It has been busy lately, too busy.
So, it is entirely appropriate that my car displays this message:
26 miles to Empty.
It's a good warning to stop and refuel!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Leaving An Orphanage Without a Child
During our family mission trip to the Dominican Republic this summer we visited an orphanage. I knew this was part of the trip agenda and was excited about it, after all, I have a heart for orphans!
I totally underestimated how hard it would be, I mean, I had already been to several orphanages in Ethiopia.
But, the difference was, this was the first orphanage I have visited since I left an orphanage with a child in my arms 19 months earlier.
When an orphan becomes a daughter, everything changes. Not just for the newly adopted child, but for the parents, too.
As you watch God's redemption unfold despite your human shortcomings, as you witness the amazing healing the presence of a family has on the life of a child, you want that for every orphan.
The orphanage we visited in the Dominican Republic was MUCH nicer than the orphanages I saw in Ethiopia. The kids were in much better condition. We had a great day of playing with the children, eating lunch with them, and delivering toys, clothes, and supplies to them. Back on the bus, many from our mission group seemed to feel really positive about the good Christian orphanage the children we visited were in and there was talk about how more such orphanages might be developed.
Me? I felt like a mama bear. I wanted to roar, "It is NOT okay! I want more for them than that. Those kids need families! Do you understand the PROFOUND loss it is for a child to be without a family?!! We can deliver dresses and toys and that's great but what those kids really need are families to love them forever!"
The Dominican Republic does not really adopt children to the U.S. right now and adoptions within their own country are few. It is very, very likely all these sweet girls (and several others we met that day) will grow up without a family:
I don't know what to do about it, but I do know I'm not okay with it.
Maybe it starts there. With us all being NOT OKAY with it.
Until every child has a family . . .
I totally underestimated how hard it would be, I mean, I had already been to several orphanages in Ethiopia.
But, the difference was, this was the first orphanage I have visited since I left an orphanage with a child in my arms 19 months earlier.
When an orphan becomes a daughter, everything changes. Not just for the newly adopted child, but for the parents, too.
As you watch God's redemption unfold despite your human shortcomings, as you witness the amazing healing the presence of a family has on the life of a child, you want that for every orphan.
The orphanage we visited in the Dominican Republic was MUCH nicer than the orphanages I saw in Ethiopia. The kids were in much better condition. We had a great day of playing with the children, eating lunch with them, and delivering toys, clothes, and supplies to them. Back on the bus, many from our mission group seemed to feel really positive about the good Christian orphanage the children we visited were in and there was talk about how more such orphanages might be developed.
Me? I felt like a mama bear. I wanted to roar, "It is NOT okay! I want more for them than that. Those kids need families! Do you understand the PROFOUND loss it is for a child to be without a family?!! We can deliver dresses and toys and that's great but what those kids really need are families to love them forever!"
The Dominican Republic does not really adopt children to the U.S. right now and adoptions within their own country are few. It is very, very likely all these sweet girls (and several others we met that day) will grow up without a family:
I don't know what to do about it, but I do know I'm not okay with it.
Maybe it starts there. With us all being NOT OKAY with it.
Until every child has a family . . .
Thursday, October 3, 2013
What's in Your Cupholder?
A totally random snapshot from my week:
Little girl's school does show-and-tell based on letters of the alphabet. The first week all the kids bring things that start with letter "A", the second week was "B", etc. The kids write 3 clues about their item and put it in a small fabric bag. When they take it to school they get to tell their clues and the classmates try to guess. She took this tiny doll to school this week as her letter "D" show and tell. And then it rode home from school in my cupholder. Because why not? When you are that tiny you can just ride anywhere! Of course Little Girl wanted me to take a picture of her doll in the cupholder since clearly a doll in a cupholder screams "Kodak-moment!"
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Speaking of dolls, having 2 daughters and having been a little girl who loved dolls, I thought I'd seen it all when it came to doll features. You know, there are ones that talk, ones that go potty, ones that drink a bottle, ones that crawl, ones that swim, etc. But, no, I had no seen it all!
Recently I took my 8 year old to the toy store to redeem a gift card she got for her birthday and we saw this doll:
The Runny Nose doll! She comes complete with her own box of Kleenex and a little cup that she apparently drinks out of and then this happens:
Gross!!
I told my daughter. Well, at least they are making dolls true to reality now, because when you guys were babies and toddlers there were days when I felt like all I did was wipe your nose over and over again. But still, I wouldn't want that feature in my doll!
Next there will be the projectile spit-up baby doll!
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I had to make the walk of shame recently. The one where you have to go up to the librarian at the elementary school library (the one where you volunteer once a week, no less) and tell her your child has lost their library book, it cannot be found anywhere and you need to pay for it.
There was a time earlier in my mothering when I might have seen this as a parenting failure. But, really it's not like they hand you a "Bad Mom" sign right there in the library. You pay for the book, get a receipt, and you instruct your little angel to be more careful with books in the future, life goes on. No big deal!
There's nothing like the wisdom of more years of mothering and more children to mellow a woman out!
And honestly, the fact that this is the FIRST school library book we've lost after 6 years with some combination of kids attending is actually a win in my book! I have 3 kids at this school; 3 different possibilities to loose library books every week! Really the librarian should have high-fived me -- FIRST BOOK lost! In SIX years! Amazing!
It also helped me feel better that I saw a friend and told her I was paying for a library book and she said she'd had to buy the equivalent of an entire bookcase during her kids tenure at the elementary school.
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Happy Friday, Friends! Find more Friday Fragments here.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Easy Sensory Activity for a Preschooler
Sensory processing refers to the way the
nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into
appropriate motor and behavioral responses.
Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses.
This website provides much more information
Many children struggle with sensory processing. This can be anything from getting upset if their hands are dirty to being too sensitive to tags in clothing to chewing on things to craving constant motion. Children from hard places are more prone to sensory processing issues, but all children can benefit from having some sensory activities throughout their day.
Here's one super easy activity I set up for my preschooler (Yes, she is sitting ON the table, that happens a lot, and is often not a battle I choose to fight!):
I used one of those plastic shoebox type bins and put some soft, colorful pom-poms, clothes pins, and a plastic ice cube tray in the bin.
My 4 year old loves to pick up the pom-poms with the clothes pins and that is really good for her fine motor skills that will help with handwriting later. Also, the soft texture of the pom-pom balls is a good way to exercise her tactile processing. The repetitive nature of the activity is also calming for an overstimulated child who needs to settle down. And as if all that stuff wasn't enough benefit from this easy activity box, kids love to sort the pom-poms all kinds of different ways into the ice cube tray and this helps with mathematical skills and logic thinking.
Also, super awesome, this activity might just entertain your preschooler long enough for you to shower in peace!
Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses.
This website provides much more information
Many children struggle with sensory processing. This can be anything from getting upset if their hands are dirty to being too sensitive to tags in clothing to chewing on things to craving constant motion. Children from hard places are more prone to sensory processing issues, but all children can benefit from having some sensory activities throughout their day.
Here's one super easy activity I set up for my preschooler (Yes, she is sitting ON the table, that happens a lot, and is often not a battle I choose to fight!):
I used one of those plastic shoebox type bins and put some soft, colorful pom-poms, clothes pins, and a plastic ice cube tray in the bin.
My 4 year old loves to pick up the pom-poms with the clothes pins and that is really good for her fine motor skills that will help with handwriting later. Also, the soft texture of the pom-pom balls is a good way to exercise her tactile processing. The repetitive nature of the activity is also calming for an overstimulated child who needs to settle down. And as if all that stuff wasn't enough benefit from this easy activity box, kids love to sort the pom-poms all kinds of different ways into the ice cube tray and this helps with mathematical skills and logic thinking.
Also, super awesome, this activity might just entertain your preschooler long enough for you to shower in peace!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
A Checklist to Help Kids Get Things Done
My 10 year old was having some trouble managing all the tasks associated with his 5th grade life, complete with swim team practice 3 to 4 times per week, school work, and his safety patrol duty.
He was leaving dirty clothes everywhere, forgetting to bring his lunchbox and water bottles in from the car, he was getting to bed too late, running late for places he needed to be, and having to be reminded tons of times about basic tasks.
So, this weekend we created a checklist of all the things he needs to do after school, including tasks for before his swim practice and tasks for after. All tasks have an end time. And we even agreed on some consequences should he not have the tasks completed on time, some privileges he'd loose.
It's only been 2 days, so I'm totally asking for a fall by saying this, but so far, it's WORKING!!
He is like a new kid! A new focused kid who can accomplish many tasks efficiently. I'm not having to go behind him and do all the things he should be doing for himself! And (this part is really huge) I'm not having to remind him of anything!
Some tasks take seconds, like lunchbox by sink or agenda signed, and some take longer like homework done. But even he has been amazed at how quickly he can get through the list when he focuses on getting it done!
Oh and he's already figured out a quick way to eliminate a task. He used to shower after swimming in the master bathroom and would leave it a mess with a wet swimsuit, towel, clothes on the floor, and his watch on the counter. My husband and I got tired of wading through the mess all evening after our son had gone to bed and we faced the choice of waking him up to clean it or clean it up ourselves. So, the task of "Mommy and Daddy's bathroom picked up" went on the list for sure. But, guess what? Since the checklist, he's gone back to showering in the kid bathroom -- hooray!
I laminated it so he could use a dry erase marker to check off tasks.
So far, this checklist works for me!!
Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.
He was leaving dirty clothes everywhere, forgetting to bring his lunchbox and water bottles in from the car, he was getting to bed too late, running late for places he needed to be, and having to be reminded tons of times about basic tasks.
So, this weekend we created a checklist of all the things he needs to do after school, including tasks for before his swim practice and tasks for after. All tasks have an end time. And we even agreed on some consequences should he not have the tasks completed on time, some privileges he'd loose.
It's only been 2 days, so I'm totally asking for a fall by saying this, but so far, it's WORKING!!
He is like a new kid! A new focused kid who can accomplish many tasks efficiently. I'm not having to go behind him and do all the things he should be doing for himself! And (this part is really huge) I'm not having to remind him of anything!
Some tasks take seconds, like lunchbox by sink or agenda signed, and some take longer like homework done. But even he has been amazed at how quickly he can get through the list when he focuses on getting it done!
Oh and he's already figured out a quick way to eliminate a task. He used to shower after swimming in the master bathroom and would leave it a mess with a wet swimsuit, towel, clothes on the floor, and his watch on the counter. My husband and I got tired of wading through the mess all evening after our son had gone to bed and we faced the choice of waking him up to clean it or clean it up ourselves. So, the task of "Mommy and Daddy's bathroom picked up" went on the list for sure. But, guess what? Since the checklist, he's gone back to showering in the kid bathroom -- hooray!
I laminated it so he could use a dry erase marker to check off tasks.
So far, this checklist works for me!!
Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Dear Tooth Fairy, Part 2
Do you remember the "Dear Tooth Fairy" letter my 8 year old daughter wrote a few weeks ago?
If you missed it, my 8 year old daughter lost her tooth ("lost" meaning it fell out of her mouth) at the beginning of September but then she lost it ("lost" meaning it went missing somewhere under her bed) before she could put it in her tooth fairy pillow in her bed. So, she wrote a note to the tooth fairy saying, "I can't find my tooth. Will you still give me money?"
The tooth fairy was very generous and did give her a shiny gold one dollar coin in exchange for just the letter and not a tooth.
Well, there is an update in the "Dear Tooth Fairy" Saga! A letter the same 8 year old daughter wrote yesterday and put under her pillow:
Dear Tooth Fairy,
Remember when you got a letter from me saying I lost my tooth but guess what I found it! Please take. You can give me money if you want. From, your friend, (and then she signed her name).
And she taped the letter to a Ziploc baggie containing the long lost tooth.
I laughed out loud at my daughter's boldness telling the tooth fairy, "You can give me money if you want." But, at least my daughter realized when she found the lost tooth that she owed it to the tooth fairy and was honest about it not being a newly lost tooth.
The tooth fairy did come by to collect the tooth that was rightfully hers, but left no additional money. Only one payment per tooth, is perhaps the tooth fairy's policy?
Find more Wordful Wednesday here.
If you missed it, my 8 year old daughter lost her tooth ("lost" meaning it fell out of her mouth) at the beginning of September but then she lost it ("lost" meaning it went missing somewhere under her bed) before she could put it in her tooth fairy pillow in her bed. So, she wrote a note to the tooth fairy saying, "I can't find my tooth. Will you still give me money?"
The tooth fairy was very generous and did give her a shiny gold one dollar coin in exchange for just the letter and not a tooth.
Well, there is an update in the "Dear Tooth Fairy" Saga! A letter the same 8 year old daughter wrote yesterday and put under her pillow:
Dear Tooth Fairy,
Remember when you got a letter from me saying I lost my tooth but guess what I found it! Please take. You can give me money if you want. From, your friend, (and then she signed her name).
I laughed out loud at my daughter's boldness telling the tooth fairy, "You can give me money if you want." But, at least my daughter realized when she found the lost tooth that she owed it to the tooth fairy and was honest about it not being a newly lost tooth.
The tooth fairy did come by to collect the tooth that was rightfully hers, but left no additional money. Only one payment per tooth, is perhaps the tooth fairy's policy?
Find more Wordful Wednesday here.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
I took my 4 kids for flu shots, how was your week?
My 8 year old daughter has to get her flu shot at the allergist because she is allergic to eggs. Yesterday when I took her in for her normal monthly allergy shot, I asked if she could also get her flu shot. Then I asked (okay begged) if my other 3 kids and I could get our flu shots, too, to save us a separate trip to the pediatrician.
They said "yes". When they called us back to the injection room where there is typically 1 or maybe 2 nurses, I ushered all 4 of my kids through the doorway and looked up to see 4 different nurses all ready and waiting on us! I think one nurse had called in reinforcements from the clinic area!
My boys were super brave, the girls not so much! My 4 year old daughter had to have a ton of shots to catch up on regular childhood immunizations after being adopted from Ethiopia at age 3, so there is always drama now when she needs a shot because all those shots most kids get as babies and don't even remember, she REMEMBERS. She was her typical pitiful self after the shot with tears and the saddest expression, the nurses couldn't stand it. "Just look at her! That breaks my heart!" one of them kept saying. Little Girl KNOWS how to work a room and she does pitiful really well!
At one point as my 8 year old daughter was literally on the floor trying to avoid her shot and a nurse told her, "Your little sister did it," my 6 year old son piped up and loudly announced to all the nurses that he did it and he was "THE SECOND YOUNGEST!"
I've never heard him refer to himself as "the second youngest" before. But it cracked me up and also made me feel like I had more like 10 kids instead of 4!
But, we survived! And they talked me into chocolate shakes at Sonic to celebrate!
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We had some rainy weather last week, which always means the "dog towel" takes up residence by the back door to wipe muddy dog paws. Only Madeline doesn't like to leave the towel by the door, but prefers to carry it around the house!
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If you've been following along on this blog for very long, this next statement will make you laugh. Somehow I ended up as room mom for my daughter's 3rd grade class.
I know! Room mom. I have blogged before about how I avoid that job like the plague. There are tons of other volunteer jobs that I do, like helping children learn to read in the library, doing special projects for the teachers, teaching children's bible study, visiting child abuse victims in foster homes and testifying in court on their behalf, but that "room mom" job always seemed like too much soliciting help/money from other parents for whatever class party/school function/teacher gift was coming up for my taste. So, I'm not at all sure how this happened except that it did involve an email specifically requesting help with the role and I couldn't say "no".
Now I'm in the world where I get approximately 17 emails every day with the subject line "Fall Carnival Class Basket". Meanwhile thousands of children died of starvation around the world today.
As you can see I am perfectly suited for this class mom job!
As you can see I am perfectly suited for this class mom job!
______________________________
On a related note, have you ever been drafting an email to your child's teacher and you suddenly become overly worried about your grammar and use of commas? Happens to me all the time!!
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Happy Friday, Friends! Find more Friday Fragments here.
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