Murprhee's Law...

Clearwater Beach 2012

2012-02-11T18:33:00.001-06:00

Earlier this week we took a very quick (and very looooong) trip to Clearwater Beach, FL. I'll post pictures later about the real reason we went, but wanted to share a few of the beach.

The girls loved looking for shells. Just like our trip to Destin last year, they found so many broken shells and they collected them to bring home. I tried to convince them a collection of something showcases the best or rarest of something. Lillie's response to me was, "But it doesn't mean the broken ones are not valuable too." I couldn't help but thinking that we are all broken in some way and God still seeks to "collect" and keep us. Maybe she gets that more than I do.

The weather was absolutely perfect and we enjoyed some time by the pool, on the playground, on the beach, at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (home of Winter the dolphin) and eating at some local places.

Next week I should have the post up of what the girls did while at the Aquarium. It was a fun trip and one I highly encourage if your kids love dolphins and the movie, Dolphin Tale.

Winter Living History 2012

2012-02-09T16:27:00.002-06:00

This past week, Lillie had the opportunity to attend Landmark Park's Winter Living History Day with our homeschool group.

Camille was a little too young (and quite frankly, Lillie needed to do something sans little sister), so we dropped Lillie off to stay a half day and work on a farm as her great-great-grandparents might have done.

They first put the girls in skirts and aprons and the boys in suspenders with handkerchiefs to dry their sweat. Then they let us take a few pictures before gently asking us to leave so they could get to work.

And work they did. The boys tended the animals while the girls tended the home. And like the coordinator said, "We will not come behind you to see that the work is done. If you don't feed the pigs because you don't like that job, the pigs won't get fed today."

Lillie's group of girls cleaned, gardened, and made cornbread for lunch. In their spare time they would make thread from cotton.

For lunch the other group of girls had made camp stew. She said it was all good.

After a hayride and a few games of tug-of-war, they turned in their work clothes and headed to the drugstore where they enjoyed hot cocoa with a dollop of ice cream. They then were free to head back to the modern conveniences of home.

I really think our kids have it way too easy these days. And so do we. I mentioned to the coordinator (who had told me she doesn't like parents there because the kids work a lot harder without them) that most of the chores my kids do are not life dependent. She had made the comment that most kids don't know how to work. While I agree, I also think that most of our chores are made easy by technology and that we don't have to do something or risk not having milk, eggs, or veggies. If my kids don't clean their bathroom or make their bed one day they only have to deal with the wrath of mom, not going hungry!

My friend's might tell you I tend to romanticize the pioneer days. While I love my modern appliances, my computer, and my car, I still think that having your very life depend upon the work you do that day would teach us a lot about responsibility and work ethic. Lots of us could use a good dose of both of those things and I am hoping Lillie learned a little of that while enjoying her day.

She came home and told me she wants to go back this fall when they do it again. She said it was one of her favorite field trips ever!

Landmark Park is our local agriculture park that also has a planetarium and neat playground and walking trails. Before the state budget cut most of it's funding, they had a gentleman who took care of the property and animals. They now rely on volunteers and kids on pioneer days to help out with these tasks. I cannot say enough good things about what they do at Landmark Park and am constantly trying to find time to fit in more things out there. If you are ever in the neighborhood, check them out! You won't be disappointed!

Lillie's Birthday Party Pictures 2012

2012-02-06T06:14:00.001-06:00

This year Lillie opted to go on a trip (more on that later) for her birthday instead of having a big party. I am truly not a fan of parties and love to go places they will remember instead of having a party.

We still always have a family party around the big day. I usually just invite everyone over, cook hamburgers and such, have a cake, and that is pretty much all.

But when Lillie is in charge, she comes up with her own plans. She found all our "Aloha" party supplies from her sixth birthday. I had a lot of stuff left so I keep it for later use. She decided it was time to get it out and use it for her party. So we did.

We decorated everything up with inflatable palm trees, paper lanterns and hibiscus garland. Lillie even made everyone origami parrots for their shoulders. It was a really cute party.

And for the cake, I got a little more adventurous than convincing my kid to let me make a chocolate chip pie (which is what I usually do). Lillie wanted a Barbie cake. I checked around at the prices and was appalled at how much cakes cost these days. I decided to get an actual Barbie doll and decorate with it so she could actually use it later.

Then Alex made a surfboard out of wood and Lillie decorated a template we copied onto card stock. Alex and Lillie then Mod-podged the template onto the wood. It turned out better than we imagined!

The cake itself was devil's food and I made butter cream icing and tinted it blue with food coloring. I then used a can of icing I got free with a coupon one day to make it pretty around the edges. I used some blue tube icing to write the words. It was not a professional cake by any means, but I was happy I had done it and that Lillie liked it!

Lillie's birthday fell on Sunday this year, so we got up a little early and ate our traditional breakfast of donuts. Lillie quickly opened her presents before getting ready for church. Our group was cooking lunch at church today so we did that and enjoyed her birthday supper at McDonald's (obviously her choice!).

I still find it hard to believe Lillie is 10! But she is and she is growing into a delightful "tween" as she would say.

Glad It's Over

2012-02-05T06:55:00.000-06:00

Neither of my girls were all that enamored with basketball this year, but one was especially glad it was over after this past Friday night's game.

Camille could often be found on the bench since she begged to be the one who sat out. She would stretch out and get comfy, or wander back into the stands to see her baby cousin if she was there.

I asked her if she was going to play next year and she said, "You know my answer to that." I take that as a no.

They had a really great year, especially since there were only six girls on the team and only five a couple of nights. They ended up 4-2 and those two losses could have easily been wins. The trouble with this league is consistency in the rules.

Our girls improved so much and learned a lot of the basics for playing a good game of basketball. But I also agree with Camille a little. I'm glad it's over and we now have our Friday nights back!

A Writer is Born

2012-02-04T11:45:00.001-06:00

Both of my girls do writing curriculum four days a week. Camille's consists of copywork, narration, copywork again, and narration and copywork together. With this curriculum I basically try to teach the components of writing separately and build up gradually. It helps to distinguish between the physical act of writing and composing, which I really like.

Because we do this for school, I guess it never occurred to Camille that she could write at times other than school time. We did journals last year, but she still thought of that as school.

Well, the other day she was literally talking non-stop about a dream she had, but it sounded a little over-the-top to me. I finally cut in (she didn't stop to even take a breath) and asked if she really had this dream. She said, "Well, parts of it, but the other parts I'm just adding as I talk."

That is when it hit me that she should write this down. Alex is an excellent short story writer and it sounded like Camille may have inherited a bit of his talent.

So I told Camille she needed to go and get a notebook out and start writing short stories down. The look on her face told me she had never thought that was even remotely possible. I told her not to worry about asking me about spelling or punctuation, but to do her best to sound it out and use periods. I really wanted her to focus on just getting her thoughts down on paper.

She spent the next 45 minutes to an hour outside on the "hill" next to our house and in their hideout just writing.

I was reminded of how literal she is and how she doesn't really think outside the box. She likes to separate her day into school and non-school where Lillie and I tend to look at our day as one big time to learn. There are definite times where we sit and work on something specific, but I also like to just share things with them which is easy to do if we are typically together. But Camille likes to do her "work" and go play.

I learned that I need to really work hard at getting Camille to view learning a little differently. Not just "work" to be done and then learning time is over. And maybe finding these things that interest her is the key. Little things like this keep reminding me that Lillie and Camille are total opposites when it comes to learning. Lillie and I are very similar so it's going to be harder for me to relate to Camille's style of learning. But it will be so worth it!

Who knows? She may be the next Maya Angelou or Mary Shelley or Amy Tan.

Home Repair Projects 2012

2012-02-03T17:05:00.000-06:00

As I've mentioned in other recent posts, I tend to get overwhelmed with the task ahead. If it cannot be done if about 30 minutes it just seems undoable at times. So I've been trying to break down tasks into manageable pieces.

Instead of saying that I have a lot of bad habits to break/good habits to form, I have broken down my year into 12 habits (one a month) I've committed to achieving. Instead of talking about things over and over that I want to do or try, I've broken down my list of projects into months so that I will actually do them.

Seeing it on paper or on a screen as individual tasks is so helpful for me.

So Alex and I have come up with the projects we want to get done around the house this year. I've mentioned before that we could work on things in this house for years and still find more. It's just what happens with 20+ year-old homes. Especially ones that were never updated by their previous owners.

We've done a lot--new kitchen counter tops, painting most rooms (which required stripping lots of wallpaper), replacing cabinet knobs, replacing lots of old fans and light fixtures--but there is so much to do.

Again, our list is overwhelming. And our budget is lacking. So breaking it down into smaller pieces seems doable. Here's what we want to do this year, in random order and also a picture of the first completed project of 2012.

Under the cabinet lighting in kitchen-done in January!
Replace all door knobs on exterior doors and install new locks
Paint master bedroom and guest bedroom
Repair deck (more replacing than repairing...)
Girl's room (not sure what we will do, but they need bunk beds or at least headboards and new comforters to make it more uniform)
Replace all indoor door knobs
Guest bath--patch ceiling, new toilet, tile floor, paint
Install screen door on back door
Double vanity/sinks/counter tops/mirrors for girl's bath
Paint/new toilet for girls bath
Clean eaves of house and replace screens on windows
New couch and love seat for den (it is past time for this!)

We are intentionally leaving off any mention of our bathroom! That project will probably take an entire year given the costs and work that is involved. We have big dreams for that room, and want everything else out of the way first!

We have other big dreams like a screened in back porch, a nice work building for Alex and his tools, and painting the trim in the house (we have a good bit of dental molding inside). And then I guess it will be time to start over or replace the roof or something.

It's definitely never ending, but even if we never did another thing, it's okay. We have a nice comfy place to live and make memories. I'm thankful to God everyday we have a home. And not just a place to live, but a place to call home. Whether the walls ever get painted, or the horrible 3-foot shower stall in our bath ever gets replaced, it's still home.

What We Ate In January (A Pictorial Guide...)

2012-02-03T16:47:00.001-06:00

I have not done a big post on how the pantry challenge worked. I have yet to show you pictures of some of our yummy creations that were born out of necessity. So I thought I'd simply post the pictures and very few words since I'm trying to get it all done! So here goes...

Steak and feta pitas.

Chocolate chip cookies. A pantry challenge doesn't have to mean deprivation.

Pizza dough ready to be rolled out.

Homemade caramel sauce to top what's in the next picture. I could eat this sauce out of a spoon it was so good!

Apple cider floats! Not as good as I had hoped, but with more ice cream and less cider it could work!

Fried rice with extra egg for protein since I didn't have meat and since one little girl loves her eggs in fried rice!

Lemon ginger chicken, potato wedges, roasted green beans, and steamed broccoli.

Leftover Spinach Tortellini Soup.

Most of these were lunch creations made with things I had on hand. The fresh veggies had to be purchased this month, but that was about all in these pictures.

I hope you get the point that eating from the pantry doesn't have to be boring or a horrible experience in any way. I never once felt deprived this month. And to be honest the challenge is still on. We have until the end of next week to make it on a little money left in our grocery budget. We have more than plenty to eat well for even longer than that with only a few things to buy.

Tonight is a bake potato bar with bacon, cheese, and broccoli. Served with a side of soup and/or spinach salad. Dessert will be chocolate chip pound cake (pulled from freezer) topped with ice cream. A perfect quick meal for after a basketball game!

Anytime you have a few leftovers or bags of small amounts of things lurking in your pantry or freezer, try to see what you can make with them. You may just find a favorite recipe!

The Little Things

2012-02-02T20:46:00.000-06:00

Ever noticed how kids get the happiest over the littlest things?

Well, Lillie has learned that little things make life beautiful. I'm often quick to forgo the little things to just get something done.

But today I was reminded at how much sweeter life is when we go the extra mile to make things pretty.

This afternoon, Lillie asked me to make lemonade for all the little kids playing in the yard. She came in after a few minutes and got out a lemon, washed it, and started slicing it.

She told me, "Lemonade is so much prettier when you have slices of lemons floating in it."

And she was right. Move over Martha, Lillie may take your place in a few years!

Disclaimer and a Habit Update

2012-02-02T20:39:00.000-06:00

With my new commitment to self-discipline, I am not blogging as much. I am so busy getting everything else done on time, that blogging has taken a back seat. But, my laundry is done, my kids are in bed, the kitchen is pretty well clean, and my house is (somewhat) presentable. So it's worth it.

With that said, I just uploaded a ton of pictures from my camera. I guess that's another thing that is not getting done. There are lots I took specifically for blogging purposes. Does anyone else do that?

Anyway, be prepared for a lot of posts over the next several days.

In other news, I'm doing pretty well with my list of 12 habits. It didn't even hit me that it was February and time for a new habit until a minute ago, so I'm on to a new habit. But I did want to say we have pretty well mastered getting the kids in bed at 8:15ish every night except Friday.

There have been exceptions made for nights we have basketball practice or when Alex has a game. But other than those, it's gone pretty well. Even on Wednesday nights we have been able to do it which is a HUGE accomplishment. We'll just have to be vigilant in keeping it up.

February's habit is getting in bed by 10:00 every night! This used to be pretty easy for me, but in the last six months I started staying up later and later. Then in December we took the month off from school and we slept in so it didn't matter what time I went to bed. Well, it should have mattered since I really don't function too well when I stay up late.

So that is what I am working on this month. Tonight should not be too hard since I am bushed! I may make it by 9:00!

How are you coming with any goals/resolutions/habits you are working on in 2012?