Surviving Survival Mode- Part Two!

This is another installment in the series-- Mamma Shouldn't Get Sick!


During Survival Mode it is time to 1. Keep things Simple 2. Keep Perspective and Stay Positive 4. Ask for help!!!

1. Keep Things Simple

When you are in Survival Mode your focus is on surviving the current crisis. You are not doing anything extra. This is not the time to keep up appearances. It is kind of like being grounded. Depending on the nature of the sickness or trial, you most likely will be spending most of your time at home or at a hospital. 

If any extra-curricular activities can be cut, do it. If home projects can be put off, put them off. Stick to the basics-- Food, Shelter, Clothing and Affection.

This can be especially hard when Survival Mode lasts months and even years. People with long term illnesses and their families may feel that they have moved to Survival-Ville. 

One of the dangers of living in Survival-Ville is that after the initial shock wears off you forget to keep things simple. You get tired of keeping things simple and let more responsibility and activities creep in... more than just a few! When you are in Survival Mode it doesn't take much to send you and your family over board. 


Survival Mode isn't where any of us what to live our lives. But, it is good to recognize when you are there. When Survival Mode becomes a lifestyle, keeping things simple has to go with it. Otherwise, you will add a roller coaster effect to an already not ideal setting.

What do I mean by roller coaster? I mean that if you don't keep things simple and do too many activities that take energy outside meeting your family's needs...you will experience a high of business that will make you feel a rush of adrenaline that will make you feel better for a short time. Then you will experience a crash. You take a nose dive back into Survival Mode. This wild ride isn't good for anyone.

Plan diversions. Get out and see people when you can. But--- Keep it simple! Once you have built up some strength and are starting to recover, don't squander it and send yourself backwards.

Keeping things simple may seem like a contradiction in terms, especially if just doing day to day things seems very over whelming. (More on this later)

But the point is, look at your life. What is most important. What NEEDS to happen to keep your family healthy (physically & spiritually) and feeling loved? Then do the hard task of cutting out the rest. Ask the Lord for help and discernment in this task.

What is meant for Lent?

While growing up, my church and family didn't celebrate Lent. We had grand celebrations around Easter and I definitely felt my parents worked hard to make Easter and all it's meaning a big deal.

However, it wasn't until college or to be more specific until my internship after college that I discovered the practice of Lent. I was working as an intern in a Presbyterian Church. The staff that I was working with all celebrated Lent, and talked about it during staff meetings and during church. It really left an impression on me. This practice was something I have taken with me along the way.


Each year I learn a bit more about the practice and dive into it in varying degrees. This year I wanted to make an effort to pay attention and participate.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to an Ash Wednesday service. I also wasn't able to do a food fast on that day. However, I was able to start my daily Lenten readings. It also marked the start date for my 40 day fast.

Through my Lenten reading I learned that there are three pillars to Lent: 1. Prayer 2. Almsgiving and 3. Fasting. Knowing this has helped give form to Lent for me. Knowing these pillars provided focus and purpose. Now I can go back to these pillars that hold up Lent and rotate through them. Each pillar points to God and gives me a purpose or practice to seek him out.

I think most people think of fasting when they think of Lent. Many people turn Lent into a diet, a way to cut out unhealthy food for a while. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE dark chocolate. Breaking the habit would remind me to pray. But, for me I wanted a bit more.

Fasting is a practice of replacement. To take something out of your life to make more room for God. To change something in your day or life that leaves you a bit lost and at a loss to know what to do with yourself. It opens up time to pray and become more in tune with your Savior.

Since I am new to this practice and still learning as I go, I am excited to see how God gives me a fuller understanding and a greater depth of His will for me in how and why to do this exercise. At any rate, right now, it has given me the opportunity to draw closer to God and reconnect.

What are my Lenten goals this year?
I gave up Facebook. I also want to participate in 40 Days of Water with Blood Water Mission However, due to health reasons right now I can't give up smoothies, tea and home made juice. So I am going to give up coffee. This is really the only thing that I buy when I am out. What I like about the 40 days of water is that it combines all three pillars of Lent. Check it out. It is an amazing cause!

I am also adding a few things. I am doing daily readings and really enjoying them. I am reading: 'Lord Open My Heart- Daily Scriptural Reflections for Lent" By Julie Davis
and
'Reconciled to God- Daily Lenten Devotions' By Amy Welborn and Paul Pennick
I am also trying to spend my time in prayer, including spending more time and closer attention to the email prayer chain from our church.

None of these things are big deals. But, I feel that God is using this and challenging me. It is good to be in a time of focus and expectation. I know that God is at work in me!

Keep them Hopping

Here is an EGG-citing project that is perfect for this time of year. This is an activity jar. Inside this jar are eggs that have an activity listed on it.

Here are some objectives accomplished by our EGG-citing Activity Jar:
1. It answers the question... What should I do now? And it is a great alternative to letting them plop down in front of another episode of Strawberry Shortcake.

2. It reminds us of toys, games and activities that they don't play with every day. I intentionally wrote individual games and things that are tucked away in cupboards so that we remember to get them out and use them.

3. All of these activities inspire creativity and family interaction. This is also a great way to break free from boring ruts. We all know that especially when kids are young repetition is a great learning tool for kids. But it is also great to try something new, or rediscover something you have forgotten. And for the adult who is involved, it can be a refreshing change!

How does it work?
At a designated time of day, or when the time is right, get down the jar from it's shelf. Let the children choose one egg. Sometimes we let both of our daughters choose one each. Then decide which activity to do first. Perform the activity and put the completed egg into a separate jar. That way you won't keep pulling the same eggs out of the jar each time.

What do you need to make this project?
1. A large jar. I used an empty Costco sized Animal Cracker container.
2. Eggs or ping pong balls. I made my jar around Easter time. Go to the $1 store and see if you can find something that would work. I was originally going to use ping pong balls but they didn't have them at the dollar store and I couldn't find them for a cheap enough price.
3. An Inventory List of toys and games, and flash cards you want to include on your eggs. You may also want to add things like: Make a puppet show with stuffed animals behind the couch, or Dance Party!, and Put on a play of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
4. A Permanent Marker. Write on each egg one activity.
5. A shelf. Once you have written on all the eggs and put them in your jar, put them up on a shelf. The activity jar is not down where the kids can get into all the time, or dump it all out. I get it down when it is time to do an activity. Keeping it up actually adds to the excitement! 
A few pointers...

*** You may want to keep a time limit in mind. In our jar the average egg activity lasts from 10 to 30 minutes.

*** You may also like to approach your activity jar from a "Jump Start" perspective. Where you as the parent jump start the kid on the activity and then they complete it independently. This works really well if there is some kind of performance at the end. For example, put on a play and then perform it for mommy in 20 minutes. This also works well with activities like play dough.

However, I have found that the time when the eggs come in the most handy is when the girls need some parental interaction. More often than not, after completing their Egg-citing activity they are ready to do some independent play.

Mamma Shouldn't Get Sick--- Survival Mode- Part One

In a perfect world the Mamma would never get sick or hurt. We would always be in great health and able to run after our children. For many women this is not their reality.


And for me, my past five years of motherhood has had to be accomplished through a constant ebb and flow of sickness. It is never fun when a Mom gets sick, but it is so hard when a Mamma being sick is a normal part of family life. 


Before I was treated with Oral Systemic Balance (OSB)  I was sick approximately a week a month. We are not talking about a little head cold, I was sick in bed. In addition to frequent illness I had chronic pain caused by benign hyper mobility syndrome and was recovering from a spinal fusion. Since OSB these phases have become much more stretched and at times completely diminished. But even now we find ourselves back in the cycle from time to time...like during pregnancy and getting through the first 12 weeks.

As a family we find ourselves moving through a three phase cycle: 

1. Prevention -2. Survival Mode -3. Recovery to Routine. This is such a big topic for me that I will posting three articles focused on the Survival Mode Phase.


How do you know you are in Survival Mode? Well, your house looks like it has never been cleaned...ever.  Your vacuum actually has cobwebs on it. You have eaten through the contents of the freezer. All those meals you saved for a rainy day are gone. Your kids have gotten in the habit of watching much more TV than any child should watch. And your kids are wearing who knows what and probably haven't brushed their hair in a while.


Survival Mode descends on a home when one or more members of the family are sick. You may find your family shifting into this gear when going through a time of emotional upheaval as well.


Survival Mode is a place where you and your husband do whatever it takes for the family to survive, and not much more. You somehow get everyone three meals a day. Suddenly, cereal for dinner is a viable option. You bathe the kids at least once a week. Your husband goes to work and then comes home. In those hours in between you get through.


During Survival Mode it is time to 1. Keep things Simple 2. Keep Perspective and Stay Positive 4. Ask for help!!!


Stay Tuned.... in the next week I will post three more articles exploring how to survive Survival Mode.  

Good Morning Mamma

I have never been a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. There are still tales circulating among our extended family of the legendary tantrums I would throw when I woke up as a toddler. This wonderful morning mood followed me all the way into adult hood.

I don't want to wake up early, and when I get up it takes me forever to get moving. If I don't have a plan for the morning the night before it takes me until lunch to get my momentum.

Of course knowing what I know now about how little I was actually sleeping before I was fitted for my Oral Systemic Balance Orthotic (OSB), it all makes more sense.

But even before I started the OSB treatment I had felt the Lord tugging at my heart. He was telling me that I needed to get out of bed before my family and become a Morning Mamma.

My first response to Him was "OK, How?" Before the orthotic getting out of bed was next to impossible. I wasn't really sleeping during the night. I would finally get into some deep sleep by the time it was time to get up. It was my husbands unhappy duty to try to wake me. I would be a groggy lump on the couch as he left for work.

I could see the need, I had the desire, but the 'how' of the matter was still an issue.

Well, God answered my prayer with the 'how' of the matter. He provided me with my first restful sleep of my life. In my OSB treatment one of my main goals has been to be that Mamma that bounces out of bed in the morning. I am not there yet!

As the season has turned to fall and the mornings have gone black the verse in Proverbs 31:15 keeps coming to mind. "She gets up while it is still dark." This verse comes from the section outlining the attributes of a wife of Noble Character. She gets up while it is still dark.... and she is industrious!

It has occurred to me that the only way the chores, my exercise and Bible and prayer time are going to get done is if I get up while it is still dark. Imagine if I were to get my chores for the day done and dinner in the crock pot before the children even got up! That would be crazy!

This would also ease the tension between getting things for the house and myself done verses doing home school and keeping the family routine during the day. With my chores already done and dinner ready and waiting, I can focus on other things! Namely, Thing 1 and Thing 2, my two daughters.

This charge to get up while it is still dark requires two parts. #1 Help from the Lord. #2 The discipline to choose to obey by making choices that will lead to obedience.

In order to get up earlier you have to go to bed earlier. I need to choose to turn off the computer, and do what it takes to get in bed at a decent hour. There is no point in getting up only to be grumpy and lumpy. I might as well sleep if I am going to be like that.

I also have to prepare. I need a plan for when I rise. This means having a list waiting for me telling me what to do first. This list has to include when and what to eat and when to get dressed and what chores to do first. Until I get into a routine, I can't count on myself being able to move and think at the same time.

With the Lord's help I hope to become an Early Bird, cheerful, chirping and industrious even while it is still dark.

Home school Journal- Month One-- Looking back

Searching for the moon!

Well, I thought it would be a good idea to journal how things have been going each month and note a few things I have learned along the way.

Last year we did the Preperatory Curriculum through the Letter of the Week website. This was an awesome program and really helped me get my feet wet as a homeschooling mom.

When I would tell people that I was doing homeschool preschool with the girls I often got a bit of a negative response. People kept saying, well you don't have to do much with preschoolers. This is true. You don't have to plan a full day of school. In fact an hour a few days a week of focused activities would do it. Here is the thing, you have to plan to do it, or else you won't do it.

The Letter of the Week program gave me enough of a structure so that I was motivated to do things with the girls, but flexible enough to work. Each week we had a theme. I would check out books from the library on that theme and then we would read them through out the week. We also had a learning poster that we could add the letter, shape or color, nursery rhyme, verse and vocabulary word to.

Sometimes we would have structured time where we would put everything on our chart. The program was designed to add things to the chart through out the week.  We would ususally add them all in one day, or sometimes they went straight to our poster review book. I made a book of all the pictures and things we would put on our poster. This is great because we can sit on the couch together and review.

There was a lot of trial and error as I went along. We had to get into the habit of school. I had to find out what times my children were most ready to do an activity with me and most ready to learn. After a while we got into a routine of sorts.

Here are a few things that were invaluable to me:

1. Book Basket: For us the best time of learning was just sitting and reading together. On Monday morning I would fill our book basket up with all new library books that focused on our theme. The theme each week was a surprise which really built excitement.
* Since this worked so well for us, I realized that a literature based home school curriculum would probably be the best choice for us in the future.

2. I tried to do field trips that had to do with the theme through out the year. This was great motivation for us to get out and do things as a family. I also rearranged the order some to meet our scheduling needs. We went on a road trip when we were learning about cars. We visited my Aunt who works at an airport when we were learning about Airplanes. We visited a friend who raises rabbits when we were learning about rabbits. We went to a farmer's market and watched someone spin wool to yarn. These out and about, hands on activities were so much fun. With out having the themes in place I would have never thought to go on those field trips.

We got out Daddy's train set the week our theme was trains.

* I really want to keep this active and adventuresome side of learning alive in our homes schooling. So I was looking for a program that would inspire and get us out and about. If I couldn't find it in a program, I wanted to make sure I planned for it myself through out the year.

3. An activity basket. Children (especially preschoolers) can learn so much by doing things with you. These side by side moments pop up through out the day. The more I can involve them in what I am doing, the more they learn. I also learned that keeping an activity basket on hand worked great. When the children needed some kind of activity I would just grab out the paints and craft supplies and we would start crafting. Having crafts and learning activities on hand made it easy to grab something and do it when the timing was right. This worked much better than trying to sit down for a structured school time.

Doing preschool was as much of a practice and preparing me for school as it was for the girls.

I am thankful for this learning year. It really laid the foundation for our second year. I wanted to take our homeschooling to the next level.

Like A Latte: A pen for all reasons

I love it when a normal thing that is just laying around the house gets taken to a new level of usefulness. As a writer I have a thing for pens. But there is a certain kind of pen that gets used to the max around here. The dry erase marker gets the gold star! (Wet erase markers work great too! Just be sure you don't confuse it with that other pen that is often despised by mother's everywhere.... Mr. Permanent Marker)

What can you use a dry erase marker for... other than a dry erase board? Glad you asked! Let me count the ways!

1. For laminated charts (take a trip back in my blog and see a few that my children and I use daily) These charts are great visual reminders of what needs to be done. They are also wonderful teaching tools that can be used again and again.
5210 & Chore Chart
Weather Report Chart

2. Ever have water glasses sitting out all over the house? One great way to cut down on confusion and dishes. Simply write everyone's name on their glass every day.

3. Decorate your mirror. I am notorious for writing notes to myself on the mirror. This is often where I put my 'To Do' list. I also write items that I have to remember to take with me the next day. On a romantic and more encouraging note.... you can substitute the dry erase marker for lipstick and write your husband a love note or encouraging words of scripture.

** This is an especially wonderful idea if you have a daughter that spends a lot of time in front of the mirror. The mirror can often be a place of self scrutiny and a spot where we focus on the beauty we lack rather than what our Creator sees. Take the chance to counteract those negative thoughts with beautiful words and scriptures that will point your children back to the One who made them and loves them.

4. Prevent leftovers and meals in the freezer from turning into mysterious monsters of grossness. Label the food and put the date on it. Then just wipe it off when you are done with it!

Who knew that a pen could be used to prevent so much waste and clutter? Happy Marking!

(A word of caution: Do make sure the pen is in fact a dry/wet erase marker and not permanent. Also test out the surface before you write all over it. I made this mistake by writing on my oven hood....oops!)