Thanksgiving Play Date

 

 

This morning we had our Thanksgiving play date with small group friends. One family who had a little girl backed out at the last minute due to illness, but that's not too uncommon for Texans in November. And as much as we missed them, we're happy that they didn't share their germs with us.  So as it turned out, we had a morning of little boys running around (plus Baby G who took a timely nap). 

This time around, I had a few organized activities in my back pocket in the event that the rascals grew restless.  This was fortuitous because the boys did get hungry and ended up congregating at the kitchen table.  What perfect timing for a food craft!  (This was definitely not the audience for anything involving paint or glue!!!!)

Today we made apple turkeys.  My boys' turkeys are pictured at the top next to mine--can you figure out which apple belongs to whom?  I think the picture demonstrates that the 3 year old loved the idea of stabbing his apple with toothpicks, and that his version of artistic expression is definitely his own version.  The other 3 year old boy who was with us decided to forego the entire craft so that he could just eat his apple and the marshmallows.  That said, the older kids and mommies thought it was fun.  This turned out to be a no mess, no fuss, semi-healthy, and really cute project.

Who knew that apples, marshmallows, toothpicks, raisins, and candy corn could be so entertaining? (Beware though: finding candy corn AFTER Halloween isn't easy.)  But this turned out to be a super fun way to use food for crafting.  For other food craft ideas for Thanksgiving, there's more ideas on my Pinterest board.

The Play Date Update

Humility.  I love how it likes to slap you in the face.  Last week I was so like, "I've got my motherhood groove all figured out.  I don't have to be like all the other moms and can do my own thing and still have great kids!"  And then something happened...

First, I have to give you a little background.  Last month I felt compelled to host a play date at my house.  I've never done this before.  And frankly, my version of a play date is kind of boring.  To make matters worse, no one--that's right, NO ONE--from my Wednesday small group showed up to play (and that was the intended audience).  After setting the date, it became pretty clear that I chose the wrong date to have people over.  So, then I started branching out and inviting other people.  I invited my friend whose kids were in preschool during the play time.  I invited the new girl who was singing with the band at church that week.  And I ultimately prayed that God would use that day to bless SOMEBODY.  In the end it was a good way to build a new friendship and to rekindle an old friendship.  I wasn't real successful on the kid play activity front, but oh well.

Since that time, in the back of my mind I've known that I was going to have to have another play date.  I even told the moms who couldn't make our last date that I would schedule another day.  Part of me believed my words; part of me wanted to back out.  And then Sunday, my Wednesday small group leader's wife hit me up about hosting another mommy/kid event.  So of course, I said sure!

Then I had a panic attack.  Okay, not really, but it did occur to me that this time around I'm going to have to host a kid friendly event.  So what did I do on Monday night?  I spent the evening on Pinterest looking for a Thanksgiving craft project (preferably one that doesn't require paint) that might be suitable  and easy to put together.   As I realized what I was doing a wave of humility just hit me.  I was so convinced that I was not one of "those" moms and yet, out of necessity, here I was planning a craft activity for a bunch of preschoolers!  I was literally eating my words as I was being a Pinterest Mom!

As it turns out, play date #1 was a good learning experience for me.  I'm a total bore when it comes to entertaining children.  That's why there's play date #2.  This time, I'm going to try a little harder.  Maybe I'll even have some cool pictures to share with you all of some edible craft projects--yes, I said edible! 

Stay tuned.

School is Almost Open for Business

We're literally counting down the weeks until our "school" opens for business.  As far as the world is concerned, my son won't start kindergarten until fall 2014.  But the plan is to actually start working through the curriculum in January.  That means that I only have 2 months of freedom before I become a teacher--something that I'm not formally educated to be and something that I'm still completely nervous about attempting.  Trust me, had I gone to college with the idea that I was going to spend 18+ years of my life teaching 3 children everything that they need to know for life, I might have chosen a different major.  I'm sure that my understanding of the human body and pathology and my ability to draft legal documents and arguments will come in handy at some point, but it certainly hasn't prepared me for understanding learning styles, educational theories, curriculum development, etc.  After years and years of higher education, I'm slightly flabbergasted by the world that is Kindergarten!

Thankfully, the decision to homeschool, the desire to homeschool, and the preparation for homeschooling has not been all me.  Prayer, Mr. Wonderful, supportive grandparents, friends who are successfully surviving the process, the internet, and homeschool how-to books have all contributed to getting us where we are today.  I was originally scared to death about the idea of being a homeschool mom.  Just the thought of teaching someone phonics made my stomach churn.  There  have been tears and fear.  But then there was prayer and at each step in this journey something has happened to confirm that this is the right decision for us, for now.  I can't explain how relieved I am that God has given me a joy about this process, because I year ago I rolled my eyes and groaned just thinking about it.

Another blogger shared that she was reading a must-read homeschool book and recommended that anyone considering homeschooling should read it.  I'm so glad I heeded her advice, because The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell has been a huge blessing and confidence boost for me (and I needed it because according to her I'm an actual-routine learner with an Epimethean temperament who regularly needs a push into the "uncomfortable" zones and constant affirmation that I'm succeeding in order to venture off into new educational endeavors.  Her book has found a way to tap into my sense of duty and to motivate me.  Sorry, I digress...).  Mrs. Bell has done a wonderful job laying out all the truths about the benefits and disadvantages to homeschooling.  She honestly believes that it's not for everybody.  And she lays out a fairly unbiased how-to guide for approaching homeschooling.  I'm not even halfway through the book, but I'm so relieved that I'm reading this prior to starting school in January!  Thank you Mrs. Bell!!!!

Although my blog was not intended to be a homeschool blog, I just wanted to give my reader friends a heads-up that we're about to enter Kindergarten together.  This is just where God has been leading me. So while I don't intend to write about school all the time, homeschooling is my new life.  I have every confidence that God is going to use this new adventure to humble, teach, and change me.  It will likely be painful and ugly at times, but I'm praying that it will produce something lovely in my life, my children, and my home.

 

Tink and Her Few Good Men

Halloween is generally not my favorite holiday.  Unfortunately, it seems unavoidable.  And now that I have kids, I'm a huge Scrooge if I ignore the day.  The neighbors softened me up this year by Booing us on Tuesday night (They leave a bucket of treats on your front porch and then you hang a sign saying that you've been booed.  Then you, likewise, Boo 2 neighbors who don't have signs in their windows until most of the neighborhood has ghost signs in the window.  I've been informed that when they do this at Christmastime you get "elfed." Super fun!).  Once the Boo thing happened, I kind of decided that Halloween might be a good chance to be neighborly.  And I confess that I actually enjoyed last night--although there were car loads of kids getting dropped off in our neighborhood from who-knows-where and we ran out of our 6 bags of candy pretty quickly!

Since this was Baby G's first Halloween, I really wanted to dress my entire gang up as the characters from Peter Pan.  I thought it would be so cute to have a little Tinker Bell, a Captain Hook, and a Peter Pan!  Unfortunately, my boys did not share this vision.  The 5 year old was amenable to the idea of dressing as a pirate, but neither were thrilled at the thought of being dressed in green and the 3 year old told me he didn't want to dress up at all.  (I really should have forced them to watch a little more Peter Pan and Hook this summer.)  So only 1/3 of my wish came true--I got my little Tinker Bell!  I actually purchased her costume last year before she was born and it fit perfectly.  Somehow, my intuition proved right as Baby G's personality made her the perfect Tink. She had a blast!

Choosing costumes for the boys was an entirely different story.  They're not really into super heroes or Disney characters.  Instead, when they play "dress up" they pretend to be actual men--Daddy going to work, a fireman on duty, a football player on game day, a coach instructing his football team, etc.  So when I found my costumes this year, I knew I had scored.

All the neighbors loved my little Marine and Navy Pilot.  Of course, the boys saluted and said cute little things as they went from door to door too.  And as expected, this morning they were dressed up in their little ensembles all over again!  Today they pretended that they were going to war in the backyard.  Looks like we'll get plenty of use out of this year's costumes--although I confess that I let my oldest sleep in last year's shark costume from time to time too so the shark costume wasn't a complete loss either.  Nothing like getting your money's worth out of things.

Halloween is still not my favorite holiday, but as a mommy I'm learning that some things just aren't about me.  Sometimes you've just got to loosen up for your kids and for your neighbors. Gotta enjoy these years while I've got them.