Well, after over 16 months of unemployment and 11 months of under-employment, God has answered our prayers for a permanent position for my husband. This position had us move from Minnesota (Twin cities area) to Northern Virginia. I am so very thankful that my husband is employed in a position that utilizes his experience and challenges him and he is pleased to have. I am enjoying the new digs, but I am sorely missing old friends.....
Withing two weeks of our arrival in Virginia, we had a wonderful virus which caused pink eye, ear infections, and colorful throat maladies in various family members; we had an earthquake (two years of living in California and I never felt anything like the 5.9 we had last week), and Hurricane Irene decided to blow our way (luckily, almost no real damage in our area. A few trees down, tons of branches and a few blown over patio sets were all the casualties we were hit with. Much better for us than New Jersey or Vermont...)
We weathered these things in addition to the daily duties and responsibilities of having 4 children and a husband, planning for the school year (yes, I totally procrastinated this time!), and getting the house unpacked and organized. Oh, did I mention my car died? The only car we have in which the entire family will fit.... That's the one!
Thanks and praise be to God (and my wonderful husband, really) for helping me get through things as they come. Seriously. If I had to handle all of these things on my own, by now I'd be a blathering idiot curled up in fetal position in a dark corner somewhere.....
Now it is time for me to make sure all my ducks are in a row for this school year. (I only have about 100 books left to shelve and one room to unpack and organize - the ever dreaded 'storage area' with all my scrapbooking and sewing stuff.... No problem.) It looks like this year might be the calmest since my first year. No pregnancies, no bedrest, no nursing babies (at least, it SEEMS as though that's not going to happen any time in the near future :) Maybe.... Anyway. The biggest thing for me is getting God involved in the planning. Making sure all my ducks are in a row means making sure He is at the helm of this homeschool ship.
I found a beautiful Novena for Homeschool Mothers. I am thinking this will help me to make sure I am beginning the year with the proper perspective......
As of right now, we are looking at some intense studies on Ancient Greece and Rome, along with our Latin, Math and Reading. Science will be Nature Study this year and we are taking Logic, Church Latin, Music Theory and Art Projects online. Catechism and Bible History... I am thinking that since this is the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, we are going to focus on that for our US History..... And, the most important subject of all - the 'keeping busy' of the 2 and 3 year olds..... It should be a fun year :)
Blessings!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Travelling with Children - God be with me!
This is a something I shared with a Yahoo Group I belong to, and thought it worth saying it here, too... Just as much as a reminder to myself as for the benefit of any dear reader who may chance upon it.... I hope you find this helpful on whatever journey life may find you taking....
The question was: "Hello – I was wondering if any families have traveled long distance trips by train. This week we are going to adventure on a family vacation to Seattle, WA by train and would like to get ideas about activities, games, food, sleeping arrangements, etc. that you found useful in your train ride to entertain/take care of children (ages 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1). Any advice is greatly appreciated."
My (crazy long) response:
I have traveled by train from Philadelphia to LA, and by car from California to Kentucky (and those are just the record trips, they are not the only ones. In a week, we will embark upon a two week vehicular expedition (aka road trip) which will circumnavigate the Midwest and end us at our new home...
First, the train specifics:
1. If you can, get a sleeper car. They have more room (depending on the size, not much, but a little - enough for nap time and a 'decent' night's sleep)
2. The viewing car is WONDERFUL! Especially if the weather is nice. It has very large windows, on both sides, for your viewing pleasure. You will get to see tihngs you would not see on road trips ("you don't see nothing on interstate but interstate"). Since you are not on the interstate, the scenery is much more beautiful, and you may catch a glimpse of interesting wildlife....
3. If I remeember correctly, you can buy your meals ahead of time. With little ones, it is a good idea.
4. Do not forget dramamine (or some other "happy travel drug"). If you have never been on a train or a cruise, I HIGHLY recommend you taking some - just in case. The cars sway and rock similar to that of a small to midsize water vessel. It can be a little nauseating if you are not accustomed to it.
5. On the same principle as #4, when the train pulls out, talk the little ones through it, especially if they are worry types :)
As far as keeping them occupied and as happy as can be, the things that I have found to work are:
1. Each child gets their own trip backpack. These backpacks are confiscated from the children before the trip (unless you have extras - we need to use the kids' 'school bags') and filled by you with 'trip goodies' and they do not even get to know what is in the bag until the train/car is moving and you are underway.
Inside the bag are items like the following:
a. Rubberneckers Jr game
b. Coloring books and colored pencils (crayons melt in high heat, so this is especially important for car trips, do NOT use crayons unless you are travelling in winter)
b1. (afterthought..) If you do not want to spend all your time at a table in the dining car, make sure you have some sort of lapdesk/clipboard for each child... I bought two of these clipboards years ago, and though I do not like RoseArt coloring products (not as washable as Crayola washable), the clipboard alone was worth it. Now, the kids store their pencils and paper, color book and sudoku in the clipboard.
c. Joke books
d. Tangrams (magnetic ones are best for car trips, but the smaller pieces are a serious health threat if swallowed by little ones, so if you use them, make sure the users are responsible to put them away properly)
e. a book to read (I always get input on this one. I just ask "what book are you planning on reading for the trip?" and I stick it in the bag....
f. a sketch book (again with the colored pencils, or art pencils for budding Renoirs :)
g. I do not know if they even have them anymore, and I have not done this one in awhile, but you can get a disposable camera and give one to each child. It's a nice way to view the events of the trip from their perspective.
h. If you have any kind of little electronic games, usually 2-3 days into a trip, it can be nice to bring out something new...
i. Sudoku/Crossword puzzles for older kids who enjoy them
j. a journal so they can record their thoughts and experiences as they travel
k. some sort of snack that is not too messy, melty or sticky, and that they do not really ever get to have (twizzlers/gummi worms/bears work very well here) A super special 'travel treat' - Lately I have been getting the little Dora the Explorer applesauce squeezers for the babies. Also, a reusable water bottle they can fill up at each stop and is their very own is economical and eco-sensitive :)
l. for the older kids - a sheet of postcard stamps, a nice writing pen, $3-$4 to buy postcards and addresses of family/friends you think they might want to send a postcard to... Then, you get a card from places you are along the way...
m. If your older girls knit/crochet/embroider/cross-stitch, bring just enough for them to complete a 'mini project'
n. For little ones - sock puppets - several - at least, bare minimum, one for each hand
o. Again, for the littles: paper and stickers
p. Toddler books - touch and feel types or lift-the-flaps, something they can look at, an older sib (or you) can read to them or not...
r. deck of cards - war/go fish/old maid whatever... I just went to Target not too long ago and got UNO, "Would You Rather", "Clue:Suspect" and "The Game of Life: Adventures" All card games. All take up very little space. All of them should be fun to play...
s. Check out Fundex Lunchbox games... Their PB&J game is recommended for ages 4&up, but a three year old could play, too. Slamwich and Too Many Monkeys are fun for older kids...(we do not have any of these games, but have played them, and they ARE fun...)
t. A biggish string and a book on how to play strgin games (think Cat's cradle and Jacob's Ladder... I spent TONS of time from 1st to 3rd grade just playing with a string :) My 3 year old right now is LOVING playing with Mr String. He feeds it and makes it hide and take naps. Honestly, his imagination is impressive. I look at it and see a string. He sees a little string person.....
Anything else you can think of (that will fit in the bag) and be a special 'trip thing' and keep little hands busy AND is easily portable.....
2. A "Mom Bag".... Inside the mom bag can be the "special ops" games... The ones you only pull out for major duty...
a.. a video device if you are not opposed. If you have a laptop that will play DVDs, that can be a nice "bedtime" thing... I do not know how that would work in a regular passenger car, though. You would need earphones for each child old enough to want to hear. That would be tricky... If you have a sleeper car, you're golden :)
b. My kids will have their Nintendo DS's, but they are strictly limited on how much time they can be on them...
c. A picture book or three to read aloud to them. I would suggest maybe getting ones that have as the setting the place you are travelling to, or something famous that happened there.
OK, that's about all I have. As I said, we are preparing to embark on our own journey, and I peeked in
my (very unorganized) pile of 'stuff' that I need to sort through and put into the kids' backpacks..... So this is a fairly comprehensive list....
One final thing.... And we do this. It will not be for everyone, and it is difficult to do with train rides b/c train routes do not show up on highway maps BUT.... Each of my children have a Rand McNally Road Atlas of the US. One of the BIG travel ones.... We write in the front inside cover major trips we go on (typically anything over 100 miles). On each State's page, we take a highlighter and highlight the places they have been/roads they have been on.... This upcoming trip will be the first time the two oldest get to take control of their atlases and follow where we are on the map.. Then, at night, when we get to the hotel, I am going to have the highlight that day's trip. It is good for map skills as well as geography, and it's just plain neat :)
Like I said, train routes are not laid out on a road atlas, you can, however, go to the Amtrak site and download maps of their routes as well as itineraries and do a rough sketch highlight of the journey......
God be with you and keep you safe on your journeys!!
Marybeth
Addendum
I thought of this in the light of day:
Another thing for the toddlers..... A string knot Rosary (unblessed, so when they chew and drool on it, it's not so bad :) And they re washable, too!
Also, "Silly Bandz!" - they are little rubber bands shaped like animals or religious symbols cars or princess shapes or whatever.... They are worn on the wrist like bracelets and ome in an array of colors. Anyway, apparently they were a big thing in the schools and my mom sent a bunch to Freya. The babies LOVE them. They put them on their wrists, and take them off... And put them on and take them off... And play with the animal ones like they are animal figures, and put them on and take them off. They are good for at least 30 minutes of distraction :) They can be found at Target with the baseball cards and things by the front registers...
The question was: "Hello – I was wondering if any families have traveled long distance trips by train. This week we are going to adventure on a family vacation to Seattle, WA by train and would like to get ideas about activities, games, food, sleeping arrangements, etc. that you found useful in your train ride to entertain/take care of children (ages 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1). Any advice is greatly appreciated."
My (crazy long) response:
I have traveled by train from Philadelphia to LA, and by car from California to Kentucky (and those are just the record trips, they are not the only ones. In a week, we will embark upon a two week vehicular expedition (aka road trip) which will circumnavigate the Midwest and end us at our new home...
First, the train specifics:
1. If you can, get a sleeper car. They have more room (depending on the size, not much, but a little - enough for nap time and a 'decent' night's sleep)
2. The viewing car is WONDERFUL! Especially if the weather is nice. It has very large windows, on both sides, for your viewing pleasure. You will get to see tihngs you would not see on road trips ("you don't see nothing on interstate but interstate"). Since you are not on the interstate, the scenery is much more beautiful, and you may catch a glimpse of interesting wildlife....
3. If I remeember correctly, you can buy your meals ahead of time. With little ones, it is a good idea.
4. Do not forget dramamine (or some other "happy travel drug"). If you have never been on a train or a cruise, I HIGHLY recommend you taking some - just in case. The cars sway and rock similar to that of a small to midsize water vessel. It can be a little nauseating if you are not accustomed to it.
5. On the same principle as #4, when the train pulls out, talk the little ones through it, especially if they are worry types :)
As far as keeping them occupied and as happy as can be, the things that I have found to work are:
1. Each child gets their own trip backpack. These backpacks are confiscated from the children before the trip (unless you have extras - we need to use the kids' 'school bags') and filled by you with 'trip goodies' and they do not even get to know what is in the bag until the train/car is moving and you are underway.
Inside the bag are items like the following:
a. Rubberneckers Jr game
b. Coloring books and colored pencils (crayons melt in high heat, so this is especially important for car trips, do NOT use crayons unless you are travelling in winter)
b1. (afterthought..) If you do not want to spend all your time at a table in the dining car, make sure you have some sort of lapdesk/clipboard for each child... I bought two of these clipboards years ago, and though I do not like RoseArt coloring products (not as washable as Crayola washable), the clipboard alone was worth it. Now, the kids store their pencils and paper, color book and sudoku in the clipboard.
c. Joke books
d. Tangrams (magnetic ones are best for car trips, but the smaller pieces are a serious health threat if swallowed by little ones, so if you use them, make sure the users are responsible to put them away properly)
e. a book to read (I always get input on this one. I just ask "what book are you planning on reading for the trip?" and I stick it in the bag....
f. a sketch book (again with the colored pencils, or art pencils for budding Renoirs :)
g. I do not know if they even have them anymore, and I have not done this one in awhile, but you can get a disposable camera and give one to each child. It's a nice way to view the events of the trip from their perspective.
h. If you have any kind of little electronic games, usually 2-3 days into a trip, it can be nice to bring out something new...
i. Sudoku/Crossword puzzles for older kids who enjoy them
j. a journal so they can record their thoughts and experiences as they travel
k. some sort of snack that is not too messy, melty or sticky, and that they do not really ever get to have (twizzlers/gummi worms/bears work very well here) A super special 'travel treat' - Lately I have been getting the little Dora the Explorer applesauce squeezers for the babies. Also, a reusable water bottle they can fill up at each stop and is their very own is economical and eco-sensitive :)
l. for the older kids - a sheet of postcard stamps, a nice writing pen, $3-$4 to buy postcards and addresses of family/friends you think they might want to send a postcard to... Then, you get a card from places you are along the way...
m. If your older girls knit/crochet/embroider/cross-stitch, bring just enough for them to complete a 'mini project'
n. For little ones - sock puppets - several - at least, bare minimum, one for each hand
o. Again, for the littles: paper and stickers
p. Toddler books - touch and feel types or lift-the-flaps, something they can look at, an older sib (or you) can read to them or not...
r. deck of cards - war/go fish/old maid whatever... I just went to Target not too long ago and got UNO, "Would You Rather", "Clue:Suspect" and "The Game of Life: Adventures" All card games. All take up very little space. All of them should be fun to play...
s. Check out Fundex Lunchbox games... Their PB&J game is recommended for ages 4&up, but a three year old could play, too. Slamwich and Too Many Monkeys are fun for older kids...(we do not have any of these games, but have played them, and they ARE fun...)
t. A biggish string and a book on how to play strgin games (think Cat's cradle and Jacob's Ladder... I spent TONS of time from 1st to 3rd grade just playing with a string :) My 3 year old right now is LOVING playing with Mr String. He feeds it and makes it hide and take naps. Honestly, his imagination is impressive. I look at it and see a string. He sees a little string person.....
Anything else you can think of (that will fit in the bag) and be a special 'trip thing' and keep little hands busy AND is easily portable.....
2. A "Mom Bag".... Inside the mom bag can be the "special ops" games... The ones you only pull out for major duty...
a.. a video device if you are not opposed. If you have a laptop that will play DVDs, that can be a nice "bedtime" thing... I do not know how that would work in a regular passenger car, though. You would need earphones for each child old enough to want to hear. That would be tricky... If you have a sleeper car, you're golden :)
b. My kids will have their Nintendo DS's, but they are strictly limited on how much time they can be on them...
c. A picture book or three to read aloud to them. I would suggest maybe getting ones that have as the setting the place you are travelling to, or something famous that happened there.
OK, that's about all I have. As I said, we are preparing to embark on our own journey, and I peeked in
my (very unorganized) pile of 'stuff' that I need to sort through and put into the kids' backpacks..... So this is a fairly comprehensive list....
One final thing.... And we do this. It will not be for everyone, and it is difficult to do with train rides b/c train routes do not show up on highway maps BUT.... Each of my children have a Rand McNally Road Atlas of the US. One of the BIG travel ones.... We write in the front inside cover major trips we go on (typically anything over 100 miles). On each State's page, we take a highlighter and highlight the places they have been/roads they have been on.... This upcoming trip will be the first time the two oldest get to take control of their atlases and follow where we are on the map.. Then, at night, when we get to the hotel, I am going to have the highlight that day's trip. It is good for map skills as well as geography, and it's just plain neat :)
Like I said, train routes are not laid out on a road atlas, you can, however, go to the Amtrak site and download maps of their routes as well as itineraries and do a rough sketch highlight of the journey......
God be with you and keep you safe on your journeys!!
Marybeth
Addendum
I thought of this in the light of day:
Another thing for the toddlers..... A string knot Rosary (unblessed, so when they chew and drool on it, it's not so bad :) And they re washable, too!
Also, "Silly Bandz!" - they are little rubber bands shaped like animals or religious symbols cars or princess shapes or whatever.... They are worn on the wrist like bracelets and ome in an array of colors. Anyway, apparently they were a big thing in the schools and my mom sent a bunch to Freya. The babies LOVE them. They put them on their wrists, and take them off... And put them on and take them off... And play with the animal ones like they are animal figures, and put them on and take them off. They are good for at least 30 minutes of distraction :) They can be found at Target with the baseball cards and things by the front registers...
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Faith, Hope and Trust
From Matthew 6:25-34:
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? 28 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. 29 But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 30 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' 32 All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. 34 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? 28 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. 29 But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 30 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' 32 All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. 34 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
I have not blogged in quite some time. Partially because my pc time has been spent with my weight loss blog... An endeavor that has ended up taking up more time than I had originally planned to give to it. More time, but it is helping me to SLOWLY take off the weight I have been carrying around on and off since the birth of my first child AND helping me to develop healthy habits I plan to keep for a lifetime.
We received some news yesterday. Rather distressing news. My husband, who was laid off from his consulting position 15 months ago, was not selected for a position at a company he had been in the courting process for 6 weeks with. This was the closest he had come in the 15 months, and it was extremely disheartening to hear that once again, there is no job.....
I have another friend in the same boat. Her husband was laid off after my husband, but he was able to find a contract position to keep their family going. They were just informed that the contract position was going to be eliminated due to downsizing. And my brother in law is stressing about the future of his construction company... (Feel free to insert snarky comment here about our "recovering" economy...)
I have had a few friends ask me how we are managing. The only reply is Faith, Hope and Trust in God! I know He has a plan, and I know that there must be some reason we are going through this time of trial and suffering. I cling to 4 things right now. 1. The Scripture verse above. 2. Eucharistic Adoration 3. Confession, and 4. Our Lady Help of Christians through the Rosary and Memorare....
1. Matthew 6:25-34
I do not think this verse needs any explanation. This is the main thing that sustains me. Every day, I think of this and I know Our Father will take care of us and our suffering will end....
2. Eucharistic Adoration
What better way to pray (and beg?) for our needs than to go and visit Our Lord truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Most Blessed Sacrament? We are not fortunate enough to have a church here with Perpetual Adoration, but every time we make a little trip into The Cities, we stop at St Michael's Parish in Stillwater and visit Our Lord. This has been a MAJOR source of comfort and strength for both my husband and myself....
3. Confession
There is a propensity toward despair when you have 4 children to feed and clothe and educate and raise and student loans and other bills and no money coming in to take care of those things. Despair is a sin, it betrays a lack of Faith. There is also a tendency to be a little more rash and impatient and argumentative when you are under great stress. These things do not bring us closer to God, they take us from Him. I have been going to Confession as often as I can and feel as though I need to. Lately, that has been once a week. Without the Grace from this wonderful Sacrament of Mercy, I do not know how I would get through......
4. Our Lady, Help of Christians
For information on this title of Our Blessed Virgin and and Mother Full of Grace, see here. I have been asking her intercession for all of our needs through the Rosary and also the Memorare. Both are most beautiful prayers. Our Lady raised Our Lord. She saw to His needs as a child. She understands a mother's suffering, as well as a woman's love and honor of her husband. What better person to look to for example of living a life that is holy and pleasing to God? And, as she is the mother of Our Lord, what better person to ask for help? Since Our Lord loves and respects His mother, He will grant whatever she asks if it is in concordance with the Father's will.... Thus, we keep "flying" to her, seeking her help and imploring her intercession.....
I look forward to the day when I can report that God has answered our prayers with a "Yes", instead of a "Not Now." regarding my husband's employment. In the meantime, I count my blessings, am thankful for the blessings I have, and pray!
2. Eucharistic Adoration
What better way to pray (and beg?) for our needs than to go and visit Our Lord truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Most Blessed Sacrament? We are not fortunate enough to have a church here with Perpetual Adoration, but every time we make a little trip into The Cities, we stop at St Michael's Parish in Stillwater and visit Our Lord. This has been a MAJOR source of comfort and strength for both my husband and myself....
3. Confession
There is a propensity toward despair when you have 4 children to feed and clothe and educate and raise and student loans and other bills and no money coming in to take care of those things. Despair is a sin, it betrays a lack of Faith. There is also a tendency to be a little more rash and impatient and argumentative when you are under great stress. These things do not bring us closer to God, they take us from Him. I have been going to Confession as often as I can and feel as though I need to. Lately, that has been once a week. Without the Grace from this wonderful Sacrament of Mercy, I do not know how I would get through......
4. Our Lady, Help of Christians
For information on this title of Our Blessed Virgin and and Mother Full of Grace, see here. I have been asking her intercession for all of our needs through the Rosary and also the Memorare. Both are most beautiful prayers. Our Lady raised Our Lord. She saw to His needs as a child. She understands a mother's suffering, as well as a woman's love and honor of her husband. What better person to look to for example of living a life that is holy and pleasing to God? And, as she is the mother of Our Lord, what better person to ask for help? Since Our Lord loves and respects His mother, He will grant whatever she asks if it is in concordance with the Father's will.... Thus, we keep "flying" to her, seeking her help and imploring her intercession.....
I look forward to the day when I can report that God has answered our prayers with a "Yes", instead of a "Not Now." regarding my husband's employment. In the meantime, I count my blessings, am thankful for the blessings I have, and pray!
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