This Week in Preschool

This week was pretty mellow. We've been taking turns being sick for nearly a month now. First it was colds, then stomach flu, then colds again. Yesterday Little Z was diagnosed with the croup. Hurray. So between, "Mommy, I don't talk so good." and me and Hubs taking turns on the porcelain throne (sorry, TMI) we haven't done a whole lot.

We did have a window of wellness this last weekend though, thank goodness, because I was going insane.

So we went to the Festival of Lights at the Grotto. For those who haven't been, I highly recommend it. Back in the day, my high school choir did an appearance there each year. Most nights here in Portland you can expect wind, cold, sideways down-pouring rain, and generally horribly cold, wet, weather. We happened to pick a night that was DRY and without wind! It was a Christmas miracle!



There are lots of things I like about the Festival, but this year was the first year I took the girls so each thing that we saw made me think, "Wow, this is an excellent learning opportunity." When you walk in, there are stations of lights depicting scenes from the Nativity story with audio narration. You walk a bit more, there's another spot with lights and story. The lights are impressive, but the story is amazing and chokes me up.

And then there are the choirs. The Festival hosts the largest gathering of choral groups during the Christmas season. I'm not sure how many choirs will perform during the course of the Festival, but it's a lot. Looking at the program there are 5-8 choirs that perform nightly and the festival will go on until Christmas Day. It was a great opportunity for little ones to see and experience live music! I know personally, that we probably wouldn't pay for the kids to see a concert that we most likely would have to leave after 20 minutes, but we can certainly sit for 20 minutes and leave a performance if we need to in a venue like this. To round things out, there was also a petting zoo, a display of Nativities from around the world, and a puppet show. We really enjoyed it and I think the girls learned a lot. It was a great intro to the Christmas season!

Our other preschool activities this week were pretty basic. We learned about the letters C and D. We did some letter tracing and name writing practice. We talked about things that start with each letter, and what kind of sounds they make. I checked out a phonics DVD from the library and we watched that. We also watched a Nature episode "My Life as a Turkey". Ziva liked it so much that she's requested to watch it twice - so we watched it again. We spread out some uncooked rice on a cookie sheet and used it to practice writing their names as well as the letters C and D. The girls LOVE "rice time".



We've also got our Advent wreath set up and we're going through a book called Getting Ready for Christmas: A Daily Advent Prayer & Activity Book for the Family. Each page is very colorful, and it has a brief scripture verse along with a prayer and an activity. The activity is usually something open ended like, "Make an angel ornament for the Christmas tree." I'm usually able to take the suggestions and then look online for something simple to do. So far we have printed out a small angel coloring page, colored it, glued it to construction paper with a loop of ribbon between. It took us about 15 minutes. Today the activity was "Make a sheep ornament or draw/color a sheep." I printed out a cute shepherd/sheep coloring page and we colored it. Easy peasy. But it gave us the opportunity to talk about how a shepherd takes care of his sheep and that God is like our Good Shepherd who provides for all of our needs.

My plan for next week:

I printed out the local school district's Preschool Packet. The packet is supposed to supply enough things to do for a month, but we usually find that it will only last that long if we add in a bunch of other stuff! The packet this week goes over the letters E and F, so we'll focus on those letters. We'll continue to do the activities suggested in the Getting Ready for Christmas book. I have about 20 Christmas books checked out from the library, so we'll do a bunch of reading. I also bought everything we need to make birdseed ornaments to use as gifts from the girls to the family members for Christmas. I'm sure we'll also do some baking. Lots of cookies need to be made this month for gifts!

I linked this post to Homeschool Creations Moments to Remember!

Christmas Deconstructed

Yesterday was a crazy crazy day, and the days leading up to it just as crazy. I am so tired now that I feel that if I blink for just a little too long that I'll fall completely asleep. I'm sure that this is compounded by the fact that the wind here is extremely gusty and woke me up several times last night.

Christmas morning started with us rousing the girls from their slumber an hour before they usually wake up, getting them ready, and then loading them and all our gifts into the car for the drive to Grandma & Grandpa's house. And when I say WE what I really mean is ME because I'm the only member of my little family who is allowed to lift anything. We took two cars since we couldn't fit all the gifts plus 3 adults into one vehicle (yes, my MIL is staying with us for two weeks).

We got to Grandma & Grandpa's house all in one piece, and ON TIME to boot! That pretty much never happens!

Next was breakfast. I brought homemade cinnamon rolls and my mom provided coffee, juice, yogurt, and quiche. I shared my breakfast with Ziva, and she ate most of it, which left me a bit hungry, but there was no time to think twice about it before diving into presents. I did get 2 cups of coffee though, so I was good to go. The girls did great with the presents, although we forgot our camera lots of other people had theirs so hopefully within the next year I'll get pictures. They were VERY excited about them. Ziva kept saying, "Presents? Birthday? YAYYYY!!!!" She also delivered a few presents before she couldn't stand it any longer and started opening! They got some excellent gifts from the fam: new clothes, art supplies, wooden cars, grocery carts complete with "food". The tutu's I made for them were a bit of a bust, they were AFRAID of them! Seriously?! I can't catch a break with these girls being afraid of inanimate objects. Did I tell you that we didn't get professional pictures of them this year because although I took them TWICE to the studio they were AFRAID of the backdrops and would scream bloody murder every time they were asked to get within 10 feet of them?? Just thinking about it almost makes ME cry, that's how traumatic it was.

*SIGH*

As I've mentioned before, we decided to do homemade gifts this year instead of store bought in an attempt to make it more meaningful. Overall I think it went pretty well. The gifts that were given were given with thought and purpose and meaning. My mom made some amazing gifts for people including aprons for me and my sister and photo albums for Hubs. But the sheer volume of gifts was still a bit overwhelming for me. We still spent the majority of the day opening presents, which is what has also happened in the past. Somehow I feel that the presents should be a side note rather than the main event, but I really don't know how to get this to happen. One comment my mom has made (and I think it's probably a common thought), if we don't spend the time opening gifts then what do we do? My first thought was play games, but as my mom pointed out, some people don't like games and we don't want to leave them out. And how do you come up with NEW traditions after 50+ years of doing the current ones? Especially without upsetting people who have helped create those traditions? So much of Christmas is about nostalgia, and if we revamp how we do things it will inevitably involve stepping on toes. If anyone out there has ideas please share!!!

The major bright spot in the day for me was when the girls actually NAPPED at Grandma & Grandpa's house! It was a Christmas miracle!!! During nap time we were able to sit and chat and believe it or not... RELAX! My Grandma & Uncle Butch were able to be with us yesterday, and it's the first Christmas that they've been able to attend so that was very fun. My grandma is 93 years old, and she and my Uncle Butch told stories and cracked jokes and generally made the day very entertaining. At one point they were talking about my Grandma going to visit her sister down in Fresno, CA this summer and my Uncle said he'd be willing to drive her as far as Woodburn, OR but then she was on her own. But he'd be kind enough to drop her on the side of the freeway with a sign saying: Fresno or BUST! How kind of him, don't ya think?! But don't you worry Readers, my Uncle Butch loves his momma and would never do such a thing, he just likes to talk trash and get everyone laughing. Growing up I never knew what to make of Uncle Butch. When I was in college on the East Coast he'd always tease me about not bringing home any lobsters home with me for him. "Where's my lobsters? You didn't bring me any??? Well you better get on back there and bring me some next time! Put 'em in your carry on luggage so they stay nice and fresh." So his presence yesterday kept us laughing, and we desperately needed it what with all the other family drama goin' down that I can't discuss here. Thankfully the drama was kept to a minimum yesterday.

So today I'm tired. Very tired. Hopefully a nap for me is on the agenda.

Against Principalities and Powers

This is a very difficult time for a lot of people. A time of year when memory seems to be amplified, when lost traditions are remembered, when loved ones are missed, when we're constantly reminded of what really matters in life and often feel like our own lives fall short.

I've written before about some of the difficulties my own family has had this year. But I know we're not the only ones. And I know many people with much worse problems. People who thought they had it all together are now loosing their homes to foreclosure. People are worried about our nation. They're worrying about health care and hand gun reform, and whether or not Obama deserves the Peace Prize. People are going through divorces at an alarming rate. People are dealing with sick loved ones, or the death of someone close. It's a terrible world. And if you look at the Bible it says things are only going to get worse before Christ's return.

When I was thinking about all of this today, I was struck suddenly by a verse. I could only remember that it had something to do with Principalities and Powers. That our battle is against the spiritual realm. A little google search later and I found it:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Ephesians 6:12-13

We are in a huge spiritual battle. And Satan is having his hay day. And we need to be prepared. How do we do that? We put on our armor.

"Stand firm then,
with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
with a breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to this,
take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Ephesians 6:14-17

In order to have access to this powerful set of armor, it requires discipline and study. This is not the easiest thing to do, especially when you're already in the middle of a great battle, as many of us currently are. But it only takes a minute or two to open the Word, put your finger on a passage, and arm yourself. I know one lady who reads 3 chapters of the Bible a day, it usually takes her 5-10 minutes. And seriously, this is something I need to do! I'm preaching to myself as I write this!!!

And sorry to jump around, but here's my thought. It's almost Christmas. The holiday that is supposed to be about the birth of Jesus. And yet our society (and let's face it, the forces of evil) have twisted it into something it's not. Into a holiday about Santa and retail marketing, and stress. Let's not forget the stress. Because spending great deals of time thinking about what you should get for various family members can be stressful. Worrying about your credit card bill because you spent too much on gifts is stressful. And for many, thinking about what won't be under the tree for you children is... heartbreakingly stressful.

We've taken the gift of Christ, which was meant to SAVE us, and turned it into a total fiasco. Just try to tell me Satan didn't have something to do with that!

Yes folks, we are fighting against the spiritual world here. And this time of year, the battle is ON! Big time! So we need to focus on our armor and prepare ourselves for attack, because by now it should be obvious that it's coming, if not already here.

But remember, there is light at the end of this tunnel. Jesus came to save the lost. He came for you, for me, for your neighbor, your uncle Frank, your cousin Shelly, your neighbor across the street, your co-worker who drives you nuts. He came for ALL of us!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13

But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. - Hebrews 3:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7

Amen!

Advent Conspiracy & Black Friday

You may remember when I talked back in October about my family's plans for Christmas this year. In a nutshell, we plan to Give More and Spend Less by making homemade gifts for each other. Gifts with meaning, not monetary value. And take the money we would normally have spent and give it to charity. This decision was made after a few of us were introduced to The Advent Conspiracy, a non-profit Christian group that promotes the idea of less consumerism and more Jesus during the Christmas season.

Today on their blog they posted an EXCELLENT article on Black Friday. What they had to say surprised me in a good way, and made me feel even better about decision. So of course I just had to share it here! Please click over HERE to check it out! The basic jest is that Christmas should be about Jesus and family & friends. Everything else is secondary. And that it's ok to shop Black Friday and get great deals as long as your priorities are straight and you aren't making it the whole point of the holiday. Truly worth reading, so get over there and read it!

Give More, Spend Less

For years and years, as far back as I can remember, my family has celebrated Christmas the same way. We wake up super early in the morning, travel to whoever's house is hosting that year (we rotate who hosts between 3 different families) or drag ourselves downstairs (if we're lucky enough to be the hosts), drink coffee, open stocking gifts from Santa, eat breakfast, open "the big gifts" which are not from Santa but rather from each of us to each of everyone else, eat dinner (yes, it usually takes HOURS to open all the big gifts) and then some linger and play games while others go home. That's what we do. Year in, year out.

But as I've gotten older the appeal has gotten stale. You mean, I really have to buy presents for Aunt Hildigard and Cousin So and So? Really? But I only see them once a year. What do they like? I have no idea! Maybe I'll just get them a sweater. Everyone likes sweaters, right? Ok fine, scrap the sweater, I'll just go with a gift card.

Why are we doing this? And by "we" I mean all Americans who follow the same routine.

Last year I found this video on You Tube, someone sent it to me via email. I don't remember who sent it, but obviously I NEEDED to see it! At that point, it was too late to call everyone and change everyone's gift buying plans. Especially since so many of my family members start buying Christmas gifts in June.



But it struck a chord in my heart that's been resonating ever since.

So this year I wrote a letter and emailed it to my family members, because things HAD to be different this year. Of all years. When the economy is in the toilet and there are so many people out there who could use some help. I proposed that instead of giving "big gifts" at Christmas that we make handmade items, and then take the money we would have spent and give it to charity.

And instead of taking HOURS to open presents, maybe we could break out some board games. Or decorate cookies, or cut out snowflakes from paper or... you fill in the blank.

Have a Christmas that's meaningful, not consumer-filled. Give more to the charity of your choice, instead of wasting it on things the other person might not even want. Make it clear to your family and friends that you would MUCH rather receive a donation to your favorite charity than a bobble or trinket. Fill the piggy bank of the poor, rather than the coffers of Target or WalMart.

And then take a nice relaxing breath and think about all the shopping that you DON'T have to do this holiday season!

Christmas: Part One

So I mentioned we had not one but TWO Christmas's this year. It was all due to a snow storm that covered our region with over a foot of snow the weekend before Christmas and decided to stick around until the day after and then some. We thought about rescheduling our get together, but then at the last minute we decided that it's CHRISTMAS for crying out loud and we were just gonna go for it! My parents, brother and Aunt decided to carpool over to my house and brave the roads. My sister and her family decided to stay home because their road was a mess, I don't blame them at all! But as a result we ended up doing another Christmas the following weekend so that we could all be together for the holiday. And yes, I went ahead and made the same menu twice... I'm just crazy like that I guess.

Anyway... enough about food... I ate mexican take out tonight and I'm feeling a bit... bleh...

So here's our girls in their cute little dresses for the occasion. Nevermind that I can never get them to both look at the camera. But check out Anya's fetching silver scarf! It came off a teddy bear and they take turns wearing it around the house. :P



As we expected, the funnest part about Christmas was the wrappings.



Yup, wrappings are wonderful things.



Slinkies are wonderful things too. Although I'm not so sure they're age appropriate. Oh well, I'm sure they'll grow into them someday... that is if they don't get all stretched out of shape and distorted first.



What we didn't expect was that they were both absolutely stone faced during the entire proceedings. It was like everything was SO interesting that they had to be completely serious in order to examine every item.



They got lots of books. Which is wonderful because they seriously can't get enough of them. It's to the point where I have to lock the books away otherwise they get pulled apart in tugging matches when they're left unsupervised. They also got a couple rag books, which I think are marvelous inventions.



This is Hubby and his mom. She got into town on the first flight to arrive since the snow storm. We are SO lucky that she was able to get here! And we've had a great time watching her bond with the girls. She actually leaves us to go back home tomorrow. We'll miss her! :)



Hey Matt, I hope it's ok if I post this picture of you on my blog without asking first. You won't mind right? :P It's just too cute to not post it.

For everyone else, this is me and my brother Matt. Sorry ladies, he's taken.



One of the big presents the girls got this year was a antique table and chair set from my mom & dad. They also got a very cute and durable tea set to go along with it. They have REALLY enjoyed it so far!



Their Aunt Debbie sent them some really fancy dress up shoes. :) They are sooooo purty!











And cousin Alisha sent them outfits.



More on our Second Christmas tomorrow! I'm trying REALLY hard to get this out now so we can talk about something else soon. :)

Failure

Sorry, I don't mean to be a downer. But sometimes I just feel like a big fat failure and I'm sure you've all felt the same way at some point in your life.

Sometimes I'm really envious of people who have kids one at a time. Sometimes I look at moms carrying their one little baby around and I think to myself, "That would be SO much easier!" Just think of the places I could go, or things I could do if I didn't have 2 little ones to carry, guide, chase, etc. Most of the time I think I'm super dooper lucky, but there are times... like today I guess, when I think golly this is hard!

Today I was going to work on my kid's baby books. Yes, that's right, I barely have them started and the girls are officially 18 months old. I am seriously NOT a scrap booker, in fact there are few things in this world that I hate more than scrapbooking. Why? Because it makes me feel like I'm an idiot. Why is it so freakin' hard to put pictures in a book and write blurbs about them? I don't know why, but it feels downright impossible to me. This one page I was trying so desperately hard to work on today was one titled "Holidays and Seasons". Sounds simple, just slap in some pictures of Christmas and Thanksgiving, maybe Easter, and call it good. WRONG, how could I possibly be so wrong. You see, every holiday DJ and I seem to have our hands completely full and we simply just don't take any pictures. So after going through stacks and stacks of pictures (I litterally have hundreds) I finally realized that I'm a terrible mom who doesn't have pictures of my kids first Christmas. In fact, I really don't have many pictures at all of my girls once they became mobile. Then I got a big lump in my throat, and called my mom.

She said that YES she has pictures of their first Christmas, as well as Easter and Thanksgiving. So I can stop worrying about that. She also reminded me that it wasn't until recently that I have been able to come up for air after taking care of every need that my babies have had over the course of the past 18 months. And is it really THAT important that I finish those baby books? Well, it is to me. I guess I feel like it's important to have them all filled out with pictures and cute things to say. But for whatever reason every time I try to work on it I just feel like I'm totally incapable of getting them done. Like it's this huge mountain of guilt and worry that my kids won't have preserved memories of their babyhood every time I get out all the supplies and crap. And then I only have an hour to work on it, realize I'm a looser, completely incompetant scrapbooking person, before I have to hastily toss it all back in a box so my kids don't wreck it all. It's a horrible battle I do with myself every time I say, "Today's the day!"

Well, today was going to be the day, but now I feel like a failure and a terrible mom to boot.

I really don't understand how people think this is supposed to be fun. Maybe someone can clue me in on that part because I just don't get it.

In other news, we went to a fantastic Christmas party yesterday for a mom's group that I'm a part of. I took my mom along for the ride, because there's no way in hell I'd go to such an event with the girls by myself! I'm not THAT crazy! So we each spent the time taking turns chasing Ziva who ran laps around the room trying to find new ways to get into trouble. The food was good, but afterwards my mom and I decided that we couldn't even remember eating anything because when you eat a meatball, and then chase a kid, and then sit down and eat another meatball, it's almost like the meatballs didn't even exist because your stomach forgets to tell your brain that an exchange of calories has been occured. Anya surprised us all by being very curious about Santa and actually sat in his lap for over 5 minutes! The girls had a great time, but me and mom were exhausted and ready for a nap by the time we got home.