Under our old fridge

Hi there,

    Last weekend we installed our new refridgerator/freezer. (Our old one was a second-hand gift for our wedding 14 years ago!) Well, after over a decade of not being moved, can you guess what we found underneath?

There was almost an alphabet of magnetic letters, some numbers, a collection of marbles, much muck and fluff, as well as catfood, other little plastic toys, cars etc... It took a while and almost a whole roll of handy towels to get the floor clean again!

    So, here is a friendly reminder to check under your fridge at least once a decade or so!

Much love,

Chrissy

 

 

Shared photo book from Christina:

View Project at Shutterfly

New poems for fun!

Hi everyone,

This morning after getting up very early (for me) and going for a lovely walk around our rather large block, in the glorious bright summer sunshine; has helped me become quite poetic. Here is the result, and it gives you some idea of what my days might consist of (meant to be read out loud so you can hear the rhyme)...

Why is the floor so very sticky?
I hope that it is nothing icky
My five-year-old has left behind
Hoping that I might not mind!

And here is a little limerick, made with the help of Elijah:

There once was a young lad named Joel,
Who dug in the ground like a mole,
His mother said "golly!",
Which made him quite jolly,
And he quickly came up with a goal!

Well that's our installment for today.
Lots of love,
Chrissy

Finding the balance

Finding the balance

With the holidays here, it is so much easier (it seems) to enjoy our family time, outings are more fun, no “you have to read a chapter” or “Get out the maths book” to take up our mornings. There are more movies, cartoons, computer games, running and jumping just for the fun of it. Two weeks off from the (expensive) gym lessons, swimming, art lessons, music lessons etc…

Why do we fill up our term time with so many things to do? Didn’t we start out homeschooling so we could enjoy our families? Of course, we want the best academically for our little geniuses, of course we want them to have as many and varied experiences as possible.

Does it have to cost us so much – travel time, fuel, fees, not to mention the stress if we are running slightly late? We all know this scenario is not the ideal. Yet, we do need contact with other homeschooling families, and it can be a relief to know we are part of a strong group of likeminded people, not in it on our own at all. Our children do need others to play with, interact with, and make friends with. All of this can be achieved without too much expense, by arranging to meet friends at the local playground or beach, even inviting them over for morning or afternoon tea.

Reflecting on the busyness of our lives in Auckland, the long travel times, the many activities available which all seem so great that we can’t possible miss out; perhaps we keep ourselves so busy just so that the holidays are a welcome relief, and maybe this is an unconscious pattern we are carrying on from our own childhoods, keeping the holidays much less stressful than term time.

Whatever the reason, there must be a balance found between work and play. Too much free time leads to mischief, too little to burnout. We must be doing things that are seen as useful, worthwhile, educational, productive in some way, as well as enjoying the lazy entertainment. Our leisure time can be a reward for a job well done, a much needed relief from the grind. Self discipline is far more rewarding in every area of our lives than just “going with the flow” and letting life happen around us. But we still need to have that balance, the serendipity to accept the unexpected, the flexibility to let go of the routines so we can cope well with the emergencies that crop up.

Finding the balance is what is needed: filling our lives with enough routine and enough excitement, planning but not overplanning, being disciplined yet flexible, going with the flow when needed yet also having definite activities organized when needed. Getting this balance in our lives, adjusting when there’s too much going on to keep up, and having planned down time (such as regular holidays!) is all helpful in keeping us sane.

Christina Shadbolt homeschools Elijah (9) and Joel her youngest attends the local kindergarten. She loves to proofread assignments, essays, books, web pages etc and can be contacted at christina.shadbolt@gmail.com

Such a busy life...

Hi all, my life seems to be so very busy with all the many things a homeschooling mum, housewife, kindergarten mum, online entrepreneur etc finds to do that I haven't been able to get around to posting on this blog for well over a month. Have watched many videos online about how to get more traffic, now just need to make the time to do it!
My life seems to spin out of control regularly, the clutter piles up, paperwork waits for three months before being filed or thrown out, new ideas catch my interest and take up more time, not to mention all the meetings and fundraisers involved with being a committee member at the 4-yr-old's kindergarten. Finding one thing to focus on seems such an elusive goal, now that I have effectively decided to leave nursing behind, not paying the annual union fees and practicing certificate fees.
I am so interested in nutrition, perhaps a website with all the greatest products for healthy body and mind might be the place to start..... will keep you posted.
By the way, if you haven't seen anything about glyconutrients yet, try youtube and be absolutely blown away like I was - this is totally amazing, fully scientific and so life-changing if you can take it on board. A few companies that make supplements have made some with all eight essential simple sugars in - and the results are staggering. Here's to good health for all!

Christmas Craziness!

This time of the year, there seems to be just soooo much to get done and not enough time to do it all. I really don't know how others who work fulltime and have little children manage it all without having a breakdown. Well, my sister who has two little boys and is about to have her third, broke her shoulder falling down the stairs the other week. AND she is in the process of adopting three orphans from Nigeria, to be expected to arrive mid-January - what a stressful-sounding life! Yet she is quite happy to be off work for a few weeks (yes, she was working fulltime with it all), and has managed to catch up with a whole heap of things. Only problem is not really being allowed to drive, so that does make it difficult sometimes - in Auckland, you really do need to be able to drive because the public transport is not as frequent or as convenient as it is in many other cities due to the very large area and relatively small population. Anyhow, I was hoping to start a website soon to help with the financial burden of adopting internationally - it is going to cost her around $10,000 per child to bring them over here. And I really want to help.
Now I have to get cracking and start a few useful websites for bringing in the funds!
And, here's something that you might feel very blessed to hear about: for the chance to win free Heart Of Wisdom (HOW) books, and to see the lot at half price, have a look at this:

Heart of Wisdom Blog Contest: A Free Book Random Drawing will be held every Monday through the months of December and January at the Heart of Wisdom Blog. Each week one Heart of Wisdom subscriber will be randomly selected o receive one FREE Homeschool Book or Heart of Wisdom Ebook from Homeschool-Books.com. A new title will be given away each week. Click here to enter.

Eight great marriage building ideas!

Hi all, here's an article I wrote this morning - am thinking of submitting it to some article distribution websites. What think you?

Eight great marriage-building ideas

There seems to be such a lot of unhappy wedded couples in the world today, so here are a few ideas from someone who has been married more than a decade, to help improve those marriages that appear to be headed for trouble, and to make a great marriage even better!

1) Know yourself; for example when you get tired or grumpy, what circumstances tend to set you off? Try to shape your routine/surroundings to avoid the triggers.

2) Own your feelings – if you use this little trick when there’s something heavy on your heart that you find difficult to discuss, start by saying: “I feel (angry, upset, worried etc) when...”, rather than the accusatory “You make me feel...” Accusing your spouse will have the effect of making them defensive, rather than opening up communication.

3) Try doing a special or helpful something for your beloved – for example, if they normally have to iron or cook, let them have a day off from that chore every now and then. For someone whose primary love language is acts of service, this can fill up their love tank and make for much more pleasant interactions!

4) Speak kindly, encouraging them in their endeavours / dreams / hopes. When someone has a primary love language of words of encouragement, the slightest negative tone in your voice can really crush them. Be aware of the effect your words can have on your spouse. You can encourage using a positive “mmm” if your words have all been used up for the day.

5) Loving touch such as a shoulder massage while they sit at the table after a hard day can make all the difference between a tired, grumpy spouse and a tired, relaxed spouse. Some people might be the prickly type who simply don’t enjoy casual touch like that, you can usually tell when they shudder as soon as you touch them – then you will know that a massage is probably not going to help them to relax much. I do recommend fitting a few hugs into your routine – like when saying goodbye before work and hello when you see each other again.

6) The importance of adequate sleep cannot be underestimated! When your sleep is interrupted night after night, week after week (for example by a crying new baby or wakeful toddler), nasty things go on in the brain chemistry leading to all sorts of mental health issues, depression being the most common. Find someone to help, a friend or family member or even a paid babysitter so the primary caregiver can catch some very much needed sleep.

7) A small thoughtful gift, wrapped nicely with a note for your spouse may have the effect of brightening up their day wonderfully if their primary love language is gifts, leading to closer feelings between you.

8) Time together may be just what you need to help get things back on track – plan a dinner date or a weekend getaway without distractions (leave computers at home), or go for a day walk and see a new view together. For the spouse whose primary love language is time, the more time you have together the better!

The best way to help your marriage is to not be expecting things from your spouse which they may be totally unaware that you are looking for, and to not hold bitterness in your heart for any reason – bitterness is the enemy. Forgiveness is freedom. Then you can focus on helping your spouse feel loved in the best way they can understand it, whether it is by words, time, gifts, acts of service, or touch. Have a happy spouse, and a happy marriage!