Potpourri of the Week #4

Hey summer!  We couldn't wait for you to come, and now that's school's out, it's a pretty mean trick that you haven't come yet.  Please come soon and take away these dreary rainstorms.  We're bored (and driving our mom crazy!)

Yes, it's been one of those weeks.  Little Miss Sprout also thought it would be an opportune week in which to get sick and look extremely pathetic while doing so.  She and I have been embracing the night life, baby! 

So it's time for another Potpourri of the Week post - in which I share my favorite links to blog posts, web articles, books I'm reading, etc.  Let's jump right in!

1.  I love birthdays!  I admit I can get quite carried away when planning a party or family get-together.  But those fun times aren't worth the stress or crazy expenses.  Jessica at Life as Mom shares a great post on 12 Ways to Save on Birthdays.  We have already implemented a lot of these with our kiddos, and I am eager to try some of her other ideas for the multitude of birthdays coming up.

2.  God has really been doing a work in my heart lately.  I feel such a need to study and learn more than ever about the One who created me and sent His Son to die for me.  I am so excited to join in with Mandy at Biblical Homemaking in Walking Through the Gospel: Falling in Love with the One True and Living God series.   As she put it, "we're going to be studying who He is and who we are in relation to Him, and why we need Him so desperately."  So needed.  So desired.

3.  This is a cute tutorial for some adorable wall art.  I think it might be the answer to a sad-looking canvas that's been sitting in my office for the past few months.  I love the words on it, just not the way they look. 

4.  I am hoping that the weather will start admitting that it is indeed summer and warm up so we can hit up the pools and the spray parks!  I was looking at beach towels the other day and was trying to figure out what would work best for my babies' little shivering bodies when they get out of the water. (and then get back in two seconds later!)  Then I saw this tutorial on one of my favorite DIY blogs, Make It and Love It.  Ponchos made out of beach towels?  Yes please!  I'm putting these on my to-do list for the weekend. 

5.  And ahem. . . speaking of summer, this gal's body isn't quite ready.  I could pull out the excuses that "hey, I just had a baby in December" or "I can't find the time to exercise."  Honestly?  I love sweet things and eat them all the time.  I do manage to find time to nap (okay, maybe that one is a myth!), read, blog, facebook, play Words with Friends, watch Netflix, and basically sit around.  A lot.  So this post by Kris at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers was a bit needed.  Motivation, that is. 

And that's it for this week!  Maybe you actually have sunshine where you are - so get out and enjoy it! 

Potpourri of the Week #3

The Nerd went to a business conference this past week.  He left me with four kids and five cold rainy days.  This means trouble, in case you have never mixed kids and rainy weather.  Thankfully, my mother-in-law has helped (forced) me out of the house to alleviate some of the stir-craziness in the kids.  We have been quite busy and way off schedule.

Anyway.  So the bottom line is that I haven't done a whole lot of reading or googling or much of anything this week, really.  It's a shame because I just can't sleep with my man gone and I could have been really productive with that kind of time.  Oh well, laundry and dishes are done at least.  All kids are accounted for and have been bathed on a somewhat regular basis.  Little Sprout is practically sitting up on her own now and scooting around the room in a most disconcerting fashion.  It's been the perfect combination of busyness and lazyness.  Still, here are a few things worth mentioning:

1.  I have wasted time a-plenty on Pinterest for sure.  I am trying to figure out what to do for the Beast's teachers for their end-of-the-year gifts.  Here are some of my ideas.  Anyone want to shout out their favorite??  The Beast graduates from blended-preschool in a little over a week; therefore I need to get busy!

(photo from MommyZing.com)

2.  I did try making my own animal crackers this week.  I followed this recipe, and surprisingly, they taste quite a bit like the store-bought ones.  Only mine are a little softer, a little tastier, and they do not look like animals. I got a little carried away when adding the buttermilk and so was forced to double the recipe.  We have made stars and letters of the alphabet (mostly D's and 8's, don't ask); and there are still two large rounds of the dough waiting in the freezer.  I definitely recommend MommyZing's recipe.

3.  Would it surprise you to know that homemaking does not come naturally to me? (hahaha)  Despite that, I have embraced it as my calling in life.  A good portion of my blog reading is perusing other homemaking blogs in an effort to figure out their secrets and make it more enjoyable.  Passionate and Creative Homemaking put up an thought-provoking read on "Do You Ever Feel Guilty For Staying Home?"  Been there, done that - enough times that I ought to have a souvenir collection or something!

4.  A couple of weeks ago, the Nerd and I (and little tag-along Sprout) as well as the awesome in-laws went to a Tim Hawkins concert.  (or act? or show?  not sure what you call it when the guy does Christian comedy and sings hilarious parody songs too).  Super funny.  Super made-my-day.  I especially like the pretty pink tractor song.  Enjoy.

Potpourri of the Week #2

As usual my brain has been jumping all over the place this week and most likely driving my husband crazy. Potpourri of the Week is an opportunity for me to share with you where my brain has been - websites, blogs, books, outerspace, etc.  So let's get started....

1.  First up, I downloaded yet another free book to my Kindle with plans to read it in, oh say the next five years.  I realized that I have over 300 books now on there!  While skimming through the titles, I found Raising Kids With Love and Limits by Julie Barnhill.  A certain little someone has been making me question every "method" and "tactic" I have in my parenting arsenal lately; so I dug into this book.  So far, it has been - funny, heartwarming, useful, blunt, and convicting.  The honesty is refreshing.  I love this quote:  "So how to explain feeling (dare I admit, even looking) like a complete moron while standing in the middle of Target and trying to coerce a kid smaller than the circumference of our right thigh to listen and obey when we say no?"  For mommas of young ones who are constantly overthinking their parenting skills, I highly recommend this book.  And I've not even finished it yet!

2.  Next, along the same lines as it seems my brain (and heart!) have been consumed with mommyhood lately, I happened across this thought-provoking post by Rachel at Finding Joy.  "Where Did the Delight Go?" is a challenge to mothers everywhere to get back to enjoying their children instead of just viewing them as more work.  I don't think any of us consciously would label our children as work, but it is incredibly easy to get caught up in all the doing that children cause - laundry, messes, discipline, teaching, feeding, etc.  It becomes humdrum and ordinary and sometimes can make us resentful of the ones we were once so excited to mother and nuture.  But, Rachel says it a whole lot better than I do; so go check out her post.  I promise it's worth the read. 

3.  It has been over a month since our family embarked on the Feingold Elimination Diet.  Since then, I have been researching and studying food dyes, artificial flavors, and the preservatives that mess with my autistic child's brain and cause him to have such terrible meltdowns and space-outs.  The more information I uncover, the more I am appalled and ashamed that I allowed all of my children to ingest these terrible things for so long.  I am thankful in a way that my son's issues forced us to consider this radical change to our diet, because quite honestly I don't think I would have done the research otherwise.  Even if the elimination of petroleum food dyes and artificial flavors had not made a significant difference in the Beast's behavior, we cannot turn back now.  I cannot give these poisons to my kids, knowing what I know now.  Blogger Rebecca at Die, Food Dye devotes her energy to informing the public about these dangerous chemicals in hopes of making a change in America.  Read her recent post on who's doing it right and who's not in the food and medical industry.  I guarantee it will stop and make you think. 

4.  As always, I like to end on a light-hearted, not-so-much-deep-thinking note.  This post had me laughing hysterically yesterday.  The author's story and pictures resonated with me, as I have experienced something very similar with my boys.  I will warn you that there are potty words and anatomy words involved;  so if that kind of thing makes you uncomfortable or nervous, skip this one.  Otherwise, read on, and may I recommend not reading it at work or lunch or anyplace you may  be liable to distract everyone with your loud giggling. 

Carry on, everyone!  Have a great weekend!

Potpourri of the Week #1

I used to have this beautiful bowl of potpourri that smelled like warm spicy chai tea.  It sat on the dining room table, and the kids would come around and point out the variety of objects in the bowl, like pinecones, seed pods, flower petals, leaves, and more.  The Beast, enamored especially with the sticks and stones in the bowl, would sneak them out of the bowl and into little hiding spots around the house.

Now that we are trying to be as fragrance-free as possible for the Beast's sake, the potpourri has disappeared, and a boring old vase has taken its place.  (I'm working on that!)  I miss seeing the variety of things in the bowl or absentmindedly rearranging them in various patterns.  However, I can certainly bring a little variety to the old blog!  I have been voraciously finding and reading all sorts of things on sites and blogs and plan on using "Potpourri of the Week" to share my favorites in the hopes that you will find them interesting and helpful as well. 

First, I have been thinking about making my own yogurt for a while now.  My kids love it and go through a quart of plain yogurt very quickly.  The Frugal Girl has an excellent tutorial with lots of pictures and easy-to-follow instructions.  I did it yesterday and now have a gallon of yummy homemade yogurt divided into cute little canning jars in my fridge.  It saves me a lot of money and makes me feel good that there are no extra preservatives going into my yogurt.

Speaking of yogurt, another favorite blogger of mine, Kitchen Stewardship, posted this interesting read on the benefits of eating yogurt a few years ago.    It confirms why I'm willing to make a GALLON of yogurt for my family.

We have our IEP meeting with the Beast's teacher and other specialists next week.  I will be letting them know that we have decided to homeschool him this coming school year.  I am anticipating protests and general negativity, especially along the lines of "but how on earth will he learn socialization skills?"  I have been doing a lot of research - we didn't just make this decision on a whim, after all!  This article in Everyday Education hit home with me and shows exactly how my child will be "socialized."  :)  I should probably just print it out and hand it to them. 

In addition to drastically changing our diet and lifestyle this past month, we have also been working hard as a family to pay down debt, Dave Ramsey style.  Eating healthier, non-packaged meals is not as cheap as buying a bunch on manufactured foods with sales and coupons for sure.  I was inspired by this post on doing a grocery spending audit in Good Cheap Eats and am doing everything I can this month to lower the grocery/household/toiletries budget while still eating good, healthy food.  (Yet another reason to make my own yogurt!)  Our budget for all household items, including food, diapers, toiletries, stamps, and anything for the house, is $400.  It's pretty tight, but I am determined to make it work.  Hopefully near the end of this month I will be able to write my own post about how we are achieving that goal. 

And on a much more fun note (all those previous links are a lot to read and digest!), enjoy this humorous take on birth order and how it's all your mother's fault from Five in Tow.  She's a fellow Northwest blogger and a very talented writer, in my opinion.

And that's my gatherings for this week!  Hope you find something useful or enjoyable in the mix!