A Little Night Time Prophecy

I dozed off to sleep a week ago dreaming up ideas to put on Chandler's favorite teacher's door for teacher appreciation week--the circus theme was especially challenging. In my semi-conscious state the thought came to me: "What if I took the butcher paper and crumpled it all up so it had an artsy-crinkly look?" I nixed that dumb idea quickly and drifted off to sleep.

A few days later I finally figured something cheesy to put on it and got to work. After 4-5 hours of work I called it complete and put it away.

Pleasant Little Greta, always-easy-to-get-to-sleep Greta decided to be a two year old after all. She played a little nap time hookie and got a hold of my poster and crumpled it for me. Unfortunately it isn't a cool artsy look but what to do?. . . I just do not have time to do it again. (The picture doesn't do the awry crumply look justice.)

Hopefully Mr. Moffitt will understand. . . .

This marks an official change in our lives since Greta can now climb out of her bed(yesterday). . . bye bye naps and easy bedtimes. . . . We are just barely getting Tessa to sleep through the night since her crib-climbing-out days. . . and the two of them in the same bed is a sleep defying thought! Ah, bring on character-building motherhood experiences!

"Do-Do-Do"

Last night I was cleaning Tessa's room (everything in the closet, drawers and bins had been removed from their proper location). Tess refused to help and I was too tired to be a good mom and insist that she help, but Greta was willing. As we worked, she was singing "Do-do-do-do". I started paying attention to what she was saying and I was able to figure out that she was singing our clean up song. "Cleaning our room is fun to do, fun to do, fun to do; Cleaning our room is fun to do, to do, to do, to do." (For tune click here.) I was tickled pink! And I was thankful she felt like singing when I did not. Small and simple things do make a big difference!

One other thing about Greta. She has started loving underwear. (I like diapers a lot more than messes so I'm in no hurry to jump on that ready marker.) With this love, she insists on wearing them. Thankfully she is willing to wear them over her onesie. On Sunday while at a meeting Tom was giving the girls a bath. He peeled off underwear after underwear. There were so many he decided it was worth a count. When I got home he asked me if I knew how many pairs she had on. I guessed with what I thought was high: 7. Nope. I was wrong. She had on 12! She is so funny!

Later. . . .Greta brought out a pile of undies (and some diaper covers from baby dresses) for me to put on her. 8 in all this time. Here is a picture:

I really wonder how she even walks in them. . . but it is good protection if she should fall!

Please Watch

My nephew has got an awesome video on YouTube. See here. He is the one with the marker. If the group gets enough views they get a cool trip. (A kid from our ward is also in it.) It's pretty good and it's only one minute so you should watch it!!!

Adding On. . .

To our garden.

The garden spot promised in the MLS listing when we bought our home really turned out to be a Quikrete (or something similar) RV pad covered with a little bagged soil. The past 6 springs when I've had the energy to push my workers I've insisted on digging it out and filling it up with top soil. It is hard work.
This year after only being able to add another 3-4 feet, Tom sensed my disappointment and went and bought a sledge hammer. How much faster that made the work! (However, you have to be very careful not to crumble the cementy stuff--it is much harder to remove and not very good for veggies.)

After two loads of rock to the landfill and two loads of top soil, we were able to add about another 12 feet to our garden. I'm going to try to grow corn this year! (The above photo is the rock pile after the 3-4 feet of clearing.)

Although it is hard work, I'm thankful that my boys have opportunities to do this kind of hard work. It is such a good character builder!

Matt and Mandy--Tessa Style

Tess: "Mom, can I write a Matt and Mandy?"

Me: "Sure! Would you like me to type it for you?"

Tess: "Yes!!!! And then let's mail it to them!"

"I like Baby Jesus," says Matt.

"I like Jesus too, " says Mandy.
"I like Jesus too," says the brother who grows up to go on a mission.
"I like Him too," says his dad.
"I like ducks too," says Matt and Mandy.
And princesses are beautiful.
The end.

(Perhaps we'll not submit her first draft.)

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May 25

Tessa played all of the Matt and Mandy stories on the computer today and asked "Where is mine? Maybe they haven't got it yet. . . ."

Mrs. Mommy's Preschool

I hesitate to post this. From time to time I get comments like "What don't you do?" or questions about the realness of my life. Trust me, there is a whole lot of realness at this house. Just come over and you'll see full scale . . . . Child #4's intense personality is challenging and demanding more often than not. For example, the other day I sent her into the bathroom to wash her face. She came out and said, "I washed my shoes too. They were also dirty." The shoes were on her feet. Squishy shoes did not feel really great so she took them off and went outside to dry off. Soggy shoes walking down the hall left a mess and so did the dirt she played in with partially wet pant legs. If it were only things like that, it wouldn't be as bad, but she needs A LOT of attention, otherwise we experience too many negative behaviors (such as running across the dining room table during a family meal and other inappropriate things to get attention). Because of those intense needs and her severe lack of fine motor skills, something had to be done. This is done out of need and not out of super mommyness and since it is part of my history, it needs to be recorded.

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A few weeks after Tess got her glasses, I was praying to know how to help her and improve the many 'school skills' she is lacking--mostly from her inability to be able to see. I had been tossing around preschool ideas in my mind and wondered logistically how I could make them work. I've tried things in the past. All of them failed miserably. But one night in my prayers, thoughts flowed into my mind as to how to make it work and what specifically to work on. When thoughts come pouring into me like that, I know their source and knew I had to utilize them. And if they helped Tessa it would be worth the sacrifice. (Some days it is exactly that, but most days I really enjoy it.) Even the name "Mrs. Mommy's Preschool" came to me in that prayer. Tessa attached herself to it and calls me "Mrs. Mommy" during preschool. (Cracks me up.)

Why don't I just put her in a preschool you ask, especially because of the break it would give me? I've seriously considered it. But when I totaled up how much a year of preschool would cost me I wasn't willing to part with that amount especially when I'm educated to teach. We're tight wads I know. And who better to meet her needs better than her mommy? (This isn't the answer for everyone and I don't fault anyone --teaching degrees or not-- who pay for preschool.)

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The Preschool

We start each session with prayer (because Brigham Young said, (paraphrased) "You shouldn't attempt to teach even the alphabet without calling upon the powers of heaven.") we review our rules and say the pledge. We review letter sounds and sight words and count to 50. And when she remembers, Tessa brings 'Show and Tell'. (100% her idea from the very beginning. I have no idea where she got it from. But she loves it and it is quite entertaining for me!) We also read books, have snacks and play classical music in the background. (Sounds perfect right? In theory yes, but trust me we tweak things daily, go with the flow and deal with moods often.)

I spent $40 in books so I didn't have to make lesson plans. Life saving decision. I bought one book with coloring/cutting/tearing/folding skills and one with instant learning activities. We do one activity from each book a day. The activities we have done range from math, language, and science skills to large motor skills. They are very simple like hiding an object and giving the girls directional clues so they can find it; going out to look at branches on the trees to see beginning buds; setting up kitchen chairs like a train and getting on the first, middle or last car; making snow angels; rhyming games, guessing objects with the overhead projector etc. We play as long as short attention spans allow.

Then we do a cutting/pasting/coloring project. While completing the project I tell them tidbits of information about what we are working on (spiders, penguins, chickens etc.). After we complete the project for the day we post it on the refrigerator. The next day we take them off the fridge and put them in a binder so the girls can recall what we did each day. At first we just labeled what we were coloring, but now I have them dictate a sentence so that as they look through their books they have something to practice 'reading' (mostly for Tessa, but Greta loves it too).

What are the results after three months of preschool? Tessa's ability to attend to something has improved so much! Her ability to complete a project from start to finish is night and day. She can also color in the lines and realizes there are lines to color in! I know that sounds silly, but with her natural impatience and inability to see those were things inconceivable to her. She also can write a few letters and draw a little. She still doesn't color or draw as well as other 4 year olds, but the improvement she's made in 3 months is impressive. Now she also can cut and glue. And when I am consistent, her behavior is largely tempered throughout the day. She still is very impulsive and impatient, but the attention she gets through preschool is gradually helping with that also. In my book those are huge gains and so worth my effort. (I was sick for two weeks a bit ago and didn't do preschool at all, at the end of those two weeks I was ready to list her on ebay--she was back to her mischievous antics and her demands were emotionally draining. Since I've started back with it, I can see how much she really, really needs this.) It's truly been an answer to my prayers and I'm so thankful I have heeded the guidance I received.

Greta's results are not as significant since most of the things we do are not developmentally appropriate for her age, but her coloring has also improved. She can manage a pair of scissors (she still can't cut things out yet though). And she seems to be soaking in all the information she is getting. We see little signs here and there that she is picking things up at a rate much quicker than her ability to tell us about it. And she loves it!

Changes for me: I feel like I'm more on the offensive rather than the defensive with Tess. That is huge! I'm a different kind of tired. I'm more tired physically, but less tired emotionally. I'll take it!! Also, my testimony has been strengthened. Heavenly Father is ever concerned with His children and is willing to direct lives when we ask and are willing to follow that direction. He loves Tessa more than me and is willing to generously give help so I can teach her and train her to use her wonderful talents for good. I'm so thankful!

A few more pictures:

Cooking

I'm not really sure what to say in this cooking post, but decided that since it such a huge part of my life right now something should be recorded about it. So I guess I'll just start with a few bullets and see where that leads me.

~ I get bored of cooking the same thing all the time. I use the Internet for cooking nearly everyday to get ideas as to how to change things up so I'm more excited to cook. Lately I've searched for new recipes for old favorites: pancakes, spaghetti, tacos etc. Change is nice.

~I had the same small pepper container for probably 15 years. But since I've married Tom (6.5 years ago) I've gone through about 3 lbs of pepper. Not a joke. He loves pepper and I've learned to love it too. I'm pretty sure I was always afraid of it before because my dad always said pepper turns your stomach black. We've all got black stomachs around here!

~Homemade croutons are the bomb! Love this simple recipe.

~Tom used to make fun of a family who always had homemade hamburger and hot dog buns. So I found a recipe the other day and decided to make them for him. He's hooked so now he has to make fun of me!

~I probably make 2-5 new recipes a week.

~I can't ever follow a recipe exactly. I experiment too much. When it turns out good I can't usually recreate it. And sometimes it is a total flop!!!! It's also a problem because I don't know if the original recipe is any good. But I can't help myself.

~I love my bread machine. I usually make a loaf a day. Sometimes more. It's cheap, it's healthy and my biggest eaters love it. Because of it, we go through about 350 lbs. of flour a year. After I make a loaf, I slice it with an electric knife and store it in large ziplock bags in the freezer. That way we can take out only what we need for toast, sandwiches or snacks. Cache wants a bread machine to take to college. I don't blame him.

~My recipes are NOT organized. When I print them off, I put them in a folder. If I like them, the plan is to cut them out and put them in my box. But I haven't gotten around to that yet so my folder is bulging with papers in no logical order. I should set a goal.

~Breakfast is hard. I hate cold cereal so I have to cook. Coming up with what to make for breakfast every morning is one of my least favorite things. I need more good, easy, fast breakfast ideas. (Help!)

~With all this cooking there are loads of dirty dishes. I run the dishwasher at least two times a day. It makes me crazy to cook in a messy kitchen so I have to keep on top of the dishes and spills. (But that doesn't mean I'm perfect at it--far from it. Since it doesn't ever go away, I just have to keep at it.)

Direction

Lately I've been thinking about the wondrous blessing it is to be able to pray for specific ways to help my children and receive answers. They are not only my children though, so Heavenly Father has vested interest and is generous with help. A few specific examples I want to record:

One time a child wasn't being productive or using his time wisely and therefore had little confidence and self esteem. I prayed to know how to help. The answer was to "pray every morning with this child before school. You always say the prayer--express gratitude for him and his talents and also pray for him to use his talents and strengths in productive ways and to develop a testimony." Simple. Perfect. And it helps so much. We've been at this one for well over a year and I can see a powerful trend.

Another time another child was struggling and just having a hard time with life. Sibling relationships, school, chores, friends. Life was just bad. The answer was to give more hugs and start a Book of Mormon reading incentive with him. Simple. Perfect. I can't believe the difference. (There is power in that book.)

Another child has been prayed for to know how to help direct energy and to remediate lacking fine motor skills. The answer was to do a formal preschool with her (taught by me). Then the ideas flowed as to how to logistically make it work, what to teach and how to accomplish it. Simple. Perfect. The difference is amazing. (a separate post on this later)

A few weeks ago I was losing sleep over a current event and what I could do to help my family navigate through successfully. So I prayed to know what to do. My answer was to use my mini meetings to teach the doctrine of the family from this talk by Sister Beck. Results are not in yet, but at least I can sleep because I'm being proactive.

Another child has a difficult time keeping his bedroom clean. This has bothered me not because of the mess per say, but because of the fact that the Spirit can't reside in such a sloppy habitat. Also, taking those habits into missionary companionships and a marriage will put strain on those relationships. In the past I've created more charts than I want to count, I've nagged, I've ignored and I've tried to help him catch the vision of why it is important. Unsuccessful. So I prayed about it. I was given an answer. It was: "go into his room every night and help him clean it. It will help him realize how nice it is to keep clean, it will teach him to clean up once a night and it can be a bonding time for you. Even if on some nights you do all the work, the results will come." Simple. Perfect. And it has been working.

There are others, I know, but these have been the ones foremost on my mind lately. All I can say is I'm so thankful for divine guidance and direction. It is custom fit to my children's needs and within my abilities. There is no way with my limited knowledge, experience and emotional limitations that I could navigate through motherhood and be very successful. I need so much help and I'm so thankful help is ever present.

From the Archives

Yesterday I was filing something away and I came upon my teacher plan book from the year 2003-2004. In the back I found a little gem--a handwritten note about a conversation between Caleb(then, age 8) and Chandler(then age 3)after the tool-loving Chandler had spent the day at their babysitters, (JoRene Tanner); Caleb joined him after school. JoRene had two grandsons, Tanner and Colten, living with her at the time.

I suppose I had asked Chandler how his day was.
Chandler: "My tind of had a wittle pwobwem today. Tanner and Towton wouldn't wet me pway wif deir drampa's nails and my was even being weally tareful." (Translation: My kind of had a little problem today. Tanner and Colten wouldn't let me play with their grandpa's nails and my was even being really careful.)
Caleb: "Yeah, but Chandler you were playing on the water bed."

Definite problem!