Friday, April 18, 2014

Easter Project

My daughter and I decided to do an Easter project today.  We poked holes in the tops and bottoms of four eggs (you have to do it very, very carefully with a very sharp, small nail or something like that because if you poke too hard, the egg will crack) and blew out the yolk and white (this is actually the hardest part because it takes a lot of pressure to get the insides out).  The eggs were rinsed and dried and then painted with acrylic craft paint.  My daughter really had fun with this.  And the plus is that since they were not boiled or raw, these will last a good while without going bad.

Here are our eggs.  (The unique drying stands were the result of my not thinking far enough ahead to realize we needed something for the eggs to dry on since they couldn't be laid flat.)




Thursday, April 17, 2014

How NOT to Try to Get Your Kid to Eat

My son and I have been in a good, old-fashioned stand-off regarding his eating.  Day before yesterday, I made bar-b-que beef (a home-made sauce, not at all spicy), corn on the cob, and salad for dinner.  His salad consists of cucumbers, which he calls "cumbies" and actually does like to eat-under normal circumstances.  He refused to eat anything but a couple of bites of cumbies.  So, as is our custom, he got his dinner for breakfast the next day.  He refused to eat it then.  Therefore, it became his lunch.  Did he eat it for lunch?  You guessed it: would not even touch it.  He drank his milk, though.  (At each meal, I give him a serving of milk, but I don't let him drink all he wants because he will fill up on it.  He gets water after his serving of milk if he doesn't eat his meal.)

Our dinner we had at my mother's house.  She had fried chicken (the amazingly good Publix fried chicken), with which we had potatoes with butter and salt and salad.  Normal food, nothing fancy, nothing weird, or even very healthy (except the salad) for that matter.  Needless to say, my son rejected that simple dinner as well.  I should note that he had not had any snacks or anything else since dinner nearly 24 hours ago.

Before I continue the story, let me give you a little background.  My family, on my parents' side, is Scottish.  Before that, we were Norse, and not just Norse, but Norse Vikings of the line of one in particular who was known for his ferocity.  So much so that when he landed on mainland Europe, the people were so scared that they gave him an entire section of the country in the hope that he wouldn't attack them.  For a wonder, he appears to have settled there, for one of his descendants was William the Conqueror.  So what I call "Norse tenacity" runs strong in our family.  My son comes by it honestly. My side of the family is chock full of "firmness of character," as I read once in a book.  Another word is stubbornness.

So the stand-off continued.  I brought home the food my son had not eaten last night for dinner.  I thought I'd be sneaky this morning.  You see, I make smoothies for breakfast for myself.  Not sugary ones but healthy ones.  I put banana (usually frozen), frozen raspberries or blueberries, oatmeal, a little dark chocolate, milk, and either plain Greek yogurt or protein powder.  I have discovered that my son likes these, so I decided to add his leftover food to a smoothie for him.

My plan backfired.  It was nasty.  Completely nasty.  I gave my son a bite, which he turned away after tasting.  I then tasted it and promptly threw it out, apologizing to him all the while.  Thus the stand-off ended with my making a regular smoothie for the both of us, which he ate without complaining.  I learned a lesson today.  "Firmness of character" has its downside, and sneakiness its own reward.  Did my son or I win the stand-off?  Who knows?  But there is no doubt it'll probably happen again.  Our family tenacity can't be overcome in a day.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Unsung Mothers of the Old Testament--Introduction

In my journey Along That Path, I want to learn as much as possible, and I consider any day I don't learn something new to be a day wasted.  And if you know my family, you know we don't like to waste anything.

Part of that learning is learning more about being a mother, a mother like my mother was to me, a great mother, a mother my kids can look back on and say, "she wasn't perfect, but she loved us and we had a wonderful life."  So whenever I can learn from another mother, I don't hesitate.  I don't have all the answers, and neither does anyone else.  But we can learn from each other and help each other.

Some time ago, I was reading in Kings and Chronicles in the Old Testament.  Normally, I just gloss over the different kings unless there was something special about them.  For example, Josiah, who brought about badly needed reforms, or Hezekiah who also was a reformer.  On the wicked side was the infamous "Jeroboam son of Nebat" to whom other wicked kings are compared.  Unless something popped out as interesting, I just skimmed.  However, one day the line "his mother was [insert name]" impressed itself on me.  Why were these women noted when so many were not?  Is there a pattern? What can I learn from these women, good or bad?  We don't know much about them, but there are some things I believe Scripture teaches us through these women and what can be inferred about their lives.  I say inferred because not much is known about the women themselves.  But little gems can be picked out here and there, and those little gems are important.  I hope you enjoy your journey through the pages of history, through the lives of women of whom few have made note.

Unsung Mothers of the Old Testament is a chronicle of learning with a spice of humor for any mother, grandmother, potential mother, spiritual mother, or any woman who wants to learn from some of the most influential and most overlooked mothers in Scripture.