Wednesday, March 11, 2009

What We Are Doing: Cleaning and Schooling (with a little bit o prayer needed please)

Well, I finally broke down and got into Facebook. I am on there if you want to friend me, let me know in the comments (I won't publish the comment). :)

I also finally got a set (two actually) of cuisenaire rods! I am pretty excited about using them with the girls. ANY tips or words of wisdom on HOW to do this??

I am still reading Dr. Mercola's Total Health Cookbook and Program and taking notes. I have decided that for me, it is easier to do this in MAJOR baby steps. So for the month of March, I will be working on eliminating white sugar from my diet. I still get honey and evaporated cane juice. :) Then, as each month comes, I will add something new to work on. :) I am really excited and positive about the health changes I am already seeing by implementing what I have been reading.

MM will have some medical tests done March 19-20. Your prayers are truly appreciated. I am so thankful that a friend is loaning me her daughter to help out. They will be going down her esophagus and up her colon to look for any signs of anything. We are truly baffled by what she is going through. The blood, stool and urine samples show confusing results, thus the need for further testing. Thank you for your prayers.

I am also starting to read and fill out the What Your Child Needs To Know When. I have recently become overwhelmed at the thought that the girls are missing out on something. Especially when my beloved will ask something and I have to say "not yet, dear." I know he is frustrated. It is frustrating to ME because he sees how much BETTER and FASTER they are grasping things when allowed to go in their own time. Discovering multiplication all on their own (Momma! Did you know three twos are SIX!) gives them a love for math, learning and discovery!

I am also continuing to learn about herbs. I realize that I am doing WAY too much of that on my own and really need to incorporate my children, especially the older two right now, into this so THEY can have a deep appreciation for the wonder of God's creation and how it can be used to help our health.

I also need to work on cleaning the house. I am going through and focusing on ONE area of the house a month. Last month was the girl's bedroom (although we did not get to the closet). This month is the Master Bedroom. WIth hurting my back, I had to put the Master on the back burner. I put all cleaning on the back burner. So we focused on the girls' room and they got rid of a LOT of stuff. Their room is now for clothes and sleeping. Nothing else is to be in their room. It really is helping them to keep it clean.

I have realized, however, that it is unrealistic to expect the girls to keep EVERYTHING down in the basement ONLY. I mean, after all, the reason my room is such a mess is because I don't like having to go ALL the way to the basement for things. SOOOOooo, each girl will have a small drawer on the main level where they can keep things. The drawer MUST be able to close. That way, they can still have some of the more important things they play with more often in a more accessible area. I think EVERYONE will be MUCH happier. And things will STAY CLEAN (or at least, be easier to clean those few times they do get a little messy).

1 comment:

Dianne - Bunny Trails said...

In reading the last paragraph, that reminded me of something we did when the boys were younger. I found some very nice square baskets that would fit 2 on a shelf of our bookcase. They were very solidly woven, so you couldn't see anything inside, and they had wooden handles across two sides. Whatever would fit in there, they were allowed to keep on the main level of our house. They could quickly pick their things up and they were put away, out of sight, but not out of reach for them. Their bedroom was upstairs and they disliked dragging everything up and down the stairs as I did! Every so often, we'd have them take everything back upstairs and put it away. But it sure made cleaning up before dinner, bedtime, or company coming, a LOT easier for everyone! :D

I am having a great time reading your blog, Paula! You have so many wonderful tips, ideas, and thoughts to share.