I am a morning person. I know, I know.....I'm an endangered species - rare, but beautiful (if I do say so myself, hehe). I love mornings. It's like a fresh slate, a new beginning, a gift of grace. Most of my kiddos are morning people too. I always enjoy their company in the mornings (ok, I admit it's more like MOST of the time I enjoy it). This particular morning was full of silent bursts of laughter from me as I listened to the humorous things my children had to say.
My husband had a very early appointment this morning and when I awoke, I found him gone and all three children in my bed. As the children awoke, I was inundated with questions to the location of Daddy. They like to come, one by one, into my bed in the morning and take turns snuggling and giving him kisses. As I answered their questions, my second born began to cry. My heart immediately started to melt as I thought, "AW!! Scott will be so glad to hear how much he misses him!"
I asked my son, "What's the matter, sweetie?"
"I CAN'T FIND MY LIGHT-SABER!!!" he replied
Daddy's Delight
Since we started our Real Food journey in January, I believe the family member who has had the most difficult time is my husband. He is just a lover of "crap-food" (as we so lovingly call it now, hehe). Since we have been married, his favorite food has been Hamburger Helper. I could make a beautiful dinner from scratch that would take me all day to prepare, and it wouldn't get half the praise that plain-ol' Hamburger Helper would. One would think he were complementing Albert Einstein on his atomic bomb or something....goodness.
Back to School Already?!
If anyone is like me - they are thinking that the back to school sales are here....that means I better get my behind into gear! Start getting those thoughts - of curriculum ideas and finds, vacation interruptions, specific things I want my kids to grasp this year - onto paper and into action. I am such a procrastinator. It is one of those areas that the Lord is working on me in. You know what they say, "Those who fail to plan, Plan to fail", and my children's education CANNOT be one of those areas.
Green Eggs, Anyone?
I love my Elijah boy.....he is such a joy! He is a wirey, fun-lovin, energetic three year old. That being said, getting him to sit and do ANY type of traditional schoolwork is NOT going to happen. He gets bored easily, then his energy kicks in - and before you know it, he is sitting on the table with crayons up his nose and doing a funny dance for his sister (who, of course, is laughing out of control - which makes all the rest of us laugh and we've lost the rest of the afternoon).
This is where my God-given creativity is useful! So, what do you do with a child who is smart, but doesn't want anything to do with paperwork or traditional schooling? Duck-taping him to the seat is probably not the best option...so how about an educational game?!
I created a "colored eggs" game for my Elijah boy. My mom was telling me about a website that had egg printables - after printing them, you wrote sight words on them, then had the kids find the correct word and flip the egg. This got me to thinking - I know I could make something similar to that with felt and a little stuffing from a stuffed animal my dog chewed to pieces (lol).
So, this is what I created for my Elijah boy:
You can click on the image for a larger view
Basically, I tell Elijah I want ---------- colored egg to eat. Then, he flips the egg of that color. He loves this simple game and we play over and over again. What a fun way to learn your colors!
This is where my God-given creativity is useful! So, what do you do with a child who is smart, but doesn't want anything to do with paperwork or traditional schooling? Duck-taping him to the seat is probably not the best option...so how about an educational game?!
I created a "colored eggs" game for my Elijah boy. My mom was telling me about a website that had egg printables - after printing them, you wrote sight words on them, then had the kids find the correct word and flip the egg. This got me to thinking - I know I could make something similar to that with felt and a little stuffing from a stuffed animal my dog chewed to pieces (lol).
So, this is what I created for my Elijah boy:
You can click on the image for a larger view
Basically, I tell Elijah I want ---------- colored egg to eat. Then, he flips the egg of that color. He loves this simple game and we play over and over again. What a fun way to learn your colors!
Planting Green Beans by Choice?
The Nelson family joined with another family to co-labor in a friend's garden. It has been teaching us SO MANY life lessons. Last week God gave me yet another example to use with Levi, my 9 yr old.
Pollyanna, Levi and I were in Walmart and they were having a hard time getting along. Of course, I was in a hurry and didn't take the time to deal with them in depth. I just told them to stop bickering and behave. By the time we were leaving Walmart all three of us were frustrated! As we were going out the door, I reminded Levi of the Scripture we have been working on for the last 2 months,
"As for me and my house we WILL serve the LORD" (not ourselves).
Also, "Do onto others as you want others to do to YOU!"
Levi pipes up, "That's what I did, Mom! I did to Pollyanna what she did to me!" I began to explain that we don't return evil for evil (or pestering for pestering). At that moment the Lord gave me yet another gardening example for Levi.
"Levi," I said, "do you want to plant corn or green beans?"
"What do you mean, Mom?"
"Just answer me, Levi!"
Levi said, "CORN!"
I then replied, "Then why would you plant the green beans Pollyanna is giving you? If you want corn, then even if Pollyanna gives you green beans, you don't want to plant those. Because if you plant those you will ONLY get green beans and not the CORN you want!"
I could see the understanding go off in Levi's eyes!
Now, when I see the seeds start being planted in my house and I see it is NOT the right kinds of seeds, I simply ask, "Is that corn or green beans you are planting?" and the situation quickly changes! Thanks, God, for not only the fruit of our labor in Mr. Lonzo's garden, but also for the fruit of the life and spiritual lessons gathered there as well! These are just as nourishing to our bodies as any physical food we could gather.
Busy planting seed, Lenora.
Pollyanna, Levi and I were in Walmart and they were having a hard time getting along. Of course, I was in a hurry and didn't take the time to deal with them in depth. I just told them to stop bickering and behave. By the time we were leaving Walmart all three of us were frustrated! As we were going out the door, I reminded Levi of the Scripture we have been working on for the last 2 months,
"As for me and my house we WILL serve the LORD" (not ourselves).
Also, "Do onto others as you want others to do to YOU!"
Levi pipes up, "That's what I did, Mom! I did to Pollyanna what she did to me!" I began to explain that we don't return evil for evil (or pestering for pestering). At that moment the Lord gave me yet another gardening example for Levi.
"Levi," I said, "do you want to plant corn or green beans?"
"What do you mean, Mom?"
"Just answer me, Levi!"
Levi said, "CORN!"
I then replied, "Then why would you plant the green beans Pollyanna is giving you? If you want corn, then even if Pollyanna gives you green beans, you don't want to plant those. Because if you plant those you will ONLY get green beans and not the CORN you want!"
I could see the understanding go off in Levi's eyes!
Now, when I see the seeds start being planted in my house and I see it is NOT the right kinds of seeds, I simply ask, "Is that corn or green beans you are planting?" and the situation quickly changes! Thanks, God, for not only the fruit of our labor in Mr. Lonzo's garden, but also for the fruit of the life and spiritual lessons gathered there as well! These are just as nourishing to our bodies as any physical food we could gather.
Busy planting seed, Lenora.
Stupidity....the mother of Genius!
Funny things always seem to be happening to me - and by funny, I mean that others think its funny.....and me too - just not at that moment. Most of my childhood friends only hung out with me to see what crazy thing would happen next. Yep, I live that kind of life.
Most of the stuff that is funny is just my "blonde-ness" showing through. The idea was genius, but not the method.
Since early January, when I made a resolution to eventually get to a whole food diet for my family, I have been obsessed with making homemade bread. I'm actually doing quiet well now! Here are some things I have learned:
- When adding water to your flour & yeast, make sure it's warm, NOT boiling, or you may end up with your husband asking questions like, "am I supposed to eat the bricks or build something?"
- If you are using your oven as a "warm place" for your bread to rise, first make sure you haven't preheated your oven already. This could, again, leave you with bricks.
- Also, make sure the top oven rack isn't in the highest possible position. Your bread could rise & stick to the broiler coil & roof of the oven, leaving a rediculously aweful mess to clean.
I also have been trying my hand at homemade soaps & detergents. I now am enjoying the fruits & savings of my labor, but let me share some lessons learned from this idea:
- Always read the recipe CAREFULLY. It could say something like, "melt on low" and you could turn it on high instead. This could result in soap suds boiling over into your stove. Trust me, you haven't seen boiling over until this has happened to you.
- Don't assume one brand will have the same result as another.
- Don't make soap and dinner at the same time. Chicken pot pie should taste like chicken, not ivory soap. Just sayin...
Most of the stuff that is funny is just my "blonde-ness" showing through. The idea was genius, but not the method.
Since early January, when I made a resolution to eventually get to a whole food diet for my family, I have been obsessed with making homemade bread. I'm actually doing quiet well now! Here are some things I have learned:
- When adding water to your flour & yeast, make sure it's warm, NOT boiling, or you may end up with your husband asking questions like, "am I supposed to eat the bricks or build something?"
- If you are using your oven as a "warm place" for your bread to rise, first make sure you haven't preheated your oven already. This could, again, leave you with bricks.
- Also, make sure the top oven rack isn't in the highest possible position. Your bread could rise & stick to the broiler coil & roof of the oven, leaving a rediculously aweful mess to clean.
I also have been trying my hand at homemade soaps & detergents. I now am enjoying the fruits & savings of my labor, but let me share some lessons learned from this idea:
- Always read the recipe CAREFULLY. It could say something like, "melt on low" and you could turn it on high instead. This could result in soap suds boiling over into your stove. Trust me, you haven't seen boiling over until this has happened to you.
- Don't assume one brand will have the same result as another.
- Don't make soap and dinner at the same time. Chicken pot pie should taste like chicken, not ivory soap. Just sayin...
Facebook Photo Know-How
Facebook (beside Pinterest) is one of the many online websites I enjoy. Being a stay-at-home and homeschooling mom, I enjoy this site where I can "hang out" with my friends while still at home taking care of my responsibilities. I also enjoy the fact that I can share my photos with my friends - for instance, say we are at a game or party and I'm the only one with my camera! I can easily share all the pics I've taken with my friends in one easy swoop.
I have had many, many people ask me if they can get photos they are tagged in on Facebook printed for their own enjoyment. Thanks to modern technology - of course you can!! I experimented a little on my own and am prepared to show you how to send them to Walgreens to be printed. This is great if you are trying to get to the 50 prints mark for one of their sales (50 prints for $5, etc).
First open your browser and put in Walgreens Photo URL:
http://photo2.walgreens.com/walgreens/home/
Then, sign into your account or create a new one by following the instructions.
Once you've signed in or created an account, your homepage should look something like this (minus my albums, of course ;) :
Next, you'll want to click on the Import from Facebook tab. Your screen should look something like this:
Click Log in with Facebook. Sign in following the instructions. (I will warn you - at this point my computer/Internet had issues multiple times. If you run into the same issue, look at the bottom of the screen, it may ask you to allow Walgreen's to have a popup - this popup will be the sign in window,so you must click allow to continue) Your Facebook albums will come up on the left hand side and you can click on them individually to see the many photos in each album and select the ones you'd like to print off. If you scroll further down, you will see the names of your Facebook friends! As you click on their names, their albums will show and you can click on them and import photos from those albums as well!!
To import photos, you click on the album name. The individual photos within those albums will be shown in the middle window. (You can see a pic of my hubby there - isn't he hot?! Just sayin....lol) Click on the photos you wish to import and they will be shown on the right hand side in a film-strip view:
When you've finished selecting all the photos you wish to import, select Import Photos at the bottom of the screen. A new mini window will pop up asking where you want to put the newly imported photos:
After you've either created a new album or added it to an existing, click Continue. I chose to create a new album. This is what your screen should look like:
As you can read above, there are more options given on this screen that you might be interested in. Play around with it and if you find any more cool or interesting options, comment below and let me know!
I have had many, many people ask me if they can get photos they are tagged in on Facebook printed for their own enjoyment. Thanks to modern technology - of course you can!! I experimented a little on my own and am prepared to show you how to send them to Walgreens to be printed. This is great if you are trying to get to the 50 prints mark for one of their sales (50 prints for $5, etc).
First open your browser and put in Walgreens Photo URL:
http://photo2.walgreens.com/walgreens/home/
Then, sign into your account or create a new one by following the instructions.
Once you've signed in or created an account, your homepage should look something like this (minus my albums, of course ;) :
Next, you'll want to click on the Import from Facebook tab. Your screen should look something like this:
Click Log in with Facebook. Sign in following the instructions. (I will warn you - at this point my computer/Internet had issues multiple times. If you run into the same issue, look at the bottom of the screen, it may ask you to allow Walgreen's to have a popup - this popup will be the sign in window,so you must click allow to continue) Your Facebook albums will come up on the left hand side and you can click on them individually to see the many photos in each album and select the ones you'd like to print off. If you scroll further down, you will see the names of your Facebook friends! As you click on their names, their albums will show and you can click on them and import photos from those albums as well!!
To import photos, you click on the album name. The individual photos within those albums will be shown in the middle window. (You can see a pic of my hubby there - isn't he hot?! Just sayin....lol) Click on the photos you wish to import and they will be shown on the right hand side in a film-strip view:
When you've finished selecting all the photos you wish to import, select Import Photos at the bottom of the screen. A new mini window will pop up asking where you want to put the newly imported photos:
After you've either created a new album or added it to an existing, click Continue. I chose to create a new album. This is what your screen should look like:
As you can read above, there are more options given on this screen that you might be interested in. Play around with it and if you find any more cool or interesting options, comment below and let me know!
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