Monthly Archives: January 2008

Events, Grandparents, Project 366

Happy Birthday, Grandad!

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Sarah has a new calendar in her room. We put it up on the wall by her bed. She loves this calendar and has filled the pages with birthdays of everyone she knows. We wrote down when we’ll be at co-op and when we go to PE, church events and some holidays.

Birthdays, however, are the most exciting. Birthdays mean presents, cake and parties.

Sarah smiles

Sarah came downstairs Saturday informing me it was Grandad’s birthday. She proceeded to tell everyone she saw that it was Grandad’s birthday. If the mail man had slowed down a little more she would have told him as well. And how does she know?

“Cause it’s on my calendar and I love Grandad!”

what do you think, Sarah?

Sarah and Grandad have a serious conversation. July 2002

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Wish we could have been there to celebrate with you. We miss you!!

Kathy
Project 366 – Day 13

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Holidays, Project 366

Packing Up Christmas

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We don’t like to rush through Christmas here, nor do we hurry along the close to the holiday season.

how many do you have?

An Advent train – Daniel counts the boxes.

But at some point you have to put things away.

You must say goodbye to red bows, ribbons and Advent Calendars. Christmas dishes, mugs and even lights.

some more boxes

I have a Christmas notebook that I bought at Barnes and Noble several years ago. I use it to record decorations, recipes, gift ideas, and more. I have a section where the contents of all of our Christmas bins are detailed. For example, Bin 3 has Christmas party supplies, a small poinsettia plant (obviously not real) and an angel (also not real). I love having everything all organized. I can find what I’m looking for by flipping to the decorating section in my Christmas notebook and then tracking down the appropriate bin.

If only the rest of my house were so well ordered.

so long, farewell

Sarah waves goodbye to Christmas.

Our Christmas tree, however, remains in its place of honor. Every morning, first thing, Tim comes down and turns on the Christmas lights. “It brings me joy,” he says.

How can I deny him holiday joy? It turns out the only reason, in years past, we used to pack up all of our Christmas adornments in a timely fashion is because we had a real tree. There weren’t enough needles to hold up the ornaments and the lights.

With a fake tree, we might still be celebrating Christmas in March. Anyone ever heard of a St. Patrick’s Day Tree?

I checked the official blog records (aka our archives) and it looks like we didn’t pack up the tree until January 20th last year. I’m obviously rushing things this year.

Just don’t call me Mrs. Grinch!

Kathy
Project 366 – Day 12

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Games

Game Review — Saga

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Over the last several years, Kathy and I have made a concerted effort to find and buy a whole passel (maybe a passel and a half) of interesting board games for our family. At Christmas time, I research which games have won awards and (more importantly) are on sale, and then I buy a whole box-load from my favorite online retailer. This year they were all labeled, “To Rudolph”, since they are considered to be presents to the whole family. Joshua chortled whenever another “Rudolph” gift was discovered, as a pattern began to emerge.

Joshua looks smug
A rare moment when I seemed to be winning.

(I’ve written to my favorite game store, asking them to offer a discount for my readers; if they do, I’ll be sure to post the details of the discount and a link to games I recommend.)

The game of Saga
The knights and districts of Saga

Tonight I gathered my two oldest boys and we played a quick game of Saga, in which players compete to capture and retain six kingdom districts. There are only a few simple rules, and it is easy to pick up the basics of the game, but it has unexpected depth in playing strategy. Kingdom districts change hands as the players marshal increasingly large armies of knights, looking ahead three and even four turns to outwit opponents. The game ends when one player manages to get all his knights in play (either attacking or defending), leaving his opponents shaking their heads in consternation.

Knights attacking Castle-land
Several knights and the Castle province

I’ve played the game three times so far, and lost every time — but I really enjoy its deceptive simplicity. Tonight Joshua timed it beautifully, snatching the critical forest-land district from my control as he played his last knight, leaving me with my forces in disarray and an abysmal score. I haven’t been defeated that badly in a game in a long time … it was an exhilarating experience.


Players
Time to Play
Where to Buy
2-4 players
ages 12 and up
40 minutes
Check back later!
Duckabush Summary
This is a fun, easy to play game recommended for players 12 and up (although younger players may enjoy it as well). Since there are several layers of strategy to the game, it is possible for one person to play the game at face value while another player expends great effort trying to predict and thwart enemy strategies. Early on, it may seem that the game will never end, since you take your knights back into your hand whenever one of your provinces is captured by an enemy. Don’t become complacent, though, because the end of the game can really sneak up on you suddenly — it really does only take about 40 minutes to play.

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Daily Life, Project 366

Starbucks Anyone?

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In the past two days I’ve been to Starbucks three times.

Three different Starbucks.

In two days.

Yes, that means today I went to Starbucks twice. Can you feel the coffee rush from here?

notice those starbucks cups

Nancy, Beckie, Michelle and I hit Starbucks for a power meeting.

Let’s see, I had a women’s retreat planning meeting one night. We finished our session over coffee and scones. Today I double booked Starbucks. Nothing like living in the suburbs and having multiple coffee shops around town. At 4 pm I met with an awesome young woman who works with the middle school group at church and then at 5 pm I scooted over to another Starbucks to visit with a homeschooling mom.

Not a typical week, even if I do love a tasty Americano with steamed milk. I am trying to be open to who God is placing in my life at this time and take the effort to carve out some quality time with them. Too often I find the weeks pass by in a blur and I haven’t connected meaningfully with anyone outside my family.

Daniel and I are reading Colossians in our daily quiet time. These verses are my prayer this week:

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:10-12)

Kathy
Project 366 – Day 9

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Project 366, Works for Me Wednesday

WFMW – Backwards Day

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wfmwIt’s Backwards Day again on the Works for Me Wednesday post!! What shall we talk about? I was planning to write about our new school schedule and daily routine. After all, it’s been two days and it’s going great. :) Instead, I’d love to take advantage of Backwards Day and get some help on maintaining and keeping our new routine. My oh, so optimistic oldest son has given me two or three weeks before the whole thing falls apart. This is how he and I figured it would go:

Week One:

Struggle through the new routine. Claw and fight to get up early. Try desperately to stay on track with our intense school schedule. Check the new Schedule regularly. Fuss and whine about all the work and lack of fun. Admonish children NOT to follow mother’s bad example of whining and fussing.

Week Two:

Get in the groove of things. Tired but cheerful in the morning. Hardly any complaining as everyone begins to accept the structure and higher level of work expected of them. The house is clean, meals are nourishing, and school is accomplished. The Schedule Printout is well-worn and nearly memorized.

let's read!

Even late at night, in their pj’s, the children continue with their studies.

Week Three:

The newness of plan begins to fade. Slowly bad habits slide back in to our routine as the Schedule is “set aside”. Surely we don’t need to look at it all the time. We’ll just do a little adjusting here and there. The snooze button is pushed two or three times and the alarm turned off all together one day, a little bit of movie watching happens over lunch, email and blog stats are checked mid-morning, chores are pushed later and later and then forgotten.

i just need to check a few things

Let me just see if anyone left a comment on the blog.

Week Four:

No one bothers to even set their alarms. The Schedule is permanently “lost.” Mom decides to take a few days off to refocus and catch up on her blogging. Kids spend more time playing educational computer games than doing any real school.

a game, anyone?

Anyone up for a quick board game?

This does not look good, people! Help me out. Tell me your best ideas for staying on a disciplined schedule. How do you keep to it day after day, month after month? Do you use rewards or consequences? Are you an Excel expert? Do you post charts around the house, use a calendar, day timer or Blackberry? How do you get up early every morning? I am NOT a morning person and I need all the help in that area that I can get. I know there are gifted, organized people that stop by here now and then. Share with me your words of wisdom!

Stop by Works for Me Wednesday for other desperate souls needing help.

a good book is hard to resist

Kathy
Project 366 – Day 8

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