Butt.

Some boys never grow up. My husband is one of them. 

Eric is attending a big-deal-professional Radiation Oncology Conference in San Antonio to present his research. I have gotten the photo-documentation I anticipated of him at the podium for his verbal presentation, him beside his poster, and him out to dinner with his fellow docs. 

This, gem, however, was a complete surprise. 

Butt.

Snicker. 

A THIRD of a Century...almost?

Today I turn 33. I know that technically I won't be a third of a century until four months from now---and believe me, we are indeed considering having a small celebration in January JUST to commemorate that significant time!---but I can't help but think it strange. A century sounds forever long, and associating myself with a century, even in a 1/3 fraction, makes me feel...like I am pushing towards ancient. Which is NOT how I feel! I am young and energetic, full of zest for life! So TAKE THAT, you ancient century! Keep your oldness to yourself, why don'cha!

To celebrate the proliferation of threes, here are the top 3 reasons I'm grateful to have been born 33 years ago:

1. my family. I have wonderfully forgiving parents, amazing siblings, the cutest nieces and nephews, and incredibly supportive in-laws! Eric, when I was young and imagining what marriage would be like, I could not possibly have conjured up for myself a more idyllic spouse, best friend, partner-in-everything that you are to me. I absolutely cannot imagine being this happy with anyone else. And our beautiful, precocious children! Man, sometimes I'm overwhelmed with their amazing spirits and ever so humbled to be entrusted with raising them. I love, love, LOVE my little ones! How grateful I am for an eternal family!

2. learning. I love to grow, to progress. I know that is part of Heavenly Father's eternal plan for us, and I'm so grateful for that eternal truth which has and will continue to shape my life. I LOVE learning new things, all KINDS of things, and I am so incredibly grateful to have been born NOW when the gospel is available in its fullness AND when women are afforded so much priceless freedom to learn and grow. I am grateful for a mind that can expand, to think and ponder and to synthesize and create new ideas. Learning for me is definitely tied to scripture, books, and education, but it expands beyond that too. I see sewing, culinary experiments, and painting as extensions of the mind's capacity to grow and create. How grateful I am for education.

  

3. beauty. Oh what a beautiful world. In July I enjoyed the ocean for the 2nd time in my life. It was a splendid day. A day of wonder and contentment surrounded by God's creation. Truly so much beauty in His handiwork. Colors in my garden, an oil painting, or the eyes of my little ones. Music from the throats of birds, evening crickets, piano and orchestra, wind, or clear voices (Josh Groban, Sissel, Hayley Westenra. If you know those names, you know their voices touch something in the soul). Textures and patterns in fabrics or dishes from around the world. Feelings of strength and litheness when I dance--- even though I'd never win a contest for my dancing--- it is the FEELING that is beautiful, which is why I LOVE to dance. How truly grateful I am for beauty, for this beautiful life I am blessed to live. 

Do I feel 1/3 of a century OLD? Absolutely not. I believe that being full of learning, life, and love cultivates beauty IN ME. And therefore, I must not be aging at all. Forever young. :)

Been Livin it Up!!!

"Where have you BEEN all summer?" you ask... my answer is, "LIVING!"

I can't believe we've only got a week of summer left. This time has truly sped by! Perhaps it is because we have seen so much growth, learning, completed projects, and a healthy dose of fun?

Emmett went from scooting in an army crawl...to full on crawl...to pulling himself up and toddling his first steps with a walker! He's in the "troublemaker" phase of life and we LOVE it!

Caroline went from crazy athletic bundle of energy to a crazy athletic bundle of energy who is pretty much ready for preschool (she has been working on her letter recognition and early reading) and she is looking so grown up in her FIRST haircut ever!

Gwen went from being scared to put her face in the water to swimming like a fish (actually, she insists she swims like a mermaid) and trying to see how long she can stay underwater. She also went from a toddler bike (her gangly legs were WAY to long for it) to getting a big 20 inch bike that she can balance on up and down hills without training wheels! (We haven't put the pedals on yet, so can't officially say she rides a bike... yet). She's really excited to start 1st grade and show off her reading and math skills that she's been honing with daddy all summer! 

Both girls also learned a few sewing skills this summer. From small hand-stitched pillows to mini quilts...but the crowning achievement was definitely Gwen's completed cute little bag! Yes, she sewed that herself! (I helped with the cutting, ironing, and turning it right side out. whew getting the whole bag through that tube was a chore, I tell ya!)

As a family, we took a trip to Virginia for a Hart family reunion---  we experienced the Atlantic Ocean for the first time!

  So here's to a great summer, as it begins its departure. The Ohio Allans have definitely enjoyed it! 

Scripture Study for Kids-- Developing Independent Habits While Keeping it Fun

I love the word of God because it guides me closer to the WORD of God, my Savior Jesus Christ. Want to know something amazing? My little 6 1/2 year old girl LOVES her Savior too! She tries so hard to follow Him-- her relationship with her sister being her thorn in the flesh, I'd say-- and is eagerly anticipating her baptism in a year and a half (in our faith, children are not baptized until they turn 8-- an age of accountability and conscious choice). I wanted to do something for her to strengthen her developing relationship with Christ. Knowing how pivotal the scriptures have been in my continuing conversion, I thought it appropriate to encourage her in the same direction.

Our plan is to give her a nice, leather-bound copy of the scriptures when she turns 8 as a baptism present. And I thought, 'wouldn't it be wonderful if she already knows how to mark verses properly and is familiar with where each 'book' can be located and maybe even knows where her favorite scripture stories can be found?'...and then I stumbled upon Latter-Day Homeschooling and Dana's post about a scripture study plan for young children... and I was so very inspired and excited to do something like this, tailored just for Gwen!

(image from Latter-Day Homeschooling blog)

I hit the jackpot with Prepared LDS Family and Valerie's post with accompanying printable study guide (she was coincidentally ALSO inspired by Latter-Day Homeschooling!). Don't you love it when someone has already done the work for you? But I wanted to find a scripture study guide that utilized BOTH the illustrated scripture stories AND the actual scriptures, so I knew I'd need to tweak her program to Gwen's needs. Valerie kindly provided me with an Exell version of her study chart (and updated her site with the editable version--- go check it out following the link above if you want to customize one of your own!) so I could edit out the videos (which we don't have) and add in more scripture mastery verses (I only did ones I thought my almost 7-yr-old could understand and I added a page number to help her find it), and omitted a Sunday assigned reading for each week. I figured she can 'browse' once a week. I added lots of thought-provoking questions and I hope it encourages her to ponder rather than just skim.

This way Gwen gets a) the stories from the illustrated scriptures in a comprehensible format, b) learning where the stories can be located in the actual scriptures, c) becoming familiar with the language of scriptures, d) learning how to find verses in the scriptures, and e) practice marking verses.
We have been doing her study guide for over 3 weeks now and Gwen is loving it! She asks "mom, can I study my scriptures now?" all the time!

Some things we do to keep it fun:

• colorful tabs to help her find the book she needs (a diy project of my own invention: you just use Post-It tabs, stick down on one side of the page, fold it over, and tape it down on the other side)
  
• a personalized scripture journal with a picture of Christ 
  
• colored pencils for marking AND for drawing a picture about what she read each day. 
• stickers for scripture stories (I found these transparent ones that go IN the scriptures and are familiar Gospel Art Kit (GAK) images--free printable ones here at MeekMom, 
  
• or these opaque ones from Latter-Day Homeschooler that go in the scripture journal. New Testament free here and Book of Mormon free here)
• a pretty little bag I sewed for her using this adorable pattern (designed by a friend of mine--- so happy to say I know Ashley of Mommy by Day Crafter by Night personally!) so Gwen can take her scriptures to church. The bag is not huge: it fits her scriptures, her journal, and some colored pencils with room to spare, but this is not a 'take-all-your-toys-and-chapstick-to-primary-and-be-distracting' kind of a bag. I think it is perfect!!!
  

And, just in case anyone is curious, Caroline (age 4) also does scripture time. But she cannot read yet, so there are no journal prompts. She gets to have me read to her and then color pictures in a scripture stories binder we are building little by little. 

And the exciting part is that I can tweak the study guide each year to add in things as she is ready for them: adding in my favorite verses, topical or seasonal study, attribute study, Articles of Faith, missionary study, etc. Another thing I'd like to add in the future would be 'definition' stickers that she can put in her scriptures to define new vocabulary she might not be familiar with. Another great resource (not free) that I'm considering investing in are scripture timelines that go on the wall with attachable figures (sounds like a great way to 'advent' the study of the text and keep it interactive for the kids, right?) available here.

I would also like to do a scripture treasure hunt journey together as a family, using this awesome idea

AND Trina's awesome reading charts:

 I am excited to incorporate the AMAZING scripture journaling resources (not free, but still awesome!) over at Red-Headed Hostess . I think that will be part of her "scripture gift package" when she turns 8! There are great things there for teens too and I can hardly wait til she is ready for those!

(image from Red-Headed Hostess)

I just LOVE studying the scriptures!!!  In fact, I've kind of got things tentatively planned out on when I will introduce each new element so that scripture study stays fun and fresh throughout the years! I get so excited about these kinds of teaching things!

Gwen is eager to share what she is learning and reminds me often, "I love reading my scriptures because then I feel closer to Jesus". What a good girl. What a good example to me too. Hope something here inspires you to get your little ones excited about reading the word of God!

Unwelcome Judgment from a Stranger

I had an upsetting experience in public today.

After dropping Gwen off at school, Caroline and Emmett and I headed straight over to Volunteer's of America for their monthly 50% off sale. I had the stroller (carts were all taken-- as anticipated) completely loaded up with shorts, skirts, shirts, swimsuits, summer pjs, shoes and so forth to the brimming point where I had to ask Caroline to walk beside me bc she was getting assaulted by hangers. Of course, she was very happy to be out of her seat (less complaining), but I was constantly moving her out of the way of one cart or another. Have you guys been to a thrift store on one of their big sale days? It is a madhouse. Amidst all this craziness, Emmett grew weary of being awake and started crying. I corralled our massive ensemble to an open area (hard to find, mind you), took him out to nurse him, then put him back in and reclined his seat so he could go to sleep. Naturally, he was not interested in sleeping in his stroller. He cried. I hurried, trying to keep my stress level from creeping up and coming out in an outburst at Caroline, who was bored but trying her hardest to be obedient.

(not my cart, but indicative of the shopping trends at VOA's 50%off day!)

In the midst of looking for items on our needs list, keeping Caroline close by me, maneuvering our bulging stroller down narrow aisles crowded with equally bulging carts of other shoppers, listening to Emmett's cries knowing he just needed to sleep and 'push-pulling' the stroller constantly in an attempt to soothe him to sleep....

a complete stranger stood in front of me so I couldn't get past and said, "Your baby needs something". Assuming she was well-meaning, I said, "oh, I know. He needs to sleep". She then got her lecturers face on and proceeded to tell me that maybe I shouldn't be there then. I felt like someone had slapped me across the face. Not because her words hurt that much, but it was just that shocking. I gathered my wits and explained that it was 50% off day and this was the time to come so we just had to do our best. Not a good enough answer for her. She said I should have left him with a babysitter. I was flabbergasted. I thanked her for her concern and asked her to let me be his mother and then proceeded away from her before I said something I'd regret. I could see her muttering to herself and shaking her head as she went the other direction.

I was astounded. Insulted. Angry. Hurt. Not because I thought she was right, but because I felt so unjustly judged. I'm trying to let it go. To give her the benefit of the doubt.

She didn't know I've been preparing for THIS sale for a month, going through the kids' clothes/shoes boxes to inventory exactly what we needed for them this summer.

She didn't know that I was sacrificing things I wanted to do to be there. (Missed the first day of my new exercise group, play group, even preschool will have to be during afternoon quiet time because there was no way I could afford to miss the sale)

She didn't know I had dropped off a child at school at 9 and busted over there to get the shopping done as quickly as I could before nap time.

She didn't know I couldn't come back after school because then the swimsuits and shoes would be picked over and I might not get what we needed for the girls. Plus I'd have the stress of 3 kids shopping instead of 2.

She didn't know that I was hurrying my best, that I had been needing to go to the bathroom for over an hour and had NOT stopped to do that because it would prolong our stay there. I was trying to put my kids first and just get out of there as fast as we could.

She didn't know that Emmett does not take a bottle and therefore cannot be left with a sitter. He has to be with me.

She didn't know that I had JUST finished nursing him.

She didn't know his stroller was reclined so he could sleep.

She didn't know that he often cries loudest just before he dozes off in the stroller.

She didn't know that we were almost finished, that our very next stop was actually the checkout line.

She didn't know I AM a good mother, that my kids come first in my life. That we were there FOR the children so that they could have what they needed. That I am attentive and loving to them. That it was just a perfect storm rather than an ongoing relationship of neglect and crying babies.

And yet, if she didn't know, why in the world was she judging me and VERBALLY BERATING me like she knew what was best for me and my family?

Clearly, I still have a lot of things to work through. Amazing that such a small incident could upset me so thoroughly. I wish I could talk to her again, explain it to her. Help her see that she was wrong. But I'm not going to get that closure. I just need to forgive. You'd think it wouldn't be so challenging to forgive such a small injustice, but I'm really struggling with this.

Veggies and Gardening Preschool

I love to garden. Love it. I'm going to blame (thank) my dad for that. He is a passionate gardener and I have vivid memories of summer mornings spent out in the garden pulling up rocks (10 cents per 5 gallon bucket. Ugh. We hated that injustice. :) But I learned to love having my hands dirty and cultivating something til fruition. All kinds of wonderful lessons there. 

We have a modest family garden and our kids enjoy helping us with that. Of course, at their ages they are not yet doing the 'hard' work of the garden, but we are hoping to start them loving gardening and self-sufficiency early. I was really excited to do this week of science-y seeds, veggies, and gardening with Caroline!

I LOVE this free printable! It is perfect for this time of year when Caroline is pretty strong on recognition of letters but needs practice on the sounds they produce. This is a beginning sounds veggie clip sheet with upper case letters on one side and lower case letters on the other. You could alternatively cut out each card to make clip cards, but we opted for easy here. Those candies are "carrots":) free printable from Pinay Homeschooler

pumpkin life cycle word trace printable

I happened to have these wonky shaped pipe cleaners that were PERFECT little carrots! Caroline rolled the die and harvested that many carrots. Then she did it again and replanted. We harvested and planted repeatedly bc she really loved this activity! idea for pipe cleaner carrots from Sorting Sprinkles.

Books we read:

Rah Rah Radishes

Creepy Carrots (which the girls really thought was hilarious. They quote it now and bust up laughing every time. Kid humor is hilarious. I thought it was cute but didn't realize it was THAT funny!)

For our Veggie/Gardening book club: 

Books: 

The Carrot Seed

Carrot Soup

Tops and Bottoms

After The Carrot Seed we sang "This is they way we plant the seed" (...so early in the morning) with all kinds of carrot-appropriate verses that we made up on the fly!

-plant the seed

-water the seed

-sun shines down

-pull the weeds

-patiently wait

-harvest the carrots

-wash the carrots

-peel the carrots

-eat the carrots!

After reading Carrot Soup we did wheelbarrow races which the kids thoroughly enjoyed!

After Tops and Bottoms we shared our favorite vegetable and named whether it was a top, bottom, or middle. 

I was originally going to do some carrot art with mud paint with 2 equally awesome options:

real mud plus glue:

mud-copycat paint: 

I still think both those ideas are great and would like to do them in the future. 

But when I got RSVPs back for over 16 kids, I decided I didn't want to do a messy art project at our kitchen table. So instead we planted seeds in wet paper towels that the kids could take home and watch grow in a window. 

 look at those 'octopus' roots!

It is so fun to have Caroline checking on the progress of her seed every day, multiple times a day!

Our snack was, naturally, raw veggies with ranch. We sampled carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, sweet peppers, snap peas, garden-grown baby spinach, and even an avocado. The kids loved tasting a garden! :)

and unrelated to preschool or book club, but relating to gardens... here is a pic of our seeds coming up! the girls helped plant all of this before we put up the bunny fence.

 Sweet Candy onions

Amethyst beans (they are deep purple!)

our dwarf lemon tree is happy to be outside after a bleak winter!

Do you garden with your kids?