Advent Calendar

Last year, I posted about a cute advent calendar using a mini muffin tin.  I was packing my bags to head to China to meet our daughter, so the whole idea of making anything crafty was just not going to happen.  However, this year I was blessed to be a part of a ladies' Bible study/ craft group.  Guess what we made??  Yep, the muffin tin advent calendar.  I just -totally procrastinated!- filled each little cup with a slip of paper naming a Christmas activity for the day.  So tomorrow we'll get to remove #24 as we count down to Christmas and Jesus's birthday.  If you want to do a last minute calendar, even using 24 envelopes would work, here are some activities you could include in your count down, I listed more than 24 so pick what you like or make up your own...  Sorry I didn't post this sooner!

Our very own advent calendar; my kids are so excited.  Everything is attached by magnets.  

Read a Christmas story.

Memorize a Christmas verse.

Name 3 things you are grateful for.

Sing a favorite Christmas song.

Call your grandparents and tell them you love them.

Make a surprise for Daddy.

Have hot cocoa as a family.

   

Make a Christmas card and send it to your grandparents

     

Watch a Christmas movie.

 Color a picture of the nativity. (Look on-line for free color sheets to print out.)

   

Go on a drive to see Christmas lights.

Make a special Christmas treat. (I have a super easy recipe for peanut clusters on my blog!)

Deliver treats to neighbors.

  

Act out the nativity story and read Luke 2:1-20.

Make a gift for Grandma and Grandpa & wrap it.

Shop for a gift for a cousin, friend, or family member & wrap it.

Give a gift to a child in need.

Look at the stars if the sky is clear.

Play a game as a family: hide & seek…

Finger painting (which could potentially be a gift if framed.)

Build a snowman or make a snack for the birds to eat.

Go on a nature hike

Wrap a gift for Daddy

Memorize a Christmas song to sing for our family on Christmas day.

Help clean the house for company (my kids actually think it's fun to help clean!)

Open one gift on Christmas Eve

Remember that the greatest gift ever given was Jesus.  God loves you very much! (John 3:16)

Transition Times & Other Challenging Moments

I am a very slow learner when it comes to life lessons.  I wish it wasn't so, as I have to keep going through the same hard stuff over and over before finally...I get it!  Recently I had one of those moments where I realized a pattern that had been happening repeatedly for the past two and a half years.  Good grief, why didn't I notice this sooner??  It has to do with my kids and times when they are most likely to misbehave.  We all know that when our kids are tired, hungry, or bored they are more likely to be hard to get along with.  What I did not notice until a couple of weeks ago is transition times are also a major time for misbehavior.  You know, like stopping one activity to move on to another.  Perhaps it's getting on shoes and coats so we can go somewhere.  It might be time to stop playing and head to the dinner table.  A major one for us is pausing the movie so our son can go use the bathroom.  He often fights that one.  Or maybe it's the transition from being away to coming back home.  I have so many memories of standing at the coat closet trying to put away coats after an outing and having an all out battle with my kids about something inane.  "Why?!?" I pondered this after a particularly ugly confrontation in the hall next to the coat closet recently.  Then it dawned on me that these moments are all on the heels of something else.  We had a change in pace, change in location, change in activity and now there's a struggle to transition to something new.  Once I got it I started reminding myself in my head: "Ok, this is a transition time so be more patient.  Don't be surprised if there is noncompliance.  Remember they are still quite small and changes aren't easy for them."  All this self talk- when I remember to do it- has really helped me and I've often been able to see something brewing and ward it off.  I also pointed out what I'd learned to my husband.  The other day we shared a knowing look as we dealt with our daughter melting down at the end of a fun bike ride.  We just nodded and said to each other,  "Yep, it's a transition time..."  Then to the kids,  "Who wants a juice box??"  The meltdown subsided and we moved into the house for some juice.  Seriously, I wish I'd known this when they handed me my son!  Sorry, my sweet boy, that it took me so long to figure this out.  Thankfully, my dear daughter will have an easier go of it through ages two and three than my son did.

Some other moments when my kids are likely to be"difficult" are: when I'm on the phone, when I'm trying to do my hair and makeup in the morning, while I'm making dinner, when we are paying for something at the store...  Hey, parenting isn't easy!!

I'm trying a new game plan for when I'm on the phone.  If my kids are getting too crazy, loud, or doing naughty things on purpose (since I'm on the phone and they think I won't notice) I hold up fingers and count to five.  If I get to five fingers, that means there will be a consequence when I get off the phone.  It's still in the testing phase but worked well yesterday with my son.  I'm not sure that my daughter, at 21 months understands this yet.

Here's the biggie: when I'm making dinner... ugh!  This seems to be the time of day that tries moms' souls!  My goal is to start dinner at 4:30 so it's ready by 5:30.  When I start making dinner, I declare a work zone that is off limits to kids.  They know exactly where they can and can't roam in the kitchen.  That way we are all safe and nobody is literally underfoot while I'm cooking.  Usually, I have to reinforce the boundaries of the work zone at least twice while I'm preparing a meal.  If I'm desperate, I put on a video for the kids to watch.  (We have a one movie per day limit so I make sure to not use the video option up earlier in the day.)  Another method that works is putting miss M in her high chair with toys or a small snack.  Then I set up big brother K at the island with a drink and something to do that isn't normally available.  For example, I have white erase boards with activities that he can doodle on and feel like he's getting to do something special.   On the nights when my husband is working and it's just me and the kids, I rely on leftovers that can be prepared in a hurry so I can avoid blow ups, melt downs, and all the other miserable misdemeanors that seem to sneak up on us during the pre-dinner hour.  At least twice a month I just wave the white flag and we grab a pizza from Papa Murphy's.

My two angelic children: K & Miss M.  They never misbehave...Ha Ha!

What are some predictable times that your kids are likely to misbehave?  And what do you do to try and redirect them into positive behavior? Please share your ideas.  I love to hear from you all!!

Preschool at Home: Finger Painting

I discovered a great resource for doing preschool at home.  It's a book called: Slow and Steady Get Me Ready by June R. Oberlander.  It suggests age appropriate activities for each week of your child's life from birth to age 5.  I decided to try out the activity listed for M's age (almost 21 months old).  Personally, I'd never offer my less than two year old paint, but if the book said they could handle it then I was willing to give it a try.  My sister was visiting, so each kid had an adult nearby to keep things from going crazy.  I cut up some celery, carrots, and apples so we could use them for making prints on paper.  Eventually, it turned into finger painting and we got quite messy.  But everybody had fun and M actually enjoyed it the most.  She's quite the little artist!  

Our lovely Miss M jumped right in and started stamping away like a pro.  

Our little group: K (in Daddy's old shirt), Auntie, Miss M, and Mommy.

Celery seemed to work the best for little hands and made neat designs.

Big Brother K refused to smile while Daddy took pictures of our happy group.
Auntie knew how to make Mr. K smile though!  No faces were actually
painted in the the making of this smile.  :) 

Author Spotlight: Nancy Tillman

For K's 2nd birthday, he received a wonderful book called On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman.  It's message is simple: you are a miracle!  The author never mentions God in any of her books, but there are hints that point you to Him as you read the text.  Each of her six picture books has a similar theme: we are all loved and each person has value.

I love that this book is applicable to adopted kids too!

Not only are Ms. Tillman's books uplifting, but the illustrations that she paints are fantastic too.  I don't know how she does it, but the pictures are very realistic and yet dream like at the same time.  There are often bits of fantasy and whimsy woven into beautiful scenes of nature.  Sometimes you will notice animals, instruments, or faces hidden in roots of an old tree or in the sparkle of the stars.  Her work is truly unique and beautiful.

Written by Eric Metaxas and illustrated by Nancy Tillman.

I happened to see four Nancy Tillman's books on display at Kohl's this week.  They are selling her books: On the Night You Were Born, It's Time to Sleep My Love (by Eric Metaxas), Wherever You Are, and The Spirit of Christmas.  Each book is hardback and on sale for only five dollars, yes that's $5!!  All the profits go to help local children; our Kohl's is donating the money to our local children's hospital.  Very cool, I think.  So now might be the time to grab a few books by Nancy Tillman to give as Christmas gifts.  At least, that's what I'm thinking of doing.  :)

Get four of Ms. Tillman's best selling titles at Kohl's for only $5 each!

A Little "Fall" Project

I joined a ladies' small group at my church that meets once a week for a bit of parenting advice, Bible study, encouragement, and time to chat with other moms while we work on a craft or project.  I love being a part of this group!  Every week I come home with fresh ideas to help me in my parenting role, and I've had a chance to be creative or at least productive.  The crafts are prepared for us ahead of time so we just show up and get to do the fun part of making the project- perfect for tired moms who want some down time.  Recently, we made a set of blocks that say "Fall".  It was not hard to do, but the end result was so cute.  The clever part was using die cut letters; they look so much better than if we'd tried to paint them.  We adhered the letters with  Mod Podge which is a kind of glue that you brush over the entire block.  It dries clear with a bit of a shine.  

The blocks are four and five inches tall.  We roughed them up with sand paper
after we finished painting them, but before we adhered the letters.  

Baby M was hanging out with me while I took pictures of my fall project.

Now she's trying to run off with my blocks so I
switch my focus and photograph her instead.
What a cutie!!

A Crafty Solution

As I sat in the rocking chair in my daughter's room, I looked at all the stuff I used every day (powder, lotion, creams and pastes, etc...) that needed a home.  This miscellaneous stuff was cluttering up her small room and annoying me since I am a huge fan of neatness.  Her dresser was too far away to store the items there, and the ledge above the wainscotting was within reach of little hands.  I noticed the pegs on her shelf (from The Land of Nod) were high enough up so I started to formulate an idea to make hanging pockets to slip onto the pegs.  However, I am not a skilled seamstress.  I really don't enjoy sewing.  My sister Katie is great at it though, and she's quick to get projects done.  So I asked her if she would create a hanging pocket system for me.  Here's what she made for me... I love it!!  

Lotions, powder, medicines, Q-tips, and more...all have a place of their own.

Close-up view of a large pocket with smaller pocket.

I used the ties as a handy place to clip all of M's hair bows.
 Now that they are on display, I remember to use them.

A closer view of the small middle pockets.

Baby M's room has a garden theme: birdhouses, butterflies and such.  I happened to have an extra fitted sheet from Pottery Barn that I hadn't used yet.  Since her quilt and bedding matches this, I thought it would be fun to incorporate it into the wall hanging.  Then we came up with a couple of matching fabrics and some ribbon & buttons for decoration.  My sister not only sewed it, but she also came up with the layout as well.  I thought she was clever to use some of the characters from the sheet for added interest on the little pockets in the middle.  

My wonderful sister Katie and baby M.  

Author Spotlight: Tricia Goyer

It's fall and I find myself in-doors more often now.  With the days getting shorter and colder, I'm often reaching for a good book, a fuzzy blanket, and a steaming cup of chai tea. (Of course, this is only possible when the kids are asleep!) If you are also in the mood for some good books to read, let me suggest a couple for your reading enjoyment...

I've read four books by Tricia Goyer and enjoyed all of them.  My two favorites are: From Dust and Ashes and Blue Like Play Dough.  In researching a bit for this post, I discovered that Tricia has written over 30 books!  Here's her blog if you want a complete list of titles: http://www.triciagoyer.com/booklist.html

The cover didn't sell me.  I almost
brought it back to the library unread!
Glad I didn't as it was a great read.

The first book, From Dust and Ashes, is a WWII historical fiction, which happens to be my favorite genre when I'm looking for a fun read.  This one focuses on a little town in Austria and the liberation of a prison camp at the end of the war.  I found this book to be so captivating that I read it all in a two days!  That is not normal for me, so I think it must have been a great book.  Of course there's romance, mystery, and adventure, but it was mostly quite believable which is important to me.  It's obvious that Goyer did her homework and was familiar with the historical data that she wrote about.  In her other book I'm recommending, you'll find out why she's so familiar with the happenings of WWII.

I read this one slowly but enjoyed
each chapter and the unique life lessons
shared through her own experiences.

Blue Like Play Dough is a non-fiction book.  It's basically an autobiography about Tricia Goyer and her family.  Being a mom, I like to read true stories about other moms.  Sometimes it's very encouraging to hear that my daily experiences are similar to what other moms are going through.  However, Tricia is anything but a "normal" stay at home mom.  She is an author, homeschool mom, and has various volunteer jobs including working at a crisis pregnancy center.  She has also interviewed lots of WW II vets as part of her research for her writing.  All in all, I found her life story to be fascinating and inspiring.  The book was also a good reminder to enjoy each stage with my kids because they do grow up so quickly.

Happy reading to you, and please feel free to leave me a comment and share your favorite book or author.