Weekend Challenge #3

For me, winter is the hardest time of the year to get outside regularly. Shortened days, overcast weather, plus the whole process of bundling up the kids to keep them warm sometimes seems like too much of a hassle to deal with. Of course, once I’m outside, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love the pink cheeks, the windblown hair, and the deep breaths of cold fresh air. I love the smell of the outdoors that lingers on the body and clothes after going back inside. It is always eye opening to find, once I return, a house that is hot with stale air.

Here is another challenge for those of you who are looking for a reason to get outside. The photo essay that follows is a walk we took looking for the colors of winter. What colors can you find in your neighborhood? 

Yellow Green Moss found wedged between a rock wall

Red Nandina Berries

Yellow Dandelion

Burgandy?? wild boysenberry branch

I was surprised by how many colors showed up on the pine tree trunk after color enhancing through photoscape

Orange leaf from unidentified weed

 Blue, gray and white from the winter sky

Every Newborn Need a Full Grown Tree

I have a bunch of newborn toys hanging around the house. Soft, plush bunnies and teddy bears, brightly colored plastic teethers to chew and hold on to, and plenty of black and white checkered objects (for those first weeks when babies can only see black and white). These are all guaranteed to hold your newborn’s attention. Honestly, I found these to be absolutely worthless for at least the first three months of a baby’s life.

Might I offer an alternative to the vast array of toys that companies are hoping you will spend money on? A full grown tree, visible from any window in the house, will keep your newborn’s attention like nothing else will (with the exception of nursing). Mere days after the birth of both our daughter and son, I remember being in awe of the power of nature at such a young age. The contrast between the blues and whites of the skies and clouds and the greens and browns of tree trunks and leaves captured the attention of our tiny babies even more than face to face time with mommy and daddy. Eyes were especially drawn outside on windy days when clouds billowed by and branches swayed to and fro.

Let me further suggest that that fresh outdoor air will calm a baby better than any sound machine. My second baby was fussier during the first few weeks of existence than my older one. I remember evenings when his little stomach seemed to be giving him no relief and he would cry softly throughout the late evening hours. Walking up and down the halls would sometimes appease him but, more often than not, simply walking out onto the porch would bring a calm to the little one cradled in my arms and sleep was soon to follow.

God has created us to revel in the natural world around us. From infancy, there is a connection to nature that just blows my mind. It takes hard work to turn us and our kids away from that connection. We must increase T.V. time, surround ourselves with expensive toys and gadgets, decrease outdoor time and allow for more sedentary activities. Sadly, that reality is becoming more and more prevalent. I want to say “yes” to the simplicity of nature and all it has to offer and “no” to manufactured happiness.

My youngest is 4 months old now. He has started learning to grasp things that are put before him. I am just now using one or two of those colorful teething toys. But I am happy to say that being outside still catches his attention and calms him down more than any of the other baby objects lying around the house. And it does wonders for mommy, daddy, and big sister too!

Honking the Horn about Public Libraries

When I was in fourth grade, my teacher, Mrs. Ross, took us on a field trip to the county library. We all signed up for library cards and chose a book to check out. Two weeks later my mom took me back to the library to return what I had taken home. I can’t remember the next time I visited the library. It must have been sometime during high school or college, because I vaguely remember updating my card.  For the majority of my life, however, I relied primarily on family, friends and bookstores to meet my reading needs.

My reintroduction to public libraries took place when, about 8 years ago, my husband and I took advantage of AARP’s freetax help. They annually set up tax volunteers at my local county library. I guess that’s when I realized that aside from the huge, ever changing collection of books housed there, the library also offers a wide variety of additional services.

We have only taken advantage of a few of the many resources available to members, aside from books. When teaching my daughter baby sign language, we checked out sign/sing videos, which she loved watching and mimicking. Activities such as crafts, walks, puppetry that I plan at home often come from library resources. My 4-year-old loves using the computers that have age appropriate learning software and playing with toys and games that encourage learning and creativity. One Christmas we happened to visit when a model train and village, created by a group of people from an area model train club, was on display (train cameras included). We have also been to a few children’s story times, which are often accompanied with crafts. I recently downloaded the Overdrive App on my iPhone. If you are a member of a library, you can sign in with your card number and access that library’s e-book collection. My first book downloads were “Are You My Mother?” By P.D. Eastman and “A Walk in the Woods.” By Bill Bryson. Any books downloaded are accessible for 14 days.

We have yet to take part in the monthly book club for adults, or the special events planned regularly for kids (visits by the police men, firefighters and evening programs like pajama parties and back to school events.) I’ve seen announcements for writing lectures and book signings. They have great home school resources that I can’t wait to utilize. And how much does all of this cost? NOTHING!!!

If you can’t tell, I really get excited about libraries. Just for the record, I am not being compensated in any way to write this post. Libraries really do open up the world to kids and adults alike. If you don’t have a library card, I highly recommend getting one.  And if you are already a member, tell me your favorite aspects of your local branch.

Weekend Challenge #2

Here is the second installment to my weekend challenge series.  The purpose of these posts is to get you and your family or loved ones outside, enjoying God's good green earth. Don't delay - before you know it you will be 70 years old with arthritis, back pain, and no stamina wondering why you didn't take advantage of the good years.

In a previous blog entry, I mentioned future plans for a nature walk that involved finding places that critters call home. We have since taken that hike, and what follows is a photo essay of what we found. Your weekend challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to do the same. I look forward to hearing about what homes you discovered!

For those of you who lost sleep trying to figure out the theme of the last weekend challenge, hop on over to the comments section of that specific blog (Weekend Challenge #1) to find out what the photos were showing! 

 The Squirrel nest. They are all over the woods. Someday you will learn just how much I dislike squirrels. I'm just not quite prepared to alienate my readers yet

I wasn't fast enough with the camera to catch the cockroaches running away when Sarah pulled back the bark

                                                                      Bird House

                                                                 Daisy, the flea motel

You never know what you'll find when you pick up a rock. This was the only thing slow enough for my camera

Happy Habitat Hunting!

Picture Perfect

I realize that most parents think their newborn bundle of joy is one of the most beautiful babies they have ever seen, but my daughter really was above average on the beauty scale. She was born with this thick dark head of hair and her eyes were framed by long, lush eyelashes. People couldn’t look at her without oohing and aahing and more than once it was suggested that we should enter her face into the coveted Parenting Magazine’s yearly photography contest. Of course I would never market my child like that, but I had to agree that she would probably win.

Among the accolades, there was only one dissenting voice. My father has always clearly made his opinion known; “All babies are ugly.” I took his comments with a grain of salt. True, I had seen some ugly babies – be honest, who hasn’t – but my daughter was definitely not part of that group.

Fast forward 3 ½ years. I am expecting my second child. Memories of my daughter’s beginning months flood my mind and I decide to take a good old walk down memory lane. I open a random photo album. Wait a minute! This is not my daughter! Someone has switched out her pictures and replaced them with a kind of ugly baby. This child has chipmunk cheeks that look full of nuts, hair that can only be described as mohawkish, and her eyes are looking suspiciously cross-eyed. I try to comprehend exactly what I am seeing. Wow, I have been duped by friends, family, and what must be motherly hormones. My dad was right all along: Babies are ugly.

When my second child decided to make his presence known, I feel like I was able to successfully take off my rose colored glasses. I took the oohs and aahs with a grain of salt, and basically listened to my dad, “Yep, he looks like all other babies…kind of ugly…but he’ll turn out okay in a few months.” I was able to admit that, yes, his cheeks did remind me of Alfred Hitchcock.

Of course, now he’s 3 months old and is surely above average in the handsome baby scale. That ugly baby syndrome is a thing of the past. And my daughter is absolutely gorgeous. And, no, I won’t be looking at baby picture albums a few years down the road to prove it. I will instead remember the way my children made me melt when they said things like “you’re a great mommy” or “I love you” or when they smiled and laughed with me or when they asked me for “some loving.” There is nothing more beautiful than that.

Rainy Days

It’s a rainy day. I love rainy days in autumn. I love sitting by a blazing fireplace, book in one hand and raspberry tea in the other. Rainy days are great for soups in the evening and cuddling with your husband…

I’m daydreaming again. Rainy days WERE great until kids arrived on the scene. Now I am stuck in a prison with two of them. The four-year-old thinks rainy days are for jumping off beds, tables, and couches while simultaneously screeching…I mean singing…at the top of her lungs. The baby thinks rainy days are for anything but sleeping: stomach pains, crying, spitting up, constant chair rocking. If I am to survive this day with a smile on my face, I will need to be creative. I have to believe that rainy days can be pleasant, even with kids.

1. Prepare in Advance – Our family takes as many nature walks as we can. Many times Sarah will take a basket with her to gather nature treasures for our nature window. I keep my eyes open for things that can be used in crafts for days when we can’t make it outside. A rock has been in our nature window for a couple of weeks and on one rainy day, we turned it into Angelina, the pet rock. There are tons of objects in nature you can use in your crafts: feathers dirt and leaves, acorns…

2. Create a game – Make a set of dominoes. The heavier the paper, the longer it will last. It can be as simple as making colored dominoes or you can draw 5 or 6 different pictures. Do you have a stamp and ink set? That can be used too.

3. No Lightning? Send them out – Sarah has an umbrella and galoshes and loves to go dance in the rain and find puddles to jump in. Sometimes we will see where the water from our driveway goes to, wading through it the entire way. In our case, we usually end up at the river. Give your child a tarp and let them create their own shelter.

4. Expect Energy – Being stuck inside all day just is not as relaxing for kids as it can be for adults. Resign yourself to the fact that running and jumping and loud noises are likely to be a part of your day. In fact, things will be a lot more pleasant when you choose to join them instead of trying to control them Turn on music that all of you can dance to. When Sarah hears classical music, she automatically thinks ballet. She’ll go to her room and put on a dress and shoes and dance and dance and dance. Blow up a balloon and hit it back and forth to your hearts content. Play Simon Says or Hide and Seek, or indoor Hopscotch.

5. Enforce Bedtime – Yes, eventually, your wild cats will need to sleep. If they are still taking naps, refuse to do housework during that time. Instead, make that cup of tea, grab that book, and head downstairs to the fireplace. At bedtime, don’t get roped into reading “just one more book.” Refuse to fall asleep with them and head back downstairs to cuddle with your significant other while having another cup of tea and sharing the highlights of your day with one another

Rainy days don’t always have to get you down once you have kids. Yes, they might force you to use a bit more creativity, but they can still leave you with a smile on your face

Weekend Challenge #1

If you’re looking for a reason to get outside this weekend, look no further. I’m introducing what I hope will be the first of many challenges. Below you will find a group of photos taken on a recent themed walk with my daughter Sarah and newborn son Jabel. Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to guess the theme and then go on your own version of the topical trip outdoors. You can post guesses and verbal descriptions of your experiences in the comment box. What I really want to see are photos, but I don’t think you can post them.  You may be able to upload them to a folder on Picasa or a similar photo website and then post a link, or your are welcome to send photos via e-mail (Shannon.urum@gmail.com), and I will add correct photo essays to my original post.

Just a note: my purpose was to help my daughter see nature from a different perspective and then share our experience with daddy. It was not to make award winning pictures, so please excuse the quality. You will also have to really stretch your imagination to figure out a couple of the pictures. Good luck!

Hammocks are Great for Bird Watching

Every year my mom and grandmother get about 20 free calendars in the mail that they could not possibly have enough empty wall space for. Therefore, around November, they bring out the pile and allow us and the grand-kids to choose our favorites. Some are used for various craft projects, but for the last couple of years, I have chosen one as a teaching tool for Sarah. The first calendar we hung up identified various flower species. It surprised me how well my 3-year-old daughter learned the names each month. She was even able to find examples of flowers in gardens around the area. After a year, she has forgotten many of the flowers, but whenever she sees purple clematis or a bleeding heart, she is sure to point them out to me.

This year, we got a calendar on birds. We regularly take the calendar off the wall and review each month’s pinup during breakfast. I almost always get a request to “just have a little peak” at next month’s picture. I decided to take identifying to the next level when I found and downloaded a free iPhone application called Scotts Bird Id. The program, once you choose a state, will generate a list of birds that can be found in that state. For many types, there are also sounds of the bird calls available for your listening pleasure. Once you have seen a bird and heard its call, you can then record a sighting which will be added to a migration chart that is being maintained by Scotts. This can be viewed from their Facebook page.

We headed outside to see what birds we could find. It was then that I spotted the perfect spot to observe-our hammock. Hammocks are great for bird watching. Hanging between two trees – known locations for winged animals – and within viewing distance of one of our bird feeders, it seemed the perfect observation point. An added bonus was the rocking motion that kept Sarah calm and quiet and  put Jabel to sleep within minutes. When we first adjusted ourselves, we couldn’t see or hear one bird. I gave Sarah the iPhone and allowed her to listen to songs of the birds that she had learned from the calendar. I don’t know if it was coincidence, or if the birds could hear calls, but as soon as she played the American Robin song, we saw two American Robins fly overhead. We were also able to hear Blue Jays calling to each other after listening to their song. Sarah was most excited when a number of Tufted Titmouse appeared following another iPhone recording and began eating from the bird feeder.

We spent about an hour, swaying slightly with the same autumn breeze that had colored leaves floating down around us and watching birds flitting to and fro. For those of you who hang around 4 year-old kids, you have an idea what a miracle that is. Sarah didn’t even want to go inside when I suggested it was getting too cool for the little one.

The temperatures are probably soon to dip into regions that will keep us from swinging between the trees, but we already have next year’s calendar picked out and I think the hammock will be great for butterfly watching!