Clearing Out For Christmas

I’m a big fan of purging my stuff throughout the year.  This is one of the regular times that I have my kids purge their toys.  For many reasons this would probably be ideal around Thanksgiving, before the Christmas decorations go up, and with time for purged toys to get on the shelves at the Goodwill before Christmas shopping really gets underway, but better late then never.  Here’s how I do it:

This is not a Mommy job.

If you’ve never done this before it probably sounds scary.  If you’ve done it before on your own, involving the kids probably sounds daunting.  I choose to have my kids purge their toys because of all the things they learn from it.  Ok, the twins are too young to know what I’m talking about so I purge their toys but as soon as we can have a conversation about it, they will participate, probably next year.  Since we've been doing this regularly I've noticed Isabel, now 7, placing less value on possessions, taking better care of the stuff she has, and her room is a whole lot easier for her to clean.

Give clear limits.

I have given Isabel 2 giant, clear, plastic bins, with lids and she is allowed to keep all the toys she can fit in them.  Everything but puzzles, games, craft supplies and large stuff like a Doll House (of which we have very few) goes in the bins.  We don’t sort tea sets, blocks, collectible collections, stuffed animals etc. into smaller containers or otherwise organize it – it is all tossed in there together.  This makes clean up really easy and fuels creative play.  Kids don't typically want to play with one "set" of toys -- they like to mix it up-- as evidenced by the giant mess they make with all their toys.  This was really hard for me to do at first but we all love it now.  If I had an older child that wanted to keep his/her toys in separate labeled containers and who would manage this all on their own, I would allow it – but I’m not willing to do it for them.  When new toys come into the house, Isabel has to make room for them in her toy bins first.  So, birthday and Christmas are the times when she is most motivated to purge.  She gets excited about it now as she dreams about all the new toys she’ll be getting.

Put the kids in charge.

I let my daughter choose what to get rid of.  This was hard for me at first.  It is also eye opening.  She usually purges things I would’ve kept and keeps things that make me scratch my head.  But why keep things I like if she won’t play with them?  Occasionally she purges something I consider an heirloom.  When that happens I put the heirloom into my storage (shed outside).    She knows she can ask me to put special things she doesn’t play with anymore into the heirloom box in storage but I am very selective about what I allow in there.


Rescue rather than reject.
I find it easiest to dump the whole toy bin out on the floor and then have my daughter put back her very favorite things.  What's left on the floor is trash, broken and used up toys, things she forgot she had and a few favorites she overlooked.  She sorts through the remaining pile and rescues the few things she can't live without.  The rest goes to the trash or donation bin.  It is so much easier to find favorite things and rescue them than it is to try and find something to get rid of.  At first I sat with my daughter and coached her through this process.  Now I can send her to do it on her own.  In fact that is what she’s doing while I write this. 

Move it so you’ll lose it.

When she’s done I take the pile of purged toys and put it in a box/bag for the Goodwill and throw away the trash.  I try to get it all out of sight and to the donation center ASAP so that neither of us suffers from “purgers remorse.”  This time around Isabel asked if she could give a small purged toy to Chloe for Christmas.  I said yes and she had a great time wrapping it up.  I think this is a great idea for young kids who don’t have their own money and want to give siblings or friends a present.  You do need to make sure your child understands that a purged and gifted toy doesn’t belong to them anymore.  This can be a tough concept to get.  Isabel has been doing it long enough that this isn’t a problem anymore.

Celebrate the space and possibilities.

When the purge is done I think it’s important to congratulate the child on a job well done.  I also try to call attention to the good feeling we get from having more space and less stuff.  Isabel loves to talk about and imagine what wonderful new things will fill the space soon.  It’s frightening how fast this happens – I swear toys breed.

Cranberry, Apple, Pumpkin Crumble

Inspired by what was in my farm box this week, I made this crumble.  It was soooo good.  The kids gobbled it up.  I've been experimenting with wheat-free and sugar-free baking and this is a great option.  I think it's good enough for a Holiday dessert.

Cranberry, Apple, Pumpkin Crumble

Base

1 small sugar pie pumpkin, peeled and cubed

4 apples, peeled and cubed

1 pint fresh cranberries

2 T pumpkin pie spice

½ t salt

Toss ingredients and place in a 9X13 pan.

Topping  (I like a lot, you could do less)

1 ½ c butter

2 ½ c rolled oats

1 c maple sugar

1 t salt

Cut butter into oats with sugar and salt in a food processor.  Distribute evenly over pumpkin mixture.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until pumpkin is very soft.  Drizzle 1/3 c of maple syrup over the top when it comes out of the oven and serve.

Here's a picture before I put the topping on.

I Heart Euclid

I NEVER expected this to happen but my semester of Classical Arithmetic and Geometry with George Wythe University has helped me fall in love with Euclid. We are reading Book I (there are a total of 13).

If I had just read the proofs on my own I'm sure this wouldn't have happened but for this class we (the students) have to take turns teaching proofs to the rest of our classmates.  Our mentor is there to catch us when we fall and straighten us out when we tangle ourselves up (this is key!) but we do most of the work on our own.  And that is how you really learn something inside and out.  The first couple proofs aren't so difficult but as they get more complicated they get very tricky to follow.

I was inspired by one of my classmates who made cool color-coded diagrams for all the proofs she taught (using Corel Draw - I want that program!) and I started to do likewise (in Powerpoint, sufficient but inferior).  Making these diagrams is what I find really fun and the process really, really helps me learn the proof inside out.  Even better, when you make a good, clear diagram it's really easy to follow Euclid's logic and the stuff he proves is clever/cool.  Without a color coded, easily labelled diagram you spend all your mental energy trying to follow which two angles, triangles or parallelograms Euclid is talking about and I can never keep it all straight in my head long enough to follow the logical argument the proof is making.  But when all you have to remember is the blue triangle and the pink triangle, it's easy.  Here is an example.

Check out this proof with a rendering of Euclid's diagram

Then look at the version I created.  Do you get it?  Can you follow it?  So much fun!  If anyone wants to study Euclid Book I, I'd LOVE to help you.  I think it's cool that Abraham Lincoln credited Euclid with teaching him logic and his grasp of logic was hugely instrumental in helping him win the Lincoln/Douglas debates.

Superparticular Craziness

For my classical arithmetic and geometry class I'm studying Nicomachus's Intro to arithmetic.  It's pretty funky stuff.  Today I studied superparticular numbers - really mind bending.  Not sure of their significance but cool!

Check this out

If 

x = the superparticular number

n = the number being compared to x, or the subsuperparticular number

y = the fraction of n that is a factor of x 

Then 

x= n + yn

For example when y = 1/2 the equation would be 

x = n + ½ n or 6 = 4 + ½ (4).

If y is 1/2 the equation will work with the following pairs of numbers

3:2

6:4

9:6

12:8

15:10

If y is 1/3 the equation works with these numbers

4:3

8:6

12:9

16:12

20:15

If y is 1/4 it works with these

5:4

10:8

15:12

20:16

25:20

If w is 1/5 it works with

6:5

12:10

18:15

24:20

30:25

Look at these number pairs arranged this way

(n is 1/2)            3:2         6:4         9:6        12:8        15:10

(n is 1/3)            4:3         8:6         12:9      16:12      20:15

(n is 1/4)            5:4        10:8        15:12    20:16      25:20

(n is 1/5)            6:5        12:10      18:15    24:20      30:25

For the # below        +1          +2            +3         +4           +5           

Whole Wide World

I'm in love with the song Whole Wide World by Mindy Gledhill.  I made a music video for the Teen Bookclub I'm helping to mentor.  Check it out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arqqhuLZvUw

Vegetable Bacon Pot Pie

Today I made a delicious Vegetable Bacon Pot Pie.  I was inspired by a recipe I saw Ina Garten make on the Food Network (Lobster Pot Pie) and the vegetables I had on hand from recent Farm deliveries.

I found Ina Garten’s recipe for vegetable pot pie here and adapted it.

Here is my adaptation.

In a large sauce pan over medium heat sauté

1 large sweet onion

5 T butter

until soft and just starting to caramelize.  Reduce heat to med-low and add

1 c flour

and cook for a couple minutes.

Slowly add

5 cups of vegetable broth

letting the flour and onions absorb each cup of broth and bubble before adding another cup.  Turn the heat up if necessary to get the sauce to bubble a little.

Season to taste with

¼ t nutmeg

kosher salt

pepper

Taste and keep adding s & p until it tastes right.  It should be intensely flavored.  Add a dash of cream or whole milk.

I let the sauce sit at this point while I did the rest and it was fine.  You could certainly do all the other stuff in advance – even a day before.

Lay a ½ lb of sliced bacon over a cookie drying rack that is sitting in a jelly roll pan. This is the only way I cook bacon anymore  - it’s so easy!  Put the pan of bacon in a cold oven, turn the oven on to 450 and check the bacon after 10 minutes.  Let your nose and eyes tell you when it’s done.  I like mine extra crispy, especially when it’s going into something wet like this dish.

Meanwhile, wash, peel, and dice into bite-size pieces

3 carrots

3 small heads of broccoli

3 large red potatoes

1 large beet

When the bacon comes out of the oven wrap the pieces in a towel to absorb the grease.  Put the cookie drying rack in the sink.  Don’t pour out the bacon grease!  Dump the veggies you just chopped into the jelly roll pan of bacon grease, season with s & p, toss to coat.

Roast in the oven at 450 for 10-15 minutes, until the veggies are tender.

While those cook add the following to your sauce.

1 lb of washed and torn spinach, no stems

the cooked bacon, crumbled

½ large zucchini, peeled and diced

Stir until the spinach wilts down.  Season with more s & p, if needed. 

When the roasting veggies are tender, take them out of the oven and let them cool a few minutes.  Scoop them into the sauce and stir to combine.

I let my sauce sit again while I made the pie crust.  You could make yours ahead of time or buy some at the store.

Here’s Ina’s recipe for the crust.  Scroll down and you’ll see it in there. I did it mostly her way except,

1.     I didn’t have shortening and substituted with butter. 

2.     I don’t have a food processor so I cut the butter really small, used my kitchen aid, and made sure the water was truly ice-cold.  Seemed to work fine.

3.     I don’t have a pastry brush so I used my fingers to wet the dough w/egg wash so it would stick to the pans.  I didn’t put egg wash over the top or the salt and pepper.  Seemed fine without, though not as pretty.

While the dough chilled I scooped the sauce into individual serving dishes (must be ovenproof).  I had enough sauce for 7 small dishes. When the dough was ready I rolled it out (with lots of flour) and cut it into rough circles to cover each of my dishes.  There was plenty of dough.  Mine look more rustic and less professional than Ina’s.  As she suggests, secure the dough to the sides of the dishes with an egg wash and cut 2- 3 slits in the top of the crust.

Bake at 375 for an hour.  Let cool for at least 20 minutes.

Yum!

I’m sure I will make variations of this in the future when I have lots of miscellaneous veggies around.  Try it with whatever you have on hand.  The only veggie I consider critical is the onion.

Information, Perspiration, and Inspiration

I think successful parenting takes a lot of information, perspiration, and inspiration. 

My twins, now 21 months old (yikes!), were born 4 months early at 25 weeks gestation and each weighed about 1lb. 5 oz. at birth.  They are some of the smallest born babies to have ever survived such a rocky beginning.  As such, they were invited by the hospital where they were born to participate in a National Health study on very-low-birth-weight babies.  The tricky part is, they were born in Utah and we live in Washington.  The hospital said the study involved an evaluation a few months before or after the twins were 18 months old, adjusted age.  I told them if we were somehow magically in Utah during that window, we would participate.

Well it just so happens we were.  So last week we took a break from our family vacation and went to Salt Lake City to have the twins tested as part of the study.  We owe the Universe for how miraculously our babies have recovered from their early health challenges and we know they have benefited from all the research and work that has been done in the past.  We hope our participation may help other babies in the future. 

A bonus for us was hearing what the Drs had to say about how the twins are doing now and what the future looks like for them.  The twins were a month old when we found out about them and were chosen to adopt them by their birth-mother.  So, we missed the really scary first days and weeks.  They spent the first month on ventilators and struggled to gain a few grams of weight.  When we met them, they were still each under 2 lbs, on oxygen, and very fragile.  Here’s a separate blog with pics and all the details of their NICU stay:  www.jarrettfamilyadventure.blogspot.com.

Liam had a few additional problems: a little hole in his heart (PDA) that hadn’t closed yet, urinary reflux, and he had suffered severe brain bleeds on both sides of his head.  We were told he was at serious risk for developing cerebral palsy due to the brain bleeds.  Both kids would have delayed development and be at risk for cerebral palsy and learning disabilities. 

We studied about all the ways to address these issues, prayed a lot, were blessed with very talented specialists and hoped the twins would escape early death and maybe even severe developmental deficiencies. We had no idea just how miraculous their recovery would be. 

Liam’s PDA is almost gone now, so small it’s not really of concern, his urinary reflux is gone, and his brain appears to have recovered almost completely from the bleeds.  The study evaluated their cognitive, fine motor, and large motor ability.  Chloe is 100% caught up to her real age of 21 months in every area!  Liam has caught up to his real age in cognitive and fine motor.  He is behind his adjusted age 3 months in large motor.  The Dr. said this large gap between Liam’s understanding of what he should do with his body and what he can make it do, like when playing with a toy, causes immense frustration.  We have certainly observed this.  Liam will get frustrated and fight with a toy for an hour sometimes.  The Dr. who evaluated the twins said he was amazed at how well both are doing, but especially Liam.  He said he fully expects Liam’s large motor development to catch up and doesn’t expect him to have any problems in the future. 

AMAZING! 

He also commented that if we had not provided the right kind of stimulation and environment for the twins, their brains could easily have turned to mush – scary.  This comment really had me reviewing the past and thinking about the stimulation and environment we’ve given them.  There’s one thing I keep coming back to.  This spring I listened to a TJED Forum lecture by Keri Tibbetts called A Journey through Core Phase.  I blogged about my response to this lecture here. 

Based on what I learned from her, I decided to get rid of the majority of the twins toys, especially battery toys.  I had mixed feelings at the time.  I wrote:  “I guess I'm struggling right now with the fact that my little boy LOVES toys with music, sounds, and lights.  I do see though that by playing with these he uses no creativity and does no work, just gets entertained.  I don't want to stifle his natural ability and desire to think and play creatively.” 

I have a new perspective on this now.  I think Liam loves toys with buttons, lights, and sounds so much because they are easy.  It is so hard for him to play with “plain and lifeless toys.”  It’s a lot easier to push a button and let the toy do all the work.  I’m sure I’d feel the same if I were in his shoes.  But, having those “easy” toys around eliminates Liam’s motivation to wrestle with the toys that make him do the work.  Working at it and giving his body a chance to learn and develop is what he needs most.  I am SOOOOO grateful I was inspired by that lecture to get rid of the battery toys.  I think they would have damaged or at least slowed Liam’s brain and development if I’d continued to let him play with them. 

From my own faith-based perspective, I see God’s hand in this as well.  We are so blessed.  To all you mothers out there who are trying to do what’s best for your kids: I know you are seeking good information and sweating like crazy as you raise and care for them.  Don’t forget to listen to the inspiration you receive.  Do what you think is right even if you don’t totally understand it.   There is someone out there who knows more than you and cares deeply about your children.

Online Learning

This is a great blog post on TJED online learning options.  I am an online student at GWU and love it.  If you are looking for some education options for yourself or your youth, check this out.

TJED online Blog

TJED Basics

I'm so excited!  I just discovered 2 free audio downloads from Oliver and Rachel DeMille teaching the basics of TJED.  Go to www.tjedonline.com and register your name and email (it's free).  That will give you access to the free content on the site.  Then click on the left side, audio downloads.  There are 4 free audio downloads.  Get them all!

If you want access to even more stuff, sign up for the $10/month subscription.

The Woes of a CSA Subscriber

Beckie, this one's for you.

When you sign up for a share in a CSA(Community Supported Agriculture) Farm, in addition to fresh, delicious, local produce, you are signing up for work. It forces you to develop a totally new way of preparing food for your family. Here are the main challenges I’ve faced in my relationships with CSAs followed by my strategies for dealing with them. I don’t have it all figured out but I’ve made progress and I’ll keep at it until hopefully one day I will always know just what to do with the produce that shows up and never throw any rotten produce away.

One of the things CSA subscribing does is challenge the conventional wisdom that gave us grocery stores. I think that deserves challenging. So with all the struggles you face as a CSA subscriber consider the whys of everything – there are some really important answers to those questions and I’d like to see people think through those for themselves. Don’t just take what the grocery store or the farmer says and accept it—think about it for yourself.

Common Challenges For CSA Subscribers

I Don’t Like _______. What Do I Do With It?
Most CSAs offer you a weekly share of whatever they harvested that week. Which means you get what they give, no more, no less. If you don’t like something in the box that week, your problem.

What’s With All The Beets And Kale?
I don’t know why but most of the CSAs I know offer lots of beets and kale, regularly. Maybe they are easy/cheap to grow and underappreciated. I’m sure it’s different for every growing region and each one probably has its own “beets and kale” type of vegetable that grows well and isn’t terribly popular.

Where’s The Fruit?
Fruit seems to be scarcer in most CSA boxes. Probably depends on where you are living and what grows well there. I think fruit is more challenging and expensive to grow, harvest, store, and deliver. But oh, organic farm fruit is the food of the gods – so worth the trouble and expense.

I’ve Never Heard Of _______. What Do I Do With It?
We are so used to the standard array of fruits and vegetables at the grocery store that it can be overwhelming when all these unusual plants start showing up in your box. Organic family farmers seem to have a special love for the underdogs that never make it into the US grocery system. It’s important to know that the produce that has made it is usually chosen for things like how little it bruises and how cheap it is to grow. Taste and quality are almost always sacrificed.

My CSA Lifestyle Strategies
I’ve been using CSAs for 5+ years. I have much to learn but here’s what I know today.

Strategy 1: Cook Your Way Through it All
When I have plenty of time (ha ha, who ever does?!) or I'm really in a cooking mood I spend a couple hours with my cookbooks, recipe files, and online searches to find recipes that will utilize all the beautiful and strange things that arrived in my box this week. I am always on the lookout for a good cookbook or recipe that emphasizes produce. Here are my favorite resources for this:

Cooking Light Salads
In Season
Mediterranean Kitchen
Williams Sonoma: Vegetables
Mariquita Farms Recipe Database
Giada De Laurentiis recipes 

UPDATE 6/2/12 I started using Pinterest and have a board for  Feeding My Family with recipes and more cookbooks I love.

Strategy 2: Try a Custom Order
Some farms grow certain things all year. Find out if yours does and see if they will let you have a weekly custom order of things you know you will use. For the last year I had a standing order of lettuce, potatoes, avocados, apples, bananas, and carrots.  Now I'm back to the seasonal box and it's so exciting to see what's in it each week!

Strategy 3: Work With More Than One Farm
Most local, organic, family farms grow a limited number of items. More and more I’m seeing small farms band together for CSA purposes. My local CSA, Klesick Family Farm, sources out organic produce from several farms, including some in Mexico. So I get a lot more fruit and things like bananas, avocados and oranges that just don’t grow here. If there isn’t a combo CSA in your area, talk to a few of the farms and see if you can facilitate something.

Strategy 4: Order a Double-Share of Fruit
My family never seems to have too much fruit. Whatever shows up in our box, we eat in a few days. If your CSA offers fruit, ask for double or triple the normal share of fruit.

Strategy 5: Go Raw
The vast majority of fruits and vegetables can be eaten raw. Wash, peel, and cut up whatever you’ve got, set it on a platter with some dip and chances are it will be gone by the end of the day. For fruit I like peanut butter and honey mixed together or vanilla yogurt and honey as dip. For veggies I like hummus or ranch dressing. You can also grate or dice fruits and vegetables and toss them into a green salad.

Strategy 6: Use Master Recipes
Most fruits or vegetables can be prepared in one of the following ways. When you don’t know what to do with something in your box, try one of these. A basic cookbook can get you started. I suggest working on one of these preparations, say soup, until you find your favorite version and get good at making it. Then you can move on to roasting.

Pasta Salad
Basically all you need is cooked pasta, chopped and blanched veggies or fruits, and tasty dressing. You can add cheeses, herbs, sauces, and other condiments to fancy it up.

Soup
Spend some time finding a vegetable based soup recipe that you really like. Add whatever veggies you have on hand that week. Leave it chunky or puree if you like. I find the following ingredients make a great flavor base for any veggie soup: potatoes, bacon, pesto, tomato paste, and Parmesan.

Smoothie
Start with fruit and liquid. Bananas and oranges make a great flavor and texture base. I use water for my liquid but you could use juice or milk too. If you have a good, high-powered blender, it’s easy to slip some carrots and spinach in and no one will ever know. Frozen bananas or berries make it frothy. Sweeten with honey, sugar, or maple syrup as needed. If fresh mint shows up, this is a great way to use it.

Roasted Veggies
Wash, peel, and roughly chop whatever you’ve got on hand. Spread it on a foil/ parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 425 until tender (maybe 25-45 minutes?) Serve roasted veggies alongside meat, mix it with hot pasta or rice and herbs, or puree for soup.

Strategy 7: Get into a Routine
I’ve developed a lot of habits or routine’s that incorporate produce into my daily life. If it’s not part of my routine it won’t happen for more than a week or two. We eat pretty much the same things every week, which makes it easy. I don’t spend a lot of time these days thinking about what we’re going to eat.

First and foremost – process your produce the day it arrives. Get a lettuce keeper and some of those plastic containers designed to lengthen the shelf life of produce. They really work. I try to wash, chop, and dry my lettuce first. I keep it in the salad spinner in the fridge and it stays good for several days. Wash, peel, and chop anything you intend to roast, puree, or otherwise cook. Put asparagus and herbs stem side down in a tall glass or jar of water in the fridge, like you would cut flowers – but don’t wash them until you are ready to cook them. Wash, peel, chop or grate things you will use in salad or eat raw with dip. Don’t do any of this with fruit or tomatoes. Just wait until you’re ready to eat them. But things like potatoes, zucchini, squash, carrots, leeks, celery, broccoli etc. will do fine if you clean and cut them and keep them in the fridge, especially in those nifty produce containers. And you will almost certainly use them if the hard part is already done. This is the best way I know of to eliminate rotting produce in the fridge.

Then you need a daily meal routine.

We eat fruit for breakfast almost every day. In the summer it could be in the form of a smoothie or alongside toast. In the winter it’s probably mixed into oatmeal.

For lunch we have sandwiches or soup, with raw fruit, veggies, or green salad.

For dinner we have one of the following accompanied by steamed, roasted, or souped veggies: pasta, rice and beans, polenta, bean tacos, soup and salad. Seriously, we just rotate through those same dishes over and over. I vary the flavoring here and there and make other things on special occasions but this is what we habitually eat.  These are things we all like, I can make without thinking, I feel good about feeding my family, and they go pretty well with veggies. It has to be simple if I’m going to do it regularly.

Strategy 8: Learn What to Do With Beets and Kale.
Or whatever it is that shows up regularly in your box. Just this year I learned how to make Kale chips. What a revelation! They are so yummy! And easy! Wash and dry the kale. Tear it into chip-sized pieces and lay it out on a foil/parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Bake at 425 until crispy but not burnt, 10-20 minutes.

Now I gotta figure out what to do with beets…I should try roasting.

With some farms you can say, no beets for me thanks, and they will exclude them from your box.

Strategy 9: Keep Complimentary Ingredients in Your Fridge or Pantry at All Times.
If you know what flavors you really love with veggies and you keep them around all the time, it’s easier to bring a new veggie into your repertoire. Things with salt, fat and intense flavor tend to compliment veggies well. When I use them as condiments, and make veggies the star of the dish I see no problem with the fat or salt content. I try to keep bacon, Parmesan, olive oil, butter, sun-dried tomatoes, sea-salt, olives, tomato paste, pesto, nuts, and my favorite French vinaigrette around. With these I can make tasty salads, pasta, soup, rice, and polenta.

So how is it going with your CSA box?

Not public, home, or private but Alternative or Charter schools

I know a lot of families who aren’t thrilled with their public school options, can’t afford private school, and don’t feel that homeschool is the right answer for them. If this is how you feel, maybe a charter or alternative school is the answer.

I think almost every state has something like this. I know charter schools are big in California. I recently learned about WA State’s version, Alternative Public Schools or Parent Partnership Programs. They cater towards homeschoolers but many families use these schools and don't consider themselves homeschoolers.

These schools are publicly funded but the parents have a lot more control over the curriculum and there are a variety of schedules and ways to use the schools. When you sign up with one of them you get $ to use on school supplies and lessons.

I have a friend who uses this school http://www.monroe.wednet.edu/PAGES/svec.html and gets $450 each year for each child. There are restrictions and limits on how she can use the money but it sounded pretty great and it's way better than paying private school tuition - you actually get to make use of your tax dollars. This school is in Monroe but there are kids in it that come from Everett. My friend said you can tour the school to see what it's really like. She said every school district probably has one and they are all run differently. You don't have to be in the school district though - you can go to any of them if they have room.

Here's the site for the Everett school. http://www.everett.k12.wa.us/homeschool/

Here's the site for the Snohomish school http://www.sno.wednet.edu/PPP/

Here's the site for the Lake Stevens school http://www.lkstevens.wednet.edu/homelink/index.html

Here's the site for the Edmonds school http://www.edmondshrc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=3s

Here's the site for the Shoreline school http://schools.shorelineschools.org/home_education/

Here's the site for the Northshore school http://www.nsd.org/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectionid=18

Those are just the ones in my area. I found them by looking at each school district's website and clicking on all the school names until I found the alternative school.

What are you doing for school next year?

Advice For A New Mother

I made this for my baby sister's baby shower.

Advice For A New Mother

TJED For Teens Bookclub

My dear (and hilarious) friend Juli and I are mentoring a bookclub for Teens this fall.  If you know a teen in my area who'd like to participate send them our way.

TJED for Teens Bookclub

“You were born with a great mission and purpose in this life.  The future of the world depends upon your generation finding its genius….”

For

Youth aged 12 -17

Prerequisite

Buy and read TJED for Teens by Oliver DeMille and Shanon Brooks.  These are both musts.  We will reference the book throughout the year and each person will take notes and track their progress in their own book.  This means siblings each need their own copy.  We sell the book for $18 or you can buy it online.  It’s a quick read, only 146 pages long.

Class Fee

$18 (for the TJED for Teens Book).  If you already own your own copy of the book the Class Fee will be waived.

Mentors

Jennifer Jarrett and Juli Kirry

Schedule

We will meet the 2^nd Thursday of every month from 7:00pm – 8:30pm in Sept, Oct, Nov, (skip Dec) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, and May.   There will be additional optional meetings on the 5^th Thursdays in September and March.

Location

Juli Kirry’s home in southwest Everett

The Booklist

This will be based on the Teen 100 list outlined in TJED for Teens.

To Register

Contact Juli Kirry 206-910-6578 jkirry@gmail.com

Or Jennifer Jarrett 425-367-4660 jenjar2001@gmail.com

Keeping House and Raising/Homeschooling My Kids Can Be Done in Tandem

I have had an amazing, life-altering, paradigm-shifting week.  Over the last month I’ve been particularly stressed out and overwhelmed by my efforts to balance cooking, cleaning, and teaching my children.  I’ve questioned whether it was possible to do it all as my standards for cleanliness have continued to slip and even considered the possibility that I’d just have to live in a dirty home for a few years.  Well, Hallelujah, I was wrong.  It is possible.  It can be done.  During this month I’ve also listened, and re-listened (like 4 times) to a couple lectures from the TJED 2010 Forum and then read more from the speakers’ websites.  What they were teaching finally came together in my mind and I really “got it.”  I must emphasize it took me several times through their lectures and writings before it started to make sense to me.

Beginning on Tuesday I began applying what I’d learned and I just can’t believe the amazing results!  My house is cleaner than it’s been in years; my family is happy, peaceful, and content; my relationships with my kids have improved and Isabel especially made progress this week in learning how to work without complaining, my kitchen is full of healthy, homemade food; and I feel like a great wife and mother. 

Here are the two lectures I’ve listened to so many times now:

A Journey Through Core Phase by Keri Tibbetts, and her website where you can register and then receive her free e-book http://www.headgates.org/

Teach Your Kids to Work Their Little Britches Off by Lara Gallagher and her blog http://www.lazyorganizer.com/blog/

I have realized that I was struggling before because I had a false paradigm about the way things could or should be done in my home.  I’m reading Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits right now for bookclub and that has influenced my thinking too.  He teaches that before we can make any progress with managing our time or working more efficiently, we have to make sure we are working on the right things, that our paradigm is correct.  He likens operating under an incorrect paradigm to using a map of L.A. to try and navigate New York City (or something like that, I probably have the cities wrong).  Once you find and use the correct map or paradigm, everything opens up and you can be effective.  That is exactly what my experience this week was like.  I found the right map!  Wahoo! 

I’m going to summarize my old paradigm or false beliefs vs. the new truths I’ve learned and accepted from Tibbetts and Gallagher.  I can say that for me, this is really working and I believe it’s true but reading my post is probably not going to help you much unless it inspires you to go and listen to what these ladies have to say and then find your own way to implement the principles (assuming you come to believe they are true too).  No ones situation looks just like mine so lots of what I’m doing won’t apply to other families – but I believe the principles are true and you can find a way to apply them to your unique situation.

Might also be helpful for me to remind you what my situation is:  My husband and I have been married for 12 years and have adopted our 3 children.  Isabel is 6, Chloe and Liam are 18 months old but act more like 14 or 15 month-olds (they were born 4 months early and are still catching up).  We are homeschooling our kids in the TJED or Leadership Education model.  We live in suburbia and my husband has a full-time job away from our home.  I had brain surgery last fall and still need a tremendous amount of sleep to be functional (9-10 hours each night).  Thank goodness all my kids sleep 12-13 hours/night and the twins nap 2-4 hours during the day!  A lot of the terminology I use comes from TJED.  Core Phase refers to children ages 0-8 + or – several years.  Love of Learning Phase refers to children ages 8-12 + or – several years.  These are developmentally based and every kid develops differently.

My False Beliefs

1.     To fill Isabel’s love tank I must spend a significant amount of time reading or playing with her.

2.     It’s not right or possible to ask Isabel to do more than personal chores and a few, small family chores each day.  Someday when all my kids are older I will finally be able to teach her how to do all the cooking and cleaning I want her to know how to do and “get my promotion.”   (This is a reference to Cherie Logan’s statement that a Mom with older children who is still doing all the cooking and cleaning missed her promotion.)

3.     Isabel should be able to go do a simple chore by herself, without my supervision.

4.     Because it took her so long to do it, it wasn’t reasonable to ask Isabel to make her bed, clean her room, and get dressed before breakfast.

5.     Core Phase children should be read to for hours and hours, several days a week in order to inspire them to progress to Love of Learning Phase.

6.     At this point in my life, while I am homeschooling young children, it’s not possible to have a clean house.

7.     At this point in my life, while I am homeschooling young children, the only time I can really read to myself is early in the morning before the kids wake up or after they go to bed.

My New Truths

1.     Spending time working together and talking for several hours each morning totally fills Isabel’s love tank!  And after working so hard she is ready to go play independently for the rest of the afternoon.

2.     Core Phasers 4 ½ yrs old and above need to spend the whole morning working alongside Mom.  It develops the character and work habit they will need to later do the hard work of learning to read, write, and calculate.  And Isabel has never been happier than during this week of 3-4 hours of cleaning and cooking with me each day.  I see my “promotion” on the horizon.  When the twins are about 5 I will have 2-3 years (before Isabel moves to Scholar Phase) of supervising the family work while my 3 kids actually do most of it.  I finally feel like I’m really teaching Isabel how to work and she is feeling so proud and confident.  She’s happily envisioning the day when she can do everything on her own without my supervision.  She’s been saying things like, “Someday I’m going to be a good Mommy because I’ll know how to do all the chores!”

3.     Until a child has had a lot of experience working alongside Mom and learning how to do things with her, they won’t be ready/able to consistently do chores on their own, unsupervised.  My expectation that Isabel go clean her room and make her bed by herself wasn’t consistent with what she’s ready for and that’s why it would take her so long.  When I figured out a way for us to be together while we both cleaned our rooms and made our beds, she felt so much happier and motivated.  Our bedroom doors are directly across the hall from each other.  We put a gate up in the hall so the twins can’t get to our doors, open the doors and then talk while we work on our rooms.  Isabel likes to race me while we make our beds.  For almost all of the other work we do, we’re in the same room, working alongside each other at different tasks.

4.     Now that I’ve figured out how to motivate Isabel to get her personal chores done quickly, we can be at the breakfast table with personal chores done by 8 or 8:30 each morning.  That is early for our family.  I’ve made an effort to be at the table with her this week and we’ve started having our devotional at the table each morning.  It feels better this way. 

5.     Core Phase children should spend the morning working alongside Mom, with time for a daily devotional fit in, and the afternoon playing.  Work and play, in large quantities, is what will prepare them best for Love of Learning phase.  Being read to is important but daily devotional (focusing on our core book), 30 minutes of story time during the day and 20-60 minutes of evening family reading are sufficient to inspire a desire to learn to read and love books, if the available books are classics (worth reading and studying multiple times).  Seeing Mom and Dad read and study will also inspire this desire.

6.     It was such a thrill this week to discover how wrong I was!  With the way I structured our time this week, Isabel and I spent 3-4 hours each morning cooking and cleaning together.  I used to aim for keeping the kitchen sanitary, most of the time, and cleaning the bathroom before anyone came to stay from out of town, and I did a lot of cooking/baking but usually felt like I couldn’t keep up with my family’s appetite.    This week we have kept the kitchen clean all day, every day; cleaned the bathroom and maintained it; mopped the kitchen floor; vacuumed the whole house; emptied all the trashes; dusted; washed windows; and prepared tons of healthy food.  My fridge and cupboards are full of good stuff and we’ve had great dinners every night.  I didn’t think it was possible.  I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish next week.  I feel so much happier and my husband has really noticed.  He feels much more relaxed and peaceful when he gets home from work.  I’ve never seen Isabel so consistently happy and we’ve had no real discipline issues.  The twins seem just as happy as before – I don’t think they’ve really noticed. 

7.     Now that I’m getting so much work done with Isabel during the morning I can work on other things like bills, email, phone calls, reading and writing during the afternoons.  I don’t feel guilty or like I’m neglecting anything or anyone.  I hope the twins hang on to that afternoon nap for a good long while.  I know the transition period while the twins are not napping but also not playing independently will be tough but I’m not going to worry about that right now.  I am so loving today!

In case you want the detail, here is what our new day looks like:

·      Wakeup – if early enough, Mommy exercises and showers

·      Make Bed and Clean Rooms, get kids dressed

·      Make Breakfast with Isabel, have devotional around the table (song, prayer, pledge, scripture memorization, read from the Bible)

·      Isabel and I clean the kitchen together

·      Isabel and I spiff up the bathroom together (my mom’s term – it means wipe down the mirror, counter, sink, and toilet)

·      Twins go down for a morning nap if tired, if not they play while all this is going on.

·      Isabel and I do the days work for 2-3 hours.  I have a stack of cards with chores on them and I chunk them up into 5 groups, one group for each day, that becomes the days work.  These are all weekly or monthly chores.  If we are only going to be home for 3 or 4 days that week I’ll divide the cards into 3 or 4 groups and we’ll work longer on those fewer days.  I anticipate adding lots of chores to this stack – I know we can actually do it now!

·      Isabel and I make lunch.  We all eat lunch.  Isabel and I clean up lunch.

·      The twins go down for a nap.

·      I read to Isabel for about 30 minutes

·      Isabel goes to play outside or in her room for the afternoon while I work on the computer, make phone calls, or study.

·      I call Isabel in to clean up what she’s been playing with.

·      Isabel and I make dinner, set the table and help the twins clean up their toys.

·      Daddy comes home, we eat dinner.

·      Isabel and I clean up the kitchen while Daddy gets twins ready for bed.

·      We read as a family for 20-60 minutes.  The twins may go to bed during this time if they are tired.

·      All kids go to bed.

·      Mommy and Daddy read and talk and get to bed by 10pm.

To me, this is a beautiful way to live!

Toys for My Kids

One of my friends commented on my clothing post and asked for my toy philosophy.  I was going to respond in a comment back to her but found I had more to say than I thought.  This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately and I much less certain about my thoughts on this but I'll share where I'm at right now.  My toy philosophy is still evolving.

I think it's important to remember that I homeschool my kids so our home environment is also our school environment--that fact influences my thinking on this subject a lot.  Also, this is what works for me - I don't think everyone should or will want to do it the same.  The goals of my toy philosophy are to limit mess potential and clutter and promote creative and imaginative play and learning.

1.  Keep toys contained and locked.  When kids are little (babies and toddlers) clear plastic bins with lids are sufficient.  When they are able to open the bins then moving the bins to a locked closet is a good idea.  I don't have a linen closet but I do have a toy closet.  It's more important to me to keep the toys inaccessible without my help.  I bought a wire closet system to fit my space and then measured the height of toy bins and set the system up to fit my containers.  I'll post a picture if I can find it on my other computer.  (Can't find the usb cord for my camera right now - so annoying!)  This closet contains 90% of Isabel's toys and materials for craft/science projects and I installed a flip lock at the top.  In addition, she has a dollhouse, tinkertoys, and blocks in her bedroom closet.  We keep most of the dollhouse furniture in the closet.  We also have games at the top of the coat closet.  Having most things in the locked closet really limits her ability to make a mess.  I usually only let her have 1-2 containers of stuff out at a time, even when friends are over.  On ideal days I remember to have her clean everything up before dinner.  On many days it sits overnight and she has to do it in the morning before we have devotional.

The twins toys are in bins in their room and it will be time soon to figure out a closet option for their stuff - maybe an armoire for their room as I don't have any more closet space.

2.  Only Keep As Many Toys As You Can Contain.  At least twice a year, usually around birthday and Christmas, we go through Isabel's toys and get rid of tons.  I put a few things in the storage shed for younger siblings to use someday but most of it gets donated.  I try to purge before her birthday and Christmas so there is empty space waiting to receive her new toys.  We only keep as much as will fit in the toy closet.  She knows the drill now and has learned that you don't really miss the toys you get rid of.  She's also learned how to prioritize her toys.  We purge without tears or trouble.  During the rest of the year we have the 1-in-1-out rule.  If she wants to add a toy to the closet it has to fit or she has to get rid of something to make room for it.

3. Don't Keep Junk.  I don't know where it comes from but junky little toys seem to appear from nowhere and inundate our home.  You know the kind - little, plastic, useless toys that break quickly and clutter your home.  I think Fast Food Restaurants (yes, I do go to them every now and then, less lately), The Dentist, and Birthday Parties are most responsible.  I give Isabel 48 hours to play with these type of toys and then we throw it away.  She's used to this and doesn't have trouble with it.  I also make sure that I never, ever buy these types of toys.  It's tempting when you are filling stockings, easter baskets, and birthday party bags but I refuse to do it!  I don't want them in my home and I doubt anyone else does either.  I consider them a waste of time, money, and space.

4.  Buy Books, Bandaids, and Art Supplies Instead.  I hardly ever buy toys.  The last time I can remember buying anything was over a year ago (Tinker Toys).  Grandmas and Grandpas have so much fun buying toys for the kids that they keep us more than stocked up.  When I'm shopping for Christmas, birthdays, stockings, and easter baskets I buy books, art supplies, and other things that I wouldn't normally buy my kids like over-priced character bandaids and fancy character toothbrushes.  Santa is famous for these at our house.  I also buy the music for ballet suites on CD for Isabel - she loves these.  I find these things get used a lot more and add to my kids' lives rather than cluttering and overwhelming them.  My kids are not used to getting much besides books on a regular basis and I only get a very few things for birthdays and Christmas so I think they appreciate gifts a lot.  I love the chapter about Christmas in Little House in the Big Woods.  It really puts things in perspective for me.  Those kids had nothing but they didn't feel poor and they truly appreciated their Christmas gifts.  They understood what makes a happy life and it wasn't things.

5.  "Dull and Lifeless Toys".  This is a new idea I'm still mulling over but I think I agree with it for the most part.  I got it from a TJED 2010 Forum lecture by Keri Tibbetts: A Journey Through Core Phase.  Tibbetts only gives her kids a small assortment of what she calls "dull and lifeless toys."  This means no batteries, lights, sounds, or buttons.  She even says no to toys that come in a set with lots of pieces and are scripted or designed to be played with a certain way.  She believes that kids will supply the creativity and activity to make the dull and lifeless toys fun.  By giving children scripted and entertaining toys we stifle children's creativity and their desire to do the hard work necessary to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic.  This is really important for me to consider as a homeschooler.  As I said, I'm still thinking about this one.  I want to listen to Tibbetts lecture a few more times to really understand her argument and consider it.  In her favor, she has a nine year old who learned to read at seven  and two years later read and enjoyed Ivanhoe, something I have yet to do.  She attributes this to the environment she's created in her home - I think she may be right.

I guess I'm struggling right now with the fact that my little boy LOVES toys with music, sounds, and lights.  I do see though that by playing with these he uses no creativity and does no work, just gets entertained.  I don't want to stifle his natural ability and desire to think and play creatively.  Also, this might break the Grandparents hearts if I asked them to not give us battery toys anymore.  I've always been skeptical of "educational" toys, videos, and computer games.  They seem much more like entertainment to me than education. Hmmmm......

Update:  I did decide to go with dull and lifeless toys and the result was pretty amazing.  I wrote about it here.

TJED Forum 2010

Every spring Diann Jeppson and www.tjedonline.com host the TJED Forum in Salt Lake City.  I have never been to one but I plan on going next year, 2011.  I won (in an online auction) the audio downloads for all the classes from 2009 and was so thrilled with them that this spring I bought the audio downloads for all the 2010 Forum adult classes as soon as they were available.  Each download is only $4.  If you want more than 23 of them (I did!) it’s a better deal to just buy all of them for $95.  So that’s what I did.  If you have youth 12-18 years old, they may be interested in the youth forum downloads.

These lectures are so inspiring and rejuvenating for me.  They totally fill my tank and get me going.  I highly recommend them—not just for homeschoolers.

You can read about the content and presenter of each lecture here and then pick those that apply to you.  Here is a list of my very favorites, the ones I will listen to multiple times and I’ve included recommendations on who I think would enjoy and benefit from them.  This reflects my personal interests and the stage my family is at.  There are some great ones I didn't list that may be more relevant to you.

For Concerned Citizens

**** A Renaissance of Kings by Andrew Groft

***** Becoming an Effective Influence by Julie Earley

**** What’s Classic About the Classics by Kelli Poll

**** Stories that Build Statesmen by Marlene Peterson

**** What is Georgic’s Anyway by William DeMille  (especially for anyone with a personal mission to Feed the Hungry)

For TJEDers and Homeschoolers

**** Unity in Community by Diann Jeppson

**** Ingredient 20, The Closet by Mary Ann Johnson

***** Journey through Core Phase by Keri Tibbetts

**** Nurturing a Love of Learning by Shauna Bird Dunn

**** Nurturing Excellent Writers by Andrew Pudewa

**** Co-op Scholar Mentoring by Dr. Jesse Meeks (great for mentors and scholar phase youth as an alternative to LEMI classes)

**** Putting it Together Day By Day by Angela Baker

**** Mentoring En Masse by Mary Beisinger

For Parents

***** Teach Your Kids to Work Their Little Britches Off by Lara Gallager

***** How to Teach Kids Who’d Rather Make Forts by Andrew Pudewa

**** What’s Classic About the Classics by Kelli Poll

**** Stories that Build Statesmen by Marlene Peterson

***** Teaching Self Government by Nicholeen Peck (Love her book!)

**** Motherhood: The Greatest Call by Rachel Keppner (especially for Moms)

**** The Power of Calm by Nicholeen Peck

For Entrepreneurs

**** Launching a New Business by David Grant

For Anyone Who Wants to Achieve Excellence (or help someone else do it)
***** Get Your 10,000

New Blog about Mom School

I started a new blog to document the goings on of the Mom School me and two friends run for our kids.  Check it out: Little Acorns.

Dressing My Kids

I have a personal philosophy on clothes buying, especially for my children because it has to be done so often.  I have a lot of fun dressing my kids up and I’m kinda picky. I have always enjoyed fashion, one of the reasons I follow The Sartorialist blog, and I’ve learned that even children can become fashion victims at their parents hands.   

I hate the mini-rockstar/tough kid style that seems to dominate a lot of kids clothing.  I want my children to look like the sweet, innocent, precious little ones that they are.  I tend toward classic styles that I could see me or my husband wearing. Ok there are a few things I put my kids in that no respectable adult would wear like ruffle bum pants, wildly striped tights, and rompers – I can’t resist.  I’d like it if my kids skipped the whole teenage dressing thing and moved straight into dressing like adults when it’s time.  Laugh if you will but I’ve witnessed kids who’ve done this and no, they weren’t outcasts.  They fit in with their peers just fine and looked stylish.

So today as I was unpacking from a week out of town I started going through the twins clothes and that turned into an inventory project which turned into a fall clothing planning session.  I know, it’s only May, but I love shopping for clothes in the fall better than any other time of year and all the new stuff will be in the stores in 2 or 3 more months.

So here is my clothing philosophy, favorite stores, and plan for this fall. 

1.     Only buy it if it’s a “10”.  One of my friends shared this gem with me.  When you’re tempted to buy something rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 and only buy if it’s a 10.  It doesn’t matter what a great deal it is, if it you don’t love it you won’t use it.  If you have the slightest hesitation, just don’t buy it.  Wait for something to come a long that you just love and have to have.  I spent 2 very cold winters in Seattle waiting to find the perfect coat.  I wasn’t willing to spend money on anything I didn’t love.  Finally in the 3^rd winter I found my lovely green wool coat and I truly adore it.  I get compliments on it all the time and I’m so glad I didn’t settle for something else or waste my money on something I would just get rid of later.  I will have this coat for at least 15 years.

2.     Buy things that last.  Some clothing items just won’t last more than 1 season no matter how much you spend but I’ve found that it pays to spend a little more for high quality items that will last and to choose styles that are more classic so they can be worn years later.  Obviously kids wear things for a year or less but high quality items make great hand me downs.  5 years later, my Chloe is wearing many of Isabel’s hand me downs.  It’s worth noting that most of these clothes have also been worn by 2 or 3 cousins and they still look great.  And because most of them were “10”s I still love them.

3.     Choose your best colors.  Everyone looks best in certain colors and not as good in others.  Spend some time figuring out what colors those are for you and your kids.  Only buy things in colors that look great on the individual.  My girls look good in many of the same colors but there are some that Isabel looks good in and Chloe doesn’t, like pale pink.  So now when I shop for Isabel I try to choose colors that look good on both girls.  If you have a sort of dominant color scheme for each person it makes mixing and matching their clothes to create outfits a lot easier.

      My son looks really good in bright blue, navy, orange, and bright yellow so I buy most of his things in these colors and all his stuff coordinates.  My girls look great in orange, bright pink, yellow, red, and deep lavender.

4.     Less is more.  I’ve mentioned before that I keep my laundry in check by limiting the amount of clothing each member of the family has.  This cuts way down on laundry, makes getting dressed easier because there aren’t so many choices, and allows me to spend more money for high quality on fewer items.  I’d much rather have 2 really nice shirts than 8 cheap ones that won’t look good after they go through the wash.

5.     Have a plan.  This may sound neurotic but for me it’s fun.  I actually have a written plan of what I want to buy for each child twice a year.  I do my biggest shopping for Fall/Winter and just fill in with a few things for Spring/Summer.  This doesn’t work as well for infants because their sizes change often and unexpectedly and you can’t always predict what size they will be at each season.  Start planning once they get to 2T and can most likely wear the clothes for a year.

My plan for each child includes shoes, outerwear, 2 to 3 church outfits, PJs, and 6 everyday outfits.  Buying whole outfits is key.  If you just have a bunch of cute separates that don’t go together you’ve just got a pile of useless clothing and that person will always have nothing to wear.  It can feel expensive and time consuming to get several complete outfits but it will ultimately save you time, money, and stress.  Make sure you have the socks, tights, shoes, and belts to really make outfits.  And because I have a personal color scheme for each of my kids, it makes mixing and matching to create many outfits, easy.  So even if you only have 3 or 4 complete outfits, if each item is a high quality “10” and they all color coordinate, you can mix and match the pieces to create dozens of outfits that you love.  Many items can be worn more than once before washing.  Some little ones do get dirty every day but probably not every item of the outfit is dirty.  Maybe your son needs more shirts than pants to deal with this, for example.  PJs can almost always be worn 2-3 times before washing. 

Also if you save up and then plan to shop for a whole season all at once it’s easier to coordinate the wardrobe and get complete outfits.  Also, retailers often have sales on new merchandise in the Fall so you can definitely get all the sizes/colors you want.

And if you have a checklist of things you want to buy for next year, shopping end of season sales can be very productive.  For example I know I’ll want 2 pairs of little boy lightweight church pants in size 2 next spring so if I see some I really like on sale this summer I can get them and check off those boxes on my checklist.  It also prevents me from going crazy and buying more than I need.  I’m always tempted to get too many dresses for my girls. 

I have a friend who dresses her kids adorably in mostly designer clothes from the Goodwill.  With a plan and shopping list you can do this too.

Also, when Grandma generously sends adorable clothes for the kids, you can check things off your list and avoid buying more than you need.  Do the same with hand me downs from family and friends.  And be discriminating.  If you don't love the hand me downs or they won't look good on your child, don't use them.  Why let something you don't like take up space in the chest of drawers or add to your laundry?

6.     My Favorite Stores.  I do a lot of online shopping these days.  Here are my favorite stores for kids clothes.  I almost always buy things on sale.  The one sort of exception is Mini Boden.  Their stuff usually sells out at full price.  But if I buy things all at once at the beginning of Fall I get 15% off my order.

Mini  Boden  - this is my very favorite.  It’s an English brand that’s classic and sweet and pleasantly quirky. 

Janie and Jack – This is Gymboree’s upscale cousin.  I love the classic, tailored style of their stuff and the quality is excellent.  Tucks, smocking, and peter pan collars abound.  They have great sales regularly.

Gymboree – I don’t like this as much as the first two but I do find some good stuff here and the quality is great.  If you can figure out how to use gymbucks you can save 25% - 50%.  Also they have regular special sales for customers on their friends and family list.  Their outlets are good too if you can find one near you.

Nordstrom – I only buy things here on sale and I have to weed through quite a bit of rockstar/tough kid clothes but they do have high quality stuff that I like.  The Anniversary sale every July (I think) is all new fall stuff at 15%-25% off.  The Nordstrom Rack is great if you live by one and take your checklist so you know what you actually need.

Shop It To Me - This is a website that will send you email notices whenever your favorite online brands or stores put items on sale.  You tell them what type of clothes and sizes you want and then twice a week they send you emails with dozens and dozens of items on sale.  It's easy to scroll through the pictures quickly and check out the 1 or 2 things that interest you.  Especially useful when you're looking for something specific like a winter coat.  Just keep checking the emails until you see what you're looking for at a great price.

7.     My Fall Plan.  Here’s my plan for each child this fall.  I already have some of this stuff, especially for Chloe, and will get the rest when Fall clothing hits the stores.  If I don’t love what I see I’ll wait and watch for the good stuff to show up. 

Liam

o Sneakers

o Rain Boots

o Sunday Shoes

o 4 pairs of PJS

o Coat

o Hat/Scarf

o Mittens

SUNDAY (2 outfits, 1 of them for Christmas)

o 1 Suit

o 1 pants

o 2 LS shirts

o 1 Sweater vest

o 1 Sweater

o 2 pairs of socks

6 Everyday Outfits

o 3 jeans

o 2 pants

o 1 sweatsuit

o 6 LS shirts

o 2 hoodies  (1 of them for the sweatsuit)

o 4 sweaters

o 6 pairs of socks

Chloe

o Sneakers

o Rain Boots

o Sunday shoes

o Casual Mary Janes

o 4 pairs of PJS

o Coat

o Hat/Scarf

o Mittens

SUNDAY (3 outfits, 1 of them for Christmas)

o 3 dresses

o 2 tights to match

6 Everyday Outfits

o 2 jeans

o 1 sweatsuit

o 2 skirts

o 1 dress

o 2 tights

o 5 LS shirts

o 2 hoodies (1 of them for the sweatsuit)

o 4 sweaters

o 4 pairs of socks

Isabel

o Sneakers

o Rain Boots

o Sunday shoes

o Casual Mary Janes

o Dress Boots

o 4 pairs of PJS

o Dress Coat

o Puffy Coat

o Hat/Scarf

o Mittens

SUNDAY (3 outfits, 1 of them for Christmas)

o 3 dresses

o 2 tights to match

6 Everyday Outfits

o 2 jeans

o 1 sweatsuit

o 2 skirts

o 1 dress

o 2 tights

o 5 LS shirts

o 2 hoodies (1 of them for the sweatsuit)

o 4 sweaters

o 4 pairs of socks


Update: My sister just asked for my help developing a clothing checklist for her first baby, a little boy who should be here by October.  Here's a link to the post she did on her blog with the list we made.

Update:  Here is a recent pic of my kids in their 2012 Easter outfits.  Also, I've slimmed down my checklist some.  I'll post a new one soon.