Summer Fun

I am part of an awesome, local mom's group on Facebook. Those ladies are really some of the sweetest more helpful ladies I know. Even when we don't see eye to eye on parenting issues it is, for the most part, a low drama group of women who genuinely seek to lift one another up. The past few weeks there have been a LOT of posts about things to do with kiddos that are free or low cost.  I thought, to make life easier for them, I would compile the ideas here so there are all in one place. If you aren't local a lot of these may not work for you, but this may at least give you an idea of things to look for near you!



Low Cost:

Morning Movies at Movies Ten. Their movie list can be found here.

Morning Movies at Regal Movie Theater. Their movie list can be found here.

Free Kids Bowling at AMF bowling ally. (I have this on the cheap list since you still have to rent shoes).

Sheetz for slushies. (You can get the small ones for $0.99 with a sheets card)

 



 

Free (or close to free depending on what you have around the house)

Splash ground at Riverside Park

Interactive fountain at River Front Park.

Sprinklers in the yard.

Kiddie pool in the yard.

Squirt Gun Fight.

Make Popsicles

Construction paper, a magazine, and a glue stick will keep kids busy for HOURS!

Glow stick bath.

Play Dough out side (way easier to clean up)

Make a tent in the back yard (or front yard, or basement)

Make no bake (or preacher) cookies.

Barnes and Nobles has a children story hour every Wednesday at 11:00 am and Friday at 7:00 pm.

Go to the Library.

Pick a topic and learn everything you can about it.

Finger paint in the bathtub.

Fill up buckets with water and let them splash around/paint the side wall or deck ect.

Draw with Chalk.

Blow bubbles.

Make cards to send to family.



 

Special Occasion Ideas

If you are looking for something a bit more exciting, but still some what reasonable, most of these activities can be done for less then $10.00 per person.

Splash Valley Water Park in Roanoke.

Amazement Square in Lynchburg. (Hint check out The Clutch Guide for a 2 for 1 coupon!)

Hill Cats Game. (Their web site if FULL of discounts including kids club which allows kids to attend all 70 home games for free, as well as dollar pizza nights and Half Price Tuesdays.)

Mill Mountain Zoo.

Fun Center Putt Putt.

Funquest (Has tons of specials on roller skating, the indoor jungle gym, and laser tag all summer including a Christian Music night and $1.99 Mondays)

Bounce About.

 

*Be Sure to join Groupon. Typically you can get



 

READ!!!!

Join the Dig Into Reading program.

Read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and make cookies.

Read If You Give a Moose a Muffin and make muffins.

Read a book about Johny Apple Seed and eat apples (or color apples or something with apples).

A great list of books to read to your daughters this summer from Virginia Sole Smith. (I must also add the Betsy Tacy books to this list if you haven't read them to your little girl yet it MUST go on your summer reading list)

Ten books to read to your 4-7 year old by Sarah Bessey.

Check out Our Cultivated Life for a tutorial on how to make you own summer reading board game!

 

Pinterest

Here are just a few links I discovered on Pinterest that sounded like fun!

Sewing Cards by Handmade Charlotte

My entire pinboard of printable paper dolls.

These Sponge Balls  by One Charming Party so sound much better than waterballons!

 

Make Your Summer Bucket List

These are few of my favorite fill in yourself bucket lists available for printing at home to fill out with your own ideas.

Bugs Bucket List

Simple Bucket List

Summer Schedule Ideas

Color Your Own Bucket List

Summer Bingo Board (Great for vacation)

 

One other thing I always do is give my kids each a note book at the start of the summer. For older kids this is a great way for them to keep track of their summer adventures. For mine (4 and 5) it turns into more of a place for them to put stickers and glue stuff, but it still helps keep them busy.

I'm still working on setting our summer schedule and bucket list. Abi just got out of school and most schools don't get out till tomorrow so I'm giving myself a week or two to figure it out. But once I do, I'll be sure to share what we are doing this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

Birth

I had a couple posts planned but last week but life happened and they just didn’t. Last Sunday I sat down to write about my Birth Story  for another blog I write for. The Motherhood Collective is a great Mothering Blog. I am definitely different from most of their writers, which is one of the things I love about writing for them. I like getting to be a voice from another point of view, and love that they encourage that and seek to minister to and build up moms from all walks of life and parenting philosophies.

It was an interesting process to look back and work through what was going on in my mind that day five and a half years ago. All of that was definitely still fresh in my mind when we met with my doctor on Tuesday to discuss C-section number three. We were presented with a LOT of information on repeat c-sections and consecutive pregnancies.  There was a lot of information and suggestions to processes and I think that's what I spent most of last week doing. Most of my brain power last week was used to sort through and filter all the options.

The result of a lot of thinking is that we might actually try for a V-BAC this time. Obviously there is a chance it won't work, but this is my last chance to try, and for the sake of my health and my husband and I am willing to give it a go. Of course, it will only work if I go into labor naturally, on my own, before my scheduled c-section on August 1st. There's a lot of "ifs" involved, but it is assuring to know that whatever the outcome of it all my God is in control and so much bigger than all of this.

In the process of writing my birth story and sorting through photos to get them printed I stumbled across a bunch of pictures from the girls first weeks. They were just to cute NOT so share!

 

 

Maddie Goose.

"Teddy Bear" (as she now insists on being called)

Cannot wait to meet our Tacy Rae!

Noticing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is so easy to look around at our life and think "This isn't what I signed up for" or "How did I get here?"

We look at our big plans. We look at our facebook feed. We look at our favorite blogs. We wondered what happened. We wonder why we don't have the life we so desperately want when every one else makes it look so easy.

The funny thing is, I think if most of us slowed down and looked around we would realize that we are in fact living the life we wanted. Our lives, for the most part, aren't that different from the blogs we drool over. We bake, we take walks, we go for ice cream, we do special activities with our kids. The difference between our lives and the lives of the people on the other side of the glowing screen and polished blogs is documenting. The ONLY way that "other" woman is different from us is that she taking the time to notice, document, and dwell on the little moments. She takes time to make much the life's small celebrations.

Like ice cream for dinner on a hot Thursday night.

Baby's in diapers on hand-made quilts.

A big jar of pop beads.

A baby dedication.

The first watermelon of the season (even if it is a bit early).

Hot dog fingers.

So here is to noticing my life more. Lifting up prayers of gratitude for simple moments. And capturing the beauty in the mundane.

Rambelings

I'm not sure what it is, but every time I sit down to write I just can't quite bring myself to actually do it. Nothing seems to flow quit as easily as I would like. Maybe it's this nasty cold settling in my chest, maybe it's my weird sleeping schedule lately, or maybe I'm just to lazy to put in the real work of writing.

It's easy to say "I write" or "I blog" but just saying those things doesn't make it so. Real writing happens when you are willing to put in the time, day in and day out. When you sit down and take pen to paper (or fingers to key board) even when your mind feels blank. And so today that's what I am doing. Simple writing, because not writing doesn't feel right.



As you might remember I did a post sponsored by Tinyprints a while back. I finally ordered my products and got them in the mail this week!



I wasn't sure I was going to keep the calendar notebook for myself so I put a favorite family saying on it rather than my name. As soon as I opened it up I new I would have to keep it!



It's so bright and colorful. I normally like weeks laid out and you can get that if you get the Erin Condrin Life Planner. Because it doesn't have the weekly break down I'm not sure I'll use it as a planner or if it will be more of a catch all for lists and deadlines ect. Either way I truly do love it!!



I may not be writing much here but I am writing daily. I have been participating in 30 Days of Thank You and I have been writing a thank you note every day to some one I treasure. It's been so much fun.



I've also been journaling on a pretty regular basis. I've been processing through the misscairiage a lot and am almost ready to share some of my thoughts in this space. I've also been writing for a few other blogs!

You can read about how having 5 women in my family suffer from cancer has changed how I live my life over at The Clutch Guide.

I will also be writing for The Motherhood Collective a few times a month starting this month. My first post doesn't go up for a few more weeks but if you want to check out their blog they are doing a give away featuring The Goose Beary Shop!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'll be back soon with thoughts on my Abi Bear turning 5!!

Does It Get Easier?

Since miscarrying our baby back in February a friend has had a still born baby, another friend miscarried and a former member of our Sunday school class miscarried.  The other day the friend who miscarried was asking me if it got any easier. With out thinking I wrote a her a reply that I hoped would help. It wasn't until later that I realized I was writing exactly what I wish some one had said to me 6 months ago. What I still wish more people would come out and say. And so, as hard as it is I am putting this out there, for those of you who may be wondering "Does it get better."

It does get a bit easier. But not as soon as every one else thinks it has and not as soon as you wish it would. There are still moments when it's hard for me. Have grace with yourself. It's ok to be sad. You lost a child. Maybe not one you have held, but one you loved none the less. It's ok to say no to things. It's ok to excuse yourself from situations. I've ducked out of gatherings a number of times because it's just too hard. But it does, oh so slowly, get easier.

Photo Credit http://www.sincerelylizblog.com

Does It Get Easier?

Since miscarrying our baby back in February a friend has had a still born baby, another friend miscarried and a former member of our Sunday school class miscarried.  The other day the friend who miscarried was asking me if it got any easier. With out thinking I wrote a her a reply that I hoped would help. It wasn't until later that I realized I was writing exactly what I wish some one had said to me 6 months ago. What I still wish more people would come out and say. And so, as hard as it is I am putting this out there, for those of you who may be wondering "Does it get better."

It does get a bit easier. But not as soon as every one else thinks it has and not as soon as you wish it would. There are still moments when it's hard for me. Have grace with yourself. It's ok to be sad. You lost a child. Maybe not one you have held, but one you loved none the less. It's ok to say no to things. It's ok to excuse yourself from situations. I've ducked out of gatherings a number of times because it's just too hard. But it does, oh so slowly, get easier.

Photo Credit http://www.sincerelylizblog.com

Saturday: Sucesses and Fails.

This is one of those blog posts that has been rolling around in my head all day. It has taken on many forms and types of content. My original post was about the fun and relaxing things I did on Saturday. And then things went horrible wrong. I was tempted to go ahead with the happy go lucky post, but then I paused.

I was having a conversation earlier this week with some friends about the pitfall of blogging or really having any online presence It is so easy to present just a slice of life. The part that we choose for others to see. Because of that it is so very easy to project a the idea that we have it all together. That everything in our life is perfect and we have it all together.

I don't think most bloggers do this intentional I think it's a byproduct of choices we make. I personally chose to share the positive things in my life. I do this for two reasons.

1) No one wants to read a blog, follow some one on facebook, or subscribe to a twitter feed of a cranky person.

2) I have a tendency to be a negative person and blogging has helped me focus on the good things in my life. It has given me a place to celebrate the little things.

But some times the best thing you can do is be transparent. To be honest about the bad and ugly in life.

So here we go:

Today started out great. I spent the morning at home a lone with a a whole screen full of free book samples on my Nook and now I have a nice long list of books I can't wait to read. After bombing the house for fleas (third treatment). I then headed out to meet up with my mother-in-law and the girls. We went to a yard sale and I got 5 gifts for $3.00 dollars. AMAZING!!

I also got to see the magazine I'm writing for out around town. So much fun.

After hitting up some sales we went back to my mother in laws place and I did some working on projects. Finished up a doll and started working on a new style. I am in love with them.

Then we went home and in the ten minutes I spent downstairs on the computer reading about BlogHer12 Maddie emptied the entire jug of sweet tea on the floor. Wouldn't have been so bad, except I lost it. I completely and utterly lost my temper with her. And continued to do so as she attempted to "help" cook dinner. I wanted to shut myself up in the bathroom but I was worried about what else she might do.

Eventually I calmed down and realized that some day I will be sad. Some day she won't want to help. Some day I'll be wishing she was there to lay on the floor in the kitchen and play with the kitty. So I pulled our the flour and butter and let the girls make shortbread cookies. Something they could help with without making to much of a mess.

It wasn't perfect, but it was our day. A day in our adventure and I'm thankful for it.

Motivation

*I wrote this last night but my computer didn't want to post.
I have been trying not to do house work on Sundays for the past few weeks for two reasons. One, having a day when I don’t work is a motivation to be productive on the other six days. For whatever reason the more time I Have to do things the less gets done. Not that I believe in having a jam packed schedule, but to much free time allows me to put things off.

The second reason is the desire to instill a rhythm and a Sabbath structure in my life. The hope its to make room for rest and play and self reflection.

Unfortunately my mad attempt at getting ready for the craft show meant these ideals were neglected. So five pm found me doing three days worth of dishes and picking up a week’s for of clutter.

As I puttered around cleaning a through drifted through my head. “At least now I can have a reason to say I am tired and rest." As soon as the thought fluttered through my head I stopped (mentally) rather surprised. It made me wonder why do I do house work?

Do I clean house because it is the right thing to do? Do I tidy up and clean and do laundry because it attends to my families physical and psychological health? Do I cook meals because it nourishes my loved one’s bodies and souls? Do I care for my house because the Bible encourages it as a way of fulfilling my role and as show of good stewardship and gratitude? Or do I do these things grudgingly out of guilt? Do I use them as a tool to gain love and acceptance from husband, family, or the ladies I interact with? To quote Ecclesiastes 4:9a “For who am I toiling?”

I know I will have days when domestic chores are just that, chores. But will I do them out of duty and obedience or as a selfish way to gain love from God or people. (As if that love can be earned.)

In her book Rest Keri Wyatt Kent explains one of the gifts of Sabbath. “If we dare to obey, Sabbath allows us to do a little experiment, to test the promises of God: what if I stop working, stop accomplishing, stop earning? Will God still love me? Will He love me just as much?” Of course the answer is yes. Nothing can cause is to loose (or gain) God’s love.

So, as I sit here on this Sunday evening looking at my to-do list for the coming week I wonder. Am I acting out of a heart full of love for my Savior or out of a heart trying to earn His love?