Call Me Weird

I guess I'm just weird, but there's something I don't get. All I've been hearing lately is how thrilled parents are because it is "Back to School" time. Everywhere I look, fall is being touted as "the most wonderful time of the year," the "recess that parents need," and "every parent's favorite time of the year." People seem to love commiserating about how their children have driven them crazy all summer, and how they can't wait to finally have some peace and "me time" after school cranks up again. I just don't get it, people.

I don't feel that way at all. Not when autumn breezes hit the air. Not ever. I'm glad ~ no, I'm honored ~ to be with these urchins every day. They are hilarious and curious and fun and they make life interesting. I'm thankful that they have laundry for me to wash, that I can steal a kiss from their dirty faces anytime, and I even don't mind feigning surprise when they jump out at me from behind a door for the umpteenth time. I really like my kids, and I enjoy spending time with them.

This is just a season in my life, and I plan to enjoy it to its fullest. One day soon my children will be grownups, and they won't need me to kiss their boo-boos, or button their pants or cut up their meat. They won't ask me to snuggle them while they fall asleep, and they'll figure out how to make their own sheets smell April fresh. They'll brush their teeth without my prompting, and they'll never leave their wet towels on the floor, because they will understand how expensive carpet is.

My house will one day be clean and quiet. I'll be able to talk on the phone as long as I want. I won't step in sticky spots on my kitchen floor, and I will sleep late if I want to. But that won't be a better season, just a different one. I just can't imagine ever wishing away these happy, exuberant, noisy days of my children's childhoods, simply because I'm a little exhausted. Ok, a lot exhausted. But exhausted in a really, really good way.

I'm thankful that I get to be there when they lose a tooth or when their stomach hurts. I'm glad I'm the one they tell their secrets to, and that I'm the one to serve them lunch.  I like knowing what games they like, and I enjoy being the one to model good sportsmanship when they beat me soundly, even though I was trying to win. I like practicing spelling words and doing math flashcards, and listening to them recite memory verses. I like our bedtime routine, and I enjoy listening to them screech improve as they learn new instruments.

I'm really glad they can ask me about the important, serious, confusing, sometimes embarrassing things about life. And I'm so happy I'm actually with them every day, so that we can talk about those things. I'm glad it's me they talk to, and not someone else. I'm so thankful we get to pray together several times per day.

Our society seems to be under the impression that our main job as parents is to find someone else to manage our kids for most of our waking hours. If that is our goal, why did we become parents in the first place? If we hand off our kids every morning and sign them up for afternoon and evening clubs and activities and then drop them at sports tournaments all weekend, where is the parenting in that? That would make me feel like a manager or a chauffeur, perhaps, but not a parent.

Maybe there are other moms out there who actually enjoy spending time with their kids. Maybe it's just that all the moms who love taking care of their kids are so busy having fun that they haven't taken the time to speak up. Well, I'm on the record now. Call me weird  ~ I like my kids, and this full-time mom job is the best gig going.

Librivox

We discovered a great source for free audio recordings of books in the public domain ~ Librivox Recordings. We constantly have read-alouds going in our family, and hubby's and my voices get pretty worn out. So every once in a while we choose a work that is recorded, and we all get to listen together. We listened to The Railway Children last year, and are now enjoying Robin Hood from Librivox. Later this year we'll use the Librivox recordings of Pinocchio and Pilgrim's Progress by Bunyan. What a blessing!

God Bless Daddy

I've been fighting a head cold all week, so splashing around in the livestock tank pool every afternoon with Baby S has not been much fun. Today, I just couldn't muster the energy to do it. But she has been asking for her daily splash. So, I called my dear husband on his way home and asked if he would give her a swim when he got here.

"Sure," was his cheerful answer, even after a long, hot day in the field studying creek channels.

So, he just came home, dropped his poison-ivy covered clothes in the mudroom, showered off, dried off, put his swim trunks on, and hopped in the pool with a very happy baby girl and all the siblings, too. They are laughing it up out there.


I love that man.

18 Seconds

Sunday Sweetness

Baby S

Healthy Eaters

I was asked again the other day how I "lucked out" because I  have four children who are healthy eaters. Well, pardon me, but it's not luck.

There are lots of things I do not take credit for with my children. I had nothing to do with their stunning looks, their mischievous smiles, or their athletic abilities.  But I do take credit, thankyouverymuch, for teaching them not to be finicky. 

I've been accused of having some secret formula, some amazing trick that helped me accomplish this feat. Pshaw. There are no tricks in parenting, just planning and consistent execution. Here's how we teach our kids to be healthy eaters. 

1. Love your kids. I love mine, so I don't want them to be fueled on junk food and have a mouth full of rotten teeth. I want the best for them in every way.  Teaching them to enjoy healthy foods is just one of the ways that I love my children. 

2. Don't be a short-order cook. I, for one, have just about all the work I can handle keeping these kiddos bathed, fed, and in line. I'm not about to start cooking separate meals for picky people three times a day. Don't start it when they are little. When they are little I offer healthful foods over and over again, until the child finally tries it. They may like it right away, or they may spit it out, and then try it again next time. Eventually, my kids have all learned to like just about everything, if given enough time. 

3. Don't make a federal case of it. They don't have to like everything, and they don't have to like asparagus just because you do. Each of my children has a few things they just don't like. That's fine. They are never required to eat every single dish I serve at a meal. For many years, R didn't like lettuce. So, when I served a big salad she could dip around the salad greens and choose the sliced peppers, olives, tomatoes, green onion, and shredded cabbage for her veggies. HA loves every veggie except tomatoes. So he gets to pick around those when he dips a pile of salad onto his plate. When I make sauteed onions and garlic, I always provide some other veggie choices, too, because HW is not an onion guy. So far, Baby S  likes any vegetable or meat, but prefers most things ground up. So, I'm still grinding lots of her meals for her. And I continue to offer her bits of everything we eat at every meal on her tray, just in case she wants to try it.

4. Serve a variety. I always serve a variety of healthy choices, especially if I already know one of the kids doesn't prefer something on the menu. And just so you know, offering "variety" around here is as simple as slicing up an apple or cutting some carrot sticks ~ I don't make multiple amazing recipes for each meal. Far from it.

5. When we have a new dish, everyone tries a bite. If they don't like it, they say, "No thank you" when they are offered a full-serving.  No violent retching or gagging is allowed. There is nothing more disheartening to a busy mama who has sweated in the kitchen over a new recipe, than for children to come to the table and say "Yuck!" I work hard to make wholesome meals, so if a dish doesn't float their boat they can taste it, then decline it politely. That's basic manners.

5. Don't do fast food and don't buy junk. People's tastes tend toward what they usually eat. Therefore, restaurant food and grocery store junk are rare treats around here. Steering away from the drive-through is not only good for the budget, it also helps kids develop a taste for good food. They learn early on that real food really does taste better than junk.

6. Let them grow it, and let them cook it. Children can't resist trying things that they grow and cook themselves!

7. Teach them to be thankful. When we pray at mealtimes, we strive to be truly grateful for the food in front of us. Our trip to Ethiopia gave us some insight into the reality of need in our world.  We saw and touched people who face the challenge every day of having enough food. Frankly, it's shameful for us to feel any way other than thankful for every single bite we have. 

Sunday Singing

God is the Fountain

Benj. Beddome and Lowell Mason

God is the fountain whence

Ten thousand blessings flow;

To Him my life, my health, and friends,

And every good I owe.

The comforts He affords

Are neither few nor small;

He is the source of fresh delights,

My portion and my all.

He fills my heart with joy,

My lips attunes for praise;

And to His glory I'll devote

The remnant of my days.