A cure for the winter blahs

 Today is a cold, wet, dreary day. The kind of day where the kids have to be indoors and everyone is restless and going crazy.  What's a poor mother to do?

Let's have a party!

Why, throw a Happy Unbirthday Party, of course!  Who needs a reason to have a party?  Run to your closest Dollar Store and pick up a few party supplies (banners, balloons,
plates, napkins, table cloths, even some cheap favors).  Make or buy brightly colored cupcakes.  Sing "Happy Unbirthday to you"!  Plan a couple of games or pick out a fun DVD to watch.  Turn the doldrums into an unexpected celebration! 
Sometimes we all just need to relax and have fun and what better time to do that than a cold winter day?

The finished quilt!

I finally finished my quilts!!!

Making a quilt - Part 2

A couple of months ago, I bought the materials for making two baby quilts.  Summer got in the way of working on them...who wants to spend beautiful sunny days inside bent over a sewing machine?  :)  Now, the weather is cooling down, it's raining and time to get back to the quilts!

I cut the multi-patterned fabric into 6 inch strips and the plain fabric into 2 inch and 4 inch strips. Then I laid a large sheet on the floor and played around with different combinations.  Sewing them together was super easy!

Next it was time to get the batting for inside the quilt.  I settled on a 100% cotton batting.  The backing was laid on the sheet, followed by the batting and then the top.  I pinned the layers together and headed to the sewing machine. Each strip was machine quilted in an easy straight line.  Nothing fancy!

Sewing the layers together.

After all the strips were machine quilted,  I trimmed the layers so they were all even.

Trimming the layers.

 Now the only thing that's left is the binding.  I decided to bind it with the polka dot material but didn't have enough so I had to send away for more.  That's ok.  In the time between the first order of fabric and now, I found out I have another quilt to make so I ordered enough for another quilt and binding for all three!

The front of one and the back of the other.  Maybe I should machine quilt around the caterpillars too?  Hmmmm

  I love the happy, bright colors and warm, cozy feel of the flannel.  Soon they'll be finished!

Unstructured play

Yesterday I was looking at a parenting magazine and was amazed that probably 90% of the content concerned entertaining kids and filling kids lives with mother-created activities and projects.  There was one article about sex and another about sibling rivalry but not much else.  Is this what parenting has become?

Is it in our children's best interests to focus on entertainment?  Who are those cute crafts really for, Mom or the kids?  Sure, they look great but maybe our kids would get more out of making the craft themselves.  Or, maybe they might like to play with different materials without an end product in mind. 

Please don't misunderstand.  There is a place for well-planned out activities and outings.  But they should be the exception, not the rule.  Children need opportunities to create, not just copy or recreate something.  They need unstructured time to play and explore.  When Mom fills up their day with pre-planned activities, classes and excursions, children develop expectations that that's what life is all about.  They get bored easily.  They think they have to be entertained constantly.  Then, Mom gets exasperated and tells them to go out and play.  Funny thing though...they don't know how to play.  Sad.

Making a quilt. Part 1

It's been a long time but I'm going to make a baby quilt.  Not knowing the gender of the baby I'm making the quilt for, I wanted something neutral but not boring.  I looked at our local fabric stores and couldn't find anything that jumped out and said, "Buy me!"  So I went home and got on my trusty computer.  When I saw this fabric (found on fabric.com), I knew it was what I wanted.  Based on the classic children's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, the flannel fabric is lively and bright, as well as super soft.  Perfect!

Today I washed all the fabric so I won't have problems with shrinkage later.  I washed the solid blue by itself in case the dye bled.  I'm not taking any chances!

Tonight, I'll use my rotary cutter and cutting mat to make strips of varying sizes for the front of the quilt.  The back will be one solid length of fabric, the white with green caterpillars.

Wish me luck!

Memories not things

How close can she get?  Pretty close!

I have a friend who does the most awesome things with her children.  Without spending a lot of money, she takes them hiking, bike riding and kayaking, explores the community with them, encourages their participation in various activities, takes them to museums, parks, fairs, and other events, and finds ways they can help others as a family.  Those children are collecting a wealth of experiences and memories that will be a treasure in years to come.

This is actually a sculpture made completely by intertwining twigs!

Unlike toys and possessions, experiences don't break or get lost.  They don't clutter up your child's room.  Instead, they expand and broaden your child's interaction with the world.  They provide learning opportunities without being forced or boring.  They help develop curiosity and maybe even an appreciation for nature and living things.

Ferry rides are fun just for the ride!

It's one thing to read a book about marine life.  It's another thing to explore a beach or tide pool and carefully touch a starfish and watch crabs scurry about.  One afternoon's excursion might spark an interest that will get a son or daughter to go home and look up (voluntarily!) the different things he or she observed and lead to further learning and more trips to the beach and so on.

Always loved...the park.

Too often we as parents concentrate more on things for our children rather than experiences.  I believe our children's lives will be richer if we reverse that thinking and instead, look for ways to make memories with them.   There is still plenty of time this summer to get out with your children and see what your neighborhood and community have to offer.  Make this summer a summer of unforgettable memories.  Happy Exploring!

A workout for Dad, an adventure for daughter!

To enrich their lives

We all want to provide opportunities that enrich our children's lives.  For most people, that brings to mind trips to Europe and other exotic places, expensive lessons and organized experiences, and the best schools that money can buy.  What if your economic situation doesn't allow for such expenses? Are your children doomed to mediocrity?  Of course not!

To enrich means to make something better or to improve or enhance the quality of something.  With that definition in mind, every family is capable of providing enriching activities for their children.  You don't even need to leave your community to find quality activities and experiences to enrich and improve your family. 

With that mindset, you can see the value of everyday experiences.  Learning new skills will definitely enrich your child's life.  Even things like cooking, sewing, housework, home and yard maintenance, car maintenance, money management, and other mundane skills are vital for your children to know in order to be productive, self-sufficient adults.  Does that fit the definition of enrich?  I think so.

Gardening is a wonderful activity for children

How about researching free or inexpensive locations to visit and explore that are within 2 hours of your home?  Enriching?  Absolutely!  I've lived an hour from Seattle, WA for 15 years and had never explored some of the famous sites of Seattle.  What adventures I've missed!  It's so ingrained in us that to have fun we have to travel a great distance or spend great amounts of money.  It just isn't true.

A ferry trip in Seattle

Hiking and exploring

And what about using the resources available to you to provide good music in your home and develop new hobbies?  The computer is useful for more than just games and social media  :)  Try using it instead to teach your children how to learn a new skill or hobby.  Fill your home with different types of music.  Introduce your children to the great composers.

Watching an artist at work

Exploring new hobbies

The warm summer months are approaching and with that comes summer vacation for your children.  Maybe you could start now, brainstorming with your kids to plan experiences near home (and AT home) that will enrich their lives.  There is so much literally in your own backyard to discover.  You don't need a vacation to an exotic place to enrich and expand your life and the lives of your children.  What adventures will YOUR family have?

Let's go fly a kite!

The Behemoth

Be careful when you leave your husband for a week to visit family.  With too much time on his hands, you never know what you're going to come home to.  :)

This picture doesn't do it justice.  It takes up the WHOLE room!

When I came home, there was this huge thing on the grass in the backyard.  It was obviously a piece of furniture but I couldn't tell what it was.  It almost looked like a bookcase but was waaaay to unique to call it that.  I promptly asked my husband what that behemoth was!  He explained that it was a murphy bed (a bed that pulls down from the wall)/desk/shelves combination.  Uh huh.  Sure.  And where was this going to go?  And how was it going to get there?  He planned to put it in the small cubby next to the family room for visiting family.  I just couldn't picture getting it in there.  Heck...I couldn't picture it at all!

Well, he finished it and enlisted me in staining it.  And then came the time to move it inside.  We had to move a partition wall to get it into place and it wasn't easy but it fit...barely.  It wasn't very attractive so I went to JoAnn's and bought some upholstery fabric and upholstery tacks to cover the back (or the underside of the bed).  That was better!

Then there were the two electrical outlets that were high on the wall and looked...ugly...when the bed was down.  I went back to JoAnn's and bought some coordinating fabric and made a picture to cover the outlets.  Unfortunately, I couldn't hide the electrical cord so that is still visible but it still looks better than before.

The Behemoth actually looks pretty good now and the bed is definitely comfy.  My husband doesn't like the name Behemoth though  :) Oh well.

The cat thinks it's his room  :)

Encourage creativity

A picture of Daddy with a heart for love!

Children are full of creative energy.  As preschoolers they are wildly imaginative, making up stories, drawing pictures all over every conceivable surface, singing and dancing.  Many of them lose that spark somewhere along the way and that is a shame.  How does that happen?

Sometimes they become self-conscious or critical after comparing themselves with others.  Other times, an unkind remark made by someone else will plant the seed of doubt in their minds.  Often it's a change of priority at school from artistic creativity to more academic pursuits which results in a loss of interest in imaginative things.  And of course, we can't forget a dependence on technology can stunt a child's creative growth.

Concentration!

Whatever the reason, I think it's important to encourage your children to develop their creativity.  Provide lots of blank paper to draw on as well as different mediums to explore with...crayons, pens, watercolors, colored pencils.  Have them make their own greeting cards and gifts.  Join the kids in playing with play-doh. Listen to all kinds of music.  Explore museums.  Read imaginative books to and with your children.  Have a wall or bulletin board where you display their art.  Praise them often. 

Academic study is good but developing the creative brain will help your children be well rounded and balanced.  How sad it would be for a potentially gifted artist to miss the opportunity to share that gift with others.  Your encouragement can help that little creative seed blossom into a thing of beauty.

Lilly's makeover

Creativity at its finest.  :)  It's amazing what kids can do with crayons and marking pens.  At least it wasn't the Sharpie!

Just when you think you've put away all the things the kids can get into, they surprise us with their ingenuity. 

Averting a restaurant meltdown

Five hungry children under the age of six at a restaurant is a potentially volatile situation.  Add to that a twenty minute wait for food and the natives were definitely restless!

Time to distract!  The waitress left a pile of straws at the table so the kids and I spent several minutes bending the straws into numbers, shapes and alphabet letters and guessing what they were.  They were really good at recognizing their letters and numbers!  They even learned what a trapezoid and rhombus were  :)

Children can be easily distracted...which is a good thing!

Are our kids missing out?

I've been reading about a study conducted by the Center on Everyday Lives of Families (CLEF) at UCLA on the family life of 32 middle-class families in Southern California.  It's been a fascinating read (maybe because some of the families studied are from the neighborhood I grew up in).  Researchers went into these homes and documented (through interview and videotape) everything the families did for one week.

How can anyone be inside on a day like this?!

One of the findings that I found surprising is how little time families spend outdoors.  Even though most of the homes had comfortable backyards with children's equipment and playthings, pools, lounge chairs, and other recreational equipment, these spaces were rarely used.  The children spent most of their time indoors,  plugged into electronics and the parents were outside even less.  Considering that the study was done in Southern California where the weather is mild all year long, this is especially disturbing.

If this is the trend of most families today, our children are missing out on an important part of childhood...that of being outdoors, enjoying the sunshine, exploring and playing, using their muscles to grow strong and healthy and developing their creativity. 

With Summer approaching, this might be a good time to evaluate how you and your children are spending your leisure time.  Are you inside, even though it's a beautiful day outside or are you showing your children how much fun they can have if they just turn off the electronics and head outdoors to play with the dog, or run through the sprinklers, or shoot a few hoops, or look for bugs.  How about making this the summer you spend more time outside rather than inside!


Note - The study on families can be found in the book, "Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century"  by Jeanne E. Arnold, Anthony P. Graesch, Enzo Ragazzini, and Elinor Ochs.   2012

Creativity Chuck style :)

Chuck and his iPad  :)

Oh my goodness...cutest story ever!

Chuck loves his iPad but his mommy and daddy are concerned about how much time he spends playing zombie games on it.  So, yesterday Daddy deleted all the non-educational games from it and left only the learning games.  Chuck was not happy.

This morning Mommy discovered him sitting on the couch, contentedly playing his favorite zombie games.  He'd downloaded them!  Now Daddy wasn't happy so he took the iPad away.

Mommy got busy doing other things and then looked over to see Chuck "typing" happily with the "iPad" he'd made with legos. :)  He spent the afternoon "downloading his apps" and playing them just like he always does!

I guess you can take the iPad away from the boy but you can't take the boy away from the iPad.  :)

Letting my mind wander...

I know I shouldn't let my mind wander while I'm at church but sometimes I do.  Today was one of those days.  Sitting next to me was a 9 year old boy, his 3 year old brother and his family (family friends).  The 9 year old was engrossed with his notebook and pen, drawing elaborate scenes and the 3 year old was playing with the straw of a Capri Sun juice packet.  Kids can be so creative with so little.  Give them a few simple materials and their imaginations take off.

Take the Capri Sun straw.  In a matter of minutes, it evolved from a straw to blow air at a brother to a microphone, a telephone, a gun, and a sword. 

And a paper and pen?  Think what can be done with that!  You can play a game of tic-tac-toe or dots or hangman or whatever, you can write notes to a friend, you can draw pictures, write stories and illustrate them, you can fold the paper into airplanes and other shapes, you can make a treasure map.

I know this all seems so obvious but so many of the things that bring children pleasure are simple.  It's really entertaining to see just what they come up with.

Maybe I should have been listening to the talks at church.  :)

Classic toys

Yesterday I watched as my 25 year old daughter had a nostalgic reunion with her American Girl doll, Kirstin.  She carefully lifted every dress, outfit and nightgown out of the suitcase and told her husband about the matching clothes she had, gently opened the perfect case of the perfect miniature violin, and pulled out all the tiny shoes, roller skates and other accessories.

She told me that she and her husband were discussing toys for their future children and how they want to provide toys that inspire the imagination.  That is why she wanted him to see her Kirstin doll.  He was suitably admiring.  :)

So many toys require little batteries and make annoying noises and flash annoying lights.  Or they are designed to work only one way.  There isn't much for the child to do and definitely not much to leave to his or her imagination.  It is no wonder kids get bored with their roomful of toys.

And then there's the classic toys - plain wooden blocks, Legos, puzzles, puppets, life-like dolls, Tonka trucks and little cars, playhouses, doll houses and furniture, make believe and dress up clothes and accessories, balls,  and art supplies (like playdoh, paints, crayons).  These are toys that have stood the test of time and provide countless hours of enjoyable play.

What were your favorite toys as a child?  Why?  I'd love it if you'd post your answer and share your favorites!  

What do you want to be when you grow up?

During a Primary class, my 6 year old daughter's teacher asked each child what they wanted to be when they grew up.  There were the usual answers of teacher, mommy, fireman...and then my daughter answered.  She said she wanted to be ruler of the world.  :)  That's my daughter!  The same one later wanted to be a flagger (you know, the person at a construction site who flags cars through the construction zone) and then an Olympic figure skater!

The world is full of endless possibilities for our children.  One day they want to be an astronaut and the next day it's a ballerina.  Let them dream.  Encourage exploration of their hopes and dreams (that is, unless what they want to be is illegal!)

Someday they will grow up and hopefully, choose a profession that will be fulfilling and challenging.  Maybe they will become something they always wanted to be or maybe it will be something completely different. Only time will tell...

My future ruler of the world is now an ICU nurse and an amazingly confident woman.  I'm so proud of her!

What did YOU want to be when you grew up?

Thrifty Thursday - Being resourceful

It seems like the less money a person has, the more resourceful she learns to become.  Think about it - if you have the money to buy the things you need, you have no reason to make-do or try to figure out an alternative solution.

I think that's one of the reasons I like Pinterest.  There are so many resourceful women who do such amazing and innovative things and I can use their ideas or use them as a jumping off point to come up with my own ideas.   Take the simple humble canning jar...otherwise known as a mason jar.  It's no longer used just for canning.  If you type mason jar in the search bar in Pinterest, you will see hundreds of creative uses for the jars.  My post last week using mason jars for my spices is just one example (which surprisingly, I came up with on my own!).

I needed the drawers (which hold winter hats and gloves) but the unit didn't fit where I wanted it...

so I took out the drawers and they fit perfectly in this shelving unit!

When you have a need, before you go out and buy something, look around your home and see if you can come up with something that will work as well.  But be realistic - don't save every little cardboard box, Cool Whip container, and rubber band because it might be useful someday.  That's called hoarding and you don't want to do that  :) 

Playing games with kids

Have you ever tried playing Monopoly with a six and ten year old?  Even in the best of circumstances, Monopoly is a long, sometimes boring game.  Take a couple of kids with short attention spans (who really want to play the game) and you have the potential for a looooong afternoon.  So, what did we do?  We made up our own rules to fit the kid's level of interest.  It was a mercifully short game, pretty fun, and the six year old won  :)

One of my favorite comic strips is Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes.  Calvin is an imaginative six year old with his stuffed tiger, Hobbes (who is alive in his world).  One of the recurring themes of the strip is Calvin and Hobbes playing "Calvinball", which boils down to making up their own rules to the games they play.    

"Other kids' games are all such a bore!
They've gotta have rules and they gotta keep score!
Calvinball is better by far!
It's never the same! It's always bizarre!
You don't need a team or a referee!
You know that it's great, 'cause it's named after me!"

—Part of the Calvinball theme song.

For some reason, when people play games, they think they need to "play by the rules".  Who says you have to do that?  Play however you want! Games get too complicated anyway.  Have fun!

The Breast Milk Baby doll - What will they think of next?

This morning I saw an article about a new baby doll...called the Breast Milk Baby.   Yes, it imitates the suckling sounds and motions of a breastfed baby when the little girl (presumably) puts on a special halter top with attached nipples/petals.  (The "nipples" have sensors that activate the doll's response.)

How do you feel about that?  I have conflicting emotions about the whole thing.  While I believe that breastfeeding is the best option for babies (I breastfed all 8 of my children),  I"m not sure that children need to have dolls that are quite so realistic.   Baby dolls already can drink, wet, burp, crawl, and who know what else but do children derive more pleasure and enjoyment out of those dolls than the basic simple doll?  Do we need to have a doll that gets diaper rash, fevers, throws up, spits up, has a runny nose, and drools?  If we want children to have a realistic experience with their dolls, do the dolls have to do more?

Personally, I think we should let our children use their imaginations with their dolls and toys.  They are creative naturally and don't need us to concoct imitation experiences for them.  I remember most of my children "feeding" their baby dolls by clutching them to their chests.  They didn't need a special halter top to simulate the experience.  I am rolling my eyes as I type this  :)

Again, remember that this is just my opinion.  If you want to know more about this doll (if only to creep you out) you can look up the manufacturer's website, thebreastmilkbaby.com.  To its credit, the doll is quite cute.  But obviously, this is not an endorsement or paid testimonial.  :)  If you want a high quality baby doll, choose one by American Girl or Corolle.  No batteries, no weirdness, just lovable doll.

Thrifty Thursday - the art of frugality

When you think of artists, you think of creativity...a person's ability to express a thought or idea onto paper or other medium, in music or writing.  Dictionary.com gives this definition of creativity -

1.the state or quality of being creative.  (no surprise there!)

2.the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.

3.the process by which one utilizes creative  ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.

By this definition, frugality is an art form  :)   You are finding novel ways to solve everyday problems and developing new ideas and solutions.  It takes creativity to work with a limited budget and make the best use of your money.  

I think back to my first apartment as a newlywed.  We were "starving students", living on very little money and trying to furnish our first home.  We had to figure out what was most important for our comfort and what would give us the most use for our money.  You'd think we would have chosen a bed.  Wrong.  Sleeping on the floor with sleeping bags and blankets was surprisingly comfortable.  The first thing we bought was a card table and two chairs.  A table made it possible for us to do our homework (try typing on the floor!), it gave me a place to sew and work on projects, and of course, we could eat at the table.  It was also compact and portable so wouldn't take up much space when we eventually moved.  

To hold our clothes, we turned cardboard boxes on their sides, taped them together and had instant shelves.  Like most other college students, we made bookshelves out of bricks and boards.  Bedsheets were used as curtains.   It was a happy time of our lives and laid the foundation for being frugal to this day.  

Before you run out and spend a bunch of money to buy something, think about what you already have at your disposal and see if there's a less expensive alternative.  Can you repurpose something?  Can you do without?  Can you find it used?  Be creative!