Then Sings My Soul Saturday

I can't read blogs while music is playing in the background so I always have the volume on my computer turned down. But one day a couple of weeks ago, I was on my friend Kim's blog and this song started playing.

I guess Peter had turned up the volume when he had been playing on the computer. But boy, am I glad he did!

I love this song and couldn't get it out of my mind. I kept going back to her blog so I could hear it. So the next day, I happened to be running errands and popped into the Lifeway Christian Store and picked up a copy of Mercy Me's All That Is Within Me.

And now whenever I'm in the car, I crank this song up and think about how wonderful it will be to one day be finally home!

For other great music, please visit Then Sings My Soul at Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

Kindergarten Spring Celebration

As Room Mom for Peter’s kindergarten class my main responsibility is planning their class parties.  (Actually, as far as I can tell, that’s my only responsibility.)

Yesterday was the Spring/Easter celebration.  And I was quite proud of the activities that I had planned for the kids. 

I read them the story “The Golden Egg” by Margaret Wise Brown.  It is a really sweet story about friendship and it’s fairly short so it held their attention. 

After I read the story through once, I handed out egg shakers that I made using plastic eggs, rice and super glue and told them I was going to read the story again and every time I read the word “egg” I wanted them all to shake their shakers.  They got a kick out of this and were excited when I told them they could take the shakers home.  (I guess when you are 5 and 6, it’s the little things that make life sweet.)

 

Then I had 4 different centers set up that the kids rotated through.

In the first craft center, we made these adorable little lambs.  The directions came from here.

In the second craft center, we made these cute little chicks.  The directions came from here. 

In the third craft center, I had the kids cut out a large egg from big construction paper.  We put the construction paper into a box and dropped marbles covered in paint into the box and rolled the marbles around in the box.  The eggs were decorated with cool paint streaks.  I think the kids had the most fun with this one.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of one of the completed eggs.

And in the last center we played a Jelly Bean Math Game.  I taped three egg cartoons together and filled each section with jelly beans.  I had each of the kids stand about two feet away and toss a bottle cap into the carton.  They got points depending on which cup their bottle cap landed in.  Each of the kids had to write the point value for each turn they took and add it up.  I had Ring Pops as a prize for each of the kids when they got done in this center. 

 

I hope the kids had fun at their Spring/Easter Celebration.  At one point during the party, I was trying not to lose my cool and Peter’s teacher looked at me and laughed and said, “It’s controlled chaos.” 

I guess I wouldn’t make a good kindergarten teacher because too me, it just seemed like chaos!

For more cool craft ideas, visit the We Made It, Friday Showcase at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.  (And despite the name of her blog, she’s not really crazy!)

 

Helpful Hint For Getting Eye Drops Into Kid's Eyes - WFMW

Sarah woke up on Sunday morning with her left eye puffy and matted.

Pink eye!

I knew it was bound to happen. Her friend Cheyanne had pink eye the week before so I knew it was only a matter of time until Sarah got it.

And I knew the doctor was going to prescribe the dreaded eye drops. And I knew it was going to be a battle to get them into her eyes.

But the doctor gave me a helpful hint which has worked well for us.

She suggested that Sarah lie down on the couch and close her eyes. Then I was instructed to put a couple of the eye drops just slightly above the corner of her eye and have her start blinking.

The eye drops roll down into her eyes as she is blinking.

And believe it or not, this has worked so well for us. I don't have to pry her eyelids open to get the drops in. She doesn't scream when the drops land in her eyes or when they miss her eyes all together and end up in her nose because she's kicking and screaming.

Sarah actually seems to enjoy taking eye drops now. In fact, she asks if it's "time to do the drops".

Side note - A funny thing that we have discovered is that Sarah has a hard time blinking when she's lying down. When I tell her to blink she squeezes her eyes closed and begins to open and close her mouth instead of opening and closing her eyes. She looks like a fish gulping for air. So to combat this, after I squeeze in the drops, I have her sit up slightly before she begins to blink.

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, head over to We Are THAT Family.

Four going on fourteen.

She loves clothes (she prefers dresses) and shoes (she prefers flip-flops and sandals and don't even think about trying to get tights on her without a fight!)

She hates, hates, hates to have her hair brushed. She refuses to wear clips, pony tails, or bows. She will wear a headband to school but the moment she is home she jerks it out of her hair.

She is opinionated. She knows how she wants to look and that's all there is to it.

I decided long ago that I wasn't going to fight her on her clothes or her hair. It just wasn't worth starting out the day with a big fight.

This morning as she was trying to find something to wear she studied her closest and huffed in disgust, "I don't like any of these clothes. They all look so ratty."

Ratty? What four-year-old says that?

But as I looked at her clothes, I had to agree. All of her fall and winter clothes did look ratty. Many of them were consignment sale finds to begin with. Compound that with the fact that warm spring like weather has only taunted us with a nice day here and there and cold weather seems determined to pop back in just when you thought it was safe to show your little girl some new summery clothes you bought her and everything she should be wearing on a cold day does look worn out and well, ratty.

So after much "discussion", I relent and let her wear a new non-ratty short-sleeved dress.

Next up on the "discussion" docket - shoes. "Do you want to wear you Hello Kitty shoes?" I asked hopefully.

"No."

"What about your pink glittery shoes?"

"No."

"What about your red shoes?"

"No. I don't think so."

I knew which shoes she wanted to wear. And I knew she was going to look like a spring chicken if she wore them but it wasn't even 8:00 am and we had already had more "discussions" than I like to start the day with so I said, "Do you want to wear your new sandals?"

And before she even answered me with a giant smile that stretched from ear to ear, I knew the answer was yes.

Because when I showed her these flip-flops after I bought them last week, she said, "I" and then she paused momentarily for effect before she finished with, "LOVE them."

And as she was chattering on about how she had seen a pair similar on someone else and had wanted a pair and how they sparkled in the sun and how they would look so lovely with all of her clothes because they had so many beautiful colors in them, I couldn't help but think to myself she's four going on fourteen.

And it made me just a little sad.

Miracle Monday

It's Miracle Monday again and as usual, I'm praying that I can find something to write about.

And this verse keeps popping into my head...

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

As Lent is coming to a close and the Passion is upon us, I can think of no greater miracle for Miracle Monday.

God sent his son to die for us so that we may live!

And because of this, because of all the events of Easter - the death and the resurrection- if we only believe we get to spend eternity in heaven!

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. - Philippians 3:20-21

That's something to chew on while you're eating your Easter ham!

If you have something you want to share, it's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below.

Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.

Warning! Bragging ahead. Consider yourself warned.

We had a great weekend.  And even though I have questioned the groundhog and his capabilities, it was warm and sunny and felt the way spring in North Carolina should feel.  Unfortunately it will be cold and rainy again this week.  But I will press on because lasting warmer weather has got to be right around the corner.  It just has to be.  It’s too soon for another pedicure.

This weekend was Peter’s first baseball game of the season.  This year he is playing modified tee-ball which means he gets three pitches from the pitcher and if he can’t hit one of those, he gets to hit from the tee.

Peter got hits from the coach-pitched balls both times he was up to bat!  I was thrilled.  I was jumping up and down like one of those obnoxious people you see at ball games that just can’t get enough of their own kid. 

That was me this weekend. But I just couldn’t help myself.  I guess I was expecting him to strike out and have to head dejectedly to the dugout dragging his bat behind him.  I’m sure it will happen at some point in the season but not this game.  Not this time. 

And he did a great job in the field too.  He was playing second base and he actually caught a ball that was thrown to him from his buddy Thomas to get an out.  He caught the ball!  Once again, I was jumping up and down and cheering wildly like a baseball loving fool.  I just couldn’t help myself.

The boys won 13-8 and the coach awarded Peter the game ball.  When the coach told the kids he was going to give a game ball after each game for a player that has done a great job, he asked the team who they thought should get that ball.  Three or four little voices shouted out “Peter!”  That made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

In the dugout before the game.Getting a hit!In the huddle after the game!

And not to be outdone by her brother, Sarah had an eventful weekend as well.  She learned to ride her bike without training wheels!

Her Daddy took them off on Saturday afternoon and they practiced in the grass.  He’s a good teacher and she was a quick study.  In just a few minutes she was zooming around the yard in no time.

This afternoon they practiced some more and Sarah can now actually get herself started.  She has also graduated from the grass to the pavement.  She is still a little unsteady at times but she can definitely ride her bike without training wheels now! 

And once again, I did a lot of jumping up and down and shouting and cheering. 

Because really, isn’t that what mothers are for?  

View Full Album

Proudly riding her bike.

The groundhog may not know as much as we thought.

Coming home from church today we spotted this cute little groundhog on the side of the road.

I don't see a shadow. Doesn't that mean warm springlike weather is right around the corner?

Then why does the forecast show rain and cold weather all next week?

Again. For the 27th week in a row.

I'm beginning to think this whole groundhog weather predicting thing is just an old wives tale....

Extracted!

In January when the kids were at the dentist getting their teeth cleaned, the hygienist noted that Peter had a loose tooth. Peter was excited at the thought of finally losing a tooth and we went on our merry way.

About a month ago he said it hurt when he wiggled the lose tooth so I checked his mouth. I could see the very tiny tip top of the permanent tooth coming in BEHIND the baby tooth.

Hmmmm, that's odd, I thought and we continued on our merry way.

A week ago I checked it again and I could see the whole top of the permanent tooth coming in BEHIND the baby tooth and the baby tooth was barely moving. And of course, why should it be getting loose? The permanent tooth that was supposed to be growing under it and pushing it out was growing BEHIND it.

Unlike me, Peter thought it was very cool that he had two rows of teeth. "Just like a shark, Mommy! I'm gonna have two rows of teeth just like a shark!"

He was excited but I knew that this wasn't normal so I made an appointment to see the dentist.

Yesterday I picked Peter up from school at 9:00 am and we headed to our appointment. The hygienist took an X-ray and we saw four permanent teeth and all of his baby teeth and it was all very exciting until she asked, "Do you want it pulled today?"

"Ummm, well, ummm, I really just want to talk to the dentist about it first," I stuttered. I knew that it needed to be pulled but I just expected that the dentist would look at it, we would discuss it and then make an appointment for next week.

I had talked to Peter earlier in the week about the possibility of the tooth needing to be pulled and he was nervous about it. But since I wasn't expecting that we would get it pulled that very morning, I hadn't even mentioned to him that it might happen that very morning.

So when the hygienist left I asked Peter if he wanted to get his tooth pulled right then.

"I'm not sure Mommy. Can I have a few minutes to think about it?" he asked with a concerned yet excited look on his face.

"Sure, baby. You have until the dentist comes in to think about it."

Three minutes later she walked in, took at look at the tooth and asked him if he wanted to get it pulled then.

And he shook his head up and down and timidly said yes!

I asked the dentist if he needed a shot but all he needed was a gel anesthesia so I gave her my blessing, signed the release forms, agreed to the cost and the next thing I knew, the dentist had a pair of pliers in Peter's mouth.

She took the pliers out of his mouth and handing them back to the hygienist.

"Is it out? Wow! That was fast!" I excitedly exclaimed.

But no, it wasn't out yet. The pliers were too large for Peter's tiny teeth. She got a smaller pair and the tugging began.

Peter exclaimed, "Owww! Owwww! Owwwwwww!" and started reaching for her hand.

The hygienist and I both lunged (I was a little slower because Sarah was sitting on my lap) and we kept his hands away from the pliers.

In about 10 seconds the baby tooth was out! The extraction was complete!

Peter sat up and two large, hot, wet tears spilled over his lower eye lids and down his cheeks. I also teared up as I wiped them away and I kept proclaiming, "You did great, buddy! You were so brave! What a great job!"

And I meant every word.

As we were checking out, Peter was standing near the door huddled up into himself. His arms were crossed, his head was down and he looked so sad. He looked so tiny and pathetic standing there.

So I did want any good mom would do. I whispered in his ear that since he had been so brave I was taking him to McDonald's for an ice cream sundae before I took him back to school.

And yes, it was only 10:00 am but I didn't care, my baby needed a special treat.

Apparently a McDonald's sundae, lots of hugs from mom and a phone call to dad at work made everything o.k.

He went back to school, showed off his new gap and was my little hero for the rest of the day.
Oh, and apparently the Tooth Fairy brings 5 gold one dollar coins to someone who has had a tooth pulled by the dentist instead of just 2.

Rainy days and pedicures go together like cheese and cheese graters.

It is rainy and cloudy today.

Again.

For what feels like the 147th day in a row.

So in an attempt to lift my spirits, I got a pedicure. It has been 6 months since my last pedicure and boy did it show. I felt sorry for the poor woman that was tasked with the job of removing six months worth of cuticles from my toe nails and dead skin from my heels.

She whipped out what appeared to be a large cheese grater with a handle and began to work on my heels. Dead skin went flying.

It was my own dead skin and I was still totally disgusted. And even with all of the scrubbing and grating and buffing she did, my heels still look old, dry and worn out.

So now I'm kicking myself for not slathering Vaseline on my heels and covering them with socks every night before bed this winter. I thought about it many times but usually not until right as I was about to fall asleep. And then I would decide that I would just do it tomorrow night.

And now six months have passed and we are on the cusp of flip-flop weather and "ewwwww" is all I can say when I look at my heels. I need to do something and I need to do it quickly.

Hmmmmm....I always buy my cheese already shredded. And I've got that cheese grater in the cabinet just collecting dust.

What if....