Summer Tips

3 Mom (me) - tested Tips For Summer

1) After a long, hot day of playing outside, bring the kids in and put them in the bathtub with Popsicles. It gets them clean, cools them off, and contains the sticky mess all at once!

2) When packing for the beach, be sure to include a container of baby powder. When it is time to come home, liberally sprinkle powder on gritty bodies and the sand (even wet sand) brushes right off! This also works for the sandbox.

3) Keep a packet of ketchup (the kind you get at fast food places) in the freezer. It is the perfect cold pack for little skinned knees. Just wipe it off and pop it back in the freezer when the tragedy is over.

What about you? What are your tips and tricks for summer?

What Are You Reading? June Edition

This has been a SLOW time for reading because we've been busy with summer activities. So what follows is my short list. Don't forget to let me know what you're reading, too!

The Bible-- I'm working through Hebrews.

The Longing Season by Christine Schaub (fictionalized story of John Newton and the composition of "Amazing Grace")

When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne (read-aloud with the kids)

Teaching Children to Help-- Part 6

It is very important to me to have a tidy living room. I can live with dust. I can forget that the beds are unmade. I can even let the dishes pile up if need be, but the living room is where we spend most of our time and it disturbs my eyes and mind when it is messy. Therefore, we make this a priority in our house. And this is a priority when it comes to training my kids to help.

I really started this process what I was pregnant with Owen a couple of years ago. Not that the kids didn't help straighten up before then, but knowing we had a third little person on the way and anticipating several weeks of me on the couch recovering and nursing round the clock, I decided I wanted them able to do this job without my help when necessary. They were 3 and 1 1/2 at the time so I was there to guide them, but I was hands-off.

Since this is something we do often, we've developed a few fun ways to get the job done. (Of course, it would be best if the kids would realize that putting something away as soon as you are done with it is a way to save you a lot of work in the long run. BUT as hard as I try to instill that principle, we are still a long way from that!)

• Turn on music to work by. Fast music works best and we listen to anything from Veggie Tales to Beethoven!

• Set a 5-minute time limit and do everything you can before the timer goes off. As long as you are working hard, you can stop when the bell rings no matter what is left out.

• Put one of the older kids in charge of the clean-up and let them assign jobs to the other kids. (They enjoy following orders from each other instead of me every once in a while.)

• Plan a fun floor activity, like a puzzle or game, for after the floor is clear.

• Make it a number game. "Put away 5 things that belong downstairs and 4 things that belong upstairs." OR "Straighten up 2 soft things and 3 hard things."

What are the priorities in your house?
Teaching Children to Help-- Part 1
Teaching Children to Help-- Part 2
Teaching Children to Help-- Part 3
Teaching Children to Help-- Part 4
Teaching Children to Help-- Part 5

Just Who Is That Woman?

Titus 2: 3-5-- "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

I heard a comment on the radio the other day as I was driving that made me think:

"Every woman is an older woman to someone. Even an 18-year-old is an older woman to a 15-year-old."

At 27, I still consider myself a younger woman, but even I can be that Titus 2 "older woman" to someone-- be it my daughter or my younger sisters or to other younger women in my life.

Summer Treat From Martha

My mom and I always joke that Martha Stewart is out of touch with reality. She'll say things like, "All you need is a pack of chicken lips that you can find at any specialty chicken lips store!"

However, in perusing some Martha Stewart magazine given to me by a friend I found this super easy summer treat.

Simply mix 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup in a glass with 1/2 cup of seltzer water and 1/4 cup of milk...and enjoy!

Happy 1st Day of Summer!

In Doctors We Trust? Part I

I love to read medical information-- be it on the internet or in medical diagnosis books. I never take my kids to the doctor without first looking up their symptoms myself and coming up with a probable diagnosis. Sometimes I'm right (like when Gavin had Fifth Disease) and sometimes I'm clueless (like when Maddie had pneumonia). However, I like to be informed.

The need for that has been plain to me lately as I've read a few fascinating books recommended to me by my sister-in-law (who had them recommended by her sister-in-law!). The first I read was How To Raise a Healthy Child...In Spite of Your Doctor by Robert Mendelsohn. Written by a pediatrician, it details many common reasons parents bring their children to the doctor and why it is unnecessary. For example, he says that fevers-- even high ones-- are just the body's way of fighting infection so not only does a child not need to see a doctor, but they also need no medication to lower the fever as that counteracts nature's (God's) healing process. This book is filled with practical advice about ear infections (let them run their course instead of turning to antibiotics), well visits (just a way to get children in the office for the vaccines), headaches (find the trigger), the list goes on. There is also an entire chapter on vaccines that is one of the most straight-forward writings on the subject that I've seen. The chapter can be read in its entirety online by clicking here.

The main point I got from the book was the need to learn and inform yourself. A doctor, even a good doctor, can be wrong. I think many moms assume the doctor knows best just because he/she is a doctor so they don't take the time to learn the facts.

The second book I read was The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination I$ Not Immunization by Tim O'Shea. This book was entirely devoted to the great vaccine debate. The author (also a doctor) gives compelling arguments against vaccines. Most of what he says is referenced so you can check his facts. Some of the information I found to be a little kooky (out-there, what have you) and I even found one instance where he misrepresented a fact, but overall, the author gives lots and lots and lots of information about the history of vaccines and their dangers and the money behind it all. (Did you know the FDA does not have to test vaccines-- only approve or disapprove them? And that many members of the FDA and Congress hold stock in vaccine manufacturers--money that motivates them to get vaccines approved?) O'Shea also spends a good portion of the book showing how vaccines actually do not immunize (something that can only happen by naturally getting a disease) but often only delay a disease or cause it to turn up in a unnatural form.

For those worried about laws, O'Shea explains how vaccines are mandated, but not mandatory. Even though school systems often "require" them, there are still ways to be exempt. Isn't it nice that homeschoolers can avoid this hassel altogether?

Again, however you feel about this issue, it is so important to be informed! Blindly trusting what one doctor or the media or whoever is not always wise. Find out for yourself.

To be continued...

Please take a minute to leave your thoughts on this issue! I'd love to hear what you think.

In Doctors We Trust? Part 2

Could It Be Dehydration?

Remember the headaches I've been having? I read somewhere recently that mild dehydration can be a cause of headaches in pregnancy. Those who know me, know I'm a water-only person. I don't like coffee and I've eliminated the occasional soda or juice because of my sugar issues and I drink hot tea maybe once or twice a month. Otherwise, it is water. However, when I was having morning sickness, I got into the habit of drinking less. Recently I've made a concious effort to up my water intake and guess what? No headaches!

I'm kind of like my dad in that I don't like to take medicine unless I have to. I was glad I found the trigger so I can eliminate my pain without pills! (I think Brian is glad, too, because after hearing me complain of headaches for days on end, he brought home a bottle of Tylenol! I still resisted, though, and never had to use it. Thanks anyway, Sweetie!)

I hit the 5 month mark this week...

Thanks for the dress, Sarah!

More Etsy News...

Last night I added two more items to my Etsy shop. I've also worked on the appearance of the shop and added a welcome announcement.

Teaching Children to Help-- Part 5

From the mouths of my babes—

Me: Maddie, do you like to help Mama around the house?

Maddie: Yes!

Mama: What kinds of things do you like to do?

Maddie: Ummm…bake and straighten up as long as I don’t sweat and cook!




Another day…


Me: Gavin, do you like to help do things around the house?

Gavin: Um…uh-huh.

Me: What kinds of things do you like to do?

Gavin: I like—I sort of like…(long pause)…dusting.

Me: Owen, do you like to help Mama?

Owen: Uh-huh! (Big smile!)



Teaching Children to Help-- Part 1
Teaching Children to Help-- Part 2
Teaching Children to Help-- Part 3
Teaching Children to Help-- Part 4
Teaching Children to Help-- Part 6

Science in the Summer

One Sunday afternoon at my parents' house, Gavin and Maddie "adopted" two caterpillars. They found them on the rue in the herb garden and decided they needed to come home with us. We fixed them each up with a jar with a fabric top for air, a wet sponge, and a bit of rue to eat. Each caterpillar was named. Gavin's was declared a girl named Cutie. Maddie's was a "boy" named Gavin! (Tragically, "Gavin" died so Maddie adopted a new caterpillar the next week named Heimlich Gavin.)

They were really good about checking the food supply and sponge every day ... and cleaning out the poop! They love looking at this big animal book we have and poring through the pictures of animals. I decided to see if the swallowtail caterpillar was in there and it was so they took some time to look at it together. One Wednesday night, we noticed Maddie's caterpillar-- excuse me, Heimlich Gavin-- had crawled up the side of the jar and was not moving. By the next morning, he was in his chrysalis. On Thursday, Cutie went through the same process.

Twelve days in a row of "checking on the caterpillars" followed! On Monday morning as we leaving to run errands, Maddie looked and a butterfly was flapping around in the jar! Heimlich Gavin had come out of the chyrsalis! Sure enough, Cutie had come out, too! Needless to say, we didn't leave to run errands for quite a while. Heimlich Gavin nibbled on some grass after he was set free and then flew off into the big world amidst cheers from the kids.

Cutie was more hesitant and after watching her for quite some time, we had to leave because someone was expecting me-- 15 minutes ago! We pulled away from the house with Maddie sobbing in the backseat because she hadn't been able to watch Cutie test out her wings! I kept thinking, "What kind of Charlotte Mason-style mother am I deeming these errands more important than nature watching?" So...after we had met our first obligation, I went back home and let the older kids get out and coax Cutie to fly away. Within minutes they had succeeded and we went on our way with dry eyes! This kind of science is so much more fun than textbooks!