Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 24, 2009...
Outside my window...A squirrel has found a treat. It's wet from an overnight rain that no one heard.
I am thinking...about things we need to do today and how fast my babies are growing up. In the past week I've realized Sport's clothes are too big for the kid sized hangers he has. He needs man size hangers now! Two weeks ago he tried on size 8 pants at the mall. I bought him a couple of pair this weekend and they're already too short! Spice decided yesterday she was ready to take the training wheels off of her bike and while she's not ready to go tooling around the driveway on just two wheels yet, she did a great job for her first time out. She also rode a horse for the first time Friday.
I am thankful for...healthy, growing kids.
From the learning rooms...We are continuing our studies of the 13 colonies. We've been enjoying the Along the American History Trail lesson plans posted at Serendipity and all of the fun colonial days activities. Today we're going to paint stenciled notecards.
From the kitchen...tacos are on the menu for today - a double batch since I'm making dinner for a friend who just had a baby. For the rest of the week, there's Italian basil shrimp with pasta, pizza, cheese tortellini with garlic and mushrooms, and Mexican casserole. For lunch it's Muffin Tin Monday! I don't usually stick with the themes though. That would require actually planning ahead.
I am creating...lists of things to do this week, this month, next month...
I am going...to Kohl's later to return the aforementioned pants I bought for Sport. Tonight I'll be working in the church office while Sport has his religion class, then we're off to our first Cub Scout meeting of the new school year.
I am reading...The Long Snapper by Jeffrey Marx, a story about one of my all time favorite LSU football players and his improbable return to football and, ultimately, the Super Bowl.
I am hoping...for family harmony in our homeschool this week. We had a few rough days last week.
I am hearing...the kids talk about and sing one of their "favorite songs" while they are supposed to be working quietly!
Around the house...laundry to be put away (as usual), too many books piled on the coffee table, and a pile of clothes and toys waiting to be priced for a consignment sale I'm participating in this week.
One of my favorite things... a good book.
A few plans for the rest of the week: church and Cub Scouts tonight, homeschool enrichment classes and a playdate tomorrow, consignment sale shopping Thursday (YIPEE)!
Here is picture thought I am sharing...


We had our first not-so-hot day in a long time yesterday so naturally my thoughts turned to two of my favorite things about fall: pumpkin patches and football (more on that next week).

To read more daybook thoughts head over to Peggy's blog.

Make Life Easier

When we moved from our one level ranch house to our current home, the downfalls of living in a two story house with kids quickly became apparent. Can't tell you how many times we were on our way out the door only to realize the kids didn't have shoes on, hadn't brushed their teeth, hadn't done a thing to their hair or even worse, all of the above. Sending them back upstairs to take care of one or all of these issues was a huge time waster. Couple that with the fact that my kids refuse to go upstairs alone because aliens or some other strange creatures might be waiting for them, and we were doomed to be late for everything. It was obvious we needed help. First up, I placed extra toothbrushes for Sport and Spice in our downstairs half-bath, along with toothpaste, a cup for rinsing, and a comb for last minute dos. This saved a lot of time. We still had the shoe problem. This one was solved inadvertently after I got tired of finding shoes in every room of the house. I bought a basket to corral all the wayward shoes and placed it near the garage door. Shoes found downstairs get tossed in the basket. It didn't take long to realize this solved the problem of always having to run upstairs for shoes. Now the kids just grab a pair out of the basket and we can be on our way.

Friendly Reunion

When we moved to Georgia I was five months pregnant with my first child, an only child myself who never had any intention of moving away from home. All of my family was in Louisiana, as well as Hubby's, and many of my friends were people I'd know since elementary school. But opportunity came a knocking (for Hubby at least) so I packed up and left Louisiana - the only home I'd ever known. It wasn't easy and for the first few years I was in denial...I refused to call Georgia home and I dreamed of the day we'd return to our real home.
By chance, a good friend of mine from college had a sister in the Atlanta area who attended the same church we had joined. He came to town for Thanksgiving, just a few weeks after our big move, and hooked us up. I believe his sister's first words to me were, "You're going to want to join the mom's group." The church had a group of stay-home moms who met weekly for playdates, field trips, and everyone's favorite, Mom's Night Out. Being new to the whole game of motherhood and staying home, I of course followed her instructions. What wonderful advice that turned out to be. I often say those moms saved my life! As if making the adjustment to motherhood wasn't enough, or going from working girl to clueless homemaker, I knew absolutely no one (with the exception of Hubby and newborn Sport) in my new surroundings. I lived for our weekly Wednesday get-togethers and was a regular long before Sport was old enough to actually participate. These women were my lifeline. When I had surgery and later a miscarriage, these were the women who fed my family and took care of my son when I couldn't. It was an experienced mother of three who gave Sport his first solid food - a graham cracker stick - when I was too scared to try. Leading up to the day Spice was born so many of them were on stand-by, ready and willing to take a phone call in the middle of the night and stay with Sport while Hubby and I headed off to the hospital - no small commitment considering Spice was born just two days after Christmas! In the days after Spice's birth they once again fed us and gave Sport a place to go that was much more fun than sitting home watching mom nurse a new baby. Life was good.
Then the unthinkable happened...our babies began to grow up and head off to school and one by one we moved into new homes, new churches, and new directions.
We tried to keep in touch, but with this kid at soccer practice and that kid at scouts...it got hard. Table reservations for our monthly night out slowly dwindled from 12 or more to eight, then four, sometimes only two and sadly at times even none. There've been the occasional e-mails and phone calls with pledges to "get together soon" and always the annual Christmas card photos that leave you scratching your head and wondering where the years have gone when you stare at the older and wiser faces of children you still remember as toddlers just learning to walk and talk.
Earlier this week, I was so lucky to welcome two of these dear friends into my home for a little "friendly reunion." C and I keep in touch fairly regularly. Up until a couple of years ago we lived just minutes from one other and Sport has always considered her youngest among his best friends. Unfortunately, it hasn't been so easy keeping up with B, but this week, the stars aligned, the Heavens opened up, and for a few short hours (too short) we were able to once again sit around the table and chat while kids climbed trees, ran in circles, played ball, and had a grand old time in general, all around us. I've often lamented to Hubby that no matter how hard I've tried, I've never been able to find friends as wonderful as that first group of mothers who so readily welcomed me into their circle when I needed it most. As B left several hours later, she confirmed my complaints, "You know, I've never found another group as good as this one. We were so lucky."
Earlier in the day, looking out at the kids piled around two tables on our deck eating lunch I couldn't help but flashback to snack time during the old days when chubby little hands and faces dug into more toddler friendly fare, and I couldn't help but think of the old adage, “Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold.”
Do you have any "golden" friends you've been missing? If so, call them up make plans to catch up, real plans. It'll do your heart good.

Shopping At Sears Works For Me

While I buy most of Sport's and Spice's clothes at the annual consignment sales that are big business in the Atlanta area, there are a few times when I go all out and buy brand spanking new stuff from Sears. It is a closely guarded secret, but Sears has a KidVantage Club that lets you return kid's clothing that has either worn out or not stood up to the rigors of childhood and exchange them for the exact same item. For instance, Sport can wear a hole in a pair of jeans quicker than they've had a chance to fade. I now purchase all of his jeans from Sears then take them back once the first hole appears, usually about two weeks later, and swap them out for a new pair. I try to buy them a bit bigger since you have to trade in for the same size.
There are no fees to join the KidVantage Club and no cards to carry around. Just tell the cashier you want to sign up, give them some basic info and you're all set. After the initial sign-up, all you have to do is tell the cashier you're a member and give them your phone number to make sure future purchases get credited to your account. Returning an item for a replacement is easy too and you only need to keep the receipt for certain items, like Levi's brand jeans. Once you've spent $100 you will receive a coupon for 15 percent off a future purchase. The best part is anything can count towards the $100, not just kid's items so anytime you make a purchase at Sears, make sure to tell them you're in the club.
If you have multiple children of the same gender, joining KidVantage can be a real bonanza. You can purchase a pair of pants for your oldest, let him wear them out then swap them out for a new pair to be passed down to a younger sibling. Even though I only have one boy, I still swap out Sport's stuff then pass it down to someone else or donate it to charity.

The KidVantage Club makes shopping at Sears work for me. To find out what works for others, head over to We Are That Family for Works For Me Wednesday.

Bargain Hunting

Last week I loaded up the kids and did something I haven't done in a long time...went garage saling. We actually hit a couple of Thursday sales which was new to me, but after reading Thrifty Decor Chick's post about Thursday sales, I figured they were worth a try. At least there's not a lot of competition first thing Thursday morning.
We hit paydirt at our very first sale. If you are a homeschooler, garage sales are an excellent source for materials. I picked up 2 small dry erase boards, lined on one side for handwriting practice and blank on the other side, a set of shape magnets for Spice, an unopened pack of Handwriting Without Tears writing paper, a set of number magnets along with a write on/wipe off book for math practice, and the game Smath, which I've read about on virtually every homeschooler's blog for a whopping $2.50!!!


It was obviously the week for retired teacher yard sales because I also managed to pick up a boatload of learning games in all subjects as well as reams of paper, 2 potholder knitting looms with the loops - which will come in handy for our upcoming study of colonial America - and quite a few other school related materials that I never took pictures of, for under $5.

It wasn't all about school bargains though. Spice zeroed right in on this Parisian Kids zebra print fleece vest for a dollar...



and Sport was in Heaven after spying a Lego Bionicle at the very first sale for only $1.50 (a savings of over 6 bucks). When we left the house that morning he announced, "I'm going to leave my wallet here because I want to save my money for more Bionicles." Guess who need a loan right off the bat?

Why Moms Can't Exercise

So I dug out my pilates mat the other day for the first time in a very long time. After two straight days of exercise, I come down on the third day and find this...



My exercise mat has become just another Lego build center. As if the huge tablecloth in the background that's been there since Sport's birthday party in April wasn't big enough.

Easy Peasy "Pizza"

Yesterday we were in Wal-Mart when the inevitable question came up..."Mom, can we get a Lunchable?" I'm not a fan of Lunchables. As a rule we only buy them when we're traveling for a fun lunch treat to be eaten on the road or when they're really, really on sale, like for $1. Being the quick-thinker that I am, I remember the mini pita breads I bought at Trader Joe's the day before. The kids were begging for pizza Lunchables anyway so here's our homemade version:
Ingredients

mini pita breads
pizza sauce
cheese
pepperoni

Spread some sauce on each pita. Top with cheese and pepperoni. Place in broiler for about a minute and a half or until cheese melts. Enjoy.

We all agreed they were better than the real thing.

Hope this recipe works for you as well as it worked for me. To find more great tips, head over to We Are That Family for Works For Me Wednesday.