When Breakfast Isn't Served.

Before I had kids I would have been mad at myself for making such a simple and stupid mistake that I happen to do once in a while when cooking; misreading the ingredient amount.

This morning I was going to make beautiful waffles for Thing 1 and Thing 2. I carefully read the ingredients and set every thing but the water out, because I knew at least one of them would want to help.

Now what makes me do a famous forehead slap is that I hear a voice in the back of my head saying, "ummm... Don't you think that's wrong?" and yet I completely ignore it each and every time.

This morning Thing 2 and I were measuring the oil (before the water, so the measuring cup gets a jump start on getting cleaned), and I read it as 1 1/2 cups.

Yep! Whole time we're doing this that voice is screaming in the back of my head, "NOOOOOOooooooo!!!!!" as I pour the volatile mix in.

I recognize the mistake when I started mixing it and realized I have not added water and the mix is a weird color.

Insert forehead slap.  

Oh My... dead. I just killed the waffles.

So instead of just throwing it out, I explained to the kids that I made a huge mistake and we weren't having waffles after all. I interrupted their beginnings of whining that sounds like a jet engine warming up, and about as loud too, and said that we were going to do an experiment. What happens to a waffle when you put in too much oil?

Now they were hooked.

(muahahaha)

I poured in the batter and started cooking. They waved their hands over the steam to draw in the delicious sent of waffles cooking, these smelled like funnel cake cooking from all the oil, and eagerly watched. We peeked in once in a while to make sure it was actually cooking. Once it was a beautiful golden brown I got the fork to remove the waffle. One child thought it would come out, the other thought it would fall apart. And the result was...

It crumbled! 

'

Victory! The experiment worked, and a hypothesis was quickly quickly formed from each child. Why did it fall apart? What is bonding? Can we still eat it? And a slew more of questions.

What was once a terrible mistake, out to ruin breakfast for very hungry tummies, turned into an experiment and life long knowledge (or at least an awareness) of why we follow directions exactly when we bake or cook anything.

And the fried eggs and toast wasn't a bad substitute either. 

With Love,

Emily

Photo Credit

The Eating of a Frog

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

― Mark Twain

This is what I live by day by day. Ever make a list, whether mentally or written down? Ever look at that list and think, "Yeah, I'm not going to do that right now" on a couple of things and they never seem to get done?  Those are the frogs.

The frog that's been on my list is cleaning out my bedroom. It's the catchall room. It's my "safety" net. It's the one thing of my past that has been trailing me no matter how many times I've moved, across country or nearby. It seemed that when I moved into a new home I'd vow that this would be the time that I wouldn't clutter the bedroom, this time would be different, this time I would conquer the fear the boogieman left with me. Logically I know that the boogieman is no longer real in my life and hasn't been for about 20 years, but the one part of my heart that felt like I still had control of, the control of the fear of the boogieman returning, being prepared to entrap him in my mess I carefully created around me. That was what I lived in. That is what my husband has been very patiently living with. 

Well, ever since I started this blog a year ago, I knew that eventually I would have to eat that frog on my list and deal with the bedroom and the fear that went with it. I kept putting it off and putting it off, until finally with my in laws visiting (my mil is great at helping me declutter and get control of my life) and my husband home for a couple of days, I finally started to eat that frog.

It started off ok, my mil was giving me jobs and lots of encouragement as we went along, and as long as I focused on one bite at a time, I was slowly eating the frog. A couple of times I would look at the entirety of the frog I was eating and would start to get discouraged, but that was just my demons clinging onto me to bring me down. 

Now don't laugh... ok you can laugh, but I would put on Christmas music to help keep me in an upbeat mood. It soon turned into IZ, then Beach Boys, and before I knew it the frog was more that halfway eaten by the end of the day.

Back breaking work! My sciatica was acting up the next day, but I had no clutter on the floor, many bags of trash and giveaways out of the room, and a bit of invertigo from just how big the room seemed to be! 

Thing 1 comes in my room to see what I had been up to all day, and he kept saying "Wow! It's all clean! Look how clean it is! I'm so proud of you mom!" 

That made it worth eating the frog.

With his encouragement I finished eating that frog the next day. This time with new vigor and excitement! I knew the frog was almost eaten and I would finally be able to check it off my list for good.

It's now been two nights in a clutter free bed and bathroom, and though I'm still surprised with the space in the room and not having to dodge things, I'm also surprised that the fear I had been holding on to was not as strong that I thought it would be once the job was complete. Yes, it was still there, and even this morning it gripped my heart, but honestly it was for a moment before I realized that there is nothing to fear but fear itself and fear is just an emotional reaction of the unknown. This was something that has been unknown to me for 20 years. For most of my life. This feeling of having a clear space in my "hiding place" is completely new.

As I sit in my room, I look around and clear out the cobwebs in my heart and head. This is normal. This is what others have. This is healthy for me, for my husband, for my family. This is the final healing of my heart, my broken spirit. This is what God has been working on me for so long. 

My room is now a place of rest, not discomfort. A place of peace, not a place of ancient memories. It is my nest that I have carefully crafted with love and not with fear. 

I have come to the end of my journey with the boogieman. He has be conquered! He will not return in heart or home! I have vanquished the final battle and have won my war!

Praise be to God who has delivered me from evil. Who has taken what was meant for evil and turned it into good for His glory. Who has taken a broken and crushed spirit and not only healed but made stronger in Him. 

I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me;

Even the eating of a frog.

With Love,

Emily

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephaniemassaro/2384310118/">Stephanie Massaro</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

OOoo, Crochet

Did I ever tell you that I own a Crocheting Business? No? Well, I sure do!

I was introduced to Crochet at the age of 10, but my sweet Auntie who showed me how to make doilies. I was impressed with how a tiny hook and crochet thread can be manipulated into loops and knots and suddenly it's an intricate piece of artwork. 

I tried my hand at crochet for a little while after that experience, but even with the book she sent me, I just couldn't quite get the hang of it and ended up putting it down for about 13 years.

That's was when I was a newlywed and pregnant with Thing 1. I was suddenly unable to work, and bored to tears. Mom got me started in beading, which I still love to work with, but I needed something I can take with me to my appointments and not be afraid of spilling a rainbow of little glass shards into the bottomless pit of bead hell.... also known as carpet.

So I took up crochet again. I wasn't very good at it. I couldn't read patterns yet, my tension was terribly tight, and with no one to help me, I again put it down for a while. 

7 months after having Thing 1, we make our big move across country to where we live now. At this point we had move with my parents and, until we were on our feet, living with them. Confined to one bedroom for the next 2 years, I picked up crochet again. This time, with the help of youtube, especially this wonderful lady, it took! 

Suddenly the heavens opened up and angels started singing!

Now we flash forward a few more years and I have started my own business. I specialize in baby items, like hats and toys, but my newest adventure that I have trotted into this week is taking my children's drawings and making softies from their design.

 © OOoo, Crochet 2013

 © OOoo, Crochet 2013 

 © OOoo, Crochet 2013

The one in the middle is Thing 2's drawing and I got it finished just in time to give it to her on her birthday this week. She had been hard to part with it!

This I really LOVE doing. I just love how each is unique, each is an artistic challenge, and because I'm only making one of them, constantly changing! The artist in me is extremely happy. So happy in fact, that I would really like to just specialize in doing just this and be the Imaginary Friend Factory. Good thing kids like to draw!

So if you are ever in store for something unique or even just want to see more of my work, head over to OOoo, Crochet. 

I am having a contest right now! I'm trying to reach 100 likes on my page. So far we are a little more than halfway there. As soon as we get 100 likes, a random liker is going to win one of my famous owls! 

 © OOoo, Crochet 2013

Will it be you? HOO know!

With Love,

Emily

Pirate Unit- Flags

We are taking a break from the ocean, as we are heading out to sea with Marlin and about to meet Dory, and decided to learn about the Pirates that sail on top of these waters.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 are really into this unit! In fact they have found every pirate movie and tv show we own or is on Netflix. After diving into a few pirate books from the library, we were off on an adventure.

First we made Pirate bandannas and eye patches.

The bandannas are a large square I cut from some fabric I had and then I got out the puffy paint (that takes me back to my childhood in the 80's) and painted on a skull and cross bones. To identify who is who's, for Thing 1 he also got a shamrock for luck and Thing 2 got a heart for love.

The eye patches are just black foam cut out to look like a patch, with two holes (diagonally from each other works best)  and black yarn to tie them on. The kids wore them for about 2 minutes and promptly hid them from me.

Also, today we looked at all the different kinds of pirate flags, discussed why the pirate would chose certain icons and why it would be scary to anyone hauling treasure on their ship, and also how the skull and crossbones are still used today as a sign for poison. Little safety lesson thrown in courtesy of the Jolly Roger!

After we looked at all kinds of pirate flags, Thing 1 and 2 made their own.

Thing 1

Thing 2 

Thing 1 is my minimalist. However, according to him the blob in the middle is a bloody red skull and the blob falling off the flag is a boot. 

I think it looks like a talking head spewing out jewels, but that's just me.

Thing 2, however, is my extravagant 'I-have-to-hid-everything-so-she'll-stop' artist, and she put on the entire booty on her flag. It's been several hours and it's still not dry enough to hang up yet. Sure is sparkly though!

Tomorrow I plan on having them cut out and assemble their pirate ship, which will float on top of the water on their doors, and sometime this next week we'll go on a treasure hunt! My in-laws are coming for a 2 week visit this Tuesday, so I know they are going to be helping out with the treasure hunt!

Arrr Matey!

With Love,
Emily

Alice Inspired Critical Thinking

As I was cooking eggs this morning, I was thinking about how to help my children learn and about how to make what we're learning fun. When I have my parent-teacher conferences, (to myself I think I sound like Rain Man and Milton Waddams smushed together, but thankfully my kids see me as Pooh going "Think, think, think"), it's when I come up with some interesting ideas.

Well, my brain blast this morning was how to help my kids with their critical and imaginative thinking. So much of today is just told to us, and not a lot of it expects you to think for yourself or even respond to what was said, so when my brain hatched this thought, I knew it would help or at least be an interesting experiment!

Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, when her and her father think of at least 3 impossible things before breakfast, I asked my children what 3 impossible and silly things could they think of. My example to explain was a hamster jumping on a trampoline chewing on bubblegum. That ensued a fit of giggles between the two, and I knew I had them hooked.

So here is their first attempts at thinking of 3 Impossible and Silly Things (Before Breakfast).

Thing 1 (6 year old boy)
A pig farting while breaking pictures in the mud.
Alive books dancing with pictures on the ceiling.
(realizing he's just looking around for his inspiration, I then told him to close his eyes and think of the last one)
Pigs jumping over the moon while wearing underwear and Gangam style shoes.

Thing 2 (4 year old girl)
A cow jumping on the moon while eating cereal.
A cow with circle feet getting eaten by pigs in the mud. (Uhhh...What!?)
(Get off of the cow hunny, think of something else)
A spider playing with spider babies in the desert.

Well, as you can see my children are completely nuts. :o)

I will be doing this again, at least try to do it every day, and write down what they said for my own journaling  I found that it really sparked some imagination and got them thinking, because they went off to play and it was some of the best role playing and pretend games I've hear them do yet!

So if you try this, comment below what they've said! I'd love to know that Thing 1 and Thing 2 are in good company.

With Love,
Emily

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy!

As part of our Ocean Study, we read about the fish that live in the coral reef. Inspired by a pin on Pinterest, made our version of fish!

Materials: For one fish
Paper plate
Giant googly eye
Sequins
Glue
Tape
Scissors

How to:
Have the child cut out a triangle (I drew it on first). This is the mouth!
Tap the triangle to the opposite side. This is the tail!
Glue on googly eye. Now the fish can see!
Glue on scales. Now the fish can swim!

You can use ANYTHING for the scales. Buttons, pompoms, feathers, glitter, or even just color the fish. I liked the sequins because they reminded me of the Rainbow Fish book we had read the night before.

I have found that Thing 2 liked doing the glue part, but got tired of making the glue dots. She wasn't done in putting on the scales so I would put on a bunch of glue dots for her and then she had the (more fun) part of sticking on the scales.

Thing 1 didn't really care for this craft as much, and I had to be creative in encouraging him to put more scales on so the poor fish could swim!

All in all, this was really fun, and kept them engaged for about 10 minutes in total.

With Love,
Emily

I've got to save what??

My in-laws are coming for a visit at the end of the month, so I'm inspired to go through the house and do an over all spring clean up. You know the kind; random decluttering, figuring out where you put the home for such and such, still trying to find a home for the things you got for Christmas, and general hot spot clean up.

Well, I ran into the pile of school work that Thing 1 has done, and even though we've only just started homeschooling this past Christmas, it's a big pile. I also just started teaching Thing 2 preschool, and we all know what a mess that can make!, so my pile of papers is going to start doubling soon.

So I called my mom. "HELP!" I yelled into the phone, and as soon as she got her hearing back in her ear, she asked what I needed help with.

Since my mom homeschooled me, she's always the first person I go to to ask my homeschooling questions. Things are very different when you're the teacher and not the student!

I wanted to know what I needed to save and what can I throw away. Where I live, homeschoolers are considered a private school, and I do not have to prove or keep records of what I taught, but I like to keep something so that I can go back to it if need be.

Mom advised I should just keep a sample of what each child is learning. Kind of like a scrap book. Then the idea popped in my head,

  LAPBOOKS!

I don't know about you, but I love a good lapbook. I was all excited and said, "Hey! Like Thing 1 is learning addition 1-10. I can make a lap book with him with samples of problems and his answers!"

Mom thought that was a great idea.

Lapbooks are not only just a good way to keep a "record" of what we are learning, but I can also pull it back out if Thing 1 or 2 needs to review! Easily stored in my green file bucket thingy, by using folders as the lapbook I can write on the tab what it is without having to pull out every single one.

Now my mission is to not only make the house presentable, but to also make a bunch of lapbooks. Now the temptation is which one do I do first?

How do you keep record of what your child is learning? How about grading? Leave your comments below, I would love some advise!

With Love,
Emily

**UPDATE** Heard a tip somewhere, can remember where sorry, but the tip is Duct Tape. Yes, take the Duct Tape (or packing tape in a pinch) and on the back fold of the lap book, make an extension the length of the spine of the book. Put tape the same way on the other side so that there is no sticky part of the tape. Then get out the ol' 3 hole puncher and punch in the holes. Now you can take your lap book and store it in a binder instead of a fine cabinet!