Feeding Your Family on the Run

Spring is absolute craziness in the Seiler household. Sports take over our calendar, and it seems we're gone more evenings than we're home.

Trying to feed everyone dinner while we're out of the house so much is quite a task. We could run through a drive-thru every night. With the cost of feeding a family of seven in a drive-thru, coupled with the lack of any nutritional value, we really hate doing that.

I decided I had to get organized and plan ahead if I wanted to survive the spring. So I developed a Game Day Cooler checklist. I did this because, although picnic packing is the obvious choice, not having a guide for what to pack when we've got to be somewhere in 30 minutes and I'm in a hurry is a formula for the "forget it" attitude. But if I have a checklist, which takes away the "thinking on the fly" aspect of packing, I set myself up for success.

So now, about an hour before we have to be somewhere, I start packing my Rachael Ray Cooler Tote with the items in my Game Day Cooler checklist. Many of the non-perishables just stay in the cooler all the time. The other night, I even added steamed asparagus (which we ate with our hands) and watermelon slices with our hot dogs for the baseball game. How "All-American" is that?

I've used my cooler checklist for other outings as well - it's not just for game nights. Whenever we're going to be gone for several hours and I know my children will ask for something to eat, I take this cooler in our van with us.

Now, I feel confident my family is eating healthy and cheap during this busy sports season. That makes this mom very happy!

What's Been Happening Lately?

BASEBALL, BASEBALL, BASEBALL...
That's much of what has been happening in the Seiler home.
Joshua, our oldest boy, is doing fantastic on his team as a pitcher & catcher.
Noah is playing his first year of T-ball, and he could probably take it or leave it.

TAEKWONDO
Our second oldest son, Luke, started Taekwondo a few months back, and he's doing very well. It's requiring a lot of self-control and concentration, two things he doesn't excel in by nature, so that has been very good for him.

TEEN YEARS
Well, she's not quite a teen yet, but she's very close, and it already feels like it. Our homeschool group had a Jr. High/Sr. High Banquet for all the teens last week. It was really awesome! They all got dressed up, had a fancy dinner, took pictures, signed autograph books, and had a blast.

In addition, Hannah competed in our denomination's District Fine Arts Festival - she sang a solo. She earned a Superior with Invitation to Nationals. We were so very proud of her! She's now saving up all the money she can and working hard to pay to go to Louisville, Kentucky in August for the national competition. She's very excited!

MOM'S TIRED...
It's true. I've been running around like a crazy woman - taking this kid to this practice and that kid to that game and doing this one's hair for her special occasion and planning birthday parties - all that on top of running the administration for our church, running a household, and trying to finish out this year of homeschool. We all have spring fever and are ready for some fun! Daddy has some time off work this next few weeks, and we need to play together as a family. I can't wait!

SOME FAVORITE THINGS...
When life is so hectic and you're running ragged, tools like these can be a lifesaver.

What's For Lunch?
Just steal someone else's ideas - check out these kid-friendly healthy lunches: School Lunch Roundup

Keeping The Children Busy with Productive Activities
I love some of these scavenger hunt ideas, especially the nature one, because the children are learning while having fun: Simple Homeschool Scavenger Hunts

Building Up Each Other in the Family
Sometimes, too much free time breeds quarrels amongst the kids. They all start to get on each others' nerves. I love this idea to help build family unity and focus on the good in each other: The Letter to Self

Helping Kids Save Money
As the summer calendar begins to fill up with summertime activities for the children, my children begin to work and save money to help pay for those activities. I've sat with each of them and we've outlined what they want to do, how much each activity costs, and a total that they need to raise. This article has some great ideas for helping kids save money: Teaching Your Kids to Save Money 

I'm Still Learning

Last week, I told you about turning 36 years old, and how I'm still learning so many things in life. I shared with you several of my favorite blogs from which I glean much wisdom and ideas. If you missed that post, visit My Favorite's.

This week, I'm on another learning quest. My long-time friend, Shevonne Daley, is coming over this afternoon to teach me how to utilize all my blog features and make my blog better, because I really have no idea what I'm doing. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, you'll see a much-improved The Pastor's Wife blog!

See ya next Friday!

My Favorite's

Today, I turn 36 years old. The older I get, the more I realize there's so much more to learn. I never want to stop. I love gleaning wisdom and new ideas from others who are further down the road than I. Here are a few of my favorite blogs I subscribe to, articles, and websites:
My Romantic Home
Smockity Frocks
Raising Olives
Simple Homeschool
Raising Arrows
The Homeschool Classroom
100 Days of Real Food
LaurieAnna's Vintage Home
A Holy Experience
Large Families on Purpose
Homestead Revival
A Mother's Calling
75 Kid Activities
Thankful Homemaker
Manners for Boys
Large Family Cooking
A Christian Home
100 Ways to Be Kind to Your Child
Large Family Mothering
24 Hours in Pictures
I Heart Faces
Confessions of a Homeschooler
Houzz
Blissfully Content
Faded Plains
LaurieAnna's Vintage Home

Can Anything Good Come From the TV?

The television is such a powerful force in our culture, and the pull to sit mindlessly in front of it for hours on end is strong. In America, children have been babysat by the TV for years, and have grown accustomed to escaping their world in front of a television, wasting away half their life.

In our family, we wrestle with the influence of media through the television on an ongoing basis. We haven't had satellite or cable television for several years. We do, however, have Netflix, as well as an antennae to access network television.

It never ceases to amaze me how Hollywood sends un-Godly messages through the shows they produce - even for kids! The minute you begin to believe something is safe for the kids to watch, BAM! You are broadsided by garbage. Sometimes my husband will say, "I grew up on this show." But I'm shocked even watching shows I watched as a kid. I don't remember them being that bad, but they now disgust me. Everything from violence to potty talk to teens playing kissing games - I've seen enough junk on kids shows to make me sick to my stomach. Even TV or movie ratings do not guarantee a show is decent for OUR children (although, with the exception of Passion of the Christ, we, in general, do not allow our children to see PG-13 or above). We, as parents, are the only ones who can truly determine if something is appropriate for our kids to watch.

Here are some red flags for me in what my kids watch:

• Violence isn't ALWAYS a throw out - my children have seen Passion of the Christ, and we love Little House on the Prairie, where occasionally Pa has to set a bad guy straight. We know that in real life, they may be called upon to fight against injustice. Battles are a part of our world history, and God calls us to fight at times against the forces of evil. Within reason, we do not shield our kids from real life and what truly happened historically, such as the fact that Jesus was beaten and bruised for our sin. But purposeless violence just for the sake of entertainment is ridiculous. Many cartoons, even, have lots of fighting that isn't necessary. We steer clear of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ironman, Hulk, and even Spiderman. Sure, they may be fighting for a good cause, but too much watching these kinds of shows without parental supervision to explain moral lessons just isn't healthy. I have a house full of boys, on top of it. It's far better that they go outside and play "Courageous" (they like to each be one of the police officers) and do something WITH their brains instead of sit numb in front of the TV watching characters fight.
• Disrespect, selfishness, and rebellion is a big one for me. Shows that depict families where young people disrespect their parents, do things behind their parents' backs, or have a rebellious spirit towards any authority, I don't tolerate. I am actually sickened by how many shows Disney (and others) produces that show entire families completely self-absorbed, always putting themselves first, looking to dodge serving anyone, all the while, the audience laughing.
• Lust and teen or child girlfriend/boyfriend relationships - the Bible says we are not to awaken love before it's time. Since we instruct our children that they are to save themselves and their hearts for when they are much older and prepared to marry, why would we have them spend years watching shows that create a longing in their heart at much too early an age? It makes no sense, and is torturous.
• Unwholesome talk and behavior is annoying, rude, and ill-mannered! Since we are trying to teach our children to have excellent manners in respect of others, they do not get to watch shows where there is burping, farting, disgusting and inappropriate "potty talk," or the like.
• Aimlessness is an epidemic in America, where young people have not discovered their purpose, and therefore, spend their days foolishly. Shows that encourage kids to or depict kids doing stupid stuff  and finding it amusing are a waste of time.
• Pretty much anything that depicts the opposite of our family values as being normal is out of the question.

You may think, "Well, just because my kids watch these kinds of shows doesn't mean they will do the same things. I've taught my kids differently." Well, so have I. However, the Bible cautions us to guard our ears and eyes against unrighteousness. Why? Because whether we think we can overcome it or not, the spirit of what we watch and hear creeps into our spirit. Soon, your teenager will start to think what they see regularly depicted on TV is the norm, and that your instructions are weird and not normal, and therefore, should be disregarded. YOUR CHILDREN ARE WHAT THEY WATCH! That's the facts! It will seep into them, whether you like it or not.

CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME FROM MEDIA?
Sure! I'm actually  encouraged by how Christians are finally putting out high-quality films these days that compete with Hollywood. Here are some things we enjoy:

• Documentaries are fabulous. We are a family that loves to learn. Netflix has several documentaries that are about great men and women of faith or history (who inspire my kids to be better), or about Biblical places, or historical events, or even science, that we find fascinating and educational. 
• We are a big sports family, and watching the pros helps my sons perfect their gifts and talents. JUST WATCH OUT FOR THE COMMERCIALS - have the remote in hand to change the channel when necessary.
• Shows with a positive message - we love Liberty Kids, VeggieTales, lots of PBS educational kids shows, and a myriad of Christian films accessible on Netflix. Even movies about actual historical events are fantastic. We love Little House on the Prairie, and own the DVDs to season 1-7. When our oldest was very young, we started watching LHOTP. All the sudden, we watched her behavior improve, as she was copying Laura & Mary's manners and respect for adults. My husband said to me, "Please, let her watch as much LHOTP as she wants!!!" because he was so impressed with the positive influence it had on her.

Ultimately, you want to monitor your children's behavior. If you have some real problem areas, media isn't to be blamed. However, if media isn't helping, if it isn't supporting what you're trying to teach, and if it isn't influencing them to be better, than why watch it? TV is not a necessity. Your kids can live without it. In fact, there is a movement across America of families who do not even own a television.

We prefer our children engage in productive activities during their free time - anything that promotes creativity, learning, or serving in some capacity is productive by our definition. That's the direction we try to steer our children. We require our kids to monitor the time they spend in front of any screens (shows, games, whatever), and they must limit it to an hour a day.
  
What part does media play in the life of your family?

Clothing Inventory & Chore Charts

SPRING/SUMMER CLOTHING INVENTORY
When spring is fast approaching and I know the weather is about to change, I start taking inventory of all the children's clothing for the coming season. (I do the same thing again as fall gets closer.)

1. I go through each child's winter clothes and put them away in storage bins or on the top shelf of their closet where they're still accessible, but not mixed with summer clothes.

2. Then, I go into the barn where I store hand-me-down clothes. I look for cool clothes in the size my children are going into - hand-me-downs from their older brothers. I include shoes.

3. All this time, I'm getting rid of clothing with stains or that are really out-dated.

4. When I'm all done gathering summer clothes, I count how many of each item I have using a chart I created: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UUf3GHwOwHiY8Qpr7eG23UhIgCbGX37Z0bm_pHjGfnU/edit

5. I decide how many of each item each child NEEDS. I then circle or highlight whatever I do not have enough of. That becomes my shopping list for that child for the upcoming season.
 
APRIL CHORE CHART
Here's the Seiler family's chore chart for this month. Notice we've now added "water garden," to the list - yay!!!
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByxyI9jtA1nJVFVzeDAyaDBTRzI4MndILXNrcmk5QQ/edit

When Your Child Isn't Like You

For me, it all began at the Mentoring Mansion, which was in Youngstown, Ohio then. I was pregnant with my second child, and my firstborn was three years old - the age when lots of unique personality begins to shine. During the intensive I attended there, I was introduced to the DISC Personality Profile. Although I knew my firstborn was a lot like me in many ways, I also knew there were parts of her forming personality that were not like me. This profile test, which I have gone on to teach many times in the years since the intensive, revealed to me very clearly what I had already begun to notice about the similarities and differences between me and my firstborn. Now, I could see it on paper for the first time, and things began to make sense.

It also gave me many insights into how to interact with her. For instance, my personality, as I shared in last week's post, is very task-driven. I love to get things done. My firstborn is very social, and loves to be with people. Many times, as a stay-at-home mom, I was looking for activities to keep her busy by herself so I could go about doing my housework or whatever I had to do, free from interruption. I learned that my daughter isn't really wired to spend lots of time alone. She would be far more happy working right alongside me on whatever I was working on. And so I needed to make adjustments for her sake.

I also learned that she is driven by fun, while I'm driven by tasks. Therefore, her natural tendency is to do fun activities first, and procrastinate on work. Knowing this, as a mom, I am able to guide her and teach her tools to overcome a tendency that could become a problem for her. I teach her to do work first, then fun, or on days when her work list is super long, to do one work task, then 20 minutes of something fun, then the next work task, then another 20 minutes of something fun, and so on.

I have many similarities in personality with my first two children. They aren't entirely like me, but I do understand a lot about how they think and process life. I can relate to them in many ways. However, my third child is my complete opposite.

The DISC profile is explained like a circle or square broken into four quadrants. Your strongest personality traits appear in one quadrant, and most people have a secondary trait that appears in a quadrant "next door" to your primary trait. For me, I am a "DC," meaning I'm primarily in the D quadrant, with C being my secondary. DC's are task-driven. D's are natural leaders and very direct. C's are very logical in thinking, and careful and methodical.

My third child is on the other side of the circle from me. He is an "IS." The IS side of the circle is people-driven. I's are driven by fun, are quite spontaneous, and love to be around people, and S's like to take life slow, stop and smell the roses, and are very sensitive. He and I are exact opposites. I don't exactly relate to him with personal experience. I cannot get inside his head and think like him. I'm wired differently.

My third child, who is now almost 7 years old, has created a great challenge for me as his mother and teacher. Because our lives are very busy and often hurried, I have to relax a bit for his sake, realizing that he doesn't respond well to hurrying. I am learning to appreciate his love for life, his joy over small things, and his huge heart of compassion, all of which, many times, get in the way of getting things done. Schooling my first two children has, so far, been problem-free, because their learning style is similar to mine. My third born isn't responding very well to the same schooling tactics. It has become obvious to me that I need to change something. I'm not speaking his language. He's wired differently. He processes life from his heart - I process life from my head. I can learn from a book, he learns by using his body.

The important thing for me to remember is this: One personality is not better than another - they're just different. EVERY personality type has strengths and weaknesses. I shared some of the weaknesses of mine in last week's post. As a mother, my job is to encourage my children in their individual personality strengths, while guiding them to overcome their weaknesses. And I must not forget to work on my OWN weaknesses, also. That's the best gift I can give to my children.

How about in your home?

Do you have family members who are very different from you? Do you try to make them more like you, subconsciously believing your personality style is the RIGHT personality style? Or do you appreciate the different personalities in your home?

Is there something you are doing as a parent that is suppressing your child's true personality? Or are you encouraging your children to capitalize on their personality strengths, and improve on their personality weaknesses?

May I encourage you to make this a matter of prayer - asking the Lord to show you how to appreciate the uniqueness of each of your children. They need that from us, so they don't grow up frustrated and exasperated, trying to be something they are not just to please us. May God richly bless you on your journey to discovering and appreciating the uniqueness of those you live with!