Emergency Skirt / Sahara / More Randomness

Sahara... that downward frown... that is on her face most of the time... she pouts to get her way and she thinks it works.... she would stay out of trouble a whole lot more if she would just stop it... but she really is the cutest thing which saves her a LOT.

She is bouncy and bubbling going a hundred miles an hour.  She wakes up on full speed and runs that way all day long.  Usually, she is cranky all day, too.... so, that makes for interesting days.  She is not a morning person and she happens to live in a home of all morning people.  When everyone else says something nice like, "Good morning!" or in an overly chipper voice, "It's morning time!!!" she grumbles and stomps around the house.  Or yells.  

She can be an eager helper and will get upset when she does not get to help on certain things.  We have learned recently that she can out clean all her siblings if you tell her to clean her room.  Why?  She is extreme OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which explains all the fits, too.  Things NEED to go her way or her order is confused.  Things still can not go her way all the time which is why she ends up with more discipline unfortunately.  ;)  We love her in spite of her craZy little attitude and we take responsibility for a great deal of her issues.  This girl had a house full of people that never said no to her for about three years.... bad move on our part.  But she was so stinking cute and she is "our Goo-Goo".

She is "in love" with her brother and he is "in love" with her.  They think they are going to get married... and sometimes they play like they do.  Just a couple of days ago she walked in the room dressed to go somewhere and her hair in two braids and this was the conversation:

Caden:  She is beautiful!

Sahara:  What?!!

Caden:  She's not really... (trying to act like he was joking)

Caden (looking at me and talking low):  She really is beautiful.

Me:  You know can't marry your sister Caden?

Caden (looking aggravated):  What?!!!

Me:  That is so gross Caden.  You really can't.  

(Caden did not really like that answer.  They are going to be so embarassed by the these stories one day.)

  

She is cute!  Beyond cute, actually.  God blessed me with a lightweight petite little thing after that hunken large boy child of mine that almost broke my back to tote around.  I could toss this little featherweight on my hip and run with it.  At five years old I can still easily lift her. 

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So, how do you like this little skirt she is wearing?  This was an emergency outfit one day when we were on our way to our homeschool choir meeting.  We had a picnic at the park and played on the playground and someone had a potty accident... in her pants.  And with pants you are kind of stuck when that happens.  That was one of those moments when I wished I had dressed her in a skirt that day.  Fortunately, I found these two bandanas in my van and tied them together at the waist.  The edges overlapped nicely to cover the splits in the sides since she is so petite.  Everyone thought I had made her a cute little skirt.  I was just thankful that the shirt she was wearing was a decent match.  With a few simple stitches this really would make a cute little skirt.  It served our purposes well that day, but has since gone back to just being a couple of bandanas.  

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While I am talking about clothing I might as well talk a little about being frugal.  That little shirt in the picture was on clearance a couple of years back for something like $1 and being that it was good quality I bought three of them all in a size 7/8... just a like.  It is the kind of thing that I knew would eventually get used even if it was in storage a while.  Sure enough my now 9 year old wore one for a while when I first got them.  Sahara now fits in one and one day Sienna will have one of them still in new condition.  I don't usually do that, but in this case it has worked out.  

If you want to save money on clothes you want to shop clearance rakes and think ahead for the different seasons.  I can always use short sleeves.  We don't have harsh winters here in Texas, so I try not to buy a lot of long sleeves.  It is just easier to wear a light jacket.  Seasonal items are worth looking at.  I try to avoid things that say "Fourth of July" and such and buy things like this that have the color scheme, but can be worn anytime.  Always think in terms of whether you could use the item for pajamas, too.  Of course, then it really does not matter if it does say something about a holiday.  In fact, you can even get creative and add fabric or other embellishments over the parts you don't want to look at.  If you are paying a low price it really will pay off.

More Potty Talk

Okay, if you have been reading my blog this week I have had too much Potty Talk. If you are not into all that I am very sorry and you may want to skip this post. I mean, I am not forcing you to read it... so, this is your warning..... funny.. I should create a warning label graphic for postings that contain potty talk! ;) So, here's your WARNING. {Note: No pics today! My husband informed me that I am disgusting for posting such things. LOL! I guess when you deal with poop constantly you forget your manners! ;) }

We had a a breakthrough in potty training Caden today !!!!! We had a birthday party to attend for my nephew today about 45 minutes away at a skating rink. For some reason Caden wanted to go potty there and pooped in the toilet!!! That is a first for him. If you are not familiar with my potty training talk from previous posting, then I will brief you. With all my kids I start letting them sit on the potty chair around 13 months old just to familiarize them with the potty. They usually will pee quite easily because they pee so much anyway as babies. We act very excited and clap. Very quickly they realize that there is a connection between the potty, the pee, and the excitement. Before long they are grunting and making silly faces and they poop... or we catch them pooping and run them to the potty to show them how to do it there, instead of in their diaper. We do not force it, but just do it all in fun... uhhmmm, who ever thought I would refer to such things as "fun".... Anyway, we try to make it fun and rewarding for them. Both girls have been potty trained by the age of two. Caden has been a different story... a boy story... first I don't have his kind of "equipment", so I just can not seem to relate to him with potty training... Do we sit him on the potty or the toilet? Do we sit him backwards on the toilet? Do we stand him up and hope he aims correctly? Do we toss in Cheerios to "shoot"... and many more questions. Now he sits backwards or stand. One time he pooped in the potty and was horrified. We never have been able to get him to do it, again. Not ONCE has he ever pooped in the toilet. At two years and 8 months old he finally pooped in a toilet today! Now I am hoping that he does not expect us to drive 45 minutes to the skating rink to do it again! ;)

On a different note... Sahara had a repeat display of her poop talent today. All over her and her outfit I had just dressed her in, all over me and my shirt and pants I had just dressed in, and all over her blanket. She seems to keep giving me a Keeping It Real post even when I don't need one!!

Well, I am going to bed now... I am POOPED out! (Pardon the pun! I need a laugh really bad.)

Ready For The Weekend & Camping Unit

Well, I had hoped to accomplish great things this week, but early in the week it became obvious that Sahara was not feeling well. Well, let me just say that I think she has not felt well for a few of weeks. It is teeth sprouting time. She only has two, but her upper gums look like all four are going to sprout at once. Her gums are bulging, but it is not swelling. Her teeth are showing their form on her gums and they look big. Anyway, on Tuesday she spit up a couple of times. I know that babies are supposed to spit up, but she is almost 11 months old and she is kind of past the spit up stage. I thought it was odd, but did not ponder it too much. I just thought she was over-nursing due to teething pain and I was also having a bit of problem that seemed like a clogged duct, but could have been some engorgement... not sure still, but I say that to say that if it was engorgement then she could have been getting an abundance of milk, hence the spit up issue. Okay okay, I forgot to mention that she had a running nose for a couple of days at that point. I awoke to a very warm little body next to me on Wednesday morning.... 102.8.... lucky us... Our kids all run high temps. Rarely do we have one with a temp in 99 range. We always seem to have 102 and higher. Savannah, our oldest, was feeling a little croaky, too. We obviously have a virus of some sort, because Caden has had some nasal issues and coughing. Those two have not had fever, though. Thank you Lord!

In spite of all this we have been getting our school stuff done and trying to manage the other household duties. When I have a little one sick it seems that everything stops, though. I want to hold them and cuddle them. If they are fussing I just want to give them what they want... cuddles and love. So, that has been my primary focus this week. I have thrown together meals on a whim and just kind of gone with the flow of the week.

Meanwhile, our little potty trainer, Caden, has been busy whizzing on everything! He is 2 1/2 and he just does not get it. Much to our amazement he is not really interested in potty training. We can take him potty and put his underwear on, then five minutes later.... whiz!! :O On Monday we put fresh sheets on our bed. On Tuesday Sahara was laying on our bed. Savannah, Sierra, and I were laying around her Oooohing and Ahhhhing at our little one. Along comes Caden who climbs up on the bed and stands there and whizzes all in middle of my bed!!! :O What is going on in the mind of a boy!! Oh! And he has starting swaying from side to side when he stands in front of the toilet to whiz. It is like his own little water gun! He is quite impressed with his ability to spray it in different directions... some of which do not make it into the toilet! We are using a lot of bleach at our house. The same day he whizzed my bed he pooped in his underwear! I just can not be changing poop underwear. By this age my girls would only do that if they had diarrhea. I mean, who wants poop in their pants?! And yes, I realize there is too much poop talk on my blog this week. Sorry... really... very, very sorry!!! Okay, so off that subject. I will give you all a break!

Hmmmm... so one of my main purposes of this blog is to share ideas with others and I have not really done that lately on a little kid level. I am trying to tie my kids school work together with a theme, so that arts/crafts time is unified.... science, also. Kind of like Unit Studies, but much more simplistic. If it has a name, please feel free to share that info with me in the comments. Anyway, Savannah's A Beka Math has camping as the final theme for the workbook pages. Everyday we are trying to focus on camping related things to do. So, this is my "share" on camping ideas. Some things we have done in the last few weeks are:

1. Roasted marshmallows on the grill
2. Had hotdogs for lunch
3. Had Fishy Crackers (Ritz with a squirt of Squeeze Cheese with a Goldfish cracker on top
4. Made fishing poles (Find a stick from outside approx. 2' long. Tie a piece of string or yarn to the end. Make a "hook" using foil that you scrunch up and shape like a hook and tie to the string.)
5. Made fish. (Fold paper plate in half. Make a quarter sized whole through both layers for an eye. Decorate with anything.. markers, crayons, tissue paper bits, bingo markers, paints, whatever you like.)
6. We caught our fish (#5) with our pole (#4). I had the kids "fish" over the edge of their desk and I put the fish on the hook through the eye. Ouch!!
7. We made boats out of a regukar white sheet of paper. Folded origami style... then, they colored their boats.
8. We did a Hidden Picture activity in a book where they had to find all the fish.
9. For science we studied mosquitoes.
10. We observed a dragonfly.
11. We found some lapbooking print-outs that we used to "pack" camping supplies. We cut out camping clipart and glued it in a simple (very simple) booklet.
12. We packed a First Aid Kit.... another lapbooking print-out. We cut out a double side medic bag, folded it in half and taped the sides to for a purse-like pouch. We cut out some more clipart for our First Aid supplies.
13. I checked out some library books that were camping themed for us to read.
14. I thought about pitching the tent in the backyard... Does "thinking about it" count as doing it? ;) We might still do that.
15. Suprisingly some of Sierra's workbook pages were camping themed. And some could be like stars and constellations.

I just worked in what I could... nothing real complex. It may appear complex, but we kept it simple. We will be doing camping as our theme through the end of our school year... a couple more weeks. So, if we walk outside and see June bugs they could easily become part of our camping unit and become a Science project. I still might put some mosquito larvae in a jar with a screen over it and let the kids observe it molt into a mosquito. Our study says they "pop" out one day... Weird! There are so many things that go with camping... studying bears, raccoons, birds, butterflies, and other creatures. Smores would be a good snack! Catching fireflies... or worms for fishing. I think tomorrow we may do leaf rubbings. Maybe we will end our unit willl real camping!! We'll see! I am just trying to learn how the two girls schooling can work together... BECAUSE ONE DAY IT IS GOING TO BE FOUR OF THEM. :o ;)

So, What do you do to unifiy your various age kids schooling? Got a tip to share? Got a wonderful curriculum or other book, etc... I would love any suggestions and tips!! Let's share our ideas to become better homeschoolers!!

Caden My Diaper Man

Most of us know that when you are potty training one of the important steps is to take your little one to the potty ASAP upon awakening in the morning. This what happened at my house this morning:

Sahara and Caden awoke at the same time, so they both needed their morning diaper changes. This is the part where you pray the two year will be dry .... and then, laugh because he is not! As I am removing Caden's diaper he says, "I want Cars." He is referring to Pull-Ups.
I say, "You have to go potty on the potty chair to get Cars."
I take him to the potty and he refuses, because he is not feeling very awake (not like him). He then proceeds to get and try to put on his own "Cars". I take the Pull-Up away and tell him that he can only wear the Cars if he goes potty on the potty.
So, I say, "What is it? Mickey Mouse or Cars?"
Caden says, "Mickus Mouse!"

Someone Is Always Pregnant

Someone is always pregnant in this house! They love to pretend they are pregnant... and for some unknown reason they like to be pregnant with multiples... and I do mean multiples! They have stuffed up to sixteen baby dolls in their "bellies"! In all seriousnees I love that they find pregnancy to be such a joy and I pray they will enjoy it as much when they are adults.

On that note.... I feel inclined to remind you all to pray now for your child's mate. I have done that some from the beginning with all my children even when they were still in the womb. It is so important that we raise our children to be patient and wait on the Lord for the ONE that God has designed for them. I have prayed that God will create someone that is perfect for each of my children. This is a great time of reflection for me as I write and a reminder to myself that I need to do this more. I will pray that God is creating or has created that person and that God will make them harmonious as a team. I will pray that God will protect that mate guide them in their life's decisions. I will pray for that child's salvations and that the will grow up to be Godly Christians. I encourage you to do the same for your children!

Also, if you take note you will see a gorgeous little curly headed hunk of a cutie pie in the above picture sporting a diaper. Caden is almost 2 1/2 years old and is NOT potty trained. No big deal to most people. I do realize this, but my girls were both potty trained by two. This hunk-a-chunk is afraid to put his business in the potty. He will tee-tee, although he simply does not have a preference to where -- toilet or diaper.... or wherever else he can spray! Poo is another issue! He will put it in the diaper, on the ground (yes, outside... eeek), on the floor, even on the pillows on my bed once...yuk... but not on a toilet! One time about six months ago, he did a little on the potty. The look of fear that came across his face was extreme. He held in the rest and has refused to do it ever again. So, MY PLEA TO ALL THAT READ THIS POST IS how do you handle a child being afraid to Poo in the potty/toilet? Leave me your wisdom in the form of a comment, PLEASE!!! When I read this back, I think ...well, just let him go where HE WILL... The only possible option that I MIGHT allow would be outside, but I hardly think he is going to grow up normal, if he Poos outside! LOL! Of course, that might eliminate the above issue of having to pray for his perfect mate! LOL! Really though, if you have had a problem with this and can share some insight I would be forever grateful. My husband is a teacher, so this summer we will both be home to "Git it done" potty training this little guy!