Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

I just love celebrating the New Year! Even though it is just the difference between Thursday and Friday this year, it also is a time to start over.  To try again.  To set goals and try to achieve them once more. I remember celebrating with my dad's whole family when I was just a child.  One year my cousin made homemade fortune cookies for the event.  Almost everyone said they wanted to lose weight, but I think there were other resolutions left unsaid because they were the more serious ones.  Like working on marriages, trying for greater success at work, or other important matters.  It's about adopting a new attitude.  Leaving whatever happened in the past 365 days behind us, opening a brand-new calendar and beginning again. I love The Sandlot , as you may already know.  In the movie, the boys yell, "Do over!" when things haven't gone quite right and they need to start their game back at square one.  All of them understand this....

Here are a few of our favorite books we read with our preschooler: The little Nativity books set Make Believe Ideas, Ltd. These are probably intended for infants and toddlers, but my 4 and 5-year-olds still love these books!  So do I!  They are perfect for little hands to hold and each book tells a bit of the Christmas story.  Each one ends with a Christmas song that brings it all together. (Like "O Little Town of Bethlehem," for example) Dinosaur vs. Santa by Bob Shea Does your preschooler ever pretend he is a dinosaur?  If so, this book is perfect for you and your rambunctious little boy or girl, anxious for Christmas to come. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney We love Llama Llama books - they're sweet and fun - just right!  Here Llama Llama is a preschooler, anxiously counting down the days until Christmas.  He goes shopping, bakes cookies, and makes presents with his Llama Mama in preparation for the big day. ...

Here are a few of our favorite books we read together at Christmastime: Santa, Are You For Real?   by Harold Lawrence Myra Recommended by my husband's family.  Explains the origins of St. Nicholas, how he was a real person who loved Jesus and did kind things for other people.  A good way to "break the news" to older children who are starting to question if Santa is real. The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado A different perspective on the nativity story - a crippled lamb who is left behind when the shepherds took the other sheep to graze in a distant meadow.  This little lamb is first discouraged because he is different and doesn't see his purpose.  At the end of the story, he ends up snuggling up to the newborn baby Jesus to keep him warm.  God had an important purpose for him all along! Christmas in the Big Woods (My First Little House Books) by Laura Ingalls Wilder A sweet look at how pioneers spent Christmas.  This book is spe...

Every year I try really, really hard to get as much done as I possibly can so the week before Christmas is stress-free and lots of fa-la-la-la fun! Every year, I find myself running around like a crazy lady getting last-minute things done and tending to crazy surprises that have popped up to add the the chaos. I had all my big gift shopping done just after Thanksgiving.  I ordered supplies for our church Christmas events at the beginning of December.  So I thought I had everything under control.  Not so, lady.  Not by a long shot. So here I was, today, sweating bullets for my Oriental Trading box to arrive because the party is tomorrow night is the church Christmas party and this momma has got to get Santa's gift bags together and delivered to the church.  My mother-in-law came to watch the kids so I could run to three different towns to do some last-minute errands.  I'm so thankful for her! My husband has been in his own Christmas season rush...

Did you know that Mom vs. The Dot has a YouTube channel? Check it out!!   Click here to check out the Kids' Christmas Worship songs collection!  

This year at Christmastime, we are trying to teach our children about giving and serving.  One of our favorite things to do is look through the World Vision catalog and pick out a gift for someone in need. This year, we chose to send some ducks to people who need them. They've got great videos to watch, and to share with your family to show them what World Vision is about and where their money goes. I asked my children to give $5 each of their Christmas money to join to my contribution so we could buy something together.  They really liked the idea of helping someone out, and we gave just a small portion of what we have to improve the life of another family. Warm fuzzies.  Lives changed.  Can't beat it. Some of the gifts are really amazing - like $25 multiplied x's 12 = $300 in clothes or nutrition or medicines for people in need.  Our kids chose animals because...they like animals!  We picked ducks because we read that chickens sometim...

 This week, we have been reading Judy Moody, M.D. by Megan McDonald. This third-grade-girl wants to become a doctor in the worst way, and everyone knows it.  One afternoon, she was playing "Operation" with Stink, her little brother. You know - the game with the insets for little plastic "organs."  Like the bread basket and the funny bone .  If you contact the metal sides with your tweezers, the nose lights up and buzzes and you're OUT! I liked this game as a kid, but the loud "buzz" was always unnerving.  Almost as bad as the "pop" when playing Perfection (remember - Pop goes Perfection?).  I decided I could make a homemade version of this without the buzzer and it could be just as much fun.  And FREE! First, I tried using a cereal box.  It was way too deep for the kids to reach into.  I tried inserting egg cartons into the "body" to hold the "organs" in place, but it just didn't work. Besides that, ...

I don't do Christmas cookies. Am I the only person on the planet that, when faced with the thought of making Christmas cookies, turns into the Grinch? All I can think about is the giant MESS it will produce and that I will be the one cleaning it up. And the fact that, once the cookies are decorated, they will all be eaten up in 12.5 seconds. I just can't bring myself to do it. I can't waste the effort. I don't have it in me. I love my children and husband dearly, but one thing I cannot do is bake Christmas cookies.  They will not have any Nestle Toll House or Pillsbury perfect memories of rolling out the dough and cutting out shapes with mom. Nope. Instead, it's my husband.  He loves Christmas cookies so much that he has taken over the Christmas cookie making extravaganza in this household, and I'm totally OK with that.  (You may have noticed they are not baking cookies here.  A picture of that would've been nice.  I can...

Any woman who has borne children can tell you. After each child, it's harder to get in shape. Because 1) We have no motivation. 2) We have no willpower. 3) We have children with us 24/7. 4) Muscle tone is a thing of the past. Lately, I have noticed that it has become difficult to sit up straight or stand up straight. This may be due to the 8 1/2 years I've spent hunching over to care for, pick up, or listen to my children.  It's sort of a protective, accommodating hunchy-thing moms do while nurturing their kids.  When that activity is combined with my poor ab muscles that have been stretched apart to their limits three times, it forms what I like to call the: Limp Noodle Core Yes, my core muscles are now approximately the consistency of al dente pasta.  Possibly overcooked cafeteria-style noddles.  Starchy, flabby, tone-less muscles.  And that post-baby pooch.  That's a special item. I remember being an in-shape teenager (oh,...

The neighbors are sending their kids to swim lessons, gymnastics, soccer and art classes.  They eat dinner in their mini-van.  I don't know how they find time to do their homework or laundry, or even talk to each other. But this is the story for many families in our community. We don't do any of these things.  Home.  Homeschool.  Library.  Church.  Walmart.  Grocery store and occasional doctor's appointments.  These are the places we go.  This is what we do.     This may be largely due to our lack of disposable income. But preceding that, my husband and I think this is so good for our kids. They have plenty of free time.  We went to the circus a few weeks ago, so this week they created a circus, complete with carnival games and 3-ring acts.  They get to sleep in as late as they want to every day except Sundays.  I think this is exceptionally good for them, as they are constantly growing and need ext...