Neighborhood Night Out

We recently had Neighborhood Night Out, and I thought I'd share some pictures.  Even though Daddy is a Fire Captain, fire engines are still pretty cool for the younger kids.  The older kids are So Over them.

I have pictures of all our kids in this same pose in various cities' fire engines over the years.  Actually, a significant number of our family pictures have been taken with fire apparatus.

No, my son isn't wearing shoes.  This neighborhood thing was the sort of event where you open your front door and there everybody is.  I guess he skipped the shoe part.

The kids enjoyed hot dogs and cookies and chips.  Paul made a vat of potato salad to share.

Eli in the police car.  Brianna told me, "You should have seen Jack's face!  He lit up with excitement when the cop car pulled up, and then crumpled when two GIRL cops got out."  LOL!

There's Jack in the jumper.  It was a lovely evening, and our first time really using Luke's wheelchair.  The neighbors were very accepting of him.  I had to walk away with him when the neighborhood captain started sharing news and such with the group, because he was losing it, and I didn't want other people to be unable to hear.

It was really nice getting to meet some of the neighbors I didn't know, and getting to chat with some of the ones I do know.  The family across the street that we car pooled with last year is expecting their exchange student back any day now.  She's from China, and I really liked getting to know her last year.

After being kind of a hermit this summer, it was a good reminder that life exists outside my 4 walls.  And I need to get out and be a part of it again.

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In Perfect Time book review and Kindle GIVEAWAY

Kay is a flirtatious flight nurse during WW2.  Roger is a "good boy" pilot.  They're both decent people, working through the difficult era the best they can.  Kay believes that she's too far gone for God to save, and Roger thinks he can't ask her to give up the house with the picket fence she dreams of to follow a nomadic drummer's lifestyle.  They alternate between friends, enemies, and aloofness until they manage to work things out, but not before dangerous escapades after landing behind enemy lines.

Don't miss Sarah Sundin's hot-off-the-press novel, In Perfect Time. Publishers Weekly gives it an enthusiastic thumbs up: “Sundin excels at well-researched historical detail . . . with such accurate depictions of culture and setting that we are fully immersed in the times as well as in the story. The strength of relationships forged in war and the apprehension of God in times of trouble infuse this well-crafted novel with substance and light.”

Sarah is celebrating the release of her book with a fun giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle HDX
• The Wings of the Nightingale Series (With Every Letter, On Distant Shores, and In Perfect Time)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on August 24th. Winner will be announced August 25th at Sarah's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Sarah's blog on the 25th to see if you won! (Or better yet, subscribe to her blog and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox!)

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When I Fall In Love book review and Kitchen Aid Mixer GIVEAWAY

Susan May Warren does an amazing job of creating 3 dimensional, likable characters.  I reviewed It Had To Be You earlier this year, and was sucked into the storyline and thrilled to discover that it was part of a series. When I Fall in Love was just as intense, as we find out what happens to more of the Christiansen family, and meet new characters.

Set both in Hawaii and in Minnesota, the story centers mainly around Grace, a shy girl, and Max, a celebrity hockey player... with a secret.  They go from strangers to classmates at a culinary school, to a team competing in Honolulu Chop, a cooking competition.

Back in Minnesota, we meet Raina, who I am gussing will be the focus of an upcoming book, as her story leaves off with a bit of a cliffhanger in this one.  Raina tangles with one of the Christiansen brothers--only to discover he was the wrong one for her.  By the time she figures out that she likes Casper, things are... complicated.

Susan May Warren's newest book in the Christiansen Family Collection, When I Fall In Love,  has won over readers' and critics' hearts alike. With critical reviews like, ". . . an exquisite romance. Profoundly touching on the topic of facing fears, this book is a true gem," and more than 60 five-star reviews at Amazon, When I Fall in Love is sure to please.

Susan has teamed up with some amazing food bloggers for a fun food challenge and a KitchenAid Mixer giveaway!

  One grand prize winner will receive:

• A KitchenAid Mixer
• The first three books in the Christiansen Family Collection.
• Melissa Ringstaff’s Kitchen Planner
• Jackie Brown's Freezer Inventory sheet

Grab your aprons and wire whisks and buzz on over to the When I Fall in Love website to learn more and enter the Hawaiian Chef Showdown! Susan is challenging you to make a Hawaiian-inspired dish using coconut, mango, or one of the other ingredients mentioned in the book. You’ll get extra points for creating your own recipe—plus she might share it on the When I Fall in Love site! Or if you're not up for an adventure in the kitchen just click one of the icons below for easy entry.

Hurry, the giveaway ends on August 10th. All winners will be announced August 13th at Susan's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Susan's blog on the 13th to see if you won!

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Creating a Medical and/or Education Binder for your Special Needs Child

As Luke prepares to "graduate" from Early Intervention, I'd like to share with you something that EI taught me.  In the flurry of paperwork and assessments, one of the EI crew handed me a binder.  This has literally become indispensable to us.

When we received the binder, it contained a Business Card Page, a set of dividers, and a bunch of information.  As the dust settled a little bit, I went through the info.  Much of it is available online, so I took those pages out.  The Welcome To Holland poem, I rolled my eyes at, crumpled up and threw away.  This is not Holland.  There are no tulips or cute wooden clogs here.

But the concept of the binder made sense to me, and I eventually tailored it to our needs.  Here's how we've made it work.

First, it's a View Binder, so I printed a page for the front cover.  Really original, right?  The back cover, I often slip a list of reminders for the next doctor's appointment into.

Inside are the front and back pockets, used to bring handouts home, hold the MIND Institute parking pass, carry forms to appointments, and keep papers that haven't been hole-punched and put away yet.
The business card page has been very helpful.  I can figure out at a glance who we saw at a given location, or what the name of our wheelchair guy is.  Handy to have those phone numbers at my fingertips, too.

Behind that, we have a picture page.  When I took the binder to Luke's Transition Meeting at the school district in March, there were people there who had never met Luke.  When I opened the binder and someone asked to see the picture, this was a natural way of showing it around so they'd have a face to put to the name.  I think sometimes when they do dozens of these meetings, the actual student gets lost in the shuffle.  This seemed to personalize him for them.

I have post it's on some of the tabs to keep track of additional information.

Paul has taken over Luke's doctor appointments recently, and he takes the binder with him.  This is especially helpful when meeting a new specialist, who might say, "Well, has he had XYZ test run?" and we can flip to Test Results and say, "Yes, and that came back within normal parameters."  It also keeps the after visit summary and any handouts in one place, so they're less likely to get lost on the way home.

I'm sure the tab names will change over time (I'm thinking we need one for insurance issues) but you get the general idea.  Having a binder with all this important information means I'm not relying on my faulty memory.

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My Chord Friendship Bracelet Maker

We received the My Chord Friendship Bracelet Maker to review.  Brianna has reviewed for this company before (and here, too), so we were excited to be chosen for another kit.

The guitar shaped kit has a drawer in the side, which holds an assortment of colored satin cord.  

It comes with instructions for making different styles of bracelets.

We happened to have some additional satin cord around the house, so Brianna had even more colors to work with.

For this particular bracelet, she's doing a knot Eli uses on his paracord bracelets.  

Pull

 Nice and tight

I liked the feel of the satin cord bracelets better than the duct tape ones she's been making with her friend, and even better than the plastic bracelets or rubber band bracelets she's done recently.

They would also make fun key fobs.  You can see from the ones she's done here, the potential for variety is huge, depending on color choices and pattern selection.  Check out My Chord Friendship Bracelet Maker and the other great products The Friendship Factory Store has to offer!


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Happy National Breastfeeding Week!

Although I'm not currently nursing, I did spend a significant chunk of my life doing so.  Roughly 10 years, as a matter of fact!  I still remember what a precious thing breastfeeding can be.

As an adoptive mom, there were times when I wished my toddlers were nurslings because it would be so much easier to comfort them.

I know you get all kinds of advice as a breastfeeding mama.  And much of it is good advice.  Rest when you can, stay hydrated, savor these moments.

If I could give you one more piece of advice, it would be... have someone take photos of you nursing.  These years go by so fast, and you'll want to look back and remember.


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Dial Body Wash GIVEAWAY

Dial has a new line of Coconut Water products!  Liquid hand soap, glycerin bar soap, and two scents of body wash!  We received the Refreshing Mango body wash to try out, and Brianna immediately claimed it.  Longtime readers may remember that Brianna enjoyed trying another Dial body wash earlier this year.

So what did she have to say about this one?  "Mmm, coconut!  It smells yummy!"  When asked for more details, she told me that the texture is gel like, which she liked even better than the creamy body wash she was using.  But don't just take her word for it.  Enter to win your own bottle of Coconut Water body wash!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can keep up with all the latest news about Dial products on their Facebook page!

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Back To Homeschool Tips

Take Inventory
This morning, one of my kids needed some time to cool off, so I sat down and did some flash cards with them.  (The unspoken message there being, "I'll help you regulate yourself if you need it, but next time, you might want to try a little harder on your own.")  The flash cards were a spur of the moment inspiration, but it reminded me to think about what we already have.

It doesn't have to be a clipboard-in-hand, official inventory, but it's a good idea to go through your shelves and refresh your memory about what's there.  Sometimes I discover that what was a flop with one child, several years ago, will be just perfect with another child now.

Be Realistic
I've had years where we start off learning not only Math, English, Social Studies, Science, and Spelling, but also Bible, Latin, Botany, Art, etc etc etc.  There's nothing wrong with any of the extra subjects, of course, but if I bite off more than I can chew, I end up cranky, and feeling like a failure when we're barely squeaking by in the basics by the end of the year.

If you want to take on something extra, give yourself permission to go slowly through the material, taking as long as you need to finish it.  If a "semester" course takes a year for your 10 year old to get through, I can assure you that they'll have a much better grasp of the subject than if you try to plow through it for a month and then give up and quit.  (The exception to this is high school, where rules are a bit stricter.)

Don't Force It
Conversely from the above point, if a program or a subject is just not working for a specific child or for you or your family, it's okay to quit or change.  You don't have to do Latin.  You do have to do math, but you don't have to use the program everybody hates any more.  Try something else and see if a fresh approach makes a difference.  I discovered last year that Eli prefers to do his math on the computer, and Jack prefers a book.  It's all good.

Be Prepared
It's not just Girl Scouts that need this handy motto, it's moms, too, and homeschool moms in particular.  Now is the time to firm up curriculum plans and place those orders!  (No one likes to start school without a crucial piece of curriculum.)  Hopefully, you took advantage of the sales in July to restock any school supplies you were running low on.  Get out that fresh new planner (or make your own) and figure out the first couple of weeks worth of lessons.  You can tweak things later as you go, but having the beginning planned will help you have an answer when one of your students wants to know what they're supposed to be doing next.

Be intentional about outside committments
In the early years of my children's schooling, I tended to pendulum between signing them up for Art! Soccer! Cooking! Spanish! Playgroup! Swimming! Choir! and whatever else I could manage; and getting overwhelmed and being a hermit.  It's important to find balance.  The key is spending some time thinking/praying/discussing with your spouse.

Something that I realized recently is that I really want Hannah in AWANA this year.  We used to do AWANA when the big kids were little, but have taken the last several years off.  However, when it occurred to me that 1) she's in public school, and 2) the church we've been visiting doesn't have a children's program, I strongly felt that AWANA would fill a need for us.  It's important to our family that the kids learn Bible stories and Christian values from a young age.  She's the only one of the kids that doesn't have that coming from school or church.

Extracurricular activities can be a positive supplement to your homeschool, or they can be a millstone around your neck, so choose carefully.

Make It Special
We don't have a whole lot of First Day traditions, but I do like to record the kids' height and weight and hand print most years.  Some First Days we've gone out for donuts after dropping the school kids off.  Some First Days we've had special new supplies.  Last year, I got Brianna, Eli, and Jack personalized pencils and gave them to the kids on the first day of school.  This year, my boys will be getting new homeschool t-shirts and different special pencils on the first day.  It doesn't have to be a huge Pinterest inspired project to make the first day say, "We're going to have a great year together!  I'm so glad I get to be your teacher."

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar outfit

When I saw the Very Hungry Caterpillar shirt on zulily.com I couldn't resist getting for Hannah.  It showed up while I was making Hannah's panda skirt, and I was inspired to make a caterpillar skirt to go with it.

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have caught the picture I posted when the skirt was almost done.  I ran out of green ric rac on the hem and had to get some more to finish it.

I happened to have some Hungry Caterpillar ribbon on hand from a co op, so I made a bow to go with the outfit.

Hannah wore it to school this week.  Now that she's been back in school for 2 weeks, we're starting to get into a routine.  Hannah loves school, and she's happy to be back with her friends from last year.  As I try to help her with her homework, I realize Paul was right to insist that she stay in school.  I just don't have the patience to homeschool her right now.

I also recently made Hannah a couple summer PJ sets.

I realized while working on this project that I bought this fabric the year Hannah was born.  I think it was time to cut into it!

Hannah was late for school today because we were up at Shriners this morning.  Hannah and Katie both got new feet on their prosthetic legs.

I have some more projects going in the sewing room that I can't wait to share with you when they're done!  It feels good to carve out some time to create again.  I love seeing my kids wear what I've made for them.  I even like seeing things I've made go through the laundry.  It makes me smile.

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