Bless Me - A Child's Bedtime Book

It was time to do some sorting through the books in our home library. I continue to add books here are there for the boys. It's So easy to add things to our home than to remove things, even when it is their time to leave.

This book was one of Ryan's favorite bedtime stories for a long time. He no longer requests it, he has gotten a little old for it, and we certainly have lots of other books for him to choose from. However, I couldn't say good-bye to this book completely before recording the poem for me to read over some time down the road when I am feeling sentimental. I will have to rely on memory to supply the illustrations as I read through it.

Bless Me
by Grace Maccarone and Sam Williams

Bless the moon
Bless the stars
Bless my night-light
Bless my cars
Bless my trucks
Bless my chairs
Bless my table
Bless my bears
Bless my bunny
Bless my mouse
Bless the family in its house
Bless my pillow
Bless my bed
Bless me, too, from toes to head
Bless the water, earth, and air
Bless the children everywhere!

D is For Dinosaur

Since Ryan was not old enough to attend Florida's Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) and I did not want to pay to enroll him in private preschool, I was happy to join with five other moms from church in what you could call a preschool co-op. The six of us take turns teaching preschool for a little over two hours every Monday.

My friend Angie (the same Angie who has done a fantastic job organizing our weekly playgroups) got our preschool organized. She set up a schedule for us to follow in terms of what the main subject would be each week and what letter we would be teaching. She also gave us an outline to follow for the day's activities. Yesterday was my turn to teach. I have been gathering ideas since our first meeting and was looking forward to introducing the Letter of the Day, "D", and the Word of the Day, "Dinosaurs".

The day moved along very quickly. We only spend about 15-20 minutes on each activity. I was glad that I was fairly organized before my teaching day, but I still wished that I had been more organized in some areas. Fortunately, I have another six weeks to prepare my next lesson.

I let the kids have some free play while everyone was showing up (and while I was gathering the last of my things together). When everyone was there, we started with circle time.

Circle time started out with the pledge of allegiance. This photo was taken after the pledge was over. Ryan was trying to straighten the flag out a little. I did make sure that all of the kids had their right hand over their heart, but it looks Charity switched hands when I wasn't looking.

We also reviewed our calendar. We talked about what month it was and counted, adding leaves for the last week, until we reached 29. [Mason looks on while Claire does some counting for us.]

To help introduce our word of the day, "dinosaurs", the kids searched for some little dinosaur skeleton pieces that Ryan had "hidden" for me. Then I had them split into two groups and try to fit the pieces together. The individuals in both groups examined their pieces, then asked me to finish putting them together correctly. [Ryan tries to offer advice to Charity and Amber who are examining their skeleton pieces.]

After circle time, we had a little craft activity. I had precut the letter "D" out of construction paper, as well as some triangles and a funny looking set of teeth for each kid. They glued on the triangular "scales" and the teeth to make their own dinosaur D. I thought that was a fairly successful activity. [Claire, Amber, and Makayla are hard at work creating their dinosaurs.]

We left the D's on the tables to dry and went back inside for some storytime. We specifically read some books about dinosaurs to prepare us for our next activity: digging for fossils. I had caulked the shapes of a dinosaur and a bone on pieces of wood. I put the fossil-covered wood in a little tray and covered it with sand. (Green was the best color I could find at Walmart on Saturday night. They were out of white.) I gave each of the kids a sand toy and a brush for the them to uncover their dinosaur fossil. The kids seems to enjoy it and I was pleasantly surprised that it was not too messy (considering that these are preschoolers). I was happy that it was outside, and that we could just leave it as is when we were done and didn't have to worry about cleaning it all up right away.

We went inside and I individually washed everyone's hands. (I knew we would be having snack soon and wanted to be sure that there wasn't any sand left anywhere.) We sat down again for a little more storytime, this time with some stories about the letter of the day. We had a successful storytime activity (no photos) with the book "Little d". I had scanned pictures in the book, had printed them on card stock, and cut them out. I passed out 2-3 pictures of items that started with the letter "d" around to each child. As I read the story they were supposed to identify their picture and tape it to a dry-erase board I was holding. After the story, we reviewed all of things we found that started with the letter "d".

After another story we were ready for snack. I served deviled "dinosaur" eggs, dinosaur-shaped peanut butter sandwiches (thanks to a nifty sandwich cutter I bought at the grocery store for $1.99--totally worth it; my boys love it.), and some chocolate graham crackers. (I ran out of time and wasn't able to make my dinosaur- and bone-shaped sugar cookies.)

We cleaned up snack and stayed at the tables for some writing practice. I had printed out some good worksheets online for the kids to trace the letter "d" and practice writing. Unfortunately, between cleaning up the food and tables, bringing out the crayons and pencils, and passing out the worksheets, I found it difficult to go around and show them one-by-one how to write the letters. So it ended up being more of a free-for-all coloring time. I'll try better next time.

The last 15 minutes were a little crazy. We had gone back inside, and I played some music that I had picked out for the day--some fun songs, and some "learning" ones. We listened and danced to the Sesame Street "D" song performed by Ernie. (This is a lesser-known song, but surely you have heard the "C is for Cookie" song performed by Cookie Monster.) I also played a LeapFrog song called "All the Colors of the Rainbow." I gave each of the kids a different colored Lego for them to hold up when their color was called. Basically, almost all of them just held their Lego and looked at me like I was crazy. I got interrupted from my music time by a bathroom break and from that point on, most of our structure was gone. Fortunately, it was only about 5 minutes before the moms were going to be showing up, so I just let the kids listen to our "Dino Train" book on CD (a favorite of Todd's and Ryan's), or look through some of the books I had out for them on the floor.

Despite the fact that it felt a little crazy, I still think it was a successful day. I am already started to think of ideas for my next lesson: the letter "J".

Homework, Cooler Weather, and Competition

Homework
This is the follow up to Todd's sick day post. Todd ended up being out of school for three days. I had hoped that he would be well enough to go to school on Friday, but he was up most of the night (Thursday night) coughing. When he went to school on Monday I sent a note to the teacher explaining his absences and said to feel free to send home any work she wanted me to go over with Todd at home. We spent all of Monday afternoon and early evening finishing his "homework." It was all easy stuff, and Todd was a great sport about it. If anything, it was more one-on-one time than he usually gets with me in the evening. However, I am not looking forward to when homework becomes a daily chore.

Sometimes Todd still doesn't seem like his body has fully recuperated. Not that he has a temperature or a constant cough and runny nose. He just seems to get tired out more easily in the evenings. Tonight he had to be sent to his room for a little quiet time. I can see it, but he doesn't recognize that his body is still a little worn down.

I am still having him take his breathing treatments twice a day until I am sure that he is back to normal. He has been protesting the medicine the last two days, because he doesn't consider himself sick. I am hoping that this doesn't become a battle this winter when he needs to take his breathing medicine every day to treat his "asthma-like symptoms". A summer with no problems has made him forget that sometimes we use the medicine to assist in treating a cold, but we also use it at times (colder winter weather) to help prevent the coughing fits he is prone to when he is off the medicine. This all still feels new to me as I adjust to caring for someone who needs regular treatment for a (comparatively very minor--thank goodness) chronic health concern.

Cooler Weather
I was so excited this week when I was able to open the sliding glass doors for the first time since Spring. We set up Play-Do on the craft table in the screened porch for Ryan. No more reminding, "Shut the door!" I enjoyed some time finishing my book outside and playing basketball with Ryan. And yesterday we had an absolutely lovely day at the park with our church playgroup friends.



Competition
One reason (among many) why I find it harder to spend much time on the computer these days: as soon as I sit down during the day at the computer one or two little boys will immediately ask, "Can I play on the computer?" They have become quite adept at controlling the mouse and figuring out how to play the activities on their favorite web sites (Thomas and Playhouse Disney). They do a pretty good job taking turns when I use the timer, but I still need to monitor them closely so they don't get glued to the screen. I am looking forward to having a system at home where they will be able to earn the privilege to play on the computer for a set amount of time according to the chores they have completed. Coming soon!

Born For Glory

I just finished one of the books in my read-and-pass-along stack, Stranger at Stonewycke. I received it as a gift, and I don't think that the giver realized that this book was the first book in the second trilogy about a family in Scotland, heirs of an ancient castle named Stonewycke. It is an Inspirational (Christian) fiction and is a little cheesy, but was still a diverting, easy read.

The lead male character learns more about his great-great-uncle Digory who had been a groom at the estate. The Lady of Stonewycke admired this man and spoke of him with respect.

"He was not a man of many words or great intellect. But he lived what he believed, and I think it shaped me as a child more than anything else in my life. . . . Digory couldn't help what he did. He was not trying to foist anything off on me. Just being around him was a learning experience. Sometimes he didn't have to say a word. You could see in the way he treated the animals, or in that glowing peace which was always in his eyes, that there was a difference in him not found in the average man. So many in our station of life look down on what they call the common man. But often real commonness lies in those the world counts greater. True nobility is a matter of the heart, Logan. And I can tell you, your uncle Digory was no common man. He was a true aristocrat. When he spoke, every word possessed substance and came from a heart of love." (Italics added)

Similarly, the lead female, after experiencing a change of heart, reflected on what made her own father a great man.

"Such thoughts reminded Allison of the boundless love in his nature that more than equalled his energy, and his hearty laughter, and his capacity to make friends with everyone. She had not allowed herself to notice such qualities of his character before, qualities which made of him no common man indeed, but rather a great one. How much she had missed!"

I really liked these paragraphs and what they said about the things that make a great man. I didn't think much more about it until a day later when Ryan asked me about a magnet on my refrigerator. He asked me what it said. It was one I received after a lesson in Relief Society; it reads, "You were born for glory."

Certainly, I have heard this message countless times as I have grown up. I am a child of God. I am an individual with unique gifts and am important in the eyes of the Lord. He will bless me more than I can imagine as I live faithfully and continue to put Him first in my life. I have also been taught about those individuals who were not great in themselves, but who were able to accomplish great things because they followed the Lord and did what He needed them to. Queen Esther was a great example of a woman in the scriptures who courageously stood up for what was right and saved a nation.

However, thinking about what I had read and about the words on the magnet gave me another chance to think about this principle. I don't need to save a nation to be a great woman. In fact, because I don't think that I ever will have to do that, the words had not sunk in and become personal to me. Rather, realizing that greatness can and often does occur with those who are considered common was eye-opening to me.

It should not have been a surprise. After all, our greatest teacher, Jesus Christ, spent his life in service. And though he was the Only Begotten Son of our Heavenly Father, he was not above washing the feet of his friends. However, because he did so much more than that I think I forgot that I can be great in my own small way by living as a righteous daughter of God.

These thoughts were followed by an experience I had yesterday afternoon. Ryan and I went to eat at Danny's Fried Chicken. I let Ryan pick the table, and we ended up sitting right next to a woman who was eating alone. I saw her look over at us a few times, but didn't think too much of it. (Who can resist watching an adorable little boy?) When she had just about finished her lunch she started up a conversation with us, saying that Ryan looked like a sweet boy and it looked like we had a good relationship.

I had never thought about our "relationship" before. I sometimes worry about what our relationship will be when the boys become teenagers, but talking and spending time with my little boys has been easy. However, I could tell that the woman's words were sincere, and they hinted at a little sadness and regret in her own life. I did not think much of what I was doing that would impress this woman. Ryan and I had just spent our lunch chatting and sometimes cuddling because the restaurant was a little cold, but I also had to remind him to sit on his bottom and eat his food a few times during the course of our meal.

The woman had told me that I was a good mother. It surprised me that such a common experience--watching a mother eat lunch with her little boy--could leave such an impression on a stranger. But it brought home the lesson I was meant to learn this week. In those everyday interactions that I have with my children, my family, and my friends, great things can be accomplished as my actions and words are filled with love and follow the example of my Savior.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

Poetry and Comparisons

I know it's not good to compare ourselves with others, but sometimes I can't help it. I think we're all guilty of it at times. I don't try to compare myself with others to prove my superiority over others or to be judgemental. Nor do I compare myself with others to the detriment of my own self-esteem. In fact, sometimes when I compare myself with others I see ways that I can improve and am encouraged by those I admire--or rather by those whose qualities I admire.

This is true as I read about mothers who do a great job of making a happy home life for their families and who are creative and artistic in the process.

One such mother is Stephanie Nielson, a mother whose blog I started following a few months ago. She was in a plane crash about a month ago, along with her husband, and suffered serious injuries. I miss reading her posts, but have been uplifted and amazed at how many people she influenced for good. Her sister has been helping to take care of Stephanie's children and has been a great example through her blog as well. Both of these women seem to make a point to make good things happen for their children.

We had a nice day at home. All were generally happy. No one had a time out today. The children were fed and bathed. The boys have plenty of toys to play with and plenty of space to play in, and they seemed to enjoy playing to their fullest today. But aside from letting them help me fill up the birdfeeders and bringing the Fisher Price Little People Noah's Ark and school bus down from the attic, what did I do to make it a special day? . . . Nothing. With the exception of our 10-minute scripture time this morning, I didn't even read to them! I wish that I had that knack of taking a few minutes out of my chores-and-to-do-list time to focus on doing something with them. I know that it doesn't take much, and the more I read about what things others are able to do, the more I am encouraged that I should be doing the same.

On the other hand, I watched Nanny 911 for the first time today. My sister-in-law is gone for the night and asked me to come by to take care of Dixie. I thought I would enjoy a few minutes to myself flipping channels and got stuck watching. So, even though I had Brett finish up with the last 10-minutes of the bedtime routine tonight because I was kind of worn out [read: didn't even kiss my kids goodnight(!)], after watching the two families featured on the Nanny 911 show I was feeling like the Best Mom in Town!
Note: I'm not anxious to watch the show again. Yikes! I actually found it kind of depressing and very frustrating at the same time. And, rest assured, I will be stopping by the boys' rooms on my way to bed (as I always do) to give them their goodnight kisses.

Finals results after comparing myself to others: I may not be Stephanie Nielson, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job in the long run.

And speaking of being creative, this almost sounded like poetry (albeit depressing poetry) when it left my lips this afternoon as I hand-picked clumps of hair off the carpet. Be sure to compare this with the poetry of a two-year old rather than that of someone who actually has talent.

Dog hair
Dog hair
Dog hair
I'm so sick of it!

Diary Of Our Sick Day

Todd started coming down with a fever last night a little before bedtime. He had been acting a little tired after school on Tuesday, but I figured that's all it was--a little worn out from a long day at school. Around midnight last night when I was on my way to bed, my suspicions were confirmed: Todd was sick. He had a fever and I ended up giving him some medicine to help bring it down so he could sleep. I knew that that we would be having our first sick day--Todd wouldn't be going to school in the morning. Unfortunately, Todd woke up quite early in the morning after the medicine wore off, and I was feeling like I was in need of a sick day myself.

Ryan woke up quite chipper and excited that he had Todd home to play with all day. From my cozy bed it sounded like Ryan was bouncing off the walls, and he didn't quite understand that both Todd and Mommy could have used a little more sleep. Todd ended up crawling into bed with me and even asked to borrow my eye mask to help him sleep better. (I don't think it worked, but it's fun to wear anyway.)


Todd definitely did not have his usual energy, and spent most of the day doing quiet activities like taking care of his virtual pet. (For once, his little puppy got some attention! I'll try to post more about that later.) Ryan, on the other hand had plenty of energy. Here, Ryan acts like a frog. (Sorry for the bad photo. Remember, I'm still using that broken camera.)

Todd who took a little downhill turn (101.8), moves to the couch for a rest while Ryan works on an art project. Finally, Mommy let him do painting!

We still talk to Todd and include him in our conversation (or rather, Todd is the one who really keeps the conversation going--that boy can talk!) as Ryan and I make Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins for lunch. (I didn't get motivated to make them for breakfast this morning. The boys requested cold cereal, and I gladly complied.)

I asked Ryan to clean up the ice cubes he spilled all over the floor. . . . but I was really thinking a towel might be the easiest way to pick them up. Ryan, however, thinks acting like a dog is more fun. Let's hope that floor isn't too nasty.

Poor Todd! He snuggles with the ice pack. Ryan makes an interesting bed in a cave.

This is, by far, my most favorite photo of the day. Despite feeling pretty bad and sticking to the couch for a while, Todd is still enthusiastic in his conversations with Ryan. And Ryan still finds ways to have fun and stick close to Todd.

I gave Todd some more medicine before lunch. He was able to get some nourishment in his body and take a decent nap. Even better, Ryan went down without any problems as well. He has not been taking many naps these days, and I was worried that he might not have expended enough energy staying home to nap today. Unfortunately, I missed my opportunity to take a nap with them.

Despite the fact that Todd was feeling bad (and I would never wish that on him), I enjoyed having a lazy at day at home with both my boys. I think they enjoyed the relaxed schedule as well. From the looks of it, we'll be able to repeat it again tomorrow! Todd just woke up a bit ago (11:00pm-ish) feeling bad again. Even if his fever is down in the morning, he doesn't need to be going to school yet. Let's hope he's able to go on Friday. It's school picture day.

Loving It All

Mom: [Looking over at her adorable little boy sitting on the child's play table] Ryan, do I love you?
Ryan: [Smiling back, enjoying this conversation] Yes. . . .
Mom: But just a little bit, right?
Ryan: No--all.

That's right, Ryan. I love all of you.

The Color of Fire

More dialogue from this morning.
Ryan: [Holding up a neon yellow crayon] Mom, can I paint my room this color?
Mom: Mmmm, I don't think so.
Ryan: Oooh! No, not that color. How about black?
Mom: I don't think we'll be painting your room for a few more years.

A little while later
Ryan: [Still coloring and playing with crayons] Mom, what color is fire?
Mom: Fire has many different colors, but mostly red and orange.
Ryan: Yeah! Mom, can you paint my room red and orange? Can you paint my room like fire?

Ryan's "Friend" Birthday Party

I think I have finally convinced Brett of the importance of having two birthday celebrations: one for the family and one for friends of the birthday honoree. If your schedule prohibits having either of those celebrations from occurring on the actual birthday, then yes, you will have three days of partying in honor of your birthday! This is how we did it growing up and this is normal to me.

I have gone easy on the birthday celebrations lately--a little too easy. I should really plan ahead a little better, especially when it comes to setting the date and time and sending out invitations. Instead, I called a few friends about two days beforehand and asked if they would be interested in coming over for a playdate in honor of Ryan's birthday (Ms. Manners I am not). That was my main objective: let Ryan have some fun playing with his buddies, seeing that he's so lonely these days without Todd around. I didn't want to make a big deal, but let's just call it what it is--a party! Maybe I'll learn from this and do better for Todd's birthday by sending out invitations and blowing up some balloons.

I did try to keep it small, only inviting four other families. That doesn't sound like much, but when you add it up we had nine little kids (most of them boys) running around.
Things were so casual that I didn't even stress about the fact that the cake toppled over. At least I had already taken my official photo.

I didn't have enough little chairs to go around. No worries-the kids can share...

or just stand up...

I could have been a better and more organized hostess, but at least everyone seemed to have a good time.

Funniest thing said at the party:

Logan, our next door neighbor, came in through the back porch where Wyatt was playing basketball alone. Logan excitedly asks, "Did Ryan get a baby for his birthday??"

If only it were that easy!

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

A Birthday Song in Honor of Ryan

I hesitate to share this, but I figure--why not? Isn't this what the Internet (or at least the blogging community) has come to--sharing your life through your amateur writing, photography, and film directing, acting, singing, or performing?

One of the books in my Dr. Seuss collection is "The Cat in the Hat Songbook." Though I have owned the book for quite some time, I had never attempted to play through the songs before. The boys and I came across it a few months ago, and at their request I tried learning some of the songs. They are silly songs, a little melodramatic, and very fun to sing. One of my favorites is "Happy Birthday to Little Sally Spingel Spungel Sporn." I sang it to Ryan in honor of his birthday, and though you can't tell in this video (because it was about the tenth time he heard it that day) Ryan really enjoyed sitting with me and sometimes joined in. I think my mom would appreciate this music if no one else would.

The camera was set up on a tripod. Todd's job was to press the big button to start and end the filming. However, he decided to get a little more involved in the directing, which created an interesting effect.

I felt like I sounded better when I was singing than I actually do. I sense that my voice is a little too sweet and not dramatic, silly, or funny enough. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope I don't embarrass myself too much in the sharing.