busy hands & minds

It's no doubt the winter days get long. We get cabin fever. We miss seeing people. We get antsy with each other. We love to play in the snow, but it gets cold.

Enter: the activity closet:


About twice a day, we do an activity out of here. It is Maleah's favorite time of the day, and Layla is getting there too. I got the ideas that fill this close from my oldest sisters (one of the perks of being the baby!), blogs, and pinterest. Consider this a "pay it forward" and get yourself an activity closet too! The time and pleasure it allows the kids is wonderful!

We have (starting from left side):
-workbooks. flash cards. 1001 Things to Find UsBourne book (fabulous!).
- counting bears. magnetic shapes (can do on a cookie sheet). Discovery Toys busy farm (wonderful!). Rhyming Words matching. Discovery Toys playful patterns. Puzzles galore (for Maleah, Layla, and Charlie). A math bin of a Melissa & Doug clock (sort shapes) and fabric measure tape. Stencils. Magazines to cut out pictures with glue onto paper. Wooden coloring projects.
- Bean Bin (pinto beans, lima beans, etc. dried). Box of coloring materials. Box of playdough.
- Melissa & Doug magnetic doll with outfits. Melissa & Doug cookies, cupcakes, & ice cream (looooove these!). Discovery Toys Motor Works (fun!). Large lacing beads. Little beads with pipe cleaners (for making patterns, etc.). Lacing cards. Box of "junk mail" for the kids to open (what kid doesn't love opening mail?).
- Up top where little hands can't get: necklace making kits, paints, and games.

Maleah working with Playful Patterns:

Layla stringing beads onto pipe cleaners. Maleah does patterns. Layla just works on fine motor skills with her little fingers maneuvering the bead on.
They love to do this:

The bean bin!! This is, for sure, the hit. I put the box on this tablecloth. All beans must stay on the tablecloth; gives the kids boundaries and guidelines and makes cleaning up easier. I can extend the activity by having them get out only white beans, for example. Pair up a box of dried beans with measuring cups/spoons and bowls, and you have three delighted children:

Maleah with her lacing card:

I'm not always thrilled with the idea of getting an activity out. However, it breaks up their free play time, gives them some guidance, is a treat as they can not play with these items whenever they want, and always ends up being a great time! I also realize, in not sending Maleah to preschool, that I need to offer some of the concepts here at home. This is my attempt at that.

I encourage you to do some activities with the kids! I usually sit down with them during activity time, or am at least "around." It is my intentional time with them. We put on music, listen to a book on tape, or just chat. I never regret doing it.

I asked for a lot of these things for Christmas for both the kids and I, but magazines, junk mail, books from the library, fabric measuring tape to measure things around the house, pipe cleaners to put through a strainer or to bead, are all very inexpensive.

Have fun!

update - Layla's ears

We headed to Iowa City yesterday. We were scheduled for a follow-up appointment next month, but two weeks ago the blood coming from her ear pushed us up.

For those who care and ask (thank you), this is the scoop:

Left ear: her tube was just sitting in the canal in a bunch of gunk. They took it out with a little scissors thing. She has fluid in and behind the eardrum. While the tube was great for a year (which is how long they normally last), she is already building up fluid again.

Right ear: was a mess. This is gross, but there were big chunks of blood (blood clots) they fished out so they could even see in. The tube is in the drum still, but basically scabbed over and held in that way. It won't function that way and is probably on its way out. That eardrum was also filled with a lot of fluid.

While the tubes functioned wonderfully for a year (yay!), we are back at square one, so to speak.

Hearing: She for sure is having hearing trouble. With the fluid in the ear, sound is bounced around and blurred. This explains her interesting language (that I love, but know isn't going to be cute much longer). She doesn't have a speech delay, but can't hear clearly, so doesn't talk clearly either. We will go back in three months for another hearing test, and continue with audiology making sure she regains the function of her ears.

Plan: We are to get a speech evaluation ASAP. If she does need speech therapy, we will head back to Iowa City for another ear surgery so that the therapy is beneficial to her. What good is speech therapy if you can't hear or understand what you are to be learning? If she does not need speech therapy, we will wait for three months, giving her the chance to grow out of this. Her ears could clear up in that time. We will do a hearing test and go from there. May need to do nothing if speech and hearing is not impaired, because Layla is having no pain in her ears (this is incredible! the doctor could not believe she does not complain).

Surgery: The next step in surgery would be t-tubes. They are in the shape of a T (did you guess that?). It's a little more invasive, but they stay in for 3-5 years. The downside is they leave a scar and may have to be surgically removed. The good side is that after 4 sets of tubes, it would hopefully be the last set!

So...I am so pleased that for an entire year we have had nearly almost no trouble! Getting the adenoids out helped incredibly! I am also thankful for how wonderful Layla did. They were digging in her ears with a sharp scrappy scissors looking thing, and there wasn't one complain or tear from her. She didn't want to lay there with her head strapped down, but she did it! We love our doctor and completely trust her judgment.

I hate the fact that our child can't hear properly. You want your children to be "perfect". To know she isn't experiencing the highest quality of life is disheartening. To know she may have to sit in the front row at school, have speech therapy, tests every couple months, etc. stinks. But thankfully it doesn't seem to phase Layla at all! Last year when they did the hearing test and I watched through the window as she didn't respond to commands, I felt like I was literally going to throw up. It was a horrible, helpless feeling. I feel like I've been given the year to mature and accept things, and now I am more than ready to get things figured out! I don't feel nearly as sad as I did a year ago. I am now ready to tackle the problem.

Lastly, when in Iowa City it takes about 5 minutes to realize how incredibly fortunate you are to only be dealing with ears. Seeing cancer patients the same age as my healthy and thriving children bring me to my knees in gratitude. If ears are the biggest challenge we have faced medically, and this is our biggest challenge of not normal, we are so incredibly blessed.

Thank you all for caring!

To my sweet and spicy Layla,

You turned three yesterday! You keep reminding me today, because you try to get a rise out of me. You want me to pretend cry and say "what!" in unbelief. That's totally you - teasing, taunting, making fun of everything. You are very sarcastic and giggle all the time, even when it is not supposed to be funny!

You are so unique. You look similar to your brother and sister, but definitely look the most different of you three. You are so sarcastic. For being only three years old, we wonder how you have so much wit and zest in how you poke fun at people. You usually say the opposite of what you mean. If we ask if you had fun (like after Christmas), you reply with a no and a whole ton of giggles. We should have known all these things about you from the day you were born. You made us wait 10 days past your due date, but then were born within 90 minutes of arriving at the hospital, arriving at 11:59 p.m. You always keep us guessing and on our toes. You are a Laylers.

But that same little girl is our most affectionate, loving, sweet child. You love to touch my face, kiss and hug me, snuggle, read books, and want me to hold you all the time. You like to pretend like you are so confident and crazy at home, but you are the one to hold tight to my leg. You cling to the people you love.

Every time I lay you down to sleep I have to sing Jesus Loves Me, on my knees (this is a must!). You love music, but we don't think you are going to be very musically inclined. Sorry, baby girl. You will be wonderful as so many other things! :)

Layla, you are so beautiful. Your eyes are unbelievable. Your heart is golden. I am so proud to be your momma and my heart overflows with gratitude that the Lord gave you to us!

3 days old.

I love this photo of you and I.
There are no words to explain the instant love I felt for you.
This picture shows a momma's bond with her babe.

Happy 3rd birthday!!

I love you, sweet pea!

bathtime.

Bathtime is such a fun time around here!

It takes us at least an hour to get them all through, dressed, hair brushed, etc. We used to do it at night, with the idea to calm them down. Yeah right. We now do it during the day, because rather, it riles them up.

See for yourself:

Charlie boy goes under and back up, under and back up, under and back up.
He tries to pretend he's slipping under the water and Maleah catches him.
Oh, the giggles. It never gets old.

Maleah looks like a teenager in this picture. Okay, maybe not a teen, but wow!
She likes to "relax" in the tub and do away with the toys.
Like I said...teen.

And Laylers. Everything is a party to her, including bathtime. This girl lives to take baths.
She loves all the water splashing and being with her brother and sister.
But the cleaning up part? She despises it.

I love this photo. They are so beautiful...
and such great friends. That's the real beauty.

I love the memories these three are making. They are so silly together.
They are a gift to one another.

2012 resolutions.

I'm not a fan of the word resolution. I prefer words like: goals, new beginnings, changes, ideals. I have these every year, and every year they slowly fall apart. This year will probably be no different (I hope it is, but let's be realistic here). That's why I don't absolutely resolve to do these things, but it is my goal to start the year afresh and get after it. Here's the list:

1. Lose 10-15 pounds. I get pretty tired of this resolution, but also refuse to go crazy at it. I can lose weight fairly easily, but having said that, it fairly easily creeps its way back on. Without popping pills, committing half of my day to it, giving Dallas's hard-earned money to programs, and protecting my children's eyes from vanity issues and insecurity, Dallas and I want to carry on with a healthy lifestyle. We want to do it all within moderation, yet have good health be a way of life.

2. Do 2 sprint-triathlons by myself and 1 as a team. Thankfully I have a friend who I will do this with to keep me going. I'm not positive I'm even capable of doing the entire thing on my own. Therefore, if I don't tell y'all right now that I'm going to do it, I will not. So there it is. I'm doing it.

3. Brush the kids teeth every day. Kind of embarrassing, but we aren't exactly awesome at this. Funny, because I am in sane about brushing my own teeth.

4. Start devotions with the kids every morning. Rather than emptying the dishwasher, cleaning up the kitchen, getting organized for the day, etc., I want to sit down with the kids and have breakfast be a sweet time of the day. I think the kids will love having the day start off with my attention, we will have the reminder first thing about why/how we act with love all day, and we are ready to get some good family rhythms going in this home. I'm excited! Any suggestions on books?

5. Pray & Praise board. We are in the process of putting a prayer and praise board by our kitchen table. Every night we will write things/people we need to pray for, and things/people we are praising God for. The visual will remind us throughout the day, and we won't tell someone, "i'll pray for you," only to go home, get busy, and totally forget.

6. Exercise. Dallas and I got a membership to the Parkersburg and Aplington fitness center. It's only $10 a month, with access any (literally) time of the day. Woo hoo! We've been going together and dare I say it: it's been so fun!

7. Connect with friends we haven't talked with/seen in a while.

8. Send 2 cards a week. Just for encouragement, to say hello, to give a smile through the mailbox. I'm not a good card-sender, and want to work on it! So here goes.

9. Read my Bible every single day. You do make time for what you want. Sure...time is tight, I am busy, I am tired. But who isn't? I still do the things I want to do. No more excuses. I am reading my Bible every day.

10. Love people who are hard to love. Eek. This one is hard, isn't it? And by hard to love I mean: don't like me, people I don't naturally connect with, people I'm uncomfortable with, you get the picture.

11. Be bold in my faith and invitational. Like Pastor Fuller said, "Hell is hot and Jesus is real." The challenge went out: what if we really believe that people who don't accept Christ are going to hell? Sure, we know and believe it. But really believe, and live that way. There is a lot at stake, and not a single more important decision in this life.

12. Be responsible for me and try to not get caught up in others (in other words, manage the people pleaser in me). When this life is through, we will all stand before the Lord and be judged. I am not responsible for the person next to me. I am responsible for me. I want to please the Lord, I want to finish well, I want to make Him proud on judgment day. I am going to attempt to stop worrying about others who are at odds, being disappointed in people, being so sad by some people's decisions, etc. While I want to be sensitive to all of that, I ultimately can not fix it.

13. Be better at keeping a schedule. Not a minute-to-minute schedule. Part of the perk of being home with the kids is floating through the day and if the wind blows one way we can go. However, things run more smoothly if the kids know what's next. For the most part we have a plan for the day, but I need to be more intentional.

14. Have teaching time. Have time at the table each day doing letters, numbers, reading, etc. I was really good at this but not so much anymore. While I think the kids learn mostly through play and don't need hours of cramming academics down their throat, 30 minutes a day will be beneficial. I especially need to make the effort with Layla (not that she needs more, but because I don't want her to get jipped in typical middle child fashion).

15. Find joy! Have fun! I hope (nearly) everytime you see me I look happy and joyful. Now, every minute of every day is totally not! But, the overall picture absolutely is! We are so incredibly blessed. We have healthy children, a warm and gorgeous home, jobs that we love, loving and supportive family and friends, and the list goes on and on. I want to remember in the daily grind of things to find joy, and have fun!

What are your resolutions?

mr. trouble

I am so thankful for a new week! The kids have been so good yesterday and today, and I feel like a fresh, new woman. Woo hoo!!

Last week just seemed to be one thing after another. Charlie was into e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. He is normally into something, but not everything.

Let me show you an example of him getting busted.
Look at that sneaky face. He knows he is mischievous:

Then he shoves it in his mouth with the cutest smile ever.
How can you be mad at this:

Thankfully all the Christmas candy is out of this house!
I thought these photos were too cute not to share.

Francis Chan quotes.

A few things to think on as we start another new week:
(from Francis Chan's book Crazy Love)

“But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through.”

“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.”

“I believe He wants us to love others so much that we go to extremes to help them.”

“Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.”

“We have to believe it enough that it changes how we live.”

“Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers.”

“...we are quick to rationalize our entertainment and priorities yet are slow to commit to serving God.”

“Nothing compares to being truly, exuberantly wanted by your children.”

“I am just an earthly sinful father & I love my kids so much it hurts. How could I not trust a heavenly, perfect Father who loves me infinitely more than I will ever love my kids?”

“...our concern is more about going to heaven than loving the King.”

“We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.”

“But that is exactly what Christ asks us to do. He commands that we give without expecting anything in return”

Honesty.

This morning started at 6:00 with Layla in our bedroom. That is far too early for her.
At 6:20 we start hearing a mouse scurrying behind our bed in the wall.
At 7:00 I can't handle the eeriness so go to the fitness center. The reprieve is so nice, even though I hate how hard it is for me to run a single mile.
9:00 comes and blood is pouring out of Layla's ear.
11:45 finds us at the doctor and we are back at it with ear and hearing troubles.
Layla is ornery as can be the rest of the day. Maybe she doesn't feel good? Either way, it's discouraging.
We go to Fareway and leave halfway through the grocery list.
Charlie cries at my feet the entire time I make supper.

Kids are in bed, and Dallas and I sit on the couch. I feel like I could just explode. Most days are really wonderful. Some days feel like a constant battle.

Then I read this: http://momastery.com/blog/2012/01/04/2011-lesson-2-dont-carpe-diem/
It's exactly how I feel; exactly. And just what I needed to read tonight.
Read the entire thing; it is so worth your time.