Monthly Archives: September 2008
Works for Me Wednesday
God calls us to be good stewards our what we’ve been given. That includes our money and our talents, but also our time. If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, you know I struggle with organization. I love having everything in order and using my time efficiently so that I can truly enjoy my family, but managing a home doesn’t come easily to me. My mother always says “Creative people can’t be neat people.” I won’t say it’s impossible, but it sure is difficult! I hate chores. I hate housework. But it’s all got to be done and so I strive toward a perfect “system” to keep it all done. I’ve not found a perfect system, but I have found a tool that works for me.
A month ago I shared with Rick my ideas for a perfect organizer. It would be a calendar with both weekly and monthly views. It would have spots for a grocery list, meal planning and a To-Do list. I would be able to keep track of family appointments, notes, and personal goals. It would be perfect … if only it existed. I considered making one myself, but the thought alone seemed too labor-intensive and time-consuming, so I put it out of my mind and headed to the grocery store.
Guess what I found there. Yup! My PERFECT organizer!! I was so excited. Here it is. I give you: Mom’s Plan-It Engagement Calendar. And this is why it’s so great:
- Weekly and Monthly Calendar Views
- To-Do List: smack-dab in the middle of the weekly view (right where it should be)
- PERFORATED Grocery List: This is on one side of each weekly calendar (see the photo below). It’s even divided by sections of the store so there’s no back-tracking when you get there – another time saver! Did I mention it’s perforated so you can just rip it out and take it with you?
- Menu Planner: This is on the opposite side of the weekly view (again, see the photo below). Its format is flexible to suit your needs, whether you just want to list meals, assign days or even jot down recipes or pages in cookbooks. (I’m lovin’ it!)
- Stickers: almost 300 for quickly and easily noting family appointments, school activities and more
- Front Pocket: for holding coupons, school notes or things to be mailed
- Address Pages: These are divided into sections, too! There’s a generic address section for anyone you want to remember, but there are also specific address pages for babysitters, children’s friends, restaurants, services (like when you need a plumber and don’t want to spend an hour looking for the number) and emergency contacts.
- Notes section: blank pages in the back for all your brilliant thoughts and doodles.
- Spiral Bound: no more wrist calisthenics trying to write in an awkward journal.
- 17-Month Format: It actually starts in August to go with the school year and runs 17 months, just in case you, like the rest of us busy moms, can’t always buy a new calendar when you really need one.
And all this in a little package. The whole thing measures about 5 1/2 x 6 1/2″. It won’t fit in my tiny handbag, but it does squeeze nicely into a small backpack or diaper bag. I’ve had this planner for just a month and already my life seems easier. I’m thrilled with it! It definitely worth more than the $13 I paid for it.
There is actually a whole line of “Mom’s Plan-It” stuff — wall calendars, checkbook calendars, desk calendars. Personally, the engagement calendar is my favorite. I tried the magnetic wall calendar last year and was disappointed. It seemed cluttered and took up too much space on my fridge. Also, it didn’t have all the cool features for meal planning and list making.
So there you go. This is my organizational tip for the day, piggy-backing on yesterday’s discussion of crazy motherhood. For more “Works for Me” tips and tricks, visit Rocks in my Dryer.
Oh! And come back tomorrow for the first ever In the Dailies poll. I’ve decided to let YOU choose my new ‘do! I’ve got about 8-12 extra inches of hair on my head and just can’t decide what to do with it … I’ll be posting options and you can vote on which I should get. Until then …
“A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman–who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls. The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of honest gain or need of dishonest spoil. She comforts, encourages, and
does him only good as long as there is life within her.”
Proverbs 31:10-12 (AMP)
Two approaches to sleep
I read recently (and I really wish I could remember where) that sleep deprivation is a part of motherhood. (Well, duh!) This caught my memory because the next sentence referenced the Proverbs 31 woman:
“She rises while it is yet night and gets food for her household
and assigns her maids their tasks.”
Proverbs 31:15 (NIV)
So, sleeplessness is a Biblical precedent?
Ellie’s school starts earlier this year. They moved the whole schedule up by half an hour to accomodate sports schedules for the high school. So, instead of having her there at 8:30, we now need to get her there by 8:05. Add to this my new school-year goal of never dropping her off without a shower (Yes, I did that several times last year, and, no, I wasn’t the only one. Several of us who looked much better at pick-up than at drop-off.) and my morning are a little crazy.
So, I’ve been trying to get up before the sun. It’s really hard!! I can’t turn on the bedroom light because, well, that would just be rude to my still-sleeping husband. I’ve discovered I can’t take a shower before the rest of the family wakes-up because Zach (a light sleeper and a screamer) is in the room right next to the bathroom and wakes up everyone else almost as soon as I turn on the water. Lately, I’ve been tiptoeing through the maze of creaky floor boards to “assign my maids” (a.k.a. “me”; I make my daily to-do list and check my calendar). Today (with yesterday) I combined my early-riser goal with a meal-related goal. I’ve been trying to make meals ahead of time (when possible) to reduce the stress of “happy hour” (the hour between 4 and 6 when the kids go crazy with energy waiting for Daddy to get home while I try to tidy the house and make dinner without losing my mind). (Heather, today I seem to love parenthesis almost as much as you!) I found a recipe in my make-ahead recipe cookbook to try for breakfast. I made it all last night and set it in the fridge so this morning I would only need to pop it in the oven. Unfortunately, the screech of moving oven racks woke my daughter and the “ready beep” of the thermostat woke my son. So now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just stay in bed and enjoy my sleep. But then I think of this verse:
“Don’t be too fond of sleep; you’ll end up in the poorhouse.
Wake up and get up; then there’ll be food on the table.”
Proverbs 10:13 (Message)
For those of you who are interested, here’s a picture of my completed French Toast Casserole.
It’s like a breakfast-y bread pudding, all warm and gooey with a maple pecan crunchy top. Yummmm!!
Be Thou My Vision
I miss hymns. They have such depth and beauty! Rather than singing the same simple phrase over and over for five minutes, they proclaim doctrinal truths and really get to the heart of the issue. Don’t get me wrong — I love choruses and contemporary worship songs, too, but sometimes I really miss hymns.
One of my favorite hymns is “Be Thou My Vision.” We had a good friend play it during our wedding. It was my greatest prayer then and it is my greatest prayer now. I don’t know the history of it; just that it’s Irish and there is some dispute over how old it is and who wrote it. Since my thoughts today are on this, I thought I would share the words with you as well.
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee, Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for my fight,
Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight.
Thou my soul’s shelter, Thou my high tower.
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heav’ns Son!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.
August Ellie-isms & Zach Attacks
I’m a little late this month. Sorry! Here are the Ellie-isms and Zach Attacks for August.
*****
Ellie: “I love you, Mommy. You know everything about spreading butter. Thank you for teaching me and Zach!”
Zach: “Do you think my fingers can help the pee-pee come out?”
Ellie: “I don’t like lobster; I only like shrimp.”
Me: “Well, lobster is kind of like shrimp. Just try a little bit.”
Ellie: “Mmmmm. It tastes like shrimp. Mommy, you’re so tricky. How did you get shrimp inside that lobster?”
Ellie, while eating lobster: “I have a great idea! How about you do the cracking and hunting and I do the eating?”
Me: “Who’s a big boy?”
Zach: “Ants. Ants are big boys.”
Ellie: “Boys don’t like to see girls’ underwear, do they, Mama?”
Ellie, singing in the back seat, roughly to a tune from “The Sound of Music”: “So-do-la-fa-do-ti-do. When you know the notes to sing, you can sing every song!”
Me: “Ah-choo!!” (real sneeze)
Zach: “Ah-choo!” (fake sneeze)
Ellie: “Zach, are you being a copy cat?”
Zach: “No. I’m a sneeze cat.”
First Day of School
Well, today is the first day of school. Ellie was thrilled; she jumped into our bed at 6am in a very Nemo-like way. You can see she’s still sporting the marks from baseball over the weekend.
Zach was just as thrilled to see her go, though you can’t really tell in this picture. (He hates bright lights, like the sun.) The first day of school signifies the start of more one-on-one time for me and him. Ellie celebrated with dance and song and kicking us out of her classroom. Zach and I celebrated with Dunkin’ Donuts.
Here’s to the start of a new year!
Generation Hex
Did you know Wicca is the fastest growing religion in the United States? Some predict it will be America’s third largest religion by 2012, outranked only by Christianity and Judaism. Did you know there are Wiccan chaplains in state prisons? Pagan homeschool networks in addition to private pagan schools? There is even an organization called Spiral Scouts International, similar to Boy and Girl Scouts, currently raising “circles” of Wiccans and other neopagans in twenty-two states. Wicca is just one of several neopagan religions now freely accepted in America. Its reach and influence are both growing, yet most Christians haven’t a clue what it is or what it teaches. Those of us who think we know may actually be holding misconceptions about witchcraft and what witches really believe. Others may understand but minimize the relevance.
Scripture tells we’re in a battle. We need to engage the culture, protect the Truth and reach out to the lost. How can we do any of that well if we are ignorant of our opposition?
Dillon Burroughs and Marla Alupaoicei (both graduates of Dallas Theological Seminary) have written a great book for this exact purpose. Generation Hex: Understanding the Subtle Dangers of Wicca explains the origins of Wicca, reasons for its rise in popularity, what Wiccans believe and how Christians can engage these lost and searching souls in discussions that point to Truth. I highly recommend it.
It’s a short book, only 160 pages, but packed with valuable, easy-to-read (and understand!) information, from interviews with people who practice Wicca to facts from around the globe and plentiful Scriptural supports. I was shocked as I read it at how uninformed I’ve been.
As a stay-at-home mom I can be sheltered; my exposure to life outside of my church and my little community is limited. I skipped the whole Harry Potter thing and don’t really enjoy fantasy stuff. I viewed the prevalence of such entertainment as a cultural shift of preference rather than a barometer of something far more significant. But this articulate and well-researched book highlighted my naivety. I’m not saying Harry Potter is bad or that fantasy converts readers to witchcraft and wizardry; just that an increase in presence reflects society. The more publishers (and film executives) produce along these lines indicates a greater market pursuing those avenues, whether as entertainment or faith.
This post-modern culture in which we live elevates relativity; we honor choices and encourage tolerant communities. This environment makes Wicca attractive to hungry souls. While the religion does hold some foundational beliefs, the rest is very pick-and-choose. What’s right for you may not be right for the person next door. There is no hell. Everything good thing you do will come back to you in triplet. You have the power to change things. Celebrate life. Protect the earth. Do harm to none.
There are many good and true beliefs held by Wiccans! But what they hold that is not true can destroy their souls. To quote Richard Howe (as quoted in Generation Hex): “Jesus’ command to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations invariably includes witches. In order to do so, it is necessary that we understand who they are and what they believe.”
Pick up a copy of this book. You can read the whole thing in one afternoon. Take this opportunity to learn more about what we and our children may soon face (if we haven’t already) and how we can reach out to those who need to know the Truth.
You may purchase Generation Hex through Amazon.com for $9.99.
Click HERE to read an excerpt from the book.
Visit other stops on this blog tour to catch interviews with the authors and reviews from other readers:
A Peek at My Bookshelf
Aspire2 Blog
Be My Guest
Bible Dude
Blog Tour Spot
Book Room Reviews
Camy’s Loft
Christy’s Book Blog
read DB
Fictionary
Footprints in the Sand
From the desk of Flutecrafter
Gatorskunz and Mudcats
Good Word Editing
His Reading List
i don’t believe in grammar
iamhealed.net
In the Dailies
Leap of Faith
Lift My Noise
Lighthouse Academy
L’Chaim
Morehead’s Musings
Mystery, Suspense, and God, Oh My!
One Voice in a Big World
Portrait of a Writer . . . Interrupted
Quiverfull Family
Reality Motherhood
Refresh My Soul
Reiter’s Block
The Friendly Book Nook
The Reel Katie Morgan
The Sosbee Story
Wide Eyed Fiction
Windows to my Soul
Write by Faith
Writing on the Edge
To participate in future blog tours, visit The Blog Tour Spot. Be sure to tell them I sent you!
The Sound of Music?
It didn’t take too long for Ellie to get back to being herself. Before long she asked me to watch a concert she and Zach were doing. She said they would sing “The Sound of Music.” Since we had just finished watching the movie, I grab my camera to catch her dramatic talents for posperity. This is what I got.
That is so NOT The Sound of Music. Looks like her musical talents, unfortunately, also came from me. Did you see her scrapes and cuts? Poor girl’s face is a mess, and school starts in just a couple days. And what is The Boy doing?? Oh, it just makes me laugh. A great conclusion to our weekend.
Setting my treasure
Every once in a while Rick has the day off and he gives it to me. He takes the kids and lets me lock myself in a room all day to write. Or better yet I get to go off to Barnes & Noble or Starbucks or wherever. It’s a true day of rest for any mom. I love it! Today was one of those days. Rather, it was supposed to be.
I was in the zone. I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish by the end of my Labor Day and started dreaming about a grande white chocolate mocha. Aaaah …
Rick and the kids were outside playing baseball. Rick had drawn the three bases, home plate and a batters box with sidewalk chalk on the driveway. I could hear them laughing and learning all about Daddy’s favorite pasttime. A smile lit my face, then a wail shattered our serenity. I heard Rick burst through the front door as the indistinct sobs turned into “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!! I want MOMMY!!!!” Isabel was folded in his arms. She had a scraped knee, a cut finger, a split lip and a nasty scrape from her nose to her chin. Poor girl tripped on her way to third.
After we stopped the bleeding and the tears, Rick wondered if he should just never play sports with her. Or maybe only do it on soft grassy areas and with ample body armor. She always seems to get hurt. I responded: “Well, she’s not the most coordinated child.” Rick grinned with a knowing twinkle that reminded me of my recent post. Okay, so maybe she gets it from me.
My wildly productive day of literary genius has turned into a cuddle-fest with favorite blankies, icepops (to stop the swelling), Cinderella and The Sound of Music. Rick keeps apologizing to me; he wanted me to have my day just as badly as I wanted to have it. But I really don’t mind. Some things are just more important – aren’t they?
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:20-21 (NIV)
