Willpower Update

Remember that series on willpower that I did early this year? I've continued to see the ways that my life has been changed by the principles in the book The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, PhD.

When I decided to take on the willpower challenge of decluttering my house, I had no idea what a big challenge it would be. Because I'm doing just a little bit a day (usually four days a week), it's taking a long time. I've been working consistently on it since January, and I still have a lot of areas to tackle!

But I like the slow, steady pace. It means I'm changing my way of life instead of just doing a one-time project and then going back to my old ways. Some days, I tackle areas I'd already decluttered, to once again get them looking nice. (Some spots attract clutter like magnets attract paperclips!) But most days I work on areas that have become disorganized through the six years we've lived here, like this closet that I finished today:

Isn't it pretty?

I love that my house is a more pleasant place to live! And that's my motivation. I can't stress enough what a huge deal positive motivation has become in my life. I'm doing things I thought I didn't want to do, and it's not because I have to. It's because I have realized I do indeed want to do these things (like getting & staying more organized) because I like the results so much. Moving from have to towards want to has been so freeing (and effective) for me!

Now I'm trying to find a balance. Clutter bothers me more than it used to. And when I take into account my temperament and my season of life (homeschooling mom of young children), I realize I need to have some tolerance for some clutter and mess. Things will not stay looking perfect all the time. What I want is to learn to tolerate temporary messes better, so that when it's time to relax, I can really do that. I guess I need to figure out a positive motivation for those relaxation times, just as I've found positive motivation for cleanup times!

I don't read a lot of self help books. But The Willpower Instinct has made a long-term difference in how I live my life, and I continue to place it on my list of very highly recommended books!

I was originally provided with a free copy of this book for review; however, this post is uncompensated.

Kids and money, plus a review of Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream

I've been teaching my kids how to do more chores around the house, and I've started paying them 25 cents per chore. (Some chores, like cleaning up their toys, are unpaid!)

My stash of chore quarters

We went to the mall Saturday, and both kids brought some money with them. Zoodle only had a little change, and he was quite disappointed that he couldn't find anything at all for under $1! I considered making up the difference so at least he could buy a $1 package of silly putty or something, but I wanted him to learn about the value of money. So instead I told him, "This is a good reason for you to do more chores around the house!"

Today, he was determined to earn some money and repeatedly asked me for chores. My dishwasher is emptied; towels have been put away in the kitchen; the tile has been cleaned with the little sweeper, and my bathroom countertops are wiped down. What a guy!

Zoodle is thrilled to watch his money grow! (He's also learning to count money, which is a nice bonus!)

Speaking of the value of money, I love getting fun stuff for free. I received the Sun-Kissed Vox Box from Influenster recently. It's a box with free items in it that I'm invited to try and honestly review. The item I've been using daily is Olay FreshEffects BB Cream.

According to the Olay website, Fresh Effects BB Cream has six benefits:
• Refreshes skin instantly
• Brightens for a radiant glow
• Evens tone with a splash of sheer color
• Hydrates for 24 hours
• Smoothes for softer feeling skin
• Protects against UV damage with SPF 15

I had never tried a BB (Beauty Balm) Cream, and I really like it. It's an easy way to get a layer of sun protection. Being 35 years old with imperfect skin, a tinted moisturizer doesn't offer quite the coverage I want, so most days I layer the BB Cream with powdered mineral makeup, and I am loving the combination of the two. My skin isn't breaking out (which is a problem I always had with liquid foundation), and it moisturizes really nicely. I tend to get patches of dry skin and haven't noticed that happening since I started using this product. Like many liquid foundations, this has a slight odor I'm not crazy about, but it's not enough to stop me from using it.

Olay FreshEffects BB Cream can be purchased at the Olay Fresh Effects website or at Amazon.

Yummy Chicken Noodle Soup (A recipe. Sort of.)

Yesterday I made this:

And it is super-yummy!

I like making meals that don't require a bunch of measuring. So this "recipe" won't include measurements. Think of it as more of a list of suggestions! It includes two Secret Tips that elevated this soup's flavor.

Beth's Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Oil
Chopped veggies (I used carrots, celery, onion, and frozen corn)
Flour
Chicken Broth*
Cooked chicken*
Liquid Smoke
Salt & pepper

*I made this the day after I'd made a whole chicken. The chicken in the soup is left over from the night before; and the chicken broth was made from the chicken carcass/skin from the night before. Google it if you've never made broth before. It's very simple.

Instructions:
1. In the pot you're going to use (I used the Ninja Cooking System, stovetop setting), heat up some oil on medium. Put your veggies in. (If you have any that don't need to be cooked, like frozen corn, leave those out.) Cook for several minutes until they start to soften.

2. Secret Tip Number One: Add some flour, salt, and pepper to the veggies, and stir it all up. I probably used about 1/3 cup of flour. This helps thicken the soup a bit!

3. Add a bunch of broth. How much? Depends how brothy you like your soup. A bunch of the broth will be soaked up by the noodles, so use quite a bit! Bring to a boil on high, and cook for awhile until the veggies are almost tender enough, stirring occasionally. (You can either boil it the whole time, if you're in a hurry like I was, or simmer it for a longer time.)

4. Add noodles and return to a boil. Egg noodles are good for this, though regular pasta works too. (I used rotini just because I forgot that egg noodles are generally used in chicken noodle soup. The rotini tastes good, but it did soak up a TON of extra broth as the the soup simmered after we ate....)

5. When the noodles are almost done, add chicken and any veggies that just need to be heated up (such as frozen corn, which I preheated in the microwave so it didn't cool off the soup too much.) Also...and this is Secret Tip Number Two...add a couple of good squirts of Liquid Smoke.

6. When everything is heated through, taste it, and add salt and pepper as needed. It's ready to eat!

I just love the flavor that Liquid Smoke adds to soup, and by putting some flour in with the veggies, the broth has just a little more thickness. This soup turned out GREAT!

Miss Chickie, the teacher

Well, ladies and gentlemen, our first homeschooling "year" is officially over, and the kids have promoted to their new grades!

We're still doing a little schoolwork over the summer, but not too much. One subject Chickie is working on is math. It doesn't come naturally to her like other subjects do, and so I'm trying to make sure she has a really good foundation for second grade by continuing to work this summer.

Because math can be challenging for her, Chickie tends to get very frustrated. We recently started using a curriculum called Math-U-See, and I love it! It utilizes video lessons and manipulative blocks. I sit and work with her on each lesson.

Math-U-See suggests that once the child has learned something, it's good to ask them to teach it back to you. I tried that one day, and suddenly realized I'd found an amazing, fun way to teach Chickie. When Miss Chickie is the teacher and I'm the student, she suddenly perks up. Math becomes fun! I am still able to guide our "class time," even though I'm the student. I'll ask her things like, "Miss Chickie, can you please show me how to subtract nine minus four?"

And Miss Chickie happily picks up her manipulative blocks and shows me, the student, how to do the problem. I've also found this works great for word problems. ("Miss Chickie, I have six pieces of chocolate and my little sister wants me to give her four of them! But I don't know how many I'll have left!")

When Miss Chickie makes mistakes, she doesn't get frustrated like Chickie does. As the student, I act confused as I point out the error, and she cheerfully figures out how to fix it.

I can't be the student all the time, and this hasn't solved all our math woes. But it's a huge discovery for me, and I want to find more ways to utilize it. Maybe the best way for Chickie to be a good student is for Miss Chickie to be a teacher!

I'm hanging on to this clutter spot

I am so happy to report that my decluttering efforts have continued, even though Sonnet and I finished our Willpower Experiment almost two months ago. I've settled into a three- or four-day-a-week routine of tackling clutter spots. Sometimes I'm even tackling one that I've tackled before. (That's usually the kitchen countertops or the school room, areas that just build up clutter so easily.)

I'm almost done with the downstairs and am a little nervous about what's waiting for me upstairs! But I'm loving the difference that my small efforts, compounded over time, are making. It's far from perfect, but it's so much better than it was before!

I've noticed something interesting. My mom is very organized, and she has been kind enough to organize some of my cabinets, etc., on her trips here. But I have never been motivated to keep most of those spots organized. However, now that I'm the one putting in the time and effort, I am so much more motivated to keep my spaces looking nice!

But there is one spot I have decided is going to stay cluttered most of the time, and that's okay. It's my refrigerator, covered with kid stuff.

Occasionally I go through the artwork and other memorabilia hanging on my fridge. I toss some of it and save some of it, and enjoy the sight of an "empty canvas" for a short time.

Soon, though, one of the kids brings me some sort of piece of art, and they are so proud of it, and I am so proud of it...and on the fridge it goes.

And you know what? That's okay. Keeping my house less-cluttered isn't about some sort of moral or ethical requirement. It's about being happier. A less-cluttered house makes me happier. But my kids' artwork, displayed for me and others to see--well, that makes me happy too. Even as my house becomes more organized, my messy fridge still belongs here!

Green time

Last weekend I went on an overnight women's retreat with others from our new church. It was so nice to get to know new people, and to spend time with an old friend whom I was rooming with.

By the time an hour of free time rolled around on Day 2, however, I was ready to recharge with some time alone. So I took a walk on the lovely retreat grounds, enjoying the gorgeous spring. This "green time" was just what I needed.

I brought a little journal and did some writing under a tree. How can you not be peaceful and inspired, surrounded by such beauty?

Two milestones

Just over a week ago, we were at church on a Sunday morning. Church had just ended. "Kids," I said, "We're going to a baptism."

"Can I get baptized?" Chickie asked.

Before I move on with the story, I'll explain what our family believes about baptism. We see baptism as a step that someone takes after they've decided to give their life to Jesus. (That's a decision Chickie made a long time ago.) By being immersed fully in the water, and then lifted back out of the water, the person being baptized is symbolizing Jesus' death and resurrection. It is also a symbol of that Christian's "new life" in Christ. Baptism is a way to tell others, "I am a Christian."

We want our kids to make faith decisions themselves, without ever feeling coerced. And we want to make sure that they really understand when they take a big step like baptism. I was so glad that Chickie had asked on her own, but I wanted to make sure she was ready! So I talked to her, and discussed talked to the leader of the elementary-aged kids at church. She understood the significance of what she was doing, and was certain it was something she wanted to do.

So about an hour later, we were at the river with others from our church (many of whom were also being baptized), and Chickie got dunked!

A little later in the afternoon, she said, "Daddy, can I get my ears pierced?" Daddy and I agreed she could, so we took her to the mall, where she chose Hello Kitty earrings. She was nervous but didn't cry!

I am loving life with my kids these days. I've fallen into the habit of not posting on my blog--something I thought I'd avoid! But recently I've been thinking about how many of these big milestones--and how many every day happenings--I'm not recording. I post them on Facebook, but that's not the most easily-accessible record for posterity! So I'm not making any promises, but I hope I sit down to write a little more often. It's such a sweet time of life, and I never want to forget it.

A little birdie told me...

Cool thing about decluttering...you come across stuff you hadn't seen in years. Sometimes that's cool because you get the thrill of throwing it away. And sometimes it's cool because the item is full of sweet memories.

When I was a girl, someone carved this little pendant for me. He made one for my twin sister Becki too. Before birds were popular, I might add! I forgot who made it.... Maybe my mom will chime in with that information.

I enjoyed wearing it then, and I love that I can wear it again.

And this time I have a little girl of my own to share it with too.

Prime Numbers Week!

Chickie turned 7 on Monday, and yesterday The Engineer and I celebrated 13 years of marriage! I guess that means it's Prime Numbers Week in our house! (If the kids were a little older, maybe I'd even incorporate that into our homeschool curriculum....)

The Engineer is awesome. He's kind and holds firmly to his beliefs. He is a man of integrity. He works really hard and he's really smart. And call me crazy, but I love the flecks of gray in his beard! He definitely makes "growing older" look good. He's my guy, and I love partnering with him in this life.

Photo by Whitney Runyan Photography.

And with this beautiful cross pendant and gorgeous roses, he did good this year! (Much better than I. I didn't even manage to get him a card, and I ordered him a gift that won't be here for weeks! Oops.)

 

What a prime family I have! I'm blessed beyond measure.

The Willpower Instinct (a lifechanging book)

I have a junk drawer. It's full of pens and pencils and notepads and stamps and glue and coupons and lots more. You probably have one too.

Problem is, my junk drawer isn't my only "clutter spot." There's my end table in my room, piled with books. There's that one corner of my kitchen counter...and that other corner...and that third one. There's the mail that piles up on the countertop bar. Need I go on?

I'm sick of my clutter.

So when I started reading The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., I decided that reducing clutter is my willpower challenge. Not eliminating clutter, but reducing it, and keeping it at a manageable level.

And this book makes me believe I can actually do it. Not because it's full of empty optimism. But because it's crammed with practical techniques that help the reader find his or her willpower, and increase it.

There are simple tips in the book. (One example: Stress leads to willpower failures. So McGonigal clearly lays out what works to relieve stress, and what doesn't. Walking outside for five minutes works. Playing a game on my phone doesn't.) There are counter-intuitive tips. (For instance, I learned that if I'm craving something--like more Facebook time in lieu of decluttering time--I can "surf the urge." If I pay attention to the urge--instead of trying to ignore it--it will lose much of its power and eventually subside.)

And all these tips are backed up with scientific study after scientific study. (Really, really interesting stuff, not dry, journal-eque recaps.) Who knew so many scientists had studied willpower and self-control?!

It's hard for me to write this review because I'm so enthusiastic about the book that I am overwhelmed and know I can't cover it all! Also, the book is meant to be read slowly. (The author suggests one chapter per week; it's a 10-chapter book.) But I read the whole book in about a week and a half, so I felt like I wasn't able to put everything into practice immediately.

So I'm going to start a blog series here. (I suppose this is another willpower challenge!) I'll be re-reading this book, one chapter every week. I'll put that chapter into practice, and then I'll blog about it. I'll include plenty of the practical tips I'm learning.

Would anyone like to join me? The book is about $16 (hardcover) or $13 (Kindle) on Amazon. Click here to check it out. It has great reviews. I plan to do my first blog post (covering Chapter 1) one week from today, but if anyone wants to join me on this adventure, I can put it off a bit so you have time to get the book. Just comment here or email me at cbethblog@gmail.com.

And if you're thinking, "Well, I might want to, BUT..." then let me share a few things with you that I learned from the book:

• If you think you'll have more time (or more of a book budget) "later" you may be deceiving yourself. We all tend to think we'll have more time, money, and, yes, willpower, in the future. But you'll always have responsibilities, including unexpected ones. You'll probably always be on a budget. If you are waiting for some "better time" to do something, you may never get it done! But you can invest in your future self now!
• One of the big willpower challenges many of us have is how we spend our money. With the tips in this book, I bet you can find a way to recoup the $13-$16 the book cost (and probably a lot more than that.)
• Many of us have religious beliefs that affect the way we live our lives, and we can be cynical about self-help books. We might think, "I can pray my way through my willpower challenges!" Rest assured, this book is not anti-religion. In fact, the author speaks positively about prayer and about faith as a motivation. I am finding that many of the suggestions are easily integrated with my faith. For instance, the book talks about how counterproductive guilt and self-criticism are. That goes right along with my beliefs about God's grace and forgiveness.
• You may be afraid that you will get the book and it will sit on your shelf, unread. (I've got books like that!) But studies show that if you are tackling a willpower challenge with others in your community (including your online community!) then you are far more likely to succeed. We'll figure out a way to stay in touch as we read this together, so that we can hold each other accountable!

I hope someone will join me! If not, I'm still going to do the blog series myself. This is just such good stuff!

To check out The Willpower Instinct on Amazon, click here.

I'm reading this book as part of BlogHer Book Club. I'll be participating in discussions on their site. To check out those discussions (and to participate, even if you aren't reading the book), click here.

One more thing: I'm already finding more willpower. When we got home from vacation on Monday afternoon, I unpacked everything...that day. That's a big deal for this clutter-prone girl!

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book and am receiving compensation for this review. All opinions are my own.

I apologize in advance...

...if you're hungry right now. Or on a diet.

I've discovered a couple of new recipes that you really should try. People will want to be your friend if you make this stuff for them.

A-Little-Over-One-Hour Dinner Rolls

These claim to be a one-hour recipe, but honestly they do take a little bit longer. You've got 5 minutes of kneading (in your mixer, if you have one), 40 minutes total of rise time, and 13-15 minutes of cook time. I cook a lot, but I can't mix the dough AND form it in the remaining 0 to 2 minutes. But, whether one hour or 75 minutes, these are worth every second you put into them.

A note: I have been using regular yeast (instead of the fast-acting stuff) since that's what I have. I allow a little extra time for the yeast to proof and also increase the first rise time. Also, I tend to make these earlier in the day and let them rise for the second time (formed and in the pan) in the fridge. They take a few minutes longer to cook, but that way I'm not scrambling at dinner time. And I know, I know...my modifications totally defeat the "one hour" purpose of this recipe. But, hey, it works for me.

Click on the photo for the recipe!

Once you've gorged yourself on dinner rolls, it's time for dessert, right? (Carb-lover here....)

Carmelitas

So make a batch of these Carmelitas...bar cookies full of oats, butter, caramel, chocolate, butter, brown sugar, and butter...and get ready to melt in a blissful, buttery carb coma.

The recipe-writer points out that she reduces the butter when she makes these, and they turn out well, though more crumbly. I didn't reduce the butter, and they were (of course) fantastic.) In the future, I may reduce the butter for the topping, but I'd want to keep the crust as-is since it holds its shape well that way. Actually...I'll probably just use all the butter and try to limit how often I make them!

Again, click on the photo for the recipe, and...enjoy!

Update on big life stuff

A couple of months ago, I blogged about big life changes. I'm happy that I have good updates to share!

My dad had surgery for his prostate cancer 2 1/2 weeks ago. My sister Becki and I were able to go to Arizona for the surgery. He's had some complications in his recovery but is doing better and better. When they checked out the prostate after removing it, they found the cancer was more aggressive than the biopsy had shown. But because they found it very early, they were able to get it all with surgery. No radiation, no chemo. He should still live another four decades or so. (He's 61 now. I'm thinking positively here!) We are so, so, so glad that this was found early and that they handled it aggressive treatment. We had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!


Not bad for one day post-surgery, eh?


I also shared in my previous post that our church decided to disband. We checked out several churches, and we found one in our area that we really like. That "in our area" caveat is an important one. Ever since moving to the metropolitan area where we've lived for 12 years, we'd had to drive a pretty good distance to church. That gets old. So to find a church close to home is fantastic. And it's a church that isn't "churchy," if that makes sense. It's casual. It's full of people with very imperfect lives. Well, every church is full of imperfection, but at this place, we're made to feel that we can be honest about that, instead of hiding it. That's pretty cool. I'm going to start working in their children's ministry, so I'm looking forward to that. We think this is the place for us.

Life is good. God is good.

USA week!

We recently did a USA week as part of our homeschooling. I plan to do at least one more week like this during the school year--there is still a lot more I want to cover about our country!

On my Delicious page, I've bookmarked lots of ideas for doing a USA week. You can check that out here if you're planning your own USA curriculum.

The kids made lapbooks again, and they turned out great! We used parts of this free lapbook template, and added our own touches too. Again, we coordinated our theme week with Ann, and at the end of the week her son Coqui and my kids Chickie and Zoodle enjoyed presenting their lapbooks to each other.

Click any of the photo collages to see them larger!

Coqui worked hard on his lapbook, and it turned out great!

Here is Zoodle's lapbook. I loved the "Civil War" part of his U.S. History Timeline (top right photo.) That's one guy saying, "I Wen" (I Win) and another saying, "I Loz" (I Lose.) I also laughed at the sentence he asked me to write on his Statue of Liberty minibook: "I wish Lady Liberty was MISTER Liberty!"

 

Chickie was proud of her lapbook, and it turned out great. You can see in the top right photo that when she drew our first President, she thought his classic portrait was a little too somber. Her version is much more cheerful! The bottom photos show one of the votes we did during USA week. The kids and I voted for what we should have for lunch. Grilled cheese won over PB&J--in fact, it was unanimous!

I'm still really enjoying doing theme weeks in our homeschool, and I'm learning right along with the kids!

Apple Bacon Chicken recipe (and lots more apple ideas...)

I'm still getting Bountiful Baskets produce, and loving the experience! You can read about it in my blog post here.

A couple of weeks ago I got my regular basket, plus a big box of Gala Apples...about 38 pounds worth. I'd paid $24 for them. I couldn't pass up such a great deal, but I had to figure out what to do with so many apples! I have made...

• Lots of Slow Cooker Applesauce (much of which I froze)
• Apple Pie (using this pie recipe, with added cinnamon and nutmeg; and this crust recipe)

 

• Apple Coffeecake with Streusel Topping (skipping the glaze; the cake is awesome without it)
• Apple Bacon Chicken

I haven't used all the apples.... There are some still in the fridge, and I also froze a bunch of slices for future use.

But let's go back to that last bullet point...Apple Bacon Chicken.

It was a big hit. I used this recipe, but I adapted it for the oven instead of the slow cooker. My recipe follows. Enjoy!

Apple Bacon Chicken (adapted from chef-in-training.com)

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
4 large apples, peeled, cored, and diced
8 slices bacon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Trim chicken, and pound it to a uniform thinness (doesn't need to be super-thin; just pound out the thick parts to match the rest!)
3. Cut each chicken breast in half.
4. Wrap a piece of uncooked bacon around each breast half. Arrange chicken in a large baking dish.
5. Mix together barbecue sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, and diced apples. Pour over chicken.
6. Put a meat thermometer into one of the pieces of chicken. Choose the thickest chicken piece in the dish. (If you don't have a meat thermometer, it's a great time to get one! I like the digital ones that beep when they hit a certain temperature. I think mine was about $10 at Walmart.)
7. Cook until temperature reaches 145 degrees. Honestly, I don't know how long this took...maybe 30-40 minutes. If you don't have a meat thermometer, cook until the chicken is almost done, but not quite.
8. Turn on the broiler. Keep the chicken on the middle rack. You're just going to finish cooking the meat, while letting the bacon get more crisp.
9. Cook until chicken is done (internal temperature of 165 to 170 degrees.) Be sure to scoop some of the yummy sauce on top of the chicken when serving. We had ours with rice.

Note: As much as I love leftovers, this was a bust when I reheated it in the microwave. So if you're serving just 2-3 people, you may want to halve the recipe. The men at the table ate two pieces each; I ate one piece; my 6-year-old daughter ate about 80% of one piece; and my 4-year-old son ate about 20% of one piece. Unfortunately, he's very picky about meat these days, so eating more than one bite is a victory for him!

Pioneer Week

A couple of weeks ago, we had a homeschooling Pioneer Week. It was so fun!

My favorite project of the week was making applesauce...only it wasn't actual applesauce, it was pearsauce! I'd gotten a box of apple pears (a.k.a. Asian pears) for a fantastic price from Bountiful Baskets. I used ten of them to make pearsauce and wish I'd used more--it was a big hit! (I used this slow cooker recipe, and have also used it for a bunch of applesauce recently. It's delicious, though I do reduce the amount of water; I use a little more than half the amount the recipe calls for.)

The reason I loved this project so much was because I used it to teach every major subject! I started by having Chickie predict what would happen to the pears when we cooked them, and how long it would take them to soften (Science). She wrote down her predictions (English/Language Arts). We talked about pioneers and why they had to make their own applesauce (Social Studies). Before we put the pears in the slow cooker, we counted them by tens, as shown in the photo above (Math). I even talked about healthy vs. unhealthy foods (Health), and I had the kids play outside while I peeled and cut pears, which is practically P.E., right?!

This was the type of project I really looked forward to when we started homeschooling!

We did one other cooking-related project. We made our own butter using these instructions (though, since we were using the butter immediately, we did not rinse it.)

It was delicious, and, once again, I had Chickie predict how long the process would take. (With both the pearsauce and the butter, she was very close!)

As a math activity, I set up "Beth's General Store" (an idea I got from this pioneer lesson plan--the same source for the applesauce idea.)

 

The kids had fun choosing what items they wanted to purchase. We then counted up their totals, and I helped them use play money to pay. Chickie and Zoodle love this type of role-playing, and it makes learning fun for all of us.

The cutest activity we did was making cornhusk dolls, using these instructions.  They turned out adorable! (I'll admit, I had to do the bulk of the work on this project; it requires some advanced fine motor skills. But the kids helped!)

Ann and I have been coordinating our themed homeschooling weeks--you can read about her Pioneer Week here. We then gather together to do activities related to the theme. Our kids had fun playing marbles and Hoops and Sticks (another idea from this lesson plan.)

 

Coqui and Chickie both quickly figured out how to use their "sticks" (wooden spoons) to push their "hoops" (offbrand Hula Hoops from the dollar store!)

The next week, we enjoyed the main event--the field trip that inspired our Pioneer Week. Ann and I took our kids (along with others from a homeschool group to which we belong) to a nearby museum made up of all sorts of pioneer-era structures. The kids got to see how people in that day lived, even observing a longhorn bull and a real blacksmith! (Click photos to enlarge.)

 

(In that bottom-left picture I was comparing my comfy toeshoes to the narrow, painful-looking boots women of that day wore!)

It really was such a fun week. We did other projects I didn't take pictures of. Most of those activities (as well as many we didn't do) are in these Pioneer links on my Delicious bookmarking site. If you're planning a Pioneer Week, I hope you find my links helpful.

Pioneer Week was a lot of fun...and a lot of work! We don't always do such involved theme weeks, but I do like having a theme (complex or simple!) around which to base our lessons each week. It gives me direction as I plan, and it makes things a lot more fun for the kids!

Baby steps

I want to be more environmentally-conscious. In fact, my kids actively encourage me to do so, which I appreciate! I remember to bring my reusable bags into the grocery store a higher percentage of the time than I used to remember. Baby steps, right?

The next step? Cloth napkins. Ann gave me the brilliant idea of buying a bunch of bandanas for $1 each. They come in such cute prints these days! So I picked up 12 at Walmart today. I let the kids each choose two, and I chose the remaining eight (all matching.) I love the adorable owl print!

 

Assuming we like using cloth napkins, I think it would be nice to make some eventually, with thicker fabric. But for now, these will do just fine. They were inexpensive; they're cute (well, some are gaudy, I admit!), and I didn't have to sew the hems myself!

I like when baby steps are so easy to take! Maybe some day I'll eliminate paper towels in my house too!

All About Me lapbooks

Lapbooks are a homeschooling trend. I was going to try to define what a lapbook is, but instead I think I'll just show you the ones the kids made a couple of weeks ago. You'll get the idea!

Our theme was "All About Me." Much of our lapbook design came from the free download at this site.

The kids worked hard all week on their lapbooks. (You can see any of these photos in more detail by clicking on them.)

Chickie, Zoodle, and Coqui (Ann's son) all did this project. They then presented them to each other.  They each really enjoyed being the center of attention, showing each other what they'd made!

Here are a few more pics of Chickie's lapbook:

And Zoodle's:

Because Chickie is so interested in anatomy, I wanted to include a fun human body project as part of her lapbook. I drew an outline of the human body (available in PDF below). Chickie then traced it on five pieces of tracing paper. On the original paper, she decorated the body to look like herself, and "dressed" it in her favorite outfit. (Zoodle did this part too!) On each piece of tracing paper, she drew a different body system: Skeletal, Digestive, Nervous, Cardiovascular, and Muscular. These were all stacked and stapled together so that it made a book with "layers" for each body system. She did great--I love how this project turned out!

Here is the body outline I made. Feel free to use it or share it.

Body Outline

5 x 7 = 35

I'm 35 today. Thirty-five! And I'm okay with that. More than okay, I'm happy to claim it, because I was thinking this morning...35 years. And not a bad year in the bunch.

Thirty-five feels like a milestone. As I lay in bed this morning, I considered what "big stuff" has happened in each five-year block of my life. Here's what I came up with.

Ages 0 through 4: Birth. And Imagination.

Well, I guess being born was an important start. Here are my sister Becki and me with our parents.

Of course, I don't remember the birth, so I'll move on! What I do remember from my first five years is that I started to develop an imagination. Becki and I loved playing make-believe. Blankets became princess capes. We had conversations on the red, plastic phone that stuck to the side of the tub with a suction cup. Sometimes our brother Sean even joined in and that made it extra-special! In this picture, Becki and I are pretending a box is a boat.

Okay, we probably weren't pretending it was a boat; we were only 15 months old. But I don't have that many pictures, so you'll have to use your imagination!

Creativity has remained such an important part of my life, even if I'm no longer using blankets as capes (not often, anyway!)

Ages 5 through 9: Faith

When I was five, I decided to follow Jesus. How much can a five-year-old really understand about faith? Maybe not a whole lot, but with the mind and heart of a little girl, I believed. More importantly, I've continued to believe. And my friendship with God...imperfect, at times shaky, and at times strong...has given my life depth, meaning, and direction.

My first day of kindergarten.

Ages 10 through 14: Piano

When I was 10, I started taking piano lessons. I don't write much on my blog about playing piano, because honestly, it's not something I'm passionate about. But I play keyboard nearly every week at church, and when I was young, it was a pretty big part of my life. It was a great way to help develop and exercise that artistic side of my brain.

Me, at 12

Ages 15 through 19: Becoming Me

Of course, I've been "Me" through my whole life. But high school and college were times of big growth for me. I became more and more confident and comfortable in my own skin, and I started to really become the "Me" I am today...someone I really do like.

High school graduation

Ages 20 through 24: Marriage

I started dating The Engineer when I was 21, and we married about a year later. He's a huge part of why I love my life today. He's such a blessing to me!

Ages 25 through 29: Chickie

When I was 28, Chickie was born. Life suddenly developed more depth and beauty. I absolutely love being a mom to my girl.

Ages 30 through 34: Zoodle, and a Special Pregnancy and Birth

Several months after I turned 30, Zoodle was born, completing our family (unless God has any surprises for us!) He is such a source of joy in our home!

And then when I was 34, I had the amazing privilege of carrying my best friend's baby. I expect that when I look back on my full life in future decades, I'll remember my experience of being a gestational carrier as one of the most beautiful and profound times of my life.

Ann and beautiful Munchkin, a few hours after the birth

Ages 35 through 40...Who knows?
I'm excited to see where God will take us in the next five years. I bet it will be wonderful.

Me, at 35