Advent Inspiration

Just in Time for the Black Friday Sales. . . or not. . .

My blog friend (whom I've never met and who I'm sure doesn't know who I am!) Sarah has a great post on Christmas ideas for kids. Hers is beautiful, with photos and cute little things she has to say about each toy/game/doll/book. I've gotten great ideas from her before and like to share her post. You can see it all here!

I have a smaller list (and I lack all the beautiful photos!), but I did think it was time to update our "favorite things." And, I did go to the painstaking trouble of linking up most things for you, so you can easily find what I'm talking about!

Hopefully, there will be some ideas in here for the special people on your list this year. Admittedly, we are trying to stay as simple and uncluttered as possible in our small space (which is impossible with six children, I think!). We are opting not to purchase Christmas gifts this year. . . but there are still some fun things that can fit in our (giant, homemade, wonderful) stockings! These are also good birthday gifts and even some gifts that are family-building for any time of the year.

Trampoline even in the Snow

Curtis-Kid Approved Favorites








For Outside Fun:

• Razor Scooter
• Razor Rip Rider
• Unicycle 
• Lightsabers 
• Trampoline. A serious must-have for our boys. Hours and hours and hours. . . 
• The Flying Turtle. M (3) draws a lot of attention when he zips around our neighborhood on this. He has his own style!

  

  M on the Turtle

  

  T on the Rip Rider

  

















Indoor Fun:

pattern blocks

•  Build a Road
• Trains and train tracks
• Zoobs
• Tinkertoys
• Bristle Blocks
• Rainbow Loom
• Knitting Loom
• Legos
• Pattern blocks. Our kids get creative with these. They are an assigned quiet time activity one day/week!

Games:

• iQ twist game: A good game to keep an individual occupied for a time!
• i Q Fit game: Another version of the IQ game.
• The Settlers of Catan- This game is great for my older set (9+) because it does take some time and perseverance.
• Telestrations- We've just played this recently and it really got us laughing. It works best with those who can sketch and write on their own.
• Quirkle- A favorite with my younger crew. M is good at this one (3) and it's often played with the older kids, too.
• Rack-O  The kids and The Lawyer joke that I always win. I don't always. . but I've enjoyed this game since childhood!
• Rummikub. This is a version of rummy with tiles; teaches number sequencing and patterns!
• Sequence They have a "kid" version, too. Our kids have played the adult version from about age 4 or 5 on up. This is a great game for teams and up to 12 people can play.

Books: (There are too many good books to list! Here are just a few off the top of my head.)

• Jesus Storybook Bible- We just LOVE this book. We've gone through 2 already.
• Harry the Dirty Dog- There are more books in this series; all super cute and fun for me to read to them.
• Billy and Blaze- T (6) wanted ALL of these books when he was 4 and he has loved them. They are also good books for early readers.
• Ralph Moody Little Britches series. My biggest boys have loved these and read and reread them (starting at about age 8 or 9).
• Miller Family books. These are good for reading aloud as a family. It doesn't get much better for instilling good values and reading wholesome family stories.
• Danny and Debbie books or Don and Joyce books, and A Hive of Busy Bees. These are right up there with the Millers!

Media:

• The Pineapple Story. There is a book and audio cds. We really enjoyed listening to the audios in the van.
• G.A. Henty books on tape. We prefer those read by Jim Weiss. My boys (age 4+) love these; there are battles and blood, intrigue, and plot twists in these historical fiction books. Others (like L) might find them to be a bit dry and not their cup of tea.
• Your StoryHour audios. Favorites to listen to in the van. We have borrowed some from friends.
• Runner from Ravenshead. A favorite of the 2-8 age set. Very simple but really sweet with children actors.
• Kipper. Still . . . ever and anon. . . a favorite around here. The big kids are still drawn in if they hear Kipper and before I know it, everyone is gathered around the computer screen to watch the same episodes they have seen a hundred times!

Music in the House- (Another Story of Provision!)

There is music in our house and The Lawyer and I are thrilled.

The three biggest kids started piano lessons seven months ago.

Now, I could teach them piano. I've taught other children to play the piano. I've even given our children sporadic lessons. Teaching them piano, however, became one of the last things on my too-long to-do list. It was easy not to do when the day felt too busy. It was tacked on with my home school agenda and I wasn't finding pleasure in it. So, I prayed about lessons for our kids.

Right away, The Lawyer (bless him for his practicality!) decided that we couldn't afford lessons. I checked around, asked for recommendations from people, tried to think outside the box (home school band? Online? Through a college?). I was shocked by the price of lessons and also realized that even though I wanted our children to have the benefits of lessons, I didn't feel like I could commit to long weekly drives- especially because I was contemplating this during a season of pregnancy and postpartum! Lessons seemed like a luxury and not a necessity and when I looked at our budget, I also wondered if it was wise to add another monthly expense. So, I asked the Lord to provide for us IF He would be pleased to give our kids music lessons.

Well, the Lord provided again. (Isn't he GOOD to give us things for the sheer pleasure it brings us and Him?!) I asked Him for music and asked Him to make a way for our children to learn music. We heard about a teacher who lives in the next neighborhood, charges less than any lessons I had heard of, and had three time slots in a row available on a Tuesday afternoon after my littles' rest time. Amazing. Then, the Lord also worked out the finances for us (mainly through an exceptionally generous gift!) and The Lawyer gave approval to the lessons.

And we are so glad! We hear our children on the piano every day. It's lovely! (Though I'll confess I sometimes weary of the Indian war dance and roll my eyes at the speedy Revilie at 6:45 a.m.) The children have memorized pieces and they'll pop in and play a few songs at various times throughout the day. The Lawyer and I enjoy the music we're hearing!

There have been no complaints about practicing. The three of them are competitive and they all want to be able to play each other's songs. They have moved quickly through their books and are genuinely enjoying what they are learning. It is good for them to have Mrs. H as their teacher. I see that they want to please her and her perspective and influence has been good for them. They have had a recital and are preparing for one in June. (This one will be without music! I'm not one to play well without music and I'm so proud of the effort that they are putting in to prepare themselves. I love seeing them rise to the occasion.) Our three have grown and been stretched just through these half hour lessons. I'm unbelievably thankful for the music in our home!

Silver Fingerprint Art

Just recently I came across THIS and thought it was amazing and fun and reasonable- all at the same time! Thought others may enjoy the ideas, too.

I'm playing around a bit, trying to decide if I want to add buttons or ads to the blog. This would be a button I could add. Any thoughts?

One Week, One 2 YO Boy

It seems to have been an unusually busy week for a certain 2 year old boy at our house. I promise that I haven't left him alone for more than ten minutes; which is obviously far too long. Here is a partial description of T's week:

• Writing with crayon on the yellow table
• Using the potato scrubber and veggie wash to clean the garbage can
• Then, using the potato scrubber to clean the inside of the toilet bowl
• Writing with pencil on the back porch walls
• Cutting his chin when he fell off the skateboard
• Using toilet paper to clean the slide
• Cutting his face with a razor while in the bath
• Writing on L's carpet with marker
• Bloody nose at friend's house
• Writing on a radiator with a pencil
• Gluing paper to the dining room table
• Writing all over himself with markers

Snow Poems

Snow
by: Mary T. Lathrap (1838-1895)

Soft as the fall of a beautiful thought,
Or a leaf on the stream,
White as the robe by purity wrought,
Bright as the flow of a dream.
Calm as a sleeping infant's breath,
Cold as the brow just touched by death,
Falleth in many a graceful wreath
Gently, the beautiful snow.

Caught like a robe on the leafless trees,
With diamonds in every fold;
Stepping like sprites where the fallen leaves
Mingle their brown and gold.
Covering over the graves of the flowers,
And those other graves where gems of ours
We laid away in summer hours,
Now resteth the gentle snow.

Falling to gladden the hearts of some,
With the joys it has in store;
Falling to chill, in the hovel home,
The souls of the suffering poor.
Melting to pearls on the brow of the glad,
Melting to tears on the cheek of the sad,
What gladdens the one, drives the other mad,
Oh! coldly beautiful snow.

Bright as the clouds where the sun goes down,
Is thy fall to the happy heart;
Cold as the world with its bitter frown,
To the child of woe thou art.
But if thy coming shall cheer or chill,
One hand yet gathers the winds at will,
And the eye of the Sleepless is watching still,
In pity, O, pitiless snow!


Snowflakes
by Mary Mapes Dodge

Whenever a snowflake leaves the sky,
It turns and turns to say “Good-by!
Good-by, dear clouds, so cool and gray!”
Then lightly travels on its way.

And when a snowflake finds a tree,
“Good-day!” it says—“Good-day to thee!
Thou art so bare and lonely, dear,
I ’ll rest and call my comrades here.”

But when a snowflake, brave and meek,
Lights on a rosy maiden’s cheek,
It starts—“How warm and soft the day!
’T is summer!”—and it melts away.

Snow on the Crepe Myrtle

I lean my forehead against the cold glass at the head of our bed, gazing out into the night. The sky is inky black, and yet the snow seems to have a light of its own, mirroring the twinkling of the stars. It's breathtakingly beautiful.

The snow hangs heavy on the trees, encumbering the branches,
Causing them to sway slowly, laden in unfamiliar ways.
Like me.
A pregnant mother who moves differently with child,
Heavily, more slowly,
With a different gait, a quiet dance in the night.
The branches bow, holding the snow and ice that glisten and grasp them tightly.
Tomorrow, with the sunlight, this will change.
Tonight I watch and wonder.

Homemade Gifts

I know it's late, but we did manage to make and give away homemade Christmas gifts this year. The kids helped me make 5 batches of Wholly Granola (recipe is in the food section of the blog) and we put them into containers, labeled them, and gave them to friends and neighbors. (Many of our dear friends already have my recipe and make their own granola, though!) The kids also helped me prepare these spray bottles of Thieves cleaner (from Young Living). Not a gift that everyone would enjoy, but some of my good friends and moms who have a penchant for non-toxic cleaning seemed to be pleased. Thieves smells SO good, and you can use it for practically everything. Just a couple ideas for later!

Christmas Cookies and Snowflakes

We are feeling unusually crafty around here lately. As we pare back schooling and rev up the Christmassy things, we have had some unexpected joys.

We used my grandmother's recipe to make gingersnaps. (We did make the sugar cookie dough-
but it's still in the fridge!)

We used this template to make our own paper snowflakes.

Then we used this tutorial to collaborate on a giant snowflake.

Tangram Battleground

We received a bucket of tangrams this summer from generous friends. My thought was to use them for math and for the littles to use as an activity one day during our school session. I suspected that O and R would enjoy them, but didn't foresee this: a long wall, cannons, and gun set up for battle. O definitely has an engineer's mind!

(I also like to take pictures of creative works like this so that we can preserve the memory and still preserve my sanity, too. This kind of project can easily take over our living space and lead to conflict when the littles come around to admire/knock down. What a fun collection I will have of projects over the years!)

Awkward

I'm home! And, oh, how sweet it is!

My trip to CA was wonderful. It was, perhaps, the best conference I have been to. The information was excellent, the conversations stimulating. There was much laughter. Not a lot of sleep (I was too excited!). The whole experience was just what it needed to be. . . and I was ready to step back into my life (which was already one step ahead of me and not slowing down a bit!).

On our way home from the airport, conversation in the van was lively. Tate is finding great pleasure in pointing out airplanes and birds and, as we were near the airport, he was very busy with this activity. Rhyle has a similar thrill: pointing out Hondas. Ever since we got our "new" van, he notices Hondas all over and points them out with glee. As we drove home, therefore, Tate was pointing out planes and Rhyle was exulting over Hondas. . . and then he saw one that gave him slight pause.

"There's a Honda!" he exclaimed. . . but paused. . . "No! It's an H-awkward!"

"Awkward" is a word the kids have adopted to explain things that are crooked or skewed. It first came up in describing how they wanted to swing on our "circle swing." Instead of swinging back and forth, this swing is just a circle on the bottom of a rope and is therefore able to swing any direction- therefore, it is awkward.

An "H-Awkward" is really just. . . a hyundai.

Doing a Little Dreaming

I put this together in January, one evening when there was quiet in the house. I've heard a lot about dream boards and wanted to put together my own. This was challenging as I didn't have many magazines to choose pictures from, and the final result was not exactly what I wanted. . . but you'll get the idea.

My apologies that it's kind of hard to see; I couldn't figure out how to take a great photo. The biggest things are: Lake House, Trip to New Zealand, Get out of Debt, Yearly Vacation, Time at the Farm, and Land (in no particular order).

Be inspired to dream!

A Little Quiz

1) Who ate all the tomatoes (even the green ones!) off the cherry tomato plant?
2) Who was so hungry for another piece of bread that they ate Tate's crust off the floor?
3) Who was using the diaper cream in my bedroom (leaving little white pasty marks everywhere)?
4) Who left blood stains on Livia's bedroom chair?
5) Who broke the drinking glass?
6) Who left peanut shells all over the floor of the van?
7) Who eats the peanuts- AND their shells?
8) Who filled the plastic Easter eggs and hid them in our trees?
9) Who said it was "wonderful that Grandma has such a big bum, so she can hold open doors with it"?
10) Who has read three classic novels this week?


Answers:
1) Tate! 2) Livia 3) I still don't know 4) Rhyle, I think 5) me- oops 6) Livia 7) Rhyle 8) Owen; I'm still finding them 9) Rhyle, of course 10) Owen

Owen's Magna Doodle Art

Random art by Owen: Funny Man with Two Arms on One Side, Sad Man, and A Rocket