me what they want to sing. I put a distinct picture with each song so pre-readers can still pick.

Special box-- I have a box that I pull out when I need the kids to play with out my attention. It only comes out once in a while so it stays special and I change out the contents periodically. Right now there are some books that are related to current holidays and season, metal trays with magnets, a few foam puzzles, a magnet puzzle book, a few finger puppets, and Mini PlaySkool games: Don't break the Ice and Cootie.

I hope this gets your juices flowing. Link up below with your ideas and subscribe now to get updates in the future. Here is to an enjoyable winter regardless of the length!

Dear Anonymous

A comment left here from my last post:

Anonymous said...

They should teach that being a mother is a blessing and that some people won't be able to procreate so if you are blessed with children, you should be grateful and not complain. I know a ton of women who would love to be in your shoes so next time you are listing off the "challenges" you face as a parent, you might want to count your blessings instead.

My first reaction to this comment was to hit delete. This is my blog and I have the freedom to say whatever I feel and think. The more I thought about the situation I realized Anonymous has the right to speak their mind. While the comment was uncalled for I do not know their situation and the struggles they may have gone through or are going through. After thinking hard and praying about this I have decided to respond the only way I know how, with honesty. I strive to be real in life and on this blog. I like to think "what you see is what you get," that is what I am trying to do here.



Dear Anonymous,

I am aware that children are a blessing, I have never claimed otherwise. No one ever told me I would be spending hours every week in the laundry room scrubbing out stains. I was not informed that waking up out of a dead sleep I would have SteveSongs running through my head instead of Green Day's latest hit. I wish someone had been more honest about the day to day happenings in the life of a mom. I wish someone would be that open with teenagers who are tempting fate. Had someone been this blunt with me I still would have had children, but I would have been a little more prepared.

I watched my parents lose four babies and have had dear friends suffer the same loss. I hurt with my friends who can not conceive. And I rejoice when after months of trying God blesses them with a miracle. Even those blessed with children are only human and do not have a smile all day. Parenthood is not all lollipops and roses.

Dealing with Postpartum Depression for the second time is no picnic. Every day I battle with myself over the thoughts and feelings I have. No one told me this was a possibility. I never imagined I would have to force myself to hold my baby. Having a third baby was not supposed to emotionally detach me from my other children. A new baby shouldn't pull me further away from my friends. I never dreamed having another child would bring loneliness.

There hasn't been a day in Mr. Darcy's life that I haven't shed tears at least once. Daily I struggle with my ability as a wife, mother and friend. The strain this mental illness is putting on my relationships with my husband, children, family and friends weighs on my heart every day. Every morning I force myself to get out of bed because my husband and children need me. Each moment of doubt, loneliness, anger, sadness and fear I push forward because one day I will be better. This is a war I will win.

My friend Ruth from church posted about a series that just finished on Sunday mornings.

Our church recently did a series on Habakkuk. We talked about how we all experience "dips" in our lives in one way or another, where we encounter something that either causes us to take pause or sometimes even causes us to complete stop in our tracks of life. Habakkuk shows us how that even in those dips, God is wanting us to press in closer to Him (not just turning to Him during the good times). It's in those moments where we can really learn to trust Him. Of course, there's not always an easy answer to our situations. There won't always seem to be a way out. Sometimes it's something we have to continue to live with. God knows that. He understands that we don't always understand, that we ask why, that we even get upset with Him at times. And that's okay. Our Father loves us deeply, and wants to help us grow, just like us parents want for our children.

The last week of the series, we showed a video of some other people at Paradox who have gone through various dips in life. The stories share their dip, some of their heartache, and where they are at now. Some are past those moments, and some are still in the thick of it, trying their best to cling to Christ.

Making the decision to be a part of this video was a big step for me. Through the whole series I felt God whisper to me, "I will use your hurt, pain and healing to help others." I felt this was the first part of God using me to help others. I'm still waiting to see how this will help others. It was not easy to be that vulnerable in front of the whole church. It isn't easy being this open and honest on this blog, but I think this is one more step. One more step to helping someone and one more step toward my healing.

Every day I am reminded of God's blessings. He gives me strength to keep fighting and not give in to the lies. Anonymous, you may have been trying to remind me that my children are to be cherished, but maybe next time you will take a step back and think from the another's point of view.