Sundae's, Gifts, Educational Fun

I have not been faithful to my blog lately for a plethora of reasons.  I have a very short attention span and a house full of interruptions.  I have been struggling lately with an urge to rant about things that are beyond my control, and really, no one needs to read about that.  I don't have enough time to sit down and write anything worthwhile.  The downside of this is that life is speeding by, and I will forget what we have been doing if I don't stop and put something down  in writing.

Here is my week in review: 
We started a Sunday tradition of having a waffle breakfast after church, thank you Zasadney family for the brilliant idea.  On Sunday evening we have sundae's, thank you Hoffman family for the brilliant idea.  I have discovered that little traditions like this make my children happy, and are simple ways for me to bring in some fun, which is not something that I am naturally inclined to.

Monday I decided that I needed my Bible study group even if it meant my kids blew off school on Monday mornings.  Much to my surprise, all the children were up, with their beds made, and working on their school work when I returned.  I was very tempted to just stay out of the house all of the time and see if they became more diligent when I am absent.  I will not push my luck here, and will hope that this coming week goes as well.

Tuesday was fairly uneventful.  Chemistry lab went well, no explosions to date.  I even had a few extra little people which was actually quite nice.  They played with toys that hadn't been played with in a while, and I discovered that their little destructive habits are much less annoying when they only happen occasionally instead of every.single.day over and over.

Wednesday was a typical hump day.  We had a head cold enter into our realm which kept several of us subdued.

Thursday I made some Iraqi lamb dish for Karsten's geography class.  It smelled delicious, but took a chunk out of my morning that I hadn't planned out very well.  We had art in the afternoon which was a very, messy, good time.

Friday we did a little bit of reading and math in the morning followed by a field trip in the afternoon.  It all started as a trip to Scarywood with some friends from Spokane.  Most of our trips tend to grow in number of people and events and this was no exception.  I wanted to give my younger kids something fun and educational to do, so our friend Max, who works at KHQ in Spokane, gave us a tour of the station.  We got to watch the 5:00 news film, and Nes got to sit under the desk while they gave a live update.  You never know what might be sitting behind that desk besides a very composed journalist.  It will make for a good option the next time he plays "I never."  We went from there to Coeur d'Alene, where my friend Deaun made us all dinner.  We counted heads and it had grown to 30 people for dinner.  We were shockingly well behaved and didn't break anything.  From there 17 people went north to Scarywood, and 7 people went south to Moscow, and the rest went to bed.  This is another tradition in the making.  Scarywood in October and the bonus trip to Silverwood with our free tickets in May.

Saturday has been a day of cooking and cleaning and planning for the week ahead.  We have a few kids still in Coeur d'Alene, one extra kid here with us for a week, and the rest of the too live crew.

Things I learned this week that I don't want to forget:
Bite my tongue when I am tempted to criticise anyone for anything.  Think of a way to make my point in the positive.  No one likes to hear about everything they are doing wrong, and they will strive for more positive comments if I can get myself to make them.

Point out my children's God given gifts.  Sometimes it is obvious to me, but it isn't obvious to them.  They need to know what God has given them that He wants them to use to bless others.  They don't tend to think in those terms, but once they feel like they have a gift to bless with, they really want to share it.

As and older mom, I need to be more aware of what is happening with the younger moms.  It is very easy for me to get caught up in my own life and worries and forget that I can be very helpful to a younger mom with very little effort.  I need to be available to listen to things that they are concerned about and encourage them that this too shall pass.  I can offer to watch little ones pretty easily.  My older kids like to play with younger kids and that can be a huge blessing to someone else, and really to my family as well.  It is good for us to have toddlers in the house so we can appreciate how much energy they have.

Plan some fun things into each week.  The break in the routine is good for us all.  An afternoon covered in paint, or doing an obstacle course can really recharge some of my kids.  It also makes for some really fun memories.

No matter how well I think I have prepared for an art project, it will always be messy.  Don't get stressed out by paint on the table, and always wear something you don't care about getting splattered.