Unanswered prayers

I drove down a street today that I hadn't been down in years. I drove by our first apartment that Mike and I shared. It is where we lived when we first got married. Then I drove down another street and saw our dream house. 

When we realized our apartment was much too small for a growing toddler and 2 adult AND all our stuff, we started the hard chore of house shopping. I cannot even guess how many houses we looked at. We found our dream house with our dream yard in our price range two blocks from our apartment. It was love at first site. The wife wanted to sell but the husband did not. We learned quickly that the house really wasn't for sale. The husband would not fix anything or lower the price or compromise on anything. Our realtor told us to forget about the house. 

We were bummed that God did not answer our prayers about that house the way we wanted Him to. Driving by that house I thanked God for "unanswered prayers." We call them unanswered prayers but really God answered it by saying, "No. I have something better for you." 

If we had moved into that house, our daughter never would have attended the school that she did. We would not have made the friends that we did. We would not have encountered the people that we were meant to.  Looking back, I'm so glad God said no. 

This summer and fall God said no or wait to lots of my prayers. So many times I angrily questioned His wisdom. (I know how ridiculous that sounds.) I was so sure I knew best. I experienced a lot of heartbreak and frustration. I still can't say I'm thanking God just yet for saying no and/or wait. But seeing that house today gave me hope that in years to come, I'll be able to thank God for His wisdom. 

Secret Agent Birthday Party

Where has the last 5 weeks gone?  I meant to post this right away but life became busy with back to school activities and my wedding anniversary.  This year my baby girl turned 10.  For her birthday, she wanted a Secret Agent Party.  I searched Pinterest and Etsy for ideas. I found the best packet of printables from
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SIMONEmadeit  (I know the link isn't working within my text but I promise that is the correct link, so copy and paste it.  Sorry about that.)

We sent out fun invitations that said for Secret Agent Eyes Only.  We gave each child a new agent name.  Each name was a color and animal.  My daughter was purple monkey.  For the party we referred to all children as their secret agent names.  To get into the party they had to decode the password (It was awesome sauce.) and do a secret handshake. We decorated with finger prints and mustaches. 

First thing they had to do finger prints (this went into their goodie bags to take home.)  The whole party was set up to complete missions to earn a Goodie Bag.  First Mission was a laser maze.  We had the girls hang out in my daughter's room.  To get access to the bag yard they had to go through the laser maze.

Next mission was a tire maze.  Once the girls went through the tires they had to pick a lollipop.  Only one lollipop had the clue to the next mission.  (Later they goofed around with the tires.)

Other missions included finding letters in rice and creating words with those letters, target practice (shooting golf balls off a railing with a nerf gun), and popping balloons and using secret pens to decode a message.  (We were having way too much fun to remember to get photos of each mission.)

In the end everyone received a goodie bag filled a pen that wrote in invisible ink, a notebook (inside my daughter wrote a thank-you note with the special pen),a necklace with a picture of the code name (purple monkey, golden hyena, blue horse), candy, and magnifying glass. 

We also served truth serum (water), pizza, and bombs (cupcakes).

This was by far my favorite birthday party that I did for my daughter. 

First day/week reflection

I started this journal five years ago today! I started this journal as kind of a therapy tool. Blogs hadn't really taken off yet. I just loved to write and wanted a place to do so. Some of my posts are private but most are public. It is a great place for my medical updates, parenting tips, views on current events, etc. 

I posted my first entry on the very difficult day of Gabrielle's first day. I can't believe that was five years ago today! Gabrielle started fifth grade this week. To be honest it was hard walking her to school the first day of fifth grade. I can't believe how much she has grown. I am proud of the person she is growing into. I am proud of her everyday. 

Scavenger Hunt to Summer Fun

I made a scavenger Easter egg hunt for my daughter. She had so much fun and begged for another one. We watch Double Dare on YouTube and are big Amazing Race Fans. So I decided to make her next scavenger hunt have challenges like on those games shows.

The last day of school I picked her up and handed her a note. The note described her mission, which was to find summer. (For this activity summer was a basket from the dollar store filled with summer goodies. More on that later).
In the letter it had a secret deciphering code and a clue to her next clue. At each clue was an activity and a clue to the location of the next clue. We had activities both inside and outside. You could even send them to a neighbor who was willing to be a part of it.
Here are some examples of stations/clues:
This is here reading her about the mission.  (For a top secret mission I just google searched image top secret.  I choose that logo to go on clues and notes.)

 The above picture is her clue that was written backwards.  (That is her concentrating face.)
Below is her eating a frozen whip cream pie.  Under the whip cream was a cool in a sandwich baggie.  The messier the clues the more fun she had. 

 Below is the popped balloons.  All the balloons had a piece of paper in them.  That way she couldn't just shake them to feel if there was a clue inside.  She had to pop to discover a lot of "not it" clues. 

 Below is a sample of clue that she had to decode.  The clues were vague like "back yard" or "mommy's favorite reading spot." 

Below is the messiest, yuckiest clue. I filled a small cooler up with cooked pasta.  I buried letters (from a board game).  She had to find all the letters and then figure out what the letters spelled.  I gave her a spoon but she wanted to get as messy as possible.  The funny part was the letters spelled "clean up".  The next clue was in the bathtub.

Below is a clue at her play house.  The window was covered with paper.  She had to use her homemade sling shot/marshmallow shooter to break the paper down.  I found an easy to make one on pinterest.  

Happy ending to the search.  I bought a laundry basket from the dollar store.  I filled it with items for this summer.  The big items were a tennis racquet and a cheap microscope ($10 at Walmart).  She was taking tennis lessons this summer and needed the racquet.  Most of the items were from the dollar store, like sparklers, sand toys, pool toys, etc.  I am thinking about doing on to mark the start of school.  We have spent the summer doing little obstacle courses and scavenger hunts.  She loves them. 

(PS sorry for the delay in posting this.  The summer just flew by.)

Why I finally caved and made a choir chart

My daughter has had chores for as long as I can remember. When she was a toddler she didn't have assigned chores except to put her toys away.  Instead she helped her parents clean. It might have been something small like putting clean clothes away or helping put groceries away.   As she grew older other chores were assigned such as taking care of the pets. And she would assist me with household chores.

One problem was my daughter wouldn't remember what her choirs where. My hubby and I could tell her over and over. Then randomly she would ask, "do I have chores? What are they?" I added to this problem by just doing them myself while she was at school.

Another problem was I'm a bit OCD with cleaning. I want things done my way (aka the right way lol). She would dust around objects not under them. She would leave streaks on glass. She would load the dishwasher without rinsing dishes first. I had to learn to let go.

That is why I made the chore chart. I found the free printable online. (Search chore chart. I'd love to give a blogger credit but I can't remember where I found it. I'll try to update that later.).  I painted a frame so we can use the chart as a dry erase type.

Now she has her chores in her room. She marks them off when she is finished. We don't pay for chores. We do pay allowance. Part of getting paid allowance is doing your chores without parent nagging.  (To get her allowance she has to keep certain grades, no getting into trouble, etc.)

This is our first week but so far it is going smoothly. My daughter takes after her mom by being a chart/list person. She loves being able to look at a to-do list and mark stuff off. I'm hoping this will keep her on track.

volunteering at your child's school, Why do it?

Let me start by saying I am a stay-at-home mom of one.  I have more open/free time than a lot of other parents.  I know this.  But I often get asked why are you helping out at school so much? Wouldn't you rather be home watching TV or napping or anything?

First of all, when I am at home rarely do I ever nap.  (And when I do it is because I haven't been sleeping well or I am sick.)  I have "jobs" to do at home.  I have furry kids to take care during the day. I don't want to be home "napping" when I can be helping my daughter's school succeed. 

Second of all, I volunteer because I enjoy it.  I would love to say that I am being selfless and volunteering even though I do not like it and get nothing out of it.  I receive plenty of hugs and thank yous.  This is not a sacrifice for me. It should not be for you either.  I get tired of hearing people complain the entire time they are volunteering (anywhere not just as school).  If it is so horrible, then don't do it.

Thirdly, it might not seem like I am doing anything beyond copying and laminating, but what I do is give teachers more time to teach.  If I can help with the little things like making copies or putting together materials for a class project, that frees up some time for the classroom teacher to teach.  They spend a ridiculous amount of time doing things besides teaching. I am not just talking about lesson planning and grading.  They have to go to trainings, have team meetings, plan for special events (like farmers bringing eggs in for the kids to watch hatch), organizing the classroom, counseling the kids with hurt feelings, correcting behavior, answering parent questions, etc..  The list goes on and on.  If I can take some of that off their plate, that gives them just a little bit more time explaining a math problem for the third time in a different way so every kid understands it or teaching a kid to not just read but enjoy reading.  

Lastly I think every parent should volunteer in their kid's school.  Let me explain  before you freak out and say I work full-time or easy for you to say you only have one kid.  Volunteering at your kid's school does NOT have to be a HUGE time commitment.  There are things that need to be done once a month or events that happen once a year, that do not take much time.  And if your next reason is you can never get time off work, there are ways to help after hours or from home.  Also schools have events where they need items bought instead of a time commitment.  For example our PTO does teacher appreciation through out the year.  The PTO decided to do a lunch a few weeks back and provided the sandwiches.  The PTO asked parent volunteers to bring in side dishes or desserts.   If your reason is you don't like kids, then there are jobs for you that don't interact with the kids. (I just don't get people who don't just love being around kids, because it is my passion.)

WAYS TO HELP IN YOUR KID'S SCHOOL
(I know that some of this is localized to my daughter's school, but I bet your school has something to replace it with.  Just ask.) First schools require background checks before you volunteer.  (Or at least they do around here to keep the kids safe.) Start by contacting the school to find out what paperwork you need to complete to help out.

Less of a time commitment (either once a year or a few times a year, not monthly): There are tons of events that happen once or twice each year.  These events put a lot of strain on staff to complete the event.  Here is a list of such events: Kindergarten Registration, Picture Day, Hearing and Vision Screening Day, School wide Carnival or Open House or Class Picnic, Field Trip, Concert, Offer to read a book to your child's class (some teachers do mystery reader events), Ask to demonstrate or teach the kids about something unique you do (Examples would be play an instrument, geocache, farm, whatever.  Talk with the teacher she/he might have a great way to incorporate your talent into the lessons. Kids love this!)



More often:  Library (Even if you pop in to help shelf books the librarian will love you.  Just make sure you know how to shelf first.), Make copies, Laminate, Cut out laminated items, Hang students' projects in classroom or hallway, Reading Buddy, Math games with the kids, Literacy stations, Sort book orders, Entertain kids during inside recess days, Organize or help with a charity event (Toys for Tots, care packages to soldiers, can food for food pantries),  Offer to watch the kids while the teacher takes a much needed bathroom break, Deep clean the room after a virus went around, Organize classroom library, Clean out kids' cubbies or desks, Maintain classroom gardens



Things to donate:
At the start of the school year, teachers are overflowing with tissues and cleaning wipes.  By January (when colds and the flu is going around) they are out.  How do they get more?  They use their own money.  This goes for a lot of classroom items including school supplies for kids who cannot afford them.  If you cannot physically help out at school, considering donating something from the list below.  (Obviously this list is not complete.  Like ways to volunteer I could go on and on about items needed.  When in doubt ask your teacher if she/he needs something. If it is a bigger item team up with some other parents to pool money together.)
-Tissues, Cleaning Wipes, Hand Sanitizer,  Pencils, Crayons, Folders, Markers, Binders, Coffee (for teacher lounge), Snacks (classroom or teacher lounge), Dry Erase Markers, Books, Spare underwear (for little kids and accidents), Tape, Paper clips


I could go on for days about why you should volunteer and ways you can volunteer, but you would probably stop reading.  Trust me there are tons of ways to help.  Just ask.  

(Excuse my run on sentences.  I am having a really bad grammar day.)

interesting quote

I was messing around on pinterest and found an interesting quote.  "People are not against you; they are for themselves."  Immediately I thought of that quote (I can't remember it exactly but this is the gist) "Every hero is a villain in someone else's story.  Every villain is a hero in another story."  I take things personal.  I always have.  I remember being a small child and my mom saying "you wear your heart on your sleeve." I did not know what she meant so I kept looking at my sleeve but couldn't find a heart.  I have been told my whole life that I need to grow thicker skin.  I am just this way.  I am super sensitive and take things personal.  This is a blessing and a curse.  A big pro is that I have great empathy for others.  A HUGE con is that my feelings are often hurt by others who don't mean to.  I am not saying everyone in the world is innocent and have never tried to hurt me.  I am not naive.  I just know that sometimes that I take things the wrong way.  If there is a positive way to take a message or a negative way, I am at fault for almost always taking it the negative way.  As I have gotten older (and hopefully wiser)  I have taken time to reflect on the supposed bad comment and try to put a positive spin on it.  If I can honestly not find a positive spin then I know that I was right in the first place.  Lately I have been feeling under attack in certain areas of my life.  I need to realize that some people are not out to get me.  They are just putting themselves and their needs first (which is something I am bad at, Gabrielle and Mike always are before my needs).