by Tessa | Personal Development
I didn’t get my March Summary goals post up. The second half of March consisted or a round robin of a yucky cold virus. It hit each member of our family, even Baby Bear, and made for a not-so-fun few weeks. April has felt like a new start. A new season. A new day. Baby Bear is the first of my children who is not high need and he still has a really consistent routine. The biggest perk: I’m rested. I make sure to go to bed on time and we still deal with multiple night wakings but it’s amazing how a content and peace-filled family can show each other love during the day. If your family doesn’t enjoy each other’s company, there is no quick fix but I can say that slowing down and resting more will get you further in life that running around and hardly allowing yourselves to breath.
Goal updates:
Faith:
Read the Bible in one year: I got very far behind in March but am almost caught up. Doubling up the reading on some days and getting back into the habit of listening daily. I’m currently in 1 Kings for OT and making my way through the Book of John for my NT readings.
In depth book study: Oh, right. I was supposed to be reading Ephesians…. I’m going to be caught up soon on my yearly plan so I’ll stick this back into the rotation.
Focused Daily prayer time: I’ve been more sporadically praying for people and events as I think of them instead of taking a specific time each day. Trying to think of when I could add this in. Last month I mentioned a prayer prompter. Still haven’t made it. Putting it on my To Do list right now though… Scheduled for my Sunday afternoon planning session.
Wife:
Monthly “out” date with Adam: No dates. We did errands together without the bigger boys. But they took too long and we didn’t actually sit down to focus on each other. I just mentioned this fact to my husband and C has already figured out he’s going to call a friend to watch him and his brother. I’m glad that even my son sees the value in it… friend texted and May’s date is scheduled.
Shared interest “doing something” time: He totally out paced me in the game that we were playing and I have been left in the dust. This month’s “doing something” involves a garden and a plan for yard work. I want it done and he actually enjoy most yard work.
Kiss Adam daily: So simple and yet, with all the sickness we had in March, we completely got out of the habit. I didn’t review my goals at the end of March either so we really have some work to make this a priority again.
Mother:
Play: Can I just say that my kids are awesome? They truly are fun to be with and, even though I don’t usually get down on the floor with them to push cars around, I love spending time with them. With the weather having (finally) warmed up, we have been taking a lot of walks and doing story time outside and we have been making good use of the swingset. Baby Bear isn’t to sure about swinging but he sure does love participating with the big boys.
Their faith: We did pretty good with out daily family Bible readings for a while but then slacked again. I’m trying to figure out how to make this a firmer habit. Do you have any suggestions? Perhaps a visual chart by our dinner table that we can add stickers to each day we read. Kids love stickers!
Homemaker:
Cleaning: I feel like I’m getting the hang of this whole housekeeping-with-3-kids thing. Baby Bear is about 5.5 months so that’s quicker than I adjusted with the first two. My house certainly isn’t perfect but I’m also not overwhelmed anymore. It’s like a breath of fresh air to not feel like I’m always running behind.
Food: Freezer cooking? Baking? Yogurt? What’s that? I have been making kombucha so that’s a benefit to out health. I also have my tomatoes, peppers, and broccoli started and we will plant the rest of the garden in a couple of weeks.
Project: March’s project was to plan my garden and I still need to do that. April’s project was to clean my bay window so I could start my seeds and put them there. May’s project is to plant everything that can be planted in May. I didn’t plant a lot of things on time last year so my harvest was rather pitiful. This year will be different!
Hobbies/Blog/Personal:
Reading: Two non-fiction books in April were The Essential Oiler’s Handbook. I have used essential oils for the last few years but we had a real breakthrough with Biscuit and his emotional issues during sleep (perhaps I’ll write about that in more detail one day) so I started doing a ton of research. I read about 6 ebooks on essential oils and that was the best. Another one I really liked was The Aromatherapy Bible: The Definitive Guide to Using Essential Oils. It is not a Christian book and there are a few things that I don’t agree with in it but it has great tips for recipes and how to use oils. My favorite part of the book is the section that is dedicated to an overview of a ton of different oils. 
My fiction selection was The Swiss Courier by Tricia Goyer. The kindle version is cheaper than I could have driven to the library and back. I have read another couple of books by Tricia and read her blog regularly and just love her writing. This book was no exception. It was a WW II book and I haven’t been able to read a WW II book for a number of years because I found that they affected me too much. I took a chance on this book, however, and I’m so glad I did. Fantastic story that left me on the edge of my seat and had me applauding by the end of it. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Writing: I have been pretty consistently writing daily. Not always something for my blog but I journal and have even done something that I hadn’t done for probably 15 years: I wrote a song. Or rather, a part of a song. It isn’t quite complete. It has been great to get back at the piano and have the mental capacity and the joy in my heart to be able to write music again.
Website: March’s goal of making a disclosure page is going to be completed in May. I want to give a little more information on how and why I decided to monetize my blog and how those kinds of things affect my writing and how they affect you, as a reader.
Blog: My regular readers will know that March was a tough month for posting but I’m getting things organized again and I am enjoying posting regularly again. The thing with a blog is that it’s never just writing. If all I had to do was write, I could post daily. The truth is, as any blogger will tell you, the photos and links and formatting and marketing all take up more time than the actual writing does. I put a lot of time, effort, and heart into my final project so if a post really resonates with you, please share it!
Planning Session: I missed a few of these due to sick kids and Sunday’s spent away from home. I had to do some very quick and sporadic planning on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings and the hurried planning showed. I really love my planning session because it helps me organize my thoughts on all the areas of my life. I can accomplish so much more when I have a game plan.
Quiet time: I love warmer weather. I skip out of the house a bit when my husband comes in to make lunch. I get to take a walk alone or, occasionally, with a sleeping baby on my back. The boys play outside a lot so all the noise is out there. I can put Baby Bear in his little chair on the deck and he sleeps or watches his brothers and I can relax. Feeling much more refreshed with the amount of quiet I’ve been experiencing.
Health: Drinking water: It is much easier to keep my fluids up when the weather is nice. A cool glass of water on a hot day is perfect. I would say that I’ve got this “drinking water daily” habit in the bag. Eating fruit: Fruit and summer go hand-in-hand. And my boys have started asking for fruit at snack time so I prepare their snack and make an extra plate for myself at the same time. Strengthening my back: My back injury was over 3 years ago now and it still gives me grief. It makes me a little sad to think it but, at the same time, it has improved drastically. I am starting to find a routine of essential oils, back stretching exercises and remembering to massage daily (my chiropractor recommended the Professional Body Massager 
and I love it). My back still pops out daily and gets tired easily but it doesn’t usually hurt. I’m so glad that pain is minimized! Reviewing goals regularly helps keep you headed in the right direction.
Do you have a regular time to review your goals? If you have written a blog post on your goals, we would love to have you link up and share your goals with us. You could grab the button and put it on your post to help spread the word that we are writing these posts. Or leave a comment with a summary of how your life plan for 2014 is coming along.
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by Tessa | Book Notes
Have you been looking for a handbook that tells you exactly what your children need from you as a parent? A positive parenting handbook with practical techniques that you can implement right away? I’ve read a lot of parenting books and many of them tell you that positive parenting works better than punishing but most don’t tell you how to do it. The Child Whisperer
does.
I have a close friend and, between the two of us, have four little boys within three years of each other (I’m not including my littlest in this comparison or her baby-to-be any day now). We are both passionate about mothering and read a ton of books and articles on parenting to try to understand our children and what they need from us. We try to exchange advice but what works for her kids often doesn’t work for mine and vice versa. It didn’t make any sense. If I didn’t know better, I’d say her kids are too energetic and aggressive and, if she didn’t know better, she would think my kids are too subdued and serious.
Her boys are typical “all boy” kind of kids. Loud, energetic, rambunctious, busy. Mine are the complete opposite and could be described more as quiet, sensitive, focused, detailed. Her boys run and climb all day. My boys read stories and sit on the floor playing cars all day. They are just plain different.
Through the Internet-based bunny trail, she came across a graphic (I’ll share the link later in the post) that explained our boys to a T. Actually, it explained them to their Type. I have studied a number of different methods of personality profiling and have found Energy Profiling to be the most reliable method of determining and understanding the inner workings of a person.
Here’s the cliff notes version of how the four types applies to our boys:
Type 1: The Fun Loving Child: K is 4 years old. He bounces when he walks. He has squealed with excitement since he was just a few months old. He gets super-excited when he gets to visit with friends. His interest bounces from one activity or toy to another. His emotions are the same. He bounces from excited to heartbroken to excited within the span of two minutes. He thrives in a fun and light atmosphere.
Type 2: The Sensitive Child: C is almost 6 years old. He walks so quietly that you often don’t know he’s standing right behind you. His is soft spoken and is very particular with whom he shares his thoughts. He loves long hugs and snuggles. He sometimes reads for hours a day. When he (finally) decides to clean up his toys, he will put the toys in their proper bins. He notices things that others don’t and remembers the details (like who gave him which gift when he was 3 or if the vet’s truck got new tires). A stern or angry voice can cause him to crumple and will often cry and need to be held while he sorts out his feelings. He thrives when he feels loved and connected.
Type 3: The Determined Child: D is 2.5 years old. He stomps and marches everywhere he goes. He roars just for the sake of making noise. He climbs and jumps and runs. He pushes his body to the limit and takes risks just to get his heart pumping. His emotions are explosive and he reacts quickly to whatever he is feeling and might think about the consequences of what he says and does later. He is full of fire and passion. He thrives when he can be physically active.
Type 4: The More Serious Child: Biscuit (His name starts with “I” but that just gets confusing so I’ll use his nickname instead) is 3 years old. He walks with purpose when he has a mission and allows nothing to get in his way but, if he doesn’t accept the mission laid out for him, nothing can convince him to move his feet. If someone else wants to play with him, it must be by his rules. When he gets overwhelmed around other kids, he naturally removes himself and plays independently for a while. He has the ability to focus so completely that it is difficult for him to move his attention elsewhere. He feels things intensely and does not shift through emotions easily. He thrives when he feels heard and respected.
Does your child fall into one of those categories? Or is he/she a blend of a couple of them? Chances are that your child exhibits one of those main traits more strongly than others. If you want a little bit more information, you can view the graphic I talked about right here. While the overview graphic is great, the real meat and potatoes is in the book. Read the book with the hope to understand your children more, and walk away with practical discipline and communication techniques for your children. It if filled with tips to overcome issues that you have with them as well as understanding issues they have within themselves. There are sections explaining how to apply the knowledge of your child’s type to any stage of life you’re in, from birth to adulthood. It truly is a handbook that you’ll want to refer to time and time again.
If I could recommend that every parent read one parenting book (excluding the Bible because that is so much more than a parenting book), this is the book I would recommend. It comes in Kindle format but I would recommend the paperback because, once purchased, you can go to the website and send an email to claim bonus offers of the audio version, eBook, and a free parenting webinar and video profiling course. Last, but not least, I want you do know that I was in no way asked or compensated for this review and recommendation. I just want to share all the amazing information that I’ve learned through this process and want other parents to benefit from knowing the nature of their children. *The links in the article are affiliate links so I may make a small referral commission (at no extra cost to you) if you choose to purchase through the link.*
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by Tessa | Book Notes
Title: The Art of Strewing
Author: Aadel Bussinger
Publication Date: 2013
Price: $2.99
Place Acquired: Homeschooling Omnibus 2013
About the author: Aadel is a homeschooling mom of 3 children and married to her high school sweetheart, a “career army man.” Her children have always been homeschooled and her unschooling journey began in 2008 when her family moved into an RV during a military move. You can find Aadel blogging at These Temporary Tents, on Facebook or on Twitter and a few more places.
Describe: After introducing herself and giving a brief explanation of what unschooling is, Aadel explains what strewing it. She explains that it isn’t just something useful for unschoolers but that it is a technique that any parent can learn to introduce new ideas to our children. It is such a simple idea and, yet, there are still some basic questions to answer about it. Questions like: Where do I strew? What can I strew? How do I strew on a budget? What should I avoid when strewing? Aadel answers all of these questions and a few more in her book. She also talks about developing proper expectations (or lack thereof) toward strewing and how to accept the journey your child can take you on if you allow him/her.
Analyze: I loved the layout of this book. It was very simple to follow and Aadel wasted no time in jumping right into the nitty gritty. The book flowed so smoothly from topic to topic that I hardly noticed the chapter changes. It covered all the bases in how to strew in various life areas: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and relational. I loved the line, “We strew to get involved, to relate to them, and join them on this grand adventure!” Who can argue with that kind of logic? Using her own experiences and that of other homeschoolers, Aadel walks you through the practicalities of applying the concept of strewing to your family, no matter the circumstances you are currently in.
Evaluate: Although she calls it an instruction manual, I felt like it was more a manual of encouragement to relax and follow the natural path of parenting. Aadel has an uncanny way of delivering all the facts, answering your questions, and telling you that you’re already on the right path, all in a book that can be read in one evening. I especially appreciated her viewpoints on strewing attitude and atmosphere. I know that I can always use the reminder that my children learn more by what I do, and how I live, than by what I say.
Recommendation: Though this book is written with unschoolers in mind, I believe it is something that could be appreciated by anyone with children. As parents, we want to open all the possible doors for our children that we can and strewing is one way to do that. Strewing is something that encourages a parent to get to know their child and get involved in their child’s world. It is about showing your children the proverbial doors and letting them decide whether or not to walk through them. As an added bonus, the parents often rekindle a love of learning in themselves as well.
by Tessa | Book Notes
Title: Planner Perfect
Author: Jenny Penton
Publication Date: May 17, 2012
Price: $4.99
Place Acquired: Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle
About the author: Jenny is a homeschooling mom of 8 who, while growing up, watched her mother’s diligent use of a planner. Her mom’s use of a planner to manage her home and plan her life’s goals and dreams inspired Jenny to create a system that worked for her own life to help her manage her home and life. Jenny’s passion is “to inspire women to live with purpose and intent; switching focus from task slave to goal aficionado.”
Describe: The first few chapters of her book are not about how to create a system for yourself but rather about recognizing the need you have for a system in your life. She explains about setting up a special place for yourself to plan and dream and then goes on to explain how God put those plans and dreams in to your heart to pursue. Then comes the more technical section of the book dedicated to how to use loose leaf to capture your dreams, track your goals, and plan your projects. She gives tips on how to plan parties, vacations, how to plan the perfect Christmas, and more. The last portion of her book is dedicated to examples of how to set up the different pages to keep your life in check as well as how to use a journal and meal planner.
Analyze: As I read this book several months ago and have since set up my own home management binder, I did not expect to glean a lot of new information. The reason I chose to read this again was because of a couple of posts I read on Jenny’s blog about how she is unschooling her children. I could relate to her as a fellow unschooling mom who enjoys having a plan and a bit more structure to the home than some other unschooling blogs I have come across. After gaining some insight about Jenny’s life and family, I was able to take fresh eyes to this book. I took a page and a half of notes. That’s a lot considering the book is 48 pages long (according to my ereader) and can easily be read in one sitting (assuming you don’t have little ones interrupting, which I did so it took me a couple of evenings). It was so full of information and ideas that I think I could read it a third time and still come away learning something.
Evaluate: It’s about more than staying organized. It’s also about being refreshed and inspired every day. It is about allowing yourself to recognize and grasp those dreams that God placed in you and then setting a plan in motion to accomplish them. “Once you are a true “Planner Perfect Gal,” you will soar!” There are a lot of methods out there that will tell you what to do, but not many help you figure out why you’re doing it in the first place. Anyone who knows me likely knows how much I value a slower-paced life to help you stay on track with your priorities and Jenny’s book has some wonderful explanations of why and how to accomplish this. There are so many different books, articles, and blogs out there on the “how” and yet so few truly help you figure out your “why.” Planner Perfect encompassed the whole journey from telling you why a plan is important, to helping you figure out the direction your plan should take, to giving you the tools you need to get there.
Recommendation: While I haven’t adopted the complete Planner Perfect system, I have made use of many of the techniques and ideas in the book. I think there is something special about giving yourself permission to dream and plan and put it all on paper. Plus, since I’m rather frugal, I appreciate the fact that she encourages the use of loose leaf (especially considering I just bought several packages for 15 cents each at Walmart a few weeks ago during their “back to school” sale). Organizing tasks is easy and any old planner system can do that. If you have tried other systems and became bored or distracted, or even if you have never tried a planner/binder system at all, check out this book and give yourself a kick start by starting up your dream engine again. Once you have your motivation and mission, you’ll find that the tasks start to fall into place.
by Tessa | Book Notes
Title: Hula Hoop Girl
Author: September McCarthy
Publication Date: 2012
Price: $4.99
Place Acquired: Homemaking Bundle
About the author: September lives nestled in the rural hills of the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York. She has been married to her husband for twenty-three years and they have ten children. She home schools, writes on her web-site, and serves the Lord through sharing her life-story, while striving to raise the next generation with virtue. If you were to stop in for a visit, you would find a child (or two): on her lap, books strewn across the couch, a collection of pet frogs in a canning jar on her table, and a row of rain boots by the door.
Describe: This book was written to the people who have so much going on in their lives that they have trouble keeping up with it all. So many people living in Western cultures have gotten used to feeling the need to accomplish and commit to more than is possible, or even healthy. September’s goal is to let her readers know that our identity isn’t tied to our to do lists. She gives some practical steps to help you identify your “hula hoops” and choose which ones are worth continuing to spin and which ones could be put on the shelf, either temporarily or permanently.
Analyze: She dives right in with her hula hoop analogy and keeps that theme running throughout the book. It felt like she overdid it a little bit on the analogy use but I can see how many moms could relate to that constant motion. I did relate very much to her desire to learn to find “balance, flexibility, and acceptance to keep a focus on what is truly important.” She mentions walking through seasons of exhaustion and defeat and how these seasons can affect our physical, emotional, and spiritual state. Since I have just come through one of those seasons and walked into a season of peace, I was intrigued enough to keep reading. I was curious to know how another mother (and one of 10 children at that!) found her way through that season, and I’m always looking for help on finding ways to stay centered on the One who gives me rest.
Evaluate: The book was written in a very easy to follow format. I really liked her step-by-step chapter sequence: Step 1: Find your Center/Purpose. Step 2: Figure out what’s is causing your stress. Step 3: Encouragement and reminders that it is worth it to move forward through this season and so on. (That’s my own paraphrase/interpretation of her first few chapter titles.) It is a very similar process that I have taught in business enrichment seminars in the past and it is great to see it applied to the whole of living life. The very first note that I wrote down while reading this book was to pray to God to reveal my unique gifts and how me how to use them. Another challenging thought was the sin of coveting. McCarthy put out the challenge that when we compare ourselves to those who seem to have it all, we are not focusing on who God created us to be. She also stated the humbling truth that this line of thinking sends God the message that you think He forgot something when he created you – the very something that you are coveting. Her final chapters are about prioritizing your relationship with God, your health, and discovering which hula hoops He wants you to spin.
Recommendation: Mothers, all people nowadays actually, are held to an unreasonable and unhealthy standard of busyness and we live in a perpetual state of fatigue. McCarthy writes to those who are feeling the burden of wanting to keep up with everything and everyone. I think that we could all use a reminder on the importance of rest and how to get more of it. If you’re looking for advice on how to choose which hula hoops are meant for you and which ones you can (and, dare I say, should) put on the shelf, this book is worth a read.
Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. This means that, if you purchase and item through a link above, I will make a commission. I was not compensated in any way for this review and purchased, read, and reviewed the book on my own accord. I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers’ own.
