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Monday, December 20, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Going Paperless- magazines!
As we have started preparing to move, my urge to organize everything in my house has greatly increased. I want to throw away or sell almost everything that we have that does not have sentimental value, just in order to decrease the clutter that we have created in the last 7.5 years that we have lived here. Recently, we have been sorting through our filing cabinets to decide what we really need/want to keep and what we can throw away/live without. It has encouraged me to go paperless in every way that I can! I found a pile of magazine clippings that I had saved a few years ago that had good ideas in them for recipes, crafts and great gifts. I hated to throw them away, because I still really liked the ideas. But, I certainly didn't want to keep the paper copies. So, in my quest to sort through them and find a way to get them onto my computer, filed into a place that I could find easily when I needed them, I found a fabulous website! It is called coverleaf.com. You can create an account with them for free. And once you do, they have hundreds of magazines that you can order digitally. I am a huge fan of Disney's Family Fun magazine and for $6.00, I can get a year's subscription to it without a single piece of paper clutter in my home! And with the coverleaf account, I can access past articles, clip the articles I like and create folders to easily view them and share them with others. Now when I am looking for a craft idea, I can get on my coverleaf home page and look through my albums for "craft ideas"! And I know that I will like them because I already picked them as great ideas! And, if you are already a subscriber to a magazine that they have, you can sign-up for the digital copy for free!
Check it out!
Friday, December 10, 2010
What I Will Miss and What I Won't Take 2
I think I can safely say that most stay-at-home moms in the states would be green with envy to know that the average Paraguayan has house help. And I guess most anyone who is the cleaner of their own house, would be as well. In the US, it costs a fortune to have someone clean your house, and therefore it is considered a luxury, or only for the very wealthy. But in Paraguay, it is the norm for the middle class and above family. In fact, most of my neighbors have a nanny for each child, as well as a maid who cleans their house. My family has been blessed to have someone in our home 5 days a week since a little before Olivia came along. It has been fabulous! I did a lot of research to know what a good price was for someone to work with us and amazingly enough, the normal price for someone who works with you all week long is around $8.00 a day. And it helps me so much! It has allowed me to still be involved with activities at the church and on the team, homeschool without having to worry about cleaning the house or doing laundry, more time with my kids and to have a little "me time" or "me and Chris time" most nights when the kids go to bed without having to worry about getting caught up on house stuff. And, since she is in our house daily, she knows our kids and their routines very well. So, when we need a babysitter- she is the one we ask! The kids absolutely love her and she is fabulous with them. And it gives them and me spanish practice daily. And when I need to run errands during naptime, I take the kids who are awake with me and she is at the house in case the sleeping one/ones wake up! And most afternoons, she fixes a home-cooked meal for us for dinner. It has been such a blessing that I never could have imagined in the US. Especially since in Paraguay, cooking and house cleaning take about double the time that they do in the US! And not only does this help me, but it helps her. It gives her a chance to have a job, help her family pay their rent and get an education for herself. Prior to working with us, she was having trouble finding a job and therefore she had to quit school. When we move to the US, I am going to miss Rocio! She has blessed our family in so many ways and my kids consider her part of our family. When they pray at night for our family, they include all 5 of us, Toby (the dog) and Rocio. And I know that she is going to have a hard time when we go, because she loves our kids dearly.
And now for what I will not miss....a lack of central heat and air. Our house is a two-story house with lofts above the second story in both of the kids' rooms. The only central heat and air unit in the whole house is in the living room. The three bedrooms have window units. Our bedroom has one by our bed, but the other bedrooms have the units in the loft. In Paraguay, summer is from around October until March. And when I say summer, I am talking about an average of 108 degrees! It is hot and humid. The hottest heat I have ever experienced in my life! And since our upstairs only has 3 window units in total, there are lots of spots in the upstairs that the air never reaches...the two bathrooms, the hallway, the office area, etc. So after taking a shower in the heat, you get out and instantly start sweating. And you can forget drying your hair! Who wants to blow hot air on their head in 108 degree weather and no air conditioning? Every night at bedtime it is a chore to figure out if the kids need just a fan blowing on them in their room or if it is hot enough to require the air conditioners. Since the air conditioners are above their actual rooms, it takes the units a while to cool the rooms down. And running 3 air units all night long, every night for 6 months out of the year is not exactly cost efficient! So, we do our best to keep costs down, while keeping the kids and ourselves somewhat comfortable. Our most recent problem is that we only have 2 working floor fans! And one of those we have to jump start every night. We don't want to invest in new ones since we will be moving in a few months! Poor Olivia has a heat rash most of the time and that is with sleeping in just a diaper.
And not only is a lack of air an annoyance during the summer, it makes for a pretty cold winter. Those same window units are also our heat source during the winter. (At least two of them are because one of them only has a cooling unit) And they don't heat the same areas that they don't cool in the summer....bathrooms, hallway, laundry room and office area. So, in the winter, the houses that are designed to cope with the long summers, are ice boxes in the winter (even though the winters here are fairly mild). They are made to avoid direct sunlight and they have concrete walls and tile floors. This is fabulous for allergies and cleaning, but in the winter, it is SO cold! There are days that my feet do not get warm until I stick them in hot water for an extended amount of time. In order not to freeze, we have to have plug in heaters in bedrooms and bathrooms when we are in there. So, winter consists of moving an electric heater to whichever room you are in. Needless to say, I long for the day that I can just flip a switch and have my whole house heated and/or cooled at the same temperature! And to not have rooms/areas that we totally avoid because they are just too hot or too cold to be in for longer than a minute or two. Having an office, bathrooms and laundry rooms and often bedrooms that you avoid due to their temperature, is something that I will not miss in the slightest!
And now for what I will not miss....a lack of central heat and air. Our house is a two-story house with lofts above the second story in both of the kids' rooms. The only central heat and air unit in the whole house is in the living room. The three bedrooms have window units. Our bedroom has one by our bed, but the other bedrooms have the units in the loft. In Paraguay, summer is from around October until March. And when I say summer, I am talking about an average of 108 degrees! It is hot and humid. The hottest heat I have ever experienced in my life! And since our upstairs only has 3 window units in total, there are lots of spots in the upstairs that the air never reaches...the two bathrooms, the hallway, the office area, etc. So after taking a shower in the heat, you get out and instantly start sweating. And you can forget drying your hair! Who wants to blow hot air on their head in 108 degree weather and no air conditioning? Every night at bedtime it is a chore to figure out if the kids need just a fan blowing on them in their room or if it is hot enough to require the air conditioners. Since the air conditioners are above their actual rooms, it takes the units a while to cool the rooms down. And running 3 air units all night long, every night for 6 months out of the year is not exactly cost efficient! So, we do our best to keep costs down, while keeping the kids and ourselves somewhat comfortable. Our most recent problem is that we only have 2 working floor fans! And one of those we have to jump start every night. We don't want to invest in new ones since we will be moving in a few months! Poor Olivia has a heat rash most of the time and that is with sleeping in just a diaper.
And not only is a lack of air an annoyance during the summer, it makes for a pretty cold winter. Those same window units are also our heat source during the winter. (At least two of them are because one of them only has a cooling unit) And they don't heat the same areas that they don't cool in the summer....bathrooms, hallway, laundry room and office area. So, in the winter, the houses that are designed to cope with the long summers, are ice boxes in the winter (even though the winters here are fairly mild). They are made to avoid direct sunlight and they have concrete walls and tile floors. This is fabulous for allergies and cleaning, but in the winter, it is SO cold! There are days that my feet do not get warm until I stick them in hot water for an extended amount of time. In order not to freeze, we have to have plug in heaters in bedrooms and bathrooms when we are in there. So, winter consists of moving an electric heater to whichever room you are in. Needless to say, I long for the day that I can just flip a switch and have my whole house heated and/or cooled at the same temperature! And to not have rooms/areas that we totally avoid because they are just too hot or too cold to be in for longer than a minute or two. Having an office, bathrooms and laundry rooms and often bedrooms that you avoid due to their temperature, is something that I will not miss in the slightest!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Christmas Plates and Greeting Cards
We are now entertaining ourselves by painting ceramic plates and making Christmas cards for our friends.
Chris, Emma and Walker painted while Olivia ate dinner. (You can see her in the mirror!)
This is Emma's masterpiece. She wrote very largely "by Emma", just so we would all know. The drawing on the left is a gingerbread man. The one in the middle is a candy cane. The one on the right is a Christmas cookie. And she wasn't sure what the lines in the middle were. Just decoration, I guess.
This is the plate Emma painted for Olivia. A candy cane, a snowman, a container to put things in (the green thing on the left), and then a heart with hair and a face and maybe legs? I can't remember what the red thing was. And she very proudly wrote Merry Christmas 2010.
This is Chris's plate. Pretty self explanatory. He was not a fan of the fact that I put red and white dots on the outside borders of all the plates to kind of "tie them together". He said he was "not a dot kind of guy".
This was Walker's green masterpiece. He practically painted the whole plate green. And then he said I could finish painting it. So, I added a snowman and "Let it snow". Hopeful wishing, I guess. (It is over 100degrees here- yep, dead of summer!)
This is Walker's other masterpiece. I am not sure what any of it is. He didn't know either. I added the dots, of course, and the Christmas 2010.
Now we have plates to use for the rest of the year. And, my hope is to add to a whole table setting each year. Maybe one day we will have a huge table setting, with artwork that the kids have done over the years.
And then we did our Christmas cards. We did snowmen, and I think they turned out pretty cute. Emma and Walker both helped me paint the bodies. We used sponges. And then Emma helped me do all the detail work: hats, arms, etc.
And since Emma and I are the ones who really love to paint and do crafty stuff together, the rest of the family entertained themselves with trying on Santa hats.
Never a dull moment in the Fry household!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Glittery Snowflakes and Gingerbread Cookies
Nothing can get you in the Christmas spirit like glittery paper snowflakes and gingerbread cookies!
Even Olivia enjoyed them!
Monday, December 6, 2010
New talkers.
There is nothing sweeter than when a little one is learning to talk. Olivia says lots of words, most of which only our family can understand. But my very recent favorite is when she says Walker's name. If she is sitting in her chair eating in the mornings and Walker comes down the stairs, she starts screaming "Kaka, kaka". For most of you, that just seems cute. But for those of us who also speak spanish, it is pretty funny! Especially when she screams it out in public. "Caca" (pronounced kaka in the english language) means "poop" in spanish. Walker and Emma are going through a lovely "potty talk" stage (at least I hope it is a stage!) That is all they want to talk about, say to each other, say to other kids, etc. I sometimes feel as if we are fighting a losing battle with trying to keep it to a minimum. Anyway, Olivia's new version of Walker's name (kaka) sends them into hysterics. And I have to admit, that hearing it come out of a one year old's mouth, is pretty funny. And endearing all at the same time, because I know that she thinks she is saying his name perfectly. And she says it with such excitement. I just love hearing her say new words, even if it means I now have three potty mouth kids living in my house!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The Christmas Countdown Has Begun!
Christmas has officially begun in the Fry household. For the last three years, on December 1st, we have started our Christmas countdown. I wanted the kids to enjoy more than just the gift exchanging that goes along with Christmas. I wanted them to learn to be thankful, to enjoy time together as a family and probably most importantly, I wanted them to learn to think of others. So, we have a little Christmas calendar that has pockets for each day with a special Christmas activity inside on little slips of paper. Every morning the kids enjoy pulling one out to see what the day holds for them. Here is what we are doing this year:
Dec. 1- Make a Christmas wreath out of your hand tracings.
Dec. 2-Decorate a door in the house with homemade décor.
Dec. 3-Pick a toy that you don’t play with very much and donate to someone who doesn’t have as many.
Dec. 4-Do lots of Christmas activity pages.
Dec. 5- Make snowflakes online.
Dec. 6- Make glittery paper snowflakes and hang them! And at dinner, describe what you like best about each family member.
Dec. 7-Make gingerbread cookies and decorate them for a Christmas treat.
Dec. 8-Buy white plates and paint them with a beautiful Christmas design.
Dec. 9-Make Christmas cards for our friends in Paraguay.
Dec. 10- Have fun with popcorn! Make a popcorn snowman picture and then eat the rest of it while you watch a Christmas movie together!
Dec. 11-Make a snowflake table runner.
Dec. 12-Make a Christmas snack and deliver to someone who might need some Christmas joy.
Dec. 13-Make a list of the blessings you’re thankful for and decorate it.
Dec. 14- Shop for or make a Christmas present for your brother or sister and wrap it.
Dec. 15- Shop for or make a Christmas present for Daddy and wrap it.
Dec. 16- Shop for or make a Chrsitmas present for Mommy and wrap it.
Dec. 17-Pick out your favorite Christmast craft online and make it during the day. And when it gets dark- go on a car ride to see Christmas lights.
Dec. 18- Go see Santa and tell him what you want for Christmas.
Dec. 19- Make homemade tree decorations and put on the Christmas tree.
Dec. 20- Color and paint lots of Christmas pictures.
Dec. 21-Make table decorations for our Christmas meals.
Dec. 22- Create a snowscape with shaving cream and action figures or fun shaped toys.
Dec. 23-Make food for santa, Rudolph and the other reindeer. Play Christmas games like Memory, etc
Dec. 24- It’s Christmas Eve! You get to open one present tonight and read “The Night Before Christmas” at bedtime! And don’t forget to feed the reindeer.
Dec. 25- Christmas day is finally here! See what Santa brought, exchange gifts and enjoy a wonderful day! And don’t forget to be thankful for your many blessings!
It should be a fun and busy month! Today we made wreaths out of their hand prints. I thought they turned out to be so cute!
And today, our "elf on the shelf" also made his appearance. He came to us last year, but only the last few days before Christmas. So, the kids didn't ever really get to enjoy him. And we were in Florida, so we didn't take the time to name him or anything. So, they have really been looking forward to his grand appearance. This morning, they had both forgotten until they saw him. We read the book for the first time and they named him "Jack"! They learned that they aren't allowed to touch him or he will lose his magic and not be able to fly each night to the North Pole to tell Santa if they have been good or not. And, they learned that he is not allowed to talk or move, because Santa told him not to. But, he listens and watches! At first Walker said "Why is he so little?" I asked him if he liked him and he said "no". But that was when he had just woken up, and well, he is a slight grouch early in the morning. After we read the book and named him and Walker got to hear all about him, he decided he really liked him. Emma talked about him all day. She made him a card and had me give it to him. I accidentally hit him and he moved. She was convinced then that he was real! She said "Mom, I saw him move, now I know he is real! I guess that card itched his arm and he just couldn't help but move! He wasn't supposed to move though was he?" I had to hold back my laughter. Then this afternoon I asked her to help me put some dishes away and after she did she disappeared. A few minutes later she came back and said "Mom, I told Jack that I helped you so that he knows I am being good!" And later Walker came and told me that he had told Jack how good he had been at church during our meeting this morning. Jack may just become my best friend if he helps the kids be on good behavior! We may have to find a reason to have an elf around our house the entire year!
He is pretty cute isn't he?
And speaking of cute- I have to add that Olivia decided yesterday that she really likes corn on the cob. I had been pulling kernels off of the cob for her to eat. But after I finished with my cob, she kept trying to get it off of my plate. I finally gave it to her just to see what she would do and she ate it like she was 10 years old! She loved it! I guess it is no longer necessary to pull kernels off for her.
Dec. 1- Make a Christmas wreath out of your hand tracings.
Dec. 2-Decorate a door in the house with homemade décor.
Dec. 3-Pick a toy that you don’t play with very much and donate to someone who doesn’t have as many.
Dec. 4-Do lots of Christmas activity pages.
Dec. 5- Make snowflakes online.
Dec. 6- Make glittery paper snowflakes and hang them! And at dinner, describe what you like best about each family member.
Dec. 7-Make gingerbread cookies and decorate them for a Christmas treat.
Dec. 8-Buy white plates and paint them with a beautiful Christmas design.
Dec. 9-Make Christmas cards for our friends in Paraguay.
Dec. 10- Have fun with popcorn! Make a popcorn snowman picture and then eat the rest of it while you watch a Christmas movie together!
Dec. 11-Make a snowflake table runner.
Dec. 12-Make a Christmas snack and deliver to someone who might need some Christmas joy.
Dec. 13-Make a list of the blessings you’re thankful for and decorate it.
Dec. 14- Shop for or make a Christmas present for your brother or sister and wrap it.
Dec. 15- Shop for or make a Christmas present for Daddy and wrap it.
Dec. 16- Shop for or make a Chrsitmas present for Mommy and wrap it.
Dec. 17-Pick out your favorite Christmast craft online and make it during the day. And when it gets dark- go on a car ride to see Christmas lights.
Dec. 18- Go see Santa and tell him what you want for Christmas.
Dec. 19- Make homemade tree decorations and put on the Christmas tree.
Dec. 20- Color and paint lots of Christmas pictures.
Dec. 21-Make table decorations for our Christmas meals.
Dec. 22- Create a snowscape with shaving cream and action figures or fun shaped toys.
Dec. 23-Make food for santa, Rudolph and the other reindeer. Play Christmas games like Memory, etc
Dec. 24- It’s Christmas Eve! You get to open one present tonight and read “The Night Before Christmas” at bedtime! And don’t forget to feed the reindeer.
Dec. 25- Christmas day is finally here! See what Santa brought, exchange gifts and enjoy a wonderful day! And don’t forget to be thankful for your many blessings!
It should be a fun and busy month! Today we made wreaths out of their hand prints. I thought they turned out to be so cute!
And today, our "elf on the shelf" also made his appearance. He came to us last year, but only the last few days before Christmas. So, the kids didn't ever really get to enjoy him. And we were in Florida, so we didn't take the time to name him or anything. So, they have really been looking forward to his grand appearance. This morning, they had both forgotten until they saw him. We read the book for the first time and they named him "Jack"! They learned that they aren't allowed to touch him or he will lose his magic and not be able to fly each night to the North Pole to tell Santa if they have been good or not. And, they learned that he is not allowed to talk or move, because Santa told him not to. But, he listens and watches! At first Walker said "Why is he so little?" I asked him if he liked him and he said "no". But that was when he had just woken up, and well, he is a slight grouch early in the morning. After we read the book and named him and Walker got to hear all about him, he decided he really liked him. Emma talked about him all day. She made him a card and had me give it to him. I accidentally hit him and he moved. She was convinced then that he was real! She said "Mom, I saw him move, now I know he is real! I guess that card itched his arm and he just couldn't help but move! He wasn't supposed to move though was he?" I had to hold back my laughter. Then this afternoon I asked her to help me put some dishes away and after she did she disappeared. A few minutes later she came back and said "Mom, I told Jack that I helped you so that he knows I am being good!" And later Walker came and told me that he had told Jack how good he had been at church during our meeting this morning. Jack may just become my best friend if he helps the kids be on good behavior! We may have to find a reason to have an elf around our house the entire year!
And speaking of cute- I have to add that Olivia decided yesterday that she really likes corn on the cob. I had been pulling kernels off of the cob for her to eat. But after I finished with my cob, she kept trying to get it off of my plate. I finally gave it to her just to see what she would do and she ate it like she was 10 years old! She loved it! I guess it is no longer necessary to pull kernels off for her.
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