"When we adults think of children, there is a simple truth which we ignore: childhood is not preparation for life; childhood is life. A child isn’t getting ready to live; a child is living. The child is constantly confronted with the nagging question, “What are you going to be?” Courageous would be the youngster who, looking the adult squarely in the face, would say, “I’m not going to be anything; I already am.” We adults would be shocked by such an insolent remark, for we have forgotten, if indeed we ever knew, that a child is an active participating and contributing member of society from the time he is born. Childhood isn’t a time when he is molded into a human who will then live life; he is a human who is living life. No child will miss the zest and joy of living unless these are denied him by adults who have convinced themselves that childhood is a period of preparation. How much heartache we would save ourselves if we would recognize the child as a partner with adults in the process of living, rather than always viewing him as an apprentice. How much we would teach each other… adults with the experience and children with the freshness. How full both our lives could be. A little child may not lead us, but at least we ought to discuss the trip with him, for after all, life is his and her journey too." -Professor T. Ripaldi

3 November

We have a winner for the Set & Fresh gift card giveaway. Mhgood, I hope you enjoy your Pink Thai DragonFruit freshener or something else fun. Again, please note: samples and prize pack were provided by P&G through MyBlogSpark. Winner was chosen using Random.org. I have another fun giveaway coming up so stick around! This one is a little spicy, a little mild, and lots of fun for family night. Any guesses? On to yesterday's rundown.

1. Have we done something to strengthen their minds / intellect?

Can I really go an entire day without doing something that falls into this category? It seems like I have. Ok . . . that's not good. Too much screen time yesterday, but those days happen.

2. Have we done something to strength their sprit / faith / their foundation in God?

The thing I'm not sure about sometimes is that we can have a superb day and then I look at these questions and think it was an entire bust. I know a lot of these things are happening subconsciously, but I do want to be purposeful about them. So off with the guilt, and on with the, "Hmm, lets be thinking about that today."

3. Have we done something to strengthen their bodies?

Lots of outside play on the big toys, climbing, stretching, and lifting. In fact, I actually wondered yesterday if I should add a "Did we spend time outside today?" question for the winter. Outside time is really important to me from the tiny baby stage all the way through to adults. Fresh air and sunshine!

4. Have we done something to strengthen their emotional self?

Yes! Sharing a new routine here because I'm no good at routine, I don't like it but my preschooler thrives on it. As part of my Project Simplify my life we are now having tea together immediately following nap time. Little moments of civility enrich our emotions and I want to make this one a habit. The key to AP is attachment, I am so sad when I see people "stop spanking" and get so frustrated because they are not replacing it by nourishing attachment. This just doesn't work any other way. So tea will be our time, our moment of civility (shamelessly stolen from Sally Clarkson), and a scheduled bit of work on that attachment we need. Part of the routine is allowing her to hand wash (rinse) the cups and saucer and pot in the sink when we are finished. Sort of a nod to minimalist "washing your bowl" combined with Montessori family life works and sensory play with the warm water. So there you have it. Hoping to come back at some point and ad some links here to define some of what I mean. If you have questions, please ask!

5. Have we done something to strengthen our family bond(s)?

Last night was trash night and though she didn't help Dad as much as usual due to a very bad mood (Judy Moody, anyone? ;)), we took the time to do a little bit of extra decluttering. I believe she learns about how we work together and support each other from watching even when she isn't involved. And of course she was following us around everywhere and interacting even though she was officially upset about not getting to play on the computer. Attachment makes even the grouchy times better - there's my unsolicited proselytizing for the day. :)

2 November 2010

I'm back! Crazy fun stuff has been happening around here, and blogging, as always, has suffered. Yesterday my bright girl turned 4 and a half! I'm a big fan of half bdays. So here's the rundown for yesterday. I don't expect it to be pretty. I'm in some sort of weird emotional time warp this week.

1. Have we done something to strengthen their minds / intellect?

Monday night wasn't our first frost but it was the first that was both heavy enough and we were outside early enough to observe. Licking frost off of the play house just counts as extra sensory interaction right? ;)

2. Have we done something to strength their sprit / faith / their foundation in God?

Not specifically that I remember though I have a feeling it's the little everyday praying together and living together that counts. I do want to be conscious about it.

3. Have we done something to strengthen their bodies?

Dad and girl went for a walk collecting leaves and seed pods last night while I voted. Again, it might be a bit of a stretch.

4. Have we done something to strengthen their emotional self?

Play skills and cooperation are definitely getting stronger. So proud of herself when she worked together with a friend to right the large pirate ship toy that had been blown over by the wind. Problem solving also came into play when deciding whether to continue a game or come help in the garden. She came up with a really cool solution on her own!

5. Have we done something to strengthen our family bond(s)?

We're still living together. :) Somedays I think that's the best we can do. We struggle and stick together anyway.

Don't forget to enter the drawing for a $5 gift card. Winners will be chosen this evening.

Set & Fresh Giveaway

I don't know how such things are determined, but if it was by mere chance that I (your friendly local crazy person with two dogs, two turtles and a bird) was chosen to try Febreze Set & Refresh in my home and write a review . . . Well let's just say Febreze should have played the lottery that day.

But that test wasn't enough for me. I, dear reader, am willing to go much farther than that to give you an excellent review. In fact, I went to Arizona for two weeks. Ok, going to Arizona actually had nothing to do with the Set & Fresh review, but it is very important for one reason. While we were away our house/pet sitter encountered some health problems and was unable to check in on the dogs quite as often as they needed. Without getting too graphic I hope you understand the particularly challenging set of circumstances surrounding my setting up my first Febreze Set & Refresh air freshener.

I received two air fresheners to review, one with the linen & sky scented refill and one with the pretty in pink thai dragon fruit refill. The packaging states that each is appropriate for a small to medium sized room. I placed the linen & sky freshener on my file cabinet in our main living room, a room I would not characterize as large but not huge. The pink thai dragon fruit freshener went in the master bedroom.

How did they perform? A month later I can tell you that I am basically very pleased. The linen & sky scent is quite subtle, perfect for me as I despise the smell of most air fresheners. To me they smell like chemicals, and this was the closest I believe I could get to a non-scented air freshener with just a bit of scent that smelled, well . . . fresh! The reusable units are adjustable, simply open them more to release more air freshing power. In the larger living area I had the linen & sky freshener opened fully, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it could manage the unpleasant odors in that bigger space quite well.

In the bedroom, a medium sized room, I found the thai dragon fruit scent overwhelming at full strength. It was a very easy adjustment to close the unit a bit, and the freshener was still able to manage the smell of big warm sleeping dogs without being overpowering. I was very happy to find the thai dragon fruit scent not too "fruity" or sweet with just a little hint of citrus that made me happy. In both rooms I was able to place the Febreze Set & Refresh unit exactly where I wanted to put, where I thought it would be most effective and most needed. Not being tied to a wall outlet but still not needing batteries made me a convert!

Most importantly, the Febreze Set & Refresh kept working! A month later I am beginning to think it is time to replace the refill cartridges (your purchase of one reusable unit will come with two of those) and in my house that might just be a record. I'm even willing to try some of the other scents which is brave new land for me!

Want to try them with me? I have a $5 Walmart gift card to give away thanks to Febreze Set & Fresh so that one of you lovely people can try a "fresh take on freshness" too. Of course you are also welcome to take your card and buy yourself a deli sub sandwich at Walmart. But it won't make your house smell so good.

Take a look at the scents below and let me know which one you want to try first!

please note: samples and prize pack were provided by P&G through MyBlogSpark

12 October

Two awake preschoolers pre - 6:30 AM is at least one too many for me so this is going to be brief.

1. Have we done something to strengthen their minds / intellect?

Went for a walk with a plan to collect five leaves. Worked on addition and subtraction up to five, and then added in a couple more because they were really cool leaves. :) We also got to talk about seed distribution and checked out a couple different methods.

2. Have we done something to strength their sprit / faith / their foundation in God?

Talked about God's plan in creation with the seed distribution and then how it extended to us and our bodies when I cut my finger and we saw how the blood cleans the wound and then clots. I know, weird, but you'll get used to that if you stick around. I felt like I restated things one time too many times, I heard the annoyance in her voice. I need to learn when to stop before I'm beating her over the head with something. If it's forced, it's definitely time to drop it. Maybe it's a trust issue? I don't need to make these things happen, but I feel so much responsibility.

Most excitingly, we enjoyed our new copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible last night. I am so happy with this story Bible. We read the introduction chapter and the first stories, but even better, she was able to explain to me the story of Joshua that she had watched recently. Her understanding of the spiritual concepts amazed me! It was so exciting to read the story of creation and the fall to her and listen to the pieces come together. "Oh, Mom, that's when the world got broken!" Those are the moments!

3. Have we done something to strengthen their bodies?

Our walk involved lots of climbing, and, of course for my girl, running!

4. Have we done something to strengthen their emotional self?

Ugh, hard day for Mom, I'd like to believe she's learning something. Learning social skills we play in the morning. Trying to make it growth time in the midst of all the squabbling on rough days. We worked on quiet times (listening for sounds and walking silently) and then running times to get some self-moderation practice.

5. Have we done something to strengthen our family bond(s)?

Dancing time with Dad after a late evening at work, so much fun!!

That was not as quick as it needed to be. :( I'm going to have to edit this later.

October 11

One blog in and I ended up sick, sick, sick. But here I am again! Come take a peek.

1. Have we done something to strengthen their minds / intellect?

After dinner we played War, a fun way to practice less and more than concepts.

2. Have we done something to strength their sprit / faith / their foundation in God?

I think that this one is a no today. As always that frustrates me. I know there are subconscious real things being learned and communicated every day, but I want to be conscious about this especially. Though I have a feeling that it is the unconscious that sticks. Something to think about.

3. Have we done something to strengthen their bodies?

Play time at the park. Lots of hanging and swinging and generally being a little monkey.

4. Have we done something to strengthen their emotional self?

Mom and dad argued, and made a conscious choice to finish it and move on. I'm not sure how much she noticed, but I hope to model healthy conflict for her rather than just agreement at all times. I'm sure you wanted to know about this. :)

5. Have we done something to strengthen our family bond(s)?

Unsure? I think this one is going to be tricky for me.