Educating Myself, Part 1

I haven't done the research, but if my own experience is proof of anything, there is something to the idea that with every child born to a woman, a few brain cells are lost in the process.  Only a year and a half before I became a mom, I decided I might want to go to law school.  I quickly signed up to take the LSAT, studied like a madwoman for two weeks, went and took the exam and got a score that would have allowed me to apply to the school I was considering attending.  I didn't apply... I moved home (I was living in Atlanta at the time) and got married not too long after.  


All my life I had been a voracious reader.  I longed to grow in wisdom and knowledge, but more than that, I just enjoyed learning and reading (hence the contemplation of law school even though I didn't have a desire to actually practice law... I just wanted the education).  But it felt that almost immediately after Ava (my oldest) was born, my brain shut down a little.  Mostly, it was like my attention span was much shorter that it had ever been (even sitting through a good movie became difficult).  And with each subsequent child things got worse.  I didn't fight it, and a couple of months ago I realized that the only materials I was consuming were news headlines, blogs that were somewhat spiritually encouraging (but mostly had a lot of pictures) and a bit of daily Psalms and Proverbs. 


I spent a little time beating myself up for four years worth of lost educational time.  But I quickly realized it was deeper than my decreased attention span (which is partly due to being more exhausted than I've been in my life), my issue was a lack of self-discipline in this area.  I had spent hours surfing the web with very little to show for it except for a few creative elements around my house and a few extra recipes. But I had lost so much in the process... years' worth of growth as a follower of Jesus and understanding all that that means for my life and how that translates into embracing my role as homemaker and primary educator of my children.  


So, I did what I do best.  I made a list.  I decided that I could at least take the time I normally spend online and devote that time to reading.  I figured that if I put six books on my 2012 goals list I would get the satisfaction of checking them off my list and that that checkmark would serve as a bit of accountability (you have no idea how much I love checking things off a list).  Today...  February 19th... I just added the third checkmark in my planner.  That's right, three books finished already this year.  And I cannot tell you how renewed, encouraged and refreshed I feel...  not because this is any sort of great accomplishment, but because I am learning and applying and growing in a way that has been absent for the entire duration of my experience as a mom.  


Scripture is clear that we are to never stop learning... this is the way God has designed us to grow in Christlikeness.  But we must take responsibility for our own growth.  Yes, worship services and small groups and other forms of Christian community are a part of that process, but ultimately the bulk of responsibility falls squarely on me (and in your case, you:).  If I read 100 books a year (and even if every one of them is purchased in a Christian bookstore) but never read directly from God's word, my education would be in vain.  Daily intake of his word is absolutely necessary.  I cannot encourage you enough to begin with even a few minutes every day and let God speak to you in written form.  Then (and only then), as you continue learning by reading the work of other Christ-followers, will you be able to view everything those authors have written under the lens of Scripture in order to make sure that their words actually line up with God's Word!

Cookies & Dresses

Happy Valentine's Week!  My hubby and I went to dinner last Thursday night because he'll be working tomorrow night.  It was a totally spontaneous plan and we were so thankful that a sweet girl from church came over at the *very* last minute so we could have a little date night.  Lauren... you rock!

I wanted to share a chocolate chip cookie recipe with you in case you'll be celebrating by spending some extra time in the kitchen.  Saturday night, the girls and I decided to make some cookies (well I decided, but they were more than happy to help make and help eat) before Steven got home from church.  I got all the sugar creamed together with the butter and went to grab two eggs from the fridge.  As soon as I put my hands on the fridge door I remembered that I used up the last eggs at breakfast.  I didn't want the ingredients in the mixer to go to waste, so I hopped online to see if there was anything I could substitute.  Several websites suggested 1/4 cup of applesauce for every egg....  I tried it out and the result was delicious.  And to top it off, because it was eggless, I could let the girls lick the batter from the bowl :)  

So in case you ever find yourself halfway through cookie making and realize you have no eggs, try applesauce!  Here's my recipe (and without the egg, the texture reminded me a little of the Otis Spunkemeyer brand).

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup all purpose white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur brand!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Cream together butter, sugars, applesauce, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl and then mix in remaining ingredients. Drop by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-15 minutes (watch them carefully!) until lightly browned!

I also wanted to mention that my sweet friend Jessalyn asked me if I wanted to list a couple of my bandana dresses in her Etsy shop called Mommy and Mi.  She makes the most adorable diaper bags, so if you are in the market for either of those things, here is a link to her shop!  I will be adding more dresses this week.  Also, if you ever need a custom item, please let me know.

Preschool Weeks 14 & 15

Hello!  Here is a quick recap of our previous two weeks worth of preschool activities :)

Week 14

There were several "holidays" to celebrate this week.  We practice our letters every school day, but since Monday was officially "Handwriting Day," we spent some extra time working on our form and making sure we were holding our pens the correct way.  We were given these GREAT dry erase handwriting books and the girls absolutely love to use them.  If you have a little one who is learning to write, I highly recommend getting something similar to this...  this is one of my girls' favorite "quiet time" activities!

 

 Wednesday was "Opposite Day" so in my planning, I chose "Opposites" as the theme of the week.  I didn't get as elaborate or creative as I would have liked, but we did have a lot of fun!  I found a set of flash cards online that helped reinforce what we were learning.  You can find those HERE if you are interested.

Friday was "Chocolate Cake Day" and I so wish I'd had a camera with me at dinner that night... we all shared a slice of DELICIOUS chocolate mousse cake at our new favorite restaurant!  My Grandmother does most of her shopping in Mooresville, NC and somehow came across this little Italian restaurant that is so, so, so good.  It's a little bit of a drive for us, but since it usually means dinner with our MeMe, it's worth it.  The place is called I Bambini and their lasagna and bruschetta (they call it Panini alla Bambini) are out of this world!  If you are ever in the area (all of you Meck @ LKN friends:) you should definitely go there!

In addition to all this, we studied letters "Qq" and "Rr" and I introduced the concept of "ordinal numbers."

Week 15

So....  last week our theme of the week was supposed to be "Weather."  However, it quickly turned into "The Weather is So Beautiful That Instead of Studying Inside, We Are Just Going To Go Play Outside."  I mean, we couldn't not take advantage of temperatures that were between 65 and 70 degrees in February!

We did complete our "bookwork" lessons, so that means we studied letters "Ss" and "Tt" and we learned to recognize "longest and shortest" and "1 to 1 correspondence."  Otherwise, we just enjoyed the weather, rather than sitting inside doing experiments about it:)

Two Worthy Causes!!

Hi Friends!

I hope you are having a great weekend!  I wanted to take a quick minute to tell you about two people I love and two worthy causes they represent... my mother-in-law, Sheryl Dorsey and my sister-in-law, Nichole Broome!

When I first met her, one of the first things my future mother-in-law shared with me was her dream to one day open a shelter for hurting and troubled young women.  Over the past year, Sheryl has seen the Lord open the doors for her dream to become a reality!  The facility will be located in Stanley, NC in what was once an industrial facility.  There is great cost associated with getting the ministry ready to begin housing women (and in some cases their young children), so one of the ways that the ministry will help defray costs is by opening a thrift shop called the "Penny Thrift."  The grand opening of the shop will be on Saturday, February 4th from 8am until 3pm and will feature clothing, shoes, housewares and furniture!  If you can't make it to the grand opening, please keep the Penny Thrift in mind when you have items you'd like to donate to charity (especially if you live in the Gaston County area!).

If you would like additional information about The King's Daughters ministry, Sheryl's story or the Penny Thrift, you can visit their website at www.kdmonline.org.

Also, my sweet sister in law will be performing songs from her "New Eyes" album (in addition to a new song or two!) at a benefit to raise funds for her mom's participation in the 3 day, 50 mile MS Challenge Walk.  The event is Saturday, February 11th from 7pm-10pm at The Johnson Mansion in Charlotte.  In addition to the concert, there will be a silent auction and appetizers, desserts and a coffee bar!  Tickets are $15 and are available at the door.  You can fine more info HERE about the evening...  it's a perfect pre-Valentine's Day date night idea! 

Thank You

A young woman from our church passed away unexpectedly over the weekend.  She went to sleep and never woke up.  She was only 30 years old.  

I didn't know her very well, but I did know that she loved children.  She was a regular teacher in my girl's 3 & 4 year old class and had come to babysat the girls for us in a pinch once or twice when Ava and Lilia were much younger.  She was always smiling, always kind and always honest with me if there was anything I needed to know about the girl's behavior...  and I appreciated that.  And even though I thought about it every time I picked up the girls from their class (sometimes my mom picks them up for me), I never told her.  It didn't seem urgent.  

If I had another chance, I would thank her for telling me that she believed Ava kept having "accidents" at church so that she could get new "cutie panties" as she called them.  I would thank her for faithfully serving my girls many weeks of the month so that there was consistency/stability every time they went to their church class.  But I can't.  I know she loved Jesus and that she is with him now, and for that, praise the Lord!  In remembering her, though, I can't help but think of the many others that I need to consciously take the time to thank, to make sure they know how appreciated they are.  

I don't believe this young woman was serving the 3 and 4 year olds because she wanted recognition or thanks, but I do wish I'd taken the few extra seconds to make sure she knew that I was grateful for her service.  

How many others are there who need to know that I value them and their contribution to my life?  

Lord, please help me to keep my eyes open to take every opportunity to express my gratitude to those you've placed in my life, no matter how large or small of a role they are playing.

Preschool Weeks 11, 12 & 13

We've gotten back into the routine of preschool after taking a long break between Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Here are a few of the things we've worked on since we got started:

Week 11:  I don't have any photos from that week, but most of the time was spent on review since it had been a while since we had done any formal work.  We eased our way back into things :)

Week 12:  Our theme of the week was "Birds."  I had hoped to take the girls to the Carolina Raptor Center but the weather didn't cooperate that week...  it's on our agenda in the next couple of months though.  I found a "slideshow" about birds that we went through together (it can be found here), we colored pictures of hummingbirds for our MeMe (Ava & Lilia's great grandmother) and we painted "birdhouses" that I'd found at the dollar store.

  Daddy helped the girls hang their birdhouses in the backyard!

 

During Week 12 we also learned to recognized and write the letters "Mm" and "Nn" and we reviewed recognizing and writing all of our numbers.  We also learned to select objects that were the same size and then learned to compare objects that were big and objects that were small.

Week 13:  This week we learned letters "Oo" and "Pp" and our math lessons included determining sequence by looking at pictures and determining "first, next, last".  We also learned to recognize things that were "short" and things that were "tall" and how to compare the two.  

Wednesday of Week 13 was "Winnie the Pooh Day" (according to our wacky holiday calendar), so we "celebrated" by having HONEY nut cheerios for breakfast and watching the recently released Pooh movie with our cousins who came to play that night (it's a really cute movie if you haven't seen it).

"Why are you taking my picture, Mom?"

And finally, these next two photos just make me happy!  Over Christmas break, Ava started writing her name over and over...

and then this week, she asked me how to spell her sister's name.  As I dictated the letters, she recalled how to write them and wrote it out on Lilia's artwork for her!

 We are learning something around here!!!

Detail-Oriented, But Not Into the Details

I know this doesn't make much sense, but it summarizes me to a "t".  It's this weird dichotomy that I don't even fully understand about myself --  how I like to have a place for everything, how I can't let mail pile up or go unfiled, how even my husband's t-shirts are color coordinated, but yet there is this weird little "thing" that I can't seem to overcome... It's not a secret that I love to create, repurpose, design, garden, etc.  When I get an idea in my head (or more often, when I see something at Goodwill that just needs a little love), my heart starts pounding! There is a thrill in the bargain-hunting, project-planning and dreaming up of new creations.  But sometimes, for me, these things are the most exciting part of a project.  Once I get into the nitty gritty details, my brain is kind of "over" this project and is already dreaming about the next one.   But because of my detail-oriented nature, I CANNOT move from one project to the next without the ENTIRE thing being finished and crossed off my to-do list.  And without fail, this translates into cutting corners all over the place just to get things done!  I don't like this fact one bit, but as I look back over my life, I realize it's a pattern I've followed forever.  And when I really think about it, it actually serves me quite well at this particular point while I have several young children.  I still get the joy of coming up with new projects, but I don't get so bogged down in the little details that no one will really even see.   Does it really matter if the back/bottom of the pillow slipcover looks terrible? Does it really matter if the homemade curtain doesn't have perfect corners? Does it really matter if the pillow looks like I let my 15 month old stuff it? Does it really matter if I didn't wait long enough between coats the paint chips just a little bit on the $10 laminate bookcase I painted because I needed it match another piece?   Does it really matter that the girl's bedskirts aren't perfectly symmetrical and identical? Are you getting my point?  Almost every single thing I make is good enough, but very, very far from perfect.  However, my creative side is fulfilled AND my kids are loved, played with and educated... by far the most important thing.  So I guess as long as the "something that's gotta give" is being a perfectionist in my crafting and creating, then I'm very ok with that!