Pause

Inauguration Day for Kids

I'm actually doing a music theme this week. It's crazy being a former music teacher and knowing that your kids are actually getting very little music training. But now that the pregnancy symptoms seem to finally be easing up a bit (hopefully it wasn't just another short stretch of decent days that just get my hopes up before smashing them), I'm hoping to get music lessons back on track. More on the music stuff later...


We're breaking for a bit of Inauguration stuff on Tuesday. Some TV viewing, though I have to admit it's more to watch Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman than Mr.Obama - see a music week tie-in!- just kidding. Seriously, he's swearing in on the Lincoln Bible, which my kids will find very cool. Of course, we have the possibility of snow being on the ground in the morning, in which case all bets are off about any viewing or doing of things inaugural. All of you out there that are snowless or sick of snow will have to use these links instead. :^)


Without further ado:

1. Time for Kids is our first stop. They have their teacher guides available online with some great worksheets for younger (K5-1st) and slightly older (2nd-5th grade) students. And another one on the White House here.
2. A linked schedule of Inauguration Day events
3. Scholastic has some really nice worksheets as well as lesson plans.
4. This is a great page of links . I recommend the links to streaming news sites for the inauguration, coloring pages, and a pretty nice powerpoint on the inauguration in lew of a lower elementary book on the topic. And actually the 44 Presidents rap song, while irritating, has really nice portraits of all of the presidents. If you already know their names, maybe you could watch it on mute. :^)
5. This is an interesting Obama Inauguration Q&A page. It includes information about the first daughters that my kids will be interested in.
6. National Geographic Kids has an interactive Inauguration Trivia Quiz. I scored only a 70% - see if you can do better.

Don't forget to let your voice be heard in the fight against the Freedom of Choice Act. Millions of children will thank you.

A New Name

Okay, I couldn't convince him that Jane Claire was perfect, but we had a name pow-wow tonight again, and (can this be real??), he really loves the name I've been hoarding at the top of my list since before I had kids, but we've never used - Maria. What made the difference in changing it from a name he liked to a name we both love? The perfect middle name, of course. Eirinn. The oldest way of spelling Ireland.

So all you who loved (or hated and just didn't comment) Laurie Jane, what do you think of...

Maria Eirinn?

(Write it in script, it's even prettier)

*

I'm grinning from ear to ear. I like it much better than Laurie Jane, Jane Claire, and any other name I've pretty much ever come up with. I mean, you really can't beat a name that comes with a soundtrack.

*

"How do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?"

*

"Maria Maria She reminds me of a west side story"

*

"My Maria Don't you know I've come a long, long way I've been longin' to see her when she's around she takes my blues away"

*

and best of all:

*

"The most beautiful sound I ever heard:

Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria.

All the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word:

Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria.

*

Maria, I've just met a girl named Maria,

and suddenly the name will never be the same to me.

Maria! I've just kissed a girl named Maria..."

*

Yeah, I'm really hoping this one is the keeper.

Does it take a rocket scientist to discount the logic of ethanol?

Nope. Just high schoolers that can do math.

What's Been Up, or Alicia In Real Life

Long time, no write (but I have been reading your blogs!).

We had a very nice Christmas with my family in PA. Our trip was delayed a day by Rosie getting a very high fever and my having some very bad days that made packing impossible. So we missed the family reunion on Saturday, but arrived late Saturday night. I had a kind of average week pregnancy-wise, so I was sick a good bit, and just doing the family stuff pretty much used up whatever energy I had. So I enjoyed my family, but didn't get to see some of you as I had hoped.

The children were so glad to be there (as was my Brian) and they all enjoyed themselves. Grandma's ham was it's usual Christmas wonderfulness, and I got my chocolate chip cookies from Hershey's Chocolate World as I must each trip - they're delish.

Thanks to the size (very small, think hobbit hole) of my parents' home both my parents were very aware of my middle of the night spilling of guts :^) and were very sweet. My daddy, after learning of my need for a simple sugar, like Poptarts for breakfast when I'm having a hard time, presented me with a honeybun from his morning coffee run after hearing me up the night before. He simply said, "I figured you'd need something sweet this morning." It was nice to be taken care of - wish they were closer.

We got home the next Sunday night, and by Monday evening, Rose was burning up with the same fever she'd had before we left, despite the fact that I had stripped beds and sprayed couches. Too weird. This time it lasted three or four days. Then the cold/virus things began to hit. They're almost over them (I don't get colds). Anna got one and recovered after a couple of days, then Brian got it and is still fighting it almost a week later, Rose got a milder version. She had a nighttime cough for about a week and is now showing other symptoms, but they seem to be working their way out rather than worsening.

And I've been about the same as before. A few days that are somewhat normal, most days that are not so great, and a few days of debilitating fatigue and/or nausea and vomiting that make me want to die.

So the suitcases are finally unpacked and my living room is starting to resemble itself again, but the Christmas stuff (what little I got out this year) is still out, though I've finally managed to get the boxes down from the attic to put it away.

School is still starting very late in the day, but we're accomplishing more.

And ya know that girl's name that we liked. Well, it's just not growing on me. I really like Jane, but not the Laurie so much. Laurie was never really I name I'd considered before and I really don't care for the name Lori (no offense to anyone out there :^). So, my husband and I , being equally picky about names are just not having a meeting of minds yet with anything. So the hunt continues. I have several names I love (names being first and middle name combinations), but he's not in love with any of them.

Oh, and Ethan had a birthday. Eight years old. I'll get his birthday letter posted soon. He had a Clone Wars theme, but really more of a sleepover than a party. Three buddies slept over the night before his birthday and we spent his birthday afternoon with them at a children's hands-on museum. They thoroughly enjoyed it.

I think that about sums up this past month. If you made it this far, you must be a true friend or very bored. :^) , but thanks either way. I'll try to resume normal posting. Oh, and my CPU is shot again, it was dead when we got home from PA, so I have to use Brian's laptop. At least my favorites are internet-accessible. :^)

Happy New Year (a couple of weeks late)!

A True Definition of Irony

After informing my children that they are not eating lunch until their rooms are cleaned up, they are, of course, spending far more energy complaining of how hungry they are, then they are cleaning. The climax comes as one stands outside the bathroom door watching me lose everything that I have eaten for breakfast and continues complaining of how hungry she is instead of cleaning up. Was she really anticipating my sympathy??

It's a girl!

And we were pretty sure it was a boy.

After we caught our breath, we went into a flurry of name searching, since we'd been concentrating on boy names. Even the kids were writing name lists.

Ethan, Anna, and I love "Ruby", but apparently Kenny Rogers forever ruined that name for Brian (I may have to send him some hate mail - is he still alive?). It was so cute to watch the kids work on their lists - and see how they spelled the names. Rosie just said that she like Genevieve. I said, "Oh, we could call her Genny or Genna", "Vieve" she replied. No compromising with that one. :^)

But by the end of the evening an unexpected name had come out of nowhere and captured us - Laurie Jane. We have a few others from our combined name list that we both like, but this on is really burrowing in. Not 100% official yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the keeper. What do you think?

Free God's World News student editions

Some of the God's World News student magazines are only released online. And those issues are available for everyone to read. Here is the December issues link. Last year we subscribed to Early Edition and this year we get Taking Off. The kids really enjoy them and I like their new format this year of fewer, but larger issues. They often come with great posters as an added bonus.

More Christmas for kids

1. Going carolling is easy with this ready to print Christmas carol book.
2. At Christian Preschool Printables you can print Christmas bingo pages made up of the nativity story pictures. And on the next page is a Road to Bethlehem file folder game and a nativity puzzle.
3. No kids activity list would be complete without The Toymaker. This year I'm planning to have the kids make the Dodechahedron of Little Snow Guys after reading (or rather looking at - it's perfectly wordless) The Snowman (this version is an easy reader just right for Anna Kate) and watching it on DVD. And I think that I have a resident artist or two that will enjoy learning to draw this Santa.
4. And Edhelper has a lot of Christmas worksheets, some are free, some are only available with a site subscription.

Christmas for Kids

1. Easy Christmas Star craft - we've been slowly working on these the past few days, allowing the glue to dry and doing the next step the next day. We are covering ours in glue and glitter and they're turning out very well - we're even going to flip them over and glitter the back so that we can hang them anywhere.
2. Lots of simple paper crafts at first-school - my girls thoroughly enjoyed cutting out the snowman and pasting him and their chosen hat and scarf to a bright piece of construction paper. I have my eye on the Christmas Bell Angel and the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus Craft for this upcoming week.
3. We're going to see The Nutcracker on Thursday, and I'd like to work on this printable stage production. At the very least, I'm planning to make these cute Nutcracker finger puppets. You could enjoy these while watching a video of the Nutcracker (this version is my favorite) or even just listening to highlights.
4. Isn't this Reindeer Six Pack the cutest thing ever? It would make a great gift for the soft drink-loving grandparent in your kid's life.
5. Ooo. We have plans to use our half gallon of peppermint ice cream to try to imitate Chick-Fil-A's heavenly peppermint chocolate chip milkshakes, but if that hadn't already been the plan, I'd be making this Peppermint Christmas Punch.
6. Build a virtual snowman at Holiday spot
7. Print Christmas-themed math worksheets at kidzone- and here is a Christmas word problem sheet - and some more colorful math sheets here
8. Print a Christmas Bible readings chart and let your older kids read the Christmas passages for themselves.
9. Fun set of language arts related North Pole worksheets from Kids Domain
10. Do your kids love the Grinch?
11. I've got so many more links to share, but must get some shut-eye. Here's a page full of lovely links for you to explore on your own. I'll try for installment 2 soon.

Tony Perkins Asks Barack Obama: When Does Life Begin?

Remember this?

Two U.S. Border Patrol Agents are serving decade long prison terms for attempting to apprehend a known drug smuggler for illegally crossing our border with more than 700lbs. of drugs!

Almost as outrageous is that the illegal alien drug smuggler, who was given free medical care, and immunityfor testifying against the agents is now suing the U.S. for $5 million--claiming his civil rights were violated!

I have just signed a petition calling for the Presidentto pardon these two Border Agents and I'm asking you tojoin with me by clicking here for the full story and the petition: http://www.grassfire.org/142/petition.asp

There is a push to have 450,ooo signatures on the petition by today, so please fulfill your responsibility as an American citizen and speak against this imjustice NOW.

Labor of Love

I posted this song a couple of years ago, but it's so touching that I thought it worth reposting.

This is a different kind of carol. A newly written carol that makes you rethink your preconceived ideas of what Christ's birth was like, and leaves you with a fresh glimpse of His overwhelming love for us.

It is from Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb.

Labor of Love
Listen here.

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love

Words and music by Andrew Peterson

Christ-centered Christmas Decorations

The Maxwells posted this beautiful Christmas decoration idea. I liked exploring their connecting articles as well. I don't agree with the extremes of their views, I think Christmas trees have a huge amount of Chrisitan symbolism, but I did find it profitable to take the time to think about exploring more ways to make or have decorations that directly point our children and guests to the true meaning of Christmas.



Their Christmas cross is beautiful lit up at night and I think that it would be prettier during the day wrapped with ribbon and a single bow.


While we have gone ultra-lite on Christmas decor this year, we usually have a nativity in every room. We always work on memorizing Christmas carols and the nativity story from the Bible. we have lots of Christmas books and videos about the true story of Christmas. We try to observe advent, particularly on the years we stay home (we find that we lose the climax when staying out of town Christmas week).


And we also remember by Christmas lights, saying a prayer for our Chinese brothers and sisters when we see the lights on our tree, and donating $1 to Voice of the Martyrs for every string of Christmas lights we buy.


What are some ways that you focus, in decorations or traditions, on the true meaning of Christmas?

For Mothers in need of encouragement

These two articles will touch you and spur you on.

From Ann, at Holy Experience, A Mother's Work, once again she finds the sacred in the mundane

And from someone I've never read before, Sarah, at Three Little Monkeys, Growing Parents, an article to encourage moms of one, two, or three, that see all of these super-moms of seven in the blogosphere and wonder why they can't even accomplish that much...it's all a matter of experience - and older children :^)

Free Amazing Grace DVD

By registering as a Walden.com member, you can receive a free DVD of Amazing Grace as well as a Walden Media calendar! For a limited time only, of course.

Thanks for the heads up, Crystal!

Advent conspiracy

Don't watch this if you like your comfort zone too much.

Addictive little Christmas game

Your kids will enjoy it too.

"I", said the pig?

I finally bought the children a Little Pe*ples nativity. They were tired of trying to position the stuffed figures in our play nativity that kept falling over and kept trying to play with mine.

I've been eyeing it for years, but it was a tad expensive (I'm actually peeved the the Fish*r Price website has this listed for $33 and I paid $40 at Walmart and mine doesn't have the backdrop piece.) The children, however, were thrilled.

They sat beside me eagerly assisting as I removed the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, wise men, camel, shepherd, angel, goat, donkey, cart, pig... PIG???!!!!

I shook my head in disbelief and amusement and couldn't stop snickering, A pig at a nativity scene. No cow like the one in the picture above, or listed on the box. But a pig. And it wasn't exactly a fluke because the box actually had a pig pictured, rather than the listed cow, too.

I called Fish*r Price to tell them of my kid's delight, and to suggest that they might want to consider returning to the idea of a cow at this Jewish manger scene. The lady on the phone became rather amused as well as it sunk in how very out of place a pig would be in a Jewish stable. After she asked if I would like to have the Hanukkah version...of what? a nativity???!!!

I didn't go there. I just communicated that while we loved our nativity toy and would find an animal in our collection to replace the pig, there may be some Jewish Christians that might buy this in the future and go, "what the heck???!!!" with a little less amusement. She agreed that they really ought to try to correct this.

So I guess this is what happens when you buy an American nativity toy made in China. You get a pig in the stable. At least it happened to me and not to Joseph. That really would have been the last straw.

Free milkshake

A little bird told me that if you sign up to become an Arby's Extra member they'll send a coupon to your inbox for a free medium mint chocolate swirl shake.

So what are you waiting for?