Weekly Goals, August 26, 2013

Last week's goals and how they went...

Weekly Goals for August 19, 2013

1) Make Laundry Soap.  There is probably enough left for two-three weeks but with the move fast approaching, I want to be sure we don't get busy and run out.  Check
http://seekhispurpose.blogspot.com/2013/06/homemade-laundry-soap.html
2) Clean Spidey's tank.  (He's our beta fish and his tank is green.)  Check
3) Give the bathrooms a complete cleaning.  Check

Moving plans:
1) Entertainment Center  Check
2) Laundry Room
3) Curio Cabinet
4) Basement Play Room
5) Liam's Room

Weekly Goals, August 26, 2013

1) Sort Through Toys
2) List Thirty-One Products on Shop the House
(I've decided to sell my 31 bags that I purchased for my business but don't need.)
3) Clean House

Our moving plans have been put on hold.  There was another delay in the mortgage process and we're hoping that it will be within the next month.  Although it is really disappointing, I'm going to try to look at the only positive thing I can find.  It will give me a longer opportunity to get things ready.

Moving plans:
1) Laundry Room
2) Curio Cabinet
3) Basement Play Room
4) Liam's Room
5) Our Bedroom

A Moment of Success

Matthew is a fun loving, talk your ear off, energetic, intelligent, caring, sensitive, creative, respectful, friendly kid.  He has so many characteristics that I pray will continue to mature and grow.  One day, he's going to change the world.  If only we can get through today... and next week... and the next few years.

ADD or ADHD is a diagnoses that has been misused, overused, and abused.  If we sent Matthew to a traditional school, I am 85% sure he would be labeled with the disorder.  He forgets a lot.  His thoughts, ideas, and plans sometimes come so fast that my head spins.  He often can't control his energy.  He has a difficult time in adult oriented situations and ends up acting out.  His self-regulation skills are taking longer than average to develop. 

But, he doesn't go to a traditional school.

He is homeschooled and more specifically, unschooled.

 

He is given time, space and resources to help him learn. Not just the academics, but the skills that are harder to learn in a classroom setting.  Skills that this mom believes are just as important (if not more so) for future success.

Self-regulation

Planning

Following through with plans

Self-Control

Compassion

Empathy

How to get along with people of various ages

How to budget money

Time Management

Making choices


Before I returned to work in May, we would go for family walks.  Matthew would typically ride his bike and his father and I would have to constantly remind him that he could only go so far ahead of us.  We would call out to him, yell to stop, scream to stop.  This typically ended with the consequence of him having to walk his bike with us.  It was almost as if Matthew was in his own world and was incapable of following the safety rules we had set up for him in our world.  Never was he disrespectful.  When we talked, he would regret making us nervous, breaking the rules and promise to remember.  Until 5 minutes later when he forgot again.

I was frustrated.

My husband was frustrated.

Matthew was frustrated.

Two and a half months have passed.  My work schedule has been crazy long and family time has been scarce.

Today I told the boys that we were going to have a home day and asked them what they would like to do.  Matthew suggested taking a walk to the park which is a little over a mile from our house.  Liam loved this suggestion because it meant we would be passing the train tracks.

We got ready, packed snacks and drinks and began our Saturday morning adventure.

I took a stroller so Liam could rest when he got tired and Matthew put on his helmet and rode his bike.

When Matthew started getting too far, I called out to him to stop and wait or turn around and come back.  I called out his name again and he rode back, asking me what I wanted.  I told him that when I called his name, he needed to stop and wait or turn around and come back.  Okay, he said.

The next time he began to get far, I called his name.  He turned around and came back.

When he got too far, I called his name again.  He stopped and waited for us to catch up.

This is how the entire walk went.

I did not have to scream his name.  I simply called it out. 

Every time, he followed my directions and either waited or turned back.

I don't know if all our walks will go this well, or if it was a freak occurrence.

Freak occurrence or not, it happened today and it shows me that with a little time, a lot of patience and an abundance of love, we can succeed.

Caterpillar Update: New Additions to the Family

At the beginning of this week, we had two monarch butterfly caterpillars and a milk weed leaf that looked like it had a caterpillar egg on it.

On Thursday, August 22, 2013, I found that Robin had made a chrysalis.

 

On Saturday, August 24, 2013, we found another monarch butterfly caterpillar

 when we went for a walk.

 

 

This caterpillar is Matthew's and he named it Teddy.

 

 

That evening, the boys and I went to put our new friend into the butterfly habitat and found this cute little guy.  That little white dot on the milk weed leaf had been an egg!

 

 

 

 

Liam had wanted to name it Friendship, which was okay, but a little unoriginal.  Friendship the III? 

 I gave him a few other suggestions and he decided on Diego.

 

 

 

Currently, we have three caterpillars, Friendship Jr., Teddy and Diego.

 

 Robin is in his chrysalis.

Friendship, Jr.

 

It's super cute to see his head bob up and down as he munches on the milk weed.

 

Liam wanted to touch him and this led to screeches of laughter. 

 

I think Friendship, Jr. will be forming his chrysalis any day now.

 



To read more about our adventure with caterpillars, visit

http://seekhispurpose.blogspot.com/p/nature-study.html

 

Question and Answer Session with Sara Horn, author of "My So-Called Life As A Submissive Wife" and Book Giveaway

I had the amazing opportunity to join a team of women who helped Sara Horn publicize her new book "My So-Called Life As A Submissive Wife."  We shared information on facebook, blogged about her book and talked with as many people as we could.

Sara also asked if anyone would be interested in doing a Q&A Session with her on their blog, and I jumped at the chance.  Sara is  down to earth and lays it all out there.  My relationship with my husband has benefited from her honest approach, humor and thirst for the truth.

One of my readers will receive a copy of her new book!

To enter to win:

1) Comment if you have read any of Sara's books or

2) Comment if this Q&A or my book review makes you want to read her books or

3) Subscribe to this blog and comment that you did so or

4) Share this blog post on facebook or your own blog and comment that you did so.

The contest will end September 7, 2013 and the winner will be announced the following day.

Please ENJOY!

#1: Were there specific events in your life that lead you to look more closely at Ephesians 5:22 and question how our culture (both secular and Christian) look at submission or was it just a general observation?

I think looking at this whole idea of biblical submission was probably a natural progression for me following my walk through Proverbs 31. I saw so much change and improvement in my marriage and my family and my relationship with God through that. My greatest heart's desire is to pursue Jesus. To apply God's Word to my life. And what probably started the submission experiment for me was the fact that this short but sharp little statement "Wives, be submissive to your husbands" isn't mentioned just once, but a few times in scripture. But as women, most of us, if we're honest, cringe when we read that. There's a lot of men who would cringe too. 

But I believe in the Bible's inerrancy and I believe there's a reason for this instruction. I just think what was intended in scripture for good, has been twisted, first by men who saw these verses as an opportunity to lord over their wives with power, who ignored the verses for themselves that outline such heavy important responsibilities (like showing love to their wives the way Christ loves the church) that they are called to as husbands, and then second, by culture, and the other extreme where women are told they don't need their husbands input or opinion and they should do as they want when they want and not allow anyone else to ever tell them otherwise. We have two widely different ideas of paths it seems like we think women should follow:  "doormat-ism" vs "feminism." I think biblical submission is really intended for somewhere in the middle.  

#2: Has your parent's divorce played any role on your wanting to follow God's lead and strengthen your own marriage?

Your parents' relationship is the first example of marriage you ever have growing up. I think anyone would say that. I want to be careful here because I want to be respectful for the 29 years that my parents did devote to each other and to their children, but there were many lessons I learned from my parents' marriage of what not to do in my own relationship. While my husband and I have had a couple of rough patches in our fifteen years and counting (year #7 was a doozy), I'm grateful that both of us are not the same people today that we were when we first got married. We've grown up - in our relationships with God and with each other, and part of that has stemmed from the challenges and the hard stuff we've walked through. Communication with each other is key; so is forgiveness, so is being willing to put each other before ourselves.

#3:  As you see your own spirit changing and becoming more in line with God's direction, there is a ripple effect that you see in your husband.  Have there been any changes in your son, Caleb, because of your healthy marriage?

Caleb will be 13 next spring (ack, a teenager! Y'all pray for me! :)). He has always seen his mom and dad as loving and caring towards each other. He's also seen us argue and have heated discussions, but apologize and hug afterwards, too. I would have to say that if he's been impacted in any way, it would be that it's more apparent that his dad is leading our family in a more vocal, tangible way, and Cliff has been very intentional in leading Caleb, especially the last several months. He no longer leaves it up to me to do most of the disciplining or even the corralling (making sure chores are getting done, instructions are being obeyed). That has been an awesome thing to watch, and see their relationship as Caleb gets older just blossom and grow.

 

#4:  Are you still working on being a submissive wife even though your book is complete?

Oh yes. This is something that I think is a daily occurrence and I don't expect to ever check it off an invisible list. Every once in awhile, both Cliff and I will catch ourselves getting lazy or less focused, and we have to reset a little bit but it's all about the journey. There will always be blessings to be found when we pursue loving God's way over our own. 

 

#5:  Any ideas on what your next book may be about?
 

There's a couple of topics, actually, that I'm looking at with my publisher. One deals with this whole idea of forgiveness and letting go of stuff that we tend to hold onto and hold in. Another delves a little more deeper into marriage. Neither will be a year-long experiment format. But we'll still keep some of the funny and definitely the real. We learn a whole lot better when we're real with each other, don't you think? :)

Thanks Wendy for the questions! Please invite your readers to check out the new book and please visit my website at sarahorn.com or find me on FB or Twitter! :)

 

My review of the book "My So-Called Life As A Submissive Wife" by Sara Horn

http://seekhispurpose.blogspot.com/2013/08/book-review-my-so-called-life-as.html


My review of the book "My So-Called Life As A Proverbs 31 Wife" by Sara Horn

http://seekhispurpose.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-review-my-so-called-life-as.html

 

Caterpillar Update: Robin and Friendship Jr.

I did not accidently murder Robin last week.  (I kinda freaked out when I saw green goo oozing from his body after the boys and I had been holding him, but he's all well and good.)

 

We needed fresh milkweed for him and my wonderful husband drove ever so slowly down the back roads until I spotted some.

 

I checked each plant very carefully and found one that had a tiny little guy on it.

 

Grabbing that milkweed plant and an extra for Robin, we headed home.

 

This new little guy is Liam's.  When I asked him what he was going to name it, he said "Friendship."

 

Meet Friendship Jr. and look at how big Robin has become. 

 I think he'll be creating his chrysalis soon.

 

 

 

 

 

I am also keeping an eye on this because I think it might be a butterfly egg.

 

 

 

Weekly Goals, August 19, 2013

Here are last weeks goals and how far I got with them...

Weekly Goals for August 15, 2013:

1) Try to stay on top of everyday cleaning.  Enlist the help of everyone to do this.  Check.  Everyone helped out.  My husband cleaned the kitchen all week and cooked 3 out of 5 days.  This left me more time to spend with the boys.
2) Change the picture displays before I pack all of my scrapbooking supplies up.  Check.  I've now got about 4 boxes with my supplies all packed.  When we move, I'll be able to put the update displays out without having to wait for those boxes to be unpacked.

Before

After

 

 

 

Before



After

 Moving plans:

1) Entertainment Center  Started, not a quick project like I thought.  We have about 25 dvds that are out of their cases.  
2) Laundry Room  Started
3) Pack the dishes from the Curio Cabinet.  This will finish the den.
4) Organize and sort entry way.  Check
5) Basement play room.

Weekly Goals for August 19, 2013

1) Make Laundry Soap.  There is probably enough left for two-three weeks but with the move fast approaching, I want to be sure we don't get busy and run out.
http://seekhispurpose.blogspot.com/2013/06/homemade-laundry-soap.html
2) Clean Spidey's tank.  (He's our beta fish and his tank is green.)
3) Give the bathrooms a complete cleaning.

Moving plans:
1) Entertainment Center
2) Laundry Room
3) Curio Cabinet
4) Basement Play Room
5) Liam's Room

Homemade Eye Makeup Remover

Every morning I had these great big dark circles under my eyes.  It wasn't just from lack of sleep, it was all the eye makeup that didn't come off when I washed my face before bed.  I use baking soda instead of paying for expensive facial cleanser.  This works out great for my over-sensitive skin but not so great for getting eye makeup off.

 

A while back I had read a pin on pinterest on how to make your own eye makeup remover. 

Of course, I forgot to re-pin it.  :-(

 

This is what I came up with from memory and I must say, it works fabulous! 

The only dark circles that are under my eyes now are sleep related.

 

Ingredients and supplies needed:

 

1) Water

2)  Baby Oil

3) Tear Free Baby Shampoo

4) A Small Container With A Pourable Lid.

 

 

 

I put 1 teaspoon of baby shampoo in the container, added 1 1/2 tablespoon of baby oil and filled the rest with water.  Then I shook it to mix the ingredients. 

You will have to shake it before each use.  (Thus the need for a lid.)

 

I had everything needed for this already but if I had to guess how much it cost to make, I would say approx. $0.12.  That estimate does not include the cost of the container which would add about $1.06 to your start up cost.

 

 This sure beats the $3.99 plus tax at our local store!