Organized Clutter

Since we recently (within the last 5 months) completed our house and moved in, I have a great deal of the kid’s toys packed up. They have had a somewhat limited selection in their bedroom. Although there word “limited” does not mean a meager amount. We do not often, besides holidays, buy toys for our children. The grandparents, on the other hand regularly bestow all manner of toys and books and such. My mother in law is an avid shopper and my mom is an avid garage saler. Between the two, let’s just say, that our children don’t lack.

I do pare things down on a somewhat regular basis. Before Christmas and birthdays our general policy is to have the kids fill a grocery bag of items to get rid of. I tend to clean out regularly myself, so this habit seems fairly normal to the members of our household. Some of the cleaned out items are thrown away, some are given away and once in awhile a special item is packed up to save (my older daughter has recently been packing away special dolls that she no longer plays with).

Recently I was noticing that the boys were taking to dumping out the bins in their room and making a huge mess and then spending the majority of their time arguing and the minority (if any) of their time in productive play. When this happens, I clean out, or think to myself many times, “I should clean out!” I actually should have done this round of cleaning out quite awhile back.

When I finally got around to it, I went in their room and reorganized like toys with like toys in bins and packed up two boxes of miscellaneous toys. Now the rule is that they can have one bin out at a time and it is to be cleaned up before another bin is taken out. I was blessed this morning to hear happy voices as the boys played together with the plastic animals. “This hippo needs to go to the doctor.” “Here let me check him out.”

Far too often I put off cleaning out or paring down toys. It is not my favorite task. And when I do it seems like more toys creep in to take up the cleared out space. Sometimes I put it off because I don’t want to stifle creativity by limiting their play. But, and it never fails to surprise me, it seems like when I do create limits and boundaries that is when creativity abounds!

My own creativity seems to come alive in a semi-organized environment. My husband stated it in a nice way, “you are a pile person, but the good thing is that you regularly clean out your piles.” I am in a constant state of piling things up in order to get back to them. But, I don’t particularly like living with piles, so I do clean them out regularly and if a pile seems to be a constant in a space, I tend to toss it into a basket. It is aesthetically more pleasing that way. I like to think of it as organized clutter.

Another bonus to packing up toys is that I can then rotate the toys in the bedroom. The boys are a bit disappointed when I pack up toys and take them out, but thrilled when old “friends” are brought back into their play area. Newness brings such a thrill and they are delighted when a toy that has been packed up awhile returns for a visit. They love having the train set brought out after an absence. If it stayed in the room the while time, it would be ignored the majority of the time. This way it seems like the toys actually get more play time overall.

This is simply what works for our family. I tend to stray from this plan, but when I finally come back to it, I am always glad I did. I would love to hear any other tips or ideas along the lines of organizing toys, fostering creative indoor play, helping children to practice gratefulness for the toys they have and helping siblings play together in a productive way…Please share any thoughts you may have!

Dandelions

I know this is a weed. I know that because of B blowing them all over the lawn we will have more weeds. But, when I see the look of concentration and satisfaction on his face after huffing and puffing, it does not matter to me. He will only be three for this brief season of time. Let him blow weeds over the lawn! I remember doing the same thing when I was young. In fact sometimes, when I am alone or with one of the little ones in the yard, I too am blowing those dandelion seeds over our lawn. "Gee, I don't know why we have so darn many dandelions." *Grin*

Modesty Blog

This blog is devoted entirely to the topic of modesty. It is about more than just clothing There are some interesting and well-written posts. It is worth checking out.

It Is All Sheep and Lambs To Me

The current issue of debate over the bowls of oatmeal this morning: Were the songs/nursery rhymes "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" written by the same person?

Daisy Chain Crown

Often times at church I miss portions of sermons and other activities. It comes to be expected with being a mom and with having a husband who misses church on occasion due to his military responsibilities. I often have to leave or step out of what is going on in order to tend to a child (who needs to be nursed, have a diaper changed, go potty, be disciplined…). To be fair, my husband is incredibly helpful when he is there, which he is the majority of the time, and takes care of many of the needs, except, of course, nursing the baby.

In the midst of the interruptions, I find that I can leave church on Sunday feeling more depleted than refreshed. Church, a huge source of my Spiritual diet, is not sustaining me as it has in the past. I know, this is a season of life and my small children are growing quickly. There will come a day when all of these interruptions will be a distant memory, an “oh, yeah, I remember going through that,” as opposed to being an immediate struggle.

Personal prayer, Bible reading and meditation are great, in fact they are essential, but too often interrupted as well. The other day, I had the kids all in their rooms for quiet time. I sat on the couch with my Bible, the book, What Jesus Demands of the World, and prepared to nourish my spirit. Finishing up an hour later, after getting up, maybe 6 times, I lost count, to tend to the young ones, I had finally finished my reading and praying. But, by then, I could hardly remember what I had read or prayed.

During these times it is easy to find discouragement in the form, “what’s the use, anyway” thoughts. But, still the discipline of maintaining the time with God is valuable. The best thing to do is to refocus my thoughts on knowing that I am doing God’s will by faithfully training and tending my children. I have to trust that God will supply my needs and know that He will sustain me even in these busy times. But, there is more that I can do and that is what I want to share.

Some things that I have found that are helpful to me in growing spiritually in the midst of the busyness of small ones include:
· Listening to sermons over the internet. Some of my favorites, and these sermons are available for free, include Desiring God Ministries , Capitol Hill Baptist Church (they have good sermons and some great teaching of a variety of subjects-being located in Washington D.C. where people tend to love engaging in learned conversation, this church provides some wonderful talks on history, politics…) and Covenant Life. Yes, there are interruptions as I listen, but I still am able to glean some good truths to hang on to. Plus, I can listen as I do other things, such as the dishes, fold clothes or make meals.
· Playing music that focuses me on God. And this isn't just "worship" music, but any music that honors God, the author of music, can be worshipful.
· Listening to the Bible on CD. We have the book of Romans on CD and a friend in our church recorded the passage that our church is memorizing onto CD. The kids and I listen to it in the van and we are memorizing as we drive.
· Being disciplined in taking time with God each day. It does not always happen every day, but that is my goal.
· Purposing to talk about God and pray with my kids. This is good for them to connect God with everyday life and good for me to practice sharing the most important things of my life directly with them. I find that sometimes it can feel unnatural and I want to work at breaking down that barrier so that conversation about God is a natural as breathing.

I certainly do not incorporate all of these things into my life every day, sometimes I forget about them altogether. But, I think the point is that they provide a place to return to when I am not on the track I would like to be on. In one of Stephen Covey’s books he said that successful families are off track 90% of the time, but what makes them successful is that they have a goal or a direction and they keep coming back to it.

I would love to hear from others how you nourish your Spiritual life in conventional and unconventional ways. Please share!

5 Months, 83 Years

John Piper Teaches on Submission

It is Sunday. Sunday morning. Normally I am at church enjoying learning and fellowshipping. Not today. Not last Sunday either. This is my second Sunday being home with an unwell child or two. Thankfully, the ailments have not been overly serious, just not convenient. Inconvenience is manageable, but sometimes I find myself becoming a bit discouraged in the midst of it all. Today I found encouragement in a sermon by John Piper, "The Beautiful Faith of Fearless Submission." I had read about this sermon on the Girl Talk blog, and thought it would be good to listen to, but I had not gotten to it, until this morning. It was exactly what I needed to nip, my temptation to nurse, my discouragement in the bud. I suggest taking the time to listen to this sermon. By God's grace, I came away inspired and encouraged, even though I had to pause it and rewind portions several times in order to deal with the ailing young ones. It was good to have this teaching fill my mind in between times.

My Brave Knights In Training

One Final Comment on Lewis and Narnia, For Now Anyway

Once Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy became kings and queens, Lewis writes, “And they made good laws and kept the peace and saved good trees from being unnecessarily cut down, and liberated young dwarfs and young satyrs from being sent to school, and generally stopped busybodies and interferers and encouraged ordinary people who wanted to live and let live.”

Michael Flaherty from the Imprimis article, writes about this passage, “It is interesting to note that the first item of business after keeping peace and protecting the environment was abolishing school! Narnia is thus the first kingdom where home-schooling is not only encouraged, it is required! But I think Lewis was talking less about the institution of school and more about what was being taught there. And when it came to what was being taught, Lewis thought that stories made all the difference.”

This passage resonates with me on two levels. First on a political one and secondly in regard to education. I have a feeling that I will be exploring education, using this passage as a springboard, in the future.

Have a wonderful weekend!

More Thoughts on Lewis, and Narnia, and Bravery

“Peter wondered why she [Susan] did not get higher or at least take a better grip; then he realized that she was just going to faint and that if she fainted she would fall off.
Peter did not feel very brave; indeed, he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do. He rushed straight up to the monster and aimed a slash of his sword at its side. That stroke never reached the Wolf. Quick as lightening it turned round, its eyes flaming, and its mouth wide open in a howl of anger. If it had not been so angry that it simply had to howl it would have got him by the throat at once. At it was-though all this happened too quickly for Peter to think at all-he had just time to duck down and plunge his sword, as hard as he could, between the brute’s forelegs into its heart. Then came a horrible, confused moment like something in a nightmare. He was tugging and pulling and the Wolf seemed neither alive nor dead, and its bared teeth knocked against his forehead, and everything was blood and heat and hair. A moment later he found that the monster lay dead and he had drawn his sword out of it and was straightening his back and rubbing the sweat off his face and out of his eyes. He felt tired all over.” The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis

Being brave does not mean one does not feel afraid. It means you do the right thing, the strong, thing even though it may be scary. Since finishing this book, A and I have talked about this many times. This is a great passage to refer to when A faces something scary. We talk about how Peter felt and then we talk about what Peter did. Peter did the brave and right thing, even when he felt afraid.

Thoughts on Lewis and Narnia and Bravery

Awhile back A and I finished reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. That book is one of my absolute favorites and there was such joy in reading it with my own child. I remember my dad reading it to me. Being read to is a wonderful way to share thoughts, adventures and all the many emotions that a good book stirs up.

A was scared a couple of times while we were reading. "Stop, don't read any more! It is too scary." I kept on reading, after reassuring him that it would be alright. Still, part of me wondered if it was too scary for him.

Then I read an article in Imprimis that quoted Lewis. It fit this situation perfectly. "Those who say that children must not be frightened may mean two things. They may mean (1) that we must not do anything likely to give the child those haunting, disabling, pathological fears against which ordinary courage is helpless: in fact, phobias. His mind must, if possible, be kept clear of things he can't bear to think of. Or they may mean (2) that we must try to keep out of his mind the knowledge that he is born into a world of death, violence, wounds, adventure, heroism and cowardice, good and evil. If they mean the first I agree with them: but not if they mean the second. The second would indeed be to give children a false impression and feed them on escapism in the bad sense. There is something ludicrous in the idea of so educating a generation which is born to the...atomic bomb. Since it is so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker."

I would rephrase and apply the words of Lewis this way, "Since it is so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, such as gunmen who kill at random, perverts who harm our vulnerable and if not be a part of, then know those who are a part of broken and hurting families, LET THEM AT LEAST HAVE HEARD OF BRAVE KNIGHTS AND HEROIC COURAGE!

*I do suggest that you read the Imprimis article. Imprimis is available free upon request. Go to www.hillsdale.edu and request it or call 1.800.437.2268.

Our Plot of Land

It is an incredible feeling to be a homeowner and have a plot of land. My husband told me the other day that it feels so good to know he can do whatever he wants on this land, because it is ours! He said, “I could just go start digging a huge hole if I wanted to, I could start building a swimming pool if I wanted!” I told him not to get carried away. But the truth is, I too revel in that, “I can do anything I want on this land” feeling, well we are limited by finances and time, but other than that...
There is something so freeing in knowing that if my kids want to build a fort, they can. If I want to plant something, I can. If it looks ugly, oh well, I can plant something else. It is so fun to imagine garden locations and to imagine the sportcourt for the kids that we would like to put in. Our biggest challenge is in combining our dreams. I prefer the natural, eclectic, cottagey look. M prefers the manicured yard look. But what a fun challenge to have and there is no one I would rather face it with.

New Yard Shoes

Since moving to our new place, I have been thinking that a new pair of shoes would be handy. I have casually browsed, with the following criteria: something easy to slip on, something comfy, something that can be somewhat mud and rain resistant, not too spendy….A few weeks ago I was grocery shopping at the local Canned Food Outlet (!), when I saw “the pair.” There were only two pair left and, of all things, they had my size, they are even Simples, I love Simple shoes!

Not only did they fit all my criteria, but they are inscribed with the word “past” on the heel and the word “future” on the toe. How appropriate for my first yard shoes at our new place. Those simple words on those Simple shoes inspire me. Each step I take reminds me to embrace the future and learn from the past, but to let the past be just that, the past, and to move on from it.

We’ve Got A Boat!

Our town has an annual clean out day every April. It has become the tradition of clean out day to travel around the town and scavenge through the junk of other people. It started that people would drive around the night before and snag any items of interest. Then people began to set things out a few days before. Now, people set piles of stuff out a couple of weeks before the actual clean out day. This has become quite a tradition. My dad even mentioned that he plans to take the day before clean out day off of work. I suppose so that he can clean out stuff. But it struck me that the clean out day has practically made holiday status. A day off of work to celebrate/participate in cleaning out!

There is no shame in stopping and pouring though the piles of stuff set out. It is almost a source of pride for people to see other people taking their stuff. I can go through our house and see several items we have gathered for free from the clean out day treasure hunts around town. We have a chandelier in my laundry room that was rescued. My husband rewired it and I repainted it and now it looks great. It was in my daughter’s room for a long time, but now she has moved onto wanting a fan in her room.

We have two old window frames that we gathered and painted. In the window opening sits mirror that was also gathered for free and we cut the mirror at the local hardware store, for free-I love free! Then there is the vintage fabric that now makes a curtain on a shelf that M built for me. We almost snagged a small bicycle for B, but waited, went back and it was gone. But this year tops all! We picked up a boat!

I had been eyeing a boat sitting out for a few days. It seemed like a great play thing for the kids. So, I mentioned it to M and he agreed that it would be fun for the kids. We stopped to look it over and inside was a broken window. We both decided we didn’t want to mess with broken glass, so we passed it up. A day or two later it was gone, someone else must have seen the potential and not minded the glass. Then today, I was driving home and in the same spot were two more boats! “Kids, do you all want a boat?” Of course they did! So we stopped picked out the best one and realized that there was no way it would fit into the van. It would have fit if I unloaded the kids and pulled out seats, but that was a no go.

I called my mom to see if it would fit in her Subaru. Nope, it was slightly too wide no matter how we angled. So, my mom called her pastor, who has a pick-up truck and whose office was about 2 minutes driving time away. He gladly came, loaded the boat and dropped it at our house. Ahoy Matey!

Boat pictures

Strawberry Lemonade

This is super easy to make! It not only looks great on the table, but adding strawberries to lemonade makes the juice a bit more nutritious.

Take a frozen container of lemonade and pour the lemonade into a juice pitcher. Add five container-fuls of water. Stir.

Place frozen strawberries (fresh will also work) into a blender. I just eyeball it, but I am guessing that I use about 4 cups of berries.

Then add about half a blender full of lemonade to the berries. The liquid causes it to blend smoothly. Then blend! Add more liquid if needed.

Pour the strawberry mixture back into the juice container with the rest of the lemonade. Sometimes it is helpful to take a measuring cup and scoop the strawberry mixture into the lemonade so that it does not splash too much.

Enjoy!

Sugar Rimmed Glasses

For awhile I planned a theme for each night of the week (ie pizza on Friday, Mexican food on Thursday...). A favorite of our family, for a night of Mexican food, is to drink strawberry lemonade out of sugar rimmed glasses. Sugar rimmed glasses are easy to do and look festive.

First set out two bowls. One with a small amount of water in it and one with some turbanado sugar.

Next dip a glass into the water.

Then dip the glass from the water, into the sugar. Sometimes one dip causes an even amount of sugar to stick, other times I have to angle the glass and redip a side of it.

Allow the glasses to dry for at least an hour, but longer is certainly better. This can be done early in the day and the glasses left to dry until needed. If the sugar runs down the glass, wait until the sugar is dry and take a warm wet rag and wipe off the drip. If it drips on the inside of the glass, just leave it. The strawberry lemonade will cover up the drip. It is best to not try and fix drips when the sugar is wet as more sugar may fall off the glass.

Green Time

My Google homepage has a variety of things on it, including the current top headlines from Psychology Today. A recent headline, ADHD’s Outdoor Cure, caught my eye.

This article is a refreshing perspective. The concept of having “green time” just makes sense. As M said, after I told him about this, “we all want to feel connected, to feel grounded to something beyond ourselves.” True, true. There is something in all of us, acknowledged or not, that craves connection with creation.

According to the third paragraph, kids in small groups or in a one-on-one situation, in nature, reap the most benefit. That makes sense. We, as people need connection with other people. We all want to feel like we as an individual matter. Combine that feeling with time outdoors and there is something deep within us that is tapped.

Some of my favorite memories, growing up, include outdoor time (ie “green time”) with my dad. I remember long evening walks, listening to frogs and crickets and to my dad pointing out all sorts of things. He would point out bunnies, camouflaged in thickets, birds, leaves, plants and the like. I remember going fishing and the most important thing caught was time with each other, oh, and the three legged turtle we found once (he later ran, or rather limped, away from home, but that is another story).

My mom and I would often go for drives and spend time talking and looking for deer. We would stop and watch the river or just cruise along back roads observing the quiet beauty.
My children love the stories I tell them about my time outdoors. B regularly asks, when I tell him about the turtle that was missing a leg, “was he looking for his other leg.”

Now we are working to create our own stories. Green time is time spent at a slower pace. It is time that speaks to the whole person. I know that some of my favorite time with my kiddos is time spent on walks. We walk around our property looking at trees, bugs, worms… There is something so real and connected about enjoying creation together. It is the best type of learning and relating. We point out deer scat, the holes on a tree that were made by a woodpecker and other important things.

The article sums up the benefits of green time by concluding, “If doctors eventually prescribe “green time” for the treatment of ADHD, it has the advantage of being widely accessible, free of side effects, nonstigmatizing and inexpensive…” How crazy that we are at a place in our society were green time would have to be prescribed by a doctor. This statement reminds me that we all have at our fingertips, a healing remedy. It is not just healing for ADHD, but it is healing for all of us. We all need to slow down and connect with nature and people.

Another fun list of Questions

I discovered the following on the making home blog. Make sure you visit Making Home, it is one of my favorite blogs ot visit.

Each question must be answered in exactly three words, no more, no less. Feel free to answer for yourself and post it in the comments or post a link to it in the comments.

Where is your cell phone? On the counter
Boyfriend? Is my husband
Hair? Needs a trim!
Your favorite item(s)? Bible, camera, bed
Your dream last night? Do not remember
Your favorite drink? water with lemon
Your dream guy? we are married
The room you are in? a future hallway
Your fear? Snakes snakes snakes
What do you want to be in 10 years? wife, mom, wiser
Who did you hang out with last night? my sweet family
What are you not? a green thumb,
Are you in love? Most definitely am!
One of your wish list items? Completed up stairs
What time is it? Fifteen after seven
The last thing you did? Read a blog
What are you wearing? Hubby’s sweatshirt, jeans
Your favorite book? The Holy Bible
The last thing you ate? Alfredo noodles, bread
Your summer? Long walks, relaxing
Your relationship status? very happily married
What is on your tv screen? Not a thing
When is the last time you laughed? Kids playing checkers
Last time you cried? Not sure now
School? Life is learning
Your mood? Thoughtful and amused
Your friends? Faithful, fun, inspiring
What are you thinking about right now? Baby’s sweet expressions
Your car? Hip happening van
What are you doing at this moment? Writing, watching, listening
Your life? Sweet, challenging, real

Flexible Hope

The last couple of weeks have been busy. Saying, “I am so busy,” or related remarks about how full ones life is can quickly become a cliché. I mean, whose life isn’t busy. If you don’t like it so busy, change it. I try to live by that. I try to remember that to a certain degree I make the choices of what comes into my life. But, cliché, poor management of time or whatever else, life truly seems to ebb and flow into and out of levels of activity. And the last couple of weeks have consisted of a traveling husband, sicknesses, doctor appointments, dental appointments, grocery shopping trips and the like. My life has been busier than my preferred pace! Although, not overly busy, we still managed some nature walks, some get-mom-in-shape walks, stories read aloud and the like.

As this week approached, I looked forward to Easter celebrations and to life slowing down a bit. I had it perfectly planned. I was to be snack mom at preschool on Monday and B and I had dental appointments, at the same time as preschool. No problem, M would take over at preschool as snack dad and B and I would go to the dentist. I have a meeting early Tuesday morning and an appointment Tuesday morning. Again, no problem, my mom agreed to watch the kids for my meeting and the kids do well at the office of my next appointment. Then after those Tuesday morning obligations, life would settle back into the normal routine. Perfectly planned.

Well, Easter came and started off well. Then, after church, A was extra tired, by the time he had eaten at my parent’s house, he had a fever. We rushed him through the egg hunt; he was well enough to want to be a part of that. Then A, L and I came home. Shortly afterward, M, C and B came home. I was able to get in a short rest, only to wake up to commotion. A had puked. A bit later my stomach felt a little off. Not terrible but not great….through the course of things, someone covered our preschool duties, M took B into the dentist and into work with him. All was going well, until M ran some errands at Costco and B threw up. Yes, he threw up in Costco.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, it dawned on me how much I had put my hope in having my schedule work out the way I wanted it to work out. That was just not happening. Too often I foolishly put my hope in silly things. It is good to have hope. It is necessary to have hope, but my hope needs to be in the right things and it needs to be flexible. It is not wise to have hope in one rigidly mapped out plan.

I find that all too often I can put my hope in having things go the way I want rather than in knowing that God will grant the grace for whatever He brings. My hope should be in trusting God to bring joy in the midst of whatever my circumstances happen to be. My hope should be in the internal character qualities (the fruits of the Spirit such as joy, peace, and the like) and not so much in the external circumstances. I am thankful for this reminder, even as things are on the verge of looking like they will slow a bit, I want to hope in the right things.

Motorcycles Vs. Mopeds

B has a fascination with motorcycles. Every time we see a motorcycle being driven down the road he exclaims, "there is my friend!" As his mother, I feel the responsibility to instill in my young boy a healthy fear of motorcycles. It is one thing for a three year old to think they are cool, but before I know it he will be 16 and driving. Sometimes I get visions of a motorcycle-driving, leather-clad, long haired B cruising down the road at an unsafe speed. I want to do my part to nip this in the bud, all the while knowing that that is likely an impossible task.

Today we saw a guy on a moped. B started to say something, but then fell silent, just staring at the moped. I can only assume that he was about to exclaim the familiar, "there is my friend." Yet, even his three year old eyes knew something was different about this two wheeled contraption driven by a helmeted man. I took my opportunity and enthusiastically said, "Look B, that is a moped," making the word moped sound like something amazingly wonderful. "You could have a moped someday!" B wasn't fooled, he replied, "No, a motorcycle," as we watched the moped putter off down the road.

Celebrating My 50th post!

This is my 50th post-woo-hoo! Let's start with a gorgeous cheese platter to mark this moment.=) Actually this creation was ordered by M and I at a great Italian eatery this past weekend. We had to take a photo and it tasted as good as it looks. Morning Needs

from The Valley of Vision

I come to thee for the grace another day

will require for its duties and events.

I step out into a wicked world,

I carry about with me an evil heart,

I know that without thee I can do nothing,

that everything with which I shall be concerned,

however harmless in itself,

may prove an occasion of sin or folly,

unless I am kept by the power.

Hold thou me up and I shall be safe.

Preserve my understanding from subtilty of error,

my affections from love of idols,

my character from stain of vice,

my profession from every form of evil.

May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore thy blessing,

and in which I cannot invite thy inspection.

Prosper me in all lawful undertakings,

or prepare me for disappointments;

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

Feed me with food convenient for me,

lest I be full and deny thee

and say, Who is the Lord?

or be poor, and steal, and take thy name in vain.

May every creature be made good to me by prayer and thy will;

Teach me how to use the world, and not abuse it,

to improve my talents,

to redeem my time,

to walk in wisdom toward those without,

and in kindness to those within,

to do good to all men,

and especially to my fellow Christians.

And to thee be the glory.

So Much Lip Gloss, So Little Time

Check out the lip gloss cell phone. The "antenna" is even a lip brush. Too cool!

Practising Letters

B was eating his snack the other day and making letters with his pretzels. I thought that this would be a fun game for sometime. I love having new ways to incorporate learning into fun everyday life. Thanks B for sharing your pretzel letters!

Fresh, Homemade Lemonade

My mom recently went on a road trip with a couple of friends. She brought back some lemons that she picked on her trip. This inspired me to make fresh-squeezed, homemade lemonade-yum!

5-6 large lemons

1 1/4 cup sugar (or however much tastes good to you)

2 quarts cold water