What makes it all better?...

If your looking for some deep thoughtful insight

on solving all of life's problems...

... then, you are at the wrong place! Ha ha ha!

At our house W~A~T~E~R~M~E~L~O~N spells relief !

That's right.... We just dove into our first WATERMELON of the season.

YUM, yum, yummy!

And more yum!

It was like an eraser that was erasing away the worries of the day.

And yes, it is very early even in Texas for watermelon,

but you will not here me complain.

The label said, "Product of Mexico"....

Thank You Mexico!~!~!~!

Breastfeeding

Ponderings as I sit here feeding my baby... I do not codemn those who don't do it, by the way. It is difficult to put it mildly. I have nursed all four of mine to approximately one year or so. There are many pros and cons, but I will share with you what it all comes back to for me.... GOD. God designed it! What could be more perfect for their little bodies (and ours) than what God designed!?

As I sit here writing this we are struggling with a thrush issue... most painful for both of us.... complicated by Sahara taking antibiotics for an ear infection... antibiotics make thrush worse. Just last week I had a terrible case of mastitis... fever, chills, too weak to walk...horrible stuff! But it is all a labor of love and I believe God expects us to labor even beyond "labor".

Now I watch her sweetness.... done nursing... dreaming, fluttering her eyes, making silly faces.... snuggling with me.... and I believe simply that God designed it!! Only God can design a system this perfect.

In saying that ... I have four blessings and with EVERY ONE I have had not-so-perfect moments. It balances out over the course of a year (or longer). The first six weeks is the hardest part. I will make a point to blog on this issue periodically! Email me a question, if you want!!

Hotel for Dogs ~~ Mini Review

When I wrote about my daughter wanting/needing to see "Hotel for Dogs" I truly forgot to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down. It definitely gets a HUGE THUMBS UP from me. At one point in the movie there is a comment made like this, "We are in deep poo-poo" (and you have to know the scene as they really were IN poo-poo). In our modern world it is rare that media of any sort passes up the opportunity to add dirty words to a movie. This is a perfect example of a time when most movies would have had a "four letter word" in the script! That alone sold me on this movie. It is totally safe to take your kids to and the only thing I can think to mention is that two teens share a kiss near the end of movie.

Now, honestly ... Was it the best movie ever? In my daughter's eyes.... possibly. Mine... not sure. I know it is about dogs, but there is much more to the story and it made me want to adopt some kids!!! Without saying more and ruining the movie for you it really is deeper than you expect and not just a comedy about dogs!! Go see it and take the family!! Follow this link for the website AFTER seeing the movie (they tell too much of the plot line). www.hotelfordogsmovie.com

"Killer" Panda Cupcakes

Okay, so I had a comment asking how to make the cupcakes in the picture. I decided to just make a post for that. Nice to know that, at least, one person is out there reading this stuff! LOL! If you dare make them, they are in the cookbook "Hello, Cupcake" that a friend brought over. We were going for an easy butterfly cupcake, but that was all over when my daughter saw these... the Pandas!

You are supposed to use white cake mix with white cupcake liners, but we wanted chocolate. So, you bake some in mini-muffin size for the head and some in regular muffin size for the body. Frost with white icing when cool.

The tricky part is the Oreos.... you cut them in half for arms and legs... notice ours have no legs!!! I gently tried sloooowwwly sawing them with a serrated knife and they would shatter in the end EVERYTIME. So, after attempting several I had only a couple to show for it. I have very little patience for that sort of thing., so I began whining and complaining and getting frustrated. My husband was looking at me like I was ridiculous and then, he got involved. He soon became frustrated, as well. Finally he just started chopping them with the knife and that resulted in a few more "survivors"... who knew! Sometimes it pays to get violent (cookies only... ha!)

All those "murdered" Oreos do go to good use, though. You chop those in a food processor until they resemble black dirt. Place those in a small bowl just larger than the cupcake diameter. You take the regular size frosted cupcake and turn it upside down in the "murdered" Oreos until coated.

Next, the panda has to have a face and ears. The book uses chocolate "O" cereal, but I could not find that. I used Oreo minis and pull them apart to make them lighter (weight). I used the edge of a knife to scrap off any remaining white stuffing and then, applied a little icing for glue to the edge and stuck them to the mini cupcake for ears. After that, I piped on the eyes and mouth. I pressed on a chocolate chip for a nose and one face down into the each eye. To finish the face I put a tiny dot on each eye.

The rest is just a matter of assembly and, if you have it all ready to go it goes pretty smooth after that. We glued it altogether with icing like so: large glob on side of small muffin head to glue to top of large muffin; and, medium glob on Oreo halves to glue beside head for arms. Piped on the claws and these "killer" cupcakes were done! Thank God!

On the off chance that you want to know how to make the others I will also quickly share that. They are quick and simple. Bake regular cupcakes. Using green icing make grass with whatever tip you want. There is a tip for a grass effect, but I do not have it. I used a star tip and pulled back quickly to make it spikey. Stick a flower lollipop in the top and you have little "growing flower cupcakes". For the record I also had growing butterflies. The suckers I used are called Twinkle Pops and are available at Party City and our local Brookshire Bros. grocery store. I think I paid 33 cents each at Party City. They have a long stem for making balloon bouquets, so I just cut them short. You can make these cupcakes with a variety of things for the flower.... molded chocolate lollipops, suckers, suckers with glued on paper effects, even a silk flower. Have fun and share a photo, if you make some. Also, note that we don't try to be perfect. My kids think I am the best cake maker and they see past the sloppiness and mistakes.

Teamwork ~ Togetherness ~ Love

No, this is not a Valentine's project as it might seem. We are trying to tame some tensions amoungst two girls that are not used to being around each other ALL THE TIME. Last week I decided to do a bit of a study on the Fruits of the Spirit to promote more peace in the home. The first Fruit of the Spirit we are studying is love. At the end we finished up with a simple craft that they could complete by "working together". The key here is SIMPLE, so that they can do it together and work as a team. I chose to simply hand draw a heart on red construction paper and let the kids glue pink "packing peanuts" on the heart. I told them that they needed to do it together and take turns ... one do the glue ane the other place on a peanut ... then, switch until it is complete. By being nice and kind it would bring them joy and peace. Exercising self-control and having patience are all part of this project, which really incorporates many of the Fruits of the Spirit!!! And without a lot of explanation ... they got it!!! Later Sierra (my irrational one) could be seen skipping through the house and saying, "This is the best day ever, because we are going to be nice to each other." ~~That is how I measure SUCCESS!!~~

***Also, I read a suggestion that you should make sure you take photos of "school" to look back upon in the years to come. I wish I could remember where I read it, so I could give them credit and a big THANKS! What a great tip that is easily overlooked as we hurry to get goals accomplished!

Pics of the Birthday Girl ~!~ Sierra ~!~ Big "5"

Sierra with PaPa! Sierra was born on my daddy's birthday. Sierra is 5 and PaPa is 60 this year!!!
Sierra with her cupcakes. Her party theme was flowers and butterflies, but the day before the party she saw these Panda Bear cupcakes in a book and got very excited. Very cute, but not easy like they looked!!
Sierra's assortment of cupcakes... fun to have variety! I will do anything for my kids! LOVE does that to you!!

Life Goals by the Age of EIGHT !

Today we were planning to take our kids to see "Hotel for Dogs". Savannah was so excited and busting at the seams! She is a dog lover. She found out Friday that this movie was playing at the local theater and we have been unable to go until tonight. It has been a long week for her!!!

We have had a crazy week, so we had much to accomplish if we were going to get to the theater. Throughout the day I kept saying, "Savannah, you are really going to have to get your stuff done, if you want to go see the movie." So, Savannah says to me, "Momma, it is not that I WANT to see it. I NEED to see it, because that is what my life is going to be like one day!" Fortunately, she was looking down in deep thought and focusing on what she was doing... She did not see my mouth drop open or the perplexed look on my face. You see, I know she has this dream to be a veterinarian/dog rescuer and own a business with her buddy, Mariah. They are very serious about it and have many plans laid out in their heads. BUT to make such a statement like, "that is what my life is going to be like one day!".... pretty deep for an eight year old!!!

I must say I do not remember having such goals at that age... I am very proud of my girl !!!

Funny Photo to Balance out a c~r~a~z~y day !

My very first blog entry back in November was about the unusual snow that we got blessed with in Southeast Texas... a once in a lifetime experience for most people in this area. It is so rare that it reportedly has not happened in 35 YEARS! I am 36 and in my lifetime I have only seen it snow here about three times and never enough to truly accumulate. At my house we got about 4 inches or more this year!!! It was heavenly. The only thing better was turning around to see Savannah, my eight year old, having fun with her baby sister and an extra snowsuit! Sahara suddenly GREW! As you could tell by the picture Sahara was more than happy to be her big sister's real live baby doll!

I need to see this today. You see this little "baby doll"... she has an ear infection and her temp soared to a whopping 105.3 yesterday evening. That is a new record in this house! And not a record I want to EVER have broken. She is somewhat better, but the fever is still fighting to hang on mostly around 100 degrees with Motrin and Tylenol in her constantly. Please PRAY FOR HER. I know we can expect a few days of this and we will have to ride it out patiently. Meanwhile, I am truly missing my dryer and watching a mountain of laundry growing by the minute.... I can hardly take a sick baby to shop for a dryer or to the laundromat! LOL!

:) POST YOUR FUNNY PHOTO ON YOUR BLOG AND LET ME KNOW. I COULD USE SOME LAUGHS !!!

ABC Learning Technique for Preschool/Kindergarten

Well, I have to say I am writing tonight as a release of stress and to make myself feel "grounded". I think if I write about something positive tonight, then the everyday choas that is spiraling around me will seem smaller somehow. We have a busy weekend and a list of things to do that are so long I have decided to be in denial and not make the list.... I just want to take it as it comes.

So, like I said... something positive... and hopefully useful to some of you fellow homeschoolers. A couple of weeks back I mentioned that I had purchased some tempera paints through Discount School Supply for various projects. The obvious thing to do with paint is paint. With that in mind I was in the craft department at Wal-Mart and I saw a set of sponges in the children's painting section that were the ABC's and they were only $2.48 ... CHEAP! As you can imagine the possibilites are endless for painting projects with the alphabet. I have started mixing some of my paints in there cute little cups, but the neat freak in me had to stop before I had a major cleaning issue on hand. I am sad to say that we have not painted, yet. I am waiting for the right weather and we can have an out-on-the-deck project.

Also, I have been collecting what I would normally classify as garbage for "art" projects. I have been saving the metal end of frozen juice containers, toilet paper rolls, oatmeal cylinders, and various other junk. While the kids were doing some crafting today I picked up an oatmeal cylinder and tore the label off. The thought hit me to open those foam ABC's and put them in. How fun would it be for a preschooler to reach in and pull out a letter and use that as a teaching tool to learn the letters!? So, we made a game of doing just that. Before long all the kids were involved. After seeing Sierra (5) reach in with her eyes closed and pull out a letter, Caden (2) wanted to do it. Of course, I am not trying to teach him at this point, but it was very exciting to him to get to reach in and pull out a letter, also. Savannah (8) could not resist it, either. The three of them would take turns pulling out letters for Sierra to guess.

I was shocked that she only missed TWO of the letters!! Just yesterday I tested her (bingo style) on the letters and she missed SEVERAL .... like seven or so. It was just a different and new thing to do. The bingo was new to her yesterday, too... but I think a bit overwhelming to have to search out the letters mixed altogether. With the foam letters it was exciting to reach in and pull out a "suprise" and then, focus only on that one letter. It was also a very reassuring suprise for me as well. After the bingo thing yesterday, I was feeling like she must not be learning.

All three of the kids were intrigued by the use of the different senses. When we were finished Sierra immediately wanted to take her "sponges" and get them wet.... see, her perception is that they are "just sponges" and not a learning tool!! She has also not realized that the original intended purpose of them was for paint!! I wasn't trying to be a fuddy-duddy, but I did not let her put them in the water, yet. The purpose of this is that we can stretch the learning usage of these to another day and then another. By doing so at different times we will reinforce what she knows and teach what she does not.

The possibilities are endless with this! I think my plan is going to be:
1. Hidden in container, close eyes, open, and guess (Done, but will repeat)
2. Get them wet and squish on them
3. Get them wet and "water stamp" with them on various surfaces
a. the Aqua Doodle -- water will leave a temporary print
b. chalk board -- water will leave a temporary print
4. Paint Stamp with them
a. various paper
b. lunch bags for gift bags, etc.
c. Make a little ABC lapbook
d. T-shirt paint art
5. Bleach art (not sure I will do this, but it is an idea / kids should only observe & "suggest" letters)
a. construction paper (kids would love seeing this effect after the bleach dries)
b. T-shirt bleach art / Jeans bleach art
*Quilters might use this project for the paint art or bleach art to create individual quilt squares made by your favorite little artists! ENDLESS, E~N~D~L~E~S~S POSSIBILITIES!! Put your own spin on it!

Sierra is FIVE !

C~R~A~Z~Y photo of a C~R~A~Z~Y little girl that I adore!!

Well, my second-born child is five years old as of yesterday and that was a big day in my world. Of course, once again she is feeling "jilted" as she did not have all of her friends visit on her birthday. She is just old enough to think she is is grown, but still has the understanding of a barely five year old. Her party will be this weekend and I suppose that will be our chance to make all things right in the world! Ha!

A few reflections on Sierra in honor of her fifth birthday. She could honestly rule the world and she is going to be one of those girls that can do anything she wants. She is headstrong and confident. She is also highly irrational and a grudge holder. She is beautiful and spunky. She is the first one to lend a helping hand, yet the one that screams the loudest and is hardest to console when you have wronged her. She sees people for what they are.... scarey, because we are not always as sane as we want people to think, if you know what I mean! She remembers all your bad moments and the good moments. I point that out because our oldest is more of a "remember the good / focus on the good" sort of personality. Sierra is more of a "remember it all / hold on to it all" sort of personality. She has by far (other than the irrational thing) been an easy child. She was one of those kids that would just lay in bed and take a nap, if you needed her to. She never HAD to be rocked, although I did when I could. At night you simply tuck her in bed and she goes to sleep. She was the one at a very young age that wanted to sleep in her own bed.... that one blew us away, because we were not quite there, yet. We still wanted to snuggle her, but she wanted her space. What a unique little personality she has and how I love her for it!

The passage of TIME

I just added these cool little tickers to the bottom of my blog and over the course of the last hour have been playing around with updating my blog. I am still learning the beginnings of blogging, so I probably am spending too much time on this right now... that and Caden has a bit of insomnia tonight. So I emailing and deleting old emails and all that jazz. So, as my mind is wandering around a bit I realized that Cody and I have been together for right at 18 years. I have to say that some days I feel like I am not much older than 18! How can we have possibly been together that long? And then, the big one hit me.... Cody and I have been together for almost half of my life!!! Yes, doing the math that makes me... you guessed it.... 36 years old. So crazy to think about it all and the passage of time....

Interesting ponderings and ironic that it is Valentine's Day today. So, what fabulous thing did we do for V-day? Simply survive.... and Laundry. We are tired and weary... somewhat sick... and our dryer died last week... we stay busy... we can't catch up. One person gets well, another gets sick, another has a special event or appointment, holidays keep coming quicker than ever. More and more I am aware of the passage of time.

Family members are aging, we are aging, one of my babies will five this month and on that same day my daddy will be 60! My prayer: God, please slow time and let me catch up some. I just don't want to "blink and miss it"...

Fireproof Review

Okay. So, I said I would give a review of Fireproof after we watched the movie. It was really just what I expected it to be and all the things I had heard. The acting is not the best, but overall the movie was great and I think that all married couples should see it together. And I mean that even for those of you that think you have a "solid" marriage that does not need work.

Also, I mentioned below that the there is blog for the movie. There is also a site to go to if you want to partake in the Love Letter challenge for your marriage. There are several suggestions on the site, including a variety of links to purchase the book from your favorite retailer. I am happy to say that you can get the book for under $10.00 .... I was very pleased that the cost is obtainable for the tightest of budgets. Go to http://www.fireproofmymarriage.com/ .

And while we are talking about frugal budgets, I might mention that we rented the movie at our local RedBox inside Wal-Mart which only costs one dollar per night (free for us because I signed up online and they sent me a code for a free movie).

Movie Night -- Fireproof

Well, it seems to be the most talked about movie that is out right now.... Fireproof . Tonight my husband and I are watching this movie together. I love a movie with a message and frankly I am at a point in my life where if it doesn't have some message I don't have time for it. So, I will post a review after we watch the movie. http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Did you know there is a blog for Fireproof, so if you are a fan of this movie you can read this blog that takes you through the the making of the movie. http://www.fireproofthemovie.blogspot.com/

Busy Then ... Busy Now

FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS WHAT AN ANGEL LOOKS LIKE.... ISN'T SHE HEAVENLY!


Well, I thought I was busy before homeschooling and I totally was. Guess what, though?! I am still busy. I am busy doing special things with my kids, though. Before I was just busy running from one spot to the next and trying to be at all their school stuff with school. I am just not the kind of "sit back kind of parent". I want to be there for my kids... all the parties... have lunch with them... participate in the PTA and other functions. But I have four kids and only two of them are school age. Already it was overwhelming!

I don't know if it is just that I am a "newbie" to homeschooling or if it is just the desires of my heart, but I have found more extra stuff and field trips to do than most people do in a whole year. LOL! Today it was the Stephen Fite concert at the Julie Rogers Theatre that we attended. I just love giving my kids those type of experiences and I have to say that it made me proud to be there with all four of my kids. All of the teachers at my girls former elementary school were there with students and it was a great feeling to know that they saw my kids not missing out on field trips. It is more of a challenge with all my kiddos in tow, but it is so worth it.

I am going to make it.... I guess I will always be busy, though! :)

P.S. The Stephen Fite concert was great and I highly recommend it. You can find out more details at http://www.melodyhousemusic.com/ and call to book individual tickets. You do not have to go as a group and it is only $4.50 per seat.

Homemade Sand or Salt Art Projects

I placed an order with Discount School Supply for Powdered Tempera Paints and have been thinking up more projects than I could possibly do! LOL! So, the order arrived lighting fast and the long awaited paints were the first thing I wanted to play with. I purchased three containers (1 lb. each) of the cheapest salt available and measured 3/4 of a cup into ziploc bags. I then put approximately 1/2 of a tablespoon of dry powdered tempera paint into each bag. I also added a couple of drops of water to each bag. My thinking for this is that it would make the paints stick to the salt crystals better. I recommend thick freezer type ziploc bags because the salt crystals will cut through the bag once you start mixing.... Ahhhh, MIXING.... this is where the fun begins for the kids. Hand each child a bag and tell them to mix it in. They can shake and roll the bag to their hearts delight until they have a bag of colored sand. Do discourage vigorous shaking and wild throwing of the bags... it seems fun, BUT... bag bursts, salt everywhere, gritty mess to clean... you get the scenario. This is a great time to explain how salt crystals are like diamonds and other crystals and can cut through things. Encourage gently mixing to prevent this. If your bags get holes (as our thinner bags did) simply tear a bottom corner hole and pour into another ziploc bag.

To answer some questions you might have:
--The idea came from purchasing a cheap sand craft kit from our local Family Dollar for $1. In this kit you have a sticker sheet with a picture printed on it. You peel away a section at a time and pour sand on it to make sand art pictures.
--I immediately began to think... Hmmm, you can do anything with this stuff that you can do with glitter. It is messy and you might want to consider it for outdoor crafting,though. Outline a picture page with glue and sprinkle the sand/salt over it. Salt "crystals" are just that; therefore, they shimmer!! Use a paint brush and paint on glue like it is paint, then sprinkle the sand/salt over it and your little Picasso will be delighted. TIP: You might consider putting food coloring in your glue for younger artists, so they see their paint against white paper and this will only add to there artistic creation.
--Difficulty level= EASY
--Time to make sand/salt= QUICK! If you have the bags ready with sand/salt premeasured and a few drops of water in the bag already, then you can hand these to the kids as quick as you can scoop in the powder and seal the bag. The kids will have their bag mixed in under five minutes and be ready for you to hand them another one. Before you know it you will have every color of the rainbow!
--You can buy the sand, but I made mine because I was already ordering the tempera paint powder for other use. The tempera paint powder has a long shelf life and it saves money to do this. Using the powders I plan to make our own paints, watercolors, colored rice, etc.
--This would be great, of course, for the most obvious craft... the sand art in a bottle. You could use a empty jar, soda bottle, decorative bottle, etc.. endless possibilities with this stuff.

Eventually, I want to start posting photos, but silly me can't figure how to stick the memory card in the memory card reader slot of my laptop computer... Gotta love technology that is over your head. Something that seems so simply has had me baffled since November!! Anyway, I would love to post a photo of our beautiful vibrant sand and I will ... maybe... one day!

It's in the "little things" we do...

What I think I will love about homeschooling is the "little things" that just happen without planning. Today my very soon to be five year old was looking at field guide book with frogs and insects in it. My strange girls LOVE bugs and frogs! Very soon my eight year old was lying across the dining table looking at the pictures along with her. They were totally taken by the creatures and were deep in conversation about poisonous snakes and the patterns on this frog or that moth's wings.... SCIENCE WITHOUT THE BORING STUFF.... just what the kids observe and find interesting enough to study on their own!

Later, as we were in the kitchen making cupcakes for Girl Scouts we had another science discussion about the oil and water we were using not mixing together. I demonstrated that as I stirred the oil and water mixture it would soon seperate again when I stopped stirring. The girls then each took a turn stirring the mixture and observing the oil and water seperate each time they stopped mixing. We then proceeded to our cupcake baking. Moments later when we were making icing for the cupcakes that same theory was reinforced as I combined the shortening, margarine, and vanilla. We creamed it together in the mixer. Once the mixer stopped I had the girls look inside. What they saw was that the shortening and margarine combined; however, the vanilla was puddling all around and had seperated from the other oily components in the bowl. We proceeded adding the powdered sugar and powdered cocoa and shortly they were busy licking the remnants of another science project right off their little fingers!!! LOL!!!

Fast forward a couple of moments later and I turned around to see my 6 month old in her highchair where she spends her time observing us being put to sleep by her biggest sister, Savannah, lulling her with sweet talk while rubbing her forehead. What a moment!! That is what I know is going to be best about homeschooling. My children will not only be schooled academics, but also in compassion and love for one another.

Now don't ask me about the wild moments.... that's another story altogether!

The coolest little lap books

I found the coolest little computer generated personalized lap books for children tonight and for free!

My fav is the God Made Me mini books and my daughters both loved them instantly!! They have all the letters of the alphabet and more than I can list. Check it out! http://www.dltk-teach.com/minibooks/index.htm

So sweet photos of the kids

Is anybody out there?

Hmmm... I have just starting blogging here and plan to post once a week... or whenever I have the time. I'm just wondering if anyone has come across the blog at all. If anyone knows how to add a counter for me to know how many hits the sites has gotten please let me know. You can email me directly at littlethingstx@att.net . Feel free to "Follow this blog" and I will try not to bore you to tears. I plan to write about my homeschool adventures, learning and teaching ideas, frugal/cheapness, and anything that interests me at the moment!

Happy Groundhog Day! The fun thing about homeschool is you can celebrate any old thing you want just for fun. And I learned today that my kids really believe that there will be six more weeks of winter just because of some rodent! LOL!! We did not spend the whole day working strictly on groundhog activities, but we did make it the focus of our arts time. We made cute little groundhogs out of toilet paper roles and the "little groundhog popping out of his hole" puppet in a cup craft. I adapted it to my liking and supplies on hand, though. We used clear green cups with a hole stabbed in the bottom (parent's step!) and then, cut the upper rim of the cup off (another parent step!). With the rim removed the kids were able to cut slits down all around the cup going about halfway down the heighth of the cup. This resembles blades of grass. I then gave each of the kids a narrow strip of construction paper to wrap around the base and glue or staple in place. An inch is a good width and made ours hilly. Print and color any old groundhog and tape it to a skewer or craft stick. Place it into the cup with the stick out the bottom and there you have a groundhog puppet. I might note that Sierra added a bow sticker, construction paper dress, and various flower stickers to her girly groundhog after seeing Savannah draw a bow and flowers on hers. It was great to see them put their own creativity into the project! Maybe eventually I will move up to posting pics with my ideas... for now.. sorry...