Reasoning With Reese: Someone Stop the Madness!

Me: Um Reese? Do you think your dirty pajamas belong thrown all over your bedroom floor like that?

Reese: Yeeee-up.

Me: {gasp!} Uh, yeeeeah I don't like that attitude at all, go put them away right now.

Reese: No Mom, that's where they go! You know why? 'Cuz I got my "Pants on the ground, Pants on the ground, lookin' like a FOOL with my pants on the ground!"

Busy Bees

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

Clouds
Share: Bring or wear something Blue
Literature:
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
This is a classic.
"Sometimes, it looked like a tree, but it wasn't a tree."
"Sometimes, it looked like an ice cream come, but it wasn't an ice cream cone."
"Sometimes, it looked like spilt milk, but it was just a cloud in the sky"
To make the story more interactive, I drew and cut out my own shapes out of white felt. The children took turns guessing what the shape was, and sticking it up on a big, blue flannel board.
Literature: Little Cloud by Eric Carle
Little Cloud separates from the group of larger clouds and changes into several shape before rejoining the others again. The kids had fun guessing the shape of the clouds (the clown was their favorite) and were really excited when I told them we would be using paint to create our own cloud shapes.

Sensory: Shaving Cream
No Photos here...all energy of mine was used to keep the shaving cream out of eyes, mouths, and off of my furniture. Next time, I will definitely do RediWhip instead for this age. My house smelled freshly shaved for a few hours, though!

Fine Motor: Cotton Balls Clothespin Transfer
Math: Number 3

Art/Critical Thinking: Inkblot cloud formations on blue paper.
Following the text from It Looked Like Spilt Milk, I wrote "Sometime it looked like______" at the top of the blank paper and had the children answer to fill in the blank when they opened their creation.

These were so fun. I was surprised at how original and unique the kids answers were when I asked them what their inkblots made. Their responses were: "a boat. no a butterfly", "a ghost...I'm not scared", "a giant", "a clown!!!", and "Tiana the frog" (from The Princess and the Frog... of course, my kid would see a Disney Princess).

Science: What is a Cloud?
I got a couple books about clouds from the library. We flipped through them and the kids looked at the pictures with a magnifying glass while I gave a simple explanation that clouds are made of tiny drops of water up in the sky.

Art/Fine Motor: Stamp Painting a Cloudy Sky:
Another use for clothespins and cotton balls
Practical Life: Today we did a refresher course in the potty routine.

Music and Movement:
Song: (to twinkle twinkle)
Floating clouds up in the sky,
Changing shapes as you pass by.
Floating by without a sound.
Won't you come and touch the ground?
Floating clouds up in the sky,
Changing shapes as you pass by

Song: Freeze Dance (What kid doesn't love this game?)

I was totally impressed during music time when one of the kids did a sweet air guitar and busted out with a little, "Hey! Ho! Let's Go!".
The Ramones?!
Those kids are so awesome.

Naptime?

Just in case it has been awhile since you have spent 7 days trapped in your house, and then your first outing is to the Health Department (aka hell on earth for a 3 year old. Actually, no...hell on earth for everyone.)

this is what it feels like.

and she was the only one of the kids that didn't get shots.

How 'bout them apples?

WHY oh WHY did I not make baby food for Reese and Quincy when they were babies?
So other than green beans, I had pretty much ran out of the baby food I made last round (remember that post?), and I got lazy, so I just bought a bunch of food this time.
With coupons, I still spent $28 and it was gone in a week!
My baby is such a hoss!

-I have 2 quart sized bags worth of peas and carrots and after my coupon it cost me just over $1 for the bag of frozen veggies.

-1 butternut squash made another quart size bag full.

-I used up the last 6 slices of a $2 package Farmland ham (that I purchased for a different recipe) and pureed it with 1/3 of a jar of homemade unsweetened applesauce for another bag of food.

-2 sweet potatoes and the last cup of baby carrots were also blended together and filled a quart bag

The last 1/2 cup of the beans, rice, corn, or turkey breast from dinners, that ordinarily gets thrown out because it's not quite enough to save in a tupperware is now getting pureed, frozen, and fed to the baby.

I love that we aren't wasting so much food.
I love that Corbin gets variety in his diet.
I love that we are not spending $100 a month on store bought food. I was reading the labels and a ton of them have apples as the main ingredient. Everything is "peaches and apples, bananas and apples, strawberries and apples, blueberries and apples, pears and apples, chicken and apples, ham and apples". WHY?

Apples are cheap. How much of the store bought stuff is actually chicken? Even with a coupon, the markup on baby food is ridiculous.

Also, one of my goals for 2010 is to recycle. I'm not going to go all crazy and recycle used kleenex or anything, but I find myself throwing away a LOT of stuff that could be reused in one way or another. Corbin eats the equivalent of 6 jars of baby food a day. That is a lot of wasted glass.

I also started composting kitchen scraps. (more on that later)

So, of course I purchase some jars. It is convenient for when we're on the go, and I like having a small supply in the cabinet, should we lose power or something.
But for the most part, homemade food has become the majority in our house. I can't believe I didn't even attempt this with my other babies.

Next week, I going to make him spinach.

or should it be "spinach and apples"?

60 days

My friend gave a really great lesson about scripture study in Relief Society at church a few weeks ago. She shared the blessings that can come from studying the scriptures, and challenged us each to set new goals for our personal scripture study. I know there were like 40 women in the room, but I think maybe she was talking to just me.

Ok, she was talking to everyone, but the Spirit was definitely speaking directly to me and what He said was, "LISTEN".

So I did, and I thought, "I do that. I have goals".

I listened again... and AGAIN she said to set a "NEW" goal.

NEW.

Hmmm....what's wrong with my old goal?
Nothing. But I felt impressed to set a new one, not having any clue what it should be. Soooo what should it be?

Well she just so happened to pass out a "sample challenge" to encourage any sisters that were interested in reading the Book of Mormon in 60 days.

60 days? Is she crazy? Who is going to do that? Who reads that much? What difference does how long it takes you or how much you read make? I don't have that kind of time right now.
No, really, I don't. You saw my planner, right? Now add raising 3 children age 5 and under to all the junk on there. February is packed...and it's only the FIRST of the month.

But I knew as soon as I had the paper in my hand on January 10th, that it was what Heavenly Father wanted me to do, I had something to learn, and that if I asked the Lord for help, I would find time to do it.

So I got out a little blue copy-like the kind you see in hotel drawers that the missionaries hand out.

I wrote down a list of 5 things I hoped to gain from this experience. My plan was to check back every couple of days and jot down thoughts and and inspiration. I hoped that by the end of the 60 days, I would have the knowledge and peace I was seeking, and that I would understand why I felt so strongly moved to participate in this particular challenge.

I read.

It has now been 3 weeks and, though I won't share all of the questions for myself that I wrote down, I will tell you that they have all been answered already.

all of them.

and they were all answered on day one
...in the verses of 1 Nephi...that I have heard and read so many times in my life I feel like I practically could have them memorized.
Reading the word of God with new desires and a new purpose brought new responses and perspective.

The Book of Mormon is true.

I will say it 1000 times if one person will hear me.
If you haven't read it, get a copy. I'll give you mine! ...I'll be through with the copy I'm currently using in approximately 28 days ;)

I am not saying that everyone should go out and study the Book of Mormon in 60 days. I am just saying that it is true, and reading it this time has reminded me of it's truth. The stories are true, the characters lived and breathed and are real and the testimonies they bear are valid.
I have never been busier in my life than I have been in the past 6 months. This book is not just for people searching for a religion, or people who are LDS, or people who are not LDS. It is for everyone. Everyone can gain something good from The Book of Mormon. Among many things, I needed peace and balance in my life. I needed time to do everything I need to do and time to do everything I want to do.

3 weeks into this experiment, I have found that I somehow have more time to do those things. I have balance in the way my time is used. I recognize the love that my Father in Heaven has for me, I have a better understanding of His plan for my life, and I know he is aware of the struggles and triumphs that I have each day.

I feel more peace than ever when I read about my Savior, His miracles, His life, His great Atonement, and the unconditional, redeeming love that He has for me, and you, and everyone that ever lived.

...and that is what the Book of Mormon is about.

The Brain

The year is 1989. (cue Chicago: Look Away)
Lynn Lawrence is frantically searching the house for her brain.

"I need my brain! I can't think without my brain! Where is my brain? Have you seen my brain? Megan, check by the phone again. Scott, is it in your room?"

Her children laugh at her.
She does not think it is funny.

She finds her brain.
Life goes on.
The end.


Mom,
I'm sorry I made fun of you for calling your planner a brain.
And I'm sorry I laughed at how upset you got every time it was misplaced.

I lost my brain for a couple hours yesterday.
I totally get it now.

Snow Day