Easter Treasure Hunt

I LOVE Easter. Celebrating life, and especially the Resurrection of my Savior, is a wonderful reminder that death is not the end, and I am filled with gratitude for His sacrifice and the wonderful gift, given freely to all!

After participating in several Easter Egg hunts that were over in 5 minutes and seemed to have little, if anything, to do with Easter, I came up with an Easter Treasure Hunt. The materials I use are LDS materials, but feel free to improvise. Please link back to this post if you share this idea!

Helpful tips:
*I start by talking to the kids about expected behavior. No pushing, shoving, hitting, bullying, etc. The kids are siblings and cousins, so I don't anticipate too much of a problem. Most of the clues have a "challenge" attached, which everyone must participate in. Grown-ups can help with the reading, and adult participation is required to make this go smoothly.
*I hide all the clues in blue plastic eggs (Blue Clues, so they can remember)
*The oldest grandchild participating can read. This might be too complicated for toddlers and babies. (ok, obviously) We'll see how my 2 1/2 year old will do, but I think my 4-year-old will LOVE it!

Challenge #1:Sing “I lived in Heaven.”
Clue #1: The Wise man built his house upon the _________. Sing the song, the missing word is where you will find your next clue. (This clue is hiding by a big rock in the yard, they will have to run around and search for it).

Challenge #2: Look up Helamen 5:12 on page 378 of the Book of Mormon, and read it out loud together.
Clue #2: Look at this picture (GAK 100 The creation) I am hiding here, Jesus created me on the fourth day. I have wrinkly, rough skin, and provide shade for you on a hot summer day. Find the next clue by finding me.

Challenge #3: Jesus also created our bodies. Do 10 jumping jacks and thank Heavenly Father for your strong, Healthy Body.
Clue #3: Another name for Jesus is “The Bread of Life.” Why do you think that is? Go find some bread to find your next clue. (Next clue hiding in pantry, or bread box, where ever you keep bread)

Challenge #4: Give a hug to someone you love!
Clue #4: GAK 208 Jesus was baptized to show us the way. When we get baptized, we are clean and we show that we will follow Jesus. Find you next clue where you clean your body. (Bath tub)

Clue #5 GAK Jesus was crucified by men who did not understand who he was. When he died, he was laid in a tomb. Find your next clue in a place where one of you lay down at night to sleep. (A bed of one of the children)

Challenge #6: Sing "Families can be together forever”
Clue #6. GAK Because Jesus loved us, he died for us, and then was resurrected! That is what Easter is all about! We can live together in families forever because death is not the end of life! Find your LAST clue in a place that reminds us how Families can be together forever. (hint: it’s a place where Moms and Dads can be married for Eternity!) (A picture of the temple.)

Challenge #7: Each person must tell one thing they believe about Jesus.
Clue #7: JUMP around to find a treasure for each of you! (Easter Baskets are hiding by a the trampoline.)

Here we go again.

If you have followed my blog for a while, you might remember when I was about to lose my mind from lack of sleep with DD2.

Well, we're there again. This time with my darling 7 month old, DD3. As I type, she is in her bed screaming. Because I am about to lose my mind.

It is getting pretty bad. I taught a lesson in church yesterday, and although I'm relieved to have made it through the lesson, I was so exhausted that during the discussion I could hardly pay attention. Did I mention that I was giving the lesson? Don't tell anyone, but during parts of the discussion I was totally zoned out. I tried so hard to focus, and just couldn't. At the beginning of the lesson, I even sang in a trio. I started each verse on the wrong note and messed up the words.

My brain is not functioning too well. My head is constantly hurting. My body is physically exhausted.

So she is "crying it out." Call me what you will. Heartless, abusive (yes I have heard those analogies lately describing the kind of parent I have become.) But something's got to give.

I think she'll be ok.

Multigrain bread

The ladies over at Our Best Bites shared a fabulous multi-grain bread recipe. I am in H-E-A-V-E-N! And I pretty much subbed out all the white flour for whole-wheat. Because that's how I roll. Happy Bread making!

Wonderflour

I found a great recipe that I am anxious to try...as soon as I buy me some Spelt (I have barley and brown rice).

Apparently this makes great flour that is a superb substitute for white flour...even in desserts! I'll let you know the results when I try it!

http://thepianoguys.com/music/

http://thepianoguys.com/music/

What God gave me time for.

Before I had children, I promised myself I'd never be the mother who asked "Why did I ever want children?" but sometimes I find myself thinking "I don't want to do this anymore." It's kind of like the feeling I had toward the end of labor with my last two children. I was exhausted. Mentally, physically, and emotionally spent. That time in labor is called "transition." I also sometimes experience that feeling during a run. I just. Don't. Want. To. Keep. Going.

But with labor, there was only one alternative: have the baby. What a glorious reward for my pain and struggle! And I know that I always feel great after a run. I feel strong. I feel like I can do anything.

Motherhood is a little different. Frequently I find myself struggling along, wondering how I'm supposed to do a good job at all the necessary tasks, and I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of laundry. I used to think all the laundry jokes were exaggerated. They are not. When things get hard, when I feel like throwing in the towel, it's hard to see the silver lining. When, oh when will this end? When will my four-year-old stop whining? When will my 2-year-old stop screaming? And when will my baby start sleeping through the night?

I've had a lot of days recently where I'm changing 4 diapers an hour, staying up all night with one child or another, and dealing with tantrums, meltdowns, kids not sharing, not to mention trying to keep up with housework (which is just not happening right now!)

This morning, after changing yet another diaper, when I found myself thinking "I don't want to do this anymore," the next thought I had was "but what would I do instead?"

And then I realized that I wouldn't trade all the hugs and kisses, all the smiles and giggles, or even all the mundane or frustrating tasks, for anything else in the world. After all, this is what God gave me time for.
My three sweet children:

Teaching the Doctrine of the Family

This speech from Julie Beck, who is the General Relief Society President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is an essential read!

A few gems:

President J. Reuben Clark Jr. said, “Your chief
interest, your essential and all but sole duty, is
to teach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as
that has been revealed in these latter
days” (“The Charted Course of the Church in
Education” [address to seminary and institute
of religion leaders, Aug. 8, 1938]

We know, from visiting with [the youth] and
conducting studies, that they show a lack of
faith in their ability to be successful in families.
They don’t see forming families as a faith-based
work. For them, it’s a selection process much
like shopping. They don’t see it as something
that the Lord will bless them and help them to
accomplish. They also distrust their own moral
strength and the moral strength of their peers.
Because temptations are so fierce, they aren’t
sure they can be successful in keeping
covenants. They also have insufficient and
underdeveloped social skills, which are an
impediment to them in forming eternal families

A lot of the antifamily messages that you are
hearing are targeting young women. Satan
knows that he will never have a body; he will
never have a family. He will target those young
women who create the bodies for the future
generations and who should teach the families.
They don’t even know what they’re being
taught in the messages. It’s just seeping in,
almost through their pores. Because Satan can’t
have it, he’s luring away many women, and
also men, and they’re losing confidence in their
ability to form eternal families.

Oftentimes with young adults I’ll tell the story
about the day my husband and I were married.
We had three dollars. Even worldwide, that’s
not very much money nowadays. It was a faithbased work when we got married. We didn’t
get married because of money, or because our
education was complete, or because we even
had a place to live. We lived with Grandpa and
took care of him for the first season of our
marriage. We went to school and worked hard,
but we entered that relationship as a faith-based
work. We knew that we had made a covenant
with the Lord and that He would bless us. It
didn’t take money; it took faith. Those are
messages they need to have and get confidence
in because of you.

Things we do.

I adore Pinterest. What a great way to find and organize ideas! The big problem, however, is actually accomplishing any of these ideas. Starting this week, my almost-four-year-old looked at Pinterest together in order to find 5 activities we could do together. I'm finally feeling like a normal human being since baby #3 was born, and we also have a computer now (YAY!), so although I'm not making any promises to myself, I want to blog about the things we do, at least so I can add them to Pinterest.

One activity we chose was to make butterflies with toilet paper rolls. Ours turned out really cute, using some old scrapbook paper, googly eyes, and foam stickers cut to make a nose and mouth.


(I had to add this picture of my preschooler, in her princess attire, with her pouty face. She has been so pouty today!)

I get knocked down...

...But I haven't gotten up again.

OK, so this having three kids 3 and under is really a challenge right now. Preschool? Non-existent. Sanity? Hanging by a thread. Sleep? Yes, please!

Blogging? NO time!!

Yes, I'm blogging right now, only to explain why I probably won't blog for a while. I'm struggling to find joy in motherhood. I never thought I would wonder "why did I have kids?" But to be brutally honest, that thought has crossed my mind lately. This is HARD!! There are a lot of things I'm having to let go of. I realized lately that homeschooling was causing me a lot of stress deep down, even though I'm not even doing it yet. So I've let go of that. If I can homeschool later, I will. But if I need to send my kids to public school, that will be wonderful too. I'm learning to accept what I can do, to focus on my kids as much as possible, and to LET GO of things that don't matter in the grand scheme.

Someday I'll blog again. But right now, I've got to stick with the essentials. :)

Starting preschool.

All of my friend's with children DD1's age seem to be sending their kids to preschool. In fact, we are often asked where she goes to preschool. She doesn't. And she won't. In fact, she already knows everything she might learn at preschool, except for maybe following directions and sitting still, which I think are overrated anyway. :)

BUT, I have thought for quite some time that I would homeschool my children, and after talking with some homeschooling families, and reading THIS book(which I recommend if you have even the slightest thought that you might want to homeschool), my husband and I are confident that homeschooling is a path we want to pursue.

With that in mind, I must admit that I worry that I'll be able to be dedicated enough to teach my kids at home. I certainly don't want any major gaps in their education. And I want them to become thinkers, and to pursue what they are passionate about. I want to have adventures and to learn through real-life experiences. I want our learning to be genuine, and not forced by some politicians who know little about children and nothing about education (don't get me started on the politics of public ed right now, it's a downward spiral).

For October, our theme is Autumn. I'm excited to see where it takes us. I do want to outline a daily rhythm that is fairly flexible, and I'm excited to see how that pans out, especially with three children. I'm trying to be organized, but not to let that take away from any spontaneity that should occur through our learning together. I am sure the only way I will survive is if I have an outline of how I'd like things to go, but I must be willing to let that go (especially due to a hungry baby, a cold, lack of sleep, or any of the things that tend to mess up "schedules" when you have three kids 3 and under.)

The books we plan to read:

Leaf Man and Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, by Lois Ehlert
The Apple Pie Tree, by Zoe Hall
Leaves Fall Down; Learning about Autumn Leaves by Lisa Marie Bullard

Are there any other Fall-ish books that you suggest for my little ones?

The songs we plan to sing:

My Montessori Journey typed up songs that go perfectly with our theme. I'm so excited to sing these with my girls!

Other skills we plan to learn:
Sight words the, a, and, see
Counting to 100

Gospel concepts to learn:
We Believe in God, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost

Social Skills to practice:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Any ideas for this one? :)

Weary

Our sweet baby was born 3 weeks ago. We are SO in love with her.

But we're also exhausted. It seems that adding 1 little person to our family has quadrupled our "to-do list" and exponentially increased our fatigue.

Tonight I was preparing this Sunday School lesson for the 12-13 year olds that I teach and came across this familiar scripture:

D&C 64:33-34
33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

I needed this reminder. I may be weary as a mama of 3, but I am laying the foundation of a great work! These little people depend on me for almost everything, but if I am willing to rely on the Lord and be patient with them, and with myself, then I will see great rewards! I'm weary, but these small things I'm doing will bring about great things!

Things to read Thursday #5: manners

I've thought a lot lately about how to teach my children courtesy, social skills, and manners. Here are a few books I love!

1. Cookies: Bite sized life lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Make some cookies with your little ones and sit down to enjoy this book. I even have a copy if you want to borrow it! :)

2. D.W.'s guide to perfect manners by Marc Brown. My gals LOVE D.W.! This is a cute book that has motivated my 3-year-old to try and be "perfect." It goes over basic manners and helping out around the house! Love it!

3. Bears on Chairs by Shirley Parenteau A cute story about how bears work together to solve a problem. Great discussions on sharing can ensue.

In my opinion, manners and courtesy are things that need to be taught explicitly. You have to PRACTICE and MODEL, MODEL, MODEL for your kids!! Discuss every situation and ask questions that can help them figure out what to do!

More ideas:

Anticipate situations where your child may not act in a polite way. Birthday parties can be difficult for small children, especially siblings of the birthday kid. Some kids have a hard time when other kids are getting attention. Act it out beforehand. Play "Birthday Party" and have kids give each other "presents" (we wrap ours in blankets) and practice being glad for each other when another child gets a present. Do the same thing and have the present opener practice gratitude for the gift. We do this in a scripted way. The present opener must look the giver in the eye, say their name, and say "thank you for the gift." Practice makes perfect!

I've started giving my preschooler "do-overs." When she speaks in a tone of voice that is not polite, I say "Why don't you try that again?" Because we've talked about it, she knows that whining or yelling is not appropriate. We don't even yell "Please get me a drink." Tone is important.

A great article on teaching generosity.

Discuss actions of the characters in books you read and movies you watch. For example, Woody in Toy Story does not use kind words or a kind tone. Get your child thinking about it. Don't worry that bringing it up will make them copy the behavior. Set firm limits. "Shut-up you idiot" is not something we say to people.

Praise! Praise! PRAISE! Try and notice every time your child uses good manners, is polite, is generous, and praise them!

Write thank-you notes for everything! Gifts, play-dates, or other special things need to be acknowledged and is a great way to teach your child gratitude.

Keep a family gratitude journal. Brainstorm things as a family once a week, or more!