Keeping Mom's Sanity

Sometimes I think I am the only mom out there that really doesn't enjoy summer. I know that it is not the case. I just get overwhelmed with everything that is going on and my desire for a stress free and relaxing break never happens.

So this year, we are going about the summer a little different. With the economy the way it is we have had to cut back on going to the zoo and the adventure museum, gas is expensive and our people mover does not get good gas mileage. We have decided to stay home for the most part.

In our area (home) we have a bowling center that is participating in KidsBowlFree.com, the local movie theater has free movies on Wednesdays for the kids (check your local theater), we have a couple playgrounds nearby plus a large state park that we can go to with a swim area that is free. These are all things that we are able to take advantage of to keep the kids busy and we have done in the past.

This year, for the boys we are adding a summer home school curriculum. We started with The Complete Book of Bible Activities, Grades 2-4 mainly for B2 and B3 but I think B1 can use it too now that I have flipped through it. I really like how it incorporates Biblical values, morals, and characters into the activities so that the kids are learning multiple things at once. Then I found The Original Summer Bridge Activities 1-2, The Original Summer Bridge Activities 3-4, and The Original Summer Bridge Activities 4-5 for all three boys. These books will last about eight weeks, which is also the length of our summer (we have an altered school schedule). Each book 'bridges' the grade that the student just completed and prepares them for the next year. I am hoping with the new standards that our schools have put in place that we will at least keep the kids from regressing. Then when I was picking up some office supplies in town, I saw Summer Splash Learning Activities Grades 1-2 for B3. I went ahead and got the extra book for him because he likes the challenge and really needs to work on focusing. We are hoping that in addition to the work keeping them from "being bored to death" it will also keep them from the typical summer regression that occurs. An added bonus is that the Summer Bridge books and one of the other books also have activities that can be accessed online too.

How does your family plan to combat summer boredom? Do you have a problem with keeping the kids busy during the summer?

Disclaimer: In text links are affiliate links to Christianbook.com. The widget is an affiliate link to Amazon.com

I Can See Clearly Now

My GOODNESS!!

In the last eight weeks seven of us have had our vision checked. Of those seven, six of us need glasses. That is a lot of glasses. I wanted to share with you a website a friend told me about. It was right after I ordered my glasses from Coastal that I had gotten a very good deal on. (Your first pair are free you just pay shipping. There are some stipulations.) The other site is Zenni Optical.

The glasses I ordered from Coastal are a high quality and worth the $30 I spent. I added the coatings bundle which is the UV coating, anti-reflective coating and the scratch resistant coating. I really enjoy the glasses and they are what I call my 'work glasses'.

Zenni, however has very inexpensive glasses and when you have kids that are rough on their frames and you have to replace them, they are the place to go.  Instead of worrying if the boys are going to come home from school or Tae Kwon Do with their glasses in a baggie, I know that we can replace them if needed. The other advantage about Zenni though is that, they are inexpensive enough to let the kids pick out what they want frame wise. That means they take better care of them.

B1 has had his for a little over a month now and he loves them. They are a unique camo type color and they are plastic frame. There are no nose pads for him to complain about being too tight and the ears fit perfect. Between this pair from Zenni and the pair that the insurance covered at the eye doctor, I've got to say he wears his Zenni pair a lot more.

B1's Zenni glasses were $6.95 plus shipping and it included the UV coating and the anti-scratch coating. I think in my personal opinion it is well worth the buy. It did take about 2 weeks to get the glasses once ordered. That would be the down side to the experience with Zenni.

Overall I am happy with both Coastal and Zenni and would be glad to do business with either company again. Obviously, as long as I have rambunctious little boys that are rough on their glasses I will be visiting Zenni.

Disclaimer: The link to Coastal is an affiliate link. I have not been paid to do a review of either company and all opinions and views expressed have been solely mine and mine alone. 

Are We Missing the Mark?

I was reminded by a friend's post on Facebook yesterday about what is important while we are raising our kids. It isn't that I have been neglecting my children. It is just one of those little things that really matters.

You can have the most polite, most educate, most groomed, child on the block and they still be missing the mark. That is what I was reminded of. In fact, your child can know the Bible backwards and forwards and still be missing the mark.

What the friend of mine pointed out was very simple, her children were very eager to help a person in need. It wasn't that she forced them to do it, it was simply that she mentioned the person needed help and both of them were happy to help with her. I think that is the key. She led by example.

I know I have wrestled with things many times because sometimes it is just easier for me to just do it instead of showing one of the kids how to do it or waiting for them as they help. Is that teaching them a positive thing though?

As a Christian, we are to show God's love to others and we are to teach our children that love. How do our children learn about that love unless we show them? Its not just the love within a family, its also reaching out to others. Like when the neighbor can't get his car to start and you help get it jumped off. You do it to help, not to get a reward.

It used to be the norm that people helped others and were generous with them, there was that brotherly love in abundance. Perhaps it is a bit naive, due to the area I live in, but it has slowly died away. What would happen if we brought it back? What would happen if the Christians lived as Christ and showed God's love continuously?