Posts by Rebecca Simmons

posted on April 3, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Four Kids Will Travel

We were long overdue for an airplane trip. Let’s face it. It’s expensive to fly with a family of six. We will be squeaking in one more trip before baby girl turns two and we have to officially buy six seats. But still, buying five seats is a lot. My husband I always said we would travel with our children. We spent two summers in France, Belgium and traveling around Europe when we were in college and newlyweds. We always knew we would travel with our family. We just had no idea that would mean buying six plane tickets. But we are here. It’s been four years since we went anywhere oversees like our Norway trip.

It was time. Twice I bailed on planning a trip to Costa Rica, then Puerto Rica. Because traveling and renting cars and going off the beaten path the way we prefer, is WAY different with four kids in tow. Finding hotel rooms and cars to fit all of us takes advanced planning and I’m a spur of the moment gal. We all renewed our passports last year for a spur of the moment trip to anywhere…somewhere…for Spring Break. And then the two vans on the island I wanted to go to were long booked by people who plan better than me. I had missed the boat. Literally.

This time around I happened to meet a travel agent at my daughter’s dance studio (you can find her here). I told her my budget, my problem, my talent in poor planning, my travel style and said I’m open to different destinations. I told her I want to stay a week and I don’t want it to cost as much as a European vacation. I just want to go to the beach, somewhere warm, and use our passports.

We landed in the Dominican Republic. We stayed in an all-inclusive resort (this is the one) that was very international with guests from many places speaking many languages. Our travel agent found us a family room that comfortably slept all of us, in a family friendly place that gave us an equal balance of big kid stuff, and beach time for me with a baby. We flew out of Atlanta on a Monday, which saved $1500, plus got us on a direct flight.

Long ago my husband and I were the kind of travelers who backpacked around Europe with a Euro rail pass, guidebooks, and decided where we wanted to go when we looked at the train schedule standing in the train station. When we reached our destination we exchanged our currency (this was before the Euro) and found a pay phone (this was before cell phones) to start calling places to sleep that night – from the numbers provided in our guidebook we had in our backpack. We did this in Budapest. We did it everywhere, through nine different countries. So we are really NOT the all inclusive crowd. But for us today, it seemed like the most economical way to go somewhere and still find sometime to relax on our vacation. Because vacation with four kids, honestly is hardly a vacation. But it’s a trip. And it’s my goal to show my children very different places in the world.

In this moment, walking through the international terminal in Atlanta I said to myself…hell yes…four kids will travel. We are doing this!

I was determined not to be your average “fly and flop” American going to an all-inclusive resort who never leaves the resort. I was going to get out of the reservation and show my children life with real locals in the Dominican Republic. But booking excursions with our children ranging in ages required some creativity, and trust in traveling a little off the beaten path. I found a private glass bottom boat tour for just the six of us. This is so important so we could go at our own speed, and meet the wide needs of our four children. It was on Viator.com. From home I got the owner of the company on the phone, talked to him about our situation and felt comfortable booking it. He assured me he could provide a car seat for our transportation since I didn’t bring one from home. When it was time to hop on the boat the tour guide said everything was ready but they were still trying to locate a car seat for the boat. Thom the owner was trying to soooooooo hard to please us. In the Dominican Republic they drive with babies on motorcycles. They do not understand our American need for car seats. That’s another story but there are too many tales to tell them all. Getting out and trusting some locals and learning about the area brought us our best experiences.

The guide of this boat took us to an area only accessible by foot and by boat. I told him we wanted to go away from all the Spring Break tour boats and find a quiet spot. We succeeded. And the driver even scaled a coconut tree to crack it open and let the girls eat from a fresh coconut. I did not get photos of that. My camera was in the boat at the time. But it will be something my girls always remember.

The girls snorkeled in some deep choppy water, which was really impressive. Especially for my seven year old! And we stopped at a tourist chamber, dock thing, where you could swim with stingrays and nurse sharks. That was a Dominican Republic specialty because such a thing would never fly in the US with animal rights laws. But we did it. I drew the line with swimming with the dolphins.
This is my, I have trumped traveling with four children moment. And yes I just nursed a toddler in a stingray tank. Because that is how you meet everyone’s needs traveling with a one-year-old and a 12-year-old.

The owner of the company boat tour asked us if there was anything else we wanted to do that he could help us arrange. We brainstormed about the traditional options…safaris, dune buggies and zip lining.. all of which had elements we nixed off the list because of traveling with a toddler and some children who are not that daring. We told him we wanted to go surfing and take some lessons. This super nice man Thom offered to line it all up for us and drive us to the closest surfing spot about 30 minutes away. He picked us up in his SUV. The night before the trip I called him to double check that he found a car seat for us to use and that we could fit us all in his SUV. We had already seen his vehicle the day we took out boat tour and knew it was very nice, especially for Dominican Republic standards. While he was on the phone with me he was counting seat belts in the car to make sure we could all fit. He spoke very good English. The idea of doing this with four children felt a little far-fetched me. But I put my brain in travel mode and I thought of all the things to make sure we were safe and sound for this adventure. This is Thom’s business and he was very professional. While talking with him in the car we learned a lot about their culture, the jobs, and how the tourism industry is changing the country.

It was an awesome adventure!!! I’m so thankful we did it. Thom took us to Macao Beach. The two surfing instructors he lined up were from The King of Board Kitesurf School. Both of them were fabulous working with the girls and teaching them to surf. The owner was from Italy and has two children who surf. My two middle girls got up on their first tries! My oldest daughter lasted a long time out there and really enjoyed it. The middles called it a day after their first wipeouts.

Baby girl hung out with me and enjoyed my beach hammock I brought all the way from Tennessee. She was unsure of the ocean this trip more than she has ever been before, in all our weeks spent on the beach in Florida. I did not surf. Paddle boarding is more my speed. But I like to live the beach life, for sure.

This was our spread for lunch. The “menu” was a selection of fresh caught fish. There was no paper menu. And women cooked the food over fire, using large cast iron pots under a tent. The food was amazing and far better than anything at the resort.
There were all kinds of locals on the beach selling their goods to tourists even though it was not a very touristy area. We bought a fresh coconut and drank the water from the inside. And we had a little fun with a man wearing a US Postal uniform shirt, putting an iguana on people heads.

These are the awesome amazing experiences our children need to have traveling. So yes by golly…. Four kids will travel. Four kids will surf. And four kids will swim with stingrays. It’s how we roll.

posted on March 13, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Spring Break

In honor of spring break week I’m offering some inspiration to get outside, with no agenda and no expectations with your child. Be in the moment. Put your toes in the sandbox or in the mud and stay awhile. Lay in the grass and stare at the clouds. Watch your child climb a tree higher than you think they should. Say yes more often. Eat more ice cream. Make a mess in the kitchen. Laugh with you child. Find your free sprit and live a day though your child’s eyes.

Now a word from Maria Montessori:

“Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and when the grass of the meadows is wet with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet; let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath its shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning.”

Have a great week. I’m going to take time to act out some of my own advice.

posted on March 7, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Toddler art lessons, updates and a field trip

I made a commitment to write a Montessori Monday post weekly. It’s good to hold myself accountable to a deadline. This time I’m a day late. Yesterday I shared about our weekend shenanigans and natural fun at our home. This week’s Montessori Monday (ah err Tuesday) post piggybacks off that. While a few children were creating in our basement art space Saturday evening, I was focused on a few art lessons with baby girl. This is how I multitask with the bigs are around, busying myself by showing her similar lessons and activities she can do.

We had a tray with a small amount of play dough in it but it was quickly used up and disposed of. Excuse my lovely basement floors, in all their 1950’s green glory. Out of our love for them, we don’t bother washing off the paint. It’s also difficult to get great photos down there with limited light. I’m not winning any blogging awards here… it’s just simple show and tell hopping to help and inspire other moms using real life principles.
The rock sorting was an impromptu lesson I created after I found her pilfering through the science experiment bin for interesting things.

During clean up time this weekend in the backyard I asked all the children (there were many) to pick up their shoes and from the yard. She got her beloved snow boots and carried them my way. Don’t ever underestimate what a toddler is capable of doing. They pick up on everything! They are sponges learning every moment of their day! She one hundred percent saw herself no different from the 10 year-old’s picking up their shoes. Of course she can do it! She was proud of herself.

Here’s a few photo updates using lessons on our shelves I shared two weeks ago. Sisters teaching baby girl really just happens flawlessly here. It’s how we roll…I guess. But I’m not taking any of the credit. They do it themselves.

This is a new lesson I made by taking photos of the animals and printing them on our instax printer. It’s a fun one! The printer and the animal matching. She’s still rocking out the musical instruments and it’s finally time to change out the book. This shelf has sparked some family dance party times after dinner which is youthful and lets everyone act little again, for the sake of baby girl. Wink, wink.

The weather is has been warming up and spring came early in East Tennessee. I’ve been trying to slow down to have more time outside. Stopping to play in in the rocks on the way to the car is a tough one. We are always in a hurry then. We try to take a walk everyday. Usually it’s a stroller walk for fresh air when she’s getting tired. Sometimes we just walk around the yard and pick up sticks. Last week instead of the stroller, I put her in the bike trailer for an adventure. It was really good for both of us. At school my girls go outside everyday after lunch for at least 30 minutes no mater the weather. From ages 2-8th grade they go outside. They play and they breathe. Thursday we followed suit and did the same thing at home.

Friday I drove a van full of children to the library to collect materials for their expect journal research, on various subject on North America. Baby girl went too. In this moment, I felt like I was winning this game of having a toddler and pre-teens. I’m really thankful to be part of a school with a small family environment. And to drive on a field trip where all the children request to sit next to my baby in the car. I’m also grateful she no longer cries in the car! This!!! My heart…I have no more words.She belongs to me. She reads….all….time.

Check out that pincer grasp! I was so happy I caught a glimpse of her at this moment, holding this crayon and making this mental connection. I don’t remember having the headspace when my other girls were little to be mindful enough to appreciate these tiny things. She is definitely getting the benefits of being the fourth child. I’m a better mom and she has so many teachers around her all the time.

posted on March 6, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Weekending

It was a busy weekend with lots of play. Swimming at the indoor pool with these guys turned into a sleepover that nearly doubled the amount of girls in our house. While the oldest girls were dancing upstairs, we had a crafting palazzo in the basement.

You know you are meant to be a girl mom when gobs of glitter doesn’t scare you. But look how much fun they had cleaning it up too! Even at this age, they still like a little mop and vacuum their size.

It was great to use this art space to its full potential. I’ve spent one day a week since mid-December organizing and labeling my house from top to bottom. We know where everything is and the kids know where to put everything back. It’s heaven on earth I tell ya. In full disclosure though – so you don’t think I’m super woman – I hired a professional home organizer to help. I needed the mental support to purge as well as someone to be my hands and feet while I cared for baby girl. It’s worth every penny. Now we play and I have more joy to spend doing so with them, and not fret about a little glitter. And dress up play is more fun too…

My husband really is the best. He rolls along with all these shananagans. He makes breakfast every morning but this photo with him in his camo bandana with all these girls is going to be one of favorites for a long time. I’m the late shift of parenting and organizing this life. He’s the morning person. I took this photo half awake clinging to my coffee in the corner. And my sweet man is always willing to drag out the bounce houses in our little urban abode. He really makes weekending more fun.I wish I had pictures of the girls making mud pies and playing with all the things in our yard that look like junk. It really did remind me of the playground at my girls’ Montessori school. So I’m going to save that for another for a post. While they played in the dirt and in the sand….I was getting baby girl down for a nap. And then I got sidetracked visiting with a neighbor who was dropping off her daughter to join our hullabaloo. My naptime plan was to start making a quilt for baby girl, while she slept so soundly on her little floor bed. Even though pursuing my fabric is about as far as I ever get. Sometimes that’s best part!Don’t you think she needs a mama made quilt to go with that blanket my 98 year-old aunt knitted her!! It still amazes me.When she woke up I attempted to some yoga in the backyard but it turned out like this.
At the end of the day while the girls were soaking in every last minute of this early spring day…us adults planned the busy week ahead. At the end of the day the neighbors were sent home for dinner. My 10-year-old gave one friend a ride home by pulling her in our little red wagon since she had a cast on her foot. I’m including that detail because I can’t make this stuff up! Once I finally began cooking dinner I realized my girls had sunburned cheeks and very dirty feet. It was a true sign of a good Sunday. Now go take a bath!

posted on February 27, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Toddler eating, sleeping and work by older children

I sewed these placemats for baby girl this week. It’s the start of more practical life lessons around eating. There is so much that can be taught here! When my third daughter started Montessori school part-time she was 15 months old. For lunch the children sat at a long weaning table with embroidered place settings. They ate off real plates and used real glasses for water. There were 12 of students and two teachers. It was amazingly peaceful and beautiful.

My placemat design is busy I admit. But I was using pre-cut placemats I had in my stash of unfinished projects intended for the girls to sew. I made the silverware, plate and cup appliqués and cut them by hand. This was practical, utilitarian sewing done spur of the moment. To accomplish it I’ll admit, I sent the big girls to watch TV with their baby sister. Chips and salsa were eaten in front of the TV piping out pre-teen Disney shows that I hate. But it happens sometimes. My husband came home and made dinner. I hid in the basement sewing and having a beer. For dinner, baby girl had this placemat to try for the first time. The small accomplishment was therapeutic for me.

But most of our days are spent like this, with the TV off.

She was proud of herself, serving herself and eating her lunch. She LOVES to pour her own water. Yes she spills some. Yes she wipes off the floor when it happens. We couldn’t believe it ourselves the first time she went to the cabinet under the sink, grabbed a towel and wiped up the floor by herself just because she sees us to do it. Children like to clean. Montessori definitely capitalizes on that “care of the environment” desire that comes naturally at this age. If you set the space for them, children can do nearly anything we can do. So no, my cabinets do not have child locks. My cleaners are mostly vinegar and water so there is nothing toxic or breakable in that cabinet under the kitchen sink. Plus I’m aware of her and what she is doing.

The weaning table and chair was handmade by talented amazing dad. He makes a few extra of these in his spare time and I right now I have two in my basement for sale. If you are local and interested, hit me up with questions about it.

Corell dishes have been my favorite kid dishes for all my littles. Actually it’s what we all grab first, despite me having an obsession with multiple sets of dishes from Pottery Barn, Anthropology and more. I like pretty things in my kitchen. And I like pretty things for toddlers. Here’s a post from 2012, before we renovated, peeking into our kitchen drawers with more items made for children than adults. When you keep an eye out for small kitchen prep items at places like Homegoods or even just your grocery store (I found the glasses above at Kroger) you’ll be surprised what you can find that is the same as you see in Montessori catalogues. Check thrift stores for plates and bowls that won’t care about get broken. Corell dishes have very little lead in them so I like those. You can even buy them by the piece at Wal-Mart.

The last picture of baby girl eating chicken nuggets was an intentional quick lunch after a big walk. I was hoping to wear her out and feed her fast, before a good long nap. Good long naps don’t ever happen for me. Since she was a baby she has only slept on me, being worn by me, in the car, or next to me all night. I must confess I like her warm body too. Sometimes I just hold her instead of trying to lie her down. I know how fast all these moments go by. I wanted another baby for so very long…well I just hold her, A LOT. Still, even 18-months later.

But lately I’ve been feeling the urge to try something a little different. Therefore I made this floor bed space for her using a play fort my little middle no longer wanted in her room. It’s perfect and by golly….baby girl loves it! She slept for two hours in here after those chicken nuggets and a good walk. She’s even been sleeping there at night. But I miss sleeping with her so I sit on the sofa in her room waiting for her to wake up and take her to bed with me. I’m just as attached to her as she is to me. However I think she was ready for some good sleep. So here you have it. The sound machine is magic in our noisy house. I love a floor bed opposed to a toddler bed because I can get in there with her to read books and nurse.

Speaking of being attached…she really is my little buddy while the bigs are at school. We lined our shoes up after our walk. We both probably need new shoes. She is taking to the work mat philosophy really well. It’s kind of natural to her, like cleaning up a spill on the floor.

And while the older girls worked on homework she did some color sorting of pencils.

Montessori homework for big kids looks like this… a model to scale of the solar system, plus studying different forms of ultraviolet light and radioactive light. My daughter vetoed me sharing that photo of her drawings. Homework isn’t normal protocol. It is rare for my oldest girl to have homework. But my 10-year-old struggles to get everything done at school so I get the joy of occasionally playing homeschool with her on Sundays.

My older girls had a science fair recently. My oldest girl did her project on comparing how different brands of marshmallows burn over a campfire. She compared them based on their ingredients, being vegan, and the different animal gelatins in them. Yes pork and fish gelatins are in your average marshmallows! I’m always surprised how much information is gathered for these projects that seem so simple in concept. I always learn something from my children. For the science fair they set up and presented their experiments at school. I did not get any pictures. When I got there to pick them up from school it was all broken down and they were hoping in the car with their used posters. And that guys, is independent learning. They presented their findings to their classmates. Parents were all at work or at home when it happened and it was over by pick up time. They both spent a full Sunday doing research and experiments in preparation. During dinner we heard all about other science projects and what they learned from the other students.

We are also starting to have some really cool dinner conversations with my oldest daughter regarding what she is being exposed to in social studies and geography. Mature thoughts are being expressed and questions about religion from other cultures, evolution theories, current events and more are being discussed. This is exciting big kid stuff!

For the science fair my other older girl made a battery out of pennies. The variable she compared was vinegar to lemon juice as the conductor for voltage. It required more adult help but once the making of the battery part was finished she prepared her report herself, working on it for hours non-stop. For a person who has a hard time staying focused that was a big deal! I have no idea where we would be without this alternative learning opportunity we call school.Bringing home completed work is a big deal when the children are younger and eager to share their day with you. In first grade it is really exciting! My little middle just finished up the study of animals, and a unit on South America. I drank that entire cup of coffee while she went through every piece of work in two separate folders. She made a puzzle of South America that wowed me. Plus I love kid drawings and stick people They make me happy.

Speaking of happy my oldest and little middle girls made this sun bread together. It’s from the book Sun Bread, shared by a teacher at school. The girls even got out my wheat grinder and milled the wheat to make the flour, since all the other flour in the house was gluten free stuff. This picture was before it went in the oven. And they cleaned! My Kitchen Mill wheat grinder hasn’t been that clean since it was new! They make my job look easy. Maybe having drawers of kitchen supplies for them since 2012 is paying off.

posted on February 20, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Music and puzzle lesson shelves, plus a Polar Bear report

It’s Montessori Mondays, week two. I’ve promised you readers a blog post each Monday about what Montessori life looks like with our girls. This is real stuff. I don’t have time to make things Pinterest perfect anymore. I’m getting the point across the best I can, to share what I’ve learned over the last 10 years having my girls in Montessori school. I feel beyond thankful to be doing this round four, with baby girl. In fact my big realization this week is that I not ready to officially send her off to school next year, to the amazing toddler classroom that all my other girls attended. It’s a zen place full of love. Her birthday is on the exact date of the kindergarten cut off here. Therefore she makes the cut off for the 2 year-old room, just barely, by nine minutes. My other girls had Fall birthdays and were always the oldest in their classes. They were weaned and potty trained when they entered school as toddlers and nine months older than what baby girl would be in that class. So we’ll be Montessori homeschooling next year, or until I feel like I need for more separation time from her. Right now I’m going to keep holding her for every nap I can get and sharing moments with her like this one, when my little middle was two and showing us a preview of her ferse independence.

Sunday I created two new lesson shelves for baby girl to explore this week.

The first shelf is for music. I have a collection of books with CDs, ranging from music to stories and fairy tails. Barefoot Books makes some really great ones. The one I chose to place out this week for baby girl is Knick Knack Paddy Wack. Before the girls had access to iPods, I used to have a listening station out for them with a cushion, headphones and books on CDs to choose from. This CD player is a throwback from those days. I had to “borrow it” from one of the girls. They still prefer playing a CD sometimes to downloading music. The same goes for books versus e-books. When children learn to touch and feel and manipulate their work in a hands-on-environment…some habits just stick. I look forward to changing out the CD and book frequently on this shelf.

The musical instruments were this I already had. The small cymbals are borrowed from a friend. The loose bells are from a dollar isle craft item from Christmastime. The xylophone and shakers are from 10 Thousand Villages when that store was still around. One year they did a sale at school. They have been in my basement stash of instruments for a long time. Sometimes it pays to save stuff. I only put out a small portion of what I could have made available to baby girl. But keeping things out of reach and swapping items out keeps things interesting. When she gets bored of these or “masters the lesson,” using Montessori lingo, I’ll swap them out with music instruments or shakers that she hasn’t seen in a while, along with a new book.

Next is a shelf of puzzle lessons. She has seen all of these before. What’s different for this is I’m going to begin introducing the idea that she choose these lessons and do them on a work mat. The mat is on the right, rolled up. I sewed it for this purpose. Stay tuned on Instagram for live shots of her using this work during the week. If you are not on Instagram, the photos appear at the bottom of this blog, and might be posted next week as well

Here’s what my living room looks like, incorporating these lesson shelves into how we do everyday life at home. Ideally I would have taken these photos in daylight but life is not ideal now. And most things happen after bedtime.

This is a couple snapshots of baby girl choosing lessons this week, at home. This is how she plays, through “work.” It’s also how I like hanging out with her. This is her playing in her room with a ball toy. She has a stash of traditional toys that live in her closet. We get them out to play and then we put them back in and close the door. Since she doesn’t have access to them all the time they are more interesting when they are avaliable to her. She also has a slew of things she has no interest in, and needs to be cycled out of our system. Using and getting bored of toys, and passing them on or packing them up, is a big part of having kids. It just never stops. There’s a reason why practical life play has been around for generations. When looking for toys, remember that playing with the box is usually the best part. And pots and pans and kitchen measuring spoons usually work just as well. This ball toy from Haba, and the ball box with the hole cut out from Etsy, have been favorites at our house for years.

If you are new to having babies and toddlers and Montessori, I recommend the classic book Montessori from the Start, The child at home from birth to age three.

Flash foward five years to now, when my little middle is seven and you get this. She is presenting a report on Polar Bears. She chose the topic. I presented her with some books. She sat down and got very frustrated because she is so independent that she wanted to do it all by herself and she wanted it to be perfect without any help from anyone. She learned a lot about her topic. She wrote down her report all by her self. She made this poster by cutting out pages from the magazine style books we ordered (this was easier than sending things to the printer or using all my ink). At school she read her report and answered questions from her classmates. She was confident and engaged. The children asked good questions for which she had good answers about her subject matter. She amazes me. She is so smart. She is so brave.

Last week this same girl was running on the playground and accidentally ran into a tree. She had a knot on her forehead at pick up time. Her accident report said she went inside and asked for an ice pack. It also said she was brave. I asked her if she cried and she said no. Ouch! I would have cried! She plays hard. Last weeks she fell and skinned her knee running on the sidewalk. She ripped her pants, leaving a hole where you could see the big bandaid with blood. It was that bad. I asked if her she found a sister or a friend to hug when it happened. Her reply, “No! I just went inside and got a bandaid.” She is SO independent. I love that about this sweet girl who still crawls in my bed for nightly snuggles.

posted on February 13, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Montessori Mondays

I’ve had a burst of Montessori happenings at my house recently since baby girl is needing more useful activities to channel her toddler energy in the right direction. She’ll be 18 months old on Valentine’s Day. She’s trying to do everything herself now, even showing attempts to dress herself. I’m following her lead and she’s testing my speed to keep up. Baskets of baby toys on shelves, push toys and balls around the house are not cutting it for her anymore. She’s more curious, communicating, climbing, and so on.

I’ve been making lesson shelves for her and began introducing her to choosing trays of work and restoring her space. After having some local friends asked questions about this, I’ve decided to start a weekly post called Montessori Mondays, sharing ideas of how our family is living out Montessori ideas at home.

I have a 12 year old still going to a Montessori school. Which means for 10 years I have been transferring Montessori school philosophies into our daily home life. We are a true Montessori family. It’s easiest to show these things during the early years when lessons are practical and simple, before math curriculums and the history of life on earth are being learned. Now and then I’ll will check in and tell you what my older girls are doing and what Montessori looks like beyond the primary years. For now I’m going to catch you up on how I’m keeping up with baby girl.

Below is the first true lesson shelf I have created for her. The shelf is part of our Pottery Barn play kitchen we’ve had for 10 years. I do incorporate a lot of what we already have around the house. Since I’ve been at this for a few years, I have a lot to pull from. And I save a lot of things that might be useful to fill gaps of time.

Here are the lessons: a water pouring tray, a tray of scooping beans, a tray of acorns for transferring, a tray with tongs to sort colored pom poms into colored plastic shot glasses I saw at Kroger and felt inspired to use, a tray of vintage wooden beads (they might have been mine when I was a kid) and pick up sticks that I hot glued a bead to one end so the chunky beads don’t fall off during this intro to stringing beads lesson. This is all just stuff I came up with while watching the kinds of things she is gravitating towards these days.

Now the tricky part is teaching that these are lessons and not just toys we dump on the floor. We put water in the water lesson at dinner this weekend and she sat at the table transferring the water while we ate peacefully. Yes it was messy. That was fine. It really helps to have older siblings around to help teach the lessons. They enjoy this. This is second nature to them.

“Let’s restore our lesson,” just flows from their mouths while working with her which they both see as play. Do I still find various parts from these lessons around the house? Yes. But baby girl is starting to learn. So far, we just take one tray off and sit on the floor next to the shelf since walking and balancing a tray of items is till a lot to ask of her. When she wants to do the water lesson, or small bean scooping tray, she points and says “eeeya eeeya” asking for help accessing those. She is not allowed to just play with all these materials and use them in other ways than what is intended here. She must use them properly, just as she would be taught in a Montessori classroom at this age. My third daughter attended Montessori school at 15 months old. With many young children, the lesson there was simply learning to handle the tray and return it to the shelf. Materials were sparse on the shelves until the basic understand of how lessons were treated was properly established. Naturally, it’s a little different at home and one-on-one.

Below is our coffee table in our children’s library area. The two drawers are filled with random things and books she can open and have access to, which she examines and strews all over the floor. But she handles these lessons the way they are intended. She already knows the difference in these two activities offered to her. These three lessons are not new to her. If they were, there would be more excitement to examine them with more toddler spirit. The lessons are: putting pom poms in the mason jar, using the magnetic stick to move around the pieces of cut pipe cleaner (taking them out and putting them back in is part of the exploratory play) and thirdly putting play coins in the “piggy bank” mouth of the mason jar.

The pipe cleaner bottle is leftover from a busy bags swap I went to years ago, that I posted about here. The trays I had in my supplies I’ve collected over the years. Someone asked me how I store things I am not using…So here is a picture of my basement storage area for making lessons. There’s also some bins of legos the girls don’t play with anymore I’m saving for baby girl. Plus our bins of movies and games and larger baskets that go in and out of rotation at our house. I’ve been on a mission since December to majorly clean out our things, to make everything in our lives more organized, and allow more time for important experiences. That’s a whole other post. But that’s why this is so organized right now.

Here are a few action shots of baby girl doing lessons, plus how she occupied herself while I was experimenting on the kinds of things I should set up for her. When it’s just the two of us home, she stays pretty close to me. Therefore I must find little ways to include her as my helper so I can get some very basic stuff done. I’ve learned not to expect accomplishing more than the basics with a toddler “helping.” Pulling things out of the dryer is always fun. And so is feeding the dog. She LOVES to scoop. The dog has been eating A LOT lately. oops.

Part of incorporating toddlers into our daily lives is accepting their forms of play. This water table of moon dough is available to her in my basement anytime we are downstairs. She is learning to keep the moon dough in the table. She uses pots and pans and such from our play kitchen to dig around in it and fill containers, scooping and dumping etc.. When she is finished I invite her to sweep up the floor around the table. Sweeping is part of the play. She enjoys it! We are not rushed. The laundry waits. We sweep moon dough.

And we’ve started doing art. She made Valentine’s gifts for her sisters. But they are still a surprise. shhhhh.

And she plays in water all….the…..time! So I started having her wash her plate after breakfast. My dad made this awesome stool for her. She LOVES it.

Naturally, she moves to wanting to get herself dressed. I swear, I just follow her lead. Children are incredibly able when we let them be themselves, and set their environment up for success. After she was dressed I asked her where she got her outfit and she showed me this.I have this little self care area set up where she brushes her hair and chooses her shoes and socks. With three older sisters, she knows all about brushing her own hair! lol. She’s been putting a brush to her head with swooning sisters awing over her since she was very small. She has that “lesson” down pat. Getting a clip or any kind of bow in her hair is a different story. I’ll just wait till she wants to do it herself.

This was one of the rare days when her hair wasn’t covered in coconut oil. She plays with a tub of it nearly everytime I shower. For me, the shower is worth it.

posted on January 20, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Whole 30 who me?

A few months ago I thought all you people cutting out chocolate and wine and sugar and gluten and grains and legumes and cheese…..were nuts. So what do you eat? Now I’m finding out the answer by expereince. I really can’t say what made me do it. A friend invited me to a Whole 30 Facebook group and all the sudden I was making cauliflower rice and eating sweet potatoes for breakfast. I’m no expert on the Whole 30. I have not read the book. I just found the mecca of inspiration on Instagram. And yes I know I’m about two years late to the party here. Right now I’m more than halfway through my 30 days and dare I say…. I like it? Shhhhhhhh.. Because it’s true.

What’s left to eat? You’re might wondering if you are late to the party too. Meat and vegetables, and nuts and ghee and avocados and the creamy coconut milk out of a can that goes in my coffee.

People! I even doled out smores around a backyard campfire in the snow and did not indulge. I have had a few cheats here and there when I’m downright starving and get in a bind due of my own poor planning. My toddler is still nursing on demand so I am always hungry. I’m used to always being hungry because I don’t take the time to feed myself during the day. Whole 30 takes a lot of food prep and thought. If you don’t cook you don’t eat. Dinner leftovers have been my saving grace. I just ate leftover potatoes, mushrooms and prosciutto for breakfast. I even heated up a third bowl of root vegetable chili Tuesday night while watching This is Us. Where’s the ice cream? Nope. If I’m doing this I’m really going to do it.

Next to the soup above, is cauliflower patties instead of bread. I haven’t figured out how to edit photos very well since not using iPhotos anymore (since it went obsolete with my phone). I have photoshop but I’m not very good at it. So I apologize for the dirty plate. I’m sure I was rushing to eat before my 45 second window was gone. But every food post needs a photo. And food is not my favorite thing to photograph. Plus it hard! So I’m going to play the keeping it real card here.

Guess what? This is a lot of work but I feel great. During my Whole 30 I’ve gleaned a lot of personal insight about my own relationship with food. When we stop eating sugar, everything tastes better. Flavors are more rich. My mind still wants to treat myself at the end of the day. Mothering is hard. But I suppose I can do it without patting myself on the back with a glass of wine every night. I did it pregnant, so I’m an old pro at being a teetotaler. If I add up all those months up it’s three and half years. (Why did I just do that math?) But I like my sweets.

Sugar is sugar. I eat well already. I buy all organic sugar, pure maple syrup, put granola in my homemade yogurt, bake my own cookies from scratch. You get my drift? It doesn’t mater. I’ve learned all that is still junk. There are a lot people buying a lot of healthy junk food that is still junk. It’s not Little Debbie twinkies but sugar is sugar.

Therefore I’ve learned to like fresh blueberries and a squeeze of lemon in my homemade yogurt instead of vanilla granola. Oh yeah the Whole 30 is no dairy. I’m also ready to be a vegetarian again because meat is grossing me out. I’m learning there is a reason I was a vegetarian for 20 year. I like vegetables! When I was pregnant my body needed meat to keep up all the life inside and around me with all these kids. I started eating meat again out of desperation and a void my body was trying to fill. But I have lots of meat peramiters. They are weird and I can not explain it. I’m okay with good, organic, local, humanly treated (expect the killing part I know) meat except I don’t like the taste of meat. I want to make homemade broth and use it my soups but I don’t want to eat the chicken. OMG I like bacon now! I’ll EVEN saved the grease and cooked my brussels sprouts in it. But I do not want to eat a slab of pork. No bones at the table please. Gag. Then I want to go hug all the chickens.

My long winded point is that the Whole 30 is too much meat for me. So I am following the vegetarian compliant list which includes “good fermented yogurt,” lentils and tempeh. It says lentils are best and I assume it’s because they are less processed and don’t even come in a can. I make yogurt from local milk so I’m going to count that as fine too. I don’t ever eat soy, which is a big no either way. I think tofu is pretty gross. I can’t live without humus.

I’ve learned I’m fine living without cheese. Which is really surprising to me! I only miss it a tiny bit.

I have been having tendenitius in my elbow. Plus general arm and shoulder aches from picking up my 23 pound toddler 92 times a day. Truth is…I was just feeling kind of old and not my best. The Whole 30 cuts out most all the inflammatory foods. On January 2 I had enough holiday fun. So why not save some dollars by not buying wine? Eating deserts when it’s dark outside is really never something I’m thankful for the next day. So I just went cold turkey. Like that. And now I’m saying Whole 30 who me? Yes me! I get it now. I still miss ice cream after bedtime but I guess I’ll live. Maybe I’ll even live longer!

I feel great. I’m trying new foods. It’s getting me out of a food rut. After my 30 days I’ll have a healthier relationship with moderation of sugar and carbs. Losing weight was not my goal. But already, I have lost the last few edgy pregnancy pounds that are hard to shed. Everyone in my house is eating less sugar and carbs as a result. And that is always a good thing. I even think the girls behaviors have improved and there is less mood swings. (Shhhhhh don’t jinx me.)

I DO however have a box of brownies in my pantry I plan on making February 1. And I will eat cake on my birthday next month and have a few valentine treats. Hopefully I won’t fall back into nibble of chocolate every afternoon. And once a week I still look forward to treating myself to sweets at night for making it through my really hard day. LOL. Not really. I mean four kids is not a piece of cake but I have a pretty sweet life (all puns intended).

I’m going to keep treating myself with good food. I’m going to keep putting coconut milk in my coffee because it’s really good! I’ll probably keep trying to like tea and see it as a filler treat but really it’s not that great. After my 30 days are over and I eat some brownies and birthday cake, I’ll probably do it again. Researching recipes is fun. So is having an Instagram feed full of food that will help me live another 40 years, and keep me standing on my head on my yoga mat.

Since there is a hundred great food photos on Pinterest to follow, and tons of easy sites to find on the Whole 30 I am not going to reinvent the recipe wheel here. Just start searching. It’s part of the fun. Next you’ll find yourself eating guacamole for breakfast and frying eggs as midnight snacks. Oh yeah…and there’s no snacking. Unless you are breastfeeding. It’s the rules.

Really, if you go for it and take the plunge just start one day at at time. By the third day I understood the rules and I wasn’t even in denial anymore that I had become a Whole 30 person. And now look at me. I’m trying to talk you into doing it too.

Cauliflower toast anyone?

posted on January 16, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Fragmented practice pays off

Since baby girl has turned into a toddler it’s really difficult to get solid yoga time in at home, with focus and purpose. It’s only minutes before I have to retrieve her from playing in the kitchen drawer of glass lunch containers, from yanking the poor old cat, from falling off furniture or from the dog’s water bowl. All moms know the drill. It’s basic toddler business. This adorable toddler that I love SO very much is only good for about two downward facing dogs before she moves on to all of the above activities.

However she does – honest to goodness – roll out her mat next to mine when I tell her we are going to do yoga. It melts my heart. Then she can do no wrong.

Therefore my yoga practice is fragmented. It comes in spurts and segments throughout the day. That means I practice headstands in the bathroom while she takes a bath. I do standing poses in my kitchen waiting for a pot to boil. I roll out my mat on the sidewalk while she sleeps in my parked car. Every day I try to do something to satisfy my body’s cravings for movement and mental clarity.

When a friend emailed about a series she was teaching at the yoga studio where I teach, looking for other teachers to teach, as part of her 800 hour teacher training certification in Dharma Yoga – I had to sign up! Going anywhere on a Monday night at 6:00 is hard when five people are expecting dinner. Add that to homework, piano to practice, lunches to make, bedtime routines, and it’s tough for me to leave. But I’m making it happen! My husband is coming home from work early on Mondays. Dinners are pre-planned. And I’m home by bedtime to snuggle and kiss them all goodnight.

The series was described as advanced. I am not advanced. Intermediate yes. But probably not advanced. I was going for it anyway. Parts of me were nervous I’d embarrass myself in front of other more experienced teachers. I only teach pregnant women. I do not teach advanced poses. While on my mat I am constantly interrupted by my toddler climbing on me for nursing breaks. I talked myself into it and expected to muddle through the class, at best!

But it was great! And I learned I should give myself more credit, and that my segmented practice is benefiting me more than I thought. I learned there are advanced poses that I can do! And I did a split in class!

I’m a just a mom who finds moments to squeeze in my practice in random places like an empty hallway at the theatre while my daughter was in dress rehearsals preparing for the Nutcracker. Yes I really did that. I was taking advantage of precious alone time.

The moral of the story is persistence pays off. It’s SO important for moms take care of ourselves in every small way we can.

Before class on Monday I was looking up the pose Eka-Pada-Kapotasana because I wasn’t familiar with the Sanskrit. I was doomed, I thought. I’m going to suck for sure. But I did it! It was a major aha moment. I did something big I didn’t even know I could do.

I’m not one for yoga selfies. I love seeing people’s yoga photos and videos, and following them on Instagram. Some days they inspire me to put down my device and get out my mat. However if I find 15 minutes to practice I’m not going to risk setting up my phone to capture it or I’ll miss out on my time to practice. And I find myself posing (pun intended) for the camera instead of focusing inward on my breath and meditation through my poses.

However this time my oldest daughter walked in on me and offered to take the pictures. Being a dancer, she thinks it’s pretty cool her mom can still do a split. So yeah… I have yoga selfies to share this time. Just because they are 12-year-old approved. I hope they are inspiring to others. A simple start can take you a long way.

This more the reality of what my mat time ends up looking like.

posted on January 12, 2017 by Rebecca Simmons

Hello 2017

Hello 2017! I’m ready for you. This is a better late then never post. It might have typos. But it’s better then not doing it all. I have less time now and I have to do things quicker or the necessities of the day pile up or get forgotten. I’m doing the best I can. And it just has to be good enough. I have no great resolution announcements. I’m going to keep on trucking. Doing the best I can. Keeping my head above the water. Living with less stuff. Making self-care a priority. I’m going to do more yoga. Yes more yoga. I’m going to breath more with more balance. Find more peace. Chase my toddler more. Yes we have a full-fledged toddler now! Love my big kids more. Cherish the little girl moments. Appreciate my husband. Take more pictures. Organize the pictures I have in a new way. And write more. Yes write more! It makes me happy and it sure is a better way to document our family than on social media. Even though Instagram is really fun! And love the comments I get with friends.

I’ve had some technology glitches the last few months. My computer is old. My phone is new. And they don’t like each other. My two old computers have been upgraded and I’m trying to make the best of it without buying new computers. I’m having to find a new way to store my photos. iPhotos is going obsolete and I’ve been figuring out exactly how to move forward with saving our families photos for my children’s generation. My fear of handing over obsolete computers of old useless photo systems to my children is already happening. So now what?

It’s been a big blogging hang up for me the last several months since I can’t dump my photos in iPhotos anymore from my phone. And even with upgrades and new ram, the new Photos program, which I don’t like anyway, won’t run on my computer because my photo library is too big. Just as well. I like my system and and that I know exactly where to find all 12 years of my photos on iPhotos. But’s that’s not going to work forever. SO I’ve had major photo, writing block due to all this. It’s so 2017! I’m already at the point of systems and programs prohibiting me from using the 40,000 pictures I have of my kids. Which is WAY to many I know. For my new photo year and moving forward I’ll be using Google Photos, picking my favorite pictures from each month and storing them in folders on my desktop. And hopefully copying lots of photos here to share with you. And since I missed a lot of sharing in 2016, I might be going back to share and remember some birthday moments and great photos that were captured of our family.

I’ll start now. Here are a few pictures from our little New Year’s Eve celebration. I’m reaching the end of our days of having the girls under one roof to ring in the New Year. Sleepover invitations are often and the hanging out with their friends years, verses with mom and dad, are in the foreseeable future. By inviting some friends to our house, I got another New Year’s Eve with my girls.