2009 January

Sick Days

January 29, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Homegrown Kids

Last week, both girls were down with the fevers, aches, coughs, and colds. In spite of my plans to make homemade chicken soup and read stories by their bedside, we ended up watching a Sponge bob marathon and eating leftover pizza.

Two days in, I began to feel guilty and made more of an effort. I read them stories and though I never did get the ingredients for the soup, I did some other little things.

Here, I’ve compiled a list of ideas beyond soup for sick days. Depending on their level of sickness (and yours) you can pick and choose from these ideas next time the flu visits your house.

Breakfast in bed

If your child is able to hold food down, why not serve them breakfast in bed? I’ve found that a TV tray next to their bed works best. A bud vase with a flower if available is a nice touch. My girls love tea with honey, so that is a must. If their stomachs are upset, some toast or saltine crackers are in order. Otherwise, pancakes, cereal with fruit, or egg and cheese biscuits are always big hits. Keep it low in sugar and as nutritious as you can make it!

Offer comfort

Whether it’s a warm or cool rag, a special pair of thick socks, or a certain blanket, find something your child can look forward to when he’s not feeling well.

We have a purple, aromatherapy, microwaveable neck pillow that is in high demand during not feeling well days. Although it is strictly Mom’s, I’ve been known to part with it for a sick kid, or one that is having a hard time going to sleep. The smell is heavenly, and the warmth brings instant comfort.

Feel-better foods

Do your kids have certain foods they crave when sick? I wanted peach soda when I was a kid. Jelly beans, popsicles, cold fruit, soup, ramen noodles, and crackers are big in our house. What do your kids crave? Make it available when possible.

Just hang out

The only good thing about being sick is the extra attention from mom and dad, right? If your kids are up to it, skip some chores and spend time hanging out.

There are many talking games you can play while sitting in bed or on the couch. Twenty Questions, Would you Rather, and I spy are our favorites.

[A note: I don’t think I’ve ever been to the doctor’s office without playing I spy! It’s kept my kids occupied during long waits for years, and despite the fact that the décor remains the same, we’re still finding new things to spy.]

We also have some made up games we like to play, like “Guess what movie I’m thinking of”, or “Guess who I am thinking of”, where we give three clues and the person has to figure it out.

Another fun way to pass time is ask open-ended questions like, “What would you do with a million dollars?” Or “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” I have girls and they love to talk about their futures: weddings, children, and plans for businesses. What do your kids like to dream about?

Go to the Web

There’s tons of printables online that you can take advantage of. Look up word searches, coloring pages, crossword puzzles and more. Or, you can print out riddles and drive yourselves crazy for hours.

Something to keep in mind

All these ideas can be great, in the right circumstance. Above all else, remember, you know your kids best. They might just want to lie down and watch a movie, read, or just close their eyes and not be bothered. Maybe a Sponge Bob marathon and leftover pizza sounds perfect. Keep in mind how they’re feeling and their personality. The point is to be available and comforting…which brings me to my last idea:

The most important thing!

Of course, don’t forget to pray over your child. Of all the comforting routines, this one is the best. Teaching your child to go to the Ultimate Comforter is something they will draw on for the rest of their life!

I would love to hear any ideas you have for sick days around your house! You can post them in comments.

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Five Fat Files

January 21, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Following Jesus

This idea is from one of my all-time favorite books, A Woman After God’s Own Heart, by Elizabeth George.

In her book, she discusses the importance of intentional spiritual growth. Instead of reading anything that comes your way, she suggests picking five areas you’d like to grow in and limit your studying to those five areas.

You’ll collect information as you go and before long, you’ll have five fat files. I am an avid reader, and to some extent I was already doing this. Except I had several areas of interest and I was definitely interested in narrowing it down to become an expert in five areas.

She gives lots of ideas in her book and examples of how women have grown and even been approached to teach classes on the subjects they decided to study.

My five areas are:

Family (anything to do with marriage, family, parenting, and children)
Home keeping (Organization, cleaning, menu planning, etc.)
Homeschool (everything on the subject for now, since I’m new)
Writing (Craft, technique, inspiration, and more)
Discipleship (Especially anything geared towards mentoring girls and women)

The first thing you will do is set up your 5 files. This is the easy part, just label five files with your areas of choice. Deciding on five areas might be harder. I had to cut mine down from ten! Some more ideas include: The Bible, prayer, health, finances, joy, cooking, and anything you can imagine.

Pray over your choices, and then get started! You will put copies of articles, bible verses, book notes, sermon notes, URLs, bible studies and much more as you go. I use a notebook for Bible verses on each subject that I jot down as I come across them in my daily reading.

Since I have a lot of books on each of these subjects, I also included a book list of books I own that pertain to each subject, and where to find it on my bookshelf. (Find more ideas on filling your 5 fat files)

Right before I read this book, Eric brought home four large file drawers for me. Coincidence? I think not! I have a separate portable file for my Homeschool section, which I keep in our school area.

My other four areas now each have their own file drawer. I also have a standing file on top of the file drawers for quick storage. That way, I can file something at a later time and I don’t have papers all over my house.

Okay, that might not be totally true. But at least I don’t have my five fat files papers all over my house.

This idea really excites me for several reasons. Mainly, it gives a sense of purpose to my reading. It also organizes all those articles I want to save because I know I’ll use it someday. It makes me more selective in my reading, too, I am not reading for the sake of reading.

My five areas were carefully selected to reflect my priorities in life. I laughed when I finally settled on them, because at a glance, those five areas are, well…me. And that’s probably what your list should make you feel like, too.

You should enjoy your five areas, and be excited to learn more. If you can’t come up with five, just start with one or two and see where God takes you.

I would be very interested to hear if anyone else is using this idea, or thinking of starting. Let me know what your five areas are in the comment section and we can inspire each other!

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Unity through prayer

January 20, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: MamaMusings

As of today, we have a new President. You may agree or disagree with his politics and policies. Maybe your vote helped choose him, or maybe you would not have chosen him if it was up to you. But guess what? The voting is over, and whether or not you like it, he is now in fact the leader of our country. A job I do not envy!

As a mom, I can’t imagine how his wife and children must feel. It is no doubt an honor to be elected, but on some level they must be just a little bit anxious or scared even. Who knows what it’s really like until they’ve been there? And for most of us, we’ll never be there.

That’s why I’d like to remind everyone today to say a prayer for President Obama and his family, too. If you’re not already in the habit, why not start praying for him at dinner time?

Whatever your political leanings are, you can’t argue that the man needs prayer. Prayer for his walk with God, for wisdom, safety, and courage.

I feel for his children, who had no choice in the matter and will now be objects of national curiosity. Why not pray for them, too?

While you’re at it, you can offer a prayer for his wife. She is after all, just another woman. One who is going to have to support her husband and his demanding job, while learning to fill her new role.

We’ll read and hear lots in the coming months and years about whether or not Obama is doing a good job as our president, but that’s not really our job to decide. Instead of joining in, why not bless him instead?

I thank God I live in a country free to worship Him. I’m free to walk down the street with my face showing, free to pursue an education or career. Free to Homeschool my kids.

Tonight, as we gather around our dinner tables, let’s give a minute or two to thank God for what we have in this country, and pray for those who have much, much less.

Then, let’s each take a minute to bless our new President and cover him in prayer.

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A Family That Collects Together…

January 14, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Creating Family Times

Ordinary things become treasures when you turn it into a family collection. Kids of all ages will love to be a part of finding and displaying treasures, and you’ll love working together as a family.

First, decide together what you’ll collect. A hint: Be selective. Your collection will likely carry on for years.

Finding ideas:

When planning your collection, think about what you already do regularly as a family. Do you go to the movies often? Collect ticket stubs. Maybe you are hikers and you could start a small rock collection. We love the beach, so it was natural to start a shell collection.

Ask your kids! They may have a great idea.

Do you travel often? Collect something that is often found at tourist shops, such as postcards, snow globes, spoons, thimbles, mugs, magnets, etc.

Start a collection based on a period in history, a different culture or country, or a favorite sports team.

Find something goofy, like Pez dispensers or something classic, like a State coin collection.

If you can afford it, collect something that can become family heirlooms, such as antique quilts or rare books or dishes.

Displaying your collection:

Next, find a creative way to display your treasures. We have our shells in a large glass vase. Recently, we collected several tiny shells and put them in a smaller vase. We’ll need to add another vase soon, we’ll have a row of vases with shells someday.

You can use a shelf, a notebook, picture frames, tops of cabinets, boxes, or even designate a special drawer. Another idea is an under the bed box that can be rolled out for viewing.

Finally:

Start collecting! You may even have a few treasures around the house. If not, consider planning a family outing with the sole purpose of starting your collection!

What does your family collect? You can share ideas in the comment section.

Happy Collecting!

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Stop biting your tongue!

January 13, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Following Jesus

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8

Yesterday, I was speaking to our girls Bible study group about the importance of reigning in your tongue. One book we were looking at suggested saying the opposite of what you felt like saying until you got in the habit of saying positive things. Another said to think about how what you were about to say would make you feel if it were said to you.

Good advice for twelve year olds, and good advice for us. I reminded them, however, that our goal is not to simply stop saying the hurtful things, but to stop thinking them. And don’t worry, I fessed up that, at thirty one, I still struggle with this.

Yes, I want these girls to learn to think before they speak. Wouldn’t that be something? Yet I don’t want them to focus on biting their tongue so much as training their mind.

So often, our talks in this little group linger in my heart and God uses my own advice to convict me. Do I lash out at others without thinking or say mean things? Not so much. Thinking hurtful things? Guilty. Feeling smug for managing to not let these thoughts turn into words? Oops. Double whammy.

Jesus tells us that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12). So, if like me, you have your tongue under control, but not your heart, beware. These things have a way of coming out eventually. Instead of worrying that someday my harsh thoughts about others will rise to the surface, I think I’ll work on my heart.

I’ll choose to fix my thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and yes, what is admirable about my brothers and sisters. I’ll put my focus on things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Maybe I won’t have to bite my tongue so often.

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A Light in the Halls: A Tribute to School Workers

January 8, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Homeschool, MamaMusings

At a park day recently, I heard a homeschool mom bragging that her daughter tattled on her brother for saying he was going to go to public school, as if he had cursed. I giggled, and wondered if my kids would ever be that adamant about homeschooling.

If you are researching Homeschool, it won’t be long until you hear about the ills of the public school system. I could spout many statistics and first-hand stories that would make any parent’s skin crawl. One of my daughter’s teachers had her class vote on who the worst kids in class were. This same teacher would yell “Shut up” so loudly at the kids that the class next door could hear her. This in second grade.

I remember my own junior high experience. Grades became secondary to surviving the daily dramas that were played out. As an unsure, shy girl the halls were a dreary place for me where I tried to find the quickest route to my next class.

That being said, there are many children that graduate high school fully intact, godly even, and go on to change the world. I would go so far as to say that school even saves some kids.

With all the school-bashing that goes on in the Homeschool community, myself regrettably included, I thought it’d be nice to pay tribute to some of the people that make life in the school system bearable. Delightful, even.

My daughter’s first grade teacher, for one. This lady actively loves her students. Coco couldn’t wait to get to school because her teacher couldn’t wait to see her. Her teacher found all those things you love and appreciate about your child’s personality and she loved and appreciated them, too. She also encouraged parents to be involved and welcomed me into her classroom daily. She’s the teacher Coco still talks about, six years later.

Then there’s my own mom who finds jobs for learning-disabled, high-risk kids. She goes all over a large city, convincing employers to give these kids a chance. She then teaches the kids how to find and hold down a job, how to give an interview and how to be a better citizen in general. She takes kids to deposit their paychecks before their parents can steal it to buy drugs. She writes to their siblings in prison and tells them they can do better, too. More than one successful student that everyone had given up on has come back to thank her.

My cousin is a first year science teacher for eighth graders. She spends evenings and weekends grading papers and trying to make science experiments more fun. When she talks about one of her students “finally getting it,” her face glows. When she shares her angst over those that don’t want to learn, she is equally passionate. I leave her feeling excited about learning and wanting to be a better teacher for my kids. Every day, she gets up eager to guide a new generation of learners that aren’t always respectful and hardly ever thankful.

I thank God every day that I get to be home and teach my children. While I clearly see the problems in the school system, I also know that not everyone is able teach their kids at home…and certainly not everyone wants to. So, yes, I also thank God for public school, and the people he has called to be a shining light in those sometime dreary halls.