ABC Family 25 Days of Chrismtas

A favorite around our house is to print out the movie schedule for ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas.  We circle the movies we'd like to watch and look forward to having a fire and curling up around the TV to watch some funny Christmas movies.  Enjoy!

A funny...

Little c is about 2 here and pretending to be pregnant.  I love how she knows how to hold her tummy like a real pregnant person for a photo! 

Another thought provoking forward from my dad...

Little c is really, really likeable.  I haven't met anyone who fails to become her friend.  Adults have told me she inspires them with her favorable qualities.  Let's just say other people in our home may not have exude that some likeability.  And I work HARD on helping this other 'person' understand friends, strangers, truly everyone prefers to be around positive people rather than negative people.  My dad thought this article might help her and I think it's a great list of ways to be like-able.


Enjoy...

Be Likeable

Apple Orchard with Homeschool Friends

Our weekly home school group went to Dierdorff's Orchard in Waconia to pick apples and have some fall fun.  The kids picked so many apples and then played together for a few hours.  It never ceases to amaze me how much fun this group of kids can have with essentially no toys or playground. A few of the older boys put one older girl and a younger child in wagons and competed in a race against each other.  The younger kids played on the pile of hay for hours.  Big C spent about thirty minutes watching the horses in the field.  They are creative and imaginative with very little 'props'.  Such a neat group of multi-aged children.  Their latest favorite is Capture the Flag -- with teenagers and five year olds playing together.  Big C even sewed up some flags for each team and made ribbons for the kids to wear so people can see who is on which team.  I love it! 

If I had lots of extra money...

I'd give it to a little place in Minneapolis called Leonardo's Basement.  Gosh is it cool!  


Leonardo's Basement

Leonardo's offers classes for kids and teens.  Actually, adults too.

I love that they make their classes so open-ended.  There may be a project or goal but they won't tell you step by step how to get to completion.   There is no right or wrong way to do anything at Leonardo's Basement.  Activities are kid directed while being adult supervised.  In my opinion that's an equation for a good education!

And they allow your children to play with things you might not allow at home. My girls were pumped to get to use real glue guns.  They also could use as much glitter as they wanted on their creations.   The basement also has sewing machines, ovens, a huge computer lab, and two resident guinea pigs.

Their little slogan from this summer was Helping Kids Fail, Since 1998.  Let me tell you about the stares your kids will get wearing these shirts at Target.  Who wants kids to fail?  I do!  And so do the people who run Leonardo's Basement.  I want my girls to learn how to find solutions to problems that appear to have no solution.  And I applaud when their first try doesn't work.  I applaud even more when they attack the problem again from a different angle.  Failure is part of life and I want them to have the experience of things not working out and to learn perseverance in the face of obstacles.

I think Leonardo's Basement is a special place and it's worth the drive for their unique classes.

Sarah Learns: On Dying

I read a great article on The Guardian .com this morning about dying and the regrets of people who are on their death beds. 

Check it out...

On Dying

It might help you live a better life today!

Fortunately I haven't had too many people I love pass away yet.  Even so I feel like the funerals I've attended have been such a gift to me.  They have reminded me to live.  Be present; forget about the troubles and hurts of the past and not worry about what's to come.  Just be happy for the right now because it's the only guarantee.  

My Sweet Baby is 10!

They grow up too darn fast!  I miss having a baby so much but I am glad I appreciated that time.  Each age has challenging aspects and amazingly sweet parts.  I can't believe my tiny (5 lbs 13 oz) baby went from this:

to this...

so fast!

10 Things about Big C I Love:

1.) She is incredibly sensitive.  Certain songs on the radio make her cry as well as seeing abandoned stuffed animals in toy stores.  Watching her one year video was of no interest to her because she said it would make her too sad.

2.) Big C has a strong will.  Probably stronger than anyone I've ever know.  She will not be easily convinced of anything and stands up for her beliefs.  Although I find this a struggle to parent, I hope it will come in handy as she grows up.

3.  A dare devil!  She is a wild, fearless downhill skier.  Being home alone at night does not even scare her.  Next she'd love to learn to scuba dive.  Diving down to the bottom of the unknown ocean floor is no big deal to her.

4.  Reading is her favorite thing to do.  She learns so much from reading books, magazines, articles on the Internet.  She has an amazing ability to remember what she reads.

5.  She loves to be a part of a team more than the actual pursuit of the sport.  And she's a great team member.  Soccer is her favorite sport and it has nothing to do with the actual sport.  She just loves to encourage, support, and rally around a group of people striving for the same goal.

6.  Big C is happy to be alone.  She likes to play upstairs in her room and do her art or Legos, all the while listening to a book on c.d.

7.  She is witty and funny. Her sense of humor is dry and often times other children don't get it.  For example, when coming upon what appeared to be an animal's tail on a walk she said "That cat needs to go to the retail store".

8.  A lot of her friends are boys.  She tends to share more common interests with the boys and recognizes girls tend to harbor more drama.

9.  Big C is good at standing up for herself.  She is not afraid to tell a doctor he is late or to call someone out at airport security.  Authority is not important to her.

10.  She is awesomely honest.  Sometimes to my chagrin but she owns it.

We love her so much and feel so proud she is our sweet ten year old daughter!