IlluminatedAttic
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Posts posted by IlluminatedAttic
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I think you are right in your expectations, but I would not enforce them until you have made them clear to him. Lay the expectations out clearly, "I expect you to set an alarm, be read to go on time, take care of your own breakfast and be ready to go by X time if you would like a ride. I will not wake you up, nag you to be ready or take you late." Say it once, and then back it up. I am big on reality consequences, taking away a computer or phone has nothing to do with him being late or not getting up on his own. Reality consequences.
:iagree: Also, you said you made him apologize, so probably in his mind he believes he corrected the situation and avoided the consequence.
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For those of you who may have said a prayer, Leah passed on today. She was surrounded by the love of family and friends. Eternal happiness for her, great sorrow for those who loved her.
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Why not see if your Mom wants to go to the convention with you and make that your special time together? Perhaps she'd be very interested in learning about her grandchildren's educational path? Even if you spent just one day at the convention and the other of your two days together doing something else it could work.
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Dh had unexpected time off this morning and took the kids to do some errands. Inspired by the decluttering threads here lately, but daunted by the amount of work ahead of me, I decided to start small and set about to declutter the bathroom drawers and cabinet. I really can't believe how much crap we have accumulated, especially since my "beauty routine" is pretty simple - soap, moisturizer and minimal make-up, usually just base.
Well, I'm here to say that decluttering pays off! In the pocket of a travel make-up case that I haven't used in a couple of years I found the diamond and sapphire necklace that I've been missing for just as long! :party: I don't do much jewelry, just have a couple of simple pieces that dh has bought me, and this anniversary gift has been missed. In fact I had forbid him to buy me any more since I had lost it!
I can't think of anything else valuable that is missing, but I sure am motivated to start decluttering other areas of the house now just in case!
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In the homeschooled/playroom we have a small bureau next to the worktable. On top of the bureau is a basket with office supplies such as a stapler, hole punch, pencil sharpener, etc. The top drawer holds containers of markers, crayons, colored pencils, scissors and glue. The containers have lids and and can easily be brought from the drawer to the worktable when needed and then neatly stowed away when finished. The second drawer holds various types of papers; blank white, ruled and colors. The third drawer holds supplies I don't mind the children using on their own, such as beeswax, clay, stickers, glitter glue pens, collage materials, watercolors, wikki stix, etc. The bottom drawer holds the inevitable scrap pile - papers, coloring sheets, bits of string and ribbon, etc. that aren't finished products but still have use. I REALLY like using the bureau instead of shelves as it keeps everything looking so much neater and less cluttered!
I have hooks on the wall next to the table to hold art smocks. The children are pretty good at remembering to don them when they are going to undertake a messy project.
There is an easle next to the work table with one of those continuous rolls of paper. I often put paints out and let the children work freely, and I usually say, "Yes" if they ask for them to be restocked, but they are easy to put away if we are having company or I want to limit the mess.
In an adjacent room I have a small space with shelves where I store the messier and more expenisive art supplies. This includes the paint, the "good" watercolors and watercolor paper, the potter's clay, certain collage materials and other items that I want the children to ask permission for before using. Also, in our mudroom we have a set of small recycling bins inside a cabinet. In here we keep various pieces of cardboard, paper tubes, yarn, fabric scraps, empty plastic containers, etc. The mudroom is also adjacent to the homeschool room so the children can easily raid the bins for items they need for their projects, but again the cabinet door closes to contain the mess!
I bought several large, thick plastic art mats from Discount School Supply a couple of years ago. They are about 2' by 3' in size. These have been awesome at protecting the table and are sturdy enough to hold and carry most projects when the artist isn't finished but time dictates that we need the table for something else. Like, you know, schoolwork. :001_huh: I don't see them on the site anymore, but I have seen similar at Hobby Lobby and Michaels.
By the way, I have been very pleased with just about everything I've purchased from Discount School Supply and buy almost all my regular art supplies from them. They have super fast shipping, good prices and good customer service. I recommend them especially if you want to make a large purchase, like a whole set of tempura paint colors and several colors of construction paper. They also sell large lots of collage materials and I will often go in on a purchase with another family or two and split the price and the quantity.
Have fun!
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Not a typo. I needed a perspective readjustment this morning. This came to my inbox at just the right time. Thought I'd share in case anyone else was in need of the same.
http://robynpassante.com/2012/04/20/choosing-happiness-and-love-no-matter-the-odds/
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I use Greek yogurt in our smoothies because it is higher in protein. I also add tofu, almonds, a scoop of veggie based protein powder (I've been using PlantFusion lately), or a hard boiled egg. Not all in the same smoothie of course, different ingredients on different days. We also put in greens, usually kale, spinach or beet greens, as well as flax seeds, blackstrap molasses, and a combo of frozen fruit and veggies. I agree that an apple will sweeten it well, but I do add a tablespoon of raw honey to our smoothies sometimes. Oh, and I usually use a combo of coconut water and regular water for the liquid. I will also add ground oatmeal or quinoa to bulk up a smoothie if we are headed for an outdoor activity that day.
Fridays we often have a treat of PB&J smoothies (peanut butter with mostly frozen berries for the fruit) and on very special occasions we have peanut butter and chocolate or carob smoothies. I still put lots of the good stuff in, I just limit the fruit to banana and apple and then drizzle in some carob syrup. :D
It is also pretty easy to make ahead a bunch of personal size quiches and/or breakfast burritos and they freeze well.
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Unfortunately that's too close to my due date to travel. I loved the day I spent at the conference last year and had hoped for another this year to fully attend. Guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed for next year.
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I rotate my greens every few weeks, rotating greens is very important because of toxins building in the body if over consumed. So we typically do a week on and then a week off of various greens such as kale, spinache, swiss chard, romaine lettuces and then a wild greens mixture. Only greens have to be rotated, you can use the same other fruits and or veggies without rotating them.
I didn't know this! Do you have a link to more information about this issue and the related health symptoms? Thanks!
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Sending prayers :grouphug:
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:party::party:
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I have an unusual name. My FB profile pic does come up, then a bunch of pictures of dogs, then book images about crop dusting, then a few inspirational saying. :lol:
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When oldest ds was a teen I had a comic strip taped to the fridge. In the first frame a bored looking teenage boy sits at the kitchen counter eating an apple. In the next a sandwich, and in each progressive frame the snack item grows larger until he is dumping a large bag of veggies directly into his mouth. In the last frame Mom has just returned from the store with grocery bags in tow and inquires, "Have you had lunch?" Boy's response, "Define lunch."
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Okay, I'll admit it, I change the roll to the right way - but only at my sister's house to tease her. She does the same to me. I also tuck in the sheets at the bottom of the guest bed when I'm making it for her because she'll make a fuss about feeling trapped. In turn, when I visit her house I can expect to have to remake the bed if I want to avoid frozen toes. Silly I guess, but we've been teasing each other and giggling about it for years.
I would never change the roll in anyone else's house though.
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Itunes gift certificate. It's my go to gift for teens and always seems to be appreciated.
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We never bothered with a crib either. Both babies co-slept and my husband is very in tune to them. They usually slept in the crook of my arm at night, but for naps they slept on their tummies as I also believe this is better for them developmentally. We did save up for an organic wool and cotton mattress for our bed when I was pregnant with our firstborn. Since we didn't want a crib, stroller, pak n' play, bottles, etc., we asked friends and relatives for AmEx gift cards instead to put toward that purchase. We also were given a hammock when my dd was born and we used that quite a bit for her for naps as well.
I have seen studies that showed evidence that the mother's breathing helps regulate that of the baby. I know that being in the bed with us saved my son's life when he was about five months old. We were visiting family and I awoke suddenly in the middle of the night with a feeling of fear. I immediately checked my son sleeping beside me and he was not breathing. Thankfully we were able to rouse him after a minute of shaking him and calling his name. I have always wondered if fumes from the mattress caused the problem, it was one of those temperpedic mattresses.
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I understand your feelings but I also think we muddy the waters in this area an awful lot for kids. VBS, summer camp, Sunday School all include 'Praise Time' where louder and more energetic seem to be the goals. Many pastors or worship leaders begin children's time with some form of the "If I can't hear you God can't hear you!" back and forth salutation request. We tell them all this is praising God, that showing their joy is a way of praise.
What do we tell children when we are dressing them up for a Christmas Pageant? Or about the choir singing hymns that the congregation doesn't have the lyrics for? Or a worship troupe's dance interpretation of the Easter story? All performances but all a regular part of the worship service in many churches and we tell children that the performers are praising God and we admonish them to sit quietly and listen and join in the praise. The adult performers will tell you they are worshiping and their goal is to draw the congregation closer to God but how many of us really transcend that boundary? I personally find it very difficult but maybe that is my own shortcoming and I am in the minority. For me there is a huge difference in my feeling of closeness to God when joining in worship dance as opposed to just watching from my seat.
I guess I'm saying that while I agree with your view of the purposed performances I understand why the teens might be confused by your reaction given all the mixed messages we send. Probably time for a much deeper conversation.
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Lots of rain and the wind picking-up in NW NJ. Kids and I are sleeping in the living room but dh is stubbornly staying upstairs. We're ready for a power outage and I did bake my son his GF bread this afternoon so he can happily partake of pb&j with the rest of us. However we live in the woods, on the side of a hill, next to a large creek and the ground is already saturated so all this talk about how easily all the pine and maple trees in my yard are going to topple over onto me is kinda freaking me out! :blink:
I guess it's time for some of that ice cream! Wishing everyone a safe night! :grouphug:
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Any changes in life lately that could be stressing her or monopolizing her attention? Travel, visitors, lots of day away from home due to summer outings? Both of mine were out of diapers before two, pretty much self-trained because they were "done with diapers" as you say, but my ds regressed a bit when we moved just after his second birthday. Getting settled and back to a regular daily rhythm cured that. My dd was out of diapers by 17 months and just a few weeks ago, right before her second birthday, she had a couple of issues while we were away visiting and then home hosting family. Again, big changes for a little one to handle I think. I agree with the advice to try to do more reminding and try not to get stressed yourself.
Food sensitivities can trigger issues as well. Is she eating anything new/different lately? Summer equals more melons, berries, etc. around here. You mentioned that she has a problem when she drinks juice, I'd look into that angle further.
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Thank you all! I'm going to run the ideas past my sisters and choose which activity to do Saturday and another for Sunday before we all depart.
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Thank you for the suggestions. I had looked at the MOST website but am afraid it would be too difficult to leave after only two hours. I'll look into the possibility of a trip to the zoo.
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We're attending a wedding in Syracuse this weekend and I'm looking for an activity for the kids on Saturday morning. The wedding doesn't start until 5pm so I'm wondering if there is a great playground or low key museum to fill two hours in the morning, then lunch and back to the hotel so the little ones can nap and the older ones can swim in the pool until we need to get ready. We will be staying at the Carrier Circle Hotel in East Syracuse so it needs to be something close to there. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
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Can she sleep with a sibling?
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OK! I FOUND THE SNAKE!!!! I was tearing the house apart looking for him and found him in the recycling bin in our laundry room. So, that snake had opened his cage in my son's bedroom upstairs, jumped off the dresser, slithered through the upstairs hallway and down the stairs, slithered thru the downstairs hallway and kitchen, went under the laundry room door and climbed up into the recycling bin.
Can you believe it???? The snake is about 1 yro, BTW. He was hiding under an empty gallon of milk. :lol:
:party: THANKS for all the suggestions!!!
:blink: Not even gonna click on the link to the other article because this scary enough!
URGENT prayer request
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Sending prayers!