While discussing deciduous trees with the kids, they were answering some questions. Evelyn was super excited to answer something so I thought I would help her out a bit.
"Evelyn, the leaves FALL off of trees in which season? Winter, Spring, Summer or FALL???" Quite certain she had the correct answer she quickly stated, "Spring." We all burst out laughing and she had no clue why! LOL
Have a blessed day!
~Tammy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Kids~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Gearing up for some indoor shop class
It's been a busy couple of months. We moved amidst a huge amount of snow, thanks to some very dedicated friends. :) This old house we are temporarily living in is quite drafty and with record lows we have been wearing a LOT of layers.
We got our new school room up and running (Such a big room. I am loving the large, albeit drafty, windows.) and then Todd brought in something I never expected. A lathe! This is a current picture of our school table:
Why a lathe? Well, the kids are participating in their annual pinewood derby race for Awana and thought it would be fun to make the cars into shapes. My husband rocks!
Each of the kids chose a theme (okay Sadie didn't really choose hers.) and Todd helped them pencil the shape onto the wooden block. Then they each got to be helper while he worked on their car. ie., They ran the shop vac. ;-)
Here's a pic of the cars so far. Left to right we have:
They will get to sand on them and paint them up at Awana. I'll post finished pictures. Evelyn was so excited when I told her we had a googly eye that would be perfect for her one-eyed minion! Sadie has been carrying her bottle around all over the house. Avrie has already painted a bit on her boat and Ellie and Silas are ready to begin painting next Awana. I can't wait to see what each of them do to create their vision!
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
We got our new school room up and running (Such a big room. I am loving the large, albeit drafty, windows.) and then Todd brought in something I never expected. A lathe! This is a current picture of our school table:
Why a lathe? Well, the kids are participating in their annual pinewood derby race for Awana and thought it would be fun to make the cars into shapes. My husband rocks!
Each of the kids chose a theme (okay Sadie didn't really choose hers.) and Todd helped them pencil the shape onto the wooden block. Then they each got to be helper while he worked on their car. ie., They ran the shop vac. ;-)
Here's a pic of the cars so far. Left to right we have:
Ellie: Hello Kitty
Silas: Race car
Avrie: Boat
Evelyn: Minion
Sadie: Baby bottle
They will get to sand on them and paint them up at Awana. I'll post finished pictures. Evelyn was so excited when I told her we had a googly eye that would be perfect for her one-eyed minion! Sadie has been carrying her bottle around all over the house. Avrie has already painted a bit on her boat and Ellie and Silas are ready to begin painting next Awana. I can't wait to see what each of them do to create their vision!
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Friday, December 27, 2013
Update and Clarification
It has been weighing on my mind that our Bittersweet Announcement came across as a way to bring attention to my grief. The fact that I was still on prescription pain meds probably didn't help with clarity of the post. LOL Of course I am grieving, but there was more than one reason for writing. I felt it was important to put it out there because so many feel like they can't share about miscarriage. Like it's a taboo subject. It's amazing how many women come out of the woodwork when you have a loss, letting you know they too know how it feels. :( To that point, there are a LOT of women that have gone through a miscarriage. I am no one special. It will be difficult but I will move on.
The main reason for my post was to acknowledge that I had not been true to my beliefs. I had purposely hidden this baby from most everyone because of comments from other people. Once the baby was gone it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was ashamed of myself. I felt like I had let this child down. As a mother I am supposed to be there for my children no matter what. What have I done? Those were the thoughts that ran through my head that day. So that post was my way of standing up for my child. To show that I was not ashamed.
While I don't intentionally want to hurt anyone and cause strife, I also will no longer apologize for being happy to have children. I will not tip-toe around for fear of offending someone. If they have a problem with it, that is between them and God. What our family chooses is between my husband, myself and God.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
The main reason for my post was to acknowledge that I had not been true to my beliefs. I had purposely hidden this baby from most everyone because of comments from other people. Once the baby was gone it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was ashamed of myself. I felt like I had let this child down. As a mother I am supposed to be there for my children no matter what. What have I done? Those were the thoughts that ran through my head that day. So that post was my way of standing up for my child. To show that I was not ashamed.
While I don't intentionally want to hurt anyone and cause strife, I also will no longer apologize for being happy to have children. I will not tip-toe around for fear of offending someone. If they have a problem with it, that is between them and God. What our family chooses is between my husband, myself and God.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Monday, December 23, 2013
Bittersweet Announcement
With each of our five children we have announced very soon
after finding out we were expecting. It is always such a joyous time for us and
we want to celebrate each new life with all of our friends and family. Sadly, we have not always been met with
positive comments. We have gotten a lot
of these:
-You know what causes that?
-You need cable.
-How can you afford all those kids?
-You aint got that “fixed” yet? (If you'd like our take on that you can read here.)
-You are being irresponsible.
-Glad it’s you and not me.
-You need cable.
-How can you afford all those kids?
-You aint got that “fixed” yet? (If you'd like our take on that you can read here.)
-You are being irresponsible.
-Glad it’s you and not me.
Six weeks ago we found out we were expecting and couldn’t
have been happier. We were already about 5 weeks along, but this time we decided to hold off on announcing. While it didn’t feel right, we decided it was
for the best. I told a few people (because I honestly can’t keep my mouth shut)
and Todd also told a few. We didn’t tell our children because we didn’t think
they could keep it quiet.
So for the last six weeks we have hidden this small soul
from the rest of the world. We have not made phone calls giddy with excitement.
I haven’t told old friends I might see in the grocery store and shared a big
hug. We did not make a fun family picture announcement to post on facebook. We didn’t discuss whether it was a boy or girl
or talk about name possibilities for fear the kids would overhear. We didn’t
enjoy this little life to the fullest while we had it.
Yesterday I went through the most painful thing I have ever
gone through, both emotionally and physically.
I lost our baby.
This precious life that we kept secret is
gone. Even though this is not the fun
and exciting announcement I had hoped for, I refuse to hide it any longer. I
want everyone to know that there is a beautiful soul that we will meet in
Heaven one day and it is our child.
I have definitely learned a lesson. Live for today and be thankful. Don’t worry
what others may say or think. This is my life to live and it is between me, my
husband and God how many children we may be blessed to have. I am thankful for
grace and second chances and I pray the Lord will bless us again. When and if
He does, I will most certainly shout it from the rooftops.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
A schedule that works!
Let's get one thing out in the open. I am NOT naturally organized. Never have been and never will be. I started out homeschooling with a 5yo, 3yo and 1yo. Of course at the time I thought it was really hard. Now I look back and realize how easy I had it! We did our school work when we felt like it and got our state required 180 days in easily. If I had a new baby, we took time off without guilt. Now that the children are older I feel like we need some more structure to our schedule. I'm still working on our daily plan but I have put together a yearly plan that I am in LOVE with!
It all started when an online friend was telling me about how she was scheduling her year and I liked a lot of what she was doing. I took some of those ideas and tweaked them to fit our family (one of the many perks of homeschooling) and am very pleased with the results.
The Planning Process
I started out by looking at each month and marking any times that we normally end up not doing school. You know......times like the week of Christmas when life gets so busy and school just doesn't naturally happen. I scheduled those weeks off.
Then I made notes of other times my husband is off work. There are a couple Mondays in there that he has off work so I schedule those entire weeks off school for us as well.
Next I looked at our extra curricular activities and took any time off that would be a busy time for us, such as the week of the local children's theatre show. Last year we did do school the week of the show but it was HARD to get it all accomplished and would have made for a much more relaxing time had we not attempted it.
I wanted to get done by a certain date and I did NOT want to go more than 6 weeks in a row doing school. I am good in spurts but need a break or I will burn out.
Using these steps I was able to get all 180 days scheduled and be finished by the end of May. Of course if we end up going longer it's not the end of the world. ;-)
Creating The Schedule
Next I made a spreadsheet of the months with 4 or 5 weeks (depending) listed for each month. The 5th week is colored gray if that month does not have 5 weeks in it this year. Some weeks don't have 5 days because of the way the calendar falls so I made a note on those. I noted the number of days each week in the green highlighted column and left myself space to make tally marks with a pencil once each day is completed. This has been a great tool for me to check that box and see how far we have gotten in the year and if we are on schedule. Any weeks that we are taking a break are marked with purple.
The schedule ended up in sections of a few weeks at a time, which was exactly what I wanted. We have some things that we will do every school day, but there are other subjects that I preferred to do more of a unit study with. I set time aside each day for a "family elective". This is noted on the schedule with red letters.
My oldest daughter has some subjects that the younger ones don't have. I have a special time for her to work on those subjects each day as well. Those are her electives and are noted with pink letters.
I don't have every item that we are doing on this yearly schedule. There just wasn't enough room, but this gets the majority of it all in one place for me to see visually what the plan is. For record keeping and our daily schedule, I use the online scheduler at Simply Charlotte Mason. I find their scheduler is very intuitive and it helps me keep things straight.
I hope this post has gotten your creative juices flowing and will help with your school year plan.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
It all started when an online friend was telling me about how she was scheduling her year and I liked a lot of what she was doing. I took some of those ideas and tweaked them to fit our family (one of the many perks of homeschooling) and am very pleased with the results.
 |
| 2013-2014 School Schedule |
The Planning Process
I started out by looking at each month and marking any times that we normally end up not doing school. You know......times like the week of Christmas when life gets so busy and school just doesn't naturally happen. I scheduled those weeks off.
Then I made notes of other times my husband is off work. There are a couple Mondays in there that he has off work so I schedule those entire weeks off school for us as well.
Next I looked at our extra curricular activities and took any time off that would be a busy time for us, such as the week of the local children's theatre show. Last year we did do school the week of the show but it was HARD to get it all accomplished and would have made for a much more relaxing time had we not attempted it.
I wanted to get done by a certain date and I did NOT want to go more than 6 weeks in a row doing school. I am good in spurts but need a break or I will burn out.
Using these steps I was able to get all 180 days scheduled and be finished by the end of May. Of course if we end up going longer it's not the end of the world. ;-)
Creating The Schedule
Next I made a spreadsheet of the months with 4 or 5 weeks (depending) listed for each month. The 5th week is colored gray if that month does not have 5 weeks in it this year. Some weeks don't have 5 days because of the way the calendar falls so I made a note on those. I noted the number of days each week in the green highlighted column and left myself space to make tally marks with a pencil once each day is completed. This has been a great tool for me to check that box and see how far we have gotten in the year and if we are on schedule. Any weeks that we are taking a break are marked with purple.
The schedule ended up in sections of a few weeks at a time, which was exactly what I wanted. We have some things that we will do every school day, but there are other subjects that I preferred to do more of a unit study with. I set time aside each day for a "family elective". This is noted on the schedule with red letters.
My oldest daughter has some subjects that the younger ones don't have. I have a special time for her to work on those subjects each day as well. Those are her electives and are noted with pink letters.
I don't have every item that we are doing on this yearly schedule. There just wasn't enough room, but this gets the majority of it all in one place for me to see visually what the plan is. For record keeping and our daily schedule, I use the online scheduler at Simply Charlotte Mason. I find their scheduler is very intuitive and it helps me keep things straight.
I hope this post has gotten your creative juices flowing and will help with your school year plan.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Food, glorious food! Part 3
But sometimes we need doctors and I realize that. We did the skin prick test. He would only test for things that I suspected. Sadie's came back positive for eggs and peanuts. Silas' came back positive for all the inhalant allergens like mold, pollen, dust and cat dander. Ellieand Avrie also tested positive for the inhalants. Evelyn wasn't tested for those.
The allergist said that the blood test they originally got was bogus and that the IgG (sensitivity) test wasn't accurate. I have done more research and I don't entirely agree with him. I don't have a degree in medicine but I am entitled to my opinion. ;-)
I think that when someone has a lot of allergies, be it food or environmental, their whole system is thrown out of whack. I have read that if they are in a reaction at the time of a blood draw it can make several items come back as false positives. I have also read that gluten intolerance can cause leaky gut and make people sensitive/intolerant/allergic to foods that they normally would be fine with. So.....
we are preparing to embark on the GAPS Diet.
It is very similar to what we were doing before. Grain free, sugar free with a slightly different bent. One key element that I am excited about it the focus on healthy fats and oils. I think this is what we were missing before. This should alleviate the constant feelings of needing to eat. The GAPS diet is focused on healing the gut. I don't know if we (I say we because I truly believe that I am sensitive to gluten although I haven't been formally tested. The kids have to get it from somewhere and a lot of my life long ailments were gone when I was grain free.) will ever be able to eat gluten but I do think we will be able to add in some grains later on.
I have put it off trying to get through Easter, Todd's birthday and Avrie's birthday. I have one more special event happening soon that food plays an important role and then we will be ready to make the switch! In the mean time I am reading, reading, reading and gearing up the kitchen.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Read Part 1 here.
Read Part 2 here.
The allergist said that the blood test they originally got was bogus and that the IgG (sensitivity) test wasn't accurate. I have done more research and I don't entirely agree with him. I don't have a degree in medicine but I am entitled to my opinion. ;-)
I think that when someone has a lot of allergies, be it food or environmental, their whole system is thrown out of whack. I have read that if they are in a reaction at the time of a blood draw it can make several items come back as false positives. I have also read that gluten intolerance can cause leaky gut and make people sensitive/intolerant/allergic to foods that they normally would be fine with. So.....
we are preparing to embark on the GAPS Diet.
It is very similar to what we were doing before. Grain free, sugar free with a slightly different bent. One key element that I am excited about it the focus on healthy fats and oils. I think this is what we were missing before. This should alleviate the constant feelings of needing to eat. The GAPS diet is focused on healing the gut. I don't know if we (I say we because I truly believe that I am sensitive to gluten although I haven't been formally tested. The kids have to get it from somewhere and a lot of my life long ailments were gone when I was grain free.) will ever be able to eat gluten but I do think we will be able to add in some grains later on.
I have put it off trying to get through Easter, Todd's birthday and Avrie's birthday. I have one more special event happening soon that food plays an important role and then we will be ready to make the switch! In the mean time I am reading, reading, reading and gearing up the kitchen.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Read Part 1 here.
Read Part 2 here.
Food, glorious food! Part 2
I researched allergy testing and won't bore you with all those details. Basically no one can agree on which type of test is best. I was also thinking it might be more GI related so we wanted to get the kids tested for gluten intolerance/celiac as well. To do this test they needed to be eating grains.
It was a done deal. Of course, me being the all-or-nothing personality type that I am, I didn't play it smart and add in one food at a time. Noooo not me! If we were off diet then we were OFF DIET. The kids ate at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Little Ceasar's Pizza, Long John Silver's and several other places they had never been to before.
Something I learned from this experience is that we are definitely doing the right thing by steering clear of these offending foods. Our house was crazy! Behavioral problems were sky high. Reading abilities were dramatically affected. Sleep problems were becoming a nightly issue when they had been almost non-existent before. After quite a while of eating this way we finally reigned it in and went back to the basic Feingold protocol which eliminates the artificial colors/flavors and preservatives. Things weren't great but they were tolerable.
The kids' appointments were staggered so I took Silas and Sadie in first. We had already eliminated eggs and peanuts from Sadie's diet since we suspected allergies to those two items. Their blood was drawn and sent to the lab.
When I got the results I was devastated. Thankfully they weren't with me and didn't witness their sobbing mother the entire drive home. Then Ellie, Avrie and Evelyn had theirs done as well. The results weren't much better. I was so confused. It said that they were allergic to several foods they had been eating with no problems. Or were there problems? Maybe that was the underlying issue. Maybe if I took these foods out of their diet their gut would heal and they could eat more and feel better. Was this really the way? Everyone's bloodwork also came back positive for gluten intolerance. Well, everyone except Silas but that's a complicated story of mishandled bloodwork and a retest after he was off grains for a while. His numbers *off* grains were still close to positive. Plus he shows such a good response to a gluten free diet that I think he's probably gluten intolerant as well. I'm not about to subject him to another blood draw to find out.
I was so overwhelmed with the various allergies and sensitivities listed that I made a spreadsheet. I thought that would help me see what they *could* eat. You can take a peek at the Allergy Chart if you would like.
I made a plan and worked with a friend with allergies in her family. Made a trip to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods an hour away and we were set. Then I started really questioning this. Per the specialist anything that was an allergy we were supposed to avoid for.ev.er. Was that truly accurate? One thing that really had me second guessing was that Sadie only showed up as sensitive to peanuts when I was pretty certain she had a full blown allergy. This specialist never once suggested an epi-pen. Red flags were waving high.
So I researched some more and decided to do skin prick testing. Took the kids to the head pediatric allergist at the children's hospital in our state capitol. He scoffed at some of my findings which was hard to take. I have avoided mainstream doctors for several years for this reason. They weren't there when my children were screaming in fear and acting so irrational that they could hurt themselves or others when they had preservatives or food coloring. It's very, very real.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Read Part 1 here.
Read Part 3 here.
It was a done deal. Of course, me being the all-or-nothing personality type that I am, I didn't play it smart and add in one food at a time. Noooo not me! If we were off diet then we were OFF DIET. The kids ate at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Little Ceasar's Pizza, Long John Silver's and several other places they had never been to before.
Something I learned from this experience is that we are definitely doing the right thing by steering clear of these offending foods. Our house was crazy! Behavioral problems were sky high. Reading abilities were dramatically affected. Sleep problems were becoming a nightly issue when they had been almost non-existent before. After quite a while of eating this way we finally reigned it in and went back to the basic Feingold protocol which eliminates the artificial colors/flavors and preservatives. Things weren't great but they were tolerable.
The kids' appointments were staggered so I took Silas and Sadie in first. We had already eliminated eggs and peanuts from Sadie's diet since we suspected allergies to those two items. Their blood was drawn and sent to the lab.
When I got the results I was devastated. Thankfully they weren't with me and didn't witness their sobbing mother the entire drive home. Then Ellie, Avrie and Evelyn had theirs done as well. The results weren't much better. I was so confused. It said that they were allergic to several foods they had been eating with no problems. Or were there problems? Maybe that was the underlying issue. Maybe if I took these foods out of their diet their gut would heal and they could eat more and feel better. Was this really the way? Everyone's bloodwork also came back positive for gluten intolerance. Well, everyone except Silas but that's a complicated story of mishandled bloodwork and a retest after he was off grains for a while. His numbers *off* grains were still close to positive. Plus he shows such a good response to a gluten free diet that I think he's probably gluten intolerant as well. I'm not about to subject him to another blood draw to find out.
I was so overwhelmed with the various allergies and sensitivities listed that I made a spreadsheet. I thought that would help me see what they *could* eat. You can take a peek at the Allergy Chart if you would like.
I made a plan and worked with a friend with allergies in her family. Made a trip to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods an hour away and we were set. Then I started really questioning this. Per the specialist anything that was an allergy we were supposed to avoid for.ev.er. Was that truly accurate? One thing that really had me second guessing was that Sadie only showed up as sensitive to peanuts when I was pretty certain she had a full blown allergy. This specialist never once suggested an epi-pen. Red flags were waving high.
So I researched some more and decided to do skin prick testing. Took the kids to the head pediatric allergist at the children's hospital in our state capitol. He scoffed at some of my findings which was hard to take. I have avoided mainstream doctors for several years for this reason. They weren't there when my children were screaming in fear and acting so irrational that they could hurt themselves or others when they had preservatives or food coloring. It's very, very real.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Read Part 1 here.
Read Part 3 here.
Food, glorious food! Part 1
It seems like everything in the U.S. involves food in some way. Getting together for a visit? Let's have a pitch in! Sunday School class? Snacks are provided! Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas family gatherings? Bring on the the turkey and ham and all the fixin's!
I love food. Don't get me wrong. But this whole trip down allergy lane has made it difficult to navigate. Just to have a day trip takes a LOT of planning and organization. I know that I have mentioned this before but I am not a natural born organizer.
Just to update on the whole diet situation...I know you all have been in such suspense wondering what we are eating for dinner...we went off the SBP diet and added grains back in. Not because it wasn't helping. No, we really felt good. There were just a few problems.
-Everyone was always asking for food. With five little birds constantly chirping, "Mom! I'm hungry. Can we have...?" I was going nuts.
-I would fix HUGE amounts of food that should really be enough for 2 meals and it would be gone in a matter of minutes. It got to the point where I was letting the kids eat their fill and then I would get something if there was anything left. Much of the time there was nothing left. I had to go to the store more often throughout the week so one night I just grabbed something real quick. Then it happened again. And again.
This was happening so often that I was feeling horrible as I was not eating on the diet at all. But I was still having to keep up with all the shopping, chopping and cooking. I was burnt out. I found myself questioning why this diet was working. Maybe we didn't truly need to avoid ALL of these foods. Maybe it was just one or two things that were bad for us.
Also I had figured out that Sadie was possibly allergic to eggs because of the high amount of eggs I had been eating and she had been getting through my milk. I eventually weaned her and then we really saw she couldn't eat eggs. We also noticed problems with peanut butter.
We decided to do allergy testing. We would finally have answers. Or would we?
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Read Part 2 here.
Read Part 3 here.
I love food. Don't get me wrong. But this whole trip down allergy lane has made it difficult to navigate. Just to have a day trip takes a LOT of planning and organization. I know that I have mentioned this before but I am not a natural born organizer.
Just to update on the whole diet situation...I know you all have been in such suspense wondering what we are eating for dinner...we went off the SBP diet and added grains back in. Not because it wasn't helping. No, we really felt good. There were just a few problems.
-Everyone was always asking for food. With five little birds constantly chirping, "Mom! I'm hungry. Can we have...?" I was going nuts.
-I would fix HUGE amounts of food that should really be enough for 2 meals and it would be gone in a matter of minutes. It got to the point where I was letting the kids eat their fill and then I would get something if there was anything left. Much of the time there was nothing left. I had to go to the store more often throughout the week so one night I just grabbed something real quick. Then it happened again. And again.
This was happening so often that I was feeling horrible as I was not eating on the diet at all. But I was still having to keep up with all the shopping, chopping and cooking. I was burnt out. I found myself questioning why this diet was working. Maybe we didn't truly need to avoid ALL of these foods. Maybe it was just one or two things that were bad for us.
Also I had figured out that Sadie was possibly allergic to eggs because of the high amount of eggs I had been eating and she had been getting through my milk. I eventually weaned her and then we really saw she couldn't eat eggs. We also noticed problems with peanut butter.
We decided to do allergy testing. We would finally have answers. Or would we?
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Read Part 2 here.
Read Part 3 here.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Operator error
Sadie is saying lots of new phrases here lately. The other day she was coloring. She scribbled with a green crayon, then a blue, then a red....smiling and so pleased with herself. :) Then she scribbled with a white crayon. Of course it didn't show up on the white paper. She then turned to me with a very serious face and said, "It's not working." :)
Today she announced that she had to go to the bathroom and walked out of the room. This is a new thing that she has not done before. By the time I got to her she had stripped to nothing. I took her in and had her sit on her brand new potty seat....
Me: Sadie? Did you go potty?
Sadie: (In her sweet little 2yo sing-songy voice.) Nooooo. It's not working.
Me: *giggle* Well you have to make it work. (I made a little ppssssssss sound)
Sadie: Ooooohhh! Okay. (With a great big smile.) pppsssssssssss
As if making that sound would make her pee! Fun times!
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Today she announced that she had to go to the bathroom and walked out of the room. This is a new thing that she has not done before. By the time I got to her she had stripped to nothing. I took her in and had her sit on her brand new potty seat....
Me: Sadie? Did you go potty?
Sadie: (In her sweet little 2yo sing-songy voice.) Nooooo. It's not working.
Me: *giggle* Well you have to make it work. (I made a little ppssssssss sound)
Sadie: Ooooohhh! Okay. (With a great big smile.) pppsssssssssss
As if making that sound would make her pee! Fun times!
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Crazy things we never thought we would hear...
The kids were all ready for bed and we were nudging them in that direction. We heard a very quiet 4 year old voice coming from the other room...
Evelyn: Ummmm I have pee running down my back.
Todd: How is pee running down your back?
Evelyn: Well, I peed in my goodnite......and I was upside down.
Really. She really did say that. I just tried my best not to laugh!
So Todd helped her clean up while explaining to her (again) that she can't pee in her goodnite on purpose. It's for accidents and is especially not for peeing upside down.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Evelyn: Ummmm I have pee running down my back.
Todd: How is pee running down your back?
Evelyn: Well, I peed in my goodnite......and I was upside down.
Really. She really did say that. I just tried my best not to laugh!
So Todd helped her clean up while explaining to her (again) that she can't pee in her goodnite on purpose. It's for accidents and is especially not for peeing upside down.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Hey Good Lookin' Watcha Got Cookin'?
I am not an animal type of person. They are cute and all but I'm not really into being drooled on, climbed on, covered in who-knows-what, smelling who-knows-what. I've got kids to worry about. Come to think of it, I get enough drool, climbing and smells from the kids. I don't need a pet. Of course the kids would love to have one. So we got fish! :)
We have had them a few months and the kids have enjoyed them quite a bit. They are often found peeking into the tank to see what their fish is doing. (They each got two.) I honestly don't know how they know which fish are theirs, but they do. Recently, we have had a few deaths. After testing the water and getting a new pump we had yet a third fish die. We took him in and the nice man said that we had a bully in our tank! One of the other fish was attacking them and that is why they had died. He described how to tell which fish is your bully and the kids knew immediately which one it was. I was fairly impressed with their knowledge of the scaly little friends.
So we went home and Todd took the accused out of the tank and put him in isolation. We were going to keep him out for a day and see if the mood got better in the neighborhood. Now as much as they are enjoying the fish the kids really want a dog. They have been told that if they can show responsibility with their current pets then maybe we can work up to a dog. Ellie was concerned about the bully fish staying warm all through the night since there was no heater in his small container so she took the initiative to check his water one last time before going to bed.
She checked the temperature and added some water. The fish jumped out! She grabbed him and put him back in.
Ellie: Mom, something's wrong with Finn McFishle.
Me: What's he doing?
Ellie: He jumped out of the water and when I put him back in he started acting funny. He looks like he is choking.
Me: Was the water hot?
Ellie: (Confidently) Yes. It's supposed to be above 80*. (looks at thermometer) It's between and 80* and 90* now.
Me: Todd!
Todd: Ellie the temp is supposed to be at or below 80*. (looks at thermometer which is steadily rising as we speak) It's at 100* right now. I think you cooked the fish.
Poor Ellie burst into tears. She had cooked Finn McFishle. She was devastated.
After she calmed down we talked about listening skills and checking with mom or dad before doing anything out of the ordinary for a pet. Ellie said she was thankful that we didn't get mad at her. It was at this time I told her that I had done the exact same thing to a goldfish I won at the carnival.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
We have had them a few months and the kids have enjoyed them quite a bit. They are often found peeking into the tank to see what their fish is doing. (They each got two.) I honestly don't know how they know which fish are theirs, but they do. Recently, we have had a few deaths. After testing the water and getting a new pump we had yet a third fish die. We took him in and the nice man said that we had a bully in our tank! One of the other fish was attacking them and that is why they had died. He described how to tell which fish is your bully and the kids knew immediately which one it was. I was fairly impressed with their knowledge of the scaly little friends.
So we went home and Todd took the accused out of the tank and put him in isolation. We were going to keep him out for a day and see if the mood got better in the neighborhood. Now as much as they are enjoying the fish the kids really want a dog. They have been told that if they can show responsibility with their current pets then maybe we can work up to a dog. Ellie was concerned about the bully fish staying warm all through the night since there was no heater in his small container so she took the initiative to check his water one last time before going to bed.
She checked the temperature and added some water. The fish jumped out! She grabbed him and put him back in.
Ellie: Mom, something's wrong with Finn McFishle.
Me: What's he doing?
Ellie: He jumped out of the water and when I put him back in he started acting funny. He looks like he is choking.
Me: Was the water hot?
Ellie: (Confidently) Yes. It's supposed to be above 80*. (looks at thermometer) It's between and 80* and 90* now.
Me: Todd!
Todd: Ellie the temp is supposed to be at or below 80*. (looks at thermometer which is steadily rising as we speak) It's at 100* right now. I think you cooked the fish.
Poor Ellie burst into tears. She had cooked Finn McFishle. She was devastated.
After she calmed down we talked about listening skills and checking with mom or dad before doing anything out of the ordinary for a pet. Ellie said she was thankful that we didn't get mad at her. It was at this time I told her that I had done the exact same thing to a goldfish I won at the carnival.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Ramblings of a perfectionist...
I bet when some of you read the title you thought I had a guest writing today's post. LOL By the looks of my house, van or anything else I am in charge or organizing, it certainly doesn't scream "Perfectionist lives here!" But that is exactly what I am. So much so that I put off doing things if I can't do them perfectly.
Todd has been asking me to update the blog and I just haven't found the time to get things caught up like I wanted. I have SO many things I want to write about! Many stories to tell and several that would require a series of blog posts. It is all perfectly laid out...in my mind. :-)
So today I decided to suck it up and just make a post. I am going to get posts done as often as I can. They may not be in any certain order and...um...that's okay. At least I think so anyway. ;-)
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Todd has been asking me to update the blog and I just haven't found the time to get things caught up like I wanted. I have SO many things I want to write about! Many stories to tell and several that would require a series of blog posts. It is all perfectly laid out...in my mind. :-)
So today I decided to suck it up and just make a post. I am going to get posts done as often as I can. They may not be in any certain order and...um...that's okay. At least I think so anyway. ;-)
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Thursday, September 20, 2012
But I didn't
No I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, just busy I guess. Today we had a little funny I could share quickly though.
Sadie got mad at Evelyn and hit her with a toy. Evelyn retaliated and hit Sadie on the head.
I said, "Evelyn, don't hit. Sadie doesn't know better and we need to teach her. If she hits you, don't hit her back." Evelyn replied, "But I didn't hit her back." I saw it with my own eyes so I knew this wasn't true.
After a quick conversation I realized that Evelyn was saying she didn't hit Sadie on her back! It's fun to talk to a 4 year old. :)
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Sadie got mad at Evelyn and hit her with a toy. Evelyn retaliated and hit Sadie on the head.
I said, "Evelyn, don't hit. Sadie doesn't know better and we need to teach her. If she hits you, don't hit her back." Evelyn replied, "But I didn't hit her back." I saw it with my own eyes so I knew this wasn't true.
After a quick conversation I realized that Evelyn was saying she didn't hit Sadie on her back! It's fun to talk to a 4 year old. :)
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
The Butcher, The Baker and The Pancake Maker
Wow we have been busy! I have lots of posts in my head but none on here. woops! I figured I had better get at least one done before the end of June. LOL
We had VBS last week. The kids were super excited because we haven't participated in VBS for the last couple of years. We were getting ready for the second day. When Avrie learned that we were going back for a second day we had the following conversation:
Avrie: I hope when we go to VBS tonight that I don't have to sit by the pancake maker again.
*At this point I am trying to figure out who in the world sat by her that talked to her about pancakes. Poor thing. Being reminded of a food she loves so dearly while we are grain free.....I truly believe we need to be grain free right now but sometimes I just feel terrible about it.*
Me: Who is the pancake maker?
Avrie: You know. That little girl that kept sitting by me. She would sit by me in the pew and sit so close that she would squish me flat up against the side. Just like a pancake!
Thankfully I have learned to keep things simple when talking with the children. There are often times that they are not thinking along the same lines as we are. I am so glad I didn't tell her how sad I was that we weren't eating grains. ;-)
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
We had VBS last week. The kids were super excited because we haven't participated in VBS for the last couple of years. We were getting ready for the second day. When Avrie learned that we were going back for a second day we had the following conversation:
Avrie: I hope when we go to VBS tonight that I don't have to sit by the pancake maker again.
*At this point I am trying to figure out who in the world sat by her that talked to her about pancakes. Poor thing. Being reminded of a food she loves so dearly while we are grain free.....I truly believe we need to be grain free right now but sometimes I just feel terrible about it.*
Me: Who is the pancake maker?
Avrie: You know. That little girl that kept sitting by me. She would sit by me in the pew and sit so close that she would squish me flat up against the side. Just like a pancake!
Thankfully I have learned to keep things simple when talking with the children. There are often times that they are not thinking along the same lines as we are. I am so glad I didn't tell her how sad I was that we weren't eating grains. ;-)
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Gators and Monkies and Birds Oh My!
We went to a fun little place called Jungle Gardens. They had all sorts of animals for us to see. We tried to grab a quick family picture here. Not the best, but at least it's all of us.
I thought this huge giraffe statue would make a good picture. I've really got to work on my photography skills.
They had several different types of birds. Forgive me for not knowing what type. I think they are all some type of parakeet. ?? I was too busy making sure the kids stayed together to listen. They did let us hold a bird on our arm for free though.
Silas was first. Such a strong arm! The bird hopped right on.
Ellie chose a smaller bird. They put a bit of food in her hand to feed it.
Avrie chose this sweet little thing. It wouldn't turn around to smile for the camera though.
They gave her some food too and that got its attention!
Now we're ready to smile. :)
"Oooh! That's pinchy!" is what she was saying.
Evelyn was right there with the others and wanted to have a try. Interesting how animals just "know". The volunteer worker said that they won't always step onto the arm of a smaller child because they sense they are not strong enough. They helper asked me to hold Evelyn's hand so maybe the bird would commit but it wouldn't step onto Evelyn's arm. She got to see it up close and was happy with that.
Todd wanted Sadie to have a picture too. :)
Another attempt at a group shot. I tell ya what....group shots are hard.
You try to get five children to look at the camera, at the same time AND smile. I figured I would just put them all on here. Between the three pictures everyone looks decent at least one time ....... I think.
Ellie and Avrie thought it would be funny to pretend they were being eaten by the crocodile. Goofy girlies.
Young man Silas wearing his hat that matches Daddy's.
I spotted this plant and grabbed Avrie for this shot. The coloring matched her dress so well.
Then of course Ellie wanted a photo shoot for her. :)
This last one I had to grab. Avrie's flip flop broke. Not a big deal, but it was a bit ironic. On our last little family vacation to a theme park, she lost her flip flop while boarding a log ride. It fell into the water never to be seen again. So this has now become a tradition.....go on vacation and buy Avrie some new shoes!
This concludes Part 7 of our Florida trip.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
I thought this huge giraffe statue would make a good picture. I've really got to work on my photography skills.
They had several different types of birds. Forgive me for not knowing what type. I think they are all some type of parakeet. ?? I was too busy making sure the kids stayed together to listen. They did let us hold a bird on our arm for free though.
Silas was first. Such a strong arm! The bird hopped right on.
Ellie chose a smaller bird. They put a bit of food in her hand to feed it.
Avrie chose this sweet little thing. It wouldn't turn around to smile for the camera though.
They gave her some food too and that got its attention!
Now we're ready to smile. :)
"Oooh! That's pinchy!" is what she was saying.
Evelyn was right there with the others and wanted to have a try. Interesting how animals just "know". The volunteer worker said that they won't always step onto the arm of a smaller child because they sense they are not strong enough. They helper asked me to hold Evelyn's hand so maybe the bird would commit but it wouldn't step onto Evelyn's arm. She got to see it up close and was happy with that.
Todd wanted Sadie to have a picture too. :)
Another attempt at a group shot. I tell ya what....group shots are hard.
You try to get five children to look at the camera, at the same time AND smile. I figured I would just put them all on here. Between the three pictures everyone looks decent at least one time ....... I think.
Ellie and Avrie thought it would be funny to pretend they were being eaten by the crocodile. Goofy girlies.
Young man Silas wearing his hat that matches Daddy's.
I spotted this plant and grabbed Avrie for this shot. The coloring matched her dress so well.
Then of course Ellie wanted a photo shoot for her. :)
This last one I had to grab. Avrie's flip flop broke. Not a big deal, but it was a bit ironic. On our last little family vacation to a theme park, she lost her flip flop while boarding a log ride. It fell into the water never to be seen again. So this has now become a tradition.....go on vacation and buy Avrie some new shoes!
This concludes Part 7 of our Florida trip.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Quick, get the camera!
Why did we take a picture of Grandpa taking a picture? Funny you should ask!
Our little Sadie Bug was a bit messy after dinner. Grandma was super excited to give her a bath in the kitchen sink. Of course I was super excited to NOT have to give her a bath. LOL
Grandma wanted to document the event in a picture and had Grandpa run and get their camera. When Todd and I saw how cute it was that she wanted to capture this fun occasion, we wanted to document that very precious moment. That's all. :)
Here's a closer shot.
This concludes Part 6 of our Florida trip.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Friday, May 4, 2012
No Eating In The Shower
Yes, you read that right. No eating in the shower. I never thought I would have to make that rule. LOL
Ellie fell in the creek and had to take a shower. The rest of the kids were eating a snack of apples and....you guessed it....she took hers to the shower with her. Oh my. What will they think of next?
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Ellie fell in the creek and had to take a shower. The rest of the kids were eating a snack of apples and....you guessed it....she took hers to the shower with her. Oh my. What will they think of next?
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Quite disturbing.
Last night we were resting in bed before actual bedtime. Silas was in between me and Todd and we were talking. Here's part of the conversation:
Silas: Mom, I was gonna play a trick on you but I decided not to.
Me: Really? What was the trick?
Silas: Well, I found this dried up lizard.
Dried up lizard??!!
Me: Yes. And?
Silas: I took it and squeezed it with my pliars. It was so cool! I squeezed all its guts up to its head. Then they all squirted out.
Ewwww!
Me: Where did you do that?
Silas: In the bathroom.
At this point I recall cleaning some type of gooey substance off of the toilet lid. I thought it was a worm.
Me: Okay. Well, let's do stuff like that outside okay?
Silas: Okay mom. So I was gonna put the lizard on your pillow. I thought it would be funny, but then I decided it probably wasn't a good idea.
My pillow?
Me: Very good job! Great decision buddy. You are right, that would not have been a good thing to do.
Silas: What would have happened?
Me: Mommy would have screamed and then you would have been in trouble. It would not have been worth it. Believe me.
Silas: Oh. So I made a good choice then?
Me: Yes.
Oh my! I am so thankful he had second thoughts.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Silas: Mom, I was gonna play a trick on you but I decided not to.
Me: Really? What was the trick?
Silas: Well, I found this dried up lizard.
Dried up lizard??!!
Me: Yes. And?
Silas: I took it and squeezed it with my pliars. It was so cool! I squeezed all its guts up to its head. Then they all squirted out.
Ewwww!
Me: Where did you do that?
Silas: In the bathroom.
At this point I recall cleaning some type of gooey substance off of the toilet lid. I thought it was a worm.
Me: Okay. Well, let's do stuff like that outside okay?
Silas: Okay mom. So I was gonna put the lizard on your pillow. I thought it would be funny, but then I decided it probably wasn't a good idea.
My pillow?
Me: Very good job! Great decision buddy. You are right, that would not have been a good thing to do.
Silas: What would have happened?
Me: Mommy would have screamed and then you would have been in trouble. It would not have been worth it. Believe me.
Silas: Oh. So I made a good choice then?
Me: Yes.
Oh my! I am so thankful he had second thoughts.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Fun out of the Sun
Our first couple days in Florida were colder than we wanted for the beach. We took advantage of some other great places though.
On Sunday we went to the Floating Chapel. While it wasn't what we would call a real church service it was a fun novelty.
You can see that it was quite windy. So windy in fact that we didn't get to leave the dock! Oh well, it was still fun.
The inside was lovely.
We went for a quick walk at a local park before it closed. The kids got to mess a little in the water. Silas was so excited to collect shells. Once we had been on a few more outings he figured out that they were abundant down there and stopped hoarding them all.
This concludes Part 5 of our Florida trip.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
On Sunday we went to the Floating Chapel. While it wasn't what we would call a real church service it was a fun novelty.
You can see that it was quite windy. So windy in fact that we didn't get to leave the dock! Oh well, it was still fun.
The inside was lovely.
We went for a quick walk at a local park before it closed. The kids got to mess a little in the water. Silas was so excited to collect shells. Once we had been on a few more outings he figured out that they were abundant down there and stopped hoarding them all.
This concludes Part 5 of our Florida trip.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
Groceries!
We needed to head to the grocery store before we could do much else. It's funny, we ended up going to the grocery (several groceries to be exact) at least once a day for the duration of our trip.
As a side note, none of the grocery stores in the area were open past 10:00 p.m. Crazy. I guess it's because most everyone around there is retired and they are all in bed. LOL
We somehow didn't take any pictures of those trips. We probably should have as much as we went!
Great grandma couldn't believe how much food we went through each meal. One day we came home with 28 bananas. We know because she had us count them. They were gone within a couple days. :) She also took pictures of some of our dinners. She could not believe that all that food was for one meal.
I'm hoping to have great pictures in the next post, don't worry.
That concludes part 4 of our Florida trip.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
As a side note, none of the grocery stores in the area were open past 10:00 p.m. Crazy. I guess it's because most everyone around there is retired and they are all in bed. LOL
We somehow didn't take any pictures of those trips. We probably should have as much as we went!
Great grandma couldn't believe how much food we went through each meal. One day we came home with 28 bananas. We know because she had us count them. They were gone within a couple days. :) She also took pictures of some of our dinners. She could not believe that all that food was for one meal.
I'm hoping to have great pictures in the next post, don't worry.
That concludes part 4 of our Florida trip.
Have a blessed day! ~Tammy
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