Counting. That is just about all I have done today. And no one is in trouble either ;)
I was talking to a friend about wanting to have one of my kids tested with the IgG food allergy test. I would like to test all of us but it is $$$, so starting with one who I think needs it most. She recently had it done and after eliminating the "bad" foods, feels SO much better that I wanted to give this a try for him. She told me about another method of testing for allergies that is FREE. WooHoo. It is the Pulse Test. I read up on it all weekend and started today, taking all of our pulses before we eat, then 30, 60, and 90 minutes after we eat. In a nutshell, if you are allergic to something you eat, your pulse will be elevated after you eat it. Simple, painless, and did I mention, it's free? Love it. Except that none of the kids can find their own pulse, and you have to do it for the full minute (not 10 seconds x 6) so that is a LOT of counting I have done today. It is 2:30 and I have taken 36 pulse counts so far.
However, I am VERY surprised with the results so far. Not at all what I was expecting...or who I was expecting. I'm going to keep this up for a few days before taking this info to their doctor, who will likely think I am insane. ;)
From what I have read, this method is very accurate. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you find.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Angels on Board? Yes, thank you!
Terrific T woke up today and said he dreamed that the devil was in his room last night. He saw his red eyes. T apparently woke Captain C up yelling, "Did Jesus come in the flesh?". A dear friend taught him to ask this to anything that is talking to him to know if it is Godly or not. I'm pretty impressed that he thought of it, even in his dream! Anyway, the red eyes said no and he then commanded it to "Get out of my digestive system!" (he went to bed with a tummy ache so I guess that tied over to his dream. That same friend has the gift of healing and has prayed over the kids many times so they know about the authority of Jesus, even over digestive systems!) He said that then two angels came and took the red eyes to jail and he didn't see him again and slept well all night.
Then Princess P just got out of the shower and said she heard a laugh while she was in there that sounded like Dad's. But it wasn't Dad's. She said it was a good guy laugh though and not a bad guy....she said it sounded like her two angels were playing chess and started laughing (she prays for angels to sit on her bed while she sleeps and has been known to make them a "comfy spot" sometimes too).
I think our angels are going to need overtime pay! I have often wondered about the spiritual war going on around us all the time. If only we could see it, I bet we would all pray a whole lot more and call on the name of Jesus to send those angels a whole lot more! I'm thankful my kids are aware...maybe more so than I am. I'm glad to know Who is going to win this war in the end, and glad to be on His side!
Then Princess P just got out of the shower and said she heard a laugh while she was in there that sounded like Dad's. But it wasn't Dad's. She said it was a good guy laugh though and not a bad guy....she said it sounded like her two angels were playing chess and started laughing (she prays for angels to sit on her bed while she sleeps and has been known to make them a "comfy spot" sometimes too).
I think our angels are going to need overtime pay! I have often wondered about the spiritual war going on around us all the time. If only we could see it, I bet we would all pray a whole lot more and call on the name of Jesus to send those angels a whole lot more! I'm thankful my kids are aware...maybe more so than I am. I'm glad to know Who is going to win this war in the end, and glad to be on His side!
Which Version?
We took the kids to see C's best buddy in a play last night. It was called Aesop's Oh So Slightly Updated Fables. It was really cute and the kids all did a great job. Terrific T's writing work is based on Aesop's Fables so we were familiar with most of the ones they did. Princess P was saying she didn't recognize some but I explained that they did a little different version of them. Terrific T said, "Oh, was it the King James Version?" HAHA.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The sun did come out tomorrow...or rather today.
Yesterday was the worst day I have had in a long time. Usually when all three kids are in trouble, I assume it is me. But yesterday, it wasn't me. Honestly. The kids really were all three horrible. I have no idea why really. They did great in school; it was the free time that got them in trouble. So I took away their free time and made it cleaning time. Which made them even more mad at me. I'm sure Big T regretted that sweet email saying he hadn't heard from me today and wondered how our day was going. Rough day!
But like Annie says, tomorrow was only a day away...and that day is today. And they are being much better today. Nothing changed. They still had the same rules. P still got grounded from her voice when she screamed at her brothers again (30 minutes of whispering is torture for her). They still had to clean and sweep and the normal daily things. But for some reason they handled it all better today.
And I am thankful! God knows how much you can handle and one more day like yesterday and He must have known that I would have lost more than my marbles! They finished school and are upstairs listening to memory work for CC and building with Legos (grounding them from electronic fun has brought them back into Lego building mode).
Hopefully tomorrow will be even better than today. I'm determined to win this battle of the wills that is going on around here. Wish me luck!
But like Annie says, tomorrow was only a day away...and that day is today. And they are being much better today. Nothing changed. They still had the same rules. P still got grounded from her voice when she screamed at her brothers again (30 minutes of whispering is torture for her). They still had to clean and sweep and the normal daily things. But for some reason they handled it all better today.
And I am thankful! God knows how much you can handle and one more day like yesterday and He must have known that I would have lost more than my marbles! They finished school and are upstairs listening to memory work for CC and building with Legos (grounding them from electronic fun has brought them back into Lego building mode).
Hopefully tomorrow will be even better than today. I'm determined to win this battle of the wills that is going on around here. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
kids...
This morning, T says, "If P wakes me up again tomorrow, I'm going to punch her. I'm just warning you."
nice.
Yesterday, P cried and didn't want to go to CC because we were painting so I made her wear play clothes. She had slept in braids so her hair would "be fancy" for CC and was so mad that "her hair doesn't match her clothes".
seriously.
C woke me up this morning with blood running down his hand. He was prying frozen waffles apart with a knife and stabbed himself.
this is why I'm grey.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
friendships
I have been blessed with some pretty great friends. This weekend just showed me that one more time.
10 of us from our homeschool community went down to the Dallas area on Friday to hear the founder of Classical Conversations speak. 6 of us left at 8am on Friday so we could get some shopping, eating, and relaxing done. It is always a blast when we break free from the kiddos and get to chat, so being locked in a car together for 10+ hours in 2 days resulted in some good laughs. And tears. It was neat to learn more about these great ladies that I spend a few hours with each week....and about 8pm last night, on the drive home, the silly sleepies kicked in and we learned WAY more about each other than we imagined. The last two hours driving were filled with many tears from laughter.
On Friday, we found a great, outdoor mall in Southlake, TX and enjoyed the gorgeous weather with a lunch on the patio of a Mexican restaurant before hitting the stores. 6 people in a SUV didn't leave much room for purchases but we had fun anyway and I was thrilled to see a Naartjie store. That is probably my favorite kid's clothing, but we don't have any of their stores in OK. I bought T and P things there and then ran into Aeropostale for something for C (one place he will actually wear things from that aren't OU). That's it. Just some clothes for the kids...happy, Big T?
Leigh Bortins was a great speaker on Saturday. The beginning session was about the class I teach in the afternoon on Mondays and the afternoon was about homeschooling through highschool. The thing I loved most about this wasn't even the content of the seminars, but getting to hear Leigh and see that she is a normal mom. When I think about this amazing program she began, and think about the 37,586 kids currently doing it, I guess I put her on some pedestal that was out of reach. Hearing her talk made her more real...and more of a person instead of just a name we throw around in the CC world. I'm glad I went.
And that's not the end of the fun....my dear friend heard I was going to be in her great state and drove 3 hours to see me for lunch. What kind of friend does that? She is amazing. It was so much fun to see her again and meet her precious girls. Thank you, SE, you rock! I might have introduced her to Naartjie too...I hope her hubby doesn't hold it against me. But really, with the sale they were having (40% off clearance), it was almost like they were giving the stuff away. It would be rude not to take a gift, right?
I hope you have great friends in your life too. They are truly priceless. Speaking of priceless, the boys can text on their ipod touches and took advantage of that to stay in touch with me this weekend. It was awesome. I love that they missed me, even only being gone 36 hours. I have a great little family here. I am blessed.
10 of us from our homeschool community went down to the Dallas area on Friday to hear the founder of Classical Conversations speak. 6 of us left at 8am on Friday so we could get some shopping, eating, and relaxing done. It is always a blast when we break free from the kiddos and get to chat, so being locked in a car together for 10+ hours in 2 days resulted in some good laughs. And tears. It was neat to learn more about these great ladies that I spend a few hours with each week....and about 8pm last night, on the drive home, the silly sleepies kicked in and we learned WAY more about each other than we imagined. The last two hours driving were filled with many tears from laughter.
On Friday, we found a great, outdoor mall in Southlake, TX and enjoyed the gorgeous weather with a lunch on the patio of a Mexican restaurant before hitting the stores. 6 people in a SUV didn't leave much room for purchases but we had fun anyway and I was thrilled to see a Naartjie store. That is probably my favorite kid's clothing, but we don't have any of their stores in OK. I bought T and P things there and then ran into Aeropostale for something for C (one place he will actually wear things from that aren't OU). That's it. Just some clothes for the kids...happy, Big T?
Leigh Bortins was a great speaker on Saturday. The beginning session was about the class I teach in the afternoon on Mondays and the afternoon was about homeschooling through highschool. The thing I loved most about this wasn't even the content of the seminars, but getting to hear Leigh and see that she is a normal mom. When I think about this amazing program she began, and think about the 37,586 kids currently doing it, I guess I put her on some pedestal that was out of reach. Hearing her talk made her more real...and more of a person instead of just a name we throw around in the CC world. I'm glad I went.
And that's not the end of the fun....my dear friend heard I was going to be in her great state and drove 3 hours to see me for lunch. What kind of friend does that? She is amazing. It was so much fun to see her again and meet her precious girls. Thank you, SE, you rock! I might have introduced her to Naartjie too...I hope her hubby doesn't hold it against me. But really, with the sale they were having (40% off clearance), it was almost like they were giving the stuff away. It would be rude not to take a gift, right?
I hope you have great friends in your life too. They are truly priceless. Speaking of priceless, the boys can text on their ipod touches and took advantage of that to stay in touch with me this weekend. It was awesome. I love that they missed me, even only being gone 36 hours. I have a great little family here. I am blessed.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
All in a day's work
I'm sitting on the couch, with the laptop on my lap. Why? Because Terrific T's dictation sentences are on here and I'm reading them to him. Princess P is sitting next to me doing phonics and arguing that "Can mom fix a spot?" could be answered both yes or no depending on what kind of spot it is. If it is a really bad stain, we might just have to just throw it away and not fix it. And they just thought they were giving the kids yes or no questions! Captain C is sitting on the fireplace (in front of the blazing fire I just started!), answering mental math questions I am asking him and about to start his math lesson.
So, I thought I'd blog all this so I can remember these fun days of multitasking. Sometimes I look back on the day (and the house that was trashed during that day) and wonder where my time went but a lot of it looks like this. The house might not ever be clean and dinner on the table when Big Daddy gets home, and 1/2 the time, 3/4 of us may still be in jammies (it would be 4/4 if Terrific T didn't sleep in jeans), but I do what I can. We get by....and we are doing alright.
On that note....I'm out of here! About 10 ladies from our CC group are leaving bright and early tomorrow to hear Leigh Bortins speak on Saturday. We might be leaving a tad bit early to do a little shopping and relaxing but refer to the first paragraph if you need a reason why I need a little ME time ;o) I am also super excited to get a little overdue face time with a dear friend while in the great state of Texas. I can't wait!
OK, C finished math so I need to grade it and P is sitting next to me reading a book I am supposed to be listening to (T is doing math in a T-made tent behind the recliner) so I gotta wrap this up. Have a great weekend, everyone. I know I will ;o)
So, I thought I'd blog all this so I can remember these fun days of multitasking. Sometimes I look back on the day (and the house that was trashed during that day) and wonder where my time went but a lot of it looks like this. The house might not ever be clean and dinner on the table when Big Daddy gets home, and 1/2 the time, 3/4 of us may still be in jammies (it would be 4/4 if Terrific T didn't sleep in jeans), but I do what I can. We get by....and we are doing alright.
On that note....I'm out of here! About 10 ladies from our CC group are leaving bright and early tomorrow to hear Leigh Bortins speak on Saturday. We might be leaving a tad bit early to do a little shopping and relaxing but refer to the first paragraph if you need a reason why I need a little ME time ;o) I am also super excited to get a little overdue face time with a dear friend while in the great state of Texas. I can't wait!
OK, C finished math so I need to grade it and P is sitting next to me reading a book I am supposed to be listening to (T is doing math in a T-made tent behind the recliner) so I gotta wrap this up. Have a great weekend, everyone. I know I will ;o)
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Got juice?
We bought a case of tangerines over a week ago and still had a bunch left so I gave Captain C permission to peel all he wanted (he likes peeling them but not eating them).
He went to work:
And 10 minutes later we had this:
While he doesn't like eating oranges/tangerines, he does like the juice. We all enjoyed the fresh juice for breakfast. I looked up the benefits of tangerine juice and was please to find there was quite a list. It helps: Anemia, Constipation, Indigestion, Lungs, Skin Problems, Weight Loss, Blood, Gout, Liver, Scurvy, and Strengthens Blood Vessels.
Hot Diggity Dog. We have been having it several times a week and still have a bunch of them left. Glad to hear they are good for us too!
And in unrelated news, Terrific T went to work with me today. I was taking pictures of the staff of a dental office. He was helping me test lights but I thought this was cute. He never looked up from his game ;o)
We left there and had to go get one of his teeth pulled. He was a champ...just like when he had the mole removed last year (...which he said was easier than getting that molar pulled. Thanks to Valium, he doesn't remember how awful the mole removal was!). I was proud of him for just sitting there and letting them do what they needed to do. Love that boy!
He went to work:
And 10 minutes later we had this:
While he doesn't like eating oranges/tangerines, he does like the juice. We all enjoyed the fresh juice for breakfast. I looked up the benefits of tangerine juice and was please to find there was quite a list. It helps: Anemia, Constipation, Indigestion, Lungs, Skin Problems, Weight Loss, Blood, Gout, Liver, Scurvy, and Strengthens Blood Vessels.
Hot Diggity Dog. We have been having it several times a week and still have a bunch of them left. Glad to hear they are good for us too!
And in unrelated news, Terrific T went to work with me today. I was taking pictures of the staff of a dental office. He was helping me test lights but I thought this was cute. He never looked up from his game ;o)
We left there and had to go get one of his teeth pulled. He was a champ...just like when he had the mole removed last year (...which he said was easier than getting that molar pulled. Thanks to Valium, he doesn't remember how awful the mole removal was!). I was proud of him for just sitting there and letting them do what they needed to do. Love that boy!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
I just wrote all the entries on papers, wadded them up, and let Princess P pick one out of her Webkinz carrier (totally professional and legit, right?) and the winner of the book "7" is....
Nicolle! YAY. This book is right up your alley and I know you will enjoy it. You guys should check out her blog...she is pretty much awesome!
Email me your addy, Nicolle, and I'll get this in the mail to you. Congratulations!!
Thanks for entering guys. I have another book review coming up soon and I'm going to start just giving them away when I am finished reading them so keep the clutter down ;)
Nicolle! YAY. This book is right up your alley and I know you will enjoy it. You guys should check out her blog...she is pretty much awesome!
Email me your addy, Nicolle, and I'll get this in the mail to you. Congratulations!!
Thanks for entering guys. I have another book review coming up soon and I'm going to start just giving them away when I am finished reading them so keep the clutter down ;)
It's a date!
Big Daddy and I rarely go on dates. I know that we should. We want to. We just don't make time to do it. Due to someone blessing us this Christmas and the in-laws keeping the kids, we headed out last night for some kid-free fun. When I was telling the kids about it, Princess P said, "Oh, is it your anniversary?" Yikes. Nope. I think we need to do this more often!
Monday, January 9, 2012
7 - Book Review and GIVEAWAY!
I have been excited about this book release for months and was so excited to get to review a copy for you guys.
I knew Jen Hatmaker many years ago when we went to OBU together. Then, for mine and Big Daddy's 10th anniversary, we went on a cruise and Jen and her husband were on there too. Talk about a small world! Running into her again after all those year, led me to look her up on facebook to stay in touch. She has several other great devotions but this book was different. Watching her live it out on facebook, and knowing how hilarious she is, made me more excited to read 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess.
In 2011, Jen and her family embarked on a 7 month journey towards simplicity. She decided to intentionally reduce 7 areas in their lives in order to make more room for Jesus and His work. The 7 areas were: food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending, and stress. They tackled one area a month and this book is a humble journal of her thoughts and discoveries during this time. There are so many things that hit home with me that I can't even begin to do the book justice (which is why I am excited to be giving away a copy of it to one of you!). I found myself agreeing with and "virtually highlighting" so many things as I read along. Here are a few of my faves:
- "At some point, the church stopped living the Bible and decided to just study it...."
- "So when I say I don't have time, I'm a gigantic liar. I have time. I just spend it elsewhere."
- "We've invented a thousand shades of gray, devising a comfortable Christian existence we can all live with; super awesome, except the Bible doesn't support it."
- "Sometimes the best way to bring good news to the poor is to bring actual good news to the poor. It appears a good way to bring relief to the oppressed is to bring real relief to the oppressed. It's almost like Jesus meant what He said. When you are desperate, usually the best news you can receive is food, water, shelter."
I could go on and on about this (and likely will in the next few months as changes begin to take place in the E household!), but let's get to the giveaway...I received a copy of this awesome book from the publisher to give away to one of you. WooHoo! All you have to do is follow my blog publicly (click the button at the right...hey, everyone wants more followers so I'm totally taking advantage of this!) and post a comment below. Easy peasy! I'll close the comments on Friday night and have the kids pick a random winner on Saturday.
Whether you win or not, go read this book and be ready to have your eyes opened!
Friday, January 6, 2012
You know what else I love?
I love that today is January something...ok, just looked...January 6th and this is what my backyard looks like:
Can you believe this gorgeous weather we are having? I am LOVING it and can't believe that if I had actually shaved in the past month, I could wear shorts in January! I love that I hung jeans out to dry this morning, *left for 2 hours, and came back to them dry so I could switch loads. Everything is drying almost as fast as in the summer. YAY! I love the smell of our clothes that are dried outside. We have been hanging probably 90% of them since early in the summer and I wasn't sure how long it would last. I'll take any of these days I can get! Heading to the park now to enjoy it a little more. I know it is bound to end sooner or later so going to soak up all the sun we can.
*side note: I took the kids to volunteer today at a local thrift store/ministry. They did so well that we are going to plan to do it every Friday. I think they were an actual help and it is nice for them to get out and DO something to help others instead of just talking about helping others. If we can bust out school work during the week, we can make this a Friday habit :)
Can you believe this gorgeous weather we are having? I am LOVING it and can't believe that if I had actually shaved in the past month, I could wear shorts in January! I love that I hung jeans out to dry this morning, *left for 2 hours, and came back to them dry so I could switch loads. Everything is drying almost as fast as in the summer. YAY! I love the smell of our clothes that are dried outside. We have been hanging probably 90% of them since early in the summer and I wasn't sure how long it would last. I'll take any of these days I can get! Heading to the park now to enjoy it a little more. I know it is bound to end sooner or later so going to soak up all the sun we can.
*side note: I took the kids to volunteer today at a local thrift store/ministry. They did so well that we are going to plan to do it every Friday. I think they were an actual help and it is nice for them to get out and DO something to help others instead of just talking about helping others. If we can bust out school work during the week, we can make this a Friday habit :)
happiness
You know what I love? When the kids are getting along so well and just giggling and playing together. It seems that lately, that tends to happen most at bedtime...or rather, right after bedtime. After we put the kids to bed and kiss them goodnight, we start hearing them chatting and cracking up. I often wonder what they are talking about that is so funny. I might have to sneak up there and listen sometime.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
{one word}
I did this blog last year and wanted to revisit it to see if I made any changes.
Let's see...My word for 2010 was busy and I am so thankful to have changed that. Yes, I am still busy, but not BUSY. This year, God has helped me to cut back on my photography business, allowing me time to take on directing our Classical Conversations campus. Still busy, but it is almost all "busy" that I can include the kids on...which is my goal. I feel like we have cut things out and added things in but are not running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Phew. My word for 2011 was organized. Oops. I probably should have had that tattooed on my forearm so I would see it everyday. I do feel like we are more organized than this time last year...but still have a long way to go to be where I would like to be on that. Baby steps. Baby steps.
So...on to next year.
one word: encapsulate the year 2011 in one word. explain why you’re choosing that word. now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2012 for you?
2011 - BLESSED!
When I look back on this year, I am overwhelmed with how blessed we were/are. Visiting Cambodia changed my outlook on a lot of things and I realized that even when things seem kinda crappy, we are still leading lives that are so very blessed. We have excellent health, and a God that heals; Great jobs, and a God that blessed our finances; Amazing friends, family, church, home, and well, lives. We are blessed and I hope we have adequately thanked God for those blessings.
2012: SIMPLICITY!
In 2012, I want to simplify a lot of areas, including our home and how we spend our time. I think we need to simplify both our relationships with God and each other. We have made things much harder than they need to be. We don't need the perfect Bible Study to grow in our relationship with God, we just need to simply get back to daily spending time with Him. We don't need to plan expensive dates with each other or our kids, we just need to make intentional time to spend with them. So many things never get done because I am making them too difficult. I over think and over research things and could have just done it in the time I wasted. (Do you really need to look up 20 different ideas on organizing a closet or just get off your fanny and do it?) So this year my goal is to stop trying so hard and just do things. Somehow, people in the past lived just fine without the millions of gadgets we "must have" to get things done today and pinterest to show us a different way to use those gadgets. This year, I want to get back to the basics...in many areas.
How about you? What are your words? Reply in the comments or blog it and link me up so I can see.
Happy New Year!
Let's see...My word for 2010 was busy and I am so thankful to have changed that. Yes, I am still busy, but not BUSY. This year, God has helped me to cut back on my photography business, allowing me time to take on directing our Classical Conversations campus. Still busy, but it is almost all "busy" that I can include the kids on...which is my goal. I feel like we have cut things out and added things in but are not running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Phew. My word for 2011 was organized. Oops. I probably should have had that tattooed on my forearm so I would see it everyday. I do feel like we are more organized than this time last year...but still have a long way to go to be where I would like to be on that. Baby steps. Baby steps.
So...on to next year.
one word: encapsulate the year 2011 in one word. explain why you’re choosing that word. now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2012 for you?
2011 - BLESSED!
When I look back on this year, I am overwhelmed with how blessed we were/are. Visiting Cambodia changed my outlook on a lot of things and I realized that even when things seem kinda crappy, we are still leading lives that are so very blessed. We have excellent health, and a God that heals; Great jobs, and a God that blessed our finances; Amazing friends, family, church, home, and well, lives. We are blessed and I hope we have adequately thanked God for those blessings.
2012: SIMPLICITY!
In 2012, I want to simplify a lot of areas, including our home and how we spend our time. I think we need to simplify both our relationships with God and each other. We have made things much harder than they need to be. We don't need the perfect Bible Study to grow in our relationship with God, we just need to simply get back to daily spending time with Him. We don't need to plan expensive dates with each other or our kids, we just need to make intentional time to spend with them. So many things never get done because I am making them too difficult. I over think and over research things and could have just done it in the time I wasted. (Do you really need to look up 20 different ideas on organizing a closet or just get off your fanny and do it?) So this year my goal is to stop trying so hard and just do things. Somehow, people in the past lived just fine without the millions of gadgets we "must have" to get things done today and pinterest to show us a different way to use those gadgets. This year, I want to get back to the basics...in many areas.
How about you? What are your words? Reply in the comments or blog it and link me up so I can see.
Happy New Year!