Mom’s Musings

This has been an extra busy week in my real world, AND I have been trying to do the responsible thing and get more sleep. These are my excuses for posting a bit less than usual. If you are interested in my unsubstantiated opinions, I forthwith present you with this week’s THURSDAY THIRTEEN,

Thirteen ways to foster creativity in your children:

• First of all, make sure that your children’s basic needs for body and soul are consistently well-met. This lays a foundation of security and health. This will require a lot of love, self-discipline and self-sacrifice on your part.
  
• Expose your children to real life people, places and things. Go to the park, to the zoo, to the concerts, to church, to stores, to the library, and to as many other places as you can think of. Prepare your children ahead of time for what they will see and what behavior will be expected of them.
  
• Involve your children in the real work of the home, so that they may learn real skills and discover what valuable, competent people they are. Children (at an appropriate age, with instruction) can do animal chores, bake bread, clean bathrooms, mow lawns, wash vehicles, paint rooms, organize seasonal clothing, etc. DON’T DO FOR YOUR CHILDREN WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR THEMSELVES! Do you want them to learn that they are helpless and needy, or that they are strong and competent?
  
• READ, READ, READ to your children! And, let them see you enjoying reading, too. Read a variety of literary genres to them, and non-fiction, too. Other times and places will come alive to them. Wise and good men and women from ages past (and the present) can become your children’s friends through good books.
  
• Pay attention to your children, and particularly try to notice their aptitudes, talents and special interests. Nurture these talents, with appropriate lessons, supplies, field trips, mentors, etc. In schooling language, this is called Interest Based Education. This is the type of homeschooling that I tried to do. What’s good for one child’s development may not be the right fit for another child, as you most likely realize.
  
• Provide a rich learning environment in your home. This would include: books, art supplies, Legos or similar 3-D building toys, clothing for dress-up, a safe outdoor play area with sand box, a dirt heap, trees to climb, places to bike and skate, room to run and dance.
  
• Make sure your children have unstructured time every day to play and dream. How can they be creative if you are deciding what they will do every minute of every day?
  
• Provide opportunities for your children to interact lovingly with people of as many ages and ethnicities as possible. Emphasize the duty we have to love and serve others. Let them know that they are no better and no worse than anyone else because of being black, white, brown, or any other shade or nationality. Let them think of ways to love and serve.
  
• Limit TV viewing time. I would like to say, do without TV altogether, but there are valuable programs you can enjoy together, I know. I have read that the type of stimulation provided by TV does not foster neurological development in young children, nor does it develop their creativity. You can research this yourself, if you so desire. Jane M. Healy, Ph.D. has quite a bit to say on this subject in her book Your Child’s Growing Mind. This would include computer time as well.
  
• Just because you are a busy momma, don’t stop altogether doing the creative things for which you have a passion. Please, continue dancing, playing musical instruments, writing, and painting, or working to further a cause for which you are passionate.
  
• Make sure your children have strong basic skills in reading and math. Can a child be creative with math when he doesn’t know the language or rules of mathematics? Can a child appreciate the worlds hidden within books when he cannot read with ease?
  
• Converse with your children about everyday events, newspaper articles, and books you are reading, and truly try to listen to them when they converse with you.
  
• Play games with your children. Following the rules, planning one’s strategy, interacting with one another during the game, and keeping score foster emotional and mental growth and creativity.
  

There you have my list, compiled by an opinionated momma who homeschooled for many years. I am very pleased with my kind, creative, competent children. I didn’t say PERFECT, mind you. But, I enjoyed all the time spent with my children. Those were some of the best years of my life, and I am passionate about helping children to develop their particular talents.

This Thursday Thirteen I offer you Thirteen places I shop (or want to shop) online:

• Amazon.com; I love books, and this is where I buy a lot of them.
  



• Footsmart; special things to pamper your footsies.
  



• Chadwick’s
  
• Brylane Home
  
• Questionable Content. If you’re nerdy and proud of it, this is the place for great t-shirts, book bags, etc.
  

This is just one of the many neat designs Questionable Content offers.

• Reformation 21
  
• Reformation Heritage Books
  
• Craig’s List; my cute little Suzuki Grand Vitara came to us via a Craig’s List ad.
  
• Azure Standard. This is where I order wheat berries to grind for flour, and other bulk food items, as well as “health food store” items at a reasonable price.
  
• Duluth Trading Co.; work clothes par excellence.
  



• Costco.com
  
• Scientific Learning; I’m very interested in a program called Fast forWord which has been proven to help remediate reading disabilities.
  
• National Institute for Learning Development; If I were younger, I would like to go through the therapy to be certified as a NILD therapist. Great resources for dealing with learning disabilities.
  

(Thanks to Hootin’ Anni for the Thursday 13 header.)

I found this meme over at my friend Storyteller’s Small Reflections. Thank you, Storyteller, for the fun idea!

Here is how you play:

• Go to http://photobucket.com/
• Type your answer to the question in the SEARCH box.
• Choose a graphic from the first page that comes up.
• Insert the picture into your blog.

1. What is your current relationship status? Married

2. What is your current mood? Tired

3. What is your favorite band/singer? Eva Cassidy

4. What is your favorite movie? Pride and Prejudice

5. Where do you live? Pacific Northwest

6. Where do you work? School

7. What do you look like?

(This is what happens when you search for images of yourself on photobucket that don’t exist. :P)

8. What do you drive?

9. What is your favorite TV show? Don’t watch TV

10. Describe yourself: Loving

11. What are you doing today? Some 6th graders and I played this game. Fun!

12. What did you do last night? Sleep

13. What is your name?

Thirteen Pets We Have Had (or still have):

• Dogs (Currently, just our old doggie Lassie. Our girls are hoping for a new puppy. This is a test to see if Daddy reads this blog.)
  
• Cats (The neighborhood cats who run away from home, or never had a home, come here to be fed, loved, and fixed.)
  
• Cockatiel (The most lovable, personable bird I ever met.)
  
• Parakeets (Never really got a friendly one.)
  
• Finches (Messy!)
  
• Goldfish (My husband’s outdoor goldfish receive royal treatment.)
  
• Gerbils (Many. At one time. Interesting! Update: Our daughter who cared for the gerbils will tell you how many we had.)
  
• Hamsters (My favorite was named Precioso. We kept his habitat in our bedroom, and I grew to enjoy the noise of his squeaky wheel at night. Very tame and friendly critter.)
  
• Guinea Pigs (Habitats require DAILY cleaning. Very stinky little critters.)
  
• Rabbits (We are partial to lop-eared bunnies.)
  
• Ducks (Indian Running Ducks are fun; have you ever seen them?)
  
• Chickens (The prettiest chickens, in my opinion, are the Auracana breed. The plumage can be a variety of colors, and they lay blue eggs.)
  
• Toggenburg goats (Just two of them, a momma named Nanny – of course – and her kid.)
  

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

1. African Violet, or Saintpaulia ionantha
   
2. Spider Plant, or Chlorophytum comosum
   
3. Weeping Chinese Banyan, or Fiscus benjamina
   
4. Watermelon peperomi, or Peperomi argyreia
   
5. Swedish Ivy, or Plectranthus australis
   
6. Grape Ivy, or Hedera
   
7. Snake Tongue, or Sansevieria trifasciata
   
8. Jade Plant, or Crassula argentea
   
9. Rex begonia
   
10. Fiddle-leaf philodendron, or Philodendron bipennifolium
    
11. Prayer plant, or Maranta leuconeura
    
12. Kalanchoe blossfeldiana
    
13. Mystery plant: Do you know what this is? If so, PLEASE tell me!
    

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

Here it is, almost the end of the day, and I’m finally sitting down to do a Thursday Thirteen post (sigh). Since I was the recipient of much thoughtfulness on my recent birthday, I’m sharing with you Thirteen Gifts and Thank Yous.

The first gift to arrive was melt-in-your-mouth-sweet maple sugar candy from Vermont, from our daughter Laura and our son-in-law Darren. Thank you so much for the sweet treat, Sweeties!

My supervisor and fellow-paraeducators surprised me with gourmet fair trade cocoa (bittersweet - so yummy!) and a hand-made journal for haiku. When I walked into the Resource Room, the students all started singing Happy Birthday. It warmed the cockles of me heart, I tell you!

Have I ever mentioned how addicted I am to ANYTHING from the Bath & Body Works store? I have to walk on the far side of the aisle to keep from being drawn in to “just look.” Kayla surprised me with a summery scented Wild Honeysuckle body cream and candle. Thank you, Kayla!

Here are Biddo and T with the funny “Hectic Moose” collage they made for me.

This photo is of TWO presents: Dad and Mom Taron sent the gourmet coffees and the travel mug. Thank you! Thank you! And my sweetie husband got a new coffee maker that produces the desired commodity: strong, HOT coffee.

When the children were little, I baked my own birthday cake because it upset them if there was no cake. To them, no cake meant no birthday. This birthday cake came to me courtesy of dear Kayla.

The cake, prior to the serving of it, with the birthday girl.

I also received Happy Birthday phone calls.

This is a bloggy gift, not a birthday gift, but still very much appreciated. This is from my friend, Storyteller.

One more lovely gift from Storyteller. This was made by Greatfullivin.

So, three more things:

My dear husband washed my car.

I received lovely cards from loved ones.

Friends sent me greetings and goodies on Facebook.

Whew! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

At least every other year, we vacation near Pt. Reyes National Seashore, since my husband’s folks live in this, the most beautiful, place in California.

One activity we enjoy repeating is driving out to the Pt. Reyes Lighthouse, then walking the 300 stairs down to the lighthouse, which is positioned on a rocky point high above the Pacific Ocean. This walk is equivalent to walking up and down the stairs in a 30-story building!

This lighthouse, which first went into operation on December 1, 1870, has a fascinating history, which you can read about here and here.

Without further ado, I present you with these photos of an outing we took to the lighthouse about seven years ago.

After parking our vehicle, we began our walk to the lighthouse. Note the angle the trees are growing and the fog? This area is known as one of the windiest and foggiest on the Pacific coast. (Read about it on one of the links provided above.)

Little Seth walking down the stairs to get to the lighthouse. You can see the fog is clearing up. It was intensely windy and foggy when we parked our vehicle at the top. We didn’t know at that point if we would be able to see the ocean or not.

The water for the lighthouse keeper was collected here, from the rain and fog.

Point Reyes Lighthouse, at Point Reyes National Seashore, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge area

This is a view of the lighthouse museum, and I believe that is whale baleen on the display platform. In January and February, the lighthouse is an excellent vantage point for viewing the gray whale migration.

The old 7-foot high lens is no longer in use, though it is still operational. Instead this is the non-romantic, modern lighthouse lights and fog horn.

Looking down at the Pacific Ocean from the lighthouse.

Walking back up after the trip to the lighthouse. This is a lot of exercise!

(This is Edition XV of Thursday Thirteen for me.)

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

Biryani

If you count all of the ¼ teaspoon spices as one ingredient, and don’t count the topping of cashews, raisins and hard-cooked eggs, this recipe has 13 ingredients. I hope that’s O.K.

This is a wonderful dish, often requested as a birthday meal in our home.

(This recipe is from Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley and Peter Thornton, a children’s picture book published in 1991 by Carolrhoda Books, ISBN: 0876144121)

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

2 Tablespoons butter

Spices:

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon each crushed black pepper, cayenne pepper, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, and ground cardamom

1 teaspoon cumin

Vegetables:

½ cup carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 fresh tomatoes, peeled, quartered, and diced

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 cup green beans

1 cup green peas

3 cups half-cooked rice (rice that has cooked for 7 to 10 minutes)

2 Tablespoons water

½ cup cashews

½ cup raisins

2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

1. In a large frying pan over medium heat, sauté onions in 1 Tablespoon butter until golden.
   
2. Add all spices.
   
3. Add all the vegetables and sauté for 2 or 3 minutes.
   
4. Butter a large casserole dish and add all the ingredients, mixing or layering rice and vegetables.
   
5. Bake at 300 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes.
   
6. Sauté cashews and raisins in 1 Tablespoon butter.
   
7. Crumble hard-cooked eggs.
   
8. When biryani is baked, sprinkle with cashews, raisins, and crumbled hard-cooked eggs.
   

For this Thursday Thirteen, I’d like to list 13 native plants growing in our yard:

1. Dogwood trees
   
2. Cedar trees
   
3. Ferns
   



4. Foxglove
   



5. Trillium
   



6. Wild geraniums
   



7. Hazelnut bushes/trees
   
8. Wild plum bushes
   
9. Snowberry bushes
   



10. Blackberry vines
    
11. Alder trees
    
12. Lupine
    
13. Mullein

For this Thursday Thirteen
I offer you Thirteen Tips for Healthy Living. The first seven have to do with physical health, and the remaining six with mental well-being. These are suggestions for your consideration, not a pretended panacea:

• Go for a daily walk.
  
• Eat fresh fruit and veggies daily.
  
• Enjoy indoor pets, including cats and dogs.
  
• Wash your hands after using the toilet, changing the baby, caring for pets, before handling food, or, in other words, Keep your hands clean!
  
• Sneeze into the crook of your arm if no tissue is available, in order to stop the spread of airborne pathogens.
  
• Floss your teeth daily (Brush them, too.).
  
• Remove all wall-to-wall carpet from your home, and cover mattresses and pillows with dust-proof covers.
  
• Do your part to live peaceably with others, especially those in your own home. Romans 2:18 is a Bible verse that expresses this thought.
  
• Think about praise-worthy, beautiful things more than “the dark side” of life. I’m especially thinking here of what “food” you feed your mind. Garbage in will yield garbage out, eventually.
  
• Treat others the way you would like to be treated, including your children and spouse. Matthew 7:12 is a Bible verse that speaks of this: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
  
• However, don’t be a Pollyanna who PRETENDS that everything is OK. Sometimes things ARE bad, or dangerous. These things can be dealt with in a responsible way, but pretending that something is good doesn’t make it so.
  
• Set priorities for your day, based upon your current calling in life, and do the work in order. This way you won’t be overwhelmed by stress, or the tyranny of your TO DO list.
  
• Cultivate the habit of THANKFULNESS. As a Christian, I am first of all thankful to the Lord for all His undeserved blessings. But I also mean, say, “Thank you!” to the people in your world.