Yep- Family Dinners are Important

Statistics regarding family dinner time can be overwhelming! According to WebMD, studies have shown that many kids who eat dinner with their families get better grades in school, are more likely to avoid alcohol and drugs, and don't struggle with obesity. In addition, these children often tend to feel that their parents are proud of them, talk more and discuss serious problems, and experience less stress at home. 

Family dinner time isn't too challenging with little ones who aren't involved in extra curricular activities, but I can see how this will become more difficult as our children get older and have the opportunity to be do more things outside of the home! My 10-year-old nephew is staying with us for the school year and already we are seeing this time being threatened with upcoming basketball practices, school activities and even church activities! We have a firm stance right now that we will fight for dinners at home. Even if that means (gasp!) saying no to other activities that conflict with that!

So...I was browsing the internet searching for some ice-breaker games last week when I came across a dinner party planning site. The site had many ideas for throwing dinner parties, including Family Themed Dinner Nights. Intrigued, I clicked on the link and fell in love!  The site suggested having a themed family dinner some time and then showed several different theme ideas. Considering how I already felt about family dinners and also loving the idea of adding a bit flair of fun to an already great family tradition, I quickly set to work planning our family themed dinner. I chose Tuesday nights for family themed dinner nights as that is also our family game night. This first week (last night) was a surprise for all of the family except for my mom who I invited to join us and asked to use some of her decorations.  

I chose a 50's Diner Theme, so for dinner that night I made homemade cheese Runzas and circle fries, with fruit cups, and cookie bars and ice-cream for dessert. 

I used Pandora on my ipod to play some 50's themed music. And...

...before the kids got up from nap, (and after banning my nephew from the dining room) Mom and I hung some simple decorations...

And set the table.

 

I had a great centerpiece, but "Lil Mama" destroyed it two days ago. Oh well! 

We had a great time at dinner! Everyone loved the decor and the theme! 

And after dinner we all settled in to play some games! 

It was so much fun!

I love doing little things to show my family I love them and that spending time with them is the most important thing I do each day! What are some family traditions you have?

Next week- Fiesta Night!

WebMD article here!

My Daughter Needs a Lawyer

Look at this face.

Cute huh? Adorable even? You may even say, innocent looking.  You may say that. I know the truth.


Let me present the case:

The Crime:  Strawberry Theft

The Players:

The Suspect: "Tiny Tot"

The Pawn: "Innocent Infant"

The Cop: Simply "Momma" 

(not pictured, because, well, no one reads a blog to see pictures of moms)

The Scene:

It was an ordinary lunch time, 1200 hours on Tuesday, August 30th. Tiny Tot had ignored her sandwich and pretzels and devoured all of her strawberries, and then demanded more. Momma promised more strawberries when Tiny Tot ate the rest of her food. A tantrum ensued. (From Tiny Tot, of course.) No sandwich and pretzels were eaten, no strawberries rewarded.

The phone rings and wakes Innocent Infant.

Momma gets up from the table to answer the phone and then retrieves Innocent Infant from his car seat. She places him in his exersaucer with some cheerios to munch while she talks to her mom, all the while glancing at the angry toddler at the table. Tiny Tot's wheels are turning. She is plotting. Strategizing. Something within her snaps.

Distracted Momma doesn't see her get down from her chair.

A few minutes later, it's quiet in the house. Too quiet. Momma walks to the living room to find Tiny Tot sitting "innocently" on the couch. But something is amiss. She surveys the area. Tiny Tot? Check? Innocent Infant? Check. But what's that on his exersaucer tray...?

Strawberries. A lot of strawberries. Whole strawberries with tiny bites taken out of them.

Momma checks Innocent Infant's mouth but it contains only cheerios. After clearing away the strawberries, she then rushes to the kitchen to check the counter where she left the plastic container of strawberries, but it is gone. Then she spots it. In the trash can. Empty.

Walking back into the living room she notices Tiny Tot's eyes intently on her. She also notices she is chewing something and there is red dripping down her chin.

Guilty!

While Momma was distracted, angry Tiny Tot, tired of being denied strawberries, grabbed the container of strawberries down from the counter, took bites of all of them and then FRAMED Innocent Infant by leaving the strawberry remains on his exersaucer! She even disposed of the container! Criminal mastermind in the making.

Where did that land her? Behind bars.

2-4 years. She may get out on good behavior.

Memory Monday- How I Maybe Still Love to Play Cards

We sit across from each other at the breakfast nook table. I deal out cards as his feet dangle just above the floor. He had asked, after a game of Go Fish- "Do you know any other card games, Auntie?" I nodded, remembering.


Late evenings, two girls 29 months apart sit giggling on their bedroom floor. The older deals out cards and asks the younger, "Remember what you can put on a Jack? You always forget."

The younger smiles and says she remembers- readies her hand.

The older yells, "Go!" and they flip over their cards and laugh and squeal- "nine, ten, nine, eight, seven- no I was going to put mine there- too slow!"

There is a lull in the game as each surveys her hand. Both decide they can do nothing more and flip another card, more laughter ensues. During another lull, the younger stares intently at her cards and then up at her big sister. "Can I put an "A" on the Jack?" Her sister laughs softly, affectionately. "I told you you never remember. Nope, only a Queen or a 10." The younger frowns at her hand, but the older realizes a play and slaps down three more cards. "I win!" she yells triumphantly. "Let's play again!"

I finish dealing and stare at the sandy blond-haired boy before me. He looks like his dad but his smile is all his mom. That and his stubbornness and tender affection, too. 


"What's this game called, Auntie?" 


"Speed." I answer. The word gets caught in my throat. Why's it so hard to remember?


"Oooh, I don't know how to play, but I know it's gonna be fast!" He gets wide-eyed. Excited. Lord, he's so much like her, I say to Him Whom I know is ever-present. Help me keep it together, here.


I laugh and explain the rules. There are a few more than he'd like, but once we get going he laughs and declares he loves this game. I hesitate, then say,"Your mom and I used to play this all the time. She always beat me."


He smiles big, still so proud of her, I think. But then he announces, "I bet I could beat her." I smile at this competitive streak in him. He got that honest, too. 


"I don't know," I tease, "She was really really good!"


We sit in comfortable silence for a while. He thinking who knows what, and I...wishing for just a second for a chance to see that match-up and thousands more. 


Then- "Do you want to play again, Auntie?"


"Yep." I say finally. Thankful for this match-up right before me. 

When Words Do Flow

When words don't come I sit and doodle or think or trace the dated page over and over. I stare at the page and wonder.

It's a part of me. Writing. How I work things out, how I see things clearly. How I reach out or dig up or pile over.  But when words don't come I can't force them. They've a mind of their own and sometimes I think I'm just the vessel they use to make their voices heard. But I need them like water and I want to flow like it, too. Flow words like water. But when the tap is dry there is nothing I can do. Maybe.

But then, words are still a part of me, whether written or spoken or read or thought or heard. And so sometimes, when words don't come, I find myself thinking on them anyway. On the words I used with my husband or the cashier or my children. I think on the words I let myself take in through the t.v. or the radio or through the lips of a friend. I wonder on the tone I used to deliver them, the attitude I had to receive them, the motive I had before I said them.

I think, too, about His Words. How He promised that what He wanted them to achieve they would. Like water to the earth. (Isaiah 55:9-11) I think about how He is the Word, (John 1:1) and the power of Words. How they can build a person high or bring them crashing, falling, low. How they can fill and enrich or drain and destroy. How is a person after walking away from my words? How am I?

When words don't come, I take a moment and ask- what would people say, how would they feel, how might they live- when they do come? And if I can't say, with certainty, they would feel blessed, they would feel loved, they would feel uplifted, they would feel filled- well, then. If that is the case, then God take my words and transform them into something beautiful. Not for me but for your glory.

Unless words please the Lord there is no point at all in saying them, or typing them, or reading them, or hearing them, or thinking them.

"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer."Psalm 19:13-14

Let it be so...

Having my Monster Cookies and eating them, too!

I made promises this summer that I intend to keep, even if that means making some sacrifices. For instance, I promised the Texan and one of my former students, a fifth grade girl we'll call "Julie" (I don't know why) who I am providing care for this summer, that I would bake with them this week. So bake we shall! 

Today we made Monster Cookies. They are good. They are very very, sinfully, good. The kids thoroughly enjoyed making this recipe but of course, as is the case with all good cookie recipes, they enjoyed eating the cookies the most. I didn't take any pictures during the process because I was too busy drooling. But, here's some of the finished product. (Some, mind you, because we have already eaten a considerable amount and we also sent 3 bags home with Julie. Quart sized bags not gallon, because I have trouble parting with cookies.)

This is an awesome recipe from my friend Mindee's blog. In fact, we'll be making most of her recipes all week long. Tomorrow is her Devil's Food cake, and Wednesday her cinnamon rolls. Thursday we're cheating and making a homemade ice cream sandwich recipe that I found online which doesn't actually require any baking at all, but it looks yummy and simple. SIMPLE. And I may have implied that this Friday we would take a field trip to a local gourmet cupcake shop to gorge ourselves learn more about baking.

It's a tough job, training young children in the culinary way they should go. But...I will sacrifice my time (and apparently my waistline) to answer the call.

The recipe! Just scroll down a bit!

What we all need

It had been a long day for my little boy. His little 7-month-old body was tight and tense and long, loud cries escaped from his mouth. Tears ran down his face which was contorted into a defeated and angry expression. It was bed time. He was done. The day of breaking in 6 new teeth had proven too challenging for him. He hadn't napped all day, hadn't been too interested in playing or laughing and now, now he was just done.

I scooped him out of his bouncer chair and turned the lights down in his cozy room, turned his sound machine on low- the sound of soothing rain, sank down into the recliner in his room and I nestled him close- one last time to nurse before bed. And he settled. He settled. His little eyes stopped seeping tears and his body relaxed and he melted into me. He was finally where he wanted to be. I looked down at his sweet little face, the face of the one I love, and I cried.

I cried.

Big, heavy tears shaking from me, maybe shaking me loose? Because, Oh God, isn't that where I want to be? Maybe where we all want to be? Oh to be nestled close to You where You can soothe the things that hurt. That have hurt so long. That hurt so deep. Because in 13 days the calendar will mark the date when she took her last breath 3 years ago and I'm still hurting for her, that sister who left too early. And there are other things, too, things I don't understand and can't make sense of but that hurt or make me pause and shake my head and wonder why? Isn't close to You, oh God, where You nestle me close and rock me still and settle me? As he settles- sweet little child- in my arms, I cry big, hard tears and wish and pray that You could settle me, too.

Isn't it what we all want? Oh God, ain't it what we all need?

And immediately, (oh, that hard hard lesson of gratitude), immediately I feel thankful that You are the settling type of God.


A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped...The disciples woke him [Jesus] and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm...


..."Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (excerpts from Mark 4: 35-41)


Who is this? Oh, He's my settling type of God.


He does care. Care if we drown. If the sorrows of life- the hardness of life, the "why's?" and wonders and things that make us sadly shake our heads- threaten to swallow us up, to drown us completely. He cares. So when the day has been too long and the challenges of life have proven to be more than we can bear, He draws us close, nestles us close, and brings the stillness and the calm that we all need.

In that room, that quiet room where my little boy sleeps nestled and firm in the arms of a momma who loves him, I cry crazy gratitude that You are the God who settles and that I can sleep firmly nested in arms of a Father who loves me. Who calms the storm.

Isn't that what we need, oh God? Isn't that what we all need?

60/30 Time

Right now at "Blessed" it is Sixty-Thirty Time. When I was little this time was called "Grown Folks Time"- and I hated it. Now, as a "grown folk" I can't think of anything more wonderful. Sixty-Thirty is a name inspired by a local camp I used to volunteer at. There it was called "Thirty-Thirty Time" and meant that campers were to rest for 30 minutes and then be involved in some sort of devotional activity for 30 minutes.  Right now, here, sixty-thirty time means 60 minutes of IN YOUR ROOM non-screen activity, and 30 minutes of IN YOUR ROOM free choice time.  Did you get the "in your room" part? That's the best part, you see.

Things are actually going really well with having my nephew here, so far. He is using his summer passport daily! I haven't heard "I'm bored" yet and he's been here almost 2 weeks now. That being said, Momma still likes her quiet time during the day, and having a 10 year-old who doesn't nap was impeding on this self-proclaimed necessity of mine. That's when an angel of the Lord appeared and told me to implement 60/30 Time. (Okay, there was no actual, literal, angel, but I feel like it was a gift from the Lord!) Surprisingly, Texan boy was eager to begin this new tradition. (Perhaps he realized Auntie was getting crabby without her nap and he was anxious to be invited to leave her presence? Hmmm?) The first day we started, I helped him gather his much needed non-screen activities: books, poster board sized coloring pages of super heroes I bought him at Wal-mart, a box of wooden Tangrams, and a set of basketball cards; noted the time we were starting and then let him calculate when we'd be ending (that's right, I made it a math problem), and bid him not to come out of his room until the time was up. He dutifully (and quite quite surprisingly) obeyed.  I peeked in on him a couple of times puzzling over a Tangram and then arranging the basketball cards in some order only he could explain, then smiled and ran to my bed for a quick nap before the 7-month-old awoke from his. For each consecutive day I have just checked to make sure was settled and then let him be.

I LOVE 60/30 time. I want to make it a Valentine and ask it to go steady.

Eventually, I'd like to use some of 60/30 time to encourage the Texan to do a devotional, memorize scripture or read the Bible. I'm not a big fan of forcing that, though, so I am thinking of some ways to make that fun and interactive so that he'd desire to do this instead of feel like it was a chore. I have a great book I'm using to help with some ideas, called "The Well-Versed Family".

Here are our 60/30 Time Rules:

1. This time is flexible, not set in stone each day. (I usually begin it when the toddler goes down for her nap.)
2. Activities during this time must be able to be done in your bedroom and may not require adult assistance.
3. Unless it is an emergency, you may not leave your room at this time.
$. All activities need to be quiet to moderate in volume so as not to disturb sleeping 2 year-olds (or 28 year-olds).

If you don't have some "Grown-Folks Time" during your day, might I encourage you to implement something like this? It's so so very wonderful.