Homework?! During the summer?! Aww, Mom.

This summer, after quiet reading time (or nap time depending on how sane I want to stay that day) and after quick snack, we’ve been having “Homework Time” each day. I know.  What a mean-mean mom I am to subject my children to homework on their summer break.  What a task-master, I am.

Anyway, we found some great books to go through this year and I’m please to say that most of the time, the boys look forward to working through them.  Andrew is working through Summer Bridge Activities: Bridging Grades Kindergarten to First book. He is also working through the My Printing Book'>First Grade Book of Handwriting Without Tears (which, I admit, was highly suggested for him to go through this summer by his Kindergarten teacher).  We also occasionally substitute one of the above for an uncompleted page out of his math workbook that was sent home with him when school let out. 

He likes math days much better than handwriting days. Can you guess what he’s good at and what he needs to work on?

AJ is working through a Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills, Preschool (Comprehensive Curriculum )'>Preschool Basic Skills workbook. He loves his book so far. In fact, I’m thankful it’s a big, fat book or he’d have the whole thing done in a month.  I have to tell him each day that it’s time to put it away, or he’ll keep flipping right through the pages.

Meanwhile, I have my Sudoku book that I bring along with me whenever we go or do something where I need to keep an eye on them, but can also work away at my puzzle here and there. 

We all gotta keep up our skillz this summer.

How Daddy does Haircuts

Outside with Easy Cleanup!

 

Book Report: Safely Home by Randy Alcorn

I can tell our schedule is getting crazy and my reading has dwindled severely. A while ago, I read Safely Homeby Randy Alcorn. Very Good Book.  I will warn there is a lot of dialogue and not much actions for quite a while. But it’s still good. Still interesting and thought provoking.

It’s a fictional book dealing with persecuted Christians in China.  Please don’t let that scare you away. It’s still a story that draws you in with characters that you learn to love or hate. Yet it makes you want to wrestle with how we live in our Free to Worship America and how much we take for granted…. like how many Bibles I have just sitting around.

I highly recommend this book and see it being one I read again down the road.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Last week boys and I finished our very first chapter book, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe: Book Two (The Chronicles Of Narnia) by C.S. Lewis.

I wasn’t sure how it would go since my boys tend to struggle with scary concepts.  These are the same boys who think “Finding Nemo” is scary.

However, using my experience reading House by Ted Dekker & Frank Peretti , I remembered that hearing something read to them is much different that watching something on TV, so I went for it.

Andrew totally got into it. He listened intently each night and I think it just about killed him to end the chapter and stop for the night.  I think AJ enjoyed the book as well, but wasn’t as captivated as Andrew.  The trickiest part was C.S. Lewis’ run on sentences.  Something that seems fine reading to one’s self, but get’s a little rough reading aloud.  And of course, some of the terminology was over their head.  I found I occasional had to change words to help it make sense.

Overall, the boys loved it and it sparked good conversation between them and myself about Aslan and how he is like Jesus.  And we are like Edmund…. poor traitor Edmund. 

But now I need help. I’ve read the whole Chronicle of Narnia series a while ago and but was most familiar with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and figured it was okay for my young boys.  I don’t remember how appropriate the rest of the books are.  Are they similar in nature or should I wait until the boys are older to read the next ones?  Or do I just need to re-read them myself to make that call?  Thoughts?

While I think AJ is ready for more picture books again, I do see more chapter books in their future.

 

Hmmm… what to do with a 120 ft tarp and baby shampoo?

Make a GIANT Slip and Slide!

We went over to a friend’s house for what was supposed to be a working night. Marc was planning on mowing their yard for them.  However, they had this concoction set up and well, the night was spent watching our kids plus half their neighborhood take turns flying down their hill.

Our boys had a blast (we did too – just watching them) and it totally wore them out running back up the hill for more.

Little Garden Critters – Part II of the Grand Weekend.

A few weeks ago, my cousin and family came up for a visit.  The men made a grueling trip to the UP for a one-day fishing trip (cra-zeeee!) and us ladies and kiddos had a little day out.

First, we attempted a trip, with 5 kids, to Old Navy for their $1 Flip Flop Sale.  Big Mistake.  When we arrived, the place was packed and the checkout line was to the back of the store.  When the Old Navy greeter saw our train of two grown-ups and five kiddos all hand in hand attempting to work on way into the store… he just laughed.  Needless to say, it took us about 1 minute before we found a route to chug our train back out of the store.

But our efforts were rewarded regardless when we drove past Krispy Kreme and the “Hot and Now” sign was lit up!  Free doughnuts and entertainment in one stop.  Mmm…  sugaring up five kids is a smart thing to do, right?

Finally, we made it to the Gardens.  I love the Gardens.  We visited the boats mostly and some of the others attractions in the Children’s Garden before we were nearing meltdown mode among a few of our tykes.

We grabbed Qdoba on the way home, ate lunch, got the kids down for quiet/nap time and enjoyed a quiet afternoon visiting my cousin.

We enjoyed the evening with outdoor time and the Crazy Daisy and grilled hot dogs (which I grilled. And I did not let the grill roll down completely down the driveway, in case you were wondering). Great Weekend!

Works for Me Wednesday: AWANA.

Oh how I love AWANA. Love. Love. Love AWANA!

When Andrew was in preschool, we loved that he was getting taught the Bible along with his ABC's and 123's. However, his current school doesn't teach the Bible. And while he does attend church regularly and we have nightly Bible story time at home, we wanted to get the boys involved in something else.

Enter AWANA last fall. Some friends of ours take their kids to a local church and since our church doesn't offer AWANA, we signed our boys up for that same church. So every week, for very little cost, the boys would get a little Bible teaching and some good exercise and we would get a weekly inexpensive date night. Win, Win, Win!

The boys looked so cute in their little vests. Andrew was a Spark and AJ was a Cubbie (the most adorable Cubbie you have ever seen by the way). And while AJ was learning simple verses like "The Lord is my Sheppard"; Andrew was learning 4-5 complete verses a week. (and more times than not, AJ would pick up on them, too !)

Now, I confess, a few Wednesday’s ago was our final AWANA celebration. They ended the year with a 'Fair'. Each kid got 20 AWANA bucks and they had all kinds of carnival-type games to play and earn tickets. Then the boys could redeem their tickets for prizes. And... the prizes were pretty sweet. No nickel pencil erasers to be seen. Even Marc and I had fun at the fair.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, it will be nice to have another evening of our week free, but I will be looking forward to Awana starting back up in the fall.

And I'm sure that none of the boy's Awana teachers are readers, but I still want to express my gratitude for giving your time, energy and love to my children each week. I truly appreciate what you do!

To find out what works for others, check out We Are That Family.

Sunday morning Anglers…

…and they still made it church on time.

You're a Grand Old Flag

Happy Flag Day!

You're a grand old flag, You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.

Ev'ry heart beats true 'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

Lyrics by George M. Cohan, Sung by Andrew on May 12, 2010

A Grand Weekend! Part I

A few weekends ago, I was blessed once again, to be able to attend a Winsome Women retreat with one of my great friends, Jill, at the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island. (How’s that for some prepositional phrases).

My dad was wonderful and came up to help Marc watch the boys and get Andrew to and from school, so I could head up north.

After brunch, the four of us, boarded the ferry and arrive on the island to do a little shopping before making our way up to the hotel.

This is such a wonderful, relaxing retreat!  It’s at a beautiful location, with great ladies,  and a-maz-ing food (like unbelievable 5 course meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner)!  Oh, that you can attend session and assemblies with Godly speaker and musicians while we’re there is like icing on the cake.

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It’s hard to believe we are only there for a mere 24 hours as it truly feels like a mini vacation. I confess it’s a little stressful getting there, trying to get each of our households and jobs ready for our absence, but once there it’s easy to get caught up in seemingly time warp of the Grand Hotel.

And since the retreat is over a Thursday/Friday, we get to come back to a full weekend ahead of us, which for me was the just start of my Grand weekend.

Things I love Thursday: Rocket Freezer Pop Molds

While shopping at Art of the Table earlier this year, I found these Tovolo Blue Rocket Pop Molds.  I bought them and tucked them away for a special occasion.
Last week we celebrated the fact that it was Thursday and I pulled them out to surprise the boys.  They watched me chop up fresh pineapple (will hardly touch the stuff), fresh strawberries (too seedy for them to eat), a banana (Andrew despises) and threw it all into the blender. 

The set came with a stand that holds the rocket molds upright really securely. And because of the unique shape, these puppies freeze fast.  Like 2-3 hours fast…which is a huge plus when you have two boys asking you literally every 4 minutes, “Are they ready yet”?

They have clever handles that help catch the drips, although they are still no match for my four year old’s mess making abilities.

Plus, a couple nights ago, I was enjoying a fruit popsicle when one the boys woke up needing me (scary dream). I was able to place my pop back into it’s sleeve, shove in the freezer, then pick back up where I left off once appropriate hugs and drinks of water were doled out. Did I mention they are dishwasher safe (top rack, I guess) and BPA free?

Once frozen, you can easily pop these out of the stand and shove them wherever you have freezer space since they are self contained.  You can also mix and match the flavors too.  We did three chocolate pudding pops and three OJ pops at the same time.  And because I know what I put into them, last Saturday I let the boys each have a popsicle made of OJ for breakfast and then turned around and let them eat another one made of Strawberries, Pineapple and Banana.  (Something I would never be able to get them to eat.) Yes, they ate two popsicles for breakfast.
And that made me the coolest mom ever.

For more Things to Love check out The Diaper Diaries.

And So It Begins…

Remember how we are Dykstra Dash-ing through this summer.  Last night, it all began.

It was Andrew’s first TBall practice (AJ’s PeeWee TBall starts next month). He’s got two practices this week and next, then once a week games for the next six weeks.

He Loved it! He was one of the oldest/biggest on the team which means he hit the furthest and threw the hardest by default. Even to the point where I came home and double checked to make sure we had him in the right age group.  We do… he’s just big.

This Summer will Truly be a Dykstra Dash!

Wowser – this summer is going to be nutty.  Isn’t this time of year supposed be relaxing? A time to kick back, enjoy the weather, and spend time with the family?

Oh we will be doing that – enjoying the weather and spending time as a family… via T-ball and Football.  For both boys.  Who are in separate age groups and therefore separate practice and game days/times.  Yikes!

It looks like at least 2 evenings a week we are going to be committed to some activity for most of the summer, with a few weeks of August being “off”. But, wait, there’s more! Throw a family vacation in there and a possible football camp, plus the usual childcare the I do 2-3 days a week and my daily PT job, plus the “homework” that my boys will be completing over the summer and…. I’m tired before it even really gets started.

But the boys are super excited about all the activities. And so is Marc. Okay, I am too.  At least, I am now - when I’m not in the throws of a crazy busy week wondering why, oh why, did we subjected ourselves to the madness that is our local Parks and Rec. Dept?

I Finally Made the Leap!

I’ve been absent for quite a while and I have somewhat of a good excuse.  I’ve Moved!.  Not to a new city or even a new neighborhood… but to a new URL.   From now on, you can find me and all my random rants and writings right here at:

DykstraDash.com

 

I’ve taken the plunge.  I’ve got my own domain name and Wordpress site. And don’t worry, I’ve done my best to move everything over here.  It looks a little different from my old blogger site, a little cleaner in my opinion, and gives me a little more to offer. 

 

However, bear with me as it is still new and I don’t have quite the familiarity with it as I do with Blogger.

 

So please, click around the new site and see what you think. I’d love to hear what you think about it… the good and the bad (not that I can promise anything.)  And thank you to those that have stuck  with my ramblings and absences all these years.  I’ve truly enjoyed it and appreciate my readers. 

I’M MOVING!

I’ve been absent for quite a while and I have somewhat of a good excuse.  I’m moving.  Not to a new city or even a new neighborhood… but to a new URL.   From now on, you can find me and all my random rants and writings at:

DykstraDash.com

I’ve taken the plunge.  I’ve got my own domain name and Wordpress site. And don’t worry, I’ve done my best to move everything over there.  It looks a little different, a little cleaner in my opinion, and gives me a little more to offer. 

However, bear with me as it is still new and I don’t have quite the familiarity with it as I do with Blogger.

So please, click around the new site and see what you think. I’d love to hear what you think about it… the good and the bad (not that I can promise anything.)  And thank you to those that have stuck  with my ramblings and absences all these years.  I’ve truly enjoyed it and appreciate my readers.