Winner of the Bookmark Giveaway

The winner of the random drawing for the Four Seasons Bookmarks is...

Comment #3, cdziuba!

Congratulations! I will be contacting you by e-mail.

If for some reason, he/she does not claim the prize,

I will announce another winner mid-week!

"See Owen Run!"

Owen is a big boy. He was my smallest at birth by far-- 7 pounds, 12 ounces-- but he was 2 1/2 weeks early. By 2 weeks, he was over 9 pounds, and he didn't stop. He was well over 20 pounds by 5 months! After his first birthday, he slowed down and grew taller instead of wider, but his feet have maintained their baby chubbiness. It makes it super hard to find shoes for him.

For summer, we bought him two pairs of shoes. The first was a pair of sandals. We found a basic pair at Target. To get the Velcro closed enough to keep the shoe on his foot, the top of his foot is squished! If you loosen it to make it more comfortable, the sandal falls off his foot! His second pair of shoes is a play pair for the pool or beach. We bought him a pair in his size at Old Navy and couldn't even get them on because his foot was too chunky. We found another pair at Target that we settled on, but they are a struggle to squeeze on!

So we were in a dilemma for fall. I heard about a company called See Kai Run that makes shoes just for kids with feet like Owen's. In fact, their website says these shoes "accommodate even the chubbiest little feet." I wrote to the company and asked them to donate a pair for me to review on my blog...and they did!

The box arrived one evening and a few days later, we put the shoes to the test. Owen immediately took to them. After easily slipping over his little toes (something that has never happened), he looked down at his feet and said, "Boo-ful." One evening he found the shoebox and said, "Mama, put shoes on." When he took off the lid and noticed it was empty, he put his whole face in the box and said, "All gone!" Now if I send him to find his shoes, he inevitably brings these to me!

I love how flexible the soles are. They are rubber and sturdy, but yet bend easily for toddler movement. The shoe itself is made of soft leather. (Am I the only one who loves to inhale that wonderful scent?!) We are totally sold on these shoes. The only negative I could find is the price. Moms shopping for multiple kids may find these out of price range.

With my next baby due in October, I was excited to learn that See Kai Run is coming out with a line of booties for babies 0-18 months this month called Smaller.

Am I the Only Mom Who...

...has held a baby while on the toilet?

...has hidden a children's book because I can't bear to read it one more time?

...has gone in the laundry room to eat a snack so I don't have to choose whether to share?

...has pretented to still be asleep so I can catch a few more minutes of rest before tackling the barrage of questions thrown my way?

...has thrown my son's white shirt in the trash rather than bleach it again?

...can name every Thomas engine ever made?

...considers a day without someone crying a luxury? (Oh wait, I don't have those!)

...finds folding laundry relaxing?

...who is glad plants are not children because they would be sorely neglected?

Four Seasons Bookmark Giveaway

This is a "small but sweet" giveaway for some of my homemade bookmarks. There is one for each season--spring, summer, fall, and winter! Simply leave a comment on this post sometime between now and Saturday at midnight, and you will be entered to win. I will announce the winner on my blog Sunday morning.

For more giveaways or to enter the fun, visit the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival going on all week!

Another Year Gone By!

Today is Maddie's fourth birthday(even though she says she wants to stay three)! Soon she will be one of four children-- the rest of whom are boys! We're not worried about her, though. She can hold her own. We joke that Maddie received an attitude in a box on her first birthday. Up until then, she was a laid-back, calm, quiet baby--and boom!-- when she turned one, she turned fiesty, too!

Maddie has a sweet spot in her heart for all animals (including flies and spiders) and all babies. She is like a magnet to them! She says when she grows up, she wants to be a mommy and a bird watcher. Noble goals.

Happy Birthday, Princess!

What Are You Reading? July edition

There is just not enough time to read everything I want to read. I can't stop myself from reading multiple books at once, but I try to stick with one fiction and one non-fiction at a time to keep things under control! Of course, I'm usually in the middle of a read-aloud with the kids, too. I like a comment Babychaser made about how reading aloud to the kids is a way to read books I never got around to reading. We make it a point to read excellent, non-fluffy literature so the books I read to them are often just as interesting to me as to them. The following is my current list:

The Bible-- I'm currently in I John.

The Strength of His Hand by Lynn Austin-- This is the third book in her historical fiction series on King Hezekiah.

Confessions of a Medical Heretic by Robert Mendelsohn-- the same doctor who wrote How to Raise a Healthy Child...in Spite of Your Doctor

Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld-- I never found the need to try to disguise veggies in a child's food...until I had a child who would live on bread and applesauce if I would let him! Our first attempt was meatballs (with squash puree). I thought it was wonderful. He spit it out!

We are between read-alouds. We just finished The Mouse of Amherst by Elizabeth Spires about a little rodent who lives with Emily Dickinson. The kids loved it so much we finished it in two sittings. We are about to start Little Rascal by Sterling North.


Now it's your turn! Take a minute to tell me what you are reading. What are you reading in your personal Bible study? How about a Bible study at church? Or something (even a picture book) you have read recently to your child(ren). How about a magazine you faithfully read? Tell me about it. Even if you don't usually comment, could you take a minute and share with me...and all of us...your list or recommendation? I'd love to hear from you!

Homeschooling Questions

Jenny recently asked me some questions about homeschooling. I thought it would be a good idea to answer them here and maybe be a help and encouragement to others.

I am considering homeschooling but what concerns me is choosing a curriculum and structure that will keep [my daughter] up with her peers (and maybe even ahead). Was it easy for you to find the right thing? How did you choose it?

I have an advantage in that I was homeschooled myself from sixth grade through high school so I am already familiar with lots of homeschooling materials, books, and ideas. However, "homeschooling" begins long before time for formal instruction. Talking to your child, playing with her, reading excellent books to her, involving her in your life--those things prepare your child for more structured learning when she is ready. It's not like one day you just "start school." I've been reading to Gavin (5 1/2) since he was a few months old. By two, he could count and knew his colors. Owen (23 months) has NO interest in colors, but has learned to recognize almost every letter of the alphabet-- not because I've opened up a curriculum and taught it to him, but because he was interested in the refrigerator magnets and asked what the letters were so many times, he picked it up on his own. So much of early learning is picked up just by being together.

When your child is ready to begin math and reading and handwriting, you'll know. Gavin started Kindergarten a few months before he turned five because he was ready. I've found that my children are a bit ahead of their peers, but the beauty of homeschooling is that a child doesn't have to be on the same pace as everyone in her class but can be free to learn at her own pace. That could mean reading at four or not until age nine!

As far as actually choosing a curriculum when the time came, I didn't have a difficult time because I just went with what fit our style and needs. (I'll share later about what curriculum we plan to use in the upcoming school year.)

Also, I could teach [my daughter] English, sure--but math? I'm not sure what I'd do around 7th grade when the math gets more complicated and I can barely remember it myself. Do you plan to continue homeschooling that long? If so, do you feel equal to the task of teaching all subjects or would you join a network?

I do plan to homeschool my children through high school. I've had to get away from the idea of homeschooling being just "school at home" where the teacher stands up and teaches the student from her great depths of knowledge! In homeschooling, you learn together. Just because I took trigonometry in high school doesn't mean I even remember enough to even teach elementary math alone! I read through the text myself and help my children along. In high school, there are many programs (in math, science or any number of subjects) for homeschool students where the student follows the text and teaches herself (or learns along with Mom). It's not like Mom has to know it all herself before she can offer it to her children.

That being said, joining a co-operative group or network can be a great idea, too. When I was in high school, another homeschool mom taught a group of us geometry one afternoon a week. She was a high school math teacher before she began homeschooling her son and had the skills to teach us something we may have had a more difficult time learning through a textbook. There is always more than one way to go about something!

I know I would face a lot of criticism from friends and family, but I think it may be the best thing for her.

It is always hard to go against the crowd--especially if the "crowd" is people you care about! Pray about it and if you feel the Lord is leading you to homeschool, then it will all be worth it!

In Doctors We Trust? Part 3

My previous posts on this topic dealt with the more technical/medical side of the issue. I thought I should also address the cultural side of it. If you read any parenting magazines, you've probably picked up on the current trend that "doctor knows best"--better than the older, wiser women in your life. It is implied that anything "Grandma" has to offer must be outdated, impractical information and irrelavant to a child today.

Think about it. Who would know more about getting an infant to sleep or an older baby to eat? A mother who has raised children of her own or the pediatrician who learned about it in medical school? And who knows best how to deal with toddler tantrums? A mother who has studied the Bible and applied the principles in raising her own now-grown children or the family doctor who parrots what he/she was taught in class? (Keep in mind, doctors are trained in medical issues. Their training in breastfeeding, child training, and nutrition is minimal at best.)

Titus 2 tells the older women to teach the younger women in all aspects of life, but today their knowledge is being replaced by a doctor's. This is not to say doctors don't have a place or that everything "Aunt Betty" suggests is gospel, BUT to discount the counsel of a Godly woman and run straight to the doctor is not wise.

In Doctors We Trust? Part 1

In Doctors We Trust? Part 2

An Apron Full of Memories

I found this idea for making an apron out of an old dress. I though it was so cool...especially when I got thinking. There is this dress that has been sitting in my closet for years now without being worn. It is slightly out of style, but I didn't want to get rid of it because it is the dress I wore to the church the day of my wedding before putting on my wedding gown. It has too many memories.

Now I had a way to save the dress and even be able to wear it...just in an modified form. I found some coordinating (and inexpensive) ribbon at Walmart and spent an afternoon cutting, pinning and sewing. This is the final result. I would model it, but it doesn't have the same look over a 6 month pregnant belly!

Up To My Ears in Books!

I recently joined PaperBackSwap. It is so easy and an excellent place to get rid of books you don't want...and get books you do! All you do is list the books you are giving away. When another member wants your book, you pay the shipping to get it to them and you earn a Book Credit. The fun part comes next! When you find a book you want (over 2 million books are listed!!), simply request it and you pay nothing except one of your saved Book Credits.

As a result of joining this program, I've got a stack of books waiting for me to read. Also, I've gathered a few other books from the library that people have recommended in my What Are You Reading? feature each month. Add to that a list of books on birth that I want to read in the next month or so and it's a bit overwhelming because I want to read them all NOW!

***

When I posted a few weeks ago about the summer reading I was doing with the kids, I promised to share any new reading treasures we came across. Here are a few gems!

Toddler/Preschool Level

Let's Do That Again! by Hiawyn Oram











Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam by Hans Wilheim








Elementary Level

Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore










Cassie's Sweet Berry Pie: A Civil War Story by Karen B. Winnick












Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney