Lazy Days of Summer

A couple of months ago I started to feel like I needed a game plan for this summer. It was right around the time both kids were home sick for a week driving each other (and me) crazy! Hmmmm . . . coincidence? Anyway, I came up with a schedule that has really worked well for us. The kids still feel like they get plenty of free time and I don't feel like we are wasting the summer away. One of the main obstacles when looking at summer activities was price. There are some really neat camps offered in our area but the cheapest ones start out around $200/week. I ended up finding a ton of stuff for us to do for free. I think the best part is that instead of sending them somewhere, I am doing the activities with them. They are growing up so very, very fast. During the school year, I really only see Spencer a couple of hours a day. So we are making the most of this summer. I'm posting our schedule along with some great resources I found for planning the summer - just in case you're interested :)

Here is our basic schedule:

Daily Schedule -

9:00-10:00 - Swimming Lessons - we lucked out and found private lessons for both kids for a good price.
10:05-10:20 - Snack
10:20 - 11:00 - Chores (most days don't take that long)
11:00 -12:00 - School (I'll explain below)
12:00 - 12:30 - Lunch
12:30 - 2:00 - Free Time
2:00 - ? - Afternoon Activity (see below)

After this the kids spend the rest of the day riding bikes, playing with friends, exploring the woods behind our house and the creek, watching TV, playing on the computer - whatever their hearts desire that doesn't require me.

Rotating Schedule of Afternoon Activities:

Monday: Library/Plan Family Home Evening/Choose recipes (I get out the cookbooks and let the kids pick what they want to learn how to cook on Thursday).

Tuesday: Crafts (I went to Michaels and for approx. $100 got so many fun crafts and activities to keep us busy all summer and longer, if I only had preschoolers this would have been a lot cheaper but finding stuff an almost 10 year old boy would like to do was quite a challenge).

Wednesday: Educational Outing (i.e. free museums/historic sites/zoo/nature walks) We live in the metro DC area so there is lots to do. This is also the day I try to schedule summer concerts, children's plays, etc.

Thursday: Cooking

Friday: Letterboxing (See here and here).

That's our basic plan. It's pretty flexible and often gets switched around but so far so good. There are other events sprinkled in here and there on the calendar (childrens theater, library events, Spencer's viola lessons, free summer movies for the two weeks they aren't in swim).

Resources for cheap summer activities:

VA is for Lovers Check out your state's tourism website. I found all kinds of fun family activities on here. I think my favorite is the Old Town Scavenger Hunt. For $4 we are given a list of items that lead us around Old Town to some historic George Washington sites. I know the kids will love it. Thanks Irene for pointing me in this direction.
Public Library Most of the library's budget each year is allocated for summer programs. We found crafts, demonstrations, magic shows, bingo, dances, puppet shows all for free in libraries near us.
Works for me Wednesday - Mom I'm Bored Edition This blog carnival has so many great ideas for kids for summer vacation.
Wonderbrains - 50 days of Summer Activities They have stuff posted for each day of the week. I get great ideas from here.
Children's Theater I put a link to one of our local theaters but most theaters offer children's programs for a fraction of the regular cost.

Explanation of our school hour: During this hour Spencer works on scout achievements and I am teaching Ella to read using this program. I wasn't planning on starting this until next year but she is so frustrated that she doesn't know how to read. When we read scriptures at night we used to whisper the words in her ear on her turn. Now she doesn't let us do that. She says she is "reading" and tells us stories about Jesus going shopping, having swimming lessons, watching TV, or whatever else she has done that day. She is trying so hard to teach herself. My friend recommended this program, I'll let you all know how it goes.

We are also studying one country a week. We just started this today and are doing Italy. We picked up some books on Italy from the library tonight. My plan is to talk briefly each night at dinner about anything we learned that day about the country. I am also going to cook a couple of things each week from whatever country we are studying.

Wow - typing this all out makes it seem much more complex and structured than it actually is. We are usually go with the flow kind of people but I am really liking having a plan. Everything seems to go smoother. I would love to hear everyone else's summer plans. Are your days really structured? More laid back?? What is your favorite summer time activity?

Best Buds

The other night we let the kids stay up late and have movie night in Spencer's bedroom. We popped popcorn and set up the room all comfy. This was a big deal to Spencer because he always has to go to bed at 7:30 with Ella and always begs to stay up late. When I checked on the kids about 20 minutes into the film, Spencer had gotten in bed and was asleep. Ella was on the floor riveted to the movie. I would occasionally peek in to make sure she was doing okay (i.e. not destroying the bedroom). I was downstairs when I heard "Pencer, Pencer, missin it! Pencer!" I ran upstairs to find Ella on the bed shaking Spencer. I came in and told her to stop and that he was sleeping. I told her he could watch the movie tomorrow. She kept insisting on waking him up. She finally said, "Not movie, he missin staying up late!" Her concern for her brother was so cute. As they've gotten older they have become better and better friends. Spencer is always looking out for Ella. If she falls or gets hurt, he is usually the first one there. Ella always wants to hold Spencer's hand when we cross the street (not mine).

Ella literally looking up to Spencer:

Natural pose:

A couple with dad:

Babywearing 101 - Wraps

My sister Brittany asked me about a month ago for all my babywearing knowledge/links. So this is a first in a series of posts about Babywearing.

I discovered babywearing when Ella was about 5 weeks old. She had developed colic and I was desperate to help her through it and stop the crying. I was reading the book "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and came across a part where he talks about a culture where the babies hardly ever cry. He believed that because the babies were worn (carried in a wrap) on the mother's body all day, the mothers were able to respond to their babies needs quicker and were more in tune with each other. That made sense to me so I set about researching baby carriers.

The only carriers I had seen up to this point were the Baby Bjorn type things (don't even get me started on how uncomfy they are) and ring slings. When Spencer was a little over a year an acquaintance of mine gave me a ring sling and suggested I start carrying him in it (without giving me any instruction whatsoever). The memory of trying to cram his body into that sling makes me laugh today. So with Ella I started out researching ring slings and quickly found the message boards at The Babywearer. I was thrilled (and a little intimidated) by the many options available that I had never seen or heard of. I met a group of really nice moms who helped steer me in the direction of what would work best for me. Thus started a babywearing addiction. I was amazed by how comfy these carriers were and how calming it was for my daughter to be close to me. So in the next couple of weeks I will be talking about the different types of carriers available (wraps, mei tais, ring slings, pouches, and structured carriers).

Since this is my first post on babywearing I'm going to include some informative links on the benefits of babywearing (in case anyone is interested).

Great Things About Babywearing
How Being Carried Affects Babies (translated from German)

How to choose a baby carrier:

Choosing a baby carrier
Choosing and Comparing Types of Baby Carriers This is a forum where you can ask questions and read about how to choose a carrier. The ladies at The Babywearer are just lovely and very supportive.

My first carrier was a stretchy wrap from Hug-a-Bub.

Stretchy wraps are great for a newborn. They are easy to learn how to use and they are great for tying onto your body and then popping the baby in and out when you need to. I used this carrier almost exclusively for the first three months. My favorite stretchy wraps are from Hug-a-Bub(HaB) and Moby. If I had to pick one, I would go with the Moby. I have tried both and I can't tell enough of a difference to warrant the expense of a Hug-a-Bub.

Stretchy Wrap Instructions
More Stretchy Wrap Instructions

The most important thing to remember with any baby carrier is that you want it tight. You want your torso to be holding the baby up - not your shoulders. That's why most structured carriers are uncomfy and you can't wear them for hours at a time - because they rely on your shoulders and back - instead of your abdomen.
Personal Note (I wouldn't recommend doing a back carry with a stretchy wrap).

When Ella was about 4 months I switched to woven wraps. Oh my! What fun. If I had to pick just one carrier from my stash, it would be a wrap. They are the most comfy, versatile carriers. The downside is, they take a while to master. You can read about woven wraps HERE.

Red Leo Storchenwiege:


Pink Eva Didymos (Won off of German E-bay!) Hip Carry tied with a slip knot:

Blue Leaves Didymos (sent to me by a friend). The ugly scrapes on my face were from when I was chasing Spencer and tripped. Ella was on my back and was perfectly fine. I can't imagine how she would of been if I was carrying her in my arms:

Iris Didymos (One of my favorites):
Back wrap cross carry -

Rucksack -

Silver Waves Didymos (horrid picture):

Hoppediz (can't really see the wrap in this pic - but you can see a cute baby!):


Instructions for Woven Wraps:

Comprehensive list of different carrying instructions at The Babywearer - This has links to pictures and videos of the different wrap styles. It is really helpful.
Amy's Rucksack Instructions - This is a tutorial that I did with Ella. It is listed in the link above also. There is also a link in the directions with a forum discussion about my instructions.

There are many different woven wraps - the two main ones are Didymos and Storchenwiege. Didymos is considered the gold standard of wraps. I actually preferred my Leo Storch for the rucksack carry (which was by far my favorite carry). Ella and I are featured in the picture gallery on the Storchenwiege site (click HERE if you want to see us).

There is quite a bit of sticker shock with the price of woven wraps. I know Lance almost had a coronary. A new one costs $100+. I only bought a couple wraps brand new. The Babywearer has a For Sale or Trade (FSOT) board where you can buy used carriers. In my opinion, wraps are best broken in. I had fun with the FSOT board, when I would get tired of one of my carriers, I would sell it and then buy another one. This link explains why wraps are so expensive. In my opinion, they are definitely worth the money.

I didn't wear Ella 24-7 but she spent many hours on my back while I cleaned the house, walked to Spencer's school and back, prepared meals, went shopping, went on hikes, etc. Without the carriers she would have spent a lot more time in the stroller, Exersaucer, swing. When she started crawling, she would get carriers out of the closet and bring them to me. Whenever she was fussy, I would throw her in a carrier and she would calm down almost immediately. Right after we moved into our new place, Ella had a meltdown. Nothing would work to stop her crying, she was overtired and in a new place. It had been over a year since she was last wrapped but in a last ditch effort, I got out my Leo and put her in a front carry. Instantly she stopped crying and went to sleep - I know she remembered it from when she was younger.

Whew!!! This was a long post. Looking at these pics makes me want two things that completely contradict each other -

1. My skinny body back!
2. A new baby to wear.

I hope this helps Britt - and anyone else interested in babywearing. Look for another post in the next couple of days about Mei Tai's (my next favorite carrier)!

WFMW - Safe Plastics

(Jump down past this paragraph to go straight to the plastics tip)

Tonight has been crazy! We had a ward activity at the church assembling the food part of our 72 hour kits (more about that later) and during that I had to duck out and jump over to a Wallet Watchers meeting where I was asked to be a guest speaker and present The Grocery Game. So I was going to be good and go to bed and not post my tip until tomorrow but then Ella woke up and started vomiting. My Ella is the only child I know who immediately after vomiting tries to help clean up the mess. It was the saddest sight over here, her huge crocodile tears, flushed cheeks from her 103+ temp, and my sweet little girl trying to help out. She is now laying beside me asleep and I'm trying desperately to stay awake until her fever goes down. Enough with that and onto my tip:

SAFE PLASTICS

I have avoided learning too much about safe/unsafe plastics over the past couple of years. I learned the basics and knew to avoid #3, #6, and #7 but have to admit that I didn't always check the numbers. I knew if I researched it I would go full throttle into removing plastics from my house/life/kids life and it just seemed that I already had too much on my plate.

Last week, after talking to a friend, I finally felt ready. She pointed me in the direction of two articles that are easy to read, short, and to the point. The first article explains the dangers of the different types of plastics, tells which plastics to look for, and gives easy steps "for safer, more sustainable food use of plastics." The second link is a guide showing common household plastic products and their numbers. I had no idea Reynolds Wrap was a #3. Yikes!

Here's the links:
1. Smart Plastics Guide
2. Quick Start Chart

Maybe now that I have blogged about it I'll actually do it!

Easy info on safe plastics is what works for me this week, for more wonderful ideas visit Works for me Wednesday hosted by Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon

Letterboxing #1

Here are some pics of our first letterboxing excursion this summer. It was my week to plan so I chose a park very close to our house. It was so much fun to follow the clues and then actually find a box that most people weren't aware was there. The kids loved stamping the log books and then carefully re-hiding the box so it wouldn't be disturbed or found.

Ella was convinced that we were actually going boxing. When my friend Irene showed up, she treated her to some of her boxing moves. When we were done with our hunt and were heading back home Ella said "What about the punching?" I think she still believes we missed out on a crucial part of letterboxing.

Here are some fun pics from this week's adventure:

Book Review # 7

So behind, as always:

#26 - Where are You Now? - by Mary Higgins Clark. I love Mary Higgins Clark books. They are an easy fun read. This book centers on a woman trying to find her missing brother. Caroline's brother (Mack) disappeared 10 years earlier. He calls every Mother's Day to let his family know he is okay. When college girls start to disappear from the same area that Mack did, the police began to suspect that he is involved. Caroline becomes more determined than ever to find him and clear his name.

#27 - The Gluten Free Bible by Jax Peters Lowell - A lot has changed since I was last on the gluten free, dairy free diet (GFCF). There are so many more options now. Going back on the diet this time has not been hard at all. I wish this book had been available 6 years ago. Jax takes a funny positive look on living life without gluten. She gives great advice on common pitfalls when eating out and traveling. The book is full of fun recipes and advice. It is not only informative, it was fun to read - I read most of it in one sitting. I highly recommend this book to anyone living wheat free.






#28 - The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory - I decided to read this book after I saw it keep popping up on everyone's favorite book lists. It retells the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, narrated by Anne's sister Mary. It examines the complex relationship between Anne, Mary, and their brother George who all reside at the court and are subject to the whims of King Henry VIII. While I was swept up in the story, the book left me rather disappointed. Gregory bases the storyline on rumor and ONE historian's theory, rather than fact. I feel like she took the easy way out on writing this story because, as we all know, sex sells. I would compare it to using the National Enquirer as basis for facts about our time period. It is sad how much history she got wrong, even the birth order of Anne's family. I think this book should be labeled just fiction, not historical fiction.

#29 - Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer - Yes, another polygamy book. I read this a couple months ago and was very disappointed. Like, "The Other Boleyn Girl", this book instantly catches your interest and is a very good read. However, unlike "The Other Boleyn Girl," this book is supposedly nonfiction. Although I enjoyed reading it, I was very disappointed by the author's lack of research and biased opinion. He got so many things wrong that it is hard to trust any of the book. Instead of presenting a balanced look at polygamy, he used only anti-Mormon sources. I have heard his other books are great, however, because of his lack of research on this one, I feel I cannot trust him as a writer.

#30-36 - I'm going to lump all of Harlan Coben's books together.
I have read:
- "Promise Me"
- "The Innocent"
- "Just One Look"
- "No Second Chance"
- "The Woods"
- "Gone For Good"
- "Tell No One."
These are really fast enjoyable reads. He writes mystery books that have several plot twists. He keeps you in suspense for most of the book. I have liked them all except "The Woods."






# 37 - The Devil in the Junior League - by Linda Francis Lee. This book is so much fun! I usually have a hard time reading chic lit but I couldn't put this one down. The book follows the story of one of the most prestigious members of the Junior League. After her husband leaves her and steals all of her money, she tries hard to keep it a secret from the other Junior League members. She ends up having to hire a lawyer she considers NC (no class). He agrees to take her case if she can get his NC wife into the Junior League. It is very reminiscent of both Emma and My Fair Lady. The story is pure entertainment.

That's it for now, still behind on a lot of books but they will have to wait for another day.

I love you too much

From a couple nights ago:

Me: "I love you so much Ellie Belly."

Ella: "I love you too much mama."

What more could I ask for?

On my radar . . .

1. Read this post. Just do it. It's my favorite blog post of the week. If it seems familiar it's because I read it first at The Nesting Place and I am a complete copycat. The post is that good.

2. Letterboxing! We are going on our first hunt of the summer tomorrow. The kids are so excited. Well, Spencer's excited. Ella doesn't really know what's going on but she's excited to see Josh. Friday's are letterboxing days around here. Expect to be overloaded with pics soon.

3. After months of doing really good, I ended up back in the ER on Friday. Totally my fault. Seems you shouldn't stop taking a medication just because it has caused a lot of weight gain. Who knew??? I'm back on the medication now and doing so much better. On a related note, I found an article called The Spoon Theoryfrom But You Don't Look Sick that explains perfectly what day to day life is like when you have a chronic illness. I have learned that I have to let some things go (i.e. a spotless house) because it is more important to spend my energy on my kids (so much more fun too!).

4. Who's watching So You Think You Can Dance this season? I am so excited that it is back on! Lance and I love this show. We like to sit and critique dancers and pretend we know what we're talking about. I have to get something off my chest though - Mia Michaels is driving me crazy! Has she always been this egotistical?? I just want to fast forward every time she starts speaking. OK, I feel better now. After last night's show I have a few favorites. Can't believe I'm blogging about TV - but really, it's so good!

5. I need HELP! As most of you know, I am in charge of the crafts for girls camp for our stake this year (110 girls). On Tuesday night, I met with my committee, along with the camp director and she dropped a bombshell on me. Apparently, we have found in the back of the YW closet approx. $500 dollars worth of seashells (the number was quoted to me, I have no idea the worth of different shells). They are all tiny shells meticulously arranged by category. They are hoping we can use these as a craft project. Did I mention we are less than 3 weeks away from camp?? That we already have numerous crafts??? That I'm already overwhelmed?? I can't think of any seashell craft that isn't tacky. If anyone has any ideas, PLEASE send them my way (who knows, maybe I'll send you a hemp bracelet for helping out)!

6. One of my favorite blogs (Mrs. Fussypants) does a carnival called Fight the Frump every Friday. If you need a laugh, check this postout. It's a make-up primer for moms that she posted awhile ago.

End of the season

Picture it: Saturday, 11:30 AM, on the hottest day since (I believe) 2004. I don't do well in heat. I really don't do well in heat + humidity. When the news guy said we were under heat advisory, and all bus rides would be free, AND to stay in air conditioning as much as possible I was begging, praying, hoping that the game would be rescheduled. But who am I kidding, this is the league that didn't cancel during a tornado warning, 100+ degree weather doesn't scare us. We are serious about our baseball people.

I have no idea how the boys managed to play. I found a teeny tiny sliver of shade and I was still dying in the heat. I think that for awhile it became a game of endurance rather than skill. There was one inning where the coach told the boys they had to get three runs or the game was over. If I was a kid, I would be tempted to throw it just to stop playing.

Check out Spencer right before this crucial inning:

Can you see the sweat and exhaustion?? We were doing everything we could to keep the boys cool and hydrated. We had buckets of ice water and washcloths to put on their faces and necks while they were in the dugout. When they were in the field or running bases, we had people running water out to the kids.

Anyway, back to the crucial inning. We weren't doing too well and it looked like the game would be over. Then Spencer went to bat. He hit the ball hard enough that we were able to get a couple RBIs and he got on base. We got our 3 runs that inning and turned the game around. We ended up not winning but it was a VERY close game. Check out Spencer sliding home:

The boys finished the season 2ND in the league!

At the post game wrap up, Spencer was given the game ball:

That blur you see on this last picture is from the half eaten ice cream cone Ella decided to put in my bag on top of my camera. Good thing it was easy to clean :).

Some of my other favorite pictures from this season:

Spencer played third baseman for most of the season:

He just caught the ball here - he makes it look so effortless:This is one of my favorite shots. He is avoiding the ball on a bad pitch:

I was surprised this season by how sad I am that it is over. It has been so fun to watch the boys this year. They have really turned into great players. It has been fun to run into some of Spencer's past coaches and have them root for him even if they are coaching the other team. It is nice to be in that kind of environment. We are signed up to play Fall Ball again this year and most likely spring next year.

On a side note . . . there were scouts at the playoff game! Spencer's at the age where next year is a draft. I *might* have offended some of them when I put my chair right in front of them while muttering about needing to sit on my team's side. When I found out they were scouts and not overzealous parents from the opposing team, I briefly contemplated cheering loudly for another kid so they wouldn't know I was Spencer's mom. Why, why, why do I do these things???? I blame the heat.

Imperfectly Perfect

IDHTBPTBB!!

(It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!)

One of my most favorite favorite bloggers is hosting her first blogging carnival today. I LOVE Nester from The Nesting Place. She has the greatest ideas and I love her sense of style. Lance loves her because by following her instructions for window mistreatments I saved us over $100 dollars on our bay windows in the kitchen. I'll have to post a pic of those sometime.

Anyway, she challenged her readers to show something imperfectly beautiful in their homes and I have just the thing - the mats on the pics in my living room.

I have these two prints that I fell in love with right before we moved to VA. In my apartment they looked fantastic. However, when we moved here and put them against non white apartment walls, the mats suddenly turned this hideous orange color.

I'll show you what I mean. Please, please, please note when viewing this photo that my walls are no longer this color. This was right after moving in. Everything has since been changed from this disaster in color selection.


So I desperately needed to replace the mat color. But based on my superb history of picking awesome colors, I was afraid that changing the mats was going to get really pricey really fast. Step in my SIL Michelle. Michelle had the fantastic idea of covering the existing mats with scrapbook paper. I totally balked at the suggestion at first. (Balked - don't you just LOVE that word). How could I, a former certified framer (ha-ha), use scrapbook paper on my mats?? But then I thought about the price - $2 for paper compared to $100+ for the double mats - and I decided to try it.

Here are the end results. Once again - EXCUSE the pics. We are having a torrential downpour over here and the lighting was horrible. The paper on the mats is really not that dark brown and my wall color is actually a lovely shade but looks horrible with the flash from my camera.

I just covered the top mat so I could still have the double matting effect. There are lines but you can only see them if you are pretty close to the picture and at the right angle. And who really stands that close and examines matting?? Here are the lines so you can examine yourself.

I am excited by the possibilities for this. I'm going to hit up some thrift stores this week to see if I can find some frames and mats that I can cover up for a project in my bedroom.

If anybody has any ideas for window treatments in this room, I'd LOVE to hear them. I'm stumped.

For other FUN posts check out the Imperfectly Beautiful carnival over at Nester's place.