First Trip to The Dentist

Well, the miss had her first dental appointment today. She saw a special on Reading Rainbow a couple of days ago that was all about the dentist, and she asked me to take her. Since I had an appointment the next day, I made an appointment for her as well. So, today we went.
How our dentist handles it, is they call it a happy visit. They first introduce the child to all the dental type stuff and then do whatever the child allows them to. They don't push anything.
But the miss sat right down on the chair, all smiles, with her mouth open wide. The hygienist could tell that this was going to be a good visit. And the miss actually stayed for 45 minutes, getting the entire cleaning. They even tried x-rays, but the miss had a hard time biting the plate the correct way, so they decided to try next time.

Opening wide like an alligator. She was ready for the cleaning.

X-Ray Time

Her clean, pearly whites

Beautiful Birth Story

So, sometime in the next 4 weeks or so, I will be having a water birth at home. I have been spending time reading about other homebirths online.
I came across one, with pictures (that aren't graphic), and it was just beautiful. I had to share it with you.

You can read it here.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Baked Scallops with rice and broccoli

Tuesday: Three Cheese Tortellini with Garlic Toast

Wednesday: Southwest Foil Chicken

Thursday: Cheese Enchiladas and Spanish Rice

Friday: Creamy Turkey and Mushrooms Pasta (so very yummy and healthy) I'll try to post a recipe this week.

Saturday: Chicken Divan

Sunday: Broccoli, Cheese, Chicken and Rice Casserole

Yes, there's a lot of poultry this week.

Waiting For Daddy

The mister loves waiting by the window for his daddy to come home.

A House For Hermit Crab

This week, the miss and I are doing lessons based on the book, A House for Hermit Crab, by Eric Carle.
I found the ideas for most of the lessons at the Homeschool Share Site.
And for this particular book, there are tons of lapbooking materials on the Homeschool Share site as well.
I thought I'd go ahead and share with you what we are doing each day, as well as provide links to the other sources I found for this particular theme, just in case you may want to do the same lessons with your 3-6 year old.



Day 1 (Social Studies)
After reading the story, we talked about homes. We discussed various animals and their homes.

We then took a large piece of paper and drew a layout of the inside of our house. She then looked through magazines and cut out pictures of items found in various rooms in our house, and then glued them onto our drawing.
We didn't spend a lot of time on this particular activity, however. She got bored with it rather quickly, because it took a long time to find the pictures in the magazines. I think I should have already had a bunch of different things cut out for her to choose from.

What she was most excited about was getting to decorate a shell. In the book, the hermit crab finds a new shell to live in but thinks it's plain, so he wants to decorate it. So we ripped out the glue, glitter and cut outs of the crab's friends, and she decorated a shell. She had a lot of fun with it.

Finally, we used a My Address folder (lapbooking item from the homeschool site) and learned about our address.

Day 2 (Social Studies, Bible)
After reading the story, we talked about the Hermit crab's friends in the book.
We looked at how hermit crab made friends. He was nice to them and complimented the new friends that he met.
We talked about how it is important to be nice to people, because it encourages them and builds them up. And yes, we then opened up mommy's Bible to 1 Thessalonians 5:11.
We used another Homeschool Share's lapbook pocket for our Bible verse. So that we can put it inside our finished lapbook.
We also completed their Sea Creatures Tab Book.

Day 3 (Math)
Tomorrow we will review the months of the year. Since in the book, the crab does something new each month. We will use the
Month Cards and Pocket from the homeschool share site.
We will also look at our kitchen calendar and discuss how many days are in a month and what holidays occur in the different months.
We may also play around for a bit on the Starfall Calendar Site.

Day 4 (Art and P.E.)
On this day, we will do a fun collage painting art project, based on the art in Eric Carle's book.
We will also learn how to walk like a crab and we will have some crab races.

Day 5 (Science)
We will have some fun learning about different sea creatures, especially the ones mentioned in the book.
She will complete this sea animal shapes page.

We will also color and play with this Sea Animals Memory Game.

If there is still spare time, we will make Lantern fish puppets, using glow in the dark paint.

Day 6 (language arts)
It's vocabulary day. I will use the
prepared vocabulary cards, to help the miss learn some new words that were found in the book.

We will also color and trace a couple of Letter H Printouts.

And finally, we will finish off the lesson by baking Starfish Biscuits.
Using a star cookie cutter, cut out a star from refrigerated biscuit dough, bake. Then when only a few minutes are left on baking, add cheese strips onto each star limb.

This Is An Order

You must read this:
Another Post From Uganda.


The Compassion team with their team of bloggers is in Uganda posting their thoughts, their pictures, their journey.

And the post I linked to above, it just REALLY, REALLY needs to be read by as many as possible.

Here are a few excerpts from it.

"I asked him whether he thought it better for a child to be brought up in the wealth of America or in the poverty of Uganda.

"Oh Uganda. Uganda. Absolutely," he said with passion.

"In America, your plentifulness drives you away from God. Here, for the poor, for me, I am grateful for every meal. I am dependent upon God and I know it."

"Even the poor, you see, they are happy and they are thankful to God. One of the things we need to know is that Africa is very hopeful and that keeps us going even if there is nothing today. Tomorrow, we believe, will be better."

Valentine's Day

I only have a few minutes at the moment. We are about to run out the door for some errands and then I have a midwife appointment this afternoon.
But I wanted to post a few pictures quickly.
I took the kiddos to my friend's house, where we made Valentine's Day Crafts as well as cookies and cupcakes. So, here are some pictures of the fun.

Had to Share This Link

So, I have been eyeing a curriculum, Five In A Row, to do with my 4 year old miss. She will miss the kindergarten cut off this fall, since her fifth birthday is after October 1st. And I do want to work with her at home, and make sure we are taking time out each day to learn and do crafts and things. I've been slacking in that department, since I stopped doing day care out of my home.

Well, I haven't been able to budget in the Five In A Row book and other little add-ons just yet, but I will get there soon.

However, this evening, I came across this incredible site. It's called Homeschool Share, and they have free units to go along with various children's books. There are tons of ideas on using the book for math, science, social studies, language, art and geography lessons. Some even have fun recipes that go along with the books. And some come with printables for lapbooks. And I must admit, I am a sucker for lapbooks.


Best of all, it's free.

Some of the books listed have more activities than others. But each unit gives so many ideas for various avenues to explore, that I don't think it would be hard to find additional activities online, if need be.

So, we are going to start on a book next week, which we will take a trip to the library for. I think I will do the lessons with her while the mister takes his nap.
I will still, however, make sure to set aside time in the morning for fun and educational activities that he can take part in as well.

I think the miss and I will have a lot of fun with these units. And it will get her ready for the Five In A Row curriculum.

Please Take Just A Moment

As you may possibly know, Rocks in my Dryer was one of the bloggers chosen to join Compassion on a trip to Uganda, to blog about the work being done there.
Please take the time to read her post about her first day in Africa.

Oh, and while you're at it, Boo Mama is there too. Read her post.

And then, if you've been moved, as I believe you have been, then read This Post by Spence Smith, an artist relations manager for Compassion.

My Time of Day

Here's what the most recent quiz I took said:
You are breakfasty, like a pile of pancakes on a Sunday morning that have just the right amount of syrup, so every bite is sweet perfection and not a soppy mess. You are a glass of orange juice that's cool, refreshing, and not overly pulpy. You are the time of day that's just right for turning the pages of a newspaper, flipping through channels, or clicking around online to get a sense of how the world changed during the night. You don't want to stumble sleepily through life, so you make a real effort to wake your brain up and get it thinking. You feel inspired to accomplish things (whether it's checking something off your to-do list or changing the world), but there's plenty of time for making things happen later in the day. First, pancakes.

Long Time, No Blog

Yes, it's been a few days, okay a few more than that, since I last blogged. But I have some good excuses.
First, I had a friend from out of town come visit me this weekend. She arrived Friday night and left a few hours ago.
So, I spent the week getting my house company ready. I think I am also nesting too, lol, so some of the cleaning I was doing, like scraping dirt out of the crevices of the baseboards and dusting the tops of my kitchen cabinets, probably wasn't necessary, but it felt good to get that extra cleaning done.
Plus, I had a sick child, who ended up spending all day Friday and most of Saturday like this:

It began on Wednesday, when she started to complain about a sore throat and also had a bit of a cough. She was fine most of Thursday, but then Thursday night, she felt hot, and I realized that she had a fever of 102.6. So, we headed to the doctor on Friday to test her for strep, which was negative, thank goodness. It turns out she just had a cold. She spent most of Friday, like I said conked out and on ibuprofen. She was so mellow, quiet and sleepy, which I have to admit, was kind of nice, since I was running around getting last minute things done around the house.

So, my friend arrived safe and sound on Friday night and it was such fun having a weekend to just hang out. It was still a busy weekend, though. Saturday morning, we hit up Babies R' Us, since we would be attending a baby shower later that day. Then we ran home, ate lunch, headed to the shower, came home, took the kiddos with us to the store, to give daddy a break, came home, cooked dinner, raced to the movies, came home, zoned and then took it easy this morning.
So it was relaxing, yet busy at the same time.

I was THRILLED to go see a movie though, since I haven't done that in a LONG time.
We saw Juno, which was so good. I really enjoyed it. So, if you haven't seen it yet, I think you should.
And she took me on our hot date, in her hot car, a pewter Mustang convertible, which you really should have seen me try to get out of. The seats are low, and trying to roll out gracefully with my big belly, well...it was funny.

Andrea and I realized today, that we didn't get any pictures of the both of us. Although, she did get pictures of my kiddos this morning. (Note the messy hair and clothes) Mommy was being lazy and hadn't really taken the time to make them presentable. It was a lazy day for all.







Oh, and the miss is feeling much better today. She has her energy back, that's for sure. Her fever is gone, her cough is pretty much gone, she just seems to have it more in the morning, and her voice, which had been hoarse most of the weekend, is on its way back too.

So, don't worry, G.G., the miss is just fine. :o)

Babble On In Babylon

So, as I mentioned earlier, I have started Beth Moore's Daniel Bible study at my church. I have been loving it, which isn't hard to do, because Beth Moore pretty much rocks!
In today's video segment, she read a poem, "Babble On In Babylon". It was awesome, and I was able to find it online. So I had to share it with you.
But first, there may be some of you who are confused as to why I am talking about Babylon, or maybe you aren't familiar with the stories of Daniel, in the Bible.
And I don't have too long to write, unfortunately, but really quickly let me tell you that Daniel was in his young teens, when he was taken with many other young boys, from his home in Jerusalem, to be under the rule of and work for Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned over Babylon, and to be taught in his ways and to learn about his gods.
But Daniel resolved in his heart to stay true to the One and Only God. He resolved in his heart not to be tempted or swayed by the new culture, and by doing so, he was able to show Nebuchadnezzar the one, true God.

And the Babylon philosophy can be seen reigning over our culture today.
It is the philosophy that "I am more important, and there is no other as important as me."
It is the desire to over-indulge. It is self-absorption, self-focus. It is a constant desire to have and want and need materialistic things. It is the desire to be on top, to be powerful. It is the desire to be accepted in our culture, to look good, to wear the right things, to follow trends.
An older gal in my small group mentioned how Time and Life used to be the popular magazines. Now, it's Self and US and People.
See, what I mean.
And a lot of the study revolves around us, as Christians, not getting lost in the Babylon philosophy. Because it is what can drives us away from God.

So, here is the Babylon poem. Do you see yourself in it?? I know I can see myself in there.

Babble On in Babylon
Author unknown

Brimming closets, shoe racks bulge.
One in every color; I'll just indulge.
My wildest whim will oft be met
Bigger, faster, give me, get.
Travel on in Babylon

May I go first, do you not care?
For my time’s precious, you’ve lots to spare.
I'll slip in front and off I'll go
See I'm quite fast and well, you’re quite slow.
I and me, fast friends life long
Praddle on in Babylon.

Nip it here, just there a lift.
I just turned forty. It was a gift!
The eyes, the lips, the bosoms do,
Sculpted, lasered, injected too.
No wrinkles left; the tummy's gone.
Journey on in Babylon.

Enough of me, how do you view me?
You get one, but give me three.
I couldn't bear to just say no.
It's my desire and rightly so
Add another and on and on
Shuffle on in Babylon

No end in sight that I can see
Today’s blocked by the mirror in front of me.
A wreck, a death, tsunami tide
It mildly stirs me, I must confide.
TV claims, tens of thousands gone.
Oh well, let's see what else is on.

Numb to stunning sight of each new dawn.
Sinking fast in Babylon.
Like a lobster in a pot
Who begins to like the water hot,
I've been duped, been tricked, been had.
Convinced that truth was somehow bad.

Evil coddled and cooed and purred,
And beckoned me and called and lured.
Now in a place with the light turned on
I'm racing home from Babylon.

Take a Moment to Get Away

It feels like ages since the hubby and I have had some time to ourselves, without the busyness of kids and tons of responsibilities.
Sometimes, especially on tough days, I like to dream up different vacations and getaways for us.
And usually they involve quiet, secluded beachfront property, gorgeous sunsets, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
Now the last couple of times the hubby and I have gone on such a vacation, it has been somewhere beachy, but there is a big difference between Los Cabos and the Virgin Islands. Well at least there is to me.
See, the Virgin Islands is what I was dreaming up for us today.
One morning while in St. Thomas, we could snorkle in the heart-shaped Magens bay.
And during our visit to St. John, we could take it easy at Cinnamon bay and enjoy the sunset while laying in a hammock for two.
And since we'd be very relaxed the next day, we could use up some energy and hike throughout the Virgin Island national park.
Of course, we'd have to visit St. Croix as well. And since I am a sucker for victorian style homes and lighthouses, it's the East Coast girl in me, we'd have to take a stroll around Frederiksted.
Calm and tranquil, that's the type of vacation I think that would be. And, I think I could use some tranquility in my life right now. :o)
And did you know, that no building is allowed to rise higher than the surrounding palm trees? That means the views must be spectacular.

Well, my daughter is asking me for a snack. Guess my vacation is over for now.
Did you enjoy our little escapade?
I sure did. Who knows, maybe I'll get there someday.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll share with you my dreamt up vacation to Austrailia. I mean, how much fun visiting the outback would be. AHHHHHHHH! I am reminded of when my mom would watch those Calgon commercials when I was a kid.
"Calgon, take me away."

Here is information on Dialaflight's flight to Australia.

Tooty Fruity

You Are a Strawberry

You are friendly, outgoing, and well liked by many people. You are popular, but there's nothing you ordinary or average about you. You a very interesting person, and you have many facets to your personality. Sometimes you feel very conflicted. Your different sides of your personality pull at you. You are a very sensual and passionate person. You are fiery... you can't help it. In general, you keep your passionate side under wraps. You are only wild in private.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

Super Bowl Sunday

Well, we originally didn't have any Super Bowl plans, we were just going to chill at home with the game on. But at the last minute, it was decided to hang at a good friend's house, with her family, including her 4 sweet kiddos. So of course, I had to take pictures. And while on the subject of the Super Bowl, was anyone else shocked by the final score and winner?
I was not expecting the Giants to win. I also wasn't expecting a close game. So, I was very surprised, to say the least. And I am happy for the Giants. The patriots are an incredible team, but they have had their wins. It was time for someone else to be victorious.

Anyway, on to the pics.

Me at 32.5 weeks pregnant, and My Tiffany. And no, I am not wearing a maternity shirt in this picture, because it was laundry day. But, I can still stretch the normally tiny shirt out enough to cover my big belly.

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That is my little mister dancing, sort of, with Tiff's youngest daughter during the halftime performance.

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My kiddos had fun playing with Tiff's youngest baby boy. The miss was singing, If you're Happy and You Know It" with him. And the mister enjoyed staring at him, gently rubbing his head, and sticking his fingers in his mouth. Her baby boy gets lots of cuddles from his own siblings and my kiddos. It was really cute seeing how they both were around her baby boy. I know they will be super cute with their baby brother once he is born.

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So, that was our Sunday. All in all, a great night.
I hope you all had a fun Super Bowl Sunday too.

Psalms Sunday - Psalm 61

Psalm 61
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.
1 Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
2 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

3 For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.

4 I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah

5 For you have heard my vows, O God;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

6 Increase the days of the king's life,
his years for many generations.

7 May he be enthroned in God's presence forever;
appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

8 Then will I ever sing praise to your name
and fulfill my vows day after day.

What a beautiful Psalm today. It is short and sweet, yet speaks volumes. It shows a man who is longing to be close to his God, his Rock.

In verse 2, David says, "I call as my heart grows faint."
So I ask you today, where do you go when your heart is overwhlemed? Do you have temporary emotional fixes? Do you turn to something to escape it? Do you partake in retail therapy? Do you NEED to have a friend at that moment, because you don't want to be alone with your troubles?
Do you turn to God? I mean, do you right then and there fall on your knees and give it to God, passionately, genuinely and wholeheartedly?

I can tell you, that there are many times when my heart is heavy, and I am nudged to open up to Him. It's like I hear him say, "I know you are troubled my child, pour it out to me. I care. I will listen. I will comfort you. I will help you. I love you."
And I think to myself to get on my knees and give it to Him. And I know I'll feel so much better as I pour it out and fill up with His love.
But many times, sadly, I instead chat with a friend or turn to some other little fix.
And I honestly don't know why.
Does it seem like it's reciprocated better, since I am getting that response verbally right then and there? Or is it because my temporary emotional fixes take my mind off of what is troubling me?

Oh, my overwhelmed heart, let God hear your cries. He is the most wonderful counselor.

I also want to point out, that in most of the Psalms, David begins with a request, and ends in gratitude. That is another thing I want to work on. I always think of my needs or needs of friends and loved ones in my prayers. I pray for them, but so many times my request list is long, but my thankful list is short.

May we work on having such a heart of gratitude. May we focus on the blessings and thank Him all of the time for all that he does.

Have a blessed week!

Blog Surfing Saturday

I used to do this awhile back on Fridays, but I am now switching it to today. And I have some recent blog links, and some older ones.
This is when I share with you, some of the blog posts I have recently come across that I have enjoyed and think you may too.

1. First, we have a bit of an oldie, written almost a month ago. It's a crazy day in the life of the mom at Raising Five. I adore this woman. I vow to be like her someday. She just embodies so much of the person I want to be. And when I read this post, I tried to determine how I would have acted in the same situation, and it wasn't pretty. I pictured myself taking the form of someone belonging in an exorcist movie. And sadly, if you asked my hubby if he thinks I am going too far there, he'd probably say that I hit the nail on the head. And honestly, since reading her post, I remind myself of it from time to time when I am having what I feel is a stressful moment, which seriously isn't even close to comparing to the stress factor involved in Raising Five's post. Wow, that was a long intro huh?

2. Now, the second link is one that made me laugh pretty hard, but how could it not, when it's written by our lovely friend at Rocks In My Dryer? The Story of one of her son's most recent drawings.

3. And if you don't read any of these other blog posts that I just linked to, which really, you should, please at least read THIS MOVING POST by Shannon at Wind Scraps. And maybe keep it in mind the next time you are getting groceries.

Show And Tell Friday

So I thought I'd take part in this today, for fun.
So, here's a sentimental show and tell for you.



That is my quote journal for my miss. When I was pregnant with her, I happened to see this blank journal and just had to get it.
I had collected quotes for a long time, since I was 12 years old. So I began filling it up with some of my favorite quotes, Bible verses, poems, excerpts from books, things like that. I have also written a few letters to her. I had originally planned to write more, but, well I would get busy with other things and forget. The first letter was written when she was 7 months old...here's a little excerpt from it....

"You amaze me more and more everyday. You are 7 months old now, and I can already see glimpses of who you are. You love to try to figure things out on your own. You are such a little explorer. You are a very happy baby and you are also very strong. You love music, especially "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". That is the only song that can stop you from crying. You love to be up and about, you don't seem to want to be still. You are like your mommy in that way."

I am planning on continuing to fill it out with many different things throughout the years, and I'd like to give it to her on either her 13th or 16th birthday. I hope she'll treasure it.

And We Have a Winner

It was so nice having visits from so many of you who entered my Chocolates and Candies Usborne Book giveaway as part of the Bloggy Giveaways.

I do have a winner, picked at random, and it is Shana

Congratulations. I left you a comment so we can arrange getting your book out to you.