Letter Learning

As Benjamin enters into the age of preschool I feel like I am constantly asked if we plan to send him to preschool. The first time someone mentioned it, I kind of thought it was funny. I never went to preschool and honestly hadn't even considered it for Benjamin. But the more people asked me about it, the more pressure I started to feel. Someone mentioned that they planned to home school for preschool and told me what curriculum they were using. Curriculum? For preschool?  I mean, does a three year old really need to be in school? Or even to have a formal "school" time at home? I started searching the web for lists of things Benjamin needed to know before kindergarten and one list freaked me out because he isn't even close to knowing how to read or add and subtract, while another list made me feel like he could skip kindergarten and go to first grade now because he knew everything on it. So that was no help. Finally I decided that maybe some intentional training would be good, but that I wasn't ready for a full on scheduled school time. I decided that my goal for him before kindergarten is recognition of letters by sight and knowledge of the sounds they make, as well as recognition of numbers and the ability to count objects correctly. And if he happens to get more of his colors right in the middle of all that, I will feel like he's doing well. Besides that, I really want him to just be a kid during this time. I want him to learn more about using his imagination for play and I want him to continue his love for books. And more than anything, I want him to have more and more of an understanding of who Jesus is.

So last week I started in on my goal of learning a letter a week. We did "A" and came up with all sorts of things that start with A. Here are a few pictures of our learning one afternoon. SO fun!

We had an apple snack and cut the apple into A's.

His "this is delicious" face.

Cheesin'

Camping Out

This past month has been a crazy one. Matt is working through his first yearly audit at his new job and has put in a lot of hours, working many late nights as well as every weekend in August. So, despite the fact that he does not get labor day off, he had this whole past weekend off and it was wonderful! We started the weekend off with a date, which is the best way to start one in my opinion. :-) Then we woke up Saturday morning and made our weekly trip to the farmer's market. Have I mentioned that I really love our local farmer's market? Last week there was a guy selling samples of what he called "forbidden ice cream flavors." He had flavors like cinnamon-basil (a type of basil), Italian parsley, burnt caramel, Dijon mustard, black pepper, and a fruit sorbet. It was three samples for a dollar, so we sampled the basil, parsley, and burnt caramel. I liked the cinnamon basil one so much that this week I found the vendor who was selling the cinnamon basil and I purchased a huge big bunch for $1. We sampled the ice cream again this week and ended up with Lemon Ginger, Cardamom, and another one that my forgetful brain will not remember, but they were all really good. And don't worry, we get healthy stuff at the farmer's market too. I got a pretty large pumpkin for $2 and I'm super excited to cook it up and start in on fall baking. I've heard that canned pumpkin may be hard to come by this year, so I plan to stock my freezer with my own. We will not go without pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving if I can help it. Hahaha!

After making our purchases, we headed over to our favorite trail and did a 7 mile walk. This has become a Saturday morning tradition and I love it! We put Benjamin in the stroller and he gets out and runs/walks for a while, then rides for a while. We are usually tired by the end, but invigorated. This Saturday we decided to follow up our walk with a trip to a local dairy bar for some burgers and ice cream. Yum!

Sometime last week I got it in my head that it would be fun to go camping with Benjamin since Matt had the weekend off. We really aren't big campers, but I love the idea of eating and sleeping outdoors. I did some checking into campsites and then realized it was labor day weekend and there was nothing available within decent driving distance. So, I called our apartment office and asked if they would allow us to camp out in the wooded area behind our apartment building. They agreed to it, and so the rest of our Saturday was filled with setting up camp. There are grills out behind our building, so we grilled hot dogs and then had s'mores with the neighbor kids. I think Saturday was the coolest day we've had since Spring, so when it got dark, we settled in for a cold night. We haven't used our tent in four years and it was a bit tight back then, but we managed to get our air mattress and all three of us inside. Benjamin was pretty excited about being in the tent and having flashlights and books and lots of blankets. Unfortunately, the excitement wore off pretty quickly when it was time to actually sleep. I'm not sure how much he slept, but he was up many times throughout the night and at 6:45, we finally decided he was not going to sleep any more in the tent, so we headed in. Can I just say that I HIGHLY recommend camping out so close to home? :-) Bathroom trips are easier, forgotten items can be retrieved, and when little man is ready to be done camping, we can just head on in. We had everything cleaned up by 8:30 and Benjamin was down for a nap by 10:30. Needless to say, we were all really tired! But when we decided to head inside in the morning, Benjamin said "It was a fun night. I like the tent!" So, all the work and exhaustion were completely worth it!

It's the Little Things

Sometimes it really is the little things that make my day. And sometimes I think I'm just an odd sort of girl. I walked into Walmart a couple of weeks ago and was doing my normal shopping when I noticed a mop display in the middle of the aisle. Now let me just tell you that I HATE mopping. Not sure why, but I do. That and laundry are my two least favorite chores. Maybe it's because neither of them stay done for more than about .03 seconds, I don't know, but I just don't like doing them. The laundry I do regularly because as much as I hate it, I do like wearing clothes. But the mopping, well, I'm not about to tell you how infrequently it gets done. So here I was minding my own business and came upon this mop. Not sure why it caught my eye other than the fact that it looked like another mop I had tried and loved, but couldn't justify because I had to purchase special mop pads and refill cleaner for it. You know the one. Well this one was just like it except it came with a washable pad and a refillable bottle that you could fill with whatever cleaner you wanted. I was sold! But, being the good little housewife that I aspire to be, I decided not to make an impulse purchase. However, now that I knew about it, I wasn't about to use the old mop and bucket method I had at home, so my floor just got dirtier and dirtier. I finally broke down and bought it this past weekend. And no, I am not selling this mop, but I do really like it. I guess it caters to the lazy side of me. No bucket to drag around after me and no mop ringing between each re-wetting. I like to tell myself that I'll mop more because of it. We'll see. But at least my job was made easier.

But what did I do with the old mop you ask? Well:

It turned into a horse

And then a shepherd's staff

And then a guitar!

Gettin' Real

Most of this blog is dedicated to funny stories and sharing the happy times we have as a family. But sometimes there just isn't anything funny to write about and for some odd reason, I feel compelled to keep this silly blog going, so today's post might get a little real.

Living in a new (as an adult) city without close friends and missing that southern hospitality we encountered when we first moved to Texas is hard. Living here and having a sweet little boy in the midst of the very trying Threes is even harder. I have never seen the depths of my own selfishness as I have seen it in the past several weeks. I really want this parenting thing to be easy. I want to do what the parenting books say to do and have it work quickly. I want Benjamin to desire to obey. I want to not have to be inconvenienced by his lack of obedience. I want to sleep a whole night through instead of being awakened at 4am. I want to have a little peace and quiet. I I I I I. And yet when I look back on my life, I've never really had to give up that "I". Granted, I've dealt with a lot of circumstances that didn't go my way. Infertility and having to let go of a child we thought we were supposed to adopt taught me a lot about not being in control of my circumstances. But now I am finding myself facing the fact that I want to be in control of my son, and my reasons are often driven by selfishness. And when I find that I cannot control him, I find it difficult not to become frustrated with him.

Today, after almost a full week of Ben deciding to get up somewhere between 2am and 4am, we are both tired. After an attempted nap, I got up and decided I needed desperately to meet with the Lord while Ben was still sleeping. And wouldn't you know it, my study today was on patience. Not patience with circumstances, but patience with people. Not only that, but I was reminded that I cannot achieve that kind of patience on my own. It's a fruit of the Spirit and can only be attained through His power. On the one hand that's so freeing. On the other hand, I feel like my selfish ambitions so often keep me from being filled with the Spirit and bearing His fruit. Living Spirit filled is just not something that happens once and continues. I have to be surrendered every single minute of the day. And lately, I haven't been.

For the past several weeks, I have been seeing a chiropractor about a hip problem I've had for a couple of years. Ben always goes with me and usually we don't have to wait at all before going back to our room. Today however was a super busy day and we waited in a full waiting room. Benjamin does not have a shy bone in his body and usually thinks that if there is another person around, they are desperate to interact with him. I love this about him, but I'm usually cautious about encouraging him because he quickly gets out of control and starts doing crazy things to show off. One of the ladies sitting next to me kept staring at me and for some reason I just felt judged. She said something to me about how energetic Benjamin was and I said something jokingly about how amazing it was that he had that much energy since he'd been up since 4am. She quickly told me I should probably think about putting him to bed later. Right after that, the showing off escalated and after Ben threw magazines at two patients and was about to dump the contents of the trash can on another, I decided it was time to take him outside to settle down. As we walked out the door, Benjamin said "where'm I going?" That same lady said "sounds to me like you need a good paddling." It was all I could do to keep from losing it. I mean, in reality she was right, but did she really think I would just do it right there in the office, or in the front yard of the office? I stewed about it for quite some time before finally seeing myself and how often I've judged others around me without really knowing their circumstances. Before having kids, I was one of the first to look at a harried mother and her misbehaving child (ren) and think that if she would just give them a good spanking or be a better mom, they would be much better kids. Ha! So here I am getting lessons both in humility and in patience.

And that's enough rambling for today. Maybe next week will be funnier. :)

A Three Year Old Boy's Prayer

"Lord Jesus, thank you for poop, and dirt, and bikes, and salmon with cheese on it, and for cars, and for mommy and daddy. In Jesus Name, Amen."

This was Benjamin's exact prayer before bed tonight. I think it completely sums up the thoughts of a little boy: Poop, Dirt, Food, Cars, and don't forget Mommy and Daddy.

Summer Activities

This summer I joined a mom's group here in town called Mothering as a Career Club. The group offers play dates and mom's nights and I thought it would be a good way to get to know some other moms with kids Ben's age. The first month I was a little shy about getting involved and we were also pretty busy with family stuff, so I didn't do much. But this month I was determined to go to some of the play dates. It's been really fun and has allowed Benjamin to be around some other kids and me to see what there is to do around here. Last week we got to see a fire truck and Benjamin got to spray the hose. We also checked out the local gymnastics place and they divided the kids up according to age. Benjamin had a great time jumping on the trampoline and jumping into a pit of foam blocks. Pretty sure tumbling will be in order as an activity when the yucky winter weather hits. Today we went and visited a local cheese farm and got to hear how they make cheese and even take a look at where they milk their cows. We got some yummy raw cheese and I also purchased some raw milk which I am excited about. I think Benjamin's favorite part was the homemade ice cream. He is definitely my son with his love of that sweet treat. ;-) I took my camera to the firetruck demo but forgot it for both the other activities. I really need to be better about that. But here are some fun pictures of Ben spraying the hose and sitting in the truck.

He was having a pretty serious discussion with the fireman

Dressed for Church

The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful weeks when it comes to mommying. I'm pretty sure that whoever called the twos terrible hadn't even gotten to the threes yet. I know I'm not the first mother to wish for this, but some days I wish little man had come with a "here's what will get through to him" manual. I struggle to maintain consistency and lets not even talk about maintaining sanity. I so desperately desire for Benjamin to know and understand his need for a Savior, but some days I get so focused on behavior that I forget about the bigger picture and become a yucky angry mom. But despite the fact that I fail daily at being a Spirit filled mother, God's grace is so evident. He gives me reasons to laugh in the middle of it all and even lets those reasons for laughter come from the very source of my frustration. So, this past Sunday, we were getting ready for church and this is what Benjamin said he wanted to wear: 

He came into my room sporting his tank top PJ shirt, along with an inside out long sleeved PJ shirt, topped by his inside out and backwards polo shirt. For the bottom, he decided to just wear plaid shorts. Underwear is way over rated. And in this house, that underwear can sometimes be found in the fridge anyway.