Pentagon Punch-Out

A complete change and almost miracle has occured in our home this past week. Three mornings in a row James, William, and Peter have been independent in getting up, dressed, beds made, room cleaned, teeth brushed, with morning prayers said all before 7:45 am.

This little icon was designed on Adobe then laminated and pinned up in their room as a reminder. The motivation? Punch-out cards. They get one punch for every task completed and double punches if done by 7:45. They are also eligible for an extra punch if they help out another individual who may be struggling with their tasks. At the end of the week we will count up the number of punches and the boys will have an opportunity to "shop" the treasure box filled with all sorts of surprises each with a price.

Originally, Paul and I thought to motivate the boys with allowance but we found too many dollar bills laying around all crumpled up in balls, and folded into fans and bowties. The idea of the "shop" came from my experience teaching english to young children in China. They were given a little plastic token everytime they repeated a new language concept and once a week given a chance to "shop" for treasures. (I passed on the tokens for the boys because I knew they would be all over the house in no time!)

I was amazed how well the motivation worked with those cute little Chinese kids. I don't know why I didn't think to do this same system with my own kids any earlier.

President Hinckley

Tonight for family night we will be talking about President Hinckley . We will miss him. I am inspired by his example of optimism and hardwork. I am also grateful for his many teachings and devotions that have helped me develop and grow closer to our Savior.

I was especially impacted by his message in the last December Ensign regarding children and our responsibilty as parents. Here are a few short paragraphs from that message.

It is so obvious that the great good and the terrible evil in the world today are the sweet and the bitter fruits of the rearing of yesterday’s children. As we train a new generation, so will the world be in a few years. If you are worried about the future, then look to the upbringing of your children. Wisely did the writer of Proverbs declare, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

E. T. Sullivan once wrote these interesting words: “When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn’t stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother’s heart, and she puts it into the baby’s mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in the world are babies.”1

And those babies, I should like to add, will become forces for good or ill, depending in large measure on how they are reared. The Lord, without equivocation, has declared, “I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth” (D&C 93:40).

Gordon B. Hinckley, “These, Our Little Ones,” Ensign, Dec 2007, 4–9

"Free Play"

In our home everyone loves and lives for "free play". Once all the moring jobs are done the kids get the privilage of choosing whatever they want to play with. Pictured here is Maryanna in bubbleland, James hole punching and reinforcing his 2008 monthly calanders which he helped design on Power Point, Clara rummaging through all the books within her reach, and William and Peter deep in a shark feeding show that they created for all their Playmobil figures.

Mommy's "free play" includes a mixture of laundry, cooking, sewing, reading, blogging, and talking on the phone... all the while keeping a close eye and sharp ear on the kids lost in their own little worlds. Not pictured is Maryanna soaking wet with puddles all over the kitchen floor, James having a bit of a melt down when he realized there was no orange cardstock for his October Calander, Clara ripping books, William and Peter screaming when Clara began sucking on one of their Playmobil's heads, and all the kids whinning when it was announced that "free play" was over and it was time to clean up.

Today is another morning of "free play".... James is trying to make a tower with playing cards, William and Peter are at the bathroom sink once again playing with Playmobil - this time the show is called "Mario and the melted hockey rink", Maryanna said "I just watching James" occasionally knocking down his creations, and Clara is toddling around with a few dominos in one hand a matchbox car in the other. I'm just laying on the couch because frankly, I'm tired and a bit run down. But I will say watching the kids up close - just playing has been far more entertaining than all my other "free play" options. Maybe tomarrow I will even get down on the carpet with my big belly and play with them...then when the kids announce they are hungry and its time for lunch I may even start whinning myself.

Clothing Recycled

Here is my latest creation inspired by the Japanese Pattern book. The underdress was constructed from some leftover fabric from the flower girl dresses from my wedding. I love the fabric .... it is a beautiful swiss batiste and a joy to sew on. The lace was from Spain which I tea dyed. The gray wool is from a long Ralph Lauren skirt that I haven't been able to squeeze into in years and since I don't anticipate wearing it in the near future I put it to good use. I was even able to salvage one of the pockets and embelish it a bit. The long kick pleat in the back led me to draft the underdress which originally was just going to be a blouse. I almost like the underdress on its own and may even make another one out of a more intersting fabric.

So...now you know what goes on while the boys are doing all their school work.

Are you curious what happens while Mommy sews?

Written by James





While mommy sews we begin quiet time by first reading our scriptures. Peter reads one verse (with help), William reads 1 page of the Book of Mormon independently, and I read at least 5 pages of the Old Testament (I am now on 1 Kings chapter 4:1). By that time it should be 1:30 pm. Then we do Math. It typically takes from 35 to 40 minutes to complete my Saxon Math lesson. Pictured above is me finishing one lesson. William and Peter don't have a specific math routine but they enjoy flash cards and playing with the items in the math manipulatives box. It should then be 2:10 pm. Then we do our daily log. It is a notebook that we write in everyday. It should take 3-15 minutes. We write about whatever we want sometimes funny dreams, sometimes adventures, sometimes something interesting we learned, etc...It would now be about 2:45 because sometimes we waste time complaining. The best part comes last, it is LEGO education. It is a LEGO set with interesting educational activities such as an electricity powered conveyer belt, an electricity powered race car, drum, levers, and all sorts of gears. It has over 250 parts (277 to be exact). Maybe I'll post one of my creations on the blog. At about 3:45 the babies wake up but we don't get them out of their crib until 4:00 pm. That means I could have LEGO education time undisturbed. Sometimes William and Peter watch me do LEGO education. That is what is happening while mommy sews, cleans, cooks, etc...

E.E.E.

Everything has been put on hold this past week. No sewing, no homeschool, no field trips, and no homemade bagels. With the help of an amazing woman, Marie Ricks , we have begun to sort through some to the chaos and clutter of a busy home. Here is the plan:

Everything out
Eliminate
Essentials back in

The goal is for me to get through every cupboard, closet, nook and cranny of our home before the baby is born in hopes to up my efficiency and clarity of mind. The process was quite overwhelming and a bit emotionally draining at first but I think I've got the hang of it and now feels almost addicting and invigorating. Pictured above is "everything out" of just a few kitchen cupboards. I have found that 50% of the items I have been storing in easy access areas or as Marie calls them "A zones" are non essentials. About 10% was just plain trash, 15% DI worthy so now the essentials have plenty of breathing room and are right at hand when I need them.

One mistake I made was to cook tacos at the same time everything was out. It took a lot of deep breaths to get through the clutter mixed with ground hamburger and shredded cheese. Paul was a great support and said it reminded him of the good ol' days when the Wirthlin family kitchen was running at full capacity.

More dresses!

Here are two more dresses from the Japanesse pattern book. I am having so much fun with these! At times I was a bit lost in the translation but figured out most of it from the illlustrations. Both fabrics are from my fabric stash that I am trying to use up. The patchwork I got in Spain and the Velvet was supposed to be for Maryanna's Christmas dress last year.....I was just too tired then. I am getting in as much sewing as I can before this next baby comes.